Gameplay

[Martes]

Thought it would be better to separate the gameplay-related posts from model ones.
So AARs will go here.

 

[Martes]

Even before I started to modify the game heavily, I was faced with a question of how do you play the damn thing?

The game itself is a fine instrument, but requires a certain finesse and enormous amount of roleplaying to actually deliver something beyond simple (if possibly massive) encounters.

It all comes to the scenario editor, which is extremely capable, but many things have to be done manually and partly outside of the game. Yes, ideally it may be possible to write it all as a program, even generating scenario maps, but certainly not today.

So at the moment I ended up with using the Kriegsmarine map grid (because dividing the map to squares or at least rectangles conforms with the scenario editor), and some u-boat board game orders and event generation tables to simulate frigate patrols. Add some dice and a notebook. Weather generated basing on real-time data from Windy (it's just a little more realistic than rolling the dice )

(cont'd)

 

[Martes]

And so, let's say that on a summer day of 180*, His Britannic Majesty's frigate, which is commanded by your humble servant, receives an order:

(rolling dice and looking at tables, translating everything from 1940's to 1800's, and switching sides on the way)

"By the... Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty...
Proceed with all despatch from Plymouth to Brittany coast... & deliver a Foreign Office Agent to Vicinity of Morlaix or Lannion."

​

Very convenient. Both locations are within the same large square BF2, and, judging by the weather the distance can be covered within 10 hours.
Weather:
(checking the site)
Wind NE 19kts (5 on Beaufort scale, which the game uses), on target location forecasted NE 6kts (2) at night to NE 9 kts (3) at dawn.

Departure at 16:00 (for some reason it seemed right).
Transit:
BF22 (Plymouth) -> BF25 (Channel) -> BF28 (Brittany coast).
Each square is roughly 55 miles across, and can be presented by one large map (or divided to smaller).

(cont'd)

 

[con20or]

looking foward to these - i never got into AOS2, seemed to buggy but played the original AOS to death - despite being a very repetitive game. I remember the time I lost my HMS Britannia to 3 Spanish First rates - almost got them too. I had that ship for months and was maxed out with everything you could give it..

 

[Martes]

The Frigate, accompanied by a Brig and two Cutters, leaves home base and heads South.

(rolling dice and looking at tables once again)

21:00, strange sail sighted.
Distance 2 miles to W(it's dark!), course SE.

(now, that warrants opening the scenario editor)


The brig and a cutter are sent to investigate.


The Frigate and the second maintain their course for the moment.

But soon (21:04) the Brig signals chase changed course to SW, and attempts to run.
So the Frigate with her cutter join turn as well to join the hunt:



At 21:38 the Brig comes within range of the strange ship, a merchant 3-master:



One of the cutters keeps closer to the flagship to maintain signal visibility:



The chase shows French national flag:



And not so keen to surrender, so it requires a little persuasion:



And, after taking possession of the ship and providing a prize crew, the Brig and the cutter tack to rejoin the squadron:



(consulting a table)
Taken a merchant ship of 495 tons, bound from New York to Brest, with general cargo. Should fetch some prize money, I guess.

The whole event took a full hour, so it will delay arrival to the coast map by the same time - and will, as we will see later, have quite serious consequences.

 

[Martes]

The main drawback in the current state of the game is a limited supply of coastal maps.
They are hand-modeled, and it is theoretically possible to add new ones, but that is more complicated, than ships, and much less well documented. So in the meantime we have to make do with what's available.

But, by some miracle, we have something that fits the intended location.

​

The map in question has the island to the east, the southern coast and some forts. Almost perfectly.

...by 3:00 the land looms as dark mass to the south.

It's a race against time: the agent has to be landed before dawn, and winds are light. On the other hand, it's raining and general visibility is low, so there is a chance to avoid detection.

At 4 it is decided to proceed with operation: looming around the coast for a whole day seems a bad option, and there is a chance, or so we think.

The cutter is ordered to close with the Frigate:



Think of it as a docking operation in space:



And the cutter spreads sails towards a little cove to SSW.



The rest of the squadron lean closer to the island and the batteries near the strait, to create a diversion, if time or weather will require:



The cutter, in the meantime, closes with the coast, and can see the overlooking forts in pre-dawn light:



And the Frigate lowers sails approaching the poorly mapped shoals:



It's still dark, around 5:40, when the cutter finally reaches the cove:

 

[Martes]

The agent is on French soil, but the morning approaches rapidly:



So the fate of the poor royalist is by no means certain.

The squadron parades the colors in safe distance from the forts:



And with the rising sun the sails become strikingly visible:



And so of the second cutter, which is still dangerously close to the landing site:



But all that can be seen from a fort is that there is another ship in the area... And the British ships turn to chase it:



And by the time the sun rises, they are all quite far away:



It is certainly not the end. There is a return trip ahead.
But for now there is just hope that the agent was not captured soon after landing, and the French will consider what they saw just as another act of British blockade and piracy.

 

[Martes]

As I said, we still had to get back to England.
And with the prevailing winds in the Channel it's not the easiest task.



So, from BF286 we proceed to BF257, which will take around 10 hours (the first leg). After all, the winds are still light.
And at BF281, around noon, strange sail is sighted.



Mutual position is very inconvenient for closing: wind is from NE, they come from the W, we - from SE, so it turns into a very long and indirect chase.
After some time the contact is confirmed as a ship of the line accompanied by a frigate, and both are French.

Only towards the evening the wind will shift and strengthen enough to engage.



In fact, there were two dice rolls between the screenshots.
First was to determine if there will be another encounter during the chase - it's the Channel, after all, and there always can be both merchant and navy traffic. But not this time.
The second was for the French commander - will he attempt to fight at some point, or try to blend into the darkness. He chose to fight.



The Frigate, which, supposedly escorts the ship-of-the-line on her transit from Brest to St. Malo or Cherbourg, begins to tack in order to meet us. It was a grave error in hindsight, but they couldn't know, could they?



The cutters and the brig ordered to stay aside as possible, and the British frigate, with guns loaded with double shot, closes with the French.



And executes a devastating bow-rake.



The French responded firing traditionally at the rigging during a wear around, but then the brig closed with the damaged frigate, and she struck her colors.

(cont'd)

 

[Martes]

And then came the 74-gunner, which was a little farther and much slower to maneuver.
She began to close on us in the middle of a tack, which was frightening, but enabled to release a double-shot broadside straight into her bows and barely make it out.



And then the madness began.



For some strange reason, the AI commanding the 74 decided the brig to be his target, and attempted to follow her.



With the frigate that tacked again and began chase from behind.



Realizing this, I used the maneuvering of the brig to expose the vulnerable ship's stern,



Forcing her, finally, to surrender, after an almost two-hour action, well into the darkness.

 

[Martes]

As a side note, I ran a quick 2 on 2 match for 74's (with an addition of a frigate, who would not participate in the battle, as it usually happened):

Fight!


A turn in succession wasn't easy then and isn't now
The virtual buoy you see here may be used to give complex routes for ships to follow, but in this case it simply marks the turning point.


Both parties try to seize the wind gauge


The first shots exchanged


The second French ship is isolated and beaten into surrendering


While the flagship attempts to maneuver herself out


But suffers a couple of devastating rakes


And finally (after firing several times at the rigging) strikes
​

All in all it was extremely confusing experience, peppered by heroism from below and incompetence from above (I almost had my two ships entangled, and for a considerable period one was obscuring another's fire arcs). The large ships are very clumsy, and them being fast only makes things more complicated, as they change their speed and heading with great reluctance. So... When you dream of a commanding a fleet of ships of the line, I'd suggest you dream again. It's like herding cats, as they said.

​

 

[Martes]

Random shots, more or less:

A moment before raking broadside


Guarding a convoy​

 

[Martes]

A sequence of land approach and heaving to with updated HMS Endymion model:

​

 

[Martes]

The difficulty of chasing privateers (it's that very, very little brig on the horizon) is generally not in lack of firepower.
It's bringing this firepower close enough.

​

​

 

[Martes]

Tried to capture the ship movement dynamics as they look now.

​

 

[Martes]

Maneuvering in light winds and fog:

​

 

[Pieter Boelen]

Nice atmosphere.

 

[Martes]

Ran a test on shore bombardment:

Maneuvering the 74 on approach
The buoys are virtual, and can be used to make the ships follow them, but I find them more useful to mark various places, such as turning points or, in this case, the fort's blind sector.


Turns out, the approach was too far from the fort, and the cannonade ineffective. So while the frigates try to anchor closer, the 74 attempts to cross the fort's firing arc and get closer from another side...


...and drop an anchor there.
With apparent effect.
​

Actually, on maps that include cities you can bombard them as well. So evil.

 

[Martes]

As another experiment with scenario design, I thought of using TIE Fighter engagements as a kind of template.
After all, they contain rather similar set of objects.

Something relatively simple for the beginning: British (ex-Imperial) frigate and a brig (replacing fighter escort) against 3 Pirate (ex-Pirate) corvettes and 3 xebecs (also replacing fighters).

Unfortunately, I did not think to make screenshots until the firing already begun, so the pictures start from a bit later stage, but nevertheless.

Wind drops, and pirate ships find themselves between the frigate and the brig during very unfortunate tacking attempt.


The more unfortunate, as the brig was able to bring her 32-pounder carronades to rake the stern of one of the corvettes at point-blank range, and it simply exploded. That happens, although rarely, so nobody really expected that.


The second corvette, already dismasted by the frigate, strikes her colors looking at the approaching brig that just obliterated a similar ship.


The frigate begins to wear, while the brig engages the two remaining xebecs. It's going painfully slow, with exremely light wind.​

 

[Martes]

So the frigate turns around, and the brig continues to approach the remaining pirate ships


Passes between the xebecs, sinking one of them and forcing the other to surrender and falls under the fire of the last corvette.


But the frigate has already brought her battery to bear, and the corvette catches fire


And explodes rather spectacularly.


All that remains.
​

Not that this was in any way a challenging scenario (although the pirates did have a fighting chance, especially having a space station (sorry, a fort) behind them), but very bad timing with a tack, during which the wind had almost completely fallen put them in completely helpless position and sealed their unfortunate fate.

 

[Martes]

The fiery night (part 1)

With pirate fleet destroyed, the British ships patrol the lagoon, waiting for troop convoy with 74-gun ship to arrive to take care of the fort.
That night the French allies of the pirates strike back.

The captured xebecs hastily put to service, while dismasted corvette carrying the prisoners towed to closest island and anchored .


Strange sail sighted and the ships move to investigate


Strange sail identified as a frigate, a brig and a bunch of small boats...​