Star Trek Online: Tier 3

((Ignoring the frustration of my previous post)) This afternoon I managed to finish off a few long mission chains and cross the threshold to Commander. As planned I chose a science vessel rather than an escort for Tier 3, and I love it!

USS Catalyst Research Science Vessel
(Click on image for a larger version)

To my delight I found a few extra buttons below my weapons allowing me to target an enemy's subsystems (such as their shields!). There is a cooldown for each one but with well timed use and/or careful rotation it's possible to keep bad-guys on the ropes while you whizz around zapping them.

A month has passed since I started play and I'm halfway through the level progression, which I feel is a good thing. I want something casual and fun which doesn't demand a great deal of attention and with the exception of the occasional server glitch (see previous post) Star Trek Online continues to deliver.

I'm still subscribed, although I'm not convinced a 'lifetime' membership is needed or desired. In another month or two I'll slowly wander up to the endgame where I will reconsider my subscription.

Star Trek Online: One of these things is not like the other

I was hoping to hit Tier 3, grab the rank of Commander and zoom around in a new science vessel tonight, sadly it looks like the work experience kid knocked the network cable out when he was shouted at.

1. Warning on the verification pop-up.
Well, at least the game is up - that's the main thing!

2. Warning in-game
Wait... what?


3. Let's try again...
oh, I guess not

Really I should be painting figures or leveling one of my WoW characters but I think I'll lay in front of the TV and flick through an old copy of the Flames of War rulebook I recently won on eBay. Woot ~ way to party on a Friday night :(

WH40K

With a great deal of concern I learned that the AT-43 guys I know have been lured to Warhammer 40,000... despite my warning and frowning and fist shaking.

I don't sneer at others who play and enjoy the game (I think it's rude for miniature wargamers to be snobs about the games they play) and I have a rather large collection of Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Chaos Space Marines... etc so I'm certainly in no position to criticise. However I am a little saddened that they have moved away from AT-43 as so many others have - there was a time when it was championed as The Next Big Thing for 30mm sci-fi players. The fading of AT-43 feeds more kids into the maw of Warhammer 40,000.

By all reports the demo game of 40k they had at a GW store left them very impressed with how fast and easy the game is. Obviously their games at home will not be anywhere near as fast as they will not have an enthusiastic staff member in the room to talk them through the rules. I suspect (perhaps harshly) that the page flicking that they experienced with AT-43 will be the same, if not greater, with 40k. To be fair the problem is not the game (or indeed any game) it's the infrequency of game events due to Real Life commitments creating a situation where every two months the players have to start at the bottom of the learning curve again, promising to consult forums and/or "sitting down to really read through the rulebook properly before we meet again". Alas if only work and wives and children would not foil these good intentions! ;)

Of course the eternal question is why should I care? I don't have to play 40k with them, I don't have to coach them and I don't have to have anything to do with the mess. I can smile and wish them well and concentrate on 6mm Napoleonics or 15mm WW2 Germans or anything else. Yet I cannot!

As much as I dislike 40k and as frustrating as I find pageflicking (where players try to find obscure rules deep in the usually incorrect part of a rulebook) all those soldiers and tanks and whatnot sitting deep in cardboard boxes cry out to me! And so it is that I find myself sprucing up old unfinished 40k projects such as the "Five Land Raiders" Space Marine Army.


This afternoon I finally cranked up the mini air compressor and airbrush that I purchased long ago and experimented with a basic masking technique, with interesting results. My first attempt was actually better than my second - from which I have learned that distance from gun to target is important to avoid clumping and splatter, as is the consistency of the paint.

Dracomarines Land Raider Prometheus; a bit of Desert Yellow to get things started. This will later get a coat of Bleached Bone over the top.

I hope to give the other half a blast of Liche Purple either tonight or tomorrow morning (assuming motivation and courage do not fade!). The colour scheme for the chapter is a quartered purple and beige thing I came up with a year ago (to replace the mono-purple scheme they currently wear).

Dracomarines Tactical Marines; this is how the chapter colours look "on paper"... I'm not sure how it will go when applied to actual models, particularly not with the help of an airbrush.

(World of Warcraft) Malpheus: Guild fracture!

I've been meaning to update Malpheus' exploits and progression with {Ye Olde Skoole} for some time now but it always seemed more fun to log in and play rather than hang around my blog typing about playing!

Sadly this week saw two members drop out of our 5 man team. Sandsaref (Michael) our Blood Elf Rogue has run out of time in the real world and can no longer commit to runs and preparation and tradeskills and all the other crap that WoW wants. As Sands was the reason for our forming, Cowloon (Kevin) our Tauren Druid decided to also drop out - both he and I were mostly interested in rerunning 'classic' content such as the various Blackrock instances and now that we are in Outland the shine has worn off for him. I however have found that my interest continues, indeed it seems to have grown as I reminisce about runs through each Outland instance with my old guild when Burning Crusade was new!

Malpheus prepares to sadly dig through the Guild Bank looking for goodies left by departing members... bitter-sweet goodies :(

I'm surprised to find myself feeling as nostalgic about Outland as I was about the classic content, I suppose it has been a while since Burning Crusade was released. Revisiting Hellfire Ramparts and The Blood Furnace reminded me of the good old days with {B L A C K S U N} on Khaz'goroth when it was all new. Running The Slave Pens and The Underbog was also a treat.

Now that we are down to three members things could go either way (grow or transfer off). The obvious advantage of five is that we don't have to wait for randoms when we queue for instances - the additional benefit being that we all know (knew?) how to play together as a team. At the moment it seems like the plan is to level up to 70 under our own steam and reevaluate everyone's interest as we enter Northrend, with a possible group-up at The Ring of Blood as we level (because I like it so much).

I hope the guild doesn't evaporate, and it may not be too hard to grow it just enough that we can get back into regular 5-man runs. Although this does conveniently free up Sundays just as I have been considering a return to regular visits to the miniature wargaming clubs around town...

Polemos - 6mm Napoleonics

Today I went out to Brisbane Independent Gamers for the first time in over a year to have a look at some 6mm Napoleonic miniatures gaming that seems to be gaining interest - and to say hello to a few old faces :)

The system that has gained attention is "Polemos"and the range of figures that come from the publisher (Baccus in the UK) are surprisingly finely detailed for such a tiny scale. Sadly, my photos do not do the figures justice and I felt a little rude elbowing players out of the way to get close-ups of the action! But, here they are for what it's worth:

French push the British back along a messy and confusing line
(Click for a larger version)

British (bottom of shot with white name badges) prepare to receive French charge from all sides!
(Click for a larger version)

A long solid French wall of bayonets lumbers toward The Thin Red Line on the right
(Click for a larger version)

Morale seems to break suddenly as shots are exchanged in Polemos, sometimes in surprising and unexpected ways (moments after the last photo was taken much of that French line recoiled from the Brits due to unlucky dice rolling). I'm apprehensive about "dicey" games but I would like to get into Napoleonics and the 6mm scale is a very cheap and quick way to get into it. Most importantly, locals are playing Polemos while other Napoleonic games gather dust on the shelf...

AT-43: Small-table action

Last night Justin came around for a few games of AT-43 with Marc and myself. Sadly I was exhausted due to a lack of sleep after my night shift and had to retire to bed - but not before taking a few shots of the action. The lads decided to play downstairs on a card table found earlier on the footpath... I must remember to confirm with my neighbour that it is unwanted!

Marc's Karmans (to the left of image) break cover from their sandbags to advance on the ruined building while Justin's Red Blok lurk in the shadows (to the right of image). Justin has been busy making very impressive terrain since I last saw him!

Marc and Justin decided to play small unit actions on the recently acquired table so restricted themselves to take only infantry in their forces. The intention was to see how AT-43 plays when heavily armed and armoured vehicles are not stomping around the field (I must check with them to see how that went). I know my tendency is to take the biggest and baddest pieces available to my army but this tends to create games that become too familiar - as your opponent is forced to bring the same 'big guns' to deal with your same 'monstrous armour' each battle. In this case the restriction was simply limited to "infantry only" which still leaves room for creativity, however there are different measures that could be limited such as stating a maximum value for armour rating or weapon strength to alter battles in different ways.

This idea has already been applied to 'historical' games such as Field of Glory (Ancients), Flames of War (WW2) and Lasalle (Napoleonic) which encourage match-ups that are thematically appropriate by providing army lists that share a common theatre of war or exist on nearby dates in history. This tends to chaff science fiction and fantasy gamers who prefer the idea of more freedom and creativity with army choice and force selection (despite tending to take bring the same favourites to every battle, see previous paragraph). The idea of Early French fighting Late Russians may be appealing but the game you get tends to be fun for only one player!


Before I sign off I'll share an action sequence that depicts Marc's Karmans catching Justin's grenades...

1. Karman warriors begin to cross open ground as they seek the cover of a nearby ruined building:
2. Karman warriors sense a shadow loom above them:

3. BOOM! ...remaining Karman warriors begin to fail pinning and morale checks

Star Trek Online: Tier 2

I find Star Trek Online surprisingly addictive - to the extent that some of my WoW friends have commented on my absence from that game!

My earlier misgivings regarding ground combat seem harsh upon review; I've since reconsidered this part of the game now that I have some more hours logged. It's still not great (nor as good as it could be) but as I've become accustomed to command and maneuver controls I've come to understand what the developers were working towards. Space combat is still more fun for me and remains my favourite part of the game - but I have a growing respect for other aspects of STO.

This morning I reached Lieutenant Commander and unlocked the Tier 2 escort ship. I briefly frustrated myself as I couldn't decide between a science vessel or an escort ship - but in the end I reasoned that a tighter turning circle and more weapons would suit my play style as it is. Perhaps later I'll step sideways and try a science ship but for now I'll stick with doing loads of damage to bad guys!

USS Tricorne my Rapier class escort
...with Ushaan nacelles because I believe they should hang down rather than stick up!
(Click on image for a larger version)

So STO still pleases me. It's simple and fun and casual and those are all things that appeal to me as I get older :P

Apparently a death penalty and difficulty slider are being introduced in an upcoming patch - features that will help keep the gamers playing. It's good to see that the developers are adding features that kids are asking for although they know that the player base will drop when the included 30 days are used up.


Edit: As requested, the Tricorne from another angle. This shows the ship from underneath and features the deflector and underside of the saucer. Her controversial Ushaan nacelles can also be seen clearly in this shot. As always, click on the image for a larger version.