What are you playing? (Redux)

[Cecil]

I am now on an endevour to finally finish a game of Terror from the deep.

[DisturbedPervert]

Is it any good?

Starcraft 2 seems good, but I'm not in the beta so can't play it online.  It certainly looks nice, but playing against the computer, which routinely kicks my ass, isn't very fun.

I've subscribed to two dudes on youtube who are in the beta and are doing voiced commentary of their online matches.  Watching them is incredibly fun, for me at least, check them out if you're into rts games.

http://www.youtube.com/user/HDstarcraft

http://www.youtube.com/user/HuskyStarcraft

They're both great commentators and their games are a lot of fun to watch.  Husky's commentary doesn't start until game 10, but after that his games are great.

[Grey Fox]

Are you a Korean?

[DisturbedPervert]

Are you a Korean?

I wish.  Then I wouldn't get my ass handed to me so often online.

[Syt]

In my restarted American Baseball Association, the Manhattan Marvel have a superstar pitcher called Mark Sanford. 

[Razgovory]

Is it any good?

Starcraft 2 seems good, but I'm not in the beta so can't play it online.  It certainly looks nice, but playing against the computer, which routinely kicks my ass, isn't very fun.

I've subscribed to two dudes on youtube who are in the beta and are doing voiced commentary of their online matches.  Watching them is incredibly fun, for me at least, check them out if you're into rts games.

http://www.youtube.com/user/HDstarcraft

http://www.youtube.com/user/HuskyStarcraft

They're both great commentators and their games are a lot of fun to watch.  Husky's commentary doesn't start until game 10, but after that his games are great.

When is it coming out?  Starcraft was always my favorite Blizzard game.  Also one of my favorites in RTS along with the Myth games, and the Relic games.  I suppose Total War ones would fit as well.  Kinda.

[Grey Fox]

They're trying to make first half of 2010, but it'll be realeased when it's ready.

[Razgovory]

They're trying to make first half of 2010, but it'll be realeased when it's ready.

Better be soon!

[CountDeMoney]

In my restarted American Baseball Association, the Manhattan Marvel have a superstar pitcher called Mark Sanford. 

That's awesome.  Argentinian League in the offseason?

[Syt]

In my restarted American Baseball Association, the Manhattan Marvel have a superstar pitcher called Mark Sanford. 

That's awesome.  Argentinian League in the offseason?

[Alcibiades]

Been playing a lot of Strategic Command: WWII Pacific Theater. I have a game going as the Allies with Japan boosted up to create a challenge. It's now the beginning of 1943 - China is holding on better than expected (i.e., their defensive line is holding; anything better than a total collapse is "better than expected"). They've lost Changde, but I'm holding pretty well in the mountains southeast of the capital, and Ichang as well. I'm building forts right around the capital in case I have to fall back again.

The Burma theater has gone to hell now that the monsoons have lifted. I have 2 fighter units and the Indomitable, but the Japanese air assault has been relentless, and I lost Hutton's HQ in the fall of Burma, meaning the Brits have been leaderless for about a year, making their troops weak and cowardly. I lost Stillwell and a Chinese corps in the fall of Burma as well, so I can't put any pressure from the Chinese side, not like I'd really want to spare any units from the fighting in China proper.

Finally, in mid 1942 I got an intelligence report of a Japanese carrier heading towards Midway. My carriers (Hornet and Yorktown) and a Battleship had just left Pearl escorting some troops bound for Polynesia, to be used in a counteroffensive at Guadalcanal. A rainstorm on my turn prevented my carriers from spotting his (his may have been out of range too), and on the AI's turn, his fleet came over a spanked me hard, sinking the Yorktown and a destroyer, and wounding the Hornet. The Battleship was relatively unharmed, but while I was able to inflict significant damage to an enemy battleship and several escorts, I was unable to sink anything, and the Japanese landed on Midway. Months later, after the Japanese fleet had gone back to reinforce, my new battlefleet, consisting of all but one of my battleships and the Enterprise, showed up in force at Midway and supported the army in retaking it, while also scaring away a destroyer.

I've recently retaken Guadalcanal, and from the intelligence reports I believe the Japanese fleet is en route - it consists of at least a destroyer and a battleship, but I'd expect the carriers to be present, because they haven't shown up anywhere else (and the Indomitable has made it's presence known in the Indian). They know the Hornet is present near Guadalcanal, but the Enterprise and her escorts are almost there as well. My plan is for the two carriers to meet up a bit to the east/southeast of the island, and the Japanese should arrive at Guadalcanal at the same time. Then I strike, hopefully after the enemy fleet has wasted effort bombarding the island. The two catches are: 1. The Japanese may reroute their fleet now that I've wiped out the Japanese resistance on the island, and 2. If he sends all of his carriers and most of his battleships, I could be in real trouble. The last I saw of his carriers were at Midway and Java, nearly 6 months ago.

Is strategic command any good?  Really?

[Alcibiades]

I resumed WitP AE for a bit.  I must say, as the game has developed (I'm now at the end of May 1942) I have been more impressed with the AI.  It uses cruisers pretty aggressively for commerce raiding, so as the US I had to put the Oz navy plus HMS Warspite (intercepted on its way back to Inida from its Seattle overhaul) to protecting the Townsville-Port Moresby convoy route.  In a series of ding-dong battles most of the RAN has been wiped out, in exchange for 3 large IJN CAs sunk and a couple damaged.  Warspite ended the exchange as king of the hill, docked at PM.  PBYs spotted two IJN BBs approaching from the south, so Warspite withdrew to Horn Island in the eTorres Strait and then, because Horn I lacked the fuel to support it, it passed through the Strait en route to Darwin.  The IJN was not deterred - it chased Warspite all the way to Darwin and sank it with 3 BBs.  That was actually pretty cool.

The AI over-extended itself in that op, though.  Junyu and Hiryu were sent to trash the shipping off the Australian east coast as far south as Sydney, which they did.  Going so far took them out of the cover of Kido Butai, though, and I ambushed and sank both with Yorktown and Enterprise.

It will be interesting to see if the AI is well-enough programmed to understand that it cannot sustain these kinds of shoestring offensives.  When the US has as many front-line carriers as the Japanese (even acknowledging better Japanese pilots) the IJN needs to go carefully.  These little raids with a coupla carriers are way too risky.

In love with the idea of this game, and have followed over 10 AARs, but just cant play it in practice.   

[grumbler]

In love with the idea of this game, and have followed over 10 AARs, but just cant play it in practice.   

As agame concept, it works better than as a game reality.  It is simply too complex to do with a game AI, and as a PBEM it simply takes too long. Pity, but there you are. I enjoy just toying with it, but few people (rightly) have my love for the concept as a toy.

[Razgovory]

If only we could get the nations involved to recreate the scenarios in the pacific.  That might be doable.

[Syt]

Got a couple hours of LotRO done today. Levelled from 12 to 16. Funny to play nerfed solo quests that used to be group quests during launch time.

Done with Ered Luin for now (maybe return later to pick up some deeds I don't feel I need for my dwarf guardian right now).