Farewell for now

I'll be gone for a long time-- part of RL upheavals. I'll be back when I can.

Hotspur

Ironclads: American Civil War

New from Totem Games (a Russian company!) is "Ironclads: The American Civil War". Totem has just released a demo, which I have downloaded. The Totem website has some video footage and extra screenshots from the base game, plus a teaser for what appears to be a pre-dreadnought era game (Ironclads: High Seas). A visit to the site is well worth the effort.



I am generally speaking not much of a fan of standalone PC wargames these days, but this might have potential, not the least because it looks surprisingly similar to in world SL battles with ICS Ironclads. Probably with a great deal less lag and sim border crossing issues.

Who knows, if the price is right, I may try it out.



At the very least, I like their choices in ships. There are far too few wooden sidewheeler gun boats represented in games on this subject, and frankly, they were the predominant combatant in any conflict near a harbor or out on the ocean-- ironclads were historically far rarer than one might think.

The Beast from 10,000 prim fathoms!

The Port Merrimac Incident

Fragment of Telegram to Office of the Maceholder, New Babbage

"...There is no way to gauge exactly what we are facing at Roatan. We only have the remains of some kinescopic footage to go on. The Aurelia, an unarmed scientific submersible, captured some of this footage before her hull stove in from a deadly impact with an outside force. I am sending this to you under courier, we are under attack from force or forces unknown. The submarine force all perished attacking this beast-- you can see them shooting torpedoes into its hide at point blank range and it just shrugs it off!! Beware, it seems to be motivated by an antipathy towards technological progress.. I fear you are in its path.

Holy mother of mercy! It's seen us! We're caught in here"




Transmission Ends

OVERTHROW!!

The Webcomic of the recent adventures in New Babbage, featuring the overthrow of the evil tyrant Obolensky, the summoning of the Allied Fleets of Five Nations, the Great Naval Battle and destruction of his forces, and the tyrants eventual demise (?) at the hands of the captains of the Five Fleets.

The Overthrow!

Publish at Calaméo or browse others.

The Great Alliance Fleet Sails into Danger

((This Thursday, if you have a ship that float under you and shoot, please consider participating in the Iron Melee this week. We are the guests of New Babbage.))

As you may or may not know the Clockwinder of New Babbage was deposed (while away) by that traitorous dog, Obolensky. As recounted in the Primgraph Aetheric Log for several posts, the forces of Doctor Obolensky have tightened their grip on the benighted little city, now called "Obolenskidonia".

As is being recounted in Commodore Dagger's journal, She has escaped from occupation forces and has decamped with a small exile fleet of her own.. to seek asylum and the help of allies at Port Merrimac. This part of the story is recounted on the Primgraph Aetheric Log, by special agreement. Also read up on the New Babbage NING, for the latest updates from that beleaguered city.

(( I hope to see you all there, this should prove to be triply amusing ))

"People of New Babbage! From the allied armada, This is your Clockwinder Speaking! A force of friendly nations has come to our assistance at our moment of gravest peril. It is now incumbent on you, on all of us, to resist the usurpers wherever we find them! Throw wrenches in their gears! Pour sand in their gearboxes! Rise up, New Babbage, for your lands, for your sweethearts, for your children! Rise UP, and prove yourself worthy of the title "A free people". Rise up! And cast out the enemy! Join us! If you see a soldier or sailor wearing a prominent green head cloth or facial bandana, do not assault them, they are are friends and allies. There can be no pity for the forces of Obolensky! Surround them, capture them, and render their machines useless! Rise UP!! Now, that's possibly the longest speech I've given in my life, so I will not pad it out. We will see you at city hall, or you will see us captured or killed. Very soon! RISE UP!"


(( We will meet in New Babbage, 730PM SLT, see Hotspur, Tenk, or Obolesnky in world for details ))

Diogenes Kuhr has a blog, and she's posting on..

Miss Diogenes Kuhr, noted adventuress, gunslinger, story teller and japester, has a new journal to add to your blogroll.

THE EPHEMERAL FRONTIER has just started, and already Miz Dio has jumped in with an extensive background piece on her character, and a thought provoking piece on roleplaying in Second Life: How do you make roleplaying work in Second Life? And why bother?

I know Dio from way back when, when YHN was living behind a bar in Caledon Tamranoach, and she was a frequent visitor.

Aside from having the exquisite taste to link to Hibernia, I recommend Ephemeral Frontier because I like Dio's style of blunt honesty, good manners and outspokeness. Definitely something to include in one's regular reading. :-D

The Mercury Men

An occasional web-based retro-styled show

Thought Exercise: Mute-ations

Regarding recent stormy moments in the SL Blogosphere: The tempest has died, the issue has been addressed, the accusations of hypocrisy have been flung from on high, and the latest non-apologetic apology has been levied (with a very witty reply). We all 'get' that it wasn't about one individual, or the other individual, it was about proper public discourse (which, oddly, is how I always saw it, too).

So with all those points acknowledged, I rather like THIS post from Zealot Benmuergi, aka Baron Bardhaven, as it touches on something I have commented on many times in here (and in public)-- the notion that someone's roleplaying discussions may not be to our liking, and how we as individuals (and customers of Second Life) choose to address it. Specifically, Baron B. addresses the notion of muting, which is an issue that has been addressed as a way of confronting unpleasantness in this journal and many others, including a great post in Miss Heron's journal (now no longer online, sadly, but the gist of it is copied to Miss Sera's journal).

The Baron B. breaks down the proper response to not participating in an unwanted roleplay discussion into four possible actions:

1. Ask them to Stop

2. Leave the Situation
   

3. Mute the Person Secretly

4. Mute them Openly

His position is that the first option causes more problems than it would solve, and the second seems patently unfair if the participants are on neutral ground. I agree with both of those conclusions. Which leaves muting, either openly or secretly. It is Baron B.'s contention that the last option, openly muting an individual whose speech is not to your liking (that is, informing the individual he is muted), is the most honest, fair and open approach of all of them. He considers secretly muting to be dishonest and sneaky (I'm paraphrasing, of course).

That's one way of looking at it, to be sure.

So far, I have never been able to address the notion of response to an unwanted roleplay discussion with ANYone in Second Life without that person getting very defensive and hurt by the notion that I don't care for the roleplay that is their own sacred cow. I have always felt that if a person or group subjects me to their roleplay without them giving me an option (say, in a public place, neutral area, chat channel, etc) to say "no thanks", then they have impinged upon my own rights as a customer and resident of the area where we all reside. This is not a conversation that many roleplayers appear ready to engage in with me-- responses to my attempts at discussing it openly have been unproductive to say the least. This is not altogether suprising, as roleplaying is often tied up with issues of the ego and superego. The participant feels as if his or her roleplaying pasttime is not only beneficial for themselves, it is beneficial for everyone in the surrounding area, hearing distance, on chat channels and other information resources shared by the community. Usually, that sort of roleplayer will not be willing to enter into a dialogue about the 'fairness' of their doctrine of engagement, and will even get openly hostile should one question them on their right to impact other players Second Life experience with their roleplay.

At the end of the day, one person doesn't have much recourse in Second Life, unless the other person gets abusive. The ability to mute an individual we find unpleasant was designed by Linden Labs specifically to give the individual SL player a powerful resource for dealing with inworld unpleasant behavior or individuals. Once the power of mute is invoked, the 'offending' individual not only becomes silent, but their creations, chat spams, notecards, TP requests, friend requests and other interactions vanish from sight. The mute state is detectable through some simple expedients-- notably trying to send the muting individual a note (nothing will happen), or talking to them openly in world or in a chat channel (they will not respond). Usually, both sides won't interact at all.

With that explained, which muting is preferable? Openly or Secretly?

Perhaps it is sneaky, but I certainly mute people I find unpleasant or occassionally motor mouthed. I very RARELY mute someone's roleplay. I can always turn off a chat channel, or ask for clarification in plain english (which I do frequently). I do not inform the people I DO mute (they are less than a handfull, but they deserve it), because openly muting someone is almost equivelant to asking them to stop roleplaying, which I don't feel I have the right to do. People's egos always seem to be hurt by the perceived sense of rejection. Recent events in world only serve to illustrate this. So why bother informing them that you have elected to not participate in their roleplay by muting them? Such an action is not what the recipient wants to hear (or be made public, certainly).

Perhaps it is sneaky, but by muting the unpleasant, I feel that BOTH sides are served by this action-- nasty interactions in world drop to nothing (if both sides are lucky), and time is not wasted embroiled in senseless bickering. The hitch is that it is good to know if one is muted in turn, so nobody becomes unduly embarassed publically.

At some point, I would love to have an objective discussion about equal rights for roleplaying (or more precisely, NOT roleplaying) in a Second Life themed community. I have never accepted "majority rules" as the answer for this question, and would like, for once, for the vitriol to be put aside and have a discussion without the attendant hyperbolic reaction as has been displayed in the past. Likely such a discussion is not forthcoming, but I would welcome it.

The Big Gundown!

IRON MELEE REPORT: Modified Guns of Port Merrimac, with some changes for balance

A fine, brisk night at Port Merrimac this evening.. We did a variation of the mixed infantry landing scenario from last week (called "The Guns of Port Merrimac"). The big difference being the mortar is moved inland about 50 m, beyond the sea wall and up the hill a smidgen. This had the effect of quelling the squwaking from the red team last week, as the guns were too hard to defend that close to the sea.

I had a truly vile night with Second Life. Repeated non-stop crashing and freezing up kept me out of world several times while we were setting up. For that, I apologize.. frankly, this was the worst it's ever been. Anyway, we managed to get started.

The Steubing Ship, on the Blue Side

The scenario was a trimmed down version of last time, with a Steubing dropping off a small infantry landing crew to silence a mortar position that is located away from the sea a bit.

Red's Defense point

MrBunwah of the Rats defending the Red Mortar

Blue's assault was decimated almost every time. However, the Steubings saved their bacon, twice, by managing to take out BOTH guns (victory condition) with naval gunfire alone. This was not easy-- the Light Mortar could only be hit with a very, very difficult shot that exposed the ship to danger in execution. Hats off to Captain Cherbourne for his crew's great shooting.

Justinian Huszar of the Rats mans the dock gun, which was the easier of the two targets

The approach is not an easy one to make; it is difficult for infantry to make the approach without exposing themselves to gunfire from a disciplined fire team.

Remington (Blue Team) examines the ground from a face down perspective

Other approaches were tried. Including myself jumping in to assist the Blue team in an oblique approach (after I had dialed down my draw distance). I was sniped before my finger was off Transmit button and fell dead in the first second. This struck me as a bit uber-competitive, and led to salty language on my part.

Admiral Dia, head of the Steubings (Blue side), dead behind her sandbags on Fleet HQ's rooftop

Commodore Nabila of the SNS and some of her red charges

At the end of the evening we engaged in melee fighting (a general free for all, last man standing). This was won handily by that claymore swinging Duchess, Lady Bellambi!

Chop-saki!

A great evening for all (except possibly me, who had a very frustrating time with poor SL issues, which I should take more philosophically, I suppose).

Things that are needed: A simple red and blue team uniform jacket freebie. A satchel charge that blows up ICS objects.

NEXT WEEK! We will be assisting the Smokes return the legitimate fleet of New Babbage to its home port, and reinstating the legitimate government of the Clockwinder along the way. This is a fleet exercise-- wear your uniform and show up with trying to look the part. All combat will take place in NEW BABBAGE, with a combined New Babbage/Wraths/SNS fleet supporting the liberation rebels. It should be a naval only game.

The Boys in the Backroom check in

MrBunwah and Justinian Huszar from Murakami Steamworks passed me a memo about recent advances that I thought was worth a mention or three. The following items are scheduled to hit soonish, end of the Summer, latest. Italics are those of YHN.

1. Finish updating MSS series ships to ICS3 (done)

2. Finish updating USS/CSS ships to ICS3. CSS Columbia and CSS Richmond being replaced with CSS Atlanta and CSS Arkansas (just about done)

3. Finally get all the submarines up and running, this includes the H.L. Hunley and the 3 MSS Subs. These need to come after the ships because there is still some script work that needs changing, and we really want to get the ship done first as they are already released. (way overdue!!! I like my MSS Holland!)

4. Shortly after subs are done, I will get the MSS Fishkill up and running. (This is the Depth Charge ship that will fight Submarines)

5. Mrbunwah mentioned he plans to update the coastal artillery to allow for more fine tuned adjustments, as he heard complaints that the cannons could not hit targets at certain angles. This would most likely be after all ships are ICS3 ready but it may be earlier.

6. Work on balancing out the mortars. Right now they are overpowered. I want to reduce their accuracy and range so that they are not uberweapons in the hands of masters. This goes for ship and land mortars. (No argument here)

7. FLAGSHIPS for certain national navies.. this is a one of a kind ship for the "Admiral" or designated leader of an engagement. Heavily powered and armored.

8. Once mortars are fixed, I want to implement MMCS into them as well as the other munitions. I plan to have mortars not use the ICS explosive script, but instead have them shoot out a ton of shrapnel when they explode. They will have fuzzes that the artillerist can adjust so that way they need to time them right so they explode at a good height to saturate the area. The shrapnel inside this mortar round will contain light cannon round scripts as well as MMCS scripts so the mortar will act as anti-infantry as well. I also plan to put MMCS scripts in ICS machine gun bullets as well as ICS cannon rounds. This will also give rise to flak rounds for anti aircraft purposes.

9. Work on a troop transport that can hold like 10 infantry as well as deploy rowboats. With infantry being added into the mix this will be needed I think. (Well, hallelujah!)

10. If MMCS holds up well, and is still adopted by infantry, than I will work on getting ships to be able to switch to grapeshot rounds. These would most likely fire a large amount of ICS/MMCS bullets to saturate an area. (No argument there!)

11. Work on the Wrath Exiles personal fleet. I believe you have seen these already. They include a ____ ______________ _________________ _____________ ____________ _____________ I'm open to any suggestions you might have for them. (Shhhh, lads, this will remain under wraps..)

12. After all that I plan to do one last major update to all the ships, in the form of sound and particle effects. I want to have differing cannon and engine sounds, as well as have particle wakes behind every ship and any other effects changes I feel are needed. This update won't take nearly as long as our ICS3 update took, and may be implemented earlier than expected.

The Genteel Hate Machine*

Passionate hatreds can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. These people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them unlimited opportunities for battle. -- Eric Hoffer

Unlike those that profess to disdain drama in SL, I don't mind it so much from time to time, when the stakes are small and the issue easy to forget, like calling someone by a made up title or some other RP notion. A little drama is hard to avoid, and heck, it gives everyone something to gossip over endlessly. People seem to (or seemed to) understand the boundaries-- A snarky comment here, a dig there. Certainly, most of the vitriol that we endure in Real or Second Life (or take part in ourselves) is just a rudimentary stress reaction. Passions recede, people adjust. That kind of drama is expected in any situation where people congregate, even virtually.

Someone passed me the transcripts of a recent social event in Second Life (no need to say where) where a certain individual showed up (no need to say whom) and was roundly castigated for expressing his choice to refuse to roleplay in a certain niche interest by muting certain speakers (no need to mention which one, it should be obvious). For this, he was rounded upon by what appears to be the majority of the avatars present (including the hostess) and, frankly, became the subject of an exercise in Genteel Hate-speak. The epithet "Racist" and "living in a cesspool", "arrogant bastard" were thrown out, to describe the individual.

Take a second to savor that notion. Racist. RACIST. Really? About fictional beings? That statement is just a tragi-comedy of stupid (thank you, Kami, I told you I'd work it in there). What next, will we be hauled before the PC magistrate for not believing in fairies, orcs and goblins? With all concessions to the ludicrous logic behind the statement, I still find the idea that people could use such a powerful, hate-charged word as "Racism" to describe this individual's actions in Second Life to be depressing. I would suggest that the participants take a remedial history lesson before ever using a phrase like that again-- or better yet, don't bother, turn on the evening news. There's plenty of examples of what real, authentic racism is there. REAL people die .. daily in some places on this real planet of ours, because of racism. I'm sorry, the respect that you think your niche group deserves in a virtual computer game just doesn't cut it. That's not racism, it's a matter of taste.

I am happy I decline most social engagements these days-- and doubly glad I didn't attend this one on a whim. Nor will I shed bitter tears for the fellow at the bottom end of the pig pile-- he can take care of himself and usually does. Frankly, he half brought this one on by his public admission that he mutes an individual or group. We all have the right to mute, and some of us, myself included, use it quite a bit. However, we should never publicly admit to singling anyone out. I think people are all more comfortable with being muted when they don't have it explicitly spelled out for them. I can see why the resentment started-- that sense of rejection that breeds hostility can be palpable for some people (although I honestly don't mind being muted myself, as long as I know I am). So certainly that element of the evening could have gone better. I just wonder how the statement would ever merit such a venom filled response from all the players involved (including, sadly, the hostess). The niche crowd is what it is.. they've been involved in this kind of behavior in the recent past and doubtless will be again. We sort of expect it. It's the behavior of the other people present (and I'm reading it, right now) that is so puzzling.. and not very nice.

As I've commented on before, Second Life is an ongoing experiment in Social Psychology, and from time to time, you see a textbook example unfold. I harken back to the concept of Fundamental Attribution Error a lot in my posts-- I see it happen in Second Life all the time. When we are trying to understand and explain what happens in social settings, we tend to view behavior as a particularly significant factor. We then tend to explain behavior in terms of internal disposition, such as personality traits, abilities, motives, etc. as opposed to external situational factors. This can be due to our focus on the person more than their situation, about which we know very little-- how can we? A 'person' is merely a collection of pixels! We also know little about how they are interpreting the situation. Western culture exacerbates this error, as we emphasize individual freedom and autonomy and are socialized to prefer dispositional factors to situational ones. I'm sorry this event happened, but it hardly surprises me-- and it underscores my own dissatisfaction with Second Life as any form of a roleplaying medium. You just can't get immersible enough, as I've said before.

* apologies to NiN for paraphrasing a terrific album title

A real Polymath Rock!

Real Rock

Commodore Dagger's human is abroad and sends me the picture she took in the lee of the Golden Gate bridge, San Francicso, California (above). I understood the significance immediately.

Virtual Rock

An excellent eye for terrain, Commodore! Now my human has this desire to go to that rock and build a little tiny ramshackle tower upon it.

Infantry Appendix to Rules of the Road document

INFANTRY COMBAT APPENDIX to the Rules of the Road
ROTR-IA v. 1.0
by Hotspur O'Toole

(this is a living document: please email hotspurotoole08@gmail.com with suggestions and clarifications)

This document governs the addition of Infantry Combat, both melee and ranged at Port Merrimac, Roatan and surrounding areas of Lilliput, including Artificial Isle. This is a supplement to our published RULES OF THE ROAD for Ironclad combats, to cover the recent development of battles that include infantry combat elements. This document is Supplemental in nature and should not conflict with the parent document, the Rules of the Road.

Definitions

a SKIRMISH is a battle with an infantry element that transpires between the Battle On and Over signals.

BATTLE ON!, HOLD! and OVER! When the phrase BATTLE ON! is transmitted over public channel by the referee, that's the phrase to start the Skirmish. When BATTLE HOLD! is transmitted, that is the command to immediately halt all activity. When BATTLE OVER! is transmitted, the skirmish has ended as a victory condition for one side has been met. Return to the battle start point.

MELEE WEAPON is defined as a weapon designed for physical combat at a short distance, primarily striking/edged weapons such as sword, club, boarding pike, fighting flail, etc.

RANGED WEAPON is an infantry weapon that fires a projectile, such as a rifle or pistol.

HEALTH METER is an attachment worn that will govern your status during the course of a combat, keep track of damage you have suffered and trigger a "death pose" when your hit points reach zero.

INFANTRY COMBAT SYSTEM is a package of weapons, huds (optional), and meters that will interact with each other, and possibly other systems, to give the appearance of infantry combat and casualties in Second Life.

Rules of the Road for Infantry

1) We are attempting to simulate, as best we can, a real world infantry combat. This assumption imposes the following limitations.

-- No Avatar Flying, unless the avatar is Stuck, Fallen in the Water with no beach nearby, or moving into starting position prior to the BATTLE ON call. In some RP engagements, flying vehicles may be utilized. Avatars crewing or passengers on a flying vehicle are not considered "avatar flying".

-- No Underwater movement, unless an exception is made for roleplay purposes (infantry dressed in diving suits, mer people, etc.). Roleplay-based Exceptions to be agreed upon in advance. Avatars crewing submarines are not considered personally moving underwater.

The inadvertent swimming clause: An avatar who falls in water should walk to the nearest beach, or fly up and set down athe same place where he/she fell off immediately.

-- No Ranged Combat under water (rifles don't work submerged).

-- No Melee Combat under water (swords may work underwater, but not very well, so let's avoid this one).

2) Respect the BATTLE ON! HOLD! and ENDED! signal. Don't make the battle your personal playground to indiscriminately cause havoc for a laugh. This will only breed resentment and cause arguments.

3) Do not engage in combat in the observer areas (Gregory Light, the upper deck at Port Merrimac, etc).

4) Avoid combat in residential or vendor areas, which your referee should clue you in to at the start of the evening. You weapons will not work there anyway.

5) Once the DEAD or INCAPACITATED RESULT is triggered by combat damage, the following apply:

-- Stay prone and in one place. Some systems allow movement when "dead" or "incapacitated". Barring involuntary twitching from rigor mortis, dead men don't move.

-- Stop Fighting. Some combat systems allow the wearing to fight on even though "Dead". Refrain from this -- dead men pull no triggers.

-- Do not RESET HEALTH to 100 per cent and continue fighting. This will be viewed as blatant cheating.

6) In all things, be cheerful, be a good sport and listen to the referee. Even though this is covered by the Rules of the Road, I'll say it again.. don't take things so seriously and uber-competitive that you can't have enjoy a dust-up.

7) Have a great time! This is all about the fun. The rules just keep it above board and fair for everyone.

The March of Science!

"Sir! Sir!" I heard the excited approach of Berman from the Engineers long before the youthful lieutenant's presence was made obvious.

I looked up from the Armada Battle plan. The Lady B ushered in the LT, an amused expression on her face. "Yes, Lieutenant, have you forgotten all decorum? What is the meaning of this intrusion?"

Berman reddened, and snapped to attention.

"Sir, The Lieutenant would like to demonstrate the latest development in Engineering, sir, you have to see this!"

"Oh, I would, would I? Why is that?"

"You just do, sir, please, it's an amazing development!"

I gave CDR Bellambi an exasperated expression over young LT Berman's shoulder. Perhaps a few words about chain of command, next time. "It IS amazing, sir. you should really take a moment.." she hissed, smiling through clenched teeth.

"Very well then, what is sooo amazing that we must halt battle preparations to view it?"

We walked out into the sun and then I saw what they had been going on about. On top of the warehouse building was a kite-like obect, big enough for a man, attached to a counterweight.

"You've built a glider, Nichus.. that's wonderful! What practical application does it have?"

"Sir! my launcher can push this glider up into the updraft over this island, giving it an amazing boost! Imagine how much information we could glean by using a glider for reconnaissance of any incoming fleet force! Imagine, sir, a small bomb rack under the main support strut there, that could release munitions capable of damaging an enemy ship, sir! "

I nodded, looking noncommittal, but my mind was racing with possibilities. Then I uttered the phrase that is usually the death of me.

"I'd like to give it a try."

And thusly, I was strapped into the glider object, as Nichus and a few sailors rigged the heavy counterweight to drop over the side and assist I needed. At LT Berman's thin, piping "Launch" the grinning sailors kicked the counterweight loose from the bracing and the entire kite structure I was on leaped into the sky.

So far, so good.. a little stiff to steer..

Circling from Port Merrimac to La Blanquila

Suddenly, the craft was seized by a forceful updraft!

"Berrrrrmannnn!" I shouted, holding on for dear life..

All of Lilliput seemed to dwindle into the distance

Gradually, and with a lot of shaking and shuddering, the nose of the glider went over and I began my descent to the world below.

Homeward again, but how do I slow down???

The members of the Hona Lei golf and country club, 300 miles away, were (obviously) somewhat shocked and upset to see a heavily armed man on a glider plummet into their weekly cocktail party, knocking the champagne cart over in his mad scramble to land his craft safely. I shall have to send them a letter of apology in the morning.

The Guns of Port Merrimac

Last night was, as most people agree, the best Iron Melee so far, and a very, very entertaining evening. The scenario was "The Guns of Port Merrimac", which is my reinterpretation of Commodore Jedburgh's "Port Defense" from last week. After having been denied victory, again and again, in last week's fracas, I approached my counterpart amongst the Smokes and engaged her in conversation about how we might try the Port Defense again with a more balanced outcome.. I believe she might have made a glum comment to the effect that a brigade of Marines might be required to shift the Guns of Port Merrimac. That set me to thinking. Marines. The one thing we hadn't tried. So I set out to look for a good, simple combat system for land battles and I found a decent candidate in MMCS, which our friends in New Brunswick use. Turns out it works out pretty well for what we wish to accomplish with it. It may NOT be the be all and end all, and we very well might try others, especially if we can find some that work with ICS or a single system that combines both land and sea. In the meantime, MMCS is more than adequate for our needs-- simple, lethal, cheap (not free), and hard to break. As was reported here, we tested MMCS at Port Merrimac and it functioned as we required. When Thursday rolled around, I had a new scenario ready.

THE GUNS OF PORT MERRIMAC

Narrative: A simple landing assault on a port to silence a pair of heavy artillery pieces that dominate a sea passage.

Forces:

Blue: 2-3 ironclads, 4-6 infantry.
Red: 2 artillery pieces, 4-6 infantry.

Objectives: Blue will silence the artillery pieces, either by killing all the crew or blowing up the guns from the seaward. Red will prevent these conditions, and possibly kill all the landing force.

Victory: Blue: destroy the guns or the crew for the guns. Red; Destroy ALL of the blue landing force BEFORE the guns get blown up.

Results: Blue victory, three times in a row. The infantry assault was an astounding success. As you can see in the drawing below, Red's perimeter was small and he commanded the approaches to the dock easily enough.

Three Attacks on the Guns

The dashed lines show the axis of attack for the three attempts at the gun positions. In each case, the scenario was won by the guns being blown up by ship's gunfire, as the red team had a time of it trying to defend in too many places. I still regard this scenario as unbalanced, but not as unbalanced as last week's Port Defense. Perhaps adding a red Guard Boat would shift the scenario towards equilibrium.

The Guns of Port Merrimac played very fast, about fifteen minutes on the outside. We ran it three times, with small variations. My feeling is that the addition of infantry landing and "combined arms" has added a great new dimension to our weekly fun. I hope to see you there next week.

Until Next Time, we Salute you!