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Post by HolyDragoon on Nov 30, 2017 13:17:47 GMT -6
So, let us proceed into the next chapter of this tale.
So, I just realized I made a mistake here: My government type, Limited Democracy, does allow me to cheat on treaty tonnage. I usually don't think a lot about those extra 10%, but they would be very handy. *inhales sharply* ... well, they can't really cut on my budget if tensions are high enough, can they? Wahahahahahahaha- I don't know a word of Greek. Tensions with France raised to 7, Italy is right behind at 6. Still, this is fine... apart from the fact that my current budget is lower than my starting budget. Strangely enough, those tensions drop on the very next turn. Huh. I guess they're not too worried, since I have to run between the two of them if I want to reach my new colony. Money is good, but having powerful(ish) friends is better. Accepted. Pretty nice, though I'm still in the red. It's not like I love Spain anyway, so let's make some noise. Accepted. As months pass, my scientists report advances in various fields (submarines, fleet tactics, turrets and gun mountings), yet it's never enough for a new tech. IIRC, CAs and maybe CLs require another tech before they're able to mount superimposed turrets, but to let this chance slip away is foolish. Let me guess, that's a... ... British holding, check! Also, my scientists say they're close to 900t destroyers, but they aren't actually there yet. Bummer. That's the second possession they lose. Are they secretly the sick man of Europe? On the other hand, it's the AI, so it probably just sucks at the colonial boat dance. Eh, nothing to gain from pointing fingers, let's just use a generic line and get everyone pissed anyway. Also, my scientists finally managed to take something to the end and unlock Steam turbines, a Machinery tech! (Their jobs are now safe for a little while.) I'm going to twist the knife a bit and say baguettes float really well. :V My scientists say they're close to 900t destroyers, again. I only wish they actually showed them instead of saying 'we're close!' My first CA of this game is finally completed! I'm so proud! (not, especially after my tonnage gaffe. I really though all democracy types couldn't cheat on that!) The Prime Minister said what? Why, he's absolutely right! Also, Pneumatic Recuperator is researched. Well... an alliance means we also have to hold up our end of the bargain, so... Tensions with Spain are now at 10... and dropped to 9 in the very next month. Well, I still got something out of it, so it's all good. And my scientists did, guess what? You would be right, they announced they were close to getting 900t destroyers. =/ I usually wouldn't, but the last event helped my get a bit more money, so I let them purchase this tech. No ship of mine uses this calibre right now. Bugger. I could take advantage of this in a next generation of armoured cruisers, but the way things are, the endgame might come with no advances in that front. Yes please! This will help me a lot! About time you guys finished that! This is my project for the next destroyer: I was conflicted between adding another centreline gun/torpedo mount, or just make them a bit faster. Since 4 inch guns are the first ones that have non-zero penetration, I picked another gun. Here's hoping I don't regret it. November brings me anti-torpedo nets technology and the Destroyer screen technology. Looks like all those 'close, but no cigar' are starting to pay off! ... but nothing happens until January 1914, and the chapter ends with no further news. Here's the status report:
My budget recovered somewhat, but Spain keeps getting farther away. While they're liable to hit a wall sooner or later, I'm more concerned about any walls that I might hit instead, as the repeated budget cuts made a pretty mess out of the possible options I could take. I don't want a repeat of that little joke.
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Post by boomboomf22 on Nov 30, 2017 15:12:52 GMT -6
I know dds are cheap, but I think you are going a bit overboard on them. Heck that is more dds than I usually have in service as GERMANY. Maybe scrap some of the older ones and finally build a battleship of some sort? Try to build a 15k ton one like Spain did irl 😝
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Post by HolyDragoon on Nov 30, 2017 15:27:53 GMT -6
Well, the older ones will hit obsolescence sooner or later... probably going to just retire them instead of refitting, as the new DDs are faster and mixing the two types would be pretty messy.
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Post by pat39576 on Nov 30, 2017 18:42:06 GMT -6
I personally do not care for DDs early on, but I had one game where I did not design my legacy fleet and by the end there were over 70 of them in service before 1910 so that the oldest ones could be removed from service. I do not have anything against smaller powers using DDs since they are cheap but I would rather have a good all around ship instead of a pure torpedo boat.
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Post by Noname117 on Dec 1, 2017 20:49:13 GMT -6
Old DDs can be useful for coastal defense later in the game. Worth keeping around for that reason.
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Post by Airy W on Dec 2, 2017 9:40:44 GMT -6
Why is your dock so big?
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Post by aeson on Dec 2, 2017 10:51:05 GMT -6
I'd be inclined to run at a deficit for a bit to get another large armored cruiser or a couple more light cruisers out. You've got almost enough banked to pay for them outright.
He's been using dock expansions as a dump for excess funds.
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Post by HolyDragoon on Dec 2, 2017 15:11:10 GMT -6
Old DDs can be useful for coastal defense later in the game. Worth keeping around for that reason. Yeah, this is an option as well. As my minesweepers are so few, I can send the destroyers into reserve as the new ones come into service. Kinda forgot about that.
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Post by HolyDragoon on Dec 3, 2017 17:18:13 GMT -6
So, time for next chapter, is it?
So, it's 1914, and right off the bat the British start selling their wares. Well, torpedo defense tech is always good to have, even if it is just a matter of playing it safe. As in March, the US seem to have a few ideas about expansion. Yeah, no. International force it is. Not that it does a lot, as they basically ignore us and go ahead anyway. More technology! Accepted, of course. And then my science guys go and 'oh, if you have better pumps, then we just make torpedo warheads bigger!' And that's how we got bigger warheads on our torpedoes. Well, it's not like tensions aren't already running high. On this same turn, the range of coastal submarines is enhanced as the tech is researched. Once again, I opt for the Budget+ option. In this turn, two of my new destroyers are also finished with no debuff events. This also means they outrun every other ship on my fleet. In the meanwhile, I've been working on a new armoured cruiser design. Well, it's not exactly new, merely a bigger Lisboa-class that takes advantage of those extra 10% I can add in tonnage to the treaty limit, which also allows me to install the TPS and the +1 9-inch guns that I got last chapter. I order one of these, which will take around 26 months to complete. As if everyone was waiting for this to happen, both good things and bad things happen. Well, that's good, since the Évora's construction leaves me with in the red when it comes to the monthly balance. ... You know what? Bugger it all, if the AI wants a war, I'm going to oblige them. Seriously, you were waiting until I got that one on the yards to do this to me? Yup, you're definitively mocking me. Well, this was expected. 'All hands, battle stations!' and all that jazz. Yikes! Time to hone my running skills, I guess! Not quite, you see... *The wild Italian Navy appears!* *The wild Italian Navy flees!* Free VPs. What's not to like? That's... not the Med. (wtf) This time, the Italians want to fight. What forces do I get? One single light cruiser. Yup, time to 180º and G T F O! If these two cruisers are the only forces in this battle, and given their design... I can't outrun them, and the two of them added outweight me. However, they're lightly armed. I outgun them, so it's time to see if I can make them bleed. They will be able to control the flow of battle, but... As the battle goes on, I score the first hit, but eventually see my speed limited to 22 knots from a hit in the uptakes. However, I also managed to jam the rudder of one of their cruisers. This guy will be my prey for now. I just need to tread carefully, in case he tries to fire one of his torpedoes at me. Sadly, gunnery is crap, and I can't punch him a ticket to the seafloor bottom club before he unjams his rudder. Still, he is heavily damaged, and limited to 10 knots. Unfortunately, gunnery is proving itself to be a major headache. My guns are basically empty, and the guy is still steaming along. Burning to high hell, but steaming along. His buddy bailed out as soon as he could, so that's not a problem. Nightfall... could be a problem. My secondaries can't hit squat, as expected, and being out of main ammo means I need to get very close to get results. The guy's speed falls down to 5 knots, but he refuses to be a chap and just sink! Eventually... I ran out of secondary ammunition as well. Still, my enemy's fate has been sealed, as he slows to a burning halt. This battle is, for all effects, over. Unable to do anything else, I set course northwest and wait for the time to run out. Once the fight turned into a mano-a-mano, I was pretty sure I could win, save for any lucky gun or torpedo hits. Still, gunnery training is a must, as my accuracy sucked, to say the least. Unfortunately for them, their accuracy sucked harder. This also allowed me to take a few peeks at their stuff. Their 5 inch guns are at Q0, while their 4 inch are Q1. They do have a slight advantage in the case of the latter, but this will only be a real danger in the case of destroyer fights. My minesweepers aren't enough to cover CP duties, so I put some of my older 500t destroyers helping them. This will mean less forces available, but the 900t model is meant to replace those, so it's all good in the end. I'll end today's chapter here, because I've hit the image limit for SV postings. As usual, here's the state of the art:
This was was unexpected. I've managed to get a nice, early victory, but I can't be too cocky about it. The main fleet is still out there, not to mention that if luck was on their side, my ship could have been the one sleeping with the fishes right now. Let's see how things go in the next chapter, shall we?
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Post by HolyDragoon on Dec 4, 2017 17:37:12 GMT -6
Since I'll be working this week, have a bit more of this war of mine.
So... with the treaty down, capital ship construction is a thing again. I tried to build a class of my own that took advantage of what I had and didn't break my bank, and this was the final result. My 13'' guns suck (Q-2), I don't have 12'' guns. 11'' guns will do. It's kinda slow, but it will have to do. At 2.3 million per turn, I scrapped the CA I had building and once the ordered DDs are done, my budget should be able to sustain its construction, though there won't be space for much else... My subs sink three ships, and the Italians lose one sub with no gains. You guys again? I wonder... yep, this time the accepted the battle. It's a full fleet battle. I am outgunned. As soon as I can, turn around and GTFO. I don't have any ports to - oh wait, I have. On the other side of the Med. Hahahahaha. Yup, totally getting out of here. I could probably try to take the Pisani if it was alone, but with his two brothers? I won't take this one. Good thing is, I can still run, so let's do that. My fleet retreats in good order, fortunately. Fair enough. The Italians fired a few shots, but only managed to kill a few fishes and splash some water on my decks. It's good enough for me. Well, crap. My scientists decided I needed some good news, so they tell me they got the hand of superimposing X turrets. I guess that's nice, if I had four centreline, so chop-chop guys! My subs sink two ships, but one of them is lost. Same for the Italians. Stop being useless GB. What. I can defend coastal targets, but my guns can't take part on maps. Sounds fair to me. :V The Sabor spotted their fleet, fired a torpedo that failed to get results, and is pretty intent on chasing them. Talk about having a pair! I guess I have to offer him some support, then. Oh ****. How far do I need to be to avoid getting my belt penned? On other news, my destroyers are pretty aggressive with their torpedoes. No hits, but I've seen three of them launched so far. ONE PUUUUUNCH! I lost track of their battleship while they were going southeast. Meanwhile, that (obviously misidentified) MS slowed down very fast. I'm going to chase him. D-7 also took a hit to the machinery spaces, I'd order him to detach, but he's going to be a loss. This guy, and the fact that this is a night battle, just bit me in the arse. He's probably going to sleep with the fishies, but the lack of view range let him shove a torpedo on Lisboa. This was followed by a series of hits by their B, disabling my power systems, and making salt water enter my feed, while my whole fleet is derping around. And this is the end result. Ultimately... I won, but it was a heavy price to pay. Lisboa just turned into the unluckiest ship in my fleet and went down with all hands. On the flip side, it was the ship with the highest accuracy rating, and did well during the fight. Looking back to this fight, I was too aggressive, and my fleet lost cohesion, probably due to my movements. By the time the torpedo hit, my fleet just plain derped out and all ships started sailing towards Italy, for some reason. It was a heavy price to pay. The plus side is that my destroyers were not afraid to use their torpedoes and take risks. The rest of this war will include a lot of running. Italy starts building a 30k ton BB, halts construction in the very same turn. Italy plz. :V And I've already hit the image limit, so here's how we stand:
Well, this is a bittersweet victory. The Italians can afford losing more ships than I do, and that was the heaviest ship I had.
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Post by HolyDragoon on Dec 10, 2017 12:10:24 GMT -6
Next chapter, coming up!
Okay, a crazy idea has come to my mind. I have a crapload of destroyers, along with a couple of colonial cruisers. The Italians seem to have jack all in their african holdings. I wonder... Italian subs sink one ship, lose one sub. GB also did some independent operations, giving me some VPs. Huh. I'm surprising I'm in the offensive here. Let's go, then. Well, at least the target isn't behind a minefield... let's see if this mission is doable. Well... it isn't... sort of. They have a CA in their midst, a design sporting triple 10'' guns. I'm not going to risk my ships against that. What I'm going to do, however, is to wait for the night, and then try to sneak my way into the target installation. This guy derped big time and lost contact with the division... despite passing them several times at point-blank range. I eventually just give up and resume my little infiltration work. I managed to get within range of the coastal target, but their fleet also found me. I send my destroyers into a flotilla attack, and retreat north at full speed with my cruisers, losing sight of them in the process. The diversion is successful, and I manage to press back south, eventually taking down my mark. Time to get back, see if I can reattach that derptroyer, and sail back home. Once again, I pick the northern route, catching the wayward boat on the way, until suddenly... Flotilla attack set, let's see if I can rack up some extra points here! Good, let's resume our bailing out. I keep going northwest until I reach Napoli, hopefully preying on some unwary merchants along the way, then turn west to return home. Excellent. My attack seems to have attracted someone's attention, though... Well, I'm not complaining here, especially when there were two of them there, both now sleeping with the fishies. Pretty nice, managed to accomplish my mission and score some extra points there. This was the guy I was trying to avoid. While his accuracy is pretty bad, one lucky hit with one of those and one of my ships would have a very bad day. About time you guys do something useful for me. Scientists also reported being close to mastering KC armour, but no joy. However, improved 2'' guns were developed. Well, it's pretty useless, but I can take solace in the fact that those are out of the way as well. Italians sink one of my merchants, yet they lose a sub as well. Well, this one will be an annoyance in the next months. Surprise attack or not, I'm not going to stick my head in that battle. Hmm. So... AI forced the scenario into overtime, which was when dawn broke in again, after they spent the whole night rubbing against the target instead of firing. Then the whole daylight time passed... and they failed to destroy anything. Okay! :V My subs sink one ship, for the loss of one sub. Eeeh. =/ An enemy sub sunk one of my DDs. Grr. They also sunk two additional merchants, plus one more by their CA raider. On the flip side, the British sunk one of their DDs as well. I refuse the two battles that show up this month. One was a convoy raid, and the other a cruiser battle. Not interested in fighting those in the Med for now, though that might change if my lead in VPs gets smaller. A couple of minor battles happen, with nothing worth telling. If the army offensive works, I can get some points, which added to the blockade I have up... will ensure I'm comfortably ahead. Of course, it might also be a total flop, as usual. Meanwhile, I keep playing the battles as they come, nothing significant... at least until I'm pitted with a surprise fleet battle. As usual, turn tail and retreat, and I order a flotilla attack... I am not unhappy at this turn of events. However, how come it sunk in one shot? Well, fact of the matter is... ... it had a bad case of explosive magazines. Their whole fleet just packed their bags and went home after he went down. This is fine, and I'm at the image limit for this chapter. As usual, hold my beer and watch this:
On weird news... I think Italy scrapped one of their B's, and the blockade on them is lifted, probably because GB took ships off the Med. It's pretty much the only way to explain the lifting of the blockade, though I think the effects of the CA they just lost will only come into effect during the next month. Let's see if my allies manage to re-establish the blockade. Since these chapters are pretty fast-paced, I'll probably write up a new one tomorrow.
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Post by HolyDragoon on Dec 11, 2017 10:46:54 GMT -6
And it's time for today's dose of conflict.
Last chapter, I had some shenanigans happening in the scenarios I picked to fight. Also, I moved some ships to the Indian Ocean area, to see if I can trigger an invasion in one of Italy's overseas territories. However, my colonial cruisers are seriously derping and adamantly refuse to stop there, unlike my destroyers who set up shop there already. Well, one of my cruisers, the other is stuck in foreign stations service to meet tonnage reqs. The results of the army offensive come in, and my VP lead grows a bit more. News of the success of the operation also reached the ears of the Parliament, it seems... Very, very good! Both sides are already blooded. This outcome is good for me, yet unlike my previous war with Germany, this time I don't feel like outright throwing the towel. I have to be realistic, and admit that sooner or later, attrition or a stroke of very bad luck might turn the war against me, and my job would be much harder. So, of the three options, I pick them middle one, and let's see which outcome will be picked by the dice. Fair enough. 6 points? This is a pretty good outcome, indeed. Now, it's time to make the first set of decisions. As much as I wish to kick the pastas out of Africa for good, the fact that my only ports when fighting in the Med are in Greece makes Sardinia a must have. That's five points down, and the sixth will be used to claim Somalia as well. While it seems to be a backwater like Timor, at least given the cost, I did try to invade territories there, so... They did help with the blockade, and the Pastas end up kicked out of Africa after all! And alas, my budget will suffer a hit, now that peace is si- Um... you guys remember my balance at the end of the last chapter, right? Something around -1.4 million? I am now sitting at -550k. Guess that budget increase and the territories really boosted my economy, even after the peacetime cuts. Looks like I'll be able to build that BB after all! Anyway, first things first: Somalia gets a base boost, as its base capacity is only 5. My destroyers can handle things there, so it's just playing it safe. My Coura-class DDs also just turned obsolete, so I'll do a quick refit, giving them CDF abilities, as usual. Minesweepers are also sent for the yards for basic maintenance before they're sent to the reserve fleet once again. As for new constructions, the second squadron of 900t DDs I had under construction are coming out of the yards, which means I'll be able to move some of the older ships to reserve status, just in case they're needed as coastal patrol ships on a future conflict. Yeah, not pushing my luck here. Discretion is also the better part of valour. I don't need to have a standing force right now, so the timing is just right. I can do refits to upgrade my ship's weaponry, probably going to take advantage of the fact that some of my ships are almost due for refits. The Lima-class is the first model to go into the docks, as I reorganize their guns to an AVY layout (forward, aft centreline superimposed, aft). The next month, most of the minesweepers finish their works, and scientists bring news about getting Krupp Cemented armour.
The First Lieutenant sighed as he checked the Admiral's schedule for today. Once again, he'd have to arrange for a shipment of hay to be delivered right under the Admiral's office window, as businessmen were going to fly out of the office again. One would think they learned their lesson the first time...
My piggy bank is smaller than it used to be, but I can still take advantage of these deals. Once again, I take the deal. There's also another issue. My colonial cruisers are now outdated. I set two of my fleet cruisers to do foreign station duties, and the two S. Gabriel class return to the yeards for some long-overdue updates to their FCS. Hmm... different area from my current colonies. I'll pass this one. Yes, machinery upgrades are always good. HAHAHAHAHAHA! No. Next month, colonial cruisers are ready to return to duty, and scientists master the Improved weight control technology. The next few months are a shuffle of colonial forces, sending in the older types for refit and sending the refitted ships to replace them. Also, spies give me information on one of the Spanish battleships. That's... kinda big. And still under construction, as well. The next month... "Hey, information in one of the Spanish ships!" "You realize this is the same ship you showed us last month, right?" "Er..." Scientists unlock the torpedo aiming system tech. Now my subs can actually aim the damn things! Um, guys? I could use this for the CAs, but I'd really like if you dug out how to light cruiser. Pretty please? Also, the British ordered a capital ship from a French shipyard. Industrial espionage, perhaps? After a few months of nothing of note happening, apart from the Mondego refit, which brought that class closer to their siblings, I forget to take a screen of the completion of my BB. At last, Portugal can into battleship! Also, one of our spies is caught in Spain, probably the same guy who brought me the same design on two consecutive months. He's totally a hero, we swear! :V Accepted as usual. Also, my scientists present to me the concept of using AMCs in anti-submarine duties. Q-Ships tech is now unlocked. Oh yes! And with this, I close this chapter. Here's how things stand:
This war is over, at last. I'm surprised that I ended up doing this well, but the boost in resources is very welcome. Right now, my priorities are finishing the older DD refits, and then moving on to my fleet cruisers, who just became outdated. I really, really want to unlock the Light Cruiser armour scheme, because while the Adamastor-class performed very well, they are starting to show their age when compared with recent cruiser classes from other nations. More dreadnoughts are also worth thinking about, but I won't get into that kind of adventure without consolidating my stuff first.
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Post by HolyDragoon on Dec 13, 2017 9:20:54 GMT -6
All right, now that we are at peace, we return to the usual schedule.
The very first turn brings me news. Looks like the Italians want to bury the hatchet. Well, I could use something bigger, since my 13'' guns suck. Accepted. Meanwhile, I send the Adamastor class for a well-deserved refit, along with the D-4 class, which will be sent to guard the Central Atlantic region. Uh... Spain sucks so much, then can make a golf ball go through ten meters of garden hose! Yeah, my taunting sucks, yet I pick the third option. Hmm, I could raise tensions, I could throw that point of prestige... I will raise tensions, just this once, and then tread carefully when it comes to Germany to avoid escalating things. It was very useful while it lasted, sad they don't want to extend it. Oh well. Ah, at last! I like this guy, he thinks a lot like me! I'll raise your proposal to... uh, 12 destroyers. 3 squadrons. ... okay, that's a bit too much, but I do need to replace the old fleet with the D-14 class... In fact, I should use this to refit them (well, at least make the refit plan and then rebuild the existing ones to the new design) with the Q1 4-inch, so I don't have to do the refit to all those guys later. I also scrap the two oldest subs, to replace them with new ones that take advantage of the current techs. Half of my fleet is at 49% reliability, the other half is at 55%. Italy seems to be butthurt again. I'm only too glad to rub salt in the wound. Hmm... nno. Ask for an alliance again and I'll sell it to you, until then I have no real need of money (In fact, I'm getting to the point I need to start burning it again). They... weren't too happy with me. Tensions raised to 4. You could have sold it sooner... would save me the work of sending the destroyers for ANOTHER refit. Dammit game, why do you do this to me? ... on second thought, I might hold on on refitting the D-14s with double tubes. I'm limited by weight, and I might either be able to build 1100t destroyers, or get 4 centreline turrets, which would solve the weight problem one way or another. :V Anyway, the idea was to remove the port and starboard tubes, placing a centreline mount instead, yet I don't have the free weight to keep all the guns AND equip two double tube launchers. Buy, of course! A lot of events this month. My shipyard grows to 37k tons, I get a point of prestige for building the requested destroyers, and my scientists unlock the Automatic range transmitter (fire control tech) and the High capacity pumps II (DamCon tech)... Oh wait, they did more than that. Scouting force is also unlocked. Might as well start thinking on BCs for the next capital ship class. These guys... I'm starting to think I'm pandering to a fetish of theirs. The gist of my speech is that Spain is getting a bit too full of itself and that they should look out, or else. Spain does not like to hear that. 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.' No. Tensions with Spain are at level 9. Let's see how this goes. Deal! My scientists say that they can't figure out oil firing, though. It's not like it matters, since I don't have access to oil and in a few months, it will be a moot point. I'm also giving some thought on a new CA design, to help stave of raiders and to serve as support for the future BCs. With the wing turrets, I can have more than just four main guns on the ship. I may wait until 1920 to build it with oil firing. I do have a force there... I wonder. YES! Oman is now mine! Spain got so butthurt, I'm thinking of sending them some balms to take care of their burning derrières. Time to set up some training, either torpedo or gunnery would do. Hydraulic riveting and Improved hoists were researched. Keep your grubby hands off my budget, I'm not feeling like dealing with your demands at this moment. I don't know what possessed Italy to build this monster, but given that they were having problems to finance their earlier 30k ton class BB... well. Also, 1100t destroyer tech researched! It's design time! You done f'ed up, BOY! *savage smile* It's time to show you why the Iberian Union never managed to stick. Well, next chapter, because I'm at the image limit already. I do have a battle to fight first, though. Cruiser battle, at the Greek coast. I have the advantage in numbers, unless my intel goofed up... No wait, they ran away. So, here's the situation: They have the advantage of speed, but if I keep playing my cards right...
Well, this happened. I'm honestly surprised as the situation changed from the first years ingame. Now, let's see if I can keep this advantage and make the empire grow. I wonder if ingame this would be considered a sign of the Fifth Empire...
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Post by HolyDragoon on Dec 14, 2017 10:52:13 GMT -6
Well, thrown into a war... it's time to bullfight the bullfighter.
Okay, so to start, it seems that the blockaded message may not update right away, as when I loaded my save I realized Spain was blockaded. Huh. My subs sink seven ships to no losses. Looks like they're in good spirits today. ... Spain in Austria-Hungary territory? What. Accepted. Three Adamastor-class supported by D-4/D-14 DDs. Well, as long as the generator didn't give Spain any CA/their BB, I think it should be alright. I need to make my way closer to Sibenik to do the mission, too. Unfortunately, it's night time, so view range sucks. ... where's their fleet? You'll do. My night sighting range is at 4000 yards, no wonder I can't see squat. Dawn soon comes, and new contacts, from the southwest! Another merchant, who's also running away. I wonder if he's close enough to trigger the mission conditions? Either way, it's going down. More ships, but they seem to be small vessels. I send me destroyers on flotilla actions while my cruisers turn to the enemies closest to shore. Also, with the merchant sunk, the mission is now complete. I make my way down near the coastline, nailing another medium merchant as I go before turning west to pursue a fleeing minesweeper, when finally... At last I see some combat vessels! Well, crud, didn't even see the torpedo. The Adamastor cuts speed to eleven knots, and I have him reduce speed further for flooding control. They sure like their torpedos, I got the message. Same treatment as the Adamastor. Crap. The flooding was just too heavy for the damage control to keep it afloat. The Gonçalo Velho might survive, as the flooding is nowhere near as bad. Looks like I lose this one. Well, I was wrong. This will be a heavy loss alright. I get some measure of revenge as my destroyers eliminate one of theirs, and my last cruiser gives chase to the enemy CL. Eventually, the destroyers return and shove two consecutive fishes on the CL. I learned my lesson. This defeat cost me a lot. Not only the blockade was broken, I also lost one point of prestige. Sure they were old ships, but I should have been more careful when chasing their forces, since I had the advantage there. Well, live and learn, I guess! Meanwhile I design an AMC class that is basically all the mines/guns with a couple of torpedos sprinkled. It's somewhat of a joke, and not something that I put a lot of faith in, unless the sheer volume of fire manages to be enough to hit something. Next battle is a destroyer action at night. Nothing to show, basically, as we lost sight of each other pretty early. You want what? Haha, over my dead body! Next battle... more of the same. They deployed a 30kt cruiser that did nothing but to run away as fast as he could. Let's try to break them first, then we think about peace, as they're turning out to be a little annoying with their scurrying around. Another destroyer action follows, but the Spanish refuse to fight. Free VP for me, and since destroyer actions usually end in jack all... My scientists finally figure out 4 centreline turrets! Well, let's do this, though I think my intel is wrong on the number of battleships... Aaaand they refuse to fight again. The next battle, a coastal raid, is a different story. All I get is three destroyers. I do seem to have an awful lot of friends roaming around. Meanwhile, a couple of Spanish destroyers try to sneak through Mallorca, which has a spanish port there for some obscure reason (it's a neutral territory). ****, they sunk one of my roaming DDs. They also managed to make a dash north and hide in the supposedly neutral port. >.> They had a mission target, but ultimately my sunk destroyer gives them the victory, if a very close one. Is this how Germany felt? From this point on, my gunnery and torpedo training finally entered in effect. Let's see if my performance gets better. Next up, a convoy defense mission, which makes my BB's debut in battle. It sounds like it will be another running away, as the attacker is an Aragon-class, the one cruiser that does 30 knots. Then their battleship shows up, and Estremadura rises to the battle. It does not go well... ... for the Spanish ship, that is. The Aragon was also hit by a torpedo from my DDs, with one of my subs giving it the finishing blow on the end battle. Unfortunately, one of my own cruisers tripped a mine, sinking. I'm very concerned at the rate my cruisers are going down. They are showing their age, but I wanted to hold on until I could build proper light cruisers to roll out their replacement. Still, this battle meant that Spain completely lost their momentum, and this victory also gave me two prestige points. The Alejandro I was a design that my spies found a couple of chapters ago. I am puzzled on how my 11'' guns managed to pierce their turret top, unless they left it at 1 inch or so. Kinda strange, compared with their turret face armour (11''). On the other hand, they mist have compromised a lot to give it 24 knots (somehow, my tooltip during battle gave them 25!). I have 3 million in monthly income. I want to plan for a BC, but as it turns out, it will be very, very expensive. 4 million per month expensive, but there's another small problem. I don't have oil firing. Err. Yeah... looks like I'll have to postpone my building plans. The general idea is a 12'', all forward design to devote more weight to deck protection for long range gunnery. Basically the BBs act as bait while the BCs pound them from afar. As I've pretty much reached image limit, have a status report!
What a rollercoaster! Bleeding cruisers like hell, then sending their sole active BB to the bottom of the ocean. Either way, even if peace comes now, I'm pretty sure the outcome would either be neutral or give a slight edge to me, so I'm less worried than I was on that cruiser debacle. Anyway, see you on the next chapter!
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Post by boomboomf22 on Dec 14, 2017 17:08:55 GMT -6
Did you ever post your BB design? Or did I somehow miss it like the derp I am?
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