Rule the Waves with Lord-Admiral K

[Lord K]

Welcome to Rule the Waves, where I take charge of a turn of the century Navy at the beginning of the 1900s, and then in the grand tradition of guys like Jackie Fisher, make lots of important decisions and design choices that seem good at the time, but in retrospect, will probably bite me in the ass.



What is Rule the Waves some of you may be asking? Well, supposedly it is 1-part ship designer, 1 part politics-simulator, and then with a final part thrown in where you toss your derpy looking creations into battle with against derpy creations other nations of the time have created in their own endeavors to keep up with the hilariously breakneck speed of naval technology in the period between 1900 to 1925.

To quote one Anon on 4chan; "60% of the game is designing warships with the technology R&D has produced and putting them in the ocean mere weeks after the march of technology has rendered them obsolete, 30% is based around being a jingoistic warmongerer and helping dictate national policy, and 10% is fightan pixelbatles where There Is Something Wrong With Your Ships Today"

Also in case anybody hasn't been able to tell already, I'm pretty much going into this mess blind, with the gist of my understanding of the game being watching a few videos on youtube to understand the mechanics behind this game and it's menus.



For my first foray into this inevitable train-wreck, I'm going to be playing Japan.

And no it's not because of Weebness either. Barring shenanigans by the computer, I'm pretty sure most of the foreign naval forces kept in the Pacific by most of the European nations during this time period are token (but still formidable) at best, and utter clown shows at worst (I'm looking at you Russia). Considering Japan's own Navy is still in the fledging stages however, that doesn't mean I should discount the Germans and Russians as threats just yet, and I certainly don't want to piss off the British, US or French any time soon either.

Before I can even start harboring plans for "Baby-Empire's First Co-Prosperity Sphere" however, first I need to build my starting/pre-1900 navy.

I could have just gone with the historical navy Japan had, or have the game automatically design some vessels for me if I was lazy, but I want to get some experience with the ship builder and preemptively head off any historical derpiness (no doubt though, I'll just be adding derpiness of my own flavor instead )

Eventually after far to much mucking about and with some assistance from the computer, I finally come up with a basic Pre-Drednought, Armored Cruiser, and Light Cruiser designs to form my beginning fleet. Only time will tell how bad these things probably are, if they aren't immediately rendered obsolescent soon enough.



And yes, I pretty much have done my best to rip-off the St.Louis for my starting Armored Cruisers. I also didn't bother putting torpedoes on anything larger than a DD, since I don't remember submerged-broadside launchers ever being that much good to anybody, and historically torps are all pretty shit at this point anyway.

Immediately I then go about sending these things to their postings. Originally I was gonna try for a really fancy angle naming all my ships, but then I realized how much effort that would entail for the DDs.

Fuck that, they can keep their auto-generated names then.



The next step is to select/set ships that will already be under construction at the start of the game (I take the opportunity to add a slightly faster but less heavily armed pre-dread to the fleet's future assets, as well as another CA).



And now with Intel effort set to Low on everyone (at least for now), and a dock-size upgrade already purchased, that appears to be all the set up work done.

All that's left to do it seems, is hit continue, and get this trainwreck rolling.

 

[dwennon]

Well, at least you aren't trying to do a badnought run. That was just a foolish thing to try as anything more than a joke, which it was.

 

[Exterminatus]

Remember to sleep on battleships/cruisers if unrest run high. After all it's not the communists and sailors you have to worry about the most.

 

[Lord K]

Now that we're in the game, the first two things I do are set Training and Research Priorities.




Japan gets a natural bonus to Torpedo Research and I want to start pumping out some better DDs and CLs in the near future, but I also want to be able to hit shit, so I focus on gunnery training and raise the priorities on things that will hopefully get me better domestic weapon production.

Then my first event happens.



Those damn Belkans

Really though, this is a bit of a kick in the nuts. My first event and my options basically boil down to;

1 - Piss off someone
2 - Piss off someone
3 - Really piss off this fucker in particular



Fuck da commies

(yes I know they weren't communists yet, shut up you tsarist pigs)



No you fool, I want money!

Well, at least the second option gives me Prestige and lowers Tension. Hopefully it doesn't cost too much.

(oh thank god, it doesn't cost me too much)



FUCKING COMMIES



God damn. Each turn, it's a horde of messages telling me about other nations laying down ships or commissioning shit, and meanwhile I'm here praying for a budget increase and new Research discoveries.

I bet the Army is to blame for this



Not wanting to be left behind, I blow a good portion of the monthly blance on some new, faster, but lighter armed DDs. Hopefully once the Carinfex pre-dreds and the St. Fire are completed, they'll stop tying up the budget with their construction costs, just in time for Research to unlock some new technologies for larger vessels.



Niiiiiice.



Shit, that armor's only slightly worse than the Antagonist and Carnifex's. And that CA can hit the same speed as the St. Fire class.



No clue what all the numbers mean, but I'd hazard a guess that it's good. Looks like splurging on multiple DDs rather than a single CA or CL was a good idea.



Fuck.

At least it's only a month long delay.







Merry Christmas to me

And on those final bits of good news, so apparently ends my first year in game. Surprisingly uneventful, if a bit slow mostly due to me being strapped for cash and unable to design anything new.



THOSE DIRTY BLOODY COMMUNIST BASTARDS

 

[skaianDestiny]

Having finished several runs as Japan, I really suggest picking a fight with the French.

 

[Lord K]

[Note; Had to split this one in three due to the image limit per post]

And so the sun rises once more, bringing with it the second year of the 20th century with me at the helm of this glorious (and somewhat broke) Imperial Navy.

I'm actually honestly a little surprised I managed to make it through a full year and haven't done anything stupid or stumped myself yet and ended the game thanks to some sort of hilariously minor mistake.



Time to hit that turn button and see what fate throws my way.





FINALLY!

Now to immediately blow the budget on another CA, since I'm kind of leery about having so few heavy hitters in the fleet.



While not quite the bristling porcupine of guns it's predecessor class was, this new CA will pack a much heavier punch and sightly thicker turret armor despite being a few thousand tons less. Considering the build time on this thing though, I'm unsure whether it'll end up getting any sister ships. At least it's a nice test bed to see what local Japanese shipyards are capable of.



Congratulations, the fleet can now hit the broadside of a barn from the inside.



So what this gets me is either;

1: Prestige+, Tension+
2: Absolutely nothing
3: Budget+, Prestige-

At this point, I'm not adverse to making the government throw money at me out of pity



On the one hand, this seems kind of major and liable to piss people off.

On the other hand, CO-PROSPERITY SPHERE INTENSIFIES.



Fuck.



Thank god for that, because apparently me sticking my dick in Best Korea's business really put a bee in some people's bonnets.



Good thing the Wolf Class and Carnifexs are so close to completion. Hopefully that'll allow me to punt out some bigger DDs and new CLs next.



I also Invest in bigger docks so I can hopefully start producing bigger ships locally once my future DDs and CLs are done.



New training, time to take advantage of the new torpedoes and prepare for the Wolf Class and any other future destroyers.




Nice, not only is Cainfex done, we get some nice Research/Tech advancement out of her as well. To bad her sister is still delayed. Also the fourth St. Fire I had built is finally now a full-fledged member of the fleet.



Bigger secondary guns for 3.5 million? You had me at the "bigger guns" part.



Too bad I only just ordered another CA, and for the foreseeable future, my focus is probably going to be on CLs and DDs

Time to hit that Next Turn button and finally get Carver and the Wolf Class off the damn construction budget.



Hahahahaha, nice



Holy shit, YES PLEASE.

Perfect timing as well, since the Pre-dreads and Wolf Class are now finished. It'll cut into my budget for what I can build next, but fuck it. One can never go wrong with more big gun ships.

 

[Lord K]

As much as I'd like to take the option that increases the budget, I'm leery of pissing off the US anymore than I need to this early in the game.

The Communists can still go fuck themselves though



Well, on the bight side, at least it didn't make things worse.



Well, that's nice, even if I'm not actively pursuing the goal of getting a sub fleet up and running at this point.



Not sure how well my original idea of creating some sort of proto-destroyer leader turned out, especially since rather than being an overgrown DD, it eventually ended up being more along the lines of an up-gunned, slightly heavier and somewhat better armored version of it's predecessor, the Hunter-Class. It's my first CL to have torps at least, but how effective it'll be with them I don't know since they're still those crappy underwater broadside launchers.



Haha, nice! I wonder what exactly those dirty Ruskies have been working on.



Hmm..... armor-wise, it's pretty even with my Pre-Dreads, and while it has a larger number of secondary guns, they're smaller than what mine use. Also, the Antagonist Class' main battery are also bigger and the Carnifex Class are 3 knots faster. And despite having torps, it's also displaces 500 tons less.

Spoiler: Comparison

Wondrous! I only need to Research 2 more inches before I don't have to pay Britain to build my Pre-Dreadnoughts for me just to reach parity with the current main batteries I use



Fuck



French fuck



Finally placed another order for 5 new DDs breaking the 600 ton mark, most of that 600 tons being made up of torpedos, engines and not much else for the poor bastards who will eventually have to man these things.



I could really use a few events now though, because while I have plenty actually saved up in the bank, what's coming in to replace it is barely a trickle thanks to all the monthly construction costs from my build orders.



Hon hon hon, you're gonna have to do better than that to keep up with my boats Baguettes.

.... actually, that makes me wonder if there's the possibility they're slower because they're better armored or more heavily armed than my boats.



I'm on the other side of the world, from them, what are they supposed to do about it?



FITE ME SPAGETTIES



Ah shit. Well, I may as well take the option that nets me more Prestige and hope it's not America I piss off most.



So I pissed off the Communists and the Germans with that one?

 

[Lord K]

DAKKA FOR THE DAKKA GOD!



BOOM FOR THE BOOM THRONE!


WE SHALL DESTROY THEIR FLOTAN METAL BAWKSES!



Oh geeze, it's like the Christmas rush all of a sudden.



Meanwhile all Santa brought to the Haitians was a sack full of Colonialism.



As much as I hate the idea of letting the British get more turf, I don't think it's particularly wise to fuck with them until my domestic industry can build my own damn Pre-Drednoughts. Not that it particularly matters, since Haiti is on the other side of the globe from me anyway.

And thus ends the second year of me leading this clown show. Hopefully next year brings more chances to grow the budget and more CLs.

Also shit is surprisingly still not on fire.

 

[Sightedjt]

Remember that if it works, it works. All that matters is that you sink them before they sink you. Go full badnaught. Triple centre turrets witb side main batteries as well. Full ork or bust.

Note that I have no military knowledge so might not have the best ideas

 

[Ghost_msl]

Love the pessimism here

 

[Lord K]

Love the pessimism here

Click to shrink...

If there's one thing I've learned from history, it's that whenever someone starts feeling safe, or secure in the power of their nation and the superiority of their men's training and equipment, they're usually proven tragically wrong in the next war

 

[Jaberwocky ADM]

Neat. am thinking about getting this game. Is it worth the price tag?

 

[skaianDestiny]

Neat. am thinking about getting this game. Is it worth the price tag?

Click to shrink...

The graphics are nearly nonexistent and the UI is Windows 95 era.

Yet I've sunk nearly a hundred hours into it.

Yeah, I'd say it's worth 35 USD.

 

[Fallenblades643]

If you don't build a class of BB's named "I Bet the Army Did This" or something to this effect I will be disappoint.

Otherwise, good luck and remember, fuck the commies.

 

[Lord K]

So here we are, beginning year 3 of my tenure as Lord-Admiral. What trials, tribulations and technological advancements will 1902 hold for the fledgling Imperial Japanese Navy? Let's find out.




A quick recap of what I have going on and my current construction list.

After some thought, I'm thinking that once those DDs are completed, I really should try for more CLs or CAs, possibly as smaller, faster vessels with lighter armaments and higher rates of fire to support my DDs, screen for my fleet and act as long range raiders against enemy shipping. There's also 3 months until my Dock Upgrade and current Prioritized Training is complete.



And right off the bat, good fortune strikes. While I don't plan on pissing off the US anytime soon, it'll be interesting to know how the Big Sticks on the ocean stack up to mine.



Hmm.... it's slower and less armored than both of them, but it's also smaller and has a heavier armament than the St. Fire's. The Spirit of Winters at least have larger caliber guns, but the Northamptons have the greater number.

On the positive side, we also R&D also makes some minor weight saving advancements in Machinery, and they figure out Double Bottoms, increasing the fleets damage control abilities.



Meh, I have money to burn, and I don't really plan on building anything until the DDs and Docks are done.



God damnit.



Training and dock upgrades roll over. I immediately buy another round of Torpedo Training and purchase the next increase to get local dock size to 15,000 tons.



Hmm.... that could be useful if I end up facing off against Russia.

​

God damnit. I ordered this thing before Envoy of Winter, and now it's going to end up being launched later despite being the lead ship of the class.



A quick look at comparing my Navy to some of the others reveals some worrying numbers. I am seriously lagging behind even nations like France and Russia in numbers and Fleet Size and ship production.

Granted, they have much bigger areas to patrol and have a much greater industrial bases and legacy fleets to start, but but I seriously need to start playing catch up. In the unlikely event one of these two were to move more than half their fleets to the pacific I would be in one hell of a pickle, especially since the majority of their Pre-Dreads and Armored Cruisers are going to be newer than mine in a few months.





Checking the map reveals more worrying info. While I could just as easily shift my focus to picking on Germany, they're apparently willing to sell me a surprising number of Technologies at the moment, and no doubt they'd shore up their Pacific Fleets if I began starting shit with them anyway.

I REALLY need to start producing more ships, but to do that, I'm either going to have to start running a deficit on the monthly balance, or start praying for events that'll increase my budget, even if it raises tensions with people I don't want to piss off.

Alternately, I could start making sacrifices to Poseidon whenever I finally end up at war with someone.



Of course, immediately after my resolve to avoid pissing off the Communist for the time being, I proceed to piss of the Russians when Intel reports that there is a worrying amount of their ships on the move, and I politely tell them to fuck off (an event I forget to screen cap)



Fuck the Tension, I NEED that money.



OH COME ON? ANOTHER MONTH LONG DELAY?

At least on the brightside, R&D comes up with more weight saving measures for hulls and new range finders.



Good thing most of the Lupus class just came off the production line and free'd up some cash for production costs, because I really need to get more boats.

Time to drive this budget into the fucking ground doing some serious catch up building.

 

[Lord K]

Unfortunately to my annoyance, the budget doesn't have room for a spree of new designs or mass heavy ship building.



Instead I end up forking out for a third Spirit of Winter Class CA, despite the current two designs being a couple of months old already.

What I do put some money into developing on the other hand, is a pair of new Light Cruisers. Currently the main things these two have going for them are that they're cheaper than my other two current classes of CL and lighter by a few hundred tons, while still sporting a relatively similar armament. I'm hoping these things will be most effective screen Battle-lines against destroyers and acting as long range commerce raiders, because their armor is kind of anemic to put it lightly.

If they ever get cornered by something they can't run away from, I see them going belly up pretty quickly.



Whoever manages my budget is also probably not very happy with me either.

I got a few more Lupus Class DDs coming off the construction line next month though, and I'm hoping I'll get a few more events to raise the Budget. Worst case scenario, I've got more than enough cash saved up in the bank to ride out this outward flow.

At least, I hope I can.

Just to try and lessen the pain though, I put the third Antagonist Class Pre-Dreadnought and a few of my outdated Hound Class DDs on Reserve status.



While I really want the money, I'm not particularly keen on taking any more hits to Prestige since I'm currently at 18, but I don't want to piss off anybody at the moment either.



God damnit, why the fuck are these Winter Class CA's so god damn problematic to build?

Also, this could be bad depending on what the Frenchies get. Hopefully they fuck up and get caught instead.



WAIT WAT



I DIDN'T EVEN FUCKING DO ANYTHING????



YOU SHEEP-HUMPING COMMUNIST SACKS OF SHIT!

 

[Jaberwocky ADM]

Uhhhh.... Use your glorious Nippon superiority to defeat them in a decisive battle?

 

[Dirtnap]

YOU SHEEP-HUMPING COMMUNIST SACKS OF SHIT!

Click to shrink...

HAHA TIME FOR TSUSHIMA. (Or not since you haven't got shit for a budget)

 

[Exterminatus]

God damnit. I ordered this thing before Envoy of Winter, and now it's going to end up being launched later despite being the lead ship of the class.

Click to shrink...

After reading a LP of someone else doing Japan, all I have to say is that every other sister ship is going to be wandering when the lead ship is finally done.

 

[Lord K]

Too my pleasant surprise, the first thing that happens is that I am given the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the Russian base in Northern China. While this is a great windfall for me, I can't help but think this means that it was Japan who instigated this war.

In which case, somebody decided to go to war, without actually consulting me as to whether the Navy was even ready for a War with Russia.

I blame the Army for this







wat



And now with that bit of derpiness out of the way, we can begin the operation.

As you can see, the fleet is arrayed outside Port Arthur, with the objective of sinking at least two enemy ships. Currently it is dead calm and partly cloudy, making the situation almost perfect for torpedoing unsuspecting targets at anchor. Unfortunately the DD divisions are currently under A.I. control, so I should probably mess with the interface and settings a bit, as well as familiarize myself with the assets that actually got dragged along for this sudden clusterfuck.



As the A.I. Controlled DDs immediately zerg off towards Port Arthur, I can immediately tell this is going to be an absolute clusterfuck if it doesn't go right.



The DD Divisions are a potentially problematic mix of Hound and Wolf Classes, both Divisions of CLs are made up of older and more thinly armored Hunters, and worst of all, my Pre-Dreadnought Formation includes Antagonist attached to Carnifex and Carver.

On the one hand, Antagonist sports more armor and is better suited for a slugging match, but on the other hand, she slows down Carnifex and Carver by 3 knots, increasing the time it will take for the group to arrive. Still, I'd rather not detach Antagonist and risk her being isolated later in the battle, and it will at least mean most of my firepower will arrive on the scene at the same time.

In another case of catch 22, I have three Spirit of Fire Class CAs , but they're all A.I. controlled.

Well, making do with what Lemons life has now handed me, I set one CL Div to support the DDs, while I have the other one screen for Battle Division 4 and the CA Division.



First contact is made with the supporting CL Div and the main battle group thankfully not far behind.



Welp, on the one hand, Destroyer Div.5 has found the enemy fleet.

On the other hand, the A.I. is either going balls-to-the-wall on his torpedo run and looking for particularly juicy targets, or he is about to get himself surrounded by whatever emplacements the Commies have on one-side, and some some very angry and half-asleep Russian gunners on the other.



And almost immediately, the fustercluck aspect of night-battles takes hold.

At least on the bright side, they're not shooting each other.



First blood to the Communists.

Of course it's the newer DD that pays the price for the daring of the lead-rustbucket's captain



Crap



A few minutes of strategic (re. panicked circling later), most of the enemy ships are lost from sight, and the DDs begin ineffectually pinking at a CA on the outskirts of the Russian formation with their pitiful 3 and 4 inch guns. Despite the currently stationary status of their targets, no torpedos have been launched yet.

Eventually more panicked circling sees the DDs gradually drifting further and further away from the main Russian force, though thankfully this also seems to put them beyond reliable hitting or detection range of the main Russian force. Then, in a testament to the reliability of the tech at the time, the lone torpedo launched by Hound in the engagement thus far, misses the stationary CL it was fired at from point blank range.



As the DDs seem to all suddenly decide to fall back a bit once more, CL Div.7 finally arrives on the scene. The main battlefleet however, is still some worrying distance away, hampered by the 19 knot top speed of Antagonist.



With the whole formation suddenly turning south after that startlingly disappointing initial attack, I take advantage of the movement to have them link up with the main battlefleet and reorganize their orders/attachments.



TIME FOR ROUND TWO FUCKERS

 

[Jaberwocky ADM]

Are you sure your gunnery officers weren't stormtroopers at one point?

 

[Dirtnap]

Thus continues the time honored tradition of DDs not launching torpedoes. Ever.

It's gotta be a code thing.

 

[Lord K]

Are you sure your gunnery officers weren't stormtroopers at one point?

Click to shrink...

I was actually pretty surprised by how accurate they were. I figured they wouldn't be able t hit the broadside of a barn during a night engagement on boats that small, but they actually hit that CA and CL they were orbiting around a respectable amount of times. The problem is, those guns they have are 3 and 4 inches. Basically pop guns in terms of naval artillery, firing at an Armored Cruiser possibly designed to take hits from shells up to 5-6 inches (I'm not sure what damage was done to the CL, but it didn't seem very major).

I pretty much built my Destroyers along the school of thought that these things are basically torpedo boats. I assumed their guns were going to be mostly useless this early on, so I loaded them up to the gills with torpedoes and figured any engagement with them was going to have them bum-rushing the enemy, dropping their fish, and then either GTFO'ing or hanging around on the periphery of my formations to scout and take potshots at enemy DDs.

Instead, in the entirety of that section of the battle, I think 3 torpedoes were launched by my A.I. captains, and there were no hits.

 

[Lord K]

And so we continue from where we last left off, with the DDs now having linked up with the rest of the battle line as my Pre-Dreads and CAs charge in to finally engage as the second wave of the surprise attack on the Russian Fleet at Port Arthur.

Of course, the big problem right now is that the "Surprise" part of "Surprise Attack" no longer really works. I'm pretty sure the sum totally of that first attack was my DDs popguns ineffectually scratching the paint of a few of those CAs and waking up the whole damn fleet.



Upon making contact with the Dirty Commie Fleet once more, it immediately becomes obvious that any remaining hope of ambushing and taking potshots at the fleet at anchor are thoroughly sunk.

A good number of their ships are already mobile and now on the move, although I at least seem to have caught them before they can establish a proper battle line. On the other hand though, I appear to have run at them almost head on, and there's not really any space left to maneuver in order to properly cross their T. At least first blood for the second round goes to me, but I wouldn't count my eggs just yet, especially since there appears to be a Russian Pre-Dread caught up in the aborted Battle-line of ships my forces have blundered into.



Immediately my nice tidy battle line goes to shit, though on the upside, my Pre-Dreads score a series of hits on that Diana Class CL that blunders to close to them. On the downside however, somebody apparently figures out that there are 3 Russian Pre-Dreads here as well. Turning my own three's guns onto the first before it's friends can join the party, I leave the Diana Class to be worked over by my own CLs and CAs while also attempting to get the DDs back into the fray by finally taking control of them since they are now within visual range of my flagship.



For a few moments, things actually seem to go my way as solid hits are scored on a number of Russian vessels, and their nascent battle-line falters, but the good news ends quickly when something begins taking potshots at the fleet from out in the darkness, and then Carnifex is blind-sided by a torpedo, jamming it's rudder and causing minor damage and flooding



The situation only continues to degenerate further, as first Carver falls out of contact/communication with the rest of the division and begins to duke it out with three Russian Pre-dreads, forcing me to commit Carnifex to help her, but then Foefire loses an entire gun crew when she ends up at knife-fight range with a Russian Pre-Dread after it loops back around and goes HAM into the disorganized mess that is my CA and CL Divisions as they attempt to keep up with Carnifex and Carver. Meanwhile, aside from Captain Leeroy in the Yukaze (the bastard who got the whole fleet into this mess and ruined the ambush with his hair-brained zerg at the beginning) basically all the rest of my Destroyers are either taking their sweet fucking time getting to this clownshow, OR HEADED IN TOTALLY THE WRONG DIRECTION.



Thankfully despite Carver still charging off to suicidal engage in a 3v1, the Russian fleet seems to pull back, buying time for me to try and swing my forces back down to support Carver. However with her rudder still out, Carnifex is slowly running away from the battle area. Meanwhile further down, Foefire takes another massive hit as she continues to slug it out at point blank range with the Russian Pre-Dread, though the combined firepower of her sister ships and the CL Division are quickly chewing it apart in turn. Further south, another DD division finally gets close enough to come under my control, just in time for some of the few CLs left supporting the Pobeda Class Pre-Dread to cross it's path and take interest in the returning DDs

Funnily enough, this works out in my favor, as with everything else currently distracted, I am actually able to put Captain Leeroy and the Yukaze within range of the Pobeda on a DEATH OR REDEMPTION torpedo run.

At least I hope the fucker's about to launch torps. He's about to pass right by the thing.



Things continue to go sideways, even as the Pobeda and another Diana take a pounding. Carver continues to barrel suicidally towards Port Arthur and the reforming Russian Fleet, Carnifex is basically a non-fact for the foreseeable future and takes some engine damage on top of being out of control, and my DDs continue to be idiots and head in the wrong direction some more. In an attempt to not have the formation dragged out and lemming into the jaws of death after Carver, I alter course and attempt to regroup what functioning heavy hitters I still have left.



A few minutes later, Carver finally gets it's shit together after almost running into the Russian minefield, and Carnifex gets it's flooding under wraps. It's still out of control however, so at this point I give up on her and detach her from the Division, leaving her to take potshots at that random ship as she sails off to the Northeast. Meanwhile further South, a pair of Russian DDs get dangerously close to Antagonist, forcing me to finally stop beating on the Pobeda Class and switch my combined CA and CLs fire to wiping the little bastards out before they can molest my last undamaged Pre-Dread supporting the battle line.

Although really, it's more of a chaotic blob at this point.



Of course, they fail me and Antagonist takes a rather serious hit.

At this point, I decide to just fuck everything.

Nothing has gone right with this operation from the beginning. Two of my 5 Pre-Dreads are now moderately damaged and probably going to have to spend time in dry-dock, one of my CAs has been pretty heavily mauled, and my DDs are apparently useless and have forgotten how to use their torpedoes.

I'm going to make one last southward thrust at their isolated CLs and DDs to the south, but otherwise, I am getting the fuck out before I actually lose any ships.



With the Cruisers spearheading the push South-Southwest, numerous hits are scored on enemy CLs, only for disaster to strike when Tracker is hit and sunk by a single torpedo.



Fleeing the battle, the fleet gets a few more good hits on the Russians, though in return some of the DDs take some heavy hits when they get a case of shit-to-the-brain and attempt to duke it out with the Russians on their own for a bit. Attempting to pincer a last few Russian CLs against the coast then reveals the Coastal Defense guns, which the fleet then takes pot-shots at as they strategically retreat (aka flee with their tails between their legs).



Of course, then Hound has to basically get itself blown out of the water by a particularly daring pair of Russian DDs.

Seeing as Hound is still hanging on by a thread of life, and that the Cruisers and Pre-Dreads are doing a surprisingly good job tearing the Coastal Battery up, I decide I may as well do my best to stop the Russians from sinking anymore of my boats and swing back North. I'd like to say it's a big Damn Heroes Moment, but really it's just an excuse to keep shooting at this battery and do SOMETHING to inconvenience the Russians.



The sudden sight of the rest of the Russian Fleet flooding out of Port Arthur just to deliver the coup-de-grace to Hound however, quickly puts an end to that idea. Having only just finally gotten the fleet back together (Captain Leeroy was making gun passes at the Russian and getting himself slowly blown to bits), I decide that in this case, discretion is the better part of valor, and that it's time to call my losses and limp home.



Of course, the ride doesn't end there.

For some mind-boggling reason, in the middle of the retreat, Carver and a good number of the DDs suddenly turn away and head off to do their own thing under A.I. control.



I REALLY hope this is just some sort of mutiny to rescue Hound (which has amazingly survived by the barest sliver of health and is underway again, despite being continuously shot and mostly dead in the water for the last few hours) and that they're going to turn around and come back now.



Leading the adhoc battle line up the coast, they then plink at the Coastal Batteries for a bit, and only don't bite off more than they can chew due to most of the Russian fleet and it's heavier hitters likely being out hunting for the rest of my fleet at the moment, leaving only a few CLs and DDs behind. With what's left of the Russian Fleet either gone or scared off by Carver, and the Coastal Batteries currently distracted by the hail of DD and Battleship gunfire, Hound slowly limps away at a sluggish 10 knots.



And amazingly, no one else dies or gets ripped a new asshole.

-sigh-

Time to read the butchers bill for this clusterfucker



Points-wise the game may consider this close for whatever reason, but in terms of actual damage to our respective fleets and how this will effect our assets in the coming war?

God, what a balls up.

 

[Sightedjt]

Russia gets over 10x the score you do.

"Minor victory"

Eh?

Also bloody hell the AI in this game is a bit shit isn't it?
If you're going to have ships work under AI control for half the battle you could at least make them not-braindead