Sorry for the hijack, but did you guys catch this?  I thought it was interesting.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_lostp38_071114/

Pete

nice find, pete!  thanks!

Clash, I am wondering if you might return to the naval-war genre for WWII along with the Aces and Angels RPG.  Your air-combat system would be great for simulating one of my favorite "genres" of WWII navy combat: the small-craft operations of the Commonwealth MTB/MGB's and the US PT boats.  Portraying the crew of a Fairmile "Dog" boat hunting coastal convoys in the Med or a PT boat conveying a Marine raiding party in the Pacific would be a great mix of vehicle combat and roleplaying.  It might even be scaled up to destroyer or submarine operations.

Quote from: pspahnSorry for the hijack, but did you guys catch this?  I thought it was interesting.

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_lostp38_071114/

Pete

HI Pete!

A buddy of mine sent me the link this morning. Thanks for the thought, though!

-clash

Quote from: SamarkandClash, I am wondering if you might return to the naval-war genre for WWII along with the Aces and Angels RPG.  Your air-combat system would be great for simulating one of my favorite "genres" of WWII navy combat: the small-craft operations of the Commonwealth MTB/MGB's and the US PT boats.  Portraying the crew of a Fairmile "Dog" boat hunting coastal convoys in the Med or a PT boat conveying a Marine raiding party in the Pacific would be a great mix of vehicle combat and roleplaying.  It might even be scaled up to destroyer or submarine operations.

Good idea, Samarkand!

Actually, I've started work on In Harm's Way: Pigboat, about WWII subs. PT/MT/E Boats would be a natural extension!

-clash

Quote from: flyingmiceGood idea, Samarkand!

Actually, I've started work on In Harm's Way: Pigboat, about WWII subs. PT/MT/E Boats would be a natural extension!

-clash

    I thought you'd have a sub game in the works.  Along with carrier ops and PT boats, they're the iconic image of the WWII navies.  Question: will this be strictly sub-oriented, or will there be "equal time" for the sub hunting boats? I have a particular fondness for Canada's contribution during the Battle of the Atlantic: the RCN "Flower" class corvettes which accompanied the convoys to Britain.  It was a hell of a way to fight.  The Brits designed the Flowers for coastal work, but by necessity used them as long-range ocean escorts.  The RCN used them because they could be built quickly by our own shipyards.  It was a thankless task to deal with such a tiny ship in winter Atlantic storms.  There was a saying that a Flower would "roll on wet grass".

    A couple of books for inspiration on the Motor Gunboat and Motor Torpedo Boat are "Champagne Navy" and "Gunboat 658".   Both deal with a particular flotilla of gunboats--the Canadian-commanded Fairmile "Dog" gunboats of the Med--that got into a fair few scraps.  Hunting coastal convoys at the time was no joke.  One nasty German surprise was the "flak lighter"--a barge with a shallow draft impossible to sink with torpedoes and armed with 88's in concrete emplacements!

Quote from: SamarkandI thought you'd have a sub game in the works.  Along with carrier ops and PT boats, they're the iconic image of the WWII navies.  Question: will this be strictly sub-oriented, or will there be "equal time" for the sub hunting boats? I have a particular fondness for Canada's contribution during the Battle of the Atlantic: the RCN "Flower" class corvettes which accompanied the convoys to Britain.  It was a hell of a way to fight.  The Brits designed the Flowers for coastal work, but by necessity used them as long-range ocean escorts.  The RCN used them because they could be built quickly by our own shipyards.  It was a thankless task to deal with such a tiny ship in winter Atlantic storms.  There was a saying that a Flower would "roll on wet grass".

Ah, yes! The Flower Class was beautifully portrayed in Nicholas Monerrat's The Cruel Sea in the Compass Rose. A marvellous book, BTW. I don't know yet, as I'm not far along enough to know exactly how much territory I need to cover. The Germans put out a tremendous variety of U-Boats, for example. If I have room, I can cover them in the main book. More likely, it would be a supplement.

QuoteA couple of books for inspiration on the Motor Gunboat and Motor Torpedo Boat are "Champagne Navy" and "Gunboat 658".   Both deal with a particular flotilla of gunboats--the Canadian-commanded Fairmile "Dog" gunboats of the Med--that got into a fair few scraps.  Hunting coastal convoys at the time was no joke.  One nasty German surprise was the "flak lighter"--a barge with a shallow draft impossible to sink with torpedoes and armed with 88's in concrete emplacements!

Thanks for the references! The Japanese used the same trick in the Pacific. They loaded freighters with ping pong balls and other unsinkable cargo, piled them with guns, then put them out in convoys. The sub commanders called them "Q Ships" after the heavily armed disguised merchantmen Britain put out during WWI.

-clash

clash, you have a reference for the ping-pong ball thing?  that's some crazy shit, there!  

sounds like something a player would come up with. . . .

Any chance for a tank-oriented variant?  "In Harms Way: Blood and Steel"?  A tank crew approximates the traditional four-person adventuring party.  And I could see an "Ostfront" campaign--you start as a green crew driving your newly-built (and unpainted!) T-34 right out of the factory in Stalingrad into combat.  Then on to Kursk, Seelow Heights, and Berlin...

   On a slight tangent, anyone here ever listen to Rammstein's "Du Hast" and have a sudden urge to drive a Panzer into France?

Quote from: beeberclash, you have a reference for the ping-pong ball thing?  that's some crazy shit, there!  

sounds like something a player would come up with. . . .

It's actually from Ned Beach's classic sub novel, Run Silent, Run Deep. He was an officer on the Trigger and executive officer on the Tirant and later commanded the USS Piper just as the war ended, he earned the Navy Cross as well as 9 other decorations for gallantry, and was a noted Naval historian. I figure he knew what he was talking about. RSRD drew heavily on his wartime experiences, as did the sequel, Dust on the Sea. In other places, historians refer to the Q-ships as having flotation objects as cargo, but they are not specified.

-clash

Quote from: SamarkandAny chance for a tank-oriented variant?  "In Harms Way: Blood and Steel"?  A tank crew approximates the traditional four-person adventuring party.  And I could see an "Ostfront" campaign--you start as a green crew driving your newly-built (and unpainted!) T-34 right out of the factory in Stalingrad into combat.  Then on to Kursk, Seelow Heights, and Berlin...

   On a slight tangent, anyone here ever listen to Rammstein's "Du Hast" and have a sudden urge to drive a Panzer into France?

Lord! I'd love to, but I'm only a one man shop!

-clash

Heh, yeah, I know.  All in good time!  

      Just out of curiosity, are the Il-2 Shturmovik and PO-2 biplane part of the Soviet line up?  The latter brings up the possibility of an all-female Ostfront campaign in one of the Night Witch squadrons.

Quote from: SamarkandHeh, yeah, I know.  All in good time!  

      Just out of curiosity, are the Il-2 Shturmovik and PO-2 biplane part of the Soviet line up?  The latter brings up the possibility of an all-female Ostfront campaign in one of the Night Witch squadrons.

As attack craft, they will be covered, but not with a dogfighting sheet. The game is oriented on the fighters, but many attack planes are also covered. There will be a blank dogfighting sheet to adapt such planes if you want.

-clash

Last night I used the Abstract tables, and they worked perfectly. The mission was the raid over New Guineas's Owen Stanley mountains on Lae. My players actually figured out to use thermals to get their sheperded Vindicators over the high passes - which is what actually happened. The PCs went out for air superiority, hunting down Oscars and protecting their charges, while the Vindicators and SBDs went after the shipping. I used the Abstract Bomb/Topedo table, and it worked to perfection. They lost 1 Vindicator and 2 SBDs to AA, the torpedoes ran mostly wild, and the SBDs sank a couple of cruisers and hammered a troopship, all about what was expected. The players began codifying new zoom and boom tactics rather than using their old dogfighting tactics.

I dropped two old WWI maneuvers, the Immelman and the Vertical 8, becasue only a few WWII fighters could do an Immelman, and none could do a Vertical 8. I've replaced them with the Chandelle and the Wingover. The game is getting there fast!

-clash

I've been vacillating back and forth on the late war jets - they were definitely there, but they were never a factor - so do I include them or not?  I had decided against it, but I've been rethinking it again, due to my players' open declaration of war upon history-as-it-was. The game may turn out quite different than it did in real life. I'm now thinking of including not only the 4 operational jets that made it to combat - the Me 262, the He 162, the Arado Blitz and the Glocester Meteor, but also the Me 163 and a few that could have been in combat should the game go into uncharted territories - the Horten/Gotha IX, the P-80 Shooting Star, the Ryan Fireball, and the Nakajima J9Y Japanese 262 copy. If I go ahead with this, I will be putting them in a separate section, as optional.

Thoughts?

-clash