After Action Reporter

Let’s Play Rig ‘n’ Roll

TinyPirate — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:51:00 +0000

Rig ‘n’ Roll is a game about driving big steel around the highways and byways of the US of A…. ok it’s a game about driving trucks and I really should try to avoid getting into the patois of the truck driver community. But anyway, ZekeDMS over on brokenforums.com is working on a let’s play to spite the person who gifted him this in the Steam Christmas sale. It’s quite a laugh, go read!

After Action Reports vs Let’s Plays

TinyPirate — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:06:45 +0000

I’ve been thinking about the term “Let’s Play” and the term “After Action Report”. I had considered them interchangeable, but I’ve decided there is a difference, and it’s in how the story is delivered. AARs are usually posted on a web page as a story without comment from the audience. Let’s Plays, on the other hand, are usually written up on a forum and often include a lot of reader interaction with the author.

With this handy and sensible definition I’m going to start using the terms on this blog with this distinction in mind.

“Matches & Matrimony” lets play a regency dating game!

TinyPirate — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 09:56:28 +0000

Angie Gallant, her of the weird and funny Hatoful Boyfriend lets play has started another lets play for the game Matches & Matrimony, which is a dating game featuring Jane Austen protagonists! The lets play is a hoot and you can check the game out for yourself here.

Hatoful Boyfriend – psychotic pigeon dating game!

TinyPirate — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:54:52 +0000

Ever been interested in dating games? How about dating games featuring pigeons? How about dating games featuring pigeons and a homicidal fat bird? Regardless of your answer you should be, because Angie Gallant’s AAR of pigeon dating game Hatoful Boyfriend is quite possibly the best AAR of 2011.

Seriously, go read this AAR right now. It’s funny as hell and yes, there really is a dating game about pigeons. Of course, it’s from Japan, which might explain some of the other very strange features I won’t spoil for you!

2011 in review

TinyPirate — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 12:52:04 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

London Olympic Stadium holds 80,000 people. This blog was viewed about 770,000 times in 2011. If it were competing at London Olympic Stadium, it would take about 10 sold-out events for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Great big scaredy-gamer

TinyPirate — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:03:07 +0000

Thanks to the Steam sale I’ve been playing The Ship again as friends pick up gifted copies. Playing again reminds me why I never played for a long the first time round: I am a great big scaredy-cat when it comes to certain types of gameplay! Am I alone?

Give me a gun and a hallway of aliens, zombies or dragons and I am just fine, but The Ship makes me terrified of going into cruise liner bathrooms least someone beat me to death with a pot or umbrella. I am not actually sure I can enjoy the game fully as I spend a lot of time finding high powered weaponry and then nervously blowing away anyone who gets in my personal space (which in The Ship is anywhere closer than 10m). I realized the other night that my favourite way to play is to sit in an armchair next to a security guard as this is not stressful. Walking around? Madness! A fur coat wearing, pool cue wielding maniac could be around any corner!

Don’t even get me started on proper horror games like Penumbra. I made it up to a wild dog (about 10 minutes in to the first game) and promptly never played again. Or how about Aliens vs Predator? I distinctly remember early in the Human campaign crawling trough some tunnel when a pipe drops that is shaped like a Alien’s head. I think I wet myself a little.

Sadly, I do love a good scary film or story. I guess there’s something about games with high personal threat and a low-power protagonist that just hits all the fight/flight centers in my brain.

Am I alone in this? Does anyone out there love game horror?

Artemis Bridge Simulator – Qt3 AAR

TinyPirate — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:15:18 +0000

Some lucky people on the Qt3 forums played Artemis Bridge Simulator tonight, and fortunately for us, they live blogged their experiences on the Artemis thread there. It’s an amusing read and worth a look.

Mori Clan AAR: Summer 1555 – Summer 1558

qvalerius — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:44:54 +0000

With Shikoku pacified, Motonari turned his attention to fulfilling the Shogun’s wishes and weakening the Takeda. Takamoto reamined in Awa only long enough to repair battle-damage to the castle and recruit a small garrison to remind the population of their duty to the Daimyo.

As soon as he was ready, Takamoto’s army boarded ships and sailed east.

As he had advanced in years, Motonari had evidently discovered that his wife had also advanced in years, for his womanising ways had now reached the point that his frequent distractions now slowed his army on the march.

Motonari suspected that, following the fall of the Shoni, the Shimazu would soon cross into Honshu and destroy the Ouchi. He would have preferred to declare war in order to use his navy to block their crossing into Honshu, but he knew that the Shimazu navy was second only to his own and had no wish to see his trade disrupted.

By the winter of 1555, Motonari’s prediction was realised as a Shimazu army crossed into Honshu and, in spring, captured Suo. The Ouchi could offer no defence, having spent their men assisting in the defence of Shoni lands.

It was also in the spring of 1556 that Takamoto landed his army in Izu, declaring war on the Takeda. The Takeda’s ally, the Uesugi clan. advised that they intended to come to their ally’s aid. The were not particularly enthusiastic combatants, however, and agreed to settle the matter in exchange for the paltry sum of 2000 koku and one of Motonari’s grandsons as a hostage.

The Takeda were evidently appalled by Uesugi’s fickleness, and the alliance broke down very swiftly.

Arriving at the castle in summer, Takamoto was able to quickly subdue the province, significantly enhancing the Mori clan’s tax base.

Having no interest in further expansion in central Honshu, Motonari instructed his son to seek peace with the Takeda. Their pride having been sorely bruised by an unprovoked attack, they took some convincing, but they had other battles to fight, and so in exchange for a hefty payment of 6000 koku and holding another of Motonari’s grandsons hostage, they agreed to accept the loss of Izu and focus on their other foes.

This was fortunate, for it was at this time that the Shimazu, having destoyed the Ouchi, turned their attention on the Mori. The first conflict of the war was small naval battle initiated by the Mori, who sought to eliminate the threat to their trading network as swiftly as possible.

The Mori had both numbers and skill on their side, and several Shimazu vessels were captured. Maintaining the initiative, Motonari gathered a force and marched into Nagato. The castle was lightly defended, but a more substantial force was stationed only a few miles from the walls. Motonari skill at organising his forces by night allowed him to storm the castle and prevent its reinforcement. Concerned that the Shimazu forces left outside the castle, might march on Iwami, now the wealthiest province in Japan, Motonari ordered in troops from Aki. Nothing of the sort was on the minds of the Shimazu, however, who, with a relatively small force, attempted to take back the castle at their first opportunity.

Motonari had not yet had time to repair the castle gates, which simplified the attackers’ task, and the Shimazu brought with them much stronger melee troops, and the daimyo, Shimazu Takahisa, was a soldier of some considerable genius.

They didn't come this way

Nevertheless, the castle’s defences were formidable, and the Shimazu men wasted their lives trying to break them. It was here that Takahisa fought his final battle, trapped inside the walls and surrounded by his enemy.

Motonari directed his largest fleet to block crossings between Honshu and Kyushu, and proceeded to capture Suo.

By winter1557, Motonari was in a position to destroy the last of the Shimazu armies in Honshu, while his fleets continued to pressure the Shimazu navy in an attempt to prevent them from leaving port and threatening Mori trade.

While he rebuilt his forces and awaited reinforcements, Motonari had his ninja attempt to assassinate the Shimazu generals waiting on the other side of the straights. While successful only once, this still had the effect of demoralising the foe and removing a powerful unit of bodyguard cavalry from the coming battle.

Mori Clan AAR: Autumn 1552 – Spring 1555

qvalerius — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:25:43 +0000

Takamoto did not, in the event, need to take the fight to the Chosokabe. Nor were they as spent as a military force as their anaemic attack on the Kono would have suggested. Toward the end of autumn, a substantial Chosokabe army marched out of Tosa and into Iyo.

And straight into Takamoto’s ambush. The size of the Chosokabe army gave him brief pause for thought, as he had anticipated an easy battle against a much weaker force. He had not yet been joined by the reinforcements his father sent, but delay would not avail him. On the contrary, it would leave the reinforcements vulnerable. This was clearly the best opportunity to destroy the treacherous Chosokabe, and there was no honour to be gained by timidity.

Recalling the fate that had met the Amako when they had ambushed him years earlier, Takamoto disdained to split his force in two. Instead, he positioned his army to concentrate an attack on the front of the Chosokabe column.

Once the attack was launched, and the Chosokabe leaders realised what was happening, they quickly turned their column around, seeking to prepare a defence on more favourable ground. They were too hasty, however. Their marching column had been led by their cavalry, with their spearmen in the rear and elite Chosokabe bow samurai protected in the middle.

In reversing the direction of their march, the cavalry spurred their mounts to keep out of reach of the Mori spears, leaving the most superb archery force in Japan exposed. Takamoto seized the opportunity and launched his own cavalry at the retreating archers. Being samurai, they put up a stalwart defence, but without support from the rest of their army, they were cut down.

They did, nevertheless, sell their lives dear – the Mori light cavalry were all but wiped out, and other cavalry units lost several men each before Mori foot troops closed with the archers and the weight of numbers no longer favoured the Chosokabe.

As a result of the Chosokabe’s disorganised retreat, out of 800 of the finest archers in Japan only 100 escaped to join the rest of their army.

Takamoto regrouped his forces and pressed the attack. The last of the great Chosokabe archers demonstrated their worth, inflicting pain disproportionate to their numbers.

It wasn’t enough though, and they died to a man. Fewer than 200 men from an army of over 2000 escaped Takamoto’s ambush – the news of which quickly spread throughout the realm.

Takamoto pursued the survivors, and caught up with them during the winter. Their general, in command following the death of his lord, sought death with honour for himself and his men. In this he was almost successful, but seeing his body guard cut down around him one by one, his nerve eventually broke, and he fled the field never to be seen or heard of again.

No doubt as the panic wore off and the weight of his dishonour bore down on him he took his own life.

Having been surprised by this size of the Chosokabe attack, Takamoto was relieved to discover, when his army arrived in Tosa the following spring, that the Chosokabe had nothing left to give.

The defenders were quickly put to the sword and surviving members of the clan opened their bellies. After their treachery, there could be no question of a reprieve for the Chosokabe.

Damaged structures in Tosa were rebuilt, but the famous archery dojo was torn down to make way for a market. All vestiges of the Chosokabe’s proud tradition of archery were consigned to poetry. Their bloodline, however, would live on through the daughter of Motonari’s second son, now the sole survivor of her clan.

Takamoto’s attention now turned to securing the rest of Shikoku for his father. Its remaining two provinces were controlled by the Miyoshi, who were at war with the Mori’s ally – the Kikkawa clan. Mori ships scouted the Shikoku coast to determine how much resistance was likely to be met, and a metsuke was sent from Iyo to Sanuki to enquire as to whether the garrison would prefer profitable, comfortable dishonour to death. They didn’t, and to ram home the point they executed the metsuke.

The completion of a temple in Iwami went some way to stem the influx of Christianity into the province, and a monk was set to work reminding the population that it took more than one lifetime to reach Nirvana. It wasn’t quite enough though, and the pernicious foreign doctrine continued to spread, albeit more slowly.

Before an attack could be launched against the Miyoshi, a messenger arrived from the Shogun.

He had apparently become concerned by the growth of the Takeda clan, and, enfeebled as he was, hoped that the Mori might be able to deal with them. He ordered Motonari to capture a province from the Takeda within the next four years or so. Doing so would result in improved status for the clan, which would improve its diplomatic efforts – with everyone but the Takeda. Motonari had no particular dispute with the Takeda, but talking the matter over with his council led him to the conclusion that, following the conquest of Shikoku, an attempt should be made to comply with the Shogun’s wishes.

He was in no position to claim the Shogunate for himself, and he had no desire to incur the political problems that might be caused by an open rift with Ashikaga, however feeble they might actually be. Moreover, looking over reports gathered by Mori officials dealing with traders, he noted that Izu, a peninsula jutting out from the south of the Takeda demesne was a producer of gold, and one of the wealthiest provinces in the land.

Capturing it would add to the clan’s coffers, and provide a base for a future attack on Kyoto.

Motonari nevertheless wished to secure Shikoku first. An emissary was dispatched to the Kikkawa with an offer to join their war against the Miyoshi. Framing the attack as helping out a friend seemed more honourable than a barefaced invasion.

The conquest of Sanuki was straightforward, the castle being only moderately defended.

Samurai archers defending the walls caused some pain, and the Mori peasant spearman sent against the walls in the first wave were badly mauled, but they were readily replaceable, and few true Mori warriors lost their lives.

Takamoto paused to rebuild damaged structures, replenish the peasant units and wait out the winter. When spring returned he marched on Awa, where he knew a much more substantial force awaited him. He put aside all thoughts of storming the walls, and resolved to wait for the Miyoshi to sally or starve.

Barely were siegeworks laid, when the Miyoshi took the honourable course and marched their army out to confront the invaders in the field.

Takamoto took a defensive position, but the Miyoshi’s superiority in ranged troops meant that once they had closed the distance, the Mori would need to charge downhill.

In this, the battle played out largely as he expected. Once their missile troops were in range, the Miyoshi cavalry sought to drive the Mori archers off the field, but were met instead by spearmen, which developed into a large melee in the centre of the field.

Into this melee, the Miyoshi archers fired, trying to pick off troops at the rear of the Mori lines. Unfortunately for the Miyoshi, their inferiority of melee troops meant that they had none to spare to guard their archers, who were easily countered by Mori cavalry, attacking on both flanks of the Miyoshi position.

The Miyoshi troops tried to hold the line, and where they achieved some local superiority they were able to almost break a unit of peasant spearmen. But inspirational words from their general, and the intervention of katana samurai that had been held in reserve held them steady, and led to a complete collapse of the Miyoshi line. Their archers already fleeing from the Mori cavalry, few were able to escape and only a token force made it back to the castle, where shortly afterwards they fought their last battle.

Awa was occupied, completing the Mori conquest of Shikoku. Motonari had no particular designs on Awaji island, and offered the Miyoshi peace if they accepted vassalisation.

The offer was accepted, and the Mori, once again, were without enemies. A situation that required a remedy.

The infrastructural development of Mori lands had boosted the economy significantly, but it had also led to military developments. Although they would not see action for some time, it was during the wars for conquest of Shikoku that the Mori trained their first battlefield ninja units.

It was also during this period that the Shimazu clan completed their conquest of Kyushu, wiping out the Shoni clan, long-time friends of the Mori. To make matters worse, the Shimazu were perfidous Christians. Motonari was sure that the Ouchi would not be able to hold the Shimazu, which left his clan to defend the old ways.

Mori Clan AAR: Summer 1550 – Summer 1552

qvalerius — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 10:01:36 +0000

Although Motonari did not want to sully his own honour by embarking upon a war against a clan with whom he had long enjoyed a positive trading relationship, he was nevertheless hopeful that he might be able to acquire the two provinces currently controlled by the Ouchi. To this end, he took the bulk of his army out of Hamada castle in Iwami, and had them hide in forests near the road. He hoped that the traders would inform the Ouchi of the minimal defences in Hamada castle, and that the Ouchi would seize the opportunity to attack.

Signs that conflict in central Honshu were leading to the consolidation of power by certain, unknown Daimyo were further heightened by news that the Hojo clan had been destroyed.

The Mori invested further funds to ensure that all farmland in their domain was as productive as possible by utilising the latest terraced farming techniques, while also expanding their military power with the acquisition of their first units of katana cavalry and samurai infantry.

In the Autumn of 1550, contact was made with the Oda clan for the first time, and upon learning that they controlled fewer territories than the Mori, it became clear that it was not the Oda who had been so energetically extinguishing great dynasties in central Japan. The construction of a medium bune was the first stage of Motonari’s preparation for his second choice of war – an attack on Shikoku. The steadfast refusal of the Ouchi to attack made this option increasingly likely.

The steady to and fro of trade ships gave the Mori clan good intelligence on events in Kyushu, where the Shimazu clan had been making war on the Shoni for some years. The war appeared to have swung decisively in the Shimazu’s favour, with the Shoni being reduced to a couple of provinces in northern Kyushu.

In winter, more units of katana cavalry and samurai were recruited and a large army under Takamoto was sent to board a ships bound for Shikoku, as preparations for an invasion continued.

The economy in Iwami, now the richest province in the Mori demesne was further bolstered by the construction of a rice exchange, and, in the spring a Namban trade port. Anticipating the influx of Christian missionaries that this would bring, Motonari had also expanded the castle to allow for the building of a monastery, to remind the population of the loyalty they owed to the religion of their ancestors.

The coming of the spring 1551 also saw Motonari giving up on his hope that the Ouchi could be tricked into attacking him. Takamoto’s army boarded the waiting ships, while Motonari abandoned the camp from which he had anticipated ambushing the treacherous Ouchi and ostentatiously reinforced the garrison in Hamada. Now that the bulk of the Mori army were being sent across the sea, he had no desire for a conflict with his neighbours.

Takamoto’s men landed in Iyo in late spring, and immediately marched on the castle, sending a messenger ahead to advise the Kono that the Mori clan now considered itself at war with them.

The Kono were already at war with the Chosokabe, who had evidently already broken one army against the walls of the Kono’s well-defended keep. This army made one last futile attempt to storm the castle as the Mori approached, and were soundly defeated. Takamoto’s men reached the castle in summer, and constructed siege works. The defending army was too formidable to risk storming the walls. Its provisions would also see the siege last into the winter thereby causing starvation among Takamoto’s men, unless the Kono did the honourable thing and marched out to fight the Mori in the field.

Unfortunately, as well as having a large, well-led army defending their castle, the Kono also had a moderately powerful fleet patrolling their coast. This attacked the Mori’s medium bune, which, despite a valiant fight, was unable to win out against superior numbers.

Realising that eventually his income would face a serious threat from raiders, Motonari knew that his navy must live up to the Mori clan’s reputation. As such, he ordered the construction of a military port in Aki, which would allow the construction of larger vessels, and allow multiple vessels to be constructed simultaneously.

Some preliminary negotiations with the Chosokabe regarding the possibility of a future trading agreement, led to the discovery that the daimyo was blessed with a marriageable daughter, and he readily agreed to wed her to Motonari’s second son.

As autumn turned to winter, the Kono were still resolutely defending their castle walls. Although concerned at the consequences for his men should they be stuck outside castle walls at the height of winter, Takamoto suspected that they would fare worse attempting to scale those same walls.

He was fortunate, however, that before the winter could do its worst, the Kono marched out from the castle to meet him in the field.

Takamoto took what high ground he could and waited.

His defence was solid, and his men were brave, but the Kono general was revered almost as a god by his men, who stood their ground against fearsome punishment.Eventually, however, the Mori forces broke the left flank of the Kono, and slowly but surely were able to work down their line. Victory did not come easily, but in the end, it was complete. No Kono were left to defend their stronghold, and Takamoto’s men found shelter for the winter.

In the spring, the Takamoto set to work rebuilding damaged structures, although he decided to tear down the stables and instead build a market. Troops from Aki were more reliable, and one could never have too much money. As the men recuperated, a worrying intelligence report was received to the effect that the Chosokabe intended to attack.

This was viewed with scepticism, but additional troops were sent from Aki on newly-constructed warships. Just in case.

In summer, doubts regarding the veracity of the report were put to rest when the Chosokabe declared war. Takamoto led the bulk of his army into a forest near the only road between the two provinces, intending to ambush any invading army.

If none had arrived by the following spring, Takamoto would settle the dispute himself.