In the Navy, In the Navy!
We want you for a new recruit!
Enh, a couple of random lines I remember from that Village People song. It’s appropriate, because tonight’s the Naval report, but I’m lazy. If I really cared, I’d go look up the lyrics. This is a fairly short report because I didn’t have the game writing battles to the log. If you want to amuse yourself, name the anime the various ships are from. Shouldn’t be too difficult… I also included the Air Force report, because it’s so short. There isn’t any kind of record kept for the damage they do.
First article (prologue) here.
Second article (history) here.
Third article (geopolitical) here.
Note that most classes except submarines got renames from the historical. The PINN fleet is as follows:
4 x Fleet Carriers (CV) Satellizer El Bridgette, Kei, Lyar Von Eltiana, Lina Inverse
2 x Light Carriers (CVL): Teresa Testarossa, Kaname Chidori
2 x Battleships (BB) Yamato, Bentenmaru
1 x Battlecruiser (BC) Keichi Morisato
6 x Heavy Cruisers (CA) Rin Tohsaka, Houki Shinano, Mikuru Asahina, Sakura Matou, Kan’ou Uchu, Saber
5 x Light Cruisers (CL) Saeko Busujima, Tannerotte, Index Librorum, Souske Sagara, Mikasa 20001 (some names pending at this time)
12 x Destroyers (DD) Soyokaze, Kohta Hirano, Kazuma Kuwambara, Gourry Gabriev, Naga Wil Tel Seryuun, Amelia Wil Tel Seryuun, Zelgaldis Greywords, Kuroko Shirai, Megumi, Saten, Mikasa Mikoto, Rolo Lampourge
6 x Submarines (SS) (no special names)
(con't)
NAVAL
The Peoples Imperial Nihonese Navy has emerged as the ruler of the Yellow, East, and South China Seas, as if there were any doubts. Our navy is only eclipsed among our allies by that of the UK, and that only due to their greater number of transports. Our four fleet carriers, have cut a swath through the fleets of eight countries that is the envy of all the world’s navies. The 1st Strike Fleet is composed of those four units, plus the CA's Saeko Busujima, Rin Tohsaka, DD's Kohta Hirano, and Soyokaze. Together, they have accounted for 2xBB, 2xBC, 2xCA, 4xCL, 14xDD, 23xTransports(TP), 7xCVL, and 2xSS since the war began.
Not to be outdone, the 1st Battle Fleet, composed of the BB's Yamato and Bentenmaru, CA's Houki Shinano, Mikuru Asahina, Sakura Matou, Kan'ou Uchu, CL Index Librorum, DD's Kazuma Kuwambara and Gourry Gabriev, have accounted for 4xCA, 1xCL, 10xDD, and a staggering 59xTP. Nearly half of the total kills belong to the Bentenmaru. The Yamato is a distant second as it only entered service last year, replacing the lost (and unlamented) Tuatha De Dannen. While valiant, she was no Mayu, the storied CA that counted among its kills a CA,DD, and even a BB before her sinking. About the CL Illysviel Eizenbern, whose captain absolved his shame rather than report failure to the Emperor, the less said, the better. Those three ships represent Comrade Emperor's total losses to date.
Our 1st Transport Fleet may be relegated to carrying soldiers and escort duties, but they have seen their fair share of action. The BC Keichi Morisato is responsible for most of the kills, with 1xCA, 3xDD, and 5xTP to its credit; various other units add a handful of transports or DD's.
Image 1: Selecting a ship to build. The more you build of something, the cheaper and faster it becomes. Slack off, and the price and time starts going up. New technology also seems to increase both.
AIR FORCE
The expansion of our Air Forces has been limited due to the restrictions on our industrial growth, but the 501st and 504 Strike Witches have performed splendidly. We are currently standing up the First Volunteer Squadron to assist them. Tactical bombing is provided by the 1st and 2nd Galletean Sky Knights, while logistical support for our two divisions of Sky Samurai is provided by the 1st Masou Shuojo Squadron. Ground support comes from the Kalaido Star Dancers.
Image 2: Construction screen for various units. Show here are the naval units under construction -- there are five DD's and a SS not shown.
Notice the theatre needs below the construction summary. There is one aspect of the game I don’t like — it seems to expect you to place naval and air detachments under the various theatre commands. I strongly prefer to have them be independent commands (as in services). This allows me to quickly grab one and order it to relocate to another front, or find a fleet (they tend to wander off sometimes…) Unfortunately, unlike ground troops, neither air nor naval units can be organized hierarchically. You can group them, but not make one superior to another. Also, their leaders gain experience way too slowly compared to ground leaders.
I like the names!
You should see the current list. Since I started writing these posts last week, I’ve played two more years into the game, and my fleet has gotten way bigger. I’ve had to resort to keeping ANN’s encyclopedia open to research last names.
And the kill list has gotten insane — two of the subs had such long lists, I had to give them names in honor. I’m driving my research and upgrades hard, and the naval commanders have been getting skill-ups. One of the things about the game is that it doesn’t just count guns and soldiers; it also adheres to the concept of “systemology.” In other words, if you have the equipment of say, a historical Germany, but the training of the Ethiopian Army, you can’t use it effectively. It’s necessary to research doctrine, not just hardware. Therefore, I don’t just build better ships, but my officer corps knows how to get the most out of them.
That, and having carriers made an insane difference when the Polish navy tried to force passage through the Strait of Malacca. In a series of battles, they lost four BB’s and most of the rest of their fleet; I lost the CA Rin Tohsaka. Uruguayan and South African fleets have generally met the same fate, but this is for two reasons; first the AI tends to create smaller fleets that are more vulnerable; second the AI doesn’t retreat immediately when a fleet is heavily damaged. The Polish fleet was huge, but it should have retreated after the first battle. My rule of thumb is if a ship takes 20% damage, I get it out of there. I’ll pull the whole fleet if its too weak.
I have three heavily escorted transport fleets able to carry an entire infantry corps, two mainline battle fleets, and the original strike fleet with carriers. I’ve also fielded a new ship class, the super-heavy battleship, equivalent to the planned, but un-built US Montana-class.
Battle fleets contain at least two BB’s (or SHBB), one fleet carrier, and two CA’s plus an escort of CL’s/DD’s. Transport fleets contain a BC, two CA’s, a CVL, and escorts. The strike fleet is as listed above, but with an extra CA now. Additionally I usually have one or more Reserve fleets with new ships working up or repairing damage. One sub fleet with about seven subs. That’s it. No small detachments, no patrol fleets, no pickets. Where I go, I bring the heavy metal.