Friday, 19 January 2018

Hiccups with a Heinkel


Last night, when I should have been sleeping, I came across something I had been waiting for since Update 2.0 came to World of Warplanes, replays.

Now, this isn't the WarGaming inhouse developed replays that have been a part of the game for so long, but a third party "activation" modification that turns the system "on." If you are interested recording your battles (but, only to be played within the WOWP client), watch the video below and read through the instructions in the description.


So, now that I had one feature somewhat returned, I went to shoot a Live battle, showcasing the tier V premium German fighter, the Heinkel He 100 D-1 and allowed that process to run in the background. Little did I know there were going to be some issues....


Before I continue, let me get a something straight, I am not blaming the creators of this modification for the results of what you just saw (and I experienced first hand) rather I believe it was a combination of the activated replays, recording Live and my own system limitations that just couldn't handle everything that was going on.

Sadly, I pulled the replay option out, since it just wasn't going to work for what I wanted it to do. Perhaps, WarGaming will put a little more effort into returning the proper replays, with some extra, added optimization for good measure.

Thursday, 18 January 2018

Warum war ich hier?


I thought I was doing quite well during this battle with my German tier VII Messerschmitt Bf 109 G, the numbers at the end of it all told me a much different story.....

Wednesday, 17 January 2018

Two of the Two Ha's


Let's call this a Double Feature Day and showcase the other tier III premium German Ground Attack Aircraft, the Blohm und Voss Ha 137 (this would have been the V5, although not designated as such), guaranteed to have more action and a surprising end then the first presentation....


In case you missed out on the first part, take a look here.

One of the Two Ha's


Almost considered re-shooting a new video, but went ahead and published this one instead, with the verbal error intact and a captioned correction.

Tuesday, 16 January 2018

Ja ja, die Junkers wieder


Taking on another battle with my prize from the Skies of Albion event, the German tier V Junkers Ju 88A bomber and applying a few lessons learned since then....

Monday, 15 January 2018

Verwenden Sie nicht wie gezeigt


If you are a very dedicated German line player in World of Warplanes, or who knows how to Boom and Zoom like a pro, I would recommend the tier VIII premium Me 109TL as something to seriously consider acquiring in the future (if you don't have it already).

However, if you are a lucky, causal player, I am sure there is something else out there that could work much better for that playstyle....

Sunday, 14 January 2018

The Really Big Meteor


Since I started putting a face and voice to my videos, I have pretty much covered the British aircraft I have in World of Warplanes.

Well, there is one last plane that I will have a look at and to warn you up front (I repeat this quite a few times in the following video), I am terrible in it.

Sit back, relax and have a few laughs and head scratching moments on me....

Saturday, 13 January 2018

No Win Wirraway


Was it the plane, the player or the circumstances?

The CA-1 Wirraway premium tier III Commonwealth Ground Attack Aircraft was a favorite of mine in the pre-2.0 days, a hardy little trainer and a decent credit maker.

However, in this new age, I am finding only disappointment, especially from this latest exhibition....

Friday, 12 January 2018

The Aerial Circus


Since the arrival of 2.0, I haven't spent a whole lot of time in the upper tiers, just the odd battle here and there.

So, I dusted off my tier VIII Spitfire XIV and decided to take part in some of the action within that realm....

Thursday, 11 January 2018

The Hurricane Cometh


Denied as a prize from the Skies of Albion Loot Crates, I finally lay my hands on a plane in World of Warplanes I have waited a very long time for. However, Fate had other plans in store for me....

Wednesday, 10 January 2018

So Long Albion

My send off to the ending of the Skies of Albion event....


Drippings of Venom


I think the last time I attempted an Allied premium aircraft was the "Ghost in the Sky" mission from November 2015.

Although the thread that recounted how I got the Vickers Venom and my first thoughts based on the performance during those initial battles is long since gone, I do get the impression the plane has been....positively adjusted along the way. Over this past while, I have noticed this aircraft is a lot more maneuverable then I remember and the firepower is definitely up to "British Reliability" standards.

Low and behold, it just happened to be the plane I selected for Victory number eighteen, just I wouldn't live to see the end of the battle....


That was posted back in July 2017, so what's the plane like now?

Tuesday, 9 January 2018

Stubborn Spitfire


This time around, I finish off the last of my collected Skies of Albion crates, then take to the snowy skies in an airplane so legendary, I don't believe people will have any trouble knowing what it is.

Sadly, the battle left a sour taste in my mouth....

Monday, 8 January 2018

Allies Over Albion, Part 2


In an attempt to "queue drop" hawkeyededic into a battle in the same side that MagusGerhardt and myself were on, since three man flights have been long since removed, I pick an unloved, British premium plane to fly.

The video explains (and shows) all....

Showdown above the Snow


Right now, the new project going forward is to showcase the British aircraft I have in my hangar in World of Warplanes, both premium and tech tree units.

To start things off, I take care of my recent collection of Skies of Albion crates, then come with me to the lower tiers as I prowl the skies in the premium Supermarine Type 224, a failed prototype that would serve a "lessons to be learned" experience for the design of a iconic legend....

Sunday, 7 January 2018

Frustration From Up High


It would appear I am having issues with ground targets.

Back in the Beta Days and going forward to when World of Warplanes launched, I was mostly a Ground Attack player. With the only choice (for the longest time) belonging to the Soviets, I clawed my way up through the tiers, blasting away at buildings, ships and fortified emplacements. Although I would learn to take on aerial foes, the rockets, bombs and shells would still see a lot of dirt burning action.

After parking the IL-40P in my hangar, I just slowly drifted away from that class of aircraft, revisiting them from time to time to accomplish a mission task or try out a new plane brought into the game (the German line and the premiums introduced along the way, such as the Wirraway and Ha. 137 twins). Perhaps my gameplay tastes had changed, since I was flying Fighters and Multi-Roles more.

However, like all things new and despite this "meh" feeling I had with the introduction of Bombers, I couldn't resist the urge to try them out.


The example for part of this discussion comes from a recent battle with my recently acquired tier V German Ju 88A.

Pictured above is a Garrison and with the Alt key depressed to show the additional information.

Something has been nagging me about the latest changes to ground targets. I have been in quite a few matches now where, being who I am, pick out what I think are important selections, drop the payload, only to see another sector flip in much less time, thanks to a player controlled bomber on the enemy team. A similar thing has happened while flying Ground Attack aircraft, but that is a discussion for another time.

So the question is: is there a secret to ground targets? There has to be, either in the playstyle or the target selection itself.


Pictured above is a Command Center with the Alt key depressed to show the additional information.

During the first part of the battle, I went with my team to the lone Garrison in the middle of the map, which turned rather quickly (as to be expected). Then, I broke off and headed north alone to one of two Command Centers, the rest of the team went south. For about the next five to six minutes, frustration settled in.

I bombed the Radar Station, armored and unarmored ground targets, even the ships floating around, I just wasn't turning this sector to our side as fast as I had seen other players doing it. I was very careful not to leave a single target standing, taking out an entire grouping on a pass (I had read/heard somewhere if that happened, and enemy team could swoop in and "steal" the sector, flushing all that time and effort down the drain). The best I could do, on my own, was 3/4 of the job. Then the enemy team came in and flipped it back to their side.


My team completed their objectives and came over to my location, pushing the battle into the final phase. I was tired of staring at the ground and flew off to try something curious....

The tl;dr question is this: is there a secret or pattern to bombing ground targets that somehow speeds up a sector's capture?

Saturday, 6 January 2018

Fresh from the Messerschmitt Dealer


Early morning math fails and a few other things went into making this video....

Friday, 5 January 2018

Nicht verwendet wie angewiesen


Long ago, I was eyes and nose fixated on using my Ground Attack Aircraft for the role they were titled as such.

I couldn't tell you when I saw it or who was flying it, but the first time I witnessed one of these huge, lumbering planes go skyward and take on aerial targets with surprising success, two words raced through my head, "Wait....what?" After that, how I used mine, from the Soviet line to the later German offerings, began to evolve.

The phrase I had read somewhere was "use them like a Very Heavy Fighter," and after a lot of practice with mixed results, I was starting to understand this new concept.

Despite not flying one of these type of aircraft on a regular basis for a very long time, I wanted to see if the lessons I learned from the pre-2.0 days would still hold true now....

Thursday, 4 January 2018

Better as a Dream than a Reality


Back in my Beta Days and after World of Warplanes went Live, I flew many a battle in the tier V Curtiss P-40. However, it was never a real keeper for me, just a means to an end.


When the premium Soviet Lend-Lease version of the P-40 arrived, powered by the anemic M-105, I bought it the first chance I got and has become a much better aircraft over time.


In a mad rush 48 hour marathon that I completed long ago and with time to spare, I parked the tier IV Curtiss Model 81A-1 in my hangar, another plane I tested before the game was released.


Now, thanks to a forum thread created by SlickChickII, I received a code and after performing a few tasks I collected the last of the premium P-40's in the form of a Chinese Tomahawk IIb.

Question is: was it worth the wait?


Kein Sieg für dich!


The original plan for today was to open up some Skies of Albion crates and showoff a German Ground Attack Aircraft. However, something came along and changed part of that....

Wednesday, 3 January 2018

Bomber Blues



Breaking from my usual playstyle with the Blenheim bomber and a price was paid. 

Tuesday, 2 January 2018

Snake Bite


While still on the topic of bombers in World of Warplanes...

If I had to make a guess, WarGaming is no doubt watching how the first run of bombers are working out in the game, adjusting and finalizing new, near-ready units for a future update and sometime down the long road, those big, four engine aircraft (such as B-17/B-29, Stirling and Lancaster, the prototype Me. 264/Focke-Wulf FW 200 just to cover a few) could make an appearance.

Until then, it's wait and see, with artificial and a few human piloted aircraft to contend with....

Year of the Bombers?


If I was to make a prediction about World of Warplanes in 2018, I would be tempted to call it "Year of the Bombers."

With the recent addition of these six aircraft, starting with the Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV (early mod.), Dornier Do 17 Z, Junkers Ju 88 A, Dornier Do 217 M Douglas A-26B Invader and ending with the Myasishchev RB-17, the first bombers are here and have already made their mark in the game, creating more than a few discussions on the forums.

The questions now are, when are more coming and how many?

In the meantime, I will take out my only bomber, the Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV (early mod.) and try to get the crew trained up more, in anticipation of additional British aircraft from this line appearing (I have no hard evidence or even a good rumor to share about if/when this is going to happen). Some planes I would like to see include the Avro Manchester, Bristol Buckingham, Handley Page Hampden (already ingame as a bot controlled asset), Vickers Warwick and Wellington and that only covers a few of the twin engine types!

As for the German offerings, I will wander that way when they become available as regular tech tree aircraft in an update or two, but I am still somewhat disappointed I didn't get the chance to preview these through the Santa Bags or Loot Boxes..

The only rumor I have heard goes back to the Beta Days, someday there could very well be Heavy Bombers in the game. Will they be player or bot controlled? Who can say for sure, but if a certain iconic, four engine legend ever appears....well, let's just see if that ever comes to pass.

Monday, 1 January 2018

Never Dismiss Lady Luck


The adventures and results of a blank mind picking an aircraft on a whim for the first flight of 2018.