Mindline

by on September 21, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

Part two of the Dreamhealer’s duology naturally picks up right where Mindtouch left off.

Jahir starts his residency on Selnor, and finds that it has even higher gravity than the (for him) heavy gravity that he’d had to get adjusted to on Seersana. I was a bit tired on my own while reading this, and the combination of reading through Jahir’s struggles with a planet too heavy for him grinding him down really made me feel it.

Vasiht’h chases after him and helps keep him going as they get drawn into a medical crisis that strains both of them. (This gets into one of my problems with psionics, as Jahir’s purely mental (as in brain/nervous system) ability seems to be able affect something that from what very little description is given is more purely chemical.) In some books, this might be enough for the entire story, with a triumphant, but bruised ending.

But this is a book about two people, and not the external problems they come across. The crisis is maybe half the book, and definitely makes me think of Cordelia’s Honor: “But I’ve always thought—tests are a gift. And great tests are a great gift.” The second half is rebuilding from a test that nearly kills them (Jahir especially), and a clearer return to the themes of the first book.

The pair really are one story. There’s a third book in the series now (and some short stories), but that’s a sequel, and a new story, and so isn’t essential to pick up immediately as this one is.

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Konya wa Hurricane Coalition Turn 11

by on September 17, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Konya wa Hurricane

Crossposted from the SFU blog on BGG.

Overall, the Coalition economy took a hit from the loss of all the captured planets in Hydran space and some captured provinces, but the fact that the Romulans are still exploring their own space allowed them to pick up nearly 10 EP (including captured NZ hexes) to make up for the bulk of that.

After doing all the repairs I could, the Klingons were slightly short of their goals and had to upgrade a MB to a BS with one fighter module instead of a BTS with the normal two. (Which isn’t entirely bad—taking the extra step costs a turn, but is still the same number of EPs, so if he can kill it this time, I’m out less money, and if he kills it next time, he still encounters a partially upgraded base. I hope he doesn’t kill it at all, of course….)

The Klingons have started work on their third B10 (I think I’m unlikely to start the fourth, but we’ll see how the budget looks in two years), and while B10-2 is delayed (‘1’), B10-1 got a ‘6’ to put it in line for completion in two to three turns (it’s at 32/40; I just need to average ‘4’ to get it in two turns, and as long as I get at least a ‘2’ next time, it will be possible to get it in two turns. …Or it could drag itself out for eight turns, at which point I definitely won’t be starting B10-4….)

Builds:
Klingons: D7C, D7V, D6M, 4xD5, D5U, 2xAD5, MD5, D5S, F5L, 6xF5, 2xF5E, E4R, MB->BS(f), D6->D6S, D6->D6D, D6->D6J
Romulans: CON, FH, SP, SPB, SPC, SPF, SK, 2xSKE, SH, WE, SNB, WE->KE, BH->BHF
Lyrans: BC, STT, CW, LTT, STJ, CWE, DWV, 2xDWE, 2xFF, FCR, PDU, BS(F)->BATS(F), CW->CVL, 2xFF->DW

My raids were largely a repeat of the previous turn’s: One Lyran raid to disrupt the Kzinti capital province, and one into NW Federation space, while all the Klingon and Romulan raids went deep into Federation space. The crippled D5 from last turn was replaced with a C5 and the Romulans filled their last raid slot with another SP. Both Lyran raids worked, but the Klingons and Romulans only succeeded with one raid each, and another D5 was crippled, though three different Federation fighter squadrons were destroyed.

With the collapse of the Hydran front, my activities there were confined to re-occupying the home system and neighboring planets to re-establish the supply grid, moving cripples out of the theater, and securing all possible on-board provinces. Kzinti space was somewhat more active, with the main Lyran fleet moving over to take out planet 1802, the last Kzinti base outside the capital, and substantial portions of Klingon forces shifting to take out a Federation BATS and planet 2106.

My main goal in that area was actually to hit as many of the planets near and behind the 4th Fleet SB as I could (presumably four of them), and BATS 2603, which lost its fighters in a raid. However, he reacted out a few ships to 2106, and a noticeable number to 2306, so instead I turned everything I had left in range to the SB to try and take it out. Meanwhile, the Romulans continued rolling up the border stations along the border, and sent a force to take the minor planet near the 5th Fleet SB, small forces to two locations past the 6th Fleet SB, and the bulk of the Home Fleet to the major in 3509.

I expected to see one of the western Fed reserves go to a planet fight (probably 2306), and the other to either go to the SB or to 2106. Instead, one went to 2306, while the other went to unpin the reserve in 3209. I had expected the 3008 reserve to do that, and 3209 to go to 3706 or 3509. Instead, both eastern reserves went to 3509.


Kzinti space and the 4th Fleet area.


Minimal activity between Earth and the border.


Romulan Drive For Five.


Picking up after Hurricane Hydrax.

Battles:
0418: SSC: Hydran: dest POL
1802: Kzinti: dest 2xPDU; Lyran: dest BC, crip DW
1702: Klingon: dest F5
2103: Federation: dest BATS; Klingon: crip F5
2306: Federation: dest 2xCA, FF, MON, 3xPDU, capture F5J; Klingon: dest D7A, D6M, planet captured
2106: Federation: dest CA, FFS, 2xPDU, crip CFF; Klingon: crip F5E, planet captured
2204: Federation: crip NCL; Klingon: dest D6D
2105: Federation: dest FF, crip FF
2610: Federation: dest 2xPDU; Klingon: crip F5G, capture planet, then retreat to let it go again
2511: SSC: both sides retreat
3210: Retreat after refused approach
3612: Federation: dest 2xPDU; Romulan: crip WE, SK, capture planet
3810: Federation: dest BATS; Romulan: crip SEH
3209: Federation: crip NCD, 2xDD, 2xFF, capture WE; Romulan: dest SN, crip WE, 3xBH
3808: Federation: dest BATS; Romulan: crip KR
3509: Federation: dest 2xPDU; Romulan: dest FAL, crip F5L
3806: Federation: dest BATS; Romulan: crip SK
3706: Federation: dest MON, 2xPDU; Romulan: crip SP, capture planet

The Kzintis directed on a BC at 1802, and Byron was happy to trade fighters for a BC. I was happy to trade a BC for a defended planet. After the first round, the Kzinti left, and did a fighting retreat over what would have been a small SSC and killed a F5.

I had two D7As available at 2306, and would have used both if there had been an approach battle. As it was, he killed it and a F5J (which was a hard lesson on just how bad the damage rules on penal ships are), and thankfully, when he rolled a successful capture attempt, got the F5J. He burned the F5J for a die roll bonus on the second round, and then retreated behind the MON and one PDU left on the planet before round three (though he didn’t have any cripples either).

With the reserve going to the 4th Fleet SB, I didn’t have what it took to really threaten it (especially since I didn’t really have specialty ships past three medium and two light carriers), and he had an ADM and I didn’t (he was busy in 2306), and then he spent a command point. Rather than try to slog through to cause some damage over a few rounds, I took a round of 11 ships to 13 once and left. I did a Fighting Retreat over the force that had retreated from 2106, and killed a FF and crippled another in return for fighters. Overall, we each lost three cruisers in those four fights, except that mine were more valuable, and the Federation also lost two extra FFs, a MON, and 5 PDUs.

I thought I’d have a decent fight at 3209, but was sadly mistaken. Part of the problem is the continuing trouble with Alliance EW superiority, and the Roms are nowhere near combating that, so a -2 shift with a small-ship heavy line caused a nearly 2:1 difference in damage. Another good capture roll got Byron a WE, which is in an odd space at the moment. The KE seems to be on its way to being its own hull (the KEV lists its hull type as KE, but the KE says WE), which means a captured WE can’t be upgraded to it (which makes sense, with how thorough the conversion is), and the ‘Queen Eagle’ variants aren’t in the game yet. Byron will be turning it in for scrap, though I’d probably keep it as an extra hull myself.

I put more than enough on 3509 that I figured I could take a major planet with a MON and about half a dozen FFs parked there, and a reserve. I had not expected two reserves to show up, and the fleet wasn’t able to take it. So I traded a FAL for a couple PDUs (couldn’t do enough to kill a third), and then retreated out, taking minimal damage, and left the Federation with a number of unresolved involuntary minus points.

My goals were a bit better focused this turn, and the results show it. The two big disappointments were not doing any damage to the 4th Fleet SB and not taking 3509. However, I had expected two reserves to to go to the two planet fights in the Western Fed (making those fights iffy at best), and one to 3509, which I’d take with some damage, and have something of a bloody fight over the SB. Instead, most of the damaging fights were avoided, and I’m happy with having (temporarily) taken five Federation planets this turn.

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The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

by on September 13, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

Like a lot of people, ancient Egypt has always had a fascination for me, and being a history buff, I’ve picked up a decent amount of knowledge on the subject over the years. But, I’ve never had any one great source for what is quite a lot of history, and Toby Wilkinson’s book serves the purpose very well.

One advantage of it is that instead of just being Dynastic Egypt, the text runs all the way from what we know of pre-sedentary societies in the area (all-new to me), to the death of Cleopatra, and the end of Egypt as any sort of independent entity until modern times. Coverage naturally varies depending on how much is known, with the usual suspects of the early I Dynasty and the XVIII Dynasty getting a lot of attention. Normally, I don’t see much about the period between the XIX Dynasty and the Ptolemaic period, so the expanded scope was appreciated.

The book is clear, concise, and well-written, and as an introductory overview stays well away from any sort of controversies, or discussion of trends of thought in Egyptology, even when those bear directly on text. The greatest example of this was having to look up Ptolemy VII separately to find out that he may not have reigned/existed at all, and if he did it was a very short while (say a month); but the book talks about Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII in the same paragraph, and doesn’t think to note the reason why there’s a missing number. There is a stated attempt to point out forms of repression and absolutism inherent in the governmental system, but it’s not all that well explored, and (since its what we have records of) the book tends to gloss over parts of that anyway in its narration of the doings of high officials and armies.

In addition to the standard bibliography, there’s a fairly extensive collection of color photographs (a number of black-and-white ones are scattered throughout) at the end of the (Kindle) book. They aren’t bad on a smaller screen, and are big enough to view comfortably on my desktop monitor. There’s also a lot of notes for further reading on specific subjects; unfortunately, at least in the Kindle version the names of books are not italicized, making them harder to pick out of the text, and the sources of articles mentioned are not given. What actually makes me unhappy, is that the reading is almost all for particular subjects, instead of anything that just breaks down to the next level of overview, i.e., suggestions for the Old Kingdom as a whole.

There’s some talk about the various trade routes around the Nile, which help explain the importance of certain areas, and at least mention of the fact that the Nile Delta was more important that it seems, simply because it’s much harder to do archaeology there. But, while lacking a means of easy access to the next level of detail, there is plenty here, and it is overall a well-put together look at around 3000 years of history.

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Two Rounds of Tegyra

by on September 9, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: CC:Ancients

For our latest between-other-games bit of Commands & Colors Ancients, Patch and I played a couple rounds of a tiny little scenario from Expansion #6: Tegyra. Instead of the normal 5-7 banner range, this one only goes to three banners, which is fine, as the Thebans only have five units, though three of them are elite Heavy Infantry (always hit on leaders, and can ignore a banner). The Spartans have a noticeably bigger army, but they are disadvantaged four cards to six, and go second. Also, the Thebans can get banners by exiting units off the middle of the Spartan side of the board.

I had the Thebans the first time, and led off with Out Flanked to send the MC against his light units and start threatening to escape off the board. Patch naturally evaded to the baseline, and I didn’t do any damage. Patch used Order Medium get his center up to my Heavies, and engage one MC. The first attack only did one damage, and I did four to a Spartan MH, and forced it back a hex. The second unit did four hits to more than finish off my Heavy, and the third did three banners to another Heavy, forcing it back two hexes. Finally, he hit my MC, which evaded with no damage.

I used Order Two Left to drive the other MC into the gap, and pick on his one-block unit, but did no damage, while his battle back… did nothing. Patch then Double Timed into contact with all my units. My MC evaded all damage again, his second attack did one damage to a Heavy, while the battle back did one block and forced him back. The next unit finished off the Heavy, and my leader survived and put himself a hex behind the remaining Heavy. His last unit did two banners to the last heavy, who retreated onto my leader, and then he momentum attacked to do two damage to the Heavy, with battle back doing two in return.

I Ordered Three Center, and picked on a Light again, doing two blocks with a banner, the MC being forced back by a banner as well. The other MC tried to pick off his 1-block Spartan MH and failed again, taking a block. My Heavy picked off his forward MH (4 hits), and got the leader with him. Patch Counterattacked, doing a block to my Heavy, who did 4 hits in battle back to wipe out a fresh MH. 3-2

Patch led off with a Double Time to come into contact with my line immediately. His first attack was on my left leader and only did one block, but also two banners, which I could ignore, and I did four blocks in return, destroying his Heavies. The second attack did two more blocks, and two more ignored banners, while battle back cost him two blocks. The third attack did five hits to wipe out a regular MH.

I contemplated using Order Lights to try and soften him up with a little archery, but went with Order Three Center, and shifted over a Spartan MH to solidify my line. My first attack knocked out his weakened Heavies, and the second did three hits to the one remaining Heavy unit, while the battle back did two hits and two banners, one of which I ignored.

Patch then used Mounted Charge (it turned out he had both of them), and did two more hits to my Spartan MH, reducing it to one block, but the battle back did three hits, ending the game. 3-1

Afterword

The first battle went slightly longer at just about half an hour. If we’d done this physically, it could have easily taken longer to set up than play. It’s a fun little scenario though. Those heavies can pack a lot of punch, and the Spartans have to keep an eye on what the Theban MC is doing, as they could easily exit at some point. Since the Thebans have a good chance of everyone being in the center, leading to dead “Left” and “Right” cards, I think the six cards is more to make up for that than just giving them lots of options.

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Mindtouch

by on September 5, 2017 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Books

I can remember reading a fair number of books dealing psychic powers, adventure, and relationships in the ’80s. This is kind of a return to those, but much improved.

Psionics is never a favored subject of mine, though it’s not exactly a turn-off either. Here, we get some interesting exploration of the problems faced by a couple of contact-empaths (one in particular, really), though even with that focus, the entire subject is a bit… fuzzy. (Though the perception of emotions gets an interesting bit in the second half.)

However, the real driving force of the book is the blossoming friendship between the main two. There’s a decent supporting cast, but the novel maintains its focus so well, that many of them just serve to color their lives around the main events. Concurrent with that is the partial exploration of xenopsychiatric therapy that they are uniquely suited for. (It took me three chapters longer than it should have to realize just where the series name ‘Dreamhealers’ was headed.)

It’s not a heavy book, and it is very definitely part one of two; I’ve dived right into the second book as the first ends an appropriate break, but isn’t really the full story. It does a great job of presenting a pair of people who are not outgoing in nature, and perfect for each other. Recommended as a very good coming-of-age, alien/college environment, and lifelong-friendship story.

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