Kirov

Chi ha giocato ad Harpoon non può non conoscere la Kirov, la caposerie dell'omonima classe di incrociatori da battaglia sovietici. Il termine incrociatore da battaglia all'inizio secolo si riferiva a navi con le stesso armamento della corazzate ma con meno protezione e più velocità (ad esempio la famosa Hood, affondata dalla Bismarck). Il termine venne usato per questa classe in quanto nonostante fossero incrociatori, avevano un armamento impressionante, anche nucleare, e quindi erano considerate della capital ship. In realtà non era ben chiaro che compito dovessero avere in un'ipotetica guerra. Hackett nel sua libro di fantasia sulla terza guerra mondiale ipotizza un loro ruolo come navi corsare, ma sembra un po' forzoso.

Tutto 'sto popo di introduzione per segnalare questa serie di romanzi (purtroppo solo in inglese) fantastorici. La serie si chiama appunto Kirov ed è sulla falsa riga del film anni '70 "The Final Countdown" dove la portaerei Nimitz torna indietro nel tempo giusto poco tempo prima dell'attacco a Pearl Harbor, con il potenziale per cambiare la storia. Ebbene in questa serie è la Kirov ha tornare indietro; ecco la intro su Amazon:

The battlecruiser Kirov, is the most powerful surface combatant that ever put to sea. Built from the bones of all four prior Kirov Class battlecruisers, she is updated with Russia’s most lethal weapons, given back her old name, and commissioned in the year 2020. A year later, with tensions rising to the breaking point between Russia and the West, Kirov is completing her final missile trials in the Arctic Sea when a strange accident transports her to another time. With power no ship in the world can match, much less comprehend, she must decide the fate of nations in the most titanic conflict the world has ever seen—WWII.

The novel is an intensely focused naval saga, where the crew of the lost Russian battlecruiser must struggle to understand what has happened to them, and then make a choice that could be decisive in the outcome of the war—who’s side are they on? A conflict between senior officers on the ship heightens the tension, and the course of all future history rides in the balance!

At this crucial time, Kirov finds herself just days and miles away from a secret summit at sea between Churchill and Roosevelt. On August 9, 1941, the two great leaders meet to plan cooperation in the war and lay down the Atlantic Charter, which decides the framework of post war power in the world and becomes the basis for the new United Nations and NATO.

With the hindsight of history as their guide, Kirov races south toward the secret meeting place at Argentia Bay in Newfoundland. Even as she cruises for the Denmark strait, both Roosevelt and Churchill prepare to embark for the sea journey as well. The Royal Navy soon discovers what they believe to be a fearsome new German raider in the Norwegian Sea, and they join with America’s Atlantic Fleet to bar the way and hunt down the most formidable surface action ship in the world.

Kirov is a compelling and deeply satisfying read by a master story teller. naval battles rage throughout the novel, and If you are a fan of naval fiction you will not be disappointed by this book. Written in a style that rivals some of the very best authors in the genre, C. S. Forester could not have done it any better!

Vedo che su Amazon ci sono parecchi romanzi nella serie, purtroppo ora non ho tempo per leggerli, ma magari più avanti ci farò un pensiero.

Espansione per Steam And Iron

Steam And Iron è un gioco sullo stile di Harpoon ma che simula le battaglie della Prima Guerra Mondiale; è stata annunciata un'espansione che aggiunge quattro scenari al gioco: qui sotto la loro descrizione:

The Baltic Campaign

This campaign features the Baltic campaign between Germany and Russia in WW1. Fought with mostly obsolete ships in a limited theatre, it nevertheless offers many opportunities for interesting battles. If you love predreadnoughts and armored cruisers, this is definitely the campaign for you!

Both sides positions are interesting. The Russians are superior to the Germans on paper, but the Germans can at any time call on the resources of the modern High Seas Fleet. The entry of the Russian dreadnoughts in early 1915 will tip the balance and give the Germans some serious challenges.

The campaign starts in august 1914 and ends in late 1916, as revolution made the Czarist navy mostly ineffective in 1917.

The North Sea Campaign

This is the full North Sea campaign 1914-1918 between Germany and Great Britain. With over 900 ships and submarines and more than 200 weekly turns, this campaign portrays this truly epic struggle between the largest dreadnought battlefleets the world as ever seen, while not neglecting the importance of mines and submarine warfare.

As the German side, you must whittle away at British strength by using mines and submarines and try to bring isolated parts of the British fleet to action until you can face the Grand Fleet on equal terms. Attacking British shipping along the East Coast or layng mines in the shipping lanes along the coast can earn you points for sunk merchant ships, as well as provoke a reaction by parts of the Royal Navy. Your best chance is probably in 1915 as your new dreadnoughts of the König class become operational while the superdreadnoughts of the great British building programme are still on the stocks. Do not waste this chance through timidity and weak leadership as the Germans did historically. From 1916 on you will be massively outproduced by the British. A problem is that the off and on of the submarine campaign against merchant shipping will heavily influence the number of submarines available to support fleet operations. The number of available submarines will peak in 1916 during the pause in unrestricted submarine warfare, and the arrival of minelaying submarines in spring 1916 will enable you to create interesting traps for the British.

As the British, you must keep the German navy bottled up and thwart raids on the East Coast while avoiding being beaten in detail. Use submarines to warn of and take a toll of German sorties. Offensive mining in the German Bight can also be a useful tool. From 1916 on your 15 inch gunned ships will arrive in numbers the Germans can never hope to match. With the arrival of the American 6th Battle Squadron in late 1917 the margin will be too large for the Germans, and inactivity in port will make the High Seas Fleet rot from within and eventually succumb to spreading revolutionary propaganda.

To make things more interesting in 1918, the ships of the Mackensen class are included in the German OOB, and will arrive in 1918. See designer notes for more notes on the OOB.

North Sea 1916 Campaign

This campaign covers the time from Scheer taking command of the High Seas Fleet until the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare in february 1917, thus encompassing the time of the battle of Jutland.

As in the full North Sea Campaign, when playing as the Germans you must try to whittle away at British strength by using mines and submarines and try to bring isolated parts of the British fleet to action until you can face the Grand Fleet on equal terms. Attacking British shipping along the East Coast or layng mines in the shipping lanes along the coast can earn you points for sunk merchant ships, as well as provoke a reaction by parts of the Royal Navy. In 1916 you are already being outproduced by the British, and their 15 inch gunned superdreadnoughts are entering service in increasing numbers, so time is of essence. The number of submarines available to support fleet operations will peak in 1916 during the pause in unrestricted submarine warfare, and the arrival of minelaying submarines in spring 1916 will enable you to create interesting traps for the British.

As the British, you must keep the German navy bottled up and thwart raids on the East Coast while avoiding being beaten in detail. Use submarines to warn of and take a toll of German sorties. Offensive mining in the German Bight can also be a useful tool. Your fleet has a considerable margin of superiority over the Germans, with the Germans having nothing to match your superdreadnoughts.

North Sea Germany Stronger Campaign

This campaign starts in 1916 and ends in 1918. It assumes that the Germans were willing and able to put more resources into the navy. This gives a more balanced campaign and also allows the player to try out some ships that never were. Changes from the historical OOB are:

* It is assumed that the Germans have finished the Greek battleship Salamis, building in Germany, equipping her with German 14 inch guns. Being classically minded, the Germans will have kept the original name.
* All four units of the Baden class will enter service in 1916.
* The Hindenburg will enter service in 1916.
* The Mackensen class will enter service in 1917.
* The Ersatz Yorck class will enter service in 1918.
* The Flottenkreuzer (FK1a concept) will be completed in 1916 onwards (the German answer to the British C-class).
* Some other late war German light units will enter service earlier.
* As some compensation for the British, the Hood and Rodney (the second unit of the Hood-class) will enter service in 1918.

The names of the Ersatz Yorck class are the names of armored cruisers lost in the early part of the war.

The names of the Flottenkreuzer are simply taken from German cities that didn’t have a cruiser named for them.

Qui un video di gameplay:

Command Modern Air Naval Ops due nuovi video

Command Modern Air Naval Ops  il nuovo nome del precedente Red Pills: un simulatore aereo navale erede di Harpoon e sviluppato dalla Warfaresims. Non c'è ancora una data di rilascio sicura ma sperano prima della fine del 2012; il sito del gioco è questo: http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=1101

Ecco i due ultimi video rilasciati (posa di mine e sminamento):

Naval War Arctic Circle

Un paio di settimane fa ho preso questo simulatore di guerra navale moderna della Paradox; che cosa ne penso l'ho detto qui http://www.strategygamesitalia.eu/simulatori/un-primo-impietoso-giudizio-su-naval-war-arctic-circle-t7653.html .

A qualche giorno e qualche patch di distanza il mio giudizio non cambia; il freeze c'è ancora, la grafica rimane 'na schifezza, insomma evitate di comprarlo per il momento. Se volete un navale moderno c'è gratuito questo gioco Global Conflict Blue ed è in lavorazione questo http://www.strategygamesitalia.eu/simulatori/command-modern-air-naval-operations-t964.html