Andnjord
Arcane
Trannies and Gentlemen, welcome to Steam And Iron, a simulation of early 20th century naval warfare where you command the massive Castles of Steel of the time, train them, organize them and watch them blow up spectacularly in glorious 2D graphics in a turn based and excruciatingly detailed engine where everything from gun caliber, crew training, wind direction, target profile and more is taken into account. This game is so Grognard that once you've ordered it online (on a Yahoo page) you have to wait for someone to actually email you your activation code.
THE NAVY LIST
Grossadmiral Andnjord
The leader, the boss. Any questions?
6. Linienschiffdivision
Konteradmiral Azira
Current Command: Leader of the 6. Linienschiffdivision aboard his flag-ship SMS Kaiser
Previous Command: Armored Cruiser Squadron (ACS)
Notable Action: Led the ACS into the Battle of the Broad Torpedoes where all his capital ships took a torpedo. Managed to bring everyone home.
Comment: Alcoholic and 'war hero'.
Kapitan Comte
Current Command: SMS Kaiser
Notable Action: -
Comment:
Kapitan Dayallu
Current Command: SMS Konig Albert
Notable Action: -
Comment: Needs to demonstrate more enthusiasm for the war and belief in the Ultimate Victory
Kapitan Baud
Current Command: SMS Prinzregent Luitpold
Notable Action: -
Comment: Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
I. Aufklarungsgruppe (BCS)
Konteradmiral Kalin
Current Command: SMS Seydlitz
Notable Action: 'Led' the BCS in the Battle of the Broad Fourteens. Demonstrated exquisite gunnery.
Courageously took charge of the Pre-Dread Squadron at the battle of Helgoland Bight.
Comment: WILL SOMEONE GIVE HIM HIS BONUS ALREADY?
Kapitan Zool
Current Command: SMS Derfflinger
Notable Action: Took part in the Battle of the Broad Fourteens aboard the von der Tann
Comment: Cautious and meticulous. Is known to never leave the armored conning tower during day-light.
Kapitan Grimgravvy
Current Command: SMS Moltke
Notable Action: Took part in the Battle of the Broad Fourteens. Demonstrated 'exquisite' gunnery
Comment: Calculating and cold. Might not be human but rather a cyber hive-mind. Investigation still in process.
The leader, the boss. Any questions?
6. Linienschiffdivision
Konteradmiral Azira
Current Command: Leader of the 6. Linienschiffdivision aboard his flag-ship SMS Kaiser
Previous Command: Armored Cruiser Squadron (ACS)
Notable Action: Led the ACS into the Battle of the Broad Torpedoes where all his capital ships took a torpedo. Managed to bring everyone home.
Comment: Alcoholic and 'war hero'.
Kapitan Comte
Current Command: SMS Kaiser
Notable Action: -
Comment:
Kapitan Dayallu
Current Command: SMS Konig Albert
Notable Action: -
Comment: Needs to demonstrate more enthusiasm for the war and belief in the Ultimate Victory
Kapitan Baud
Current Command: SMS Prinzregent Luitpold
Notable Action: -
Comment: Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn
I. Aufklarungsgruppe (BCS)
Konteradmiral Kalin
Current Command: SMS Seydlitz
Notable Action: 'Led' the BCS in the Battle of the Broad Fourteens. Demonstrated exquisite gunnery.
Courageously took charge of the Pre-Dread Squadron at the battle of Helgoland Bight.
Comment: WILL SOMEONE GIVE HIM HIS BONUS ALREADY?
Kapitan Zool
Current Command: SMS Derfflinger
Notable Action: Took part in the Battle of the Broad Fourteens aboard the von der Tann
Comment: Cautious and meticulous. Is known to never leave the armored conning tower during day-light.
Kapitan Grimgravvy
Current Command: SMS Moltke
Notable Action: Took part in the Battle of the Broad Fourteens. Demonstrated 'exquisite' gunnery
Comment: Calculating and cold. Might not be human but rather a cyber hive-mind. Investigation still in process.
For those familiar with Rule The Waves (like me thanks to Dayyālu Russian LP) this is its predecessor. They share the same combat engine but whereas in RTW you were an Admiral leading his navy through 25 years of history and designed and built your fleet, picked fights against other nations and fought it out in RNG generated battle where you had little to no influence on your force composition, the focus of SAI is on the operational side of things. Once you've picked a campaign (more on that later) you have a fixed navy, there is only one theater of operation and each turn you'll manually send out your selected squadrons on operations and missions you've picked yourself and you'll have to lead your ships out from port, towards their objective and (hopefully) back home. This leads to the great difference that you just won't know what's at sea out there, if you're outnumbered or if that little cruiser squadron is all alone or followed by the whole of the enemy fleet.
There are several campaigns to chose from. The 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war (Tsushima and T-crossing oh my), the Baltic campaign of 1914-1918 (the Russo-German naval scrap that no one cared for and whose most important result was the SMS Magdenburg running herself aground all of its own accord and revealing to the Russian and the British the German cipher codes) and the main event: the conflict in the North Sea from 1914-1918 across which the two most powerful navies of the world stared at each other for the duration of the conflict and during which all naval afficionadoes of the world where deprived of a proper apocalyptic battle (although Jutland comes quite close to it and is quite a fun battle to read about). This is the campaign we will play.
As should be obvious from the tittle, we will play as Germany. The Royal Navy is so superior to its opponent in this time period that all it needs to do is to keep the status quo, not be caught with its pants down and keep the Kriegsmarine bottle up in its ports, major victories are optional and not necessary. On the other hand, being the underdogs, the Germans need to pull the proverbial pants down, kick the Brits in the balls hard, scurry back to port until they have bled the Royal Navy enough to equalize the odds for the famous Der Tag, the cataclysmic battle where they will destroy the hated enemy and wrest the trident of the seas away from its bloodied hands. Much better, isn't it?
Now, we have a few options to chose from before we get stared. As befits a Codex LP, I'll be playing on hard but there are several variations of the North Sea campaign available. The first one is the normal campaign, starting in 1914. From the In-game description:
Next, the campaign starting in 1916. This is a little before the Battle of Jutland, and I feel that this was too late for the Germans to succeed, their best chance had been in 1915 before the RN's construction program really kicked into high gear and started popping out Capital Ships like no tomorrow. Sadly this is a short one as it ends in 1917
A variation on this we have the Germany Stronger 1916 Campaign, same deal but with some additional ships for us :
Finally, we have a user-made variation of the previous one, Arena of Steel 1916-1919. In this one every conceivable and imaged ship designed at the time will be present, ensuring maximum dakka on both sides:
Geeet voting mah boys!
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.
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Victory condition: 2,000,000 VP more than the enemy.
You must also have more dreadnoughts (BB and BC) operational than the enemy to win.
You must keep half as many dreadnoughts (BB and BC) operational as the enemy at all times or suffer a penalty
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.
-----------------------
Victory condition: 2,000,000 VP more than the enemy.
You must also have more dreadnoughts (BB and BC) operational than the enemy to win.
You must keep half as many dreadnoughts (BB and BC) operational as the enemy at all times or suffer a penalty
Next, the campaign starting in 1916. This is a little before the Battle of Jutland, and I feel that this was too late for the Germans to succeed, their best chance had been in 1915 before the RN's construction program really kicked into high gear and started popping out Capital Ships like no tomorrow. Sadly this is a short one as it ends in 1917
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 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.
A variation on this we have the Germany Stronger 1916 Campaign, same deal but with some additional ships for us :
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.
* 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.
Finally, we have a user-made variation of the previous one, Arena of Steel 1916-1919. In this one every conceivable and imaged ship designed at the time will be present, ensuring maximum dakka on both sides:
The basis for this campaign is the Germany Stronger 1916 North Sea campaign provided in the stock game. This campaign starts in 1916 and ends in November 1919. The basic OOB for each side is historical, projected out to late 1919. However, at the start of the game, each side will have a large variety of optional reinforcements (for a **small** cost in VPs) that can augment their OOB's considerably. Just about every dreadnought, real or projected, on either side could show up. An expanded assortment of cruisers is also available, including "D", "E", and Hawkins class CA's for the British, and a projected Panzerkreuzer (10 x 8", 31 knots) CA design as well as the Flottenkruezers and more Coln(ii) class light cruisers for the Germans. Further reinforcement options will occur at roughly 6 month intervals until Spring 1918.
Geeet voting mah boys!
Now personally I'd be more inclined towards the first and last option, but if the Codex desires to see me raped in the normal 1916 scenario or have the boring Germany Stronger 1916 (why go halfway if you can go balls deep?) I'll comply with the Codex's wishes.
I'll explain more about the systems and ship types as we get started, as well as posting our OOB once I know what campaign we will play. In the meantime, feel free to claim ships or squadrons, first come first served, but you'll have to post the exact ship and class-name until I post our OOB. This won't allow you to do anything but you'll have the warm fuzy feeling of knowing that it was your ship (and you at the helm) that blew up in front of everyone because of
A note about myself: while I have extensive experience of RTW, I have zero experience of SAI. So expect me to blunder our fleet into horrible situations at first, but if I manage to get a favorable engagement I'll make sure all the baddies will join Davy Jones Locker at the bottom of the sea.
And here are a couple of screens from my RTW campaigns to wet your appetite:
'Cry havoc, let loose the hounds of war'
Spectacular action shot of a ship blowing up
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