AAR: Of Men and Martians

Oberon · 01-27-10, 09:57 AM

The Martian War

A different kind of AAR, this time from the game Jeff Waynes The War of the Worlds, made in 1998 a hundred years after the iconic novel by H.G Wells was first published in its full form by William Heinemann.
This game takes a slightly different approach in that the Martians are repulsed in their landing at Horsell Common and decide to change their landing zone to a more secure area in Scotland.
And so, with battle lines drawn, it begins:

[Editors note: This game is notoriously buggy and thus I reserve the right to have to halt the AAR at some point due to a fatal crash. Hopefully though this will not be the case, and I have already once completed the game both as Humans and Martians so it can be done!]

kiwi_2005 · 01-27-10, 10:00 AM

...

Oberon · 01-27-10, 10:30 AM

The First Day

1st September 1898

Following the repulse of the Martian leading elements during the battle of Woking, our astronomers have brought to our attention further cylinders heading for the north of the country. It is estimated that these will land one approximately every twenty-four hours for the next eight to ten days. One has already landed in Central Scotland and the Martian forces are in control of that region.
The government has called for reinforcements but the colonial guard forces are too far away to be able to respond in time to what will be rapid Martian movements. Our southern england forces have been called north to set up a defensive line.

It is estimated, by those who participated in the Battle of Woking, that the Martians will have to wait before pushing forward in order to build command and co-ordination facilities for their forces. This gives us a brief moment to set up our defensive line in the counties indicated in the above map. Sapper lorries are being brought up to build artillery emplacements in the sectors that contain command posts and a construction lorry is moving for the one sector that doesn't contain a command post to build one.
One concern is the Armoured cars of Captain Scotts Hussars which were operating from Edinburgh. It is likely that Edinburgh will experience a Martian attack within the next few days so it is imperative that Captain Scott retreat at full speed to the defense line.

Construction wise, our facilities are putting out two Construction vehicles, two Formidable class Ironclads (One in Liverpool, one in Portsmouth) and an Armoured Car unit.
Our researchers have been instructed to look into 6 inch medium gun emplacements to bolster our mediocre artillery ability.

Our first objective is to fortify and hold the defensive line, once we have proven we can do this, we can look to go on the attack. However it is a race against time, the Martians will not stay in Scotland forever, they will soon look to move south, and our technology is greatly inferior to theirs, but we outnumber them and we have more resources to hand than them, using this combination of numbers and artillery defenses, we should be able to repel the initial attacks.

Dowly · 01-27-10, 10:33 AM

LMAO! Certainly a different AAR.

Oberon · 01-27-10, 10:42 AM

The Martian advance continues:

2nd September 1898

A report from Captain Scott indicated a green meteor was seen landing in the vicinity of Newcastle at approximately midnight. All communications in the area were lost later in the day following reports of tripod machines moving across the city. We can assume that Newcastle has been lost.
Martian forces have also been spotted advancing through southern Scotland by our scouts, presumably using the communications network set up at their initial landing site to co-ordinate their offensives.

Oberon · 01-27-10, 11:00 AM

Digging In

5th September 1898

Three more cylinders have since fallen, two in the Southern Uplands and one in Edinburgh. Captain Scott, now moving into position on the defense line, has had a lucky escape.

(The sappers lorry in the Lake District parked up by the Command Post, also nearby are a unit of Armoured Cars, ready for battle. The Grey circles mark where Artillery emplacements will be built.)

Our first sappers lorry arrived in the Lake District this morning and begun work on artillery emplacements and 'wire walls', these tall walls of wire serve as to both slow the Martians down, thus enabling us to pour more firepower on them and to warn us of the direction of their advance. However, it takes one day per section of wire wall to construct and four days per artillery piece.
Will we have enough ready by the time the Martians arrive?

Raptor1 · 01-27-10, 12:11 PM

Hmm, this game in fact looks highly interesting. Wonder why I haven't heard of it before

Really have to finish the book though, stuck about 3/4th of the way through for about a year now...

Is there some kind of time limit after which the humans achieve automatic victory due to the Martians dying out?

Oberon · 01-27-10, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raptor1

Hmm, this game in fact looks highly interesting. Wonder why I haven't heard of it before

Really have to finish the book though, stuck about 3/4th of the way through for about a year now...

Is there some kind of time limit after which the humans achieve automatic victory due to the Martians dying out?

Regrettably, the Martians brought Tamiflu with them this time. They don't die out. I guess this is more to do with balancing the game. After all, wouldn't be much fun playing as the Martians if you automatically lost after a month or so of play

Oberon · 12-31-11, 12:00 PM

HOLY EPIC THREAD NECROMANCY BATMAN!

Ahem...I mean...let's try to continue this AAR, shall we?

More Martians
9th September 1898

Another cylinder lands in the Argyll region, whilst our troops in the Pennines and the Lake District continue to dig in.
We've got a period of grace whilst the Martians fortify their positions and build their command centers, but it won't stay quiet forever.
Already the roads from the north are choked with refugees streaming southward. Many have called upon the government to save them from the Martians and are filled with rage at the decision of the military to abandon the north of the UK.
At 15:15, the two units of armoured cars arrive at Whitby to protect the construction of the command center there.

Now we need to look at resources. The 1st Viscount Chilston has ordered the creation of additional Coal mines, oil refineries and steel mills to feed the mobilisation of our forces.

Resources in The War of the Worlds is a tricky thing, and I'm still not one hundred percent clued in on it, but it goes something a little like this.
For Humans there are three resources, Steel, Coal and Oil, without them your industries and construction vehicles will build at a slower rate and your military will fight at a reduced effectiveness. The more units there are in a sector the more resources they will consume by being present...it's a tricky thing to balance supply and demand, particularly since you can max out your industries.

So, let's just get down to building the base set first and then go from there...here are the resource locations:

Oil

Steel

Coal

As you can see...we have enough for the moment...but we're going to (hopefully) be building more munitions factories and dockyards in the future, so we'll need more resources!

Time to get our spare construction vehicle sitting in Nottingham to work!

Annoyingly Cardiff lacks a communications center, which means the first thing the construction vehicle will have to do when it gets there is to build one before it can set to on building an oil refinery.

Egan · 12-31-11, 12:40 PM

Quote:

....and decide to change their landing zone to a more secure area in Scotland .

Their first mistake. Just wait until the Buckied up Tongs get steamed intae them...

Oberon · 12-31-11, 01:34 PM

The Uneasy Calm
10th September 1898 - 15th November 1898

The Construction vehicle arrives at Bristol on the 21st (not Cardiff...my bad) and sets to work on building a Command Center. The astronomers have reported clear skies over Scotland for the past few nights...no more cylinders. So this is it...now the Martians will spread out and consolidate Scotland...and when they're ready...they will come south.
A new Armoured Car unit is built on the 21st in the Pennines, it is dispatched to Whitby to make up for the current lack of fortified gun positions in the area while the Command Center is being constructed.
Our research into the 6 inch naval gun is completed on the 22nd, and orders given to our boffins to look into the 9.5 inch gun. This will take 45 days, but will be worth it in the firepower we can bring to bear on any Martian assaults.

And range...these guns will hopefully be able to out range the Martians heat rays, damaging them before they can hit us. Unfortunately their accuracy isn't great, but their splash damage is quite good.
Orders to build 6 inch guns are given to the sappers lorry at the Pennines and Lake District. The guns will take 13 days each at 100% efficiency but first the small 4.6 inch guns have to be built, and they take about 4 days each.
The command center at Whitby is finished on the 28th September and the Construction Vehicle is sent south to the Wash to build a Command Center there and eventually a Steel mill. Unfortunately there isn't a sappers lorry spare to begin construction of defences at Whitby...that could be a problem, however the vehicle factory at Northampton will finish a Construction Vehicle in 3 days, so when that is complete I will start construction of a sappers lorry, that will take eighteen days...let's hope the Martians are having similar problems...
On the 8th October 1898, the construction vehicle from Whitby arrives at The Wash and begins work on the Command Center, that will take about twenty days or so. Furthermore the Command Center will be sited at the south side of the map and near the coast to take the benefit of the Royal Navy. Still...if the battlefield gets that far south then I've done something very wrong somewhere.
The newly built Construction Vehicle from Northampton trundles off to Liverpool to build a coal mine.
On the 12th October a new Armoured Car unit is built in the Pennines, it is also sent over to Whitby...come on...where is that Sappers Lorry....
The 19th October sees the Sappers Lorry completed! It's immediately sent out to Whitby.
21st October - The Construction vehicle in Liverpool finishes its coal mine and heads to the Cotswolds to build one there.
24th October - The Sappers Lorry arrives at Whitby and starts work on the defences.

The state of play 24th October 1898

So far I've been building up defences, waiting for the inevitable Martian attack...and it's not come. In fact they've not even expanded into the surrounding territories...which is different. It's tempting to launch a raid up into the East Coast of Scotland, but that's a temptation I must resist, I simply don't have the military might at the moment to make any real impact. Let them come...we'll be ready when they get here.

Meanwhile in London:

"They're building an oil refinery opposite the Houses of Parliament?! I'm going to write to my MP!!"

On the 4th November the Martians start moving, Galloway is lost and the trickle of refugees heading into the Lake District suddenly stops as alien cries echo on the horizon. The sappers knuckle down and double their pace as the frontline gets closer.
Research into the 9.2 inch naval gun emplacement is completed on the 7th November and research ordered into a project called 'mines' which consist of explosives buried underground and activated by either pressure or by wire. Combined with the wire walls, they should help slow the Martians down and give our artillery time to peck away at their armour.
On the 10th of November HMS Formidable rolls down the slipway at Liverpool docks and into the water.

She is sent up to the Lake District where she will provide fire support in assistance to the artillery defences when the Martians attack.
HMS Irresistible is launched from Portsmouth on the 11th November and sent up to Whitby.
The research on 'Mines' is completed on the 15th November, and research is ordered on a new Offensive weapon, the Armoured Track Layer. Some sort of armoured vehicle on treads...it'll probably never catch on. Some of the men are calling it a 'tank' for some reason. Such rot!

Egan · 12-31-11, 02:06 PM

Ace. I might have to track this game down, buggy or not. It remains one of my favourite novels to this day.

Which reminds me, I haven't read it in a year or two. I must rectify that when I get back to my library in a few days.

I might have to get the cd of the Jeff Wayne show. I had it on vinyl when I was a nipper.

01-27-10, 09:57 AM	#1
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	AAR: Of Men and Martians The Martian War A different kind of AAR, this time from the game Jeff Waynes The War of the Worlds, made in 1998 a hundred years after the iconic novel by H.G Wells was first published in its full form by William Heinemann. This game takes a slightly different approach in that the Martians are repulsed in their landing at Horsell Common and decide to change their landing zone to a more secure area in Scotland. And so, with battle lines drawn, it begins: [Editors note: This game is notoriously buggy and thus I reserve the right to have to halt the AAR at some point due to a fatal crash. Hopefully though this will not be the case, and I have already once completed the game both as Humans and Martians so it can be done!]

01-27-10, 10:00 AM	#2
kiwi_2005 Eternal Patrol Join Date: May 2004 Location: Aeoteroa Posts: 7,382 Downloads: 223 Uploads: 1	... __________________ RIP kiwi_2005 Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others.

01-27-10, 12:11 PM	#7
Raptor1 Navy Seal Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Stavka Posts: 8,211 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	Hmm, this game in fact looks highly interesting. Wonder why I haven't heard of it before Really have to finish the book though, stuck about 3/4th of the way through for about a year now... Is there some kind of time limit after which the humans achieve automatic victory due to the Martians dying out? __________________ Current Eastern Front status: Probable Victory

01-27-10, 10:30 AM	#3
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	The First Day 1st September 1898 Following the repulse of the Martian leading elements during the battle of Woking, our astronomers have brought to our attention further cylinders heading for the north of the country. It is estimated that these will land one approximately every twenty-four hours for the next eight to ten days. One has already landed in Central Scotland and the Martian forces are in control of that region. The government has called for reinforcements but the colonial guard forces are too far away to be able to respond in time to what will be rapid Martian movements. Our southern england forces have been called north to set up a defensive line. It is estimated, by those who participated in the Battle of Woking, that the Martians will have to wait before pushing forward in order to build command and co-ordination facilities for their forces. This gives us a brief moment to set up our defensive line in the counties indicated in the above map. Sapper lorries are being brought up to build artillery emplacements in the sectors that contain command posts and a construction lorry is moving for the one sector that doesn't contain a command post to build one. One concern is the Armoured cars of Captain Scotts Hussars which were operating from Edinburgh. It is likely that Edinburgh will experience a Martian attack within the next few days so it is imperative that Captain Scott retreat at full speed to the defense line. Construction wise, our facilities are putting out two Construction vehicles, two Formidable class Ironclads (One in Liverpool, one in Portsmouth) and an Armoured Car unit. Our researchers have been instructed to look into 6 inch medium gun emplacements to bolster our mediocre artillery ability. Our first objective is to fortify and hold the defensive line, once we have proven we can do this, we can look to go on the attack. However it is a race against time, the Martians will not stay in Scotland forever, they will soon look to move south, and our technology is greatly inferior to theirs, but we outnumber them and we have more resources to hand than them, using this combination of numbers and artillery defenses, we should be able to repel the initial attacks.

01-27-10, 10:33 AM	#4
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,052 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	LMAO! Certainly a different AAR.

01-27-10, 10:42 AM	#5
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	The Martian advance continues: 2nd September 1898 A report from Captain Scott indicated a green meteor was seen landing in the vicinity of Newcastle at approximately midnight. All communications in the area were lost later in the day following reports of tripod machines moving across the city. We can assume that Newcastle has been lost. Martian forces have also been spotted advancing through southern Scotland by our scouts, presumably using the communications network set up at their initial landing site to co-ordinate their offensives.

01-27-10, 11:00 AM	#6
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	Digging In 5th September 1898 Three more cylinders have since fallen, two in the Southern Uplands and one in Edinburgh. Captain Scott, now moving into position on the defense line, has had a lucky escape. (The sappers lorry in the Lake District parked up by the Command Post, also nearby are a unit of Armoured Cars, ready for battle. The Grey circles mark where Artillery emplacements will be built.) Our first sappers lorry arrived in the Lake District this morning and begun work on artillery emplacements and 'wire walls', these tall walls of wire serve as to both slow the Martians down, thus enabling us to pour more firepower on them and to warn us of the direction of their advance. However, it takes one day per section of wire wall to construct and four days per artillery piece. Will we have enough ready by the time the Martians arrive?

12-31-11, 12:00 PM	#9
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	HOLY EPIC THREAD NECROMANCY BATMAN! Ahem...I mean...let's try to continue this AAR, shall we? More Martians 9th September 1898 Another cylinder lands in the Argyll region, whilst our troops in the Pennines and the Lake District continue to dig in. We've got a period of grace whilst the Martians fortify their positions and build their command centers, but it won't stay quiet forever. Already the roads from the north are choked with refugees streaming southward. Many have called upon the government to save them from the Martians and are filled with rage at the decision of the military to abandon the north of the UK. At 15:15, the two units of armoured cars arrive at Whitby to protect the construction of the command center there. Now we need to look at resources. The 1st Viscount Chilston has ordered the creation of additional Coal mines, oil refineries and steel mills to feed the mobilisation of our forces. Resources in The War of the Worlds is a tricky thing, and I'm still not one hundred percent clued in on it, but it goes something a little like this. For Humans there are three resources, Steel, Coal and Oil, without them your industries and construction vehicles will build at a slower rate and your military will fight at a reduced effectiveness. The more units there are in a sector the more resources they will consume by being present...it's a tricky thing to balance supply and demand, particularly since you can max out your industries. So, let's just get down to building the base set first and then go from there...here are the resource locations: Oil Steel Coal As you can see...we have enough for the moment...but we're going to (hopefully) be building more munitions factories and dockyards in the future, so we'll need more resources! Time to get our spare construction vehicle sitting in Nottingham to work! Annoyingly Cardiff lacks a communications center, which means the first thing the construction vehicle will have to do when it gets there is to build one before it can set to on building an oil refinery.

12-31-11, 01:34 PM	#11
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	The Uneasy Calm 10th September 1898 - 15th November 1898 The Construction vehicle arrives at Bristol on the 21st (not Cardiff...my bad) and sets to work on building a Command Center. The astronomers have reported clear skies over Scotland for the past few nights...no more cylinders. So this is it...now the Martians will spread out and consolidate Scotland...and when they're ready...they will come south. A new Armoured Car unit is built on the 21st in the Pennines, it is dispatched to Whitby to make up for the current lack of fortified gun positions in the area while the Command Center is being constructed. Our research into the 6 inch naval gun is completed on the 22nd, and orders given to our boffins to look into the 9.5 inch gun. This will take 45 days, but will be worth it in the firepower we can bring to bear on any Martian assaults. And range...these guns will hopefully be able to out range the Martians heat rays, damaging them before they can hit us. Unfortunately their accuracy isn't great, but their splash damage is quite good. Orders to build 6 inch guns are given to the sappers lorry at the Pennines and Lake District. The guns will take 13 days each at 100% efficiency but first the small 4.6 inch guns have to be built, and they take about 4 days each. The command center at Whitby is finished on the 28th September and the Construction Vehicle is sent south to the Wash to build a Command Center there and eventually a Steel mill. Unfortunately there isn't a sappers lorry spare to begin construction of defences at Whitby...that could be a problem, however the vehicle factory at Northampton will finish a Construction Vehicle in 3 days, so when that is complete I will start construction of a sappers lorry, that will take eighteen days...let's hope the Martians are having similar problems... On the 8th October 1898, the construction vehicle from Whitby arrives at The Wash and begins work on the Command Center, that will take about twenty days or so. Furthermore the Command Center will be sited at the south side of the map and near the coast to take the benefit of the Royal Navy. Still...if the battlefield gets that far south then I've done something very wrong somewhere. The newly built Construction Vehicle from Northampton trundles off to Liverpool to build a coal mine. On the 12th October a new Armoured Car unit is built in the Pennines, it is also sent over to Whitby...come on...where is that Sappers Lorry.... The 19th October sees the Sappers Lorry completed! It's immediately sent out to Whitby. 21st October - The Construction vehicle in Liverpool finishes its coal mine and heads to the Cotswolds to build one there. 24th October - The Sappers Lorry arrives at Whitby and starts work on the defences. The state of play 24th October 1898 So far I've been building up defences, waiting for the inevitable Martian attack...and it's not come. In fact they've not even expanded into the surrounding territories...which is different. It's tempting to launch a raid up into the East Coast of Scotland, but that's a temptation I must resist, I simply don't have the military might at the moment to make any real impact. Let them come...we'll be ready when they get here. Meanwhile in London: "They're building an oil refinery opposite the Houses of Parliament?! I'm going to write to my MP!!" On the 4th November the Martians start moving, Galloway is lost and the trickle of refugees heading into the Lake District suddenly stops as alien cries echo on the horizon. The sappers knuckle down and double their pace as the frontline gets closer. Research into the 9.2 inch naval gun emplacement is completed on the 7th November and research ordered into a project called 'mines' which consist of explosives buried underground and activated by either pressure or by wire. Combined with the wire walls, they should help slow the Martians down and give our artillery time to peck away at their armour. On the 10th of November HMS Formidable rolls down the slipway at Liverpool docks and into the water. She is sent up to the Lake District where she will provide fire support in assistance to the artillery defences when the Martians attack. HMS Irresistible is launched from Portsmouth on the 11th November and sent up to Whitby. The research on 'Mines' is completed on the 15th November, and research is ordered on a new Offensive weapon, the Armoured Track Layer. Some sort of armoured vehicle on treads...it'll probably never catch on. Some of the men are calling it a 'tank' for some reason. Such rot!

12-31-11, 02:06 PM	#12
Egan Admiral Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 2,020 Downloads: 15 Uploads: 0	Ace. I might have to track this game down, buggy or not. It remains one of my favourite novels to this day. Which reminds me, I haven't read it in a year or two. I must rectify that when I get back to my library in a few days. I might have to get the cd of the Jeff Wayne show. I had it on vinyl when I was a nipper.