Captain's Log - Episode 3

Week three sees me having to begin a medium grind, and I'm ready for it. Experience and credits seems to be coming in at a steady pace and the game is becoming easier to grasp.

Occasionally a fun match or two comes my way. Maybe the opposing team have poor map control, or a clever opponent plays smart by not engaging fully but remains within the confines of his own team.

Patience is one of the first things to learn on navyfield 2, waiting for the enemy to come to you, let their guard down, not pay attention to you or not able to see you because of the fog of war.

Using auto aim versus these lower teir ships is more of a spam-click affair and while far less satisfying than manual aim, it is as this point far less taxing to use Auto aim when ships move so quickly and when scouts are non-existent.

Just a little while longer and I will have my first scout plane. Opening the way to scout and attack where I choose.

And by the looks of it the next battleship seems to be bristling with stronger guns and more of them. It looks fun, I may have to try manual aiming for a few battles to see how good the shell spread is. It will be ideal to learn manual aiming once I can actually scout.

I also noticed the next ship has anti-air guns as well. So I will get AAing as well. It seems like this will be a more rounded BB that can scout and deter planes by itself.

After getting used to handling all these things at once, later will be the time to refine my technique.

Credit Rewards

With the current state of the game, you initially find that credits are hard to come by. The primary cause of this is ship repairs.

You are left for the majority of your progression up the ship tree in a dilemma: Do I decide to buy a ship upgrade, or do I save for the next ship. Early on it is quicker to skip the upgrades and buy the next ship.

But as you start working up the teirs you may want to purchase the odd upgrade or two, and maybe some items for your ship, depending on which ship you are in. But you can only afford to do this because of the credit rewards you get.

These rewards are a joy to cash in, they counter the costs of repairs and actually boost your income significantly each day.

The best method is to sink 5 ships of every class per day. You will earn 1 reward for 1 ship type that you sink (500 credits), then 1 reward for sinking 5 of those types of ship (2000 credits).

So for each class of ship you can earn 2 rewards (2500 credits in total)

If you manage to sink 5 DD's, CA's, CL's, BB's, SS and CV's. You could earn up to 15000 rewards credits per day.

This is especially useful when saving up for the next ship. When you only earn 1000 credits (or less) per match and can only do a certain number of matches per day.

Also if you are ahead on experience but low on credits, Research the upgrades (burning some exp), but don't Purchase those upgrades, thus using up credits which you are short on.

Research only the upgrades that are required to obtain the next ship that you want.

This will give you the appearance of equilibrium between your experience and credits.

Lastly, with the credit rewards try to focus on sinking ships in a smart way. By that I mean without taking lots of damage and getting sunk yourself. Always stay in the match until the end where possible.

NOTE: as of 6th January 2015 credit rewards have stopped.
NOTE: New Event: credit increases of 70% added from 7th - 28th January 2015.
NOTE: Credit gain has been permanently increased by 50%

Aircraft Carrier Tutorial For Beginners - Video Guide

After trying out CV's for the first time ever, it seems like the perfect moment to spontaneously add a brief post highlighting a video of what they do.

And to save me time and discussing what a lot of you already know, but also to benefit those that really need to learn how to operate a CV for the first time, watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC254JWAbKWPM0xYQqaza-cA

This link is already on our favorites page too. Wander over their to check it out more cool stuff and learn a thing or two. 

Captian's Log - Episode 2

After a second week of gaming, I have predominantly been using the KM Moltke with auto aim.

The auto aim is ideal when in games with no light, when you need to react fast to DD rushes and nearby targets.

The Moltke is fun to drive beacuse it is fast and is still a fairly reasonable (medium) size. When all the shells land on a target they cause good damage, able to sink another battleships in a few salvos.

The auto aim function is ideal as it allows rapid fire of all primary and secondary guns with ease. Which is helpful to deter Destroyers from straying too close.

The most frustrating thing at Teir V is the fact that you still dont have a scout. In navyfield 1 you have a scout at around level 40 in your Light/Heavy cruiser long before you have your first battleship.

This lack of a scout causes a few problems when everyone on your team is Teir 5 or below without scouts. Making for a relatively poor game experience compared to navyfield 1.

You could end up getting rushed by multiple DD's, unknowingly run right into the enemy team. Finally you could be in a BB battle and have to drive close to fire at the enemy beacuse there is simply no other choice.

All of the above are extremely poor options for BB players. Who invariably get attacked by every ship in range due to their size.

I live in hope that the next tier (VII) battleship, the Mackensen, which has a scout, will be a better experience.

Now the main grind begins. I am currently earning around 1200 exp and 800-1000 credits per match. Which is ok. This means I need to play around 100 matches before I can afford the next ship. Why mention this? To give you an idea of how long it will take you to get your ships.

Credits are becoming less of an issue due to the credit rewards obtained from sinking different classes of ships. In one match I got 6 rewards from sinking 8 ships. And yes I had a smile on my face after destroying 8 ships on my own, winning the round and receiving some 5000+ credits.

Things I need to bear in mind:

• The game is still new and in its infancy, things will always be changing.


• I don't have a scout yet, but that issue will be remedied with my next ship.


• Credits are becoming easier to obtain by sinking more ships.


• I am always conscious of conserving credits by not taking lots of damage and getting sunk.

• Buying upgrades for a ship is costly and a waste of time if you want to level up fast/first. The alternative here is to 'master' the ship upgrades later once you are ready

.

I usually check the teams at the beginning of the round. Some 'match-ups' can be obvious to determine a loss from checking the teams. Where ship classes above tier 5 usually can scout. Sometimes the number of crucial types of ships aren't balanced and one team is the clear favorite. Changes to the matchmaking system are coming soon.

The experience and upgrade system is akin to world of tanks. Upgrades cost experience to unlock. But you also have free experience, which is a little bit of exp earned that can be used on any ship not just the one ship you earned it with.

Why NF1 Veterans Dislike NF2

The primary thing that most veterans of Navyfield really wanted was a continuation of the core mechanics of NF1 game but with updated graphics and new features.

I am one of these players too. I would have loved it if this was the case having basically the same feel of game but with new bells and whistles.

The biggest shift changes in Navyfield 2 from before are:

• The pace of battle is very quick, too quick and it caters to support class ships and auto aim.
• Ship speeds seem...off. Some are wrong or incorrectly faster or slower compared to NF1 speeds.
• Battleships gun accuracy is dreadful (right now), to nf1. (this may be because of poorly designed (P2W) morale system for officers, do we even get blockshots?)
• Lack of battle modes. Only one is available right now with two more coming early 2015. This is not enough. You would need Blitzkrieg, Great Battle 1 + 2, Normal Rooms, World at War. 
• The game seems to be designed around auto-aim, rather than manual.
• Because of the game pace, auto aiming is strongly favored. BB's should be using manual aim to get blockshot accuracy at long range.
• Different exp and credit system. As it stands now you don't earn based on your damage contribution. This feel restrictive like your earnings are being severely capped to stop leveling too fast. 
• Ship research is exactly like the world of tanks. Requiring weapon upgrades to unlock the next ship. (Flawed in some cases where duplicate research is required for the same gun on different ships. You cant afford to buy the upgrade you research because its more cost effective to get the next ship)
• Ship teleporting. So bad because it destroys locational team play. and annoying players' wet dream because they can waste time by intentionally avoiding battle by warping across the map to prolong the inevitable loss of a game. And it is too advantageous to players who can support or retreat quickly, IE a quick torpedo or shell dodge. This should be removed and have no part in navyfield 2 at all.
• General lack of satisfaction. Ships are easy to come by, and not satisfying enough to use, until around tier 8/9 for BB's. DD's CL and CA are somewhat fun, because they fire quickly. 
• The game doesn't make you feel like you've achieve anything, and has no end game (harbor assaults) yet. 
•  Just rushing around torping everything on auto aim, hobbit war style is boring. Especially when you want to do a proper long range BB vs BB battle.
• Ship trees & tiers. All ship classes go up to tier XI. Let me get this one straight, a tier XI Destroyer. This causes confusion, because players will naturally compare all tier DD, CA, CL's to a BB's and expect them to be competitive. BB's are superior to all support ships in a gun fight.  Final judgement will have to wait.
• BB5 + BB6 ships from NF1  have not been introduced (yet). But if they come along how much xp would be needed for these as tier XII & XIII?  It is 5 million xp for tier XI now. Would tier XII cost 10 million? and XIII 20 million? (In NF1 the total XP was 42 million to get level 120 A BB5 was about half  way through the grind) So I suppose this would make sense. But with current exp and credit limitations (in terms of earning, in NF1 you could earn 20,00-50,000 xp per battle). Only earning 5-8k xp per battle in NF2 (without premium) is comparatively slow. With recent updates, and other updates to come this will be improved. That's before looking at the credits needed, which at tier 9, you earn 2k per win. which requires 800-1000 rounds just to afford the final ships. Again with the updates it's not extremely bad, but a little bit inconvenient.
• Only 16 players per team. This should be up at around 30. Just like GB1 & GB2 battle rooms from NF1.
• The maps are not the best. They seem to have been hastily thrown together to cater for close combat and the capturing islands game mode (which is the only one currently available)  
• No veto option for maps. Some map just don't cater for APA's, BB's or SS. Most cater to low tier torpedo ships, rushing around. Note: change game name to TorpedoField2.
• Cohesion of battles. Some maps split your team into two or three groups. This makes your force spread terrible and then you cant work together effectively. And believe me teams rarely work properly in match making.
• Start points: again issue comes from bad maps and lack of game modes.
• Capture mode: people play differently with objectives on the map. I've seen this in all games FPS, RTS & RPG's. We need a pure death-match mode like GB's or Normal rooms on an open seas map. This would allow players to hone their combat skills. Not everyone wants only objective based modes. 

One comparison video on YouTube stated that Navyfield 2 feels more like an arcade spam-click and press space bar game, than the tactical simulation game Navyfield 1 was.

Right now NF2 doesn't really feel like it came from NF1. It feels more like an arcade-style mashup of some NF1 ideas blended with, WoWs , and then given a P2W model (ok granted they need some revenue stream for traction)

The skill factor for aiming is a lot less and battleship play is largely different to its predecessor. General gameplay caters for low level ships/officers who can spray torpedoes throughout games.

All the above said, the game is still in it's infancy, and needs improving.

But the changes will come eventually. It took Navyfield several years of weekly updates before things were ironed out to a reasonably ok level.

Things will be no different here. SDEnternet want to make some money and keep people playing the game over time instead of levelling up too fast and losing interest in the game.

But big changes are needed.

Navyfield Nostalgia

I have had a great trip down memory lane looking back at navyfield 1 on the European server, as I'm sure many of you guys have too since it's absence, now playing navyfield 2.

Here are some of my personal highlights to reflect some of the great memories I had while playing.

The Music

Every gamer knows that music can make a game feel unique. It adds so much to it's strength and character. Navyfield was no exception.

The original theme music was iconic and will be forever etched in our memories. Navy Field Theme Music 1. A triumphant fanfare to the totally epic and unique style of game if there ever was one. Then the updated main theme Navyfield Theme Music 2, subtly different, while still good, was not as epic.

Then came the in-game music. It really stirs the emotions when your charge into battle with large hulking ships. Battle Music 1.

 I must have listened to these songs tens of thousands of times at least.

My only sad point was that they didn't make additional tracks except the new theme tune and lobby music. But every single score was truly deep and added to the game like few others games.

The Game Play

Initially I loved they style of game. After leveling up fairly quickly I was happy, but that wore off when the leveling-up seemed slower and people always beat because of having higher level ships and crews.

Once I realized this was a game for the long-term, then I enjoyed it more. Think several months to max out a ship. Only when you get into a battleship does it make more sense, and when your crew is better. Each new ship feels so satisfying to reach.

After getting into the real ships the mighty BB4'+BB5's it becomes interesting. I was in my UK Lion 2, I was so invested in the game, and I loved every minute. (later on i got a Super Yammy and a H44, both excellent ships in their own right)

 Near the end of this leveling process you 'figure out' the crux of the game. You know what ships do what, how they play and you learn play styles, rushing, defensive, torping etc.... Quite simply, I was in love. And then there was still more to do and learn.

The UK were my first choice and I am grateful I chose them with their strong battleships. I felt that was the only thing I had to learn. But the game is so deep and involved, to truly enjoy it you had to put up with it, learn what all the ships are like on your way to level 120.

Then came the BB6's, The last ship you could get, the reward for getting your BO to 120. For KM , the Kaiser has the longest range,  the UK had the Queen Victoria (QV) with speed and attacking ability. Then the IJN had the Amagi having high-angle shells was the ultimate defensive beast on the sea. Just wow!

 I never got to try USN and the Nebraska which had better range and damage output than the QV, but less range than a Kaiser

These ships were what NF1 was all about. The last ships you could get, the big stick. And they were So much fun.

End Game

Harbor assaults are the end game for fleets. Although never doing HA's regularly, I did enjoy the odd HA here and there with a decent fleet or two. Eventually I came into my own as a fleet recruiter and managed to organize two HA's before the servers went offline. 

HA's were the end game, and were so much fun to organize and play. I absolutely could not fault the pure strategy and team play involved in this. This was what the game was really all about, and it was totally exhilarating.

Faults, errors, bugs, updates

Yes navy field was full of bugs. The crash bug, the vision bug, audio bugs, button/control bugs, to name a few. But you know what? I still wanted to play it. Why? why did I enjoy grinding so long and hard to get those level 120 ships even with all the bugs?

Because the longer you make a grind, people will feel more invested about the time and effort they put into it. And it separates average players from those committed to getting what ships they wanted.

And we all know slower paced game play makes for a more interesting and hardcore game.

Let's not forget some of the later and more dodgy updates. The H44 mistakenly getting insane range; over a ship length longer than a Kaiser. The in-game chatter on this one was immense.

The credit/exp bug. Where games could result in over 150, 000 xp for BB's or 300,000 xp for CV's.  Something that could only be achieved by getting plenty of damage in normal rooms. What a fun week that was between the regular weekly updates, I can tell you!

The sheer amount of updates, tweaks and events that occurred on the Europe server as the player base slowly dwindled was amazing.

The ships really were functioning superbly (albeit with the initial 4 nations) until they introduced the other 3 nations France, Soviet and Italy. Because there were new ships more updates were required to regain the balance again.

However despite this, each ship felt unique in its own right. The range of guns felt spot on. The damage and speed. All these little things were really finely tuned and then re-tuned.

The different play styles between nations was perfect and no two felt alike. UK had repair and tough ships. KM had range. IJN was defensive and had incredible AA. USN had balance and good CV's. And the other three additional nations each contributed niche ships with interesting features into the mix. Italy with low-angle shells that had strong armor-piercing capability.

Conclusion

Was NF1 perfect? No, it had flaws and issue like most games

Did I think it was an epic game? Yes it truly was, because it was well paced, tough to master in-game and harbor, the end-game was brilliant and tactics and strategy would really pay-off and win the battle.

I absolutely love navy field, all the 10,000+ matches I've played, the events, the grinding, the fleet wars and the few harbor assaults I engaged in fully with decent ships. I only regret not finding the game sooner and being more regularly active (had an 18 month gap), and being more active in my fleet from the start.

I wish I started off the game early in it's life. When it came around to making a new nation I wish I could have gone for KM or USN first because they had the better end game BB6's.

Navy field 1 is the best ship game to grace this earth. It provides rpg, strategy, and promotes skill, team play and a long-term experience of many years, one that will not be easily forgotten.