AKoTM v2.0 contd. - post your painful updates and glorious AARs here!

[Gyrene]

Iron Duke, labappel seems to be MIA, I haven't received a turn from him in close to 7 days...

I sent him my first turn's orders and that was the last of it.

In the unlikely event I win this round I'll likely be facing another late penalty.

Gyrene

[Sock Monkey]

Texas Toast and I are also playing on the giant urban railyard map. Yikes. Actually, I *did* upgrade my computer (albeit only a couple weeks early) to play this Texas-sized piece o' heck. And speaking of Texas, what *is* "Texas Toast" anyway? French toast with a layering of Ortega? French toast prepared in sweet crude? 2,000 points of German infantry being crushed beneath my 34 M8 HMC rush? You're just lucky they don't allow 14-inch artillery in this tournament. And what's with all the good roads being on your side of the map?

Ah, and I'm playing a game with Labappel as well and haven't heard from him in some time, so either he's on vacation or his computer left him. He's usually really good about getting turns back, so he'll show up.

[Treeburst155]

I only used 13 Cromwells, not 17 Churchhills! What's gamey about that? My forces arrayed against mPisi are even more historical. At least they were. He blew lots of my historical forces apart last turn with a gamey Cromwell, including a KT! Not only that he's got at least 3 Cromwells on the map. How gamey can you get?! I would never buy a boatload of gamey Cromwells. Geez!!

[mPisi]

I'm so gamey I'm using HE rounds on the company of Wirbelwinds (5 spotted so far, 2 dead), to save my ap rounds for the KTs. That Vet KT was 352 points gone in a blink... Air support should be along soon, now that he has his KTs out in the open on the docks...

Although I will admit, I think the coding on the Wasp's armor is screwed up, it does not withstand 88L71 fire the way it should. BTS please fix or do somefink!

[ 07-17-2001: Message edited by: mPisi ]

[TexasToast]

Just surfing the net while trying to find a trace of Sock Monkey's forces in this god-awful maze...

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Texas Toast: The Secrets Revealed

By: Lt. Col. Francis Rawdon

Freedom Press: 01/12/01

The cafeteria special, Texas Toast, is a loved meal by hundreds of students. According to an anonymous counselor it is "probably the best lunch at [school]." During the month of January, we have repeated days off of school, depriving us of that oh so scrumptious, cheese-filled delight. Missing my Texas Toast, I took time to learn some things about my beloved meal. The secrets may shock you, so those weak of mind please stop reading now.

There are some basic facts about your Texas Toast you should know, so that you may still be able to identify it 3 long weeks from now. Texas toast is 4in. by 4in. by 1in. It has a volume of 16 cubic inches and a surface area of 48 sq. in. The standard deviation of length and width is 0.5in. The average stretch of the sandwich is 1ft. 7in., with the estimated world record, held by high school grad John Doe, of 9ft. The toast maybe accompanied by an 8 oz. cup of either "chicken noodle" or "tomato" (affectionately called by one student "the parts of the pig you thought they didn't use") soup. These are simple outer appearances though. You must look deeper to find the legend that is Texas Toast.

According to an anonymous lunch lady, long, long, ago, "Someone thought up the idea for Texas Toast. I don't know who it was. Stop asking me questions and move down the line." I went around the school, desperately looking for the answers, trying to find the origins of the toast. One student shared my initial suspicions that the toast may not be from Texas. He said, "American bread, American cheese, then why the hell is it called Texas Toast [obviously unaware of the fact that Texas is part of America]?" Strangely enough, a teacher, when asked where the toast came from answered, "Texas, yah weirdo." Others had theories of their own. One person said, "From the spawning pools of Hades," while a former Texan said, "Texas Toast is my brethren." Another lunch lady, who also was surviving the delicacy of Texas Toast, said, "we make it here in the kitchen. When pressed she even admitted that "nowhere else in the universe can our Texas Toast lunches be found."

Since no one knew for sure where it came from, some colleagues I did some scientific experiments to determine the date of origin for the Texas Toast. Sadly, it was not discovered, but some other very useful information was. Our first finding was the Texas toast and the soups accompanying it are industrial cleaners (and the chicken noodle soup has too much garlic). The second discovery was that Texas Toast was made of two cheeses, American and Mozzarella.

The last and most important discovery was that which would provide us our sole lead. Texas Toast is made of cheese from Gordon Foods Service international.

GFS, as they like to be called, is a subsidiary of Marriott Hotels Intentional and is a nationwide food provider to many businesses. Pretending to be a man searching for a provider of enough cheese for 200 cheese sandwiches for a party, I uncovered vital information in the quest for Texas Toast knowledge. First, I contacted the manger at the Columbus distribution plant. He referred me to the Springfield, Ohio distribution center, which then referred me to the regional distribution depot in Brooklyn, Ohio. Upon talking to 3 subordinates, I finally talked to Bill, the manger of customer relations there. In talking to him for 10 minutes, I told him I needed some cheese and I wanted the GFS house brand (the kind the school uses). The smallest available quantities for purchase were 10 lbs. slice blocks and that they ran for $8.39 (that is 84 cents a pound, roughly 1/3 the price of the cheapest sliced cheese at Giant Eagle). He told me, "I wouldn't buy that sir, get a higher quality of cheese. Our house brand is only meant for low level organizations like public offices and schools." After evaluating this information and assuming that the cheese slices are 1oz. (Kraft singles size), I found that one Texas Toast sandwich costs about 30 cents to make, and the school sells it as part of a lunch that is $1.80. Supposing the soup costs 20 cents (approximately 1/3 the cost of a Campbell’s soup can), and the side dishes cost 15 cents on average, the school is making a whopping $1.15 profit off of each Texas Toast lover, each week, and that’s just wrong. What kind of evil government would want to make money off of providing this delightful delicacy to children?

But what really is at the heart of our apparently el-cheapo Texas Toast? Why is it made? Where did it come from originally? We may never know. Some theorize that the toast is poisoned so that one person dies every week and is used for meat for the hamburgers for that week. A lunch lady said that under extreme conditions, that Texas Toast is "possibly lethal." The true origins and benefits of Texas Toast are unknown at this time. Hopefully, the next generation will find the secrets lost in time.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Probably more than you wanted to know.

[Guest PondScum]

Five turns to go... no more word has been heard from the Americans about their possible surrender. Their remaining platoons are mounting hit and run attacks from the woods, never staying in one place long enough for direct-fire 75mm HE to settle the battle. American artillery continues to devastate the village, forcing the rapid withdrawal of several German squads. Sadly my brave HMG did not make it out in time... but my Flammpanzer has found one of the American FOs, and is about to take suitable revenge.

[Iron Duke]

Pondscum...it looks like you use Gunslingers terrain? Personally, I find his to be the best IMO, and is what I use.

You guys fighting in the Railyard map should have the double railroad tracks mod...it really adds to the overall flavor. You know its funny...the Railyard is an old school first AKoTM map and no-one liked it then! (or at least they all complained also..hehe) Why is that? Is it because it is a large map? My trip to Rotterdamn inspired it.

So Gyrene, I am assuming you recieved labappel's reply? Make sure you push him to get done by the due date and do not hesitate to ask me for help if needed.

Keep the updates comin' guys.

[Sock Monkey]

I'm kicking myself for not picking French forces. What could have been a battle of the toasts is now just another boring american vs. german slugfest.

[Guest PondScum]

Ok, the first battle of the quarterfinals is done. After (finally!) running out of artillery, SenorBeef has surrendered his remaining troops.

SenorBeef (Allied): 133 casualties (30 KIA), 128 captured, 8 vehicles knocked out.

PondScum (Axis): 35 casualties (8 KIA), men OK 214.

Axis total victory, 94-6.

We had similar plans, resulting in combined-arms forces pushing towards the village from four separate directions. I grabbed the VL early and called down artillery fast, shredding one of his platoons and pushing another back - when surrender came my Flammpanzer was busy hunting them down. In the meantime our AFVs were sitting back and duelling it out along the two major road axes, but at distances of 1000m+ the eight American tanks died without scoring a hit on my Hetzer/Panther/Pak combinations. He mounted a final infantry push of three platoons against two holding my flank, but despite some intense artillery causing 30% losses (a large heavy building went from untouched to rubble in about 45 seconds!) my veteran squads were holding up, and SenorBeef realized that a last-turn rush against a VL defended by armor would be suicidal.

Unsung heros of the battle: my Kubelwagen drivers, who broke all speed limits to get MG42 teams into the VL on turn 2, and then ran a shuttle service along exposed roads, bringing in a company HQ to shore up a demoralized platoon, mortar teams to plink his machine-guns, and 20mm flak to offer a little fire support.

Duke: that's actually a low-res version of Wolf's hi-contrast terrain. It's all my 8MB video card can handle

[Iron Duke]

Congratulations to you muderous Pondscum! Apparently El Senor became mired in blood soaked scum and therefore... "Divided we fall!"

Please see updated bracket for details.

Quarter finals.

Treeburst155

vs------------Winner

mPisi

1)

Senor Beef

vs------------Pondscum

Pondscum

====================

Gryene

vs------------Winner

labappel

2)

Sock Monkey

vs------------Winner

Texas Toast

====================

Do not forget the Due Date! Please keep the battles moving along and the updates flowing.

[Stoffel]

they do not like it because its based on Rotterdam!!!

most people here in Holland do not like that town,the germans only bombed the citycenter they forgot the rest of the town.

AJAX amsterdam rules!!!! :mad:

[Treeburst155]

mPisi has just wasted another of my valiant Wirbelwinds with a keyhole shot to beat all keyhole shots. I'm afraid my asskicking days are numbered. mPisi knows what he is doing and my KTs don't stand a chance in the urban environment where he's got tanks behind every other building. I just don't have the time to dig him out, even if could. It was fun but I think it's about over. My hat is off to you, mPisi. You're a tough nut to crack.

Treeburst155 out.

[Gyrene]

It's a draw! Me and Lappabel just got done with our game via TCP/IP and these are the results:

Axis (Me)

175 Casulaties (46KIA)

4 Vehicles K.O,

Men OK 144

46 Points

Allies (Labappel)

168 Casualties (45 KIA)

5 vehicles K.O.

Men OK 245

54 Points.

It was quite an infantry slugfest as my cut-down MG42 LMG boosted SMG squads and Sturmkompanie squared off against his seemingly never-ending Veteran Brit Paras.

My 600 point deficit forced me to play cautiously, which was a good thing as one of my SMG platoons that I tried to sneak along a woods learned when it ran into 2 Para platoons.

After that shock I decided to just hang on, and luckily my two hetzers proved to be pretty lucky as they took out a number of Daimler AC's and some Wasps who were lighting up everything in sight.

My 4 gamey (and cheap!) flak trucks were more useful against buildings and infantry than armor, and as I did lose 3 of them, I don't see them as being all that invulnerable.

In any case, it was a good game, and I am more than happy with the results.

Gyrene

[Iron Duke]

Gryene...lol...excellent job. I will be sending out the tie breaker map so you two can have at it.

[russellmz]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mPisi:

Well, let's give this a shot. An unnamed town in Germany:

Here we go again:

Thanks to Pondscum for hosting!

[ 07-14-2001: Message edited by: mPisi ]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

wow! whose railroad mod is that and where to get it?

[harpooner]

I hereby anounce my withdrawal from my already forfeited game vs. Treeburst155 in the second round of the AKoTM v. 2.0 tournament as requested by IronDuke.

I had a great time crushing the winner of last AKoTM in the first round, but a combination of things led to my being MIA and AWOL for a while.

I congratulate Treeburst on his hollow victory and look forward to meeting him in one of the later tournaments.

[ 07-23-2001: Message edited by: harpooner ]

[mPisi]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by russellmz:

wow! whose railroad mod is that and where to get it?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It is called something like "Brown Railroad Tracks", I can't recall which of the big sites I d/l'd it from. Run a search, if you can, there was a topic announcing it I think. If not, email me at mPisi@flash.net and I should be able to find the zip file.

That keyhole shot against Treeburst's Whirblewind was quite amazing, even with the narrow targeting lines, at least half the line was inside the buildings. Perhaps there was a 76mm slot available... He still has a pesky Kubelwagen, so I don't count him out yet!

Edit: Mod is by bfamily33...

[ 07-23-2001: Message edited by: mPisi ]

[mPisi]

Treeburst has capitulated in our battle. Allied major victory, 77-23. My grand scheme of firing all the buildings to deny cover to his infantry was just a waste of time, as he didn't bring any infantry... But in the most recent turn, my pair of 40mm Bofors that I had installed around the flag disabled the gun on one of his two remaining KTs, and his remaining Wirblewinds were in my sights.

[Iron Duke]

mPisi...congratulations on your recent victory over the cannon cocker. Welcome to the Semi-finals.

Please see updated bracket for details.

Quarter finals.

Treeburst155

vs------------mPisi

mPisi

1)

Senor Beef

vs------------Pondscum

Pondscum

====================

Gryene

vs------------Winner

labappel

2)

Sock Monkey

vs------------Winner

Texas Toast

====================

Do not forget the Due Date! Please keep the battles moving along and the updates flowing.

[Iron Duke]

labappel...I need your tie breaker purchases ASAP...and I mean yesterday!

If you are having difficulties please say so now because I will not be lenient on the Due Date.

[Iron Duke]

labappel and Gryene's tie breaker battle is off. This has turned out to be an amazing stand for Gryene and if he can pull off a victory here, his name will forever ring in the halls of the Ass Kicker of the Month!

Good luck to both of you, may you crush your enemy underfoot and take his women as your spoils.

[ 07-24-2001: Message edited by: Iron Duke ]

[russellmz]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mPisi:

It is called something like "Brown Railroad Tracks", I can't recall which of the big sites I d/l'd it from. Run a search, if you can, there was a topic announcing it I think. If not, email me at mPisi@flash.net and I should be able to find the zip file.

Edit: Mod is by bfamily33...

[ 07-23-2001: Message edited by: mPisi ]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

i got it! thanks to you and google!

[Iron Duke]

So you four that are left gonna make the Due Date right?

I hope so for your purchases sake!

Out.

[TexasToast]

Sock and I are only about halfway done. I am at the lone VL in force and have amused myself with destroying his expeditionary force (including an inspirational close assault of a Hellcat), but the turns are going slowly and his main body is taking forever to trek across the sprawling urban area. Unfortunately, his Jabo's strafing runs have cost me several trucks and a Wirblewind (my "anti-aircraft" vehicle, how embarassing), and I've managed to fritter away a few Pumas.

In other words, it may take some drastic measures for us to finish on time...

TT

[Iron Duke]

Texas...do you need anything from me? Can you get a tcp/ip game going with him? I would hate for you to become the next Gryene!