Matin's Philosophy of Retirement Gaming

Matin’s Philosophy of Retirement Gaming

This Briefing is Classified as: Burn Before Reading.

Warning: This briefing is too long, rambling, and pointless. Do NOT read.

Safety Warning: This Briefing is really long. You will regret the loss of the 5 minutes of your life you spend reading this post.

Introduction

I am not that bright. Realistically, my Father had a genius level IQ, was a Grand Master in Chess, and loved Astronomy. As with most people that bright, he lacked common sense. I love him and I still miss him now that he has passed. I will miss you forever, Father. I have much more common sense than he every had, but that makes me a menace in other ways. For safety reasons, I’ve decided to be a bit more open than usual with everyone in OTG’s New World Chapter.

Marital Status

I have a wife. I still have the first one. She hates Gamers. All of them (and especially the one that lives in her house.) She hates all of you. Not really. She is a really nice person. She is a GREAT cookie baker. If you asked, she would bake some for you. Her peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies are to die for. Her super power is ability to make a character assessment of you in less than 15 seconds. She is never wrong. If that would be a problem, I would suggest never meeting her in person. She keeps me safe from unscrupulous people.

Diet

I am on one. I have Fat Cow Disease. I am on a fad diet craze. Come closer. Let me whisper. (Eat Less. Move More.) Luckily, I don’t have to be on the Heart Surgeon Diet (if it tastes good, spit it out.) Dieting makes me bitter. Very bitter.

Law Enforcement

My Mum’s side of the family were cops. I once went to visit my Uncle John (he was a Chief Inspector at the time) at New Scotland Yard. Grandfather was a Bobby Sergeant in rural England. I’ve spent the last decade of my government career working at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). I know a lot of law enforcement officers. 10s of Thousands. NEVER ask me about law enforcement. Ever. Period. End of sentence and paragraph. If you need to become a cop, you can bug me for advice.

Military

At 9 years old, I read the American Heritage book about the Guadalcanal campaign. At 12, I started playing war games. By 15, I was commanding every army that ever-opposed Napoleon Bonaparte, Jeff Davis, or Adolf Hitler. I have the white box D&D rules. I won the US Civil War in three years with a lot less casualties. I blame Abraham Lincoln. As a general rule, I believe if I’m in front of a Nazi in America, and I have a brick, I should be allowed to throw the brick at him. Really. Just like the Blues Brothers, I hate American Nazis.

Was that Matin’s coronation at Nappy’s Tomb in Paris? Yes. The French have decided to crown me as the new Emperor of France. If you believe that, I have some bottom land to sell you in Florida. Some people might not get that joke. Bottom land in Florida is swamp. Really. If you don’t believe me, I think I can sell you a couple of shares in the Brooklyn Bridge. Did I mention that my Father’s family were definitely all criminals? Except for my Mum and Grand Mum. They married into a criminal enterprise.

I served in the US Army from April 1986 to November 1987 when I received a Chapter 3 Medical Discharge and disability severance pay. I receive the thanks of the American people every month. Thank you for your support. Yes, I’m a Red-Headed Step Child Disabled Veteran (ie. peacetime). Since I’m a peace-time disabled Veteran, my pain hurts 50% less than a Wartime Veteran and most states give us crap Veteran’s benefits. I limp because everything south of my belly button was destroyed. I have Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) that happens to be fully activated at the moment. Don’t Ask. I Won’t Tell. If I ask you to hold my beer, duck and cover. You will all live a lot longer if you don’t stand next to me. I will be heading to Washington, DC to go argue in person at the US Veterans Appeals Court. When? Couldn’t tell you.

I worked as a DAC (Department of Army Civilian) for 12 years. I’ve written training and combat doctrine for the US Army. I can’t talk about it. Ever.

When it comes to WAR, I’m an expert. Trust me about that.

Politics

Don’t ask and I won’t tell. Seriously. I am a Liberal, for Labor, as opposed to violence as Gandhi, Pro-Abortion, Anti-Death Penalty, for Reparations for African Americans, against unrestrained Capitalism, for LGBTQLMNOP, Pro-Gun Control, against Oil Drilling, for Environmental Activism (minus the metal spikes in trees), for Law Enforcement (at least the nice ones), against criminals (except nice ones), and so on and so forth. Really. Don’t Ask. I Won’t Tell.

Economics

I am comfortable. I’m 60 and I’ve retired. I have a pension and a good amount of retirement money. I will never work again in my life. Not having to work is very good for me because I’m terminally lazy. I make money all the time, however, I’m very lazy about how I make money. If my projections are correct, I will die a multi-millionaire. The retirement crisis in America does not apply to me. Yes. I am much better at making money than Donald Trump. That really isn’t much of an achievement.

I make money by doing things everyone on Wall Street hates. Really hates. A minor goal is my life is to make sure financial experts and insurance men make as little money as possible off of me. Dad worked at Lloyd’s of London. There is a correlation between my Father working at Lloyd’s and the fact that he was from a criminal family. Dad and the Insurance Industry was a match made in Hell. There is probably a good Financial Expert or a nice Insurance Man. I haven’t met one. Ever. America recently lost Saint Jack. You should have listened to him. He was mostly correct.

By the way, if you work in the Finance or Insurance Industries, we can still be friends.

Next Time: Matin’s Philosophy of Retirement Gaming

I’m too tired to write that post now. This was only the introduction to my master work on Retirement Gaming. Stay tuned.

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Paranomal : You didn’t mention anything about the paranormal. Yes, No, “42”, “of course sweet child” /pat /pat

Science theory : Did you know there’s scientists running tests, right now, trying to determine if our shared reality is actually a complex computer simulation? ie: Matrix

During your table top War Mongering years : What did you find to be the deadliest weapon over the centuries? I’m rather fond of lobbing diseased cows over the walls followed by automatic weaponry.

Mad Magazine : We’re you exposed to the harmful effects, I keep chanting “I turned out normal” in my head, of Mad Magazine and quirky British humor that PBS broadcasted in the 70’s and 80’s ?

Delicious White chocolate or dull boring run of the mill society chocolate ? I’m partial to one I admit.

Just a few questions your captured and astute audience yearns to know!

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If your going to do Chocolate make it Dark Chocolate;

Paranormal: Dad saw a ghost in a relative’s house in Dorset. He was never very clear on which relative. Dad had two middle names that belonged to two of his Uncles. Apparently, Granddad was hoping that one would send some shillings his way. That was the kind of fiddle the was central to Granddad’s existence. One Uncle was a servant to some squire’s family and the other Uncle served in the Cold Stream Guard. I may have that wrong. As for me, I’m a pre-cog, but never for anything useful like the winning Powerball numbers.

As for Scientific Theories, you would be better off checking with my Brother. He has an MS in Physics from John Hopkins with a specialty in Optics Engineering. He has several patents to his name. My MS is in Instructional Technology. Lately, I’ve been studying Art. Our last conversation was about the angular effects of the Modulation Transfer function. Of course, my question was if Dazzle Paint during World War II took advantage of the Modulation Transfer function. He responded that dazzle paint was “…used to confuse rangefinders by preventing stereoscopic optics from matching left and right images”. I totally get that. Bloody German optics were too damn good during World War II. If anyone wants to discuss the effects of Operational Research on the Battle of the Atlantic, sign me up.

As for deadliest weapon over the centuries, I would have to say politicians pretending to be Generals like Butler or Pillow would be the deadliest weapons. By my calculation, I think Butler added two years and lots of casualties to the Union war effort. Of course, having a narcissist for President was good for 750k American dead and probably 3 or 4 million casualties. I’m probably under estimating the numbers a bit. I have not looked at the actual numbers lately. They really depress me. Living in MAGA county with a bunch of idiots that don’t get vaccinated and never wear masks is also depressing. On the plus side, the MAGAs have a much higher death rate.

I never got to see Mad Magazine much as a child. I had a friend who had a subscription to Mad Magazine so I think I read like one or two copies. Do you think my exposure was high enough to be harmful? Dang. I should let my VA Social Worker know. My family wasn’t well enough off for such things like magazines in the house. My Great Uncle Robert use to send me Captain Scarlet comics from England. Does that count? Unfortunately, I have British parents so part of my genetic inheritance was a British sense of humor. For that alone, I should have been forced to stand against a wall for the firing squad with a fag dangling from my lips. Luckily, I gave up smoking in my early 20s. Should have never picked up the habit in elementary school.

Joke: How can you tell an American from a Brit?

An American sees his neighbor get a brand-new Maserati and says to himself: “I’m going to have one of those one of these days.”

The Brit sees his neighbor with the Maserati and says: “I hope he dies in a fiery crash.”

Personally, I liked both Monty Python and Benny Hill. My Brother-in-Law rifted on the Holy Grail on the video we have our wedding. Of course, if you even admit to watching Benny Hill you would probably get an All-PETA-Girl Firing Squad added as an option for your method of execution. That sounds like a recipe for getting shot in the groin repeatedly.

“Delicious White Chocolate” isn’t actually chocolate. Currently, we have Lindt dark chocolate truffles and some new flavor of truffle in the house. Of course, for real chocolate, you have to actually go to Europe. I would say go to Paris. I’m not entirely sure, but I think European Union and/or the UN has banned my wife and I from traveling to Europe. Seems like our last two trips to Europe saw Princess Di buy the farm and the largest mass casualty event since World War II in France while we were there. Of course, I don’t see how the European Union can still use the whole Princess Di thing as a reason after Brexit.

Wait, now that I think about it… I was also in London when Princess Di got married. So, in a fit of madness, I decided to spend all night on the streets to watch Princess Di on the way to her wedding. I was staying with some friends of Mum. Mum use to work in the Abbey Road Studio as a cook when she worked for the BBC. I guess she still had some friends who lived in London. Apparently, Mum use to make donuts for Dad and her friends. Would you believe that Mum never made me donuts in my entire life? Like you, I’m totally gobsmacked. She made us English pancakes, Sheppard’s Pie, Hunter’s Stew and Cornish pasties, so I guess I have to forgive her. Of course, she’s passed now. She died when she was 88. Sort of appropriate that she died on the birthday numbered the same as a German flak gun. I miss you, Mum.

So I wander over to Piccadilly Circus and then up the route a bit more. No, it wasn’t Piccadilly Circus. It was Trafalgar Square. I met a nice family who was also camped out on the street. They shared a cup of tea with me. All British National Emergencies, events, daily office life, etc… revolves around a cup of tea. The wife and I keep Yorkshire Gold and Decaf in the house. My Mum got me hooked on Decaf black tea. I tried to nap, but was never much of a napper when I was young. We had to stand up at 8am because the crowds began to thicken. I remember being exhausted. However, I got a nice spot right on the curb. The crowd along the route in our area was at least 5-7 people deep. A little latter, there was a Mum with her two little girls that managed to work their way behind me. Since I was at that time, 6 feet and two inches tall, I let the two little girls stand in front of me. I’m an inch shorter now. After all, not like the little girls were going to block my view.

About 0900, the Royal Regiment of Marines band marched pass and set up down the street. I think they played some nice military music while we waited. I seem to remember some of the Horse Guards went by and then some open carriages. The crowd was cheering as the Princes Andrew and Charles went by. I snapped a photo. Then I heard the crowd sound of booing coming along the route. Princess Di was in a frigging glass carriage and you couldn’t see her. I think I booed as well. I snapped off a photo in any case. I decided I was totally knackered and went back to my Mum’s friends. I think the next day I flew home from Heathrow.

When I got back to the States, I got the film developed. The photo of the Princes Andrew and Charles was terrible. I should have gone for a faster shutter speed. They were kind of blurry in the photo. Would you believe that the photo of Princess Di was totally clear. In real life, I couldn’t see her because of the tinting. Something about the Polaroid filter on my Olympus OM-10 worked to reverse the tinting effect on the glass carriage. Of course, when got to that street it was already dark. I didn’t pay attention to the background. My perfect picture of Princess Di on the way to her wedding in the glass carriage had a Wendy’s sign in the background. I always meant to send that picture to Dave but never got around to it. He’s passed now. During one of my moves, I lost both the print and the negative. Just as well really. I was there on the happiest day for Princess DI and for her funeral. May flights of Angels escort her to her Final Home. I would hate for the European Union to add that picture to my case file.

Another year I was staying at Stone House with Mum. You use to be able to address an air gram to Mum and write the address as Stone House. When the United Kingdom joined the European Union, you had to start putting the actual street address on the envelop. The European Union also ruined fish and chips. Ask me about that story another time. Just too sad. So I decided on the spur of the moment to go the Farnborough Air Show. If you ever get to England in the right time frame, you have to go. Watching a Russian fighter stand on it’s tail and go straight up on afterburners is totally unbelievable. An Airbus Jumbo Jet flying a hundred feet over the runway is also amazing. You could swear that your seat on the bleachers is higher than the planes elevation. On my way back, I got off the train at Waterloo. The Tube was closed. I was tired and totally didn’t understand. How can the Tube be closed? Being young and not willing to put out the money for a Black cab, I decided to walk to Liverpool station to pick up the train back to Mums.

So I get to London Bridge and the Bobby there stops me. He says I can’t cross. I’m like what? I asked what the hell was going on. He said the Yobs are rioting and beating up the Nazis. First, I had to ask him what a Yob was. He said the young people clubbing found out the Nazis were meeting next door. Apparently, the Yobs decided to riot. I guess the plan was to throw then Nazis to the ground and then kick them in the junk with their boots. Boots were really popular back then. After he explained that the Nazis were going to get kicked in the nuts, I felt better about the whole affair. I would have loved to put in a boot myself, but I was wearing trainers at the time.

He leaned over to me and whispered, look, go down to the Black Friars and you can cross there. He also told me that the Tube was operating North of the Thames. Bob’s your Uncle and off I go. Sure enough, I crossed at the Black Friars, caught the Tube to Liverpool, and the train back to Norwich. Mum picked me up. I think Mum made me English pancakes for dinner. I really hope that Brexit totally cancels those events that happened in England so I can go back to Europe. I have a bucket list of Napoleonic battlefields and art museums I would like to walk before I die.

I could totally see the Conservatives banning me from traveling to England. That would be a fair cop. I think the European Union banning us from the Continent is totally unfair. You can’t use a single visit to establish a trend line. I want to do the bloody Grand Tour before I die. Son of a Sea Cook. I must rest. Life to the lee.

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Back to the Topic on Hand: Retirement Gaming

For a decade, I’ve been playing World of Tanks (WoT.) I liked the game because I could read a book between battles. I love military history. I love simulations of historical military vehicles. I have a BA in History from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

In order to be effective, I had to invest money to keep up with the cheaters and hackers. This pissed off other players. I just found that the entire mess was not worth the effort and money I was spending. I fought 75,000 battles in WoT (15k in Beta and 60k Retail). Tough to give up on something I enjoyed. I also played World of Ships with all the same joy
and problems.

I first heard about OTG in 2008 while playing Pirates of the Burning Sea (PotBS). A couple of years later I joined OTG. I met some friends here and joined a Static Party. I played on a regular basis with Trusty. He was 80 then and I’m not sure he’s still alive. I never left OTG.

I did something I have NEVER regularly done in 50 years of gaming. I actually started a game without doing any research or studying the rules. When I use to play board games and miniature battles with my regular in-person static group in the 1990s, I researched every historical period we played. I also did the same with MMORPGs. In the Pirates of the Burning Sea (PotBS) Beta, I played with some friends in a small guild called La Casa. In retail, I ran production for the Royal Red. I also make sails and flags with over 100 designs accepted for inclusion in the game. I even go interested in constructing 3D ship models for inclusion in the game, but didn’t have the technical skills to complete one.

Now, you might say I don’t believe you Matin. Let’s use the Pirates of the Burning Sea as an example. I will list three books that I used for historical research for PotBS.

The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by Alfred Thayer Mahan, first published in 1890.

The Safeguard of the Sea by N. A. M. Rodger, Copyright 1997, Harper Collins.

Architectura Navalis Mercatoria by Fredrick Henrik Af Chapman first published in 1768.

Those are only an example. I have two book shelves on model building, sailing, and histories of the seas. I probably have an entire bookcase on World War II History and a couple of shelves on the Napoleonic Wars.

Next Post: Starting a Game without a Head Start

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Trusty is still with us here is a post he made earlier this year, he was 91 July 21

Holy Smokes, Trusty. I have a story to tell you about the USS San Diego. However, will have to wait until I do a few chores.

Trustee is still alive and gaming at 91. Love the guild and my old (and new) guild friends. Currently revisiting skyrim.

I need to tell you this story, @Trustee. A couple of years ago, my next door neighbor and friend Jim was standing around in a USS San Diego t-shirt. JIm was a pastor for the Sea Farers and worked the local port. I said, “Oh, did you serve on the San Diego?”

Jim replied, “No, I bought this t-shirt at a thrift store.”

I went on to tell him about Trustee. This has been a while and my memory is pretty much shot, but I’m pretty Trustee told me that he served on the USS San Diego.

I copied this from the Wiki:

"The second USS San Diego (CL-53) was an Atlanta-class light cruiser of the United States Navy, commissioned just after the US entry into World War II, and active throughout the Pacific theater. Armed with 16 5 in (127 mm)/38 cal DP anti-aircraft guns and 16 Bofors 40 mm AA guns, the Atlanta-class cruisers had one of the heaviest anti-aircraft broadsides of any warship of World War II.

San Diego was one of the most decorated US ships of World War II, being awarded 18 battle stars, and was the first major Allied warship to enter Tokyo Bay[3] after the surrender of Japan. Decommissioned in 1946, the ship was sold for scrapping in December 1960."

In World of Warships, I bought the “USS Atlanta” as a premium ship. I always thought of Trustee when I sailed that ship.

Matin - I served in the US Navy from July 1948 - July 1952; a 3 yr enlistment + 1 yr extension for the Korean War. 3 1/2 years on the USS Juneau CLAA119; an anti aircraft light cruiser with 12 5in. guns in 6 turrets - 3 forward 2 gun mounts, and 3 aft 2 gun mounts. We were in Japan when the Korean War started, so we were in it from the beginning. 2 combat cruises. You got it almost right. Good memory. We were the 2nd USS Juneau. The 1st ship was sunk in world war 2 . The 2nd Juneau was commissioned in 1946.

Thank you Trustee. I had the wrong cruiser in mind. Just as well, I probably would have screwed up the spelling on USS Juneau. I will note that I had the right class of ship. The USS San Diego was a Atlanta-class CL.

USS Juneau (CL-52) was sunk off Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942. The first USS Juneau was an Atlanta-class light cruiser. The Atlanta class was the first purpose built anti-aircraft cruisers. I think they only started using the designation CLAA after the war. The first USS Juneau was the ship where the five Sullivan brothers were lost. The first ship named for the brothers was the Fletcher-class destroyer DD-537, currently serving as a museum ship in Buffalo, New York. I happened to have visited the maritime park there this summer.

Yes indeed, you got it right about the 1st Juneau and the Sullivan brothers sunk in 2942. The 2nd Juneau was commissioned in 1946 I believe, and I joined the ship in 1949. We cruised all over. The Juneau was a beautiful ship and good duty.

I don’t think I’ve started playing a game in decades without a head start. Sometimes, the head start was reading a history book like John R. Eltings Swords Around the Throne or David G. Chandler’s The Campaigns of Napoleon. Chandler’s book cost me $65 in the early 1980s. I pulled both off the shelf. I’m very tempted to read both again. Just 1768 pages of light reading. Not very helpful for playing New World.

At other times, I would walk the actual battlefield. Antietam was not very far from the house and one of the best preserved of the US Civil War battlefields. I’m studying the Western campaign and the 77th Illinois Infantry Regiment. I know a former US Army CW4 who had relatives in that regiment. When he retires in a couple of years, I’m going to take him on a driving tour with stops along the way to walk the battlefields.

This time I went into New World cold. I read long enough to understand that I would like the game. I love crafting in any game. I picked a good template for a crafting character. I parachuted in… contacted OTG… and went in head first. The Good: no preconceived bias, found my own rhythm, and did research on-line when I needed to know something. The Bad: poor tactical play, wasted time, and missed opportunities.

I think I’m ready. Matin’s Philosophy of Retirement Gaming:

Laid back. Never serious. Some drama, lama… and all about the fun.

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So New World is my current rat poison. I’m a full time, non-tactical Crafter 100% of the time. I’m in Company PSI. Company PSI is the hard-core PvP/PVE company? Now, wait just a damn minute. How the H did I get in with the hard core PvP guys? I have the reflexes of a Llama with Foot and Mouth disease. Okay, I’m not that bad, but I’m bloody well not a very good twitcher.

Now begins the lesson on the difference between PvP and War.

I was taking my art history course when I say a perfect representation of a really good PvPer. Donatello sculpted David as the perfect Ganker. Apparently, David lived in his mother’s basement, bought a New World with Mom’s stolen credit card, and then cheated his way to the top. He looks something like this:

Donatello David 1440 -01

David (Donatello) - Wikipedia

Now, Donatello also did a sculpture of the Typical Old Timer Guild Member.

[Equestrian statue of Gattamelata - Wikipedia]

I hope the images work because the last time I coded HTML was in the 90s.

Age and treachery over youth and skill every time.

(Edit: Had to do links because I didn’t get the images to work correctly.)

you can drag an image onto the text area or use a url of the image on its own line for example

Oh, will have to try that a bit later.

Donatello David 1440 -01

EDIT: Dang, that worked.

Think he should have been more careful with that sword :smiley:

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PvPer Fuck Tard does not mean skilled. Just good at cheating and ganking is sufficient.

By the way, I need to start this post with a caveat. OTG PvPers play with strength and honor. They do not tolerate those who lie, cheat, nor steal. OTG PvPers are sans peur et sans reproche.

I do not respect many PvPers other than those who play in OTG. For the most part, I find PvPers to be very immature, insecure, and dishonorable. You should not take this as universal. Many honorable men and woman find the thrill of facing another human to be the highest form of gaming achievement. I don’t want to guess what proportion of PvPers are actually immature, insecure, and dishonorable. Less that 50%? Less than 5%? Less than 1%? .01 percent? Does not really matter.

I have the tendency to stick to PvE in most MMORPGs, because I frankly find most PvPers in MMORPG appalling at times. Tea Bagging? Why don’t I rip of your ball sack and make you eat it you fucking child? Wait, did I say that old loud while I was writing it? Dang PTSD.

When I saw Donatello’s David it immediately reminded me of PvPers. We have a tendency to think that PvP only happens in Video Games. Untrue. War in 1440s was PvP. And young noblemen who fought in these wars slaughtered militias in these wars because they were fed better, trained better, and equipped better. In other words, Noblemen thought they were better because money bought them victory. And if the militia killed a Noblemen the nobles probably called it the equivalent of gankings.

Ugh, Pay-to-Win. Nobody likes that. :stuck_out_tongue:

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