Podcasts about Dauntless

Emile, Josh, Llogan and Shane let you know exactly what happens this week. Bigly. What Happened? We spoil The Last of Us. We spoil Devil May Cry. We spoil FAR: Lone Sails. We spoil FAR: Changing Tides. We spoil anime figures. We spoil Capcom Fighting Collection. We spoil Powerstone 2. We spoil Dauntless. We spoil Ninja Gaiden. We spoil Marvel Rivals. We spoil Modern Warfare 2 (2022). We spoil Modern Warfare 3 (2023). We spoil Minecraft. We spoil Etsy purchases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unlike some of the games I've recently played for The Last Call, Dauntless had a good run, launching in beta in May 2018 and lasting until May 2025. That's seven good years. Well, as someone who didn't regularly play it, I can't say they were good years with any kind of authority, but as someone who played it near launch and near death, it was a fine time. Ultimately, I think it never found a way to get out from under Monster Hunter's shadow, so it was only a matter of time until it died. To all the players who will miss it now that it's gone, I hope you're able to remember all the good times you had as you try a find a new game to play with your lads.

Few aircraft earn the battle-tested distinction of singularly turning the tide of entire theaters of world wars. The SBD Dauntless may just be one of them.On this episode, Robert Harris, member of the Commemorative Air Force, and author Kevin Miller provide a tag team review of this venerable aircraft, from its pivotal role in World War ll in the Pacific to flying one of the few remaining airworthy examples remaining 80+ years later.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-fighter-pilot-podcast/donations

Primary & Secondary ModCastMatt Landfair talks to Zach Thull with Dauntless Manufacturing about methods, materials, and designs.Episode sponsors:Lucky Gunner - https://www.luckygunner.com/Overwatch Precision - https://www.overwatchprecision.comPhlster - https://www.phlsterholsters.com/​Primary Arms - https://www.primaryarms.com/Walther Arms - https://www.waltherarms.com/Our Patreon can be found here:https://www.patreon.com/PrimaryandSecondaryPrimary & Secondary:YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/PrimarySecondaryNetworkWebsite: https://primaryandsecondary.com/Facebook: https://facebook.com/primaryandsecondary/Forum: https://primaryandsecondary.com/forumComplete Audio Podcasts: https://spreaker.com/show/primary-secondary-podcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/primary-secondary-podcast--2585240/support.

3/29/2025 | Today's daily devotional by C. H. Spurgeon on SermonAudio: Title: Dauntless Faith Subtitle: Faith's Checkbook by Spurgeon Speaker: C. H. Spurgeon Broadcaster: Prince of Preachers Event: Audiobook Date: 3/29/2025 Bible: Acts 18:10 Length: 1 min.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly | Generation X Gaming #430Tonight on Generation X Gaming, we're breaking down the latest chaos in the gaming industry!

Discord: https://discord.com/invite/mzZnJuVwdT |  SUSCRÍBETE  A NUESTRO CANAL DE YOUTUBE: |  https://www.youtube.com/@sonido_boom?sub_confirmation=1 |  NUESTRO CANAL PRINCIPAL: |  https://www.youtube.com/abuguet |   Esta semana Ep. 316:  (0:00) - Intro. (1:04) - Patrañas. (4:33) - paulatraides7052: El formato digital es el superior. (26:07) - Cancelado el juego de la Mujer Maravilla. (39:26) - Intentando entender las decisiones de Warner Bros. (51:23) - ID@Xbox. (52:28) - Ratatan. (1:02:53) - 33 Immortals. (1:10:40) - Hotel Barcelona. (1:16:17) - Jump Ship. (1:20:05) - Despelote (aunque no estuvo en el ID@Xbox) (1:24:24) - Amazon intentó destronar a Steam y fracasó. (1:38:04) - ¿Es fácil hacer otro Steam? ===SPEEDRUN DE NOTICIAS=== (1:47:29) - 10 juegos ocupan casi todo el tiempo de juego del mundo. (1:49:10) - Dauntless, el Monster Hunter de Epic f2p cierra sus puertas. (1:50:15) - Balatro ya no es clasificado como “para adultos” en Europa. (1:52:46) - Más despidos en Bossa Games y Striking Distance. (1:53:20) - Confirmado, Call of Duty usa IA generativa. (1:57:18) - Konami y Bloober Team están trabajando en otro proyecto. (2:04:01) - Las ofertas y descuentos de la semana con el Arbano Peps.

Download Episode 1023 – We’ve got the whole crew from Soft Not Weak joining this episode to chat about Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To, so let’s get this one going! Also, Soft Not Weak really wanted the episode title to be A Tale of Two Titties, but I chickened out.

Avowed, Pokémon Presents and more – Geekoholics Anonymous Video Game Podcast 476 On this weeks episode we blab about the following Games and topics: Whatcha Been Playing? 14:35 Dragon Age: The Veilguard Avowed 25:55 News:  Cross Platform / PC / Misc.  A game based on cult anime Samurai Pizza Cats is in development 39:23 GTA 5 on PC is finally getting next-gen console enhancements, and GTA+ subscriptions 41:39 Assassin's Creed Shadows is already being leaked and streamed online a month before release 50:23 Free-to-play Monster Hunter-like Dauntless is shutting down following mass studio layoffs 52:50 Warner Bros. is closing three game studios and canceling Wonder Woman 56:20 Terminator 2's back as an arcade side-scroller, and it's coming later this year 11554 PlayStation Sony announces official PSVR2 price cut 1:17:51 Nintendo Here's everything shown at this year's Pokémon Presents 1:23:06 PSA's: Epic Games Store Freebies: Mages of Mystralia 1:27:20 PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for March – Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Sonic Colors: Ultimate, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection  Free 4 All Castlevania Nocturna Season 2 1:29:37 Help support the show: - Subscribe to our Twitch channel http://twitch.tv/geekoholics - Use our Epic Creator Code: GEEKOHOLICS when purchasing items in Fortnite or buying games on the Epic Games Store - Please review the show (bit.ly/geekoholics) on Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and to share with your friends. Reviews help us reach more listeners, and the feedback helps us to produce a better show. Join our Discord server: CLICK HERE Don't forget to follow our Social Media Feeds to keep up to date on our adventures: Youtube Twitter Instagram Facebook Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! You can reach me on Twitter @RicF

Send us a textShownotes - Episode 283Breakout Beyond, Hotel Barcelona, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, Backrooms 1998, Backrooms Horror Escape, Pokémon Presents February 2025, Pokémon Champions, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Pokémon Concierge, Pokémon Go, Pokémon Master EX, Pokémon Cafe Remix, Pokémon Sleep, Pokémon Unite, Pokémon TCG Pocket , Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Sol: The Gun-Dog, Balatro Friends of Jimbo 4, Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age, Tempopo, Rusty Rabbit, Ninja Five-O, Baltro for Nintendo DS, Dauntless, Super Mario Bros. 2 on Nintendo Music, Yooka-Laylee, Developer Good-Feel hiring, Disney Dreamlight Valley Aladdin update, Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP, Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns T-1000, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4Support the show

This week the Punching Up crew discuss the recent layoffs at Warner Bros., Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, Pokemon Presents predictions and more! Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:19:47 - Warner Bros. Layoffs 0:33:57 - Pokémon Presents 0:39:43 - Pokémon Concierge 0:41:13 - Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition 1:08:23 - Tony Hawk is Back 1:14:42 - Mario Wonder Switch OLDED Bundle 1:15:33 - Nier 15 livestream 1:18:40 - What We're Playing 1:40:03 - Tanuki Pon's Summer 1:43:06 - Bloober team teams up with Konami Again 1:49:05 - Dauntless shutting down 1:51:10 - Closing Questions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ANKIETA GADŻETOWA: https://forms.gle/xWeRqchaUgBCM8519 Patronite Okiem Deva:https://patronite.pl/okiemdeva Discord Okiem Deva:https://discord.gg/4anD7dJJn8 Linki: https://linktr.ee/okiemdeva Kompilacja ofert pracy:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1agVeF3cW5aK4skDnHnB0IVwmma7n1rD8Sm9btTCTFdw/edit?usp=sharing Pytania do następnegolive'ahttps://forms.gle/4rEHhLdoiPUDWdtE7 00:00:00 Intro00:00:36 Warner Bros. zamyka swoje studia!00:06:27 Bloober tworzy kolejny remake?00:08:12 Reakcja na wycieki Ubisoftu00:11:12 Tekken 8 sprzedał 3 mln kopii?00:13:42 Klasyfikacja Balatro poprawiona!00:16:52 Geometric wraca do Annapurny00:18:20 Dauntless zamknięty!00:19:45 Bossa Games zwalnia00:22:27 Black Hawk Down zbyt trudny?00:25:05 Fable opóźniony!00:29:05 Outro ---------------- Wspierający: InternPiotr Łyp Spotify:adamp545, teki, kozak12q Junior DevKamil Śliwa, KonradSzejnfeld (ko_sz), Aloxxx, GerWanT, Saaellor, Marcin Pietrzyk (Mithrandir),Mateusz Salach, kondi16, Kruszynka Izka, Khart, nothing, Tomek “Tomku” Mar,Anna Weglarz, ExitWound, Kojo Bojo, ZajacccXD, Ania Węglarzy, FiSherMan414,MichalDev, Aliwera Regular DevBackgroundcharacter_A,Kaspa Anonim, Mateusz Stolarz Stolarczyk, Leniwa Ola, Marcin"kowboj_czacza" Ignasiak, Adam Kabalak, czekająca na cud, MałgorzataKuźmierz, kona 1, PabloRal, vandalllo, R W, scooby666, Mat Heus (Sizuae),Agnieszka Rumińska, Bonga, vxd555, Remigiusz Maciaszek, Jakub Staniszewski, AriGold, bibruRG_78 Senior DevŁukasz Klejnberg, BartoszMajcherczak, Agata Pławna, Patryk Bzdyra, Veman, Jakub Kornatowski(@GramyNaMacu), Agnieszka Rumińska, Cezary Łysoń, Michał Stankiewicz, MariuszKowalski, Tek, Maxjestic, Magdalena Porath, Rafał Jaszczuk, Mateusz Śródka,Kornel Kisielewicz, Jan Skiba, Arek Dudkowski, Buła Losu, Gatki, MichałKondzior, DamianRoman, Ard, Robert Jurasz, Mateusz Myga, Łukasz Kister,HARDCOROWYKOŚCIU GAMEPLAY!, Michał Król, Jakub WmH, Krzysiek Prus, Wered, MarekLeśniak, Pielgrzym, jmozgawa, Mimomza, Mateusz Kozielecki, Maja, JayKob,Piteroix, Arti ,,Niezłomny＂, Warsi, Regito93, enonemasta, Miras, DanielZabłocki, Pawelek1329, Morfiniusz, Magdalena Płoszaj-Kotynia, R K (Red Valour),Michał Ginter, Arkadiusz Czeryna, Piotr Beyer, Pielgrzym, Tomasz Golik,  Principal DevMariolka Mazur, WojciechUziębło, Zuzanna Lepianka, Leszek Lisowski, Dawid Kuc https://workplays.it/ ----------------Źródła:https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/warner-bros-is-reportedly-closing-three-game-studios-and-canceling-wonder-woman/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/bloober-team-to-continue-konami-partnership-with-another-ip-based-gamehttps://insider-gaming.com/ubisoft-releases-statement-on-assassins-creed-shadows-leaks/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/tekken-8-sales-punch-up-to-3-million-copies-in-first-yearhttps://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/balatro-s-contentious-pegi-18-rating-has-been-amended-thanks-to-mitigating-fantastical-elements-https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/annapurna-and-cocoon-dev-geometric-reteam-on-new-projecthttps://www.gamesindustry.biz/free-to-play-rpg-dauntless-to-be-shut-down-in-may-2025https://www.gamesindustry.biz/bossa-games-affected-by-unknown-number-of-staff-cutshttps://insider-gaming.com/delta-force-black-hawk-down-mostly-negative/https://www.vg247.com/bad-news-xbox-fans-fable-has-been-delayed-to-2026

Download for Mobile | Podcast Preview | Full Timestamps Boomers REFUSE To Learn City of the Worves OBT Impressions Yakuza Pirates: Ryo Hazuki Could Never Dauntless is Dead. Who Shot Dauntless? Mass Layoffs Feb 2025 Edition: You'll Never Guess Who Made It Watch live: twitch.tv/castlesuperbeast Go to http://shopify.com/superbeast to sign up for your $1-per-month trial period. - Go to http://factormeals.com/factorpodcast and use code factorpodcast to get 50% off your first box and free shipping. - Click this link https://boot.dev/?promo=CASTLESUPERBEAST and use my code CASTLESUPERBEAST to get 25% off your first payment for boot.dev. Free-to-play Monster Hunter-like Dauntless is shutting down on May 29 following mass studio layoffs When Bungie recently had to defend itself in court in a copyright case regarding the Red Legion faction in Destiny 2's campaign, it had to submit two fan-made YouTube lore videos as evidence because Bungie had vaulted/deleted the game's campaign Warner Bros. Games is making big cuts, closing three studios — Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and WB Games San Diego — and cancelling its long-in-development Wonder Woman game, the publisher told employees on Tuesday. All projects from those studios have been canceled. NetEase began its cuts late last year, with layoffs and studio closures at Mass Effect veteran Mac Walters' new studio Worlds Untold, Halo Infinite design boss Jerry Hook's team at Jar of Sparks, and more recently at Liquid Sword, the company founded by the creator of Just Cause. Quantic Dream, the NetEase-owned developer behind Heavy Rain, Detroit and the upcoming Star Wars Eclipse has broken its silence following the layoffs and shutdowns seen across numerous other NetEase-supported studios. In a statement posted on LinkedIn, Quantic Dream CEO Guillaume de Fondaumière said the studio's teams had not been impacted by NetEase's dramatic cuts, and were "continuing to develop our projects at full pace". Tony Hawk Pro Skater tease shows legendary skaters, further lifting hopes for 3+4 remake UPDATE: Remake now rated in Singapore ahead of announcement. Konami and Bloober Team are working on a new game following the success of Silent Hill 2. The game will be “based on Konami's IP” but isn't explicitly confirmed to be a new Silent Hill First look at Anna Williams in Tekken 8

Bienvenidas y bienvenidos a Recarga Activa, el podcast diario de AnaitGames en el que filtramos lo más relevante de la actualidad del videojuego en pildorazos de 15 minutos. La Recarga Activa de hoy: El Annapurna Interactive Showcase despeja pocas dudas sobre el futuro a largo plazo de la editora El último evento de ID@Xbox nos deja otro buen puñado de estrenos en Game Pass Despelote saldrá el 1 de mayo Dauntless cerrará sus servidores el 30 de mayo Suscríbete para recibir el siguiente episodio en tu gestor de podcasts favorito. Puedes apoyar nuestro proyecto (y acceder a un montón de contenido exclusivo) en Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/anaitreload ♫ Sintonía del programa: Senseless, de Johny Grimes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sooooo... this Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday and I wanted to celebrate sports instead of something political right now so I asked The EntreArchitect Facebook Group who was living in the cities of the competing teams and how their city was the better city, it was fairly non-competitive, but they did wear their sports paraphernalia, I was impartial in pale pink and black.Link to the blog for images and recipes!!!!https://inmawomanarchitect.blogspot.com/2025/02/interview-w-becca-roberts-becca-lee.htmlBecca Roberts is the Owner, Architect of Becca Lee Roberts Design. She has over 13 years of experience in architecture and interior design, working at firms in both Kansas City and Las Vegas before venturing out on her own. She enjoys working on projects of all types but has found the greatest enjoyment in custom residential design. To Becca, there is nothing better than working with the end user of a space and she loves helping people visualize their dream home design. She lives in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri with her husband, 2 year old daughter, dog and two cats. Becca Roberts, AIA | NCARB Owner | Architectbeccaleerobertsdesign@gmail.comC 816.810.3237https://beccaleerobertsdesign.com/Rich Sanford has over 20 years experience in the field of architecture, with project experience in residential, commercial, hospitality, and institutional building types.  Project process is a top priority in Rich's work.  A constant mantra is work smart first.  Originally from Central Pennsylvania, Rich now resides in South Jersey with his wife and kids.  Outside of work, Rich enjoys music (beatboxing is his favorite), mixed martial arts, and tending to his animals on his farm.Richard Sanford, RADauntless Design Collaborativep: 856.262.0900c: 856.304.2963Link to MGHarchitect: MIchele Grace Hottel, Architect website for scheduling and podcast sponsorship opportunities:https://www.mgharchitect.com/

Al and Codey talk about Mini Mini Farm Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:01:33: What Have We Been Up To 00:11:26: I Know What You Released Last Month 00:13:57: Game News 00:28:37: New Games 00:41:43: Other News 00:56:24: Mini Mini Farm 01:33:42: Outro Links Piczel Cross: Rune Factory Release Date Space Sprouts Release Date Luma Island: Pirates Ranch of Rivershine “1.7” Update Horticular: Frozen Frontier Melobot: A Last Song OST Sky Harvest Pheonix Labs Layoffs ConcernedApe NPR Interview Reuters Cozy Gaming Interactive Article Contact Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers, and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. My name is Al, (0:00:36) Codey: And my name is Cody! (0:00:37) Al: and we are here today to talk about cottagecore games. (0:00:42) Codey: Oh woo! (0:00:44) Al: It’s like a pack of wolves. (0:00:50) Codey: I’m never gonna un-hear that now. (0:00:51) Al: We this episode, we are going to talk about many, many farm because apparently we’re doing two (0:00:59) Al: mobile games in a row because you did Animal Crossing last week. And then we’re doing many, (0:01:00) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:01:04) Codey: Yeah. (0:01:05) Codey: Yeah. (0:01:06) Al: many farm this week. And yeah, I just realized that today. I was like, Oh, yeah, (0:01:08) Codey: Yes, I forgot about that. (0:01:13) Al: two in a row. Interesting. Oh, well, we’re making Cody work for their title of (0:01:19) Al: mobile correspondent. (0:01:20) Codey: Yep, I’m here for it. For sure. And I am still actively playing mobile games. (0:01:21) Al: Before that, well, yes, so before that we have news, I’m going to overview the (0:01:31) Al: January releases because it’s now February. But first of all, Cody, what have you been up to? (0:01:36) Codey: Um, so, uh, definitely been playing many, many farm. Um, because of the last episode. (0:01:42) Al: Oh yeah, that’s what MMF stands for. (0:01:44) Codey: Yeah. (0:01:44) Al: I was like, what’s MMF? (0:01:45) Al: Many, many fun, of course. (0:01:46) Codey: And many, many farm. (0:01:48) Codey: Um, because of Johnny, I am now cursed to be playing Animal Crossing pocket camp. (0:01:54) Al: A game which you hadn’t played for the podcast, you know, playing (0:01:59) Al: because of the podcast. (0:02:00) Codey: Correct. (0:02:01) Al: Oops. (0:02:02) Codey: Um, I had played it when it was like not the complete. (0:02:06) Codey: Like paid version. (0:02:06) Codey: Um, but because we were talking about it and I saw that it was like cheap and then it was possibly going to become less cheap. (0:02:14) Codey: And I’ve been doing really well with budgeting lately. (0:02:16) Codey: I was like, you know what? (0:02:18) Codey: I can, I can afford 10 bucks. (0:02:18) Codey: So, and I don’t, I don’t know. (0:02:20) Al: Yes. Do we have the actual date? I know that it’s very soon, or it’s, like, just in the (0:02:26) Al: past, but it wasn’t when the podcast episode came out. (0:02:30) Codey: And unfortunately I have now bought it. (0:02:32) Codey: So I have no way of checking because I’m pretty sure. (0:02:35) Al: Ah, it was the 31st of January. So, if you bought it when the last episode came out, (0:02:36) Codey: Okay. (0:02:38) Codey: So now it is what? (0:02:38) Codey: 20 bucks. (0:02:42) Al: or the two days after that, you were good. Otherwise, sorry, too late. And now it’s, yeah, $20. (0:02:48) Codey: So, I’ve been playing that. I’ve also been playing, still been playing Honeygrove, still (0:02:58) Codey: really sucked into Honeygrove. And I, you know, it’s so funny because we, whenever we would (0:03:01) Al: You’re just playing all the mobile games. (0:03:06) Codey: cover them before, it’s like, yay, I can uninstall it now. And the last couple ones, I’ve been (0:03:12) Codey: like, oh, no, I want to keep playing this. So, yeah, I do. (0:03:14) Al: Mm-hmm, oops. (0:03:19) Codey: But it’s nice because I’m, you know, nearing the end, the other thing, quote unquote, I’ve been (0:03:24) Codey: doing is is a PhD. And it is crunch time for sure now. So I pretty much like, I’m doing a lot of (0:03:34) Codey: stuff all the time. If I’m not doing specimens, I’m writing if I’m not doing that, either of those (0:03:40) Codey: two things I’m like, I’m always doing something. So this, this gives me a nice little like, okay, (0:03:46) Codey: I’m gonna sit down for like a half an hour and just like (0:03:48) Al: Mm, are you rotating through them or? (0:03:48) Codey: brain off play these silly little games. Yeah, so every (0:03:56) Codey: well, I guess I’m also playing too many games. I’m also playing (0:04:02) Codey: Pokemon TCG pocket and the new thing just released. And so I (0:04:08) Codey: always check that first. Let me look at my guess. I always (0:04:11) Codey: check that first. And then I do honeygrove because I can like (0:04:14) Codey: send everything off, like my little bees off on their (0:04:17) Codey: or expeditions. (0:04:18) Codey: And then I do pocket camp and then I do mini, mini farm for a little bit. (0:04:23) Codey: And then if for whatever reason, I am bored after that, um, or not (0:04:28) Codey: sucked into mini, mini farm, uh, I have my cross-stitch coloring out. (0:04:30) Al: Hmm (0:04:33) Codey: But yeah, that’s, that’s my, my, my brain off time now. (0:04:33) Al: Fair enough (0:04:40) Codey: Was it? (0:04:40) Al: Nice, I have been playing a lot of Pokemon. (0:04:45) Al: So I think last time we talked, Cody, (0:04:47) Al: I was just nearly finished, (0:04:47) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:04:50) Al: Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. (0:04:51) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:04:53) Al: I have now finished that, thank goodness. (0:04:54) Codey: Okay. (0:04:55) Codey: Yeah, you’re free. (0:04:57) Al: So that one’s done. (0:04:59) Al: And I was going to kind of maybe stop there, (0:05:02) Al: but then I was like, no, I need to do Let’s Go as well. (0:05:05) Al: So I did the Let’s Go Pokedex, (0:05:08) Al: and I rushed through. (0:05:10) Al: Uh, another save because I hadn’t recreated my Pokemon. (0:05:15) Al: Let’s go Pikachu save. (0:05:18) Al: So I did that. (0:05:18) Al: So that now is done. (0:05:19) Al: So all of my home DEXs are done except sword and shield. (0:05:25) Al: So I’ve got the let’s go one. (0:05:27) Al: I’ve got brilliant diamond, shining pearl. (0:05:29) Al: I’ve got let’s go. (0:05:30) Al: Arceus and I’ve got all this scarlet and violet ones. (0:05:32) Al: They’re all done. (0:05:33) Al: I haven’t done the sword and shield ones. (0:05:35) Al: Um, and I now have a post game. (0:05:40) Al: Save of every Pokemon Switch game, except shield. (0:05:45) Al: So I’ve recreated all my saves, except that. (0:05:46) Codey: Okay. Wow. (0:05:49) Al: And I have done a professor Oak challenge now of every pair of games, except can you (0:05:55) Al: guess? (0:05:56) Al: No, no, there’s certain shield. (0:05:56) Codey: Brilliant. I’m in shining girl. Oh, I don’t know. Okay. Okay. (0:06:03) Al: So, so at some point, I would like to do a professor Oak challenge in shield. (0:06:10) Al: Uh, and that does all three of those things. (0:06:12) Al: It does a professor Oak challenge in, in that series of games. (0:06:16) Al: It basically completes my home pocket X, right? (0:06:19) Al: Cause you’re catching everything anyway. (0:06:22) Al: Um, and it, it then me, it will mean I have a shield save in post game as well. (0:06:27) Al: But I don’t think I’m going to do that now because I’m worried I might burn out on Pokemon. (0:06:31) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:06:35) Al: And we don’t know yet when the new games coming out. (0:06:38) Al: I don’t expect it to come out until- (0:06:40) Al: november but we don’t know for certain and I don’t want them to be like come out and like me (0:06:46) Al: spend the next month doing this and then they come out and then I burn out and I’m like okay (0:06:50) Al: I’m done with pokemon for like six months and then they come out and say oh legends za is actually (0:06:57) Al: coming out in April and I’m like oh no that is really soon so uh but I’m also worried that they (0:07:05) Al: might do the release of pokemon for the home decks very soon and yeah sure I don’t- (0:07:10) Al: need to do it as soon as it’s done of course I don’t need to but I will feel the drive to (0:07:15) Al: do it at that point so I’m like do I actually just do the home decks just now and then leave (0:07:21) Al: the professor oak challenge for another time but then why why not just do the professor oak challenge (0:07:28) Al: but then I’m also the reason I was playing those games in January was because there weren’t any (0:07:32) Al: games coming out that I was planning on playing for the podcast and now we have a billion of them (0:07:35) Codey: Yeah, but it would be really inefficient to not just do it, do them together. (0:07:38) Al: them coming out in February and March. (0:07:40) Al: I’m probably going to just wait and do it all at the same time, probably next January. (0:07:54) Codey: yep. yep. (0:07:57) Al: Because January does tend to be quite a quiet period, but I guess that depends on when ZA (0:08:04) Al: comes out. (0:08:05) Al: Because if ZA comes out in November, I’m probably not going to want to do a Professor Oak challenge (0:08:08) Al: of SHIELD. (0:08:10) Al: In January, so maybe, maybe I’ll just wait till Pokemon Day and they’ll all they will almost definitely tell us the release date then right like there’s no way they’re not going to do that. (0:08:22) Al: That reminds me, we want to do Pokemon Day predictions. (0:08:26) Codey: Oh, okay, okay. (0:08:28) Al: And Pokemon Day reactions greenhouse episode that gets us to this month. (0:08:29) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:08:33) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:08:39) Al: so (0:08:40) Al: all that to say I have played a lot of pokemon in the last month and a half a lot a lot a lot (0:08:48) Al: of pokemon and I think like maybe like 120 hours over the last month and a half we’ve just pokemon (0:08:56) Codey: Mm hmm. I’m shocked. (0:08:58) Al: still not found a brilliant diamond shining pearl (0:09:02) Al: still a big big fan of let’s go great games love them second best pokemon game (0:09:11) Codey: Yeah, I really have been wanting to go back and replay. I have Eevee, but I also have (0:09:17) Al: Mm-hmm. Yes, fair, fair, fair. So yeah, I’m probably Pokémon’d out for now, but we’ll see. (0:09:21) Codey: else going on. So, yep. (0:09:30) Al: I’ve also been keeping up with Harvestmen, Home Sweet Home. Look at me actually playing a farming (0:09:36) Al: game a little bit a day. What a crazy idea. I know. So I’m now in chapter five, enjoying that. (0:09:37) Codey: Wow not guzzling (0:09:40) Codey: - I’m done. (0:09:44) Al: I don’t know. (0:09:45) Al: I don’t know what to do with that. (0:09:47) Al: Yeah, actually, yeah, no, I will. (0:09:49) Al: I’m enjoying it. (0:09:51) Al: I’m enjoying playing this game. (0:09:52) Al: This is a fun game. (0:09:53) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:09:54) Al: It still has issues. (0:09:56) Al: Absolutely. (0:09:58) Al: The Cloud Save still not working for me two months later. (0:10:02) Codey: I’m shocked. (0:10:04) Al: But controller support has made it playable. (0:10:07) Al: And it’s actually fun. (0:10:10) Al: It’s no Stardew Valley. (0:10:11) Al: I don’t care about the characters as much. (0:10:14) Al: But there’s a lot to like about it. (0:10:16) Al: and I’m hopeful for… (0:10:17) Al: and I have also started playing Hello Kitty Island Adventure, which I did play when it came to Apple Arcade, so I played it for about a month and enjoyed it. (0:10:33) Al: But then I was like, I am so fed up with playing on the touchscreen and let me tell you, playing with the controller infinitely better. So good! (0:10:37) Codey: Yeah. Okay. (0:10:41) Al: So I’ve been playing on my Steam Deck, I know that I know some people who are playing on… (0:10:47) Al: which may or may not come up in a future episode, but yeah, no, it’s a good game. It is way better than it had any right to be. (0:10:50) Codey: - Ooh. (0:11:02) Al: I completely forgot until I started the game how the game starts and I’m like, I just love… it’s so ridiculous that it basically starts with a plane crash. (0:11:11) Al: Because who would expect that in a Hello Kitty game? Alright, I think that’s everything. That’s what we’ve been… (0:11:17) Al: We are going to continue the new segment, the month’s releases and the previous month’s releases. We’re going to talk about last month’s releases. (0:11:18) Codey: Oh, woo. Oww, ow, ow, ow. (0:11:31) Codey: Last month’s what what was released last month? I got you (0:11:36) Al: Listeners, write in and tell us what this segment should be called, this monthly segment. What released last month? (0:11:44) Al: January 2025 edition. Or should it be fae- (0:11:47) Al: Maybe the 2025 edition, because last month would be January, but it’s like what would (0:11:51) Al: have- what released last month? (0:11:53) Codey: What are you what do you call it so like in? (0:11:57) Codey: Start in stardivale correlate whatever when you go to sleep, and there’s like that recap screen (0:12:02) Al: This summary… (0:12:03) Codey: That’s all you call it. That’s all it’s called (0:12:07) Al: He gla-la… (0:12:07) Codey: Like the daily summary listeners. Let us know (0:12:10) Al: I don’t know… (0:12:11) Codey: What do you call that screen like when it tells you what you did for the day how much all your stuff sold? (0:12:16) Codey: I think that whatever that is called is what this segment should be called because it’s like we just fell asleep on January (0:12:23) Codey: And we’re waking up and it’s February, but let’s like think about the things that occurred last last month (0:12:30) Al: I’m really struggling to Google this. (0:12:31) Codey: Don’t work yeah, don’t worry about looking it up. They got a listeners have to tell us (0:12:35) Al: Okay, so January, what released in January? (0:12:41) Al: We have four releases in January 2025. (0:12:44) Al: We got Harvest Hills, releasing mid-January the 15th. (0:12:48) Al: We got Into the Emberlands, Not Wonderful, released on the 20th of January when we had (0:12:54) Al: Hello Kitty Island Adventure on Steam and Switch that released on the 30th of January. (0:12:58) Al: my little life which is our first (0:13:01) Al: game of Rusty’s Like or as a developer of Rusty’s retirement is calling them bottom of the screen game (0:13:06) Codey: boss game which he he like talked it up on the um on blue sky he like was like y’all (0:13:06) Al: and that released on the 31st of January. So a kind of (0:13:17) Codey: should get this game and now i’m looking at it oh it’s only five dollars and 39 cents (0:13:24) Al: Yeah, it is dangerous. (0:13:25) Codey: oh no it’s only it’s only windows oh I almost clicked it y’all I almost we good okay i’m (0:13:34) Codey: I wish. (0:13:36) Codey: Let it be not just Windows, my little life developer. (0:13:39) Codey: I want to play this game. (0:13:40) Codey: Thank you. (0:13:42) Al: Yeah, so that’s the January releases, wild that I’m about to say this, but that’s a (0:13:47) Al: quiet month. Four games is a quiet month, apparently. (0:13:51) Codey: Yeah, not a lot going on. (0:13:57) Al: Okay, so we’ve now got a bunch of news. We’re going to start with the gaming news. So first (0:14:04) Al: up we have Pixel Cross Renfractory, they have announced a release date for this. So this is (0:14:09) Al: like the pixel cross Stodio seasons. (0:14:12) Al: It’s a Picross type game, but not Picross because Nintendo on the trademark to that kind of. (0:14:21) Al: Yeah, you do your nonograms. I think that’s what the generic term people have been using, (0:14:27) Al: nonograms. You do your nonograms and in the story seasons one, it like built up a farm (0:14:34) Al: in the background as you do it. Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know if they’ve shown (0:14:36) Codey: is that is that what it is because it also says customize like in this trailer they say customize (0:14:40) Al: and I’ll see you next time. (0:14:42) Al: Yeah. (0:14:43) Codey: your farm and I don’t and it like looks like you choose what like where things are placed and so (0:14:50) Codey: that was one that was my only question was like I mean it’s coming some when it comes out folks (0:14:55) Codey: can tell me unless people have been playing I don’t know if there’s a dummy (0:14:57) Al: I don’t, I, yeah, oh, interesting. (0:15:01) Al: So it does look like you can change things in this one. (0:15:03) Al: So I’m pretty sure on the story of seasons one, (0:15:06) Al: you just saw the farm build up and things grow (0:15:09) Al: and you didn’t have any control over how it looked, (0:15:12) Al: but you’re right, it does. (0:15:13) Al: So it says customize your farm (0:15:14) Al: and it shows different animals or monsters. (0:15:17) Al: And then it shows you actually selecting (0:15:19) Al: what weapon you want your character to have, (0:15:21) Al: including a massive lollipop as an option. (0:15:25) Al: So yeah, it looks like it’s more in depth. (0:15:28) Codey: Well, I’m wondering if it’s just like you can control what it looks like in the background (0:15:34) Codey: while you are, yeah. (0:15:34) Al: I think that, yeah, I think that’s all it is. (0:15:36) Al: I don’t think you’re actually doing any farming (0:15:39) Al: or any battling, that just happens in the background (0:15:41) Al: as you’re doing it, but in the story seasons one, (0:15:44) Al: I’m pretty sure you couldn’t change how it looked. (0:15:46) Codey: is it like learn how to do a carrot by doing a carrot learn how to plant (0:15:52) Codey: carrots I like okay (0:15:52) Al: It wasn’t even that much in the study seasons when it was literally, you do stuff and things grow in the background you weren’t really. (0:16:00) Al: Yeah, there was nothing else. (0:16:02) Codey: Sounds good. Some people are probably jumping for joy that (0:16:06) Codey: there’s a new across game coming out. New an Autogram coming (0:16:10) Al: nonagram yeah yes yeah anyway space sprouts have announced that they’re (0:16:13) Codey: it’s like Kleenex. It’s like people say get a Kleenex but (0:16:17) Codey: that’s a brand. (0:16:21) Al: releasing on the 31st of March (0:16:24) Codey: Mm-hmm. They’re also participating in Steam’s next fest, so… (0:16:28) Al: Cody who isn’t (0:16:30) Codey: Oh, okay, fine. They’re also moving on to the next part. Uh, I guess the only thing… (0:16:33) Al: I mean I’d like I just I find the steam next fest stuff so funny because it’s (0:16:40) Al: it doesn’t really mean anything it’s like it’s it’s like it’s like being part of (0:16:45) Al: a sale right you can still do a sale whenever you want you can put your price (0:16:48) Al: down whatever but it’s like if you do it at a specific time you might get on a (0:16:50) Codey: Right. But that’s the thing, like there’s a specific list that they’ll get clicked on. (0:16:52) Al: list (0:16:55) Al: but the list is too long (0:16:58) Codey: Okay, but like not every it is still selective, right? Like not hashtag not everyone gets on the (0:17:02) Al: no I don’t I don’t think so I think anyone even get in the list (0:17:03) Codey: list. Well, anyways, that’s from February 27 to March 3. But they are also looking for playtesters. (0:17:12) Codey: So if you go to the show notes, go to the Steam page, etc, etc, you can figure out how to become (0:17:18) Codey: on my playtester for space sprout. (0:17:20) Al: Whoo! Yeah, what was this game again? I can’t… Oh yeah, it was like the 2D space. It was like, (0:17:28) Al: yeah, I’m not describing that very well. But yeah, it was a 2D world where you’re floating around, (0:17:30) Codey: Mm-hmm (0:17:33) Codey: 2D floating in space. Yeah (0:17:36) Al: yeah. Yeah, I’m very interested in this one. I wonder how it’s going to feel playing (0:17:42) Al: farming in 0G. Although it does look like some of it has gravity, and some of it has gravity, (0:17:44) Codey: Mm-hmm. I mean it’s interesting. (0:17:50) Codey: Well, if I learned anything from the Martian, farming in 0G contains the recycling of human waste. (0:17:58) Codey: So, very excited for that. (0:18:00) Al: for sure next we have a free update coming to luma island and this is called pirates (0:18:12) Codey: With an excolate your boy, pirates! (0:18:15) Al: just pirates um it’s literally called luma island pirates what uh although I don’t think (0:18:22) Al: the exclamation mark is actually part of the title because later down they say what’s coming (0:18:26) Al: in Luma Island Pirates without the exclamation mark. (0:18:29) Codey: Uh, I choose to believe, yes. (0:18:30) Al: Don’t you always? (0:18:32) Al: So this brings a pirate themed zone with new minigames, a new temple, traps and enemies, a new profession. (0:18:44) Al: Johnny and Dallin I think, they both play it. They’ll be excited about a new profession. (0:18:51) Al: A full screen map, that’s definitely something it needed. I was annoyed about not having the full screen map. (0:18:56) Al: three new game modes, (0:18:58) Al: including (0:19:00) Al: hero mode and cozy mode. (0:19:02) Al: I wonder what the third mode is. (0:19:04) Al: I love how they’d say three modes (0:19:04) Codey: I’m curious what the new profession is. (0:19:06) Al: and they mentioned two of them. (0:19:10) Codey: Is it piracy? (0:19:12) Al: Oh, interesting. Yeah, that’s a good point. (0:19:14) Al: It could be. (0:19:14) Codey: Like goats? (0:19:16) Al: Even if not actually, (0:19:18) Al: piracy definitely could be related to that. (0:19:20) Codey: Or like treasure hunting? (0:19:20) Al: Yeah, that is a good point. (0:19:22) Al: Yeah, well they do have a treasure hunter one already, I’m pretty sure. (0:19:26) Codey: Okay, so it is piracy. (0:19:28) Codey: Destroy this city and loot the people. (0:19:30) Al: Maybe. You never know. You never know. Also, new outfits, quests, NPCs, Lumas, powers, (0:19:34) Codey: Mutiny, mutiny your own. (0:19:38) Codey: I’m very curious. (0:19:44) Al: bonuses, and achievements. Yes, yeah, that is a free update. That is not a DLC. That (0:19:46) Codey: Ooh, that’s a lot of content in a free update. (0:19:52) Codey: Yeah. (0:19:53) Al: is a free update. Coming soon. No date yet. Coming soon. (0:19:58) Al: Speaking of updates. (0:20:00) Al: RiverShine have announced their 1.7 update. (0:20:05) Al: This is called Azure Coast Trail. (0:20:08) Codey: what? No, say it, say it how you say it again. Oh, that’s so cool. We just say Azure. I like (0:20:08) Al: Azure. (0:20:09) Al: Azure. (0:20:10) Al: How would you say it? (0:20:13) Al: Azure. (0:20:14) Al: Oh, no, Azure. (0:20:18) Codey: your way of saying it. Continue. (0:20:20) Codey: you. (0:20:21) Codey: You’re welcome. (0:20:21) Codey: You’re welcome. (0:20:21) Al: Thank you. (0:20:25) Al: This brings new competitions, horses, music, accessories, and loading screens. (0:20:30) Codey: Oh, whoo, the loading screens look really good, like the the art. (0:20:35) Codey: I mean, I’m betting that they have like a ton of humans that love this game (0:20:39) Codey: and just are like, take here, take my art. (0:20:41) Codey: The loading screens look really cool. (0:20:43) Codey: And the new horse is like a cool new wild horse species. (0:20:48) Codey: I almost look I. (0:20:48) Al: Rabi Rabbi Kano, Rabbi Rabbi Rabbi Kano, I think Rabbi Kano. (0:20:55) Codey: Let me it’s probably something like Robicano or Robic Robicano or something. (0:21:00) Codey: Um, yeah, I didn’t look up to see if those are actually like a thing. (0:21:06) Codey: I almost did and then I didn’t. (0:21:07) Codey: Oh, yep. (0:21:08) Codey: They’re a type of Arabian horse. (0:21:10) Al: rare horse coat color pattern that features white. (0:21:15) Codey: Oh, so it’s just a whatever. (0:21:17) Codey: It’s they’re really cute. (0:21:21) Codey: Yeah, and they also announced that the next update is going to introduce (0:21:27) Codey: a new character and that is the veterinarian. (0:21:30) Codey: Also introduce, you know, care for your horse. (0:21:34) Codey: So different, you know, that care like they might maybe they get sick. (0:21:39) Codey: Maybe they have certain nutritional needs and you didn’t need to make sure (0:21:43) Codey: you meet them. (0:21:44) Codey: I’m not entirely this is all just me. (0:21:46) Codey: Just I don’t know. (0:21:47) Codey: Just like trying to like think of what it could be, but that’s cool. (0:21:52) Codey: I’m all for it. (0:21:53) Codey: Can I be the veterinarian? (0:21:58) Codey: Aww. (0:22:01) Codey: We need a game where you’re like the veterinarian. (0:22:03) Codey: We don’t have that. (0:22:04) Al: Go make it. (0:22:05) Codey: No, I’m good. (0:22:06) Codey: Someone should make it though. (0:22:08) Codey: Or like a wildlife biologist. (0:22:08) Al: Let us know. (0:22:11) Codey: I don’t know. (0:22:12) Al: Is that not just research story? (0:22:14) Codey: Go play research. (0:22:16) Al: I mean, tell me if I’m wrong, you’re the one that’s played it. (0:22:17) Codey: No, I’m trying to. (0:22:18) Codey: Yeah, no, I’m trying to think of like, no, (0:22:20) Codey: like a game where you’re a rehabber. (0:22:22) Codey: Where you rehabilitate wild animals that people bring to you. (0:22:25) Codey: I think the only issue with that is that it’s sad because they die. (0:22:28) Codey: die, but hey. (0:22:30) Codey: There was a Bluey episode about a bird dying, so it’s okay these days. (0:22:36) Al: Blue can do anything. (0:22:38) Codey: Bluey did it. That means it’s child approved. (0:22:42) Al: Let me tell you, right, me and Craig watch Blue together, (0:22:46) Al: and he’ll be sitting and laughing at the jokes and watching it and stuff, (0:22:48) Al: and then I’ll just be sitting behind him, just sobbing. (0:22:50) Codey: stopping. Yeah. Yeah, I just just finished it. And it I am (0:22:52) Al: Like, “Oh, no, what is happening? What’s the doing to me?” (0:23:00) Codey: upset. And I need more. I watched all of it. Thanks. I’ve, (0:23:04) Al: Nice. Well done. (0:23:07) Codey: I just I crave distraction in the background while I run (0:23:11) Codey: meaningless analysis. They’re not meaningless analysis. They’re (0:23:14) Codey: just tedious analysis correction. But yeah, cool that (0:23:21) Codey: give me a game mode where I can play as the veterinarian and I (0:23:24) Codey: will play this game. Developers if you’re like, man, what do (0:23:26) Al: I mean, I feel like that’s just a whole different game, not just a different game mode, but… (0:23:31) Codey: people want these days? I bet a vet mode like a vet game would (0:23:37) Codey: crush. Yep. And I would pay probably $30 for it. So if it (0:23:39) Al: There’s at least one person who would buy it, that’s for sure. (0:23:45) Codey: takes more than $30 to make. I’m out. (0:23:48) Al: I’m not even promising there’d be two people because I’m not sure who the second person (0:23:50) Codey: Listeners. Let me know. Can you contribute $30 we can offer $60 (0:23:53) Al: would do it for the podcast. (0:23:57) Al: I’m sure there are I mean, look, if you could make a game for $60 you’d be rolling in it. (0:24:02) Codey: to developers. There’d be a lot of really bad games. Yeah. (0:24:14) Al: For sure for you. (0:24:15) Al: Well, yeah, you probably can make a game for $60. (0:24:18) Al: Absolutely dreadful. (0:24:21) Al: Just a Skinner box. (0:24:22) Al: All right. (0:24:24) Al: Next we have Particular have announced a free update and a paid DLC. (0:24:33) Al: They’re both releasing on the same day, 28th of February, and the paid DLC Frozen Frontier (0:24:39) Al: has a new story, world quests, new items and creatures. (0:24:45) Al: written snowshoe hair. Is that a creature? (0:24:47) Codey: Yeah, yeah, they specifically say snowshoe hair well, that is just one that they blurbed (0:24:48) Al: Is that a creature that’s there? Just one creature. (0:24:55) Al: blurb. No, I know what you mean. That’s a great example of verification. (0:24:55) Codey: It could be (0:24:59) Codey: Where did that word come from it is keep going I’m gonna look up what that where that came from (0:25:05) Codey: - Um. (0:25:07) Al: And the free update includes new creatures, some temp mechanics. What do you mean by that? (0:25:14) Codey: - Temperature, sorry. (0:25:15) Al: Oh, temperature was like temporary mechanics. Yes, temporary temperature mechanics, snow, (0:25:16) Codey: Now, (0:25:22) Al: And then obviously, quality of life improvements. (0:25:26) Codey: Yeah, so they both yeah, they both kind of include like, adding snow as a as a thing that you can see in the game. But one just adds like a whole new world. Also, I wanted to note that they say on in the beginning of this show notes, whatever, what is this called, like a, thank you. (0:25:48) Al: release notes or well it’s not really release notes because it’s not released (0:25:51) Codey: It’s a (0:25:51) Al: teaser (0:25:54) Codey: Teaser, they say… (0:25:56) Codey: “As spring arrives in the northern hemisphere, we’re not quite done with the cold weather. We got you southern hemisphere folks.” (0:26:02) Codey: Correction. We are also not ready for spring. (0:26:08) Codey: The United States weather predicting rodent has proclaimed that there are six more weeks of winter. (0:26:16) Codey: So, yeah, we’re not ready. (0:26:18) Al: Do I need to tap the sign? Seasons aren’t universal, Cody. (0:26:20) Codey: What’s the sign? (0:26:26) Codey: They specifically say “As spring arrives in the northern hemisphere.” (0:26:28) Al: Seasons aren’t universal in the northern hemisphere, Cody. (0:26:32) Codey: There’s six more weeks of winter. I don’t know what to tell you. (0:26:35) Al: Look, okay, so not every country has the same definitions of seasons. Not every country even (0:26:41) Al: has four seasons, and certainly not every country is going to listen to America when they say that (0:26:46) Al: that a rodent has decided it’s- (0:26:49) Codey: Okay, there’s like certain things that they should listen to us on and the majority of (0:26:54) Codey: things that other countries should just ignore Americans on, especially these days. (0:27:00) Codey: But one thing y’all should really listen to is our, our groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, (0:27:07) Codey: who is an immortal groundhog that has bespake unto the cultists or whomstever and told them (0:27:18) Codey: in Groundhog E’s! (0:27:20) Codey: There will be six more weeks of winter and a bunch of people just went. (0:27:22) Al: Yeah, I have watched Groundhog Day. I do know the idea behind it. (0:27:27) Al: Finally, in the game news in bit, we have MeloBot, a last song, have released their (0:27:34) Al: original soundtrack on Steam. It is $12.99 on its own, or it’s also included in the Deluxe (0:27:42) Al: Edition for which is more expensive. It’s actually a really good deal if you get the (0:27:46) Codey: Oh, whoo. Yeah. (0:27:49) Al: deluxe edition, though, right? Because it’s like… (0:27:52) Al: 20 quid for the game. I’m back into pounds here because you confused me with your whole (0:27:57) Al: dollars. 20 quid for the game or is it 25 quid for the 25 dollars for the game? (0:27:58) Codey: - Yeah, sorry, I put dollars, I put US dollars. (0:28:00) Codey: $13. (0:28:04) Codey: $25 for the deluxe edition and then $13 if, (0:28:08) Codey: for just the soundtrack. (0:28:10) Al: Yeah. Well, how much is the base game is that is that $20 then? (0:28:13) Codey: - Man, I didn’t look at that. (0:28:14) Codey: Let me look. (0:28:16) Al: See, it is 20 quid or 10 and 10 quid for 20 or 27 quid. (0:28:22) Codey: Oh I had it wrong! The game is 25. The bundle that includes the digital deluxe upgrade is 35. (0:28:22) Al: Ah. (0:28:32) Al: OK, so it’s still a good deal, but it’s not as good a deal. (0:28:35) Codey: You save 8%. (0:28:37) Al: All righty, so that is the game news. (0:28:41) Al: We also have two new games announced. (0:28:43) Al: Well, kind of. (0:28:44) Al: One of them is a new game. (0:28:44) Codey: - In quotes. (0:28:46) Al: One of them is actually two that are not– (0:28:50) Al: should we talk about the one that’s actually new first? (0:28:52) Al: So that is Sky Harvest. (0:28:52) Codey: - Yes. (0:28:57) Al: The blurb for this one is, “Armed with hand-me-down tools (0:29:01) Al: and some cash. (0:29:03) Al: You begin your new life as the chief farmer, a position your (0:29:07) Al: grandfather once excelled in. Can you honor his legacy and (0:29:10) Al: transform the overgrown, untamed and desolate floating island (0:29:14) Al: into a flourishing farm abundant with produce? (0:29:19) Codey: produce is weird in that trailer was was grandfather sleeping (0:29:26) Al: I didn’t actually watch the trailer give me two seconds. No, he did (0:29:33) Al: Again, yeah, no he did (0:29:36) Codey: so as a child you come upon your grand your beloved grandfather deceased at the (0:29:44) Al: Dead, at the kitchen table, reading his hopes and dreams. (0:29:47) Codey: kitchen table with (0:29:49) Codey: a book in front of him. (0:29:53) Codey: The book says, if I wish I could have gone back one last time and it’s got like a ticket and then it shows you taking that ticket and going and honoring his legacy. (0:30:04) Al: This is how this is how I know that he’s dead because if he’s not dead that is horrific. You’ve just stolen his ticket (0:30:05) Codey: But like, (0:30:12) Al: The one thing he wanted to do you’ve stolen his ticket and gone without him (0:30:16) Al: Let waited a while because you’ve grown a beard now. You’re an adult now (0:30:16) Codey: also, (0:30:20) Codey: Yeah, there’s a whole beard, a mustache, wild. (0:30:21) Al: Goodness me. That’s dreadful (0:30:23) Al: You (0:30:24) Codey: But like, if I came upon my grandmother deceased, (0:30:29) Codey: I say this because my grandfather is already deceased. (0:30:34) Codey: If I came upon my grandmother deceased, and (0:30:37) Codey: I don’t care what’s in front of her, I’m not looking at that. (0:30:42) Al: Yeah, he just like rests his head on his grandfather’s dead arm and sheds one singular tear before stealing his ticket, his boat ticket. (0:30:45) Codey: And then… (laughs) (0:30:50) Codey: I don’t know how beloved that grandfather was, if that’s your reaction, my guy. (0:30:55) Codey: Anyway, this is me just… (laughs) (0:30:56) Al: One, he’s one tear’s worth a little bit. (0:31:00) Codey: Alright, this looks cool though. So you’re on floating islands, you’re flying around with a jetpack, you can manage a restaurant. (0:31:07) Codey: It just says manage a restaurant, but it just shows you telling the person what the one meal that you guys are making in the day is. (0:31:20) Codey: Not what restaurants do. (0:31:23) Codey: And it’s a really bad restaurant. (0:31:24) Al: It’s what really bad restaurants. (0:31:28) Codey: And then it also says make friends, and then there’s a dog with a scroll in its mouth, so I’m guessing you befriend a dog. (0:31:36) Codey: And unfortunately that wasn’t in the trailer, it was in this thing. (0:31:40) Al: I mean the trailer didn’t show you much, lesbian. (0:31:43) Codey: Right, the trailer was very teaser-y, but underneath that, on the post, they have… (0:31:50) Codey: I watched that video where there’s a dog 10 times to see… I wanted to see more of the dog. (0:31:59) Codey: What kind of dog is it? All that. (0:32:03) Codey: It’s definitely a tricolor something, but other than that, no. (0:32:08) Al: So I will say I’m not particularly enamored by the graphics in this game. (0:32:17) Al: Not that it looks bad, it’s very definitely trying to look how it looks, I think. (0:32:23) Al: What I find a bit weird is the graphics of the game and the graphics of the heads-up display, (0:32:30) Al: like the menus and stuff, they feel like they’re from different games. (0:32:31) Codey: Mm hmm. Yeah, like they had two different people designing those, (0:32:38) Codey: and one understood the assignment and one didn’t. (0:32:38) Al: Yeah. Yeah, so it’s a little bit weird. Very, very. I do like the flying. The flying looks fun. (0:32:45) Codey: The character also looks lanky. This is a tall character. (0:32:53) Codey: Yeah. Mm hmm. Cosine. I don’t. (0:32:57) Al: Yeah, I don’t know what else to say. That looks interesting. I love how it calls it sky farming (0:33:01) Codey: It’s farming, but in the sky. Or are we? Are you farming the sky? (0:33:04) Al: when it’s just farming. (0:33:08) Al: In the sky? Okay. No, no, no, no, it’s just you’re on a sky island. Which I feel like this whole (0:33:12) Codey: Like is there part you’re like collecting the sky? (0:33:16) Codey: You don’t know that. What if they what if you collect the sky? (0:33:21) Al: let’s this game has sky islands was a fun idea five years ago and now half the games are doing (0:33:26) Al: it. Which is I guess the problem with game development, right? It was even before that (0:33:30) Codey: It’s the tears of the kingdom like. (0:33:35) Al: people were doing it. They didn’t. (0:33:38) Al: No, I know. Yeah, yeah. No, I get it. I feel like this could be possibly interesting. (0:33:46) Al: I’m not really sure what it’s… The flying is the thing that is most interesting to me, (0:33:51) Al: but other than that, I’m not really sure what it is that they’re doing that’s unique, (0:33:54) Al: which is always the problem with cottagecore games is why should I play you over Stardew? (0:34:01) Codey: I think that’s correct. I think like that’s the thing about this is it’s just to get your (0:34:06) Codey: attention and we will continue. It’s not like I saw this and I’m like, yep, not going to play (0:34:11) Codey: that because there’s not a lot here. I want to, I want to see more. They’re going to probably (0:34:15) Codey: release more. And so far they just say Q2 2025 in the trailer. (0:34:16) Al: Yep. Yeah, where did you see Q2? I just see 2025. Oh, in the trailer, okay. Because on (0:34:28) Al: Steam just says 2025. Okay, I will update my list then. I didn’t pay attention to the (0:34:31) Codey: Yeah, he didn’t watch the trailer. (0:34:38) Al: trailer, there’s a difference there. All right, we also have the brand new and exciting (0:34:39) Codey: Oh, my bad. I get that though. (0:34:47) Al: Harvest Moon, Skytree Village, and The Lost Valley are for some reason coming to Switch. (0:34:55) Al: The good thing about this is it is a bundle, so it’s like you’re not buying the game separately, (0:35:00) Al: which is good, because my word that would be not worth any sort of money. I’m not sure who (0:35:06) Al: wants these games. It’s like they went, “Oh, when we did…” Because they worked with… (0:35:09) Codey: Yeah, so you– (0:35:16) Al: Because the rights are complicated to the old Harvest Moon games, right? So they’ve done some, (0:35:22) Al: they released the original Harvest Moon on, what’s it called, Nintendo Switch Online, (0:35:31) Al: and they had to do that in collaboration with Marvelous, because Marvelous owned the game, (0:35:36) Al: but they owned the name, and so they had to both agree to that. Anyway, whatever, it doesn’t matter. (0:35:41) Al: And I feel like that combined with Marvelous redoing a wonderful… (0:35:46) Al: life has made them go, “Oh, people like when we remake Harvest Moon games and knock on which ones (0:35:55) Al: is it that people actually want to play, because I guarantee you it’s not Skytree Village in The (0:35:59) Al: Lost Valley.” (0:36:00) Codey: - Yeah, I will say, okay, so two things. (0:36:04) Codey: First of all, I looked, so one social media user, (0:36:08) Codey: to your question of who’s asking for this, (0:36:10) Codey: one social media user named Chrissy said, (0:36:13) Codey: “Cozy gamers have really been winning lately.” (0:36:16) Al: I wonder whether that person has ever actually played either of these. (0:36:16) Codey: To which another, (0:36:23) Codey: to which another user said, (0:36:25) Codey: “These games are more like a loss.” (0:36:28) Al: The funny thing is they did the whole, “Oh, we’re going to announce an announcement.” (0:36:34) Al: And they were like, “Oh, we’ve got an exciting announcement coming for you.” (0:36:34) Codey: Yeah (0:36:37) Al: And you’re like, “Okay, fine.” (0:36:40) Al: And then they did this and people were like, “Really? (0:36:43) Al: That was your… (0:36:44) Al: Please tell me this wasn’t everything.” (0:36:46) Al: Because it’s just, they’re like, I am not the sort of person who just hates on Harvest (0:36:50) Al: Moon, you know, Natsume, Harvest Moon games for the sake of it. (0:36:54) Al: You know, I am literally playing Harvestman, Home Sweet Home, as we’re recording. (0:36:58) Al: The podcast, right? And I’ve talked about how I like that. I’ve talked about how I like the ideas (0:37:02) Al: in One World and Winds of Anthos. I think they’re very interesting and I think that they’re very (0:37:07) Al: close to legitimately having a good game. These games are not that. These games are just bad. (0:37:10) Codey: Mm hmm. This ain’t it chief. Yeah, I will say so. I was listening to another podcast (0:37:22) Codey: about metal music lately and they were talking about I had there’s a point fault. Stay with (0:37:27) Al: I look forward to it. (0:37:28) Codey: me. They were talking about how this one band re like, is republishing like re thank you (0:37:37) Al: - Remastered. (0:37:38) Codey: remastering. (0:37:40) Codey: I think they’re actually just straight up rerecording an (0:37:42) Codey: entire album and like reproducing it. (0:37:42) Al: - Oh, okay. (0:37:44) Al: They’re Taylor-swifting it. (0:37:45) Codey: Basically, they are that’s the they literally made a joke about (0:37:49) Codey: that and they had the same question like what who’s asking (0:37:53) Codey: for this and a bunch of people on social media were like, (0:37:56) Codey: ah, this is thanks, but I’d rather have no music, etc, etc. (0:38:00) Codey: But they actually said they made a really good point, which (0:38:02) Codey: is if there are people who have not played these games or (0:38:07) Codey: listen to this music or whatever. (0:38:10) Codey: Kind of an introduction to that to that content for them (0:38:13) Codey: because there might be people who have heard of this Harvest (0:38:17) Codey: Moon thing, but they haven’t really played it yet or whatever (0:38:22) Codey: and then maybe they see this bundle and they’re like, oh (0:38:24) Codey: wow, there’s two of them in here. (0:38:26) Al: They’re first and last Harvest Moon games (0:38:27) Codey: And so it’s not. (0:38:30) Codey: Well, yeah, so that’s the thing. (0:38:31) Codey: So I mean that they were talking about an actually good album (0:38:35) Codey: versus– (0:38:35) Al: Yes, I think that’s that is the key difference here Cody (0:38:39) Al: I think like I am NOT against remakes. I think remakes can be really good (0:38:40) Codey: - Yeah. (0:38:43) Al: I think I’m doing a wonderful life last year was good because that is a very beloved game (0:38:43) Codey: Yeah. (0:38:47) Al: That is a lot of people’s first farming game (0:38:51) Al: And you just have to listen to Kevin for five minutes to know how much some people were waiting for that (0:38:55) Al: Nobody has that about (0:38:56) Codey: Oh, yeah. That’s fair. (0:38:56) Al: these games. (0:38:59) Codey: Yeah, I I’m trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, but, uh, yeah, (0:39:04) Codey: I think that the thing is that it’s not just if they’re not being remade (0:39:08) Codey: or or bundled in for the switch for the fans. (0:39:14) Al: No. This is the problem is there aren’t games that Natsume can nostalgia grab on. (0:39:15) Codey: It’s to try and get new people into the into the fandom. (0:39:26) Al: Because they’re all owned by Marvelous. They only own the name. And Marvelous aren’t going to do (0:39:33) Al: anything about it. I think it was very different when they did the original on Nintendo Switch (0:39:38) Al: Online because that is the actual original game. They’re just porting. (0:39:44) Al: It’s not even porting. It’s literally just an emulator. They’re just literally allowing (0:39:51) Al: the game to run on it. And that’s very different to remaking games. And there’s no way Marvelous (0:40:00) Al: have remade multiple. They remade Friends of Mineral Town, which was a fun one to do. They (0:40:05) Al: remade A Wonderful Life. I can’t remember if they’ve done any other remakes recently. (0:40:10) Codey: Yeah, I don’t know, because I’m not ever going to touch it, so. (0:40:14) Al: They want to jump on the bandwagon. They have to just release bad games again. (0:40:20) Al: This is the thing. So many people have this be in their bonnet about Natsume and they’re like, (0:40:25) Al: oh, they’re just jumping on the name and using it to sell bad games. And yeah, that’s kind of true. (0:40:31) Al: Or at least it was kind of true. I do think now they’re actually getting better and they’re (0:40:36) Al: actually trying to make good games. They’re getting there. But the problem is that releasing (0:40:42) Al: they’re bad games again. (0:40:44) Al: They’re not going to convince anybody that they’re doing anything other than money-grabbing. (0:40:44) Codey: Yeah, it’s like there’s someone at the company that remembers when all these games first (0:40:55) Codey: came out and like the hype the hype of it and they’re trying to like regain that the (0:41:01) Codey: glory days and the it’s sometimes you just got to let things go and like when Bluey and (0:41:08) Codey: Bingo had to get rid of a bunch of their stuffies. Yeah. (0:41:10) Al: Oh, we watched that the other day. That was a good episode. (0:41:17) Al: Yeah, it’s painful to watch what they’re doing, because it’s like one step forward, 73 steps (0:41:24) Al: back. Like, I just… Why do this? And I… Oh, goodness. Yes, right. (0:41:24) Codey: like the American government. So we have some other people one year forward 73 years backwards. (0:41:40) Al: So… Yeah, a section we don’t often have, because normally it’s just game updates and (0:41:41) Codey: We have some other news. Uh-huh. Oh. (0:41:47) Al: occasionally new games, we do have the other news section. So we have three pieces of other (0:41:53) Al: news to talk about. The first one is super… Let’s start off with the negative one, shall we? (0:41:54) Codey: You got to be more specific. Oh, oh, you’re right. You’re right. You’re right. I needed. (0:42:01) Al: There’s only one negative one. Okay. (0:42:04) Codey: I had to look through it again. Yeah. (0:42:10) Al: So Phoenix Labs, the developers of Fae Farm and Dauntless, and were creating other games (0:42:15) Al: until last year when they laid off almost everybody who was working on any game other (0:42:20) Al: than Fae Farm and Dauntless have now laid off almost everybody else. Huzzah! (0:42:26) Codey: - Yay. (0:42:27) Al: They’re like, “What’s the point in a game studio that makes games? (0:42:30) Al: We don’t want to make games. We don’t even want to continue making our existing games.” (0:42:34) Codey: Yeah, you don’t have yeah, but you know, they really said, the developer said, quote, It’s unfortunate, but necessary. (0:42:44) Codey: Yeah, so I did do a dive into this, more than just like, just the top of the of the article or whatever I start, I really got into reading this article and like kind of looking at some stuff because I was just like, what is going on here? (0:42:45) Al: Yeah, I guess the games aren’t failing then. (0:43:00) Al: - Were you rage reading? (0:43:02) Al: Were you rage reading? (0:43:04) Codey: I was so after basically, the developer, the Phoenix lab, whom’s ever the whole the whole Phoenix lab people. Correct. Thank you. You’re so good with the words today. So they, they were, they were acquired by a blockchain company called forte labs. (0:43:14) Al: the company. What can I say? I’m on a roll. Words is my whole thing. (0:43:30) Codey: And when they were acquired, they then laid off (0:43:34) Codey: as you already mentioned 160 people and quote the new owner (0:43:39) Codey: reportedly pressed developers to draft methods for integrating (0:43:44) Codey: blockchain technology in its games for the purpose of buying (0:43:49) Codey: and selling and trading in game goods, according to former (0:43:52) Codey: employees. So the crypto market has has joined games y’all. (0:43:58) Codey: Uh. (0:43:58) Al: are we back on NFTs? I thought we killed NFTs like four years ago, what are you doing? (0:43:59) Codey: Yeah. (0:44:04) Codey: NFTs and crypto, man, they’re here to stay, I guess. (0:44:08) Al: Well no, crypto isn’t dead, but come on, when was the last time you heard about NFTs? (0:44:14) Al: Especially in games, they’re so 2022. (0:44:18) Codey: I believe Ascentient Cheeto recently gave more NFTs. (0:44:24) Codey: Continuing on, apparently after releasing Dauntless, (0:44:28) Codey: they were “criticized by players for its new in-app monetization design,” (0:44:32) Codey: which was probably the blockchain, (0:44:34) Codey: but erasing previous progression with the new Awakening update. (0:44:38) Codey: So they had an update and it released, it erased all the previous progression. (0:44:38) Al: Oh no! No! What?! (0:44:42) Codey: The game still has an overwhelmingly negative number of reviews on Steam. (0:44:49) Al: I miss that happening. I wasn’t really aware of this very much. I was aware of it when (0:44:50) Codey: And the… (0:44:54) Al: it initially released because it was like, “Oh, it’s gonna kill Monster Hunter.” And (0:44:56) Codey: Yeah. (0:45:00) Codey: It did not. (0:45:02) Codey: It really had it was nowhere new (0:45:04) Codey: because when it first launched, there were probably about 3200 concurrent players like people playing at the same time online. (0:45:12) Codey: Nowadays, it’s only ever around about 150 people. (0:45:18) Codey: So yeah, not sure what they’re doing. (0:45:22) Codey: I would suggest well, I guess I would I would say that I would suggest them to back off the blockchain, but they are literally owned and acquired by a blockchain company. (0:45:32) Codey: So I don’t think that’s going to happen. (0:45:36) Codey: So I’m not not really sure what this means for Fae Farm. (0:45:41) Al: What I find really funny is like, so I think crypto is most often a scam. (0:45:48) Al: I do think there are some interesting applications for blockchain as a concept. (0:45:56) Al: NFTs is not it. (0:46:01) Al: It has never been it, even on their own. (0:46:04) Al: And then when people started putting them into games, I was like, I don’t even know why. (0:46:10) Codey: I mean, I feel like it’s to try and like have an introduction. (0:46:11) Al: Like, what is happening, and why would you do this? (0:46:18) Codey: It’s like when they put smoking in movies so that they would get more smokers, right? (0:46:23) Codey: It’s like a, it’s a, it’s a possible way to normalize something. (0:46:26) Al: It’s like the Transformers series for selling more Transformers. (0:46:29) Codey: Yeah. (0:46:31) Codey: Uh, which it’ll probably have a small, well, it would have a small bump if it wasn’t for (0:46:38) Codey: uh, cozy gamers. (0:46:40) Codey: Cause I don’t think cozy gamers are the people or, or monster hunters style players. (0:46:46) Codey: I, you really gotta go for like the call of duty people. (0:46:48) Codey: I feel like they, they would do NFTs because they basically, that’s basically all they (0:46:53) Codey: do with their, uh, skins and stuff on all the, all the guns and whatever. (0:47:00) Codey: So like, it’s not monster hunter people, uh, with dauntless and then cozy games with fave (0:47:08) Codey: farm. (0:47:10) Codey: It’

Game of the Year and more – Geekoholics Anonymous Video Game Podcast 472  On this weeks episode we blab about the following Games and topics: Rico's GOTY List: 06:23 Astrobot Prince of Persia The Lost Crown Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Metaphor ReFantazio Hell Divers 2 - Honorable Mention Stellar Blade - Honorable Mention Dayne's GOTY List: Astrobot FF7 Rebirth Unicorn Overlord Dragon Age the Veilgard Wayfinder Prince of Persia The Lost Crown - Honorable Mention Hell Divers 2- Honorable Mention Whatcha Been Playing? Indiana Jones and the Great Circle 34:58 Star Wars Outlaws 37:49 Ninja Gaiden 2 Black 43:18 The First Berserker: Khazan 49:43 Dragon Age the Veilgard 54:33 News:  Cross Platform / PC / Misc.  Warner's games boss is leaving, following disappointing launches 55:28 Call of Duty was the US's best-selling video game for the 16th year running  Pokemon TCG Pocket's second expansion and trading feature have release dates 1:04:23 Dauntless and Fae Farm studio Phoenix Labs lays off "majority" of employees 1:06:53 Ubisoft announces studio closure as it lays off 185 staff  BioWare downsizing as it ‘doesn't require support from the full studio' for Mass Effect Assassin's Creed Shadows censored in Japan to remove beheadings and limb amputation 1:23:23 PlayStation Shake up at Sony as new PlayStation CEO announced Sony is dropping the PSN account requirement on PC, but having one will now unlock in-game content 1:16:33 Nintendo Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on invites sent out to lucky few 1:20:07 Xbox Everything announced during the Xbox Developer Direct 2025 1:21:47 PSA's: Epic Games Store Freebies: Undying PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for February: Payday 3, High on Life, Pac-Man World Re-Pac Free 4 All Twisters 1:25:28 Help support the show: - Subscribe to our Twitch channel http://twitch.tv/geekoholics - Use our Epic Creator Code: GEEKOHOLICS when purchasing items in Fortnite or buying games on the Epic Games Store - Please review the show (bit.ly/geekoholics) on Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and to share with your friends. Reviews help us reach more listeners, and the feedback helps us to produce a better show. Join our Discord server: CLICK HERE Don't forget to follow our Social Media Feeds to keep up to date on our adventures: Youtube Twitter Instagram Facebook Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! You can reach me on Twitter @RicF

Paul Hilliard, President of Badger Oil Corporation, has led a wonderful life of generosity and love of community that provides a humbling lesson in being a good steward of God's resources. At 99 years of age, he is sharp and insightful, a true testament to his wisdom and vitality. Paul was 17 when he enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps during his Senior year in high school in February 1943, quitting school when he received permission from his mother to join the war effort. He trained to be a gunner, handling machine guns in the back of Douglas SBD Dauntless (Scout Bomber by Douglas Aircraft) planes in air missions conducted in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. SBD was jokingly referred to as “Slow But Deadly.” He flew 45 combat missions and was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in addition to receiving the Air Medal with six bronze stars.  Following his service, Hilliard earned his law degree from the University of Texas before beginning a career in the oil and gas industry. He credits the GI Bill for the opportunities it afforded him and so many other servicemen who would not have otherwise been able to obtain an education. Hilliard exemplifies the selfless spirit and pride of our WWII generation of heroes, as well as the successful ingenuity of a veteran oil and gas entrepreneur.  Known for his self-effacing wit and ability to achieve in spite of a hardscrabble upbringing in Wisconsin, Hilliard has been a successful independent operator and owner of Badger Oil Corporation since 1955 and has seen fit to use his success in business to help others in need. Awarded the Civic Cup in 2003 and the esteemed national Horatio Alger Award in 2009, Paul has also been active in statewide associations working to improve the oil and gas industry, business, and civic endeavors. Paul has also been active in statewide associations working to improve the oil and gas industry, business, and civic endeavors.  In 2015, he received the Circle of Honor Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. UL Press released Dauntless: Paul Hilliard in WWII and a Transformed America in 2023. Written by Rob Citino with Ken Stickney and Lori Ochsner, the book documents some of the most fascinating decades in American history: the impact of World War II, the importance of post-war social and economic changes, and the development of the oil industry from the 1950s to today. “Dauntless is a compelling narrative tracing Paul Hilliard's life experiences during the Great Depression, from farm life in Wisconsin's Dust Bowl to his distinguished service as a Marine in World War II, his education through law school, and a long and successful business in the oil fields. Paul's lifelong philanthropy and his passion for education and the lessons of WWII make him an inspiration. His life is the Horatio Alger story. He is, and always be, one of my heroes.”—Boysie Bollinger Paul has been a generous benefactor in causes to help at-risk children learn to read so that they can overcome poverty as he did.  He and his late wife, Lulu, provided $5 million dollars in seed money to start the Paul and Lulu Hilliard Art Museum at UL – Lafayette. Paul has served as a National WWII Museum trustee, and he and his wife, Madlyn, have been two of the Museum's most active advocates and supporters. They have provided transformative support for several Museum initiatives, including acquisition and restoration of artifacts, collection of oral histories, and education programs. In September 2018, Hilliard accepted the position of Board Chair of the museum, focusing on the completion of the its $400 million campus expansion. For more information, visit https://www.nationalww2museum.org, a treasure trove of thousands of oral histories and hundreds of thousands of photos depicting the WWII experience. Paul ended the interview by sharing his gratitude for being born in the United States of America.  He spoke of a favorite quote by Cicero: “Gratitude...

Download for Mobile | Podcast Preview | Full Timestamps Go to http://auraframes.com/ and use code SUPERBEAST to get $35-off Aura's best-selling Carver Mat frames. - Go to http://factormeals.com/50castle and use code 50castle to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. - Go to https://hensonshaving.com/ and enter CASTLE at checkout to get a free Henson Shave Cream with your purchase. (Note: you must add both the Shave Cream and the razor for the discount to apply.) - Go to http://buyraycon.com/superbeast to get up to 25% off sitewide. Meet The New Pug! What Happened To Woolie's Setup? "Pfft, More Like Black Widow-maker amirite? Guys?" Funko Shows Whole @$$, Calls Itch.io's Mom Split Paths of Exile Watch live: twitch.tv/castlesuperbeast Secret Level - Sifu "Watch Your Back" | Prime Video Secret Level - Unreal Tournament "The Arena" | Prime Video Secret Level - Armored Core "Locked In" | Prime Video Developers on r/Dauntless are banning players who openly critisize the game's new "Awakening" update - An update that takes about 40% of the game's existing content and locks it behind a premium Battlepass - I kid you not, @itchio has been taken down by @OriginalFunko because they use some trash "AI Powered" Brand Protection Software called @BrandShieldltd that created some bogus Phishing report to our registrar, @iwantmyname , who ignored our response and just disabled the domain This is not a joke, Funko just called my mom 28 years later Capcom announces Capcom Games Competition – student competition utilizing RE ENGINE Former Blizzard President Mike Ybarra calls Marvel Rivals "An Overwatch Clone" in a now Community Noted and Deleted tweet. Marvel Rivals director thinks Concord flopped because it ‘didn't bring any unique value' Tencent and Guillemot Brothers' Ubisoft buyout reportedly held up by dispute over control Michel Ancel claims Beyond Good & Evil 2 development hindered by ‘problems between managers': Beyond Good & Evil creator says sequel team ‘didn't even know who's in charge' Satisfye accidentally put a trailer for their upcoming product the Zengrip 2 for the Nintendo Next Gen Console and in it - They just show the Nintendo Switch 2 in it like straight up just show it it's blurred a bit but not much that is our first official Switch 2 look. Trailer deleted Nintendo now owns 100% of Monolith Soft.  

Pro streamers, TKbreezy and Coney, talk about what they are looking forward to from the Dauntless and Marvel Rivals releases. If you're 21+, check out https://viiahemp.com/ and use code YALLGAMING for 15% off. #ad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Send us a textShownotes - Episode 276SUPER5 OLED Touch and HDMI, Star Trek: Legends, The Hundred Line: Last Defence Academy, Dauntless, Professor Layton and the New World of Steam, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Gacha Zonai devices, Shenmue 3, Palworld, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete, Vampire Survivors chaos roadmap, Taito Milestones 3, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Splatoon 2 added to Nintendo Music, Redneg Allstars Swing-By Edition, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Victory Heat Rally, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind, SwitchPirates, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom short animation, TCG Card Shop Master, Unpacking: Deluxe Edition, Unpacking Universe Dreams, Triangle Strategy, The Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP, Antonblast, NASCAR, Mark of the Deep, Tetris for Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Switch Online, Donkey Kong Land III, Pokémon TV, Nintendo Sound Clock Alarmo, The Thing: Remastered, Wicked joins Funko Fusion, No Gravity Games Switchmas Giveaway, Sorry We're Closed, More leaks of the next-generation Joy-ConSupport the show

Dauntless is Dead. Today we will find out how it died and what's next. Find Dauntless here: www.dauntlessgrooming.comFind me on youtube: www.youtube.com/modernmantvEpisode Sponsors:Lockhart's Authentic Grooming Co.use code BTB to save some $$https://lockhartsauthentic.comFlagship Pomade Co.use code BTB to save some $$https://flagshippomade.com/

We were weeping and gnashing our teeth after the election, so we decided to record a joint episode to process the grief, rage, constipation, etc. I was on vacation in Minneapolis, so I had my earbuds. Sorry for my bad audio. But if you're looking for a conversation about what this election means, enjoy this 2-hour special episode. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scott-okamoto/support

Be fearless and join us in Dauntless as the We Didn't Read It crew takes on Veronica Roth's Divergent.

Not again… Right? That's what we're all thinking over at the Dauntless Media Collective. So we got together to talk about our grief, our anger, and our sadness about the election results on November 5th. We don't have answers, but grieving together can feel better than grieving alone. So, come sit in your uncomfortable feelings with us.  Connect with Nate and Gail: Full Mutuality Podcast Full Mutuality website Instagram Connect with Scott Scott's Website Chapel Probation Podcast Horny Chapel Podcast Connect with Jessica Leaving the Village Podcast Learn more about Content Warning Event and register here! And check out the list of amazing collaborators here. Connect with Maggie: Instagram Email: ⁠hello.decons@gmail.com⁠ Join the conversation on discord Visit ⁠dauntless.fm⁠ for more content Learn more about Amy's music: Website Foray Music Instagram This is a Dauntless Media Collective Podcast. Visit dauntless.fm for more content.

We dropped our first episode of this pandemic podcast four years ago this week, and today we are celebrating that! We're talking about some of our favorite guests, series, and episodes, and also giving you more behind-the-scenes discussions about what goes into making each episode. Plus: find out what is next for us!

Nate co-hosts the Full Mutuality podcast with his wife Gail, and he co-founded the Dauntless Media Collective with their friend Jessica, who hosts the Leaving the Village podcast. In this episode we talk about: Liquid Church Rock God and Pop God (What?!? I know, just listen to the episode.) Some other cool churches Hillsong NY… and the downfall of Hillsong NY Asian erasure Biracial identity  Connect with Nate: Full Mutuality on the Dauntless website  Full Mutuality website Instagram Learn more about Content Warning Event and register here! And check out the list of amazing collaborators here. Connect with Maggie: Instagram Email: ⁠hello.decons@gmail.com⁠ Join the conversation on discord Visit ⁠dauntless.fm⁠ for more content Learn more about Amy's music: Website Foray Music Instagram This is a Dauntless Media Collective Podcast. Visit dauntless.fm for more content.

Nate co-hosts the Full Mutuality podcast with his wife Gail, and he co-founded the Dauntless Media Collective with their friend Jessica, who hosts the Leaving the Village podcast. In this episode we talk about: IFB (Independent Fundamentalist Baptist) Churches Bob Jones University Weird fundamentalist music standards The weird dating scene at BJU Connect with Nate: Full Mutuality on the Dauntless website  Full Mutuality website Instagram Learn more about Content Warning Event and register here! And check out the list of amazing collaborators here. Connect with Maggie: Instagram Email: ⁠hello.decons@gmail.com⁠ Join the conversation on discord Visit ⁠dauntless.fm⁠ for more content Learn more about Amy's music: Website Foray Music Instagram This is a Dauntless Media Collective Podcast. Visit dauntless.fm for more content.

Gail (she/her) is an EXvangelical who is passionate about processing religious trauma and creating spaces to help people heal, deconstruct and decolonize harmful beliefs. She wants to be as determined in her dismantling as she was in her dissonance. She is a Canadian who just assumed American citizenship ready to move and roll up her sleeves to make a difference. Trigger warning: childhood abuse and domestic abuse In this episode we talk about: Foster care Positive aspects of the church  Cognitive dissonance Emotional abuse Embracing autonomy and agency Setting boundaries and prioritizing mental health Divorce and leaving unhealthy marriages  Letting go of the need to forgive Listen to Nate and Gail's Ash Valentine's Day episode here, and check out my episode on Full Mutuality here! Connect with Gail: Full Mutuality on the Dauntless website  Full Mutuality website Facebook Instagram  Learn more about Content Warning Event and register here! And check out the list of amazing collaborators here. Connect with Maggie: Instagram Email: ⁠hello.decons@gmail.com⁠ Join the conversation on discord Visit ⁠dauntless.fm⁠ for more content Learn more about Amy's music: Website Foray Music Instagram This is a Dauntless Media Collective Podcast. Visit dauntless.fm for more content.

Whittling Down Season Four (VOY) to 10 episodesThe trio continues their series of chopping down the longer 1990s seasons of Star Trek into the 2020s average ten-episode limit. This time "the victim" is season four of "Star Trek: Voyager," also known as "when Seven of Nine joined the show."The season begins with battling Species 8472 with the Borg in "Scorpion, Part II" and ends with "Hope and Fear," when the surprising (and suspicious) new starship Dauntless appears to take them home. These episodes also feature the Paris/Torres romance, the introduction of the Hirogen, and begins Seven's journey into humanity. Will your favorite episode make the cut? Will two-parters be split up? And how many episodes does "The Killing Game" count as???Join us as we whittle down season four of Voyager!

A wild boat ride in a foreign land forms the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

We took an unplanned summer break in July, but we are back! Apologies for the delays! 

Author Marie Silva Vallejo talks about the First and Second Filipino Battalions that returned to the Philippines with the Allied liberation forces, chronicled in her newly released book, Dauntless.

In which Harry Potter goes full Dauntless in a frozen pond and finds both the sword of Gryffindor and one Ronald Weasley Email us at restrictedsectionpod@gmail.com to tell us what you thought of The Silver Doe or even what you think of us! We'd love to read your email on the show. Be sure to subscribe to know right away about new episodes, and rate and review! SUPPORT US ON OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/therestrictedsection THANK YOU LOVE YOU BUY OUR MERCH: https://www.teepublic.com/user/restricted-section-podcast THANK YOU LOVE YOU IG: https://www.instagram.com/restrictedsectionpod/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rspoddetentioncrew/   Check out our other amazing Deus Ex Media podcasts! www.deusexmedia.org   This episode featured: Christina Kann https://linktr.ee/christinakann Christina plugged Hollow Knight https://www.hollowknight.com/ Also Resident Alien https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8690918/ Ethan Hulen https://www.instagram.com/ethan.t.hulen/ https://www.threads.net/@ethan.t.hulen?hl=en Check out his podcast, Mysteries in the Machine https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mysteries-in-the-machine/id1734728317 Ethan plugged Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga https://www.starwars.com/lego-star-wars-the-skywalker-saga Josh from Super Scary https://www.deusexmedia.org/superscary  Josh plugged Untitled Goose Game https://goose.game/ Listen to him all summer long talking about Twilight on Nothing to Fear https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nothing-to-fear/id1519846443

Last time we spoke about the Invasion of Saipan, Tinian and Guam. The Japanese mistakenly believed that the Americans were preparing for a decisive battle near New Guinea, not realizing the real target was Saipan. The US assembled a large fleet for Operation Forager, aiming to capture Saipan, Tinian, and Guam, advancing the US strategy to establish strategic airfields to hit  Tokyo. Japanese defenses were ill-prepared, with shortages of ammunition and inadequate inland defenses. The Americans hit Saipan with extensive air and naval bombardments, neutralizing Japanese positions, and faced stiff resistance during landings but ultimately secured a beachhead. The 23rd Marines of Colonel Louis Jones, advanced through Charan Kanoa and secured Mount Fina Susu despite significant losses. Heavy artillery pinned them down at the O-1 Line, leading Jones to reposition his forces. Casualties mounted on both sides as American forces fought to secure the beachhead and push inland. This episode is the the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Before his death Admiral Yamamoto instilled a sort of mind virus into the Imperial Japanese Navy. To be honest, the virus was a pre war doctrine, laying around ever since perhaps the First-Sino Japanese War of 1894-1895, but Yamamoto certainly focused attention more so upon it. The infamous decisive naval battle. The event that could turn the tide of the war, to bolster Japan's poker hand for peace negotiations. If Japan could simply knock out a enormous sum if not the entire strength the American Pacific fleet, something extremely unrealistic by this point of the war, but if they could, would America not reconsider settling this all up at the peace table? It had been the strategy of not just the IJN but for the Japanese military as a whole. Japan would never be able to win a war of attrition with the US, but they could make them pay so dearly, perhaps the Americans would just sue for peace. This idea consumed Yamamoto, leading to the disaster at the Battle of Midway. After the Guadalcanal Campaign, Japan lost the initiative, they retreated behind an inner perimeter. Henceforth the IJN scoured over the actions of the American navy, looking for any opportunity to unleash their full might down upon a significant American naval force. So many times the American navy eluded them, but here, with the invasion of Saipan, the IJN felt the decisive naval battle had finally come.  Admiral Turner and General Smith's American forces had just successfully invaded Saipan, establishing a beachhead with some challenges by June 17. This incited a strong Japanese response, as Admiral Toyoda initiated Operation A-Go, the IJN's strategy for a decisive battle that could potentially win them the war. Following Admiral Koga's Plan Z, Toyoda's A-Go involved Admiral Kakuta's land-based aircraft providing early warning and reconnaissance, aiming to neutralize one third of the enemy carriers before Admiral Ozawa's carriers completed the destruction of the enemy fleet with large-scale daytime air attacks, operating beyond the enemy's aircraft range. Additionally, Toyoda planned a nighttime surface engagement where enemy screening forces would be targeted by massed torpedo attacks. On June 16, at 9:00, the First Mobile Fleet departed the Guimaras and headed to the northeast. At 5:30pm, the Japanese fleet entered the Philippine Sea through the San Bernardino Strait. Admiral Ugaki's battleships Yamato and Musashi were not with the main body, but were proceeding independently through the Philippine Sea with two heavy cruisers, a light cruiser and five destroyers to join with Ozawa. Once into the Philippine Sea, Ozawa headed southeasterly. At about 5:00 on the 16th, Yamato and Musashi joined with the First Mobile Fleet. The Japanese began to refuel which was not completed until 10:00 on the 17th.  In response, Admiral Spruance directed Admiral Mitscher's Task Force 58, strengthened by Admiral Lee's battleships and Turner's cruisers and destroyers, to remain positioned west of the Marianas, prepared to counter any IJN attack. On June 16, Mitscher continued strikes against Guam and Tinian. Several Japanese aircraft were destroyed on the ground and in the air, but their airfields remained usable. The following day saw an increase in Japanese air activity. A small strike flown from Truk, five torpedo bombers and one J1N1-S night fighter attacked a transport group east of Saipan at 5:50pm. Three Japanese aircraft were claimed as destroyed, but a torpedo hit the small landing craft LCI-468 that later sank. On June 18th, the Japanese mounted a larger raid, this time from Yap Island. This operation featured 31 Zeros, 17 Judys and two P1Y twin-engined bombers. Combat Air Patrol did not intercept this group before it attacked shipping off the landing beach at Saipan that resulted in damage to an LST. The attack group then encountered the American escort carrier groups and attacked them at dusk. Two escort carriers were nearmissed and Fanshaw Bay was hit by a bomb which penetrated to the hangar deck. The carrier was forced to retire for repairs. As usual, Japanese aviators over-claimed, stating that three or four carriers from Task Force 58 had been hit.Furthermore, Admirals Lockwood and Christie's submarines were tasked with reconnaissance of IJN fleet movements, launching attacks when possible, and rescuing downed aircrews. Since Ozawa's fleet maintained radio silence and operated beyond the reach of American search planes, the only way to track his movements was through submarines, leaving the Americans mostly uninformed until the battle began. Unknown to Ozawa and Toyoda, Mitscher's carrier aircraft had already disabled Kakuta's land-based air power in the area, which significantly weakened a major part of A-Go. Additionally, the Americans, who had acquired Plan Z on April 3, were prepared for the critical carrier battle, although they were hesitant to engage in nighttime combat. Meanwhile, on June 18, the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions began their attacks at 10:00 a.m. The 4th Marine Division attacked toward the east coast with three regiments abreast: 25th Marines on the right, 24th Marines in the center, and 23rd Marines on the left. The 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines, remained attached to the 23rd Regiment. Good progress was made by the 24th and 25th Marines, although the former sustained an attack at 10:15 by two Japanese tanks which surged to within 350 yards of the front lines. The situation for a while was alarming: American tanks had departed for rear areas to refuel and rearm so that only bazookas were immediately available for anti-tank defense. Though the 24th Marines' Weapons Company was immediately alerted, it arrived too late to participate in the fight. The enemy tanks were finally chased by bazookas and artillery, but not before they had sprayed the area, causing 15 casualties with machine-gun and small cannon fire. A portion of the O-3 line was reached by the 24th and 25th Marines during the day, placing the latter along the coast of Magicienne Bay. This healthy gain severed the island's southern portion, including Nafutan Point, from the remainder of the island. To maintain the momentum of the attack and avoid the long delay of a mopping-up process, the 24th Marines by-passed the southern extremity of a heavily defended cliff line running north and south through its zone of action. However, since the direction of attack for the division would soon Swing north through the by-passed area, it was necessary to secure the cliff line. This mission was assigned to the division reserve, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines. This, the unit's first experience with cleaning cave positions, proved a sIow, unpleasant and dangerous task. Rather than a coordinated move, the task took the form of a series of small, separated actions, each employing groups of four or five men. At 7:30, the 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines, relieved Haas' 1st Battalion on the division's left wing and commenced the move on O-2, which would serve as the line of departure. As will be seen, however, events of the day prevented the regiment from reaching this line. Organizational readjustments within the 23rd Marines included the attachment of the 3rd Battalion's rifle companies and 81mm mortar platoon to Dillon's 2nd Battalion and formation of a composite battalion from the 1st Battalion and the 3rd Battalion Headquarters. The latter unit would support the attack of the other two battalions from positions on Mt. Fina Susu. Machine-gun fire stopped the 23rd Marines' left elements after an advance of 200 to 250 yards. Most of this fire came from a clump of trees to their front, but a definite location of enemy weapons was impossible. Frequent barrages of Japanese mortar fire hampered efforts to spot the enemy, and the attack faltered. At this juncture, Cosgrove's composite battalion was committed on the left of the 3rd Battalion. 24th Marines, in an attempt to retain the impetus, and the attack again moved forward. But the advance was slow. By 5:15, the 23rd Marines had moved to a line about 400 yards short of O-2. Prior to darkness, 23rd Marines' patrols were dispatched to the east. On the right, these patrols reached O-2, but on the left machinegun fire denied movement as far as O-2. Colonel Jones, the 23rd Marines' commander, requested permission from General Schmidt to withdraw to more favorable ground for the night. General Schmidt approved, and the 23rd pulled back to a position about 400 yards east of Lake Susupe, breaking contact with the 2nd Division. The 23rd Marines emerged from the swamps, the 24th Marines reached the base of Hill 500, and the 25th Marines progressed to Magicienne Bay, effectively dividing the island. General Smith's soldiers also captured the Aslito Airfield, with the 165th and 105th Regiments securing Cape Obiam and the area south of the field. This isolated numerous Japanese forces in the north at Nafutan Point. Concurrently, General Saito was shifting his remaining troops to the Garapan-Mount Tapotchau area, facing relentless artillery, naval, and air attacks that left the Japanese in a dire situation.  The chief of staff of the 31st Army, General Igeta, drafted a message on the morning of June 18th to the commanding general at Yap Island and the chief of staff in Tokyo. In it he summarized the situation as he saw it and, in the process, revealed how very little he knew of what was taking place. Not that the general was caught in the bog of apathy, nor was he too frightened or lazy to find out what was going on; it was simply impossible for him to penetrate the shroud of obscurity resulting from ruptured communications in the vast area over which the action was taking place. As such, he erroneously reported that the 43rd Division HQ “underwent an enemy attack this morning and the division CO died along with his staff officers.” In another dispatch later in the day, Igeta corrected his error in regard to the division commander's death, reporting that General Saito was “all right, but that his staff officers were wounded.” He also added that “the secret documents in custody of the 31st Army Headquarters… were completely burned at 1830 of 18 June…” Recognizing the desperate circumstances, Prime Minister Tojo sent a fatalistic message to the garrison, despite reinforcements en route. “Have received your honorable Imperial words. By becoming the bulwark of the Pacific with 10000 deaths; we hope to acquire Imperial favor.” Reports indicated that Ozawa's mobile fleet was approaching the Marianas and expected to arrive on June 19. When Spruance finally received the spotting report from Cavalla, this prompted a decision that turned out to be the most important of the battle. Assuming that the report from Cavalla was Ozawa's main force, and assuming it would continue at a speed of 19 knots to the east, Spruance's staff calculated that the Japanese would still be about 500nm from TF 58 at 5:30 on the 18th. This placed the Japanese well out of range of American searches or strikes. The only way to alter this situation was to steam TF 58 to the southwest toward the contact and plan to locate and engage the Japanese during the afternoon of the 18th. Mitscher advised the aggressive option of steaming to the southwest to close the range on Ozawa's force. He wanted to launch afternoon strikes to locate and possibly attack Ozawa and even advocated a nighttime surface engagement. While this offered the possibility of opening the battle on terms set by the Americans, there were several problems with it in Spruance's calculating mind. The first was that TF 58 was not yet concentrated; TGs 58.1 and 58.4 were not due to link up with the other two task groups operating west of Saipan until 1200 on the 18th. If he allowed Mitscher to take off to the west, it would only be with two task groups. Since the Japanese possessed longer-range strike aircraft, this offered Ozawa the chance to attack TF 58 and defeat it piecemeal. As for the prospects of a night engagement, both Spruance and Lee declined that possibility.  In response, Spruance adopted a cautious approach, instructing Mitscher to gather his carrier groups and redirect them toward Saipan. In a last effort to change Spruance's mind, Mitscher sent him a message at about 11:30pm and proposed a course change to the west at 1:30am in order to position TF 58 to launch a strike against the Japanese carrier force at 5:00am. At 12:38am on the 19th, Spruance sent a message rejecting the proposal. The die was finally cast for a defensive battle on June 19.Spruance's priority was to safeguard the invasion force rather than eliminate the Japanese fleet. At 6:00am on the 18th, Japanese search floatplanes from the First Mobile Fleet spotted six carriers from TF 58. In the afternoon, seven aircraft from Carrier Division 1 flying out to 420nm spotted TF 58 after its 1200 rendezvous. The first report was issued at 3:14pm and included detection of an American task group with two carriers. A second aircraft sighted a task group with an “unknown number of carriers” at 4:00 and later issued another report at 1710 which identified two task groups, each with two carriers. These were within strike range, but Ozawa elected not to launch an immediate strike since his pilots were so inexperienced in night flying. Nonetheless, Rear-Admiral Obayashi Sueo of the 3rd Carrier Division boldly ordered the launch of 67 aircraft from the carriers Zuiho, Chitose, and Chiyoda, hoping to surprise the Americans. However, when he learned of Ozawa's decision, Obayashi reluctantly called off his strike. Ozawa had correctly assessed that the enemy would hold its position near Saipan, allowing him to maintain his own position without fearing an American attack. With this understanding, he changed course southwest to maintain the distance, while Admiral Kurita's Vanguard Force moved east, and Forces A and B shifted south. At 03:00 on June 19, all three forces turned northeast and increased their speed to 20 knots. Ozawa executed his plan flawlessly, positioning himself to launch significant attacks against the unsuspecting Americans the next morning. His only misstep was breaking radio silence at 20:20 to coordinate the decisive operation with Kakuta, who consistently misrepresented the true condition of his air forces while giving overly optimistic reports of successes by his aviators. As a result, an American station intercepted the transmission and geo-located it accurately. Once the mobile fleet reached strike positions, the Japanese began launching search aircraft, sending 16 floatplanes at 04:45 and another 14 planes about 30 minutes later. Although they lost seven scouts, the Japanese were able to spot the northern elements of Task Force 58 and the picket destroyers deployed ahead by 7:00. Starting at 05:30, Mitscher's combat air patrol engaged Japanese aircraft from Guam, which were unsuccessful in bombing destroyers. At 6:30am, American radar detected Japanese air activity over Guam and four Hellcats were sent to investigate. At 7:20am, these arrived and found themselves in the middle of many Japanese aircraft taking off. More Hellcats rushed in and, beginning at 8:07am for the next hour, there was constant combat over and near Guam. Up to 33 American fighters were involved, and they claimed 30 fighters and five bombers. The Americans claimed to have destroyed 30 aircraft, successfully hindering Kakuta's support for Ozawa's decisive battle. However, with the return of Japanese floatplanes, Ozawa was preparing to launch his first strike, deploying 69 aircraft: 16 Zero fighters, 45 Zeros with bombs and eight Jills with torpedoes at 08:30 under Obayashi's command. Fortunately for the Americans, radar warnings enabled Mitscher to dispatch every available Hellcat for interception. At 10:23am, launching of every available Hellcat from TF 58 began as the force headed east into the wind. The American carriers cleared their decks and all airborne bombers on search and patrol missions were instructed to clear the area. This allowed the fighters to return as necessary to rearm and refuel. The goal was to keep as many fighters in the air as possible to intercept incoming threats. The Hellcats had reached their interception altitudes of between 17,000 and 23,000ft when at 10:35am they spotted the incoming Japanese aircraft identified as two groups of strike aircraft with escorting Zeros on each flank. The first American fighters on the scene were Hellcats from Essex. Lieutenant Commander C. Brewer of Fighter Squadron 15 VF-15 led them.  The escorting Japanese fighters did not protect the bombers and the bombers scattered making them easy to pick off. Brewer claimed four aircraft, and his wingman claimed another four. In all, VF-15 pilots claimed 20 Japanese aircraft. Joining the Hellcats from Essex were others from Hornet and Bunker Hill as well as from five light carriers for a total of 50 Hellcats. Altogether, some 25 out of the 69 Japanese aircraft in this raid were accounted for by this initial interception. In return, three Hellcats were lost in combat and a Bunker Hill Hellcat was lost when it ditched on its way back to its carrier. The remaining Japanese aircraft continued their approach but were intercepted by Bunker Hill's Hellcats, which claimed another 16. Only around 28 Japanese planes remained and made minor attacks on Admiral Lee's group. Two targeted battleship South Dakota, with one scoring a direct bomb hit at 10:49, though causing minimal damage. Another narrowly missed heavy cruiser Minneapolis, while another almost missed cruiser Wichita. The Japanese reported  losing 42 aircraft:  eight fighters, 32 fighter-bombers, and two torpedo bombers. Most had been destroyed by Hellcats, with anti-aircraft gunnery from TG 58.7 accounting for the rest. Meanwhile, Ozawa launched his main strike at 08:56, composed of the 1st Division's best-trained pilots from three fleet carriers. This was a large strike designated Raid II from the three fleet carriers of Carrier Division 1 with the best-trained aviators in the First Mobile Fleet. The raid consisted of 128 aircraft – 48 Zero fighters, 53 Judy dive-bombers and 27 Jills with torpedoes. Launching began at 08:56 but was disrupted when at 09:09 Taiho came under attack by American submarine Albacore. The submarine fired six torpedoes at the fast-moving carrier. A last-second glitch in the boat's fire-control computer made it necessary to fire the six torpedoes by eye. One of Taiho's aircraft saw the torpedoes headed for the ship and dove into one in an effort to save the ship. In spite of this, one of the torpedoes hit the carrier abreast the forward elevator and created a hole which resulted in flooding. The ship's forward elevator, which was raised for the launch, was knocked out of alignment and fell several feet. Within 30 minutes, the elevator space was planked over by damage-control personnel and the launch continued. In addition to the aircraft lost from Taiho, eight other aircraft developed engine trouble and were forced to return. More trouble soon followed. When the attack group flew over the Vanguard Force deployed about 100nm in front of the main carrier force, it was engaged by the Japanese ships. This fire was effective enough to shoot down two more aircraft and damage another eight that were forced to return.  This attack and some friendly fire reduced the Japanese force to just 109 aircraft for the largest strike of the day, which was detected by radar. In a swirling action that began at 11:39am, the Hellcats again tore through the Japanese formation. McCampbell claimed three Judys and his wingman two. Other Hellcats joined the fray resulting in about 70 Japanese aircraft being shot down. VF-16 from Lexington claimed 22 Japanese aircraft without a loss; 12 Bunker Hill Hellcats were unable to gain a solid intercept but still claimed five kills, and Hellcats from light carriers Bataan, Monterey and Cabot claimed ten, seven and five, respectively. VF-1 from Yorktown also scored heavily. This still left a number of Japanese aircraft headed for TF 58. Twenty were reported in three groups at 11:45. Most of these made the mistake of attacking the picket destroyers deployed in advance of TG 58.7 or Lee's battleship force itself. Destroyer Stockham reported being under attack for 20 minutes, but again the ship suffered no damage. Around noon, TG 58.7 came under attack. Two torpedo bombers attacked South Dakota with no success, and two more selected Indiana in the center of TG 58.7's formation as their target. One crashed into the waterline of the heavily armored ship but caused little damage. Another Jill went after Iowa, but again missed. Alabama was undamaged by two bombs aimed at her. Potentially more serious was a group of six Judy dive-bombers that escaped the Hellcats and proceeded south until running across TG 58.2. Of this group, four selected carrier Wasp for attack. None scored a hit, but one of the bombs detonated overhead which rained down shrapnel that killed one and wounded 12 crewmen. The other two selected TG 58.2's other fleet carrier, Bunker Hill, for attack at 12:03. They scored two near misses that caused minor fires and other damage, in addition to killing three and wounding 73. Both carriers continued in action. Four of the aircraft were shot down by antiaircraft fire, with the other two landing on Rota and Guam. Finally, six B6N bombers attacked Admiral Reeves' carriers, but their attacks began at 11:57 and were also ineffective, failing to hit any targets. One missed Enterprise, and another three attacked light carrier Princeton, but all three were destroyed by antiaircraft fire.Thus, Ozawa's second strike resulted in a significant loss for the Japanese, with 97 of the 128 aircraft not returning to their carriers. His losses totaled 32 fighters, 42 dive-bombers and 23 Jills. At 5:30, the third group of Japanese scout aircraft took off. This comprised 11 Judys from Shokaku and two Jakes from heavy cruiser Mogami. The aircraft flew 560nm to the east. Two contacts were radioed back to Ozawa. The first, at 9:45, was reported at a position well to the south of TF 58's actual position. The problem resulted from an uncorrected compass deviation on the search aircraft. This contact was designated “15 Ri” by the Japanese. The second contact, designated “3 Ri”, was reported at 10:00. It was of a task force of three carriers and escorts to the north of TF 58's actual position, but may have been of TG 58.4.This third Japanese strike designated Raid III by the Americans was mounted by Carrier Division 2. This effort, from Junyo, Hiyo and Ryuho, comprised 47 aircraft including 15 fighters, 25 Zeros with bombs, and seven Jills with torpedoes. The remaining 20 aircraft saw what they believed to be two battleships but chose to keep searching for carriers. After a failed search, the group eventually attacked the battleships they initially spotted at 12:55 but were intercepted by Hellcats and lost seven aircraft. Nonetheless, the group pressed on and attacked Rear-Admiral William Harrill's carriers at 13:20. The effort was ineffective with one aircraft dropping a bomb 600 yards from Essex. Ozawa's third strike had accomplished nothing, but at least 40 of its 47 aircraft survived to return to their carriers. At 11:00, Ozawa launched his final attack of the day, consisting of 82 aircraft from the carriers Junyo, Hiyo, Ryuho, and Zuikaku of Carrier Division 1. It comprised 30 Zero fighters, ten Zeros with bombs, 27 Vals and nine Judys and six Jills. The planes set off for the new, incorrect southern target and found nothing, causing them to divide into three groups. The largest group of 49 planes headed toward Guam, where the Americans had been periodically discarding their ordnance to neutralize Kakuta's airfields.  As Ozawa sent his series of strikes against TF 58, Spruance directed Mitscher to keep a number of Hellcats active over Guam to disrupt any Japanese attempt to mount attacks from there. This reflected Spruance's fear that the Japanese would use Guam as a base for “shuttle bombing” using aircraft from the 1st Mobile Fleet. Before the first Japanese carrier raid, Hellcats encountered airborne Japanese aircraft over Guam. This action continued throughout the day and periodically intensified when TF 58 dive-bombers and Avengers, ordered to the east to steer clear of the air battle, dumped their ordnance on Guam. Before noon, 15 Yorktown and 17 Hornet Helldivers bombed Orote Field on Guam. Another attack was mounted at 13:30 by Dauntlesses from Lexington and Enterprise, nine Avengers from Enterprise and ten Hellcats for escort. The armor-piercing bombs carried by the dive-bombers did little damage, but the Avengers succeeded in cratering the runway. Other attacks continued throughout the afternoon including Hellcats from Bunker Hill strafing Japanese aircraft on the ground and 11 Helldivers from Essex just before 14:00. The price to keep Guam suppressed during the day was steep – six Hellcats and one Helldiver – but the Base Air Force did not support Ozawa's main attack. Back over at the carrier action, Ozawa's first group approaching Guam were picked up by TF 58 radar at 1449hrs. Before long, 27 Hellcats were on the scene. Among these were 12 from light carrier Cowpens, seven from Essex again led by McCampbell, and eight from Hornet. The Hellcats did great execution, shooting down 30 of the 49 Japanese trying to land on Guam. The remaining 19 planes landed but were damaged on the ground and could no longer fly.Another 15 aircraft headed for Rota but changed course to attack Montgomery's group when they sighted it en route. Six aircraft approached Wasp unmolested until 2:23 when they were engaged by antiaircraft fire just as they were dropping their bombs. Adept maneuvering by Wasp thwarted the aircraft, identified as Judys. Another group of divebombers appeared and split up; two went after Bunker Hill, and one after Wasp. All missed, and of the nine attackers, only one escaped. The final 18 aircraft of Raid IV, including the eight from Zuikaku and ten Zeros with bombs, were returning to their carriers when they encountered two American scout groups consisting of Hellcats and Avengers some 200nm west of Guam.This encounter cost the Japanese six aircraft, but they did gain a measure of revenge when at 3:30 the same group of returning Japanese aircraft encountered and shot down two Bunker Hill aircraft on a search mission. Despite these efforts, none of the American ships were hit during this fourth attack, while Ozawa suffered a significant loss of 73 aircraft. The situation worsened when the submarine Cavalla spotted Shokaku recovering aircraft at 11:52 and launched six torpedoes. Three torpedoes hit the carrier's starboard side at 12:22, sparking fires in the hangar and causing the ship to list. Soon, the ship came to a halt and was left behind when Carrier Division 1 moved north. At 1310, the fires on the hangar set off a bomb that set off fumes from the cracked forward fuel tank. Large explosions ensued and it was obvious the carrier was doomed. Shokaku sank at 15:01, resulting in the deaths of 1,272 crew members. The light cruiser Yahagi and destroyers Urakaze, Wakatsuki, and Hatsuzuki rescued Captain Matsubara and 570 men. Additionally, a torpedo hit Taiho, cracking the forward aviation fuel tank and turning the IJN's newest and most heavily protected carrier into a floating bomb. At 3:32pm, a massive explosion hit Taiho, lifting her flight deck and causing damage to her hull that led to the ship sinking. Despite Ozawa's initial desire to stay with the carrier, he and his team were eventually evacuated by a destroyer. However, 660 members of Taiho's crew perished as the ship sank. The transfer to the Haguro, added to the confusion for Ozawa was the fact that he and his staff were jammed into inadequate facilities aboard heavy cruiser Haguro after they were forced to depart from Taiho. Communications were grossly inadequate; Ozawa admitted later that he should have turned over command to Kurita until he could have moved to a ship with adequate command and control facilities. After the final strike aircraft returned, the Japanese turned northwest at 18:08, preparing to refuel the following day before continuing their attack. In their four strikes, the Japanese had launched 373 aircraft; of these 243 were lost. Added to these losses were another 50 from Guam, nine when Shokaku went down, and another 13 from Taiho to bring the total to 315. Some 296 Hellcats had been engaged during the day in combat, and only 14 were lost in combat with another six recorded as operational losses. The lack of sufficient training and experience among Japanese aircrews was evident, as seasoned American pilots compared the battle to “an old-time turkey shoot down home.” As a result of the significant losses inflicted on Japanese aircraft by American forces, the aerial portion of the Battle of the Philippine Sea was known as the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. In the war upon the land, after an uneventful night, the 2nd Marine Division conducted patrols as Generals Schmidt and Smith focused on securing the rest of southern Saipan. Although the 4th Marine Division's assault was postponed due to their need to disperse a sizable Japanese group near Tsutsuran village, the 27th Division pressed forward in the morning with the 165th Regiment swiftly reaching Magicienne Bay. In contrast, the 105th advanced more slowly through challenging terrain, resulting in a gap between the two regiments and requiring the 165th to extend its lines to maintain contact. Further north, Colonel Jones' 23rd Marines succeeded in advancing close to Hill 500 after intense artillery bombardment, but were compelled to withdraw about 400 yards to protect their vulnerable flank. At this stage, Brigadier-General Arthur Harper's Corps artillery had arrived on the island, offering essential reinforcement to the division's artillery units. By the end of the day, Schmidt's division realigned its regiments and shifted north. The most vicious action of the night occurred in the sector occupied by the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines. Starting at about 3:50am and lasting until daylight, an enemy force of approximately 75 attacked the Marines with grenades and bayonets. In the close-in fighting that ensued, 11 Marines were wounded, but, in the process, the enemy attack was broken. By daylight, many of the attackers were sprawled forward of the Marines' foxholes, the rest had taken to their heels. Meanwhile, Admiral Mitscher, having retrieved all his aircraft, set a westerly course and increased speed to 23 knots in an attempt to catch up with the enemy. However, on June 20, his usual morning search found no results. The Japanese also maintained radio silence during the day, with no new intelligence obtained by American submarines or PBM flying boats based in Saipan. In the afternoon, a successful search finally established contact, prompting Mitscher to prepare for a bold night strike against an enemy fleet beyond the maximum strike range. Meanwhile, the plan to refuel the 1st Mobile Fleet on June 20 fell through amid confusion, prompting Ozawa to abandon the attempt after noon. He transferred to the Zuikaku and restored communications, discovering the extent of his aircraft losses. Ozawa's hope that he could continue strikes was buoyed by reports from Kakuta that some of Ozawa's aircraft had landed on Guam and the prospects that additional land-based aircraft reinforcements would flow into the area. The only concession he made was to move his next attack until the 21st. However, at 16:45, Ozawa's reconnaissance revealed he had been spotted, so he decided to retreat northwest at 24 knots. Thirty minutes later, when his scout aircraft located Task Force 58, Ozawa opted to initiate a night attack with seven B5Ns and three radar-equipped B6Ns. Meanwhile, Mitscher launched a full deckload from 11 carriers, including 85 Hellcats, 77 dive-bombers, and 54 Avengers. The First Mobile Fleet was not well positioned to meet the attack. The Van Force with most of the heavy escorts and the best antiaircraft capabilities was not the closest formation to the incoming American strike. Each of Ozawa's three groups was headed northwesterly with the Van Force to the south, Carrier Division 2 in the center and Zuikaku to the north. Astern of the carrier groups were the two supply groups composed of six oilers with their escorts, making this the closest group to the Americans. After an uneventful flight, the American aircraft found the 1st Mobile Fleet at 18:40, at the edge of their fuel range after nearly 300 miles. Lacking time for a coordinated attack, the American aircraft easily bypassed the 40 fighters and 28 bombers sent to intercept them and individually targeted the enemy carriers. The veteran carrier Zuikaku was defended by 17 fighters and put up a good fight with heavy antiaircraft fire and adept maneuvering. She avoided the four torpedoes aimed at her from the Hornet Avengers and took only a single direct hit by a 500- pound bomb aft of the island. After departing, the Americans reported the big carrier with heavy fires onboard. However, the damage was not as great as it appeared. The single bomb hit penetrated to the upper hanger deck where a fire started among the remaining aircraft. These were not fueled, so after a few tense moments and an order to abandon ship that was quickly rescinded, the fire was extinguished. Six near misses were recorded, but overall damage was light. Zuikaku, the last surviving carrier from the Pearl Harbor attack force, lived to fight again. Aircraft from Bunker Hill, Monterey, and Cabot attacked the Chiyoda group, which evaded five torpedoes and sustained one bomb hit, surviving to fight another day. The Japanese were organized into three groups, each centered on a light carrier with several escorting battleships or heavy cruisers. The Zuiho and Chitose groups were not attacked, but the Chiyoda group was. The light carrier was the target of over 20 Helldivers and Avengers with bombs, but only a single bomb hit Chiyoda on the flight deck resulting in 20 dead, 30 wounded and two aircraft destroyed. The Avengers from Monterey probably scored the single hit, which caused a fire that was quickly extinguished. Chiyoda successfully dodged five torpedoes from Bunker Hill Avengers and lived to fight another day. Escorting battleship Haruna was hit by a 500-pound bomb that penetrated her stern and flooded the steering compartment. The ship's speed was reduced, and 15 crewmen were killed and 19 wounded. Cruiser Maya endured a near miss that caused flooding. The strike group from Lexington, with support from the Avengers from Enterprise, Yorktown, and Belleau Wood, and the bomb-carrying Hellcats from Hornet and Yorktown, attacked Admiral Jojima's carriers. They inflicted minor damage on Junyo and Ryuho. Most of Lexington's Dauntless dive-bombers selected Junyo for attention. At 7:04, one or two bombs hit the carrier's island, and several near misses created minor flooding. Casualties included 53 dead, but overall damage was light. Light carrier Ryuho was attacked by the five Avengers from Enterprise with bombs at 7;10; eight hits were claimed, but only slight damage was caused by near misses. The carrier also survived attacks from Enterprise Dauntlesses, Avengers from Yorktown five with torpedoes and probably Hellcats from Hornet. Hiyo suffered the most successful attack of the evening. The carrier left the formation to launch two Jills to lay a smoke screen and was caught behind the main body when the American strike arrived. In the opening attack by Dauntlesses from Lexington, one bomb hit the foremast and exploded above the bridge resulting in heavy casualties to bridge personnel. The Japanese reported that another bomb hit the flight deck. However, the group of four Belleau Wood Avengers with torpedoes caused fatal damage. Three conducted an anvil attack, and one torpedo hit the carrier's starboard engine room. This was followed by a dive-bomb attack from six Enterprise Dauntlesses. The single torpedo hit, the only one scored by Avengers during the entire attack, proved fatal to the largely unprotected carrier. Within minutes, the damage created a list. The ship proceeded for a time on its port engine, but then went dead in the water. Just before sunset, at 1917, there was a large explosion amidships that caused a loss of power. The Japanese were convinced that this was the result of a submarine-launched torpedo, but there were no submarines in the area. A fuel-fed conflagration ensued, causing multiple explosions. The fire was beyond being contained, and the order to abandon ship was given. Hiyo sank at 20:32, claiming 247 crew members. The final American counterattack came from Wasp's aircraft, targeting Ozawa's Supply Group to disrupt the withdrawal of the 1st Mobile Fleet by damaging the oilers. Three oilers were damaged, and two were later scuttled. In this series of uncoordinated attacks, the Americans lost 20 aircraft and destroyed 80 Japanese planes; although the results were underwhelming, with only one carrier sunk, they fared better than Ozawa's combined strikes the previous day. At 20:45, American aircraft began returning to their carriers. The distance from the targets to TF 58 was between 240 and 300 miles, so fuel exhaustion was a real danger for many pilots. On a dark night, the returning aircraft began to return to their carriers at 8:45. Mitscher decided to ignore the potential Japanese air and submarine threats and ordered his ships to use extra illumination beyond the normal landing lights on each carrier deck to guide his appreciative aviators home. Any pretense of order was quickly lost and soon aircraft were ordered to land on any deck in sight. Almost half of the returning aircraft landed on the wrong carrier. This hectic scene took over two hours to play out. When the final accounting was complete, aircraft losses were expectedly heavy. The Americans would end up losing a total of 100 pilots and 109 crew members. Meanwhile, Admiral Toyoda ordered Ozawa to disengage from the decisive battle and retreat northwest, with the Japanese fleet successfully evading Mitscher's slow pursuit and reaching Okinawa on the afternoon of June 22. Once more, the Japanese sought a decisive battle but were decisively defeated. By the end, they had lost three carriers sunk, two carriers damaged, 395 carrier aircraft, about 200 land-based aircraft, two oilers, and four other damaged ships, with around 3,000 Japanese fatalities. In contrast, the Americans lost 130 aircraft and 76 aviators, with none of their damaged ships rendered out of service. The Battle of the Philippine Sea, the last carrier-versus-carrier battle of the war, stood out because the most conservative and defensive-minded side emerged victorious. In terms of scale the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot dwarfed the four carrier battles that preceded it. At the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, and the Battle of Santa Cruz Islands, the largest carrier engagement involved 7 carriers at Midway; by comparison there were 24 carriers at the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. It was, by a factor of almost 350 percent, the biggest carrier battle in history. Though Mitscher's Combat Air Patrol was not flawless, the combination of inadequate Japanese aircrew training and American radar-directed fighter interception rendered a significant Japanese strike ineffective. Ozawa conducted an intelligent battle, accurately assessing American intentions to launch carrier air strikes that would have been catastrophic to a carrier task force by 1942 standards. Nevertheless, his tools failed him. Despite Ozawa's skilled fleet handling, he lacked the airpower to inflict serious damage on Task Force 58. Admiral Spruance has faced criticism for his cautious approach, which exposed his carriers to attack without a strong chance of striking back at the enemy. Only the significant difference in skill between American and Japanese aviators and some good luck prevented this strategy from failing.  Now back over on Saipin, General Watson continued to focus mainly on patrolling, while the 8th Marines worked to secure Hill 500. Colonel Wallace's 2nd Battalion encountered minimal resistance, enabling them to quickly advance to the O-4 Line. Around 09:00, the 25th Marines moved towards Hill 500, subjecting the Japanese to a severe, thundering beating administered by the 4.5-inch rockets. As the Marines charged up the hill through the thinning smoke, artillery shells walked ahead in sturdy escort. Shortly before noon the hill was seized, and mopping up of the cave network began. Compartments at different levels and angles made it possible for the Japanese occupants to retreat from one cave-room to another, and the cleaning out process was a slow one. The price for Hill 500 was not light. Chambers' battalion suffered 49 casualties, nine of whom were killed. Counted Japanese dead numbered 44. Upon examination, it was found that Hill 500 had been well organized for defense but that the positions were not strongly manned. As darkness approached, the Marines dug in to defend their newly won possession. Meanwhile, the 24th Marines also reached the O-4 Line near Tsutsuran, but the 27th Division struggled to push the Japanese forces onto the challenging terrain at Nafutan Point. Additionally, the 106th Regiment arrived on June 20, and Aslito Airfield became operational, putting the security of the Japanese home islands in jeopardy. The following day involved reorganizing, resupplying, mopping-up, and patrolling to prepare for the next day's attack into central Saipan. General Smith's infantry continued their offensive south toward Nafutan Point, making incremental progress through each cave and ravine.  At 12:15, while engaged in the Nafutan Point attack, the 27th Division received a change of mission and disposition. NTLF Operation Order 9 dictated less one battalion and one light tank platoon, to assemble northwest of Aslito Airfield in NTLF reserve. Control of the division artillery would pass to the 23rd Corps Artillery. The designated infantry battalion was ordered to “operate in the Garrison Area and mop up remaining enemy detachments, maintain anti-sniper patrols within the Garrison Area and along the coast line to protect installations within its zone of action with particular attention to Aslito Airfield.” At 5:00, after consideration of the NTLForder, Ralph Smith telephoned Holland Smith and urged that a complete regiment be used to clean up Nafutan Point, rather than one battalion. He said that he planned to use the 105th Infantry for the job and that he believed they could finish in a couple of days. Holland Smith agreed to this but specified that one battalion of the 105th must be retained in reserve for possible use elsewhere. For this task, the 2nd Battalion would be selected. This modification was later confirmed in a mailbrief from NTLF which arrived at the 27th Division command post at 8;30, 22 June. Ralph Smith then issued an order to his division, the 105th will hold the present front line facing Nafutan Point, with two battalions on the line and one battalion in regimental reserve. It would relieve elements of 165th now on the front line by . Reorganization of the present front line to be effected not later than 11:00, 22 June and offensive operations against the enemy continued. Reserve battalion will maintain anti-sniper patrols in the vicinity of Aslito Airfield.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Battle of the Philippines  was the last hurrah of the once proud IJN carrier fleet that had humbled the American two and a half years earlier. Admiral Spruance's strategic patience led to a decisive American victory. Japan's carrier threat, which had driven its early wartime expansion, was annihilated in the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.

Everyone is sketchy and confusing in this chapter.

We learn so much more about how Amity rules (and a few ways in which maybe they drool...)

New book, same us, same b****y Tris! 

Al and Kev talk about Homestead Arcana Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:41: Feedback 00:05:56: What Have We Been Up To 00:22:36: News 00:49:30: New Games 00:57:20: Homestead Arcana 01:18:39: Outro Links Fabledom 1.0 Fields of Mistra EA Date Research Story 0.8 Update My Time at SAndrock 1.3 Update Moonlight Peaks Publisher Travellers Rest Switch Version Garden Witch Life Coming to Consoles Southfield Multiplayer Info ConcernedApe Interview Phoenix Labs Statement Little Known Galaxy Overthrown Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of The Harvest Season. My name is Al (0:00:39) Al: and we’re here today to talk about cottage core games. (0:00:43) Kev: woooooo (0:00:44) Al: Kevin’s not distracted by writing something in the show notes at all. (0:00:47) Kev: Yes (0:00:50) Kev: Look look, okay, you know, I you see the foghorn leghorn trend on twitter. Oh (0:00:55) Al: No I have not. (0:00:56) Kev: Oh my gosh, I thought about doing it for this show (0:00:59) Kev: but I I I lost uh some of the energy for this weekend, but um, uh, basically (0:01:04) Kev: People have just been putting foghorn leghorn into anime scenes (0:01:08) Kev: Or just like images and just a whole rant of him that he would say and it’s been hilarious (0:01:13) Kev: Like so much (0:01:14) Al: I think, yeah, I think didn’t is the best option there. (0:01:15) Kev: um (0:01:16) Kev: Anyways, I was thought about introing like that, but I didn’t so you’re welcome people (0:01:28) Al: Transcripts for this episode are available in the show notes and on the website and hopefully (0:01:33) Al: they’ll be quicker generating from now on because I have a new iPad which is much faster (0:01:37) Al: than my six-year-old iPad. (0:01:41) Al: I think I ran Transcriber. (0:01:44) Al: That’s what that’s what happens when you spend six years between between iPads is you get an insane (0:01:49) Kev: yep (0:01:53) Kev: oh wow wow okay that’s that’s good that’s faster (0:02:03) Al: insane speed increase so this episode we are probably going to talk about homestead arcana (0:02:06) Kev: we have the technology (0:02:13) Al: It depends on how you do it. (0:02:14) Kev: That’s a game. (0:02:14) Al: It depends on how much kevin has played it. (0:02:18) Al: I have played it, I have opened the game and I have done stuff in it. (0:02:23) Al: I have a save file with a character and I have some opinions. (0:02:24) Kev: Okay. Alright. (0:02:26) Kev: Good opening, Salvo. (0:02:28) Kev: Salvo (0:02:30) Al: So we’re going to talk about that. (0:02:33) Al: Before that we’ve got a bunch of news including a couple of new games and some exciting news. (0:02:43) Al: before all of that, and before what we’ve… (0:02:44) Al: been up to. I want to respond to Johnny. So, was it two episodes ago? Johnny ranted about… (0:02:51) Al: Yeah, it was in the Rusty’s retirement episode. Johnny ranted about Coral Island. He ranted (0:02:54) Kev: Uh, yeah, I’m in the middle of it, okay (0:02:57) Al: about Coral Island, and he said that it’s ridiculous that I’m suggesting that Coral (0:03:02) Al: Island is the standard for farming games. And what I would like to say is Johnny is (0:03:07) Al: right in everything that he says, except… except that’s not what I s… (0:03:09) Kev: He’s right, because wildflowers should be. (0:03:14) Al: said. I did not say that it’s the standard for farming games, or if I did, I didn’t mean (0:03:20) Al: it. What I mean is that Coral Island, the farming part of Coral Island, should be the (0:03:27) Al: standard for farming games going forward. The features that it adds to the genre, that (0:03:35) Al: is how things should be. That is what I’m trying to say. He’s absolutely right about (0:03:39) Al: everything else he says about Coral Island. It is definitely unfinished. I have complained (0:03:43) Al: about this before. (0:03:44) Kev: Hahaha! (0:03:44) Al: . I still think it is the best, if not the second best farming game, personally. (0:03:47) Kev: Well. (0:03:51) Kev: Well. (0:03:52) Kev: Hey, good news, though. (0:03:54) Kev: Being unfinished already IS the standard for ghost games! (0:03:59) Kev: Hahaha! (0:04:00) Al: Fair fair. And it is still to see whether 1.1 will finish Coral Island or not. We will (0:04:01) Kev: Hahaha! (0:04:08) Al: see the betas coming out in a week, I think. (0:04:09) Kev: Okay, okay (0:04:13) Kev: Wait, they’re doing a beta for the 1.1. Oh (0:04:15) Al: They are, yeah. Yeah. (0:04:17) Kev: My good. Oh, wow, nothing evokes confidence like saying we’re (0:04:19) Al: I refuse to play that, though. (0:04:24) Kev: Beta, we’re doing a beta post launch (0:04:26) Kev: a (0:04:28) Al: And obviously, nothing will ever live up to Stardew in its longevity, I don’t think, so. (0:04:36) Kev: Oh, concern date refuses it for anything else to do. So I know that’s foreshadowing. (0:04:41) Al: Well, we’re gonna talk about that later. We’ve got we’ve got stuff. We’ve got news on (0:04:44) Al: stardew. Well, news on stardew who’d have thought it. So that’s, that’s why I wanted (0:04:50) Al: to wanted to point out, I’ve talked to Johnny about this on slack. Anyway, and he thinks (0:04:56) Al: that he, I believe he said what I said is fair now that he understands that it’s about (0:05:01) Al: the farming aspect of things. But I felt it was important to talk about on the podcast (0:05:02) Kev: We don’t want fair. We want reactionary content. (0:05:05) Al: as well. Because I don’t think I’ve been on the podcast for like four episodes now. More (0:05:12) Al: More than that, oh my word, the last episode I was on (0:05:15) Al: was over a month ago. (0:05:17) Al: Wild. (0:05:18) Kev: Wait, was it the one I was on? Was EPUF on last time? (0:05:21) Al: It was. (0:05:26) Al: Wow. (0:05:27) Al: It’s a Cody show now. (0:05:29) Kev: There, well, you know. (0:05:30) Al: Cody was on the last four episodes. (0:05:32) Kev: Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… (0:05:34) Kev: Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… (0:05:36) Al: No, oh wait, yes. (0:05:37) Kev: Aww… Yes? (0:05:39) Al: Wait, have I? (0:05:39) Kev: Have you? Oh… (0:05:40) Al: No. (0:05:41) Kev: Yeah, I was about to make a reference. (0:05:43) Al: I think it’s on my list to watch. (0:05:43) Kev: Okay, well you should. (0:05:44) Al: I can’t remember what… (0:05:45) Kev: I was just gonna say the fans have voted. (0:05:47) Kev: Just like Smormu. (0:05:49) Kev: Um, but, alright. (0:05:50) Al: No, I’ve not seen it. (0:05:51) Kev: Heh, I’ll get to watch it. Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… (0:05:52) Al: That confirms it. (0:05:53) Al: I don’t understand the reference, therefore no. (0:05:55) Al: Right, okay, cool. (0:05:56) Al: So, blah blah blah, a lot of stuff to talk about. (0:05:59) Al: Kevin, what have you been up to? (0:06:02) Kev: Um… (0:06:04) Kev: Non-video… (0:06:06) Kev: It’s been a chaotic week for me. (0:06:08) Kev: Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… (0:06:10) Kev: Um, alright. (0:06:12) Kev: I caught up and finished X-Men 97. (0:06:14) Kev: Hey, guess what? That game is good. (0:06:16) Kev: You know what? We should talk about it sometime. (0:06:17) Al: laughs Imagine that. Foreshadowing! laughs (0:06:18) Kev: Heh, heh, heh, heh… (0:06:20) Kev: Just the thought. (0:06:22) Kev: Heh, heh, heh, heh… (0:06:24) Kev: X-Men 97, very good. (0:06:26) Kev: Heh, heh, heh, heh… (0:06:28) Kev: Let’s all say all that for now. (0:06:30) Kev: I caught up on (0:06:32) Kev: Uhh, well yeah, Smiling Friends. It’s very short so probably since the last time I watched it I binged that. (0:06:39) Kev: Very very funny, very enjoyable. I suggest you go watch it out. It’s Adult Swim, so they’re like 10 minute episodes (0:06:44) Kev: So you can knock it out real quick (0:06:45) Al: Yeah, I haven’t seen this one but it was on my list to watch at some point (0:06:48) Kev: All right, we’ll go do it. Season 2 is ongoing (0:06:52) Kev: They’re releasing new episodes and very excited for that. Like, one should be this weekend, I think? I don’t know. (0:07:00) Kev: Outside of that I’ve been doing a lot of (0:07:02) Kev: my daily grinds because that’s comfort gaming for me, Pokemon Unite. (0:07:06) Kev: Falinks came out and he’s funny and adorable and as great as I’d hoped. (0:07:11) Kev: Umm… (0:07:12) Kev: The game in general is… (0:07:12) Al: Does he split up and beat people up? (0:07:15) Kev: Yes! He can! (0:07:17) Kev: He has two, he has two, uhh… (0:07:20) Kev: So every Pokemon basically has two, like, branches for their attacks that you can pick. (0:07:24) Kev: Falinks has either they all stick together and form a big shield, or they all separate and beat up people. (0:07:29) Kev: And his is united his ultimate move (0:07:32) Kev: The little guys just start spinning around him just just carouseling around him and beating up anyone. It touches. It’s great (0:07:40) Kev: Yeah, I love falling sees fantastic little dude or dudes, let’s see Disney speedstorm (0:07:40) Al: Love it (0:07:49) Kev: The the Disney racing game the (0:07:52) Kev: Wreck-it Ralph season is ongoing (0:07:56) Kev: Boy they’re they’re just getting more (0:07:58) Kev: Money they want money (0:08:01) Kev: because (0:08:02) Kev: They actually split the season into two parts, so you have to buy two passes if you want the premium characters or whatever (0:08:10) Kev: Heart one was Vanellope. She was like the premium character and I bought it because I like Vanellope. Heart two was Sergeant Calhoun the that lady (0:08:19) Kev: The from the hero’s duty game or whatever (0:08:21) Kev: I’m not buying because I don’t care about her that much but the the racetrack from the game and sugar rush is there (0:08:27) Kev: It’s very fun. I like to beat storm still very fun game (0:08:32) Kev: Marvel snap continues to be Marvel snap (0:08:36) Kev: The game’s really big there’s a lot of cards I keep up with it (0:08:41) Kev: I think for I don’t know for better or for worse, but I still play it (0:08:42) Al: I think I’ve given up on it. (0:08:47) Kev: That’s good for you, you know what you’re smart man, yep (0:08:49) Al: It was a period of time for me, I enjoyed it while it was a period of time, but I think (0:08:53) Kev: Yep (0:08:54) Kev: That’s that’s fine. I salute you for that. So those are my daily stuff. Um Ori and the Blind Forest I have (0:09:02) Kev: I’ve gone through that. Are you familiar with that one now? (0:09:04) Al: I’m I’m familiar with it, but I’ve not played it and that’s a metroidvania, right? (0:09:08) Kev: Okay, what yep it is and it (0:09:11) Al: Yeah, I think I heard you talk about it. I think I heard you talk about it on Rainbow Road radio (0:09:15) Kev: Yeah, yeah (0:09:17) Kev: Yeah, you can hear me talk about it there. Well, yeah, I’m just gonna repeat what I said there (0:09:20) Kev: It’s it is a metroidvania, but unlike say Metroid (0:09:24) Kev: Dread or other metroids. It’s not so much combat focused. It’s much more (0:09:29) Kev: Like platforming obstacle focused which (0:09:32) Al: Yeah. (0:09:32) Kev: I think I might have a harder time with. (0:09:33) Al: Oh, interesting. (0:09:35) Kev: Some of them can feel very challenging because you have to (0:09:39) Kev: time your jumps, you have to extend jumps, turn in mid-air, you have to bounce off (0:09:43) Kev: enemies or projectiles. Wild, wild nonsense that they come up with. (0:09:47) Kev: The game is very pretty and enjoyable. I’m still going through it. (0:09:51) Kev: There’s that. (0:09:52) Kev: Speaking of Rainbow Road Radio, the podcast I do with our mutual friend Alex, (0:09:57) Kev: I have, I think like since the last time I’ve been on, (0:10:00) Kev: I played through a lot of the classic (0:10:02) Kev: We’ve been doing good the spring time for jump man. That’s what Alex calls it (0:10:06) Kev: We the original Super Mario Bros. We did the lost level Super Mario Bros 2 and 3 and a world is upcoming (0:10:13) Kev: So I’ve been going through that getting my fresh course in Mario history. I guess what Mario platformers are good shocker. I know (0:10:20) Al: Yeah, I really know (0:10:21) Kev: Lost levels - yeah, go ahead. Oh (0:10:24) Kev: I was just say lost levels is good, but it’s also really hard to mean (0:10:30) Al: yeah I really like lost levels um I found too very funny because it’s it’s (0:10:32) Kev: » Yeah, yeah. (0:10:42) Al: sure it’s a mario game but it’s not a mario game it’s it’s like a skinner a skinner on top of (0:10:44) Kev: That is correct (0:10:48) Al: another game and and it makes it makes it so weird in so many ways right because it’s like (0:10:49) Kev: That is literally what it is, yes, uh, yes you are right it is (0:10:56) Kev: Right (0:10:57) Al: so different to the first one but also so… (0:11:00) Kev: Yep (0:11:00) Al: different to everyone since. There’s so much stuff in this game that never happens again. (0:11:03) Kev: Absolutely (0:11:08) Kev: Yeah (0:11:09) Kev: And it’s and what’s really weird is they some things did stick around maybe not like mechanics or whatever (0:11:14) Kev: But like turnips and shy guys and you know different things like the elements and features floating and all that stuff, right? (0:11:22) Kev: Like I still kept some of that. So I guess they were happy with what came out, but it is (0:11:28) Kev: It’s wild like I can’t think of another example where they you know (0:11:32) Kev: Reskinned a game and they kind of claimed ownership to that and it still stayed but not really (0:11:38) Kev: wild wild nonsense (0:11:38) Al: Well the funny thing is as well, it’s a skinner on top of a game, but it’s also the 5th best selling game on the NES ever. (0:11:45) Al: Like, I don’t think any other skinner box game has ever done that. (0:11:52) Al: Like, that’s wild. (0:11:54) Kev: Yeah, it is. (0:11:55) Kev: I didn’t know that. (0:11:56) Kev: That’s what, that is wild. (0:11:57) Kev: Holy moly. (0:11:58) Al: It’s just so weird. (0:11:59) Al: “It was critically well received for its design aspects and for differentiating the Super Mario series.” (0:12:04) Al: That’s because it wasn’t a Mario game! (0:12:08) Al: It’s a different game! (0:12:12) Al: I mean, I really like it. It’s fun, but it’s really funny. (0:12:15) Kev: Maybe, yeah it is. (0:12:18) Kev: Maybe other things should start doing that more. (0:12:21) Kev: This is how we’ll save the MCU. (0:12:22) Al: I put Spider-Man in every film that he has referenced in the MCU. You know that old film’s (0:12:22) Kev: We’re just gonna copy other movie- (0:12:24) Kev: -put Spider-Man in it. (0:12:29) Kev: Oh yeah. (0:12:30) Kev: Um… (0:12:32) Kev: Wow, that’s great. (0:12:42) Kev: Yeah. YEAH. AHHH. He’s been there. That’s why he knows it. He’s been there. Ah, okay. (0:12:43) Al: alien? That old film’s Star Wars! (0:12:52) Al: And then just make it self-referential so he has to refer to the fact that he’s in this thing that (0:12:56) Al: is like a film that he he knows of. Good fun. (0:13:03) Kev: So that’s all the fun stuff. The unfun stuff. I got laid off this week. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Oh, (0:13:08) Al: Just remember, this is the family friendly episode, no swearing. (0:13:12) Kev: man. So, I mean, you know. Yes, okay. I will not. But it came out of left field. It was, (0:13:27) Kev: and I asked them, because of course when you find out you’re losing your job, you know, (0:13:32) Kev: you’re like, “Is it anything I did?” And they’re very adamant. It was nothing personal about (0:13:37) Kev: me or my performance or whatever, but they just had to get some jobs. (0:13:42) Kev: mine happened to be on that list I was laid off last year as well but that (0:13:57) Kev: was a different scenario because that company was a small startup and basically it collapsed (0:14:03) Kev: it just failed so the whole company died all employees were laid off at the same time right (0:14:12) Kev: so it was very sad because I really liked we all really liked that company we liked (0:14:16) Kev: each other our co-workers and whatnot and at least we were in it together more or less (0:14:21) Kev: right like we all went out to lunch and just drank our sadness away or whatever (0:14:25) Kev: um we’re like this is a massive so the company I worked for directly was a large company (0:14:36) Kev: that’s like headquartered in pencil in pittsburgh different state from where I am and they’re (0:14:40) Kev: owned by an even bigger company, Amor. (0:14:42) Kev: The biggest stinger is just, you know, why me over other people who might be working in similar positions to me, right? (0:14:59) Kev: So like, I can’t help but feel like there is probably some weight of performance issues, but yeah, I mean, I could get into the whole thing. (0:15:07) Kev: like I don’t think it was my performance but like light work was light and ultimately it all just (0:15:12) Kev: money right like they felt like they weren’t getting enough money so i’m they’re just gonna (0:15:16) Kev: get rid of me um (0:15:19) Al: Yeah it’s one of these things where you need to not overthink these things because it could be (0:15:23) Al: for any number of reasons. It could just be first in, last first in, first out sort of thing. You (0:15:24) Kev: Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re right you’re right (0:15:27) Al: just never know and it’s not fun, not fun but sometimes stuff like that. (0:15:31) Kev: Yeah, but c’est la vie, um (0:15:34) Kev: But the the silver lining bits one (0:15:36) Kev: I have already been actually I picked up uber as a side hustle just a few weeks ago (0:15:40) Kev: So I can double down on that now. It’s not the obviously not the same level of salary (0:15:46) Kev: I was making right but it’s more than unemployment (0:15:48) Al: Keeps you going. (0:15:49) Kev: Yep, and and because this company is big they I actually got some severance (0:15:54) Kev: pay and stuff like that so I have at least a little to keep me going (0:16:00) Kev: obviously there’s a lot of pressure to find a proper job to get a steady (0:16:04) Kev: paycheck and whatnot but but yeah that’s that’s just how it is sale of me all (0:16:10) Kev: right what about you I hope you haven’t been laid off what it what else have (0:16:12) Al: No, thankfully I’ve not been laid off, I’m still at my terrible job. I’ve not done a (0:16:14) Kev: you been up to (0:16:20) Kev: that’s correct (0:16:23) Al: huge amount of games, I feel like I’ve been procrastinating with gaming in general because (0:16:29) Al: I didn’t want to play Homestead Arcana and the problem is if I’m procrastinating playing (0:16:37) Al: a game for the podcast because I’m not enjoying it, the problem then is that I don’t play (0:16:42) Al: it because I feel guilty when I play different games so I just end up not playing games which (0:16:44) Kev: I built! (0:16:46) Kev: Yea! (0:16:48) Al: is really bad but we’ll get into that we’ll get into that later but what I have done is (0:16:50) Kev: Yea! (0:16:52) Kev: Blang! (0:16:54) Al: I did before I picked up Homestead Arcana because I think we only decided to do this (0:16:58) Al: two weeks ago, I played Let’s Go Eevee because I hadn’t finished that game so I have now (0:17:06) Al: played and finished that game, caught a shiny seal in it, oh boy that was a long slog. (0:17:08) Kev: Okay, yeah (0:17:13) Al: The game I still really like Let’s Go and I think it is one of the best Pokemon games (0:17:17) Al: full stop. I understand why some people don’t like certain aspects of it but personally (0:17:18) Kev: Okay (0:17:21) Kev: Yeah (0:17:23) Al: I think it is one of the best in so many ways. (0:17:26) Kev: Sure sure like I get that like there’s like visually it’s it’s a beautiful beautiful game right absolutely one of the best and (0:17:35) Kev: There’s it’s very cute (0:17:38) Kev: It does a lot of things, right? (0:17:40) Kev: My problem with me is I don’t like the go-catchy (0:17:42) Kev: So, if that’s the core mechanic, yup (0:17:44) Al: Yeah. No, I know. That’s and that’s and that’s what I’m saying. And that’s what I’m saying. (0:17:48) Al: That’s why I think I think that that’s I know that’s why people don’t like it. And I understand (0:17:52) Kev: Yeah, and to be fair, that’s like a completely subjective thing, right? (0:17:53) Al: that. (0:17:56) Kev: Like, I know, like, I think you would maybe fall into this category where a lot of people don’t care much for the battling (0:18:04) Kev: or just grinding endlessly in the other games, right? (0:18:04) Al: Yeah, absolutely. (0:18:08) Kev: So, yeah, that’s completely to taste, but I will say, like, what I see, I think, it is a well-done game. (0:18:16) Kev: It is very competent, technically, it looks very good, and I didn’t–any discourse on it, I didn’t hear about, like, let’s say Scarlet Violet, any technical issues, glitches, or crap. (0:18:26) Al: No, no, I think, I think the most of it, so it’s definitely going through a resurgence (0:18:31) Al: of rose-tinted glasses with people, you know, people who didn’t like it at the time now (0:18:33) Kev: Okay. (0:18:35) Al: like it because that’s just the cycle with Pokemon games, right? (0:18:38) Al: People don’t like it and then they like it because the newer thing is something else (0:18:41) Al: they don’t like, so they have to compare it to just, oh my word, so it’s just the classic (0:18:42) Kev: If you thought that was bad, just wait till we drop NOW! (0:18:48) Al: cycle of Pokemon games but yeah, I think the main thing that people didn’t like was the (0:18:52) Al: catching and I understand that I it’s not like (0:18:56) Al: I think it’s amazing but I like that it’s different I did I don’t like catching in (0:19:01) Al: pokemon games in general I don’t think it’s fun and so doing something different I think is (0:19:06) Al: exciting and fun in being different in and of itself right the whole yeah and I actually think (0:19:10) Kev: I am glad they did something different, I will say that. (0:19:15) Al: that what they did with the legendaries in that game was the best where you have to battle it to (0:19:19) Al: whittle it down and then once you’ve defeated it then you can catch it I think that’s actually (0:19:24) Kev: And that is fun. (0:19:26) Al: and then they ended up doing that later on with raid battles right so now we have the (0:19:31) Al: raid battles where it’s essentially that is you have to defeat it and then once you’ve (0:19:34) Al: defeated it you get guaranteed catch that for me is actually the perfect thing defeat a pokemon (0:19:39) Al: then catch it i’ve never understood oh if you knock the pokemon out you can’t catch it i’m like (0:19:43) Al: why not it’s just lying there just let me throw a ball at it surely this would be the easiest time (0:19:44) Kev: You know what? Well said. Well said. I don’t even need a Pokeball, I can just drag it! (0:19:50) Al: to catch it (0:19:56) Al: yeah yeah yeah um (0:19:58) Kev: The clip looks right there! You know, that is an excellent point. Yeah, no, I can see (0:20:10) Kev: cassette piece you can hear about that on that greenhouse I did (0:20:14) Kev: it has the mechanic where when you say you’re going to catch on a turn the the (0:20:25) Kev: target monster will not die right otherwise it can die normally but if (0:20:30) Kev: you’re saying I’m going to catch you this turn it will not die which I think (0:20:33) Kev: is a clever way of solving that problem (0:20:34) Al: Fine, I’ll play cassette beasts already. My word. I just need to find some time to do (0:20:38) Kev: it’s (0:20:42) Al: that. I will do it. All right. Goodness me. We need to have like a bunch of episodes in (0:20:48) Al: a row that are not game specific game based so I can just play a game without feeling (0:20:53) Al: guilty about not playing a farming game. So I’ve also done there was a bunch of Pokemon (0:20:54) Kev: Heh heh heh heh heh heh (0:21:01) Al: violent events that I’ve done which I’m still enjoying lots of sh- (0:21:04) Al: is in the outbreaks and the I like the raids blah blah it’s fine you don’t need to comment on it (0:21:10) Kev: I’m not, I’m not. (0:21:11) Al: um and um I’ve also picked (0:21:14) Kev: I will say I salute them for keeping the game going. (0:21:19) Al: yeah yeah and they’ve not recycled anything other than like one one seven star raid they’ve recycled (0:21:25) Al: they keep bringing out new ones which is pretty impressive we’re you know we’re what 18 months out (0:21:25) Kev: So yeah that is impressive, I salute them for that. (0:21:30) Kev: Yeah that is impressive, almost two years, yeah. (0:21:31) Al: So, uh, almost. (0:21:35) Al: Stretching it a lot there almost two years. Yeah. That’s why I said 18 months. That’s why I said 18 months Kevin. Oh (0:21:36) Kev: A year and a half! (0:21:38) Kev: Year and a half. (0:21:40) Kev: Look, the next six months will fly by, just you wait. (0:21:45) Al: Sure sure and then in six months, I will say it’s been two years, but I won’t say it’s almost two and a half years (0:21:49) Kev: Okay. (0:21:50) Kev: Now mathematically, if you round, if you’re… (0:21:51) Al: Will I? (0:21:55) Kev: Five, you round up to the nearest ten. (0:21:58) Kev: Alright. (0:21:58) Al: And I’ve just recently picked up Farm RPG which I don’t want to say too much about it (0:22:04) Kev: What is Farm RPGA? (0:22:05) Kev: Tell me, I don’t remember. (0:22:08) Kev: Oh, oh, is there another time you’d like to talk about it? (0:22:08) Al: just now but basically it’s a text-based farming game on mobile so I don’t want to talk much (0:22:15) Kev: Oh, okay. (0:22:21) Al: more about it but it’s a thing that may well be mentioned in the future. (0:22:26) Kev: Yeah, okay. (0:22:28) Al: He says looking at the list of upcoming episodes right next to the show notes all right cool (0:22:38) Al: should we talk about some news because apparently we’re 25 minutes in and we’ve already done (0:22:41) Kev: Already, wow, okay. (0:22:41) Al: an over an over an hour long greenhouse so the first few bits of news are pretty quick (0:22:48) Al: so first of all we got fabled them 1.0 is out now there we go done it is it is still (0:22:52) Kev: Yes! And it was on sale. I don’t know if it still is, but I bought it. It was on sale. Yes! (0:22:57) Al: on sale. (0:22:59) Kev: Uh, yes, for 1.0. Yes, I bought it, I installed it, I haven’t played it, (0:23:03) Kev: but it’s there ready for me to fire. Uh, yeah, I did. Yes. (0:23:12) Kev: James! This is the village builder. Alright, well. (0:23:14) Al: if no one else has covered it by the time i’m done with stars drop vagabond I will do that (0:23:20) Al: but that’s a month away uh next we have fields of mistra um their early access is coming out on the (0:23:28) Al: 5th of august I i this so this this was the one that when it was first announced it was like all (0:23:30) Kev: Okay, let me see. (0:23:31) Kev: Hold on. (0:23:33) Kev: I don’t remember this one. (0:23:37) Al: these high quality graphics and then the the first game they showed they showed it was like pixel art (0:23:43) Al: and were like “I was not expecting pix- (0:23:44) Al: al art” based on all of the images you’ve already put out. It says it’s RPG so presumably there’s (0:23:55) Al: more of a story to it but other than that it just looks like it’s just another Stardew type thing. (0:24:02) Kev: I’m looking at it. It’s Stardew-y. Their aesthetic is different. Like, even from the base art, (0:24:02) Al: so yeah I don’t know maybe I’ll play (0:24:14) Kev: like they’re trying to invoke 90s-ish anime Sailor Moon-looking stuff. I think it’s coming (0:24:20) Kev: across pretty well in pixel art. It is cute. I think it might have a little more personality (0:24:28) Kev: than Stardew, just art-wise. (0:24:32) Kev: I like how there’s 12 marriage candidates and two of them are in shadow. (0:24:40) Al: Yeah, I mean, nothing about it looks bad. (0:24:42) Al: It’s just, nothing makes me go, “I need to play this.” (0:24:44) Kev: Yeah, I get that for sure. (0:24:48) Kev: It does feel like a lot of inspiration from 90s RPGs, like Final Fantasy and stuff like that. (0:24:56) Kev: Just a lot of the animations and things like that. (0:24:58) Kev: the like when they pick up the end of an item that. (0:25:02) Kev: do a little V with their fingers and it’s cute I will say the game looks cute (0:25:07) Kev: all right I don’t see any huge mechanics that make it’s screams that stand out (0:25:13) Kev: from Stardew but it’s a looks like a pretty nice stardew-esque a stardew (0:25:19) Kev: light you can’t we’re gonna coin that sir what is the difference between a (0:25:24) Al: called farming game stop it i’ll ban you from the podcast research story have their 0.8 update which (0:25:24) Kev: stardew light and a stardew light (0:25:36) Al: i’m pretty sure is out now they’ve not actually said it’s out now but i’m pretty sure it’s out now (0:25:42) Al: let’s go with this out now um uh they’ve added more farm buildings um and the ability to build (0:25:51) Al: to move and demolish them. (0:25:54) Al: Barns, sheds, fun times, and lots of other small stuff. Lots of quality of life features, (0:26:02) Al: lots of new content, new creatures, blah, blah, blah. Looks like they’re getting close to 1.0 (0:26:08) Al: if they’re at 0.8. It’s about a year it’s been in early access so far, I think. Yeah, February 20th. (0:26:22) Al: what do I look like someone who plays a game pre 1.0 come on (0:26:30) Al: uh speaking of updates my time at sandrock the 1.3 update is coming 28th of may (0:26:36) Al: and they’re also releasing a monster whisperer dlc which includes new pets (0:26:42) Kev: - Okay. (0:26:45) Al: with a new pet training and battle related content so you’re gonna get your pet (0:26:51) Kev: Oh, sick! A game where animal creatures fight each other? I, I, I, okay. (0:26:56) Al: It’s the ‘Might I’m a Sandrock’ Pokemon update! (0:27:01) Kev: This has, this idea has potential. (0:27:05) Kev: It’s like a lizard with a pumpkin on its back. Oh my goodness. Okay. (0:27:09) Kev: Um, these, some of these animals are really cute. I can’t wait. Literal dog fighting in this one. (0:27:16) Kev: Um… Oh! I was just shooting, Chris. (0:27:16) Al: Yeah I’m still not gonna play it. Moonlight Peaks have announced that they are going to be published (0:27:24) Al: by Exceed which is a part of Marvelous so that’s cool that’s all that’s that’s all the news about (0:27:28) Kev: Yep, that’s (0:27:32) Kev: What is this one I know I don’t remember this one is the vampire life (0:27:34) Al: that one uh yeah the vampire one you’re a vampire or there are vampires I can’t remember yeah no (0:27:42) Kev: Okay (0:27:44) Kev: Says you are a vampire just live the vampire life in a magical town (0:27:44) Al: I know you’re the vampire. (0:27:46) Al: Yeah, it’s got that chibi art style. (0:27:52) Kev: The supernatural dating are you excited boy that that’s that’s an Animal Crossing (0:27:58) Kev: Style that’s what that is (0:28:02) Al: Werewolves, witches, and mermaids (0:28:03) Kev: It feels (0:28:05) Kev: Yeah, it looks cute for somebody who’s big fan of lean a little horror (0:28:16) Al: I’ll probably I’ll probably play it at some point look it’s not about how skated they (0:28:20) Kev: How scary are the werewolves? (0:28:27) Al: are is it for you it’s about how good-looking they are and are they voiced by Ray Chase? (0:28:29) Kev: Well, you… you… what do you think about that? Well, you got me there. You got me there. (0:28:36) Kev: Well, you got me there. You got me there. (0:28:43) Al: If you want Kevin to like something, put Reaching (0:28:46) Al: in it. Traveller’s Rest have announced that they are going to work on a Switch version (0:28:55) Al: after their roadmap is finished. So I think that means probably in many years to come. (0:29:00) Kev: Oh my goodness, that sounds correct! (0:29:07) Al: Like there is no way that they get their roadmap done before next year and if they’re not even (0:29:16) Al: the Switch version until after their whole roadmap is finished, it’s going to be 2027 (0:29:20) Kev: Oh, Switch 2 will be out. (0:29:22) Al: before that comes out. Oh for years! Switch 2 will be two years old by then! (0:29:23) Kev: Switch… (0:29:24) Kev: Switch 3! (0:29:28) Kev: Oh yeah… (0:29:30) Kev: When was the last time a game finished a road match? (0:29:33) Al: Oh well that’s the thing yeah. Stardew maybe? Maybe not. (0:29:42) Al: speaking of switch coming to switch is gardenwood (0:29:46) Al: have announced that they’ll be releasing on switch and xbox and playstation (0:29:51) Al: they didn’t say when but the way that it’s worded makes it sound like (0:29:56) Al: probably the same time as the steam version comes out (0:29:58) Kev: You’d hope so, but it’s vague enough, maybe not. (0:30:03) Al: yeah yeah don’t hold me to that don’t hold them to that (0:30:07) Al: but it’s coming out at the end of this year so I feel like at this point in time saying that (0:30:13) Al: makes the there’s the implicate (0:30:16) Al: the implication is there I think and hopefully they’ve thought that through (0:30:20) Al: and they’ve realized that that would be the implication so therefore that’s what (0:30:23) Al: they’re saying rather than not realizing that would be the implication (0:30:27) Al: I feel like if you’re if you’re if you’re at this point where you’re six (0:30:30) Al: months away from releasing and you don’t and you say oh we’re also coming to (0:30:34) Al: console and you don’t say after the switch steam release I feel like you’re (0:30:40) Al: just asking for people to be a no (0:30:42) Kev: That is correct (0:30:43) Kev: cuz gamers man, I’m looking through the pictures here because I can remember what the game is first like (0:30:49) Kev: First of all, there’s some very cute animals in here. Look at this bunny. It’s just like a dust cloud with ears (0:30:55) Kev: And bees and there’s like little rocks with eyes. It’s very cute. I just feel so bad about this name (0:30:59) Al: The bees are very fat. (0:31:01) Kev: garden which life like it’s (0:31:02) Al: I know. (0:31:04) Al: It’s so generic. (0:31:04) Kev: Madlibs (0:31:05) Kev: Madlibs of generic cottage (0:31:08) Al: That’s a good point. (0:31:09) Al: It’s totally like they’ve just taken genres and shoved them together to make the name. (0:31:12) Kev: - Yup, yup. (0:31:14) Al: Let’s see, it’s a life sim but it’s growing things in your garden and you’re a witch. (0:31:20) Kev: Uh… laughs You can build friendships with the townsfolk. laughs You know what I would like to imagine? I’d like to imagine myself playing south. (0:31:20) Al: There you go, name sorted. (0:31:31) Al: Imagine that. Southfield. This might be the game I’m most excited for. (0:31:43) Kev: It feels like the most unique thing in this space of gaming in a while (0:31:49) Al: I don’t play many early access games but I feel like I might need to play (0:31:54) Kev: They had a demo which felt like it could have been an early access game because it was so big you couldn’t save (0:32:01) Al: - Well, that’s the thing. (0:32:02) Al: Well, that’s the thing. (0:32:03) Al: ‘Cause I listened to you and Johnny (0:32:04) Al: talking about “Southfield”. (0:32:06) Al: Was it you that played it or was it Johnny that played it? (0:32:06) Kev: I played it. (0:32:08) Al: You played it. (0:32:09) Al: I heard you talking about it on that demos episode. (0:32:11) Kev: Yeah. Yeah. (0:32:12) Al: And based on that, yeah, (0:32:14) Al: I just feel like this early access feels like (0:32:18) Kev: I- I can easily see that I- I feel strongly that will be. (0:32:23) Kev: Um, well, o- (0:32:24) Al: which is, and I feel like this piece of news actually encourages me more about that, that (0:32:30) Al: they actually care about how it works, is they’ve said that the multiplayer is not coming to early (0:32:34) Al: access at launch. I’ll just read out their quote. “Southfield was originally conceived as a single (0:32:40) Al: player experience, but as soon as we started playtesting the game, people told us they would (0:32:44) Al: love to share this island with friends. We agree, and that’s why multiplayer has become part of our (0:32:48) Al: roadmap for a while. However, multiplayer engineering is one of the most complex things (0:32:53) Al: things to pull off at a relative rate. (0:32:54) Al: small development team meaning we’ve had to make some pretty tough decisions and one of those is to (0:32:58) Al: not include multiplayer early access launch so I feel like the fact that they realize that (0:33:04) Al: means that well one I suspect they’re probably pretty close to early access (0:33:08) Kev: Yup. Well I mean heck, I agree. I mean like for a game to release a pre-early access demo like that (0:33:10) Al: and two it means that they want they want the early access to be (0:33:19) Kev: and to be that solid like I think they care a lot. Not only that, they say they want to leave early (0:33:25) Kev: access in 2025 right? Which is pretty close. So yeah the early access should be dropping pretty (0:33:32) Kev: soon I imagine. You know what? Like I think it’s cool they want to do multiplayer, I get that. (0:33:38) Kev: I’d be uh… I’d be okay if they dropped the 1.0 without multiplayer because I just… (0:33:45) Al: - Yeah, I think I understand that. (0:33:47) Al: I think I also understand why they would want (0:33:49) Al: to get it in for 1.0, but yeah, honestly, (0:33:53) Al: I would say make that the last thing you add. (0:33:56) Al: If you want it to be in 1.0, make it the 1.0, (0:33:59) Al: like add it in right at the end, like make it, (0:34:01) Al: this is the, like, ‘cause that I think becomes (0:34:04) Al: a really big thing to bring people back. (0:34:06) Al: ‘Cause like we’ve talked about this before (0:34:07) Al: where the problem with early access (0:34:10) Al: is you’re splitting out your release into multiple releases. (0:34:14) Kev: Right. (0:34:14) Al: So there’s less like. (0:34:15) Al: The reason for people to come back, but I think I think if you if you have something (0:34:22) Al: like multiplayer, I think multiplayer is big enough that if you have that as the 1.0 feet, (0:34:27) Al: the big 1.0 feature that brings people back who have previously played it. (0:34:32) Kev: Yep, okay (0:34:34) Al: But we’ll see, but they’ve also said there’s going to be a few features that were coming (0:34:38) Al: later in early access that they’ve moved to the early access launch. (0:34:43) Al: They say to compensate, but I’m like, I don’t think. (0:34:45) Al: You need to compensate for that. (0:34:46) Kev: No, they really don’t (0:34:46) Al: I don’t think anybody care. (0:34:48) Al: Like some people, some people care, but like it’s early access. (0:34:50) Al: What are you going to do? (0:34:51) Kev: Yeah, and like I can’t stress how much of a game it feels like there is plenty in there (0:35:00) Al: every time they post something about this game I’m more excited for it like the different crops like (0:35:06) Kev: I mean, that’s the core concept of the game, absolutely ridiculous and it’s great. (0:35:06) Al: there’s one that you can eat that makes you go on fire and stuff like that it’s just absolutely. (0:35:20) Kev: I love being a gun drop guy. (0:35:24) Kev: Stay wibbly, flop in the Southfield team, that’s how they sign off, I like that. (0:35:26) Al: Yeah well that’s the thing they’re doing everything right right they’re doing things well they’re (0:35:32) Kev: They are doing it. (0:35:34) Al: doing some different things while still adding to like the stuff that we like so I am I’m (0:35:42) Al: all for in for this. Speaking of doing everything right Stardew Valley we have an article with (0:35:54) Al: an interview with… (0:35:56) Al: concerned ape about stardew valley and I just want to pick out (0:35:59) Kev: We learned where the CONCERNED comes from! (0:36:04) Al: I want to pick out just a couple things couple quotes from this article to talk about (0:36:09) Al: so the first one is they say barone that’s concerned ape it’s called eric barone barone (0:36:15) Al: now works with the team on stardew valley’s more technical aspects and he wanted 1.6 to focus on (0:36:20) Al: technical tweets and tweaks and nothing more side note I remember him saying about that when he (0:36:26) Al: was coming he was like it’s mostly going to be stuff for mods and that’s how that turned out (0:36:31) Kev: Uh-huh. Thank you! (0:36:33) Al: the quote continues but then he began to dread what fans might think if he didn’t go all out on (0:36:38) Al: yet another update i’m a little bit sad about this I have like mixed feelings on this I think (0:36:43) Al: the way that this is worded makes it sound like he felt he couldn’t do an update that (0:36:47) Al: didn’t include a bunch of new content and I think that’s sad (0:36:50) Kev: - Yeah. I mean, I just think like, (0:36:53) Kev: so I think that’s pretty much the case (0:36:56) Kev: and I’m starting to get the feeling concerned ape (0:36:58) Kev: is like very, well, I mean, not just starting, (0:37:01) Kev: like I think it’s been apparent. (0:37:02) Kev: He’s a very perfectionist-esque person, right? (0:37:07) Kev: Where he’s, or he puts a lot of pressure on himself, (0:37:10) Kev: let’s say, right? (0:37:11) Kev: He’s very demanding of himself and his work, right? (0:37:14) Kev: Like I think the other example I can point to (0:37:17) Kev: is Sakurai in Smash Bros, right? (0:37:21) Kev: You went to insane levels to make those games amazing. (0:37:24) Kev: And they’re incredible, don’t get me wrong. (0:37:25) Kev: But like, I don’t know if you heard, (0:37:27) Kev: at one point Sakurai went into the office (0:37:31) Kev: with an IV drip because he was feeling sick, (0:37:33) Al: yeah I yeah I suspect that concern date probably has a healthier work-life balance (0:37:33) Kev: but he still wanted to work. (0:37:39) Al: is is what I would say (0:37:39) Kev: Hopefully, hopefully, right? (0:37:42) Kev: That’s, I just don’t want to go to that, of course. (0:37:43) Kev: Right? Like that’s the extreme. (0:37:45) Kev: I hope he doesn’t get to that point. (0:37:45) Al: yeah yeah nobody should ever get to that point if you if you find yourself on an ivy drip in work (0:37:53) Al: that’s the point to say you’ve gone too far right you probably should have you’ve probably gone too (0:37:58) Al: far a couple years earlier right this isn’t the point where you’ve gone too far but this is the (0:38:03) Al: point to realize that you’ve gone too far because that’s ridiculous so I think then there’s another (0:38:08) Al: quote later on from concerned ape and he says once I open once I reopen the book on stardew (0:38:15) Al: I always have a hard time closing it again because I always want to add more things make it better (0:38:21) Al: make it cooler make people happy it’s exciting every single thing i’m adding i’m thinking about (0:38:26) Al: how people are going to play this and talk about it and love it it’s going to be part of their (0:38:31) Al: expedience. It could make a memory that they might… (0:38:34) Al: That’s a special thing. It’s hard for me to not want to do that. (0:38:38) Al: So when I read the first bit, I was like, “Oh, I really hope he’s not doing this because he feels he has to.” (0:38:43) Al: Then I read the second bit and went, “No, he does have to. His brain won’t let him stop.” (0:38:47) Kev: Yep (0:38:51) Kev: Yep, right and like again our Sakurai the thing that Sakurai example is an extreme example (0:38:57) Kev: But I think it’s the same sort of like mental route right where it has to be (0:39:03) Kev: Exactly how they want it to be or whatever (0:39:06) Kev: And that can be a dangerous road. So, you know, I just hope he’s taking care of himself. That’s the main thing, right? (0:39:12) Kev: Like clearly he’s finding success. He’s making money. So, you know, I’m not worried about that (0:39:20) Al: yeah there’s there’s another there’s other bits in the article which i’ll post um you know because (0:39:26) Al: people might find it interesting um but uh one other thing just quickly is that he there’s a (0:39:33) Al: hint that maybe there could be another update coming um that would have input from the team (0:39:40) Al: that he’s created around uh around stardew because it’s it’s now not just him working on it he’s got (0:39:46) Al: more people doing it, but he kind of debates, he (0:39:50) Al: basically debates whether he could actually do that or not because like could he actually (0:39:56) Al: let people do it without then getting involved himself and he’s you know trying to you know be (0:40:02) Kev: I’m going to say, “No, he can’t.” (0:40:03) Al: like oh yeah there is there is there was one point i’d remember this at the time nearly two years ago (0:40:12) Al: now there was a tweet from him replying to someone so much of his news is just like posting random (0:40:18) Kev: three word tweets (0:40:18) Al: replies to people on Twitter. (0:40:20) Al: So someone asked him two years ago, June 2022, “Will Stars You Get Future Updates?” (0:40:28) Al: And he replies and says “1.6, yes, but it’s mostly a modding focused update, (0:40:33) Al: makes modders lives easier. There will be some new content but it won’t be huge.” (0:40:36) Kev: Things that aged poorly (0:40:39) Al: And then he says “1.6, who knows? 1.7, who knows?” (0:40:46) Al: So yeah, I think that I really hope. (0:40:50) Al: he does it because he likes it and because he wants to not because he feels like he needs to and (0:40:54) Kev: Like, I’m sure he likes it, like, these aren’t mutually exclusive, right? (0:41:00) Al: you’re you’re you’re right I just I don’t I want him I yeah I know I that’s just my point (0:41:06) Kev: Yeah, I know I get it, right? (0:41:06) Al: I i don’t want him to feel like he has to because he has given us enough I don’t care what other (0:41:11) Al: people say he has given us enough in this game right like if he wants to do more do it absolutely (0:41:14) Kev: Absolutely, like, well, here’s the thing, I don’t think anyone will ever say that he hasn’t given us enough in Stardew. (0:41:20) Al: because people require it oh no there will be some people because some people (0:41:24) Kev: Well, okay, well, yeah, you’re right. Okay, well, okay, the vast majority of people, right, the general, like, of course, there’s always exceptions and outliers, but I think the general discourse, I’ve never heard anyone say otherwise about Stardew. (0:41:27) Al: there’s always some stupid people (0:41:40) Kev: But, I think the bigger problem is going to be his own inner voice. (0:41:44) Al: Let’s see if Haunted Chocolates of the Year ever actually releases. (0:41:44) Kev: That’s my concern. (0:41:46) Kev: But, we’ll see. (0:41:46) Kev: Just don’t… (0:41:48) Kev: Stay tuned for our “Concerned About Concern Day” segments. (0:41:58) Al: So our last piece of news before, we’ve got a couple of new games, but the last piece (0:42:01) Al: of news before that is some news about Phoenix Labs, which is the developer of Faefarm and (0:42:08) Al: Dauntless. (0:42:09) Al: They’ve announced that they’ve cancelled all of their projects, except… (0:42:14) Al: I don’t think we have… over a hundred people is the kind of number I’ve seen from sources (0:42:19) Kev: How many are we talking? (0:42:22) Kev: Ooooh, that’s a lot. (0:42:29) Al: but I don’t think we have any concrete numbers. (0:42:34) Al: But yeah this is interesting on multiple levels. (0:42:36) Al: So one, interesting that they’re like “oh the only two things that we’re going to continue (0:42:41) Al: doing our Dauntless and Fae Farm. (0:42:44) Al: Right, okay, I didn’t realize Fae Farm was successful. (0:42:49) Al: Two, their statement talks about them being live service games. (0:42:54) Al: I don’t think Fae Farm’s a live service game. (0:42:58) Al: Like they have updates that they’re doing but that’s not what live service is, right? (0:43:09) Al: And obviously it’s really sad that a bunch of people have been laid off. (0:43:12) Al: Obviously it goes with. (0:43:14) Al: I don’t know what to say but I need to say it anyway. (0:43:15) Kev: yeah so uh clearly right like should I say my piece okay this yeah I mean like obviously i (0:43:21) Al: Yeah, go for it. (0:43:25) Kev: feel bad for them right and like yeah yeah like I i of course I get it get into all that like it’s (0:43:26) Al: Anti-Capitalism rant. (0:43:28) Al: Anti-Capitalism rant. (0:43:33) Kev: I just want to share the like I forgot to mention earlier so when I got laid off this earlier this (0:43:39) Kev: week um first of all it came out of left field I didn’t get a two weeks notice just then in there (0:43:45) Kev: you an extra two weeks of pay but working out right now and obviously like that sucked in like (0:43:51) Kev: even just trying to process that that moment right um but the really sucky part came uh (0:43:58) Kev: came just a bit later so it was around lunch time when they called me in and they they let me know (0:44:03) Kev: or whatever and gave me paperwork yada yada and so I went the first thing I did was just go out (0:44:07) Kev: because I hadn’t had lunch yet I went to go out grab a sandwich and kind of process my own thoughts (0:44:12) Kev: at that moment, right? So then I went back in… (0:44:15) Kev: to the office and started going around talking to some of the people I was (0:44:20) Kev: friends with and such and just letting people know and getting phone contact (0:44:24) Kev: numbers and things like that, right? But then this is what killed me, like as I (0:44:31) Kev: was sitting at my desk after sitting down getting ready to pack up my stuff (0:44:35) Kev: the guy who fired me who was in charge that he comes up to me and he says okay (0:44:41) Kev: I need you to leave the building like right now like my god (0:44:45) Kev: Goodness like I didn’t respond at that moment. I was just I was still such in shock, but I think I just like okay (0:44:50) Kev: Wow the the (0:44:53) Kev: insensitivity of that right and just (0:44:56) Kev: Well, it feels so bad and this this again (0:44:59) Kev: This is a very big company so clearly Phoenix Games or whatever this thing is called (0:45:04) Kev: fairly large for having being able a Phoenix Labs being able to fire hundreds of people right like I’m sure they weren’t very (0:45:13) Kev: sensitive about those layoffs either. (0:45:15) Kev: I’m guessing they aren’t, but… (0:45:15) Al: No, you can’t you can’t be when there’s that many people you’re laying off like not not (0:45:19) Kev: Exactly, right? (0:45:21) Al: if you’re going to do it like that right like it’s just not possible. And apparently some (0:45:22) Kev: Right, exactly, right. (0:45:24) Kev: And so that’s just… (0:45:26) Al: some people were laid off like apparently according to one of insider they were planning (0:45:32) Al: on announcing one of their games in three weeks and so there’s a bunch of people who (0:45:37) Al: have been for the last couple of months

“The wine starts the conversation. It brings people in and sets them up for what we're really trying to do, which is support our community through agriculture.” This was a beautifully simple explanation by one of our guests describing how a for-profit entity can not only enable a non-profit effort but can also serve as a funnel to drive like-minded individuals towards a common goal. We have two guests on the podcast this week - Ben Martin and Leanne Babcock – both with the Dauntless Veterans Foundation. Ben was an early guest on the podcast (episode 8) and is the founder and winemaker at Dauntless Wine Co – a veteran-owned and operated winery in the Willamette Valley of Oregon whose ultimate mission is to give back to warriors in need by offering them a place to learn about agriculture. Leanne Babcock grew up in Oregon's Willamette Valley picking blueberries and plums on her grandfather's orchard. She enlisted in the US Air Force in 2003 working on emergency vehicles before being commissioned as an officer several years later and began that chapter of her career as a logistician.  She is currently supporting logistics and engineering efforts as an individual mobilized augmentee assigned to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in Colorado.   Our conversation picks up with Ben describing what it was like having Leanne first show up to Dauntless Wine Company and making her intentions clear that she wanted to support their efforts help veterans in the Willamette Valley through a non-profit foundation. Have a listen to this episode to find out this team's early struggles with starting a non-profit in a post-pandemic world, the interplay between a for-profit entity and the foundation, and the story behind how how Dauntless's largest donor last year was 9-year old boy! Enjoy!

This was the most sober we've sounded on a drunk episode - we must be getting older. The Michelle Wolf bit we talked about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcyPVW5WrFIThe interview with Veronica Roth we quoted: https://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/10-questions-with-veronica-roth-author-of-the-divergent-trilogy-part-2-elizabeth-baird-hardys-questions/

It's another special episode of the Cryptid Creator Corner and this time I'm chatting with Brent Fisher. Brent is the Creative Director of Dauntless Stories and the Chief Diversity Officer of Band of Bards. We chat about Dauntless and Band of Bards joining forces to be a worker-owned cooperative and what that means as well as Brent's roles in both organizations. I also get to learn more about Brent's own comics origin story and they tell me about the upcoming Kickstarter (launching June 18th) for Unbroken. Listen to the episode and sign up for Dauntless Stories' newsletter for more details and so you don't miss the KS campaign. Brent was such a joy to chat with. Their love for comics is effusive and I can't wait for the Unbroken Kickstarter campaign. Check out Brent's website to learn more: https://www.brentfisher.net/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last time we spoke about the remarkable success of Operation Reckless and Persecution.  Colonel Oliver Newman led the drive towards Hollandia's airfields, encountering scattered opposition and discovering large undefended Japanese supply dumps. General MacArthur was forced to postpone future plans until May 21st. Meanwhile, Allied submarine interceptions disrupted IJN troop movements, and Task Force 58's airstrikes neutralized Truk. Within Burma, General Stilwell's offensive faced challenges from Japanese resistance and heavy monsoon rains. Despite setbacks, the 22nd Division aimed to capture Inkangahtawng while Chinese forces engaged the enemy along various fronts. Chindits continued Operation Thursday, facing logistical hurdles and Japanese attacks. Colonel Kinnison's Marauders encountered strong resistance near Tingkrukawng, while Colonel Hunter's force successfully surprised the Japanese at Myitkyina.  This episode is the Japanese Defeat at Imphal and Kohima Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  We are jumping right back into the heat of General Mutaguchi's insane Operation U-Go. Poor General Yamauchi after suffering a devastating defeat at Nungshigum, was now facing allied tanks he simply had no answer for. Yamauchi ordered his men to dig in around Sendgmai and Kanglatongbi, basically so they would at least be hung around the Kohima-Imphal road. The allies answer to this was 6000 sorties, dropping 1000 bombs in the sector. It was a tremendous amount of damage, but the Japanese did benefit from bunkers. Yamauchi's 15th Division due north of Imphal were now being contained successfully, allowing General Briggs and Roberts to initiate their own counter offensives by the end of April. Simultaneously the 33rd Division was struggling to advance upon Bishenpur and the Shenam Saddle; over at Kohima, General Sato's 31st Division was reluctantly falling onto the defensive as the looming threat of a full British-Indian counteroffensive was dawning upon them. Imphal was still facing a grave threat from the Japanese along the Tiddim Road. Mutaguchi was personally directing the 33rd Divisions actions around Bishenpur at this time. Mutaguchi planned a three-pronged attack, one prong along the Tiddim Road, another down south from the Silchar Track by the 215th Regiment and a lastly from the north by the 214th Regiment. For the assault the 33rd Division received reinforcements in the form of the 14th Tank Regiment; the 2nd Battalion, 18th Heavy Field Artillery Regiment; and the 1st Anti-Tank Battalion from the Yamamoto Detachment. In late May they would also be receiving the 151st regiment and the 14th Tank regiment, amongst other units. This of course meant other units like the Yamamoto Detachment were being deprived of men, thus they in turn would be reinforced. The Yamamoto Detachment received the 2nd battalion, 51st regiment who were previously engaged with the Chindits at Indaw. They would arrive at Kampang after the fall of Crete West. Now in preparation for Mutaguchis renewed offensive the IJA would be tossing aircraft against the Gun Box in Bsihenpur. The Japanese Army Air Force made four air raids on the Gun Box position in Bishenpur in the first ten days of May. There was good reason for this, for at Gun Box the 32nd Indian Brigade had concentrated its artillery support. This included four 3.7in. howitzers, eight 25-pdrs, six 6-pdrs and three A/A guns. From here the guns were able to support the infantry's actions both on and around the Silchar Track, as well as the villages on the Tiddim Road such as Potsangbam. The Japanese heavy field artillery was at Khoirentak. The 215th regiment meanwhile performed some preliminary attacks against the positions at Ngarangial. Attacks began in early May against positions between Wireless Hill and Ngarangial, with two battalions attacking from the north and one from the south. The enemy, in strong positions, withstood a series of attacks which continued until the middle of May. While Mutaguchi waited for reinforcements to arrive so he could renew his southern offensive, Generals Yamamoto and Gracey were slugging it out for control over Crete West. The extremely exhausted 3rd battalion, 213 Regiment finally made a break through against the Lynch Pimple on the 8th,  forcing the 80th Brigade to evacuate Crete West two days later. On the night of the 10th, Yamamoto launched his first attacks against Scraggy Hill, which was extensively shelled, followed by a massive infantry assault: in classic style, wave upon wave of Japanese soldiers crashed on Scraggy, overwhelming its forward defenses. A point was finally reached in the night when the British battalion commander on Scraggy felt that the hill would fall unless supporting artillery fire was directed on his own positions. This was called in and the Japanese advance finally halted on the morning of 11th. But parts of Scraggy were now under the control of Yamamoto Force, which dug in. General Scoones reacted by relieving the exhausted 20th Division with the fresher 23rd Division of General Roberts. The new arrivals were shocked to see the conditions on the forward positions of the Shenam Saddle. Scraggy stood out. The Japanese were on part of the hill, while the rest of it was under British control. Trenches and bunkers covered the feature; in places, mere meters separated the two sides' front trenches. Bits of body parts of soldiers lay everywhere and a terrible stench covered the hillside. Now Cowan was planning a counter to Mutaguchis incoming offensive. He planned for an anvil and hammer maneuver; the hammer would be the 63rd Indian Brigade recently relieved from Sekmai in the first week of May by the 89th Indian Brigade. They would push down from Bishenpur towards Potsangbam, Ningthoukhong and even further south while the 48th Brigade established a roadblock on the Tiddim Road around Torbung, deep behind enemy lines. Cowan hoped to crush the 33rd Division along the road between his hammer and anvil while also cutting off the incoming Japanese reinforcements. Thus Brigadier Ronald Cameron's 48th Brigade stealthily advanced south along the eastern shore of Lake Loktak, crossed the Manipur River at Shuganu. It was a long grueling march. Simultaneously, Brigadier Guy Burton's 63rd Brigade advanced south against Potsangbam on the 10th. In their frustrated push southwards on the Tiddim Road, Burton's men had to deal first with the determined Japanese defense of Potsangbam. Burton took over on the 9th from Mackenzie's 32nd Indian Brigade, which had gained a foothold in the village the day before and was now to give its full attention to the Silchar Track. The 63rd Indian Brigade put in a first attack on Potsangbam on 10th. This involved two Gurkha battalions, each supported by a troop of tanks from the 3rd Carabiniers. The area they targeted was the main part of the village east of the Tiddim Road. The initial full frontal attacks failed to make much progress. Burton then changed tack against the Japanese, who had withdrawn to their main defenses south of the Potsangbam turel. He called for a heavy artillery bombardment from the same direction as before in the northern half of Potsangbam to make it appear that he was repeating the previous line of attack. Except this time he instructed one of his battalions to pass secretly behind the other and make for the area to the immediate east of the road. The move worked and the road through the village and its immediate vicinity were captured by the 15th. The Tiddim Road through Potsangbam was now open, although the Japanese still held on in parts of the village. But it had all taken much longer than expected. While the anvil at Torbung was about to be put in place, the hammer had only inched forward. After a long and difficult march, the brigade arrived near Torbung in mid-May. The roadblock was set up on 17th where three nullahs crossed the road near Milestone 33. To the east were several low-lying hills where brigade headquarters was established, centered on one called Point 3404. The sluggish Khuga River flowed between the hills and the road. In the Torbung sector, the Americas surprised Lt. Colonel Matsuki of the 33rd Supply Regiment, who was given the mission of reopening the line of communications using whatever troops were available in the immediate area. A composite company from the 33rd Supply Regiment, which had been deployed in the Mountainous area west of Churachandpur, held Hill 4358 against several enemy attacks. On the night of 17th, approximately 100 men of the 33rd Supply Regiment were gathered from rear elements to make the first attack on the roadblock. The attacking group was mounted on trucks and the leaders miscalculating the location of the enemy position drove squarely up to the roadblock and the entire attacking unit was virtually annihilated. Mutaguchi reacted furiously to this by unleashing artillery fire upon Point 3404 and the roadblock from the surrounding hills. Cameron's guns responded with retaliatory fire. Simultaneously Mutaguchi tossed his 1st battalion, 67th regiment against the Torbung roadblock, but Cameron's men held on inflicting tremendous casualties against the Japanese. Meanwhile Burton unleashed an attack against the hills immediately west of the road in the hopes of cutting off the supply line of the 214th and 215th Regiments. The 63rd rigade set off on 18th; the next day it had captured the villages of Tokpa Khul and Kha Aimol, and near them Three Pimple Hill and OP Hill respectively. This directly threatened the 33rd Divisions HQ at Laimanai. Mutaguchi reacted by abandoning the assaults from the west and south, and redirected the 215th Regiment to deal with Burton's 63rd division. All three of Sasahara's battalions were thrown into the counterattack, the first of which went in on the 20th. Another major assault was made two days later; both were driven off. The Japanese lost over 110 men. But they persisted and put in further attacks over the next week, frustrating any further movement southwards for the 63rd Indian Brigade. The Japanese failed to clear Burton's position, their relentless attacks would completely pin down the 63rd Brigade, thus preventing any further movement southwards.  Now at this point the 32nd Brigade had managed to recapture Wireless Hill, prompting Mutaguchi to abandon Potsangbam by the 24th. The 4th Independent Engineer Regiment and 2nd battalion, 213th Regiment fell back to Ningthoukhong. Mutaguchi then tossed another battalion to help out in the attack against Burton's 63rd division. Without further support of the hammer, Cameron's anvil force had to repel a coordinated tank-infantry attack on the 21st and again on the 23rd. The 2nd Battalion, 154th Infantry Regiment and a composite company from the 14th Tank Regiment attacked on the 21st and again on the 23rd but were not only unsuccessful in dislodging the enemy, but also suffered extremely heavy losses. Two tanks were destroyed during these attacks. Though the anvil held firm, Burton's failed attempts to continue the push south would ultimately force Cameron to abandon the roadblock and head back.  On May 24th, the 48th Brigade was fighting through Bishenpur heading up the road finally linking up with the other brigade around Potsangbam. Thus the Torbung roadblock was an enormous success for Cowan, his men had inflicted 500 casualties and disrupted Mutaguchi's plan completely. Now Mutaguchi chose to go ahead with only part of his original plan, the attack from the north that would be carried out by Colonel Sakuma Takayoshi's 214th regiment. To oversee the Bishenpur offensive,  Major-General Tanaka Nobuo was appointed in command of the 33rd Division. Leaving Bungte on the night of the 19th, Sakuma's 1st battalion advanced south to attack Bishenpur from the north, while the 2nd battalion moved north from Wainen and attacked Hill 2926. Yet as they tried to storm Point 2926, they were beaten off by a platoon of the 7/10th Baluchs. Failing to take the peak, they captured the southern part of the feature and parts of the adjacent Maibam village. The 1st battalion proceeded with their assault against Bishenpur targeting the area at the northern end of the village, near the junction between the Tiddim Road and the Silchar Track. This is also the area where the Gun Box was. Once they had managed to infiltrate the road junction area, however, the Japanese were repeatedly counter-attacked in the next few days, British tanks firing on their positions at close range. Without any anti-tank guns and the British tanks firing on their positions at close range, they were ultimately wiped out.  Back over with the 2nd Battalion, they had successfully captured Maibam village and Hill 2926, very close to Cowan's headquarters, so the British would have to direct several reinforcements to lay siege on these enemy positions. Early on the 26th, Sakuma directed a composite company to launch a last charge on Bishenpur from the north, but this attack would also end in failure. Cowan then directed the brigade-strength Woodforce to evict the Japanese from Hill 2926.  Woodforce consisted of the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade's HQ, commanded by Brigadier Woods and was a composite force of tanks, artillery, sappers and infantry. Taking over the front on the 26th, Woodforce mounted robust counter-attacks over the next two days, finally overcoming all opposition and recapturing the hill and Maibam by the 29th. With most of the 33rd Division fighting to reopen the Tiddim road at Torbung, Sakuma's 214th Regiment was left to extricate itself as best it could. But the fall of the Torbung roadblock on the 24th also allowed Mutaguchi's reinforcements to finally reinforce Ningthoukong in preparation for an attack on Potsangbam.  At this point, the balance of power had shifted very definitely to the allies. Sakuma's early success at Hill 2926 was the closest any Japanese would get to Imphal from the south. Meanwhile General Yamamoto's attacks against the Shenam Saddle resumed on the 20th, with his men rushing the crest of Scraggy in waves throwing gelignite bombs and grenades, but ultimately getting pushed back each time. Meanwhile the 2nd battalion, 51st regiment and 1st battalion, 60th regiment began an attack against Gibraltar, a very steep hill along the saddle. Their initial attacks were repelled easily, but on the night of the 23rd they managed to gain a foothold on Gibraltar's crest and this in effect cut off the 37th Indian brigade at Malta and Scraggy. With the Fourteenth Army units on Malta and Scraggy cut off, the fate of the entire Shenam Saddle now hung in the balance, but the very next day the hill was recovered by a counter-attack led by the 5/6th Rajputana Rifles and 3/10th Gurkha Rifles. Gibraltar would be the farthest the Japanese would be able to advance on the Shenam Saddle and the closest they came to breaking through; and from then on, a stalemate developed with neither side making any important moves. After the Japanese had been evicted from Gibraltar on the 24th, they did not follow up with another major attempt to push through the Shenam Saddle for a fortnight. But there was never really a quiet moment on these heights. Sniper fire was ever-present, as was the booming of artillery guns. The situation was the worst on Scraggy, where both sides continued to maintain their respective positions. The British and Indian units here would be fired on from Nippon Hill, besides being subjected to rifle fire, mortaring and grenade attacks from Scraggy itself. To the north, General Brigg's resumed his counteroffensive against Molvom, tossing his 9th Brigade into a series of attacks against the Japanese held Hump. The infantry put in several attacks against the Hump, suffering increasing casualties. The men of the 3/14th Punjabis attacked Hump at least half a dozen times that month. Despite it all, the Japanese were still found in their bunkers at the end of May. Sited on the reverse slopes of Hump, their bunkers were difficult to target by guns firing from the other side. Even when they were hit, they were so solidly built that they suffered little damage. The defenders of Hump would wait until the 3/14th Punjabis neared the crest; they would then let loose a barrage of machine-gun fire and grenade attacks. Attack after attack had to be called off in the face of such furious resistance. Though heavy artillery and mortar fire and repeated air strikes were called in on it, the tenacious Japanese defenders would successfully repel all British-Indian attacks throughout early May.  On the other side, realizing the vital need for artillery support, General Yamauchi decided to bring to the front the field guns that had been left east of the Chindwin River. He also was reinforced with the 2nd Battalion, 67th Regiment, which would seize Lamu on May 10th, securing the rear of the 15th Division. On the 15th, thanks to the timely arrival of the 89th and 123rd Brigades, Briggs was able to renew his assaults in front of Sekmai with greater intensity, finally clearing Kanglatongbi and the hills to the immediate east six days later.  Colonel Matsumura responded by creating new defensive positions around Modbung. As the month came to a close, Briggs decided to concentrate both his division's brigades on the Imphal–Kohima Road. The 9th Indian Brigade was to be brought on to the road, swapping places with the 89th Indian Brigade, which would move to the Iril River Valley. The opening of the Imphal–Kohima Road was a far greater priority than clearing the Mapao– Molvom Range. The Japanese defenders of the latter would be left where they had hung on for weeks. In any case, the opening of the road was likely to encourage them much more to leave than any direct attacks on their positions.  On May 15th Yamauchi was relieved of his command. Yamauchi had really drawn the short end of the straw. As he admitted at the time, his men simply had no answer to the British tanks. His men had thrown themselves into the jungle as lightly as possible in order to strike Imphal quickly, so they did not have effective anti-tank weapons. Ymauchi's division was always the Japanese weak spot, but they valiantly had refused to lift their roadblock at Kanglatongbi. As a last desperate throw, Yamauchi had ordered the use of poison gas. Yamauchi was also a man who understood how strong the allies were, especially America. Unlike the xenophobic and ignorant Tojo and Mutaguchi, Yamauchi had spent time in the USA and this led him to be quite pessimistic. Regardless, without anti-tank weapons it was quite hopeless. Yamauchi was carried from the battlefield on a litter and would later die in a hospital in Maymyo. Back over at Kohima, Generals Stopford and Grover were continuing their counteroffensive. Brigadiers 4th Brigade were occupying Oaks Hill when on May 1st, they began to descend during  The Royal Scots stopped their advance and reoccupied Oaks Hill, the brigade artillery back in Jotsoma was on standby to pound any Japanese positions the Norfolks, who were pressing on down the ridge, encountered. The Japanese, alert now to the dangerous presence of enemy troops above them, moved up against Oaks Hill and fought hard to expel the Royal Scots during that first night, with no success. The morning that followed a night of screaming, fear-inducing attacks found the jungle undergrowth littered with Japanese bodies. It was usual practice for the Japanese to take away their dead and wounded, but on this occasion there were too few Japanese survivors for the task. As the Royal Scots repelled numerous enemy counterattacks, the Norfolks were continuing their descent towards the GPT ridge. On May 4th, the Norfolks found themselves in a good position to assault the crests of the ridge. They stormed up catching the Japanese by surprise, managing to seize numerous bunkers. At the same time, the 161st Brigade was able to seize the area southeast of Two Tree Hill, but the Japanese had a complex bunker system there preventing them from linking Jotsoma with Pulebadze. The bunker complex on GPT Ridge was much more substantial than the British had expected, with literally dozens of small, carefully sited bunkers littering the entire area with interlocking arcs of fire, while the entire position was also covered by Japanese machine guns further to the east on the Aradura Spur. No sooner would one be discovered and attacked, than another would open up against the attackers from somewhere else. Until the entirety of GPT Ridge was cleared, Goschen's brigade could not enjoy the shortcut through to Jotsoma via Two Tree Hill; the road to Imphal remained in Japanese hands and their machine guns continued to spray fire on 6th Brigade's exposed right flank. Within the center the 6th Brigade was attacking Kuki Piquet and FSD Hill. While the attack against Kuki Piquet was not seeing much progress, they did gain a toehold atop FSD Hill. Further north, the 5th Brigade were able to bypass the 138th regiments position on Merema Ridge. They managed to secure a small part of Naga Village by the end of the day. Being close in proximity to General Sato's HQ, the response from the Japanese was a series of fierce counterattacks. THe 33rd battalion, 14th regiment stormed the Cameron Highlanders who did not have time to consolidate their success by digging in, and heavy Japanese mortar fire at daylight forced the Jocks back to the western edge of the hill. Here Hawkins had them dig to secure the ground that had been seized and the Worcesters, who had protected the flanks of the night advance, were called up to help build a defensive position able to resist counterattack. The rain was by now constant. Everyone was drenched to the skin. The next morning the Japanese Air Force made one of their occasional forays into the deep valley that flowed out of the Kohima Ridge westward, but to limited effect.  Meanwhile Brigadier Frederick Loftus-Tottenham's newly arrived 33rd Brigade was in the process of reinforcing the exhausted 6th Brigade at Kohima Ridge, with preparations being made for a renewed general counteroffensive. Meanwhile, over on Pulebadze on the 6th, B Company of the Norfolks, commanded by Captain Jack Randle, was ordered to seize the remaining part of the bunker position at the bottom of GPT Ridge, while the 4/lst Gurkhas of , assisting the breakthrough in the center against Kohima Ridge and Jail Hill, were to attack the lower, western slopes of GPT Ridge. In these attacks the Norfolks were to seize the remaining Japanese bunkers but at high cost, in which Capt. Randle was awarded the posthumous VC.  The Norfolks remained in the positions they had seized and, after a night of heavy rain, a further attempt to attack the remaining Japanese positions was made at first light on the morning of 7 May by the 4/lst Gurkhas and the Royal Scots. It was important that this operation was successful, as at 10.30am an attempt was to be made by the 1st Queen's - part of 33rd Indian Brigade, who had arrived at Kohima exhausted and malaria-ridden from Arakan the day before - on Jail Hill. If the machine-gun nests on GPT Ridge could be wiped out before the Queen's attacked they would enjoy a much higher chance of success. The only result of this failed assault would be the death of Brigadier Goschen, shot by snipers.  The Queen's, aware that 4th Brigade had not managed to secure GPT Ridge, nevertheless went in against Jail Hill as planned and were slaughtered. In retrospect the attack was premature, but Stopford continued to demand speed to remove the Japanese stranglehold on Kohima in order to relieve beleaguered Imphal. There was a belief in some higher quarters - held in particular by those whose only experience of the terrain came from reading a map in the comfort of a headquarters tent in the rear - that 2nd Division's offensive lacked pace. These accusations were preposterous to the hard-pressed men on the ground. It was impossible for commanders and staff officers in the rear who could not see the ground to understand how a small piece of jungle-topped hillside could absorb the best part of a brigade; how a small group of well-sited bunkers could hold up an advance until every single one - together with every single occupant - had been systematically destroyed; how only medium artillery could penetrate the roof of a Japanese trench; how only direct and short-range sniping by Lee/Grant tanks was guaranteed to defeat a Japanese bunker; how the desperate terrain, incessant rain and humidity led even the fittest men to tire quickly and what an extraordinarily determined opponent they faced. With few exceptions, the Japanese gave in only when they were dead. Every conscious man who could lift a weapon fought until he collapsed.  Due to these defeats, the British-Indian morale plummeted, even though Sato's men were also facing a serious supply problem that was further weakening them with each passing day.  Nevertheless, the Japanese continued a brave defense under heavy artillery, mortar and aerial bombardment. Sato's defensive technique, while it was not going to enable him to break through Kohima by dint of offensive action, was designed to do the next best thing: to draw the enemy onto defences of great complexity and depth and to break them there, both physically and morally. In so doing his troops had to withstand the sort of conditions few other soldiers in history could have survived. They did so, and very nearly succeeded in persuading Stopford that battering through Kohima was an impossible task. Between the 4th and the 'Black 7th', for instance, the 38 3.7in. mountain guns dug in around Jotsoma fired over 3,000 rounds, the 48 25-pdrs fired over 7,000 rounds and the big 5.5in. guns of the medium artillery fired more than 1,500 shells at the Japanese positions, not to mention the almost continuous salvoes from the 3in. mortars of the infantry battalions and the constant strafing and bombing by Hurricanes and Vengeance dive-bombers. For the next few days, General Stopford's brigades were slowly reducing the Japanese defenses. British progress, though slow, remained sure, even though it seemed to the troops on the ground as if this battle would go on for ever. 4th Brigade cleared GPT Ridge on 11 May, by which time further costly attacks by the British 6th and 33rd Indian Brigades had finally forced the Japanese to relinquish their hold on Pimple, FSD and Jail hills, the latter of which was captured by the Queen's and C Company, 4/lst Gurkha Rifles. The tide was slowly - and painfully - beginning to turn. On the days that followed, the positions seized on 11 and 12 May were carefully consolidated, the remaining Japanese being exterminated one by one, sniper by sniper and gun by gun. The Berkshires cleared FSD Hill on 12 May, discovering that the Japanese had honeycombed the hill with tunnels, creating an elaborate underground fortress that included a battalion headquarters, repair shop, ammunition storage dump and hospital. Those Japanese bunkers on the western edge of the ridge that remained out of reach of the British artillery could now be engaged directly and at pointblank range by the Lee/Grants, trundling up the road that divides DIS and Jail hills. They did so to the cheers of the British and Indian infantry, who found themselves hugging the ground as the 75mm smashed the enemy foxholes only metres from them, the ground shaking and the shockwave of the blast sucking out their breath and showering them with dirt and debris. The capture of the southern part of Kohima Ridge a full 37 days after the arrival of Sato's units would force the Japanese to retreat to a secondary defensive line north of Aradura. On the 15th, patrols of the 5th Brigade advanced down from Naga Hill, securing Treasury Hill before meeting up with the exhausted victors of Kohima Ridge who were advancing along the Imphal road. Yet that is all for the India front, as we now need to jump back over to check out what is going on with Operation Ichi-Go. After the fall of Xuchang, General Uchiyama dispatched some units south to attack Luohe, while the bulk of his 12th Army advanced north to capture Luoyang and hopefully annihilate General Enbo's 31st Army Group. On May 2nd, General Uchiyama dispatched the 110th Division against Dengfeng, the 62nd Division against Yuzhou and the bulk of his 37th Division, 3rd armored division and 4th cavalry Brigade against Jia and Ruzhou. On 2nd, the 4th Cavalry Brigade defeated the enemy force in the sector southwest of Yingchiaochen and, on the 4th, advanced to the sector northwest of Linju. The 3rd Armored Division routed the retreating enemy heading west and, on the 4th, mopped up the enemy in the vicinity of Linju. Also on the 4th, the 37th Division arrived at Linju. On the same day, the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade occupied Hsiangcheng. on the 3rd the 62nd defeated the 29th Army at Yuzhou while the 3rd Armored Division and the 4th Cavalry Brigade pursued the retreating Chinese towards Ruzhou. On the 4th, Uchiyama's main forces were able to capture Ruzhou and the 110th Division managed to dislodge the 13th Army's position east of Dengfeng. After this Uchiyama's main forces enveloped the area, annihilating the 13th and 29th Armies at Dengfeng while the 62nd and 110th Divisions made a frontal assault of the city. Alongside this the 7th Independent Mixed Brigade attacked the enemy near Likouzhen. Yet before Uchiyama's men could complete the envelopment, General Enbo's men pulled out towards Tangjiezhen and Changshuixiang around midnight on the 5th. On the 7th, the 37th Division and 7th Brigade managed to envelop Tangjiezhen, and with air support inflicted heavy casualties on the outflanked defenders. Simultaneously, the 27th Division captured Luohe and Suipin. General Yokoyama had dispatched the 11th Independent Brigade to aid Uchiyamas men from the south, facing little resistance as they captured Queshan and Zhumadian before linking up with the 27th Division on the 11th.  On the other side, General Jiang Dingwen's 1st War Area Army was regrouping the bulk of its forces along the Luoyang-Yiyang line. General Okamura Ysuji ordered the 12th Army to advance upon Luoyang while Lt General Yoshimoto Teiichi's 1st Army crossed the Yellow River to try and cut off the Chinese retreat at Xin'An and Xiashichiang. Having defeated the enemy in the sector southwest of Dengfeng, the 12th Army continued to keep the enemy in the Loyang area under strict observation while, at the same time, it ordered the 110th Division to pursue the enemy toward Iyang, the 62nd Division to pursue them toward Pingteng, the main force of the 3rd Armored Division toward Iyang and Hsinan and the 4th Cavalry Brigade to the western sector of Pingteng. Okamura dispatched his reserve 63rd Division led by Lt General Nozoe Masanori to try and break through at Sishuizhen so they could join the attack upon Luoyang. They were successful and in the process, defeated the 177th Division and managed to reach the northeastern sector of Luoyang by the 12th. With assistance from the 59th Brigade coming from the west, Nozoe captured Xin'an by the 14th. The 62nd Division and the 4th Cavalry Brigade captured Pingdengxiang on the 13th and part of the 110th Division captured Yiyang on the 14th. Most of the 110th Division, however, moved to Lungmenchieh below Luoyang. The 3rd Armored Division also reached the area southwest of Lungmenchieh at this point. The 37th Division, meanwhile, was directed to move towards Sunghsien. These actions effectively enveloped Luoyang as Uchiyama had his 110th Division advance through the Luohe River Valley; Yoshimoto's men advance to Sanmenxia which would fall by the 18th. The 37th Division captured Song alongside the aidromes at Luoning and Lushi by the 20th. But the main effort would be made by the 63rd Division assisted by elements o the 110th Division who launched the assault against Luoyang, being defended by the 36th Army Group. On the 19th, the 63rd Division initiated its attack against enemy positions on the outskirts of Loyang, however, the enemy positions were so strong that the battle situation did not progress as planned. As a result of this the North China Area Army ordered the 12th Army to place the main force of the 3rd Armored Division and 4th Cavalry Brigade together with part of the 110th Division under the command of the 63rd Division commander. At the same time, the 63rd Division was ordered to defend the railway east of Mienchih. At 1pm on the 23rd, the 12th Army dispatched the 63rd Division to attack Luoyang Castle from the north and northeastern fronts of Luoyang to the northeastern corner of the castle while the 3rd Armored Division was to attack the castle from the western front toward the northwestern corner of the castle. The Army also directed the Cavalry Brigade to capture and destroy the enemy which it was expected would flee to the south at the line of the Lo Ho. On the 24th, the Army-called on the enemy in Luoyang to surrender but they refused. At 1pm, therefore, the Army opened its attack and, on the 25th, completely occupied the castle. During this battle, Lieutenant-General Li Jiayu would heroically die covering the retreat of the remaining troops of his battered 36th Army Group. With the fall of Luoyang and the near destruction of the 1st War Area, Operation Kogo ended in a resounding success for the Japanese, thus securing the South Beijing-Hankou railway. The Japanese estimated over 32000 Chinese casualties and some 7800 troops captured. In turn, they claimed to have lost only 2000 casualties. Interestingly, Operation Kogo also saw the Henan peasants attack the Kuomintang forces in revenge for the Yellow River flood of 1938 and the Henan Famine of 1942. As told to us by General Jiang Dingwen "During the campaign, the unexpected phenomenon was that the people of the mountains in western Henan attacked our troops, taking guns, bullets, and explosives, and even high-powered mortars and radio equipment... They surrounded our troops and killed our officers. We heard this pretty often. The heads of the villages and baojia (village mutual-responsibility groups) just ran away. At the same time, they took away our stored grain, leaving their houses and fields empty, which meant that our officers and soldiers had no food for many days… Actually this is truly painful for me to say: in the end the damages we suffered from the attacks by the people were more serious than the losses from battles with the enemy." In the end, the peasants would be able to disarm over 50000 troops, picking their weapons to defend themselves from the Japanese, but also causing much damage to the Nationalist defense. For their role in this disaster, Generals Dingwen and Enbo would be relieved from their commands, with General Chen Cheng later taking over the 1st War Area in July to oversee its recovery. Meanwhile, the Japanese would continue to prepare for Operation Togo, the Hunan offensive. Yet to finish off this episode we also need to mention some progress in the future plans to invade Wakde. Admiral King had requested support from the British Eastern Fleet. At this time the Eastern Fleet was organized into three forces for Operation Transom, the invasion of Japanese occupied Surabaya. Force 65 consisted of Battleships Queen Elizabeth, Valiant, Renown, the French battleship Richelieu, two cruisers and eight destroyers, under the direct command of Admiral Somerville; Force 66 consisted of aircraft carriers Illustrious, Saratoga, two cruisers and six destroyers, under the command of Rear-Admiral Clement Moody aboard Illustrious. Force 67 was the replenishment group and comprised six tankers, a water distilling ship and the cruisers London and Suffolk. Somerville commanded the entire fleet from Queen Elizabeth. The warships were drawn from six navies, the capital ships being accompanied by three American destroyers, four British cruisers and three destroyers, four Australian destroyers, a Dutch cruiser and destroyer and a New Zealand cruiser. The Australian light cruiser HMAS Adelaide also sailed from Fremantle in Western Australia to protect the tankers while they were at Exmouth Gulf; this allowed their two escorting cruisers to augment Force 66 during the attack. Two squadrons of Supermarine Spitfire fighters were transferred from No. 1 Wing RAAF at Darwin to Exmouth Gulf to protect the Eastern Fleet while it refueled and Australian and American maritime patrol aircraft were assigned to operate offshore. Each carrier had an air group made up of units from their parent navies. Illustrious embarked two squadrons equipped with 14 Vought F4U Corsair fighters each and two squadrons with nine Avengers. Saratoga's air group comprised a squadron with 26 Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, a squadron with 24 Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers and a squadron operating 18 Avenger torpedo bombers, as well as a single Hellcat allocated to the Air Group Leader. As for Surabaya, its defenses against air attack at the time of Operation Transom included a few anti-aircraft guns, whose crews were inadequately trained. Radar stations and a network of observer posts were also sited to detect minelaying aircraft. The Japanese forces stationed in the city included the Imperial Japanese Army's 28th Independent Mixed Brigade and the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Navy's 2nd Southern Expeditionary Fleet under Vice-Admiral Mikawa Gunichi. Because of the distance to be covered from Ceylon and the Royal Navy's lack of experience in underway replenishment, the final plans for the operation involved the Eastern Fleet refueling at Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia before striking Surabaya. Force 67 was the first element of the Eastern Fleet to sail, departing on April 30th. Forces 65 and 66 sailed on May 6th. The Allied ships proceeded to Exmouth Gulf on a course that kept them at least 600 miles from Japanese airfields to avoid being detected or attacked. The carriers air wings practiced the attack they would conduct on Surabaya three times during the voyage. The warships arrived at Exmouth Gulf on 14 and 15th ofMay. The Eastern Fleet departed Exmouth Gulf on the afternoon of the 15th and proceeded north. It arrived at the flying off point at 6:30 am local time on the 17th without being detected by the Japanese. One British and seven American submarines also took up positions near Surabaya, the southern entrance to the Strait of Malacca and the Bali, Lombok and Sunda Straits to support the Eastern Fleet. The submarines were positioned to rescue Allied aircrew that were forced down, attack ships that tried to escape from Surabaya and intercept any Japanese warships that attempted to attack the Allied fleet. Operation Transom opened up with 76 aircraft launched from Illustrious and Saratoga. The aircraft launched by the carriers were organized into two strike forces. Force A was made up of nine Avengers from Illustrious, twelve Dauntless dive bombers and an escort of eight Corsairs. Force A's Avengers were to bomb the Braat Engineering Works and the Dauntlesses the oil refinery. Force B was to attack shipping and dock facilities in Surabaya's port. It comprised twenty-one Avengers and six Dauntlesses escorted by eight Corsairs and twelve Hellcats. The commander of Saratoga's air group, Commander Joseph C. Clifton, led both carriers' air wings during the attack. All of the aircraft were launched and formed up with the rest of their force by 7:20 am. Two British Avengers crashed during takeoff, their crews being rescued. The attack on Surabaya commenced at 8:30 am. The Japanese had not detected the aircraft as they approached, and were taken by surprise. The two forces made a well-synchronized attack, Force A approaching Wonokromo from the south and Force B attacking the port from the north. No Japanese fighter aircraft were encountered, and the anti-aircraft guns were largely ineffective. One of Saratoga's Avengers was shot down, and both members of its crew became prisoners of war. The two forces claimed to have damaged 10 ships, demolished the Wonokromo oil refinery and the Braat Engineering Works, destroyed 16 aircraft and leveled several buildings. Saratoga and her three escorting American destroyers detached from the Eastern Fleet shortly before sunset on the 18th, and proceeded to Fremantle. The remainder of the Eastern Fleet reached Exmouth Gulf the next morning, and sailed for Ceylon before sunset after refueling again. Adelaide and one of the Australian destroyers that had been attached to the Eastern Fleet left Exmouth Gulf bound for Fremantle after the tanker group departed on 19 May. The Eastern Fleet arrived back at Ceylon on the 27th. Saratoga reached Bremerton, Washington, on June 10th and after a refit re-joined the Pacific Fleet in September 1944. Though the Japanese would not really divert any forces from western New Guinea in response to the raid and despite the fact that the Japanese claim that not much damage had been inflicted on their shipping or shore facilities, with only one vessel confirmed sunk, Operation Transom would provide Somerville's Eastern Fleet important experience of carrier strike operations and exposure to superior American carrier tactics.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Allies were gradually countering Operation U-Go as the intense battles at Kohima Ridge and Pulebadze saw British-Indian forces slowly gaining ground amid heavy casualties. Meanwhile, Operation Ichi-Go saw major Japanese successes in China. Lastly Operation Transom saw British-Dutch-American successful carrier strikes against Surabaya, yielding experience despite limited damage.

This should be the climax of this story! It's deeply disappointing! 

Last time we spoke about the battle for Kohima and the mop up of the Admiralty islands. The battle for Kohima led to battles raging over the Kohima Ridge. At one point only 2500 allied defenders were facing nearly 15,000 Japanese. Numerous features fell to the Japanese top Kohima ridge. The Japanese were taking heavy casualties while pushing the defenders close to Kohima. A decisive moment presented itself, the Japanese had an open shot against Dimapur. However, mostly because of animosity towards General Mutaguchi the chance to deliver a kill blow was lost. If Dimapur had been taken, it may have changed the entire Burma War. Over in the Admiralty Islands, Los Negros and Manus were finally all mopped up and now the allies had forward airfields to further smash the inner Japanese perimeter. General MacArthurs triumphant return to the Philippines was on its way. This episode is the Defense of India Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Last we spoke, General Mutaguchi had initiated a grand offensive against Kohima. General Slim, knew the seizure of Kohima would be attempted only in conjunction with the seizure of the much more important target, Dimapur. It was at Dimapur where an enormous allied supply dump lied over the Ledo-Imphal line, it was the hub for which all allied activity in the region revolved. If Dimapur fell, the province of Manipur would be impossible to defend and the Brahmaputra valley would be interdicted thus cutting off all overland supply to China. To everyone's shock the Japanese instead invested an entire division to attack Kohima. Slim thought this was a enormous blunder on the part of General Sato Kotoku, going as far as to ask the RAF not to bomb the Generals HQ as “it never struck him that he could inflict terrible damage on us without taking Kohima at all”. In truth it was not really Sato at fault, it was more so upon his superior General Kawabe Mazakazu who did not trust nor like Mutaguchi and rightly suspected the man's megalomaniac plan to invade India. Thus Mutaguchi's Operation U-Go, the intended invasion of India saw the 33rd and 15th divisions closing in on Imphal by the end of March as the 31st Division attacked Kohima. General Cowan's 17th Division was able to effectively retreat to Imphal by April 4th, with the 49th Brigade acting as rearguard. Meanwhile General Yanagida had just replenished ammunition and provisions after the battle at Tonzang and now ordered the 214th and 215th Regiments to resume their advance. Colonel Sasahara Masahiko's 215th regiment departed Singgel on March 27th and crossed the India-Burma border by April 3rd. They advanced to Churachandpur by the 7th as the 214th followed closely behind them. Meanwhile, the Right Assault Unit, the Yamamoto unit had been in hot pursuit of General Gracey's 20th division since the start of April, and the 3rd battalion, 213th regiment of the Mitsui Unit had just captured the town Chamol. Additionally the 1st battalion, 60th regiment attempted, but failed to break through Laiching Hill in late March. Afterwords the unit was ordered to turn back and attempt a development of Gravey's left flank by Moving through Lamlong and then Kampang in early April. To the north, General Yamauchi's Divisional Headquarters advanced to Kasom on March 28. Yamauchi ordered two companies of the 1st Battalion, 67th Infantry to attack and occupy Kameng, which presented an easy approach route to Imphal. The 123rd Indian Brigade, 5th Indian Division had closed the gap with barbed wire and set up defensive positions in the hills to the immediate north and south of the road. The attack was made on the night of April 3 against the positions held by the 1/17th Dogras of the 123rd Indian Brigade on a hill off the Ukhrul Road, south of the village of Kameng, but failed to achieve its objective. They were then furiously counter-attacked by the guns of the 28th Field Regiment and by the Dogras themselves. A troop of tanks each of the 3rd Carabiniers and 7th Cavalry were also positioned on either side of the hill and fired on what were easy targets. By the next morning, almost 100 Japanese bodies were found; the few survivors had withdrawn. It is believed that the ultimate objective of this attack had been the fair-weather Kangla Airfield farther south. It was now felt the 15th Division's strength was spreed too thinly, thus the Japanese believed their detachments holding along the Imphal-Ukhrul road were badly in need of reinforcement. As such, Yamauchi ordered the 60th and 51st regiments to get into closer contact and by the 4th of April they were moving into positions north of Imphal. On that same day, Colonel Matsumura started moving down the road to seize the supply depot known as the 221 Advance Ordnance Depot, the largest in the Imphal Area justnorth of Kanglatongbi. As Japanese pressure on the road increased, its men and some of the most valuable supplies, including ammunition and explosives, were moved into a defensive area at Kanglatongbi known as Lion Box. The 2nd battalion managed to take Hill 3813 by April 6th, the 3rd battalion was less fortunate facing the Lion Box. The Lion Box had very few fighting troops among the several thousand men within its perimeter. The box was defended against mounting Japanese assaults from 4 to 7 April, while the evacuation of the supplies to Imphal continued apace. Its defense was assisted by units of the 9th Indian Brigade and tanks of the 3rd Carabiniers, who would travel up from Sekmai in the south during the day. On the 5th while the 9th Indian BRigade and tanks of the 3rd Carabiniers were patrolling forward to help out the Lion Box, Cowan's 63rd Brigade arrived to Sekmai to reinforce the northern defenses, and this in turn allowed the 9th Brigade to take up a position to defend Nungshigum. On the 6th, Colonel Omoto's 3rd battalion attacked Nungshigum's northern Hill, known as Hill 3833, successfully overrunning the hastily developed Indian defenses there, while the 1st battalion marched upon Hill 4057. There was a heroic counter attack by a platoon led by 18 year old Jemadar Abdul Hafiz serving as Naib Subedar, Junior Commissioned Officer in the 9th Jat Regiment, British Indian Army. His platoon managed to recover Hill 3833 by the end of the day. Jemadar Abdul Hafiz was tasked with recovering it with two sections of his platoon. He fearlessly led the way and recovered the feature in the face of a hail of machine-gun fire and grenade attacks, killing several Japanese in the process. Injured by now, Hafiz continued the attack, fought to his death and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The hill became known as Runaway Hill because of the way the Japanese had fled from Hafiz's brave actions. April the 7th saw a follow-up charge with Omoto's 3rd battalion re-seizing the hills around Nungshigum. In the four days that followed, Nungshigum exchanged hands a couple of times: the 3/9th Jats recovered it, only to lose it again to the Japanese of the 3/51st Battalion by 11 April who dug in well on the northern and southern bumps around Nungshigum. Meanwhile Matsumura was continuing to exert heavy pressure upon the Lion Box, finally forcing the battle weary defenders to evacuate the box as the position became impossible to defend. The valiant efforts of the Lion Box defenders had earned the British-Indian troops valuable time to evacuate a large amount of critical supplies back to Imphal, preventing their use to the Japanese. Do remember Mutaguchi literally planned the entire offensive on the basis their logistical supply line was simply seizing the allies supply depots. That is what we call a bold strategy. Matsumura's troops had suffered heavy casualties in their efforts against the Lion Box. Now he ordered the 60th regiment east to reassemble around the villages of Tingsat, Molvom and their surrounding heights by April 8th. They would be reinforced by the honda raiding units coming from the north. On the 9th, Omoto's 1st battalion assaulted Hill 4057 taking it from elements of the 123rd Indian Brigade, as the 3rd battalion secured Nungshigum. This breakthrough posed an unacceptable threat to the British, leaving the 4th Corps HQ, the Imphal Main and Kangla airfield vulnerable to further Japanese attacks. This prompted General Brigg's to get forces together to evict the Japanese from their recently gained heights. Brigg's was reinforced with the 254th Indian Tank Brigades armor for the job. An unrelenting artillery and aerial bombardment began against the 51st regiment, greatly reducing the strength of Omoto's companies. Suffering such horrific losses, Omoto was forced to retreat over to the eastern side of the Iril River. At around dusk on the 12th, Omoto's 3rd battalion withdrew from Nungshigum to take up better positions in the hills north of Hill 4057. From this position the 3rd battalion was able to cover the 1st battalion's withdrawal from Hill 4057 during the night.  Simultaneously, Briggs launched his main counteroffensive, tossing two companies of the 1/17th Dogras and B Squadron of the 3rd Carabiniers. That morning, the infantry and tanks began climbing up via two spurs on the south-eastern side of Nungshigum. On each spur was a troop of M3 Lee-Grant tanks, together with a company of Dogras. The division's artillery, together with another troop of tanks, had been placed to the east and west of Nungshigum on the plain. As the infantry and armor climbed, the Vengeance dive-bombers and Hurricanes bombed and strafed the peaks. Soon thereafter, the 88 pieces of artillery and tanks on the plain plastered the same area. The two groups of infantry and tanks joined up at the peak named Pyramid and proceeded in a single file up a narrow ridge towards the Japanese on Southern Bump. As they approached the Japanese defenses, fierce fighting erupted. The tanks were sprayed with machine-gun and rifle fire, and grenades were thrown at them. But there was only so much the Japanese could do. The use of armor on Nungshigum, which rose over 1,000ft above the valley floor, was a masterstroke. The Japanese had never expected to encounter tanks and they had nothing to counter them effectively. The British had to pay a high price, too. All of the British tank officers were killed and the infantry officers wounded later that day. The former had been shot as they stuck their heads out of their tanks' turrets to guide them safely on the narrow and steep ridgeline. It was finally left to the VCO of the Dogras, Subadar Ranbir Singh, and Squadron Sergeant-Major Craddock of the 3rd Carabiniers to complete the battle. They rose to the occasion; the tanks finally destroyed the main bunkers and the infantry charged at and killed any survivors. There were casualties on both sides, but Japanese losses were especially heavy, leaving 250 bodies. This was the closest the Japanese would come to Imphal as a large, organized force in 1944. Yamauchi's 15th Division would never be able to pose such an urgent threat from the north again.  On April 13th, the Honda unit and 2nd battalion, 60th infantry launched an unsuccessful attack against Sengmai. In another attack on the 18th, the 2nd battalion gained a foothold in the enemy positions on the eastern hill of Sengmai, but would be forced off it quickly losing 150 men. The failure to breach the defenders at Sengmai marked a turning point in the operation, forcing the Right Assault Unit onto the defensive. Meanwhile Omoto's withdrawal had opened a gap between his units and Matsumura's, leaving Matsumura isolated around the Imphal-Kohima road and the Mapao-Molvom range. This also left Matsumura's supply lines increasingly vulnerable to attacks by Brigg's 5th Division. General Scoones ordered the 23rd Indian Division to push back on the Ukhrul Road to regain control over the area, while Briggs cleared the Japanese out of the Imphal-Kohima and Mapao-Molvom Range. For this Major-General Ouvry Roberts dispatched the 37th Brigade up the Ukhrul Road while the 1st Brigade made a wide flanking maneuver to the right to swing north in an attempt to capture Yamauchi's HQ. A composite unite of the 51st regiment known as the Suzuta unit formed out of two companies and Suzuta's HQ managed to resist the Indian attacks at Yaingangpokpi. Their mission was to hold the pass near Hill 3524 and they were met by numerous enemy counterattacking groups. The Suzuta Unit was faced with a serious crisis when it was attacked by a strong enemy tank force on 18 April. Meanwhile back on the 15th, the sudden appearance of the 1st Brigade at Hill 5515.. With his headquarters threatened by this new enemy maneuver, Yamauchi decided to move 15th Division headquarters and the Suzuta Unit to the rear of the Right and Center Assault Units. This move was complicated in that it entailed the evacuation of large numbers of casualties, among whom was General Yamanouchi himself. Upon arriving in the vicinity of Nungga intense enemy activity was encountered. It was found impossible to move west, to the desired destination and the headquarters was forced to move toward Lungshong via Ukhrul. The Suzuta Unit troops reverted to their parent organizations. The command post of the Division was finally established at a point about three miles southwest of Lungshong on 29 April. By april 22nd, Robert's Brigades made contact over the Ukhrul Road near Litan and began hunting down Yamauchi's HQ. They searched for it around Shongphel to the north. They converged on the spot, only to find Yamauchi was not there. To the east the 9th Brigade attacked the Mapao-Molvom Range on the 23rd, making some initial gains at Mapao. Their field guns with Hurricane bombers smashed Mapao, allowing the Jats and Punjabis to fight their way up and capture it in two days. But farther north, the heights around Molvom were better defended and the Japanese defied attempts to infiltrate these positions. The brigade soon got bogged down. Further east the 123rd Brigade advanced up the Iril River Valley facing some of Omoto's retreating men and would reach Sengmai by mid-may. The Japanese at this point were also preparing to continue their offensive further south. General Yanagida received reports on the progress of the 15th Division and that Kohima had already fallen. So he decided to bypass the expected resistance in the Moirang vicinity and advance directly upon Imphal. This prompted Colonel Sasagara to send his 2nd battalions of the 215th and 213th regiment to attack the Torbung positions on the 9th. They managed to successfully outflank the 49th brigade and exerted so much pressure in the area, the 49th brigade were forced to withdraw over the next few days. With the Japanese in hot pursuit, Cowan dispatched the 32nd Indian Brigade to defend the Tiddim Road with Brigadier David MacKenzie shifting his main position further back to Bishenpur. The Bishenpur village was well located: it was where the hills touched the Tiddim Road to its west; to the east lay the upper reaches of the Loktak Lake. Bishenpur was considered the best place to position a defense of the southwestern approach to Imphal. It was also important because from here a track wriggled west over the mountains to Silchar in Assam. Besides the Imphal–Kohima Road, the Bishenpur–Silchar Track was the only other navigable route back out to the rest of India. Unsurprisingly then, it was also of interest to the Japanese. On April 12th the Japanese attacked Potsangbam, but the 2nd battalion, 213th regiment was held up by heavy artillery and aerial bombardment from Bishenpur. The Japanese forayed into the villages of Kwa Siphai and Khoijuman to the northeast, but they were rebuffed. To counter them, aerial bombardments were called in on Potsangbam and the next large village, Ningthoukhong. Strategic Air Force Liberators pattern-bombed the two villages with 1,000lb bombs. The British sent tanks, together with infantry units, across the paddy fields towards Potsangbam, but their advance was held up by fierce opposition. Unlike at Nungshigum, the Japanese here were armed with anti-tank guns. Evicting them would require that much more effort. The 4th Independent Engineer Regiment was brought up to reinforce the 2nd Battalion, 213th Infantry at Potsangbam about 20 April, but it would be unable to break through nonetheless. To the west Sasahara's men tried to break through Kokadan on the 14th. They made repeated attacks for over a month, but would be unable to penetrate Mackenzie's defenses. The 214th regiment tossed three attacks against Hill 5846 from their position on Ingourok by April 24th. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued as each side sought to gain possession of these hills. The British had brought up a troop of Lee-Grant tanks of the 150th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps from Bishenpur and these were pressed into battle, firing in close support of the infantry. By 26 April, Point 5846 and Wooded Ridge were under their firm control, while the Japanese had Wireless Hill. Meanwhile the 2nd battalion reinforced the 214th regiment to skirt around Hill 5846 from the west, going just due north of the track. This endeavor ultimately failed in the end, and the men would have to turn back by the end of the month. Due to his failures and disagreements, General Mutaguchi consequently lost faith in Yanagida, who was ignored from this point onwards while his chief-of-staff, Colonel Tanaka Tetsujiro, effectively commanded the 33rd Division.  Meanwhile over on the hill of the Shenam Saddle, the battle for Nippon Hill had been raging since early April. Gracey's initial piecemeal attempts to retake the feature only saw his men fail. On the other side, the Yamamoto Detachment launched a general attack from Chamol on the 8th, trying to make a breakthrough to Nippon Hill, to relieve the outnumbered 11th company, 213th regiment. While the Japanese were held up by crossfire from Tengnoupal, the 80th Brigade sent three companies of the 1st Devon's to recapture Nippon Hill on the 11th. Following heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, the British troops stormed the hill with a fierce lobing of grenades and machine gun fire, seizing the feature by the end of the day. Nonetheless the Japanese, General Yamamoto kept committing troops to continuous attacks over the next few days. What was witnessed on Nippon Hill was to be repeated on many occasions around Imphal. Japanese defensive positions would be subjected to intense bombardments, which it was hard to imagine anyone surviving. And yet, time and again, the Japanese would emerge out of the targeted positions and counter-attack. In fact, Nippon Hill was one such place where, even days after it had been recaptured by the British, a lone Japanese soldier would emerge from the rubble and attack. This after being buried for hours, or even days, usually without recourse to food or water. This behavior was a measure of the extraordinary capabilities of the Japanese, as defenders in particular, and of their dedication to their cause in general. It was also a testament to the strength of their defenses. On features like Nippon Hill, the Japanese had shown themselves to be adept at digging an extensive, deep network of underground tunnels and holes within their positions. These allowed them to withstand bombardments, while the small openings allowed for a sustained fire to be kept up on anyone who approached. After a week of fighting, the 3rd Battalion, 213th Regiment finally recaptured Nippon Hill on April 16, and this time it was to stay with the Japanese until the end of July. The hill would allow the Japanese to observe allied movements over the Shenam Saddle and the road below, so accurate firing from well-sited guns on this hill and the adjacent ridge would cause many casualties among the defenders. Yamamoto ramped up his efforts trying to break through towards Imphal. With additional tank and artillery support the 3rd battalion, 213th regiment managed to overrun Crete East on the 22nd as the 80th Brigade evacuated to the isolated Cyprus. Pressing onwards, Yamamoto attacked Crete West, tossing multiple attacks at the feature over the next two weeks. Despite the ferocity of the invaders, the defenders would manage to hold on until the end of April. Meanwhile the 1st battalion, 60th regiment was unable to break through Hill 5240 near Kampang, so on the 20th they were redirected to hit the northern sector of Palel. The battalion had suffered 300 casualties, unable to pose much of a threat any longer to Gracey's men. To their left was the 1st INA Division's 2nd Gandhi Brigade,  deployed on the left flank of Yamamoto Force and an initial group that had rushed through the hills towards Palel. They were targeting the airfield from the south in coordination with the Japanese closing in via Langgol from the east. They clashed with Indian and Gurkha defenders at Purum Chumban on May 2nd. There are differing accounts of what happened during the battle of Purum Chumbang. One has the INA group reaching very close to the airfield, while another has it reach some 8km short of it. What is common to both, however, is the reaction of the Fourteenth Army units (Indian and Gurkha) to the INA's effort. A parley between the two is supposed to have taken place at some point, where the latter tried to convince their brethren on the British side not to fight. This being rejected, the INA attacked and was repulsed. At least 50 INA men were killed in the retaliatory response. It has been argued that these attacks by their fellow Indians affected INA morale. They had not expected to be considered traitors by their former comrades of the Indian Army. Several hundred INA men deserted before the end of the battle, although the majority of the force remained in the hills around the Tamu–Palel Road, wracked by disease and hunger. In the meantime, the Kohima Garrison received relief on their ridge positions, now General Grover was formulating a plan to recapture lost territory in the Kohima area and to annhilate the 31st division. His plan was to hold Zubza and Periphema in the rear while Brigadier John Shapland's 6th Brigade would launch an attack against the Japanese center and gradually push them towards the southern and southwestern flanks of the Kohima Ridge. Brigadier Victor Hawkins 5th Brigade would would perform a flanking maneuver to the north while Brigadier William Goshcens 4th Brigade did the same in the south. On April 18, Hawkins thus dispatched his first units across the deep Zubza nullah to the Merema Ridge to cut the Kohima-Merema-Bokajan road, with the rest of the brigade following in an excruciating march and finally assembling at the Merema Ridge by April 27.  Further to the north, in parallel with the 2nd Divisions advance, Brigadier Perowne's men have been performing an extremely difficult march into the Naga Hills. Their task was to prevent the Japanese from escaping the Brahmaputra Valley, taking a track leading from Merema to Bokajan. For weeks the Chindit Brigade had conducted an effective operation, ambushing Japanese supply routes, denying them territory, encouraging local Naga resistance efforts and causing general havoc. General Mutaguchi and ordered Sato to send his 124th Infantry Regiment to support the struggling 15th Division in the south.  Sato decided to occupy Garrison Hill prior to complying with Mutaguchi's directive, immediately sending the 1st Battalion, 138th Regiment to support the attacks of the 58th Regiment. The assault failed on the 23rd and this further convinced Sato he would be unable to hold Kohima if he sent the reinforcements Mutaguchi requested. His decision was also heavily influenced by his increasing anger at his superior as Mutaguchi was completely failing to supply his men. He had been promised at least 250 tons of resupplies would arrive by April 8, Sato testily demanded food and ammunition. In fact, very few supplies ever reached the 31st Division from Burma, the men having to survive on what they had brought with them, what they could beg or steal from Naga villages, or what 'Churchill Rations' they could capture from British stockpiles. Sato's fury at the lack of promised supplies reaching Kohima was fuelled by his belief that the 31st Division was being let down by Mutaguchi's abject failure to break into Imphal. In response to Mutaguchi's demand that he send troops to assist in the Imphal battle, on April 20 Sato sent the first of a number of increasingly tetchy signals to the army commander: 'We captured Kohima in three weeks as promised. How about Imphal?' Mutaguchi replied: 'Probable date for capture of Imphal April 29', which was the Emperor's birthday. Sato plainly did not believe him. On April 30, Sato signaled again: '31st Division at the limit of its endurance. When are you going to destroy Imphal?' To this he received no reply.  The relationship between Sato and Mutaguchi had never been good, but now it was really bad. Over the next two weeks, the battles on Kohima Ridge were not seeing results. Repeated attacks were made against Garrison Hill as Shapland's men tossed desperate attacks at the extreme northern edge of the ridge allowing for a troop of Lee/Grant tanks to lumber up the western end of Naga Hill in order to provide armored support for the 5th Brigade. The plan to get tanks onto the back of Naga Hill by driving through the Japanese positions overlooking the TCP finally succeeded on April 27, the Lee/Grants trundling along the track, wary of mines, but taking the Japanese entirely by surprise at this stroke of legerdemain. Peppered on all sides futilely by bullets, they joined 5th Brigade on Naga Hill, albeit at the cost of 28 Dorset dead, who had kept intense pressure on the TCP end of the Kohima Ridge to distract the Japanese during the operation. In the fighting for control of the tennis court no means of overcoming Japanese bunkers could be discovered using infantry alone, and attempts were made to bulldoze a path up to the remains of the Deputy Commissioner's bungalow to allow a Lee/Grant tank to move onto the tennis court and engage the bunkers directly with its 75mm gun. Unhappily the first effort failed when the Lee/Grant went into reverse, pulling the bulldozer to which it was attached back down the steep slope in a heap of crashing, twisted metal. Four days later a similar attempt with a Stuart Light tank of the 45th Indian Light Cavalry also failed, as the Japanese had brought up a 3.7in. anti-tank gun that put the tank out of action, fortunately with no loss to the crew.By the 27th, the tanks made a break through to the Naga Hill. The Japanese suffered terrible casualties causing them to suspend operations against Garrison Hill. The 31st división was not fully adopting a defensive stance. Meanwhile, Goschen's men had set out on a long march to cut the Imphal Road below the Aradura Spur on the night of April 25. They were advancing through some of the worst terrain of the entire region, it was deep, nearly vertical jungle-covered gullies falling between  Mount Pulebadze and the face of Mount Japfu.  The 4th Brigade would reach the valley between Pulebadze and Japfu in three days. One there, General Stopford ordered Goschen to climb over Pulebadze Ridge then come down into Kohima to hit the Japanese position on the GPT ridge, which were giving serious problems to Shaplands men. The brigade accordingly turned left, climbing up and over the Pulebadze Ridge and beginning the slow descent through the jungle down onto the Kohima side. A prominent pimple above the GPT Ridge known as Oaks Hill, sitting at 6,000ft, was occupied by the Norfolks and the 143rd Company on 1 May, the presence of British troops 1,500ft above the Japanese positions becoming known to them for the first time. But that is all for today for India, as there is something else cooking up in the CBI theater. Since early 1943, the United States had steadily increased its air force in China. By the beginning of 1944 there were more than 500 US planes in this area, whereas, in spite of the organization of the 5th Air Army,the Japanese Air Force had less than half this number of planes in China. Furthermore, with the war situation rapidly growing worse in the Pacific, the Japanese Air Force in China could not hope for any replenishment. Enemy planes not only interfered with Japanese ground operations, but also harassed the lines of communication and attacked the occupied areas. General Chennault's 14th Air Force had been causing such problems, the Japanese were forced to act. The catalyst for their future action was because of a raid against Formosa carried out by 14 B-25s, 8 P-38s and 8 P-51s on November 25, 1943, which caught the Japanese by surprise as the Chinese-American aircraft strafed and dropped bombs over Shinchiku airfield, successfully destroying its installations along with 42 planes on the ground at the cost of three fighters lost.  This prompted the Japanese commanders to target strategic points along the Hunan-Guangxi, Guangzhou-Hankou and Southern Beijing-Hankou Railways. Thus the infamous Operation Ichi-Go was born. Ichi-Go's primary targets were Guilin and Liuzhou's airfields where the US was developing bases for B-29's to launch strikes against the Japanese home islands. If you are interested in a in-depth talk about this by the way, over on the Pacific War Channel on Youtube or Spotify, I did an interview with Dave from the Coldwar about the bombing of Japan and we talked about this very subject. Pretty neat episode I recommend it! Now in general the main objectives were to link railways in Beijing and Hankou in northern China to the southern Chinese coast at Guangzhou. This would spare shipping and avoid the pesky American submarine force who were now ruining havoc; it was also to take out airfields in Sichuan and Guangxi to thwart further US bombing of Formosa and the Japanese home islands. This also in turn would open a land route to Indochina and hopefully would destroy enough NRA units to collapse Chiang Kai-Sheks government, finally solving the China Problem. Ichi-Go would start in late April with an offensive  by the 12th Army of Lt General Kita Seiichi, later replaced by Lt General Uchiyama Eitaro. This was codenamed Operation Kogo, tasked with capturing the areas along the South Beijing-Hankou railway, centered around Zhengzhou and Luoyang, and destroying the main strength of the 1st War Area. Then, early in June, the 11th Army of General Yokoyama would launch Operation Togo, with the objective of capturing Changsha and Hengyang and destroying the main force of the 6th and 9th War Areas. Following the conclusion of the first phase, late in July, the 11th Army would be assisted by the 23rd Army of Lt General Tanaka Hisaichi and the Indochina Garrison Army of Lt General Viscount Machiiji Kazumoto would capture Guilin and Liuzhou and the destruction of the 4th War Area.  Finally, the third phase of Operation Togo would see the 23rd Army capture the strategic areas along the south Canton-Hankou railway, centered around Nanning, by destroying the 7th War Area in September while the 11th Army continued the advance south towards Suichwan Arfield to link with the Indochina forces. For the entire operation, the 5th Air Army of Lt General Shimoyama Takuma would support the offensives from the skies, tasked with annihilating the American-Chinese air force and attaining air supremacy over China. The logistics of Operation Ichi-Go constituted was one of the most notable examples of the IJA's offensive preparations. Between some of the measures taken was the emplacement of dozens of anti-air batteries throughout the Yangtze River to limit the Chinese-American air activity against troop concentrations at its southern channel; the transfer of dozens of thousands of troops by railway without interference from Chinese guerrillas because security at the railway lines was increased; the monthly river transport of 40000 tons of supplies; the secret storage of 600 pontoons; and the constructions of hideouts for a munitions arsenal that should last for two years and of hundreds of deposits that harbored 50 million liters of gasoline that should last for eight months: 40 million for land vehicles and 10 million for planes.By early April General Hata had amassed 62,000 men, 52,000 Japanese and 10,000 collaborationist units alongside 800 tanks, 1550 artillery pieces, 250 aircraft, 15550 motorized vehicles and 100000 horses.  Meanwhile the British Eastern Fleet had been receiving more naval resources due to the successes in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe and could now carry out more aggressive actions in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Agreement had been reached, after objections from Admiral Ernest King, but new procedures would need to be learnt by naval crews and Fleet Air Arm aircrew. To this end, Operation Diplomat, a training exercise, took place in late March 1944. The objective was for the fleet to rendezvous with a group of tankers, escorted by the Dutch cruiser HNLMS Tromp and practice refueling at sea procedures. The ships then rendezvoused with USN Task Group 58.5 built around aircraft carrier USS Saratoga and three destroyers. To further support the coming Hollandia and Aitape landings, Admiral King requested that, during April, the Eastern Fleet should engage Japanese forces in their area and hold them there to reduce the opposition that could be encountered by the Americans at Western New Guinea. In response, Admiral Somerville launched Operation Cockpit on April 16, an air attack against Sabang off Sumatra. The fleet sailed from Trincomalee on 16 April, and two days later the Gambia and Ceylon were detached from Force 69 to strengthen the anti-aircraft defense of the carrier force. On the morning of April 19, 17 Barracudas and 13 Corsairs from the carrier Illustrious and 29 Dauntless and Avenger bombers and 24 Hellcats from Saratoga took off towards Sumatra and subsequently caught the Japanese completely by surprise, finding no opposition there. Thirty Japanese aircraft were destroyed on the airfield and a direct hit by a 1000-pound bomb set a large oil tank on fire. The power-station, barracks and wireless station were badly damaged. The submarine HMS Tactician reported large fires in the dockyard burning fiercely hours after the fleet had left the area. The raid was a clear success, with Somerville later saying that the Japanese "had been caught with their kimonos up".  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The invaders it seems bit off more than they could chew when they attacked India. General Mutaguchi was facing a determined enemy and very pissed off and somewhat insubordinate colleagues. Operation Ichi-Go was being prepared and the Royal Navy was sending forces into the Indian and Pacific Oceans adding to the IJN's misery.

It's almost like reading Stephanie Meyer again for the worst reason (women who want to die)!

Deadwood shows how the west was won — with mud and cursing, monks make bank, Prince's monster guitar solo, South Park goes anime, Kevin Sorbo fights God, Jim Carrey's best movie, fast zombies are OK with us, Rick and Morty plugs in the interdimensional cable box, Harvey Keitel has a monkey, and Community plays Dungeons and Dragons — and it's advanced! All that and more this week 30, 20 and 10 years ago!

In which we discuss bodies, villains, and how Rebecca and Colleen could very easily destabilize a regime?

Plot is happening! Teenagers are happening! 

I apologize to Christians everywhere for saying Jesus only spent 30 days in the desert. It's 40. Excommunicate me.