Foxhole Airborne Experiences

 It has not been my intention to cluster posts at the end of each month, but it nonetheless happens.

Foxhole is not exactly a wargame, but I apply the label regardless. It certainly has a reputation for sucking the life and free time from an individual, but this month I found the time to play for only an hour or two every few days. Miniatures remain the apex predator of leisure in my life, and I would have it no other way. This most recent rash of gameplay stems from the airborne update, which somehow managed to introduce planes into a top-down game.

But first, a quick overview. Here I am, a proud Warden as always, setting off in the early days of the war from Endless Shore. Foxhole has been in my library since 2021, but until now I have almost always played for brief periods as an infantryman before moving on. In all these years I have only racked up 123 hours in the game, which is absolutely pitiful compared to more invested players. The simple nature of the footslogging appealed to me above other roles. It was easy to jump into, let me dig some trenches when I felt the hole-digging urge, and occasionally rewarded me with amusing voice chat interactions. Being told that you are "a real one" for volunteering to load artillery shells is quite heartwarming.

This time, we quickly lost our hold of the Endless Shore region and were pushed up to Stlican Shelf, also known as "The Shitcan". The remainder of my war would be spent on that windswept hunk of ice and spite, save for the very end. I found that our forces were continually pressured and bled for supplies. Something had to be done.

The update had included a type of light freighter which I used to begin teaching myself the ways of the Logiman. In Foxhole, first you get the crates, then you fill the stockpiles, then you get the commends. My efforts were not any sort of lynchpin in the defense, but Foxhole is not that type of game to begin with anyway. Several reviews I have seen criticize it for the inability to produce a battleship or turn the tide of war by oneself, which I feel rather misses the point of the experience. But willingly becoming a nearly worthless cog in a vast and practically incomprehensible machine is an experience not exactly suited to every person.

The changing of the seasons brought no relief to Stlican, only mud.

I delivered shells to the front and was conscripted to help man the guns. This position lasted for days before the Colonial enemy overran it.

There was a brief holiday to visit the Great Crane Wall, which was made in protest to a jury-rigged hotfix released by the developers. The update as a whole has seen much controversy, but as a casual player I can comment little except that the whinging is extensive, justified or not.

Famed YouTubist I Saw a Bear was sighted briefly. It was odd to see him, as most multiplayer games I play lack this sort of figure.

Manufacturing somewhat eluded me, but I managed to lean both how to harvest resources and transport finished goods around the map. Much of it comes down to etiquette. Certain containers are not to be touched when being used by others. Luckily this lesson was the sort of misunderstanding that ends with an apology and impromptu tutorial rather than a vengeance-oath.

This ship was certainly my largest single contribution to the war effort. Two of the containers I built and mined fully on my own, while the other three were already on the dock waiting for transport. If my calculations are correct this single shipment could produce around fifteen light tanks in optimal conditions. It is unclear to me where exactly the resources went after my delivery.

An interlude followed, where I was unable to play very much due to travel. Upon my return the month-long stalemate coincidentally broke, and we pushed once again into Endless Shore as the war wrapped up. Kindly players let me tank with them for a time, and it was quite exciting. Overall, I enjoyed this war. My intention is to regularly play for another and then assess if I want to keep going or not. To access more of the game, since there is a notable dearth in certain areas for solo play, I intend to join a regiment. Currently I am looking at SeaScum, since their name reminds me of pirates and they seem to participate a wide variety of gameplay.

Foxhole is quite a game. But could I be forgetting something?

Well, it is called the airborne update, even if my plane performance left much to be desired. Takeoffs are easy, landings not so much. Planes more complex than the Scout are also less accessible to Solo players, so a better idea of their style may be found following regiment play in the next war. Before then I might want to find a mouse with buttons on either side, as the control scheme for planes is difficult to handle otherwise.

Victory for the Wardens! Caovia Stands!