91
The Shipyard / Re: Armada Conversions
« Last post by Ruckdog on September 08, 2023, 07:34:15 pm »I really like the envelopes on those air ships! The alternating colors on the panels really make them pop.
Have model ships, will game.
News:
Recent Posts
92
Space Naval Games / Metaverse (Free Space Combat Game)
« Last post by Ruckdog on September 08, 2023, 07:33:26 pm »I stumbled across a free space combat ruleset I hadn't heard of before called Metaverse. Here is the link:
http://mv2.battlespacepublishing.ca
Seems like a very flexible set of rules. The rules themselves are free, but it seems there is a monthly subscription to gain access to the stat generator. It seems pretty low, though...$12CDN for a whole year.
Anyone ever hear of these rules before or have any experience with them?
http://mv2.battlespacepublishing.ca
Seems like a very flexible set of rules. The rules themselves are free, but it seems there is a monthly subscription to gain access to the stat generator. It seems pretty low, though...$12CDN for a whole year.
Anyone ever hear of these rules before or have any experience with them?
93
News and Rumors / Armada Campaign: Shadowed Horizons
« Last post by Kelly on September 08, 2023, 06:41:49 pm »This year’s global campaign has launched for Kings of War and Armada, Shadowed Horizons, along with fiction to be updated with the results from the game tracker.
While the majority of the focus is on the land side of the conflict, Mantic has set aside a portion of the campaign exclusively for Armada... the first entries in the story of Shadowed Horizons are broken up into [The War on Land] for KoW and [The War at Sea] for Armada. There is no detailed map specific to the area being fought over as in the prior campaign Halpi’s Rift, but with each installment they are marking locations of importance upon their world map which should be highlighted as the event progresses across the sea and down the mountains.
The game reporting only covers the winning and losing fleets, with point total and scenario book besides, so the data collection set is not as detailed as the prior campaign, but every other piece of the campaign looks a lot more robust than before.
While the majority of the focus is on the land side of the conflict, Mantic has set aside a portion of the campaign exclusively for Armada... the first entries in the story of Shadowed Horizons are broken up into [The War on Land] for KoW and [The War at Sea] for Armada. There is no detailed map specific to the area being fought over as in the prior campaign Halpi’s Rift, but with each installment they are marking locations of importance upon their world map which should be highlighted as the event progresses across the sea and down the mountains.
The game reporting only covers the winning and losing fleets, with point total and scenario book besides, so the data collection set is not as detailed as the prior campaign, but every other piece of the campaign looks a lot more robust than before.
94
The Shipyard / Re: Armada Conversions
« Last post by Kelly on September 08, 2023, 06:34:57 pm »The Dwarf ships are all heavy, single blocks and I thought it might be time to work on something a little lighter…
…like their airships! These were a little difficult to manage while painting as they are very top-heavy, but the main issue was that they have a heptagonal cross section for some reason (I have another heptagonal project I have been putting off for months) and my plan was to break up the expanse of the balloon. Seven is impossible to divide, and it was at least a week of trials until I remembered that that multiplying by two will always result in an even number, so here we are with a 14 checker pattern.
No PSBs again, I think all the Dwarves in the setting are smart enough to stay inside when the shooting starts.
…like their airships! These were a little difficult to manage while painting as they are very top-heavy, but the main issue was that they have a heptagonal cross section for some reason (I have another heptagonal project I have been putting off for months) and my plan was to break up the expanse of the balloon. Seven is impossible to divide, and it was at least a week of trials until I remembered that that multiplying by two will always result in an even number, so here we are with a 14 checker pattern.
No PSBs again, I think all the Dwarves in the setting are smart enough to stay inside when the shooting starts.
95
The Shipyard / Re: DW 3.0 Prussian Imperium Project
« Last post by Ruckdog on September 07, 2023, 08:04:54 pm »Looking good so far! Will you be carrying over any of the older ships, or is this a clean slate?
I have a large collection of the old Prussians, but the goal is to start fresh with the new 3.0 models and grow from there. I'm planning a little campaign with my friend here in the Norfolk area.
96
The Shipyard / Re: Star Wars second pass
« Last post by Easy E on September 05, 2023, 11:57:26 am »The Praetor looks great.
I am curious how a galaxy a long time ago, and far, far away knows a reference to the Roman Republic though.
I am curious how a galaxy a long time ago, and far, far away knows a reference to the Roman Republic though.
97
General Discussion / Re: Perspectives on progress
« Last post by Easy E on September 05, 2023, 11:55:17 am »As we say in the business world, "That which is measured, gets moved."
98
The Shipyard / Re: Armada Conversions
« Last post by Kelly on September 03, 2023, 11:57:58 pm »I am still reworking my basing plans for Armada, but whatever shape they take, they will have plenty of details added. My first test pieces for ships' boats are a little over 3/4 of an inch should easily fit around most medium and small size bases.
Also along the bottom are the first debris pieces. Barrels did not work out as they were far too small, and masts will probably be too outsized for bases, so unless inspiration strikes, assorted plank lengths will be the extent of anything floating.
Also along the bottom are the first debris pieces. Barrels did not work out as they were far too small, and masts will probably be too outsized for bases, so unless inspiration strikes, assorted plank lengths will be the extent of anything floating.
99
General Discussion / Perspectives on progress
« Last post by Kelly on September 01, 2023, 08:45:05 pm »Yesterday I put the final touches on my 300th model, a token holder for Armada, and I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.
Instead of stacking damages and speed tokens on ship cards, I find it easier to have them next to each base. However, keeping individual markers lined up with their ships can be difficult when those ships are colliding with each other, and I wanted a solution to corral them in one place. The most used tokens are double sided, so adding an angle to the speed location was a must, and I have a slight bevel in each damage recess to make it easier to remove and replace them. I will probably print out more that are color coded for multiple players after a test run or two to see if play is sped up enough to warrant it.
But the main thing that has been on my mind for the past week or two was not this model, or really any other one in particular, but the whole of my modeling progression. I have kept records of everything since starting the hobby again, and knew that I was closing in this milestone of 300 models, but is it really a milestone? Is progress quantifiable… is counting even important?
I would say that it is, but with full notebooks and spreadsheets, I can recognize a slight bias. For anyone who may be considering sinking into the unending spiral of recordage though, I would say three things need to be considered: accuracy of the count, consistency of the count, and usefulness of the count.
On accuracy, counting is meaningless unless everything is counted. I really started to record print information in detail after some initial issues with my first 3D printer, as I wanted to know what I should expect the actual life of the replacement parts to be, and with that, the overall lifetime cost of the printer. It took some effort, but I did work back through all of the print jobs and results to get to a total of 305 printed projects with a margin of error of +/- 2 including the final failed print which retired that printer. Modeling records were an easier task as all of the stl files were on the hard drive, which is where model #300 comes from and this topic.
On consistency, counting is meaningless unless everything is counted in the same way. I would say I have a system on counting models in particular, but unlike painting or printing, it does not have an easily discernable physical output. The first ship I designed for my Clone Wars project was the Lucrehulk, 7 different component models, counted as 7; which I later rescaled requiring 9 different component models, counted as 7; while the final version of the Lucrehulk painted and posted incorporated 6 additional models more, counted as 4. Meanwhile, last week I finished a set of transports with 4 different silhouettes, of which 3 also had alternate surface detail layouts, which I only counted as 1 model given that all of them were designed at the same time in a single evening. All in all, and my method is honestly not really definable.
On usefulness, counting is meaningless unless it has meaning. Maybe not the best way of stating that, but looking at my count of 300, what does that really represent? It is not miniatures modeled, since a good number of my miniatures either require multiple pieces modeled and printed separately, or I have split them for greater variety after assembly. It is not miniatures or models printed, since I cancelled several before even exporting them to the slicing software. And it is especially not miniatures painted, as almost everything I paint is in multiples, and to date, only 45 miniatures have been painted of the 218 I printed in that first year. Looking back through the list I can see that year over year I have increased the amount of different miniature results possible out of any single model file, but I doubt anyone else would be able to glean anything out of these records.
Overall, I would say that given the three goals of a meaningful count as a measure of progression, I am at a clear win, loss, and draw, and so solidly neutral on whether my recordkeeping is showing quantifiable progress in the 3D modeling hobby. But then again, keeping up lists and looking back through prior years has been an enjoyable micro-hobby so far. (200)
Instead of stacking damages and speed tokens on ship cards, I find it easier to have them next to each base. However, keeping individual markers lined up with their ships can be difficult when those ships are colliding with each other, and I wanted a solution to corral them in one place. The most used tokens are double sided, so adding an angle to the speed location was a must, and I have a slight bevel in each damage recess to make it easier to remove and replace them. I will probably print out more that are color coded for multiple players after a test run or two to see if play is sped up enough to warrant it.
But the main thing that has been on my mind for the past week or two was not this model, or really any other one in particular, but the whole of my modeling progression. I have kept records of everything since starting the hobby again, and knew that I was closing in this milestone of 300 models, but is it really a milestone? Is progress quantifiable… is counting even important?
I would say that it is, but with full notebooks and spreadsheets, I can recognize a slight bias. For anyone who may be considering sinking into the unending spiral of recordage though, I would say three things need to be considered: accuracy of the count, consistency of the count, and usefulness of the count.
On accuracy, counting is meaningless unless everything is counted. I really started to record print information in detail after some initial issues with my first 3D printer, as I wanted to know what I should expect the actual life of the replacement parts to be, and with that, the overall lifetime cost of the printer. It took some effort, but I did work back through all of the print jobs and results to get to a total of 305 printed projects with a margin of error of +/- 2 including the final failed print which retired that printer. Modeling records were an easier task as all of the stl files were on the hard drive, which is where model #300 comes from and this topic.
On consistency, counting is meaningless unless everything is counted in the same way. I would say I have a system on counting models in particular, but unlike painting or printing, it does not have an easily discernable physical output. The first ship I designed for my Clone Wars project was the Lucrehulk, 7 different component models, counted as 7; which I later rescaled requiring 9 different component models, counted as 7; while the final version of the Lucrehulk painted and posted incorporated 6 additional models more, counted as 4. Meanwhile, last week I finished a set of transports with 4 different silhouettes, of which 3 also had alternate surface detail layouts, which I only counted as 1 model given that all of them were designed at the same time in a single evening. All in all, and my method is honestly not really definable.
On usefulness, counting is meaningless unless it has meaning. Maybe not the best way of stating that, but looking at my count of 300, what does that really represent? It is not miniatures modeled, since a good number of my miniatures either require multiple pieces modeled and printed separately, or I have split them for greater variety after assembly. It is not miniatures or models printed, since I cancelled several before even exporting them to the slicing software. And it is especially not miniatures painted, as almost everything I paint is in multiples, and to date, only 45 miniatures have been painted of the 218 I printed in that first year. Looking back through the list I can see that year over year I have increased the amount of different miniature results possible out of any single model file, but I doubt anyone else would be able to glean anything out of these records.
Overall, I would say that given the three goals of a meaningful count as a measure of progression, I am at a clear win, loss, and draw, and so solidly neutral on whether my recordkeeping is showing quantifiable progress in the 3D modeling hobby. But then again, keeping up lists and looking back through prior years has been an enjoyable micro-hobby so far. (200)
100
The Shipyard / Re: DW 3.0 Prussian Imperium Project
« Last post by Kelly on September 01, 2023, 08:26:11 pm »Looking good so far! Will you be carrying over any of the older ships, or is this a clean slate?