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Thread: What's on Your Workbench for February 2023

  1. #51
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    I haven't come up with any serious rules for small boats, but here we fielded my French fleet as merchant noncombatants. The two sides were a British Concorde and 2 post ships defending a convoy vs. 6 American privateers (Thorn variants including 2 schooners).

    I'm still working on xebec rules I like.

    Why wait for Ares? It's a great game and designed to encourage adding your imagination.

  2. #52
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    Dobbs, I'm not waiting--my position is that "anything produced at Ares request is internal-proprietary unless otherwise designated; anything I work up on my own initiative sua sponte is fair game to anyone interested in working with it as long as they credit me and the sources I build from for helping plow the road." (This is why I got a skosh salty with the guys over at Game Labs ripping off my notes about Ares sculpts and just doing straight uncredited copypasta of my work--I put much work and long hard hours into the data-harvesting and analysis for this crap, ya know? :) And yet some people act like expecting a simple "thank you" is demanding they human-sacrifice their firstborn child in your name... *rolls eyes*

    What's painful related to that in my personal life is, there are people my ex and I owe our LIVES to lessons they taught us that I can't give the recognition they deserve because to do so would mean also drawing unwanted attention from unpleasant sorts to both us and them.
    --Diamondback
    PMH, SME, TLA, BBB
    Historical Consultant to Ares, Wings and Sails - Unless otherwise noted, all comments are strictly Personal Opinion ONLY and not to be taken as official Company Policy.

  3. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by William Bush View Post
    As you are obviously contemplating about ship types not yet thoroughly represented by ARES, how about these:

    - Just plain merchant ships (less well armed than India-Men). This could open the door to convoy / escort actions.
    - Small craft, i.e. cutters.
    - Lateen rigged craft - not yet represented at all and with different sailing properties that the square-rigged ships available now.
    - Boats (along with rules) which could be launched from larger vessels for boarding actions, cutting-out actions, landing-actions in combination with on-shore batteries.

    In my humble opinion these would be of greater benefit to the game overall as adding something between the 20 to 28 gun range or 44 to 50 gun range.

    Lt. Bush
    To be honest, once you get below about Sixth Rates trying to keep track of all the various ships and designs built and how they were rigged and rerigged is the stuff of screaming nightmares, I've had my copies of FWAS for years and have never even touched the corvettes or anything smaller, nor anything below brg-sloops from BWAS. Are these things that are needed for the game? Yes. Am I the man to handle them? No, because I know my limitations and the burnout from a mere attempt could render me of no further use both on them and on the rated warships and EIM's that ARE my forte. However, if anyone wishes to take a run at using the data organizing tools I've developed to take a run at adding them to the "master catalog" I'm happy to share the tools and coach in their employment.

    "A man's gotta know his limitations..."--Det. "Dirty" Harry Callahan, SFPD
    --Diamondback
    PMH, SME, TLA, BBB
    Historical Consultant to Ares, Wings and Sails - Unless otherwise noted, all comments are strictly Personal Opinion ONLY and not to be taken as official Company Policy.

  4. #54
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    Thanks for your input DB.
    No one here wants you to burn yourself out on their account. The game is to be enjoyed, and not treated as a crusade to get every ship ever built analysed and data crunched to the Nth degree.
    I have managed to get the most out of actions with ships of all sizes and types with only a little help.
    Mostly from your good self, Dobbs, and Captain Duff I will admit, but it has been fun to play, nevertheless, and for the general punter at shows no different than the games with officially statted ships.
    Let us all enjoy what we have and be thankful when a new source is discovered by yourself or published.
    With the risk of being overflowing in my praise for all your dedicated work, I can only say thank you once again DB.

    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

  5. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by Diamondback View Post
    To be honest, once you get below about Sixth Rates trying to keep track of all the various ships and designs built and how they were rigged and rerigged is the stuff of screaming nightmares, I've had my copies of FWAS for years and have never even touched the corvettes or anything smaller, nor anything below brg-sloops from BWAS. Are these things that are needed for the game? Yes. Am I the man to handle them? No, because I know my limitations and the burnout from a mere attempt could render me of no further use both on them and on the rated warships and EIM's that ARE my forte. However, if anyone wishes to take a run at using the data organizing tools I've developed to take a run at adding them to the "master catalog" I'm happy to share the tools and coach in their employment.

    "A man's gotta know his limitations..."--Det. "Dirty" Harry Callahan, SFPD
    Rule #1 for a hobby - it must be fun.
    If it turns into "work", then something is amiss, and one should take steps that it is fun again.

    So stick with what is fun for you and don't care about the rest.

    Lt. Bush
    "Jeder Krieg, auch der siegreiche, ist ein Unglück für das eigene Volk, denn kein Landerwerb, keine Milliarden können Menschenleben ersetzen und die Trauer der Familien aufwiegen."
    Helmuth von Moltke d. Ä.

  6. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dobbs View Post
    Name:  GOPR0086.jpg
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    I haven't come up with any serious rules for small boats, but here we fielded my French fleet as merchant noncombatants. The two sides were a British Concorde and 2 post ships defending a convoy vs. 6 American privateers (Thorn variants including 2 schooners).

    I'm still working on xebec rules I like.

    Why wait for Ares? It's a great game and designed to encourage adding your imagination.
    Indeed, why wait for Ares?

    It was dedicated players which turned into Third Party Producers (TPP) or offered their designs to the original publisher to integrate into the "official" system which saved Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) back in the days.

    So if it is fun for you to design xebec rules, small boats, etc. (In fact, I find many of the ideas you developed which I came across here very interesting!) until you are content and happy with them, by all means, carry on!

    When you are finished with some (or a number of aspects), there are several ways open to you:

    1. You could just share them over here as you do right now.
    2. You could offer them to ARES to be "officially" integrated into the SoG system, crediting you as the designer etc. and having them support the rules with kit.
    3. You could establish yourself as a TPP (with ARES blessing) to venture, where ARES does not want to go.

    Lt. Bush
    "Jeder Krieg, auch der siegreiche, ist ein Unglück für das eigene Volk, denn kein Landerwerb, keine Milliarden können Menschenleben ersetzen und die Trauer der Familien aufwiegen."
    Helmuth von Moltke d. Ä.

  7. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by William Bush View Post
    Rule #1 for a hobby - it must be fun.
    If it turns into "work", then something is amiss, and one should take steps that it is fun again.

    So stick with what is fun for you and don't care about the rest.

    Lt. Bush
    Indeed, sir. Two big lessons I've learned in life:
    1., from my grandfather: "If you can find an opportunity to make a living at something you love and are good at, you'll never 'work' a day in your life."
    2., from too many game systems, fandoms and hobbies over the years: "When it stops being fun, it's time to leave. Whether just to take a breath and recenter or for good depends on the circumstances, but it's IMMEDIATE time to walk away."

    Some of this may be autism-spectrum neuropathology t work, we tend to (even more so than "normies") VERY strongly like things that can be neatly "tied up in a bow" (in this case, the relatively standardized stats and designs of large-order warships and "catalog model" merchants) and just as intensely DISlike anythin that can't (one-offs that never evolved into anything, custom builds, things that don't neatly fit into a large cluster that can all be accurately modeled from one sculpt and can't be neatly categorized on my spreadsheet *stares with seething hatred at anything French in particular corvette-size or smaller, and the annoyances of the Continental Navy and USN before 1816).
    --Diamondback
    PMH, SME, TLA, BBB
    Historical Consultant to Ares, Wings and Sails - Unless otherwise noted, all comments are strictly Personal Opinion ONLY and not to be taken as official Company Policy.

  8. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dobbs View Post
    Attachment 59174

    Fitting out of the new Indiaman is coming along.
    A great rebuild that looks like my Götheborg rebuild. Your ship could definitely do service as her.

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