Recent Posts

21

General Discussion / Unexpected history

« Last post by Kelly on December 20, 2024, 02:14:12 pm »

We were walking around the state capitol grounds in Columbia, and to avoid some landscaping work being done, we took a turn on a different path from the usual route, then found this…



…at almost a 2 hour drive from the coast, I was very surprised to see a piece of naval history here like this recovered deck gun from the USS Maine.  After some further research, I learned that the Maine is probably the single most likely source for ship artifacts to be found anywhere, as after it was refloated, numerous pieces of the Maine were removed and sent all around the United States to be used as memorials to the Spanish American War, the sinking of the Maine being the most iconic image of the events leading up to that war.  Now there are parts of the Maine residing in a dozen states, on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as in states as far inland as Indiana.

22

MBS Media / MBS Podcast Episode 90: Mantic Armada Update`

« Last post by Ruckdog on December 16, 2024, 10:57:44 pm »

Andy is joined by Kelly, a returning guest and MBS Forum Member, to discuss the latest developments with Kings of War Armada. This is a fantasy naval combat game by Mantic Games, and has seen an impressive amount of support as well as some innovative distribution strategies!

https://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2024/12/17/mbs-podcast-episode-90-mantic-armada-update/

23

MBS Media / Re: MBS Podcast Episode 87: Star Wars Armada Cancellation Reaction

« Last post by Ruckdog on December 06, 2024, 04:45:35 pm »

This Shapeways business is definitely something that was not on my 2024 bingo card. While it has been years since I've ordered anything from the service, I know that many gamers were relying on it to source prints of esoteric modeling subjects.

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MBS Media / Re: MBS Podcast Episode 87: Star Wars Armada Cancellation Reaction

« Last post by Kelly on December 04, 2024, 07:32:11 pm »

The chapter of bankruptcy requested was for liquidation, not for restructuring, so Shapeways will not be operating at some point in the future, after questions of ownership and prior asset sales have been resolved, which means the largest distributor of third party printing services will no longer be available for the largest suppliers of Armada designs.  Will those models be available from another printing service... I would say yes, but not for some time and not at the price or quality of consistency they were from Shapeways.

Yesterday saw a flurry of announcements of the partial return of Shapeways.  Only partial as operations will apparently be rebuilding in Europe, but any potential US facility return is very unclear, and the available print material options have been cut back with the original fine detail and ultra, the best for miniatures, being replaced by alternate materials.

Also notable is that the Marketplace at Shapeways will not be coming back, to be replaced by a Shapeways Shops concept.  I doubt that the new infrastructure will allow the searchability and cross referencing of model alternatives between different designers to the same extent that the original did, as the rebuilding is going to be driven mostly by any modelers that choose to return to Shapeways.

The ease of use on the consumer site is still there, it was less than a minute to create a new account and run a model through their quality checks, but the costs are prohibitive.  I compared a miniature of mine from a December 2020 invoice to now, and for a piece roughly a cubic inch in volume I could get the material costs incredibly close, $8.73 in fine clear then to $8.74 in tan visijet today, but nothing else.  A minimum parts charge of $25.00 is now standard, a new priority charge of $1.53 is required for any production before Christmas, and the shipping has almost tripled, $9.71 then to $24.96 now.

I think with the current situation, Shapeways cannot be a hub for miniatures going forward.  I would expect their quality control to be the highest for any custom product made, but will that really make up for the cost differential between them and the average hobbyist putting up models on Etsy?

25

News and Rumors / Re: 2024 Great Wargaming Survey

« Last post by Kelly on November 22, 2024, 06:56:52 pm »

The first of the posts analyzing the 2024 survey is up; there was a noticeable drop in responses this year...

https://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/en-us/blogs/great-wargaming-survey-blog-wss-magazine/gws-2024-where-did-everyone-go

...but that just means that all naval games respondents are making up a greater percentage of the total!

26

News and Rumors / Re: Warlord Games naval games on sale

« Last post by Ruckdog on November 18, 2024, 03:21:46 pm »

Nice! It is definitely the season for deals.

27

News and Rumors / Warlord Games naval games on sale

« Last post by Kelly on November 14, 2024, 09:40:07 pm »

Warlord Games have included the majority of their Victory at Sea fleet boxes and ships in this year's November Madness sale, so until the end of the month they are starting at a 15% discount.

To a lesser extent, Blood Red Skies in the air, and Cruel Seas off the shore, are also included with a selection of starter boxes at 15% off.

Black Seas as their final naval game is not included in the 2024 sale, but with Warlord's reduced thresholds for free shipping this could be a good time to take the plunge into one of their other options.

28

General Discussion / City Assault (Richmond Open Event)

« Last post by Ruckdog on November 11, 2024, 10:26:03 pm »

Hello! This is a thread I'm starting to discuss/promote an event game I'm planning for next year's Richmond Open, being held in Richmond, VA in early May.

Description:

A UN amphibious assault force has arrived to establish control over the remains of a once thriving coastal city! OPFOR defenders have dug in and are prepared to meet the UN forces head-on. Players will be divided into two teams, either UN or OPFOR. Each player will have control over a Polyversal battlegroup (supplied by the GM) and will be fighting over a portion of a large 12'x4' table. In addition, each team will nominate a General who will be able to employ some special abilities to affect the course of the battle.

29

The Pavilus Binary War / Re: Pavilus Binary Key Points of Interest

« Last post by Ruckdog on November 08, 2024, 10:44:40 pm »

Fun ideas! I was thinking in terms of having any BFG games fought in these hexes feature a few "neutral" merchants that could be boarded for VP or something.

30

The Pavilus Binary War / Re: Pavilus Binary Key Points of Interest

« Last post by Kelly on November 07, 2024, 08:27:20 pm »

Katren Sound: The narrow passage of open space between Pav-A and Pav-B. The Sound is typically congested with civilian shipping of all descriptions, plying their trade between Pav-A and the various mining stations and orbital facilities scattered around the system.

Enjoyed reading through the setting, but I kept coming back to this one region... will there be ships with indeterminate cargos crossing the map, blocking sight lines, and hazardous to approach or target?

Does that system ship contain warp cores in need of urgent repair, megatons of volatile fuel, or just thousands of crates of uniforms all one size too big?