Posts made by Starke Von Oben

ATTENTION!

My board just arrived in the post - it looks stunning!

Setting it up later today, will post pics in the evening  8-)

Hey Deathshead!

My map has taken a bit longer than usual to sort out, since it’s taken a while to secure funds from the members of our  club to pool their cash together.

Should be here by next week. Pics will be posted, but bare in mind I’m moving house and so it will take a while to set up my new gaming room ;)

@Imperious:

I have all these block games. East front, west front, medd front, too complicated and boring.

I was actually surprised as to how uncomplicated Eastern Front actually was, for I thought it would be more so.

And boring? I have to disagree: the game has such depth and realism and yet is surprisingly easy to grasp.

@Brain:

You are right this is sacrilege

The gameplay wont change though, merely the aesthetics  :evil:

@Imperious:

I play EE, but you may notice the blocks often take more space than the pieces. Especially in Russia.

However get Neppa Games ETO which does have counters that would work for AA.

http://www.neppagames.com/

I’ll not be using wooden blocks but rather squares of card, which can be stacked on top of one another for ease of space.

Speaking of block games: Have you played Eastern Front by Columbia Games? We played that also on saturday… I think it’s my new favourite game and will be securing a copy tomorrow  (with Euro & western front as a bundle pack).

This weekend my playing group and myself came to a unanimous decision:

We will no longer be using miniatures to play our Axis & Allies Games.

Frankly we don’t actually see a point in them, other than for Aesthetic purposes. Sure it’s nice to have little figures on the board, but after a while they become a tedious chore. For this reason we are switching to paper representation of units.

I’ve been toying around with a design and think they will be squares, printed on card, using NATO symbols. They already give the map a more authentic ‘military’ look, and are far easier to handle and move around.

Some may look at this as a type of sacrilege, but to be honest it gives so much more space on the board and increases the speed of the gameplay.

I was thinking of something along the lines of this:

The great thing about all this is that they are so cheap to produce, and I can make as many as I require - I also no longer have to bother myself with the concern that colours do not match up with the latest incarnation of units, for that issue will now become irrelevant

@Upside-down_Turtle:

It’s everything Risk ever wanted to be, and better.

Not sure about that, Risk is a good game in it’s own right.

I’ve always assumed Larry Harris designed Axis & Allies around Risk: the first time I got a copy of Risk, before I even knew of AA, I had arranged the playing pieces into the spheres of WW2.

What a bunch of drama-queens.

It’s gone forever because of what you have done.

http://www.kriegsspiel.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135&Itemid=59

According to this article it’s possible to play via e-mail… which of course means it’s possible to play it via a forum  8-)

I especially like this suggested game:

WW1 or WW2 campaign

Possibly set in 1914 in the west or east (corps level units), or a WW2 eastern front battle (division level units).  We could have teams of players, with a hierarchy, as only one set of orders would be submitted, thus minimising the umpire workload.  Teams could organise as they wished, but typically players might take roles, such as C in C, intelligence chief, operations chief etc.  They could communicate with each other all the time on plans, analysis etc. without disturbing the umpire’s deliberations.  They would not control the individual combat units directly, but rather act as the command staff of an army or army group.  The would specify attacks, divisions to be involved, date and objectives.  Combat could be resolved by the umpire using a commercial boardgame on the battle, or a PC game such as The Operational Art of War.

http://www.kriegsspiel.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=199&Itemid=81

Kriegsspiel Demos in Kansas

@Brain:

Is there anybody selling that on this side of the Atlantic?

I’m sure you could still buy it, since it’s a pdf purchase: so I assume that it’s possible for those in the US to purchase it.

@Wikipedia:

Kriegsspiel, from the German word for wargame, was a system used for training officers in the Prussian army. The first set of rules was Instructions for the Representation of Tactical Maneuvers under the Guise of a Wargame, produced in 1824 by Lieutenant von Reisswitz of the Prussian army, based on earlier work by his father. Today it is considered the grandfather of modern wargames. This rules set established several conventions for wargaming which hold true to the present day, such as the use of maps, color coding the opposing armies as red and blue, using umpires, and uniform, complex rules for movement and combat.[1] Map scale was 1:8000[2], and the time scale was 2 minutes per one turn. Blocks were used to represent units.

http://toofatlardies.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=8&zenid=1bf0ff21c6adaa49e5a36fef43c20b34 - Modern publishers of Kriegsspiel rules

I’m thinking of getting myself a copy for my coming birthday  :-D

@ABWorsham:

I always thought D&D would be cool.

If you’re interested in classic 80s D&D you can play an emulated version called “Labyrinth Lord” which can be found here (free PDF version):

http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html

It’s essentially the same game just the word “Dungeon Master” has been replaced with Labyrinth Lord: All the rules, monsters, weapons etc are identical but for copyright purposes have been changed.

Personally I prefer classic D&D as it gives the players and the DM more of a chance to be creative: the latest incarnations are purely designed to make money, requiring you to purchase multitudes of books for monsters, spells, etc. With the Labyrinth Lord you have the entire game within a single book like original D&D :D

With regards the setup charts….

I cannot seem to find the IPC chart for this map to keep track of income.

Was one made?

Because I like Risk AND WW2.

@Deaths:

it means they are lazy.  If they really need it at that ppi, they can do that them selves using Photoshop I believe.  If you are concerned, have them print a Black and white copy, and then exaMINE it then. You should be able to have it printed in B/W for less then $10.  Tell them it is a test and they may do it for free, since getting the map printed in that smaller size is still going to run you around $80 for everything including Setup charts.

The problem has been resolved, they sorted it out themselves and have sent it to me in pdf format. Looks sweet so far :D

@Deaths:

@Starke:

@Texas:

How much is that map going to cost?  What company/service are you using?

http://www.london-displays.com/

Originally it was going to cost £200 on fomex in a matt finish, but my brother jumped in on the last minute wanting to go halfs with the price and decided that it would be too flimsy… so he suggested we go for a gloss finish instead on MDF for durability and ease of cleaning (should any spills - however unlikely - occur).

So now the price has gone up to £300  :-o Though that seems a lot the board is going to be transported a quite a bit around local gaming clubs and national events in the future, and so we’re willing to pay that much extra to ensure a good longevity.

I’m just waiting for the company’s production to give me feedback on the feasability of the print.

Nice, But May i say the Glossy won’t look right, and if you put plexiglass over the map, you will be surprised on how clean and in mint condition it will stay.  I would like to see photos though.  Both of my maps are printed on High quality Photo paper and in a matte finish.  The Gloss really won’t do anything to help preserve the map IMO.  Try going down to a Printer who specializes in Mechanical Drawing or Blue prints for construction company’s

Nothing has been set in stone as of yet.

I’ll follow your advice and get it done in mat in that case.

BTW Deaths Head I received the following e-mail today from the company and it stated the following:

We have checked your artwork and the resolution is 88ppi after examining carefully.

We do require 100ppi for an optimum print.

What does this mean? Can you provide me with a 100ppi copy?

Regards,
Starke.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sheep-gives-birth-to-human-faced-lamb/story-e6freuy9-1225819071357

Bestiality?

I sometimes wonder if human-animal hybrids are possible, and the official line that it isn’t is just to put people off from trying. It’s a bit like snuff films: the government officially states that snuff doesn’t exist and is merely an urban rumour, but when you consider the amount of heinous criminal acts that occur on a daily basis and the depths that human depravity can reach it doesn’t seem quite so improbable.

I wonder what the legal implications would be for an animal-human hybrid: it would give human rights lawyers a headache I should imagine.

@Battlingmaxo:

@Starke:

@Battlingmaxo:

maybe that’s why Hitler liked the English so much.  Btw can you tell me what Hitler’s favorite movie was ?

King Kong.

Do you know who Hitler’s favourite childhood author was?

KK is correct   As for his favorite author… I’m not sure I know he liked Karl May  novels

Karl May is correct  :-P