Well as the title says, I have printed out two fleets of steam ships for playtesting my new game, but there is a problem…
I am not happy with the designs!
Design Frustrations:
Every wargame designer knows the thrill of seeing designs come to life—only to feel that gut-sinking sensation when something doesn’t look quite right.
Yep, many hours designing and several hours more on the 3D printer and as I said I am not happy with how most of them turned out.
I guess they are not actually bad, one fleet just needs a little bit of adjustment, some added details here and there and they will be good.
This new game, is a fusion of steampunk and Victorian ironclad naval warfare, with one faction focused on durability and heavy armour, while the other favours speed and manoeuvrability. Getting these designs to visually reflect each faction’s traits has been a creative challenge.
I tried to make them different in that the bulky armour and slower pace of the first faction give them a formidable presence, while the sleek lines and lower water profile of the second hint at their agility. But something still felt off with the lighter fleet design. The design I came up with was lower and did look sleeker, but I just thought something was missing.
Back to the Drawing Board:
So, it was back to the drawing board (or PC) and a few more hours later I think that I have found what some of the issues were.
First thing I did was design some paddlewheels, once this was done it was a simple matter of adding them to each ship and resizing depending on the class of ship. I also changed the gun turrets as they just didn’t actually print well and I also added a few little bits of extra details like panels, ladders and doors.
I think the paddlewheels do make them look a little bit more Victorian steam-punk which is what I was after.
So now it’s back to the 3D printer to see how they all print.
What do you think of the redesigns so far? Let me know in the comments if you have any ideas or just want to share in the journey!
I did also adjust the other heavier fleet as well.
Both fleets have carriers, next thing I need to design are the fighters and bombers.
Next Steps: Playtesting:
With these new tweaks, I’m excited to bring the fleets into battle soon. Playtesting is going to reveal so much more about their look, feel, and performance.
(but for now I will be using the two fleets I have already based)
With these two fleets coming together, I’m already brainstorming ideas for future factions, each bringing unique tactics to the game.
Stay tuned for updates, and maybe even a sneak peek at some in-game shots once they’re painted!
Hi Mac!
I like the look of those paddle-wheelers … but they’d be really vulnerable in battle (as was proved in reality!)
I’d make your ‘fast’ faction longer, narrower & lower in profile, with a sleeker look to them. Longer finer hull proved to be faster and had better acceleration (but a roll instability problem).
Your ‘heavy’ faction I’d make shorter, taller & wider. Wider hulls generally had better damage resistance but we’re slower and often had steering issues or were prone to snaking or under/over steer … check out the RN’s ‘Wobbly 8’ ships that struggled to steer in a straight line!)
A good source of inspiration has to be the truly eclectic – if not lunatic – array of ship designs for the French Navy between about 1875 and 1910 … ships like ‘Henri Qatre’ (with its quarterdeck freeboard so low it was awash most of the time) or ‘Jaureguiberry’ with such a pronounced hull tumbledown and typically French lozenge turret arrangement it looks like it was designed by Salvador Dali …
The late 19th C was a hotbed of experimental design, with some very odd looking ships out there – it wasn’t until the launch of Dreadnought in 1905 that what passes for ‘modern’ looking ships appeared …
Vic
Hi Vic,
All good points mate, I get what you mean about the paddlewheels, but I like them on the ships… although I am still working on their final design as I think if, like some of the ACW ships I have, they were on a real ship in war time they would have their own armour sections covering them, so I am looking at putting panels over the wheel section to give them the look of survivability even if they probably wouldn’t in reality.
I have already added the rules for these ships and they do include things like slow speed and slower turning but with thicker armour, against the faster lower profile and faster speed and faster turning but with lighter armour.
I am still working on the initial designs for the next ships so you might see some really fast looking ships, possibly some sort of catamaran design, I am even looking at steam ships with sails as well
Mac
I like the paddlewheels!
Really interested to see what you do with aircraft. Will we have some sort of WWI styled craft? Or something Victorian inspired…hot air balloons or dirigibles? Interested to see how it shakes out.
Looking forward to what you come up with!
Hi Jack,
I also like the paddlewheels, it really gives the ships that Victorian steam-punk style that I wanted.
I have done a couple of test bases for the flyers, just basic aircraft at the moment, not printed them yet so am not 100% sure how they will look.
I am looking at designing Zeppelin type airships, armoured in some way of course to go with the fleets, but I need to get the two starter fleets finished first, but they are on the list.
Mac