This is exactly why game designers don't focus on art until the very end. Focus on finalizing your rules and mechanics first, then when you have everything set in stone, you can worry about one of the walls look right or not.
I like the look of the star fort. I think like you said, leveling out the bastions will help. They often are angled, but with such a small scale model, it can look a bit funky. Also, I think maybe adding ramparts could give it a bit more detail without going super overboard.
As a fellow game maker, I highly recommend investing in a $250 resin 3D printer. If you're already skilled in 3D modeling, getting one is a no-brainer. Modern SLA printers are incredibly user-friendly, and learning to use them is much easier than mastering Blender. The time you save will more than justify the investment. With a SLA printer, you could test four or five designs in the time it would take just to get something shipped. Plus, resin prints are far superior for capturing the intricate details needed for miniatures compared to filament printers, which are more suited for engineering or prototyping. The quality closely resembles that of injection-molded pieces. and in order for these things to look right i think your going to need some very fine detailing, a 4k printer should be more than enough for your needs. If you’re concerned about colors, you can always start with a clear or white resin and use dye, though this might not be necessary for your needs, and honestly its probably cheeper in the long run to buy 4 different colors for your pieces. One last thing-the new design looks a bit sci-fi with its smooth finish and large battlements. With some additional detail and stonework, you can give them a more time-appropriate texture. While it's tempting to make the piece more resilient to avoid breaking, keep in mind that the final injection-molded piece will be less brittle than your prototypes. Using a flexible material for your prototypes can also help reduce the risk of cracking. So, don’t be afraid to add more detail, as the final product can handle it. Look into the smaller Anycubic or Elegoo printers. I love the concept of your game! If you ever need a play tester, feel free to reach out.
That could be interesting. Just have to figure out a way to not cost too many resources/turn. That could require players to have a large reserve of cards on hand.
@@julianbirke True and can be overwhelming. But something you could use to solve this and can be use for other resource functions in the game is creating large value tokens. Like Nickels to Quarters. This isn’t ideal though as it makes more need for practical resources.
Maybe roads could supplie the troops so players build more roads else where other than just connecting castles. And maybe even a way to block enemy roads to try to starve the enemy troops
Good idea, make it that, grain tiles next to a city gives you 1 food source. If you build a mill in a grain tile you get 2 food sources for the grain tile. If you build a dock in a sea tile next to your city you also get 1 food for that tile. Maybe it is also fun to have tech cards where you can build a card where you can upgrade them. Fishnets techcard: all your docks ad 2 food instead of 1. Bakeries: all your mills produce 3 extra food instead of 2
I know this change would be pretty major, but hear me out here: what if instead of forts that surround a tile, they were just walls that go along the edge of tiles and you deployed them the same way you do roads? So instead of making full hex pieces, just make a bunch of wall pieces that can be arranged however the player wants. This way you could do cool things like wall off passes between mountain tiles, make walls have a penalty to cross, make new gate pieces for the players to pass through without penalty, give players bonus defense if they manage to completely wall off a tile or tiles (basically the same way your forts surround a tile now). I think the contrast between the roads and walls would make an interesting relationship gameplay-wise, and it would allow the player to make forts larger than one tile and in interesting shapes to better complement whatever the board arrangement happened to be that game. Sorry if that made absolutely no sense.
@@marioburgosdelrio5767 I do think that could be pretty cool. I'm always hesitant adding more pieces, just for simplicity's sake but I'm definitely considering it.
I already played your game using a catan with the sea expansion and the risk, and it's a great game... But you really need to explain in one video how to create a map.
@@pablo2075 that's a great to hear! I was thinking through map building the other day. I think it might come down to players taking turns placing tiles down and then some basic guidelines - water must touch water, things like that. I'll definitely create a video on it once it's settled!
@@julianbirke For the game I'm doing I use the cake method, where one person designs the map the the other player chooses where they would like to start first
I like the star fortress. Fits more with the cannons-muskets-shakos theme. Just my two cents: make the bastions flat top, then add battlements to them. Dont worry about the battlements being too big, they are the right size in this scale to represent what you are want to show.
I think you should maybe rename the musketmen. As a gunpowder history nerd, there are lots of more accurate things you could call them like: Musketeers (1500s-1600s) Line infantry (late 1600s-late 1800s) Skirmishers (1700s-early 1900s but these guys were more like marksmen and didn’t stand in lines usually) Regulars (has always been used to describe soldiers that make up the bulk of the army) And perhaps you could add a militia unit, that can only be recruited once in a colony, and can never move from that colony. But perhaps it could be worse in some way compared to the musketmen. You should add a trading ship, that can travel between your ports and give an extra trade bonus. It cannot fight, but can be escorted by a frigate by putting it in the same tile. If you are thinking of making it more 1500s-1600s or even early 1700s you could add a pikeman unit, which could be immune to cavalry. Perhaps add grenadiers, which are just regular musketmen with cooler hats that are better in sieges because they have grenades. Unless you are setting it anytime past 1720, which is when most countries stopped using grenades and the grenadiers became more of just and elite force. For cavalry, I was thinking perhaps of adding different types instead of five of the same. Here are some you can research yourself: Cuirassier (but this one had very a different role in the 1500s-1600s compared to the 1700s-1800s) Lancer Hussar (this only came into use after around 1700) Dragoon (but these might be a little OP) Heavy cavalry (this is actually a category, but is also used to describe big guys on big horses with big swords and nothing else) I might further add to this list as the day continues, thanks for listening to my ted talk
Great points! I actually do really like the name "musketeers", I might start using that term, "line infantry" is pretty cool cool as well. I'm starting to warm up to the idea of more units. My hesitation was that they'd make the rules more complex, but I think there might be a way to do it in a simple, precise way, that adds more strategic depth to the game. Also, pikemen would be sweet.
@@julianbirke If you want some uniform ideas I would recommend watching some of the battle scenes from Cromwell (1970) which you can find in UA-cam, or Waterloo (1970) if you’re going for the 1800s style
I like the idea of making pieces more period themed. I think the star fort will end up looking more authentic than the castle which felt a little cliche.
Excellent work and video. So excited to watch the project come alive step by step. Just my opinion. Do not make the walls too thin. The possibility of them braking during transport or playing especially is high. Make sure they are not just for delicate hands but for clumsy teens also.
For the roads and forts: while it will make them a bit unwieldy when not in use, what about a vertical ‘blade’ or thin nubbin on the bottom that can slide between the board pieces. I always have to straighten out the roads in Settlers of Catan.
@@julianbirke you could ever so slightly notch the sides of each tile. I don’t think it’d increase the cost of the ‘knife’ (as the punch is usually called i think) that’ll still be needed. Hmmm.
I really like the approach of making the game take place in the 17th to 18th century. And the fort looks Awesome! The walls look a little thin in comparison to the images, but no one will notice. Great work
I think the problem here is that, if I'm correct, bastions were usually military forts, not protective walls... Anyways, I think some detalls, like more detall in the bastions and etc., would fix the issue. Keep with the good work!
I agree, I think it does need .ore detail. The idea with the fort is not to be protective walls, but to visually indicate that the colony is protected by a fort.
@@julianbirke Mmh, alright. Maybe you could make a star-shaped fort that can fit like a puzzle piece around the Colony piece, that would allow it to be more fort-looking, only problem would be that, if I remember correctly, units in a walled tile were protected, right? My suggestion would make it harder for them to look protected. Maybe the solution really just lies in adding detail in the six bastions and the walls.
I like the redesign for star forts over the castle walls. One thing though for me is having the bastions have a flat top feels off. Maybe if you had some protrusions upwards like walls on top of the bastion?
I can't shake the idea of each side being able to have a single expensive flagship, which can easily combat frigates and maybe bombard coastal land units Like when it attacks a frigate(not the other flagship), combat immediately ends without any opportunity for the defender to play any maneuvres. Perhaps to be destroyed it has to be attacked either by the other flagship, or by two bombard units in concert, taking one down with it. Yes I think this would add depth and strategy to the whole combat system, players having to be careful to keep their land units out of range of the flagship, and maybe it could be called a man o' war or something of the sort?
A fun idea would be a digital version some time later once youre happy with how everything works so people can play test the game. Also the star fort idea is pretty cool and I like it more than the walls. Then again the mechanics and the rules are what really makes this game interesting.
Make flat, and I think a solid "railing" might feel better than a proper battlement on the points (so the outer edge is slightly taller than the middle area of them, at the same height as the battlements). I think these areas aren't big enough to have multiple battlements unless you make the battlements as small as the old walls, which would bring back the chipping issue, but at least having this depth to them will make the battlements you do have fit in better.
I prefer the walls. they look better to me and i think they would be better to fortify a city. mostly because bastions were usually used as forts and not protection. but if you keep redesigning, you may get a good look that you like.
I liked the older version. One thing I noticed was that with the little corner bits protruding over the hex you would never be able to place them adjacent to one another. Maybe that's not a problem. I don't remember the rules off the top of my head. I just know I would try that strat immediately as a playtester and with this design you can't.
I think you should add a leveling system for the walls similar to Civilization 6. The first design of the walls could be a cheaper version of the wall and cost less resources while offering less protection. The new redesign of the wall could be a upgrade to the wall and offer more defense.
İ thing you can replace dice with a villager system each colony can start with a one villager and you can purchase one of them with 2 wheat/fish and 1 wood . You can also add a rule like each colony can have 3 villagers maximum and villagers can be killable so soldiers can somewhat blockade the city. And lastly you can move the villager across to tiles to mach yout needs . At the next turn you get your resources acording to tiles that villager are working on it previous turn. sorry for my bad english
bastion should be flat like you said, and they should have battlement as well, after looking a few picture, many only have wide battlement on the bastion, like 1 hole per edges and no battlement on the wall aditionally, if it's possible, having the walking area would improve the design a lot and maybe an entrence, if it's a mecanic you could use
i think you should think about how forts were really used, cities had walls, but forts were strategically placed to impede and delay enemy units. They often were next to a city, but not always and definitely not encompassing the whole city, not like in ancient times. So maybe you could update the walls, and then use the star fort as a frustrating fortification that can be built next to a city or a mountain tile. Make it so that they cost upkeep so people just dont make a line of them and slow down the game, and then bam you can keep both pieces and both ideas
That's true. I guess the idea I'm trying to express is not that the fort is encompassing the colony but the colony is protected by a fort. I think I can get away with that, since the scale is exaggerated. It does make sense for the fort to be adjacent though, so maybe.
What if the bastions weren't in the corners of the tile, but extended onto the neighboring tiles from the sides? I think this would both leave you more room inside the walls and also allow for a more authentic looking shape. It would also leave the corners open for roads.
@@romaliop I didn't even think of leaving room for roads.. Great point! I feel like it might look a little funny having them on the sides? All of them I've seen are on the corners.
@@julianbirke I mean, if you just add triangles on each side of a hexagon, it will become a hexagram. If you think how to utilize that space instead of thinking where to add bastions on a hexagon, I think it would be easier to come up with a nice design.
Congratulations for this video, keep it up, your game looks great, however I had an idea that I thought of, it would be to add an option to the infantrymen, in addition to being able to transform into a colony, to have the option of transforming into a kind of bastion like a static defense to block the enemy, of course it should cost a lot of resources, but, it would also force you to play on larger boards given its attack radius which seems relatively large for the size of the boards so far. Otherwise it could only attack in certain directions to force the enemy to review its strategies to conquer the opponent
@@capitainej3099 could be interesting. Imthere would have to be a way to counter it though, else the board will just get blocked upand not be able to maneuver.
@@julianbirke your right of course, it's your game, your able to control every single detail takes ideas or not and complete them. I'm waiting your next video with impatience
I feel like this approach is a great concept, however in practice it would look nicer to not have the edge thingys sticking out so far, at least in my eyes. Maybe take a look at only one castle/similar structure from that time period and base it off of that 🤷♂️
Small detailed pieces are best printed in resin, spray-painted, and coated in clear-coat varnish. That said, it wouldn't increase your production time at all because a trayful of resin pieces prints much faster and with much less manual cleanup (surprisingly). Resin also takes paint great. PM me if you want a sample, I like your work so far.
Sorry to ask but are you going try to make the game simple as chess but with hundreds of stretegy or something more complicated as a video game but still in the style of boardgames
I see you putted a heart anyway could you answer and also tell others of your answers so when we think about a suggestion we first know what you want this game to be
@@user-or2xm8ph7w I'd like to make it as simple as possible, more in a chess style gameplay. I definitely don't want to overcomplicate it like a video game. I think it drags the gameplay down when players have to keep track of too many rules, tally's, etc.
I have a question, how did you print or get to make the tiles you use for your map? It would be a cool video if you could show us the different steps you took to make the different prototype pieces and show your prototype timeline such as the one with the bastion. Although, I don't know if you already have a video like so
I got the custom die, hex tiles and cards from a website I found called "customboardgames". They did a great job printing but did take a while to get back. I'll keep that in mind for a video idea.
Bastions are perfect. Is the bastion meant to replace town villages? Because it's just fort. Otherwise, I'd keep the walls for the towns, but maybe make a feature in the game where you can build forts to protect/produce units.
@@julianbirke Maybe you could make a few different star-pattern types just for aesthetic purposes to make it look more interesting. Maybe 2 or 3 different star shapes, or one shape for one side, another shape for the other? Not necessary but might add a little more charm.
the more spikey look (disregarding any historical basis here, ive no clue about that sorta stuff) look more "threatening" if u were to have factions they would be more of the "evil" faction version whereas the original design is more of the "good" version talking like gondor (old) vs mordor (new) sorta thing
I like them but more thicker it feels like it be damaged or break. Can I ask does it matter if fortress covers the terrain board hex? Think it work better with a thin base for durability can always lift it with other pieces in it to see terrain. What is limit of counters to fit? Also you could still use old version, Vauban style fortress can be upgrade. Many medieval fortresses were still around cities etc and in east ottoman empire
I never thought about it cover the terrain, it might be more durable. You wouldn't need to lift it to see the tile underneath because you only collect resources from adjacent tiles. I know medieval fortresses were probably still around at that time, but were new ones being built? Or just left over from a different age?
Huh, what Blender add-on are you using that has all those little measurement readouts and allows symmetric editing? That'd be really useful for my own work!
Trust me, it bugs me too haha. That's why I'm redesigning, to make more time consistent. Also the "frigate" is modeled after a Gallion, so I'm definitely remodeling that one.
ADvice: Make the units pieces a bit smaller. Hope you make a medieval total war or age of empires style board game. Starting with town center and so on
@@julianbirke during the time of colonial war settlements would have wooden walls up first before upgrading to brick or stone before eventually over upgrades it would look like what your game pieces are.
Hello, I am a big fan and I love the project but I only speak spanish (my inglish is very bad) can you put subtitules in spanish pls, I know is hard but I apreciatte. Thanks for read 😀
@@ichich8932 I had thought about that, I actually made prototypes of "chance" cards that you could earn. Things like "year of plenty" - collect double resources on your turn.
I have a suggestion for the walls piece. Instead of making it a fortress-like structure with stones, maybe it should be a log wall. Another suggestion - Maybe make it where cannons can destroy walls. Siege mortars and cannons have been used to counteract walls, afterall.
Haha, I'll look into it this week. I really know nothing about it but it seems like a good idea. I have been thinking about playtesting a lot though. In my head I always pictured people having a physical way to play test. I'm curious what route you would prefer and think others would as well (digital/physical)? I had thought of trying to create a pdf kit for people to download and print out and maybe purchase the 3d pieces if they wanted. I wouldn't get as good data back on that, I assume though.
@@julianbirke Most people use Tabletop Simulator when playtesting digitally. Some people will also use "print and plays" for physical playtesting, which is basically what you mentioned in that last line. I don't know much about print/plays, but I think TTS and print/plays are what people usually prefer. Tabletop Simulator is definitely a popular way to playtest games
@@julianbirke in terns of just getting the game information/rules out there, do whatever is easiest. If you post a TTS version, then people wll make a pnp version. If you make a pnp version, then people will make a TTS version. All they need is the rules and component list to get started.
Just stick with the walls, nothing was broken and the majority of people that will play a game have never seen a starfort. They understand what your walls are though.
This is exactly why game designers don't focus on art until the very end. Focus on finalizing your rules and mechanics first, then when you have everything set in stone, you can worry about one of the walls look right or not.
I agree
He already has rules mostly set up
@@dubl9719 it's a fair point but I consider myself a graphic designer first and this has always been where a lot of the excitement comes from.
@@julianbirkeah yes, the usual tradeoff of game designers who often end up with better art. Hope this one's also worth that tradeoff
i think you also need the game atmosphere to know it rules work in the game. its not al 1 and 0's
I like the look of the star fort. I think like you said, leveling out the bastions will help. They often are angled, but with such a small scale model, it can look a bit funky.
Also, I think maybe adding ramparts could give it a bit more detail without going super overboard.
Take your time. "The ultimate strategy board game" was never going to happen try #1
As a fellow game maker, I highly recommend investing in a $250 resin 3D printer. If you're already skilled in 3D modeling, getting one is a no-brainer. Modern SLA printers are incredibly user-friendly, and learning to use them is much easier than mastering Blender. The time you save will more than justify the investment.
With a SLA printer, you could test four or five designs in the time it would take just to get something shipped. Plus, resin prints are far superior for capturing the intricate details needed for miniatures compared to filament printers, which are more suited for engineering or prototyping. The quality closely resembles that of injection-molded pieces. and in order for these things to look right i think your going to need some very fine detailing, a 4k printer should be more than enough for your needs.
If you’re concerned about colors, you can always start with a clear or white resin and use dye, though this might not be necessary for your needs, and honestly its probably cheeper in the long run to buy 4 different colors for your pieces.
One last thing-the new design looks a bit sci-fi with its smooth finish and large battlements. With some additional detail and stonework, you can give them a more time-appropriate texture. While it's tempting to make the piece more resilient to avoid breaking, keep in mind that the final injection-molded piece will be less brittle than your prototypes. Using a flexible material for your prototypes can also help reduce the risk of cracking. So, don’t be afraid to add more detail, as the final product can handle it. Look into the smaller Anycubic or Elegoo printers.
I love the concept of your game! If you ever need a play tester, feel free to reach out.
If you want to add spice. Having your troops of whatever value may need food and water for them not to be disband
What this establish is that whatever source of food or materials becomes greater in value. Such as raiding or your Storage or etc.
That could be interesting. Just have to figure out a way to not cost too many resources/turn. That could require players to have a large reserve of cards on hand.
@@julianbirke True and can be overwhelming.
But something you could use to solve this and can be use for other resource functions in the game is creating large value tokens. Like Nickels to Quarters. This isn’t ideal though as it makes more need for practical resources.
Maybe roads could supplie the troops so players build more roads else where other than just connecting castles. And maybe even a way to block enemy roads to try to starve the enemy troops
Good idea, make it that, grain tiles next to a city gives you 1 food source. If you build a mill in a grain tile you get 2 food sources for the grain tile. If you build a dock in a sea tile next to your city you also get 1 food for that tile.
Maybe it is also fun to have tech cards where you can build a card where you can upgrade them.
Fishnets techcard: all your docks ad 2 food instead of 1.
Bakeries: all your mills produce 3 extra food instead of 2
I know this change would be pretty major, but hear me out here: what if instead of forts that surround a tile, they were just walls that go along the edge of tiles and you deployed them the same way you do roads? So instead of making full hex pieces, just make a bunch of wall pieces that can be arranged however the player wants. This way you could do cool things like wall off passes between mountain tiles, make walls have a penalty to cross, make new gate pieces for the players to pass through without penalty, give players bonus defense if they manage to completely wall off a tile or tiles (basically the same way your forts surround a tile now). I think the contrast between the roads and walls would make an interesting relationship gameplay-wise, and it would allow the player to make forts larger than one tile and in interesting shapes to better complement whatever the board arrangement happened to be that game. Sorry if that made absolutely no sense.
you can add building that boost a tile production but can be destroyed. windmills for fields, lumber mills for forests... ??
@@marioburgosdelrio5767 I do think that could be pretty cool. I'm always hesitant adding more pieces, just for simplicity's sake but I'm definitely considering it.
That sounds like a cool idea. It'll add some depth and choice to the game instead of having the build path be essentially predefined
@@julianbirke Yeah, and with somebody else’s food idea, they can be very important pieces!
I already played your game using a catan with the sea expansion and the risk, and it's a great game...
But you really need to explain in one video how to create a map.
@@pablo2075 that's a great to hear! I was thinking through map building the other day. I think it might come down to players taking turns placing tiles down and then some basic guidelines - water must touch water, things like that. I'll definitely create a video on it once it's settled!
@@julianbirke For the game I'm doing I use the cake method, where one person designs the map the the other player chooses where they would like to start first
I like the star fortress. Fits more with the cannons-muskets-shakos theme. Just my two cents: make the bastions flat top, then add battlements to them. Dont worry about the battlements being too big, they are the right size in this scale to represent what you are want to show.
Right on! I think you'll be happy with the new design someone sent me.
I'll post it soon.
I think you should maybe rename the musketmen. As a gunpowder history nerd, there are lots of more accurate things you could call them like:
Musketeers (1500s-1600s)
Line infantry (late 1600s-late 1800s)
Skirmishers (1700s-early 1900s but these guys were more like marksmen and didn’t stand in lines usually)
Regulars (has always been used to describe soldiers that make up the bulk of the army)
And perhaps you could add a militia unit, that can only be recruited once in a colony, and can never move from that colony. But perhaps it could be worse in some way compared to the musketmen.
You should add a trading ship, that can travel between your ports and give an extra trade bonus. It cannot fight, but can be escorted by a frigate by putting it in the same tile.
If you are thinking of making it more 1500s-1600s or even early 1700s you could add a pikeman unit, which could be immune to cavalry.
Perhaps add grenadiers, which are just regular musketmen with cooler hats that are better in sieges because they have grenades. Unless you are setting it anytime past 1720, which is when most countries stopped using grenades and the grenadiers became more of just and elite force.
For cavalry, I was thinking perhaps of adding different types instead of five of the same.
Here are some you can research yourself:
Cuirassier (but this one had very a different role in the 1500s-1600s compared to the 1700s-1800s)
Lancer
Hussar (this only came into use after around 1700)
Dragoon (but these might be a little OP)
Heavy cavalry (this is actually a category, but is also used to describe big guys on big horses with big swords and nothing else)
I might further add to this list as the day continues, thanks for listening to my ted talk
Great points! I actually do really like the name "musketeers", I might start using that term, "line infantry" is pretty cool cool as well.
I'm starting to warm up to the idea of more units. My hesitation was that they'd make the rules more complex, but I think there might be a way to do it in a simple, precise way, that adds more strategic depth to the game. Also, pikemen would be sweet.
@@julianbirke If you want some uniform ideas I would recommend watching some of the battle scenes from Cromwell (1970) which you can find in UA-cam, or Waterloo (1970) if you’re going for the 1800s style
@@RandomAussie-dx9fj I'll definitely check those out!
@@julianbirke mabye add more units/ map tiles (new biomes would be sweet!) in a sort of DLC or smth seperate that adds on to the game.
@@GamingBanana-xf9im like an advanced rule set for more experienced players
I like the idea of making pieces more period themed. I think the star fort will end up looking more authentic than the castle which felt a little cliche.
I recommend making a tabletop sim implementation - they're pretty easy to put together and it will let your community playtest your game for you.
Excellent work and video. So excited to watch the project come alive step by step.
Just my opinion. Do not make the walls too thin. The possibility of them braking during transport or playing especially is high. Make sure they are not just for delicate hands but for clumsy teens also.
@@johnmaroudas632 thank you! Great advice too. They have held up quite well but I will take the opportunity to make them even more durable.
For the roads and forts: while it will make them a bit unwieldy when not in use, what about a vertical ‘blade’ or thin nubbin on the bottom that can slide between the board pieces. I always have to straighten out the roads in Settlers of Catan.
That's a good idea! I'll have to look into that. My only concern is would it cause the tiles to spread apart?
@@julianbirke you could ever so slightly notch the sides of each tile. I don’t think it’d increase the cost of the ‘knife’ (as the punch is usually called i think) that’ll still be needed. Hmmm.
dude i hope you get more popular this is actually so cool
Well, I appreciate it. I do think we have a nice community going here though.
I really like the approach of making the game take place in the 17th to 18th century. And the fort looks Awesome! The walls look a little thin in comparison to the images, but no one will notice. Great work
I think the problem here is that, if I'm correct, bastions were usually military forts, not protective walls...
Anyways, I think some detalls, like more detall in the bastions and etc., would fix the issue.
Keep with the good work!
I agree, I think it does need .ore detail. The idea with the fort is not to be protective walls, but to visually indicate that the colony is protected by a fort.
@@julianbirke Mmh, alright.
Maybe you could make a star-shaped fort that can fit like a puzzle piece around the Colony piece, that would allow it to be more fort-looking, only problem would be that, if I remember correctly, units in a walled tile were protected, right? My suggestion would make it harder for them to look protected.
Maybe the solution really just lies in adding detail in the six bastions and the walls.
"i'll start out by creating a circle with six sides..." that centance hurt my brain.
@@Jbenneballe haha well, it's technically what I did. Blender has no hexagon shape builder. There's only "circles" with different numbers of sizes.
I like the redesign for star forts over the castle walls. One thing though for me is having the bastions have a flat top feels off. Maybe if you had some protrusions upwards like walls on top of the bastion?
I can't shake the idea of each side being able to have a single expensive flagship, which can easily combat frigates and maybe bombard coastal land units
Like when it attacks a frigate(not the other flagship), combat immediately ends without any opportunity for the defender to play any maneuvres.
Perhaps to be destroyed it has to be attacked either by the other flagship, or by two bombard units in concert, taking one down with it.
Yes I think this would add depth and strategy to the whole combat system, players having to be careful to keep their land units out of range of the flagship, and maybe it could be called a man o' war or something of the sort?
That could be a lot of fun.
The starfort looks great. I would consider adding a bit extra thickness to the walls for more powerfull look. They look a bit weak to me.
A fun idea would be a digital version some time later once youre happy with how everything works so people can play test the game. Also the star fort idea is pretty cool and I like it more than the walls. Then again the mechanics and the rules are what really makes this game interesting.
I think I'll be looking into a TTS here soon, so stay tuned!
Make flat, and I think a solid "railing" might feel better than a proper battlement on the points (so the outer edge is slightly taller than the middle area of them, at the same height as the battlements). I think these areas aren't big enough to have multiple battlements unless you make the battlements as small as the old walls, which would bring back the chipping issue, but at least having this depth to them will make the battlements you do have fit in better.
I prefer the walls. they look better to me and i think they would be better to fortify a city. mostly because bastions were usually used as forts and not protection. but if you keep redesigning, you may get a good look that you like.
I like the old walls better. I think beauty is more important than time appropriateness when designing game pieces.
I liked the older version. One thing I noticed was that with the little corner bits protruding over the hex you would never be able to place them adjacent to one another. Maybe that's not a problem. I don't remember the rules off the top of my head. I just know I would try that strat immediately as a playtester and with this design you can't.
Good point but right now the rule is that the may not be adjacent to each other.
I think you should add a leveling system for the walls similar to Civilization 6. The first design of the walls could be a cheaper version of the wall and cost less resources while offering less protection. The new redesign of the wall could be a upgrade to the wall and offer more defense.
That would be fun, could do a Palisade style as the first level or something.
İ thing you can replace dice with a villager system each colony can start with a one villager and you can purchase one of them with 2 wheat/fish and 1 wood . You can also add a rule like each colony can have 3 villagers maximum and villagers can be killable so soldiers can somewhat blockade the city. And lastly you can move the villager across to tiles to mach yout needs . At the next turn you get your resources acording to tiles that villager are working on it previous turn. sorry for my bad english
And whoever capture a village that village can start with zero villager. İ think with this way you can solve the snowball problem a little bit
@emirhanergun4705 that could be fun. You could more strategically place your "villagers" on resources you need. Thanks for the input!
Love the star fort style
I like this new version. Makes more sense to the time of the game.
I really like strategy game that are mostry based on skill rather than luck, I really love your idea, wish you the best and take your time, from Italy
Hey I see great potential in this new design, maybe make the walls thicker to match the bastions? Anyways, cooler than the old one
@@Cauks1 thanks for the input!
The bastion idea is really cool! I think you’re on to something here. I will say though, if you kept the original, I thought it looked great.
Thank you, good to know!
bastion should be flat like you said, and they should have battlement as well,
after looking a few picture, many only have wide battlement on the bastion, like 1 hole per edges and no battlement on the wall
aditionally, if it's possible, having the walking area would improve the design a lot
and maybe an entrence, if it's a mecanic you could use
Keep em coming!
i think you should think about how forts were really used, cities had walls, but forts were strategically placed to impede and delay enemy units. They often were next to a city, but not always and definitely not encompassing the whole city, not like in ancient times. So maybe you could update the walls, and then use the star fort as a frustrating fortification that can be built next to a city or a mountain tile. Make it so that they cost upkeep so people just dont make a line of them and slow down the game, and then bam you can keep both pieces and both ideas
That's true. I guess the idea I'm trying to express is not that the fort is encompassing the colony but the colony is protected by a fort. I think I can get away with that, since the scale is exaggerated. It does make sense for the fort to be adjacent though, so maybe.
I love the new fort redesign!!
Thank you!
keep me in the loop if you get this online. It looks fun to play, even if just digitally. :)
That's okay man, keep working on it until you think it's perfect!
One cool idea for this game would be to add in sabotage mechanics. Like being able to destroy bridges and roads
That would be cool, I've thought about that. Need to think through how the mechanic would work
Virgin Medieval Castle vs. Chad 18th Century Star Fortress
@@thraexgladiator 🗿
What if the bastions weren't in the corners of the tile, but extended onto the neighboring tiles from the sides? I think this would both leave you more room inside the walls and also allow for a more authentic looking shape. It would also leave the corners open for roads.
@@romaliop I didn't even think of leaving room for roads.. Great point! I feel like it might look a little funny having them on the sides? All of them I've seen are on the corners.
@@julianbirke I mean, if you just add triangles on each side of a hexagon, it will become a hexagram. If you think how to utilize that space instead of thinking where to add bastions on a hexagon, I think it would be easier to come up with a nice design.
Congratulations for this video, keep it up, your game looks great, however I had an idea that I thought of, it would be to add an option to the infantrymen, in addition to being able to transform into a colony, to have the option of transforming into a kind of bastion like a static defense to block the enemy, of course it should cost a lot of resources, but, it would also force you to play on larger boards given its attack radius which seems relatively large for the size of the boards so far. Otherwise it could only attack in certain directions to force the enemy to review its strategies to conquer the opponent
@@capitainej3099 could be interesting. Imthere would have to be a way to counter it though, else the board will just get blocked upand not be able to maneuver.
@@julianbirke your right of course, it's your game, your able to control every single detail takes ideas or not and complete them. I'm waiting your next video with impatience
I feel like this approach is a great concept, however in practice it would look nicer to not have the edge thingys sticking out so far, at least in my eyes. Maybe take a look at only one castle/similar structure from that time period and base it off of that 🤷♂️
Small detailed pieces are best printed in resin, spray-painted, and coated in clear-coat varnish. That said, it wouldn't increase your production time at all because a trayful of resin pieces prints much faster and with much less manual cleanup (surprisingly). Resin also takes paint great. PM me if you want a sample, I like your work so far.
@@MikeOldani that'd be great! I do t think there's PM in here but please email me at designsbyjulian@gmail.com
Thanks!
Can't wait till I can play this game it's a mix of one of my favorite games and my dads
Love to hear that. I hope to make it available to you someday, hopefully sooner than later!
Sorry to ask but are you going try to make the game simple as chess but with hundreds of stretegy or something more complicated as a video game but still in the style of boardgames
I see you putted a heart anyway could you answer and also tell others of your answers so when we think about a suggestion we first know what you want this game to be
@@user-or2xm8ph7w I'd like to make it as simple as possible, more in a chess style gameplay. I definitely don't want to overcomplicate it like a video game. I think it drags the gameplay down when players have to keep track of too many rules, tally's, etc.
Lasy thing incredible game
I think the new design is beautiful
I have a question, how did you print or get to make the tiles you use for your map? It would be a cool video if you could show us the different steps you took to make the different prototype pieces and show your prototype timeline such as the one with the bastion. Although, I don't know if you already have a video like so
I got the custom die, hex tiles and cards from a website I found called "customboardgames". They did a great job printing but did take a while to get back. I'll keep that in mind for a video idea.
@@julianbirke Excellent! Thanks Julian!
I like this new shape.
Bastions are perfect. Is the bastion meant to replace town villages? Because it's just fort. Otherwise, I'd keep the walls for the towns, but maybe make a feature in the game where you can build forts to protect/produce units.
@@aaronrocks365 It was my intention for them to just replace the walls. I think it could be interesting to let them be a stand alone fort though.
@@julianbirke Maybe you could make a few different star-pattern types just for aesthetic purposes to make it look more interesting. Maybe 2 or 3 different star shapes, or one shape for one side, another shape for the other? Not necessary but might add a little more charm.
"A circle with 6 points" 😂
Sir thats called a hexagon
Not in blender world haha
the more spikey look (disregarding any historical basis here, ive no clue about that sorta stuff) look more "threatening"
if u were to have factions they would be more of the "evil" faction version whereas the original design is more of the "good" version
talking like gondor (old) vs mordor (new) sorta thing
Minas Morgul vibes. That's it, we're making this LOTR themed haha
I love this series
Well i also remembwr bits where you had to ballance with cannon spam, so perhaps a unit upkeep cost at the end of the turn?
I've thought about unit upkeep cost. I'm worried it'll bog the game down though, it could be tedious for players to tally up on each turn.
@@julianbirke Optional rules/ side rules that could be used in expansions or alternative games?
I like them but more thicker it feels like it be damaged or break. Can I ask does it matter if fortress covers the terrain board hex? Think it work better with a thin base for durability can always lift it with other pieces in it to see terrain. What is limit of counters to fit? Also you could still use old version, Vauban style fortress can be upgrade. Many medieval fortresses were still around cities etc and in east ottoman empire
I never thought about it cover the terrain, it might be more durable. You wouldn't need to lift it to see the tile underneath because you only collect resources from adjacent tiles.
I know medieval fortresses were probably still around at that time, but were new ones being built? Or just left over from a different age?
When do you think this will release and for what price because I really want it. ❤
Huh, what Blender add-on are you using that has all those little measurement readouts and allows symmetric editing? That'd be really useful for my own work!
@@GabrielGABFonseca very useful! Under "edit mode", "viewport overlays" , you can check box the "edge length" and it'll display it.
@@GabrielGABFonseca not an add-on
All of your pieces are visually a mix of the 18th and 19th centuries. The hats bug me to no end.
Trust me, it bugs me too haha. That's why I'm redesigning, to make more time consistent. Also the "frigate" is modeled after a Gallion, so I'm definitely remodeling that one.
Have you considered getting your own small 3d printer for faster prototyping?
@@zachvickers7910 I almost did last year. I think I have too many "irons in the fire" right now though. It would be a great skill to learn though.
ADvice: Make the units pieces a bit smaller. Hope you make a medieval total war or age of empires style board game. Starting with town center and so on
Awesome!
just get your own 3d printer. its super easy nowadays and your iteration speed would go up drastically
I feel you are in the right path but I would design it in the way if a settlement became "fortified"
Not sure I'm following, you mind elaborating?
@@julianbirke during the time of colonial war settlements would have wooden walls up first before upgrading to brick or stone before eventually over upgrades it would look like what your game pieces are.
this game reminds me of Renaissance era Civ
Love Civ, I'd be lying if I said that hasn't influenced me.
Hello, I am a big fan and I love the project but I only speak spanish (my inglish is very bad) can you put subtitules in spanish pls, I know is hard but I apreciatte. Thanks for read 😀
You can make something like Development Cards from Catan.
I think it makes the game better
@@ichich8932 I had thought about that, I actually made prototypes of "chance" cards that you could earn. Things like "year of plenty" - collect double resources on your turn.
@@julianbirke i think it would be nice, maybe strategic cards for fighting,which can surprise the opponent
@@ichich8932 checkout my last video on "the art of war", I do just that!
@@julianbirke yeah thats fine I saw the video and the idea is great ;)
You should make age of empires iii style wooden walls
@@TheLastCrusade1 oh that'd be sweet. Maybe as an outpost or a base layer of protection that you can upgrade?
@@julianbirke sounds interesting but it would lose some of the simplicity
I have a suggestion for the walls piece. Instead of making it a fortress-like structure with stones, maybe it should be a log wall. Another suggestion - Maybe make it where cannons can destroy walls. Siege mortars and cannons have been used to counteract walls, afterall.
I'm not opposed to that style wall, it could look neat. Actually cannons are already the way you destroy walls!
When will the rules for this game be available for online play testing? I cant take all this update videos without getting a taste to play for myself!
Haha, I'll look into it this week. I really know nothing about it but it seems like a good idea. I have been thinking about playtesting a lot though.
In my head I always pictured people having a physical way to play test. I'm curious what route you would prefer and think others would as well (digital/physical)?
I had thought of trying to create a pdf kit for people to download and print out and maybe purchase the 3d pieces if they wanted. I wouldn't get as good data back on that, I assume though.
@@julianbirke Most people use Tabletop Simulator when playtesting digitally. Some people will also use "print and plays" for physical playtesting, which is basically what you mentioned in that last line. I don't know much about print/plays, but I think TTS and print/plays are what people usually prefer. Tabletop Simulator is definitely a popular way to playtest games
@@julianbirke in terns of just getting the game information/rules out there, do whatever is easiest. If you post a TTS version, then people wll make a pnp version. If you make a pnp version, then people will make a TTS version. All they need is the rules and component list to get started.
Woooo hoooo
I think this is better but cane be improved.
Prefer the bastion version
Playtest on table top simulator?
I think I'll be working on that soon, so stay tuned!
I prefer the star fort
Good to know
I think you mean back to hex one
@@dubart5918 😂
Just stick with the walls, nothing was broken and the majority of people that will play a game have never seen a starfort. They understand what your walls are though.
Do you have a contact email? I can send you a better model I mocked up.
@@M00Z1LLA I'd love to see it!
designsbyjulian@gmail.com
For all have sinned and the wages of sin is death but the free gift of god is eternal life in Christ Jesus god alone
Please try to improve it, do not use the walls
Noted haha
Stick to walls