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.
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.
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.
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.
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
@@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 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 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 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 RU-vid, 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.
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 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?
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
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.
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?
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 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 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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
@@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.
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 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.
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
@@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.
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.
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 🤷♂️
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.
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?
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 😀
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!
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.
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
