Various ramblings on the modelling & gaming antics of my son and I
Saturday 3 August 2024
Tuesday 29 August 2023
Monday 10 July 2023
Beyond the Box Discord server
Beyond the Box Podcast now has its own Discord server - feel free to join and share with others! It'll feature all the kits we look at and the facts and figures we use for the episodes, and have a general chat area for everyone to discuss the topics.
Link: https://discord.gg/EQUrbKrvx8 See you there!Wednesday 10 May 2023
Beyond the Box Episode 5 links
Humbrol | Kit and Model Starter Tool Sethttps://uk.airfix.com/products/kit-and-model-starter-tool-set-ag9169?clickref=1011lwJp8LqK
Medium Tool Set
https://www.gaugemasterretail.com/humbrol-axg9159.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwl6OiBhA2EiwAuUwWZWf6jsg80077uBVvv_-2PJva0MDwdC2SLr_vMXMokjZDmry2MUrpNhoCZw4QAvD_BwE
Work Station
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humbrol-Work-Station-modelling-bench/dp/B09ZJ5FMFK/ref=asc_df_B09ZJ5FMFK/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=606869501253&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11408441131627223622&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007061&hvtargid=pla-1818528126874&psc=1&th=1&psc=1
Revell | Model-Set Plus Modelling toolshttps://www.emodels.co.uk//revell-29619-model-set-plus-modelling-tools-29619.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwl6OiBhA2EiwAuUwWZQckJbzcpyF86quNB0jO4-kfLhH2-2CG71Rj-cOC4lEBYEkfW9iFsRoCbE8QAvD_BwE
Work Station https://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/revell-39085-work-station-for-plastic-model-kit-making-39085/
Italeri | Tool Set
https://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/italeri-tools-a50815-modelling-tools-set/
Tamiya | Tamiya Basic Tool Sethttps://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/tamiya-basic-tool-set-74016-tools-accessories/?gclid=CjwKCAjwl6OiBhA2EiwAuUwWZWjB5Jz8MXnM5XgW039hXzAtHsKV4Z4AzBRuq2QGo3GvyjBjI9H7zBoCMuAQAvD_BwE
AK | Basic Tools Set AK Interactivehttps://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/basic-tools-set-ak-interactive-ak9013-p5964/?gclid=CjwKCAjwl6OiBhA2EiwAuUwWZeDwquO4KHU4p3xNC7eLvyOtonMs7eQB-BVf2iWW76Rcr63YwkYM5hoCGc4QAvD_BwE
Meng Models | Basic Hobby Tool Sethttps://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/basic-hobby-tool-set-meng-models-mts-003-p11922/?gclid=CjwKCAjwl6OiBhA2EiwAuUwWZWKUDacx29SDS3H7d3v9_C5A3mwMGXCpHAnXenS73fr4XBdDTnfnHRoC9YMQAvD_BwE
Modelcraft | Plastic Modelling Tool Sethttps://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/9pc-plastic-modelling-tool-set-modelcraft-ptk1009-p16243/?gclid=CjwKCAjwl6OiBhA2EiwAuUwWZbrej8Q9vZ3g9K2KjHlZILWvVdcNi9X1N4otX1EcFaX0DDyz3IGg1hoCNjwQAvD_BwE
Pro Plastic Modelling Tool Sethttps://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/pro-plastic-modelling-tool-set-modelcraft-ptk1010-p16400/?gclid=CjwKCAjwl6OiBhA2EiwAuUwWZeen0YNAZHV7lZEgGGnvIBgLOhV1yOvy9iQWAGI1ObxB2Bo3p4jdaRoCLHAQAvD_BwE
WiMas (Amazon) | 26PCS Gundam Model Tools Kithttps://www.amazon.co.uk/WiMas-Gundam-Building-Repairing-Fixing/dp/B07TJGKVBP/ref=asc_df_B07TJGKVBP/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=375425913580&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7489360344264608148&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007061&hvtargid=pla-792110387273&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=78493316802&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=375425913580&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7489360344264608148&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007061&hvtargid=pla-792110387273
Brushes
Tweezers
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09JLXKWB5?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Sanding sticks
Tuesday 2 August 2022
Focus on YouTube
Well I guess if you're visiting here you'll see we're not posted anything for a while, and that's because my main focus has been on developing the new YouTube channel. That's going to be our primary outlet for the foreseeable future, so go ahead and check it out if you've not discovered us already. See you there!
Monday 21 February 2022
We're back!
The Hub Systems Podcast is back!
The Hub Systems Podcast Episode 36: Reloaded!
We talk about films, D&D and Phoenix Rising...join us!
Monday 10 January 2022
Firestorm armada and Phoenix Rising equivalence - How?
So I wanted to give people something of an insight into the process I'm going through before I release the first version of Phoenix Rising. The whole basis of PR is to utilise the wealth of data from FSA v2, which was widely lauded as being one of the most balanced games out there. So how do you do that when you're creating a new game?
Well the basis of this is statistical analysis - lots of it. Modelling a game like Firestorm is a fearsome process, because there are so many variables. In chess, there is a constrained 8x8 board, a set number and type of pieces and modelling that is difficult enough. There are a couple of hundred different Firestorm Ships, and a multitude of different interactions between them and their weapons, MARs etc....it's close to infinite in variation.
However, there are some restrictions that can be imposed - Scenarios impose limits on where ships can be at the start, movement limits where they can get to, turn limit and weapon arcs constrain weapon lethal zones....it's also not necessary to model EVERYTHING, just a representative selection of conditions that each ship can be examined under.
Now this still means there's a HUGE number of things going on, but it allows ships to be compared using actual criteria that are present in the game, rather than an arbitrary "feel". Once this has been done, all that's needed in the new game is to produce similar statistical results, and you have your ground level ruleset balanced for the prior edition - plus or minus any "tweaks" desired - the important thing here is that you can make these modifications with an actual idea of their impact, rather than just "winging it" - which is, to be fair, how most games development is done!
So - as I've mentioned in the past - the way I've approached this is by evaluating ships on two main criteria - how survivable they are against other ships, and how able they are to destroy enemy ships. When you boil everything else away, this is the crus of the value of most units in TTGs - how mean and tough are they, and how able are they to project that power (it's no good being super destructive if you never get in range to use that power). Now this all needs doing TWICE, of course - once for the old Firestorm Ruleset, and once for Phoenix Rising's rules. The great thing about doing this is that it's dynamic - when you change something, you can clearly see the impact that has on that ship and others.
So just how involved is this? Well, here is ONE cell from the Firestorm Armada calculator, used to calculate how many ships are able to damage it in one range band;
This is repeated for every ship in every range band for both DR & CR, main and supplementary weapons (torpedoes, mines etc). It takes into account firing arcs and speeds of the ships weapons used to target the ships over the course of a 6-turn game, as well as MARs, ship type etc etc. Has this driven me completely insane? Well, maybe!
The point here is that Firestorm Armada v2, whilst extremely flexible, has rules which affect how the ships interact and behave, and these constrain possibilities within the game. For example, a ship with a Primary weapon that only fires into RB1 and has a speed of 5" and Turn Limit of 3" is really not very dangerous, even if that weapon is enormously powerful, because in a 6-turn game it will probably only get a single shot in. That's probably less dangerous to a ship that has half the AD but a move of 12" and TL1, because that ship can project the threat of those AD more freely. All of this can be modelled, and whilst an approximation, if you cover 85-90% of the statistical incidences in the game, and because you're using this to compare ships against each other in the same framework, you get an unbiased and mathematically measurable value out the other end.
Now once you have that "benchmark" of FSA v2, the "easy" part is (once you've done the same for PR, or any alternative ruleset, actually), you can start adjusting things to get THE SAME END RESULT. This is the important bit. What matters is that end set of numbers, and once you're there, because the whole thing is "live", you can then make further adjustments to amend specifics of how factions play and "feel" in the new ruleset, ratehr than making adjustments from "gut feel" and seeing how things play out. Of course, playtesting and player experience are still critically important, since this is what the final objective is - create a game that plays and feels like FSA v2, but (hopefully) ironing our some of the wrinkles in that ruleset.
The other by-product of all this is that it allows ship value to be based on actual gameplay impact, rather than (once again) what "feels" right. That in turn allows you to have a custom ship generator that doesn't have the problems associated with the fun - but flawed - v1 generator.
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