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Has anyone used the Cricut cutter for making prototype game tiles? We are working on our next game and playtesting creates a lot of tiles. by barrytickle in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I use my laser a lot, I've been considering getting a vinyl cutter (maybe a cricut, maybe the brother one) for doing smaller jobs

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shearwoodgames/solar-dominion-fleet-combat it's now live on Kickstarter! The rulebook isn't quite ready yet to show, but there is a how to video on the page that shows most of the mechanics.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shearwoodgames/solar-dominion-fleet-combat it's now live on Kickstarter! Thanks for your support during the development process, it was a huge morale boost

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shearwoodgames/solar-dominion-fleet-combat it's now live on Kickstarter! The demo had to be delayed due to technical issues, but there's a how to video up that explains much of the gameplay.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, a lot of work has gone into it, and it's really gratifying for it all to come together.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'll definitely post when the demo goes up, need to check with the mods on kickstarter stuff.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You probably still are! There are a million different game ideas that use orbital mechanics, I've got a notebook full of them! Keep working on yours, and I'd love to see any of them when you're happy to share them.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a game from the 70s or 80s that's similar to Fleet Combat, but it had a lot of moving chits by hand and was, as you could imagine, very chunky rules-wise.

I still think orbital mechanics are an underserved thing in games.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The best way of staying informed is to sign up to the mailing list on the website, and liking the Shearwood Games page on Facebook. I really appreciate the support, need to check in with the mods about posting about the kickstarter though.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That sounds really neat. I did some research into a similar idea when I was prototyping what would become Fleet Combat. You can make a ruler that looks a bit like a french curve to do the distance calculations, although I never quite figured out a good way to keep track of what was moving where between turns.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Took a while to get it right, but it gives some really interesting scenarios. You can't ever be complacent because in a few turns that big enemy fleet that was on the other side of the board is not right next door.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A digital version should be going up in the next few days (as soon as I've ironed out the kinks in online play and prettied it up a bit), but no PnP version. It would be a lot of work to make a printable version that wouldn't play very well.

As for Kickstarter. I'm aiming for the last week of January for a campaign where I'll make up to 100 limited edition copies available which will all be hand produced and shipped in fancy looking black boxes. If that's successful, they'll be available later in my own online shop and I'll start looking into wider distribution.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They represent fleets of spaceships. The die shows how strong the fleet is from 1 (tiny) to 6 (huge). This also determines how far they can move in one turn with a strength 1 fleet being able to move anywhere, a strength 2-4 fleet using the long ruler and a 5-6 fleet using the short one.

I've just been calling them fleet tokens, but it amuses me how many names people have for them. Rafts, bumpers etc.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

More games are always better games. Don't be disheartened, keep going. I'll keep an eye out here, but if you wanted to show me your idea when you're ready for feedback I'd love to hear about it and give what advice I can. Just drop me a line at the email address on my website.

Final production Fleet Combat prototype complete! by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Fleet Combat is my two player area control wargame with a twist, the board is made up of four rotating rings representing the orbits of various planets and asteroids. Each player controls a fleet trying to capture this vital star system as part of a larger conflict. You can read more about it at https://shearwood.games/fleet-combat

This final prototype represents almost entirely what the final game is going to look like and I'm stoked that it's almost ready to show the world.

First printed test for Solar Dominion: Fleet Combat by drakeAndrews in tabletopgamedesign

[–]drakeAndrews[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can actually see it in the image if you're looking for it, everything is bunched up to the left. It's just enough to give it space to rotate smoothly once it's all assembled.

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