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Hey!

Great to see you are still at going at this!

Cool idea for a game

Gonna have to take a deeper look (especially as Ive recently purchased a box set of old 50's B-movies that included the seminal Earth vs The Flying Saucers...if we can crash into the Washington Monument you will have my un-dieing support )

Is it cheeky to mention that those saucers remind me of the Transformer "Cosmos"? (definitely a classic look)

Ill certainly be popping by the site linked when I have time.

P.S. All I need now is a ground skirmish game about fighting GIANT ANTS in the desert and ill have all my 50's favourites available in model form.

Hooray, Saucer War One is updating again! Glad to see you back. Really excited for the preview of the Weapons Discs in the next few weeks. Impatiently awaiting the 73 mm saucer.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

princeyg wrote:
P.S. All I need now is a ground skirmish game about fighting GIANT ANTS in the desert and ill have all my 50's favourites available in model form.

If it's kept at 1/200 scale, we could use regular ants!

The Triga is just beautiful!

princeyg wrote:

...if we can crash into the Washington Monument you will have my un-dying support )

Is it cheeky to mention that those saucers remind me of the Transformer "Cosmos"? (definitely a classic look)

P.S. All I need now is a ground skirmish game about fighting GIANT ANTS in the desert and ill have all my 50's favourites available in model form.

I love that scene in Earth vs... I think I will have to write that into the Washington Flap scenario that opens the ball for the war proper.

I'm pretty certain Cosmos was based on contactee George Adamski's photos of what he claimed was a craft from Venus. (It was, in fact, the top of a gas lamp from the Sears & Roebuck catalogue!)

Saucer War One riffs on the idea that ol' George was telling the truth, aliens were coming to Earth from Venus, but they weren't 100% honest with him about why they are here... So, the Noodican (Venusian) saucers take their design cues from Adamski's images too.

Giant ants... hmm... hmmmmm...

Intereting idea and sub'ed to the thread.

There's a new article over on the Miniature Martin blog. This time, we take a look at the Weapon Disc, and what it does.



Follow the link and find out what I've been up to!

https://miniaturemartin.com/2021/02/28/hostile-saucers-weapon-disc-preview-for-saucer-war-one/

Thanks for looking.

Neat stuff, I like the dials interacting with each other. Doesn't look like there's too many variables to keep track of during the game, either, which is nice. Wot's the expected final size for the disks? I don't mind reading upside down but if the text is too small it might be a bit tricky.

 Don Qui Hotep wrote:
Neat stuff, I like the dials interacting with each other. Doesn't look like there's too many variables to keep track of during the game, either, which is nice. Wot's the expected final size for the disks? I don't mind reading upside down but if the text is too small it might be a bit tricky.

Your point about upside-down text came up in playtesting today. It didn't seem a major issue originally, but without doubt it seems to have the potential to send players to physiotherapists with cricks in their necks!

I'm therefore already working on a redesign which reduces the arc through which the discs need to rotate to record information. I also want to use the reverse of the Weapon Disc to display when a weapon is Jammed or Out of Ammo. (Flipping the Disc will make this more immediately apparent, and the action has a nice, dramatic quality.)

I like this more, and it is less to track. Given that an average 'army' in SW1 will have 4 - 8 Saucers, I don't want to burden players with too much data to adjust and recall. It's a point I'm constantly nagging myself about.

As for the dimensions of the Discs, this is something I am reviewing. I originally intended to print the larger Saucer Data Discs on 89mm (3.5") dia. cardstock, and the smaller Weapon and Crew Discs on 50mm (2") but early tests proved this thin material moves around too much when rotated.

Therefore, the Discs will now be diecut from 1mm thick artboard, which means their dimensions are not confined to standard card printing sizes. I think the current sizes are about right, although I think I'll increase the sizes of the Weapon Disc CHK, RNG and DAM numbers +10% - +15%.

4-8 3.5” discs with adjoining 2” discs is a lot of table real estate, no?

 Macrossmartin wrote:

 Don Qui Hotep wrote:
Neat stuff, I like the dials interacting with each other. Doesn't look like there's too many variables to keep track of during the game, either, which is nice. Wot's the expected final size for the disks? I don't mind reading upside down but if the text is too small it might be a bit tricky.

Your point about upside-down text came up in playtesting today. It didn't seem a major issue originally, but without doubt it seems to have the potential to send players to physiotherapists with cricks in their necks!

I'm therefore already working on a redesign which reduces the arc through which the discs need to rotate to record information. I also want to use the reverse of the Weapon Disc to display when a weapon is Jammed or Out of Ammo. (Flipping the Disc will make this more immediately apparent, and the action has a nice, dramatic quality.)

I like this more, and it is less to track. Given that an average 'army' in SW1 will have 4 - 8 Saucers, I don't want to burden players with too much data to adjust and recall. It's a point I'm constantly nagging myself about.

As for the dimensions of the Discs, this is something I am reviewing. I originally intended to print the larger Saucer Data Discs on 89mm (3.5") dia. cardstock, and the smaller Weapon and Crew Discs on 50mm (2") but early tests proved this thin material moves around too much when rotated.

Therefore, the Discs will now be diecut from 1mm thick artboard, which means their dimensions are not confined to standard card printing sizes. I think the current sizes are about right, although I think I'll increase the sizes of the Weapon Disc CHK, RNG and DAM numbers +10% - +15%.

Nice one, an elegant solution. I hear Manchu's point about table size, but I've been playing a lot of MCP lately and managing the extra cardstock hasn't been to arduous. I always root for larger player aides.

 Manchu wrote:
4-8 3.5” discs with adjoining 2” discs is a lot of table real estate, no?

Potentially, yes. This has not been an issue to date, but I have not tested a full starter set game as yet. (6 vs 6.) It's another item on my list of things to keep an eye on!

Saucer War One: Do you want to know more...?




I've just compiled a selection of answers to questions people ask about SW1. When will it be available? What scale? How much? And how many Grey aliens can dance on the head of a pin?

https://miniaturemartin.com/2021/03/11/state-of-the-saucer-1/

Follow the link above to the Miniature Martin blog, because the truth is in there!

Didn't answer your question? Post it in a reply here, and I'll add it to the State of the Saucer.

Cool to see the development timeline, I'm excited for the July Print'n'Play.

Earth vs The Flying Saucers is over 50 years old - doesn't that release some of the copywrite?

Books I think its 100 years, but music I think is less than 50... No idea about films.

Have you thought about a tabletop simulator mod? Or Vassal?

MrPieChee wrote:Earth vs The Flying Saucers is over 50 years old - doesn't that release some of the copywrite?

That might be the case, so I will investigate. Having said that, one thing I am adamant with SW1 is that it must be immersive, and using 'real' saucers (as opposed to those that are undeniably fictitious) helps with the suspension of disbelief.
Having said that, I might do some sci-fi inspired saucers as stretch goals or similar, if there's enough enthusiasm from players.

MrPieChee wrote:Have you thought about a tabletop simulator mod? Or Vassal?

Yes, but I must confess it is something totally new to me. I think it might be a great idea, particularly during the Beta rules release phase, as it would increase the game's potential audience and the number of plays that occur. Added to the gargantuan 'To-Do' list!

Yes, I glanced at them as well, and decided it was way beyond my ken to work out.....

Quick mini-update:

Artwork underway for the starter set Data Discs - these are the 'control panels' of the Saucers, used to keep track of things while making impossible maneuvers.



... and, ANTIC's heavy-hitting 'Silverhound' is getting closer to being a physical reality, as its sculpt progresses nicely! Still have weapons and other details to add...



That's all for now; I'd hoped to be showing pics of actual miniatures this weekend, but poor health kept me away from the printers. Next weekend, I hope!

Keep going. This is shaping up nicely.

 Easy E wrote:
Keep going. This is shaping up nicely.

Thanks for the encouragement. Game design, as I am sure you know better than I, can be a long, uphill trail.

Elegoo printers are getting dialed in now, getting close to the point I'll have prints I'm happy to show everyone...

 Macrossmartin wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
Keep going. This is shaping up nicely.

Thanks for the encouragement. Game design, as I am sure you know better than I, can be a long, uphill trail.

Elegoo printers are getting dialed in now, getting close to the point I'll have prints I'm happy to show everyone...

Rock 'n roll, looking forward to it!