Current To Do List

After rereading the to-do list on basecamp, here's the items I'm going to be working on first.  After getting back into the project of course.

Miniatures that need to be finished:

Trucks and APC
6th German Paratroopers
German SS
US army troops

Gaming Aids we still need to improve game flow:

Quick Reference Sheet (in progress)
Fire tokens Rudy Boeynaems
Smoke tokens Rudy Boeynaems (demo version)
Movement tokens for vehicles (demo version)

SSOM Manual (CHAPTER - Subject)

UNITS - Heavy team: firegroup of rifle team and LMG/BAR team (2 teams)
UNITS - Heavy Squad: firegroup of 2 rifle teams and LMG/BAR team (3 teams)
COMBAT - Mines and minefields
COMBAT - Forward observer rules for artillery and mortars, also on board indirect fire
MOVEMENT - Infantry movement types and influence of terrain on movement
MOVEMENT  -Vehicular movement and influence on terrain
MOVEMENT  -Limbered artillery, troop transport, tank riders
GAMEPLAY  -Weather, wind, effects on smoke, fire
GAMEPLAY - Description of in game effect counters, dice, markers (secondary)

Preliminary rulebook v0.5 on dropbox

I took my stuff to the club to show some people, but it turned out I forgot my finished units.  Here's why: everything is in two cases, but the finished miniatures are in this special, magnetic drawer, storage cabinet, and I simply forgot about them.  Now that is perfect storage for you!  Mind you, these units are not finished! It's an old photo.

How time flies.  After a year of being focused on Rune Quest, I will try to shift some of the loving care back in this direction.  Meanwhile, I'll have to ignore the large box full of Call of Cthulhu miniatures still awaiting a base coat.

While slowly getting back up to speed after this one year lapse, I notice I have never put the last version of the rules - that's version 0.5 - online.  Here it is, not yet finished, but a lot more complete than version 0.3 that had been published up to now.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/31342564/r2_DraftComplete_v05.pdf

I will start splitting the effort from today onwards, focusing exclusively on the rules and its effects on game play on our personal game table, rather than putting some of the effort into the effect these rules might have on other people playing with these rules.  We have been paying attention at both so far, which definitely slows development down, but it is a good thing that the foundation has been created with the general player in mind.  However, we now enter the realm of tiny details, and trying to invent a rule for every eventuality tunred out - and turns out - to be madness.  People will have to find their own way of indicating status and so on.  Since I have no intention to actually provide - sell or otherwise - game markers, I think this is only sensible.  Given the limited number of followers, I think there will be little objection.

I intend to make a set of markers - it's high on the to do list - and I will use small coins with coloured dots, in a later stage I might order custom ones from Litko.

Table for the Crisis Demo

Here is the table set up for the Crisis Demo.  Table size is 4" square.  The terrain is simple, the scenario is as well, purpose is to show the different game mechanics, without getting bogged down in a scenario that is too big for an inexperienced player.
The forest tiles have woodland scenic trees on them, river tiles hand made, roads are strips of rubber, and everything else is scratchbuilt.  I might pass by the model shop tomorrow for some more bling for the roads, I'm thinking a bit of track, some trees alongside the road, electricity poles, but that depends on the time left: Friday it's over to Crisis straight from work, Saturday morning we need to finish the set-up.

Flocking my river tiles

It’s time to start preparing everything for the Crisis demo.  Here I’ve been finishing a few river tiles, to be used in the demo on November 5th.

German Fallschirmjaegers: it ain't easy

I've been painting a few bases of 6FSJ troops for my Normandy scenario, but it's not easy to get a good impression of Oak Leaf Camo here.  Just taking the correct colors and wet mixing seems to give a blotchy result, and a light wash of black increases detail but tends to make the mini's quite dark, and 10 mm need more light than normal, not less.  It's only after making the macro pics (these things look ugly at 14 MP) that I actually saw some stained effect I don't like too much as well.  I'm gonna freshen these guys up again with some sand and try some very fine brown and green pattern, but on a dry underground this time.

Started 6FSJ Germans

I started basing and coating a platoon of German para's for the Bloody Gulch scenario - and others around that period - and after coating them in grey I changed my mind and went for sand color, I think it is gonna be a better base for the camo suits they are getting.  Only thing I am still struggling with a little bit is the paintjob.  In the same scenario I am gonna field some SS Panzer Grenadiers, and they have camouflage armor as well.  There are some minor differences between their uniforms, but there is no chance I - or anyone else as visually challenged as me - is gonna be able to recognize them on a gaming table. 

Eichenlaubmuster

Erbsenmuster

The camouflage pattern itself is different too, the FSJ have erbsenmuster camo (peas, small dots in three different colors of green) and the SS camo uses eichenlaubmuster (oak leaves), alongside a wide variety of other uniforms for commanders, support units, artillery and so on.  Too complicate things further, I also am painting a number of snipers, and they are probably wearing camo uniforms as well, I still have to find out.  First of all, I am going to test a few methods for painting a camo job on a 10 mm soldier.  I fear on this scale, the only way to make a clear difference will be to keep the FSJ uniforms lighter, based on the sand yellow base color, and make the SSPG darker, based on a darker brown.

Scenario: the battle of Bloody Gulch

Picture by Jacques Wood

I am preparing the scenery and units for this recreation of a battle that took place on June 13, 1944 next to the French town of Carentan. This battle took place after the 101 AB Div took Carentan and two batallions were sent east to dig in for the expected counterattack. The counterattack came, but the 6FSJ Div had support from elements from the 17 SS PzGren Div, including some armor and mechanized infantry. The attack was forceful, and when Fox company broke, they left the flank of Dog company open, causing them to start retreating as well. Easy company remained on the line alone, and took the brunt of the attack without breaking.
I am preparing the troop list for the scenario, I will focus on Easy company, I don't think the system can handle more than a company per side without grinding to a halt game-wise.