VAS 2

[MongooseMatt]

I'm already retired, so I'm hoping VAS2 comes out before the only people who get to play it in my house are the ones who show up for my wake.

I'll make you a deal - we'll have it out before then

[Brass]

I'm already retired, so I'm hoping VAS2 comes out before the only people who get to play it in my house are the ones who show up for my wake.

I'll make you a deal - we'll have it out before then

You'll have it out in two weeks? Score!!!!!

[Ecclesiastes]

I'm already retired, so I'm hoping VAS2 comes out before the only people who get to play it in my house are the ones who show up for my wake.

I'll make you a deal - we'll have it out before then

You'll have it out in two weeks? Score!!!!!

Well, your first week is almost up Brass..... Did you get to do some stuff from your bucket list?

[Brass]

I'll make you a deal - we'll have it out before then

You'll have it out in two weeks? Score!!!!!

Well, your first week is almost up Brass..... Did you get to do some stuff from your bucket list?

Well, the thing with Taylor Swift didn't work out but I have hope for the space station trip and the wargamers' tour of Syria.

[Brass]

Okay, I've finally figured out what's causing the delay; the rules for Victory at Sea: Ironclads are still next in the layout queue but should be out by "end of July-ish", soon to be followed, no doubt, by VaS2.

Of course, that was "end of July-ish" 2015 but what's a couple of years among friends?

[MongooseMatt]

I know, I know

Ironclad is complete, playtested and ready to go - we just need to find space in the layout schedule. And make the decision of whether it comes before or after WWII.

As far as WWII is concerned, it is currently undergoing a re-write (mostly streamlining) but the big factor with it is that we want the miniatures to go alongside it... and that means finding a reliable partner to produce them. That is the tricky bit.

[Brass]

I know, I know

Ironclad is complete, playtested and ready to go - we just need to find space in the layout schedule. And make the decision of whether it comes before or after WWII.

As far as WWII is concerned, it is currently undergoing a re-write (mostly streamlining) but the big factor with it is that we want the miniatures to go alongside it... and that means finding a reliable partner to produce them. That is the tricky bit.

Okay, all other excuses having been exhausted, we're back to the miniatures again. If you haven't managed to find a manufacturer for your naval miniatures by now (and it's been at least 18 months), you never will. Oh, of course there's also the re-write and then here will be the whole layout thing and then the next re-write and the still unsuccessful search for miniatures and then the next re-write and the layout queue and the ... Gee, do I begin to see a pattern here? Must be my imagination.

[DM]

If Ironclads is ready to go but WW2 is still some way from even having its (hopeful) final playtest completed that would suggest to me that publishing Ironclads first (and soon) would be the obvious course of action.

[MongooseMatt]

If Ironclads is ready to go but WW2 is still some way from even having its (hopeful) final playtest completed that would suggest to me that publishing Ironclads first (and soon) would be the obvious course of action.

There is this argument of course. Then again, we also have the possibility of miniatures for ACW (we already have 3D designs of the Monitor and Merrimack)... A video game of Ironclad is on the way - as soon as we hear a projected release date, we may revisit an Ironclad rulebook.

[MongooseMatt]

If you haven't managed to find a manufacturer for your naval miniatures by now (and it's been at least 18 months), you never will.

That is not the spirit of Dunkirk, Sir! We are talking to a new company about VaS miniatures right now; they have already done a few prototypes for us, and they are looking good (they even insert metal rods into the gun barrels, so the entire model, including superstructure and turrets, can be resin). On a technical level, they are right on the money - at the moment, we are discussing their distribution potential. It looked like we were going to go forward earlier this year, but we made the decision to, well, delay the decision. As I said before, we want to get this right.

There are always options out there...

[Lincolnlog]

You all kill me! Seriously.

These are second rate (and that's being kind) rules at best. Instead of worrying about miniatures I'd write a decent set of rules first. Please Mongoose, stick to RPGs and SciFi, at least that's believable.

[Brass]

If you haven't managed to find a manufacturer for your naval miniatures by now (and it's been at least 18 months), you never will.

That is not the spirit of Dunkirk, Sir! We are talking to a new company about VaS miniatures right now; they have already done a few prototypes for us, and they are looking good (they even insert metal rods into the gun barrels, so the entire model, including superstructure and turrets, can be resin). On a technical level, they are right on the money - at the moment, we are discussing their distribution potential. It looked like we were going to go forward earlier this year, but we made the decision to, well, delay the decision. As I said before, we want to get this right.

There are always options out there...

So, the spirit of Dunkirk was "Sorry, chaps, but you'll need to stay in France until we've built enough boats to pick you up. As it happens, there's been a bit of a cockup about actually getting them built, since we don't currently have a boatbuilder chosen, but I'm sure you find can some way to keep busy at the beach." Golly, now that I know that I won't have to see the movie.

Oh, almost forgot. It's August.

[Brass]

Today's total eclipse of the sun is going to show up on the day predicted. VAS2, on the other hand ...

[captnmartin]

Hey Matt, long time no see!

I was wondering if you had some information concerning the scope of the miniatures and range of ships.

What scale are the minis planned to be?
What is the primary material?
Will they be sold individually, or in packs?
Do you have a general price point for say, a BB, a CA, a DD?
Are you planning to offer fleet packs, perhaps at a slight discount over individual ships?

Will the time covered include "What If?" Ships, such as Montana, H41, G3, Lion, Minotaur, Churchill CA, etc?
Could you fight Jutland? Or will the rules be more scaled to smaller ship actions?

Anyway, hope something comes of it, always enjoyed V@S since it was an easy game to teach to new players who had never done historicals before.

[Brass]

Don't hold your breath, Cap.

[MongooseMatt]

What scale are the minis planned to be?
What is the primary material?
Will they be sold individually, or in packs?
Do you have a general price point for say, a BB, a CA, a DD?
Are you planning to offer fleet packs, perhaps at a slight discount over individual ships?

Will the time covered include "What If?" Ships, such as Montana, H41, G3, Lion, Minotaur, Churchill CA, etc?
Could you fight Jutland? Or will the rules be more scaled to smaller ship actions?

Plans as they currently sit:

* 1/1800 scale - a nice blend between cost, detail and 'heft'
* Resin
* We have been planning for both - all ships will be available individually, some will be bundled into battle or fleet packs.
* We have been looking at something like £10 for a large Battleship.
* We have done rules for the what if ships, and would like models - but they would be of a lower priority.
* This is something we are looking at - the rules still need a little more streamlining to comfortably fit the largest battles, but they scale well.

[Brass]

Oops, it's September.

[captnmartin]

Plans as they currently sit:
* 1/1800 scale - a nice blend between cost, detail and 'heft'
* Resin
* We have been planning for both - all ships will be available individually, some will be bundled into battle or fleet packs.
* We have been looking at something like £10 for a large Battleship.
* We have done rules for the what if ships, and would like models - but they would be of a lower priority.
* This is something we are looking at - the rules still need a little more streamlining to comfortably fit the largest battles, but they scale well.

Thanks Matt,

1/1800 will lead to very big ships I feel, but the level of detail possible on them will be very high, which makes for good looking displays. Might make a table feel like a parking lot with ships, just my experience at that play level, however, I tend to play very big battles, such as Jutland, so my opinion is probably biased in that case. 1/1800 will be awesome for destroyer actions however, an area of naval combat that tends to be underpopulated.

Prices seem reasonable for such big chunks of resin. Do you know if they will be molded with the base, or will the base be a separate optional piece? Will the base have movement waves modeled on it, or will it be just flat?

Good to know you are planning to add what-if models, there are a lot of exciting designs out there! If you had a complete line of what-ifs, I think they would be a good seller personally, since the only other manufacturer with a sizeable what-if inventory is the 1/6000 series from Hallmark, and they have a few big product gaps, namely the British design studies that led to the N3 and G3, as well as the Japanese 8-8 fleet.

Thank you for the response, it's nice to see plans layed out with a bit more granularity, gives me an idea of what to expect.

[MongooseMatt]

At the current time, we are planning to have bases on the ships.

[captnmartin]

At the current time, we are planning to have bases on the ships.

Cool, I've always been a fan of that, let's you paint nice wakes and waves alongside the boats.

Do you have a list of the what-if boats you have rules for? Just curious to see how that shakes out.