Ship Cards

[Renny]

I agree that Mongoose should simply pay pixelgeek or someone to do these cards officially. Certainly the quality of pixelgeek's work is right up there and I think it would be a useful resource to have (hence the number of fan versions floating around). Why not just do a proper version? Nothing stopping people making their own if they don't want to pay but presumably the expense to Mongoose would be minimal (especially as they are now doing their own printing) and pixelgeek would be compensated for the time he spends on the project.

Renny

 

[pixelgeek]

The traffic monitor on my web space says I'm not likely to break any records, or cause any hurt to Mongoose's potential ship card sales

Well that is actual impact versus "potential" impact

I did a Google search and I had to put in fairly specific search terms to get the links I wanted. The ACTA stats firm tends to screw up searches for CTA items though

 

[pixelgeek]

and pixelgeek would be compensated for the time he spends on the project.

Let me make it totally clear. I'm not looking at doing this to make money (I know that isn't what you are implying but after legal issues were raised I want to cover my butt).

 

[Renny]

I can appreciate that. The sniff of legalese generall has the effect of taking the shine off a nifty idea.

Renny

 

[pixelgeek]

I can appreciate that. The sniff of legalese generall has the effect of taking the shine off a nifty idea.

Its still a nice idea...

I'm going to experiment with InDesign this weekend to see if its possible to use that app to speed things up. I may have to see if I can create spreads in Indesign and then save those out to a PDF so there are multiple cards per page.

 

[Soulmage]

I've probably spent around $60 laminating excel created ship cards for every ship in my fleet, which is probably around 100 or so by now. They are great for playing with, and very functional

. . . but if Mongoose were to release "official" ship cards (and be careful there was no errata on them) I would probably go ahead and pick them up, assuming they were attractive (not hard to do compared to mine.)

It might actually be best to do such a product as a PDF actually so that I can print off as many copies of Kagero class destroyers as I need, stick the name and hull number on each one, then get them laminated.

PDF has the advantage of minimal costs, ths maximizing profit for Mongoose, as well as allowing them to correct any user discovered errors subsequent to release.

As another poster mentioned, releasing additional ships through PDF stat cards would be a great way for Mongoose to expand the game without incurring a lot of additional expense.

 

[hyndridge]

In order to make sure that I get off my butt and finish them, unlike my ACTA cards, I will eventually be offering these for sale via PayPal.

You won't - legal action will follow. Sorry, but that is the way it has to be.

On the other hand, we have no problems at all with people having such cards as a free to download item on an official web site. We have always encouraged fan-related additions to our games, and these are no different.

The important thing is that you cannot charge for them. That takes the whole fan aspect away and yes, would undermine any decision we may or may not make in the future to produce such cards ourselves.

Its a shame that Mongoose couldn't have made their position clear earlier in the discussion and perhaps a little more politely!

I have just started playing VaS and am looking at ACTA.

The lack of roster/record sheets is very off putting for a beginner compared to say Battlefleet Gothic where these sheets are available.

Either Mongoose should produce them or allow (or license) someone else to produce them.

Roland

 

[Chernobyl]

I use the ONI (office of naval intelligence, circa 1940's) images for the VAS cards I'm making...I've done up a USN fleet and I'm working on a Japanese set now.
A question I'd like to ask is where people are finding the little flag icons they have on the cards I've seen...that strikes me as a much prettier way of doing them than I have. I'd have done it with the ACTA cards if I could find art for all the LONAW fleets.
I PM's with Matt a week or two ago whan I saw the announcement about ACTA 2e and the plans to sell the books separately, fleet book and rules. Selling a book with nothing but fleet stats in it would pretty much directly conflict with all these shipviewers and cards and sheets out there, because that's all they are, is ships stats. If we continued to make these they'd quickly undermine the sales of the books. So, I was hoping to direct Matt towards releasing the ship book in a form of record sheets, or a card set/with book (a la warmachine) because of the enormous popularity of this type of pre-printed record for the game. Everyone knows they make play easier, and more accessible.
Sadly it would mean the end of my ACTA cards, but at least we'll have "offical" cards at that point - which was (perhaps) my long term goal anyways :lol:

Chernobyl

 

[pixelgeek]

Its a shame that Mongoose couldn't have made their position clear earlier in the discussion and perhaps a little more politely!

I PMed Matt and I think that he isn't aware just how serious a tone is coming across in his post.

Its a common problem in message boards as people almost always read things with a more serious intent than the poster originally meant.

And he is trying to make a point and make it very clear which explains the lack of qualifiers that people usually expect in a less serious message.

 

[Oly]

A question I'd like to ask is where people are finding the little flag icons they have on the cards I've seen...that strikes me as a much prettier way of doing them than I have.

The ones on the cards that I posted above came from Wikipedia, they were certaily good enough to print out at the size that I wanted.

 

[DM]

I'm not looking at doing this to make money

Could you just post them on the forum or elsewhere like Hiromoon is doing with his excellent BF:Evo cards?

 

[lastbesthope]

A very small proportion of total players read these forums, and speaking for my own ACTA & VAS ship viewers, I don't advertise them anywhere else. Only forum readers and maybe a couple of random internet surfers would ever find them.

I think you'd be quite surprised by the number of people that can find something like your ship viewer via Google or a message board or Yahoo Group.

I certainly was when I googled

LBH

 

[pixelgeek]

Could you just post them on the forum or elsewhere like Hiromoon is doing with his excellent BF:Evo cards?

I'll host them on my site when I get some of them ready to go

 

[chaos0xomega]

Wow pixel, way to steal the show from holden :wink:

Holden- what program did oyu use to create yours?

 

[Chernobyl]

just a question for our fine german players out there - as the swastika is illegal in germany I'm sure you'd like a set of cards without the flag symbols on them?

Chern

 

[Burger]

just a question for our fine german players out there - as the swastika is illegal in germany I'm sure you'd like a set of cards without the flag symbols on them?

Chern

Backwards is the normal workaround for that one

 

[captainsmirk]

I sure you want to display the bad-luck version of the swastika on your ships...


Nick

 

[Obsidian]

hyndridge wrote:
Its a shame that Mongoose couldn't have made their position clear earlier in the discussion and perhaps a little more politely!


I PMed Matt and I think that he isn't aware just how serious a tone is coming across in his post.

I'm pretty sure Matt knows exactly how serious he came across in his post and that it was intentional. Frankly, I can't believe you even suggested selling them in the first place. As someone who has spent the last four years creating and maintaining ship record sheets for a Call to Arms as well as creating a computerized combat sim for the game, I can appreciate the amount of time and effort people put into all this work. But never in my wildest dreams would I anticipate making any of this into a money making venture. You do this stuff because you're a fan, not because you can make money at it.

How much do you think I'm getting paid to do all the work I've done? How about Burger? LBH? Not a one of us has said "In order to make sure that I get off my butt and finish them, unlike my ACTA cards, I will eventually be offering these for sale via PayPal." If love of the game isn't motivation enough to get them done, then simply don't bother. There are certainly others out there that are more than willing to get it done.

 

[Burger]

Well I am hanging onto the distant hope that one day I'll get a PM from Matt saying "hey you know those ship sheets, we'd like to publish them, how does this commission structure sound..."

 

[Reaverman]

Well I am hanging onto the distant hope that one day I'll get a PM from Matt saying "hey you know those ship sheets, we'd like to publish them, how does this commission structure sound..."

You are going to be waiting a long time mate