|
|
Post by jim1973 on Jun 13, 2023 8:13:25 GMT
I think we ask a bit too much of DBA3 to try and recreate battles such as Marathon, where one army deployed in an unorthodox manner. This is best left to scenario specific rules (e.g. the central 3 elements are -1 CF or something similar). Much better off looking at battles like Delium, Mantinea (or even Leuctra as DBA allows for the Theban deep phalanx) in the hoplite era. Thinning the line just doesn't seem plausible with 12 v 12 and flanks too vulnerable once you make armies uneven.
Back to Tactica, from memory you didn't have that many more multi-based units to maneuver than DBA has elements. But you were allowed to move all of them on your turn. The DBA PIP roll, though swingy, does provide the game tension and can allow a weaker player or army some chance.
Cheers
Jim
|
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on Jun 13, 2023 7:56:25 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on Jun 12, 2023 0:58:50 GMT
I can easily imagine a hoplite army deploying from its march into full battle array from the above formation. It represents the hoplite army almost fully deployed in maximum width. In a single bound (or two at most) it will achieve maximum width. And if being attacked before being perfectly historically deployed is *still* a concern, the hoplite army could simply deploy slightly back from the forward-most position allowed, giving it both more 'time' and 'space' to achieve the desired 'optimum historical formation'. Completely agree. The trouble is that in DBA3 (on the standard board) this happens always. Every game. You immediately lose initiative in order to form your line. Now most rules allow for the occasional tardy general being caught on the march or in deployment but heavy spear armies in DBA3 are always late to the battle. When it is so repetitive it becomes predictable and less fun. But only slightly less fun and I can live with that (besides, I have my slightly oversized board). It is still a great game! Cheers Jim |
|
|
|
Tactica?
Jun 10, 2023 0:25:26 GMT
via mobile
Post by jim1973 on Jun 10, 2023 0:25:26 GMT
My thoughts are explained well above by others. Reserves are a good idea for wargamers but not readily mentioned by the sources. Many (most?) "leaders" were fighting in the lines or revered monarchs that were well guarded but not mobile tacticians.
Hoplite battles would usually be over if one DBA equivalent element of hoplites was destroyed. (Spartans would only be concerned with the loss of Spartans.) Psiloi and the humble Cav can do a stirling job at plugging holes for hoplite armies.
I use a slightly oversized board that is between 16 and 17 BW wide so that the centre allows 8 bases across. But I wouldn't mind the Tactica rules that allow spillover. The caveats from Tactica were:
A) the heavy infantry was a continuous battleline
B) the spillover had to be more or less symmetrical. If you add one unit to one flank, the next unit, if available, must be added to the other flank.
This kept the battleline more or less central.
Cheers
Jim
|
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on Jun 9, 2023 3:37:35 GMT
Tactica was my first ever ruleset! Made up cardboard units to try it out.
Simple but not simplistic. Deployment was critical with minimum maneuverability. Minimal terrain. Big table for 25mm (I played on the floor as a teenager).
Perhaps it is a better "simulation" than other sets because Ancient generals rarely acted as chess grand masters. But it became predictable, even if that meant a dice slog feast.
However, DBA3 deployment rules are strikingly similar to Tactica. But Tactica allowed heavy infantry to spread out of the central zone provided they were a continuous line (each unit less than 2 inches from its neighbour). DBA3 makes some awkward deployments for heavy armies on small boards.
Cheers
Jim
|
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on Jun 2, 2023 7:54:58 GMT
 ...the Zulus are a bit to late for DBA, sorry for that... You have some beautiful armies! You could use Hordes of the Empire HOTT variant if you want a DBx solution. Jim |
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on May 26, 2023 23:27:38 GMT
For those interested in Italian Condotta armies, this kickstarter may be of interest: Mirliton kickstarterThey look really nice and can make most options, except the LH, peasants, longbow or bombard. Very tempting! (Postage to Australia may be expensive though!) Cheers Jim |
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on May 20, 2023 11:39:03 GMT
Indeed, I did think that this idea would work better for uniformed armies like Napoleonics.
Jim
|
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on May 6, 2023 10:36:40 GMT
The phalanx was similar. Bronze head and shield, white flank and back. Then bronze greaves and white shoulders followed by a coloured dot on the shield to represent a design. Of course, I wanted the spears to stand out. The plan was to stick them into each corner of the grid but not to worry about the edges as it's the effect that counts. I tried plastic bristles but they weren't stiff enough to push through the foam. I then went for bristles from a cheap wire brush. These worked well with a dab of glue to hold them in place. But it took a long time to get them off and cut them to size. So I switched to 8amp fuse wire and that was much faster. I would proceed similarly in the future but maybe with different wire. Painting was just a heavy drybrush/overbrush with brown and a drybrush of silver on the tips. Again, here is the close up of front/flank/rear:    Cheers Jim |
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on May 6, 2023 10:24:12 GMT
Ok stevie. I'll start with the easy stuff. My bases are 3mm thick from Back-2-Basix in Australia. That gives a good guide to the thickness to cut the foam. Then I use my Proxxon foam cutter to get the blocks as accurately as I can. I decided to go for the 60mm basing option in DBA as that gave me 8 deep elements which suited my historical senses. Once cut, glue them onto the bases. I tried to carve them before gluing and the foam is quite fragile at that thickness. Tacky PVA worked a treat. Then with a sharp craft knife score 2.5mm grid on your elements and widen the grooves with a pencil (mechanical pencil works best). I undercoated with a mix I use for terrain, which is a mix of ModPodge and black paint to harden the foam and protect it. At this point, use a black wash to get deep into the grooves. Again mine is homemade with water, black and brown ink and dishwasher rinse aid. When dry, simply paint. The Romans got red/white/blue shields, bronze helmets and silver on the sides and backs. Then I just added some red for shoulders and tunic. When I say paint, these are just dots and lines. You end up with this (front/flank/rear):    Not much to look at up close but give the effect on the tabletop Jim |
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on May 6, 2023 9:47:04 GMT
I was inspired by the new Strength and Honor rules from Too Fat Lardies and from Geoff Curran's work on Wargame Vault link. So I started a(nother) project to see if I could make my own 2mm miniatures for DBA. I make a lot of XPS foam terrain for 28mm and have quite a few loose ends. I also had a lot of 60mm wide DBA bases from 1/72 project that never got going. So I decided to try a proof of concept and ended up with a Roman cohort and a Greek phalanx. Each Roman block has 80 "troops" (10x8) and each phalanx element has 240 "troops" (30x8). I've kept the pictures small to give a table top view.     Not sure how far I'll take this project as it would require a new battlefield(s) and terrain. But at this scale elements can substitute in many different armies so once a core group is done then the number of potential armies will grow exponentially. They didn't take very long at all to make... except for the spears! Happy to go into more detail if there is interest. Cheers Jim |
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on Apr 25, 2023 10:04:57 GMT
So I spent £150 on Citadel Colour paints when they first came out. I experimented with lots of techniques on 15mm figures - the best was Slapchop (Undercoat black, zenithal highlight white and tint the colours as required.) It was OK but I thought often sloppy and tended to run. Needed to thoroughly dry or risk mixing or running. Results were no better than dry brushing and layering with Vallejo. Speed was not substantial faster than my normal technique and possibly slower with rework etc. Also it shook my painting mojo! In the end I didn’t think the benefits outweighed changing my entire painting style so all those paints went onto a B&B to recover what I could. Not the best experiment as I ended up £100 down on the deal! I have very little experience with Citadel contrast paints. Just a dark skin tone and a magenta from the first range (1.0). They were more blotchy than speedpaint. I think Citadel has improved them with Contrast 2.0. There are some colours that run well but don't do much contrast, nicknamed "flats" that may be very useful at 15mm and to block in colours in 28mm. The trouble is the large choice at the moment between Vallejo, Army Painter, Citadel and Green Stuff World and many of them are quite new. I'm looking to find some time to go through the better youtube videos and make a list for my needs. I don't think historicals need the colour range of the Mega packs and I have a truck load of paints already! Cheers Jim |
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on Apr 16, 2023 3:03:21 GMT
To create more flexibility for the "double to destroy" mechanism we could explore the mathematics of a d8 rather than a d6. This would allow a review of the combat factors and more grading options (eg horse archers v javelin light horse). The probabilities would change but perhaps not by much (eg a tied roll is 16.7% on a d6 and 12.5% on a d8). Just a thought.
Cheers
Jim
PS maybe this thread may lead to an advanced DBA3 variant
|
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on Apr 13, 2023 9:57:34 GMT
Splintered Light also have an interesting range of Anglo-Saxons. Cheers, I saw them thanks. They look splendid but I'm not sure about ordering from the US because of the cost. Splintered Light have sales every so often and the discount tends to cover the postage from the US. Cheers Jim |
|
|
|
Post by jim1973 on Apr 9, 2023 12:27:57 GMT
Great initiative Chris and good luck!
Unfortunately, won't be able to make it from Melbourne. But the more DBA downunder the better!
Jim
|
|
