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Thread: Hi!

  1. #1
    Landsman
    Wales

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    Lily

    Default Hi!

    Hi everyone! My name is Lily (she/her) and I'm 22. I'm from Wales, but currently at university in England.

    I've been interested in collecting model ships for a few years and last year started buying books and watching documentaries about the age of sail and tall ships in general. I joined a small discord server thinking it was about ship history but it was actually a server for Sails of Glory! This forum was recommended to me by the servers creator (hello if you see this :D) and I was lucky to have stumbled upon it as the game looked awesome, I've never played any miniature table top games before but I got the starter set recently and have been learning the basic game over the last 2 days, uni is very busy so I won't be able to play too much right now but at least I understand enough about it to learn more from everyone here.

    I'm not an expert on ships at all as although I've always liked antique model ships, only recently have I actually sat down to learn the terminology and history behind them, it seems like this forum is a very good resource to learn from. I've started trying to draw ships from some of my history books and I think I'd love to learn more about building my own 3D models too!

    My other hobbies are drawing and 2D Animation. I like to read, mostly fantasy/history/classics + my favourite book series of all time is Lemony Snicket. I also really love Ancient Greek history. I like to play video games too, mostly open world or multiplayer stuff with my friends.

    If anyone has any recommendations for resources to learn about the game for a beginner eg YouTube channels/forum posts etc or even just on ship terminology then please let me know! :D

  2. #2
    Midshipman
    Australia

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    Gary

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    Hi Lily, Welcome from Adelaide. I found the AAR's to most helpful where folk describe their games in words and pictures. I like this game because the rules are not set in concrete. You can adapt the ones you want to use and stagger the introduction of others according to your experience.

  3. #3
    Comptroller of the Navy Board
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    United States

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    [RESTRICTED]

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    Welcome aboard! Lots to unpack there, hopefully some other shipmates can pick up what I miss. I'm one of Ares' historical consultants doing the research and analysis behind the game, so while I can't promise answers to all your questions I will try to help get them for you as you post them.

    For 3d modeling, the gurus are Henry Turner and Simon Mann--both are members here, Simon goes by "T1ckles35" IIRC.

    Advice on learning the game: Start with the most basic, stripped-down ruleset option first, then gradually add "moving parts" a little at a time. "Learn to crawl before you try to walk, then learn to walk before you try to run" kinda stuff. (Ironically, this from a guy who went straight to running as a toddler...) Really, Wings of Glory WWI is actually the best place to cut your teeth on the game system, Wings WWII is more complex and Sails can be the most challenging of the three.

    Scale in the game models is a dog's-breakfast of inconsistency--a new engineer at Wave 3 brought an undiscussed but deliberate rescale because "the old ships looked too big", while the new ones sometimes measure as far under as the old are alleged to over. The one "known" is my personal fault, USS Constitution is oversized to 197' LOD when it should have been 175'--I over-relied on an older edition of the "game bible," Rif Winfield's British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817 when I SHOULD have cross-checked Winfield with Greenwich draughts and USN records. (197' OAL however is about right; it's on my to-do list once I have access to a 3d printer to work the numbers and "retrofit" my personal collection with Turner and Mann designs painted to match their Ares counterparts.)

    Drawings your best resource is the same one we use at Ares: the Admiralty Draughts Collection, and as a supplement the J M Hilhouse Collection, at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. (Hilhouse wasn't Admiralty, rather a commercial shipbuilder who was occasionally contracted to build warships to Admiralty designs and kept copies of the construction plans just in case further copies of a design were ordered.) https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/ob...D=Ship%20Plans (It's been many years since I last trawled Greenwich's website, this new version stinks worse than the aftermath of a Bad Day At The Mongolian Buffet.)
    --Diamondback
    PMH, SME, TLA, BBB
    Historical Consultant to Ares, Wings and Sails - Unless otherwise noted, all comments are strictly Personal Opinion ONLY and not to be taken as official Company Policy.

  4. #4
    Admiral of the Fleet.
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    England

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    Rob

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    Good to have you alongside Lily.
    I'm glad we managed to get you signed on O.K.
    To get a general feel for the period you could start with having a look at the Book reviews discussed here.

    https://www.sailsofglory.org/forumdi...erence-Library

    I find a lot of enjoyment in naval novels now that I have a good grasp of the realities of the subject. It lends a bit of colour to your games to be able to draw upon the exploits of your heroes from fiction.
    Not that the actual Captains of the time are lacking in colour. Some of the actions that they carried off are more unbelievable than fiction.
    Anyway, you will certainly find much to whet your appetite here on the Anchorage as you browse through the ten year collection of threads.
    May you sail with a fair wind and a willing foe.

    Rob.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

  5. #5
    Stats Committee
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    Welcome to the Anchorage!
    There are not only many knowledgeable people here, there are also two 3D-designers that appear here from time to time, Henry and Simon.

  6. #6
    Stats Committee
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    Hi Lily, welcome to the Anchorage from across the pond.

    A great series of novels to get a feel for the genre is the Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin books by Patrick O'Brian. In my opinion, all other seafaring books of this period pale in comparison. You don't have to know the lingo to enjoy the tale.

  7. #7
    Admiral of the White
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    Welcome to the Anchorage, Lily. In addition to what others have already mentioned you might find the online video simulation Naval Action of interest? There are many YouTube videos covering aspects of the game, which includes both PVE and PVP. Unfortunately the developer is Game Labs located in the Ukraine, so their future due to the current conflict is very much up in the air. Their games are on Steam if you're a PC gamer; Naval Action as I mentioned and another game called Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail. Naval Action is multiplayer and I believe Ultimate Admiral is only single player. If you're busy at University you may not have time for either of these titles as they both can be time consuming. Cheers!

    "It's not the towering sails, but the unseen wind that moves a ship."
    –English Proverb

  8. #8
    Surveyor of the Navy
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    Welcome aboard Lily. I hope your studies are going well. I've started on the 3D modelling journey, although most of my modelling is currently focussed on 1/600 and 1/1200 American Civil War naval subjects. Happy to share my "learning from experience" points if you are interested.

  9. #9
    Landsman
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    Lily

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    Ah yes I think that was one of the main features that peaked my interest! I'm very much looking forward to learning the rules + Seeing how others have changed/improved on them :D

  10. #10
    Landsman
    Wales

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    Quote Originally Posted by David Manley View Post
    Welcome aboard Lily. I hope your studies are going well. I've started on the 3D modelling journey, although most of my modelling is currently focussed on 1/600 and 1/1200 American Civil War naval subjects. Happy to share my "learning from experience" points if you are interested.
    I'd very much appreciate that! I'm hoping to learn Blendr and Maya over the summer, but I'd love to hear your recommendations about other software / resources you think is helpful!

  11. #11
    Landsman
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nightmoss View Post
    Welcome to the Anchorage, Lily. In addition to what others have already mentioned you might find the online video simulation Naval Action of interest? There are many YouTube videos covering aspects of the game, which includes both PVE and PVP. Unfortunately the developer is Game Labs located in the Ukraine, so their future due to the current conflict is very much up in the air. Their games are on Steam if you're a PC gamer; Naval Action as I mentioned and another game called Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail. Naval Action is multiplayer and I believe Ultimate Admiral is only single player. If you're busy at University you may not have time for either of these titles as they both can be time consuming. Cheers!

    Oh woah that definitely looks like something I'd enjoy, hopefully over summer I'll have a lot more free time so I'll make a note of them. Thanks!

  12. #12
    Landsman
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dobbs View Post
    Hi Lily, welcome to the Anchorage from across the pond.

    A great series of novels to get a feel for the genre is the Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin books by Patrick O'Brian. In my opinion, all other seafaring books of this period pale in comparison. You don't have to know the lingo to enjoy the tale.

    Thanks so much, I'll check them out!

  13. #13
    Landsman
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    Quote Originally Posted by TexaS View Post
    Welcome to the Anchorage!
    There are not only many knowledgeable people here, there are also two 3D-designers that appear here from time to time, Henry and Simon.

    Thank you!

  14. #14
    Landsman
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    Lily

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bligh View Post
    Good to have you alongside Lily.
    I'm glad we managed to get you signed on O.K.
    To get a general feel for the period you could start with having a look at the Book reviews discussed here.

    https://www.sailsofglory.org/forumdi...erence-Library

    I find a lot of enjoyment in naval novels now that I have a good grasp of the realities of the subject. It lends a bit of colour to your games to be able to draw upon the exploits of your heroes from fiction.
    Not that the actual Captains of the time are lacking in colour. Some of the actions that they carried off are more unbelievable than fiction.
    Anyway, you will certainly find much to whet your appetite here on the Anchorage as you browse through the ten year collection of threads.
    May you sail with a fair wind and a willing foe.

    Rob.
    Thanks so much! I managed to get my friend to play the basic version of the game with me one evening and we had a lot of fun, the resources on the forum were extremely helpful!

  15. #15
    Landsman
    Wales

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    Quote Originally Posted by Diamondback View Post
    Welcome aboard! Lots to unpack there, hopefully some other shipmates can pick up what I miss. I'm one of Ares' historical consultants doing the research and analysis behind the game, so while I can't promise answers to all your questions I will try to help get them for you as you post them.

    For 3d modeling, the gurus are Henry Turner and Simon Mann--both are members here, Simon goes by "T1ckles35" IIRC.

    Advice on learning the game: Start with the most basic, stripped-down ruleset option first, then gradually add "moving parts" a little at a time. "Learn to crawl before you try to walk, then learn to walk before you try to run" kinda stuff. (Ironically, this from a guy who went straight to running as a toddler...) Really, Wings of Glory WWI is actually the best place to cut your teeth on the game system, Wings WWII is more complex and Sails can be the most challenging of the three.

    Scale in the game models is a dog's-breakfast of inconsistency--a new engineer at Wave 3 brought an undiscussed but deliberate rescale because "the old ships looked too big", while the new ones sometimes measure as far under as the old are alleged to over. The one "known" is my personal fault, USS Constitution is oversized to 197' LOD when it should have been 175'--I over-relied on an older edition of the "game bible," Rif Winfield's British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817 when I SHOULD have cross-checked Winfield with Greenwich draughts and USN records. (197' OAL however is about right; it's on my to-do list once I have access to a 3d printer to work the numbers and "retrofit" my personal collection with Turner and Mann designs painted to match their Ares counterparts.)

    Drawings your best resource is the same one we use at Ares: the Admiralty Draughts Collection, and as a supplement the J M Hilhouse Collection, at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. (Hilhouse wasn't Admiralty, rather a commercial shipbuilder who was occasionally contracted to build warships to Admiralty designs and kept copies of the construction plans just in case further copies of a design were ordered.) https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/ob...D=Ship%20Plans (It's been many years since I last trawled Greenwich's website, this new version stinks worse than the aftermath of a Bad Day At The Mongolian Buffet.)
    Thanks so much! This forum is filled with so many talented people!! I'm very glad to have found it. I played the basic version of the game with my friend the other evening and it is a lot easier to learn than I thought, adding the rules little by little is definitely helping the learning curve. (Although I also went straight to running as a toddler too )

    That collection is so interesting I had not come across it before so thank you for sharing. Being a historical consultant sounds like a dream job, it must be very interesting to see the behind the scenes development :0

  16. #16
    Captain of the Fleet
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    Hi Lilly and a belated welcome to you from me in Bristol.
    Hope you are enjoying the site and as you have no doubt already found out any questions just shout, someone will have an answer or info for you.
    As for the game, We attend a number of shows in the uk as a participation game, so keep an eye on the forum as when a show is due and we are going I will put up a mention. Then if you are close by and can make it pop along for a chat and a run through of the game.
    The next show we will be attending will be in Newark in May.

  17. #17
    Comptroller of the Navy Board
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    [RESTRICTED]

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    Quote Originally Posted by lily99 View Post
    Thanks so much! This forum is filled with so many talented people!! I'm very glad to have found it. I played the basic version of the game with my friend the other evening and it is a lot easier to learn than I thought, adding the rules little by little is definitely helping the learning curve. (Although I also went straight to running as a toddler too )

    That collection is so interesting I had not come across it before so thank you for sharing. Being a historical consultant sounds like a dream job, it must be very interesting to see the behind the scenes development :0
    TBH, most of what I did when things were in active development was comparing ship plans to each other to figure out "what else can we pass an existing or proposed sculpt off as, and what are the remaining Must Haves to complete Trafalgar and other major engagements?" Last project I actively worked on was Wings WWII identifying units and aircraft sculpts for a Cactus Air Force theme in '20... but you might find this thread interesting. :) https://sailsofglory.org/showthread....ht=view+inside

    Who knows, between you and Henry and Simon, maybe your 3d modeling might find something big differing from otherwise similar ships that I missed--and my usual bias is "When In Doubt, Don't Do It." Or you might find things a closer fit to each other than I'd previously thought... I come at this as less a traditional wargamer than a recovering scale modeler, where details like the different tail gun setups between an otherwise identical B-52B and RB-52B matter, while David is more "traditional wargamer" steeped in the days when you had to make do with "generic British 32-gun frigate," so hopefully our efforts from our opposing biases complement and balance each other.
    --Diamondback
    PMH, SME, TLA, BBB
    Historical Consultant to Ares, Wings and Sails - Unless otherwise noted, all comments are strictly Personal Opinion ONLY and not to be taken as official Company Policy.

  18. #18
    Able Seaman
    France

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    Hello Lily, welcome !! I can testify that Naval Action is one of the worst time consuming poisons so be aware ! Check the forum library, as a newbie, it helped me a lot about a wide range of topics.
    "Les passions sont les vents qui enflent les voiles du navire ; elles le submergent quelquefois, mais sans elles il ne pourrait voguer."
    "Passions are the winds that fill the sails of a ship ; they sometimes overwhelm her, but she could not sail without them."- Voltaire

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