Post by hardlec on Jan 7, 2018 19:24:42 GMT
The Martians are operating in the Midwestern US, an area known for many small rivers as well as the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, two of the greatest rivers on earth.
Barges, keelboats and riverboats plied these rivers. Before them, Native Americans used boats, most famously canoes. In the far north, Inuit and others used Kayaks, which, like the canoes, are designs that are still used and still known for their utility as well as being great fun. About the time of AQMF, the Airboat was beginning its development. If there was a stream, lake or swamp big enough, humans had boats on it.
In the French and Indian Wars, small warships were built and fought on Lake Champlain. Water means boats, war near water means warships.
Lewis and Clark used canoes and keelboats to explore the Louisiana Territory. in the Civil War both sides weaponized civilian boats and purpose-built riverine warships. the designs and technology of US riverine warships was state of the art for their day, and the ability to create riverine warships has not dissipated.
As things stand in AQMF,
paperterrain.mybisi.com/product/american-river-gunboat
paperterrain.mybisi.com/product/all-quiet-american-light-river-barges
These are great products and well suited to use with AQMF battles. I built a gunboat. It was a challenging model to build, but it looks great. Sadly my first effort was destroyed, but I intend to build another. The gunboat is quite effective against Tripods. The barges have a wide range of uses. The only improvement I would suggest is a way to add weapons to them.
There is an abundance of other model resources on the internet for river craft, some free:
modelsnmoore.com/mmork.php
I'm going to suggest:
Large River: Broad and deep enough to allow any sort of boat or ship to pass. In game turns, it is likely that one board edge will be "water" as the river itself could ve over 4 feet wide.
River: Allows purpose built (or purpose modified) boats to pass. A river would be between 6 inches and a foot wide. The river could support some craft but not all ships.
Creek: Big enough for small craft and some medium sized craft.
A very specific system would be unnecessarily rules heavy and of minimal use. it would require defining the width and depth of the river or lake and the draught of the boats and lots of other stuff that really doesn't require rules.
One major item: Recoilless rifles and rocket artillery are quite well suited to being mounted on boats. The light weight and low recoil make it possible for them to be mounted on boats without the need for extensive reinforcement. Less weight means more payload and higher draughts, and can operate in shallower water. This allows more and more access to the smaller wateways.
Some rivers are only available for seasonal use. The Amarillo River in Texas is little more than a mud puddle in the summer, it may not be able to supply water for herds of cattle being driven to market. This may make things interesting in certain scenarios.
The greats battles of Memphis and St. Louis shall serve as inspiration, but smaller cities and towns on smaller rivers will need to be defended.
Barges, keelboats and riverboats plied these rivers. Before them, Native Americans used boats, most famously canoes. In the far north, Inuit and others used Kayaks, which, like the canoes, are designs that are still used and still known for their utility as well as being great fun. About the time of AQMF, the Airboat was beginning its development. If there was a stream, lake or swamp big enough, humans had boats on it.
In the French and Indian Wars, small warships were built and fought on Lake Champlain. Water means boats, war near water means warships.
Lewis and Clark used canoes and keelboats to explore the Louisiana Territory. in the Civil War both sides weaponized civilian boats and purpose-built riverine warships. the designs and technology of US riverine warships was state of the art for their day, and the ability to create riverine warships has not dissipated.
As things stand in AQMF,
paperterrain.mybisi.com/product/american-river-gunboat
paperterrain.mybisi.com/product/all-quiet-american-light-river-barges
These are great products and well suited to use with AQMF battles. I built a gunboat. It was a challenging model to build, but it looks great. Sadly my first effort was destroyed, but I intend to build another. The gunboat is quite effective against Tripods. The barges have a wide range of uses. The only improvement I would suggest is a way to add weapons to them.
There is an abundance of other model resources on the internet for river craft, some free:
modelsnmoore.com/mmork.php
I'm going to suggest:
Large River: Broad and deep enough to allow any sort of boat or ship to pass. In game turns, it is likely that one board edge will be "water" as the river itself could ve over 4 feet wide.
River: Allows purpose built (or purpose modified) boats to pass. A river would be between 6 inches and a foot wide. The river could support some craft but not all ships.
Creek: Big enough for small craft and some medium sized craft.
A very specific system would be unnecessarily rules heavy and of minimal use. it would require defining the width and depth of the river or lake and the draught of the boats and lots of other stuff that really doesn't require rules.
One major item: Recoilless rifles and rocket artillery are quite well suited to being mounted on boats. The light weight and low recoil make it possible for them to be mounted on boats without the need for extensive reinforcement. Less weight means more payload and higher draughts, and can operate in shallower water. This allows more and more access to the smaller wateways.
Some rivers are only available for seasonal use. The Amarillo River in Texas is little more than a mud puddle in the summer, it may not be able to supply water for herds of cattle being driven to market. This may make things interesting in certain scenarios.
The greats battles of Memphis and St. Louis shall serve as inspiration, but smaller cities and towns on smaller rivers will need to be defended.