Bregir

Beautiful scene, sir! The landscaping and waterwork is great, and I really like the raft, although I fear it must be a sad tub to navigate!

Nice dockside scene, captain. Very lively. I agree that a bit of mottling of the fortress walls and a bit more thickness would improve it, but overall, it is really good. I love the crane!

This is a beautiful little sloop, Ayrlego. (A sloop, since it only carries one jib.) The shaping of the hull is fantastic, as is the rigging, and I really like the shutters as a hatch. My only suggestion would be to raise the gaff and make the boom longer, so that the mainsail gets bigger. As to rating, I think it would be most accurate to register it as a class 1 F. Maybe you will be able to register it as a 2f, but I think 1f is more fitting.

Hmm, let me see what I can do in terms of answers: 1) You will get 25 dbs simply for signing up. IF you want to, you can (on top of that) register your introbuild as one of your monthly freebuilds and get an extra 10 db. 2) MRCA builds are for those who participated on the MRCA where you moc the outcome. So if you didn't participate, no go. (Unless leadership will allow you to moc someone elses MRCA-outcome, and then share the proceeds ) 3) You cannot use the free license for anything else than class 0, 1, or 2. Not as a discount on a larger class. This was discussed earlier somewhere. So if you register it as a class 2, and want to upgrade it, I suppose you get your free license back, and then have to pay the full amount. If it is a paid license, I think you will just have to pay the difference plus a possible management fee. 4) Free licenses are non-transferable, but as far as I understand, once a property or ship has been licensed, it is tradable, meaning that if I license a ship and sell it to you (or have captured a ship with an existing license) you will get the license and can use it presently. And you didn't miss anything obvious. Nothing is obvious here, you see

Great looking plantation. I like the scale of it, which just gives it that little extra compared to a smaller example. The rows of plants are great, and the activity going on so too, and the fence and wagon are looking perfect! Well done - I approve.

As I have said before, I love when the smaller vessels are getting some love, and this is a cute little example. Makes me wish I had one of those boat hulls! I like how you have managed to give her a sterncastle, without making it look too bulky or sternheavy. These small vessels (a "ship" is one with 3 full-rigged masts) normally were flushdecked, though. The rigging works well, but if you want to try a hand at custom rigging, I would suggest some sort of fore-and-aft rig on a vessel this size. Anyways, nice work.

Another downright beautiful build, Puvel. You really have a knack for setting a scene, and the amount of details is great - never there is an unfinished spot! The furniture is nice, but the highlight is those wonderfully mottled walls, with those window arches and the mix of colour. Story is short but nice too. Good idea for a business - are you going to license it as an artisan? (I will never befriend those loose tiles on the top, though - it is un-legoish And in this particular case, I am wondering what they are meant to signify?)

Welcome to the new members, nice looking sloop, and Maxim, please keep your wild dog on a leash! (Looking at you, Titus! ) As for Corlander relations to Oleon, I am aware that our warring past has strained them somewhat, but personally I hope that our current relations will remain amicable to the advantage of all of us. And as someone else said, you do have some prodigiously fine shipyards!

As Ska said, it is a guideline, so we have an idea of what is expected. I mean, you have no advantage in building larger (since it is not a challenge where you need to impress anyone) so why limit you. You might build a property with a groundfloor of 15x18, but build a whole street around it. Or build a warehouse with a house outside stockyard as well. However, if you build a 10x10 a claim it to be a medium sized property, I am somewhat certain someone is going to react

Welcome, Callia - 'tis good to see the ranks of the sea rats swelling! Although I fear my trading company stocks go down each time...

Hmm, it is good that Beorthan is out of office. Otherwise certain rumours of slander and lies may have led him to reconsider his support of the Nocturnian resistance...

Welcome to Kaliphlin's new members! I always had a secret love for Kaliphlin (and the idea of Greco-Roman influences sounds great - I have missed that!), although naturally, the only real Guild for civilised and intelligent people is Avalonia! It does specifically say that you don't have to use your sig fig, so I don't see why you can't do as you propose. Great minichallenge, btw. I have the perfect chariot buried away in my storage of bricks 1200 km's away, but it seems I will just be a spectator to this one!

It will be introduced later in the game. (Probably in the next few months) My guess is that it will work by setting a number of milestones barring specific traits. A completely made up example could be that by building X ships (or different classes of ships) you gain the trait "shipwright" and get a 10 % discount on licensing ships, or some modifier to income. Or by building one of the commerce building type in all the player nations, you gain the the trait "Mercantilist" and gain 20 % bonus to income from buildings. In short, through proving different building skills or a degree of commitment, you can gain titles and in-game bonusses. However, this is merely a (qualified) guess, as we haven't really heard that much yet! Patience, my young padawan!

Generally, we pose our questions in the starting thread - that is what it is there for, and by nature, it is becoming quite cluttered!

Brilliant build, Full Plate - the trees are so wonderfully elaborate, and the lush landscaping is great too. The whole setting and story has a very Avalonian feel to it. (And that "old fart" reminds me of Tom Bombadil...) There is one thing I wonder no one else commented on: The symbolism of the trees. It seems clear to me that each tree represents one of the guilds. In turn: The white tree: Mitgardia: And the obvious reference to the Algus. The black and red tree: Nocturnus: I am not sure what the thriving heather signifies - perhaps the resistance? The "tan" and golden tree: Kaliphlin: With the civil war over, there might not be much news. Although I wouldn't call it peace and quiet either.... The cut-down, green tree: Avalonia: Supposedly cut down to fight the corruption of plague and drow. As the drow were never fully expelled, there is some remaining corruption in the fallen trunk? Lastly, the rocks in the middle. I wonder if they perhaps signify Cedrica? And the silence is due to the absense of the king? Very much looking forward to your comments or the further story!

Well, I solved this by giving all ships post-relativistic warp-drives... No, wait - wrong setting! Well, actually, I was wondering the same. So far, I have given (some of) my log entries a date like "35th day of the XYZ Expedition". The best solution is probably following the real time calendar as you suggest, but with a bit of leeway for construction and travel times and such.

Supportive and non-trolling: Check Trash-talking and sarcastic: Check too (Just so you are forewarned, but it's all in good humour, though ;) ) I'm am no Lego prodigy either but this (And Guilds of Historica) has really helped me improve by leaps and bounds. (Just check out the progress from my first builds on Flickr to my latest... ;) ) You are sure to get a lot of constructive feedback here, and there is a lot to learn from other builders too. :)

First: Welcome! As to the extension of the deadline, I am not authorised to give you a reply. However, as soon as you have presented your sig fig in the faction thread, you are officially part of BoBS and can enter in the challenges. As to a larger intro diorama, you can check out how others did. (For instance mine: click here) Most people have done something similar. If you want to take part in the economic game system (be awarded dubloons for it), you also have to register it as a freebuild trough this form. For the first two freebuilds each month, you get 10 db's and for the next, it is dependent on number of approvals. (To avoid people spamming low quality freebuilds for money). And while it might seem complex at first, it really is quite simple as soon as you understand the very basics. As to pictures, I suggest setting up a flickr account - it is free and works fantastically. And sharing pics from there is fairly simple, as you simply paste in the BB-code from flickr in the text here (click the "share" button on your pics in flickr and choose the right size (around 800x600)). I am sure there are some guides somewhere here on EB. Don't ever try to upload the pics directly here. It will make your soul burn for a prolonged time in hell and cost you considerable trouble and frustration. (Plus, it won't really work...) We are a very friendly society, and you are always welcome to ask.

Welcome amongst our ranks, Hawksbrugh. Your intro is great, and I really like the picture too. I trust we will find good use for your services in the near future, and it will be interesting to follow your adventures!

Designing Colonial Defences | Bregir | Corrington

What Cooke had requested in his latest despatch was not as unexpected as one might think. As should be expected of any enlightened, civilised, scientific society (and which religious zealots or money-hungering mercantilists will find hard to grasp) there is a procedure or design already in place for any significant situation. So too is the case when it comes to claiming and holding newly claimed land under the Corlander Crown. As soon as the New Terra expeditions were announced, military engineers and tacticians of the Royal Society of Military Sciences set about designing defensive measures for new possessions in remote areas. The design requirements were a balance between high firepower, defensibility, and ease of construction on site. The result of these efforts is the "Colonial Half-battery, Mark I" depicted in the sketches below. Armed with two 24-pounders, it can swiftly puncture anything short of frigate-size, and pose a significant threat, even to larger vessels. Manned by two gun crews of each 6 gunners and a sergeant, and commanded by a Lieutenant (with an aide-de-camp) a half-battery is made up of 16 men of the Royal Navy Artillery Corps. Thus expertly handled, it can continuously deliver swift, accurate fire. The bulwarks and carriages are designed to be constructed on site, from locally sourced materials, and with specialised tools. In fact, only the guns, ammunition, and turntables have to be sourced externally. Depending on the availability of materials and the topography of the site, the crew itself can erect a "Colonial Half-Battery, Mark I" in less than a week, a process that can be sped up by the help of additional manpower and/or careful preparations of the site. However, a fixed battery has tactical limitations, and can only command a fixed arc of fire. Therefore, an option has been devised for these situations where tactical considerations warrant it. This option is the "Colonial Gunboat, Mark I", as depicted below. Essentially a reinforced ship's launch, the gunboat has been strengthened to withstand the massive recoil of the 24-pounder mounted in its bow, as well as moderate amounts of enemy fire. With such a large gun on a mobile platform, commanders are given considerably more tactical freedom than that afforded by a fort alone. Manned exactly like the half-battery, it brings the total complement of fort and gunboat up to a full battery, which triggers the addition of a Captain and his aide-de-camp, a signal corporal, and a surgeon and his mate, totalling 37 men. As each gun-crew can man either one gun, or the gunboat, a full battery has one redundant group at all times. This allows for rest during prolonged battle, small arms support, or various support tasks; and affords the commander a great degree of flexibility, even under heavy losses. The complete organisation can be seen below. _________________________________________________________________________ Originally, I had intended to put the boat and battery on a landscape, but I was not able to finish it before leaving my bricks behind, so I had to be creative with presentation! Not all the pictures are perfect, but they were taking in a rush, so please indulge me. I kinda like the idea of standardisation of these things, and I think it fits in perfectly in Corrington. Further, it allowed me to build these things before actually placing them on the new islalnd found by Montoya and Cooke, thus avoiding timeline issues. I think the gunboat turned out well, and hope to revisit that technique at a later point. I also like the guns and their carriages. I am planning to license the gunboat as a class 1 A at some point, and the fortress as a small fort, if I ever need it. C&C more than welcome - I hope you like it.

That is exactly why I ask. I have no interest in sparking war, but have a letter of marque that I have no wish to have sitting idle. From last months naval action, it would seem that Garveyan vessels are legal prey, as they have been preying on our ships? It may be so that in the current situation, predator missions are not a viable alternative to trade, and the HMS Otter should be relegated to escorting a group of slow merchant ships from port to port... Captain McLeod will not approve...

Looking good, Tomsche. Will be looking forward to seeing it grow! I especially like the shaping off the beach. On a different note: Where I to send a vessel on a privateering mission, which nations would the crown consider legal prey? I suppose attacking Oleander or Eslandolan vessels would lead to diplomatic crisis, but how about all the other nations? And sea rats?

Nice idea and execution, Brickwolf. I like the boats on stands, the different planking in them, and the tools and planks lying around. I would suggest a little more text, though. Like - how does this fit in? Is there anything we should know about the carpenter? Who owns it? Basically anything you could think of in terms of a backstory. Other than that, very nice!

Welcome to BoBS, Jerome Monezterell. A nice intro! As to your schooner, I would suggest you compare it to the other ships in the index. I think you will find that her size would fit perfectly within class 2, or perhaps class 3. Class 2 would allow you to register her presently under the free license. (BTW, she is looking really nice) The classes are more about size and role than about the type of rigging on the ship, and the shiptypes mentioned are only examples. This would definitely be small for a class 5!