Brethren of the Brick Seas (BoBS) Intro Thread, Era II

[NOD]

@Mesabi Many Thanks! It's great to see everything on a map!

 

 

Edited June 18, 2021 by NOD

[Fraunces]

On 6/18/2021 at 5:26 PM, Mesabi said:

It might be a good refrence for some newer folks on here. 

Amazing work!

[Professor Thaum]

Nice work with the maps @Mesabi

Will be of great use for sure !

[Khorne]

On 6/18/2021 at 5:26 PM, Mesabi said:

Hey Y'all!

Haven't been active, but I have updated some world maps for the game. These were made by stitching together existing maps.  

It might be a good refrence for some newer folks on here. 

Wow! Great work on the maps! It's so cool to see the whole BoBS world come together.

Very helpful indeed!

[Thomas Waagenaar]

So, I'm just gonna go ahead and ask it here...

 

For era wise, what technology are we at give or take? Basically everything I found says "around the age of sail", but this lasted all the way until like the mid 19th century.

 

Mostly asking since I want to build a steam engine. And the earliest steam engines are from like 1720 and their development keeps going... I personally just particularly like how the Corliss Engine looks, it's from 1849, which would mean that it's still in the age of sail, but at the end.

 

Hence the question, what is give or take the technology level we're at in the Brick Seas?

[blackdeathgr]

36 minutes ago, Thomas Waagenaar said:

So, I'm just gonna go ahead and ask it here...

 

For era wise, what technology are we at give or take? Basically everything I found says "around the age of sail", but this lasted all the way until like the mid 19th century.

 

Mostly asking since I want to build a steam engine. And the earliest steam engines are from like 1720 and their development keeps going... I personally just particularly like how the Corliss Engine looks, it's from 1849, which would mean that it's still in the age of sail, but at the end.

 

Hence the question, what is give or take the technology level we're at in the Brick Seas?

I would say we tend to depict technology that has been readily available and has been applied up to the years following Napoleonic Wars, early 19th century that is. Ofc you can depict other "experimental" technologies that don't affect or cause major breakthrough regarding balance of power between factions. Corliss engine itself is a nice example of experimental technology that for example Corries could produce.

All in all, the great thing about BoBS is that it encompass a long range of time and space (Some of us tend to focus more on 16th-17th century, others more on 18th etc), so one can be fairly creative, without "breaking" the game.

 

[Bregir]

End of the Napoleonic wars (1820-ish) has generally been set as the extreme limit. I only remember a single steam engine (a Newcomen-like machine) in BoBS so far (which I built myself).

It is important to avoid any drift in technology. One new engine might not change anything, but if it has the nature of a breakthrough, it may well start a tech drift that we in no means want to see.

Personally, I think 1850 technology as important as a steam engine is out of bounds.

[Thomas Waagenaar]

57 minutes ago, Bregir said:

End of the Napoleonic wars (1820-ish) has generally been set as the extreme limit. I only remember a single steam engine (a Newcomen-like machine) in BoBS so far (which I built myself).

It is important to avoid any drift in technology. One new engine might not change anything, but if it has the nature of a breakthrough, it may well start a tech drift that we in no means want to see.

Personally, I think 1850 technology as important as a steam engine is out of bounds.

Ah okay, so for example the Watt steam engine would be allowed? As that's from 1776 and was mostly a development of the Newcomen engine, just a lot more efficient at it ^^ 

[Capt Wolf]

On ‎6‎/‎18‎/‎2021 at 10:26 AM, Mesabi said:

I have updated some world maps for the game. These were made by stitching together existing maps.

Excellent! Thanks for doing this!

[Bregir]

3 hours ago, Thomas Waagenaar said:

Ah okay, so for example the Watt steam engine would be allowed? As that's from 1776 and was mostly a development of the Newcomen engine, just a lot more efficient at it ^^ 

If it is used for suitable application. If you use it to power a warship (which it could probably have done) it is unsuited. If it is a pump for a mine or to drive a mill, it is probably OK.

[Thomas Waagenaar]

2 minutes ago, Bregir said:

If it is used for suitable application. If you use it to power a warship (which it could probably have done) it is unsuited. If it is a pump for a mine or to drive a mill, it is probably OK.

I'll slap 50 in a ship, put them all together, connect them to fans on the bottom and create a steampunk USS Enterprise ;)

But yeah, no worries. Was thinking of using them in simple factories/mines

[Mesabi]

I've brought this up in debates before, on the topic of Historicalness vs. Sail-punk, and the consensus I've gotten is that BoBS is essentially set to be historical, but you are free to add some minor elements of sail-punk or ridiculousness, you can, with the understanding that we don't build steam ships. 

This is kind of my list of unwritten rules about builds/stories in BoBS as well. 

1. No Steam Engines Powering and/or On Ships
2. No Holy Wars. 
   1. You can have certain fights against/with/within the Order, such as a cult or small sect of the church that is angry though. 
3. No enslavement, akin to the Atlantic Slave trade. 
   1. Prisoners of War, criminals can be used as slave labour, just don't be weird about it.  

My headcanon about Steam Engines in BoBS is that they just don't work properly on ships, and people have given up on it. 

Edited June 23, 2021 by Mesabi

[Ross Fisher]

3 hours ago, Mesabi said:

1. No Steam Engines Powering and/or On Ships
2.  No Holy Wars. 
   1. You can have certain fights against/with/within the Order, such as a cult or small sect of the church that is angry though. 
3. No enslavement, akin to the Atlantic Slave trade. 
   1. Prisoners of War, criminals can be used as slave labour, just don't be weird about it.  

My headcanon about Steam Engines in BoBS is that they just don't work properly on ships, and people have given up on it. 

Nice rules! I think your rules #2 and #3 make sense in a "this game seeks to explore the fun side of the age of sail, without any risk of glorifying the problematic sides (slavery/colonialism etc)" kind-of way. 

Steam and salt water could definitely not work together well. The nutty thing is that the Ancient Greeks had built a steam engine way back in the day, they just used it as a neat desk toy rather than anything useful. Took us another two millennia to figure that out.

[CapOnBOBS]

9 hours ago, Mesabi said:

This is kind of my list of unwritten rules about builds/stories in BoBS as well. 

1. No Steam Engines Powering and/or On Ships
2. No Holy Wars. 
   1. You can have certain fights against/with/within the Order, such as a cult or small sect of the church that is angry though. 
3. No enslavement, akin to the Atlantic Slave trade. 
   1. Prisoners of War, criminals can be used as slave labour, just don't be weird about it.  

My headcanon about Steam Engines in BoBS is that they just don't work properly on ships, and people have given up on it. 

This is great discussion. I think relative to your "unwritten rule 2 and 3" your last point is really the central idea.... "don't be weird about it" There is plenty of room to run with a story in this little universe of ours before you venture into some dark little corner that will start.... or could start... making it uncomfortable or offensive to somebody else or that would represent a fundamental change to the game. 

For all three though and specifically the steam engine / technology question. I have thought of it this way... am I incorporating some little gadget to make this build more interesting, or because I expect it to gain some advantage in the way the game plays out. I just put a pump in my last mine. The mine didn't need a pump to qualify as a mine, the pump wasn't some magical new tech for which I would be justifying the mine producing more than other mines, it was just a way to make the build (hopefully) unique and worth looking at. Keeping on that acid test, and at risk of putting words in the mouths of the court... I get the impression that collectively, they are/everybody is all really supportive of people building what they want to build... while at the same time... there are some rules and boundaries to the structure of the game that need to be maintained consistently from player to player, build to build, etc. So... I'd guess, a ship with some experimental steam engine being tested on board, that basically was a novelty that makes for an interesting lego build would be widely appreciated, as long as the story was clear that this CL V ship with this neat steam engine, has the performance and specs of a CL V ship. Example going the other direction, I'd thought a Breshaun-Eltina rail line would be cool and that if we built one, it should count for a pirate-free trade run between the two cities every turn... cause... trains... Story wise it makes sense, tech wise, I think it makes sense, but I scratched the idea because I think it would move us off the fundamental point of the game. We may still do a rail road, but I wouldn't ask and don't think anybody would accept that rail line to equate to a trade run. 

I think the whole discussion highlights how well the structure of BOBS is set up and the good work that is done by the court to keep it on track (friendly, fun, engaging, not weird). So, even though I've gone 12 rounds with each of the court members at this point over something specific here or there. I do genuinely applaud the work you've done to build our little universe. And related, I think we thought we'd have heard from the MCRA turn and account summary by now. If there is nug work that needs to be done, I'm happy to crunch some excel to help keep the pace up?

[blackdeathgr]

18 hours ago, Mesabi said:

I've brought this up in debates before, on the topic of Historicalness vs. Sail-punk, and the consensus I've gotten is that BoBS is essentially set to be historical, but you are free to add some minor elements of sail-punk or ridiculousness, you can, with the understanding that we don't build steam ships. 

This is kind of my list of unwritten rules about builds/stories in BoBS as well. 

1. No Steam Engines Powering and/or On Ships
2. No Holy Wars. 
   1. You can have certain fights against/with/within the Order, such as a cult or small sect of the church that is angry though. 
3. No enslavement, akin to the Atlantic Slave trade. 
   1. Prisoners of War, criminals can be used as slave labour, just don't be weird about it.  

My headcanon about Steam Engines in BoBS is that they just don't work properly on ships, and people have given up on it. 

4. No horse eating!!!

 

8 hours ago, CapOnBOBS said:

 I'd guess, a ship with some experimental steam engine being tested on board, that basically was a novelty that makes for an interesting lego build would be widely appreciated, as long as the story was clear that this CL V ship with this neat steam engine, has the performance and specs of a CL V ship. Example going the other direction, I'd thought a Breshaun-Eltina rail line would be cool and that if we built one, it should count for a pirate-free trade run between the two cities every turn... cause... trains... Story wise it makes sense, tech wise, I think it makes sense, but I scratched the idea because I think it would move us off the fundamental point of the game. We may still do a rail road, but I wouldn't ask and don't think anybody would accept that rail line to equate to a trade run.

I would say no to both examples... Especially the first example is too far off imo

Edited June 24, 2021 by blackdeathgr

[Bregir]

2 hours ago, blackdeathgr said:

I would say no to both examples... Especially the first example is too far off imo

I'd probably agree. A steamship would be out of bounds. An experimental class two steam boat? Maybe ok, but you are very quickly putting BoBS on the way of technological development. Which we do want to avoid.

Right now, a treasure galleon or a large carrack can compete with a 1803 ship of the line. We want to keep it that way, with no steamboat torpedoes.

Present it as a concept drawing, that cannot be put into production because of... issues with boiler pressure, fire hazards, etc. Then we are in a different place.

10 hours ago, CapOnBOBS said:

And related, I think we thought we'd have heard from the MCRA turn and account summary by now.

Yup - I know - I am on it. But I also REALLY want to build for the challenge

10 hours ago, CapOnBOBS said:

If there is nug work that needs to be done, I'm happy to crunch some excel to help keep the pace up?

Thank you most kindly - we will keep the offer in mind!

[Thomas Waagenaar]

Thanks for the replies, I didn't not expect such a huge response.

 

Just wanted to know if basic steam machines were a possibility for a mine or something.

 

On a flip note, if a galleon can take on a ship of the line, how about a Roman galley? :P

[Ayrlego]

20 hours ago, CapOnBOBS said:

and account summary

Here is the March-April Summary - everything should be update except the MRCA results and troops. (I was hoping to get the troops done before releasing but it just hasn't happened.)

[Thomas Waagenaar]

1 hour ago, Ayrlego said:

Here is the March-April Summary - everything should be update except the MRCA results and troops. (I was hoping to get the troops done before releasing but it just hasn't happened.)

Don't mind me asking, is there any chance you perhaps know my current standing in the EGS?

I've put stuff into forms the last few weeks but I kinda forgot to keep track myself. Would like to know so I can keep proper track too 😅

[Ayrlego]

On 6/25/2021 at 12:45 PM, Thomas Waagenaar said:

Don't mind me asking, is there any chance you perhaps know my current standing in the EGS?

I have a week off coming up soon, hopefully I can finish the March/April account and start the May/June one, I'll share with you then. (how is it June already!!! )

On 6/24/2021 at 2:52 PM, CapOnBOBS said:

I get the impression that collectively, they are/everybody is all really supportive of people building what they want to build... while at the same time... there are some rules and boundaries to the structure of the game that need to be maintained consistently from player to player, build to build, etc. So... I'd guess, a ship with some experimental steam engine being tested on board, that basically was a novelty that makes for an interesting lego build would be widely appreciated, as long as the story was clear that this CL V ship with this neat steam engine, has the performance and specs of a CL V ship.

^This

 

[omnihash_cz]

On 6/24/2021 at 6:52 AM, CapOnBOBS said:

... I'd thought a Breshaun-Eltina rail line would be cool and that if we built one, it should count for a pirate-free trade run between the two cities every turn... cause... trains... Story wise it makes sense, tech wise, I think it makes sense, but I scratched the idea because I think it would move us off the fundamental point of the game. We may still do a rail road, but I wouldn't ask and don't think anybody would accept that rail line to equate to a trade run. 

 

Well did you think about canal? Some propper one with narrowboats hauling cargo would be awesome.

[Ross Fisher]

On 6/24/2021 at 5:52 AM, CapOnBOBS said:

I'd thought a Breshaun-Eltina rail line would be cool and that if we built one, it should count for a pirate-free trade run between the two cities every turn

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diolkos 

[Keymonus]

1 hour ago, omnihash_cz said:

Well did you think about canal? Some propper one with narrowboats hauling cargo would be awesome.

I did something similar a few years ago… the quality of the photos is not great, but I’m still proud of the Rimbaud Canal!

https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/156735-rimbaud-canal/

[CapOnBOBS]

Does anyone have the admin magic capability to transfer the write/edit permissions on a post? I am specifically wondering about settlement threads: Can we allow somebody else to edit a thread started by a player who has departed? Or, If I make a "Plinton Settlement" thread, can I or somebody else transfer the write/edit capabilities?

[Garmadon]

35 minutes ago, CapOnBOBS said:

Does anyone have the admin magic capability to transfer the write/edit permissions on a post? I am specifically wondering about settlement threads: Can we allow somebody else to edit a thread started by a player who has departed? Or, If I make a "Plinton Settlement" thread, can I or somebody else transfer the write/edit capabilities?

Yes and no - that is, (at least one of) your faction leaders should be able to edit/keep up-to-date a settlement thread started by you or somebody else if you're unable to take care of it yourself (like in the case of players who have left over time).  And if they're really busy or have disappeared feel free to shoot me with what you need done and I'd be happy to help you out!   Unfortunately since this is real magic it isn't transferable though (to the best of my knowledge ), so I don't think it's possible to change the permissions on a thread to allow a different member who hasn't got all our magical capacities to edit/update a specific post started by someone else.  That's a very good idea to help streamline things like settlement threads, but unfortunately it's not in the capacities of the site right now (in my knowledge).

But that is what each faction's leaders are for!   And like I said, if you've got something specific in mind there's almost always one leader or another around so feel free to contact us and we'll do our best to help you!