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-   -   UBOOT: The Board Game (https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=230009)

Artur Salwarowski 03-04-17 04:40 PM

UBOOT: The Board Game
 
Hello everyone,

I represent a young game dev studio that is working on the board game rendition of ‘UBOOT’ by Deep Water Studio. The vision behind UBOOT: The Board Game is to take the realistic feel of PC subsim games and seamlessly merge it with the fun aspect of boardgaming to create the first ever cooperative tabletop submarine simulator. Yes, a subsim that you could play together with your friends over beer and pretzels ;) Certainly not as realistic as the most prominent PC representatives of the genre, yet definitely faithful enough to be called a simulator.

What we are aiming at is blending the best of both worlds, and putting it into one, hopefully awesome package. With emphasis on player-to-player communication, chain of command, crew management, and hidden information regarding the outside world, we are trying to make the experience as close to the real thing as possible (e.g. contacts have to be tracked via the companion app, and then marked on the paper map by the navigator using a dry erase marker).

One of our goals is to make players talk to one another as much as possible, passing information and orders, while constantly working under the pressure of time. There is much more I could write at this point, but I don't want to attack you with a wall of text from the outset ;) With that in mind, I'm gonna end it right here and let you have a look at some of our stuff.

Here is our early components prototype:

https://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic3441183_lg.jpg

Please bear in mind, that my intention is not to promote the game as much as it is to reach out to the community of enthusiasts in the field of submarine simulation in order to lend an ear to their feedback and expertise (provided that they are willing to share it ;) ). Therefore, if you are curious of how we want to achieve the above mentioned goals, then please visit our website for a full game description, as well as the first instalment of our designer diaries:

http://uboottheboardgame.com/

Last, but not least, here is our silly-ass teaser-trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYLwcBWjt7w

Right, I guess that's all for now. Thank you very much for your interest and I'd be thrilled if we could sail into the uncharted waters together! :Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:

Onkel Neal 03-05-17 09:50 AM

Looks really good. My daughter and friends play board game, I look forward to bringing this to a game night.

Can you describe the "companion app" in a little more detail? I am interested in the mechanics of your game.

Hawk66 03-05-17 12:58 PM

Hi Artur,

from a component perspective this looks really awesome ! If the game is full cooperative, can it played also solo like the recent u-boat games from GMT ?

Pilot_76 03-08-17 09:32 AM

I'd like solo-play rules as well.:salute:

Artur Salwarowski 03-08-17 10:57 AM

Yes, the game will definitely feature a solo mode! :Kaleun_Cheers:
@Onkel Neal:
Have you had the chance to look at the Designer Diary on our website? It tells a little bit more about the app. In short, the mobile app is going to be something like 'Silent Hunter Lite', yet presented in a format that keeps a lot of the information secret, unless players make an effort to reveal it. Like, for instance, when the weather is bad for a few days in a row and you can't use the sextant to determine your position, then you will have to rely on where the navigator BELIEVES the U-boat actually is. Without using the sextant, you can only calculate based on your course, speed, and the passage of time. Of course, once you use it, then you will be able to say approximately where you are, but it is not that you will see the boat's position on the map at all times ;) Simply because... there is no map in the app - the navigator has to determine and draw the course on the paper map ;)

And there are tons of such things in the game - we are really thinking outside the box with this one. Have I mentioned that you will have to tamper with the Enigma to decipher messages, and also engage in a guitar hero-style rhythmic game to send messages using the Morse Code?
And that is still the tip of the iceberg :Kaleun_Wink:

Pilot_76 03-08-17 10:59 AM

:yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah::Kaleun_Cheers::Kale un_Cheers::Kaleun_Cheers::yeah::yeah::salute::salu te:

perdu 03-08-17 12:04 PM

:up: this is something i will have to keep an eye on :)

Quasimodo 03-10-17 03:48 PM

This looks terrific! I'll be following this for sure!

harag 03-12-17 11:16 AM

Really like the look of the board game, though I don't play them much these days (never enough time) I'm going to support the kickstarter when I see it (so be sure to post here when you start it) and back it, love the idea and if it can be played solo, all the better!

I also supported the main game on kickstarted!

Artur Salwarowski 03-13-17 04:10 AM

Hello everyone,

A few close-ups of the pieces:
http://playway.com/images/1mid_banne..._figurki_1.jpg

http://playway.com/images/1mid_banne..._figurki_2.jpg
Sailor models courtesy of Panzer vs Tanks. Used with permission. For more information please visit shapeways.com/shops/panzervstanks

Hope you like them! And one more thing: I am sure you have noticed that the 88mm is the land version. The reason is that we had very tight deadlines for putting it all together. However, we will be upgrading to the 'proper' one as soon as we obtain the model. We also intend to have more deck guns in the final version, including the Flakvierling, and the dual 20mm guns :Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:

fullmetaledges 03-13-17 08:25 AM

I'm not a huge board game fan (I've only ever played the family ones as a kid), but this one looks awesome. I am eagerly anticipating the PC and now board game version as well.

Kessner 03-13-17 07:13 PM

I would buy this game so it could be mine!!!:yeah:

cherbert 03-14-17 06:45 PM

My concern would be if support stopped for the companion app. Can somekind of single player AI be added so that the App survives long after servers shut down. Or will the board game at least be playable with the companion app?

Artur Salwarowski 03-15-17 03:46 AM

Dear Cherbert,

This question has been asked before, and this is the answer:

Although we represent a young company, then again we are a subsidiary of a highly successful and well-established business entity in the field of computer games. It is, as you are well aware, the same company that is responsible fot the UBOOT PC game, and it is a parent company to more than 40 (!) game dev subsidiaries. It is listed on the stock market, it is making deals with such entities as Discovery Channel, Mazda, Dodge, etc., and it continues to grow (and quite rapidly at that, if you ask me).

Their strategy is to seek out creative talent, and then provide it with all the tools and resources that they need to make new and exciting products. One of their newest areas of interest is board games, and we have been invited to join the party.

In summary, when we presented our signed papers at the bank, the reaction was: 'Well, gentlemen! You've got some pretty powerful people on your side!'

The bottom line being: Playway isn't going anywhere any time soon.

Hope that answers your question https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/wink.gif
http://www.playway.com/

Oh, and the app is fully integrated with the game, so there is no way you can play the board game without it (I guess you could fool around with the app on its own, but then it's gonna be totally lacking in the crew management department (which is going to be a major component of the game as such). All in all, it is probable that after some time on the market there will be an option to release the source code for modding, etc. We are also taking that opportunity into consideration so as to extend product life further and allow prospective fans to play around with the content. In general, time will tell :)

cherbert 03-15-17 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artur Salwarowski (Post 2472882)
Dear Cherbert,

This question has been asked before, and this is the answer:

Although we represent a young company, then again we are a subsidiary of a highly successful and well-established business entity in the field of computer games. It is, as you are well aware, the same company that is responsible fot the UBOOT PC game, and it is a parent company to more than 40 (!) game dev subsidiaries. It is listed on the stock market, it is making deals with such entities as Discovery Channel, Mazda, Dodge, etc., and it continues to grow (and quite rapidly at that, if you ask me).

Their strategy is to seek out creative talent, and then provide it with all the tools and resources that they need to make new and exciting products. One of their newest areas of interest is board games, and we have been invited to join the party.

In summary, when we presented our signed papers at the bank, the reaction was: 'Well, gentlemen! You've got some pretty powerful people on your side!'

The bottom line being: Playway isn't going anywhere any time soon.

Hope that answers your question https://cf.geekdo-static.com/images/wink.gif
http://www.playway.com/

Oh, and the app is fully integrated with the game, so there is no way you can play the board game without it (I guess you could fool around with the app on its own, but then it's gonna be totally lacking in the crew management department (which is going to be a major component of the game as such). All in all, it is probable that after some time on the market there will be an option to release the source code for modding, etc. We are also taking that opportunity into consideration so as to extend product life further and allow prospective fans to play around with the content. In general, time will tell :)


That's good to hear. I look forward to seeing the Kickstarter soon and thank you for taking the time to reply.


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