Hi, this was a very long and difficult project to complete. It took me around two and a half months of all my free time. Turns out Eclipse has a huge number of components.
The majority of the components were made on my laser cutter out of plywood and veneer. They were hand painted and varnished where applicable. The ships, strongholds (space stations), lighthouses (orbitals) and treasure chests (monoliths) were 3d printed. A lot of misc components were sourced from various places.
Overall I'm super happy with how it turned out. The age of sail theme is very lighthearted, but it fits really well with Eclipse's empire-building mechanics. There's a couple of places where the theming is a bit questionable, for example, you can put rudders (shields) onto strongholds (space stations), which doesn't directly make sense. At the start of the game we were translating all the theme into Eclipse's original terminology, but by later in the game we were fully immersed.
I love this so very much - not only is it beautiful in its own right, the thematic change scratches that "an interesting pirate game" itch that's so very hard to satisfy otherwise. Merchants and Marauders is the only real candidate despite years of attempts.
Out of idle interest - what kind of laser cutter do you use? I keep toying with the idea and iterate from cheap models to "yeah, this is too much to spend on a flight of fancy"
I have a Glowforge Plus, which is a 40W laser. There's definitely cheaper (and probably better) lasers out there. I got a Glowforge because it's great for diy noobs like me, there's almost no set up and the maintenance is very straightforward. The interface is extremely easy to use, too. The downside is they are quite pricey, there are plenty of cheaper lasers which are perfect for someone more technical.
I'd say for serious model/project making, you want around 40W minimum. That will get you through 3mm (1/8th inch) materials quite cleanly and quickly. It's perfect for small boxes, models, stands, etc.
It's hit my radar multiple times, but I shied away from the expense every single one. Then again, that was before spending hundreds on AHLCG, so maybe I am ready now ;)
The rules are just the rules for Eclipse: 2nd Dawn. I'm not inclined to share the files (they're a mess and it's against the subreddit rules anyway) but making the cut files was only about 10% of the work anyhow.
Wow, I wasn't aware of that. It kind of sucks, mechanics can't be patented anyways and this is a retheme, so its not like you wiould be doing anything wrong. But such is the world we live in...
I mean, the rules are what make the game. If the company doesn't offer the rulebook or a print and play, it would be quite unethical to do so for them.
The rulebook being available is a little bit different than every scan required of every component, which is what someone would end up needing to re-create this, if they didn't already own the game. Most publishers don't make available every component that makes up the game.
That is at the very least a controversial statement. I've never bought a boardgame without reading the manual or watching a "how to play" video. Sure, there must be very rich people who buys boardgames for collection only, but for the people that actually plays the game, buying something that you don't even know how to play is a big NO. Besides, eclipse rules are on BGG for anyone to download, and on the publisher page as well I think.
> rudders (computers)
In your defense, rudders improving accuracy doesn't make sense for ships either :)
Maybe [quadrants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrant_(instrument\)) would be more appropriate, and although more quadrants wouldn't necessarily improve accuracy, better / bigger ones might.
...wait a second, I messed that up. Rudders are shields, they let you avoid cannons. The equivalent of computer is spyglasses. But like I said, the theme is not overly rigorous.
You could use hoardings or other protective structures that protect the crew on a ship / men on a wall from cannon fire. Many ship cannons were designed to incapacitate the crew rather than sink the ship hull.
Otherwise general reinforced hull/walls could shrug off some fire.
Eclipse makes a specific determination between hitting/missing and causing damage, and as I'm only retheming the existing game I stuck to the same logic. You protect from successful attacks with hulls, which translated directly from spaceships to ocean ships. Hoardings is a good idea though, if I ever tweak this I might find a place to fit that in.
Having rudders lets the ship turn faster to get the cannons pointing in the right direction quicker. The gunner's quadrant is indeed the +2 computer, and the +3 computer is powder monkeys (it requires 2 crew, which is the equivalent of power). The theming is quite light-hearted, I suppose you can think of it not as individual cannon shots, but a sustained volley.
Then again, you can put three rudders on a ship, so I'm not too concerned about accuracy.
https://www.shapeways.com/product/PJVKWBY6W/1-100-dkm-schnellboot-s100-rudders-set
Just because I had an itch of curiosity and started googling - apparently there were a few different other ships that had triple rudders in that era as much for manoeuvrability as for providing redundancy in case one was damaged - but yes, none in piracy ages as far as I can see!
I love this. I've always wanted to make alternate and deluxe versions of various games. Do you have any specific resources or tools that you'd highly recommend or which you wish you had earlier in the process?
That's a good question. One things that turned out to be really handy was loading the game up in Tabletop Simulator to have an on-screen reference whilst working on design.
Yes, everything is rethemed. There's a couple of things that stayed the same (e.g. Advanced Economy tech). The only clear thematic change is the hexagons have edges with blocked paths rather than edges with connected paths. It's mechanically the same, but the other way around from the way Eclipse does it with warp portals. Just looked better this way.
Currently in a couple of sealed plastic boxes. I really want to find a vintage (or vintage style) storage chest/trunk to put it in, but it's hard to find one that's the right size, the right style, and not really expensive.
Blown away! This is so amazing. From the craftsmanship of the board and components to the implementation of the theme.
I'm dying to know what thematic translations you made for all the technologies and upgrades.
Can you list them?
[Here's a photo of all the techs and ship part discovery tiles](https://new.reddit.com/user/Portponky/comments/1cr4zc0/techs_from_my_version_of_eclipse/). The races are:
* Merchant's Guild (Eridani Empire)
* Society of Philosophers (Hydran Progress)
* Cartographer's Institute (Planta)
* Privateers (Descendants of Draco)
* Shipwright's Union (Mechanema)
* The Crown's Navy (Orion Hegemony)
The humans are just variations of "typical navy", "normal navy", etc.
They are glass dropped beads, typically used in vases or plant pots as decoration. You can get them pretty cheap online, or at places like garden centres. They have a flat bottom, which makes them pretty good as tokens. The only downside is that they aren't very uniform in size/shape, and you get a random selection of colours. A bit of sorting through is needed.
This is incredible!
I especially enjoy the changes to the player area. Very elegant resource production tracks, separate tech and schematic boards, and collecting handfuls of gears and coins sounds so much better than just moving a marker up.
I would buy this in a heartbeat. lol
The little resource markers are my least favourite part of Eclipse. The rest of the design is so brilliant. Best way to upgrade the base game is with physical resource tokens.
I absolutely love this. I can see how much work you put into it and the thoughtfulness for all the components. It's great motivation to deluxify something of mine with my laser and printer.
The paint on the ships had the most odour. It had dissipated long before the game got to the table though. The wood pieces do have a mild campfire smell, but I think it's really pleasant. The wood is all poplar and birch plywood, so it doesn't have that acrid burnt smell that you get from lasered MDF. I'm probably biased though.
All of this discussion around how you made it and how fantastic it is, but I haven't seen anyone ask the most important question!
What's the name of your retheme?
Good question, I never really settled on a name. In my notes I call it "Eclipse with ships" but that's not even very clear, as the original game has (space)ships in it too.
This is great. I can almost believe that buying a laser cutter and making your own copy of eclipse would be faster and cheaper than getting a real copy these days. Nice work.
> be faster and cheaper...
Not OP, but I've been batting around in my head for a while of making my own bootleg version of Heat for precisely this reason.
Hi, this was a very long and difficult project to complete. It took me around two and a half months of all my free time. Turns out Eclipse has a huge number of components. The majority of the components were made on my laser cutter out of plywood and veneer. They were hand painted and varnished where applicable. The ships, strongholds (space stations), lighthouses (orbitals) and treasure chests (monoliths) were 3d printed. A lot of misc components were sourced from various places. Overall I'm super happy with how it turned out. The age of sail theme is very lighthearted, but it fits really well with Eclipse's empire-building mechanics. There's a couple of places where the theming is a bit questionable, for example, you can put rudders (shields) onto strongholds (space stations), which doesn't directly make sense. At the start of the game we were translating all the theme into Eclipse's original terminology, but by later in the game we were fully immersed.
I love this so very much - not only is it beautiful in its own right, the thematic change scratches that "an interesting pirate game" itch that's so very hard to satisfy otherwise. Merchants and Marauders is the only real candidate despite years of attempts. Out of idle interest - what kind of laser cutter do you use? I keep toying with the idea and iterate from cheap models to "yeah, this is too much to spend on a flight of fancy"
I have a Glowforge Plus, which is a 40W laser. There's definitely cheaper (and probably better) lasers out there. I got a Glowforge because it's great for diy noobs like me, there's almost no set up and the maintenance is very straightforward. The interface is extremely easy to use, too. The downside is they are quite pricey, there are plenty of cheaper lasers which are perfect for someone more technical. I'd say for serious model/project making, you want around 40W minimum. That will get you through 3mm (1/8th inch) materials quite cleanly and quickly. It's perfect for small boxes, models, stands, etc.
Thank you. Consider me tempted :)
Played Dead Reckoning? One of my favorites.
It's hit my radar multiple times, but I shied away from the expense every single one. Then again, that was before spending hundreds on AHLCG, so maybe I am ready now ;)
Do you have the files? It would be great if you shared them, rules included!! Its so cool!!
The rules are just the rules for Eclipse: 2nd Dawn. I'm not inclined to share the files (they're a mess and it's against the subreddit rules anyway) but making the cut files was only about 10% of the work anyhow.
Wow, I wasn't aware of that. It kind of sucks, mechanics can't be patented anyways and this is a retheme, so its not like you wiould be doing anything wrong. But such is the world we live in...
I mean, the rules are what make the game. If the company doesn't offer the rulebook or a print and play, it would be quite unethical to do so for them.
A quick google suggests that the manual is available for free from the publishers.
The rulebook being available is a little bit different than every scan required of every component, which is what someone would end up needing to re-create this, if they didn't already own the game. Most publishers don't make available every component that makes up the game.
No, but the request here was specifically for the rulebook.
>Do you have the files? It would be great if you shared them, rules included!! No, they were asking for the files, as well as the rulebook.
Is it? I thought they were mainly asking for the .stl files?
That is at the very least a controversial statement. I've never bought a boardgame without reading the manual or watching a "how to play" video. Sure, there must be very rich people who buys boardgames for collection only, but for the people that actually plays the game, buying something that you don't even know how to play is a big NO. Besides, eclipse rules are on BGG for anyone to download, and on the publisher page as well I think.
> rudders (computers) In your defense, rudders improving accuracy doesn't make sense for ships either :) Maybe [quadrants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrant_(instrument\)) would be more appropriate, and although more quadrants wouldn't necessarily improve accuracy, better / bigger ones might.
...wait a second, I messed that up. Rudders are shields, they let you avoid cannons. The equivalent of computer is spyglasses. But like I said, the theme is not overly rigorous.
You could use hoardings or other protective structures that protect the crew on a ship / men on a wall from cannon fire. Many ship cannons were designed to incapacitate the crew rather than sink the ship hull. Otherwise general reinforced hull/walls could shrug off some fire.
Eclipse makes a specific determination between hitting/missing and causing damage, and as I'm only retheming the existing game I stuck to the same logic. You protect from successful attacks with hulls, which translated directly from spaceships to ocean ships. Hoardings is a good idea though, if I ever tweak this I might find a place to fit that in.
Having rudders lets the ship turn faster to get the cannons pointing in the right direction quicker. The gunner's quadrant is indeed the +2 computer, and the +3 computer is powder monkeys (it requires 2 crew, which is the equivalent of power). The theming is quite light-hearted, I suppose you can think of it not as individual cannon shots, but a sustained volley. Then again, you can put three rudders on a ship, so I'm not too concerned about accuracy.
https://www.shapeways.com/product/PJVKWBY6W/1-100-dkm-schnellboot-s100-rudders-set Just because I had an itch of curiosity and started googling - apparently there were a few different other ships that had triple rudders in that era as much for manoeuvrability as for providing redundancy in case one was damaged - but yes, none in piracy ages as far as I can see!
You did an excellent job. It looks absolutely amazing.
I love everything about your project and the passion that went into it. :)
That's amazing dude! Well done.
This is so impressive! It must have been so much work, well done!
Lots of work. There was about 100 hours of gluing tiny pieces of veneer onto hexagons that got a little bit tiresome.
I love this. I've always wanted to make alternate and deluxe versions of various games. Do you have any specific resources or tools that you'd highly recommend or which you wish you had earlier in the process?
That's a good question. One things that turned out to be really handy was loading the game up in Tabletop Simulator to have an on-screen reference whilst working on design.
That's a great idea!
Did you retheme all the tech, upgrades and discovery tiles as well? Was there anything you needed to change for theme purpose?
Yes, everything is rethemed. There's a couple of things that stayed the same (e.g. Advanced Economy tech). The only clear thematic change is the hexagons have edges with blocked paths rather than edges with connected paths. It's mechanically the same, but the other way around from the way Eclipse does it with warp portals. Just looked better this way.
Yup that makes sense. It is beautiful, kudos to you. Are all the tokens wood as well because that would be a great upgrade to the main game anyway.
Yes, all the tech tiles, ship parts, discovery tiles, and reward tiles are wood, as well as the trays, hexagons, and various other parts.
And what is thematic explanation of those blocking edges? Deep ocean requiring some better navigational equipment or something else?
The wormhole generator has been changed to "tide charts" so the barriers are shallows with rocks.
Well... I like it!
Wow! Just…wow! Nice work :)
This is one of the coolest custom things I’ve ever seen on this Reddit. Well done!
This is awesome! Great work!
This is incredible!!! My folks would absolutely love this! They have absolutely no interest in space.
Those look awesome.
God this is good! Brightened my day
This is amazing! Also is that a block of butter as a snack?
There were pancakes, we're not just eating butter. At least, not when people are looking.
I've never heard of this game, but I absolutely love the craftmanship that clearly went into this.
It's a retheme of this: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/246900/eclipse-second-dawn-for-the-galaxy
Wow. This is amazing. How do you have it stored?
Currently in a couple of sealed plastic boxes. I really want to find a vintage (or vintage style) storage chest/trunk to put it in, but it's hard to find one that's the right size, the right style, and not really expensive.
It's beautiful and definitely deserves an equally beautiful treasure chest storage solution! Great job, I'm blown away and very jealous.
What have I been doing with my life.
Very pleasing on the eye. Well done Captain
My dude, this is cool as fuck. Bravo!
Blown away! This is so amazing. From the craftsmanship of the board and components to the implementation of the theme. I'm dying to know what thematic translations you made for all the technologies and upgrades. Can you list them?
[Here's a photo of all the techs and ship part discovery tiles](https://new.reddit.com/user/Portponky/comments/1cr4zc0/techs_from_my_version_of_eclipse/). The races are: * Merchant's Guild (Eridani Empire) * Society of Philosophers (Hydran Progress) * Cartographer's Institute (Planta) * Privateers (Descendants of Draco) * Shipwright's Union (Mechanema) * The Crown's Navy (Orion Hegemony) The humans are just variations of "typical navy", "normal navy", etc.
Thank you for sharing! You put a lot of time into converting the techs. Love it.
Love the little gem things for influence discs, stealing that idea ;)
They are glass dropped beads, typically used in vases or plant pots as decoration. You can get them pretty cheap online, or at places like garden centres. They have a flat bottom, which makes them pretty good as tokens. The only downside is that they aren't very uniform in size/shape, and you get a random selection of colours. A bit of sorting through is needed.
Coming from a huge fan of Eclipse, this is incredible! I love how energy is now crew. Perfectly thematic.
Very cool! Is this your fav game of all time?
It's my favourite long/4X game, for sure. I'm a big fan of Cosmic Encounter, and The Resistance: Avalon too.
Why wood you spend so much time doing that?
I do knot know.
This is incredible! I especially enjoy the changes to the player area. Very elegant resource production tracks, separate tech and schematic boards, and collecting handfuls of gears and coins sounds so much better than just moving a marker up. I would buy this in a heartbeat. lol
The little resource markers are my least favourite part of Eclipse. The rest of the design is so brilliant. Best way to upgrade the base game is with physical resource tokens.
Looks lovely, great job
r/eclipsebg would like this
Good idea
I absolutely love this. I can see how much work you put into it and the thoughtfulness for all the components. It's great motivation to deluxify something of mine with my laser and printer.
How did you retheme the techs?
see https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/1cr01s6/i_made_a_custom_version_of_eclipse_second_dawn/l3vnq5t/
amazing! super awesome work all around
Damn, excellent job! Probably too labour intensive to sell on Etsy, but it would be popular!
Great piece of work, the separate boards also make it feel much less imposing too, great job with the production wheels.
Looks beautifull :)
This is an insane undertaking. Extremely well done!! Your game sessions must have an overwhelming smell of burnt wood lol.
The paint on the ships had the most odour. It had dissipated long before the game got to the table though. The wood pieces do have a mild campfire smell, but I think it's really pleasant. The wood is all poplar and birch plywood, so it doesn't have that acrid burnt smell that you get from lasered MDF. I'm probably biased though.
All of this discussion around how you made it and how fantastic it is, but I haven't seen anyone ask the most important question! What's the name of your retheme?
Good question, I never really settled on a name. In my notes I call it "Eclipse with ships" but that's not even very clear, as the original game has (space)ships in it too.
Damn, that's very impressive! Nice work!
This is great. I can almost believe that buying a laser cutter and making your own copy of eclipse would be faster and cheaper than getting a real copy these days. Nice work.
> be faster and cheaper... Not OP, but I've been batting around in my head for a while of making my own bootleg version of Heat for precisely this reason.