Hey everyone, I could use you're help with a project that I'm working on. I've designed and gotten a prototype of a new base for the X-Wing miniatures that hold two lasers that shoot out in the arc of fire so that you can tell wether or not the enemy ship is in your arc of fire.

I'm still working out some bugs with the first prototype (picture below) and would love your feedback, questions and suggestions!

Also, once this thing is working the way I have envisioned, I'll be giving away some pre-production versions for testing purposes. If you want to get on the list to receive one, follow the link below to get registered, share it with your friends and join in the conversation!

interesting idea. it will be limited to casual play only as there are rules for moding bases in tournament play.

I love this! I was considering prototyping a base like this myself using a couple of laser diodes I have in my LED box, but it's awesome that you've done this!

As far as suggestions go, a few things come to mind (which I'm sure you thought up but hadn't written down):

They need to be very low-power lasers so they don't accidentally burn the eyes of the people playing, especially kids. It looks like you wouldn't have enough amperage or voltage in this circuit though, so I think that might be a non-issue.

The lasers would need clear LOS, which would be a problem if you were trying to fire through a ship base, though I think if this happened you could just measure the arc in the traditional manner.

There's no accounting for range, so you need to have another method for determining this. In fact, this is what I've stalled on for so long: how do you also put the three range arcs in the projection?

The diodes need to be pretty precise, and I would say that the beams need to be positioned in such a way that they fall within the arc instead of on it. What I mean by that is, the beam is roughly 1/8" wide. This is a pretty big margin of error. Do you count ships that are hit by the laser but not going past the beam to be in the arc or not? To simplify matters, simply have the beams fall within the arc instead of precisely on it.

I love this! I was considering prototyping a base like this myself using a couple of laser diodes I have in my LED box, but it's awesome that you've done this!

As far as suggestions go, a few things come to mind (which I'm sure you thought up but hadn't written down):

They need to be very low-power lasers so they don't accidentally burn the eyes of the people playing, especially kids. It looks like you wouldn't have enough amperage or voltage in this circuit though, so I think that might be a non-issue.

The lasers would need clear LOS, which would be a problem if you were trying to fire through a ship base, though I think if this happened you could just measure the arc in the traditional manner.

There's no accounting for range, so you need to have another method for determining this. In fact, this is what I've stalled on for so long: how do you also put the three range arcs in the projection?

The diodes need to be pretty precise, and I would say that the beams need to be positioned in such a way that they fall within the arc instead of on it. What I mean by that is, the beam is roughly 1/8" wide. This is a pretty big margin of error. Do you count ships that are hit by the laser but not going past the beam to be in the arc or not? To simplify matters, simply have the beams fall within the arc instead of precisely on it.

You raise some very good points and perspectives, thank you!

As far as the arc goes, the 3D model was rendered with the 80degree angle and is set at a 5 degree angle towards the table. The idea isn't to keep within the range increments specifically, more for determining if longer range targets are in the firing arc or not. This is the very first prototype, so there will be some major tweaking (not twerking) and some definite changes made.

Right at the moment it's a proof of concept to see how it would work and if I could get the concept from paper to the table in a somewhat working fashion.

Thus far, I've gotten some great responses based on what I've put together at this point and I think it's enough for me to continue improving on it.

I'd love to chat with you more on this subject too if you're willing to dive deeper into your ideas as it seems we're thinking along the same lines.

Again, thanks for the feedback! I look forward to hearing more!

Of course! I'm an engineering student myself, so this would be a fun little challenge to flex my muscles.

Hey everyone, I could use you're help with a project that I'm working on. I've designed and gotten a prototype of a new base for the X-Wing miniatures that hold two lasers that shoot out in the arc of fire so that you can tell wether or not the enemy ship is in your arc of fire.

I'm still working out some bugs with the first prototype (picture below) and would love your feedback, questions and suggestions!

Also, once this thing is working the way I have envisioned, I'll be giving away some pre-production versions for testing purposes. If you want to get on the list to receive one, follow the link below to get registered, share it with your friends and join in the conversation!

Your feedback is much needed and appreciated! Thanks!!

http://www.splorkgames.com/prelaunch/

That is certainly neat!

interesting idea. it will be limited to casual play only as there are rules for moding bases in tournament play.

Since it's not a mod to the base and it measures exactly the same size as the original bases, I bet most TOs would allow it. The only issue would be that it's used as a firing arc measuring tool, but if it can be proved beforehand that it's fair and works, then they should be willing to make an exception.

interesting idea. it will be limited to casual play only as there are rules for moding bases in tournament play.

Since it's not a mod to the base and it measures exactly the same size as the original bases, I bet most TOs would allow it. The only issue would be that it's used as a firing arc measuring tool, but if it can be proved beforehand that it's fair and works, then they should be willing to make an exception.

Possibly. The Tournament Rules that you can't change the base's size and shape, but you can add weight to it. They don't say one way or the other about adding functional things like lasers.

Here are a few more images of the base next to an original base.

I love this! I was considering prototyping a base like this myself using a couple of laser diodes I have in my LED box, but it's awesome that you've done this!

As far as suggestions go, a few things come to mind (which I'm sure you thought up but hadn't written down):

They need to be very low-power lasers so they don't accidentally burn the eyes of the people playing, especially kids. It looks like you wouldn't have enough amperage or voltage in this circuit though, so I think that might be a non-issue.

The lasers would need clear LOS, which would be a problem if you were trying to fire through a ship base, though I think if this happened you could just measure the arc in the traditional manner.

There's no accounting for range, so you need to have another method for determining this. In fact, this is what I've stalled on for so long: how do you also put the three range arcs in the projection?

The diodes need to be pretty precise, and I would say that the beams need to be positioned in such a way that they fall within the arc instead of on it. What I mean by that is, the beam is roughly 1/8" wide. This is a pretty big margin of error. Do you count ships that are hit by the laser but not going past the beam to be in the arc or not? To simplify matters, simply have the beams fall within the arc instead of precisely on it.

You raise some very good points and perspectives, thank you!

As far as the arc goes, the 3D model was rendered with the 80degree angle and is set at a 5 degree angle towards the table. The idea isn't to keep within the range increments specifically, more for determining if longer range targets are in the firing arc or not. This is the very first prototype, so there will be some major tweaking (not twerking) and some definite changes made.

Right at the moment it's a proof of concept to see how it would work and if I could get the concept from paper to the table in a somewhat working fashion.

Thus far, I've gotten some great responses based on what I've put together at this point and I think it's enough for me to continue improving on it.

I'd love to chat with you more on this subject too if you're willing to dive deeper into your ideas as it seems we're thinking along the same lines.

Again, thanks for the feedback! I look forward to hearing more!

This is cool, love this idea.

I think the angle is off slightly, only from the positioning of the laser within the base itself.

When determining LOS we want the lasers to run with the existing LOS lines on the base token.

Is the system always on or is it switched? If it is switched, how are you handling fidgety bases when a player is turning the laser(s) on and off?

Take a step back from the base and go up above the base, maybe a small tripod. The only issue would be tripod legs positioning above and around the minis. we would want the unit to be small enough and effective enough to not be complicated or intrusive to game. Speed in positioning is also a factor when I consider intrusive. This way you could also account for the range as well, maybe, possibly...

I think the angle is off slightly, only from the positioning of the laser within the base itself.

When determining LOS we want the lasers to run with the existing LOS lines on the base token.

Is the system always on or is it switched? If it is switched, how are you handling fidgety bases when a player is turning the laser(s) on and off?

Take a step back from the base and go up above the base, maybe a small tripod. The only issue would be tripod legs positioning above and around the minis. we would want the unit to be small enough and effective enough to not be complicated or intrusive to game. Speed in positioning is also a factor when I consider intrusive. This way you could also account for the range as well, maybe, possibly...

There's definitely some work to be done regarding the placement of the diodes. This image is a great example, thanks for taking some time to render it!

Regarding the on/off switch, there's a small pressure switch in there that rests under the post (really hard to see in the picture) but the idea is, slight pressure on top of the ship will turn the beams on, releasing the pressure will turn the beams off. This way there is minimal handling of the ship/base when determining fire arc.

There are several laser pointers and laser levelers etc on the market that do roughly the same thing. I wanted something 'internal' that needed minimal/no efforts with alignment and minimal interference with the ships.

I have considered the range concept, however this is a much more difficult nut to crack as the laser beam will reflect off of a lot of surfaces anyway. Maybe after I get this thing working the way it should, I can re-visit that concept and figure out how to implement ranges in v2.0

You don't want it coming on accidentally, before it's proper time....that would be 'pre measuring' which is illegal.

I'd recommend an actual on off switch of some kind.