InterNetional Wargames Project

The InterNetional Wargames Project is a world-wide effort to support war gamers and help them participate in war gaming by using or watching a video or internet camera that is broadcasting a  game setup, and using an audio chat function in an instant messenger program.  Text on screen is not recommended because it is more time consuming, although it might be possible for a speaking program to read aloud the text from the program and in that way, the person moving the troops can be freed from viewing the computer all the time.

Although there are several internet providers that offer a service for web broadcasting (known as  "webcasting"), the adage “you get what you pay for” applies here more so than anywhere else, because if you don't have a high speed internet connection, and neither do your viewers, then the results are going to be less than glorious. Like the hobby of war games with historic miniatures itself, the results of broadcasting game with miniatures are entirely affected by the equipment and time one puts into the venture.  With that in mind, this document attempts to illustrate some parameters for broadcasting a miniatures game.

Notify Players of Limitations

Insuring the satisfaction of participants is a primary goal, or at least, that notifying players of the potential pitfalls before the broadcast helps to solicit their understanding and patience. Software and computers go down, as well as Internet service providers, and there are other limitations such as broadcast equipment, cables, drivers and even lighting can be a factor.  We've found that with these small objects, intense lighting is required as well as high-contrast scenery.  If players are made aware of these elements ahead of time, less frustration will be experienced.  In fact, there are times when our war gaming group does not broadcast a miniature game and instead, we just exchange Game Mapper maps showing movements and so on, then we use a chat application to resolve combat and for other conversations.  

The concept of broadcasting a game of miniatures needs to be prefaced by the fact that what is being broadcast is by nature, a very small, detailed thing.  Webcasts were simply not meant to show such detail, but there's no doubt that people are going to want to see detailed images and things up close.  But the smaller the figures and models, the harder it is to see the objects.  Larger troops will produce a cleaner, more discernable image to the internet viewer, so from the start your audience should realize that the level of detail is going to be less than being at an actual game.  The purpose of a broadcast is to bring clubs or individuals from various locations together, and NOT to show off the miniatures in any complimentary manner.  The purpose of the broadcast is to show the position of units on  the gaming table such that player/viewers can determine written orders to their troops using a chat function.   In so far as staffing at the broadcast site goes, a great enhancement is having a dedicated person for the cameras and computer(s).

Chat Window and Available Cameras

Once the opponents can see the location of troops and determine movements and situations on the surface, they can issue orders via a chat window to the person conducting the broadcast and acting as the game judge.  It should also be noted that a chat window can be opened for each player, so each player does not know what the other is saying, which provides some realism in communications.

This is one reason that having two cameras is a major benefit, unless a broadcaster wishes to continually move the camera to accommodate player wishes for close-ups and more details of a portion of the table in order to have more information. The judge of course would be conducting computer operations, but still, the broadcast can be done by a single person and small game table. 

Another big benefit when using RCA jack cameras, that is, analog or digitial camcorders with AV cables, is the use of an a/v switcher, available at most electronic stores.  These switchers are simply a physical box of buttons to select each video source.  The switches enable a variety of cameras to be used, though not simultaneously, to send the chosen signal to the computer and thus the world.  Of course, web-cams cannot be used with these RCA jack switch boxes. 

Once plugged into this common switcher, different views of the game table are possible with the push of a button and several cameras.  The output cable going to the computer (again, either RCA or S-VHS) is connected to the computer’s video card.

Summary of Equipment

Thus, as by now you may have guessed, the requirements aside from the gaming equipment itself are a computer high-speed data, a video card accepting video input/output, and at least one camcorder with a zoom, and cables to connect to the switcher/computer video card, or, several USB web cams or IP cameras.  

Game Mapper software can also help with these broadcasts because the software enables players to move icons or symbols around their own computer screen at their location, either following along with the broadcast image, or just for their own visual record and monitoring.  Of course, numbering the hexagon grids of a tabletop and exchanging these maps between involved players insures exactness of the table layout, and vastly improves communication and the issuing of orders to regiments and artillery under a commander's control.  So you could say Game Mapper and a hexagon grid terrain and tabletop are pretty much a requirement too.

A Hexagon-based Game and Terrain changes

One of the reasons for the use of a hexagon grid (four inch hexagons recommended for games in 15mm to 25mm scale), is so two or more gaming groups in different parts of the world can have the exact table layout.  This is how people or groups in different countries can "play" the same miniature game, having set up their respective tables.  Game piece tracking and identical positioning, as well as for monitoring by players, makes having a grid surface a mandatory requirement.

Of course, having instituted the use of a hexagon grid surface, the terrain must be suitably "modular."  What this means is that the forest and hills have to be hexagon shaped, such that their boundaries are not questionable.  This is important for line-of-sight issues and concerns between game pieces on the surface.  Although it is difficult to imagine being able to achieve true proportion of hill height to forest height, one should expect that the height of the model trees is going to look higher than a model hill and this is a fact of miniature wargames. 

Visually and because of physical limitations, gamers have long accepted this nuance. For this reason, a one inch tall hexagon hill, usually covering an area and consisting of several hexagon shaped blocks butted together, looks acceptable with 2-3" tall model trees.  When conducting combat where hills and forests hexes are combined along the line of fire, realize that the forest can be seen to "extend" the hill or that it becomes essentially an extension of the hill as the drawing illustrates.

Figure 1.  The dead-zone (the hex of small vertical lines is a forest in hexagon shape) 

Though most gamers realize that the "dead zone" (the hex in which the unit on the left is located) equals half the distance (Y) from the hill to the edge of the forest, it is sometimes easy to forget that a forest  next  to a hill extends, essentially, the edge of the hill.

While we gamers would like to have farm fields and "building" areas that look realistic, the hexagon reality means fields and buildings must be "hexagonal" in order to maintain uniformity and consistency.

Figure 2.  Hexagon-following fence line and "building" hex.  In this Hex Command game system, it doesn't matter where or what the buildings are: the hex is simply a "building" hex.

So, the way that models are used in this concept has to be followed to successfully produce a workable -and reproducible- game by any person or group, in any location.

The next image portrays the layout of a typical hexagon surface with numbers showing how the hexes would be numbered (though with much smaller numbers on the actual game table), though the exact numbers do not have to match what is shown, so long as the scheme is consistent between broadcaster/viewer locations.

Other than these elements there is really no other barrier to conducting the broadcast other than the time at which the broadcast is to take place, and for that one simply has to coordinate who can attend.