The Russo-Japanese War / The First Sino-Japanese War

[Jazon]

Hi!
I was thinking about making a MOD for Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 or (and?) First Sino-Japanese War 1894-1895.
No big promises, but I did some research, and both conflicts seems good for Strategic Command series, because the are: A) short term; (by this I mean they lasted for around one year, so it is easy to cover it historically) B) There are two sides only, no complicated politics, so no complicated scripts to write in diplomacy C) attractive sea and land battles D) fresh topic, not covered much in wargaming.
Below I added a map that I think would be suitable.
What do you guys think? What should be the scale? 1=hex should be around how many kilometers/miles? One hex = 10 miles?
This is just a concept work so far, so all ideas are welcomed
Jakub

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[Jazon]

Here the same map with hex grid, 1 hex=10 Miles

Zrzut ekranu 2023-01-03 004142.jpg (728.84 KiB) Viewed 2899 times

[OldCrowBalthazor]

Looks pretty good. I would extend the map north to cover Vladivostok and south to cover the Korean Straits a bit more. (Of course you may have considered this already).
Cheers.

[BillRunacre]

Hi Jazon

This is a great idea!

I suggest nothing smaller than the 1 hex = 10 miles. Possibly going as far as 1 = 5 miles.

With choosing the scale, I suggest mocking up a small portion of the map (very roughly), placing some units there, and seeing how the movement and combat feels compared to how you think, based on your reading, it should feel.

This will hopefully soon tell you whether it is too small, too large... or hopefully, just right!

[Jazon]

Hi guys!
Thanks for your remarks, also Ryan wrote me PM with some suggestions. I am not putting myself hard on it, after all it is a hobby, not a job The map size would be 102x102, basically covering whole area that I posted in the first message. I would make First Sino-Japanese War, because it is simple, and both sides have relatively strong fleet. For some it might be a surprise, but Chinese fleet at this time was modernized by ships bought in Germany and trained by western officers(including Americans). Japanese fleet was also modern, and played crucial role in realizing Japan's imperial ambitions.
Although Korea seems a bit small, because of the terrain features: hills and streams and lack of infrastructure it would be pretty hard to cross with land units (as in real life) which will bring us to the key issue: controlling coast. The main accent in this campaign will be to gain control over ports and forts along the coast, and therefore winning strategic dominance over Korean peninsula. And, in my idea, the way to reach that objective would be to perform landings at key locations.
So far I am going to draw a map, and then look where it will take me. It should be small, compact scenario, with 60-70 turns, with sea warfare as key for victory. Thanks for good words, and I will keep you all updated:)
Cheers all!
Jazon

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[Jazon]

Hi,
work is under progress...as usual drawing a coast line is a struggle. But half of the work is done, now I need to make Chinese coast.
Jakub

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[Jazon]

Hi!
Update! Whole coast line and big lakes are done! Going to this stage took me actually around 12 hours of drawing...but I guess i presents itself very good! Next step is going to be Major rivers.
Cheers all!

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[BillRunacre]

Looks great!