As the historic record in this journal would indicate, I have been playing around with ironclads and in world nautical combat for well over a year now. During that time, I've come to know the good gentlemen at Murkami Steamworks quite well, and always am happy to do a little beta testing for their new releases. I often bug them about the latest and greatest-- and shamelessly pester them to get cracking on more proper historical hulls. Recently they astounded me by taking ironclad combat firmly into a new dimension, under water. The HUNLEY had always been part of the lineup, that is certain-- but as a historical design she had to sail up close to her target to release the deadly spar torpedo attack. Often, this results in the Hunley going down with the target ship.
Fiskdale, Holland, Sturbridge
The recent release of THREE new hulls takes Murakami Steamworks in a direction both old and new... old, in that the three new hulls are the second generation STURBRRIDGE, HOLLAND and FISKDALE (the original three ships of Murakami Steamworks). New, in that these submarines will each feature a "stand-off" style weapon-- either a ship's gun, a mine dropper, or a torpedo attack. All of these hull designs could conceivable change the face of ICS combat. Imagine steaming into a minefield that wasn't there three minutes ago. Or being struck by a torpedo from a submarine firing from half a sim away. Or having a submarine rise up from the depths behind you, on your blind side, and fire into a vulnerable spot on your hull. Yes, these new hulls operate in a manner quite akin to a WWI level submarine rather than the ACW technology of David or Hunley.
Old Hull namesakes and New submarines
These steampunk subs should be on the market as you read this.. how they will effect battles remains to be seen.
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