Nick Bradbeer
@nickbradbeer.bsky.social
Assoc. Professor of Naval Architecture @ UCL. Director, UCL Submarine Design Course. Nerd, maker, gamer, wargame builder. He/him.
I mostly post about games I'm playing for fun and games I'm creating for work, with the odd diversion into submarine design.
I mostly post about games I'm playing for fun and games I'm creating for work, with the odd diversion into submarine design.
I realise it's a bit Rimmer "and then I rolled a five and a six and invaded Russia" but three nat 20s in a row?!?
November 25, 2025 at 10:55 PM
I realise it's a bit Rimmer "and then I rolled a five and a six and invaded Russia" but three nat 20s in a row?!?
Ahhh, the final two weeks of the sub design course. I always forget how manic it's going to be until we get here again.
November 24, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Ahhh, the final two weeks of the sub design course. I always forget how manic it's going to be until we get here again.
Okay, I'm innately a bit suspicious of being followed by accounts who follow like five thousand people but have few posts or followers of their own.
But what's in it for them?
But what's in it for them?
November 20, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Okay, I'm innately a bit suspicious of being followed by accounts who follow like five thousand people but have few posts or followers of their own.
But what's in it for them?
But what's in it for them?
SDAC Film Night.
The students have voted correctly this year.
The students have voted correctly this year.
November 18, 2025 at 5:59 PM
SDAC Film Night.
The students have voted correctly this year.
The students have voted correctly this year.
Finally dismantled the tank simulator from the garage this weekend. Which is a little sad because no more tank simulator. But on the other hand I was really missing my workshop and it was completely full of plywood tank.
November 16, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Finally dismantled the tank simulator from the garage this weekend. Which is a little sad because no more tank simulator. But on the other hand I was really missing my workshop and it was completely full of plywood tank.
It's taken me about a month to do it (the SDAC gets kind of busy) but finally have a tool students can use to assess whether they have passive range advantage over [choice of other submarine].
Sonar remains witchcraft but I think I found an appropriate compromise between realism and usability.
Sonar remains witchcraft but I think I found an appropriate compromise between realism and usability.
November 14, 2025 at 8:15 PM
It's taken me about a month to do it (the SDAC gets kind of busy) but finally have a tool students can use to assess whether they have passive range advantage over [choice of other submarine].
Sonar remains witchcraft but I think I found an appropriate compromise between realism and usability.
Sonar remains witchcraft but I think I found an appropriate compromise between realism and usability.
Reposted by Nick Bradbeer
The word "may" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. As I understand it those cluster bombs had two types of fuzes - one which would have sensitised and one which wouldn't - and we don't know which type(s) are on the bombs actually down there.
November 11, 2025 at 4:28 PM
The word "may" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. As I understand it those cluster bombs had two types of fuzes - one which would have sensitised and one which wouldn't - and we don't know which type(s) are on the bombs actually down there.
Just had a student ask me a question (about submerged stability) - I got halfway through the answer and was starting to think "I should really write a doc explaining this" when I noticed he had a PDF open on his laptop with a relevant diagram. Looking closer, that looks like my writing style. /1
November 10, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Just had a student ask me a question (about submerged stability) - I got halfway through the answer and was starting to think "I should really write a doc explaining this" when I noticed he had a PDF open on his laptop with a relevant diagram. Looking closer, that looks like my writing style. /1
So I am not a lawyer, but have we now established it's legal to throw sandwiches at ICE agents?
November 6, 2025 at 8:13 PM
So I am not a lawyer, but have we now established it's legal to throw sandwiches at ICE agents?
Today is External Consultancy Day so my role is limited to sitting quietly while my students have half-hour conversations with various visiting experts about how their submarine designs are coming along and asking questions.
Overhearing these chats, I could not be more proud of them.
Overhearing these chats, I could not be more proud of them.
November 5, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Today is External Consultancy Day so my role is limited to sitting quietly while my students have half-hour conversations with various visiting experts about how their submarine designs are coming along and asking questions.
Overhearing these chats, I could not be more proud of them.
Overhearing these chats, I could not be more proud of them.
Well, with Mamdani elected as NY Mayor hopefully that's the end of my newsfeed being full of people warning they will LEAVE NEW YORK if he's elected, and we can get on with the bit where they quietly forget they ever said that and do nothing instead.
November 5, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Well, with Mamdani elected as NY Mayor hopefully that's the end of my newsfeed being full of people warning they will LEAVE NEW YORK if he's elected, and we can get on with the bit where they quietly forget they ever said that and do nothing instead.
I've just found something a d16 would be really useful for and I'm furious about it, @sebastianbae.bsky.social
November 4, 2025 at 6:51 PM
I've just found something a d16 would be really useful for and I'm furious about it, @sebastianbae.bsky.social
Anatomy of a rapid student TTX.
One of my submarine design teams this year is working up a bombardment submarine, armed with their choice of rocket artillery (trading off range and capability with size, under a fixed procurement budget.)
Today they asked me to run them a TTX.
/1
One of my submarine design teams this year is working up a bombardment submarine, armed with their choice of rocket artillery (trading off range and capability with size, under a fixed procurement budget.)
Today they asked me to run them a TTX.
/1
November 4, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Anatomy of a rapid student TTX.
One of my submarine design teams this year is working up a bombardment submarine, armed with their choice of rocket artillery (trading off range and capability with size, under a fixed procurement budget.)
Today they asked me to run them a TTX.
/1
One of my submarine design teams this year is working up a bombardment submarine, armed with their choice of rocket artillery (trading off range and capability with size, under a fixed procurement budget.)
Today they asked me to run them a TTX.
/1
Quiet evening at home tonight and I thought I'd give Sea Power a go.
ASW is both a) very slow and b) basically littering. I must have relaid that barrier about four times.
ASW is both a) very slow and b) basically littering. I must have relaid that barrier about four times.
November 1, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Quiet evening at home tonight and I thought I'd give Sea Power a go.
ASW is both a) very slow and b) basically littering. I must have relaid that barrier about four times.
ASW is both a) very slow and b) basically littering. I must have relaid that barrier about four times.
DAYBREAK looks really interesting; a co-op game about fighting climate change.
Really keen to play it, interesting mechanics and I think it'll teach me useful things about climate.
This copy in Chance & Counters, in Bristol.
Really keen to play it, interesting mechanics and I think it'll teach me useful things about climate.
This copy in Chance & Counters, in Bristol.
October 31, 2025 at 5:11 PM
DAYBREAK looks really interesting; a co-op game about fighting climate change.
Really keen to play it, interesting mechanics and I think it'll teach me useful things about climate.
This copy in Chance & Counters, in Bristol.
Really keen to play it, interesting mechanics and I think it'll teach me useful things about climate.
This copy in Chance & Counters, in Bristol.
Bleh. I had plans to do lots of cool fun things this week and instead I've got to enjoy sitting at home with a horrible cold.
Hurray!
It's not Covid, but that's all that can be said for it. Glad I got my flu shot.
Hurray!
It's not Covid, but that's all that can be said for it. Glad I got my flu shot.
October 30, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Bleh. I had plans to do lots of cool fun things this week and instead I've got to enjoy sitting at home with a horrible cold.
Hurray!
It's not Covid, but that's all that can be said for it. Glad I got my flu shot.
Hurray!
It's not Covid, but that's all that can be said for it. Glad I got my flu shot.
OK, House of Dynamite is an excellent example of why I don't normally bother watching movies. What a waste of two hours.
At the risk of spoilers, can anyone tell me where any of the urgency that the movie hangs on was coming from? Why was the deadline a deadline to act?
At the risk of spoilers, can anyone tell me where any of the urgency that the movie hangs on was coming from? Why was the deadline a deadline to act?
October 27, 2025 at 4:40 PM
OK, House of Dynamite is an excellent example of why I don't normally bother watching movies. What a waste of two hours.
At the risk of spoilers, can anyone tell me where any of the urgency that the movie hangs on was coming from? Why was the deadline a deadline to act?
At the risk of spoilers, can anyone tell me where any of the urgency that the movie hangs on was coming from? Why was the deadline a deadline to act?
Netflix makes it really hard to screen capture these days so I'm forced to use my phone camera at the screen to highlight this egregious CGI.
That's the least American submarine I've seen in a while.
That's the least American submarine I've seen in a while.
October 27, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Netflix makes it really hard to screen capture these days so I'm forced to use my phone camera at the screen to highlight this egregious CGI.
That's the least American submarine I've seen in a while.
That's the least American submarine I've seen in a while.
October 27, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by Nick Bradbeer
Ed Luce watching democracy die in the United States of America
October 24, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Ed Luce watching democracy die in the United States of America
It's nearly Fauxmas - one of my favourite traditions.
Bunch of friends who never get to see each other any more rent a big house for a weekend and hold Fake Christmas at the end of October.
Then we get to see our families at actual Christmas and it breaks up the winter term nicely!
Bunch of friends who never get to see each other any more rent a big house for a weekend and hold Fake Christmas at the end of October.
Then we get to see our families at actual Christmas and it breaks up the winter term nicely!
October 23, 2025 at 1:09 PM
It's nearly Fauxmas - one of my favourite traditions.
Bunch of friends who never get to see each other any more rent a big house for a weekend and hold Fake Christmas at the end of October.
Then we get to see our families at actual Christmas and it breaks up the winter term nicely!
Bunch of friends who never get to see each other any more rent a big house for a weekend and hold Fake Christmas at the end of October.
Then we get to see our families at actual Christmas and it breaks up the winter term nicely!
Interesting places on Earth - the Saida-Guba reactor storage facility.
Large concrete pan just west of Gadzhiyevo on the Kola Peninsula for the storage of reactor compartments cut out of nuclear submarines at their ends-of-life.
(IIRC partly funded by the USA and Norway to reduce env impact.)
Large concrete pan just west of Gadzhiyevo on the Kola Peninsula for the storage of reactor compartments cut out of nuclear submarines at their ends-of-life.
(IIRC partly funded by the USA and Norway to reduce env impact.)
October 22, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Interesting places on Earth - the Saida-Guba reactor storage facility.
Large concrete pan just west of Gadzhiyevo on the Kola Peninsula for the storage of reactor compartments cut out of nuclear submarines at their ends-of-life.
(IIRC partly funded by the USA and Norway to reduce env impact.)
Large concrete pan just west of Gadzhiyevo on the Kola Peninsula for the storage of reactor compartments cut out of nuclear submarines at their ends-of-life.
(IIRC partly funded by the USA and Norway to reduce env impact.)
I just wrote "we assume Pi is 3" and now I feel like a real engineer.
October 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM
I just wrote "we assume Pi is 3" and now I feel like a real engineer.
It's "Computer Games with the Class" day again.
This year's cohort learned the importance of patience in ASW, in maintaining range advantage and firing from the baffles if you can.
(We enjoy the urgency of discussions when torpedoes are inbound and we're not pausing the game.)
This year's cohort learned the importance of patience in ASW, in maintaining range advantage and firing from the baffles if you can.
(We enjoy the urgency of discussions when torpedoes are inbound and we're not pausing the game.)
October 20, 2025 at 4:16 PM
It's "Computer Games with the Class" day again.
This year's cohort learned the importance of patience in ASW, in maintaining range advantage and firing from the baffles if you can.
(We enjoy the urgency of discussions when torpedoes are inbound and we're not pausing the game.)
This year's cohort learned the importance of patience in ASW, in maintaining range advantage and firing from the baffles if you can.
(We enjoy the urgency of discussions when torpedoes are inbound and we're not pausing the game.)
It turns out you're allowed to do crime as long as you always vote Republican?
Is the concept of not saying the quiet part out loud just not a thing we're doing any more?
Is the concept of not saying the quiet part out loud just not a thing we're doing any more?
BREAKING: Trump commutes sentence of disgraced former congressman George Santos.
“I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”
“I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”
October 17, 2025 at 10:55 PM
It turns out you're allowed to do crime as long as you always vote Republican?
Is the concept of not saying the quiet part out loud just not a thing we're doing any more?
Is the concept of not saying the quiet part out loud just not a thing we're doing any more?