Greetings - I've been looking for a site with a bit closer knit community than the big two and grogheads seems to be it. I found out about your site thru the podcast.
A little background - I am an old school wargamer, having started with Panzerblitz in the 70's. I played most AH titles and many SPI and other company titles, focusing on Squad Leader, before stopping gaming after entering the Navy following college. I started getting back into gaming in the late 2000's after my kids had grown a bit.
Currently I am into both computer and tabletop wargames - Command, Flashpoint, JTS, COIN Series (beta tester on the last 3), ASLSK, and on and on. Too many games and not enough time. I also build VASSAL mods for a number of game publishers and my own use. My favorite past time is creating and posting D/AARs for solo and VASSAL PBEM games, and select computer games. Your site appears to be a good place for doing these.
Welcome aboard UBoater.
Glad you found us, UBoater! Look forward to some AAR's :)
Welcome Uboater! Maybe we can talk VASSAL mod creation some time... I've been helping out LnLP with modules for their games.
Welcome! I cut my teeth on Avalon Hill as well, playing Midway and PanzerBlitz with a neighbor, spending my allowance on Advanced Third Reich. Good times and a great introduction to our hobby. Glad you found us.
Welcome indeed to the Grogs UBoater. I also am a 70's Avalon Hill-aholic. Great to have you with us. We still get free beer and wings every time some one new signs-up right?
Howdy!
Quote from: Barthheart on March 29, 2016, 08:46:33 PM
Welcome Uboater! Maybe we can talk VASSAL mod creation some time... I've been helping out LnLP with modules for their games.
Barthheart - my VASSAL mods are more function over form currently - not like those masterpieces from Joel Toppen (COIN Series) and others. Some day soon after work calms down and 1 or 2 kids leave for college I plan on spending the time to really put VASSAL thru its paces.
I currently make mods for White Dog Games (just finished their version of Dave Kershaw's Solo Caesar) and Decision Games upcoming magazine games (WaW/MW/ST) to support playtesting (just finished an upcoming solo game on the Japanese/Chinese War in the 30's-40's).
I would love to compare notes in the future - I am a big fan of LnL's board and computer games.
Quote from: Steelgrave on March 29, 2016, 09:41:47 PM
Welcome! I cut my teeth on Avalon Hill as well, playing Midway and PanzerBlitz with a neighbor, spending my allowance on Advanced Third Reich. Good times and a great introduction to our hobby. Glad you found us.
Steelgrave I have fond memories of gaming in the late 70's:
-In junior high finding my hidden Christmas present early and using my modeling exacto knife to surgically remove the wrap. Third Reich - I drooled over it wishing it was already Christmas.
-Staying home sick one day and playing PanzerBlitz over and over again. I wish I could have sick days like that now.
-In High School playing a multi-player game of Invasion America with my friend and our girlfriends - in hindsight playing with the girlfriends was not a wise idea. I was the ESC and he was the US/Canada and we had an epic back and forth battle in the NE Corridor. Boston changed hands 4 times and it ended with army and player exhaustion.
I could go on and on...
Welcome!
Quote from: UBoater on March 29, 2016, 11:23:40 PM
Quote from: Barthheart on March 29, 2016, 08:46:33 PM
Welcome Uboater! Maybe we can talk VASSAL mod creation some time... I've been helping out LnLP with modules for their games.
Barthheart - my VASSAL mods are more function over form currently - not like those masterpieces from Joel Toppen (COIN Series) and others. Some day soon after work calms down and 1 or 2 kids leave for college I plan on spending the time to really put VASSAL thru its paces.
I currently make mods for White Dog Games (just finished their version of Dave Kershaw's Solo Caesar) and Decision Games upcoming magazine games (WaW/MW/ST) to support playtesting (just finished an upcoming solo game on the Japanese/Chinese War in the 30's-40's).
I would love to compare notes in the future - I am a big fan of LnL's board and computer games.
My modules are no where their caliber either, I have no idea how to do the extra Java coding. I inherited some of the current ides from previous versions and then added to that as I went. Nothing like reverse engineering someone else's work to learn the program.
Man, Inavsion America... I still have my copy. First monster I owned.....
Welcome Uboater! Looks like our computer wargaming interests are similar :)
Quote from: UBoater on March 29, 2016, 11:31:05 PM
Quote from: Steelgrave on March 29, 2016, 09:41:47 PM
Welcome! I cut my teeth on Avalon Hill as well, playing Midway and PanzerBlitz with a neighbor, spending my allowance on Advanced Third Reich. Good times and a great introduction to our hobby. Glad you found us.
Steelgrave I have fond memories of gaming in the late 70's:
-In junior high finding my hidden Christmas present early and using my modeling exacto knife to surgically remove the wrap. Third Reich - I drooled over it wishing it was already Christmas.
-Staying home sick one day and playing PanzerBlitz over and over again. I wish I could have sick days like that now.
-In High School playing a multi-player game of Invasion America with my friend and our girlfriends - in hindsight playing with the girlfriends was not a wise idea. I was the ESC and he was the US/Canada and we had an epic back and forth battle in the NE Corridor. Boston changed hands 4 times and it ended with army and player exhaustion.
I could go on and on...
We must be close to the same age, UBoater. From Jr. High on, I always had an Avalon Hill game set up on a card table in my room, always. It's amazing how the hobby has evolved and I love the convenience, depth and availability of computer wargames.....but like the first car I bought with my own money, there is still a lot of nostalgia attached to those wonderful old games. You're among friends, bud.
Welcome to Grogheads!
Quote from: Barthheart on March 30, 2016, 05:22:43 AM
My modules are no where their caliber either, I have no idea how to do the extra Java coding. I inherited some of the current ides from previous versions and then added to that as I went. Nothing like reverse engineering someone else's work to learn the program.
Man, Inavsion America... I still have my copy. First monster I owned.....
Yea - I loved that game. Not too hard but still a monster.
Another invade America game I recently revisited because of HBO's "The Man in the High Castle" series was S.S.Amerika by 3W from the 90's.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11766/ss-amerika (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11766/ss-amerika)
I have the game but the counters are punched from playing one summer. When I was in Grad school during summer break they let me use an unoccupied dorm room and I set it up on the back of a large shelf I laid on the floor. The Dorm Supervisor probably had no idea what I was doing if she poked in.
Luckily there are good counter scans available on the web but I had to take the maps to a local Copy store to scan them and then made a VASSAL mod for the game
https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/128687/draft-vassal-mod (https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/128687/draft-vassal-mod)
And then I did a short AAR of the intro scenario to test the module
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1522474/intro-scenario-valor-ignorance-aar (https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1522474/intro-scenario-valor-ignorance-aar)
Now I am trying to get motivated to do an AAR of one of the full on scenarios.
Quote from: Airborne Rifles on March 30, 2016, 05:36:32 AM
Welcome Uboater! Looks like our computer wargaming interests are similar :)
Greetings Airborne Rifles - your CMANO AAR reputation precedes you.
I heard about your Northern Fury AARs on the podcast and then read a bunch - great work.
I am a big fan of CMANO being ex-Navy and enjoy creating scenarios and posting AARs.
My most (in)famous AAR more from subject than quality was gaming out an alternate ending of one of my favorite movies:
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3576649 (http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3576649)
I hope to have the time to get back to CMANO especially with all the improvements/features in the latest patches.
In the meantime I will have to get my fix of CMANO from reading your AARs.
Quote from: Steelgrave on March 30, 2016, 09:03:56 AM
We must be close to the same age, UBoater. From Jr. High on, I always had an Avalon Hill game set up on a card table in my room, always. It's amazing how the hobby has evolved and I love the convenience, depth and availability of computer wargames.....but like the first car I bought with my own money, there is still a lot of nostalgia attached to those wonderful old games. You're among friends, bud.
Thanks Steelgrave. We are a strange bunch - wargamers growing up in the 70's and early 80's.That truly was a golden age of board/wargaming. Now board/wargames are just a part of the bigger computer/board game genre. But at least wargames survived the big dip in the 90's and appear to be going strong again.
Also I would not trade VASSAL for anything. It is the tool that lets me play games anytime/anywhere/anyone/any PC Device.