We the increased awareness of Vassal among the grognards I thought it might be helpful to have a thread for finding a Vassal game or two.
If we already have this tread elsewhere please feel free to admonish me.
GJK here is the CC:A screenshot from Vassal. I just finished setting up Vassal on my desktop. OK. It took 3 seconds but still it's a major accomplishment for a Saturday morning.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi830.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fzz227%2FBison36%2FUntitled_zpsc8b97d29.jpg&hash=c78edc29708e3f0812f6737359512b4ef0b7bcbf)
Looks good. I need to re-read those rules and actually play it some day soon.
Now we need to get you set up on VASL for some ASL action! I have some instructions that I've written out if you're interested. If you got VASSAL going, you can get VASL going. The major issue is that *currently*, the latest version of VASL (5.9.2 I think? Several years old) is not compatible with the newer versions of VASSAL. So, you have to have multiple installs of VASSAL - old and new - in order to use VASL. They are working on updating VASL and should have it ready fairly soon (I hope).
I need to put VASL on this Macbook. I had it install on a previous one before I exchanged it for this one. I seem to remember having to mess around a bit before I figured out how to get the folders to work on a Mac.
Jay Richardson posted these instructions for getting VASL installed on a Mac. The only difference is that you will need to grab a pre VASSAL 3.2.xxx install because VASL 5.9.2 won't work with VASSAL 3.2.x.
Here's where you can get a 3.1.x VASSAL:
http://www.vassalengine.org/releases/
And here's Jay's instructions (hope it helps):
QuoteMake sure that Java is installed on your system, since VASL requires Java to run.
Assuming that you want to install VASL 5.9.2, which is now a VASSAL module rather than an independent program, you have to first install the proper VASSAL 3.1.14 software from this page:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/vassalengine/files/
The download should start automatically after you click on the appropriate link for your operating system. If the download does not start automatically – which might be the specific problem that you are having – then look for the direct link. For Windows, this would be:
http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/vassalengine/VASSAL...
or there are several other mirror sites that you can try:
http://sourceforge.net/settings/mirror_choices?projectname=v...
Run the file you downloaded to install VASSAL. Once VASSAL is installed, download the VASL 5.9.2 module ("vasl.mod"), extract it from the ZIP file, and place it in the "Modules" folder under the VASSAL folder:
http://www.advancedsquadleader.net/images/f/ff/VASLv592.zip
You'll also need to make folders for Boards, Overlays, and Extensions, and download the ones you want to use, placing them in the appropriate folders:
https://docs.google.com/View?id=ddbmp44t_157ddkzfpdj
http://www.advancedsquadleader.net/index.php/VASL_Extensions
Then finally run VASSAL 3.1.14, use the Open Module command to load the VASL 5.9.2 module, and tell VASL where to find your boards, etc.
OK. Thanks. I'll look at getting it working later tonight.
Quote from: DV8 on January 05, 2013, 12:26:52 PM
We the increased awareness of Vassal among the grognards I thought it might be helpful to have a thread for finding a Vassal game or two.
If we already have this tread elsewhere please feel free to admonish me.
That is a damn fine idea.
To date, here are some of the games I've successfully played on Vassal:
For the People. (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/833/for-the-people) I have played this game, no lie, over 40 times while training for the tournament at WBC. I was eliminated in the first round by Mike Mitchel, who went on to the finals and lost to the master, James Pei. James has failed to win exactly one tournament since 1999, when they first started holding FtP tournaments. He was kind enough to let me sit at his shoulder and watch several turns of the final match, while letting me see his hand and giving occasional tips. Incidentally, Mike was James final opponent in the very first tournament as well. This was the second time he'd made it to the finals.
Andean Abyss. (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/91080/andean-abyss) I played some turns of this live with three guys that I met at WBC. We're planning to start a 4 player Vassal game in about a week. I've successfully played it solo on Vassal to get ready. I need to D/L teamspeak.
Lock and Load. (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18460/lock-n-load-band-of-heroes) We played plenty of this in between games of FtP. I haven't messed with it much since kind of burning out on it. Still a good game, but Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy made it hard for me to push counters around on hexes and pretend that they're squads! Combat Commander: Europe also suffered from the same comparison.
Clash of Monarchs. (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/26447/clash-of-monarchs) This is a great game on the Seven Years War, though somewhat of a commitment at about 20 hours for the full campaign. It plays just as well with two players as with four. My main Vassal opponent and I played a few turns but didn't continue the game. I want to improve my knowledge on the conflict before tackling it again and I bought The Seven Years War in Europe: 1756-1763 (http://www.amazon.com/The-Seven-Years-War-Europe/dp/0582292727/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1379211101&sr=8-2&keywords=seven+years+war) to study up.
Red Winter. (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/38786/red-winter-the-soviet-attack-at-tolvajarvi-finland) This is a fantastic company level game depicting a specific, week long battle during the Winter War. It has the best written, most engaging rule book and playbook I've ever read. It's too bad that no matter what side I played, or how brilliant my strategy, I couldn't role a successful attack more than 1 in 20 times or so while my opponents die rolling regularly crushed me. Bell curves just stopped working whenever I used the Vassal die roller for this one!
OCS: Case Blue. (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29285/case-blue) Great, monster wargame of the Eastern Front. We played about a month of game time before illness and RL issues made us stop. No other games besides the OCS series seem to give as good a demonstration of the necessity for adequate logistical preparation before launching major offensives. I know that sounds dry, but I definitely enjoyed it. Bigger time commitment than CoM.
Almost all my Vassal games have been live, while my opponent and I Skyped. TeamSpeak sounds like a better option for games involving more than 2 players. All of the games above can be played fine with 2 players, though I'd much rather have 4 players for AA. I'm not keen on trying the AI flowcharts they have for controlling non player factions. Incidentally, I own physical copies of all the games above except Case Blue. It's out of print and runs over $300 if you can even find a copy. I hope to buy it some day.
Anyone interested in any of the above? My regular opponent has had health issues for most of the year and we haven't played in a long time. I'm available most weekday mornings (east coast US).
P.S. I just got my copy of Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25021/sekigahara-the-unification-of-japan) yesterday! I'm so fired up to play this right now and there is a Vassal module available. I lost, badly, three times at WBC and kept wanting to try again.
I recently acquired a copy of "For the People" but haven't had a chance to read the rules yet. I'd really love to get in to that one.
Another is "Labyrinth" which is a cousin of "Andean Abyss" and "Twilight Struggle". Any of those 3 would be cool - but AA would be #3 on my most preferred to play.
I also prefer pbem using VASSAL. Weekdays are near impossible for me to play and most people have lives to live on weekends (I don't heh!). Pbem works really well for me then since we can get to the turns as time permits. It doesn't work for all games however. If "For the People" would work pbem, I'd love to get one going after I've had a chance to go through the rules.
FtP definitely works PBEM, though it's obviously slow. I haven't played that way yet but plenty of people have. I'd want to talk to my PBEM experienced friend first to figure out how to handle certain situations that come up.
Here's my website (http://www.colossalrhodes.com/for-the-people/). We started making a detailed FtP AAR which unfortunately didn't make it past turn 1. The game actually reached about turn 6 before I conceded, but we kept playing faster than I could get it on the website and I discovered that my record keeping was ... inadequate.
I do have a detailed article on the game, including what I hope is a simpler description of the naval rules than what is in the rulebook. They're the hardest aspect of the game to learn and I'd be happy to get on Vassal some time to go over them if it would help.
Holy s*** I really want to get in to FTP now! Great blog - I wish that it would of gone on deeper in to the game but what you have there gives some really good insight in to the game. I remember how much that I enjoyed E.L. Smiths classic "Civil War" (VG) but this looks like it takes it up a notch with the CDG aspect; they look to add quite a bit to the game. I'll start reading the rules - maybe we could meet online some time to kick around a turn or so or maybe get a pbem game started.
I'm interested in some Vassal gaming. Unfortunately I only have Lock and Load on your list and have yet to figure out the rules for it. It's rules are right up there with ASL for being written to create the greatest level of confusion for the player possible.
I do think if we could figure out an operational level style game with multiple commanders per side would be awesome.
Quote from: Bison on September 15, 2013, 09:30:31 AM
I'm interested in some Vassal gaming. Unfortunately I only have Lock and Load on your list and have yet to figure out the rules for it. It's rules are right up there with ASL for being written to create the greatest level of confusion for the player possible.
I do think if we could figure out an operational level style game with multiple commanders per side would be awesome.
heh. LnL wasn't nearly as hard to figure out as ASL. It was tough, but for the opposite reason. The conversational style of the rules leave out a great deal of precision which leads to confusion in determining what to do in certain situations. ASL rules have too much precision, leading to a denseness that must be experienced to be believed. I bought a used copy of ASLSK1 a couple years back and sold it unplayed after tackling the rules.
An operational level game would be fantastic, whether with multiple commanders or just one on each side. If we go that route, I vote for an OCS game! DAK2 (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12234/dak2) is another OOP game that I want to pick up some day if/when I get a better paying job or win the lottery. I think it would be perfect for Vassal as the unit count is much less than an Eastern Front game and still has engaging subject matter. We could refight Rommels wars from the beginning.
I could not wrap my brain around the LnL system. I really, really, really wanted to play Day of Heroes but couldn't figure out the rules and didn't feel like writing my own. ASL was not difficult at all for me to learn. The hardest part about ASL is remembering when to apply drm's and what value the drm is. That and all the acronyms makes reading the rules very dry; it's like reading a chemistry handbook. However, I like that ASL is very black and white: "you CAN do this, you CANNOT do that". Ok, I guess it's more like "you CAN do this, you CANNOT do that unless it is THIS phase, you have LOS, the weather is CLEAR and no SMOKE is present and you first pass a Task Check". lol
I'd be up for trying DAK2. I enjoy Dean Essig's games (as I've mentioned). I made the VASSAL module for his "The Mighty Endeavor" and had fun playing it via email a few times. I haven't played it in some time however. I think that a RSS or CWBS with multiple commanders would be the bomb.
I don't know what RSS or CWBS mean. I'll get back to this thread tomorrow. My wife and I are headed out to a B & B for our 6th anniversary!
Quote from: Ubercat on September 15, 2013, 02:28:03 PM
I don't know what RSS or CWBS mean. I'll get back to this thread tomorrow. My wife and I are headed out to a B & B for our 6th anniversary!
Happy anniversary Uber!
They are Civil War games at Regimental and Brigade level from MMP.
Thanks! We went to The Glasbern (http://www.glasbern.com/), about ten minutes from our house. That website doesn't do it justice. We had a top floor room of an old converted barn with a high, vaulted ceiling and a skylight. The whole place was like a fairytale land. We took a walk and met a couple of the properties 3 barn cats. One was up a hill, massacring a grasshopper almost as big as she was. Later that night after dinner, I walked up the same hill in the dark to see if she was still around. She came out, not having strayed from the area, and we hung out for a minute before I called it a night.
As for games, yeah, I installed Roads to Gettysburg (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4206/roads-to-gettysburg) in Vassal last year on my friend Marks recommendation. It looks interesting but we didn't end up playing it. I've never been into ACW below the strategic level in the past, but I'd be up for trying it.
Another giant game with multiple commanders would be MMP's grand tactical series. I was disappointed to discover that there is only a module for The Devils Cauldron (http://www.multimanpublishing.com/tabid/58/CategoryID/16/ProductID/14/Default.aspx), but not for Where Eagles Dare (http://www.multimanpublishing.com/tabid/58/CategoryID/16/ProductID/66/Default.aspx), which I own. Is it OK to still play a game you own on Vassal, even if you're leaving it in shrinkwrap!? There were a group of guys who constructed a custom made table at WBC and left both games set up for the entire week. They were playing pretty much all day, every day and teaching whoever came by how to play and letting them control a formations activation. I think they only got through about half of Market Garden in that week, though they had a good idea who would win by the last day. The combined maps required a table about 15 ft long, curved at an angle half way through, and about 6 ft wide.
Quote from: GJK on September 14, 2013, 11:54:20 PM
Holy s*** I really want to get in to FTP now! Great blog - I wish that it would of gone on deeper in to the game but what you have there gives some really good insight in to the game. I remember how much that I enjoyed E.L. Smiths classic "Civil War" (VG) but this looks like it takes it up a notch with the CDG aspect; they look to add quite a bit to the game. I'll start reading the rules - maybe we could meet online some time to kick around a turn or so or maybe get a pbem game started.
Give me a shout when you are ready.
Quote from: Ubercat on September 17, 2013, 06:24:14 PM
Quote from: GJK on September 14, 2013, 11:54:20 PM
Holy s*** I really want to get in to FTP now! Great blog - I wish that it would of gone on deeper in to the game but what you have there gives some really good insight in to the game. I remember how much that I enjoyed E.L. Smiths classic "Civil War" (VG) but this looks like it takes it up a notch with the CDG aspect; they look to add quite a bit to the game. I'll start reading the rules - maybe we could meet online some time to kick around a turn or so or maybe get a pbem game started.
Give me a shout when you are ready.
I'll start reading the rules tonight. Would this one work in team play? Would be cool to get a few commanders out there for this one. Any other takers?
I just blew my quarterly gaming wad on Panzer! Haha. I would like to see an AAR if you guys do take up this game.
Not FtP. Multiple commanders would be needlessly complicated. Who would control a sides hand of cards? It would be like turning chess into a team game. It's a six(ish) hour game for 2 people. Adding more people also just adds exponential difficulties in getting everyone playing, together or in a reasonably coordinated fashion.
If you're set on 4+ players in a game, lets save that for something bigger.
Well I'm pretty sure I've got VASL setup correctly on my Windows machine. I still want to set it up on my Mac too.
GJK - We can try figure out a night we can setup an ASLSK1 battle to stumble through the rules. Most likely it'd have to be late Saturday night.
Quote from: Bison on September 25, 2013, 11:17:20 PM
Well I'm pretty sure I've got VASL setup correctly on my Windows machine. I still want to set it up on my Mac too.
GJK - We can try figure out a night we can setup an ASLSK1 battle to stumble through the rules. Most likely it'd have to be late Saturday night.
Saturday night *should* be good to go for me. I'm playing some ASL at the FLGS at around 8:00 p.m. CST *maybe*. Let's play it by ear but we should at least connect on Skype so that we can have that set up for chatting during the game. My Skype name is "gjk_asl" (no quotes) if you would like to send over an invite.
It might not be this Saturday. Ill be at some sort of octoberfest most of the day. But Saturday night is my open night to play games.
Quote from: GJK on September 17, 2013, 08:56:56 PM
Quote from: Ubercat on September 17, 2013, 06:24:14 PM
Quote from: GJK on September 14, 2013, 11:54:20 PM
Holy s*** I really want to get in to FTP now! Great blog - I wish that it would of gone on deeper in to the game but what you have there gives some really good insight in to the game. I remember how much that I enjoyed E.L. Smiths classic "Civil War" (VG) but this looks like it takes it up a notch with the CDG aspect; they look to add quite a bit to the game. I'll start reading the rules - maybe we could meet online some time to kick around a turn or so or maybe get a pbem game started.
Give me a shout when you are ready.
I'll start reading the rules tonight. Would this one work in team play? Would be cool to get a few commanders out there for this one. Any other takers?
Ubercat: I've *finally* gotten around to start poking around with the rules for
For the People. I'm shooting to get the game on the table this weekend for a quick scenario with my son. I'll see if you're up for a live or pbem session of the game after that.
Registering in this thread so I can track it. You've got my attention folks. I'm also curious about Zun Tzu. It seems to be a better box creator than Vassal no?
ZunTzu is an *easier* gamebox creator. I can whip together a ZT gamebox in no time compared to a VASSAL module. ZT is no frills though - the designer's intent was to make a board game experience on the computer not a computer aided and enhanced board game emulator. That means that you get the map, the pieces and tabs for the charts. You have to move the piece from the countersheet and place it on the map. VASSAL has ways of flagging moved pieces, moving pieces to the "destroyed units box" with a menu command, etc. ZT has none of that. That said, I think that ZT presents the game better. It's easy to zoom and scroll and you get the neat animation that actually shows the dice being rolled. I really like it.
Jerome (ZunTzu creator) has started ZT 2.0 but it has been some time since an update was given. The ZT website is falling apart as well; many of the gamebox's that people created have dead links since Jerome opted to not actually host the gamebox's on his site (but only link to them on 3rd party websites). Also, the forum that he has there sees very little activity. Still, ZT works as is and if you're looking to create a gamebox quickly and easily, ZT is a definite first choice.
Good to know GJK. Thanks for the brief intro. Pity ZT has been inactive or low activity though. I like the look and feel of ZT better than Vassal as well. But Vassal sounds like it offers more power to the gamer by aiding him in gaming admin work. I'm more about looks however and I don't mind manually moving pieces around. Plus manually moving the pieces tends to help me understand a board game better.
I'm going to look into both Vassal and Zun Tzu this weekend to see if I can try to make my own gamebox. :)
The ZT site has step by step copy and paste instructions. There's two XML files that you create; one for the gamebox and one for the "scenario" place holder. The hardest part of making a ZT gamebox is getting the x.y coordinates of each of the rows of counters on each of the countersheets. So what did I do? I wrote a utility to make that part easier. You can play with it here:
http://garykrockover.com/zuntzu/getxy.html
I need to put instructions on the page, but a section is a section of counters that are connected. In most traditional games, it's two rows of 10 each in a "block" or "section" and a sheet of counters have something like 8 to 10 (sometimes 12) "sections".
Once on the image of the countersheet, you click the upper left corner of a section and then the lower right corner of the section. Go section by section until you've clicked on all the upper left/lower right corner of each section. If you indicated that your countersheet has a back, it will show you that sheet after you've clicked out the front. On the back you start from the right and go left. I can explain in more detail if you think that it's something that you'll use. I would need to upload your countersheet scans as well of course.
The rest of making the gamebox - VERY simple.
Quote from: GJK on October 29, 2013, 09:33:10 AM
Quote from: GJK on September 17, 2013, 08:56:56 PM
Quote from: GJK on September 14, 2013, 11:54:20 PM
Holy s*** I really want to get in to FTP now! Great blog - I wish that it would of gone on deeper in to the game but what you have there gives some really good insight in to the game. I remember how much that I enjoyed E.L. Smiths classic "Civil War" (VG) but this looks like it takes it up a notch with the CDG aspect; they look to add quite a bit to the game. I'll start reading the rules - maybe we could meet online some time to kick around a turn or so or maybe get a pbem game started.
I'll start reading the rules tonight. Would this one work in team play? Would be cool to get a few commanders out there for this one. Any other takers?
Ubercat: I've *finally* gotten around to start poking around with the rules for For the People. I'm shooting to get the game on the table this weekend for a quick scenario with my son. I'll see if you're up for a live or pbem session of the game after that.
Edit to fix screwed up formatting.Cool. Just let me know how it goes. I've been playing FtP live for the last couple of weeks with someone from BGG. We're averaging a turn every other night (1 turn each time we play). It was easier to play in the mornings because I was fresher and we could go for a few hours. I'm too beat at night to play that long.
Give me a shout when you are ready.
Many thanks for that util on counter making GJK. That makes doing the counters a bit easier.
Sure thing. Let me know if you get to the point of where you make a ZT gamebox and need to use it. I'll upload any counter scans that you have so that you can use it.
^Wish I didn't punch the counters to Conflict of Heroes now as I could have taken images of them to use. On the other hand I would not have had fun this past weekend playing the game. This is what must be a catch 22 for board wargamers. Oogle the counters while they are still in their sheets or push them around a map board and roll dice. Decisions decisions!!
I *try* and scan all of the contents of my games before I punch in play - just so that I have electronic copies of the materials (and in the event taht I want to make a gamebox for it).
That's because you are a Grog and board wargame vet Gary, we are able to control this urge to punch & play immediately ;)
Did I understand this correctly W8taminute, you didn't play wargames/consims much in the past (or at all) and are new to the 'traditional' way of wargaming?
"Real" wargaming. :)
Quote from: Grimnirsson on October 30, 2013, 09:04:04 AM
Did I understand this correctly W8taminute, you didn't play wargames/consims much in the past (or at all) and are new to the 'traditional' way of wargaming?
On the contrary. When I was younger, much younger, I used to play a lot of traditional wargames/consims. It all started for me at age 14. I bought PanzerBlitz, my very first wargame. By the time I was 18 or 19 I had at least 15 wargames in my library. I also used to play a lot of the beer and pretzel games like Axis and Allies, Risk, etc. I stopped playing these games when I started going to university. From 1989 to today I have been largely a video gamer. PCs and consoles were my way of life and still are.
Today however I am slowly beginning to develop an interest in board wargaming again! Partly to relive my happy childhood and partly because my brain is melted from so many video games!
Quote"Real" wargaming.
I tried to use a polite and 'taking' way to express it, we are still on a PC wargame site...so all missionary efforts must be made cautiously ;)
QuoteToday however I am slowly beginning to develop an interest in board wargaming again!
Ah ok, then it's the usual thing...it's a virus one can't get rid of...one can try to ignore it or suppress it for a while, but most folks who ever started pushing counters on a hex map and stopped for whatever reason will come back sooner or later :)
Yes! My virus was dormant for many years and is now awakening to take my soul once more. ;D
You're right though, pushing counters on a hex map is quite different from ordering your pixelated units to move on pc monitor or pulling the trigger on an console fps.
Quote from: Grimnirsson on October 30, 2013, 09:14:33 AMwe are still on a PC wargame site...
Oh hellllllllllllllllllllllllllllll no. Any site with me as a co-owner is
not just a PC wargame site! ;D
You must be LOUDER then Bayonetbrant :P
I wouldn't be here if this were a PC gaming only site. That said, I think that the table top gaming section should be above the PC gaming section. ;) :-X
QuoteThat said, I think that the table top gaming section should be above the PC gaming section.
+1
Is there a place where you can find people that want to play a particular game on Vassal?
I thought that was what this thread was about.
Good Hunting.
MR
Pretty sure this thread is the best place for finding some opponents for Vassal play MR.
What titles did you have in mind?
Quote from: Mad Russian on January 12, 2014, 03:39:53 PM
Is there a place where you can find people that want to play a particular game on Vassal?
I thought that was what this thread was about.
Good Hunting.
MR
The Ally/Opponent finder section of the forum would be a good place for such a thread. I see that there are already several there. What are you looking to play?
I am interested in a Vassal port of B17 queen of the skies and playing it on my ipad.
Does anyone know if the current Vassal engine supports IOS? I see mac OS but not specific ipad operating systems.
I did read about a work around where people were using remote desktops such as splashtop onto their ipads.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Conrad
I recently found the AHIKS (Avalon Hill International Kriegspiel Society. https://www.ahiks.com/AHIKS/Home.html
This group has apparently been around since the days when there was no "E" in PBM. In fact some guys apparently still play by snail mail. But it appears most of them play by Vassal, cyberboard, Sun Tsu etc.
There is a somewhat formalized structure, you put in a match request and the "Match Coordinator" sets you up. It actually works quite well, and all of the opponents I've had so far are serious.
Quote from: Con on January 12, 2014, 11:59:43 PM
I am interested in a Vassal port of B17 queen of the skies and playing it on my ipad.
Does anyone know if the current Vassal engine supports IOS? I see mac OS but not specific ipad operating systems.
I did read about a work around where people were using remote desktops such as splashtop onto their ipads.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Conrad
From what I know the VASSAL team is working on a new version (4.0?) that might run on iPads, but currently it can't or only as you described by remote desktoping.
There are differing opinions on whether VASSAL will ever really work on iPad because Apple might block the modules somehow......
Combat Commander, I have CCE, CCM, CCP and I think all the modules.
Good Hunting.
MR
Quote from: Ubercat on January 12, 2014, 08:05:23 PM
Quote from: Mad Russian on January 12, 2014, 03:39:53 PM
Is there a place where you can find people that want to play a particular game on Vassal?
I thought that was what this thread was about.
Good Hunting.
MR
The Ally/Opponent finder section of the forum would be a good place for such a thread. I see that there are already several there. What are you looking to play?
I thought that was for computer games. It's in the digital section.
Good Hunting.
MR