More Vassel

I've always been intimidated by Vassel because it sounded techy to me, and I'm almost computer retarded... almost. Is it available for Mac too? If so then I may look into it, a few google searches and maybe I can install this. I would love to try out some new games and play some old fav's this way.

I suppose you have to play with other people.. is there no AI?

VASSAL works for mac, yes. It's a java program. No AI for any games. It's a virtual board for almost any game you can think of. PBEM, play live or play solo.

Mr Skeletor wrote:

What's Load Continuation do exactly? Just leat you load another log file?

Yes, preferably the next file in the sequence.

JonJacob wrote:

I've always been intimidated by Vassel because it sounded techy to me, and I'm almost computer retarded... almost. Is it available for Mac too? If so then I may look into it, a few google searches and maybe I can install this. I would love to try out some new games and play some old fav's this way.

I suppose you have to play with other people.. is there no AI?

It's not techy at all. It's actually brilliant in how dumb it is.
No AI? Shit, it doesn't even have the game rules! It's just basically a virtual board and peices and you can do whatever the fuck you want with them.

What I like about it is when I use it I am playing a BOARD GAME. Not a Video Game Boardgame.

Yes, it works just fine on a Mac. Living proof here.

Skeletor is right for the most part. No AI at all, and most of the modules don't have any notion of the rules. You're free to make any kind of illegal or nonsensical move you want, it's up to you and your opponents to know the game.

A few of the modules have some brains to them, but Successors for example has just enough knowledge of the rules to confuse me. The automatic scoring in that module is nice but the fact that you have to actually "play" a card to have certain tokens pop up always surprises me. In no-smarts titles the pieces are all just available in a piece pane somewhere, so when I can't find them I get baffled. This goes double when we use ACTS to handle the cards, since then we totally ignore the Vassal cards until we need to find just that one.

ACTS is another discussion, but it's very easy too. It makes handling cards and die rolls in a CDG so much nicer.

Maybe someday I'll get off my ass and make a video about this. It's easy once you see it, it just looks like a lot all at once. Like Sag pointed out, the intro guide to Vassal is pretty good. It does a good job of covering the basics. Stacking confused me the most at the beginning, since it's a little bit finicky. If you're not playing a wargame that probably won't matter.

Mr Skeletor wrote:

What's Load Continuation do exactly? Just leat you load another log file?

This probably explains why you haven't been both laughing and then fascinated with my turns in AH so far Frank.

Go try it out on Mat doing the Mythos for turn 4 and then load mine (with the epic Vampire toasting) and Pete's Upkeep and Movement turns, basically:
- open T04-01.vlog file
- use the 'play' button to step thru the turn
- say No to starting a new file
- select Load Continuation from the File menu and open T04-02.vlog file
- 'play' thru my turn
- say No again and load Pete's turn T04-03
- play thru and then select Yes to create your Upkeep and Movement turn.

To all you non-computer geeks, Vassal is basically a boardgame on the screen where you can move the components around just as you would with it on a table.
If you play it live you just all play the game online and teh program knows who is which player and only allows you to do your shit and see stuff you are allowed to see.
If you do email it records all your actions in a file that you then email to everyone to watch what you did, the next player then starts recording his turn after watching yours and so on.

Games like Memoir'44 are excellent in Vassal. I'm actually quite surprised how well Arkham is playing in Vassal, it will get a bit messy doing things like trading between players and not being able to have someone else read your Encounter (so you don't know any consequences of your actions) are the only minor issues so far.

Southernman wrote:

Mr Skeletor wrote:

What's Load Continuation do exactly? Just leat you load another log file?

This probably explains why you haven't been both laughing and then fascinated with my turns in AH so far Frank.

Go try it out on Mat doing the Mythos for turn 4 and then load mine (with the epic Vampire toasting) and Pete's Upkeep and Movement turns, basically:
- open T04-01.vlog file
- use the 'play' button to step thru the turn
- say No to starting a new file
- select Load Continuation from the File menu and open T04-02.vlog file
- 'play' thru my turn
- say No again and load Pete's turn T04-03
- play thru and then select Yes to create your Upkeep and Movement turn.

To all you non-computer geeks, Vassal is basically a boardgame on the screen where you can move the components around just as you would with it on a table.
If you play it live you just all play the game online and teh program knows who is which player and only allows you to do your shit and see stuff you are allowed to see.
If you do email it records all your actions in a file that you then email to everyone to watch what you did, the next player then starts recording his turn after watching yours and so on.

Games like Memoir'44 are excellent in Vassal. I'm actually quite surprised how well Arkham is playing in Vassal, it will get a bit messy doing things like trading between players and not being able to have someone else read your Encounter (so you don't know any consequences of your actions) are the only minor issues so far.

So how is load continuation different to simply opening the new log file?

The Load Continuation appends to what you already have loaded - but, yes, I can see what you mean and I don't have the answer.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that you you can start your log file anytime, including in the middel of playing through someone else's log file. This can be used if you need to interrupt someone's turn to do something yourself (like play an AMBUSH card in M'44) or just change/correct something.
Basically the log file is a macro that records whatever happens in your session, so it will record the actions of the other log file from that point as you play them and your actions sequentially in the order they are done. Then you send the new log file on as the new current status of the game.

Just ran load continuation. It keeps the old log up.

anyway

WHO WANTS TO PLAY (BASIC!) M44 WITH ME OVER EMAIL?

Stephen Avery wrote:

I'd like to learn how to use vassal. Perhaps I'll poke around and jump in on a game with you guys.

Is the learning curve steep?

Steve"I'm so not techical"Avery

Steve - Memoir '44 is a good and easy game to learn Vassal with, it's what Coltsfan on BGG taught me on. I still probably have his tutorial game plus a document of screen shots that I made. The hardest part of Vassal for non-tech (and techies if you're not paying attention) people is actually installing the right files in the right folder structure on your PC - it also used to be installing Vassal but the latest version is simple, you can even run it off a memory stick so you can carry your whole game system between computers and just need access to your email each time.

I'm a bit busy at the moment organising a new car (for my dead one), but hopefully that will be sorted in a week and then maybe I can give you and Frank a game of Memoir'44 each. Be warned, Vassal dice hate me and I get extremely pissed off with them.

JonJacob wrote:
" I've always been intimidated by Vassel because it sounded techy to me, and I'm almost computer retarded... almost. Is it available for Mac too?"
I'm techy, but it seemed like too much trouble to work out how to get it working. It's been created by PC techies and it's not very user friendly to install, with minimal help files. And of course it isn't Mac-like, as mentioned by Not Sure above, you end up with a couple hundred log files. Frankly, I couldn't be bothered wasting time with something that's more difficult than it needs to be. Obviously other F:ATties have persevered and got it working, so I'm in the minority. Though it sounds like there's a new or improved help file available now.

Southernman wrote:
" basically:
- open T04-01.vlog file
- use the 'play' button to step thru the turn
- say No to starting a new file
- select Load Continuation from the File menu and open T04-02.vlog file
- 'play' thru my turn
- say No again and load Pete's turn T04-03
- play thru and then select Yes to create your Upkeep and Movement turn."
Why do you have to load each log file manually? They're numbered sequentially FFS!

I have Memoir 44 at home but have never played. The closest I've come is 3 games of BattleLore. I'll take you up on playing Skelly but lets start after this weekend so I canget my feet wet with Vassal and go over the rules.

I did try the Heroclix vassal module last night. It looks like it had a map, some icons for the clix and a dice roller but no information. Presuamble you set up the real game then play on vassal? It seemed kind of pointless but I guess if you want ot Tele-game then that is the way to go.

Wouldn't just skyping with the board laid out in front of both of you be a better solution. I guess I'll need to play with it more to understand it better.

Steve"Idiot savante - the savante part"Avery

Notahandle wrote:

Southernman wrote:
" basically:
- open T04-01.vlog file
- use the 'play' button to step thru the turn
- say No to starting a new file
- select Load Continuation from the File menu and open T04-02.vlog file
- 'play' thru my turn
- say No again and load Pete's turn T04-03
- play thru and then select Yes to create your Upkeep and Movement turn."
Why do you have to load each log file manually? They're numbered sequentially FFS!

I've lost you there mate (??). Once you 'play through' a log file (watching what has happened) then you load the next one and 'play' that one through.

Are we talking about different things or do you know something about Vassal that I have missed ?

Stephen Avery wrote:

I have Memoir 44 at home but have never played. The closest I've come is 3 games of BattleLore. I'll take you up on playing Skelly but lets start after this weekend so I canget my feet wet with Vassal and go over the rules.

I did try the Heroclix vassal module last night. It looks like it had a map, some icons for the clix and a dice roller but no information. Presuamble you set up the real game then play on vassal? It seemed kind of pointless but I guess if you want ot Tele-game then that is the way to go.

Wouldn't just skyping with the board laid out in front of both of you be a better solution. I guess I'll need to play with it more to understand it better.

Steve"Idiot savante - the savante part"Avery

When you see the map in Vassal you will suddenly understand how easy it is to play and well done the system is. I will send (and Frank) you over a log file tutorial that Coltsfan did that you can play through and he explains the ins & outs of M'44 by Vassal (it really is simple) plus a document of screenshots I made. The rules are on the DoW site in pdf so you can keep with you, but it's just a bit simpler version of BattleLore.

Stephen Avery wrote:

I have Memoir 44 at home but have never played. The closest I've come is 3 games of BattleLore. I'll take you up on playing Skelly but lets start after this weekend so I canget my feet wet with Vassal and go over the rules.

I did try the Heroclix vassal module last night. It looks like it had a map, some icons for the clix and a dice roller but no information. Presuamble you set up the real game then play on vassal? It seemed kind of pointless but I guess if you want ot Tele-game then that is the way to go.

Wouldn't just skyping with the board laid out in front of both of you be a better solution. I guess I'll need to play with it more to understand it better.

Steve"Idiot savante - the savante part"Avery

If you were skyping you would have to play it 'real time' though. We are playing via email. (ie a turn a day or whatever).
You don't need to set the real game up. The info may have been missing because some companies don't let the whole game go up - for example our AH game the common items are all blank. We have to get that information from elsewhere - like your home copy or the arkham wiki.
I need to re-read the M44 rules as well so after this weekend is good with me.