Evan Sherry
Elder Member
I have been following the modern ASL thread and it struck me that desert ASL is the most under-represented feature of ASL. Soon, there will exist three official products that cover Stalingrad. At that point I will have reached complete Stalingrad saturation. But where is a replacement for West of Alamein? The desert module for ASL is too long out of print.
As a prolific scenario designer, I find the existing ASL desert boards and overlays too limiting to properly portray desert ASL scenarios. So much so that I have abandoned most scenario ideas I have for that theater for lack of official game components needed to portray battles set in the desert.
Hopefully, the eventual replacement for West of Alamein will include several new boards and overlays that will expand terrain possibilities to portray Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and the western desert. The big challenge for designers making ASL scenarios set in the desert is distance. Much desert combat involves engagements that open at ranges well beyond 600 meters. This requires larger map configurations (even though a given ASL order of battle may remain somewhat small) to portray the opening part of an action that may never even reach the claustrophobic distances that typically result in the final phase of an ETO action.
Before MMP and ASL go wandering beyond WWII, I sincerely hope that the desert is given back an official ASL module that includes new and better components that will permit the design of desert scenarios this neglected and forgotten theater deserves.
As a prolific scenario designer, I find the existing ASL desert boards and overlays too limiting to properly portray desert ASL scenarios. So much so that I have abandoned most scenario ideas I have for that theater for lack of official game components needed to portray battles set in the desert.
Hopefully, the eventual replacement for West of Alamein will include several new boards and overlays that will expand terrain possibilities to portray Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and the western desert. The big challenge for designers making ASL scenarios set in the desert is distance. Much desert combat involves engagements that open at ranges well beyond 600 meters. This requires larger map configurations (even though a given ASL order of battle may remain somewhat small) to portray the opening part of an action that may never even reach the claustrophobic distances that typically result in the final phase of an ETO action.
Before MMP and ASL go wandering beyond WWII, I sincerely hope that the desert is given back an official ASL module that includes new and better components that will permit the design of desert scenarios this neglected and forgotten theater deserves.
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