Paths Not Taken

Tuomo

Keeper of the Funk
Joined
Feb 10, 2003
Messages
4,652
Reaction score
5,537
Location
Rock Bottom
Country
llUnited States
I'm curious - does anybody know of rules or game mechanics the SL or ASL designers/developers tried out but opted against for one reason or another? Sure, ASL left some SL ideas behind (Scouts, Near Misses, etc) but I'm curious about basic things that Don Greenwood, Bob Macnamara, John Hill, etc, played around with but ultimately didn't think were worth keeping.

The thought came to mind when I was thinking about how Walls and Hedges are handled in the game, and how it's pretty impossible to represent a narrow walled city street, as in Old European cities.
 

RandyT0001

Elder Member
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
1,055
Reaction score
1,272
Location
Memphis, TN
First name
Cary
Country
llUnited States
The thought came to mind when I was thinking about how Walls and Hedges are handled in the game, and how it's pretty impossible to represent a narrow walled city street, as in Old European cities.
Isn't that what B31.1 Narrow Streets was meant to address? I can think of any board that uses them as extensively as would be required for a true representation of a city's 'old town' sector. Maybe it is time to create one or an overlay?
 

RandyT0001

Elder Member
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
1,055
Reaction score
1,272
Location
Memphis, TN
First name
Cary
Country
llUnited States
Board 21, from row T(4-5) to EE(3-7), surrounded by the paved road, looks to be the best candidate for a narrow street, old walled town overlay.
 

Gordon

Forum Guru
Joined
Apr 6, 2017
Messages
2,488
Reaction score
2,940
Country
llUnited States
What we need is a Ken Burns style documentary of the history of ASL, with actors reading correspondences between the principles over mournful music and photos from the AH/MMP/3rd party offices and various tournaments.
 

Cpl Uhl

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
862
Reaction score
476
Location
Brussels, Belgium
Country
llUnited States
Rowhouses on either side of Narrow Streets pretty much creates the effect of walled streets no? Where in cities would you have walled streets without houses?
 

R Hooks

Smoke Break brb
Joined
Apr 15, 2009
Messages
762
Reaction score
209
Location
beaumont texas
Country
llUnited States
I kept all my playtest notes, maps, test rules, and letters, and sold them years later on Ebay. Too close to forgetting my name to recall details today. But I don't think SL had any tests on narrow streets or Ken Burns.
 

bprobst

Elder Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2003
Messages
2,533
Reaction score
1,438
Location
Melbourne, Australia
First name
Bruce
Country
llAustralia
Yes, but with walls on either/both sides.
Have you fallen into the trap of thinking "it's a wall in real life therefore it must be represented by a wall on the ASL board"?

A building, with or without an actual wall, can be represented on an ASL mapboard by a building with no (hexside) wall. Your "narrow walled streets" exist already -- e.g., 51M4-51M5. I can "see" the walls alongside those buildings, can't you? An ASL wall is a concept of terrain, not a realistic depiction of terrain.

I'd argue that your classic ASL "small building behind a wall" is considerably less "realistic" than a building standing by itself -- however it serves a game function for terrain that has little to do with "reality".

Everything is abstract.
 

Justiciar

Elder Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
5,410
Reaction score
2,011
Location
Within Range
Country
llUnited States
NRBH...but I believe in GH...the designers acknowledged the 3x fire team nature of a USMC squad, but opted out of designing it for ASL. The wording of the note (again NRBH) seems to suggest they "played around" with it as your OP seeks to address as a point of order
There is now an option for such in FW in the USMC section footnotes.
 

Gordon

Forum Guru
Joined
Apr 6, 2017
Messages
2,488
Reaction score
2,940
Country
llUnited States
Have you fallen into the trap of thinking "it's a wall in real life therefore it must be represented by a wall on the ASL board"?

A building, with or without an actual wall, can be represented on an ASL mapboard by a building with no (hexside) wall. Your "narrow walled streets" exist already -- e.g., 51M4-51M5. I can "see" the walls alongside those buildings, can't you? An ASL wall is a concept of terrain, not a realistic depiction of terrain.

I'd argue that your classic ASL "small building behind a wall" is considerably less "realistic" than a building standing by itself -- however it serves a game function for terrain that has little to do with "reality".

Everything is abstract.
10094
"Ceci n'est pas une mur"
 

RandyT0001

Elder Member
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
1,055
Reaction score
1,272
Location
Memphis, TN
First name
Cary
Country
llUnited States
Yes, but with walls on either/both sides.
Do you have several pictures of this type of terrain? Maybe it would be better to create a new symbol for the terrain type.
 

Mike205

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2017
Messages
150
Reaction score
301
Country
llUnited States
What we need is a Ken Burns style documentary of the history of ASL, with actors reading correspondences between the principles over mournful music and photos from the AH/MMP/3rd party offices and various tournaments.
I'd watch that on PBS every week.
 

Yuri0352

Elder Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2014
Messages
2,115
Reaction score
1,200
Location
25-30 Hexes
Country
llUnited States
What we need is a Ken Burns style documentary of the history of ASL, with actors reading correspondences between the principles over mournful music and photos from the AH/MMP/3rd party offices and various tournaments.
"This program has been brought to you by our corporate sponsors, the makers of Sominex and Ambien, and by the generous donations of viewers like you" .
 

wrongway149

Forum Guru
Joined
Aug 25, 2005
Messages
9,405
Reaction score
2,099
Location
Willoughby, Ohio
Country
llUnited States
Have you fallen into the trap of thinking "it's a wall in real life therefore it must be represented by a wall on the ASL board"?

A building, with or without an actual wall, can be represented on an ASL mapboard by a building with no (hexside) wall. Your "narrow walled streets" exist already -- e.g., 51M4-51M5. I can "see" the walls alongside those buildings, can't you? An ASL wall is a concept of terrain, not a realistic depiction of terrain.

I'd argue that your classic ASL "small building behind a wall" is considerably less "realistic" than a building standing by itself -- however it serves a game function for terrain that has little to do with "reality".

Everything is abstract.
I think the bocage rules would be good to represent tall walls around French gardens.
 

Mike205

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2017
Messages
150
Reaction score
301
Country
llUnited States
CH's Arnhem module did a pretty good representation of taller walls, it might be useful to take a look at.
 
Top