Wondering if there's interest in a Huertgen Forest thing?
Imagining 1-2 geoboards, maybe some Overlays. Were there enough actions to justify something here??
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Don,
There is plenty of material that can be used for such boards and overlays. I say this having just written the scenario analysis for
SP282 Then Came the Inferno, a scenario for the upcoming
Schwerpunkt Volume 24. This scenario is part of the Battle for the Huertgen Forest.
Though the theme for the boards you propose would naturally be hilly and covered with woods, it is most important to not make the mistake made with board 39 which makes it nearly impossible to use in most scenario concepts. I find it nearly impossible to make an interesting scenario that ASLers will enjoy playing on board 39.
Geomorphic boards should be designed with what I call a 70% solution. What I mean by this is that the board designer's concept should be expressed with full consideration for his specific theme/inspiration, But, at the same time, such a board concept, ideally, should offer versatility to potential scenario designers for use in similar topographical, yet different geographical settings. When I consulted several years ago with Gary Fortenberry on one of his doublewide boards, I expressed the need to include terrain that lends itself to the accomplishment of various military objectives that the scenario designer then translates into the formulation of victory conditions.
As a former US Army officer who happens to have designed a few scenarios over the years, I evaluate at a given geomorphic board by asking the question: "Why would a unit be fighting on this board." All designers know the importance of transition boards and boards that permit a logical movement to contact. These boards are usually not the boards where key terrain-based victory conditions are accomplished unless they are part of an exit or retrograde type operation. The ASL system, at its core, features
mostly (we know there are all kinds of other ASL missions) attack and defense type military missions for the two forces on the scenario cards, therefore the best "objective" board will display obvious reason(s) for fighting there.
As for overlays, yes give me more overlays. Designers always need more and innovative overlays to spice up the board configuration. I was a little disappointed (though I do plan to use the plethora of railroad overlays to plan my new Lionel train layout) at the large number of very specific kinds of overlays printed in
Twighlight of the Reich. They are obviously very well-suited to that particular module, but I will use very few of them outside of it. I was also extremely disappointed that MMP completely squandered a golden opportunity to offer additional new desert overlays in the
Hollow Legions reprint that would have been a boon for desert scenario designers. LFT seems to a be on the right track in this area with their new arid climate boards.
For years I have wanted overlays on transparent media that would for example allow me to place a patch of woods or a building on a hill hex that would still allow the player to see the contour lines of the hill hex.
So, yes give me more boards and overlays.
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