.....
At least for me, stand-alone scenarios and good ASL tactics or good themed ASL articles (Trucks, Night, Mines, Banzai Charge, etc.) always have been at the core of what made the ASL Journals (or Annuals before that) attractive.
Lengthy play-throughs are nowadays much better handled by youtube etc.
But now (finally at long last...) to the reason why I responded to your post:
I have never been a fan of a Journal being overly focussed on a particular Module or HASL. If you happen not to own that HASL or are not interested in a particular theme, then the Journal loses a lot of its appeal to all the people to whom this applies.
I believe the great popularity of the Journals, the Action Packs and the WO Bonus Pack are based on the following factors:
Good, thoroughly playtested stand-alone scenarios without HASL-like (extra) SSR. Good articles on tactics or explaining a particular aspect of ASL in depth. A new geo-board here and there. These products are not in the top tier price range.
.........
As a consequence, I would rather see a separate "Twilight of the Reich" magazine than this theme stuffed into a Journal.
von Marwitz
Excellent points made there.
The General used to suffer (IMO) from having to cover too much territory, IR: many games I didn't own or have interest in, however the occasional play-through included in the mag have actually induced me to buy a game, but that was clearly way before youtube, so that point is well proven I should think.
However, if enough interest merited a serious focus on one HASL in the Journal, perhaps a separate issue would be in order?
Maybe there are too many HASLs (in this context only, of course!) to garner enough interest for a special edition on it's own, and perhaps if the articles were made available it might not be deemed to be cost effective for MMP to publish a special.
I'd be curious to see just what the most popular HASL (by sales) has been to date.
Journals are not expensive and are really very good value for the money, so perhaps people on the fence about purchasing a particular HASL would buy a special issue, especially if there weren't any in depth videos available.
I'm quite sure many of us would buy an issue regardless of ownership of a module, many tactical tips and ideas would be applicable to any similar situation, not just that specific module.
I'm defintely in that camp, sign me up for preorder!
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Or perhaps this is a prime example of where TPP fill in the gaps.
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Which leads me to my next thought:
I certainly don't begrudge MMP their views on TPP, and I understand that they really must hold that view, not only from a business standpoint, but to continue to believe that their job as caretakers of the system is of the utmost importance, and I do believe that to be absolutely true.
However, I've never believed that it's a night/day issue.
TPP do not
directly grow ASL, IE: no one begins the journey via TPP product, that is obviously true.
But the fact remains that TPP add value to the system by enabling a wider experience by availability of a greater library of material than MMP can produce.
I do not believe that TPP detract from the hobby, assuming that at least a minimum level of quality is reached, which for the greatest majority is the case.
I might also suggest that TPP do
indirectly grow ASL.
For example, perhaps some players have an intense interest in something not available from MMP, but published by a TPP.
These players (or at least one of them) must own at the very least the rulebook in addition to the TPP material (even if only playing on VASL), more likely they'll need to additionally own the MMP module which supplies the system counters and maps.
Still quite likely they'll need a module or two that contain the OOBs required for the subject as well.
The rulebook and the components can only reliably be obtained from MMP.
With their new rules update scheme this will become even more the case.
Also, there have been years where little official product has seen the light of day, before MMP and occasionally during their tenure, TPP were (and still are) an important augmentation to the breadth of subject matter we enjoy today.
So it is perhaps a narrow view to completely ignore the importance and influence TPP provide.
It always bugs me a little to see them being dismissed, they're all players just like the rest of us, only more so since they've put time, effort, and skills to work in improving our hobby.
I think that deserves appreciation and acknowledgement.
