New members introduce yourself here

[Robin Reeve]

Welcome AK.

47... AK47, tovarich ! :laugh:

 

[Bhut]

Morning all,

I've had ASL products for a long time first stumbling across Squad leader way back when i was still wet behind the ears.

I found myself in virgin mega store in Birmingham one sunny afternoon when I happened to come across ASL ver 1 rules. From then on I was hooked.

For 10 years I played locally but then I met a woman, had kids and my poor ASL was banished to the loft.

My son is now 9 and into alll things gun based. We started playing WH40k which got me interested with war games again. Via a quick diversion to flames of war I found myself back climbing into the loft to take all my ASL products out of hiding!

My wife had beat me to the loft and at some point and cleared the lot out! Modules 1 - 9 and KP1,KP2 and PB all gone!!!!!!!!

So i'm slowly getting back my ASL modules and now have a copy of the up to date rule book which is much clearer to understand. I have now also found myself to the wonderful world of VASL, so will apologise if people see me popping into rooms to watch.

But at last it feels like I have found a home. So I will now be lurking around in the background.

Cheers

Ian

 

[custardpie]

Morning all,

I've had ASL products for a long time first stumbling across Squad leader way back when i was still wet behind the ears.

I found myself in virgin mega store in Birmingham one sunny afternoon when I happened to come across ASL ver 1 rules. From then on I was hooked.

For 10 years I played locally but then I met a woman, had kids and my poor ASL was banished to the loft.

My son is now 9 and into alll things gun based. We started playing WH40k which got me interested with war games again. Via a quick diversion to flames of war I found myself back climbing into the loft to take all my ASL products out of hiding!

My wife had beat me to the loft and at some point and cleared the lot out! Modules 1 - 9 and KP1,KP2 and PB all gone!!!!!!!!

So i'm slowly getting back my ASL modules and now have a copy of the up to date rule book which is much clearer to understand. I have now also found myself to the wonderful world of VASL, so will apologise if people see me popping into rooms to watch.

But at last it feels like I have found a home. So I will now be lurking around in the background.

Cheers

Ian

Hi Ian

welcome to the mad mad world we live in. I live about 20 miles north of Derby so not to far away if you fancy some FTF action. Not sure I'd like to bring my stuff down in case your wife is about:clown: Feel free to PM me or what ever. The crowd here are fairly friendly but the odd one bites LOL

Other Ian

 

[Viktor Renquist]

G'day

I'm probably a fairly typical ASL player, late 40s, teacher and sadly OCD :clown:

I guess its fairly typical of me to have been cheerfully posting the occasional comment for about a week before I even noticed this thread! And yes, I can be just as blind to fire stacks at times too :OHNO::crosseye:

I started playing ASL about 1988 ... the big wait at the time was for Red Barricades ... and quickly bought everything that was available and continued to pick up everything as it was released. In the late 90's all three of the regular players I associated with moved away ... one to canberra and two to melbourne so I stopped playing and, after a few years, even stopped picking up new releases!

I got back into the whole system about 6 months back, picked up what I could of what was missing and also the three ASLSK's as I saw it as an easy way to refamiliarise myself, get more mapboards etc. I am slowly working through the SK's atm, playing solo and relearning what I forgot! (And dear lord there was a lot I forget!!)

The other reason I grabbed the SK's was to teach my daughter the game when I move back to Australia, once the house sale is complete. Why teach her? well, she's a 10 year old history fan who is fascinated by the history of the Aussie Army and she also has a certain level of difficulty with eye-hand co-ordination ... seems to me that we can solve two problems with one terribly addicitive game :devious:

As for what I have ... All basic modules, All HASL modules, SASL, All annuals, All action packs, Journals 1, 2, 5, 7 and a fair bit of Third Party stuff


Remember, always load your dice


VR

 

[infntryldr]

Hello everyone,

I am an active duty Marine getting ready to retire in a week and am getting back into ASL after a 10 year hiatus. My horror story goes something like this, was really into ASL, purchased all available modules and various magazines, but due to lack of opponents and high op tempo of the Marine Corps I sold everything on ebay.

Needless to say I am purchasing everything I use to have, and all the neat new stuff that has come out since. Hopefully I can keep my OCD in check before my wife kills me.

Regards,
Greg

 

[TMike]

Welcome to the forum, infntryldr !

"was into ASL ... many year hiatus {work/marriage/kids/life} ... now getting back in"
You'll find lots of us here who are in much the same situation.

Again, welcome back!

 

[ChrisM]

Hi - Chris here, from Long Island, NY.

I've been lurking here for years (as you can see from my profile) picking up tacitics and tips and just reading about this great game. I'm 40 years old, college educated and married. i have been playing ASL since 1988, and started with SL back in '85. I have been playing wargames longer - started with Third Reich back in the early eighties when I was around 12, and learned a lot from Mark Nixon's excellent strategy articles. I am thrilled to see he is a member of this forum.

My brother was my main opponent over the years, but as his family ahs grown, and my career has gotten hectic, we ahven't had a lot of time ot play altely. I have come out from lurking (or skulking if you prefer) becuase a new game venue opened in my home town, and I am trying to develop a local play group. Seems like this is a pretty good place to find players.

Thanks to all for a very informative message board. I learned more in the past few years reading posts and questions here than I did in the first fifteen years I played the system.

 

[Kihmbar]

Hello. I'm new to this forum, but not new to ASL. I've been playing off an on for the last 14 years, but in the last 5-6 years I've started playing more regularly. In the past few years, I've usually gotten to play 12-15 games each year - most of those at tournaments.

I'm from the Raleigh, NC (USA) area and attend the Bitter Ender tournament each year. There are several good opponents in this area, but we never seem to have time to get together (usually I don't have the time). I prefer face-to-face play, which probably also limits the number of games I play.

I have played a number of "teaching scenarios" with newer players - teaching them rules (OBA, armor, night, etc.) that they are less familiar with. It is a good review for me to have to know the rules well enough to explain them (in plain English) to another player. I really enjoy working with folks who want to make the jump from ASLSK to full ASL.

I'm one of the "younger generation" of ASL folks. I wasn't even born when the original SL came out. However, my dad remedied this by teaching me SL when I was little. I eventually made the jump to ASL and the rest is history.

 

[Jasonofindy]

Hi,

I'm Jason, and I'm new to both the forum and to ASL. I only have a few solo ASLSK games under my belt so far, but I like what I've seen and have jumped in by picking up the ASLRB and some of the core modules. I'm in my early 30s with two children under five so from what I have gathered lurking around here and at CSW I'm one of the younger players.

I have a semi-regular gaming buddy here in the Indianapolis suburbs, but unfortunately he has so far shown little interest in trying ASL because of its reputation of complexity/exceptions.

While I doubt there are as many players in the area as I've read/heard about around Chicago, I'm hoping to locate at least a few other players in Bloomington, Indianapolis, or somewhere in between.

 

[custardpie]

Hi,

I'm Jason, and I'm new to both the forum and to ASL. I only have a few solo ASLSK games under my belt so far, but I like what I've seen and have jumped in by picking up the ASLRB and some of the core modules. I'm in my early 30s with two children under five so from what I have gathered lurking around here and at CSW I'm one of the younger players.

I have a semi-regular gaming buddy here in the Indianapolis suburbs, but unfortunately he has so far shown little interest in trying ASL because of its reputation of complexity/exceptions.

While I doubt there are as many players in the area as I've read/heard about around Chicago, I'm hoping to locate at least a few other players in Bloomington, Indianapolis, or somewhere in between.

Hi and welcome, if you can get VASL up and running (well worth the effort) then you can get a fair few good games. If you want live play go for Skype if you can, this adds to the game and it's almost as good as FTF play. After that PBEM is also really good as you get to learn at your own pace. Good luck and enjoy.

Ian

 

[RobTys]

Hi!

I'm Rob Tyson, and I'm returning to the ASL fold after an abscence of about 8 years. The last time I played on a regular basis was back in 2001 (had one match in 2003, but figure that doesn't count). Prior to dropping out in 2001, I had started playing back in 1998 with Dan Zucker and his crew in central NJ. In addition, I played in the ASL tournaments that Dan Dolan used to host here in Northern NJ.

Currently, I'm looking to get back into ASL via VASL. PBEM or live (though I'll have to figure out when I can play live). If anyone here was in the old AOL ASL club, please let me know!

Looking forward to playing with you guys and returning to the best wargame around. Feel free to email me with requests for PBEM or live VASL matches.

 

[avl90]

Hi. I found this site sort of by accident searching google for combat mission stuff. I'm a big fan of that series but not ASL - never tried it. I don't know much about ASL works either, but when I saw some *75* users viewing this sub-forum my interested was piqued. I know that combat mission was inspired by this board game but that's about all I know.

I'm curious about what the differences are with that series... and I have some specific questions - sorry if they are asked & answered elsewhere.

First, how do you get "fog of war"? Or is there none? Do both opponents see everything all the time?

Second, what is the resolution of the height map? And is there some process by which soldiers can spot and fire from a position where the men are actually fully behind a hill? (to simulate peaking over, etc.) Or is it always "if you can see/spot you can shot/be shot"?

Oh... and is there anything lost in the VASL program vs. the board game?

 

[dlazov]

FOW is represented in ASL with the use of Concealment counters, area fire and also Hidden Initial Placement (where the counters locations are recorded on a piece of paper and stored off map to be brought into play later) in general (unwritten rule) you many not rifle through your opponents stack, you generally ask to see what he has if it is not concealed, if it is conceal (from now I will use the default of ? as this is the marker used) you may not look through the stack (by convention and rule).

I don't understand your resolution and map questions others more qualified can answer but ASL is not a computer game (there is a PBEM system that two players can use) but ASL is a board war game.

There is no spotting, if you have a Line of Sight (LOS) you may shoot at the unit.

That is some very basic there is a bunch of online resources that explain a lot more in detail others may provide (I'd have to fish them out).

 

[dlazov]

Oh, here is an old good article on ASL

 

[avl90]

thanks, that's perfect. Height map resolution - just what the smallest unit of elevation difference is between two places.

 

[custardpie]

thanks, that's perfect. Height map resolution - just what the smallest unit of elevation difference is between two places.

Each height difference is the equivalent to a single story building, but this is very abstract

Ian

 

[dlazov]

Everything in ASL is abstracted (this is not as bad as it sounds) each level in ASL is measure in relative heights of either a full or half level obstacle.

Here are some snippets from Chapter B

9.1 A wall represents a stone fence varying in height between one and two meters, and conforms to hexsides rather than the interior of a hex.

10.1 Hills represent terrain elevations which rise above ground level, and any terrain upon them rises normally from this new level to form new height equivalents. For example, a one level obstacle on a level 1 hill hex becomes a level 2 obstacle to the LOS of a unit at level 0. Inherent Terrain (B.6), whether a one-level Obstacle or Hindrance (e.g., orchard) or a half-level Obstacle (rubble) or Hindrance (crag, wreck) rises from the actual hill depiction (i.e., in a Hill-Orchard hex, LOS that crosses the hill depiction is affected up through level 2; LOS that does not cross the hill depiction is only affected through level 1). Other terrain (e.g., grain, brush, woods, building) is at the higher level throughout the entire depiction of the terrain in question, even if it appears to be rising from the lower level portion of the hill hex. A hill mass is depicted in various shades of brown; the lightest shade in any group of contiguous brown hexes being level 1, the next darker shade being level 2, and so on. The specific shades often very from one board to another and are relevant only in comparison to the other shades of the same hill mass. For aesthetic purposes, many hexes contain colors representing more than one elevation, but units therein are always considered at the elevation level containing the hex center dot.

*10.211 ALPINE HILL OPTION: The previous rule treats hills as a series of plateaus rather that constantly rising and rolling terrain. Those wishing to simulate the latter style of terrain can invoke a SSR for Alpine Hills by allowing equal-elevation hill hexes to block LOS through (not into) them.

22.1 A valley occurs at an elevation below ground level and represents an area much larger than a Depression. A valley is depicted by dark green background in obvious contrast to the lighter green used to represent ground level Open Ground on the same board. 24Q9 is an example of a valley hex.

23.21 SINGLE STORY HOUSE: All single hex buildings which do not contain a staircase symbol are considered one level obstacles to LOS. All units in such buildings are at the level of the other terrain in the hex. 1D4 is an example of a Single Story House.

23.22 TWO STORY HOUSE: A multi-hex building which contains no stairwell symbol is considered a 1 1/2 level obstacle to LOS despite also having another vertical level in each hex besides the ground level in the form of a level 1 capacity. All buildings of this type have an inherent stairwell present in each hex to allow movement between levels. Units on a Level 1 counter are considered to be at a level one higher than the surrounding terrain even though the building itself is only 1 1/2 levels higher than the surrounding terrain. 1F1-G1 is an example of a two story house.

That should give you some ideas of the complexity and "resolution" of the game, there are other things such as crests, slopes, movement and combat and what have you.

 

[avl90]

I get the impression from this that all terrain has abstracted micro-terrain within the hex? (Say, a 2 foot deep irrigation ditch.)

 

[custardpie]

I get the impression from this that all terrain has abstracted micro-terrain within the hex? (Say, a 2 foot deep irrigation ditch.)

Irregation ditches are in the game, Pegasus Bridge (an Historical Campaign) has them and yes other terrain can be in the hex.

You get mixes such as hills with woods with maybe a hedge or wall round it. Terrain has various effects on being able to see or be seen as well as effects on fire. The basic's are very simple the use and mix can be complex.

It is fair to say that most of the rules are simple and the thickness of the rule book is the exceptions that get thrown in to give flavour.

Ian

 

[dlazov]

To further custardpie's point.

Woods are very straight forward, however the exceptions are wooded paths, wooded roads, woods turned into pine trees, woods turned into jungle (light/heavy).

See how they abstracted it? Make a board that uses one type of icon for woods, but you can make a rule that turns it from a woods into a deep forest or a jungle without having to make special maps per se.

The rule book is full of exceptions.