quintanius
Member
Ohh - gotcha. I had thought it was a "Simulation". Thanks.
Seriously though, as soon as you tweak the actual historical event, ignore the actual forces, their condition, their strengths, their commanders, the weather, the greater picture in the immediate vicinity, the supply status, the phase of the moon...then you may as well just break out the point value system, roll random boards from SASL and have a nicely designed game. Make up a cool story to support it too.
I'm not saying that historical accurate scenarios are better or worse. But at least they are representation of what was. And if the designer then puts his thought into it, and comes up with feasable victory conditions, then it can still be a "designed game" with a chance for either player to win.
So pit a lonely Panzer IV against 3 T-34's. Give the German an 8-1 armor leader, and have him immobilize or destroy at least 1 tank and survive, or 2 tanks and die to win. If the crew makes it off the board then give them a medal. Most players enjoy playing against far superior forces, but they have to be able to win at least marginally.
Just surviving or delaying the enemy is often all one side needs to engage reinforcements. And if these reinforcements destroy the enemy incursion, the battle overall is won. Look at the larger picture. But throwing more germans into a fight than there actually were just for playbalance is turning this great historical simulation into a game of checkers. Just think about it. Its just an idea. Nothing more.
Luckily there are enough scenarios and designers to accomodate everyones tastes. Somewhere there may be someone who will be inspired just as I am by sticking to the historical context as best as current and modern research allows, and design scenarios based upon actual events, not fabrications. If I want "what if" games, I'll play Flames of War or any of the other other dozens of miniature WW2 games I own. But for ASL, I expect a bit more historical accuracy and quality.
There is, after all, a certain nobility to the game. Lets not destroy that. And I dont think I have mentioned it yet, but I do find it amazing that these authors of these scenario design books have taken the time and effort to put their thoughts and ideas, skills and passion into these design books. I never felt that designing scenarios is what I'd be interested in. But they'll be still good reading I'm sure. They are on my "to buy list" now though...
Thomas