Today in ASL I ... (Day to day ASL doings)

[von Marwitz]

Quite a wait for a reply though as carrier pigeons have been extinct for 100 years.

Not quite.

There are numerous homing pigeon associations in Germany. You know, we have clubs, associations, and societies for everything... Granted, mostly elder men with regard to pigeons - but still.

What is quite freaky:
Some guys that breed the best ones which win contests (first to home over certain distances) have recently made a fortune.
It seems that some Chinese with too much money have taken a liking to pigeons and the best ones go for far beyond 10,000 Euros a bird. Couldn't believe it when I came across an article on that some time ago.


And if you find that strange, hear this:

Some 20 years ago I visited a show with birds of prey in a medieval castle towering over the Rhine. Some odd fellow, a Bundeswehr veteran, ran it. Small children and babies had to wait outside. He had some falcons and eagles come screaming down out of the blue passing less then three feet above the heads of the audience, all claws and beaks, to catch dead chicken from the air, which he threw. Quite impressive! He commented on one falcon: "Now this one's name is 'Stuka'. Watch this!" And: "The next eagle is named 'Bubi Hartmann', 352 Luftsiege!" He had named the bird after Erich Hartmann, with 352 confirmed aerial victories the most successful pilot in the history of aerial warfare. The birds he bred he sold for absurd sums of money to Saudi princes. His hobby was to go wolf-hunting with his eagles in Kasachstan.

von Marwitz

 

[bprobst]

Well, there is the rules and then there are agreed short cuts,... Bruce.

I think what you are trying to say is "there are the ASL rules" and "there are house rules that both players have to agree to, on the understanding that by agreeing to them they are no longer playing by the ASL rules".

If you and your opponent are happy to play a game that somewhat resembles ASL together, well, that's your business, and no concern of mine. I just wouldn't want you to go forward on the assumption that "all players using VASL are totally OK with HIP units moving in contrast to what the rules allow". Such an assumption would be deeply wrong.

VASL provides a lovely Cloaking Display for cloaked movement but as kindly posted above by Michael R it is acceptable to HIP the units on the map and move them with the cloak counter. That's not "the rules" but a time saving device agreed to by players. "Etiquette", if you will, accepted in VASL,....

You are talking about apples and lamb chops. The convenience of being able to HIP units under a Cloaking Counter is exactly that; a convenience. It's not a violation of the rules prohibiting the movement of HIP units which is what you were originally discussing. Do you truly not understand the difference?

 

[Gordon]

Not quite.

von Marwitz

I think @Eagle4ty was referring to the Passenger Pigeon, an extinct species of North American pigeon. Or maybe not.

 

[von Marwitz]

Played (or rather tested...) HtG2 The Good Old Days today.

This is one of the hidden (make that) uncut gems of the olymp of scenario design of the infamous 'Herman the German' scenario pack that both the authorities as well as some strongmen of an unnamed third party have so far prevented from being published.

It is the first that incorporates BigAl737's VASL-Extension for custom counters.

The AAR can be found here.

von Marwitz

 

[Tuomo]

Took an hour to write some Matlab code to automatically position orchard trees inside each orchard blob on a new VASL board. This will save me an hour every time I do it.

The REAL solution will be to have a library of hundreds of orchard blobs (with trees), which will be automatically placed on top of orchard blobs that we see on new maps. In addition to automatically having the trees inside each blob, the blobs themselves will be properly leafy. Which ALSO takes about an hour for a sufficiently orcharded board.

 

[Old Noob]

The only pigeons that are not extinct, are those that get stuff from CH!

 

[Sparafucil3]

Took an hour to write some Matlab code to automatically position orchard trees inside each orchard blob on a new VASL board. This will save me an hour every time I do it.

The REAL solution will be to have a library of hundreds of orchard blobs (with trees), which will be automatically placed on top of orchard blobs that we see on new maps. In addition to automatically having the trees inside each blob, the blobs themselves will be properly leafy. Which ALSO takes about an hour for a sufficiently orcharded board.

So you have code, couldn't you introduce a random element to it, have it either:

• Work perfectly to produce the final effect (probably note)
• Loop a 100 - 10000 times, produce the blobs and save them in an image file, where you can review and select the ones that work

Seems like you already done all the hard work. Perhaps I am simplifying this too much -- jim

 

[Tuomo]

So you have code, couldn't you introduce a random element to it, have it either:

• Work perfectly to produce the final effect (probably note)
• Loop a 100 - 10000 times, produce the blobs and save them in an image file, where you can review and select the ones that work

Seems like you already done all the hard work. Perhaps I am simplifying this too much -- jim

Oof. The perfect Orchard Blob has just the right amount of leafiness. It's impossible to define algorithmically, but I have a crap-ton of examples. Thus, I'd rather just randomly pick from a small library of them.

Having the computer generate dozens for me to pick from just inserts me back in the loop, and I want out.

 

[BigAl737]

Orchards are a bitch.

 

[von Marwitz]

Orchards are a bitch.

Already Adam and Eve found that out in a way.

von Marwitz

 

[Sparafucil3]

Oof. The perfect Orchard Blob has just the right amount of leafiness. It's impossible to define algorithmically, but I have a crap-ton of examples. Thus, I'd rather just randomly pick from a small library of them.

Having the computer generate dozens for me to pick from just inserts me back in the loop, and I want out.

Having the algorithm generate a 1000--from which you pick the best 100--puts you in the loop one last time to create your library of possibilities. I wonder what happens if you throw some AI around that? Generate 1000 pick the best 50 and send it off. Would it then create like a virtual Tuomo? That could be the beginnings of a VAST TUOMO world hive mind. -- jim

 

[von Marwitz]

Today, when I had a look at games running on the VASL server, I saw THIS:



What's going on?! This is creepy...



Would have been funny to rattle the lot of them through with a couple of Panther VGs entering from the west edge...

von Marwitz

 

[Tuomo]

Having the algorithm generate a 1000--from which you pick the best 100--puts you in the loop one last time to create your library of possibilities. I wonder what happens if you throw some AI around that? Generate 1000 pick the best 50 and send it off. Would it then create like a virtual Tuomo? That could be the beginnings of a VAST TUOMO world hive mind. -- jim

Buuut, I've already created a library of good ones. Hand-crafted, artisanal.

And the Tuomo Hive Mind has been taking over the world for like 20 years. We just didn't want to bother anyone.

 

[footsteps]

Buuut, I've already created a library of good ones. Hand-crafted, artisanal.

And the Tuomo Hive Mind has been taking over the world for like 20 years. We just didn't want to bother anyone.

To be truly artisanal, their leaves would have to change colour in the Fall, then drop to the ground (leaving bare branches) where they would leave a soggy, slippery mess that would hamper movement (but also produce mushrooms), then mulch into the ground during Winter, providing nutrients to allow the tree to leaf out gloriously in Spring.

THAT would be artisanal.

 

[Sparafucil3]

Buuut, I've already created a library of good ones. Hand-crafted, artisanal.

Then why did you say this if you already did it? The REAL solution will be to have a library of hundreds of orchard blobs (with trees), which will be automatically placed on top of orchard blobs that we see on new maps.

And the Tuomo Hive Mind has been taking over the world for like 20 years. We just didn't want to bother anyone.

I for one, welcome our new beneficent overlords. -- jim

 

[Tuomo]

Then why did you say this if you already did it? The REAL solution will be to have a library of hundreds of orchard blobs (with trees), which will be automatically placed on top of orchard blobs that we see on new maps.

Sorry. Replace "will be to have" with "will be to write the code to take advantage of"

I for one, welcome our new beneficent overlords.

Beneficent? Who said anything about that?
Replace "bother anyone" with "be noticed as we exploit the human and material resources of this world for our own gain"

 

[Sparafucil3]

Beneficent? Who said anything about that?
Replace "bother anyone" with "be noticed as we exploit the human and material resources of this world for our own gain"

I have seen your position. I admit, it is quite comfortable but if that's your ambition with the world at your command, I stick to my beneficent assessment. Were I in your shoes, Jeff Bezos would be a pauper and Caligula would be closer to the norm than the debauchery I would let lose -- jim

 

[Tuomo]

I have seen your position. I admit, it is quite comfortable but if that's your ambition with the world at your command, I stick to my beneficent assessment. We I in your shoes, Jeff Bezos would be a pauper and Caligula would be closer to the norm than the debauchery I would let lose -- jim

Really our platform is more centered around being left alone to play ASL

 

[Sparafucil3]

Really our platform is more centered around being left alone to play ASL

Benevolent. Noice! -- jim

 

[hongkongwargamer]

Created some ASL Holiday Greetings I hope you will find fun to use!

ASL Holiday Greetings You Can Use!

I’d be delighted and honoured if you find these Holiday Greetings suitable for your use (feel free to download). I’d like to wish you all a very Happy Holiday Season. Good Health and Go…

hongkongwargamer.com

Happy Holidays and keep well!!!