VASL ASLSK

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It would be nice if the Terrain Transformation window during set up had an ASLSK option for set up. This would make the tool even more useful for ASLSK play. Main difference as far as I can tell is the hight of buildings. All SK buildings are level 1 only.

And if I remember correctly hindrance is calculated slightly different.
 
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You can always Remove Stairwells
Not sure what that does, but the LOS from wG4 to wO5 is still blocked by the large building in L4. In SK L4 has one level only and should not block LOS.
 

Tuomo

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Checking "No Stairwells" in the Terrain Transformations Dialog (below) just takes the large white Stairwell squares or dots and turns them into the appropriate color for that building (wood or stone). It doesn't change the LOS information for that board, so yeah, you're still going to get LOS Tool behavior that you're reporting. Sounds like another thing Doug Rimmer could have a look at in his copious free time.

22796
 

DougRim

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Now that my name has been taken in vain, . . . I think the best way to implement this would be with a check box below the No Stairwells one that says something like "All Single Story (SK)".

And then of course that would require some code that would actually transform the los data. Variants of this have been done before and should not be too hard to implement.

Realistically, it is not going to be part of VASL6.6.5 this fall. VASL6.6.6 next spring will be a bug-fixer only. This request is a new feature which I can see it making VASL6.6.7 a year from now.
 

Stewart

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It would be nice if the Terrain Transformation window during set up had an ASLSK option for set up. This would make the tool even more useful for ASLSK play. Main difference as far as I can tell is the hight of buildings. All SK buildings are level 1 only.

And if I remember correctly hindrance is calculated slightly different.
LOS in SK, Unless they go to 2nd level (HIGHLY UNLIKELY) is very simplified.
Verification from the VASL LOS string is nigh unnecessary.
IF on a hill, you can't see past ANY building or obstacle.
IF on a hill looking to another hill, Simply look for any OTHER terrain at the hill level...i.e. look for pixels over the string.

Unless I'm missing something, that's all you need to do.
 
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Unless I'm missing something, that's all you need to do.
Yeah right, agree with you, still I like the visuals to be correct. If there are also ASL scenarios with no upper levels as Larry mentioned having such a feature seems a useful option.
 

Stewart

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Yeah right, agree with you, still I like the visuals to be correct. If there are also ASL scenarios with no upper levels as Larry mentioned having such a feature seems a useful option.
As Doug has pointed out....the LOS shows a blocked LOS when it "hits" a pixel instead of being on both sides.
 

von Marwitz

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There are ASL scenarios with no upper levels ... IIRC.
Yeah, that one with the subterran quarry, with the bd1 roads representing the mine/tunnel/shafts.
You could say it could claim to be (very) lower levels exclusively...

von Marwitz
 

DougRim

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Now that my name has been taken in vain, . . . I think the best way to implement this would be with a check box below the No Stairwells one that says something like "All Single Story (SK)".

And then of course that would require some code that would actually transform the los data. Variants of this have been done before and should not be too hard to implement.

Realistically, it is not going to be part of VASL6.6.5 this fall. VASL6.6.6 next spring will be a bug-fixer only. This request is a new feature which I can see it making VASL6.6.7 a year from now.
I was working on another transformation which I could not get to work (and still can't) and decided to give this one a go to see if I could learn from it how to fix t'other one.

So, it looks like this change will make 6.6.6 in April. I will release another beta about mid-Feb which will include this to get some testing done. Essentially, it makes all buildings on a board single story and while rooftops are in play on multihex buildings they are are Level 1 and not Level 1.5. I had to clean up some code I had added for Wooden Warehouses in Red Factories and so you're gonna get rooftops like it or not. As per my earlier message, it will work on any geo-board with los not just the SK boards. It will have to be implemented by the player, using a TerrainSSR transformation, even for the SK boards. It will not change the visual look of the board (implementing the No Stairwells transformation will).

Now back to my Marsh transformation. . . .
 

Stewart

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Not sure what that does, but the LOS from wG4 to wO5 is still blocked by the large building in L4. In SK L4 has one level only and should not block LOS.
But you KNOW this...so the issue is because the LOS thread changes color?
If you know the LOS the Thread is just a line
 

Neal

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I'm all for improving VASL, but I'm not sure what this accomplishes. If the line goes through a woods/building obstacle (regardless of its height) for SK players, it's blocked, end of check. As long as you're not using the Shift-arrow option to change location heights during LOS checks (which you would never do in SK anyway) wouldn't it just work normally?
 

DougRim

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I'm all for improving VASL, but I'm not sure what this accomplishes. If the line goes through a woods/building obstacle (regardless of its height) for SK players, it's blocked, end of check. As long as you're not using the Shift-arrow option to change location heights during LOS checks (which you would never do in SK anyway) wouldn't it just work normally?
24211

24212

I believe this is the reason. Using bdw (which I believe is an SK board). Without the transformation a level 1 to level 1 LOS will be blocked by the 1.5 level building in K5. Correct in ASL but not, I understand, in ASLSK. With the transformation, in the second image, the LOS is clear (I use red for clear and blue for blocked in my LOS Thread).
 

Neal

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I believe this is the reason. Using bdw (which I believe is an SK board). Without the transformation a level 1 to level 1 LOS will be blocked by the 1.5 level building in K5. Correct in ASL but not, I understand, in ASLSK. With the transformation, in the second image, the LOS is clear (I use red for clear and blue for blocked in my LOS Thread).
To be fair you wouldn't even need to pull a string for your example 2 using SK rules. If you're on level one the majority of the time the only thing you can see are other things on level one (not blocked by an obstacle also on level 1) or adjacent hexes. Like I said, I'm never opposed to VASL improvement. If it's an easy tweak, you're the guys who have to do it. 😁
 
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