Pursuit of Glory for Vassal 2.0.2

by on March 25, 2024 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Boardgaming

Of course, there’s always a few things I miss in any major release. I put out an emergency fix for some trouble with the AP reinforcement card right after getting 2.0 out, and then there were a couple of setup mistakes, which are now fixed. I really do hope this version will be stable for a bit.

New features:
* Beachheads have ‘send to Corps Assets box’ command
* New Open Hands window icon
* Zoned player hand windows for better reporting
* Added button to remove all OPS (attack/move) markers

Fixes:
* Added BU entry flag to 2nd stack in Galicia
* Fixed spelling of Salonika in AP Reinforcements
* Removed 2nd beachhead from Salonika Invasion forces
* Fixed send-to commands for Jafar Pasha and No Prisoners (and they count in hands now)
* Fixed Serbian setup
* Reworked spaces in Mesopotamia (beware stacking oddities) & corrected spelling of Diwaniyeh in reporting

I recommend everyone update to this version, available at the Vassal page.

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Pursuit of Glory for Vassal 2.0

by on March 1, 2024 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Boardgaming

I took over maintenance of the Pursuit of Glory module ages ago, because I had a lot of trouble with it wanting to use shift-commands, which caused me to keep firing off commands while typing in the chat box. It was also using an older version of the map, which implied you could get around the water obstacle for the Suez Canal (you can’t).

The second edition of the game came out last year, and changed a few things, so I’ve been needing to update the module ever since. I finally started real work on it in January, have finally finished it off, and it is now available from the top entry on the Vassal Engine page.

Major features:

  • Map and cards have been updated for the changes in 2nd edition.
  • Counter graphics updated, including changes like Italians being dark green.
  • Top bar extensively reworked and standardized to 30-pixel images.
  • Symbolic die button used.
  • Solo mode added.
  • All markers and units from cards should be in the reinforcements windows.
  • Added overview and notes windows.
  • Enhanced chat log reporting.

While this is technically not an all-new module, very little has not been changed. You can load a previous game in this module, and after doing a counter refresh, everything should work (though control markers will definitely all revert to AP control), but I don’t think I can recommend trying it.

This is my first time doing a module with a complete toolbar replacement, and I developed a few graphics which I will hopefully get a chance to re-use in future projects.

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F&E Vassal Module 2.1

by on October 8, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: Boardgaming

At long last, the new version of the F&E Vassal module is out! You can download it from ADB here:
http://www.starfleetgames.com/documents/F&E-2.1.zip

Please save the zip package to where you keep your modules, and then extract everything. The extensions will then be seen by Vassal (as inactive) once you open the main “F&E 2.1.vmod” file through the module manager. There is also a new version of the User Manual PDF, which I recommend you look through.

Right after releasing 2.0 I started work on a 2.0.1 to fix some problems (most notably LDR ships initially reported as ‘Tholian’ in the inventory windows), and then went to 2.1 when I added some new features while playing “Konya wa Hurricane” with Byron. I got some feature requests that, along with the need to upgrade all the save game files, made the finishing touches drag out until the project backburnered itself. And then Tactical Operations came out.

I have, in fits and starts, spent much of this year adding all the new units from that to 2.1, finished off the upgrades, and a couple new extensions. The full list of changes is in version history file (look in the Help menu), but here’s the main highlights:

    • Each empire’s Home Fleet now has a bigger box, so they can take bigger collections of ships without all the fleet boxes chewing up screen real estate.
    • Reserve fleet boxes are smaller, but now have a grid to lay out your force in.
    • The large map now has sector and cordon borders that can be turned on/off, like the small map.
    • There is a new ‘Control Panel’ window where you can manipulate the scenario borders, Orion Enclave, and turn off unneeded ship capture dialogs.
    • Units from Tactical Operations have been added, including moving BBs from an extension to the main module.
    • There are new extensions for the Carnivons and Paravians.

Warning: Some changes require careful handling to use a 2.0 game in v2.1. Notably, I fixed the spelling on the two Kosnet fleet boxes, so units in there will disappear when going to 2.1. Just move everything out of them in 2.0, save, open in 2.1 and move them back. Also, sector borders will disappear from games using the large map, and fixing that is a little tricky. The entire upgrade procedure for a saved game is in an appendix of the User Manual, or just send me a message and the current saved game file, and I can do all the upgrading for you.

Another hidden change to the module is I ended up with an insane number of prototypes to handle all the variations in tracked stats. I’ve gone to a system that is messier on the piece side, but only needs a couple of prototypes. The old pieces still use the original prototypes, so cleaning that up is a long-term goal for the module. Past that, further set up files would be good to do, and I want to do an extension for the Romulan Civil War scenario in Captain’s Log #50.

I’ve also contemplated adding background graphics to the fleet boxes (like has been done for the reserve fleets), but a unique one per fleet would make the module size balloon even more (this is about twice the size of 2.0), though a common one per empire is possible.

I’d like to hear thoughts on that and any other features that could be handy. One that I need to look into is giving each fleet marker a command to open the appropriate fleet window.

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F&E Vassal Module 2.0

by on December 14, 2016 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: F&E

Crossposted from the SFU blog on BGG

After way too many delays, version 2.0 of the Vassal module for Federation & Empire is officially out, and available for download from ADB. There have been some small fixes over the last few months, but mostly I’ve been trying to get the gumption to get extra scenario setups done. It’s past the point of delay for no gain, so the module has been released without all of them done.

New features of 2.0:
* Both regular and large-scale maps.
* New counter art, which is easier for me to work with than the old set.
* The ISC, LDR, Vudar, and Seltorians are in the main module.
* The stack viewer counts ships and SEs. This isn’t nearly as good as it sounds because I can’t do the 0.5 for cripples, but it will be easy to update if/when Vassal becomes able to do it.
* Captured ships can be flagged to their new owner, and show up in the tracking under the owning empire.
* The regular map features sector and cordon borders as layers that can be turned on and off as needed. (This ate the memory of most testers on the large map, sadly.)
* All bases, and ships with multiple EW settings, can be set to their current usage, which will adjust the AF in reports.
* Combined MON+pallet and TUG+pod counters are in the module.
* New markers added, such as ‘Free Strat’ to note just built/repaired ships.

You can see the look of the new module, and the large-scale map in my reporting on Bel and I’s game of the Four Powers War.

Scenario setups are included for the first few scenarios of the General War in both sizes. The small map also has setups for the Maelstrom and Winds of Fire. Future releases will include setups for 4PW, ISC conquest, and Minor Empires (note that the initial Seltorian force is already present in these setups, allowing you to use them when your game gets that far) for both size maps.

The zip file also contains a PDF explaining some of the fine points of the module.

Before I go, I’d like to mention that it’s a little annoying that even at 50 pixels, the counters are so small. Just about every base hull is a different graphic, but many of the differences just aren’t visible at that size. So, here’s a few counters closer to the size I see them at in CorelDraw:

Please, feel free to make comments and ask questions!

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F&E Vassal 2.0 Beta 6

by on February 16, 2016 at 12:00 pm
Posted In: F&E

Crossposted from the SFU blog on BGG.

The beta testing of the new Vassal module for F&E is finally starting to wrap up. Bel and I have been working on doing setups for all the major scenarios, and I’ve found and squashed a number of counter bugs along the way. Hopefully, it won’t be too much longer before a completed module is made available.

This has been taking a bit longer than I’d strictly like, but there’s been a number of new additions to the module along the way:

Raid and Battle markers can now be flagged to show which one is currently being resolved. Battle markers flip over to show units are capable of retrograde movement. There’s now a marker for units that are eligible for free strategic movement. And there are larger blank markers that can be labeled for a variety of purposes.

Admirals have been reworked and are now with the other ‘personnel’ counters. These counters will then draw from a hidden store of variable admirals when using that optional rule. (The old ones chose their variable status when originally pulled, meaning that any pre-done set up was always the same unless the players put them all back and re-drew them at the beginning of the game.)

And just recently, I pulled monitors out of the NSU section (…which they don’t belong in anyway; oops) and did separate MON+pallet counters for them. I am now working on combined tug+pod counters. I won’t be doing everything, but I plan to hit all the more likely combinations. I… may have already gone a little overboard on the Federation TUG combinations, but there’s still room for a few more….

I’m still working on this last part, and any suggestions as to useful tug counters will be appreciated.

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