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Any Experience with Vassal

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01 Feb 2018 16:13 #262629 by Unicron
Does anyone have any experience creating vassal modules? I’m debating whether to create a module in vassal or use tabletop simulator to open my design to more playtests. It’s a two-player CDG that includes 120 cards and plenty of components to upload. Tabletop Simulator is much easier to create (it doesn't include rules, just components), but it’s a program folks would need to have purchased whereas Vassal is free and more people are familiar with it.

I have card artwork and board layout done, so the bulk of (18 months) work is creating the module so people can try it without having to send prototypes to playtest groups (though I am still doing that for reviewers). Any guidance is certainly appreciated.

Thanks!

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01 Feb 2018 16:58 #262632 by repoman
Replied by repoman on topic Any Experience with Vassal
No experience with creating the modules. Joel Toppen is the man for that. Think he's a member here isn't he?

What I do know is that if getting playtesters is your aim, it had better be Vassal because I don't see anybody shelling out money to get a program to playtest anything ever.
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01 Feb 2018 20:36 #262644 by Not Sure
Replied by Not Sure on topic Any Experience with Vassal
Strictly speaking Vassal doesn't do rules either. A number of newer modules include some processes to automate setup or certain boring game tasks, but it won't tell you if you're breaking the rules.

You can start with a setup that's not much different than TTS, with just pieces on a couple of layers. You don't have to do any automation at all for a playtest module that you're expecting to change a lot. That would be a waste of effort until things start to shake out. Most modules have no automation at all, especially older ones.

Joel Toppen is a prolific and excellent module author, but our mostly-dormant JoelCFC25 is also an excellent module author (responsible for the awesome automation and state-tracking in Here I Stand and Virgin Queen). They are not the same person, though.

(I've patched a few modules, and peeked under the covers on more, but never written one from scratch.)

Maybe Joel will pop in and has better tips.
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07 Feb 2018 11:15 #263109 by Unicron
Replied by Unicron on topic Any Experience with Vassal
I will check in with Joel. That was what some of the other GMT folks had recommended too. I already started working on the module this past weekend, so it is definitely coming together. I have done minimal automation, even though I don't envision any radical changes. I'm about seventy cycles past the last change.

Thanks for the input here everybody! I will drop a line when it's done if anyone is interested in trying it.

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07 Feb 2018 11:29 #263116 by ThirstyMan
I would use a known module and edit it, rather then start from scratch.

I've done this to change some of Joel's modules to allow easier solo use, for example.

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07 Feb 2018 11:52 - 07 Feb 2018 11:54 #263124 by JoelCFC25

ThirstyMan wrote: I would use a known module and edit it, rather then start from scratch.


I'd recommend the opposite--depending on your starting point you might have to undo a lot of stuff and end up inadvertently breaking things in the process. But you may well find that attempting it yourself is not a great value proposition if you have no interest beyond a module for your own game. In that case, trying to enlist Joel Toppen is a good plan. Know that you are basically asking someone else to devote A LOT of their free time to your endeavor, so an offer of a future copy of your game is (to me at any rate), a serviceable starting point.

For my own part, I only ever worked on modules for games I own and really admire. I think I'm probably retired from VASSAL projects unless a new game comes down the pike that I'm really interested in.

EDIT: And I agree about the choice of VASSAL over TTS--the latter might be nice, I have no idea...but the user community is vanishingly small, at least in the wargame space.
Last edit: 07 Feb 2018 11:54 by JoelCFC25.
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