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ASL for CMBN


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They might be a tad boring? In CM1 they were often tiny scenarios/maps with very few units. ASL was IIRC more of a squad based scale. Where as CMBN is more of a Company level game.

Still would be nice to see some of the classic scenarios re-created for a nostalgia feel.

This is true.

ah but a Kelly's Heroes campaign:)

Prolly fit in 3 battles...the minfield,the river crossing,and the finale;)

oo 3 tigers vs one sherman lol. can the AI make them drive dumb? :)

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The very first map I made after I got to work on WW2 was an adaption of the ASL map for one of my favourite ASL scenarios. Using half of board 5 and half of board 3 (I think) this is what it looks like just now.

Niscemi1.jpg

It's a long time since I had a look at this one. Yes, ASL maps conversions are flat and the terrain looks uttery unnatural. So I took a few liberties with the map to make it look a bit more realistic.

Niscemi2.jpg

The original ASL mission saw a small force of US paras defending a farm against an entire company of German Infantry with a PSW 222 in support. The US had a couple of captured AT guns to keep the AC away. It was a really fun mission to play, in ASL. I could play through it once from both sides in the span of a single evening when I had an opponent to play with.

When we FINALLY get round to the Eastern Front, I would like to sink my teeth into a conversion on THAT most famous of all SL battles. It will fit the title's time span nicely as well ;)

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The very first map I made after I got to work on WW2 was an adaption of the ASL map for one of my favourite ASL scenarios. Using half of board 5 and half of board 3 (I think) this is what it looks like just now.

Niscemi1.jpg

AAAH MY EYES!!!

But maybe we can fix your map with a few mods...

8tCnl.jpg

Ah, that's so much better!

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A few thoughts:

1 - ASL hexes represent about 40 meters. This makes the individual map size 1200 meters wide by 400 meters tall.

2 - It appears that the default size of a block in the editor is 80 meters.

So ...

You'd basically have to make everything GIANT or halve the size of the maps if you wanted to do a 1:1 conversion.

The other option is to take the ASL scenarios that you're most familiar with and turn the parts of those scenarios that are most interesting into the scenario.

A few other notes:

1 - MMP will bring the hammer out pretty quickly if you're attempting to make an conversion of ASL with text and map depictions that match their IP.

2 - This was attempted back in the CMBO days. It went pretty well for a while, but ultimately the problems with scale caused issues there.

It's far better to be "inspired by" your favorite ASL scenario and put together a CMBN map and OOB that will best represent that particular aspect of the ASL.

For example, I'm playing around with a little ASLSK 1 conversion of the Retaking Vierville scenario. In that scenario there is a central town with a few approaches and the Germans have to take a certain number of buildings from the Americans.

Focusing the battle on the city fighting and the most important approaches is going to be the goal. A true 1:1 depiction of the forces and map won't necessarily work though because of the limitations of both ASL and CMBN so it's a matter of finding the balance that works best in CMBN's world which gives the tension found in the ASL scenario!

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I started on Map Board 4 from the original SL game. I added some height variations. No Units or plans or anything on it though. And yes, it is 400 x 1200 meters. I was trying to get it perfect but gave up and just winged it for the last half of the map. I wish we could click and drag roads to get any angle weant. This system is tedious and gives you that stair step road.

5768034473_c9e395f9ba.jpg

SL Board 4

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You can grab the map here.

Like I said though, it's map only, you would have to pick forces, create plans and orders and such. I haven't delved too far into those portions yet.

I downloaded your map and it's a very accurate representation of SL Board 4. I would suggest using the "Lt. Forest Floor" tile inside all the wooded areas though, as the plain grass tile doesn't really look right inside woods.

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COI isn't ASL for clarification -

True that. It was the first SL expansion module. (I bought SL when it first came out and all the modules except 'Yanks' which for some reason, didn't appeal to me at the time, probably because it was expensive and I was a struggling Student at that time) But it was converted for playing as an ASL mission which is how I played it. Funnily enough, that scenario was the basis for my very first CMSF scenario, 'In Harm's Way'. It turned out to be very different from what I'd intended due to the US having javelins. I tried this map out with an OB as close as possible to the ASL conversion a while back but the gradual firming up of the TO&Es over time resulted in me having to undo all that work and I've never gotten around to finishing it.

The plan was to create a short and utterly fictional US Airborne Infantry campaign called 'Rue d'Remarque' or some such nonsense, and this was be the second mission. Seeing as how FMB's 'Devil's Descent' is the best show in town at the moment, it might not be a bad idea to finish this project.

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Hello Grognards,

I have been playing SL\ASL since 1977 and really want to create some CMBN interpretations of the ASL Action Pack #4 Normandy 1944 scenarios. The issue I am having is getting accurate roads at 60 degrees angle on which the firelanes can be accurately represented. I am creating an interpretation of Map 54 at the moment using a size of 1100m X 400m and the six road exits existing as a template.

Has anybody ever created any modded tiles (or groups of) for the CM game system to make roads more flexible ?

I would really like to see how the CM game engine plays ASL.

As for Copyright issues the CM Series as I understand was created to be Computer ASL hence the use of the terms Pinning and Broken and VASL has never really suffered. MMP should be endorsing this product in order to get more youngsters\computer addicts interested in our wonderful hobby.

Combat Mission will never replace ASL (because we all love the Hexagon too much) but may well find us some more opponents.

Anyway that is my view.

Regards,

Will.

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