Harold

Hi, I think both PBeM and TCP/IP have their merits and drawbacks. It is really a matter of what is more convenient to the individual. I do have one concern regarding TCP/IP and I hope it is just a rumor/heresay, etc. I have seen several posts regarding the possibility of time limits and or limited replays on turns. Basically if this becomes part of TCP/IP then CM ceases to be a turn based game and becomes a RTS in one minute increments. He who can think on the fly, adjust faster to the situation and act quicker than his opponent within the constraints will have an advantage every time. Maybe BTS can chime in and let us know if TCP/IP is headed this direction, which I am betting it is not. The only time constraint that should be put in TCP/IP is "Dude, hurry up and finish your move." JMO, Harold

I am not sure that this is the same problem you are having under Netscape but this is what I figured out to get my opponents attached files to work. Both my browser and email are Netscape (no outlook, eudora, etc. as an email program). I find the file and right click on it. Find Save Link as and click. The Save As screen comes up and simply find the PBeM folder and save the file to there. I hope this helps some. PBeM is definitely worth it.

Lane, ASL stands for Advanced Squad Leader. It is a 20+ year old tactical boardgame that still has an excellent following. There are roughly 1500 official and unofficial scenarios stretching from 1937 to 1950. Most use geomorphic boards although the historical modules are played on maps that were adapted from aerial photographs of the actual terrain. In some cases the Historical ASL designers actually walked the terrain. Some of these scenarios are being converted into CM Battles. You do not need to know anything about ASL to play the converted CM scenarios. They are just played in different mediums. Like an original CM battle they are best played with full fog-of-war vs a live opponent. Make to check out both sides Order of Battles, setup areas, etc. if you play against someone who also plays ASL. This stuff IS known to both sides and it will put you at a disadvantage if your opponent knows what you have but you don't know what he has. Hope this helps.. Harold

Mike, There are some good ones at the following website. At this point most focus on infantry with only some armor and are small compared to the scenarios found on the CD and at other websites. This is not a bad thing at all as it allows players to concentrate on base tactics and not get overwhelmed by trying to manage a batallion of infantry, two companies of armor, and three batteries of artillery all trying to push their way down one snowbound road . Good ones to check out include Le Manoir, Defiance on Hill 30 and Marine Ambush. Make sure to read the notes so you know which side you should play if playing the AI and whether the AI setup can be made freely or if it should use scenario setup default. Harold http://w1.312.telia.com/~u31213280/index.htm

For those interested the map of Hill 621 is available for DL at Col. Klotz website. No Russians though.

Goldfinger and others, You can have the AI setup freely instead of sticking to the scenario default by changing the option when you are choosing the side for the scenario you are playing. One thing scenario designers or converters must do is setup initial forces for both the attacker and defender. It is not enough to just drop the units in the setup zone and call it good because someone who tries the scenario with AI on default setup will get a defense or attack where those units were last placed. After awhile you will get a feel for who designs the best scenarios. Stick with them but make sure to occasionally try out others. Sometimes it takes a try or two to get things to work and if people are playing a new designers scenario it will encourage them to try more. Give constructive feedback as well. The "your scenario sucks" response doesn't work. Sometimes designers do know what they are doing and it is the players who don't. Harold

Pat, There are plenty of scenarios that used boards 1-4. I will see if I can find some that use the same configuration that might look fun. I find scenario editing quite interesting and there were a couple of original designs that I had that I never could really quite fit into ASL terms because the boards did not exist for how I visualized the terrain. I will have to dig them out. I do need to balance the play/convert/design ratio out some though. Since I got the game I figure 90% of my time has been in editor mode .

Great thread guys. Before this thread I was thinking about some of the things that are being discussed such as copyright, whether to be as faithful to the original design or drift somewhat off, etc. A couple of questions. What board dimensions do you use when translating to CM. Hex dimension is 400x1280 but actual dimension is 400x1120? I have done it both ways but I felt it was a little easier to spread out the board some when doing it on 1280 then squishing it in on 1120. At least it seemed easier. Of course I was doing the translation by eyeballing it and others are apparently getting more accurate results with a print screen and photoshop, etc. Also anyone use sharpshooters as SAN in their translations and if so why? I have skipped on them so far because ASL snipers cannot move on their own, spot, etc and I feel that it just gives the player unnecessary spotters, firepower and nuisance factor. Harold

Hey guys, As a long time ASL player I feel that an ASL scenario should strongly resemble the original design but sometimes things don't get "right on" because of the scenario editor, CM OB vs ASL OB, etc. Only then should it get tweaked and even then should be done to a minimum. Right now I am in the midst of converting Gavin Take, Merzenhausen Zoo, Celles Melee, Tiger Route and Hill 621 (yes that Hill 621) and I am trying to stay as faithful to the original as possible. It is just waiting for the Russians .) It may or may not happen but that is my goal. One thing that might help a lot is to point out that the ASL conversions _should_ be designed for and played against a live opponent and not the AI. I have played Gavin Take several times as the Airborne vs the AI and I know that if I played it vs a live person it would definitely play out much different. One last thing. Make sure to give credit to the original ASL author, if known. They did the work. We are the converters. Harold

The best way to find out whether you like the mod files or not is to download them but move the originals to another empty folder instead or writing them over. If you find you prefer the originals you simply remove the mod files and put the originals back in.