Sunday, May 3, 2009

Vassal - First Impression


If you don't know what Vassal is, I would point you to the following forum topic in the PP forums. Here is the description of it, straight from the thread, "Vassal is a game engine for building and playing online adaptations of board games and card games. It allows users to play in real time over a live Internet connection." The author of the thread explicitly states that is in no way a substitute for regular table top play at your FLGS.

My current situation in gaming is this, there's one LGS that's 25 minutes away with one other player besides me and CptCalvinus. It only does special orders and game nights are only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There's another 2 stores that have game days that are an hour away. During this busy time of spring, with yard work, the business of being married, I don't have opportunities to visit these stores and play some games.

I decided to give Vassal a shot because it affords me the time to play Warmachine in a simulated enviroment, without having to spend a whole day doing it. It also gives me a chance to play against armies that I normally don't play against. Literally, I've only played against Cryx maybe five times and didn't really know what Cryx tricks were. Sure, I've heard about them but to actually play against them is another thing. This is by no means a substitute for real table top play, the fun in throwing down the dice is very fun in Geekville.

The first game I played was against pAsphyxious and Amon fell to Breath of Corruption. My opponent was a nice guy and initial reaction was good. It does take some time getting use to all of the hot keys but once you do, its plays pretty quickly. I'm finding myself playing a lot of Mangled Metal in the current MK II ruleset. It's been loads of fun and my third game was against eStryker, who gave Amon the dirt nap of a lifetime.

If you're going to try it out, remember its still the internet and there's always the potential for "that guy". You know the guy that ruins it for you. If you're ever on and want to play, look for me, bluecardinal.

edited for clarity sake...

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Welcome to VASSAL! I think I remember seeing your name in the last couple of days. :)

Unknown said...

I need to get on here to face you and CaptCalvanis!

Can you or him give me some help getting started?