Or maybe elitistic?

Anyhow, could we have a third battlereport place?
One for Vassal battles...

Yes, I don't see them as part of Epic gaming. Epic is played in person and using actual models on a terrained tabletop.

I can see the possibilities etc (incl lure) of Vassal. But let's keep it aside from actual gaming, shall we?

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It would be nice to get lightspeed,
so far we can only reach slight speed.- Erik M
092b85658e746a91d343e53509d357744e56f641

I'm not, I was brought up by a single parent on benefits, which I don't think even counts as working class.

Still, onto the real topic; I'd prefer to see photos of a real battle than a Vassal battle (and I think Groover makes in mistake in using Vassal photos in his articles over at BoLS rather than finding  people willing to help out and posihng real painted models for them, as personally it puts me off the article rather than pulls me in and I'm already a fan of epic), but they still are a rough simulacrum and second-best to the tabletop, allowing people from the other side of the world to play for fun or playtesting. People who no longer have anyone in their area to play with can play again, which I think is great and should that should be seen here and people made aware of. Even if people do have players around them it's now possible for them to casually play that other forum member they know and get on with even if they happen to be the opposite side of the world. Plus not everyone has a digital camera or the ability to get decent photos of their battles, better Vassal to look at than no photos.

I think they should stay in the same forum myself, however perhaps we could ask people / have forum etiquette so that people put (Vassal) in the titles of their battle reports so if you or anyone is bothered by them you could avoid those threads?

VASSAL is a great tool for EPIC playtesting, which is what it seems to be being used for quite a bit.  

It allows for people to test out "extreme" lists, play against new opponents, discover that their own rule interpretations don't always mesh with other people's, etc.

I believe that it's completely valid.

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"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

Vassal opens up the posibilty for so many people to give epic a go. No outlay on models initially so you can try those mad armies everyone talks about (15 thunerhawks anyone?).

It allows you to spread games over many evenings if you only have a spare hour or so and, at a push, could even be played by email! (Note, email play would take forever if you wanted to allow player's to roll their own saves!).

Of course, I am the player that was advised to give up mini gaming and play computer games for my views on aircraft and immediate disengagement  

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http://www.troublemakergames.co.uk/
Epic: Hive Development Thread

What, and waste 50 points!  

Why would another "place" *need* to be set up?  They're battle reports... and, this is the battle reports "place"...  

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"EPIC: Total War" Lead Developer

Now living in Boston... any EPIC players want to meet up?

I dont think that it is necessary to set up a brand new board at this time, but we can do this in the future if it does become necessary. The best solution, I think, is to ask that people put 'Vassal' in the title comment field when starting a thread, so people can tell what system was used.

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https://www.cybershadow.ninja - A brief look into my twisted world, including wargames and beyond.
https://www.net-armageddon.org - The official NetEA (Epic Armageddon) site and resource.

I for one think putting VASSAL in the title is the best solution.  I have recently got into epic because of Vassal and am now looking at getting some models but i know no one in my area that plays and I'm unwilling to fork out money for models to collect and paint (which looks fun) untill I'm happy with an army an how it plays.  At the moment i experiment with different armies and different compositions massively.  When I settle on how one plays I can get a few models together, paint them up see how they look then carry on or start the whole process again.  I think Vassal should stay here and should be encouraged as part of the community, is there an annoying member on the forum braggin about how he could thrash anyone with his amazing list now you can tell him to "prove it".  It will never replace the actual experience of being face to face with your opponent but if it can increase the number of people involved then maybe people will be more likely to get a real life opponent.

p.s.  If anyone plays in north yorkshire let me know

I, too, think vassal is terrific tool. It is a poor subtitute for a real game although it has some benefits particularly as a playtesting tool - you can try out combinations you don't have models for!

As far as the batrep forum is concerned, please for the love of all that's holy don't make another subforum. This place is a maze as it is. The batrep forum is pretty empty usually and the vassal threads are often better presented.

Dude...I used it one time to highlight how a newbie might employ aircraft to prep and then launch and air assault.  

Serioulsy, though, I take your point. Seeing well-painted figs on an textured tabletop with groovy terrain has a much higher Cool Factor than anything produced in VASSAL...it's just that my figs aren't so well-painted, my tabletop is decidedly "pov", and my terrain has about as much groove as a skinny fake-leather tie...  

Fair enough Erik, but for some people, it's the best option they have. There are people in the area I can play with, but I struggle to build up enough brownie points to get a whole Sunday to myself (which also competes with other hobbies that I don't have much time spare time for too), so VASSAL, which I can play in the evenings after the kids go to bed and pick up on subsequent nights, is better than no gaming at all.

I appreciate that it doesn't appeal so much to the hobby side of things (painting, modelling etc), but the game mechanics, tactics and excitement are just the same IMHO. I'll make sure I put VASSAL in the title of future batreps (my first of which presumably prompted this post). Wouldn't want to mistakenly annoy someone after spending a couple of hours writing it up for the benefit of others.

Perhaps we should also make a separate forum for non-VASSAL batreps that don't have pictures, because those really suck  

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numquam culum es

Thanks everyone.
I do see the possibilities of Vassal. Testing lists and dispersed gamers. But it's neither Epic:A nor Epic:5, it's Epic:V(assal). Perhaps, as someone indicated, instead of another sub, perhaps put all (All!) battlereports in one sub?
Rules and lists in one each and all BR's in just one.

_________________
It would be nice to get lightspeed,
so far we can only reach slight speed.- Erik M
092b85658e746a91d343e53509d357744e56f641