BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

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Cactusgod
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BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

Hey all,

Edit: I'm brand new to these forums so I'm not entirely sure if this is the place for this kind of request, so forgive me if you have to move me ;p

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in setting up a Battlestar Galactica game this week via Vassal? If you're new to the game, my friend and I are quite capable of instructing. We also have a vent server that we could potentially use if we wanted to chat instead of type. A typical game with pros can vary between 1-2 hours (sometimes more if it drags) but new players can slow the game down a bit, which is no problem, we'd just have to start the game earlier, like 6 or 7pm (maybe 8) EST. We could do it as early as tonight, provided we had at least 5 players by 8:00EST, but there's no real rush though. On Friday and Saturday nights we can obviously go later. We're basically just excited to try BSG via vassal, since we've played it many dozens of times on the table. Fresh meat!

Edit 2: This is going to be basegame battlestar, so that we can familiarize ourselves with the Vassal version of the game. We can introduce Pegasus at a later date if this goes well.

We're looking for 4 more players at this point. If we decide to play tonight, 1/19/2011, we can take up to 5 because my friend has plans.

Thanks all!
Last edited by Cactusgod on Wed Jan 19, 2011 5:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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stessier
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by stessier »

Welcome!

I think this forum would work. Might also try putting something in Gaming General just to cover your bases.

I'd be impressed to see a BSG game take only 1-2 hours! Every time I've played (okay, only twice, but still!), it's been at least a 4 hour affair.
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Cactusgod
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

stessier wrote:Welcome!

I think this forum would work. Might also try putting something in Gaming General just to cover your bases.

I'd be impressed to see a BSG game take only 1-2 hours! Every time I've played (okay, only twice, but still!), it's been at least a 4 hour affair.

Thanks! I will indeed do that as well. We're probably somewhere near our 70-something playthrough so our group has become pretty "pro" at going through the game haha but we still do run into those occasional 4 hour games that make you want to jump off a cliff. Of course, with the newest expansion, we're all learning again ;p
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by El Guapo »

I'm interested, but this week probably won't work for me. Don't let me hold you up, but do post again about subsequent games.
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Cactusgod
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

El Guapo wrote:I'm interested, but this week probably won't work for me. Don't let me hold you up, but do post again about subsequent games.

Ok will do! We definitely will be doing this often if enough people are interested.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by DarkWeeble »

I'm the other friend. Just posting to show my commitment to dismantling filthy Cylons/exterminating all weak Biologicals.
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stessier
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by stessier »

Spoken like a true Toaster. :P


Hmmmm, hmmm, hmmm, tra-la-la, dee-dee-dum.

What are you all looking at? Just singing along to the music.
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Scoop20906
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Scoop20906 »

I'm interested in a live BSG game as well. Can't do it tonight. Probably a weekend night works best for me. Keep me in mind when you schedule one. I think this would be very interesting.
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JonnyDemonic
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by JonnyDemonic »

Very interested.

I haven't tried the Vassal version of it but I have played the boardgame 4 or 5 times.
Week evenings are best for me but weekends can be reserved if given enough warning time.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

Glad to see some interested people!

Ok yeah, it looks like we all have different times where this would work out. A reserve weekend time might end up being the best for everyone.

Have no fear if you've only played the game a few times, we enjoy playing with newer players and we're not the kind of folks who take advantage of other players skills.

Overall the vassal version seems pretty darn perfect. The only issue is that there are no text on the loyalty cards, as per FFG's request, so I would simply post the stats ahead of time for you guys who need it...not that any of you would be frakkin toasters that is..

We could shoot for sometime saturday afternoon, maybe 2 or 3 PM est...or we could do saturday night...it really doesn't matter. It doesnt have to be this weekend either, it could be next weekend. Just looking to set something up tentatively, but its also so that if we had the urge we could go ahead and say "ok, same time two saturdays from now" or something if we had a good experience. This is the first time I've ever been successful at getting enough people interested in a vassal game, so I'm new to this myself ;p If everyone could post an ideal time for say...a saturday, we could give that a shot. If weekends are no good, pick a definite day of the week and a time and we'll see if anyone likes that.

Thanks all ;p
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by JonnyDemonic »

I'll try to check vasssal this afternoon (2-3 pm) but my day is probably already booked...

If I have to pick a time I would say any week night at 7 pm or weekends at 1 pm EST.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Scoop20906 »

Dear God. So sorry for not posing sooner. I'm free during weeknights this week after 7:00 pm (ET). Also, free this saturday sometime during the day.

I'm free tonight too.
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Cactusgod
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

Hey no problem

There's a good chance we could end up doing it tonight at 7pm if everyone wanted to, if not we could maybe schedule it for tomorrow?
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by JonnyDemonic »

Sorry, I saw this message way too late to make it tonight.
Friday night is good for me. I'll check Vassal BSG main room around 7 in any case.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Scoop20906 »

I am free tonight at 7:00 pm (Eastern time) to play. How do I the vent? Also, I have never worked with Vassal either.

Thanks,

Scoop
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Cactusgod
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

darn..for some reason I didnt see scoop saying he was available. We'll have to shoot for something during this week that everyone can agree on. Vent is probably going to be too annoying, but thats ok. Vassal is quite easy.

You just google vassal engine and go to the main page. Download that program. Then, go to the list of modules and search for Battlestar Galactica (just make sure its the new game and not the one from the 80's), download the base game module and the deck module. It gives you instructions but if you need any more help just let me know.
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Scoop20906
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Scoop20906 »

Cactusgod wrote:darn..for some reason I didnt see scoop saying he was available. We'll have to shoot for something during this week that everyone can agree on. Vent is probably going to be too annoying, but thats ok. Vassal is quite easy.

You just google vassal engine and go to the main page. Download that program. Then, go to the list of modules and search for Battlestar Galactica (just make sure its the new game and not the one from the 80's), download the base game module and the deck module. It gives you instructions but if you need any more help just let me know.
Ok, will do. Here is my schedule this week. Free Monday, Tuesday and Friday nights around 7:00 pm.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by JonnyDemonic »

This week I can play any week night after 6 pm EST except for friday (big weekend planned).
Cactusgod
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

I say we shoot for tuesday night, as in tomorrow, at 7pm est. Everyone can log into these boards and hang around so that we can be in constant contact, we can also talk on AIM if you guys want. I know a lot of people are getting a huge storm so its possible one of us might lose power, but we can give it a whirl. If everyone responds before midnight tonight, I'll know we're a go!

I also might be around tonight around the same time if anyone wants to come on vassal and goof off, get used to it, have the rules explained..that kinda thing. Let me know by 6pm if you want to do that.

Just to get everyone prepared and make sure they're golden-

http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Module ... Board_Game" target="_blank

Module is there. For our purposes since there's some newer blood, you only need "Battlestar_Galactica_FFG_1_5_1.vmod"

After you download that, place it somewhere on your computer (preferably in a folder entitled Battlestar Galactica) I would also rename the file to "Battlestar Galactica FFG" , the other expansions would then go into a folder called "Battlestar Galactica FFG_ext" and they'd auto-load the first time you play, so you'd have to right click and deactivate them. You don't have to do any of this right now, obviously, since you're only working with the single file but it does make things easier in the future.

After you startup, you should see "look for a game online" as one of the choices. Click that and we should have a game posted. Join that and pick whatever player number isn't already in the game. If there's a double (which I'm not sure there can be) we can easily fix that so no worries.

Edit:

I'm retrospect, I'm wondering if Pegasus should be used. The newer players who are learning certain game mechanics may find it easier to start with Pegasus instead of learning everything about base BSG and then UNLEARNING everything and doing Pegasus later. Its up to you guys, but as I'm thinking about the cylon locations, passing loyalty cards and stuff, i'm thinking pegasus ruleset (perhaps without the pegasus gameboard or new caprica location) might be the best way to go.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by JonnyDemonic »

I'm ok with tomorow at 7.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

Ok sounds like a plan. Provided we have scoop, or two other of my friends if they're interested, we should be able to get a nice game going.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

I've confirmed that we'll have Myself, Weeble, Mystic, Mazrim, and Jonny. So far that's a nice 5 player. Scoop, if you come on and want to play, be sure to pop on vassal around 7pm if for some reason I've forgotten to come on.

Definitely looking forward to it, should be a good time.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Scoop20906 »

Cactusgod wrote:I've confirmed that we'll have Myself, Weeble, Mystic, Mazrim, and Jonny. So far that's a nice 5 player. Scoop, if you come on and want to play, be sure to pop on vassal around 7pm if for some reason I've forgotten to come on.

Definitely looking forward to it, should be a good time.
I'm pretty sure I am free. Just have dinner to go to and then got to suck up to the fiancee during it so I have the time to play. COOL!
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Scoop20906 »

Just an FYI, I have played the Pegasus Expansion before and I have also read the instructions for Exodus so I just game-wise I can handle whatever flavor of BSG you want to run. I will say I am not a particular fan of the New Caprica end game sequence.

I have downloaded vassal engine and the base module and will wait to see how you want to handle the expansions.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

Hey..ok great! We're not a fan of New Caprica either, so thats out. We can use pegasus if you guys want, but it doesn't matter to me either way. It's fairly easy to include it, but most of the time people use it for the airlock x_x.

At any rate, when you start it up, disable the two exodus expansions and enable Pegasus and we'll meet in the Octopus room on Vassal that I'll create. I'm heading there now. See ya guys soon ;p
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Victor »

Thanks for the game, I was really curious to see how VASSAL handled it, but it was quite fun.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

Hey you're welcome, glad you happened to show up.

I was very pleased with how everything turned out. Vassal definitely handles it well and I'm glad everyone enjoyed it. This could definitely be something we do with more regularity, but the day is not necessarily always going to be good for everyone, so it's something we'll have to see from week to week. There was also another person in the main room who was LFG and I told him to post, so if thats the case, we have a potential pool of 8-9 people, which is quite awesome.

Great game all, I'll post in a few days and we'll see whats what.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Victor »

If there were ever so many people we had to have multiple games, that'd be awesome. Even if we had to split 5/3 (to avoid sympathizers), I'd be content in the 3P game... although I vastly prefer a cylon "team" rather than a Shadows Over Camelot-style traitor.

Hmm. Someone should probably make a point of taking screenshots, or writing up a play summary next time, too (easier as-you-go, I would think, than afterwards).
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by JonnyDemonic »

It was awesome even if that’s the most violent first jump I have ever seen hehe.

I'm looking forward to paying again next week (all next week nights are good for me).

Can someone post a screenshot of how they arrange their windows in vassal during a game? I'm always looking under stuff to find things so I’m wondering if I have to buy a second monitor in order to have the big picture.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

I could post a screenshot but you'd kinda just see the board. Basically, I hit the player 1 button to pull my hand out, then push player 1 again to make the hand disappear until I need it. Every button on the top bar essentially works like that, so usually I'll press it to open it and then close it soon after. After all, it's kind of the equivalent of you placing your hand facedown on the table, that is, you don't look at it at all times. It saves your hand and such, so you dont need to worry about it deleting when you close the window. Not sure if you did that or not, but if anyone was playing with their hand out the whole time, I could see how it would get frustrating.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Scoop20906 »

I had a real good time and vassal works very well. I recommend any OOer who enjoys BSG to join a game. I am hooked. I also have developed a grudge against Curt.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by LordMortis »

I keep meaning to check this out and they I keep getting distracted.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by JonnyDemonic »

Scoop20906 wrote:I had a real good time and vassal works very well. I recommend any OOer who enjoys BSG to join a game. I am hooked. I also have developed a grudge against Curt.
I was wondering about what happened. Did you do something to tip him of? I was rather suprised to see the result of the execution.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

No, Scoop was fine! Curt is EXTREMELY execution happy. He thrives on power over the presidency and power over lives. We should have warned you in advance, as we have played together countless times before and he always pulls the same stunts. It's basically one reason why we love Exodus so much....it makes executions less powerful because it requires the person to grab ANOTHER loyalty card once they reveal themselves as human, which essentially means that you can no longer "execute, just to be safe." You can rest assured that if Curt ever gets Helena Cain, he's going to the Brig to kill someone at some point, and if he ever gets anyone who gets yellow and purple, he's going to the airlock.

The problem is, sometimes he sacrifices the good of the entire game for the joy of executing someone and finding out who they are. The other problem is...you're never quite sure if he's a human or cylon.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by El Guapo »

How long did the game last, out of curiosity?

I'd like to play at some point. 7 pm EST as a start time during the week is too early for me, though - I'm just putting my daughter into her bath at that time usually. 8 pm eastern or later would work fine for me though, if that works for others. I don't know how long the game usually goes, though.
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Cactusgod
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

It really makes a difference at how new everyone is, how new they are to vassal, and how quickly the game flows from person to person between turns. Generally, the game is going to last 2-3 hours, provided there are no quick losses or extremely lucky victories. Our game began at 7:00ish, we got it all setup, and started around 7:30pm. I *THINK* we ended somewhere near 11/11:15? So that woulda made it about 4 hours. The problem with weekdays is that some people have jobs and dont want to spend 3-4 hours of their night playing when they have to get up for work the next day, but I'm confident we can find a good time for most.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by redrun »

LordMortis wrote:I keep meaning to check this out and they I keep getting distracted.
+1 here. Er, at least, I think I'm reading LM correctly :D

I've really been jonesing for some BSG, but it's hard to get enough local players available at the same time. I'll take some time this weekend to look at the Vassal stuff and perhaps next week there will be a slot in a game available.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Scoop20906 »

JonnyDemonic wrote:
Scoop20906 wrote:I had a real good time and vassal works very well. I recommend any OOer who enjoys BSG to join a game. I am hooked. I also have developed a grudge against Curt.
I was wondering about what happened. Did you do something to tip him of? I was rather suprised to see the result of the execution.
Yeah, I didn't do a thing. I didn't even get a chance with the crisis cards being drawn. :P

I did enjoy mowing down all those vipers when I was rolling on my turn. I think I took out 5 all by myself. :twisted:

I'm in for the next time during the week. I prefer starting at 7:00 but 8:00 works too.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by El Guapo »

Cactusgod wrote:It really makes a difference at how new everyone is, how new they are to vassal, and how quickly the game flows from person to person between turns. Generally, the game is going to last 2-3 hours, provided there are no quick losses or extremely lucky victories. Our game began at 7:00ish, we got it all setup, and started around 7:30pm. I *THINK* we ended somewhere near 11/11:15? So that woulda made it about 4 hours. The problem with weekdays is that some people have jobs and dont want to spend 3-4 hours of their night playing when they have to get up for work the next day, but I'm confident we can find a good time for most.
Yeah, and obviously set the start time for whatever works for people (and it sounds like 7 pm works for people), but just as an FYI I probably won't be able to join those in the near future. Though a 7 pm on weekends might work.

One question re: Exodus: with the executions now giving an additional loyalty card, why would you execute someone rather than throw them in the brig? Previously the calculation was: if we're wrong we might lose a morale, but knowing for sure that someone is not a Cylon might well be worth losing the morale. But now that you don't get that - it seems like throwing them in the brig accomplishes just as much as execution (it stops them from sabotaging the fleet and limits their ability to sabotage skill checks), but without the risk. Plus if you execute a Cylon they go right back to the Cylon fleet and can do Cylon stuff there right away, whereas if you brig them they need to waste a turn moving from the brig to the Cylon fleet first.

I just don't see a reason to execute with that change, though I may well be missing something.
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Re: BSG Via Vassal Anyone?

Post by Cactusgod »

Good question. The best reasoning would be, in my opinion be to reveal someone who you're fairly sure IS a cylon. It also depends on the character they are. Obviously, if their character has a nasty once per game, they could lie in wait and use it to hurt the fleet quite badly, such as Galen's skill negation or something like that. I would personally agree, though, that cylon brigging is a much better choice than execution, because it does force a cylon character to waste turns.
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