V0.9438
2004.08.08
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Java is registered trademark by Sun Microsystems.
ASL is a registered trademark by The Avalon Hill Game Company.
Linux is registered trademark by Linus Torvalds.
All other trademarks are registered by their respective owners.
JASL is ©Copyright by Lars Thuring 1996 – 2004.
JASL is a computer program that allows you to play
ASL against a computer. JASL keeps track of many aspects of the game,
but strives to keep as much as possible of the ASL experience of
playing a face to face opponent.
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Thanks to John Hill, Bob MacNamara and Charles Kibler for endless hours of fun with Squad Leader and Advanced Squad Leader.
Thanks to Multiman Publishing for taking up and improving ASL.
Thanks to Sun for Java.
Thanks to John Arslanian for the JASL logo & improving the splash screen!
Thanks to Rick Truman for map coding (2, 10, 17, 45) and Peter Kossits for map (36).
Thanks to Gary Krockover for the HTML version of the Manual.
Thanks to Tom Repetti for allowing the use of the LOS Aid Sheet.
Thanks to Michel Loos for allowing the use of the Chapter H data.
Thanks to my wife, Karin, for everything else!
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Action the game control in JASL are done via actions, each handling a different aspect of gam the.
Area Button the game control in JASL are called actions, each handling a specific ASL rule.
ASLAN this is the “person” playing the computer side in each game.
Event log this is a log of the events in the game. It is created automatically and loosely follows the format in the General and the Journal.
John this is human player
(e.g. you!) in the game.
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JASL requires that you have a Java Runtime Engine (JRE) V1.4.2 or later installed. The JRE is available from Sun at http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html or from Apple for OSX at http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/java - follow the instructions on respective website.
To install JASL create a JASL directory in your
home directory or on C: if using MS Windows. Then simply unzip the
jasl.zip file into the created
directory. The zip file may be named slightly different depending on
the release version and type. The zip file also contains images
usable for shortcut icons. Note: do not unzip the JAR file!
In addition you will need the ASL rulebook and
corresponding modules to understand how to play The Game.
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Start the program.
Click on the initial splash screen to close it.
Select a scenario and side.
End the Setup Phase by clicking on the <phase> done button.
Do the same for the computer player.
In each phase you need to select the counters you want to do something with. If you right-click on a stack it is displayed spread out and you can select individual counters by left-clicking on them. Otherwise if you left-click on a stack the whole stack is selected.
When you have the counters selected (final counter if selecting individual ones) keep the left mouse button pressed and drag the cursor and release it on the target hex. This is where you want to move or shoot at.
Select the action by pressing the action button on the dashboard to the right. The tabs allow different types of actions to be displayed.
When you are done with your phase click the phase button to give control to JASL. To prompt JASL to step through its actions you press continue for each one. When JASL is done the phase is changed.
The user interface
consists of the main window with has a tabs to select different
panel. Normally the playing is done in the map panel. This consists
of a mapboard on the right side and a control panel to the left
called the dashboard. Above these are some controls common to all
phases of the game. The mouse is used to select units, indicate
targets for actions and more.
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Here are the main elements of the interface
described.
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These consists of the buttons in the toolbar
under the menus.
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Click this button once when active to prompt the
computer side to execute one action. This may be one shot in
Defensive Fire Phase or moving one stack to a new Location in the
Movement Phase.
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When you are done with all the actions you want to
do for a phase click this button to " depending on phase " allow
the computer player to do its actions or to skip to your next phase.
Example: clicking this when done with your Prep Fire will take you to
your Movement Phase.
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This button is used to cycle through the "Hide
Modes". Each mode displays some or none counters. Successive clicks
selects the next mode till the original is selected again, showing
all counters.
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The main window is divided into a couple of panels which displays different aspects of a game. Here the various main panels selectable are described.
Here is the main parameters for the scenario
display. The turn track shows how many turns there are and how many
remains to be played.
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The event shows a log of all events and actions in the game as they happen. Here is an example:
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The first value is the sequential number for that
event. If it is in red then it is something that JASL does, if in
blue then it is a human player action, and otherwise if in black it
is a "neutral" event.
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This is the same as the Event Log but only shows
the latest event for brevity.
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The map tab is the panel where most of the game will be played. Here is the mapboard shown as well as the main control element: the dashboard, which is described below.
The Graphical User Interface (GUI) consists of two user inputs: keyboard and mouse. These are used to selected counters (units and SW) and to select actions for these to execute.
In both cases the following procedure is followed:
Select counters to take part in the action. Currently this can only be done using the mouse, so even if you prefer using the keyboard you need the mouse for this.
Select action to be executed.
Execute action.
An action will be refused by JASL if it feels that it is against the rules.
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When you select a target location either by dragging the mouse pointer there or using the arrow keys it is indicated by the hex selector image. It is not possible to target multiple locations. The type of image used to indicate the selected hex can be set in the preferences. In addition to clicking on the map itself there are some standard controls like the scrollbars and so on. These all function as usual. |
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Input |
Control |
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Left Click |
Selects unit(s). If the stack is displayed spread out only the clicked counter is selected. To select multiple counter keep <CTRL> pressed. |
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Left Click + Drag & Release |
After selecting Unit(s) you force the attention of the selected counters to a location by dragging the mouse pointer to that location and releasing it there. |
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Left Double Click |
When done on a multilevel Building it causes the Explosion View Window to open for that Building. Each time a different Building is double clicked on in this way a new window is opened. See previous notes on this. |
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Right Click |
When done on a stack it toggles its' display mode between spread view and non-spread view. The spread view shows the stack spread out to the top right corner. The offset between the counters can be customized in the preferences. |
If this panel is present it will contain various
debug messages. It does not contain any information required for
playing.
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This part is divided into some tabs. The panels
that show possible actions only show those allowed by the current
phase.
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The "Do!" panel contains generic actions, i.e. those who are not related to moving a Unit. For Infantry Units these are in the "INF" panel and for Vehicles they are in the "AFV" panel. For those action which needs a target Location (like firing) this can be selected by clicking on the firing Unit(s) and dragging the mouse pointer to the target location and releaseing the mouse button there. |
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This panel contains phase dependent actions specific to Infantry. Two Area Buttons are intended to simplify movement of stacks. The top Area Button allows for horizontal movement on the present level, which can be Ground Level or a higher Level inside a Building. The second Area Button allows vertical Movement, for example up and down Stairways. To use these buttons first select the units, then select the direction on either of the Area Buttons and finally click on the button with the movement type you want. You can select new direction and continue moving without having to reselct the Unit(s). By selecting a direction a pale red dot is draw to show the currently selected direction. Using one Area Button resets the other if it was the last one used. |
Note: if the dashboard is oversized the red dot (see below) will be slightly off its intended placement, JASL always use the direction closest to the spike end you have clicked on.
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Ex: you want to move a unit from C3 to E5 via C4 and D4. Click on the unit in C3. Then click on the "spike" pointing downwards on the Area Button for horizontal movement (top one " see illustration). Then click the "Move" button once. The unit is moved from C3 to C4 and JASL makes its defensive fire if any. Now change the direction by a click the southeast "spike" and click on the "Move" button again and the unit continues to D4. A final click on the "Move" button moves it to target hex, D4. The buttons under these Area Buttons show Infantry specific movement actions. |
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This panel contains phase dependent actions specific to AFV's and Vehicles in general. The top Area Button allows for horizontal movement on the present level, which can be Ground Level or a higher Level inside a Building. The next two Area Buttons are intended for changing Vehicle Cowered Arc (VCA) and Turret Cowered Arc (TCA). By pressing closer to the upwards arrow a counterclockwise turn for respective Cowered Arc is wanted. Clicking closer to the lower pointing arrow indicates that a clockwise turn is wanted. In each case a turn of one hex spine is executed. The buttons under these Area Buttons show other Vehicle specific actions. Note: since vehicles aren't really implemented yet this dashboard may change substantially. |
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This panel shows a Table of Organization and Equipment in the form of a tree. The branches are divided according to the stacking of units. The TOE allows a quick inspection on the status of your Units regardless of their location on the mapboard. |
Some of the menu items
opens a specified window or dialog. These
are described separately later.
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Menu item "New" opens the scenario selection dialog.
Menu item "Preferences" allows you to open the preferences dialog
Menu item "Quit" ends the game without saving
anything.
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Here are the actions from the Dashboard tab "DO!"
listed. This allows for example the "INF" tab with Infantry
specific actions to be displayed at the same time as the general
"DO!" actions can be selected.
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The View features are available once a scenario
has been started.
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The menu item "Event Log Window" opens a separate window where the even log will be displayed. Users preferring having two windows open at the same time can use this to avoid switching back and forth between the map panel and the event log panels.. |
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The menu item "IFT Table" opens an IFT table (surprise, surprise) where probabilities of the various results are displayed depending on FP and DRM. |
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The menu item "Ordnance Table" shows the To Hit numbers for any ordnance (eventually) in the game for all TH ranges. The numbers for Vehicle Target Type, Infantry Target Type and Area Target Type are shown adjusted for the ammunition type selected. The selections from left to right are: Nationality, Bore Size, Gun Classification and Ammunition type. Not all combinations are available for a specific Nationality. When JASL learns about Guns it will be expanded a corresponding To Kill table and it will be possible to select a scenario and have all the To Hit and To Kill numbers for the ordnance in that scenario to be written to a file to save a lot of looking up during the game (I do this manually when playing today and will really like to have this! ;-) |
The single tool so far
is to turn LOS Measurement on / off.
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When turned on LOS can be checked on the mapboard by using the mouse left click and drag from one hex to another. |
Offers help, credits and about windows.
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These are not directly used for playing the game
but are used to give information, control the behaviour
of the program and so on.
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The various preferences are divided into different
topics, each available on its own topic.
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Preference |
Used for |
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Counter Zoom Value |
Counter size can be set from 50% to 150% of "normal". Default is 100%. |
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Debug on |
Debug on (yep this is for me!). |
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EASLRB Home |
See the "eASLRB Window " earlier. |
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Event Log Window |
When enabled this causes an extra window to be opened when a scenario is started. The event log is displayed both in this window and in the event log panel. Default is ON. |
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Hex selection highlight |
A selected hex can be indicated by one of the following methods: "big brown thing" - shows a 3D hexformed cursor above the hex. "crosshair" - shows a yellow crosshair on top of the hex. "highlight hexgrid" - outlines the hexborders. |
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JASL Home |
Allows you to select where JASL files are to be stored. |
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Look and Feel |
Allows you to choose between native L&F and the "Metal" L&F. |
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Player |
This name is displayed in the event log and elsewhere for your actions. |
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Set Default Actions |
First select the phase you wish to configure the Action Select Dialog. You can customize this by making common actions more easily selected. This is done by selecting the action and the button it should be assigned to. When done click "Action Done". This is currently not used by the new GUI, but may be so I have left in the preferences for now. |
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Show Why Action Refused |
Click this if you want to know why JASL disliked what you wanted to do. Default ON. |
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Stack Spread Offset |
This determines the distance in pixels between counters when a stack is spread out when displayed. |
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Use tooltip texts |
Show stack content in a small text window when mouse pointer is positioned on top of a stack. Default ON. |
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Zoom Feature Maps |
This increases the hexes displayed in the Feature Explosion View by 50%. It will be used to display crowded locations more uncluttered. Default OFF. |
The Scenario Selection dialog allows you start a
new game by selecting the scenario and side to play.
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When you try to do something which is not allowed - for example Prep Firing a Unit the 2nd time - this window will open and inform you why you can't do it. In addition it will give a reference to the applicable rules section.
It can be disabled in the Preferences.
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Before you can end the Close Combat Phase all
pending CC's and Melee's must have been resolved. Select one of your
Units in the Location and select to CC action. The dialogs
will lead you through the procedure.
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This window is displayed whenever a
left-mouse-button double-click on a building on the map is done. In
the window the selected Building is displayed with one image per
level of that Building. Each is identified and contains the units
currently visible on that level only.
It is possible to open several windows for different buildings at the same time. It also possible to keep a window for Building in the background and then click on the "Update" button to synchronize the image with that of the main board.
Clicking on the "Center Map" button will scroll the main map to show the building in the center if possible.
These windows can only be used to execute actions
in a limited way, i.e. to select Units, until
keyboard entry and control of the game is added.
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If you already have an electronic version of the ASL rulebook (eASLRB) you need to set the path of the main directory where it store in the preferences before you can use this window. It allows you to navigate the rules during a game as you wish.
In addition when you try to do something which is
against the rules JASL normally displays a dialog which indicates the
type rule you are breaking. In this dialog there is a button which,
when clicked, brings up the eASLRB showing the rule in question.
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