Q:

What does JASL mean?

A:

Nothing really.

Q:

What is the aim of JASL?

A:

To the target for the JASL project is to provide a computer program that is able to play a reasonable game of Advanced Squad Leader. This is supposed to be a "straight" port of the boardgame without a heap of visual sugar or other bells and whistles.

I'd like to recreate as much as possible of the same feeling playing a game of ASL face-to-face with a person. However, JASL will not come close to a good game against a human opponent, so if you are looking for someone to play the real game against please go to MMP's ASL site and click on players or clubs.

Q:

Is it finished, there are many rules / nations not implemented?

A:

No. It is still a work in progress, consider it a "proof of concept".

Q:

What are the hardware and software requirements?

A:

Right now you will be ok with 128+ MB of RAM and a CPU running at 500+ MHz. More is always better of course!
There is no specific operating system required as long as the proper Java Runtime Engine is installed. The Java Virtual Machine can be downloaded from Sun on the site specified on the JASL install page.

Q:

What else do I need?

A:

You need get at least the "ASL rules" and "Beyond Valor", both in 2nd Edition. The first since JASL do not include any rules at all. The later to get the boards and counters. Note that JASL counters do not display all the information required to play. More modules are required to get additional rules, counters and boards for particular scenarios. They can be ordered from Multiman Publishing here.

Q:

Is JASL based on VASL software? Doesn't JASL compete with VASL?

A:

No, the JASL code has nothing to do with the VASL code, but uses some of the artwork (counters & mapboards) from VASL. No, VASL allows a human player to play other human players, either via PBEM or online. JASL allows a human player to play a computer player. VASL is available here.

Q:

There are references to linking to a HTML version of the ASL rules - can you send me a copy of it?

A:

No. It is not mine to give away.

Q:

What can I do to help?

A:

Use JASL and tell me what you think! Please report any errors or problems you find! Tell me what you want to see as the next feature. Each and every error report makes JASL better. If you want to do more let me know! There is huge amount of work to be done.

Q:

When will there be more scenarios?

A:

Thanks to new two helpers giving me a hand with the maps a comming release of JASL will contain at least "Sudden Death", "Shklov's Labor Lost" and "Hill 253.5" - see the screenshot on the right! (though not Air Support and OBA yet).
Thereafter I would like to move on to the RB map with a scenario or two there. The ultimate goal is to be able to play the RB campaign games.

Q:

What else are you planning for JASL?

A:

Well, one idea I am playing with is a programmed rule instruction feature. Modelled after the Squad Leader rules and ASL Chapter K it might *show* new players how play the game. Writing tests (what is the fastest way to move a unit from hex A to hex B) of rule mechanics to be answered.

Q:

Using Linux I get the following message:
Warning messages while starting up:
Font specified in font.properties not found
[--symbol-medium-r-normal--*-%d-*-*-p-*-adobe-fontspecific]
 

A:

This seems to be a Linux specific matter. It doesn't affect JASL, but adding the line

symbol.ttf -urw-symbol-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-adobe-fontspecific

to fonts.dir (located in jdk1.3/jre/lib/fonts and increasing the number in the first line by one. Then copy the file symbol.ttf to the same directory (this font comes with Windows) (Thanks to Michael Sachsau for this!). Check here for more information.

Q:

Why using Java?

A:

My first attempt at writing ASL software was in "C", however most time was spent solving how to structure the program and little on adding functionality. Aiming at something as complex as ASL meant it was impossible to specify it in advance, and C is not very flexible once you have a concept defined. No critique for C, I use it professionally since more than 16 years and love it. But strcpy() & co. are not the best for productivity.

Then C++ came along and it had some feature I immediately liked, like inheritance and overloading methods (same name but different parameters). I spent a little more than half a year writing other game software (mainly for a version of GDW Traveller's Striker but also a hex based mini game) just to learn the language but ended up not really happy with it. Sadly many of the examples and code for C++ are using templates and operator overloading to great extent, both - while arguably usable - make the code much harder to read and understand. The preprocessor for C / C++ falls into the same category.

I spent little time programming for a while and then decided to learn Java well and picked up the "forever" project computer ASL again. After two years of programming it started to come together. Java the language is well designed (simple and elegant, yet powerfull), has the performance required and a very big plus in productivity.

Q:

What tools are you using?

A:

Main tools used are Eclipse and Emacs editor using the JDE addon package. Images have been created using Paintshop Pro 5, Bryce 4, Gimp,  Simply 3D and Picture Publisher 8.

Q:

Why is the interface so different from other strategy games?

A:

The interactive design of the phases in ASL is rather unique. Normally playing phases are: "I move", "I shoot", "You move", "You shoot" which is much simpler to handle. This also reflects into the software structure which is constantly evolving.

Q:

How do I select many units for a Firegroup?

A:

By using the control key when clicking on individual units. It is in the Users Manual but so well hidden that I get many Q's on it. Obviously not intuitive...

Q:

I can't get JASL to work with Win XP / ....

A:

Note that if there are any spaces in the path to the Java Runtime or JDK you are using you may have to modify the batch file to be able to start JASL. Here is how. If you have the Java VM's installed in the "Program Files" directory there is a space in the path.

I moved my 1.4 JVM to "Program Files" so the path to the bin dir is:

C:\Program Files\j2sdk1.4.1_01\bin

Then I copied the jasl6.bat to jasl6xp.bat and modified it to start JASL using:

"C:\Program Files\j2sdk1.4.1_01\bin\java" -jar jasl6p.jar com.thuring.jasl.JaslMain3

(That should all be on one line). Note the quotes. Now clicking on the jasl6xp.bat file starts JASL in a DOS window which is not closed. I used Win98 for this but it should be the same on XP. After selecting a scenario something like the following is output in the DOS window:

D:\jasl-work-->"C:\Program Files\j2sdk1.4.1_01\bin\java" -jar jasl6p.jar com.thuring.jasl.JaslMain3 JASL Version V0.826 Java installed in: C:\PROGRAM FILES\J2SDK1.4.1_01\JRE Java classes from: jasl6p.jar Java version:      1.4.1_01 Java vendor:       Sun Microsystems Inc. Operating system:  Windows 98 OS version:        4.10 OS Architecture:   x86 User name:         lt User home dir:     C:\WINDOWS JASL work dir:     D:\jasl-work--

Q:

What does the Kunststoff do and how do I use it?

A:

Java applications are completely "skinnable", which means they can use a look and feel programmed separately from the application itself. To try this download Kunststoff.jar (license) and place it in /jre/lib/ext where is where your java is installed.Then start JASL again.

Q:

Is there an online forum or mailinglist specifically for JASL?

A:

There is jasluser (free) on Yahoo - see the link "mailinglist" on the right. It is where pre-release versions are made available before official releases are made here.

Q:

Where are pictures on the infantry units? They are visible on the screenshots.

A:

They were dropped recently. At the start of 2003 I decided that I wanted to make the size of the counters zoomable. This was for several reasons including that players want different sizes, to be able to simulate the "larger hexes" on the real RB map, to get neat stuff like the berserk colouring / clipped corners and so on. The first results are the vehicles as seen above. JASL now allows you to set the counter size in the preferences. Also all the gif images from VASL did not always draw properly on Mac (e.g. they were all drawn transparent), most likely a setting within the Mac JRE but I wanted to have full control of the drawing.

To this end I started on a drawing program to enable the drawing of the images in a scalable format. The intention is to have them saved in a XML format and loadable in JASL, saving a lot of memory and making nicer pictures. Well, the drawing programming is there to test the concept minus the XML bit and I had a person whom wanted to finish but he had to back down due to a promotion. Which is why JASL currently is released without the images for some counters.

Q:

I have made my own HTML version but when I connect it to JASL there is nothing loaded?

A:

It must be saved in a specific format, like this:

First create a directory called something, for example "aslrb" unless you have this already. In this directory put an index.html file in here. Next create dirs 'A', 'B' etc. in the same directory. Finally in 'A' create "A1.htm", "A2.htm" and so on. I know it is inconsequential, but I got the files that way. Something like this:


---ASLRB
  |
  +-----index.html
  |
  +-----A
  |     |
  |     +-----A1.htm
  |     +-----A2.htm
  |
  |
  +-----B
  |     |
  |     +-----B1.htm
  |     +-----B2.htm


etc. Then you need to set the path to the ASLRB directory in the preferences by selecting the dummy index.htm file in it. Note that the extension is three letters only and that the files are case sensitive when using Linux / Unix. To give you an idea - in my "A" and "B" directory I have:


B:
B9.HTM
B8.HTM
B7.HTM
B6.HTM
B5.HTM
B4.HTM
B3.HTM
B30.HTM
B2.HTM
(etc)
B11.HTM
B10.HTM

A:
A9.HTM
A8.HTM
A7.HTM
A6.HTM
A5.HTM
A4.HTM
A3.HTM
A2.HTM
(etc)
A11.HTM
A10.HTM

There is no more detailed overview of the rules, so JASL would only use the above even if looking for a more specific rule, say A4.11 would land in A41.HTM. It would be nicer to have one rule per HTML file and and all names in lowercase (as well as the references), but that is very far down on my todo-list.