May 4, 2008
Episode 4
It’s our first show since going public. We’ve had nearly a thousand listeners and have received some very positive and encouraging responses. A special “thank you” to all of you who took the time to write a comment or send us an email. Your input and support is very important to us. We love hearing from you!
In this episode, we read some of the listener feedback. Then, in our Favorite Scenarios segment, Dave picks a battle with an extra dimension of excitement from the “Partisan” module, while Jeff continues with updates from the “Blood Reef: Tarawa” campaign (we’ll be posting pictures on this soon). Dave tells us “What’s in the Box?”, we play the ASL Quiz Show, and Dave gives an interesting history lesson. And, of course, we have lots of fun. We hope you enjoy this episode!
As always, thanks to Penmachine.com for providing our theme music.
Standard Podcasts [66:35m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player | Hits (1209)
Tony Newman said,
May 5, 2008 @ 1:55 am
Great Job Guys. Enjoying every episode so far.
Maybe include some product review type info? There has been a ton of stuff released in 2008 so far. Lots to talk about - Kreta / Into the Rubble / VOTG / Escape from Chosin … etc.
It’s a cold and wet evening in Auckland, New Zealand as I’m typing this.
You guys are GLOBAL
)
Tony Newman said,
May 5, 2008 @ 3:12 am
Nice history segment on Charles Upham. For those that want to play a scenario based on Charles Upham’s VC winning actions in the desert (for his second VC) - try SP63 “Upham’s Bar” from Schwerpunkt Volume 6.
Scenario SP63 has 15 elite, fanatic 4-5-8 squads charging a mixed German/Italian force of infantry, ATGs and light AFVs. Fanatic 4-5-8s become 4-5-9s with no PAATC required and they can declare HtH CC (as per SSR4). Very tough to stop these guys.
robin said,
May 5, 2008 @ 8:47 am
you guys rock, keep it up! I don’t see where to donate to your show though. Please advise.
Jason said,
May 5, 2008 @ 10:40 am
Good job on the show guys!!! This is very informative and interesting. However, I really, REALLY liked episode 3 and that guest you had on (I think his name was, Joe?) Anyways, you guys should make him a regular part of the podcase. He’s very entertaining…
Scott Koberstein said,
May 6, 2008 @ 9:49 am
Thanks you guys for the Podcasts! You reignited the ASL spark.
Scott
Benj said,
May 6, 2008 @ 7:31 pm
I listen to a lot of gaming podcasts but I have to say that I enjoyed yours the most. Funny, casual and a nice chemistry between the 2 of you. I’ve been playing ASL and ASLSK on and off for the last 2 years but your podcast has inspired me to coerce my gaming buddies to play again. Keep up the good work!
Benj Manila, Philippines
Steve Westrip said,
May 7, 2008 @ 2:55 pm
Excellent podcast! Has re-invigorated my interest in ASL. I may even try to find some FTF opponents here in the UK (although a bit thin on the ground near where I live).
I enjoyed episode 4 but I must mention a couple of things:
1) You questioned where Austria is. Well, as it is Hitlers country of birth I thought you may have known that!! Anyway, it borders the south of Germany 2) One of you mentioned a bonsai attack, although I am sure you meant banzai. I had a vision of miniature trees invading the beaches!!
Keep up the great work. It brightens up my train journey to work. Thanks for the compliments, Steve. Are you pulling our legs or did you missunderstand our very dry humor? Of course we know where Austria is. It’s the home country of edelweiss . . . and koala bears!
You are quite right about the bonsai/banzai. It’s a subtle difference with big implications. I’m sure Dave knew, but I’ve never paid much attention to the pronunciations, and wasn’t aware of the distinction. But I will from now on! I like your image of the invading shrubbery — the very definition of being “bushwhacked”!
Chow! I mean, ciao!
Jeff (& Dave)
Steve Westrip said,
May 8, 2008 @ 1:13 pm
High again (oops, I mean ‘Hi’)
A few suggestions for you newbie segments:
1) How do you sort out all the counters from the various modules? A counter tray for each or a more hap-hazard method? And do you keep all the module boxes in a cupboard or do you toss them? 2) What about the scenarios? Do you collate all these into one separate ring-binder? 3) What is, and how do you, clip counters? And for what benefit?
Eagerly awaiting episode 5!!
Joe Pellam said,
May 9, 2008 @ 7:34 am
Yes, I can see it now just like Lord Of The Rings and the Ents marching on Isengard in a massive Bonsai attack? er I mean Bonzai!
I second the idea of a discussion on counter sorting, clipping and what to do with those boxes. The art work is really good and instead of just putting the boxes on a shelf to collect dust, I cut away the sides and use the front on my rules binders. I have the original Squad Leader front on my rules index binder.
Love the show!
Steve Westrip said,
May 9, 2008 @ 2:33 pm
And a couple more potential discussion items:
1) VASL 2) SASL
Bruce Hartman said,
May 9, 2008 @ 3:06 pm
Great job! I love your show. I love the format. I love your humor. I have just finished listening to all four episodes (at work).
One warning for the future - you guys are not guilty of this (yet): Many semi-pros (amateur too), when bombarded with lots of accolades, will start tooting their horns on air and make their shows more about their shows and their fan following, then about the otherwise excellent material they have been presenting. Do not let this happen to your show - Please! I repeat, you have not been guilty of this so far.
Your show is so great because of segments such as your quizzes, your rules clarifications, you history, your interview with Joe, what’s going on in a particular scenario you are playing, what’s in the box (which is not my personal favorite - but is still very good), and, my personal favorite, stories of what happened at tournaments. What I don’t care about is what fans think about your show (which I repeat, you have not been saying very much about). Please keep your show about your excellent segments. I will listen for a long time and try to give you feedback if I think your show is becoming less substantive.
On a side note, one of you has mentioned that you are into other gaming - particularily role-playing games. I designed a role-playing game called Soul Guardian. If you are interested, check out the rules and game sheets at http://soulguardian.info. It’s slightly more combat and strategy based than D&D, but has a similar feel. I would love feedback, even if it’s negative. If you want a feel for the game, check out the slightly outdated Game Walkthrough.
Very good advice, Bruce. Thanks for being frank and for helping us keep the show as originally intended. At the start of Episode 4 we wanted to share our appreciation and excitement at all the great feedback by reading it on the air, but we can see there often won’t be time for that in the future with all the guests and content we have planned. We hope to keep you entertained for many shows to come.
As we mentioned in show 4, we have such admiration for folks that do all the work to create the ASL scenarios when we barely have time to play them! The same goes for the effort and imagination it must take to create an RPG. Guys like you are amazing. And guys like us are lucky to have so much great gaming to choose from. Keep up the good work!
Jeff & Dave
Kevin Ankoviak said,
May 10, 2008 @ 4:21 pm
Hey guys. VASL is the only way I get to play now a days. If one of you wants an opponent, I can help with setup and using Skype to play.
Great show.
Thanks for that nice offer, Kevin. I just started experimenting with VASL on my Fedora Linux laptop other day and it’s very cool. I’ve toyed with VASSAL and VASL in the past, but haven’t spent too much time with it and have never played a game. I’ve been looking for good games to run on Linux, and what better than ASL? I may take you up on your offer when time permits. If I can get Dave to give up a few hours of time he would normally be wasting on sleeping — like between 1:00 and 4:00 AM — we might get it loaded on his MacBook too. We’ll see.
Don Mikulec said,
May 11, 2008 @ 10:28 am
Can you send me the links to the first three episodes?
Cheesy Nacho said,
May 12, 2008 @ 12:35 pm
Really enjoying the pod casts. As an ASL / ASLSK newbie based in the UK I am pleased that there is such a great fan base. Your witty banter and humour really works for me. Please keep thinking about new starters like myself when planning your discussions. Please keep up the good work.
Best regards
Cheesy Nacho
Trev Edwards said,
May 12, 2008 @ 1:26 pm
VERY impressed with this. Listened to them in reverse order and I can’t believe how far you’ve come as you got better kit and more relaxed. That being said I can sense your excitement as this takes off.
What else to discus? Well why not go for the biggies? IIFT Vs IFT, counter storage (Racco Vs the rest), MMP Official product Vs Third Party Product, the bridge TEM story and so on.
Favourite part of the show so far is hearing your favourite scenarios. I don’t have a least favourite bit so far.
Keep up the good work!
Trev Edwards said,
May 12, 2008 @ 1:27 pm
Oh, forgot to say I’m listening to this in the north of England. I know you guys like to know where your listeners are from…
Jim said,
May 14, 2008 @ 10:02 am
Hi Guys, Very much enjoying your podcasts - keep em coming! In the interest of improving rules knowledge for everyone: in your quiz section you mentioned that an ATR can be firegrouped with a squad and contributes 1FP. This is correct. But you then went on to imply that the same was true for a bazooka (8 FP) or panzerschreck (12FP). Unfortunately for those halfsquads of yours waiting in ambush, only the ATR can be fired as Small Arms Fire (C13.24). The other Light Anti-Tank Weapons (bazooka etc) must use the Ordnance To Hit / To Kill process and so can’t be firegrouped with squads. - Jim
Daniel Brown said,
May 14, 2008 @ 1:48 pm
Well, you said that you have yet to get bad feedback, well here it is:
I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. Just in case there is any confusion: I hate both of you. I played ASL from the day it came out (I drove 400 miles to the nearest store that had it and purchased the game). I had been playing SL for years before that. I sold a lot of my stuff when it got to be stupid expensive for the out of print stuff. I still have the rules and some of my collection. I have not played and years, BUT thanks to you two I am now thinking of getting back into the game which is going to cost me $$$. So, to wrap up: I hate you, this podcast is going to cost me $$$ and when is the next episode?
Wow, Daniel. You had me very scared there for a minute. These comments get forwarded to my Blackberry and as I was reading your words, scrolling down the page, I had a terrible, sinking feeling. It’s not that I think we’ll never get negative reviews. I’m just not looking forward to the first one. Um, you were kidding, right??
I feel your pain. I’d love to get my hands on a “West of Alamein” module, and a “Code of Bushido”. But it’s hard for me to pay the prices. I saw a W of A go on Ebay last year for $400! Egad. We’ll be discussing this topic at some point in the future, I assure you. This is a hot topic for me.
Thank you for listening and commenting. And welcome back into the fold. ASL was a darker place without you.
We’ll be recording Episode 5 on May 19th, so look for it on the 20th.
Jeff & Dave.
Daniel Brown said,
May 15, 2008 @ 12:09 pm
I just traded away a little eurogame away for ASL Starter Kit 1. And so it begins….
Wow, $400 for WoA. I sold mine for $175 on ebay a few years ago. Now I need to look for a good collection on ebay to get back into the game. I still have the 1st edition rules and a bunch of scenarios so I can play on VASL. I need the second edition rules and Beyond Valor to get back in with both feet.
Also, I was wondering where most ASL players fall. I like the small 1/2 - 1 map size games. I loved the simple Partisan scenarios. Also, I remember playing SL scenario 1, than 2, than 3 which combined 1 and 2 than added tanks. I much prefered 1 and 2. I guess that shows what kind of ASL/SL player that I am. Also, I played the ASL version of SL 1 and I loved the Russian Human Wave that you can do at the start of that scenario.
Sorry for giving you a scare with my last post.
Brian Barling said,
May 17, 2008 @ 3:00 pm
Another great podcast! My ears perked up when you started quizzing about information on counters and game details. It can’t be normal to get so excited about little bits of cardboard… I got lucky and traded some miniatures for a used collection of 11 ASL modules. The bad news was that most of the counters were jumbled together in large ziplock bags! Days and Days of sorting is beginning to make sense of it all.
What a great game!
Daniel Brown said,
May 20, 2008 @ 8:36 am
“so look for it on the 20th.”
…. I am looking
Don Lazov said,
June 13, 2008 @ 1:16 pm
Just finished episode 4, great discussions, great topics, great dialogs.
Perhaps I’ll get to meet you two next month.
Best regards~
Thanks again!