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Sword of Rome |
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Vassal Instructions |
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Starting a Vassal Session |
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Open the main Vassal program and choose Play Module from the small launch window that appears. Choose the file Sword-of-Rome-xxx.mod (xxx=current version number) and Open it. The Sword of Rome Controls window appears at the top of the screen.
Choose Load Game from the File menu and choose the file sword-of-rome-setup.mod. When prompted, Choose a power to play. If you’re loading a file that you saved while playing, you’ll automatically be assigned the same power (which you can relinquish only by clicking the Retire button.
Click the Server Controls button on the toolbar (third button from the left, showing two small arrows). This action opens two Server windows on the right side of the screen: Active Games and Current Game. You’re still not connected to the Vassal server (i.e., nobody can see you yet), but you’ll connect in Step 4.
Click the Server Control button above the Active Games window (it looks exactly like the button you just pushed before. This connects you to the Vassal server and puts you into something called the Main Room.
You now have to start a New Game on the server (not from the File menu). In the Active Games window, type in the New Game field (just below the Active Games heading) what you want the game to be called (it can be whatever you want). Press Enter, and that name appears beneath the Main Room item. It also appears in the Current Game window on the far right. Note that your name is now under that game, not under the Main Room item. You’ve changed rooms.
Now you wait for other players to join you. See “Joining a
Game”. |
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Joining a Game |
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Open the main Vassal program and choose Play Module from the small launch window that appears. Choose the file Sword-of-Rome-xxx.mod (xxx=current version number) and Open it. The Sword of Rome Controls window appears at the top of the screen.
Click the Server Controls button on the toolbar (third button from the left, showing two small arrows). This action opens two Server windows on the right side of the screen: Active Games and Current Game. You’re still not connected to the Vassal server (i.e., nobody can see you yet), but you’ll connect next.
Click the Server Control button above the Active Games window (it looks exactly like the button you just pushed before. This connects you to the Vassal server and puts you into something called the Main Room.
Below the Main Room item is the name of the game that’s already been initiated. That name also appears in the Current Game window at far right.
Note that you can’t see the map yet.
Type something in the long field at the bottom of the Chat window to say hello, and, if necessary, to ask what side you should play.
To join the game and see the map, right-click the Initiator’s name in the Current Game window (not the Active Games window) and choose Synchronize.
When prompted, choose which side you will play. Wait for a few seconds, and you’re in. Enjoy.
Note: If you ever open a Vassal game and the map
does not appear, but rather the chat window takes up the whole screen, click
the Counters button. This should produce a wide window border at the bottom
of the screen. Drag it up to see the map. If this doesn’t work, reload the
program and the game file. It’s a bug. |
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Counters |
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Click the Counters button on the toolbar to see the counters and markers, and again to hide them.
Drag the Counter window borders to the right until all the panes are the size you want.
Each tab represents a counter tray. Click a tab to choose that tray, then click on the counter name in the right-hand pane to display a particular counter.
All counters and markers in these trays are infinite. When you want to remove one from the map, simply delete it (see #5) and choose another such marker from the tray. You won’t run out.
To put the counter on the map, drag the image (not the counter name) to wherever on the map you want.
Right-click on any counter on the map to reveal the three options: Flip (turn the unit to its reverse side); Clone (create an identical unit in the same location); Delete (delete the unit).
Vassal stacks all counters automatically, as soon as you
drag one on top of another. To unstack a stack, right-click on it. It
expands, and you can click whichever counter you like to move it, delete it,
etc. |
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Leaders |
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Unlike the units under the Counters button, leaders are
finite. Click the Leaders button on the toolbar to see the stacks of leaders,
sorted by player. These stacks function just like stacks on the map;
double-click to expand a stack, select your leader, and double-click to
restack them. Close the window by clicking the X in the top right corner. |
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Cards |
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To draw cards from your deck, click the Deck button on the toolbar that corresponds to the power you’re playing. This opens the Deck window, which nobody but you can see as you work with it. In fact, nobody but you (and the referee) can open your Deck window at all.
Next, open your Hand window by clicking the Hand button on the toolbar that corresponds to the power you’re playing. As with the Deck, this is a private window; only you (and the referee) can see it.
To draw a single card, drag the mouse pointer from the deck to your Hand window. One card, randomly chosen (it’s set to random selection at all times) will slide into your Hand. Right-click the card and Flip it to see its contents.
To get more than one card at a time, right-click the Deck and choose Draw Multiple Cards. Type the number of cards you need and click OK. Now, drag the mouse pointer (as above) from the Deck to your Hand window. That number of cards will appear in your Hand.
To get a specific card, right-click the the Deck and choose Draw Specific Card. Click the number of the card you want (they correspond to the decks in the game) and click OK. Drag the mouse pointer from the Deck to your Hand window, and that card will appear in your Hand.
To the left of the map are the Discard piles, one for each player. You play a card by dragging it from your Hand window to your Discard pile for all to see. The card will immediately flip to its text side (if it’s not already showing that side) when you move it there.
All players have access to all Discard piles. Be careful not to mix up the cards; sorting them out can be tedious.
Whenever you move a card onto the Deck from anywhere else,
the card automatically flips over to hide the text. |
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Other Buttons |
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The Sword of Rome module has three Dice buttons. Clicking any of them shows the results in the Chat window, along with the name of the player who did the clicking. For all three, the individual die results are shown, not the totals.
The Notes button opens a window in which you can keep notes, either publicly viewable or restricted to yourself. Use it for whatever you wish.
The Zoom buttons (far right) let you scale the map smaller or larger. When it opens, the map is at its largest size; you can see more of the map by clicking the minus sign button. This module has three zoom levels.
Click the Globe icon (third from right) to see the map without the counters and markers. Click it again to have them reappear.
Click the Camera icon to save the map as a PNG graphics file. You can send this file by email or post it for others to see your game in progress.
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Saving Games |
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To save a game in progress, choose Save Game from the File menu. Be sure to give it a name different from the setup file. When you want to continue the game, open Vassal, load the Sword of Rome module, then open the saved file and connect to the server. Note that the other players don’t load the saved game, they simply load the module, connect to the server, and synchronize with you.
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Capturing Games and Playing by Email |
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If you want to capture all the turns and text in a session, either to send it to someone else for review (the designer or developer, for instance), or to send to an email opponent, do this:
As soon as you start a Sword of Rome game, choose Begin Logfile from the File menu.
In the resulting dialog box, give the file a name you’ll remember.
When you’ve finished play, choose End Logfile from the File menu. Vassal automatically saves the game and the file.
Attach the file to an email message and send it.
When you receive a logfile, open Vassal and choose to play the Sword of Rome module.
From the Sword of Rome Controls window, choose Load Game from the File menu, and load the file you’ve just received. You’ll see the map and counters displayed at the start of the other player’s move.
Click the “Step Forward” icon (second from left) to move through the logfile and see what the player has done.
Begin a new logfile to capture your own turn. |
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