The Paths of Glory 10 project was led by Brian Reynolds. None of it
would be possible without the efforts of Joel Koepp, who led most of the
module 7.0/8.0 efforts which formed the backbone of all that followed.
Claudio Ciardelli, who built 9.0, added the Deluxe Historical map,
snazzier card decks, and pushed forward with automation features. Brian Reynolds
then took over and built 9.2 through 9.9 incorporating the rest of the 2018
Deluxe Edition art assets, adding RB/Eliminated box organization and
RB-counting, automatic corps-army substitution, VP site control and scoring,
automated AR markers, improved logfile reporting, and continued bug-fixing and
polish. Javier Munoz Kirshberg supplied a full Spanish translation (and a lot of work
to help clean up VASSAL to support localization properly). Special Thanks to Pranas Pauliukonis
who did a thorough round of testing for the 9.3 and 9.4 versions, to Tom Gregorio for providing
veteran-player feedback, to Michael Kiefte who shared his Chess Clock source code from Twilight
Struggle, and also to Bill Thomson who integrated Paul Blankenship's "LookAt"
feature - original code credited to David Sullivan. Thanks also to everyone who
has contributed to the module over the years, including Davout, Kaiman, Pmanlig,
ampercival, and egg_salad!
The module is presently maintained by
Brian Reynolds - please report any problems to
brian@brianreynolds.net.
Under the "Help" menu you will find a link to the latest Living
Rules version of the Paths of Glory rulebook, in case you are still learning
how to play the game itself, or just need to "look up a rule". A nice "Rules
Overview" video that uses the latest version of the game can also be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHMr-gu1u1c
Meanwhile if you've played using earlier versions of the module and just
want to check out the latest list of changes, please see the "Change
List" from the Help Menu of the module.
Advanced Players should page through and take in the latest
capabilities of the module! It may have changed a lot since the last
time you checked it out!
This version of the Paths of Glory module aims to incorporate the graphics
from the latest release of the physical game, including all of the artwork
from the Deluxe 2018 edition, along with considerable play enhancements,
interface improvements, and automation. We hope you enjoy it!
Deluxe Map Classic Map
The latest 2018 rulebook includes two scenarios - the Historical Scenario used in most competitive play and the Campaign Scenario representing more closely the "classic" original rules. You can choose to play the Historical Scenario either on the original "classic" map by Mark Simonitch or the new "deluxe" map by Terry Leeds. The original Campaign Scenario is only supported on the classic map.
The side you choose gives you access to its hand of cards--or choose Solitaire to have access to both (also useful for local play on one computer, and for PBEM play via ACTS). For players and competitive events in need of security for cards and dice rolls, it is recommended to use ACTS or a similar server -- the Vassal client by itself cannot provide meaningful security.
Locations of Cards
Note: Players using ACTS can skip straight to section 5 on Units
and Markers.
To reduce window clutter, card decks have been placed on the main
map below the board. Cards can be drawn through several methods, including
right-clicking on the draw pile, the "draw" button below each draw pile, and
"Draw Cards" buttons located on the toolbar ribbon of both the main window and
the player hand windows.
Guns of August, Historical Scenario: If you start the Historical Scenario
(on either map), the Guns of August card will have been played automatically to
start the game -- the appropriate German Armies will already have activation
markers placed, the Liege fort will be destroyed, etc. The CP player should thus
draw one fewer card than normal when filling their hand for turn 1.
Guns of August, Classic Scenario: If you start the Classic
Scenario, the Guns of August card will begin in the discard pile. The CP
player may either take it into their hand (open the CP Hand window from
the toolbar and drag the card into the window) or right click on it and
select "Reshuffle" to shuffle it into the deck. At this point the CP
player should draw cards to fill their hand to the correct hand size.
Optional Cards: Instead of
creating several scenarios that include/exclude the Optional cards, they are in
their own labeled decks for inclusion if you wish. The window containing them
can be opened either by clicking the "Optional" button on the toolbar (see icon
to the left), or by clicking on the "Optional Cards" button in the center of the
card-play area below the gameboard.
Once the optional cards window is open, click the "Add to Game"
buttons below each deck to automatically add the Optional cards to their
respective decks. You can also choose to fish out specific cards and
then add them to their appropriate decks manually if you wish to play
with an agreed subset. Once the desired optional cards have been added
to the appropriate decks, play can proceed normally.
Playing Cards: Select a card in your hand, right click,
and choose from: Play as Event (Ctrl-E), Play for OPS (Ctrl-O),
Play for RPs (Ctrl-R), Play for SR (Ctrl-S). Combat Cards also
have these options: Play as Combat Card (Ctrl-C), or Discard
(Ctrl-D). Combat Cards get played to locations below the game
map. Events that adjust War Status or VPs will modify those
values automatically. Some of the options are greyed out or
removed based on the game status (Ex: Play as Event is not
available on Turn 1 for Reinforcements events).
Reinforcement Cards: Reinforcement events for e.g. AH, FR,
GE, RU now allow the destination to be selected when the event is
played. For the occasional situation where it is desired to play a
two-army reinforcement card (e.g. GE 17th and 18th armies) split
between two spaces, simply event the card to one location and then
move one of the armies manually to the other. This was judged more
desirable than giving cards a vast menu of split deployment options.
Control markers, forts, trenches, armies/corps,
and the various map markers (Attack/Move markers, etc) are separated into
different game piece layers to prevent accidental movement and stacking. The
drawing order from bottom to top is: Forts, Control Markers, Trenches, Units
(armies/corps), then everything else. Units placed in a space will stack with
other units there (double click to expand a stack so that individual pieces can
be clicked on). Trenches and other markers do not "stack" and can therefore be
dragged/adjusted around for better visibility. From 9.2 forward, an effort has
been made to make hotkeys consistent across various counter types (e.g. Ctrl+F
is always the "Flip"), and to have counters "flip" to the same back-side as
they'd have in the physical game (so e.g. control markers can be flipped AP/CP).
The Markers can be found on the toolbar, and opens a
"palette" window to open to the left of the chat log. All of the
common markers (e.g. trenches, control markers) can be found here in
infinite supply, and can be dragged to the map as needed. A separate
tab also makes available VP markers for various situations.
Activation Markers: With any unit OR stack selected, you can use
Ctrl+M or Ctrl+A to activate the stack for movement or attack (you can also
right click). All activation markers can be removed by the toolbar button, and
are also removed when the turn is advanced.
Operations count: An appropriate count of operations will be
maintained as stacks are activated. Multinational stacks, for
example, will be charged extra ops to activate per rule 9.2.3.
However appropriate exceptions will be made for e.g. Sud Army, 11th
Army, British/Belgian cooperation, French/US cooperation. Likewise
appropriate additional costs will be assessed for e.g. Moltke and
attacking during Fall of the Tsar when those events are in effect.
Event markers have now been provided for all events that either
affect War Status, award VP's, or produce lingering game effects
that need notation (e.g. Entrench, Moltke, etc). When an event
marker is placed on the map or turn track, both the War Status and the VP level will be automatically
adjusted as appropriate (they can also be adjusted manually if
desired).
When a card is "played for the event" with the normal live-play or
PBEM interface, the event marker will be placed on the turn track
automatically. When playing via ACTS, the event markers for each
side can be found on the reinforcement card screens for each side.
Blockade: Once the Blockade event is played (or its marker
placed on the turn track), appropriate -1 VP markers will be added
to the turn track automatically at each Winter turn, and the VP
level adjusted accordingly. NOTE: Although Blockade VP's are
formally supposed to be added during "War Status Phase" at the
end of each turn, that is also the only time that VP's are
actually checked for victory purposes. For technical and interface
reasons, a Blockade VP marker will be placed at the beginning of
each Winter turn (or at the moment the event is played if the event
is played during the turn) - but as long as this is understood it
will not affect gameplay since autovictory is checked only at the
end of each turn.
Control Markers and Scoring: Control markers are now automatically placed when units capture spaces by moving into them, but they can also be dragged from the markers window. When control markers are
placed in (or moved to, or deleted from) VP sites, the VP
level is automatically adjusted. In the event the VP marker
has been manually dragged, the correct VP level (based on
current control markers, and any event/vp markers presently
on the map or turn track) can be recalculated by
right-clicking on the VP marker or from the VP button on the
main toolbar.
Final Scoring: By right clicking the VP marker, or
from the VP button on the main toolbar, it is possible to
calculate Final Scoring using the current map conditions. If
the game has not yet reached the end of turn 20 and the
combined war status is below the Armistice level of 40, it
is still perfectly safe to use the button to compute
"hypothetical" final scoring.
At start, and after turn advance, the Action Round markers are
positioned near the Action Round chart. When cards are played the AR
markers will automatically place themselves on the chart to
appropriate locations (e.g. "Ops", "Neutral Entry", etc); for 1-Ops
actions and in ACTS play they can be dragged manually or
right+clicked for a menu of choices.
NOTE: when playing with ACTS and not using the module's
cards, the module will still attempt to move the action round
markers appropriately by interpreting what the players are doing.
One action that it simply cannot detect, however, is Strategic
Redeployment (SR), which must be manually marked or it will go
undetected.
Action round markers can always be manually relocated as
needed.
When Mandatory Offensive are rolled at the beginning of the turn,
they can be marked by moving the MO markers appropriately (one can
also right-click on them and select a destination).
Missed MOs can be noted by right clicking the MO marker and
selecting the Missed MO option, which will send a victory point
marker of the appropriate +1 or -1 value to the Turn Track for the
current turn. Missed MO markers are also available on from the
"Markers palette" (see section 5), or by right-clicking on an empty part
of the Turn Track.
When a card is played as RPs, the Replacement Points markers are moved automatically on the tracker. In ACTS play, the "RP's" button on the main toolbar can be used to simulate the play of a card of the appropriate ops value for RP's. RP markers for initially neutral countries such as Italy, Bulgaria, and the US now properly stay put and do not accrue RP's before the country enters the war (as marked by either playing the entry card, dragging the appropriate event marker to the map or turn track, or in the case of the US moving the US Entry marker to the Over There box.
Reminder markers have been provided to help players keep track of "Near East retrictions" that allow certain actions only once per turn. Right-click any of the four static Near East restriction markers to flip them over when each one is used in a turn. They will automatically flip back to their available side when the turn is advanced.
Reinforcement Units: The Reinforcements Card from the 2018
edition is now supported, providing useful organization and visualization for
available armies and corps. When playing via ACTS, the easiest way to deploy
these units is to right click on them and pick the destination from the menu
(e.g. AH armies will offer "Vienna" and "Budapest"). Units can also be dragged
straight to their on-map destinations if desired.
Events: Event markers for all events that affect War Status,
VP, or have lingering game effects are now provided. When an event
marker is placed on the map (typically on the turn track, but this
is not required), the proper War Status, VP, and game effects will
be recorded and updated. If players are drawing their hands of cards
in the module and using the interface provided to play them, then
event markers will be moved automatically. When playing under
ACTS, where cards are managed on a separate website, the
Event Markers on the Reinforcement Cards can be right clicked to
send them to the turn track at the appropriate time (or they can be
manually dragged onto the map). This will keep the VP, War Status,
and so forth up to date.
By clicking on any empty space on the map, you can select it. Right clicking will display a context menu allowing common markers (trenches, control markers, etc) to be quickly added. The hotkeys listed on the context menu are also available any time an empty space is selected. The boundaries of the empty space selection zones intentionally come out a bit past the boundaries of the space itself, so that it is usually possible to select a space even if it already has pieces in it.
By using Ctrl+Click anywhere on the map, you can send a "flare", a signal to attract your opponent's attention to that particular spot. A green circle will briefly appear in the relevant location, indicating where you want to focus attention. If you are playing online, this flare will be displayed immediately on your opponent's map. If you are playing PBEM by logfiles, the flare will appear when your opponent replays the logfile.
Substantial work has been done to clean up and de-bloat the logfile, to help with live and non-ACTS play. In particular units no longer report cosmetic adjustments within the same space or zone (i.e. no more "AH1 Budapest to Budapest" spam). Reporting has also been improved for other game-state changes such as when trenches are added, forts besieged, etc.
For those who would like to agree to time limits in a competitive game, the chess clock feature is new with version 9.8.
Competitive events, and players who desire more hand and dice
security, will want to combine use of this Vassal module with a
card/dice management site like ACTS (http://acts.warhorsesim.com).
Several features have been added to the module to facilitate this
mode of play:
Reserve Box Counts (1,1): Whenever a corps is moved to or
from the Reserve Box, a count of that nation's RB levels of
full- and half- strength units is given e.g. (8,0), reflecting
the values after the action just taken.
Quick Deploy: From the Reinforcements Card, new armies/corps
can be directly dispatched to their appropriate arrival points via
the right-click menu.
Functional Event Markers: Tracking War Status and VP's is
facilitated through the use of Event Markers (e.g. moving
"Zimmermann Telegram" marker to the turn track or map will raise
Allied War status by 2 and apply -1 VP). Markers are now
provided for all WS and VP-affecting events/penalties/etc.
Quick Replacement Point tracking:
When a card is played for RP's in an ACTS game, a toolbar shortcut
has been provided to make tracking the RP's in Vassal
easier. From the toolbar's "RP's" button one can tell Vassal
that one has just played e.g. "a 4-Ops card for RP's", and
the RP levels will update appropriately. RP levels reset to
0 whenever the turn advances.
Draw All: For the occasional ACTS player who would like
to track card
plays and deck counts in Vassal, several new features have
been provided, including a "Solitaire" player with access to
both hands, "Draw ALL Cards" buttons, and a better zoom-out
control on the hand windows. One can "Draw All" cards into
the hand window for each side, and then manually organize
them as they are played via ACTS.