UPDATE:
AP changed their site and the link. I’m still disappointed in no answer and no intent from this fine little company to embrace technology that has been available for …. A LONG TIME.
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From a AP fan on Facebook:
“I got all excited when I heard that there was a new VASSAL module for Panzer Grenadier. I own Eastern Front, Roads to Berlin, Battle of the Bulge, and the original Panzer Grenadier, and I was really hoping that the module would be one of those games. It isn’t. It is for Airborne.
I thought “what the heck” and went to my favorite online distributor and ordered Airborne, then I went to Avalanche Press’ website and did what I needed to do to download the VASSAL module. The ads for Airborne say that you need the pieces and maps from about four other PzG games to be able to play it. When I installed the module, I opened it up and there is one map.
Apparently there are three editions of Airborne. There was the first one, then there was a second one that is a stand-alone game that comes with its own pieces and map, and then there is Airborne 3rd Ed. The VASSAL module is of the 2nd Ed, the stand-alone introductory version. The website is very adamant that you own the game before you play the module, but the “funny” part is, you can only buy the 3rd Ed which is not even the same game, but they have a link to buy it right under the link for the module. They tell you you must own the game and provide a link to a game that is not even the same game as the module.”
So lets see if this is legit!
Lets firstly check the AP site:
http://www.avalanchepress.com/NewsRelease.php ….for news,perhaps there is an update. No a broken link and a error message:
Warning: main (NewsRelease.html): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in/home/cust1/user1215187/html/NewsRelease.php on line 7
Warning: main(): Failed opening ‘NewsRelease.html’ for inclusion (include_path=’.:/usr/share/pear’) in /home/cust1/user1215187/html/NewsRelease.phpon line 7.
Never fear…OK.
I sent an email. Enquiring. While we await an answer lets go download the module. I’m breaking the rules downloading the module – I DO NOT OWN this game!!!!! But this is merely an investigation into what you get. WE shall quickly delete the module, it is not playable without rules…Do they have living rules?
Here is the process to obtain this bait and switch module, once you find the link which is not readily apparent on their web site, it should be easy to get right?:
Name..ok, address. hmm. Phone…WTF? Email. ok. State..sheesh.
Ok the module itself is only downloadable once. YOU MAY NOT SHARE IT. You may not re download it. You must “repurchase it” But it is available for 3 days to d.load.
After playing on the Panzer Module…wow this is a stark base effort. But this is not the core issue. A mod is well just that, we can all deal with less player friendly features, a flat representation of the game and no value add.
After all you must own this module to play. You must own additional modules to play effectively. BOTH of you must own it.
Oh. but you cannot buy that game from AP as it is superceded by the 3rd Edition.
The new current 3rd Edition can be bought with click! YET – You cannot play on VASSAL with that tho.
#Winning strategy to gain # 1 position in the market share and dollar share for these guys.
After 2 weeks, no reply from the company. So maybe they made a change on their web site…who knows. I do not need to return.
I am the original poster who is quoted here. My feeling about this when I first ordered the scenario booklet and VASSAL module was that it was a “bait and switch”. I don’t feel that way anymore.
For one, I don’t think that the decision to make this particular VASSAL module was made by the company at all. I think this was just a decision by the module’s creator and had nothing to do with Avalanche Press’ marketing strategy. If it were, I believe that they would have chosen one of the all-inclusive complete games such as Elsenborn Ridge, or whatever game had the most sales. The designer told me in a post that he was wanting to work on a module for Elsenborn Ridge next.
Secondly, AP has changed the text on the page with the link to the VASSAL module page to let you know how many scenarios you can play with the module depending on which edition of Airborne you own. This was probably my most persistent gripe and I know that the person who did the most arguing with me on my thread put in a lot of time and effort to compile and double-check the data. You can check some of that out on the forums at PG-HQ.
The link in the above post does not seem to work, but if you go to AP’s main page and follow the links, there should be no problem.
I had initially cancelled my order of Airborne and deleted the downloaded VASSAL module, but I eventually decided that I had not been cheated and people were doing things to improve the posted information, and that I really did want to be able to play some Panzer Grenadier scenarios with VASSAL. I was able to “order” the VASSAL module and download it again.
I think with the new information that has been posted, those people who are interested in this will be able to make an informed decision whether to buy the book or not. No one else needs to get as cranky as I did.
That’s good to know Les. I will update the post. Thanks for sharing. I did attempt to replicate everything. And had same issues you did. Still no answer from ap.
Some co.s are going to have to be dragged into 21C. This is one. They have good stuff, they just are filling needs of today’s customer. The issue goes way beyond your comments.