tort and Retort

In a message dated 97-05-30 09:35:52 EDT, you write:

Flame off, Jonny Quest!

<< I've been into historical gaming for over ten years. I've got a Masters in
History, one field of specialty is Military History and I've played Advanced
Squad Leader for over eight years. I may have not been in the military, and
lets face it, the military certainly doesn't always make a person a great
tactician, but I've played enough unbalanced ASL scenarios to realize what is
needed to make a good one. Its kind of arrogant to assume you could write a
more "fun" scenario than I, when you know little about me >>

BA in history, MA in Military History, 13 years military service at the grunt
and command levels, 5 years designing and operating combat simualtions for the
Army, 33 years wargaming and scenario design experience. That being said, I
may not be a better tactician than anyone else, nor am I saying that I can
write a more fun scenario. Just pointing out that I have as much experience as
anyone else here. However, the remark about arrogance is what impelled me to
bring this whole thing up in the first place. Reread your initial response to
my first post and then check the arrogance level.

<<By the way smarty pants, how many points are an Abrams M1A2 tank, a
U.S.
paratrooper, a Russian conscript and an German Leopard I?   I'm sure the
army assigned points values to these items so they could devise a plan
against them! ;-) Hehehe.>>

More of the same? But just incidentally, I can give you the firepower ratios
for an M1, a paratrooper, et al. I can even build a mathematical model that
can predict their effectiveness in combat (accurately, by the way). So what is
that if not a points system? And that's exactly how the Army plans its
battles -- empirically.

<<I could really care less about what is happening at the higher echelon and I
doubt most grunts on the field do either.>>

Okay, so what? The commanders DO care. My players ARE the commanders. In any
case, the fact that you don't care doesn't mean that no one cares. And
that's the bottom line -- you don't have to use any points system if you
don't want to; I personally want to have access to one.

Almost at the end:) Canned scenarios are nice occasionally, whether written by
a game company or by an individual. I have no problem playing those.
 But, in the main, I like to play my own forces -- my own figures, my
own
designs/TOEs.  Without some way of comparing (ahead of time), its a lot
harder to balance that kind of battle.

Final point -- I don't want to get all sensitive here.  But I don't
think you're scum of the earth for thinking the way you do. I just disagree
with you because it doesn't meet my needs or the needs of my gaming group. If
this is going to turn into a flame war, let's take it private, please.

-- John