I’ve recently run into a quite troublesome behavior in Vassal. Namely how “Layer” names replace the fundamental piecename of the unit (as default behavior).
Layers are (IMHO) typically only modifying the appearance (e.g., add overlay of damage) of a basic piece, although it can be used to completely change appearance.
Thus the default behavior of replacing the pieceName is quite troublesome.
Use Case (Hitlers War)
5 layers used for strength 0-10 of various unit types (Infantry, Mech, etc.). The fact that these replace the basic unit name leads to nonsensical Reporting:
(actual unit) OKW with 6 INF
(current report) 6 moves from J11 to J12
(desired report) OKW 6 moves from J11 to J12
MORE Problematic however, is your current options are:
- Replace piecename with layer name (default)
- Add layername as suffix
- Add layername as prefix
But what if I want to use Layers and do NONE OF THE ABOVE???
While I could leave all the layernames blank, these may provide useful information that I want to reference in specific reports…
So my request is:
- Change the default behavior
- Add the ability to not have layernames affect piecenames AT ALL (IMHO this should be the default, but having “suffix” would also be ok)
I can solve the problems for the specific module, but I would like to see more sensible default behavior in V4. Fixing this requires that every layer be changed (several hundred required updates), because of the poor default behavior.