Are we allowed to discuss playing on Vassal here?

I would really like to try to play on vassal but I can't get it to work. I start a offline game and I am able to get my pieces on the board, then what? There is no start button, no real instructions except for a skimpy "Quick Start Guide" that doesn't actually tell you how to start.
In an offline game am I playing against a PC, or do I need a second player, or to play both sides myself for practice?
I don't want to go online with a real opponent until I know how to do everything and not be so slow.
Can anyone offer some help?

When you start an offline game, you are just playing by yourself. It is like you are just practicing. It's a good way to learn the controls.

The main thing to realize is that there is a right mouse click for EVERYTHING! Right-click on a ship, and it will give you a ship menu. Right-click on a squadron, and it will give you a squadron menu, etc.

Then once you figure out the mouse button method, you can start learning the hotkeys, listed in the menu. Once you learn some of the most used ones you will start getting faster.

I would suggest putting a ship on the play area, right-clicking on it, and then looking through every menu item to see what it does. Sometimes it brings up the maneuver tool, sometimes it brings up the measuring guides, etc.

Once you do that, try messing with the maneuver tool. Right clicking on each segment will do something different, too. Then mess with squadrons, tokens, etc.

The other thing I would recommend is playing with the command stacks rather than the individual command dials. Play around with those (RIGHT-CLICK!) and see what they do. You would pick a 1-command stack for a CR90, a 2-command stack for a Neb-B, etc.

I learned by just trying it out with friends (who also didn't know Vassal) while talking on the phone. Then when you play with experienced people you won't be too slow, and you will also pick up some other tips.

Thanks for that.
Once my pieces are on the board, how do I start the game? Do I just start flipping command dials and moving?

Thanks for that.

Once my pieces are on the board, how do I start the game? Do I just start flipping command dials and moving?

Imagine it's exactly like you're sitting at home with the ships in front of you. Bring up the pieces window and drag any ship onto the board.

Right click on the ship to bring up the left or right maneuver tool. Turn it CW or CCW. When you're happy with the course right click and notch it. Then if you have a left side maneuver tool you use CTrl+1,2,3,4 to move the ship along its path. For right side maneuver tool its ALT +1,2,3,4.

Basically that's it other than commands. I'd also recommend using the stacks.

Yeah, it's very unstructured. It does not keep track of rounds for you, manage your tokens, or ensure what you do is legal according to the rules. It is all up to the players, just like if you were playing at a table. You really need to know how to play Armada....it is not going to walk you through it.

The nice thing about that is, just like in person, you can play any way you want. Want to play an 800 point game of hyperspace assault where 3 ships and 10 squads get to jump in? No problem!

Are we allowed to discuss playing on Vassal here?

I would really like to try to play on vassal but I can't get it to work. I start a offline game and I am able to get my pieces on the board, then what? There is no start button, no real instructions except for a skimpy "Quick Start Guide" that doesn't actually tell you how to start.

In an offline game am I playing against a PC, or do I need a second player, or to play both sides myself for practice?

I don't want to go online with a real opponent until I know how to do everything and not be so slow.

Can anyone offer some help?

Take not: Armada on Vassal is NOT a computer game. It's a miniatures game in digital format.

So it plays pretty much like the RL version.

Example: if you have no opponent, then you're just playing with yourself. Better go online and find someone to play with - who is probably more than willing to help you get into vassal as well.

Thanks for that.

Once my pieces are on the board, how do I start the game? Do I just start flipping command dials and moving?

Yes. Just like you would in RL.

Yeah, it's very unstructured. It does not keep track of rounds for you, manage your tokens, or ensure what you do is legal according to the rules. It is all up to the players, just like if you were playing at a table. You really need to know how to play Armada....it is not going to walk you through it.

The nice thing about that is, just like in person, you can play any way you want. Want to play an 800 point game of hyperspace assault where 3 ships and 10 squads get to jump in? No problem!

Excatly.

Except that we've automated a few things, to make record keeping easier.

The design goal is thus: keep it as close to the table top experience as possible, but take advantage of the digital format if there is no conflict (i.e. stuff like displaying hull and speed directly on the ship token).