VASSAL Reference ManualHome > Module > Prototypes |
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PrototypesMost games have many pieces which share similar categories of similar traits -- "French Units", "German Units", "Tanks", "Cards", "Control Markers", "Units with shadows". Prototypes are templates to vastly simplify the creation and maintenance of groups of game pieces with similar traits. You first create a Prototype Definition in the [Game Piece Prototype Definitions] section of the Editor and give it a set traits just as you would give traits to a Game Piece. Then, you add a Prototype trait to the definition of one or more Game Pieces. All of these Game Pieces will thenceforth function as if they had all of the exact traits listed in the Prototype Definition.Use of Prototypes means a lot less copy-and-pasting of the same traits will be necessary to create large groups of units. Even better, when you change the traits in a Prototype, they are immediately changed for every piece that uses the Prototype, so you can update and maintain your modules much more quickly and accurately (and without having to try to remember whether you got every single one of the 57 different armored units...) Notes:
Saved Games and Prototypes: Once a piece based on a Prototype has been created during a game and/or saved to a save game, it loses memory of being based on that prototype. Therefore, the definition of the prototype can change in a later version of the module without invalidating saved games from previous versions. All pieces in a Game Piece Palette, At Start Stack, or Deck will reset when a prototype definition changes while editing a module. If you want your pieces in the palette to start in a certain state, then you can edit the traits that appear in this prototype by right-clicking in the area below the name. You may need to resize the window to expose that area. |
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