Last reports and wishes from the fronts (3 current PBEM games).
-------------------------------------------------
Foreign Intervention Options :
Instead of just an "Easy FI" option, it could be 2 new options in the Options Screen of the game :
- option "forced Foreign Recognition", if checked by the host player anytime after april 1862, France & Great Britain recognize CSA. It means that FI points are now 75 (FI still need to reach 100) and that USA can't use the Total embargo policy anymore (because this policy would lead immediatly to a Foreign Intervention).
- option "forced Foreign Intervention" , if checked by the host player anytime after april 1862, France & Great Britain declare war on USA.
It could be also decided that "Foreign Recognition" as described above is not only an option but an obliged first step before any "Foreign Intervention". That way, "Foreign Recognition" would happen as soon as FI reach 65 or 75 pts in the game.
---------------------------------------------------
Political option screens :
All the descriptions of the policies which will be available in the game should be always displayed in the great book. Only the signature should be hidden until players can choose them (and it should be said when it could be).
---------------------------------------------
The "Emancipation Declaration"
i believe a better simulation of the event :
- if activated, it should bring a malus between -15% and -25% of loyalty in the unionist states with slavery BUT ALSO a bonus between +15% and +25% of loyalty in the deep south states which had most of the slaves !
It should also brings NM bonus and FI reduction, as well as replacement bonus and new units if major ports of the South are occupied.
- This political option should not be available before july 1862 AND NOT before the USA won a major victory on the field, id est a battle which give them at least 1 National Moral point. "No Antietam, No Declaration full of political advantages !".
- That way, if not activated before july 1863, the Declaration became anyway available but this policy will appear in the opinion like a desperate policy : it would brings the same bonus and malus in loyalty than described above but it will brings much less FI reduction and it will COST NM to the USA instead of winning some.
- This political option should also be available to the CSA sometime in late 1864 (!) but only as a desperate policy, with few FI and conscripts bonus, with no malus of loyalty in the unionist states with slavery and of course with a much stronger malus of NM and VP.
--------------------------------------------
War in the Far South-West :
Currently, why it's not possible to go from North mexico region to California region ?
Why it is possible to go from North mexico to South West but NOT from South West to North Mexico ? ...you have to go through West Texas for now...
Why the Golf of Campeche (in front of Vera Cruz) is low water ? Why should it be impossible for any oceanic fleet to reach Vera Cruz ?
All that map's configurations make it far too much difficult for the Union to help the mexican army in case of Foreign intervention activated.
It's not also helping the South & its French allies if they want to reach California from North Mexico
If there is no reorganization of the sector in AACW2, like some players proposed it in this thread, i suggest at least this modifications :
- A way go and back South West <=> North Mexico and North mexico <=> California
- coastal water for the Golf of Campeche
Other point in the sector, about the current possible (and interesting) invasion of California from the see :
was it really possible like currently in the game to transport by ships 2 or 3 divisions all along the atlantic and pacific ocean around south-american continent ? Should the troops still benefit to less cohesion & men losses in naval transport (comparing to the long march through the Far West they usually do) when they are supposed to spend months in ships and cross the dangerous Cap Horn !?
I would suggest to create a pacific coast with ports for the current regions of Mexico (capital) and North Mexico and to create a Cap Horn oceanic region with almost always bad weather were any fleet moving from atlantic to pacific oceans have to cross by. Then the control of Mexican ports on the pacific coast should became almost necessary to give an invading fleet some rest in a friendly port before attacking California.
I think that the Far South-West and Mexico areas need more regions in the map and that the French-Mexican war should be more detailed in the game because any scenarios with a Foreign Intervention in the ACW need it. The French interests in the ACW was mostly linked to Napoleon's objectives in Mexico. Only the conquest of Mexico would have lead to an easy conquest of California and to its durable protection from a US counter-attack. The loss of Californian cash incomes, added to the end its atlantic commercial incomes thanks to the british fleet, would be dramatic for the USA.
An other point is the use of the French Expeditionary Forces. I'm not sure that Napoleon-Badinguet III would have send and let to the CSA the command of any divisions deep in the northern central and east fronts of the ACW, unless he finished the Mexican war. But players use it mostly that way because there is nothing to do in Mexico. That's why all Mexican region should became strategic region once the FI is activated so that the players have to keep the French in Mexico until they finished the mexican war.
About Mexican army, i add here a link to a proposal about the missing of Saragoza 3 star mexican general and about the lack of some one stars generals :
http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?t=15137
--------------------------------------
State of California :
- there is still a problem with its produced milicia which sometime pop up in ...Fort Laramie (Great Plains).
- The Californian State should be able to produce at least few supply chariots and some light cavalry, elementary stuff that currently have to be brought ...from Missouri or Iowa.
-------------------------------
War in Canada :
- Please unlock immediately after FI is activated the British army, divisions & brigades spread in Canada. If not they have no chance to escape in the south or to organize a clever defense. For now they can't survive to just a basic US invasion which can destroy them before any reinforcement could come from Europe.
- A coastal way to Quebec : If Upper New York region don't have an Atlantic coastal water, it means that the New England region should have a link to Quebec (Lower Canada) ...
Are you sure that the St Laurent should be oceanic water ? Why can't the US send there ironclads when the CSA can send some till Vera Cruz ? Maybe like in WIA, it need a region with a fort in Louisbourg and coastal water around that control the entrance of St Laurent (which should be also in coastal water and frozen all the winter as it is (or as it was... if this modifications are done after the climate there changed

).
- The regions with Toronto and Montreal/Quebec should became very important strategic regions, as soon as the FI is activated. The lost of Canada would have been a catastrophic political problem for a pro-intervention government in Great Britain if not balanced very soon by a total victory on the USA. As a diplomatic option, it would almost for sure bring the Brit's back to neutrality if the USA chose to give Canada back (if demilitarized while they finish with the confederacy).
Currently, players mostly use all the British Expeditionary Forces with the CSA troops in the south and don't care of Canada, also because it's currently too much difficult to defend as said above.
-------------------------------------
Engineers units :
Engineers have currently a quite limited impact in the game.
- it would be more interesting if they became totally required to reach the retrenchment level from 5 up to 8...
(as already proposed in this thread, it would also give more importance to Engineers if retrenchment apply to the whole region, after all to avoid micro-management).
- it would be also more interesting if they became almost required to build a modern fort, i. e. it would take something like 8 turns to build a fortress without them and 2 turns like now only if there is a engineer in the town.
-----------------------------------------------
Marines and Sailors units :
As said before, this units don't deserve the "Pontoneer" ability which need to be given to a new "support unit" with a new icon, like in NCP (or to give it to the Engineer unit).
But to keep this beautiful units, we could give them this roles in the game :
- Marines could be infantry units which appear only in some big ports of some states. Then the player is sure that it will not pop up in remote parts of the states. Of courses if its possible to give them a new ability which give them a bonus when attacking from a fleet in coastal waters, it would be better, but i'm not sure if this kind of ability is historically accurate at this times.
- Sailors could be a kind of special milicia for the big ports (with the same movement penalty than the coastal guns). It can nicely represents all the remaining sailors in permission or waiting for their ships to be repaired who could contribute to the defense of the main ports if besieged by the enemy. For now it's simply incredible : i 'm currently using sailors' unit in the desert around Tucson just to have a pontoneer ability when invading the north of Texas...
----------------------------------
Army & Corps :
- A general leading a corps should loose immediately it's bonus (not its malus...) provided by its Army's commander each time he start a turn OUT OF its HQ Army's area.
- If he start a turn in an other army command range ruled by an other Army General with a better rank/seniority than its own Army's commander, a Corps should automatically not depend anymore on its original Army but on this new one.
If not implemented, players can still avoid to give to bad Army's commanders any corps to command.
--------------------------------------------------------
Gameplay of the general's abilities :
* Some abilities should have only 50% of chance to happen each turn (if their conditions are gathered) to avoid that players don't use "bad" generals at all in the game or to avoid any micro-management to nano-optimize the "good" ones (giving an advantage to the players who have more time to spend) :
- Slow Mover,
- Hated Occupier,
- Occupier,
- Dispirited Leader , Charismatic : it should also apply to the whole region if the general has the best rank/seniority in the region and it should not apply at all if he is not. For now players can just split the Dispirited general from its stack, wait that it is full of cohesion and then merge the general with the stack again.
Each time this "random" abilities did occurred, we could get a line in the events' report screen : Something like "General Butler did a strong occupier's policy in Louisville : -5% loyalty in the region" or something like "General Holmes gave orders which reduce the moral of its troops : -5 pts of cohesion for all the forces in the region of Union (MO)."
* Quickly Angered , Over Cautious : this very bad abilities should really be balanced by other usefull abilities. The purpose of generals is to bring command points. If they only cost command points they are not used at all in the game.
* Hothead & Reckless abilities of an Army's General should apply to its subordinates Corps' generals that are in the same region or same area because it could not be used most of the time as army commander :
E. g. How could happen a bloody Pickett's Charge ordered by the "Reckless" Lee in the game if he command only an army HQ & guns units and if none of its fighting Corps's generals have this ability ?
This abilities should also be applied to the whole stack where its general is, because players manage almost every time to not let them in command of any stack to avoid this penalty.
* instead of advertising and dispatching all the abilities to all the generals from the start, let's allowed the high command (the player) to discover during the war who are its best elements, like in the reality. Most of the Generals should be able to gain some abilities during the game thanks to their repeated (un)successful actions : for example, Speed Mover could be randomly (10% chance) given to generals each time they succeed a "Forced march" (and Slow Mover each time they failed). Many abilities of basic generals can appear this way (Hothead & Reckless abilities each time generals had enormous losses during an attack, etc). Each Basic 3-1-1 Generals could not have anyway more than 1 "good" and 1 "bad" ability.
---------------------------------
Fleet retreating "bug" :
Currently, if a fleet (let's say with invading troops) arrive in front of a region and is attacked and repulsed from its coastal region by an enemy fleet of ironclad (and let's say before its troops landed), the defeated fleet is obviously (it happen each of the two landing situation in my last PBEM games) obliged to retreat in a neighboring coastal region, instead of retreating in the oceanic region it comes from.
Of courses, the neighboring coastal waters are often under forts & coastal guns protections. The next turn, the enemy fleet could just attack again and make it retreat again in coastal water under an other fort instead of going in a neighboring oceanic region and step by step your fleet (let's say with all the BEF as invading troops) simply sink.
Can't we fix that all naval retreat in a coastal water go first to an oceanic region ?
------------------------------------------------------------------
About the order "Go inside the town/fort" :
I propose that if this button is pressed and if the stack with this order don't move from its region, the stack do not enter in the town/fort unless it is attacked and defeated by an invading force.
That way, players can organize a defensive force outside towns/forts and choose if they want that force to retreat inside the town or to retreat in a neighboring region, if attacked by a superior enemy.
-------------------------------------
Cavalry's charges :
I don't know if it was already discussed, but just in case it wasn't :
The concept of Cavalry's charges in NCP could be also introduced in AACW2. Except, of course, if it is an historical fact that during the american secession war, cavalry was never used in massive charges (and infantry wasn't trained to resist to it in squared formation) like during the napoleonic wars in Europe.