Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:58 pm
HIGHLIGHTS for Coming fury mod for 1.08
First, let's me say AACW is really the best wargame ( computer or boardgame) I ver played. If I'm here and there modestly modifying points in order to get a better game, I keep this feeling AGEOD has done it right. A subtle blend of strategical and operational decisions to take, covered by a clever design using both simplifications when needed and very detailed rules on crucial points, offered with great graphics and constantly patched... a real miracle.
The result for me has been costly buys of books about the Civil War which in turn gave always more desire to mod.
From the start, I choosed to keep as closely than possible on the same design model than Ageod: the simplest way to get historical flavour with a working AI.
It's yet a work in progress. So much is on to do list....
About balance.... I don't know. Maybe it will be, certainly not. As usual, only time will give the necessary hindsights about. I just hope you will get a gretaer historical flavor, an harder game against AI or an human opponent... and any suggestions to work out this mod.
First, I rejected too idiocy rules.
It's always difficult to draw the lines between more realism and « idiocy rules » forcing player to do the same errors made during a war.
By example, USA didn't formed more than 6 cavalry regiment until August 1861, considering useless to form more as the war would be very short and terrain was considered being very adverse to the cavalry.
USA cavalry was yet plagued by poor tactics, primarily lack of grouped use, in the first year.
Player is taking the place of Lincoln or Davis for the essential, relying on chosen general to execute strategic plan ( even if the game let players elaborate too part of operational implementation of these strategic moves, even if sucess or failure is partially the result of the General ratings).
So I 've sorted modifications by this criteria: nothing should delay the possibility for the North to create immediatly more cavalry brigades, but the tactical problems being out of the scrutiny of the high Command, I've lowered a bit some US cavalry stat for the first mid-game.
The same way about events. I will avoid any event which would have for effect to force player to act historically whatever the context. By example, I don't want have event putting McClellan in charge of Army of the Potomac, but I prefer to set a leaders situation where McClellan choice is an interesting one ( by his training and organizational abilities).
Secondly, I added small changes to units
a) until now, I haven't noticed sufficiently strange battle results to undermine my belief into the unit ratings ( even if from time to time a strange result may occur, no proof such an occurrence comes from erroneous unit sats)
b) battle combat procedure, albeit complex, remains an abstraction. Introducing greatly modified stats, even if more realist in theory, could result in wrong results, simply by being made to a system which doesn't is a realistic portrayal of battle but a simulation destined to give accurate outcomes.
So I have made rather light changes in regards to these 2 considerations.
These changes are coming from interesting posts from McNAUGHTON
In short:
- I reduced the number of sharpshooter units, and raised their cost in manpower ( reflecting not the real number of men but the difficulty to find elite riflemen in quantity). It should force the player to avoid recruit in mass sharpshooters but let him possibility to do so. The number will increase with years ( see Shock troops of the Confederacy by Fred L. RAY for more details).
- I reworked US cavalry to give CSA a real edge at start. The end of the war will be marked by the contrary. CSA units will cost more at the end of war, to show the lack of horses this side suffered then.
- I modified artillery. Basically, I enforced differences between smoothbores and rifle guns.
Smoothbores have short range, rather low attack accuracy, high defense accuracy and reinforced assault values, in order to stress their defensive use in the game system limits. The 6 pdr is cheap but weak, the 12pdr is much better and really versatile gun.
Rifled guns on the contrary have greater range and are more accurate than smoothbore in attack , less in defense, making them useful for attack. The 20 parrot is delivering more punch at higher range than the 10.
But...never forget most battles are beginning at range 4 or less ( the range of smoothbores)...Lee stated the 12 pdr « Napoleon » to be the best gun not without reasons. The theorical advantage of rifled guns are so challenged .
Last, Horse artillery is now representing the 3 inch, rifled gun having the same values than the 10 parrot but with greater accuracy and better reliability ( Parrot hits number being reduced by one). Price is higher too...
So, with 5 types having special functions and limits, field artillery is now without « must have « model. 6Pdr is inexpensive but of marginal value, 3 inch is the best rifled gun but is the most difficult to buy, the 20 parrot delivers on attack greatest puch, but is costly and its range isn't that useful, the 10 parrot remaining so interesting because of its lower cost.
Artillery forts changes are fewer . I disabled Rodman and Columbiad models,because they were only very big smoothbores, but I introduced the naval/coastal rifled artillery, which put an end to the masonry fortification without being deadly against armored vessels... I added the siege ability to siege guns but reduced their damage values.
Then comes the problem of Divisions.
In the current system, 1861 divisions get the same advantages than 1863 ones.
It's highly unrealistic.
What plagued both sides at start was the lack of skilled officers and the absence of HQ staff doctrine. If the first problem was somewhat solved with time, second remained much more pregnant until 1865. Some progress was made but slowly.
For these 2 reasons, corps weren't used until the first half of 1862 and I'm seriously questioning the eistence of functional divisional HQ in the first months of the war.
In game terms, it signifies, as corps can't be prohibited, to delay the appearance of 2 and 3 stars generals, and to postpone divisions formation until the end of 1861.
So divisions can't be formed before october 1861.
The divisions in the 2 Eastern armies appearing in may 1861 have been disbanded too.
Now your leaders will move and fight with penalties. The strategic plans will so be slower to start and the first battle in Virginia ( first Bull Run) a real challenge.
It will too hinder gamey tactics, like forming a cavalry division to raid into enemy land. You will be yet able to group several cavalry units under a leader in 1861 but you will get out of command penalties...
Then winter should postpone your raid projects until the spring of 1862...
The cohesion value of units was reworked.
I've reduced too the cohesion value of all units. First, because I think it will made units more prone to rout and so will reduce the number of destroyed regiments, a little too high. Secondly, as cohesion improves with experience, it should enforce the need for players to take attention to experienced units, peculiarly for the Union player, whose replacement penalty could be giving headaches in the last years of the war...Last, the 1861 battles should be shorter and plagued by routing units....as in reality.
So all cohesion levels have been reduced by 10.
Not only it will give real edge to experienced units, whose cohesion is raised, it will emphazize a bit more National Morale influence.
You will need both yet more.
Battles will be less costly, shorter, peculiarly in the first months, with troops routing quicker than stubbornly renewing deadly assaults.
On the econical front, Draft and Money Policies from the vanilla version are definitly too lenient. Players can too quickly get astronomical amount of men, money and War supply to build unhistorically huge armies.
In reality, both sides had huge problems with conscription laws and their enforcement, and printing money in the game hadn't penalties sufficient to prohibit its use each turn.
So I raised both NM and VP losses for conscription options and limited the money printing to one turn by month.
Draft isn't possible until 1862. USA side gets more volunteers ( if Sufficient funds are at disposal) and less draftees. CSA will have to rely more on draft.
Global numbers of buildable troops will remain roughly the same than in the official version but this difference should create interesting dilemnas, the South being forced to get back the NM lost when USA will have to find money for volunteers and accept to lose 8 or 10 NM for a number of conscripts much lower than before...
Printing money will at last give much less money in the first months, and will raise with Victory Point total. So long for some gamey tactics at start to use printing money for building a very large army...
Last, the numbers of War supply production has been reduced for both sides. Now you will have a real interest for industrialization of blockade runners ( or raising transport fleet for USA).
6) I've introduced a few changes in strategic cities list: Manassas,Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Fort Donelson, Columbus, Harrissonburg and Grafton have now a VP value whereas Winchester, and the region north to Fort Pickens have lost their VP value. It should help CSA AI to be less obnoxious about Harper's Ferry and Fort Pickens.
7) East Tenessee regions have now a strong US influence at start, when Southern Illinois ( "Little Egypt") has a small CSA sympathy at start.
8) The mod is using the current leaders mod made by Winfield S Hancock and Ruynan99. There are more and more slight changes here and there. I uess some will be controversial ( The 2 Johnston by example)but I'm ready to create tailored files for those wanting to get other values ;- )
Some examples:
-Mc Dowell decreased to 1-2-1. Mc Dowell attacked at First Bull Run because of presidential order. At second Bull run, his performance was poor as he lost too much time to play a real role in the battle. I know, he was a scapegoat too... But it was less than stellar anyway.
-Forrest increased to 6-6-4. Forrest made some really competent defensive operations.
9) Nominal figures for infrantry regiments has been reduced from 1,000 to 700. Number of hits remains the same.
10) This mod is using a slighty modified version of the cavalry mod by Jabberwock. The only difference is the new ability is only given to INDEPENDANT Cavalry units ( not embedded into an infantry brigade).
12) Brigades reworked for both sides. Most Federal brigades are made of 3 infantry regiments ( and cavalry or artillery assets sometimes). CSA brigades are larger.
13) I'm using GREY LANSMANN fantastic work on railroads. A very nice job and an huge task to create a more historical transportation network.
14) Creation of the Potomac gunboats unit, one of the reason explaining why CSA didn't crossed the Potomac to attack Washington...
15) some flavour events added like the corruption ones ( small losses in War supplies)
16) most 2 and 3 stars Generals have a slight risk to be removed each turn and another to get back... Simulating illness, death or any sort of retirement, these events are yet a very rough way to compensate the lack of death rules for 3 stars leaders in AGE engine... with the side effect to disband the army commanded by the leader...hence the very low probability of this sort of removal. But at least Grant or Lee aren't anymore immortal...
17) creation of the volunteer units, ie infantry regiments with very low stats. They're representing the really bad units created at the start of the war , poorly led, totally undisciplined. They are subjecting to improve.
18) the upgrade of units has been slowed ( too quickly made in normal version)
19) I modified too the march to the guns parameters. Basically, the march to the gun will be more dependant of the strategic value of leaders.
20) AI will get for free some forts on Richmond, Washington....
21) The end of the term for the 3 years engagment for US troops in 1864 is now simulated by losses of XP and cohesion...The USA will lose too 200 conscript points. It should help CSA to resist longer.
22) Raised the death probability for one and two stars leaders.
23) raised the value of inactive status to 40%
24) Created a new ability: poor administrator, giving malus in cohesion for some notorious unpar generals ( Burnside by example).
25) Removed elite status for most brigades created by events.
