Spanish Ulcer Campaign
Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 11:43 am
Spanish Ulcer Campaign.
I have played 2/3 of this very long Campaign, played as French side.
I have collected down here some notes/observations.
1. I experienced some NPC program crashes: indeed the program back up system is working fine so I was, at worst, able to resume from last backup copy.
In most instances it was sufficient to repeat the AI turn phase to bypass any crash trouble.
2. I have been able to get in control af all major cities and VP locations: Gibiltar included.
None the less I'm far from triggering a "National Morale Automatic Victory".
May be this aspect should be revisited!
3. Year after year campaign losses are reducing the number of available units, beeing most units wiped out after loosing all strengh points!
May be new units should be added to the OOB yearly: it could be usefull to have some "eliminated units , (brigades/regiments), carried bacK to game per year.
It was common practice to reform disbanded units by new troops collected around brigades/regiments quadres.
4. Yearly, the AI Coalition player commits new troops to one or more offensive.
4a. Occasionally, AI Coalition player large forces are used to advance deep in enemy controlled areas, without supply bases supporting them: it results in heavy attrition lossed decimating Coalition Armies.
May be AI smartness should be improved: with AI going after a good supply network before trying "suicide" advance in enemy controlled territories.
4b. Often, AI Coalition player forces are widely separated in small forces, leading to few chances of large battles that instead occurred during the Peninsular War.
5. Stalemate is the common achivements of the Campaign.
French player cannot achieve the "National Morale Automatic Victory" condition even when controlling all key locations: see point 2.
On the other side we have very few chances of large engagements, only event producing large National Morale gains/losses.
6. The Political aspects are not represented.
Guess they could be added as a away to modulate Spanish Guerillas.
7. French Marshalls' competition and boycott was of paramount importance to determine Peninsular War outcome.
Often French Marshalls refused to support each other and to coordinate they efforts.
In the game, Corps can be easely transferred between the two French Armies: in the real camapign that was not possible due to Marshalls' competitions.
Indeed, during the Peninsular War French Forces were organized into several Regional Armies under control of different Marshalls.
The Spanish Ulcer Campaign is a really frustrating struggle: you can manage to survive, while victory is out of range!
Overally, it's a great and accurate simulation: the French side player experiences will all frustrations, French Marshalls met.
As a game, player could gain enjoyement by the improvement of sudden death/Victory conditions.....may be related to the controll of all map key locations.
In perspective, looking to the Great Campaign Game, Spanish Ulcer Campaign works perfectely for what Spain resulted in the overall Napoleonic struggle for Europe.
JastaV
I have played 2/3 of this very long Campaign, played as French side.
I have collected down here some notes/observations.
1. I experienced some NPC program crashes: indeed the program back up system is working fine so I was, at worst, able to resume from last backup copy.
In most instances it was sufficient to repeat the AI turn phase to bypass any crash trouble.
2. I have been able to get in control af all major cities and VP locations: Gibiltar included.
None the less I'm far from triggering a "National Morale Automatic Victory".
May be this aspect should be revisited!
3. Year after year campaign losses are reducing the number of available units, beeing most units wiped out after loosing all strengh points!
May be new units should be added to the OOB yearly: it could be usefull to have some "eliminated units , (brigades/regiments), carried bacK to game per year.
It was common practice to reform disbanded units by new troops collected around brigades/regiments quadres.
4. Yearly, the AI Coalition player commits new troops to one or more offensive.
4a. Occasionally, AI Coalition player large forces are used to advance deep in enemy controlled areas, without supply bases supporting them: it results in heavy attrition lossed decimating Coalition Armies.
May be AI smartness should be improved: with AI going after a good supply network before trying "suicide" advance in enemy controlled territories.
4b. Often, AI Coalition player forces are widely separated in small forces, leading to few chances of large battles that instead occurred during the Peninsular War.
5. Stalemate is the common achivements of the Campaign.
French player cannot achieve the "National Morale Automatic Victory" condition even when controlling all key locations: see point 2.
On the other side we have very few chances of large engagements, only event producing large National Morale gains/losses.
6. The Political aspects are not represented.
Guess they could be added as a away to modulate Spanish Guerillas.
7. French Marshalls' competition and boycott was of paramount importance to determine Peninsular War outcome.
Often French Marshalls refused to support each other and to coordinate they efforts.
In the game, Corps can be easely transferred between the two French Armies: in the real camapign that was not possible due to Marshalls' competitions.
Indeed, during the Peninsular War French Forces were organized into several Regional Armies under control of different Marshalls.
The Spanish Ulcer Campaign is a really frustrating struggle: you can manage to survive, while victory is out of range!
Overally, it's a great and accurate simulation: the French side player experiences will all frustrations, French Marshalls met.
As a game, player could gain enjoyement by the improvement of sudden death/Victory conditions.....may be related to the controll of all map key locations.
In perspective, looking to the Great Campaign Game, Spanish Ulcer Campaign works perfectely for what Spain resulted in the overall Napoleonic struggle for Europe.
JastaV
although enemy is unable to organize a real opposition I'm not able to win the Campaign 
)... once this is done, we can merge this with an alterred 1809 setup and we have a working base....
