some more questions if you will indulge me. I'm convinced that somewhere in here is a great game, but the level of frustration in getting there is pretty immense - even simple things like lining up the units in the combat box take 5 mins of failed click and drag.
So I've now played 3 scenarios.
In the Serbian war, if I play Austria I get a decent win, if I play Serbia I get a draw or narrow defeat. To me that sounds like I am playing the same game from both sides since its clear the Austrians start much stronger. I'm sure that with practice I can improve but it gives me some re-assurance I have the basics right.
If I play the Tannenburg scenario as the Russians I can never find away around the blocking German forces on the border. If I play the Germans all my units are locked and the Russian army gaily wanders past in straw boaters on its way to set a game winning siege of Konigsberg. So I am clearly not playing the same game with both sides since the outcome and experience is utterly different. I have a fear I may be pressing the end turn button too soon but that is due to not being able to find any other way to activate the AI except by saving the game.
If I play the 1914 scenario as the French, I lose all of western France having effectively been forced to wreck my army on day 1. If I play as the Germans I get hung up on the borders - again my experience of the game is utterly different which makes me very suspicious.
So, in a desire to go beyond frustration:
a) what is the foolproof way to ensure your units are properly lined in the combat screen (this goes wrong so often I resort to the auto command just to get it to work)?
b) why are my perceptions of 1914 and Tannenburg so different it feels like I am playing a completely different game if I swap sides?
c) how do I know if I have accidently made the turn advance?
the game does have a habit of crashing/hanging up but can cope with that - its what the save button is for