East Campaign Close Out - New Guy with Questions!

[JohnnyReb]

Team AGEOD - first off, fantastic game! I have invested more hours than I would like to admit but you could say that I have "totally" poured myself in. My hope is you will continue to invest in the functionality with new releases and updates moving forward as you really have an all-star product! I was a big fan of Civil War Generals I & II as well as Sid Meier's Gettysburg and was completely unaware that this product was out here until I discovered Scourge of War which led me to this offering. I just completed the Civil War Eastern theater campaign and as by the name of my user name might suggest, I played as the CSA. A little recap to the un-realistic events; Hood took NYC with DH Hill and Stuart chugging towards Boston....

Questions:

- How do I entrench past level 3 or level 4? I never could figure this out. I would have a corps present in Fairfax and Manassas, but never saw the entrechment level rise past 3 or 4. I had 4 high range artillery present in the corps structure as well as 4 additional artillery as an independent stack in the region (as I understood artillery had to be present in the region in order to get the "cannon" icon). I could simply not figure this out...help please?

- How do I capture units? So in this last game I had Burnside sitting on the other side of the river for Savannah in the woods. I think because "auto-supply" was on it kept him from starving as I had the fort outside of Savannah as well as Savannah well occupied. Regardless, many times I have smashed units hard, just to have to simply chase them all over Virginia. If I hit them first with a strong division / corps and then after I make them run hit them the next turn with a CAV division (independent stack) will that basically put away with them....?

- Can we please have a feature in an upcoming release that enables the ability to have access to more generals? The East scenario would be that much more fun if you gave "wide range" access to more generals. If this could be a setting like the "increase force pool" option, I would be thrilled!

- Can we have the game go past 1867? Idea would be if I wanted to capture all of the map as the CSA, I would run out of time...is it possible to do this in a future release?

- The user manual....it is very "informative" and "exciting" but is quite vague. There is a ton of great knowledge that I have gained looking this forum over and over, that could simply be written into the "book". I'm surprised you guys don't charge a consulting fee Serious though, you do a great job at saying, "you can move your troops over there..." but don't exactly tell "how to do it". The entrenching is just one aspect....

- Can we please add ironclads to the force pool...? I had captured DC and Philly as well as NY, but even my Steam Boat Navy with the CSS Virginia was only coming in at 480 strength with the Union Navy showing up in the thousands (and that was with a lot of steam frigates). I know it is unrealistic, but simply fighting the war on a computer is unrealistic in the sense of if we were doing this back in '63 Simply providing more robust flexibility on your most excellent environment would be very cool!

- Also, Hood's Division is not in the Gettysburg scenario.....

Will post more as I think up more, but finally decided to stop reading and start contributing! Great game, like I said, great game....

Cheers,

Matt

[JohnnyReb]

- Also is there a bug in the East Campaign regarding New Taxes, Print Money and Bonds...? That option is available every turn and doesn't go away and the show back up six months later....

- Should your strongest artillery be embedded in your division or stay up at the corps level?

- Any advantage to building a massive investment in the navy in only one port versus spreading it out? I'm guessing it doesn't speed things up either way, though I know a Naval Engineer is recommended at whatever location you decide to build....

[Merlin]

Questions:

- How do I entrench past level 3 or level 4? I never could figure this out. I would have a corps present in Fairfax and Manassas, but never saw the entrechment level rise past 3 or 4. I had 4 high range artillery present in the corps structure as well as 4 additional artillery as an independent stack in the region (as I understood artillery had to be present in the region in order to get the "cannon" icon). I could simply not figure this out...help please?

You do need guns for this, but more men, engineers, and pontoons vastly decrease the time.

- How do I capture units? So in this last game I had Burnside sitting on the other side of the river for Savannah in the woods. I think because "auto-supply" was on it kept him from starving as I had the fort outside of Savannah as well as Savannah well occupied. Regardless, many times I have smashed units hard, just to have to simply chase them all over Virginia. If I hit them first with a strong division / corps and then after I make them run hit them the next turn with a CAV division (independent stack) will that basically put away with them....?

You need to pretty much annihilate the stack, and capture isn't guaranteed.

- Can we please have a feature in an upcoming release that enables the ability to have access to more generals? The East scenario would be that much more fun if you gave "wide range" access to more generals. If this could be a setting like the "increase force pool" option, I would be thrilled!

I doubt you'll see that happen. I presume such a feature would be low priority, and the available generals pretty much show up when and where they're supposed to.

- Can we have the game go past 1867? Idea would be if I wanted to capture all of the map as the CSA, I would run out of time...is it possible to do this in a future release?

I've seen people reporting dates well past the scenario ending. Whether they're just playing past the victory/defeat message (you can do this) or whether they've modded their game, I'm not certain. You could always ask in the mod forum though.

- The user manual....it is very "informative" and "exciting" but is quite vague. There is a ton of great knowledge that I have gained looking this forum over and over, that could simply be written into the "book". I'm surprised you guys don't charge a consulting fee Serious though, you do a great job at saying, "you can move your troops over there..." but don't exactly tell "how to do it". The entrenching is just one aspect....

These games evolve and change over time, sometimes so much so the manual can be wrong. With such a small team, AGEOD tends to devote most of their time to new games and improving existing ones, to the point they often get patches even a year or two after they're feature complete and as bug-free as is reasonable.

- Can we please add ironclads to the force pool...? I had captured DC and Philly as well as NY, but even my Steam Boat Navy with the CSS Virginia was only coming in at 480 strength with the Union Navy showing up in the thousands (and that was with a lot of steam frigates). I know it is unrealistic, but simply fighting the war on a computer is unrealistic in the sense of if we were doing this back in '63 Simply providing more robust flexibility on your most excellent environment would be very cool!

You can build 'clads on the East coast, and as far as I know, possibly in Northern cities.

- Also is there a bug in the East Campaign regarding New Taxes, Print Money and Bonds...? That option is available every turn and doesn't go away and the show back up six months later....

Most people play the full campaigns, so that may very well have gotten overlooked. Post it with a save (if you still have one) in the tech support forum.

- Should your strongest artillery be embedded in your division or stay up at the corps level?

That depends on you. I prefer stronger divisions and corps artillery.

- Any advantage to building a massive investment in the navy in only one port versus spreading it out? I'm guessing it doesn't speed things up either way, though I know a Naval Engineer is recommended at whatever location you decide to build....

The bigger the naval yard (the actual structure listed when you mouse over or Ctrl-click a city), the faster the construction. Naval engineers help even more.

[JohnnyReb]

You do need guns for this, but more men, engineers, and pontoons vastly decrease the time.

Can you be more specific? I haven't accomplished this once, and have had stacks sitting idle for months with a combat strength of 1800 plus....is an engineer required to make the "icon" appear / achieve higher entrenchment? Are the naval guns or siege artillery required..?

You need to pretty much annihilate the stack, and capture isn't guaranteed.



I doubt you'll see that happen. I presume such a feature would be low priority, and the available generals pretty much show up when and where they're supposed to.



I've seen people reporting dates well past the scenario ending. Whether they're just playing past the victory/defeat message (you can do this) or whether they've modded their game, I'm not certain. You could always ask in the mod forum though.



These games evolve and change over time, sometimes so much so the manual can be wrong. With such a small team, AGEOD tends to devote most of their time to new games and improving existing ones, to the point they often get patches even a year or two after they're feature complete and as bug-free as is reasonable.



You can build 'clads on the East coast, and as far as I know, possibly in Northern cities.



Most people play the full campaigns, so that may very well have gotten overlooked. Post it with a save (if you still have one) in the tech support forum.



That depends on you. I prefer stronger divisions and corps artillery.



The bigger the naval yard (the actual structure listed when you mouse over or Ctrl-click a city), the faster the construction. Naval engineers help even more.

Many thanks for the reply Merlin!

[Merlin]

Can you be more specific? I haven't accomplished this once, and have had stacks sitting idle for months with a combat strength of 1800 plus....is an engineer required to make the "icon" appear / achieve higher entrenchment? Are the naval guns or siege artillery required..?

Almost missed this. Did you win quickly? If so, you may have never reached the event which increases the entrenchment level to 5. Your average corps with 2-3 divisions and 5-10 12lb. or larger batteries (in the divisions themselves or loose in the corps doesn't matter for this) will entrench to level 5 in a good 4-6 turns. With an engineer and pontoon unit, it can reach it in 3.

[Whichwitch]

- Can we please have a feature in an upcoming release that enables the ability to have access to more generals? The East scenario would be that much more fun if you gave "wide range" access to more generals. If this could be a setting like the "increase force pool" option, I would be thrilled!

Just try as a game as the Union. You get about a gazillion generals. I've got a general on every militia and Indian and raider I own.

[Mickey3D]

- How do I entrench past level 3 or level 4? I never could figure this out. I would have a corps present in Fairfax and Manassas, but never saw the entrechment level rise past 3 or 4.

There is a max entrenchment level that is increasing through the game (you will see message about this in your event windows) : so at the very beginning of the game you won't be able to reach the level 5.

Moreover, the more you want to reach a high level of entrenchment, the more you have to wait. Tips : select your force and move your mouse on the round icon showing the current level of entrenchment : a tooltip will display how long you have to wait to reach the next entrenchment level.

[penlin]

I noticed the same bug about money options never going away no matter how many times you selected them in the East scenario when I played as Union. I suspect that only noobs like us play the smaller scenarios, so these bugs get overlooked. This is a pity since the BRS expansion costs decent money and one of the prime scenarios is pretty wonky. I also had the same general appear twice on the map and some other weirdness.

Totally agree about that vagueness of the manual that generally is not helpful to people really trying to learn the game. There is a lot of great info on the forums but hard to find for new players. If I get some time, I am going to work on the wiki. If more of us took the info from the forums and then organized it in the wiki so new players could find, that would be a big improvement.

[Mickey3D]

I haven't played the East scenario so I can't help you at the moment but a quick question : Have you installed the latest patch ?

[ArmChairGeneral]

I have the latest patch and had the same money options problem in the East scenario playing as the CSA. They show up in the ledger every turn, and when you click them the NM effects show up on the main screen (click Taxes, and NM drops). On the next turn however, they revert to the original NM, although I think the inflation does not revert (not sure about this though: my inflation got up to 24% before the end of the first year which is unusually high, but that could have been an intentional part of the scenario rather than because I kept trying to raise money).

I didn't specifically notice the entrenchment issue in my playthrough, but I find it likely that this is accidentally built into the scenario. Max entrenchment parameter is changed by event, right? It seems reasonable to suspect that the event to increase it above 3 (the East scenario starts in 1862) was either overlooked or has a bug.

[ArmChairGeneral]

From an 1862 East playthrough, re: Entrenchments

[ATTACH]31237[/ATTACH]

Screenshot taken under 1.04. I will play a few more turns and see if I can get lvl 5.

[Mickey3D]

The tooltip says the max entrenchment level is 3. I'm ready to believe you were right when you wrote the events to raise this max level are overlooked.
The current level of 4 is possible because the Richmond Garrison is entering through an event or is there from the beginning and its entrenchment level is set in the event or the scenario initial setup.

[ArmChairGeneral]

Mickey3D:
If the entrench is event based it should be an easy fix, right? What about the money options? Aren't ledger decisions trickier to deal with than a straightforward event?

Visual confirmation that entrench is set at lvl 3:

[ATTACH]31240[/ATTACH]Richmond Garrison
This stack is in the level 2 Fort at Richmond and so either started at or is able to reach level 4 as Mickey noted, but has not progressed after several turns.

[ATTACH]31241[/ATTACH]Tex Brigade Early July

This stack is in the region, entrenched at 3. Note days to next entrench level.

[ATTACH]31242[/ATTACH]Tex Brigade Late Aug

Days to entrench have not changed though several turns have passed, still at lvl 3.

[ArmChairGeneral]

Oops, I forgot to paste the dates on the pics above, but each screenie is at least three turns apart.

Mickey3D:
Where is the tooltip you were referring to that shows global max entrench?

[Mickey3D]

Where is the tooltip you were referring to that shows global max entrench?

In the tooltip appearing when you hover the mouse on the entrenchment level icon there is the text "[...]provided the maximum entrench level of 3 is not reached".

[Mickey3D]

Mickey3D:
If the entrench is event based it should be an easy fix, right?

Yes, should be pretty easy...once you understand the event scripting language I'll try to have a look.

What about the money options? Aren't ledger decisions trickier to deal with than a straightforward event?

If I remember well, ledger decision appearance is also driven by events. To be checked.

[ArmChairGeneral]

Yes, should be pretty easy...once you understand the event scripting language I'll try to have a look.

Yes, I meant easy for someone who knows what they are doing (i.e. not me)

In the tooltip appearing when you hover the mouse on the entrenchment level icon there is the text "[...]provided the maximum entrench level of 3 is not reached".

Ahh, so right there in each of my screenshots. Duh. (Note to self: don't just read the tooltips, read them CAREFULLY!)

[Mickey3D]

Mickey3D:
If the entrench is event based it should be an easy fix, right?

Yes, should be pretty easy...once you understand the event scripting language I'll try to have a look.

Damned, either I'm totally blind or the max entrenchment level is not event based.

I was able to find the command setting the initial entrenchment level (level 3) but nothing to increase it. However I've found this old post on the beta tester forum :

[...] each year there is a 15% probability each turn for this to happen, and if it does not happen, then it occurs automatically at start of following year. It worked like this already in ACW1[...]

So you start with max entrenchment level 3 and have a 15% increase per turn. This level will at least increase by 1 each year (if the 15% chance doesn't happen).

What is the turn you are playing at the moment ?

[ArmChairGeneral]

Mine was a test game with the AI off, I played from Feb 62 to Aug 62. I will advance it into April 63 and see what happens. I could have sworn I read the max entrench changed at specific dates, but I cannot find a reference.

[Mickey3D]

Mine was a test game with the AI off, I played from Feb 62 to Aug 62.

More or less 12 turns : If my mathematic skil is not too rusty it means around 85% chance to have at least one increase in entrenchment level.

I will advance it into April 63 and see what happens

Let me know the result.

I could have sworn I read the max entrench changed at specific dates, but I cannot find a reference.

Based on PhilThib comment it should change beginning of each year if it has not change in the previous year.

[JohnnyReb]

So I graduated to the "big boy" game, and I can confirm that there are some definite "bugs" in the East scenario. My troops are "entrenching" properly...as in it looks like a black wall of stone around them Also, the "War Bonds" / "Taxes" / "Print Money" functions behave properly in the major campaign and not the East campaign. Again, great game, I have absolutely enjoyed playing it.....!