Why do some generals refuse to move from blue/any color to orange or red/ * ?

[LCcmdr]

I just trrashed a great game by overplaying my hand as the North. I had a solid stalemate in the West; a give and take between Cairo and Louisville; and a superb campaign encircling Richmond. Athena has parked 1500 Rebs attempting to take Norfolk, and put 4000 troops in Richmond. I had 3 stacks surrounding Richmond--two adjacent; but when I ordered the first stack to red/orange, the 3 star general refused!

I'm just emerging from newbie status but still quite a tenderfoot--is such behavior normal or are there circumstances that cause it?


Waiting for the real warriors to speak......

And thanks

[ArmChairGeneral]

Hard to say without more info about what happened but the first thing that comes to mind is activation status. Or there might have been something going on with the special Army commitment rule if there was another friendly stack in the region with your army. It is also possible if you were in Orange posture that the enemy general recognized he was overmatched and managed to avoid the combat (stacks inside structures are not able to evade assaults though, so if you were set to red posture this wouldn't be the culprit). Lee is capable of this since it is based in part on strat rating.

[Leibst]

I think it is as simple as that. The general is not activated and can't order an attack. That sometimes is frustrating yes.

[LCcmdr]

Yep!

[Gray Fox]

Some players absolutely hate me for doing things like this, but when Patton didn't think a commander was doing his job, he fired him on the spot and told the XO to get the job done or he would be fired too. If you have an active 2-star with the 3-star's stack, then pull the 3-star and let him smoke a cigar while the 2-star becomes Corps/stack commander and saves the day.

If you want Fate to decide the game, then play Chutes and Ladders.

[Rod Smart]

Activation rolls- its based on the strategic rating of a general, the first number in the 3-1-1.
Strategic-offense-defense.
Higher the strategic rating, higher the chance he'll be active. Is very realistic, McClellan never moves, and John Bell Hood is always ready to attack anything at anytime.

If you play with randomization, you'll end up with some dummies with zero strategic, who will never be active.

Like Grayfox said- you have extra generals, use them. Instead of parking them where you muster your troops waiting for a command, send them along with your stacks. You should have them there anyway in case someone gets killed, and they're useful for this as well.


You can also turn down this setting. On hard, they don't move if not active. On easy, they move and attack even when blue (albeit at a disadvantage).

[LCcmdr]

Thanks, folks! I'm still practically a noob--but I'm spending my vacation immersed in monstrous delight. It's a great game, just frustrating due to the learning curve.

[RickInVA]

Some players absolutely hate me for doing things like this, but when Patton didn't think a commander was doing his job, he fired him on the spot and told the XO to get the job done or he would be fired too. If you have an active 2-star with the 3-star's stack, then pull the 3-star and let him smoke a cigar while the 2-star becomes Corps/stack commander and saves the day.

If you want Fate to decide the game, then play Chutes and Ladders.

That is why you should play with Veteran activation, so you can't exploit that!