What's all this I hear about Theaters?

[GraniteStater]

[ATTACH]37983[/ATTACH]

So, what's the scoop? Theater Commanders? Ooooh, can I have one?

[Jerzul]

[ATTACH]37983[/ATTACH]

So, what's the scoop? Theater Commanders? Ooooh, can I have one?

I wouldn't mind some clarification on the subject.

[DrPostman]

There's a map filter that show's you which theater is which.

[Gray Fox]

Some leader abilities apply to the unit, stack, state or even the Department (Theater). I only found two abilities in the CW2 dbase for Department, Spy Master and Poor Spy Network. The leader has to be the Commander in Chief in the Department for the abilities to work. This is mostly a feature from other AGEOD games.

[Jerzul]

Some leader abilities apply to the unit, stack, state or even the Department (Theater). I only found two abilities in the CW2 dbase for Department, Spy Master and Poor Spy Network. The leader has to be the Commander in Chief in the Department for the abilities to work. This is mostly a feature from other AGEOD games.

How is one placed as CnC of the Department? Is it the most senior 3* in command of an army in the region?

[Gray Fox]

I believe so. However, Pinkerton has the Master Spy ability, so maybe he just has to be present in the Department.

[GraniteStater]

That's true about Pinkerton. Most senior *** is probably the Big Cheese, and we can't really do much except move them.

[tribeticus]

That's true about Pinkerton. Most senior *** is probably the Big Cheese, and we can't really do much except move them.

Pinkerton should be POOR SPY, not master spy.

He was just about the worst spy of all time, and was instrumental in McClellan's complete misunderstanding and inflating of the Rebel forces.

If McClellan had trusted a decent spy network, or at least listened to more commanders in the field, he would have realized he was not outnumbered 2 to 1, but was actually outnumbering the Rebels by as much as 3 to 1 in some cases. Pinkerton was highly influential in McClellan not utilizing Porters' reinforcements at Antietam for instance, where McClellan was constantly preparing for a final counter attack that Lee would never be able to accomplish with his tired and starving outnumbered troops.

I wish the game did not give Pinkerton the Spy ability at all, he was terrible!

[Jerzul]

Pinkerton should be POOR SPY, not master spy.

He was just about the worst spy of all time, and was instrumental in McClellan's complete misunderstanding and inflating of the Rebel forces.

If McClellan had trusted a decent spy network, or at least listened to more commanders in the field, he would have realized he was not outnumbered 2 to 1, but was actually outnumbering the Rebels by as much as 3 to 1 in some cases. Pinkerton was highly influential in McClellan not utilizing Porters' reinforcements at Antietam for instance, where McClellan was constantly preparing for a final counter attack that Lee would never be able to accomplish with his tired and starving outnumbered troops.

I wish the game did not give Pinkerton the Spy ability at all, he was terrible!

I'll second this...at best he should have a martial law ability, but only in industrial areas... oke:

[Captain_Orso]

Theater commander per the game engine is simply the highest ranking leader in the theater. If that is a brigadier, then he's the 'theater commander'.

The theater commander situation was added to the engine for To End All Wars, and AFAIK it is only truly implemented there. In CW2 you do get an indication as to who would be the theater commander, but it has no meaning for the game itself.

With the pre-designated theaters we currently have, I'd not even like to use theater commanders. The 'theater's we have only generally come somewhat close to how they were setup during the war, and only in a very limited scope. In reality, the command structures, at least for the Union, changed a number of times greatly during the war. Without at least two more command-levels above Division - Corps - Army, Military Division/Theater and CIC, anything resembling a theater commander would really only be paying lip-service to the position.

--

As far as Pinkerton goes, I've heard arguments in both directions, that he was the cause of McClellan's misunderstanding of his opponent's strength, and that McClellan's insistence that his opponent was vastly superior in numbers caused Pinkerton to simply deliver the only results McClellan would accept, ie creating a self-fulfilling prophesy, except that the prophesy never actually came true.