How to add Brigadier Generals to the game
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2014 4:54 pm
Leaders of brigades are currently in the game only as flavor, brigades are named after generals who led brigades from the state where the brigade is recruited. For instance, the first brigade you create in Virginia is called Mahone's Brigade after William Mahone (This might be anachronistic since Mahone didn't lead a Brigade until very late in 1861, I think, but is a nice nod to his actions at Norfolk I guess). Before divisions are allowed, it is nice to combine generals and brigades so they can gain experience if the brigade does something well (does this work?), but to add a brigade to a division, it must be split from its general, and brigade leadership is really just flavor right now.
However, I propose that something better and somewhat more interesting can be done. I think an event can be added that looks if a brigade with a certain name is in a certain region by a certain date, etc. You could even do this in a turn where a region is captured (similar to the Kentucky captured cities events).
Why not have it so that if Mahone's Brigade is in a region when a certain region is captured, that William Mahone could appear as a General in the game early (currently he doesn't arrive until the very end of 1864). Since in the real war, Mahone wasn't promoted until the Battle of the Crater, it could be set that Mahone's brigade needs to achieve a fairly advanced objective. For example holding Alexandria after 1863; multiple objectives could be set so that it fires if his brigade happens to be in a force which captures Wheeling or Cincinnati. If that event doesn't fire until the end of 1864, the regular event would then fire.
William Taliaferro appears in the game in 1862 (as he probably should, historically) and the flavor name of the 6th brigade you can recruit in Virginia carries his name. Since he was promoted earlier in the real war, his condition can be simpler (say, having his brigade be in Harper's Ferry in September, November, or December of 1861). By the way, one way to help this work better is to order the names of flavor brigades more historically (as I've tried to do in my name mod - for example Armistead's brigade shouldn't be recruited before Taliaferro's).
I don't propose this be possible for every brigade or brigadier general, but it could work for those currently in the game at least.
However, I propose that something better and somewhat more interesting can be done. I think an event can be added that looks if a brigade with a certain name is in a certain region by a certain date, etc. You could even do this in a turn where a region is captured (similar to the Kentucky captured cities events).
Why not have it so that if Mahone's Brigade is in a region when a certain region is captured, that William Mahone could appear as a General in the game early (currently he doesn't arrive until the very end of 1864). Since in the real war, Mahone wasn't promoted until the Battle of the Crater, it could be set that Mahone's brigade needs to achieve a fairly advanced objective. For example holding Alexandria after 1863; multiple objectives could be set so that it fires if his brigade happens to be in a force which captures Wheeling or Cincinnati. If that event doesn't fire until the end of 1864, the regular event would then fire.
William Taliaferro appears in the game in 1862 (as he probably should, historically) and the flavor name of the 6th brigade you can recruit in Virginia carries his name. Since he was promoted earlier in the real war, his condition can be simpler (say, having his brigade be in Harper's Ferry in September, November, or December of 1861). By the way, one way to help this work better is to order the names of flavor brigades more historically (as I've tried to do in my name mod - for example Armistead's brigade shouldn't be recruited before Taliaferro's).
I don't propose this be possible for every brigade or brigadier general, but it could work for those currently in the game at least.