Cavalry suggestion

[RebelYell]

I know major changes in brigade builds will not happen easily, even when we have modders like tripax that could be interested in helping out for a nominal compensation.

Cavalry bothers many but we have the model in the game to get it closer to a mix what people want from it.

I suggest all regular cavalry starts as conscript and upgrades to early and then late, why should some start better, adds more value to exprienced units.

This is the cavalry you recruit in regiments and get inside brigades and usually use for scouting, screening and pursuit.



Then we have the mounted volunteers ( dismounted cavalry / mounted infantry??) that upgrade to regular cavalry, this is not really an upgrade, it is an downgrade.

Also, it should be available in all theaters in some numbers, if not possible to convert some recruitable infantry brigades to this type lets give them via events.

I suggest that all event given cavalry brigades contain two dismounted cavalry regiments, one cavalry regiment and the horse artillery battery.

We could and should give more of these brigades via events if building them is not possibility, some scenarios have a lot of these brigades, the grand campaign does not.

The game even has the graphic for the upgraded dismounted cavalry.

Early.

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Late.


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This combo will make possible the type of cavalry use that was typical for the war, Forrest could actually do his stuff for real.
Then we will have in the game the screener/pursuit calvalry and the type that can battle with line infantry and even live to tell the tale.

[RebelYell]

I don have specific suggestions for the unit values, generally the dismounted cavalry can be slower than the scouting/screener/cavalry, have lesser detection and hide values but have the punch for some combat.

[tripax]

I suggest all regular cavalry starts as conscript and upgrades to early and then late, why should some start better, adds more value to experienced units.
This is the cavalry you recruit in regiments and get inside brigades and usually use for scouting, screening and pursuit.

This is a good idea, I think.

Then we have the mounted volunteers ( dismounted cavalry / mounted infantry??) that upgrade to regular cavalry, this is not really an upgrade, it is an downgrade.

I don't know about this one. Cavalry often served as mounted infantry. Some units on horses were called mounted infantry. The 3rd Kentucky (CSA) started as an infantry unit but by Franklin was called the 3rd Kentucky Mounted Infantry. I don't know if they served dismounted at Franklin, and for regular cavalry work late in the war they acted as cavalry. At Brice's Crossroads I believe Forrest arrayed his troops dismounted at the outset. They may have mounted later for pursuit. This was the case for all of his regiments, cavalry or "mounted infantry". In general, I don't know what is the difference between these units. From my understanding, people preferred to join cavalry units to infantry, so I would imagine mounted units preferred to act as cavalry rather than to act as infantry, so maybe this "downgrade" makes sense. Can you give any examples of what elite or highly experienced mounted infantry were like? Maybe they should "upgrade" to infantry.

Also, it should be available in all theaters in some numbers, if not possible to convert some recruitable infantry brigades to this type lets give them via events.

Generally the game (and my mod) tries to put units in states where they actually existed, so if there were no mounted infantry in a theater, I don't think they need to be added. But currently in my mod I give some cavalry units mounted infantry names, and these could (should?) be switched.

I suggest that all event given cavalry brigades contain two dismounted cavalry regiments, one cavalry regiment and the horse artillery battery.
We could and should give more of these brigades via events if building them is not possibility, some scenarios have a lot of these brigades, the grand campaign does not.

I don't really play (or mod) things other than the full campaign. Are there any such brigades in the full campaign that ought to have the make-up you suggest?

I'd like to add a couple cavalry brigades to arrive by event to my mod. Can you give a list of a few brigades you'd like to see? I'm interested in the Custer's Michigan Brigade for sure, what else?

This combo will make possible the type of cavalry use that was typical for the war, Forrest could actually do his stuff for real.
Then we will have in the game the screener/pursuit calvalry and the type that can battle with line infantry and even live to tell the tale.

How many of Forrest's troops served exclusively as dismounted cavalry/mounted infantry? I know he used cavalry in different ways, but I'm not sure what change you are suggesting here. This sounds like a suggestion that late cavalry have stats more similar to infantry.

I don have specific suggestions for the unit values, generally the dismounted cavalry can be slower than the scouting/screener/cavalry, have lesser detection and hide values but have the punch for some combat.

In the game parameters, mounted volunteers are a mix between volunteers/militia and cavalry. Volunteer statistics are basically weak infantry. So mounted volunteers have about 50% greater DefFire than early cavalry and infantry have 100% greater DefFire than early cavalry (mounted volenteers "upgrade" to early cavalry). Early cavalry has about 25% greater cohesion than mounted volunteers. Infantry have 2 for AsltDmg while mounted volunteers and cavalry have 1. Mounted volunteers and infantry have 2 for DmgDone while cavalry have 1. For OffFire infantry has a bit more and mounted volunteers and early cavalry have the same. Mounted volunteers move type is, I think, hvyfoot. Mounted volunteer police, patrol, and evasion are slightly lower than early cavalry and much higher than infantry. I think replacement chits are based on the elements family, so mounted volunteers are militia for the purpose of replacements. Mounted volunteers have 15 hits while infantry and cavalry have 20 hits.

Thinking about all of this, I'd say that mounted volunteers should be the element used for semi-regular far west militia units, such as those organized to defend the Texas frontier from Indian raids during the Comanche Wars. Kentucky Mounted Infantry units should probably be represented by Cavalry. Perhaps an ability could be added to Forrest called "dismounted cavalry user" which gives cavalry a bonus to AsltDmg and DmgDone, but right now those parameters cannot be edited. As it is, the cavalryman ability gives cavalry the OffFire and DefFire of infantry. I don't think I'm interested in creating a new unit called "Mounted Infantry" seperate from Mounted Volunteers, but I could be convinced if there were some clear examples of units of this type that were clearly neither cavalry, partisans, nor infantry.

tl;dr: I'd like to add cavalry brigades to my mod and am open to suggestions. I don't agree with an expanded role for mounted volunteers.