Newbie Questions

[Generaloberst]

Hi there. It's been a while since I've bought this one game but haven't had the chance to play it till now. I've learnt the basics so so, but questions still remain. My first question would be how replacements work at all? How much replacements do I need to put on the pool? What does that these numbers on the replacement pool (see below), especially that one number (the one with a human figure to left) mean? And my second question would be that how do you people organise your armies? I regularly combine 2 infantry, 2 light artillery and a supply wagon to a corps unit. Am I doing anything wrong at all? Any answers would be much appreciated, and I'd be probably asking more questions on this thread.

[Durk]

Welcome to the Forum:

I can see you know how to build replacements. This is shown in the number in (+1) that you have built one replacement this turn. Next turn, if the replacement is not used, the number will go to the left where there is currently a 0. The right side is the number you have ordered built. The number on the left is the number of replacements you have in reserve.

With replacements, in the Options page you need to decide if you want the game to build replacements for you [auto replacement] of if you wish to do it all yourself. Turn auto replacements off. Most players I know turn off auto replacements.

There are different combinations for different nations, for organizing corps. Your organization makes excellent sense. Because I usually recruit a lot of cheap milita infantry, you can add one of these also to the stack.

This is a bit of additional advice -

http://ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?38452-army-organisation

[Generaloberst]

Thanks for clearing it up. I've got one more question if you'll. In the game all my infantry units are shown on average supply and depleted ammo. They have adequate supply, but they're still shown this way. Is it a bug? Or some mechanic I'm missing?

[Durk]

The initial start with low ammo is not a bug. This reflects the lack of ammunition which all sides faced in autumn of the first year. One of the challenges is to manage ammo both in terms of saving enough for the big push the first year, and then building enough resources to keep your armies armed. Nothing you can do at first except keep ammo units attached as best you can.
Then build some ammo production facilities as you can manage to free some resources.

[Generaloberst]

Okay, that settles it thank again. Forgive me, but one last question. After some point on the game Australian Army becomes available at Australia with Birdwood as its commander. When I try to get them to Egyptian front they automatically return to Australia. Why is it?

[seathom]

I've also seen the Australian Fleet with troops automatically be sent back to Australia during a let's play. I wonder if this is a bug, because the AI has had Aussies in Greece in my game.

[Sir Garnet]

Empires with multi-national armies often have separate replacements for those different nationalities. When replacement resources are short, a policy of not replenishing some nationalities in order to focus on others can be useful to keep the priority armies topped up while depleted forces can be used for garrisons, escorts, destroy/repair work, or lighter combat duty.

E.g., allowing Cossack cavalry to deplete some and using them for scouting/raiding while line cavalry is included with battle formations.

[Durk]

Yes, I do also think a new patch has commonwealth nations joining later. So try bringing in these forces in November.

[stephen]

Also thinking of buying the game. I have been very impressed by the "Let's Play videos on you tube". However I was looking at some of the reviews on Steam and they send mixed messages regarding Game turns. So I thought I would ask the experts..................How long do the gameturns usually take ? I appreciate the AI has alot of information to process. But some of the reviews say up to 5 mins.........Which is rather long anyway do they take that long, or has the game been patched to cut down on the waiting time ? Anyway thanks for reading. I would like the game but dont want to spend ages waiting twiddling my thumbs......There is only so much coffee I can drink !

[seathom]

I may be in the minority, but for me, one of the crucial elements in the game is to watch how the AI moves during the turn processing time. It really helps me get a feel for how the AI reacts (and I would stress that I feel the AI is much more reactive than proactive) which allows me to set up battles that would be more favorable to me rather than guessing where the enemy might be. It seems the turns take anywhere from 30 seconds during the winter to up to 5 minutes during the summer when many battles are taking place and many troops are moving. It also depends on the quality of your computer. Mine, sadly, is old; but I do enjoy watching the turns process!

[stephen]

Yes it is interesting watching the AI make it's moves and forming plans on how you can counteract them. One other thing is there is a guide to say which units you haven't moved because there does seem to be alot of units ? And I think it would be very easy to miss one or several out, particularly if you are like me and get side tracked from time to time.
Also I have yet to see a "let's play" using the Russians. Most play as the WE or CPs. personally I would prefer the CPs. It would be interesting to see how they play.....Certainly they are not pushovers with there "Steamroller Armies.

I have yet to play an AGEod game, I do fancy this one as there are few games based on WW1 although they do seem to be slowly increasing. It would be great if Ageod ever did a game based on ww2 or Medieval.....Probably in the pipeline.

Anyway thanks for the help and sharing your thoughts.

[seathom]

I am a very patient person and take my time issuing orders, every turn I scroll through my units with the T key for ships and the E key for army units. There are A LOT of army units and this does take time, but this way I make sure not to miss a unit's move order. Other people get their units to the fronts and can eyeball which units. I'm not blessed with that ability, plus I like to keep units for priority replacements away from the front and inside cities for faster replenishment, thus the need to keep clicking the small garrison numbers to check on their status using the eyeball method (not for me - too easy to miss things). Plus too easy to forget about new builds that come on line.

This is a great game, but for a first AGEOD game, you may want to go with a simpler game like Alea Jacta Est (one of my favorites and pretty easy to play, IMO), Espagna '36, or Thirty Years War. Those games move along much faster and the scope is smaller. If you love WWI then for a first try, I would definitely play the small scenarios included in the game to help immerse yourself with all the nuances involved. I think Tannenberg is only 7 turns, but it is a good learning experience and you'll find it isn't really that short.

I almost feel like whispering about the possibility for a WW2 game. The forum talk is that the engine doesn't really work in it's present format for the more modern WW2 experience. It is my hope that this is a future dream for the development teams because it would be AWESOME.

I hope you give one of the games a chance, I have practically stopped playing all other games in favor of AGEOD games because they really require thought and are realistic and not meant to be played like a conquer the entire world as Albania game.

Good luck.

[Ace]

They can take up to 5 mins, but that includes watching the orders carried out. It isn't boring when you get to see how your perfect plan goes to dust because enemy had plan of his own