Climate oddity

[Chaplain Lovejoy]

Snow in every coastal-water region from Matagorda Bay to New England. Hmmm...

(Can post saved game if anyone wants it.)

[DarthMath]

I had got, too, in one of my games, all the high-sea regions frozen.
Maybe an unexpected new glacial era !!

[Chaplain Lovejoy]

Whoa--frozen! Makes snow seem not so bad after all.

[Chaplain Lovejoy]

Oops--now the entire Ohio River is "frozen" although all the surrounding land terrain is "fair." Early March. No "frozen harbor" graphical indicators present.

[biggp07]

In the current PBEM game, I am trying to get a small Union force back home moving through the Blue Ridge mountains along the WV/VA border. The problem I have is putting into context how blizzard conditions can exist in so many regions for so long.

I have now had 2 turns where blizzard conditions are present in most of these regions and they still exist in nearly all of them now. The regions I'm speaking about are all those regions northeast and south southwest of Taylor (grafton) WV. Except of course for the Shenandoah valley, Rockingham, Winchester and Warren VA which all have FAIR conditions (surrounded by BLIZZARD?). And yet there are mountain regions that are FAIR skys (Liberty VA) yet surrounded by BLIZZARD conditions (Salem, Henry and Montgomery VA). Actually these BLIZZARD conditions exist all the way down the Appalachian mountains to Selma AL!!! and west clear to the Tennessee river in Hardin TN. Yet there are fair conditions regions scattered intermittent throughout. I would understand and not even question frozen or snow covered areas but fair then right into Blizzard?

OK, yes, it's late Jan and yes, its the mountains but these BLIZZARD or weather conditions do not seem to be all that random, especially after 2 turns/1 month. At least; I am having a hard time pretending that its an unusual winter! If I go another turn and there are BLIZZARD conditions yet again in the same regions...Not sure what I'll have to imagine that winter too be! YEP, I'm probably going to lose at least 1 Union force trying to march back home in this crap. Their march travel time went from 33 days (doable) to now shortest is 54 days (death march!). (EDIT: In defense of the weather, Hamilton did decide to go inactive too which delayed his march yet again by 35%) Good Lord!! Oh and just to add salt to the wound, my opponents forces are sitting warm and cozy in those FAIR conditions in the Shenandoah Valley. Apparantly, God has shown mercy on the Confederacy!

I think it's difficult to model weather patterns in a game such as this. Of my 42 years, I have lived in Minnesota for 15 years, Missouri for 10 and I know what a blizzard and severe winter is. I have lived in NVA & NC for 10 years so I have some idea about that part of the country's weather too. I don't think a BLIZZARD or BLIZZARD conditions can last that long anywhere in the country.

So, unless I am interpreting the weather algorithm wrong where what you see is what you get for the next turn/2 weeks, I think it could be tweaked for AACW2. I'd like to see that anyway.

But I understand that I will just have to live with this and make up a nice story about the "Winter of 1862" and chuckle about it later!

I'd post a screen shot but can't give one over the whole country so I just thought I'd narrate it. On to Feb 1862 and its harsh winter!

EDIT: I'll be doing my own research to understand more about the weather patterns and climate for our country during this time. Then either way I'll know what to make of Hamiltons "winter march of 1862." Its good to have random generated weather, but over the course of 2 weeks is stretching the conditions a bit.

[enf91]

Impassable mountains always have fair weather. I guess since you can't enter them, weather really doesn't matter.

[Gray_Lensman]

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[biggp07]

A rework of the game engine or anything related to it is the last thing I would ask for or expect Grey. So please don't think that i'm doing it to ask for something to change it later. i would not dream of it!

I just had a moment of cursing during this game turn and now I feel better. The research is more for my own knowledge, since I am a GIS specialist by trade, weather effects on terrain is my job and I like maps. After all this is only a game and mother nature can do what ever she wants in it...its her world, not mine.

[Gray_Lensman]

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[Pat "Stonewall" Cleburne]

Would it be possible for ACW2 to have a historical weather option? I'm not sure how much data is available for weather conditions in the 1860's, but it would be cool to deal with the rain, mud, snow conditions that actually happened.

[Brochgale]

[enf91]

[Brochgale]

Nothing you can do about the weather - even here on ACCW - But I do find the idea of certain seabourne areas freezing over funny - weather is a random event afterall! But I have admit as CSA once watching my yankee opponent have 2 huge armies more or less freeze to death etc rather enjoyable experience to watch!

[Gray_Lensman]

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[Chaplain Lovejoy]

Perhaps I have a corrupt install in which water zones experience land weather. Rivers aren't supposed to be "Mud," are they? A few turns after all the coastal sea zones went "Snow," the Ohio River all went "Mud." Gunboats were taking four days to go from segment to segment. Thick water!

If no one else is experiencing this, I'll just chalk it up to a corrupt install.

[Gray_Lensman]

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[Gray_Lensman]

Give me a specific region name, not the broad term "Ohio River" and I'll check it against the defined weather for that specific river region. If there is not supposed to be "Mud" in that region at any time during the game I'll let you know, and you'll then know for sure you have a corrupted install. The other possibility (I'm not saying this is the case), is another screwup in the v1.14 game engine in the way it is processing these weather files.

edit> Never mind... They share the same weather as the surrounding land regions, so yes they can have Mud just as easily as a land region.

[Pocus]

I don't think this feature will make it, if we make an AACW2. There are more juicy ideas envisioned I think

[Chaplain Lovejoy]

They share the same weather as the surrounding land regions, so yes they can have Mud just as easily as a land region.

Thanks for checking, Gray. Speaking of climate oddities, Cincinnati just had the coldest July on record! But the records only go back about 50 years, hence I have a great deal of sympathy for whomever had the task of guesstimating weather probabilities in all those AACW regions.