Problems and suggestions

[Le Ricain]

I am currently playing my second April start GC as the Union. With pocus raising the NM bar, this will be a more difficult game. The game plays with a good feel for the Civil War.

Below are listed some problems and possible improvements I have noticed:

1) There is a problem with Divisions sometimes not splitting up. This has been mentioned in the forum before. I have two star generals trapped in their divs and no way to create corps.

2) There is a problem with Union ship placement when you build in the NY/PA department. I currently have gunboats in New York City (which are still useful) and the Kearsarge in Pittsburgh. I guess this what happens when you award government contracts based on the lowest price.

3) Need a Naval battle report. At the moment in the blockade/shipping boxes, we are told how many hits we inflicted and how many we received. I need to know who and what I fought. Most important of all, I need to know if I have sunk the Alabama yet.

4) What is written on the plate below the red/green arc on the land battle screen? I guess my PC resolution (or my eyes) is not good enough read it while watching the battle. It is driving me crazy trying to look at both items at the same time.

5) Do any generals ever get killed? My first game went until end of 1862 and my second is in March 1862. In neither game have any CSA or USA generals been killed.

6) I think that it would be a nice piece of chrome to have the pro-Union CSA counties in the game. I can probably find what I had posted in the pre-release forum. However there are two (or possibly three) counties of particular note:

-Dade County GA. Dade county seceded from the State of Georgia upon hearing the news the GA had left the Union. However, nobody in GA noticed that they had left. Dade, in the extreme NW tip of GA, was completely cut off from GA until 1939 when the state put a road through. Prior to then, you could only get to Dade from TN. In AACW, however, Dade lies in the same county as Chattanooga TN, an important rail hub. It would not work.

-Pickens County GA is famous for flying the Stars and Stripes from their courthouse throughout the war. Pickens probably lies in the AACW county of Rabun, GA. Rabun has no railroads or any other reason why it should not have the US flag.

-Winston County AL is famous as the Free State of Winston. Winston raised partisan bands to defend the county from attempts to seize control by the state of Alabama. Winston lies in the AACW county of Monroe AL. Once again no railroads. It would be easy enough to place some locked partisan bands in Monroe. A nice event would be to have the Union receive, upon capturing Monroe, the famous (or infamous) 1st AL (US) Cav unit. If this event already exists please accept my apologies.

Still, it is a great game.

[pasternakski]

Like the first five (especially the naval battle report, the division splitting problem, and the initial ship placement thingie).

Don't care much about number six.

[jimwinsor]

As I mentioned in another thread, pretty much all the countryside in East Tennessee 'round Knoxville should be pro-Union like the counties mentioned in #6.

East Tennessee was the "West Virginia" of Tennessee.

The common feature of all these areas was that they tended to be relatively mountainous, hence not suited to plantation agriculture. Hence you can see why support for "seccesh" was relatively low in these areas.

In fact, if you want to paint with a broad brush, you may want to consider most of southern Appalacia as more-or-less pro-Union; there is support for this, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opposition_to_the_American_Civil_War, the para on Appalacia.

Now, the same article mentions Copperheads...the other side of the coin. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copperheads. "Copperheads were most numerous in border areas, including southern parts of Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana (in Missouri, comparable groups were avowed Confederates)." Add to this New York City, which was VERY anti-Union...and these zones in the North could be given a sizable Confederate leanings.

A little political variety to spicen up the game! )

[Chris0827]

Eastern Maryland was also pro-confederate.

[Pocus]

I advise you to put anything related to loyalties and such in dedicated threads, as this is a work that can only be done by big chunks, and your remarks will get lost if you mix then with gameplay problems.

I'm noting your problems Le Ricain. For (5): same probabilities as in BOA, ie rare enough (otherwise people complain). (4) flavor writting made by Sandra, if I recall well she said this was the name of a well known iron mill in the Union at this time. I wonder if she also researched the name of each of the employees

[Le Ricain]

I advise you to put anything related to loyalties and such in dedicated threads, as this is a work that can only be done by big chunks, and your remarks will get lost if you mix then with gameplay problems.

I'm noting your problems Le Ricain. For (5): same probabilities as in BOA, ie rare enough (otherwise people complain). (4) flavor writting made by Sandra, if I recall well she said this was the name of a well known iron mill in the Union at this time. I wonder if she also researched the name of each of the employees

Thanks, Pocus.

The county loyalty idea is strictly chrome. Having it or not in no way affects the game play. Probably not worth worrying about.

For 4) and 5), I was just curious.

[Sandra]

(4) flavor writting made by Sandra, if I recall well she said this was the name of a well known iron mill in the Union at this time. I wonder if she also researched the name of each of the employees

This is Hyde & Goodrich. But I was wrong, the name should have been Thomas, Griswold & Co, the company changed its name just at the beginning of the war. Anyway, it was not meant to be historically accurate, so I made it intentionally a little difficult to read.

[Le Ricain]

This is Hyde & Goodrich. But I was wrong, the name should have been Thomas, Griswold & Co, the company changed its name just at the beginning of the war. Anyway, it was not meant to be historically accurate, so I made it intentionally a little difficult to read.

Sandra,

Thanks for explaining that mystery to me. Also, it is nice to know that neither my eyes nor my PC resolution are as bad as I had thought. It is a nice touch and an attention to detail that many would not have bothered with.

I would not worry about Hyde & Goodrich not being 'historically accurate'. Their merchandise with their stamp would have been still in circulation in the South after the firm changed hands in 1861.

[Sandra]

Sandra,

Thanks for explaining that mystery to me. Also, it is nice to know that neither my eyes nor my PC resolution are as bad as I had thought. It is a nice touch and an attention to detail that many would not have bothered with.

Let's say it's an Easter egg and you've been the first to notice it.

I would not worry about Hyde & Goodrich not being 'historically accurate'. Their merchandise with their stamp would have been still in circulation in the South after the firm changed hands in 1861.

Yes, indeed.

[Wilhammer]

"1) There is a problem with Divisions sometimes not splitting up. This has been mentioned in the forum before. I have two star generals trapped in their divs and no way to create corps."

I've posted on this before.

You need to do 'double division' of the Division.

After you do the first divide, drag out the unit with the 'trapped' commander and have it be a new force.

Divide that unit in its new force and you now have that commander available.

I suppose if enough units were in the original division, you might need to do a triple divide.

[Spharv2]

Generals can definitely be killed. In fact, in my latest campaign as the South, I have thus far lost Jackson, Sibley, Bragg, and Polk...Considering that I was already scrambling to try and find generals to fill my spots, it has caused me a few problems.