Creating divisions feature - ruining the game for me

[GShock]

Just to make sure we are saying the same things, I do _not_ like the old Division HQs. I like the way it is done now, which is more consistents with the Corps. I personally would prefer to see the Army HQ changed to the way Divisions and Corps are now handled for consistency.

But that's just one man's opinion.

I tend to think either all HQ should be in or none (div/corp & army or none at all).

The expenses to be sustained can still be paid without the need to have an extra unit which is an extra load for the AI. What we see as a single unit (the man, the general i mean) surely should include the administrative staff he would select (the colonels for example, missing from the game while majors and captains are probably "inside" units themselves as fighting leaders though we know many colonels were actually killed in action the general's administrative staff would certainly not be made of civilians).

Another option could be to autospawn HQ for div/corps/army assigned leader (after u hit the button next turn u pay and it spawns within the formed div) and thus, keeping that replacement in the options.

So Andrew, I think it's a 2-man opinion

[anarchyintheuk]

I liked the old div hqs, it forced you to plan ahead.

[Chaplain Lovejoy]

Am a newbie working through this process of creating divisions. I think I've got it all down except for one thing: I don't understand why some one-stars can be combined only with one unit (which may have four elements, but that's far shy of eighteen). No matter how much I create and disband his division and try different configurations, I can't attach more than one unit to certain guys. What am I missing (besides perhaps not reading all these posts carefully enough)?

[Jabberwock]

Those guys haven't created divisions. They are being placed in direct command of brigades.

[Heldenkaiser]

To create actual divisions with them, the "enable division command" button has to be pressed. (To do which, in turn, they have to be active on that turn.) Then you can combine with them all the units you want, up to 18 elements.

[Chaplain Lovejoy]

Got it.

[WillisNYC]

Sir, you are NOT ALONE to have trouble creating divisions. Read below my copy of my post elsewhere for details that should be in the manual but aren't!

I am a literal person by nature and literalness would help greatly! Early on, I could not figure out how to create divisions. Of course I went to the AM in order to figure this process out. The AM must have been written by gremlins who wished to frustrate those of us who seek learning and functionality by perusing its contents. The AM says the following about creating divisions:
Procedure: To form a division, first select a General and press the 'Enable divisional command' button. Then select the units and the general to be included in the division and click the 'Create Division' Special Order. You can break down a division into its constituent units at any time and without any penalty.

I group the units and general in question together, the general is active (necessary but not mentioned in the text in this place) as I found out was necessary. When active the appropriate 'Enable Divisional Command' button is highlighted and I press it. All the other buttons remain greyed out so I wonder where is the 'Create Division' button referred to in the AM? I refer to the AM and finally find the list of buttons 12 pages away on page 39. I go down the list looking for a ' Create Division' button. If you look on pages 39 and 40 of the AM you will not find such a button and neither did I! A 'combine units' button mysteriously looks to be appropriate, but alas it is not highlighted after pushing the 'enable divisional command' button.

I did see the tutorial about Command Structure and thought, gee, maybe I will learn to create divisions here! I play the tutorial and learn all about Corps and Armies and Independent Corps. The divisions are already neatly made for me and I hope they appear that way in the game. So on to the game I go. I play Shiloh and happily win.

I then go on to the wonderful April Full Campaign. Almost immediately I am overwhelmed by the complexity of options and alas I find I am mightily hindered by my lack of being able to create divisions. I soldier on and learn most of the game aspects but not the elusive division creation process.

In frustration I think to look online for a forum about the game and come here. Wonderful I think, others will have written about this same problem. I read volumes of wonderful information helping me to learn more about this complex beast. I see that others are also affected by the complexity. No mention seemingly of anyone else trying to create divisions. After many hours, I finally stumbled across someone I wish I could now kiss. They mentioned that selecting units and a general while holding down the Ctrl button on the computer was an easy way to make divisions or something to that affect!!!! HOLY MOTHER of all PROGRAMMING GENIUSES! WHY on earth could not the author of the ALMIGHTY MANUAL have written about the damn CTRL button? I immediately open my game and proceed to create my first division at least 200 hours after I started playing this wonderful game! A simple sentence saying to select multiple units and commander while holding the CTRL button will enable the 'Combine Units' button to be highlighted and pressed! But wait, the AM didn't say 'Combine Units' it referred to a still mysterious 'Create Division' button. Alas the plus sign button titled the 'Combine Units' button in the AM works to create divisions just fine and I was once again satisfied with this beast aka AACW!

After your helpful reply above, I went to the AM once again and perused the above mentioned paragraph in detail. I verified that yes everything I claim above is true. Gremlins must have written this procedure, not the all knowing author of the AM!

[Primasprit]

[...] I did see the tutorial about Command Structure and thought, gee, maybe I will learn to create divisions here! I play the tutorial and learn all about Corps and Armies and Independent Corps. The divisions are already neatly made for me and I hope they appear that way in the game. So on to the game I go. I play Shiloh and happily win.

The first tutorial tells you about creating Divisions.

[...] They mentioned that selecting units and a general while holding down the Ctrl button on the computer was an easy way to make divisions or something to that affect!!!! HOLY MOTHER of all PROGRAMMING GENIUSES! WHY on earth could not the author of the ALMIGHTY MANUAL have written about the damn CTRL button?

Thanks for the hint! This should be indeed added to the manual.

Cheers
Norbert

[Heldenkaiser]

Holding down the CTRL key is pretty common as a tool for multiple selections from a list ... from most software to the internet. Guess that's why I never had problems with guessing how this is done. But indeed, such things better be in the manual.