Huge Confederate armies -- the draft?

[anarchyintheuk]

Maybe this falls into rationalization or semantics but playing the Union, I don't have a problem w/ calling a 'draft' in 61. I just consider calling a draft as arming the maximum amount of volunteers that the Union historically received and paying the penalty associated w/ that process. After 61, I consider calling a draft actually calling a draft.

[Gray_Lensman]

deleted

[Spruce]

On the other hand, if you have the option to draft or not - there should be a different effect on the nation.

But I see what you are pointing at. Perhaps the first "drafts" should be handled trough events and are just de facto events that happened by any nation at war. I mean - a war with no drafts or recruits early in the war, isn't a really a war worth fighting for.

Finally if we change it - do we really improve the game ?

[Gray_Lensman]

deleted

[Evren]

I couldv'e asked myself that question over a thousand times, for each individual small link/graphic correction I have made over the last 9 months, and in each individual case, I could have rightfully said, "Nah, not really!".

The point is, each individual change though small, improves the final game overall, because the attraction to the game is in the details. All the small changes add up to a game that is really just starting to show its "polish". There is just no way, I could have held back all the individual fixes, enhancements, and improvements to apply all at once, and there are a lot more small individual ideas incorporated in Clovis' "Struggle for a Vast Future" MOD that I have not even begun to decipher for inclusion in the vanilla game.

edit: I might add, that had the game remained in its earlier form, without all the small individual enhancements, linkage corrections, and RR graphics rework, I probably would have shelved it myself and moved on to another game. Since I've played with programming off and on in an amateur way since 1977, this game has allowed me to see, study and understand how it works and study some of the techniques involved in its inner design, so I can truthfully admit that I have rather enjoyed the work.

Actually, one can easily see the changes between the original release and the game with the latest update. Everyone can have great ideas, but it doesn't mean that everyone can make them real. This is the best game i've ever played, but not only because of the great idea behind it, but also all the little details within the game. As Italo Calvino describes in "Invisible Cities":

Marco Polo describes a bridge, stone by stone. "But which is the stone that supports the bridge?" Kublai Khan asks. "The bridge is not supported by one stone or another," Marco answers, "but by the line of the arch that they form." Kublai Khan remains silent, reflecting. Then he adds: "Why do you speak to me of the stones? It is only the arch that matters to me." Polo answers: "Without stones there is no arch."

It is the continious efforts of the developers and modders like you that makes this game perfect. I know i can only speak for myself, but i'm sure many of the gamers appreciate your valuable work.