As in the Old Days, a new brigade and regiment name mod

[tripax]

Here is "version 0.875" of a scenario which modifies the base April 1861 scenario (I'm using version 1.04RC4, not sure if it will work on other versions or on other computers, for that matter) to have more historic names and compositions of units in the game (and as a by-product, to slightly strengthen initial force). The current version (and likely all future versions) of this mod will change you unit names for all new recruited units in all of your games. I have also added the presidents of both countries to reside in their respective capitals and governors in state capitals.

I have played a number of test games as both USA and CSA, although there still could be some bugs (let me know if you find them!). If you are looking for a small variation from the base game, this should be a nice variation on the regular game. It should work pretty well, but there is a lot of work to be done.

To install:
This mod significantly changes the files in the "Models" and "Units" folders in the "GameData" folder, which on my computer is here: "C:\Games\Civil War II\CW2\GameData". Backup and remove/change the name of the folders in that file. This mod creates completely new "Models" and "Units" folders so you shouldn't have any old files in those folders. The mod changes alias files, "uni_Alias" and "mdl_Alias" in the "Aliases" folder. I also add a line to "LocalStrings_CW2" in the "Settings" folder. So you should backup these files. If you want to use this mod with the old unit and model names, let me know and I can walk you through the process that should enable that. Likewise if you want to use your "LocalStrings_CW2" file (only necessary if you've edited that file already), let me know and I can tell you the line to add to the file.

To install, unzip the following files to the "CW2" folder, on my computer it is here: "C:\Games\Civil War II\CW2\". This will overwrite your "Models" and "Units" folders and your "LocalStrings_CW2" and "uni_Alias" files, as well as add new files to the Events, Scens, Scripts, and Graphics folders. Note that the forums limit the total size of any single attachment, so I had to split the mod into two pieces.

[ATTACH]29333[/ATTACH][ATTACH]29334[/ATTACH]

Changes:
Special brigades weren't showing up before, but are now.
A number of brigades (3 or 4 I don't remember, you might not even notice which ones) had incorrect images or incorrect models.
All states governors are added and removed when historically accurate (and removed when state capitals are conquered).
Bonham is removed in late 1862 to become governor.
Graphics added for governors of Confederate States (both Union and Confederate governors).

Save game compatibility:
Previous versions accidentally did not reference the correct event file that controls special brigades. This change may cause problems if you load an old game with the new version.
If you do try an old save, brigades and governors that are buggy or are missing a graphic will probably not change, but when new governors arrive, their graphic will probably change.

Major to dos (volunteers welcome):
Recruited regiment names need to be corrected to adjust for the changed regiments that now arrive by event.
New units could have events and event text.
Add graphics for governors of Union States.
I'm thinking about revamping brigade compositions again.
- This is only a partial list, feel free to give me suggestions, especially if you are willing to help

[tripax]

Highlights of this mod:

More accurate names and compositions of initial armies - including the names of the chief engineers of the armies, supplies named for chief quartermasters of the army and divisions, brigades now enlarged to increase historicity.
[ATTACH]28360[/ATTACH]

Initial arrivals by event now represent real units. Naval Engineers now named for the real engineers active in the cities they are in.

[ATTACH]28361[/ATTACH]

Each regiment in all brigades involved in 1st Bull Run and Wilson's Creek now appear in the game by event.

[ATTACH]28362[/ATTACH]

Other highlights:
All support units arriving by event are given flavor names representative of the real historical figures, including hospitals for chief surgeons, balloons for aeronauts, supply units for quartermasters and commissaries, and engineers. Artillery units arriving by event now named after battalion. Stone's, Blunt's, Floyd's, and Wise's forces now larger and more representative of forces involved in battles. Cavalry raid brigades arriving with raiders including Grierson, Forrest, Morgan, etc now with more historical regiments and include more regiments. Larger forces arrive at less strength to minimize change in game balance.

[tripax]

[Moved 'version 0' notes here] Above is "version 0" of a scenario which modifies the base April 1861 scenario (I'm using version 1.04RC4, not sure if it will work on other versions or on other computers, for that matter) to have more historic names and compositions of units in the game (and as a by-product, to slightly strengthen. The current version (and likely all future versions) of this mod will change you unit names for all new recruited units in all of your games. By "version 0" I mean the mod isn't meant to be played. I present it mostly to get comments. That said, you can install it and give it a shot. It should work pretty well, but I'm likely to update it before you get too far in the game.

Changes:
This version modifies almost all units which arrive by event. An example of the changes I'm making is Ewell's Brigade in the CSA Army of the Potomac is currently made of 4 units "5th & 6th AL|6th Louisiana|1st Co Wash.Art.|Jenifer's Cav.". This mod splits the 5th and 6th Alabama, so there are 5 units: "5th Alabama|6th Alabama|6th Louisiana|1st Co Washington (LA) Art|Jenifer's Cav.". There are cases where possibly the wrong units are in a brigade, such as Early's brigade, which in game is: "7th Mississippi|7th Virginia|24th Virginia|13th Louisiana|4th Wash.Art.", but could more accurately be represented as: "7th Louisiana|7th Virginia|24th Virginia|13th Mississippi|4th Co Washington (LA) Art|Scott's Squadron VA Cavalry" (see here or here).

I am preparing a document that lists each change, but I wanted to get a version out so I could ask for help. Over the next few days I'll put out a unit-by-unit list of changes with some short explanations. I'll also be working on changing the composition of recruitable brigades and revamping regiment names to fit the new system. This means that development of the unit names mod is probably over for now (that mod is basically complete as it is). I have made changes or been happy with the currently existing units for many units and groups, but have made very few changes to permanent garrisons. Mostly, though, I would like to ask for help finding unit names for four groups:
CSA artillery units after CSA captures Norfolk - currently 1 regular battery, 1 siege howitzer, Norfolk 3 regiment garrison, Norfolk Artillery, and Norfolk Supplies
USA units in Camp Dick Robinson - There are lots of directions to go here, does anyone have a good book or webpage(s) that will help.
CSA units in the Baylor Force - currently 2 mounted volunteers and 2 raiders
USA artillery (and garrison) units in Ft. Craig and Ft. Union Artillery - Between them they have 1 inf, 1 cav, and 3 art.

I'm particularly at a loss for the Baylor force and Norfolk artillery.

Two further notes. First, I believe that lycortas2 (and others?) is working on a leaders mod. I'm planning on integrating that, more or less, into my mod. I'm not going to worry about leaders until that work is closer to completion.

Second, I figured I'd give the mod a name. Since I'm seeking more historical accuracy in a largely superficial sense (unit names, etc), I went with the quote from the end of the Burns documentary for now, as it kind of fits. I feel like that was pretty presumptuous of me, but maybe no more so than naming the mod after myself. I'm open to new names.

Having said all that, I'd like to repeat my recommendation to wait for the next version before installing (and hopefully I've created the scenario the right way), but to feel free to comment!

[tripax]

[ATTACH]28184[/ATTACH]

Here is an excel file which lists the changes I've made to unit names and compositions which arrive by event in version 0. I haven't bothered much with formatting, its only for the very curious. Let me know if you have any questions or comments. I don't intend to publish this file for later versions (but could). Here is a summary:

Units who fought in 1st Bull Run are used for units in the East (this is pretty much how it is already in game, anyway)
Units who fought at Wilson's Creek for units in the West (this is pretty much how it is already in game, anyway)
Units in early battles in Kentucky/Tennessee for Units in the "South East" such as Zollicoffer's force (not sure how these decisions were made for the units currently in game, anyway)
Supply units named after quartermasters of armies and corps are in their groups and other supplies are named after quartermasters (or sometimes commissary officers) with some attention to regional accuracy (replacing generic names)
Engineers, Naval Engineers, and other support units are named after people who did that work in the area where the unit arrives (replacing generic names)
Blunt's, Grierson's, Morgan's, and Forrest's brigades are (hopefully) more accurate
USA reaction units in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan (a MI cav unit fought against Morgan), and Pennsylvania somewhat reflect units who responded to Morgan's raid and Stuart's first ride around the AotP
Other USA reaction units are weakened - mostly militia instead of militia, cav, and artillery mixed. WV autofires since Floyd and Wise are there at the beginning, some changes are needed here. I don't know what other states would have done, but I don't like using named artillery and cavalry units in this way when I plan to make them recruitable. Perhaps I should simply change the units to have names like "Emergency NY Artillery" or something.
CSA reaction units are unchanged, I'm not sure what to do with them.

[tripax]

Above I have posted "version 0.5" of a scenario which modifies the base April 1861 scenario (I'm using version 1.04RC4, not sure if it will work on other versions or on other computers, for that matter) to have more historic names and compositions of units in the game (and as a by-product, to slightly strengthen. The current version (and likely all future versions) of this mod will change you unit names for all new recruited units in all of your games. This version has been briefly tested, but is presented largely for comments. If you are looking for a small variation from the base game, this should be a nice variation on the regular game. It should work pretty well, but there is a lot of work to be done.

Changes:
Cleanup names of units that arrive by event
New, larger infantry brigades to recruit (old ones entirely removed) (based on discussion, here)

Major to dos:
The total number of cavalry, artillery, and sharpshooter regiments that can be recruited is now too small since the number of these regiments in integrated brigades has been reduced. More stand-alone regiments of these types need to be added.
Special units that arrive by event (such as the Tiger Brigade or the Iron Brigade) have not been modified. Since many of the regiments that make up these units exist at the beginning of the game (such as most of the Louisiana regiments in the Tiger Brigade in Armies in Virginia), I'm still considering how to handle these.
Recruited regiment names need to be corrected to adjust for the changed regiments that now arrive by event.

Hint:
As a game hint, there are more units that arrive by event in the first few turns (and no recruitable brigades, which might change) and which arrive with low health, so that the total strength of the initial armies is fairly similar and the strength of the sides doesn't change from the original game. Therefore, n the first few turns you might want to buy replacements instead of recruiting. Also, changes to initial forces in the valley, western Virginia, and Missouri are sufficient that the usual opening moves might change somewhat.

[tripax]

Above is "version 0.75" and "0.75b" of a scenario which modifies the base April 1861 scenario (I'm using version 1.04RC4, not sure if it will work on other versions or on other computers, for that matter) to have more historic names and compositions of units in the game (and as a by-product, to slightly strengthen. The current version (and likely all future versions) of this mod will change you unit names for all new recruited units in all of your games. This version has been briefly tested, but is presented largely for comments. If you are looking for a small variation from the base game, this should be a nice variation on the regular game. It should work pretty well, but there is a lot of work to be done.

To install:
You might want to backup your "Models" and "Units" folders in the "GameData" folder, which on my computer is here: "C:\Games\Civil War II\CW2\GameData", as well as you units alias file, "uni_Alias" in the "Aliases" folder. This mod is meant to replace those two folders and that file. I also add a line to "LocalStrings_CW2" in the "Settings" folder, so you might want to backup this folder. If you want to use this mod with the old unit and model names, let me know and I can walk you through the process that should enable that. Likewise if you want to use your "LocalStrings_CW2" file (only necessary if you've edited that file already), let me know and I can tell you the line to add to the file.

To install, unzip the following file to the "CW2" folder, on my computer it is here: "C:\Games\Civil War II\CW2\". This will overwrite your "Models" and "Units" folders and your "LocalStrings_CW2" and "uni_Alias" files, as well as add new files to the Events, Scens, and Scripts folders.

Changes:
Total number of cavalry, artillery, and sharpshooter regiments now is basically the same as it was in the regular version. Fewer of these are integrated than in the regular version.
Regiments in special units are removed from brigades that are hardcoded to arrive. These brigades will grab replacements from the pool.
To lessen the strain on command of the larger initial forces, two new generals (Charles F. Smith for the Union and Nicholas B. Pearce for the Confederacy) are added to arrive early in the game.
In "version 0.75b" I have added Presidents unit/Easter Egg to arrive in the first turn or two for each side. This unit will become unlocked if the enemy gets too close. PM me if you want to know the nature of the unit (or if you test the mod and discover it yourself or if you can guess).

Major to dos:
Recruited regiment names need to be corrected to adjust for the changed regiments that now arrive by event. As a note, if a unit of the same type exists anywhere on the map, its name will not be reused. That is, the game doesn't keep track of the recruited unit names when assigning names to a new unit. Rather it checks all units on the map and names the next unit based on what isn't there. This simplifies the regiment name updating that needs to be done.
USA President unit could be removed upon assassination/kidnapping.
More politicians could be added.
Smith is 3-2-2 cold blooded and Pearce is 2-0-1 forager, need consensus on this.
New units could have events and event text.

[von Sachsen]

I'm having trouble installing and getting it to work. Every time I start the mod GC, it crashes and gives me this in the main log:
[spoiler]
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TUnit.UnSerialize Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 00894DE2 dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 0000002C
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TGroup.Update 1002429 Carolina Department Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 0089EF8F dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000064 DebugStep: 130
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TGroup.Update 1002429 Carolina Department Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 0089EF8F dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000064 DebugStep: 130
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TGroup.Update 1002429 Carolina Department Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 0089EF8F dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000064 DebugStep: 130
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TGroup.Update 1002429 Carolina Department Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 0089EF8F dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000064 DebugStep: 130
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TGroup.Update 1002429 Carolina Department Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 0089EF8F dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000064 DebugStep: 130
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TGroup.Update 1002429 Carolina Department Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 0089EF8F dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000064 DebugStep: 130
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TGroup.Update 1002429 Carolina Department Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 0089EF8F dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000064 DebugStep: 130
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TRegionCmn.Update Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 0089EF8F dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000064 Step: Siege Confederate States of America Region: 395
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TRegionCmn.Update Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 0089EF8F dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000064 Step: Siege Confederate States of America Region: 395
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TGroup.Update 1002429 Carolina Department Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 0089EF8F dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000064 DebugStep: 130
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM (Reporting) TGroup.CalcCommands Exception caught: 1002429 Carolina Department Violation d'accès à l'adresse 008901D1 dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000054 LogStep: 50
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TListUnitDefs.Get ListUnitDefs Index out of range (Index/MaxIndex): 1189 1185
11:18:57 PM [Critical ] TFaction.UnSerialize Exception caught: Violation d'accès à l'adresse 008A7EC2 dans le module 'CW2.exe'. Lecture de l'adresse 00000050
[spoiler/]

Also when I use the normal campaign it works just fine, but without any of your changes. Is there anything you can think of that could be done?

[tripax]

Wow, thanks for trying. I'm sorry it didn't work.

I've messed around, trying to break the mod, and I've found similar errors by doing two things. My guess is that either the game is reading the old "Units.Cached" and "Models.Cached" files or the alias files are bad.

The Units.Cached/Models.Cached issue could arise if you did not delete or rename the original "Models" and "Units" folders before installing (I'm very sorry not to have siad so in the description).

If you didn't delete those folders, then you likely have to go to the "GameData\Units" folder (on my computer "C:\Games\Civil War II\CW2\GameData\Units") and delete the file called "Units.Cached". Then go to the "GameData\Models" folder (on my computer "C:\Games\Civil War II\CW2\GameData\Models") and delete the file called "Models.Cached". If the game doesn't find these files, it will automatically create these files during startup based on the files in the "Models" and "Units" folders. As a note, if you didn't backup your "Units" and "Models" folders, backing up the "Units.Cached" and "Models.Cached" is more or less sufficient.

I don't think the problem is with the alias file, but it could be. If so, and since you've already tried re-installing (and thanks for being persistent), then the problem is on my side.

I'm uploading the next version (with Confederate state governor graphics added, special brigades added [correctly this time I hope], and a couple small bugs fixed) soon (hopefully today), if you want to wait a bit give that a try.

(If anyone who writes mods is reading this, should I set it so that the users "Units.Cached" and "Models.Cached" files are overwritten?)

[Eugene Carr]

I've installed it ok but I did have to delete the cache files to get it to work.
Actually I wish I had deleted the whole models/units folders as I sometimes get some detritus from the base game (Church,Hanson,Clarke) giving an error message (I have error logging on) it only does this on the first run through after deleting the caches.
Incidently I'm using the modpath file to trigger the mod which I've installed onto a copy of the base game.

I'm only up to Nov 1861 playing as the Union but I've enjoyed it so far, my main bugbear is when the generals make their appearance (and where). Hope to d/l your latest version.

S!

[tripax]

Above is "version 0.875" of a scenario which modifies the base April 1861 scenario (I'm using version 1.04RC4, not sure if it will work on other versions or on other computers, for that matter) to have more historic names and compositions of units in the game (and as a by-product, to slightly strengthen initial force). The current version (and likely all future versions) of this mod will change you unit names for all new recruited units in all of your games. I have also added the presidents of both countries to reside in their respective capitals and governors in state capitals.

I have played a number of test games as both USA and CSA, although there still could be some bugs (let me know if you find them!). If you are looking for a small variation from the base game, this should be a nice variation on the regular game. It should work pretty well, but there is a lot of work to be done.

Changes:
Special brigades weren't showing up before, but are now.
A number of brigades (3 or 4 I don't remember, you might not even notice which ones) had incorrect images or incorrect models.
All states governors are added and removed when historically accurate (and removed when state capitals are conquered).
Bonham is removed in late 1862 to become governor.
Graphics added for governors of Confederate States (both Union and Confederate governors).

Save game compatibility:
Previous versions accidentally did not reference the correct event file that controls special brigades. This change may cause problems if you load an old game with the new version.
If you do try an old save, brigades and governors that are buggy or are missing a graphic will probably not change, but when new governors arrive, their graphic will probably change.

Major to dos (volunteers welcome):
Recruited regiment names need to be corrected to adjust for the changed regiments that now arrive by event.
New units could have events and event text.
Add graphics for governors of Union States.
I'm thinking about revamping brigade compositions again.
- This is only a partial list, feel free to give me suggestions, especially if you are willing to help

[tripax]

I've installed it ok but I did have to delete the cache files to get it to work.
Actually I wish I had deleted the whole models/units folders as I sometimes get some detritus from the base game (Church,Hanson,Clarke) giving an error message (I have error logging on) it only does this on the first run through after deleting the caches.
Incidently I'm using the modpath file to trigger the mod which I've installed onto a copy of the base game.

I'm only up to Nov 1861 playing as the Union but I've enjoyed it so far, my main bugbear is when the generals make their appearance (and where). Hope to d/l your latest version.

S!

Wow, great! If you like, give the new version a try, the differences are slight enough, but you haven't gotten too far in the old version. I've changed the installation instructions to suggest more clearly that people delete (or backup and delete) their old Models and Units folders, as my mod includes the basic information from all the models and units in the base game, so the base game isn't really affected (except a few regiment and brigade name changes which is superficial). I've only added two generals (so far), so the only difference for the Union in how Generals behave is that CF Smith arrives in the West in the fall of 1861 (Pearce arrives in Missouri in 1861).

[von Sachsen]

Yep, deleting those two files worked out great. Just started a new campaign with the new version and so far so good!

[tripax]

Great. Let me know what you think about the large brigades. I'm unconvinced that they improve the game play, but maybe they are ok. I'm just very used to the brigades as they are in the game, and the new ones seem weird.

[Eugene Carr]

The big brigades are more historically satisfying but they do seem to slowdown your force recruitment ( that may be my play style where I start as many divisions off as I can and later bring them up to capacity) which can leave you struggling to fill gaps.
On the other hand you've gone to all the trouble to improve brigade names and that doesn't fit as well with small brigades.

Maybe a composite approach starting with brigades with large capacity but empty slots which allows you to recruit more in total then introducing smaller 'filler' brigades. Only assigning names to the parent brigades. I think you could still have integral artillery by moving them to the first slot in the brigade.

S!

[tripax]

Thanks for the comment, sorry for the slow reply. Your suggestion about brigades with a larger capacity which fills over time is similar to the idea that some have that brigades could be built like divisions. I think it would be great to do something like this, but I think it would add a lot of extra complications to the game play. I think it would fit better in a game where you are explicitly playing the role of secretary of war. I'd certainly play such a game, but I don't think many would.

I'm happy you like the large brigades (you like them, right?). I originally had a lot of different large brigades, but I reduced it to one or two per state, which is cleaner and is more similar to how the game is now. I'm wondering if there would be something better for game play, let me know what you think.

[Eugene Carr]

I modded AACW to have larger infantry only brigades which I found slowed down establishing forces ie building divisions. I think the same thing happens in CW2.
My thought was that smaller brigades with empty slots would make it easier to start off more divisions because you could raise more of these brigades thru time they would fill up by replacements or by merging smaller brigades (2 or 1 element) into them, doing that would allow you to raise that feeder brigade again.
This works well if you expand the force pool often and little which also has the advantage of spreading recruitment over the map.

To be honest personally I would pretty much remove the brigades from the game by making most of them have 2 or 3 infantry elements and treat them as fillers for the divisions or as garrisons.
I am enjoying the Mod however probably more than the official game, your hard work in giving names to the background units especially does add to the immersion and is much appreciated.

S!

[tripax]

Wow, that is so nice of you to say. I enjoyed making the mod very much, and have a number of things to add, so hopefully they help even more. Right now my old regiment names mod and my new mod (which amounts to a change in forces from events) don't exactly match, so there are some new holes, so thank you for being generous. When I play my mod, it annoys me that there are, for instance, supply wagons from events with nearly the same name as supply wagons from forces. I will clean that up eventually, though - I'm in the "doing other things" part of my summer, and won't be making many changes for a month or so, I think.

One idea I'm considering that is along the lines (or the same as) what you said is getting rid of most brigades altogether after early 1862. Basically, let it be that early in the war you can recruit brigades with brigade sizes similar to the brigades that fought in major early war battles. Then once divisions can be formed, only allow a few medium size brigades to be formed per year and set it up so those brigades look like brigades that played a garrison role in the war. The rest of the brigades would mostly be two infantry regiment brigades. In this way brigade names would still be used and add that flavor and honor brigade commanders. Since the game doesn't use brigade commanders within divisions, doing it this way would make division formation much more rote - but it would cause division formation to involve more clicks.

I don't think I'll do it, though - I think my large brigades are just a bit more historical and they serve a similar purpose; you don't have so many brigades with overly mixed composition as you do in the base game, and it is easier to build brigades to your exact specification.

[tripax]

This summer I've played a couple games and haven't worked on the mod at all. I'm coming back to the mod now with my first goal being to add graphics for Union governors (about 50 left, I do about 3-5 a day) and second goal to make sure the mod works with the new version of the game.

One thing I've found when playing is that the things I like the most are the changes to brigades that arrive by event. Indeed, I don't care for the new brigade compositions at all. I'd rather the brigade compositions be the same as in the base game but with fewer brigades with integrated cavalry and integrated artillery and more brigades without integrated cavalry/artillery (and more artillery and cavalry units in those states).

I'll finish with the governor graphics in two or three weeks and will put out a new update then. I'll probably add a couple events along the lines of my brigadier general proposal in the main forum to that update. Do you (or anybody) really like the larger brigades or is switching back sound like a good idea?

[Eugene Carr]

I feel the big brigades (after the initial turns and for the 'Elite' brigades) are a bit restrictive and less responsive than smaller brigades. A lot of 2 or 3 element brigades can be combined or dispersed as you wish, a smaller number of large brigades less so.

S!

[tripax]

Thanks, I'm glad to see your vote.

[Keeler]

I noticed the following:

The NY 12lbers shares the same namepool as the Kentucky 10lbers (1st KY Stones...)
The CT Artillery has some typos (such as 6rd MA Battery) and some repetitious wording (3rd Bty Maine Battery)
THe MA Coastal Artillery shares the same namepool as the NY Coastal and NY Siege Artillery (Governor Morgans)
There is a typo in the MO Brigade Name for Plummers Bde.

Hope that helps.

[Aleatory]

Hey tripax, I was curious if you were still working on this mod. There are several aspects of the game I think I'd like to see tweaked, and it seems many of your ideas are similar to mine, so if you'd like some help (and wouldn't mind stepping me through some of the coding), I'd be glad to help out in any way I can. I really like your efforts so far

[tripax]

In my mind I'm still working on this mod, but in practice it stopped when it wasn't compatible with the new patch and I found the new patch to be somehow less fun (AI seems to be weaker, long unit names no longer show up on cards). Then grimjaw started working on his mod, and I've been excitedly waiting to see when/if he publishes something. Finally, I've been really busy for the last couple months and will likely continue to be busy for the next couple months.

Ok, now that I've gotten the excuses out of the way, let me say, I'd love to get back into the mod. I think I achieved my initial goals in terms of adding names to unnamed regiments and brigades in the game and of making brigades that arrive by event more accurate. I think adding governors worked, although I'm not sure what other "NPCs" are possible. I liked my brigades but they are a big jump from how the game currently works and I am not committed to keeping them (Eugene Carr's given me the only vote on that so far).

So, I think the first thing to say is, what would you (or anyone) like to see tweaked? I don't want to tweak the game engine/unit stats because doing so makes it hard to play vanilla games (especially if you want to PBEM). Otherwise, if you want more immersion, more history, and/or more complexity, I'm all ears and would love (prefer) to work with others on this. As for help coding/modding, I'm happy to give advice (advice number 1 is probably to start with the stickies in the modding forum).

In any case, I am taking a short trip in mid-December and would like to get both my mods (this and the unit name mod) compatible with the current official patch (not the release candidates) by then.
Just want to note that I did not get to this and leave on Dec 10th, and thus will not be posting an update until after the 16th at the earliest.

[tripax]

If you wish to play this mod in patch 1.04, install the mod as described in the first post of this thread. If you installed this mod before the patch and haven't deleted anything, you can skip that step.

Then install the unit names and model names mod, here.

Finally, add the following lines to the LocalStrings_CW2.csv file in the settings folder (on my computer, it is at "C:\Games\Civil War II\CW2\Settings").

str1861ACampaign2DispNameaintod;1861: The Civil War as in the Old Days (April - Full 2 Theater Campaign);1861: La Guerre de Sécession (Avril – Campagne complète);1861: La Guerra Civil (Abril, Campaña completa);1861: Der Bürger Krieg (April - Volle 2 Szenario Kampagnen);NULL;1861: La Guerra di Secessione (La campagna completa);;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
ldr_txt_USA_CFSmith;No description available for this leader.;Pas de description disponible pour ce personnage.;No hay descripción disponible para este líder.;Keine Beschreibung für diesen Anführer verfügbar.;NULL;Nessuna descrizione disponibile per questo personaggio;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
ldr_txt_USA_ALincoln;No description available for this leader.;Pas de description disponible pour ce personnage.;No hay descripción disponible para este líder.;Keine Beschreibung für diesen Anführer verfügbar.;NULL;Nessuna descrizione disponibile per questo personaggio;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
ldr_txt_USA_JFDavis;No description available for this leader.;Pas de description disponible pour ce personnage.;No hay descripción disponible para este líder.;Keine Beschreibung für diesen Anführer verfügbar.;NULL;Nessuna descrizione disponibile per questo personaggio;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
ldr_txt_USA_NBPearce;No description available for this leader.;Pas de description disponible pour ce personnage.;No hay descripción disponible para este líder.;Keine Beschreibung für diesen Anführer verfügbar.;NULL;Nessuna descrizione disponibile per questo personaggio;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Sorry to have the installation take three steps. As always, back up your files before making the mod. Let me know if you enjoy it.

[ifailmore]

is this updated for the latest pacth?

[tripax]

I'd recommend against trying it. Once they release the database, I can check if there will be any interference (where the mod and the game try to use the same alias for different units or models). There probably won't be, but we'll see.

[tripax]

Hi all, just letting you know to expect a version of the mod for the latest version of the game in a few days.

For anyone interested, I just roughly added up the changes in strengths from this mod:

USA: +28 inf, +4 cav, - 1 art, -12 mil, +1 sharp
Capital defense: remove 45 regiments of militia and lite infantry, add back 17 infantry, 1 cav, and 9 artillery - given frontage this actually strengthens the force in most cases, but it makes it harder to achieve the defend the capital task.

CSA: +27 inf, +5 cav, +3 art, -2 mil, -1 sharp

The drop in US militia comes from removing all (or most) 2 militia 1 light infantry brigades (I counted infantry, conscripts, and light infantry as infantry rather than splitting them up). The changes are fairly evenly distributed through theaters and my plays against athena agree that there is no noticeable effect on game balance.

[tripax]

Also, my current to do list is:
switch unit recruiting pools to match vanilla, this change I made before may be more realistic but is too big of an adjustment from vanilla to be fun for me
add graphics of the rest of governors (certainly my last task)
boost some artillery defenses of border towns such as Cincinnati
change WV reaction forces to be (even) more historical
Recruited regiment names need to be corrected to adjust for the changed regiments that now arrive by event.
New units could have events and event text.
- This is only a partial list, feel free to give me suggestions, especially if you are willing to help

[StatboyVT]

Great news. I greatly prefer your mod because you make much more realistic brigade sizes and compositions. Thanks so much for your efforts.

Hi all, just letting you know to expect a version of the mod for the latest version of the game in a few days.

For anyone interested, I just roughly added up the changes in strengths from this mod:

USA: +28 inf, +4 cav, - 1 art, -12 mil, +1 sharp
Capital defense: remove 45 regiments of militia and lite infantry, add back 17 infantry, 1 cav, and 9 artillery - given frontage this actually strengthens the force in most cases, but it makes it harder to achieve the defend the capital task.

CSA: +27 inf, +5 cav, +3 art, -2 mil, -1 sharp

The drop in US militia comes from removing all (or most) 2 militia 1 light infantry brigades (I counted infantry, conscripts, and light infantry as infantry rather than splitting them up). The changes are fairly evenly distributed through theaters and my plays against athena agree that there is no noticeable effect on game balance.

[Keeler]

Also, my current to do list is:
switch unit recruiting pools to match vanilla, this change I made before may be more realistic but is too big of an adjustment from vanilla to be fun for me
add graphics of the rest of governors (certainly my last task)
boost some artillery defenses of border towns such as Cincinnati
change WV reaction forces to be (even) more historical
Recruited regiment names need to be corrected to adjust for the changed regiments that now arrive by event.
New units could have events and event text.
- This is only a partial list, feel free to give me suggestions, especially if you are willing to help

Good to hear Tripax. I am looking for things to keep me occupied as I recover from an injury, so send me a message on what you need help with.
By the way, have you ever noticed that the Pennsylvania Cavalry units cost slightly higher than other free cavalry units? It's a small amount, but it seems like a bug to me. The stats are the same.