PBEM AAR - Long Live the Union!

[Paper Tiger]

Resilient and Polar Bears also Night owls, what benefits do these give?

[Grifman]

ORIGINAL: jchastain

If I am going to try to spread him out by giving him too many threats to address, then I need to get them in action and the best way I see to throw him off is to use that fleet that has thus far been inactive. I think it is time to mobilize the Navy.

Bingo. Sure you have alot of stuff that needs doing but this has been my primary observation/criticism the whole game. He's got a huge coastline to defend, and you've done nothing to threaten any of it. By this time in the war I think the North had taken Norfolk, New Orleans, Eastern NC and Port Royal, SC. You've got nothing. He can't defend everywhere.

[marecone]

I stopped here [:'(]

[fabertong]

jchastain.......Thanks for the great AAR.....could you post a turn routine(what you check, in what order)......I can gather the feel of how you play ........but would love to see a simple breakdown.......please.........(always be polite....I tell my 5 year old twins)...........

[jchastain]

ORIGINAL: Paper Tiger

Resilient and Polar Bears also Night owls, what benefits do these give?

Here is the full list of special abilities straight from the manual.

[jchastain]

ORIGINAL: Grifman

ORIGINAL: jchastain

If I am going to try to spread him out by giving him too many threats to address, then I need to get them in action and the best way I see to throw him off is to use that fleet that has thus far been inactive. I think it is time to mobilize the Navy.

Bingo. Sure you have alot of stuff that needs doing but this has been my primary observation/criticism the whole game. He's got a huge coastline to defend, and you've done nothing to threaten any of it. By this time in the war I think the North had taken Norfolk, New Orleans, Eastern NC and Port Royal, SC. You've got nothing. He can't defend everywhere.

I probably do tend to be overly cautious. I still worry about dividing my forces and allowing him to engage them piecemiel. If the ANV moves south, and that isn't all together unlikely, I'm not sure how much progress I can make while he's away or just how much it would hurt my VP calcs to let him kick one or more of those poor quality sieging armies across the map. If I loose those forces, it really isn't a big deal. They are essentially cannon fodder anyway. But the population doesn't like to hear about losing fight after fight so it would adversely affect both my VP and my NW, plus it just helps the quality of his fighting troops get better.

I was hoping to just steam roll in the west while keeping him preoccupied in the east. But he managed to build 2 giant stacks that I'm not comfortable engaging. I'm hoping he'll divide those stacks into smaller elements that I can successfully engagage. But I am definitely outside of my comfort zone with this approach. It will be fun to see how it plays out though.

[jchastain]

ORIGINAL: marecone

I stopped here [:'(]

Thanks for coming by.

[elmo3]

Thanks for posting the table. Shouldn't arty be a "0" for the Wild and Blasted abilities? Maybe typos?

[jchastain]

ORIGINAL: fabertong

jchastain.......Thanks for the great AAR.....could you post a turn routine(what you check, in what order)......I can gather the feel of how you play ........but would love to see a simple breakdown.......please.........(always be polite....I tell my 5 year old twins)...........

Believe it or not, the sequence you see is pretty much what I am doing each turn.

• I start with the Event Reports to get an idea of what happened.
• Then I scroll around the map to see how far I got and check out any moves he made.
• I generally decide on a course of action from examining the map and poking my mouse in to look at various armies. Sometimes I'll just go ahead and move - sometimes I'll check the logistics first. It really depends on what has been happening. If the army was sitting still, I'm generally confident logistics are fine. If things are more tenuous, I'll go check the numbers before committing to the moves.
• I then tend to do my builds. The city list is where I tend to do them. Though sometimes when I am tooling around the map making my moves, I'll plop in somewhere to get things going.
• Towards the end, I'll scan a few things. Supplies (Military List) is usually the first. My income and diplomacy (Nation Screen). Sometimes I'll look at Research. Occasionally I might look at governors (though I often rely on the Events report to tell me when I seriously need to do something). I probably should do this much sooner, but I get all excited by the tactics and tend to get caught up in that first. Were I giving recommendations for building good habits though, I'd definitely suggest doing this sooner. I can't tell you how many times I've spent all my resources and then noticed that I really should have built something for a governor instead of whatever I did. At the start of the game, I was pretty good about checking Diplomacy early since that is such a money pit and is so important to everything else.

My nature isn't to be highly orderly or disciplined (which is why it is likely a very good thing that I chose a career in business instead of the military). That probably comes out in watching me meander through my moves. I am truly a casual gamer at best. When you read Hard Sarge's accounts, you are watching a master at work. I continue to be amazed at the depth of thought he applies to his actions. In comparison, I'm a hack. But these types of games are still a nice little diversion that I really enjoy (even though I am quite sure I'll never make the hall of fame for any of them).

[jchastain]

ORIGINAL: elmo3

Thanks for posting the table. Shouldn't arty be a "0" for the Wild and Blasted abilities? Maybe typos?

Hmmmm. I think you have a point on both accounts. I'll pass that along. Thanks.

[elmo3]

ORIGINAL: jchastain


...

[*] Then I scroll around the map to see how far I got and check out any moves he made.

...

Is there any kind of PBEM replay where you see opponents forces move or appear/disappear based on the turns intel or a clash of flag icons where a battle took place? I assume not or you would have mentioned it but thoght I'd ask anyway

[jchastain]

ORIGINAL: elmo3

ORIGINAL: jchastain


...

[*] Then I scroll around the map to see how far I got and check out any moves he made.

...

Is there any kind of PBEM replay where you see opponents forces move or appear/disappear based on the turns intel or a clash of flag icons where a battle took place? I assume not or you would have mentioned it but thoght I'd ask anyway

Nope. Nothing like that. The event report and then just looking at the map really are the best source I've found for seeing what has happened. While there likely is some additional detail that might be helpful in some of the reports, generally speaking you get a pretty good feel for things with what you're given.

[ericbabe]

ORIGINAL: jchastain

ORIGINAL: elmo3

Thanks for posting the table. Shouldn't arty be a "0" for the Wild and Blasted abilities? Maybe typos?

Hmmmm. I think you have a point on both accounts. I'll pass that along. Thanks.

Thanks for catching this elmo3. I have fixed it in the game files, but it may be too late to change the manual. I'll at least add an errata to the readme file.

[elmo3]

Glad to help. I got the nickname "eagle eye" from one designer who I have been beta testing with for years. Nice to see I haven't lost my touch. [:)]

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

ORIGINAL: jchastain

While I'm thinking about it, might as well go ahead and pander to the folks back home. Now... by popular demand... allow me to introduce you to.... the US 11th Corp.

The ANV will surely be quaking in their bare feet at this news!

[Grifman]

I probably do tend to be overly cautious. I still worry about dividing my forces and allowing him to engage them piecemiel. If the ANV moves south, and that isn't all together unlikely, I'm not sure how much progress I can make while he's away or just how much it would hurt my VP calcs to let him kick one or more of those poor quality sieging armies across the map. If I loose those forces, it really isn't a big deal. They are essentially cannon fodder anyway. But the population doesn't like to hear about losing fight after fight so it would adversely affect both my VP and my NW, plus it just helps the quality of his fighting troops get better.

I was hoping to just steam roll in the west while keeping him preoccupied in the east. But he managed to build 2 giant stacks that I'm not comfortable engaging. I'm hoping he'll divide those stacks into smaller elements that I can successfully engagage. But I am definitely outside of my comfort zone with this approach. It will be fun to see how it plays out though.

Well, I have some thoughts on this, but I'm not sure what's appropriate given that I am reading both sides of the AAR. But even then, what I'm thinking isn't tied at all to anything I've read from your opponent.

Maybe I'll just hold my thoughts until the end . . .

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

ORIGINAL: Grifman

I probably do tend to be overly cautious. I still worry about dividing my forces and allowing him to engage them piecemiel. If the ANV moves south, and that isn't all together unlikely, I'm not sure how much progress I can make while he's away or just how much it would hurt my VP calcs to let him kick one or more of those poor quality sieging armies across the map. If I loose those forces, it really isn't a big deal. They are essentially cannon fodder anyway. But the population doesn't like to hear about losing fight after fight so it would adversely affect both my VP and my NW, plus it just helps the quality of his fighting troops get better.

I was hoping to just steam roll in the west while keeping him preoccupied in the east. But he managed to build 2 giant stacks that I'm not comfortable engaging. I'm hoping he'll divide those stacks into smaller elements that I can successfully engagage. But I am definitely outside of my comfort zone with this approach. It will be fun to see how it plays out though.

Well, I have some thoughts on this, but I'm not sure what's appropriate given that I am reading both sides of the AAR. But even then, what I'm thinking isn't tied at all to anything I've read from your opponent.

Maybe I'll just hold my thoughts until the end . . .

I've bitten my tongue bloody....

[jchastain]

lol.  So many votes of confidence.  Does this mean I shouldn't count on your votes in '64?   [;)]
 
I actually do look forward to the dissection that is sure to follow.  Believe it or not, I won't be surprised to find that I made a few mistakes along the way.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

ORIGINAL: jchastain

lol. So many votes of confidence. Does this mean I shouldn't count on your votes in '64? [;)]

I actually do look forward to the dissection that is sure to follow. Believe it or not, I won't be surprised to find that I made a few mistakes along the way.

My tongue is bloody because of your actions sir.... My sentiments lie on the other side of this disagreement.

Your Servant,
AU

[Grifman]

ORIGINAL: jchastain

lol. So many votes of confidence. Does this mean I shouldn't count on your votes in '64? [;)]

I actually do look forward to the dissection that is sure to follow. Believe it or not, I won't be surprised to find that I made a few mistakes along the way.

I suspect all our theoretical strategies might not be as good as we think they are once they face the light of reality [:)] But I do have some definitive opinions on the conduct of the war - on both sides [:)]