Difficult level

[AlessandroD]

Which kind of modifiers are involved for every different level?

Playing full general is only for the AI performance or a PBEM game is affected too?

Finally, what is the more "historical" level?

[zakblood]

lieutenant , second lieutenant and captain are the there about historical levels needed for casualties and responses regarding activation errors etc

try a few battles at the lowest, save results then ramp up to the highest then compare...

the rest of the question will need a developer as it's too deep for me to answer correctly without copy pasting it straight from the manual

[rickier65]

ORIGINAL: RedComet

Which kind of modifiers are involved for every different level?

Playing full general is only for the AI performance or a PBEM game is affected too?

Finally, what is the more "historical" level?

I can't address other factors, but one affect of difficulty levels is that at difficulty levels less than Lieutenant Colonel, units do NOT misinterpret movement orders. This can be a big issue, and is also something that happened historically.

Thanks
Rick

[Ironclad]

I'd like to know what each difficulty level represents too. Also is there any way to check once you are running a scenario involving the AI what difficulty level was originally chosen at the setup?

Edit: Just reminded myself that the last difficulty entered is left on the setup screen so its just an issue if one is returning to a much earlier unfinished game.

[Erik Rutins]

Hi guys,

We tested the scenarios at many difficulty levels and you will also get some misinterpretation of orders at lower levels, but the full misinterpretation/activation effects don't kick in until Lieutenant Colonel. I'd advise starting at somewhere between Sergeant and Captain depending upon your familiarity with these kinds of games, then scale it up if you find you are not getting enough of a challenge.

Regards,

- Erik

[AlessandroD]

Sorry but I still have some doubts, what happened if I play above Lieutenant Colonel?

I mean if I play a PBEM game with the Full General level, do I have the most historical level (losses, activation, etc) or simply is a uber level that add malus and therefore is recommend against the AI and not against an human opponent?

[oldspec4]

ORIGINAL: RedComet

Sorry but I still have some doubts, what happened if I play above Lieutenant Colonel?

I mean if I play a PBEM game with the Full General level, do I have the most historical level (losses, activation, etc) or simply is a uber level that add malus and therefore is recommend against the AI and not against an human opponent?

Agree that we need some additional detail on difficulty levels. Currently, it seems very obscure as to the effects of each level.

Personally, I'd like to know some detail up front before I invest too much game time finding the right level for my play style.

[Erik Rutins]

If you go above Lieutenant Colonel, you will certainly have a harder game but I would not expect the exact historical results. One of the main effects of the difficulty level is on morale, so while it's likely that the battle will unfold in broadly similar terms, casualties will likely be higher and more in the AI's favor because of the morale bonuses keeping units fighting longer.

[oldspec4]

Ok..Thanks for the additional info. I'm currently playing at the Lt. Colonel level and want to play as historical as possible..so seems like I'm at the correct difficulty level.

[JamesLxx]

Ok - just to clarify this: What level uses full historical realism for both sides without giving any extra artificial bonus to either of them?

[Erik Rutins]

Hi James,

There are two answers for this, really, depending on whether your greatest concern is the input or the result.

1. The default level (Sergeant) eliminates any bonuses. For an absolute novice player who is also new to ACW gaming and does not know the game system all that well either, this should give roughly historical results.

2. We've found in testing that depending on the skill of the player, historical results may be better achieved for more skilled players at higher difficulty levels. Since the world has not invented 'real' AI, the fact is that most games allow some AI bonuses in order to achieve an AI that comes closest to a human opponent. Most of our experienced testers and we ourselves end up playing at higher levels as it is simply more fun and more historical as you improve as a player.

I would probably recommend that experienced ACW gamers start at about Captain level and once they are very familiar with the game scale up to Lieutenant Colonel.

Regards,

- Erik

[JamesLxx]

Thanks Eric, just one more clarification on my original question.((What level uses full historical realism for both sides without giving any extra artificial bonus to either of them?)).......

Ok, so on Sergeant level there are no bonuses.

But the manual says "When playing with difficulty level less than Lieutenant Colonel,
units do not misinterpret movement orders."

Does this then mean that the only level with no bonuses for either side doesn't use ALL the historical realism features?

[Ricomise]

"When playing with difficulty level less than Lieutenant Colonel, units do not misinterpret movement orders."

I can say that in my experience, this is not entirely accurate. I'm playing on Captain, and not only have I had units misinterpret orders (including a regiment that marched obliquely across the muzzles of an enemy artillery unit; got lost in the smoke, I think[;)]), but in my current Williamsburg game, the damned Union cavalry division keeps missing its activation rolls, and I really need it to take the pressure off Fightin' Joe's boys...

[AlessandroD]

Yes, but the full effect of activation and misinterpretation comes in effect from Lt. Colonel and up.

[Erik Rutins]

That's correct - those are active as well at lower levels, but not at full effect until Lieutenant Colonel, as far as I know.

[Ricomise]

I have to say, I haven't had this much fun on a Civil War battlefield since I visited Gettysburg as a kid. The misinterpret and failure to activate feature are key to this, I think. If I can manage to take Fort McGruder this time, I'll have to up it to Lt. Col.

Kudos also to the map makers; as one who spent three years in Williamsburg, it is spot -on.

[AlessandroD]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

That's correct - those are active as well at lower levels, but not at full effect until Lieutenant Colonel, as far as I know.

Erik, given that I'm starting a PBEM game I'd like to understand which difficult level to use.
Think like we are veterans of the game, therefore we want the most historical game possible.

Lt. Colonel give us the full effect of activation and misinterpretation features, but if I understand correctly give some malus (or bonus to the other side) while playing against AI.
If is it true, what happens playing a PBEM game? Malus/bonus are nullified or applied to both players?

[ericbabe]

Thanks for the kind words. I'll pass your compliments along to our map makers. When we were designing the game, I was worried that players would hate all of the problems with activation and coordination, but I think they are historical, and I'm glad to see people who like these rules.

I believe in PBEM games difficulty level doesn't have any real effect aside from determining whether the misinterpret orders rule for regiment movement happens or not. I might change this in a future update since you can't easily change difficulty from the PBEM screen, so I might just make it so that the misinterpret orders rule is always turned ON in pbem games.

[RobearGWJ]

For me, one of the selling points is the chaos and confusion. If you read accounts of the war, especially at the beginning, coordination between units and sometimes bizarre behavior on the part of commanders often played parts even in significant battles. As well, if you've ever tried to even just march around a small unit (much less a company or a regiment) in the manner of the period, it's very easy to make small mistakes that are magnified immensely over time. And that's leaving out the occasional big mistake. And, well, enemy fire.

I think that you've hit the balance between commander's intent and what actually happens. The feature of not being able to specify targets helps put the player into the Brigade command mindset, and the uncertainties just magnify that. That in turn feeds back into the way the player operates, forcing him to think less in game terms and more like real life. I really enjoy that.

The experience of breaking camp, marching to a muster area and deploying for battle while seeing to logistics and command, then managing the fight, really comes close to what we read about in first-hand accounts of the war. That's quite an achievement, and so far, wins feel like accomplishments.

Moar battles please!

[AlessandroD]

anks for the kind words. I'll pass your compliments along to our map makers. When we were designing the game, I was worried that players would hate all of the problems with activation and coordination, but I think they are historical, and I'm glad to see people who like these rules

Hate? This is one of the reasons that make more interesting this game!

I believe in PBEM games difficulty level doesn't have any real effect aside from determining whether the misinterpret orders rule for regiment movement happens or not. I might change this in a future update since you can't easily change difficulty from the PBEM screen, so I might just make it so that the misinterpret orders rule is always turned ON in pbem games.

Perfect, thanks!