Difficult level

[Gil R.]

ORIGINAL: 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.

Ricomise,
Thank you for your comments. I'm not the artist, but I'm the one who did the research, which in the case of Williamsburg included spending the better part of a day there. (It won't surprise you to know that I lost time to traffic, and just getting turned around on some of those roads and highways.) I was able to see all of the surviving redoubts, but otherwise had to drive around and look at the terrain from the road, since most of it is on private property. My big regret is not having been able to go and see The Ravine itself, though I can't remember if that was due to time or accessibility. I hope to be able to get back there soon. And, at some point in the next few months -- sadly, not in time for the May 5 anniversary -- I plan a very very long post on the challenges of mapping that particular battlefield. In a nutshell: the maps printed in books on the battle are small, insufficient, and in some cases skewed; the period maps now available on the internet are each problematic, though fortunately I found a footnote mentioning an unpublished map at the National Archives that proved to be a treasure trove; some information was impossible to find on any period maps, but I was able to stumble across an outstanding British map from the Revolutionary War, which helped fill in the gaps; and, there are numerous problems getting commanders' reports in the "Official Records" to match up with what the maps show. One giant, confusing puzzle, and I'm not confident I got it 100% right, but I am confident that no one else can do that, either.

[mllange]

ORIGINAL: Gil R.
Thank you for your comments. I'm not the artist, but I'm the one who did the research, which in the case of Williamsburg included spending the better part of a day there. (It won't surprise you to know that I lost time to traffic, and just getting turned around on some of those roads and highways.) I was able to see all of the surviving redoubts, but otherwise had to drive around and look at the terrain from the road, since most of it is on private property. My big regret is not having been able to go and see The Ravine itself, though I can't remember if that was due to time or accessibility. I hope to be able to get back there soon. And, at some point in the next few months -- sadly, not in time for the May 5 anniversary -- I plan a very very long post on the challenges of mapping that particular battlefield. In a nutshell: the maps printed in books on the battle are small, insufficient, and in some cases skewed; the period maps now available on the internet are each problematic, though fortunately I found a footnote mentioning an unpublished map at the National Archives that proved to be a treasure trove; some information was impossible to find on any period maps, but I was able to stumble across an outstanding British map from the Revolutionary War, which helped fill in the gaps; and, there are numerous problems getting commanders' reports in the "Official Records" to match up with what the maps show. One giant, confusing puzzle, and I'm not confident I got it 100% right, but I am confident that no one else can do that, either.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating here; your efforts are truly remarkable and noteworthy. In my mind the mapping and historical information and documentation provided alone are worth the entire purchase price for the game. Excellent work and kudos to all involved! [&o]

[Gil R.]

Thanks, much appreciated.

Fortunately, I really enjoyed all the research. If I'd been forced to do it I might have been driven crazy, though.

I do want to mention that for some OOB-related problems I was able to rely on the rather amazing work done by "Johandenver," which can be found at his website: http://www.cwdb.se (Probably the best Sweden-based American Civil War site. And, of course, probably the only one.)

[miller7219]

I've noticed from reviewing the combat result logs that the AI side receives help aid via lower morale loss at 2nd Lt difficulty and above...it takes less morale loss than the player. Sgt Major difficulty and below appears to offer no "aid" to the AI with regards to morale, losses, etc.

I for one don't like the AI receiving beneficial combat modifiers as a mechanic to aid it. It seems like it's cheating. I have always preferred mechanics that hinder the player by adding in "advanced rules" at increased levels to make for a more difficult game for the player. It sounds like that type of mechanic is built in already with misunderstood orders, random events, and all the leader checks going on under the hood to accomplish various tasks. These could be weighted "against" the player to make for a more difficult game...higher difficulty = more misunderstood orders, more random events, and higher odds of failing/loosing MPs with formation/posture attempts (and whatever else could be weighted).

Would it be possible to have a specific difficulty level that allowed all the mechanics you mention that kick in at Lt Colonel level, but without any morale/combat loss modifiers?

[Ricomise]

Thank you for your comments. I'm not the artist, but I'm the one who did the research

Gil, I completely understand your frustration in doing research; the Williamsburg battlefield is one of the least accessible or marked that I've been to. It doesn't help that major roadways and some strip malls are now in the area of the field. I can't really speak to the way it looked in 1861, as it was a bit before my time, but the areas of the College, "Colonial Williamsburg," Kingsmill, and the area around College Landing are impeccable. I was especially excited to see the cemetery that happened to be next to the Grad Housing Complex in which I lived depicted, even though it was far from the major fight. I used to walk around it at night when I needed "quiet time" during law school. Great work, in my opinion...

[Gil R.]

Ricomise,
Oops, forgot to respond. Where is this cemetery that you mentioned? It might have been abstracted out, since for the town itself I made sure to get the main roads right, and the houses that served as HQ, and that long, ovalish green, and of course the college there at the edge, but there seemed no need for the artist to drive himself nuts trying to make each building on our map correspond to one that actually stood there. (If/when we do Fredericksburg we'd go for greater accuracy, of course.)

Glad to know you like the map -- thanks!