1805 Early Russian Arrival starting date

[HMSHood15]

Game is patched through 3.05.In the 1805 Variant, Early Russian Arrival scenario, the rules indicate that this scenario starts at the same time as the historical scenario, October 3rd. Within the game, in the scenario description, it also states that this scenario is essentially the same as the historical one except for the early arrival of the Russians. When I play as the Coalition, however, the game starts on October 9th! If this is accurate, the French troops have had six days to advance, and Augereau's Corps will have already arrived as a French Reinforcement. Admittedly, I could eliminate the fog of war to see where things stand, but I really want to play this scenario. So, is this a bug? Is the scenario six days shorter than it should be? Is this variant playable from either side? Thank you.

[Technopiper]

I can't answer your question because I am new to this game too. Just wanted to point out that Ulm start in French possession in the "early Russian" scenario. I wonder if this is an oversight too. Anyway, I'm disappointed that CotD wasn't able to provide more variants. I'd really like to examine the possible variations to the 1805 campaign.

[HMSHood15]

Thank you, Technopiper, for taking an interest. Yes, I recall having read somewhere that Mack holds the Austrians back to wait for the Russians in this "Early Russian Arrival" scenario. That's why, unlike the historical scenario, the Austrians are not in Ulm. I did, however, take a peek at the French starting positions and reinforcement schedule for the "Early" scenario. They start in the same positions as the historical scenario, and the reinforcement wait-time is exactly the same, also. Since the "Early" scenario starts six days later (October 9), the French army, including the reinforcements, have been sitting around for six days. Kutusov's Russians are in Braunau now, which is 13 hexes away from where they start in the historical game (Linz). A good, six-day forced march from Linz to Braunau can cover 13 hexes. To wit, the Russians are not early, they are timely. The French are late. This must be a design flaw. Moreover, what is the likelihood that Napoleon would have sat around while his enemies consolidated, second day of Waterloo notwithstanding, especially in 1805? Arguably, the Russians do stand to participate earlier, but that's seemingly not how the designers intended to do it. The scenario is still playable, but the dynamic is quite different than if it had started on October 3. A truncated timeline reduces the chance to recover from an early mistake, and seems to harm the French the most. They start the game 20 points away from a marginal victory, while the Coalition is only 10 points away, and they have less time to achieve it. Additionally, the French reinforcements don't have enough time to contribute if the Coalition keeps the fight east of the Lech river. This game's been around for a while. How did this go unnoticed? Will it get fixed? Tell me how to modify it, and I will!

[Technopiper]

In other words, it should be called the "Late French Arrival" scenario. [:D] The Napoleonic Wars happen to be my favorite period of interest and especially the 1805 campaign. CotD has an excellent system, but there are so much untapped potential!

Oh yes, the third 1805 scenario also has a different start position for the Coalition. The end date is different (Nov 1) for the short scenario, but will be the same if you check "campaign" (Dec 5). In another post I mentioned how you could randomize these variants for the French player. Still, it's not "Early Russian Arrival". I'd really like to examine that historical potential.

[Technopiper]

Something is definitely wrong. Here's what the manual says:
17.6 SCENARIO SIX: EARLY RUSSIAN ARRIVAL (VARIANT)
This scenario starts October 3rd and ends October 24th. Here, the Austrians have advanced into Bavaria at a slower pace, awaiting the arrival of the Russians under Kutusov before proceeding over the Lech. The French are assumed to have followed the same plan and have crossed the Rhine and are arriving at points between Nurnburg and Ulm to the north-west of Mack’s Austrians. The Russian forces are assumed to have arrived earlier in the theatre. Kutuzov is already at Braunau and Buxhowden is at Krems.

Furthermore:
17.6.2 French Reinforcement Schedule
Augereau's corps arrives north of Ulm on October 8th.

In game info also states that Augereau arrives on the 8th. If the scenario starts on the 9th, Augereau should have already arrived. Also, Ulm shouldn't be in French possession.

[HMSHood15]

Tried to open some of the files in the "scenarios" folder with Notepad to see if I could do some manipulation. Way over my head! Wish they'd included an editor.

Initially made an inquiry through the Matrix Helpdesk. Used the "Gameplay or Bug" category. They responded by directing me here. That's why I posted under "Support." I thought maybe the Matrix/Slitherine folks reconnoitered this forum religiously. Um. Can't help but think that if "War in the West" had D-Day occurring on June 12, and called it "Early Allied Assault," the coders would have been on it forthwith.

[Technopiper]

You need a Hex Editor. There's a free one here: https://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/

I opened the ".ADX" files because that's the format save files are in. You can find all the cities and generals in there. The values are in hexdecimals, a system in which "16" becomes "10". It goes like "01, 02...08, 09, 0A, 0B, 0C, 0D, 0E, 0F, 10". "11" in hexdecimal is "17" in the decimal system. "FF" is "255". Windows calculator is capable of converting hexdecimals. Select "programmer" from "view".

I have yet to make sense of what each value represents. Need trial and error to find out which in game value each position corresponds to. There must be a value that indicates a unit's coordination, and a value that indicates a town's ownership.

[HMSHood15]

Need to find the starting date so we can turn it back to October 3.

[Technopiper]

Okay, here's what I've found:
Don't bother editing the files in the scenario folder. The games doesn't load the scenarios from there. You can delete the entire folder (or maybe just rename them) and the game can load scenarios just fine. If we were to edit the scenarios, it would have to be done to the save files. I'll try and locate the location for dates.

[Technopiper]

ORIGINAL: HMSHood15

Need to find the starting date so we can turn it back to October 3.

I just managed to do that! Details here: tm.asp?m=4628613

[HMSHood15]

Very nice! Now that's determination. Thank you, Technopiper. I'll implement the changes as soon as I finish my current scenario.

[altipueri]

This game is so good as a commander's view of what is going on (or not going on) in a pre telegraph war so if you guys can find a way to make variants that would be great. Frank Hunter designed this but I think he is not up for opening out to general modification.

The system is so like Napoleon lying on the floor with maps and pins and a ruler working out who can get to where and when assuming so and so is wherever. It should be compulsory wargaming.

[Technopiper]

ORIGINAL: altipueri

This game is so good as a commander's view of what is going on (or not going on) in a pre telegraph war so if you guys can find a way to make variants that would be great. Frank Hunter designed this but I think he is not up for opening out to general modification.

The system is so like Napoleon lying on the floor with maps and pins and a ruler working out who can get to where and when assuming so and so is wherever. It should be compulsory wargaming.

Ah but the French invented telegraph as early as the 18th century, just not the telegraph we know today [:D]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_telegraph

Napoleon even had a portable version to follow his army.