Any Questions?

[Joel Billings]

In my AAR with Jon, there haven't been too many lopsided battles between large armies. Sometimes smaller forces get caught and crushed by a large army, but when they go head to head the battles tend to be fairly even (+_25% in losses). That's what we've tried to get, but the variability in the system is great and the factors so many, that you can get different results. This is a bottom's up combat calculator, not a top down, so we don't determine the final outcome, lots of smaller die rolls determine it (with a few important roles at the beginning by the Army Commanders that can impact how many units get into the battle).

[Pford]

AGEOD's civil war game tends to suffer from the same issue, IMO. Not to mention the extreme discrepancies in results between unequal commanders. But I can see how an organic combat system makes this goal dicey.

[PyleDriver]

I have bad eyes too. Union icons face south-west. and CSA icons face north-east...In our game losses are really balanced. I took heavy losses attacking a entrenched forest with a type 1 fort, and a type 2 fortress city this month. 1.5 to 1 sounds about right to me, alot better results than I thought.

[8D]
Jon

[Joel Billings]

There is a system in place that causes "attrition" bonuses to kick in which almost always result in a unit being hit. This system tends to balance losses. This system was implemented about 4 months ago (IIRC) in order to better balance the combat results and has been very effective.

[von Beanie]

Are the good leaders always the same, or is there an option for each side to figure out who the good leaders are by trial and error?

[Joel Billings]

ORIGINAL: von Beanie

Are the good leaders always the same, or is there an option for each side to figure out who the good leaders are by trial and error?

There are Semi-Random, Random, and Historical Leader Options, along with the Unknown Leader Ratings option that keeps those random ratings something you only find out about over time and action.

[tedhealy]

Will there be a demo?  If not, please at least do a video of some game play like the FOF video.  Will intelligence on enemy armies be estimates of the number of soldiers or the actual numbers,  that is will these numbers be affected by fog of war, quality of general, control of the area, other factors?  Do leader abilities increase/decrease with experience in battle?  Is there weather?  Mud slowing marches down?  Causing more attrition?  Are there terrain bonuses?  Wilderness?  Impassable areas?  Any way to add some color to the map?  It looks very good, but a bit lifeless to me in that it's all a shade of gray.

Edit...another ? How are promotions handled in that are lower ranked general promotable right away to higher ranks or do they have to work their way up? That is could Grant be promoted to Western theater command on day 1 (or whenever he is available), or does he have to win some battles first? Any penalties for promoting or demoting generals a la AACW's political rankings of generals?

[tedhealy]

After reading most of the posted AARs, seems like I can answer most of my questions in the affirmative. 

The Jon Pyle vs Joel Billings AAR really gives a great sense of the fog of war for both the enemy and your own commanders.  I'm really liking how cavalry is used and the initiative system.  Is there a map overlay that can be used to show army size from a zoomed out prespective to get a quick appraisal of the war at a glance?  Or once you get familiar with the icons, will that be pretty apparent without any sort of overlay/special view?  I'd love to have an option to turn on/off that shows my own army size and known enemy army sizes near their icon or something like the FOF map that shows larger forces as larger icons on a zoomed out view of the entire theater.

I'm really looking forward to this now and will have to satisfy my ACW urge by playing Price of Freedom (ACW board game) until release. 

[GShock]

Ted, the Union manpower advantage is supreme in the game but it's not about numbers as you seldom get to commit all the forces at hand. What you can see as a total list of enemy armed forces is averaged by the FOW and thus, not much reliable. On a theater - theater basis, you may roughly estimate the enemy forces in a region by counting the troop chits you can see.

Which of course, doesn't mean you know the total of enemy forces, just the ones you see.

Yes leader abilities change with experience.

Yes the weather is involved and affects gameplay, combat and strategy.

Promotions are automatic due to seniority or by presidential decree. Yes promoting or dismissing has its costs.

As of the video, probably some video AAR or even a tutorial will be published prior to the game's release. The demo?
That's a good question.

[Joel Billings]

Last week I recoreded a 4-5 minute video that shows off parts of the game. Matrix is adding music and some extra info, and it should be posted in the next week or two. It's not clear yet whether any of the tutorial videos will be released to the public, but you will have this preview video. No demo is planned.

[tedhealy]

Thanks, looking forward to the video and hopefully more AARs before release [:D]

[von Beanie]

I just watched the promo video and I'll definitely be buying the game.
 
Is there an opportunity to reserve a "leader X" slot that you can name whoever you want when playing the game? I'd sure like to name (or rename) at least one leader and see if I could get it promoted to the top spot (regardless of its competence ratings). Just a thought.

[Joel Billings]

ORIGINAL: von Beanie

I just watched the promo video and I'll definitely be buying the game.

Is there an opportunity to reserve a "leader X" slot that you can name whoever you want when playing the game? I'd sure like to name (or rename) at least one leader and see if I could get it promoted to the top spot (regardless of its competence ratings). Just a thought.

No, currently there is no way to rename a leader unless you mod the data files. Of course, you could modify the leader database and put your own leader in there if you wanted. You'd be hard pressed to have a commander with bad or mediocre ratings reach the top. You generally need 3's and 4's in the main categories if you're going to win enough battles to excel.

[Crimguy]

Not a biggie, but in FOF I had difficulty divorcing myself from their historical abilities when random stats was enabled.  I just couldn't accept the fact that Sherman could suck, or that Bragg could be brilliant.

[GShock]

The game has an option for semi-random stats.

This way, Grant would be just above average instead of extraordinary, for example. Now when the stats are randomized (random/semi random) and the hidden leader stats option is enabled that's truly a trial and error...The offensive value for example might be hidden and you could find out what the leader is really worth only after a battle...it's a risky proposition but you need it because it's by putting the best leader in the job that you can win.

I think it's one of the many nice features on leaders this game has. 

[von Beanie]

Actually, early in the war Sherman sucked big time. I read a very detailed history of his career and when he was in charge of some Union forces in Kentucky/Ohio early in the war he was timid and indecisive. He was sacked for being a bad commander. It was when he was "resurrected" and served under Grant that he began to perform much better. Very few leaders got the lucky break that Sherman got after his first chance to lead troops.

[Crimguy]

Yes he had a nervous breakdown of sorts. Saw the enemy under every bush. Probably couldn't have performed as well as he did without the support of Grant. But he did shine when he came around. Should have set up pickets and recon at Shiloh though ;-D

[Killjoy12]

The promo video had some box art labeled "Standard Edition". Care to elaborate on what the different types of editions will be?

[lancer]

Goodaye,

Another supply question. I've noticed regions have a 'grid' rating, eg. 5. I assume from the AAR's that this is a reflection of their ability to transmit supplies. So...

1. Are armies generic in terms of supply in that all armies need the same amount or does the game take into account their size in determining the supply requirements?

2. How does the 'grid' work? If your army is sitting in a region with a grid rating of 5 what implications does that have for your ability to get sufficient supply?

3. Is their a line of supply that has to be traced back to a source and can this be cut?

4. What happens if your army is sitting in a grid 0 region?

5. If there is a shortage of supply can you prioritize one army to get supply over another?

Cheers,
Lancer

[Hertston]

ORIGINAL: Killjoy12

The promo video had some box art labeled "Standard Edition". Care to elaborate on what the different types of editions will be?

Don't get too excited.

Matrix Games Announces Three New Game Editions