Why a November 1861 Start

[Johnus]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered, but I can't find it in the forum. Why does the standard scenario begin in November and not before First Bull Run ??

[Gil R.]

It has been, but the relevant thread has been buried, so...

The November scenario is ideal in two ways. First, it is just before the winter movement restrictions are in effect (assuming one has that rule toggled on), which gives both sides time to prepare their armies and economies as they see fit -- something hard to do when turn after turn one is engaged in battle. Also, after Bull Run the North was demoralized and the South quite spirited, and by having this reflected in the stats of both sides' units the South gets a very significant advantage over the North, which prevents the Union player from using his superior numbers and economy to steamroller over the South in the first few turns. Instead, it takes many turns for the Union's units' morale to rise high enough to stand toe-to-toe with southern units. So from a game-balance point of view, this works best, making for a more challenging game.

The July scenario has a very different feel to it, as you'll find after playing both.

We are hoping to add additional scenarios, and look forward to feedback on which would be best.

[Johnus]

Gil R.:

Thanks for the prompt response. Makes sense to me.

Putting aside game issues, what if Bull Run had gone the other way. I wonder whether the North would have steamrolled and won the war there and then or shortly thereafter. Somehow I think not.

[Jonathan Palfrey]

What you don't mention is that, according to page 19 of the manual, "The standard scenario begins in November, 1865."

[Mike Scholl]

Gil. Cast my vote for the July, 1861 start. Gives both players a better chance to decide what kind of war they are going to fight. Just my preference, to have fewer of my decisions made by the designers.

[Gil R.]

ORIGINAL: Jonathan Palfrey

What you don't mention is that, according to page 19 of the manual, "The standard scenario begins in November, 1865."

Yeah, that was caught the very first night the game was out.

[Jonathan Palfrey]

Is there any likelihood that a revised manual will be issued at some time in the future? I'm not suggesting that it's needed for this little problem, but there may be other more serious corrections to be made.

Just curious.

[rogeur]

Hi ,

i'm not a an expert regarding the civil war (eropean) so i cant
say if something is correct or not. But you (Gil)say that the date is
nov. because with the winter rules, you have time to build up.
We must have a different game then, because the ai ALWAYS attack from
turn one . There's no time to build up, it's fighting from the start.
Just an observation, nothing more tho.
I play adv/almost all rules on,the rebs ,captain lvl.
Ty for the great game btw.

[ericbabe]

Rogeur: if you're playing the Basic Game, then the winter restrictions on movement are turned off and so the impediments of winter don't apply.

[TimoN]

I would like to have the July start for the standard scenario because it gives more turns to play with (the more the better).

However the July scenario that has been included has one weak point compared to November scenario. All forts in the south have big guns added to them. These have high upkeep cost and thus weaken the CSA economy. In November scenario CSA is in better economical shape at the start and has more possibilities play the game in different ways.

[Mike Scholl]

You can always disband the forts...

[Gil R.]

I'm not sure if we'd take out the guns in a patch -- perhaps something worth considering -- but they can be easily modded out. I'm not at my own computer, but I'm 99% certain that the guns would be found in the ACWStart.txt file in the July scenario subfolder, and would be set to zero (or whatever number is used for forts without guns).

Perhaps someone should confirm this before you make any changes...

As for making July the standard scenario, we won't do that if for no other reason than that it would make the manual inaccurate.

[rogeur]

Yes Eric, i know
Thats why i wrote "I play adv/almost all rules on,the rebs ,captain lvl. "