More newbie questions

[Icedawg]

Is it possible to access the manual in mid-game? As is, I have to save the game, quit the game completely, open the Adobe manual, read the relevant portion, open the game back up and load my save. There has to be a simpler version. With most other games, a simple "alt-tab" takes you back to the desktop. With this function, you can open the manual first, load up and start the game, alt-tab to the manual, read up and alt-tab back to the game - real simple. AACW doesn't allow the alt-tab function, rendering this technique impossible.

Do units that are forming up consume replacements? I am considering purchasing loads of units with my initial resource stockpile, but am hesitant to do so because I have a ton of units with next to no men and suspect that they may require replacements to come to full strength. If I burn up all my resources on new units, will the forming units be left out to dry with no troops to fill the ranks?

How do you use naval units to bombard forts? (And should you even try this?) I just tried to have a squadron bombard Ft Sumter on turn three of the April scenario. I got a message saying that no damage was done to the fort, but my ships took "20 hits" of damage. Afterward, I couldn't find my squadron. Was it totally destroyed by the "20 hits" without doing a bit of good? If so, why wasn't I notified with some type of message?

Is there any way of getting a reinforcement or leader appearance list in mid-game? The reinforcement list isn't that big of a deal as I can print the relevant pages from the manual without much pain (it's only a few pages long). The leader list is a bear however (greater than 50 pages if I recall).

How do I get a second bombardment of Ft Sumter? On the first turn, I get a message that Ft Sumter has been bombarded, but subsequent turns seem to produce nothing. By the way, where were my bombarding units? Did my cannons from the nearby forts bombard? Was it the artillery units located in Charleston?

About how much of the original S. Carolina force is required to take Ft Sumter at the start of the game? And when should I try to do so? I have used rail movement to transport a couple of the infantry brigades to Winchester for an attack on Harper's Ferry hoping that the remaining force will be sufficient to starve out the Sumter garrison. Will this have a shot of working?

[Sardonic]

One unit is enough for FT Sumter.
 
Just not the Cav or Arty.
 

[Aurelian]

Have the manual open in the background. You can alt tab between the two. Or hit the windows key on the keyboard.

The message about Sumter being bombarded is a flavor event that adds 1 to your NM IIRC. No reason not to take it on turn 1. As Sardonic says, 1 unit is enough. I always use the third infantry in the stack. Wait till you get the message that McClellan takes command of the AoTP[;)], and he's still out west somewhere.

AFAIK, the units forming up don't eat replacements.

It would be nice if the message said "Harriet Lane took 20 hits and was sunk.", but it doesn't.

[simovitch]

If a unit (even a 'free' reinforcement) shows a reduced strength rectangle it will need replacements in the pool. Luckily the confederates recieve enough 'free' replacements early on in the 1861 campaign to usually handle these free reinforcements.

During the game I try to keep 1 replacement "envelope" point in the pool per 50 units of that type in play (the number of units in play is the bottom number on each replacement pool box).

hope this helps

[Aurelian]

I was thinking of the brigades that you buy when I wrote the above.

[simovitch]

No, you don't need replacements for units you buy, even though the strength appears reduced. Sorry for my own confusion.[:)]

[Icedawg]

Thanks guys. Your comments were very helpful.

By the way, I forgot that I had an actual hard-copy of the game shipped to me. Last night, I opened it just for the heck of it and noticed it was quite heavy. Usually, I just throw my "physical shipments'' in a stack on the end of a bookshelf, but the weight of this one caught my attention so I opened it. Guess what was inside? An actual PAPER manual! I felt like I should have called the Sierra Club or some such group to report a previously-thought extinct species! I didn't know these existed anymore. Two thumbs up for Matrix Games!