Matrix Games Forums

Greetings from the front. I am very impressed with the game. I have been playing it almost non stop for about 3 weeks now. I have been looking for a game like this for years and now that I've found it, my wife thinks I'm going to divorce her and marry the game! [;)] I've been reading through the various threads in the forum and I am VERY impressed with the quick responses and feedback by GilR, erikbabe, etc.

I have a quick question re: night combat. Since I'm not fully familiar with the Civil War, how often did night combat actually take place? I find it had to believe that entire regiments were marching around in Line and Column formation when the enemy was known to be near. It has also been noted in a couple of threads that the AI doesn't like to initiate fire or movement at night. It only seems to change facing and counter fire. Is Civil War night maneuaver and combat accurately reflected in the game?

NOTE: I just completed a battle on the Mississippi last night where my smaller CSA army dragged out the fighting against a larger force until night time and then sent 5 fresh brigades around the flank in a sweeping maneauver. These split into 10, took line formation and then waited for morning. When daylight broke, the larger Union army was surprised to find an entire corps on their left surround. After only one or two volleys, their morale collapsed and in the ensuing route, the CSA captured 13 infantry, 1 artillery and 1 calvary brigade (most at close to full strength) for the loss of only 1000 men.

Spitfire50,
Thank you for your generous comments. I'm glad to know that you like the game. (Please note that in addition to quick responses to players who have questions about the game, we provide spousal counseling and support. So if your wife is wavering about whether to stay with you, have her call our 1-800-555-FOF1 hotline.)

As for night combat, it was quite rare, but did happen. The most famous instance would be the Battle of Wauhatchie, a crucial engagement during the siege of Chattanooga. (We gave the generals who participated the "Night Owls" teachable ability, I should note.) Maneuvering at night was more common, of course, though I can't think of an example offhand. Nighttime was also used for erecting field fortifications, which is why you should try to do some digging for the first few hours of the night, and then let your units become unfatigued by daybrak.

The penalties for actually fighting at night are very steep, and units that actually fight forego the enhanced restoration of morale that normally occurs at night.  The AI is programmed almost never to initiate an attack at night, and we tried to make the rules to strongly discourage human players from extensive fighting as well; we did not want to prohibit it completely, however.  Also night turns are much longer than regular turns, so there are comparatively far fewer turns during the darkness than there are during daylight.