American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

I've found that in HPS large battles where there is much melee action going on that the replay speed for the opponent's melees seems extremely fast! There's hardly an opportunity to see the actual casualties. Is this a setting issue, or is this the way its suppose to be?

Maj. Gen. Jos. C. Meyer
Second Division, 14th Corps,
Army of the Cumberland

I always go to the Settings Menu and remove the checkmark from beside the "On Map Results" item. It may take a little longer to watch the firing during a replay, but the information gained is well worth it. Both you and your opponent must remove checkmarks for best results . . . and being actually able to tell what's happening during a replay is grand.

Sincerely,
Lt Gen Dwight McBride
V Corps/AOP/USA

That's true, the info from the proper dialogue is invaluable. Fire modifiers (you don't want to continue firing at those targets that have so many defensive modifiers that your fire is effectively zero), melee modifiers, and unless this has meanwhile be corrected, the melee casualties displayed on the map don't include captured personnel (either from routed/isolated surrenders or from ZOC kills).

Gen. Walter, USA
<i>The Blue Blitz</i>
3/2/VIII AoS

West Point Class of '01

I can't imagine it would be too difficult to program in a slight delay (1 or 2 seconds) between each on map result so that we have time to see them before it jumps to the next one... even if it is an optional thing so those few super human players with eyesight of a cat...

Regards,

Lt. Gen. Alan Lynn
CSA Chief of Staff
3rd Bgde, 3rd Cav Div, II Corps, AoA

God Bless <><

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by ALynn</i>
<br />I can't imagine it would be too difficult to program in a slight delay (1 or 2 seconds) between each on map result so that we have time to see them before it jumps to the next one...
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Certainly no problem. The replay speed can already be increased/decreased with the F5 - F7 keys by the player in the HPS Panzer Campaigns series, so this should be simply to transfer to the other games serieses.

Gen. Walter, USA
<i>The Blue Blitz</i>
3/2/VIII AoS

West Point Class of '01

The replay for melees is to fast and the replay for fire to slow. It would be nice to be able to set a time delay for both of these separately.

Also I am very much against the Detail Combat display you get when you don't check On Board results. The game already gives away far to much information about enemy units. It would be better to move the Detail Combat to the optional rules so it could be turned off.


LG. Kennon Whitehead
Chatham Grays
1/1/III AoM (CSA)

General Whitehead . . . What information does the Fire Dialogue Box give about enemy units that isn't to be found elsewhere?

Sincerely,
Lt Gen Dwight McBride
V Corps/AOP/USA

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by DwightMcBride</i>
<br />
General Whitehead . . . What information does the Fire Dialogue Box give about enemy units that isn't to be found elsewhere?

Sincerely,
Lt Gen Dwight McBride
V Corps/AOP/USA
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From the info in the FDB one can deduce roughly what the fatigue status of the enemy unit is. For example, if the box indicates a -3 or -4 modifier, odds are the firing unit is heavily fatigued. Not a sure fire indicator of course as quality and terrain has a role here too but an indicator none the less.

I agree with Kennon however, that the box is best left unused. We have WAY to much info already.

Ge. Doug Burke

Other hobby: Running 30-40 miles per week. Several races a year from 5K to marathon. Boston marathon 2007.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Doug Burke</i>
From the info in the FDB one can deduce roughly what the fatigue status of the enemy unit is. For example, if the box indicates a -3 or -4 modifier, odds are the firing unit is heavily fatigued. Not a sure fire indicator of course as quality and terrain has a role here too but an indicator none the less.
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I should say if you have a fresh vs. a highly fatigued unit firing at you for real, you should be able to tell the difference.

Gen. Walter, USA
<i>The Blue Blitz</i>
3/2/VIII AoS

West Point Class of '01

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by DwightMcBride</i>
<br />
General Whitehead . . . What information does the Fire Dialogue Box give about enemy units that isn't to be found elsewhere?

Sincerely,
Lt Gen Dwight McBride
V Corps/AOP/USA
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If you check the modifiers it shows to fire combat you can determine the unit's fatigue level, quality and actual strength. In other words once you fire on a unit or it fires on you and the Fire Dialogue pops up you have completely undone FOW. The only thing being adjacent to the unit tells you that the Fire Dialog doesn't is the units name and brigade. Some of the information may take more than one popup since multiple modifiers may confuse the issue but you have still apparently learned almost as much about the unit as you would as its commander apparently from examining the rifling on their spent bullets you can tell everything about a regiment including what it had for breakfast.

I think with FOW option on you should see only minimal information which the on map display gives more than enough of.

LG. Kennon Whitehead
Chatham Grays
1/1/III AoM (CSA)

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by D.S. Walter</i>
<br /><blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Doug Burke</i>
From the info in the FDB one can deduce roughly what the fatigue status of the enemy unit is. For example, if the box indicates a -3 or -4 modifier, odds are the firing unit is heavily fatigued. Not a sure fire indicator of course as quality and terrain has a role here too but an indicator none the less.
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I should say if you have a fresh vs. a highly fatigued unit firing at you for real, you should be able to tell the difference.

Gen. Walter, USA
<i>The Blue Blitz</i>
3/2/VIII AoS

West Point Class of '01

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Why would you know that? A bullet that hits you in the head from 500 yards away doesn't tell you how tired the guy was that fired it.

You can make a case for obtaining this information if you meleed with the unit and maybe if you were adjacent but I think we have already entirely to much information about our opponent as is. Fatigue level should be determined more like the officers in the war had too. Be aware how long the enemy has kept the same units in front of you taking fire. Watch for how ineffective their fire is relative to the size of their regiments.

LG. Kennon Whitehead
Chatham Grays
1/1/III AoM (CSA)

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by KWhitehead</i>
<br /><blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by D.S. Walter</i>
<br /><blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Doug Burke</i>
From the info in the FDB one can deduce roughly what the fatigue status of the enemy unit is. For example, if the box indicates a -3 or -4 modifier, odds are the firing unit is heavily fatigued. Not a sure fire indicator of course as quality and terrain has a role here too but an indicator none the less.
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I should say if you have a fresh vs. a highly fatigued unit firing at you for real, you should be able to tell the difference.

Gen. Walter, USA
<i>The Blue Blitz</i>
3/2/VIII AoS

West Point Class of '01

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Why would you know that? A bullet that hits you in the head from 500 yards away doesn't tell you how tired the guy was that fired it.

You can make a case for obtaining this information if you meleed with the unit and maybe if you were adjacent but I think we have already entirely to much information about our opponent as is. Fatigue level should be determined more like the officers in the war had too. Be aware how long the enemy has kept the same units in front of you taking fire. Watch for how ineffective their fire is relative to the size of their regiments.

LG. Kennon Whitehead
Chatham Grays
1/1/III AoM (CSA)
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Just my 2 cents but units very rarely fired from 500 yards and out. It's a waste of ammo. Put me in the camp of those who think you can tell a lot about the effectiveness of the regiment that you're in a firefight with, presuming they are well within 500 yards.

Major Bill Cirillo
3rd Brigade, 1st Div.
XX Corps, AoC, USA

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Net Warrior</i>

Just my 2 cents but units very rarely fired from 500 yards and out. It's a waste of ammo. Put me in the camp of those who think you can tell a lot about the effectiveness of the regiment that you're in a firefight with, presuming they are well within 500 yards.

Major Bill Cirillo
3rd Brigade, 1st Div.
XX Corps, AoC, USA
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If you are using ADF to speed up melee games, you are stuck with every unit with a rifle and a target firing at any range unless you almost completely shut down Defensive Fire by setting the AI to minimum (one hex) distance. And even at 100 yards there is little an officer could tell about an enemy regiment through the smoke of battlefield conditions other than they are over there. Other than a few regiments and brigades like the Black Hat ones that had distinctive markings they had little idea who they were fighting unless they captured someone.

LG. Kennon Whitehead
Chatham Grays
1/1/III AoM (CSA)

So as General Walters suggests, it should be no problem for HPS to adopt the increase/decrease speed control for combat replay that is currently used in the Panzer Campaigns series. But at the same time Kevin Whitehead and Doug Burke think that the Fire Dialog Box is much too informative about the enemy's physical condition! Maybe, in addition to asking HPS for a selectable speed control on the fire combat and/or melee replays, we should also strike for an <i>optional rule</i> to disallow the Fire Dialog box.

Maj. Gen. Jos. C. Meyer
Second Division, 14th Corps,
Army of the Cumberland

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by KWhitehead</i>
<br /><blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Net Warrior</i>

Just my 2 cents but units very rarely fired from 500 yards and out. It's a waste of ammo. Put me in the camp of those who think you can tell a lot about the effectiveness of the regiment that you're in a firefight with, presuming they are well within 500 yards.

Major Bill Cirillo
3rd Brigade, 1st Div.
XX Corps, AoC, USA
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If you are using ADF to speed up melee games, you are stuck with every unit with a rifle and a target firing at any range unless you almost completely shut down Defensive Fire by setting the AI to minimum (one hex) distance. And even at 100 yards there is little an officer could tell about an enemy regiment through the smoke of battlefield conditions other than they are over there. Other than a few regiments and brigades like the Black Hat ones that had distinctive markings they had little idea who they were fighting unless they captured someone.

LG. Kennon Whitehead
Chatham Grays
1/1/III AoM (CSA)
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Well, as much as I agree with you on 99% of everything else, I do think that experienced troops could tell by the rate of incoming fire when their opponents were weakening, running low on ammo, taking heavy casualties, or suffering from extreme fatigue. There are plenty of first hand accounts from fighting that would indicate that would be the case. But those would still be generalities and the specifics could not be known. After the first few volleys the smoke limited visibilty on most battlefields to the point where everything past that was guess work.

Regards,

Lt. Gen. Alan Lynn
CSA Chief of Staff
3rd Bgde, 3rd Cav Div, II Corps, AoA

God Bless <><