American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)
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Fixed Units and officers
http://www.wargame.ch/board/acwgc/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9855
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Author:  nelmsm [ Mon Aug 14, 2006 12:15 am ]
Post subject:  Fixed Units and officers

Playing a Battle of Shiloh battle in a campaign and of course as the Union player I'm stuck with everyone being fixed until the Rebels get around to shooting them. However I've got several cases where the brigade commanders are fixed in place and in order to make some sort of line I've had to abandon them to their fate. Is it just me or does anyone else have a problem with officers being fixed? I've got two BC's who have every regiment freed up but because of their initial positioning they have not been affected and are still fixed until some Reb regiment wanders by or the next morning arrives. I find it hard to believe that even the most incompetent officer would hold his position in complete obscurity while his entire brigade retreats under enemy fire. Could it be possible to fix the units (which I'm going to hate until my dying breath also) while leaving the officers free to move?? I mean we are talking about one guy with a staff all on horseback.

General Mark Nelms
6/3/IX/AoO
"Blackhawk Brigade"

Author:  KWhitehead [ Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:53 am ]
Post subject: 

I agree the Fixed Unit system works very poorly. The only time it works as intended is to keep troops well behind the lines that should act more as reinforcements but aren't far enough away to be off map from joining the fight to soon. The present system allows to many gamey tactics trying to avoid activation of them while troops surround them for it to be used on front line troops.

The officer problem could be fixed though if HPS just didn't fix officers in position. The activation of fixed regiments needs some significant improvements in game mechanics. My suggestions for fixes are:

When any regiment in a brigade is fired on then all regiments in that brigade are activated on the next command phase.

For Shiloh, I believe it was in the game "Bloody April", they had a nice system of "Aides" who were activated at the point of first contact. These "Aides" could move to nearby regiments and activate them. This resulted in an expanding area of activations from the point of contact. This forced the CSA player to push forward rapidly once contact was made or loose his advantage of surprise.

And, as I mentioned earlier, don't fix officers.

BG. Kennon Whitehead
Chatham Grays
III Corps, AoM (CSA)

Author:  krmiller_usa [ Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:58 am ]
Post subject: 

Having fooled with the scenario editor I don't see any reason why the officers could not be released seperately. When units are fixed they are fixed individually, that is you have to fix each unit seperately although you can fix all the units in a hex at once. However creating timed releases is done under the Units, Add Release pull down. You can then set up release times for commands from Army to individual counter level. More than likely the designer set up a release time for the whole brigade because it was easier to do.

Gen. Ken Miller

Image

Army of the Shenandoah

Author:  Dwight McBride [ Mon Aug 14, 2006 3:52 am ]
Post subject: 

I find it very hard to be pleased with a scenario in which my units are surrounded and suffering isolation before they're unfixed. I have had Shiloh units ROUTED before I was free to move them.

Col Dwight McBride
1st Brigade ("The Regulars")
2nd Division/V Corps/AOP

Author:  laubster22 [ Mon Aug 14, 2006 4:36 am ]
Post subject: 

Nothing like giving up a commander to the wandering Reb unit that runs them over...Bring on Colonel Anon!

Image
General Jeff Laub
Union Chief of the Army
ACWGC Cabinet Member
http://www.geocities.com/laubster22/UnionHQ/

Author:  nelmsm [ Fri Aug 18, 2006 1:05 am ]
Post subject: 

I haven't checked to see which version of the Batte of Shiloh this might be but I'm beginning to think I made a mistake purchasing Shiloh if is the case with all of them. I'm getting closer to a thousand casualties and have already lost 4 guns and still the majority of my units sit fixed. I've got whole brigades activated except for a lone regiment who sits there wondering what all that screaming and shooting is 300 yards away. Have lost one fixed officer so far and I'm probably going to lose a division commander who is stuck fixed in another few turns. I mean there is surprise but there reaches a point where it becomes ridiculous to leave units fixed. Don't you think that the commanding General just might wake up to the fact that there is a Reb force out there when he sees the number of wounded streaming by that would be associated with a 1000 casualites. I've already seen one Reb brigade sneaking around my flank and will be able to surround at least another regiment and a gun section after all this time. I think that there should be some sort of casualty level that would trigger activation of fixed units. As it stands I consider this scenario unplayable.

General Mark Nelms
6/3/IX/AoO
"Blackhawk Brigade"

Author:  zinkyusa [ Fri Aug 18, 2006 6:41 am ]
Post subject: 

I drew that battle in a recent campaign game. It was horrible. I didn't even make it to the early evening. I lost most of my brigade and some commaders early on because they remained fixed even after their units released due to be fired on or meleed. The units would routed leaving their fixed unhappy commanders there to be overrun next turn..

It definetly needs to be looked at. There is another variant where all the Union forces are free at the start. This is much more balanced IMHO (although Reb players may not agree).

I have stopped playing Shiloh for now.



Lt. Gen. Ed Blackburn
II/VI/AoS
Image
"Forward Bucktails"

Author:  krmiller_usa [ Fri Aug 18, 2006 7:37 am ]
Post subject: 

I just remembered something, back in December 2005 I discovered a problem with the campaign scenarios #172 Sh_without Buell and 173. These scenarios have the battle start a day earlier on April 5 and it seems the union army did not release until April 6 which is the first day of the historical battle but the second day of this variant.

I posted on the ACG-SZC forum and Rich Hamilton got a hold of Rich Walker and according to him the free standing scenarios were fixed in the 1.02 patch but the campaign scenarios were not. Rich W. corrected the scn file and sent me a copy of the new one so my opponent and I restarted our campaign from the point of the previous battle since I had the files to do so. The corrected scn file will be in the next patch. Any chance this is the scenario you are playing ? If the battle started on April 5 it very well could be.

Gen. Ken Miller

Image

Army of the Shenandoah

Author:  boilertech [ Fri Aug 18, 2006 11:16 am ]
Post subject: 

Hey General Mark, Suh

A few months back I played General Dale Lastowicka in a stand alone scenario, it was the two day battle Apr. 6 and 7th and he told me that most of his units started out disrupted but not fixed I think.

Respectfully,

Col. Gery Bastiani
26th NC Inf. Regt.
II/2/4 AotM

"Let us pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees" -Stonewall Jackson

Author:  nelmsm [ Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:18 pm ]
Post subject: 

Yep, this would be one of those scenarios. It starts on April 5 and the Union doesn't release until April 6 at 5:20 am. Could you send me the files that you have?


<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by krmiller</i>
<br />I just remembered something, back in December 2005 I discovered a problem with the campaign scenarios #172 Sh_without Buell and 173. These scenarios have the battle start a day earlier on April 5 and it seems the union army did not release until April 6 which is the first day of the historical battle but the second day of this variant.

I posted on the ACG-SZC forum and Rich Hamilton got a hold of Rich Walker and according to him the free standing scenarios were fixed in the 1.02 patch but the campaign scenarios were not. Rich W. corrected the scn file and sent me a copy of the new one so my opponent and I restarted our campaign from the point of the previous battle since I had the files to do so. The corrected scn file will be in the next patch. Any chance this is the scenario you are playing ? If the battle started on April 5 it very well could be.

Gen. Ken Miller

Image

Army of the Shenandoah
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

General Mark Nelms
6/3/IX/AoO
"Blackhawk Brigade"

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