Iñaki Harrizabalagatar
Posts: 825
Joined: 12/11/2001 Status: offline
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Hi This is a list I have worked out together with Howard Jones, both of us have a lot of experience in the H&M 2 game, in PBEM as well as in designing scenarios, so we decided to make this contribution in the hope a game we love wil improve and get better. Proposal for improvements 1) 1 turn in a single move. This is a must for PBEM, right now every turn requires an inordinate number of moves. A real turn system Igo/Ugo style should be implemented. 2) Activation leaders system should be replaced by something better, my idea is some kind of partial activation, with limited movement and rallying capacity. 3) Path of routing units needs to be fixed, too many times units rout behind enemy lines 4) Leader radius of influence should be blocked by enemy units, so that you can´t rally units behind enemy lines 5) A more rigid command structure that makes use of historical formations. As the game is now, you can move individual battalions without regard for the division formation,, so that battlelines are not practical in games. My idea would be something along the lines of the Great Ancient Battles game, in which there was a limited number of individual units that could be moved by the leader, and then there was a formation movement, in which a division moved like a single unit. Formation movement would be so encouraged as opposed to individual battalions dancing around. 6) Limit random factor in game calculations, right now it is way too high, making design features irrelevant, I have made a number of scenarios for H&M 2 and I posted about it in the Shrapnel forum. 7) Column formations are used too liberally in the game, it should be a formation for deployment, but once deployed in line units should not be allowed to redeploy in column. Besides, Battalions should march in column of columns, id est, in some kind of divisional formation. 8) Another point on rallying units: reading about C18 battles, one has the distinct impression that, although some units endured a lot more punishment than others before they broke, it was never easy to rally a routed unit (i.e. troops whose fear of the enemy had swamped their fear of their own officers & NCOs, leading to the crucial breakdown in discipline and flight to the rear), and almost impossible to rally the same unit more than once. If this were built into the game, it would discourage the casual use of assault tactics on the assumption that routed units could always be rallied subsequently (I plead guilty to this myself!) 9) It would also be good to have some operational structure around the individual battles (a Campaign Game, in effect), thus discouraging players from bleeding their army to death in any single engagement. 10) Please get rid of the ‘charge fire’ for infantry attacked by cavalry: ordinary defensive fire really is enough! How slowly are those horses moving?! Besides, infantry firing cavalry has a bonus because of the size of the target, however the speed of cavalry charging should offset that in comparison to infantry.
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