Gil R.
Posts: 10821
Joined: 4/1/2005 Status: offline
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It might come as a surprise, but I have never played any of Tiller's games (though I have of course seen screenshots). The only Civil War computer game I've played is "Forge of Freedom" -- and why would that be different for anyone else?!? With that said, infantry units can deploy skirmishers when marching or in line formation, and to extend themselves any unit may be split in two. Marching columns do indeed suffer casualties at a higher rate. Cavalry can mount or dismount, with some loss of strength (25%, I think it is). I just responded on supply in another thread. Morale is complicated, but basically, every unit starts with a quality level (using the system we had in "Forge of Freedom"), and when the battle begins that is treated as its morale level as well, and as the battle goes on that level can drop or be raised by various factors, among them what is happening with other units. I don't believe I've seen a whole corps route, but early in the war there were very few battles with corps. (When Matrix releases the manual it will be possible to read all of the morale rules -- far too many for one post!) Our C&C system is one of our big innovations, and crucial to properly playing. Each brigade/division/corps/army commander has a headquarters unit, and must remain in "command radius" (visible as an overlay if one toggles it on) for commands to go through efficiently, and the same goes for individual units being in range of their brigade commander (or artillery battalion commander). Units, etc. that go out-of-command suffer penalties. These penalties can make it much more challenging to accomplish what one wants -- just as Civil War generals would come up with great plans but then watch as their subordinates failed to execute them in a timely manner. (At the lower levels the penalties are less of an issue.) quote:
ORIGINAL: Philippe at bay How do the combat and movement mechanics compare to the games in the HPS/JTS ACW series? Are there skirmishers or extended formation mechanics? Do units in marching columns suffer from combat penalties? How do horses and horse handlers work when a cavalry unit dismounts to engage in fire combat on foot? How do supply and ammunition work? Do individual units track supply, or is it more abstracted? How does morale work? Does the game have contagious routing, so that divisions, corps, or whole sectors of the battle line suddenly see the elephant? What about command and control? Is every unit equipped with a walkie-talkie, or do units have to be activated to move?
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