Leffe7
Posts: 26
Joined: 4/30/2013
From: Switzerland
Status: offline
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Hi RedCharlie
thanks for your interest in the game and buying (all) Scourge of War titles 
IMHO one of the biggest differences between SOW and RTS games is 1) the AI of individual units in SOW and 2) the command structure from brigades up to army level (including AI on each level).
1) Individual units (like battalions. Player is a Brigade commander)
People unfamiliar with SOW might be surprised why units sometimes don't act exactly like ordered. The concept of SOW is that each battalion does respond to the living battlefield around them. Based on orders/visible threats/chance they will for example: Stop moving if being fired upon/change formation to line to begin fire/wheel to engage a bigger threat/form square if cavalry danger is near/change formation from square to line if there is no cavalry danger present anymore AND unengaged/lay down if under artillery fire/fall back or retreat if under big pressure/refuse to charge if condition is too poor.
For me, this adds a lot to the immersion. Battalions are led by an officer and do their best to fullfill their orders but also to keep their men alive.
If you don't like this, you can switch to the "Take Charge" mode (called "TC"). It is the button in the top left of the toolbar with the flag symbol. A TCed unit will strictly do as you tell them. IIRC the only things they will do on their own is fire at units in range and retreat if the Situation is unstainable. All other things must be ordered by the player.
Seasoned players will switch often between TC and unTC according to the situation. Sometimes it is really necessary to TC a unit, like: Ordering a unit to stay in a fort/forcing a charge.
IMHO you can play a Brigade with all units TCed, but for anything at division level or above you should try to only TC where needed.
2) command structure (Player is a Division commander or higher)
Being a Division commander or higher is somewhat a different challenge than controlling a brigade. You are in control of a lot of troops and of different arms. It will be near impossible to know exactly what is going on everywhere on the battlefield. And again for me, this adds a lot to the immersion in this game (especially in playing in HITS mode).
Here comes the AI into play. The difference between a Division commander and a Brigade commander is not that you have to control for example 20 units instead of just 5 units. As a Division commander you give orders to your brigades, and the Brigade Officers will try to execute your orders. So ideally, you give a Brigade an order to move somewhere on the map, select a stance (Attack/Defend/Hold/...) and let the AI do its work. Often an engaged Brigade will need a lot of space to deploy. You should try to let enough space between brigades and not commit all brigades at once very close.
Seasoned players will again switch between TC and unTC according to the Situation. Like to move an artillery battery when enemy is already in range. Or you may TC some units of a Brigade to keep them in reserve and let the Brigade AI act with the rest of the Brigade.
If you don't like to let the Brigade Officer act on his own, you will have to TC him. Otherwise he will override your direct orders (as the Division commander) to individual units! If you TC just the Brigade commander, its battalions will still act on their own. But the Brigade commander will not move around and will not give any orders to his units.
Long Story short: If you prefer to micromonage individual units as a Division commander, you will still not be able to TC every unit. But by TCing the Brigade commanders the unTCed battalions will not receive new movement orders and thus stay more or less where you put them.
Also note that a TCed battalion will ignore any brigade/Division level orders, regardless if the Brigade commander is TCed or unTCed. They will only react to direct commands by the Player.
In conjunction with TC you should consider the Attach/Detach button (IRRC on the top right of the toolbar). It will detach a unit from a Brigade so it will not react to Brigade Level commands, but still retains its AI (= unTC).
I hope this helps 
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QA Scourge of War: Waterloo
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