RE: TURN 6

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

RE: TURN 6

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [American Civil War] >> Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War 1861-1865 >> RE: TURN 6

Page: << < prev 2 3 [4] 5 6 next > >>

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

RE: TURN 6 - 11/11/2006 5:54:11 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

OK, things start moving at a very different speed next turn. But for now, there's nothing more to do except wait. Promotions are now filling out the 2 star ranks, whjere the latter skills are more important than the initial ones.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 91

RE: TURN 6 - 11/11/2006 6:41:28 AM

AU Tiger_MatrixForum

Posts: 1606
Joined: 10/9/2006
From: Deepest Dixie
Status: offline

_____________________________

"Never take counsel of your fears."

Tho. Jackson

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 92

RE: TURN 6 - 11/11/2006 6:45:47 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: AU Tiger

heh heh. Hopefully we'll soon turn that into...

(in reply to AU Tiger_MatrixForum)

Post #: 93

RE: TURN 6 - 11/11/2006 7:04:33 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

Anyone have any strategy questions? I've tried to walk through some of the "why" behind my moves, but let me know if anyone wants additional explanations or has questions about why I didn't do something...

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 94

RE: TURN 6 - 11/11/2006 7:14:04 AM

madflava13

Posts: 1530
Joined: 2/7/2001
From: Alexandria, VA
Status: offline

I'm curious about your decision not to upgrade weapons and attributes of your units knowing an offensive is coming soon. Also, if it's not too much trouble, I'd love to hear more about the specific upgrades and specialized traits available.... How you choose which units to give traits to, and why. I know you've touched on it some already.
Thanks in advance!

_____________________________

"The Paraguayan Air Force's request for spraying subsidies was not as Paraguayan as it were..."

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 95

RE: TURN 6 - 11/11/2006 7:26:12 AM

AU Tiger_MatrixForum

Posts: 1606
Joined: 10/9/2006
From: Deepest Dixie
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: jchastain

Anyone have any strategy questions? I've tried to walk through some of the "why" behind my moves, but let me know if anyone wants additional explanations or has questions about why I didn't do something...

Personally I am engrossed in trying to figure out what the H#ll is going on game mechanics-wise. If I had a manual to reference as this is unfolding, it would make a lot more sense. Both you and Gil have done a good job describing the whys and wherefores, but I am an engineer, and want to read the specs, if that makes sense?

I am going to copy this post to the general thread as nothing is given away.

_____________________________

"Never take counsel of your fears."

Tho. Jackson

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 96

RE: TURN 6 - 11/11/2006 7:34:27 AM

Grotius

Posts: 5798
Joined: 10/18/2002
From: The Imperial Palace.
Status: offline

I'm enjoying this AAR a great deal. This game is already a must-buy for me, but I do have a few questions.

First, I'm surprised how expensive diplomacy is. What is this expense intended to simulate? Don't get me wrong, I like it; it adds depth to the game, and it's forcing you to make some hard choices.

Also, I notice that your screenshots sometimes show more than one unit in a province per turn. Do they all occupy the same location, or are they presumed to be in different parts of that province?

Finally, I'm interested that you can pull garrisons from, say, Wisconsin and send them to the front. Do you pay any political penalty with the Wisc. governor for doing so? Or any other kind of penalty?

(in reply to AU Tiger_MatrixForum)

Post #: 97

RE: TURN 6 - 11/11/2006 7:36:25 AM

AU Tiger_MatrixForum

Posts: 1606
Joined: 10/9/2006
From: Deepest Dixie
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

I'm enjoying this AAR a great deal. This game is already a must-buy for me, but I do have a few questions.

First, I'm surprised how expensive diplomacy is. What is this expense intended to simulate? Don't get me wrong, I like it; it adds depth to the game, and it's forcing you to make some hard choices.

Also, I notice that your screenshots sometimes show more than one unit in a province per turn. Do they all occupy the same location, or are they presumed to be in different parts of that province?

Finally, I'm interested that you can pull garrisons from, say, Wisconsin and send them to the front. Do you pay any political penalty with the Wisc. governor for doing so? Or any other kind of penalty?

_____________________________

"Never take counsel of your fears."

Tho. Jackson

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 98

RE: TURN 6 - 11/11/2006 8:03:16 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: madflava13

I'm curious about your decision not to upgrade weapons and attributes of your units knowing an offensive is coming soon. Also, if it's not too much trouble, I'd love to hear more about the specific upgrades and specialized traits available.... How you choose which units to give traits to, and why. I know you've touched on it some already.
Thanks in advance!

What I've been trying to do is upgrade the weapons of the highest quality units. In combat, quality becomes morale. So low quality units route quickly. It isn't worth spending a lot of resources giving good weapons to troops that will only fire them once. I pretty much NEVER upgrade the weapon of any unit with a quality of less than 2.0. I pretty much ALWAYS upgrade the weapons of any unit with quality level of 3.0+. The area in between is the gray area. Improvised weapons are just awful. Shotguns and muskets are slight better. Minies and springfields are slight better than those. Other than VERY VERY high quality troops, I won't pay to upgrade one level. So anyone who has shotguns or muskets, I leave alone (until I get something better). Decent troops with improvides weapons I tend to upgrade to minies.

I also wasn't anticipating the offense in the east so I was holding off on upgrades there. Why do interim step upgrades for units that won't be fighting - just upgrade to something decent once it gets close for time to engage them. Then at the last minute, I've decided I need to commit them. That decision was made based on the overwhealming troop levels so I think I'll still be fine. Last turn I could and likely should have given them some attention as it become obvious they'd be deployed. More than anything my failure to do that was laziness and not strategy.

The specific upgrades are much more defined in detailed combat. The devs have said they apply to quick/instant combat as well roughly in proportion to their cost, but none of us know exactly how those formulas work under the covers (except the devs themselves). But again, the investment makes the most sense for high quality troops that won't turn and run with the first shot. I thought about buying more attributes in the last few turns, but they all cost money and money has been tight. I basically made the decision to focus on diplomacy, supplies and building out key containers instead of improving the current units. Over the next few turns, we'll see if that was the right decision or not.

(in reply to madflava13)

Post #: 99

RE: TURN 6 - 11/11/2006 8:16:32 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

Great questions. Let's step through them...

quote:

ORIGINAL: Grotius

I'm enjoying this AAR a great deal. This game is already a must-buy for me, but I do have a few questions.

Great! That's why we're doing it. It really is good to hear people are enjoying it and getting something out of it.

quote:

First, I'm surprised how expensive diplomacy is. What is this expense intended to simulate? Don't get me wrong, I like it; it adds depth to the game, and it's forcing you to make some hard choices.

I think the expense really is more for game balance than to model anything specific. The CSA gets benefits with every level of relationship they build. If they get to level 6, England or France will enter the war in support of them and that's a pretty big deal. If it were too cheap, both sides would just max it out and leave it there making it irrelevant. The USA has the economic advantage, but they are playing defense. They don't know where the CSA is investing and therefore have to cover the board or take their chances. With modest focused investment, the CSA can achieve some real gains by nudging a pwer their way. With modest spread investment and a little luck, they can get the USA to spend a lot trying to cover it all (which is close to where I am right now).

quote:

Also, I notice that your screenshots sometimes show more than one unit in a province per turn. Do they all occupy the same location, or are they presumed to be in different parts of that province?

All units are assuming to be in the same place within a province. You have have independent units in a province. One of the game options is whether you want them "stacked" with one icon representing them all or whether you want to see separate icons. I prefer to keep them separate. Within a province, you can also choose to combine or divide units. The "container" concept allows a lot of flexibility in reorganizing units, though I am sure some will find that flexibility to be a management burden. I tend to like it.

quote:

Finally, I'm interested that you can pull garrisons from, say, Wisconsin and send them to the front. Do you pay any political penalty with the Wisc. governor for doing so? Or any other kind of penalty?

There is no immediate penalty. You'll see that governors make occasional demands. The governors of Virginia and Tennessee have both demanded a certain number of brigades within their borders already in this game (both players see demands from governors on both sides - politicians aren't very secretive). If Wisconsin makes a similar demand, I'll have to decide what to do about it. But for now, I can empty the state and not worry about it.

(in reply to Grotius)

Post #: 100

TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:19:45 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

And the real war begins... Turn 7

The winter is over. Let the fighting begin.

The Event report shows Wheeling was captured. Hardly news.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 101

RE: TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:27:25 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

Page 2 goes on to show them stealing more weapons. I need to start spending my weapons just top keep them from getting so many I think.

Once again, the political report is the interesting section. My diplomacy worked on England and they like me better. Then their diplomacy worked and they like me less. At this point, I have to believe the Rebs are spending a lot of money on diplomacy. I'm OK with that. My economy is stronger so I can better afford the diplomatic arms race.

France support for the CSA falls to 0. Perfect. That takes them out of the picture for now and I can reduce my spending on them. But they now have additional support from continental Europe. Of the 3, "Europe" is the only one that will never send troops or intervene in the war directly and therefore is the one I worry about the least. But I will go ahead and apply some more spending there. I want to cut his economy off and as I said above I am more than happy to engage in a spending race on diplomacy.

The governor of Delaware still wants a camp, but notice how it changed from a request to a demand. He's getting finicky. I'll soon need camps anway, so I might as well go ahead and make him happy. I haven't been using my precious horses for cav because of recent cash shortages. I'll go ahead and take care of this if I have enough.

Maryland now wants a bank too. What is it with all these bank requests? I'll have to ignore this one for now also. Virginia wants a shipyard, so he gets to deal with a stupid request also. But looks like his governors are finially starting to give him some additional support. I wish they wouldn't, but it is to be expected.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 102

RE: TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:28:17 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

OK, we have the horses so let's go ahead and buy that camp while we're thinking about it.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 103

RE: TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:29:36 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

And now we'll get the army moving. I won't bother to show each move, but let's take a look at the overview and then examine the two main areas that are fast evolving as the focal points.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 104

RE: TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:35:29 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

In the east, I am going to move Gregg's AoP from Washington all the way over to attack his division in the mountains. I have to cross Fredericksburg to get there and run the risk that the ANV will move forward and catch me on the move. If it happens, then I'll likely lose and retreat back to the capital but at least then he'll have to respect my forces in the east and can't completely ignore the entire theater. What I'm really hoping though is that I can go spank a small unit and build some experience in this terribly green army. The scouting report shows 51K troops there, but I don't believe it. This is by far my riskiest move of the game, but sometimes you have to try doing something unexpected.

The Army of Maryland (which is really a collection of AoP rejects) is moving to Wheeling. I'll reinforce with the division there and then decide where to go from there. That is a nice location where I can go to the East or West depending on some outcomes. But with troops so concentrated what I'd really like to do in drive into eastern tennessee and begin disrupting his economy. Anyway, that's a good location that should give me lots of good options.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 105

RE: TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:40:34 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

In the west, I'm being more cautious and positioning for my attack. With so many separate armies, I can't afford for only one of the three to make it to an attack and I'm still getting myself organized. This will give him more of an opportunity to react, but I'm not willing do commit to two reckless assaults in the same turn and risk completely losing the war before it even begins. I have the numerical advantage and need to be at least somewhat patient and use it to my advantage. Rmember, the high quality cav and art units are still in production. The real question is whether I attack next turn or the turn after that. Probably next turn, but it isn't a definite yet it it might be interesting to watch his reaction to having so many troops in the area before making a full scale commitment.

EDITed to say that the troop estimate here is definitely garbage. My reports will continue to suck until I get some cavalry to be my eyes.

Attachment (1)

< Message edited by jchastain -- 11/11/2006 8:43:25 AM >

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 106

RE: TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:41:29 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

I still have a few reserves - mostly the low quality troops I've been assembling. I just need to get them organized and tie them to an army.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 107

RE: TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:44:07 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

It is too late to buy any weapons in the east. My army is already on enemy soil and you can only upgrade while in friendly territory (perhaps I should have thought more about that before ordering the march). Out west though, there is still time to buy a couple more minies. Overall though, this army is looking ready and I like my chances.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 108

RE: TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:47:17 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

Two posts above, you can see where my iron and labor have been building up a bit while cash has been tight. It might be a good time to spend a bit of my reserve on a few mints to keep building the cash supply. I have to build them somewhere that is producing money, will continue producing money, has excess building capacity and already makes enough that I likely won't be stripping the population out and turning them into soliders. Chicago looks like a good choice to me. It has room for 3 more buildings. (Building a mansion to build mints has a very long payback and my investment horizon is limited).

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 109

RE: TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:48:46 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

OK, they are in the queue now. Notice they will all be finished at the same time. This isn't Civ. You can build in parallel so long as you have the space and the resources.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 110

RE: TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:49:34 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

I've been avoiding it until now, but I do need to look at diplomacy yet again and shift some attention away from France and towards Europe.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 111

RE: TURN 7 - 11/11/2006 8:51:13 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

And one more promotion before I send the files off and wait anxiously to see what happens. My troops won't all make it to where I sent them, but I have to believe that the war will begin in earnest with first blood coming in the east, not the west.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 112

TURN 8 - 11/11/2006 9:21:59 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

The best laid plans of mice and men.... sometimes it is a wonder that every general in wartime isn't driven to drink. What a mess. Turn 8

The first page says pretty much nothing... which should tell us that something is very very wrong.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 113

RE: TURN 8 - 11/11/2006 9:24:18 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

If only this were a winter turn, I'd be pretty excited right about now. England and Europe both backed away from the rebel slime. Our diplomacy is making real inroads now and the governors didn't do anything to cause any heartburn. But things were way too quiet considering all the hype I lavished on.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 114

RE: TURN 8 - 11/11/2006 9:28:03 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

Rut Roh. (Any scooby doo fans out there?) The army got halfway there and decided to take a two week break. The plan was perfect, but the execution was flawed. Not only did we not catch that division sleeping but it appears we fell right into a trap with half of Robert E's fraternity waiting to pounce on us. One thing is clear, we need to get out of here - and fast. Calgon, take me away! The Southern officers all have better initiative than I do. I'll try to get back to where I was going to begin with, but this could get really ugly.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 115

RE: TURN 8 - 11/11/2006 9:32:11 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

the execution out west was just as flawed, but we're left in a less precarious position. Good thing we didn't try to coordinate a long distance attack. These guys can't find their way from the tent to the latrine. The attack will be delayed yet another turn. I need to just get these idiots to a central location and organize them before trying anything else. They are just not ready for any maneuvers more complex than making their morning tea. I suppose the only good news is that I should be able to pull in all the new units and get a real numerical advantage - though the quality remains questionable. And god help us if disease strikes. Still, I think that is my best course of action.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 116

RE: TURN 8 - 11/11/2006 9:33:45 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

The east is easy. It is all about marching one province. Just make it one province please. And I am still trying to get that opther army to Wheeling. But that isn't the big worry.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 117

RE: TURN 8 - 11/11/2006 9:34:36 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

In the west, it is all about getting everyone together.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 118

RE: TURN 8 - 11/11/2006 9:35:54 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

Buying camping supplies for all of these guys is expensive. I'm not scraping the bottom of the funding barrel. But I need to keep the supplies flowing just in case any of the ever find their way to a battle.

Attachment (1)

(in reply to jchastain)

Post #: 119

RE: TURN 8 - 11/11/2006 9:37:37 AM

jchastain

Posts: 2164
Joined: 8/8/2003
From: Marietta, GA
Status: offline

Just peeking at research, it does seem to be making progress. I thought about buying more weapons based on last turn's thievery but seeing this I will wait. I should see some results in one more turn or two tops.