SOWGB wish list

[norb]

You are correct. So you either deserve an explanation or a fix in the bug patch and you will get it.

[ADukes]

As already mentioned, the guns of Grandy just have less experience and average skills, so they aren't much effective.

[Willard]

All - Just to update on arty issue:

I played as arty Union div commander in a 4v4 MP scenario yesterday.
Results from arty were extremely effective.

Placed 2 batteries of 3inch guns at about 650-750 yards and hit the reb lines with enfilade fire and racked up about 200 casualties.

Placed 2 batteries of 12 pd guns at about 250-300 yards on the flank and center of union line and racked up about 600 casualties.

To paraphrase Shelby Foote, my guns were growling all battle!!!

Just a few thoughts from this experience:

#1 - Know the make up of your batteries. Place your long range guns back in a high position to enfilade lines. Move those 12 pdrs up on the flanks and in center to anchor defensive positions. Understand what the guns can and cannot do - and their strengths and weaknesses. If you are facing a brigade size attack, you need at least 2 batteries of 12 pdrs to knock them out. Anything less and you will get wiped out trying to hold the position. You don't have enough weight with one battery to knock out a brig size attack.

#2 - Don't move batteries too much as they are not tanks or armored divisions! Select good ground and coordinate your attack with MP players or support your controlled troops in SP. If you get a good position with guns they will pay huge dividends but they aren't going to "win the battle" as your troops will need to do that.

#3 - As the battle progresses, re-position your guns IN SUPPORT of the infantry. The guns cannot win the game (but they can prevent a loss or rout if placed properly). Be careful in moving them too far up. I got too aggressive yesterday and lost a gun be getting too close. You need to anticipate where the enemy is going to be in 5 mins, not move where he is now. By this I mean, you need to account for move time of the guns and unlimbering. If you move too close (say about 250 yards from opposing troops) right off the bat, troops can close that 100 yard distance before you can unlimber and fire. If you move into a position at 400 yards with 12 pders, unlimber-fire-move about 50 yards up, then repeat until you reach optimum position. The gunners will roll the guns up without limbering so you are still in that "fire position." If you get too close, retreat by recoil.

As for my previous comments, I think reb counterbattery fire may be too toned down. In a previous game I was hitting union battery out in the open on a ridge with 4 reb batteries at about 500-700 yards. After about 30 mins I was losing more men than the one Union battery!

As for the arty tutorial, that arty battery can't do a thing. No way can those 4 guns do anything to stop that brig attack on the left. I think that is contributing to the perception that the arty isn't working.

[RebBugler]

Very good points Willard. Is this the Capt. Willard that kicked my butt (plus my fellow Rebs) in MP a couple of nights ago? ...along with Tac, and another Yank?

[GShock]

I'm happy u went to check for the tutorial on the guns, it does make me feel less lonely in this report.

Since I haven't seen anything past the 4th tutorial you have cleared the issue on the arty which IS working but not in the tutorials, which means the arty files in the tutorials are broken and it's a piece of cake to fix them (you just gave me a 48-carat smile, dude!) while the rest of the game is fine.

Anyway, since this is a wishlist, I wanted to add before I forget that the buttons 5 6 7 and 8 are important buttons for combat because they move regiments ahead in a particular fashion.

More than important, buttons 7 and 8 are critical because they move troops to the closest cover ahead of them. Such cover is not always easily identified because you do see fences and stonewalls but you can't always spot rough terrain and you don't easily spot the edge of wooden areas.

I think these buttons are so important they deserve to be in the combat or move sub-menus because the position of a regiment is a key factor in combat.

[RebBugler]

Of course, when full mod capabilities are implemented, all or any of the keyboard commands may be built into the toolbar (or, anywhere on the game screen)...as I'm already doing. heh heh

[Willard]

RebBugler wrote:

Very good points Willard. Is this the Capt. Willard that kicked my butt (plus my fellow Rebs) in MP a couple of nights ago? ...along with Tac, and another Yank?

Reb -

That was me playing with Tac a couple of nights ago.
That was a good battle.
I just got lucky on that flank as Tac did his job holding the middle.
You did an outstanding job methodically withdrawing the troops.
If you hadn't done as good a job, it would have been really bad for your teammates.
Look forward to a rematch or a team effort together!!

-Will

[Tacfire]

Yes, that was a very good, long battle we had the other night. My division had no artillery directly attached to it, and it was the well-placed artillery on the opposing side that really made the difference in that battle.

[LoosMoose]

Something I had mentioned a couple of years back, with TC2M was the effect of combat results on units in different formations. This goes back to the old wargame and miniature rules where you were terrified of having your units attacked while they were in column. The results of such an attack were 2x or 3x damage.

A battery that was allowed to fire down the length of your unit in column could have catastrophic results. If you ever lined up your plastic army men and shot a marble at them you could take out half in a single shot. I have read countless battlefield descriptions about round shot bouncing off the ground and skipping through units splattering men in all directions... and in such situations, it was the prefered weapon where rifled ordinance would simply burrow into the earth.

I get the feeling that flank fire is considered more of a morale problem than a damage problem... when in reality shooting down the line of a unit, you just about could not miss due to the overlapping targets that were not nearly as prevalent as when firing perpendicular to the line.

I would second the comments on counter-battery fire, only the Union is (realisitcally) capable of eliminating an enemy battery and that is done using the Wiard batteries. They are quite capable of destroying Confederate batteries in TCM2 game, but I have not seen them in SoW yet. We all remember the quote on Day 3, "He is bringing up batteries as fast as we knock them out" during the bombardment prior to Picket stepping off. Lee said "Our guns will move him off that hill." Artillery *never* approaches this level of damage in the game, but in fairness, Hancock didn't leave that hill either.

I was extremely pleased with the "add-on" sounds we could download for TCM2 for commands given... I would use the "ADVANCE" command just to get to hear the drum roll, it was most excellent. Further, the sounds also acted as confirmation that the order was received and acted upon, something that happened a lot, I would click on it, and it just didn't register. When I heard the voice command afterwards, I knew I had hit the correct button. If you have any pincushion on the bottom edge of your monitor (gasp!) you know what a comfort that is.

All in all... I am extremely grateful for the work that has been done, and the direct measure of that is the guys that I tried to get interested in TCM2 that "liked" the game but never bought it... are indeed purchasing this new game, and that says a lot.

Well done Norb and team.

[norb]

Awesome! Thanks. It will just keep getting better. It's just a baby now.