Killed and wounded commanders

[garyknowz]

Right now, the only way (as far as I’ve experienced) to kill or wound a commander is for an opposing unit to actually collide. I was wondering if there is a way to create or mod a progressive, randomized wound or death function based on commanders’ proximity to enemy units. For division or above, assign a seniority to his brigadiers who succeeds to that position.

I was just curious whether this was possible, or if there are technical considerations I'm missing that prohibit implementation.

[con20or]

Hi garyknowz,

LP was just talking about the same thing in a different thread to cut down on commander scouting in MP.

http://www.norbsoftdev.net/forum/40-dis ... lers#49975

If this could be modded it would be fantastic - players would really need to think about moving close to the front line in fighting.

[Martin James]

Very much agree!

Our group has recently instituted a house rule, but this would avoid grey areas, and be more historical too.

Martin

[con20or]

What was the rule?

[Martin James]

If I remember correctly, it's not to move closer than about 400 yds of previously spotted enemy troops.

That probably still allows players to take more risks than historical generals would have done, as an enemy regiment could have got a lot of shots off at you if you before you rode off, if you came upon it unawares. OTOH the game has no other scouting function, so it's seems a reasonable compromise.

Martin

[gunship24]

Im not sure if a mod is possible to negate this, but i would certainly try to get it added to the 'next patch list' because i think it would add more realism and fairer play.

[Saddletank]

Garniers GCM randomly kills brigade commanders and regt colonels, but it is a completely random feature and only announces this post-battle. Its still a nice touch that adds a feel of the risk of battle.

An actual in-game process would be cool though, with a subordinate taking perhaps a few minutes (two to five randomly?) to become active and the troops operating under AI control until then.

[Blaugrana]

IIRC, replacement commanders are spawned miles away. It is a pain (to say the least) to get back to your troops. I've never had to do this playing HITS. I suspect I would just ride to the nearest tavern...

If this is ever implemented, please let it be a mod, or in some other way optional. I think it could be disastrous.

On the subject of generals scouting, in HITS games, which is what I play, I'm very happy for generals to scout to their heart's content. Personally, I would only want to limit this if and when each side has at least 2 or 3 human-led (cavalry?) scouting units. A real division commander could potentially receive information passed up the line of command from the eyes of hundreds or thousands of troops. We are relying on the eyes of a handful of fellow players.

Jeff

[RebBugler]

Blaugrana

If this is ever implemented, please let it be a mod, or in some other way optional. I think it could be disastrous.

Fear not, it won't happen on my watch. You are right on, it would be a disaster for SP play. The tavern (respawning location) would be full of officers, and I've seen it where the troops join them.

[garyknowz]

Hi garyknowz,

LP was just talking about the same thing in a different thread to cut down on commander scouting in MP.

http://www.norbsoftdev.net/forum/40-dis ... lers#49975

If this could be modded it would be fantastic - players would really need to think about moving close to the front line in fighting.

Excellent! My impetus was slightly different, although to the same effect. I had just read the book Chancellorsville (Sears) and Gettysburg: The Second Day, and thinking about the large numbers of general officers killed or wounded/incapacitated during battle. It often played havoc on the command control of an army, so I thought it might be worth consideration for SOW. While gallantry in combat increased the potential for grievous wounds or death (Johnston), sometimes it was bad luck, like a stray artillery shell (Reynolds, L. Polk, et al.).

I agree with LP about generals scouting though too. In reality, good rifleman would seldom pass up an opportunity to pluck off an enemy officer exposed like that. Currently, an officer can stand beside an enemy column as if they were on grand review in his honor. With that said, scouting would need to be a addressed. Typically a regiment or so of cavalry was detached from its home unit to serve HQ as scouts,couriers, or whatnot. Break the unit into troops, too small to be a real combat force, but resilient enough as not to evaporate. Perhaps give a troop to each corps or something along those lines.