Mini campaign system?

[Niftyeye]

Hey - first time posting but have been lurking in the shadows watching this forum like a hawk since Waterloo was first announced

One question on the campaign, can I choose to play as a division, corps or even brigade commander for the campaign? Or do I have to go as the Commander to direct the AI into battle?
I would imagine you can play as anyone but just wanted to check, I love the idea of the campaign system but I think I would find managing the entire army too daunting, I only just have divisions worked out, haha.

[Guest]

...

Looks absolutely brillant. Should really do it for most of SP...

Sadly, I suspect such an advancing system will never work well in MP. Hope I'm wrong.

Let me consider another theoretical / borderline situation (even in SP): rearguard combats.

1) Who is going to ask retreating one Prussian Corps from Wavre?

It really doesn't make sense to me to implement a good chain-of-command-based BAI if it isn't exploited during campaign games...

2) Who is going to take care of moving that Corps to Waterloo if the human player will stay countless hours skirmishing at the former?

Imho some sort of oversimplified CinC/CAI logics like Wargamer 1813 must be actually running in background to support this case (certainly for MP, otherwise - maybe - you could only take note of battlefield's units exit time? Wouldn't allow to simulate D'Erlon's controversial behaviour on 16th June btw...).

Thus, whenever you choose to switch to Waterloo, that Prussian Corps will eventually come as scheduled reinforcement.

Excuse my bad English and pedantic manners. Just want to understand and be somehow helpful.

[con20or]

Hey - first time posting but have been lurking in the shadows watching this forum like a hawk since Waterloo was first announced

One question on the campaign, can I choose to play as a division, corps or even brigade commander for the campaign? Or do I have to go as the Commander to direct the AI into battle?
I would imagine you can play as anyone but just wanted to check, I love the idea of the campaign system but I think I would find managing the entire army too daunting, I only just have divisions worked out, haha.

Very glad to have you on board, welcome :cheer: You can play a smaller campaign with however many you forces you like.

[con20or]

...

1) Who is going to ask retreating one Prussian Corps from Wavre?

It really doesn't make sense to me to implement a good chain-of-command-based BAI if it isn't exploited during campaign games...

2) Who is going to take care of moving that Corps to Waterloo if the human player will stay countless hours skirmishing at the former?

Imho some sort of oversimplified CinC/CAI logics like Wargamer 1813 must be actually running in background to support this case (certainly for MP, otherwise - maybe - you could only take note of battlefield's units exit time? Wouldn't allow to simulate D'Erlon's controversial behaviour on 16th June btw...).

Thus, whenever you choose to switch to Waterloo, that Prussian Corps will eventually come as scheduled reinforcement.

Excuse my bad English and pedantic manners. Just want to understand and be somehow helpful.

Glad you like it.

1) If I understand you correctly, this would be the issue of reinforcements we spoke about a few posts back. That will potentially be for a later patch when we look at adding troops to, or removing troops from existing battles.

2) You move them to the front, you control where they go. You also skirmish at the front. The different battles are both simultaneous and exclusive - you can do it all, it is very well designed.

[Niftyeye]

Hey - first time posting but have been lurking in the shadows watching this forum like a hawk since Waterloo was first announced

One question on the campaign, can I choose to play as a division, corps or even brigade commander for the campaign? Or do I have to go as the Commander to direct the AI into battle?
I would imagine you can play as anyone but just wanted to check, I love the idea of the campaign system but I think I would find managing the entire army too daunting, I only just have divisions worked out, haha.

Very glad to have you on board, welcome :cheer: You can play a smaller campaign with however many you forces you like.

Thanks for the reply, so are you saying that I couuld put the campaign setting to for example, Division vs Division and still play as one of the brigade commanders? Or do I have to play as the highest ranking Officer for campaign mode only?
Sorry if I'm not making much sense :O

[con20or]

We have always had that option for single player sandbox battles, but you have to play as the senior commander for the new campaign game and therefore by default on the battle map. But you can play a corps level campaign and cut down on the number of your troops that way.

[Guest]

One little suggestion that come me to mind right now.

Don't worry about having scattered units across the campaign map to guard chokepoints, crossroads, etc. or to patrol / scout / keep contact.

That was perfectly normal and would allow generating great minor engagements, and even enjoyable encounter battles once the reinforcement system will be ready.

Just be sure to understand that operational campaigns mostly turned around the concept of troops concentration (how many soldiers may I bring to a given battlefield as function of time) and its predictions (both ours and of the enemy).

Of course detached units should keep a sort of "barycentric goal" in respect to the bulk of the army (HQs, etc.).

[Saddletank]

How are encounters with enemy troops resolved on the campaign map?

Does it generate an SoW battle for every single encounter?

If it does, what happens if a scouting brigade of light cavalry watching a certain road or area is approached by a whole corps? With SoW battles as they are now there is no ability for troops to exit the battlefield so it seems that scouting light cavalry brigade, instead of reporting what it has seen and falling back, would have to fight a battle and lose.

Is there something I am missing?

Do battles have a time limit set by the player? Thus in the case above the light cavalry could "skirmish" for a fixed period then the battle would end - if so how does the camapign count victory/loss in these conditions?

Is there any penalty for a lost battle/advantage for a won battle other than casualties and presumably losing/holding the battlefield? Following on from that what does the camapign do to a beaten force? is it auto-retreated?

Is there any system of cavalry scouting and screening that gives the player or AI information on enemy locations and strengths other than counting flags when a battle is generated? Are enemy forces revealed on the camapign map as they get near your own? If so what info is given?

How does ammunition supply and supplies/LoC work generally?

For example if the Anglo-Dutch are at Quatres-Bras guarding Brussels and the French get a cavalry corps behind them at, say, Mont St Jean, does this cut a defined LoS/LoC? If so, what then?

Thanks.

I have a lot of interest in the campaign system but still a lot of questions.

[gunship24]

I can answer the first one; every encounter has a Fight or Retreat option. So for your example you would want to retreat your light cavalry.

[mitra76]

Does it generate an SoW battle for every single encounter?

Only if both the sides accept to fight or the retreating one failed the check for retreating.

Depending from the campaign type the retreating AI move to the parent unit or call parent near her location, or nearest friend units can march to enemy location.

Do battles have a time limit set by the player? Thus in the case above the light cavalry could "skirmish" for a fixed period then the battle would end - if so how does the camapign count victory/loss in these conditions?

The battle generated is always one of the four types of sandbox battles. They have a variable max time limit, but they can terminate because of points or because the AI gives up because of losses (or the player gives up of course). It depends much of battle type generated.

Is there any penalty for a lost battle/advantage for a won battle other than casualties and presumably losing/holding the battlefield? Following on from that what does the camapign do to a beaten force? is it auto-retreated?

After a battle there's 1 hour campaign time where both the forces of battle cannot do nothing, after the loser is forced to retreat.

Is there any system of cavalry scouting and screening that gives the player or AI information on enemy locations and strengths other than counting flags when a battle is generated? Are enemy forces revealed on the camapign map as they get near your own? If so what info is given?

There's a range of autoscout when enemy is nearby, but you see only the name of force; the composition is shown only at the moment of battle decision.

How does ammunition supply and supplies/LoC work generally?

Is still simplified, troops recover morale,fatigue,wounded and ammo on different percentages resting in a town.