Need some tips on commanding Divisions...

[gbs]

I am playing Lil Powells AP Hill scenarios and can't get past the first one. I give orders by courier and have been giving them through the three division commanders. I am having a heck of a time getting them to attack and move where I need them. I would appreciate any advice anyone could give on commanding using couriers when playing as a Corp commander such as this scenario.

[JMayer]

I hope this will help. If you are doing couriers by Division all you need to do is select your brig or commander you wish to command then click on the ground and a courier will go out to them. If you are like most you might be trying to send them a written message from the courier selection screen which is not nessasary. Give that a try and I hope it helps.

JMayer

[Neal]

A few tips:

Ride to the brigade commander and deliver the orders. This eliminates the Jeb Stuart couriers that prefer to ride around the flank of the army to deliever a message to an officer 300 yards away.

Know that couriers take time to arrive.

Remember couriers act as "toggeles". If you TC a commander, then send another courier to TC him again, but before the first has arrived--you will accomplish nothing more than toggling TC on and off again. I see that as a common frustration, just be patient.

Be patient.

Check to see if you have the generals on Take Control or not.

The personalities of the officers can be a factor.

Finally, join this group: http://www.usvmc.net/csa/index.php?opti ... &Itemid=56

They will help you out and teach you a few things you might not have known before! Plus, they're a lot of fun.

[Marching Thru Georgia]

I play via the courier system almost exclusively. Regardless of the level, getting a commander to move if he is already engaged can be difficult if not impossible. There are a couple of tricks that you need to know. The first, and this applies to any orders given, is to make sure the orders time is exactly the same as the execution time. Most often, this mis-match is the cause of orders not being followed. Second, if the subordinate's troops are engaged or being threatened, the first order to give is 'No Orders'. This changes his stance and he is more likely to attempt to carry out your orders. Just remember to give him a new stance at the end of your orders. Even with giving 'No Orders' your division or brigade commander may well decide to ignore you if they are engaged. Breaking contact and moving while staying organized was extremely difficult and rarely attempted. Your subordinates have a much better feel for the situation than you, at least they think they do, and they will usually treat such orders as suggestions or something added to their to-do list once the fight is resolved. Remember, the genius of Norb's creation is that these sprites often act like humans, not robots. There is nothing more fustrating and in a way satisfying than seeing your troops ignore you and do what they think best. Your better half may think you've gone round the bend when she sees you screaming in fustration at a bunch of computer drawn figures, but that's something she'll just have to learn to accept.

[Little Powell]

Neal wrote:

the Jeb Stuart couriers

:laugh:

I'll have to start calling them that from now on.. :laugh:

That's one of the things on the list; to make the courier pathing smarter. Hopefully we can have the greatly improved by the feature patch.

[gbs]

Thanks for all the advice. Much appreciated.