Courier Messages... What do you use for this?

[NefariousKoel]

I'm wondering what orders you guys issue when you want a Brigade to attack in a certain direction. I've been issuing courier messages because when only setting a commander's stance they seem to go in whichever direction they feel like and I'd like to give them an attack axis. I'm not sure of the best way to do this as I'm getting mixed results, still, with commanders veering their Brigade off my preferred direction of advance.

I've been sending a change facing to (and compass direction), and adding attack on the end. Not sure if I should send them in separate messages, but it still seems to work okay in the first one... initially.

There looks to be multiple different orders to mix for such an effect. I'm unsure if I'm using the most appropriate combo here. What are your preferred series of attack orders to your AI Brigades?

[Marching Thru Georgia]

NefariousKoel wrote:

There looks to be multiple different orders to mix for such an effect. I'm unsure if I'm using the most appropriate combo here. What are your preferred series of attack orders to your AI Brigades?

There is no one right answer for this question. It depends on the circumstance. The first thing I check is the type of brigade commander I have. If he is by nature, agressive, I need to keep a tight rein on him till he is in position. If he is timid, prodding him to attack will be a chore.

If I have a brigade in reserve and I want it to attack a certain part of the line, I will use something like: no orders, move to the right/left/ flank of...,hold, (one order). I use hold so the brigade will form up first and not attack piecemeal. Then I give the order to probe or attack.

If I am in line and want to advance and attack a portion of the enemy line I usually order: no orders, move x yards in this direction/forward, change to this formation, probe/attack, (one order). If the commander is agressive, the attack will tend to be piecemeal and you better support him. If he is timid, he will form up first, analyze the situation and then engage. That, of course, gives the AI time to respond.

I don't know if that answers your question, but it's how I handle attacks.

[NefariousKoel]

Yes, that helped. Thanks! B)

Oh, btw.. Where can I see the subordinate general's aggressiveness in SoW? It was obvious in TC2M but I've not noticed it here. Right in front of me I'm sure, but where?

[Marching Thru Georgia]

Click on the 'Order of Battle' button and then pick the commander of interest. It is listed as 'Style', the last entry.

[Michael Slaunwhite]

NefariousKoel wrote:

There looks to be multiple different orders to mix for such an effect. I'm unsure if I'm using the most appropriate combo here. What are your preferred series of attack orders to your AI Brigades?

There is no one right answer for this question. It depends on the circumstance. The first thing I check is the type of brigade commander I have. If he is by nature, agressive, I need to keep a tight rein on him till he is in position. If he is timid, prodding him to attack will be a chore.

If I have a brigade in reserve and I want it to attack a certain part of the line, I will use something like: no orders, move to the right/left/ flank of...,hold, (one order). I use hold so the brigade will form up first and not attack piecemeal. Then I give the order to probe or attack.

If I am in line and want to advance and attack a portion of the enemy line I usually order: no orders, move x yards in this direction/forward, change to this formation, probe/attack, (one order). If the commander is agressive, the attack will tend to be piecemeal and you better support him. If he is timid, he will form up first, analyze the situation and then engage. That, of course, gives the AI time to respond.

I don't know if that answers your question, but it's how I handle attacks.

Hi MTG.

That is a really smart way of doing it MTG. I have never thought of using the no order before, I'll give that a try as well.

Cheers...and thanks for the great tip!

[Marching Thru Georgia]

milesla wrote:

I have never thought of using the no order before

No orders is your friend. It saves much head bashing and keyboard destruction.

[Michael Slaunwhite]

milesla wrote:

I have never thought of using the no order before

No orders is your friend. It saves much head bashing and keyboard destruction.

Hi MTG.

You know, if you didn't post that tip I would still be screaming at the computer screen. Thanks again MTG, you have saved my voice, but the wife isn't too pleased about it though .

Cheers, and take care.

[Blaugrana]

I have only used courier messages when Teamspeak went down during a GCM MP game and hadn't considered their use till I saw this post, which has intrigued me.

Do you use them for greater historical flavour, MTG, or are there other advantages that outweigh the time-consuming nature of courier messages? Or do you have some nifty keyboard shortcuts for using courier messages?

Thanks for any info which may open up a whole new can of worms...

[Marching Thru Georgia]

Nope, no keyboard shortcuts, but I have a mod which greatly expands on the stock commands. I use couriers for historic immersion. They add the delay that occured during battles of that period and also the misinterpretation that often happened. If I order a brigade to move to the right flank and attack the enemy, it may do just that. It may also only go part way and decide that there is a greater threat to deal with and ignore my orders and fight in this new place. Very fustrating, but very realistic.

The only two instances I can think of, where courier orders are more efficient than point and click is in ordering arty batteries to move around the batlefield, at least without using the TC button. But we all know that real men don't use the TC button. :laugh: The 2nd is for initial movement orders. If I have to move my troops half way across the map, I find it very time consuming and tedious to fly back and forth between the troops and where I want them to go and click a bunch of buttons. With the courier, I only need to look at the map, select the location and then the rest of their orders. This way really isn't any slower and it avoids a lot of flight time.

If you are interested in using the courier system, I wrote an AAR describing the process. I would recommend that you not start using it while glued to the saddle of your horse. Try it while flying around the battle to see just how the troops respond to your orders. Remember, there will be a delay sometimes a long one, so planning ahead is crucial. Your scores will be much lower than those you get with the point and click method, but IMHO much more satisfying.

[NefariousKoel]

milesla wrote:

I have never thought of using the no order before

No orders is your friend. It saves much head bashing and keyboard destruction.

Indeed.

This should be a Golden Rule of SoW.

I've found some cases where issuing courier messages worked out better than trying to hamfist an AI-controlled commander into something via point and click without turning on TC. They seem to be much more responsive to courier messages when I want to get their direction of advance back on track.