Brigade Combat Tutorial

[Jack ONeill]

Laiz,

2 things -

1) you couldn't offend me if you tried. :laugh:

2) "fun" IS a relative term. This game is many things to many people. It can be very immersive, as immersive as YOU want it to be. The AI IS unpredictable, on both sides. The absolute beauty of the game engine is you can tailor to how you want to play. I also tend to micro-manage to some degree. My version is to literally ride all over hells half acre, grab my Brigade Commander by the lapels and point him in the right direction, then ride over to the next one and congratulate him for doing what I want. I use couriers, too, holding my breath in the hopes I haven't screwed up the order AND the recipient understands what I want. I wear out A LOT of horses.

If you're looking for a "Game", you will find it here. However, this beastie is not billed as a game, but a combat simulation. As someone who has actually seen the elephant, (literally eye-ball to eye-ball with the Bad Guys), it is as close as you can get, short of having stuff winging past your head at high speed. Perhaps if you look at it that way, it may seem different.

Bon Chance!!!!

Jack B)

[Saddletank]

I don't actually know what data the AI is given, but if I were a betting man I would bet money that the AI does NOT in any way analyze rendered graphics to determine what units are where, which implies that T-mode has no meaning for the AI, and that changing the sprites in the game would have no effect on the AI.

I found this discussion interesting, but off-topic, so I'm continuing it here.

[Hancock the Superb]

LF:

To tell you the truth, I'm right along with you in the Brigade tutorial (as well as division and corps ones). They really don't compare to the real game.

If you want a real fight, you (unfortunately), need to buy the game, then play sandbox. The scenarios and stuff are great, most of the times challenging, but they really don't give you the sense that you fought a Civil War battle (in my humble opinion). However, in an unscripted sandbox, the AI really shines, instead of being confined by the script to do certain things.

After you get used to the game, you should definitely work your way into HITS. I have a series of posts and AARs which might help you (they make interesting reads at any rate).

As far as GCM:
We aren't really a club. All you need to do is go to the website, download the mod, and head to teamspeak. We play with historical, random, and our own "campaign" divisions in battles lasting anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. Everyone is included and there are no obligations to play daily or play well.

However, there are other communities, such as the HITS one, that may also appeal to you. You just need to see what you like.

[LaissezFaire]

Sadly, again some things came up last night that required my attention and I was not able to even play the game at all. But, barring some new crisis, I should be home and able to play the game tonight.

Hancock, it's interesting that you say the AI is not so good when it's scripted since it sounds like even in the tutorials the AI is unpredictable from one play-through to the next.

It also doesn't sound like the AI is that confined because I've heard from a couple of people that the Union forces will actually advance during Pickett's Charge instead of keeping their feet planted in fortified positions.

I think it'd be too bad to not feel like you're fighting the Battle of Gettysburg in a game about the Battle of Gettysburg. Sandbox games sound like fun and would add to replayability, as does multiplayer, but I'd also expect to enjoy the single player campaign as well. People seem to have very different opinions and experiences, so I might not get my own idea unless I buy the game.

Still getting through the tutorials in the demo now, though!

[LaissezFaire]

Screenshots from my latest attempt with the tutorial tonight.


The opening battle across the stream. Pretty straightforward defense as the Confederates approach.


The Confederates defeated, I rally my forces near the bridge. Still waiting on all of them to arrive.


Finally the 56th Penn arrives. I put them on the double quick to hurry up.


Oops. Too late. The Confederates are already here. My regiments break out of column formation and form lines. I decide that there aren't too many Confederates here so I'm going to try and make a stand.


The 76th NY must have run pretty early, because there was this huge gaping hole in my line... I send them back into the fight and the Confeds don't exploit the hole for some reason.


Here is what my far left flank looks like...


...and this is my far right flank as I get told to hold this position.


I have some initial success on my right flank and move my troops forward.


While I am fighting the Rebels, Meredith is sitting with his boys his column well north of Hall's battery. What they are doing, I have no idea.


There is a Rebel unit sitting directly behind Meredith's position. This was hilariously bad AI.


An undefended supply wagon sitting somewhere on the map.


Meanwhile, the rebels have retreated to the northeast! Yay!


Eventually the Iron Brigade gets into a scrap of its own.


The rebels renew their attack on my position. My men, exhausted, try to hold them off.


Long story short, my men start retreating in various places, falling back further and further into the forest.


Those units that haven't routed at this point are retreating farther and farther back behind the line, only wearing themselves out more.


Meanwhile, Meredith is only dealing with one regiment...


...Because the rest have gone around him and are massing to my right to attack me.


My men are broken anyway. I quit. A major defeat.

This time around it was partly my fault for getting caught up by the Confederates and trying to make a stand against Archer's brigade. But I think the screenshots showing what Meredith did support some of what I have been saying about the friendly AI. Not only is that screenshot of Meredith's men in column facing one direction while a line of Rebels sit behind them hilarious, there's not to mention that Brackenborough's brigade was somehow able to get around the entire Iron Brigade to approach me from the right.

Really not sure if this game is for me. :pinch:

[KG_Soldier]

Shots 5 and 6 show the ai's biggest weakness, in my opinion. If you were playing a human, those rebs would be lined up on the wheatfield stonewall, not standing in the open getting shot up.

[Little Powell]

It also doesn't sound like the AI is that confined because I've heard from a couple of people that the Union forces will actually advance during Pickett's Charge instead of keeping their feet planted in fortified positions.

I would like to see a saved game or screenshot of the Union advancing during Picketts Charge. I played those scenarios probably 100 times during testing and never saw that. However, whoever clams that might have been talking about a few stray regiments trying to get around your flank when you are concentrated at The Angle. I have had that happen before.. Just when I thought I had the Angle and was going to win, here comes some Yankee forces in my right/rear flank!

The enemy will always be scripted to act historically in the scenarios, with a low chance of ahistorical variants to keep things interesting. But they will always be in there historic starting positions, will make historic movements, and then of course the AI will take over and make decisions based on your actions. For example in one of the Antietam scenarios (not going to say which one to spoil it), if you move your forces out of their historic positions, exposing your flank, the enemy will punish you for it..

The AI does not want you to win in this game. They will do whatever it takes to achieve victory. Yeah, they may do something stupid from time to time, but so will the player.

Edit: And just read your AAR of the tutorial. Maybe you have exposed a bug in the scenario with Meredeth sort of shutting down. I don't recall that happening to me (it's been over a year since I have played that scenario). I also don't recall many complaints about this scenario, just that it's difficult..

Either way, I think it's worth it for us to take a look and see if anything can be improved, or if a bug has arisen (which can happen since the game has been altered many times since the original release of that scenario). I would like to point out again that Meredith is very low rated, which might be why he acts that way.

[ADukes]

A suggestion: Install the latest version.

[NY Cavalry]

I must have played that tutorial 20 times before I bought the game. In every time Meredith engaged the rebels. Maybe something had changed with the new versions. Regardless, he had a taste of the game. If that didn't move his curiosity then maybe the game isn't for him. That tutorial was enough for me and I was sold. I am still satisfied with the game and for 20 bucks how could you go wrong.


I still play AI and consider the AI pretty good. It is not predictable when it comes to tactics. No two battles are every exactly the same.

[LaissezFaire]

A suggestion: Install the latest version.

I downloaded the demo from the Web site a few days ago (around the time of my first post in this thread). Is there a new version to download or can I update with the demo installed