New GCM "Super Blind" Format

A multiplayer online persistence game for Scourge of War.
Lead your division from battle to battle where your casualties really
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exp101
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New GCM "Super Blind" Format

Post by exp101 »

I've been thinking of a new format for GCM battles that attempts to preserve the essence of "blind" games while minimizing potential house rules violations, intentional or unintentional. This structure also addresses other issues including GCM's anomaly of "scout guns", strives to reestablish infantry as the "queen of battle," strikes a new balance with vps and, in its mechanics, establishes a function for reserves and refitting regiments. Most changes are baked into host settings so house rules (notoriously problematic for us) are kept to a minimum. I'm hoping this makes for fewer disputes and frustrations. Here are the essentials.

VP's

Background Note: The challenge in vp setups has always been in striking a balance between player convenience (the motivation behind the original introduction of vp holders/wagons & low 10-man control requirements), and having a meaningful way to represent vp control. Unfortunately, the mechanics involved have also carried some unintended and occasionally bizarre practices from a Civil War historical point of view.

In Super Blind Games there are:
-no vp holders, vp wagons or ordnance wagons (armies are limited to issued ammunition);
-vp's will be fewer and more tightly placed around the center of the battlefield*;
-vp value will be bumped a bit (initially to 30%), but the control radius is also expanded (either 200 or 250 yards) to make them more difficult to secure**;
-a minimum 200 man garrison will be required to control.*

*The idea here is that players will want to detach small, beat up, exhausted, or reserve regiments for vp garrison duties. By keeping the vp's relatively close, it should be easier to rotate these regiments from back areas into the line and vice versa, which introduces a sort of reserve or R&R area concept to our battles
**vp's will carry lots of potential value, but are also going to be more difficult to truly secure. Look for objectives to be more easily contested and remain neutral for longer periods. This should, in turn, give back a portion of game emphasis to the infliction of tactical damage as a path to victory

House Rules
New...
1) Gun batteries may not use road movement in the first 10 minutes of the game

As before...
2) Officers may not move ahead or to the side of friendly infantry or guns
3) Officers may not move to rally regiments that break or retreat behind enemy lines. Such regiments may not interfere with enemy objectives in any way unless/until they are able to come back within friendly lines

This is a first pass and will no doubt require some tweaking. Let's see what happens!
Mark
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Re: New GCM "Super Blind" Format

Post by Mark »

The gun restriction is not practicable. It sounds good in theory but with random spawns if I start in heavy woods, like I did last game, I'm going to use the nearest road to get my guns out. If not, then the guns will be exhausted and unusable for the first half hour of game time while I have to rest them, and that's a major burden. If I have 12 guns and the army only has 36 that would be a 1/3 of one team's guns out of action simply because of the terrain feature that one randomly started in. That doesn't seem fair. If you modify your gun rule for a player to use road commands if his guns are in the heavy woods or in woods, or in a creek, well, then, we are right back to where we started :P

Additionally, I personally do not have my guns on autofire so moving them off road (IE in open fields) is what I do regularly, as with the artillery speed bonus it then doesn't really matter if you are off the roads. So I don't see how your limitation would have a practical effect on my ability to use my guns to scout, because no one, well at least no one who wants to keep their guns, sends artillery on a roadway through any type of woods near or in the apparent potential location of the enemy unless you don't want to have 'em any longer. I find the closest hill and send my guns there for the best view.

Finally, I feel scouting with guns is auto-correcting; those that do usually lose one or two guns every game. Instead of learning they do the same thing. Collectively, as a group, I don't know how you regulate better play from individual players?


Anyway those are my two cents. Catch you on the battlefield.
Last edited by Mark on Wed Jun 21, 2017 7:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
exp101
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Re: New GCM "Super Blind" Format

Post by exp101 »

I think you have a good point about getting your guns out of heavy woods, if using a road command would help. A common sense exception might be in order.

Other than that, the road restriction for the first 10 mins is designed as an easy way to have infantry lead the way into battle instead of guns. You are probably in the minority (along with me) in deliberately refraining from putting guns on the road in the lead. A number, if not most, players do this, which is pretty crazy in Civil War terms. And I beg to differ about scouting guns being self-correcting. I can think of a few players who don't seem to mind leading with guns and getting them frequently shot off. Doesn't deter them. But more to the point, guns were not used to scout. If we want to play a game here and there with more robust scouting, the better way is to add a regiment of two of cavalry to the OOB. I'm not attempting to correct bad play -- just unrealistic play that also happens to mess up the blind effect.
Last edited by exp101 on Wed Jun 21, 2017 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
shrader
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Re: New GCM "Super Blind" Format

Post by shrader »

Obviously I am new here, but having a regiment of cavalry would help with the scouting issue wouldn't it? Not sure how hard it would be to have that added to the OOB, where perhaps each division has 1 small regiment?
exp101
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Re: New GCM "Super Blind" Format

Post by exp101 »

Cavalry is always an option and GCM host settings offer wide latitude to put them in. Some players enjoy playing with cavalry (significantly nerfed in Garnier's mod as to power). I put a regiment or 2 in my games every once in a while for variety, but I personally don't like them because of the skew they bring to infantry-centric battles. Blind games are efforts to achieve more fog of war and are fundamentally at odds with bringing much cavalry.
Last edited by exp101 on Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mark
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Re: New GCM "Super Blind" Format

Post by Mark »

I agree with everything said. I was just trying to be polite :lol:

I wouldn't use artillery as a forward scouting unit. Lose two and its, what, 120 points? That can easily lose a battle.

Plus, if you're smart, you don't need to lead with guns, that is just silly, you find a good over-watch points and move em there with the fire button toggled to off so that if you're closer to the enemy than you like you don't unlimber. Should be interesting anyway.

To battle.


PS. That is why I send regiments all over the field, in what appears to be a willy nilly fashion (it ain't). I mean, you can usually tell the general direction of the enemy but I like to move regiments all over in order to scout, but, more importantly, block roadways and intersections and force people to deploy.

PSS. One last thought (I'm a lawyer so sue me hahaha). The only time I really put guns on a roadway in the lead is if I am, say, stuck in the southeast corner of the map and I can see five allied divisions in front of me. Then I will simply give road commands to all of my units and wander away :woohoo:
Last edited by Mark on Wed Jun 21, 2017 9:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
States
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Re: New GCM "Super Blind" Format

Post by States »

I hate leading with guns and love it when the enemy gives me advance warning of where their entire division is at with scout guns. Heavy wood patches are never that big but if you're closer to the road than open ground I don't see any problem with temporarily using the road. If spam melee becomes a problem, obj value can be altered but it wasn't a problem today, I like the general idea of troops holding objectives.
KG_Soldier
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Re: New GCM "Super Blind" Format

Post by KG_Soldier »

Rather than restricting gun traffic the first ten minutes, which doesn't prevent players from scouting the flanks later in the battle with guns, wouldn't it be easier to simply not allow guns in front of the infantry while marching?
exp101
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Re: New GCM "Super Blind" Format

Post by exp101 »

I thought about that and we talked about this option some after today's battle. The two potential problems are that it doesn't address when a player sends his guns out on a scouting flank march and I also wonder if it would be any more successful than asking players not to lead with officers, vp holders and wagons.

I'm open to anything that makes the scout gun phenomenon more difficult or at least slows them down.
Last edited by exp101 on Thu Jun 22, 2017 4:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
KG_Soldier
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Re: New GCM "Super Blind" Format

Post by KG_Soldier »

Well. . . it would be a violation if there weren't infantry in front of the guns on the flank.
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