Experimental and Optimised campaign versions of Ligny, QB and Waterloo

[mcaryf]

I have published revised scenarios covering several variants of full battles for Ligny, QB and Waterloo playing as the French plus an associated package of mods. I have published several scenarios together because the mods incorporate some changes to unit characteristics specified in OOBs which means the mods will not function as intended with normal scenario and OOB files. The mods also change some files used by the Grog Tool Bar. I have therefore added my changes to the Tool Bar’s already changed files. My mod must be installed after the Grog Tool Bar i.e. it should appear first in the mods list. The main changes relate to the characteristics of cavalry and artillery.

The Experimental Optimised (EO) series of scenarios has some specific features to make the Allied AI a better opponent particularly with respect to the use of artillery. It does this in five ways:

1) One weakness for the AI is that it tends to keep its guns at too great a distance so rarely manages to use canister. The series includes an artillery mod that I have previously published which extends the effective range of canister up to an historically accurate 500 yards for 12lb cannons and correspondingly less for smaller calibres. The AI Artillery routines will not normally recognise this extended range, however, the EO series battlescripts include frequent commands to tell the AI batteries to use canister. This gives the AI an advantage versus the player who has to issue these commands themselves.
2) With Shrapnel the British had a deadly weapon not available to other armies at Waterloo. The standard game’s implementation of Shrapnel is largely ineffective. I have used a modified canister shell available only to British Howitzers that fires out to 750 yards which is actually rather less than true Shrapnel capability. This works very effectively and allows the Allied AI to decimate any French formations left in the open within 750 yards of a British Howitzer.
3) The AI is not very good at protecting its guns from cavalry raids which can be quite devastating when the charge button is mashed. Historically although the French “captured” Allied batteries they were not able either to remove or disable them. This situation is replicated in the EO series version of Waterloo as Allied batteries occupying fixed positions will get replacements for some of the guns “captured” by the French. This will only happen if the Allies retake control of the area (effected by specific battery objectives). If the French stay in control then they are judged to have time to “spike” the guns or capture them in the case of 6lb batteries for which the French had similar ammunition.
4) Additional AI scripts have been created for the AI’s Allied and Prussian batteries to cause them to halt and open fire once they are within canister range of a French unit. Additionally if an enemy unit approaches within a dangerous range (e.g. 300 yards) then Allied or Prussian batteries will implement retreat by recoil whist firing canister on the first few occasions when this occurs. Thus the AI script can safely order its batteries to a position where the French are likely to be, knowing that the batteries will stop and open fire and subsequently pull back if threatened. As I like to exercise hands-on control of very large battles myself, I have also added these automatic protective routines for the French 12lb batteries so I do not have to monitor them too closely.
5) The ammunition wagons in the standard game have virtually unlimited supplies so that guns can keep firing without restraint. I have reduced the stocks carried by French wagons so they might theoretically run out – note the game counts one rifle bullet and one canon shell as both utilising a single item from stock so a battalion might rapidly deplete an artillery wagon. Players will also need to monitor exhaustion levels for gun crews and hold fire or swap batteries out of the firing line when appropriate as exhausted crews will become both inaccurate and slow to reload. Wellington specifically commented that he had made sure to hold some batteries in reserve. The AI is not subjected to these constraints.

These 5 changes do not entirely address the AI weakness with respect to artillery but I have seen they do make a noticeable difference so much so that in my EO version of Waterloo I had to reduce the Major Victory points score from 50k to 35k. EDIT actually now back to 45k

The scale of the changes I have made to the scenarios and the multiple variants within them means that many aspects are relatively untested. I would welcome your feedback on both the ideas I have outlined to improve the AI and any practical experience you have playing my EO scenarios.

Finally I should recommend that the EO version of Ligny is probably a good place to try the changes out. Napoleon actually won the battle because his artillery was able to decimate the Prussian reserves who were posted on the hills overlooking the Ligny Brook. The extended canister range lets the French player replicate this success whilst at both QB and Waterloo the French player has to solve the problems caused by long range British Shrapnel which historically prevented the real French Generals from capturing Hougoumont.

Regards

Mike

[mcaryf]

Dear All

I have continued to test my Experimental Optimised (EO) scenarios and associated mods to fine-tune my VP victory targets but I have also detected one bug in the Waterloo scenarios which can create a crash and one weakness in the mods.

I have posted corrected versions but the bug can actually be avoided if you have already started one of the Waterloo scenarios. Some Allied batteries are associated with objectives which are triggered when a French unit accompanied by an officer overruns the battery. Taking the objective causes two effects – first that battery’s howitzers are automatically destroyed/spiked even if they had managed to withdraw (this is an advantage to the French player as howitzers are the weapons that fire the deadly British Shrapnel). The second effect is that a timer is started before a second objective appears in the battery’s original location. This objective indicates where some abandoned guns are now available which the Allied AI might reactivate or the French capture or destroy. Unfortunately I mistyped the name of the objective that should appear for Sandham’s battery and as the game cannot find this objective in the relevant file it causes a crash. The work around is for the Allied player not to take the original objective for Sandham’s battery for example by not sending an officer with the troops that attack it.

The weakness I have detected in my mods relates to the one which reduces the randomness of the outcome of cavalry melees. The game uses a value that represents the frequency with which cavalry units stab during a melee. More experienced/better units, e.g. French Guard Cavalry, should stab much more frequently than poorer units such as Landwehr. In the standard game, after applying various attribute factors, this value is hardly different across cavalry types/qualities. My mod sets the elite units as having the best value with less good units having steadily increasing time intervals between stabs. This seems to work well and cavalry units with better quality ratings will typically win their melees much more frequently using my mod. My mistake was that I also differentiated between effectiveness for cavalry units when they were in a melee against infantry. This meant that the best cavalry units were still at maximum effectiveness versus infantry but all other cavalry units were gradually less effective. My view now is that any cavalry rated as “good” should be equally effective versus infantry as an elite unit and this is what the revised version of my cavalry mod now delivers. I have made some other adjustments to unit attributes in my experimental scenarios so fatigued cavalry will have their stabbing effectiveness reduced this can bring back into play the better quality ratings for elite units – but it does NOT apply in the version of the cavalry melee mod I have provided for use with standard game scenarios.

Regards

Mike

[Capt Saucier]

Mike,

Have been enjoying your mod. Cavalry works well; much more realistic so far. Question on artillery. How exactly do you target a specific unit? When I click select target the cursor changes. Do I then left click the target or right click? When doing so, must I click on the flag of enemy unit? If an enemy is in a building, do I click on the enemy flag in the building?

I have tried these methods using the battery commander, but the individual guns to do seem to respond to this order.

Thanks

Saucier

[RebBugler]

Wasn't asked, but I'm familiar with these artillery procedures. Left click enemy flags for targeting, regardless of the circumstances. Artillery officers that target an enemy unit order all guns under their command to target said unit, they comply unless they can't see it...blocked LOS by some is common. This was tested thoroughly by NSD before release.

[mcaryf]

Hi Captain Saucier
I am glad you are enjoying it. Reb has answered your question but I will add a further detail concerning my mod and buildings.

My mod makes artillery more effective and more easily deployed against buildings as it can fire canister at greater than rifle range. This actually makes it rather more deadly than it should be against buildings and you will find that units holding buildings are relatively quickly shot to pieces. Ideally the game mechanics should have made canister ineffective against buildings but they do not and I do not know how to change that. To reduce the impact I have extended the radius for occupying both Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte so once you have taken them as the French you do best to position your occupying units just behind the actual buildings. This protects them from canister and shrapnel whilst still enjoying the objective. Of course if the Allies send troops to re-enter the building, which they will, then you will need to go back into it and fight them for it.

The most effective fortification in the whole game is the wall alongside Hougoumont and even my enhanced canister makes little impression on that. If you play my version of Waterloo you will find that I have programmed the Allied AI so that it will place substantial forces at the wall and keep them there as long as it can. This becomes the real challenge for the French player who wants to capture Hougoumont, in fact the wall works in the way that I think buildings should but I will let you work out what I mean by that.

One last point about battery commanders, they can specify the munition type to be used by all their guns. When I am playing my mod and I know that at least some guns in a battery could be using canister then I use the commander to order all to do so. The AI for guns tends to be slower at using canister at my longer ranges so it is always worth ordering its use by the commander. Even if that results in some of his guns pausing before they switch back to a munition they can use, the fact that one or two guns do fire canister will more than compensate for any lost opportunity for the other guns.

Regards

Mike