Week-End with the scenario day 21/03-22/03 2014 - Bloody Sunrise

http://doodle.com/w9cqvmavz9uxq3a9


New poll for the next week for continue the scenario; please sign up also if you cannot or you're not sure (if not sure signup to best day).

If we shouldn't reach the minimum number of players, I'm preparing a backup scenario for 6-8 players with random maps 2

I've said "no" for now as I am moving house this weekend... or probably will be.. its all a bit uncertain at the moment.

I definitely can't make Friday but might make Saturday. I'll change my vote when I can.

Very few have opted for Friday, so the scenario will be played on Saturday, and I most probably can't play this Saturday.

Is someone still interested in an ad-hoc game this Friday?

What seems to happen with the Friday game is that folks just turn-up, rather than registering. I think the doodle for last Friday looked pretty thin, but I understand that 6 actually played that day.

It's perhaps not ideal, but as long as folks continue to turn-up, I guess it works. For Saturday scenario games though, the person designing the scenario does need some idea of numbers.

Martin (J)

"The sun rises over the opposing forces already moving; the opposing grand batteries on Culp Hill and Cemetery Hill shoot each other without pause. During the night the rebel cavalry leaved the west area and with a long turning move the railroad area for support the weakened Law division (4 regiments strong). The federals supported by many guns (some of them captured to the confederate) assault the railroad and force the defenders to fallback. At south the weak McLaws division leaved alone by the enemy troops moves with a long march to North. Two little brigades, sent by Jackson with a forced night march, reach the confederates and took position on the ridge south of Railroad but at the same time a full battle ready western division joins the federal force.

The US cavalry attempted a heavy strike on the southern position on the ridge but she's taken on the flank from force of Pickett and McLaws and forced to retreat with heavy losses, but also Stuart division received heavy losses in his defensive actions. Anyway, now unsupported, the northern wing of federal army is counterattacked and forced to retreat at the starting position, but now confederate southern line of supply is completly exposed and only the western road connects Longstreet corps to the rest of army. What will be the next moves of two commanders? The sound of Jackson guns fighting with the rest of Potomac army can be heared...."

Good game to all, from the losses resultes it seems both the armies had more concern to preserve forces and used more the manoveurs and the reserves. The match end in a stalemate: the federal make more points but the strategic objective remained in confederate hands. The third phase will start from the same positions the second one ended, so this time routed units remained routed where they are now.

I feared the CS could be beated in few time, because also if the oob gave 18000 against 15000, in reality the confederates had 4000 recovering units starting with morale 3 and fatigued and the biggest part of them don't took part to the battle because out of control of commanders (federal had 1000 men in similar condition, so the strenght rapport at the start was 17000 to 11000 +- .

My compliment to Hays, who without only few rapid information (and given in bad english :)managed to prepare a plan and hold the line. But also the combined federal attack of infantry and cavalry has been very good and well organized. Cavalry took a major role during this battle like in the first one.


here the replay video:

This was an interesting fight and the kind of odd but fun game you only ever get with scenarios or campaigns where objectives always mean more than a bodycount. I played Union 1st Division under Wright and yesterday my men fought long and hard to help retake and hold Cemetery Hill, only 6 regts being left out of 12. This morning only 1 of my 3 brigades was on the hill with 4 regts, the other two brigades had fallen back in the night far to the north of Gettysburg where they finally rallied. It took me an hour to get these 2 weak brigades back into position north of Cemetery Hill where they waited in reserve resting and rallying. The Cemetery was held all morning by just 4 regts and a mass of about 35 guns.

Apart from ordering these two units back into line and moving some batteries around on the hill to get better firing positions I actually did nothing the entire game, merely pounding the Reb position on Culps Hill. I was satisfied to see two enemy guns destroyed and about 4 driven off.

Despite a 2 hour game consisting of nothing but a bombardment for me I had a lot of fun. It was nice to see Davide use the saved scenario technique and the bodies of the fallen to still be scattered on the ground the next day! I wasn't expecting that.

One thing I would suggest is that troops really should start more rested, even the routed ones, and even captured units should come back at part strength. Not everybody surrenders when a unit gives up; there should always be some stragglers and previously lightly wounded available. While a next morning scenario would only allow a small number of the wounded to be back in the line (sore and bandaged) you could assume that some of the casualties are just stragglers gone to the rear to assist their more badly wounded comrades so my suggestion would be to return a slightly higher percentage of losses as well as routed and captured units, and recover more fatigue, though knocking experience levels down a notch is a good idea.

Strangely enough the captured Rebel guns and supply wagons I was using were back with Confederate sprites and flags which took a while to get used to and gave me a bit of a shock when the game began!

Hi Digby

Yes the units recovered part of troops during the night, otherwise they would more also more weakened than you found. About the flags, yes unluckily the scenario.csv format doesn't permit to change the flags (which are linked to master oob), anyway i thought it was also interesting to see how many guns the federal conquered the battle before.

Davide

Davide

Even though I have been unable to play any of these games   , I would like to thank you for your hard work here.

I doubt I will make this weekend either (bad work pattern) but I really hope I can join in any future scenario.

Mike

Thanks Mike, I hope me too to see you soon back on the battlefield.

Mine has been a experiment starting little experience of scenario modding, I wanted something in the middle between the complexity and the hard work necessary for a multiplayer campaign and the short terms planning of a single session battle "kill all". Sure now I learned to use better the tools and I have also found some "victory" factors determination, which will permit to the players to understand in advance the rapport between objectives, losses, reinforcements. This first scenario has been a little improvised, but the next one will be more clear under the rules determination.

This sounds promising and exciting, Davide. Good work! Too bad I wasn't able to play yet.

What steps are necessary for your MP carry-over feature?

One of the drawbacks with these battles made up of 3 parts is that after each one the players can watch the replay and get perfect information on the enemy which affects how they approach the next segment of the action.

It may be better to have 3 actual separate linked battles on 3 different maps over a small geographical area like a mini-campaign so that the replay feature offers the players much less information.

>What steps are necessary for your MP carry-over feature?

Technically there is much of manual: I convert in excel the original scenario.csv, the dumpgamedb (deleting the double lines) and the location file and I import all in access; I create a query where i take the relevant columns from three for create a new scenario file; after I add the captured units, the reinforcements and if necessary I calculate the recover rate. I play the scenario.csv in single and I move the troops on the battlefield with alphaomega and noai activated and i give the dumpscen for have a updated the scenario.csv. After the first test I managed to do all in 3-4 hours.

>It may be better to have 3 actual separate linked battles on 3 different maps over a small geographical area like a mini-campaign so that the replay feature >offers the players much less information.

Yes I thought also to this possibility in the future (parallel battles) or sequential battle where the taking of a objective force the defender to retreat in a new map, but I thought that also the simulation of a longer clash (which is the concept of carryover in single) with combined arms will be interesting (also if more heavy for me to adjust every time)  because it forces you to give more importance to the ground you take and the losses you receive. My mistake was not have set general rule list in advance, but starting from zero it was difficult to imagine balancing factors (that is why I created the first one at the start of night).

Yes unluckily with the replay you can see the enemy force but it is a bonus\malus for both so the sum at the end is zero and it can generate also mistakes if you fail to read the enemy plans.