New cannonfodder arriving

Dear Sirs,

having started out with GCM Mod of SOW a few days ago I recently came across this beautiful Napoleonic Mod for a game I have been playing for many many years...

I have been pointed towards this forum by the kind help of Mr Palmer and Mr Jonah (at least thta's what they are known as on the GCM forum) and thus I registered here this very morning!


as I am unsure on what the proper procedures are to sign up for any upcoming battles I thought I'd best start a new newbie topic in hope that some of you fine gentlemen will be kind enough to help me a little!
I'd also be very interested in signing up for any ongoing campaign - as it gives battles simply more meaning, when you have a goal you are fighting for!
I have installed all the mod bits and with the help of Mr Palmer I hope to test a MP scenario to make sure that the mod runs fine!


as per usual when I enter a new forum I'll introduce myself a bit first:

I am both an officer in my countries army, a family tradition for over 400 years, as well as a skiing/race trainer ... with military history being one of my main interests, which I studied at university, I should be fine when it comes to Napoleonic tactics in-game -however I am very eager to see how close this engine comes to the real thing!
I do have a very close connection to this time and age as well, since two of my ancestors served in the Austrian army in most campaigns starting in 1809. One as a lieutenant of a Viennese volunteer bataillon and his older brother as Chief of Staff of the 2nd Column under Count von Hiller. He personally lead several attacks on the village of Aspern, which eventually lead to the capture of the village and in turn was awarded the highest military honour of our country - the order of Maria-Theresa, which is to date on display in the military history museum in Vienna!
I do hope to meet you all on the field of glory very soon - until then

your humble servant

Sol Invictus / Roland

Welcome to the group Roland!

The engine is not perfect, but as modded is still remarkably good in representing most aspects of Napoleonic warfare.  Not bad considering it was designed for ACW!

Not too long to wait now before the official NSD Waterloo game too.

Martin (J)

Welcome Roland.  It's great to have you with us.  Of course given your ancestral family history, you will no doubt want to fight on the side of the Austrians when one of our battles include them.  I just posted a thread regarding a battle to be fought this weekend between the French and Russians.  Please sign up.  There is a link at the bottom of the page to a doodle sign up sheet.  If you haven't played from saddle height before, you'll find the first few games to be a challenge.  Usually, people new to this type of fighting take command of a single brigade rather than an entire division.

Here is a link to everything you need to know to set things up for a KS Nappy game: KS Napoleon Set-Up Thread
When you have the mods loaded and the changes to the sowgb.ini file made, start a sandbox game on one of the nappy maps.  You'll find it disorienting at first, due to the very limited perspective.  The AI will likely thrash you, but know else need know that.   One thing to keep in mind is that the game engine doesn't know about squares.  So you will have to order your battalions into them manually whenever enemy cavalry gets close.

No doubt questions will come up as you play.  Please feel free to ask them on the forum.  This is a good group of people and someone will be happy to answer them.

Thank you, Sirs, for the kind welcome!

I have played SOW with the "in-saddle" restrictions for quite a bit - since I preferred it that way - and it gives the AI a chance to kick your bu**. the MP experience will definetely be new to me with these restrictions however - and I am very much looking forward to it!

to be honest I cannot wait to be on the field, see couriers running back and forth... and most of all - have a proper C2 link in place... I was rather stunned by the "easy-going" way of the GCM-group when it comes to orders on the field... being a military man myself I expected to be given proper orders and to do my utmost to fulfill them . I got used to it after the first few fights though and the others seem to have gotten used to me - I communicate more - but always do what I am told or even what is needed - if that means the death of my command - so be it - I do however expect there to be a reason for the sacrifice of my men!

I do hope that lots of planning is involved before the battle starts and everyone has a general idea of what is going to happen - because this is essential to ensure some form of order on the field!


which leads me to the next statement: I am happy with any side and any amount of troops I am given... of course I am fine fighting for my country in-game - but I am always more of a "balancer" - thus I gladly take any assignment if I am needed somewhere in particular - it's a virtual field of battle anyway
In fact I welcome the command of a Brigade at first - to get a feel for the game, the style and the people I fight with and against!
one of the simplest military principles is: "in order to lead, one must serve first!"
in the future I will most gladly take part in planning the battles and even directing certain parts or more of an army - but that needs time - time to get used the game and time to get used to the players as well - there is no rush!

all I can say is that I wish I had found out about both this and the GCM group a lot earlier - but oh well - with a new game coming up soon I do hope I am not too late for the party


I will follow the link provided by Sir Billy later today and make sure that all is properly set up - most of it has already been done. I have just finished registering at doodle and I have already used the link to sign up for the upcoming fight!
I must say that both the map in the post and the uniforms in-game make me very much enthusiastic - extatic even - finally some proper battles in my favourite time-period coming up!


well - enough for now gentlemen - I hope to see you all soon on the field!

Welcome Roland, great to have another fan of this period join us. Your family history is wonderful. My wife can trace her family back via few tenuous links to Lord Nelson of Trafalgar but sadly my bloodline can't - I only married into that line!

I am the umpire of our current long-running campaign but apart from a few German units and officers on each side nothing in it comes close to being Austrian I regret to say! Your choice is Spanish or French and there are openings for corps commanders at the strategic map level for both sides right now.

If you are interested, please e-mail me and let me know if you've any preferences.

The campaign forum is quite easy to find under the Scourge of War main forum and the campaign rules are here. If you've any questions, just drop me a PM or e-mail.

Roland wrote:in the future I will most gladly take part in planning the battles and even directing certain parts or more of an army - but that needs time - time to get used the game and time to get used to the players as well - there is no rush!

A man soon destined for CinC, if there ever was one.

I have taken the liberty of sending a courier to Mr Digby and I have now concluded my much hatet "technical" tasks in order to set up the mod properly... I do believe I am ready for action

Hi Roland, welcome on board, I'd say you came to the right place to feel as close to a XIX century general as possible nowdays. Hope to see you at the head of your pixelmen very soon...

Pepe/Iberalc.

well.. it appears I have lived through my baptism of fire with this game tonight...

all I can say is that I had a great time and I hope to enjoy many more fights in the future!

Commanding a division in your very first KS HITS MP game is a record. Well done. Pleased that you enjoyed the experience.

well I was blessed with both a very capable Brigade commander as well as an equally skilled Cavalry commander on my right flank who knew his duties very well...

nevertheless I am already rather convinced  that I am better suited to write courier messages than get pissed off by ordering around cannons

Trust me on this, you'll be prepared to put up with the nuances of how the AI moves cannons once you get a battery placed in that perfect spot where it racks up a 4-digit score.

Handling cannon can be quite tricky and I also get frustrated when they don't seem to do what I want them to do.

Perhaps you already know this but I find the main things to remember are:

- TC (take control) them once your army starts to report sighting of the enemy. If the battery commander see's a target and he is not TC'd then he will most likely deploy and engage.

- Give them a 'Defend at all costs' stance order to keep the battery in position, otherwise individual cannon will start moving around to get their targets.

- Take note of the time it takes for the battery to set up once in designated position. This time is realistically longer than in the ACW SOW game.

- If deploying close to the enemy, perhaps to fire cannister, support the battery with other units, otherwise they will be unnerved and will start moving back, even if you TC the battery commander (this I learned recently)

- Remember that the guns will deploy several yards in front of the point that you order the battery commander.

- Sometimes the battery might not deploy all its cannon when ordered. Sometimes you need to press the deployment button once or twice more to get the rogue gun into the firing line.

- If the battery's field of fire is in any way in doubt, and if you get chance, run over to the position and scan to field yourself. Sometimes the view from the position can be quite different to what you thought and a small hill might be blocking your target.

mike

Willkommen Roland

Roland, is your avatar picture your relative?

indeed it is! why?

Just curious! It is something special to have an illustrious ancestor and with a likeness extant, too. Tell us something about this gentleman, please.