Andre Bolkonsky

The internal configuration would be interesting, protection of the citadel and the ammunition / fuel storage areas being crucial. Where the boilers go, the stacks go; where the guns go, the ammunition goes. I can't wait to see how this is being modeled in the game. The naval rifles, ammunition lifts, and ammo compartments will be fun to site around the ship; and the differing gun calibers determine how many rifles a ship will hold. Secondary batteries, torpedo tubes, so many variables. Patience is a virtue. I am told.

Knowing how Gettysburg and Civil War developed over time, I would say this is an excellent guess.

Good answer, but the question belonged to Norfolk, not myself.

No. Germany had true diesel U-boats starting 1911. From the Fall of 1914 going forward, U-boats are sinking ships with self propelled torpedoes, and finishing them off with deck guns. Certainly, U-boat range and effectiveness progressed exponentially during the war with the combat experience provided. But submarines used as forward recon with wireless communications will be an issue during Jutland. Regarding communications, wireless radios are still in their infancy. They are generally reliable, but RDF (radio direction finders) is already in use. To use a wireless, from a sub that spots capital ships, is one thing. For the main battle fleet to use wireless communications will tip the fleet's position to the enemy when you begin transmitting that much chatter. Certainly, the technology is in its infancy, and will be nothing like the US picking up signals bouncing off the Japanese carrier fleet inbound for Pearl Harbor on December 5th; but it must be taken into account by the admiralty. Therefore, flags and signals are still the order of the day.

I don't think anyone would imagine combat aircraft, or carriers, could be included in a dreadnought based game. The introduction of combat aircraft is really the breaking point between the Dreadnought / Battleship Capital Ship dominated fleets and the Carrier Task Forces that RULE the oceans in World War II. Spotting aircraft, on the other hand, would be available to the TOP TIER fleet if you use WWI / Jutland as the ending point of this conflict. And aircraft wouldn't appear until the final fleets sail during the endgame.

This past week, I took my daughter and nephew to tour the USS Texas, "The Last Remaining Dreadnought", which is moored just outside Houston and is now a permanent museum ship. A trip I have made many times. In particular is the layout of the ship, the gun deck where its secondary batteries poke out of the side armor rather than placed in the 5" ring guns that will become ubiquitous (and deadly) on future US battleships. And the five primary gun turrets configured in AB-Q-XY formation holding two 14" naval rifles each. And the primative rangefinders located all over the ships, a novel invention when she was launched. She is also the first US ship to mount dedicated anti-aircraft guns, and to have launched an aircraft (from #3 turret) from a moving naval vessel. She provided shore bombardment both to support amphibious operations during the Normandy invasion; and later at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. It's ships like this that really excite me about this game, and the ability to design and deploy a gradually more and more technologically advanced fleet. The position of the primary and secondary batteries, the possibility of early AAA, torpedo blisters and tubes, primative recon aircraft to help spotting. So many exciting possibilities. And the ability to site the batteries in front of the superstructure, as in HMS Nelson or IJN Izumo; or behind to kite an enemy and bombard while pulling away. USS Texas, which would be the end of the production lines this game will encompass (I am guessing that some sort of Jutland type engagement will be Nick's last battle to cap the game) has a fabulous history, and is in desperate shape. It needs to be placed in a permanent drydock to prevent further corrosion of her hull. It would be a shame if this ship were scrapped, too much of our history has become disposable.

Is it just me, or do others immediately begin reading the signal flags to figure out which combat bonuses this ship will receive in WoWs? A beautiful shot of the Queen of the Pacific with Philadelphia as a backdrop. The Flying O was a hell of a ship in her time. I also like the shot of the snout of the USS Becuna on her starboard side.

One of my favorite eras ever, can't wait to start building my dream fleet!

Congratulations to your wife for putting up with you for ten years! 😎 Seriously. Congrats.

OH, wait. I remember you. You are that . . . individual . . . who bought the game because school was out for the weekend. Because a particular patch / battle release was delayed by 48 hours and you would not be able to play during recess you loudly demanded a refund. Then disappeared, only to reappear at this time. I guess school is back out. You are hard to forget, in the entire history of this game you are the only individual who has acted or behaved this way.

With all due respect, you have no idea what you are talking about. If you think Nick and Sterner don't care about this game, you are merely reinforcing what I just said. If you think being a jerk is going to help you, you are wrong again. However, if you want some help with the game, this forum is FULL of seasoned vets who love to help support new players and teach them what they know. Your choice.

Drop the insults, ask the question in a respectable manner, there are a plethora of players who would be happy to help you. The way this is phrased, good luck.

What the hell?

Memorial Day was established in the United States to remember the Fallen in the War of the Rebellion, and has since expanded to remember all the combatants in all of America's wars. The graves of soldiers were decorated with flowers, and their names remembered. We have not forgotten.

Yes, each regiment has the exact same firirng arc. Watch the bullets fly and you'll see which weapons greatly exceed the arc.

The Manual was written in the infancy of the game. It was decided it was not worth updating as the game evolved. Any information in there is suspect. I can guarantee you that is a true statement. An infantry unit can spawn a skirmisher upon command, that skirmisher unit has the exact same weapon/range/firepower of the infantry brigade that produced it. The skirmisher unit moves like a skirmisher rather than an infantry unit, but its weapon is unchanged.

It was a Confederate surface raider, British built, steam-screw propulsion; The Sea King. It circumnavigated the globe and its last sortie was to lay waste to the American whaling fleet operating in the Bering Sea after the actual end of hostilities because of a lack of communications.

Most specifically renaming James Campbell Coulston as 'Commander Bolton'. There was only one Pier Master, he was a hero in every sense of the word; failing to use his name to make it a universal story of all men is just plain wrong. Other than that, I saw the movie in the theater. I had that sound in my head for days of the clock unwinding. Rather brilliant.

Yes. I agree. It is fun to figure out how it works and to have one or two divisional brigades for special purposes. But it is very tiresome to manage lots of them in any major battle or for a prolonged period of time where in one battle the rifles and their consort will spawn side by side, and at dawn the next day they are scattered around the map.

yeah, it is a move that takes patience and planning. It takes a few tries to get it optimized.

So, let's say you are playing Union and you have a couple of hundred Fayetteville Rifles and you'd like to build an elite assault unit; or want to maximize your slim supply of Henry or Spencer rifles. . . Within one well commanded division: give the Fayetteville rifles to the most elite unit you possess that has few enough men to equip them. Pick a second brigade and place it in the same division to be its consort. Name both brigades appropriately so you'll understand which is which in the rattle of battle.Side note, make sure the other brigades in this division are well commanded because they will lose the Divisional General's buffs to command and efficiency when you combine brigade. The Consort Brigade wants to be as large as possible, as elite as possible, and armed the worst firearms in your inventory. What you want, and this will depend on the exact number of rifles you are trying to use, is a brigade of 2,500 men totaled between the rifle brigade and its consort AFTER you deploy skirmishers. This takes a bit of practice, don't get frustrated if it doesn't work the first time. Try, try again. On the battlefield, have the rifle unit and its consort move to very close proximity to one another. Deploy skirmishers in both brigades. Select the elite rifle unit and order it to combine division, and the consort will begin to be absorbed. When the new brigade has formed, recall skirmishers; and you will have a heavy, elite, well-armed unit This is one possible outcome: A Divisional Brigade of Spencer Rifles parked in the Devil's Den in Gettysburg laying waste to any Rebel brigade that gets near it. When they bring up their artillery, they scampered to the top of the hill and continued firing. This, BTW, is my favorite screenshot EVER: Notice the brigade is armed with Spencer Rifles, was originally 2,771 men strong, and surrounded by Rebel dead. Regardless of what you name either the rifle brigade or its consort, the brigade name will change to the commanding general's. In this case, 'Owen'.

My favorite game of all time was a tabletop miniatures 'Seven Years War' game a group I knew played back in college. The core group were a couple of lawyers, a physician, and the history professor and between them they could field a massive army of lead. The professor thought it a great way to teach Linear Tactics, and invited students who might be interested. I became a rabid fan, and lead Austria to ultimate victory during a year long campaign fighting out the entire war in Europe. Grenzers and Croat Skirmishers followed by Hungarian infantry and their plethora of field guns flanked by Currassier and Dragoons for the win.

Gentlemen, This is Sanny. A die hard Scot who lives up to every stereotype you can imagine, and a hell of a good guy. Sanny introduced me to Ultimate General: Civil War. He talked me into buying and playing it just about the time Dartis and Sterner released the Shiloh battle. And unless I'm mistaken that's his first post ever on this forum. He is a mensch, and a friend of mine from the Paradox game forums. Take care of him. Give him just as much grief as you'd give me, and he'll hand it right back to you again. Please join me in welcoming him to the forum.

You are a man who can read between the lines . . . . Bravo.

During development of the game, at one point in time, 'Combine Unit' to form a divisional brigade was a solid strategy to create large units using elite weaponry. The tactic has been nerfed since that point, and Aetius' explanation works well in that regard. There are morale and command penalties to a divisional brigade that make it an emergency mesaure rather than a game strat.