Strong Message this needs to be fixed

[Ray_p]

I could never see myself getting the final version of the game with this problem.   EVERY battle you lose units that just have a mind of their own and will travel long distances and leave the map.   Other units just go hide under the border somewhere.  It produces unrealistic game play and the effort you put into getting your units into the right positions then becomes wasted effort.   I've sent in several bug reports,  what is your response to this issue??

[Nick Thomadis]

Hi Ray,

If the reports I have seen are yours, I see artillery units that completely shutter because of losses to rout out of the map. Units with 24, 8 men etc. if that is the case then pls note it is something that has been asked many times, units that get devastating losses to not fight any more.

This will be triggered if a unit takes more than 60% losses and its morale drops very low. Please let me know if it is another bug we should look for.

[Ray_p]

Nick no artillery unit would just completely leave the field in the midst of a battle.    I had 6 units or more leave the last battle.   Your model is incorrect if that is the way it is intended to work.   You have units moving off the map after a travel of most of the map.   I've seen other comments about the complexity of commanding a large battle over most of the map.   You can hardly babysit every unit and every battery and once they start moving you can't stop them.

[Nick Thomadis]

The best way would be to make units surrender or guns to be captured but we don't have such mechanic. We cannot make the units vanish as well so we have something that is the same with other games like total war. In next patch such cases should be far less probable because of increased melee damage.

[Ray_p]

I'm a new person to the game,   how does this increased melle damage thing resolve my issue?

[Nick Thomadis]

When units get trapped between multiple enemies they will receive enormous casualties (simulating a surrender). Cannons will not be able to survive but will be 100% depleted if caught in melee unsupported.

[OLee O'Hara]

The best way would be to make units surrender or guns to be captured but we don't have such mechanic. We cannot make the units vanish as well.......

 

Dont know if it was possible, but maybe it could it be an option that if a unit is surrounded and has taken more than 60% losses and its morale dropped very low it surrenders and the flag changes to a white-flag, the enemies stop shooting and the unit gets ignored (by using the "unit stuck mechanic", finally it's useful xD) and starts to march in column formation out of the map? the unit wouldn't have to 'vanish'

[CSA Watkins]

When units get trapped between multiple enemies they will receive enormous casualties (simulating a surrender). Cannons will not be able to survive but will be 100% depleted if caught in melee unsupported.

 

With Arty:

If a arty unit gets get below ~40% effective by taking massive casualties, or being over run/caught between units etc,  0 morale/condition.

I believe that Battery(s) should be destroyed as it is battle ineffective.

 

Call it whatever surrendered/battle ineffective/ammo depleted etc. Afaik IRL rarely did a Battery ever run out of ammo unknowling, that would list up there as

being incompetent. A battery would in some cased be ordered to expend their remaining ammo only with the immediate order to limber up n exit to the

rear to resupply/redeploy.

 

A batteries CO/Crew was well aware what ammo it had, and what type was left to use. There is a mention in the Book 'Killer Angels'

iirc, there was a battery in Ewells Corp(can't remember who's thou) that was basically 'wasting' Arty ammo,

contesting a barn near Culps Hill, Lee said tell him to save the arty ammo(As he was told it was getting low)

for the Battle that was to follow.

 

This would make it easier to understand that it was rendered useless/destroyed. This could be explained in the Game manual/start up guide.

 

In a real situation where a battery(s) were going to be over run they were limbered up n moved if possible or they were spiked/smashed/disabled.

Seeing it being rolled to the back of the map is not realistic + a waste of resources for the computer to keep track of.

 

In another Game I play if a soldier is not outright killed(torso/head shot) they can be wounded where he is considered Battle ineffective and are

listed as KIA with 1 loss to your reinforcements.

This could have the same bearing with Artillery Battery(s).

 

With brigades if the take a loss of >60% they should rout to the rear as They would be listed as a ineffective fighting unit(0 morale/condition).

It should take longer to regenerate/reorganize/resupply etc, I believe thats how it works now?

 

[R.E.B.Blunt]

I like when units flash white and start to retreat. If I am standing on top of them or near I like to follow them around like a Lion chasing her prey, Picking off the weak and sickly till there are no units left or they are battle ineffective and they retreat for good from battle. Its a bonus if it is a 3 star Brigade and I can murder them for good, Its very satisfying. As many of you can attest from Multi-player It helps with my score at the end Muahahahahahah!!!

[Ray_p]

I've gotten better with this since I now have a understanding of how the game works.   Often in the expansive battles you have a lot of arty out in front of the ranks exposed.   I'm now pulling them back immediately behind the ranks and am suffering much less packing it in then I was.  Having said that it's still a big chore to babysit everyone,   I find that certain areas of the battlefield I just have to let the troops do their thing to focus on the other areas.   I'd like to see more warnings that might get my attention that I need to be somewhere giving that area attention if I'm not already there.

 

Also am I missing something?   When I re-position a arty unit buy pulling it back I have to reaim it manually else it is facing 180 degrees opposite?  I never would imagine that a commander would have to tell a unit to reaim itself.   So I'm wondering am I doing something wrong here.   I'd like to see the position arrow larger when you are zoomed out,   for arty units maybe a red arrow easy to see easy to move.

[David Fair]

You can get the battery to turn around by clicking a target in the direction you'd like the battery to face and it should rotate.  

I find this quicker than the rotate command.

 

But yes artillery takes some serious micromanagement.

[Harnis]

another way to reposition artillery without them facing the wrong direction is to hold down CTRL and then hold down right click. You can then drag to rotate the position, and they will walk to that position and face the direction you set.

[Myes!]

Any specific reason as to why you don't model surrender?

[Cerebus]

another way to reposition artillery without them facing the wrong direction is to hold down CTRL and then hold down right click. You can then drag to rotate the position, and they will walk to that position and face the direction you set.

 

 

Oooo! I didn't know this one. Thanks Harnis.