Mcadams, this is Sexy, don't have my new signature done. I am talking about small groups of skirmishers attacking artillery positions. Also Zouave doctrine called for open order formations though not all Zouaves followed the doctrine in the war.
Mcadams, this is Sexy, don't have my new signature done. I am talking about small groups of skirmishers attacking artillery positions. Also Zouave doctrine called for open order formations though not all Zouaves followed the doctrine in the war.
Ah, fair enough. I think we're in agreement that skirmishers shouldn't attack artillery.
That's exactly the point. If you follow Zouave doctrine as a Zouave regiment, the game will still think that you're acting as skirmishers, and will deal out bonuses and punishments accordingly. If you want to get the best bonuses and avoid the penalties, you'd need to adopt a closer formation than your historical regiment's doctrine calls for. I'd argue that's an acceptable limitation, since the majority of the units during the Maryland Campaign were not Zouaves. If it was possible to code in exceptions for every historical reference, that would be incredible, but the developers have a limited bandwidth and should focus on code that works for the majority of situations before focusing on the exceptions.
Best,
Dman979
As a sharpshooter, though, these often WERE our targets. These penalties you suggest would probably render us a little useless. I know, I know...I just opened myself up for a slam....
Descendant of David Jewell - 1st Maine Heavy Artillery, Philo Johnson - 11th Vermont/1st VTHA
It looks pretty but there's so many questions when it comes to artillery which will effect the way they work in game.
Will they be able to melee? Will they have any ranged defense ability or sidearms other than the pieces themselves? I see the officer has a pistol and the other redlegs appear to have handspikes or bayonets. If they can defend themselves will they be able to physically leave their batteries? Are we going to have artillery officers running around with sidearms with the infantry? If they can't defend themselves well and they can't run, what's to stop lone enemy from chasing them down?
I foresee a lot of gunners loading, falling back to hide from musket fire, then running forward to pull the lanyard; assuming the process can be interrupted. You might have one crew load a whole bunch of guns, face them around, then sit low and wait, denying the enemy of even having a fair target until the artilleryists show themselves. Unless the number of guns on the field was reduced or changed from what the prop guns amount to, any reasonable artillery guys would do exactly that, load all the pieces and run from one to another. Whereas in real life those guns are hugely valuable and a humiliation to lose, in the game are they going to matter much to lose? Will counter battery fire ever be able to disable enemy pieces or shatter equipment?
The potential invulnerability of an unattended artillery battery (aside from the members being shot) seems quite unfair from an infantry perspective bearing no horses to kill. An artillery battery would seldom let the enemy overrun it. The damage to the horses and equipment should count into the victory conditions IMO. That further complicates the action if unused artillery batteries were still present and could take losses in any of that. So perhaps any penalties against the team morale system would be against artillery members getting killed? Which would only make them more favorable of a target and a potential liability and distraction for teams trying to have an infantry battle but getting punished for their gunners shoddy performance.
I don't like to see expansion of desertion penalties and I haven't taken the time to really think on this until I see what comes out first. I'd gladly trade whatever artillery brings to get rid of those random artillery barrages though. Or let us turn them off like the weather.
The hit detection around current artillery and the associated caissons can be quite wonky. Just last night I was standing behind a 3-inch gun on Piper Farm standing and reloading with a small group of skirmishers against a solid enemy line. I was the only one standing and I got off 4 shots before getting killed when probably half the enemy firepower was directed at me and the guys kneeling around the gun with me. That's not a unique experience as others might attest.
As far as I'm aware this is the first instance of props which can block a bullet being able to move (aside from a door). What about other props, buildings, walls, etc? Will a bolt or a shell be able to bash through a building or a fence?
Also skirmishers were definitely the method of assaulting artillery batteries unless an enemy infantry formation was present. If the battery is alone there's tons of examples of them being targeted and assaulted by skirmishers. If it didn't happen at Antietam that's because there were many times the number of soldiers as we have players in the same sized-area. With the size of frontage the ~75 player teams can present you could never simulate that infantry screen.
Last edited by Poorlaggedman; 09-19-2019 at 03:48 AM.
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USA General of the Army
Always a ray of sunshine with you.
Again, this is a work in progress. It's still Alpha.
Of course everything has not been addressed at this time, be sure. But all your worries are for nothing.
Awesome addition for sure! The maps are already too restricted without artillery and with the addition of artillery that will have an estimated range between 1,500 to 2,800 yards if it's going to be historically accurate it will turn the map into a kill box. Would it be possible just to allow both sides to have the same boundaries so at least we can introduce new tactics and have some more freedom of movement. Thanks for your consideration!
Looking forward to turn the map into a kill box