Dev Diary #44 - Battles

[51states]

How will a March to the Sea work in this system?

 

[Millefleurs]

So what happens to wounded pops?
Do they get back to combat after some time if they didn't become dependents?

 

[wilcoxchar]

"All of these are in script and can be tweaked by mods as desired."
So... could a mod create a UI to allow a player to make some or all of these choices instead of having the AI do it hidden away from play view or input?

Why would you want to ruin battles by adding fiddly bits just for the sake of adding fiddly bits that don't actually add any gameplay value?

 

[Benjamintf1]

"casualties are applied roughly in proportion to unit culture"

Shouldn't that possibly be effected by accepted culture/etc? Like, wasn't what position you had in the army and where you were placed on the battlefield often a big determiner of your likelyhood of survival? I don't know exactly how it effects things or what nuance to take, but it seems likely to me that it might not be a even split?

 

[Nawolith]

Interesting. But i think only me playing it will tell me if i really like it.
I'd love some visual representation of the battle though. The artillery on the border is nice, but maybe some small soldiers? (It would be a waste if you didn't show off the awesome uniforms of the period!)

 

[SMIMS]

This isn't HOI4. Or Reddit. People need to stop obsessing over encirclements.

However, the encirclement will be in the game. So i don't see a restriction to ask devs about it.

 

[Kipsta]

Small arms, artillery, ammunition and stuff on import. Every barrack set to latest PM. Yep, it's click advance front button time baby.

 

[IsaacCAT]

While there can be several Generals on the Front, only one is selected for each side in a Battle. They are not limited to selecting their own units and so may borrow additional ones from other Generals or the local Garrisons.

[...]

Now the shooting (and dying) finally starts! The battle takes place over a number of rounds and will continue until one side is either wiped out or retreats. The round sequence is roughly as follows:

• Each side determines how many fighting-capable men it still has
• Each side inflicts casualties on the other side
• Each side attempts to recover wounded casualties
• Each side also suffers morale damage according to casualties
• If one side is wiped or retreats, the battle ends

Is there a reinforcement phase possible?

If I understand correctly, the units are determined at the start of the battle, but during the battle can the General borrow additional units or other Generals join an ongoing battle?

How long can a battle last? At the start of the XX century with all the changes in warfare, battles could last for months.

 

[Basileus2]

Deaths should be about 1/3 those of wounded casualties, not the other way around! That's been the general ratio throughout most of the history of warfare unless you're in a last stand situation!

 

[Basileus2]

A few questions

1. Borrowing from local garrisons make sense, but how does borrowing from other generals along a front work? On the Fronts DD it was said that fronts weren't split except by natural barriers (oceans, non-involved nations, etc.).
   1. With the US Civil war example, does this mean my general in along the Mississippi can borrow troops from Virginia? Am I required to have infrastructure to connect provinces to facilitate this or do they teleport around the front? What happens if there are battles in short succession along the front, what criteria prevents/allows for barrowing troops.
2. Its not super clear from the DD but what does a player do outside of selecting generals? Are players determining the amount of troops to bring, or is that the AI (general)?

Somewhat worried that this may be overly passive mechanic from a player perspective.

I think it means you're going to have one general for the whole Union and one general for the whole Confederacy which is...lackluster to say the least. Not surprising when all your land war related decisions are 'advance / defend' - don't tell me about production methods and technology, those are economic / technology parts of the game!

 

[PatrykCXXVIII]

Are there any plans of adding some soldier models on the frontline? On the inactive parts just sitting and waiting for action, and around battles fighting and dying? Or we'll only see wall of fire spreading a flag one way or another?

 

[sbadkins4]

Why would you want to ruin battles by adding fiddly bits just for the sake of adding fiddly bits that don't actually add any gameplay value?

1. More moddablity = better.
2. “Why would you want to add more gameplay options to a game.”

Does the game need player control of battles? Who knows. But why would it being an option ‘ruin’ literally anything. How is something being optional for people that want it an impact to people that don’t care about it at all?

 

[Guillaume Henri Dufour]

Is it true that there is no possibility to build forts? Especially the strategic building of fortresses would be a good way to combine the vision of a war mechanic based on macro and micro decisions with the gameplay loop of investing in buildings. Fortresses would have the function of slowing down the march of an enemy, but could be countered by investing in more expensive siege artillery. Siege battles where a smaller garrison could tie up a lot of the enemy's troops for potentially a long time would add a new aspect to warfare. Fortresses were an important aspect of warfare in the Victorian 3 period. From the siege of Belfort in the Franco-Prussian War to the forts around Verdun.

 

[nshiseki]

So cultural discrimination won't influence the proportion of casualties？
In some military systems,discriminated PoP soldiers or soldiers from unincoporated states may be used as cannon fodder more often.

 

[Xain]

So there can only be a single battle on a front at any certain point?

 

[Markusw7]

Deaths should be about 1/3 those of wounded casualties, not the other way around! That's been the general ratio throughout most of the history of warfare unless you're in a last stand situation!

So you completely ignored how he said death values are WIP?

I think it means you're going to have one general for the whole Union and one general for the whole Confederacy which is...lackluster to say the least. Not surprising when all your land war related decisions are 'advance / defend' - don't tell me about production methods and technology, those are economic / technology parts of the game!

Now you're just making things up

 

[TheWorstPro]

A few questions

1. Borrowing from local garrisons make sense, but how does borrowing from other generals along a front work? On the Fronts DD it was said that fronts weren't split except by natural barriers (oceans, non-involved nations, etc.).
   1. With the US Civil war example, does this mean my general in along the Mississippi can borrow troops from Virginia? Am I required to have infrastructure to connect provinces to facilitate this or do they teleport around the front? What happens if there are battles in short succession along the front, what criteria prevents/allows for barrowing troops.

The issue is that in previous DDs it's already been made clear that the troops don't actually exist in any 1 location at all. So situations like what you're describing would certainly happen unless there's some sort of mechanic preventing certain troops from being borrowed after fighting a battle in a certain region (but then at that point you've just recreated unit locations).

 

[Juanvito]

I was kinda expecting some revisions to the war system in this DD.

 

[Voodoo Lilium]

I was kinda expecting some revisions to the war system in this DD.

I was hoping, but didn't really have any expectations.

 

[Agamidae]

Could you show the Details tab? What information is there?
Does it show devastation? Weapons used? Battle conditions?

Also, are these blue/red bars just decorative? I thought they are progress bars but they don't change on any of the screenshots (unless this isn't implemented yet?)