Manpower Question

[Benandorf]

Has anyone had any problems with their brigades not reinforcing due to low manpower soldier pops? I certainly haven't, and have watched brigades which have POPs that, according to the tooltip, have around 1200 people in them, refill time and time again.

So, is my experience unique and/or related to the high military spending, or is manpower entirely unimportant compared to number of brigades?

 

[OHgamer]

the higher your military spending, the more you will attract POPs to become soldiers, the more soldiers you'll have to replenish your forces as you use them, and IIRC the faster the rate you will regain full unit size.

And of course if that still isn't enough forces, you can always mobilize your population.

 

[Al. I. Cuza]

As I asked in anotehr thread: How do I increase the mobilisation pool? I tried everything from high spending to stockpiling guns, cans and wool. Still only 1.

 

[safferli]

As I asked in anotehr thread: How do I increase the mobilisation pool? I tried everything from high spending to stockpiling guns, cans and wool. Still only 1.

More poor POPs, or better tech is the only way to increase the mobilisation pool in V2.

 

[Al. I. Cuza]

More poor POPs, or better tech is the only way to increase the mobilisation pool in V2.

So basically I need to set high poor taxes and impose tariffs?

 

[safferli]

So basically I need to set high poor taxes and impose tariffs?

No, that would "starve off" poor POPs. You need more poor POPs you can mobilise, so low poor taxes and high mid/rich taxes are the way to go. But the effect will be minor. I'd go with annexing more territory for larger mobilisation pools. That, and tech is the biggie.

EDIT: 15 years is not enough to see the tech effect, I guess. Hover over some of the army techs, you see "mobilisation +1%" or something like that with a few.

 

[Letar]

EDIT: 15 years is not enough to see the tech effect, I guess. Hover over some of the army techs, you see "mobilisation +1%" or something like that with a few.

Yeah. In mid game with some of the larger countries you'll get huge mobilization pools (hundreds) if you focus on those techs which give bonus.

 

[Al. I. Cuza]

No, that would "starve off" poor POPs. You need more poor POPs you can mobilise, so low poor taxes and high mid/rich taxes are the way to go. But the effect will be minor. I'd go with annexing more territory for larger mobilisation pools. That, and tech is the biggie.

EDIT: 15 years is not enough to see the tech effect, I guess. Hover over some of the army techs, you see "mobilisation +1%" or something like that with a few.

Ok, I got it, so the poor strata has to grow. It is fairly large though, as you don't have many middle or upper strata at the beginning. Mobilisation probably wasn't an issue at that time. So techs are the way to go.

 

[Benandorf]

the higher your military spending, the more you will attract POPs to become soldiers, the more soldiers you'll have to replenish your forces as you use them, and IIRC the faster the rate you will regain full unit size.

And of course if that still isn't enough forces, you can always mobilize your population.

Actually, my problem was that I didn't need to worry about it at all. The POP had 1200 people in it, but refilled brigades over and over and over without losing any of them, unless it had something like 20% growth a month.

What I'm saying is, it seems like the POP population doesn't seem have any noticeable effect on the brigades themselves, as the brigades will fill up regardless.

 

[safferli]

What I'm saying is, it seems like the POP population doesn't seem have any noticeable effect on the brigades themselves, as the brigades will fill up regardless.

Combat losses are not 1-to-1 POP losses. There is a ratio in the defines.lua somewhere I think.

 

[Baneslave]

Combat losses are not 1-to-1 POP losses. There is a ratio in the defines.lua somewhere I think.

	SOLDIER_TO_POP_DAMAGE = 0.1,

Also, technology effects this as well.

 

[Benandorf]

Combat losses are not 1-to-1 POP losses. There is a ratio in the defines.lua somewhere I think.

Ah, so they are. Looked it up, they're 10%.

Seems a bit low, and will likely lead to the scenario I commented on in the first post: Wars depend entirely on the number of brigades, not the actual POPs.

And yes, I know I can mod it if I don't like it. Didn't say it was bad, just said it seemed to make the connection to POPs pointless except for revolution purposes.

 

[Darkrenown]

Ok, I got it, so the poor strata has to grow. It is fairly large though, as you don't have many middle or upper strata at the beginning. Mobilisation probably wasn't an issue at that time. So techs are the way to go.

The USA starts with a fairly small mob pool as your national value affects the size too. USA has liberty which gives the smallest pool (but also the smallest penalty for mobilising).

 

[Sovetskysoyuz]

Ah, so they are. Looked it up, they're 10%.

Seems a bit low, and will likely lead to the scenario I commented on in the first post: Wars depend entirely on the number of brigades, not the actual POPs.

And yes, I know I can mod it if I don't like it. Didn't say it was bad, just said it seemed to make the connection to POPs pointless except for revolution purposes.

Perhaps this takes into account that some of the casualties in battle, and especially in attrition, are wounded or deserters rather than KIA, and so some of them will rejoin the army without drawing on the POP? 10% does seem too low, though... 25% KIA seems more appropriate for the first half of the game at least.

 

[safferli]

Too high "kil ratio" means that the country can no longer build armies, and it's easy prey in wars. And, more importantly, I will no longer be able to control rebels in its country, meaning the country practically ceases to exist (rebel-held provinces do not contribute anything to the economy).

 

[unmerged(15623)]

Perhaps this takes into account that some of the casualties in battle, and especially in attrition, are wounded or deserters rather than KIA, and so some of them will rejoin the army without drawing on the POP? 10% does seem too low, though... 25% KIA seems more appropriate for the first half of the game at least.

Keep in mind that every time a soldier POP dies, 3 related people die as well as every POP has some additional houshold members tied to him. 25% rate for the soldier POPs would actually mean 1-to-1 kill ration for your total population.

 

[A_Dane]

Has anyone had any problems with their brigades not reinforcing due to low manpower soldier pops? I certainly haven't, and have watched brigades which have POPs that, according to the tooltip, have around 1200 people in them, refill time and time again.

So, is my experience unique and/or related to the high military spending, or is manpower entirely unimportant compared to number of brigades?

I'm suffering from the direct opposite. Couldn't get my armies refilled, even at full military spending, ran on like that for a few months, then i wasn't able to afford it anymore & got steamrolled.

Still havn't picked my self together enough to try again after such an embarrasment

 

[Rado]

I'm suffering from the direct opposite. Couldn't get my armies refilled, even at full military spending, ran on like that for a few months, then i wasn't able to afford it anymore & got steamrolled.

Still havn't picked my self together enough to try again after such an embarrasment

When you say military spending do you mean the slider near the bottom that controls soldier and officer pay, or the slider at the top that controls the national stockpile? If the national stockpile slider is reduced your armies won't be reinforced.

Also it seems like building units can shift supplies away from your men. I built maybe 4 inf and 1 cav at once in my game and suddenly my men were out of supply, wouldn't reinforce.

 

[RELee]

It's ALL connected. Even starting too many railroad and factory builds will pull from your national stockpile and leave your troops abandoned.

Best to let you capis do the heavy lifting when at war, because I believe they purchase their own goods for expansions and builds.

 

[Benandorf]

When you say military spending do you mean the slider near the bottom that controls soldier and officer pay, or the slider at the top that controls the national stockpile? If the national stockpile slider is reduced your armies won't be reinforced.

Also it seems like building units can shift supplies away from your men. I built maybe 4 inf and 1 cav at once in my game and suddenly my men were out of supply, wouldn't reinforce.

Yeah, unless you have stuff in your stockpile, building will take away from reinforcement, because apparently building supplies get higher priority.

Still, I agree that 25% would be a better number. I know that no one really wants a country to just melt, but at the same time, having a country with 2 million POPs take 1 million casualties for the price of 5% of the total population is a bit off.