Campaigns on the Danube v3.04 is live!

[Daniele]

Hi all!

Campaigns on the Danube has been updated to version 3.0.4!

You can download the patch from here

Here's the changelog

Patch v3.04 Fixes
Changes

1. Fixed Broken terrain display problem
2. Fixed “Label1“ display problem
3. Fixed loading saved game and clear weather map displayed when should be mud
4. Fixed issue of corps HQ following detached unit Added the “h” hotkey to turn the hexgrid on and off Fixed problem of lack of messengers.
(this last fix required changing the data footprint so previous saved games won't work with 3.04 unfortunately)
5. Made it easier to assign a corps to a separate supply depot than the rest of its army easier
6. Improved Austrian AI to make it more aggressive
7. Various minor bugfixes

[Kai]

THANKS!!!

[Rasputitsa]

Thanks very much, more aggressive Austrians, ouch !!, pity it will not transfer to saved games for the AAR in progress, [:(] but it will be fun to run another one with these fixes. [:)]

This seems to have cleared up the outstanding issues, the game should now be great to play.[8D]

[chemkid]

.

[berto]

Once you (chemkid) vet this (v3.04), and vet this working with your (updated?) map mod, I will finally give this game a serious try.

[governato]

OMG OMG OMG .

[Rasputitsa]

ORIGINAL: berto


Once you (chemkid) vet this (v3.04), and vet this working with your (updated?) map mod, I will finally give this game a serious try.

It is working with the map and counter mods, I am away from home right now, so only just trying out the update, rather than getting deeply into a game, but it seems to be working OK.

The problem of corps commanders leaving their forces to follow detached units seems to be fixed and I have just won my first battle on the Danube. [:)]

[Rasputitsa]

Here is another image of Chemkid's map and counter mods (the town names are my own addition) working in v3.04.





I have not had time to extensively test the game, but it seems to be working OK, so far.

Austrian IV corps reeling back after having encountered LEFEBVRE at LANDAU and NAPOLEON, with DAVOUT's corps, has just struck more Austrian corps whilst they were crossing the DANUBE at REGENSBERG, MASSENA is hurrying up the road from AUGSBURG and it's raining. 'Battalion Carre' in action.

Not all good news, more Austrian units advancing to the North and I have lost supplies at NEUMARKT and NURNBURG is threatened.

It feels good to be back on the march. [:)]

[altipueri]

Thanks, will give this game a proper go now.

Also Wars of Napoleon - looks like a Napoleonic feast is on as I also bought March Of The Eagles, but why is Matrix so coy about these games?

And yesterday was 210th anniversary of Austerlitz - a reasonable Wikipedia article on the day, but nothing much on the gaming sites. Will I be able to replicate Davout's forced march of 110 km in 48 hours?

[Rasputitsa]

ORIGINAL: altipueri

Thanks, will give this game a proper go now.

Also Wars of Napoleon - looks like a Napoleonic feast is on as I also bought March Of The Eagles, but why is Matrix so coy about these games?

And yesterday was 210th anniversary of Austerlitz - a reasonable Wikipedia article on the day, but nothing much on the gaming sites. Will I be able to replicate Davout's forced march of 110 km in 48 hours?

110km in 48hrs, not sure, the scenario in the above screen shots takes place in spring weather, raining, muddy roads, sometimes congested with supply columns and other corps' units, but you can set march urgency :




When the weather is good, the troops are fresh and there is nothing else in the way, I have seen units move quite fast when 'forced march' is selected. I have never measured such a march, but 48hrs are two game turns, so something similar might be possible, except that you need to take into account orders delay, Davout will not start moving until a messenger with the order reaches him (and doesn't get captured on the way), so it depends how far away Napoleon is when the order to move is issued.

In this case Davout is set to 'engage' and 'forced march' to quickly catch the Austrians in the act of crossing the DANUBE at REGENSBERG, with their units still on both sides of the river. If more Austrian units had got across, it might have gone badly, timing is everything. This is simultaneous movement (WEGO), so you have no guarantee how many enemy units you might encounter in battle, cavalry probing ahead helps, but never gives the full picture.

In the situation displayed, Napoleon is directly attached to Davout's corps, so orders to him are instantaneous, but that will not be the case if he is being called in at some distance away from the action. You need to use some anticipation and advanced planning to get units and supply moving, ahead of your intended operations.

I don't know how Matrix views the market, but this is one of the few games where I have felt that I am making decisions similar to the actual events, but that means a lot of uncertainty, such as existed in the real campaigns. You have to adapt your plans to be cope with the unexpected.

Many people want to play predictable odds and be able to place units as they wish, a game like this is seen as broken when units don't always do what is expected of them, but that's the way it is in historical events, sometimes it can be frustrating and difficult, but it's great when a plan comes together.

The SS also shows the effect on Davout's divisions of the action between REGENSBERG and ECKMUHL, Friant has suffered most (brittle) and may have to be detached before any pursuit can start, but all Davout's other divisions remain 'confident', or 'steady' despite being either 'tired', or 'exhausted', whilst Davout's personal stress and fatigue are high, although it would be much worse if the Emperor was not attached to give support. Also, Davout has used up most of his corps supply (only 9 pnts left) and there is no re-supply nearby (computer controlled supply for Davout is passing LANDSHUT - one, or two, days away), so a large scale pursuit is unlikely, but I might try and give the Austrians a prod, to keep them moving, maybe try and re-take REGENSBERG and close the river crossing. However, I have made this mistake before, pushing tired men into further action, which can be costly.

Simple game, but so much to take into account. [:)]

[chemkid]

.

[Rasputitsa]

Now we can realy see how good your map is.[8D]

[altipueri]

Thanks for your reply Rasputitsa.

I bought this game only recently and haven't really tried it, but with AGEOD's new game too I'm yet again deferring admin and tax returns to play games.

Please continue your tutorial AAR - I find such things so helpful to try and understand the "why" people do things in games.

I happened to read a paragraph in Jomini's book about Napoleon playing with colored pins on his maps that got me thinking about which games are near reality for commanders.

In fact, now I've started I'll quote from Chapter 6 of Jomini's "The Art Of War":

"The emperor was his own chief staff officer. Provided with a pair of dividers opened to a distance by the scale of from seventeen to twenty miles (which made from twenty-two to twenty-five miles, taking into account the windings of the roads,) bending over and at sometimes stretched at full length upon his map, where the positions of his corps and the supposed positions of the enemy were marked by pins of different colors, he was able to give orders for extensive movements with a certainty and precision which were astonishing."

[Rasputitsa]

ORIGINAL: altipueri

Thanks for your reply Rasputitsa.

I bought this game only recently and haven't really tried it, but with AGEOD's new game too I'm yet again deferring admin and tax returns to play games.

Please continue your tutorial AAR - I find such things so helpful to try and understand the "why" people do things in games.

I happened to read a paragraph in Jomini's book about Napoleon playing with colored pins on his maps that got me thinking about which games are near reality for commanders.

In fact, now I've started I'll quote from Chapter 6 of Jomini's "The Art Of War":

"The emperor was his own chief staff officer. Provided with a pair of dividers opened to a distance by the scale of from seventeen to twenty miles (which made from twenty-two to twenty-five miles, taking into account the windings of the roads,) bending over and at sometimes stretched at full length upon his map, where the positions of his corps and the supposed positions of the enemy were marked by pins of different colors, he was able to give orders for extensive movements with a certainty and precision which were astonishing."

I am only going from the information in the many books on the subject and we in the 21st century can never fully understand the thinking of earlier times, but the way the game works ties in well with history.

I am using the situation described in the earlier posts above to illustrate how the game 'feels' and the position Davout's corps is in is classic. The game is only a few turns in and already the hard decisions are here.




Knowing Archduke Charles' plan, Napoleon has waited, attached to Davout, at ECKMUHL for the Austrians to appear. There is hindsight here, I know the scenario parameters and can anticipate where the Austrian main force might be, but Napoleon would have spies and it would be difficult for Charles to mass an army in Bohemia without some information leaking out.

The important point here is that Napoleon is 'attached' to Davout's corps, not merely positioned in the same town. Attachment provides the Emperor's direct support to this corps.

I have chosen to wait for the Austrians to start crossing the DANUBE, in hopes of destroying them, pinned against the river, but the main French army and its supply are still moving up.

So decision is, how deeply to get into combat with the enemy, as once committed it can be difficult to withdraw safely. I could see the Austrians approach REGENSBERG and start to cross, St Sulpice was detached ahead to SCHWANDORF with 'fallback' orders, important for cavalry to get information, but not be drawn into overwhelming forces (Davout does not chase off after St Sulpice, 3.04 has fixed that). LEFEBVRE's cavalry was probing the other routes.

I sent Davout's corps forward towards REGENSBERG with 'engage' and 'forced march' orders, to make a quick strike at the Austrian units which have crossed the river, knowing that many more are following. As the turn resolved (WEGO) more Austrian units crossed the river, so only when Battle was joined could I be sure how many Austrian units were engaged. The balance was just right in Davout's favour, able to do damage without being outnumbered, skill and good timing, or just lucky. Napoleon liked to have lucky generals

Battle is joined between REGENSBERG and ECKMUHL, I choose the 'counter-attack' battle option, Austrians are set to 'probe' (don't know this until after the battle). Battle is set to be resolved by the AI, results are good, final casualties are 11 pnts French loss, to 63 pnts Austrian loss, a very good start to the campaign (an infantry division can be 15, or 20 strength pnts).

Now the cost and what next ? The SS shows Davout's state, worse than I first thought :

1. High personal Fatigue, some Stress, supply almost gone. Stragglers showing 3, but I count 7 on the unit counters, it's probably a combination of stragglers and wounded =7 (wounded will take longer to get back into action - hospital is at AUGSBURG). Chemkid's unit counter mod needed to see stragglers, when text is red in the stock unit counter red box.

2. The individual unit panels show all divisions in the corps 'tired', or 'exhausted', but mostly also 'confident' and 'steady' (only Friant is shaky - shows 'brittle'), could these units do more, or should I order a 'rest day', even though the enemy is close ?

3. Davout still set on original orders 'Engage' and 'Forced' march, I think 'Defend' and 'Cautious' would be better options now.

All this information can be gathered by walking around the camps, seeing how the men are behaving, talking to the commanders, how are they coping. Many 'realistic' games give you pages of stats and odds to wade through, you can see exactly how many motorcycles you have left and exact OOBs, here you have to make a judgment based on, what I think, is much more realistic information, if frustratingly vague and it is all in one, or two info panels.

How many more Austrian units are present (I can guess from the stack numbers in the top info bar), how strong are they (don't know, their unit counters are blank), will they advance, or retreat, should I take the opportunity to push on and try and trap and destroy the enemy units on my side of the river, or take the chips I have won and pull back. If I delay and rest the troops, it will give the Austrians time to recover, as the Allies did after Quatre Bras/Ligny, if I drive them on it may lead to another brilliant victory, or a disastrous retreat, it does feel very historical.

I note that the stack of Napoloen and Davout's corps shows 11 units, 10 of them I know are French, so there is an Austrian unit still on the battlefield, but not visible on the map, bet they are feeling happy.

To be 'good' at playing a game you have to be 'good' at using a sometimes complicated game system, but does the game present you with credible and realistic decisions, do you get credible and realistic results.

I think this game does, simply and without too much gloss. Don't be fooled, simple to use, does not mean simple to play, there is a lot to consider in the consequences of the orders you issue.

To continue the quotes -

“Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult” ― Carl von Clausewitz

I think this game hits the spot, simple to play, but difficult play well, unless you think it through, no stats - no odds, just judgement and 'educated' guesswork, exactly as you have described Napoleon at work. [:)]

[Rasputitsa]

Napoleon at work, no odds, or stats sheets in sight, just a map and a brain. [:)]

[demiller]

This really is working quite wonderfully now, and with Chemkids' mod is a delight to look at. If similar games for other campaigns were released I'd buy them in an instant.

Now, to work on actually getting good at this game...

[Recognition]

Been a long march to get this patch...looking forward to setting all my plans up.

[ulisin]

THANKS!!!

[Franciscus]

Hi

Considering buying this on sale, would like to know if the "red on red" straggler numbers issue is fixed on the stock counters or if we need the modded counters.

Thanks

[DarrenMarshall]

I need to install all the previous patch?