SVF 2.0

AGEOD’S American Civil War - The Blue and the Gray is a historical operational strategy game with a simultaneous turn-based engine (WEGO system) that places players at the head of the USA or CSA during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

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Chilperic
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SVF 2.0

Post by Chilperic »

For those interested in the future of my mod for AACW, the 2.0 version of SVF should be ready to test in the first days of August. If you're willing to help me by testing this version in the first days of August...PM me.

Thanks
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Chilperic
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Chilperic »

As some of you will remember, in the first AACW version, Kentucky neutrality was very poorly addressed: both sides roamed into this so-called neutral State, and fought amidst several bugs…

WIth the .09 version of AACW,I created the system which has been since copied in the official version, by using a unit as Trigger to invade Ky which begins in blocked status, no side being able to enter in.

SVF 2.0 will just refine this a bit more, on the Fatal Years Allied Intervention Level model.

Kentcky Preference Level will start at 8 and may raise until 15, signifying Ky joins Union, when 0 the contrary.

This level will vary randomly each turn, representing evolution of Ky people. There are more chances Ky sentiment evolve toward Union support, as in reality.

Each side will have the possibility to invade at any time Ky, with consequences on Loyalty level in Ky regions. CSA will gain or lose VPs, without knowing exactly how, and the greater losses if CSA invades in the first turns.

Union will have 2 options, Fremont and Blocus. Both lower the KPL and the Foreign intervention Level. Blocus will cut some resources for CSA, Fremont will raise Loyalty on some other States.

From October 1861, Ky, if yet neutral, will join the Union anyway.

The KYL will be notified to players each turn:

Image

Last, Kentucky will have, above strategic value, 10 WSU. It was one of the most industrialized State in 1860, and CSA could receive a serious industrial boost by controlling this State.

SVF 2.0 will be available here and may be discussed at matrix forum for AACW;of course, no thread will be opened in the AGEOD forum, for obvious reasons.

Next time, I will talk about options: conscription, industrialization, money, etc
oldspec4
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by oldspec4 »

Really looking forward to this..I'll be reloading AACW when its available.
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Chilperic
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Chilperic »

SVF 2.0 : the industrialization front



War supply production has been reduced for both sides. Now you will have a real interest for industrialization of blockade runners ( or raising transport fleet for USA).

But that’s more: one of the flaw of the original design comes from the WSU stockpiling turn after turn from the mid-game: you can’t sell them, transform them, close industries you built and as WSU cost of replacements are too low and need to build new units less important, you get these unnecessary stockpiles.

SVF solves this trouble with 2 tiny events, one for the USA, another for the CSA. These events will fire when WSU pool reaches 200 and will transform them in 200 money. So:

- you have a new way to get money, from your industrialization effort

-Northern side gets a new economical advantages over Confederates

- you will never had anymore this stupid WSU pool.

Will the player have too much money? As in RL, in SVF you will never have too much money…But that’s for the next post
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Nikel
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Nikel »

Found this pic from HW

Image


And made this unit portrait, is it good?

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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Chilperic »

ORIGINAL: Nikel

Found this pic from HW

Image


And made this unit portrait, is it good?

Image


Much better . Thanks [:)]
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Nikel
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Nikel »

This is how it looks in the game in the place of Butler



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Chilperic
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Chilperic »

SVF Bibliography


The books I’ve read about ACW. Not a sign I’ve understood the contents, howewer ;-)



BIBLIOGRAPHY

And Keep Moving On: The Virginia Campaign, May-June 1864 (Great Campaigns of the Civil War)
By: Mark Grimsley (Author)

Grant's Lieutenants: From Cairo to Vicksburg (Modern War Studies)
By: Steven E. Woodworth (Editor)

The Uncivil War: Irregular Warfare In The Upper South, 1861-1865 (Campaigns and Commanders)
By: Robert R. Mackey (Author)

Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders

Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders
By: Ezra J. Warner

Ploughshares into Swords: Josiah Gorgas and Confederate Ordnance (Texas a & M University Military History Series, No 36)
By: Frank E. Vandiver

Guns for Cotton: England Arms the Confederacy
By: Thomas Boaz

Glory Enough for All: Sheridan's Second Raid and the Battle of Trevilian Station
By: Eric J. Wittenberg

Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation: The Economics of the Civil War (The American Crisis:Books on the Civil War Era, 15)
By: Robert B. Ekelund Jr.

The Chessboard of War: Sherman and Hood in the Autumn Campaigns of 1864 (Great Campaigns of the Civil War)
By: Anne J. Bailey

Lost for the Cause: The Confederate Army in 1864
By: Steven H. Newton

Lifeline of the Confederacy: Blockade Running During the Civil War (Studies in Maritime History Series)
By: Stephen R. Wise

Naval Strategies of the Civil War: Confederate Innovations and Federal Opportunism
By: Jay W. Simson

Cannon Blasts: Civil War Artillery in the Eastern Armies
By: L. Vanloan Naisawald

Cannons: An Introduction to Civil War Artillery
By: Dean S. Thomas

Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War, revised edition
By: James C. Hazlett

The Civil War Source Book
By: Philip R. N. Katcher

Civil War Artillery At Gettysburg
By: Philip , M. Cole

A Revolution in Arms: A History of the First Repeating Rifles (Weapons in History)
By: Joseph G. Bilby

Cannoneers in Gray: The Field Artillery of the Army of Tennessee
By: Larry J. Daniel

Brigades of Gettysburg: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Gettysburg
By: Bradley M. Gottfried

More Damning than Slaughter: Desertion in the Confederate Army
By: Mark A. Weitz

Arms and Equipment of the Civil War
By: Jack Coggins

Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War: The Eastern Campaigns, 1861-1864 (Civil War America)
By: Earl J. Hess

Trench Warfare under Grant and Lee: Field Fortifications in the Overland Campaign (Civil War America)
By: Earl J. Hess

Shock Troops of the Confederacy
By: Fred L. Ray

The Union Cavalry in the Civil War: The War in the West, 1861-1865 (Jules and Frances Landry Award)
By: Stephen Z. Starr

The Union Cavalry in the Civil War: From Fort Sumter to Gettysburg, 1861-1863 (Jules and Frances Landry Award)
By: Stephen Z. Starr

The Union Cavalry in the Civil War: The War in the East from Gettysburg to Appomattox, 1863-1865 (Jules and Frances Landry Award)
By: Stephen Z. Starr

Jefferson Davis and His Generals: The Failure of Confederate Command in the West (Modern War Studies)
By: Steven E. Woodworth

Six Armies in Tennessee: The Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns (Great Campaigns of the Civil War)
By: Steven E. Woodworth

The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War
By: Brent Nosworthy

The Antietam Campaign (Military Campaigns of the Civil War)
By: Gary W. Gallagher

Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West
By: William L. Shea (Author), Earl J. Hess (Author)

All for the Regiment: The Army of the Ohio, 1861-1862 (Civil War America)
By: Gerald J. Prokopowicz (Author)

Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861-1865
By: Steven E. Woodworth

Stonewall of the West: Patrick Cleburne and the Civil War (Modern War Studies)
By: Craig L. Symonds (Author)

Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862
By: Edward Cunningham (Editor), Gary D. Joiner and Timothy B. Smith (Editor)

Atlanta Will Fall: Sherman, Joe Johnston, and the Yankee Heavy Battalions (American Crisis Series, No. 3)
By: Stephen Davis

The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861-1865 (Da Capo Paperback)
By: E. B. Long (Author), Barbara Long (Author)

The Business of Civil War: Military Mobilization and the State, 1861--1865 (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)
By: Mark R. Wilson

Nathan Bedford Forrest: In Search of the Enigma
By: Eddy W. Davison (Author)

The Maps of Gettysburg: The Gettysburg Campaign, June 3 - July 13, 1863
By: Bradley Gottfried

Cavalry Raids of the Civil War (Stackpole Military History Series)
By: Robert W. Black

How the North Won: A MILITARY HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR
By: Herman Hattaway (Author), Archer Jones (Author)

Shades of Blue and Gray: An Introductory Military History of the Civil War
By: Herman Hattaway

Sharpshooters of the American Civil War 1861-65 (Warrior)
By: Philip Katcher (Author), Steve Walsh (Illustrator)

The Northern Railroads in the Civil War, 1861-1865
By: Thomas Weber

Why the North Won the Civil War
By: David Herbert Donald

Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History
By: David Stephen Heidler

Civil War High Commands
By: John Eicher (Author), David Eicher

Commanding the Army of the Potomac (Modern War Studies)
By: Stephen R. Taaffe

Two Great Rebel Armies: An Essay in Confederate Military History
By: Richard M. McMurry

Lee and His Army in Confederate History (Civil War America)
By: Gary W. Gallagher
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Chilperic
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Chilperic »

Changes to units and models from SVF 1.0 I will keep in SVF 2.0

changes to units.

a) until now, I haven’t noticed sufficiently strange battle results to undermine my belief into the unit ratings ( even if from time to time a strange result may occur, no proof such an occurrence comes from erroneous unit stats)

b) battle combat procedure, albeit complex, remains an abstraction. Introducing greatly modified stats, even if more realist in theory, could result in wrong results, simply by being made to a system which doesn’t is a realistic portrayal of battle but a simulation destined to give accurate outcomes. So I have made rather light changes with regards to these 2 considerations. These changes are coming from interesting posts from McNAUGHTON

In short:

- I reduced the number of sharpshooter units, and raised their cost in manpower ( reflecting not the real number of men but the trouble to find elite riflemen in quantity). It should force the player to avoid recruit in mass sharpshooters but let him possibility to do so. The number will increase with years ( see Shock troops of the Confederacy by Fred L. RAY for more details).

– I reworked US cavalry to give CSA a real edge at start. The end of the war will be marked by the contrary. CSA units will cost more at the end of war, to show the lack of horses this side suffered then.

– I modified artillery. Basically, I enforced differences between smoothbores and rifle guns. Smoothbores have short range, rather low attack accuracy, high defense accuracy and reinforced assault values, in order to stress their defensive use in the game system limits. The 6 pdr is cheap but weak, the 12pdr is much better and really versatile gun. Rifled guns on the contrary have greater range and are more accurate than smoothbore in attack , less in defense, making them useful for attack. The 20 parrot is delivering more punch at higher range than the 10. But…never forget most battles are beginning at range 4 or less ( the range of smoothbores)…Lee stated the 12 pdr « Napoleon » to be the best gun not without reasons. The theorical advantage of rifled guns are so challenged . Last, Horse artillery is now representing the 3 inch, rifled gun having the same values than the 10 parrot but with greater accuracy and better reliability ( Parrot hits number being reduced by one). Price is higher too… So, with 5 types having special functions and limits, field artillery is now without « must have « model. 6Pdr is inexpensive but of marginal value, 3 inch is the best rifled gun but is the most difficult to buy, the 20 parrot delivers on attack greatest puch, but is costly and its range isn’t that useful, the 10 parrot remaining so interesting because of its lower cost.

The cohesion value of units was reworked. I’ve reduced too the cohesion value of all units. First, because I think it will made units more prone to rout and so will reduce the number of destroyed regiments, a little too high. Secondly, as cohesion improves with experience, it should enforce the need for players to take attention to experienced units, peculiarly for the Union player, whose replacement penalty could be giving headaches in the last years of the war…Last, the 1861 battles should be shorter and plagued by routing units….as in reality. So all cohesion levels have been reduced by 10. Not only it will give real edge to experienced units, whose cohesion is raised, it will emphazize a bit more National Morale influence. You will need both yet more. Battles will be less costly, shorter, peculiarly in the first months, with troops routing quicker than stubbornly renewing deadly assaults.

Brigades reworked for both sides. Most Federal brigades are made of 3 infantry regiments ( and cavalry or artillery assets sometimes). CSA brigades are larger. New Brigades model will appear for both sides in 1862 with only Infantry units.

Marines and Sailors have no more pontooner ability. Pontoneer ability has ben added to Engineers units, btoh for simplicity and AI…

Ironclad and Monitor have now a random turn of entry, simulating for both sides either the technical difficulties or the lack of interest into armored navy in the first months. CSA ironclads have a very slow construction rate.
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Chilperic
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Chilperic »

How conscription will work in SVF 2.0?

As reminder, conscription option is available in the official AACW from start, which is unhistorical, both sides relying on volunteers for very deep cultural and social reasons.

In SVF 2.0, this conscription option will not be available at start. But it may be enforced from the start. You will choose any turn from the start to pass a bill about conscription.

But things aren’t so easy. First, you will have to wait some turns before the option will appear, to simulate the legislative process. Then you will lose NM, especially when your NM is above 100. Yes, lower NM will produce smaller losses, because low NM is signifying defeats. When defeated, your population is less hostile to conscription because of its necessity.



Unfortunately, once conscription chosen, you will suffer for the whole game conscripts losses. Your conscripts are deserting, like in RL, and more yet when your NM is under 100.



Of course, conscription will cause you more NM losses each time you will use it. So expect part of your conscription effort to go over the hills. Sad but true, as in Civil war…

You will may fire conscription 2 times a years and conscripts will not cost money, like volunteers.

So why not using volunteers only, especially when you have a lot of money?

Volunteers will cost more and more money with the years. in 1861, enthusiasm fills the ranks. After, the grim experience of death will replace enthusiasm with a more cautious attitude toward war, and the cost of volunteers will rise. … Hence the necessity of conscription…..
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by charlesonmission_slith »

I'm not sure the prisoner of war exchange is 1 for 1. I heard the option "releases a 1/3 of each prisoner if both agree to it". However, I would have thought that prisoners of war exchanges would have been 1 for 1. Might be a minor point, but would make it more realistic if it is the case.
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Chilperic
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Chilperic »

ORIGINAL: charlesonmission

I'm not sure the prisoner of war exchange is 1 for 1. I heard the option "releases a 1/3 of each prisoner if both agree to it". However, I would have thought that prisoners of war exchanges would have been 1 for 1. Might be a minor point, but would make it more realistic if it is the case.

Hi, I will not change the prisoner exchange in the first release. First, because I've not determined what to do about, if something has to be done. Then, I'm sure I will have first to balance the new options before. [:)]
BK6583
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by BK6583 »

Chiliperic,

I put this game on hold waiting for your mod. When might we expect it?
PanzerHue
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by PanzerHue »

ORIGINAL: Chliperic

For those interested in the future of my mod for AACW, the 2.0 version of SVF should be ready to test in the first days of August. If you're willing to help me by testing this version in the first days of August...PM me.

Thanks

Hello C,
Looking forward to an update on your great project (SVF 2.0) - hope everything is working for ya!

Best regards...
a devoted fan
Sorta
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Sorta »

Any news on when 2.0 will be released?

PS great job on RUS mod
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Chilperic
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Chilperic »

I really hope before the end of this month. I should get more free time next week.
ajarnlance
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by ajarnlance »

Is this mod still being developed? Sounds like some great improvements. When will it be finished?
"Resistance is futile" Locutus of Borg (aka Picard).
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bigus
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by bigus »

ORIGINAL: Chliperic

SVF Bibliography

The books I’ve read about ACW. Not a sign I’ve understood the contents, howewer ;-)


I'm surprised you haven't read:

Battles and Leaders Of The Civil War
4 Volumes
Edited by:Johnson & Buel

Lee's Lieutenants
3 Volumes
By: Douglas Southall Freeman

The Civil War: A Narrative
3 Volumes
By: Shelby Foote

These are a must read.......!
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Chilperic
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Chilperic »

Expect a first alpha release before Friday. It should pack the CSA AI until 1862, most of the events I've planned to add.

A beta version containing USA AI should follow before the end of the month.

Depending on the work to tweak AI, the definitive version, encompassing all features from 1863 to 1865 should then be released during October.

More info on my blog (see my sig). CSA AI is back :-)
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Chilperic
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RE: SVF 2.0

Post by Chilperic »

By playing a bit today, I ‘ve felt it’s now high time to get some feedback about SVF 2.0.

The mod is yet WIP and unfinished but the playable part should give sufficient info for further improvements.

Of course, your game will be marred by several bugs, some potentially huge. So just try it if you’re willing to help me.

To get the version, write at:

fatalyearssup@yahoo.fr



I will send you the mod by reply.



—————————————————



How to install SVF 2.0




First, you should create a copy of your AACW directory, so a copy will be left untouched by the mod, and the second modded.There are no side effects as having several copies of any AGEOD game based on the AGE engine ( BOA, WIA, NCP, AACW, ROP And RUS of course)

The modded copy should have as path C:\ Struggle for a Vast Future. This path will be the one used for installation. If you choose to apply the mod to the normal directory, or to give another name to the second RUS folder, you will have to enter the new path manually when prompted.

Then

1) Unrar contents of the archive in the C:\ Struggle for a Vast Future\

2) Launch SVF2.0.exe

3) Follow the instructions ;-) . When prompted click yes to all.

If the mod isn’t properly installed? That’s certainly because the path of your SVF2.0 folder isn’t the default one, C:\ Struggle for a Vast Future. The path could be C:\Program Files (x86)\Struggle for a Vast Future or C:\Program Files\Struggle for a Vast Future.

It could be C:\Struggle for a Vast Future or D:\Struggle for a Vast Future. In such a case, just enter the right path when prompted.

Important: there’s a movie showing step by step install of the mod here:

The movie is about Fatal Years install, but the process is the same.

For support, you may send a email at:

fatalyearssup@yahoo.fr

IMPORTANT:

The scenario is named 1861 Struggle for a Vast Future ( Ap. 1861)

This version is only playable against CSA AI.

AI settings are :

AI ranking: Sergeant ( normal one)

Use all behaviors

Activation bonus easy or normal ( + 0 or +1; +1 under test by me)

AI detect: +2 bonus prefered, but +1 and 0 should be fine too.

aggressiveness: normal

Give AI more time: checked ( this one is mandatory)
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