THE 1813-1815 CAMPAIGN GAME

[pzgndr]

I have been wrestling this past week or so on developing the 1813 campaigns. As before with 1812, this has been a challenge sorting through the EIA rules vs EIH rules and being frustrated with the game editor. I've got the two separate campaigns roughed in. And as before with 1812, some code changes were needed to allow setups (i.e., Russians besieging French forces in the same area) and the game needing to go from a March 1813 Setup Phase straight into the Economic Phase, skipping everything in between. Along the way I made a couple of tweaks to the editor. The next phase of all this is to setup forces and playtest some to verify it works. I'm thinking maybe later next week or the following week I'll be able to post v1.26.02 Beta with the latest updates. One reason I'm doing this now before diving into the AI grand strategy improvements that I'd like to do is that 1813 provides opportunity to assess AI allied operations and end-game behaviors. I expect some of this will still be a bit 'glitchy' with v1.26.02 but I'll continue to make improvements into v1.26.03. And then hopefully the v1.26.03 Beta with deeper AI improvements and whatever other minor enhancements are needed will become a release candidate by spring next year.

I found this documentary on the 1813 Campaign to be insightful. https://youtu.be/ky9xet0lmI8?si=Untr6kTmf-cDNioz Enjoy!

[pzgndr]

A quick status update. The good news is that I've got the 1813 campaign running and I've been playtesting it all week. The bad news is that there are still some issues with it that need to be addressed and I'm running out of time as the holidays are upon us and I'll be out of town starting Dec 27. The v1.26.01 Beta development will resume in the new year and I hope to get something out during the first week.

The latest snag is the 1813 campaign setup that starts in March 1813 and goes directly into the Economic Phase. Some code changes were needed to make that happen. Then I saw the game going into another Economic Phase on the May turn. I thought I fixed that but then saw the May turn continue into May again. Fiddling with the turn and phase code is tricky and I need more time to get it right.

Along the way I've noticed lots of little issues made various fixes and improvements (that's un understatement). Things are working fairly well. But in my latest playtest, France overran the Russians at Leipzig on the first turn and then took Berlin on the second turn. The Prussians then surrendered. I need to address some Russian weaknesses.

So. The turn/phase issue needs attention. AI Russia needs attention. Then I need to go back and playtest the 1812 campaign with the latest changes to verify it still works OK. We're getting there.

[pzgndr]

Another quick status update. I've been playtesting and adjusting the 1813 campaign this week. There are still some issues to resolve and AI adjustments to make before I release v1.26.01 Beta. The good news is that everything appears to be working now, particularly the turn sequence.

This is a lot like squeezing jello, trying to fix one thing but then seeing something else not right. A case in point is France poised to invade Prussia and take Berlin. Prussian and Russian forces need to withdraw and hold long enough until Austria joins the alliance. If Prussia surrenders, then the campaign grinds to a halt and France can pick off Russia and Austria. I may need to implement the optional rule for Napoleon's Ratings. Also, the dance between France and Great Britain and Spain in Spain is tricky, and we don't want Spain to surrender easily. So, along the way I've made adjustments for declarations of war and surrenders, as well as for retreats and offensive operations. This is a great scenario for working out a lot of these issues. But once I'm more or less satisfied with 1813, I need to verify things still work OK in 1805 and 1812, or else go back and re-adjust as needed. Bottom line is that it will be sometime later next week before I'm ready to post something.

[pzgndr]

I'm going to show today's playtest. I'm playing as Turkey and watching the AI show. This is April 1813 showing opening moves. Austria DOWd Bavaria and Great Britain got control. The Prussians and Russians all retreated from Saxony to Berlin. If they don't, they risk being attacked. France and Russia are advancing forces to Berlin. France has dispatched Ney to Bavaria.

1813 April.jpg (1.14 MiB) Viewed 455 times

[pzgndr]

This is May 1813. There is more maneuvering. The odd thing here is that Great Britain has moved the Bavarian corps to Frankfurt and this has caused France to withdraw some forces to Paris. This is something I need to look at. Russia has moved forces to Danzig to deal with the French garrison.

1813 May.jpg (1.09 MiB) Viewed 454 times

[pzgndr]

This is June 1813. Here the Russians have prematurely retreated from Berlin, leaving the Prussians to defend against Davout's 70:57 assault. They hold. The retreats are something I need to look at some more; this has been like squeezing jello all week to get it "just right." France was also dealing with the rogue Bavarian corps and eliminated them.

1813 June.jpg (1.13 MiB) Viewed 453 times

[pzgndr]

This is July 1813. The Austrians took Bavaria at end of June and also became eligible to DOW France in July. Austria failed its die roll so remain neutral. Davout assaults Berlin again, this time 73:43. The Prussians hold.

1813 July.jpg (1.13 MiB) Viewed 452 times

[pzgndr]

August 1813. I screwed up the screenshot for Prussia and copied July. Austria again fails its die roll and remains neutral. Davout assaults Berlin yet again, at 71:27. The Prussians hold but Yorck is wounded and out for 2 months. I am disappointed with the Russians and their retreats; now is the time to attack!

Down south, the British and Spanish have been slowly creeping forward but now Spain was prepared to attack Madrid 48:36. The French hold. But the pressure is on!

1813 August Spain.jpg (957.97 KiB) Viewed 451 times

[pzgndr]

Some thoughts about all this. As I mentioned, Prussia and Russia must retreat to Berlin from Saxony or else risk an early battle and unnecessary losses. France will advance in April and be in strike range of Berlin by May. If France manages to take Berlin, the Prussians risk surrender and that pretty much cripples the allies in this campaign if Prussia is out. The key is to hold on long enough until Austria is no longer under enforced peace and DOWs France.

Historically, the Russians withdrew east and Napoleon fought the battles of Lützen and Bautzen in May. A summer truce ensued. Austria declared war on France in August and hostilities resumed, leading to the major battle at Leipzig in October. Well, this is difficult to recreate in this game, but a major battle at Berlin and other battles nearby can be expected. I just need to find the right balance before I release this v1.26.01 Beta with this new campaign for folks to try. Maybe later this week, we'll see.

[pzgndr]

As I mentioned, Prussia and Russia must retreat to Berlin from Saxony or else risk an early battle and unnecessary losses... The key is to hold on long enough until Austria is no longer under enforced peace and DOWs France.

The good news is that I made some AI adjustments to ensure Prussia and Russia retreat to Berlin on first turn in 1813, and also for Russians to all retreat on first turn in 1812. That helps ensure the computer opponents' survivable. Helps. The bad news is that France still has the option to move first and can strike a blow - at Kovno and/or Brest-Litovsk in 1812, or at Leipzig and/or Dresden in 1813. Can't do anything about that, that's a French strategy decision.

I still need to playtest this more past 1813, but I got the phases and economics working ok. Once Austria re-enters the war, France faces the Prussian/Russian/Austrian/Swedish coalition in the north and the British/Spanish coalition in the south and it gets dicey for a turn or so. The big battle may not be at Leipzig in October 1813, but sooner or later Napoleon might score a nice victory to prolong the game or else the allies will march to Paris. It's a nice short campaign game.