Napoléon I 1805 - 1815 ToTPP and Lua scenario updated to v1.3

[tootall_2012]

THIS SCENARIO HAS BEEN UPDATED TO V1.3 ON THE SCENARIO LEAGUE WEBSITE::

You can find the game zip files and screen shots at http://sleague.civfanatics.com/index.php?title=Napoléon_I

Check out post #147 in this thread to review the v1.1 changes.
Check out post #173 in this thread to review the v1.2 changes.
Check out post #189 in this thread to review the v1.3 changes.
Check out post #244 in this thread to review the v1.5 bug fix change.

The "Updated Napoleon Graphics by Gapetit" can be found on post #174.

GAME INTRODUCTION:

"
On December 2nd, 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte coronated himself as Emperor of France. By placing the crown upon his head with his own hands, Bonaparte brought Europe to the brink of war. For by its very nature, the act of self-coronation threatened the rule and challenged the legitimacy of every government then in existence.

To safeguard the sanctity of divine right and position based on noble birth, the European monarchies branded Bonaparte an international outlaw and pledged to remain at war with France until the Corsican usurper was overthrown and the Bourbon rule restored.

For the next ten years, the fate of the French Empire rested on the abilities of one man; as a warrior, and as a peacemaker.

Can you as the Emperor of France do better than your historical counterpart and become the absolute ruler of Europe or will you meet the same fate and find yourself exiled on a remote and desolate island to live out your remaining days?
"

The scenario covers the Napoleonic Wars in Europe between August 1805 and June 1815, with each turn representing one month.

You are called upon to act as the main protagonist, i.e. France. The scenario also includes the Coalition powers of Austria, England, Prussia and Russia. Spain, which begins the war allied with France, and the Ottoman Sultanate are also in the game. The scenario has been designed to play ONLY as the French.

There are a number of house rules and game concepts, all designed to enhance the scenario experience, that the player should familiarize themselves with before beginning to play. As such, please read the scenario's ReadMe PDF file first.

The scenario has been designed to play with ToTPP v0.15.1 and Lua, and as such you should read the installation instructions carefully.

The scenario has been designed and tested on a 64-bit PC computer and should therefore work on both 32 and 64-bit platforms.

This has been a collaborative effort between myself (lead designer) and Knighttime (lead programmer). We hope you enjoy the game as much as we liked designing it.

 

[JPetroski]

Awesome news! Just in time for a 4-day holiday weekend! Can't wait to try it!!!

 

[Patine]

Awesome news! Just in time for a 4-day holiday weekend! Can't wait to try it!!!

This looks awesome! I'll have a look at this one too.

 

[McMonkey]

Amazing. Your scenarios are always top quality & highly enjoyable. I look forward to playing this & discovering how you & Knightime have exploited the potential of Lua.

 

[Civinator]

Congratulations and a thank you very much to both of you for this interesting scenario!

 

[JPetroski]

I have a few hours in the game and have to say I am truly impressed. This is one of those rare scenarios like Red Front or Sea Lion that comes alive from the very glance. The music, the art, the text, the sound effects and the power of the events are all apparent immediately and let the player know they're in for an absolute treat. I think I will end up speaking for more than one designer when I say that this is the sort of scenario that will inspire others to create! As I told you privately, even the top notch readme made me feel like I had to up my game for Over the Reich, and the scenario has that effect has well!

You two have made Europe come alive and it is grand to see the way you've pulled together so many different elements from lua that I'm sure will find their way into tomorrow's scenarios.

Bearing in mind that I only have one late night and a morning and have only subdued Austria and Naples, some initial feedback:

*I LOVE the leader bonus. Generals become exceptionally important and you have to make hard decisions about where to send them, and making them protected. It's just so much fun - a pure treat.
*The naval supremacy points game vs. Britain is a lot of fun - cat and mouse to an extent and always concerned where Nelson might turn up. I love the way this was implemented.
*I find the manpower system intriguing. I could see different ways to utilize it in other scenarios of the future.
*The winter attrition is a neat touch - it drives a tough decision of trying to move forward or rest up for the next spring.
*Overall the look and feel of the scenario is top notch.

I do have a few initial observations/suggestions:

*It would be immensely helpful to either have a pop up box at the start of each turn telling you who you are at war with, or being able to press a key to bring up a box that gives this information. If you aren't that familiar with the history (I must admit my French history is very rusty) you can feel a little lost sometimes.

*I've subdued Austria and the Kingdom of Naples as they appear to be the only targets within my reach - I'm really not sure what to do next. It appears that I can't do anything else until I either win a naval victory (unlikely without a restart and better luck/planning), or Britain manages to take a city in Spain. For now I'm just kind of sitting around waiting for Russian troops to show up or someone to attack me. Without knowing the history well, I'm not sure what to do now.

*I'm assuming that the reason the artillery shells don't activate on creation has to do with the leader bonus since the naval shells do activate on creation? That's a shame that the engine requires this but worth it, I suppose, for the leader bonus. Given how Napoleon was renowned for being an artillery master I suppose you really need to reflect this in some way though I will say a player will be generating *a lot* of artillery shells throughout the course of the game, and it is tedious that they don't activate from the start. You might consider increasing the default attack value of shells, and then having generals increase the number of shells that a gun produces rather than increasing the the attack value of the shell to get around this. You could likely get the same effect (or close to it) and allow for the game's pace to carry on better.

I'm really enjoying this and can tell you it is already an absolute classic. Tremendous work @tootall_2012 and @Knighttime ! WELL DONE!!!!

 

[tootall_2012]

Hi John,

I do have a few initial observations/suggestions:
*It would be immensely helpful to either have a pop up box at the start of each turn telling you who you are at war with, or being able to press a key to bring up a box that gives this information. If you aren't that familiar with the history (I must admit my French history is very rusty) you can feel a little lost sometimes.

Of course, the scenario was only released yesterday, so it’s premature to start making changes but I will most certainly compile a list of all the changes/enhancements the community members wish to propose. As always, I welcome any feedback, be it positive or negative, provided it is constructive.

Adding an information box for the power relations sounds interesting. I will have to confer with Knighttime to see if this can be done.

*I've subdued Austria and the Kingdom of Naples as they appear to be the only targets within my reach - I'm really not sure what to do next. It appears that I can't do anything else until I either win a naval victory (unlikely without a restart and better luck/planning), or Britain manages to take a city in Spain. For now I'm just kind of sitting around waiting for Russian troops to show up or someone to attack me. Without knowing the history well, I'm not sure what to do now.

I tried throughout the scenario to provide as much context in the game messages as possible to help situate the players. But of course, I realize as the designer I have a particular insight that while making the game obvious to myself, might not always be so clear to a player tackling the scenario the first time around.

Therefore to give some context, the scenario is designed to follow the main lines of the Napoleonic wars during the period in question.

Though it may be counterintuitive to our understanding of the period, most of the wars Napoleon ended up fighting were in reaction to moves or declarations of war by the members of the Coalition. That it was his intention, nevertheless, to rule supreme over Europe is not in question. Here is a brief outline of the wars during the period:

• War of Third Coalition in 1805 fought against Austria and Russia: Naploeon had to cancel his planned invasion of England when Austria declared war and invaded Bavaria and northern Italy, thereby threatening France’s eastern border and Italian possessions. This occurred before the battle of Trafalgar which took place in October 1805.
  
  
• War of Fourth Coalition in 1806 - 1807 fought against Prussia and Russia: Prussia, which was supported by Russia, declared war on France because it saw Napoleon’s encroachment into German affairs as a threat.
  
  
• Peninsula War 1808 – 1814 fought against Spain and England: was an unintended consequence of Napoleon’s attempt to impose his brother as the king of Spain, which led the Spanish peasantry and army to rebel, and England’s subsequent direct involvement in the conflict.
  
  
• War of Fifth Coalition in 1809 fought against Austria: Austria, which was deeply resentful of its loss during the Third Coalition and the terms of the treaty that were imposed on it declared war on France, while Napoleon was deeply involved in the Peninsula War, in order to restore its national honor and standing in the European community
  
  
• Invasion of Russia in 1812: this was primarily Napoleon’s decision as his relations with the Tsar had deteriorated considerably since the end of the Fourth Coalition, which had seen the two great nations make peace. In essence, the conflict erupted because the Emperor resented the fact that Russia no longer abided by the treaty of Tilsit which required it to participate in the Continental blockade against England and he hoped a quick invasion would bring the Tsar back into the fold.
  
  
• War of the Sixth Coalition between Austria, Prussia and Russia 1813 -1814: Austria and Prussia finally declare war on France after its disastrous Russia campaign in the hopes of removing the French yoke once and for all.

• England, of course, remained France's nemesis throughout the entire war and did its best to cause it trouble whenever and wherever it could.

As such, the scenario attempts to recreate, without being 100% accurate, these various events. How you decide to react to each event is entirely up to you.

In the ReadMe, in Appendix D you will find a high level chart of the conflicts in question, their prerequisites; victory conditions and consequences that should help guide you.

I hope this helped give you a high level understanding of the scenario.

For further context, there is this high level Wikipedia article you can read up on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars

*I'm assuming that the reason the artillery shells don't activate on creation has to do with the leader bonus since the naval shells do activate on creation? That's a shame that the engine requires this but worth it, I suppose, for the leader bonus.

The shells actually activate after its corresponding artillery unit has expended all its movement points. If you want to use the shell before the artillery unit has finished using up its MP’s then unfortunately yes, the game mechanics will force you to manually select the shell to “fire” it.

Given how Napoleon was renowned for being an artillery master I suppose you really need to reflect this in some way though I will say a player will be generating *a lot* of artillery shells throughout the course of the game, and it is tedious that they don't activate from the start.

In my last two playtests I generated around 800 and 650 shells respectively, which corresponded on average to 4-5 or so shells per turn. Of course, that number of shells per turn will vary during the game but to be honest, I didn’t personally find this slowed me down or was overly tedious. I also liked the fact that I could select what artillery type shell I wanted to use first or how many I should generate for my attacks. It will be interesting to hear other players opinion on the matter.

As was the case historically, artillery was the queen of the battlefield and you will find it equally true in this scenario. A leader who tries to launch a major offensive without artillery to back him up will soon find himself bogged down.

You might consider increasing the default attack value of shells, and then having generals increase the number of shells that a gun produces rather than increasing the the attack value of the shell to get around this. You could likely get the same effect (or close to it) and allow for the game's pace to carry on better.

It’s not the generals themselves that generate the shells but the allowable movement points of each artillery unit. How effective each shell can be depends on the leader bonus. This in my view makes sense. If both Napoleon and Soult, for example, each have one battery of artillery with a stock of 100 shells each, Napoleon still won’t be able to shoot 101 shells just because he’s Napoleon. On the other hand, how he uses them, i.e. his combat bonus, is what makes the difference.

I'm really enjoying this and can tell you it is already an absolute classic. Tremendous work @tootall_2012 and @Knighttime ! WELL DONE!!!!

There are still many turns for you to play and I’m certain you will have much more feedback to provide, but on behalf of both of us, thank you for the kind words to date.

We put a lot of effort in this scenario and hope players will enjoy it.

 

[JPetroski]

The shells actually activate after its corresponding artillery unit has expended all its movement points. If you want to use the shell before the artillery unit has finished using up its MP’s then unfortunately yes, the game mechanics will force you to manually select the shell to “fire” it.

This does not have to be true - Garfield figured out a way to have the munition that is created activate immediately after being created. From Over the Reich:

civlua.createUnit(munitionToCreate, currentUnit.owner, createOnTile, {randomize=false, veteran=false, count=quantityToCreate})[1]:activate()

I do not, however, know if this would impact your leader bonus.

In my last two playtests I generated around 800 and 650 shells respectively, which corresponded on average to 4-5 or so shells per turn. Of course, that number of shells per turn will vary during the game but to be honest, I didn’t personally find this slowed me down or was overly tedious. I also liked the fact that I could select what artillery type shell I wanted to use first or how many I should generate for my attacks. It will be interesting to hear other players opinion on the matter.

As was the case historically, artillery was the queen of the battlefield and you will find it equally true in this scenario. A leader who tries to launch a major offensive without artillery to back him up will soon find himself bogged down.

I did not mean to imply that generating munitions is tedious. I quite like the concept and have two scenarios now that use them after all What I was implying is that hitting k, then having to select the stack with the mouse to select the munition and then fire it can get tedious. The activate() if it works with your leader bonus, would solve this. The only reason I suggested the alternative of firing more munitions was because I thought that you had already determined that the activate() would not work. But perhaps it might.

Anyway, running off to dinner, but great job again!

 

[tootall_2012]

I did not mean to imply that generating munitions is tedious. I quite like the concept and have two scenarios now that use them after all

What I was implying is that hitting k, then having to select the stack with the mouse to select the munition and then fire it can get tedious. The activate() if it works with your leader bonus, would solve this. The only reason I suggested the alternative of firing more munitions was because I thought that you had already determined that the activate() would not work. But perhaps it might.

Ah, okay! I think I understand better what you were trying to say. You’ll have to forgive me, though I’ve learnt a lot from Knighttime in the past few months, these kind of lua subtleties are still beyond my level of expertise.

To date, it appears as though, unless the unit starts the turn in the same stack as the leader that you have to select it again for the bonus to apply. All the same, it’s certainly something that will be worth looking into.

I'm curious to know, when you defeated Austria in the War of the 3rd Coalition, did its core cities revert back to Austrian control, as intended? It's always worked during playtesting but I want to confirm if it worked for you.

Also, let me know if Prussia as declared war on you. It should happen sometime in 1806.

 

[JPetroski]

Yes the cities reverted - what a brilliant concept that fits this scenario perfectly!

I kind of flew through my first try to get a feel for things. I'll have to take a more formal stab at this over the weekend and I'll let you know if Prussia declares war.

 

[Patine]

Ah, okay! I think I understand better what you were trying to say. You’ll have to forgive me, though I’ve learnt a lot from Knighttime in the past few months, these kind of lua subtleties are still beyond my level of expertise.

To date, it appears as though, unless the unit starts the turn in the same stack as the leader that you have to select it again for the bonus to apply. All the same, it’s certainly something that will be worth looking into.

I'm curious to know, when you defeated Austria in the War of the 3rd Coalition, did its core cities revert back to Austrian control, as intended? It's always worked during playtesting but I want to confirm if it worked for you.

Also, let me know if Prussia as declared war on you. It should happen sometime in 1806.

Yes the cities reverted - what a brilliant concept that fits this scenario perfectly!

I kind of flew through my first try to get a feel for things. I'll have to take a more formal stab at this over the weekend and I'll let you know if Prussia declares war.

Converting cities without conquest is a good thing to be working! I plan to use it in my Pacific Rim scenario for the Hong Kong and Macau handovers. I'll give a good try at this scenario this weekend. I've waited a long time for a Civ2 Napoleon scenario capable of handling many of the complexities and permutations of the Napoleonic Wars that just weren't possible previously.

 

[Northerner]

I’ve given the scenario two quick tries.

The first went horribly. At turn three I had failed completely in Italy, and taken considerable losses in the siege of Munchen.

When Villeneuve arrived, I sent him north to hunt the British. After running into a stack of five British ships near Oporto, and watching my Naval shells do nothing, I ended the turn to watch my fleet wiped out.

At that time the score was 2-10 for the British.

I quit and tried again. This time around I played my land battles with some wisdom, and have now defeated Charles in Munchen, along with a considerable part of the Austrian army.

At sea things took an altogether unexpected turn. I chose to gather my ships in the north, and see if I could end up joining the fleets when Villeneuve returned.

He hasn’t returned, but the British fleet is all but gone, and Nelson with them.

As my ships where gatherd perhaps ten squares north of Galicia the British sent at least one Three Decker got blown to bits by a Fortress in some Spanish city. The British and Spanish fleets then battled. I suppose there wasn’t much left of the Spanish fleet, but I had the luck of sinking what remained of the British fleet.

The score is now 0-8 for the French. Perhaps this playthrough will go better.

This is a very well made and highly polished scenario. There are so many amazing little touches, and the scenario as a ehole is so well made. Look forward to giving this proper time over christmas.

 

[tootall_2012]

*I've subdued Austria and the Kingdom of Naples as they appear to be the only targets within my reach ...

Just a small clarification, in this case, you didn’t subdue Austria but rather imposed a peace treaty on it. As per Appendix D of the ReadMe to subdue a nation is to place it in a permanent state of peace with France for the remainder of the game.

To impose a treaty on a power, is to enforce a state of peace between them and France whereby all the defeated power’s units will be disbanded and its ability to produce more removed. On the other hand, it’s possible that it may in the future be able to declare war on France again.

I thought it was important to point that out so players understand the difference.

Converting cities without conquest is a good thing to be working! I plan to use it in my Pacific Rim scenario for the Hong Kong and Macau handovers. I'll give a good try at this scenario this weekend. I've waited a long time for a Civ2 Napoleon scenario capable of handling many of the complexities and permutations of the Napoleonic Wars that just weren't possible previously.

Yes, this is indeed an amazing feature of lua, whereby you can convert the ownership of any city from one power to another. What conditions you decide to use to trigger the event is entirely up to you.

In the case of Napoleon, the scenario returns “core” cities to a defeated power if France manages to impose a peace treaty on it.

The first went horribly. At turn three I had failed completely in Italy, and taken considerable losses in the siege of Munchen.

As a rule, I prefer to let players find their own way when it comes to strategy but I will give two useful tips:

• Artillery is absolutely key to any campaign you undertake. Whenever possible, particularly when assaulting a well defended city, you should always start by pounding your enemy with your artillery, and of course if you can have a leader present to bolster the attack factor of said artillery all the better.
• Of course, you need to find the right mix of offensive and defensive units when launching a campaign. Most offensive units have a strong attack factor but weak defense one. Therefore, if you prepare a campaign were you're only sending offensive units, you might find yourself running out of units pretty quickly after the enemy launches their counter-attacks.

Finally, you should always strive to capture Ulm in Bavaria on the first turn and be cautious in your moves in northern Italy (because on the 2nd turn the event file randomly creates Austrian reinforcements that can either show up in Bavaria or Italy and since your army is weaker there its more vulnerable to counter-attacks)

When Villeneuve arrived, I sent him north to hunt the British. After running into a stack of five British ships near Oporto, and watching my Naval shells do nothing, I ended the turn to watch my fleet wiped out.
At that time the score was 2-10 for the British.

The naval aspect of any Civilization game is always difficult to implement because you never know for sure how the AI is going to behave. During testing there were multiple occasions where British ships would just sail by my exposed French vessels without attacking, whereas on other occasions a single ship would attack a small stack of my ships and sink them all.

At sea things took an altogether unexpected turn. I chose to gather my ships in the north, and see if I could end up joining the fleets when Villeneuve returned.
He hasn’t returned, but the British fleet is all but gone, and Nelson with them.

Villeneuve should always appear at some point early in the game. On what turn, depends on the random chance the event file produces.

As my ships where gatherd perhaps ten squares north of Galicia the British sent at least one Three Decker got blown to bits by a Fortress in some Spanish city. The British and Spanish fleets then battled. I suppose there wasn’t much left of the Spanish fleet, but I had the luck of sinking what remained of the British fleet.
The score is now 0-8 for the French. Perhaps this playthrough will go better.

The best I've ever been able to achieve prior to the time limit for establishing Naval Supremacy expired was 14 -8.

I deliberately tried to make this objective difficult to achieve for the obvious historical reason that Britain was the dominant naval power of its age and the French navy wasn’t its equal. The fact that in your second attempt you were able to achieve an 8 – 0 score so early makes me pause if somehow I overestimated the difficulty level.

In the middle of my last play test, after the naval supremacy event had expired, I did modify the lua event file whereby I added some extra naval move to commands to push more British vessels towards northern Spain.

I wonder if this made the British navy more susceptible to early French gains. It will be interesting to hear how other players are able to fare in this regard.

This is a very well made and highly polished scenario. There are so many amazing little touches, and the scenario as a whole is so well made. Look forward to giving this proper time over christmas.

I'm glad to hear your initial attempt to play the game was a positive experience.

 

[Northerner]

Here is what I remember.

1. A Frigate ended its turn just outside Bordeux. This meant that the Two(or three?) Decker that starts in Bordeux scored a kill on its first turn.
2. The ship that starts in Amsterdam took out a frigate or two decker in its second turn.
3. A frigate or two decker alone in the Mediterranean.

4-5-6-7 Galicia - Nelson, a three decker, a two decker and one frigate. I could not see what went down in the British turn, I suppose Nelson was damaged taking out a Spanish Fortress, and the Three-Decker damaged sinking the Spanish ships.

8. Can't remember. Probably a second ship in the Mediterranean, as the ship that starts in Amsterdam went down fast.


I suppose that means the British are down:

1 Nelson.
2 Three-Deckers.
2 Two-Deckers.
3 Frigates.

Plus one ship they used for a failed attack on a Spanish Fort near Gibraltar. Is that point number 8 I cannot recall? Or do only losses against France count?

I will play a bit tonight and see how things turn out. Villeneuve has yet to turn up, so I've not seen how that all turns out. I disbanded the artillery in Bordeux and rush built a Three Decker on my second turn. Will send the next artillery from Paris over, too. If I can combine what remains of my fleet with Villeneuve, when he arrives, I might have the critical mass to win. A stack of Villeneuve, two or three Three-Deckers and some smaller ships should be able to withstand all but the most concentrated of British attacks, and then counterattack the stragglers. Perhaps draining my treasury to rush build another Three-Decker and some frigates would be the best plan.

When the British sink a three-decker an event fires and says something to the effect that the British overtook the ship, and now own it? Does a unit of Three-Deckers spawn for the British when they sink a French Three-Decker?

It irks me somewhat that British ships keep attacking the French Coastal cities and costing me Regiments de Ligne - so in my second playthrough I simply moved the garrisons a bit inland. The British don't seem to have amphibious capabilites yet, anyway. Not a beautiful solution, but it works.

 

[tootall_2012]

Here is what I remember.
1. A Frigate ended its turn just outside Bordeux. This meant that the Two(or three?) Decker that starts in Bordeux scored a kill on its first turn.
2. The ship that starts in Amsterdam took out a frigate or two decker in its second turn.
3. A frigate or two decker alone in the Mediterranean.
4-5-6-7 Galicia - Nelson, a three decker, a two decker and one frigate. I could not see what went down in the British turn, I suppose Nelson was damaged taking out a Spanish Fortress, and the Three-Decker damaged sinking the Spanish ships.
8. Can't remember. Probably a second ship in the Mediterranean, as the ship that starts in Amsterdam went down fast.

One of the things I’ve learned as a designer, is that players can find all sorts ways to tackle different problems and come up with unique solutions, that might never have occurred to you during the design process.

Agricola use to do this to me all the time, were he would report a particular progress or tactic, and I would think he did what? Man I never thought about that!

But again, I will wait for more feedback to see how other players fare and whether you tactics were successful in allowing you to establish Maritime Supremacy. After that I will re-evaluate if changes are required.

I suppose that means the British are down:
1 Nelson.
2 Three-Deckers.
2 Two-Deckers.
3 Frigates.

The British, contrary to Austria and Prussia, have the ability to build more ships.

Plus one ship they used for a failed attack on a Spanish Fort near Gibraltar. Is that point number 8 I cannot recall? Or do only losses against France count?

Only kills made by France count in the Maritime Supremacy tally.

I will play a bit tonight and see how things turn out. Villeneuve has yet to turn up, so I've not seen how that all turns out. I disbanded the artillery in Bordeux and rush built a Three Decker on my second turn. Will send the next artillery from Paris over, too.

I don’t know what turn you are on but typically he shouldn’t appear any later than turn four. So if its later than that, I'm surprised because in all my testing he never failed to arrive beyond that point.

When the British sink a three-decker an event fires and says something to the effect that the British overtook the ship, and now own it? Does a unit of Three-Deckers spawn for the British when they sink a French Three-Decker?

Yes, there’s a 1 in 4 chance that when the British win a naval battle against a Frégate, Deux-ponts or Trois-ponts French vessel that it will capture that vessel and it will become part of the Royal Navy, albeit somewhat in a damaged state at the time of capture, and appear in the tile of the attacking unit (this is cool feature from lua which John and Grishnach first implemented in Caesar when a Roman unit was able to capture slaves).

It irks me somewhat that British ships keep attacking the French Coastal cities and costing me Regiments de Ligne - so in my second playthrough I simply moved the garrisons a bit inland. The British don't seem to have amphibious capabilites yet, anyway. Not a beautiful solution, but it works.

The British Army doesn’t really become entangled in Europe till the Peninsula War. I didn’t want the British to have no role against France in the first years of the war so I gave the Three Decker naval units the ability to shore bombard. You start with a coastal fortress improvement in Calais and Amsterdam, and acquire the ability to build more when you discover the Siege Warfare advance.

Without giving away too much, the British don’t immediately start with amphibious capabilities but will acquire various "techniques" later on, so be forewarned, leave ports undefended at your own risk.

EDIT: Though the equivalent of a Three Decker ship, I removed the shore bombardment ability from the Nelson naval unit because it always ended up trying to attack Spanish coastal minor forts and dying in the process.

 

[McMonkey]

I've not started playing yet as I'm currently enjoying Operation Sealion but I took a look last night at the game & printed off the Readme.pdf. There are some really outstanding new features and I can see how well thought out the scenario is. Not just your typical empire builder. I love the idea of leaders & attrition. The units are beautiful & it's been too long since we had a new Napoleonic era scenario to allow them to campaign in.

 

[techumseh]

Reversion of cities is indeed a breakthrough. It's what I've needed to make "Blood and Iron" work. Bismarck needed to defeat Austria militarily, but leave her intact in order to unify Germany to defeat France.

 

[techumseh]

I've downloaded it, and it looks brilliant. Got the lua files installed and everything seems ready to go. Congratulations!

 

[countmc]

Excellent, truly excellent scenario. I'm up to the battle in snow swept Poland to finish off Prussia. Good balance and definatly keeps you on your toes.

Have you thought about eliminating the Lancer unit and replacing it with Dragoons that have a higher defensive rating? The Hussar unit will not let me investigate another city, I thought that was supposed to be like a spy unit? (good

 

[techumseh]

I'm just a few turns in, but very much enjoying it. I'm closing in on Vienna, so that part is going well. I'm getting my ass handed to me by the Royal Navy, so that part is not. So, about par for the course historically speaking. Winter just arrived, and in very dramatic fashion! Well done. Winter attrition is a tremendous addition.

I really like the various Lua-enabled features overall. The artillery shells work seamlessly. Leader bonuses are a great addition as well. I'm looking forward to seeing the city reversion event, for reasons I've stated. This will change the diplomatic options of ToT dramatically, and will have many uses in future scenarios. I'm also looking forward to seeing the supply events in action. This is potentially a game-changer for civ scenarios, as Civ2 has never been able to incorporate the supply of armies before, despite it being the dominant factor in military operations.

Very well done, Yves and Knightfall. I'm looking forward to playing multiple games.