Scenario: American Civil War (18611865)

Cimbri

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The War between the States!




I decided that this map was too pretty to keep for myself. :)

Get into the 1861 spirit - Battlecry of Freedom!

The map is originally based on aeldrik’s pretty EuropeXL100, now sans Europe and with the Midwest instead. I have spent a lot of time minding the details on the Eastern seaboard. Some areas are slightly out of proportion, but this is hardly noticeable, and only for game purposes. I just had to include the Virginia peninsulas, Long Island, and the Shenandoah Valley.

A couple of screenshots featuring Imperator's new units:







The Mississippi River is navigable for river warfare, as are the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers.




More screenshots on page 5.


The map was originally part of a grand map going as far west as Russia. It started out as a Victorian Era/post-Congress of Vienna campaign map, intended to focus solely on the Italian unification wars, the rise of Prussia, and various other events in Europe. But I couldn’t keep the American Civil War out of it, and since it was fun to play, so I split the map in twain, creating an American Civil War only game. I’ll share it when done.


Major game changes:


  • Rioting: City disorder is now more likely to turn into a riot (inspired by the uprisings of 1848, the New York Draft Riots, and Southern Bread Riots) where improvements are destroyed.

  • Blockading: I have added a gold-generating bonus resource called Cotton Trade (and a victory location) in the second costal square in front of all southern ports. If this is blocked by union ships it will, of course, be useless. But it will have to be 2 squares away so Reb artillery can’t sink Union blockade ships. Blockade runners are auto-produced at Bermuda, and have to cross the Atlantic to get to a friendly southern port or offshore VPL. When they get there, they will generate victory points and gold.

  • Government: So far, there are only two types of government for each, relics from the old epic game: Democratic Party, Republican Party, Confederate Congress (formerly Provisional Government), and Federal Government (formerly Abolitionists). But I’m working on this, thinking I might replace them with “political decisions” instead of parties. I am considering something like “Suspend Habeas Corpus” which will remove war weariness totally and “Reconstructionist” which will allow the Union to convert Reb citizens. There will of course be a lot of pro- and cons for each government type. The only thing I’m worried about is war weariness, since it is a locked war game.

  • Techs: I’m still full at work on these. They’re giving me a headache.

  • Victory Conditions: To win the scenario, the Union must capture all victory locations. The Rebs must defend them. In addition, the Rebs hold Bermuda in the Atlantic (historically incorrect, I know, but game necessity) where they have wonders producing "Supplies" and Blockade Runners. These Blockade Runners can transport the supplies (flags) to offshore VPL's or coastal cities to farm victory points. The Union fleet must try to intercept them in the sea squares, ocean squares being impassable for everything other than the Blockade Runners.

  • Units: The game will feature only a few units: the vanilla rifleman in six different roles (hope it’s not too confusing in-game), four of aaglo’s ACW guns and a few of his ships, Wheel Gator’s Boer Rifleman, two of Plotinus’s workers, and two of Nemesis Rex’s cavalry and one rifleman unit. I’m thinking of adding some of Misfit_travel’s multi-unit riflemen. All these units, especially the various riflemen are old cut/pasties, but they'll do fine.

  • Infantry: All infantry have “zone of control”, so they fire on units trying to flank them.

  • Cavalry: All cavalry have lower attack than defence. In this period, direct cavalry charges were likely to cause truly heavy losses for the cavalrymen. But when fighting dismounted, like Buford’s men at Gettysburg, they stand a better chance. Cavalry have Radar ability, and can see two spaces. This is useful when you want to know where an enemy army is hiding, and the terrain bit will tell you why.

  • Artillery: This will play an important role in sieges.

  • Terrain: Plains and grassland have negative defence bonuses. Units in the open will be massacred if they do not manage to fortify before attacked. Fortifications will play a grand role in the later game. Hills and forests have 50% defence bonus. Mountains are impassable.

  • Disease: All terrain causes disease. In the epic game this can be cured with the discovery of antibiotics, but in this game, it means that units in the field are likely to be damaged by disease, and cities don’t grow as explosively. And units can’t heal in enemy territory, so units on campaign will experience non-combat casualties occasionally.

  • Transportation: Railroads have been excluded, they’re simply too annoying. Roads are now called railroads, and have a movement factor of 8(!). It actually works out fin so far, but I might change it to slightly less.


Anyway, this is a development thread, I'll gladly take advice or ideas from Civil War buffs or scenario makers.

So ideas, corrections, and suggestions are welcome. :)


Edit: Dang, I wish I could edit the thread title to read: Scenario: American Civil War (1861–1865)
 
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wondering out loud here... since I am very partial to your ideas here...
what if I used my new toys (thx Wyrm!) to make a few more appropriate riflemen?
 
wondering out loud here... since I am very partial to your ideas here...
what if I used my new toys (thx Wyrm!) to make a few more appropriate riflemen?

I'd really appreciate that, TopGun :)drool:). But really only if you have time and don't mind doing it. It would really add more flavour to the rifle line. :)


Development:

  • States' Rights added as Reb political function.
  • Should I place a civ of pro-rebel Native Americans in Oklahoma territory?
  • There are now four eras: Antebellum - Secession! - Total War - Reconstruction Era. Reconstruction Era might be turned into Late War or what-not, as it seems unimportant to include this in a scenario dedicated to the conflict, not the aftermath.
 
How do these sound as government options?


Rebel government options:

Fire-Eater: low war weariness, low cost for units, medium corruption
States' Rights: high war weariness, high cost for units, high corruption
Suspend Habeas Corpus: no war weariness, minimal corruption, low cost for units

Union government options:

Copperhead: high war weariness, high cost for units, high corruption
Moderate: low war weariness, medium cost for units, medium corruption
Radical/Abolitionist: no war weariness, low cost for units, minimal corruption
Reconstructionist: high war weariness, high cost for units, medium corruption

These are only in the think-tank. I will likely revise them later. And the States' Rights/Copperhead-type govs needs some sort of benefit that might make them anything other than redundant.

Should Suspend Habeas Corpus be available for the North?
 
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you gotta explain what these different government types/political positions pertain to. I have no idea what fire-eater or copperhead are.
 
I'll include it in the pedia. :) But, in short, Fire-Eaters were die-hard secesh (secessionists) in the South. Copperheads were an anti-war democrats in the North.

i'll elaborate when I get home later tonight.
 
Should I place a civ of pro-rebel Native Americans in Oklahoma territory?

The minimap shows what looks like British Canada (at least Montreal and part of Ontario); I say the more civs the merrier - as long as they realistically fulfill a role that an important native tribe did in the war.

I'll be watching this as it progresses, it looks like you have a lot of good ideas here - I especially love the negative combat bonuses for open land! I don't think anyone's thought of or implemented that before, and I'll be sure to try it out myself.
 
I’m still thinking about government. In a locked war game, who would want any other type than one with no war weariness? No one, that’s who.

Maybe I should avoid the locked war aspect? Make the war trigger based? But I’m worried about the AI (Well, we’re all worried by the AI). Playing as the Southrons, being able to force Billy Yank to accept a peace treaty, will essentially mean you win the game. But when and how is the question. This requires a bit of study on the AI.

Will the AI be quick to accept a peace treaty if there are many victory points left to capture? That would ruin the game, because if you whip the Yankees on turn 15, and they sue for peace, that will leave you with 216 boring turns to go. The big question is how much weight the AI puts on victory conditions? Will they fight tooth ’n’ nail to achieve them?
 
Looking forward to anything that may develop from this. ACW has been forgotten too long. For whoever may be interested in the unit making there were many reference images on Gen. Rommel's thread starting here and continuing the next two pgs.
 
*sigh* Unfortunately, because of C3C’s unreasonably stupid AI, I am forced to abandon the Blockade Runner feature. It would have been nice to see little Rebel ships trying to slip by your own ships with a cargo that will give them gold and VP’s, but alas, the AI was unable to handle something so simple. Instead of landing in the nearest port at Savannah, Georgia, the AI ship sailed all the way up the Potomac and unloaded the flag unit at Manassas, right at the frontline. And not at the square with roads, no sir, but rather on a roadless square so the flag could be easily captured by Billy Yank horsemen. It’s mind-boggling.

Blocking Hampton Roads with Union ships did not help it. The innovative AI sailors unloaded the flag unit right at Portland... in friggin' Maine! Needless to say, the flag was captured immediately.

I am going back to bonus resources that can be occupied by Union ships. A pity, but it was worth a try
 
Just a couple of ideas u might want to think about.
What about a Canadian Civ? Canada was owned at that time by Britain who could have played a major role in the war had they sympathized with the North or South.

Also on the subject of Native Americans. Cherokee Chief Stand Wattie had a Confederate Native American unit in the war and was even made a Brigadier General for his many acomplishments.
Maybe you could have a Confederate Unit of Native Americans which can only be built where Stand Wattie's unit came from historically.(Sorry I don't know where).;)
 
Just a couple of ideas u might want to think about.
What about a Canadian Civ? Canada was owned at that time by Britain who could have played a major role in the war had they sympathized with the North or South.

Also on the subject of Native Americans. Cherokee Chief Stand Wattie had a Confederate Native American unit in the war and was even made a Brigadier General for his many acomplishments.
Maybe you could have a Confederate Unit of Native Americans which can only be built where Stand Wattie's unit came from historically.(Sorry I don't know where).;)

Canada is already in there. They're a strictly commercial civ, and they can trade items with both the Union and the Secesh. Diplomacy have been neutered, so you can't get ROP, Mutual Protection Pact, or an Alliance with them. Eventually you'll be able to get them into a trade embargo.

As for Native Americans, I might add the Sioux (Dakota War of 1862), and the Creek (or Muscogee, one of the five slave-holding "Civilized Tribes" in the Indian territories/Oklahoma who fought for Johnny Reb).
 
I'll be watching this as it progresses, it looks like you have a lot of good ideas here - I especially love the negative combat bonuses for open land! I don't think anyone's thought of or implemented that before, and I'll be sure to try it out myself.


It works pretty neat, as you have to be careful when you maneuver around the map. Scouting is very valuable and will prevent you from running pell-mell into an enemy army. A regular unit fortifying will now get a 50% defensive bonus instead of 25%, so those hill fortresses with fortified riflemen better be bombarded to their last hit-point before you send in your boys, or they will get slaughtered. Open ground will be a hazardous place to be, but you’ll pretty much have to use it on campaign, at least if you want to bring your artillery (unless you rely solely on so-so mountain guns). So in this game, when facing an enemy army, it is very important to find the good ground first, fortifying, and backing your men up with artillery.

Hills and forest have been reduced to 20/10% defensive bonus. So units not fortified (but perhaps trying to flank your position) will be a bit more vulnerable to attack from your men.
 
It works pretty neat, as you have to be careful when you maneuver around the map. Scouting is very valuable and will prevent you from running pell-mell into an enemy army. A regular unit fortifying will now get a 50% defensive bonus instead of 25%, so those hill fortresses with fortified riflemen better be bombarded to their last hit-point before you send in your boys, or they will get slaughtered. Open ground will be a hazardous place to be, but you’ll pretty much have to use it on campaign, at least if you want to bring your artillery (unless you rely solely on so-so mountain guns). So in this game, when facing an enemy army, it is very important to find the good ground first, fortifying, and backing your men up with artillery.

Hills and forest have been reduced to 20/10% defensive bonus. So units not fortified (but perhaps trying to flank your position) will be a bit more vulnerable to attack from your men.

Very good gameplay/combat play ideas which I am contemplating incorporating into my epic mod.
 
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