AWI Multiplayer?

[civ2units]

Which year is now in your game? Did you get the Military Drill tech for building the Continental Lines, Dragoons and Artillery?

[McMonkey]

I'm in October 1777 now and I can't see an option to build the Continental Lines yet. I take it the required tech will be given via event at some point? I could really do with a few more cannon. Cavalry seem less useful.

Although my knowledge of the AWI is limited I did realise that New York would be a prime target (I think Washington would have realised this too) so I made sure it was well defended and managed to rush in enough defenders each turn it was under attack to just hold on. I did lose a lot of units and the city would have fallen if Washington had not been there. One thing to bear in mind is how quick and easy it is to build Minutemen. Although their defence value is not great they are useful cannon fodder to use up the enemies attacking moves. Why lose a Militia or Line Infantry unit when you can lose a Minuteman!

I was able to type up me report this evening so I can e-mail it to you now, or would you prefer a full report at the end of my game?

[civ2units]

You will get the Military Drill tech during the winter month 1777/1778 if you are holding Valley Forge.

Historically Washington settled his winterquarter there during the winter 1777/1778. During this time he and the prussian general von Steuben trained their regiments. At this point the Militias became a bit more of a regular army.

That´s why I made this event. If you are holding Valley Forge, you will get a small army of Continental Lines, Dragoons and Artillery incl. von Steuben and the Military Drill tech, which allows you, to build these units in all of your cities.

Actually the Minutemen were cannonfodder. You are right, New York was the main target and was immediatelly attacked by British forces one month after the Declaration of Independence. Washington tried to defend the cities but has to withdraw his army.
Maybe I should increase the costs for the Minutemen to avoid a rush of units. And I also should make Washington available after the first British invasion.

You should know, if you lost Washington, the game will end.

Becuase the Brits didn´t conquer New York in your game they didn´t get more reinforcements. I´m really interested how the AI now fights against you and how you managed this.

Please send me your full report after your game. There will be some more events following which should make the game interesting.

The game goes until September 1783, when the real war ended with the peace treaty of Paris. From the beginning until the end of the scenario you have 102 turns to win the war.

Main target is to kick out the Brits in all of your cities within the historical borders of the Thirteen Colonies.

[civ2units]

Btw, did you get the email with the mk.dll and tiles.dll files?

[McMonkey]

I did get the files and I will be using them when I next get a chance to play. At the moment I'm watching my beloved Everton in the Merseyside Derby, then I'm off to the gym. Hopefully I will get a chance to play this evening but I expect I will have to spend some time talking to the wife too. I am looking forward to finishing this scenario off though.

I think making Minutemen cost two rows of shields would be a good idea.

[McMonkey]

Btw, did you get the email with the mk.dll and tiles.dll files?

Just started up again yesterday evening and this morning. The mk & tiles.dll look amazing. They really add to the feel of the scenario. I will probably just keep them as standard for all ToT scenarios. They may not be the right timeframe but they are much better than the ones from ToT.

[McMonkey]

Up to April 1778. Lots of smart new Continental style units emerging from my training camps now. Pity I have to go to work as I could quite happily sit here and finish the game now. Easily one of the best scenarios I have played, both gameplay wise and visually. I don't think you have too much work left to do to perfect this!

[civ2units]

Great, this all sounds very interesting. I´m really looking forward to your playtest report.

Did France enter into the war? If you are holding at least 8 of the 10 important cities (Boston, New York, Saratoga, Philadelphia, Williamsburg, Yorktown, Norfolk, Wilmington, Georgetown, Providence) France will declare war on Britain in March 1778 or later (Once you´re controlling the 8 cities if the flags works fine). You get some nice french units including General Rochambeau. And also some money.

I´ve increased the costs of the Minutemen, I think it should work now fine. Also Washington will be available later in game. At the start he isn´t really neccessary.

[McMonkey]

Without Washington New York would definitely have fallen. There were only about six other units in the city at the end of their attack and these were all either damaged Infantry or Artillery with low defence.

I'm up to April 1778 and no French troops yet, though I think France gave me about 4000 gold. The only city in your list I don't hold is Saratoga though I'm working on getting that back

[civ2units]

If you got the 4000 pounds you can be sure, that the troops will follow. It only needs some time until they will arrive in the New World.

Are there many British troops within the territory of the Colonies? Unfortunatelly the big invasion in New York never happened in your game. I´m really interested to know how the AI handled that all.

[McMonkey]

The French turned up in June!

I would suggest building a bit of flexibility into the scenario so that even if the Rebels do manage to hold onto New York the British still get reinforcements elsewhere, perhaps just a few less than if New York had fallen. This way even if the player puts every unit into holding the city they have not necessarily won the war. Also, if the reinforcements land elsewhere the depleted defenders may still be destroyed a little later on. That said, it would have taken a hell of a lot more units to hold the city without Washington there so his absence may force a more historical outcome in the battle. However I would advise against making the fall of New York an inevitability else players in the know will just evacuate the city and hit the British as they begin to spread out afterwards as the AI is inclined to do. You could have an event that penalizes the Rebels financially if NY is lost but rewards them with slightly less British reinforcements if they do manage to hold out. This way there are at least three possible outcomes:
A British victory and heavy Rebel losses if they make a stand but lose. Rebels lose men and money and gain nothing.
A Rebel withdrawal to fight another day. The Rebels lose money but gain time.
A Rebel victory but at a high cost. The Rebels lose troops but don't lose money and reduce the number of British reinforcements.

[civ2units]

During making the scenario I was always thinking about the flexibility in a historical accurate scenario. My plan was to make it as accurate as possible but always giving the player his own chance to write history.

The main problem is that historical acurate scenarios have a fixed event line. Events will appear at the time when they actually appeared historical. For people who are familar with this time period the scenario is completed foreseeable. I´m afraid that this would kill the enjoyment and the mood to play the game until it´s end.

I´m happy that you are not so familar with the Independence War, so the game is very interesting for you as you are not knowing what will be happen next.

On the other way, more flexibility means less historical accuracy. I think I will make it more flexibel. It should be a game and in all games, especially if they have a historical background you have as a player the chance, to rewrite the history.

I´m waiting until you have finished the game and send me the notes, before I start to change the events.

[McMonkey]

Hopefully I will be able to finish off the game this evening and tomorrow as I have a day off. I have typed the notes up to where I have got to (some point in 1779 now) and I have made several saves so you can see what I was up to. I think I have some really good ideas that will be easy to implement and will have a positive effect on the game.

Getting the right balance between historical accuracy and playability is a big challenge. I think it is fine to change some details as long as the overall themes of the conflict are kept intact. After all history can be changed by a stroke of luck (EG King Harold getting an arrow in the eye during the battle of Hastings) and all subsequent events could turn out differently if a different course of action was decided upon. As long as the key battlefields of the war are fought over in a logical sequence the player will appreciate the importance of the locations and personalities and how they shaped the course of events. By being more flexible with the events you not only make it more of a challenge for players who know the history, you also make a game that will be different every time you play it, and I will certainly play this scenario again.

One thing about this scenario which is a bit different (though similar to Frederick the Great and Red Front) is that the AI dictates the events and the player reacts. Many scenarios see the player in the driving seat and the AI trying to react, often in an ineffective manor.

[McMonkey]

Just finished the scenario. It is a real belter and with a few fairly simple changes/tweaks I think it is ready for general release. I think I have come up with some useful suggestions to help tweak the gameplay a bit and generally add a few touches but fundamentally everything is fine. A lot of the gameplay changes are a matter of changing unit costs or the number of units generated by an event. I would definitely end it some time during 1781. By then you will either have won or lost. Dragging the game out after this point is pointless and the historical ins and outs can just be explained in a text popup.

I found no major bugs, just a few minor oversights that can easily be put right. I will type up the rest of my notes (another eight pages of A4) and e-mail them across tomorrow. I am too knackered to type now.

You have done a great job on this one and it will be great to see it released in the Scenario Leagues new home!

[McMonkey]

civ2units
I have just e-mailed you the playtest notes and saves. I compressed the saves with 7zip but it was stuck on 99%. Let me know if they work ok. I hope you find the notes useful.