game

Matrixation · 07-18-2009, 08:29 AM,

anyone up for a game of FOF ACW

Steel God · 07-18-2009, 08:49 AM,

Welcome to the Club. I am still working on my first game of FoF, so I may not be much of a challenge for you, but I am willing to give you a game. I am open to either side, any scenario. For difficulty level, I'd prefer we keep it around Sergeant Major level.

Ironclad · (This post was last modified: 07-18-2009, 06:11 PM by Ironclad.)

Just a thought but you may find it preferable using Sergeant level as that is the neutral one (the manual wrongly attributes First Sergeant) and so is probably better for pbem.

Steel God · 07-19-2009, 03:39 AM,

I set up our game at the Sergeant Major level, so we'll just have to see how that goes. I have one other game going at that level, but it is a different scenario and there is a world of difference in the Union economy. As the difficulty level is the same, that must be attributable to the scenario I have chosen.

Ironclad · (This post was last modified: 07-19-2009, 04:01 AM by Ironclad.)

The Nation screen - income and expenses - shows you the number of resources being deleted for the difficulty level chosen.

Steel God · 07-19-2009, 04:11 AM,

Yes, I am aware of that, but what I really meant was the actual over all size of the economy. The first game I started was a July 1861 start date and the Union economy on Sgt Major level produces 100s of all types of resources. By comparison the game I just started with a Nov 1861 start date (also at Sgt Major level) the Union economy produces under 100 of everything. The trade off though is the Nov game (standard scenario I believe it's called) you start with armies fielded, whereas the July start you have almost nothing in the way of fielded armies. In the July start game I have not yet felt the need to impress anything from my Governors, and as a result they are all practically as happy as can be, whereas in the Nov start scenario I think impressing resources from the states will almost be required if you are going to expand your army/economy.

Aside from a couple minor quibbles I am really loving the game engine so far. I have the advantage of not having suffered through the PBEM and NW bugs in the early versions, so I'm not coming in with an attitude of disappointment; still I'm hoping this game lives up to it's promise as the treatment of the ACW I always sought.

Ironclad · (This post was last modified: 07-19-2009, 05:29 AM by Ironclad.)

Yes its a great game, glad you are enjoying it. I agree with your comment on the FOF forum about the advantage of playing against a human compared to even the best AI. The only downside is that in pbem you miss out on the detailed battle option which is a fine game in its own right. Actually the FOF AI is a good one both at strategic and tactical levels.

Re the scenarios. The standard is more balanced and so is kinder to the South than the real event. The most realistic scenarios are Coming Fury (the unbalanced variant) and Southern Steel with the difference being that one starts in July and the other November. As well as commencing with better prepared units and infrastructure, as you noted, the November starts in Standard and SS allow both players an earlier breathing space through the imminent arrival of the winter slowdown, not that the action always stops then. The Governors aspect is yet another one of the fascinating features of the game and shows just how much care and thought has gone into its development.