HPS NB vs. Battleground

[JasonC]

I've played them both and have the opposite opinion. I think practically every design change made for HPS was a step backward, and the net effect is a much more boring system. There are also numerous places were the design decisions are stark raving mad. (E.g "batteries" for every 1-2 guns in some of the ACW titles, because Tiller wants each specific field piece type modeled separately - while ignoring the lousy effects this has on the ammo system, player micromanagement, etc). Skirmishers are not really fixed. You can instead have huge stacks in skirmish order - just silly. The effects of villages are crazy. Cavalry melees horribly unless charging, but now can't charge from anything beyond point blank. The idiotic high point values for cavalry are still there - loss of a regiment of horse is about 10 times worse than having Napoleon captured (lol). The single man loss system is more like a "there aren't any losses" system. There are maybe 2-3 things that can touch a stack of infantry.

The worst side effect of the move and fight all you want new unphased sequence of play is that it encourages "panzerblitz" thinking and tactics. Instead of ranks and reliefs that fail through morale issues or disorder, we get instead the choreographed sequence on a tiny stretch of front when all is in place for it. You can hit here with the left regimental column then there with the right one then through them with the next rank then charge with the cavalry after seeing what happened - in one 15 minute turn on 500 meters of frontage, while the defenders sit there and at most get off a volley if you close to point blank. The tendencies to micro-tactical giantism and mindless mashing of stuff together is worse than ever. The net effect is to make tactics out of Guderian not out a Napoleon viable.

The old BG games had problems as many people played them, because many players turned on all the morale enhancing and rout limiting optional rules, which results in US civil war style tactics of continuous lines, completely wrong for the Napoleonic era. But it was easily solved just just turning the optionals off (other than cavalry countercharges and VPs for leader casualties). That made formations want to spread with intervals to prevent rout contagion, and made shots and attacks for the purpose of inducing morale failure a major, viable tactic.