Jim,
I respectfully beg to differ (and disagree with Mark for perhaps the first time), but do so out loud only because your last comment seems to request a response...
I see a different end result from your reasoning.
1) It's been done to death because people care and it's well balanced (some would say 'a near run thing'). There are numerous what-ifs that are fascinating and no matter which side you play, there is something interesting about your army.
2) I'd say that cobexlaw has pretty much every area covered so the fact that there is a Wloo version should not disqualify it from consideration. And the fact that the Wloo cobexlaw module is possibly the best done of the cobexlaw modules speaks to its popularity.
3) Given the famous 'what if's' there could be a lot of interesting campaign possiblities, especially if the what if's include a French victory @ Wloo and a discontinuation of the Allied commitment or some manevering what-ifs that put Nappy in Brussels before the Prussians march. I'll admit that 1813 would be a fascinating campaign (although giant!!!) though.
4) I disagree with this very strongly. Waterloo will bring in a lot more new people than the other possiblities. It's been a long time since BGW so a newbie will not recognize the overlap. And I don't think that newbies would be attracted to battles such as Dresden, Gross-Beeren, or Talavera no matter how familiar they are to the rest of us.
5) & 6). While I have no doubt that the kind folks at HPS can overcome these difficulties if they set their minds to them, I would have some strong doubts about the alternatives that you gave.
Spain - Not sure any single year (other than maybe 1813-1814) had enough action or conclusiveness to make a campaign series game. And of course 1814 was a series of one sided drubbings which would not lend itself to the sensitive psyche of our friends in ADN and ADR
Prussia 1813 - Again, this would be one that I would really like to see. However, there are a boatload of challenges that the geo-political backdrop would offer. It almost creates too many campaign trees, especially if you believe that Austria could actually end up on the French side! In any case, the sheer size is sure to scare the casual player or newbie away. As a case in point, I wonder what percentage of NRC campaigns have been played to conclusion (<i>ducks as Bill Peterson flings a CD-ROM at me</i>)
France 1814 - This is certainly an interesting idea, but until the game engine captures things like 'army level fatigue' or 'penalties for command foolishness' there will never be a game that will allow 20000 doughty grognards to consistently whoop up on 50000 wandering ruffians.
So, the way I see it, HPS could make a specialized game and milk another 49.99 out us regulars, or they could make Waterloo again, milk the 49.99 out of those same regulars and maybe pull in a few impulse purchasers. My heart agrees with you, but my head sees it their way.
OK, commence swearing...
<font color="orange">Peon Eric Voogd
Battaillon Nationale Militie No. 5
1e Brigade
2e Nederlandsche Divisie
I Corps
Anglo-Allied Army</font id="orange">
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