Rich - I wanted to answer this properly. Look below in the text for my comments on each item. Like you I truly would like to see some changes in the system. Like you I enjoy the HPS/John Tiller products and am thankful to have been a part of the team.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Richard</i>
<br />Bill,
Age of Rifles is still a pretty good game despite its age (1996) and dreadful graphics. It's still quite playable - I've even managed to get it to work on my XP machine with a bit of tinkering - and there's a Yahoo group with about 750 or so members that still play the game and create new scenarios:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/age ... =183873057
<font color="yellow">BP - I am impressed. 750 folks! That is quite a following. Obviously this should be a target group for us to look to. I wonder how many of them own a HPS title and still play it?</font id="yellow">
Of course the game hasn't been sold for years now - and unfortunately hasn't been patched since the 90s - but, despite its various faults, it still has a number of features that could usefully be incorporated into the HPS engine, for instance:
More formations - march & attack column, line & supported line, defensive, and a "disordered" formation for recovering fatigue faster.
<font color="yellow">BP - yes, fully agree with you. Have asked John about this several times. March columns, cavalry forming Line, Column or March Column. Have gone over alot of this and wont give up hope. Also would like to see our Extended Line units act as ONE unit - like a big counter in the GMT boardgames - their Austerlitz battlegame has a three hex long counter that is for a Russian Cuirassier regiment.</font id="yellow">
For artillery - gun capture/recrw/spike feature, retreat by prolong, the ability for meleed batteries to have some chance of limbering up and retreating with some gun losses rather than automatically losing every single gun.
<font color="yellow">BP - did guns retire by prolong in this period? Dont know enough to verify this. Fully agree with your views.</font id="yellow">
A fatigue for excessive movement feature - units that use their full movement allowance will clock up fatigue.
<font color="yellow">BP - Yes, have wanted this for some time</font id="yellow">
A terrain damage feature - guns bombarding a village will turn the hex into rubble and may set it on fire, depending on the weather. Troops marching through a cornfield will trample down the corn after a few units have passed through, etc.
<font color="yellow">BP - well I have to ask for some things and leave others out. I am a big proponent for Sapper abilities (vs. Pontoneers). Sappers would aid in capturing and defending hard terrain like a villiage hex or gate hexside.</font id="yellow">
There are various other interesting features, including units getting pinned down and a reaction fire system that often results in multiple units on both sides exchanging fire after a single unit decides to fire.
<font color="yellow">BP - currenlty we discussed the PIN idea on the ACW forum - I think you saw that. I am a big proponet of this. I dont want the unit to DISORDER. Its not the same thing! PIN means they dont move. An attacking or advancing unit would often STOP and just exchange fire much to the dismay of its commander as it meant that it was going to just get whacked by more fire. Patton had it right - dont stand and die, advance and win! Retreating had the same affect as standing - artillery would just follow you as you retreated.</font id="yellow">
Capt Rich White
4th Cavalry Brigade
Cavalry Corps
Anglo-Allied Army
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Finally, regarding those 750 folks who play this game - do you know of any of them that could be used as a poll group about our games. Why they do or do not play the HPS titles?
I always like to get feedback from folks like that. Not disgruntled folks mind you - just those that said "Well I dont get to make a new map so I wont play the game"
I also know this: Age of Rifles covers a broader spectrum of history. To some extent this is NOT possible in a game. On the other hand 750 folks seem to enjoy the older product.
I will have to check out the game again and look it over. Also the new modules. Thanks for the link.
Oberst Wilhelm Peters
2nd Kuirassiers, Reserve Korps, Austrian Army
[url="http://www.acwgc.org/acwgc_members/burr/Austrian%20Army/Bill_Peters.htm"]Officer Battle Dossier[/url]