Robert Frost wrote:
The bug I described has been around since the HPS days at least. Whether it has been fixed, there is an intention to fix, or will never be fixed, I can't say. I have never seen any note to this effect in any updates to the Campaign series. If anyone has knowledge that this is no longer a problem, please post here.
The cause, I believe, is that the program retains no knowledge of whether a previous turn was day or night. When the 2nd player in the final dusk turn completes his move (and attacks) by advancing the turn, the game moves to the next turn which is night. Any routing is resolved using the harsher night penalties even though the losses actually occurred during a daylight turn.
My post was to explain the "house" rule used in the Rappahannock scenario, and as information for anyone who may not be aware of the situation I describe above. What individuals care to do with this information is up to them.
I do appreciate that you took the time to respond but unfortunately the explanation was deficient. I still have no idea what "act offensively" means and your claim that the "2nd Player is disadvantaged [by not having such a house rule]" is incorrect. Here's why:
Last Turn of DuskPlayer 1 has their turn
Player 2 has their turn and inflicts casualties upon Player 1
First Night TurnPlayer 1 goes to have their turn but, before they can do anything, the game engine conducts morale checks where necessary. As it is now night, Player 1 has their morale checks conducted with '2' subtracted from the dice rolls. Player 1 is disadvantaged by this,
not Player 2.
Player 2 has their turn but as Player 1 was in 'night' during their turn probably not much happened (which could have been further limited by any night rules in place).
So, Player 1 is disadvantaged in the normal course of events but this is somewhat offset by the fact that they get 'first go' as the new day begins. By introducing a house rule prohibiting either side from acting offensively you provide an good advantage to Player 1 because not only does he no longer suffer the disadvantage described above but Player 1 also gets the advantage of 'first go' in the morning.
I am in favour of house rules that aid the simulation value of the games (e.g. artillery stacking limits, night restrictions) but this rule does not seem to serve that end, it only seems to advantage Player 1. It always allows odd and unrealistic situations. For example, in the game AAR the Union appears (in the west) to have a number of Confederate units either completely surrounded or near so. Introducing a rule prohibiting the Union from acting offensively in the last turn before night would mean that they can't fire or melee those surrounded units and possibly can't even move forward to surround more of them. I can't see that happening in a real battle, the Union (or the CSA if they were in the same position) would keep attacking while ever there was some light. Indeed, they would probably keep firing well into the night at any movement they noticed.
Therefore, I think individuals should disregard that information as it is wrong. However, if you are Player 1 and you can get Player 2 to agree to such a rule you should do so as it will give you a good advantage.