Do You Like to be Teased?

[Jumpingfist]

Seems like unless all regulars become vets or elite at same time you basically going to be limited to two brigade types of varing levels of training. Or settle for wasting slots. Others issues could come up where you fight for a PC and you troops advance a level taking up more slots and you try to recruit that turn getting blocked by random promotions of one or more troop types.
I would think a system similar to how navel ships could also work well giving an overall training and experience level of a brigade type

[Ry Vor]

In Fall of Rome, each brigade had its own experience, morale and attrition.  That is a big change for Alamaze so will likely wait until Kingdoms of Arcania.  So meanwhile, with introducing these experience levels for brigade types, we will likely have code that if x condition happened in a battle type, all brigades of that brigade and same experience advance. 

You may have noticed from Uncle Mike's post, we intend to start giving a few decorations/medals to groups on achievements.

[unclemike]

In Fall of Rome, each brigade had its own experience, morale and attrition.  That is a big change for Alamaze so will likely wait until Kingdoms of Arcania.

This is just a heads up but the new software already has this level of detail incorporated for individual brigades. Even the combine group routine was changed to handle the greater detail of brigades having their own "identity" so the new Alamaze program for 3rd Cycle is already at the Fall of Rome level of play in this regard.

It will actually require more work for me if I had to change it back to where all brigades of a certain type advance at the same time than keep it as it is now. Instead of going that route, since the number of slots are the problem, just increase that beyond 7 to say 12 or more (or even unlimited!). On the kingdom turn report, the group section will dynamically expand/condense depending upon how many brigade types are in the group so you could literally have an unlimited number of brigade types for every group if desired. The code is already handling unlimited brigade slots so there won't be an issue if expanding beyond 7.

If you want my opinion, I really would prefer if we move towards Fall of Rome style of play since I really like the concept of each brigade having it's own identity and may advance on its own.

[Frost Lord]

In Fall of Rome, each brigade had its own experience, morale and attrition.  That is a big change for Alamaze so will likely wait until Kingdoms of Arcania.

This is just a heads up but the new software already has this level of detail incorporated for individual brigades. Even the combine group routine was changed to handle the greater detail of brigades having their own "identity" so the new Alamaze program for 3rd Cycle is already at the Fall of Rome level of play in this regard.

It will actually require more work for me if I had to change it back to where all brigades of a certain type advance at the same time than keep it as it is now. Instead of going that route, since the number of slots are the problem, just increase that beyond 7 to say 12 or more (or even unlimited!). On the kingdom turn report, the group section will dynamically expand/condense depending upon how many brigade types are in the group so you could literally have an unlimited number of brigade types for every group if desired. The code is already handling unlimited brigade slots so there won't be an issue if expanding beyond 7.

If you want my opinion, I really would prefer if we move towards Fall of Rome style of play since I really like the concept of each brigade having it's own identity and may advance on its own.

I second that Uncle Mike.  I woke up in a cold sweat this morning, dreaming of which tactical selection I should use to get all 24 of my Goblin brigades promoted at once without losing a bunch of them in the process.  :-) 

I liked the way FoR handled this (have you seen screen shots of that?), the difference being that Group composition had its own screen in the GUI...not sure how it would look on paper. 

Plus, it sounds like you are having to do extra coding to group the summary for us and promote brigades based on limited slot availability.

I would also like to be able to specify which brigade(s) go when I reorganize...removing the brigade(s) with the most attrition.

Setting aside all of this, I want to say that this is an awesome addition to the game...definitely getting excited about what is coming...

..

[unclemike]

[quote pid='29848' dateline='1435579470']
I liked the way FoR handled this (have you seen screen shots of that?), the difference being that Group composition had its own screen in the GUI...not sure how it would look on paper. 

Plus, it sounds like you are having to do extra coding to group the summary for us and promote brigades based on limited slot availability.

I would also like to be able to specify which brigade(s) go when I reorganize...removing the brigade(s) with the most attrition.

[/quote]

I never played Fall of Rome but if anyone has screenshots of it or of their turn, send them my way.

In the new 3rd Cycle program, you can specify which brigade type and training level to transfer to another group (so the 700-series of orders will have a new column to specify training level like green or elite) but not individual brigades of a specific morale/attrition value. That low level of detail may become too complex for the general user anyway.

However, the new software does consider individual brigades after combat to determine if a given brigade of a certain type advances in training level. If so, and if there's room, that single brigade is then advanced from its prior level and combined with any existing brigades at the higher training level with morale/attrition/defense being subtotaled between them (defense is important in preventing damage to your troops). Then the overall group has its morale/attrition/defense values calculated from the composite of all the individual brigade types, training, morale, attrition, defense, ...etc. within the group.

I think the reason for the 7 brigade type limit is to prevent the kingdom report from becoming too unmanageable or sloppy-looking but the code can display an unlimited number of brigade types for the group if ever needed.

[HeadHoncho]

I love the idea of unlimited brigade types, although it might make transferring troops more of an issue.

Have you considered moving to the FoR concept of group transfer orders not counting against your order limit? That would really help with (eliminate, really) the transfer issue.

[Ry Vor]

Interesting stuff, and Uncle Mike surprised me a bit.  I am just so accustomed to every programming thing taking at least 4x as long as expected, I try to limit my expectations, after more than a decade of this (Fall of Rome work began in 2003). 

Fall of Rome had a GUI, and yes, no cost against influence to do transfers, they were free orders.  To make a transfer in FoR, you just dragged the brigades or characters from one force to another.

I'd be delighted to have the brigades each have their own morale, attrition, experience, and commendations.  But I still think that is a change that is really cooked into Alamaze whereas FoR started with no legacy code.  We will huddle on it.

[Lord Diamond]

I am excited by all the possibilities noted here. I love that whatever you decide you will be deciding based on how you want the game to go, not from a limited set of options. That makes me feel better about the whole process. Thanks, UM!

[Jumpingfist]

From Ry Vor. In game 152 Valhalla write-ups
"Thanks to LD and all for the write-ups. Sounds like a great game was had.

We have eliminated the old style 341 - 349 orders that were there from 1986, maybe a decade before the internet was in wide use by regular folk.

But given the popularity of Anonymous formats, due mainly I believe to provide relief from the wolf packs (perceived or real) and to relieve the extra effort to communicate lavishly (perceived or real), as a non-response is sometimes considered a war intention by some players, I might revisit the idea with updated, limited messages for a future (The Choosing form of Anonymous?) edition.

My first thought is that the initial diplomacy in this limited diplomacy environment might be, perhaps a new #341, would be to be "Received" by a foreign king. This would require one of your emissaries to relocate to a PC owned by the target kingdom, issue the #341, and have it acknowledged, perhaps by #342. Only then would the other messages become available with that kingdom. So an investment of orders and some risk, uncertainty, some time required, but seems more like how foreign kingdoms might establish relations. Slows things down in the diplomacy front, so no Game Long Nap Turn 1, but the chance to grunt out in foreign languages some basic intentions as foreign holdings are encountered."

Curious if this kind of Anon formatting may make it in to this game or likely put on hold for now to help get the game out sooner then added on later? The 152 game with limited diplomacy through I game messages sounds like a good one.

[Ry Vor]

Not on the board right now.   Hope to make a post on the newly contemplated Counter-Espionage in a bit.