Loss of an admired leader

[Ingles of the 57th]

I feel that not enough importance is given in SOWG to the sometimes catastrophic effect on troops of a popular officer being killed.

Might it not be possible to subtract a morale point from all subordinate units when an officer with a high leadership rating is killed. A sort of negative rallying.

This would be a great incentive (both for the player and hopefully for the AI) to keep a watchful eye on the officers, especially the senior ones and usher them out of harm’s way during the battle. The points lost at the moment for a “squashed officer” are so small as to be almost negligible. A dead Jackson would be a great bargain to the Union at that price.

The cavalry could be very usefully employed scouting round the back of the battle trying to kill Army, Corps and Divisional commanders to reduce the overall effectiveness of the troops deployed.

In the case of some officers though …….Iverson of Rodes Division comes to mind ….. the troops morale might actually increase by his death. Has the use of negative ratings for absolutely hopeless officers been considered ? General Christian at Antietam is perhaps the best candidate that comes to mind.

[GShock]

It is a good idea but the problem lies in teaching the AI how to keep the leaders out of harm's range which is something it's not particularly good at right now.

I think this feature would greatly enhance the game experience. I am with my leader usually between my reserves and use a very restricted camera... I would not get caught by these raids but if for example I am a Corps Commander and behind me there's the Army Commander handled by the AI, the loss of such commander would be catastrophic to the morale and if the AI can't protect itself then I would have to dispatch my units to do so.

It's a great idea but requires a bit of "investments" in the AI before it can be done. In Multiplayer and in total absence of AI, it could be done right away with much less trouble