Courier commands

[Blaugrana]

I tried the first scenario yesterday using just courier commands and changed the course of history dramatically by lasting about 5 minutes before a Union rout started.

First I sent the artillery to JBM Pherson farm as I couldn't find a McPherson farm in the list of places to go to. They bravely set off in a doomed Charge of the Artillery Battery - six guns trundling into hordes of infantry.

I got one of the brigades of cavalry into the right position and ordered them to hold. I hoped their commander would have the nous to position them behind fences, at the top of a steep slope, facing the huge number of Rebel troops heading his way. Nope - they just stood, mounted, in lines around the farmhouse.

So - what orders should I have given to ensure they got behind fences, facing the enemy, dismounted and got ready to defend their excellent position?

My other brigade kept riding away at a whiff of musketry. I assume there's no courier order to remove cavalry's horses so they stand and fight

[con20or]

You cant order them to stay behind fences, you can order them to move to the nearest defensive position, but if you dont have them under your control, they'll just move when they need to. They will do whatever they think they should if you don't TC them.

[Garnier]

TC the regiments and put them on the fences.


Sorry..

[Marching Thru Georgia]

Blaugrana wrote:

So - what orders should I have given to ensure they got behind fences, facing the enemy, dismounted and got ready to defend their excellent position?

The stock courier orders are a bit deficient in a variety of orders. There is no dismount order. But I don't have one in my mod either. However, since cavalry is getting a major upgrade, I'll be adding some cav. orders.

To get a unit to use a fence for protection try this:
Station yourself ~ 20 yd behind the fence. This may take a bit of practice.
Order the unit to your "front center" They should be between you and the fence.
Now order Advance towards cover. They should be at the fence.
Hold at all costs. So they won't move.

You can of course put all of these in one order. This positioning of units will be MUCH easier after the next patch is out.

[Blaugrana]

Thanks Garnier & con20or for your TC suggestions - will use this when in TC mode...

Thanks MTG - in the spirit of authenticity I resisted the temptation to move Buford from the Seminary and have him sort his commanders out 'in situ'. Thanks for your tips for courier commands to solve the lack of military sense displayed my Gamble (or it may have been Devlin - I forget). I look forward to the patch and the upgraded cavalry.

Is there a list somewhere of what the courier orders mean? eg does 'take cover' mean 'lie down' or 'go to a defensive position' ?

Thanks again

[Marching Thru Georgia]

Blaugrana wrote:

Is there a list somewhere of what the courier orders mean? eg does 'take cover' mean 'lie down' or 'go to a defensive position' ?

The 'take cover' in the stock courier orders means lie down. I don't think there is an order to go to a defensive position. My mod has 'Advance towards cover' which will do that. And 'Lie down' for lie down.

To find out what all the orders mean, download the SDK, (software development kit), from the download page. In it you will find many of the files that are used in the game. The one you want to look at is in the Logistics folder named couriers.csv. Column D of that file has the actual commands that the game uses. To find out what they do, go to the end of the SOW_GB_SDK.pdf file. There they are all defined.

[NY Cavalry]

Blaugrana wrote:

So - what orders should I have given to ensure they got behind fences, facing the enemy, dismounted and got ready to defend their excellent position?

The stock courier orders are a bit deficient in a variety of orders. There is no dismount order. But I don't have one in my mod either. However, since cavalry is getting a major upgrade, I'll be adding some cav. orders.

To get a unit to use a fence for protection try this:
Station yourself ~ 20 yd behind the fence. This may take a bit of practice.
Order the unit to your "front center" They should be between you and the fence.
Now order Advance towards cover. They should be at the fence.
Hold at all costs. So they won't move.

You can of course put all of these in one order. This positioning of units will be MUCH easier after the next patch is out.

It would be nice to have all these commands represented in one command so you could mange large numbers of troops quicker.