KS mod

[Saddletank]

Yes, you must be registered at those forums to download via links in them.

[Saddletank]

Quoting this from the v1.042 patch thread:

How will the new version after the patch interface with the Kriegsspiel mod ?

Will Kriegsspiel overwrite anything vital in the patch or need to be re-tuned at all ?

Geoff Laver
Late of Her Britannic Majesty's 57th Regiment of Foot

Hi Geoff

We are working on integrating the KS Mod into the new patch now. It should only be a few days before the two interface correctly. Meanwhile you can still play the patched game with the KS Mod. Four of us had a test MP game last night using the patch and making no other changes and the game played very well... though we did notice a much more aggressive AI with a greater tendency to throw its artillery forwards and use the bayonet more than firepower.

That's only a statistical example of 1 game though so we'll keep playtesting. We have our eye on the over-aggressive use of artillery by the AI however. Last night the AI seemed to think they were cavalry brigades.

[SJDI]

Yes the AI artillery seems to "throw its artillery forwards". I have played some single player games as well with the same problem. However, I remember in the KS MOD there was a previous (pre patch) change made in the "SowAiInf" file to help artillery go looking for targets. I'm sure he'll have that fixed soon.

[Marching Thru Georgia]

It's been awhile since I've seen artillery charge cross country like that. But it was only one division, so it may have been just some anomalous behavior. Once the mod is fully integrated with the patch we'll have a better idea of what's going on.

[Sirlion]

Pardon me if this is a silly question but, could someone tell me if the standard Waterloo interface with contextual menu can be restored for this mod, even as a simple second option? I'd really like that since coming from TW games this is closer to my playing style and very user friendly

[roy64]

Pardon me if this is a silly question but, could someone tell me if the standard Waterloo interface with contextual menu can be restored for this mod, even as a simple second option? I'd really like that since coming from TW games this is closer to my playing style and very user friendly

+1

[Marching Thru Georgia]

Pardon me if this is a silly question but, could someone tell me if the standard Waterloo interface with contextual menu can be restored for this mod, even as a simple second option?

No, the UI is integrated into the mod. We found the stock UI to be inferior when playing HITS which is what the KS group plays exclusively. The stock UI with its context menus may be useful for someone coming from games such as TW, but as one gains experience in playing the game, the limitations it has it will quickly become apparent . I suggest you start by playing the stock game to gain familiarity with the basic game mechanics and then move to the KS mod. It endeavors to make the game a more realistic simulation of Napoleonic warfare. The stock game does a good job of recreating the Seven Year's War period with their linear lines marching and blazing away at each other, but after 1807, no army did that any longer, not even the Austrians.

[Saddletank]

While the pop-up context menu has its fans and its a basic concept I like very much (having used a really well designed one in Norm Kroger's "Distant Guns"), the problem the KS group found with it (apart from it appearing right in the middle of the screen where in HITS you are trying to see something) was that the context options were never comprehensive enough. Time and time again I found myself wanting an extra option and if we'd added all context options we needed, the pop-up menu would almost be a full toolbar.

That, combined with the need to visit the foot of the screen main toolbar for a lot of mouse clicks, led to us to do away with the pop-up menus. We were clicking down on the main toolbar half the time anyway and we think the interface is more friendly if all the buttons are in one location.

[Saddletank]

For people interested in what the KS Group does in SoW other than Waterloo, I've quoted a recent e-mail update sent to our members:

Regular Games

We normally now have games most evenings (UK-Europe time) and afternoons (USA time) from Friday through Monday. As always, our games are played in a good spirit. Some are team games and some co-op vs the AI. For those who just own Gettysburg, the Monday evening games normally use that game, or one of its mods.

Peninsular Campaign

This is probably the most ambitious email campaign ever run, and Digby is always on the lookout for more players. We have now reached March 1809. Napoleon intervened personally in Spain late in 1808 and brought major reinforcements of good troops with him. The French have enjoyed considerable success, but trouble is brewing with the Austrians, and the Emperor must leave Spain to address the situation on that front. There are two kinds of role available. You can take a typically corps-level command in the email map campaign, or you can join one of the weekend MP battles, which are resolved using SoW Waterloo. You can of course do both!

SoW Waterloo

After some teething problems, the game is now much more playable MP than it was. This is partly down to the latest patch and partly due to a great deal of work and testing within the group, which is reflected in our various mods. Most of our regular games now use SoW Waterloo in fact. It does represent a real advance over the KS Napoleonic Mod for SoW Gettysburg.

Forthcoming Map Mods

Ace map-modder Mark has been working on a version of the famous Kriegspiel Meckel map for use with Waterloo. This is a really nice map, and with it’s hilltop villages, and a nice range of period houses and churches, has a very appropriate Ruritanian quality. It is quite unlike any other map yet produced. This will be released shortly as part of the next KS Napoleonic Mod update.

Forthcoming Waterloo Mod

Veteran modders Crikey and Pom are putting the final touches to their first Waterloo mod, which is now under test. This is set in the 1859 Italian War, and includes an OOB for the Battle of Solferino between the Austrians and the French/Sardinians. It will be interesting to see the Waterloo engine in action in an era of improved firearms.

Gettysburg Mods

Updated versions of the Additional ACW Flags & Sprites Mod, and also the Little Bighorn Mod are also planned for the fist quarter of 2016.

Kind regards

Martin James

[oho]

How is it playable with the latest Patch and single player?
Does the enemy AI use column of division more often now?