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This document is a compilation of seven different FAQs put together by Norm
Koger, the designer of Age of Rifles. They have been assembled in order, and
the following table of contents should help to give an idea of what topics are
covered. Please note that, although there is no FAQ#4 listed, the information
it contained about Age of Rifles v1.2 is already incorporated in the existing
FAQs.
Table of Contents:
FAQ#1:
Notes on Age of Rifles v1.2
Command Line Switches
Official (SSI Supported) Switches
Unofficial (Author Supported) Switches
FAQ#2:
Questions and Answers
FAQ#3:
Scenario Creation Guidelines
Orders and Objectives
Campaign Creation Guidelines
FAQ#5:
Terrain Effects
Terrain Effects on Melee Combat
Terrain Effects on Movement
Terrain Effects on Fire Combat
FAQ#6:
Sound Fixes
FAQ#7:
Unit Frontage and Fire Strength
Age of Rifles FAQ #1
After 26 months of development, Age of Rifles was released on August 26th,
1996. The version 1.2 update was released on December 24th, 1996.
IMPORTANT:
The V1.2 update includes a new game.cfg file. This is where your game options
and rules settings are stored. When the update game.cfg is applied it will
overwrite any options that were in effect before the update. Be sure to check
all of your game and rules settings after installing the update.
If you have any problems after updating the game to v1.2, they may be due to a
mistake in application of the update. The command to install the update is
"aor1_2 -d". The -d command line parameter is required for proper installation
of resource files in the appropriate sub directories. How can you tell if this
is the problem? There should be no *.PCX, *.LBM, *.SHP, or *.FNT files in your
Rifles directory. Delete any such files to free up disk space, then reapply
the update with the -d option.
The current complete list of command line parameters for Rifles v1.2 is:
Official (SSI supported) Command Line Switches
"quiet": play with no sound (this session only).
"mono": Monaural sound (this session only).
Unofficial (author supported) Command Line Switches
The following command line options are unofficial. Feel free to experiment
with them, but they intended for use by advanced gamers and are not supported
by SSI. If you have questions about them post your question in the
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic or alt.games.wargames newsgroups or contact
the author directly.
"quick": Turn off all time delays (this session only). This is a development
option and isn't really intended for use during normal play. See FAQ #3 for
additional info.
"fastexit": Allows you to exit the game directly from the menu, without having
to pass through the "main" screen (this session only).
"debug": Please don't do this...
"reactions+": (Advanced Reaction Fire Range Rules) Allows longer (more
realistic) ranges for automatic reaction orders. This is a "sticky" parameter.
You only need to set it once and it becomes part of your standard game
configuration.
"reactions-": (SSI supported Default). Sets the standard documented (shorter,
and according to some, more playable) ranges for reaction orders. This is a
"sticky" parameter. You only need to set it once and it becomes part of your
standard game configuration.
"reports+": (Enhanced Reporting Rules). Gives additional numerical information
in some game report screens and increases the amount information available in
the microview and overview screens. This is a "sticky" parameter. You only
need to set it once and it becomes part of your standard game configuration.
Effects of reports+:
All fire strengths in the unit report panel are given as numerical values
rather than the default verbal descriptions. In fact, numerical values are
substituted for verbal descriptions in almost all displays.
Locations of all commanders are highlighted with a flashing red cursor in the
overview.
Locations of all commanders assigned to units of the active command are
highlighted with flashing red indicators in the microview at the bottom right
corner of the game screen.
All uniform items are listed with their numerical indices in the order of
battle editor.
Orders of battle may be saved as text files in the order of battle editor.
This is controlled by using the "x" hotkey. Follow the prompts. This can
generate very large files, so avoid using it if you don't have a few spare
megabytes free on your hard drive.
The "Play/Active Option Info" menu item becomes available, listing the status
of all game options.
The sub version number (example:"1.2.04", rather than just "1.2") is shown on
the credits screen.
"reports-": (SSI supported Default). Replaces some numerical information in
game report screens with verbal descriptions and disables. This is a "sticky"
parameter. You only need to set it once and it becomes part of your standard
game configuration.
"showmovecost+": When movement paths are shown, the projected cost to enter
each hex along the path is shown in the hex. This is a "sticky" parameter. You
only need to set it once and it becomes part of your standard game
configuration.
"showmovecost-": (SSI supported Default). Do not show movement cost
information in movement path displays. This is a "sticky" parameter. You only
need to set it once and it becomes part of your standard game configuration.
"oldrules+": (Experimental Simulation Rules). Decreases killed and wounded and
replaces them with stragglers and unit cohesion losses. Turns on long reaction
ranges and advanced reporting options. Increases severity of fire combat, but
additional losses are channeled as stragglers and loss of unit cohesion.
Morale rules are strengthened. Artillery units tend to abandon their guns if
overrun rather retreating from melee. Units are eligible for frantic fire in
response to fire attacks by adjacent enemy units.
Note: It is extremely difficult to move units in the face of enemy fire when
this switch is on. Assaults are much more difficult to launch, and due to the
stronger morale rules overall casualties for battles are significantly
reduced. If you set oldrules+ and wish to return to the SSI supported default
rules, set "oldrules-" on your command line.
"oldrules-": (SSI supported Default) Restores standard rules and sets
reactions-, reports-, and showmovecost-.
If you run the game from a Win 95 desktop shortcut (my recommendation), these
parameters are entered into the shortcut properties -> program -> command
line, after the name of the program. Example: You would use
"d:\rifles\rifles.exe oldrules-" to reset all standard SSI rules defaults.
August 28th, 1996.
Modified January 2nd, 1997.
Age of Rifles FAQ #2
This list is a more or less random selection of questions asked and answered
via email, CIS and the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic newsgroup. In some
cases the writing is a bit unprofessional, but it should get the job done. I
have been known to answer my mail late at night .
Q. >>This is a DOS only game. I have had no problems playing it under WIN95 by
simply booting to DOS.<<
A. You can also play from a desktop shortcut. Just be sure to set the shortcut
properties to "full screen", "close on exit", and disable the screen saver.
Rifles was actually developed under Win95 and runs quite well from the
desktop. Rebooting to DOS isn't necessary. In fact, unless your real mode DOS
drivers and memory management are very well tuned the game will probably run
more smoothly from the Win95 desktop than under any version of DOS.
Q. >>One simple question re line of sight... I assume like most wargames it's
a "you see, they see" setting, in other words, if I can't see them they can't
see me.<<
A. This is usually true, but there are exceptions. Small units can be hidden,
observing for other units (although in this time period there is no
battlefield indirect fire) or occasionally popping into view to spring an
ambush. Also, the field of view of a unit varies with its altitude and
movement status. Unmoved units can see further than units which have moved.
And units at higher elevations can see further than units at lower elevations.
Now, if one of these units actually _fires_ on you, your unit can immediately
see it and, orders allowing, will return reaction fire even if it could not
otherwise shoot.
So while there are potential asymmetries in fields of view, if one side takes
a shot the other side can immediately react.
Q. >>Is there a quick check to see if a unit [can still fire]?<<
A. Run your mouse cursor over the unit in question and look down at the unit
panel. There is a row of icons just to the left of the reaction orders button.
A light indicates the overall capability of the unit. If a "not" symbol
(circle with diagonal slash) appears on the light, your unit has no remaining
movement allowance. If your unit has ammo a bullet will appear next to the
light. And finally, if the unit can still fire, a small crosshairs appears
next to the bullet.
Q. >>...is there another quick check to see who and where a unit's command
is...?<<
A. There are a number of ways to get this info. If you look in the microview
you will see that some of the units in it are blinking. All of these are
assigned to the current command. You can also turn on the map icon formation
indicators by pressing the "y" key on your keyboard. Non miniatures style unit
map icons have command symbols on them. You can also use the next and previous
unit buttons to cycle through all units of the current command. Finally, you
can click on the command details button which will bring up a display of the
command.
Q. >>Can artillery do indirect fire?<<
A. No, but you can usually find a rise somewhere that will allow you to fire
over the heads of your troops. Except for mortars in siege situations (which
Rifles wasn't really designed to handle), indirect fire was a pretty rare
thing in the 1840-1905 time frame.
Q. >>Is there a stacking limit? Can you stack [units] from different
[commands]? Is there a disadvantage (easier to be shot at?)?<<
A. You can put only two units in a hex. They can be from different commands,
but you generally can't move such stacks around except as separate units.
There are two possible disadvantages: 1) With two units in the hex, they share
the available frontage. This can lead to inefficiencies since stacking two
large units in the same hex can result in many weapons being unable to fire.
2) All fire is resolved as an area effect in the target hex, so the more
troops in the hex, the more troops are exposed to any particular fire effect.
Q. >>If you [order] melee for an entire command, will only the units adjacent
to the target hex participate in the attack?<<
A. Yes.
Q. >>First, while the manual states that units resting in disordered formation
will recover from fatigue more quickly, I don't recall any hints on how to
recover from deteriorated morale.<<
A. Once you've lost morale, it is difficult to recover. There are only two
ways:
1) Your unit can witness something unpleasant happening to the bad guys.
That's right, there is an immediate morale bonus for any friendly unit that
sees the bad guys rout or otherwise fail in a big way. The morale bonus is
even greater if they actually participate in the event. On the other hand, you
don't want your units to see friendlies rout away...
2) There is a slight increase to morale each turn if the unit is more than 10
points below the national default. The increase is random from 1 to (1+(unit
vitality/10)). (An eligible unit with a vitality of 70 would gain between 1
and 8 morale points.) So the better the vitality of your units, the better
their morale.
Q. >>...how about coming clean on the effects of the various AI levels? While
this is purely a subjective impression and may be pure BS, it does seem to me
that computer controlled units do more damage in equivalent situations at the
higher difficulty levels.<<
A. Unlike TANKS, Rifles does "enhance" (to use a euphemism) programmed
opponent unit performance. (At levels 1 and 2, the programmed opponents are
actually penalized.) There isn't just one effect. It's 1% increase here, 2%
there - that kind of thing. Enough to have an effect, but subtle enough that
it doesn't confer a crushing advantage even at higher levels. In the near
term, the effect is negligible. The main effect is increased overall "staying
power" at the highest levels of play.
Q. >>I can set my infantry to react at range 5. Why is this even an option if
the range of their weapons is only three?<<
A. The feedback prompts showing the ranges you select are based upon the max
theoretical range of the weapons assigned to the unit. If for some reason your
unit can't actually direct significant fire to this full range (at the current
time) it is possible you might see a greater range than your unit's current
effective range.
Think of the ranges given in the feedback prompt as max ranges, but keep in
mind that for any number of reasons your unit might not actually be able to
fire to that range at any particular time. On the other hand, if through some
change of circumstance your unit becomes able to fire at its max range, it
will react at that range.
Q. >>I have cavalry with extra movement left over after their turn. I want
them to fire at range 2 while remaining in place. Do they have to be
dismounted to hold them in place, but yet allow them to react with fire of
their own?<<
A. It all depends upon the mission you have in mind for the cavalry.
If you want them to react by charging the bad guys (generally the case except
for ACW cavalry) leave them mounted. Typically, you might place the mounted
cav in attack column next to an artillery battery or open flank and give them
a fairly short leash (1 hex) just to keep the bad guys honest.
If you want your cav to react by fire, dismount them. Believe me, you don't
want mounted troops initiating fire combat. Remember that one very likely
result of your reaction fire is returned fire from the bad guys, who probably
aren't carrying carbines. And there your troops are, sitting a few feet in the
air, looking a bit like targets on a modern military small arms range... So
I've disallowed the option to set your cav to automatically commit seppuku by
fire.
If you don't believe me you can see what I'm talking about by ordering a
mounted cav unit to fire on a nearby bad guy during your turn. One picture is
worth a thousand words .
Q. >>It appears to me that allowing cavalry to have a reaction range makes
them vulnerable to leaving any kind of cover or advantageous ground.<<
A. You could say that . Try to limit the range at which mounted cav will
react if there is a significant chance that they might draw effective fire
during their reaction.
Q. >>Is the number of reactions you can make contingent on the amount of
movement left over on your turn? Or do you get only one reaction as long as
you have at least one movement point remaining?<<
A. Reaction fire (using the long range rules) eats up 1/4 turn worth of fire
(and movement points). So your units could reaction fire up to four times
(remaining movement allowance allowing) - more than that if the bad guys get
close enough to start triggering "frantic fire". So a typical engagement
sequence for a horde of angry fuzzy wuzzies charging an unmoved British square
with free fire orders would be:
1) Move to 800 yards
2) Close to 600 yards
3) Close to 400 yards
4) Close to 200 yards
5) Close to melee
If you are using the short range rules, individual reaction fire shots are 1/2
turn worth of fire. So individual shots are more powerful and will eat up
movement allowances more rapidly.
Q. >>What is the alternate mouse interface?<<
A. Within the game, pull down the "Play" menu and select "General Play
Options". Now click on the mouse control option button. This will enable the
"alternate" mouse interface. Just left click to order movement, or right click
to fire (on an enemy unit) or select another friendly unit. There is always a
prompt at the bottom of the screen telling you exactly what each mouse button
will do.
Q. >>How large are the largest scenarios in terms of number of units and size
of map?<<
A. The largest map is 50x50 hexes, at 100,200, or 400 yards per hex. The
greatest number of units is 300 per side.
Q. >>Do units run out of ammo? What happens when they do?<<
A. Yep.
Things get complicated.
Each unit tracks ammo in terms of "ammo points. An "ammo point" is the amount
of ammo required to fire every weapon in the unit for 20 minutes. This is
analogous to the modern military term "unit of fire". In many cases (almost
always for infantry) some weapons don't fire, or don't fire for the full 20
minutes. The number of weapons firing depends upon things like formation
(line, supported line, attack column, etc.), whether skirmishers are deployed,
how much frontage is available (you may be sharing frontage with another unit
in the same hex), and whether the fire is ordered or automatic (based upon
your specification of what the unit should do if the bad guys take some action
nearby).
If you deploy skirmishers from a typical formation (appropriately sized for
the scale), only a small percentage of your weapons will be able to fire, so
the unit will probably never run low on ammo. On the other hand, if you have
enough available frontage to put every man on line, skirmishers "in", your
infantry units can easily run out of ammo in a single turn of fire. You can
check to see how many weapons will fire by examining the full unit report.
In some cases (artillery units with two gun types), two separate ammo levels
are maintained.
Even when units run out of ammo it's assumed that _some_ ammo is still
available for "frantic fire" (shots at the bad guys as you spot the whites of
their eyes), but other than that the unit 1). can't fire (even automatically)
and 2). takes a small morale penalty.
Fortunately, you don't need to remember all this stuff. But it _is_ happening
"under the hood".
Q. >>How are they resupplied?<<
A. It depends. Naval units can never be resupplied. Fortunately, ships and
gunboats tend to carry quite a bit of ammo around. And for some reason, the
bad guys generally tend to avoid them as much as possible.
Artillery units also tend to carry a lot of ammo, although lucky shots can
detonate caissons.
All non naval units that can trace a traditional line of hexes free of enemy
units (and not adjacent, unless occupied by friendlies) to a friendly supply
point have a chance of being resupplied. The resupply chance is based upon a
supply rating maintained for each formation. This chance for resupply declines
with: distance from the supply point, terrain density in the unit's hex,
proximity to enemy units, fire, and poor visibility (either due to
precipitation or time of day). The chance increases if the units are: in
command control, at rest (not recently moved), near or on a road, or in any
kind of defensive position. Essentially, anything that could conceivably
affect resupply probably does so.
There are also two special cases: 1) Units that are within 7 hexes of a
friendly supply point, were not unsupplied the previous turn, did not move or
fire the previous turn, and are not adjacent to an enemy unit automatically
receive supply. 2) Any unit in or adjacent to a friendly supply point is
automatically supplied.
Q. >>I took the 13th Prussian Division & checked on each individual unit. The
last line stated "unit is unsupplied". Went to the "Command Details" for the
division and found "Supply level is excellent".<<
A. The _command_ supply level is excellent, meaning that units of the command
have an excellent chance to be resupplied on any given turn. But other factors
(see above) have a strong impact on the resupply chance.
Q. >>Throughout the scenario I found that most of my units were listed as
"unsupplied" but this did not seem to materially hamper performance.<<
A. On this scale resupply affects only ammo levels. It sounds as though enough
supply was intermittently getting through to your units to maintain your ammo
levels.
Q. >>I also found the Prussian artillery units panicked out of the game
without receiving fire.<<
A. Or perhaps not...
Artillery units usually don't run out of ammo. But if they do they tend to
pull up stakes and head for a supply source. Guns were particularly valuable
in the 19th century, and they tended to skeedadle if they couldn't get ammo
resupply.
Q. >>What about Command and Control? What happens to isolated units? <<
A. Command radius from command leaders is 5 hexes, 3 for sub leaders. This
radius can be modified (in the obvious direction) by time of day, movement
status, weather, terrain density, etc. Outside of this radius, there is a
increasing chance (100% beyond 4x radius) that units will be isolated.
Isolation has a strong impact on resupply, replacements (by straggler
reintegration) and movement allowance for your units. In good weather and open
terrain you can spread out a bit. At night, moving, in the woods, in the rain,
well...
Isolated units _can_ move, but they won't go anywhere fast.
Finally, if a formation is really beaten up, you may find that it
"reorganizes", making it completely unavailable for as long as it takes to
regain control. This is particularly likely to happen if you lose a lot of
leaders in a hurry.
September 11th, 1996
Age of Rifles FAQ #3
A FEW GUIDELINES FOR SCENARIO CREATION
As anyone who has designed historical scenarios can tell you, a battle
sometimes isn't as interesting when you finish a scenario as when you
conceptualized it. Just because a situation has already been modeled in an
existing scenario doesn't mean someone else can't tackle it again. You might
be able to do a better job than the other fellow.
Orders and Objectives
Definition: All objectives except for the final (highest numbered) assigned to
any particular command are referred to as intermediate objectives.
Intermediate objectives are useful for refining the action of the programmed
opponent, but have no direct effect upon play.
Units assigned to "attacking" commands will attempt to pass through lowest
numbered to highest numbered objectives while advancing on their final
objective. In many cases it is not necessary to specify a particular path for
an attacking command, since the programmed opponent does a pretty good job of
picking a good path the command. There are two exceptions though: 1) If there
is a significant obstacle, such as a river, it can be helpful to place
intermediate objectives in such a way as to create a "path" for advance. 2) If
many commands will be advancing on the same objective it can be helpful to use
intermediate objectives for each command to avoid traffic jams. Otherwise,
since the programmed opponent will tend to take the easiest path when moving
its units, you may find your commands bunching up near roads or passes through
dense terrain.
Defending commands will stay in place unless an enemy unit occupies one of
their objectives. In many cases this is what you want. But you can also use
intermediate objectives to set up "tripwires". For example, a cavalry command
can be placed behind a hill out of enemy view. Its final objective might be in
a village located behind the command. This ensures that the village will be
defended if approached by the enemy. But you could also set an intermediate
objective on one side of a bridge in front of the hill. When the enemy
advances across the bridge, your command would ride out to attack, but if
other enemy forces threatened your command's final objective it would pull out
to defend the village. By clever use of intermediate objectives you can set up
a very active defense.
To begin with, set all of your command orders to "normal" emphasis. You can
adjust up (all costs) or down (cautious) when you start testing for historical
accuracy and play balance.
Leaders have a very strong effect on game play. It is easy to forget to set
leaders away from national defaults, but the results can be worth it. Private
soldiers in many 19th century armies were quite professional, but their
officers were sometimes political appointees. In some cases, the better
leaders have become legendary figures. You can reflect this by setting
commander values as appropriate.
Unit names are limited to 16 characters, but you can get additional mileage
out of unit names in many game displays by using the following abbreviations
(spaces are significant). This also gets around spelling problems:
" Hsr" " Hussar"
" Fslr" " Fusilier"
" Drgn" " Dragoon"
" Gndr" " Grenadier"
" Jgrs" " Jaegers"
"Hlndr" "Highlander"
" Arty" " Artillery"
" Bn" " Battalion"
" dA" " d'Afrique"
"Hvy" "Heavy"
"Lt" "Light"
" Rgt" " Regiment"
" Bde" " Brigade"
"Mtd" "Mounted"
"Gren " "Grenadier "
"Gd" "Guard"
"Irsh" "Irish"
"Fld" "Field"
" Bodygd" " Bodyguard"
" Div " " Division "
"W'phln" "Westphalian"
"B'burg" "Brandenburg"
"Lwr " "Lower "
"E.Pru" "East Pru"
"Sfrth" " Seaforth "
"Camrn" " Cameron "
"Ryl" "Royal"
"Bty" "Battery"
" Tex." " Texas"
" Ark." " Arkansas"
" Lou." " Louisiana"
" Miss." " Mississippi"
" Tenn." " Tennessee"
" Ala." " Alabama"
" Fla." " Florida"
" Ga." " Georgia"
" S.C." " South Carolina"
" N.C." " North Carolina"
" Ky." " Kentucky"
" Va." " Virginia"
" Md." " Maryland"
" Penn." " Pennsylvania"
" Del." " Delaware"
" Ia." " Indiana"
" Ill." " Illinois"
" N.J." " New Jersey"
" N.Y." " New York"
" Conn." " Connecticut"
" Mass." " Massachusetts"
" Vt." " Vermont"
" N.H." " New Hampshire"
" Me." " Maine"
" W." " West"
" Vol." " Volunteer"
" Vols." " Volunteers"
" S.S." " Sharpshooters"
Example: If you name a unit "1st B'burg Jgrs", it will display in the game as
"1st Brandenburg Jaegers" if space allows.
You can do interesting things with some unit and command parameters. For
example, if you look closely at Buena Vista you will find that the Mexican
army arrives on the map in an exhausted state. This strongly encourages the
Mexican player to do what Santa Anna did historically - probe the pass then
set up camp for the night. You can also set the ammo levels of individual
units very low while setting their parent command supply ratings much higher.
The units would start off with very little ammo but would rapidly resupply. Or
you can do the reverse, if you want to recreate the legendary "quartermaster
effect" at Isandlwana.
If you are designing an historical scenario, try to get historical results by
selecting objectives and command orders. Don't worry about play balance until
you are satisfied with the feel of the scenario. Once you have done this, you
can manually modify the values of the objectives to achieve play balance.
The best way to test for rough balance in your scenarios is to launch them in
a computer vs. computer play mode. You can speed this up by using the "quick"
command line parameter (which was specifically designed for this very purpose.
See Rifles FAQ #1). The "quick" parameter will cut all delays to a minimum,
which will allow for the most rapid possible test of the scenario. It comes
with a cost though: The game will play so rapidly that you won't easily beable
to follow the action.
A FEW GUIDELINES FOR CAMPAIGN CREATION
Make sure that you don't change sides with the forces from one scenario to the
next. That is, if the first force in the OOB (order of battle) is Allied in
scenario 1, make sure it remains the first force in all subsequent scenarios.
Also, keep _exactly_ the same names for any units that carry over from
scenario to scenario. Any change in the name, even one character, and the unit
will not get any experience benefit for serving in previous battles. If you
swap sides for your forces from scenario to scenario, anyone playing the
campaign will experience a side swap when they make the transition to the side
swapped scenario.
I recommend the following: Create one master order of battle, with all units
from both sides for all scenarios. Then save this OOB and use it as a
template, loading it as necessary when creating scenarios. Create the
individual scenario orders of battle by _deleting_ units not needed for the
specific scenario. This guarantees consistency and ensures that you won't have
to worry about any of the points mentioned in the paragraph above.
Be sure to edit the transition text when you set up the scenario linkages. The
automatic display of this information between scenarios will make your
campaigns look more professional.
September 11th, 1996
Age of Rifles FAQ #5
-Terrain Effects in AGE OF RIFLES-
1). Terrain Effects On Melee Combat
2). Terrain and Formation Effects On Movement
3). Terrain and Formation Effects On Fire Combat
-Terrain Effects On Melee Combat-
Terrain has no direct effect on melee combat; however, by allowing units the
option to deploy in defensive order, it can have a very strong indirect
effect.
-Terrain and Formation Effects On Movement-
Road movement
Road movement costs take precedence if allowed. Units must be disordered or in
march column, and movement must be along the road from one road hex to
another. Road movement is not allowed if abatis are present in the hex.
March column 1
Disorder 2
Road movement cost modifiers
Other unit in hex +1
Soft ground condition (road) +1
Soft ground condition (improved or sunken road). 0
Dismounted unit under fire or taking cover +1
Off road movement:
Standard cost (by formation)
March column 1
Disorder 2
Attack column 2
Supported line 3
Line 3
Square 5
Off road movement cost modifiers:
Town or village - always use the standard cost, following will not apply.
Each line of modifiers is cumulative with all other modifiers. The modifier
for each line is only charged once, thus (example) a unit which is under fire
and skirmishing will only pay +1 to move.
Soft ground or heavy rain +1
Dismounted unit under fire, taking cover, or skirmishing +1
Night +1
Heavy equipment in unit +1
Marsh +2
Berm +1
Hex on fire not allowed
Fence, wall, or trench (mounted) 1/3 full
Fence, wall, or trench (not mounted) +1
Crewed weapons in unit +1
Escarpment (no elevation change) no effect
Escarpment (elevation change) not allowed
Bridged stream +2
Unbridged fordable stream or gully (no heavy equipment) +2
Unbridged fordable stream or gully (heavy equipment) not allowed
Unbridged Non fordable stream not allowed
Woods +1
Abatis, redoubt, or walled compound (mounted) +2
Abatis, redoubt, or walled compound (not mounted) +1
Rocks, mud, sand, any field (mounted) +2
Rocks, mud, sand, any field (not mounted) +1
Change in elevation (mounted) +2
Change in elevation (not mounted) +1
Note: "Heavy equipment" is a characteristic of some types of crewed weapons.
See weapons database to determine whether any particular weapon is considered
"heavy equipment".
Naval Movement / Naval Units
River or lake (deep water) 1
River or lake (small vessels, shallow water) 2 (may run aground)
Otherwise. not allowed
Note: A river lake hex which shows even the smallest amount of land is
considered shallow.
Water Movement / Non-Naval Units
River or lake (non frozen) Not allowed
River or lake (frozen) Normal movement costs
SPECIAL CASES:
Artillery may not be pushed (moved while unlimbered) into any hex adjacent to
an enemy unit.
Units may always move one hex per turn regardless of cost, as long as the
movement would not otherwise be prohibited.
-Terrain and Formation Effects On Fire Combat-
All fire in the game is resolved by first calculating a raw lethality for the
firing unit (the expected casualty rate in the target unit) which is then
multiplied by an "optical cross section" value to get the effective lethality.
Units will small optical cross sections are well protected from enemy fire.
-Target Optical Cross Section (by formation)-
-Defensive Order (or Unlimbered artillery)-
trench,sunken road,town,walled compound,or redoubt 0.15
village 0.25
-All Other Formations-
If "front", "flank", or "rear" are indicated, the line applies only to fire
received through that specific arc.
Digging or Disordered
vs. Artillery 1.20
vs. small arms 1.00
March Column flank 0.70
March Column front or rear 0.88
Attack Column
vs. Artillery front 2.10
vs. small arms front 1.20
vs. Artillery flank 3.15
vs. small arms flank 1.80
vs. Artillery rear 2.63
vs. small arms rear 1.50
Supported Line
vs. Artillery front 1.50
vs. small arms front 0.80
vs. Artillery flank 2.25
vs. small arms flank 1.20
vs. Artillery rear 1.88
vs. small arms rear 1.00
Line (small arms or artillery fire)
small unit front 0.60
large unit front 0.80
small unit flank 0.90
large unit flank 1.20
small unit rear 0.75
large unit rear 1.00
A "small" unit has no more than 500 (100 yard scale), 1000 (200 yard scale),or
2000 (400 yard scale) troops assigned. More than this, and the unit is
actually in a hybrid "line/supported line" formation.
Square
vs. Artillery 2.40
vs. small arms 1.40
-Modifiers For Units Not In Defensive Order-
Bridge 2.00
Berm or Partial Breastworks
front 0.80
flank or rear 1.20
Full (360 degree) Breastworks 0.80
Skirmishers Deployed
vs. Artillery 1.00
vs. small arms 0.33-0.66
(depending upon proportion of troops skirmishing - 0.33
modifier is for units deployed 100% as skirmishers. 0.66
modifier would apply for a very large unit with a small
proportion of troops deployed as skirmishers).
Mounted 3.00
Target on higher elevation than firing unit 0.90
Dry Stream 0.90
Town, Walled Compound, Redoubt 0.70
Village, Rocks, Tall field, Woods 0.80
Abatis, Field, Brush 0.90
All modifiers listed on separate lines are cumulative.
-Examples-
A unit in defensive order, in a village would only suffer 25% of the raw
expected casualties.
A unit in defensive order, in a redoubt would only suffer 15% of the raw
expected casualties.
A small unit in supported line formation, receiving small arms fire from a
flank, deployed in an open rocky hex, with skirmishers out, wouldsuffer:
(1.20 x 0.80 x 0.33)=0.32 (32%) of the raw expected casualties.
A small unit in supported line formation, receiving artillery fire from a
flank, deployed in an open rocky hex, with skirmishers out, would suffer:
(1.20 x 0.80)=.96 (96%) of the raw expected casualties.
A large mounted cavalry unit in attack column formation, in a field, taking
small arms fire from the front, with skirmishers deployed would suffer:
(3.00 x 1.20 x 0.90 x 0.66)=2.14 (214%) of the raw expected casualties.
A unit in supported line formation, receiving artillery fire from a flank,
deployed in a brushy berm hex higher than the firing unit would suffer:
(2.25 x 0.90 x 1.20 x 0.90)=2.19 (219%) of the raw expected casualties.
-Notes on Fire Strength-
A unit's raw fire lethality (strength) is based upon its "capability" and the
number of weapons the unit can fire (in turn based upon its formation).
Mounted cavalry units suffer a 33% penalty. Previously moved units suffer a
20% penalty. All units suffer a 30% penalty at night, as well as a 15% penalty
in light rain or snow or a 30% penalty in heavy rain or snow. Additional
penalties may apply for some classes of weapons in certain circumstances. All
of this will be detailed in a separate document soon. The fire strengths shown
in the game already reflect all of these effects.
October 23rd, 1996.
Updated October 24th, 1996.
Age of Rifles FAQ #6
If you have had problems with the sound in Rifles, or if you have experienced
crashes on starting the game, your problem is most likely an improper sound
initialization due to a problem with the autodetect feature in the sound
installation utility shipped with the game. This is particularly true if you
have an Ensoniq Soundscape card, but there are a couple of other cards out
there with similar tricky setups.
The following has worked for a lot of folks with sound
problems, including sound related crashes:
1) If you use Win 95, DO NOT REBOOT TO DOS, instead, use a DOS window from a
desktop shortcut. This is very important. These days many sound cards are set
up by software rather than by jumpers. On quite a few systems, the cards are
configured differently depending upon whether you are running from a desktop
shortcut or from a "hard" DOS prompt (a DOS reboot).
2) From the command line (DOS, or DOS window) run SOUND.EXE.
3) When you are given the option, select "skip auto detection..." Do _not_ use
the autodetect feature. It does not work with some cards. Why? I don't know,
but the sound installer is not my work so there isn't much I can do about it.
4) Manually select the appropriate settings for your sound card as the
installer presents them. Try the settings it offers first. Oddly enough, in
most cases these settings will be correct even though the global autodetect
won't work.
5a) If you are using DOS, you should be finished. Test the game, returning to
alternate settings in the sound installer until you find a set that works
properly. (In many cases, these settings can be found in a rather cryptic line
in your autoexec.bat file.)
5b) If you are using Win95, set up a desktop shortcut to Rifles.exe. In
properties, set: close on exit, full screen, and disable screen saver. Leave
everything else at default settings. Test the game, returning to alternate
settings in the sound installer until you find a set that works properly.
If you have any problems after updating the game to v1.2, they may be due to a
mistake in application of the update. The command to install the update is
"aor1_2 -d". The -d command line parameter is required for proper installation
of resource files in the appropriate sub directories. How can you tell if this
is the problem? There should be no *.PCX, *.LBM, *.SHP, or *.FNT files in your
Rifles directory. Delete any such files to free up disk space, the reapply the
update with the -d option.
Two more hints for Win95 users - particularly for those who upgraded their
systems from DOS or Win3.x:
1)Back up your config.sys and autoexec.bat files. Then open them in the editor
in a DOS window and comment out _everything_ but "lastdrive", "path", and
"set" statements. When you are finished, save the modified files, exit, and
"restart" the computer. If any of the lines you commented out were device
drivers, there is at least a 50/50 chance that your system will now run _all_
applications more stably than it did before you modified your startup files.
In fact, some Win95 books advocate _deleting_ the config.sys and autoexec.bat
files completely for best system performance.
2)If you have installed the Win 95 "Plus Pack" System Agent, make sure it is
_off_ before playing Rifles or any other DOS app. Frankly, given my hideous
experiences with System Agent, I suggest you uninstall it. That's what I did
after it fragged the FATs on two hard drives.
October 30th, 1996.
Modified January 2nd, 1997.
Age of Rifles FAQ #7
Unit Frontage and Fire Strengths.
First, a few definitions...
Formation frontage places limits on the proportion of a unit's weapons that
can be brought to bear, based upon the geometry of particular formations.
Formation frontage (ff):
formation ff
defensive order available troops
line available troops
supported line available troops/2
attack column available troops/4
square available troops/2
other available troops/8
skirmishing skirmisher frontage
Parade ground frontage (pgf) and skirmisher frontage (sf) vary with the
scenario scale:
scale pgf sf
100 y 250 troops 100 troops
200 y 500 troops 200 troops
400 y 1000 troops 400 troops
Parade ground frontage is the absolute maximum number of troops that are free
to fire their weapons in any particular direction (actually an arc). The
number is based upon a rather generous assumption that densely packed troops
deployed in two lines can direct as many as 5 rifles out of a 2 yard span.
Skirmisher frontage is similar, but applies to units with skirmishers deployed
regardless of formation. Reflecting increased spacing of skirmishing troops,
the number is based upon an assumption that troops scattered in a loose
skirmish "line" can direct only one rifle out of a 1 yard span. Skirmishers
are assumed to be deployed in front of any other troops in the unit, so they
block fire from any troops behind them.
Additionally, dismounted cavalry (any unit with mounts, but not equipped with
crew served weapons) have their frontage reduced by 20% - the number of troops
assumed to be watching mounts.
If a unit shares a hex with another unit, these numbers are halved,
effectively dividing available frontage up between the two units in the hex.
The actual number of troops who can fire their weapons is the lesser of
formation frontage or parade ground frontage.
Naval units are not subject to frontage calculations when determining fire
strengths.
Examples: (based on 200 yard scale)
An infantry unit with 700 troops, deployed in line:
Skirmishers not deployed: lesser of (700) or (500) = 500 may fire.
Skirmishers deployed: 200 may fire.
The same infantry unit with 700 troops, deployed in supported line:
Skirmishers not deployed: lesser of (700/2) or (500) = 350 may fire.
Skirmishers deployed: 200 may fire.
A cavalry unit with 600 troops, deployed in attack column:
Skirmishers not deployed: lesser of (600/4)x0.8 or (500) = 120 may fire.
Skirmishers deployed: 200 may fire.
A disordered infantry unit with 900 troops:
Lesser of (900/8) or (500) = 112 may fire.
An artillery unit with 400 troops, unlimbered (line formation), sharing a hex
with another unit:
Lesser of (400) or (250) = 250 may fire. The number of crew served weapons
that can fire is limited by the troops allowed to fire. If this unit were
armed with 6 x 24 pounder ML howitzers (crew=20), all guns could fire.
Note that in most cases, the number of troops allowed to fire will be limited
by skirmisher frontage if skirmishers are deployed, regardless of formation.
Now the formulae...
melee strength=lesser of (pgf or available troops) * unit capability *
formation modifier * special modifiers. The formation modifier varies from 1.0
(defensive order) to 0.20 (march column). Special modifiers include things
like mount status, terrain modifiers, etc.
fire strength=lesser of (pgf or ff) * unit capability * special modifiers *
weapon lethality at range / crewmen required to operate the weapon. Special
modifiers include things like lighting and precipitation, mount status, etc.
Note that this formula effectively limits the number of crewed weapons that
can fire by assigning available frontage based upon the crew size required to
operate the weapon. A weapon with a crew of 30 would require the same
available frontage as 30 rifles.
The long versions of these formulae go on for several pages.
Norm Koger
November 2nd, 1996.
Koger, the designer of Age of Rifles. They have been assembled in order, and
the following table of contents should help to give an idea of what topics are
covered. Please note that, although there is no FAQ#4 listed, the information
it contained about Age of Rifles v1.2 is already incorporated in the existing
FAQs.
Table of Contents:
FAQ#1:
Notes on Age of Rifles v1.2
Command Line Switches
Official (SSI Supported) Switches
Unofficial (Author Supported) Switches
FAQ#2:
Questions and Answers
FAQ#3:
Scenario Creation Guidelines
Orders and Objectives
Campaign Creation Guidelines
FAQ#5:
Terrain Effects
Terrain Effects on Melee Combat
Terrain Effects on Movement
Terrain Effects on Fire Combat
FAQ#6:
Sound Fixes
FAQ#7:
Unit Frontage and Fire Strength
Age of Rifles FAQ #1
After 26 months of development, Age of Rifles was released on August 26th,
1996. The version 1.2 update was released on December 24th, 1996.
IMPORTANT:
The V1.2 update includes a new game.cfg file. This is where your game options
and rules settings are stored. When the update game.cfg is applied it will
overwrite any options that were in effect before the update. Be sure to check
all of your game and rules settings after installing the update.
If you have any problems after updating the game to v1.2, they may be due to a
mistake in application of the update. The command to install the update is
"aor1_2 -d". The -d command line parameter is required for proper installation
of resource files in the appropriate sub directories. How can you tell if this
is the problem? There should be no *.PCX, *.LBM, *.SHP, or *.FNT files in your
Rifles directory. Delete any such files to free up disk space, then reapply
the update with the -d option.
The current complete list of command line parameters for Rifles v1.2 is:
Official (SSI supported) Command Line Switches
"quiet": play with no sound (this session only).
"mono": Monaural sound (this session only).
Unofficial (author supported) Command Line Switches
The following command line options are unofficial. Feel free to experiment
with them, but they intended for use by advanced gamers and are not supported
by SSI. If you have questions about them post your question in the
comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic or alt.games.wargames newsgroups or contact
the author directly.
"quick": Turn off all time delays (this session only). This is a development
option and isn't really intended for use during normal play. See FAQ #3 for
additional info.
"fastexit": Allows you to exit the game directly from the menu, without having
to pass through the "main" screen (this session only).
"debug": Please don't do this...
"reactions+": (Advanced Reaction Fire Range Rules) Allows longer (more
realistic) ranges for automatic reaction orders. This is a "sticky" parameter.
You only need to set it once and it becomes part of your standard game
configuration.
"reactions-": (SSI supported Default). Sets the standard documented (shorter,
and according to some, more playable) ranges for reaction orders. This is a
"sticky" parameter. You only need to set it once and it becomes part of your
standard game configuration.
"reports+": (Enhanced Reporting Rules). Gives additional numerical information
in some game report screens and increases the amount information available in
the microview and overview screens. This is a "sticky" parameter. You only
need to set it once and it becomes part of your standard game configuration.
Effects of reports+:
All fire strengths in the unit report panel are given as numerical values
rather than the default verbal descriptions. In fact, numerical values are
substituted for verbal descriptions in almost all displays.
Locations of all commanders are highlighted with a flashing red cursor in the
overview.
Locations of all commanders assigned to units of the active command are
highlighted with flashing red indicators in the microview at the bottom right
corner of the game screen.
All uniform items are listed with their numerical indices in the order of
battle editor.
Orders of battle may be saved as text files in the order of battle editor.
This is controlled by using the "x" hotkey. Follow the prompts. This can
generate very large files, so avoid using it if you don't have a few spare
megabytes free on your hard drive.
The "Play/Active Option Info" menu item becomes available, listing the status
of all game options.
The sub version number (example:"1.2.04", rather than just "1.2") is shown on
the credits screen.
"reports-": (SSI supported Default). Replaces some numerical information in
game report screens with verbal descriptions and disables. This is a "sticky"
parameter. You only need to set it once and it becomes part of your standard
game configuration.
"showmovecost+": When movement paths are shown, the projected cost to enter
each hex along the path is shown in the hex. This is a "sticky" parameter. You
only need to set it once and it becomes part of your standard game
configuration.
"showmovecost-": (SSI supported Default). Do not show movement cost
information in movement path displays. This is a "sticky" parameter. You only
need to set it once and it becomes part of your standard game configuration.
"oldrules+": (Experimental Simulation Rules). Decreases killed and wounded and
replaces them with stragglers and unit cohesion losses. Turns on long reaction
ranges and advanced reporting options. Increases severity of fire combat, but
additional losses are channeled as stragglers and loss of unit cohesion.
Morale rules are strengthened. Artillery units tend to abandon their guns if
overrun rather retreating from melee. Units are eligible for frantic fire in
response to fire attacks by adjacent enemy units.
Note: It is extremely difficult to move units in the face of enemy fire when
this switch is on. Assaults are much more difficult to launch, and due to the
stronger morale rules overall casualties for battles are significantly
reduced. If you set oldrules+ and wish to return to the SSI supported default
rules, set "oldrules-" on your command line.
"oldrules-": (SSI supported Default) Restores standard rules and sets
reactions-, reports-, and showmovecost-.
If you run the game from a Win 95 desktop shortcut (my recommendation), these
parameters are entered into the shortcut properties -> program -> command
line, after the name of the program. Example: You would use
"d:\rifles\rifles.exe oldrules-" to reset all standard SSI rules defaults.
August 28th, 1996.
Modified January 2nd, 1997.
Age of Rifles FAQ #2
This list is a more or less random selection of questions asked and answered
via email, CIS and the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic newsgroup. In some
cases the writing is a bit unprofessional, but it should get the job done. I
have been known to answer my mail late at night .
Q. >>This is a DOS only game. I have had no problems playing it under WIN95 by
simply booting to DOS.<<
A. You can also play from a desktop shortcut. Just be sure to set the shortcut
properties to "full screen", "close on exit", and disable the screen saver.
Rifles was actually developed under Win95 and runs quite well from the
desktop. Rebooting to DOS isn't necessary. In fact, unless your real mode DOS
drivers and memory management are very well tuned the game will probably run
more smoothly from the Win95 desktop than under any version of DOS.
Q. >>One simple question re line of sight... I assume like most wargames it's
a "you see, they see" setting, in other words, if I can't see them they can't
see me.<<
A. This is usually true, but there are exceptions. Small units can be hidden,
observing for other units (although in this time period there is no
battlefield indirect fire) or occasionally popping into view to spring an
ambush. Also, the field of view of a unit varies with its altitude and
movement status. Unmoved units can see further than units which have moved.
And units at higher elevations can see further than units at lower elevations.
Now, if one of these units actually _fires_ on you, your unit can immediately
see it and, orders allowing, will return reaction fire even if it could not
otherwise shoot.
So while there are potential asymmetries in fields of view, if one side takes
a shot the other side can immediately react.
Q. >>Is there a quick check to see if a unit [can still fire]?<<
A. Run your mouse cursor over the unit in question and look down at the unit
panel. There is a row of icons just to the left of the reaction orders button.
A light indicates the overall capability of the unit. If a "not" symbol
(circle with diagonal slash) appears on the light, your unit has no remaining
movement allowance. If your unit has ammo a bullet will appear next to the
light. And finally, if the unit can still fire, a small crosshairs appears
next to the bullet.
Q. >>...is there another quick check to see who and where a unit's command
is...?<<
A. There are a number of ways to get this info. If you look in the microview
you will see that some of the units in it are blinking. All of these are
assigned to the current command. You can also turn on the map icon formation
indicators by pressing the "y" key on your keyboard. Non miniatures style unit
map icons have command symbols on them. You can also use the next and previous
unit buttons to cycle through all units of the current command. Finally, you
can click on the command details button which will bring up a display of the
command.
Q. >>Can artillery do indirect fire?<<
A. No, but you can usually find a rise somewhere that will allow you to fire
over the heads of your troops. Except for mortars in siege situations (which
Rifles wasn't really designed to handle), indirect fire was a pretty rare
thing in the 1840-1905 time frame.
Q. >>Is there a stacking limit? Can you stack [units] from different
[commands]? Is there a disadvantage (easier to be shot at?)?<<
A. You can put only two units in a hex. They can be from different commands,
but you generally can't move such stacks around except as separate units.
There are two possible disadvantages: 1) With two units in the hex, they share
the available frontage. This can lead to inefficiencies since stacking two
large units in the same hex can result in many weapons being unable to fire.
2) All fire is resolved as an area effect in the target hex, so the more
troops in the hex, the more troops are exposed to any particular fire effect.
Q. >>If you [order] melee for an entire command, will only the units adjacent
to the target hex participate in the attack?<<
A. Yes.
Q. >>First, while the manual states that units resting in disordered formation
will recover from fatigue more quickly, I don't recall any hints on how to
recover from deteriorated morale.<<
A. Once you've lost morale, it is difficult to recover. There are only two
ways:
1) Your unit can witness something unpleasant happening to the bad guys.
That's right, there is an immediate morale bonus for any friendly unit that
sees the bad guys rout or otherwise fail in a big way. The morale bonus is
even greater if they actually participate in the event. On the other hand, you
don't want your units to see friendlies rout away...
2) There is a slight increase to morale each turn if the unit is more than 10
points below the national default. The increase is random from 1 to (1+(unit
vitality/10)). (An eligible unit with a vitality of 70 would gain between 1
and 8 morale points.) So the better the vitality of your units, the better
their morale.
Q. >>...how about coming clean on the effects of the various AI levels? While
this is purely a subjective impression and may be pure BS, it does seem to me
that computer controlled units do more damage in equivalent situations at the
higher difficulty levels.<<
A. Unlike TANKS, Rifles does "enhance" (to use a euphemism) programmed
opponent unit performance. (At levels 1 and 2, the programmed opponents are
actually penalized.) There isn't just one effect. It's 1% increase here, 2%
there - that kind of thing. Enough to have an effect, but subtle enough that
it doesn't confer a crushing advantage even at higher levels. In the near
term, the effect is negligible. The main effect is increased overall "staying
power" at the highest levels of play.
Q. >>I can set my infantry to react at range 5. Why is this even an option if
the range of their weapons is only three?<<
A. The feedback prompts showing the ranges you select are based upon the max
theoretical range of the weapons assigned to the unit. If for some reason your
unit can't actually direct significant fire to this full range (at the current
time) it is possible you might see a greater range than your unit's current
effective range.
Think of the ranges given in the feedback prompt as max ranges, but keep in
mind that for any number of reasons your unit might not actually be able to
fire to that range at any particular time. On the other hand, if through some
change of circumstance your unit becomes able to fire at its max range, it
will react at that range.
Q. >>I have cavalry with extra movement left over after their turn. I want
them to fire at range 2 while remaining in place. Do they have to be
dismounted to hold them in place, but yet allow them to react with fire of
their own?<<
A. It all depends upon the mission you have in mind for the cavalry.
If you want them to react by charging the bad guys (generally the case except
for ACW cavalry) leave them mounted. Typically, you might place the mounted
cav in attack column next to an artillery battery or open flank and give them
a fairly short leash (1 hex) just to keep the bad guys honest.
If you want your cav to react by fire, dismount them. Believe me, you don't
want mounted troops initiating fire combat. Remember that one very likely
result of your reaction fire is returned fire from the bad guys, who probably
aren't carrying carbines. And there your troops are, sitting a few feet in the
air, looking a bit like targets on a modern military small arms range... So
I've disallowed the option to set your cav to automatically commit seppuku by
fire.
If you don't believe me you can see what I'm talking about by ordering a
mounted cav unit to fire on a nearby bad guy during your turn. One picture is
worth a thousand words .
Q. >>It appears to me that allowing cavalry to have a reaction range makes
them vulnerable to leaving any kind of cover or advantageous ground.<<
A. You could say that . Try to limit the range at which mounted cav will
react if there is a significant chance that they might draw effective fire
during their reaction.
Q. >>Is the number of reactions you can make contingent on the amount of
movement left over on your turn? Or do you get only one reaction as long as
you have at least one movement point remaining?<<
A. Reaction fire (using the long range rules) eats up 1/4 turn worth of fire
(and movement points). So your units could reaction fire up to four times
(remaining movement allowance allowing) - more than that if the bad guys get
close enough to start triggering "frantic fire". So a typical engagement
sequence for a horde of angry fuzzy wuzzies charging an unmoved British square
with free fire orders would be:
1) Move to 800 yards
2) Close to 600 yards
3) Close to 400 yards
4) Close to 200 yards
5) Close to melee
If you are using the short range rules, individual reaction fire shots are 1/2
turn worth of fire. So individual shots are more powerful and will eat up
movement allowances more rapidly.
Q. >>What is the alternate mouse interface?<<
A. Within the game, pull down the "Play" menu and select "General Play
Options". Now click on the mouse control option button. This will enable the
"alternate" mouse interface. Just left click to order movement, or right click
to fire (on an enemy unit) or select another friendly unit. There is always a
prompt at the bottom of the screen telling you exactly what each mouse button
will do.
Q. >>How large are the largest scenarios in terms of number of units and size
of map?<<
A. The largest map is 50x50 hexes, at 100,200, or 400 yards per hex. The
greatest number of units is 300 per side.
Q. >>Do units run out of ammo? What happens when they do?<<
A. Yep.
Things get complicated.
Each unit tracks ammo in terms of "ammo points. An "ammo point" is the amount
of ammo required to fire every weapon in the unit for 20 minutes. This is
analogous to the modern military term "unit of fire". In many cases (almost
always for infantry) some weapons don't fire, or don't fire for the full 20
minutes. The number of weapons firing depends upon things like formation
(line, supported line, attack column, etc.), whether skirmishers are deployed,
how much frontage is available (you may be sharing frontage with another unit
in the same hex), and whether the fire is ordered or automatic (based upon
your specification of what the unit should do if the bad guys take some action
nearby).
If you deploy skirmishers from a typical formation (appropriately sized for
the scale), only a small percentage of your weapons will be able to fire, so
the unit will probably never run low on ammo. On the other hand, if you have
enough available frontage to put every man on line, skirmishers "in", your
infantry units can easily run out of ammo in a single turn of fire. You can
check to see how many weapons will fire by examining the full unit report.
In some cases (artillery units with two gun types), two separate ammo levels
are maintained.
Even when units run out of ammo it's assumed that _some_ ammo is still
available for "frantic fire" (shots at the bad guys as you spot the whites of
their eyes), but other than that the unit 1). can't fire (even automatically)
and 2). takes a small morale penalty.
Fortunately, you don't need to remember all this stuff. But it _is_ happening
"under the hood".
Q. >>How are they resupplied?<<
A. It depends. Naval units can never be resupplied. Fortunately, ships and
gunboats tend to carry quite a bit of ammo around. And for some reason, the
bad guys generally tend to avoid them as much as possible.
Artillery units also tend to carry a lot of ammo, although lucky shots can
detonate caissons.
All non naval units that can trace a traditional line of hexes free of enemy
units (and not adjacent, unless occupied by friendlies) to a friendly supply
point have a chance of being resupplied. The resupply chance is based upon a
supply rating maintained for each formation. This chance for resupply declines
with: distance from the supply point, terrain density in the unit's hex,
proximity to enemy units, fire, and poor visibility (either due to
precipitation or time of day). The chance increases if the units are: in
command control, at rest (not recently moved), near or on a road, or in any
kind of defensive position. Essentially, anything that could conceivably
affect resupply probably does so.
There are also two special cases: 1) Units that are within 7 hexes of a
friendly supply point, were not unsupplied the previous turn, did not move or
fire the previous turn, and are not adjacent to an enemy unit automatically
receive supply. 2) Any unit in or adjacent to a friendly supply point is
automatically supplied.
Q. >>I took the 13th Prussian Division & checked on each individual unit. The
last line stated "unit is unsupplied". Went to the "Command Details" for the
division and found "Supply level is excellent".<<
A. The _command_ supply level is excellent, meaning that units of the command
have an excellent chance to be resupplied on any given turn. But other factors
(see above) have a strong impact on the resupply chance.
Q. >>Throughout the scenario I found that most of my units were listed as
"unsupplied" but this did not seem to materially hamper performance.<<
A. On this scale resupply affects only ammo levels. It sounds as though enough
supply was intermittently getting through to your units to maintain your ammo
levels.
Q. >>I also found the Prussian artillery units panicked out of the game
without receiving fire.<<
A. Or perhaps not...
Artillery units usually don't run out of ammo. But if they do they tend to
pull up stakes and head for a supply source. Guns were particularly valuable
in the 19th century, and they tended to skeedadle if they couldn't get ammo
resupply.
Q. >>What about Command and Control? What happens to isolated units? <<
A. Command radius from command leaders is 5 hexes, 3 for sub leaders. This
radius can be modified (in the obvious direction) by time of day, movement
status, weather, terrain density, etc. Outside of this radius, there is a
increasing chance (100% beyond 4x radius) that units will be isolated.
Isolation has a strong impact on resupply, replacements (by straggler
reintegration) and movement allowance for your units. In good weather and open
terrain you can spread out a bit. At night, moving, in the woods, in the rain,
well...
Isolated units _can_ move, but they won't go anywhere fast.
Finally, if a formation is really beaten up, you may find that it
"reorganizes", making it completely unavailable for as long as it takes to
regain control. This is particularly likely to happen if you lose a lot of
leaders in a hurry.
September 11th, 1996
Age of Rifles FAQ #3
A FEW GUIDELINES FOR SCENARIO CREATION
As anyone who has designed historical scenarios can tell you, a battle
sometimes isn't as interesting when you finish a scenario as when you
conceptualized it. Just because a situation has already been modeled in an
existing scenario doesn't mean someone else can't tackle it again. You might
be able to do a better job than the other fellow.
Orders and Objectives
Definition: All objectives except for the final (highest numbered) assigned to
any particular command are referred to as intermediate objectives.
Intermediate objectives are useful for refining the action of the programmed
opponent, but have no direct effect upon play.
Units assigned to "attacking" commands will attempt to pass through lowest
numbered to highest numbered objectives while advancing on their final
objective. In many cases it is not necessary to specify a particular path for
an attacking command, since the programmed opponent does a pretty good job of
picking a good path the command. There are two exceptions though: 1) If there
is a significant obstacle, such as a river, it can be helpful to place
intermediate objectives in such a way as to create a "path" for advance. 2) If
many commands will be advancing on the same objective it can be helpful to use
intermediate objectives for each command to avoid traffic jams. Otherwise,
since the programmed opponent will tend to take the easiest path when moving
its units, you may find your commands bunching up near roads or passes through
dense terrain.
Defending commands will stay in place unless an enemy unit occupies one of
their objectives. In many cases this is what you want. But you can also use
intermediate objectives to set up "tripwires". For example, a cavalry command
can be placed behind a hill out of enemy view. Its final objective might be in
a village located behind the command. This ensures that the village will be
defended if approached by the enemy. But you could also set an intermediate
objective on one side of a bridge in front of the hill. When the enemy
advances across the bridge, your command would ride out to attack, but if
other enemy forces threatened your command's final objective it would pull out
to defend the village. By clever use of intermediate objectives you can set up
a very active defense.
To begin with, set all of your command orders to "normal" emphasis. You can
adjust up (all costs) or down (cautious) when you start testing for historical
accuracy and play balance.
Leaders have a very strong effect on game play. It is easy to forget to set
leaders away from national defaults, but the results can be worth it. Private
soldiers in many 19th century armies were quite professional, but their
officers were sometimes political appointees. In some cases, the better
leaders have become legendary figures. You can reflect this by setting
commander values as appropriate.
Unit names are limited to 16 characters, but you can get additional mileage
out of unit names in many game displays by using the following abbreviations
(spaces are significant). This also gets around spelling problems:
" Hsr" " Hussar"
" Fslr" " Fusilier"
" Drgn" " Dragoon"
" Gndr" " Grenadier"
" Jgrs" " Jaegers"
"Hlndr" "Highlander"
" Arty" " Artillery"
" Bn" " Battalion"
" dA" " d'Afrique"
"Hvy" "Heavy"
"Lt" "Light"
" Rgt" " Regiment"
" Bde" " Brigade"
"Mtd" "Mounted"
"Gren " "Grenadier "
"Gd" "Guard"
"Irsh" "Irish"
"Fld" "Field"
" Bodygd" " Bodyguard"
" Div " " Division "
"W'phln" "Westphalian"
"B'burg" "Brandenburg"
"Lwr " "Lower "
"E.Pru" "East Pru"
"Sfrth" " Seaforth "
"Camrn" " Cameron "
"Ryl" "Royal"
"Bty" "Battery"
" Tex." " Texas"
" Ark." " Arkansas"
" Lou." " Louisiana"
" Miss." " Mississippi"
" Tenn." " Tennessee"
" Ala." " Alabama"
" Fla." " Florida"
" Ga." " Georgia"
" S.C." " South Carolina"
" N.C." " North Carolina"
" Ky." " Kentucky"
" Va." " Virginia"
" Md." " Maryland"
" Penn." " Pennsylvania"
" Del." " Delaware"
" Ia." " Indiana"
" Ill." " Illinois"
" N.J." " New Jersey"
" N.Y." " New York"
" Conn." " Connecticut"
" Mass." " Massachusetts"
" Vt." " Vermont"
" N.H." " New Hampshire"
" Me." " Maine"
" W." " West"
" Vol." " Volunteer"
" Vols." " Volunteers"
" S.S." " Sharpshooters"
Example: If you name a unit "1st B'burg Jgrs", it will display in the game as
"1st Brandenburg Jaegers" if space allows.
You can do interesting things with some unit and command parameters. For
example, if you look closely at Buena Vista you will find that the Mexican
army arrives on the map in an exhausted state. This strongly encourages the
Mexican player to do what Santa Anna did historically - probe the pass then
set up camp for the night. You can also set the ammo levels of individual
units very low while setting their parent command supply ratings much higher.
The units would start off with very little ammo but would rapidly resupply. Or
you can do the reverse, if you want to recreate the legendary "quartermaster
effect" at Isandlwana.
If you are designing an historical scenario, try to get historical results by
selecting objectives and command orders. Don't worry about play balance until
you are satisfied with the feel of the scenario. Once you have done this, you
can manually modify the values of the objectives to achieve play balance.
The best way to test for rough balance in your scenarios is to launch them in
a computer vs. computer play mode. You can speed this up by using the "quick"
command line parameter (which was specifically designed for this very purpose.
See Rifles FAQ #1). The "quick" parameter will cut all delays to a minimum,
which will allow for the most rapid possible test of the scenario. It comes
with a cost though: The game will play so rapidly that you won't easily beable
to follow the action.
A FEW GUIDELINES FOR CAMPAIGN CREATION
Make sure that you don't change sides with the forces from one scenario to the
next. That is, if the first force in the OOB (order of battle) is Allied in
scenario 1, make sure it remains the first force in all subsequent scenarios.
Also, keep _exactly_ the same names for any units that carry over from
scenario to scenario. Any change in the name, even one character, and the unit
will not get any experience benefit for serving in previous battles. If you
swap sides for your forces from scenario to scenario, anyone playing the
campaign will experience a side swap when they make the transition to the side
swapped scenario.
I recommend the following: Create one master order of battle, with all units
from both sides for all scenarios. Then save this OOB and use it as a
template, loading it as necessary when creating scenarios. Create the
individual scenario orders of battle by _deleting_ units not needed for the
specific scenario. This guarantees consistency and ensures that you won't have
to worry about any of the points mentioned in the paragraph above.
Be sure to edit the transition text when you set up the scenario linkages. The
automatic display of this information between scenarios will make your
campaigns look more professional.
September 11th, 1996
Age of Rifles FAQ #5
-Terrain Effects in AGE OF RIFLES-
1). Terrain Effects On Melee Combat
2). Terrain and Formation Effects On Movement
3). Terrain and Formation Effects On Fire Combat
-Terrain Effects On Melee Combat-
Terrain has no direct effect on melee combat; however, by allowing units the
option to deploy in defensive order, it can have a very strong indirect
effect.
-Terrain and Formation Effects On Movement-
Road movement
Road movement costs take precedence if allowed. Units must be disordered or in
march column, and movement must be along the road from one road hex to
another. Road movement is not allowed if abatis are present in the hex.
March column 1
Disorder 2
Road movement cost modifiers
Other unit in hex +1
Soft ground condition (road) +1
Soft ground condition (improved or sunken road). 0
Dismounted unit under fire or taking cover +1
Off road movement:
Standard cost (by formation)
March column 1
Disorder 2
Attack column 2
Supported line 3
Line 3
Square 5
Off road movement cost modifiers:
Town or village - always use the standard cost, following will not apply.
Each line of modifiers is cumulative with all other modifiers. The modifier
for each line is only charged once, thus (example) a unit which is under fire
and skirmishing will only pay +1 to move.
Soft ground or heavy rain +1
Dismounted unit under fire, taking cover, or skirmishing +1
Night +1
Heavy equipment in unit +1
Marsh +2
Berm +1
Hex on fire not allowed
Fence, wall, or trench (mounted) 1/3 full
Fence, wall, or trench (not mounted) +1
Crewed weapons in unit +1
Escarpment (no elevation change) no effect
Escarpment (elevation change) not allowed
Bridged stream +2
Unbridged fordable stream or gully (no heavy equipment) +2
Unbridged fordable stream or gully (heavy equipment) not allowed
Unbridged Non fordable stream not allowed
Woods +1
Abatis, redoubt, or walled compound (mounted) +2
Abatis, redoubt, or walled compound (not mounted) +1
Rocks, mud, sand, any field (mounted) +2
Rocks, mud, sand, any field (not mounted) +1
Change in elevation (mounted) +2
Change in elevation (not mounted) +1
Note: "Heavy equipment" is a characteristic of some types of crewed weapons.
See weapons database to determine whether any particular weapon is considered
"heavy equipment".
Naval Movement / Naval Units
River or lake (deep water) 1
River or lake (small vessels, shallow water) 2 (may run aground)
Otherwise. not allowed
Note: A river lake hex which shows even the smallest amount of land is
considered shallow.
Water Movement / Non-Naval Units
River or lake (non frozen) Not allowed
River or lake (frozen) Normal movement costs
SPECIAL CASES:
Artillery may not be pushed (moved while unlimbered) into any hex adjacent to
an enemy unit.
Units may always move one hex per turn regardless of cost, as long as the
movement would not otherwise be prohibited.
-Terrain and Formation Effects On Fire Combat-
All fire in the game is resolved by first calculating a raw lethality for the
firing unit (the expected casualty rate in the target unit) which is then
multiplied by an "optical cross section" value to get the effective lethality.
Units will small optical cross sections are well protected from enemy fire.
-Target Optical Cross Section (by formation)-
-Defensive Order (or Unlimbered artillery)-
trench,sunken road,town,walled compound,or redoubt 0.15
village 0.25
-All Other Formations-
If "front", "flank", or "rear" are indicated, the line applies only to fire
received through that specific arc.
Digging or Disordered
vs. Artillery 1.20
vs. small arms 1.00
March Column flank 0.70
March Column front or rear 0.88
Attack Column
vs. Artillery front 2.10
vs. small arms front 1.20
vs. Artillery flank 3.15
vs. small arms flank 1.80
vs. Artillery rear 2.63
vs. small arms rear 1.50
Supported Line
vs. Artillery front 1.50
vs. small arms front 0.80
vs. Artillery flank 2.25
vs. small arms flank 1.20
vs. Artillery rear 1.88
vs. small arms rear 1.00
Line (small arms or artillery fire)
small unit front 0.60
large unit front 0.80
small unit flank 0.90
large unit flank 1.20
small unit rear 0.75
large unit rear 1.00
A "small" unit has no more than 500 (100 yard scale), 1000 (200 yard scale),or
2000 (400 yard scale) troops assigned. More than this, and the unit is
actually in a hybrid "line/supported line" formation.
Square
vs. Artillery 2.40
vs. small arms 1.40
-Modifiers For Units Not In Defensive Order-
Bridge 2.00
Berm or Partial Breastworks
front 0.80
flank or rear 1.20
Full (360 degree) Breastworks 0.80
Skirmishers Deployed
vs. Artillery 1.00
vs. small arms 0.33-0.66
(depending upon proportion of troops skirmishing - 0.33
modifier is for units deployed 100% as skirmishers. 0.66
modifier would apply for a very large unit with a small
proportion of troops deployed as skirmishers).
Mounted 3.00
Target on higher elevation than firing unit 0.90
Dry Stream 0.90
Town, Walled Compound, Redoubt 0.70
Village, Rocks, Tall field, Woods 0.80
Abatis, Field, Brush 0.90
All modifiers listed on separate lines are cumulative.
-Examples-
A unit in defensive order, in a village would only suffer 25% of the raw
expected casualties.
A unit in defensive order, in a redoubt would only suffer 15% of the raw
expected casualties.
A small unit in supported line formation, receiving small arms fire from a
flank, deployed in an open rocky hex, with skirmishers out, wouldsuffer:
(1.20 x 0.80 x 0.33)=0.32 (32%) of the raw expected casualties.
A small unit in supported line formation, receiving artillery fire from a
flank, deployed in an open rocky hex, with skirmishers out, would suffer:
(1.20 x 0.80)=.96 (96%) of the raw expected casualties.
A large mounted cavalry unit in attack column formation, in a field, taking
small arms fire from the front, with skirmishers deployed would suffer:
(3.00 x 1.20 x 0.90 x 0.66)=2.14 (214%) of the raw expected casualties.
A unit in supported line formation, receiving artillery fire from a flank,
deployed in a brushy berm hex higher than the firing unit would suffer:
(2.25 x 0.90 x 1.20 x 0.90)=2.19 (219%) of the raw expected casualties.
-Notes on Fire Strength-
A unit's raw fire lethality (strength) is based upon its "capability" and the
number of weapons the unit can fire (in turn based upon its formation).
Mounted cavalry units suffer a 33% penalty. Previously moved units suffer a
20% penalty. All units suffer a 30% penalty at night, as well as a 15% penalty
in light rain or snow or a 30% penalty in heavy rain or snow. Additional
penalties may apply for some classes of weapons in certain circumstances. All
of this will be detailed in a separate document soon. The fire strengths shown
in the game already reflect all of these effects.
October 23rd, 1996.
Updated October 24th, 1996.
Age of Rifles FAQ #6
If you have had problems with the sound in Rifles, or if you have experienced
crashes on starting the game, your problem is most likely an improper sound
initialization due to a problem with the autodetect feature in the sound
installation utility shipped with the game. This is particularly true if you
have an Ensoniq Soundscape card, but there are a couple of other cards out
there with similar tricky setups.
The following has worked for a lot of folks with sound
problems, including sound related crashes:
1) If you use Win 95, DO NOT REBOOT TO DOS, instead, use a DOS window from a
desktop shortcut. This is very important. These days many sound cards are set
up by software rather than by jumpers. On quite a few systems, the cards are
configured differently depending upon whether you are running from a desktop
shortcut or from a "hard" DOS prompt (a DOS reboot).
2) From the command line (DOS, or DOS window) run SOUND.EXE.
3) When you are given the option, select "skip auto detection..." Do _not_ use
the autodetect feature. It does not work with some cards. Why? I don't know,
but the sound installer is not my work so there isn't much I can do about it.
4) Manually select the appropriate settings for your sound card as the
installer presents them. Try the settings it offers first. Oddly enough, in
most cases these settings will be correct even though the global autodetect
won't work.
5a) If you are using DOS, you should be finished. Test the game, returning to
alternate settings in the sound installer until you find a set that works
properly. (In many cases, these settings can be found in a rather cryptic line
in your autoexec.bat file.)
5b) If you are using Win95, set up a desktop shortcut to Rifles.exe. In
properties, set: close on exit, full screen, and disable screen saver. Leave
everything else at default settings. Test the game, returning to alternate
settings in the sound installer until you find a set that works properly.
If you have any problems after updating the game to v1.2, they may be due to a
mistake in application of the update. The command to install the update is
"aor1_2 -d". The -d command line parameter is required for proper installation
of resource files in the appropriate sub directories. How can you tell if this
is the problem? There should be no *.PCX, *.LBM, *.SHP, or *.FNT files in your
Rifles directory. Delete any such files to free up disk space, the reapply the
update with the -d option.
Two more hints for Win95 users - particularly for those who upgraded their
systems from DOS or Win3.x:
1)Back up your config.sys and autoexec.bat files. Then open them in the editor
in a DOS window and comment out _everything_ but "lastdrive", "path", and
"set" statements. When you are finished, save the modified files, exit, and
"restart" the computer. If any of the lines you commented out were device
drivers, there is at least a 50/50 chance that your system will now run _all_
applications more stably than it did before you modified your startup files.
In fact, some Win95 books advocate _deleting_ the config.sys and autoexec.bat
files completely for best system performance.
2)If you have installed the Win 95 "Plus Pack" System Agent, make sure it is
_off_ before playing Rifles or any other DOS app. Frankly, given my hideous
experiences with System Agent, I suggest you uninstall it. That's what I did
after it fragged the FATs on two hard drives.
October 30th, 1996.
Modified January 2nd, 1997.
Age of Rifles FAQ #7
Unit Frontage and Fire Strengths.
First, a few definitions...
Formation frontage places limits on the proportion of a unit's weapons that
can be brought to bear, based upon the geometry of particular formations.
Formation frontage (ff):
formation ff
defensive order available troops
line available troops
supported line available troops/2
attack column available troops/4
square available troops/2
other available troops/8
skirmishing skirmisher frontage
Parade ground frontage (pgf) and skirmisher frontage (sf) vary with the
scenario scale:
scale pgf sf
100 y 250 troops 100 troops
200 y 500 troops 200 troops
400 y 1000 troops 400 troops
Parade ground frontage is the absolute maximum number of troops that are free
to fire their weapons in any particular direction (actually an arc). The
number is based upon a rather generous assumption that densely packed troops
deployed in two lines can direct as many as 5 rifles out of a 2 yard span.
Skirmisher frontage is similar, but applies to units with skirmishers deployed
regardless of formation. Reflecting increased spacing of skirmishing troops,
the number is based upon an assumption that troops scattered in a loose
skirmish "line" can direct only one rifle out of a 1 yard span. Skirmishers
are assumed to be deployed in front of any other troops in the unit, so they
block fire from any troops behind them.
Additionally, dismounted cavalry (any unit with mounts, but not equipped with
crew served weapons) have their frontage reduced by 20% - the number of troops
assumed to be watching mounts.
If a unit shares a hex with another unit, these numbers are halved,
effectively dividing available frontage up between the two units in the hex.
The actual number of troops who can fire their weapons is the lesser of
formation frontage or parade ground frontage.
Naval units are not subject to frontage calculations when determining fire
strengths.
Examples: (based on 200 yard scale)
An infantry unit with 700 troops, deployed in line:
Skirmishers not deployed: lesser of (700) or (500) = 500 may fire.
Skirmishers deployed: 200 may fire.
The same infantry unit with 700 troops, deployed in supported line:
Skirmishers not deployed: lesser of (700/2) or (500) = 350 may fire.
Skirmishers deployed: 200 may fire.
A cavalry unit with 600 troops, deployed in attack column:
Skirmishers not deployed: lesser of (600/4)x0.8 or (500) = 120 may fire.
Skirmishers deployed: 200 may fire.
A disordered infantry unit with 900 troops:
Lesser of (900/8) or (500) = 112 may fire.
An artillery unit with 400 troops, unlimbered (line formation), sharing a hex
with another unit:
Lesser of (400) or (250) = 250 may fire. The number of crew served weapons
that can fire is limited by the troops allowed to fire. If this unit were
armed with 6 x 24 pounder ML howitzers (crew=20), all guns could fire.
Note that in most cases, the number of troops allowed to fire will be limited
by skirmisher frontage if skirmishers are deployed, regardless of formation.
Now the formulae...
melee strength=lesser of (pgf or available troops) * unit capability *
formation modifier * special modifiers. The formation modifier varies from 1.0
(defensive order) to 0.20 (march column). Special modifiers include things
like mount status, terrain modifiers, etc.
fire strength=lesser of (pgf or ff) * unit capability * special modifiers *
weapon lethality at range / crewmen required to operate the weapon. Special
modifiers include things like lighting and precipitation, mount status, etc.
Note that this formula effectively limits the number of crewed weapons that
can fire by assigning available frontage based upon the crew size required to
operate the weapon. A weapon with a crew of 30 would require the same
available frontage as 30 rifles.
The long versions of these formulae go on for several pages.
Norm Koger
November 2nd, 1996.