Best Settings For Battle Realism

[KingofSpades]

What are the best settings for realism in battle?

I always play on the most difficult settings, but it's getting a little silly. I just fought a battle where I inflicted 40% casualties on an AoP corps and they fought like the defenders at Thermopylae. While my men were routed, the corps I inflicted 40% casualties on seemed entirely unperturbed. In real life, they most likely would've been running for their lives.

Does anyone have a recommendation for what the best setting would be? Not too easy, but also not a fight to the death in which only MY army is skittish—The Grand Tactician Goldilocks zone, if you will.

[mogami_99]

First I commend you for playing the hardest settings. Being a coward myself I do the middle ones.
Second without knowing the training and morale levels I can't say whether they would have ran or not. I would hazard a guess that some of their brigades did run.
A division of 4 Brigades with 3k each is 12k and if you killed 1200 from each and they were green they would all run. If they were regular trained or better and had good leaders they might not. Then again you could kill 2400 from 2 and rout them but there would still be 6000 unrouted troops in the division. The point being many units lost 40% or more in a single battle and did not rout while others lost less then 10% and ran like rabbits. Units get morale boosts from various things and lose morale from other circumstance. Losing the leader is always a head start to the unit deciding enough is enough.
In this game numbers only count so much. I have routed 60k enemy armies with 20k (trained well led and equipped with 300+ yard repeater cavalry) The battle barely lasted 20 minutes once the shooting began.

[LCcmdr]

As I understand it, the higher settings are what's causing you to experience this. The AI receives buffs in accuracy, morale, etc. Perhaps the rugged behavior you're seeing is simply the buffs that you've granted the enemy. His regiments will take more punishment before breaking, and their shooters will inflict greater damage on your regiments (since you've granted them a larger dose of seasoned, if not veteran status).

[KingofSpades]

Originally posted by LCcmdr:

As I understand it, the higher settings are what's causing you to experience this. The AI receives buffs in accuracy, morale, etc. Perhaps the rugged behavior you're seeing is simply the buffs that you've granted the enemy. His regiments will take more punishment before breaking, and their shooters will inflict greater damage on your regiments (since you've granted them a larger dose of seasoned, if not veteran status).

Do you think there's a setting which allows the skill of both armies to be roughly equal? I haven't experimented with the settings since I always play on the highest difficulty.

[JohnnyReb]

I role play and pretty much only play as csa but I’ve found medium and medium is giving me the most historically realistic campaign so far. If you’re looking for more of a challenge and don’t roleplay I would go higher tho

[HenryPigLatin]

I'm still tinkering with aggressive levels. Too high definitely ianunrealiaric and honestly bad for the AI as they recklessly throw themselves everywhere at everything, and you win the game way too fast just from battle victory on morale. The lowest levels va medium... jury is still out for me.

As for difficulty, I don't know how anyone can play on anything other than the hardest. The AI is sufficiently terrible that they need to be set at maximum to be able to stand and fight at all. Anything less and I find the battles to be insanely lopsided against the AI. Thr problem is that the AI doesn't think in terms of flanking and things like that, so all those advantages that impact casualty and morale bonuses and penalties which a player will use, the AI only gets if they get lucky really. The only way to compensate for that is to max out the difficulty and thus give them major handicaps to morale and casualties.

[LCcmdr]

I shouldn't disagree since I don't have any experience at any setting over medium (mainly, because I'm trying to learn the economy stuff).

OTOH, at the lower settings, I'm having a blast countering the flanking maneuvers and outstanding AI behavior of dividing its forces and coming at my lines from at least three different tracks--but not on all maps. In my last confrontation, the AI used three different routes, with two stages in the middle and flanks on the right and left. The right flank was small and anchored my right lines. Moreover, that right flanking force was two pronged. I had so much territory to cover, that I sent out skirmishers to cover expected routes and found plenty.

So good was the AI's middle attack, that my counter came full face with a second line (another army--I was fighting three armies with two of mine (50K vs 34K). It was awesome fun. One CSA regiment of 2700 men suffered 1200 casualties and still didn't break until I expended a 500 cav regiment to attack its flank while under fire from the front.

Now some weird, regiment initiated movements did occur, and I suffered too many stupid pathing errors; but, overall, THIS IS WHAT I EXPECTED, and, IMO, the DEVs are delivering.

Again, just my luck, experience, and outlook.

[Wenatchee Willie]

Originally posted by JohnnyReb:

I role play and pretty much only play as csa but I’ve found medium and medium is giving me the most historically realistic campaign so far. If you’re looking for more of a challenge and don’t roleplay I would go higher tho

Same for me, except I usually play the Union side.

[A_P_Hill]

I would also place a bet that the AI stacked commanders with that unit, to the point that they were practically invincible.

[KingofSpades]

Originally posted by JohnnyReb:

I role play and pretty much only play as csa but I’ve found medium and medium is giving me the most historically realistic campaign so far. If you’re looking for more of a challenge and don’t roleplay I would go higher tho

I'll definitely try this. I always play as CSA, and so far the realism has been lacking. Although, like I said, I've only played on harder difficulty levels.

[mogami_99]

Originally posted by KingofSpades:

Originally posted by JohnnyReb:

I role play and pretty much only play as csa but I’ve found medium and medium is giving me the most historically realistic campaign so far. If you’re looking for more of a challenge and don’t roleplay I would go higher tho

I'll definitely try this. I always play as CSA, and so far the realism has been lacking. Although, like I said, I've only played on harder difficulty levels.

I alternate what side I play. The CSA is definitely more of a challenge. When playing the game I have a supper of beans and coffee. While I ponder where I am going to get another corps for this or that army.