For starters, this post isn’t for everyone as it doesn’t deal with strategy. And I’m definitely not denigrating the work that the team put into this game as it is THE best Civil War strategy game out there. But here goes.
I’ve been reading a variety of posts on here that stretch back quite a few years. One topic that piqued my interest recently was a discussion about what I’ll call the “McClellan Problem.” We know he’s trash (similar situation with Banks, Butler, Fremont and Halleck), but historically he was THE prominent general for a time, therefore, he gets a NM event and high seniority.
Now, many of us shuffle him, and those like him, off to train troops, recruit conscripts, and to generally be out of the way while we protege known quantities. This got me thinking. If we have these high seniority generals AND we know they’re trash so we figured out gamey ways to get around it, doesn’t it kind of defeat the immersion of playing as either government? Specifically, I’m referring to being in the dark as to any particular general’s attributes?
I’ve tried the randomize setting and it’s lacking, IMHO.Wouldn’t it be better to have an option to actually and completely randomize generals. Random start dates? Random seniority? Random, but reasonable, ratings (no 0-6-6s or 6-0-0s)? Random traits? Wouldn’t this be a more immersive experience? Actually finding yourself in a position to see who’s up to the challenge of commanding your armies and corps. Having to put different commanders to the test and juggle different seniority each and every time you play. Who knows, you might start off with a great captain of war, a real loser, or a mediocre general who is able to hold the line while you keep searching for “the one.”
I do realize that they’re is no upcoming patch to this game, as AGEOD has moved onto a newer engine, but was just letting my mind wander and, I guess, just thinking out load. I know this post isn’t for everybody. I just thought I’d ask if anyone else thought it would be cool to have to start from scratch each time.