Sun Feb 15, 2015 5:20 am
Good explanation of the different pools. This is not clear at the outset and some players may not know to scroll to right to uncover all the sub-factions which need replacements.
I like all the different replacement pools for several reasons. The polyglot challenge of Russia and Austria, as well as, the British Empire and other colonial reinforcements, is reflected well. Yes, it can be tedious and time consuming, but necessary it is, if you wish to have this level of sophistication in ethnic pools. With these nations, you are not managing a single unified nation, but a collective of nationalities. If you want simplified replacements, run Germany or France. Or, play one of he Great War games without this level of detail.
Also, when a component region is overrun, replacements from those regions are lost. This level of detail is lost if all units are 'one' nationality. This is not, after all, an abstract high-level simulation. It digs into more detail while maintaining a strategic focus.
Finally, what makes several AGEOD games unique are the uniquely detailed recruitment pools they are sensitive to. This began, as far as I can tell, way back with the original Napoleon game, carried on through WIA and the earlier American Civil War game. With ROP and RUS the diversification expanded and became more specific. This fine tuning of who joins when for what reason is really a nice feature I love.