POWs and CPs

[gchristie]

In a current PBEM (using version 1.13b with latest QuickFix) my esteemed opponent requested a prisoner exchange. I'm playing as the Union and a search of the forum indicates that my side will gain 2 NM, 25 VP and 1/3 of the POWs the CSA holds.

So I agree to the exchange. The political objectives screen says the Union holds 10,000 POWs at the end of the turn. Move to the next turn and I receive messages that 33,000 CSA prisoners were released, and 15,000 federal troops are freed. My opponent said he had 5,000 POWs. And the objectives screen says I still hold 7,200 POWs. Now I captured another 600 this turn, but these numbers don't make sense to me. Shouldn't my screen have told me I had 100,000 POWs before initiating the exchange and my opponent see 50,000 Union POWs as 33,000 is 1/3 of 100,000 and 15,000 is roughly 1/3 of 50,000?

And, my conscription points did not increase at all from pre-exchange turn to post-exchange turn (+73 for both turns).

I'm assuming this is WAD, but can someone explain what these numbers mean?

And, what is the rule of thumb for roughly how many men equals a conscription point so I can determine whether the CPs from freed prisoners wind up back in my conscription pool? If 15,000 union troops are released, is it 15 CPs?

If posting game files is necessary I'm the host and can do so.

Regards.

[enf91]

There's a comma error. The numbers of released prisoners are 10 times greater than they actually were. So your 33,000 released CSA prisoners were actually only 3,300. And I'm not sure about the whole prisoners --> CPs thing. I'm pretty sure I read it somewhere but I have yet to see it in practice.

[gchristie]

Thanks, enf91.

Looks like also a decimal error as well. Perhaps something to be fixed at a later time though pretty low on the priority list to be sure.

As to POWs released and calculating conscription points gained, I think I'm getting caught up in the web of "flavor" numbers again. I found this post that Gray Lensman sent December 2008 (we do listen to you, Gray, though at least for me sometimes what you write flies way over my head :confused :

"The prisoners are being exchanged in terms of conscript points but it is also being displayed by multiplying these by a "flavor" multiple to give you some idea of the men being transferred. If I can find this routine, I might reduce the multiple to 60% to match the change in the combat units, but first I have to find that multiple. All the combat unit flavor multiples are contained in the models database file right alongside the actual hit points assigned to the specific unit. I somehow think this multiple for POWs is possibly buried in the game code, instead of the database, but I'm not 100% sure."

I'm not too concerned with all the details of the game, just looking for a rule of thumb that 1,500 prisoners released equals some approx. number of conscript points returned to my conscript pool so I can see if I'm getting them or not. If it isn't too much trouble, can someone indicate the ball park figure for prisoners released and conscription points gained?

And while I'm at it, why does the number of national morale gained (total blockade and POW exchange for instance) show up as a negative number in the economics screen? At least I see a "-" in front of the NM number, though my morale does go up the next turn.

BTW, it's only 'cause we love this game that we appear to compulsively nit pick

[cegman]

The reason why the number shows up as a negative is those numbers down there are what you are spending. It shows your spending this many conscripts and your doing the opposite with the national morale