It's been a couple of weeks since my last update, and they have been quite busy.
One of the projects I'm actively working on is a Napoleonic miniatures game. The inspiration for developing these rules came after playing "Blücher" with friends John, James, and Mike a few years ago. However, the focus of my rules' development shifted significantly toward artillery after a somewhat unsatisfactory experience with a couple of aspects in "Bataille Empire."
In "Bataille Empire," I noticed an unrealistic limitation imposed on Austrian artillery, restricting it to short range. This limitation lacked a clear rationale, so I conducted extensive research. The only plausible explanation I found was that the Austrian 6-pounder cannonball was slightly lighter than its French counterpart. However, tests conducted after 1815 showed no significant range disparity that would justify such a limitation. This imbalance prompted me to delve deeper into historical records of artillery from various nations during the Napoleonic era.
The release of the second version of "Bataille Empire" further diluted the effectiveness of artillery to the point where it became nearly ineffective. Historical accounts, however, suggest that artillery was quite effective, especially against massed formations and at close range. To address these discrepancies, I have developed a new set of home rules for artillery that can be integrated into the "Bataille Empire" framework.
I am currently organizing these rules, adapting them to fit "Bataille Empire," and conducting thorough testing. To facilitate this, I wrote a C++ program to simulate artillery hits and damage, ensuring the system's reliability and historical accuracy. Once testing is complete, I plan to release these rules to the group during a future game session.
If anyone is interested in learning more about these new artillery rules or the development process, feel free to ask. I am always open to feedback and eager to share my findings and progress.
This update reflects my ongoing efforts to improve the Napoleonic miniatures game, specifically addressing artillery rules to enhance realism and historical accuracy.
Update on Napoleonic Game Rules
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The forum rules are short and simple and are as follows:
1) Respect each other, even when there is disagreement.
2) No cursing, or name calling, or other derogatory remarks.
3) Opinions are just that, opinions, making opinions neither right nor wrong.
4) Don't post copyrighted material (if you're unsure, then for sure don't post it).
Re: Update on Napoleonic Game Rules
I'm going to start from scratch with the artillery simulator because the current physics and other related factors don't align with historical artillery test records. Initially, I thought there was a mistake in the interpretation of the range measurements, but those were accurate. After trying several adjustments without success, I substituted data from the older but yet modern-day artillery, which produced results closer to publicly available information. I believe the gunpowder used at that time was substantially different from what we use today, however I did use certain references denoting the gunpowder properties of the time. I plugged those numbers in, and when the results were still off, I changed the gunpowder base values each time I ran the program to see if the results would match the historical records. Nope. And yes, before you ask or discuss this elsewhere, I took into account all factors that could affect the results: cannon ball weight, gun caliber, length of gun, elevation, grazing distance, etc.
This different approach involves using hard numbers from post-1815 artillery tests. I'll then analyze historical records to extract the actual numbers of soldiers killed and maimed by artillery. This data will form the basis for creating statistics to plug into the code, generating random numbers of soldiers killed by each artillery piece or battery. I believe this method will offer better results.
This different approach involves using hard numbers from post-1815 artillery tests. I'll then analyze historical records to extract the actual numbers of soldiers killed and maimed by artillery. This data will form the basis for creating statistics to plug into the code, generating random numbers of soldiers killed by each artillery piece or battery. I believe this method will offer better results.