ForewordRight; here is the first dump of design information concerning movement and attrition in the game system. As we playtest the precise values, I will probably update the numbers and perhaps clarify a few things, or alternatively turn it into a webpage. Anyway, feel free to comment (many of these things are still being tested, so nothing is completely sacred).
The BasicsA few basic points, in case you haven't guessed from reading the site:
- Game turns in the operational game are simultaneous turn-based. In other words, players plan army movement, and armies are then moved "simultaneously".
- Armies can always move between areas that share borders.
On MovementRate of MovementThe rate of movement of an army is equivalent to the slowest element in the army; converted to movement factors, these factors are:
Siege train, Supply train: 9 MP
Infantry and most Cavalry: 12 MP
Some Light Cavalry: 15 MP
Leaders can choose to force-march gaining an additional +3 MP, but taking a penalty in their army’s ability to gather supplies and making them significantly more vulnerable to ambushes. In addition, certain leaders may have or gain the “Celeritas” ability, allowing them to force-march their veteran troops longer and harder than ordinarily possible.
The cost of movement is typically dependent on the terrain type being entered; the most basic terrain types and their equivalent costs are currently:
Clear, Steppe & Desert: 3
Rough & Wooded: 4
Mountain: 5
What happens if two armies “collide” while moving from each their own area into the others area? Each army in the game has an initiative rating, based on the initiative of its General and the make-up of the army (veteran armies and armies made up of light troops will have higher initiatives than poorly trained armies or armies consisting of heavy troops). In this case, the army with the highest initiative will become the attacker and “pin” the army with the lower initiative in its area. Once the two armies are in the same area, there is of course the chance of a battle taking place (depending on the combat stance and aggression of the two generals), but if combat is evaded, the defending army may now attempt to complete its movement plans and move into the area that the attacking army has just vacated.
(This makes possible some interesting strategies with respect to pinning enemy forces,; however, since the player can not micro-manage the movement of his armies below a certain level, I do not believe this will be too much of an advantage for the player).
On SupplyNaturally, forces consume an amount of food (generically termed supplies) every turn of the game. If the supplies delivered to an army is insufficient during the turn, the units suffer from gradual attrition as soldiers fall sick, straggle, or desert.
The Eating Capacity (EC) of an Army for the entire turn is roughly calculated as follows:
EC = #infantry + (#cavalry*3) + (#elephants * 175) + (#chariots * 12) + (siege engines * 20)
NB: Chariots & siege engines may have differing requirements depending on type (e.g., a 2 horse chariot might have a lower EC than a 4 horse chariot). I also haven't added supply units into the mix here.
The supplies collected by an army while traversing an area is calculated from the following formula: (SC) * ((100 – SM)/100)]
The Supply Capacity (SC) of an area is calculated dependent on the number of people available in the area for farming, the land support value, the condition of the land, the season, and a host of other things; this value is then modified depending on who owns and controls the area. The typical supply capacity would tend to range from between 15-45,000 troops, depending on these factors.
The Supply Modifier (SM) is calculated as follows:
+15 Enemy has cavalry superiority in area
+10 Forced Marching
+5 Undisciplined army (50%)
+5 Army is demoralized
-10 Plundering
-10 Logistical Genius (Character trait)
-15 Stationary the entire turn
Armies with a supply train may choose to deploy the supply train to make up any shortfall between the supplies required by the army and the supplies actually collected. This is only possible when the army is located in or adjacent to an area containing a friendly, unbesieged city (representing the existence of supply depots on which the army can draw).
The supplies actually collected divided by the eating capacity of the army then determines the attrition suffered by the army. The actual attrition suffered depends a lot upon the type, training, and morale of the various units. Elite and veteran units will suffer lower attrition than levy units (as they suffer less from desertion), while levy troops will suffer greatly (in terms of attrition) from any shortage.
Armies can also be supplied by sea if the army is located in a coastal area, but that requires the large-scale utilization of transport ships. Sea suply brings us into a wholly different area of the design which I shall not touch on yet, though.
All for now - hope this was of interest.
