From: Frédéric Bey I have received SoA today. Thanks a lot. The Aide de Jeu are particularly nice. Big improvement regarding former games : nicer and better paper quality. As usual the map is simply great ! I will review it for VV. We are not sure to have a full page in VV 51. If not I will do a presentation in the news in VV 51 and then a two pages in VV52. Don't worry, after what I have seen you will have the same 5 lauriers as for Bonaparte in Italy ! Counters already punched, one hour after arrival. Kevin, to be honest, I have designed wargames, opened and played hundreds of games and I know (times are changing) more and more computer games, but it is when I open one of your boxes that I always get the little star in my head (les yeux qui pétillent, en Français). That's it. Dave Demko Subject: The Battalion of 300 Good news about Sun of Austerlitz. When it arrives, I'll have a pleasant dilemma: one of my gaming buddies and I have set up Bonaparte in Italy and we're ready to launch into the campaign game, perhaps tonight. We'll probably be a fortnight or so into that game when Sun shows up and creates a distraction. It will be like trying to decide which Brandenberg concerto to listen to next: a difficult choice to make even though it's difficult to make a bad choice. Regarding requests for expedited handling, which you invite in the April OSG News email, I'd say just handle my order along with all the other folks who pre-ordered, the "battalion of 300." I'm not going to clamor to receive my game any quicker than the other 299 loyalists who made the game's publication feasible. In preparing to play BiN, I compiled a cheat sheet with rules summaries and rule number references to help us keep track of all the little details like vedette setup, entering/leaving quarters, special rules for the morale track, and so on. Once I try it out in play to improve it and shake out the errors, I can send you a copy or make it available to the folks on the Consimworld CoA forum. I hesitate to present a "beta" copy of such a play aid on the principle that "bad information is worse than no information." You might want the chance to validate it. Stay tuned. From: Chris Moeller The game arrived just now and it looks amazing, amazing, amazing! The LGE pieces are wonderful, can't wait to give them a run. I'm so proud of you for sticking with your dream the way you have, Kevin. This has been a long hard road, but what a gem you've created. Congratulations! Can you tell I'm setting up the game during break-time? Thought 1: I am reading War and Peace (again), and it is SO WONDERFUL to have this beautiful, gorgeous game to pore over as Prince André and Nicolai Rostov have their first encounter with l'Empereur. [Ed sez: I agree that War & Peace brings it alive. I love the scene when Bagration's command is getting ready for battle at Hollabrunn.] Thought 2: Okay, an observation really... My counters are mis-registered on the back. Is this an overall problem or just my counters? General Wrede has a whole rainbow of different colors. Can you send me a good set when you get some breathing room (if there is such a thing?). Just send it with my second copy when that goes out. The ones I have are certainly workable at the moment. [Ed sez: There were too many like that to throw away, probably about 100. This die-cutting is an ART, you understand, and it's all done by hand. The guy who does these counters is the best there is.] Thought 3: Vedettes again. My brain wants them to be "real" units, not just dummies. The Fog rule and the "create vedettes when forces are created, but don't remove them when the forces consolidate" rule both fight against that illusion (or concept, if it's not an illusion). Why would detatchments be able to go roaming around better in the fog? Why do they vanish when the fog goes away? I understand, MECHANICALLY what's happening, but my sense that this vedette is really Count Rostov's Pavlograd Hussars is diminished. Just an observation, there. [Ed sez: observe that vedettes are virtual units that appear and disappear. That doesn't make them any less 'real' than any others. We could have made the vedettes according to your porposed model. In fact, that is the way they are handled in 1806, but the reason for that is the lower scale. (Where I'm excited about using them would be in the tactical games, the 1813 Quad, which doesn't even have hidden movement. But we didn't ...) We made a decision to keep them a little bit generic and a little hazy at this level, because they are, operationally, regiment-sized units and this is a corps level game! We could be more exact but it would require yours truly to do a lot more work assigning them to exact hexes at the start of each scneario and the like.] For your consideration (and this is all for the next game, not this one): Give each player a number of vedettes at the beginning of the game. He can set them up, up to two per leader, on the map or on the organization displays (as if they were leaders w/0 sub. ratings). The rest of the vedettes go into the pool. The vedettes in the pool only come into play when reinforcement forces arrive (maybe make them reinforcements themselves). In play, vedettes can either deploy or just sit on a leader's Org Display. On the Org display they are invisible, intangible nothings. on the Map they're vedettes. they can be transferred freely between leaders in a hex at any time (or during the Org. Phase if you prefer). My feeling is that you want players to feel that these are REAL , vital pieces with a REAL vital role to play in the war. They are assets that commanders can use, rather than just will-o-the-wisps that come and go in their role as abstract game mechanisms. Poor hussars, they have only me to speak for them. It's the naming of the units that creates the illusion. If they just all said "vedette" or "dummy", then you'd, emotionally, think of them just as markers. But when a marker says the 8th Hussars, you think of it as the 8th Hussars. Oh, and I don't think there has to be some sort of gigantic OOB hunt to place every vedette in its historical position. Just say "you can set up two vedettes with any leader, and there are four vedettes you can bring in later w/reinforcements." The End. From: A. Beckman Thanks for your quick response -- I've been playing your games for as long as I can remember Arcola, Bonaparte in Italy etc. Being an avid Napoleonic gamer I really appreciate your life's contribution to hobby. Keep up the great work. From: Mario Vallée Very very well done sir. I love ALL the "displays". Map is perfect. Vienna moral, negotiation, ultimatum = COOL!!! Vive L'Empereur ! Mario http://www3.sympatico.ca/napoleon1empereur/ PS: Napoléon dead = + 2 From: Paul Stone Today (Sat 24th May), I purchased a copy of Sun of Austerlitz from Wayland's Forge, a retail outlet in Birmingham, UK. Upon opening, I have found that on the reverse side of the counter sheet that if I were to punch the counters out, some of the information printed on some of the counters would be lost due to an error in the printing (eg Holzendorf would lose the letter "H", Kellermann, most of the letter "K"). Would it be possible for you send me a replacement sheet of counters ? I have been an avid fan of the C of Napoleon series and whilst I look forward to playing this latest game in the series, the initial excitement was slightly tarnished upon finding a fault in the manufacture of the product. I do hope you will be able to rectify the problem. [Ed sez: The manufacturing of back-printed counters is the most difficult step in the production of a game. OSG has published seven games since 1997 and has used five different die-cutters. The process involves many steps: first the counter sheets have to be printed on glossy paper, then laminated to chipboard, then die-cut, one sheet at a time, and then trimmed down to 8.5" x 11." Our current die-cutter is the best we've found. NOTE: You can always get a replacement countersheet or any other part, if you return the defective item, provided we have it in stock.] From: Keith Cornell I wanted to take a quick opportunity to mention something about the future of wargaming. I think too many wargamers spend way too much time playing old buddies and not introducing potential new gamers to the hobby. I'm a new gamer, relatively speaking, and I'm dismayed at how snooty some older games can be at new guys like me. I have introduced wargames to three new people this year and they have gone on to buy wargames because they enjoyed them so much. All these other older guys just don't do that because they do not give a damn to what happens to the hobby after they die. Well I'm going to be here longer than them and I care. Well thanks for reading my vent. I just want wargames to be here in the years to come. Truly, Keith Cornell [Ed sez: We do have a problem getting new recruits in wargaming and I appreciate your taking the time to write. The old grognards can be snooty. Don't be put off by their gruff exteriors. The best way to impress them is to kick their ...] From: Dan Raspler As for LGE, I like the idea of the Guards units in the game, but haven't really looked at the latest update too closely. (Thanks a million for the update counters, by the way!) I have to say that +1 on the attack die roll per committed Gd division seems hugely more effective than it should be. Consider how tough it is to get modifiers on that "strategic combat die", and how a single drm really swings the tide of battle (and consequently, the tide of victory). Basically, each pip makes your units 10% more effective... Why should two Austrian Guards divisions (at a cost of 2 vps) be BETTER than having Napoleon leading your army? At any rate, regardless of the effect of the Guards, I think the idea of a "cost" to commit them makes perfect sense. Although, upon futher reflection, if Napoleon committed them, and they completely kicked ass and crushed an enemy army, why would there have been any greater cost (since their reputation would only have been improved)? Shouldn't they only incur a greater cost if he commits them and they fail (thus destroying their reputations)? Either way, I guess 1VP per committed guard sounds like a decent enough rule! [Ed sez: We are working on an update (as mentioned above), as follows: EFFECT OF GUARDS UNITS Attack Die Roll Modifier (5.617) of +1 per Guard division. Each unrouted guard Division counts as 3 units during retreat. (5.622). Each time you choose either option, it costs 1 Victory Point.] Subject: Salon du Premier Empire From: Anne de Kerautem-Bourgon Salon du Premier Empire will take place in Paris from 3rd to 5th December 2004 in Palais des Congrès, located near the Arc de triomphe, at the bottom of Avenue de la Grande Armée, on a 2000 square meters surface + a 380 seat conference room + a specific room to exhibit objects from private collections. The aim of this international fair is to put together all persons interested in the napoleonic period, in various fields (history, antique furniture, uniforms, medals and coins, games, books, miniatures, etcc..). The main area will be dedicated to suppliers' booths to show and sell merchandise. One room will be dedicated to private collections exhibition. And various animations will be organized: reenactement, conferences, books signatures, demos of games, and so on.. We are quite ambitious about this event, since we expect 10,000 visitors. Back to OSG News May 2003 Table of Contents Back to OSG News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by Operational Studies Group This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com