Between Turns.... A sim perspective

Campaign simulations make use of the modder-friendly nature of the Take Command 2nd Manassas (TC2M) game. Orders of Battle (OOB) are edited and revised regularly to reflect changes in unit strength, detachment of regiments, addition of new units, etc.  Custom scenarios are also created, putting the order of battle  into a sort of scenario in which the units are placed in their respective positions and the simulation for that date, time and location can start.

After the cavalry fighting on May 8th, I still need to make adjustments to the cavalry brigades that were engaged.

1.      Dibble and Herling moved from Willow (Ezra Church TC2M map) to Tulip (Brandy TC2M map). Martin and Marple moved from Jones' Field (custom map) to Greenville (Port Gibson TC2M map). This means creating new scanarios for the morning of May 9th.

2.      Units in all four brigades took casualties. This means adjusting the OOBs in the scenarios for May 9th by reducing unit strengths where appropriate.

3.      Grades are recorded for each action and unit quality is adjusted based on cumulative grade. The unit quality changes performance of a regiment or battery in the game. I need to record the grades and see if any units have quality changes and make those changes in the OOBs.

4.      Returns: After each day, I prepare casualty returns. (I still have to do this for May 8th) These are provided to commanders and show the losses broken down into killed, missing and wounded. The general returns are also updated. Killed and Missing are removed from the total regimental strength, but wounded are moved to "absent." On May 14th, adjustments will be made and some of the wounded and sick may be discharged (and removed from total strength) or returned to the regiment (and moved from absent to present, increasing the strength on the battlefield).

5.      Other adjustments: Sometimes changes are made to commanders. On May 8th, one commander received a promotion. This will be reflected in the OOB and would be visible in the game engine.

May 9th has started, but I could not take it to the point of any engagement until I make the final adjustments in the OOBs. Both commanders surprised me by getting in orders very early, complete with maps! I hope to see if there will be any engagement on Friday.