Abshire
02-18-2015, 06:19 PM
I just sort of stumbled on this by accident and I must say...I wish I knew about it sooner!
I am a reenactor, or at least I used to be till I moved out to Montana...and I mostly did 20th century reenacting but right before I moved out here I started to get into Civil War, where I did artillery with a 6 Pound gun. We were pretty hardcore on authenticity and while I am still pretty ignorant about a lot of the units, I am impressed with what I am seeing now as far as a drive to stick to authenticity.
So here are a few suggestions:
Logistics:It would be really awesome for there to be a logistics phase for the Generals and other officers to work out before they fight the next battle. Like how many canister shells to get, how much food, coffee, ammunition, powder, ect. This way between battles, NCOs could relay to the officers what the men need while in camp, and the officers can do their best to get the supplies. Items like coffee, tobacco, ect...they could serve to boost troop morale.
Digging in: The last event that I went too was Bentonville, and our group was given permission to sleep next to the original earth works dug by the federals at the battle. It would be really great if officers could give men the order to dig in and then the player could pull out a shovel, cup, plate...whatever...and help dig out a trench.
Morale/Player Health/Fatigue: I saw an earlier post where someone suggested having time spent in the camp between battles. Why not take the immersion a step further and have that time be used to help out your character. If there is to be any sort of character progression, it would be really awesome if the time spent between fighting could be used for eating, drinking coffee/water/whiskey, smoking pipes or chewing tobacco, resting, listening to music, talking to each other....this will in turn increase your morale, player health, decrease your fatigue...so in the next fight you are well rested, fed, and ready to fight. If you were wounded in the last night...and not mortally wounded...you could visit the field hospital and get patched up and checked out.
Picket Lines: To keep the camp time somewhat interesting...you could have people stand picket duty and occasionally run into skirmishes with a handful of soldiers at a time. You can rotate people on and off picket duty based on their need to rest...but sometimes there is no rest for the weary. It could also be a time for some interactions between the pickets. Having the Federals and Confederates within shouting range...could potentially do some trading...smack talking...trying to get one side to join the other.
Equipment degradation: This goes back to the logistics. If your character has been marching for long periods of time over vast distances...his shoes will wear out...likewise his uniform and other equipment might start to wear out. Would be cool to maybe see that, and add another layer of immersion. Fresh troops looking clean and tidy, and men who have been on campaign for a while look more nasty and worn. As gear wears out officers can try and meet their mens needs as possible.
I know some of these suggestions may have already been suggested, or they are a bit out there...just my 2 cents and I guess this is my way to maybe bring reenacting online since I cannot make it to events out here.
I am a reenactor, or at least I used to be till I moved out to Montana...and I mostly did 20th century reenacting but right before I moved out here I started to get into Civil War, where I did artillery with a 6 Pound gun. We were pretty hardcore on authenticity and while I am still pretty ignorant about a lot of the units, I am impressed with what I am seeing now as far as a drive to stick to authenticity.
So here are a few suggestions:
Logistics:It would be really awesome for there to be a logistics phase for the Generals and other officers to work out before they fight the next battle. Like how many canister shells to get, how much food, coffee, ammunition, powder, ect. This way between battles, NCOs could relay to the officers what the men need while in camp, and the officers can do their best to get the supplies. Items like coffee, tobacco, ect...they could serve to boost troop morale.
Digging in: The last event that I went too was Bentonville, and our group was given permission to sleep next to the original earth works dug by the federals at the battle. It would be really great if officers could give men the order to dig in and then the player could pull out a shovel, cup, plate...whatever...and help dig out a trench.
Morale/Player Health/Fatigue: I saw an earlier post where someone suggested having time spent in the camp between battles. Why not take the immersion a step further and have that time be used to help out your character. If there is to be any sort of character progression, it would be really awesome if the time spent between fighting could be used for eating, drinking coffee/water/whiskey, smoking pipes or chewing tobacco, resting, listening to music, talking to each other....this will in turn increase your morale, player health, decrease your fatigue...so in the next fight you are well rested, fed, and ready to fight. If you were wounded in the last night...and not mortally wounded...you could visit the field hospital and get patched up and checked out.
Picket Lines: To keep the camp time somewhat interesting...you could have people stand picket duty and occasionally run into skirmishes with a handful of soldiers at a time. You can rotate people on and off picket duty based on their need to rest...but sometimes there is no rest for the weary. It could also be a time for some interactions between the pickets. Having the Federals and Confederates within shouting range...could potentially do some trading...smack talking...trying to get one side to join the other.
Equipment degradation: This goes back to the logistics. If your character has been marching for long periods of time over vast distances...his shoes will wear out...likewise his uniform and other equipment might start to wear out. Would be cool to maybe see that, and add another layer of immersion. Fresh troops looking clean and tidy, and men who have been on campaign for a while look more nasty and worn. As gear wears out officers can try and meet their mens needs as possible.
I know some of these suggestions may have already been suggested, or they are a bit out there...just my 2 cents and I guess this is my way to maybe bring reenacting online since I cannot make it to events out here.