Rules Discussion

[TLS]

Ask and an answer of some sort will come to you

[Haneastic]

Are slave import centers worth 1 point? Export centers are mentioned but I don't think it specified how much income import centers generated (unless I'm dense and missed it)

[TLS]

You get a point if you run a merchant fleet between 1 export and 1 import center--you have to complete the loop

[Kilani]

Is the .5 upkeep for flotas only if you mobilize them during wartime or are they just generally a net .25 loss?

[TLS]

Is the .5 upkeep for flotas only if you mobilize them during wartime or are they just generally a net .25 loss?

Only wartime

[Rodenka]

Is Holstein-Gottorp still a Swedish ally/protectorate?

[Galveston Bay]

Is the .5 upkeep for flotas only if you mobilize them during wartime or are they just generally a net .25 loss?

Only wartime

the intent was not only does it cost you revenue but you also have to pay for the ships and cres

[TLS]

Is Holstein-Gottorp still a Swedish ally/protectorate?

Yeah, I'll post their stats soon. They're v v tiny tho.

[Kilani]

Because I'm trying to remember: fortresses count as containing depots for the purposes of training troops, right?

[Galveston Bay]

Because I'm trying to remember: fortresses count as containing depots for the purposes of training troops, right?

that and counting as a base (supply source) for a field army

so yeah, they are pretty powerful positions for offensive, defensive and mobilizations purposes (hence the cost)

[Kilani]

It looks like Montevideo doesn't actually exist yet; would it be possible to move that port to Cartagena de Indias instead?

[Rodenka]

Do fortresses count as depots for purposes of figuring out depot maintenance?

[TLS]

It looks like Montevideo doesn't actually exist yet; would it be possible to move that port to Cartagena de Indias instead?

Ayup, I'll make the change.

[TLS]

A question was raised in Chatzy about whether Trading Posts and Outposts can be placed during pre-build, you can go for it within reason--if it's something that would start a diplomatic incident (trying to build a trading post in the middle of someone else's colony, say) don't do it, but expansion into terra nullis or native territories works. That being said, if you try to plop an outpost in the middle of Iroquois Country, that will likely provoke problems shortly after game start.

[Middle Snu]

On colonial nations:
- Can we spend points from colonies /trading companies on anything? Spend them only on the things that that colony would pay for? Do we need to track maintenance separately?

Questions on manpower:
- What exactly comes out of the 7% gap between 3% active-duty and 10% total? Just Militia + Naval Yards? Also Fortresses?
- For the VOC and WIC, can I assume that a lot of their manpower and sailors are coming from assorted Europeans, not necessarily just Dutchmen?
- What is the guidance on raising Colonial troops? How much manpower do they take?

Other:
- Can existing Militia be upgraded into Regulars in 1 season, or does it take 2 seasons like normal troops?

[TLS]

On colonial nations:
- Can we spend points from colonies /trading companies on anything? Spend them only on the things that that colony would pay for? Do we need to track maintenance separately?

Trading companies should be handled as independent organizations with their own ledgers, expenses, etc. Any excess income after expenses can go back to the central government.

As to other (settler) colonies, that is up to your discretion. The colonies can be directly administered/integrated into the economy, or you can break them out. If a compelling organizational or game reason arises (say substantial autonomy is given, or forced to be given) then I could require that their economies be treated more like the trading companies. As of yet, however, that's not the case for any of the colonies that currently exist.

Questions on manpower:
- What exactly comes out of the 7% gap between 3% active-duty and 10% total? Just Militia + Naval Yards? Also Fortresses?
- For the VOC and WIC, can I assume that a lot of their manpower and sailors are coming from assorted Europeans, not necessarily just Dutchmen?
- What is the guidance on raising Colonial troops? How much manpower do they take?

-The 7% gap is militia, fortifications, garrisons, and installations.
-Trading companies as of now lack a population to draw from, so that's a good point. Trading Company ships will only take 50% of their manpower from the home country, and the other 50% will come from elsewhere.
-It depends on the colony type. For the trading companies, recruiting sepoys is more like raising mercenaries--basically make the ask and I'll give you a number. For settler colonies, you draw upon local white manpower for your manpower limit, though if you make the argument to me as to why it makes sense to include non-whites in that number I'll entertain it. Spain and Portugal, for instance, historically drew most of their colonial troops from the mestizo population, while the North American colonialists almost exclusively armed whites.

Other:
- Can existing Militia be upgraded into Regulars in 1 season, or does it take 2 seasons like  normal troops?

If the militia are preexisting, it will take 1 season. However, if you raise a militia unit, it can't be upgraded in that season--an entire dedicated season is needed to get them up to speed.

I've now noted all these answers in the new rule set.

[Galveston Bay]

Do outposts, villages, towns, cities grown during the 15 year prebuild period?

For example, does Montreal grow into a port (assuming its arctic climate at this point due to the Little Ice Age, 15 years would be one bump up)

[TLS]

Do outposts, villages, towns, cities grown during the 15 year prebuild period?

For example, does Montreal grow into a port (assuming its arctic climate at this point due to the Little Ice Age, 15 years would be one bump up)

No, that's the size they are at game start.

[TLS]

Just to raise the point: there was some confusion about fortresses which was leading to some gamey decision making--which, kudos for being smarter than me, but it's not exactly accurate for the largest armies in Europe to be entirely militia and fortresses.

I've added the following clarification to the Fortress unit: "Although treated as a brigade, a fortress only has a garrison of 1,000 men, and can hold up to 3 other brigades as well (which are doubled defending it). If a fortress is abandoned, its defenders can constitute an infantry battalion, not brigade.The trained battalion can be switched out for a militia brigade (not militia battalion) if necessary--representing that more untrained militia are needed to take the place of trained defenders."

In essence, you shouldn't be relying on the idea of emptying your fortresses to be able to automatically give you a mobile army. Units trained for sedentary sieges aren't the backbone of a field army.

[TLS]

Follow up on the building of trading outposts in established Asian powers: building outposts during the jump in Terra nullis--areas which are basically tribal and have no suzerains--is good, and building in an Empire where you're already established is fine, but trying to sneak build five trading posts in, say, Persia over the build is not. You will need to negotiate access to those markets once the game begins.

In essence, this means most of Africa, maritime SE Asia, and India is fine (Africa and SEA because of the weakness of local powers, India because the floodgates are basically already open) but other areas will need to be opened.

Siberia, unclaimed North America, Australia are still open for settlement, but supply and technology issues do exist. There's a reason why Australia wasn't settled until closer to 1800.

[Haneastic]

Who, if anyone, owns Turks and Caicos?

[TLS]

Who, if anyone, owns Turks and Caicos?

Nominally you, but effectively pirates.

Which will be a mechanic I'll probably integrate over the weekend--y'all decided to start a big ol' dang ol' war right at game start so I didn't get to ease in some of the more chaotic elements at launch.

[TLS]

Some of you have caught on to the fact that infantry battalions/cavalry regiments are hot garbage when involved in a stand-up fight against brigades. The brigade is 3-4x as powerful as the battalion/regiment because of the benefits of scale and such, while it is only 2.5x as many people.

What does this mean from a rule's perspective? You can combine 3 battalions/regiments into a brigade. The fact that you lose 500 men is from the removing of surplus supply people (increasing returns!)

When a brigade is shattered in combat, and it does not have another shattered brigade to combine with, it is still reduced to a battalion/regiment. This represents, similarly, the slimming down of some brigade-level staff to a regiment-sized unit.

[Haneastic]

When towns grow after 5 years they become ports. When towns on the interior mature, do we simply call them a city and stop counting their income, or do they continue to provide the same income as a town does?

[Kilani]

IIRC colonial cities have an income of .5

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