Manual:The map

From AACWWiki

Overview

1. Active side, victory points and national morale

The main indicators of your success. Check the tooltips for additional details.

2. Available transport assets

Rail, river and sea transport capacity that is currently available.

3. Production scoreboard

Production of the region where your mouse pointer is currently located.

4. Terrain and weather

Terrain type and weather in the region where your mouse pointer is currently located. Warning messages (such as invalid move destinations) also appear just below this area.

Many critical game functions are accessed through the Ledger, such as recruitment and economic decisions (F1 to F9 shortcut keys)

5. The ledger

Many of the game functions are accessed from here. Click on the bookshelf at the top of the map (next to the production scoreboard) and you will open a new window. Click on the books and drawers (highlighted in red in the image to the right), to cycle between the different screens.

6. Current date & main commands

The current date is displayed here. The tooltip tells you how many turns remain before the game ends. The three icons below the current date allow you to end the planning phase and start the resolution phase, to save the game, and to reach the main menu respectively.

7. Filters

The different map filters can be accessed from here.

8. Jump map

This map of the whole theater of war shows your position and allows you to jump to any location by clicking on it.

9. Special orders

The different special orders are grouped into three different tabs. A grayed out buttons signifies that the special order is currently not applicable to the selected force.

10. Postures

Use these four buttons to assign a specific posture to the selected force.

The message log is displayed after turn resolution.

11. Unit panel

The unit panel displays the units present in the currently selected force. During a turn’s resolution, the unit panel is replaced by a message log which lists various game messages (events, reinforcements, battle messages, etc…) that indicate what happened during the turn.

Red messages are events of particular importance. Double-clicking on these opens a window with detailed information.

Clicking on a black message centers the map on the region corresponding to the message. The six buttons on the left allow you to filter the messages by categories (check the tooltip for details). You can always return to the message log message list by right clicking anywhere on the map.

12. Elements panel

The small panel on the bottom right shows the elements composing the currently selected unit. If you click on one of these elements you will access the sub-unit details panel which provides even more information.

13. Sea lanes box (not shown on the screen capture)

This box, located near the East Coast, represents USA merchant shipping.

14. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico blockade boxes (not shown on the screen capture)

These boxes, located respectively next to the sea lanes box and in the sea near Louisiana, represent CSA trade routes.

Navigating the Map

To scroll through the map, simply place and hold the pointer on the edge of the screen or use the arrow keys. To zoom in or out of the map, either uses the mouse wheel or the End, Page Up, and Page Down keys. You can also press the mouse wheel button to swap between highest and lowest zoom level.

Regions & sea zones

Units and fleets move and battle across regions and sea zones. Tooltips indicate the different characteristics of each region and sea zone. Terrain type and weather are also displayed at the top of the screen.

Note: Regions are further grouped into states and states into departments. State and department borders can be displayed on the map using the appropriate filters.

Civilization level

The different civilization levels are:

• Wild
• Cleared
• Civilized

Depending on the civilization level (and other factors), unsupplied troops in an enemy region have a limited ability to live off the land each turn.

Transport Network

None

Tracks

Units moving into regions with tracks will never pay more than 150% of the clear terrain cost, whatever the terrain type.

Roads

Units moving into regions with roads or rails won’t pay more than the clear terrain cost, whatever the real terrain type.

Railways

Units moving by train will only spend one day for each region traveled.

Terrain Type

Different terrain types have varying effects on movement, combat and supply:

Structures

The yellow flag denotes two land forces and the blue flag one naval force within the city.

All structures provide shelter for land units against bad weather. Harbors do the same for ships. When there are units inside a structure, this is indicated by the presence of flags. Clicking on the structure (or the harbor basin for ships) will display these units in the unit panel. The currently selected unit will also be represented in the region on the map, ready to be moved.

• City: Controlling cities is critical to winning the game. Cities cannot be destroyed, except for Indian villages. On the map, units inside a city are not displayed but rather are indicated by small flags as shown above. Chimneys show that the city is producing war supplies while tents show that men (conscripts) are being raised in the area. A wooden plate denotes the presence of a depot. Each dot (green or blue) represents 3 units in the structure.

Cities have a level between 1 and 20 with the level noted on the nation’s flag adjacent to the city icon. They provide general supply, ammunition, war supplies, money, and a few of them even provide a regular flow of men (conscripts - though this is not the main way to get conscripts). They are also the places where new units appear (with the exception of partisans).

• • Town: A town is a small city (level 1 to 3). Unlike a city, it is unable to forward supply during the supply distribution phase unless a depot has been built in the town.
• Depot: It can be built at a cost of two supply wagons or by two transports ships if a harbor or anchorage is in the region. They can also be destroyed. Depots are able to stockpile and pass on supply during the supply distribution phase. A good network of depots is critical to move supply from your rear areas to the front.

Important note: This is not only true for the Union, which produces massive amounts of supplies far from the front, but also for the Confederates to a lesser extent. Evaluate the potential bottlenecks in your supply network by checking which rear-area cities stockpile too much supply (the supply filter will help you with that). Create a ‘grid’ of depots to alleviate the problem, and watch out for towns (level 1 to 3 cities), which can’t push supplies forward unless they contain a Depot.

• Pre-war fort: These brick structures were built before war broke out and are rather obsolete. Nevertheless, they provide some defensive benefits in combat. They interfere with enemy movement and also provide some supply. Pre-war forts may be destroyed.
• Permanent fortification: Modern forts made mostly of earthworks. Like depots, forts can be constructed at a cost of two supply wagons and four artillery batteries. Permanent fortifications can’t be destroyed.
• Ports: Ports provide supply unless blockaded. Fleets in ports cannot be attacked. On the map, naval units inside a port are not displayed but indicated by a blue flag on the city mast. Click on the port basin to access the naval units. Ships are produced and can be repaired in ports.
• Indian village: These settlements are similar to Level 1 towns except you can destroy it, possibly resulting in its tribe being eliminated even if currently located in another place.
• Stockade: A stockade is the simplest form of defense for military camps or settlements. It is usually an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide some security.

There are also a few off-map boxes displayed on the borders of the game map. They represent distant areas, which had some influence over the conflicts in North America (such as California or Southern Canada).

Trenches

Trenches provide defensive benefits depending on their level (1 to 8). Trenches are not considered to be structures, although they do provide limited shelter against bad weather. They are not subject to siege.

Units automatically start entrenching if they don’t move during a turn. A force only needs a few days to dig into level 1. Each additional level requires increasingly more time to build (i.e. building a trench from level 2 to level 3 takes longer than expanding a trench from level 1 to level 2). The building leader’s strategic rating plays a key role in the speed of the process, especially for low-level trenches.

Levels 5-8 can only be achieved if there is artillery present in the region. Levels beyond 5 do not provide additional cover but they increase the batteries’ firepower. In addition, such emplaced batteries will defend the river(s)/seacoast in their region and fire on nearby moving fleets. Batteries will also engage bombarding ships and block enemy supply transport by river.

Note: The highest entrenchment levels represent field fortifications, like the positions around Washington and Vicksburg. They are still trenches, not structures.

Trench Levels are shown graphically on the map, with Levels 5-8 being identified by a gun icon.

States

Each state has limited resources so it can only field a limited number of troops for the side controlling it. You won’t be able to raise more units in a state than this maximum value. In addition, you can only draft units in a state if you control at least one of the state’s strategic cities. These are shown on the map with a star by the city name. Several political and economical decisions are also declared at state-level. Local units gain a small combat benefit when fighting in their own state.

Note: Both sides can raise troops in the same State if they both control one of the State’s Strategic Cities.

Departments

A Department is a collection of states. Some rules and abilities work at the department-level (also called “theaters”). Most ships are also recruited on a department basis.

Filters

There are six filters in AACW to help visualize information on the map. To activate them, use the 1-6 keys or click on the buttons located next to the mini-map). The different filters are:

1. Military control

Shows the regions where you have significant military presence (even if you don't have a force present).

2. Supply

Crates and cannonballs indicate the quantity of general supply and amunition respectively that are present and regions highlighted in green indicate how far your supply network extends.

3. Objectives

Highlights objectives and cities granting VP’s and indicates their owner.

4. Loyalty

Shows the local population’s bias towards one of the sides in the conflict.

5. States

The different states are shown with different colors.

6. Departments

Each department is shown with a different color.