One problem I noticed and reported some time ago is that if you issue a defensive line order in the initial deployment phase, and the troops immediately jump to their positions, the lines on the map will jump forward, sometimes quite a bit. The troops may or may not actually be where the lines and troop icons are shown, especially artillery, which actually deploys well behind the icon on the map. If you issue the same defensive line order after the clock has started running, you get something closer to what you originally ordered. It's a nasty little problem that I haven't seen in a while because I make sure a defensive line during initial deployment is far enough away from the original location that the troops have to move there in real time rather than jumping. This may have been fixed.
right, I saw that too very often, this is a big problem, as it basically means that your entire artillery is disabled, as it won't move to the indicated position, is unresponsive and thus out of action for the entire time the corps remains in defensive line!
As for troops doing EXACTLY what you want... "Lieutenant, you have a sergeant and 10 men to erect a flagpole in front of the battalion HQ. What are your orders?"
- this is what I tried to say...thanks for making this point clear, god knows how often I have yelled at a poor recruit to get his ass over this wall EXACTLY how he was told to...and guess what, he broke his wrist, because he couldn't listen....you would think that if someone is accepted for service in the special forces, that his coordination and fitness abilities would be "outstanding", but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have a total brain freeze like a "normal/average" soldier!
to get the most realism out of the game, there should be a difference between being in command of the army or just of ONE corps:
- meaning: if you are CinC of your army, you simply don't have time to care of where exactly one of your corps commanders is setting up his defensive line...you simply give the order: hold the village, delay the enemy, break through the centre...whatever....but you would never issue a written order saying: I want you to position the 2nd and 3rd bataillon behind that hill and a battery of 6-pounders in support....and behind that the Vincent-Chevau-legers deployed in line under the command of.........you simply don't have the time for that....which means in game-terms, playing as the CinC you should leave these decision over to the AI and trust it like it was one of your trusted Corps commanders.....
if you are playing as the commander of a single corps however, you should have more influence on where to form your line, as we have now IMO, as the Corps commander issued his orders not only to divisions and brigades, but sometimes also influenced the deployment of single units...anyway you can always change that with micromanaging at the moment, when only in command of a single corps!
CvC