(08-25-2018, 01:05 AM)Gary McClellan Wrote: That's odd, and I'm not sure what's up. My install has the "intended" options, but I saw someone doing a walkthrough on Youtube last night that had the same thing. I'll throw it back at Rich H and see if he knows what's going on. In the meantime, lemme find the discussion where I explain the choices.
Here we are:
The Musket and Pike engine is designed for the ability to cover a number of different wars across several centuries. The first game of the series, “The Renaissance” has some battles over 250 years before the Seven Years War. However, that flexibility means that some of the optional rules that the game offers are better or worse for the specific era that any given game is covering.
Therefore, I would like to make some suggestions about the optional rules in this game, and if they should be turned on or off to best get a feel for late linear warfare.
Manual Defensive Fire: ON
This setting produces one of the most important changes in gameplay that the series has to offer. If you turn it off, there are no distinct phases in the game, but you can move and fire your different units at will. On the other hand, if this rule is on, you'll get distinct movement, fire and melee phases. Late linear warfare tended to be fairly formalized, and turning this rule on gives a much better representation of that.
The downside of turning it on is for PBEM play, as it forces the players to exchange twice the emails you ordinarily would.
Victory Points for Leader Casualties: Your preference.
There's a definite advantage to be found in killing or wounding a major leader, but I don't believe that either approach creates a fundamentally different Seven Years War experience.
Rout Limiting: ON
This one is a fairly close call, but I think that on the whole, it does create a slightly better experience for this era. There are times that an army broke and ran, but that was usually after a long days fighting (with losses and fatigue). So, turning on Rout Limiting will help prevent mass routs until the respective armies are well down down.
ISOLATION RULES: OFF
The rule makes it easier to break down isolated units, but there are examples of units that are cut off making stout stands, especially if they're in some kind of a prepared position.
OPTIONAL FIRE RESULTS: ON
This rule tends to even out the highs and lows of firepower (it gives a higher chance of fire results being in the middle of the possible range, instead of one way or the other.
Melee Terrain Modifiers: ON
This gives benefit to a unit that's in a stronger defensive position.
COLUMN PASS THROUGH FIRE: ON
While this rule really goes back to the Napoleonic games (and thus, Napoleonic style column), it does discourage using column within artillery range, especially if you put multiple columns in one hex. As this game is using column to represent “Column of March” that's a good thing overall.
TARGET DENSITY MODIFER: Indifferent.
This one only kicks in at 1200 men in a hex, and the game has a stacking limit of 1000, so it never comes until play.
WEAK ZONE OF CONTROL: ON
This one is a bit of a double edged sword. It allows units to move around within enemy ZOC, which can allow for a level of infiltration tactics that's not really appropriate for the era. On the other hand, it prevents some rather cheap melee isolations, especially if you play with No Melee Elimintions off.
NO RETREAT OVERRUNS: OFF
This one is less important, because of the limited number of skirmishers you'll find in this game. That said, as this rule encourages using skirmishers for surround and destroy tactics, it's best left off.
PARTIAL RETREATS: ON
Because of the stacking limits in this game, you aren't likely to have stacks of more than 2 infantry units very often, but you will have multiple squadrons. This rule at least cuts down on losses from exploiting the stacking rules.
LINE MOVEMENT RESTRICTION: OFF
This rule gives a chance for units moving in line formation (even in clear terrain!) to disrupt upon movement, with lower grade infantry having a higher chance. The standard of drill of pretty much all the armies in this era makes this rule too restrictive on the players. Marching in line was what they drilled in on a very regular basis. Yes, the unit might have to stop and dress the lines at times, but to put full D status on is too punitive for that. (Note, you can still disrupt by moving into certain terrain types, which is part of the standard rules.)
FLANK MORALE MODIFIER: ON
This rule encourages using battalions in side by side line formation, which fits the era.
OPTIONAL MELEE RESULTS: ON
This is much the same as Optional Fire Results.
MULTIPLE CAVALRY MELEES: ON
This rule allows some of the more famous Cavalry Charges of the era, such as Zieten at Rossbach or the Bayreuth Dragoons at Hohenfriedberg (War of the Austrian Succession)
MULTIPLE INFANTRY MELEES: OFF
While the multiple rule may work with Cavalry, it's likely better to limit the usage there.
NO OPPORTUNITY FIRE AGAINST SKIRMISHERS: ON
This rule is really about conserving defensive fire, as it prevents players from using skirmishers to draw defensive opportunity fire. That said, if you're playing with MDF on, this rule is moot.
NO MELEE ELIMINATIONS: OFF
This one is a bit of a tighter discussion. Surround and destroy tactics were not common in this era (aside from the occasional strong point), but overall, I think it's better to have this rule than to force a player to tie up units for many turns to reduce an isolated unit.
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Optional Rules for SevenYearsWar
Optional Rules for SevenYearsWar 
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