Marching In Formation & Firing

[TestudoAubreii]

Greetings,
Hey, I just reading through the MTWII battle planning threads and came across one that asks about marching in formation. I read on posters solution to this problem is to pick a stop behind your enemy, so your infantry line stays as a line, hit pause before the melee ensues and then charge you troops at their designated targets. I started thinking that this is the same thing with the missile troops; if you have all of our units selected and then fire at the enemy, the whole line of missile troops will only fire on the target selected.
Now, you may be wondering what this has to do with anything. Well, sit back and grab a beverage and I’ll tell you. As I was reading this, I started to think to myself “Self, if you were playing Empire: Total War, are you going to have to micromanage your troops as such?” What I mean is; say you have your muskets all lined up, ready to rain some lead on the opposites and you realize that you cannot march in a line or when you start to fire on the, it is only in the concentrated spot.
I haven’t played the Lordz Napoleon mod, so I do not know if they had this happen. Do you think that perhaps they will make so that if you have all of your units selected that (1) they will march in unison and (2) fire at the units directly, or even the closest one, instead of all your selected units firing at the center if the enemy’s formation? I hope that made some sort of sense.

morrisonicus

[Reiver]

By the inclusion of a fire button I suppose they could well mean blast a volley directly ahead. Otherwise selecting the target for the volley would probably involve a confusing sequence (something like shift-right click on target then hit fire button).
It'd be nice to have an advance button as well where you give the order and the unit advance in the direction they're facing. It'd be so cool to smash a French column then order a general advance with a single click and watch the whole thin red line lurch forward into the smoke, flags twitching and pipes skirling as you give the order to fix bayonets....somebody passs me a tissue!

[Empress Meg]

If we can do it, then the proffessionals can figure something out so that the "micromanaging" does not occur. However, its really not that hard to play in such a way. I personally enjoy micromanaging and each unit will pick the cloest target to fire at unless you tell it not to do so. If the musket is the primary weapon btw, there is no button required, only the mouse.

Devoirs The Empress