An idea for in the game? The semaphore telegraph

Hi.
I was thinking about this to be beeing a part of the game, you could give states who have researched it some sort of bonus, for example in a military way or diplomatic.

During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars communication systems were pretty basic, mainly relying upon mounted despatch riders, although in 1793
a Frenchman came up with a suggestion that would transform long-distance communications.

Claude Chappe's semaphore telegraph took quite some time to be accepted by revolutionary officials, but once the teething problems had been ironed out it was rapidly adopted.

By 1794 communications towers within line-of-sight of each other allowed the French to send a signal from Paris to Lille - a distance of some 191 kilometres - in five minutes!

The success of the system meant new tower lines were constructed reaching out from Paris to Dunkirk, Brussels, Boulogne, Antwerp, Metz, Lyon, Milan, Venice and Mantua.

A message could be sent to Venice in six hours!

Chappe's telegraph was a small tower upon which stood a black 9-metre mast with a moving wooden cross-piece, measuring 30cm by 4.5 metres.

This regulator, as it was known, had a 1.8 metre indicator at each end and had four basic positions - horizontal, vertical or at 45-degree angles.

When not in operation the indicators were left as horizontal extensions of the regulator and these would then be moved in seven combinations of angles at 45-degree tilts.

All up the Chappe semaphore tower had 196 combinations known as signs and would be worked by a series of pulleys and levers.

Under a good operator three signs could be sent in a minute - providing the visibility was good - although turning the signs into code would further speed a message's journey.

The French spent some time trying to develop a wagon-mounted version of the Chappe system, but funding for research was limited.
Napoleon improved the lines and make them bigger, it is often called; Napoleons secret weapon.

cheerio

And what purpose would this have in game, I mean if you are attacked you would get a proclamation in the diplomatic screen
and if you allready at war, you would instantly see where the attack is, with your owen 2 eyes..
So in that pov I cant really see why we should have it

It could be all abstracted.
Communication is so vital that it has to have an effect. It's actually a shame that allmost no games have taken into account this factor.
It should have an impact on the administration efficiency, probably removing the distance to capital penality for provinces connected to the network, raise the movement allowance for troops as well as their intercept range (they should be able to react faster to any kind of threat or march on the ennmy as soon as the order is issued).
In fact, the bonuses should be huge, allmost gamebreaking.
Same would go with railroads, the movement allowance should be allmost unlimited.
Same for lavoisier's chemistry principles : "modern like" steel and amoniac cured leather (much much lighter artillery, cheaper weapons, and leather shoes for all soldiers = artillery movement raised, lower recruitment cost for all units and infantry movement and morale raised due to them having free shooes.)

Have to say thank you for this, you've given me a new idea for Continents in Conflict
+REP, and heres hoping we will see this in N:TW

Hmmm, I don't know how much of a role it would play in the game, but I never knew such a thing happened in the early 19th century. Hmmm, maybe not in the game, but I still learn't something very interesting. I could see how it could be incorparated but I can't see a use for it in the game, and it didn't really change history. But still very interesting!

Originally Posted by Marshal Beale

Hmmm, I don't know how much of a role it would play in the game, but I never knew such a thing happened in the early 19th century. Hmmm, maybe not in the game, but I still learn't something very interesting. I could see how it could be incorparated but I can't see a use for it in the game, and it didn't really change history. But still very interesting!

It made a huge difference to how armies communicated. It could have great possibilities - perhaps as a building upgrade that gives increased line of sight to local units?

some extra info from wikipedia

There was a desperate need for swift and reliable communications in France during the period of 1790-1795. It was the height of the French revolution, and France was surrounded by the enemy forces of England, The Netherlands, Prussia, Austria, and Spain. The cities of Marseilles and Lyon were in revolt, and the English Fleet held Toulon. In this situation the only advantage France held was the lack of cooperation between the allied forces due to their inadequate lines of communications.
The Chappe brothers in the summer of 1790 set about to devise a system of communication that would allow the central government to receive intelligence and to transmit orders in the shortest possible time. On March 2, 1791 at 11 A.M., Chappe and his brother sent the message “si vous réussissez, vous serez bientôt couverts de gloire” (If you succeed, you will soon bask in glory) between Brulon and Parce, a distance of ten miles (16 km). The first means used a combination of black and white panels, clocks, telescopes, and codebooks to send their message.
The Chappes carried out experiments during the next two years, and on two occasions their apparatus at Place de l'Étoile, Paris was destroyed by mobs who thought they were communicating with royalist forces. However in the summer of 1792 Claude was appointed Ingénieur-Télégraphiste and charged with establishing a line of stations between Paris and Lille, a distance of 230 kilometres (about 143 miles). It was used to carry dispatches for the war between France and Austria. In 1794, it brought news of a French capture of Condé-sur-l'Escaut from the Austrians less than an hour after it occurred. The first symbol of a message to Lille would pass through 15 stations in only nine minutes. The speed of the line varied with the weather, but the line to Lille typically transferred 36 symbols, a complete message, in about 32 minutes.
Paris to Strasbourg with 50 stations was the next line and others followed soon after. By 1824, the Chappe brothers were promoting the semaphore lines for commercial use, especially to transmit the costs of commodities. Napoleon Bonaparte saw the military advantage in being able to transmit information between locations, and carried a portable semaphore with his headquarters. This allowed him to coordinate forces and logistics over longer distances than any other army of his time.

Originally Posted by -TopCat-

It made a huge difference to how armies communicated. It could have great possibilities - perhaps as a building upgrade that gives increased line of sight to local units?

I don't think Napoleon ever used it in battle.

Originally Posted by Marshal Beale

I don't think Napoleon ever used it in battle.

I couldnt be used in Battle, but in general campaigning it had its uses.

Napoleon Bonaparte saw the military advantage in being able to transmit information between locations, and carried a portable semaphore with his headquarters.

It should reduce a fog-of-war.

well these communications and railroad stuffs maybe quite revolutionary and yea the game should be taking it into account.

BUT what I want most is a bug free game where at least soldiers will SHOOT enemies directly in front of them not standing there do nothing, or aim AT the enemy soldiers not IN FRONT of them when they are climbing ur walls.

BUT what I want most is a bug free game where at least soldiers will SHOOT enemies directly in front of them not standing there do nothing, or aim AT the enemy soldiers not IN FRONT of them when they are climbing ur walls.

yes, ok, agree for sure, but a little off topic here