Grand Tactician Civil War

" I ran into some pretty major bugs with pathfinding and enemy AI, but Keppelmüller says the tactical AI is still "in training" as we speak.
That’s good, since at present it’s not putting up much of a fight." - Wargamer
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ACW board games were my intro into the war games hobby so I was immediately attracted to this as soon as I heard about it.
Always looking for the "One" ACW game that is awesome. The search, so far, is never ending.
Having watched multiple hours of You Tube game play the above quote is accurate based upon what I've seen.
I understand the dev's goal is to place the player more into a commander roll, issuing general orders rather than micro manage individual units. Fine with that.
However, on the tactical map that doesn't seem to work very well. Then the game loses it's identity and there seems to be orders available for micro-management
that fail because of the intentional order delays built into the process.
The movement UI looks terribly "clunky" and confusing. The graphics are not a player's friend. It is hard to tell what kind of order a player is trying to give a unit(s)
because of the fuzzy battle map graphics. The existing orders shown on the map (in larger battles) just looks like a dish of, dull, colored spaghetti.
I just don't understand how the dev can put soo much work into the details (and they ARE terrific) and then fall flat on graphics. OK, money and time, but still...
There is still hope. I appreciate this just came out and is far from a final release version. As a "me" problem these issues may end up a deal breaker. Or at least until the price
eventually comes waay down.
Go ahead. Go to You Tube and watch an Ultimate General: Civil War/Gettysburg video (even with You Tube graphics quality).
Yeeah.
 
I watched some of "TheHistoricalGamers" replay, albeit briefly, and I am impressed with the way the game works. I agree that on the tactical screen the order's system is somewhat muddied, but I expect that will be cleaned up. However, this is a one man show so it might take awhile. This is the type of game that would have benefited with big time publisher support I think. Nonetheless, it might be worth the risk to get in on the ground floor.
 
It may well end up a case of "Well, it's waay better than anything else out there." and I suspect that will be so.
After more video watching there is something else bothering me, graphically. Let me know if I'm wrong about this and tell me what it actually is.
It seems on the battle map the state border lines are on the map as well. Why?
I mean at least I think that's what those very thick red/blue lines are. They muddle up the map that should be cleaned up instead.
I'm backing off getting in on the "ground floor" of games. I've been burned a couple of times recently.
Patience is a virtue which I intend to grab onto for the near future.
(Unless that new, bright, shiny thingie shows up and then all bets are off.)
 
Still watching YT play and things are not good.
First, there is a patch due soon (if it hasn't already come out). The the EA version is still scheduled for 08-21.
Everything suggests the Dev is working hard on the known issues.
The main problem appears to be the AI. Players are being kind about the subject, as well they should, given this remains in early development.
That said, the AI requires soo much help I am not optimistic it will ever get there. We'll just have to hope.
Unit control is still difficult. Even when you get them where you want (if you ever do) there is a fair chance they will be facing backwards.
I see the problem as the Dev's desire to avoid micro management. It is an interesting goal. It's just not working, IMHO.
YTers have given up playing the Campaign feature due to game crashes.
Still, this remains a very interesting project well worth following.
 
mTk said:
Still watching YT play and things are not good.
First, there is a patch due soon (if it hasn't already come out). The the EA version is still scheduled for 08-21.
Everything suggests the Dev is working hard on the known issues.
The main problem appears to be the AI. Players are being kind about the subject, as well they should, given this remains in early development.
That said, the AI requires soo much help I am not optimistic it will ever get there. We'll just have to hope.
Unit control is still difficult. Even when you get them where you want (if you ever do) there is a fair chance they will be facing backwards.
I see the problem as the Dev's desire to avoid micro management. It is an interesting goal. It's just not working, IMHO.
YTers have given up playing the Campaign feature due to game crashes.
Still, this remains a very interesting project well worth following.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the AI does appear problematic. But I would think the unit facing the enemy issue would not be hard to solve, but hey, I am not a programmer. Unit facing is not micromanagment, it's common sense.
 
Funny how this game is called "Grand Tactician", but takes place on the strategic level, whereas most games called strategy games take place on the tactical level..
 
No, there are also operational and tactical elements in the game. I have the game and when you fight battles there are various tactical commands available, like sending out skirmishers, forming squares, entrenching and deploying in tactical formations. You can order cavalry to recon or charge, you can order troops to attack, defend, bayonet charge, etc.

In the US Army, operational warfare planning was known as "grand tactical" warfare planning through at least World War 2. That's probably what the title is referencing. In the US Army the term "operational warfare" is a relatively recently coined definition. I believe Russian/Soviet generals coined the term "operational warfare" first if memory serves.
 
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HOA_KSOP said:
No, there are also operational and tactical elements in the game. I have the game and when you fight battles there are various tactical commands available, like sending out skirmishers, forming squares, entrenching and deploying in tactical formations. You can order cavalry to recon or charge, you can order troops to attack, defend, bayonet charge, etc.

In the US Army, operational warfare planning was known as "grand tactical" warfare planning through at least World War 2. That's probably what the title is referencing. In the US Army the term "operational warfare" is a relatively recently coined definition. I believe Russian/Soviet generals coined the term "operational warfare" first if memory serves.
Click to expand...

I stand corrected then.
 
Okay, so the developer has been steadily improving this title for the last year or so. This game is a monster and if you have p[layed Forge of Freedom this game pretty much plays the same way, with NCA decisions down through tactical decisions being made by the player. The graphics have been recently improved with the introduction of 3-D soldiers. This game as it stands is about the best US Civil War game you can get.
 
HOA_KSOP said:
Okay, so the developer has been steadily improving this title for the last year or so. This game is a monster and if you have p[layed Forge of Freedom this game pretty much plays the same way, with NCA decisions down through tactical decisions being made by the player. The graphics have been recently improved with the introduction of 3-D soldiers. This game as it stands is about the best US Civil War game you can get.
Click to expand...

I'd LOVE to see the simple FOG2 system adapted to Civil War and Napoleonics.
 
I bough this a while back and immediately got a refund. With the new 3D models and Steam sale I re-bought. The 3D models and better terrain is an improvement. Hopefully they will continue to make improvements.

The tactical and strategic AI has been widely discussed. The developer does seem to be responsive and cares and sounds like next big update will focus on AI.

The game overall has tremendous potential. The strategic, operational and tactical depth is deep. I would have been happy with just Ultimate General Civil War 2D graphics for the tactical battles...

I guess I'll keep this one and hope it eventually pans out and becomes a gem.
 
I like this guy. Easy to listen to. He's just posted this start to a new game. He's played it a lot, although he is still too timid
(last time I watched) to bring his guns closer to the front where they could be more useful firing canister. Of course this is
coming from the guy who hasn't actually played the game. :unsure:
There have been a lot of patches to this so if it's been a while, and you like the game/genre, this may be entertaining. I did
not know they patched in a "Campaign Game". Apparently it is still a real work in progress. Might be a game changer.
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And this just dropped.
 
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