#4580048 - 09/14/21 02:12 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
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Johan217
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Now for the bad news... In its current state I cannot recommend the game. I am experiencing too many issues with the UI and the campaign. The gamebreaker for me is that autoresolve battles often get stuck indefinitely. The developer is now aware of this, hopefully it can be fixed before release. Prior to that I was also having problems with pathfinding on the campaign map, but the latest beta seems to have improved this. I will give it another go after the full release.
Assuming these issues will be fixed, this can become a good re-enactment sandbox. The officer roster is impressive: I could build the entire Army of the Potomac at the time of Seven Pines with only a few artillery/cavalry commanders missing. The table-top style battles are fun: perhaps not as detailed as in Scourge of War but enough to spend an hour or two on a large battle. The campaign, too, has interesting interaction between political decisions and military operations (e.g. appointing a "political" general may help to boost state support, which helps to increase the number of volunteers). You need to keep an eye on your finances as a low credit rating is very bad news. I've only played as the Union, I assume it gets worse for the CSA ;-) You can try to play this as per the history book, but if you are feeling adventurous there is nothing to stop you from going on a rampage with McClellan while Grant commands a battery in a Missouri backwater. Another gripe I have with the game is that you have to use workarounds to detach e.g. a division as an independent command on the strategic map: you have to define it as a Corps, so expect to end up with dozens of Major Generals and even Lieutenant Generals.
I am not so sure if it can qualify as a good strategy game, in the sense of the player having to deal with a consistent challenge. On the game forum players report that they can finish the war in 1862 without even trying. Also, expect to see enemy armies retreating behind your lines and the AI leaving key locations undefended.
As the game stands, its appeal lies in the fact that it is about the ACW. Let's just say that if this game were set in Middle Earth, I would not see many reasons to play it. All I can do is hope that it will improve after release.
Last edited by Johan217; 09/14/21 02:18 PM.
Undercarriage lever a bit sticky was it, Sir?
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#4580084 - 09/14/21 08:34 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
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DBond
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Thanks for the posts Johan, appreciated. Your interest in the American Civil War is cool. I still have high hopes for this. Such a small team, is it still one man? I don't know if he (they) will get this game where it needs to be, but I hope they will! The operational layer is very intriguing to me, the logistics, the ability to cut (and need to protect) supply lines is something I want out of virtually every game of this type, but very few have anything like it, especially games that also offer a tactical layer. Strategical, tactical, operational and economic layers all in one game is great. If you return to it, or keep playing, please post if you see anything that seems encouraging
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#4580230 - 09/16/21 07:44 AM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
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Johan217
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Perhaps I missed some of the nuances, but I found that logistics in the game basically come down to just building depots along the way. The effect is similar to the food/attrition mechanic in Total War. Supplies are split into Ammunition (small arms/artillery) and Food (men/horses). So there are different factors to take into consideration, but the player has no control over production.
Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to like if you are willing to put up with the UI quirks. The best fun I am getting is when I am recreating specific episodes from the war. A real-time campaign allows a lot more flexibility for this than a turn-based system. For example in the Union campaign I did the Union's expedition to Port Royal, with the historical commanders and - almost - at the correct date. Apparently the game should be fairly easy to mod , and it should be possible to switch sides by editing the savegame. Haven't tried it yet, but it would be interesting to make sure that the opposing side is using a correct OOB, too. That would make it the ultimate sandbox.
Another + I would like to mention is that casualty figures are believable, perhaps even on the low side. A nice contrast to most games.
Last edited by Johan217; 09/16/21 09:37 AM.
Undercarriage lever a bit sticky was it, Sir?
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#4580377 - 09/17/21 01:52 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
[Re: Johan217]
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Perhaps I missed some of the nuances, but I found that logistics in the game basically come down to just building depots along the way. That sounds OK, and the appeal is both having to protect these, as well as the ability to cut/capture them. Of course I have zero experience with the game and know not how it works, but I envision launching raids, say by roving bands of cavalry, to disrupt these lines of communication, capture supplies, isolate enemy formations. I'm sure my vision does not match reality, but that would be cool if this sort of thing can be done. I want a sandbox tactical/operational Civil War game, and was hoping this would be it. It may be so in spirit, but not in fact. It will evolve I suppose, so worth keeping an eye on. I said earlier in this thread that it seems a shame it was released so early in the cycle. A game like this needs good buzz but it has little, mainly due to how unrealized promises and expectations seem to be.
No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
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#4580482 - 09/18/21 08:46 AM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
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Johan217
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That is not quite how it works in the game. The smallest possible unit on the campaign map is a Corps. If your corps includes cavalry, raids are simulated by the "Raid" command: nearby infrastructure will be damaged and your troops will "steal" supplies from enemy buildings. I don't think it is possible to tear up railway tracks or blow up bridges. Perhaps this is simulated too by diminished transportation, but I haven't checked. I prefer this approach to e.g. Total War where there may be tiny units all over the place.
I'm not 100% sure about how the capture mechanic works. It seems that for depots and production facilities it is enough to hold the nearest town.
Last edited by Johan217; 09/18/21 08:50 AM.
Undercarriage lever a bit sticky was it, Sir?
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#4580503 - 09/18/21 05:47 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
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Thanks for the info, interesting and useful.
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#4580626 - 09/20/21 02:09 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
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Johan217
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The game manual (257 pages ) was released yesterday, which certainly helps to shed some light on the game's finer aspects. It appears that indeed destroying railways etc is simulated by reduced transportation and supplies. The supplies system is more complex than I thought: it should be possible to e.g. cut off the enemy's salt production by capturing the right nodes - but good luck finding them I think that this game can be as in-depth or as simple as the player desires. You can delve into all the details to run your armies more efficiently, or just make do with a bit of common sense. Reminds me a bit of Mig Alley's campaign (someone please do a remake of that!).
Undercarriage lever a bit sticky was it, Sir?
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#4580632 - 09/20/21 02:48 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
[Re: Johan217]
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PanzerMeyer
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The game manual (257 pages ) was released yesterday, which certainly helps to shed some light on the game's finer aspects. . They actually released a printed manual?
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
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#4580680 - 09/20/21 09:57 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
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Johan217
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PDF, sorry should have mentioned that.
Undercarriage lever a bit sticky was it, Sir?
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#4581220 - 09/27/21 06:17 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
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DBond
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Johan, bought it, played it and reported above.
My take on his and others' reports is
Has potential but not ready for prime time. Raw, unpolished, but conceptually appealing. If execution matches design goals then we could have a winner. But it is not there yet.
No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
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#4581388 - 09/29/21 01:25 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
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I think that's a prudent decision at this stage. I have not played it myself, so take what I say with a grain of salt. As Johan and others have said there are parts of the game that are good and compelling right now, but taken as a whole the game needs more time. We'll see if it manages to reach its potential. I speculated earlier that this game would benefit from the dev's experience with Seven Years War, that he could avoid certain missteps, and perhaps make progress more swiftly.
Steam reviews are positive overall, but the theme running through them is the game needs more time to polish the rough spots and make the overall gaming experience better. That the core design features are promising but as yet unrealized in their final form. When it came out on EA I commented that a game like this needs better buzz and that it hit too early. It really needed to be further along.
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#4581391 - 09/29/21 01:39 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
[Re: DBond]
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PanzerMeyer
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Steam reviews are positive overall, but the theme running through them is the game needs more time to polish the rough spots and make the overall gaming experience better. That the core design features are promising but as yet unrealized in their final form. .
I think the fundamental issue here with these historical war strategy games is that they cater to a small niche of the PC gamer market so these games are made with bare bones budgets and limited manpower; hence there is a pressure to release the game before it is truly 100% completed and polished so the developer can get some money coming in which then allows them to continue working on the game and improve it. I saw this exact scenario happen with a game I played recently called 'Imperator Rome" which was developed by Paradox Interactive.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
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#4581394 - 09/29/21 01:46 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
[Re: PanzerMeyer]
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I saw this exact scenario happen with a game I played recently called 'Imperator Rome" which was developed by Paradox Interactive.
That's a great comparison PM and I agree. I completely understand why he went EA, but at the same time I think it has suffered from coming out too early. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. A major house like Paradox has less room for excuses though.
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#4594687 - 03/21/22 05:50 PM
Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War
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Anyone playing this and cares to comment on the current state of the game?
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