Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate This Thread
Hop To
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#4506762 - 02/09/20 08:01 AM Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War  
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5,945
Nimits Offline
Hotshot
Nimits  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5,945
United States of America
Grand Tactician looks like it is aiming to be a continuous time military simulation of the ACW, being able to manage the strategic and operational levels, then fight the battles in 3D. It looks like the graphics are a bit dated, but if they can execute properpy, this might be the ACW game I have been waiting for. Release date is supposed to be this summer. http://www.grandtactician.com/thecivilwar/

Last edited by Nimits; 02/09/20 08:02 AM.
Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#4507074 - 02/11/20 04:06 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
rwatson Offline
Hotshot
rwatson  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
New Concord, Ohio
Looks good Nimits I'll be keeping an eye on it..I play a lot of Ultimate Genereal Civil War,,,One question I couldn't figure out if it will be single player or MP only


Russ
Semper Fi
#4507204 - 02/12/20 08:12 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
RedOneAlpha Offline
Senior Member
RedOneAlpha  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
LEGE
Yes, been following it for awhile.



Red


Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0.
AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
#4507263 - 02/13/20 05:04 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
This looks wonderful, thanks for the heads up. If there is a detailed logistical element, and you can cut lines of communication, I'm in, I think.

Really nice period presentation, nice map (love that). I want to know more about the operational/strategic layer. But this title looks very promising indeed.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4507284 - 02/13/20 08:24 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: DBond]  
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
RedOneAlpha Offline
Senior Member
RedOneAlpha  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
LEGE
Originally Posted by DBond
This looks wonderful, thanks for the heads up. If there is a detailed logistical element, and you can cut lines of communication, I'm in, I think.

Really nice period presentation, nice map (love that). I want to know more about the operational/strategic layer. But this title looks very promising indeed.



Here´s his blog...
Grand Tactician Headquarters

Red


Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0.
AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
#4507291 - 02/13/20 09:40 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
Nice, thanks for the link

"A well placed raid deep into enemy territory could have severe consequences, not only in cutting supply lines, but also affecting the morale and support of the population in the longer term!"

Well that sounds great.

Even saw my hometown in one of the screenshots.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4507414 - 02/14/20 07:35 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
I like what I see enough to keep digging. Here's the Steam page and it's due out this summer.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/654890/Grand_Tactician_The_Civil_War_18611865/

When I saw the name of the developer I recognized it, and that's because he made Seven Years War. I never did buy it, but we had a thread about it

https://SimHQ.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4340624/1

I didn't buy Seven Years War because I never felt convinced it was finished, and maybe by the time it was I was no longer looking in its direction. But the fact he has that experience under his belt bodes well for this Civil War game. Added to the wishlist so I can keep tabs on it. I feel far more convinced about this game than SYW.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4507519 - 02/15/20 05:38 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: DBond]  
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
RedOneAlpha Offline
Senior Member
RedOneAlpha  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
LEGE
Originally Posted by DBond

When I saw the name of the developer I recognized it, and that's because he made Seven Years War. I never did buy it, but we had a thread about it

I didn't buy Seven Years War because I never felt convinced it was finished, and maybe by the time it was I was no longer looking in its direction. But the fact he has that experience under his belt bodes well for this Civil War game. Added to the wishlist so I can keep tabs on it. I feel far more convinced about this game than SYW.


Exactly, he is the same dev, and yes I feelt the same way about Seven Years War. Nevertheless alot of people did enjoy it from what I know, some Steam players have more then 400hrs on the game which makes me think he did flesh out anything wrong with the game after time.

Red


Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0.
AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
#4507686 - 02/17/20 03:18 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
Yes, maybe I just missed it. It has some nice ideas. Not sure I'll revisit it at this point, but the new game has my attention. A sandbox Civil War game with robust logistical and operational mechanics is very appealing. Too often these sorts of game are tied tightly to the history, which is understandable. But I've always liked more of a what-if generator. I already know what happened historically. I'd rather the game allows me to say, well, what if Grant had deployed here instead, ya know?


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4507776 - 02/18/20 01:09 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: DBond]  
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
RedOneAlpha Offline
Senior Member
RedOneAlpha  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
LEGE
Originally Posted by DBond
Yes, maybe I just missed it. It has some nice ideas. Not sure I'll revisit it at this point, but the new game has my attention. A sandbox Civil War game with robust logistical and operational mechanics is very appealing. Too often these sorts of game are tied tightly to the history, which is understandable. But I've always liked more of a what-if generator. I already know what happened historically. I'd rather the game allows me to say, well, what if Grant had deployed here instead, ya know?


Yeah I agree on the what if pasture/scenario. As you state, we already know what happen, and even so, it´s very hard to recreate the same exact situations when you have a human play against an AI. Each person will play/react differently to each given situation, which makes the AI have to cheat, so it has you playing as it needs to for the resault to be historical. I would rather not have a historical scenario at all in this case.

To many games force you to play a certain way, which in essence is the only way the AI can handle the strategy. Some I can tolerate, other I simplly can´t, no matter how much I like the theme. This happend a bit with HOI3, no matter how hard you tried to overcome the historical events, you never got to change what really happened. At least I never could. I tried to stop the uprise of the dictatorship in the Spanish civil war pre WW2 with Spain, butI could just not manage it.

Mind you, I like historical games, but I would also like to change the course of history, which I think would be even more challanging! But back to the topic, I think this game just might be very good, and I don´t have any game set in the American Civil War. I always say I will buy Brother against Brother (Matrix Games) when it goes on sale, but havent yet...



Red


Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0.
AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
#4507777 - 02/18/20 01:20 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: RedOneAlpha]  
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,383
PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer  Online Centaurian
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,383
Miami, FL USA
Originally Posted by Red2112
but I would also like to change the course of history, which I think would be even more challanging!



I'm the same here. When it comes to the ACW, it should be quite clear that the only way the Confederacy could have won the war was by winning a succession of major battles quickly and forcing the Union to terms no later than by 1863, Why? The Union had an overwhelming superiority in almost every industrial and economic metric, it had a vastly superior navy and it had a lot more manpower to fill its regimental ranks. A long protracted war played entirely in the favor of the Union.

Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 02/18/20 01:20 PM.

“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.”
#4507896 - 02/19/20 03:11 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: RedOneAlpha]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
Originally Posted by Red2112
This happend a bit with HOI3, no matter how hard you tried to overcome the historical events, you never got to change what really happened. At least I never could.


EU IV has some of this, or it tries to anyway. EU IV is a huge sandbox, and alternate history is a big strength. But Paradox tempered things a bit with their 'Lucky Nations' modifier, which gives a whole host of strong bonuses to a handful of historically successful nations in an effort to achieve a historical hierarchy. Some like it, I do not. Well, I should say I do not like the idea, but in practice the AI needs some help and at least it makes for a more challenging game. As I've said before on their boards, success should distill from inherent or gained advantages, and proper decisions, not arbitrary and artificial ones. But I think after being at this for several decades, that a good AI will always be a bottleneck in game design.

Grand Tactician will need a good, competent AI than can think on it's feet, reacting to events and exploiting opportunities. I want to worry about that gap in my lines and see the AI take advantage. It needs to deploy in positions and terrain that make sense, to push home it's advantage and to know when to pull back. To make sensible decisions in term of unit composition and the economy. It seems a tall order, so it will be interesting how well the devs pull it off.

One more point. "Good AI" for me isn't necessarily all about playing well, but to have that element of disorder and unpredictability that makes you feel like you are playing a human opponent. Mistakes are as much a part of 'good AI' as winning tactics. If the devs can create something like this I think this game will be a winner. If it's all too predictable then the game loses much of it's appeal, and certainly replayability.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4534289 - 08/21/20 12:00 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
RedOneAlpha Offline
Senior Member
RedOneAlpha  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
LEGE
Grand Tactician: The Civil War 1861-1865 release day today on Steam...



Red


Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0.
AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
#4534401 - 08/22/20 12:40 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
Based on the early Steam returns this game needs more time in the oven. I've never actually purchased an early-access game, but was considering doing so for this one. But based on what I've seen so far it's too early in the dev cycle for me to consider buying. How it goes from here remains to be seen, but SYW never convinced me and I'm disappointed that this one was not released further along. It's a fine line for the dev, who surely can benefit from the funds EA brings in, but when you release it too early it suffers from bad reviews. We all know it's EA and some of this is to be expected, but a title like this needs good early buzz and sadly that's not the case.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4534414 - 08/22/20 03:55 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: DBond]  
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
RedOneAlpha Offline
Senior Member
RedOneAlpha  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 3,748
LEGE
Originally Posted by DBond
Based on the early Steam returns this game needs more time in the oven. I've never actually purchased an early-access game, but was considering doing so for this one. But based on what I've seen so far it's too early in the dev cycle for me to consider buying. How it goes from here remains to be seen, but SYW never convinced me and I'm disappointed that this one was not released further along. It's a fine line for the dev, who surely can benefit from the funds EA brings in, but when you release it too early it suffers from bad reviews. We all know it's EA and some of this is to be expected, but a title like this needs good early buzz and sadly that's not the case.


No Iam not buying it either, I just rather play Ultimate General: Civil War (buy) for that matter. Will see how it evolves...


Win10 Pro(x64), i7 8700k @ 4.7Ghz, 32GB ram DDR4, Sapphire Pulse AMD RX 6700 12GB, M.2 PCIe NVMe (x2) 480GB + 960GB, 447GB SSD´s, Samsung G6 32" , Logitech G13, G502, Warthog HOTAS, CH Pedals, Simagic Alpha Mini, and Formula Extreme FX, DC Simracing DC1 pedals, GT Omega ART cockpit, TrackIR 5.0.
AUDIO: Aiyima A07 Max, Topping E50 and L50 stack, Polk Audio Signature Elite ES20 , and Shennheiser HD 560s. DAP: Hiby R3, Hiby Seeds, and iBasso IT01, Sharp MD-MT 80H Minidisc.
#4534418 - 08/22/20 04:26 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
And by returns I don't mean literal returns, but feedback. I could have chosen a less confusing term smile


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4534443 - 08/22/20 08:55 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
rwatson Offline
Hotshot
rwatson  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
New Concord, Ohio
It's out for me sys.requirements are Win 10..I'm still sticking with win 7 and play Ultimate General


Russ
Semper Fi
#4535017 - 08/28/20 12:20 AM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: DBond]  
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5,945
Nimits Offline
Hotshot
Nimits  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5,945
United States of America
Originally Posted by DBond
Based on the early Steam returns this game needs more time in the oven. I've never actually purchased an early-access game, but was considering doing so for this one. But based on what I've seen so far it's too early in the dev cycle for me to consider buying. How it goes from here remains to be seen, but SYW never convinced me and I'm disappointed that this one was not released further along. It's a fine line for the dev, who surely can benefit from the funds EA brings in, but when you release it too early it suffers from bad reviews. We all know it's EA and some of this is to be expected, but a title like this needs good early buzz and sadly that's not the case.


Well, I will not say you are wrong, though the overall reviews are positive so far. I have been messing around a little with the tactical battles . . . and those seem to be working more or less as intended (and are a decent game in their own right) . . . my only complaint is I would like to see lower ratio of men on screen to men in real life (and depicting artillery at the battalion rather than the battery level is definitely a compromise), but then again, few if any other games have solved how to put a whole army on screen any better (TW just does not try, TC mostly keeps scenarios at the corps level or lower, and UG using similar compromises to GT).

We will just have to see how quickly the game gets patched. I agree, it would be nice to see this further along, but, if the work to be done are just crash bugs and play balance, it is not unreasonable that a team as small as the one working on this would be hard pressed to solve those issues without getting the extra data from EA.

#4535060 - 08/28/20 04:35 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
You're right, they have trended better over the past few days, but reading them you can see the reviews are done while taking its early early-access in to account. Which is fair really, but leaves a lot of leeway.

I hope you post more of your impression Nimits as you get further in to it.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4579735 - 09/11/21 10:56 AM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Johan217 Offline
Member
Johan217  Offline
Member

Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Gent, Belgium
About two years ago we were planning a holiday to the US, including visits to a few Civil War sites. Tickets and hotels were booked, then world events intervened frown Hoping for next year. For now I have to make do with titles such as these to fill the gap. DBond asked me to post my impressions of the game here so I will try to do this in the next few days.

To be clear: the game is still early access, release is planned for end of September 2021. Also, I have an interest in the ACW but I am certainly no expert on the subject. I have played some of the Scourge of War series (excellent for wargaming, but I prefer having a strategic layer), Ultimate General (too fast to my liking) and AGEOD's American Civil War. The latter does not feature tactical battles, but I consider the best ACW strategy game I know. By the looks of it, Grand Tactician: The American Civil War could offer the best of both worlds: sensibly paced tactical battles (no "clickfest") and a strategic campaign.

Initially I was afraid of having to micromanage everything, but it turns out that a lot of the economy/finance/politics is automated. In fact I am not even sure if it is possible to micromanage resources and production - which would be fine by me. The player can make general adjustments through funding and policies, the game does the rest. There is still plenty of micromanagement fun to be had in creating armies and appointing commanders to each unit. Alternatively, you can simply tell the game to raise units and they will appear once they are active. I'm not sure if the game takes into account seniority or specialisation when autoselecting commanders... first impressions are that it does not.

The UI has a beautiful period-feel, from the 19th century style maps down to (thankfully, optional) handwritten reports. Music and video footage are of high quality. However, when it comes to UI functionality, the UI feels a bit flimsy. Among the issues I have encountered: drag-and drop, map zoom, scrolling and list filters don't appear to work consistently. These are things that must be corrected.
One thing I miss are map labels for rivers. Forgive my European ignorance, but I am not always sure if I am looking at the Mississippi or the Tennessee LOL

I haven't done any tactical battles yet and I am still unsure of how some of the game mechanics work. I haven't found a manual and the in-game explanations still leave a few questions. Will write more once I have spent more time with the game.

Last edited by Johan217; 09/11/21 01:52 PM.

Undercarriage lever a bit sticky was it, Sir?
#4580048 - 09/14/21 02:12 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Johan217 Offline
Member
Johan217  Offline
Member

Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Gent, Belgium
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?
#4580050 - 09/14/21 02:20 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,383
PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer  Online Centaurian
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,383
Miami, FL USA
Creative Assembly has been releasing Total War games since 2000 and there are still issues that crop up concerning pathfinding for units on both the strategic map and in 3D battles and I'm sure CA has a LOT more resources than the studio making this ACW game.


“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.”
#4580084 - 09/14/21 08:34 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
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 smile


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4580230 - 09/16/21 07:44 AM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Johan217 Offline
Member
Johan217  Offline
Member

Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Gent, Belgium
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?
#4580377 - 09/17/21 01:52 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Johan217]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
Originally Posted by Johan217
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!
#4580482 - 09/18/21 08:46 AM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Johan217 Offline
Member
Johan217  Offline
Member

Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Gent, Belgium
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?
#4580503 - 09/18/21 05:47 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
Thanks for the info, interesting and useful.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4580626 - 09/20/21 02:09 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Johan217 Offline
Member
Johan217  Offline
Member

Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Gent, Belgium
The game manual (257 pages thumbsup) 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 biggrin 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?
#4580630 - 09/20/21 02:45 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
MiG Alley 2

That would be perfectly cromulent!

Attached Files homer.jpg

No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4580632 - 09/20/21 02:48 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Johan217]  
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,383
PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer  Online Centaurian
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,383
Miami, FL USA
Originally Posted by Johan217
The game manual (257 pages thumbsup) 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.”
#4580680 - 09/20/21 09:57 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Johan217 Offline
Member
Johan217  Offline
Member

Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,355
Gent, Belgium
PDF, sorry should have mentioned that.


Undercarriage lever a bit sticky was it, Sir?
#4581204 - 09/27/21 04:49 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
rwatson Offline
Hotshot
rwatson  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
New Concord, Ohio
I've been looking at this.Anyone bought it and is it worth getting.Some at Steam like it some don't I'm considering it but I'd like to hear from a few members here.Before I take the plunge I currently play Ultimate General daily.


Russ
Semper Fi
#4581220 - 09/27/21 06:17 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
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!
#4581236 - 09/27/21 07:59 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
rwatson Offline
Hotshot
rwatson  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
New Concord, Ohio
I've decided to wait DB and see how it moves along.I've still gout Ultimate General and a couple of Talonsoft titles.I've been reading a lot on my Civil War books and got the itch.


Russ
Semper Fi
#4581388 - 09/29/21 01:25 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
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.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4581391 - 09/29/21 01:39 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: DBond]  
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,383
PanzerMeyer Online centaurian
Pro-Consul of Florida
PanzerMeyer  Online Centaurian
Pro-Consul of Florida
King Crimson - SimHQ's Top Poster

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 121,383
Miami, FL USA
Originally Posted by DBond


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.”
#4581392 - 09/29/21 01:39 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
rwatson Offline
Hotshot
rwatson  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,751
New Concord, Ohio
I think it's best to wait a bit DB.I'll wait for a patch or two rather than get frustrated and have to relearn once the fix the major issues


Russ
Semper Fi
#4581394 - 09/29/21 01:46 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: PanzerMeyer]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
Originally Posted by PanzerMeyer


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.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4581563 - 10/01/21 04:00 AM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5,945
Nimits Offline
Hotshot
Nimits  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 5,945
United States of America
My take, the historical battles are worth playing (and, IMO are more accurate than what you will see in Ultimate General). The campaign game (which is admittedly the main feature) on the other hand still needs some more work, especially on the AI.

#4594687 - 03/21/22 05:50 PM Re: Anyone Tracking on Grand Tactician: The American Civil War [Re: Nimits]  
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
DBond Offline
Strategerizer
DBond  Offline
Strategerizer
Veteran

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 13,199
NooJoyzee
Anyone playing this and cares to comment on the current state of the game?


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Meatsheild, RacerGT 

Quick Search
Recent Articles
Support SimHQ

If you shop on Amazon use this Amazon link to support SimHQ
.
Social


Recent Topics
Carnival Cruise Ship Fire....... Again
by F4UDash4. 03/26/24 05:58 PM
Baltimore Bridge Collapse
by F4UDash4. 03/26/24 05:51 PM
The Oldest WWII Veterans
by F4UDash4. 03/24/24 09:21 PM
They got fired after this.
by Wigean. 03/20/24 08:19 PM
Grown ups joke time
by NoFlyBoy. 03/18/24 10:34 PM
Anyone Heard from Nimits?
by F4UDash4. 03/18/24 10:01 PM
RIP Gemini/Apollo astronaut Tom Stafford
by semmern. 03/18/24 02:14 PM
10 years after 3/8/2014
by NoFlyBoy. 03/17/24 10:25 AM
Copyright 1997-2016, SimHQ Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.6.0