Ultimate general civil war does not work. Ultimate General: Civil War

Introduction

So, I noticed that there are no Russian-language guides for this wonderful game on Steam, so I decided, based on my knowledge and abilities, to present my accumulated experience, I hope that it will help someone.

NOTE: I in no way consider myself a genius of this game. I fully admit that my knowledge is primitive, but the tactics are obvious. However, as they say, “in the absence of fish...”

General Tips

Training - in combat

There is no training as such in the game. Therefore, I personally recommend learning through historical battles.

Why?

Unlike the campaign, you do not have to personally select units for battle. This will help you concentrate purely on the battles themselves at first.
You can start with the simplest battles and move on to more complex ones, while in the campaign, failure of the first mission means defeat in the entire campaign.

Which battles are best suited?

It's best to start with the defensive ones. IMHO, the ideal option here is - Battle of Fredericksburg for the Confederacy. In general, it is so simple that it practically does not require any skills + as a bonus, the Confederates have a large number of cavalry, which will allow you to immediately master its use.

A little more complicated - Battle of Antietam, again for the Southerners. Again, defense, but this time requires active action.

In conclusion, you can go through the same Battle of Gettysburg. Yes, for the Southerners.

Don't use acceleration

Don't be afraid to start again

The official FAQ states that the game is designed in such a way that you are not required to win every battle. Maybe so, but winning is always better. Besides obvious reasons(defeat, draw) the reason to restart the task may be large losses, an attempt to change tactics.

Important for "big battles"!: You won't know exactly how many stages of the big battle you have to go through. Sometimes you can put hundreds of soldiers in order to take a position that you will have to leave in the next stage, or, on the contrary, it will be easier to take it.

Monitor your reputation level

Reputation is used in two ways: either as a bonus for morale, or as a “currency” to beg the government for some goodies, such as extra money, recruits, guns, rifles, commanders.

I don't see the point in a morale bonus. at all, because, firstly, reputation has a limit of 100 points, so once you reach it, your future victories will go to nothing. Secondly, if you fight well, your soldiers won’t run anyway (thanks, Cap).

What is the best way to spend reputation points? I spent it primarily on extra money and manpower. Sometimes - against generals. I have never bought a gun. Once, before the assault on Richmond, I bought top rifles for the northerners.

Ammunition is our everything

Having used up ammunition, the unit greatly loses its combat effectiveness. Oddly enough, the unit will not stop shooting completely, this will only lead to a serious penalty to the reload speed. You can pump up the “rear” stat from the commander for a bonus to ammunition, but it’s much better to just buy more supplies. ~25000 for each case should be enough

Don't prioritize time

Although all battles in the game have a time limit, it is not always merciless. Simply put, when the timer reaches 0, most often you will have a certain amount of time to complete the battle in your favor.

IMPORTANT! Some battles may end prematurely if you reach the desired goals quickly. On the contrary, it also happens that the battle will not end even if you have already captured the necessary positions and even defeated the enemy 100%. The example below is the Battle of Cold Harbor for the Northerners. The enemy is completely destroyed, and the battle is still going on.

Stationary shelters are not the best choice

Based on the experience of the campaign, I can say that stationary (for example, fences) shelters are worse than “natural” ones such as buildings or forests. The forest is generally the best shelter. One of the main disadvantages of stationary shelters is that while in them, the squad receives significant damage to morale when fired from the side or from the rear. In fact, it is possible to knock out an infantry brigade with one or two salvos. The second point is technical and will probably be corrected in the future - infantry often stops firing from cover in a volley. To summarize, I advise you to always build a defense against forest areas and try to avoid stationary shelters if possible.

Pay attention to the victory conditions

You should always take into account the conditions that are necessary for a certain outcome of the battle. In addition to the obvious (capturing strategic points), there are also such as, for example, preventing the loss of a certain percentage of the army, or, on the contrary, destroying a larger percentage of the enemy troops than you yourself lost. It should also be taken into account that sometimes it is not necessary to capture all points to win, but the rule also applies vice versa - the loss of one point at the last moment of the battle will be considered a defeat. Victory conditions can be viewed in the upper right corner of the screen.

Advice: no one is stopping you from capturing the point at the very last moment. Although it is almost always necessary to hold a point for some time after capturing it, often capturing it at the last second helps win the battle.

Start of the campaign

Commander's biography

To begin with, we select several features of the biography of our general (read - ourselves), which will set several parameters at the start. In principle, it has no global significance, because By the end of the campaign, you will have upgraded almost all your characteristics, but I would still advise you to go the following way:
Tactician (+1 organization and +1 intelligence) > Cavalry (supplies +1, intelligence +3) > Politics (politics +3, economics +1)

Why is this so? At the start we will immediately have 4 reconnaissance points. Actually, from this moment on, you can forget about this characteristic altogether. The intelligence function in this game is information about the enemy army, i.e. It does not directly affect the course of the battle in any way. But, for example, with 3 intelligence points, the slider at the top of the screen will be gray, and you will have no idea who currently has the numerical advantage, and this information can be important.

Faction selection

Actually, the Union (northerners) and the Confederacy (southerners)

There is no global difference between them, so basically trust your heart. However, I also cannot say that there is no difference at all.

Speaking completely general outline, then for the Northerners there are more defensive missions, respectively, for the Southerners there are more offensive missions. Moreover, speaking about the latter, there are a couple of battles when you first defend yourself and then counterattack. This is not always such a simple task.
For the northerners a little more money and personnel.
Among the southerners, the lack of people is compensated by experience - [if an experienced commander is appointed] the brigade starts with a level of 1 star.
In some missions, the northerners are assisted by the fleet.

General characteristics

As an example - the characteristics of my commander before the last battle of the campaign for the Union - the Battle of Richmond
So, according to the list:

Politics - affects how many goodies we will be given for winning the battle
Economy - affects the discount on purchased weapons
Medicine - affects the number of soldiers who will survive after the battle
Training - affects the discount on replenishing teams with veterans
Army organization - affects the maximum army size
Rear - affects the amount of ammunition units have.
Reconciliation - affects the availability of information about the enemy

So, let's look at it in more detail, from the most necessary to the most unnecessary (in my opinion)
Medicine- the most necessary thing. When you pump it to the maximum, you will be replenished 20% of your losses. Firstly, this is important for veteran regiments, as it helps save on replenishment costs. Secondly, you have to spend less manpower after the battle on restoring losses. One profit.
Policy- In fact important parameter, because when you pump it to the maximum and successfully master combat skills, after each battle you will gain profit using the resources received, thus increasing the total number of the army
Army organization- there is no point in spending career points on it until you have fully equipped the existing corps>divisions>brigades. You need to improve gradually as you progress through the game. Although I kept this parameter at 9, it still remains one of the most important.
Education- the discount on veterans is needed to make it easier to upgrade units to elite status (3 stars).
Economy A discount on weapons is needed towards the end of the game in order to purchase best weapon for elite divisions
Rear- at the end, when you have extra career points, you can improve it a little. In general, if you, following my advice, purchase supplies in quantities of ~25,000 per hull, then special meaning There is no this characteristic in pumping.
Reconciliation- if you followed my advice on the commander’s biography, then at the beginning of the game you have already reached level 4, and, as you can see, by the end of the game it remained so.

Actually, I deliberately do not write step by step which characteristics to improve, since this is quite individual.

Unit overview

Queen of the fields. The backbone of your army and its main living force. 90% of your army will consist of it. They are universal in their tasks - they can successfully fight against any other unit.

HINT: The infantry has the opportunity to select a light infantry detachment from its composition during the battle. This can be used in two ways

Send skirmishers to supplies, this way both they and the brigade itself will be replenished with ammunition
In some situations, instead of breaking through to the required position with the entire army, you can simply run there with this platoon.

Light infantry (skirmishers)

The main goal is small attacks on the enemy in order to slow him down and inflict some damage. In large firefights, they feel better in a supporting role. Conventionally, skirmishers can be divided into 2 types: with long-range rifles and rapid-fire ones. In my opinion, rate of fire is not what these guys are all about, considering that they load long-range rifles faster than regular infantry, and the radius of rapid-fire rifles is an order of magnitude worse.

Cavalry

The main goal is to capture enemy supplies and eliminate artillery. Periodically - distracting enemy troops. Less often - fighting with skirmishers. Very rarely - finishing off the retreating (yes, no matter how crazy it may sound. A retreating infantry detachment of 1000 people will at one point change its mind and begin distributing non-illusory pestons to your cavalrymen).

Actually, like skirmishers, they are divided into 2 categories, but more different:

classic horses with sabers
dragoons, that is, comrades with rifles.

Which is better depends on whose taste. Dragoons have more functionality, if only because they can dismount and act as skirmishers. But, as you might guess, such a unit requires control.

Artillery

In unskilled hands it is useless crap, in skillful hands it is a god of war. Many who start playing complain that artillery blows away several people per salvo, hence - useless. In fact, what they are doing 100% is demolition of morality. The second point is their number. Yes, artillery will be the second largest component of the army, but in any case it will not be a striking force, at least due to poor mobility. For effective use must be ALWAYS as close as possible to the front line, be it defense or offensive, because in close combat they switch to grapeshot, and then it really works wonders.

Army composition

Your army consists of corps. Corps consist of divisions. Divisions consist of brigades. The number of corps, divisions, brigades of divisions and, finally, the number of brigades themselves depends on one characteristic of the commander - organization.

Maximum brigade size by unit type

Infantry - 2500 people.
Skirmishers - 500 people.
Cavalry - 750 people.
Artillery - 25 people per gun; maximum 600 people (24 guns)

Now let's talk about commanders. Although the game is replete with historical figures of that era, they do not have any personal characteristics. The effectiveness of brigades is directly influenced by the brigade commander, and slightly less so by the division commander. Efficiency depends on rank. To be even more precise, the effectiveness of commanding a brigade of a certain size depends on the rank. Now for more details.

For the position of corps commander, I advise you to appoint commanders with a rank no lower than major general, and for the position of division commander, at least a brigadier general. It's a little more difficult with teams.

Usually, when forming a new brigade, I proceeded from the following guidelines:
Infantry Brigade - 1600 people - Lieutenant Colonel
Skirmishers - 350 people - major
Cavalry - 500 people - major
Artillery - 12 guns - captain.

It is important to remember that the rank in this game is not static, i.e. a colonel who is 99% experienced for the rank of brigadier general can quite successfully command a brigade of 2,400 people, and not 2,000, as I usually set for colonels. In general, the correlation between the rank of a commander and the size of his brigade is best tracked when replenishing it in the “effectiveness” column. If it starts to go negative, it will look something like this:

Division composition

Personally, I staff divisions according to the following principle:
For the first division of the first corps: 1 art. brigade, 1 cavalry brigade, 4 infantry brigades.
For the second division and third division of the first corps: 1. artillery brigade, 1 skirmish brigade, 4 infantry brigades.
For all subsequent ones: 1 art. brigade and 5 infantry.

For example, here is the composition of the first corps before the final battle

And, for greater understanding, the composition of the second corps

Armament

Throughout the game you will discover new, more advanced types of weapons. His arsenal ranges from primitive muskets to repeating Spencer rifles. However, it will not be possible to arm even one entire brigade of 2,500 people with the latter.

Actually, the answer to the question of what to arm is simple to the point of disgrace. Better rifles, with more efficiency and better speed purchase reloading equipment for the most experienced brigades. Give new soldiers worse weapons.

IMPORTANT! The worst rifle (musket) in the game is Farmer - never buy it for your soldiers. If you play for the Southerners, then its disadvantage will be that the Union soldiers do not use it, therefore it will not drop out in trophies, and you will simply waste money on buying it. Secondly, it is such a useless weapon that infantry armed with it simply turns into cannon fodder.

P.S. There is no point in focusing on the effectiveness of hand-to-hand combat. The outcome of a hand-to-hand fight is decided not in the battle itself, but in which side manages to fire more volleys at the combatants (yes, there is no concept of friendly fire in this game).

Intermission

Intermission is an intermediate stage between fights. During it, you decide where to spend your career points, and reorganize the army after the last battle.

During the campaign, there will be no intermission only 2 times (3 for the northerners): before the very first mission in the campaign (aka the battle that you have no right to lose, and immediately after the battle of Chancellorville, when you will be transferred to the Capture of Salem Church. northerners 3 times at the end of the Battle of Cold Harbor - you will be sent to defend Washington.

After solving organizational issues, you need to decide which battle you will fight next. There will be several “small” battles and one big one to choose from. The big battle is a kind of intermediate stage. Having completed a big battle, you can no longer go through a small one. So I strongly recommend that you always complete the small battles first, because... in addition to the rewards of money, personnel and career points, you impose a penalty on the enemy in the big battle.

That's all for now. The guide will be updated. If people wish, I will make a detailed walkthrough of the campaign. Good luck!

Since we are talking about a representative of the strategy genre, the passage of Ultimate General: Civil War does not have a clear single algorithm that would suit all players. Moreover, for each individual gamer this very passage will be strikingly different, directly depending on his style, decisions and actions under certain circumstances. Therefore, in order to simplify your path to victory here, we have prepared a number of recommendations, following which will bring that very victory closer.

The first thing we recommend paying attention to is that you should not chase victory in absolutely every battle, throwing all available resources into the firebox to achieve this goal. The game quite accurately simulates the conditions of a real war, and in such a war it is important to win not the battles, but the entire war. Perhaps these same battles were sacrificed in some places for the sake of preserving resources, both human and material. So if you see that things are going badly, don’t hesitate to retreat. The loss of controlled territory is much less critical than the loss of an entire army.

In battle, when storming enemy positions, use all kinds of cover behind which your soldiers could hide. Roughly speaking, completing a playthrough of Ultimate General: Civil War, trying to push through the enemy in a frontal attack in an open area, is obviously a bad idea, as you will simply be defeated. But if you have various vegetation, buildings and similar obstacles on your way, actively use them to minimize the number of casualties.

Another thing to always keep an eye on here is reputation. It affects the morale of your army, allows you to get additional resources in the form of soldiers, money, weapons, but its key importance is that it is the determining factor of you as a general, and therefore, if you have a bad reputation, you may not let the war be brought to an end.

When organizing an army, carrying out the passage of Ultimate General: Civil War, try to develop it gradually: while the number of troops is small, it is advisable to make it consist primarily of infantry, which is the key basis for both defense and attack. Increase other aspects as you increase material base, the same cavalry, for example, will be useful in reconnaissance of the area, but will not be able to stop the enemy advance. Unlike the infantry.

Weapons captured in battle can either be kept to equip your forces or sold. However, we recommend arming your troops with captured weapons, since purchased ones are too expensive. Keep track of which officers you assign to which positions; the more subordinates such a unit has, the higher the rank it must have in order for it to cope with this work properly.

Exploring the interface of a hardcore tactical wargame

Other guides:

Ultimate General: Civil War - guide to the types of troops and their structure

Ultimate General: Civil War - strategy and tactics guide

Introduction

On July 14, 2017, the official release of the hardcore tactical strategy saw the light of day Ultimate General: Civil War. The RTS genre, and even with the prefix “wargame is not for everyone,” has practically disappeared from our monitors. Therefore, for fans of the genre, every release of such a game is like a supernova in the sky. Even if the product is deeply secondary. Our patient was no exception.

Moreover, the company has previous experience in producing wargames “with a human face” Game-Labs already been - Ultimate General: Gettysburg. And now the same cabbage soup, only bigger and better - not one of the battles of the American Civil War, but the entire conflict from 1861 to 1865. The game simply had to become a cult among fans of military strategies.

In Russia, the product also gained some popularity, although it dealt with the rather alien topic of confrontation between the South and the North, planters and industrialists in the United States. The low barrier to entry, exciting gameplay and detailed study of the era made it possible to join maximum number players. And we love military strategies, and even in a historical setting! In addition, very soon rumors began to spread about using the engine to reconstruct the Napoleonic wars.

Historical background

Civil War 1861-65 in the United States was a conflict of a transitional type, when the rapidly gaining strength of the industrial revolution began to change the world globally, which was reflected on the battlefield. Therefore, archaics in the form of muzzle-loading farm guns coexisted with casemate cannons, sailing frigates butted heads with battleships, and railways and armored trains became a decisive factor in the logistics of battles. Gatling guns will soon call into question the wisdom of dense infantry formations, and the golden age of cavalry has already passed...

The political background of the confrontation is too confusing for the citizens of our country, so it can be expressed in one phrase: “Money rules the world.” It so happened that the main flow of profits into the nascent state was provided by the cotton plantations of the south. And where there is finance, there is power and ambition. For the rapidly modernizing northern states, this was a challenge, and a clash could not be avoided. Moreover, slavery in this history was never even in tenth place on the list of reasons that prompted the start of the war. Moreover, it was canceled long after the start of the conflict itself, and some plantations under the leadership of the northerners worked until the victorious end.

This war was the first clear indication that battles are no longer fought so much by people as by economies. The southerners, who had a good officer corps and motivated recruits, started well, but closer to the middle they were blown away by the superior onslaught of the federals. The naval blockade finally put an end to the prosperity of the Confederacy. The moral of this story is that an industrialized state will always defeat an agricultural one.

It was a rather bloody conflict that claimed the lives of more than 500 thousand people

Campaign setup

In the main menu you will have a choice of three options:

"Campaign"

"Historical Battles"

"Custom Battles"

We are, understandably, interested in the campaign. To begin with, you will be asked to create your general alter ego, where you will successively answer questions about what specialty you graduated from the country's main military academy, West Point, what branches of the military you commanded in the Mexican War, and what career you made after the war. All this will give you a certain starting set of skills, which can be sorted by the following points:

Politics - determines how much gold and recruits you will receive for battles. Economy - affects prices in the store. Medicine - determines how many dead there will be and how many wounded soldiers will be able to return to duty immediately after the battle. Training - the higher the value, the cheaper the replenishment veterans. Army organization - increases the maximum size of the army. Rear - increases the amount of ammunition. Reconnaissance - shows information about the quantity, quality and even plans of the enemy (the amount of data grows with each level).

Campaign map where missions appear

For beginners, I recommend choosing “Strategist” at the very beginning (+1 to army organization, +1 training), then “Artillery” (+2 rear, +2 medicine) and “Politician” (+3 politics, +1 economy). With this configuration, you can slowly deploy your army in the starting battles. As you progress through the campaign, you will receive career points, which you will use to continue improving your skills. First of all, download “Politics” and “Medicine” to get maximum recruits and gold. After all, they will not be enough throughout the game to form full-fledged connections. Next in line are “Training” and “Army Organization” - the first skill is needed to create experienced units, the second - to increase the number of brigades, divisions and corps. The rest is not really needed, but you can forget about reconnaissance altogether - save & load will help you.

You will then be required to decide on a side. For a beginner, it is easier to play for the Union, since they provide more resources and the battles are mainly defensive. But iconic generals fight for the Confederation, brigades start with one star of experience, although it’s more difficult to fight. Of course, it’s up to you to choose, but the first mission for the Yankees with an armored train is too difficult, unlike the Dixies with their assault on the Potomac Fort.

In the store you can buy the latest weapons from the world

Intermission

After completing the first mission, you find yourself on the inter-mission screen, where the main preparation for the upcoming battles, the reorganization of the army and the waste of earned resources take place. Below are the bookmarks:

"Army"

"Arsenal"

"Barracks"

"Career"

In the upper right corner there are numbers in a laurel wreath. This is your reputation, which is earned in successful battles. The more it is, the more inspired the soldiers under your command are. However, after reaching 100 points, it stops accumulating. But this is only one layer of the use of one’s fame. Next to the wreath is the Capitol icon, by clicking on which you can ask for help from the authorities for your reputation points. Send, say, additional recruits, or some exotic weapon, or help with an outstanding general.

At the very top there is a giant “Battle Map” plate where you select the available missions. It is better to complete tasks according to historical dates - each stage is divided into two small battles and one large one. Moreover, if you have completed a large-scale battle, then it will no longer be possible to launch small ones. Therefore, it is better to complete them first, receive all the payment due, upgrade your troops, and then only get involved in the decisive battle. It is quite simple to distinguish a small conflict from a large one - the latter gives more (money, recruits) and it is, as a rule, historical.

Full disposition with upgraded reconnaissance

Tactical interface

After distributing resources and equipment, you are transferred to a tactical map, where the battle itself will take place. Initially, you are given a disposition and combat missions that must be completed. But you shouldn’t really trust this data - during the battle everything can change a hundred times, so just keep the mission goals in mind and react to the situation based on your needs. During the deployment phase, you will be asked to select and position teams. If the corps does not fit into the mission stack, then you can click on the icons below and select the desired composition of troops for the current operation.

Troop control is quite intuitive and simple. The basic principles are taken from classic RTS - select LMB, RMB send into battle. Added interesting opportunities: if you select a brigade and hold down the LMB, you can draw a route line, which is very convenient for tricky maneuvers; if you hold down RMB, you can set the regiment to turn at the arrival point. And when several units are selected, then by clamping you can draw a front line, which the soldiers will occupy without delay, for example, for defense. And yes, take advantage of the tactical pause to give out orders. This is not a mouse clicker, but a rather thoughtful strategy.

The main buttons are located at the bottom. There are modes of movement (hold position, run, retreat), shooting, “attack!” (hand-to-hand combat), dismounting for cavalry and separating skirmishers from the formation. All this is quite simple and not difficult to figure out. Periodically look at the minimap in the corner - there you can capture the essence of everything that happens in battle outside your line of sight. Your goals and a timer for completing them are displayed in the upper right corner. Remember that the battle can continue after the countdown has ended if the computer thinks that not all the forces have been spent.

On the side left there is an information panel where you can always find out both general and detailed review your units. If no one is selected, then the window reports general corps information: the total number of soldiers, supplies, moral and physical condition, percentage of losses in battle. When you click on a brigade, the commander, the number of losses and kills, supplies and reloading are displayed; in addition to the morale and condition scale, there is a “shelter” parameter, which makes it clear how much your soldiers are covered from enemy fire. By clicking "i" on this panel, you dive into more detailed characteristics, including the type of weapon and its performance characteristics. When you hover your cursor over a unit, you can see brief information from a pop-up icon, including the percentage of visibility on the ground.

At first, the game's interface is frightening and fascinating. But in fact, everything is simple, accessible and clear. Even when I mastered the pre-release version, which did not have the Russian language, within a few hours I was quite cheerfully managing medium-sized operations. Complexity and depth here come with time and this is a definite plus of the product. In the next guide, we will tell you about the types and branches of troops, and also tell you how to properly form and recruit them.

Beginning of the Confederate Campaign

I could not find information on the Internet about the origin and location of the Game Labs studio. On their website, these developers indicated that they participated in the creation of the following games: Darthmod, World of Warplanes, World of Tanks, RaceRoom, Metro and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. The Naval Action and This Land is My Land projects are currently in development. However, in this material we will look at the strategy Ultimate General: Civil War, released in the summer of 2017.

Gameplay

The game Ultimate General: Civil War is dedicated to the American Civil War of 1861 - 1865 and completely covers the entire period of this historical event. At the beginning of the story campaign, the player is asked to choose a specialization. His general's stats are customizable across several categories. First you need to choose who he is: a tactician, a strategist or a logistician. Then you need to decide on the type of troops: artillery, infantry or cavalry. After this, you should choose the direction of career development: business, army and politics. Next, you need to decide on the side of the conflict: the Confederacy or the Union (Yankees). In the final, you must choose the difficulty of the game: colonel, brigadier general or major general.

At the beginning of the company, the main character needs to complete the first training mission: to capture a strategically important railway station. It fully demonstrated the tactical capabilities of the game. At the first, the player received only three small detachments under his command, with the help of which he captured a bridgehead for the assault on a nearby city. After this, reinforcements arrived, after which the railway station was recaptured from the enemy. However, the mission did not end there; the main character had to fight off a powerful counterattack of the Confederates. Fortunately, another reinforcement arrived in time.

The training mission does not give any concessions to the beginner. There is only one principle: like throwing a puppy into the water, you can learn to swim yourself. At first glance, this is a serious disadvantage, however, the player is immediately immersed in the atmosphere of Ultimate General: Civil War, rich in unexpected turns and quick changes in the tactical pattern of the battle.

After completing the battle, the protagonist is awarded career and reputation points, money and recruits. Let's take a closer look at these parameters.

Career points are needed to develop commander-in-chief skills. They are divided into several groups.

Politics influence the generation of revenue and recruits during the course of a war.
The economy reduces the cost of buying new weapons.
Medicine increases the number of wounded recovering from battle.
Training provides discount on hiring new veterans while retaining high level skills of the entire squad.
Organizing an army increases the number of units, as well as the number of corps, divisions and brigades in the main character’s army.
The rear increases ammunition, both in supply wagons and for individual soldiers throughout the army.
Reconnaissance increases the level of intelligence, which provides the main character with information about the enemy.

Reputation points allow you to turn to the government for additional resources: money, recruits, weapons and generals.

Money is needed to replenish brigades that suffered losses during the battle, as well as to purchase new, more advanced weapons. They can re-equip military units. Finance is needed to replenish and create new corps, divisions and brigades, as well as to hire officers.

Recruits are required to replenish brigades, as well as to form new units.

The strategic component of the game is presented in the form of a simplified map. Yes, it’s not very rich compared to its competitors, but it’s quite functional. There are two types of missions on the map: preparatory and general battles.

Let's look at the auxiliary battles. Before the start of the battle, a map of the upcoming battle appears, on which you must select one of the main character’s units that will participate in the upcoming operation.

In the game Ultimate General: Civil War, for each type of battle, a limit has been introduced on the brigades that can participate in it. I strongly recommend that our readers develop such an important skill as “army organization” in their commander-in-chief. Thanks to him, it is possible to assemble a fairly large army in a relatively short time. There are missions in the game in which the number of brigades is critical. There were situations when I did not have enough units, and because of this I simply lost seemingly minor battles.

Before the start of the battle, a briefing is held, at which the player is informed detailed information about the upcoming clash.

After the introductory briefing, it is necessary to deploy troops on the upcoming battlefield.

The army in the game Ultimate General: Civil War consists of several types of troops.

Cavalry are mobile brigades operating on the principle of “arrived at a position, fired, moved to a more advantageous position.” This branch of the military is very specific, absolutely not suitable for long-term “wall to wall” battles. Cavalry excels in deep rear and flank maneuvers. For example, when it is necessary to bypass the enemy’s main forces and attack his artillery. Flying units are indispensable when pursuing retreating enemy brigades. No one takes prisoners better than this branch of the military.
Artillery is needed to fire at enemy positions from long distances. However, this branch of troops can stand up for itself in close combat. Firing a volley of buckshot at approaching enemies has a truly devastating effect. The big disadvantage of artillery is its extremely low mobility, so as the battle progresses, it is worth thinking in advance where to redeploy it.
Marksmen are elite sniper units capable of engaging enemy brigades from great distances. In addition to accurate shooting, no less trump card of these units is excellent camouflage. Arrows placed wisely on a wooded hill can cause big trouble. If a brigade finds itself in unfavorable conditions, for example, fighting in an open field, it is still able to fend for itself. Yes, losses increase significantly, but the riflemen are persistent fighters and are able to hold their position even under hurricane fire from superior enemy forces.
Infantry is the workhorse of absolutely all battles. It is not very mobile, its fighters are not distinguished by sniper talents, but a full salvo of an infantry brigade is capable of mowing down a couple of hundred soldiers from any enemy. In addition to skirmishes, this branch of the military very often engages in hand-to-hand combat. In general, infantry is a universal weapon in the hands of a skilled general. If other types of troops are a scalpel with which the commander-in-chief carries out delicate surgical operations, then the infantry is a crowbar, breaking through enemy positions with enormous firepower and, if necessary, thousands of bayonets. The weather in all battles is determined solely by this branch of the military.
Supply wagons. In any battle, sooner or later the player's troops will run out of ammunition. They are replenished by these units.

The big drawback of the game is that you can't select multiple units using the stretchable frame. Instead, management of entire departments is implemented. For example, by clicking on the first division icon located at the bottom of the screen, the player selects the entire division: a rifle brigade, four infantry brigades and artillery. By holding the left mouse button, you can set the location and battle order of a given division. Basically this convenient way controls, relieving the player of the need to give commands to individual brigades. True, in the heat of battle you still have to pay attention to some units so as not to lose sight of the progress of the battle.

The morale of soldiers plays an important role in battles. If it falls below a critical level, then the brigade flees the battlefield. This parameter is greatly influenced by squad leaders. As long as they are alive, morality is relatively fine. However, if they are wounded or killed, the entire brigade takes flight. True, there is a very important nuance: after a short period of time, the squad restores morale to an acceptable level and returns to battle. He does not fight for long and soon runs again. But after some time it comes back again. Because of this, battles often turn into a kind of seesaw, when entire divisions are abandoned and then recaptured lost positions.

A demoralized brigade finally leaves the battle only in two cases:

when it is completely defeated and the morale of its soldiers has fallen to zero and below;
when she is captured in full force, or rather in what is left of her after a hot battle.

Preparatory battles last a short period of time: from 20 to 30 minutes. Before the start of the general battle, you must complete all preliminary missions. Fortunately, there are few of them, usually two, and they give the following bonuses:

reduce the size of the enemy army in a general battle;
allow you to replenish, develop and rearm the army of the main character.

General battles differ from preparatory battles in a disproportionately large scale. They last two to three hours, consist of several stages and involve huge armies: several tens of thousands of people on each side. It was in pitched battles that the talent of the creators of Ultimate General: Civil War was revealed. It's immediately obvious that they are history buffs. All important battles of the American Civil War are recreated with meticulous care, reaching the point of obsessive fascination with the details of individual battle sites.

Because of this, all general battles are perceived as dynamic action, with a huge amount dramatic turns. In some battles things got to the point of funny things. So, for example, at the beginning of the battle I completely defeated superior enemy forces. However, already at the next stage of the battle it was necessary to urgently retreat to a new defensive line. Otherwise, all my troops could be surrounded. It looked something like this: skipping across a huge map. Moreover, often my brigades moved almost mixed with enemy units. At the end of the second stage of the battle, all this crazy chaos reached the previously prepared line of defense, and I miraculously managed to be the first to occupy the redoubts.

In most cases, after battles, the main character’s troops suffer heavy losses and need to be replenished. An important source of restoring the number of brigades is the commander-in-chief's "medicine" skill. The better it is pumped, the more soldiers recover and return to duty. A very important point: not only recruits are being restored, but also veterans, whose recruitment is very expensive.

To make up for irreparable losses, it is necessary to recruit new fighters. This requires money and recruits. There are two types of recruits:

recruits are untrained soldiers who have just arrived from training;
veterans are the most valuable fighters who have seen more than one battle in their lifetime.

Naturally, when hiring, veterans cost many times more than recruits.

When replenishing brigades in the game, a balance is maintained between these types of recruits. It will not be possible to recruit only veterans for all troops. There won't be enough money for this. Conversely, it is impossible to recruit only recruits cheaply. There simply aren't enough recruits. Therefore, it is necessary to approach this issue as rationally as possible: recruit veterans into the most experienced brigades participating in all battles. Recruits should be used to staff secondary units that act as reserves only in pitched battles.

New units are created using the same principle in Ultimate General: Civil War.

All brigades gain experience during battles. After reaching a certain level, you can choose skills for them that increase their combat effectiveness. For example: endurance course, marksmanship training, sniper, rear and so on.

Brigade commanders are also upgraded in the game. True, they do not receive skills. Instead, they are assigned regular military ranks. So a combat officer can rise from captain to major general. The higher the commander's rank, the more combat-ready his brigade is.

Another important element of the project is the arsenal. In it you can buy new types of weapons for any type of troops, and then re-equip individual units with them. Due to this, the brigades increase their combat potential.

This is where I conclude short excursion on the gameplay features of Ultimate General: Civil War and wish our readers who decide to play this project many hours of exciting and interesting pastime.

Conclusion

At first glance, Ultimate General: Civil War is a budget clone of the games in the famous series Total War. The project completely lacks an interactive strategic map. Battles in tactical mode are not as colorful and have minimal special effects. And the animation in the game is far from 3D.

However, after playing Ultimate General: Civil War for several hours, you come to the understanding that this comparison is not appropriate. The project is entirely dedicated to the history of the American Civil War, with an emphasis on the military everyday life of the army. The player begins the story campaign with a small division consisting of several understaffed brigades. As it progresses, his army grows to several corps, staffed by several dozen full-fledged brigades. And throughout the game, he participates in all important aspects of the development of his army: he fights in small battles and grand battles, replenishes, rearms and creates new brigades, develops the skills of the commander-in-chief and ordinary soldiers. And it does a lot more.

The strategic map in the game is made in a classic style: the player himself chooses the missions he needs, as, for example, in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars.

The battles in Ultimate General: Civil War are inferior to the latest Total War games in terms of color and troop animation. However, in terms of dynamism, elaboration and intensity of battles, this game is much more sophisticated than its famous competitors. General battles consist of several stages and sometimes completely unpredictable events occur in them.

It is especially worth noting the historical consultants who helped create this project. Ultimate General: Civil War painstakingly recreates the important events of the American Civil War of 1861 - 1865. All the general battles of this conflict were reconstructed especially carefully and down to the smallest detail.

The graphics in the game do not shine with their technological effectiveness; they are frankly simplified. However, the artists and designers did their best; the environment and especially the battles in Ultimate General: Civil War completely immerses the player in the atmosphere of the project.

History buffs should definitely pay attention to this game. Nowhere else have I seen such meticulously recreated historical events. Fans of strategy games should also not pass by. They will probably enjoy the game due to its dynamic and sometimes unpredictable battles.

Final grades:

Game rating - 8.
Graphics rating: 6.

Dmitry Prilepskikh aka Phoenix

Thank you for your help in preparing the material for publication: donnerjack.

Ultimate General: Civil War - Performance Testing
Summary testing of eleven video cards and six processors in three resolutions and two operating modes.

Live for the platform:

The battles involving tens of thousands of soldiers are breathtaking, but the eye involuntarily clings to the poorly drawn fences.

Work Game Labs strongly resembles a game of toy soldiers, only large-scale and thorough. The strategy has two key directions: you can participate in individual battles or take part in a campaign that covers the entire course of the war - from the capture of Fort Sumter to the victories of Generals William Sherman and Ulysses Grant. But whatever order you choose, you first need to decide on the side of the conflict - we control the Alliance (North) or the Confederation (South). The soldiers of the latter are well motivated, but are always in the minority, and the northerners, despite their numerical superiority, often prefer not a bust in crosses, but a head in the bushes. Which, in general, more or less corresponds to the situation of that time.

In addition to the flag, the specialty of the commander-in-chief is important. The tactician receives an additional unit, under the leadership of the strategist the troops are recruited faster, and the rear better supplies the soldiers with supplies. True, after the first battles, the opportunity opens up to change skills in any course - at the expense of points awarded for success. Let's say we had a supply general, and we gave him additional reconnaissance and morale support. The same goes for commanders of regiments, divisions and corps, who can be recruited for in-game currency at the academy and trained as they gain military experience.

But not by officers alone - in Ultimate General: Civil War You also pay attention to caring for the army. During the respite between battles, the game offers to form newly created regiments, purchase weapons for infantry, cavalry and artillery. All utilitarian models of “firearms” from the American Civil War are presented here, including, it’s hard to believe, modifications. But here's the catch: an expensive rifle may be accurate, but is completely unnecessary in hand-to-hand combat, but your grandfather's musket for a couple of bucks is overly effective as a melee weapon. However, the money received for the next battle is never enough for an entire rearmament, and the expensive “guns” in the store are one or two out of stock. Luckily, hand-formed shelves and even cabinets do a bit of balance. After all, what is two thousand against the background of twenty? It's more of a nice bonus than a lifeline.

A new infantry regiment needs a thousand guns, and in such quantities it is only consumer goods.

Everything is simply ingenious

Best Civil War reveals itself from the tactical side. You have four types of troops at your disposal: infantry regiments, rifle battalions, cavalry and artillery batteries. And all units have their own indicators of morality, experience, and, depending on the weapons, overall efficiency. On the battlefield, the army is completely in your power. A slight stroke of the cursor outlines a maneuver for them, the formations switch from walking to running, rushing into the attack or holding occupied positions by order, the horsemen dismount to help the infantrymen, and for the sake of a flank attack on the batteries they saddle up their horses again. It is better to choose the location wisely, because the forest or houses provide a bonus to protection and stealth, and the hills open up space for gunners.

Force majeure, such as running out of bullets (in this case, there is a truck with ammunition), the retreat of a regiment demoralized by shelling, or the flight of deserters from the battlefield, adds vitality to those leaving. The truth is, the gameplay is limited to maneuvering and exchanging lives for winning tactics at a favorable rate. There is no digging of trenches, laying of railway tracks, construction of bridges, as well as engineering troops. But there is a chance to lose money by suffering too many losses or not completing the task.

The fake intelligence that controls the enemies also doesn’t let you get bored. Either he will undertake to push through the defensive line from the flank, or, on the contrary, he will go into deep defense. For gentle pressure, he destroys cannons abandoned without protection, hunts for convoys, and severely punishes stupid cavalry attacks. And sometimes he is quite cautious. Thus, in the campaign episode, which highlights the crossing of Union troops across the Rappahannock River opposite Fredericksburg. They do not know how many Confederates are in the city, therefore, despite the colossal superiority in numbers, they will attack sluggishly and use artillery more often. The way the game's authors have found a balance between historical facts and the work of the algorithm is admirable.

The same transportation across the Rappahannock: for historicism, all that is missing is the fog that allowed the northerners to build bridges under the fire of Mississippi snipers.

But what the developers did best was the simplicity of the interface and controls, which your grandmother could handle if she wanted. Even if there is no training order here, frankly speaking, it is not needed. After all, even nuances that are imperceptible at first glance can still be grasped as you go. Add to this the extreme clarity of the targets for each chapter of the campaign: hold your positions until such and such an hour, take such and such a fortification, seize the enemy fort from supplies. Although particularly large battles are divided into several episodes and theaters of combat, it is as difficult to get lost in them as at home in your own kitchen. Which is good and bad at the same time.

It breaks where it's thin

The game is historical not only because famous personalities are indirectly represented here - both General Lee (Robert Edward Lee), who would have loved war if it had not been so terrible, and the master of maneuver Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson(Thomas Jackson), who found that it was better to lose a hundred people on the march than a thousand in battle, and other commanders of that time. And not only with the carefully restored topography: this street, this house. Alas, it follows from the letter of the archive also in the script. The player will not be able to radically change the course of events, which we are used to, for example, in the studio’s historical strategies Paradox. That is, no matter how you look at it, you can’t bring down the Confederates on the streets of Washington and Philadelphia - the North still gains the upper hand. Sorry for the spoiler, of course.

Sometimes it gets to the point of being offensive. You try your best to hold your position with a minimum of losses, heroically constrain the advancing enemy, crush his rear with a cunning maneuver, and then they tell you that it’s time to retreat. There are too many enemies and an order has been received. It’s understandable: who would argue with historical facts? However, a person more or less familiar with the events of the Civil War loses some of his interest. On the other hand, despite its chronological meticulousness, the game poorly conveys the spirit of the era. It’s not entirely correct to compare, but still. U Martina Scorsese(Martin Scorsese) in “Gangs of New York” there is an episode when immigrants who escaped from starvation in Ireland arrive at the port - recruiters immediately give them a meager salary, hand them guns and put them on another ship, from which coffins with already killed by the Irish. A minute of film scaffolding gives more meaning and understanding than the entire work Game Labs.

U.G.- is by no means UG, but due to its mechanical simplicity and the script's severe attachment to a history textbook, it will not hold fans of the genre for long. The product is designed more for a mass audience interested in the US past, rather than for hardcore strategists, seasoned by the same Europa Universalis or Hearts of Iron. In any case, get to know Ultimate General: Civil War It’s openly worth it - if not now, then after waiting for discounts on the Steam sale.

Pros: a fun and historically accurate game of toy soldiers; the strategy will appeal to those who would like to get an idea of the course of military actions of that war in an accessible form; easier than other military strategies; There are many large-scale battles involving tens of thousands of “units.”