Разработчик: The Mustard Corporation
Описание
Battleplan: American Civil War is an exciting top-down real time/turn-based hybrid strategy game. Take command of either Confederate or Union troops and fight your way through ten of the American Civil War’s most famous battles.
Experience the excitement and satisfaction of co-ordinating plans, seeing them through, revising them dynamically and achieving victory over an opponent with several strategies to employ against you.
A pure strategy experience, Battleplan: American Civil War’s gameplay focuses solely on battle management – the only thing you have to worry about is where best to send your troops and how best to keep them supplied.
The short, demanding battles can be ideal for brief journeys as each can take as little as ten minutes to play.
- Play as Union or Confederate
- Campaign or one off-battles
- Three difficulty settings
- Historically faithful simulation of large-scale battles at divisional and brigade level
- Factor in weather & reinforcements
- Random reinforcements and No Pause mode for a greater challenge
- Unique ‘automatic’ and high-level command battle mechanics
- Manage messengers and lines of communication
- Historically accurate corps commander personalities
- Build pontoons and earthworks
- Ammunition and supply management
- NEW! Change the pace of battle to suit your style with Patch 1.1's Speed Slider (in Options)
Learn to control your armies, think strategically, and unfold complex attacks in the face of a cunning enemy while dealing with an ever-changing battlefield.
Experience the excitement and satisfaction of co-ordinating plans, seeing them through, revising them dynamically and achieving victory over an opponent capable of surprising you with unorthodox plans of their own.
Поддерживаемые языки: english
Системные требования
Windows
- OS *: Windows XP
- Processor: Pentium 4 or Athlon 64
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: GL 2.1
- Storage: 400 MB available space
- Sound Card: Integrated
Отзывы пользователей
Good strategic game. Plays well the concept of delay of command and some of fog of war.
Lightweight strategy title with fairly simple mechanics. Good to come back to when you have a short period of time to kill. Get it on sale. 7/10
I bought this some time back and it didnt work when i purchased it. I should have returned it right then but I didnt and thats my fault. I do wonder why Steam would have this in their store when it looks pretty obvious from other reviews that there are problems with the game even starting.
This game, while a good idea in theory, falls flat in practice. The controls are clunky, units will randomly retreat, even if they haven't been attacked. the AI is super dumb, even outnumbering me they cannot win. It's not historically accurate at all, the games focus is on controlling two capture points, the game becomes more of a capture the point than an RTS. Do yourselves a favor, and skip this title.
The game starts and runs fine, but the UI does not appear. So you can't do anything once you load the battle. Looks interesting, and was willing to give it a chance, but the UI not loading seems to be a common problem and there's no more support for this game. Do not buy it.
I bought this game a while ago for only 1 or 2 dollars, its really good, it could use update with some more battles, You control which Army, how you plan your battles and relive history or change it to what if, you do not see the soliders like ulitmate general civil war game or others but really still good for the price!! Its like old civil war battle map books from library the infrantry is lines blue or grey and the artillery is triangles and supply train are squares in a line and again you move them where you want. Plus it tells you how much men you have and ammo too. Also Good Civil War Music too. Overall i Liked it and Thank You!!!!
Just because this game is cheap doesn't mean that the controls for command and movement should be so hard to use. Controls are the basics in a game (the meat and potatos) This game falls very short in controling units which is basically the main goal in a game like this. The arrow drag is horrible you shouldn't be able to drag a clunky arrow around trying to move units expecially when they are in combat. This game should be point and click like every other wargame. Point and click makes it much easier to control units. This game is basically from what I feel is for an ipad where you can move your finger on the screen to move units. This was not supposed to be for the PC. I do understand that this is supposed to easy and fun game to play. But get the basics right in a game or just leave it on the ipad. geez...
Bought and downloaded this game with great excitment only to have it contiously sfreeze at the load screen. I have had this game for 3 or 4 days now and have yet to be able to play it.
I like this game because you can get into the action fairly quickly, and because I was (and still am) a big fan of the PBS/Ken Burns Series, The Civil War. I first found this game on my Ipad a year or two ago. If you want just a quick and dirty game, by all means get this one. If you are looking for a more in depth strategy/tactics experience, then maybe find another title. I picked this up cheap during the summer sale and it is well worth it to me.
PROS
+ Quick to get into. While the tutorial helps and clears up issiues the game is pretty intuitive.
+ Even though this game has been out for a while, the devs are still updating it and actually listen to player suggestions
+ Relatively Bug Free
+ Small - It's a small, bare bones game. Does not take up much space, a laptop from the mid 90s could play it easily, and of course, it's cheap.
CONS
+ It's small. It's not a high end, graphics intensive game. Does not really matter to me, but I know it does matter to some.
+ There is a campaign mode, but it's not at all a real campaign. The campaign is really just a mission list that you play through.
+ No real depth: This is what bugs me the most about this game: The chain of command only goes down to brigade level. So if you wanted to play, for instance, the 50th Maine's Heroic Stand atop LIittle Round Top on the second day of the battle of gettysburg, well...too bad.
Battleplan: American Civil War could get by with its minimalistic graphics if, upon closer inspection, it had some real depth in the gameplay by the way of ultra historically correct maps and commander and unit details. It doesn't have any of these elements, and so I'll go ahead with the only two positives I can think of:
1) One interesting function that this game has, that I wish others did, is that all commands issued by the General must be received by a messenger. If the messenger dies, the message is not received and the unit you're attempting to move stays where it is. Sometimes unit commanders will refuse a command -- no reason is ever given, but both of these elements add some character and unpredictability.
2) The Steam wallpapers are pretty cool. Yep.
The flaws are manifold, but I will go for the chief hang ups that I have with this game: it rarely works, and it has zero support. I have an ASUS G73jh that cannot run this game, and yet a low-end Dell at work, that barely runs Minesweeper, can somehow get the game running. Take a few minutes in the forum and you'll see that it is a crapshoot if this game will run for you -- and the only pseudo-representative of the company can do nothing but forward e-mails after asking you to jump through diagnostic hoops. As Steam customers, I believe we deserve a little more.
Stay away from this title.
A simple scratch for that strategy itch // Recommended for the more casual of strategy gamers*
*You'd likely prefer it at sale price
+ Includes a multitude of mechanics that showcase the uncertainty of combat; depending on various factors, for example, units can refuse orders, or delay their implementation
+ Many small, impressive attentions to detail, such as troops' refusal to build pontoons too close to bridges, or that units will not move until messenger horses arrive with your orders (from the 'C-in-C')
+ One can pause game-time to take stock of a situation and give orders
+ Effectiveness of artillery takes elevation and wind into the account of its effectiveness
+ Unit controls are simple, efficient, and smooth in practice
+ Tutorials are more than sufficient to acclimate the player to the game's mechanics
+ Pace is somewhat lively; enough so that the player is consistently engaged
+ UI is practical and easy to navigate
+ Seems to run smoothly with no obvious bugs, glitches, or crashes
- Unit AI often struggles to cross bridges/pontoons
- Woefully short campaigns (3-5 hours each)
- No multiplayer, variance in objectives, or additional game-modes; this does little to help increase replayability beyond the campaigns
- When beginning a match, it is not made apparent from which directions the enemy will be arriving; this makes it difficult to determine the nature of one's initial troop movements and positions (there is also a crippling lack of a reconnaissance element)
- Selecting/Deselecting units is often clunky and awkward
- Constructing earthworks will typically force involvement of units one does not intend to be involved; this can drastically ruin a well-formed defense at critical moments (earthworks also cannot be destroyed or undone)
- Visual and audio are both universally underwhelming
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What a fun little no-frills real-time Civil War Game... that doesn't work. The graphics are kind of bare bones, which is fine with me, and the interface is very simple and easy to use. But it is damn near impossible to consistantly get units to do what you want them to do. (This is as of 1.3).
The major problem with this game is getting units to move is an uncertain affair. There is a kind of cool mechanic where sometimes your orders don't get through, simulating the communication difficulties of the second world war. I can go with that. What I can't go with is when you give an order, it get's accepted, and the unit doesn't move. Even after you repeat the order. Again. And again. And again. And again. Units will just randomly "stick" in spots and will be essentially worthless for the rest of the battle.
Worse are river crossings. I played Chancellorsville as the Union. Most of my force started across the river. There are several bridges. I must have re-issued my orders three dozen times before I got them across. Meanwhile, the few who stragged over the bridge got savaged one by one, because no one followed them. Most of the game can be more or less played and even enjoyed if you really try, but on a battle like that where you have to cross a river... forget about it. Don’t bother.
Beyond that, the game really doesn’t do a good job at communicating what is going on. The units are represented with boxy little symbols, which is fine with me, but half the time, I can’t even tell who’s firing. Sometimes, my units just suddenly die. No warning, just poof. Sometimes it’s because there is a hidden enemy, but sometimes, they will just randomly panic and flee, even if not under fire.
The sad part is there is a really fun game hiding under here. This is one of those games that I want badly to recommend, but cant. I love the design idea, love the genre, love supporting indies, but the game just doesn’t play right. Unless you are willing to put up with some major frustration and love Civil War RTS, I’d pass.
This games does a nice job of balancing abstraction while maintaining enough tactical elements to make it compelling. A very clean and consistent UI contributes to smooth play.
I like it. 9/10
I've played every boardgame and PC game on the ACW that was made aware to me for last 40 years. (Read plenty too). I have to say that for $10 and the information they give you while that battle rages is amazing. Plus nice historical map with a good write-up on the battle. There is so much for your money in the game...really. Leadership, supply, artillery and cavalry for a nice combined arms enounters. And so far, I think they AI is good and does a nice job. I wish tho' that elevation was more readily available for my guns:)
Cut the crap, let's get straight to the point:
Pros:
- easy to learn, not that hard to master to on two first levels of "easiness". (militia and regular)
- nice ui
- nice movement system. You just draw a line mith a mouse and units follow it
- fast battles (win or lose in 5-10 mins for each battle). It can also be a cons.
- civil var flavour with historical units
- terrain bonuses
- some small things like adjutants who carry general's orders (they may become lost/intercepted and the orders get lost with them), hidden personalities of unit commanders - cautious may ignore some of your orders, agressive may charge needlessly into action, etc.
- basic logistics (artillery runs of ammo and must be resupplied by a wagon train)
- decent AI.
Cons:
- absolutely no graphics to speak of. Units are represented by rectangles composed of little squares. If such squares are in disarray you unit ir broken/routed/not in good order. See screens above and that's the battle in its entirety. Environment consists of a few copipasted houses/trees
- battle can run on one speed only or be paused. Maybe you can change it but I didn't find out how
- no tactical formations. Column or two rows. Fullstop
- engagements between units are affected by terrain, morale (milita, regular, vets), number of men and flanking mostly. Units have other stats. like fatigue but since battles are so short it's usually on maximum. Weather/wind direction are also there but mostly irrelevant. Night affects visibility for engaging, however, and you can see campfires where units are postioned (including enemy units)
- dumb building ui. Bridges/covers are hard to place and cannot be cancelled. I once lost a battle because I misclicked, all nearby units started building something and noone was left in control of my victory points
- about 20 battles for each campaign (I found it really short at the pace the game was running)
- units have no independent thinking beyond personalities of their cammanders. If a neighbour is attacked a few meters away most prefer to stay where they are and enjoy the show.
- some simple but annoying bugs. The ones I encountered during almost 6 hours:
units get stuck. Usually in rivers. I had to fight without artillery entirely because my wagon train got stuck
units have trouble crossing bridges. Some can cross only after second/third attempt.
if you want to get some regular/vet achivements (regular Bull Run, etc.) set to zero your campaign of a previous difficulty level. I.e. I beat the Confederate campaign on regular + vet. for some battles, but because I also had Confederate militia campaign started earlier I got only militia achievements.
Verdict: worth playing if costs less than 3 $ and you really like US civil war. Want something more complicated and/or with graphics try Civil war Mod for Medieval TW.
Battleplan is a decent quick strategy game that keeps things basic. It has a very clean design and easy to follow interface. I also like the historical background information with maps that prefaces each battle. It might not be grognard level, but I thing the developers have done a fine job of capturing the essence of what the American Civil War entailed on a broad tactical level. I have plenty of more complex war games such as Combat Mission and Grisby's humongous War in the East, but sometimes I just want a short, no-nonsense battle, and this game fits the bill. It has several levels of difficulty and you can tailor the type of enemy AI you want to engage. I hope there are games of this type in the offing. I'd love to see something from the English Civil War or even ancient battles utilizing Battleplan's system. Battle of Cannae in under fifteen minutes, anyone?
Hi!
This is the best Civil War game I have played so far, it's almost as good as Total War Shogun and Age of Empires 2 were, when they were released. There is a feeling of oryginality, of experiencing something that is coming entirely from the minds of the developers and not at all from the opinions of investors, managers, marketing gurus and rest of the SCUM floating in the game industry.
Sure, the game had 1 annoying issue with those damn pontoons - it's fixed now.
Rest of the issues is just people complaining because they think that if they read 3 books, 20 articles and 100 posts about Gettysburg it makes them a specialist about the VERY first major battle of the war.
Graphics - you either like it or you don't - I love it!!! Clear view of the battlefield, lack of unnecessry detail, simple beauty of a haiku - perfect!!!
There is no multiplayer ( yet - 09.09.2014 ) - I hope they get it done for Christmas :-)
Love it!!!
I really do love it!!!
Good job developers!!!
A fun little game for the casual armchair general. Playing out the great battles of the civil is kind of fun when you stick to the tactics that were actually used. The AI has a number of battleplans that they use against you in any given battle, and while that is where the depth ends, it is still enough for replayability. It is a very easy game to learn without taking much time to figure out the controls and it has a great tutorial. I really like the messenger system to give out orders, so it make you have to move around your commanding general in order for the messengers to not be intercepted by the enemy's formations.
There are some problems:
-AI pathing, units walking into the rivers and drowning, or just getting stuck on the riverback, unable to move, when selecting multiple units, they take the route of the unit being dragged around, not taking into account obstacles.
-the aforementioned lack of the AI's ability to adjust to your strategy (which as the battle unfoldes, you adjust your men to theirs, but they seem to lack the ability to adjust to yours). this make the computer very easy to beat after only a few playthroughs of each battle. Once you recognize the AI's battleplan you can adjust your men accordingly, because they won't stray from their strategy
-Artillery is still a bit clunky and unresponsive and needs a bit of work still
-lack of multiplayer. While this game is fun to play, how much more fun would it be to play with a friend? I don't really see how hard it could be to implement something like that.
-This game is centered on three capture zones rather than defeated and routing the enemy. So all you really have to do is to hold two zones no matter what and wait for the time to run out. Makes the game kind of dull and fairly easy to beat.
Overall, i would recommend this game as it is fun and not too hard to learn. But it does require an update for two to make it a real gem. Right now it's a diamond in the rough, just needs a bit of polishing.
===if you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and I hope this has helped you make your decision===
The game is very similar to a wargame from the mid-late 70s that was for the Napoleonic period. That game was strategic and used rectangular counters, similar to the ones in this game, to depict forces. The game that I played almost 35 or so years ago may have, in fact, been made by Avalon Hill.
I purchased the Battleplan ACW game after playing the demo. I was glad that the developer had released a demo as I always like to try before I buy. The demo proved a couple of things to me: first, to see if it ran under Windows 7-64bit, and second, to see if I like the way the game played since I read a lot of goods & bads on the forums. So far, I like the game. I also saw that the developer had released a patch today so players could slow the game down if you wanted to.
It is a strategic wargame so you should be commanding large units (battalion/regiment & above) and not a tactical game where you command squads, platoons, and companies. I went through the tutorials and found them to be sufficient to learn the mechanics of the game. Overall, you can't beat the price.
Clunky system that in entirely too fast paced to enjoy. The AI is pretty terrible. On the Bull Run scenario the entire Union army tried to cross a single bridge and one regiment killed 20,000 men, I lost 400. The battle ended in a draw because I did not have a unit sititng on the victoy point that was way behind my lines. The over emphasis on victory point over casualties inflicted make it a game of chase the flag rather than fighting the enemy. The artillery mechanics need a lot of work. The game had potential but falls flat on its face. The campaign is less a campaign and more a string of skirmish scenarios that have no correlation to each other. Nothing is carried on as far as I can tell from battle to battle. They simply progress linearly.
I'm leaning more towards Battleplan ACW rather than Ultimate General Gettysburg. Battleplan keeps its promise adding depth and realism while keeping a managable fast paced tempo. The formations in Battleplan have their own character, something I see sorely missing in Ultimate General. For example, Leaders are sorted as either agressive, steady, or cautious folk. An agressive subordinate will be instrumental in conducting an assualt where as a cautious one might delay or flat out refuse the order. In addition, it also features a decent take on command and control amongst other features here and there. For example, choosing where you move your HQ isn't only about the bonuses it applies to troops. The effects of longer or shorter distances from HQ to ordered unit affects the uptake of said orders. All in all Battleplan ACW is a meaty pocket sized wargame that trades graphics for depth of gameplay. I think it's a fine game for strategy game fans but may be too easy for hardened wargamers. Check out this Let's Play for gameplay and more information.
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Дополнительная информация
| Разработчик | The Mustard Corporation |
| Платформы | Windows |
| Ограничение возраста | Нет |
| Дата релиза | 18.01.2025 |
| Metacritic | 66 |
| Отзывы пользователей | 61% положительных (61) |