a note from the designer — ultimate general_ gettysburg

8/9/2019 A Note From the Designer Ultimate General_ Gettysburg

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ABOUT DEVELOPER'S BLOG FORUM CONTACT

A note from the designer

We have announced the end of Early-Access and the full release of the game.

Ultimate General: Gettysburg has been completed and today, we would like

to describe what it offers.

We proudly announce Ultimate General: Gettysburg, a strategy game whichgives emphasis to tactics and introduces many innovative features. A

complete feature list is available to read on our front page:

. But, lets discuss these features a bit more.

Dynamic Battle

The Battle of Gettysburg was undoubtedly one of the most decisive battles of

the American Civil War and lasted 3 days. This battle was very interesting to

simulate, not only because of its importance, but because it was fought at a

eld which gave many tactical opportunities.

Historically, the Union claimed victory, but both sides suffered similar

ote from the designer Ultimate General: Gettysburg http://www.ultimategeneral.com/blog/ultimate-general-is-fully-released

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numbers of casualties. However, the

strategic and political cost for the

Confederates was larger due to a

shortage in manpower and

resources.

In Ultimate General: Gettysburg,

there is an opportunity for the

Confederates to decisively win the

battle. Arguably, the battle would

have taken a completely different

course had Ewell tried to take

Cemetery Hill on the rst day. The

game offers such opportunities to

the player for both sides.

There is no pre-determined way to play. Forces arrive from historical

directions, but can be delayed or arrive sooner. The rst engagement where

Buford attempts to delay the Confederates' advance plays a big role in how

the battle will escalate, as an opening move does in chess. The next battle

scenario is dened depending on key objectives secured and casualties,

condition and disposition of units are recorded and transferred as well.

After a battle, there can be up to 4

different strategic decisions. For

example, if you play as theConfederates and have failed to take

Cemetery Hill before evening, you

can decide to attack it again the

same day, rest and attack tomorrow

or try to ank from Devil's Den with

fresh forces (historical option).

This way, the Battle of Gettysburg

becomes a dynamic combination of many different phases which playsdifferently each time, with differing strategies and AI opponents. Battle

phases can be up to 8 if the battle lasts 4 days and can last from about 30

min to more than an hour.

Since the battle campaign could take a long time, weve implemented a

system which allows you to save during any battle phase. After the end of a

battle engagement, you can also examine the performance of the units and

review the full order of battle for both armies.

Accurate map and 3D look

IN THE NON-LINEAR BATTLE CAMPAIGN YOU CAN

PLAN WHAT WILL BE YOUR NEXT STRATEGIC MOVE.

BUFORD ATTEMPTS TO DELAY THE CONFEDERATES

BEFORE THEY GAIN FOOTHOLD TO THE STRATEGIC

GROUND AROUND THE TOWN.


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The map is literally hand drawn by our graphics team. Every pixel was made

by using accurate historical map data and satellite imagery. We added every

important location and marked it on the map with subtle names, showing

exactly where famous clashes between the armies had taken place. The

special miniature art style is framed by the edge of the map, giving the

impression of playing on a wooden table.

We did not use a demanding 3D graphics engine so as to support tablet

gameplay with many thousands of soldiers, though we did use tricks tocreate depth of view. Unit formations bend and scale according to terrain

and soldiers are covered by trees and buildings. Additionally, you can enable

the special Tilt-Shift image lter which enhances the 3D perception and


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provides a unique visual experience.

Terrain gives l ife to tactics

Every little detail on the map, such a

wooded areas, slight elevations,

creeks, lone farmhouses, all play arole in gameplay, affecting cover,

height advantage and movement

penalties. By advancing on the map,

you quickly recognize defensive

strongpoints that you must secure.

As the Union, you will notice at rst

how important Oak and Seminary

ridges are. The forested and builtareas provide excellent cover for

deployment and protection of your

frontline. McPherson ridge becomes

a valuable artillery platform which

provides visibility to wide areas. While on open ground, youll notice your

men to drop like ies to close range re.

After a few minutes of playing, it becomes understandable that assaulting a

fortied position will not be an easy task. Flanking maneuvers and proper

timing are essential if you do not want enormous casualties. Finding the best

strategic locations for your artillery and infantry, in a dynamic way as

Generals would do in a real battleeld is a challenge of its own.

Eventually, you do witness the cost of a frontal assault on Cemetery Ridge on

a fully prepared Union army. Youll understand why Blocher's Knoll was a

vulnerable defensive position and that holding Culps Hill was one of the

most important goals. Even if you have not read anything about this glorious

battle, we think that by playing the game, you will be motivated to research

it, just because we really tried to simulate all the important tactical

parameters and historical facts, inside the limitations of the game engine of

course.

Complex l ine of sight

Strategic depth of the map is fullled with the specially designed Line of Sight

(LoS), which simulates a realistic visibility range. In most RTS games, you have

simple fog of war that is revealed by your units' constant vision radius.

We use a much more complex system that takes into consideration the

terrain and altitude. For example, your unit cannot see and target an enemy

HILLS ARE STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT. THEY

PROVIDE INCREASED LINE OF SIGHT, PROJECTILE

RANGE AND MORALE BONUS.


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that is hidden behind a steep hill or

heavily forested area, even if it is

included in its maximum visibility

range.

It is vital that your army spreads out

enough on the map and secures

hills to be able to observe the

battleeld successfully. You will

notice the importance of LoS right in

the rst battle as Confederates,

while you progressively capture the

ridges ahead of you. The Union

reinforcements are only spotted

when you are very close to them

and your artillery superiority cannot

be utilized because of poor visibility.

The Friendly Fire system supplements LoS and makes tactics more

demanding. Units cannot shoot with full eciency if their visibility is blocked

by friendlies, if at all. Consequently, if you mass your forces into a small area,

your effective repower is reduced while casualties increase due to collateral

damage.

An AI that we think is unique

The biggest design effort was

concentrated on making the AI a

worthy opponent. It was the most

dicult task, because we did not

want to provide the usual statistical

bonuses of other games. We

strongly believe that these kinds of

AI boosts actually spoil gameplay,

especially in strategy games wherethe challenge must be based on skill

and not on cheats.

The AI is not scripted and makes

decisions by evaluating nearby

threats, height of the ground,

morale and strength of opponents,

captured objectives and many other parameters, mirroring what a human

player does.

Nine AI personalities arrayed in 3 aggressiveness levels compose the

diculty table. Each AI General is very distinctively different. This becomes

HILLS AND TERRAIN REALISTICALLY OBSTRUCT

VISIBILITY.

THE GAME DIFFICULTY PANEL IS CONSISTED BY 9

DIFFERENT AI PERSONALITIES.


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clear in large scale battles. A defensive AI will have a tendency to prefer a

more cautious advance, pause to bombard the enemy with artillery and keep

plenty of reserves. An aggressive AI will most possibly use whatever it has in

its arsenal to secure the key objectives and wipe out your army.

THE AI IS ABLE TO MAKE THICK DEFENSIVE LINES TO REPEL YOUR ASSAULTS.

Winning a single battle against the AI does not win the battle campaign. For

example, you may win the rst battle as the Union by cornering the AI on

Herr Ridge, only to realize in the next battle that you are surrounded and

isolated.

All the AI opponents can eciently execute basic tactical maneuvers. They

can ank, deploy artillery on high ground, trace weak points of your lines and

charge them, make defensive formations and protect objectives, fall back to

safety and a lot more that cannot be described in a few text lines.

Another big challenge related to AI was to keep historical facts while

preserving the AI challenge to standard. This was very dicult for the Union

AI, which would be vastly outnumbered and attacked from multiple

directions in the second phase of the battle. Without cheats, the only way to

make it defend effectively was to make it smarter. Still, theres room for

improvement and we will continuously enhance the AI with feedback from

the players.

The fighting units

The base unit of Ultimate General: Gettysburg is the infantry brigade,

consisting of around 1.000 2.000 soldiers. Artillery batteries have up to 6cannons and around 75 - 150 crew. Additionally, there are the smaller

detached units: skirmishers and cavalry (mounted or dismounted). The

current ratio of actual forces to rendered troops is 9:1, e.g. 1800 actual men


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To move your units, you just drag free movement paths with your mouse.

The intuitive movement arrows resemble old history book images which

described tactical maneuvers. Ultimate General: Gettysburg allows similar,

complex anking paths with no hassle.

If you want to select multiple units, draw a free selection lasso and drag

around the units. Rotate units by pressing the middle mouse button or the

TAB key. Map navigation uses the right mouse and you zoom in/out with the

middle mouse button.

These are the most important things you need to know. Other control

features such as double clicking an enemy to charge, using the Hold button

etc. can be learned by watching the brief in-game video tutorial or by reading

our complete PDF guide.


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AFTER THE BATTLE YOU SEE FULL STATISTICS AND THE ORDER OF BATTLE OF BOTH ARMIES.

Your units are sufficiently self-dependent

It would still be dicult to control your army if units did not have their own

AI. In Ultimate General: Gettysburg, your units will assist your commands by

reacting automatically to threats. For example, they will turn as much as it is

needed to a nearby threat to shoot it while maintaining the line, or they will

withdraw to safety if they receive devastating anking re and areoverwhelmed by superior forces.

Part of the games vision is to play the role of an army General, letting you

focus on the tactical decisions and care less about micro-managing your

forces. Lets say that you defend. You can place your brigades in good lines

and then trust that they can keep their ground effectively, while you observe

the battleeld and mobilize your reserves. In other similar strategy games

you would need to constantly reform them in lines, manually rotate units

which get attacked in the ank etc.

Replayability and multiplayer


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The above mentioned features already add good replayability value. The fact

that the multi-day battle never plays the same because of random events

and different AI commanders, gives enough incentive to play multiple times

and research all possible outcomes. Additionally, as you play the campaign

you can unlock more than 80 custom battles for skirmish mode.

MULTIPLAYER BRINGS THE TACTICAL CHALLENGE TO A COMPLETE DIFFERENT LEVEL.

Naturally, multiplayer is the main replayability factor. It currently offers ve

1vs1 maps and is continuously improved. We will offer more maps, a

smoother lobby and other features that the community suggests. Notably,the multiplayer experience can test your skills to the maximum, because no

matter how good the AI is, it is a different challenge to try to beat a human

opponent.

Hope you enjoy it

This small presentation should give a good view of the game. Feel free to ask

any questions in the comments below or on our community sites. Ultimate

General is available on Steam for Windows and Mac OS:

A Tactical Battle Simulator that allows you to

command thousands of soldiers as a Union or

Confederate General. The game features the

most accurately created map, a non-linear

battle campaign, complex morale, innovative

control mechanics and smart AI. Lead your$14.99 USD BUY ON STEAM

Additional platforms and mobile devices will be supported in the near future.


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We invite you to our forums where you can get support and more answers

about Ultimate General: Gettysburg:

With full dedication,

Nick Darth Thomadis


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Add a comment11 comments

Kevin Buster Directorat Self-employment

Everyone should get it, great rundown Nick!

Reply Like 21 October at 07:193

Eirik Stigar Top commenter

"...The AI is not scripted and makes decisions by evaluating nearbythreats, height of the ground, morale and strength of opponents..."

Wait, what?

How the hell does the AI know my units' morale?

Reply Like Edited 21 October at 08:042

Ultimate General: Gettysburg

When we say "Scripted AI" we mean it does not dopredefined things in a scenario. Like in x time, attack yobjective.

AI evaluates opponent unit strengths and weaknessessimilarly as the human. For example you play and noticethat an enemy unit wavers by its flag. So why the AI not toknow about your morale?

Reply Like Edited 21 October at 08:303

Bruno Just University of Sydney

Superb game for its size, and well worth the price.


Louis Cw Linsley Top commenter CCAC

Great Game. Great summary, Nick!


Ryan Daniels Boston, Massachusetts

Looks cool


Jim Obrien Plainedge High School

probably the most viable options for the confederates ( after thefailure to secure cemetery hill or culps hilll) was a turning movementbelow big top , is that a possibility within this game


Ultimate General: Gettysburg

Map extends quite south below Round Top, so it isfeasible to execute a wider enveloping maneuver invarious battle engagements near that area.


Drew English Owner/ Presidentat JCS Canada

Sure its possible. A flanking move around the right was onoption back then but was not allowed to take place.

Additionally, if it did take place, they would have run intoarriving federal forces coming from the south andGettysburg probably would have never happened.



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PATCH 1.01

A THANK YOU MESSAGE TO EARLY

2013-14 Game-Labs


a note from the designer — ultimate general_ gettysburg

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