By switching to a 1:1 venue scale, thoughtfully redesigning terrain visuals, and enabling almost-ground-level spectating, Armchair History Interactive send out a very clear signal to serious PC wargamers. Anyone who has enjoyed Ultimate General and Take Command/Scourge of War in the past, may find the work-in-progress previously known as both Master of Command: Prussian Glory and Master of Command: Seven Years’ War hard to resist when it releases later this year.
However well or poorly AHI’s second project sells, its remarkably customisable regiments should guarantee it a place in gaming history. Master of Command may not be the first title to give players to chance to design regimental colours…
…but I can’t think of another battle sim that allows users to choose animal mascots and specify the geographic origin of cavalry mounts…
Although the eight dev logs released thus far, shed little light on AI or FoW, they do reveal MoC’s healthy respect for morale, fatigue, cover, formation choice, and leaders. Order delays don’t seem to be on the cards which might displease some, but characterful/influential officers and novel nuances such as skipping cannonballs, toggleable bayonets, and customisable regimental musicians should help distract from any shortcomings.
I struggle with that whole era of military tactics. I’m sure they didn’t just stand in a row shooting at each other but it often feels that way.
Get on the ground! Make yourself a harder target! Shoot from a more stable position!
Maybe they did actual studies on casualty rates, speed of reloads, ease of breaking the enemy morale and chose to stand there getting shot as the optimum strategy. But it does make the games harder for me.
Although if I can bring the Regimental goat to the fight I’m probably going to have to play this one anyway.
They often did just stand shooting at each other. Those muskets and early rifles had horrible precission, so hitting something like 150-300 yards away was hard. So to increase the chances of actually hitting someone, you needed a lot of soldiers firing, preferably at the same time.
Also while it is possible to reload lying down, it is really hard and slow, compared to realoading just standing, or better kneeling, while second row fires. And while yes, lying down would give you more stable position, it didn’t really matter. So it was really easier to fire standing up, hoping that some bullets will actually hit someone.
Of course, if it was possible they did use fences as cover.
Later on, around the time of American Civil War, when rifles where common, it would be beneficial for them to use different tactics. But military is sometimes slow adopting new tactics, hence the relatively high casualty rates compared to Napoleonic and earlier wars.
Even during early years of ww1 they used line tactics, the casualties where horribly high of course. So they finally changed tactics to be more like they were during ww2 and later wars.
And under artillery fire, they often did lie down when it was possible, although the canister shots were designed to explode in the air, so the shrapnels would fly in all directions.
Also in those early wars, even when you got hit, you got a pretty good chance to survive it. Well, at least for a while, and hope that the field doctor could get the bullet out. A lot of soldiers died because of lead poisoning.
That is also pretty much a reason while wars fought mainly using Line Infantry tactics aren’t as popular as ww2. You pretty much try to position your infantry as best as you could, ad than just wait who breaks first, occasionaly making cavalry charge when the oportunity presents itself.
Speaking of line infantry formations, any news of any American Civil War “Total War Style” RTS wargames currently in development you can talk about? And even if you can’t talk about them, news that you can’t talk about them is better than no news! Of course, quite a few ACW hex and grand strategy (and board) games already exist but nothing with Total War level battlefield graphics (aside from the Total War ACW mods, obviously). After Shogun Fall of the Samurai it was a logical next step to continue with ACW units proper but of course in recent years CA have their particular quirky reasons for avoiding making games that historical gamers actually want.
I always thought the devs of Voor De Kroon or Mount and Blade could maybe pull it off, along with maybe a Zulu Dawn or Boer War game for good measure. Ever since Sid Meier’s (and Dr. Peter Turcan’s) Gettysburg I wanted something other than the vast majority of endless European Napoleonics. Scourge of War Gettysburg and TC:Manassas are good but sprites don’t quite scratch the cinematography itch of getting the camera down low next to a booming battery of 12 pounder Napoleons generating clouds of smoke over Cemetery Ridge with handlebar moustaches and limbs flying off during Pickett’s Charge in epic slo-mo dev cam (whilst playing Ennio Morricone or other fitting music). Imagine having stat-boosted “hero units” like Clint Eastwood as The Outlaw Josey Wales, Morgan Freeman or Jeff Daniels amongst the soldiers on the field (already done in ‘9th Company’ with Stallone’s Rambo playing an Easter Egg style cameo during the fights).
Total War: Empire + a Civil War mod?
Empire ‘definitive edition’ going for 75% off right now.