The Grand Tactician: The Civil War

[C1500]

Here’s some pretty good gameplay footage of his Battle of Nashville. This is post update.

I would like to point out the guy playing is a huge history guy. Anyone who likes history needs to check out his stuff.

Vlogging Through History

 

[VolInNorthCack]

Just picked up Ultimate General: Civil War on Steam for $14.99.

So far, I'm liking it. It is not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I breezed through the first few battles with no problem. The first Battle of Bull Run was tough. I didn't think I was going to win, but I did just barely. Can't wait to get really into it this weekend since it is going to be raining here.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

Gaines' Mill and Stones River kicked my arse. So bad, I basically have no army left and not many recruits. I have plenty of weapons and plenty of money, but the recruits just dry up all of a sudden. So it's almost like game over and I can't progress. Gonna have to start a new game and try something different.

 

[LouderVol]

Gaines' Mill and Stones River kicked my arse. So bad, I basically have no army left and not many recruits. I have plenty of weapons and plenty of money, but the recruits just dry up all of a sudden. So it's almost like game over and I can't progress. Gonna have to start a new game and try something different.

You definitely have to manage your troops. One thing I had to adjust to was realizing you dont have to kill the enemy to win.

Always be looking for a flank. You dont have to fight historically.

Dump your career points into politics, get that maxed asap. More money and recruits. Capturing the enemy will also result in a return of up to 1000 men.

If the enemy breaks and you hold the objective, do not pursue. Picking your fights is key. If you know you are defending it's worth giving or taking a little extra territory to make sure your guys are in cover. And dont just deploy at the very edge of the woods, sit your boys back a hair so the enemy has to come into open ground/water to get to you.

Oh and most of the prepared defensive positions are garbage. Dont bother if it stretches you.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

You definitely have to manage your troops. One thing I had to adjust to was realizing you dont have to kill the enemy to win.

Always be looking for a flank. You dont have to fight historically.

Dump your career points into politics, get that maxed asap. More money and recruits. Capturing the enemy will also result in a return of up to 1000 men.

If the enemy breaks and you hold the objective, do not pursue. Picking your fights is key. If you know you are defending it's worth giving or taking a little extra territory to make sure your guys are in cover. And dont just deploy at the very edge of the woods, sit your boys back a hair so the enemy has to come into open ground/water to get to you.

Oh and most of the prepared defensive positions are garbage. Dont bother if it stretches you.

Yeah, I figured most of that out on my second go round. It wasn't Gaines Mill that was killing me... It was Malvern Hill! Man, was I stretched thin holding those 3 points. But I won. I have progressed to the 2nd Bull Run now. That's where I will pick back up tonight.

I have not found much of a distinction between using a rookie division with Farmers and a veteran division with like Lorenz or Springfield 1855's. The only difference is that the veterans will not rout and fallback as quickly when overwhelmed. But as far as numbers of kills between the two, I haven't seen a noticeable benefit to putting extra $$ into Veterans or into the expensive guns.

 

[LouderVol]

Yeah, I figured most of that out on my second go round. It wasn't Gaines Mill that was killing me... It was Malvern Hill! Man, was I stretched thin holding those 3 points. But I won. I have progressed to the 2nd Bull Run now. That's where I will pick back up tonight.

I have not found much of a distinction between using a rookie division with Farmers and a veteran division with like Lorenz or Springfield 1855's. The only difference is that the veterans will not rout and fallback as quickly when overwhelmed. But as far as numbers of kills between the two, I haven't a noticeable benefit to putting extra $$ into Veterans or into the expensive guns.

Playing as the union I guess?
The veteran slider just effects the overall of the replacements, not the unit itself. Once you get a veteraned unit with chevrons/stars it starts to matter as you can lose the ranks (max 3) and the benefit. Those rank bonuses can matter. Keeping the brigade commander alive matters more imo, as unit respond slower if he is dead/wounded.

Have you been spending your government points, not sure the actual name? Top right corner in the camp. You can buy more troops that way.

I think the benefits on your rifles is minimal and wont make or break a battle. Cannon choice matters of whole heck of a lot more imo. Parrot guns are the only thing worth bringing that I can get in numbers. And then not all the time. For skirmishes it's also nice having longer range rifles.

But for the line infantry positioning and cover are the biggest "multipliers". Some like the Henry and Spencer are worth it for the reload. But really the only difference is range. And the only way to tell is have guys in the exact same conditions/training/skills.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

Playing as the union I guess?
The veteran slider just effects the overall of the replacements, not the unit itself. Once you get a veteraned unit with chevrons/stars it starts to matter as you can lose the ranks (max 3) and the benefit. Those rank bonuses can matter. Keeping the brigade commander alive matters more imo, as unit respond slower if he is dead/wounded.

Have you been spending your government points, not sure the actual name? Top right corner in the camp. You can buy more troops that way.

I think the benefits on your rifles is minimal and wont make or break a battle. Cannon choice matters of whole heck of a lot more imo. Parrot guns are the only thing worth bringing that I can get in numbers. And then not all the time. For skirmishes it's also nice having longer range rifles.

But for the line infantry positioning and cover are the biggest "multipliers". Some like the Henry and Spencer are worth it for the reload. But really the only difference is range. And the only way to tell is have guys in the exact same conditions/training/skills.

Playing as confederacy. I have not seen the Government points, i will check that out tonight. I take cover and high ground as fast as I can. Cannons I have messed around with more. I have found the Napoleons and the 12PDR ordnance and the 10PDR howitzer is my go to mix for artillery. I hardly use skirmishers at all.

 

[LouderVol]

Playing as confederacy. I have not seen the Government points, i will check that out tonight. I take cover and high ground as fast as I can. Cannons I have messed around with more. I have found the Napoleons and the 12PDR ordnance and the 10PDR howitzer is my go to mix for artillery. I hardly use skirmishers at all.

One thing to be keenly aware of is the final victory requirements. You can check that during battles in the upper right corner during battles. The other objectives are pointless and you should ignore if it puts you in a bad spot.

Didnt mention cav before but I really only use them to capture supplies, all you have to do is touch the wagon. incredibly important to keep your men stocked. or i use them to kill unsupported cannon.

On the point of supply have you maxed that out in the camp? 35k? For the big battles I turn it off from supplying my cannons. Keeping the infantry supplied is critical imo.

 

[Toujours Pret]

Gaines' Mill and Stones River kicked my arse. So bad, I basically have no army left and not many recruits. I have plenty of weapons and plenty of money, but the recruits just dry up all of a sudden. So it's almost like game over and I can't progress. Gonna have to start a new game and try something different.

Gaines Mill is one of my favorite battles. Jackson was uncharacteristically off that's day. Could've been a huge win for the ANVa

 

[VolInNorthCack]

One thing to be keenly aware of is the final victory requirements. You can check that during battles in the upper right corner during battles. The other objectives are pointless and you should ignore if it puts you in a bad spot.

Didnt mention cav before but I really only use them to capture supplies, all you have to do is touch the wagon. incredibly important to keep your men stocked. or i use them to kill unsupported cannon.

On the point of supply have you maxed that out in the camp? 35k? For the big battles I turn it off from supplying my cannons. Keeping the infantry supplied is critical imo.

I didn't get to play a battle last night, was too busy and too tired. But I did get on and found the government points thing. Man, if I knew about that before lol. I was able to finish out my 3rd Corps using the government points. Had 97 points saved up that i didn't know about lol.

I use cav a bit. Mainly to keep the skirmishers off of my flanks. Rarely I'll take a couple of them and have them charge an infantry unit that is giving me trouble. Yes, I will use them to scout and try to capture supply or rout artillery.

 

[LouderVol]

Gaines Mill is one of my favorite battles. Jackson was uncharacteristically off that's day. Could've been a huge win for the ANVa

That's one of the most interesting things about the entire civil war battles. Most of them are all "this shouldnt have happened this way, yet here we are"

 

[LouderVol]

I didn't get to play a battle last night, was too busy and too tired. But I did get on and found the government points thing. Man, if I knew about that before lol. I was able to finish out my 3rd Corps using the government points. Had 97 points saved up that i didn't know about lol.

I use cav a bit. Mainly to keep the skirmishers off of my flanks. Rarely I'll take a couple of them and have them charge an infantry unit that is giving me trouble. Yes, I will use them to scout and try to capture supply or rout artillery.

You dont get a ton of troops that way. But a couple thousand extra every once and a while helps. The stuff you can claim resets between big battles.

I try to plan it out so that I have 100 points after a big battle, that's the max you can have. Because usually that's when I need the help, and having a decent moral boost in big battles helps.

 

[VolInNorthCack]

You dont get a ton of troops that way. But a couple thousand extra every once and a while helps. The stuff you can claim resets between big battles.

I try to plan it out so that I have 100 points after a big battle, that's the max you can have. Because usually that's when I need the help, and having a decent moral boost in big battles helps.

Man... Chncellorsville is giving me a struggle. luckily I saved my game right before the start. I make the first couple milestones fine. But it's like i just don't have enough time to capture the main objective. 3 tries so far and still no luck lol.

 

[LouderVol]

Man... Chncellorsville is giving me a struggle. luckily I saved my game right before the start. I make the first couple milestones fine. But it's like i just don't have enough time to capture the main objective. 3 tries so far and still no luck lol.

Dont do anything with the second army the first "day". Keep them in reserve until the second "day" actually the same calendar day, game just does its reset. (If you still have money and troops you can go to camp and reinforce losses between days in some battles).

Wait until the second "day" to start a real offensive. Attacking from both sides. Dont rush to take the farm you have to fight the real second day regardless. Just bleed them.

The second real day is when you have to cap. Link up in the south and push north, while pinning them in closer to the farm. Just stay in cover and whiddle them down as you push from the south.

Its bloody 10-15k losses, but it's better than a draw.

A heads up, there is another battle right after chancellorsville. No chance to replace losses. Hopefully you have at least 10 brigades in your 3rd Corp you can commit.

Chickamauga is the real blood bath for me.

Gettysburg and Cold Harbor you can end early.

 

[LouderVol]

This game is live now. Still havent picked it up. May wait for winter sale.