Brother against brother

[JasonPratt]

To repeat what I said in a related thread recently: {ahem}

ALL HAIL GIL! ALL HAIL GILL!  8)

I'm perfectly willing to appreciate BaB for what it is. We still have FoF, until whenifever we have FoF2.

For that matter, there's clearly a place for both BaB and SoW. They cater to somewhat different though overlapping needs. (Well, not needs, but you know what I mean.)

[Gil R.]

To repeat what I said in a related thread recently: {ahem}

ALL HAIL GIL! ALL HAIL GILL!  8)

Were you trying to summon me?  That's best done using a pentagram.

I'm pleased to be able to report that our programmer Eric Babe is at this very moment putting together the game's newest build, which includes -- in addition to two new scenarios -- the 100% finished maps for Williamsburg and Mill Springs.  Two other maps still need for some corrections to be made.  So we're getting there...

[-budd-]

I'm not sure you can come here and quote maps are done and not post some screen shots ;).......can he? thought i read a forum rule somewhere about that.

[JudgeDredd]

I'm not sure you can come here and quote maps are done and not post some screen shots ;).......can he? thought i read a forum rule somewhere about that.

I think you are very correct...confirmation of finalising something should result in some sort of visual confirmation!

[Gil R.]

Well, I wouldn't want to break any rules and have to face JudgeDredd, but at the same time, it is too early to be sharing screenshots.  So what I've decided to do is show details from each of the three finished maps, but ones that focus on unimportant parts of the map (which nonetheless will certainly give you a good idea of the maps' quality).

First, here is Redoubt 1 from Williamsburg, the southernmost of the line of fortifications meant to hold off a pursuing Union army.  This part of the battlefield didn't come into play, though the Union briefly did recon in the area.  As you can see, that's probably a good thing for them, since forcing a crossing of that bridge while being fired down upon from the redoubt and adjacent trenchwork would not have been an enjoyable tactic.

Second, I am showing the Union's uppermost encampments at Mill Springs, more than a mile from where the fighting began.  If fighting is going on there at any point the Union player (or A.I.) has done not just something wrong, but a lot wrong.

Third and last, here is the "real" Mill Springs, an area south of the Cumberland River which was the Confederate army's encampment area until they decided to cross the river and set up at Beech Grove (which occupies most of this map), and to which they ultimately returned after getting whipped in the Battle of Mill Springs, which was fought in the area of Logan's Cross Roads near the Union encampment I'm showing.  Due to the river being impassable terrain in BAB it is impossible for any fighting to occur in this part of the map, but we included it for the sake of alternate-history scenarios and modders.  And because it makes the map more appealing to have this area in addition to the fortified encampment above the river's north bank.

More images will have to wait.

[JudgeDredd]

Very cool thank you

I loved the tactical battles in FoF and I loved the options for the various formations.

I am looking forward to this one. 

[-budd-]

thanks for the screens....at the risk of pressing my luck are we going to get an AAR before release, with plenty of screens.

[Gil R.]

Definitely.  At some point in the not too distant future you will be flooded with information and images.

[JudgeDredd]

Definitely.  At some point in the not too distant future you will be flooded with information and images.

How cool  ;D

[Kushan]

A release date has been announced: April 16

[-budd-]

Well...... gonna need proof of concept.... AAR time yet ;D

[Mad Russian]

Does this game include an editor?

Thanks.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Tuna]

Would be nice if they moved to bigger screenshots  :-\

[Gil R.]

Does this game include an editor?

Thanks.

Good Hunting.

MR

Not initially, BUT we do plan on making the game modder-friendly, and at some point would like to release some form of editor.  The one thing we don't want to do, as I have mentioned on the Matrix forum, is make available all of the tools necessary for modders to make Gettysburg, Shiloh, and the other major battles that we plan to do.  So first and foremost, we will do whatever we can to help modders who want to work with the four battles (and five battlefields) we are including, and secondarily will also help modders who want to make battles that we do not plan on covering in the series.  (The way to do this would be to release the editor that places units, which can be done manually via the data files but is much, much easier in the editor, while I have promised to add terrain data to any maps of unplanned battles, since that is preferable to releasing the program that does that.  What I mean is, say that we have no intention of including Monocacy and there is someone out there with sufficient graphics skills to make a good Monocacy map -- if they do that I will take the time to assign the terrain values and make it playable.)  Once the series is finished, or close to finished, we may provide everything needed for modders to create new battles and scenarios on their own.  But at the time of this our first release we believe it would be a poor business practice to let others make and give away for free the battles that we intend to make centerpieces of upcoming releases.

With that said, our 1st Manassas map is so big that it covers large portions of the 2nd Manassas battlefield, so clever modders will be able to make some Day 2 and Day 3 scenarios for that as well, instead of waiting for BAB#2.

[Gil R.]

Does this game include an editor?

Thanks.

Good Hunting.

MR

Mad Russian,
Coming back to this issue, I raised the question at our weekly meeting with Matrix on Friday, and it was agreed all around that we should indeed release a scenario-editor soon after the game comes out, though not the map-editor.  That means that modders will not be able to create new maps on their own just yet -- though I remain willing to work with modders on maps that are of sufficient quality and are for battles not planned for the BAB series -- but they WILL be able to create/modify OOB's and place units at will, and pretty much do whatever they want on the existing maps.  And one day there is likely to be a map-editor as well, though not in the foreseeable future.