Ultimate General gameplay footage..

[RedArgo]

Yeah, I had a group of skirmishers on the end of my line and the rebels pushed the middle of my line back, leaving the skirmishers behind the enemy line, so I was able to send them further back to engage the confederate artillery with no enemy infantry around.  I guess that could happen.

[Sir Slash]

My brother and I were at Gettysburg some years ago and from Cemetery Ridge, Sickles position at the Peach Orchard does look like good ground but seems a lot less so when you get there. Especially when there are no other blue uniforms close by.

[TacticalWargames]

Good fun and not a click fest which is cool.

[-budd-]

patch coming today or tomorrow. link to patch notes and there's a video explanation of new stuff.

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/998-announcement-ultimate-general-patch-v08-coming-soon/

looks like some good stuff and it looks like patches will be weekly

[Queeg]

I guess part of what bugs me is that it's obvious the AI is programmed to send lone whack-a-mole units to seize victory objectives in the rear of the main battle line.  That just didn't happen in real life, where there was no timer to save the poor bastards standing by themselves, unsupported, a mile behind enemy lines.  Yes, it does provide some challenge.  But it's far too gamey for my taste. 

EDIT:  Maybe what I've been seeing is a bug.  From the patch notes:  "Units now should retreat to much better directions. Before there was case that they could retreat in undesirable directions behind enemy lines." 

[Jarhead0331]

Nice. Groups and formations. Badly needed.

I agree, Queeg. I've seen lone enemy brigades break ranks and head for a victory location well behind my lines and the heat of the action.  This was done towards the end of the battle when the AI had already been fairly whipped and time was running out. I saw this as extremely gamey. Hopefully, it does fall into the bug category as opposed to an AI programming issue.

[Grim.Reaper]

Looks like patch is out....

Your feedback has been enormously helpful to narrow down the most important bugs and inconsistencies to include them in our first weekly patch. The patch is now available and offers the following:

Ultimate General: Gettysburg Patch 0.8 rev4469

---------------------
NEW FEATURES


Added unit grouping functionality
Use ctrl and drag area to select units then move them. Hold shortcut transferred to H key button.
You can also double click your General to select and move his units that are included in his command area.
You can assign groups by selecting units and clicking the "Group" button. In this build it is possible to make group for a single unit. This can help to make shortcuts for some of your important units or your generals (Please advise if you like this feature).
Clicking on a group and pressing Ctrl-Right click allows you to automatically arrange/rotate a simple formation for your unit group.
When you use formation you can see the future position of unit, with rectangle and facing indication. The unit facing indication is also available in the rotation gesture.
Added possibility to reassign various command buttons in settings.

GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS

·         AI fixes and various improvements make AI to keep better distance from player, make better lines and be a better opponent in all characters. Additional fixes will follow next week with your feedback.

·         Various changes made in battle balance and morale that affect the combat pace to be more realistic and slower as you requested. You will be able to keep your lines for longer, with no micromanagement and AI will desire to be more cohesive, use artillery more frequently to pound you from distance and then assault.

·         Terrain modifiers for speed are balanced better. Previously the unit movement penalties -for example when walking through forest- were very slight according to user feedback

·         Columns now have a slight speed bonus. Helps AI to maneuver faster and reinforcements to come in time.

·         Various changes in battle scenes of the 1st day.

·         Balanced battle duration to be a little less as needed (could increase the probability of unnecessary player waiting time or overwhelmed units to be cornered in the map and game not to stop).

·         Slocum and Stannard reinforcements now can arrive sooner which adds the necessary punch and "drama" for the Union army.

·         Some fixes in the battle flow and in cases where decision buttons would lead in wrong battle of 2nd day.

·         Friendly fire hold threshold balanced as part of better AI targeting, unit lines fixes, less frequent unnecessary rotation of your units, artillery management.

·         US vs CS combat balance improvement. The Confederates were slightly overpowered before, according to feedback.

·         Melee damage increased, especially against artillery.

PERFORMANCE

·         Performance and FPS improvement that is noticeable in big battles.

CONTROLS

·         The LoS of your selected unit (the area it can see) now endures more and is more evident as many users asked.

BUG FIXES

·         Fixed issue when game crashes in moment of any battle start. We added button to disable unit transparency for additional safety measure for those who still anticipate this problem until we fully fix the potential issue.

·         Units can no longer get stuck in borders.

·         Units now should retreat to much better directions. Before there was case that they could retreat in undesirable directions behind enemy lines.

·         Case of reinforcements freezing after loading game should now be fixed.

·         Uncontrollable units -that for example retreat- can no longer be selected.

·         Units freezing in retreat mode bug should be fixed. Please report if you anticipate this issue again.

·         Units becoming invisible bug is addressed. Please report if this happens again.

·         Bug reporter button fixes and improvements. Now it does better quality screenshots. Problem with missing logs is also fixed. Bug reporter doesn't affect performance anymore.

·         Corrections in some main menu and battle description texts.

[Queeg]

I like the new patch overall.  Combined unit commands work well. 

Unfortunately, the AI still does rear-area VP charges.  Part of the issue is that I'm playing as the Confederates and have only one unit of skirmishers.  The North has several, plus small cavalry units, that it can send on deep end-runs.  Since I can't divide my units, it's literally impossible to do anything about the many 200-300 man units the AI can send to my rear.  In my last battle, the North had two units of cavalry, two of skirmishers, and finally the Iron Brigade (which had been mauled into retreating twice before) all wandering around probably the equivalent of a mile behind the main battle line.

Another part of the problem is that units don't really break.  They retreat and then reform nearly instantaneously.  It's these units that late in the battle seem programmed to look for a VP deep and the rear and make a bee-line to it.   

The rest of the game is so very good otherwise, that I'd hate to see battles devolve to rear-area whack-a-mole affairs.  That aspect is seriously unfun.   

[JasonPratt]

Haven't played with the new patch yet. Wonder if it breaks saves, though... (not that I'd care, I'm only two missions into the Rebel campaign.)

I don't think we're going to see anything done about the VP hunting. The VPs are largely the game -- the game isn't set up to 'score' primarily based on casualties (I think? -- my casualties have been pretty even come to think of it, while my VP count was superior so far in my two draws...!), and C&C / supply factors just don't exist. So the computer has no reason NOT to send scooters to snag VPs.

On the other hand, I think of VPs representing important HQ or supply or signal areas, so if I don't protect those while I'm advancing I'm playing poorly anyway -- or I'm playing gamey myself by ignoring factors which would be important in real life! I shouldn't just be chugging along leaving my rear unguarded.

Maybe the solution is for the mission designers to make sure each side has sufficient short divisions and/or skirms to make a choice between serious defense of captured VPs or committing those units to other areas of attack or defense and risking a skirmish raid to capture VPs (where that result would equal disruption of interior lines etc.)

As a related option, maybe players (and the AI?) can be given a menu choice when capturing (and starting with) a VP, about what the VP should mean and therefore what bonuses to the battle can be gained and lost (possibly with active penalties for losing it). Or maybe those bonuses/penalties can be hardcoded to the mission based on how Feds and Confeds did or would have likely used the VP areas. Then it isn't just a score (though for relative campaign progression that would still apply), and protecting or risking the VP during the mission would feel less gamey.

[JasonPratt]

Note that Queeg and I have just posted our comments (with slight modifications) on the Steam forum for the game, too.

I think I managed to successfully link back to this thread for anyone visiting that thread.  O:-)

[-budd-]

here's a link to the same topic on the official forums, they echo queeg's thoughts.

http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/980-skirmishers-going-on-deep-raids-bug/

[jomni]

Nice. Groups and formations. Badly needed.

I agree, Queeg. I've seen lone enemy brigades break ranks and head for a victory location well behind my lines and the heat of the action.  This was done towards the end of the battle when the AI had already been fairly whipped and time was running out. I saw this as extremely gamey. Hopefully, it does fall into the bug category as opposed to an AI programming issue.

Yeah. Humans will do the same thing when nearing end game. So the AI is smart. It is a matter of game design.

I found the Civil War Generals objective system good. The more you fight for a certain location, the move valuable it becomes in terms of VP.  Scourge of War is also good as casualties are given more weight to objective locstions.

[JudgeDredd]

A few things I often find myself wanting to do

• shift my units left or right
• stack commands - so move then face...currently you have to move then wait until that's finished then set facing (setting facing before the move is complete stops the movement)
• not sure if charge works for my Union troops - I see lots of charges by the rebs, but not the Union troops...even when ordered
• My Union yella bellies seem to break alot even when a commander is about and they have numerical superiority
• on the easiest AI setting (bottom left) I've found alot of enemy troops simply stand there - possibly after routing, I don't know...but they just stand in line - and more annoyingly, so do mine - both sides just standing there

By the way - to concur with jomni - historical or not, I am constantly trying to probe on the fringes to get to the enemy rear...though not necessarily to take a victory point. But the AI in my game this morning did head for Oak Ridge and took it...then it continued to flow between sides based on who was routing.

[-budd-]

A few things I often find myself wanting to do

• shift my units left or right
• stack commands - so move then face...currently you have to move then wait until that's finished then set facing (setting facing before the move is complete stops the movement)
• not sure if charge works for my Union troops - I see lots of charges by the rebs, but not the Union troops...even when ordered
• My Union yella bellies seem to break alot even when a commander is about and they have numerical superiority
• on the easiest AI setting (bottom left) I've found alot of enemy troops simply stand there - possibly after routing, I don't know...but they just stand in line - and more annoyingly, so do mine - both sides just standing there

By the way - to concur with jomni - historical or not, I am constantly trying to probe on the fringes to get to the enemy rear...though not necessarily to take a victory point. But the AI in my game this morning did head for Oak Ridge and took it...then it continued to flow between sides based on who was routing.

you played with the new patch? seems like my union lines dont break as easy and the individual combats seem to last a bit longer. I think the reb AI does stand around recovering so they can charge again, happens to me alot now since the lines dont break as easy[shouldn't they recover out of artillery range]. I defiantly want a shift order for my lines, thats a good idea. I always am probing with small units out on the flank and forward, i think they just need to make it so a certain size unit can capture VP's. All in all i think this patch is a step in the right direction.

[Grim.Reaper]

Had a little time with the new patch last night and it looks like they fixed the issue where map edge scrolling didn't exist in the release version, at least for me it didn't work.....that was a biggie for me:)