Scourge of War

Toonces · April 20, 2015, 01:06:53 AM

Yeah, I just played one of the scripted scenarios in the Lynchburg mod and I saw the VP counter keep popping in and out. I didn't realize I had to have a General there. I need to read up some more on how victory conditions work.

Meantime, the scenario I played was a cavalry scenario and I do not understand how to get them to do what I want at all. It was, truly, like they had a mind of their own.

I most definitely haven't mastered the courier system by a long shot.

On a separate note, I just started re-reading Pfanz's Gettysburg: The First Day that I bought several years ago on my Kindle. It makes a lot more sense now that I've played a few sandboxes using the Gettysburg Day 1 OOB on the Gettysburg map. This is one of those occasions where playing a wargame has definitely enhanced my understanding of history, and the book is (so far) much more enjoyable now that I have some familiarity with the characters.

This is good stuff- I'm really having a blast!

Toonces · April 29, 2015, 11:15:42 PM

Rather than clutter the sales thread I thought we could continue our Take Command: 2nd Manassas discussion here.

@ Jason,
I was browsing the MadMinute forums again. There is a community mod: CMP 4.0B that apparently combines all of the disparate mods into one huge download and also provides a mod installer to make mod-switching easier.

To specifically answer your question, there does appear to be a First Manassas mod, but having never tried any of these I can't say for sure.

Something that looked very neat, but I haven't tried or seen if it's available to install yet, is a strategic layer mod for TC2M that allows you to maneuver armies on a strategic map and then fight the battles on the tactical map; kind of like Total War but not nearly as evolved.

The mod forums there are the place to be. It is super hard to figure out how it all works; it's a bit like getting into modding IL-2 for the first time. But there seems to be an awful lot of game for the $10 entry point. I got my copy on Steam a long time ago, but if the mods don't install properly into Steam I won't have any problem dropping 10 bucks for a new DRM-free copy, just to try all this content that's available. Hope that helps.

Toonces · April 30, 2015, 12:11:16 AM

Ok, because I love you guys, and I hate to see people as frustrated as I am, here is what I have found out regarding TC2M:

1. The mod you need is called CMP 4.0B with Patch 2 available here: http://www.madminutegames.com/MadMinuteBB/viewtopic.php?t=12536
That first link in the first post is the most up to date version. It took me three times to download it; it will look like it is downloaded but when you double-click on it it will error out. Mine is 523mb when I hold the mouse over it (one was 436mb, one 513mb, and they didn't open).
You have to point the installer to your main TC2M folder; if you're using Steam it shouldn't matter.

2. The mod includes what looks like most everything Civil War related up to 2012. If you want to add additional stuff there seem to be more mods available but I haven't tried them. This version (CMP 4) basically installs everything available to that time and makes things pretty foolproof (so far, with 1 minute of testing).

3. There are about 200+ scenarios included, and they appear to have custom maps. What I could see was 1st Manassas, 2nd Manassas, Antietam, Chickamauga (30+ scenarios), Shiloh (an amazing 80 scenarios!), Champion Hill (about 30 scenarios), Wilson's Creek, Fredericksburg (23 scenarios). I didn't see Gettysburg but that might be available outside of the CMP mod.

4. Graphics suck. Even by Scourge of War standards. So go into it with the right frame of mind; the eye candy is just not there.

5. All of the above mods/maps appear to be available for sandbox ("open") play with OOBs available as well. Basically an infinite amount of replayability is available there.

6. If you wish to continue down the rabbit hole there are a Rebels and Redcoats mod (not tried) and a Frederick the Great mod (not tried). Given everything in the CMP mod, you'll have an awful lot of gaming to get through in the Civil War before you start worrying about other mods.

Here is a video I found on Youtube real quick that shows the graphics of TC2M; I haven't actually watched the whole video so I don't know how good it is. It's just for graphics purposes.

Toonces · April 30, 2015, 01:17:59 AM

One last thing: looking through this mod some more it has a pretty amazing feature- a Full Civil War Campaign.

It's not finished, and it is essentially a series of linked scenarios, but what they have looks uber-cool. I haven't tried this yet and only glanced at the relevant thread. It looks like, though, that you can start in 1861 with 1st Bull Run and, similar to the stock campaigns in SoW, you work your way scenario by scenario through the battles. But there are a bunch of battlegrounds, so you start at 1st Bull Run and then go to the next battleground, and so on, through Fredericksburg, Antietam, Shiloh, and so on. As you get scored at the conclusion of each battle you can earn medals and such. I'm not sure if you have to achieve a certain score to move on. But you're looking at hundreds of hours to work your way through the series of battles.

It is still a WiP as there are several "Coming Soons" like for Pea Ridge, but still, it's quite an achievement.

I took a bunch of screenshots of the Full Civil War Campaign screens to give you an idea of the extraordinary amount of content in this mod. It really is overwhelming.

Edit: and this isn't all of the scenarios- there are a few more battles and some of these battles go over more than one screen; and this is only the Union side. You can play it from the Confederate side as well, so basically double everything you see here...

Nefaro · April 30, 2015, 07:56:44 AM

Wow. That's a lot of content.

Thanks for dropping the info & link here. I definitely need to d/l that Megamod sometime.

The graphics definitely look worse in TC2M, but I think the ground textures are the biggest offender. They're not as detailed, but they're also oversaturated with color compared to SOW which makes the grass color look a bit cartoony (for example). The 2D troops aren't too bad and I actually like the wood texture and props on the UI more than SOW's mostly lifeless black.

bob48 · April 30, 2015, 08:05:41 AM

Looks fantastic!

Thanks to a gift from a very generous friend, I now have Gettysburg and Antietam to play. Doing mostly Brigade level scenarios atm. This is seriously good stuff.

-budd- · April 30, 2015, 08:25:16 AM

I downloaded and installed the cmp4 mod, a lot of content there. Took me 5 times to get the download. It sure improves the country side and artillery fire, the ground textures aren't much but the rest looks fine. It uses JSME to add more mods so thats familiar. There's enough there I probably won't worry about adding more for awhile. There scenarios at the top of the list crash the game for me, not sure why. I like the modded toolbar more than the stock, the extra buttons are nice. The minimap is nice and I like how you cant scroll the map to far from your commander. So far plays just fine.

Skoop · April 30, 2015, 11:18:13 AM

I was looking for the total war like strategy layer you mentioned but couldn't find it in any of the links.

Also, it looks like guys are doing a whole war battle by battle mod for sow, but it's not as complete yet.

Toonces · April 30, 2015, 12:42:51 PM

I can't find it again. Well, it was a work in progress anyway and there wasn't a download link. Could be the guy gave up on it. I'll keep looking.

Edit: Ok here's the thread. It's not quite as Total War as I may have made it out to be, and it...well take a look. I don't think this is what I thought it was. :-[

Still a neat idea, though.

http://www.madminutegames.com/MadMinuteBB/viewtopic.php?t=14004&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Skoop · April 30, 2015, 03:50:54 PM

Does look cool, have you guys been able to get the game to run at higher resolutions ?

I remember shelving this in the past cause I couldn't get it running at higher resolutions.

magnus · April 30, 2015, 04:07:34 PM

" You have to point the installer to your main TC2M folder; if you're using Steam it shouldn't matter."

I'm confused, are you saying that TCM2 is available on steam?

Nefaro · April 30, 2015, 04:16:53 PM

Quote from: Skoop on April 30, 2015, 03:50:54 PM
Does look cool, have you guy been able to get the game to run at higher resolutions ?

I remember shelving this in the past cause I couldn't get it running at higher resolutions.

TC2M can run at higher resolutions. It's a simple text edit IIRC, but you have to d/l and run a 3rd party mod program for TC2M which allows you to move the xy coordinates of the compass or it will be in the middle of your screen.

Toonces · April 30, 2015, 05:06:14 PM

Quote from: magnus on April 30, 2015, 04:07:34 PM
" You have to point the installer to your main TC2M folder; if you're using Steam it shouldn't matter."

I'm confused, are you saying that TCM2 is available on steam?

Sorry about that. It was on Steam, which is where I bought it, but it has since been removed from their store. The only place I've seen it now is on the Madminute website for $10. I don't know what kind of DRM it has, if any.

berto · May 01, 2015, 02:43:34 AM

Quote from: jomni on April 14, 2015, 03:53:43 AM

The biggest problem is resisting the urge to watch the action.

Which takes much of the fun out of the game.

In my gaming, I also like to stop, look around, take it all in, contemplate. This game's pace is simply too frenetic for me.

A shame, because otherwise there is so much to admire.

Toonces · May 01, 2015, 03:45:56 AM

Hi Berto,
I don't mean to be contrary just for the sake of being contrary. You've been wargaming longer than I've been alive. :o

I disagree with you, though, that Scourge of War/Take Command is too frenetic.

I suppose to some extent this might depend on what level you are playing at: if you're playing a Corps commander but not allowing the AI to control your subordinate regiments I could see where you're coming from. But if you play the game appropriately to your command level, I think it is actually a very reasonably paced game.

What I mean is that if you try a Division command, like I have, and ONLY give commands at the Brigade level, you're only controlling 2-3 units at a time. The AI controls the placement of the regiments. This can be a very rewarding and realistic experience. The downside is that tactically you only have a few decisions to make, and a lot is left to the AI. I find it rewarding, but understand that a lot of the important decisions are made before you get into battle. See my AAR to get a sense of what I'm talking about.

Too frenetic a pace is certainly an issue for many of us in many games, eg. Wargame:ALB or Total War. I don't think this series falls into those categories. Of course, this is a purely subjective call, though. 8)