Brilliant Game

Scourge of War is the definitive American Civil War grand tactical wargame of this generation. With impressive 3D graphics, an award-winning AI, pausable real-time play, historical battlefield terrain and orders of battle down to the regiment and battery level, Scourge of War captures the tactical challenges that faced the real Union and Confederate commanders more than 130 years ago.

This forum covers the main game Gettysburg and its two expansions Antietam, Pipe Creek, and Chancellorsville!

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unsplittableatom
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Brilliant Game

Post by unsplittableatom »

I've followed this developer since finding the original Take Command: Battle of Bull Run in a bargain bin. Boy am I glad I found that gem in the rough!
Scourge of War hasn't disappointed at all. I've spent countless hours over the years easily making each penny I spent count. To me it's a strategy game that really pushes a lot of boundaries and creates entirely new ones. Not to mention it's one of the few lone standers when it comes to quality civil war games.
Thank you to developers for creating such an outstanding series, and Matrix for expanding their market. I hope you can keep up the great work.

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Jim_NSD
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by Jim_NSD »

Thanks for the kind words.

We think that with Chancellorsville we may have raised the bar somewhat.

-Jim
Design Lead: Scourge of War

"My God, if we've not got a cool brain and a big one too, to manage this affair, the nation is ruined forever." Unknown private, 14th Vermont Infantry, 2 July 1863
Alan Sharif
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by Alan Sharif »

That sounds very interesting indeed.
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Blond_Knight
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by Blond_Knight »

Hear! Hear! Brilliant indeed!
I feel like this series has never gotten the attention it deserves. First TC Bull Run was in the bargain bin because nobody knew what it was. The death of one of the developers after TC 2nd Manassas, and the whole DRM thing with the intial release of SOW.
I hope that now with Matrixgames their sales will increase and I know we're all looking forward to Chancellorsville to strike another blow against North aggression! [:D]
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LittlePowell_NSD
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by LittlePowell_NSD »

Thanks Blond_Knight. We have always known that there is a large audience out there for this game. It is just a matter of reaching it. :)
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Durgard
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by Durgard »

SOWG is the best game I ever saw on the ACW ! Great job guys ! [&o][&o]
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Navodchik
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by Navodchik »

One more happy gamer reports and salutes you! I have recently played three different Civil War games by Matrix, and SOW Gettysburg seems to be right for me. AACW and GG WBTS are maybe too complex for me because their larger scale and very steep learning curve, however I hope that someday I will learn to play them too. Starting playing SOW Gettysburg felt instantly just 'right', maybe because older Take Command was somewhat familiar game to me. You have done a great job! Graphically there is some place for improvement and somehow I liked the interface (or how it looked) of 2nd Manassas more - but other than that this game is a real gem. Right now I am wondering if the additional scenarios are worth buying, because it seems that even now SOW has enough content to keep me happy for hours! This game actually made me want to know more about battle of Gettysburg, so I ordered couple of books about the matter. For European viewpoint, the American Civil War is not exactly well-known subject to wargamers or war history hobbyists- but I personally find this period extremely interesting...
Norb
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by Norb »

The big advantage to buying our expansions is the historical OOBs and of course the maps. Not everyone plays scenarios, but having our historically researched OOBs on the historically researched maps really ups the worth.
histgamer
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by histgamer »

ORIGINAL: Navodchik

One more happy gamer reports and salutes you! I have recently played three different Civil War games by Matrix, and SOW Gettysburg seems to be right for me. AACW and GG WBTS are maybe too complex for me because their larger scale and very steep learning curve, however I hope that someday I will learn to play them too. Starting playing SOW Gettysburg felt instantly just 'right', maybe because older Take Command was somewhat familiar game to me. You have done a great job! Graphically there is some place for improvement and somehow I liked the interface (or how it looked) of 2nd Manassas more - but other than that this game is a real gem. Right now I am wondering if the additional scenarios are worth buying, because it seems that even now SOW has enough content to keep me happy for hours! This game actually made me want to know more about battle of Gettysburg, so I ordered couple of books about the matter. For European viewpoint, the American Civil War is not exactly well-known subject to wargamers or war history hobbyists- but I personally find this period extremely interesting...
YES!!!! Without a doubt.

The Antietam map and scenarios give you the battle of South Mountain as well and included in Antietam are two amazing scenarios, a compress (1 rl second equals 2 game seconds) 6 hour scenario as McClellan where you command the whole Union army. And a 11 hour scenario where you play the entire battle out as Lee. Worth it just for those two scenarios. I did a video on it for wargamer.com if you wanna check it out it's on their youtube page and somewhere on the website.
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Redmarkus5
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by Redmarkus5 »

ORIGINAL: Jim_NSD

Thanks for the kind words.

We think that with Chancellorsville we may have raised the bar somewhat.

-Jim

Hi Jim.

Can you give me a short list of the main bar raising features in the new release? I've read the product page but don't see a lot there about changes/improvements.

Many thanks.
WitE2 tester, WitW, WitP, CMMO, CM2, GTOS, GTMF, WP & WPP, TOAW4, BA2
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LittlePowell_NSD
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by LittlePowell_NSD »

Quoting Jim from the SOW site:

IMO, the new maps are the big improvement. They look better and have better FPS performance than previous generations of maps. We did a scouting trip to the battlefield in mid April this year and the extensive photos were put to good use by 2TX to make the look and feel fit the time of year.

The other two scenario designers have also done a real nice job in presenting the complexity and difficult command situations of this battle.

If you liked Antietam, we think you will like Chancellorsville even more.

-Jim
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berto
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by berto »

ORIGINAL: Little Powell

Quoting Jim from the SOW site:

IMO, the new maps are the big improvement. They look better and have better FPS performance than previous generations of maps.

...

If you liked Antietam, we think you will like Chancellorsville even more.

-Jim
Are there plans to patch the Gettysburg game & expansions (incl. Antietam) up to the higher FPS and graphics standards of Chancellorsville?

Also, are there any technical drawbacks to purchasing and installing the Chancellorsville title first, followed by Gettysburg etc. at a later date?
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LittlePowell_NSD
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by LittlePowell_NSD »

There are no plans at this time to go back and patch the graphics for the other packs, although I wouldn't rule it out.

There are no technical draw backs that I can think of for purchasing Chancellorsville first. If you get Gettysburg later, it would just install as another standalone product.
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Phoenix100
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by Phoenix100 »

Bought and downloaded it and the FPS improvement is really significant. Fantastic work there. The maps look gorgeous too. No need to Mod them, I think. Will try a scenario tonight.

Can I ask - is it still about one third of reality - the scale, I mean? That is, are the maps about a third the size of actual reality? That's how I've understood the GB and Antietam maps to work. Along with the 100 sprites for a company (or regiment? - 100 men would be, roughly, a company, I guess, in modern terms) of 300 or so.

It looks great so far. Can't wait to test the AI.
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Jim_NSD
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by Jim_NSD »

The map scales are as accurate as we can make them, the maps are all 5 miles per side. The maps are accurate to within a few percent which probably represents the scan error on the historical maps we use. We actually meld the historical map data for roads & fields with modern topographical maps for terrain. The heightfields are adjusted where there are clear postwar changes such as road cuts for the interstate and rivers changing course.

A soldier sprite represents 4 actual soldiers at the default setting. This is a compromise that balances appearance with performance. The basic unit of maneuver in the game is a regiment which in the original concept was made up of 10 companies of 100 men. In practice regiment sizes ranged from 70 to 700 depending on how long the unit had been in service and the number of battles it had been through. Experience during the war showed that a regiment size of 300 or so was a good balance of firepower versus maneuverability on the battlefield.

-Jim
Design Lead: Scourge of War

"My God, if we've not got a cool brain and a big one too, to manage this affair, the nation is ruined forever." Unknown private, 14th Vermont Infantry, 2 July 1863
Phoenix100
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by Phoenix100 »

Thanks Jim. Have I got that wrong, then, as to the scaling? If the maps are accurate then are the buildings and men bigger than their real life counterparts would be on those maps?
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LittlePowell_NSD
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RE: Brilliant Game

Post by LittlePowell_NSD »

Yes, they are bigger. As Jim mentioned, since the soldier sprites represent 4 actual men, the map scale is adjusted to balance things out. I normally use the west wall of the Triangular Field at Gettysburg as an example. In real life, the 1st Texas of Robertson's brigade lined up against this wall to attack the Union forces at Devils Den on July 2nd, 1863. They had roughly 400 men, and they spanned the entire length of the wall. Well in the game, they also span the entire length of the wall, even though there is 1 troop sprite for 4 actual men.
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