Forge of Freedom 1.10.10 Official Update & Anniversary Extravaganza!

From the creators of Crown of Glory come an epic tale of North Vs. South. By combining area movement on the grand scale with optional hex based tactical battles when they occur, Forge of Freedom provides something for every strategy gamer. Control economic development, political development with governers and foreign nations, and use your military to win the bloodiest war in US history.

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Alex Fiedler
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Forge of Freedom 1.10.10 Official Update & Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Alex Fiedler »

Major Update, New Video and Holiday Sale!

Matrix Games and Western Civilization Software (www.west-civ.com) are pleased to announce a special anniversary event for Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War 1861-1865. This event, coming one year after Forge of Freedom was initially released, includes another major free update with many improvements to the game, a new video to showcase Forge of Freedom as it is now after a year of post-release development and a 25% discount on new purchases of Forge of Freedom as part of the Matrix Games Holiday Sale.

Major New v1.10.10 Update!
Since the original release, the development team has been listening carefully to customer feedback and improving all areas of the game to improve historicity and gameplay. Several significant updates have been the result and this latest fine tunes the historical accuracy and game balance as close to perfection as is possible while also improving the already excellent strategic and tactical AI even further. The dozens of improvements range from better balance between camps, population and replacements to more realistic diplomatic percentages, two siege phases instead of one, improved scenario orders of battle and more realistic detailed battle frontage rules. Quick battle resolution was also carefully adjusted to bring into better balance the effects of forts and terrain.

In addition, we now have over 250 brief historical biographies included in the game for the many generals on both sides, thanks to the diligent work of many biographers. One of the improvements in the orders of battle includes the ability to now have generals start already assigned to their historical divisions right from the first turn of a scenario, minimizing first turn reorganization chores.

New Showcase Video!
A new 4+ minute high quality video released as part of this anniversary event walks gamers through the scope and detail of Forge of Freedom, showcasing the incredible ability of this game to re-create the American Civil War and everything that still fascinates us to this day about this terrible conflict where brother fought against brother. We encourage everyone who has not considered Forge of Freedom to give this video a look, you might be surprised just how much it has to offer!

Holiday Sale!
For the first time since it was released, as part of the Matrix Games Holiday Sale, Forge of Freedom is currently available direct from the Matrix Games Online Store at a 25% discount off the regular price through the entire holiday season. See the Matrix Games website for more details. The version now available for download is fully updated to the latest 1.10.10. There has never been a better time to try this grand strategy masterpiece.

David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said “Forge of Freedom is an outstanding game and is a remarkably realistic simulation of the American Civil War. Western Civilization Software has once again elevated this title to a new level. If you have an interest in the American Civil War, you owe it to yourself to give this game a try. The new video and sale should make that decision even easier!”

Eric Babe, Lead Developer at Western Civilization Software, stated, “We’re very proud of how far Forge of Freedom has come since its original release one year ago. Virtually every aspect of the game has been improved in response to player feedback. We hope everyone enjoys the new upgraded Forge of Freedom as much as we enjoyed working on it.”

More than seven-score years have passed since the start of this conflict that pitted state against state, brother against brother and broke the chains of slavery. Forge of Freedom gives you a chance to relive history from either side in a work of grand strategy.

As the leader of the Union or the Confederacy, you will be faced with historical decisions on the military, economic and diplomatic strategies to pursue. The diplomatic and economic systems have been streamlined and improved since Crown of Glory to be more user-friendly and also suited to the period. Rather than multiple minor nations, each state has its own Governor and they will make demands on you and shift their attitudes according to events. In addition, you will have to manage diplomacy with the European powers to try to sway them towards or against intervention. Over 1,000 historical generals are included along with an option to know their abilities ahead of time or have to find out the hard way, as happened historically. Railroads, rivers and cities all play important roles, as do elections which occur at both state and national levels. Every effort has been made to bring you as thorough a simulation of the American Civil War as is possible, from 1861 to 1865, from the skirmishes and raids in the West to the pitched battles in the East and the Naval blockade.

Game Features:

* The American Civil War, 1861-1865
* Grand Strategy combined with Detailed Tactical Battles
* Highly customizable gameplay via dozens of in-game options
* Military, Diplomatic and Economic Decisions
* Research Logistics, Tactics, Weaponry and other areas
* Quick, Instant or Detailed Resolution of Battles
* Detailed Combat supports Historical Leaders, Unit Morale, Diverse Unit Types, Command and Control, Weather, Smoke, Reinforcements, and more!
* Streamlined Economics include Money, Labor, Horses, Iron, Guns and Railroads
* Naval and Land Combat, including Sieges, Raiders, Partisans, Plundering, Interceptions, Fleet Combat, Port Attacks and Blockades
* National Will and a historical Victory Point system
* Computer Opponent plays either side
* Diplomacy with Britain, France and Europe for trade and possible military intervention
* Weather, Logistics, Fog of War
* Play against the AI, via PBEM, LAN or hotseat
* Standard Campaign from 1861-1865 as well three other historical scenarios with starting dates from July, 1861 to November, 1861, each balanced for a different play style.

The v1.10.10 Update is a Comprehensive Update which can be applied to all previous versions of Forge of Freedom.

http://www.matrixgames.com/games/downloads.asp?gid=333

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jkBluesman
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by jkBluesman »

ORIGINAL: Alex Fiedler

In addition, we now have over 250 brief historical biographies included in the game for the many generals on both sides, thanks to the diligent work of many biographers.

So that is what Gil meant when he said that bio writers will be remembered during the holidays (or holiday season).

Happy Anniversary!
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Erik Rutins
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Erik Rutins »

Here's the readme for the new official 1.10.10 Update:

Forge of Freedom v1.10.10 (November 30, 2007)

Program Options
• Added a NOFLASH option to the .ini file that disables the introductory Flash animation sequence when the
line “NOFLASH=1” is added to the ForgeOfFreedom.ini file.

Interface
• On the Strategic Map screen, the ‘w’ key repeats the last weapon purchase you made, attempting to buy that
weapon for all currently selected units. (Remember that one can select more than one unit in the Attachment
Box by using CTRL+Left Click).

Economy
• Camps now have five separate chances of reducing population in April rather than one chance.
• Camps in provinces that have zero Men provide half the normal level of reinforcements (replacements).
• All cities now cause a loss of National Will when captured, in addition to any losses that might be incurred
from the state capital loss rule. The amount of National Will lost is 1+Maximum Population of the Province/5;
the U.S. player loses an additional point of National Will for the loss of any city.
• Additionally, all players now gain exactly one point of National Will when they capture any city.
• Changed Muster Rule: Base muster now recruits an infantry brigade of 2,000 strength and 2.0 Quality.
Governor support for muster increases Strength by 500 and Quality by .5.
• Decreased base success chances for impressments.

Diplomacy
• If a player has declared emancipation, all diplomatic checks with Britain and France are at +10%.
• If a European power has an attitude of 0 or 1 toward your nation, then the chance of improving relations is
double the normal rate. (This also doubles the emancipation bonus, if applicable.)
• If a European power has an attitude of 5 or higher, the chance of improving relations is half of the normal rate.
(This also halves the emancipation bonus, if applicable.)

Governors
• Fixed bug in governor attitude update. Governors should now properly:
• Lose 1 attitude for every province containing enemy units each turn.
• Lose attitude for unmet brigade demands.
• Lose attitude for low levels of National Will.

Units
• Increased quality gained by Raiders/Partisans that are successful in a mission from .1 to .5.
• Baggage Trains now work for the supply levels of reinforcements.
• Lowered maximum size of CSA brigades to 3250.
• Increased chance of ships damaging Blockade Runners to 25%.
• Unit Quality is now reported with a finer grain of detail in the Overview Statistics screen.
• "War Department" upgrade now reduces the cost of infantry by 20 Money (instead of 10).
• "Cavalry Department" upgrade now reduces the cost of cavalry by 30 Money (instead of 20).
• Changed Infantry Labor cost from 50 to 30.
• Gunboats now retreat if possible, instead of being automatically destroyed when left alone in a province with
enemy units. Siege artillery units have 25% chance to withdraw into a friendly province instead of being
destroyed.
• Units in forts or cities are no longer automatically disbanded because of low strength.
Generals
• Changed distribution of stats for randomly generated generals to allow for a higher percentage of generals with
extreme ratings.
• Wounded generals are now automatically removed from any military groups.
• Created feature that allows generals to begin the game attached to specific military groups, and employed this
to create historical OOB’s.
• Reached the 250 biography milestone. Generals’ statistics and teachable special abilities revised according to
information presented in the biographies.

Sieges
• Two Siege Phases. There are now two siege phases, one before movement and one after. Each unit does 50%
of the normal damage during each siege phase. Some siege values have been halved to compensate for the fact
that there are now two siege phases.
• Increased the minimum chance of making siege progress, and increased the minimum damage done by regular
infantry.
• Encircle Siege should now take much longer to resolve and involve fewer casualties.
• Encirclement Siege: all units now do flat rate of damage (except for defending cavalry, which are unchanged).
Increased the siege progress rate for this type.

Quick Battle
• Decreased the defensive effects of forts/terrain.
• Increased chance for retreating units to surrender by a small amount in quick combat.
Detailed Combat
• Supply caissons that are part of military groups now appear behind the line of battle more frequently.
• Attacks and counter-attacks that do less than 25 casualties damage now do not consume supply.
• Frontage Strength Reduction. Infantry units that have strength greater than 1,500 count infantry in excess of
1,500 as half-strength toward determining combat damage.
• Reduced the strength required to split units to 2,000.
Erik Rutins
CEO, Matrix Games LLC


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Freedom is not Free.
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Erik Rutins »

Here's a link to the page with the embedded video and the video download link:

http://www.matrixgames.com/games/story.asp?gid=333
Erik Rutins
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by ericbabe »

Whoops, we rewrote the ambiguous section on the Encirclement Sieges but apparently the rewrite fell through the cracks.  Here's the text as rewritten:

* Encirclement Siege[/i]: All units except defending cavalry now do less damage, and decreased the rate of progress.  Encirclements[/i] now involve fewer casualties but take longer to accomplish.
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Erik Rutins »

Nope, my whoops - I pasted that in from the original version of the readme rather than the final one. The official update has the correct text, my installation is just a day out of date.
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Yogi the Great
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Yogi the Great »

Anybody else having trouble downloading the update?
 
I have trieds everal times using the link provided and keep getting that the page is unavailable.
 
 
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by cesteman »

I downloaded it two days ago and it worked fine.
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by KarlXII »

For how long is the 25% discount valid ? How do I see if I get the 25% discount ?
 
 
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by mlees »

Program Options
• Added a NOFLASH option to the .ini file that disables the introductory Flash animation sequence when the
line “NOFLASH=1” is added to the ForgeOfFreedom.ini file.

Hmm. I can't seem to find this file. Where is it?

Edit: Nevermind, sorry. The file in question was generated after I started a game, and put it in my windows directory. [:'(]
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Gem35 »

I think now is the time to add this title to my list of Matrix Game purchases.[:)]
Thanks for the discount and hard work.[&o]
By the way, how long does this sale last until?
It doesn't make any sense, Admiral. Were we better than the Japanese or just luckier?

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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Gil R. »

Gem35,
Good to see you back in the forum. The sale ends Jan. 7.
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Erik Rutins »

Yep, the sale ends midnight on January 7th and all the discounts have already been applied to the in-store prices. We're working on a way to make that more explicit for next year, but I personally guarantee that the prices you see now for the sale games are 25% off what they were before the sale (and will be after).
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Gem35 »

Thank you, gentlemen.
It doesn't make any sense, Admiral. Were we better than the Japanese or just luckier?

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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Pubcrawler »

ORIGINAL: mlees
Program Options
• Added a NOFLASH option to the .ini file that disables the introductory Flash animation sequence when the
line “NOFLASH=1” is added to the ForgeOfFreedom.ini file.

Hmm. I can't seem to find this file. Where is it?

Edit: Nevermind, sorry. The file in question was generated after I started a game, and put it in my windows directory. [:'(]

hmmmm. I'm having probs finding this file. i'm looking here C:\Matrix Games\Forge of Freedom and am able to see hidden files. I've checked save folders, etc... with no luck. any ideas?
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by ericbabe »

Check your Windows directory, often .ini files go there by default.

I have noticed that my Vista machine seems to prevent the creation of this file -- I've been investigating as to whether I need to give some sort of permission to FOF in order for it to be able to create .ini files.  If anyone knows anything about Vista security and the prevention of .ini file creation, please send wisdom.
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by harley »

forty-four aussie dollars later.

HARD_Sarge will be upset with me, I'm supposed to be working on our project...


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harley
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by harley »

ORIGINAL: ericbabe

Check your Windows directory, often .ini files go there by default.

I have noticed that my Vista machine seems to prevent the creation of this file -- I've been investigating as to whether I need to give some sort of permission to FOF in order for it to be able to create .ini files. If anyone knows anything about Vista security and the prevention of .ini file creation, please send wisdom.

Created a new thread Here
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Milman
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Milman »

Where can i see which version of game is on my pc ?
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Gil R.
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RE: Forge of Freedom Anniversary Extravaganza!

Post by Gil R. »

When you load the game, it will show up in small letters/numbers in one of the corners of the load screen.
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