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Blunt's Tutorial


R.E.B.Blunt

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The key to being a decent multi-player general is knowing about your enemy and the tactics you use to face them down. Each brigade is different than the other. Some brigades have larger numbers this comes in handy when you fire your volleys against weaker Brigades sending shock into their lines, Some have stronger morale this means they will stand under fire longer and fight better in hand to hand combat, still others can load and reload faster the benefits of that is obvious. Knowing which units do what is key to the tactics you use to fight against and utilize when facing other units. Units like the Iron Brigade have both Strong morale and can load and reload faster than normal units. You never want to throw away the lives of the Iron Brigade needlessly. If one of your crack units begin to suffer large losses pull them back reorder your battle lines and bring them up in a spot they wont lose so many men. Cutler Brigade has medium morale but can load and reload faster than normal brigades. On the confederate side Avery and Louisiana Tigers are very strong with above average load and reload times. These are just a few and knowing which units do what is key to victory.

 

So here is a list of tried and tested strategy and tactics for single player and multiplayer.

 

Leap Frog

 

This is a tactic I discovered early on it is very simple and very effective. In this tactic you will set your brigades up in two or three rows. With gaps between your brigades so they DO NOT TOUCH. Place the next row behind your front line but place them in the gap. Then for the third row you place those brigades behind the second row and in the gap. Keeping gaps in your line is key to avoiding friendly fire. When you advance your battle line keep your front line in contact with the enemy hold them in place. Then bring up the Rear line and place them in the front. Leap frog your brigades over the two rows in front form a new front line then bring up the next row that was in the rear. In this way you will maintain your morale at its strongest level when advancing and you will be able to keep up maximum fire on the enemy. The draw backs of this is you cannot have a very long battle line. This leaves you open to being flanked but is a very good tactic when you know the enemy must defend and you must attack. This tactic also works wonders when you need to orderly fall back. Fallback behind one row, then the next, then the next, this way you keep up the fire on the enemy and as you fall back you will gain morale.

 

Fall back to Counter

 

This tactic works wonders when you are out numbered and/or need to preserve your strength and morale. When the enemy attacks you and you cannot hold against them the only logical way to preserve your army is a tactical withdraw from the fighting. By doing this you will allow your units to fight later on. You should never let your brigades morale get lower then 15. Any lower is very dangerous. At 20 morale your brigades will no longer waiver. As you fall back the enemy will pursue you, your morale will begin to rise and the enemy will begin to lose morale. This can be used as a ploy to sucker the enemy into a false sense of satisfaction in which he thinks he is winning the battle and you are on the ropes. As you fall back he will chase after, You then can form up a new line. When you halt your line. Click each brigade and focus your entire battle line on one or two enemy brigades. As the enemy advances they will meet volley fire from three or more brigades and will not realize it till it is too late. If they get close to your line fall back again. As you fire they will rout VERY quickly and you must be ready. As the enemy begins to rout you need to advance. Then focus your fire onto any remaining brigades that have not routed. This is the counter attack and it must be decisive for it to work. Do not advance to far to fast or you will begin to lose morale very fast. Advance slowly but steadily.

 

Flank to Enfilade Fire

 

Flank to Enfilade fire is and extremely important tactic you will need to practice before you can master it. It consists of extending your battle line to the edge of the enemy battle line. When you have reached the edge of their line you will need to extend your line and wrap your brigades around the edge before they can counter. This is a extremely devastating tactic and can rout an entire army if done properly. To do this you need to mass your troops before giving away your plans. What you should do is mass two or three brigades on your flank preferably behind a hill or wooded area that the enemy cannot see you. Then when you make contact you need to run those three brigades and string them out one by one by one and form up a battle line as fast as humanly possible on the enemy flank before he can counter. By taking those brigades from the center of your line your main line will be weaker and you need to be aware of how many enemy brigades are attacking your center while you are trying to flank. Fall back your center if you have too. Make him think that is the main point of battle but in fact your main attack will be on his flank where he is weakest. To counter a enemy flank you need to fall back and press the attack where he is weaker. let him exhaust his men by running around your flank. Simply fall back and re-order your brigades to attack his weaker area's.

 

Proper Cannon Placement

 

Placing your cannons is key to keeping the strain of the fight off of your brigades. To first find the select areas to place your cannons press the "M" key this will give you a map topography view from which you can see peaks of mountains. Placing units on top of mountains is not the only thing you must do. You need to be aware of obstacles, Houses and Trees will impede the view of your cannons. So make sure your line of sight from your cannon to your target is not impeded. Next do not bunch your Cannons on top of one another. Cannons spread out and hitting the same target from many directions will devastate the enemy morale. Bring up one or two of your cannons to use as Canister shot. This is devastating for up close and even more if you can rake the enemy brigade down the side and enfilade fire down their lines.

 

High Ground and Trees

 

Using terrain is very important when it comes to keeping your armies morale and strength intact. Position your brigades on a hill. Use the "M" key to discover the ridge of the hills. Place your Brigades on the edge of the ridge. Enemy Brigades that assault up the hill will face very high odds. The only downside with standing on the top of hills is that your guns will overshoot the enemy and will not be as effective. Units firing up the hill usually have an advantage more rounds will find the target but they lose morale faster when walking up the hill. Keeping your Brigades in wooded areas will also give your men a great boost in not taking so many casualties when being fired upon.

 

Charge

 

The charge in Ultimate General Gettysburg plays a major role. Knowing when and how to use charge is key to not watching your charge turn into an utter rout. pressing the charge should only be used when the gap between armies is not very long. Pressing charge wears your armies out just as much as it wears the enemy. Only charge when the enemy is flashing white that means they are waivering. When this happens press "charge" close the gaps as fast as possible hit the enemy fast. When the solid white color appears above the enemy this means they are routing. Press HALT. You do not want to tire your army out. If your brigades are less than 15 morale press fall back. Preserve your strength. Also dragging your Brigade to march into or past the enemy brigade line is very effective. Pressing charge your men will go into melee combat. But if you click and drag your unit they will melee into the enemy but will walk through and come out behind. If you have stronger morale than the enemy you will rout the enemy. But be very careful if you do not you can end up sustaining huge losses and could potentially lose your entire army.

 

Anchor Brigades

 

Anchor Brigades are the three star Brigades that if you are lucky will accompany your armies. These are your crack fighting units. You should not waste their lives needlessly.  You should support them at all costs. Never leave them alone. If these brigades rout your army will follow. Never allow them to rout.

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Morale is really tricky, Some key tactics I suggest are this.

 

1) Place units next to other units. Units fight better when fighting next to other units.

 

2) Fall back when units get below 15. if you stay and fight any longer you risk having your Brigade rout and you will have hard pressed time getting that brigade to fight worth anything if they rout. Your number one goal is to NEVER let a Brigade rout. Fall back even if you lose a VP.

 

3) Never attack long distances, press forward in short spurts. Rest your Brigade then press forward again in short marches. When you do move forward bring up your entire battle line. If you march units forward without support on their flank they will lose morale very fast.

 

4) Press the attack when the Enemy begins to rout from battle. When the enemy begins to Rout move your units forward. Your troops will gain Morale when the enemy begins to run away. If you press to far though you will lose morale so do not get greedy. Fall back when you begin to lose morale.

 

5) Flank where ever possible. A unit on the enemy flank and shooting enfilade fire down the line will gain Morale knowing they are inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. But if they are too far from your battle line they will lose Morale. Its a fine line on how far to flank.

 

6) Bring up your General to the area that is in heaviest conflict. Your General will give your army a slight boost when ever a Brigade is within the circle of influence. This slight boost helps, also the better the general the better the boost. Not all generals are equal.

 

7) Bring up your Cannons to support your line as you move. Place your cannons on both your left and right flank place some in the rear and place one or two in the front line. Do not group your cannons in one spot. Using your cannons is key to watching enemy morale sink and yours soar.

 

8) Anchor your Army around your strongest Brigade. Lead your attacks with the 3 star Brigades. Place your army around them. Use your 3 star brigades like elite crack units. Do not waste them and get them killed for no reason. If they begin to rout your army will soon follow.  If you have 3 or more enemy brigades shooting 1 of your brigades fall back keep falling back let them chase you. They will tire out running forward way before you tire out falling back.

 

9) Units will gain morale faster if you DO NOT use hold. Have your Brigade fall back far enough they can rest without using the Hold. Only use Hold as a last ditch effort to hold ground while you bring up support. If you do not have any support coming. Never use hold. Fall back your Brigade and save their strength let the enemy press the attack they will weaken. If you fall back properly you can counter attack and retake lost ground.

 

10) Use high ground and trees accordingly. They give your men a boost of morale standing on a hill or in woods. Standing in open you will see your men crumble. Use terrain and you will hold your morale longer.

 

11) Only charge Brigades forward when you are about to break the enemy. Never charge into a fresh enemy brigade. Never charge if the enemy is not close to routing. I only press Charge when I see the enemy begin to waiver. Charge is meant to be a shock to cause waivering units to flee. Not Fresh units. Also use the charge button to reset the time. If the timer is running out and you have not yet won. Simply click Charge then click Halt this will reset the timer and allow you more time before the match ends.

 

 

I hope some of this helps. If you need more help PM my steam account REB_Blunt and ask questions I am always ready to help people, teach different methods and techniques. Be open minded too. Every battle takes different ideas to overcome and achieve victory. Good luck and see you on the field of battle.

 

(Copy & Paste from previous thread)

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  • 1 month later...

Hello, Mr. Blunt:

 

My name is Randall C. Reed. For a large chunk of my life, I was a professional game designer for the Avalon Hill Game Company and, later, for the US Marine Corps. While I have never designed a computer/online games, I know a little bit about simulating military tactics and strategy, but I found your observations very interesting.

 

I think your Tutorial is informative for those interested in winning the game, with a lot of good, detailed, tips for novice games. I do, however, have some concerns about your commentary on game mechanics, which was very illuminating:

 

1. I am beginning to question how faithfully UGG can represent mid-18th Century linear infantry tactics. For example, you recommend not charging with your infantry when the opponent is wavering or routing. But, historically, this was precisely the time when you should charge to pursue a broken foe.

 

2. While your idea to conserve morale by organizing your line of battle into what is essentially an echelon left or echelon right formation is laudable gamesmanship, it calls into question the basic mechanics of the game engine used in UGG that would fail to reward the basics precepts of mid-18th Century linear infantry tactics. After all, maintaining a contiguous line of fire that protected one's flanks is perhaps the cardinal tactical concept of the period.

 

3. In my limited single-player experience, I have noticed that outflanking an opponent appears to have somewhat muted effects on what would otherwise be a devastating situation. Double envelopments of an isolated brigade fails to register the nearly immediate collapse of that brigade, what one would expect historically. I have even attacked frontally and fully from the rear simultaneously against an isolated brigade (albeit the Iron Brigade), a situation that would have caused the immediate dissolution of the unit historically, but caused the Iron Brigade to mysteriously "walk through" one of the attacking brigades. Troubling.

 

4. Placement of the artillery to the flanks of the brigades, as you suggest, is a sound tactic, historically. But notice, in the game, as well as the real battle (as a walk along the real Seminary Ridge in Gettysburg Battlefield Park shows), significant damage can be inflicted over time by firing solid shot safely over the heads of your own troops occupying lower ground. So the central ridges are useful to contain some of your heaviest artillery to keep up a steady attrition fire on the enemy. And, yes, massing fires appears to have an accelerated effect over more dispersed fires.

 

5. I am still a bit confused about the effectiveness of forested areas in the game. Woods should provide a certain amount of cover and concealment, but I have not seen a pattern yet. Units in partial or total cover seem to suffer musketry fire just as severely as fully exposed units. And, I would be curious to see what the AI is designed to do regarding line-of-sight and concealment. Short of intervening high terrain terrain, can units in LOS but under cover of buildings or dense vegetation ever be concealed from enemy observation or fire?

 

6. I am still a bit confused about the value of the HOLD command. Historically, it should test the resolve of units whose morale has already been degraded. But, for fresh or successful units, HOLD should give them extra resolve to push back the enemy counter attack after they have thrown the enemy back. I'll have to observe morale more closely to see how it behaves.

 

Thanks a lot for your suggestions, Mr. Blunt. I found them to be most enlightening and informative. Hope to hear more from you!

 

RCR

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Hello...

First, Hello Randall, I throuroughly enjoyed the old Avalon Hill Board games.

 

Second, I have to echo your comments regarding cannons in UG Gettysburgh.  EXACT placement seems key...I've had units adjacent to each other, one will fire, the other just sits there.  I seem to be observing cannons that will not fire until I click on them and select a target, whereupon they fire immediately, reload and again seem to sit there until manually directed to fire.

 

In other cases, the artillery unit "seems" to be able to see the enemy unit (but I'm really not sure...the enemy unit is brightly lit with the artillery unit selected and the enemy is within the arc that is drawn...and when I click on the enemy the enemy units ground turns red...although sometimes it's red already...), but the artillery WILL NOT FIRE!

 

What gives?  There seems to be some kind of bug here.  There needs to be some way to know if the unit is in range, can see its target, or if there is some reason not to fire, there needs to be an alert of some kind...(text message maybe, Sorry Gen'l, we can't do that, ....freindly troops are in the way....we can't see the target.....the enemy is too far away.....). 

 

I really like the game, and as someone who has played several board and computer games, and read up on the battle, for the most part I'm impressed...but artillery is, pardon the pun, too hit or miss on whether they will even fire.

 

As far as play goes in single player mode, I seem to be doing well...until I get into a situation where artillery use is important...then forget about it.

 

Best regards,

Bill

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Hey Bill Duncan!

 

Thank you for the compliment about the old Avalon Hill games. Those were very special times. I still feel like we did a lot of really subtle things in the manual wargames that computer game designers have not quite learned yet. It is like they are terribly preoccupied with the code. The game is the thing.

 

I think you have to get into the mind set that you are a higher unit commander and, in the fog of war, things don't always turn out as we so order. The fact that batteries don't follow a single command ad infinitum is due to the fact that (a) they are receiving counter-battery fire from enemy long-ranged guns; (B) they are receiving fire from enemy infantry; © an enemy sharpshooter just knocked off the battery commander and they are a bit distracted in the confusion; (d) they ran out of ready powder or shot and are waiting for the ammo trains to catch up; (d) they are exhausted and terrified; (e) any combination of the above. War is hell --and confusing as hell too.

 

You don't always get a clear cut message in combat. Things tend to degenerate to confusion and chaos. Don't expect to be told your messenger was shot after he crossed the treeline and the battery didn't get the word. Things --most things-- are out of your control as a commander during battle. Any semblance of control is a mirage. That can sometimes confuse us into thinking we really do have things under control. We don't.

 

My recommendation is that the AI in UGG is powerful and extremely well-done. If you feel like you do not have perfect control and people don't do as you command them, well, welcome to a simulation of reality. It is a great system. Accept it, enjoy it, and have fun. If some crazy situations occur, I suggest that they probably occurred in real life on some battlefield at some point in history somewhere. Is this a great game, or what!?

 

HTH!

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Randall, oh! PANZER LEADER, so much fun and time spent by me with that game in the seventies in the UK. Glad to see you are still into gaming. I had most of the AH Bookcase games and many copies of the General with extra rules and ideas. I've still got a bunch in the attic. I even saw good old Kingmaker again just the other week.

 

Meanwhile...

 

One key thing i notice between board war games vs computer is that in the board war game the complexity is right in front of you in the rules and the mechanism whereas in a computer game its all hidden in the AI.

 

There are pro and con of that of course but sometimes i wish there was a mode in a computer game to switch on a display of what factors or variables the computer AI is taking into account so i can be sure my tactics are working. Things like did i get that 10% fire bonus for flank attack, did my morale improve after i routed that unit. If I moved my arty forward a little it would do more damage.

 

In the board game you have to manually add and calculate these factors so you see they are happening, see the benefit and repeat the tactic if it worked. In the computer game you just have to hope they are happening.

 

Rich

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  • 2 months later...

The key to being a decent multi-player general is knowing about your enemy and the tactics you use to face them down. Each brigade is different than the other. Some brigades have larger numbers this comes in handy when you fire your volleys against weaker Brigades sending shock into their lines, Some have stronger morale this means they will stand under fire longer and fight better in hand to hand combat, still others can load and reload faster the benefits of that is obvious. Knowing which units do what is key to the tactics you use to fight against and utilize when facing other units. Units like the Iron Brigade have both Strong morale and can load and reload faster than normal units. You never want to throw away the lives of the Iron Brigade needlessly. If one of your crack units begin to suffer large losses pull them back reorder your battle lines and bring them up in a spot they wont lose so many men. Cutler Brigade has medium morale but can load and reload faster than normal brigades. On the confederate side Avery and Louisiana Tigers are very strong with above average load and reload times. These are just a few and knowing which units do what is key to victory.

 

I appreciate the number of troops per brigade and the number of stars of the brigade are displayed but how can you tell which brigades load/reload faster?

 

Note that I have the iOS version in case it differs from the PC version.

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All units have a rating system 1 to 3 stars for normal, superior, elite (or trained, veteran, elite/crack) units. The stars are shown in the unit's panel on the commander's portrait and additionally for iOS beside the unit's indicator in battlefield (the little shield over the unit).  

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Thanks for the response but it didn't answer the question.  As per my original reply...

 

"I appreciate the number of troops per brigade and the number of stars of the brigade are displayed" ... So I get that bit.

 

"...but how can you tell which brigades load/reload faster?"

 

The part of the tutorial that I quoted seems in my original post to suggest that some units can reload faster with strong morale whilst others can reload faster with just medium morale.  The Iron Brigade and Cutler's Brigade are stated as distinct examples.

 

I infer from this that whilst morale might be closely tied with the star rating of the unit, reload is a different concept and not tied to the star rating.  Is this the case and if so how can I tell which units reload faster irrespective of their morale?

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I appreciate the number of troops per brigade and the number of stars of the brigade are displayed but how can you tell which brigades load/reload faster?

 

Note that I have the iOS version in case it differs from the PC version.

 

This is something you have to figure out through experience. Usually troops with 3 stars will have greater load/reload speeds. The Load/Reload is reflective to troops that have superior Manual of Arms and Training. Kinda like boot camp. Some Brigades were thrown together in haste and did not receive the training they should of. Other Brigades have fought many battles and gained experience through battle. The only way to truly figure this out is to test the different maps. Watch the different brigades and notice their advantages and disadvantages.

 

I do not think its fair to create a cheat guide and list of specifics for Brigades strengths and how to play specific maps. Instead I only wished to give you all a brief summary of the general Do's and Do not's that would allow people to have a more enjoyable experience when playing UG:G.

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UGG is a deep tactical game and a list like that would not offer anything while it could mislead the player.

 

Elite/Crack units have a better reload time, however, there is also the Condition factor that should have taken in mind. Units with higher Condition reload faster and so on. That means that you cannot relay just in the rating of a unit because reload status is a dynamic factor and not a static one.

 

In contrast, efficiency (kill rate) is a more solid factor because here the elite/crack units have always the advantage against lower rating units. But here should also be taken in mind the followed unit tactics in the battle. For example a unit with lower eficiency will make more lethal volleys if fires at the flank or rear than an elite unit that fires at the front of a hostile unit. The terrain also affects the efficiency (high ground, cover, etc.) so the position of the enemy and the way of the attack can further enforce or reduce it.

 

In a few words the rating of a unit is not so important as the tactical use of it. An elite/crack unit has theoretically better initial statistics, but in practice, it is the command by the player that will finally determine how efficiently it will perform in action. R.E.B Blunt has already noted one of these tactics about the use of elite/crack units (and more generally in his splendid tutorial) but there are many more the player can discover on the battlefield of UGG.

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Somehow my question seems to have been construed as a request for a cheat guide or all an encompassing list to give me victory because I don't know how to play.

Nothing could be further from the truth and whilst I do appreciate the responses, please do not presume that I don't appreciate the depth of the game.

I was simply asking some general questions about reload rate.  It's not a concept that is covered by the tutorial and if it's determined by factors other that star rating, it's not immediately obvious.  Some concepts like star rating are made open information whilst others like reload rate appear to be hidden.  I simply want to gain a better understanding of the game which brought me to this forum and thread.

Now interestingly the following statement makes no mention of the actual unit in question as a determining factor for reload rate apart from star rating...

"Elite/Crack units have a better reload time, however, there is also the Condition factor that should have taken in mind. Units with higher Condition reload faster and so on. That means that you cannot relay just in the rating of a unit because reload status is a dynamic factor and not static one."

So in the quoted examples, is there something special about the Iron Brigade and Cutler's Brigade that affords them faster reload (apart from star rating) or did the author observe these 2 brigades whilst they happened to be in good states of condition and conclude that they have faster reload rates simply because the other brigades that may have been in lessor states of condition?

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