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Feedback (UPDATED: 11/9/2015)


Nick Thomadis

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Thrilled to see DarthMod lead the development of your own game. I have every DMod installed on every Total War product I have (too bad they didn't use your combat routines for Third Age Total War).  

 

I am quite impressed with the outcome of Gettysburg thus far.  I've only played a few hours to get comfortable with the control systems but love the map, interface and general feel of the game.  Having said that, however, as an "aged gamer" I find I am doing too much clicking and maneuvering rather than strategizing given the pace of the game.

 

Having been to the Gettysburg battlefield on more than one occasion, the actual scale of the real world is much larger than what the speed of the game is reflecting.  An approximate 8 second per minute transaction in the game is fine but the move, fire, maneuver speed is still far too quick in many instances for that translation.  I understand games need to be sped up as any "real world pace" would be boring, but for me it remains faster than I would desire.   

 

If I am mistaken, my ultimate game mechanic point is can you have a feature to SLOW things down?  Perhaps the opposite of Total War where things could be speeded up?  I would VERY MUCH appreciate a one-half and one-quarter speed experience so that I may enjoy thinking/watching as opposed to clicking.  I would also find this very valuable in Multi-player with my "elder" counterparts.

 

Very best and thank you for your continued support on this fine product!  Brings back fond memories of Sid...

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Indeed an important observation this about time compression.

With the pace being so fast, you can't really rest the troops and you have very little room for manouvering because not only is the time compressed but also limited, which means you must take the most direct route to an objective.

 

I would welcome a nice slowing down but do mind that things are right now balanced this way.

 

If time becomes unlimited then ammo should go limited or balance will be lost.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I too have had trouble with routing enemy units getting in the way, though it hasn't been a major issue for me.  However I would like to comment on the speed issue raised earlier.  I remember Darth's scathing comments when NTW first came out about how the units ran around the battlefield like crazed ants.  UGG is vastly better on that score but would still benefit by giving the player the ability to change the pace at times, even if it means losing the sound sync.

 

I have been playing computer based battle simulations for over 30 years.  I'm a big fan, and when Total War first moved into the gunpowder era I held my breath.  Unfortunately I'm still holding it due to the dumb AI and the concentration on graphics rather than gameplay.  A classic case of form over content.  For me, UGG is simply the best battle simulator I have ever seen and has the potential to develop into something even greater.  I think everyone should buy this game, if only to give Nick and the team enough money to go on and do what they are capable of.  

 

Well done so far, guys.

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I have an example of just how bad routing troops can be. A routed unit that was just 14 men in size ran for the length of my main battle line, the resut that about 15,000 of my own men and the odd 30 artillery pieces all targeted the near by routing troops rather than the on coming army. This also caused the artillery along the line to withdraw. All in all not a great battle as the on coming battle was able to get a volley off while my units were reloading, and even with all this fire power I did not reduce the head count in the routing unit.

 

I think things could be done to reduce the problem of routing troops, the first maybe as simple as disbanding/remove any unit that routes if its at 5% or less that its original starting strength or smaller that 30 men. This would at least remove small units from the game without having to change other aspects of the game play.

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Background: I'm a long time war gamer and have a general interest in the American Civil War. I've played more hours of Sid Meier's Gettysburg than I'd like to admit :). After playing countless hours playing different DarthMods for the Total War game I was totally thrilled to test UGG.

 

Virgin impressions: The map i beautiful, more detail is not needed. The general geography has a good feel to it, although it's a bit tough to get a sense of topography. The M-button is very helpful. That brigades are the lowest indepent unit is fine for the game, regiment might be a bit to much of micro management in some larger battles. I do miss the division commanders though, they should be present, commanding their troops.

 

First game

Side: Union

AI: Determined

AI boost: No.

 

From the beginning, I was impressed by the AI. It used its numerical advantage to force my cavalry backwards. The CSA had taken Oak Hill and Seminary ridge by the time my reinforcements came up. With Cutler and Meredith, I was able to dislodge Archer and Davis, and with the help from additional brigades I took firm control over Seminary and Oak. The CSA counterattacked, and I was again impressed. The attack was on made on my right flank, with good coordination. The AI was good at placing and using artillery. I was successful in repulsing the attack, using the terrain and my artillery with good effect. I note here that terrain is absolutely key to hold a position. As it should be.

For the next scenario, I fell back to the Seminary - Cemetry - Culp's line. The enemy attacked me vigorously and coordinated, but here I begin not note something lacking in the AI. The attacks almost always came headlong. This might be fine, if you are numerically superior and/or attacking a less than impressive position. But I had good ground, with plenty troops and artillery support. They did try to attack the VP south of Seminary Ridge, but I got there first and held the position. My feeling here was that the AI focused too much on the VPs and not enough on the ground and the troops. The logical choice would be to flank me to the south of Seminary. The CSA holds an almost equally impressive position, with plenty of artillery. I would not willingly attack them, giving them the opportunity to move tropps to the south, forcing me either to fall back to Cemetery or stretch my lines . The attacks on Culp's are also headlong up the hill. Again I stress that the attacks in themselves are good coordinated.

 

As an option, the rebs could shift flank and mass troops against Culp's, trying to overwhelm me. Again, this might force me to fall back my troops at Seminary to Cemetery, giving them the vacant position and thus having a better position for the next phase of battle.

As it was now, the CSA continously (in all the remaining scenarios) kept attack my positions from the front. They were massacred, and by the end of the entire battle, the CSA had lost over 30 000 men to my 15 000.

 

After battle thoughts (AAT)

 

It is true, one might add, that the Union actually had a lot working for them in the Battle of Gettsburg. Good ground, Buford deciding to fight for the ground. The rebs hade little knowledge of the enemy whereabouts and sported two untested corps commanders. (Untested as Corps commanders, not as commanders in general, of course.) But even in the real battle, the CSA did better than this and suffered casualties comparable to the Union's. They did try to flank both the left and right flank of the Union positions. And the option to maneuver was always there. All in all though, I think this is a wonderful game. Fast paced, without losing depth. The morale and condition system is good. I'd like to see possible surrenders and the building of breast works though. The AI is fine in most aspects, but could be more adaptive when it comes to seeing the larger picture.

 

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I love this game.  Being an amateur Gettysburg aficionado, I’ve been waiting for it for 2 years now.  I’ve played most of the first day and I’d rather play this game than scour pages of a message board so I haven’t read all the posts here to see if these two issues I’m having were already addressed. 

 

1.      Why is it so dark in general, but, especially, when I pause?  This is ruining my fun as I’m getting on in years and my vision is not so great anymore.  I can’t even pause and scan the beautiful map to look over the entire battlefield without squinting and feeling like I’m in a dark room reading a book with the light of fireflies.  I now play it with my ipad cranked up to maximum brightness so I can clearly see some of the darker map elements, which takes its toll on the battery and it still looks as if huge cumulous clouds are casting shadows over the fields. 

 

2.      Why can’t I play my favorite parts of the battle from the start?  I would have loved to jump into day 2 at around 3-4 PM or so from the start.  This is a very unwelcome trend in games, lately, that has actually turned me off several games (eg, pike and shot) because I have to follow the designer’s particular approach (it feels like passing a test) rather than explore the entire game that I have already paid for.

 

Other than that, this game is absolutely beautiful with that particular “feel” I’ve been looking for in a Gettysburg game for decades.  When I first saw a demo a year or so ago, I thought that that’s how I would design a Gettysburg game—not with crisp counters or solid blocks moving forward but with a mobs of soldiers heading at breakneck speed from order to chaos and back to order.

 

I also want to thank you for publishing this for ipad.  We all have our favorite battles (and gaming platforms) and we all try to imagine how they might have transpired.  This game nails it, when it comes to Gettysburg, for me.

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Thank you for your up to now feedback.

Finally the patch is live!

 

Ultimate General: Gettysburg Patch 1.1
 
NEW FEATURES
  • Melee and Fire: Units will be able to shoot each other while in melee creating a realistic battle havoc.
  • Night, Dawn and Evening Battles: You will feel the importance of daylight that changes dynamically according to time of day and affects the visibility and accuracy of your units. Especially the speculative night battles of the 2nd day offer a spectacular variance to the epic conflict between the two sides.
  • Artillery limbering: Battles become much more realistic with this feature. To enable you simply draw a large enough movement arrow and the artillery will auto-limber and deploy to destination.
  • New icons indicate in Morale bar if the unit is at melee, is targeted or receives a morale boost from its general.
  • New icons indicate not only the kills but also the losses of units (for General units too).
MULTIPLAYER
  • Fix of some reinforcements delaying too much to arrive.
  • Fix of some multiplayer objectives not being able to be captured easily.
  • Fix of very small battle delay for battle "Chance to change history".
  • Fix of some reinforcement units not positioned properly at arrival point.
  • "Conquer the map" scenario is rebalanced because previously it was heavily favoured for the Union.
  • "Ewell advances" is rebalanced to increase the tension of fight. More Confederates and Union reinforcements arrive.
  • "The Confederates counterattack Seminary Ridge" map is smaller and received balance to be interesting to play for both sides.
  • "Chance to change history" map is now simulating the full day 1 of the battle, from the morning when Buford tries to delay the Confederates, till the evening when the Confederates swarm the Union forces.
  • Fix of multiplayer army force bars that could show wrong balance of power.
  • Fix of multiplayer losses/kills that could differ in the end result.
  • +1 New Multiplayer map "Night Assault".
GAMEPLAY
  • AI will evaluate strategic positions and cover much more efficiently.
  • AI will be able to choose to double quick its units when it is needed, a behaviour that up to now worked only for the human player and could be used to overwhelm the AI. 
  • AI will be able to deploy artillery even better, to gain fire superiority from distance or support fire lines.
  • AI will use its Generals much more effectively, supporting needed areas of the conflict.
  • AI will manually fall back as the human player much more efficiently.
  • AI will make defensive line formations facing always the nearest threat as a human player.
  • Slight reduce of artillery vulnerability to direct ranged attack (requested in forum).
  • Some undesirable too slow soldier movement issues are resolved.
  • Artillery is more effective from medium/long range. Especially the Confederate artillery got an additional increase in effectiveness.
  • Combat balance overhaul with aim to intensify defensive positions value and make charge decisions more crucial.
BATTLE FLOW
  • Multiple fixes and improvements for proper continuation of the battle.
  • CSA Johnson Division may arrive at the 3rd battle phase of the 1st day.
  • Stannard's Brigade may reinforce Cemetery Hill if the 2nd battle phase of the 1st day is delayed enough.
VISUAL
  • Improvement on how unit formations bend on hills that increases the 3D depth perception.
  • Intensification of soldier unit shadows for better perception of 3D depth. (You need to enable shadows from the graphics options to see this subtle effect).
  • Removal of Tilt-Shift option because it could not work well with the night battles. We may re-add it later an improved version.
BUG FIXES
  • Fix of music volume reseting after a play session.
  • Major Fix of AI bug ignoring sometimes the nearby threats and exposing flanks (AI zombie fix).
  • Fix random freeze when exiting MP menu.
  • Fix of "traitor" bug that could result units to target friendlies.
  • Fix of "ghost" bug that made units to target dead enemies.
  • Fix of saves sometimes malfunctioning AI and melee collision. 
  • Fix of targeting bug that sometimes made units to not fire at a targeted enemy.
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Many good improvements! :)

 

I played a few battles and noticed the following issues:

What I think is still missing is a 'random generated battle' (also for multiplayer), with a random map, random victory conditions, random units, random arrivals etc...

Edited by OLee O'Hara
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For the time being, this much needed patch was released to address major faults and implement some new features (most notably, but not only, the arty limbering).

In the future, all the pre-announced new features will be implemented while other bugs and glitches are addressed.

 

At the speed of development we've had, without that freezing issue, UGG would have had a lot more fixes but it was more important to release a stable platform, gather the feedback of all players (which is what you just did) and then put down a new patching plan for the next patch.

 

Rest assured, it's not over yet.  :)

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i love this game, except for its programming and bugging tendencies.

 

should this "feedback" be in the "support" or "troubleshooting" or "bug" (which has apparently been eliminated as a category) categories?

 

in any event, here are my comments:

 

 

i installed the new patch today, 2/24/15.  after installing, several issues came up.

 

first, i could not continue any previously saved games.  when i hit continue all that came up on the screen was the map.  fields, farms, orchards, roads, etc.  no data.  no units.  no anything else.

 

second, after trying two times to continue a game i initiated a new game.  after playing the new game for about 5 minutes the entire screen went black, then i had to hard restart.

 

third, after trying a second time to start a new game, i played that game for about 5 minutes and same thing, black screen, no response, hard restart.

 

this game has so much potential if all the bugs can be worked out.  until they are, it's very frustrating and perhaps not worth playing.

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how do you play one full campaign?  keep selecting "continue battle?"

Yes, at the end of each scenario you pick the one you want from the short list provided. After a few scenarios over the 3 days  ( or is it 4 ) you get the final battle and the campaign ends with a win/loss and a steam trophy/badge or whatever it's called.

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You guys are so polite, and that's nice, but some real frankness: The patch is nothing of the sort it has broken an otherwise good game. The game is no longer possible to play in multiplayer mode. Are you folks not playing in multi-player? Am I living in some screwed up alternate universe?

All of the multiplayer maps are now in some screwed up night time mode? I even got the same map with two different names! What a complete cluster. I think it would be best to quickly pull off the patch on steam so the company doesn't ruin it's reputation.

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You guys are so polite, and that's nice, but some real frankness: The patch is nothing of the sort it has broken an otherwise good game. The game is no longer possible to play in multiplayer mode. Are you folks not playing in multi-player? Am I living in some screwed up alternate universe?

All of the multiplayer maps are now in some screwed up night time mode? I even got the same map with two different names! What a complete cluster. I think it would be best to quickly pull off the patch on steam so the company doesn't ruin it's reputation.

You could be more polite to really describe the problem you anticipate. All the mp maps in night mode? 2 maps are the same. Me or you belong to the twilight zone.

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You guys are so polite, and that's nice, but some real frankness: The patch is nothing of the sort it has broken an otherwise good game. The game is no longer possible to play in multiplayer mode. Are you folks not playing in multi-player? Am I living in some screwed up alternate universe?

All of the multiplayer maps are now in some screwed up night time mode? I even got the same map with two different names! What a complete cluster. I think it would be best to quickly pull off the patch on steam so the company doesn't ruin it's reputation.

Did you already post about this in the Support forum?

Have you already tried to uninstall the game, delete the folder and then reinstall it again? The issues you describe sound like version incompatibility which happens with faulty installations.

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The update doesn't install correctly? I have two other friends with the same experience of the game as I had after steam updated the game. Will try the above, thanks for that. But what about other players that don't know to do this? Shouldn't the update install work?

The DEVs will identify the issue in the installer, should my wild guess be correct, if it's solved for you it will be solved for everyone through a hotfix pushed via Steam, they won't need to do anything: Steam will propagate the patch to their clients automatically. So... the sooner you try this step, the better for you and for everyone else. :)

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Hello all, I purchased this game recently and as a fan of the old Sid Meir game very much approve. Well done to the dev.

There are one or two ways I think it could be improved upon though and would love to hear you thoughts.

 

Firstly i think routed troops rally too quickly, especially skirmisher units.

I have found that they can harass my rear units endlessly even if I rout them continuously. Often they will return after just a few seconds and I have turned my units back around to use elsewhere.

I think it would be better if units routed for longer and there were also rally points they had to return to behind friendly lines before rallying to stop the endless and ultimately futile micro management required to deal with rapidly and endlessly rallying units you think you have dealt with.

 

Secondly I would like to see improvements with the reinforcement system.

Currently I can be flanking an enemy position when without warning enemy units will appear on my flank from off map - this is very frustrating.

Also although I get a briefing as to where my reinforcements will be coming from it is hard to plan ahead with no idea when they will arrive.

I understand it is nice to have that randomness and it makes sense to some extent but at some point you would know your reinforcements are about to arrive long before they actually did.

 

My solution for this would be to have a marker or arrow appear on the map showing where reinforcements, enemy and friendly, were about to arrive and perhaps a text warning as well ahead of the actual alert they have arrived.

The dev would be better placed to know how long is optimal but a 1 minute warning sounds good being that would give you time to adjust strategy and also be realistic as your units would see them coming.

 

Third suggestion is more of a request.

As good as the game is it is somewhat limited in scope, only dealing with the battle of Gettysberg as it does.

What I would love to have is a map and unit editor or battle editor where the community can make other scenarios from the civil war, real or fictitious.

I appreciate the dev may want to expand in that direction and charge for add on's but I'm not sure the cost of the game justifies that.

Personally though I would be happy to pay a little extra for a map editor add on.

 

Thank you.

 

PS

A battle replay function like the old Gettysberg would be nice.

Edited by Danni
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The routing issue is being addressed.

I have other ideas about the reinforcements... but your suggestion will surely be put into the cauldron for this feature. Don't know yet what's gonna happen but something with the reinforcements is surely gonna happen.

As of the battle editor I don't think this is possible because the map is something too complex to design, the OOB feature would be nice too. It's in the cauldron too.

The battle replay is a great idea.

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The routing issue is being addressed.

I have other ideas about the reinforcements... but your suggestion will surely be put into the cauldron for this feature. Don't know yet what's gonna happen but something with the reinforcements is surely gonna happen.

As of the battle editor I don't think this is possible because the map is something too complex to design, the OOB feature would be nice too. It's in the cauldron too.

The battle replay is a great idea.

 

OOB feature?

Yes I can see how a full map editor would be a lot of work to make it usable by anyone but expert modders.

Perhaps then a random map generator and battle editor where one can set up forces and reinforcements etc.

If even a random map generator is a step too far then some extra maps as DLC would be nice but I think a battle editor should be quite doable and would add greatly to replayability (replay value) and longevity of the games appeal.

 

One other thought I have is that I would like a "stay in contact" toggle or some way of having my units continue to engage retreating units so that I do not have to keep micromanaging them into range.

It often looks like my units are engaged in fire with enemy only to for me to find the enemy (AI) has retreated their unit just out of rangeand in that respect I would also like it to be made clearer which of my units were engaged and with which enemy units.

If I remember rightly the old Gettysberg achieved this by use of  a red needle pointing from my unit to the unit it was engaging.

This would also help enormously with organizing the front lines effectively and maximizing firepower where it is needed.

 

PS

Does the dev read these pages?

I am in the right place to make gameplay suggestions?

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