Long time SMG fan. Thank you!

[Lincolns Mullet]

Been playing this for days now, so thank you for taking up all my free time!

 

I've played 3 full campaigns now, twice as the CSA and one as the Union.  First two campaigns as Union and CSA were against the Balanced AI.  CSA outcome: Minor Victory (1st game I played of UGG) but my casualties were too high.  USA outcome: Major Victory.  I literally wiped every CSA unit off the map in the final scenario.  There seemed to be an issue as I had all VP's and was handily winning but the game kept "delaying" the battle.

 

My last game as CSA against the Dynamic AI ended in a draw.  Apparently I did well with casualties but didn't capture enough VP's.  I definitely felt hesitant in that game and should of pressed my advantage more often.  My next game will be as the Union against the hardest AI.  I felt the last time I played as Union was far, far too easy.

 

You guys have done a fantastic job here, though.  Its much more streamlined than SMG, and for the most part I don't find myself missing buttons like "Volley" and "Limber/Unlimber".  I like that my units take care of themselves the majority of the time, I just need to be smart enough to put them in the right positions at the right times.  Maybe its because of my long time playing SMG, but I found that if you guys added in the "sagging flags" that SMG used to indicate morale, I probably wouldn't even look at the UI for Morale/Condition/Reload at all.

 

I do miss SMG's visual cue of morale bonuses (adjacent units, nearby Generals, experience etc) so you could see how much of a beating they could take.  If morale is different per unit, then what "100%" morale means could vary from unit to unit.  Does a unit near a General, on a hill, with two flanking units next to it the same at 100% Morale as a unit alone in an open field?  So, I rely almost entirely on experience from my days playing SMG to determine whether my men are positioned in such a way as to give them morale boosts (i.e, if they are flanked by units with a general nearby, I know I'm giving them better chance at success).

 

I also miss the unit audio from SMG.  Definitely added a lot of flavor to the gameplay and gave you feedback without having to look at any UI.

 

I definitely miss experience from SMG.  Crack units vs. green units, even if the green units had twice as many numbers, could go in favor of the smaller "crack" units.  Now, overall # of men in a unit is more important.  If 2100 men are at 100% morale and condition, they're going to overwhelm a smaller unit no matter what.  There's no x factor in terms of unit types.  They just have different names and troop counts.

 

Despite that complaint, UGG is still a blast to play.  I can tell there's a LOT of stuff going on "under the hood" to provide a realistic combat experience and its amazingly simple to play, yet the dynamic AI and branching campaign choices will surely make this game a long-term experience for me, just like SMG and Antietam before it.

 

I haven't played enough games to test the AI fully, though.  So far, the CSA is a great challenge against the AI.  I've had a lot of fun with both CSA games. With my overwhelming victory as the Union however, I'm curious to see how the hardest CSA AI handles me or if the Union always as the advantage.  There's always that curious "Boost AI" button I can press too, I suppose.

 

The unit info/position carryover is a welcome addition.  I've heard some complaints about it, but for the most part I don't mind the minor position deviations.  What I do love is that every success, every hill taken is carried over to the next map.  That will ensure every single game is played differently each time (along with the AI).

 

The longer battles are also a huge plus over SMG.  I can actually feel and see the battle develop, opportunities open up (and close), and allow for long flanking maneuvers, attacks and counter attacks, etc.  There's certainly an epic feel to the battle and because each scenario lasts a long time, every victory/defeat is felt and feels important.  Heavy losses are felt because units aren't magically replenished in the next phase/scenario.

 

I'm sure there's a bunch of Civil War buffs out there grinding their teeth at night over uniform inaccuracies and whatnot, but forget them.  This is your game.  Its a game, and its fun.  If someday you can dedicate yourself to modeling every boot and weapon and unit, go for it, but in the meantime I hope you keep making UGG better.  Maybe one day we'll see more battles like Antietam!

 

Thanks again, and great job.  Highly recommended from a long-time SMG fan, and a Sid Meier fan in general.  I imagine Sid's played UGG quite a few times already.

[CSA Watkins]

Nice post, I too enjoy this game along with many more Arm Chair Generals. I can confirm The Battle Of Sharpsburg is on the List,,,,

 

Half way down second article  UG:G....

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/05/01/the-flare-path-may-day-mayday/

[Lincolns Mullet]

That's great to hear.  Perfect follow up!