Genre: Real Time Strategy (RTS), Simulator, Strategy, Indie
Ultimate General: Gettysburg
Patch 0.83 fixing the Battle Flow up to the 3rd day
Patch 0.83 is dedicated to major battle flow fixes. You will be able to play the battle of Gettysburg in all possible sequences, up to 6 phases, without the previous annoying premature battle ends.
Read about the patch in our blog: http://www.ultimategeneral.com/blog/ultimate-general-released-4thpatch
or below:
Ultimate General: Gettysburg Patch 0.83 rev4756
GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS
• Various AI improvements to all characters.
• Gameplay balances for more challenging battles. Condition became more important so you have to maintain lines and cohesion, advance slowly, not isolate your forces and over-charge because your army can quickly become a rabble. AI knows this and plays more conservatively when needed or makes quick attacks at first then it stands on its ground. This is work in progress and will be finalized in next patch.
• Further Melee balances in damage and mechanics.
• Union vs Confederate combat effectiveness balanced so that the Union is not as overpowered as before.
• LoS should be more accurate following the terrain obstacles.
• Improved soldier movement mechanics more.
• Morale more dynamic, meaning that volleys can be more decisive to make a unit to rout. Volleys in general should be more devastating in open field.
• Artillery targeting improved. You should be able to handle it more easily.
PERFORMANCE/GAME STABILITY
• Slight performance increase because of optimization of AI thinking updates.
TEXT/CAMPAIGN BATTLE FLOW
• All decision room text descriptions are available for days 1,2,3.
• All battle descriptions ready for days 1,2,3.
• All major battle flow fixes which resulted in wrong next battle or premature battle end have been fixed. We consider this fix 99% complete for all possible battles spanning from day 1 to day 3. If you notice an inconsistency please report it to us.
BUG FIXES
• Fixed movement arrow offset that was too large. Creation of movement paths should now be even sharper.
• Fixed a Deselection issue that made your units to attack a routed AI artillery unit when you attempted to click on empty area. It may need some more fixes, so please report to us if it happens again.
• Fixed retreat direction issues.
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Please share your feedback about the AI and overall gameplay in our forums:
- Game-Labs Forum - Steam Forum.
Enjoy,
Game-Labs
Patch 0.82 bringing major AI & Gameplay improvements and Mac Support
0.82 patch brings Mac support and focuses on major AI & Gameplay improvements that were needed according to user feedback. There were many essential bug fixes that made the game a bit more stable. We have also addressed the annoying save bugs that prevented you from continuing campaigns in certain cases.
Please read the patch notes below or in our blog: http://www.ultimategeneral.com/blog/ultimate-general-released-3rdpatch
We recommend to start a new battle campaign and not load your old save for securing that there are no freeze issues.
Ultimate General: Gettysburg Patch 0.82 rev4685
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NEW SPECIAL FEATURES
• Ultimate General: Gettysburg is now officially available for Mac! If you already own the Windows PC version and have a Mac you can launch the game via Steam and it will be updated to the latest version.
Note 1: An issue that also exists temporarily in PC but can be more evident in Retina displays is that controls are not very responsive in resolutions bigger than 1920x1080. If you notice map drag, movement arrows, rotation to not work very well according to your movements then lower the resolution via display settings. We are working to fix this in the future.
Note 2: Bug reporter button is not available in Mac version. (most likely will be added later - but right now we advise you to use steam community or our forum for reporting)
• Unit formation shapes now follow the ground morphology more accurately so you will be able to understand elevation and height more effectively together with the height map function of M key. Due to this enhanced visual setting the battlefield looks more realistic.
GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS
• Major AI improvement. AI now positions itself better and can be a very strong defender for all AI characters. It also will become harder to corner or completely encircle AI (especially the Union).
• AI now is more effective in creating and keeping “organic” formations and lines, securing areas with cannons and standing troops. AI will now keep much better distances between enemy and friendly units, and will use reserves and fresh troops more wisely.
• We made some melee changes in damages and mechanics. Now melee is much more decisive visually and in impact. Charging and frequent hand to hand combat can bring victorious moments but also can create heavy disorganization and exhaustion with realistic levels.
• Combat, morale mechanics are further improved to sustain the slower more realistic pace (action and movement rates could become too slow in some rare cases - we are fixing this).
• Your units will behave even more intelligently, making lines, rotating to enemy and targeting without overusing self-awareness ability.
• Union vs Confederate combat effectiveness balanced better. Please report if Union is now a bit more powered in defense than necessary so we fine tune in next patch.
• Improved soldier movement mechanics to be more realistic, less synced.
• Generals Slocum and Stannard now reinforce you sooner as was needed in the speculative scenarios of prolonged Confederate attack in the 1st day.
PERFORMANCE/GAME STABILITY
• Included the hotfix of ability to run game via alternate renderer for those who have difficulties launching the game: http://steamcommunity.com/games/306660/announcements/detail/1299602418108190020
TEXT/CAMPAIGN BATTLE FLOW
• All decision room text descriptions are available for days 1,2,3 except those pending to be fixed in next patch.
• Many Battle flow issues fixed that caused wrong battle flow and premature ending. Some issues still remain - Please be patient until next week to fix at least the 90% of all remaining issues.
BUG FIXES
• Fixed saves system that made loading impossible or created freezing units, AI and other issues. Please report to us any other glitches you find. We remind that saves do not save action states yet so if you save for example at the moment of a charge then when you load this battle the charge will not be saved properly, may make the charging unit to hesitate for some time.
• Fixed a lot of issues that made units retreat to dangerous places.
• Fixed problem that gave ability to rotate AI units.
• Fixed rapid back and forth movement bug for infantry that could happen when you got reinforcements. In next patches we hope to eliminate this rare issue that can happen to skirmishers and artillery.
• Fixed unpause bug.
• Fixed restart battle bug.
• Fixed various freeze issues that made game and camera unresponsive, units to disappear and movement arrows to get stuck on the map.
• Fixed some reported bugs that created lag.
• Fixed bug that made game to freeze when units of a group formation died and group was ordered to attack something.
• Fixed cases that made units to not fire enemies in front of them.
• Fixed major bug that made many sounds to be muted.
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Let us know how you find the new improvements by providing feedback in our forums:
- Game-Labs Forum - Steam Forum.
Enjoy,
Game-Labs
HotFix that can fix CTD at start up
Hello Generals,
We are in process of fixing a lot of things for the next patch. In the meantime we enabled function that you can run the game either in Direct3D or OpenGL mode.
It is advised to run the game in OpenGL mode (Normal) but if you are among the users that have issues launching the game, please try the Direct3D mode (Beta renderer) and advise if the problem is solved.
Restart Steam to be able to use this new game launch function.
See image:
http://navalaction.forumflash.com/uploads/monthly_07_2014/post-42-0-53885800-1404240234.jpg
We hope the current hotfix is useful,
Game-Labs
Patch 0.81 with elevation map and realistic battle speed
We thank you very much for the warm reception of our game and your continuous feedback and suggestions. Many things you have asked to improve or fix are now available in our newest patch. Important new features are the elevation map layer and the revamped, more realistic combat pace accompanied by an enhanced AI. Have a look at the patch notes in our site's blog (includes some informative images):
http://www.ultimategeneral.com/blog/ultimate-general-released-2ndpatch
or read below:
Ultimate General: Gettysburg Patch 0.81 rev4590
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NEW SPECIAL FEATURES
• Added Elevation Map Layer as many players requested.
- You toggle on/off with the M key (you can re-assign button in settings).
- You can use this additional map layer to understand which hills are good for placing your artillery. Height indications are measured in feet above sea level.
• You can now restart a battle. This is a temporary solution until we finalize the multiple saves system.
GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS
• Various and major AI improvements for better challenge. Union AI especially should be much more effective in holding their ground.
• Melee balance improvement. Fixed cases that could result in too low damage. Cavalry should be more effective but still preserve its vulnerability to ranged fire.
• Artillery more vulnerable to projectile damage so that it cannot be used as “tank” as it could be in some cases.
• Terrain importance enhanced. Cover, Altitude bonus to range, Movement penalties increased for making the good defensive positions even tougher to capture.
• Various improvements to morale, damage rate, combat mechanics, including the above mentioned result in a more satisfying combat pace. Not too slow, not too fast. We need your feedback if this is noticeable and works as you like.
• Flanking/Rear damage increased for more rewarding tactical maneuvers for you and the AI.
• Several improvements in Scenes concerning time of reinforcements and random events. For Union especially this will help them to have better chances in 1st day as the reinforcement routs and random delays are not as strict as before, so the flow of battle is more intense. Slocum reinforcements sometimes can delay too much and so Union AI has difficulties withstanding a possible evening attack. We will fully address this problem in next patch.
PERFORMANCE/GAME STABILITY
• Performance and FPS improvement. Lag issues should now be much less.
• Possible 3-4 seconds freezes should now not happen as frequently as before. Please let us know if you still get this problem.
• Fixed additional bug issues that caused game crashes in moment of any battle start. Next week we will sort any other pending issue related to supported resolutions.
• A new troubleshooting button is added temporarily to menu to lead you to solutions to common problems (needs internet connection).
CONTROLS
• The LoS of your selected unit (the area it can see) now no longer creates a so dark area around the unit.
• [NEW] You can now tune the LoS intensity and duration. Go to Options=>Gameplay and set it to your liking.
• [NEW] You can now use alternatively a key to rotate your units instead of middle mouse button. Default button is TAB and you can re-assign it in settings. To use, select a unit, and while pressing TAB use your mouse to rotate.
• Improved Formations pathfinding.
• Now you move only the visible units belonging to a group. This helps to control your saved formation groups better.
TEXT
• Various Corrections/Additions in main menu and battle description texts.
• All battle description messages available for Days 1,2,3. Decision room text descriptions still missing from 2nd day battles and onwards. They will be available in the next patch.
• All battle action messages available for Days 1,2,3.
BUG FIXES
• Possible issue of reinforcements not appearing at all after you load a campaign is fixed. This was a particularly annoying bug that damaged the gameplay and caused difficulties to AI especially in scenarios that reinforcements are crucial for its defense.
• Fixed additional problem that made some units invisible after loading a campaign.
• We addressed many campaign scenario issues that caused the battle to continue wrongly or to end prematurely with wrong win/loss messages to appear (more often there was a wrong “Dead lock” message). We remind that we need to finalise the battle to expand to the 4th day to completely eliminate this problem. Please continue to report such problems if you find them.
• Fixed condition that could allow artillery reinforcements to fire way out of map borders.
• Fixed cases which made units to evade or retreat in wrong directions.
• Fixed additional bug that could result in units not to shutter out of the map, despite having enormous losses.
• Fixed targeting bug that made AI and your units to prefer artillery and skirmishers too much and to ignore more serious threats near them. This bug fix makes your units to think much better with their own initiative without any micromanagement.
• Fixed major melee bug that resulted sometimes to see units having no melee collision damage at all and AI to become idle because of this.
***WARNING***
Because we had to cure some very serious bugs in the saving process, the saving system was refactored. As a result, this patch will make your old saves incompatible and not loadable. You will need to restart your battle campaign. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
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We uploaded a small hotfix that will improve performance and will repair possible lag problems that some players have reported for their PC systems. We continue to monitor your reports and work for the next patch.
Enjoy,
Game-Labs
Ultimate General: Gettysburg Patch 0.8 Available!
Your feedback has been enormously helpful to narrow down the most important bugs and inconsistencies to include them in our first weekly patch. The patch is now available and offers the following:
Ultimate General: Gettysburg Patch 0.8 rev4469
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NEW FEATURES
Added unit grouping functionality
Use ctrl and drag area to select units then move them. Hold shortcut transferred to H key button.
You can also double click your General to select and move his units that are included in his command area.
You can assign groups by selecting units and clicking the “Group” button. In this build it is possible to make group for a single unit. This can help to make shortcuts for some of your important units or your generals (Please advise if you like this feature).
Clicking on a group and pressing Ctrl-Right click allows you to automatically arrange/rotate a simple formation for your unit group.
When you use formation you can see the future position of unit, with rectangle and facing indication. The unit facing indication is also available in the rotation gesture.
Added possibility to reassign various command buttons in settings.
This video shows briefly how group formations work in Ultimate General: Gettysburg
http://youtu.be/Ysl4Y4-XSYo
GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS
AI fixes and various improvements make AI to keep better distance from player, make better lines and be a better opponent in all characters. Additional fixes will follow next week with your feedback.
Various changes made in battle balance and morale that affect the combat pace to be more realistic and slower as you requested. You will be able to keep your lines for longer, with no micromanagement and AI will desire to be more cohesive, use artillery more frequently to pound you from distance and then assault.
Terrain modifiers for speed are balanced better. Previously the unit movement penalties -for example when walking through forest- were very slight according to user feedback
Columns now have a slight speed bonus. Helps AI to maneuver faster and reinforcements to come in time.
Various changes in battle scenes of the 1st day.
Balanced battle duration to be a little less as needed (could increase the probability of unnecessary player waiting time or overwhelmed units to be cornered in the map and game not to stop).
Slocum and Stannard reinforcements now can arrive sooner which adds the necessary punch and “drama” for the Union army.
Some fixes in the battle flow and in cases where decision buttons would lead in wrong battle of 2nd day.
Friendly fire hold threshold balanced as part of better AI targeting, unit lines fixes, less frequent unnecessary rotation of your units, artillery management.
US vs CS combat balance improvement. The Confederates were slightly overpowered before, according to feedback.
Melee damage increased, especially against artillery.
PERFORMANCE
Performance and FPS improvement that is noticeable in big battles.
CONTROLS
The LoS of your selected unit (the area it can see) now endures more and is more evident as many users asked.
BUG FIXES
Fixed issue when game crashes in moment of any battle start. We added button to disable unit transparency for additional safety measure for those who still anticipate this problem until we fully fix the potential issue.
Units can no longer get stuck in borders.
Units now should retreat to much better directions. Before there was case that they could retreat in undesirable directions behind enemy lines.
Case of reinforcements freezing after loading game should now be fixed.
Uncontrollable units -that for example retreat- can no longer be selected.
Units freezing in retreat mode bug should be fixed. Please report if you anticipate this issue again.
Units becoming invisible bug is addressed. Please report if this happens again.
Bug reporter button fixes and improvements. Now it does better quality screenshots. Problem with missing logs is also fixed. Bug reporter doesn’t affect performance anymore.
Corrections in some main menu and battle description texts.
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We would appreciate your new feedback and impressions after you start playing with this patch so to prioritise better the next list of improvements that will come next week.
I am proud today to welcome you to the game that you expected for quite a long time since we announced it last year http://www.ultimategeneral.com/blog/from-darthmod-to-game-design.
I want to thank everybody for your kind support and the faith you give to this game project and on behalf of Game-Labs I assure you that we will not let you down.
Ultimate General: Gettysburg is now available in Steam Early Access and is about 70% ready. Here is the list of the known issues that we are working on. http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/906-known-issues/
Before you start playing, please read the following Guide covering what you need to know. The guide will be updated as the game progresses. http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/746-online-short-guide/
If you want to suggest new features, share feedback or report problems with the game please visit our Steam Community hub or Game-Labs forums http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/forum/17-ultimate-general-gettysburg/
We will offer weekly patches and the next upcoming one will have AI, Gameplay and other needed improvements and features. Your continuous feedback and criticism will help us make the game better. We hope you will enjoy Ultimate General: Gettysburg even in its early form.
With full dedication,
Nick "Darth" Thomadis :)
Lead Game Designer
Game-Labs LLC
