A bit late to SOW... Wow.

[jcl78]

Hello All,

After floating through school and through history class many, many years ago I never paid much attention to the Civil War. Now in my mid 30's I have a passion for history and tactical / simulation PC games. I had been playing Empire Total War with the ACW mod, and while very stunning graphically, technical issues crop up from time to time with memory issues and crashing after long battles. I heard about SOW on one of the Total War forums, and tried the demo. While I wasn't thrilled with the graphical prowess (before I adjusted draw distance, sprite count, etc.) I knew this could be something special. Being so used to ETW, I felt like a helpless General in SOW, double clicking like mad with no results. I knew there would be a learning curve, and I knew it would be something special, so I went all out and purchased the SOWGB 150th anniversary collection with the media, making it the most expensive game I have ever purchased.

I am so glad I did. Now, around 20 battles in, I am playing exclusively in historical mode, scouting field positions, moving my army with OOB commands and courier. I have many mods enabled, realistic smoke (light), Map mods, courier mods, you name it. The thrill of ordering a regiment to advance on an undefended cannon position and watch with horror that regiment take a canister shot with 15 men falling at once but eventually routing the position, while on your other flank you have to keep your lines intact as the enemy attempts to flank you is thrilling to say the least. The Ken Burns Civil War Documentary said something like this: "the Civil War consisted of long stretches of nothing followed by exclamation points of pure terror". In SOW you feel as close as we can to what happened during that time, setting up your army in a nice field with high ground, seeing nothing and holding position, to seeing the enemy pour in to a different location and having to react quickly before they arrive, to the battle itself.

Excellent game!

[Marching Thru Georgia]

First, welcome to the forum and the game. Commanding from the saddle is a unique experience. One never has the control he would like and matters can get out of hand very quickly. At ground level the AI is a formidable opponent. The Kriegspiel group plays HITS exclusively, both Civil War and Napoleonic periods. You can find them here: KS Group They engage in multi-player battles, both cooperatively against the AI and also P vs P. When you are ready, give them a look.

[jcl78]

Thanks MTG, love your courier mod BTW! SOW is definitely the game to get for tactical junkies, and I think it is a very beautiful game graphically after getting all options set. I think I was even dreaming of it, and muttering things like "advance that line" just like Stonewall Jackson on his death bed. My wife probably thinks I am nuts. Thanks for the link to the KS group. I will most likely get several more hours of battle under my belt before joining a MP game, as to not appear completely helpless!

Thanks all.

[Garnier]

It's not too late, this game is now better than it's ever been -- after all the patches and mods to date.

[jcl78]

Garnier, been playing your SP campaign mod, bravo good sir... very slick indeed. I will one day join into your MP outings as well.

[mitra76]

Thanks for the link to the KS group. I will most likely get several more hours of battle under my belt before joining a MP game, as to not appear completely helpless!
Thanks all.

Don't worry about this, just last saturday a new player who had the game from less than a week played with us HITS and he manages it very well. If you play the tutorials you have a sufficient base for play in multiplayer.

[Saddletank]

Welcome to the forum jcl78 and to the fun, at times frustration and at times awesome world of commanding in SoW battles. If Napoleonic warfare interests you then the next title Norbsoft is workinmg on is the 1815 Waterloo / 100 Days campaign. That promises a V2 of the game engine and from that no doubt the community will then build an improved ACW Mod.