Scourge of War Boards

I grew up with Sid Myers Gettysburg. Thought it was a great game for its time. Moved on to the Empire total war series. Great graphics, poor AI plus disappointing moving i.e. no columns or line. Based on what I read about Gettysburg I was excited so I downloaded the game and tried the tutorials. Now I know everyone loves the game but from my limited experience with it, I can't spend the 29 dollars. On one tutorial I played, I gave orders to a General and his men stood back from a fence in the open while the enemy shot at them. Other regiments broke into groups and fought separately vs as a line. Others stood in a corn field and took on three units instead of pulling back. I guess the AI can't be perfect. I have read on the forum where this is supposed to be fixed. What's everyone's opinion?

I guess the question I would have for you is why do you think a real 19th century battle would look otherwise. Paintings of battles of that era, with long, even linear lines sweeping towards the enemy are just that, pretty pictures. They do not reflect the chaotic reality of such conflicts, full of noise, smoke and fear. According to first hand accounts, battles were anything but parade ground precision. This game, especially with the latest patch, reflects that tenuous cohesion. In this game, you are not god, you are a general commanding units with very human-like qualities. They do not follow your dictates with machine-like efficiency, but rather perform like any group of humans. They react to the situation based on their perception of that situation. If you want a game where everything is well ordered and reflect those paintings, then Sid Myers is the game for you. But if you want to get a taste of what commanding troops in a vicious struggle is like then you've come to the right place.

I'm a big total war fan as well, ive had all the games from Shogun up to Empire.

When I want to see individual sprites massacred by cannonballs/arrows/naptha i play TW, but when i want to have a really good battle, and play realistically, I play SOW.

The unpredictable nature of the AI is one of the best features - some generals are aggressive, some arent. The same used to happen in Medieval Total War on a limited basis- if you left certain troops with nothing to do and an enemy crossed infront of them they would charge wrecking your line.

In SOW each general has traits like that. Some wont attack unless you drive them to, just like in real life.

Added to that the multiplayer side of things, this is the best $29 you'll ever spend.

I guess I didn' mind the disjointed units as much as I did the soldiers standing in the open several feet from the fence. I could take control of each one and play it that way, was hoping the AI would move the men to the fence to get the defense bonus. Another issue is the courier system. I told a General to move to a point. He moved but his units never did. Im not sure if I did something wrong, the general never told his troops to move, or it is a bug.

You have to sepcify a formation

So the order is - general , move to this point, form brigade into line.

Same as when you use the toolbar, you order the general to a spot, then tell him the formation. this gets his units moving.

Following on from what the above two posts have said, yes, the AI can seem 'stupid' but I am finding that it is more realistic than the AI in many other computer games and as Con20or says, each AI subordinate general has his own personality resulting in bold or cautious attacks or defences depending on who he is. Try a bigger scenario and play it through, then do it a second time and use a different formation to do the task you allocated in the first game - you will then see the different behaviours of the two generals.

We are all brought up with computers where accuracy and exactness is all around us and when we see things not going exactly as we wish, we can easily blame a 'dumb AI' however that is not the case with SoW, the AI merely has a limited and different perspective to you.

What you can do, and which is realistic, is ride your pesonal general over there, grab the unit (Take Command of it) and order it to do what you want, then it will. Once its in the place and doing the job you want, uncheck the take command option and move on to the next crisis point.

Alternatively if its a small action or a critical position you can TC all th eunits and move them personally though this takes more effort.

The game really comes into its own online though, in multiplayer mode and there are a number of ways you can play it - free camera, HITS (headquarters in the saddle) with extremely limited views, orders sent instantly or orders sent by couriers. The game allows many play styles and delivers a different experience with each one.

I routinely have my butt kicked, (still), by this AI. It is my firm belief that Norb/Team has managed to build a Game Engine which, to some extent, "Learns" from it's mistakes AND yours. This AI is not forgiving. You cannot find a better game than this.

Following on from MTG - War is a hideous nightmare of blood, noise, death and confusion. Been there, did that, for real. If you read any of the grunt-level accounts of the Civil War, you'll find almost exactly what you had in the tutorial - Troops doing odd things, etc. As Tank and Con20or said, you can't find a better game experience for the buck. Period.

Jack "Whites of their eyes" O'Neill B)

And if it makes a difference - it was $53 when I bought it, and I still think it was worth it:)

$49.99 here, not including the fabulous add-ons.

Best war game ever made, period. I've bought a lot of them; none compare.