Just bought the Game Yesterday

[SiliconMagician]

Hi all!

I can't BELIEVE that I haven't seen this game before now. This is like some secret of the internet. Reviews are out there, but unless you specifically look for it this game seems pretty hidden to me. I just stumbled across it by accident while looking for some maps for TC2M.

That this game has been out so long and I missed it was a head scratcher but it doesn't show up in any searches like "Civil War Games" or "Civil War Strategy Games", etc.. you pretty much have to type in the name of the game to get any decent hits. This game needs more exposure! It's fantastic!

Anyway, after playing TC2M for a long time, the controls are pretty much identical and I had no problem at all. The AI is a vast improvement, along with graphics. I have a 3.0 ghz rig with a graphics card only a year old and it was crippled by a corps size line of sight sandbox engagement. Any hints or mods that do a good job of improving FPS without to much loss of detail of the men themselves would be appreciated(after all we like to watch the carnage, the trees are nice during the march but when the Irish Brigade goes up against the Stonewall Brigade hand to hand, you want the full effect of the carnage!

Also, any links or information on map making and/or custom maps would be appreciative as well. I'm a lover of maps and I'd like to get into designing some custom maps for this.

TIA and glad to be here!

TSM

[SouthernSteel]

no real mods to provide an FPS boost without changing the settings - you will likely find that lowering the settings so as to drop buildings will provide an improvement.

Maps, etc. are not open to modding (yet). New scenarios and a new map due out soon (read around the forums here and you'll see what's going on).

[Garnier]

It is one of the best games there is. It's a serious shame, but we can't make maps for it yet. It's been 15 months since release and there's no indication that this will change any time soon.

[MikeCK]

From what I understand, it sthe amount of RAM you have and not your card or processor that really matter here. Lots of Sprites doing lots of things needs RAM. I only have 3 GB of RAM and can run Corps v Corp very smoothly except on maps with lots of foliage.

[Amish John]

There are some nice mods already done for this game in the area of graphics, sound, toolbar expansion, additional scenarios, etc. Check out the Modifications thread.

As far as I know there is no area on this site that has the current user mods for the current version of the game (1.2 I believe) collected and listed available for download. Speaking of which, on this site's home page there is a SOWGB Mods area but that just links you to the mods thread. Is it possible to have the ver. 1.2 mods listed by catagories such as sound, graphics, toolbar, etc. For example, I believe LP recently posted some improved battle sounds which I'd like to try, but currently I have to dig into the threads to find it. If it's not in the mods thread I have to start an all threads search. For a new forum member, he may not even be aware of RegBugler's DRF mods until he stumbles across them by accident. A mods section on the home page where you can go to see and get the currently available mods (with maybe a short description of what they do would be nice).

I know there are a couple user site that collect mods, but shouldn't NSD have them collected and available on it's game site? Maybe the NSD team just doesn't have time available to keep track and post available mods.

[bedbug]

Hey, SiliconMagician, welcome aboard!

Hi all!

That this game has been out so long and I missed it was a head scratcher but it doesn't show up in any searches like "Civil War Games" or "Civil War Strategy Games", etc.. you pretty much have to type in the name of the game to get any decent hits. This game needs more exposure! It's fantastic!


Also, any links or information on map making and/or custom maps would be appreciative as well. I'm a lover of maps and I'd like to get into designing some custom maps for this.

TIA and glad to be here!

TSM

Hey, the game seems to be our little secret.
.....sorta, if you build it they won't come. :laugh:


On the FPS front, have you tried Medium uniforms? ie:"low-res, all uniform classes"?
If you're playing no closer than say 100 feet from the action there isn't much difference with that setting and high setting.
Also, you can reduce foliage on the fly by tapping the "T" key. It cycles to half crops then reduced trees, then total reduction....give it a whirl.


...and lots more maps coming out..... you should be good till they are opened up. B)

[RebBugler]

I think 'medium uniforms' is best for FPS and uniform display. You still get all uniform types, just not as crisp looking. From a moderate distance, they look just as good.

Also, for sandbox play, try the SR10 mod. This reduces the sprite ratio from one for four to one for ten, same as the other classic TC games.

[Jack ONeill]

All,

It is true that there are no "Official" modded maps per se. However, may I presume to bring to your attention the heavily modded Kansas map by his greatness DaVinci and myself? It is not a "new" map, but you will find it most different from the "stock" Kansas map. It has Fall trees and a generous helping of changes to delight the eye. It is perfect for the use of the Western Armies OOBs. Just a thought.

Jack

[mb213]

Glad you are enjoying the game, it is a very fun game to play. Once you get practiced up try the mp game. Its a lot more fun to play against a human.