Custers Last Stand

[Saddletank]

A work in progress by the talented Martin James. We played a co-op MP game as the 7th Cavalry vs the AI Sioux and Cheyenne a couple of weeks back on Pipe Creek 2 map and the game was a blast. Sandbox vs the AI is THE way to play this mod because you just do not know what you are going to meet or how aggressive they will be because of a variable OOB; its a simple but clever bit of design. And if you are an isolated battalion of US Cavalry and hit by several Indian warbands you're in deep, deep trouble.

In MP Martin hosted and set the map details below the best setting so that all buildings were deleted. Increased the immersion factor considerably. The mod uses a 1:1 sprite ratio so every soldier, Injun and pack mule team you see in these pictures is one man or team.

The AI in this mod is genuinely scary and will wipe you out in minutes if you bite off more than you can chew. The 7th needs to concentrate and hold high ground to beat off determined Indian attacks and letting them close to melee is often fatal.

I was Benteen and sent off way south to search for the suspected Indian encampment. Our job was to damage this and take some women and children prisoners as bargaining hostages if practical. I bumped into several Indian groups after an hour's searching:

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_01.jpg

Soon more and more war parties appeared, drawn to the sound of firing. I had 3 companies totalling about 120 men. By the time I counted past 500 Indians I decided to mount my boys up and get the h*ll outta there!

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_02.jpg

As we withdrew, our position was inspected by our enemy. No doubt they collected scalps from my ten fallen men. I had counted thirty of them fall however. Losing men was a tragedy but the enemy paid for his small victory here.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_03.jpg

I had received couriers from Custer that he, with Keogh's and Yates' battalions, had met a very large war party of Sioux and was under attack. He asked me repeatedly to go north and support him. I nervously picked my way between roving mounted parties of the enemy and finding dead US cavalry couriers along our path, whose bodies had been molested in the enemy's customary gruesome manner, was most un-nerving. We could do nothing for these poor souls and left them where they lay.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_04.jpg

More Indians watched us silently from the wooded hills. Their manner of doing this was eerie. These did not attack however; perhaps they were just a small patrolling party who thought my 100 men were too numerous for them to risk an opportunist charge.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_05.jpg

Finally my 7th Cavalry battalion rode 'over the hill' to join Custer. Reno's battalion was present and two companies of local scouts, plus the huge pack mule train. I later found out that all of Keogh's and Yates' battalions had been wiped out in a brutal close quarters fight against hundreds of enemy. I reported to Lt-Col Custer the numbers of Indians I had met and where and how aggressive they were. In getting through to Custer's position I lost three more men.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_06.jpg

The regiment formed up on a good hill with steep grassy slopes. More Indians soon arrived from the south and put in several attacks. Our seven cavalry and two scout companies deployed in a horse-shoe formation and the Indians suffered great loss in these attacks, though we could not drive them completely off and they hung back out of rifle range and silently watched us.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_07.jpg

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_08.jpg

By now Captain Yates had bravely gone alone to scout out to the south-east and reported back that he had found the Indian village in that direction across Little Pipe Creek in a wooded hollow beyond a high ridge. The regiment set off in that direction but as our right flank was still under attack I was told to move my battalion off first and deploy my companies in a skirmish line facing the Indians we were trying to break contact with. Reno's battalion then passed behind me escorting the slow pack mule train with Custer's scouts bringing up the rear.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_09.jpg

Arriving over a low rise we were greeted by the sight of hundreds more Indians. We halted to confer. Little Pipe Creek is in the valley beyond the two dirt-trails. Yates said the Indian camp was beyond the ridge. We could not approach it without the enemy blocking our march should they so choose.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_10.jpg

More and more Indians began to show up.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_11.jpg

One war-party then crossed the Little Pipe Creek and moved closer.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_12.jpg

Across the creek yet more Indians appeared. I estimated we were facing about 1,000 of them now. Our nine companies numbered perhaps 450 troopers.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_13.jpg

Some enemy began to go north west and work around behind us.

http://www.atomic-album.com/showPic.php ... uns_14.jpg

At this point with the enemy thoroughly alerted to our presence Lt-Col Custer chose to call off the operation and we retired. It would be impractical to force the Indians back to their reservation without more men and firepower.

[born2see]

Who did the sprites? I always thought this would be a great mod.

B

[Martin James]

Indian sprites are by Alessillio. And I'm very grateful to him

Others for scouts, Black Hills miners (in Crook's OOB)etc are from Davinci, Zeke and Pom. To whom I'm also very grateful.

Martin (J)

[Morsey]

I was one of them that played this mod in multiplayer! We had a blast and I lost all my men within 5 minutes when I ran into 100's of them injuns....LOL

Kudos to the people responsible for this MOD, I can't wait to do it again with the KS guys.

The only shock in this mod is that the Indian Women are dressed in Confederate uniforms, I suffer still to this day from this and the photo of KG Soldier's wife in Father Generals Lost Division Campaign thread. :sick:

[Martin James]

Thanks for your comments guys. Yes it would be nice to have some proper sprites for the Indian women. also for the wigwams (or is that tepees?). At the moment I'm using army wagons for the Sioux camp!

On the plus side, the odds against finding the encampment and non-coms are quite high if you play to the suggested time limit .

Martin (J)

[born2see]

Have you posted this mod? Sorry if I missed it but we're up to our eyeballs in Waterloo...


B

[Crikey]

Nice work, Martin. B)

Be great to see this one released, when it's ready.

The sprites and toolbars look very cool.

[Martin James]

Thanks Crikey. I haven't posted it yet born2see, as I regarded it as a work in progress and have only recently started testing it with the KS MP group.

I'm currently working on an updated version, and Grog is doing some nice work on the toolbar portraits too. When that's all ready, I'll post it.

As a matter of interest, how do I do that? At the moment I just provide the testers with a link to my dropbox?

Martin (J)

[Saddletank]

I think you can just put that same link to your dropbox here. I am not sure if NSD take the files and host them as well.

I was thinking that with a set of unique sprites (and not reused ACW ones) plus a map, this mod would make an awesome free official NSD add-on.

[born2see]

Little Powell maintains a current mods thread here:

http://www.norbsoftdev.net/forum/modifi ... od-threads

I'm sure he'd love to include it whenever it's ready.

B