Forge Of Freedom
Forge of Freedom is a gaming rarity in two respects. First, games focused on the American Civil War tend to be few and far between. Second, the selection of games in general for a serious wargamer interested in the 'Grand Strategy' scale is rather slim. This is an introductory tutorial for Forge of Freedom, a Civil War-based game from Matrix Games. More information on the game can be found at www.matrixgames.
| Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War 1861-1865 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Western Civilization Software |
| Publisher(s) | Matrix Games |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Computer wargame |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War is a computer wargame,[1][2][3] combining both a strategic level and a tactical level by means of letting the player(s) raise, equip and move armies and then fight out battles on a randomized map when encountering the enemy. This game was made by Western Civilization Software, whose headquarters is located just outside Ann Arbor, Michigan, and uses the same game engine as the company's 2005 release, 'Crown of Glory: Europe in the Age of Napoleon' and 2009 expansion 'Crown of Glory: Emperor's Edition,' which likewise features a combination of grand strategy and tactics.
Basic Facts[edit]
There are two playable factions available in this game, the Confederacy and the Union (although foreign intervention is a possibility). The campaign map for the strategic level stretches from Minnesota to Texas and from Maine to Florida. Battle maps for the tactical level are made of terrain hexes which correspond to how far a unit can move. Battles are fought at the brigade-level, and the player gets to customize his brigades by purchasing weapons and 'brigade attributes' (e.g., brigade cavalry, scouts, sharpshooters, Zouaves). There are more than 1000 Civil War generals in the game, with the most famous (and infamous) having a 100% chance to appear each game, while the less famous ones have a much smaller chance of entering the game. As part of an ongoing project, some players of 'Forge of Freedom' have been volunteering to write biographies of each general that is included in the game, adding an educational dimension to the game. The game also features economics, European diplomacy, trade, and politics (in the form of state governors), which are all important for success.
Scenarios[edit]
There are no scenarios starting after 1861. The simplistic nature of the economic system provided with the game does not easily map to real life events and statistics.
Notes[edit]
- ^'Wargamer.com Readers' Choice Awards - Game of the Year - Bronze'. Archived from the original on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
- ^'Wargamer.com The Readers' Choice Awards - Wargame - Bronze'. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
- ^Gamesquad.com Editors' Choice Award
Forge Of Freedom
References[edit]
Reviews[edit]
Interview with Developers[edit]
Tutorial Video[edit]
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Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War, 1861-1865 is the newest game from Western Civilization Software that combines grand strategy with battlefield tactics in one game. Forge of Freedom puts you in command at every level of the Civil War, from the mobilization of the resources of the nation to the control of individual brigades during the fury of battle. Relive the days of America’s greatest struggle: a time of blood, smoke, and glory.
Features
GRAND STRATEGY
• Game covers the entire American Civil War
• Strategic turns represent one-half month
• Organize your brigades into divisions, corps, and armies
• Raise legendary units such as Iron Brigade and Stonewall Brigade...more than 100 in all.
• Control the careers of more than 1,000 generals....every general from the Civil War!
• Politics with your state governors and European powers
• Multiple resource management. Recruit regular units, impress resources, raise the muster, and impose conscription
• Research new tactics and technology in five different areas of research
• Manage troop supply, control unit training, build railroad infrastructure, allocate economic development
• Control brigade details: raise Zouaves, assign balloon scouts, deploy sharpshooters, allocate engineers and pioneers, and much more!
• Maneuver raiders and blockade runners
• Declare emancipation
• Beautiful strategic map: based on 1860's cartography combined with terrain from modern satellite imagery
TACTICAL SIMULATION
• Resolve battles quickly, or fight battles in detail with a turn-based set of rules on a hex map at the brigade level
• You experience all the details of combat: supply, weather, morale, field fortifications, fog-of-war, lines of supply, zones of control, unit formation, panic, fatigue, facing, leadership, time of day, command-and-control, smoke, terrain, sieges, and fortifications are all modeled in depth
• You must adapt your tactics to the evolving capabilities of units and their firearms
• Luxurious terrain derived from thousands of hex images, with more than 2,000 frames of character animation.
• Powerful artificial intelligence will force you to push your troops to the limit
MODES OF PLAY
• Control game complexity: shut off rules you don’t like
• Play against the computer, or play multi-player by LAN, Internet, e-mail, or hot-seat.
Forge Of Freedom Mods
FORGE OF FREEDOM will be available in Fall of 2006
from Matrix Games. Forge of Freedom is based on the
engine for Crown of Glory, which won Wargamer.com’s
Bronze Award, War Historical’s Game of the Year for 2005,
and Gamers Hall’s Silver Award.