Ultimate General: Gettysburg, the RTS being developed by the creator of the DarthMod for Total War, is now complete and out of Steam Early Access. In a blog post accompanying the release, designer Nick Thomadis talked about his goals for the game, which begins as the real battle did but can unfold from there in any number of ways.
The "designer's note" is actually a rather lengthy look at the game, covering everything from the highly detailed, accurate, and very pretty battlefield map, to its complex line of sight system, AI personalities, the control interface, and more. Thomadis also pointed out that while the Union was the historical victor at the real Gettysburg, this game will allow the Confederates to come out on top.
"There is no pre-determined way to play. Forces arrive from historical directions, but can be delayed or arrive sooner," he wrote. "The first engagement where Buford attempts to delay the Confederates' advance plays a big role in how the battle will escalate, as an opening move does in chess. The next battle scenario is defined depending on key objectives secured and casualties, condition and disposition of units are recorded and transferred as well."
Friendly units will operate with a degree of autonomy thanks to their own AI, and the control system has been designed to be "naturally intuitive using easily perceived, basic gestures," both features Thomadis cited as important when he announced the game. Ultimate General: Gettysburg will include five one-on-one multiplayer maps, but the single-player mode will also have a strong element of replayability.
"The fact that the multi-day battle never plays the same because of random events and different AI commanders gives enough incentive to play multiple times and research all possible outcomes," Thomadis wrote. "Additionally, as you play the campaign you can unlock more than 80 custom battles for skirmish mode."
And because the game is designed with tablets in mind as much as the PC, the system requirements are relatively mild: A 1.6Ghz dual core CPU, 2 GB RAM, 2 GB HDD, and a GeForce 8800/Radeon X1600 with 512 MB of VRAM will get you where you want to be. Ultimate General: Gettysburg is available now on Steam.
