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Grand Tactician: The Civil War (1861-1865)
Asid:
Economy Updates.
Apr 21, 2022
Gen’l,
With patch 1.06, Grand Tactician’s economy will see a big overhaul, not only increasing its importance, but also allowing player further control over it.
From the beginning, Grand Tactician had an elaborate economic system built into it. When designing the game, we wanted to minimize micromanagement required from the player, while also having the economy play its role in our model of the Civil War. While this did work quite well, we were not completely happy with the end result, as quite a lot was abstracted a bit too far, and the effects of the economy were quite difficult to observe. For these reasons we decided to redesign parts of the economy.
Sinews of War.
The first noticeable change is in the Finances-panel, and how subsidies work. In the above image, you can see that the subsidy controls have received some improvements. There are now six (6) subsidy types. Politics subsidy type is the only one not connected directly to policies, while the other types are. Enacting Industrialization policies, for example, will unlock further available industry subsidies per annum. Small amount of subsidies are now available even without enacted policies.
Earlier, pre 1.06, subsidies included direct effects. While it worked in principle just fine, it remained rather invisible for the player. We wanted to make the subsidies and the effects easier to see and understand. So, the paid subsidies are now shown under each type as coins of different color. These indicate how much government money has been invested. This money can then be spent by the player.
NOTE: The screenshot still contains some placeholder assets.
Projects.
In the new Projects-panel, player can use the subsidies to finance different kinds of government projects, each requiring certain subsidy type. The projects are divided into civil and military projects, and some are one time, others repeating. For example, with military subsidies one can appoint new weapon types to be produced by the nation’s industry, or with diplomacy subsidies one can make weapon import deals.
These are one time projects. In the above screenshot, you can see one of the repeating projects. Each level of these repeating projects will increase the effects, but will also cost gradually more. Infrastructure Reform, the example shown, requires industry subsidies, and will increase transport capacity of all the nation’s IIPs (Important Infrastructure Points, that move goods around the campaign map). Once appointed, the next level will further increase the effects, but at a slightly higher cost.
The project effects will influence the nation’s war effort, and are powerful tools, but also expensive. It’s up to the player to figure out which projects to focus on, as subsidies are collected over time, and not everything can be done at any one time.
Weapon Production.
Changing the way weapon production works in the game has been one of the main requests from the community since the beginning. We did not want to make big changes so far, as it required stronger link between the economy and weapon production. With the overhauled economy model, it was finally time to change this as well.
In the above image you see a new Weapons-panel, which can be accessed via military management. Here, you can see all available weapons per type, including the actual numbers. There are weapons that are found currently in the nation’s depots, including those captured from the battle fields. Even if certain weapons are available, it does not mean they can be produced or imported — the projects are used for this.
Once a weapon type is available for the industry to produce, or an import deal is made, said weapons can be ordered. Player chooses the number of weapons to be produced, and places the order. Depending on the weapon type’s complexity, standardization, condition of industry (produced weapons), or available trade routes and relations (imported weapons), completion of the order will require certain amount of time and money. Once the order has been completed, the weapons become available, and can be handed over to recruited units.
So, from unlocking the weapon types directly via policies, and receiving new weapons to equip the units quite abstractly, the new system makes weapon production way more flexible and controlled. Players can, for example, try to unlock the best repeating rifles first. But the delays and costs need to be weighed carefully, as the economy now plays more important role in general.
Construction Options.
Another big change is the ability to construct buildings on the campaign map. When no army or fleet is selected, you can see new construction buttons in the bottom of the screen. There are three (3) types of construction options: government building, industries, railroads. Constructing railroads has not changed much from earlier versions of the game, except the location for the controls, and that subsidies can be used to cover the costs.
Government buildings are paid for using the nation’s treasury directly. Government buildings, such as national banks, POW camps, military hospitals and military academies, all have their effects in the war effort. For example, when capturing enemy soldiers in battle, if no POW camps are built, the field commanders will parole the prisoners, and many may return to their units to fight again. If POW camps with sufficient capacity exist, the prisoners can be moved there, and will be effectively out of the fight. But there are upkeep costs…
Industries, like railroads, can be funded with subsidies. When subsidies are available, construction is cheaper, as private investors and businessmen can be attracted more easily. If insufficient subsidies are available, these construction projects can still be ordered, but it will cost much more, and the funds are taken from the treasury directly. Similar payments (subsidies, or direct) can be used now to upgrade any of the existing industries throughout the campaign map.
As the new construction options require further information, we have also added a number of new map filters to show information, that can be helpful when considering whether new buildings are needed, and where they would be most effective.
While all these changes increase the control player can have over the economy, all the mentioned functions can be placed under the AI Cabinet’s control (automanagement), in which case no further commands from the player are needed.
Most Respy,
Gen’l. Ilja Varha,
Chief Designer, &c.,
The Grand Tactician -Team
Asid:
Economy Overhaul - Version 1.06 Released!
Fri, June 3, 2022
Gen'l,
The biggest Grand Tactician update so far has been released. Version 1.06 brings not only a long list of bug fixes and minor improvements, but overhauls the game’s economy system completely. The patch introduced also new game mechanics, like government funded projects and a new weapon procurement system (including a few new weapon types), as well as ability for the player to construct a wide range of buildings with unique effects on the campaign map.
For the full list of changes, see the patch notes in the below post
The game’s manual has also been updated to include instructions for all the new or changed features.
Cheers,
The Grand Tactician Team
Asid:
Latest Patch 1.06
Latest patch 1.0635, uploaded June 3, 2022:
The biggest Grand Tactician update so far has been released. Version 1.06 brings not only a long list of bug fixes and minor improvements, but overhauls the game’s economy system completely. The patch introduced also new game mechanics, like government funded projects and a new weapon procurement system (including a few new weapon types), as well as ability for the player to construct a wide range of buildings with unique effects on the campaign map.
Campaigns:
measures against long retreat routes
rebalanced (increased) long term recruiting numbers of large population states
rebalanced railroad speed
fixed: CSA/Mexican intervention policy leading to a massive reduction in overall recruiting pool
added effect of banks on economy (available capital, higher private wealth, cheaper funding)
added effect of markets on economy (increasing transport capacity)
added effect of printing works (intelligence gathering, fame increase, lower support loss through drafting)
added effect of military schools (increase mil exp, lower exp loss when promoting commanders, commander attributes growth)
added effect of hospitals (lower mortality of wounded, increase in state support if wounded are treated, wounded recover faster)
added effect of pow camps (reduces number of paroled pow’s, need to be provisioned, overcrowding increases enemy state support)
auto generating units now preferring volunteers
AI units do not construct depots if embarked
fixed: small units move very fast by rail or water
reworked IIP trade mechanics
added new map filters: available capital, medical treatment, transport bottlenecks
fixed issues with visualization for goods trade flows (clicking on IIP resource symbol in IIP panels)
fixed: sometimes fort garrisons are losing touch to their manually constructed forts after reloading
fixed: sometimes enemy units burn down player supply depots when retreating
fixed: CSA newspaper not triggered in 1864 election
fixed: forced march button not greyed out if readiness is yellow
reworked filter panel, added garrison list
added construction menu for manual placement of buildings, moved railroad construction there
added fertility & fertility maps for agricultural products
reworked AI building placement logic
added shortage and production filters
rebalancing of transport capacity, goods consumption, pre-goods usage, tax regime
added construction expenses to finances panel
shifting subsidy and policy effects to new projects panel
adding seperate AI raid operations on economic objectives
companies now not only switch but adjust production according to market prices
companies now dynamically search for better nearby locations to buy or sell goods
added base military consumption for weapons, uniforms, horses, ammo resulting of erosion
added project panel
added weapon management panel under military management
weapon standardization now linked to project research date
replaced “weapon industry” by “economy” in balance/strategy panel
enhanced town tooltip info
rebalanced workforce availability, recruits now reduce workforce
added auto-renaming of placed buildings
added economy alerts if automanage option for construction is off
added tooltips for headers in trade tab
enhanced info of building panels and upgrade buttons
map filters can now also be accessed in zoomed in 3D view
unlocking imports for ships now adds a handful of immediately available ships for order
fixed: companies often use more expensive pre goods if multiple pre goods can be used
added info for imports/exports in trade panel
fixed: companies sometimes not consuming all pre-goods
reduced sensitivity for detecting battles if a unit is placed on a bridge or ferry, now battle triggers if both units are very close to each other, though the river should actually be blocking
added construction cost info for supply depots, forts and telegraph stations
added number of alerts to top panel alerts, blockade alert image now switches if a high blockade ratio is surpassed
added monthly intelligence report
added quick launch buttons for economy and intelligence reports
rebalanced: increased success of amphibious assaults perk
added message for completion of building constructions
added newspaper message for completion of railroad constructions
government buildings are now added to filter of production buildings panel
fixed: filters in production not working properly
player can activate auto placement for buildings to let AI place the selected buildings automatically
added filter for market influence areas
fixed: replace button shown if officer tab is selected, should be shown in unit view only
tremendous increase in construction costs + upkeep costs of govt buildings
reworked supply and goods flow visualization
fixed: fleet recruiting list shows multiple identical port entries
map symbol settings are now saved, separated battle & campaign nato symbol activation
retreating units may now only retreat to friendly towns and forts or IIPs if in own states
added symbols for IIP blockades, market and capital influences to building icons
reduced AI supply depots construction activity
lowered reinforcements during winter months
fixed: ammo stock within armies can run negative
fixed: December economy report not saved
adjusted tutorial to take care of newly added features
rebalanced aggressiveness of offensive operations
changed calculation of supply ratio: now taking the minimum of provisions, forage, ammo [before: the average of provisions and forage]
fixed: wounded and low state support affects train and river movement speed
fixed: auto-generating horse artillery ignores size markers
redimensioned dispatch content size
fixed: commander attributes in tooltip and in military management panel not matching
fixed: filter button greyed out if hiding and showing unit filter
Battles:
added AI counterbattery fire
fixed “remaining” movement on water issues in certain maps related to water level
fixed: cold steel button not highlighted, though ordered
fixed: units which are reforming from march column to line as enemies are close may “forget” interim waypoints
changed: no “interruption” of units if enemy is on opposite side of a river
fixed: infantry in square formation cannot rout
fixed: cover type “forest” needs change of unit facing in order to be recognized
fixed: difficulty settings lost when reloading save of battle for the duration of the battle
reduced volume of thunder sound
fixed: units not snapping in to highest level parapets
fixed: flying units in Honey Springs map near Elk river
fixed: AI exceptions if no objective was found between engaging armies
fixed: reloading deactivates constructed pontoons
adjusted tutorial to take care of newly added features
rebalanced melee, probably needs further adjustments
fixed: units cannot cross frozen rivers
Other:
fixed: overwriting of campaign battle saves not working if overwriting from campaign layer
added all-automanage button at scenario start
Asid:
Patch 1.07 - Weapons, Projects & AI
Mon, 18 July 2022
The main changes include new weapons, projects, AI updates, an updated manual and a modding tool.
Gen'l,
Patch 1.07 is out! The main changes include new weapons, projects, AI updates, an updated manual and a modding tool:
• Gatling and Coffee Mill (or Agar) guns for the Union, and 1-pdr Williams gun for the CSA, are rapid-firing short-range weapons with also a considerable impact on morale on the receiving end.
• Machineguns (Union) and Confederate Guns (CSA) projects allow production of these weapons and the 12-pdr Iron Napoleon.
• Four new military reform projects for both sides, that simulate the gradual development of tactics during the early war: Artillery Reform, Cavalry Reform I-II, Supply Reform.
• The released modding tool (Excel) is found in the game's install folder, under \ModdingTool\, and allows players to modify and export many of the game's data files, and even create their own custom scenarios.
The game’s manual has also been updated to include instructions for all the new or changed features.
Note: the download size is quite huge as we have switched to a newer Unity version and therefore need to update many packages.
Please note, that old saves will work with this patch, but due to the new projects, you will experience some changes. Starting a new campaign after installing this patch is recommended.
Patch 1.07
Campaigns:
• (sea/river) filter for ship construction list now including mixed movement instead of filtering it out
• fixed: unit strength may rise above regular strength near hospitals
• fixed: autoresolve battles sometimes take too long, although the victory conditions are met
• fixed: autoresolve panel shows negative casualties if number of recovered soldiers is bigger than new casualties
• fixed: rating is floored by project and policy effects though debt load is huge
• added workaround: newly created units without attached brigades sometimes are jumping outside the map and causing exceptions
• rebalanced: lower regain of readiness, lower aggressiveness for defensive movements
• trade projects now also influence pricing of imports, not only traffic
• supply depots close to frontline now do not change ownership if nearby units are still engaged
• AI defensive movements now try to cut off supply more often
• fixed: transfering all units out of a group does not remove this empty group after closing military management
• fixed: enemy hospitals may overlap own medical treatment area resulting in no medical treatment
• reduced influence of state-occupation (by enemy troops) malus on state support
• fixed: autoresolved battles sometimes produce small negative numbers of casualties or captured guns
• added projects: supply reform, cavalry reform I+II, artillery reform
• organization reform leads to lower supply consumption
• fixed: subsidize banks project cannot be appointed although policies were researched
• added a workaround to prevent auto-placement of friendly buildings near occupied IIPs though automanage is set to off
• influence of state support on fighting spirit is reduced and lower for volunteers
• changed logic of ship filters: if sea AND river going are checked the list now contains all types of ships instead of just <sea and river> going
• fixed: units in company, battalion and regiment size now show correct symbol marker, appoint correct commanders
• fixed: horse artillery restricted weapons now only applicable for horse artillery units
• rebalanced AI ship creation based on fleet expenses to prevent fleet-driven defaults
• group speed now takes subordinate unit types into account
• fort garrison unit management can now be directly accessed via bottom panel if fort is selected
• depending on battle outcome some wounded become pow after battles
• readiness recoveries now faster in friendly states
• lower ranks required for group units before organization reform
• fixed: AI constructs supply depots too often and forts too rarely
• fixed: additional construction costs for federal budget although subsidy funding is available
• fixed: wrong influences on state support from overcrowded prison camps
• goods flow lines (if active) stay on screen if scrolling out to paper map
• changed: pre-war and organization reform unit sizes not applied to European forces
• companies that produce multiple goods gain better production efficiency
• AI now combines weak brigades
• now using average readiness to evaluate if siege combat assaults are possible (before: readiness of first unit)
• fixed: construction button needs to be pressed twice before being able to place first building
• fixed: stuck fleet stance and fleet order buttons
• size of AI weapon orders increased to allow faster upgrades
• added info about accomplishment of weapon orders and ship construction
• fixed: exception if units with enough perk experience but no chosen perk enter a siege
• fixed: wrong info about prisoners in dispatch after battles
• fixed: fort sieges may end with withdrawals
• fixed: one-time project effects are not applied and checked for requirements at start of latter scenarios
• fixed: autoresolve battles sometimes take into account all subordinate troops of army HQs, no matter if directly attached or not
Battles:
• AI groups that were stopped by advance guards now do not chase and run into player’s lines anymore but wait and reform
• AI: artillery stops farther behind the line when touching enemy
• measures against stuck mounting cavalry
• artillery units moved to center of single line formations, cavalry to flanks
• added: AI assault move on isolated groups
• AI uses doublequick order to deploy faster when establishing contact to enemy
• fixed: invisible objective in Manassas map leads to stuck AI movements
• rebalancing of melee
• rebalanced: units don’t suffer severe fatigue when moving along fences
• AI macro strategy now better takes into account arrival times of reinforcements
• fixed: whole groups sometimes shift to a slightly shifted position if the group commander moves along rivers
• cavalry and artillery may cross fences in or close before combat situations
• units that have left the field don’t influence the casualty ratio anymore, preventing sudden jumps in victory bar
• measures to keep AI groups better together while moving long distances
• AI constructs pontoons during deployment phases to better able to cross rivers
• AI tries to place defensive lines in front of objectives, if possible
• fixed: units behind cover do not increase fire range if under fire from front
• added workaround to prevent stuck melees when engaging routed units
• if AI is not strong enough to capture (player taken) objectives it withdraws
• added tooltip info about the reason why detachments are not possible
• increased visibility of cavalry scouts, not dismounting possible if scouts detached
• fixed: if one side has surpassed the loss ratio trigger for major victories/defeats the victory bar needle is shown in center
• triggering the maximum loss ratio may not result in immediate loss of the battle which caused sudden jumps in victory conditions if both loss ratios were high and equal
• fixed: HQs in brigade, regimental and battalion battles use wrong nato hierarchy symbol
• victory point images on map are now increased in size if zoomed out
• assigning targets (RMB) now also possible while unit is moving
• fixed: units that stop in march columns and have no waypoint assign may not reform to line if enemy close
• increased AI aggressiveness to carry out “march to the sound of the guns” order if friendly groups are engaged
Other:
• adding info while autosaving
• added Excel modding tool in game subfolder “ModdingTool” to create/modify unit, buildings, resource, commander, weapon setups etc.
• increased resolution of (+added 2 new) loading screen images
Cheers,
The Grand Tactician Team
Asid:
Patch 1.08 - Commander Avatar & Co.
Mon, August 15, 2022
New commanders with custom portraits can be added, further bug fixing & AI enhancements & rebalancing.
Gen'l,
Patch 1.08 is out! The main new feature is the ability to add new commanders, along with custom portraits, to the campaign game. When starting a new campaign, you may choose which of the custom commanders will be activated, and they will appear in the pool of available commanders. After that you can manage them like any of the game's historical commanders. Add a historical commander who is missing from the game, or maybe even the greatest general the Civil War saw - Yourself?
In addition to the usual bug fixing, AI improvements and further balancing, the patch also allows further modding possibilities, like creating your own custom battle flags for your elite units.
Latest Patch 1.0812
Latest patch 1.0811, uploaded August 15, 2022
Hotfix 1.0812, uploaded August 15, 2022
The 1.08 patch adds the last remaining implementation of our post-release roadmap, the avatar system. In main menu you are now able to create your own commanders and even add your own portraits. For more info about this, see below!
Furthermore the weapon system was adjusted, for more information see this link:
Blog: A Short Weapon Procurement Study[www.grandtactician.com]
From now on we will continue with bug fixings and AI improvements, as well as working on a DLC.
Detailed Patch Notes:
Campaigns:
improved AI ability to move around enemy troops if outnumbered
outnumbered AI attacks enemy supply lines only if out of combat range of enemy unit
added avatar management system
refixed: immediate jumping of group units where attached units have not arrived yet
added 32 further colored commander images
if game is reloaded and all ships of a faction in a naval engagement have left the battle, the battle now ends (before: empty ship list was shown)
changed commander attribute filters: now commanders are shown if ANY attribute is applicable, not all
measures to reduce AI movement by sea (except naval invasions)
fixed: pre-organization units (arty, cav) can be combined to full strength units & combine symbols are now only shown if OOB if conditions to combine are met
added a fix for ship names that contain certain invisible characters while renaming leading to broken saves
rebalanced: autoresolved battles & siege combat now take morale more into account, should stop the veeeery long siege battles
reworked ship imports: now showing country, number of available ships, immediate availability
fixed: ship construction costs not affecting treasury balance completely
added weapon filter: “orders available” and “orders placed”
prison camp capacity increased
fixed: prisoners are taken to pow camps still under construction
fixed: weapon standardization of all available weapons starts at zero at scenario start
weapon complexity now influences import delivery duration
auto scroll to location disabled when battle results pop up, instead an arrow was added to move to this location
AI CSA probability for offensive operations lowered, can now be adjusted in prefs
rebalanced weapon delivery times & standardization
added tooltip info for standardization in weapon orders panel
AI waits for higher morale before executing defensive movements
fixed: effective weapon upgrade costs higher than shown
fixed: auto weapon upgrades not influencing weapon standardization correctly (hotfix)
Battles:
fixed: deployment zones are recalculated from repositioned troops when reloading saves from deployment phase
AI better waits for reinforcements (if arriving in appropriate time) before attacking defensive positions
separated AI groups now advance better coordinated towards objectives
fixed: skirmishers cannot fallback or advance while being engaged
Other:
added modding support for main menu scenario images (folder Modding)
added modding support for (elite-) battle flags
Avatar system:
To make your own commander photos available for custom commanders:
The picture file(s) need to be added to the game's install folder, in the sub-folder called "Avatar".
The images need to be in .PNG -format. Use size 200x240 pixels for best looks.
In the said folder is a Photoshop template to help you create the commander images.
The game contains a number of nation specific default portraits, that you may also use.
You will find your own non-nation specific commander pictures by scrolling the available images in the Avatar creation panel.
Patch 1.08 is the last patch to add completely new features to the game. We will of course continue improving the game with further bug fixing, AI & other improvements. But alongside that we have already started developing a DLC to the game - further information & details regarding this will be announced once we are ready to do so.
Cheers,
The Grand Tactician Team
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