Western Civilization Software

Western Civilization Software are the designers of the Civil War computer game Forge of Freedom, as seen below. The game was published by Matrix Games. Go check out the game’s forum!

The following information was taken from the Forge of Freedom web page:

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 strong>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 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.