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Cossacks2-net.de - GSC-Gameworld
Features
Title: Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars
Genre: Historical 3D-Realtimestrategy
Releasedate: Germany, Austria, Switzerland: 4. April 2005
UK, France, USA, others: 15. April 2005
Developer: GSC Game World (Kiew, Ukraine)
Publisher: CDV (Karlsruhe; Germany)
System requirements (min.): 1,5 GHz, 512 MB RAM and graphic card mit 64 MB or higher
to play smoothly online min. CPU 2,4 GHz and 768 MB RAM
In general:
Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars is the successor to the multiple awarded RTS games Cossacks: European Wars and American Conquest.
The game will focus on the Napoleonic Wars and allows you to lead your generals and take control of one of six available nations (Austria, Egypt, France, Prussia, Russia and Great Britain) featured in Cossacks II. In total there will be 80 upgrades (not for military units), 150 distinct units (which include 89 unique military units) and 180 different buildings. Every nation will have characteristic units.
Engine:
The sequel is being developed on GSC's new 3D engine which will ensure the optimum combination of 2D and 3D graphics in the game. The new engine provides the possibility to zoom in and out (three steps of zoom) to allow soaring high above the battlefield. It is able to show up to 64.000 units on the map at once. A 3D physics engine guaranties realistic ballistics for all kinds of projectiles. Also, effects like realistic smoke and shell holes created by artillery ammunition and a possible weather effects system will bring the battlefield to life!
Gameplay:
For the first time Cossacks II will allow you to build and control a whole empire with provinces, cities and villages. The cities and villages are connected by roads, which have a big strategic relevance as transport routes for units and resources. The roads will help your troops march from one point to another in marchingcolumns. This works by selecting a destination for the selected units. These troops will then follow the shortest possible path to the nearest road, march down it until they reach the closest spot to their end point, at which they leave the road to march to their final destination.
The World & The Global Strategymap
The whole world will seem full of life, with beautifully animated male and female citizens going about their daily chores and merchants doing their jobs. The life in the cities and villages of your provinces will follow an automated economy system. Each villages will produce one out of four recources (food, gold, cole, iron) so that the player will only have to produce wood and stone by his own. This will bring a whole new aspect to the game, never seen before in the RTS genre. Diplomacy, which played only a small role in Cossacks and American Conquest, will become more important in the free campain and will mostly be controlled with a completely new feature: the global strategymap, which is only available in the free campain. This map will present an overview of your empire and will show your provinces and cities. It will be possible to initiate upgrades from here as well and use your generals (which represent your armies) to attack enemy provinces, agree on treaties etc. Also, the AI should be able to attack, retreat, manoeuvre and upgrade at the global level.
Formations & Military Units
Without proper combat formations it will be impossible to win a battle in Cossacks II. The number of formations possible will be enlarged correspondingly, among other things with a marching formation (column), in which troops are able to walk faster on the roads. This brings the list of possible formations to column, line/firing line, square and hollow square, with 120 being the maximum number of troops in one formation. When in hollow square formation a unit will not be able to move but only to defend itself on the spot. This formation is especially suited to defense against cavalry attacks. When placed in firing line, the troops will assume a three rank formation. It will be possible to choose whether all three ranks should fire a volley at once, or that only one rank fires in turn, giving the other two time to reload.
Terrain will influence your soldier's effectiveness and fatigue. When a unit gets too tired it must get a chance to rest before moving on. Fatigue, moral and experience of the troops will play a big roll in combat, with ordinary units turning into guard units when they have acquired enough experience. In historical battles guard units will be present on the map from the start. Finally, it is also possible to control the famous generals and emperors of the Napoleonic period on the battlefields of Europe.
The Battle Interface
As in its predecessors, many of the combat options will be found in a unit's menu. When a unit is selected the following interface appears:
1. A large picture of the unit (about 200 - 300 pixels) which shows its medals, unit cohesion, health, fatigue and level of moral.
2. A large picture of the unit's weapon(s) with corresponding information. This is also where the options for the usage of the weapon(s) can be selected.
3. Buttons for troop control:
- Formations: Column, line/firing line, hollow square, square.
- Recover (heal, rest, bring up moral).
- Only melée attack (saber, bayonet).
- Distant attack (musket, pistol)/Melée attack.
In general the options for troop control will probably be very similar to those in Cossacks I and American Conquest (so including options like "hold ground", etc.).
Singleplayer:
The free campain can be imagined for example like in Rise of Nations. You choose one out of the six nations and try to conquer all provinces. Single player missions and historical battles, like Waterloo and Leipzig, are included as well. The historical battles will be playable in single player as well as multiplayer mode and will be refought using accurate numbers of units, thanks to the new engine. Of course the game also features a skirmishmode, which offers well-known Cossacks-gameplay.
Multiplayer:
There will be the very popular Deathmatch Mode, in which several players can match over a LAN or the Internet. The historical battles are also included in multiplayer mode. The European Conquest mode, an advancement of the American Conquest mode known from the game American Conquest, gives you the possibility to become emperor of Europe.
Summary:
Engine:
New 3D grafics engine (with three steps of zoom) 3D physics engine guaranteeing realistic flight paths for all kinds of projectiles Up to 64000 units on one map
Gameplay:
Built and controll an empire with provinces, cities and villages Never before seen economy and leading system Extensive diplomacy system Huge possibilities for both tactical and strategic decisions, including many different unit formations 6 nations with 80 upgrades(not for military units) 150 unique units and 180 unique buildings
Singleplayer:
Multiplayer:
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