With a Rebel Yell, Forge of Freedom Gets an Update!

May 30, 2007

With a Rebel Yell, Forge of
Freedom Gets an Update!

A Major Update Released for
American Civil War Grand Strategy Game

Matrix Games and Western
Civilization Software are pleased to announce that the long-awaited new update
for Forge of Freedom, The American Civil War 1861-1865, is now available for
download. This major upgrade includes improvements to the game normally reserved
for an expansion pack, free to all owners of Forge of Freedom.

Since the original release, the
development team has been listening carefully to customer feedback and improving
all areas of the game to improve historicity and gameplay and the result is a
change list of over 300 items that mostly consists of gameplay tweaks and
improvements. Two new scenarios are included, with more historical orders of
battle and historical economic and population levels. A vastly improved AI
opponent that is better able to think outside the box now makes both strategic
and tactical play much more challenging.

David Heath, Director of Operations
at Matrix Games, said “Forge of Freedom is an outstanding game and simulation of
the American Civil War. Wargamers will be delighted with this remarkably
comprehensive upgrade, which elevates the gameplay and historical accuracy to a
whole new level.”

All known issues have been fixed,
including a retreat bug and a few interface bugs. Seven new game options have
been added and a unit history, battle history and animated battle overview are
now available, along with a new Replay function for PBEM games. Sieges,
Diplomacy and Combat have all been improved with more options and richer
gameplay and better reporting. Disease and attrition rules have been improved to
scale more realistically. The handling of Generals has been overhauled and the
generals database has been reviewed for accuracy and 175 new historical
biographies have been added for generals on both sides.

Eric Babe, Lead Developer at Western
Civilization Software, stated, “We’ve put roughly five months of development
time into the upgrades included in this new version. Virtually every aspect of
the game has been improved in response to player feedback and the new scenarios
add to the experience. We hope everyone enjoys the new upgraded Forge of Freedom
as much as we enjoyed working on it.”

More than seven-score years have
passed since the start of this conflict that pitted state against state, brother
against brother and broke the chains of slavery. Forge of Freedom gives you a
chance to relive history from either side in a work of grand strategy.

As the leader of the Union or the
Confederacy, you will be faced with historical decisions on the military,
economic and diplomatic strategies to pursue. The diplomatic and economic
systems have been streamlined and improved since Crown of Glory to be more
user-friendly and also suited to the period. Rather than multiple minor nations,
each state has its own Governor and they will make demands on you and shift
their attitudes according to events. In addition, you will have to manage
diplomacy with the European powers to try to sway them towards or against
intervention. Over 1,000 historical generals are included along with an option
to know their abilities ahead of time or have to find out the hard way, as
happened historically. Railroads, rivers and cities all play important roles, as
do elections which occur at both state and national levels. Every effort has
been made to bring you as thorough a simulation of the American Civil War as is
possible, from 1860 to 1865, from the skirmishes and raids in the West to the
pitched in the East and the Naval blockade.

Game Features:

  • Grand Strategy combined with
    Detailed Tactical Battles

  • Highly customizable gameplay via
    dozens of in-game options

  • Military, Diplomatic and Economic
    Decisions

  •  Research Logistics, Tactics,
    Weaponry and other areas

  • Quick, Instant or Detailed
    Resolution of Battles

  • Detailed Combat supports
    Historical Leaders, Unit Morale, Diverse Unit Types, Command and Control,
    Weather, Smoke, Reinforcements, and more!

  • Streamlined Economics include
    Money, Labor, Horses, Iron, Guns and Railroads

  •  Naval and Land Combat,
    including Sieges, Raiders, Partisans, Plundering, Interceptions, Fleet Combat,
    Port Attacks and Blockades

  • National Will and a historical
    Victory Point system

  • Computer Opponent plays either
    side

  • Diplomacy with Britain, France and
    Europe for trade and possible military intervention

  • Weather, Logistics, Fog of War

  • Play against the AI, via PBEM, LAN
    or hotseat

Standard Campaign from 1861-1865 as
well three other historical scenarios with starting dates from July, 1861 to
November, 1861, each balanced for a different playstyle.

Click here to download the

Forge
of Freedom: The American Civil War
1861-1865 Patch v1.9.23

For more information, check the main
Matrix Games page at www.matrixgames.com 
and the Western Civilization Software website at
www.west-civ.com