Matrix Games Forums

I just purchased Forge of Freedom last night from Matrix Games. I must commend Matrix and Western Civilization Software for their design of Forge of Freedom. The title has surprised me in gameplay and effects. There is a great deal of options, orders, and configurations that you may choose, however this does not overburden the player with endless maintenance. The AI in the game is well setup. Ive noticied on many occassions the enemy forces trying to get around my flank, as well as launching a massive assault on all fronts. I can see that the AI ... actually pocesses intelligence. This is one game that definetely scores high... and is one of the best titles I have yet played. I can see endless hours and overtime lost due to Forge of Freedom. Congrats to both companies on a job well done.

What I would recommend to them is a possible second title using this engine for The American Revolution.

Although Creative Assembly, the makers behind the upcoming title Empire Total War will be focusing their title on The period of The American Revolution... I believe that they will sacrifice historical accuracy and design for a mainstream simplistic approach... for the casual gamer.

I havent found a game to rival The American Civil War game by S&T with the War in the Far West Expansion,its awesome,if there were to be one for the PC id get it right away.

The problem with The Blue and The Grey is that there is no Tactical component in the title. Without a tactical interface and playability... a great deal of the 'fun factor' of the title is lost.

ORIGINAL: JeanUSARMYGUARD

What I would recommend to them is a possible second title using this engine for The American Revolution.

FoF IS the second title. The first was Crown of Glory (Napoleon), also published by Matrix.

Although Creative Assembly, the makers behind the upcoming title Empire Total War will be focusing their title on The period of The American Revolution... I believe that they will sacrifice historical accuracy and design for a mainstream simplistic approach... for the casual gamer.

You might want to check out AGEOD's 'Wars in America', or it's predecessor Birth of America (of which Matrix was/is one publisher). Or indeed 'For Liberty', also available here.

Yeah...well, after my initial "not gonna buy it" grump, I think I'm going to take the plunge into Wars in America.
 
As for Forge of Freedom, it's a fantastic title...definitely one of the best from Matrix. I wasn't too keen on Crown of Glory, but FoF is magnificent.

If you are interested in WCS third title, then take a look at this.
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=1853198
 
It's a much improved version of CoG!

ORIGINAL: JeanUSARMYGUARD
I just purchased Forge of Freedom last night from Matrix Games. I must commend Matrix and Western Civilization Software for their design of Forge of Freedom. The title has surprised me in gameplay and effects. There is a great deal of options, orders, and configurations that you may choose, however this does not overburden the player with endless maintenance. The AI in the game is well setup. Ive noticied on many occassions the enemy forces trying to get around my flank, as well as launching a massive assault on all fronts. I can see that the AI ... actually pocesses intelligence. This is one game that definetely scores high... and is one of the best titles I have yet played. I can see endless hours and overtime lost due to Forge of Freedom. Congrats to both companies on a job well done.

Jean,

Thank you, we appreciate the generous comments.

The game that you're working on sounds quite impressive in its own right, and I look forward to seeing it when the time comes. It's become clear to me from observing the WCS team from within and the AGEOD and 2x3 teams from a distance that having competing products out there leads everyone to make superior products, which is to the great benefit of those who buy and play one or more of the games, and it also leads to greater interest in Civil War gaming, which is again a good thing. So, it will no doubt benefit this niche market within a niche market to have a new kid on the block.

Regarding your other thread, with questions about playing FOF, it really would be best to ask such questions in the FOF forum, which does get steady traffic throughout the day. I'm assuming that by now, since it's been quite a while since you posted that thread, you've found answers to those questions. If not, you'll find the answers to two of the questions (about out-of-command units and producing new units) in the manual and the other two by poking around the FOF forum, especially in the "War Room" sub-forum. And if you still have questions after looking in those places, by all means, fire away.

- Gil