August 15th 2009 : Grand Army bulletin

The Grognards of Napoleon march to the sound of the canon. After years of marching in extreme conditions, they are almost on the field of battle. It is up to you to maneuver them in battle and lead them to victory.

The anniversary of the birth date of Napoleon Bonaparte, 15th of August, was chosen as the announcement date of the release of HistWar as Les Grognards aims at putting the player in the major role of an army chief.

The game will be available for download at the end of September 2009 through the website of the exclusive publisher Battlefront (www.Battlefront.com).

HistWar : Les Grognards, one of the first if not the first FPC (First Person commander), gathers a set of tools allowing you to simulate almost all the battles of the Empire between 1805-1814.

In addition to the ten of the most prestigious battles that will ship with the game, the player can recreate battles of his choosing with the army and map editors. Also these two editors have random generators to create without delay a scenario where two equilibrated and historical armies engage each other.

The army editor (order of battle) uses multiple historical databases (uniforms, commanders, regiments, organizations). A method of quotas, based on historical data, puts some restrictions on the percentages of different types of units. Thus, the distribution of the three branches remains within historical limits.

A scenario and doctrine editors are also available. The latter is a true commanding tool, allowing you to determine the reactions of your units under different circumstances. An army commander takes care of the overall tactical plan and does not micromanage his units!

HistWar : Les Grognards has three game modes: single player, by email, and multiplayer (up to 8 players). In single player, a player can chose one of the two camps, both camps (for example for training), and a mode where both camps are under AI control fighting each other. In this last mode the player can command units as a colonel. He is then in the middle of the conflict without knowing all the parameters.

HistWar : Les Grognards offers different difficulty levels. For example, battle conditions vary greatly with the level of fog of war chosen (none, partial, or total). The choice of seasons and weather conditions alters the behaviors of units, movement speed, and fatigue accumulation. Visibility takes into account the clouds of smoke released in combat, and so the artillery might have to interrupt its bombardment. These few examples illustrate the level of realism found in HistWar. Finally the game play has not been neglected. An option allows you to adjust the reaction time of corps commanders. The new conscript can start with immediate order transmission whereas the Grognards can play with historical transmission times that can take up to two hours; organizing an army corps of 40000 men necessitates a little bit of time.

A complete tutorial is available to introduce you to HistWar : Les Grognards.

A demonstration software is being developed...

The sound of the canon, before the end of summer, for the anniversary of the battle of Borodino : the Moscova !