Fire & Maneuver 1.0 Launch Day
Hey everyone, I'm very excited to announce that Fire & Maneuver version 1.0 is finally released. It includes new artillery formations, 50+ new maps, 3 new free campaigns, and 3 new paid campaigns as well as a campaign mode overhaul. Scenario battles have also been overhauled, sound design has been updated, and lots of bugs fixes!
We have made a TON of changes in the last 4 months of development, and we're so happy to finally make this update live for you to enjoy. For a FULL list of patch notes you can read our changelog here:
Major features and content of Fire & Maneuver 1.0
- Overhauled Campaign Mode: Fire & Maneuver's campaign mode has been completely overhauled. In addition to us adding the Caucasus Campaign (free), Franco-Prussian Campaign (free), Austro-Prussian Campaign (free), Western Theater Campaign (Civil War DLC), we have reworked a lot of the mechanics of campaign mode. For one, supply is no longer messy and confusing and works on a simple system of "in supply" and "out of supply" depending on how far you are from the nearest cache or HQ. Secondly, a unit experience system has been added which allows you to level up your troops and customize them with new perks and abilities. Third, an event system has been created which can be positive or negative and are tied not only to the campaign being played, but the specific side you are playing as. For example, as Britain, you may get an event in the Crimean War about Florence Nightingale! Lastly, we've added a military doctrine system, which offers replayability into your campaigns, by allowing you to focus on either a defensive, offensive, or balanced doctrine. All of these things and more are also available on multiplayer! UI has also been redone entirely from scratch.
- Artillery Rework: Artillery has always meant to be one of the most important tools on the battlefield, but we noticed many players did not find it to be too useful. Therefore, we have added a new suppression mechanic which allows artillery to pin down enemy cohesion each time that unit is hit by a barrage. Furthermore, we've added new formations, including a "limber" formation which allows you to move your artillery, a "concentrated battery" formation which allows you to receive +1 range to your artillery, and an "open battery" formation which allows you to receive peripheral coverage (with less damage output) like infantry in open order.
- Graphical Improvements: Fire & Maneuver has never had a focus on its graphics, so we took our time the last few months in order to improve the look over the game and improve some of the animations of units. We also added a fast-forward button which will allow you to skip straight to the action, this is especially useful for any players who wanted to use the "slow" animation speed but couldn't because of how long it took for troops just to get into combat. Now you can fully admire your troops on the march!
- Expert AI: We still have plans to continue improving our AI, but we're happy to announce that a new "expert" AI has been added which is used when the player maxes out the difficulty in a scenario, campaign, or custom battle. The expert AI has much better prediction capabilities, as they can now peak at some of your orders, BUT the ai does not cheat in the form of receiving buffs to their damage/health. This mode is recommended for those who have a firm grasp on the game and are looking for an added challenge.
- Over 100 Maps: When we first launched into Early Access, we had around 10 maps in the game. Now there are over 100 hand-crafted maps, made all by The Armchair Historian himself - created with historical accuracy in mind! The full list of new maps will be listed on our full changelog which you can find linked at the top of this page.
- New Scenario System: The scenario system has always felt limited and overlooked. We decided to rebuild the entire scenario system from scratch by including new "linear scenarios" which allow you to fight across multiple battles as part of a larger military operation. For example, there are now three battles as part of the "Expedition of the Thousand" led by Garribaldi. You can start in Calatafimi, but must complete that mission before proceeding to Milazzo followed by The Volturno. There are a total of 27 of these scenario battles.
Those are the major points of this update, but there is a LOT more that I haven't discussed, which you can find on our full change log.
The team has worked incredibly hard these last few months, and we're so proud of the community that we've built. Expect some hotfixes and patches over the next few days and weeks as we address your reports in our Discord server. We've done extensive testing, but with an update of this size (our largest yet), there are always going to be bugs that we couldn't catch. Our team will be on standby all throughout April to knock out the bugs are quickly and efficiently as possible!
Lastly, our new Boshin War expansion, which adds Imperial Japan and the Tokugawa Shogunate, are going to be released tomorrow! Our DLC will no longer be priced at $15, but now at $10 from this point on, making them much more affordable. We've also taken down our Wars of Unification DLC and included it as part of the base game, but for those who purchased that DLC, they will receive every single Prussian and French cosmetic for supporting us by picking that DLC up during Early Access.
Thank you again, we're so happy to finally be at the finish line!
Griffin Johnsen, Aaron Legault, Sebastian Alvarez, Geo Gianni, Thomas McLaughlin, Boris Ujević