Campaign 1776 CAMPAIGN GAME???

[gregb7]

Did I install this wrong, or is the "campaign" game completely lame?

I thought it would let me fight a series of battles but it seems it
just takes you through 3 hypothetical situations in the north,
center and south, gives you a message as to the battle results
and then just ends????? am i missing something here??
can this be the way it's supposed to work?

[rahamy]

That particular campaign just fights out 3 Historical battles that occured durning the war. It is really just linked battles and not really a campaign. The other campaigns are a bit better, but not really greate. This was the first "campaign game" that came out back in 2000 - things have come a long way since then.

There is an expansion package for 1776 on the HPS site that adds in a more robust campaign, but can't give you the link at the moment as the site is down. Should be back up soon though.

[Lord_Valentai]

Also, because of the vast difference in forces, it's hard to do any sort of campaign where losses carry over except for select actions.

[rahamy]

Here's the link to the expansion package:

http://www.hpssims.com/Pages/FreeFiles/list_of_all_download_files.htm#Free%20Files%201776

[Gary McClellan]

It also sounds like you're using "Use Expected Values"... which doesn't let you fight the battles out, but just estimates who would win.

[gregb7]

Thanks Gary, that was the problem. I just wish they could have done a little better with the campaign aspect. Otherwise I like this series alot.

[Gary McClellan]

The Campaign engine is better than you think. Honestly, the value of any given campaign is directly dependent on the forethought and level of work that goes into it. The main 1776 campaign is limited by showing "highlights" of the war from different theaters. Where the engine is at its best is when it's simulating a set campaign, and where the designer has worked a logical branching structure in. As designers have gone on getting experience with it, the results have tended to improve.

Sadly, 1776 is the earliest game to use the engine, and the lack of that experience shows. That said, download the Saratoga Campaign from the Expansion set that Rich mentions, it's far, far better.