I opened up Wikipedia and did almost exactly as what Union did in real life history. And I got almost the exact same outcome. Even the casualty numbers.
Just in case if there was any doubt to how authentic this game is.
Ultimate General: Gettysburg is a Total War-esque wargame that focuses on the single most famous battle in American history, divided into several stages. These stages are dynamic, in that how you did in the previous stage directly affects your tactical options in the next (do you want to keep on holding this ridge or retreat further back?), and the strength of your man at disposal (if Doubleday's division suffered heavy casualties, don't expect them to fight well in the next engagement). The game also features a more dynamic and realistic AI than what Creative Assembly offers, which is not surprising since this game is made by the creator of DarthMod, a series of Total War mods known for their AI overhauls.
You can tell the theme of the game is authenticity here. Each division/brigade is named after their real life commanders or their unit name, and the map is a beautifully hand-painted version of the real life location, with details from well-known battlefield like Little Round Top to random farmhouses all named after their real life owner. Morale and conditions of your troops play a huge role here, and understanding how fatigue affects your soldiers in engagement is the most important way to have your men fight at full efficiency.
This also comes as a double-edge sword due to several factors. Even though the tutorial seems easy enough, seeing how the game's mechanics seem deceptively simple at first, but it's not too long until you realize just how important the stats on the top left corner are (Morale, condition, cover and reload). The problem is, even after you realize this, it's very difficult to understand why some of your men are not fighting at full efficiency because the game's UI does not make it clear enough. Maybe your men is in an unfavourable position or has geographical obstacle in the way to fully engage the enemy--but the vision indicator is just not clear enough for it to be really helpful (the map being flat and the topographic map being barely helpful also adds to this problem). Sometimes you don't understand why some units have higher morale than others despite fighting for a prolonged time while another unit you put in as reserve to relieve them lose their morale and condition almost right away. Lastly, the amount of things you have to keep track of mean the game is heavy on the micro-control, constantly pulling back and putting in divisions to make sure they don't break.
As a game, these do make the game less accessible to play. But as an interactive experience, this also means that its focus on authenticity can win over hearts of many even though it may not offer the immediate tactical satisfaction that's often at the heart of many RTS games. Considering that it's a cheap and short game, it is an experience certainly recommendable to any Civil War afficionados looking for some authentic tactical wargaming experience.
Just in case if there was any doubt to how authentic this game is.
Ultimate General: Gettysburg is a Total War-esque wargame that focuses on the single most famous battle in American history, divided into several stages. These stages are dynamic, in that how you did in the previous stage directly affects your tactical options in the next (do you want to keep on holding this ridge or retreat further back?), and the strength of your man at disposal (if Doubleday's division suffered heavy casualties, don't expect them to fight well in the next engagement). The game also features a more dynamic and realistic AI than what Creative Assembly offers, which is not surprising since this game is made by the creator of DarthMod, a series of Total War mods known for their AI overhauls.
You can tell the theme of the game is authenticity here. Each division/brigade is named after their real life commanders or their unit name, and the map is a beautifully hand-painted version of the real life location, with details from well-known battlefield like Little Round Top to random farmhouses all named after their real life owner. Morale and conditions of your troops play a huge role here, and understanding how fatigue affects your soldiers in engagement is the most important way to have your men fight at full efficiency.
This also comes as a double-edge sword due to several factors. Even though the tutorial seems easy enough, seeing how the game's mechanics seem deceptively simple at first, but it's not too long until you realize just how important the stats on the top left corner are (Morale, condition, cover and reload). The problem is, even after you realize this, it's very difficult to understand why some of your men are not fighting at full efficiency because the game's UI does not make it clear enough. Maybe your men is in an unfavourable position or has geographical obstacle in the way to fully engage the enemy--but the vision indicator is just not clear enough for it to be really helpful (the map being flat and the topographic map being barely helpful also adds to this problem). Sometimes you don't understand why some units have higher morale than others despite fighting for a prolonged time while another unit you put in as reserve to relieve them lose their morale and condition almost right away. Lastly, the amount of things you have to keep track of mean the game is heavy on the micro-control, constantly pulling back and putting in divisions to make sure they don't break.
As a game, these do make the game less accessible to play. But as an interactive experience, this also means that its focus on authenticity can win over hearts of many even though it may not offer the immediate tactical satisfaction that's often at the heart of many RTS games. Considering that it's a cheap and short game, it is an experience certainly recommendable to any Civil War afficionados looking for some authentic tactical wargaming experience.