War and Peace: 1796–1815

Mission Terms

The player can act as the head of one of six major states: France (blue), England (red), Prussia (black), Austria (white), Russia (green) and the Ottoman Empire (yellow). There are also many small states (orange) in the world, but you cannot play for them. By default, all small states are hostile to six big powers. The ultimate goal of the game is to capture a number of cities. There are three types of games:

• Conquest of the world: capture a certain number of cities (the number is set by the player).
• Imperial war: to completely destroy any state without leaving a single city in its possession.
• Capture the capital: capture the enemy capital so that the state is immediately annexed.

Nominal possessions of states and the deployment of troops depend on the scenario. There are eight historical campaigns, in each of them you can play for one of six states: each of the historical campaigns is dedicated to the wars of the anti-French coalition. There are also two fictitious campaigns: “Empire or nothing” (each country has only one city in the form of a capital and a small army) and “Thunderstorm over the world” (an alternative story in which the French Revolution was destroyed in the bud; large troops started the game no powers). Before the start of each mission, a historical briefing is offered that describes the current political and military situation for the country chosen by the player.

Interface

The player controls his country in real time on a global map, which contains 183 cities. New cities cannot be built, but existing ones can be captured. In each city, you can build buildings that bring one or another benefit: from buildings that bring resources to buildings for the production of troops. Cities are divided into small (square, two buildings), medium (small octagon, three buildings) and large (large octagon, five buildings). A city can be transferred to another country through a diplomatic deal, armed seizure, or rebellion by a spy. When attacking, the city will shoot back from the fortress guns: if all its fortifications collapse, then it will go to the enemy.

Each country has a capital: if a player loses the capital, he will lose instantly. He will also be defeated if the number of its cities is reduced to a certain limit. In the event that a major power loses all its cities or in some conditions loses its capital, it will be excluded from the list of players.

Economics

The game has three resources: gold, people, and science points. Gold can be obtained by building manufactories in cities. Human resources are growing thanks to farms, and science scores are formed at universities. In each city for construction there is a choice of 10 buildings, in coastal cities - of 12 buildings:

• Barracks - to create ground forces.
• Training camp - to create military leaders who increase the parameters of soldiers.
• Farm - for the production of human resources.
• Arc de Triomphe - eliminates the possibility of capturing the city through rebellion.
• Shipyard - for the construction and repair of ships (available only in ports).
• Lighthouse - for the construction of privateer ships and their detection (only available in ports).
• Manufactory - brings gold.
• Trading house - brings gold if there is at least one ally.
• Sentry - to create partisan units and spies, as well as their detection.
• Hospital - for the treatment of ground forces.
• University - to develop science points and conduct research.
• Fort - to enhance the protection of the city. If the fort has already been built, then you can build a fortress . The firepower and fortitude of city walls will increase.

You can spend science points on scientific research at the university: you can conduct military or civilian research that will improve the performance of troops (for example, increase firepower or improve health) or the national economy (increase revenue from manufactories or speed up the production of troops).

Troops

The troops are divided into land and sea. Land forces include infantry, cavalry and artillery (hired at the barracks), as well as commanders (hired at training camps), partisans and spies (hired at the guard). The marine ships include flagships (hired at training camps in port cities), frigates, transport ships, battleships (built at shipyards), and privateer ships (built at lighthouses). Land ships can be delivered by sea to capture enemy cities and defeat enemy troops.

For the destruction of enemy troops or for the capture of cities, troops can be promoted, which, however, does not affect their combat capabilities. A country can have at the same time no more than 60 military units (land and sea).

Overland

Infantry can conduct both rifle fire and fight with a bayonet (this is her special attack). It can be built in four types of systems: a column (effective when moving), a line (for firing at ground units or on city walls), a square (for fighting against cavalry) or a dispersed system (for protection against artillery fire). It can also be put on a ship to be delivered by sea and dropped off.

• Light infantry is notable for low living standards, but great mobility and firing range. Each unit has 20 people. The light infantry of England - huntsmen - have a slightly higher firepower compared to others. The light infantry of Austria - landwehr - are the cheapest in price and are built the fastest.
• Fusiliers have a slightly higher standard of living and firepower. The most balanced type of infantry. Each squad has 14 people. The same in all countries.
• The guards have a low range, but are very tenacious and inflict great damage in long and close combat. Effective against cavalry. Each squad has 8 people. French guards - the old guard - have the highest bayonet attack compared to others. Ottoman guardsmen - Janissaries - are among the cheapest compared to other guardsmen.

Cavalry can only attack in close combat. Her special attack is an “avalanche attack”: soldiers are built with a wedge and then rush towards the enemy, sweeping away everything in its path. After such an avalanche, they will need to rest for a while to get a chance to attack again.

• Hussars have a high speed, but a low level of attack and life. Each unit has 6 people. Russian hussars are the fastest in the game.
• Dragoons have an average speed, level of attack and life. The most balanced form of cavalry. Each squad has 8 people. The same in all countries.
• Cuirassiers have a low speed, but a high level of attack and life. Each unit has 10 people. The cuirassiers of Prussia - the Lancers - have the most destructive melee attack and the most destructive avalanche attack.

Artillery can only move in a column, and shoot only in a line. It is mandatory for attacks on cities and the destruction of their fortifications, as well as for attacks on moving troops. A special attack is barrage: fire on a specific target. Artillery is the same for everyone

• Horse artillery has the highest rate of fire and speed of movement. Effective against infantry.
• Field artillery has the highest range. Universal artillery.
• Siege artillery has the highest firepower, but at the same time the minimum firing range and speed of movement. Effective in shelling ships and siege cities.

There are also special ground forces.

• Commanders have minimal survivability and firepower (they can only shoot with a pistol at a slow pace), but with a large radius of fire and visibility. All troops that fall into the commander’s area of ​​operation receive enhanced combat characteristics.
• The partisans have low firepower, but a very strong bayonet attack. They are invisible until they are discovered or until they attack the enemy. They can also cross the territory of any state: hostile, friendly and neutral.
• Spies cannot attack anyone, but they can keep track of allied, neutral, and enemy troops. They are invisible until they are discovered or until they attack the enemy. It is possible for them to raise a riot in the city for a certain amount of money and make it go under the control of the player.

Marine

Ships are built at shipyards and lighthouses, but are repaired only at shipyards. If the training camp is located in the city, then it can produce flagships.

• Frigates are the most mobile ships, but have low firepower and firing power. Carry up to 2 combat units.
• Transport ships are some of the most tenacious. Carry up to 10 combat units.
• Battleships have the greatest firepower, but move very slowly. Carry up to 2 combat units.
• The flagships bring the same benefits at sea as the commanders of the ground forces, but at the same time they have great survivability and firepower. Built in training camps. Carry up to 4 combat units.
• Privateers are invisible until they attack the enemy. They can detect enemy privateers and spy on foreign troops. Built on lighthouses. Do not transport combat units.

Diplomacy

Each of the great powers has the opportunity to conduct diplomatic negotiations with one of the five other major powers. In a special menu, a player can switch from a map of the game world to a political map to find out about the borders of other countries and their troops. The player can:

• declare war or conclude peace by proposing in the latter case some concessions to the enemy country,
• propose an alliance with the country in exchange for concessions,
• offer an exchange of resources (gold, people, science points, and even cities) or provide free of charge,
• demand something through blackmail (relations with the country will worsen).

The worse the relationship, the lower the chances of a successful transaction. For some time after the conclusion of an alliance or ceasefire, a player cannot declare war on a newly made ally or former enemy. Often the player also receives messages about offers and threats. During the game, threatening messages from other countries may appear that express their dissatisfaction with the player.

On the parties to the conflict

Each side has its pros and cons.

• France has a well-trained heavy infantry and a slight advantage in gold production.
• England has a great advantage in the production of gold, but a lack in the production of human resources. Its troops are slightly superior in firepower to all enemies, and the fleet has a serious advantage.
• Prussia has problems in construction, since the prices of each building are higher compared to other countries, but has a powerful advantage in the firepower of artillery and cavalry attack.
• Austria has a slight advantage in the production of light infantry and stamina.
• Russia has a huge advantage in the production of human resources, as well as increased resilience of soldiers and cities.
• The Ottoman Empire has a tremendous advantage in the cost of production of troops, but they are much weaker than analogues and are produced longer.

Neutral states have no advantages, but during the capture of some cities with the player random events occur, in which he receives additional resources or troops, and also increases his income. Also, in the case of the capture of the capital (or its liberation), there are reports of what happens to the country in this case (the consequences of the robbery or surrender of the city, as well as a decrease in income) are described.

• The names of the commanders correspond to the real names of the commanders of the Napoleonic Wars, however, the random process of the game leads to the fact that their names can be assigned to the flagships (for example, the first commander Kutuzov made in Russia may also be the flagship Kutuzov).
• The world map corresponds to geographical knowledge at that time: Australia has not yet been discovered. However, the boundaries are not shown exactly.
• Before the patch was released, the game crashed (especially when the camera hit the polar latitudes).
• When playing for each country, its own musical theme plays, which changes to a more aggressive one at the beginning of the battle. Also, every soldier in the country speaks his native language (Austrian troops speak German with a different accent, Ottoman - Turkish). In the Russian version, one of the voices of the voice was Vladimir Vikhrov .

• War and Peace: 1796–1815 on Absolute Games