General Questions | Gameplay Questions | Technical Questions
Great, another real time strategy game! What’s so special about American Conquest?
Did you ever fight a battle with 16,000 infantry, cavalry, and artillery units, all supported by warship fire – at once? Imagine dozens of these conflicts, fought in thrilling campaigns spanning America’s fascinating history – and you’ve got American Conquest. The game spans the period from 1492 (Columbus’s discovery of America) up to 1813 (development of the United States and their struggles against British hegemony).
16,000 units at once? Sounds impressive – but how do I control that many soldiers?
Don’t panic! You can (but don’t have to!) assign military groups which fight in certain formations. And the map scaling technology allows you to zoom in and out of the raging battle, so you won’t lose control.
With so many units, I bet they all look alike …
American Conquest has 12 nations fighting for the American Dream with access to 100 different unit types such as Spanish dragoons, English musketeers, Mayan priests, and French drummers. Soldiers learn by experience. Units gain experience and morale in battles. Morale is influenced by victory, defeat, and attacks from the rear and flank.
Compared to the huge armies, how large are the maps?
The maps extend to 30×20 screens (resolution of 1024×768). And they’re real eye candy: We’ve got 3D terrain and 2D graphics with detailed buildings which you can conquer or defend, animated water, and more than 200 types of fauna & flora. Clever strategists can use the 3D terrain tactically and position their artillery and marksmen on hills so they can see and shoot further than the enemy below.
Who developed American Conquest?
The guys from GSC GAME WORLD! They are well known because of the bestselling game Cossacks. Besides Cossacks – European Wars, and Cossacks – The Art of War, the Ukranians developed Cossacks – Back To War.
Tell me more about the campaigns – or do I just play cowboys vs. Natives?
No – we’ve got 8 campaigns which include over 40 missions, dealing with the most exciting episodes of American history: Columbus’ discovery, Pizarro’s cruel raid through the Inca state, Tecumseh’s battles against the European invaders, the Seven Years’ War between England and France, and, finally, the crucial War of Independence between American colonists and the English mother country. So we’ve got a story spanning more than three centuries, each with its characteristic units, buildings, and tactics. Furthermore, there are nine single missions and six historical battles (e.g. Lexington, Saratoga, and Concord).
You mentioned 12 nations struggling in American Conquest – I want to know all of them!
In general, we have two groups of nations. First, the European powers: England, Spain, France, and USA (founded by European colonists). Second, there are the Natives: Incas, Maya, Aztecs, Sioux, Hurons, Delawares, Pueblos, and the Iroquoian League.
History lessons in school are sooo boring. And now you’re designing a game about history …
[If you’re a teacher, please skip this answer!]
You’re absolutely right – GSC GAME WORLD are game designers, not dried-up teachers! For American Conquest, we have all the historic jam: You don’t have to know any birthdates of very unimportant people or the entire Declaration of Independence – the game is like a movie, and you’re the star.
You told me that troops can attack with different weapons. Please be more specific.
Well, nearly every combatant can wield two weapons. Riders, for example, use pistols for ranged attacks and sabers for close combat. The primary weapon is more effective than the secondary: Marksmen handle their rifles better than their blades. Depending on the distance to the target, the units can change the weapon.
All I hear is fight, fight, fight. Is there anything else I can do?
You gather resources, which are different for each nation. Besides production buildings and huge forts, you develop scientific premises to research better weapons and units. Your diplomatic skills are needed, too, as you form alliances or even post a reward on a certain enemy squad.
American Conquest is the add-on to Cossacks, am I right?
No, you are wrong! American Conquest is a unique game. It’s based on the already renowned Cossacks RTS engine. If it is to be compared to Cossacks, it has gained a considerable number of innovations that greatly change gameplay and make it more realistic and engrossing. The game is a blend of 50% Cossacks-style gameplay and 50% new gaming innovations. Innovations include map-scaling and a realistic and diversified human resource control system. Peasants are created in dwellings. To create troops you will need to take them into barracks and train them for some time. Also new: morale, realistic artillery gun loading and transporting, improved AI, and new mini-AI for special units. Apart from several possible kinds of distant attacks, all shooting units are able to perform cold steel attacks. And units charge their rifles while staying in the same position, a detailed animation of realistic weapon loading is given, and much more …
What about morale?
Factors that impact the morale of soldiers are taken into account. For example loss of over 30% of subdivision soldiers, loss of officers, being surrounded, rear maneuvers, and flank attacks will decrease morale. A squad that attacks an enemy without being fired upon has higher morale and combat characteristics than a squad being fired at in response. Soldiers depend on the commander of their squad; if he has won numerous battles then they have higher morale, attack, and defense values than soldiers following a less successful commander.
What do you mean by “realistic artillery gun loading and shooting”?
Guns have crews to load and fire them. When loading a gun, a realistic and highly-animated loading sequence is played back. Apart from grapeshots, the artillery is able to fire cannonballs, the most widespread projectile of the time. Cannonballs don’t explode but fly a long distance and ricochet off the ground to wipe out everything in their way.
I live for beatin’ my friends! Does American Conquest’s multiplayer support my obsession?
Up to 6 of your poor friends have the questionable honor of playing with you: American Conquest lets up to 7 players fight via LAN and the Internet, on designed and random maps. A global in-game rating system lists your battles, wins, and defeats. In addition to Death Match and historical Battle modes, a new mode is included: War for America. And a chat & lobby system helps you to find new friends, in case your old ones pass away …
Are there any cheats for American Conquest?
Yes. While playing, please push the [Enter] button and type in
Babki = increases/gives each resource
Qwe = enables the editor (can be opened with the “P” button) to select units; press “F9”
Viewall = fog of war on/off
VICTORY = mission cheat
Why can’t I build a trading post with every nation?
Although the Sioux, Delaware, Huron, and Iroquois nations cannot build mines, they are able to build trading posts. Other groups, such as the Spaniards, can build mines but not trading posts. Such are the rules of the game. The only exception to this rule is the Pueblo nation; this nation can build both mines and trading posts.
What hardware do I need for playing American Conquest?
Minimum: Intel PII 450 MHz, 64 MB RAM
Recommended: Intel PIII 1 GHz, 256 MB RAM
And which operating system does American Conquest need?
The units fight with (not against …) MS Windows 98, 2000, ME, or XP.
What can I do if my game runs in a “jerky” manner?
You can try to improve performance by disabling/turning off the background music and autosave features of American Conquest.
What can I do if my game crashes back to Windows while playing?
Please close all unnecessary running applications in the background of your system
(e.g. Firewall, Antivirus, System control tools, chat clients).
To find out what programs are running in the background of your system, please follow these instructions:
Win98/ME:
Please press the shortcut key [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del] and close all applications except “Systray” and “Explorer”.
Win2000/XP:
Please press the shortcut key [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Del], select “Task Manager” -> “Processes”, and close all unnecessary applications.
Which ports do I have to enable/unlock to play American Conquest online?
In reference to the router, firewall, or network: please enable/unlock the following ports.
Ports for GameSpy:
6667 (IRC)
80 (HTTP)
3783 (Voice Chat Port)
27900 (Master Server UDP Heartbeat)
28900 (Master Server List Request)
29900 (GP Connection Manager)
29901 (GP Search Manager)
13139 (Custom UDP Pings)
Ports for DirectPlay:
Initial TCP Connection 47624 Outbound 47624 Inbound
Inbound TCP Connections 2300-2400 2300-2400, Outbound TCP Connections 2300-2400 2300-2400
Inbound UDP Connections 2300-2400 2300-2400, Outbound UDP Connections 2300- 2400 2300-2400