Update 2.0

Update 2.0 is the largest update The Great War has received. The game engine has been updated to its latest version, the rules have been checked and corrected against the board game, the computer opponent has been improved, and the interface has been reworked throughout. Full notes below.

New Features

• Card previews - hover over any card to read a full-size copy. Works on every card, including ones you cannot play right now.
• Play guidance - a banner shows whose turn it is and what to do next, with a live count of the units you can still order, move or attack.
• Refusal reasons - when a card cannot be played, the game says why: too costly, the wrong phase, or waiting on the command card it accompanies.
• Battle effects - attacks draw an arc from attacker to defender, losses float off the unit as they land, retreats are announced, and a roll that changes nothing says "No effect".
• Twelve new tutorial lessons, and all tutorials can be re-read from the game menu at any time.
• In-game manual - searchable, with a contents column that follows your place, icons that link to their pages, and every card shown at full size.
• Scenario briefings - redesigned around a much clearer map: the battlefield drawn as a labelled diagram with a key to every terrain type, in a larger layout.
• Colourblind mode - an option in the settings that swaps the combat highlight reds and greens for blue and purple.
• New save system - saved games now show the date and time they were made.

Improvements

• Dragging the map now follows the mouse exactly - the ground you grab stays under the cursor, at any zoom level.
• Battlefield lighting and shading reworked.
• Picking up a card and putting it back is faster, and the rest of the hand no longer moves.
• Cards you cannot yet afford are tinted differently from cards blocked by the rules.
• Your opponent's played cards now move directly to their places.
• Cards on display always appear above the rest of the interface.
• The end-of-turn reward choices respond to the pointer, with their labels beneath them.
• The medal score is shown more clearly in game, with both sides' counts in the score header.
• The End Phase button now also lights up when your remaining units have no valid moves or targets, not just when every action is spent - and it explains what the game is waiting for when greyed out.
• Turn announcements are smaller and quieter.
• The Skip Animations setting now shortens battles as intended.
• The interface keeps clear of screen notches.
• The game engine has been updated to its latest version, improving performance and compatibility.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed HQ tokens being earned from attacks that did not target an enemy unit.
• Fixed combat cards not being drawn when they should be drawn up to the hand limit.
• Fixed objectives worth several medals awarding only one.
• Fixed the end-of-turn combat card choice being played instead of discarded.
• Fixed several combat resolution errors, including crossfire attacks, retreats near the board edge and breakout moves.
• Fixed the difficulty setting not being applied to the computer player.
• Fixed the AI Speed setting doing nothing.
• Fixed several decision bugs that weakened the computer player.
• Fixed freezes and stalls during the computer player's turn.
• Fixed unit counts including units that had no possible move or target.
• Fixed phases ending on their own when your units had no options.
• Fixed the camera not moving at the lowest speed slider settings.
• Fixed the camera moving away while dice were still being read.
• Fixed shadows not appearing.
• Fixed missing sound effects.
• Fixed volume sliders responding unevenly across their range.
• Fixed the settings panel changing the resolution when opened, and sliders showing the wrong values.
• Fixed saved games not being found after saving, which hid the Resume button.

Found a bug?

If you find a problem, please let us know on the forum. A line or two about what you were doing when it happened is enough for us to investigate.

What's next

The next big addition to The Great War is online multiplayer: real opponents, and a ranked mode for those out to prove themselves. We are aiming to release it in the coming months - watch this space.