Hutsell Computer War Games

Last updated
Hutsell Computer War Games
Genre(s) Wargames
Developer(s) W. R. Hutsell

Hutsell Computer War Games is a series of MS-DOS computer wargames written by W. R. Hutsell. They were distributed as shareware. The games include VGA Civil War Strategy Game, [1] EGA Civil War Battleset, Wars of Napoleon, and World War II In Western Europe. [2] All of the games are available for free since 2017.

Contents

History

Initially W. R. Hutsell created the games and placed them free on a BBS but eventually began charging for them as people wanted copies on disk.

An early ASCII version of EGA Civil War Battleset was probably Mr. Hutsell's first creation. [3] The game was tactical in nature. VGA Civil War Strategy followed and was strategic. Then came World War II In Western Europe, a tactical game based upon the Civil War Strategy engine. Following this was his final work, Wars of Napoleon which used both the strategical and tactical engines of the earlier games.

Mr. Hutsell lived in Kingston, Kentucky [4] for an extended length of time, his current residence is unknown. [5]

Later he handed the rights to distribute the games over to David Mackey, who initially sold them as well but eventually released them free at their currently hosted location. [6]

In 2017 Mr. Hutsell gave the source code of VGA Civil War Strategy Game to Dave Mackey, who ported the game for modern platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux) with the help of SDL and other open source libraries from QuickBASIC to QB64. [7] The source code is released on GitHub under a MIT license. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strategy game</span> Type of game

A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal decision tree-style thinking, and typically very high situational awareness.

A turn-based strategy (TBS) game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing. This is distinguished from real-time strategy (RTS), in which all players play simultaneously.

Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) was an American publisher of board wargames and related magazines, particularly its flagship Strategy & Tactics, in the 1970s and early 1980s. It produced an enormous number of games and introduced innovative practices, changing the course of the wargaming hobby in its bid to take control of the hobby away from then-dominant Avalon Hill. SPI ran out of cash in early 1982 when TSR called in a loan secured by SPI's assets. TSR began selling SPI's inventory in 1982, but later acquired the company's trademarks and copyrights in 1983 and continued a form of the operation until 1987.

Tactical role-playing games, also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as simulation RPGs, are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical strategy video games. The formats of tactical RPGs are much like traditional tabletop role-playing games and strategy games in appearance, pacing, and rule structure. Likewise, early tabletop role-playing games are descended from skirmish wargames such as Chainmail, which were primarily concerned with combat.

A war game is a type of strategy game that simulates warfare realistically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tactical wargame</span> Type of wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level

Tactical wargames are a type of wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level, i.e. units range from individual vehicles and squads to platoons or companies. These units are rated based on types and ranges of individual weaponry. The first tactical wargames were played as miniatures, extended to board games, and they are now also enjoyed as video games.

Turn-based tactics (TBT) is a video game genre of strategy video games. They are turn-based simulations of operational warfare and military tactics in generally small-scale confrontations as opposed to more strategic considerations of turn-based strategy (TBS) games. Turn-based tactical gameplay is characterized by the expectation of players to complete their tasks using only the combat forces provided to them in a generally realistic manner.

Real-time tactics (RTT) is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time, simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics. It is differentiated from real-time strategy gameplay by the lack of classic resource micromanagement and base or unit building, as well as the greater importance of individual units and a focus on complex battlefield tactics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand strategy wargame</span> Video and board game genre

A grand strategy wargame or simply grand strategy game (GSG) is a wargame that places focus on grand strategy: military strategy at the level of movement and use of a nation state or empire's resources. The genre has considerable overlap with 4X games, but differs in being "asymmetrical", meaning that players are more bound to a specific setup and not among equally free factions in exploring and progressing the game and an open world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer wargame</span> Wargame played on a computer or other digital device

A computer wargame is a wargame played on a digital device. Descended from board wargaming, it simulates military conflict at the tactical, operational or strategic level. Computer wargames are both sold commercially for recreational use and, in some cases, used for military purposes.

Strategy is a major video game genre that emphasizes thinking and planning over direct instant action in order to achieve victory. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, as a genre, strategy games are most commonly defined as those with a primary focus on high-level strategy, logistics and resource management. They are also usually divided into two main sub-categories: turn-based and real-time, but there are also many strategy cross/sub-genres that feature additional elements such as tactics, diplomacy, economics and exploration.

<i>Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War</i> 2006 video game

Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War is a computer wargame, combining both a strategic level and a tactical level by means of letting the player(s) raise, equip and move armies and then fight out battles on a randomized map when encountering the enemy. This game was made by Western Civilization Software, whose headquarters is located just outside Ann Arbor, Michigan, and uses the same game engine as the company's 2005 release, "Crown of Glory: Europe in the Age of Napoleon" and 2009 expansion Crown of Glory: Emperor's Edition, which likewise features a combination of grand strategy and tactics.

<i>Decisive Battles of the American Civil War Volume 1: Bull Run to Chancellorsville</i> 1988 video game

Decisive Battles of the American Civil War Volume 1: Bull Run to Chancellorsville is a computer wargame developed by Roger Keating and Ian Trout. It was published by Strategic Studies Group in 1988 for the Commodore 64 and Apple II, then in 1990 for MS-DOS. Two further games in the series were released: Volume 2: Gaines Mill to Chattanooga and Volume 3: Wilderness to Nashville.

<i>12 OClock High: Bombing the Reich</i> 1999 video game

12 O'Clock High: Bombing the Reich is a 1999 computer wargame developed and published by TalonSoft. Designed by Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors, it is follow-up to Battle of Britain and a spiritual sequel to the 1985 wargame U.S.A.A.F. - United States Army Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Zucker (game designer)</span>

Kevin S. Zucker is an American wargame designer, historian, author, and musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional wargaming</span>

A wargame, generally, is a type of strategy game which realistically simulates warfare. A professional wargame, specifically, is a wargame that is used by military organizations to train officers in tactical and strategic decision-making, to test new tactics and strategies, or to predict trends in future conflicts. This is in contrast to recreational wargames, which are designed for fun and competition.

<i>Leipzig: The Battle of Nations</i> Board wargame

Leipzig: The Battle of Nations, subtitled "Napoleon vs. Europe", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1969 that simulates the 1813 campaign of Napoleon in central Europe, including the Battle of Leipzig. The game was one of the first Napoleonic board wargames, and a number of innovative rules such as the effect of individual leaders on combat were adopted by other wargame publishers.

<i>Napoleon at War</i> Board wargame published in 1975

Napoleon at War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates various battles fought by Napoleon.

<i>Napoleon at Waterloo</i> (board wargame) Board wargame

Napoleon at Waterloo is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1971 that simulates the Battle of Waterloo. The game, which features simple rules, was designed as an introduction to board wargaming, and was given as a free gift with each subscription to SPI's Strategy & Tactics magazine.

References

  1. FreeWargamer http://www.freewargamer.com/Default.aspx?Page=vgacivilwar&NS=&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 . Retrieved 2017-05-11.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)[ permanent dead link ]
  2. W. R. Hutsell (1995-01-01), World War II In Western Europe , retrieved 2017-05-11
  3. "COMBATSIM.COM: New Civil War Strategy Game Announced". combatsim.com. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  4. "Google Groups". groups.google.com. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  5. "Kingsport Times-News". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  6. "Strategy Game Programming". C Board. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  7. Civil War Strategy Game 2.10 RELEASED! on hutsellgames.com
  8. The source code for the classic Civil War Strategy Game by W.R. Hutsell. on github.com/davidshq/civilwarstrategygame