Cossacks: European Wars – Wikipedia

Cossacks: European Wars video game
Platform	Microsoft Windows
Publication date	April 24, 2001 30 Marzo 2001
Type	Royal time strategy
Her	Historical
Origin	Ukraine
Development	GSC Game World
Publication	CDV Software Entertainment, FX Interactive  (Italy and Spain)
Production	Sergey grygorovych
Design	Alex Dragon
Programming	Andrew Shpagin
Artistic direction	Dmitry Zenin
Game mode	Single player, multiplayer (8)
Input peripherals	Mouse, keyboard
Support	Cd e dvd
Digital distribution	GOG.com, Steam, FX Store
System requirements	Minimum : 95, 98, 2000 o XP, CPU Pentium 200, RAM 32 MB, HD 200 MB Recommended : 95, 98, 2000 o XP, CPU Pentium 233, RAM 64 MB, HD 200 MB
Expansions	Art of War Back to War
Series	Cossacks
Followed by	Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars

Cossacks: European Wars (literally “Cossacks: European wars”) is a real -time strategy video game for computers, set in Europe between the seventeenth century and the eighteenth century; Developed by GSC Game World and published by CDV on 2002.
The game, with landscape, units and 2D structures, is equipped with very high realism ^{[ without source ]} , with the ability to check large numbers of unit (up to 8 000).

The game had two expansions, Cossacks: Art of War It is Cossacks: Back to War , and two followers, Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars It is Cossacks 3 . There is also a version Anthology On Gog.com, including both the initial game and the two expansions.

This game, contrary to other similar games such as Age of Empires , has a less detailed graphic engine, but which involves a far greater game speed ^{[ without source ]} . Being the game is very faithful historically, there are numerous military units that really existed and have fought, in particular, the thirty -year war. Cities and landscapes can also be recreated very similar to those of the seventeenth century thanks to a vast editor of the scenarios present in the main menu. Artificial intelligence faithfully reproduces wars and attacks, even at an incessant pace. There are 5 historical campaigns, about ten missions, and the possibility of playing on maps generated randomly.

There are six basic resources in the game: gold, timber, food, stone, iron and coal. Gold, iron and coal are gathered through special mines that are built in their respective deposits and must be filled with peasants, the food is gathered through the agricultural fields and fishing boats, and the timber and stone are gathered simply by sending peasants to split wood or rocks. It is always important to keep an eye on current resources, as their exhaustion causes tremendous penalties: the units will lose health and die if there is no more food, the mercenaries will rebel and the crews of the ships will be mutinated if there is no More gold, the siege machines will stop working if there is no more iron and/or coal, and the structures will launch if there is no more timber or stone. The economic work force consists of farmers who can carry out numerous tasks and also attack the enemies, which however can capture them if they are not protected by friendly military units.

Cossacks It stands out from many other strategic strategists from the fact that units can fight in formation or even individually. The formations are obtained by bringing together an officer, a drummer and a group of 15, 36, 72, 120 or 196 units of the same type, and can be of three different types; Cavalry can also create formations, but without the need for an officer and a drum. The units in formation can “maintain the line”, improving defense and morality. It is possible to train officers and drum players once an academy is built, or a minaret if you play with Algeria and Turkey.

The artillery is divided into mortars, cannons, multiple cannons and howitters, and each machine, whose radius, precision and costs and production times can be improved through the academy, is suitable for a certain type of situation: the mortar is Useful for bombing buildings and enemy ships from afar, damaging the units near the target, friends or enemies that are; The cannon has a good ray, which can be improved through special research, and is very powerful, even if not so much against the structures; The multiple cannon is able to shoot a burst of shots by virtue of its appearance, and recharges more quickly; The obice has the shorter radius but also the greater power, and their shots are effective against soldiers and can overcome the walls. These units can be captured by the enemy as you do it with the farmers.

In the maps where at least one sufficiently large body of water is present, it is possible to build a port, where you can build fishing boats, transport boats, galleys, frigates, xebec (only for the Ottomans) and an eighteenth century ship, some of which are used for naval domain or coastal bombing.

The shooting units, such as musketeers, take time to recharge their weapons, making themselves very vulnerable to the hand -to -hand hand, and given that they require a certain distance to shoot their shots, the approaching of the enemy will lead them to get away to try to try hit again. Granatieri can instead destroy buildings with their grenades and hire the enemy into attacks both remotely and by mix. The buildings that produce military units, i.e. the barracks, the stables and the arsenals, can only be destroyed by artillery and grenadiers, while civil ones, including the municipalities, can be captured with the usual methods, but it may happen that they take fire to to jump in the air when their health runs out.

Unit [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The main types of units in the game are as follows:

• Citizens : units that collect resources, build all buildings, and have the ability to fight, even if they have a very limited attack capacity;
• Infantry : military units that can fight hand -to -hand, like i shephes , or shoot, like i Musketeers ;
• Cavalry : military units that fight from the horse and move very quickly, but cost and consume more resources;
• Artillery : military units with very powerful attack, but with poor mobility and defense, and which can be captured by the enemies. The available pieces are the Cannon , the mortar, the obice and the multiple cannon.
• Navi : military or civil units and that can move troops from one island to another or attack other ships or buildings near the coast. Building and maintaining ships requires a large expenditure of resources, especially wood and coal;
• Priests : spiritual units that have the power to treat soldiers injured in battle

BUILDI [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

In Cossacks There are many buildings, each with a precise function.

• Municipality : is the first building that can be built and allows you to create peasants
• mill : allows you to collect food; In the absence of a mill, the peasants go to the nearest town hall.
• Warehouse : serves for the collection of wood and stone and must be built near the collection points. The town hall also acts as a warehouse, but the lack of a warehouse prevents the construction of some buildings, such as shipyards.
• Mine : it is built on the deposits and allows the collection of gold, iron and coal, depending on the resource.
• Church : allows you to convene priests.
• Forge : allows you to create a barracks, and performs some enhancement of various kinds.
• Barracks : allows you to recruit the infantry soldiers. By evolving to the following century, a new type of barracks can be built.
• Scuderia : allows you to recruit horsebacking soldiers, and can only be built after the barracks. When progresses towards the new century, it allows you to recruit a greater number of types of horseback units.
• Artillery factory : builds and enhances the various artillery pieces, and can only be built after the stable.
• Market : It is used to exchange resources.
• Academy : realizes enhancement (there are about 40, but their number varies according to the nations).
• Tower : automatically shoots against the enemies nearby via cannons.
• Unless : It effectively protects from enemy troops, is available in two variants, wood or stone, and with the possibility of inserting a door.
• Shipyard : allows the construction of boats for fishing, exploration, war and transport of troops. The Naval Shipyard of the Portuguese people is equipped with cannons.

Factions [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

There are 16 factions with which you can play in Cossacks: European Wars , plus 4 others that are added with the expansions. Each faction has one or more special and unique units that characterize it. In addition, the different factions also have different Technological trees With which they can evolve, and therefore they can carry out certain research to improve their units. This makes the factions very different from each other, with their advantages and disadvantages. In general, European factions are very similar to each other, with the exception of Ukraine, which has some fundamental differences, while Turkey and Algeria are instead much more different from other factions, as they belong to different continents.

The game received a positive welcome, with 77.17% on Gamerankings based on its 26 reviews ^[first] And a 74/100 on Metacritic according to its 16 reviews. ^[2]

In addition to receiving a positive welcome, Cossacks: European Wars he won a prize par excellence PC Zone and the prize Strategy Player Game of the Month ^{[ without source ]} . Furthermore, Cossacks He sold at least 500 000 copies worldwide in December 2001. ^[8] , success that made him one of the greatest CDV titles, together with Sudden Strike ^[9] . In September 2002, sales exceeded 650 000 copies ^{[ without source ]} , while the entire series Cossacks reached million units at the end of the year ^[ten] .

Art of War [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Released on April 1, 2002, the first standalone expansion Art of War It increases the limit of units controllable to 8,000, five new campaigns, the nations of Denmark and Bavaria, a map editor and the possibility of creating maps 16 times larger than normal.

Back to War [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Exit on 18 October 2002, the second expansion in Standalone Back to War He adds two new nations, Switzerland and Hungary, new maps, a tutorial campaign and a map editor. The expansion also has a MOD on CD called MOD1 O Baddog’s mod , developed by Shaun Fletcher, which adds numerous units and various types of cannon and modifies some parameters such as the times and costs of construction and updating.

Campaign Expansion [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Exit on 1 November 2002, the content that can be downloaded for Back to War The nine campaigns and the 63 missions present in the original game and expansion Art of War .