MadMinute Games, Inc.

Patch 2 is Up!

July 14, 2006

The MMG has been working hard and is happy to bring you the 2nd and final (hopefully) patch for Take Command - 2nd Manassas. Please note that the patch includes all fixes from the first patch. Get the patch here. Here's a list of features:

a. Added a new walk command for modders if they want to use this capability on their toolbar mods.
b. The following commands are now supported in Open Play ini files:
"Init","TimeOfDay"
"Init","CantKillMe"
"Init","CommandHeight"
"Init","CommandRadius"
The TimeOfDay command allows you to change the appearance of the sky in Open Play to day, dawn/dusk, or night (TimeOfDay=0, 1, or 2 respectively). If you don?t want your commander to die during game play, then use the CantKillMe command. If you want to try out the Headquarters in the Saddle (HITS) mode of play, then use CommandHeight=10 and CommandRadius=5. This will restrict your view to what your commander could actually see "from the saddle" during Open Play. If you want to try out any of these new commands, make the appropriate entries in all of the ini files contained in the Open Play folder of the main game directory. The appropriate one will be copied to level.ini before an Open Play scenario starts and these commands will affect game play as outlined above.

2. The following fixes were applied in this patch:

1. Corrected improper grammar in scenario End Screen messages.
2. Corrected typo on Open Play screen.
3. Fixed Highlight strings on the OB page that were not being translated.
4. Scenario End Screen score and text now displays correctly.
5. Fixed issue with scenario End Screen disappearing and causing scenarios to appear as if they would never end.
6. Fixed Pause game bug - esc key still opening toolbar menu.
7. Moved the location of the completed objective ?X? on the officer?s popup display.
8. Fixed Map Modding - modified csv, dds, and tga map files can now be read from a Custom Scenario folder.
9. Fixed Open Play VP clock countdown on the mini map.
10. Added new Compass graphic with larger direction arrow so it is easier to see and use.
11. Enhanced button highlights for the Confederates so they are easier to see.
12. Changed double quick buttons; the Arun highlight has been removed as it was confusing to many players.
13. Changed the Arun command to not be a toggle between run and walk. The run command will now only run and will not toggle to walk.
14. Added missing low res flag graphic that showed up during game play as white block.
15. Fixed incorrect artillery graphic in the 2M Open Play OB.
16. Fixed issue with Wavering troops not retreating.
17. Fixed issue with Broken Prone troops not retreating when required to do so.
18. Fixed issue with charging units not completing their charge.
19. Reduced the likelihood of cavalry retreating after suffering casualties.
20. Fixed issue with cavalry commanders falling behind their units.
21. Fixed issue with dismounted cavalry that did not appear to be firing or repositioning even with status showing as 'engaged' and with valid targets in range.
22. Fixed artillery units not resupplying when out of canister ammunition.
23. Fixed No Retreat when out of ammo.
24. Fixed a unit drawing issue that was caused by units popping in and out of line of sight.
25. All scenarios now provide the player the opportunity to gain sufficient points for promotions.
26. Fixed scenario SM12 - 29 Aug - Pender (C_Brig); Confederate AI Commanders will no longer "steal" VPs from Player.
27. Fixed issue with carryover strengths not adding up correctly due to the presence of "hidden units" in some scenarios.

Nice Review

July 12, 2006

Susanna at Paradox just sent me a link to a nice review in my hometown paper. Check out the Philadelphia Inquirer review. I don't know if this made it to print in the paper or not. It would be cool to have a copy.

We are finishing up the patch. It's got some great stuff and fixes all known bugs. We are currently working on the logistics of rolling it out. Should be very soon.

We are also finishing up work on the Spanish and French versions of the game. We are worldwide. If you are from a country not respresented, you've got to get on the butt of a publisher or distributor from your country to contact Paradox. I am pretty sure that Russian is already in the plans.

Adam and I have pretty much decided on the content of the next game and the major feature set. Nothing public yet, but it will be very cool.

OUR FIRST WINNER!!!!

June 27, 2006

We honestly did not think that it would happen, but we were wrong and very happily surprised when we received the first email from the first player to crack the game. All 48 scenarios finished, all promotion grades achieved. We were so blown away, we asked for a little history on how Gary was able to finish the entire thing.

MadMinute Games,

My name is Gary Knowlton and I am currently employed by the US government. Recently, I was the lucky recipient of an all-expense-paid tour of Iraq to inspect potentially hazardous facilities throughout the nation. Having been to Iraq in a similar capacity before, I understood the deadly risks and boredom which Americans in Iraq can endure. Opting to hide away in my hotel rooms and isolated from the internet and most communication to the outside world, I brought with me approximately 20 DVDs and Mad Minute Games: Take Command ? 2nd Manassas to play on my personal laptop. Hopefully, I thought, I would be kept busy with work wherein I would not run out of things to do. As Providence would have it, I wasn?t kept very busy and had seemingly endless downtime. Settling into my fate, I began to play the game. You know, it takes something very special to keep me interested for a long period of time. Most games I get sick of after a week or so. I literally never once got tired of the game the entire month or so I was there. Well?okay?my HAND got tired after playing for several hours, but I found myself even then plotting my strategies. Overall, I started to look forward to down times rather than dread them. This game really does have the uncanny ability to draw the player into the battles and captivate them. Even today, two months later and surrounded by every amenity I could ever want, I still find myself as enthusiastic about the game as the first time I played. And that, in my opinion, is the best compliment that can ever be given.

Take Command?2nd Manassas *is* bar none the best 19th century battle simulator ever created. The best $40 I ever spent. I look forward to any future releases. Thank you MadMinute Games.

Regards,
Gary Knowlton

Congratulations Gary and we hope that you liked your prize.

DEV ARTICLE

May 26, 2006

Adam has done most of the writing for a while now, so when Tacticular Cancer asked for an article about Indie development, I though it about time to throw my hand into the PR stuff.

In case you don't read our boards, we've decided that we want to do another patch. There are a few things that we really want to clear up before moving ahead to our next project. We are not in a rush right now to get it done, but we are working on some things and compiling our list.

TC2M SDK IS UP!

May 17, 2006

We've overhauled the SDK and have added a bunch of new features. Here's a run down:

1. Contains all of the source files to all of our scenarios. Our source files are very easily readable .csv files. No programming skill is necessary.
2. Allows you to change almost any aspect of the game, you could make it look like a completely different game if you wanted to. You can add your own uniforms, toolbar, scenarios, formations, explosions, artwork, weapon types, fonts, skill levels, sounds, names, mod yourself into the scenarios, screens, and change aspects of the game that affect all scenarios.
3. WarPack tool will compress a scenario folder into an easily distributable .mmg file so that you can share your work.
4. WarEdit tool will allow you to edit our .csv files in case you do not have your own spreadsheet program.
5. We are releasing .jpg files of all of our maps.
6. A Developer's Guide (almost 100 pages, but English only).
7. Our master 2nd Manassas OOB .xls file
8. A sample .xls template for creating OOB's
9. blank templates of all of our main scenario .csv files.

Download the English SDK
Download the German SDK

We've Been Pilfered!

May 9, 2006

Just a big FYI. There is a TC2MSDK.zip showing up on file sites. This is a test copy that we are working on. It has a big bug. This was not meant for release. So don't get it because it does not work. Please continue to use the one off your CDs until we have all of the bugs worked out. The one on the CDs should still work fine.

Also, I've been posting all of our reviews on the review page. There are a lot of them. We just got a good one from Gamespot. So if your still wondering about the game, download the demo and read the reviews.

TC2M Patch

May 2, 2006

The first, and hopefully last, patch for TC2M is up. We are hosting both the English and German patches, they are different.

PLEASE NOTE: THESE ARE ONLY PATCHES FOR THE CD VERSION, IF YOU HAVE THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD VERSION YOU WILL HAVE TO GO TO THE DOWNLOAD SITE/APP AND GET YOUR PATCH FROM THERE.

This patch fixes the hideous error on the German version that makes the text unreadable on some video cards. We apologize to all German purchasers for this bug. I hope that this will not keep you from enjoying our games. We want to extend a large amount of thanks to Mario Derwand who worked very closely with us to make sure that the German version was fixed. We also want to thank David Hawken for proving to us that there actually was an artillery capture bug.

Here's the list of fixes:
1. Jackson sprite in Gibbon scenario was replaced with proper Jackson specific sprite.
2. Fixed bug in German version where the text color was transparent. If you still have this problem, make sure that you have the latest version of DirectX 9C installed.
3. Fixed an error where you could not specify which type of ammunition for your artillery to use.
4. Fixed the English Version of the Division Tutorial, sometime the units would not react based on the player's actions.
5. Fixed the English Bug where the game would hang if you chose a grayed out carryover scenario on the battles screen and then hit the check mark.
6. Added early win conditions to the scenarios so that you don't have to wait around if you've beaten the scenario early.
7. Fixed a bug where the Cavalry Brigade Officer marched slower than the rest of his regiment.
8. Fixed a bug where arty could not be captured if all of the Division's Arty Officers were detached.
9. Fixed typo in OOB's. Augur is listed as CO of 2nd Div (II Corps, AoV) in units.csv but shows up as CO 3rd Division in game.
10. Removed some csv files from the scenario mmg files. This will allow more modifications to make their way into our stock scenarios accessed through the Battles screens. Your toolbar, sound, and sprites modifications will now be present in our scenarios.
11. Switch 28th Mass to use Irish Flag.
12. Added 2nd Florida to the 2nd Manassas Open Play OOB.

We also threw in the ability to change resolution, it's not perfect, so we don't officially support it. But since we could do it and people wanted it, there was no reason not to have it.

English CD Version Patch
German CD Version Patch

Wargamer Award for Excellence	April 28, 2006
MadMinute Games is very proud to have received the Wargamer Award for Excellence for Take Command - 2nd Manassas. This award means a lot the team here at MMG, it's from Wargamers to Wargamers. We are very excited by this announcement and their continued support.

More Buzz

April 24, 2006

In the August issue of Military Heritage there will be a preview of TC2M. Adam has an interview over at Tactical Cancer.

Just a quick note about stores. It takes a while for the game to show up in stores. Since we are not a AAA title, they all take their time getting us to their stores and placing us on their shelves. So if you hate ordering online and don't mind waiting, just give us a week or two and you'll see us on some local store shelves. If you don't want to wait, there are some great places to order online right now. You can even download the game from Paradox and have it instantly.

TC2M Buzz	April 21, 2006
We are all over the net. Paradox is doing an excellent job marketing the game. I've created a new page to handle all of the content. There is a new review up from NetJak. Our forums are jumping, so come by and say hi. It's a great place to post if you have any questions about how to play, or are having technical issues.

Today is the Official Release Date of TC2M

April 18, 2006

But many people have already received the game. Many people that preordered from Paradox have already gotten the game, Paradox also has the direct download purchase option working, and NWS is currently shipping out all of their preorders. We should also be showing up in some stores soon. The preliminary list is:AAFES, Amazon, Circuit City, CompUSA, Fry's Electronics, Gamestop, Hastings Hyperactive, and Micro Center.

There are a bunch of new reviews, previews, and interviews posted on the left. Adam has been working hard to get the word out, but Paradox has been working even harder. They have done a great job of letting the world know about TC2M. We can't wait to see how we sell in Europe. A German version is already completed and hopefully we'll be getting some more languages finalized. Paradox has us all over the place, the publicity is excellent. Now we can just hope that the world likes our game.

TC2M Goes Gold

April 16, 2006

I know I'm late, I was taking a week off before the release for a little relaxation. Going gold means that Paradox has accepted our release and has stated that it is ready for publication. But it's gone even further because I have some games and they look awesome. The manual is amazing, the guys did an awesome job. I still have not read it all, but it's a must have. Although you get a digital copy if you buy direct download, I have to say that you'll be missing out. The box is very cool, Paradox got some original artwork and it looks great. There's also a poster, that also looks great, I'm going to have to get one framed.

A ton has gone on in the last week, some reviews have been posted. Some are great, some are so so, and some you have to wonder if they even played the game. But we'll list them all, even those that we don't understand.

Adam did a great developer diary and Wrangler has his mod site up. The forums are buzzing. Everyone seems very excited. Let's hope for a clean release, it's only two days away.

TC2M German Demo	April 5, 2006
If you can't speak English, then I guess that you can't read this, but if you would rather try our demo in German, then here's a link. TC2M will definitely be released using the German language in many countries. We plan on adding more languages as the deals to distribute in those countries come through.

TC2M German Site	April 3, 2006
The upcoming German release of TC2M has spawned a German site. Thanks for the help. Please check it out and let me know if they are saying good or bad stuff about the game :)

TC2M Demo

March 20, 2006

The Take Command - 2nd Manassas Demo is now available for download:
Gamespot
3DGamers
WorthPlaying
Softpedia
GamersHell
FileFront

It includes high and normal res sprites, but does not include all of the uniforms varieties. It has the brigade and division tutorial as well as the Gibbons scenario. There is no open play. I think that it does a great job of representing the game. We took a lot of peoples advice and didn't give away the farm while still trying to do the game justice. Based on the scenarios there are only 2 maps shipping with the demo. We are very excited to have everyone play with the high res sprites, but you'll have to wait until you get your copies of the final game to see Jackson sucking on his lemon.

Some Great Info From Paradox

February 24, 2006

Posted by Fredrik on our Forums in response to a question about where the game will be available:

The following territories are covered so far:
the US/Canada
Scandinavia
Germany (+Austria/Switzerland)
The UK/Ireland
Spain
Russia

Still working on:
Australia
France (close to an agreement...)
Benelux
Poland
Italy
Taiwan

You will be able to find the demo in magazines in Sweden, Germany, France and a few other markets as well. The game will be available in our web shop (paradoxshop.com) and for download (paradoxondemand.com). The US box will be a mini-box with flap and the European boxes will be "slip cases" (DVD case + manual in a paper box). I hope this answers some of the questions that you have.

Wargamer Awards

February 22, 2006

Our first game has been awarded The Wargamer Reader's Choice Gold Award for best wargame of 2005. MadMinute Games has been awarded The Wargamer Reader's Choice Silver Award for best developer of 2005. Links are to the left. Thanks to the Wargamer and their Readers.

Although CWBR is no longer available for sale, Take Command has been much improved since CWBR. The new version will be available in April this year in Take Command - 2nd Manassas.

Quote from the Wargamer Reader's Choice Awards:
In the end, 2005 belonged to two games and two companies. Civilization IV proved that sequels can be successful bringing an old concept back to life, provided they're cared for by the right people (Sid Meier). Civil War: Bull Run demonstrated the abilities of even the smallest of developers, as grognards chose that work as their Wargame of the Year despite its non-traditional approach to the wargame genre. 2by3 Games managed to appeal to two audiences that stretched across the entire demographics of The Wargamer, from casual wargame player to the most hardcore of titles. Finally, Matrix Games published not only volumes of new work, but also signed quality future titles to its rosters, promising plenty more to come in 2006.

GameZone Interview	February 8, 2006
Link is over on the left in the Buzz section.

The Best Budget Game of 2005	February 7, 2006
I just got my copy of ComputerGames magazine and was very happy to see that TC1861 (CWBR) was voted budget game of the year. Too bad no one is publishing it anymore. The great news is that TC2M is almost done and will be available soon and it's got everything CWBR had and more.

Wargamer Beta Preview

February 6, 2006

The Wargamer has done a preview on our beta of Take Command - 2nd Manassas. Here's the link The Wargamer. It's a real good read.

We have some new screenshots to pretty up the page, these are the high res units which did not appear in our beta but will be in the final game.

THS Civil War 1st Bull Run Take Command 1861

February 1, 2006

This game is no longer being produced. This game was released under a budget ware logo and needed to sell a lot of copies to remain on store shelves. It did not. So AV is no longer producing it to our knowledge. We could sell it ourselves but would have to pay them a royalty. We just can't agree to the principal of that. We can rewrite the game, but we want to move on.

If you just played our demo and want to play our games, the wait is very short. I expect a demo for our next game "Take Command - 2nd Manassas" will be available in March. The game will be released in April. This game is much better than our first, it will be worth the wait. So please don't make some guy on ebay rich in order to get a copy of CWBR. You only have to wait a couple of months and you'll have a much better game.

On another note. In order to make sure that we do not end up in this situation again we have enlisted the help of Slitherine Software to aid us in our business negotiations. Their advice on business management and in assisting us to bring our Title to a wider international market has proven invaluable.

TC2M Beta Is Closed	January 5, 2006
Thank you for all the participation. The logistics of this thing have my head spinning. But it's closed, no more betas will be sent out. We can finally go back to getting this thing localized, which is a nightmare. Thanks again everyone, please check out the forum to see how the testing is going.

Get Your Beta Emails In Now	January 1, 2006
Today is the last day to get your beta emails in to MadMinute. We will ship out the last beta to preorder customers today and next week we will ship out the remaining ones to people that have requested it on our forums. If you posted your name in the "Didn't preorder but want the beta" forum, make sure that you have followed the instructions there to have a chance at getting the beta.

Press release - Paradox signs Civil War title

December 29, 2005

Paradox Takes Command
Civil War strategy game to be published worldwide

Stockholm, December 29, 2005 ? Global publisher Paradox Interactive announced today that they have added yet another major strategy game title to their 2006 portfolio. Developed by MadMinute Games, Take Command: 2nd Manassas explores the titular 1862 battle of the American Civil War, which proved to be the pivotal engagement of the Northern Virginia Campaign. The game is scheduled for a worldwide release on April 18, and has a SRP of $39.99.

Take Command: 2nd Manassas is the latest game based on MadMinute Games?s award-winning real-time game engine, which has been hailed by many critics as the greatest tactical Civil War PC engine of all time. While focusing on the essential elements of decision-making, the player needs to Take Command or be overcome by it.

"The detail within Take Command: 2nd Manassas is amazing, and strategy gamers will get hours of gameplay out of this great release,? said Fredrik W. Lindgren, Director of Publishing at Paradox Interactive. ?MadMinute Games shares Paradox Interactive's passion for quality strategy games and we are excited to finally be able to include a Civil War game of this caliber to our portfolio."

"MadMinute Games is thrilled to be working with Paradox,? said Norb Timpko, CEO MadMinute Games, Inc. ?We wanted someone that would let the world know about the Take Command series and we feel that we have found that in Paradox. With their history of successfully publishing strategy titles, we feel that this is the perfect match.?

Features include:
· 48 Scenarios from the three most important battles of the 2nd Manassas Campaign
· Linked Scenario Tree, where results of one battle carry over into the next
· 5 Gigantic battlefield maps based on historical records from the Library of Congress; the most accurate American Civil War battlefield maps available in a PC game
· 3 Modes of gameplay: Historical, Open Play, and Custom/User Created Battles
· Control thousands of troops and direct them over 3D terrain (including Generals, Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery and Supply Wagons)
· Accurate ballistics for weapons
· The ability to play as any leader in Custom/Open Play Battles

About Paradox Interactive
Paradox Interactive has been a leading publisher and developer of strategy games for the PC platform since 1999. Well-known for their strategy titles, the company's distribution network and followers span the globe. Paradox's experienced team has completed more than 16 titles, including such best-selling games as the Europa Universalis and Hearts of Iron franchises, as well as Crusader Kings. Their latest worldwide PC release was DIPLOMACY, the game of international intrigue.
Paradox website

About MadMinute Games, Inc
MadMinute Games, Inc is a true "garage game" company. The company was founded by two friends who, with minimal experience in the gaming industry, worked at night and on weekends for three and a half years to complete their initial project, Bull Run. Now joined by a group of volunteer designers and testers, they've soldiered on to produce MadMinute's second product, Take Command: 2nd Manassas. The MadMinute community is growing and the founders hope to someday work on the "Take Command" series full-time. Their combat engine has received excellent reviews and their AI has been lauded in numerous publications, even by the difficult to please "Grognards."
Madminute Games website

Latest news on this topic and discussion

Major Announcement for TC2M & Preorders

December 21, 2005

MadMinute Games, Inc. would like to share some really exciting news with you. For some weeks now we have been in intensive negotiations with a major Publisher to release Take Command - 2nd Manassas to a worldwide market through retail outlets. For obvious reasons these discussions have been confidential, but negotiations are now at an advanced stage and this week we have reached a preliminary agreement, which allows us to release this information to you.

This is a big step for us that will hopefully ensure the further success of the series. We hope that you will be as excited as we are. The only problem is that in order to tie in with their release schedule we have to delay shipping the game. We are really sorry about this and don't like to let anyone down but this is necessary to allow them to get the marketing right and to support the game properly. The box released by the publisher will include a nicer box than we could create. There is also a good chance that it will contain a printed manual and may contain other goodies. We felt that if we did ship our release then those receiving it would have felt let down when the publisher?s product came out.

We just hope that you, our most loyal supporters will support us in this decision, and we would like to enlist your help one more time, by checking out the final beta. We are only releasing this to those people that have preordered the game. It will contain some modes of open play and some scenarios, but will not include the high-resolution sprites and will not be moddable. It should keep you busy for a while.

The release date is effected by a number of things but looks like it will be early Q2 2006.

Chris at NWS has very graciously agreed to email every single person that preordered the instructions for obtaining this beta. You should be receiving an email within the next two weeks. Since all pre orders are through NWS and not through MadMinute Games, you will have to work out the details with them. They have agreed to handle your preorder money however you want; we hope that you will carry it over until the publisher's game is released. They have also assured me that any difference in cost will be applied to store credit, shipping charges, etc.

No more preorders will be accepted for this pre beta program. This is only available to those that already preordered the game. We have told the publisher the importance we place on these preorders and will do all that we can to make sure that you receive your games as soon as they are available.

This was not an easy decision to make, but we have been speaking to some great people in the industry and they have convinced us of the importance of reaching a worldwide market through retail chains. If Take Command is going to be able to continue up through Gettysburg, and over the ocean to Waterloo, then we must make the decisions that will reach the most people in the shortest amount of time.

Thank you all for your support, by preordering the game and on our forums.

Latest news on this topic and discussion

New Screens	December 19, 2005
We are almost finished the normal resolution unit artwork. This is the only thing currently holding back our release. We should have another announcement this week to let everyone know what is going on behind the scenes at MMG. Take a look at the gallery for the new screens.

Take Command - 2nd Manassas Screenshots	October 27, 2005
Here's some new screenshots from our upcoming game. These are using the new high resolution units option that will be in the game. Take a look at the gallery.

MadMinute Games Announces Next Title

October 4, 2005

New Freedom, PA - October 4, 2005 - MadMinute Games, Inc.(TM) announced today that their next major game release using their highly acclaimed Take Command engine will be the Take Command: 2nd Manassas. Take Command: 2nd Manassas (TC2M) is available now for preorder from NWS-Online.Net, with an estimated ship date of December 2005.

Following up their award winning Take Command: Civil War Bull Run, MadMinute explores this pivotal battle of the Civil War in 1862. An exciting new feature of TC2M will be carryover in scenarios or connected battles. New carryover scenarios will start with the men that survived the previous day's battle. So your command decisions will not just affect today, they will affect tomorrow as well and maybe even the day after that. TC2M will also include 2 other crucial battles of the 2nd Manassas Campaign: Cedar Mountain and Chantilly.

With over twenty scenarios and a new and improved Open Play engine, MadMinute surpasses their previous success with Civil War Bull Run. Other important innovations include new uniform types, expanded cavalry commands, the ability for infantry to "take cover", a feature that pauses the game and allows you to tour the map and plan your strategy, and five new historically accurate US battlefield maps with field crops. There's even an evening sky that adds to the already life-like terrain.

Many exciting refinements have been made to the tactical game as well. Regiments of 1,000 men can now be represented with 100 sprites. The morale, weapons, and line of sight modeling is more realistic and much improved. Take Command: 2nd Manassas also includes a completely revamped artillery model that includes the ever deadly Double-Canister round.

MadMinute Games, Inc. (TM) also announced that its next planned title, Take Command: Shiloh is still on target for December 2006. This monumental effort includes a full campaign map to plan the grand strategy surrounding the Battle of Shiloh. Take Command: Shiloh will include three other crucial Western battles of 1862: Pea Ridge, Corinth, Perryville.

MadMinute Games, Inc. (TM) is a true "garage game" company. Founded by two friends with minimal experience in the games industry, they worked at night and on weekends for three and a half years to complete Bull Run. Now, joined by a group of volunteer designers and testers, they've soldiered on to produce MadMinute's second product, Take Command: 2nd Manassas. The MadMinute community is growing and the founders hope to someday work on the "Take Command" series full time. Their combat engine has received excellent reviews and their AI has been lauded in numerous publications, even by the ever difficult to please "Grognards."

Visit the MMG website (http://www.madminutegames.com)

MadMinute Team is:

September 11, 2005

Just a quick update on who is working hard to bring you gaming goodness. This team is doing a great job and working very hard on the next version of Take Command. No one can say much about the next game right now, but once the title is announced next month, we'll be able to answer a few questions. We want to thank everyone for all their hard work, for sharing in the dream of bring this ACW engine to life.

MadMinute Games, Inc. is
Adam Bryant
Norb Timpko

MadMinute Team
Mike (Dr. Mike) Dickman
LTC John N. Duquette, USA Retired (aka Wrangler)
Ivanmoe
Ed "Meagher of the Sword" Mallon
Mike Peyrot
Brett Schulte
Ron "Beagler" Stakelbeck
Jim "6th Vermont" Weaver

Art
CreativeSpring

Music
Chris Rickwood
(contact info: www.rickwoodmusic.com, for all music needs)

After Action Reports	September 10, 2005
Or AAR's. These are mini novels or short stories that describe the experiences that players had in battle. They are very cool. We have a bunch of them, with screenshots, over in our forum. There's an entire section dedicated to them. They are very cool to read. It's almost like reading a letter home from a soldier at the war. Check them out and let the authors know how you like them.

Out of Eight Review	August 17, 2005
Out of Eight has posted their review of The History Channel Civil War The Battle of Bull Run Take Command: 1861. The link is on the left.

MMG & NWS-Online.net

August 15, 2005

MadMinute Games, Inc. has joined forces with NWS-Online.net to publish their next game in the highly reviewed Take Command Series. Current plans have MMG announcing the title and release date in October 2005. NWS has a very successful online computer game store where they specialize in war games. NWS has long been the favorite store for purchasers of CWBR, providing very reasonable shipping rates and prices.

Fields of Glory is an in game movie created by krispyjc. It's pretty cool, so we put a link on our mod page. After you watch it, stop by the forums and let him know what you think. This is the low res version of the movie, you'll have to ask to find the high res version.

Fields of Glory	August 15, 2005
Fields of Glory is an in game movie created by krispyjc. It's pretty cool, so we put a link on our mod page. After you watch it, stop by the forums and let him know what you think. This is the low res version of the movie, you'll have to ask to find the high res version.

MadMinute Games No Longer a "Value"

August 10, 2005

MadMinute Games and Activision Value have amicably parted ways. The Take Command Series will no longer be published under the Activision Value label.

MadMinute Games, Inc. will announce their next title in October 2005.

No Console Game!

July 14, 2005

There is an article on IGN.COM that states that "Atari Value" is working on porting "Civil War -- The Battle of Bull Run: Take Command: 1861" to the PS2 and XBOX. "Activision Value" is listed as the publisher with MadMinute Games listed as the developer. This is a completely incorrect article and there is no truth to it whatsoever. We have no plans to port CWBR to any consoles.

I believe that the source of this article is two History Channel Civil War titles showing up on EBGames, one for the PS2 and one for the XBOX. Neither of these has anything to do with "Take Command" or MadMinute Games. MadMinute is the sole owner of the "Take Command" Series and the engine and any future games with our Take Command engine will be published under the name "Take Command" and will be announced here first.

Speaking of the next game... The MadMinute Team is hard at work on our next title. It will be another major American Civil War battle. There will be a Campaign Mode in the game. If you want to learn the title of the next game, all you have to do is beat all of the scenarios in CWBR as shown on the Service Record screen. If you don't want to do that, just have someone on the forum PM you the title. We have withheld publicly announcing the title so that those players that want to try beating the game can have a chance.

New Demo Link

July 1, 2005

Chris from NWS Online has provided an excellent server for downloading the CWBR Demo. It flys and is listed on our downloads page. MMG would like to thank NWS Online for this link and their continued support of our efforts. The game is becoming harder to find in stores these days, but NWS is making sure that it remains available. They also ship around the globe. So if you haven't been able to find the game, please contact NWS Online. Their link is listed on the left and you won't be disappointed in their service, even if you normally refrain from ordering online.

ComputerGames Magazine Review	June 3, 2005
July 2005 issue of ComputerGames Magazine 4 out of 5 stars.

SimHQ Review	June 2, 2005
SimHQ has posted their review of CWBR. Read it here.

Demo - Our Link Removed

June 1, 2005

I had to remove our own hosting of the demo as we are going to eat up all of our monthly bandwidth in one day! There are plenty of mirrors listed below, so please find one that works for you.

Another note. If you like replaying the demo, and need something to do while you wait for the game to arrive... The entire demo map is planted with powerful enemy. Yes, it will mess up the scripting of the scenario, but if you explore, you will find lots of enemy to fight.

Demo

May 31, 2005

MadMinute Games, Inc. is proud to announce that we have created a demo for our exceptionally well reviewed game "Civil War Bull Run". This demo consists of our first tutorial where we teach the player the basics of CWBR as they lead a Brigade through the steps to support their Division. This is the level that got MadMinute Games nominated as a finalist for the 2004 Independent Games Festival.

Download the Demo
From 3DGamers
From WorthPlaying
From StrategyInformer
From FileFront

Demo	May 23, 2005
After much consideration, MMG has decided to release a demo of CWBR. The demo will consist of the first brigade tutorial level only. We hope to have this available next week.

CWBR Patch v1.11

The patch is done, and has been approved by all the power that be concerned. Here are some highlights:
1. Support for 1024x768
2. New map for open play
3. BONUS Beauregard Scenario
4. Take Command of all your units for you power hungry commanders
5. See the full list of changes

Download Locations:
Activision Value Take Arms 3D Gamers FileFront Game Spot

Correction:
Item #22 & #38: We did not put in the all brigade double quick and this was because it is a toggle and got confusing at times, also we did not have enough room for the current button and the new button so we left it as is. The modders have already added this for people that want it anyway.

Note about mods:
There were some changes in the csv files, so if you have installed any mods, we recommend that you uninstall them before installing the patch. They could cause a CTD. Contact the mod author and get a v1.11 compatible version of the mod.

Change list for Mod Authors: Download SDK v1.11
1. UNITCOMMON.CSV: Inserted column D "CAPT CLASS" - this is the class to use when this unit is captured. Only works for artillery.
2. FORMATION.CSV: Column G used to called "Use Road", it wasn't being used. It is now called "Keep Formation". This means that this formation will not switch into column while moving.
3. UNITS.CSV: No major change here, just a warning. If you have a column called "Rate of Fire" towards the end, it should not be there. We've cleaned up our files, modders should clean up theirs.

Events.csv

May 1, 2005

I've completed the events.csv file modding section. This should give modders everything that they need to create their own detailed scenarios.

Also I've received some emails about what happened to the reviews. Adam has sent review copies to every major pc game magazine out there. He has sent out copies to a ton of websites, etc. We have no idea why PCGamer was the only major magazine to get us in so far. Maybe they're the most indie friendly magazine out there. We don't know, but we're watching.

Let's have a big atta boy to our MMG team for keeping our forums the best out there. They have made our forums extremely friendly and have answered all of your questions. It's not easy to respond to 50+ posts a day, but they do it.

May 8 is a big day here at MMG. Four years ago May 8th Adam and I decided to stop talking about making a game and actually put some money into it. We bought our first 3D engine and started working and the receipt is May 8th, 2001. We consider that date the start of MMG.

I also want to thank Little Robert for showing me how to properly do search tags on this page.

More Modding

April 15, 2005

I may actually finish this someday. I absolutely hate documenting stuff, but since I'm the only one that can look at the code and verify what stuff does, I'm stuck with this job. Levels.csv is now done and up in the modding section. That leaves me 5 more to go. If there's one that you've been waiting for, let me know in the forums. I've saved the worst for last. Everything left is a really big job, so if you have a preference on what I should do next, let me know. Also if this documentation is useful, let me know too. I haven't read anything about the mod docs on the forum so I don't know if anyone is using it or not. So if it's useful, let me know, or if it isn't or if it's too cryptic, let me know if you get a chance.

Chat with MMG

April 5, 2005

We're going to try another chat and this time we're giving a whole days notice. It's Wednesday, tomorrow, at 9pm EST. We're gonna try a different chat room. This won't work in FireFox for me, I have to use IE, but you don't have to install anything.

Even More Modding

April 3, 2005

Here we go again, tables.csv is completed.

The patch seems to be going well. Having 1024x768 makes a huge difference. If you haven't seen the game at this resolution, you owe it to yourself. It's a whole new game. We believe that this will be the only patch released for the game. We have no plans to do another one. So unless a huge bug crops up we're going to start working on the next game. I'm trying to finish the mod documentation, but it's a huge chore. Everyone else on the team is looking towards the future and writing down everything that they want in the next version. So if you see a member of the team, make sure that they know what you want. Because the list will be finalized early so that we can make plans and schedules for the next game.

More Modding	April 2, 2005
It's pouring here at the Mason Dixon line, so there's nothing better to do than write more mod docs. I've completed artyammo.csv, openobjs.csv, openplay.csv, and objectives.csv.

More Mirrors

April 1, 2005 - norb

Thanks to Shane at Take Arms for hosting the patch. Also thanks to the guys at 3DGamers for getting it up so quickly.

Thanks to Ana at FileFront for providing another mirror.

We're On a Roll!

March 31, 2005 - norb

Another great review of CWBR has been posted over at the Strategy Page.

Jean-Michel from HistWar sends word that we got a nice review in the French magazine PC4War. Thanks for keeping us updated. Hopefully we'll get a translation or at least the article to read. My younger sister spent a year in France so if someone can scan me the article I can bug her until she translates it for me.

New Mod Section	March 28, 2005 - norb
Adam and I completed the modding help section for units.csv. Also I've gone through all the mod help and believe that I fixed the cut off problem that was happening in IE.

Another Review & Bits

March 28, 2005 - norb

DIY Games just posted their review of CWBR. Four out of five stars, not bad. We've been doing pretty good with the reviews so far. I'm just waiting for that one that bound to come slamming the game.

The testing for the Patch is going well. Activision has been on top of it, but they want to check everything to make sure that we didn't screw anything up. I've sent another build addressing their concerns, hopefully we'll get approval soon.

The MMG team is working hard on the next battle in our series. We brought on some more testers and a new scenario designer so that we can give you more content in the next game. Right now we're looking at the core game mechanics that need to be fixed. It's a long process and we don't want to rush anything. We are also looking at other 3D engines that we could use, that's a very short list because the engine has to be very similar to our current one to even consider it. I doubt that we'll find anything, but now is the time to look. Basically we need something that does huge, pretty, 3D terrain and can handle drawing thousands of sprites (billboards). I also want an SDK, not a game scripting system, I hate those. Our current engine can draw the terrain and thousands of sprites very quickly, but lacks some features that we are looking for, it also has some bugs that we haven't been able to get around. But so far it seems to be the best fit for our needs.

PCGamer & New Team Members

March 25, 2005 - norb

Just got my May 2005 PCGamer in the mail and bam! There we are. I read the review and it's not bad. It's really nice to get into a major magazine, especially now that we are in most major stores. I was trying to get an idea about how our rating compares to other games. Well the last History Channel ACW game got a 67, Sid's Antietam got a 75, Shogun TW got an 84, and Med TW got a 82. So we're in pretty good company.

We have recruited some new faces onto the MadMinute Team now that we're pretty much done the patch and ramping up for the next game. We'd like to welcome Beagler, mdpeyrot, PrThor, and Wrangler. Say hi to these guys on the forums, as they will have a lot of say in what you see next from MMG. They really have no idea what they just got themselves into...

Chat Today at 3pm EST

March 12, 2005 - norb

The MMG Team will be in the MadMinute chat room today at 3pm EST. I know that it's very little notice, but we just finished our end of the patch and we're pretty happy about it and it's hard to coordinate everyone's schedule. So with 2 hours notice, we probably won't get much turnout, which may be better in that we'll have a great chance to get to know the few people that happen to click on our site in the next 2 hours.

Go to the forum, go in the top General Discussion forum, then click chat room, the top topic, to find out how to get in there. I'll post some of it here.

We've created a user room at Gamespy named MadMinute Games. You get there by opening Gamespy (yes, you must have it installed), and then hitting Ctrl-K to bring up the USER ROOM interface. Then you click on the search tab and key in "madminute." GS will search for the room and display the result. You can avoid going through this hassle again by checking the auto open box. If there's any interest, Norb and/or Adam may stop over there for chat. BTW: The password is bullrun. Visitors are advised to mind their manners. Please PM Ivanmoe if someone is abusing their privileges.

Patch Update

March 11, 2005 - norb

We have completed our work on the patch. We did a ton of work and have addressed as many issues as we could. At this point we submit it for testing to Activision. When they give their OK, then we can post it for you. Adam and I will be away for the next week, so this works out well for us. I have no idea how long their testing process is going to take, but hopefully they will be done when we get back. If all goes well, then we can have it to you by the end of the month or early next month. We are very excited about the patch, we feel that it really adds to the gameplay. Modders will have some minor changes to make in their mods to run with the patch version. All that is clearly spelled out in the patch readme.

The total patch size is about 16MB. I'm not sure if we will be able to host it ourselves or not. We have only a limited amount of bandwidth per month, then they shut us down. We will have to see what happens and where we are in our allotment.

The Wargamer Award for Excellence

March 09, 2005 - norb

The entire MadMinute team is extremely proud to announce that we have received The Wargamer Award for Excellence. WOW! They've posted an unbelievable review on their site The Wargamer. We would like to thank everyone at The Wargamer for their support. Even before the game was released, when no one really knew what we were going to turn out, the team at The Wargamer has been supportive of our effort.

This means a lot to the team. To work so hard and then receive a reward from a site that specializes in wargames is something that we never thought possible. Thanks to our testers, our artists, our composer, our families, and all the guys at Activision for believing in us and giving us this chance.