textfiles/games/REVIEWS/ums2.rev

 UMS II: NATIONS AT WAR 

 UMS II is the second release of Intergalactic's Universal Military
Simulator. Included with the product are three scenarios: Alexander
the Great's campaigns from Spain to India; Assault on Fortress
Europe: June 1 - July 31, 1944; and Napoleon's Campaign of 1805. 
There are separate Desert Storm scenario packages available directly
from Intergalactic for an additional cost; they're not included with
UMS II. A "Planet Editor" will be available shortly, also as a
separate product, that will permit the creation of user scenarios. 
For now there is no ability to model unique scenarios. (This review
is based on the IBM-PC version.) 

 Interestingly, the box mentions a "special fantasy scenario, 
demonstrating the flexibility and artificial intelligence of UMS
II." That scenario has been replaced by the Napoleon scenario
mentioned above. 

 The IBM version provides either CGA or EGA graphics (no VGA), and
supports a Microsoft-compatible mouse. The minimum configuration for
the IBM is 512K of RAM and a 256K EGA card. I found the speed of the
program unacceptably slow when using 520K on a 386/16 VGA system. At
580K of free RAM, the speed improved immensely. There are a lot of
disk accesses. I recommend running from a RAM disk and using a
mouse. There is no copy protection whatsoever. The game is available
on either 5-1/4" or 3-1/2" diskettes: Make sure you purchase the
correct format for your system. 

 I believe it is necessary to define what the term "simulator" means
with respect to UMS II. UMS II provides the _environment_ to run
military campaign scenarios that have been created using the Planet
Editor. You have the ability to adjust almost any parameter
imaginable and see the effects. This is the true purpose of UMS II. 
Those looking for an arcade game or flight simulator definitely will
be disappointed. 

 The parameter control in UMS II is awesome! There are 15 (!) pages
in the manual detailing the parameter adjustments. 

 One of the most unique is the ability to adjust the effects of
weather. You may manipulate the size of high and low fronts (wind
patterns are clockwise for High pressure, and counter-clockwise for
Low pressure in the northern hemisphere, reversed in the southern
hemisphere!); climates; temperature differences between land and
sea; seasonal temperature differences; and prevailing winds. 
Changing parameters may produce snow or thunderstorms that can
affect the attrition or movement of units. 

 Would you like to see how Alexander's army would have fared if
blizzards had raged through the Mediterranean? How about seeing the
effects of becalming Lord Nelson's fleet? These are just some of the
factors that can be manipulated in UMS II. 

 As expected, movement of units is controlled by a wide variety of
factors. Sailing ships have different speeds, depending on wind
speed/direction and the ship's heading (close-hauled, beam
reaching, broad reaching, running, or becalmed). Land units are
affected by terrain such as tracks, roads, highways, railroads, 
rivers, or canals. 

 Supplies play a very concrete role in UMS II, just as in real
life. Units use up supplies each turn, depending on their mission
(attack, assault, defend, etc.), and the terrain they are in. You
can adjust the attrition of the units depending on the amount of
supplies remaining. Nasty things happen to units that run low on
supplies, so you must ensure that supply lines literally remain
open! 

 There are many military operations that can be modeled with UMS
II. For instance, paratroop landings behind enemy lines, amphibious
landings, missiles, and nuclear attacks are all possible. In the WW2
scenario, the Germans fire V1 rockets at England! There is another
version in the Game Publishers Forum's library on CompuServe (GO
GAMPUB), in which the Germans have nuke V1's! Naturally (!), you can
modify the nuke's primary blast range, secondary effects, and
secondary blast effect. 

 UMS II also permits you to access the combat equation. You may
adjust any of the factors used in computing the combat results. This
is the place to go if you want to tamper with the differences
between groups (technology, leadership, terrain, or experience). 

 Another interesting aspect is the ability to customize the computer
opponent. You are allowed to totally change the AI's preferences. Do
you want the computer opponent to be more inclined to land instead
of sea campaigns; more defensive than offensive; produce more combat
units rather than improving forts/ports; play conservative or
reckless? These factors are all adjustable. 

 If you are new to wargaming, this could become totally
overwhelming. On the other hand, I believe experienced players will
welcome the tremendous flexibility provided by UMS II. It should
also be remembered that you don't have to change parameters at all. 
UMS II simply provides the ability to tailor an encounter to
investigate the effect of different parameters. 

 This is not to say that UMS II doesn't have problems. There was a
mix up in the first batch of copies shipped, and they contained
down-level code. Fortunately, Intergalactic stepped in quickly and
provided free upgrades to anyone experiencing problems. 

 My biggest complaint with UMS II is that the only scenarios
provided are _huge_. There are so many units that it is very
difficult to learn how to use the simulator. Intergalactic should
have included at least a small training scenario as a tutorial. I
have discussed this with Intergalactic and they have agreed to
upload a suitable scenario to GAMPUB's library. 

 Although the manual is an excellent reference text, it assumes that
you're very familiar with wargaming concepts. There is no attempt to
introduce novice players to the art of warfare. Most novice players
will be totally at a loss on where to start. This is compounded by
the three scenarios included with UMS II. An introductory chapter or
two would definitely be useful. 

 I also believe that Intergalactic made a mistake attempting to use
one manual for all versions of UMS II. Sections where the
instructions are different for use on the IBM (as opposed to other
systems) are very confusing. Considering the sophistication of the
program, a simplified manual focusing on each machine type would
have been much better. 

 Just to show that you can't please everyone no matter how hard you
try, I also want the ability to change even more parameters! 

 Unit detection (hidden units) is controlled by a global variable. 
This means that modern subs are no more hidden than any other unit. 
The detection distance is the same for AWACS aircraft as for
individual ground units. Obviously, this should be corrected for
simulating modern warfare, which depends so heavily on stealth. This
should not be a problem with simulations before WWI, as sensors
really didn't exist then. Happily, Intergalactic has indicated that
they have the ability to add this feature in the code. It's really
dependent on market demand. 

 Although not a major problem, I would like to see VGA graphics. The
simulator can only use 16-color EGA as the highest resolution. The
screen is also divided into fairly large (almost 0.25") squares. 
This makes features (coasts, islands, mountains) appear very
"blocky." By the way, there are 16 different terrain types, ranging
from ocean to mountains. Each was displayed using a different legend
and color in EGA resolution. 

 The display of units in heavily occupied areas is also not
optimum. They are shown as rather large counters, and stacks are
slightly offset. This makes the higher display levels (there are
four, from group to division) of less value, since the screen
quickly becomes very cluttered. 

 You must also be careful to ensure that the original disks are not
destroyed. UMS II modifies scenario files as it plays out a game. If
the original disk is used, the scenario will be permanently
changed! There is no warning, except in the documentation. A more
user-friendly approach would have been for UMS II to copy its data
to a temporary file and avoid the problem altogether. 

 UMS II provides an amazing environment for simulating military
encounters. In its present form, I believe the game will overwhelm
novice players, and is really most suitable for experienced
wargamers. This could be corrected, at least in part, by including
tutorial documentation and some simple scenarios. The addition of
the Planet Editor will complete a package that should please the
most jaded commander! 

 Intergalactic is active in the Game Publishers Forum, and will
answer questions and provide support. They have an excellent record
for customer service and send out free multi-page newsletters to all
registered users. 

 UMS II: NATIONS AT WAR is published by Intergalactic and
distributed by MicroProse Software. 

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