War of Rights is a multiplayer game set during the historical period of the American Civil War, during the Maryland Campaign of September, 1862. The game was recently Kickstarter funded and is being developed by Campfire games. No release has been set but a playable version has been released since September of 2016 for certain-tiered backers.
War of Rights was released on Steam on Dec 3, 2018 and is available for purchase.
The idea for the game came from the founders of Campfire Games whose love for the American Civil War led them to a dream of creating a game that would allow them to share this passion in a way that was fun, yet educational. After three years of hard work, and the addition of additional enthusiasts, the folks at Campfire Games are ready to make the dream a reality.
" This is a game focusing on the American Civil War, where bullets flew for the disparate causes of their participants. Those that fought for the rights of their states and purported livelihood clashed with those that fought for the rights of the enslaved... and the Federal government’s supremacy. Brothers, fathers, sons, cousins, and friends met in the bloody conflict that has recently been estimated to have taken upwards of 750,000 lives when all was over. But, rather than have newer generations be bored in their history classes with musty books (kids still use books, right?), we at Campfire Games want to engage them in a video game that allows them to learn a lot of important information in an interactive and fun way."
Overview
Players in the game will be able to play on multiple battlefields of the campaign, from the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers where the Siege of Harper's Ferry took place, to the ridgelines of South Mountain, and to the meandering waters of Antietam Creek at the Battle of Antietam. Additionally, players will also be able to choose from a list of regiments that fought in each battle as well as what rank to fight as, whether they want to slog it out as a lowly private, or if they want to orchestrate the carnage and mayhem as a major general.
Uniforms and bodily features will all be customizable for other players to see as you march and fight in the lines of battle according to the tactics of the period. As a General, players will operate in their headquarters equipped with a map of the battlefield and constantly receiving reports of friendly and enemy positions. Send out new orders to the regiments to move forward, or fall back - all in real time. The orders will move down the chain of command, to the Colonels, Majors, down to the Captains in charge of the individual regiments, all of whom have the option to follow the orders of their trusted commander, or rebel against his wishes and fight as they see fit.
Features
- Historical authenticity: War of Rights aims to recreate the events of the Maryland campaign of 1862 during the American Civil War as best as possible.
- Vast battlefields: Each battlefield has been carefully researched and recreated in CRYENGINE® close to a 1:1 scale. After all this work, roads, houses, fields and forests of the era will be placed as close as possible to where they existed back in the day.
- Key locations: Historical key areas such as the Dunker Church or Burnside Bridge will play a vital part as objectives in both the smaller Skirmishes and in the huge historical battles for players to fight over.
- Authentic reload: Reloading a percussion black powder rifle is a time consuming task that will present the player with the choice of continuing the reload or stop and try to win the day with the trusty bayonet when faced with a charging enemy. And as a last minute resort, you might be lucky enough to have a smaller gun on you with a single bullet to save your life.
- Realistic ballistics: Rifle flip-up sights will be needed for making shots over greater distances, and players will require mastering the slower bullet speeds of the era.
- Fouling: Firing a black powder weapon is a messy affair, and thus your weapon will start fouling as you continue to shoot. The more fouled the weapon becomes, the higher the chance of misfires or delayed fires, which in the battlefield means you won’t live to tell your tale. (As of Feb 2025, This has not been implemented in the game.)
- Team play is king: War of Rights features regiments with distinct classes such as Private, Sergeant, Colonel and Flag Bearer as well as a regiment-specific tailored respawn system. Players will quickly learn the advantages of sticking together. And later on we’ll introduce two additional branches: Artillery and Cavalry to spice things up.
- Chain of command system: The very first version of the chain of command system will be the relation between the officer and his regiment. Each regiment commander is able to issue direct orders such as: charge, fix bayonets, hold your ground and move to, with special buffs to the people obeying (think of it as a morale boost). (As of Feb 2025, there is no buff for obeying orders.) Later on, we’ll be adding Generals to the field as well. These tactical masterminds will be able to coordinate their units to their fullest potential.
