Screen shot of latest build of General Staff: Black Powder (June 20, 2026). Currently in beta-testing on Steam. Click to enlarge.
We are now officially in beta on Steam! Not only are doing the usual testing on the game engine, but we also need to test gameplay, player versus player real-time play, and player versus AI. Perhaps most importantly, we want to ship the game with fifteen to twenty solid scenarios for you to play. These scenarios have to be tested for accuracy and also the AI has to be run against them to see how the AI handles all kinds of different situations.
The scenarios that are currently up on Steam for testing are:
1st Bull Run, situation at 11:30 after Union troops have already crossed Bull Run and are attacking. Click to enlarge.
American Kriegsspiel Pursuit is from the original American Kriegsspiel by W. R. Livermore and published in 1882. This link goes to the Library of Congress gallery of the entire book. Click to enlarge.
Antietam or Sharpsburg. The scenario begins at dawn with reinforcements arriving for both sides. Click to enlarge.
Brandy Station, the largest cavalry battle of the American Civil War. Designed by Mike Robel. Click to enlarge.
Gettysburg, day 1 (July 1, 1863). Starts at 1400 hours. Reinforcements are arriving. Click to enlarge
Gettysburg day 2, July 2, 1863, 9:20 AM. Reinforcements are pouring in. Click to enlarge.
Gettysburg day 3 (July 3, 1863). One beta-tester asked if we could create multi-day battles using General Staff: Black Powder. The problem is that there is no concept of ‘night’ and night moves in the game. It could be added, but for now, let’s just get this game finished. Click to enlarge.
Ligny, June 16, 1815. Click to enlarge.
Little Big Horn with historical forces. Currently working on a scenario with an alternate OOB for the 7th cavalry including the Gatling guns that they didn’t take. Click to enlarge.
Alternate Order of Battle for the 7th cavalry at Little Big Horn. Screen shot from General Staff: Black Powder Army Editor. Click to enlarge.
Manassas campaign about dawn. This scenario is earlier in the day than the 1st Bull Run scenario (above). We wanted to create a scenario that would test the AI with multiple water crossings. Click to enlarge.
Quatre Bras, June 16, 1815. Click to enlarge.
If you are an early-backer or beta-tester (or want to beta-test):
We are still looking for more beta-testers. Please contact us at Betatester[at]RiverviewAI.com