The Glorious Cause

The Glorious Cause is a historically grounded, hex-based strategy and tactics game that places the player in command during the American Revolution, from small, desperate engagements to the full scope of the war for independence.

Blending tactical battlefield command with long-term strategic decision-making, the game is designed to evolve from individual battles into a living strategic experience that ultimately covers the entire conflict.

A Living Game, Built in Phases

The Glorious Cause is being developed and released in clearly defined phases. Each phase is a complete, fully playable experience, expanding the game’s scope, systems, and depth over time.

Phase I: Tactical Battles of the American Revolution

• Phase I focuses on historically grounded tactical battles, placing the player directly on the battlefield.

• The game features a distinctive graphical user interface inspired by wood and brass, designed to immerse the player in the look and feel of the 18th century.

• Players can choose to fight as the American Army or the British Army.

• Significant historical research went into recreating each battle’s Order of Battle, including the number of soldiers per unit, the officers who led them, and the condition of each unit in terms of health, morale, and organization.

• Combat is driven by a complete and in-depth system that evaluates numerous factors whenever a unit fires or charges an enemy. Terrain defensive values, unit health, organization, and morale all play a decisive role in determining the outcome of engagements.

• Custom 3D models bring the battlefield to life, including American Continental brigades, Hessian infantry regiments, and historical figures such as George Washington and Colonel Johann Rall.

• Terrain matters. Woods, homes, roads, and other hex types influence a unit’s movement and defensive value. If your army is not at its best, choosing better ground can be the difference between victory and defeat.

• Combat is turn-based and hex-based, with formations playing a critical role. Column formations allow units to move faster, while line formations are used to engage the enemy with musket volleys or charges.

• Combat is designed to reflect the realities of 18th-century warfare. Weapons, engagement distance, and battlefield conditions directly influence casualties and combat effectiveness.

Core Unit Statistics

• Three major statistics govern how units perform on the battlefield, affecting movement, firepower, and obedience to orders:

• Health represents a unit’s overall well-being and influences how severely morale and organization are affected by combat.

• Organization represents unit cohesion. Lower organization results in fewer casualties inflicted, increased straggling, and reduced ability to maneuver.

• Morale is a critical factor that affects combat performance, willingness to obey orders, and the risk of routing or desertion.

Leadership and Command

• Leaders can rally units to temporarily boost their statistics, allowing them to return to the fight or hold critical positions. Division and Army leaders are planned for future updates.

• Units may fire musket volleys or initiate charges to dislodge enemy formations. These actions depend heavily on health, organization, and morale. Units in poor condition may refuse to charge or rout easily.

• Each unit can detach a company to act as scouts or secure a flank, adding tactical flexibility on the battlefield.

Ammo, Visibility, and Battlefield Awareness

• Ammo and supplies are currently unlimited but will be fully implemented in a future update. Every volley fired and every day that passes will drain supplies, forcing players to think carefully about when and where to fight.

• Responsive fire allows units to fire on enemy forces as they maneuver during their turn, inflicting losses as the enemy attempts to reposition. However, ammunition must be conserved, and players may need to order units not to fire in order to preserve supplies.

• Fog of War limits battlefield awareness. Detached companies and cavalry units (coming soon) can be used to scout ahead. Charging blindly into unknown territory is often disastrous.

• The Line of Sight system ensures that forces can only see what scouts or cavalry report, reinforcing the importance of reconnaissance and cautious maneuvering.

• During combat, musket volleys generate smoke that fills hexes and obscures visibility. As smoke thickens, accuracy decreases and fewer casualties are inflicted. The longer units exchange fire in the same hex, the less effective those volleys become.

Artificial Intelligence and Audio

• The AI prioritizes self-preservation while actively seeking opportunities to exploit enemy weaknesses. It evaluates unit strength and condition, deciding whether to fire, maneuver, or launch charges against vulnerable units with low morale, organization, or health.

• Authentic sound effects recorded from real muskets and other sources are used to immerse the player in the battlefield experience.

Demo: The Battle of Trenton

The Battle of Trenton demo places the player in command of the American Army as it advances toward Trenton. Hessian forces have established outposts outside the town, and early engagements risk alerting the main garrison.

Historically, the Hessian defenders were caught unprepared after Christmas celebrations. A unique alert system allows players to eliminate outposts, storm the town, and seize the Hessian position with minimal resistance if executed correctly, closely mirroring historical events.

The demo includes both victory and defeat conditions. Heavy losses will lead to failure, but careful strategy, timely rallies, and innovative tactics can result in a decisive victory , including the possibility of routing the Hessian army entirely by surprise.

Coming Soon Version 0.4.0 to 1.0:

• Playable Hessian / British Side

• Leader Stats & Bonuses

• Develop new 3D Model as well as animations for units such as Cavalry, Artillery, Grenadiers, American Riflemen, American Militia, British Loyalist Militia

• A Revamped Map with Hex designs that players can easily discern hills, mountains, rivers, etc.

• A More In-depth and Smarter AI that will perform more advanced strategic attacks

• Add in Ammo Modifier, and ability for player to turn off responsive fire for that unit, or division or the whole army.

• Live Multiplayer System via Steam

• Play By Email (PBEM)

• Naval Combat and Movement, including ferrying of land units via boats.

• Fortifications & Entrenchment functionality.

• Alter Detach Company to Detach Unit, allowing you to set the size of the unit to detach from 50 men to a Regiment or Battalion size and assigning a leader to it.

• Ability to Change Leaders of Any Units with those that were present during the battle.

• Brigade, Division & Army Commanders can become wounded or even killed affecting the morale of nearby units

• A Full Scenario Editor for The Community so you can make your own custom scenarios, designing scenarios from a large roster of hexes with simple drag and drop, adding a order of battle, assigning leaders, units, weapons, ammo, supplies to it, their positions, and objectives for the AI.

• Additional historical battles (Battles of Princeton, New York, Saratoga, Yorktown and more), including precise order of battle for each battle, developing maps based on those drawn during or after the battle to provide the most historical experience possible. 

• New Sound Effects of Cannons Firing, Cavalry Moving and Charging, Rifle Fire Sound Effect, etc.

• And much more. Visit our website for a full list.

Phase II: Expanding the Battlefield

Focus:
A deep campaign system with expansive tactical systems.

In Phase 2 we plan to add the following:

• A Tactical Hex Map that spans from Lower Canada to the Caribbean, Western Pennsylvania to The Atlantic and parts of Europe featured on the map.

• A Strategic Map that seamlessly integrates into Tactical Hex View so you can get a Google Earth's eye view of the entire eastern seaboard, quickly identify your units, and move them with a simple scroll of your mouse and two clicks.

• A Expanded Supply System you will need to manage so your army is fed, rested, kept from the frost and has the weapons and ammo to fight the next battle.

• Order of Battle System: You will get to create and organize your armies as you see fit. From The Commanding General, Division Commanders, Brigade Commanders to how they are armed, how much supplies they should carry, ammo each unit should be allotted, etc.

• Financial System. Cities and Towns will be the heart of your income, loosing them to the enemy will affect how many troops you can recruit, weapons, ammo and food you can buy. It will also affect if you can pay your troops and officers, failure to do so will result in desertions and officers abandoning their post or switching sides.

• And much more. Visit our website for more details.

Phase III: The War for Independence

Focus:
A full strategic campaign spanning the American Revolution.

In Phase III we plan to add the following:

• Multiple Starting Points 

• A full order of battle system that includes every major officer, elite unit, throughout the entire war for the Americans, British, French and Spain

• A complete sandbox game where where you start and where you end the war can be very different from history.

More details coming during Early Access.