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{{cleanup|date=November 2007}} {{Infobox VG |title=People's General |image= People's General Coverart.png |caption= |developer= [[Strategic Simulations, Inc.]] |publisher= Strategic Simulations, Inc. |distributor= |designer= Paul Murray (lead programmer) |series= |engine= Living Battlefield |version= 1.0 (original, official release)<br /> 3.0 (unofficial) |released= {{vgrelease|NA= August 31, 1998}}{{vgrelease|EU= September 15, 1998}} |genre=[[Turn based strategy]] |modes= [[single-player]]<br /> [[multiplayer|multiplayer via Internet]]<br /> [[hotseat]] <br /> [[PBEM]] |ratings= |platforms=Windows 95 or higher |media=CD |requirements=Pentium 155 MHz or faster<br /> at least 32 MB RAM<br /> at least 175 MB free hard drive space<br /> SVGA graphics card with 2MB of memory<br /> DirectX 6.0 or higher<br /> Quicktime 3.0 or higher |input=Mouse and keyboard }} '''''People's General''''' (a.k.a. '''''Dynasty General''''') is a [[turn-based strategy]] [[computer game]] developed by [[Strategic Simulations, Inc]] (SSI). It was released in August, 1998 in North America and in September, 1998 in Europe. The game originally focused on early 21st century warfare in Asia but both the time-frame and geographic coverage have been expanded by gamers. ''People's General'', or ''PeG'' as it is commonly known, followed SSI's successful ''5 Star General Series'' of [[World War II]] war games (''[[Panzer General]]'', ''[[Allied General]]'', ''[[Pacific General]]'') and their sequel, ''[[Panzer General II]]'' (''PG2''). It uses the same game dynamics as these earlier games—turn-based movement & fighting with military units on a hex based map. ''PeG'' uses substantially the same "Living Battlefield" game engine as ''PG2'' but features higher quality (16 bit) graphics and many new features. ==Game features== ===Game premise=== ''People's General'' focuses on modern conflict in Asia between 20 countries, principally the [[USA]], [[China]] and [[Russia]]. In the original game the countries are organized into an Eastern Alliance and a Western Alliance. China, [[Mongolia]] and [[North Korea]] comprise the Eastern Alliance. The USA, Russia, 13 other countries and the United Nations comprise the Western Alliance. [[Vietnam]] is included as an un-allied country. Gamer created campaigns and scenarios have expanded this premise to include different regions of conflict, different alliances and other countries. ===Background story=== {{Infobox Military Conflict |conflict= |date=2000-2004 |place=Asia, Russia, Central Asia and Pacific |result=Initial Chinese victory in Russia and East Asia, NATO later liberates Chinese occupied territories. |combatant1={{USA}}<br>{{RUS}}<br>{{flagicon|United Nations}} [[United Nations]]<hr>'''13 other Nations:'''<br>{{ROK}}<br>{{flag|Thailand}}<br>{{flag|Singapore}}<br>{{PHL}}<br>{{flag|Indonesia}}<br>{{flag|Malaysia}}<br>{{flag|Kazakhstan}}<br>{{JPN}}<br>{{ROC}}<br>{{AUS}}<br>{{UK}}<br>{{NZ}}<br>{{flag|India}}<br>[[File:Flag of the CIS.svg|22px]] [[Commonwealth of Independent States]]<br>{{flagicon|EU}} [[European Union|Other EU members]]<br>{{flagicon|United Nations}} many more |combatant2={{PRC}}<br>{{DPRK}}<br>{{flag|Mongolia}}<br>{{flag|Cambodia}}<br>{{flag|Laos}}<br>{{flag|Burma}}<br>{{PAK}} }} The original campaigns and scenarios expanded on this premise with a more detailed [[background]] story provided by SSI via an introductory video. The video narrated hypothetical "future" events occurring from 2000-2004, i.e., after publication of the game and before the start of the campaigns and scenarios. According to this video, both the USA and Russia reduce their military spendings. Russia is in turmoil from food shortages and other internal conflicts. China grows stronger militarily. After invading Taiwan it initiates a plan to dominate all of Asia from Sakhalin Islands and [[Vladivostok]] in the east to Volgograd and [[Kazakhstan]] in the west; from Siberia in the north to Southeast Asia and [[Singapore]] in the south. China justifies this as "reclaiming traditional Chinese territories". The USA sends its [[United States Seventh Fleet|7th Fleet]] to the Taiwan Straits to force China to withdraw. Chinese air attacks sink 7th Fleet's flagship [[USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)]], claiming it was in Chinese waters. United States denounces this as an unprovoked attack and declares war on China. The US is joined by the [[United Nations]] and most of its members. Many campaigns and scenarios created by gamers diverge from this background story. === Game dynamics === The game dynamics in ''PeG'' are essentially the same as those in ''PG2'' and SSI's earlier ''Generals'' games: #The playing pieces are military units which have varied attack, defense and other characteristics. #Play is turn based with unit purchase, deployment, movement and combat occurring throughout each player's turn. #Game play takes place on maps with different types of terrain which affect each unit's attack, defense, movement, supply, spotting results & entrenchment. #Units can be damaged or destroyed from combat but can also increase their experience as a result of combat. #Prestige points are used to purchase or upgrade units; prestige points are distributed at the beginning of scenarios and during game play. Some specifics have been changed though so ''PeG's'' dynamics are not exactly the same as those of the others. === New features === ''PeG'' includes many new or improved features compared to ''PG2'' and the earlier ''Five Star General'' games: *Attachments which modify attack, defense, supply, movement & spotting capabilities can be assigned to units. *A strategic air mission system provides various forms of air support independent of core and auxiliary units. *"Trigger hexes" provide random increases in unit experience, air missions, prestige and other resources. *Veteran & elite units can be purchased with higher levels of experience. *Helicopters have been added as a new equipment class. *Three new terrain types have been added. *New types of special equipment have been added and a unit's special equipment is now indicated on the unit display; *An alliance system has been added which allows purchase of units from any allied country. *''PeG's'' graphics are 16 bit (65,536 colors), while ''PG2'' uses 8 bit graphics (256 colors) so icons and maps are richer looking. ===Campaigns=== Nine campaigns were included in the original release of ''PeG''. Most of these are based on the idea that China grows increasingly powerful, runs low on resources and sets out to conquer [[Asia]]. The Western Alliance led by the USA hopes to stop China but the conflict becomes [[World War III]] covering all of Asia plus Russia. The original campaigns are: *Eastern Long Campaign (18 scenarios): The player takes command of the Chinese forces in their invasion of Russia and later South East Asia. *Western Long Campaign (18 scenarios): The player leads US & allied forces against the Chinese to drive them out of Russia, South East Asia and Korea. *Railroaded (6 scenarios): The player takes command of the UN forces in Russia along the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]]. *New World Order (4 scenarios): The player takes command of the [[Vietnam]]ese forces in their invasion of Thailand and the Malay peninsula. *[[Korean War|Korea Revisited]] (3 scenarios): The player takes command of the US forces in the battle for the Korean peninsula. *four additional campaigns which vary the length and difficulty of the Eastern & Western campaigns. ''PeG'' gamers have developed many new campaigns and scenarios. Some of these continue with the original premise of China seeking control of Asia in years 2010 and beyond. Often these new campaigns include new equipment files and additional countries. Other new campaigns and scenarios focus on different regions of conflict such as Africa or Eastern Europe and other eras such as the Cold War. ===Scenarios=== In addition to the scenarios that are part of the campaigns, ''PeG'' was released with 103 stand-alone scenarios. These can be played against the AI, against other human players using a hot-seat, via e-mail, via the Internet or LAN. These stand-alone scenarios can be played from either the Western or Eastern side. Several of the scenarios are multi-player: 2, 3 or 4 human players can play. ===Units and equipment=== ''PeG'' was originally released with an equipment file ("e-file") of about 370 units which included actual military equipment, equipment under development as of 1997-1998 and hypothetical future developments. ''PeG'' gamers have created several e-files with up to 1,000 units covering various periods from 1946-2030. The most widely distributed of these is the "5 Star E-File" (version 2.9). Other e-files focus on the Cold War, Asia and Africa. Several [[variants]], described below, also have e-files developed for their specific focus. <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Peoples Gen BMP.jpg|thumb|right|[[image]] of ''People's General'' unit profile]] --> ===Maps=== The most visible hallmark of the Living Battlefield series is "painted" maps—a single image of the whole battlefield. This contrasts vividly with the discrete tiles used for each hex in ''Panzer General'', ''Allied General'', ''Pacific General'' and other hex-tile games. <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Peoples gen battle.jpg|thumb|right|[[image]] of ''People's General'' battle]] --> ''PeG'' was released with 23 original maps covering locations throughout Asia including: *[[Singapore]] *[[Pusan]], South Korea *[[Saigon]] *[[Astrakhan]], Russia *[[Khabarovsk]], Russia *[[Almaty]], Kazakhstan New 16 bit maps in the Living Battlefield style have been created specifically for ''PeG'' which cover [[India]], [[Pakistan]] and the [[Caucasus]]. In addition, several tools have been developed which allow conversion of ''Panzer General 2'' maps to the PeG map graphics format. This provides a map inventory for ''PeG'' of well over 600 maps covering Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia and to a lesser extent the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa == Modifications and variations== ''PeG'' is the most easily customized of SSI's ''Generals'' games for several reasons: *More flexible file structures which SSI introduced with ''PG2'' are easier to quickly modify and test; *Powerful game editing tools are available which enable customization of the game executable, scenarios, maps, equipment files, icons and game interface graphics. *Substantial research has been done on the game dynamics defined in the program. <br /> ''PeG'' has produced two main streams of customization: #Modifications which alter elements of the game executable (program code) but retain the modern warfare focus of game play; #Variations which use the original game executable but focus on a different era and change the appearance to match. The PeG community includes active and creative proponents of both approaches. ===''People's General 3.0''=== ''PeG 3.0'' is an unofficial, fan created modification of ''People's General 1.0''. It has 40 new features, improvements and corrections, including: #expansion from 20 countries to 31 #addition of "scenario specific coalitions" #expanded purchase of experienced units ===Other modifications=== ''PeG 2.0'' (aka "PeG No Alliances") eliminated the Alliances system. While this might sound like a step backwards it actually increased the challenge of game play by restricting the availability of units. ''PeG 2.6'' & ''2.7'' corrected several errors in the original game. These versions also included an improved movement rate table (the part of the EXE file which defines how fast units move). ''PeG 2.7'' allowed additional types of video files to be displayed in the game. All three of these versions are unofficial, fan created modifications of ''People's General 1.0''. ===''Red Danger Asia'' & ''Red Danger Europe''=== ''Red Danger Asia'' and ''Red Danger Europe'' are two well developed variations produced by Devore. Each package includes several new campaigns and a new e-file. Their focus is post-Cold War conflicts in Asia and Europe respectively. ===''PeG-WW2''=== ''PeG-WW2'' is an adaptation of ''PeG'' to cover World War II using equipment files, units and scenarios originally developed for ''PG2''. ''PeG-WW2'' was initially created by Mark Kirby with assistance from Fred Chlanda using SSI's ''PeG'' executable. Robert Mary has converted many additional ''PG2'' campaigns for ''PeG-WW2''. ===Other variations=== Gamers have also produced ''PeG-WW1'' and ''Peg-Napoleonic'' variations although these have not been developed to the same extent as ''Red Danger Asia'', ''Red Danger Europe'' or ''PeG-WW2''. == Game tools == ''People's General'' can be edited with a variety of software tools which have been developed by Luis Guzman. These include: *PeG Suite is a multi-function tool which can edit scenarios, campaigns, equipment files, maps, and the game EXE (executable); *Luis's Map Tool edits the terrain definitions and prepares the segmented graphics files for maps; *PeG DAT Tool is specifically for editing the interface and unit icon graphics and the .DAT file which contains all of them; == References == 1. Several game review sites give the release date as August 31, 1998. Others state ''PeG'' was released on September 15, 1998. At least one site gives September 10, 1998 as the release date. == External links == * [http://luis-guzman.com/ Luis Tools] Home site for PeG Suite plus other editing tools for People's General and Panzer General II * [http://www.peachmountain.com/5star/PEG_Downloads.asp 5 Star General PeG Downloads] * [http://www.pegww2.net/ Robert Mary's PeG-WW2 Site] {{Panzer General series}} [[Category:Strategic Simulations, Inc. games]] [[Category:Turn-based strategy video games]] [[Category:Multiplayer hotseat games]] [[Category:1998 video games]] [[Category:Windows games]] [[Category:Play-by-email video games]] [[de:Dynasty General]]
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