Downloading and Installing Patches

The American Civil War Game Club supports 2 game series for fighting the American Civil War. The first of these series is the one that started it all, The Battleground Series, programmed by John Tiller and published by Talonsoft. The second of these series and the most current is the Civil War Battles series, again programmed by John Tiller and published by HPS Simulations.
As the title notes, this course is presented for instruction in how to download game patches. It will include links, download and install instructions and I will also make myself available for questions, should anyone have them after reading this course.
As stated, there are 2 series supported. We will start with the oldest series. First of all the Battleground Series has 5 different games in the series. Gettysburg, Antietam, Bull Run, Shiloh, and Chickamauga. So obviously, you have to know which game you want to download the patch for.

Where to get the patches

  • Battleground Series

    • The Battleground Series patches are located for download at www.moondographics.com/icorps/acwpatches.htm

  • HPS Simulations

    • The HPS Series patches are located at http://www.hpssims.com/Pages/updates/up_Civil_War/up_CivWar.html

    How to download

  • What to click on

    • Once you reach the prior listed page, you will 3 lists for the various ACW series of patches. Click on the icon beside the game that you want the patch for. You will find that on this page are also the HPS series patches as well.

  • Where to save them to

    • Where to save them actually depends on which game/series you wish to patch. Personally, I always save things I download to my desktop first to make sure I know EXACTLY where they are. That is of course up to you as the individual.
    However, the Battleground Patches must end up in the installed game folder before you use them while the HPS Patches do not.

    How to install

  • Battleground Series

    • Once you have downloaded the patch you want you must make sure the patch is in the game folder. This is normally C:\BGG (Battleground Gettysburg) unless you installed the game in some other location.
    Once you have made sure the patch is in the right place, just double click the patch to install. Once you have done this, you will be given a message about the patch. Simply click the OK button and it will patch your game to the proper version. If there is some kind of error, then something has occurred that keeps your game from patching properly. (This is usually that the patch is NOT in the proper folder) If you have any problems you may simply contact me by e-mail for assistance.

  • HPS Simulations

    • Once you had downloaded the patch you want all you need do is to double click the patch and click the UNZIP button and it will automatically unzip the contents into the game folder provided you installed the game to it’s DEFAULT location. (If you installed the game to a location other than the DEFAULT location, then you must change the location to UNZIP the patch to the same location that the game is installed).

    32bit upgrades for Battleground Series

  • Why you need them.

    • John Tiller put together what are called 32bit upgrades to better enhance the Battleground series. These can be downloaded at www.moondographics.com/icorps/acwpatches.htm (follow the same instructions as for the regular patches for downloading).
    These are not truly patches and do not require installation in the strict meaning of the word. These are WinZip files. All you need do is open them and extract the contents to the appropriate game folder. You will asked if you wish to replace certain files, simply reply YES and your game will be “patched” to the 32bit upgrade.

    Gaming

  • What version are you using?

    • The version for a specific patch is a part of it’s name. For example Gettysburg_1.34.exe …. This is Gettysburg patch version 1.34.

  • Let your opponent know which version and why.

    • You need to let you opponent know which version you are patched to so that you and he/she are patched to the same level. If you are NOT patched to the same level you might experience problems in being able to play your game.
    If you experience any problems with any of this, you may contact me via e-mail at
    moondog830@hughes.net