Do you pause?

[scudknight]

Do you pause to think for a moment during battle? Do you think it's fair? I'm not too experienced in the speed of the battle so I pause to plan my further strategy rather than just go wih the flow. Sounds less realistic I guess.
I suppose it's like the difference between speed and normal chess. And I'm assuming you can't hit pause when you're fighting somoene online so I gess I'd better rid this habit.

I'm gonna wear my P key out. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif

[desdichado]

Uhoh. This is a very contentious topic ScudKnight - some think it is cheating and feel very strongly about and others don't care and pause away happily.

There is a recent thread on this - do a quick search and you should find it and you'll see the range of opinions on this question.

If you want to go online not a bad idea to try and stop habit but apart from that do what you want to make the game enjoyable.

I pause therefore I am.

[Etym]

Hey Desdichado, Scudknight -- I'm a noob, but I've been playing the game constantly since I got it. I had the same thought as Scudknight, so I started fighting battles without pausing. It was too much, at first, and I lost a few battles I should have won. But, you know, practice makes perfect (better, anyway) and all that . . . . I still need a lot of time to think out the tactics, especially when I'm outnumbered 50% or more. So, I admit I still pause sometimes. Like Desdichado said, you gotta do what makes the game enjoyable. Regards, ET

[Brutal DLX]

It's not cheating, it's an implemented feature, therefore you can use it as you please, and it's not a shame to use it when fighting the AI.
But for Multiplayer battles you have to do without it, that's right. Just practice.

[Bevan of Hertfordshire]

Silly old me forgot about the pause button, the world looks sorta different when the got the Islamic hordes of hell bearing down on your puny Crusader Garisson.

[Ikken Hisatsu]

i generally dont use it except when im charging in a battle line of cavalry/swordsmen. chargin in 8 units of knights one by one is not pretty- pausing it, giving them all the order, then letting rip looks much neater. apart from that though I rarely use it (unless something goes badly wrong, such as framerate going to the toilet in the middle of a crucial battle and i just cant click on my bloody king)

[Cebei]

Hey Scud

You may need less use of pause as you get more proficient in battles. It is perfectly normal to use it when you are new to battles, or when you advance to the next difficulty level.

CPU has no problem with giving orders to 20 groups at a time, which gives you a big disadvantage especially if you are on the offensive.

I use it during big battles to keep track of things and to conduct multi orders.

It is not much realistic, I know; as generals too, cant order every group in a second during real battles. Pausing would be considered as cheating, if the CPU was given 8 seconds of time between giving new orders. That way, your and CPU's pace of ordering would be equalized and you wouldnt need pause.

In the current circumstances however, it is not considered as cheating. I will get you a new P button http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

[BeetleLord]

This is an excellent question and I can imagine that it does have a rich thread elsewhere.

My primary reason for using the pause stems from my lack of experience with the camera. I try to do without the pause but I inevitably find myself needing to give a command when my camera is on the wrong side of the keep wall or some such obstruction. I am still having a horrible time panning when I should be rotating, etc. So, if I find myself with poor camera skills, I pause, get re-oriented, and then move forward with the battle.

I am sure plenty of commanders in the past wish they had the cool camera angles we get of each battle

[lancer63]

I only pause when nature calls. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Jacque Schtrapp]

I pause all the time to take screenshots of interesting situations. I also pause to issue my orders for a change in formation. In the end what it all comes down to is personal choice. Let's all pause for a moment and reflect on whether to pause or not to pause. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Cazbol]

It's a bit like riding a bicycle with support wheels. Kids often use support wheels while they're learning to ride a bike. Just about all of them quit using the support wheels at some point in time. Just after letting go of the support wheels, riding the bike may become a little harder but you quickly get the hang of it.

Why does everyone stop using those support wheels? I guess it's just too sad to see a grown-up or a big kid riding a bike with support wheels.

Are they cheating? That's a matter of definition.

[BRCN]

Sometimes it gets really irritating when you try to select a unit when 3 or more units are fighting and they are mixed into each other. Then i pause to select the right unit http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[lanky316]

It's kind of odd. I've only ever paused once and that was because I was fighting off the horde and had been for 3 hours and my dinner had been sitting on the side for half hour. I paused just while I reheated and in turn ate my delightful meal.

True story.

[Eastside Character]

I pause a lot, but I never use a map. I pause the game mostly when I want to take a closer look at sth, I like to watch my soldiers charging. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Besides sometimes I blaze a weedy before a battle, so I get easily distracted, and simply have to pause the game to know whats going on (if a battle is big) . http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[rfdamian]

I use and will always use the P button.
In the real world the general will say to someone: go there and when in place attack from the flank. This will take like 2 sec. In the game I must select the unit, move the camera to the destination, take some time to arrange the unit. Wait until the unit gets there, remember to check if they arrived, issue an attack order. All this takes like 15-20 sec or more. So I prefer to give orders in the pause period.
Plus the AI's units have more or less a mind of their own. I never saw a AI unit forgotten somewhere on the battlefield or waiting with nothing to do 2 feet away from the enemy. It happens sometimes to me (my CPU has 2GHz and my brain has like 100 CPU's but at 100MHz, sure 100*100>2000 but i never do 100 jobs in the same time so for 5 jobs the AI is faster).

[HawaiianHobbit]

I don't think it's cheating because the AI can issue orders simultaneouly and I can only do it one unit at a time, but I still only use it when nature calls or I need to get a drink.

[HawaiianHobbit]

click here (http://www.totalwar.org/cgi-bin/forum/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=7;t=12312;hl=pause) for the recent thread in the main hall

[Aelwyn]

You get used to not being able to pause the game in multiplayer. It helps you think quicker in SP afterwards, so the AI movement seems almost a joke once you can think quick enough to never pause the game.

At least its not as bad as in Shogun. Multiplayer was at a much faster pace then, so it was probably doubly as hard then as it is now.

[Papewaio]

Two types of pause:

Pause so you can do something out of the game... fair enough... unless you are some die hard freak who would rather use a coke bottle then a urinal http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif .

Pause so you can do something in the game... fair somewhat if you are learning, if you complain about how easy the AI is then stop pausing. You do not need pause. At Expert I need alt-t. The game isn't to fast, you don't have enough coffee in you... which takes me back to the first reason you may have to pause often and leave the PC. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[chris]

I pause for an entirely different reason. See i normally like a challenge, but I am running MTW on minimum requirements, so the game tends to be sluggish in the battle sequences. I pause becuz while the battle screen is paused, i can move my mouse more freely. See i want a challenge, but trying to move my mouse across the screen istn exactly what i had in mind

[Black Arrow]

I think its fair enough to pause immediately after the start battle button is clicked so you can see where your visible opponents are deploying. After all they would be observed by your troops as they approached.

Theres a particular historical battle in Shogun where as soon as you start 200 musketeers appear instantly on your flank and start blasting your cavalry wing. You would have noticed them approaching http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

otherwise calls of nature and meals justify pausing but otherwise you ought to live in real time

[Evil SPoon]

I pause almost religiously, usually because I have 8 units of Cav spread all over the map by the time the battle is half over, all of which need babysitting 80% of the time
(why horse archers suddenly forget to run from that valor 8 unit of Kats is a mystery to me)

[Fragony]

I pause like a madman. The computer doesn't has to give the directions with a mouse and hotkeys, they just go.

[Etym]

Quote[/b] (Eastside Character @ Nov. 18 2003,08:52)]. . . . sometimes I blaze a weedy before a battle, so I get easily distracted, and simply have to pause the game to know whats going on . . . .
OK, then, Eastside. Thanks for sharing . . . . http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Kekvit Irae]

I pause because I like to plan my strategies. I fast forward because I dont have time to wait for the attackers to walk toward my defensive lines. Call me unrealistic, but I have fun, and that's what matters when you play a game.