Do you reload?

[Voigtkampf]

I was wondering; do you tend to reload back to an earlier position if you made some wrong moves, in order to try again with another approach? Do you reload the battles you've lost to try it out with another formation and tactics?

I have stopped reloading my game for a long time; if I fail, I don't reload, I move on if it's possible at all. Sometimes I don't provide enough units for a province and it gets attacked; I never reload so I can meet the incoming attack with additional units, I make my peace with the fact that my action was flawed and try to reclaim the said province. Last time I was defeated, it was a monumental horror. I attacked the Byzantines, outnumbered 1:3, and I managed to defeat them, though our troops were of similar qualities. Now, instead of waiting on my position, I moved all my army to the top of the hill where their reinforcement was showing up, and tried to stop them right there. It didn't work, my exhausted army routed, and there was no stopping them. After a skilful deployment of troops and perfect warfare, I made a wrong decision and lost it all, but it was a good lesson, and a mistake I will not easily repeat.

Even if I go 200 years down the line and lose the game because of an impotent king, I don't reload; I start a new campaign instead. I know that this is a somewhat radical approach to the game, but it's just me.

I wondered how other respected members handle this issue?

[Cazbol]

This is not a radical approach. It's the bare minimum for honourable play, i.e. not cheating (according to my definition of cheating which differs from that of many other players). I never reload and never have. The thought doesn't even enter my mind.

Boy, I hope Toranaga Sama posts and gives the cheaters a piece of his mind. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cheers.gif

[Brutal DLX]

I was thinking in the same direction, only I hoped he won't appear, as that gets the thread temperature rising in a hurry. lol

I can't say I never reloaded, a couple of times I did to save my royal line or to prevent a civil war because i was recklessly building new troops, but there haven't been any important battles that I ever needed to reload. But usually I don't have the mood to start a new campaign if I've advanced a lot in my current one and it meets an abrupt end. Either I quit out of disgust or reload, quite simple.

[Basileus]

I dont usualy do it but on some occasions when i have just finished building a stack of troops and a crusade starts and goes through that province with out me getting a chanse to to move i might reload http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-curtain.gif

[R'as al Ghul]

I actually do reload. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-blush.gif
But mostly due to the fact that I frequently forget about
assassins who then move into border forts and get killed.
If I would check them more often I guess I wouldn't reload as often...

[katar]

yep, i do it all the time. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

as for it being cheating, if you find that it ruins your enjoyment of the game then i suggest that you don`t do it.

it doesn`t ruin the game for me, so i do use it whenever i wish to use it.

if some people find it offencive that i do use it, might i suggest that they put their fingers in their ears and hum a tune REAL LOUD because it will have about as much effect on my using it as anything else they try to do. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/handball.gif


and how many people protest that they never do it, but actually do, you can bet your ass that some do.

[Aymar de Bois Mauri]

Nope. No reload, no pause button.

[Komutan]

No, I never reload.Even when I play action games, I use 1-2 saves per level.

[Doug-Thompson]

I reloaded when learning the game, but don't anymore.

[chilling]

I never reload, never use pause on the battlefield either.

Not using pause has caused me to loose a good number of battle, but that just means I have to come back and hit them harder next time.

[fruitfly]

I don't reload. If I've made a mistake I'll live by it.

The only reason I'd repeat a battle is to see if I was able to beat the AI in it by modifying my tactics and approach. Sort of as a training session. I'd always continue the campaign from the save with the original defeated outcome though.

[Mount Suribachi]

I never reload, except in exceptional circumstances eg during the Byz PBEM campaign, there was a highly unusual situation regarding the heirs that required several reloads to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

[Kristaps]

What does 'reload' mean? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[frogbeastegg]

I never remember to save unless I am quiting the game, that leaves me with nothing to reload to. I also forget the existence of autosave unless I see it mentioned somewhere. Fortunately I never make mistakes...just tactical reversals http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

[a_ver_est]

Reload only few times ...

In fact when no reload suppose the end of the game for example the first years playing a minor faction where no in deep defense is possible.

[The Witch-King]

Yes, I do relead, but I'm trying to get rid off the bad habit by saving only between large intervals and trying to anticipate AI moves. I've found that I reload not nearly as often than I used to. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[The_Emperor]

I do not reload after bad battles, preferring to accept the consequences of my actions.

I prefer to reload when I lose due to something unexpected like a system crash.

Apart from that I replay the battles I liked most in the campaign (I always save before the horde turn up in my territory)

[The_678]

I only reload if something really terrible happens. Like if I just sent my entire army down to egypt and someone attacks me at home and I can't defend myself and will lose the game I will reload. Usually I only reload if it is a game-ending mistake and I am far into the game.

[hoom]

I will reload due to crashes where autosave failed to save the latest turn.
Reload very occasionally when I get the king stupidly killed & had only a couple of years to go to get an heir.

I don't have any particular qualms about using pause in battle though.

[Myrano]

Since I learned the game, I haven't reloaded. I like games like Alpha Centauri where it gives you an option to play "iron man" style... and then bonus points

I never thought twice about using the pause button, though... maybe I'll give it a try.

But wait, if you don't use pause, shouldn't you also not use the time slider?

[chilling]

Oh, I don't mind speed marching to battle.

I just like the semi controlled chaos that battles can become. You'll never get the number of kills you would using pause as you can't afford to micro manage too much. It give the AI a better chance in the battle.

That moment when you find you've been smugly harrassing the enemy with your horse archers and you notice your general is now in combat. A swift fly across the field to see what's happening.

Oooops flanked again and I didn't notice those knights in the trees.

[Monk]

Fate deals a cruel hand sometimes. The only time i reload is if mtw crashes and i need to redo a few things, and that doesn't happen often. I play my campaigns to the bitter end, be it victory or defeat.

As for pause in battle, yes i use it. I don't have any problem with stopping the action to let me see who is fighting who. I lose often enough anyhow http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif

[ichi]

Once my King died and the only heir was 14. The game was over. I loaded the last save, from 3 years earlier. The King lived, and on the year the kid matured I won the 60% victory.

I felt rather ambivalent.

I do use the edit feature on these boards tho, and I really like the spellcheck.

ichi

[Voigtkampf]

Though I am surprised by the fact how many people don't reload, I do not consider reloading to be cheating. Using .cheats. is cheating, not using the option to reload or to pause.

I wish I could post a snapshot of the current situation in my campaign: Italian, Early, total Domination, Expert, but since it seems that it is only possible in the Mead Hall or the Throne Room I'll have to go without it. The year is 1332. and I control nearly 80% of the map. Suddenly, on this particular date, without any reason (the death of my king or anything similar) I suffer not the civil war, but a massive series of uprisings, an exact number I haven't yet determined, because I had no time to give it another go yet. I believe it is no exaggeration if I say that some 30-40 provinces have rebelled, with the simultaneous reemergence of the Egyptians, Turks and Hungarians, as a massive increase of the French (which were at the year before reduced to a battered garrison in a single castle besieged by my forces) and German units (they owned only Switzerland at the year before).


Now, due to my policy, I will not reload. I could, but that would reduce my valor and give me Sneaky Reloader vice. This is a challenge worth fighting out, I may well be in a good run for the TD and my well lose it and fail to accomplish it by 1453, but that is the kick that this games gives you; in the most other RTS games, when you conquer a certain share of the map, you are invincible, and it gets boring.

In Total War, nothing is ever boring.


EDIT

I have found some time and counted the number of rebelling provinces; the actual number of them is 64 I guess it will be the longest year in all of my campaigns I ever had

[CeeBod]

When the only battles going on in a turn are naval battles, that's when I find myself reloading a lot
- "3 barques and 1 caravel, sunk by a single galley???? - wtf??? - reload http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/angry.gif "

[econ21]

I do reload occasionally:

a) strategically, if I make careless mistakes - like not moving a key leader into the province battle I had planned him to command

b) tactically, as a learning experience - eg what did I do wrong? is there any way my army can beat them? etc

c) to see how the game works - eg how it deals with ship combat (still mysterious), Pearl Harbour style strikes (it does act genuinely surprised and won't invade back the same time, so you can really weaken your homelands to launch surprise attacks) and other things.

I invest a fair amount of time in campaigns and am not keen to throw that away.

If I was playing a human by e-mail, then obviously reloading would be wrong. But against the AI, I guess I have picked up some bad habits from computer role-playing games where unfortunately the motto is usually "save before you do anything".

[Brutal DLX]

Bondari reloads.. heh http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[insolent1]

I've reloaded a lot in my latest campaign as the swiss. Only because of crappy heirs, I make a quicksave when the heir is 14 then play through, if he craps I reload. I know its cheesy but the all the heirs I get in the first 50-60 years have to do me till end of game as the swiss royal line detoriates quickly & they only get one decent historical general & the game won't end till 1901 http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif

But normally I always try to avoid reloading as it can cause some massive differences in the game. Kings die when they shouldn't, any good vices that are gained are lost & most of all I hate fighting the same battle twice. It can cause problems for the AI aswell as lets say they get a really good heir, then you reload & the heir they get next is terrible. I have also seen the mongols attack with 25000+ & if you reload they might only get 9000 so for somesort of continuity I try not to reload.

[Nelson]

I quick save after every turn and between battles but never reload unless the machine hangs up (very rare) or I get interrupted by the real world (not so rare).

To Reload or Not To Reload is hardly a moral issue. There is no high ground here. Games are for fun. Anyone who would not reload if they wanted would be cheating themselves of a good time

[Zone]

Like Frogbeastegg (what a name) I never remember to save the game except when I'm quitting and I can never be bothered to reply 15 turns or so because of one mistake...

I doubt I'd use it even if I did remember, it's more of a challenge, and more realistic, I'm sure the French would have loved to reload Agincourt (sp?), The Spanish would have loved to reload the Armada balls up and Harold would have loved to reload the battle of Hastings etc. etc. etc.

[*Ringo*]

Quote[/b] (CeeBod @ Jan. 29 2004,08:59)]When the only battles going on in a turn are naval battles, that's when I find myself reloading a lot
- "3 barques and 1 caravel, sunk by a single galley???? - wtf??? - reload http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/angry.gif "

ROFL

...amen to that brother http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-jester.gif

*Ringo*

[RZST]

i reload but only when im using assasins :)
normal army movements? i dont reload.

[andrewt]

I reload a lot and sometimes even use cheats. I use a lot of cheats and edits in single player, after I've played through the game without cheating at least once. I've never cheated in multiplayer. Frankly, I don't think people should care what other people are doing when they are playing the AI. Only multiplayer cheating, whether competitive or coop, matters.

[HawaiianHobbit]

I don't reload. I always forget to save my game sometimes even when Im quiting(thank you autosave)

[kiwitt]

I save every 50 years starting from 1100 and have never really reloaded, except when I was trying to beat the Byzantines on the Bridge.

I also save at the end of my playing session whatever year that is. I delete those when I pass another 50 year milestone and all previous saves not a multiple of 50.

Reloading is cheating tho.

[katar]

Quote[/b] ]Reloading is cheating tho.



it`s only cheating if i say it is. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-jester.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

[maestro]

I used to save every year just in case i got a good kicking form someone and neede to reload. BUT, I very quickly realised that playing like that makes you totally undefeatable. MTW and VI are far too easy as it is, even on so called expert mode. Now I only save when I finish a session and if I get a good pastimng dujring play - then I should just have planned it better.

Any way to make the game more challenging is a good thing in my opinion, so no more reloads for me http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif