Your biggest surprise

[Oaty]

Well it was my first game and my knowledge of the game was mininmal with only the experience of Shogun. I decided to play as the Almohods as they were a reccomended faction for a beginner.

First I have big struggle with the Spanish as I had started the war to early and didnt tech up properly (not even 1 ship had built) and dint know that the jimettes were the thorn of a rose. After there defeat(the Spaniards had eliminated the Arogonese)

Meanwhile the Byzantines had outdone the Germans and they always recieve the reward for being the most teched and strongest army)

After seeing a nice defense the French have set up, decide to only secure those borders and pick on the poorly defended Egyptians but this goes rather quickly and I run into the Turks who were nearly wiped out by the Byzantines and decide to help the Byzantines to end this quest early.

Well being a newby I see my Navy is causing my empire to flourish and realize it would be foolish to go against the Byzantines as they would just have my Navy for breakfast(let me rephrase that my Navy would have been an appetizer for breakfast)

Well I finally decide to try to go through a time of peace in my empire but finally after many decades of peace my Navy finally qualifies as more than a joke to the Byxzantines. I can not allow this threat to get any bigger so the war wages with equal losses in the Naval battles but the fresh ships slowly subdue the Byzantines. The land battles are quite a different story as I am constantly making generous donations to there head soup recipe wich the Kataphraktoi enjoy way too much for me to appreciate. I'm losing ground on the eastern front but realize there headsoup breakfast is slowly running out of supplies for head soup as the Kats can't handle the desert heat.

I have manay years suing for peace with the Byzantine but with all the pleas a treaty could not be agreed upon, but in the meanwhile I realize the war with Byzantines is lost for now and the French get a taste of the infidels as I had been patiently building up force to take them on and they go down in a rather moderate fashion. I get a treaty with the Byzantines right after I start my offensive against the French Fianllly


To my surprise after defeating the French I realize I have a not so unfamiliar neighor on my western front the Byzantines and is now I realize the vastness of there empire wich extends from Ile de France to Armenia.

Well it is about time for me to explore with ships and agents just to see the entirety of the empire.

The English had been chased out of mainland Europe but were able to maintain all the rest the English Isle. I explore through what use to be Germany and this is all theres http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-embarassed.gif Well it cant be too bad so I pass through the Scandinavian countries and to my delight the Danes are still holding on but they possibly could not have taken all of Russia that would be inconcievable in a little over 100 years well my agents get to the Russian territories and not a single rebel 100 percent Byzantine http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif

The only countries left in the Med are the Papist Sicilians and Italians all bunched up in Italy and its associated islands.

This seemed hopless as when the A.I. has so much territory it wil;l garrison ech privince with 1000 men to keep loyalty high. So even when I did win a batlle I got rolled back because there were 1000 more men coming back at me somtimes even more or a whole lot more.

Then to my delight the Byzantine emporer dies heirless. I finally could breathe. The very next turn I get a message of about 5 factions reemerging. The next turn I had realized the full amount of the Byzantines technological advances as even though they had become ronin they were still Byzantine troops and had suppressed all 5 of those reemergiong factions.

Then I tried cutting through the rebels wich took forever because there were Kataphraktoi evrywhere and I gave up for the time being and started another faction but to my dismay I had accidentally deleted the Almohod campaign when I was cleaning out the saved games oh well

[katank]

my first almo campaign ended roughly the same way.

I managed to actually win though due to incredible use of the AUMs.

wave after wave of AUMs backed up by DA finally broke the byz inf and varangians as well as denting the kats.

in retrospect, murabitins would have made all the difference and helped me take them out far faster.

AUM spamming is still a good way to go though.

have you considered camels? they can easily take out the katanks costwise.

3 of them can easily cut down a BG unit to the jedi king/prince where upon a hail of javs would finish them.

[Oaty]

I did use javelins against them but they kept coming and if the kats were'nt there the Byzantine lancers would tear me apart as I was lucky to go up against 5 star general. Since it was my first game just about every major battle was led by an heir or the Sultan himself and 4 stars was my highest.

[katank]

really? almos get some kick@ss generals as the heirs and are 6*+.

BTW, bribing el cid gives one hell of a nice general. He is 5* expert attacker by default. I built him up to a 7* regular, 9* when attacking and gave him constables to make him a permanently and he chews through everything.

too bad I couldn't get jinettes to fill up his unit well although I don't take much losses and he would never get not so bold due to the amazing number of routers he can capture/kill

[MalibuMan]

Actually, just yesterday

Playing Danes and rushing HRE, I was just starting to overextend myself (I'd been the agressor from the start), thinking I had to consolidate otherwise they'd beat me by sheer weight of numbers. The Pope excommunicated them It caused a civil war, which they won in every province, but it eroded their troops hugely so I can now continue my campaign of conquest Talk about luck...

[Chimpyang]

The first time I got backstabbed by an ally, I really wasnt expecting it.

[katank]

really chimpyang? what difficulty have you being playing at? always expect em to stab you. there are no such thing as lasting alliances in this game if you don't keep them honest by having a huge defensive force.

[son of spam]

I guess I expected the diplo system to be better in MTW. After playing civ III so much, the way the alliances worked was a letdown.

[Oaty]

Well KATANK CHIMPYANG said this was the first time getting backstabbed by an ally, so I can only assume he was a bit new to the game (but a shogun veteran would have laughed at the A.I.s backstabbing as they knew it was ineveitable but then again I was'nt expecting a peasant mob like Shogun had and also was thinking/hoping the A.I. was a bit more diplomatic, YEAH RIGHT) Really it seems with MTw or STW there first game is the best. After that you go into battle heres your orders men we again face a peasant mob, chop off heads, make head soup as food is rare in these medieval times and enjoy. I had Shogun and was still playing(slaughtering peasants) it when MTW came out. I had read the boards for MTW but not often so I only knew plain peasants were worthless but had not known that there are quite a few other worthless units. Here I am in the desert watching FRESH unarmoured urban militia going to town on EXHAUSTED Saracen infantry. This lead me to the belief that urban militia were not a unit to be ignored(the Byzantines told me otherwise).

So far the Total war series has been like this

Like a virgin choppin off heads for the very first time after that you get tired of chopping off heads and it almost seems like an arduous task.

So far the totalwar series seems to only be appeasing once but I hope RTW has the ability to give you multiple orgasms

Wooohoo go RTW

[Al Qasim Hussein]

My biggest surprise in a while came up last night when I was playing as the Danes.

I was noodling around in the Baltic provinces, using the inland territories to build up my generals before my big push against the Polish (who are still blissfully unaware of what I plan on doing to them) when LO AND BEHOLD the gall-darned People of Novgorod attack Lithuania Not only do they attack, but they use a pincer tactic and horse archers which my legions of hell-screaming huscarles were not prepared to defeat. The result...I lost the province for all of one turn until the Natural Born Killer, Heir to the Danish Hegemony, Prince Valdemar strode in with a butt-load of Huscarles and Lithuanian Cav. The Novgorodian's didn't even bother to fight, but retreated...tonite, after work, they are going to PAY

Needless to say, I had my eyes focused on troubles in France, Spain, and the HRE. I thought those Russkies were more or less cowed by my might. Shows me, I guess.

[katank]

well, huscarles eat boyars for breakfast.

hiding in the woods would mean the HAs get destroyed.

consider using a smaller force so that the AI believes it can win it and slaughter them due to being able to force a battle.

[son of spam]

Quote[/b] (oaty @ May 02 2004,23:31)]Like a virgin choppin off heads for the very first time after that you get tired of chopping off heads and it almost seems like an arduous task.

So far the totalwar series seems to only be appeasing once but I hope RTW has the ability to give you multiple orgasms

Wooohoo go RTW
your imagery is ....interesting http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-inquisitive.gif

[Al Qasim Hussein]

In response to Katank:

Yes, I'm not too used to using my Danish madmen in defense yet. I come from the old school, HRE and English way of doing business, vis a vis the spear wall, archers behind, shock troops to flank, etc.

Defense with the Danish troops is really more offense than defense. And you're right, if I'd lured them into the woods I could have brutalized them. I guess I was just too used to pushing people around w/ the huscarles and let myself get out-generaled. Pride goeth before a fall and all that...

[WorkNeglecter]

Quote[/b] (oaty @ May 03 2004,06:31)]Like a virgin choppin off heads for the very first time after that you get tired of chopping off heads and it almost seems like an arduous task.
Try Medmod. You'll never see another peasant rebellion again, just knights templar backed up by Order Foot Knights or something of the sort. Head-chopping won't be so easy http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-glasses2.gif

[mfberg]

My biggest surprise was seeing the rebel armies starting to expand their territory, moving stacks through poland and the HRE. Hordes of high valor HA and steppe cav. Then when the Mongols hit the rebel castle in Khazar the rebels slammed them too I was glad to be off in the west minding my own provinces.

mfberg

[katank]

@mfberg. that's amazing I suggest getting your emissaries ready if you can spare the cash http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

sounds like epic turkish or spanish hordes that soemtimes result and wipes out the mongols like swatting flies.

this is when I try to back away from them or sink their navies so their mighty armies can't get back before I sack all their homelands etc.

[mfberg]

The hordes were smallish, but seeing them disappear was scary. BTW the rebels in most provinces had built at least 20% farms and quite a few had trading posts. I still have to figure out if taking rebel captives reduces their bank account and if they make money from captures (I'm pretty sure they must).

mfberg

[Maychargewithoutorders]

I had an emissary sitting in a french swabia and both the italians and germans invade, each with their king at the helm. Next year i get three messages saying that they all died http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif

[katank]

@mfberg, rebels do lose money for confiscated lands. that's why they are usually broke and frequently can't build.

if they stay in the red though, they can actually become quite a power, more competent than most other AI factions

everytime you defeat them and confiscate land, you are breaking their back although it's tough going if they are that big.

besides, they are often too loyal to be bribed which is funny, often requiring two attempts.

I usually saw the rebels declaring their allegiance to the horde rather than fight them although in your case it turned out better this way as MHC, MHA, mongol warriors with tons of free steppe cav is just not right.

[Oaty]

Speaking of rebels nothing like seeing them have 20,000 men in one province When I played as the HRE. This is with wesmod where the economy is a bit better for the A.I. The swedish king died and had a good chunk of Russia along with Ireland and some of England. Well the Danes Started to go to town at first I thought finally England was finally reclaiming her lost land. Then I noticed most of England was a different shade of red and the Danes were rich enough to bribe away all the rebels in England leaving the English with wales and Mercia. Then the Danes started working on Russia. Well you know how the A.I likes to reteat the relieve the siege for a morale boost. Well the Danes and rebels kept swapping territorie until finally they chased 20,000 rebels to my border. At least they did'nt get chased to Kiev as that would have given the Mongols over 40'000 men. I'm just glad the Danish king did'nt die too because that would have been another 20'000 men to this big rebel mess. All as I can say is I saw the rebel army as aggressive as ever. Only reason I did'nt take the Danes out early is I had quite a few other problems but the Italians got close to sharing a border with them. After smashing the French and having a secure Eastern front I then was out for vengaence against the Italians

[SpencerH]

I was very surprised when my King died without heirs just as my Polish Empire was making the switch to 'number 1 contender'. That had never happened to me before.

[Kommodus]

It would have to be just now, when 14 of my provinces rebelled in one year without any drop in loyalty. I know many of you guys have seen worse, but it sure took a long time to finish that year.

[solypsist]

my biggest surprise is that after three months I'm playing MTW again, on sp campaign....

and losing http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif

[Ellesthyan]

Medmod rebellions are a nightmare, a frikkin nightmare For example, I was the French (late, normal) and I had bribed the Scottish to my side, sending a few extra troops to raise loyalty a little. After a couple of turns the Scots rebel (95% loyalty...) and almost 1500 order foot soldiers appear http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif

I somehow was able to win as the Highland Clansmen in combination with the few superior French cavalry could make some devastating flank charges, but it sure was a close run (1076 losses to the rebels, 674 losses of the 760 French)... Other rebellions I have experienced as outsider; the reemerging Byzantines in Cyprus had 5 stacks of high era über troops, including varangian guards, many lancers and a dozen kataphraktoi. Or the Portugese rebellions: usually 3 stacks of wich 2 stacks contain only templar knights...

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-anxious.gif Never, NEVER have less than 120% loyalty in a medmod game

[Mount Suribachi]

The first time I assaulted a Castle in VI. Not a keep, or a fort, but a bona fide castle with long range defensive towers, boiling oil etc. Catapults just aren't enough against a proper castle.

Of my 500 men assualting it, around 50 survived and I never even reached the curtain wall. Castle assaults are fun http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif And hard when you don't have gunpowder artillery.....

I've never gone far enough into the campaign to have to assault a Citadel, I shudder to think of how many troops I would lose http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif

[katank]

well, it's not as if mangonels do any better.

they get wrecked really fast and miss a lot at low valour.

500 men? looks like you didn't bring pure siege train as first wave.

once I had a 5* catapult general.

I thus had 16 catapult castle assaults. It was fun. I managed to bring down full fledged castles with pure catapults. 16 of them broke down the walls and subsequent cav rush destroyed enemy resistance.

I lost about 300 to their 30 men but it was still pretty tough.

Which is why for fortifications above keep, I autocalc http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Terry]

I have been playing this game - MTW and Viking - for quite a while, but with real life getting in the way, I usually only get to play a few turns late at nite when I get home from work. I'm now playing medmod 2.04 and got a shock with an English start. I was only 20 years into the game, I was playing GA, getting a crusade ready and setting up to invade Wales. I moved William II north out of Wessex to link up with some stray troops for the assault, when William's two sons rose up in Revolt. Civil War?? I didn't know that would happen in the blood. Anyway, after the rebellion was crushed, I had to hack off some heads. Now I only have females hanging round the house.


Terry

[SpencerH]

Quote[/b] (katank @ May 09 2004,12:48)]Which is why for fortifications above keep, I autocalc http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
I've gone the other way. I used to autocalc with MTW but with the campaigns of VI I've found I loose too many men and guns to autocalc.

I attacked a citadel defended by 2 men. I was in a rush so I autocalced which cost me 220 men 1 culverin and 1 treb.

I refought it and lost 69 men.

[gaijinalways]

My biggest surprise was in this current campaign where the Sicilians and the Italians keep sniping at my fleet I have seen this beofre, but not on such an extended basis. The first time it happened, I had barely set my trade network, so it really hurt. Since then, I have mostly wiped out the Sicilians and knocked the Italians down to a few.

[katank]

the italians and sicilians are always pirating in Vanilla VI while in MedMod they become a true menace in getting totally OP infantry that can crush the HRE easily in a few decades and turn the map green.

[Oaty]

Quote[/b] (katank @ May 13 2004,11:18)]the italians and sicilians are always pirating in Vanilla VI while in MedMod they become a true menace in getting totally OP infantry that can crush the HRE easily in a few decades and turn the map green.
Heres a little hint that might help you. I found that campaign easier than the French with medmod. Lose provence. This will cause you to have no mediterranean borders wich does take the ability for you to have any fleet there but takes away there huge advantage, mobility via there navy. I defended against the Italians and crushed France who had chased away England. Of course don't igore an atlantic fleet and try to outdo the Danes or subdue them early wich can be hard as you also have to go against the Swedes to completely conquer the Danes. The Danes historically had the best navy and if I'm correct put restrictions on all of Eourpean nations trade outside of Europe as there navy was able to enforce this. I might have gotten lucky in this campaign as the Danes were never attacked me until I had an equal navy