got medieval tw yesterday..

[neal]

i bought it yesterday and like to know which faction to start with...how to play strategy wise...and general tips http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[Colovion]

FIrst read your manual.

Second - read these guides (http://www.totalwar.org/strategy/index.shtml)

If you don't want to read all of that then just take a quick skim through a bit of the Beginners Guide. Be sure to build a navy if your faction is near the water. Try the English or Byzantines - but I would say to go with whatever you feel like first - start with the tutorials and go from there. Welcome. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cheers.gif

[Schrodinger's Cat]

If I were you, I wouldn't get too bogged down reading guides to start with, especially as you've played Shogun.
Skim through the manual to see what's new, then get down to learning by playing http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

I played Egypt, Early as my first campaign, and I think they're pretty good to start on. Nice safe position, good troops and cheap ships in early, and no worries about excommunication.
Then, once you're into the campaign, and you're either starting world domination or being crushed on all sides by crusaders http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif , then you can check out the guides for a few tips and ideas.

Have fun.

Schrodie's Cat

[motorhead]

make sure you patch the game

[neal]

yeah it does seem similar to stw.glad to see controls are the same and easy to use..lots of troop types.. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-help.gif

[Lord Armbandit]

I did the Shogun thing first, and yes the sheer variety of units can be scary.... but take a look at Frogbeasteggs unit guide.... I've probably read it a few times now, but it's always good to have around downloaded on your desktop.

Without froggy, this game would be nigh on impossible to enjoy fully

[Demon of Light]

Avoid peasants at all costs. Don't use them in battle. Don't build them at all. When you can, disband all the peasants you started off with.

Aside from that, come here regularly, read topics here and in the Main Hall and ask questions. I've learned a ton of stuff about stategy and such from being here.

Concerning factions: Some factions share borders with alot of people and have to defend alot of provinces. Other factions have fewer borders AND access to choke points. That means you'll have to defend alot fewer provinces. With good naval coverage, factions with good chokepoints are:

The Byzantine: Constantinople is a choke point. Georgia/Khazar is a choke point. If you push south, you'll find a choke point in Sinai. Everything from Sinai to Morocco is a chokepoint so you can proceed straight through to Morocco without any increase in provinces to defend.

The Egyptians: Aim for the same chokepoints as the Byzantines. You'll have to eliminate them and the Turks to get control.

The Turkish: Same story as the Egyptians.

The Almohads: Cordoba and Cyrnicea are natural choke points. That's conveniant because you that's where you start. You own everything in between. Past Cyrnicea you can go as far as Sinai. Past Sinai you go the Constantinople/Khazar route. To the north, you can hold Navarre and Aragon if you want the Iberian Penninsula (Yes, you want it.)

The Danes: Denmark is the key. If Denmark is secure, a strong navy can protect Sweden and Norway.

The English: This is the only faction where relying on chokepoints is a bad thing. YOur chokepoint here is Wessex. Any invasion of the English Isles must come through here. The bad news is that if you are relying on this chokepoint, it means that you have lost your provinces in mainland Europe. Still, it serves as a fall back position.

[motorhead]

Quote[/b] ]Avoid peasants at all costs. Don't use them in battle. Don't build them at all. When you can, disband all the peasants you started off with.
- i have to disagree part of this. sure, peasants are crap in battles, but for provincial garrisons they're the most cost effective. Since quality doesn't count with garrisons, just sheer numbers, peasants are great for garrisoning backwater provs away from the action.

[neal]

peasants are like ashigaru then...

[octavian]

only Ashigaru were better than peasants http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif

[neal]

colovian;thanks for the guides, very informative..cheers http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cheers.gif

[ah_dut]

get medmod http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif then your peasants have the second lowest support costs. in VI irish dartmen are cool too. For the first game play the spanish, nice provs, iron, muslim opponent, what more can you ask for http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-jester.gif

[Medieval Assassin]

I wouldn't suggest getting medmod untill you are fairly good at the game, and learn about the units, and just play around and learn this and that. MEDMOD will make the game, harder, It can make it much harder as the AI are smarter and all.
All the units, when I first started playing im like Holy crap but you get used to how good each unit is quite fast.
Have fun and,
Dont miss to much school... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-anxious.gif

[Demon of Light]

Quote[/b] (neal @ May 24 2004,05:50)]peasants are like ashigaru then...
I remember someone else made that assumption. They regretted it. Peasants only have two states of being while in combat. Losing Badly and Running Away.

Really, however much people here tell you to build peasants for garrison, don't do it. You'll thank me when you actually find yourself forced to defend those backwater provinces.

[shakaka36]

play the Byzantines, very easy, good units early on, and you get lots of generals and prince's with high stats

[Colovion]

If not peasants, what do you use instead of them for garrison?

[King Edward]

Peasants do also have limited use in Battle. A flank attack by peasants has the same effect on morale as any other unit, and so can rout enemies, also make good cannon fodder in defensive positions (esp if given a bit of Armour) let the peasants soak up HA fire then pull them back when things look like getting close. I just takes practice in learning when to commit them an when to pull them out.

[neal]

crap the campaign map won't show,it just flickers off and crashes, all other things appear to be working.how do i fix it does anyone know? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-help.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-help.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-help.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-help.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-help.gif

[Imperial Buffoon]

Quote[/b] (neal @ May 26 2004,05:00)]crap the campaign map won't show,it just flickers off and crashes, all other things appear to be working.how do i fix it does anyone know?
Hmm, I suppose we (well, not necessarily me, but anyone who actually knows something) are going to need some more information for that:
- did it actually run once?
- do battles run?
- machine specs
- medieval version specs (the thing that shows in the upper left hand corner when you run it, rather than what you recall having done, just in case)
- do you get the loading bar twice when starting a campaign?
- does it crash to main menu or desktop?

Otherwise, you may want to take a look at the Apothecary, where the techies roam.

IB

[neal]

dodgy loading bar thing happens, and then drops to desktop.Battles work like a dream, i have an s3 graphics prosavage ddr, graphics card, and chiptype is s3 prographics..sumat or other, i have direct x 9 installed currently, and is near enough brand new pc http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-help.gif

[Colovion]

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-inquisitive.gif what graphics card? how much RAM? all of those specs are very ... shady

Make sure you have the latest patch. Make sure you have all the latest drivers for your hardware and try it again.

[neal]

it said something about chipsets on the back of the cover..don't understand it though http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[Colovion]

your chipset probably has a brand - type that brand into a seach engine and find the main site. Most times you can find the drivers for the chipset there. Get the correct drivers for all your major hardware:

Motherboard, Processor, Video Card, Sound Card

Good luck, I'm off. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-zzz.gif

[neal]

good night, sleep tight http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-zzz.gif

[Imperial Buffoon]

Yep, you need to be a bit more precise:
- is it a laptop?
- memory (ram but you may also need some free HD space for swap files)
- processor (&speed)
- anything odd in Dxdiag? (type dxdiag in the execute box or look for it in cofiguration or in explorer)
- version of MTW (patched?VI?)

- Try to get the latest drivers for all components (if the machine is fairly new, then you may not find approved drivers, but test what you can find)
- Patch the game
- Get VI. On some laptops (including mine) VI actually changes everything. I couldn't run the campaign map until I got it. Shouldn't be expensive now as well.

How much memory does the video card have? Is it its own or shared? There's one thing that you can do (check in the apothecary) that involves forcing the machine to use low-res textures if the card is overextended.

Oh, and don't worry too much about the chipset bits on the back. It lists supported chipsets, but it doesn't mean it won't work on others, just that Activision will tell you not supported http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif if you come to ask.

[neal]

not on my comp at the mo, but will get back to yo on them specs, nothing wrong in dxdiag know that much,not a laptop..

[neal]

i just looked at a previous topic in apothecary and apparently someone has the same problems as i, i need new drivers.......grumble http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-no.gif

[fahdiz]

Quote[/b] (neal @ May 24 2004,03:54)]i bought it yesterday and like to know which faction to start with...how to play strategy wise...and general tips http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif
For my first campaign in M:TW, I chose the Danes. I really enjoyed playing them - they have a great starting position if you really get a move on in terms of your seafaring skills http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

But I agree with several posters here - the Byzantines are probably one of the best factions with which to learn the game's mechanics without being frustrated.

[Gregoshi]

neal, post back if the drivers don't fix your problem. I seem to recall some people having trouble with one of the Savage graphics cards, but I don't know if it was the same as yours. Anyway, we await word on your results.

[Demon of Light]

Quote[/b] (Colovion @ May 26 2004,01:54)]If not peasants, what do you use instead of them for garrison?
I use anything else. Except urban militia. Those guys are pretty close to worthless. My bottom line policy is not to build troops I wouldn't commit in a battle. I think that sounds pretty reasonable. It keeps me from ever regretting I made inferior troops when I need to cobble together a force.

For my brother, a standard garrison is something like 2 units of Byz infantry and one unit of Treb archers.

[Colovion]

huh - maybe next campaign I'll start doing that. Isn't it kind of taxing on your economy to do that though? Upkeep and the initial purchase - that's why I thought peasants were better (obviously they're worthless on the battlefield but they're cheap to keep the revolts down in the normal provinces)

[neal]

i fixed it....yey just got a new graphics card..

started new campaign as the byzantines, http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-2thumbsup.gif getting used to it quick enough,can you play it over the internet? just curious as i know shogun can. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/medievalcheers.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/ceasaryes.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-dizzy2.gif

[Imperial Buffoon]

You can play battles on line, you need a Gamespy account. Take a look at the Guides section, there's a brand new multiplayer guide there.
Enjoy

[neal]

i will certainly try to play online http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-furious3.gif