Strategy Map -- A new dimension

[Doug-Thompson]

It's a shame multiplayers don't get the strategy map, which adds a whole new diminsion to the game compared to MTW.

You couldn't use units to slow down large armies in MTW without going into siege and surrendering at province. Now RTW troops can screen and slow down the enemy while planning a counter-strike and moving up troops.

I've used the new strategy map many times to clobber enemies piecemeal. I've also built a few forts at choke points to keep the enemy factions from doing this to me.

It would be nice to beat up on somebody besides the AI with real maneuver, which your really didn't have in MTW. One of the reasons I was such a cavalry archer fan in MTW was because you got to do more dancing around. It was more interesting, and lethal without suffering losses yourself.

Cavalry will really come into its own in this game. It will be used for what cavalry was used for in real life: To scout, impede and harrsas.

Consider Saharan Cavalry, hobilers and other lightweight cavalry in MTW. They were good when nothing better was available, but a unit of knights was better. Now, light cavalry can bother, screen against and spy on much larger armies. They also have great mobility on the strategic map, which will make them quite useful for killing brigands and rushing to counter surprise moves. I've done that to a limited extent with the so-so Roman cavalry. I can't wait to unlock a real cavalry faction.

[Dimeola]

How do you build forts?
D

[Nelson]

Fort building is a strategic option for any faction member's force that is not in a city, terrain permitting. The fort costs money, 500d if I'm not mistaken.

It may not be possible to sit in a fort while besieging a city. I think I tried it once and could not do it. If this is correct then we can't do any Alesia type sieges.

[Doug-Thompson]

How do you build forts?
D

You have to have an army with a faction member general.

You also need to have suitable terrain and/or plenty of troops. I don't know exactly how many you need, but I've had small forces of about 100 troops that happened to have a faction member with them and they couldn't build a fort.

I don't know if it's number of troops or troop quality that let's you build. I may have to read the manual some day. ~;)

If you can build a fort (which you can't do inside a city) you can click on the construction button. Instead of buildings, a "field fortification" screen appears. You can also build watchtowers, but that takes more/more skilled troops than a fort.

If you leave a fort ungarrisoned for a turn, it goes away. I don't know how long that takes because I haven't abandoned any yet. I presume you can demolish them, too, but will check that tonight.

[Russ Mitchell]

Can't wait: as a player heavily into the Hungarians and Welsh factions, it was always disheartening to know that if you did heavy raiding, all you were achieving (besides burnination) was to give them a large rebel army two turns later...

[Doug-Thompson]

Can't wait: as a player heavily into the Hungarians and Welsh factions, it was always disheartening to know that if you did heavy raiding, all you were achieving (besides burnination) was to give them a large rebel army two turns later...

Hungarians would have ruled with this type of map system. Szekely's would have swarmed.

Same for the Welsh -- with ambushes, etc.

Raiding will be deadly in this game. As I said on another thread, the Senate ordered me to take a town I didn't want. So I took it -- and committed massacre. I got a b&@#load of money which gave me a big head start that early in the game, and my invading army got back on the ships and sailed away, back to the real war in Greece. Didn't get any notable vices for that one raid, either.

This will work both ways, I bet. Be sure and wall those cities.

[Russ Mitchell]

Hungarians would have ruled with this type of map system. Szekely's would have swarmed.

Hey, it worked for Corvinus... he paralysed half of Central Europe that way... I'm budget-whacked at the moment, but can't wait to get my hands on this sucker. My wife and I are archaeologists, and though my wife finished her work in medieval studies, she's a classicist at heart, and slobbering over the game reviews...

[zentuit]

An ungarrisoned fort just disappears at the end of the turn. But any unit can garrison a fort including agents. So if you march your legion out of the fort but leave a spy in the fort, the fort will remain.

I'm really thrilled about the campaign map. Armies have zones of control which are very important; other factions' units must stop at your ZOC. You need to guard those river crossings or mountain passes. There's nothing to stop other factions from walking through your lands except you controlling your borders. One thing I found... if you send out cavalry screens don't use their full movement points as then it looks like they cannot withdraw.