Reinforcement roster

[Matty]

What order do troops come in on from the reinforcement roster? is it random or from the top or bottom?

[Zarax]

Top to bottom, IIRC

[Matty]

thanks. whats IIRC?

[lugh]

If I read/recall/remember Correctly.

It's from top to bottom, which is important in large battles since it allows you to choose what troops will be coming on when. ie you may think you'll need more ranged units to replace you're expended ones early in the battle, so they'd be at the front. Then maybe cavalry to help swing the tide before the neemy can regroup and infantry last incase you need a good solid line for your men to hide behind and recover before going on the assault again. At least that's generally the order I put my reinforcements in, with the odd unit mixed around.

[Matty]

good. I'm sick of calling up 24 weak kneed archers to the aid of my increasingly nervous general when what I really wanted were those super valoured Italian Infantrymen I'd be saving up as a sucker punch, currently relaxing over pizza somewhere stage left waiting for the nod.

By the way, what does it mean when someone is a 'vanilla' whatever? I'm guessing 'non-upgraded' but I would certainly appreciate the assistance of you young folk in getting 'down with the lingo' as it were.

[lugh]

Ah, I probably should have asked what version you're running....

vanilla MTW is the plain game with no expansiopn pack (Viking Invasion.)
vanilla VI is the game with expansion pack, this version added some new features to the game like the reinforcement screen and other things, there's a thread around somewhere, maybe on the next page, about it.

After that, well, a lot of people play modded versions. There are too many to mention but some of the favorites are VikingHordes XL mod and BKBs SuperMod. They add new factions, new units, new maps, tweak gameplay etc etc.

edit: Also, since some mods change unit stats, you'll hear of vanilla spearmen or whatever.

[Matty]

Ok, I have the Viking Invasion expansion pack and have downloaded something called the XL mod. And very good it is too. So a 'vanilla archer' would be an archer from a non-modded version of either MTW or VI? The 'vanilla' is 'as the creator intended' - why not call them 'virgins'?!

[lugh]

Ah, I play XL too!
I always took it to mean that that the original versions could be a little boring, kind of like vanilla icecream. No doubt Im wrong and one of the members who's been around longer will burst my bubble!
Maybe you can start a new trend? I'm sure it will appeal to a few in here...

[ajaxfetish]

Vanilla can also refer to the most basic unit of a type regardless of mods. For example, archers are "vanilla" archers compared to turcoman foot, trebizonds, etc. Spearmen compared to Feudal Sergeants, Saracen Infantry, etc. and so on.

Reinforcements are supposed to come in from top to bottom, but every once in a while it doesn't work for me. I'll have all my guys carefully arranged in the order I expect to need them, then when I start calling for help the order is completely different than what I had set up ~:confused:

Usually it works fine, though.

[Graphic]

Reinforcements are supposed to come in from top to bottom, but every once in a while it doesn't work for me. I'll have all my guys carefully arranged in the order I expect to need them, then when I start calling for help the order is completely different than what I had set up ~:confused: I think maybe that happens when you re load a quicksave, the order goes back to what it was before you rearranged everything.

[dgfred]

I think maybe that happens when you re load a quicksave, the order goes back to what it was before you rearranged everything.

I never figured out how to rearrange reinforcements :embarassed: , I have
the original game with no manual.

Could someone give me a quick lesson ~:confused: on when and how to do
this?

I've had many close calls hoping for some solid units of reinforcements to
arrive and then notice peasants coming over the hill :sweatdrop: .

[mfberg]

You need VI to reorder your troops, just one of the many nice features of the expansion. To reorder you drag-click a unit from anywhere on your battle roster to somewhere on your reinforcement screen. I will use it to reorder the entire battle set-up and often make a secondary general appear onscreen first.

mfberg

[dgfred]

Well, that was easy enough ~;) . Thanks for the info.

BTW, how old are you mf and what part of NC are you in? If you don't mind
letting us know that is.

[OlafTheBrave]

With original MTW reinforcments are oredered by their order in the stacks with the bottom ones being last. You can order you reinforcments by propperly stacking your troops before the battle. It is a bit of a headace but can be done.

[dgfred]

With original MTW reinforcments are oredered by their order in the stacks with the bottom ones being last. You can order you reinforcments by propperly stacking your troops before the battle. It is a bit of a headace but can be done.

Good to know, thanks Olaf ~:cheers: .

[EatYerGreens]

With original MTW reinforcments are oredered by their order in the stacks with the bottom ones being last. You can order you reinforcments by propperly stacking your troops before the battle. It is a bit of a headace but can be done.

This was a darned sight easier to do in Shogun. When you assembled any stack, the first unit would appear in the bottom right of the menu bar and the most recently added unit in the top left. They then appear on the field in sequence, top row left to right then bottom row left to right - in other words in the reverse of the order you assembled that stack, so you'd normally start with broken units, then cav, then alternating archers and infantry.

In MTW (without VI) this is the technique to use but the game complicates matters by 'tidying' the stacks for you. Whatever sequence you add them, the archers, spears, cav etc all end up clustered together with other units of the same type, most of the time.

Some level of control was still possible with this technique though. For instance, units affected by rain (guns/napthas) need to go in the opening 16, so that they can be sent off right at the start and archers brought in to replace them. When I attack and bring artillery with me, I make sure they are NOT in the opening 16. They're static and too vulnerable in see-saw battles. Besides, they're only along for an upcoming siege.

Note that, with VI, placing artillery in the reinforcements queue guarantees they never appear in the battle at all. In case their presence interrupts the arrival other units, make sure they're on the vary end of the reinforcements sequence.