Two Suggestions

[Gonzo]

What do you think about having the option of letting the AI fight a battle in the campaign in addition to the "fight yourself" and the "auto-resolve" options? This way it would be possible to actually play as the Daimyo, so you only fight a battle if the Daimyo is
general. I know this is already possible, but the auto-resolve is too much of a black box for me and absolutely no fun, whereas it would be interesting to watch a complete AI battle. I think this gives the campaign more depth, enhancing the role of your generals (which have to fight on their own, so to say). Furthermore it would be crucial where you place the Daimyo.

My second suggestion is that it should be possible to treat an army of your side as an ally if the unit count of the armies excedees the 16 unit limit. For example, if you defend a province with two armies, say with 15 and 10 units respectively, you can choose to command the 15 army while the other army has an AI general and is treated exactly like an ally. In my opinion, this would be a nice workaround to the 16 units limit which is sometimes reached very soon in a campaign. A disadvantage is that you dont have complete control over your troops, but nevertheless it could create interesting battles.

Tell me what you think about it...
Gonzo

[ShaiHulud]

I'd hate to see my hard-earned troops committed to slaughter by the AI. hehe Still, the idea has merit in that it'd provide a tougher war when only your Daimyo is under direct control.

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Wind fells blossoms, rain
fells steel,yet bamboo bends and drinks

[whyidie]

I like both ideas. I think it provides a nice middle ground between macro and micro management. I would love to stand on a hillside somewhat removed from the fray and see how well my general performs. Of course, having the option of permanently "relieving" the general of his duties in the event of a poorly managed battle, would be the icing on the cake.

[Laertes]

The first idea, I definitely like. It'd be interesting, it'd make for a nice demo, and it might be useful for non-expert players to watch.

The second idea, hrm. A concern is that what if a subordinate force (treated as an ally) decides to engage before you're ready, or otherwise doesn't coordinate remotely well? It might be extremely difficult getting them to work well together, since a player's plan isn't necessarily what the AI would plan in the same situation.


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He is justly served; It is a poison temper'd by himself.

[Magyar Khan]

Yep good ideas but who will listen?

[solypsist]

you can already do this in Custom battle mode. Just pick 4 players, you control one, say, Defense, and the AI get the other defense. Then two AI control the Attack. Of course, the points get split in half, but then you can always edit one enemy army by to just one unit and your banner can buy only one unit, thus leaving two large armies with enough points to actually fight. Then just sit back and watch.

[Gonzo]

to Magyar Khan: My hopes are not high, but I still believe that someone of the Dev team is reading this forum and I think the ideas are rather easy to implement because, as soly pointed out, they are already possible in Custom battle mode.

to Laertes: The lack of coordination would indeed be a problem, but I´d like the resulting confusion better than the "oh.., one of the 16 units left the battlefield, now there is enough room for us to enter it" solution. Of course, the icing on the cake would be if you could give general directives to your subordinates like "Hold left flank" or "Attack center", thus creating a chain of command.