MTW bugs/problems/strangeness

[EightDeer]

Any help would be much appreciated, and please forgive any n00bish questions that may follow.

1. Why are my provinces losing Zeal? It only happens in former Catholic, Muslim and Pagan provinces that are at 99-100% Orthodox. They just drop to 0%, or 10% in the case of high-zeal Catholic provinces.~:confused:

2. How many times must a Crusade be beaten before it dissolves? The Franks declared a Crusade in the (very) brief Papacy of Urban III, headed toward Antioch.
Completely ignoring the fact they had to fight their way across the entire Roman Empire to reach their target, they spent the next 5 years attacking either Switzerland or Tyrolia (excellent terrain for defenders).
Despite the Templars and other Order troops being almost wiped out, despite the Order leadership becoming the laughing stock of Europe for their cowardice and despite having only a fraction of their original numbers they refuse to give up. :wall:

3. Often the provincial governors will develop some sort of corruption related vice (Outlaw, Connoiseur, Administratively Greedy etc.) only to lose it in a year or two. Is this supposed to happen? Are the effects permanent even if they stop showing up on the report parchment?

Thanks in advance.

[sbroadbent]

Any help would be much appreciated, and please forgive any n00bish questions that may follow.

1. Why are my provinces losing Zeal? It only happens in former Catholic, Muslim and Pagan provinces that are at 99-100% Orthodox. They just drop to 0%, or 10% in the case of high-zeal Catholic provinces.~:confused:

Zeal can fluctuate, though I believe Zeal is only important for Catholic factions (though it may also apply to muslims for their Jihads). I don't know alot about Zeal other than the fact that it is good for crusades, and improves inquisitors chance of success. I do know that having troops in a high zeal province when a crusade walks through can ruin your forces. You lose 1% of your troops for every 2% of province zeal.

I do believe that the Orthodox religion does dramatically reduce zeal, as it takes a strong catholic presence for inquisitors to start increasing province zeal. In one game I tried sending my inquisitors to the byzantines to try to burn some population. Burning population gives an immediate drop in province happiness and also apparently reduces farm income. It required lots of catholic bishops to boost the catholic religion % before zeal started to increase to a point where the inquisitors even had any effect.


2. How many times must a Crusade be beaten before it dissolves?

For as long as the troops stick around, until the crusade reaches it's target, the faction gets eliminated, or the province that trained the crusade marker gets invaded.


3. Often the provincial governors will develop some sort of corruption related vice (Outlaw, Connoiseur, Administratively Greedy etc.) only to lose it in a year or two. Is this supposed to happen? Are the effects permanent even if they stop showing up on the report parchment?

Thanks in advance.

Some VnV's overwrite previous ones. Each VnV is part of a line of related ones with greater penalties or bonuses. It's also possible for VnV's to be completely overwritten by one that may not seem related. I presume that the only effects would be for those that the general currently has on his scroll, though it depends on which order the VnV's are received. It's possible for a character to become a God Fearing Atheist. Depending on which came first, the character's Piety score could vary.

[EightDeer]

Much obliged for the response.:bow:



I do believe that the Orthodox religion does dramatically reduce zeal

It does, but not like this. For example, Armenia and Rum lost just 3-4% Zeal after total conversion, and Edessa and Syria lost *all* Zeal. None of the former Egyptian provinces lost more than 5%, Kiev and Khazar lost all Zeal but the Crimea and Pereyaslavl were fine. All former Catholic provinces suffered the mass drop, however.



For as long as the troops stick around, until the crusade reaches it's target, the faction gets eliminated, or the province that trained the crusade marker gets invaded.

Since I'd have to reach Anjou to destroy the Chapter House, it looks like I'll have to kill them all. This will be difficult, as the Crusader general has the Coward trait. I charge at him and the entire Crusade runs off the field. It'd be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. I suppose I'll need some Steppe Cav.



Some VnV's overwrite previous ones. Each VnV is part of a line of related ones with greater penalties or bonuses. It's also possible for VnV's to be completely overwritten by one that may not seem related. I presume that the only effects would be for those that the general currently has on his scroll, though it depends on which order the VnV's are received. It's possible for a character to become a God Fearing Atheist. Depending on which came first, the character's Piety score could vary.

I knew that already, but thanks anyway (pride becomes lazy etc). That's not what's happening here.
For example, the Prince of Antioch has Mag. Builder and Mag. Steward. He develops Exclusive Trader. If I look at him 2 turns later, he will have just the two original Virtues. The Vice has disappeared completely. It's a good thing, but strange at the same time.

[Martok]

For example, the Prince of Antioch has Mag. Builder and Mag. Steward. He develops Exclusive Trader. If I look at him 2 turns later, he will have just the two original Virtues. The Vice has disappeared completely. It's a good thing, but strange at the same time.
Sounds like you've got a bug, mate. What version of MTW are you playing?

[EightDeer]

Sounds like you've got a bug, mate. What version of MTW are you playing?

I'm using MTW:VI 2.01.
I haven't installed any mods, but I did use GnomeEd to allow multiple Cathedrals.

[Martok]

I'm using MTW:VI 2.01.
I haven't installed any mods, but I did use GnomeEd to allow multiple Cathedrals.
Well I'm no expert, but I can't see how modding multiple Cathedrals would affect V&V's. You don't have the Medieval Battle Collection or Medieval Gold Edition, do you? (Not that I really think it matters either way, it's just that I've never heard of a "disappearing V&V" bug before.)

[EightDeer]

You don't have the Medieval Battle Collection or Medieval Gold Edition, do you?

Nope. I got them seperately of each other.

[EightDeer]

I should mention that the disappearing Vice thing ONLY affects the corruption-related Vices you get when your empire gets large. If a governor gets Strange/Irritable/Chinless Wonder or something similar, it's permanent.

[Martok]

Are you dropping a bunch of spies on your corrupt governors? I've heard that sometimes when you try a governor for treason and he's found innocent, his corruption vices will sometimes disappear and/or be balanced out by a new virtue. (Never seen it myself, but that certainly doesn't mean anything.)

[EightDeer]

No, I've never tried a gov for treason. I've never even stripped one of his title.

[danfda]

Are you dropping a bunch of spies on your corrupt governors? I've heard that sometimes when you try a governor for treason and he's found innocent, his corruption vices will sometimes disappear and/or be balanced out by a new virtue. (Never seen it myself, but that certainly doesn't mean anything.)

Yeah, its happened to me a few times. I'd try to kill off a useless hier or general via treason, and he'd lose some bad vices. 'Course, if you keep trying him, he develops some nasty vices you don't want to mess with. Its a double-edged sword.

[Martok]

Yeah, its happened to me a few times. I'd try to kill off a useless hier or general via treason, and he'd lose some bad vices.
Interesting. I'll have to remember to do that in my Bohemian campaign (once I'm larger). First of all, however, I have to defeat the French. ~D


'Course, if you keep trying him, he develops some nasty vices you don't want to mess with. Its a double-edged sword.
Yeah, I've found that out as well. I remember in one of my English campaigns I had a hero general (forget his name) who developed the advanced Avarice and Hedonist vices. I tried him for treason a couple times, and he ended up getting the Paranoid (think that's what it's called) vice. It was kind of funny, actually. :laugh4:

@EightDeer: I admit you've got me stumped. I think you just have an odd bug that happens to work in your favor. I suggest you don't fight it. Just look at it as your governors suddenly repenting and vowing to stop being greedy. ~;)

[EightDeer]

Yeah, it's so nice to see a bug that actually helps you.

If you're interested, you can download the save file, and see if it happens for you.
ftp://tigertail.customer.netspace.net.au/The%20Byzantines%201184.cpg

The corrupt ones in the save are the Dukes of Anatolia, Pereyaslavl and Serbia.

Other points of interest in that same save:

1. Portugal is unnaturally loyal to the Spanish Crown in this game.

2. I may have trained too many Avar Nobles.

3. Despite the HRE having a mighty enough army to claim many of the rebel territories left by the extinction of the French royal line(Constantinople denies involvement~;)), including some which are their Homelands, they prefer to sit in Bavaria and Bohemia, casting baleful glares into my Austrian and Hungarian holdings.

[Martok]

Other points of interest in that same save:

1. Portugal is unnaturally loyal to the Spanish Crown in this game.

2. I may have trained too many Avar Nobles.

3. Despite the HRE having a mighty enough army to claim many of the rebel territories left by the extinction of the French royal line(Constantinople denies involvement~;)), including some which are their Homelands, they prefer to sit in Bavaria and Bohemia, casting baleful glares into my Austrian and Hungarian holdings.
1.) Hmm, that's strange indeed. Maybe they've held Portugal for a long time, perhaps? Even the rebellious provinces settle down (somewhat) after you've owned them for a while.

2.) Bah; you can never have too many. ~D

3.) Yeah, the HRE does have a penchant for just sitting there and not doing a whole lot. It's almost as if their AI is programmed to become timid once it's reduced to a certain number of provinces. :shrug: As a few of us were discussing in another thread, they usually need a bit of luck to survive and prosper.

[EightDeer]

I made a mistake with the above link; try http://tigertail.customer.netspace.net.au/ instead.


1.) Hmm, that's strange indeed. Maybe they've held Portugal for a long time, perhaps? Even the rebellious provinces settle down (somewhat) after you've owned them for a while.
Only about 40 years, plus the only buildings in Portugal are a Fort and a Port. Combined with a flood of spies...


2.) Bah; you can never have too many. ~D
They are sorta useful aren't they? A lot like Kataphraktoi, but faster.

Incidentally, is this a good place to ask more general MTW questions, or should I start a new thread?

And much thanks for being patient with a n00b.

[Martok]

Only about 40 years, plus the only buildings in Portugal are a Fort and a Port. Combined with a flood of spies...
Well 40 years is a pretty long time to have held a province. If Portugal has been occupied for that long, then the people there probably have calmed down a fair bit, even if the Spanish haven't built much there.


They are sorta useful aren't they? A lot like Kataphraktoi, but faster.
Yeah, Avar Nobles are generally hailed at being a pretty useful all-purpose medium/heavy cav unit. I haven't used them that much simply due to me not playing central European factions that often, but they've always performed well the few times I've had them in combat.


Incidentally, is this a good place to ask more general MTW questions, or should I start a new thread?

And much thanks for being patient with a n00b.
Hey, we were all newbies here at some point, EightDeer. We just do our best to make sure all incoming rookies get the same help and advice that we did when we first started playing. ~:)

Whether you wish to start a new thread or just continue to use this one is up to you. It probably doesn't matter much either way, though. A fair few of us MTW players check the Entrance Hall pretty regularly, and we're more than happy to answer questions and dispense advice to newcomers to the game. :thumbsup:

[EightDeer]

Well 40 years is a pretty long time to have held a province. If Portugal has been occupied for that long, then the people there probably have calmed down a fair bit, even if the Spanish haven't built much there.

I played a few turns since then, and I found the way to restore the Portugese to their wonderfully angry selves. Remove all but one of the 20+ spies I had there... and add an Orthodox Bishop~D . Hilarity ensued.

Anyway, I'll not clog up the boards with another thread, so here goes:

1a. The first 2-3 Papal re-emergences came every 10 years like clockwork, and were promptly crushed with prejudice. Afterward the frequency of Papist attacks on Rome dropped dramatically. Is this supposed to happen?

1b. Does the total conversion of former Papal provinces to Orthodoxy affect the Papal re-emergences?

2. Why does the AI start wars it can't possibly hope to win?:furious3:
I'm not talking about its truly irritating habit of attacking understrength fleets either.
If an AI nation sees a weakly-defended territory of mine (or another AI), they will attack it if they have a large enough army bordering said weak territory, completely ignoring such trivial concerns such as how they intend to hold on to their new possession, how they intend to finish what they just started and relative economic/military strength of themselves compared with their new enemies.

3. As a result of #2, if I wish to remain at peace with an AI, I have to engage in an arms race.
Example: the Polish built up their military in Poland for an attack into Hungary/Moldavia/Prussia/Volhynia, which are all mine. I increased the garrison in those provinces. The Polish built up their military in response. Repeat cycle until the Polish are spending almost every florin of their income on paying soldiers, lack the numbers to defeat my garrisons and can only build 1 new building every 5 or so years. Why does the AI do this?
I could just conquer them, but I play GA because I like peaceful building. Conquest mode got boring *very* quickly.

[Martok]

I played a few turns since then, and I found the way to restore the Portugese to their wonderfully angry selves. Remove all but one of the 20+ spies I had there... and add an Orthodox Bishop~D . Hilarity ensued.
Heh. Yeah, converting the population can help to stir up a province, especially the more feisty ones like Portugal, Scotland, etc. That was nicely done. ~:cheers:

Now, to answer your questions as best I may:


1a. The first 2-3 Papal re-emergences came every 10 years like clockwork, and were promptly crushed with prejudice. Afterward the frequency of Papist attacks on Rome dropped dramatically. Is this supposed to happen?
Not in my experience, but that doesn't necessarily mean much. When I take out the Pope and occupy his lands, he usually continues to re-emerge about once every decade, regardless of how many times I put him down. This means little, however, as I usually save conquering the Papacy for last.


1b. Does the total conversion of former Papal provinces to Orthodoxy affect the Papal re-emergences?
Again, I'm not terribly qualified to answer that questions, since I rarely take the Pope's lands til the end. It could very well explain why he's re-emerging less often in your campaign, though.


2. Why does the AI start wars it can't possibly hope to win?:furious3:
I'm not talking about its truly irritating habit of attacking understrength fleets either.
If an AI nation sees a weakly-defended territory of mine (or another AI), they will attack it if they have a large enough army bordering said weak territory, completely ignoring such trivial concerns such as how they intend to hold on to their new possession, how they intend to finish what they just started and relative economic/military strength of themselves compared with their new enemies.
The short answer: Because the campaign AI is flawed. It doesn't seem to look at the larger picture, nor is it very good at long-term planning. It often seems only able to examine its immediate surroundings.


3. As a result of #2, if I wish to remain at peace with an AI, I have to engage in an arms race.
Example: the Polish built up their military in Poland for an attack into Hungary/Moldavia/Prussia/Volhynia, which are all mine. I increased the garrison in those provinces. The Polish built up their military in response. Repeat cycle until the Polish are spending almost every florin of their income on paying soldiers, lack the numbers to defeat my garrisons and can only build 1 new building every 5 or so years. Why does the AI do this?
I could just conquer them, but I play GA because I like peaceful building. Conquest mode got boring *very* quickly.
The AI automatically tries to pair its armies with yours. What I prefer to do is keep just modest-sized garrisons on my borders, and then station a more powerful army just a little inwards of my empire. I find that a good size for my border garrisons is approximately 300-400 men--it's large enough to deter invasions, but not so large that the other factions feel compelled to place large stacks next to your territory.

[EightDeer]

Sorry for the lack of response, haven't been able to think of anything to say.


Not in my experience, but that doesn't necessarily mean much. When I take out the Pope and occupy his lands, he usually continues to re-emerge about once every decade, regardless of how many times I put him down. This means little, however, as I usually save conquering the Papacy for last.

I originally crushed him because he was between me and the Italians, and I needed a second front besides the Croatia-Venice invasion route (I lacked ships at that point).
I keep him down because I discovered that w/o a Pope in Rome, Catholics can't even build Crusades let alone launch them, and I hold the Big Four Crusade Targets(BFCT?). The occasional attack is worth it, and the governor of Naples is now my only non-Kataphraktoi 9-star:2thumbsup:.


The AI automatically tries to pair its armies with yours. What I prefer to do is keep just modest-sized garrisons on my borders, and then station a more powerful army just a little inwards of my empire. I find that a good size for my border garrisons is approximately 300-400 men--it's large enough to deter invasions, but not so large that the other factions feel compelled to place large stacks next to your territory.

I'll remember that for the future, but reducing the border garrisons now would just be inviting invasion. Now then...

1. How do I deliberately incite a rebellion in one of my own provinces? Franconia won't rebel despite having very high taxes, no buildings and no garrison. The French don't seem to be interested in taking it either.

2. Is the Golden Horde supposed to suck that much?
Picture this: Khazar's Fortress filled to capacity with Varangians. 11,000 or so Mongols camped outside. Mongols assault Fortress. Autocalc Result - Varangians lose about half their number, 9,000+ dead Mongols and the Horde ceases to be a serious threat.

3. When I tried to fight the above battle personally, the GH used mortars to break the castle walls and then just sat there until the timer ran out~:angry:.

4. Am I the only one who enjoys charging a unit of V.Guard into a unit of enemy Peasants? Yes it's a waste of their abilities, but it's just so much fun to watch. The Peasant unit just... melts.

5. Are you the Official Forum Knower of all things Medieval?

[Martok]

I keep him down because I discovered that w/o a Pope in Rome, Catholics can't even build Crusades let alone launch them, and I hold the Big Four Crusade Targets(BFCT?). The occasional attack is worth it, and the governor of Naples is now my only non-Kataphraktoi 9-star:2thumbsup:.
Nice. :thumbsup: A number of MTW players do like to take and hold Rome, as it provides an excellent "training ground" for generals, since they must fight off the inevitable Papal re-emergences. I myself just usually go with the old "scorched-earth" policy when it comes to the Papacy. I invade Rome, execute the Pope, and then scrap all the infrastructure there--leaving the Pope to re-emerge with an army that he can't afford or support. ~D


1. How do I deliberately incite a rebellion in one of my own provinces? Franconia won't rebel despite having very high taxes, no buildings and no garrison. The French don't seem to be interested in taking it either.
In your case, I honestly don't know if there's a whole lot else you can do. Sometimes, a province simply won't rebel (or at least they take a long time to do so). If you hadn't already said you didn't have any buildings there, I would've suggested removing all "happiness buildings" (churches, border forts, town guard/militia, taverns, brothels, etc.). If you were Catholic and not Orthodox, you could send in an Inquisitor or two; he would eventually start burning so many people in the name of God that happiness/loyalty would drop.

I do have one more idea, but it's pretty risky were it to work: Stick a low-loyalty general of royal blood (preferably one who's still a prince, and not an uncle) in Franconia, and then keep sending spies to try him for treason (or assassins to kill him). Assuming he's not convicted or assassinated, the royal general often gets sick of this and starts a rebellion. The risk, however, is that more that one province could back him, and you might suddenly find your entire empire plunged into civil war! Using the strategy I just outlined works, but it is a gamble.

All that said, your high taxes should eventually drive down the province's loyalty to where they might rebel, but that can take time.


2. Is the Golden Horde supposed to suck that much?
Picture this: Khazar's Fortress filled to capacity with Varangians. 11,000 or so Mongols camped outside. Mongols assault Fortress. Autocalc Result - Varangians lose about half their number, 9,000+ dead Mongols and the Horde ceases to be a serious threat.
A few points about the Golden Horde:

a.) Any army assaulting a Fortress filled with VG's is going to suffer horrendous losses, not just not the Mongols. (This is particularly true if the attacking army doesn't have siege weapons!) ~;)

b.) The size of the Horde is dependent on mostly two things: difficulty level, and the size of your garrison in Khazar/Georgia (and wherever else they show up). The higher the difficulty level and/or the larger your garrison, the larger the Mongol army that appears.

c.) The GH are not particularly well-suited to assaulting castles. On the field (especially on flatter ground), their heavy cavarly and cav archers give them a rather large advantage; but not nearly so much when having to knock down walls or break through gates. In the game, the Mongols don't really have an infantry unit ideal for the close-pressed melee action one usually sees in castles. So if you managed to avoid a field battle with them and forced them to attack the Fortress (which itself is somewhat rare), then you've given yourself a pretty significant advantage over them.

d.) All that said, most MTW player do feel the Golden Horde to be a bit underpowered. Even I can usually defeat them without great difficulty--and I'm only a mediocre battle commander at best! To counter this, I try my best to *not* prepare for their arrival (in this way, I'm greatly outnumbered at the outset, until I can rush reinforcements to the East). It's definitely not an ideal solution, however.


3. When I tried to fight the above battle personally, the GH used mortars to break the castle walls and then just sat there until the timer ran out~:angry:.
Sounds like a bug in the AI. It's known for its bizarre behavior at times.


4. Am I the only one who enjoys charging a unit of V.Guard into a unit of enemy Peasants?
No. ~D


5. Are you the Official Forum Knower of all things Medieval?
LOL! Hardly. :laugh4: Given that I've been playing MTW for 3 1/2 years now, I probably know as much about the game as anyone, true. But even after all this time, I still don't consider myself an expert. Medieval Total War is simply so *big* and covers so much ground, that one is always discovering new things when playing it. It's one of the joys of playing this game. ~:)

[EightDeer]

I myself just usually go with the old "scorched-earth" policy when it comes to the Papacy. I invade Rome, execute the Pope, and then scrap all the infrastructure there--leaving the Pope to re-emerge with an army that he can't afford or support. ~D
That's extremely useful advice for when I play a Catholic game, but as the Byz I think I prefer keeping him down. How can I be Rhomaioi without possessing Rhoma?

All that said, your high taxes should eventually drive down the province's loyalty to where they might rebel, but that can take time.
The French solved that problem by seizing my unwanted province. I then assassinated all their royals. Life is good in the Empire.
If you managed to avoid a field battle with them and forced them to attack the Fortress (which itself is somewhat rare), then you've given yourself a pretty significant advantage over them.
When the GH first appeared, my armies in Khazar didn't stand a chance against them. I retreated to the Fortress to buy some time to get reinforcements there. I had no idea they'd assault. If they'd laid siege, they could've had Khazar in 2 years.

LOL! Hardly. :laugh4:
Well, you must be the official N00b-Wrangler then.

Medieval Total War is simply so *big* and covers so much ground, that one is always discovering new things when playing it. It's one of the joys of playing this game. ~:)
Yeah, I just discovered my new favourite strategy game. I can play this for years. Previous favourite was SSI's Panzer General.

It's question time! I really should ask all my questions at once, but they come to me in batches as I play.

1. What does the Royal Court do for Byzantine provinces?

2. I read a post on this very forum suggesting a Spy in every province of my own. I've done that, but I can't discern any benefits.

3. I read another post that said the AI doesn't know how to set up trade routes. Tell that to the Danes. Danish longboats and traders have reached Egypt and Khazar, and Sweden is now the third richest province on the map, beaten out by Antioch and Constantinople. Is this supposed to happen?

4. How many Assassins should I have? I've only got one, but he's V7. He's wiped out the French royal line three times, the Mongol line once and killed countless French, German and Mongol generals.

5. What do the Banking Houses and Mastery of Time events do? Their descriptions say they increase trade and work, but I compared a pre-Banking save with a post-Clock save, and there's no change in income or construction times.

6. Do the Byzantines ever get a deep-water ship?

7. Who can train Khazar Royal Cavalry? I got 2 units through bribery waaay back at about 1104 (it's 1286 now) and I want to re-equip them with the wonderful products of Imperial forges.

8. Is there any province more useful for military purposes than Switzerland? I just love Swiss Halberdiers.

9. How do I use Arquebusiers properly? In a battle in Rome, they didn't kill much of anything at range, then while the VG's, Spearmen and Byz Cav were off chasing Papal troops they got charged by Chivalric MAA. The single 60-man Arq unit lost 3 men and reduced the CMAA to 15 men, at which point the CMAA routed off the battlefield. Impressive, but not their intended use.

10. In the Viking campaign, you can convert the Vikings to Catholicism. Can you convert factions in the Medieval campaign?

11. Which faction do you recommend for my second game? This GA Byzantine campaign is the first real campaign I've played. I made a couple of attempts at a Byz Conquest campaign, as well as an abortive attempt at an Irish Viking-era campaign. I was thinking maybe a GA French or Egyptian game.

12. Do I add too many useless personal anectodes to my questions?

[Geezer57]

It's question time! I really should ask all my questions at once, but they come to me in batches as I play.

1. What does the Royal Court do for Byzantine provinces?

2. I read a post on this very forum suggesting a Spy in every province of my own. I've done that, but I can't discern any benefits.

3. I read another post that said the AI doesn't know how to set up trade routes. Tell that to the Danes. Danish longboats and traders have reached Egypt and Khazar, and Sweden is now the third richest province on the map, beaten out by Antioch and Constantinople. Is this supposed to happen?

4. How many Assassins should I have? I've only got one, but he's V7. He's wiped out the French royal line three times, the Mongol line once and killed countless French, German and Mongol generals.

<STUFF DELETED>

8. Is there any province more useful for military purposes than Switzerland? I just love Swiss Halberdiers.

9. How do I use Arquebusiers properly? In a battle in Rome, they didn't kill much of anything at range, then while the VG's, Spearmen and Byz Cav were off chasing Papal troops they got charged by Chivalric MAA. The single 60-man Arq unit lost 3 men and reduced the CMAA to 15 men, at which point the CMAA routed off the battlefield. Impressive, but not their intended use.

10. In the Viking campaign, you can convert the Vikings to Catholicism. Can you convert factions in the Medieval campaign?

11. Which faction do you recommend for my second game? This GA Byzantine campaign is the first real campaign I've played. I made a couple of attempts at a Byz Conquest campaign, as well as an abortive attempt at an Irish Viking-era campaign. I was thinking maybe a GA French or Egyptian game.

12. Do I add too many useless personal anectodes to my questions?

1) That's one I don't know - someone will pop by and answer it soon.

2) If your province loyalty is already high, you won't notice any increase with a spy. But when it's marginal, or when enemy spies try to lower your province loyalty, your own spy will prove his worth. He gets a chance at eliminating enemy "invisible" agents before they can act, if you don't have a Border Fort. Once my economy is up and rolling, I like to keep one in every province I own, with batches available in port provinces for foreign or special missions.

3) The AI doesn't really know how to set up a proper trade network, but some factions tend to get lucky more than others. It's more accidental than deliberate.

4) One really good Assassin is nearly essential, but I like to have spares - sooner or later the odds will catch up with your "uber" Assassin, and he'll get caught. I feel you can't go wrong with the "one per province" guideline - that's what I try to set up in my campaigns.

5) thru 7) No comment.

8) I too love Swiss Halberdiers, especially when gold-armored (except in the desert). There's just a certain "panache" to mountain fighters, isn't there?

9) Arquebusiers generate the most damage (and are far more accurate) when firiing at point-blank range - the farther away the target, the more projectiles miss (to no effect). It's generally best to use them like javelin units, where you pin the target with another (sometimes sacrificial) unit, and then maneuver the Arq to the flank/rear before opening fire. That way your target is fixed and immobile - if, for example, that charging CMAA had better morale and had actually come to grips with your Arq, the results might have been disastrous. Admittedly, Handgunners are worse at range than Arquebusiers, but they (at least) have some melee capability. Also keep in mind that gunpowder weapons have an exaggerated morale impact, if any target men die. So firing your Arq's at range against an already morale-shocked group of reinforcements can be a valid tactic - a few hits could send them all running in a chain-rout.

10) In the Medieval campaigns you can convert the dominant religion in enemy provinces to your religion, which makes them easier for you to control when captured and causes increased likelyhood of religious uprisings against the AI,but you can't convert the factions themselves.

11) There's something to like in playing any/all of the MTW-VI factions. Take your pick, just don't stick too long with any one faction or time period. Play them all!

12) There can't be too many useless personal anectodes - that's part of the great flavor of this forum! :2thumbsup:

[Martok]

That's extremely useful advice for when I play a Catholic game, but as the Byz I think I prefer keeping him down. How can I be Rhomaioi without possessing Rhoma?
[chuckle] True enough. I just find that generally speaking, holding Rome isn't worth the hassle of dealing with persistent Papal reemergences. I'm speaking for myself, however; your mileage obviously may vary. ~:)


The French solved that problem by seizing my unwanted province. I then assassinated all their royals. Life is good in the Empire.
When the GH first appeared, my armies in Khazar didn't stand a chance against them. I retreated to the Fortress to buy some time to get reinforcements there. I had no idea they'd assault. If they'd laid siege, they could've had Khazar in 2 years.
I'm a little surprised at that as well. Usually the AI will choose to wait out a siege rather than storming the castle, particularly if a large garrison (like yours in Khazar) will succumb quickly to starvation. The exception is if your defending garrison is so small that the AI would have to wait forever before the castle fell. I believe the Golden Horde may be programmed to be more aggressive, however; so that may be why they chose to assult the castle instead.


Well, you must be the official N00b-Wrangler then.
Well I certainly won't dissuade you from thinking that. ~;p The simple fact is, I'm just one of a number of members who do our best to check out the Entrance Hall periodically. We want to make sure you guys get the same level of welcome and assistance we did when we ourselves were newbies. It's all about paying it forward. ~:)

Yeah, I just discovered my new favourite strategy game. I can play this for years. Previous favourite was SSI's Panzer General.
My previous favorites were Birth of the Federation and Shogun Total War (the original Total War game, and Medieval's predecessor). I got MTW as a late Christmas gift (2002), and it's stayed on my computer ever since!

And now to your questions--although Geezer57 already answered most of them for you. (He knows his stuff!) There's not a whole lot I can add to what he's already said, but I'll see if I can fill in any additional blanks.


1. What does the Royal Court do for Byzantine provinces?
As far as I can tell, nothing. Why the Byz can even build Royal Courts in the first place remains a mystery to me. It's possible that RC's unlock another building/unit in the Late period that I don't know about (which is possible, since I rarely play Late period). As of yet, however, I've never heard of the Royal Court providing any particular benefit for the Byz.


5. What do the Banking Houses and Mastery of Time events do? Their descriptions say they increase trade and work, but I compared a pre-Banking save with a post-Clock save, and there's no change in income or construction times.
I haven't noticed said events affect contruction times either, so I'm not sure why it says they do. :shrug: As for income, it should increase your trade income, although I admittedly don't know by how much. If you check the income for each individual province (with trade goods), you *should* be able to tell the difference.


6. Do the Byzantines ever get a deep-water ship?
I'm not sure they do, to be honest. Since the Emperor's navy's activity centered around the Black Sea and eastern Med, they didn't really have much need of a true deep-water vessel. I want to say War Galleys can travel in deep water, but it's been so long since I last played the Byz (at least several months) that I could very easily be wrong.


7. Who can train Khazar Royal Cavalry? I got 2 units through bribery waaay back at about 1104 (it's 1286 now) and I want to re-equip them with the wonderful products of Imperial forges.
If you find out, let me know. ~;p Again, this another question where I'm forced to confess my ignorance. I think the Novgorods/Russians *might* be able to train them, but I've barely ever played that faction. (A lot of the eastern factions simply don't interest me that much, the Byz and Eggies being the exceptions.)


11. Which faction do you recommend for my second game? This GA Byzantine campaign is the first real campaign I've played. I made a couple of attempts at a Byz Conquest campaign, as well as an abortive attempt at an Irish Viking-era campaign. I was thinking maybe a GA French or Egyptian game.
Well if you feel confident in your abilities and/or are masochistic, then by all means try out a French GA campaign. (It's hard!) ~D

Personally, my favorite faction is the Spanish, with the Egyptians being a very close second. Check out this thread (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=69023), where we're currently discussing that very subject. You'll get some good ideas there.


12. Do I add too many useless personal anectodes to my questions? No more than the rest of us, my friend. ~;) It's practically a tradition here at the Org!

Oh, and congratulations on your promotion to full membership! :thumbsup:

[EightDeer]

3) The AI doesn't really know how to set up a proper trade network, but some factions tend to get lucky more than others. It's more accidental than deliberate.
Pity. The import income from the Danes is a nice little bonus.

4) One really good Assassin is nearly essential, but I like to have spares - sooner or later the odds will catch up with your "uber" Assassin, and he'll get caught. I feel you can't go wrong with the "one per province" guideline - that's what I try to set up in my campaigns.
I guess I'll get some more; it's going to be a definite PITA to train additional Assassins up to being really useful, even with fresh V5's from Syria.

8) I too love Swiss Halberdiers, especially when gold-armored (except in the desert). There's just a certain "panache" to mountain fighters, isn't there?
Panache is right. They're absolutely impossible to rout, and it's almost scary to watch them battle Knights.

9)If that charging CMAA had better morale and had actually come to grips with your Arq, the results might have been disastrous.
They did come to grips, and there was a right proper punch-up but there were several factors in the Arq's favour:
1. The CMAA were charging uphill.
2. The Pope had just died of Varangian causes.
3. The Arq's were deployed in a long, thin 2-rank formation. When the CMAA charged directly into the center of the Arq's, they lapped round the CMAA in a rough U-shape to get at the front and both flanks simultaneously.
4. The Arq's were V5 and the CMAA were V1.
5. The Arq's were trained in a province that had a Master Armourer/Gunsmith/Metalsmith, all religious buildings including a Cathedral as well as the College of Surgeons and Military Academy. They were not the standard Arq unit.

12) There can't be too many useless personal anectodes - that's part of the great flavor of this forum! :2thumbsup:
Well then, I'll continue to be my long-winded self.~D

I'm a little surprised at that as well. Usually the AI will choose to wait out a siege rather than storming the castle, particularly if a large garrison (like yours in Khazar) will succumb quickly to starvation. The exception is if your defending garrison is so small that the AI would have to wait forever before the castle fell. I believe the Golden Horde may be programmed to be more aggressive, however; so that may be why they chose to assult the castle instead.
Ah well, the Emperor isn't overly concerned. However, Silk Road traders report that large numbers of highly disrespectful things are being said about him in Mongolia. Some of them are downright factually inaccurate! Everyone knows donkeys aren't that flexible.

Shogun Total War (the original Total War game, and Medieval's predecessor)
I actually got a copy of that (without MI) before I got MTW. I discovered that STW doesn't run under XP SP2, so I threw it in with the rest of my games and forgot about it.

I want to say War Galleys can travel in deep water.
Sadly, they don't.

Since the Emperor's navy's activity centered around the Black Sea and eastern Med, they didn't really have much need of a true deep-water vessel.
The Black Sea is more-or-less the Emperor's private lake here, and Byzantine warships can be found anywhere from the Egyptian to the Irish coasts. I will admit that the lack of a deep-water vessel is a minor irritation rather than a true handicap, but it still bugs me.

I often wonder what Byzantine society is like in this strange alternate history I've created with CA's tools. MTW is decent at simulating economic and military aspects of a vast empire, but it says nothing about the culture of said empire. Byzantine art, literature and social customs would surely be radically different to what they were in our history. I wonder what daily life is like in Anatolia, Greece or Wallachia, which have known 2 centuries of prolonged peace. Then I remember that this is not alternatehistory.com, and I shut up.

Oh, and congratulations on your promotion to full membership!
What? When did this happen? Should I thank the Academy?

[Martok]

Ah well, the Emperor isn't overly concerned. However, Silk Road traders report that large numbers of highly disrespectful things are being said about him in Mongolia. Some of them are downright factually inaccurate! Everyone knows donkeys aren't that flexible.
:laugh4: They just don't like losing, do they?


I actually got a copy of that (without MI) before I got MTW. I discovered that STW doesn't run under XP SP2, so I threw it in with the rest of my games and forgot about it.
Have you tried going into properties and changing the settings so that the game "pretends" it's running on Win '98? I don't know if that will work, but it might be worth a try if you haven't already done so. (I don't have SP2, so I haven't had major problems getting to Shogun to run--yet!)


Sadly, they don't.

The Black Sea is more-or-less the Emperor's private lake here, and Byzantine warships can be found anywhere from the Egyptian to the Irish coasts. I will admit that the lack of a deep-water vessel is a minor irritation rather than a true handicap, but it still bugs me.
It's understably annoying, but fortunately it is pretty minor as you've already said. Since there's only two sea regions considered to be deep-water (Central Med & North Atlantic), shallow-water vessels can still go almost anywhere deep-water ships can. It's only a pain if your fleet of shallow-water ships is attacked by a deep-water vessel, and the enemy flees to 1 of those 2 sea regions (where you can't get at them). In my experience, this is (happily) quite rare.


Then I remember that this is not alternatehistory.com, and I shut up.
LOL. Probably a wise choice, at least here in the Entrance Hall. (Threads like that tend to go severely off-topic here, and/or devolve into flame wars.) You can probably find similar conversations in the Monastary (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=16), however--and more specifically in the Chapter House (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=133). It's a great place to discuss that kind of stuff!


What? When did this happen? Should I thank the Academy?
Sure, go nuts. ~:) Also, now you can post in the Main Hall (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=20) at your leisure. That way, if you have any questions or problems, you might be able to obtain answers from someone who's actually qualified . ~;)