KotR Out of character thread XIX [Archive] - Page 2

AussieGiant

02-07-2008, 18:13

I don't want to sound negative guy's but I doubt that will happen.

Check the top of the active duty thread and look at Dutch_guy's status.

It's been like that for weeks now.

Given the last ruling on subbing, it seems highly unlikely that anyone will be able to fight this apart from DG or someone going to the rescue in the game.

-edit-

and that is the OOC thing that has been frustrating. I'm not blaming anyone but if you go back in this OOC thread there's a moment there where I pretty much come out and strongly ask for everyone to update their status as I'm stumped as to what I can do.

Luckily it can be vented IC through Arnold. :-)

Ferret

02-07-2008, 18:35

have you played ahead and seen how soon they will attack? If the game goes slowly and they take their time I may be back to fight it. Also if their army isn;t too big I'll take a shot at it now. Taking the save for viewing if I can find it.

TinCow

02-08-2008, 01:06

I am back from vacation (on Active Duty again) and the Library has been fully updated, thanks in large part to Northnovas once again.

OverKnight

02-08-2008, 13:37

FactionHeir

02-08-2008, 13:49

London is quite dull actually. Been here for 4 years and the only sight I'd recommend is the Tower of London.
If you are going around England though, visit places like Warwick or Windsor. Scotland is quite nice too.

Stonehenge is overrated btw :grin:

AussieGiant

02-08-2008, 14:03

Jet to let everyone know, I will be on vacation from Feb 20 - Feb 28th. I'll be in London during that time, my first trip to England. I won't have access to the game and internet access will most likely be spotty.

Any tips on what to do while in London would be appreciated. :2thumbsup:

Edit: I've updated my entry on the active duty list.

Mate, London for the first time. Killer town but it's a dirty run down thing.

Go see a show in the West End. It's like Broadway but with more history.

Any and all the museums are very good. The old gas works is a treat (they put a museum in the old gas works from back at the turn of the century).

Visit a pub or two...they are unique in how they fit in with the culture.

Take a ride in a Double Deck bus with one of those sight seeing tours...it's a little cheesy but you do learn a lot.

Visit the Tower of London as FH says...that's great. If you can get out to Windsor Castle then that is also a treat. Stonehenge is also a big yawn, again FH is right on the money.

If you like the night life then London is beyond comprehension. There is any and everything available. Grab a few magazine's and take a look at what is on offer...mind blowing array of options.

Go watch the buskers at Covent Garden. They are some of the best you will ever see.

The tube is below average...avoid it if you can, but you wont be able to, so prepare yourself.

The London Eye is apparently not bad. I've never been on it but it is the massive wheel on the river Themes.

TinCow

02-08-2008, 14:54

AussieGiant

02-08-2008, 19:15

London dull?! I lived there for 10 years and never got bored. Home of my two most favorite museums in the entire world, both of which I consider a must-see:

The British Museum (http://www.britishmuseum.org/) - Showing off the benefits of Empire
The Imperial War Museum (http://www.iwm.org.uk/) - Far and away the best 'general' military museum in the world IMO.

The V&A (http://www.vam.ac.uk/) is pretty impressive as well.

Exactly. I had to leave or I would have partied myself into the grave :beam:

And really...the museums are unreal. I was back in December and I went to the Royal Portrait museum...I mean what could you expect...we ended up staying for 4 hours.

FactionHeir

02-08-2008, 21:16

Museums are alright. Not sure if its OK's thing though. I quite liked the National History Museum and the Science Museum, both of which have free admittance.

Can't say I participated in any of the nightlife at all.

AussieGiant

02-08-2008, 22:28

Can't say I participated in any of the nightlife at all.

Well, then I can totally understand why things are much different.

Zim

02-09-2008, 12:03

Hey everyone. Just wanted to let you know I'll be gone for the next day or two. My wife and I are going on a trip. :beam: Should check in tomorrow morning before leaving, then no internet for a day and a half. :help:

On the off chance a battle comes up for me and it's obvious I won't be back in time, go ahead and autoresolve it without waiting. :yes:

Zim

02-11-2008, 03:44

Well, that turned out not to be any real worry. :clown:

I'm back.

Ramses II CP

02-11-2008, 04:20

rotfl, sorry. :laugh4:

We'll get there soon-ish. At this point I just want Cecil's sign off on the resolution and some movement at Dijon. Tomorrow, one way or the other, we'll be moving forward I'm certain.

:egypt:

Zim

02-11-2008, 05:29

Some turns take longer than others. At least this gives me a chance to look at the save again before the next turn.

Did you get my orders about those understrength units, Ramses? I think I have one unit with only one guy. :clown:

Ramses II CP

02-11-2008, 05:46

Indeed I did, sorry if I didn't respond. Been hip deep in stuff. Likely I'll use the ships to run men back and forth to be retrained at Acre, since they aren't going to be needed for the assault any time soon.

At the moment it appears that there will be enough money to allow almost all the training requests to be met, but there will be no construction budget.

In fact, don't be too surprised if your House's construction budget doesn't go up until your enemies are in retreat. :yes: :laugh4:

:egypt:

Zim

02-11-2008, 06:08

For a second I thought you were talking about Outremer, rather than Swabia. :clown:

Funny thing, I think we have as many enemy stacks around as Swabia, we just have a infinitely more defensible situation.

My construction queue for Acre is certainly not too high priority. An Armoury would allow more heavy infantry without breaking the stack rules (zweihanders) but I'm just as happy with spearmen. Shields are improtant with all those horsearchers, and spears will kill more than two handed swords with so many cavalry anyway. :yes:

Indeed I did, sorry if I didn't respond. Been hip deep in stuff. Likely I'll use the ships to run men back and forth to be retrained at Acre, since they aren't going to be needed for the assault any time soon.

At the moment it appears that there will be enough money to allow almost all the training requests to be met, but there will be no construction budget.

In fact, don't be too surprised if your House's construction budget doesn't go up until your enemies are in retreat. :yes: :laugh4:

:egypt:

OverKnight

02-12-2008, 10:38

Turks and Greeks killing each other? Shocking. Hopefully they will send their carefully recruited elite armies against each other. :laugh4:

I'll bust up the siege of Adana once I get back from work.

_Tristan_

02-12-2008, 11:11

I can but wonder at the size of the French armies... They seem to have full stack everywhere on the map...

It will take us forever to whittle them down to uselessness...:smash:

FactionHeir

02-12-2008, 11:47

Yes, it should be more difficult at Dijon now that you stole my mercenary spears :inquisitive:
I guess I have to use GH instead. A vicious cycle indeed.

OverKnight

02-12-2008, 12:24

Try not to kill GH's avatar this time. :laugh4:

AussieGiant

02-12-2008, 13:46

A bit of tension...I like it!! :beam:

_Tristan_

02-12-2008, 13:55

Yes, it should be more difficult at Dijon now that you stole my mercenary spears :inquisitive:

I just thought that you needed some challenge...:2thumbsup:

Plus what's one spear unit when face with so much cavalry ?

Northnovas

02-12-2008, 14:22

I just thought that you needed some challenge...:2thumbsup:

Plus what's one spear unit when face with so much cavalry ?

Not much! There was so much calvary the one unit of spearmen did not have a chance. No one had a chance. It was great when they just sat there being cannon fodder but when they moved out, an onslaught of Hungarians and they had some nice heavy cavalry units to boot. Those horse archers are a pain too!!!
Well learn for next time.:book:

Ramses II CP

02-12-2008, 14:38

I'm going to post a few more specific recommendations to commanders in the O&R thread in a little bit later. It was very late last night when I got that up, but I knew we had some chaps in various time zones who would be itching for some action, so I apologize for the rough edges on the report. :laugh4:

:egypt:

Ferret

02-13-2008, 12:48

back and ready to fight any battles if Dieter is still alive.

TinCow

02-13-2008, 13:28

He's alive. The Autoresolve Gods like you.

AussieGiant

02-13-2008, 13:50

I must say I simply couldn't believe Ramses won those to auto calc's. That really saved his Chancellorship right there in the first year.

Ramses II CP

02-13-2008, 14:40

You know, Madgeburg exceeded my own expectations by a large margin. I thought we would have a draw, lose about half of each army, and it would just prevent the AI from going forward with the siege while EF was away. I used my Broken Crescent game to tests sallies, and I never lost an general during a sally, even a sally against strong odds. If you wait for the siege and lose, everything is gone.

As it was either the dice were kind or Dieter's stack was somehow better set up for autoresolve than the Poles. The Polish army that currently is in siege is actually weaker than the last one, while they've (typically) got two stacks wandering around the Stettin region a bit aimlessly. I think we might get Dieter in the field here soon.

edit: Out of curiosity I loaded the -6 save again and did the same two battles in order again and both were still victories.

:egypt:

Northnovas

02-13-2008, 15:34

I was just doing some surfing in the Austrian Thread and came across the origins of an Emperor of the Reich.

The origins of gibson9212 Emperor of the Reich. (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpost.php?p=1547899&postcount=92)

Just shows that anything is possible!

Ramses II CP

02-14-2008, 03:13

I'm having a problem with the save which I don't quite understand. Newly trained Imperial Knights and Teutonic Knights are not training at full size. Teutons show up as 45 men, and Imperials show up as 48.

I've checked my unit sizes in prefs and they are set to 'large,' as they should be for KotR right?

What else can I do? Since there were no defensive battles that are going to be fought I can go back to the end of the previous turn without complications, as long as I don't change anything substantial I believe.

Advice? Suggestions?

:egypt:

Cecil XIX

02-14-2008, 03:56

That is odd. I didn't think it was possible to change the unit scale in a campaign already in progress.

Ramses II CP

02-14-2008, 04:25

gibsonsg91921

02-14-2008, 04:39

haha NN, that was before i had even patched up from 1.0 and i couldnt get an avatar. i remember you were the nameless count of zagreb, AG was the merchant of venice, and we all got avatars about the same time. i was ehrhart von mahren, the first guy to die in a battle.

AHHHH.... reminiscing...

FactionHeir

02-14-2008, 09:43

I figured it out, 48 and 45 are the correct sizes, the problem was they were available for retraining because of the training bug. I cleared all the lines and used a spy and everything is fine now. No substantial changes to the turn.

In the future I'd like to request that everyone submit their training requests in writing rather than putting them in the line for their city, this way we avoid the training bug as I'll put all training in line at the end of the turn.

Report'll be up soon.

:egypt:

Well, actually Imperial and Teutons should train at 60 under the KOTR sizes. Make sure you don't have a unit file in your data folder of the mod.

As for retraining bug, what I did during my chancellorship was to save at end turn and then go through all the steps I outlined here:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=97521

It doesn't matter what happens during AI turn, as troops are trained when you click the end turn button rather than when you get to turn start.

econ21

02-14-2008, 12:31

Can I just check that you are topping up the AI with cash, Ramses? The console commands are in the first post of this thread, although some will need a lot more than 10k I suspect.

The French refused a very paltry ransom, which made me wonder. I know had to give them (and the Byzantines) ridiculous amounts of money during the Diet to get them into the black.

Ramses II CP

02-14-2008, 13:58

Argh! No, I forgot to cash 'em in. As I mentioned, my console-fu is weak and it doesn't often occur to me to use it. I'll check the first post and do it as soon as possible today (~3 hours)

:egypt:

Ramses II CP

02-14-2008, 13:59

You check their funds with the reports scroll right? Is it current to this turn?

:oops:

Zim

02-14-2008, 14:12

I believe it's current to the beginning of the turn, but I don't think it will show you the money you've added to factions. If you have diplomats to spare near them, you can always enter into the diplomacy scroll and see what they rate as wealthwise.

You check their funds with the reports scroll right? Is it current to this turn?

:oops:

Ramses II CP

02-14-2008, 14:18

Well, I know the Russians are boundless, it's in the screenshot. But then, they aren't at war.

:egypt:

FactionHeir

02-14-2008, 14:19

Best way to check it is with a diplomat.

Load a save, teleport a diplomat around checking their cash status and give them money while in the diplomacy screen. To update the value displayed, you can choose any offer/demand. If the display goes to "Well Off", you are at about the right level. Try not to go to boundless though, unless you have already upgraded to KOTRfix 1.3a (which everyone should have after the diet btw, as it was published during AG's term) lest you want the AI generals to end up with several bad traits.

Don't save, just note down the total florins given (note 40k max per transaction, normally you shouldn't need to give that much after I cleaned up debts during the start of AG's term) then repeat the process with every other nation.

At the end, load the initial save and give the noted down amounts and save.
You probably won't need to give the papacy anything. Also don't give anything to dead factions.

OverKnight

02-14-2008, 14:21

The saves frozen for the moment? Any ETA on unfreezing?

If it would help, I promise to kill any prisoners and not ask for a ransom. :laugh4:

AussieGiant

02-14-2008, 16:19

Hi Ramses,

I was also not so comfortable with the console commands.

What I did was give the save to FH early in my term. He did his thing, as described in his post. I then set an alarm to ensure that at some point in each turn I gave 30 000florins to everyone and then a 30 000 and a 20 000 dump to the Byzantines.

This seemed to work quite well. Plus it was easy to do.

OverKnight

02-14-2008, 16:52

Took a look at the current save,

Those Teutons on the boat south of Adana should be 60 each rather than 45 if they've been fully reinforced. In fact, I can merge them to form one 60 unit and one 30 unit.

I don't know enough about technical issues to hazard a real diagnosis, but I'd guess a mod might be interefering. I know LTC and some others reduced cav size relative to infantry.

Have infantry units been suffering the same wonky behavior?

Ramses II CP

02-14-2008, 17:37

I'm home and taking a look at things right now. All I have installed is Broken Crescent, but I didn't notice it messing with my vanilla campaigns otherwise.

Things seem a bit of a mess, but I'll get it sorted and have a fresh save soon.

Odds of me teleporting around a diplomat seem very poor.

:egypt:

Ramses II CP

02-14-2008, 17:51

Okay, I have no idea what I'm looking for to fix this training problem. I just confirmed that it does not happen in Broken Crescent or in Vanilla 1.3, but only when I use the KotR .exe. What's the file name of the 'unit file' I need to look for in the data folder, and what about it needs to be changed?

I'm very curious as to what could have caused this? I installed Broken Crescent some time ago and have not had any trouble with it relating to the KotR save. Once upon a time I had LTC 3.1 installed, but that was before I got started on KotR I believe.

I'm sorry Overknight, but for now the save needs to stay frozen. It may be tomorrow before we get this all sorted out.

The technical aspects of being Chancellor were one of the reasons I didn't want to run at first, and I probably should've listened to my head. :no: :oops:

:egypt:

FactionHeir

02-14-2008, 19:18

Check if you got export_descr_unit in the same folder as the fixes. If so, get rid of it. Its not part of the fixes. Indeed, get rid of ANYTHING inside your data folder that is not from the KOTRfix archive (i.e. delete all contents except folders and then copy in the KOTRfix files)

Ramses II CP

02-14-2008, 19:38

Okay, as stage one I'm emptying the data folder and reinstalling Kotrfix.

I'll report results soon. :)

edit: KOTRfix13a is the current version, correct?

:egypt:

FactionHeir

02-14-2008, 19:46

Yep.

I'd be interested to know if the autoresolves still would have been victories without your unit mod.
Btw, if you have any newly trained cavalry that is below normal size, you can recreate them via console into the stack.

For instance:
create_unit "Staufen" "Imperial Knights" 1 1 1 1

Would give 1 unit Imperial Knights at Staufen with 1 xp 1 weapon 1 armor (might have been armor first, then weapon)
You can also create it onto characters, so replace Staufen with Fritz von Kastilien.

If you can't create it onto a certain captain because several have the same name, create it somewhere nearby and then move it over manually and use character_reset.

Ramses II CP

02-14-2008, 20:26

Interesting question. Since we'd only had one battle (Rheims) I simply went back to the previous turn and did everything the same again. Frankfurt's autocalc for 1364 was still a victory, though with slightly more casualties. We ended up with about 2k more florins, somehow, and I lost three more men at Rheims than Tristan did, but they'll be back next season so I didn't worry about it.

I also used the command to top off the AI, but I didn't try to warp a diplomat around. I just gave those factions which appeared to be bottomed out on the faction scroll 3x more florins than those which had money showing.

The sole significant difference that I can see is the Venetians didn't rebel at Durazzo. I'll edit that out of my report, and unless there are objections we'll move forward with this as the save:

http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/kotr1364a.zip

I would like to ask FH or Econ (Or anyone else who feels qualified) to take a look at things and make sure they're correct.

I'm curious as to where the extra files came from? As I was deleting things I did notice that some of them appeared to be left over from LTC, but if so they've been there for months.

:egypt:

Ramses II CP

02-14-2008, 20:34

I loaded the 1360-6 save to test those two battles, and though Madgeburg was still a victory (Dieter took 190 casualties, which might be slightly more than in the original auto-calc) the battle at Frankfurt was a crushing defeat, including a 1700 florin ransom bill. As expected the city didn't fall, but the siege would have continued. :thumbsdown: :no:

Is this the point where I get to suggest my own impeachment? I'm afraid I don't have the technical skills to be a good Chancellor. It's appropriate for Fritz, but not so much for his player. :embarassed:

edit: BTW the save is not unfrozen until someone more skilled than I signs off on things, especially the AI money additions. There is no feedback for success in the console so I have no idea if they worked or just popped off into the ether.

:egypt:

Ferret

02-14-2008, 21:51

If the save is unfrozen by tomorrow afternoon/evening I can fight my battle then.

Ramses II CP

02-14-2008, 22:11

FactionHeir

02-14-2008, 22:12

I'm curious as to where the extra files came from? As I was deleting things I did notice that some of them appeared to be left over from LTC, but if so they've been there for months.

No worries, at least we did find the problem and you managed to fix it.
That should also be a warning to everyone else who has other mods running concurrently.... the safest way is a modfolder I suppose, and if there is demand, I can upload a modfolder version of KOTRfix.

I'll check the save now.

[edit]
Save is fine. You may have overdone the santa role a bit as pretty much everyone was on Boundless. Looks like the French were in debt though, so they still had low levels of funds. Fixed that by giving them 25000.

Unit sizes seem fine on a quick scan. Nothing jumped out at me.

New save: http://www.mizus.com/files/pbm/kotr1364b.zip

FactionHeir

02-14-2008, 22:28

Well, I've been going through my MTWII folder, and other than two seemingly inconsequential LTC files (landstoconquer.cfg and one other) all that I found were the files from the Wolfgang Hummel battle at Staufen. I installed those at that time, tried out that fight, and never thought about them again. Is it possible that they were the source of the problem?

I note I have a 'system.log.txt' which may have more information, but I don't know how to interpret it. I can email any of these to someone who can tell me what would help them diagnose as well. I could do a reinstall too, but it'd have to wait until tomorrow night I think.

:egypt:

system.log.txt is quite useless imo.

The files in your root m2tw folder are harmless, although its still good practice to get rid of them. The problem was anything inside your (m2tw main) data folder (and in its subfolders), as those all get activated when using the io switch.

Northnovas

02-15-2008, 03:04

I am interested in Ramses II issue. What was the actual problem that caused the corruption to his game? Just when you think things are fine something like that happens and wonder how and why. Was the source trying out the other saves he had mentioned.
I really found that Med Manager helpful for playing multiple mods on your system.
I can see how the extra responsibilities of being Chancellor intimidating.

OverKnight

02-15-2008, 10:35

I'm available to fight once econ21 has the save back. I just need some coffee.

I'm glad the tech issues were sorted out, big thumbs up to FH! :2thumbsup:

I'm just glad we caught the issue before we went too far in.

No need for impeachment Ramses, I don't think we want Vice-Chancellor Gerald Ford in charge.

OverKnight

02-15-2008, 16:18

Sorry for the double post, but my battle report is up, guess which movie I cribbed a line from in this one.

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpost.php?p=1834003&postcount=253

TinCow

02-15-2008, 22:05

Perhaps Patton was actually Matthias Steffen reincarnated, instead of Hannibal.

OverKnight

02-15-2008, 22:46

Good show, TC. In my next battle report, I will be working in lines from "Point Break".

On another note, I am amazed at Tristan's grand raid through France. Two cities taken with just his bodyguard. :dizzy2: Now that's vengeance.

If only the AI could properly garrison a city. Taking into account all the troops and money we've been giving them, it would be the least they could do.

Ramses II CP

02-15-2008, 23:36

That's one of my favorite changes in Broken Crescent. I have never captured a city that had only a single unit garrison. In fact, the very turn you go to war the AI trains spies and assassins in cities behind the front lines, often kicking out or killing your own spies. It's quite entertaining.

Not that there aren't still flaws. My next target, being reluctant to risk his alliance with my vassals, ignored my armies moving into his territory, and I was able to make a lightning strike against five of his cities and castles. But he was hiring men in them, so they had substantial garrisons at least!

Of course my former vassal is also heavily under siege, but I'm in the endgame so it doesn't matter if my reputation is deceitful.

:egypt:

Zim

02-15-2008, 23:44

Then there are those cities with garrison scripts, a pretty scary thing when you're the dirt poor Makurians first going after the Ayyubians. :sweatdrop:

_Tristan_

02-16-2008, 08:34

On another note, I am amazed at Tristan's grand raid through France. Two cities taken with just his bodyguard. :dizzy2: Now that's vengeance.

Anybody could have done it but I thought that for RP reasons I would jump the gun ...

Of course the AI helped a lot ... "I love the French fools" :laugh4:...

Now on to somemore mischief, if possible...

[EDIT] Just to let you know that I won't be able to come back online before Sunday around 5 PM GMT+1

Ramses, should if any of the large armies around Hugo engage him, please withdraw... He'll fight another day...

AussieGiant

02-16-2008, 16:18

Ramses,

Do we have a save to take a look at or are you getting the start of 1366 sorted out?

Ramses II CP

02-16-2008, 16:50

Yes, the save is up in the O&R thread now. Sorry, I was trying to do all that and figure out a pair of birthday parties we're supposed to attend today for my daughter.

...and then the most interesting story pops up in that thread too. :juggle2:

edit: Oh, and to cover your other question, I think the Hungarins are under the control of the AI, and act like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. I suspect if I hadn't moved to hire mercs at Vienna that they wouldn't have even made a move there. Zagreb is effectively unguarded. I can't predict how long the Venetians will hang out at Durazzo though, so I'd start back south soon-ish.

:egypt:

FactionHeir

02-16-2008, 19:00

Good read TC, keep it coming.

AussieGiant

02-16-2008, 21:42

FH.

Should we have all moved to 13a of the fix?

-edit-

I'm going to take the save Sunday, slap Zagreb back into the Reich and then hopefully pound one of those Hungarian stacks.

FH, I've moved to 13a so never mind my question.

OverKnight

02-16-2008, 23:36

My full battle report is up.

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpost.php?p=1835141&postcount=256

If Matthias seems a bit cold-hearted in this one, he got the Merciless Mauler trait from the battle.

So it's Matthias the Mighty, Merciless Mauler.

Try saying that three times fast. :laugh4:

AussieGiant

02-16-2008, 23:58

Matthias, Mi, MMmm MMmm,mmm

Matthias, the Mimm M mmmimm MMm

Crap!! :clown:

FactionHeir

02-17-2008, 22:47

Hehe I love that outburst in the diet AG!

Sadly one cannot control which epithet one gets except by one's actions. I was thinking of reducing the number of epithets there are to make names change less frequently. That would also result in more characters never getting any epithet though, so I didn't.

I figure Mauler or Merciless fits Arnold best. Infantryman sounds rather cheeky. When I did 1.3a, I was thinking what I could replace Infantryman with. Never got around to doing it though, it is still its vanilla form: Infantryman. Actually sounds like you are one of the lowly individuals rather than the commander though. If you got a suggestion, I might incorporate it.

Cecil XIX

02-18-2008, 03:28

I rather like the title 'Infantryman'. It's meant to imply that you're a man of the people (or the mob, as it were) anyway, so it makes sense it would sound somewhat lowly.

I must confess, this complaining about epithets makes no sense to me. But then, I've yet to get one. :shame:

Ramses II CP

02-18-2008, 03:53

Tristan and FH have some fun battles. Yeah, river/bridge defenses are cheesy, but when you're as badly outnumbered as we have been in Swabia you have to take what you can get. I thought Tristan's battle was especially fun, with burning boulders and cannon shot flying all around as the French Lancers lined up to attack the ranks of Flemish Pikemen. I recommend it to anyone who has time to play it out.

Between FH and Ruppel's physician I'm not sure anything is going to slow him down. I had a staggering number of men heal after that battle, and I just played it, didn't arrange my men or anything beforehand, so my losses were pretty high.

Anyway, check the Diet thread. I'm getting a head start on something important for the next offensive season.

:egypt:

OverKnight

02-18-2008, 04:53

Ah bridge battles, where would I be without them?

It does kind of suck when the enemy has long range archers or artillery, the men at the mouth of the bridge are in range. Nasty.

Interesting proposal for the Crusade. I'm a bit fried so won't be doing anything IC yet, but it would be an interesting wrinkle.

How old is the Pope?

That's one of the things I always look at, it wouldn't do if he kicked it in the middle of the Crusade and France was reconciled.

Ramses II CP

02-18-2008, 05:05

Oh he's remarkably young if I remember right (Can't check at the moment). 49 I think. Not a risk. :beam:

:egypt:

Warluster

02-18-2008, 09:51

I hope y'all like the new direction von Salza is going in; I won't tell you my plans but seeing with the limitations as of now I hope it to be somewhat 'strange'. The Story I'll post later will explain a bit.

AussieGiant

02-18-2008, 10:02

FH, the name changes are fine. If we didn't have them then I couldn't have jumped on the topic and fleshed it out as I did with Arnold.

He's got more traits than I can believe when it comes to speaking and being a personality in my minds eye.

Leave them in, you can imagine the "carry on" if he gets a another one. :beam:

It was an IC thing rather than a proper complaint...Cecil.

...I'm just stunned that the Diet continued on without a moments thought towards Arnold and his outburst...it seems I've played him to such an extent that everyone is desensitised :shame:

Warluster

02-18-2008, 10:10

...I'm just stunned that the Diet continued on without a moments thought towards Arnold and his outburst...it seems I've played him to such an extent that everyone is desensitised :shame:

I'd say its because everyone agrees with you. (I am assuming you mean the latest post in the DIet thread?) A Crusade will be interesting in France. It will be similar to the Crusade all the way back at the start except this time no long hike; its at the doorstep.

AussieGiant

02-18-2008, 10:12

I'd say its because everyone agrees with you. (I am assuming you mean the latest post in the DIet thread?) A Crusade will be interesting in France. It will be similar to the Crusade all the way back at the start except this time no long hike; its at the doorstep.

WL I'm talking about his Diet post about all the name changes :yes:

_Tristan_

02-18-2008, 10:32

Ramses, when do you expect me to fight the battle at Antwerp ?

[EDIT]

Tincow and Econ21, what a fantastic story... I can't wait to see how things will unravel from here on...

Ramses II CP

02-18-2008, 14:25

FH has to fight first Tristan, then you're up. I'll send you a PM with the save.

:egypt:

FactionHeir

02-18-2008, 14:28

After I fight mine.
That will be in approx 4 or 5 hours from now when I'm home. Oh, and add another hour or two for the actual fighting, screenshotting and uploading.

I have a feeling Lothar will eventually be exposed, but he will die of natural causes first.

_Tristan_

02-18-2008, 14:45

After I fight mine.
That will be in approx 4 or 5 hours from now when I'm home. Oh, and add another hour or two for the actual fighting, screenshotting and uploading.

That would mean around 10 PM for me... Won't be able to fight it tonight then...

I should be able to fight it around noon tomorrow... Is that OK ? or too late ?

Ramses II CP

02-18-2008, 14:48

Tomorrow is fine Tristan, 48 hours are allowed for defensive battles IIRC. You'll be in plenty of time.

I'm somewhat at a loss for what to do with the other situation (Per stories thread). As I've already begun with something that may technically have been supposed to wait for the offensive season (Pierus' Crusade suggestion) I'm going to go ahead and post my reaction to the story and private note in the Diet thread.

:egypt:

_Tristan_

02-18-2008, 14:51

Thanks... I'm looking forward to that fight (would have like to have one more cav though...)

Never used pikes in game... would someone point me to the best way to use them ?

I've read threads on the matter but I need a crash course...

Ramses II CP

02-18-2008, 15:11

The problem with pikes is that they switch to their secondary weapons, which are useless, all too quickly. The solution is to line them up so that their pikes poke through each other, which is to say spread the companies as thinly as possible and place them as close behind each other as possible. You have some spearmen too, who can be spread thinly in front of the front rank of pikes, to offer them some opportunity to use their pikes while the spearmen die.

I fought the battle, so I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but one FYI you would know as commander on the ground; your reinforcements are entering from a goodly distance away. Turn off spearwall for any who have it on and make them run, or they won't arrive in time to help.

There is also a 'pike trick' where you manipulate their spearwall and guard to make them stick with their pikes, but though I've read about it I've never really used it to great effect.

I didn't think you'd need the merc. cavalry for a bridge battle, but you do have a ribault. :2thumbsup:

:egypt:

_Tristan_

02-18-2008, 15:20

I'll see what I can do...

I prefer mobility in general but I'll see what I can do with what is at hand..

FactionHeir

02-18-2008, 15:56

I skipped the boring practical and should be able to fight in a few minutes. Taking the save.

_Tristan_

02-18-2008, 15:59

Nice post in the Diet, Ramses...

I just love how all this is turning out...

Ramses II CP

02-18-2008, 16:08

It is a pretty stunning turn of events for me. Fritz was really getting results as Chancellor, though our ranks of players are a bit thin. TC is pretty much the only commander in Bavaria, though, and if what Gibson sent me is true it seems like quite a few of our most active players are going to be on the, heh, 'wrong' side of this thing. I have no idea how it's going to work, or if the Reich can survive.

:egypt:

_Tristan_

02-18-2008, 16:11

I couldn't jump in before the Cataclysm due to OOC reasons, now it seems I will be present in what might be even more devastating....

FactionHeir

02-18-2008, 16:18

Erm it might take me another hour or two. It seems my M2TW install is broken after I ran a few network fixing apps yesterday and ran a reg cleaner afterwards. Will need to reinstall.

OverKnight

02-18-2008, 16:23

Why did all of this have to happen right before I go on vacation?!

Everything is going all pear-shaped and I'll be away.

Thanks for ruining my holiday, TC and econ21. :laugh4:

TinCow

02-18-2008, 16:36

When will you be gone OK? I'm hoping we can lure some of the inactive players back with this thing, so a delay of a week or so to 'hype' the situation would help, you may be back in time.

OverKnight

02-18-2008, 16:43

Feb 20th to the 28th. I did post about it some time ago.

GeneralHankerchief

02-18-2008, 17:04

Ah, now this feels like KotR proper.

I wish I knew about gibson's post while I was writing my response though. :laugh4:

Ramses II CP

02-18-2008, 17:15

Just by way of an FYI, when Gibson told me he was on reserve duty I removed him from command of the army near the Byzantines and moved him to 'safety' in Bologna. And, as matters would have it, I gave command of that army to the only active commander in Bavaria, Duke Lothar Steffen.

I don't know what effect that will have on plans, but it was a sound strategic decision and as Chancellor I had to make it. :oops:

:egypt:

gibsonsg91921

02-18-2008, 17:25

The army isn't loyal to Lothar, it's loyal to the Reich. Perhaps the accusations would make most, if not all of them, return safe to their loving Kaiser.

AussieGiant

02-18-2008, 17:47

Any bastard solider not following my direct command in my presence better have a fast horse...that's all I'll say.

gibsonsg91921

02-18-2008, 18:10

AussieGiant

02-18-2008, 18:59

Yeah, that's true. I would imagine Lothar's fearmongering would keep a substantial quantity of them to stay.

Or, they came to Lothar as commissioned by Fritz, why not come back as commissioned by Fritz? Perhaps that's where the true loyalties lie. :smile:

Absolutely, there is a decision to make, but "being present" will count for a lot in this situation.

Anyway...I just realised that at the mid point of this game it always felt like what we have in the Diet right now.

That's what I have reailsed we have missed.

Cecil XIX

02-18-2008, 19:02

Looks like things are getting interesting again. Good thing too, it's been boring having us all working together and fighting the enemy. I hope all these super-stacks doesn't discourage anyone from letting this play out.

Ramses II CP

02-18-2008, 19:14

Heh, if the powers that be were looking for the right trigger to get the Chancellor to set aside the Reich's welfare, they found it. Fritz has spoken too heatedly about Siegfried to let this pass.

I mitigated though and stepped back in the Diet. If we're all in favor of the Crusade, then I'll have Fritz put his trust in Peter and push the French Crusade forward during the 'trial' or whatever after the defensive season.

:egypt:

FactionHeir

02-18-2008, 19:32

Anyone care to say boatride yet? :grin:

Adjourning a session usually results in things not getting done. Things moving on during the succession dispute played out in Siegfried's favor for instance.

_Tristan_

02-18-2008, 20:03

Ramses,

To answer your suggestion in the Orders thread, Is it ok if I save the game on the victory screen ?

Ramses II CP

02-18-2008, 20:06

That would be fine with me if it's possible (Or the ransom/release screen), but also there are a lot of countries that go after France. You'll have plenty of time afterward to save.

:egypt:

FactionHeir

02-18-2008, 20:06

You can't save the game on the victory screen unless you are autoresolving.

You can finish the battle and then press escape immediately. That works.

econ21

02-18-2008, 20:12

With the recent stories, there is again a real possibility of PvP battles between players.

To keep things simple, I propose the following mechanics.

1. A player may declare hostilities against another player. When this happens, BOTH players become “PvP flagged”.

2. PvP flagged characters are moved strictly according to the relevant player’s instructions. The moves will be implemented by econ21, not the Chancellor. They may not detach units or command more than a maximum 20 units in their own stack.

3. econ21 will be neutral in any PvP matters and will resolve any PvP encounters . (Welf von Luxemburg will not be a party to any PvP conflicts.)

4. Each character will have access to a feudal levy that will fight by their side in PvP battles. Details of the feudal levies will be provide shortly but will be similar to those previously assigned. Only these forces can be trusted to fight loyally. These levies will not be represented on the strategic map, but will be deployed in PvP battles.

5. Other forces under character’s command may also participate in battles, but their loyalty will be questionable - some may desert or even defect to the opposition.

6. PvP flagged characters may order recruitment from settlements they control, where control will be established either de jure or de facto. But these forces will also be of questionable loyalty.

7. Character movement will be constrained by the game engine as normal with one exception. PvP characters may freely be teleported once per turn to be adjacent to an allied PvP character. They may not bring any troops with them, except their feudal levies.

8. A general principle is that PvP battles will be set up so as to be relatively “fair” and also decisive. Strategic and political manoeuvring (ie bringing bigger stacks and more allies) will provide slight advantages. But some balancing gerrymandering by the referee can be expected so that the battles are not forgone conclusions. The battle of Bern provides an example of the kind of balanced and decisive encounter that is desired.

9. PvP battles will be resolved either through the "table top" style used previously or, if all participants agree, through multiplayer contests. Very uneven contests may be resolved by econ21 without recourse to these more time consuming methods (think "autoresolve").

If people have any comments, criticisms, questions, counter-proposals, fire away.

Ramses II CP

02-18-2008, 20:21

_Tristan_

02-18-2008, 20:28

What about the Crusade?

In fact, I can't wait for it to be called...:charge:

OverKnight

02-18-2008, 20:38

I'm confused, the Emergency Diet session is over?

Gah?

Ummmmm, the Kaiser just accused a Duke of treason, tried to pass legislation allowing him to strip anyone he deemed treasonous of their title and commands to be replaced with people of his own choosing, gave himself the power to lead a house army, and now proclaims he will be leading that army with the man accused of treason as his second.

At the same time the Duke in question tore down the Kaiser's brother and accused the Kaiser of past treachery while calling his competence into question.

But now that's just water under the bridge?

Barring the facts involved, this is the latest occurence in the Kaiser versus Dukes balance of power game. Yet, we're just supposed to continue on while this bombshell gets passed onto a committee?

I'd love to wade into this, but I'm leaving in a few days. Bad timing, but maybe it's for the best that Matt stays out of this.

Gah!

gibsonsg91921

02-18-2008, 20:54

Yeah, it was kind of unlikely.

Think of it this way. Out of huge anger and typical Péter dread and authority, he called a Diet session. Out of a typical Péter quick change of heart due to the persuasion of comrades, he ended the Diet session until the evidence could be brought forward so the Reich would not be imperiled. Ya dig?

Ramses II CP

02-18-2008, 20:57

I think maybe what Peter meant in calling for adjournment is that now that he has a second, he wants to put his measures to a vote?

:egypt:

gibsonsg91921

02-18-2008, 21:01

Nah, I called for adjournment before I saw EF's post. Plus, ya need 2 seconders. Meh - once the investigation's over, we'll have a real Diet session.

econ21

02-18-2008, 22:52

What about the Crusade? The topic has had little discussion in the Diet thread due to the other erupting events, but what discussion there has been is positive. It seems like a logical extension of the current situation. And, of course, it would give Welf something to do while the rest of us kill each other.

Absolutely. :laugh4:

We do have two relevant clauses in the Charter:

7.2 Crusades must be authorised by the Diet, unless announced by another faction.

7.3 When a crusade is called, the Chancellor must ask all generals if they wish to join. He must include at least three volunteers who reply within 48 hours. If there are more than three, he must pick the three most pious. However, he can decline a volunteer if that would usurp his pick of army commander. If the AI calls a crusade, the Chancellor can choose not to follow it, even if generals wish to join - but he must still notify them immediately of the call and get their view on whether they would like to join (were he to follow the call).

To satisfy 7.2, you could just start a yes/no poll for KotR players. Welf would definitely volunteer.

While you're here Econ, I think the Danish stack near Arhus is broken. I've tried shifting armies around there and I can't get them to move, but it's time for Fritz to become untied from Arhus. Can we ship the Danes off the island where they're stuck and put them north of Arhus to let them lay siege, or something?

OK, I'll teleport it at the start of our turn.

EDIT: On the PvP mechanics - if people are happy with them in general terms, any player who wants to start hostilities against other player can do so by making an OOC (or IC) declaration in the Orders thread.

TinCow

02-18-2008, 23:05

gibsonsg91921

02-18-2008, 23:48

Man, I wish Peter's mortal enemy wasn't RPed by an effing legend.

Ramses II CP

02-19-2008, 00:19

I know which forces came from where with what intent and I can do the split at the start of the turn... however, I'd like some kind of ruling/resolution to the claim of custody and the CAs on the Kaiser's part. Kaiser Peter's forces are the smaller part of the army, but they're all quality cavalry because he was clearly in a hurry to head south.

Obviously I won't be taking any action until there's a clear, agreed upon path, even if it takes awhile to sort out. That's okay really, Tristan's not fighting his battle for maybe 12+ more hours and though there shouldn't be another defensive battle, there will be plenty for me to do just calling up the reports. I won't be in any hurry this time. :beam:

:egypt:

econ21

02-19-2008, 00:33

I think it would be best if Peter's Imperials and Lothar's Bavarians were divided up from what is, apparently, a combined force. I honestly haven't been keeping track of where these units come from for a long time. I load up the game, fight my battles, and am done with it. I have no idea what would properly be loyal to me IC, and that's making the current situation a bit confusing.

From the latest save, Lothar is commanding what is surely the strongest army in the Reich but the Kaiser is nearby. In the event of hostilities, the units in the army will each take some kind of loyalty test. You would be looking at something like rolling a dice with 1-2=Lothar 3-4=neutral (desert) 5-6=Peter. (I suspect the army is predominantly Bavarian, but the Kaiser is the Kaiser.) Any Imperials will fight for Peter. The division will only be made if one player tries to force the issue - e.g. if Peter tries to take command of the army or Lothar tries to use it against Peter.

Similar tests will apply to other existing stacks of troops - perhaps with a +/-1 modifier in favour of the de facto or de jure commander. The tests will be made when the commander becomes PvP. The +/-1 modifier puts some potential advantage in the hands of the Chancellor, as he can transfer troops away from suspect generals. In fairness, I think he should give advance notice of this - e.g. 24 hours - so that the affected generals have the chance to flag themselves as PvP and try to maintain their command (and indeed increase it, by recruiting from their settlements).

Ramses II CP

02-19-2008, 00:52

Well, since nobody got a heads up this first season I think in the interests of fairness I need to refrain from stripping anyone of their command, unless the Kaiser is, in fact, in custody of Lothar or some other action happens on the side. This would reflect the fact that all of this took the Chancellor very much by surprise, and any letters and orders were issued during this season rather than ahead of it.

My intent is to redistribute the forces so that the men I meant for the Kaiser move into his stack, and the men that were with Lothar at Florence become his army, unless that is superceded by action in posts. Lothar got those men so he could crush the Byzantines without placing Peter, who is on reserve duty, at risk.

So for this offensive season, such as it will be, no noble will be stripped of his command by the Chancellor. This also gives the Crusade a chance to develop and draw followers, and have larger implications.

Next year Lothar and anyone else I find reason to hold suspect will face the full wrath of the Chancellor. Do not be surprised if you oppose Fritz but do not wish to declare your intent to find yourself stripped of your men. I won't deliberately order anyone into danger, but neither will I order them out of it's path (This is to reflect that no one is loyal enough to do the incredibly stupid, but everyone may lack the information at the Chancellor's disposal).

:egypt:

AussieGiant

02-19-2008, 10:06

Zim

02-19-2008, 10:21

Interesting seeing all of that stuff happen while I was asleep last night. :dizzy2:

Nice to see that the Catclysm and rather deadly Chancellorship afterwards having sated the KOTR characters' desire to kill eachother. :clown:

AussieGiant

02-19-2008, 22:09

Evening chaps,

Just a question as to whether I can go on the offensive Friday night GMT +1 and spank those Hungarian's sieging Zagreb.

Will this break the offensive season timing by too far or not?

Ramses II CP

02-19-2008, 22:35

Given all the action and options, it seems like a good idea to me to extend the offensive season. Any objections? I'm writing it into the report now.

:egypt:

Ferret

02-19-2008, 22:37

fine by me, can I just ask if Breslau is ours now? I haven;t had time to check the same recently but saw it on a screenshot I think, if so I'll go for Stettin instead.

econ21

02-19-2008, 23:47

Given all the action and options, it seems like a good idea to me to extend the offensive season.

No problem. The 24 hour window was never meant as a maximum period for offensive action. Rather it was more a minimum period. The idea was the Chancellor would do nothing for the first 24 hours at the start of a turn, so other players could catch up with events and request moves before the Chancellor moved on. Fitting in some offensive battles was just to stop it being dead time from the point of view of game progression.

AussieGiant

02-20-2008, 11:00

Excellent. Friday it is then.

Love the Crusade bickering...this is great. :egypt:

FactionHeir

02-20-2008, 11:53

Ah yes, it reminds me of the days of Hans trying to catch up with the other crusaders and all the bickering :grin:

_Tristan_

02-20-2008, 12:27

Being a late comer to the game, I'm just trying to find my place and my "voice" thus a bit of bickering doesn't hurt

StoneCold

02-20-2008, 14:27

One question, will the crusade ends if the french king is killed in Caen? This will result in the French being reconciled with the Pope if I am correct, right?

FactionHeir

02-20-2008, 15:50

Hmmm that is actually a distinct possibility.

_Tristan_

02-20-2008, 18:57

Battle report for the capture of Reims is up...

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpost.php?p=1834094&postcount=255

Hope you'll like it... :yes:

[EDIT] btw... Wouldn't it be better to open a new Battle report thread ? With the number of screens in it, it takes forever to open... Which sometimes acts for me as a deterrent to edit my posts...

OverKnight

02-20-2008, 19:13

Opening a new thread might be a good idea.

Also, you can access your battle reports from the history, if I remembered to include them. They are in a single post format, so you wouldn't have to wait for other's people's pics to load before you can edit.

Also, you can go into into the User CP, go under Options and reduce how many posts you view on each page. You'd still have to load the pics, but it would be in smaller chunks.

Ramses II CP

02-20-2008, 19:20

If the Crusade ends that way, would it count as a victory for the Reich? I don't recall ever having that happen in a game before.

... I guess I should just go test it, eh?

And what would happen if the French King were captured?

Anyway, I wouldn't restrain yourself on the basis of preserving the crusade. We can get as many of the now paltry crusade mercs as we'd like first and then hit the King.

:egypt:

OverKnight

02-20-2008, 20:55

I'm leaving for the airport in about an hour, and then I'll be on my way to London. I'll be back home the night of Thursday Feb 28.

I think I've covered all my bases for KotR regarding my absence. The only exception will be that the history will not be updated.

Have fun storming the Castle everyone. Try to keep the Reich in one piece until I get back.

econ21

02-20-2008, 21:59

Anyway, I wouldn't restrain yourself on the basis of preserving the crusade. We can get as many of the now paltry crusade mercs as we'd like first and then hit the King.

I'm not sure I agree. Successfully completing a crusade provides big (chivalry oriented) boosts to a general's stats. In the past, we tried to to get as many generals in on the final assault as possible to maximise those gains. It would be a shame to lose those just because we can't wait a turn to kill the French king.

I think we are past the time period when crusading gives you interesting crusade mercs. The main benefits left are stats boosts, faster movement and Papal approval.

StoneCold

02-20-2008, 22:07

Also I believe the cancellation of a crusade will just result in a cancel mission and thus not a successful mission. So you won't gain any good traits or rewards from the pope.

Ramses II CP

02-20-2008, 22:25

That was my question actually. If it's a cancellation, we should clearly wait, as, if nothing else, stories of the prestige gained from the crusade would be much more interesting. I can't test it until tonight.

:egypt:

econ21

02-20-2008, 22:32

Also I believe the cancellation of a crusade will just result in a cancel mission and thus not a successful mission. So you won't gain any good traits or rewards from the pope.

That's the point I was trying to make. However, just looking at the save, I am not sure the issue is relevant to us right now. It looks like de Cervole is not able to take Caen this turn, but Ruppel could take Angiers next turn. So, we should be able to successfully complete the crusade before taking down the French king.

The issue would be relevant if we want to wait longer to complete the crusade. However, with the absence of crusading mercs, I am not sure what the benefit of delay would be. Perhaps if GH wants Ruppel to wait for him to arrive at Angiers, so his avatar can go down the chivalrous path? I certainly would like Welf to be in on the storming of Angiers.

btw... Wouldn't it be better to open a new Battle report thread ? With the number of screens in it, it takes forever to open... Which sometimes acts for me as a deterrent to edit my posts...

I am not sure opening a new thread would solve much. I think it is the number of images per page that causes the big delay in opening it. We should try to keep the number of images per page down, perhaps by splitting up battle reports into multiple posts. The default 30 posts per page. If we have 30 battles with lots of screenshots per page, it will create a lot of slowdown. 10 battles, each in three parts, per page would be more managebale.

FactionHeir

02-21-2008, 01:00

The only mercs available in the current period are pilgrims and flagellants I think, and the occassional fanatic and unhorsed knight over at Outremer. Crusading isn't what it used to be.

Hopefully Ramses will have arranged the save that Ruppel is siegeing Angers rather than standing next to it so we can complete it next turn with Tristan and econ in my stack if Ruppel isn't driven off by the bronze and silver stack there. His army is already heavily battered and half his army is pilgrims and militia.

econ21

02-21-2008, 01:30

I realise I forgot to try to teleport the Danish general, sorry. However, I gather he is a Prince, which makes it rather tricky. I think we need to know his original (pre-Prince) name before the console command will work. It may be rather painstaking to dig back into past saves and use spies to uncover that info. Perhaps we could leave him for a turn or two? (I'll be buffing up armies next turn so will have a try then.)

gibsonsg91921

02-21-2008, 01:33

Try to keep the Reich in one piece until I get back.

Awww, you're no fun.

Ramses II CP

02-21-2008, 02:17

As far as I know he came into being as a Prince. The first time I remember seeing him is when our spy was near Stockholm and the Danes had just been topped up with troops. A captain stack that came out of Stockholm got a noble added to it, and it was Stenkil (Say... 1352?).

I'm happy to run around him and go smash Stockholm, but it seems rather silly for him to just sit there. Maybe I can tempt him out with some militia troops.

:egypt:

Ramses II CP

02-21-2008, 03:10

Okay, I've tested it and killing the King does not instantly bring the crusade to a halt. However with the current save even if Tristan joins the crusade and marches to the walls of Caen (Requires ganking Welf's cavalry, which wouldn't help him any), the spy can't open the gates, so it'll be next season before the assault can be launched anyway.

I believe I can get Welf close enough to reach Anger next season by leaving behind the bombard, two companies of militia spearmen, and one company of mounted crossbows. Seems like it's worth it to me. Can't guarantee Welf won't get hit by some French though. I may use a fort to hold some of the men there.

I'm going to disband the mercs from the plague captain's army so they can be re-recruited next season. It's pointless to have them hanging around like that. The militia troops too. The rest will hang around the Rheims/Antwerp region to be irritating to the French.

Hermann Steffen needs Count Erlach's cavalry, or Count Erlach needs to join the crusade to get Hermann in. I'm assuming TC may want some of Erlach's men for the assault on Genoa, so my preference, unless Erlach shows up with an opinion, is to just send the two companies of cavalry. That'll make it difficult for Hermann to hold the bridge, but I think Genoa is more important.

Anyone else wanting in on the crusade? Anyone have something to say about this course? Plenty of time left in the offensive season, just make yourself heard.

I'd like to hear from EF about the Poles vs Stettin bit again. You're ignoring the siege, but are you going to let that army to your west go and march north for the Russians?

:egypt:

TinCow

02-21-2008, 03:36

Hermann Steffen needs Count Erlach's cavalry, or Count Erlach needs to join the crusade to get Hermann in. I'm assuming TC may want some of Erlach's men for the assault on Genoa, so my preference, unless Erlach shows up with an opinion, is to just send the two companies of cavalry. That'll make it difficult for Hermann to hold the bridge, but I think Genoa is more important.

I only glanced at Erlach's army when I was playing the save, but Lothar's is pretty decent. The only thing extra I would ask for would be some more infantry, particularly heavy infantry. Given that Lothar's army is only 2 slots from the max, you could easily give all of Erlach's army, minus two units, to Hermann. One of those two units could even be Erlach himself, since I'm almost positive that Stuperman would want Erlach to be present when Genoa is retaken. It is his County, after all. If he were around now, I would give him priority in fighting it.

Northnovas

02-21-2008, 03:38

This Zirn has no interest in the Crusade west. However, I may take a run at the Hungarians. A little gun shy right now and it involves another avatar. Have till Friday to decide; will advise.

Ramses II CP

02-21-2008, 04:01

Well, IIRC Igno is unable to play right now, so that avatar is on the way out if you don't save him. :skull:

If you have him sally you can do as much damage as possible, then pull all his men back inside the walls and exit the battle for a 'successful' sally, even if you don't drive off all the Hungarians. Then you'll be sitting next to the walls to command the defense if what's left of the Hungarians decides to make their assault.

:egypt:

_Tristan_

02-21-2008, 09:19

Doesn't the "teleport" thing work with "this" instead of the character's full name ? Like it does for traits and retinues...

econ21

02-21-2008, 09:59

Doesn't the "teleport" thing work with "this" instead of the character's full name ? Like it does for traits and retinues...

You mean try a command:

move_character this 199,200

It's worth a try - I'll have a look at it tonight (or anyone else can do it before then).

_Tristan_

02-21-2008, 10:01

You mean try a command:

move_character this 199,200

It's worth a try - I'll have a look at it tonight (or anyone else can do it before then).

Exactly what I meant... It should work... I'll give it a try...

[EDIT] Ok, that doesn't work... One, I think you need to have control of the faction to be able to select the character you want to teleport... Second even for HRE characters this doesn't work as a substitute for the name in the move_character cheat...

I hope someone can prove me wrong... FH ?Any idea ?

Oh, and the battle report for Antwerp has been updated with pics here (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpost.php?p=1838250&postcount=260)

FactionHeir

02-21-2008, 12:26

I am not sure if disbanding mercs allows you to rehire them. My instinct would be that its not possible. It works for normal troops though and they get added to the region pool.

As for teleporting, you need to use the character's name. "this" only works for the give/remove commands.

Oh, and Ramses, if Ruppel gets attacked at end turn and gets no reinforcements by then, he will likely autowithdraw to Dijon. Mind sending some troops from Staufen there beforehand so he can pick them up? Some recruitment at Dijon would be great too!

Ramses II CP

02-21-2008, 14:35

Actually I just did the mercenaries thing at Arhus. Fritz fired all the plagued mercenaries in the captain stack and this season they all show up as recruitable, so I'm pretty sure it works. They probably get added back to the pool in the region they came from, not the region where they currently are, so I can't tell if the ribault will be available all the way out west but the crossbowmen and spearmen were recruited at Dijon, IIRC.

:egypt:

FactionHeir

02-21-2008, 15:25

Ah, good to know.
Ribault pool is for central europe, so it will be available anywhere east of Dijon and north of Milan.

_Tristan_

02-22-2008, 19:23

So where are we at ?

Ramses II CP

02-22-2008, 19:44

Following through with the requested extension for the offensive season. I know, I pushed thing pretty fast lasy week trying to build our momentum back up, but with OK out of town and all the IC developments this turn is going quite slowly. I expect we have one more major engagement, which is AG at Zagreb, and then I'll take the save, make the adjustments, and push ahead. I'm not sure how many defensive engagements we'll see, but I suspect it'll be a few.

:egypt:

OverKnight

02-22-2008, 20:07

Hi everyone, greetings from London.

I found some cheap internet access near my hotel, and I'll be checking in periodically, though I won't have the time, most likely, to update the history.

Which means, when I get back, I'll most likely be asking around about what happened so I can update accurately. Just keep in mind what your character has done since the 20th regarding battles and such. I'll also might be picking Ramses's brain at some point as well.

Awww, you're no fun.

Hey I just said keep the Reich in one piece until I get back. Shouldn't be too difficult, I hope. :laugh4:

AussieGiant

02-22-2008, 20:35

Evening chaps.

OK, have a pint for me while you're old London mate.

I'm ready to take the save. NN post doesn't have linky, so I'll dig into the uploader and have a look.

When I have it I'll make the "have save" announcement for Arnold.

Ramses II CP

02-22-2008, 20:44

This is the one:

http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/pbm/kotr1368-9.zip

Unless Cecil posts something in, oh, say the next 8 hours I'm going to assume he'd rather fight the defensive battle than try the sally and set it up that way for him. AG really won't have the slightest trouble with these Hungarians.

:egypt:

FactionHeir

02-22-2008, 21:35

Any plans for reinforcement? :grin:

Ramses II CP

02-23-2008, 00:31

This season or the next? I can get Welf closer, but there aren't any men who can make it all the way to you. I can throw up a fort near Welf, especially since he's got some slow men anyway, but no guarantees you'd be retreated to it anyway. Your best bet might be not to take Anger under siege and hope the idiot AI ignores you. :yes:

:egypt:

GeneralHankerchief

02-23-2008, 15:52

I'll have the save in a couple of hours.

Until then, this is my first M2TW bridge battle. :hide: I'm pretty well-experienced with Rome bridge battles, is it essentially the same thing? Or does anybody have any tips?

TinCow

02-23-2008, 15:54

It's the same as RTW. Infantry to block the bridge. Missiles to kill everything coming across.

gibsonsg91921

02-23-2008, 15:56

Well, looks like Kaiser Peter is going down the same polarizing path as what I read about Kaiser Heinrich. I wanna leave a good legacy of my character, so sorry if I ruin your Order's little plans by killing all of them.

GeneralHankerchief

02-23-2008, 15:58

You only go down the same path as Heinrich if you win. :wink:

gibsonsg91921

02-23-2008, 16:00

Well, Peter had a good run.

In my next life, I want to be a ridiculous two-bit powerhungry rebel, and not a closet one.

AussieGiant

02-23-2008, 16:28

Good stuff Gibbo, you're giving it a good shake...:2thumbsup:

i actually edited my last post so I'll wait awhile to see if you want to add anything to your last post.

gibsonsg91921

02-23-2008, 17:09

gracias Aussie, you and Ramses and TinCow both are kickin' a.

Ramses II CP

02-23-2008, 17:25

I will be soon. You know it was those PvP battles in the Cataclysm that got me so interested in this thing... :skull:

:egypt:

gibsonsg91921

02-23-2008, 17:47

yeah, i want to be important in one of those too!

_Tristan_

02-23-2008, 18:01

The coolest thing is that I should get a new laptop this week that normally will be able to handle M2TW and will have internet access too so...

Bring on those PvP battles !!!

Cecil XIX

02-24-2008, 01:41

I like your latest story, GH. If Becker could hear Hermann's thoughts, it would remind him of himself when he was younger. Too bad I can't think of any reason for them to talk to each other.

Zim

02-24-2008, 02:53

Battle report for the assault on Nikosia is done. Not sure I like how it ended up (especially some missing pics I hoped to use). :sweatdrop: Should get the subsequent sally up tonight.

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpost.php?p=1841825&postcount=265

gibsonsg91921

02-24-2008, 20:03

i'm kinda sick or else i'd be posting more

AussieGiant

02-24-2008, 20:11

Hope you feel better soon Gibson.

gibsonsg91921

02-24-2008, 22:50

Haha thanks!

AussieGiant

02-25-2008, 13:26

Great reports Ramses!!

I like that you've kept the War Office and the Exchequer in the reports.

TinCow

02-25-2008, 14:42

Agreed. I have to say I think both AussieGiant and Ramses have raised the bar on the Chancellors reports. Good work, guys.

Ramses II CP

02-25-2008, 15:01

Thanks guys, AG definitely set the stage for my reports. With the %&$^ AI so screwed up around Arhus it seems like I've hardly fought at all since the Cataclysm. I'm giving Stenkil one more chance to get off that island, and if he won't I'm going to sail for Stockholm and put an end to this farce so I can get around to paying back the Russians.

:egypt:

_Tristan_

02-25-2008, 19:14

Edited report of Hugo last battle against the French between Bruges and Caen

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpost.php?p=1841381&postcount=263

AussieGiant

02-25-2008, 21:46

Thanks for the compliment TC...

...and on an entirely different note...YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!

Another dead Austrian noble...it's beyond my understanding...I should open up some type of betting tote now.

TinCow

02-25-2008, 22:08

KOTR has made me far, far more cautious about using generals in battle. These days, I only do it for very short periods of time and usually only in a flanking charge. I also check the HPs of the various avatars under my command in battle. Fragile avatars get even more cautious treatment.

Northnovas

02-25-2008, 23:48

Well I made the post a little ambiguous because I couldn't belive it when Ramses got back to me with the save and asked when I was going to make an announcement? For what I thought the victory but no the death of Johann.:furious3:
I went and checked the save and he was gone no announcement his avatar was down to 4 but it was his was avatar showing and not the Bodyguard Unit.
That's what happens when you go for the knock out blows and when the first one doesn't connect you stay in there. I should be more cautious.:shame:

Ramses II CP

02-26-2008, 00:12

It was a strange death too, I didn't even get an announcement at the start of the turn. When we first found out Johann was dead, I thought I had some kind of problem like the unit one from before, so I reinstalled Kotrfix13a, but it didn't change anything when I loaded from the end of Vienna again.

This death still feels kinda strange to me, like it shouldn't have happened. I've never seen this behavior before at least.

:egypt:

Northnovas

02-26-2008, 01:02

GeneralHankerchief

02-26-2008, 01:55

That was an extremely odd double post. :dizzy2:

Ramses II CP

02-26-2008, 02:50

Just as an FYI, the Sicilian invasion near Rome was at my suggestion, Econ just took it and ran with it. :laugh4: So if anybody can get Erlach's player to come back and be active Bavaria could use him.

Okay, I'm doing the RR now.

:egypt:

econ21

02-26-2008, 15:20

Okay, I've tested it and killing the King does not instantly bring the crusade to a halt.

OK, not instantly - that's good to know. But what happens next turn?

Tristan's killed the King and we don't have a bombard to take Angers. If the spy fails to open the gates this turn, is the crusade scuppered or do we have more time?

This question is addressed to anyone, not just Ramses. I can test it tonight to get an answer if no one provides one before then.

Ramses II CP

02-26-2008, 15:29

You do have a ribault which can bash open the gates pretty easily, if you can protect it. :2thumbsup:

(testing now)

edit: France is not reconciled next season, at least not from the current save, and the crusade continues.

:egypt:

econ21

02-26-2008, 15:57

You do have a ribault ...

OK, good to know.

France is not reconciled next season, ...

Ditto. :2thumbsup:

Factionheir: based on the above information, my instinct is to try to defeat the French army standing before Angers, then merge with Ruppel and take the citadel with the ribault (if the computer says you are in command, you will do the honours). Is that ok or would you prefer something else? I'll do it tonight if I get the all clear from you.

_Tristan_

02-26-2008, 16:04

You should also be able to merge Hugo's men or use them as reinforcements...

Ramses II CP

02-26-2008, 16:55

I think except for the cavalry that Hugo's men will have to be reinforcements, as their movement range ends right at Lancelot's army. You're probably going to have to shuffle your men around a good bit Econ, as there are a lot of small and partial companies, and your spearmen are mostly militia. It will not be an easy battle anyway. Good luck. :2thumbsup:

:egypt:

_Tristan_

02-26-2008, 16:59

Why not seek the shelter of Caen or Paris ?

Retrain some men and move on Angers next season

Same for Ruppel...

What's the hurry ? Herrmann's men going AWOL put aside...

FactionHeir

02-26-2008, 17:45

As per O&R thread, I'll see if the spy can open or not, if he can and Lancelot does not have night attack, Welf would likely be able to join with Ruppel to assault Angers this season and take it, thus preventing desertion.

GeneralHankerchief

02-27-2008, 00:38

From the Reports thread:

Congratulations on the successful conclusion of the crusade gentlemen! I don't suppose you sent Hermann on his trip first? :oops:

Fritz von Kastilien

:egypt:

I should hope not. I thought it was considered extremely bad etiquette to move someone else's avatar without permission?

Ramses II CP

02-27-2008, 00:48

Heh, but with the crusade over you won't be reaching Rome until, at the earliest, next year, and your ships will cost five times as much if there's actually one available, etc.

:egypt:

econ21

02-27-2008, 16:45

I thought it was considered extremely bad etiquette to move someone else's avatar without permission?

Generally yes, although the Chancellor can do it, of course[1].

When there are coordination issues, as here, though, it gets tricky. If the player would have wanted to be moved, then moving them might not extremely bad etiquette.

For example, with the crusade, I was not sure whether Tristan wanted to join the assault on Angers or not. In the end, I encouraged FH to move him without permission as I inferred he would want that (to get the stats boost). May be we should have waited to hear from Tristan but likely it would have delayed the game by a day and IMO it did not seem worth it.

Perhaps we need some mid-level command position, between Chancellor and individual generals, where the area commander is authorised to make such moves. Dukes are the natural candidates for this and perhaps Ruppel acting in lieu of an active duty Duke in Swabia.

The Chancellor can always authorise another player to make a movement on his behalf (e.g. Ramses here would have told FH to get Hermann moving first). Perhaps making someone theatre commander with a little discretion over other's movements could be part of this delegation of authority.

[1]However, if a player flat out does not want to be moved somewhere, I would like to see even the Chancellor desist from moving him (unless it is supposed to be in irons). The 24 hour window at the start of the turn is designed to allow players this kind of freedom.

_Tristan_

02-27-2008, 17:23

For example, with the crusade, I was not sure whether Tristan wanted to join the assault on Angers or not. In the end, I encouraged FH to move him without permission as I inferred he would want that (to get the stats boost). May be we should have waited to hear from Tristan but likely it would have delayed the game by a day and IMO it did not seem worth it.

I thought I had made it clear that I wanted in, though if I didn't I'm happy you took the initiative to move me in position for the final assault.

I just didn't make my move further out from Caen as I did not know what you and FH had truly in mind.

So thanks for having Hugo in...

Ramses II CP

02-27-2008, 17:37

I'm increasingly of the opinion that having a single Chancellor may be an impediment to involvement and scheming. I expected the PvP stuff to take off fairly quickly, but my threat to strip people of their armies seems to be making them cautious. I think it would be interesting if we had 4 active players as Dukes to have them act as 4 'Chancellors' with one elected person, the Kaiser, setting the budget for each and general strategy for the nation. This could also help out with inactivity and vacations, as the Duke could be authorized to fight battles for his subjects, etc.

I thought when I assumed the position that moving the game along quickly would bump up interest, as the story would progress, but we're still missing a fair number of players who not so long ago were engaged with the game. If there were a more definite air of competition for resources and armies between the four houses there would be more excuse for discussion and debate.

:egypt:

AussieGiant

02-27-2008, 18:03

Hi Ramses,

I'm sure most of your ideas are included in TC's revised edition of this game. :beam:

In my opinion we have had a mini explosion of players which has resulted in a diluted experience because of too many people in the end.

This happened well before my Chancellorship.

With nearly 20 active players at one time there seemed to suddenly be no where near enough responsibility or action to go around. In a natural response it seems many people have taken a far less active role.

This of course occurred when TC and Econ gave up so much of their private time to provide a "Choose your own adventure" style of game. Now that we have gone back to the traditional format we have seen a drop in participation as the structure is not really supporting that many people very well.

Your idea is a classic response to "get people back in the game".

So, it seems we are seeing the final throws of this game and the structure of the next game will be one hell of a discussion, which I honestly think needs TC and Econ to have a set time limit or we will be debating it indefinitely. :laugh4:

TinCow

02-27-2008, 18:58

If we could get the trial of Lothar moving, things would naturally and rapidly move in interesting directions.

AussieGiant

02-27-2008, 20:38

If we could get the trial of Lothar moving, things would naturally and rapidly move in interesting directions.

In the early days I'd be 100% sure that the lack of overt action would be due to back room negotiations and double dealing...now, I'm pretty sure it's because nothing is in fact happening. :inquisitive:

Ferret

02-27-2008, 20:47

yeah things have slowed down loads, the House of Franconia thread hasn't been posted in for years.

Zim

02-27-2008, 21:35

In Outremer a combination of Byzzie superarmies (definately not worth going after in their own land, too many casualties) and the fact that all those super armies are dancing around just out of Imperial territory have made it hard to find things to do.

I did manage to conquer Cyprus. :clown:

Hi Ramses,
With nearly 20 active players at one time there seemed to suddenly be no where near enough responsibility or action to go around. In a natural response it seems many people have taken a far less active role.

gibsonsg91921

02-28-2008, 02:16

Yeah, looks like "trial" is just another word for delay. I'll probably just bide my time and kill everything!

GeneralHankerchief

02-28-2008, 02:23

I just posted a poll to see how active everybody is. There's only 24 hours to vote, which should be a good window.

Cecil XIX

02-28-2008, 06:24

I just posted a poll to see how active everybody is. There's only 24 hours to vote, which should be a good window.

I honestly don't know which way to vote. I kinda wish there was a third option, although anyone with enough time to answer the poll is probably fairly active.

Myself, I've found it rather difficult to work up much enthusiasm with all those uber-armies running about. Once Becker dies I doubt I'll take another avatar. (Though KOTR might end before he does) It's been a long time since I've actually enjoyed having a battle to fight, and recently I've found them to be all nervousness and tension without any sense of triumph or achievement. Indeed, there doesn't seem to be any difference between victory or defeat. There are still full armies to fight regardless.

I'm especially troubled by the sudden invasion of Sicily, as we have apparently reached the point were victories have no meaning, and any action we may take has the same consequence: Endless armies of triple-silver and triple-gold chevrons regardless of who the enemy is and what he is capable of. With such a strong foe it is not wonder this place has been so boring, the threat of foreign armies is so severe that it is difficult to justify any degree of conflict in-house. And this PBEM is rather dull when we're not scheming to ruin one another and/or prevent each other from being ruined.

_Tristan_

02-28-2008, 09:26

I'm quite new to this whole game but surely the level of opposition seen from the Cataclysm onward has something to do with how things have quieted down...

The outer threats are more worrisome than any internal threats and so people tend to concentrate on how to extricate themselves of lose-lose situations and do not bother with Reich politics...

Plus the addition of new players with no prior background makes it hard to settle as supporter of one policy over another...

Finally, the loss of some players (thinking PrivateerKev notably) has also quieted the proceedings as he had the knack to probe where it hurt the most and never left his opponents without reaction...

FactionHeir

02-28-2008, 10:07

I think the main problem lies in two of four Dukes being relatively absent/quiet and the Prince not usually talking. Usually its them bickering.

econ21

02-28-2008, 10:37

Myself, I've found it rather difficult to work up much enthusiasm with all those uber-armies running about. Once Becker dies I doubt I'll take another avatar. (Though KOTR might end before he does) It's been a long time since I've actually enjoyed having a battle to fight, and recently I've found them to be all nervousness and tension without any sense of triumph or achievement. Indeed, there doesn't seem to be any difference between victory or defeat. There are still full armies to fight regardless.

I am not sure the AI armies are uber - it's just most of our armies are comparatively weak. The AI armies generally observe the rules on historical army composition but our own forces are far from maxed out in terms of knights. Becker in particular has had to struggle with a mainly militia force from the cataclysm onwards. I'm very impressed he's still in there fighting.

The weakness is partly that we are still recovering from the catalcysm. Partly that Magdeburg has been blockaded so many times and Franconia had few fighting generals. Partly, that Franconia has not been prioritised (Bavaria and now Swabia made big inroads). And partly that Fritz the Attacker seems to want to push everyone to be as aggressive as possible.

I'm especially troubled by the sudden invasion of Sicily, as we have apparently reached the point were victories have no meaning, and any action we may take has the same consequence: Endless armies of triple-silver and triple-gold chevrons regardless of who the enemy is and what he is capable of.

Ramses asked for the Sicilian invasion, perhaps because he feared Bavaria becoming too quiet. I am not sure our actions have no consequences. Outremer has stabilised and expanded. Swabia has reclaimed its lost French territories. North Italy is liberated. Yes, there are still significant AI armies but the AI does not seem capable of driving us back.

I've generally given neighbouring AI factions 2-4 stacks every 5 turns. The larger factions getting 4 or so, the smaller ones getting 2. I have tried to avoid giving more to those that have lost more, as that would mean victories have little consequence. However, this time, the Poles and the Hungarians did receive the smallest buffs. The Polish settlements are generally too far from us and the Hungarians are uber enough without needing much more support.

With such a strong foe it is not wonder this place has been so boring, the threat of foreign armies is so severe that it is difficult to justify any degree of conflict in-house. And this PBEM is rather dull when we're not scheming to ruin one another and/or prevent each other from being ruined.

Buffing the AI is a tricky balance to strike. With aggressive players like FH and Ramses, the HRE at this stage of the game could nuke an AI faction within a few turns. Maybe I am overdoing it - I know the situation outside Angers was very tough and I had to wimp out of an expected battle. But I think the rate of recovery under Chancellors Arnold and Fritz has been about right - an immediate jump back to hegemony after the cataclysm would have felt wrong.

OverKnight

02-28-2008, 12:30

If I could add my two cents,

I'm still enjoying the game, I'm still having fun and I don't know about Zim, but I feel we've got a pretty good two man band going in Outremer. Every once in a while, I get a little frustrated because I know another death stack is around the corner. However, we've expanded a tad despite this, and when I took Adana I definitely felt I earned it. Without the adding of armies, I'm sure Matthias would be building a pyramid of skulls in front of the Hagia Sophia by this point, and while that would be satisfying in its own way, it would be unrealistic.

Still the super armies can be problematic. One person's intriguing challenge is another's seemingly insurmountable and frustrating nightmare. When I first encountered the uber armies, I had to fall back (unthinkable!), which frustrated me. Still I elevated my game, changed tactics and pulled through, after some whinging of course. Perhaps more communication between the Chancellor and individual players would keep everyone near their comfort zone when it comes to battles.

For the game to be entertaining, you have to put something in to get something. This isn't a passive entertainment like TV; plot, fight, post in the threads, and it will be rewarded and the game will be more immersive for everyone.

Still, I'd like to see the Trial of Lothar proceed. Of course someone will have to make the first move. There was this wonderful revelation, but it seems to have ground to a halt. I'll be back within a day, so bring it on. :2thumbsup:

Sorry for the rambling.

Zim

02-28-2008, 12:50

I've been enjoying the game. Having to be so careful with your resources in Outremer has really made it challenging. We've had some luck in that many of the uber Byzantine stacks have been dancing around the Turkish ones just outside of our reach, but I still think we've had to fight for every piece of ground.

I could definately see why some in the other theaters may differ. I've long since lost track of the number of full stacks sunk into Italy, and Austria's seen rough times as well (as has Andreas' House of Swabia, but FactionHeir and Tristan have been kicking butt there recently). If I barely made it through three beefed up stacks, then a turn or two later three more spawned/appeared, I might be a little put out.

Add in some players out on vacation (OK and deguerra until recently), nonactive Dukes, and a shocking twist involving the Emperor and Lothar which seems to have gone nowhere thus far, and we have a recipe for inactivity. Once something happens regarding the trial thing, those new players who have been putting off on picking a side will likely find themselves involved in the politics of the game, and things might heat up latele.

AussieGiant

02-28-2008, 12:50

Good work OK.

In my opinion we need those bronzed up stacks to prevent the game from being too easy. There must be some struggle to attain the rewards or it is just meta gaming.

The most telling point is the investment of time and resources by all of us into the game.

Watching others develop their story telling, battle reports and Diet ramblings has been some of the best times I've had here.

The recent round with Gibbo was great...but this was an isolated incident now days. At the beginning it was the norm :beam:

Losing PK was a blow to the overall level of input. But many have toned down their level of input.

Still...there is work to be done and as the game progresses I'm pretty sure something will grab the attention of us all. When we all have a topic that motivates us then we see the most "action".

When are you back OK?

_Tristan_

02-28-2008, 13:30

I have to admit that the level of challenge provided by the "uber" stacks is what got me in KOTR in the first place...

However having faced some half-stacks (notably at Antwerp, a bridge battle) I can understand how some might be reluctant to fight those without respite...

I never had so much tension playing M2TW than playing those battles mainly because of the emotinal side effect of having your own avatar to care about and having the whole game to consider, your failings could mean that some other player will face even harder times...

To conclude, I'll say keep on with the uber stacks even if consideration of player availability would avoid having one player facing all hardships...

I truly hope the Trial will come to fruition soon as it will give us all a bone to gnaw

GeneralHankerchief

02-28-2008, 14:25

The point of the poll is just to see how many people are checking the Throne Room/KotR threads regularly. Not to see if people were able to fight battles or anything. :oops:

-edit- Also, add me to the list of people who want to see the trial go somewhere. Perhaps we could actually play it out in the thread, like we did for the trial of Publius Laevinus (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=67608) back in Will of the Senate.

Ramses II CP

02-28-2008, 14:54

For my part I never really had much desire to be Chancellor when I got started. I was figuring to get a random avatar, hopefully with high loyalty, and then to throw him into some situations that tested his loyalty via storyline, Duke vs Kaiser, etc.

Then Fritz fell into my lap, and he's a good character but not really my sort (Notice his dread hasn't advanced since I took him, which is really foolish on my part), plus given the situation it didn't make any sense for him not to run for Chancellor. He's one of the oldest Counts in the land, his brother is a Duke and Prinz, his two other brothers were a Duke and a Kaiser, and his father (IIRC) was a Duke as well.

So I got into his mindset, pushed to Arhus to try to shore up Franconia's flank and since then I've been stuck there. Can't leave because the Danes will advance, but I can't attack because there are no professional soldiers available, so he's taking his aggression out on all the other fronts in the Reich. :laugh4:

I think we're sitting at 34 provinces now. If it were a solo game we could be at the victory condition very quickly. There are excellent armies on all four fronts, so if not for the AI buffs I think we could probably get 5-6 of those provinces this turn in fact. I like fighting the uber stacks for the most part, especially if I have some good cavalry. It changes the dynamic of the game if you can't just wait for the crash, flank, and chase routers every battle.

The problem in Bavaria was going to be, simply, that there wasn't going to be any problem in Bavaria. The success there has been overwhelming, but the southern reaches are virtually unguarded. If there was a land bridge to the Sicilian holdings we'd be fighting them constantly because we're weak on their borders, but because the strategic AI is so pathetic we could just drive through and crush all their settlements at will. It didn't seem reasonable, though I have to say I was imagining something more like dropping one stack near Palermo and one near Naples. :laugh4:

Hrm, rather lost the thread of my thoughts here, but basically: I'm enjoying the game. Fritz has been very quiet for a long time really, but I've had the Chancellor run to make up for it, and soon, barring PvP, I'll get to go and be truly nasty to the Danes at Stockholm.

:egypt:

econ21

02-28-2008, 15:11

... though I have to say I was imagining something more like dropping one stack near Palermo and one near Naples. :laugh4:

The way you and the Bavarians have carved through the Byzantines, that would not have been an invasion - more like an excursion. :whip:

_Tristan_

02-28-2008, 15:50

I'm enjoying the game.

So do I...

And I would like to express my most heartfelt thanks to FactionHeir and Econ who went to all the trouble to create Hugo and give him such traits that are really making playing him a real fun experience...

TinCow

02-28-2008, 16:52

If we would like to speed this up, we could just agree that the trial was conducted, and that Lothar was found guilty. A simple post to that effect in the Diet would be sufficient. I assure you, my response would move this onto the next (inevitable) phase.

Ramses II CP

02-28-2008, 17:12

Just have your Austrian lackey declare his findings whichever way you favor and we'll get right on with things... :yes:

:egypt:

econ21

02-28-2008, 18:31

If we would like to speed this up, we could just agree that the trial was conducted, and that Lothar was found guilty. A simple post to that effect in the Diet would be sufficient.

On the trial, Cecil has offered to try to set something up, PMing some people on Friday. I think we should give him over the weekend to start the ball rolling. A trial of some sort involving several players in key roles would be much the best thing. However, if time constraints or other factors mean it is not possible, we can just through the ball in the back of the next as TC suggests.

GeneralHankerchief

02-28-2008, 22:34

If we're going to do the "multiple roles" approach, I volunteer to be the star witness if nobody else wants it.

gibsonsg91921

02-28-2008, 23:12

It's pretty hard to justify dredging this up and ruining the Reich again, but that's what heroes do! Péter von Kastilien is a hero!

Ramses II CP

02-29-2008, 00:42

I'll be the crazy relative sitting in the front row with a long coat and a black, mixed up look of anger and rage in his eyes. :laugh4:

AKA 'The Outburst' or 'Clear the Court!'

:egypt:

Ferret

02-29-2008, 20:52

has anybody else seen this?
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=498

it's an expanded Grand Campaign with the Reich split into all the different Duchies.

Northnovas

02-29-2008, 22:09

I forgot about the knighthood. The best plan would be for Ramses to have me meet AussieGiant around Vienna. The Hungarians have a few stacks I am sure one will besiege the city. I could get the knighthood and move on from there.

Ramses II CP

02-29-2008, 22:53

I believe Jan is technically knighted, and if we can get you to Vienna you can command the defense and I'm perfectly content to have him knight you in absentia, unless there are objections.

:egypt:

AussieGiant

02-29-2008, 22:53

NN,

I just wiped one out but there are three more around the place...and some of them are silver's.

You'll get knighted in a jiffy mate. Either that or you'll die trying :-) :sweatdrop:

econ21

03-02-2008, 21:50

Welf is not the one to pursue this IC, but taking Rennes and now apparently targeting Bordeaux is a clear violation of the Charter requirement that the Diet pre-approve conquests. It was basically an OOC consideration to avoid blitzing (of the kind we have just seen in Swabia) but whether players want to abide by it at this stage of the game is something that can be decided within our existing political framework.

Ramses II CP

03-02-2008, 22:24

Blame it on Fritz (the Attacker), he's a good target. Hyper aggressive, etc. I'm sure this will provide ample ammunition to Lothar if we have to let him speechify during his trial. :laugh4:

:egypt:

FactionHeir

03-02-2008, 22:27

Ramses was saying in the O&R thread that taking Rennes would be fine if it were given away, but if it isn't, that's something we can deal with at the coming diet session that is 3 turns away.

I'm not sure about Bordeaux, so you as GM can have a say there. I guess it made sense to take Rennes since we have Angers already for which we have not passed an edict either to ensure there is not a French settlement behind our own lines.

gibsonsg91921

03-03-2008, 00:45

Kaiser Peter isn't going to complain about enemies dying quickly.

Ramses II CP

03-03-2008, 01:24

I guess since there aren't any official repercussions for ignoring the need for Diet approval you could say Fritz's aggression overmatched his discretion. If anyone objects I imagine they could try to get an Emergency Diet session called.

I experimented with getting military access from the English and I may have to put florins in on top of just Rennes. It definitely wasn't an easy trade, as our despicable reputation makes it very difficult to purchase military access.

:egypt:

FactionHeir

03-03-2008, 09:40

Hmmm we should start releasing all our prisoners :grin:

Warluster

03-04-2008, 08:48

I am still here; though everyone's assuming I am gone. Just been quiet with the scneario I am stuck in.

Wish to offer a congratulations to all HOF winners. And a Happy birthday to GH!

_Tristan_

03-04-2008, 09:07

Happy Birthday, GH !!!

:cake: :birthday2:

AussieGiant

03-04-2008, 13:48

Happy Birthday GH!!! :balloon2: :balloon2: :balloon2:

-edit-

And well done to those here in the KotR who won awards in the HoF.

GeneralHankerchief

03-04-2008, 21:00

Thanks for the birthday wishes guys. :bow:

Anyway, I'm a bit concerned that the Reports thread is completely dominating the Diet at the moment. There have definitely been some arguments there recently that, IMO, have been more suitable for the Diet.

TinCow

03-04-2008, 21:11

Agreed, it would be best to move them to the Diet.

Cecil XIX

03-04-2008, 21:31

We've had this discussion before, but I'll repeat myself here. What is happening now is the logical end result of renaming the thread. It is only natural to discuss orders in the Orders thread, and since almost everything we talk about between Diet sessions can be construed as 'orders' the result is what you see.

Our two choices are to have the Diet thread for when the Diet is in session and the Orders thread for when the game is in motion, or to bring back the 'Chancellor's and Govenor's Reports' for Chancellor's reports, build queues and army assignments while having all our discussions in the Diet thread. Otherwise situations like this will continue.