4000 suicides

So there I am, besieging Rome with my Seleucid army, just waiting a couple of turns for my onagers to arrive.

The senate decides to bring up an army and attack me from the rear - I've got a good 2000+ army, with eight silver shield phalanxes, four units of bowmen and a load of cataphracts, the enemy has a 2000+ army and a similar size garrison in Rome.

The battle takes place on the ford north of Rome (100BC and they still haven't built any roads? All roads lead to Rome? Well, to about 100miles away, then you've just got to hike...), and I assumed that as the enemy reinforcements were sallying out from Rome, they would be attacking my rear - instead, they appeared behind the other army on the other side of the river. Nice.

I'll just point out that neither attacking army had either bowmen or a general - mine was 10star.

I lined up a couple of phalanxes at the ford, with the bowmen spread out behind. They charged into my phalanx, my bowmen pounded their rear, and, to cut a long story short, eventually both enemy armies routed. But, instead of running away, they tried to escape to Rome. Over the ford. Through my phalanxes. 4000 enemy troops routing straight into a wall of spears. The carnage was, to be honest, sickening.

The end result? I killed 4000 and something, and lost 32 men. The senate had 5 men left, and I've no idea how they survived. Rome was left undefended and I walked in the next turn. Weirdos.

I've had that before, except I always have my calvery run them down. In the great battle that I fought, I had the entire line of barbarrians routing through a stationary Genearl unit I had, he killed over 1,000 of them alone lol!

Believe me, I could have done - I had six units of cataphracts and companions just itching to go and wipe out some routers. But I never got the chance, the enemy were us throwing themsleves at my spears. I've had bridge battles where the enemy has routed, and you send the horses after them (though even that can be dangerous - I lost 2/3 of a unit in the river when my British chariots decided to cross the bridge in a long, horizontal line...), but I've never had them try to rout before, in the same direction they were attacking. I could see why they'd want to get back to Rome, but through a spear?

well, same thing here but in the routing army point of view.
I was chartage and an Hispanian army was attacking one city, I've managed to get an army in the red zone so I could have reinforcements. They attacked the hispanian right flank but they routed easily (vh/vh) and they decided to get themselves safe into the city. Good idea, wrong way.
They had a gate near their left flank but they decided to enter the gate where the barbarians army was! None of them survived and I lost the city.
Same thingo on a river battle where my units routed and decided to flee through a gaul army!

Diego, from Argentina.

PS: I also believe that routing armies should have their attack streghtened because it makes no sense that a legionary cohort with 20 men routing and passing trhoug a peasant unit are cutted down so easily

They should improve path-finding skills or something. Such as making them try and stay a certain distance from your men if their routing.

There is a degree of pathfinding I've found, they will generally dodge your troops a bit in open ground. Possibly the AI can't tell that the only way out the map to a certain point is across an easily defensible route, and so soldiers avoidance routines don't give them any options when there is only one way to go - across the bridge. And also the same with city gates.

So in other words this problem (which I've had) is probably a lack of programming for this sort of situation in particular in my ignorant opinion.

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Originally Posted by 71-hour Ahmed

There is a degree of pathfinding I've found, they will generally dodge your troops a bit in open ground.

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I like when you get an infantry unit trapped between two units of horse archers. It runs at one, takes a couple seconds to figure out it's getting shot in the back, then turns and runs at the other one.

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Originally Posted by Empedocles

PS: I also believe that routing armies should have their attack streghtened because it makes no sense that a legionary cohort with 20 men routing and passing trhoug a peasant unit are cutted down so easily

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I disagree. Or else you'll get like in MTW, when you'd lose a few knights chasing down peasents. I like how I can now run down routing units knowing I wont lose several of my own unit.

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Originally Posted by LordKhaine

I disagree. Or else you'll get like in MTW, when you'd lose a few knights chasing down peasents. I like how I can now run down routing units knowing I wont lose several of my own unit.

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No you get STW... There the routers had the chargebonus. In MTW they were actually significantly weakened. And this is the stats speaking, but of course I can't talk about any specific engagement.