Some ancient screenshots

[Yesugey]

I was digging my very old screenshots folder, and i found some seven to five years old STW pictures you might like.

Nice view of a Citadel assault.

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Samurai brigade chasing the enemy. They look more realistic when lose their formation.

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The victory of Honda Tadakatsu. I always like to create new heroes instead of heirs, and Honda was one of them. Notice the heads taken by his own Yari Cavalry guards.

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Here is few victories of Masamune, on countless battles when defending Shinano.

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Ah, i remember this! I tried to illustrate that the Imagawa Daimyo gives his remaining soldiers a speech! Just like in RTW, but years before than it.

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Massive ranks of spears. I have always been a spearmen & Yari Cavalry fan.

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Mongol Heavy Cavalry sheet. "The best troops in the world" it says, even in MTW.

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Another awesome screenshot: Yari Samurai performs Phalanx formation! Remember, it was taken years before RTW..

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The victory of only 3 brigade of Musketeers.

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Inevitable victory of Mongol Horde

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Another majestic Citadel

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Its the moment of "turn of events" against the Golden Horde, means i was succeed to built a frontline against their hit-and-run tactics, as you know it is extremely hard on Expert level.

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Shimazu Citadel defense breached.

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Maybe my most overwhelmed victory. Notice that there are no extremely powerful units on my side.

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Cool fight-on-all-fronts screenshot, there are many breakpoints battle is going on. This kind of pleasure is forgotten since RTW, because of extreme morale penalties... Notice arrows flying in the air.

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I like to post more if i have time.

[ReluctantSamurai]

Ahh yes....haven't video cards come a long way in seven years!

Love the Tokugawa speech! Presumably the samurai archers to his left are playing suitable music?!?

And yes, the 10 minutes of marching/10seconds of fighting (an exaggeration, of course) in RTW can't hold a candle to some of the 1-2 hour epic battles I've had in Shogun..........

[Gregoshi]

Nice screen shots. Especially like the "massive ranks of spears". Despite the outdated graphics, STW is still a beautiful game to behold. And I agree about the battles. I still remember an awesome see-saw battle I fought that went to time limit.

[Yesugey]

@ReluctantSamurai, Thanks! I dont exactly remember why i put the archers like that, but i like your assuming more anyway!
@Gregoshi , My most favourite shot is Samurai Phalanxes too, when i play STW i always imagined the Yari units fighting like that.

I think everyone thinks the same: We are not able to do long-hard-fighting since RTW, and whatever you put the game as new units, new buildings, the game has absolutely no taste.

I never brutally critisized RTW, there were awesome units like Chariots, Elephants, Berserkers, Wall assasults... They were enjoyable toys, I had alot of fun with them.
The thing is, with RTW we lost our "fear of losing", and that makes the M2TW really boring game even how awesome its graphics are.

[ReluctantSamurai]

I still remember an awesome see-saw battle I fought that went to time limit.

You played with a time limit?!?

Never!!! I would've missed out on some of my most epic battles....after a couple of hours of sitting and managing the battle, I was probably as tired as my on-screen army

The thing is, with RTW we lost our "fear of losing"

Isn't that the truth! One major loss in STW and your whole position could become untenable...........

[Gregoshi]

You played with a time limit?!?

I was rather surprised when I remembered that time ran out in the battle I mentioned. I would have thought (now) I would have no time limit. I can only guess I either didn't think to turn off the feature or it hadn't been a factor before.

[ReluctantSamurai]

I can only guess I either didn't think to turn off the feature or it hadn't been a factor before.

Yes, me too. I remember the first time I lost a battle to the timer that I had actually won quite handily. I don't even remember the specifics of the battle other than I was heavily outnumbered, it was my first huge battle, and I was prematurely congratulating myself on a clever, clever victory........................until I couldn't find that last @#$% unit hiding in the woods. And to rub salt into the wound, the unit has only six men left in it

That was the last time.................................

[gollum]

Original STW iirc does not have a disable timer option.

[Jef Costello]

1041 heads. The highest I can remember getting is 480/490.
Best individual battle was 1600 kills with no losses defending shinano.

[Yesugey]

I always played with time limit too. Because without limit, your elite soldiers get tired and you losing them because of nothing. Also, as you remember enemy units start popping out from all over the screen, and that was really annoying.

Anyway, i uploaded more screenshots.

Here is another pike forest, which i like alot:

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Close view of a citadel watchtower:

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Here is my modern Takeda army cornered by Oda and Shimazu barbarians. It is like a scene from the movie "The Last Samurai":

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Shimazu Yari Cavalry scouting the hill of the Citadel.

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2800+ kills, Only with 7 elite units of Shoei. Probably against the non-upgraded Hojo hordes, but its still nice view.

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While playing with Shimazu, after i make a solid line of defence on strategy map, i use harbors and drop few units of musketeers to the behind of the enemy lines,and let my men try their new modern toys on honored Samurai. That one sad view of body carpet.

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Another Shimazu Light Cavalry formation. I always train my heirs as Yari Cavalry.

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Ah, i am sure everyone can guess which map setting this is: "1580 Oda"! Whenever i play that setting, somehow Takeda and Imagawa always intend to make an alliance and attack Oda together. This time it was alot worse: Imagawa, Takeda and Uesugi hits my borders. This means i have to deal with Bf Ninja's, golden armored Heavy Cavalry and high honored archers, using my poor peasants! I dont remember i won the battle or not, though.

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Another record; 1400+ heads taken with only 3 units of deadly musket fire.Looks like the age of the Samurai was truly ended...

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Phalanx formation again, only this time i was the attacker:

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I am sure all your Shogun memories rised up in your minds while you checking those screenshots. I know mine is!

[ReluctantSamurai]

Because without limit, your elite soldiers get tired and you losing them because of nothing.

Now THAT was the challenge of a two hour battle (real time).....rotating your units out of the line to rest.....especially between enemy reinforcement waves.

Also, as you remember enemy units start popping out from all over the screen, and that was really annoying.

You probably didn't have the patch installed that corrected that bug

Glad someone else sees the 1580 Oda campaign as one of the tougher ones....if not the toughest one.....

Like the Yari Cavalry shots.......probably my second favorite unit after Cavalry Archers....and my favorite tandem of units to work together CA + YC.

[Gregoshi]

I'm getting the urge to play again. That carpet of bodies shot is incredible.

[The Unknown Guy]

I actually like the time limit. It's one of the features that adds strategy to the game (that way you can't simply zerg away strong defensive positions, but have to consider other alternatives, such as luring some of the defending armies out of the province, stretching their lines, or go around them in some way. In a way, it's also more realistic, making you spread your armies into smaller, functional units, instead of enormously huge stacks).

I was very annoyed when I noticed that in MTW the timer bloats with the number of stacks. One of the *points* of a timer was to AVOID 5 hour battles. I dont have time to sit on screen pushing back waves and waves of enemy reinforcements.

[gollum]

Welcome back the unkown guy.

I agree with you, but cutting the battle in the middle of the action was also kind of goofy, as was the running around until the clock runs out. Both sides of the argument have pros/cons.

[A Nerd]

I personally like the time clock 'off'. I think it adds a sense of realism, ie. no time restrictions during conflicts of history. Although some might think the compositions and sizes of the armies during the game might be alittle unrealistic, but it's all a matter of taste and preference.

[Jef Costello]

Is there a way of saving multipe screen shots? I use print screen but you can only save one image and by the time I come out of STW I have forgotten that I've made any :)

[Yesugey]

The thing i most hate in STW is massive stacks trained by computer. You know, after killing the enemy general you just simply cutting their reinforcements down, waiting for them to apporach... It gets boring.

And dont think time limit is unrealistic: Although units already in close combat stops fighting after time limit sounds a bit stupid, in history there are lots of battles was ended due to time limit. In fact, lots of other weird things happens on real battlefield: Like fighters dont recognize their mates and attacking them, or a general gets hit at the beginning of battle... And even more exantric tricks like spies, lies...

Anyway i will stick with the idea of having time limit ^^