Quote Originally Posted by General Malaise View Post
It is precisely no more complex than ordering groups of units into a group formation, or ordering a single unit into loose or wedge formation. You click on two or more unit types, and click a button, instead of dragging lines out yourself.
Then what is all this about:

1a. Order alternating lines, choosing the one to be in front. So, if you're combing zweihaenders and landsknecht (or two types of pikes, such as pike militia and noble pikemen), you could order a line of zweihaender then landsknecht, then zweihaender then landsknecht then so on (or a noble pikemen, then a pike milita and so on).
2a. Order one unit to front, then other in back, so two lines of zweihaender and two lines of landsknecht.
3a. Order them to stand next to one another rather than in front or back, so, a zweihaender standing beside a landsknecht.
4a. Order one unit to "enclose" the other, so noble pikemen in the back, front, and side lines, and the pike militia in the center.
5a. Order them interspersed randomly amongst each other, but within the same space and maintaining that formation.


See, that's what I was referring to. KISS, or only the designer is going to like it.


Lol, runners are not instant battlefield communication, they could in no way justify the degree of precision you have as supposedly the general of your Total War armies.
It's a GAME. It doesn't claim to be 100% accurate. On the campaign map, you can give any order to any town that you own. Instantly. That doesn't mean that you're not the ruler of your faction.


Calling the shots on the strategic map is even more evidence you are not RPing the general in Total War as generals did not decide construction projects and tax rates.
Of course you're not the general on the campaign map. There you are the faction leader. On the battlefield, however, you're the general.

You call the shots for your faction on the campaign map, ergo you are the faction leader.

You call the shots for your army on the battlemap, ergo you are the general. And how does the advisor address you in STW, MTW and RTW? Possibly M2TW as well, but I can't remember at the moment.


You're playing some kind of spirit in Total War figure basically who can influence all these different individuals in a nation to make different choices. You're definitely not the general, and even if you were, what in the blue blazes stops a general from shouting "spearmen in the front two lines foward, back two face rearwards" or "swordsmen, alternate lines with those archers!" ??
Because it's a GAME. You're not a spirit of some kind, you simply have far more powers than you would IRL.

Take Silent Hunter, as another example. You are undeniably the captain of your submarine. When you give an order, they reply, "Jawohl, herr KaLeun," or "Aye, aye, sir". So you're the skipper. And yet you can move the camera about outside the sub, even when submerged, you can "fly" far off to see what ships are in a convoy, what sort of escorts they have etc. And in SH3 you even have a gauge telling you how well the enemy can hear you. All sorts of things way above the limitations of actual skippers. Because it is a game.

And true, you can turn those options off in the realism settings, but you can also select "restrict camera" in TW. Which wouldn't make much sense if you were some kind of spirit, now would it?