Simple Questions thread

[Craterus]

I've probably missed the equivalent thread but if not, here's a thread for those little questions that don't really merit their own topic. Just simple questions and simple answers.

A long time away etc etc. but I saw RTW in a shop the other day (my disc 1 broke several years ago) so I decided to buy it and get started again. I've bought this white label version. At first I was a little apprehensive because I remember some problem with a later release of MTW that didn't have patch support. I gather this RTW is pre-patched so my question is: anything else I should be aware of?

And, is there a white label version of BI, or will any version do?

Thanks for any help.

[amore555]

Any disc version of BI will bring RTW up to the latest patch 1.5. Then just check to see if any BI patches need to be installed.

Hope this helps, in short, any copy of BI will be fine :)

[Octavian_of_the_view]

here's a simple question what exactly does the skirmish button do, I feel like a noob for asking but it bothers me I don't know exactly.

[amore555]

Skirmish is a command for your missile troops, when activated, they will flee when approached by enemy forces, and stop to fire arrows/throw pila only when the enemy is out of range. Handy when you want to harass the enemy.

When Skirmish mode is turned off, your missile troops will stand their ground, which I find quite handy in defensive battles, though just keep an eye on them, because many missile troops can't hold their own against infantry.

Hope this helps :)

[Octavian_of_the_view]

Yes that does help but does that extend to horse archers? I was playing as Parthia and I had my HA's in skirmish mode but they didn't flee they held their ground and got massacred is this a bug or the way the game works?

[amore555]

Should extend to Horse Archers, the only I think of is maybe your HA's had guard mode activated?

[Guyus Germanicus]

Yes that does help but does that extend to horse archers? I was playing as Parthia and I had my HA's in skirmish mode but they didn't flee they held their ground and got massacred is this a bug or the way the game works?

Skirmish mode doesn't help if your skirkishers (whether they be javeliners, peltasts or skirmishing cavalry) are backed up against the boundary of your combat area as marked by the red borderlines around your combat map. Many times I've had the misfortune of having jav-cav or horse archers pursued by an enemy unit, whether it be enemy cavalry or spearmen, and had them pursued to the border of the combat map only to be pinned. The AI for some reason doesn't handle this well. You can turn off skirmish mode and try to force them by the enemy unit, but if they make 'contact' with the enemy unit, the AI tends to have them commit to engagement. Then you have to repeat the command to flee a few times before they respond. You end up losing troops and may even unintentionally trigger your own troops to rout. It's frustrating.

I've also had occasions where the game just seems to get quirky. You give a command to move quickly and the troops just seem to be frozen in place. This often happens to me right after my unit has just finished killing off the last man of an enemy unit. You give the command for them to move and they unit doesn't repsond. Repeating the command to move eventually triggers them to move. But this too can be frustrating if you're trying to muster them to pursue fleeing enemies and the response delay is long enough that it allows the routing enemy soldiers to escape from the combat mapboard.

Try to keep your skirmishing cavalry away from the outer boundaries of the combat mapboard. This will prevent the entrapment scenario I described. But it requires micromanaging the movement of your skirmishing cavalry. Alas, this is one of the pains of playing those factions that feature horse archers, chariot archers and jav-cav.

Senate popularity is important to your faction. Being gifted Senate offices improves the management skills and influence of your faction members. Their authority and influence make them better governors increasing tax yields, discounting building costs, and attracting more benefits from the Senate.

As for city culture clash, you needn't destroy all your foreign culture buildings to end the culture penalty to your public order. Most of the culture penalty goes away after you've replaced the foreign admin building with the next level admin building. Usually the last of the culture penalty goes away when you have either eliminated all the foreign buildings or reduced their number to just one or two.

When playing one of the Roman factions, I like to retain foreign temples if they offer some significant military benefit such as experience chevrons or upgrades to weaponry or armor. The British shrines of Andrasta, Macedonian temples or Artemis and Ares, the Greek temples of Nike are good choices for retention. But I eventually will destroy them once the Marius event occurs and these cities grow to the large and huge levels. I have modified the game so that the Ludus Magna provides a 20% public order benefit and two experience chevrons for units recruited in that city. The foundry gives me enough armor and weapons boost to compensate for the loss of the weapons temples. I usually destroy taverns in foreign cities where I tend to station governors so that my governor doesn't develop bad traits like 'drunkard.' I also retain the execution square and specialty justice buildings that are features of Carthage and Egypt. Their added public order benefit is useful, and whatever negative affect they may have on a governor is insignificant compared to the tavern series.