Crusade Pathfinding

[Cyprian2]

Well, I'm sure this is covered somewhere, but I haven't had a chance to wade through all the archives to find it. Why is crusade pathfinding so screwy for the player? That is, you're forced to follow a predetermined path (often not the one you would have chosen), while the AI seems able to go wherever it wants, often moving up and down the stratmap with no apparent logic. So, is it possible to self-determine the path my crusades will follow, or must I always be forced to follow the whims of the engine?

[drone]

I've been curious about this as well. AI crusades tend to take the scenic route, usually through your lands, on their way to the Levant. It's really noticeable when you play the Danes, the French and English crusades veer pretty far north for an army that should be acclimatizing itself for hot, dry weather. I've always assumed it was just part of the game to annoy the human player.

[white lancer]

I recently launched two Crusades in my English campaign (one to Egypt, one to Sinai). I have ships in every sea zone while the Egyptians have no ships at all, and I was allied with everyone else, so I took the first one straight to Egypt. I was able to take the second one on a detour through Spain despite the fact that I could have easily gone straight to Sinai; I went to Valencia, Cordoba, and then back to Castile so I could use my own ships without passing through Almohad North Africa. Seems like a pretty odd journey, but I don't believe it would have allowed me to go to Portugal or Leon from Cordoba--I guess they wouldn't have helped me to get any closer? I haven't really observed any AI crusades doing anything weirder than that one, though. Maybe I just haven't played enough.

[Trapped in Samsara]

Hi

Also, AI crusades, I have found to my cost, are able to teleport across sea zones - not the type traversed by a 'landbridge'. (So maybe that should be 'walk on water'.)

Very annoying when you have ships in the sea zones in question, are already at war with the crusade's sponsor who does not have any fleets, and have been excommed for having denied passage through one of your provinces elsewhere on the coast.

Best regards
Victor

Sapere aude
Horace

[Gilrandir]

Hi

Also, AI crusades, I have found to my cost, are able to teleport across sea zones - not the type traversed by a 'landbridge'. (So maybe that should be 'walk on water'.)

Very annoying when you have ships in the sea zones in question, are already at war with the crusade's sponsor who does not have any fleets, and have been excommed for having denied passage through one of your provinces elsewhere on the coast.

Best regards
Victor

Sapere aude
Horace

It is still more annoying when you let it through and the crusade sucks in the best of your troops, uses your fleet chain to get to the destination and is proud to announce urbi et orbi that it was the protector of Christian faith and promoter of it to the lands of infidels (and gets influence, piety and what not, very probably).

[drone]

It is still more annoying when you let it through and the crusade sucks in the best of your troops, uses your fleet chain to get to the destination and is proud to announce urbi at orbi that it was the protector of Christian faith and promoter of it to the lands of infidels (and gets influence, piety and what not, very probably).

Great risk, great reward.

Again, when playing as the Danes, I usually reject crusades through my lands. I can usually fight them off, and being excommed tends to be the natural state in most of my games anyway. The best part is when you beat back the crusade, then use your superior navy to invade the province with the Chapterhouse, burn it to the ground, and sit back to watch the resulting civil war with glee.

Come to think of it, I wonder if it's my superior navy that attracts the crusades in the first place. The Baltic Sea->Lithuania->Kiev->Black Sea/Khazar. I'll have to pop up the map and count the steps...