1.There's nothing worse than trying to hunt down that last broken unit with only a handful of soldiers in it that's hiding in the woods somewhere. Some maps are absolutely huge, made even worse if you have no cavalry to speed up the process. So you've won the battle.....except you haven't cuz' of a busted Ashi unit with 4 men that you can't find before the timer runs out. Even more frustrating is a successful bridge defense against overwhelming odds....except....that pesky Cavalry Archer unit with about 8 horsemen, keeps rallying....and rallying....and re-rallying for the umteenth time, and you have no Yari Cav to kill it or chase it off the field. You lose....even though you've actually won.
YC is always the first unit I tech up to for this reason.

2. The really, REALLY, epic battles can take 1-2 hours, player time. Now most really big battles can be resolved in 1 hour or less (IIRC 60 min is the max on the clock) but I'm not losing one of those that takes longer because I ran out of an arbitrary set amount of time (and when the AI sends 6-7 full stacks, THAT is going to take longer than 1 hour). I'm surprised you haven't run into the AI cheat where it just waits for you to attack, even if you are on the defensive. Kinda shoots to hell the idea of a bridge defense, no? And really, is there a timekeeper on any real-life battlefield?
I haven't faced the 6-7 stacks yet...ever. I'm starting to wonder why. I was thinking it's because I play a fast campaign when I'm playing a southern clan but I've never faced close to that number. Not when I play as the Oda and not when I play a northern clan. Three stacks might be the most I've ever faced at once and sure I'll lose the battle to timeout but I don't see much of an issue with just attacking again the next turn. When I attack into overwhelming numbers I'll just bring the one stack that I intend to use in that battle and I'll leave a reinforcements stack or two in the province I'm attacking from just to fill up my attacking stack in between battles.

And I have run into the A.I. cheat where it waits for me to attack even when I'm on the defensive, that's one of the reasons why I play with the timer on! I'm not leaving this hill or crossing that bridge just because the A.I. doesn't want to come at me. I'd rather run time out and claim victory! What's your solution to this while playing with the timer off?

Also regarding the fact that battles don't have arbitrary time limits, in a way they did. It's my understanding that medieval armies didn't really extend battles into the night all that much simply because commanding an army at night was next to impossible back then. I have simply thought of the battle timer as a day-night cycle anytime my conscious need consoling

So I've simply streamlined the battle experience by essentially removing my ability to use reinforcements. Just a reminder though that I'll still have a chance to face a second or third wave during one battle with the timer on if I defeated the first wave quickly enough. If I ever see those 6-7 stack armies that you've mentioned I'm sure I'll feel like I'm missing out by not playing out that full epic battle with the timer off.

The AI is standing and waiting because you have the timer on. With the timer off, if the AI is the attacker, it will attack.
I'm confused. Why would the A.I. not attack because the timer is on? They're purposefully taking a defeat.



I can guarantee almost with certainty, that if you lose a hard-fought campaign because of some cheesy gimic like geisha, your next question will be about how to edit that building preference file....
hahaha yeah no kidding, in that case keep hanging around these forums I'll need you sooner or later. my current campaign is two turns away from either glorious victory or epic fail, i'll know soon enough.

If you destroy the clan who commands the geisha, she's gone.
Praise Buddha!

Oh, BTW, there's a map-fix that removes that little hut on the battlefield in Owari that causes AI troops to get hung up. I don't know if it's still hosted here at the Org anymore, but if it's not I have the original file for the new map (it only removes that one building---no other changes). Never had the Owari bug happen on any other map....
I feel like I've come across that in the download section, I can check again.

There's also a patch that fixes the reinforcement bug where enemy reinforcements appear in your rear....rather annoying when you're trying to defend a bridge. If you haven't installed this patch, I highly recommend you do before you play 1580 campaign's. Some of the battles will involve the AI sending 5-10 stacks at a time at you, and you simply will not have enough arrows, bullets, or men to fight that many. You will need your reinforcements.
I'm starting to think I just have to play a 1580 campaign to really get that overwhelming odds feeling. I hadn't heard of this patch though. I'll play my next campaign with the timer off just so I know what we're talking about. I'm thinking about playing as the Hojo, wiping out the Uesugi and then just turtling for a long time just to see what the A.I. can build up to.