What does it take for you to give up a campaign?

[Dîn-Heru]

Recently I played as the Danes, the year was 1412 and I owned a little over 60% of the map and had the strongest army and about 12000 florins. But it had't always been so, at one time I was down 60k, Had two civil wars where my lands were split ca 50/50, but thanks to loyalist rebbelions some returned without fighting. Both the swiss and the Burgundians appeared and began taking lands from me. But I never gave up, eventhough I at times doubted that I would manage to get out on top. And I actually conquered the entire map(in 1451). The only time I have given up campaigns where I was playing "seriously" was just before Christmas with the french and the English. Where I just didn't bother.

So what does it take for you to give up on a campaign ?

[Goatus Maximus]

Lately I've been quitting once I possess (40-60%) of the land, my profits are 20K/year, and my treasury is 500K+...the only point in playing out the end game is for unit upgrades, but it gets boring after a while.

[Hakonarson]

Yeah - usually when I'm big enuogh to rule the roost, and there's no real point playing any more - often when trade ceases 'cos everyone is at war with me, but none of them are large enough to actually fight me worth a damn

[spmetla]

I stop either when all my allies attack me for no reason. Or when I can bowl over any other power.

I've begun nursing some powers by smacking down their enemies in war.

[Kensai Achilles]

So what does it take for you to give up on a campaign ?

If the game CRASH

[Brutal DLX]

I never gave up. I've never lost a campaign Once you are in complete control, it doesn't take that long to click through the years, so I do that. Besides I want to see the ending screen which still is sort of a reward to me.

[LeeJackson]

getting my ass kicked and getting board.

[Sir Black Raven]

As far i'm concerned the upgrades take so long and i find that quite boring specially if i'm playing total conquest. So that's the main reason to drop a campaign.I really think this is a major dump when it cames to compare STW and MTW and the main reason for blowing up a campaign.

[BDC]

I have never bothered to finish. There is an ending screen?

[Dîn-Heru]

Yes, it's even one for every state

There is also one if you lose... (don't ask how I know )

[NewJeffCT]

In regards to an end screen, there is one. In my first campaign as the English, I was just learning the game (I had not played any sort of strategy game, PC or otherwise, in a good 10 years…) and had surpassed 60% with only a few years to go before the end. I had conquered a few more provinces after that and got the message at the end of the game that while I had not achieved total dominance, it was within my grasp…

But, I gave up a few campaigns through boredom. I played the Byzantines and had passed 60% dominance and there were no other major players on the board. So, I stopped. I did not like their heavy cavalry that much, either. The Kats were too slow for me, and the Pronoi, I must have used wrong, as they continually got shredded.

I am currently trying my first Muslim campaign as the Egyptians which is going quite well. However, I am also doing my best to help out my allies, the Almohads and the Byzantines. Interesting in this campaign. My Egyptians control their original territories, plus a few snagged from Turkey, and I also have all of Scandanavia and the English Isles, plus Flanders & Normandy. The Almos control west Africa, all of Spain, most of France, and a few German territories. The Byz have the rest of the Turk territories and everything east of Germany. The catholic factions are basically Italy and the Pope confined to the Papal States, Rome, Corsica & Sardinia. The Almos even have Genoa. Every once in a while, though, the Almos have declared 3 simultaneous JIHADs at me, then ask for peace a year or two later.

But, if I get bored soon, I may quit this one. I don’t think it will be much longer and I’ll have firearms, cannons, etc, and it will be all over.

[Tora]

[QUOTE]So what does it take for you to give up on a campaign ?

A long lost faction reappearing in one of my 200% loyalty provinces for the second or third time in the campaign with the biggest, most high-tech army yet seen in the entire game. It makes you wonder quite why you've just wasted 12 or more hours.

Also, is the size of the Golden Horde's arrival proportionate to the size of your defences?
Acting on a tip off that the Mongols might arrive beween 1205 and 1260 somewhere in the East I built up 3 stack armies in Khazar, V-B, Ryazan and Moscow(for good measure).
Not to be outdone they replied with 12 stack armies in Khazar and V-B and a mere 4 stack army in Georgia which I'd forgotten about and was only manned by one stack. I don't recall these sort of numbers appearing when those provinces are held by a handful of rebels.

[Dîn-Heru]

Quote[/b] (Tora @ April 07 2003,18:40)]Also, is the size of the Golden Horde's arrival proportionate to the size of your defences?
Acting on a tip off that the Mongols might arrive beween 1205 and 1260 somewhere in the East I built up 3 stack armies in Khazar, V-B, Ryazan and Moscow(for good measure).
Not to be outdone they replied with 12 stack armies in Khazar and V-B and a mere 4 stack army in Georgia which I'd forgotten about and was only manned by one stack. I don't recall these sort of numbers appearing when those provinces are held by a handful of rebels.

I think I read somewhere that they were related to the overall strength of the player, but I am not sure.

[BDC]

I don't know about that, but the size of rebellions is proportionate to the troops in the province (so leave before the hoard come and put very high taxes on and if you are lucky the horde will even be outnumbered).

[Mori Gabriel Syme]

I usually give up if everyone with whom I share a border has attacked me without provocation within the first 30 turns. I hate that.

[ShadesPanther]

I give up when im by far the most dominant power and trying to nurture other factions into big factions to make them challenge me fails i just quit

[Praylak]

It's just that some of us are so good, we own by the time the High era comes about. When it's certian, beyond a doubt that I will end up as the supreme ruler, the campaign begins to loose it's grip on me. Or I just get the urge to play another faction, again, for the tenth time.

I've seen some factions endlessly run away from my armies, attacking thier allied neighbours just to get away from me. LOL. I was trying so hard to annhilate the Egyptians in this one campaign as the Russians, it was one the best games I ever had. After about six brutal back to back super battles where I was outnumbered at least 3 to 1 in each, they gave up. Yup, they just refused to engage me in any battle after that. I even reduced my attacking numbers as i pursued them, province to province. They were pretty large, so they could afford to do so I guess. Got to the point I had reduced my elite army to only 750 men, 3/4 stack. Maybe it was my general, not sure, in any case they just refused to meet him in battle ever again. Is that wierd or what?

[lonewolf371]

Perhaps the hardest difficulty would offer some challenge?

[insolent1]

I normally give up when the building finished parchments take ages to get by. Also movin spies around becomes a real chore, especially for me as I don't garrison provinces(I norammly build all happiness buildings up to brothel, leave tax's on noraml & leave 3 or 4 spies there).

Lonewolf371
It does & it dosen't. The AI really looses out to the human player in the strategy part of the game becuase the AI is unable to tech up & trade. The battles r harder & u will see a lot more flanking. But on the whole its still not hard enough but it depends on the player. Wes's mod goes some way to removin the inadequencies of teh AI. I especially like the reduced support costs as this helps the AI a lot. He also helped the AI to trade better & build more ships.

[Cazbol]

I'll only end a campaign if:
a) I win; totally, utterly and completely - holding every province
b) My king dies without heirs
c) I die myself in real life (or real death)

So far I've had a and b happen but I'm hoping c won't happen for a while.

[Terrax]

I had an intresting campaign as Aragon/Early/Normal. This was one of the most difficult cams yet. I've got over 20 campaigns under my belt, but for some reason, I had trouble the whole game. THe 1st time I thought I lost, loyalist rebellions saved my bacon in England. But I had trouble with bad loyalist rebellions the whole game. My long held terrritories were fine, but even if I sat on a new territory with the conquering army for 5 years, and then left a 300 man garrison, as soon as I left, rebellion.

But anyway. I had Spain, Africa, England, and the Mid East, but could not maintain sea controll vs. the neutral Byz. So when the Byz turned against me, I lost most of my navy. I held them off for a time, but was soon my bank was broke. Even though I had a large (expensive) army, I did a scorched earth retreat. Destroyed everything for cash while building a larger army (big mistake). Soon I had the Byz chasing my armies, and usually, I could assault the castle, destroy everything in the province, and move on before they got there. In the meantime, my huge army is putting me $1000 florin in debt per turn. So after 20 years, I have a decent size rag tag army, with most of the map razed to the ground, I'm $25000 in debt. I can't retrain my armies, I can't build forts to keep my new territories from eventually rebelling, apparently the Byz are broke also, no new construction or armies from them. Stalemate.

I guess I could retreat to my core territories, Spain, and France, which have thier infrastructure intact, let the poor provinces rebel, and disband most of my army, recover slowly from my debt, start over, but it's so late in the game, it will end before I can do so. I didn't rule the world, but neither did the Byz, so I call it a draw.

[Lord Godfrey]

I usually start out with an Early campaign and within a 150 or so years have captured 40-60% of the provinces and have enough florins in the bank to know the eventual outcome. I did complete one campaign just to see the end screen. I just started a Late campaign in order to see some of the technology / units I have had a chance to use yet. Am also using a different faction to change the play of the game.

[BDC]

I am am playing Byz on early. I have the south-east of the map, and the Mongols come. They have 13000 men and I have over 18000 waiting (20+ stacks Over 1000 Klapatatii... (spelling lol ) and 600 Varangian Guards) and it starts.... Then crashes. *Breaks into tears*

[Tiwaz]

I can be so bloody stubborn that I keep on going until I have achieved complete victory (whatever that is in each case) or have been bitchslapped so hard that I can't look straight during battles.

But I try to make sure I don't play twice with same faction until I have tried them all with all starting ages.

Long time project but it's fun...

[Satyr]

Hahaha, I had 8 factions attacking me at the same time last nite. I was Italians and got excommed for denying a German crusade entrance and so I attacked the Pope but ALL christian nations attacked me and then the Turks (strongest) decide to pour it on, then the Russians, then the Danes. I finally quit but not before causing massive rebellions in France who started it all. This is with WesMod which is really good and has added some difficulty back into the game for me.

[HopAlongBunny]

CTD after playing a long session and forgetting to quick save.

Just can't be bothered to do it all over again

[Hakonarson]

Can't you restore from the auto-save??

[econ21]

I probably give up too soon - often before the end of the early era - because it is clear I am the leading faction (can't discipline myself not to set up a massive trade network). Probably too soon because I participated in two "who wants to be king of..." threads where the game I inherited was fairly developed and it was great fun. But I think sharing the game with others added a frisson of danger to it - solitaire, once you stop feeling threatened by the AI, it gets less compelling.

[Galestrum]

I usually quit within the first 50-80 years, because by that time i usually feel invincible, and this is playing on the highest difficulty.

The diplomacy and non combat aspects of the game are simply to simplistic and are not that captivating, and once you win a war against another faction, you are immensely more powerful than you were before, so basically you cant lose.

IF the game would reflect reality a little bit more, and have nobles, clergy and intrigue and diplomacy the game could be more than a never ending series of battles, but thats what it always biols down to

once I feel the threat gone i quit.

another annoying thing is factions just get annhilated too easy, its entirelly too easy to rule europe. Most of the factions represented in MTW are still around today, yet within 50 years there are always 3-4 factions wiped out.

The game gets too generic too quick and the weak parts of the game that could engage you if dopne correctly (diplomacy, real random events, intrigue etc) are just lacking

[econ21]

Galestrum - I agree with you. I though Poland was one of the more challenging factions, but just tried a campaign on early on normal and quickly became very powerful. I don't like to play on hard or expert as the stacked odds make the combats feel wrong. I guess I may have to switch to the WesMod again, as I found the AI a little more competitive their (in terms of building up trade).