Auto Resolve vs. Commanding the Attack Personally

[grapedog]

Well, seeing as I am still new to the game, I have been having some of my battles auto resolve...but I find that if I loose a battle on auto resolve...I can reply the battle and command it myself and win easily. It just seems really odd.

How many of you command every attack personally and how many of you let it auto resolve. I'm starting to get better at commanding personally as I have been doing it more and more....though I still find it frustrating sometimes....also, with as many battles as their are...it seems like it would take a hell of a long time to beat one campaing with just one clan...let alone all of them.

Those of you who command them personally how long does the average full campaign take you on normal or hard...im playing normal currently.

[solypsist]

yeah it's weird. the general rule is: always play it yourself unless the battle woulnd't be worth fighting, for example, assaulting a castle with a full banner vs. 20 of the enemy.

the recent reinforcements bug has forced me to use the autobattle option on really big fights when the AI is going to get reserves, but I know I won't (because of the bug).

[Anssi Hakkinen]

The autoresolve is designed to produce more casualties than what an average general would incur. IMO it's designed to be an option for the massively superior or the massively lazy.

[Gothmog]

You would usually get a much worse result using autoresolve than commanding the fight yourself.

There are some exceptions though.

For instance, if you have strong but unbalanced army, then autoresolve sometimes can give you better result. For instance, let's say you only have YS, the AI attacks with all SA. Then in real combat, your YS probalby will be slaughtered, but in autoresolve, it'll be a diffrent story.

IMHO, autoresolve tends to take the fun out of the game, and doesn't simulate the battles well. What's more, even if the autoresolve gives you favorable results, you would feel that it's a victory undeserved. So I would suggest using it as less often as possible. After all, you can always save the game and resume the campaign later.

[grapedog]

how long do your campaign's take on the average....I been playing this one for a few hours now, prolly about 5 as Mori and am only currently working east after having taken the island to my south, and all the lands to the west.

[johnmcd]

I find that using auto resolve helps me think about where I am keeping my good generals. The auto resolve seems to give them credit for being more tactically aware and so gives them better auto resolution results.

Also, I tend to play through the strategy game more quickly than I should and make mistakes and act sloppily in most regards as I know I can pick up the slack later on the tactical game. If you decide to only auto resolve though you really have to maximise the strategic game as you will get no favours in the tactical. To that end I find it to be quite a useful trainer for the strategy game.

If I am playing properly though I fight every battle (except daft wee sieges).

[grapedog]

I've just been trying to get reaquinted with the game after not playing it since the original STW release(lost my original copy and never picked up another)....I'm getting my behind handed to me in general even on normal difficulties, though I think that if I fought and commanded all my battles personally I would find normal diff alot easier than i currently find it. I am seeing that the more and more I command the fights personally the better I do. In my current campaign I think only Hojo, Oda and myself(Mori are still alive) as Hojo is attacking west into Oda and I am attacked each...though I have heard no mention of Uesegi...and I haven't checked the allies/wars screeen(im at work right now)

[Tsumi]

Try using custom battles to "train" you in tatics. I use it to develop strategies and options that sometimes I haven't consider due to the tempo of "heated" battles. It works well in preparing you prior to a critical battle. Just remember, the AI you battle in the game is the same AI in the custom battles. However, against a human opponent you won't fair as well. Big Blue.

[grapedog]

Quote Originally posted by Tsumi:
Try using custom battles to "train" you in tatics. I use it to develop strategies and options that sometimes I haven't consider due to the tempo of "heated" battles. It works well in preparing you prior to a critical battle. Just remember, the AI you battle in the game is the same AI in the custom battles. However, against a human opponent you won't fair as well. Big Blue.[/QUOTE]

I haven't tried anything online yet...I fear that my behind would get handed to me with my current skills...once I can beat expert I'll probably start playing online.

[Tsumi]

You could be the BEST EXPERT TOP DOG MOST AI winning general, however, all your efforts will be lost when you play a human player. The AI is as only as good as the programmers. And by that I don't mean programmers are not good players, they can only fit so many lines of code into a program before you need to develop a computer that can handle your program ( Big Blue ). Kinda like the tail waggin the dog. My advice, hop online as soon as you can.

[Jason-Alaska]

But you can't hop online and play Multiplayer campaigns just yet... But the patch is supposed to allow multiplayer campaigns... No wait, the patch is supposed to resolve Reinforcement bugs... No, it's supposed to fix the honor is battles... Come to think of it? What is the patch supposed to fix?

I'd be happy with just the Multiplayer campaign added as promised.

[Forward Observer]

Auto-resolve is a bit of a crap shoot. I mainly use it, as many have said, when there are multiple armies and the numbers are heavily in my favor. I mean like two or three to one odds. Even then, when attacking, you may win but get some very unfavorable head counts. I have posted in the past about attacking a single beseiged
enemy soldier with 180 men on auto-resolve. I won the battle, but lost about 85 men. Fortunately it was at the end, and troops were not at a premium. When it is at the end game, and my armies are vastly superior to whoever is left, then I auto-resolve to get it over with.

There is also no doubt that the computer will hand you lot of defeats on auto-resolve that, with a little experience, you can easily win if you play it out. I have tested this several times with saved games, and I have always done better manually than on
auto-resolve.

cheers

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Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl.

[This message has been edited by Forward Observer (edited 09-08-2001).]

[solypsist]

yes, I've also had some really one-sided odds go awry. Time again I've persoanlly defended a province from heavy Hojo attack (back in the Horde days) but then experiments to use autoresolve give me defeats, the kind where I kill 800 Hojo ashi and lose maybe 35 men; autoresolve on the same battle defeats me with atrocious casualties.

[Forward Observer]

Whoops! Double post

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[This message has been edited by Forward Observer (edited 09-08-2001).]

[Barkhorn1x]

Auto-resolve is no fun!!!

Sure it saves time - but I never grow tired of taking heads on the Tactical battlefield.

My advice is to copy down the battle Hot Key commands on a cheat sheet - then practice w/ them in custome battles - especially concentrate on using the group commands.

Then, when you are in a campaign the commands are second nature and you are more confident.

Finally, when I enter a battle I go through a checklist;
a. Unit Formations - line for missile troops (SA, Musketeers) and defensive troops (Naginata), wedge for offensive troops (YS, No Datch, WM) & cavalry.
b. Army Formations - missile troops up front, backed by defensive troops, offensive troops close behind, cavalry on the wings.

The usual flow for me is to get everyone close to the enemy line, allow my missle troops to beat on the enemy, use my defensive troops to stiffen the front line, launch my offensive troops to break up enemy formations, use my cavalry to sweep around the flanks.

Then it's shift this and that unit to here and there until the enemy heads for the hills. Then kill anything that is cut off and pursue, pursue, pursue.

These are general comments of course that can be modified by terrain and wether one is attacking (mostly) or defending.

Barkhorn.

[nokhor]

i always autoresolve all my campaign battles. i slant towards the massively lazy side, i just don't have the inclination to fight tactically vs. the computer. i just like to concentrate on strategic movements, unit production and operational plans in single player.

the only time i play tactically is in mp, which is so different from single player tactical, and i find it much more interesting.

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indeed

[Demon_Ninja]

MMMM,

The Auto General kinda sucks in my opinion.

Good if your bored and want to just win the game.

[Tsumi]

Definitely! The only time I auto-resolve is when I am down to a few provinces and want to move quickly to the final battle, in which I don't auto-resolve.... I take in my best units. The slaughter is delightful.

[Gothmog]

If I am bored, then instead of auto-resolve the few provinces left, I simply quit the campaign and call it a victory.

After all, the vic movies aren't that exciting anyway, especially if you have seen them over and over again.

[Zone]

I've never used auto resolve in my entire STW 'career'. The battles are the best bit (although I do have a ninja PC which does make it look very good) and it doesn't really matter how long it takes, save it and come back to it later!
I figured, I can beat the AI, therefore I'm better than it, therefore if I do auto resolve I'll end up with more casulties than if I command the attack, therefore what's the point?

[clink]

Got that same problem...seeing those victoy movies over and over.Man I must be good,or may be I should try something harder than easy.
But seriosly sometimes auto sometimes makes scense because of the reinforcement bug.

[Wavesword]

The only time I autoresolve is after a crash or if I have to fight lotsa battles in one turn- "Oh, why did I invade 37 provinces...must sleep Shogun" - and can't do them all owing to life. Saving between would make cheating simple and reduce adictiveness I suppose.

[Zone]

I wasn't suggesting you save so that if you lose you can come back to it, I was mearly refering to grapedog's first comment of it taking too long to complete the game. Save even if you lose, do whatever you have to do (school in my case) and come back to it next evening or whenever. Does it matter if it takes a long time? Surely you'd want youre game that you forked out £29.99 (or equivelant) for to last as long as possible? Or are you too eager to get onto the lastest game? Presumeably you're still playing it so you enjoy it. Enjoy it more - play it for longer.

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Fight first, ask questions later.

[FuGu_HoSoKaWa]

I usually auto-resolve when the armies include many more units than can be on the tactical map at once, and when I have overwhelming (at least about 2:1 or 3:1) odds.

If there are fewer units or if there is any doubt about the outcome, I fight the battles myself.

Interestingly, famous sword events seem much rarer when battles are automatically resolved.


FuGu

[Barkhorn1x]

Auto-resolve kills too many men when you have a 2:1 or more advantage.

It's ALWAYS more economical for me to fight it out.

Regards,
Barkhorn.

[Mudge]

I have never use autoresolve, you learn nothing from it, I like the "two games in one aspect", if I have no time to fight the battles I leave it until I do.

Mudgesan,
Daimyo,
Sans of Bitchu Clan.

[Papewaio]

At harder levels I do not autoresolve. If I lose a campaign or can't figure out the best strategy I play at normal level and use purely autoresolve.

This way I'm seeing what strategy wins. To get the best out of it I still have to train the same troop types I would normally use ie SA & YS for defence, Monks, NoDs & SA for attack.

What playing at an easier level on autoresolve does is gives you a similar proportion of losses (slightly higher) but your concern becomes how to win the campaign as Shogun not every fight as a general. After doing this for awhile I have personally learned to use more feints, call off attacks and sometimes where it is strategically useful dig in and get slaughtered.

It works for me currently I fastplay (autoresolve) games on the train to and from work. At home I play at the longer harder games without autoresolve but I have found that if my strategy is sound that the battles I fight are more useful.