I can answer those questions WesW, but unfortunately some of the answers aren't to good and I've got to be quick, there's a good program on at 9:00PM.
1)Absolutely positive. This feature was in Shogun, but I overlooked it for years - I only found it because of something I read about MTW (I think it may have been in the official guide). I have observed it on many, many occasions, to see for your self set up a simple custom game of 1 unit per side (so you can watch closely). When the battle begins single click on your enemy and watch your unit closely. They will walk most of the way and then when they get close you will hear a war horn and they will all begin to charge. This is very easy to see on one of the flat steppes maps. If you order the unit to run (double click) you will still see the animation and speed change when the horn sounds, although it is harder to spot. Try using some feudal MAA, when they charge they raise their sword above their head. The charge is started when the unit is close to it's target, that's why units sometimes charge immediately when you click on an enemy, once the horn sounds the charge has begun. Also why else would each unit have a walk/run/charge set of speed stats if they only ever walked and charged?
2)Spears in forests is awkward. Most posts I have seen, along with the guide and a post from CA last year all state that the rank bonus is missing in trees. Personal experience suggests the something similar; I've had sergeants loose very badly to weak cavalry, which they usually beat when they are on open ground. The units were in the appropriate ranks; orders etc and they met the cavalry face on. They were massacred, each and every time. I think that the rank bonus doesn't apply as a whole (i.e. the whole unit has it or the whole unit doesn't), rather I think it applies to individual men, so it is possible for some men to keep the bonus in trees while others in the same formation loose it. This is a bit too advanced to put in a beginners guide, so I shortened it to keep spears out of trees, which is good advice when you consider that most of the unit looses the bonus. Common sense also suggests to me that the spearmen couldn't hold their formation properly in a forest and TW is quite logical, but that's not proof in itself.
3)I got that part about the generals giving different kinds of valour from several posts made here by respected members of the community. Unfortunately it was months ago and I can't remember who they were (if I did I would credit them), and I can't find the topic either. This does seem quite reasonable because giving a morale bonus with generals valour would make the units very hard to control if they had several points of valour of their own. If someone can offer proof either way or remember the threads this first appeared in I would be grateful.
4)I always thought that sounded odd but it was common wisdom on both these forums and the official ones, so I used it because I'd not heard of DOC's theory. Can you point me to the thread with his evidence?
Mary - thanks I've already started the unit guide (just finished the Shogun section), after that's done I will probably write Frog Tzu, or the tactics guide for those not in the know. I didn't want to go full bore with the tactics because there seemed to be little interest, also the guide would keep referring to the unit guide which I am now writing separately instead of combining the two.
Divine Wind - thanks to you to , I'm honoured that you think me worthy of HoF However that's half a year away, and everyone will have forgotten this by then.
EDIT: Made a few parts clearer. The program was rather amusing, the first vaguely interesting program in weeks. You know, with the three posts above this one having the same avatar it's like Attack of the Clones
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