Pausing

[Cebrus]

I use pause in pretty much every battle. It gives me time to study the situation, plan out formations and also helps out with the framerate since i play on 600mhz and the game usually runs on something like 10fps. But im wondering, am i cheating? Is pausing a common thing or do most people play without pausing?

[Doug-Thompson]

I use pause in pretty much every battle. It gives me time to study the situation, plan out formations and also helps out with the framerate since i play on 600mhz and the game usually runs on something like 10fps. But im wondering, am i cheating? Is pausing a common thing or do most people play without pausing?

This is only a problem if you ever want to go on-line. You'll have to break that habit. Otherwise, enjoy yourself.

[Del Arroyo]

IMO, yes you are cheating. But from what I've gathered, most people pause.

In my experience, there are a small minority of gamers who truly play for the challenge-- the rest simply want to be entertained and play video games as if they were a set of toy soldiers or a box of lincoln logs.

..

If the animation is too choppy, try cutting down on graphics and sound quality in the preferences menu. And if you have trouble controlling all your units at once, practice grouping and hotkeys and grouped line manuevers.

Also, try to just cut loose and enjoy the game. One of the things that is linked to "cheating" in video games is an emotional attachment to perfection. I used to save-cheat compulsively in Civ2 and SMAC, but letting go of this allowed me to master those games and increase my enjoyment immensely.

DA

[desdichado]

Cebrus,

You'll find differing opinions on this topic - some like Del Arroyo think its cheating and others like myself see it as perfectly acceptable if that's what you want - I too have a choppy framerate (although it clears halfway through a battle and I can't seem to find a fix).

I pause - especially when I want to get close up to the action and see my heavy cav charge home or am setting up a mass charge.

I don't agree with Del Arroyo that pausing means you don't like challenges and simply want to be entertained. I set up challenges in different ways - no ocean trading (try playing without millions in the bank), no merging units (can only be retrained), single stack invasions only and there are plenty of other ways I have made this game challenging (MedMod especially) while still pausing.

As Doug-Thompson says the only time it will be a problem is when playing MP. Set up some custom battles and see how you go - you may find you like it better without pause or not. Just don't be worried about what others think about how you play the game.

I just ignore what other people think and go with what I feel like doing - after all I DO want to be entertained as well as challenged.

I think I'll get off my soapbox now! Enjoy!

[Tamur]

One thing to think about is that you should give both paused and non-paused battles a go --- all the way through to the bitter end. Set up custom battles, see how many units you can handle effectively and make techniques that work for you. I try to simplify as much as possible -- group and hotkey, for example:

- main defensive line
- leftside flankers
- rightside flankers
- ranged units
- leftside cavalry
- rightside cavalry

... or whatever other groupings will work for your strategy. Then you can execute maneuvers with a hotkey and a click, rather than trying to hunt units down with your mouse, then order them.

It takes a lot of practice, and a lot of patience, to get really fluid without pause, I haven't mastered the skill yet!

Anyway, give non-paused a good 20-battle training chance, but mostly just make sure you have fun -- it is, in fact, a game

[Boris of Bohemia]

IMO, yes you are cheating. But from what I've gathered, most people pause.

In my experience, there are a small minority of gamers who truly play for the challenge-- the rest simply want to be entertained and play video games as if they were a set of toy soldiers or a box of lincoln logs.


DA

For a challenge, pick up a book on relatavistic quantum field theory of the electromagnetic vacuum and learn how to sum the resonant cavity modes between conducting parallel plates without getting infinity.

Otherwise, enjoy the product the designers gave you.

[Del Arroyo]

I don't know whether things have changed in MTW, but this is what I remember from Shogun: If you just maneuvered in good order with a strong defensive line, a screen of ranged units, and two to four quick-reaction groups to your rear and flanks--

the AI would putz around, tie its army in a hopeless knot, and launch a few limited charges on your skirmisher line. It would throw its own army into total disorder and all you had to do was pick the right moment to charge. You would send your defensive line rushing forward, and mop up the flanks with your cav and light infantry.

Now granted, it was a long time before I had this figured out, and maybe that's the point. And maybe the battlefield AI is better in MTW. Still, I never found victory impossible even as a newb. I'd have no idea what was going on, but I'd still win often enough.

DA

[Adrian II]

It's a free country, Cebrus. You go with people's (informed) opinions or you don't, it's up to you. Lots of people (including myself) use pausing because they suffer from graphics glitches, stuttering audio and sluggish gameplay in MTW which they didn't have in STW. I don't have fixes either and it makes me hesitant to run with hoi polloi and install RTW or some other monster. Oh alright, I'll get the beast eventually (lol) but not before the jury is out.

As for gameplay, I have to say I enjoyed the torrential flux of those STW battles much more than my paused MTW battles, even though the latter allow for more reflection, careful repositioning and retargeting, hell you can even give your girlfriend a good spanking in between two volleys of arrows.

I remember by the time I had enough experience on expert level I was fascinated by the sheer aesthetics of STW battles, by their energy and movement. I imagined I'd developed a feel for them, an instinct if you like. I didn't calculate before or pause during a battle, I just *knew* how to counter anything the AI could throw at me, I *knew" when a unit was about to break or when the AI was at a loss and the enemy general was about to expose his flank to some lethal charge. I specialized in running battles and used to make what I called "black armies" of Naginata Cavalry, Yari Cavalry and Horse Archers, all for the purpose of making my battles faster and faster. Most times as a defender, I didn't bide my time on some bleak hilltop waiting for the enemy to spend his arrows. I carefully crafted my line of battle right behind the dots and upon start of battle went straight for the jugular, some times I routed huge armies (mostly peasant ones, of course) inside of twenty seconds. All because yup, you guessed it, I was a total addict at the time.

Sometimes these days, when I'm stuck somewhere in mid-High keeping His Holiness at bay with one hand and trying to convince my lousy Hun emperor to finally produce some offspring with the other, my heart goes out to the virgin hills of Satsuma, to the sound of horses whinnying in the morning breeze and men with guttural voices committing their souls to the moon and stars..

[katank]

I definitely found the MTW AI better than the Shoggy one.

somethings in MTW you have to pause.

if you ever want to go hell horse raiding with 16 units of HAs, it's necessary to pause but you can really get awesome kill ratios this way.

humanly impossible to manage without pause more than 5-6 high demand units like HAs or javs unless you are crazy good like Sinan

[McGowan]

I'm an unashamed pauser. In a real battle you'd have commanders you could depend on (or not depend on). Units would act in a rational manner and with their own initiative. There would also be a battle plan discussed before the army ever took the field.

This simply isn't the case in MTW. Your units are dumb numbers being crunched by a processor. The only initiative they have is when they run away, or they imeptously charge. No manouver, no co-ordinated action. Thus the pressures on the player as a commander are far greater. Add to that the fact that the AI can issue orders simultaneosly to it's units, and I say you need to use the pause button in order to have a fair fight.

That said, some battles are straightforward enough that I don't use it, or just small enough it isn't needed. And when I play multiplayer I don't mind not having it because I know my enemy has the same handicap.

So, I say, pause when you need to, but try not to abuse it, or your battles will lose momentum and become tedious.

[DisruptorX]

I don't pause in MTW. I find the pace is just right, in fact, I almost always am able to zoom in and watch the action up close.

[Duke of Gloucester]

When I was learning the gameplay I used to pause a lot. I also used to save and redo years if I felt my strategy was off. When I first started I used easy mode too. For me this was all about learning to play the game. Now I play without pausing and I live with the results of my tactics and strategy. Since you are not playing against an opponent, whatever you do, you can't "cheat", so enjoy the game however you want to play it.

[BigC5]

Pausing or not pausing does not make you a better or worse player than anyone else. If you want to pause then go ahead. I used to do this alot but found as I got used to the game and what I had to do I didnt have to pause it as much.

The moral of the story, do what you want as long as you enjoy playing the game!

[Timur]

As Adrian mentioned, feel free to pause if you wish, no need to seek the approval of the masses if you're comfortable doing so. I for one use the pause button fairly regularly without any qualms for several reasons:

1. You must note that the computer is not hindered with moving individual units at different times. Granted many make up for this by moving in a single block formation, but I much prefer to... experiment with various maneuvers, leaving the reliable "stick together" routine for the truly pivotal battles within a campaign.

2. Like you, I experience choppy game play and slowdowns with larger battles. I have several choices in this matter: 1. Divert money for college tuition into new hardware for a computer upgrade or: 2. Pause the game should it become almost unmanageable to issue concise orders. I choose the latter.

3. I don't use it any longer then it takes to issue orders, scouting and smaller unit actions are all done in real time, but again, user preference.

[katank]

yep, feel free to use the slider bars too.

I've seen people who routinely play at 30% extra speed without pause.

I personally frequently use double speed combined with pausing and achieve good tactical results without wasting too much time.

[ichi]

To pause or not to pause, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (in real time), or by pausing, to end them.

Of all of the constantly recurring threads I think that the 'pause' debate is my favorite, and perhaps the most important. It has to do with why we play.

Some folks like to use cheat codes, but I can't understand why. But hey, it's yo money, so pay it and then play as you like it.

I play this game because I am challenged by it, the SP and MP aspects, and have decided that I want to learn as much about the game and then to try to master the execution.

That's why I play, but others may have a different motivation and therefore different rules and styles. And that's OK. I am not saying that using pause is a cheat, nor that a person who pauses is weak, and wrong, or anything. It is a personal choice.

I do not use pause. I feel that using pause allows me to avoid developing skills and habits. By avoiding the use of pause I force myself to setup my army in a logical manner, to use it in a controllable style.

By not using pause I think I have improved my discipline and execution. Most importantly, I have developed habits that allow me to barely hang on to 16 units.

There is no pause in MP, so if you want to play online you need to learn to avoid pausing. If you can't beat the AI without pausing then a strong player will eat you up online.

Katank makes a great point about HAs (any skirmishers) and pros like Sinan. Use a Turkish hybrid army without pausing and you will start to develop some management skills (or die).

For me, pausing was a crutch that allowed me to avoid developing skills. Not pausing has made me a better player.

A wireless laptop will allow you to take the game into the bathroom should the need arise (I do some of my best thinking in there so . . .), phones have answering machines, food can wait, so there is only one legitimate reason to use pause - when your significant other makes a limited time offer.

Next I hope to incorporate a thing called 'tactics' into my gameplay, and then I might actually win a battle!

ichi

[katank]

lol, ichi's point is valid.

I use pause mainly due to love of skirmishers. I should actually develop management skills. Where did the HA and jav thread go? That was an awesome thread that Doug, OA, and me discussed. Anyhow, they are a hot combo but require mucho pause due to my lack of reflexes.

limited time offer, lol.

[ichi]

lol, ichi's point is valid.

I use pause mainly due to love of skirmishers. I should actually develop management skills. Where did the HA and jav thread go? That was an awesome thread that Doug, OA, and me discussed. Anyhow, they are a hot combo but require mucho pause due to my lack of reflexes.

limited time offer, lol.

That was a good thread K. In my current Hun campaign I'm using Jobbagies behind FMAA. Quite deadly against lowball AI troops, but rather tricky to keep organized. But I would never have tried it without that Jav thread.

ichi

[McGowan]

Well, I recently fought a multiplayer LAN engagement myself attacking, against two defenders on a hill top. Spliting my forces, fighting uphill, outnumbered, I still managed to outmanevor their flanks and won in a matter of 6 or 7 minutes, all while chatting on the phone.

Now, the guys defender weren't experts, but they were competent, and the natural advantages of numbers and ground should have compensated. Now, an expert would probably thrash me, but I think it's fair to say that I don't really need the pause in multiplayer. There are certainly many battles where I don't use it. However, I grow tired of the same old block-grouped predictable learned-by-rote strategies that come naturally from time limited command capabilities. I use the pause button in order to execute more intricate actions, in order to most effectively use my skirmishers and cavalry, and as a means of practicing new manouvers that I plan on someday being able to execute without the pause.