Castles /Fortification battles

[Cardinal]

I might be a bit ahead here, but there are rumours of better Castle battles in RTW. Quite frankly (although a great improvement from STW) the Castle battles in MTW are at best dull. There is no way you can direct your castle defences, and most of the time you just hang around and wait until the wall/gate is breached and then fight normally with not much of a defenders bonus .

NOW rumours have it that this has been improved in the RTW and that you now can post men on the walls and use archers etc. to defend your castles. Is this true? It would be a great improvement. Nothing for me was more dissapointing than crowding my castles with archers just to find that they never hit anything and were slaughtered as soon as the enemy entered the gates.

Here is hoping!!

[lancelot]

I believe it is true. Bring it on...

[Myrddraal]

Have a look at this
Image of walls
Image of ladders
Image of fighting on walls
Image of siege towers
More ladders

[Myrddraal]

And some of those are quite old... They might even be better.

[Barkhorn1x]

I
NOW rumours have it that this has been improved in the RTW and that you now can post men on the walls and use archers etc. to defend your castles. Is this true? It would be a great improvement. Nothing for me was more dissapointing than crowding my castles with archers just to find that they never hit anything and were slaughtered as soon as the enemy entered the gates.

Here is hoping!!

These features are more than a rumor dude. The devs. have spoken on these subjects many times. All of these features are in there - including city fighting.

Where have you been for the last year?

Barkhorn.

[The_Emperor]

Not only will you have siege towers and ladders and battering rams, we will also have the option to do a Sapping attack, (which entails digging a tunnel under the ground below the wall foundations, piling up a nice pile of carcases and setting them on fire, thent he wall collapses)

The traditional method of blasting a hole with artillery is still there, and to capture a city you will have to fight your way to the city center and claim it I think, but there are loads of narrow streets perfect for ambush and defence.

Buildings destroyed in the battle for the city will also vanish on the campaign map, so if you decide to rain fire & burn down that Roman Barracks or shiny nice temple, that will also have a great effect on your opponent after the battle, should you decide not to capture the city and just withdraw.

Also should you create too much damage in conquering a city you may then have to shell out a ton of cash in repairs! (I also hear you have to repair the wall breaches you make)

[SeveredSoul]

Also as far as city fighting goes, I have read somewhere that you can post men inside buildings and launch ambushes on the invading armies. Should be great fun

-Soul

[Patricius]

MTW Castle sieges were horrible. They had no fluidity. Walls seemed to fall without any bombardment as the storming progressed. It could only be better. They would have to positively try to make castle sieges worse.

[Oaty]

Not only will you have siege towers and ladders and battering rams, we will also have the option to do a Sapping attack, (which entails digging a tunnel under the ground below the wall foundations, piling up a nice pile of carcases and setting them on fire, thent he wall collapses)

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Ummmm I never heard about the carcases bit for sapping. Or were you talking about launching dead bodies over the walls to reduce morale?

[Tamur]

Ummmm I never heard about the carcases bit for sapping. Or were you talking about launching dead bodies over the walls to reduce morale?

No, I think he's talking about the larded pigs you herd into the sapping tunnel... Sorry, four hours of coding still to go before this blasted module is done.

[Cardinal]

Where have you been for the last year?

Barkhorn.

Under a rock!!

When I was eight I dreamt about Christmas one night in October, and it became the longest autumn I ever experienced just waiting for Christmas to come. The clue then was not to think about it until it sprung up on you, and hence reduce the agonizing wait.
So much for the anecdote, but the same replies for RTW. I have just not been there in RTW mode until now.
Onward Legions

[The_Emperor]

Ummmm I never heard about the carcases bit for sapping. Or were you talking about launching dead bodies over the walls to reduce morale?

Sapping is basically you digging a big hole underground and having a massive underground bonfire under the city/castle walls!! (animal carcases were often piled up and ignited inside the tunnel) The fire causes the ground to become unstable and the wall above comes crashing down.

[Myrddraal]

What will it look like in game? I think it will prob just look like the men attacking the walls.

[Barkhorn1x]

What will it look like in game? I think it will prob just look like the men attacking the walls.

Actually - there was a screenie that showed a tunnel entrance. So I guess you assign a unit to sapping, up pops a tunnel entrance, and down comes a section of wall - in line w. that tunnel entrance. Now, the question is - will there be counter-mining?

Barkhorn.

[Blodrast]

I don't think so - at least, I haven't heard of anything like that.
But the devs explained that the way to counter sapping is attacking the tunnel entrances, which would probably be rather fragile. When that happens, of course, you lose the sappers and whatever other troops there may have been in the tunnel.
I would also guess that the sapping process is a rather lengthy one, so you'll have to hang on to the tunnel entrance area for a good bit of time (which may be a problem occasionally).

[The_Emperor]

My understanding (from a post over at .com a while back) is that you build a sapping entrance before the siege along with the other siege tech.

The entrence then appears ont he map opposite a section of wall and you have to send guys into it.

But the devs explained that the way to counter sapping is attacking the tunnel entrances, which would probably be rather fragile. When that happens, of course, you lose the sappers and whatever other troops there may have been in the tunnel.
I would also guess that the sapping process is a rather lengthy one, so you'll have to hang on to the tunnel entrance area for a good bit of time (which may be a problem occasionally).

Yes that is what i have heard as well.

In other words to coutner a good sapping attack you'll have to sally forth! (I am sure that countermining is not in, if it is the Devs have been quiet about it)