the 20 unit limit - suggestion for fixing

[dj jones]

I read an interesting thread where Jerome from CA was answering a bunch of questions -

anyway, the 20 unit limit has been a major thorn in everyones side since the first total war game came out - and it is still with us. The reinforcement system is broken, as the AI charges his general right to his death causing his troops to be almost useless (I have also had the AI charge them right across the map so they arrive utterly exhausted and ready to rout).

So, why cant CA simply have a system where, in the top left corner of the battle screen (or anywhere on the bottom, doesnt matter) there is a small portrait of *each* commanding officer of *each* 20 unit army. Then, by clicking on one of the portraits, I 'shift' to his point of view, and command his 20 units. The unit screen would thus show the 20 units of general A, the 20 units of general B when I click on him, the 20 units of general C when I click on him, etc. Since 6 units can encircle another on the map, maybe make a limit of 6 stacks (heck, I would be happy with 2 stacks for now!!!!) Maybe allow the player to put them under AI control, as you can do with existing units now, if the player only wants to play with 20 units at once.

This would completely fix the broken reinforcement system, make up for the weak AI, and satisfy the lust of gamers who want to command truly epic battles. It should be easy to implement as well.

Thoughts?

[Parmenio]

Sounds ideal. :)

[Psyco]

This is one of the greatest ideas I've ever seen!

[WarHawk]

Here here! I lost a battle the other day due to this problem.

[Jambo]

That is a very good idea.

However, for me personally, commanding 20 units is more than enough and if they can fix the suicidal AI general then I would prefer that option.. ;) That being said, if the suicidal AI generals are hear to stay, then this is the best alternative by a long way.

[JeromeGrasdyke]

Yep, fine thought. We did actually consider doing this some time ago, but decided against it for various reasons lost in the depths of time We may come back to this one...

[dj jones]

That is a very good idea.

However, for me personally, commanding 20 units is more than enough and if they can fix the suicidal AI general then I would prefer that option.. ;) That being said, if the suicidal AI generals are hear to stay, then this is the best alternative by a long way.

Ahh, but the game allows you to put any unit under 'AI' control - so you could easily switch to one of your other generals and put his units under AI control, so if you didnt want to manage them, you wouldnt have to.

I cant see any downside to this system at all - if the player is overwhelmed, he gives AI control - if he wants to manage it himself, he can. Best of both worlds.