Game mechanics questions for CA

[econ21]

This post is a compilation of questions drawn from subsequent posts in this thread up to 14th February. It will be periodically updated. I have not included bug/patch type questions - although they are very important, they are probably best put in other threads. Last time I checked, totalwar.com had a very good bug report/patch request thread.

In post #20 of this thread, JeromeGarsdyke of CA kindly took the time to answer almost all questions collected here. So I'll divide the list of questions into those he did not address, either by omission or because they came up later, and those he did.

Unanswered questions

Battle map questions

Mechanics

• How do rank bonuses work in RTW? Is the spear/pike rank bonus the same as in MTW/VI (2 ranks for spears, 4 ranks for pikes, bonus= 1/.5/1)?

• How does the combat equation work (included rank/AP bonuses)?

• How does AP bonus work? Is it the same as MTW/VI?

AI behaviour

• Why do missile units controlled by an attacking AI charge immediately leaving the Ai combat units behind? In M:TW battles it was quite normal to have a "missile war" but this interesting phase is often disregarded by the AI in R:TW.

• Why are some combat units so undecisive in charging?DukeJohn clarifies: I have setup equal battles and when the AI approaches my line it becomes indecisive. Units move up, decide not to charge (perhaps the algorithm for comparing values is flawed?) and move back. It becomes a little dance that is repeated until at one point the unit decides to charge, most of the time unsupported. As a result the player just needs to line up, and take the AI units piecemeal and win without a single click.

Campaign map questions

Mechanics

AI behaviour

• If you are at peace with another faction and one of their armies enters your territory but does not attack you, are there any negative consequences to allowing that army to remain in your territory?

• From the AI's point of view, is it always an act of aggression when the AI sends an army into one of your territories?

Archive of questions addressed by CA in post #20

• What is the new formula for determining the probability to hit in combat? e.g. how exactly do attack, defence etc influence it?

• What is the effect of being heavy or light infantry?

• What bonuses do weapons have against other weapons, eg swords vs spears, long spears vs other spears

• What is the difference between "heavy" and "light" weapons?

• What modifiers or effects do the "special" unit formations have, e.g. phalanx, Cantabrian circle, tetsudo, wedge?

• What exactly makes a unit gain experience? Killing peasants gives less than killing elite units, but what exactly determines this?

• Do units in phalanx get the charge bonuses for their spears/pikes? If they charge, they seem to draw swords (and so lower charge bonus). If in phalanx, they can't run so it does not look like they get a charge bonus.

• What are the effects of capturing another faction's capital or losing your own capital?

• Does the location of your faction leader have any effects? (Is it best to keep your faction leader in the capital? Does it matter?)

• What are the slave and the grain bonuses and how are they caused? Can they be removed?

• Can you give a detailed run-down of the strategic AI settings (caesar, mao, balanced, fortified, etc.)? That would make customizing games easier.