Why Can't I Load Men On My Ships

[RobertTheBruce1]

I have ony ad Medieval Total War for about 3 months but I am hooked on it. But the one thing that annoys me is I cant figure out how to load men into my ships. I have looked on some sites, but I cannot seem to find any help. If any one knows and would like to tell me, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Kommodus]

You don't actually load men onto ships. To move armies by sea, you must do the following things:

1. Place your men in a coastal province with a port.
2. Have an unbroken line of ships, starting at the sea zone adjacent to the port, and ending at a sea zone adjacent to the province you want your men to move to.
3. There must be no enemy ships in any of the sea zones that form the line. Allied and neutral ships are OK, unless you are attempting to launch an amphibious attack against the faction owning them.
4. Simply move your men to the target province (not onto your ships).

Agents can move from one coastal province with a port to another, regardless of ships. They can never move by sea to a coastal province without a port, while armies can.

[henoch]

a french general not far, scratches against the coffin`s back, but can`t get out to haunt` you..

honestlly, this is easy: you have to build an armourer and buy "blankets". with these (nails from armourer) you are able to reach your boats...

or: you don`t put units "on board" in MTW. build yourself a harbour (if not viking) and use the ships like chips/big pepples to make a crossing.[in every sea zone from your port to the target there has to be a.) ship of yours b.) no enemy fleet(ship)

don`t mind people laughing about it, this is an old question. everyone likes to tease people who ask for..but i never saw a "sticky" called "ship-movement" in any forum either.

@kommodus: you ruined it..

[bretwalda]

Oh, by the way, I don't want to start a new topic, but I am curious: what do the stats in the ships mean? And most ships can only move one sea zone, but others seem to go more, how is that? Also, how do ships gain valor? There is not much of a sea combat, but it is nice to know...

[RobertTheBruce1]

Well, thanks you guys. I asked because im doing the German campaign, and the only thing keeping me from total map domination is these three islands. Im going to try your suggestions as soon as I get home. Because Im at school right now.

[Kommodus]

Oh, by the way, I don't want to start a new topic, but I am curious: what do the stats in the ships mean? And most ships can only move one sea zone, but others seem to go more, how is that? Also, how do ships gain valor? There is not much of a sea combat, but it is nice to know...

1. As far as I know, ships have these stats: attack, defense, speed. Attack and defense influence how they do in battles, although I don't know the specifics. I believe speed influences how good a ship is at catching or escaping from enemy ships (for example, a ship attacks an enemy ship that attempts to move to a different sea zone in the same turn).

2. Smaller ships tend to be more restricted in their movement; they move fewer sea zones and are restricted to coastal zones. Larger ships can move into deeper waters, and can often move more sea zones in one turn. They're just more advanced.

3. Captains who win victories gain extra command stars. This makes their fleets better in subsequent battles. I don't believe that there is "valor" as there is on the battlefield, but command stars do affect sea battle outcomes.

[el_slapper]

The philosophy that lies behind is the following one :

Transport ships are not on the screen. Warships are. As long as they provide an adequate escort, the unseen transports will carry your troops.

That's not perfect, & not easy to get the first time. But once you've got it, it's damn simple & efficient.

[Ash]

The AI kinda cheats in navel battles, so I'm always nervous when entering a war with a faction with a large navy.

For some reason one of their boats is vast superior to one of your boats so I can't recommend one vs one battles even between boats with equal stats.

I always attack with stacks anyway and pray I don't lose too many ships in the process.

[Hold Steady]

"The AI kinda cheats in navel battles, so I.."

I allways lose my navel battles. As soon as I thrust my sword I wound myself..

I'm glad they nullified the naval aspect of the game, game would have became too broad IMO. And medieval times werent exactly known for their greater naval battles.. except maybe some firegally-thing between the byzantines and some eastern dudes.. a relic from greek, roman and carthagen times

[Ludens]

1. As far as I know, ships have these stats: attack, defense, speed. Attack and defense influence how they do in battles, although I don't know the specifics. I believe speed influences how good a ship is at catching or escaping from enemy ships (for example, a ship attacks an enemy ship that attempts to move to a different sea zone in the same turn).

Kommodus is correct, but I want to add that ships have a fourth stat: range, which determines how many seas they can move on the strategic map. They also have a strength stat but it is zero for all ship types.

Speed determines their chance to escape from a sea when they are attacked by another fleet. If the two fleets are of equal speed, the departing fleet has a 50% chance to escape. Remember, the speed of a fleet is equal to that of its slowest ship. Attacking with multiple fleets gives more chances to catch the runners, so it is sometimes a good idea to split up your fleets into smaller ones.

The problem is that the AI 'cheats'. It can anticipate all your fleet moves and its ships are stronger than yours, so always attack with superior numbers (at least twice theirs) and your best admiral. However, if your doing badly on land the sea-battle algorithm seems to favour you: some players say that if you sent a unit of peasants on a suicide mission the sea battles will turn in your favour.