Quote Originally Posted by deanox
sorry to do another post, i was also wondering if there were any patches i should get first up to make it run better. thanks heaps.
That the depends on whether you have the original game only or the expansion (Viking Invasion) as well. If you only have M:TW, you will need the 1.1 patch, if you have VI you need the 2.01 patch (VI already has 1.1 installed). You can find both patches here: TOTALWAR.COM DOWNLOADS PAGE.

To answer your shipping question: you need to have a port in the province your leaving (but not in the destination) and ships in every sea between the two provinces. Then you can just place your army in the province on the other side of the channel. You can launch amphibian invasions this way. The funny thing is that you can send your troops from Sweden to Palestine in just one turn if you've got ships in all the seas lying between. If you did over land it would take dozens of turns.

Be aware though that a single enemy ship in the sea lanes will block invasion. Also, if the destination has no port, your troops will be unable to return home. If you retreat from battle and there is neither a port nor a neighbouring province to retreat to, the troops will be trapped. This is also a hazard of amphibian invasions since if you lose, you can't escape and if you win the port will be most likely destroyed and you still can't escape. This is especially dangerous when your King is trapped away from his homeland: if there is no contact with the king anymore (i.e. the King cannot return home without crossing enemy provinces) it will cause loyalty in those lands to plummet to plummet. Many an Ireland-invader discovered to his shock that he coulnd't return home and his empire revolted because Ireland does not have a port.