No wall idea - best solution to loadgame bug & bad siege AI

[Jambo]

I've just been trying the new no-wall idea (courtesy of Pode's idea) and I think it's the best solution we've got to combat the loadgame bug and the terrible siege AI. Offensively, the AI doesn't charge its forces recklessly like it does when there's a breach or pre-opened gates in vanilla. Defensively, it also offers the best challenge that I've seen. This is mainly because the ease at which one can defend and attack the AI when walls are involved is removed!

The only issue I can see is the immediate attack that one can do on cities, but then I guess that's possible anyway when things like onagers become available. On top of that, the AI can do it to you as well as you to the AI.

Thumbs up Pode.

This thread's a tribute to you, and to stimulate discussion on the idea.

[Pode]

Thanks for the props, Jambo It just occured to me that there's another subtle benefit of the no walls approach. Players can't rely on the towers and gates of walls to defend their towns, and there's no time to bring up a reserve army during the siege. You have to keep a garrison of decent strength in every border town, peasants and town watch won't cut it anymore. Of course, if rebels pop up, any city can become a border city without warning. The extra expense of training and maintaining those garrisons will limit the players ability to blitz the AI, making for a much tougher game.

[BDC]

Any quick and easy way to edit the walls out?

[Jambo]

yep, open up the export_descr_buildings file and first add walls as a hidden resource:

hidden_resources sparta rome italy walls

Then beside each wall entry further down the text file add the following:

and hidden_resource walls

For example, for the wooden pallisade:

wooden_pallisade requires factions { barbarian, ct_carthage, eastern, parthia, egyptian, greek, roman, } and hidden_resource walls

Then open up the descr_strat file and remove each wall entry from each city!

And away you go! :D

[hrvojej]

I have also modded the game according to Pode's idea, so here's another one

I didn't actually play much since, because I *really* wanted to finish my Pontus campaign instead of starting a new one (and the Pontus one has walls). However, it occured to me as well that the game would indeed be more tense, and less frustrating too. No more "where do you think you're going" monkey business in sieges, I'd actually have to fight those big garissons in something that resembles a field battle, I could even lose a town for once in the game, etc. But, maybe at some later point when I get back into it full time.

[player1]

I don't thing it will raelly help on the long run.

For example, in my Greek game, I had Pontus sneak attack my unwalled city. Battle got very bad for me because of some simple mistakes, with unit placement on battlefiled.

Anyway, I reloaded, and on my suprise I wasn't attacked at all.

[Jambo]

I'm yet to see how it plays in the long-run, but it's now 258 BC in my Scythia short campaign (VH/M) and the AI has expanded, territories have swapped hands and things are progressing well. In addditon to the no-walls I also reduced the action points from 80 to 60 (in descr_character file) so that units can't move as far on a turn. This somewhat limits the speed at which the no-walled cities can be conquered. This also allows a little preparation on my behalf! ;)

Anyway, it's a different sort of game and one that I don't appear, for the time-being, to have to worry about the loadgame and AI stagnation quite so much. Carthage and Seleucid seem to suffer a little more, as early wars can cripple them more quickly now. Maybe some sort of faction rebalance is needed to brings these guys back up to scratch.