Cossacks 2: Napoleonic wars review and screenshots

[Randarkmaan]

I've had the game for a while and I got to say that I find it really enjoyable.
I don't quite agree with the poster that said the Egyptians are that hard to play as I've actually managed to win quite alot when playing as the Egyptians. the archers are pretty useful for cover fire. Janissaries are a decent line infantry, they have less morale and worse close combat stats than most others musket infantry but they are better shots, supported by warriors with yataghan(or you might say the janissaries support them) who have more hp and are hard to shoot you should be able to beat most enemies. Their artillery is similar to most others and is good for bombarding enemies and thus forcing them to attack or retreat. As said earlier their cavalry units are good and should be used the same way as normal cavalry flanking and protecting flanks.

[lars573]

I mean hard as in learning curve. The Egyptians have a very different tech tree and as I said low morale. Once you get into the game and learn it's ins and outs they aren't that hard. Also Jannisaries are light infantry, that what the blue background on the unit card means. All that means is they have low melee and higher shot damage. Warriors with yataghan (which is a Muslim broad sword by the looks of it) are the Egyptian militia unit, denoted by their white background on their unit card.

Thank you, Lars573. I will try to play without cheating first. Please accept that I hold nothing personal against you, it is just that I have seen too many cheating players become sloppy and missing out on the real fun. You could be right and I will fess up if and when I cheat.

I only cheat to amass enough cash to build my tech tree buildings, and get enough troops to take resources villiages. And I only do it because skirmish doesn't have an option to start with more resources, and the AI cheats hard.

Excellent advice. I have not started a campaign, but if I do, I will try my hand at France first.
Thanks again.

I only mean't in the battles. In the battle for europe mode no one faction has a distinct advantage over the others. All the generals/national leaders start out at the same level (lieutenant) but different provinces generate resourcs at different rates per turn.

[Adrian II]

Happy New Year!!

I've had the game for a while and I got to say that I find it really enjoyable.

So we have another Cossacks II enthusiast on the forum. Great! I have another couple of questions, hang on.

Me likey too. Even after a few days I have not reached the familiar 'aha'-moment where I realise the game mechanics are actually straight-forward, bordering on stupid, and I can easily beat the machine. Part of the explanation is that I have not yet tried a fullfledged campaign or the battle for Europe, of course. Could you lads give me any cues as to the AI's strengths and weaknesses? It looks good up to this point.

Another nice aspect is the incredible love of detail that went into the graphic scripts. There is a huge variety of scripted creatures and movements on your screen and I discover new ones all the time. The CII tactical map is populated by peasants and burghers going about their respective businesses, packhorses plodding up and down dirt roads, militias discharging their training blanks into the wheat fields. Another thing I like is that soldiers in less disciplined units go awol all the time in the local farms and inns, etcetera.

And just look at the detailed scripts they made for disbanded troops. After a unit has been scattered in a fight, most of its troops trudge back to their barracks in small groups and along different roads; others hang about in nearby woods and villages, and in the end (after an hour of sustained fighting) you will see spontaneous minor engagements all over your tactical map, where small units between one and ten soldiers of varying composition take on equally small bands of enemies near a village or bridge.

The sounds are great too. When you march a column of grenadiers through a village, the mundane village sounds of whirring mills and cackling chickens is gradually drowned by the sound of boots thrashing the road in unison. It wakes up my inner fascist every time ...

Question 1
Could you or Lars573 tell me whether a 'scorched earth' tactic works in this game? I mean, every village has a natural number of inhabitants: peasants, mill workers and militia. If you kill the entire population of a village -- because it is near the enemy barracks and you don't want them to have it -- does that population 'recover' from this blatant war crime or not? I have noticed that after you kill their militia it respawns at the village inn, but does this happen in a depopulated village too?

Question 2
How do you and Lars573 handle simultaneous engagements on different parts of the map? I have to use 'Pause' even in Normal Mode (remember I am a beginner) and switch from one scene to the next, but once you have three or even four separate engagements going on at the same time it is impossible to provide 'leadership'. When you give your units on battlefield 1 the necessary orders, you have to stay with them even if only for ten seconds to see how the orders play out with regard to the enemy's movements. During those ten seconds, the enemy may make a major move on battlefield 2, march up to your lines and fire a lethal volley into your unit while it stands idle for lack of orders. At some point I decided to leave units on one battlefield in defensive squares at some distance from the enemy, with a stand-by firing order in case the enemy would approach unseen by me. Does anyone have a better system?

I only cheat to amass enough cash to build my tech tree buildings, and get enough troops to take resources villiages. And I only do it because skirmish doesn't have an option to start with more resources, and the AI cheats hard.

I also started out thinking that the AI cheats hard, but I am not sure. Maybe it 'hoards' resources during the game and trades them massively for coal and bullion in the endgame. If the AI can do that, so can a human player. Instead of stopping peasant spawning at about 100 as Efrem advised (see his comments elsewhere in the thread) I decided to assign more and more of them to wood and stone, and then swapped these for bullion, coal and iron in the market place. No more shortages of troops or shot befell AdrianII.

I only mean't in the battles. In the battle for europe mode no one faction has a distinct advantage over the others.

I see. I will get back to you once I get there.

[lars573]

So we have another Cossacks II enthusiast on the forum. Great! I have another couple of questions, hang on.

Me likey too. Even after a few days I have not reached the familiar 'aha'-moment where I realise the game mechanics are actually straight-forward, bordering on stupid, and I can easily beat the machine. Part of the explanation is that I have not yet tried a fullfledged campaign or the battle for Europe, of course. Could you lads give me any cues as to the AI's strengths and weaknesses? It looks good up to this point.

Another nice aspect is the incredible love of detail that went into the graphic scripts. There is a huge variety of scripted creatures and movements on your screen and I discover new ones all the time. The CII tactical map is populated by peasants and burghers going about their respective businesses, packhorses plodding up and down dirt roads, militias discharging their training blanks into the wheat fields. Another thing I like is that soldiers in less disciplined units go awol all the time in the local farms and inns, etcetera.

And just look at the detailed scripts they made for disbanded troops. After a unit has been scattered in a fight, most of its troops trudge back to their barracks in small groups and along different roads; others hang about in nearby woods and villages, and in the end (after an hour of sustained fighting) you will see spontaneous minor engagements all over your tactical map, where small units between one and ten soldiers of varying composition take on equally small bands of enemies near a village or bridge.

The sounds are great too. When you march a column of grenadiers through a village, the mundane village sounds of whirring mills and cackling chickens is gradually drowned by the sound of boots thrashing the road in unison. It wakes up my inner fascist every time ...

Pack horse can be killed and the enemy denied those resources. The battle for europe can be seen as the place where C2 shines. My most shining victory was in battle for europe. I was invading a Prussian province as the French. Battles in BFE (battle for europe) are kind of like TW battles, you only have the troops you recruited on the campagin map. So I only had an infantry brigade (4 infantry regiments) supported by 2 light cavalry squadrons and I faced 2:1 odds in favor of Prussia. So I took a page from General MacAurthers book, "hit em where they aint". I took their coal mines (coal is used for making gun powder). I sent in the cavalry to take the villages and usd the infantry to block counter attacks. Thankfully the Prussia positions were west of the coal mines and I had a chance. But after I had taken all the coal mine I faced all the Prussians coming down on me. I lost 3 of my infnatry units and 1 cavalry squadron. As I braced for my imminent distruction the Prussians ran out of shot and retreated. I won because they left the field.

Question 1
Could you or Lars573 tell me whether a 'scorched earth' tactic works in this game? I mean, every village has a natural number of inhabitants: peasants, mill workers and militia. If you kill the entire population of a village -- because it is near the enemy barracks and you don't want them to have it -- does that population 'recover' from this blatant war crime or not? I have noticed that after you kill their militia it respawns at the village inn, but does this happen in a depopulated village too?

Scorched earth is not really possible. While you could send skirmishers (British Riflemen Chassurs for the other Europeans and Turaegs for Egypt) to snipe the enemy villagers or some might get killed in the cross fire while taking the village after that you can't kill them. In fact you have no control over what they do at all. The most you could do is march on an enemies village, take it, but not hold it. After you take a village all the peasants flee then slowly return. By taking but not holding the enemies villages you hamper their economy (as it takes several minutes for an captured village to get back to full productivity). I would use light cavalry for these raids (Hussars light Dragoons and Ulhans). 2 squadrons preferably. They are fast enough to zip in take the village and be gone before and infantry regiment has been dispatched.

Question 2
How do you and Lars573 handle simultaneous engagements on different parts of the map? I have to use 'Pause' even in Normal Mode (remember I am a beginner) and switch from one scene to the next, but once you have three or even four separate engagements going on at the same time it is impossible to provide 'leadership'. When you give your units on battlefield 1 the necessary orders, you have to stay with them even if only for ten seconds to see how the orders play out with regard to the enemy's movements. During those ten seconds, the enemy may make a major move on battlefield 2, march up to your lines and fire a lethal volley into your unit while it stands idle for lack of orders. At some point I decided to leave units on one battlefield in defensive squares at some distance from the enemy, with a stand-by firing order in case the enemy would approach unseen by me. Does anyone have a better system?

Pause is about the best way, but the enemy will not try to open more than 2 fronts. They will alternatge between 3-4 alternate attack routes but not use more than 2 at a time. You protect these other areas with field fortifications. Block houses, towers, kronwerks, forts, and fortresses are all for this task. Use these to funnel the enemy into one area where you mass your army. Classic territorial denial. But keep some forces near fortifications just in case. I'm a natural turtle in an RTS game, defense is my speciality.

I also started out thinking that the AI cheats hard, but I am not sure. Maybe it 'hoards' resources during the game and trades them massively for coal and bullion in the endgame. If the AI can do that, so can a human player. Instead of stopping peasant spawning at about 100 as Efrem advised (see his comments elsewhere in the thread) I decided to assign more and more of them to wood and stone, and then swapped these for bullion, coal and iron in the market place. No more shortages of troops or shot befell AdrianII.I see. I will get back to you once I get there.

If trading works for you then use it. I cheat because that works for me.

[Adrian II]

The Battle for Europe can be seen as the place where C2 shines. My most shining victory was in battle for europe. (..) As I braced for my imminent distruction the Prussians ran out of shot and retreated. I won because they left the field.

Heh, sounds like a harrowing experience, somewhat akin to some of my battles in S:TW and M:TW.

Hats off for your clear thinking. Though one thing I don't get is why your Prussians did not trade wood, food or stone for coal. I just played a beta-version of my France vs Prussia skirmish, trying to improve on everything I did wrong the first time round. Went like a dream. I conquered five enemy villages and got myself like 45.000 food units, so I could trade food for coal and iron anytime. I built two TH and two stabled and kept pumping out Grenadiers and Mounted Dragoons so fast, Heinz didn't know what hit him. I made Sappers, too, and had them build and destroy stuff all the time to get the hang of it. And I developed my own tactic for Grenadiers. I put three squadrons one behind the other, the most experienced/highest moral squad first because it will take the most hits. I then have them march in waves at the enemy, one squadron moving up as the others are loading. Between your rifles and your grenades, each squadron has ample occasion to do maximum damage. As soon as it is done, the next squadron marches up and blows even bigger holes in the enemy's line and morale. Three or four such waves take care of anything they can possibly throw at you.

Scorched earth is not really possible. (..) The most you could do is march on an enemies village, take it, but not hold it.

I understand. You would have to kill off all the peasants and mill workers before you defeat the militia, and the machine will not allow you to do that.

I would use light cavalry for these raids (Hussars light Dragoons and Ulhans). 2 squadrons preferably. They are fast enough to zip in take the village and be gone before and infantry regiment has been dispatched.

So you can actually divert enemy squadrons in this fashion? Excellent!

Pause is about the best way, but the enemy will not try to open more than 2 fronts.

Aha, so having three (and even, for a brief spell, four) simultaneous fronts was my own doing, and not CDV's.

Block houses, towers, kronwerks, forts, and fortresses are all for this task. Use these to funnel the enemy into one area where you mass your army. Classic territorial denial.

Speaking of which, how effective is a blockhouse/tower in stopping enemy advances. Can a tower block one enemy squad indefinitely? Two, maybe three? Can it block all sorts of squads or only inexperienced ones?

I'm a natural turtle in an RTS game, defense is my speciality.

I am also a natural turtle, but doing all sorts of agressive sports (scrimmage, some boxing, rugby, chess) has taught me to overcome this natural tendency and look for opportunities and risky combinations. My first inkling in my first skirmish was to erect all buildings in my home town, but then I slapped myself on the wrist and said: nope, put them in forward locations, as far up as you can.

C2 keeps me dreaming, too. Imagine in a couple of years we could have ourselves an RTS that combines C2 tactics with TW elements such as 3D graphics, an integrated campaign map and multiple battles in different fronts per turn.
I would barricade myself in my study for entire weekends.

Thanks again for your elaborate comments, Lars573.

[BDC]

Not as good as you'd think really. Plus no modding support and no real community or developer support.

Loads of bugs too.

Oh yes, and everyone just bundles into one spot and there is no penalty for this, which ruins it all.

And MP doesn't work.

[Adrian II]

Not as good as you'd think really. Plus no modding support and no real community or developer support. Loads of bugs too. Oh yes, and everyone just bundles into one spot and there is no penalty for this, which ruins it all. And MP doesn't work.

Exactly what game are you talking about, BDC?

[Templar Knight]

I find the road system annoying, but other than that it is a great sequel.

[Adrian II]

I find the road system annoying, but other than that it is a great sequel.

Whoda thunk his Lordship is a devoted Cossack as well? Pray tell me, Duart, how does one invest buildings with troops in this game? I have read somewhere that you can take over enemy buildings, but I have no clue as to how.

Am I chasing the proverbial scarlet clupeida?

[Templar Knight]

I dont think you can, other than forts, I believe they took out the garrison civilian buildings feature. However I havent played it for sometime so I may be wrong.

[Adrian II]

I dont think you can, other than forts, I believe they took out the garrison civilian buildings feature. However I havent played it for sometime so I may be wrong.

Maybe someone from a Cossacks forum strayed into a Cossacks II forum and set that red herring swimming.

[Templar Knight]

It might be possible. I haven't visited them for a while, I might pop in tonight...

[lars573]

Heh, sounds like a harrowing experience, somewhat akin to some of my battles in S:TW and M:TW.

Don't doubt it. BFE reminds me a good deal of TW battles.

Hats off for your clear thinking. Though one thing I don't get is why your Prussians did not trade wood, food or stone for coal. I just played a beta-version of my France vs Prussia skirmish, trying to improve on everything I did wrong the first time round. Went like a dream. I conquered five enemy villages and got myself like 45.000 food units, so I could trade food for coal and iron anytime. I built two TH and two stabled and kept pumping out Grenadiers and Mounted Dragoons so fast, Heinz didn't know what hit him. I made Sappers, too, and had them build and destroy stuff all the time to get the hang of it. And I developed my own tactic for Grenadiers. I put three squadrons one behind the other, the most experienced/highest moral squad first because it will take the most hits. I then have them march in waves at the enemy, one squadron moving up as the others are loading. Between your rifles and your grenades, each squadron has ample occasion to do maximum damage. As soon as it is done, the next squadron marches up and blows even bigger holes in the enemy's line and morale. Three or four such waves take care of anything they can possibly throw at you.

My tendency is to keep about 50-100 reserve infantry-men to the rear of my front line regiments. Lets me fill holes quickly. With out having to retreat them to a village to replenish numbers. If you put an infantry unit in a resource village they will replace losses over time. But in BFE that's not always possible. As you don't get regular skirmish/multiplayer resource collection. The Prussians may not have had a market to trade with, just villages.

I understand. You would have to kill off all the peasants and mill workers before you defeat the militia, and the machine will not allow you to do that.

Yes essentially. But as I said capturing a village removes all the workers.

So you can actually divert enemy squadrons in this fashion? Excellent!

Very much so. If you take an enemy village the AI will make efforts to retake it. And it's very stubborn.

Aha, so having three (and even, for a brief spell, four) simultaneous fronts was my own doing, and not CDV's.

Sort of, the AI will determine all the acess points into your base (the victory condition is the destuction of all town centers). Then they will probe all of them periodically and if they find a soft point throw their entire assault wave at it. The aim is to force you to spread yourself too thin.

Speaking of which, how effective is a blockhouse/tower in stopping enemy advances. Can a tower block one enemy squad indefinitely? Two, maybe three? Can it block all sorts of squads or only inexperienced ones?

A tower isn't very effective on it's own. My preferance is 2 block houses side by each with a tower lightly beind. Blockhouses fire musket volleys in very quick succession. They can decimate an infantry regiment in seconds and send them fleeing. An infantry regiment between two blockhouses is like meat in a grinder.

I am also a natural turtle, but doing all sorts of agressive sports (scrimmage, some boxing, rugby, chess) has taught me to overcome this natural tendency and look for opportunities and risky combinations. My first inkling in my first skirmish was to erect all buildings in my home town, but then I slapped myself on the wrist and said: nope, put them in forward locations, as far up as you can.

C2 keeps me dreaming, too. Imagine in a couple of years we could have ourselves an RTS that combines C2 tactics with TW elements such as 3D graphics, an integrated campaign map and multiple battles in different fronts per turn.
I would barricade myself in my study for entire weekends.

Thanks again for your elaborate comments, Lars573.

I make 2 sets of training buildings. My first inside my base, the second further afield. There is a mod right now for operation flashpoint that is set in the napoleonic era it makes squadrons of cavalry and infantry companies vehicles that you, an officer, "drives". All in very nice if 3 years old 3D graphics.

Whoda thunk his Lordship is a devoted Cossack as well? Pray tell me, Duart, how does one invest buildings with troops in this game? I have read somewhere that you can take over enemy buildings, but I have no clue as to how.

Am I chasing the proverbial scarlet clupeida?

I dont think you can, other than forts, I believe they took out the garrison civilian buildings feature. However I havent played it for sometime so I may be wrng.

You can capture buildings, except training buildings. But the second you do it's HP drop to half and it sets on fire. You need to repair anyone you want to keep with combat engineers. And while you can't garrison civilian buildings like Town centers or houses, you can garrison forts and their ilke.

[Efrem]

mmm this got me back into cossacks...

Great game! That Coal thingy that happened to your enemy happened to me last night and directly after I'd just won a huge battle that would have won me the map. :(

[Adrian II]

mmm this got me back into cossacks...

Great game! That Coal thingy that happened to your enemy happened to me last night and directly after I'd just won a huge battle that would have won me the map. :(

Heh, it's early days and I have not done a BFE yet, but I think I'm falling in love with the game. I will report back to your field quarters when I have something substantial to report, gentlemen.

[Androo]

There is a mod right now for operation flashpoint that is set in the napoleonic era it makes squadrons of cavalry and infantry companies vehicles that you, an officer, "drives".

That sounds a little weird, but kind of ingenious too. I haven't come across it at my usual haunts- do you happen to know where it might be found?

[lars573]

Not really sure but I could check.

[Templar Knight]

Is this the one Lars?

http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bi...ST;f=4;t=47446

[lars573]

Might be I'd have to see more shots. I saw units of a hundred men.

[Androo]

Templar Knight, that is a great link! In ten minutes there I found a bunch of promising mods and the fix for a problem I was having with the game. Awesome! (Note to self: check the official forum stupid.)

lars573: that probably was the Nap mod you were thinking of, but anyway no need for checking on my behalf- now I have got more than enough to be going on with...

[Templar Knight]

Templar Knight, that is a great link! In ten minutes there I found a bunch of promising mods and the fix for a problem I was having with the game. Awesome! (Note to self: check the official forum stupid.)

Great stuff, don't forget to let us know what they are like

[Androo]

Will do, but it might be awhile, since my list of games to try has lengthened considerably in the past month.

[Adrian II]

BFE reminds me a good deal of TW battles.

Yes, except the guy who arranged the voice-overs deserves to be shot at first light. Capturing a village in Cossacks II forces you through three accents. First you get the Oxbridge bloke telling you that you are 'approooaching the enemy willidge'. Next you get the American drill Sergeant roaring 'Sir, our troops 're under fahr!' Finally, to top it all off Herr Flick from the Gestapo informs you that 'ouhr troops have captured ze village!' Ugh. But I love the other sounds, and you are right that this game provides some tremendous battles. I use up to 4000 men in the skirmishes, and the numbers are still rising without ctd's, only the occasional one-second freeze.

My tendency is to keep about 50-100 reserve infantry-men to the rear of my front line regiments. Lets me fill holes quickly.

Yes, I also make use of an army train now, which includes peasants and small groups of Sappers (three or four) for repairs, as well as stray artillery crew and horsemen to stuff freshly hit units.

If you take an enemy village the AI will make efforts to retake it. And it's very stubborn.

I find the AI less predictable than I thought I would. I save my skirmish scenarios halfway, and then successively try different ways to resolve them, and the AI's strategy is never the same either. It makes good use of holes in your territorial defense and sends the horsies on interesting cavalcades behind your lines, causing you to lose a precious Cannon or closing down your coal producing village when you least appreciate it. Excellent. It seems to be tactically sophisticated as well, using attack waves and weaving movements that nearly always give its lines excellent firing angles while its Cavalry really provokes your infantry into imprudent moves or premature firing orders. I like that.

My preference is 2 block houses side by side with a tower lightly behind. Blockhouses fire musket volleys in very quick succession. They can decimate an infantry regiment in seconds and send them fleeing. An infantry regiment between two blockhouses is like meat in a grinder.

All true of course, except for the bugs. I hate the way Towers and Forts keep banging away at 'enemy' Packhorses like there is no tomorrow. Last night I ordered a hair-raising Cavalry charge and watched it go down the drain because of this. It might just have succeeded (judging by the enemy morale stats) with a bit of Cannon support, but the nearby Kronwerk I had counted on was too busy pumping lead into some ******* workhorse three miles down the next dirt trail. That is annoying, to say the least. I also had to blow up my own Fort once because it kept firing at some unseen 'enemy' target hidden from my view by a (friendly) town building. I sent a Cavalry unit to investigate and get rid of it, but they stood idly by whilst the Fort went on spreading my precious iron all across the neighbourhood. One Cannon shot every ten seconds was becoming much too costly and I had my Sappers tear it down. Never knew what 'bugged' it. But I take the bugs in my stride, they come with every game and so far none of them is insuperable.

Great game.

[lars573]

Yes, except the guy who arranged the voice-overs deserves to be shot at first light. Capturing a village in Cossacks II forces you through three accents. First you get the Oxbridge bloke telling you that you are 'approooaching the enemy willidge'. Next you get the American drill Sergeant roaring 'Sir, our troops 're under fahr!' Finally, to top it all off Herr Flick from the Gestapo informs you that 'ouhr troops have captured ze village!' Ugh. But I love the other sounds, and you are right that this game provides some tremendous battles. I use up to 4000 men in the skirmishes, and the numbers are still rising without ctd's, only the occasional one-second freeze.

Others have said that the game gets unstable as you approach the upper limits of the number of units on screen. Also the voices are some Ukrainian guy trying to pull off a north american accent, with mixed results.

Yes, I also make use of an army train now, which includes peasants and small groups of Sappers (three or four) for repairs, as well as stray artillery crew and horsemen to stuff freshly hit units.

You can re-crew a gun with any infantry that happens to be near by. Musketeers are my most common new gunners.

I find the AI less predictable than I thought I would. I save my skirmish scenarios halfway, and then successively try different ways to resolve them, and the AI's strategy is never the same either. It makes good use of holes in your territorial defense and sends the horsies on interesting cavalcades behind your lines, causing you to lose a precious Cannon or closing down your coal producing village when you least appreciate it. Excellent. It seems to be tactically sophisticated as well, using attack waves and weaving movements that nearly always give its lines excellent firing angles while its Cavalry really provokes your infantry into imprudent moves or premature firing orders. I like that.

Rushers don't like C2 because they get pwned good and quick. Turtles win the day. Also I swear the AI is programmed with real Napoleonic battle tactic and to use them. Also an experienced infantry regiment can take a frontal assault by light cavalry. The AI just loves to throw away the lives of it's horsie mans.

All true of course, except for the bugs. I hate the way Towers and Forts keep banging away at 'enemy' Packhorses like there is no tomorrow. Last night I ordered a hair-raising Cavalry charge and watched it go down the drain because of this. It might just have succeeded (judging by the enemy morale stats) with a bit of Cannon support, but the nearby Kronwerk I had counted on was too busy pumping lead into some ******* workhorse three miles down the next dirt trail. That is annoying, to say the least. I also had to blow up my own Fort once because it kept firing at some unseen 'enemy' target hidden from my view by a (friendly) town building. I sent a Cavalry unit to investigate and get rid of it, but they stood idly by whilst the Fort went on spreading my precious iron all across the neighbourhood. One Cannon shot every ten seconds was becoming much too costly and I had my Sappers tear it down. Never knew what 'bugged' it. But I take the bugs in my stride, they come with every game and so far none of them is insuperable.

Great game.

Your fort was probably shooting a life-stock or a deer. For some reason they are comsidered the enemy, or dinner not sure which.

[Adrian II]

Others have said that the game gets unstable as you approach the upper limits of the number of units on screen.

I learn every day. I think the 'large' screen freezes when 'clogged up' with large active units, i.e. at least ten such units. So I use F7 to switch from 'large' to 'small' screen for close action, then back to 'large' when the action is over. I found that above 3000 troops the game becomes essentially unmanageable, not technically but tactically speaking. The game is simply too rich in detail and there is too much going on off-screen to keep track of as you should, unless you use Pause every three seconds which interrupts the flow.

Someone should come up with a mathematical formula for game manageability. You simply can't handle a dynamic, detailed game like this above, let us say, the regimental level. Personally I have never looked forward to a game involving 48,000 or 64,000 strong armies. I hate Scrabble..

You can re-crew a gun with any infantry that happens to be near by. Musketeers are my most common new gunners.

Another thing I did not know. I have had gunnery replacements in my army trains for three nights now, but I realise never really knew where they came from... Why doesn't this game have its own Frogbeastegg-guide where you can find snippets like that?

Rushers don't like C2 because they get pwned good and quick. Turtles win the day.

This is decidedly a non-'shooter'. There is beauty in the sort of reticence that is required if you want to win. Hold your fire, stand your ground, don't move unless you have to or the coast has been cleared. Bring your Cannon up carefully under cover from your Rifles, have it demolish that enemy Tower at its leasure, then rush in your Cavalry for that quick hit thinking all the while how and where you are going to retreat them afterwards.

Your fort was probably shooting a life-stock or a deer. For some reason they are considered the enemy, or dinner not sure which.

I have made some discrete inquiries. It turns out the Gunnery Sergeant had fallen in love with a village girl who refused his overtures, so he bombed her parents' abode. A good man, but a complete moron and far past his prime. He has been honourably discharged from His Imperial Majesty's service.

[Tribesman]

Why doesn't this game have its own Frogbeastegg-guide where you can find snippets like that?
Yeah that is certainly missing , just found out that you can capture and reman the enemies artillery which certainly saves on the building expense.
Good game , does anyone find that the BFE game is a hell of a lot easier than the skirmish game ?

[Adrian II]

Good game

Et tu, Brute?

(..) just found out that you can capture and reman the enemies artillery which certainly saves on the building expense.

Hmm! So I just march some Infantry over to the two dozen odd pieces I captured last night, click 'reman' and Bob's my self-appointed Emperor? You have just provided a Dutch armchair strategist with a promising vision..

Teh old-fashioned artillery barrage!!!

[frogbeastegg]

Why doesn't this game have its own Frogbeastegg-guide where you can find snippets like that?

Hehe! I've thought the same thing myself several times, most recently with civ 4.

[Adrian II]

Hehe! I've thought the same thing myself several times, most recently with civ 4.

Ah! If only mylady would lead the flower of .Org manhood into these battles, we would be Napoleons and Wellingtons and Blüchers all!

Seriously, this game yields its secrets only to the most diligent sapper. I shall never, ever understand why so many developers or publishers make such poor jobs of the accompanying guides and instruction booklets. To the true developer it must feel like putting your love child up for adoption with a chit that says 'Feed and water three times a day'.

Anyway, this was originally a review thread - it is alright if I continue to hijack it for the occasional discussion of Cossacks II issues, Frogbeastegg?

If that is so, I have yet another question: why and how does one employ Limber in the transport of Cannon? Is it worth producing the snazzy four-in-hands?

[Androo]

From the sublime (this discussion so far) to the ridiculous (my question). But here it is anyway...

Becoming more and more intrigued by what is being said here about this game, I checked out the screens available at ign and came across this one. What the heck is going on in it??? Is there an rpg or character element to this game???

Curiouser and curiouser...