I'm converted

[Mujalumbo]

So you enjoy MTW more than the newer RTW, huh? Don't worry, just relax and enjoy it, it's perfectly normal to feel scared and confused... :)

I just have to echo the sentiments made by earlier posters; when you're comfortable with the game, do try out one of the many mods: BKB's SuperMod, XL, MedMod, there's even an ancient mod called Hellenic Total War (though, I do wish the map was bigger and the units more balanced, but, c'est le vie.)

Don't forget to read the MTW guides if you're stuck; I've found them to be a superb resource. To paraphrase another poster, the game's starting difficulty levels have been rendered moot simply because a specific set of opening moves have been developed and perfected for each faction. Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't new things to try.

For instance, start up as the Turks, gather all your troops together and just leave. Start a steppe empire in the area above the Black Sea. Or keep going and boot the Danes out of Scandanavia. Or muscle your way through Egypt and set up shop in North Africa. Conversely, have you ever heard about an English empire based in the steppes? No? Try it out!

Edit:
Zarax's mod, too. I'm sure there's a few others I haven't mentioned, and I apologize to said mod developers in advance.

[TwinMfg]

I accidentally stumbled across MTW- and man, am I glad that I did (unlike my wife). I was searching for a manageable realtime combat game and found the RTW demo. Oh, how cool, I thought. Then: Bummer, my PC can't handle it. Guess I'll have to settle for MTW. Well, after reading some the posts here, I was thankful for an old PC. Now, how many times does THAT happen?

The guides are good. Perhaps a little too good, so I would caution you to not use them until you absolutely need to. Frog's unit guide is good to read for understanding unit strengths/weaknesses, etc. A must read while your game is being shipped to you.

But don't make the mistake of reading the faction guides while waiting like I did. The best fun is selecting a faction and learning its strengths/weaknesses the hard way. Reading the faction guides ruins that fun; therefore I was forced to install a mod earlier than I should have so I could have a greater challenge. In short, don't read the faction guides unless you're really stuck.

[kiwitt]

I love MTW so much I have two original VI expansion disks, so If one ever gets too damaged in play, I can always use the other. Only the original MTW is for loading the game. I echo the others. MedMod, XL and other mods, extend the game so well.

We don't need an upgrade to MTW, just another mod. Long may it live.

[TonkaToys]

I accidentally stumbled across MTW- and man, am I glad that I did (unlike my wife).

Do you mean you are glad that you stumbled across MTW but your wife is not so happy about it...
Or you are glad that you stumbled across MTW but not glad you stumbled across your wife?


MTW is fantastic.

[Roark]

Most wives hate MTW...

I'm on an involuntary program... 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off...

[TwinMfg]

Do you mean you are glad that you stumbled across MTW but your wife is not so happy about it...
Or you are glad that you stumbled across MTW but not glad you stumbled across your wife?


MTW is fantastic.

Oh, please, oh please, don't let my wife see this! I'd be sleepin' with the dogs for a year. In case you do see it, allow me to clarify, my lil' cactus flower: I MEANT OPTION #1!!!!

[Roark]

Psst... Dude... Do you think she bought it?

[Azi Tohak]

Man...now I need to get back playing it. But my RPGs do take lots of time...

Azi

[PittBull260]

Mtw Is 30223060207240711346430876086 Times Better Than Rtw........period!

[edyzmedieval]

Looks like men prefer MTW than their wives and girlfriends!!!!

[King of Atlantis]

Mtw Is 30223060207240711346430876086 Times Better Than Rtw........period!

man thats a lot better.

[drone]

Looks like men prefer MTW than their wives and girlfriends!!!!

Before RTW came out, I was telling my girlfriend about it, how cool it looks, all the options. I think she was genuinely scared of it. Now I'm back on MTW, which she had already built up a loathing for. Basically, women don't think you should be able to have fun without them, and hate anything that accomplishes that goal.

[Azi Tohak]

Before RTW came out, I was telling my girlfriend about it, how cool it looks, all the options. I think she was genuinely scared of it. Now I'm back on MTW, which she had already built up a loathing for. Basically, women don't think you should be able to have fun without them, and hate anything that accomplishes that goal.

But the things we want to do most with them (most of the time)...sometimes they have a headache. Isn't this our equivalent?

"Sorry honey, these #$@* (insert random annoying faction here)_________ just stabbed me in the back. I need to teach them for their temerity. Go ahead and talk about __________ without me."

Maybe this is why I don't have a girlfriend...hummmm....

Azi

[DensterNY]

I accidentally stumbled across MTW- and man, am I glad that I did (unlike my wife)...

The guides are good. Perhaps a little too good, so I would caution you to not use them until you absolutely need to... Frog's unit guide is good to read for understanding unit strengths/weaknesses, etc. A must read while your game is being shipped to you.

But don't make the mistake of reading the faction guides while waiting like I did. The best fun is selecting a faction and learning its strengths/weaknesses the hard way. Reading the faction guides ruins that fun; therefore I was forced to install a mod earlier than I should have so I could have a greater challenge. In short, don't read the faction guides unless you're really stuck.

Two comments... First, I know what you mean about MTW and how your significant other can't understand the attraction and joy of the game. Where else can a man feel the joy of conquest and empire building? In his cubicle or corner office? hehe...

Second, I understand where you're coming from with your suggestion not to read the guides because they are very, very good... I remember playing my first game straight out of the box and getting slaughtered and making all sorts of poor investment and strategic choices... it was kinda fun stumbling around like a bumbling idiot trying to figure things out but that got old kinda fast.

Once I read Frogbeastegg's guide there was no stopping me... and I look at it this way... Think about a king or up and coming prince and the training and schooling involved in making them a worthy monarch. They are schooled in warface, the intrigue of politics and the economics of the nation and anything else that may be needed to rule.

[Roark]

I've only just started playing on Hard, unmodded, in Medieval period, and I still have a really tough time with the economics of Viking Era. I think it'll be a long time before I have to learn how to mod...

[Pericles]

Yup, MTW:VI is the best!

In my current game (as Turks, very hard, early, GA), I gave all other factions 500,000 florins, and now, in the year, 1335, I have the super powers Mongols, Byz, and Egyptians on all sides of me (I'm currently in 4th place in GA points).

I've had some truly spectacular battles: the Byzs and I have fought over Nicea numerous times with some massive, bloody battles. The Byzs have 7-8 command-level leaders, and massive troop levels, while I have had to continually hire mercenaries and launch Jihads, in order to keep attacking them.

Like two punch-drunk boxers we fought over Nicea almost non-stop for years... I was determined to kick them out and retain that province.

Finally, the Golden Horde started to advance south towards the Byzs and they finally called off their attacks to deal with the Horde.

I was exhausted... but it was bloody great fun...

And I would also suggest for people not to read the guides (unless you are really stuck). Learning the game, losing, and trying new strategies, is what this game is all about...

Cheers!

[yesdachi]

In my current game (as Turks, very hard, early, GA), I gave all other factions 500,000 florins, and now, in the year, 1335, I have the super powers Mongols, Byz, and Egyptians on all sides of me (I'm currently in 4th place in GA points).

that would be some sweet ransom $ if you could catch an AI king

[EatYerGreens]

that would be some sweet ransom $ if you could catch an AI king

Does that mean that ransoms are not absolute amounts but dependent on how much the faction has in the bank at the time? Interesting....

Incidentally, I was looking at my last battle logfile today. I was initially puzzled to see figures for "Initial cost of unit", whereby the general's Katank unit was listed as initial cost of 3568, or some such, whilst previously unbattled units showed exactly their proper purchase price.

I eventually twigged that valour accrued by individuals within units from previous battles plus things like armour upgrades caused their Intial cost to be similarly uprated. I guess this is handy knowledge for when I eventually attempt multiplayer (*) but, for now, I'm wondering if it's factored into the ransom value of the units you capture?

* - I need to practice with the purchasing screen for a while so as not to waste the time of other players, who all likely know what they're doing, what to buy, how to upgrade it and so on...would custom battle mode be the best place to practice that?

[Martok]

that would be some sweet ransom $ if you could catch an AI king

Yeah, you can get some pretty insane ransoms from kings, princes, and jedi generals. I've been paid as much as 30,000 florins for a single guy before (although most factions can rarely afford such an amount).

Of course, on the flip side, I've had to pay a pretty hefty sum for some of my boys who get captured. One game I where I was playing as the Spanish, I had conquered the Iberian peninsula and the Almohad Caliphate, and had set my sights on establishing an empire around the Mediterranean. Doing this meant destroying the Sicilians (which I was more than happy to do since they're backstabbing bastards anyway ). Leading the invasion was my mediocre crown prince (4 loyalty, 6 piety, 3 dread, 2 stars, and 5 acumen). I had hopes that this war with the Sicilians would either kill him, or make a man out of him. Although I couldn't have known at the time, this turned out to be a grave error on my part.

I took out the Sicilians quickly enough, but then things started to go wrong. First of all, I was excommunicated. This wouldn't have been so bad, however, except for one thing: My 8-influence, 7-star uber-king unexpectedly died (he was only 49) right as my crown prince--who had actually been improving--was leading an attack on the Pope (so as to cancel my excommunication).

Then the worst happened: My crown prince, who was now suddenly the king (although he didn't know it yet), was captured in battle with the Papal armies. Since I had no direct heirs of age yet (only royal uncles and little brothers that were too young), letting him be executed would've plunged my empire into civil war. And I wanted to keep him in any case--he now had 9 influence, 8 piety, 6 dread, 4 stars, and 7 acumen (he picked up the trait that gives +2 to both piety and acumen).

The ransom demanded for him? 55,000 florins. I paid it, but doing so ate up over half my cash reserves.....

[yesdachi]

The ransom demanded for him? 55,000 florins. I paid it, but doing so ate up over half my cash reserves.....

That is a pretty huge ransom and it was all because of the Sicilians. I have never had a lasting alliance with them and when ever I reach them in the water they almost always start a fight . The rats won’t even roll over in 2 years to save you an excom .

[Pericles]

that would be some sweet ransom $ if you could catch an AI king

I'll say that's for sure...

But they are tough to beat on the battlefield.

Those 8 and 9 star generals are worth getting back. One Byz general had only one infantry and 4 Kat units and whupped my butt, even though I had triple the forces available...

[VikingHorde]

It's funny how much fun MTW is compaired with RTW. I tryed a few mounths to give RTW another go, but MTW is just more fun. I don't think im going to play RTW untill BI comes out in the shops, so untill then its MTW time. Im currently playing as the Byz (my fav.)/high XL and it's great fun to rebuild the Byzantine Empire.

[Martok]

That is a pretty huge ransom and it was all because of the Sicilians. I have never had a lasting alliance with them and when ever I reach them in the water they almost always start a fight . The rats won’t even roll over in 2 years to save you an excom .

Yes, I also hate the Sicilians (with the fire of a thousand supernovas). I despise them more than any other faction in the entire game, including the Turks. (No offense to the MTW players of Sicilian and Turkish descent out there; I just don't like dealing with your ancestors from 900 years ago. ) I usually make a point of destroying them as soon as it's practical to do so. This is when it's nice to play as the Italians or the Pope (I have Medieval installed with the XL mod).

Despite the Sicilians and the Pope, however, I really had no one to blame but myself for letting my Crown Prince get captured like that. Having him engage in that particular battle was admittedly of questionable intelligence to begin with. I was outnumbered approximately 3-to-1, which was risky enough (although I had the better general and higer-quality units). My biggest mistake, however, came during the battle against the Papal army. After gaining the upper hand in the opening stages of the engagement, the tide of battle gradually turned against me as the Pope's reinforcements gradually wore down my men. I eventually realized victory was no longer possible and I gave the order to withdraw, but it was already too late. In what turned out to be one of my most humiliating defeats I've ever suffered playing MTW, the Vatican's forces ran down my crown prince and captured him along with his knights.

And yes, 55,000 florins is a huge ransom--a hefty price to pay for my pride and arrogance. Nice to know this game can still teach me lessons in humility, even after all this time.

[Babij]

Heh, well I guess I'd better tell you my conversion story then...

It all started a year ago, when I bought RTW, hearing that it was a great game. It sure was, I spent about the next 3 months on it continuously. I loved playing as the Roman Legions and fighting the barbarians to the north. Anyway, after I had just started getting familiar with the game, my game broke. Yep, it turns out my mum came in and saw the state of my room. Being the lumbering fool she was, she started sweeping things off of desks and broke one of the RTW CDs!

I was quite upset about that, but because I was nice I didn't tell my mum that she broke it, so I had to save up for a new copy myself. Anyway, while all that was happening, I stumbled across MTW at some electronics shop. Since I love buying old games because they only cost 10$, and I had heard that this game was good, I bought it. I tell you now, this is the single best strategy game I have ever played. I'm serious, the only thing that competes with it is Civilisation III. As it turns out, I found MTW to be better than RTW. There were literally no glitches I could find with this game, while in RTW I was always careful about certain actions. i.e, charging soldiers across bridges, cramming soldiers on top of walls and the fact that pikes were almost invincible from the front annoyed me.

So I started my first campaign as the English, and played it through to a minor victory. I didn't restart at a single point. From the point from which I didn't have a clue what was going on, to where I was very much experienced with this game, and it was the greatest campaign I ever played. Anyway, after that, I experimented a bit, usually doing half a campaign as other factions and in different ages, then restarting, at the same time reading guides and learning how to trade and build.

Then I went in for another full campaign, this time as the Byzantines. I spent several hours previously modding several things to my taste, such as messing around with the power and ammo of archers until I came up with a mod that I was quite satisfied with. I also reduced unit size from huge to large, as it took too long to build units in huge. Then I was ready, this time with a plan. Now I'm about 30% into my game as the Byzantines and enjoying every bit of it.

Playing as them is definately different to the English. It seems much more varied being in between the desert, snow and forests. Byzantine Infantry are great in an army, and I've had many satisfying experiences with horse archers. Naptha Throwers have also proven themselves worthy of being in any decent army, capable of saving my troops in a last stand, and two units once succeeded in routing a large army almost completely on their own. Any unit you direct them towards will be rendered incapable of combat.

Uh, so that's my MTW conversion story. The whole religion thing definitely makes things interesting, and the Pope also mixes things up. I'm also yet to see the AI do something stupid! I have to say it again, MTW is the greatest strategy game I have ever played, and I'm delighted to see such a great community of people who agree with me.