Pausing in Battle - Cheap or not?

[Cowhead418]

I know this is a topic that has been discussed before, but I want to know if pausing in battle is considered in your opinion to be a way of "cheating". When I first played this game I almost never used it, but now I find myself using it a lot in my battles and I wish I didn't have to.

My problem is that I find it hard to control a large army, especially when the battle gets hairy. I like big battles as much as anyone, but I generally like smaller battles because that means more control. I use pause when I want to issue orders to all my men at the same time. When I want five or six units to each charge at a different enemy unit at the same time, it would be impossible to achieve without first pausing the game. Since my units are so dim-witted (I have had several battles where I can't give a unit an order in time and they are slaughtered by a charging enemy unit) and can't really act on their own I find it hard to control them all in the thick of battle. This is especially true when my army is divided or split up all over the map (usually after chasing routers), as it becomes impossible to control two different areas on the battlefield at the same time.

Is it wrong for me to pause the game? Am I acting too much against reality because of the ability to stop time and assess the situation (which I try not to do too much when I pause)? Any advice on how to effectively control a larger army?

[NodachiSam]

With the frame rate I get sometimes, its a necessity. I only play single player though. If you do mulitplayer, it is better practice to not use pause, otherwise, it doesn't matter.

[Roark]

I don't play online, and I like to conduct my battles with some elegance and precision, so... yeah, I use it.

[Weebeast]

It's cheap. Even the game is cheap; only $19.99 on Amazon.com. OK my jokes aren't funny.

Of course it's not cheap to pause when playing a game like this. In reality you give order by shouting or whatever they used back in the days, not by clicking mouse. AI doesn't feel burdened by controlling 16 'bodies' at the same time unlike human player.

As for MP, I've never seen somebody pausing games lol. I guess it's cheap in a sense that your opponent can't really do the same. Plus, it'll be irritating to wait for it. Pausing will not work on MP especially when we really 'compete.'

[Loucipher]

I do not object to using "pause" feature when playing against A.I. No matter what machine you own, it is probably fast enough to outsquawk you million to one as far as issuing commands is concerned. So, in these dense moments where you have to issue loads of commands at once, why not just hit "Pause" button and make a quick battlefield review before issuing another batch of commands?
Plus, I have discovered that the lousy A.I. does not actually let you issue commands when paused - each time you issue an order, the clock advances a bit! You can see it for yourself - hit "Pause" in any battle and try to issue any unit an order. You'll notice that this unit (as well as any other) moves for a split-sec!
All that said, why not think of the "Pause" feature as the only way to keep up with that wily processor of yours?
Quite other issue with Multiplayer, though. In MP battles, I'd rather object to the "Pause" feature, unless both players had agreed on the use of it. My reason why is that you aren't trying to outsmart the A.I. (which is just a nonaligned arbiter), but the other player. He may not necessarily like it. The workaround for this would be setting up waypoints for all units prior to the battle and then controlling each unit in turn whether or not it is performing up to your battle plan, making corrections "on the fly". Once you get used to it, you might find that you don't even need "Pause" feature when plaing against A.I. (which tends to play more schematically and is therefore more susceptible to the "ingenious" human battle strategies).

[Ciaran]

The pause button works in MP battles? I wouldn´t know, I´ve never played MP.

[Matty]

Yep, pausing is cheap. OK, so the AI can process commands in the blink of an eye but on the other hand its an idiot. Even with 16 units to command you have enough time to implement your battle plan and make corrective actions - and if you don't, you've been beaten by a better opponent! Having HA at the other side of the field can be a little distracting as they need a certain amount of micro management but its all possible.

[Budwise]

I say its fair, computer can micromanage every unit at once all the time. You can't, so make it fair.

[matteus the inbred]

Yeah, i don't have a problem with it...in 'real life' your units and commanders would know what to do to a greater degree than the initiative they show in game when not under your direct control. Overall orders did take time to relay, using runners or messengers, but individual commanders could act independently.

It's still historically accurate for silly things to happen...like the Saxon fyrd falling for the Norman feigned retreats at Hastings. but the pause button puts you onlevel footing with the AI. That said, i barely ever use it, only when i've accidentally selected my entire army and clicked for them to about face just as the enemy's knights begin to charge...!

Perhaps it would be nice in MTW II to see better trained or more elite units reacting noticeably faster and more effectively to orders than untrained, impetuous or lower level ones...?