New to MTW

[Jxrc]

Really an amazing game that I re-discovered a while ago after more than a year interruption. Played it for ages with loads of fun and now most Saturday's have become MTW-days again (should get a life ... next week I will ).

Only tip I would give is not to go trough all the manual and post on this site too early. Of course you will find loads of very useful info but it will be much more fun to discover all by yourself (and believe me you will discover quite a lot of it even if it is the hard way). Should perhaps experiment a bit before checking everything in here.

I remember my first assault of Ireland with my Danish king ... Did it once , was a hell of a fight getting the piece of my kingdom together afterwards but it was a lot of fun ... Attacking a small army with a six stars commander with a large one lead by a two stars unhinged loon was also a nasty surprise but I learned ... First encounters with the AUM is also a fond memory ... in a way ....

This was my first game as the Danes, I only got a minor victory in 1428 (60% of the map)... Not because I had chosen to turtle for 200 years but because that is the best I could do ...

So enjoy your first games they are the one the more rewarding when you eventually ( ) get a grip on them ... Just my two cents on this, anyone can of course do as he sees fit

[Martok]

Nice game, Quickening! It's actually been quite some time since anyone's posted an English campaign, so reading yours is kind of a treat.

You're doing pretty well, so the only advice I offer right now is to emphasize what drone said: The number of command stars the opposing generals have makes a huge difference. Invading Scotland with just a 0-star commander, it's small wonder you were smacked around--twice. Don't feel bad, though! That's one lesson that many of us--including yours truly--learned the hard way....

[Quickening]

Thanks everyone! You have all been immensely helpful and inspiring.
I don't like to know a game inside and out by reading the manual and looking on forums. I like to figure things out for myself as Jxrc said. I think Im really beginning to get the hang of it now
Im still having loads of fun with this game and here is the next part of my journal. Hope you enjoy!


PART 3: THE FALL OF SCOTLAND


Knowing better than to underestimate the Scots again I spent over a decade training an army of tough infantry and longbowmen. As soon as they were ready, I marched them to Scotland...



There was a standoff for sometime. The Scottish army consisted entirely of Infantry and so my hope was that they would come straight for me and be worn down by my longbowmen before being chewed up by my own infantry. But they were wiser than this and waited for me to make the first move. And so I did. I ordered all my infantry to march forward with the intent on luring the Scots back within bowshot.



The Scots did not infact begin their approach. Instead they began to move their force to higher ground thinking that I will attack them uphill. However I have learnt better than this and to order my Infantry back to where they were.



Now I order a regiment of longbowmen forward. Since this Scottish army consists entirely of infantry they can either stand and take the damage from missiles or move forward to attack. Once again I plan to lure them into a pitched battle on my terms by doing this. I figure that even if it goes horribly wrong, I can afford to lose one regiment although Id rather not.



The archers reach the foot of the hill and prepare to fire up into the hapless Scots. But wait... is that rain I feel?



Typical. Just at the wrong moment the heavens open up and it begins to rain heavily thus making my archers mission doubly difficult. Nevertheless the Scots, after tolerating a considerable amount of missile fire begin to descend the hill.



And so my archers begin the final stage of their mission and begin to flee back to the safety of my army with the Scottish force at their back.



With a regiment of raging clansmen literally on their heels my brave regiment makes it within range of their fellow longbowmen and the plan is a success!



And so the first mob of clansmen is consumed by my troops. I took no chances with them and threw diciplined combat to the dogs. I just swarmed them. And as they died my longbowmen fired upon the following Scots which were about to suffer the same fate.



As the clansmen battle my soldiers I try to keep my archers at a distance whilst still doing some damage and trying my best to ensure that they don't hit my own men. The enemy's force is spread too far apart. Divide and conquer. Despite the Scots coming at me one regiment at a time they are giving my force a surprisingly hard time.



Finally I break the Scots and those that can turn to flee. I order my archers to shoot them as they run to make sure that they won't be finding their courage and returning to the fray.



Once the routers lay dead I ordered my longbowmen to charge the Scots rear and engage in melee combat.



At last it becomes clear that the battle is won. Despite the Scots falling for my plan they did much more damage than I would have thought. The day however, is mine.



Now all that remains is to chase those few who managed to escape the combat over the hills. This wasn't necessary but I was determined to kill as many as possible.



My general, Sir William Longchamp gained a vice for killing the prisoners captured during the battle thus increasing how much folk dread him. This will be very useful for ruling over this rebellious little country.



A handful of the rebel force escaped however and sought refuge at Edinburgh which at this point is a mere fort. This siege did not last long before my remaining force slaughtered the inhabitants.



And so it was...



By holding down the shift key you can see in colour code how rebellious your provinces are with green being "not at all" and red being "very". As you can see Scotland still has some potential fight in her but with a strong garrison and some low taxes I am confident of keeping her reasonably content.

[Jxrc]

Thanks for the nice read.

Far more refreshing than the usual "I am the king of kings of medieval wars- look how good I am and whorship me" that you sometimes find.

From what I have seen you indeed now got a mastered some of the main concepts of the game ... I am also pretty sure the game's got quite a few bad surprises in reserve for you but don't be discouraged when they happen because they are basically bound to anyway. Moreover that what makes it so great when you finally, after a few or lots of "incomprehensible" defeats (even perhaps a few moment of insane yelling at your computer that "it cheats" ... shameful moments .... even hit my own screen once or twice ) get the idea that will enable you to deal with the problem and get you revenge from that " f.... cheating doublecrossing machine"

Would almost envy you

[Martok]

Nice battle, Q. Good to see you getting the hang of the game (although as you've discovered, the enemy can still surprise you!).

Giving Sir William Longchamp the crown of Scotland was an especially nice move, btw. There's nothing like a governor with high dread to help keep the locals in line.


In regards to myself, I'll hopefully have something to post this evening when I get home. I just started a Portuguese campaign last night (XL mod), although I haven't really done anything yet. I've built up an army that's ready to take a province or two, but I have yet to decide who my target should be.

As a good Catholic, I know I ought to go after the Muslim Almoravids. They're much more powerful than myself, however, and a war with them could quickly lead to my downfall. On the other hand, I have a decent chance of taking out Castille-Leon if I act quickly. Ah, decisions, decisions....

[Quickening]

It will be great to read others campains!

Here's a question, what replay value does Medieval have?
I mean, what is set in stone to happen and what is not?

For example Im playing as the English in the High period. I sent a general across the sea to attack Norway. The rebels there decided not to fight and fled.

Now, if I started a new game as the English in the High period and did the exact thing, would the rebels always flee?

It would be great to think that everything in the game is kind of random so that when you play it it is different!

Incidently I chased those rebels into Sweden and beat them there. Two provinces for the price of one battle I love this game.

[macsen rufus]

Hey Q, nice going.

what replay value does Medieval have?

If you start a new game you'll certainly get different results - the AI will take different decisions, your characters will develop differently - heck, even different weather could change things!

As for Norway - if the rebels pulled back because they were seriously outnumbered, they'd do the same a second time. If it was touch and go, then repeating the turn might give you a different result.

An example - last night I replayed a year in my current Irish VI campaign. I launched attacks on three Mercian provinces in one go - at first I auto-resolved the first battle - won with massive losses on both sides, Mercians withdrew from the other two battles, abandonning both provinces (I don't usually auto battles, I just wanted to switch the machine off, go to the pub and fight battles properly later!)

When I relaunched the year, I fought the first battle, won with few casualties as the Mercians didn't put up much of a fight, so more survivors on both sides. Result: the other two provinces I attacked stood and fought instead of withdrawing....

So fairly small differences can affect even how the very same turn is resolved. A new game will be sure to be different, and I find it very replayable indeed (which is why I'm still on the same favourite game after a few years -- no other game has stayed fresh more than a few months for me -- this is what makes MTW so unique, IMHO).

[Quickening]

That is great news!

I can see myself playing this game for years to come in that case!

Here's the next stage in England's conquest of Europe.


PART 4: POLITICS AND THE NORSE


With Britain and Ireland secured I was at a loss what to do next. Tired of conquest I decided to focus on building up my economy. I had no enemies and didn't really want any. That doesn't mean I still can't influence world events from behind the scenes...



As the years passed I received some good news! It doesn't really matter but it is certainly nice to know.



So the Papacy has fallen... good! Tired of being asked to help out in the Pope's crusades when I have more immediate worries.



Then disaster struck. My Generals in Britain began being killed one by one by an assassin! I lost a lot of good men. He must have killed about seven before he was finally caught in Scotland.



With Scotland appeased and far from ever rebelling again, I decided to find new lands to conquer. I didn't want to start a war on the continent where the powerful French, German and other European nations would be very difficult to overcome.
But as I was expanding my dominion over the oceans for the benefits of trade, I noticed that Norway and Sweden were both under rebel rule. I immediately dispatched an army to take these lands before my enemies did.



For the first time, my opponents decided that they could not win and so the rebels fled from Norway into Sweden thus giving me the country without a fight.



It may have been wise to bide my time and ensure that Norway was firmly under my rule before attacking Sweden but I decided that it would be best to strike while the iron was hot. This time, the rebels did not flee and I met them on the battlefield. It would have been wise of them to flee however since my army included a few regiments of powerful Royal Knights.



The Norsemen are hard opponents. But not so hard that they will stand against the charge of heavy cavalry from every direction.



It wasn't long at all before they broke and fled and being on foot, not one of them escaped my riders as they chased them down.



And so two more lands were mine for next to no effort. Over the years there were several extremely minor rebellions in Norway and Sweden but they were swiftly crushed. In the present day, there is a strong military presense in both countries and the people seem content enough.

Across the sea there is another rebel ruled province. But I think I shall leave it be for now. I feel safer on my islands and my presence may anger the neighbouring Russians.
For now, I shall look after my provinces and make sure all is in order. Im not a warmonger. I'll wait until someone has a problem with me before I crush them.

[Jesenjin]

Nice playing for a begginer I must say.... Keep it up!!!
But I myself would advise you to play from Early with either Danish or Sicilians If you want some challenge... I have never really won Medieaval because i play it this way but it is rather enjoying thougt to build something from scratch and to build it sucesfully.....

[Martok]

I'm definitely enjoying your campaign, Q. Keep it up! You should consider posting this in the Pics & History of your Empire thread as well. You certainly don't have to, of course; although you might get more of an audience if you did.

A pity that assassin killed so many of your men before finally being caught; I don't think I've ever seen an AI assassin be that successful before. Have you not built border forts at all, and/or stationed spies in your provinces?

Oh, and I'll also let you in on a little piece of information that you may find slightly useful: Whenever you get one of those messages saying you have the best/ most of something (happiest people, biggest army, most developed, etc.), your faction leader's Influence goes up by one. So those messages aren't just for flavor--they actually have an impact on the game (albeit a only small one). Just though you might like to know.

By the way, welcome to the Org, Jesenjin.

[BlackHat]

While reading this enjoyable thread, I saw this picture.



I have never seen a V&V displayed this way. But I am playing the MTW. Not MTW:VI. Is this something that was added in VI?

Thanks,

[naut]

Yes BlackHat, that is something added in VI.

Also I strongly recommend VI! Go get it now, it cost me £4.50. So I'm sure you could get it for $2-$5.

[Martok]

Also I strongly recommend VI! Go get it now, it cost me £4.50. So I'm sure you could get it for $2-$5.

I second that. Viking Invasion is an excellent expansion pack, in addition to which it allows you to try out the numerous excellent mods as well.

[Quickening]

Thanks for your support and encouragement everybody! I have one more part to post and it will be the last. Although I love doing them and love hearing all your comments and feedback, it simply takes up too much time on a 56k modem. If I play for an hour then it takes about two hours to upload all the screenshots and write the post.
I have actually been switching back and forth between Medieval and Rome because I actually love them both. They are different but both brilliant.
I hope I will be able to continue my "journal" at somepoint because they are great fun to write!

[caravel]

@Quickening: I'm late noticing your topic sorry. Did you install Viking Invasion yet? VI will update your existing MTW, fix many bugs and add many new units. From your screenshots it appears that you are playing MTW 1.0, due to the longbowmen and crossbows/arbalests fielded in most of your battles. This is actually a bug, and crossbows, arbalests and longbows should not be available until 1205 which is the start of the high era*. This was fixed in the MTW 1.1 patch, which you don't need if you install VI. VI won't be compatible with your existing savegames, so you'll need to finish off any ongoing campaigns first.

Looking at some of your screenshots I was impressed by how quickly you got into the game. MTW utilises a sort of loose rock/paper/scissors approach for the real time battles. Basically: swords beats spears beats cavalry beats swords. In even more basic terms, anyone on the ground not holding a spear is very vulnerable to a cavalry charge, which is why your Urban Militia fared badly vs enemy cavalry. The Militia Sergeants (Robin of Locksley's unit in your case) are as far as functionality goes an axe infantry unit (a better version of Urban Militia), with an armour piercing attack. VS Feudal Sergeants, which are spearmen, they stand a very good chance of winning the day.

Generally in MTW there are a few units that don't fall into the rock/paper/scissors category and those are the missiles (the javelins/bows/longbows and crossbows) and the pole arms units. The pole arms units, which you probably won't have encountered yet, such as halberdiers and billmen are specialised cavalry attacking infantry. Unlike spears, whose role is to hold cavalry to stop them breaking through your lines and wreaking havoc, pole arms are there to actually attack and kill cavalry.

Also other factors such as morale, valour, fatigue, height advantage, forest cover and more can play a big part in determining any battle and often swing the odds great in favour of say an elite unit of swordsmen vs a not so good unit of cavalry, or allow an elite units of heavy cavalry to frontal charge and rout a unit of spearmen..

*MTW/VI has three eras: Early (1087 - 1204), High (1205 - 1320), Late (1321 - 1453).