Re: Bang per buck: Melee cavalry
Hi folks, I thought I should just drop by to add some comments.
Let me emphasize that my equation is for computing the value of conventional early/mid game melee cavalry only.
That means no bodyguards, elephants, Christian Guard, etc.
I don't think value is important for later cavalry units because their cost/upkeep relative to your treasury/income is minuscule. The more important factors to consider for their period are aesthetics/fun factor, raw performance, availability and replenishment rates.
Muslim, Spanish, Portuguese and Danish units get an experience bonus because their factions can build cavalry at the Minor City level without any other guilds. This allows them to obtain a Horsebreeder's Master's Guild early enough for it to be considered in the value equation. Other factions get it too late for it to affect value when it matters most.
Factions with jousting lists available get an experience bonus for knight units. This is halved because you don't get the lists until you get fortresses, and not every fortress will have a list. Thus, this bonus is intended as an average.
Factions with fortress-level swordsmen can build Swordsmith's guilds early enough to be considered in the value equation. Weapons upgrades give more than the +1 offensive bonus indicated, but since you can't always get the upgrade, the bonus is reduced to 0.75.
For cavalry, the marginal differences between hardy/very hardy and trained/highly trained are too small to warrant any separate multiplier. Not having these traits makes a noticeable difference though, but not much. That's why there's only a 10% penalty for not having them.
Discipline doesn't matter much for human-controlled cavalry. Most of the time you are actively controlling them thus preventing any unruly behavior. It matters much more to slow infantry and AI-controlled units. For a great example of this, try the Battle of Tannenberg historical battle, and see how the AI knights unwisely charge your faster HA.
Speed and mass are not exactly inversely proportional. A simple multiplication shows this:
Fast: 600*1.25 = 750
Normal: 525*1.75 = 919
Slow: 415*2.00 = 830
In addition, there are two 525-type cavalry with ponies, namely scouts and hobilars. They have a speed-mass of 656, which is pretty bad. But camels, with an approx. speed-mass of 400, are the worse.
These are the regular speed-mass^0.6 values according to my formula:
Fast: 600*1.25^0.6 = 686
Normal: 525*1.75^0.6 = 734
Slow: 415*2.00^0.6 = 629
Notice how fast movers are better in this calculation, but medium horses are still be best.
Assigning ratings for each unit based on role sounds pretty good. You could modify the equation for each role to emphasize certain variables like speed, charge or cost.
Examples:
Bargain Bin Cavalry for Extremely Tight Budgets:
TotalCharge*SecondaryAttack*TotalDefense*Speed*(Morale^0.75)*(Mass^0.6)
0.25*RecruitmentCost^4 + UpkeepCost^3
This is likely to put Hobilars in a whole new light.
Standing Melee Monsters
(TotalCharge^0.5)*(SecondaryAttack^1.5)*(TotalDefense^1.5)*(Speed^0.5)*(Morale^1.5)*(Mass^0.25)
0.25*RecruitmentCost + UpkeepCost
Norse War Clerics and Huscarls will be propelled to the top by this one.
Cheap supplementary router chasers
(TotalCharge^0.5)*(SecondaryAttack^1.25)*(TotalDefense^0.5)*(Speed^1.5)*(Morale^0.5)*(Mass^0.3)
0.25*RecruitmentCost^2 + UpkeepCost^1.5
Obviously Border Horsemen are going to like this one.
If you notice, the difference is entirely on emphasis. You can modify the exponents for any variable based on your particular needs. Want an awesome charge and don't care about speed? Crank up TotalCharge and Mass. Need something that won't rout every time a Mongolian sneezes? Focus on morale. Need a good, all-around unit? Well, you should probably use the original formula or something close to it.
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Originally Posted by Sinan
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