Just got it to work, now I have questions!

[ThePainkiller]

Ok, I just got MTW to finally work on my cpu. I needed to install OLD drivers for my Intel chipsets. Now, I have questions about single player...

Fleets and Ships and Trade-

How do I trade? I read the manual and it says if you have a ship in a sea lane that is connected to a port and guild (on my end at least) trade can begin. Does this happen automatically? Or do I have to start trade somehow?

What happens to my empire if my King dies without royal born successor, meaning if King William dies and I am lacking a prince, what happens?

Can I conquer Ireland? If so, how?

I built a crusade to Antioch and filled with as many men as possible...when I started moving I went through France (a current ally), next turn it looked like half of my Crusading army had disappeared, what happened?

[I of the Storm]

Welcome.

1) You need to have an unbroken line of ships from your port to any other non-hostile ports plus IIRC at least the first of the merchant buildings. The clerks there will take care of all the details and paperwork and make sure you'll get your share.

2) Game over.

3) Similar to trading. Unbroken line of ships, then move your army to one of your provinces with a port and invade the next turn. If everythings right, Ireland should be highlighted as a valid target as soon as you pick up your invasion force. Simply drop it in Ireland and battle should commence once you end your turn.

4) Might be that the zeal in the province wasn't very high. This will cause troops to leave the crusade. Usually you lose some of your starting crusaders, but you will pick up other factions troops along the way.

Have fun!

[ThePainkiller]

One more question, how and when can I build Templars if Im playing as England. I understand their Crusade only units, but how does that work? Do I build them from the providence that I started the crusade from and manually drop them on the crusade before its launched?

Any advice on how to ensure a succesful heir?

[macsen rufus]

Templars are "Crusade only" units - you will only get them in a crusade army, and won't always get them (some crusades do better than others in terms of troop quality). You can't train them in vanilla (though you can in some mods, like XL).

As for heirs, make sure your king and as many princes as possible get married - princesses are heir-making machines in theory, but an unmarried king will often settle for a commoner if you haven't found a princess yet. This occurs automatically after a while. Use emissaries to prpose to princesses, or accept offers from other factions. It gets you an alliance as well. If you don't want the alliance just grin and bear it, princesses are rarer

If you are in a tight spot there is a cheat code, which will cause an heir to be born next year. Remember he can't take over until he comes of age, so you need to use it with 16 years to spare.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

When on the campaign map, simply type .unfreeze. - include the full stops. Hey presto, a child is born Personally, I prefer the other method

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Can I conquer Ireland? If so, how?

No MTW newbie can be thought of, who doesn't ask this question.
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[drone]

Can I conquer Ireland? If so, how?

To add to the answer from I of the Storm, you need a port in the "source" province to move troops via ships. Ireland probably will not have a port, or it will be destroyed when you take it over, thereby stranding your troops until you can build/rebuild a port. So don't send troops you will need soon for other tasks, and whatever you do, don't send your King.

[ThePainkiller]

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No MTW newbie can be thought of, who doesn't ask this question.
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Thanks for all tyhe advice. Im not gonna lie, I am a newb with this game.

Im gonna admit, this game is HARD! Well, complicated may be the better word. When a manual for a game is 100 pages long...you know you're in for a loooong night. Sure blows Command and Conquer and Starcraft out of the water. This makes Risk look like tic tac toe. Great game though, adictive too. I spent 6 hours playing last night.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Welcome to the addicts club.

I strongly recommend reading the two guides of frogbeastegg's when you have the time, also the newly stickied subterfuge guide here at the Main Hall.

Oh, and welcome to the ORG!
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[Gaius Scribonius Curio]

With regard to point 2;

ages ago I was in a Russian campaign, middle period. I had an empire spanning most of Europe and no problems with loyalty anywhere. My King died at the age of 80 without a son, for some reason, but 5 brothers. A brother became King and at age 76 also had no sons. Pretty much I had no chance!

But the funny thing is, when he died a civil war began, on one side, much much larger was all the surviving brothers bar one(all 8 star generals), supporting Grand Prince Yuri (age 21 or something) who I'd never seen before. On the other side the final brother also called Yuri with very little support. So I'm not sure, if there was no heir in real life a cousin would be found, or an uncle or somebody with royal blood. My point is that there are lots of generals floating around with royal blood so maybe it sparks off a civil war between the ones with the most influence/least loyalty?

[Mouzafphaerre]

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After some time the game stops tracking the royal blood, at which point you're pwned if your leader dies without a heir.
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[macsen rufus]

I spent 6 hours playing last night.

Yeah - newb, indeed, 6 hours is nothing for this game Seriously, we don't have a down on new players here, any new convert to share our sad affliction is welcome, and it gives us a chance to share our "wisdom" one more time

So as no-one else seems to have mentioned it yet, the exception to the rule is the German (Holy Roman Empire) faction, which actually elects its leaders. Usually this is the last emperor's heir, but if the royal family dies out, then it will be the most capable general, so the faction continues. However, the HRE is about the most prone to civil wars, so I guess it balances out Also Muslim faction leaders are always married, no need to go hunting for a princess...

[ThePainkiller]

I was playing the campaign last night, the type where you get points for achievements, and I launched two succesful crusades against antioch and edessa. I was never awarded any points for it, what gives?

[BAD]

I was playing the campaign last night, the type where you get points for achievements, and I launched two succesful crusades against antioch and edessa. I was never awarded any points for it, what gives?

I think you get the points when the time period you need to do it in ends. For instance, if you need to do a succesful crusade to Antioch by the year of 1333 then you will get the points if you hold the province in the year 1333. Not 100% sure though. Someone should be able to clarify. :)

[Martok]

I was playing the campaign last night, the type where you get points for achievements, and I launched two succesful crusades against antioch and edessa. I was never awarded any points for it, what gives?

BAD is essentially correct. Glorious Achievement points are only counted at certain intervals during the game, usually every 25 years or so (1100, 1125, 1150, etc.). So if you successfully Crusaded to Antioch & Edessa in 1129, you're going to have to hold onto both those provinces until 1150 to get the points for them.


Also, to clarify about what happens if your faction leader dies without an heir, 1 of 2 things will happen:

1.) If your faction leader dies without any heirs whatsoever (or your only heirs are under-age), then the game simply ends and you've lost. This is what happens the majority of the time. However, what can sometimes happen is....

2.) Your faction dissolves into civil war. This can occur if your king dies without any *direct* heirs, but there are still 2 or more generals running around with royal blood. (Generally speaking, these "royal generals" will be your dead king's uncles.)

In a case of civil war, your army stacks will line up behind 1 of 2 claimants to the throne, with one side being the "Royalists" and the other side being the "Rebels". Both sides will list who their leader is, and you get to choose which side you wish to play as. Once you've picked a side in the civil war, the other side's army stacks will turn rebel gray, and you'll then have to fight them to retain and/or regain your faction's original lands.

Civil wars can be a pain, but they can also be a lot of fun!

[Jxrc]

In a case of civil war, your army stacks will line up behind 1 of 2 claimants to the throne, with one side being the "Royalists" and the other side being the "Rebels". Both sides will list who their leader is, and you get to choose which side you wish to play as. Once you've picked a side in the civil war, the other side's army stacks will turn rebel gray, and you'll then have to fight them to retain and/or regain your faction's original lands.

Civil wars can be a pain, but they can also be a lot of fun!

Perhaps a silly question but what happened to you treasury after you chosen ? Does it all go to the side that you have pick or is it split in some way between you and the new rebels ?

[ArtistofWarfare]

Perhaps a silly question but what happened to you treasury after you chosen ? Does it all go to the side that you have pick or is it split in some way between you and the new rebels ?

I believe your treasury always follows "you"...

Regardless of what side you choose, it's still the same monetary amount in "your" treasury. It would never be flipped to a splitting between both sides as far as I can remember...

Although it's a good question and I could be wrong.

It's literally, over a year and a half since I've really dealt with a civil war in MTW.

(hmmm...now that's a thought) lol

[Jxrc]

I believe your treasury always follows "you"...

Regardless of what side you choose, it's still the same monetary amount in "your" treasury. It would never be flipped to a splitting between both sides as far as I can remember...

Although it's a good question and I could be wrong.

It's literally, over a year and a half since I've really dealt with a civil war in MTW.

(hmmm...now that's a thought) lol

I think that you are right but we could indeed both be wrong. never paid any attention to that point when I got a civil war (had other more urgent things to deal with the few times when it happenned to me).

One thing that leads me to believe that you do keep you full treasury is that I doubt that the rebels have a treasury of their own since they seem never to be limited in what they can build. Don't know but seems weird to see the rebels owing just Norway able to finance three stacks of troops ... Perhaps it could also be due to the fact that the maintenance of rebel troops do not cost anything ??? On the other hand some rebel garrison never change for the entire campaign (for instance Ireland always keep four kerns and 2 gallowglasses and they never build anything) while other seems to increase only after a while (Sweden and Norway).

As you see, I now have to confess have basically no idea either about how the AI manages rebel provinces ...

[macsen rufus]

The rebels do have their own central treasury, but if you ever play with the debug mode (add -ian to the end of your desktop shortcut) then you can switch factions and see what they can do. 99% of the time they have a HUGE debt, but if they are in the black, then they will build and train and develop their provinces - not always in a sensible fashion, though

If you fancy a bit of FUN in your campaign, then use this mode, do a ctrl-1 (switches to rebels), type .deadringer., then switch back to your original faction

Oh, yes, I'm also pretty sure the "player" keeps the faction's cash during a civil war, but likewise have had too much to worry about to really notice at the time....

[Jxrc]

The rebels do have their own central treasury,

Central ? Do you mean that basically the rebels in Khazar have a joint bank account with the vikings in Norway and Sweden ?

if they are in the black, then they will build and train and develop their provinces - not always in a sensible fashion, though

Well, you cannot expect the rebels to be smarter than actual factions managed by the AI ... Anyway each time I conquer Sweden and Norway, my first move is always to build my very own five stacks of Viking Thralls Just need to add a few arquebusiers and semi-culverins and the world is mine (well at least according to that Vanya guy ...)

[macsen rufus]

Do you mean that basically the rebels in Khazar have a joint bank account with the vikings in Norway and Sweden ?

Yep, they're a bit like Al Qaeda in that respect

Effectievly the rebels are another "faction", and you can play them as such by using the debug mode. The appearance of different rebel factions (ie "The Khazars", "The Moors" etc etc) is all done in the translations, where you apply a rebel faction name for each province. If you wanted all your rebels to be called "Awkward gits with pitchforks and a bad attitude" you could do it Anyway, once they have money, rebels will build troops, ships and agents.

Actually, I think there's also an ingame cheat code to switch to the rebels - .conan. IIRC, but then I don't think you can switch back like you can in debug mode (and then only for the first 20 factions).

[Jxrc]

Effectievly the rebels are another "faction", and you can play them as such by using the debug mode ).

I should try that !!! A faction that can build any unit has not set religion and cannot suffer from rebellion sounds good. On top of that you have good chance of getting a subtantial increase of land once the HRE, as usual explodes.

The appearance of different rebel factions (ie "The Khazars", "The Moors" etc etc) is all done in the translations, where you apply a rebel faction name for each province).

Isn't there at least some other difference since sometimes a rebel army cannot retreat to an adjacent rebel land ? Usually Russia is full of rebels but their lands do not appear in exactly the same colour on the map and they seem to be treated as different factions at least as far a retreat possibilities are concerened

If you wanted all your rebels to be called "Awkward gits with pitchforks and a bad attitude" you could do it

"Wacko real estate owners desperate to finance your campaign" seems more accurate to me

[macsen rufus]

I won't guarantee rebels can build all units - it depends on the unit_prod set-up, and most of my recent experience has been in playing mods, and doing my own so it gives rebels what I tell it to give them (as much as any computer ever does ) and they seem to have a strange selection of buildings - certainly from more than one culture!

There was a thread once, when someone regaled us with tales of a rebel campaign. The best bit is the sudden un-expected recruitment drives everytime a civil war starts, or the AI isn't looking after its provinces properly, but then again you can lose swathes of territory as your stacks decide to join in a re-emergence somewhere. It appeared to be a major limit, when you as a "rebel player" knock out factions. It can be hard to keep them down...

If you want to force the game to make units available for the rebels you can add some extra entries into the unit_prod file "faction association" column - for MTW map as FN_REBEL, or VI map FN_00. If you use NO_FACTION, then the unit is untrainable and will ONLY appear in rebellions.

The different rebel colours are selected to match the province rebel names - I'm surprised by the non-retreating rebels, though, usually they will cross any border available and "join" the rebel pseudo-faction next door if they decide to retreat. Maybe there was some other factor in play (the other province invaded, and the rebels won, maybe? Might count as "not available for retreat" but I'm speculating wildly now )

[Jxrc]

I'm surprised by the non-retreating rebels, though, usually they will cross any border available and "join" the rebel pseudo-faction next door if they decide to retreat. Maybe there was some other factor in play (the other province invaded, and the rebels won, maybe? Might count as "not available for retreat" but I'm speculating wildly now )

Was pretty sure about that point until now but you know the mechanics of the game much better than I do (got the game for ages and still play the vanilla VI game. Tought I would try XL once bored with the basis game but .... honestly, I am still enjoying it immensly !!! ) so I could be quite mistaken. I am positive that a few times I decided whether or not to invade a province on the basis of that assumption thinking something a bit like "If I attack Kiev, the rebels can retreat to Crimea cause its the same coulour for both provinces. If I attack Lithuania, I am stuck with a fight cause Kiev is the only rebel province accessible for a retreat and has not the same coulour" (not sure it's 100% clear to anyone but me ) It's quite possible that my predictions were right in practice but for totally different reasons than what I thought (rebels in Kiev feeling weak, rebels in Lithuania feeling strong). I should start a Russian campaign and check that out.

Got to find that story about the rebel campaign. Seems like a fun read !!!

[Spongie]

...the HRE is about the most prone to civil wars...

Oh right - I was wondering about that!

Just signed the Magna Carta (that's AD 1215 for those of you who don't know your English history) in my first ever game of MTW (English, early)... bribed quite a few HRE territories to my side without triggering off a war with the HRE itself, or risking excommunication, when they went belly-up.

Not so worried about being excommed now, since the only other remaining Catholic factions are the Danes (3 territories), HRE (1) and the Sicilians (1, and they're at war with the Pope! )

[billman8]

Does the Rebel Faction have the ability to use ships and engage in seaborne trade? I had a faction with a very good trade economy with extensive trade routes. When the monarch died with no heirs, I replayed the game using the debug mode which allowed me to switch to the Rebel faction. When my old faction died out their provinces became Rebel but I lost all of the ships and the ability to move men by sea. Is it always this way that the Rebels don't have sea power in the un-modded MTW game? Is it possible to change the units/buildings files so that they can have this ability?

[caravel]

The rebel faction cannot build any ships because none are assigned to them in the unit production file (this can be changed). Also bear in mind that the rebel faction are almost always bankrupt so you won't see them building or training much anyway. And yes when a faction becomes rebel after being eliminated they are instantly stripped of all of their ships and agents. Though I believe the rebels can train spies and assassins.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Never seen any rebel assassins/spies/clericals.
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