Empire Total War, Again

[Cecil]

Either you suck, or I am Nelson

I'll go with the suck. Unless the Russians ships are supposed to be made out of Styrofoam soaked in gasoline.

Not impossible. Ships sink with an alarming frequency. Most battles in this timeframe didnt end with 100% losses for the losing side and definately not with all sunk. ??? 

Also we need better smileys here stat.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Hey speaking of naval battles....does anyone know what the stack limit is?  I've noticed sometimes I can only put 10 ships in a stack before it's full, but other times, I can have more. 

And yeah...new smileys are definitely needed.

Edit:  I'm thinking it might have something to do with the types of ships you have in the stack, but I don't know.  Maybe total manpower or something?

For example, right now, I have one going with 12 total ships, and I'm building two more.  Three 2nd rates, one 5th rate (the damn admiral who won't die), three 6th rates, four brigs, and a sloop, with two more 6th5th rates being built.  EDit2:  Those also fit.  Maybe it was just something the patch adjusted.

[Barrister]

I am still plugging along in the Road to Independence (or whatever) scenario, just conquered Louisbourg.

The AI seems to have some issues with forts.  Twice now I've been in a fort and the AI attacks.  It has a slight numeric advantage, but I fairly easily just stand there and fight them off.  The AI also sends its units somewhat peicemeal, and attacks at fairly random locations - and will often march all around the fort in order to attack the far side.

Eventually of course they'll open a hole in my fortification, but long before that point most of their troops have routed.  Occasionally they'll send a single unit in, which easily gets picked off.

Similarily I was beseiging a fort, and the AI came out to attack - he sent EVERYTHING out.  I just held fast on the high ground and beat them off.  The AI, instead of retreating into the fort, let his units flee, so by the end I sent a couple long units in to occupy the now-empty fort.

[MadBurgerMaker]

I am still plugging along in the Road to Independence (or whatever) scenario, just conquered Louisbourg.

The AI seems to have some issues with forts.  Twice now I've been in a fort and the AI attacks.  It has a slight numeric advantage, but I fairly easily just stand there and fight them off.  The AI also sends its units somewhat peicemeal, and attacks at fairly random locations - and will often march all around the fort in order to attack the far side.

Eventually of course they'll open a hole in my fortification, but long before that point most of their troops have routed.  Occasionally they'll send a single unit in, which easily gets picked off.

Similarily I was beseiging a fort, and the AI came out to attack - he sent EVERYTHING out.  I just held fast on the high ground and beat them off.  The AI, instead of retreating into the fort, let his units flee, so by the end I sent a couple long units in to occupy the now-empty fort.

I've noticed the bastards seem to try to run to where I don't have any troops on the walls.  I've taken to putting my troops outside the fort to intercept + mow them down, while leave some militia to run around and hold them up if they happen to get by and onto the walls, and artillery (canister) waiting in the circle thing there if they get by the militia.

[Barrister]

I've noticed the bastards seem to try to run to where I don't have any troops on the walls.  I've taken to putting my troops outside the fort to intercept + mow them down, while leave some militia to run around and hold them up if they happen to get by and onto the walls, and artillery (canister) waiting in the circle thing there if they get by the militia.

Well running to where you aren't is a good strategy, so good to see the AI using it.

But as long as your unit doesn't have too far to go, it's pretty easy for you to shift your units around while on the walls.  I doubt I'd bother with leaving units outside.

That being said I occasionally noticed some pathing issues, with the pathing AI wanting to send my units scaling down the outside of the walls in order to relocate somewhere else inside the fort.

[Viking]

Shooting at the enemy when they are running towards the fort with muskets, rifles or artillery is pointless. To defend forts I usually place a few citizens on the walls to slow down the attackers and the main body is lined up to shoot up the stairs and gate of the fort. They come one by one down the stairs and just get killed they come four by four through the gates and get killed.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Well running to where you aren't is a good strategy, so good to see the AI using it.

But as long as your unit doesn't have too far to go, it's pretty easy for you to shift your units around while on the walls.  I doubt I'd bother with leaving units outside.

That being said I occasionally noticed some pathing issues, with the pathing AI wanting to send my units scaling down the outside of the walls in order to relocate somewhere else inside the fort.

Yeah,  you would think so, except they just mindlessly run to the wall, even with 4 units of line infantry dumping fire into them, unless you completely cut them off.  At that point, they'll either stand and fight or just try to run through your lines to get to the wall.  Doh.

The pathfinding problem is why I don't like having more than one or two backup units on the walls.  It gets all weird and screwy sometimes (at the worst damn times for me, at least).  It's still better than some of the early RTW pathfinding problems though, like the one where your dudes would just run off the ramp of a tower even if it wasn't actually against the wall, resulting in a pile of dead legionaries far below. 

Anyway, you can see on the map while you're deploying where the AI is able to place his troops (it seems to mostly be an L shape around two sides of the fort), so you can stick your lines right in the middle and able to either cut them off, or inflict massive casualties as they try to get by.

Edit:  That admiral finally died, and I couldn't recruit a new one until I moved 4 ships from the fleet (making the total number 10).  It was fine with having the fleet at 14 with and without an admiral (moved 4 out and back before the recruitment to see if I could, then after I put him in his shiny new 2nd rate, I merged them and everything seems fine again)...just couldn't recruit one....

I don't get it.

[Habbaku]

I don't understand why forts have a large containment capacity, but you cannot actually garrison troops inside anything except the HQ, armory and some other building that's out there.  If you could actually house troops inside the walls, assaults would be a lot more fun for both sides.

[Ape]

This pic is for the Brain 



;D

[Scipio]

Winter 1709, and Prussia owns Courland, Saxony, East Prussia, West Prussia, and that other place you start with.  TOugh stuff.

[Cecil]

Game is starting to come to that point which the annoyances of a pissweak AI and bugs up the ass is getting to be too much to overlook. I guess I´ll pick it up in 6 months and few mods.

[jimmy olsen]

Winter 1709, and Prussia owns Courland, Saxony, East Prussia, West Prussia, and that other place you start with.  TOugh stuff.

Brandenburg

[Ed Anger]

My poor Russia game died in 1765 under the weight of save game crashes. The Imperial army was at the gates of Stockholm and I finally got to play with real light infantry and Guard regiments. But alas, shoddy programming smote the Czar.

Now I'm fiddling with the Indian chick's country.

[Barrister]

Is there any point to winning the US war of independence scenario?  Does it unlock anything?

[MadBurgerMaker]

Is there any point to winning the US war of independence scenario?  Does it unlock anything?

Yeah once you win it, go back and start episode 4 again.  It'll be a mini GC type deal where you control the US.  Edit:  The entire US, that is, as it was around 1790 or whenever it starts.