Slow combat question

[ingavaboga]

Hey guys, i just played this mod for the first time today, and i got into a battle when i noticed that troops die really slowly, or atleast slow compared to vanilla RTW. IS this suposed to be like this? (It was SRG vs classical hoplites) Also, how are u supposed to make cavalry more effective, cause i flanked the enemy a cople of times and attacked their rear, but only about 5 enemies were killed, while i lost around 6 horsemen. OTher than that tho, this mod is really great !
Also, which campaign is the most fun, MAkedon or Greece? ( IS there anyway to make the hoplites and hypapists to fight using swords instead of spears?) THanks guys

[Andy1984]

First of all: welcome to the forums.

- As you noticed, battles last slightly longer in DTW than in vanilla, which gives you more time to implement your strategy.

- About cavalry: try to charge your foe properly. You need to position your cavalry, wait until they are actually standing still, and then charge. If the charge-distance is big enough, you'll hear the sound of the charge and you'll see the lowering of your lances. How many of your horsemen die has to do with your and the enemie's statistics (including mass) and whether your target was standing still or not (moving targets are spread out more). How many enemies die has to do with your charge statistics (check the charge value in the unit description), the armor-piercing trait and your (and your enemie's?) stamina. Fighting classical hoplites, having the 'effective against armor' is of great value to your cavalry.
Once the charge is completed, you should pull your horses out as soon as possible, since there are now way more infantry 'pushed together' on a really small place compared to your cavalry (which needs more space). If you don't pull your horses out, they'll take excessive losses. I'm sure I've found a really good introduction on cavalry-tactics on the guild-forums, but I can't find it. (Edit: I found it)

- About hoplites and hyspastits using swords: I guess it is possible, but I don't know how to do it.

Andy

[ingavaboga]

Oh, ok thanks =) ( and i think to attack using swords is alt+right click

[aznflea]

also, archers work wonders. they have little ammo but their purpose is to wittle down the enemy lines. the decisive blow is dealt with the cavalry and flanking manoevres.

IMO makedon is more fun than greece but tbh, every campaign is extremely fun in this mod.

btw, try playing pergamum. they are intensely fun.

[RedFox]

Has anyone tried playing with the Aedui (gauls)? Now that's what I call fun. Simply the hardest, most epic and utterly brutal campaign I've ever played in RTW.

The combat stats have been designed to have the battles play out a little longer than in vanilla. This leaves more room for tactics and increases the fun factor, simply because the battle isn't over before you can even bring about your cavalry. Melee battles face-to-face last really long, so flanking is really crucial in this mod. Even flanking with infantry can bring great advantage.

Charging with cavalry is really simple, you just need enough distance to bring your cavalry about. The important part is to give them enough time to gather speed and form up for the charge. If you succeed in that, the cavalry charge is extremely devastating. The better the cavalry, the more devastating the charge.
The Cataphracts for example are so devastating when they charge, they can take out a heavy infantry unit charging up front and even stay in melee with their maces (alt-attack).

Hoplites and Hypaspists no longer have swords in v1.0, so you can't use them. For that you will need specialized infantry, like Agema Hypaspists. Greek factions tend to favor spears and pikes.

[Spartan198]

btw, try playing pergamum. they are intensely fun.

Agreed. All factions in DTW are fun, but Pergamum in particular stands out to me.

[EmperorBatman999]

I noticed troops march a little slow too, and it's torture for impatient people like me!

[RedFox]

You can always make them run, too. Or speed up the game a little bit. The marching speed is slightly unrealistic - it's faster than it would be in real life. So be happy!

[weatherman]

Hi RedFox.
I was playing with Gauls... really one of the most difficult campaign I have played in the last yeas!!!!
the celtic tribs gave me too much work... they are very numerous...
Now I stopped this campaign because my full stack simply dont move more.. I know this is a bug (I read in other topic), and I very anxious waiting for the patch to correct this...
My I think this is very hard to win with gauls, because while you are fighting with celtic tribs, the greek cities start to attack you... after the romans, and after the cartagians... All at same time!!!! and the gaul economy is not so good... they support only one full stack...
well... I am just waiting the patch to correct that problem...
very good work

[EmperorBatman999]

Currently working on Getae, but CTD's like hell for numerous reasons (Changing turns, immidate CTD after hitting the button, starting battles, taking settlements, returning back to campaign map from battle, don't know my it hates me so much, maybe it is because multiple files for RTW (seperate mods, etc.)

[RedFox]

Are you playing on BI? That might explain the CTD's, since DTW is not stable on BI for some reason. Your best bet would be to get RomeTW-ALX.exe and play DTW using that.

[Cal20]

Yeah it's worth getting Alexander (£9.99) on Steam or £7.99 on play.com (that one assuming you are from the UK). ALSO it has Brian Blessed as narrator, that in itself is worth £9.99 .

[EmperorBatman999]

Are you playing on BI? That might explain the CTD's, since DTW is not stable on BI for some reason. Your best bet would be to get RomeTW-ALX.exe and play DTW using that.

Oh...
I do have ALX, but it has been sitting around at very cold temperatures for a few weeks now, so it may not work anymore.
But anyway, how would I launch DTW on Alex if it is already DLed and installed on my comp for BI?
Also, thats weird how Alex works better, usually other way around.

[RedFox]

You need to install DTW with RomeTW-ALX.exe in the installation directory. That is all you will need. If the installer finds the ALX.exe, it automatically wants to install ALX. If you don't have ALX, the default is BI installation (which is not compatible with ALX.exe).

There is no gameplay difference with ALX in terms of features, ALX just has better AI, no CTD's, better experience. BI is just all crash and burn. No way to fix it either.

[EmperorBatman999]

You need to install DTW with RomeTW-ALX.exe in the installation directory. That is all you will need. If the installer finds the ALX.exe, it automatically wants to install ALX. If you don't have ALX, the default is BI installation (which is not compatible with ALX.exe).

There is no gameplay difference with ALX in terms of features, ALX just has better AI, no CTD's, better experience. BI is just all crash and burn. No way to fix it either.

Ya, but what if DTW is already installed.

[RedFox]

You will need to install it again. Or edit descr_formations_ai.txt and add this to the end:

;****************************************************************
; Alternate Ambush deployment (required with Alexander exe)
; Column marching formation for the army being ambushed, allows stretching
;****************************************************************

begin_formation alternate_ambush_defender_deployment

    alternate_ambush_defender_deployment
    ai_priority 0.1

    ;;; general at the front
    begin_block 0
        min_units                1
        max_units                1
        unit_type                general_unit    1.0
        unit_density            close
        block_formation            line
        block_relative_pos        0 0.0 0.0
        inter_unit_spacing        2.0
        priority                1.0
    end_block

    ;;; all other units behind
    begin_block 1
        unit_type                any    1.0
        unit_density            close
        block_formation            column
        block_relative_pos        0 0.0 -2.0
        inter_unit_spacing        2.0
        priority                1.0
    end_block


end_formation

This IS indeed the only difference between ALX and BI installations, other than the Imperial Campaign and Shortcut.

[EmperorBatman999]

Dang it, the disk must be damaged, Alex doesn't work anymore
Oh well, gotta get it on steam

[RedFox]

You just need the ALX exe, nothing else.

[EmperorBatman999]

Oh...
Anyway, I DL-ed Alex from Steam today anyway, copied everything from Alexander and moved it to my vanilla Alex folder because you said DTW looks for Alex first. It said that there was no Rome TW.exe, which there was, or do I move it into my steam folder?

[RedFox]

It's not as complicated as you thought.
C:\Program Files\Activision\Rome - Total War would be the directory to point the installer at.
Just make sure the exe names match.