Suggestions for different gameplay

[Vikingpower]

I am an big fan of Rome and Medieval 2 total war games since it reflects the classical and medieval times, where the Creative assembly team gets due thanks for presenting new foundation for strategy with its own settings, but however when you have advanced from being beginner to that in being experinced for the managements of cities and strategy in battles, then you start to notice some flaws which have limited the gameplay.

For start then mine only real interest in the total war games is the battles themselves while everything else serves only purpose for creating enough money for fielding many armies and in having access to better units, so it can somewhat reduce the fun factor of the games when the majority of the time goes to switching between multiple cities in order to build some new places. So i wish that there would be options open for the player to choose that there would be no need to govern settlements but each of them would automatically generate a certain income and provide some number of units to be trained, or that the player could choose to customize what buildings will be first built before others (like first money buildings and then happiness buildings in cities, while first military building in castles before everything else) or that the program calculates it from previous orders of the player, since such similar options suck in vanilla campaigns.

When it happens that you used as much time as needed in upgrading settlements for more income and better units, and you have about clicked for 50-100 turns to make the enemy factions upgrade their settlements and have also access to better units to make battles somewhat equal in quality of the manpower, then it still happens when you engange AI enemy armies that it has all been to nought because your pure units from fortress or citadel are too strong against the units of the enemy which consists of too many militias and early era units and thereby do the battles lose fun factor. So i would suggest that in the years which belong to the early era in medieval times then all factions have access to all units which belong to it without any building to be made, when years of high era in medieval times do apply then all factions will lose access to early era units but have instead access to all units which belong to high era without any buildings to be made, and so forth when years of late era do apply – but if this is too strict then high era should also have access to some better units from yearly era while in late era then the same applies to units from high era while units from yearly era are excluded.

When concering the battles themselves and the challenge which can be had from them, then i have noticed in both vanilla Rome and Medieval 2 total war games that you can always use the same tactics against all AI armies in order to win them (except when fighting the mongols), which is namely when you use about 8-10 heavy infantry units and about 6-7 heavy cavalry units then it is only sufficient to stretch out the infantry line to outflank the enemy army (so the units from end of both lines can attack enemy infantry from flanks) and use the heavy cavalry to attack the enemy from flanks and rear (either by stationing the cavalry equally in both flanks or by massing all in one flank). The reason why this tactic always works is because AI enemy armies in these games are too quick to loose morale at the first sight of flank and rear attack of cavalry while being enganged by the infantry, but the only modification i know about which has adresses this issue is Europa Barbarorum for Rome total war because the AI enemy armies in that mod are more patient in enduring such attacks. This problem in question does make you feel like that all these different units in each factions are only unique in portrait only while everything turns to the same outcome.

For mine part then i never attempt again to conquer about 50 settlements in order to win the Grand campaign, since only about 15-25 settlements are sufficient while everything beyond that reduces the fun factor of the game, but i have made it an habit of mine after some time to build as many balanced armies with the newest units until the economy goes to negative, save the game, and then just let each army travels the map in searching for other full stacked enemy armies in order to get thrill of battle (without besieging any settlements since the piched battles are most fun), and then reload the game and let mine armies go to another factions in other place of the map.

Hope these suggestions will help.

[spanish_emperor]

So i wish that there would be options open for the player to choose that there would be no need to govern settlements but each of them would automatically generate a certain income and provide some number of units to be trained, or that the player could choose to customize what buildings will be first built before others (like first money buildings and then happiness buildings in cities, while first military building in castles before everything else) or that the program calculates it from previous orders of the player, since such similar options suck in vanilla campaigns.

There is the automanage feature where all settlements automatically recruit and build based on the preference you choose

So i would suggest that in the years which belong to the early era in medieval times then all factions have access to all units which belong to it without any building to be made, when years of high era in medieval times do apply then all factions will lose access to early era units but have instead access to all units which belong to high era without any buildings to be made, and so forth when years of late era do apply – but if this is too strict then high era should also have access to some better units from yearly era while in late era then the same applies to units from high era while units from yearly era are excluded.

That would be interesting and i thought of other ways myself to be honest. I am sure this can be implemented and having the lower age units pop up in a garrison script only.
I don't know what DotS are planning but i am fed up with the AI recruiting one unit and sending it against you. I wish there were a way to script the AI to automatically spring up an army when they are or declare war so it can defend itself. of course it should only occur again every X amount of turns later.

When concering the battles themselves and the challenge which can be had from them, then i have noticed in both vanilla Rome and Medieval 2 total war games that you can always use the same tactics against all AI armies in order to win them (except when fighting the mongols), which is namely when you use about 8-10 heavy infantry units and about 6-7 heavy cavalry units then it is only sufficient to stretch out the infantry line to outflank the enemy army (so the units from end of both lines can attack enemy infantry from flanks) and use the heavy cavalry to attack the enemy from flanks and rear (either by stationing the cavalry equally in both flanks or by massing all in one flank). The reason why this tactic always works is because AI enemy armies in these games are too quick to loose morale at the first sight of flank and rear attack of cavalry while being enganged by the infantry, but the only modification i know about which has adresses this issue is Europa Barbarorum for Rome total war because the AI enemy armies in that mod are more patient in enduring such attacks. This problem in question does make you feel like that all these different units in each factions are only unique in portrait only while everything turns to the same outcome.

I believe you won't complain anymore when you play XAI

but i have made it an habit of mine after some time to build as many balanced armies with the newest units until the economy goes to negative, save the game, and then just let each army travels the map in searching for other full stacked enemy armies in order to get thrill of battle (without besieging any settlements since the piched battles are most fun), and then reload the game and let mine armies go to another factions in other place of the map.

Ah yes, i remember that strategy. I am sure you won't need to do that with DotS. But they should implement a script where the morale and movement points are lowered when you reach bankrupcy so to reflect that the armies aren't getting paid and are deserting.