Where to Begin

[Michael Hopcroft]

Hello, gentles all. I am new to this board and to the Total War series -- in fact, I'm getting my copy of Napoleon tomorrow. And that's sort of why I'm posting here now, because I want to hit the ground running and and find out where to begin learning what will certainly be an immersing, complex game.

I love the strategy of the Napoleonic era, but have yet to find a game that makes it at all manageable, I have high hopes for Napoleon; TW as a result, as it is clearly intended for mainstream gamers as well as expert wargamers.

I don't know yet whether there's a tutorial, so I thought I would introduce myself and make a general plea for aid, especially since I don't have any of the other games in the series yet.

[Danton]

Yes there are tutorials, I'm not an experienced player either and I found them helpful. After that play Napoleon's Italian campaign, it is a pared down and simplified version of the grand campaigns. Fight some single-player battles against the AI to get a feel for things without any pressure.

Congratulations on your purchase, you're gonna have a lot of fun

[Red Hue]

Check out the guides here: http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumd...307-NTW-Guides

The Italian Campaign will be your first and the guide there will get you through a few turns until you can get your feet on the ground.

best of luck and have fun!

[Dreamw4lk3r]

It's grand game with diplomacy, tactics and trade + building... you'll have to manage many different things so to just answer a general cry for help would be hard ^^

If this is your first Total War game then yes, I think you should certainly try the tutorial; else throw yourself in the grand campaign as an easy faction like great britain or something and you'll have the time (and safety) to get to know all aspects of this game; the UI is so good and to get a grasp of the basics goes fairly easy.
Imo trying the Napoleon campaign isn't as simple since you have the time limit that might complicate things for you.

Practice makes perfect, just build an empire and don't be afraid to fight battles (at the start i'd advise against using the auto resolve too much) manually vs the AI since it's the best way to learn.

I'm sure that once you've seen the game and played a few turns you'll have more specific questions and idea's that you're welcome to share here ^^
Hope you'll enjoy this top-notch game!

[Michael Hopcroft]

I'd like to thank everyone for the advice offered. I'll be picking up my copy today.

I do have the demo, and have been playing the tutorial, but losing every time. The problem is that my line always seems to develop a gap big enough for one of the British formations to pour through unimpeded and charge my guns. That and that nagging British formation on my left bother me.

[Dreamw4lk3r]

do you swap to cannister shot on your cannons once the enemy gets close enough or breaks through your line? It's really devastating vs infantry, but needs closer range.

Line usually stays rather stationary, so could you explain how the gap 'develops', maybe we could give ideas of how to counter it

[Michael Hopcroft]

Line usually stays rather stationary, so could you explain how the gap 'develops', maybe we could give ideas of how to counter it

That may be the problem, actually. I tend to either move the line forward of where the tutorial says, which sometimes means the line takes WAY too many casualties. Then there's that pesky British regiment on the left flank, which usually managed to find a way to be out of my line of fire unless I hit it with the artillery.

I did win the tutorial last time I tried, though, by restraining those impulses.