Call for Dropin Savegames!

[daniu]

Hi all!

I Love Dropin Battles
I suspect I've been getting on the nerves of many people in my not shutting up about dropin battles.
I love them so much, much better than normal MP, random maps, no-spam setups (although often somewhat unbalanced) with armies larger than large funds MP would allow.
I have gone so far as starting campaigns just for the sake of getting dropin battles.
Now, anybody who ever played campaign knows that it takes some hours to get into reasonably sized battles...
(not unlike looking for MP games the rules of which you like, but I digress )

A Shot in the Dark
Now, I would like to try out an idea I've had some time ago but was doubtful would work:
I'd like everybody who has save games at the start of drop-in battles to upload them so other people (like myself) can also play them.
(in case you haven't noticed, when the dropin battle dialog is shown, there is a "save" button in the top right corner)
Sadly, the save games are quite large; I don't know if there is an upload limit here, so I put mine up at filefront.com. Oh, and compress them of course.

Save File Naming
I named all save games in the format "di team1 team2 att/def description"; the rationale behind that is:
di: so all downloaded save games are ordered together in the file browser ("di" stands for "dropin").
team1: the faction of the player loading the replay.
team2: the faction of the player dropping in.
att/def: the tactical stance of team1 (attacking or defending)
description: some word to be able to tell the replay apart from others with the same factions.

Battle Description
As I wrote in the Rules of Engagement for dropin battles, it's nice to know the background of the battle you're fighting in.
The same goes here: give a short introduction of where and why the battle takes place.
This is also where you put your estimation of how well balanced the fight is.


Maybe this will catch on... if not, at least I tried.

[daniu]

The Battle of Russia
After a long march, the French army has finally arrived at it's destination: Moscow.
Faced with a siege that may last for months and will inevitably end in surrender, the czar sees no other option but to sally...

This is the battle from two of my gameplay videos... should be pretty balanced.


The Invasion
A Prussian invasion force has landed on the coast near Stockholm.
The Swedish king mobilizes the last remaining troops to intercept the aggressor and save the capital.

Prussia has the upper hand.


The Grass is Greener on the Other Side
Following the invasion of Sweden, Austria has turned against their former ally Prussia and starts raids into Prussian towns across the border.
To finally put an end to this, Prussia sends an army to march on Vienna.
On their way, they need to cross a bridge guarded by a small Austrian force... will they be able to cross it before the massive enemy reinforcements arrive?

Prussia has the upper hand, but needs to cross the bridge.


Stand Tall
The Prussian advance continues. While taking camp on a hillside, the Prussian scouts spot approaching Austrian troops.
If those are defeated, the way to Vienna will be clear...

Prussia has the upper hand.


Intercepted!
On his way to reinforcing the troops under siege in Budapest, Russian general Kamensky is surprised by France lifting their siege and intercepting his support army.
If he doesn't defeat his opponent's army, there's nothing to stop their march on Moscow.

This is the battle from my latest video.

France has the upper hand.



I have some more, but I'll wait to see if anybody is interested in this at all.

[linc|Julius]

If you get this to fly, great times! There is nothing more challenging to test your skill then walking in to a battle without knowing your army or map. And in just few minutes decide how to hustle your opponent.

Guess i have to start play campaign now so i can contribute

[Major Hemorrhoid]

Hmmm. Not a bad effort daniu. Your video was of high quality as usual, and your commentary was excellent. I'm just not sure that there is a massive amount interest in "drop-in" Napoleon Total War battles at the present time (although I could easily be wrong about that supposition). Maybe after Creative Assembly adjusts a few of the "drop-in" battles' parameters with a patch, more people will become interested in them. For now, my suggestion would be to expend your efforts with your normal "strategy and tactics" videos which are always informative and very well made. There is definitely a gigantic number of players out there in search of strategic and tactical advice on how to play Napoleon Total War!

[Bryanrows]

This is a great idea daniu,

I've wanted to try campaign drop in battles for a while but i've been reluctant to try it.
I think i'll give it a go now!
Although I am curious, how long do you generally have to wait before you get a connection?

[Major Hemorrhoid]

About a day and a half.

[daniu]

Although I am curious, how long do you generally have to wait before you get a connection?

About 1-3 minutes, I would say, depending on the time of day I suppose.

I tend to ask around my Steam friends first whether they want to play a battle when I have one available.
That probably takes more time than just a random search, but it's not as, well, random.

You can stumble upon total noobs who behave worse than the AI...
but that doesn't happen too often, I guess is realistic (not every general was Napoleon), and it's good for your campaign
Also, it still feels better than to win against the AI.