Long Battles

[Black_Rider]

Hi!

Anybody knows which battle AI has long battles?

Because I dont like short battles in Sicilian Vespers...

[SicilianVespers]

What battle difficulty level are you playing on?

[Black_Rider]

Very hard

[DaVinci]

Very hard

I and other have a different experience, it depends on the units (types, numbers, seize of the armies, and its deployment) you let fight against each other, that's logic.
Naturally a battle is short if you charge with knights into levies, but that's realistic, that they will run for their lives.

Also, my settlement battles are very long, exception is only if i charge with a lot of knights into the settlement vs. only levies, but again that is realistic.
In this regard, the next release will have though some counter-things, as ie. that garrison script levies can be upgraded.

Edit
It is high probable that the next release will have Darth Battle AI files implemented.

[Taneda Santôka]

I must say I agree with DV, battle experience has been excellent for me, what I would call realistic in most situations, long battles, possibility to maneouvre, regroup etc... I havent lost a battle yet, but its the first mod where I think my casualties are good, and where I must cope when a general dies, he deserved it, and in such a long battle, it feels much more heroic...
I still play on VH.
(PS, I never got an answer : is the swordsmith's guild supposed to not give a weapon bonus or not? If not I'll fix it in my version, but it'll stay this way if it's a design choice...)

[DaVinci]

The swordguild is supposed to have not a weapon-attack bonus, as i had to learn (thanks to notger while the early betatesting, that it messes up the balance). It increases though the experience of cavalry in 2 steps, this will stay this way.

Taneda, that you have lost no battles, is related to your chosen faction Byzanthium, which have superior troops in comparison to other factions, especially in the midfield (medium units), and a lot of economical options in regard of the cash flow.

You would though certainly have lost some battles with minor factions (Venice, Genoa, and similar) vs. AI powers.

[Nikko0102]

I really like the length of the battles, even playing on medium. But the generals are sort of Jedi-esque. I can have 5 units of dismounted siphais poking at them for a LONG time before they even start taking casualties.

[|Lorre|]

I really like the length of the battles, even playing on medium. But the generals are sort of Jedi-esque. I can have 5 units of dismounted siphais poking at them for a LONG time before they even start taking casualties.

It's actually an aim of the mod, to revive the chivalresque atmosphere: the Elite troops are now REALLY Elite, they can resist more to the attacks, even if their number have been decreased.

I see them more as "300"-like Spartans....
THIS IS SICILIAN VESPERS!!!!

[DaVinci]

No, not really, this is ChivalryTW within The Sicilian Vespers

Everybody: There are several historical evidences of the strength of knights. One example, the Rhodos citadel was the last realm of the Hospitaller Knight Order. It had a garrison of about 1500 armed men (not even all soldiers) and about 600 knights. The Turks had a huge army in their first siege of the castle, about 70.000 and had a big bombardement. The Turks managed to make a breach into the walls, then, the garrison commander and some knights filled the breach, and ... what happened? The Hospitallers won this battle, the Turks fled in chaos, and many were slaughtered of this huge army. A second siege with even more Turkish soldiers and more canons had a similar outcome. They weren't able to take this stronghold. Though then due to this threat, the Hospitallers abandoned the castle, the Turkish Sultan gave them ships etc., as he was very impressed by the resisting power of these knights.

This is one historical example, there are several of that kind, where a outnumbered number of hardened knights were able to gain victory.

[Nikko0102]

ah, okey

[Kavhan Isbul]

For every example of kinghts' supremacy on the battlefield, I can come up with two of knights or other heavy cavalry being decimated by "less noble" forces. I agree that elite heavy cavalry should be devastating and hard to kill, but only if used properly. To me it feels that elite bodyguard cavalry is way overpowered in this mod, and considering how easily available it is through adoption of eligible nobles, it just ruins the game's balance a little bit. I agree that knights charging into levies should decimate the levies and break them almost on impact, but I disagree with immortal knights in prolonged melee against pikes and polearms, being peppered with bolts, arrows and javelins and still doing a Bruce Willis impersonation. The AI tends to utilize its family members less than the human player, at least from my experience, and lowering the melee and defense stats of bodyguard units might actually help it quite a bit.

[SicilianVespers]

Actually, the field cost script penalizes the player for relying too much on characters, as they cost 1,000 each to keep in the field.

They are powerful, but they can quickly put you in the red if overused.