various gameplay issues

[Javolenus]

Hi There,

I've been playing a new Romani campaign on M/M and have made it to about 230BC. Everything is fine and there have been some great dramas along the way, but every now and then something odd happens, which seems out of place. Apologies for being a bit vague, but here's a brief list from memory:

I. When I battled Aedui for Bononia they ended up with 2 'Naked Fanatics' against 699 Romani troops. When I moused over the 'Fanatics' the text said: 'Victory seems certain - no one but a fool could lose this battle.' I checked in case I'd moused over a Romani unit, but it was definitely the 2 Aedui who thought they were going to win. This struck me as odd.

II. In the above scanario, when the battle entered its final stages, the voices of the Aedui suddenly started echoing or multi-tracking - sorry for poor description - at any rate, they sounded weird.

III. When I battled Koinon Hellenon for Korinthos my troops killed the whole garrison in the town centre except for the local General, who was called 'Agis Eurypontidos Lakedaimonios'. This General went down 32 times but would not die. He was surrounded and his last stand lasted almost 15 minutes. Although this added some drama (worthy of Homer), I wondered if there was an error somewhere?

IV. When I battled Koinon Hellenon for Chalkis I autoresolved to save time (I try not to do this unless absolutely necessary - e.g. if pushed for time). The garrison had 32 men commanded by a multi-star General, I had 368 commanded by a 2-star General. I lost. This was not a big problem but it struck me as odd that I should lose. The enemy were outnumbered more than 10-to-1. Maybe such results really happened in history, and I'm not making a big deal out of it, but again, it just struck me as odd.

V. I'm not sure, but maybe there are some pathfinding problems. For example, quite early in the campaign, several small Carthaginian stacks appeared in Italy. At this point I was still allies with Carthage. These stacks did no damage but got in the way of my own troop movements, blocking various routes. They stayed for many years until war with Carthage became inevitable, then I wiped them out.

VI. On the battle map there sometimes seem to be pathfinding problem. For example, sometimes, when I batter through wooden walls, my troops won't enter the city. It takes several attempts to get them to move. Also, on one occasion, my enemy (Lusotani I think) battered through the walls of my town but refused to enter. I won the siege when time ran out, but really should have been defeated by a much superior force.

Well, that's it, I guess. I'm enjoying playing this mod, which is really excellent and, well, pretty awesome. I wanted to log these issues just in case they can be fixed or explained - I'm not complaining or griping. And so I'll finish by saying many, many thanks for EB.

[Bonny]

I. When I battled Aedui for Bononia they ended up with 2 'Naked Fanatics' against 699 Romani troops. When I moused over the 'Fanatics' the text said: 'Victory seems certain - no one but a fool could lose this battle.' I checked in case I'd moused over a Romani unit, but it was definitely the 2 Aedui who thought they were going to win. This struck me as odd.

II. In the above scanario, when the battle entered its final stages, the voices of the Aedui suddenly started echoing or multi-tracking - sorry for poor description - at any rate, they sounded weird.

RTW AI thing, happens in MTW2, too.

III. When I battled Koinon Hellenon for Korinthos my troops killed the whole garrison in the town centre except for the local General, who was called 'Agis Eurypontidos Lakedaimonios'. This General went down 32 times but would not die. He was surrounded and his last stand lasted almost 15 minutes. Although this added some drama (worthy of Homer), I wondered if there was an error somewhere?

Sometimes it happens that Generals get massive health point boosts through multiple traits. In this case the triple speed button would have helped.

IV. When I battled Koinon Hellenon for Chalkis I autoresolved to save time (I try not to do this unless absolutely necessary - e.g. if pushed for time). The garrison had 32 men commanded by a multi-star General, I had 368 commanded by a 2-star General. I lost. This was not a big problem but it struck me as odd that I should lose. The enemy were outnumbered more than 10-to-1. Maybe such results really happened in history, and I'm not making a big deal out of it, but again, it just struck me as odd.

In Autocalc Command stars are superior to numbers

V. I'm not sure, but maybe there are some pathfinding problems. For example, quite early in the campaign, several small Carthaginian stacks appeared in Italy. At this point I was still allies with Carthage. These stacks did no damage but got in the way of my own troop movements, blocking various routes. They stayed for many years until war with Carthage became inevitable, then I wiped them out.

Hardcoded campaign AI

VI. On the battle map there sometimes seem to be pathfinding problem. For example, sometimes, when I batter through wooden walls, my troops won't enter the city. It takes several attempts to get them to move. Also, on one occasion, my enemy (Lusotani I think) battered through the walls of my town but refused to enter. I won the siege when time ran out, but really should have been defeated by a much superior force.

Hardcoded battle AI

[Javolenus]

Hi Bonny,

Many thanks for this reply, which clears up all the issues I raised. I appreciate this response, as it helps me better understand game dynamics and what is actually hardcoded. Again, many thanks!