Multiple stacks on battlemap

[Thayli]

Hey,

Quick question: It's my first game (vanilla) and I'm fighting Brutii as Julii - I've been trying to fight with two or more stacks on the battlemap - the battlemenu tells me that I'm about to enter a fight with about 1400 men in reinforcements. However, once I start the battle, the other stack of troops is just standing idly by just beyond the edge of the battlearena - even though I choose to control both stacks myself, I'm not allowed to fight with both. When I hover the mouse above the idle stack, it just says "Waiting to enter battle" - I can't control the stack, though.

Both my stacks are full, is that why? I'm only allowed one full stack a time in battle? What's the point of reinforcements, then?

Hmm, I'm feeling exceptionally noobish today...

Thanks in advance

[Athreios]

This is due to a limitation of the game that only allows you to control...20 units at the same time. The AI can have multiple stacks in battle though, so it's probably the fact that your UI is already filled with 20 units that will not allow your second army to enter.

Had some bad experiences while finding that out

[Kallum]

you cant control 2 armies at once if you click to control the other armie you have to wait before your own armie is defeated always let the comp take control of it

[Thayli]

Alright, that makes good sense. Thank you

[Forsworn]

Unless you don't have a full stack. If you do than yes, it's better for the Comp to dumbly use them than to have them not be used at all.

Course sometimes the AI tends to charge a General unit into a phalanx.

[Legio]

Unless you don't have a full stack. If you do than yes, it's better for the Comp to dumbly use them than to have them not be used at all.

Course sometimes the AI tends to charge a General unit into a phalanx.

I have a funny story about that. A German stack of about six or seven spear warbands was besieging Iuvavum. I had two generals and a bunch of Hastati in my town, and for reinforcements a general, and 19 principes. The AI general ally charged all the phalanxes head on, one by one, and destroyed them all, taking four losses total.
The Julii, and no reforms yet either.

[Yojimbo]

Unless you don't have a full stack. If you do than yes, it's better for the Comp to dumbly use them than to have them not be used at all.

Course sometimes the AI tends to charge a General unit into a phalanx.

No it isn't. they SLOWWWWWWWLY march and get used so stupidly. If you want them to be used withdraw some of your units so they are replaced by units from the reinforcement stack.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Must have been a pretty strong general with a big bodyguard

[Athreios]

Must have been a pretty strong general with a big bodyguard

Or some cowardly germans!

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Fair enough

[Legio]

Full-strength Germans with 3 bronze exp chevrons.
General- 13 men, no weapon/armor upgrades, 2 bronze exp chevrons.
I still cannot get over it.

[Forsworn]

Well, were they already engaged or just about to engage someone? A well placed charge can murder the more cowardly units.

[NobleNick]

Welcome to the forums, Thayli.

Back on topic: YOU can control up to 20 units at a time. If you have 15 units in your stack and your reinforcing stack has, say 10 units, and you choose to command all troops, then units from the reinforcing stack will be fed into the battle to bring your total troops on the field = 20 units. If you lose a unit, another reinforcing unit will be fed onto the field to replace it, and so on until you win or run out of reinforcing units.

I always elect to let the AI control reinforcements, if I am in charge of a full (or nearly full) stack. Still, sometimes even then your reinforcements might be delayed, especially if your computer is not up to the task of animating the grand total of troops which would be on the field. THere is a large disparity between how many troops I think my comp can handle and how many RTW or M2TW thinks it can handle: My climatic Jerusalem seige in a recent M2TW long campaign was truncated from a glorious 2 vs. 3 stack challenge to a (~yawn~) simple 1 vs. 1 walk in the park.

[Thayli]

Welcome to the forums, Thayli.

Back on topic: YOU can control up to 20 units at a time. If you have 15 units in your stack and your reinforcing stack has, say 10 units, and you choose to command all troops, then units from the reinforcing stack will be fed into the battle to bring your total troops on the field = 20 units. If you lose a unit, another reinforcing unit will be fed onto the field to replace it, and so on until you win or run out of reinforcing units.

I always elect to let the AI control reinforcements, if I am in charge of a full (or nearly full) stack. Still, sometimes even then your reinforcements might be delayed, especially if your computer is not up to the task of animating the grand total of troops which would be on the field. THere is a large disparity between how many troops I think my comp can handle and how many M2TW thinks it can handle: My climatic Jerusalem seige in a recent M2TW long campaign was truncated from a glorious 2 vs. 3 stack challenge to a (~yawn~) simple 1 vs. 1 walk in the park.

Thank you, that makes good sense - I've tried to let the AI control my other stack of 20, much to the delight of the enemy Anywho, so far I've been able to beat two full Brutii stacks with one of my own, so I guess I'm fine with just one.

In other news, this game rocks!

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Of course it does!

[Gaius Flavius Belisarius]

It's indeed a great game. It was a rather nasty surprise when I first found out about being unable to control reinforcements. To be honest I usually don't let the AI take control of them, the losses sustained and horrible tactics employed are generally speaking worse than just letting them have no impact on the battle. Plus I have a huge reserve of men waiting just in case the worst happens to my army.

[the_Genghis_Khan]

Would it be a decent idea to have a stack of infantry and archers to follow your main army around. It's hard for the AI to mess up those 2. They find plenty of ways to kill calvary though!

[Entropy Judge]

Would it be a decent idea to have a stack of infantry and archers to follow your main army around. It's hard for the AI to mess up those 2.

You'd think that, wouldn't you? Just the other day, I accidentally let the AI control about half my army (the other half? Two Triarii ...), including two full Cretan Archers. After the battle, I merged the Archers so that one was at full ... and the other at approximately 1/3 strength. Stupid AI.

[Legio]

Yeah, once I had a AI reinforcements of armored hoplites and archers...
it charged archers straight into Eastern Spearmen, without firing a single shot.
Then the hoplites ran, no phalanx, right into three family members.

[Scutarii]

Thats a good idea... Just put a stack of heavy infantry and have it follow you around (archers if you like, but watch out for them firing on your troops while their enaged and having some friendly fire). You'll win most if not all of your battles that way just from numerical superiority, and it would definitely prolong an army's run into enemy territory.