sick of fleets escaping after engagements

**MustardParty** · March 22, 2009, 03:17 PM

I can't count the number of times I have:

A) forced every ship to surrender during an engagement only to have just one or two or NONE of those ships show up afterward for me to prize or add to my fleet - even after making sure not to prematurely end the fight and run each routing ship down

or

B) won a multi-fleet engagement where i've sunk or captured or forced to surrender every ship in an enemy reinforcing fleet - just to watch the reinforcing fleet flee on the campaign map - none of the ships i sunk are sunk, none of the ships i capture are available for me to prize or capture if they were part of the reinforcing fleet.

GLICTHY!

Takes some of the satisfaction of a hard fought battle away - especially when you capture some valueable ships, just to see them flyaway after battle.

**green tea** · March 22, 2009, 04:10 PM

My experience is that you can take the original enemy as prize, but the reenforcements will always escape if you don´t sink them. Since I realized that, I always sink enemy reenforcements.

**Mahatma Gandhi** · March 22, 2009, 06:11 PM

Sink them ALL let God sort them out. You're probably stagnant w/money like the rest of us anyways and dont need the prize money.

**Gabriel Anton** · March 22, 2009, 09:01 PM

If anything, I'd like the AI try to do more to hit and RUN away from naval engagements,,,way too much killing going on.

Most naval combats in this period ended without major losses if indeed any at all.

**Keline** · March 23, 2009, 01:54 AM

Originally Posted by Gabriel Anton

Most naval combats in this period ended without major losses if indeed any at all.

but that was because of the hitpoint values these ships had IRL, not because of the way they fought. You've seen the pictures in the loading screens? That's how it was. They simply outlasted that kind of punishment for hours.

**Gabriel Anton** · March 23, 2009, 08:08 AM

Originally Posted by Keline

but that was because of the hitpoint values these ships had IRL, not because of the way they fought. You've seen the pictures in the loading screens? That's how it was. They simply outlasted that kind of punishment for hours.

Hitpoints in real life...
I don't get my history of the period from loading screens.

It was a combination of factors; construction of the vessels was one such factor, and another WAS tactics and concepts of the day. The French especially were famous for it, preferring to target an enemies Rigging as to allow them to continue on their way and complete their mission,

**mightyfenrir** · March 23, 2009, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by Gabriel Anton

Hitpoints in real life...
I don't get my history of the period from loading screens.

I was thinking the same thing. Even movies don't usually have too many sinking ships in them. Master and Commander was the last I remember watching so the fights in that come to mind....

**Keline** · March 23, 2009, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by Gabriel Anton

Hitpoints in real life...
I don't get my history of the period from loading screens.

It was a combination of factors; construction of the vessels was one such factor, and another WAS tactics and concepts of the day. The French especially were famous for it, preferring to target an enemies Rigging as to allow them to continue on their way and complete their mission,

That's what I said, these ships were far more durable than they are in this game.

Your post reads as if the reason there hardly were any total losses of warships in that era because the ships never fully engaged in close combat, which is frankly incorrect.

Oh and just in case you missed it, these loading screens are actually historical paintings. But I'm probably wasting my time on this.

Originally Posted by calicheSCOT

YES!! I hate it when this happens. I forced a huge french fleet of Indiamen out of port and engaged them with a massive fleet. In the resulting battle i was able to make all of the Indiamen surrender, but two which i sunk. I was delighted that i had successfully captured a massive trading fleet to send to a trade zone at the cost of only my flag ship (HMS Leopard). This was short lived, as i left the battle only to find that there were NONE in the after battle report for me to claim as prize's. As i had lost my flagship by being careful in capturing as many ships with as little damage as possible, and the battle being really long, the frusration was unbareable.

Fix this CA.

How do you lose ships to indiamen? I engaged a fleet of 7 indiaman, a fifth rate, a sixth rate and a brig with just a galleon and two fifth rates and defeated them all...

**calicheSCOT** · March 23, 2009, 06:43 PM

Originally Posted by Keline

How do you lose ships to indiamen? I engaged a fleet of 7 indiaman, a fifth rate, a sixth rate and a brig with just a galleon and two fifth rates and defeated them all...

I was trying to make sure i wasn't damaging the Indiamen too much as i expected them to form a part of my fleet once they had struck their colours, unfortunately this meant all i could fire was grape and chain. After about 20 mins of wearing them down enough so i could board them, one scored a lucky shot on my Flag and Boom. End of Admiral. Would'nt have minded had i been allowed to keep the surrendered ships.

**Gabriel Anton** · March 23, 2009, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by Keline

That's what I said, these ships were far more durable than they are in this game.

Your post reads as if the reason there hardly were any total losses of warships in that era because the ships never fully engaged in close combat,

My post 'reads' exactly how I wrote it, please don't assign to me what your perceptions,,,thanks

'If anything, I'd like the AI try to do more to hit and RUN away from naval engagements,,,way too much killing going on.
Most naval combats in this period ended without major losses if indeed any at all.'

Does not even imply in any way.

'ships never fully engaged in close combat'

The most certainly did, unless the mission called for something else. And when they had had enough Admirals did their best , and almost always succeeded in disengaging from the combat and preserving some of their forces , usually most of it.

What is considered the most decisive Battle in this age of sail? Trafalgar, and rightly so. This glorious victory saw the Allied Navy still gain an entire 1/3 of it's line of battleships back to port,,,

Navies in this game fight to the death or until one force completely surrenders and is wiped off the game map. At least the AI does, it never tries to disengage, when disengaging from combat was a very commonly used tactic,, And THAT is the point,

And yes, you probably are wasting your time Mr . Hitpoints and Mr. Paintings are history

**calicheSCOT** · March 23, 2009, 08:21 AM

YES!! I hate it when this happens. I forced a huge french fleet of Indiamen out of port and engaged them with a massive fleet. In the resulting battle i was able to make all of the Indiamen surrender, but two which i sunk. I was delighted that i had successfully captured a massive trading fleet to send to a trade zone at the cost of only my flag ship (HMS Leopard). This was short lived, as i left the battle only to find that there were NONE in the after battle report for me to claim as prize's. As i had lost my flagship by being careful in capturing as many ships with as little damage as possible, and the battle being really long, the frusration was unbareable.

Fix this CA.