Bridge battles using BI.exe

**Publius Quirinus** · April 14, 2009, 10:30 AM

...I just remembered that units can swim in BI. I nearly got half my Bactrian "Grand" Army butchered because I positioned all my infantry to plug the bridge, and got a nasty surprise when the enemy ignored the bridge and started swimming across.

That was fighting the EK, but I'm thinking that I'll probably need to do a lot of bridge battles when war breaks out against Parthia soon... I have not played that much BI vanilla-- are bridge battles actually still exploit-able using BI.exe?

**GoldShield Guard** · April 14, 2009, 10:54 AM

I had the opposite problem. When I was attacking, I ordered my army to run to the other edge of the bridge. But instead of doing this, they went in the water and started swimming! The result was that it took a lot lot of time to reach the other shore, they got exhausted and of course I lost the battle.

It is the first time I am playing using the BI.exe. Is there a way to deactivate the swimming ability?

**Vercingetorix_Defeated** · April 14, 2009, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by GoldShield Guard

I had the opposite problem. When I was attacking, I ordered my army to run to the other edge of the bridge. But instead of doing this, they went in the water and started swimming! The result was that it took a lot lot of time to reach the other shore, they got exhausted and of course I lost the battle.

It is the first time I am playing using the BI.exe. Is there a way to deactivate the swimming ability?

This happens to me as well.

If a unit can swim, it will NOT go across a bridge, it will only swim. If you tell it to go on the bridge itself it will ignore you.

Luckily, there is a way to remove the swimming ability: Just go into the export_descr_unit.txt document and use the "Find and Replace" function to replace the swim attribute, probably something like "can_swim", replace that with a blank. (just leave the replace area blank, and put "can_swim" in the find area)

That way none of the units in the game will be able to swim anymore, and things will be back to normal. You can also remove the war_cry attribute, or any other attributes easily and quickly in this way.

Besides, bridge battles aren't really an exploit. Rivers were some of the best natural obstacles out there in ancient warfare, a commander who used them properly had a huge advantage. Sure the AI is stupid to mindlessly run across them and get killed, but that's why the AI gets a billion stacks of troops in the first place, to counter for their lack of reason.

I'll take bridge battles over fighting 5000 Thorakitai in identical battles a hundred times.

**Spartan198** · April 14, 2009, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Vercingetorix_Defeated

I'll take bridge battles over fighting 5000 Thorakitai in identical battles a hundred times.

Yeah, bridge battles are fun...especially with the Spartan Royal Guard.

Now if only Dime would put bridge maps back into custom battle...

**krasni** · April 14, 2009, 08:10 PM

Originally Posted by Vercingetorix_Defeated

This happens to me as well.

If a unit can swim, it will NOT go across a bridge, it will only swim. If you tell it to go on the bridge itself it will ignore you.

Are you sure? I had a bridge battle where I attacked with hyspaspists and they went across the bridge just fine. Or do they not have the swimming ability?

**Vercingetorix_Defeated** · April 15, 2009, 12:38 AM

Originally Posted by krasni

Are you sure? I had a bridge battle where I attacked with hyspaspists and they went across the bridge just fine. Or do they not have the swimming ability?

Um....why would heavily armored hypaspists be able to swim? Only very lightly armed units like skirmishers are able to swim.

Unless there's a big typo in the EDU, hypaspists should not be able to swim.

I've confirmed it many times with many different units: eastern skirmishers, theureophoroi, any unit that can swim will refuse to go on a bridge, they will swim across if ordered to the other side and will do nothing if ordered on to the bridge.

**Scutarii** · April 14, 2009, 10:06 PM

The AI will send the majority of units in the water and a few across the bridge. Normal behaviour.

Actually, bridge battles are even more exploitable with swimming. Just position 1-2 decent troops at the couple of points they swim across the river, and they'll be so tired they will rout after a short fight with your troops, right back into the river, where they'll drown. Different story if your playing with no fatigue though...