thinking of buying, group movements?

hi i've read most peoples thoughts and the conclusion seems to be that although napoleons abit limited it is a big improvement over empire. wot i would like to know is how the game now handles group movement orders. as this was one of the things that really pissed me off in ETW and made me quit many a battle

is there a " keep formation" or indeed "or keep facing" hotkey as there is in titles like RTW or do all units still insist on forming a long single line unless they are put into one huge group?

i really hope they added this to NTW like other titles as a simple hotkey makes battles far more fluent and intuiative rather than the constant click drag senario of empire

I've never had a problem like you describe, unless i am misunderstanding you.

I assume you mean that when you have everyone selected you can click a spot on the map and they'll all head there while keeping the same overall formation rather than form a long mishmashed line? I really missed that from MTW2. Especially the 'alt-click' move that not only kept them in the same formation, but kept them facing the same direction so you could do obliques. Don't have NTW so couldn't tell you, but I was also irked by it in ETW. Not sure why they took it out.

ronin ...i mean if you move your troops ungrouped from their start positions will they rearrange themselves into a long line instead of holding their formation and arriving in the exact same positions at their destination. if u still do not understand then at the start of a battle arrange your troops as desired then click on the map ahead and watch as your troops decide to "forget" these positions and arrive were u clicked in one long single line

whatacad... knows wot i mean and this feature is in earlier games and i cannot see why it was ever omitted from empire. the "alt" move hotkey keeps units facing the same direction when they move and if u selected multiple units they would keep their formations without the constant need to ungroup/regroup, and drag on the terrain to set were u want them to go . that imo makes moving alot more fluent and better than this constant remaking micromangement and can make battles somewot tiresome, try a custom battle in RTW using the alt key then try NTW or ETW and u will notice a huge difference in said fiddling with formations

No, you'll have to group them, though I don't really understand what's the problem with that?

lagged double post

for example... the problem is that at it stands if i wanted to advance every other unit in my line forward while leaving some to fire then move the others while my front rows fired i would need to move each one individually and drag them were i want them to go which if u have a huge line can became well ....

_ _ _ _ _ _

to

_-_-_-

rather than select every other unit hold alt and just press forward of my line. i also prefer moving in columns especailly for flanking and to achieve this u would need to ungroup flanking units click drag were u want them to go then regroup or risk them forming a line again..
if all u do is form a group, advance at the enemy then blast away till one breaks then no u will not see any problems but if u want to try and start manovering your units around in any creative way u will encounter said micromanagement headaches..all for the want of a hotkey that keeps units facing/formations. for me a player since shogun to omit one is a backward step

Originally Posted by tarloch

for example... the problem is that at it stands if i wanted to advance every other unit in my line forward while leaving some to fire then move the others while my front rows fired i would need to move each one individually and drag them were i want them to go which if u have a huge line can became well ....

_ _ _ _ _ _

to

_-_-_-

rather than select every other unit hold alt and just press forward of my line. i also prefer moving in columns especailly for flanking and to achieve this u would need to ungroup flanking units click drag were u want them to go then regroup or risk them forming a line again..
if all u do is form a group, advance at the enemy then blast away till one breaks then no u will not see any problems but if u want to try and start manovering your units around in any creative way u will encounter said micromanagement headaches..all for the want of a hotkey that keeps units facing/formations. for me a player since shogun to omit one is a backward step

I see your point, though I don't find the group movement very limiting since I find regrouping very easy way of moving units. Right now if I'd like to do something like that in your example I'd simply group the units and use the forward button, which seems to work now a bit better than in ETW. Waypoints which were mentioned are also very useful, and since most of my manouvering happens on the flanks I don't have much trouble with that. Making a formation in the beginning of the battle doesn't mean you'll have to keep it until the very end of it.

i have never really bothered with waypoints so perhaps its time i tried and see how i get on with them but tbh i get bored of empire very quickly now

anyways thanks for the replies i will probably wait for awhile before i decide to purchase as i am also pretty much totally against all this DLC that seems to be appearing in alot of games lately and i want to wait for a patch or two and possible price reduction before i spend my cash; the way the industy is heading they might aswell start charging us to play like a morpgh then give us freecontent updates..hmm

Groups move in formation, and the code also speeds up the wing units if you wheel the line and slows down the spoke ones.

As for maneuvering, I use waypoints (shift+click/drag). Works like a charm and lets you set up nice crescent formations or march imperial columns through gaps in the line with ease.

However, iirc alt+click does not work but I can't say I find my control options lacking despite that.