Afraid to play Third Age: Total War

[ArmoredSergeant]

On Saturday, which is today after I've slept, I will install Third Age following Legalose's Topic of All Downloads, Patches, and Instructions. Looking through more topics I found this horrifying pic:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

How is this manageable? If the map is crawling with as many actors as my machine can handle then won't they soon turn into a blob and then soup? The beat of war drums, clashing of weapons, screaming and chaos of everyone flanking everyone would drown out any desperate call for order.

Anyway, here are a few simple questions:
1. Sacking, looting, and occupying are still in?
2. For Hardcore players only on VH/VH?
3. Has the AI been improved much?
4. Any acts of cruelty such as torture / madonna cradle / pear of anguish?

[Glowbal]

1. yes
2. Maybe.. I still find it a bit easy sometimes, but I now have improved AI downloaded.
3. Not sure, but there are some downloads around in the submod forum for improved AIs.
4. Killing prisoners, does that count?

[Lordinquisitor]

1. Yes,
2. No- Everyone should play on VH/VH. The mod is supposed to be played on VH/VH- How hard the game is depends on the faction you play.
3. I don`t know, since i only play the RR/RC submod.
4. What? Nothing more than the normal medieval 2.

[Point Blank]

4. Sauron likes you doing it if you are an evil faction.

[Hero of the West]

4. it ain't warhammer (a)

[Baron Samedi]

How is this manageable? If the map is crawling with as many actors as my machine can handle then won't they soon turn into a blob and then soup? The beat of war drums, clashing of weapons, screaming and chaos of everyone flanking everyone would drown out any desperate call for order.

The standard unit size in TATW is huge, so don't let that turn you off. If your machine can't handle that, like mine does either, change it to small or normal in the medieval2.preference.cfg file.

[Jean=A=Luc]

99.9% of battles aren't as large as in that screenshot. It was just made to show off the mod.

[ROFL Copter]

I play on large unit size.

[Parva Corvus]

Congratulations on using the Papacy as the basis for Sauron , very smart in terms of game dynamics.

Haven't yet had time to try out mod - does Isengard have special traps that can be utilised if it comes under siege? Also - is Moria a location?

[Muffer Nl]

No, it is a normal city.