Scale Mismatch Issue

[cygnus_darkstar]

TW games have always had an issue with the time scale of a campaign turn (several months each) vs. the time scale at which armies maneuver (weeks or even days). This is the natural problem with a game that goes all the way from the strategic scale (building up cities and public works and training armies while you civilization expands through several centuries) to the tactical (life and death of individual soldiers over a few minutes). The break into Turn Based Strategy and Real Time Tactics works well, but the operational level of war, the maneuvering of armies, gets left out. I've always thought this a shame because it's one of my biggest interests. I really don't have any ideas for how to fix this imbalance. Shortening the turns to a couple of weeks means that a campaign (300 years?) would take over 7,000 turns! This is obviously not feasible.

I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas.

[Hannibal Baca]

4 seasons per year is mostly used by modders.
So 4 seasons per year will do just fine.

[B. W.]

I think four or even six turns per year would be best. You could make most of the turns go faster if you restricted things like recruitment and building options to the last turn of the year. That would allow for some more realistic character and army unit movements and also be able to get more familiar with individual cahracters which would add some fun for the role players.

So, yes, it would be possible to have more turns per year and not slow the game down time-wise too much. Personally, I like the idea of a long campaign.

[Ichon]

I can't think of a good way to solve that either. Perhaps the really large battlefields CA has mentioned might be an attempt. Only other ways is chance drastically how ZoC works or change the turns amount which I am not sure makes sense if battle can be fought every turn.

[a tw player]

Could be an army manoeuvring phase within each armies' ZOC as an intermediary in between the campaign and battle when the armies "meet"? Would allow for the two armies to get to a more specific location (would be done on a more zoomed in section of the campaign map), offering this more operational level...

Only way I can think of off the top of my head, but unfortunately I don't think it would be worth the effort to implement as it doesn't really add much to the big picture, and would probably prove just to be one of those distractions you get sick of after a while. Feel free to refine my vague concept in a better way, mind

Edit: and I do understand it's an issue, but just feel it's one we have to accept with the limitations of a game that can't be done completely in real time (without changing the DNA of TW at least).