Great Game if You Want to be a City Manager Rather then a Crusader. BAIT AND SWITCH

[Orlicon]

This game was a lot of fun until the second chapter. Things changed from my being a crusader concurring the realm, to being a city manager. I was so busy doing budgets and fighting rebellions in my own fiefdoms I didn't have time or money to upgrade my armies. In the meantime I was being attacked more and more by other armies and "evil bands" of armies that appreared from a portal that magically appeared and that I could only close if I got 3 magic stones. Fighting huge armies for those stones that killed the majority of my soldiers. Odd that these hords from the dark portal only attacked my armies and non of the other armies (my opponents) that were on the map. Also, I made an alliance with the Welsh in order to have an ally that would help me with my opponents, only to have the Welsh do nothing except ask for more money and food to keep the alliance going or they would attack my armies.
Because I was spending so much money on my fiefdoms and the Welsh, I could not fully upgrade my armies. I was doomed from this point on to lose the game. The armies dwindled because of the loss of money and the angry feifdoms grew and grew because there was no money or food to qwell the angry mobs. I was doomed to lose.
If I wanted to be a city manager I would have gotten a game called City Manager the game of taxes and city management. I bought this game because it was sold as a role playing game as King Arthur, not Harry the city manager and bookkeeper.
Also as the game became more complex and the battles tougher in the second chapter, the game cut off. It would shut down on me in mid battle and I had to restart the game from the desktop and start the battle all over again. This happened more and more as the game progressed. Many times I got the error that the game had just quit playing.
Which reminds me of another problem. Many times when I had 3 to 5 times more men on the battle field and the enemy literally on the run, I lost the battle. 50 men battling 3 and the battle is judged a loss to me. What the heck is that about?

I DO NOT RECOMMENED THIS GAME. IT WAS A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. SOLD AS AN ADVENTURE BUT REALLY A BOOKKEEPING GAME.

[Commander Makara]

Many times when I had 3 to 5 times more men on the battle field and the enemy literally on the run, I lost the battle. 50 men battling 3 and the battle is judged a loss to me. What the heck is that about?

Morale / VP's

Clearly you fail to appreciate that armies and war costs, and that strong economic strrategy is the bedrock of a growing empire. It's not just about the battlefield.

[Orlicon]

Clearly you don't understant the point in my note that the game was sold under one scenerio and then changed to another. Also when a an army is on the run (running from the battlefield) and outnumbered 5-8 to one, their battle is lost. This has been proven in history too many times.

[Red Bat]

Sold as an adventure game? This game doesn't even try to disguise the fact that its basically a Total War game, and compared to other Total War games, it's city management aspect is almost non-existent outside the expansions. Most of the money management is simply avoiding spending too much money on expensive troops.

In my Tyrant playthrough I barely recall spending any time focusing on managing my kingdom. The overwhelming majority of my playthrough was spent either in battle or doing quests.

Don't blame the game because you were too lazy to do some research on it first.

I will admit the crashing issue is a huge problem though, however not everyone seems to be experiencing it. No idea how to fix it.

Origineel geplaatst door Orlicon:

Clearly you don't understant the point in my note that the game was sold under one scenerio and then changed to another. Also when a an army is on the run (running from the battlefield) and outnumbered 5-8 to one, their battle is lost. This has been proven in history too many times.

You are expecting hard realism in a game about King Arthur and the Sidhe?

Its due to victory points and morale. Basically if you neglect victory points, you can still lose even if you have the bigger army, and if you defend them, you can win with a smaller army.

[Commander Makara]

Clearly you don't understant the point in my note that the game was sold under one scenerio and then changed to another.

The game was sold as a strategy wargame with a King Arthur theme. This doesn't change at any point.

Origineel geplaatst door Orlicon:

when a an army is on the run (running from the battlefield) and outnumbered 5-8 to one, their battle is lost.

Historically, yes this would appear to be the case most of the time. However, in this game, so long as the army maintains morale (as per the game scoring, not related to whether the units are fleeing or not) and VPs, then their battle is won.
You may disagree with the accuracy or erealism of this attribute as much as you wish, but that will not change the way the game works.

[verum.amo]

What difficulty are you playing on? This game is brutally hard for the uninitiated. Ultimately, I find it helpful to replay any battle where I suffer appreciable losses, unless those losses are restricted to units that are nearing obsolescence anyway, and which I intend to replace with more effective units. The first time I played the game, I tried to field too many armies, and keep them fully manned all the time. Needless to say, bankrupcy came fast. The second time I played, I played smarter. I only had one army per two heroes, and I prioritized researching the techs that get rid of floods/outbreaks/etc. Also, I paid more attention to who I gave fiefs to and which heros married which women. All in all, it's paid off. I've only had to use the Levy Food decree once so far and that was during an interim period where I was waiting for a quest chain to trigger before taking on the Saxxons. I love this game.

[Commander Makara]

I also find it a good idea to keep morale up to max as best as possible for each army BEFORE sending them into combat.
Starting a battle with less-than-optimal morale makes for a huge and unnecessary disadvantage.