Recommendations for a TB Startegy Title

Gallifrey said:

The biggest problem with the game is (as ususal) the AI. Some of the races have units with a camouflage ability, but the AI can see them and responds accordingly, and the AI also plays very cautiously unless it's clear you are seriously and irredeemably out-gunned.
So playing against the AI usually results in either a really easy game, or a game which you will in all likelihood lose. There may be mods to fix that now, I don't know.

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The fan patch, 1.4, over at AgeofWondersHeaven, may fix both those. Can't remember. However, the game does come with something like 5 different levels of AI, so you should be able to find a happy medium between too easy and too hard. Also, the camouflage units don't have to be important at all, if you don't want them to be. It's only a couple of races, out of something like 8 or 10, that can make significant use of them anyway.

@magerette: the interface does take some getting used to, but it shouldn't take you long. Once you get into the swing of it after an hour or so, it's not hard to remember. Play around with the copy you have, and if you like it, I'd recommend upgrading to the Shadow Magic version.

Hum, this may be a bit off the wall, but... Medieval: Total War and Rome: Total War can be played as entirely turn-based. You'll just miss out on the battlefield action, since the game will resolve the battles for you abstractly based on force balance. Both are deep enough to work very well played purely from the strategy map -- I've played a few campaigns this way and very much enjoyed them.

What's more, if there's any game out there that can lure you into RTS, those will be them. What with R:TW Gold (includes the Alexander expansion) going at bargain-bin prices by now, it may be worth a try.

chamr said:

The fan patch, 1.4, over at AgeofWondersHeaven, may fix both those. Can't remember. However, the game does come with something like 5 different levels of AI, so you should be able to find a happy medium between too easy and too hard. Also, the camouflage units don't have to be important at all, if you don't want them to be. It's only a couple of races, out of something like 8 or 10, that can make significant use of them anyway.

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I'll take a look at that patch when I next get the urge to play. As for the camouflage units, it's true there are only a couple but it's a nice ability to use and makes those low-level units more viable. The Halflings in particular suffer from not being able to use it, as it's a pretty useful one for them.

As for the interface, I don't recall it being tricky at all, but then I could just be remembering being accustomed to it.

Hum, this may be a bit off the wall, but... Medieval: Total War and Rome: Total War can be played as entirely turn-based. You'll just miss out on the battlefield action, since the game will resolve the battles for you abstractly based on force balance. Both are deep enough to work very well played purely from the strategy map -- I've played a few campaigns this way and very much enjoyed them.

What's more, if there's any game out there that can lure you into RTS, those will be them. What with R:TW Gold (includes the Alexander expansion) going at bargain-bin prices by now, it may be worth a try.

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Yeah, Rome is quite playable without the battlefield action, I usually play it that way. Medieval I'm not so sure about.. It does have the auto-resolve but it's quite skewed in favour of your enemies I found. And in Medieval, I didn't find the campaign map portion to be all that engaging. I haven't tried Medieval II so I'm not sure how that compares.

Rome Total War Gold comes with the Barbarian Invasions expansion, not Alexander. Unless there's a Gold Edition I'm not familiar with. The Total War Eras set included Alexander, however. And that whole set can be found on eBay for less than $30 these days.

I didn't give Medieval:TW a fair shake when I played it, but I think it actually would play pretty well as TBS. Of course, my opinion is probably colored by the fact I got my butt handed to me regularly on the battlefield.

@dte -- M2TW isn't that hard to beat on the battlefield. Remember that the key to victory is morale -- you win by routing your enemy, not going toe to toe and hoping to come out on top. The best way to do this is to try to get an enemy unit between two of yours. Say, use a row of spearmen to pin it down, flank it with cavalry, charge their rear, and watch them run. Very few units will be able to take this situation and keep fighting, even if the units they're fighting are much weaker.

Another thing to keep in mind is morale: a good general will make your men way less likely to break and run.

Yet another is high ground: a cavalry charge downhill will punch through just about everything, your missiles will have much more range, and the enemy will get tired slogging up the hill in heavy armor.

The AI is also pretty boneheaded in some ways; for example, if you can get some missile troops on higher ground it'll just stand there and take it rather than taking cover or attempting to charge them. I never feel good winning battles this way, though; it's too much like cheating.

If you already have the game, I say give it another shot. It's good clean fun.

Thanks for the rec, PJ et. al. I remember curiously undead had a high opinion of Medeival:TW and was happy with the auto-resolve. That's something I really wish the Impressions city builders had, because as I've mentioned before, the combat mechanics in those are worse than prehistoric.

I actually enjoy a little RTS; played Spellforce and SP Warcraft III thru Frozen Throne, and I enjoy them right up to the point where they become more of a stress-filled job than a game(which is usually right after the fifth time you've had that experience dte mentioned )

I've got M1:TW, not M2. Thing is, I do combat in all my games with a sumo mentality--slam into them until someone falls down. There's a certain level of strategy to being a good sumo, but it still doesn't leave much room for proper application of combined arms.