Medieval Total War II

[Ned]

Sounds like a tough game.

[DrSpike]

It's not good if they have simplified the combat model again. Part of the lure of the TW series has always been the more developed combat model. I remember they made morale less powerful from STW to MTW as well, which irritated me.

It almost seems as though they add more units each game, build up the TBS, and simplify the RTS combat - arguably the best part of the game.

[Chemical Ollie]

Lol, now the inquisitor burned my assassin at the stake for heressy. I swear I will kill at least one inquisitor before this campaign is over. And in my next campaign, I will train a horde of master assassins to deal with them. Noob assassins just aren't up to the challenge.

[El_Cid]

in the first medieval TW - i had developed a strat of training up low level assassins by using spare/useless chars of my own family, like way old unmarried princesses/idiot+deviant sons etc. In the right situation they were good training fodder.

I got this as a surprise xmas pressie - so am looking forward to giving it a go in the new year

[Proteus_MST]

Originally posted by Chemical Ollie
Lol, now the inquisitor burned my assassin at the stake for heressy. I swear I will kill at least one inquisitor before this campaign is over. And in my next campaign, I will train a horde of master assassins to deal with them. Noob assassins just aren't up to the challenge.

The secret seems to be:
1. Keeping your heresy levels s low as possible
2. Keeping good relations with the pope


At some time in the beginning phgase of the game there was a big spawn of inqusitors in my countries, too (I had high levels of heresy and only mediocre relations with the pope)

But then during the decades I wasable to make my regions (almost) 100 % catholic thanks to the work of my priests and I also improved my relations with the pope to near perfect.

Now I have not a single inquisitor within the borders of my country.


What´s more annoying is IMHO the plague.

I was number one in financial terms thanks to my tradelanes across europe with around 20.000 in soare cash.
Then the plague hit me and over the course of 5 turns in which the plague cost me 30.000 lives every turn my cash declined to 20-30.000 in debts.
Obviously the trade income of the cities affected by the plague shrinks to nearly 0 whichb is a really bad thing if all of your cities are affected by the plague and you have high costs for the upkeep of your armies.
God thanks most of the other european states were affected as well (even the mongols) else I had been in deep trouble (no cash = no new units and no replacements for combat losses )
Ovr the course of 10 turns (till I was out of the debts)

[Quillan]

Ah, you hit the Black Death scripted event was all. The random plagues are worse in some ways. Black Death is scripted, like I said. When it starts, it breaks out in a certain number of cities. Every few turns thereafter, it automatically breaks out in new sets of cities, and these are set. As a result, it affects almost everyone equally. The random plagues don't do that. Over the course of the 3 campaigns I've played so far, I've had plague break out in the 3 highest income generating cities I had as Byzantium all at the same time, and twice (once as Spain and once as Venice) had plague break out in a city I was counting on to provide reinforcements for an army.

Ollie, I think something may be wrong with your game, or else the burning of the assassin was just a special thing that replaced the assassin dying in the attempt. I have never seen or heard of an assassin or spy being burned by an inquisitor. I didn't think they could even see them. They usually go after family members or priests, and I've heard of them occasionally killing a merchant or diplomat, but that's all.

[Odin]

Me pwned. I got excommunicated and then ganged up on.



I started a new game as Spain. I have taken the rebel cities of Zaragoza, Valencia (bye bye El Cid), and Bordeaux. and took Cordoba from the Moors. I am currently trying to get the rebel settlements in Sardinia, Corsica, and Sicily and then I will restart my war with the Moors and take Granada and then move into North Africa. I am on good terms with the pope. and have 3 cardinals


Oh, and using assasins to kill charcters and distoy buildings is fun!

[Ned]

Originally posted by El_Cid
in the first medieval TW - i had developed a strat of training up low level assassins by using spare/useless chars of my own family, like way old unmarried princesses/idiot+deviant sons etc. In the right situation they were good training fodder.

I got this as a surprise xmas pressie - so am looking forward to giving it a go in the new year

I don't know if there are barbarians in M 2, TW, but I could train assassins by repeatedly attacking barbarians. Each attack would be success. The next turn, the barbarians would still be there. So, rinse and repeat until the skill level of the assassin got quite high.

[Gamecube64]

After a series of lucky assassinations and good trait and retinues improvements I've managed to get a pretty sick assassin. He has about seven subterfuge and a nice assassination bonus. Finally got rid of a few imams.

The Spanish Inquisition is triumphant, Moors are driven from Iberia. My priests and cardinal are busily spreading the faith and I'm putting up churches immediately. Along with the fact that the pope is my man, Spain is in pretty good standing. The last battle to take Granada was not very interesting, mainly because the Sultan was slain in some forest just a little while earlier and his heir was assassinated before the seige of Cordoba.

[dannubis]

The Spanish Reconquista you mean.

[Asmodean]

Got the game for Xmas, but haven't played it yet due to an outbreak of nausea/vomiting/diarrhea in my family.

Hope to be able to install and start playing later today

Asmodean

[Chemical Ollie]

Playing my second campaign as Spain, and do pretty well with the Pope. I lost one score from the full when I destroyed the Portugese. The stupid Pope said I must not be violent to my fellow Chatolics, when I already had the last Portugese city under siege and was about to finish the final blow. Of course I couldn't resist. But losing only one point was worth it.

The turn before I had won a Cruzade against the French, so the Pope was my best friend.

[Chemical Ollie]

Originally posted by Quillan
---

Ollie, I think something may be wrong with your game, or else the burning of the assassin was just a special thing that replaced the assassin dying in the attempt. I have never seen or heard of an assassin or spy being burned by an inquisitor. I didn't think they could even see them. They usually go after family members or priests, and I've heard of them occasionally killing a merchant or diplomat, but that's all.

They can obviously kill any family member or specialist, including the assassins, as happened to me. But sometimes (only sometimes) your king or prince can be aquitted in court.

[Proteus_MST]

Originally posted by DrSpike

It almost seems as though they add more units each game, build up the TBS, and simplify the RTS combat - arguably the best part of the game.

Hm,
I disagree.

IMHO RTW was the best and most complex game of the TW-Series (in terms of the RTS battles).

For example the whole combat in cities wasn´t included in MTW or in STW.

AFAIR you also fought for regions in both games and couldn´t just station your army somewhere on the map to fight an open field battle (I´m sure you couldn´t do this in MTW, but not sure about STW)

Both things are now possible with RTW and MTW2.

Therefore IMHO RTW as well as MTW2 are better (and more complex) than MTW and STW (although in MTW2 they left some nice things from RTW out)

[DrSpike]

That's interesting.

I will hopefully get chance to form some views early in the new year.