Commander Battles

[b00227783]

I am genuinely suprised at how much fun I am having on them, but there are a few things that really bother me.


1) The most annoying thing is when an enemy appears on your flank, but your men continue to shoot at the enemy in front of them. It would be great to be able to tag a line for your men to aim at. At the moment, the only way to make them do this is have them run out of sight of the first line they were shooting at, so they start aiming at the flanking force and then have them line up against the flanking force, which by then, you've lost most your men. (I suppose it's realistic, as it is a flanking move)


2) Your men are quite unresponsive. I've found a quick way to fix it, and that's have your men switch to melee weapons when you want them to move, then switch back to ranged once in line mode. (You'll have to press "Use Ranged Weapons" a few times to make them do it, you can see it when they are all aiming rather than standing idle/bracing in crouch mode)


3) A tactical map would be great. I will get used to the maps eventually, but some maps, the foggy ones in particular, you have no idea where your friendlies are. Which brings me on to my next point...


4) Cannons. Now, if you have a crack shot on the cannon, they are very useful to have, they can half the size of a line in one shot. But having someone who ends up shooting their own lines instead of the enemy, makes it impossible to win at all. Not just because of the men the other lines use, that cannon only gets a small amount of artillery guards instead of a line regiment. And so the team is already at a disadvantage with numbers.


5) If you die, you lose your spyglass, which is incredibly useful, especially in big maps. It's saved me a few times from charging towards one line only to see there is another sneaky bastard line waiting in the wheat field Right now you respawn as a regular soldier. If it is possible, could the spyglass not be carried on as you keep respawning?

 

[Franz Von G]

Let me add some other suggestions:

- Change the winning system. There's no need to go hunting the last bot in the map, it's boring and takes time. Just made that once one team has only 15% of its initial troops left, the battle is finished. Then, if the difference between the remaining troops in the teams is less then, let's say, 10%, it' even. Otherwise, the one with more troops win.

- We need maps, with names for hills/gorges/rivers/towns. No need to show troops on it, only where you are and how the places are called. It will increaase the collaboration for sure and ease things for commanders.

 

[b00227783]

That's a good point actually, but it might be unfair when it's a lone man on a cannon fighting one line left. He could be lucky enough to destroy most of them with the cannon and then kill the rest with a sword. You never know

 

[Franz Von G]

That's a good point actually, but it might be unfair when it's a lone man on a cannon fighting one line left. He could be lucky enough to destroy most of them with the cannon and then kill the rest with a sword. You never know

that's the point. Is boring, unrealistic and even if it could be funny once in while, most of the time is just a loss of time. The idea that a lonely artilleryman stays there manning his cannon against an army is maybe too much for me 

 

[Vendigr]

I just want to address a few of the things you brought up...

1. I agree fully, although I have to say that in personal experience I find my guys do usually shoot at the nearest target. That being said, a way to specify a target would be great.

2. Again, I agree fully. I definitely think AI should know to switch to melee if they receive a charge order and are less than 10 yards away from hostile troops. Currently they just hesitantly inch forward and keep shooting until their enemies have already bayoneted half of them.
EDIT: @the next post, you shouldn't have to specific melee weapons if you give a charge command when your guys are RIGHT in front of the enemy, that's really counter-intuitive.

3. I'm working on that . I think the maps so far don't take advantage of all of the potential the game has to offer. I do like fog, though. Not knowing exactly where your enemies is great, realistic, and adds a lot of challenge to commander battles. If I had my way we could force unit emblems off too, and risk friendly fire episodes with artillery 

4. Here I fully disagree. The game has only been out for a few days. It takes a bit of practice to get good at cannons, which is how it should be IMO. Mount&blade is celebrated for its learning curve and high skill ceiling, I think this fits right in with that.

5. Disagree as well. Your commander should be pretty important, and you should put a lot of effort into keeping him alive. Some server don't even let you respawn, which I'm fine with as well.

 

[MaHuD]

Order your guys to use melee only when charging.

 

[Keunus]

I am genuinely suprised at how much fun I am having on them, but there are a few things that really bother me.


1) The most annoying thing is when an enemy appears on your flank, but your men continue to shoot at the enemy in front of them. It would be great to be able to tag a line for your men to aim at. At the moment, the only way to make them do this is have them run out of sight of the first line they were shooting at, so they start aiming at the flanking force and then have them line up against the flanking force, which by then, you've lost most your men. (I suppose it's realistic, as it is a flanking move)


2) Your men are quite unresponsive. I've found a quick way to fix it, and that's have your men switch to melee weapons when you want them to move, then switch back to ranged once in line mode. (You'll have to press "Use Ranged Weapons" a few times to make them do it, you can see it when they are all aiming rather than standing idle/bracing in crouch mode)


3) A tactical map would be great. I will get used to the maps eventually, but some maps, the foggy ones in particular, you have no idea where your friendlies are. Which brings me on to my next point...


4) Cannons. Now, if you have a crack shot on the cannon, they are very useful to have, they can half the size of a line in one shot. But having someone who ends up shooting their own lines instead of the enemy, makes it impossible to win at all. Not just because of the men the other lines use, that cannon only gets a small amount of artillery guards instead of a line regiment. And so the team is already at a disadvantage with numbers.


5) If you die, you lose your spyglass, which is incredibly useful, especially in big maps. It's saved me a few times from charging towards one line only to see there is another sneaky bastard line waiting in the wheat field Right now you respawn as a regular soldier. If it is possible, could the spyglass not be carried on as you keep respawning?

1. I compleetly agree with that.
2. Agreed, Sometimes if you want to move your men, they keep the aiming pose and walk really slowly.
3. Dont know about a tactical map. But maybe takes away some of the fun in random maps?
4. Dont agree. Thats the whole point of war. People need to defend the cannon and the cannon himself must ofcourse be carefull not to shoot on hist own men.
5. Dont agree. Thats the downsize of being killed has a Commander

 

[Horsa]

Tried some custom battles, my men don't charge when I command them to do so. I hope it isn't so buggy in commander mode.

 

[Almus]

Some tips that I've learned from playing....

At the start of the match, Press F3 F2 (Fire on my command), that way, as you move, your guys will limit their aiming and they will def. not fire, so they all stay in a decent pack/line

To bayonet charge, as mentioned above, put the men into "Use Melee only" (F4? commands), then tell them to follow (F1 F2), lead the charge, and about 10m away, tell them to charge! (F1 F3)

Getting them to line up correctly to face a certain way would be awesome.

I feel a tactical map is silly. Napoleon didn't have a magical map/gps, he had scouts or he himself had to walk the battlefield, use your telescope!

 

[ClemLeNormand14]

I am genuinely suprised at how much fun I am having on them, but there are a few things that really bother me.


1) The most annoying thing is when an enemy appears on your flank, but your men continue to shoot at the enemy in front of them. It would be great to be able to tag a line for your men to aim at. At the moment, the only way to make them do this is have them run out of sight of the first line they were shooting at, so they start aiming at the flanking force and then have them line up against the flanking force, which by then, you've lost most your men. (I suppose it's realistic, as it is a flanking move)

Yeap, agree with that.  It's very annoying !

 

[gopat]

Commander battles are really fun however when someone leaves a match all of their bots just seems to walk back until they reach the edge of the map and it can end up delaying games for quite a while 

 

[WilsonMG]

5) If you die, you lose your spyglass, which is incredibly useful, especially in big maps. It's saved me a few times from charging towards one line only to see there is another sneaky bastard line waiting in the wheat field Right now you respawn as a regular soldier. If it is possible, could the spyglass not be carried on as you keep respawning?

Walk over to where you died as the officer.  Pick up the spyglass.  Solved.

I do it every time.

 

[HHC_MaggieNoodle]

I am genuinely suprised at how much fun I am having on them, but there are a few things that really bother me.


1) The most annoying thing is when an enemy appears on your flank, but your men continue to shoot at the enemy in front of them. It would be great to be able to tag a line for your men to aim at. At the moment, the only way to make them do this is have them run out of sight of the first line they were shooting at, so they start aiming at the flanking force and then have them line up against the flanking force, which by then, you've lost most your men. (I suppose it's realistic, as it is a flanking move)


2) Your men are quite unresponsive. I've found a quick way to fix it, and that's have your men switch to melee weapons when you want them to move, then switch back to ranged once in line mode. (You'll have to press "Use Ranged Weapons" a few times to make them do it, you can see it when they are all aiming rather than standing idle/bracing in crouch mode)


3) A tactical map would be great. I will get used to the maps eventually, but some maps, the foggy ones in particular, you have no idea where your friendlies are. Which brings me on to my next point...


4) Cannons. Now, if you have a crack shot on the cannon, they are very useful to have, they can half the size of a line in one shot. But having someone who ends up shooting their own lines instead of the enemy, makes it impossible to win at all. Not just because of the men the other lines use, that cannon only gets a small amount of artillery guards instead of a line regiment. And so the team is already at a disadvantage with numbers.


5) If you die, you lose your spyglass, which is incredibly useful, especially in big maps. It's saved me a few times from charging towards one line only to see there is another sneaky bastard line waiting in the wheat field Right now you respawn as a regular soldier. If it is possible, could the spyglass not be carried on as you keep respawning?

1: Well... if you notice, your troops do automatically wheel left or right to face a line that is there target. If they are preoccupied, they will not be able to change direction. People can use this to there advantage and the commander can move way to the side and hide behind a rock, so then the enemy line shoots and him and gets distracted from their line. It would be a nice feature however to focus on a particular line. A lot of it has to do with your skill as a commander. If you choose to post your troops in 2 rows in a valley, you could be easily flanked and shot down on. Higher ground is better.

2: I find that once you get good at using the f keys, your men are actually quite responsive. The only problem is when you have them to fire at your command, and you begin moving. Some of them aim while moving, and slows their speed by half. All you have to do is have them fire, and they run.

3: Use your spyglass! A tactical map would take away all the surprise aspects of the game. Whats the point of leading your troops under the opposite hill of your enemy to hide from them and then flank them, if the enemy knows where you are? I bet you Napoleon wished he had a tactical map. It makes it more realistic, and more fun.

4: If used correctly, these things are very effective. If you are scared of hitting friendlies, then use your spyglass first and scope out your target! If they have little circles above their heads, don't shoot! It's very simple! And the fact they only get a handful of line infantry is a very good idea. Artillery stays back and shoots, and you need men to protect your cannon from troops or cavalry, but if you had as many troops as everyone else, that would just be unfair.

5: You lose your spyglass, tough! Just pick it up from your dead body.

In conclusion, all you have to do is be smart and strategic. Choose your troops wisely.

 

[b00227783]

Ok, so everyone agrees on my points in 1 and 2.


Yes, I do use my spyglass, but I can't see who I want to talk to about that infantry on my right moving up with me to take out this artillery. Something similar to Mount&Blades tactical map when you press backspace is all I ask. You can only pick up your spyglass if you were holding it when you died, which I don't, I pick up a dead mans musket and fire with my men.

 

[Temuzu]

Walk over to where you died as the officer.  Pick up the spyglass.  Solved.

I do it every time.

Kind of hard, especially as cavarly.

 

[BetaKnight]

Like everyone only 1 and 2.
I wish to add a not to the fog thing atleast like a compass to know where the heck your going.

 

[Dennis The Great]

I think using the spyglas would be great for targeting the enemy for you men, so they know where to point there muskets...

 

[Montcalm]

I think using the spyglas would be great for targeting the enemy for you men, so they know where to point there muskets...

Prrcisely, that's exactly what I was thinking.
Some moder knows if the game mechanics make it possible ?
What is almost certainly possible however, is to implement an orientation order, such as "turn the line 90° to the right", etc

 

[MaHuD]

Walk over to where you died as the officer.  Pick up the spyglass.  Solved.

I do it every time.

Kind of hard, especially as cavarly.

Or as artillery when you get shot whilst loading.

 

[dana22]

The controls should be streamlined, we should be able to bind individual commands to keys.

Q and E are not used at all. I would bind Fire at Will to Q, and Fire on Command/Fire to E. We dont need number keys as well, since you only command a single unit.

1 could be Follow Me. 2 Hold Area. 3 use Ranged. 4 use Melee, 5 Charge. etc.

Also it would be cool if each Regiment got a bot flag bearer. Maybe even drummer or piper.