[Europe 1805] Tell us about your game

[Berthout]

By now a lot of people have been playing the mod for quite some time so it's about time to share some experiences.
Not only is it nice to hear what other people did, it will also help the us, the mod team, to improve and balance the game better.

So tell us, about your great deeds. About how many days you played, what factions have been eliminated and which enemy you fear most.


To Bjorne: No need to sticky this one 

 

[bjorne.]

O'Righty. my max play time is like 2 game days xD yes.. I cheat, modders are allowed to when modding and testing.. xD

 

[AK]

O'Righty. my max play time is like 2 game days xD yes.. I cheat, modders are allowed to when modding and testing.. xD

I too cheat pretty often, exept in battles of curse... MY TIME IS WORTH OF MONEY!!! but... I usually play with Franco-British-Russian-Prussian-Mercenary Force

 

[CCDK]

Battle in the open field without ranks is a challenge. As the commander you play a role but you are no longer the destroyer of masses. One thing that really bothers me is that there are so few neutral looters, seamen on leave, marauders, young revolters etc.

The "castle" assault is a bit flawed I think - even if you want some men to charge they end up stuck at the fence - the entrance is too small - same with the complicated overfilled villages and towns - not to mention that bandits show up at strange places. The AI cant handle places that are so complicated so in these situations you have to resort to tricks - find locations where some of your men can hit the enemy in a clear field of fire instead of having them make contact with the enemy in melee. So you are again the most important element in an attack while one shot can knock you out - frustrating and breaks the game experience.

The castle also still has the old castle look if you enter via the menu when you have taken over a castle and want to look at the owners stores - including a floating door. A lot as been done to transport the game to the age of napoleon in looks but the AI has not been changed so its not able to handle to more complex and overfilled fighting areas. I personally love the regimental idea used in the game however. Mixed troops, cavalry only or infantry only that you can encounter - a stroke of genius if I may be permitted to say so. The ranks and salary are also a very good notion since the costs of war have risen. When the loot after battle has been adjusted from its current state of near non-existence in regards to regular troops and some roaming troops the cost wont nearly as hard and will also add to the fun of battle. As it is now with few bandits and the like one may want to attack deserters for experience but the fact that you dont get any loot is a bit annoying to put it mildly. The fact that you have no loot whatsoever after a battle of say 300 French versus 230 English makes rebuilding of a diminished and battered troop a long and expensive affair so that you cant expect to field a full troop before your enemy that managed to escape in the last engagement stands before you with yet another regiment - ready to replay the experience with a result more to his liking     

It is still a mod with a lot of problems but in terms of battle on the open field its a mouthwatering thrillride. The fact that rifles are that more accurate but cant be used on horseback is very good. That some pistols are more accurate than the common musket isnt that strange since pistols dont carry the same damage or range so the musket is something you use while in the ranks with your men firing at the advancing enemy. The pistol is saved for later when the melee is about to draw near and you desire some more elbowroom - pretty much like smaller guns used in boarding a vessel before hand to hand fighting - pop a round of and into the fray for king and country or like nonsense whatever motive or form of government may make you seek glory, mutilation or even death at the hands of some scum from a little village with few teeth and bad hygiene that happens to get the drop on you while you are otherwise engaged.....   

If the flaws of the mod can be corrected the mod will be a true gem. As it is now its still a damned good piece of action, especially because of scenes, uniforms, weapons, map and the nations depicted so well. Bravo! - Keep up the good work!

A lot of blabber i guess but I hope it gave some notion of my impression of the mod.

Edit: I have had the notion that since we can "buy" troops at cities it would be nice if the transaction could go the other way and give the seller some money. Troops you free and dont fit into your unit may be sold off and provide the commander with money for continued warfare

Further Edit: After having roamed the lands as a free man for 40 days - one may even say i walked the desert of unemployment - I gave me sword to Napoleon. While one may not agree with the revolutionary ideal and the like by which he supports his recent throne his plans of a Europe united under the reign of his family does strike anyone as grand and grand schemes need grand armies so advancement is well cared for if one is willing to take the risks.

I fought minor battles - Since my liberty of movement was now restricted to French and allied country by the fate of war my trading suffered and my meager holding of 20.000 in cash couldnt supply me with that many french grenadiers. The salary given to me in my new position and the meager estate that was granted me kept me solvent while in rest but war was another matter if grenadiers wanted continued pay for service. After minor battles roaming the countryside, seeking cheap french reserves and freeing prisoners of minor parties and bandits I happened upon the notion that unless my enemies changed tactics and provided me with loot I would never be able to keep up the war in a reasonable manner. The option of finding recruits in villages was totally beyond me means since the 20 in enrollment fee and the further 80 in gear and weapons would bankrupt me in a short time even with the salary I got. So what to do? If the hostile military would grant me loot I would be forced to demand it from the hostile nations civilians. I collected all my men and found further willing men on my road to hostile Hesse-Kassel where I sacked and burned the villages of Marburg and Fulda. The loot of each action gave between 4000 and 5000 in gold and looted goods sold off in Hannover or in Nassau. After that I forcemarched to Sedih held territory and looted another 3 villages - Goods sold in Berlin and Copenhagen and again granting me the satisfying sum of 4000 to 5000 in cash. Since I had refrained from recruiting grenadiers and at most had to pay 9 per man while in action my 70 or so men could be payed with ease while i collected money for campaigns and the needed elite men for it.

At the current moment I consider the possibility of taking a tour of the bohemian countryside or perhaps northern Italy and carry the war to the Austrians. I personally like Bohemia because northern Italy may be a natural area of expansion for me in the future and I see no need to antagonize the peasantry there should Fortuna grant me luck in my plans. Northern Italy is also easier for the Austrians to control and that may restrict my movement in the Italian peninsula while Bohemia is easy to enter and exit while Saxony Bavaria and Prussia are neutral or even friendly - if need be there is even the option of escape via Russian soil if I do not encounter Russian troops of large size.

May Fortuna grant me luck, plenty of loot and battles in my favor.     

Hesse-Kassel still has its city but the armies are near dead - the 450 men in the city keep the state alive. The enemies i fear most at the moment are large bands of deserter grenadiers ranging from 30 to a party of 46 Dutch grenadiers I narrowly managed to escape and saved my men from engaging. Deserters with good guns and no loot are the ruin of any commander.

 

[Berthout]

Most of the issues to wrote about have been fixed.
But great to hear how you play the game!

How do you guys like the quick battles btw?

 

[bjorne.]

They're quick!

Actually I havn't played the real release just yet ^^

 

[Shibashake]

i like how we are all equals on the battlefield, doesn't matter if you are a general or a recruit, one shot and your ko =)

i just wish rl was like that

anyhoo I joined prussia and we declared war on russia a while ago, I am RICH! from looting all the nearby russian fiefs heheheh

although I do find line infantry seem to destroy cav in this mod which i'm not sure is suppose to happen

Love the mod SO MUCH! THANKS

 

[CCDK]

Prussia is in a really good position. They seem to be keen on declaring war on Saxony, Denmark and Russia. Denmark sometimes declares war first but Prussia is relatively strong so they can handle a few wars with minors at the same time. The troops are pretty good and if one has the notion to collect villages castles and towns then Prussia gives a good man many chances. The opportunities of raiding are really good in the north and east as these areas are least crowded. The west and south isn't nearly as good but a good leader has a flood of riches near his reach if wanted. I am currently playing as French but Prussia is a good option for my next game.

 

[Berthout]

A question to all of you who have played the game for a decent number of in game days:

Are the factions aggressive enough? Have you noticed some changes in territory. Have some factions been eliminated?

 

[Herr_Lindstrom]

when I was playing as a Merc for Serbia, they managed to sieze a territory in Turkey and shortly after I joined up with the Danes they took Skopje. Naples and Sicily took one of the Ottoman castles north of Istambul. Not sure who owned Hanover before but France took it. Nassau took Friesland from the Batavians, Prussia took something from Saxony (one of their castles i think) and are locked in a stalemate with Russia. Russia would siege a castle but then Prussia would unite and counter attack, sending the invaders packing, then Prussia would siege but with a great URAAA the russians would drive back the "Facist Invader". The Italian Kingdoms took one of the castles held by Austria in Northern Italy, and Denmark has Almost whiped out Sweden. Stockholm is the only obsticle in the way of Denmark..... Of course I was the leading cause in Sweden's demise . For me it's very early into the game... maybe about 5-6 ingame months. So yes I'd say the factions are playing aggressively but they often become dead-locked in a Stalemate.

 

[Berthout]

when I was playing as a Merc for Serbia, they managed to sieze a territory in Turkey and shortly after I joined up with the Danes they took Skopje. Naples and Sicily took one of the Ottoman castles north of Istambul. Not sure who owned Hanover before but France took it. Nassau took Friesland from the Batavians, Prussia took something from Saxony (one of their castles i think) and are locked in a stalemate with Russia. Russia would siege a castle but then Prussia would unite and counter attack, sending the invaders packing, then Prussia would siege but with a great URAAA the russians would drive back the "Facist Invader". The Italian Kingdoms took one of the castles held by Austria in Northern Italy, and Denmark has Almost whiped out Sweden. Stockholm is the only obsticle in the way of Denmark..... Of course I was the leading cause in Sweden's demise . For me it's very early into the game... maybe about 5-6 ingame months. So yes I'd say the factions are playing aggressively but they often become dead-locked in a Stalemate.

Sounds like a great game!

The only thing I'll need to have a look at is how to make France a lot more effective. I would like to create an effect of France really taking over other countries at an alarming rate early in the game..

 

[HunterAlpha1]

in my current game, things seem to be going rather normally.  lot's of battles taking place, castles being taken(no towns yet though).  one thing i've noticed, is that england isn't very aggressive.  they haven't taken any territory, and most of their battles take place in or near the english channel.  then again, they haven't lost any territory, so i guess it's pretty much a stalemate on that front.

something else:  the Ottoman empire doesn't seem to be taking the Serbian rebel state seriously.  only a handful of Ottoman lords even travel out of sight of their castles, and one of them, the lord who owns the castles to the southwest and southeast of SRS territory is practically fighting the war single-handedly.  neither SRS castle has less than 700 troops in it, and their city has over 1500!  i don't know if this is a glitch or not, but how in hell do they pay for that many troops?! 



in my current game i am playing Richard Sharpe, i started with sergeant and changed my character's name with each rank, now his name is Major Sharpe.  after fighting with the Ottomans against the Serbian rebels, Major Sharpe, after hearing that the false rape charges against him back in england had been dropped, returns home to join up to fight the french.  rich with the plunders of war, Sharpe goes all out to train and equip his companions with the best gear possible, and hires an army of the legendary Tyrolean jeagers(i cheated myself a ton of money and cheated myself and all my companions to level 20).  now it is time to fight Napolean.

EDIT:  how do i change my companion's name to those of the Chosen Men: i.e. Patrick Harper, Harris, Perkins, Hagman, Cooper, etc.?

 

[Berthout]

in my current game, things seem to be going rather normally.  lot's of battles taking place, castles being taken(no towns yet though).  one thing i've noticed, is that england isn't very aggressive.  they haven't taken any territory, and most of their battles take place in or near the english channel.  then again, they haven't lost any territory, so i guess it's pretty much a stalemate on that front.

Seems rather historically accurate.

something else:  the Ottoman empire doesn't seem to be taking the Serbian rebel state seriously.  only a handful of Ottoman lords even travel out of sight of their castles, and one of them, the lord who owns the castles to the southwest and southeast of SRS territory is practically fighting the war single-handedly.  neither SRS castle has less than 700 troops in it, and their city has over 1500!  i don't know if this is a glitch or not, but how in hell do they pay for that many troops?! 

The Ottoman empire has the disadvantage of having to fight against a lot of big rebel/bandit parties. This is meant to be, to compensate for their huge size. It is also quite historically accurate.
Serbia has this huge number of troop because they are extremely cheap. Downside is that they are also extremely bad.
I'm wouldn't be surprised if you can take out one of those 700 troop castles with 30 Hussars and some decent infantry.

Another issue might be at hand too though. But I would like to get some more feedback about it. It seems to me that the large factions ie. those whose settlements are far apart, are less aggressive then those who have all their settlements closer together. It might be that it takes to long for them to bring their officers together for a campaign and that the AI by then get's bored and goes home again. But that's just a theory. Anybody else noticed that the big factions take over less towns/castles?

in my current game i am playing Richard Sharpe, i started with sergeant and changed my character's name with each rank, now his name is Major Sharpe.  after fighting with the Ottomans against the Serbian rebels, Major Sharpe, after hearing that the false rape charges against him back in england had been dropped, returns home to join up to fight the french.  rich with the plunders of war, Sharpe goes all out to train and equip his companions with the best gear possible, and hires an army of the legendary Tyrolean jeagers(i cheated myself a ton of money and cheated myself and all my companions to level 20).  now it is time to fight Napolean.

I like how you take roleplaying serious!

EDIT:  how do i change my companion's name to those of the Chosen Men: i.e. Patrick Harper, Harris, Perkins, Hagman, Cooper, etc.?

I don't think you can. But Patrick Harper is a companion you can hire.

 

[HunterAlpha1]

lol yeah i like to roleplay, especially this time period, and i am a  Sharpe fan, love the movies, wish i could find the books 

where do i find Harper?  and what other companions are there?(post in spoiler, don't wanna ruin it for other players )

 

[Berthout]

lol yeah i like to roleplay, especially this time period, and i am a  Sharpe fan, love the movies, wish i could find the books 

where do i find Harper?  and what other companions are there?(post in spoiler, don't wanna ruin it for other players )

I noticed it's a bit hard to get all companions because of the number of towns in the mod. I'll have to find a solution for that.

Spoiler

I might forget some but except for some native ones i've included:

Fiction
Harper (sharpe)
Mathews (hornblower)
Percey Blackeney (the scarlet pimpernel)
Edmund Blackadder (Blackadder the Third)

Historical
Roustam Raza (Napoleon's bodyguard)
Some polish lancer officer i forget the name of. He doesn't have knew dialogues yet.

 

[HunterAlpha1]

awesome, thanks, i guess i've got all the companions except for Harper.

you might could try having the mod companions only appear in the towns of their nationality, i.e. Harper only in english towns, Roustam Raza in french towns, etc., and have native companions spawn in random taverns and not move around(the only potential problem i could see is all the companions spawning in one spot or in one tavern and the other companions never showing up because they tried to spawn there too). 

alternatively, you could try and see if you can create or borrow a script that allows the player to receive hints as to where the companions are, perhaps from a traveler.  maybe have the traveler give historical and/or geographical hints as to a random companion's location, and the player could then use their vast knowledge of history and geography(or simply google it) to find the npc.

 

[Berthout]

What would you guys prefer?
The possibility to recruit all companions from the camp menu (of course nobody is forced to do so and you can choose to just recruit them in taverns).
Have travellers tell you where they are, even if you haven't had them in your party before.

 

[HunterAlpha1]

now that i think about it, travelers telling you where they are is probably gonna be easiest to code, thus less prone to bugs, so i vote: travelers.

 

[Kendoman]

1805 Jack Ramsey left Scotland to earn fame and glory.  After pulling together a motley band of Rogues and defeating a few stragglers and a weak caravan or two, Jack Ramsey aligned himself with the Prussians.  We immeadiatly went to war with Denmark.  We raided and pilliaged and fought many battles.  I fancied myself a Prussian Hussar and accoutred myself accordingly.  My sweetheart, Klethi, the wanton wench,  joined me in my exploits.  I disguised her as a Prussian Hussar as well.  I found several other companions who wished to join my mercenary band, and make the Danes pay dearly.  We found the Danish dragoons deadly and not to be trifled with, but Klethi innvariably goaded us into battle.  She is a fearless wench, and greedy ta boot, but voracious in bed. Lezalit took the arms of a Austrian Kurassier and bunduk a Prussian Kurassier.  Together with our 10 Hessan Hussars and a few Prussian infantry we took part in many field battles and several sieges.  At this point I was drawing majors pay and longed for the shores of Scotland.  I said my farewells to Frederick and the Prussians and headed off to London to seek audience with King George III.  I soon found myself with a battalion of Rilfe men accompanied by a personal guard of Hussars and Kurassiers.  We have become the terror of the french coast.  I have personaly shot Napoleon 3 times.  The bugger just won't die.  Perhaps the are all just munchkins doubles.  We have taken Caen and Dreux and continue to beat back the french.  I loathe French Curassiers and love my chosen men.  When we fight on an open field I love to find the sweet spot where a baker rifle can rip the French to shreads, but the voltiguers don't have the range.  Then I wait with my hand picked company of Hussars and when the French  charge.  I cut their broken ranks down in the field.  Ah it is glorious!  One day Paris will be mine.

 

[FUBAR!!!]

when i was playing this mod i got about 20 militia men and went to raid a caravan.....i got raped but it was still fun!
this mod is awesome.