Observation:
So I've been playing cav more on .720 and I have noticed something. The way couching works now, a horse that moves slower and has slower turning stats can turn more while still keeping their lance in couch mode. You can theoretically do the same thing by simply slowing down your horse and tapping A or D with a fast horse, but its a lot easier with a big, slow warhorse or charger.
Now, the point is, this is a really good thing! A warhorse should have an easier time couching than a courser. And this is what this patch helps achieve. Sarranid, desert, and steppe horses seem to have the hardest time at controlling a couch(because of their turning skill, they reset the lance position really easily). In my opinion, this is a great gameplay change that is also really realistic. Heavy cavalry would traditionally use couching the most, while light cavalry fulfilled more of a skirmisher role part of the time. I think if the amount you could turn without reseting your couch could be increased slightly, it would make the cavalry system much better than any version before, as right now it still resets a little too easily.
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Suggestion:
Or better yet, the system could be improved even more with a few simple changes.
First, make it where you press X to swap the lance into "couch mode" (like swapping the great axe now). In couching mode, you click to lower the lance and it stays down for a certain amount of time. This will add a little more skill into the equation. Basically, this is similar to Welcome to Hell's suggestion. BUT--when in couching mode, limit your ability to turn, equivalent to how far you can turn in .720 without reseting the lance. i.e. you can mash down A or D but it only turns you at the same speed as tapping A or D to keep your lance down in .720. This will stop people from accidentally turning too far and raising their lance while trying to couch, while keeping the turn limitation in. The turn limitation is a good thing, as it keeps people from riding in circles in couch position, and makes you think harder about when to try to couch and when to thrust
Is this perhaps the holy grail of M&B cavalry? All 3 forms of cavalry combat will have their place (couch, thrust, sword), and different horses will be better for different combat styles even more than now.
So I've been playing cav more on .720 and I have noticed something. The way couching works now, a horse that moves slower and has slower turning stats can turn more while still keeping their lance in couch mode. You can theoretically do the same thing by simply slowing down your horse and tapping A or D with a fast horse, but its a lot easier with a big, slow warhorse or charger.
Now, the point is, this is a really good thing! A warhorse should have an easier time couching than a courser. And this is what this patch helps achieve. Sarranid, desert, and steppe horses seem to have the hardest time at controlling a couch(because of their turning skill, they reset the lance position really easily). In my opinion, this is a great gameplay change that is also really realistic. Heavy cavalry would traditionally use couching the most, while light cavalry fulfilled more of a skirmisher role part of the time. I think if the amount you could turn without reseting your couch could be increased slightly, it would make the cavalry system much better than any version before, as right now it still resets a little too easily.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Suggestion:
Or better yet, the system could be improved even more with a few simple changes.
First, make it where you press X to swap the lance into "couch mode" (like swapping the great axe now). In couching mode, you click to lower the lance and it stays down for a certain amount of time. This will add a little more skill into the equation. Basically, this is similar to Welcome to Hell's suggestion. BUT--when in couching mode, limit your ability to turn, equivalent to how far you can turn in .720 without reseting the lance. i.e. you can mash down A or D but it only turns you at the same speed as tapping A or D to keep your lance down in .720. This will stop people from accidentally turning too far and raising their lance while trying to couch, while keeping the turn limitation in. The turn limitation is a good thing, as it keeps people from riding in circles in couch position, and makes you think harder about when to try to couch and when to thrust
Is this perhaps the holy grail of M&B cavalry? All 3 forms of cavalry combat will have their place (couch, thrust, sword), and different horses will be better for different combat styles even more than now.
