Just to say thanks.

[fairfax]

Hi just to say thanks to the modders who design and give us such wonderful scenerios. Each seems better than the last..No offence. I have to say they really showing us how versitile this game is.

From the superb Japanese mod and to yesterday I downloaded the Bosworth Field scenerio. A direction I hope this game will go, but I find it unlikely. What I would like to ask is......Is it easy to produce an Army list for the Wars of the Roses using the units already available ? If not " being really cheeky" would some kind soul be willing to do it.

I realise I could go to the editor and make up my own battles, but it would be far easier and quicker to use a list in skirmish mode, which is what I play most of the time....Anyway I thought I would ask.

I know I could get Field of Glory.......Judging from youtube videos it plays the same but I dont think it's as good graphically as Pike and Shot, also the messages are a bit mixed concerning the AI. I know where I am with Pike and Shot......I usually lose, well most of the time..................Anyway thanks again the scenerios are superb.

[jomni]

You're welcome.

[Miletus]

I know I could get Field of Glory.......Judging from youtube videos it plays the same but I dont think it's as good graphically as Pike and Shot, also the messages are a bit mixed concerning the AI. I know where I am with Pike and Shot......I usually lose, well most of the time..................Anyway thanks again the scenerios are superb.

The AI in Field Of Glory is dreadful. It really only works as a human v human game. Save your money and stick to P&S!!!

[fogman]

I know I could get Field of Glory.......Judging from youtube videos it plays the same but I dont think it's as good graphically as Pike and Shot, also the messages are a bit mixed concerning the AI. I know where I am with Pike and Shot......I usually lose, well most of the time..................Anyway thanks again the scenerios are superb.

The AI in Field Of Glory is dreadful. It really only works as a human v human game. Save your money and stick to P&S!!!

if you need a fix of macedonian pikes at cynoscephalae or norman knighs at hastings, the breadth of FoG is unbeatable. the AI is not interesting after you have learned the game anyways.

[fairfax]

I was hoping the AI would be on a par with “Pike and Shot”. It’s also odd how the “Graphics” which I previously didn’t like tend to grow on you.
I do keep checking on the “Field of Glory website to find out any news about the new game. Like most I wait in silent frustration.
I did play the Total War series for many years and played around 800 hours on Rome 2. But having played Pike and Shot I find Rome 2 to be too much of an arcade game..........If you understand what I mean.....Maybe the AI is not challenging enough..........And despite all the hours I put in I certainly wouldn’t claim to be an expert. I mostly played custom battles rather than the campaign.
Just lately I have been watching videos of ALea Jacta Est made by Ageod, now if Rome 2 had a campaign like this I would be putting in another 800 hours.
However I very much enjoy “Pike and Shot” there is more to this game than I first realised. Like most folk I know little about the era, but have read up a bit about the English Civil Wars. I tend to play this the most. Up till I bought the game my only knowledge came from the film “Oliver Cromwell” starring Richard Harris. I had always thought this period of history was neglected especially by the Computer game Industry. In fact I found Pike and Shot by accident.
I went on the Steam store and typed in English Civil war. I have to say I thought it was expensive and the graphics “dated”. However I had a look at a few you tube videos and decided to go for it. I realise that the graphics of the units fit just right and the maps full of interest.
I would say to anyone who has just bought the game just practice with the skirmish mode adjust the difficulty to suit yourself.........I played for ages on the easiest setting. Then went up a notch.....Perhaps it was because I started to win the odd battle and at one point I went up to the third tier and barely hung on.........I take any win as a fantastic achievement ! Don’t get frustrated with the game..........It is just a game but don’t give up on it either. Watch loads of videos many are very interesting........Lets face it there is little on TV.
Its also good that if you ask for help Richard is very quick with how to do things. Although I have to say most of it sounds to complicated for me. But is good some do try and produce these amazing scenerio’s. I have only played a few I lost Pinke, Lost twice at Dunbar, I did however win at Worcester. Also lost twice at Bosworth.
I wait eagerly for the next update and then wonder which period the game will move to. Whichever it is it will be both interesting and addictive in a masochistic kind of way.
I will continue to wait, I have made some more wooden blocks with intention of playing a campaign based on the Wars of the Roses. I like the idea of “Points based Armies” If I were to get Field of Glory I would like to also get several expansion packs including “Cloud of Arrows”?
Unfortunately I don’t play multiplayer mostly because I’m not well and amongst other things suffer from chronic fatigue and now then get confused due to tiredness...Even writing a post can prove to be a big effort.
Anyway thanks for the advice and hope you produce even more fine scenarios, due to my ignorance of battles I have never heard of.

[Miletus]

I was hoping the AI would be on a par with “Pike and Shot”. It’s also odd how the “Graphics” which I previously didn’t like tend to grow on you.
I do keep checking on the “Field of Glory website to find out any news about the new game. Like most I wait in silent frustration.

Obviously opinions vary, but personally I find the AI in FoG is so prone to catastrophic (and nonsensical) decision-making that it really doesn't provide you with a game once you've mastered the basics. And I speak as someone who most definitely isn't a competitive or expert gamer, so my needs in that regard are pretty modest. Like you I don't really 'do' multiplayer, so eventually I had to write off my substantial investment in FoG and its add-on modules. From what I've read, there are no plans to address AI issues in the updated version of the program, which is a real shame. It could have been a classic if only this issue had been addressed...

[fairfax]

It's a great shame to put money into a game that you don't enjoy...........Like you say let down by the AI. I guess we have also been spoiled by the great AI that has gone into Pike and Shot. Here's hoping Richard covers most of the Era's that have been covered by "Field of Glory" although I cannot see that happening, but you never know.

I guess if I want to do my "War of the Roses campaign" I may try and use a mod for Rome 2. I was really hoping that Field of Glory would fit just nicely, looking at the video's it plays similar to Pike and Shot but sadly lacking. Anyway would anyone like to do a Medieval mod for Pike and Shot...........And put in Skirmish mode. I did ask this question before, sadly in order to achieve it.......Is to complicated for me. Finally thank's for the advice, I will save my money.

[fogman]

There is a third dimension beyond playing the ai and playing mp: it's playing hotseat. As a gamer whose background is board wargame, this is important. In the pre-computer days, wargamers spent a huge amount of time playing against themselves. It's near impossible to play hotseat in Pike and Shot (you can challenge yourself but have to sit through replays every turn which makes it a non-starter). One of the reasons playing hotseat is fun is the possibility to study different historical situations and tactics, especially if your primary goal of playing wargames is the love of military history (the genre has gone more mainstream in the computer age but that has led to a corresponding decline in historical accuracy). The ease of playing hotseat and of editing and creating scenarios as well as units in FoG (note that you cannot edit official scenarios in Pike and Shot and don't get me started on the scenario creation process...), combined with the sheer amount of historical periods available makes it a far superior product in my view, and by far the best money I've ever spent on entertainment, witnessed by the fact that i'm still playing it almost daily after 5 years.

Regarding the AI in Pike and Shot; having designed scenarios and tested them extensively against the computer, it is not as good as people think. One of the reasons it looks tougher to beat has to do with the movement restrictions in the game that makes it difficult for players to maneuver (the primary advantage humans have) and also prevents the computer from making gravely mistaken moves (It is not difficult however to fool the computer, in a way that would not work against humans, something I discovered when investigating some puzzling actions it did during scenario testing). Movement restrictions is what makes the AI now unbeatable to the casual players in computer chess games. FoG has a more fluid game play and the sheer amount of possibilities overwhelms the best AI.

[fairfax]

I wasn't aware there was a "hotseat mode" in Field of Glory. In fact my only experience of the is as I wrote earlier through watching videos on you tube, most feature Muliplayer, and a very few against the computer.

One of the things that facinated me was the sheer amount of lists and information. Also a scenerio can be created quickly, the map can be as "Pretty" as you care to make it. The reason why I started this thread was to thank the folk who create the scenerio's for Pike and Shot. I have enough difficulty just with the Editor.......Maybe I should invest more time and learn. But my health is not good. I have some days when I feel to tired to do anything, I get reasonable days as well, but I have to say My concentration is not what it was. I fill most of my time playing games and looking at other games.........I have to admit there are lots of games that interest me but find they are now to complicated for me to understand, and I get lost in the "detail" of things to do.

I am trying to get my head round !"To end all wars" by Ageod.....But it's a slow process, but if I can play the basics then I'm getting somewhere. I will think again about Field of Glory, unfortunately I'm not working due to my health, so I have to choose wisely. Thanks again for the information and for the wonderful scenerio's you and others produce. Most I have yet to play.........Sort of saving them for later......It makes me wonder where you get all the information from, especially the maps. Although I guess if you include the main features the rest can you can use poetic licence. The maps in those days were hardly great..........I spend ages on the net looking for big maps that I can push my wooden blocks about, doing or dreaming up new campaigns. Most "well both" are based on "Keyth's campaign" basically trying to capture towns. Anyway thanks again.

[TheGrayMouser]

My two cents
Owned FOG since day one. The AI is not good, however it still makes for a n enjoyable game and I still routinely play some of the original scenarios.
The AI's real problem is that it cant defend, it basically treats all battles like meeting engagements. Hopefully the upcoming update will address this by giving scenario designers more tools to guide the AI , ie fixed units, units flagged to stay In position etc would be a good start.

If you not playing multi player, there really no need to buy all the DAG expansions, base game and perhaps 1 exp would do it. With just the base game have access to every unit graphic and can create any battle using the scenario editor, which is very easy to use.

[fairfax]

Still don't know which way to go with this game. I know I need the base game, plus I would like "Storm of Arrows"? I was thinking of collecting some other expansions. Will probably wait a bit longer. Have to say been experimenting with Rome 2. Ok nice graphics and maps.

Instead of points I used "money" custom funds again the results are not brilliant. Always the same formation and a few units to flank me from the right and the left. Will probably watch a couple of "Field of Glory video's to see how the AI operates, I have a feeling the same. I play custom battles on Rome 2, a fair variation of maps. Hills, plains, forestry/woods also sea battles, but these were "bugged" anyway I prefer to play battles on land, although you can do coastal invasions. Also a good choice of factions, thanks to modding a Medieval mod has come out, also a team was working on a massive Bronze age mod.....Thanks to modding the game is playable, also a campaign feature which has never interested me.

But you don't have the ability to make your own maps, I think you can for Attilla, I have the game but spent very little time playing it. I know on some of the FOG videos I have seen muliplayer battles featuring Medieval against Ancient, which seems a bit odd to me......But each to their own. I think the map making could be interesting. Having looked on the FOG Forum, there seems to loads of scenerios which can be downloaded........Would you need the expansion packs to play some of these ?

Well I can wait a bit longer first to see if this long promised update comes along, although a beta version can be downloaded.......Odd nobody has done a video of this version or any screenshots. I will also wait to see which direction Pike and Shot is going.....Period that is. Anyway thanks again......Plenty to think about.

Just finished a Skirmish Battle ECW Played as Parliament 1642/43 list ....v Royalist Edgehill list........Lost 65% 51%. On default difficulty.......The Royalists seem stronger kicking my Infantry all over the map. Some you win some you..........

[Miletus]

Of course these decisions would be so much easier to make if we could just persuade RBS to let us know what period P&S will move into next!

[Alma69]

I bet Rome and Greece!

[Adebar]

note that you cannot edit official scenarios in Pike and Shot

BTW, you can. Just copy the campaign folders into My Documents/My Games/PIKEANDSHOT/Campaigns. Then all the official scenarios are accessible in the editor. Important: Disable write protection, otherwise you won't be able to save changes. And, of course, make a backup copy of the original files first. - If you don't want to see double campaigns (official and modded ones) listed in the game after this process, simply remove the official ones from their folder.

[pipfromslitherine]

A MUCH better way would be to rename your edited versions, this will prevent any problems when updating the game etc. You can change their display name in the list by editing the text1.txt file in the campaign folder, and change IDS_CAMPAIGN_NAME and IDS_CAMPAIGN_TEXT.

Cheers

Pip