For FoG2 - 1. The Points & 2. Cavalry Type Maneuver
Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 3:25 pm
My main beef with the series lies in two areas:
1. The points system, like most I have ever played with, are imbalanced.
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2. Cavalry type cannot execute a turn, withrdaw and turn.
First the point:
I just looked at the Crusades army from the S&S module. You can buy a Superior, Heavily Armored Knight with Lance and Sword for 17 points. On the other hand a Cavalry unit with only Protected armor, Bow and Swordsman and Average costs you 11 points. So for 1/2 the price your can upgrade to a cavalry unit that the Cavalry can never defeat even if they hit it on the flank (not rear). So if the Knights face up properly they never lose even if TWO of the Cavalry units attack it. Something is wrong there. Even if THREE Cavalry units attack the Knights they still will not lose. I have tried it on many occasions. Again, no REAR bonus for any of them and even when I had the rear bonus my Cavalry lose 2 out of 3 times.
Now I am not negating the strengths of the Knights but they should cost more. And yes, they suck when attacking infantry but what cavalry army has infantry for the most part? Oh yes, the Catalan with their Superior Medium infantry. You can buy a gazillion of those and basically deny any Cavalry army the field by just putting them in place. Ridiculous (like the Welsh - similar issues).
But the points need to be looked at. Either allow THREE Cavalry units to get an advantage on the Knights or raise their points. I am for the former.
Second, the designations for Cavalry and Light Cavalry have somehow come to mean that the former's horses can only do one about face in a move which really kills the maneuverability of the Cavalry type. Cavalry should be able to maneuver BETTER than Knights. The Mongol Cavalry type could both do an about face, move and then reface to the front again. They were experts at this sort of thing.
Therefore consider this:
SUPERIOR Cavalry types should be able to do TWO About Face maneuvers in one turn. This allows them to move back to the rear but still face their opponent.
And finally ... make the maps DEEPER. Cavalry armies have no chance of beating a good infantry army ONLY BECAUSE OF ROOM. It is not fair and ruins the experience of fighting with a GOOD cavalry army. The Mongols fought all day long by attacking along the edges.
Either that or learn how to program an "endless map." It really is the only way to portray a Mongol (or good cavalry army) battle vs. other armies.
Those are my main beefs with the system. Medium infantry seem to be too powerful if you deploy tons of them against cavalry armies. I cannot believe that Medium infantry was able to hold its own against Cavalry. I do not care how many sources you quote. They were NOT as good as Heavy infantry. No way.
The edge of the map issue ... ridiculous. Either that or make them MUCH bigger and deeper and do not start the armies on the EDGE of the map but make the players deploy their camp about 8 hexes from the map edge. That also would give routing units a better chance of coming back to fight ...
And give the Cavalry type a better chance of defeating Heavy Cav ... OR decrease the cost for Cavalry. Try beating any other kind of unit with Cavalry sometime. Infantry and Knights just stand their ground and beat them time after time.
1. The points system, like most I have ever played with, are imbalanced.
&
2. Cavalry type cannot execute a turn, withrdaw and turn.
First the point:
I just looked at the Crusades army from the S&S module. You can buy a Superior, Heavily Armored Knight with Lance and Sword for 17 points. On the other hand a Cavalry unit with only Protected armor, Bow and Swordsman and Average costs you 11 points. So for 1/2 the price your can upgrade to a cavalry unit that the Cavalry can never defeat even if they hit it on the flank (not rear). So if the Knights face up properly they never lose even if TWO of the Cavalry units attack it. Something is wrong there. Even if THREE Cavalry units attack the Knights they still will not lose. I have tried it on many occasions. Again, no REAR bonus for any of them and even when I had the rear bonus my Cavalry lose 2 out of 3 times.
Now I am not negating the strengths of the Knights but they should cost more. And yes, they suck when attacking infantry but what cavalry army has infantry for the most part? Oh yes, the Catalan with their Superior Medium infantry. You can buy a gazillion of those and basically deny any Cavalry army the field by just putting them in place. Ridiculous (like the Welsh - similar issues).
But the points need to be looked at. Either allow THREE Cavalry units to get an advantage on the Knights or raise their points. I am for the former.
Second, the designations for Cavalry and Light Cavalry have somehow come to mean that the former's horses can only do one about face in a move which really kills the maneuverability of the Cavalry type. Cavalry should be able to maneuver BETTER than Knights. The Mongol Cavalry type could both do an about face, move and then reface to the front again. They were experts at this sort of thing.
Therefore consider this:
SUPERIOR Cavalry types should be able to do TWO About Face maneuvers in one turn. This allows them to move back to the rear but still face their opponent.
And finally ... make the maps DEEPER. Cavalry armies have no chance of beating a good infantry army ONLY BECAUSE OF ROOM. It is not fair and ruins the experience of fighting with a GOOD cavalry army. The Mongols fought all day long by attacking along the edges.
Either that or learn how to program an "endless map." It really is the only way to portray a Mongol (or good cavalry army) battle vs. other armies.
Those are my main beefs with the system. Medium infantry seem to be too powerful if you deploy tons of them against cavalry armies. I cannot believe that Medium infantry was able to hold its own against Cavalry. I do not care how many sources you quote. They were NOT as good as Heavy infantry. No way.
The edge of the map issue ... ridiculous. Either that or make them MUCH bigger and deeper and do not start the armies on the EDGE of the map but make the players deploy their camp about 8 hexes from the map edge. That also would give routing units a better chance of coming back to fight ...
And give the Cavalry type a better chance of defeating Heavy Cav ... OR decrease the cost for Cavalry. Try beating any other kind of unit with Cavalry sometime. Infantry and Knights just stand their ground and beat them time after time.