Arena v Time

[ross]

Dear All,
We have just played Arena for the first time and find it so tunnel visioned as to having no alternatives if things go wrong. The main problem being the time factor for completing certain battles. For example when fighting the S.I.C. of the army of Spartacus 60 seconds is allowed but almost 10 seconds are taken up before the Roman army even begins to move. Goodness knows how many formations and tactics were used all to no avail leaving only the alternative of starting all over again or leaving the game. For the simple this is not good business. It does not play well when good money has been spent. So, may I suggest that for us simple people you make some sort of adjustment whereby we can progress without having to be a computer gamer genius. The old maxim of " KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID " must be the priority if young kids are to be encouraged to play games like this. As for me I'm just a 63 year old still learning the arts of playing computer wargames, not a whizzkid with the ability or desire to make these games beyond the reach or brain of the masses wherein lies the market. As a replacement for Legion it is not but it does have many appealing attributes. The proposal to alter that wonderful game is another matter but I was led to believe and have lived in hope for Legion to be upgraded, yes to compete with and even improve on any other in the marketplace at the moment. As for Arena, how can one expect to enter the online world if one cannot get past Spartacus because of something that reality didn't have to contend with. By that I mean ridiculous time factors. Slitherine must make their games playable and winable for the average purchaser and not pander to the small elete wherein there is no mass market and certainly no profitability.
Yours,
Ross.

[sum1won]

Ross, why dont you tell us the kind of army you have/tactics you use? Although this may sound a little harsh, you might have tried a poor buildup strategy- one that might have neglected certain aspects of the game more than is advisable. Not everything works all the time, after all, even in easy games. Therefore, even for non-tactics geniuses, the number one rule should be "be prepared"- another very well known maxim. How? Be prepared by having all sorts of troops on hand that can cover any situation- an all heavy infantry army will do fine in most battles, but not in special ops where one has to ambush the enemy, take him out quickly, or go into swamps after him. Similarly, a fast, cavalry based army might not work out to well in restritive maps, but will do very well in a large map open to maneveur. However, one can get around this by using a combined arms force. Using this type of army, one can excel in any sort of map by expoliting the combination of the enemy army and the current map by slecting the parts of your army that will do well. After all, it only takes a few heavy units to take on dozens of light enemy units and win- what are your other seven praetorians doing in the mean time?

Oh, and I happen to be 16, and my brother is 10. We both play, and play well. He tends to make some mistakes in effeciency, but he was able to beat the roman campaign on normal.

[pipfromslitherine]

We certainly aim to make our games accessible - you will see an awful lot of comment on these forums that Arena is far too easy! The time contraints are designed to demand a change of tactics in some battles.

And while we are always looking to progress the game designs we produce, there is certainly no plan to 'replace' the Legion/Spartan series of games with just our Arena stream. Arena was a game which grew out of a number of ideas, and which we think has come to fruit as a good, fun game which allows players to experiment with tactics and army progression in a pretty unique way.

As always, we are glad you took the time to let us know your thoughts. We really do read every post that comes across these boards and value all the feedback from people who enjoy our games.

Cheers

Pip

[tora_tora_tora]

Hi, I'm Japanese and not so fluent in English, so please read with patient.

I guess there are several things that might help in clearing that map.
Firstly, the flyby-view of the battlefield could be terminated by clicking your mouse, so a few seconds more is available.
Secondly, if army is composed mostly of heavy infantries, equipments such as weapon and armor do help in destroying the opponents quicker.
Thirdly, though enemy first line is consisted of superb heavy infantries, and there is also one hig level heavy cavalry, their reserve is not so
reliable and easy to crumble. So somekind of maneuver, left hook might work.

[IainMcNeil]

There is actually a bug which has been fixed and we are working on building it into a patch. It means the timer will start to count while you watch teh camera panning around teh battlefield. It should not start until you have direct control. If you click during the camera pan it will avoid the problem and give you an extra 10 seconds. On the easiest difficulty setting this should make the map quite manageable.

[Redpossum]

Hehe, Ross, I feel your pain!

At 46, I'm old enough to be the father of most other members of the LA community here.

Just hang in there, and keep plugging away.

Remember, old age and treachery will defeat youth and idealism every time

[honvedseg]

I managed to beat this one on Very Hard, with the short timer no less, so it's certainly winnable. Since you can only concentrate so many troops into a tight spot, adding a few ranged units behind your lines to inflict additional casualties would speed up the process. Sending your cavalry and/or light troops around the flank would help, especially against the pesky skirmishers in the back who always seem to be the last to break. In addition, try placing your front line into an offensive formation, rather than balanced or defensive, and send them charging in.

I'm also old enough to be the father of most of the players here, except for Possum, who's almost as "chronologically advanced" as I am.

[miki]

Come on guys,

You are making me feel like a baby as I'm only 42

[quintusvarus]

I'm getting worried I'm 47. Arewe all having mid-life crises or is it just Slitherine products are so good you just have to play??????????????

[tora_tora_tora]

I admit I'm second in youngest. I had never thought so many players are in their forties.

[ste]

I feel slightly less old now, being as I am only 20 Thanks guys!

[ross]

Dear All,
Thanks for the replies and advice. It is much appreciated. As for the game we, that is my two sons and myself, playing on two different computers, all had no victory no matter what formation we tried. We held, we charged, we flanked but were beaten by seconds in all occasions. I am no slouch for command as I have conquered Legion, COW, Sparta, Troy, RTW, RTR and have installed EB to try, but I must get this Arena mastered if only to say I have done them all. However my main concern is not for myself but rather Slitherine whom I want to see prosper. For the newcomer games always start on easy and winnable progressing through to very hard, but if new little ones can't win to brag about it they won't recommend the game to others. The experts will always boast about how easy things are for that is their nature but the beginner is the market. Just as an afterthought does 63 make me the Daddy of the Slitherine world?
Thanks again,
Ross.

[tora_tora_tora]

Dear Ross,

If you don't mind, would you upload your saved data on the net?
Maybe, I can try and see if there are the way to clear the stage.

best regards from Japan
Tora

[sum1won]

That is an excellent idea, tora_tora_tora, not only will it allow us to see a solution, but perhaps see if it is impossible with that army- I beleive that some battles are impossible with the wrong buildup. However, like I said, it may be neccasary to try again- remember "save early, and save often". I made it a rule to save every 5 battles or so, and I know a few people save every battle.

Also, that one is not easy for most people- dont be disheartened.

[quintusvarus]

I am still building back to the slave wars having hit a dead end first time around, one thing I have noted however, regardless of army composition - don't let the enemy bunch as they become difficult to impossible to defeat, and never ,never surround them (especially high value units). Without an escape route the AI seems to make them fight to the death, especially if their commander is still with them, which seems to keep them in the game which is critical where casualties/time matter.

[ross]

Dear All,
How do I get my saved games onto this page for you to analyse?
Yours,
Ross

[pipfromslitherine]

Simplest way would be to place them in some web space and provide the link.

Cheers

Pip

[Redpossum]

Ross, yes, you are the daddy

And by all means, please post a save

[ross]

Dear Possum and Tora,
This may sound silly but I don't know how to post the information that you require so, I took the game off my daughter's computer but then reinstalled it to start over. This time I started with 4 militia units adding 4 spearmen, 4 archers and two scouts giving me plenty firepower but still had problems with time. Perhaps I'm too much of a Wellington as against a Napoleon but I did try charging in many different formations again only beaten by time. When I used to play Legion, which is still the daddy of them all, I learned that archers were the key to continual success and proved the case with COW. Sparta and Troy were slightly different in that archers although desirable were not so easy to acquire so good infantry and reasonable cavalry did the trick. My two boys who have played on all but prefer the fantasy, shoot em up style of game, think that Arena is good but like me were beaten by time on the same battlefield so decided to concentrate their efforts elsewhere. This is my concern that youngsters who cannot be held or gripped by a game will give up and I feel that this is the only problem with Arena. There is no campaign to consider or fall back on, things that occupy the mind, making the game compulsive, when things can't progress. To change situations is not a factor so the alternative is to start all over, rebuilding or just plain quitting. I'm sure that Iain does not want that or intended that when building the game. I remember COW, or perhaps it was Sparta, when it came out that when playing on easy one was inundated with armies attacking from towns that could not possibly have supported such making it almost impossible to continue. I complained and Ian seeing many poeple in agreement made a patch to make the easy section easy. How it affected sales I don't know but I am sure that it made the game more enjoyable for me and also left the experts to play on the original mode. This is the secret of successful products in any field. Ease of use, enjoyment, ability to reverse situations and good content. Arena has most but seems to me more of a " beat the clock " rather than a " build an army to win " type game. It is a small easy to solve thing that may just put the icing on the cake. As for the ghost armies, used before, rather gimmicky, but should appeal to certain excentric players who can beat anything flung up at any time.
Yours,
Ross

[IainMcNeil]

We are adding additional time for these missions in the patch. It will be ready in the next couple of weeks.