I know the word "unplayable" has been thrown around a lot so I won't use it. But warfare in the 1880s needs to be fixed because at present it is makes the game
frustrating rather than
fun.
I have raised this issue in the bug forum and in the regular forum and while most people seem to agree with me, I haven't heard much buzz regarding the issues of non-lethal warfare circa 1880s and enemies retreating into provinces they neither own nor occupy.
Some folks have said that all I have to do is surround the enemy. That's possible, but turns the game into a tedious click fest rather than make it fun. To make the point perfectly clear:
To kill this otherwise insignificant single unit, I have to first block off all possible escape routes - 6 provinces in total - and then send in enough overwhelming force to ensure I actually win the battle. Let's count the number of mouse clicking I have to do:
CLICK PAUSE (add one to the end total, I forgot this)
1. click on unit A
2. click on divide unit
3. click on brigade to move to new army
4. click close [We now have Unit E]
5. click on unit B
6. repeat #2
7. repeat #3
8. repeat #4 [We now have Unit F]
9. click on unit C
10. repeat #2
11. repeat #3
12. repeat #4 [We now have Unit G]
13. click on unit A.
14. right click on province #6
15. click on unit B
16. right click on province #1
17. click on unit C
18. right click on province #4
19. click on unit G
20. right click on province #5
21. click on unit D
22. right click on province #2
23. click on unit E,
24. right click on province #1 [this unit will attack]
25. click on Unit F
26. Right click on province #6 [this unit will attack]
27. click (un)pause
Now *yawn* I have to wait until all those armies get into these provinces because if I engage the British army too soon, it will have to chance to retreat into one of those 6 "empty" provinces before my armies get there.
28. click pause
29. click on unit E
30. right click on enemy unit
31. click on unit F
32. right click on enemy unit
33. click on unit C
34. right click on enemy unit.
35. click (un)pause
36 clicks to kill a single unit in a useless strategic backwater.
Now this single British unit is finally dead I have a bunch of little annoying single brigade units. I'm going to want to form them into some sort of army.
What if you're the type of player who likes to have his armies built intelligently and with a purpose - i.e., not a random assortment of cavalry, infantry, and artillery? That means more click, click, click, click, click, click click, click, click, clicking to put them back together.
Nor is that all. The British have a lot of units:
573 brigades? Not fun!
Now, I could live with the irritation of single enemy units fleeing all over the map if troops died in combat after 1880. The alternative to the above scenario I pointed out is to just send all the units against the enemy unit and simply wipe it out with overwhelming force. But, because troops don't die, after 11 days the enemy will always retreat with green organization and 1% casualties.
Because troops don't die in 1880s combat, it once again drains the fun out of the game. Consider this battle in India:
This battle actually started before 30 March 1885 (the British army is in
yellow); it just happens to be the first date I have a screenshot of it. And here's another screenshot two years later:
Over two years later!! The British never reinforced this army; they lost just 16! Not only that the entire Northern Indian plain is filled with battles against troops that have been in constant combat for over two years. Nobody ever dies
Of another note, I just realized I lost over 1 million pounds in those two years! This war should be long over
And, I'll bet dollars to dollars (or euros to euros
) this is a HUGE reason for the rebel mess. Check this out:
Unlike the AI, I actually build lots of armies. Just in this sceenshot alone, I have 10 armies with 40+ score - this screenshot contains more armies than every other nation on earth except the UK - and STILL the rebels are taking over my provinces. They don't die. I outnumber them 42-3 and they still take over a month to die. I have armies off-screen in Italy, the Low Countries, Spain fighting rebels who don't die. If I can't kill rebels with my hordes of armies, it is no wonder why I always see Mexico, Russia, Austria, Egypt, etc. always controlled by rebels!
Now, I know you guys are working hard on the issues King mentioned, but please please please tell me 1.2 will do something about soldiers not dying in 1880s warfare.
I have spent hours and hours on this game and sometimes have played until 3:00 AM. I really want to like this game - I loved Vikki 1. But I can't deal with it anymore.
