question

[Javier]

Originally Posted by Joseph Visscher

I think 5-10 units would be the best because it would ease the pathfinding, units could go in smaller areas; I found BFME2 horde size way to big they would get stuck in places and only half of them would fight when attacked. Although I think it would be very cool if you could group hordes together simular to bfme1.

I'm kind of late on this debate, but I would have to agree 100% on this post of yours, Joseph. That's exactly what I'd like to see.

[Silent_Lamb]

I agree with seperate unit formations for different factions. Unless your going with an Orc army that actually has some semblance of organization.

It would be really cool to see an Orc infantry battallion (or squad) be in a loose mob formation and then when a leader or hero walks by they form up until the leader is gone.

That also brings me to the units are idle point. It would be cool to see, for example, a human infantry group that has been idle for a long period of time form up around campfires, toss beer around or even sing. For gameplay convenience sake, as soon as an enemy got close, they were attacked, or you ordered them to move, it would all dissappear and they would form up and move instantly. For dragons, the dragon could curl up and fall asleep, or clean him/herself. Orcs could wrestle, play with skulls, or for the more delicate Orc, play with the surroundings.

Little things like that can really make a game.

[The Witch King of Angmar]

Originally Posted by Silent_Lamb

I agree with seperate unit formations for different factions. Unless your going with an Orc army that actually has some semblance of organization.

It would be really cool to see an Orc infantry battallion (or squad) be in a loose mob formation and then when a leader or hero walks by they form up until the leader is gone.

That also brings me to the units are idle point. It would be cool to see, for example, a human infantry group that has been idle for a long period of time form up around campfires, toss beer around or even sing. For gameplay convenience sake, as soon as an enemy got close, they were attacked, or you ordered them to move, it would all dissappear and they would form up and move instantly. For dragons, the dragon could curl up and fall asleep, or clean him/herself. Orcs could wrestle, play with skulls, or for the more delicate Orc, play with the surroundings.

Little things like that can really make a game.

I always loved when in BFME if you let Merry or Pippin idle for like 30 seconds they would lie down and go to sleep or drop their sword and pick it up. My personal favorite was watching trolls scratch their rear ends and punch each other.

[Konstantin Fomenko]

Orcs formation will look like an angry and disorganized mob

As for other suggestions, thanks alot guys, really good stuff. Yeah, little things like that do make a difference!

[SPARROW94]

Originally Posted by Konstantin Fomenko

Orcs formation will look like an angry and disorganized mob

As for other suggestions, thanks alot guys, really good stuff. Yeah, little things like that do make a difference!

kewl stuff dude

[The Witch King of Angmar]

Originally Posted by SPARROW94

kewl stuff dude

See Sparrow that's what I meant before by ANTS!!!!! Lol jk.

[SPARROW94]

lol dont wanna go off topic again do we????? lol

[Manasky]

It looks like this game will consist a lot of "epic" battles with tons of combatants duelling and crushing each other. I would also like to mention that this game seems to be way more large-scaled than BFME II.

I played both BFME and BFME II, and was pretty hardcore playing BFME II in a month or two before I found out the game really sucks, and by that I mean literally SUCKS. BFME II had so much potential, but EA's bad programming in areas as path finding, AI and polishing bugs, not to mention their lack of support, really killed the game for good.

BFME on the other side never had the same potential, but was a lot of fun playing on occassional LANs.

You can't really compare the batalion-sizes in BFME and BFME II and base your descision on those games. The larger batalion-size wasn't a bad idea at all, and I'd prefer the larger batalion-sizes ANYTIME over the 5-10 large batalion-sizes that were used in BFME. It was the Sage engine and EA's bad code than made the large batalion-sizes seem broken, but even considering that fact I'd prefer larger batalion-sizes. I think 10-15 is a preferable number, while small units as Goblins should actually support up to 20 units in one batalion. On the other hand, strong batalions like elite elven units or brutal orcs should fit the 6-8 batalion-size in my opinion.

But you NEED good path finding. I'm sure you've played BFME II, so find all the problems with EA's obsolete Sage engine and don't make the same mistakes with your engine.

Lastly, I'd like to ask you if each soldier levels up individually or the batalion as a whole, how you reinforce units to your batalions, about unit lethality, how fast units/batalions level up, unit production time and all kinds of factors you should base your descision on.

I could go on forever on this, but I'd like to see an answer before I use any more time on this.

Oh, btw, this is my first post here, so I'd like to say good luck with your project, and I'll love to see your progress in the future.

[Darvin]

playing BFME II in a month or two before I found out the game really sucks, and by that I mean literally SUCKS

Well, it wasn't that bad... at least after you modded it until the gameplay no longer resembled the original game :-P

But you NEED good path finding

Agreed; that was the biggest issue with the BFME franchise, and the Total War franchise is proof that it can be overcome.

I'd like to ask you if each soldier levels up individually or the batalion as a whole, how you reinforce units to your batalions, about unit lethality, how fast units/batalions level up, unit production time and all kinds of factors you should base your descision on

Keep in mind I'm not a Reverie rep, but most of these should be fairly easy to answer. In a practical sense, it's impossible to track the veterency of individual units as a player, so I'm willing to bet that units will gain experience as a squad, not individually. As for all the other points, I'm willing to bet the answer will be "too early in development", since these things can change dramatically as they fine tune towards the final gameplay values.

[Gallivan]

I found this thread really interesting so I thought I'd build on the prior formations list:

Wedge
Usage: A successful wedge formation is used to created holes in the enemies line. Done correctly, each rank of filtering troops will further expand these lines into fragmented sections. When used correctly it can break the tightest of shield walls, although when it falls expect the encirclement and following slaughter of your unit. More importantly the wedge is used to find holes in the enemies lines and exploit them.

Infantry: Despite numerous relevant history examples, infantry were use in wedge formations. Heavy infantry worked best against other, lighter infantry (read: spearmen) in breaking their thinner formations. Of course heavy infantry in a wedge formation are useless against most ranged fire. The leader of the wedge formation should be a brave man indeed...

An example of the infantry wedge can be found within the Byzantine Empire (chiliarcia).

Cavalry: Cavalry are the most renowned usage of the wedge. They are used as much for damage as they are for shock and awe. Cavalry charges in wedge formation are best warmed up by softening the enemy ranks with bow fire, to eliminate nasty spills from the large beasts.

An example of the cavalry wedge can be found within the Byzantine Cataphracti and Pontus' Heavy Cavalry.

Line
Usage: The line is one of the most basic formations, utilizing mass and area to its advantage. Sadly, it sacrifices maneuverability, especially when facing flanking cavalry. It also lacks against hearty charges, although this depends entirely on the ranks and file it is composed of.

Infantry: This basic formation for infantry is utilized to cover the greatest area for the number of troops at your disposal. Reserve ranks should be kept to deal with cavalry. An example of line formation using infantry can be seen in the Seven Years War.

Cavalry: This can also be used with cavalry to deal the most umph with your stampeding men. However, it is possible to spread your ranks too thin.

Archers: Similar to cavalry, although spreading your archers is also a liable defense against incoming missile attacks.



-- This is a work in project. I was going to do the entirety of it (10 or so formations I've read up on), but I ran out of gusto. I'll probably finish it up tonight. --