Couple of Questions....

TJD · 09-24-2009, 11:28 PM,

Regarding Punic Wars:

Questions:

1. The "Turn" pop-down menu doesn't seem to be referenced in the manual. I'm especially unsure what the "Test" command under it is supposed to do. It shows "Stack Command" and "Formation Number" but these numbers do not vary, and the commands seem to produce no result. Can someone explain this, and the other commands under this menu as well?

2. Why do some units become fixed even when they are in command control and have no fatigue? I've seen this happen in the first move or two of a scenario.

3. How do you issue a group command when the "No command box" option is in effect? I've tried hi-lighting the group using the Show Organization button but this doesn't seem to work.

4. Is there no way to issue more than one command to a group? I've tried doing so but always get the message "Unit Already Under Group Command Order". If selected individually, a unit can take up to 4 orders. Why can't groups do the same?

Thanks for the help!

Tim

TJD · 09-25-2009, 12:48 AM,

I posted the above questions over at the Ancient Wars forum and got a very swift response from Titus and he asked me to post them here as well ( I don't usually cross-post but as both these forums are relatively inactive I thought it was OK.)

Here's Titus' reply:

Hi Tim

To help people understand how to play these games we created a number of entertaining training articles - see the thread at the top of the Ancient Worlds Forum.

1 - 'Turn' on the pop-down menu moves the turn on to the next player - you usually click the egg timer on the tool bar - it does the same thing.
The 'Test' option should not be there - I should have removed it from the programme before releasing the update - my mistake as the programmer.
This will be removed on the next update.

2 - Command Control - With the latest update, we have tried to reflect Ancient Warfare more accurately - now, only the commander of the same group can issue orders to that group - so if that group's commander has been eliminated or moved away you need to create a new group with the units concerned and add in to the new group a local commander. Please note that infantry commanders can no longer give orders to cavalry units but mounted leaders can give orders to any unit type. Many players had reflected that the very simplistic command system of allowing any leader to place an order on any unit witihin the commander's range was not realistic.

3 -Look at the Rules document - last page it highlights the keys that can be used when the command box option is switched off. You first need to click the 'Z' key to activate the group command mode and check the status bar confirms the group command is in effect then place the group order according to the table. Please note - sometimes you need to click on the 'order' key more than once to get the order to work.

4 - Groups can only take one command. The problem with allowing a group to accept more than one command is that the group may contain different unit types, so some units could not accept the command or some units may not have enough points to conduct the second or third order. This would leave a player very confused as to what individual units in a group may or may not achieve when placing multiple group commands. We tried this approach in game testing and the ability to control one's units became impossible - there was far too many possible combinations that could occur.

You are welcome to post these messages on the blitz to help others.

Regards,
Titus

A link to the help articles Titus refers to above can be found in my post "Ancient Wars resources", still on this page....

Tim