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Everything posted by EaglePrince
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Your opinion of rats, gong, and criminals in Stronghold 2?
EaglePrince replied to EaglePrince's topic in Stronghold 2
Well, it is not much challenging, but what we can say is that it is harder to bring up a castle in ruins then it is in Crusader 1 or Stronghold 1. I haven't tested it, but I assume that in Stronghold 2 if my castle and economy went down along with the popularity, the one who wants to rise again need to deal with: rats, gong, crime, and food supplies - not only to deal with food supplies. On the other hand, it is not much challenging if your economy is up, and everything is working well - keeping rats, gong, and crime under control under good conditions is pretty easy. At least that's how I look at that. :) -
Really nice, this is something I was interested to know for a while, and then you came here. :) Thanks for this! By the way, can you tell, does any of AI opponents have any issues after you do this, and do you know how does it act in multiplayer? :)
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I just starting writing about it, and then I saw you handled it. :)
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That Stronghold 2 isn't dead is something knows to us very well. :) But still, what you are talking about is something new to me, and it sounds pretty interesting. :)
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How to enable display downscaling on Windows 7
EaglePrince replied to EaglePrince's topic in Computer Support
I have found the read me file, and this is what it says about minimum system requirements: So it does require at least 768 of height, while this monitor can get at most 1024x600... Now I still hope there is something we could do about it... :( He does like Empire Earth, and he would like to win the campaign once again. I tried having a look at some config files, but I found nothing useful. It seems that all those user files are located at C:\Sierra\Empire Earth, but nothing seems to be what I would need. I also tried to open default.dll file I found there, but I only found a bunch of some nasty characters there. :) Any ideas what I could do further? I will also have a look at some stuff from my PC where I Empire Earth running, or perhaps there could be some official or unofficial patch to solve this issue. Or, maybe I could do something with display downscaling, or something like that... Thanks for your assistance. :) ADDITION: Right now I tried installing the game on my PC, and it works well, but I also noticed that changing the resolution inside game doesn't effect the game menu, which might be causing the problem. I mean, it is possible to set lower resolution than my brother has on his laptop, but the menu would still be in higher resolution than that. -
How to enable display downscaling on Windows 7
EaglePrince replied to EaglePrince's topic in Computer Support
Thanks, @Isaiah, I will have a look at that, and see if I get something. As usual I unchecked "view ream me" after the installation. :angel: I will have a look those stuff. Regarding minimum system requirements, the laptop's specifications are high above of what you have found, like you suspected. Another thing I would like to tell is the fact that this game does work on both of my PC's which have Windows 7, so when it comes to that, the game should run normally I think... The only thing that the laptop lack is the fact that the screen resolution is already set to maximal possible one, and I think that height is less than 600, if I remember correctly. It is pretty small laptop. :) -
Hey guys! I tried to install Empire Earth on my brothers laptop, and after I finished everything, after he starts the game, everything seems to start normally, but after the video on the beginning finishes, the screen stays black, the game doesn't crash, but the only thing I can do then is shutting down the game in task manager. I believe that the problem is that fact that it's a small laptop with low maximal resolution, and that I need to enable display downscaling for this game (or any other game as well - during this process). Do you have any idea what might be the problem; could I be correct with this downscaling option? If yes, how could I do that? Oh, and by the way it's Windows 7 operative system. I've got feeling that this thing is done more easily in Windows 8 though... Thank you in advance!
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Glad to see you come here. :) I have similar obligations too (like I explained to Nigel in PM as well). I am sure we would organize everything so all of us could participate. :)
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Hmm, I guess we could try to find some time to play all together some time. We could make some unfair map in which we would give computer 40,000 gold and put them on the rich side of the map where they could have all that they may need, and to put us on another side of the map where we could have almost no resources. Something similar to mission 80 of Crusader (Warchest) Trail!
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Those two questions are ones I hope others could jump in. :) Which do you prefer: Catapults or Trebuchets? It depends... For example if I am attacking Caliph, or any other opponent that doesn't have ballistae or mangonels on top of his towers, but if the one has mangonels or ballistae, then I would try to test what is my opponents range, so I could put those in just right position where he wouldn't be able to touch my siege engines. But what I like to do is putting trebuchets in one long line before enemies castle, but not too close to the enemy. This way he cannot destroy my siege equipment easily even with mangonels. Still, a downside of this tactic is that it is harder to defend siege equipment positioned like this. I also have feeling that trebuchets are not less precise then catapults, in fact - they may be even more accurate than those, and each hit from a trebuchet deals more damage - or so it seems to me. Regarding the thing with precision - I think that it does depend of our target, as while a trebuchet hits his target from above, a catapults hits his target from the front; because of this, if you are attacking a segment of wall, catapults may indeed seem more precise as it cannot hit behind the wall. In Crusader, what's your average siege army size? This one depends of whether I play Stronghold 1 or Crusader 1 - in Crusader we all have larger armies I think. But it always depends of my economy and of the maximum army size. But when I am able to train more troops, I almost always group my soldiers in groups of 70 or so, and I would be moving them in formations like Romans would do with their legions. This may not be that much visible in multiplayer though as I am constantly moving my troops, and I am supporting them with archers, bowmen, horse archers, and crossbowmen. Also, if I expect my enemy to throw cows on my army, or to place pitch so he could put my army to fire, then I have to split those groups of 70 into smaller groups, so they could evade those stuff more effectively. ADDITION: Still, if you have enough gold, you can un-man your trebuchets from the back lines, and to send those engineers to build new ones in the front. Oh, and about the catapults being good in numbers - when I was a kid, my brother would be telling me how he would be able to destroy "my fancy castle" with mass of catapults, so I cannot describe how happy I was when I saw that my mangonels are able to stop tens of catapults. I believe I withstood attacks of hundred of catapults, and in few sieges my castle lost several of it's towers, but I did manage to defend my self. The only thing I need to have before the siege starts is full stockpile of stone though... :)
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Indeed, and @Crusader1307 only showed us his good will by showing up in the thread. That's what we should value most. We should indeed give our best to be maximally polite to each other, so we would keep this place as a pleasant spot to rest, which it is right not to me. :)
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I do understand that... Still, I hope you will solve this issue, so we can meet some day on battle field. Side by side, or the nother way. :)
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The previous message I made a day ago... The reason with connection could be valid, but still, I don't know how fast (and reliable perhaps) internet you have. The other argument in invalid, as there are plenty of Stronghold Crusader players out there - there are a lot of them at GameRanger, but you can play it here with us if you want. We can make a gaming event if you want. If that was your only reason I would only say you're missing a great fun, but I understand what you said about connection. I do hope you connection is good enough for Crusader though.
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Off topic, is there any concrete reason why you haven't tried playing Stronghold / Stronghold Crusader multiplayer? If remember correctly, that's what you said...
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And you still need to consider the fact that spearmen are way faster then swordsmen, so those spearmen will rich their opponents way more quickly than the swordsmen. :) Regarding spearmen and digging - even though they dig faster than any other unit, I still wouldn't use them in attacking my enemies who have moat around the castle, as they would die pretty fast. Yes, but because they are fast they will reach their target more quickly, and they will move through fire more quickly than swordsmen army. That's why they are better for killing Caliph for example. Speaking about crenellation - my walls are mostly three layered - like Saladin's castle. I pot two layers of standard wall and one layer of crenelated wall, as I believe that's how it was meant to be used. In real life there would be completely no point in building too tick crenelated wall, while in Stronghold the only reason for something like that would be trying to use an exploit. At least that's what I think.
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They have weak attack, but they can take a lot of damage. If you haven't noticed, a pikeman needs to step on the trap twice in order to die. Speaking about patrolling horsemen - although it seems pretty useful, I should tell that a players still needs to watch over them. If you don't, the enemy could slaughter them with slowest troops there are. :D Indeed, although pitch is also pretty useful as well, especially in multiplayer; and as usual, combination of those two can be he best! I think you are wrong about this, but it indeed depends of which troops does the defended use. If he uses crossbowmen, then spearmen have better chances to show themselves more effective than those 3 swordsmen, while if the defender has archers, then they have less chances to show themselves as more effective. And to reply to the new questions. :) I do use crenellation, but I only put only one layer of crenellation wall. I don't put more layers of it, which is something that many players use to stop the assassins. In singleplayer my average population in 150, but it depends of the map - if I have less space, I have smaller population. Speaking about mu castle in multipolar game, it depends of my opponents. If I see my enemies build huge economies then I make even larger castle, and then I have more then 200-300 working people, depending of whether the map is low resource or not. My mom always has more 200 by the way. :D Regarding the question with the macemen - yes, they are definitely worth it! They are strong and fast units - pretty useful, especially against Opponents who use fire to defend themselves. What exactly do you mean under "starting rush". If it is rush just after no rush period has ended - I have nothing against it; that's what no rush period is for. :) You build your castle and your economy, and when no rush time is ended, then the battles begin. :) If you taught about playing a game without a rush period, and when the opponent attacks you right from the beginning - I think that can be a challenging thing... You just start to build your economy, and you must be on watch - to monitor how much army does your opponent has. If he has more troops in beginning, then he is getting ready to attack you, and you need to prepare yourself. :) And then... well, use your imagination, you could try to set this guy to fire, or something like that. :D Also, crossbowmen are pretty effective against assassins! The bad side of this is that most of those players will simply leave the game after they fail in their attack, but hey - you did make one kid out there pretty angry, which is nice. :lol: Speaking about portable shields - I will be short. I don't like them. :D
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I do realize that in map editor I have unlimited resources, but that's the reason why I like to build a castle in skirmish more then in map editor - I want to put an effort in building a castle. :) Regarding that ale, I think that you can produce ale even with low population - maybe one hops farms and two breweries could be enough for your castle. Speaking about patrolling, I think that making horse archers to patrol could be a good use of this option, as they can fire arrows while riding their horses. About the pikemen - swordsmen do have their downsides: they are slow, and they cannot dig. On the other hand pikemen are faster and they have more health which makes them ideal for attacking an enemy which has moats around his castle, and they are also more effective against players who defend with lots of crossbowmen. Speaking about rams and towers - they do work, in those situations I decide to use them. Especially siege towers, maybe one reason for that is the fact that the enemy doesn't expect from me to use that siege equipment. This way I can easily enter enemy castle, or climb his walls and take down his archers and crossbowmen. Indeed, in the beginning I build some workshops to produce spears, and later when I get iron and armorer's workshops up, I just order them to produce pikes instead. About iron - that is because I find it harder to buy iron - that does make the economy weaker, especially if one wants to produce swordsmen. Then are pikemen a better choice. And, yes, one may thing I am referring to Crusader 1, especially because of the screenshot I gave from Crusader, but I was referring to both those games. My military tactics are almost the same in both games, only with difference that Stronghold 1 economy is harder to run - it has slower economy. Speaking about mangonels, this is my tactic - I put mangonels to front towers, while I put ballistae on back towers, similarly to some AI lords in fact. The reason for that is the fact that mangonels on back towers would indeed bring damage to my own castle, and kill my own troops, but those mangonels on front are pretty useful - especially if you are being attacked by lots of catapults - by AI lords or by human players, doesn't matter. Only it is even more effective against human players when human player groups all catapults together. Then each stone from my mangonels would very likely hit a catapult. Regarding spearmen, yes - they are waste of resources, but those are very little amount of resources. You should consider this - spears are being produced pretty fast, and training a spearmen is indeed very cheap. They are not that bad against melee troops, but they are extremely vulnerable to archers attacks - that would devastate them, so you have to put archers in front and keep the spearmen behind, to send them forwards only when they need to face some melee units. On the other hand, if you have a good economy, and if you are able to train more powerful troops, then those guys could be a waste of recruits, as you are limited by recruits as well - they won't come to your castle faster than they would normally do.
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I rarely build a castle in editor, I mostly do it in game, and that's something I enjoy in Stronghold. Almost each time I have a pattern in my mind about where to build each building, although that pattern is adjustable to the space I have available. I believe that most of you who played more than one game in multiplayer have noticed that pattern, and I am showing you one example of my castle now. It always depends of the game, if it is skirmish game, it can be a smaller castle, while in some multiplayer games I build a huge version of this castle - if I notice that my opponent is building huge economy. This way I can build weapons production, bakeries and breweries inside my castle, while I leave the inns outside relying on my army to protect those from enemy attacks, slaves, and ballistae. If I see I will have a hard time defending my economy outside the castle, I also dig moats around the castle and the economy. Still, I do not attack my walls to maps edges, and I do not build the wall around farms, stone quarries, and iron mines, because I just don't like playing that way. :) On the other hand, I don't mind if my opponent does that. I mostly build square towers, while I also build turrets - especially in singleplayer game, or multiplayer game against AI lords. They are weak, but I like to have different types of towers, that makes the castle look better. :) Regarding patrolling troops, I rarely do that. Troops I use are mostly archers, crossbowmen, pikemen and swordsmen, while swordsmen are my favorite melee troops, and in multiplayer or in hard singleplayer games I train more crossbowmen, as archers are easy to be wiped out by Arabian horsemen. Oh, and about the archers - I don't ways use archers, but when I do, you will find some of your troops burning outside my castle. :) Regarding my siege tactics, one that may distinguish me from others is the fact that I quite often use battering rams and siege towers; but my siege tactics always depend of my enemies defenses. Speaking about one annoying unit, I am going to say only two words - portable shields... They are just overpowered in Crusader, and I really don't like how some people like to use them on their towers or to combine them with horse archers. Still, I won't say I find those hard to kill, as I know how to control shields and horse archers pretty well, but that's something I do only when my opponent starts bragging how he is a pro player, or how someone from my team is a noob. :cool: Spearmen I rarely use, but I do find them helpful in the first stages of singleplayer game, or a game against AI lords, to stop those early attacks, and to defend my lord, granary and other important things inside my castle - mostly while it's still not enclosed. Which is more important: iron or pitch - I'd say iron. :cool: As you may have noticed from the rest of my text - I feed my people with bread, even though those are more expensive in the beginning, they are the most effective in long terms.
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Your opinion of rats, gong, and criminals in Stronghold 2?
EaglePrince replied to EaglePrince's topic in Stronghold 2
I still think it's not waste of resources and space, as this way when your economy, and your popularity and population are down, you need to care about more stuff then usually in Stronghold 1/Crusader 1... But in the end, it is a matter of taste - we can simply like it, or not. :) I used to feel like that about this matter as well, but now I just look at it like this - it's like they made economy a little bit slower, or something like that. :) -
Your opinion of rats, gong, and criminals in Stronghold 2?
EaglePrince replied to EaglePrince's topic in Stronghold 2
That is why you can chop off the guys head. :D Instant "rehabilitation". :lol: -
Your opinion of rats, gong, and criminals in Stronghold 2?
EaglePrince replied to EaglePrince's topic in Stronghold 2
Interesting, I wasn't thinking about that - I mean placing one non-torturer rehabilitation method, so pure criminals wouldn't have to wait for their punishment. :) Speaking about kingmaker, we have to admit, even though one can play as a low rank not to have rats, he wouldn't have many other buildings as well... -
I have made the thread. You can answer to this question there, and the new thread. Do you think that a short tutorial "how to disable gong, rats, and crime in Stronghold 2 map" would help? Also, perhaps there is some way to disable those buildings in free build game? Please, if someone knows answer to this question, reply in the new thread, as we don't want to go off topic, like Isaiah mentioned.
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I am making this thread for you to tell us what is your opinion about those three stuff. Some of us don't like it, some of us do, and those of us who don't like it - they may avoid to play the whole game because of that fact. I am one of those who didn't like it much, and who wanted Stronghold 2 to be at least a little bit more simplified, but now I do like it! I believe one can easily build falconers post and gong pit to solve the issue with gong, which is a quite natural problem in a medieval city; also when one builds several of those, he doesn't have to care about it anymore, workers will just do their job and keep the castle clean. There is also another issue which you may, or you may not like, and that is: building courthouse, lords kitchen, bedchambers, church, etc... may require some more space; but again, I do like that we have this as well. Indeed, one does not have a have it all in his castle; having to make some choices can make the game somewhat more interesting I think. Also, these buildings force a player to build a larger castle which makes defending it more interesting - one needs to plan carefully how to defend himself. What is your opinion about this matter? :)
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I believe I should say that I also like the new color. :)
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I didn't read all of your message right now, but I will do it later. For now, I just meant to tell that you may not know that you don't have to play Stronghold 2 with gong and rats, you can play scenarios without them, and you can also create new ones without rats and gong. Sir Vet and Lord Chris might know more about those, but even if you have to deal with those, it is easily to do - you only need to build few gong pits and few falconers, and after that you don't have to worry about those two at all! Same applies to crime as well! So I think it does deserve a second chance. :D There are also few other details which I didn't come to before, but guys from here explained me how to play better, and now I can enjoy the game like I have never enjoyed it before. For example, I was having problem with my village's stockpile getting full of wood, which can be simply solved by shutting down the villages woodcutters. That was a small piece of advice from Lord Vetka. :)