Favorite Battle Reports

[The Usurper]

I think not, both the Archery Phase and Calvary took place. If ANY of the Infantry would have happened, the EL would have gotten smashed

[Jumpingfist]

ELAN and Warlords still get butt hurt chasing Dwarves through the mountains

BATTLE BETWEEN THE 1ST RANGER ARMY GROUP AND THE 2ND DWARVEN LIGHT DIVISION IN THE MOUNTAINS OF AREA EW:
RANGER DWARVEN
WARLORD BLADEHEART < COMMANDER > MARSHAL I MAHIBOR
POWER-2 WIZARD MOUSER < RANKING WIZARD > NA
10880 LIGHT/MEDIUM/GUARDS < INFANTRY > 3240 LIGHT/MEDIUM/HEAVY/GUARDS
4160 LIGHT/MEDIUM/ELITE < CAVALRY > 0
3360 BOWMEN/EXPERT < ARCHERS > 720 EXPERT/BOWMEN
< OTHER TYPES >
10 < KINGDOM-NAMED BRIGADES > 3
0/2 < RECRUIT/VETERAN BRIGADES > 0/0
< OTHER BRIGADE TYPES >
HIGH ATTRITION / HIGH MORALE / EXCEPTIONAL HEROES < OTHER > VERY HIGH ATTRITION / HIGH MORALE
/ GOOD LEADERS
DETERMINED ATTACK < TACTICAL SELECTION > ORGANIZED WITHDRAWAL
UNDETERRED BY THE TRAPS SET AND RELEASED BY 2ND DWARVEN THE ATTACKERS WERE ABLE TO LOCATE THEIR TARGET. AT THE
FIRST LIGHT OF DAWN WARLORD BLADEHEART COMMANDED THE 1ST RANGER ARMY GROUP TO EXECUTE THE ATTACK ON THE
DEFENSIVE POSITION OF THE 2ND DWARVEN LIGHT DIVISION COMMANDED BY MARSHAL I MAHIBOR. AS THE ATTACKERS
ADVANCED THROUGH THE ROCKY MOUNTAINOUS AREA THE FIRST MISSILES SANG OUT.
DUE TO THE FACT THAT THEIR NATION HAS MADE THE RANGER KNOWN AS HOSTILE TO THEIR KINGDOM, THE DWARVEN TROOPS
WERE VISIBLY ENERGIZED AND HAD THEIR MORALE RAISED AS THEY PREPARED TO MEET THEIR DECLARED ENEMY!
AS THE MOST IMPORTANT GROUP OF THEIR NATION THE FORCES ARE VISIBLY BOLSTERED BY THE PRESENCE OF THE FIRST
RANGER'S BANNER!
BOTH THE RANGER HIGHLY EFFICIENT BOWMEN AND THE DISCIPLINED CROSS-BOWMEN OF THE DWARVEN FORCE IMPOSED
SUBSTANTIAL LOSSES TO THEIR OPPONENTS RANKS. THE RANGER MOUSER (POWER- 2.0) WAS NOT A FACTOR IN THE BATTLE.
UNDETERRED BY THE STRIFE SURROUNDING HIM AND AS BEFITS THE POSSESSOR OF ELAN, RANGER WARLORD BLADEHEART
WEILDING THE FABLED FLAMING SWORD OF THE NORTH, IMPOSED DISMAY INTO HIS RIVAL LEADERS AND AROUSED HIS SOLDIERS
WITH ADDITIONAL FURY AND DETERMINATION.
DWARVEN CASUALTIES HAD NOW EXCEEDED ACCEPTABLE LEVELS IN THE JUDGEMENT OF MARSHAL I MAHIBOR SO HE ORDERED
THE RETREAT BE SOUNDED. THE RETREAT WAS A CREDIT TO THE DWARVEN FORCE'S DISCIPLINE, AS FEW ADDITIONAL LOSSES
WERE SUFFERED WITHDRAWING. RANGER LOSSES WERE ESTIMATED AT 2400 TROOPS. RANGER LEADERS FOUGHT BRAVELY. ALL
RANGER LEADERS SURVIVED THE BATTLE. THE RANGER WIZARD MOUSER SURVIVED THE FRAY. THE RANGER TROOPS ARE EAGER
FOR FURTHER GLORY: MORALE IS UP! DWARVEN LOSSES WERE SAID TO BE 700 TROOPS. DWARVEN HEROES BATTLED
COURAGEOUSLY. ALL DWARVEN LEADERS SURVIVED THE BATTLE. THE DWARVEN GROUP'S MORALE WENT UP EVEN THOUGH THEY
RETREATED DUE TO THEIR FORTITUDE.

[Hawk_]

The elves I think would have killed more if they were not fighting with a defend 1 setting but would have also gotten slammed. 1/3 the army and still did more damage I think they did ok for themselves.

The 18 brigade TR army was worth 62,000 going into the combat. Keep in mind that Trolls are a unique troop type and have a very strong defensive value. The defensive value may have been higher than that.

On top of this forest is a preferred terrain for TR at 10%.

Finally, archers and cavalry are both 50% effective in the forest. Troll army was almost all infantry.

[unclemike]

This battle made me question whether the magic phase of the combat sequence was being calculated correctly. Game 106, Turn 22, 1SO vs 1TR (Dusi), with nearly all the favorable factors going my way:

(1) TR troops taking 125% magic damage vs my pwr-5 wraiths
(2) Fought in desert terrain with the TR taking a -10% penalty
(3) TR group was leaderless and wizardless
(4) I had Giant Slayer (nuff said)
(5) My group consisted entirely of powerful Wights troops

The only advantage that the TR had was 7 brigades vs my 5 but Wights kick ass in battle so I didn't care

According to my calculation, the magic part alone should have devastated his group:

5,500 (lvl 5 earthquake) + 1,250 (lvl 5 presence) = 6,750 x 2 wizards = 13,500 + 1,250 (3rd pwr-5 wraith presence that instantly self teleported into the group before battle) = 14,750 x 125% (TR weakness) = 18,438 spell damage

Weapon artifacts provide a bonus during each combat phase but I didn't know exactly how much of a bonus an artifact like Giant Slayer would provide so I estimated +15%. That would have brought the total magic damage to around 21,204.

TR brigades have a combat value around 3,250 so 3,250 x 7 brigades = 22,750 in a leaderless group. So the TR group should have been devastated by my magic attack alone not including what 5 brigades of Wights would do to them.

However, the battle went differently than what I expected. Not only weren't the TR troops destroyed during the magic phase but the battle actually went into the combined phase (which is rare). My Wights should have overpowered the remaining TR troops by a large factor and to add insult to injury, the TR group didn't even take a morale hit from his losses.

Here's the report:

BATTLE BETWEEN THE 1ST SORCERER FULL DIVISION AND THE 1ST TROLL ARMY IN THE DESERT OF AREA XS:

SORCERER TROLL
GENERAL I RAURCON < COMMANDER > THE GROUP'S LITTLE KNOWN LEADER
POWER-5 WIZARD CURINUR < RANKING WIZARD > NA
10000 MEDIUM/HEAVY/GUARDS < INFANTRY >
0 < CAVALRY >
0 < ARCHERS >
< OTHER TYPES > 4900 TROLLS
0 < KINGDOM-NAMED BRIGADES > 7
0/0 < RECRUIT/VETERAN BRIGADES > 0/0
5 WIGHTS < OTHER BRIGADE TYPES >
N/A < OTHER > N/A
DETERMINED ATTACK < TACTICAL SELECTION > STANDARD BATTLE PLAN

AT THE FIRST LIGHT OF DAWN WITH A MAGICALLY PRODUCED WHISTLING OF RICKETS THE 1ST SORCERER FULL DIVISION RUSHED TO ATTACK THE ADVANCING LINES OF THE 1ST TROLL ARMY COMMANDED BY THE GROUP'S LITTLE KNOWN LEADER.

AMONG THE SORCERER TROOPS WERE BRIGADES OF WIGHTS, WHICH NOW RACED TO THE FRONT LINES! AS THE ATTACKERS CROSSED THE HIGH-DUNED SANDS THE FIRST MISSILES SANG OUT. KNOWING THAT THEIR RULER HAD DECLARED THE TROLL TO BE TREATED AS AN ENEMY OF THEIR NATION, THE SORCERER TROOPS WERE NOTICABLY ENERGIZED AND GAINED A MORALE BOOST AS THEY PREPARED TO BATTLE THEIR DECLARED ENEMY!

AS THE MOST IMPORTANT GROUP OF THEIR NATION THE FORCES ARE VISIBLY BOLSTERED BY THE PRESENCE OF THE FIRST SORCERER'S BANNER!

AS THE MOST DECORATED GROUP OF THEIR KINGDOM THE FORCES ARE VISIBLY INVIGORATED BY BEING UNDER THE FIRST TROLL'S COLORS!

MISSLE FIRE FROM BOTH SIDES DID NEGLIGIBLE DAMAGE. THE TROLL SURPRISINGLY ACCURATE MISSILERS <text cut off in battle report>

THE SORCERER POWER-5 WIZARD CURINUR BEGAN SORCEROUS INCANTATIONS IN AN UNKNOWN TONGUE. IN RAPID SUCCESSION WERE CAST MANY PHANTASMAL FORCES AND DEADLY PYROTECHNICS INTO THE RANKS OF THE ENEMY. THE SORCERER POWER-5 WIZARD CURINUR INCANTED IN A LOW FORCEFUL TONE. A LOW RUMBLING BEGAN, WHICH QUICKLY ESCALATED INTO A FULL EARTHQUAKE, IMMEDIATELY BELOW THE MAIN RANKS OF THE HAPLESS ENEMY MANY THOUSANDS PERISHED.

THE SORCERER POWER-5 WIZARD ANIZIKIA THREW BACK HIS HOOD AND GESTURED IN AN ANIMATED FASHION. IN RAPID SUCCESSION WERE CAST MANY KILLING ILLUSIONS AND WAVES OF DEADLY COLD INTO THE HEART OF THE ENEMY FORCE. THE SORCERER POWER-5 WIZARD ANIZIKIA GLOWERED INTENTLY AND ISSUED INDECIPHERABLE UTTERANCES. A LOW RUMBLING BEGAN, WHICH QUICKLY ESCALATED INTO A FULL EARTHQUAKE, IMMEDIATELY BELOW THE MAIN RANKS OF THE HAPLESS ENEMY! MANY THOUSANDS PERISHED.

THE SORCERER POWER-5 WIZARD SLYNDRAX BEGAN SORCEROUS INCANTATIONS IN AN UNKNOWN TONGUE. WITH AWE-INSPIRING PRECISION HE LAUNCHED MANY KILLING ILLUSIONS AND WAVES OF DEADLY COLD INTO THE HEART OF THE ENEMY FORCE.

THE POWERFUL SORCERER MAGES ADDED TREMENDOUSLY TO THE DEFENSE OF THEIR GROUP. THE SORCERER DECISIVE MAGES DEALT OUT APPRECIABLE DAMAGE TO THE TROLL RANKS.

FLAUNTING GIANT KILLER SORCERER GENERAL I RAURCON SPEARHEADED HIS AROUSED FOLLOWERS TOWARD THE ENEMY LEADERS.

SOON THE INFANTRIES OF EACH SIDE WERE UPON THE OTHER, AND NOW THE FIGHTING WAS BLOODIER THAN EVER. THE TROLL FORCE CAUSED NOTICEABLE CASUALTIES TO THE SORCERER RANKS AND IN RETURN THE SORCERER MOSTLY HUMANIOD, SWARMING INFANTRY INFLICTED APPRECIABLE DAMAGE TO THE TROLL RANKS. THOUGH MUCH BLOOD HAD BEEN SPLIT AND THE FIGHTING HAD RAGED FOR HOURS, STILL VICTORY HUNG BY A THREAD. DESPITE ALL THAT HAD PRECEEDED THIS MOMENT, THE BATTLE OUTCOME WAS STILL IN DOUBT.

NOW ALL REMAINING TROOPS OF ALL TYPES HURLED THEMSELVES INTO THE THICK OF BATTLE TO SETTLE IT IN BLOOD RED FASHION.

FACED WITH THE PROSPECT OF INCURRING GREATER THAN PLANNED LOSSES, THE GROUP'S LITTLE KNOWN LEADER SAW THAT A WITHDRAWAL HAD TO BE QUICKLY MADE. THE TROLL LEADERS DID A REMARKABLE JOB IN EXITING THE FIELD WITH MINIMAL ADDITIONAL CASUALTIES.

SORCERER CASULTIES WERE SAID TO BE 2300 TROOPS. SORCERER HEROES BATTLED COURAGEOUSLY. THE SORCERER HERO CAUN WAS SLAIN IN COMBAT. A NEW LEADER, CAPTAIN ZANNA HAS EMERGED AS A SPECTACULAR LEADER OF MUCH PROMISE. THE SORCERER WIZARDS CURINUR AND ANIZIKIA AND SLYNDRAX SURVIVED THE FRAY. THE CONVINCING COMPLETENESS OF THE SORCERER FORCE'S VICTORY HAS NOTABLY INCREASED MORALE.

TROLL LOSSES WERE PUT AT 3500 CREATURES. TROLL LEADERS FOUGHT BRAVELY. ALL TROLL LEADERS SURVIVED THE BATTLE. TROLL GROUP MORALE WAS UNAFFECTED BY THE ENOUNTER.

So clearly, there's a problem with the combat routine if it didn't handle this scenario correctly...

[Kellenved]

Cipher has addressed the battle magic issue awhile back (keep in mind the TR have a very high defensive value with regards to the comment below):

A note about damage from magic in battles. Today we received a support request for battle magic not working properly due to a 'known bug'. There have been a few support requests to look at this type of result and I think a couple of forum comments as well.

There is no known bug in the battle routines. The only combat associated issues we've had has been around settling attrition and losses of brigades, typically in the monster kingdoms that have fewer troops/brigade.

In some of the questions about magic not doing enough damage to the enemy, there seems to be an expectation that 1000 points of battle magic should destroy 1000 of the enemy.

This is never how magic damage has worked.

Damage from spells is totalled and applied in early combat rounds, as an aggregate value of the damage from the spells and presence coming from the casting group. This value for battle magic, like all damage done in Alamaze combat, is divided by the defensive value of the target group.

This loss is applied to the target group, in the same manner as all other damage in combat, immediately generating losses in the form of attrition maintaned as a percentage of loss.

---

Also, don't think GI slayer has a +15% versus TR (could be wrong). TR slayer on the other hand...

[unclemike]

... value for battle magic, like all damage done in Alamaze combat, is divided by the defensive value of the target group.

Then the problem is with the game design in that a kingdom's defensive value is too great of a factor if it washes out the above criteria that I mentioned above (actually one more in that I declared the TR enemy and not vice versa which gave me an additional bonus).

So if the problem is not with the code, it's with the game design in that a kingdoms defensive value is too great of a factor in limiting damage in combat. If we were talking about the Giants then I could understand somewhat due to their troops being 100% guard infantry but not the Trolls. Especially since they are susceptible to magic. I hope Kingdoms of Arcania handles this issue better.

[Ry Vor]

The Gemini program was better than the Mercury program. The Mercury program was a necessary predecessor. The Apollo program got us to the moon.

We can pick and poke. No one ever seems to think any other game is better though. Or anything even close offered at less than 3x the price. And I have said repeatedly, I wish I could spend my time on development. I'm fricking trying. Just being a critic isn't very helpful.

[Lord Diamond]

I think that Unclemike just likes pushing your buttons. No surprise that 'faulty game design' would get a response from you. You are getting predictable in your old age, Rick.

For myself, I don't want wizards to be able to just wipe the board with their spells.

[Ry Vor]

My old age wasn't supposed to start for a couple years. It has been accelerated.

Yes, I am not at all suited to customer service, nor is that whining Grasshopper. But this is all we got, folks. Cipher is reserved for special problems and hopefully development. There really isn't money here, it's about producing the game for our enjoyment, which, yes, includes mine. That's the situation and we re-evaluate in September. Anything anyone wants to do voluntarily to improve things for all of us is appreciated.

[unclemike]

I think that Unclemike just likes pushing your buttons.

It's not about pushing one's buttons but rather having proper game design. Rick has already admitted that he has made mistakes that will be removed in 3rd cycle/Kingdoms of Arcania (as the double hostile regional reaction among others).

The point that I was making above was that combat should be reexamined because if a kingdom's defensive value is set so high that it actually washes out the other effects of battle (tac, terrain, magic, morale, ...etc.), you have a serious game design issue.

The battle that I described above was about as lopsided as you can make which emphases that the game mechanic isn't working properly or should be reviewed.

There are other ways of providing kingdoms with stronger defensive measures like additional guard infantry or non-artifact enhancements for better armor that I mentioned in another thread (http://www.kingdomsofarcania.net/forum/s...p?tid=9124).

But by having something hidden (like that double hostile nonsense) that dominates other aspects of the game, you have a serious problem that really needs to be fixed.