Monte Carlo

On balance, I'd say MTW2 as well. The campaign map on the original MTW is, however, beautiful. More abstract, with that wind noise in the background... I love it. So, why MTW2? As already suggested, the graphics in the battle mode are much better. The visceral crunch of your cavalry hitting the flank of a unit of spearmen, and seeing them rag-doll into the air, is pretty cool. Furthermore, the expansion pack is good (even though it doesn't convert into the vanilla game). The AI point is also well made. The answer, however, is out there and it's free i.e. the Grand Campaign Mod, which morphs all the features of the Kingdoms XP into a massive campaign spanning 600+ turns. I'm halfway through a game at the moment, it's an epic and satisfying undertaking. Am looking forward to invading the Americas in a hundred or so years time. If you like the Medieval srtting, tactical combat and empire-building then it's a fantastic package, especially as the mods are free and the game / XP is in the bargain bin. Highly recommended (when modded as described). Cheers MC

^ Fair point Gorgon. However, Nero appears to have worn a laurel leaf on his head and Ghengis a sort of oily fur thing with ear flaps. Not cool. Cheers MC

It must be a generational thing, because when I see hats like that I simply think of old war movies or pure, unaldulterated evil. An observation only, not a criticism. A UK magazine editor was once sacked for suggesting that Erwin Rommel* was a style icon. Which was a tad unfair, but goes to show the strong feelings the iconography of Nazism still provokes. * And remember, Rommel was the model 'Good German.' Cheers MC

When posting on this forum I tend to wear a WW1-era Picklehaube helmet, mit spike. It helps me concentrate.

Top Nation always gets it in the neck, 'tis just the way it is. As an Englishman, I know this. We haven't been Top Nation for many years, yet we still suffer residual hatred for it. Personally, having lived and travelled extensively in the USA, I find these stereotypes amusing (altho' the notion of two coastlines occupied by liberal elites flanking a big central bit full of Conservatives strikes me as having a little merit as a crude generalisation). That the USA doggedly refuses to see itself as an Empire (of sorts admittedly, the Pax Americana is a subtle but tangible thing) is part of the problem. When all is said and done, Euro liberals, who've lived under the umbrella of US military protection for sixty-odd years really should ask themselves if they'd prefer Russia or China to be providing it, and what the quid pro quo might be. I know where I am on that one, which is with Uncle Sam. P.S. Three simultaneous head shots on three moving targets from a pitching / yawing firing platform is no mean feat of arms. Semper Fi and all that. Cheers MC

Precisely, however in case of the Zulu Wars sheer weight of numbers (and, no doubt, sheer bravery... a difficult factor to measure) had something to do with it, which clearly isn't part of the equation. Ditto Communist Chinese 'wave attacks' in the Korean War. Which is why this programme, although it sounds amusing, is utterly pointless. One high-tech Delta commando versus ten bog-standard third world infantrymen with AKs? Action movies notwithstanding, the smart money is on the ten guys with AKs. However, factor in force multipliers like comms, indirect fire support, aerial surveillance, night vision and you have a different story. You see, there's actually an interesting counter-factual military history programme lurking in there, somewhere. It just hasn't actually surfaced. Cheers MC

Clearly, the chariot issue goes without saying. Ben Hur versus, say, the 12th SS Panzer Division? No contest.

Which is about as useful as saying "A grapefruit beat an orange in a zesty-fruit drink competition." Gladiators came from any number of backgrounds with a range of martial skills and abilities over a period of hundreds of years. How did they configure their 'typical' model gladiator, just out of interest? Mind you, an Apache armed with a Winchester rifle owns the average Gladiator wielding a cestus or trident, I suppose. Cheers MC

They need to make "Ultimate Geek!" where different groups of gamers could show off their skillz. Series One could focus on the eternal emnity between WoW button-mashers and Goth V:TM LARPers.

^ Huh? I am a small principality noted for it's casinos. Ergo, I am fully entitled to style myself as such.

Have you ever seen the movie Speed? If you haven't I'd give it a miss because it won't help your dilemma. Cheers MC

Dave Arneson has died of cancer, within a year of Gary Gygax. RIP Dave. Arneson isn't as famous as Gygax, but he was the guy who added the primary role-playing elements to D&D, turning it from a fantasy-based wargame into something else completely. He will be missed, but his influence on gaming has been profound. Cheers MC

I'm still only turn 250-something into the MTW:2 Grand Campaign mod, i.e. halfway through. England has established a mighty empire that stretches from Spain (all of the peninsula) to Lithuania. A fledgling English presence is making a nuisance of itself in the Holy Land and nibbling at the Byzantine underbelly (the AI has decided that they will be tough - they field extremely well-equipped armies of heavy infantry and superb cavalry). My long-term strategic plan is (a) to conquer the Americas and (b) to equip the most modern, fantastically led armies and march on the Mongol lands to finally meet a foe worthy of my ire. When this game's over I'll finish Storm of Zehir and then ponder what next. Mount and Blade looks fun. Cheers MC

I think it's a tad hubristic to release your fan-fic before the game is a huge success.

Apparently, if you dont put enough points into moving silently, your character develops verrucas. It's awesome.

Back on-topic, BBC news reporting that the Captain has been rescued. Three pirates died in the operation, one arrested. Congratulations to the US military for pulling off what looks like a tricky operation at sea. Am particularly glad that this ended safely for the Captain. Cheers MC

^ Wow, he looks like a Gerry Anderson puppet, circa 1971.

Worked in the First World War, when 'Q' Ships where used against German submarines along the UK coastline. They were exactly as you describe - converted merchant vessels fitted with naval guns. A U-Boat tactic was to surface and threaten the merchantman with it's deckguns before torpedoing it. When they did the 'Q' Ship would open fire. Cheers MC

Hey, a multi-faceted influence system can only be a good thing, right? As long as it doesn't become a tool of the Bio fan Tamagotchi tendency, that is. I always find it ironic that some of the people who hate 'micromanaging' NPCs (i.e. equipment, spells, feats, level progression) are some of the most passionate advocates of, ahem, micromanaging romances, influence (etc). I'd hope for a mix - personally in a small party I'd be happy with one problem child who needed influence, one loyal Minsc-type dolt who will follow me whatever and one complete mercenary who is coin-operated. But turning my party into an episode of The OC but with swords? No thanks. My views on romances OTOH are on the record and do not require repeating. Cheers MC

Back to tactical mode: Three two-man USMC sniper teams with light fifties on board every merchant vessel would probably put that problem to bed. Cheers MC

Back in the day I wrote my undergraduate thesis on Counter-Insurgency. I referenced the British use of air power to police Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) in the 1920's using air power. That is to say, if the natives got restless the RAF dropped 200lb bombs on their villages. The occasional visit by flying columns of armoured cars flew the flag. Why put too many boots on the ground when you could, instead, cow the locals into submission using superior technology? Not too long afterwards the Germans planned something similar for the untermensch of the East, beyond the lands conquered for lebensraum beyond the Urals. Please note that I'm not comparing the British Empire with Nazi Germany - just the tendency for military men and politicians to occasionally use a monkey wrench to fix a circuit board. So this isn't remotely new, not least because it didn't work in either case. It's tempting to use technological solutions to solve thorny politicial problems - the USA could easily use naval and surveillance assets to interdict what are, after all, lightly armed gangs of criminals in small motor boats. The US carrier battle groups are awesome and have all the toys, the ultimate force projection assets in world history. Aircraft, drones, marine battle groups, special forces to raid coastal bases used by pirates, naval support to merchant vessels, installation of heavy weapons on merchant ships... we could go on (and blow the defence budget whilst we're at it). Somalia is broken. You could suggest that it can't get any more broke. So why not just bomb the coastline? Why support a failed state? Yadda yadda yadda. Because before you know it you have to go back in when it's an advanced Afghanistan, and we all know what that means. Somalia is a verdant, potentially prosperous and moderate Muslim eastern African state. It just has no real histroy of governance, so it needs it putting in there probably by force: You will initially need to knock some heads together there to get a result, but we could do worse than consider actually sorting the place out. Yes, a form of enlightened imperialism that was fashionable in academic circles in the early 90's during the Clinton era, before 9/11. I'm sure the Somali on the street, short of food and living under the shadow of brutal militias, people for whom Mad Max 2 is a model of stable governance, really wouldn't mind. I know the US has form here from the early 90's but hopefully Obama isn't Clinton. Ignore the UN. And while your at it, sort out Darfur and let us Brits do something similar to support nascent democracy in Zimbabwe. I know, I'm a neo-neo con with a heart. What can I say? Cause and effect. Cheers MC

The problem isn't actually offshore, really, is it? We could tie up gazillions flooding the area with warships, surveillance etc. The problem is Somalia. But we don't do nation-building any more, do we? Can somebody please find a massive oil field underneath Mogadishu? Anyhow, in the spirit of the original post, I take my hat off to the sailors who stood by to repel boarders, and especially the heroic ship's captain. I hope they all make it home safely. Cheers MC

Er, no. Have voted with my feet and not bought a Bio product since HotU. No dogma, just nothing has really appealed. Played KOTOR on XBox at a friend's place and loathed it. Cheers MC

Wrath, there's a DA website chock full of vanilla, high-fantasy DRAMA out there. Even with very basic investigative ability, I quickly scryed the general gist of the setting. Cheers MC

Morgoth speaks with much wisdom. I'm playing MTW2 a couple of years after release, modded and expansion-packed by fans with pro tech skillz. Result? The game I'd like to have played on release. It's utterly awesome. I have no doubt, whatsoever, that it'll be the same with E:TW in about 18 months from now. This is why I'm happy not buying it yet. Cheers MC