Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So over the past hour or so Purplefood, Soladrin and I were playing this together as a line unit of 3 grenadiers.

It was extremely amusing firing tiny volleys at single enemies who manage to get in to our fort through a small breach. Especially when they approached the breach and then saw us waiting to fire and they nope out of there.

So I was wondering, does anyone else play this and would be interested in joining in some random line fighting?

You get to meet some high class dudes like this chap:



And even meet Napoleon!



Amazing ragdoll physics:



Tense combat:



Play in a popular band:



I expect this thread to be as popular as the Dota 2 ones!

More people should join us in this glorious endeavour, it is most rewarding.

This game really is a bunch of fun.
Cavalry is a terrifying force... kinda...

I have lost many hours of my life to Mount & Blade (and its successor, Warband). Great games.

This is about Napoleonic Wars, yes? Just want to be sure - I'm a bit confused as to the use of the term "mod" here.

But if it is NW, I have fond memories of it. I have admittedly not played it for a year or so, but I remember it was insane fun, and I'd gladly join a few dakkanauts for some classy napoleonic warfare.

Also ...

It used to be a mod...
I guess it isn't anymore...

Heh, I didn't realise the servers were still going. Last time that I was on I recall there being a distinct rise in the number of female soldiers/trolls compared to what it was.

Looking at the Steam page, you can play as a musician? Huh? How does that work? You push a button to play the drum? And what does that do?

Also, do you find that people actually stay in line and fire in volleys or is it people running all over the place doing whatever they want?

For a musician (and there's quite a few instruments) you pick the class, equip the instrument then use it to select the tune. Each instrument has their own list of music (about a dozen pieces for each) and an additional few that can only be played if there are other musicians nearby. For the most part you play in a band just for fun, but it does buff the players around you too. Frankly you've got as much a
chance of killing the enemy with a pair of bagpipes as you do of hitting them with a musket most of the time too. =)

As for whether people use actual historical tactics or just play it like a team deathmatch it errs to the latter most of the time. However in the larger more open maps people do use tend to form up into units occasionally. If you want to play the game in a more tactical manner though there is the "line battle" mode in which the players assume the role of officers in NPC units. In them you can find a few dozen players leading hundreds of NPCs, issuing orders to them to gun down other blocks of infantry and the like. Matches can get quite tactical based on how competent the other players are, or just turn into scrums. For instance the French will run down any other nation's force in the game with their cavalry if they know how to use them and their opponents don't know how to counter them.

However of late actually finding a game that isn't just a standard "I wanna hit the baddies with my sword" type affair is becoming rarer. I haven't played it in a while, but I assume the number of players that roleplay/use some semblance of tactics are probably behind it. =/

Redeemer31 wrote:Looking at the Steam page, you can play as a musician? Huh? How does that work? You push a button to play the drum? And what does that do?

Musicians have instruments (different ones, all depending on selection and availability!) they can play by opening a special menu that lets them pick from a selection of military marches. Several musicians can choose to automatically synchronise their play, too.

Musicians, just like banner bearers and officers, can provide nearby soldiers with special buffs ->

Musical instruments: faster reloading or (in case of the bugle) speed bonus
Flags: melee (line infantry) or speed (light infantry) bonus
Infantry/Cavalry officers: better accuracy
Artillery officers: faster reloading
Army General: +5% to all other buffs

Redeemer31 wrote:Also, do you find that people actually stay in line and fire in volleys or is it people running all over the place doing whatever they want?

Depends on the players! Mostly the latter, but there are several clans who practice actual formation battles and schedule matches with likeminded gamers. Usually those are the ones with an overcomplicated guild tag such as "[31RgtFt]" etc before their name, which of course would mean 31st Regiment of Foot.
However, some maps also favour lines (mostly the siege scenarios that come with premade trenches and walls for people to take cover behind), and sometimes you have Sappers who prepare ad-hoc trenches where people will gather in. Mostly, players act fairly clever, cooperating almost by instinct.

Lastly, there is also the "Commander Mode" - a game mode where every single player is an officer commanding an entire company of bots. These bots automatically assume line formations and practice volley-fire. You can give them orders such as changing their formation, firing on your command, firing at will, charging with bayonets etc. This is pretty cool stuff, and even battles where only half a dozen players are on the server at one time will have several hundred soldiers thanks to all those bots in the regiment.

[edit] ninja'd

The Harem actively forms a cohesive line in order to bring some semblance of order to what is otherwise a disarrayed mess.

 Avatar 720 wrote:
The Harem actively forms a cohesive line in order to bring some semblance of order to what is otherwise a disarrayed mess.

Nothing like listening to the sounds of musket fire with purplefood saying commands

It's more fun than one would think

The last time I played I'd largely given up on playing as a line infantryman. Instead Sapping was more my thing in the larger games, just because how chaotic it was. Unfortunately due to a lack of mods most of the time actually doing anything useful as a sapper was difficult due to trolls using up all the available build points. Line infantry probably don't notice the trolls for the most part, but they're more obvious to those in the support roles, or say in a siege map where they keep opening the gates (which also makes you waste points blocking the gate controls, or time killing them). Another issue is that you can't join a lot of the game types once the battle has started. For instance line battles, whilst fun, aren't that common and last a while, so if you miss out on the start of one you may have to wait upwards of half an hour for the next round.

Cavorly is so overrated in this... Its so easy to kill if you have a bayonet but everyone stills insists on spamming in which is fine by me as I normal rack up a 50 kill score in team deathmatch - most of that being dead cav.
Otherwise it is a really epic games an well worth a play.

Never seen cavalry - or cavorly - spammed that much.

Your lucky then
And yes my spelling is bad... thankyou for bringing it to my attention

I find that cavalry are pretty effective in deathmatches. Play as an officer with a lance and you can easily kill your opponents before they get into bayonet range. Though that's not to say it isn't damn easy to use a saber to kill infantry and cavalry alike too. The pistol's there for when you're up against an opponent with a longer ranged weapon than you too. =P

If you time it right as infantry you can get inside the arc of the lance quite easy so that your square on with the front of horse and take it down. Then just waddle over to the riders that been thrown and finish them off.

Mainly I believe the reason purple doesn't see them much is we always play on Siege maps, which have no cavalry, except for the leader.

They also make small lines viable in defending small areas, which is what we do.

About what time of the day are you gentlemen to be found on which server, if one may inquire?

We're usually on a siege server...
Not usually set times but PM me your Steam name and you can join us whenever...

I used to be a hardcore member of the M&B: Napoleonic Wars community, in fact I was in regiments and had line battles and stuff. After the regiment I was in disbanded, I really lost interest in the game.

It is brilliant, I've spent over 100 hours playing it and I've had some really great moments on it.

I've racked up about 450 hours of gametime in it. So.....many...Frenchmen.

I'm in a regiment that's one of the oldest in the game I think, if anyone wants organised linebattles, than you can always come play with me. 100 vs 100 organised battles, EASILY my favorite part of the game.

If you want to actually join the regiment (events several times a week) then just shoot an app here: http://1ergren.xippy.eu/index.php?page=11&CatID=45852

The application stuff is largely just so people can be added to the steam group, if you can hold musket, and not kill yourself with it, you're probably good to go!

EDIT: my name on steam is Uhtredskaer if anyone is playing, I'm always looking for people to play with, way more fun in a group. That's also my name on that site. I nearly always play as France, Vive L'Empereur!

I really like the sound when you slice someone with a saber from your horse.

Just got back from a small holiday (well, Napoleonic reenactment incidentally)

Is this still going on?

I'm looking for the best game to run round with a sword and flail at things until i die. Out of war of the roses , warband or chivalry which is the best?

I'm not that big on cavorly so perhaps the game with the least of that.

Warband, don't even think about it, buy warband.

War of the roses is pretty much a direct copy of the online (bar executions moves) one that is done poorly, and chivalry is kind of button mashy.

Expect to get killed A LOT on warband online till you get the hang of it, but seriously, buy warband, and relish in the online, amazing singleplayer, and hundreds of fantastic mods.

Its a hard game to learn how to play properly but once you have learnt it its easy to go back to after say a month and waltz straight to the top of a leader-board in your first round of the game for ages.
Wether in vanilla or Napoleon. But more importantly it is a hell of a lot of fun throughout.