Ancient & Medieval TOAW?

[LOK]

I've been trying to model Belissarius' (Justinian's) campaigns in Italy & North Africa (circa 530-550 AD) in TOAW but it doesn't really work very well.
Does anyone know of a good (TOAW style) ancient and or medieval wagame? A couple of other games I've seen (Medieval Total War or Empire Earth) on the market are geared towards real-time wargaming .
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated

[Menschenfresser]

This is always kind of a d'oh suggestion, but what about checking www.the-underdogs.org?

I'm pretty sure they have a few medieval games albeit from 1987. They have a section devoted to wargames, but also check out the strategy section. That is if you haven't already. :)

[KG_RangerBooBoo]

There are a couple of Brian Topp created scenarios on the 1st and 2nd Punic Wars posted at the Rugged Defense site.
Rugged Defense (http://rugged-defense.the.strategist.name/)

[RhinoBones]

The Punic Wars scenarios had a feature which I found to be innovative; a house rule prohibiting individual stacks of troops from moving or engaging in offensive combat unless a commander was included in the stack. I thought it was a great idea since it gave a realistic feel to the movement of troops and it prevented the use of gamey tactics, such as moving many little independent units to surround enemy formations.

I also believe that scenarios from the ACW time frame, and earlier, need to be played with active disengagement turned off. I can’t see any way one can make a case for a mob with swords, spears and arrows preventing an enemy mob from disengaging.

In the WotR scenario (which is basically a sword and shield scenario) I made heavy use of the Bio Editor to adjust the unit AP, AT and amour ratings, also set the attrition divider to around 2 just to make sure there were ample casualties. If you’re interested, I can make available the spreadsheet I used to track the abilities/characteristics of the individual units. Think you might find it useful in designing your own unit data base. In the WotR games I have played, the modified unit data base seems to give a reasonable simulation of medieval warfare.

One thing I did with bow/cross bow units was to make them using artillery as the basic unit. Adjusted the bow/cross bow ranges sufficiently to give them a range of one hex. A one hex range enabled then to provide support to the front line troops much the way motors do in modern scenarios. Also, in the offense, you can place the bow and arrows in the front rank and actively participate in the attack.

As a final note, I strongly suggest that you invest the time in designing custom medieval/ancient era units icons. I enjoyed playing around with the Punic Wars scenarios, but in my opinion, NATO style icons did not provide the look or feel of Romans and Carthaginians. Once again, if the icon graphics in the WotR scenario are of any use to you, you are welcome to use them.

Regards, RhinoBones

[LOK]

There are a couple of Brian Topp created scenarios on the 1st and 2nd Punic Wars posted at the Rugged Defense site.
Rugged Defense (http://rugged-defense.the.strategist.name/)
Actually I've played those and they are very good (all of the Brian Topp scenarios I've played are very good).
It's just that TOAW was not meant for this era (I know I shouldn't be even trying it...)

[LOK]

The Punic Wars scenarios had a feature which I found to be innovative; a house rule prohibiting individual stacks of troops from moving or engaging in offensive combat unless a commander was included in the stack. I thought it was a great idea since it gave a realistic feel to the movement of troops and it prevented the use of gamey tactics, such as moving many little independent units to surround enemy formations.

I also believe that scenarios from the ACW time frame, and earlier, need to be played with active disengagement turned off. I can’t see any way one can make a case for a mob with swords, spears and arrows preventing an enemy mob from disengaging.

In the WotR scenario (which is basically a sword and shield scenario) I made heavy use of the Bio Editor to adjust the unit AP, AT and amour ratings, also set the attrition divider to around 2 just to make sure there were ample casualties. If you’re interested, I can make available the spreadsheet I used to track the abilities/characteristics of the individual units. Think you might find it useful in designing your own unit data base. In the WotR games I have played, the modified unit data base seems to give a reasonable simulation of medieval warfare.

One thing I did with bow/cross bow units was to make them using artillery as the basic unit. Adjusted the bow/cross bow ranges sufficiently to give them a range of one hex. A one hex range enabled then to provide support to the front line troops much the way motors do in modern scenarios. Also, in the offense, you can place the bow and arrows in the front rank and actively participate in the attack.

As a final note, I strongly suggest that you invest the time in designing custom medieval/ancient era units icons. I enjoyed playing around with the Punic Wars scenarios, but in my opinion, NATO style icons did not provide the look or feel of Romans and Carthaginians. Once again, if the icon graphics in the WotR scenario are of any use to you, you are welcome to use them.

Regards, RhinoBones

I think you have the right solution with the BioEd.
The custom icons would be great if you coudl send them to me.
Much appreciated and thanks for the tips.