Design Notes for HAB

Obviously this is a relatively large battle for Medieval, but not necessarily an unwieldy one...there's plenty of room to manuever for both armies, and plenty of time to do so. It's also obvious that there will be very many missle-fire opportunities, especially for the Turkish player. Though admittedly this can get a little tedious, I feel that the situation is unique enough to justify the effort. Basically, the Turks are in a good position to be very aggressive, while it behooves the Crusaders to be a bit more prudent with their style of play. I won't give away any surprises, but will mention that the AI/Turk will use it's highly mobile archer force very well. Swarms of pesky horse archers will surround and incessantly pepper Crusader units the entire game, while nimbly avoiding initiating close combat. Turkish heavy cavalry is capable of punching holes in Crusader lines nearly at will. The Crusaders are staunch holders of ground though, and can readily go on the offensive with their excellent heavy cavalry reserves.

More than usual in testing this scenario, some of the most unpredictable endings and scores were seen when the AI managed both sides, (my initial guage for balance). The number of Turk wins were about equal to Crusader wins, with a good amount of very near games. I assume the randomness of AI strategy was mainly was responsible for an occasional lopsided win by either side. I suggest opting for an Aggressive AI/Turk opponent when playing as the Crusaders, and a Balanced AI/Crusader opponent when playing as the Turks.

Hold onto your chainmail coif.....this is a free-wheeling and bloody battle and as usual, I'd appreciate any comments, suggestions, or after-battle reports.
Thanks for playing Hab!


Nov 6, 1998
Phil Natta
pnatta@earthlink.net