Moves that Won or Lost the Battle

[Alex-Stargazer]

Hello forum:

I was just testing the new experimental AI, and had the good fortune to easily assassinate an enemy leader on Castle Hopping Isle. It left me wondering: are there many pivotal moments in a multiplayer matchup---single moves, or specific turns---which, then or in hindsight, clearly defined the direction the battle would take? The mechanics of the game have always seemed a little nebulous to me; it's hard---even with experience---to tell precisely when it is that you are winning or losing, and why. Battles can go from seemingly winnable to quite dire, quite quickly; occasionally it even seems to go from rather dire to a victory, e.g. an opponent that almost has you beat overextending close to your keep and suffering heavy losses.

Does anyone have any replays they can post, with such examples?

[Velensk]

To be honest, I don't really understand exactly what you're asking.

Yes, there are constantly pivotal moves in multiplayer which shape every match. A lot of these plays aren't especially flashy but the vast majority of matches have them. I generally don't have trouble telling whose ahead at a given time (I don't find it nebulous unless both sides are relatively even) but it's easy to put together plans that (maybe not obviously but certainly) rest a lot of weight on either a very few combat results or on your enemy not noticing an option they have. Whenever there is a situation like that there's always potential for a very dynamic reversal. To some extent and if you're playing against an expert player, you'll have to rely on plays like this in order to get the highest chance to win as the alternative to this dynamic is a very slow methodical game which either ends in a draw or in whomever had the initial advantage slowly levering away with it until they win. You can find examples of games that go like that as well but even at high levels you'll find most games will have several of these dynamic defining moves, frequently starting at the opening gambits (if one player can put on enough pressure with a grunt rush for example).

Is there a certain type of gambit or move that you're looking for? Are you just trying to see if certain ploys exist/what they look like? I've seen assassinations, flanks, traps, pins of all sorts, marauding, carefully timed pushes and counters, and nearly every other basic tactic carry games before in Wesnoth so if you'll take my word for it they exist. I don't exactly have a way of sifting through all the multiplayer replays to find you an example of any specific one you request but if you play enough games you'll see them all.

If you post games in the Multiplayer Replay thread, I'll help identify key points and moves for you (for as I said, a lot of these plays aren't flashy). Just don't post any AI games, they aren't representative in the slightest of what actual play requires or how it works.