Medieval: Total War (with cheats)

This is about playing with cheats, not playing without cheats.

What people do you play as, why, and how?

I like playing as the sicillians or the spanish.
When I play as the Spanish I up my florins to 1,000,000 (.deadringer.) and get immediate buildings (.worksundays.), then I train as many emmisaries as possible, and send my current ones out to bribe everyone in the iberian peninsula, the rebels, argonese and moors. I build my ports, inns (to buy mercs so i can keep pumping out emmisaries), and trading houses and then I enter in the cheats for copper, iron, silver and gold (.mefoundsomecu. .viagra. .mefoundsomeag. .mefoundsomeau.) and build the mines and complexes. Then I build up my training halls, focusing on the taverns and upgrades for those so I can have strong assassins. I like to flood the map with assassins and emmisaries, both my enemies and my own nation (border forts and spies everywhere in my peninsula), and then I pump out strong units, looking for those with natural command and intelligence so that I can have a stock of men to make lords and give ceremonial duties to.

I ensure that I have strong navies, and then i save game, exit, return (close a game and return to it, you dont get access to cheats), then I sit back, build armies and enjoy making war on those who are too far away from me to stop.

 

When i don't cheat, i like to use heavy cav, elite archers, elite spearmen, and skirmishers. I always customise my armies for the enemy.

But this is about cheating.
Make a new thread if you dont want to talk about cheating.

 

I love this game, I have version 2 though.
When I cheat, I just upgrade all my cities and get lot's of florins.

I usually play as england, because their archers are awesome.
And I love killing a part of the enemy's army before they can reach me.

 

I love playing version two, but i dont have it.

The longbowmen are great, but I always flank with a massive target coming up the middle. Archers never stand a chance.

 

the best fun i have had is with this game.

I conquer all but one province while cheating, then build massive armies, withdraw all of them to one place and then raise the taxes so high that they all rebel. Then, i crush them.

 

I also flank.
Usually, I do this:

Horses -> Enemy <- Horses
Melee fighters
Crossbowmen
Archers

I really like crossbowmen, because they're good at melee too.
I always have a diplomat standing at the paypal states' castle, so I can bribe him with 'map information'.

If I'm allied with a faction, I don't backstab them.
Unless they've been real bitches before. Like that one time The roman empire kept attacking me <.<
I just needed to wait a few turns before I could execute my revenge without the pope complaining.

 

fuck the pope, i take italy early, and if i need to go to war with a catholic i build my italian armies up so i can just kill the pope quickly so i am not excommunicated long.

That's almost how i flank, but i follow mao tse tung's book guerilla warfare, and surround them completely.

Using heavy cav on the back and sides of spearmen, skirmishers up the front.

I never backstab my allies either, i have only three. Byzantine empire, Novgorod and the English. Easy enough to give allies new territory, i just bribe the enemy army, move it into my land and hey presto, land with minimal forces to defend it. My ally moves in to guard my back. Then i defend against the ally.

 

I tried doing that, but he was able to flee, and then I lost him.

 

Oh yeah, especially if they've been busting your balls for the last 10 rounds.

Sweet, sweet revenge.

 

i can put the pope under my control? Just by building bishops and flooding rome with them?

Weeeeee
*starts building bishops*

 

How do i control the pope? He came back after i massacred the last one, and i gave him rome, but he tried to take all of the boot. I had to kill him and his armies. I am going to fill italy with armies and rome with bishops and inquisitors. How do i control the pope when he returns?