Anyway to stop pauses in Battle Replays? (2025)

This is really astoundingly dumb, and ruins my enjoyment of Replays.

IS there a solution (not pausing is *not* a solution, btw )

sorry for slow reply......

No - the pauses are built into the replays.....they're recorded like any other keys.....and the replay pauses for as long as I paused in the original battle. This is so stupid - I can't believe it. It ruins watching replays/

Presumably the replay files record the pause key being pressed, and if we could just delete that from the replay files, they might play without the stupid pauses. I mean....they don't record my camera movements.....nor my mouse movements over the UI.....nor if I change settings in gfx or something while playing. None of that is recorded - so why in mary hell did they choose to record the fatang PAUSE button!!!??

And there's no solution?

Well, not pausing the battle would help

But I agree, it's pretty stupid to record it.

hehe - don't do it! - that's the fix?

I can't believe it..........oh, but this is CA circa 2010....I believe it! Typical.

Am I really the only person who hates TW being a click-fest and likes to watch the replays without pauses? HArd to believe. And I just don't understand why it would be desirable for replays to record pauses. Who would want it? Is there no pause in replay? There's no rewind, that's for sure. What a load of . ETA - Shyt!

Man, this makes me cross. They've ruined my enjoyment of the game. With such a simple thing. Such a bloody stupid simple thing. Why!?!??? OMFG!!! haha - because it's sooooo stupid annoys me soooo much. It's like watching someone miss the doorway, again and again and again.....forever.

I just had a 320Gb disc go phut. Fortunately it had Steam and Empire installed on it........(and 200 Gb of rFactor) ...........fortunately Steam won't uninstall......it won't reinstall.....Empire DVD crashes during install.......ing brilliant!

*Solution - regedit search STEAM press the delete as hard as you ing can, again and again and again.......

last_name_left said:

hehe - don't do it! - that's the fix?

Am I really the only person who hates TW being a click-fest and likes to watch the replays without pauses?

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Seriously, I had never noticed that pauses are recorded because I never use them apart from when I did this tribute video where the unit placement needed to be somewhat more exact than in battle.

Click-fest? Hardly.
If you think so,

Again, I agree that the pauses are included is silly, but if you need to pause the game to win against the AI, I doubt your replays are worth watching anyway.

ah - I'm the problem. Obvious, really.

It isn't that I NEED to press pause to defeat the AI. It's just that having two arms and two eyes, one brain one mouse and one field of view, and being of corporeal form, I can only be in one place at one time.

It's just silly that one suffers from the mechanics of using a computer to the degree one must if one is to avoid pauses. Selecting the correct unit can be a trial in itself - let alone do they reliably do what one tells them. Fire at will leads artillery to fire into cliffs for 10 minutes, or at one's general or into one's own lines. But likewise, if the AI amongst one's own troops was excellent there'd be no game left really, beyond being a field general. One could just press "AUTO". No fun, granted. And that's why pause is necessary - and shouldn't be recorded.

I like turn-based combat for similar reasons: mousey dexterity really shouldn't be a factor - it's a barrier to communication, not a skill of war.

last_name_left said:

ah - I'm the problem. Obvious, really.
[...]
Selecting the correct unit can be a trial in itself - let alone do they reliably do what one tells them. Fire at will leads artillery to fire into cliffs for 10 minutes, or at one's general or into one's own lines.

Click to expand...

Hmmm, the more you describe what your battles are like, the more it sounds like yes, you really are the problem.
I would suggest you group your units and use that to select your units, but it appears that you're ok with the way you control your battles, so never mind.

I like turn-based combat for similar reasons: mousey dexterity really shouldn't be a factor - it's a barrier to communication, not a skill of war.

Click to expand...

It's not so much about mouse dexterity, it's about having to make quick decisions, which clearly is a skill of war if you believe Sun Tzu or Clausewitz.
But really, to each his own... maybe TW just isn't for you? I hear there's a Pokemon game that uses turn-based combat.

I for one have been playing TW since STW, and always liked to pretend that I'm playing against a human, so using pause is out of the question really... but again, to each his own.

I would suggest you group your units

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wow. thanks for the insight.

you mean grouping them so that when you click for the group to move they try to form a snowflake pattern and move to the opposite side of the map? yes, very helpful.

It's not so much about mouse dexterity, it's about having to make quick decisions

Click to expand...

Which must be communicated via.....mouse. I never read Napoleon using a mouse. Did you?

If he'd had to rely on CA's interface programming and a mouse there wouldn't ever be a game named after him. So what? It's hardly a comment on his nous.

last_name_left said:

you mean grouping them so that when you click for the group to move they try to form a snowflake pattern and move to the opposite side of the map? yes, very helpful.

Click to expand...

What are you talking about? Again, since I don't have that problem, it must be you.
Group your units, use line formation (button in the formation panel or alt-4), right-click mouse drag to position them.

It looks a bit like this (although the vid is for NTW).

Which must be communicated via.....mouse. I never read Napoleon using a mouse. Did you?

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No, but he used the pause function frequently.

No, but he used the pause function frequently.

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see!

he would have - if it was there. he also didn't find a once invisible army suddenly lined up 1/2 mile away ready to attack. he didn't have automata in charge of each of his lines. he delegated to as competent generals and captains as he could find. they showed initiative. They didn't form "the snowflake" and move randomly across the field of fire. he didn't have to molly coddle every single unit to prevent them acting like badly programmed automata. [he'd probably say different, mind you]

I'll take a look at that vid - because I haven't been using right click drag. I position, say, 6 units in a line.....then group them....then click ahead of the group hoping they will retain some semblance of their formation. But often they don't - the indicators where they're going spread out right across the map - completely criss-crossing crazily and illogically. Even on flat and usable landscape. Sometimes it works - but often it doesn't. Usually when I most need it to work. Then I must pause, reorganise the rabble - whom even lose their line formation - so I have to redraw the lines individually, unit by unit. It's ridiculous. then the pauses are included in the reply too. infuriating and destructive of my pleasure.

I like watching the battles up close - not as little groups of dots. That's ok for fighting the battle, but to watch it, i like to see it up close, and get a flavour of the atmosphere. I can still beat the AI - but the biggest issue is the interface and the inability of formations to retain shape and behave consistently. I like micromanaging the units - i use the rotate and advance keys a lot - to make nice lines. to adjust the line whilst retaining overall shape. to get forces to act in concert. I don't make any great claims as a commander, but I'm no idiot. Honestly!

I just watched the vid - and you use group, rightclick and <i>drag</i>. You say at one point "a single click messed me up there".....and that's the method I have been using. So right click drag is much more reliable? I'll try it instead, see if it is any better.

Still, the pace you play is way beyond what I like. I'm after atmosphere, some semblance of "what it must have been like".....rather than zoomed out, and playing command and conquer. Maybe the click and drag will help.

Still - recording the pause key is ridiculous. does it record other speed changes? ?? I don't think so. I just can't see what they were thinking - makes me really cross because it's so stupid and so interferes with my enjoyment (of Darthmod commander 6 atm - that's proving to have really reinvigorated Empire for me. I'm now surprised how I like it. Apart from the freaking pause issue - and the pathing which will hopefully be sorted, thanks to your advice.)

last_name_left said:

You say at one point "a single click messed me up there".....and that's the method I have been using.

Click to expand...

OMG, poor you... I can't even imagine how one can get through a whole battle like this. How could you stand that?

So right click drag is much more reliable? I'll try it instead, see if it is any better.
[...]Maybe the click and drag will help.

Click to expand...

I'm sure it will. I'm sure you'll enjoy your battles a lot more from now on.

Note that if you group several units and not use the formation button, those units will stay in the same formation, i.e. with the same relative positions to each other. Also, they will not stretch out (which is usually what you want).
You can try out the dragging and different formations during the army setup phase. I almost only use "line formation", sometimes "integrated artillery" (which will position artillery in the group between infantry, and not at the flanks) and "screened" (which will position light infantry in front of the line infantry).

Still - recording the pause key is ridiculous. does it record other speed changes? ?? I don't think so. I just can't see what they were thinkin

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Yeah, very weird, was really surprised when I noticed.
I think what happens is that the replay doesn't actually save as a movie, but only records the commands a player gives and then issues them in the same order if you start them, so the battle plays out the same (you can verify this by watching a replay from another patch level, those will turn out differently).
My guess is that cutting out the pause messed that up (maybe it doesn't pause weather changes?), so it was easiest for them to just also play out the pause.

Oh, btw, since you say you enjoy the atmosphere of the battles, maybe you'll like my latest vids; I'm trying to do a bit more storytelling and cinematic editing now.

the right click drag is working better.

It is actually what I want more often then dragging an entire new line. They take an age to reform if you change a lines depth? And they won't fire until every last man is stood to attention in his correct position? Ridiculous. Nevermind the cavalry coming our way - let's just wait for this one guy to get in Fi((((((££**£* position!!!

Empire and Napoleon really need some proper wheeling and formation controls. There's no way real armies did it like these clowns? We need better and properly working robust controls imo. IF that puts people off, give them the dumbed down version we have now (or better)........and give us a choice of using some proper structured movement if we want.

Napoleon is something of a political hero of mine, and I enjoyed reading his tactics (never thought I would). But wheeling an army was a tactic employed - try to make them have to remanoeuvre their lines iirc. It's hard enough to do your own in this CA stuff. Moving various mobs around, a la M2 is fine, but in Emp and Nap you need positioned and directed lines? I don't think the tools they gave us to do it are good enough. But, that's just me, perhaps, and some of the fault is mine, no doubt.

Anyway, your advice seems to be helping so far, thanks. And I have watched a few of your films - I'll keep watching, probably.

I think last name left's point of view is understandable because recording pauses obviously isn't functional for the 50% of people who use the pause function.

I like using the pause button and I too sometimes get distracted by life while playing Empire, but if you don't have a life to distract you from playing video games that's okay.

thank you.

And it doesn't necessarily mean I am a cretin, right? I appreciate the support. lol.