Historical expectations about ships and fleet formations can fail in a naval game whose rules produce different behavior. Clarke recalls losing third-rates after trying to fight according to the Royal Navy tactics he had in mind. Charging directly at opponents then worked better in Total War, despite departing from those expectations. His experience concerns the game's combat rules and does not establish that the same approach would succeed with real sailing warships.
Notable Point · 5:20-10:23
Historical naval tactics and Total War's combat rules
A Total War battle illustrates why historical fleet tactics need to be checked against the behavior a naval game actually models.