I think I might jump in and pre-order this now it's a sensible price - £29.99! ???
Actually - no I won't. I'm not at all sure my system will run it in any sort of decent frame rate. Shogun 2 really tests my system.
I preordered it a few weeks ago at about the same price.
I was very tempted - but I have seen a few videos and I think my current system will struggle.
I'll be getting a new system next year though.
I am trying to remember if I have upgraded just for one game in the past...I think I did for Medieval II Total War.
Well - my system is struggling now - so it wouldn't be for a game. Far Cry 3 seems to be running crappier when I fired it up recently than I recall it doing so. A-10C and Black Shark don't run super smooth anf ArmA III is taxing.
Turning down options in all my games helps - but an upgrade is in order. There are more and more games I'm struggling to run without making them look like the ugliest sister.
A new graphics card would be a nice boost as it is the graphics card which is running full pelt.
Backup and reload your OS. It's almost essential to do that with Windows at least every couple of years and I prefer to do it annually.
Quote from: Gusington on June 11, 2013, 06:55:44 AM
I am trying to remember if I have upgraded just for one game in the past...I think I did for Medieval II Total War.
bought my first ever one to play Command and Conquer
upgraded for Half Life
upgraded for Company of Heroes
and now ready to kick some Rome ass
Quote from: GJK on June 11, 2013, 07:56:36 AM
Backup and reload your OS. It's almost essential to do that with Windows at least every couple of years and I prefer to do it annually.
That sounds soooooo painful. What games have online registration and need to be de-activated? What software you've got that you need to rediscover? What game discs and software are in the loft? What saved games are where? What's on the main drive that you need to keep?
I was saving all that pain for my new system I'm just not sure the boost compared to the pain would be worth it tbh
Geek you're upgrading for Rome II? My PC will be two years old at release so I should be alright.
Quote from: Gusington on June 11, 2013, 09:23:43 AM
Geek you're upgrading for Rome II? My PC will be two years old at release so I should be alright.
no, i upgraded for it in March - currently enjoying everything on best/highest/ultra until the next gen kick my graphics card over
when i say everything........... Airland Battle and Shogun II and CMBN with everything maxed are probably the biggest hogs, Dom III doesnt really stretch it!
its kind of waiting to unleash itself on Rome II
I upgraded for RTW and for M2TW and again when CMBN came out. I think I'm good for awhile yet, specs for Rome 2 are within my limits. Has anyone tried the sites where you can join and then play via their systems without needing to upgrade? Seems I heard about a couple that weren't too bad.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on June 11, 2013, 07:48:50 AM
Well - my system is struggling now - so it wouldn't be for a game. Far Cry 3 seems to be running crappier when I fired it up recently than I recall it doing so. A-10C and Black Shark don't run super smooth anf ArmA III is taxing.
Turning down options in all my games helps - but an upgrade is in order. There are more and more games I'm struggling to run without making them look like the ugliest sister.
A new graphics card would be a nice boost as it is the graphics card which is running full pelt.
Same. The occasional hitch or fps drop is more noticeable in the DCS titles since I started using the TrackIR. Thing is.. sometimes a hitch is probably unavoidable when moving your head too fast with it, even with a newer vid card. Still... I want to upgrade soon.
Quote from: Gusington on June 11, 2013, 06:55:44 AM
I am trying to remember if I have upgraded just for one game in the past...I think I did for Medieval II Total War.
I upgraded for CLOD, ARMAIII and Rome II about two months ago. I'm still going to run with less than total video video madness
mostly because it seems I don't want to pay another few hundred bucks for effects that only make things look like
a lot of video effects have definitely happened without making things look better in terms of resembling reality as I
seem to see it. I guess lots of view distance would be nice, but I don't fly jets in the ARMAs much so that usually isn't
a big deal and my current set up seems to be running CLOD reasonably well.
If anyone has the itch for the original Rome, can't beat a $1 at steam today....
http://store.steampowered.com/app/4760/
A new 11 min. gameplay video posted at twcenter.net. Elephants included.
I love you.
me too
Civ style city expansion as the borders push out - oooooooooooo!
land and naval unit combos!!
unit cam, ramming speed, weight to power understandings!!!
battlefield capture points!!
im spent
Uhhh... Do you mean me? Or the game? Cause I'm easy but spoken for.
Both.
By the by, here's the video for those too lazy to look for it:
The interviewer comes off as idiotic and/or completely clueless about the TW series, but there's still some good footage & commentary by the CA guy.
Love the look of the campaign map, btw. Also, is it just me, or are the battle maps even larger than in Shogun 2?
Quote from: Martok on June 14, 2013, 05:20:13 AM
Love the look of the campaign map, btw. Also, is it just me, or are the battle maps even larger than in Shogun 2?
i think the guy said in the interview that they were bigger maps
for me, and i didnt even know about them, i think battlefield capture points are a great idea
The capture points remind me of the original King Arthur game. They added a new layer of tactics and I mostly enjoyed having them but you had to really pay attention or your opposition could win quickly. I wonder if capture points will be optional?
That campaign map looks gorgeous. I can't wait for this to come out as Rome: TW was my favorite of the series.
Yeah it does look really great, shiny and fluid.
Land and naval combat simultaneously? I may have to grow another arm. ;)
Quote from: Sir Slash on June 14, 2013, 10:21:46 AM
Land and naval combat simultaneously? I may have to grow another arm. ;)
cant think why they never did this before - seems a great idea for coastal battles
They took a little baby step towards that in Fall of the Samurai with shore bombardment, which I love.
This is a whole new level though...the galleys look bad asstastic.
Quote from: Martok on June 14, 2013, 05:20:13 AM
Love the look of the campaign map, btw. Also, is it just me, or are the battle maps even larger than in Shogun 2?
Wow! Thanks for the link to the video. The game looks awesome. I especially like the oar-smashing and then ramming another quinquereme
move by the big ship with a tower on it.
Well, it is $60 now and I will not pay that. I'll wait a couple of years and get it at a reasonable price. By then it should be debugged.
Quote from: solops on June 14, 2013, 12:19:55 PM
Well, it is $60 now and I will not pay that. I'll wait a couple of years and get it at a reasonable price. By then it should be debugged.
its £29.99 surely the pound - dollar isnt 2-1
Quote from: undercovergeek on June 14, 2013, 12:44:08 PM
Quote from: solops on June 14, 2013, 12:19:55 PM
Well, it is $60 now and I will not pay that. I'll wait a couple of years and get it at a reasonable price. By then it should be debugged.
its £29.99 surely the pound - dollar isnt 2-1
It's 59.99 to preorder and get some extra greeks. I think that's the only way you can get it in the US.
So the pound still carries far more weight than the dollar.
I haven't ordered it yet just cuz I'm irrational about preorders. What if some fantastic East Front game comes along and
all my funds are wrapped up in pre-orders?
I pre ordered for 45 dollah at Green Man Gaming.
I am so tempted to pre-order but I just can't pull the trigger.
You'll feel less proud of yourself but more stress-free after you pre-order. ;D
^Yes I can vouch for that.
Some how you are guys are making sense .... but I will hold out ....
Quote from: TheCommandTent on June 15, 2013, 08:12:08 PM
Some how you are guys are making sense .... but I will hold out ....
Stay strong, brother! Just remember how pre-ordering can bite one in the ass.
Except that Rome II follows Shogun II, arguably the best TW game.
:)
I admire your tenacity Command Tent but the Total War series made me it's bitch the first time I whipped Gaul-ass in the first RTW. I like to think of it less as an addiction and more of a disability. :-\
Quote from: Sir Slash on June 15, 2013, 11:17:59 PM
I admire your tenacity Command Tent but the Total War series made me it's bitch the first time I whipped Gaul-ass in the first RTW. I like to think of it less as an addiction and more of a disability. :-\
If that is the case, which I fear it might be, then shouldn't the government be giving me some sort of handout to help deal with or purchase said game. ;D ::)
Quote from: Gusington on June 15, 2013, 10:17:48 PM
Except that Rome II follows Shogun II, arguably the best TW game.
:)
Except that the first
Rome -- which everyone here knows I hate with the heat of a supernova -- also followed the first
Medieval, which I loved to death, and was (at the time) hailed as one of the best PC titles ever made. So you'll understand if I'm a little worried about previous precedent. :P
Do I dare ask why you hate the first Rome TW that much?
Quote from: TheCommandTent on June 16, 2013, 11:55:26 AM
Do I dare ask why you hate the first Rome TW that much?
Ditto ...apart from flaming pigs and war dogs I played it to death and multiplayer was great.
Apparently, its 35.71 euros at Gaming Dragons: http://www.gamingdragons.com/en/game/buy-total-war-rome-2-steam-key.html
I bought Mass Effect 3 and Anno 2070 from these guys. They sometimes sell stuff pretty cheap (steam codes, all). Not sure how they do it, but Steam doesn't appear to have any problem with them. One of the things is that they appear to be on manual mode when it comes to sending out codes, they warn you it might take a while 'til you get your code (IIRC I haven't had to wait more than 30 minutes). Not an issue with a pre-order I guess.
I don't think I'll be able to resist it at this price.
I loved the original Rome TW with the Barbarian Invasions pack.
Quote from: Gusington on June 16, 2013, 04:23:53 PM
I loved the original Rome TW with the Barbarian Invasions pack.
^+1
See now Martok maybe you need to give the original another chance...sure it wasn't the most historically accurate game but I loved the exotic (fake) units. Wardogs!
I loved Rome TW. I still play it with the Roma Surrectum mod. Like all TW games, it needs some Mods to flesh it out. AI was weak but that's expected with the series.
I am hoping for the AI of Shogun 2 in Rome 2. Because I don't get my ass kicked nearly enough :/
I did win several campaigns of Rome TW but I have yet to win any in Shogun 2.
Yep. Also the tactical AI must be better in Shogun 2, or I have become much worse at the game, because I remember that after a little while it took no effort whatsoever to achieve some pretty stellar victories in Rome, while in Shogun 2 if I did not pay attention, I often got some costly victories, and the occassional defeat.
Not really good for self esteem but good for a challenge.
Quote from: TheCommandTent on June 16, 2013, 11:55:26 AM
Do I dare ask why you hate the first Rome TW that much?
I have to say Rome 1 didn't impress me all that much at first and for me MTW2 was by so much one of the best games of all time
that the first Rome has never been very bright in my memory. Though I do have a few good memories of various barbarian events
at some indeterminate later time that might have been early MTW2, maybe.
So I finished my ETW- American Revolution campaign over the weekend with a win after the Brits put-up a good fight for Quebec. It took about a year and 3 months of off and on play to win. I remember really enjoying the campaign when I first started it but the end game was less appealing. I began to think, and almost every TW campaign has been the same. Less fun at the end. By that time you usually have a huge empire to manage( and I never trust the AI to manage running a dog house in my country) and you have to declare war on some poor little Republic of Defenseless-stan to get to an arbitrary number of territories for the win. My hope for Rome 2 is the end game is as much fun as the beginning. Assuming I make it that far. :)
Quote from: FlickJax on June 16, 2013, 12:16:56 PM
Quote from: TheCommandTent on June 16, 2013, 11:55:26 AM
Do I dare ask why you hate the first Rome TW that much?
Ditto ...apart from flaming pigs and war dogs I played it to death and multiplayer was great.
Oh boy. Where do I begin? I'll just do a list...
1.) Terrible AI (note: I don't give a rat's ass about multiplayer).
2.) Poor atmosphere/immersion -- atrocious voice acting, ridiculous fantasy/extremely unhistorical units (even more so than in the first two TW games), cartoonish-looking 3D campaign map, etc.
3.) Terrible AI.
4.) Had to first beat the game as on of the Roman families in order to unlock the other playable factions (which pissed me off enormously).
5.) Terrible AI.
6.) Poor Ptolemaic Egypt got hosed. (This partly goes back to my beef with the atmosphere/immersion.)
7.) Terrible AI
8.) Absurdly fast unit movement in combat.
9.) Terrible AI
10.) Terrain hardly making a difference in battle.
11.) Terrible AI
I've said it numerous times before, and I say it again now: I can enjoy a strategy game that has poor atmosphere/immersion OR poor AI...but not both. For me,
Rome 1 failed utterly in both respects.
(Also, at the time, I was more than a little pissed with the way CA/Sega dropped support for those unfortunate folks -- and there were quite a lot of them -- having issues running
Medieval Total War/Viking Invasion on newer video cards. (I was even more pissed they continued to sell MTW/VI, long after the technical issues had become widely known.) As
Rome 1 embodied the way CA/Sega had "moved on" with the series (and left many devotees of the original STW & MTW in the proverbial dust), it only caused me to hate RTW even more. Not entirely fair, I realize, but there you go.
However, even if I'd hadn't resented CA/Sega for their (in my mind) mistreatment of MTW/VI, I still couldn't stand Rome. I tried getting into that game for 2-3 months, before I finally gave up in disgust.)
The last time I fired up the Rome Total War, it reminded me of just how bad the older tactical battle controls sucked. Especially annoying was how much a pain it was to keep grouped units in a halfway decent line when moving them anywhere but directly forward. I won't mention the AI, as everyone knows that was a great weakness too.
Despite having some of their own problems, the later TW titles did continually increase the quality of the army control scheme, especially with ETW/NTW.
Quote from: Martok on June 17, 2013, 11:40:06 AM
Quote from: FlickJax on June 16, 2013, 12:16:56 PM
Quote from: TheCommandTent on June 16, 2013, 11:55:26 AM
Do I dare ask why you hate the first Rome TW that much?
Ditto ...apart from flaming pigs and war dogs I played it to death and multiplayer was great.
Oh boy. Where do I begin? I'll just do a list...
1.) Terrible AI (note: I don't give a rat's ass about multiplayer).
2.) Poor atmosphere/immersion -- atrocious voice acting, ridiculous fantasy/extremely unhistorical units (even more so than in the first two TW games), cartoonish-looking 3D campaign map, etc.
3.) Terrible AI.
4.) Had to first beat the game as on of the Roman families in order to unlock the other playable factions (which pissed me off enormously).
5.) Terrible AI.
6.) Poor Ptolemaic Egypt got hosed. (This partly goes back to my beef with the atmosphere/immersion.)
7.) Terrible AI
I've said it numerous times before, and I say it again now: I can enjoy a strategy game that has poor atmosphere/immersion OR poor AI...but not both. For me, Rome 1 failed utterly in both respects.
(Also, at the time, I was more than a little pissed with the way CA/Sega dropped support for those unfortunate folks -- and there were quite a lot of them -- having issues running Medieval Total War/Viking Invasion on newer video cards. (I was even more pissed they continued to sell MTW/VI, long after the technical issues had become widely known.) As Rome 1 embodied the way CA/Sega had "moved on" with the series (and left many devotees of the original STW & MTW in the proverbial dust), it only caused me to hate RTW even more. Not entirely fair, I realize, but there you go.
However, even if I'd hadn't resented CA/Sega for their (in my mind) mistreatment of MTW/VI, I still couldn't stand Rome. I tried getting into that game for 2-3 months, before I finally gave up in disgust.)
All fair points. Did you ever mod it to help improve AI and such?
Quote from: Nefaro on June 17, 2013, 05:01:39 PM
The last time I fired up the Rome Total War, it reminded me of just how bad the older tactical battle controls sucked. Especially annoying was how much a pain it was to keep grouped units in a halfway decent line when moving them anywhere but directly forward. I won't mention the AI, as everyone knows that was a great weakness too.
Despite having some of their own problems, the later TW titles did continually increase the quality of the army control scheme, especially with ETW/NTW.
In terms of actual gameplay improvements, a better battle UI is the one of the few things I'll concede RTW did better than MTW & STW.
In terms of less concrete (but still important) aspects, I liked
Rome's soundtrack quite a bit. Indeed, I'd say it's about as good as the first two games' (which for me is high praise).
Another neat little feature was the "city view" screen; I enjoyed being able to conduct a virtual tour of my settlements outside of combat. Would very much like to see this feature return in
Rome 2 (although I'm not holding my breath).
Quote from: TheCommandTent on June 17, 2013, 06:04:30 PM
Did you ever mod it to help improve AI and such?
Believe it or not, I'd never even *heard* of modding until a couple years after RTW was released -- and when I did, it was ironically in conjunction with mods for MTW/VI (it's how I discovered the excellent XL mod). Moreover, I (sadly) possessed no modding skills in any case. (I still don't, for that matter.) :-[
By the time I finally did become aware of
Rome's modding scene, I was already too thoroughly turned off by the game to ever be tempted to pick it up again.
I haven't played any of the titles released after MTW2, but I'm not inclined to preorder RTW2 with the track record of buggy/incomplete releases with a poorly scripted AI. I played RTW for only a short while before I lost any interest in the game, even with mods.
The same goes for MTW2. One of the silliest things was that auto-resolving battles could allow you to win battles that would normally be, at best, very difficult to win. After auto-resolving my way to Jerusalem in the Crusade that the Pope called for in one of the first turns of the game (for no clear reason), I tried some mods, but that didn't really improve things. I can see why people liked the game, and it had potential, but the not so stellar strategic map and playing the game on the strategic level unfortunately nullified the enjoyment of fighting interesting battles.
Winning the game with masses of urban militia and similar units was something that tired me even in MTW. To me, MTW is still the best title after Shogun, although the AI seemingly always knowing precisely where my units were was as annoying as in other TW games.
I'm going to wait before I jump on the Rome 2 band wagon. I like the setting, but between AJE/BOR and (hopefully) Hegemony Rome coming out this year, my fix for the Roman era is pretty well met. Unless Rome II turns out to actually be something new and different for the TW series, I like something more then flashy battles in strategy games, I'll probably pass or wait for the eventual steam sale.
Quote from: Martok on June 17, 2013, 11:40:06 AM
4.) Had to first beat the game as on of the Roman families in order to unlock the other playable factions (which pissed me off enormously).
To be fair there is a simple config file change that can be made to unlock all the faction right from the start. I'll give you all the other points though. Played RTW to death even with the bugs, mainly with the Europa Barbarorum mod.
Quote from: Sir Slash on June 17, 2013, 10:51:36 AM
So I finished my ETW- American Revolution campaign over the weekend with a win after the Brits put-up a good fight for Quebec.
Did they ever patch ETW to be something other then a bug filled mess? Been thinking for awhile of maybe going back to the grand campaign, but from what I remember the AI never did learn to move troops between the different world regions.
I didn't like ETW either when it first came out but the patches did help make it more stable and the AI less schizophrenic. But I eventually went with a mod- The American Revolution mod- that is much better than vanilla in my opinion and ETW is now my favorite TW title. I still have a vanilla campaign as Britain to finish and a TAR campaign as Russia I'm getting close. Rome 2 looks great, but all TW games look great. The flaws come-out in gameplay.
Shogun 2 is by far the best of.the series and because.of that I put my faith in CA. Yes he TW series is my favorite but I too can recognize faults...ETW was so ambitious that it just crashed and burned for me, and no mod changed my mind...like what Martok says above.
All that said, I think you would love RTW if you used one of the bigger better mods Martok. Most of them are now pretty easy to use...just unzip and the mods do the work.
Quote from: ComradeP on June 18, 2013, 08:28:14 AM
Winning the game with masses of urban militia and similar units was something that tired me even in MTW.
Did you ever play MTW/VI with the XL mod? It does a good (though not perfect) job of addressing that particular issue.
Quote from: ComradeP on June 18, 2013, 08:28:14 AM
To me, MTW is still the best title after Shogun,
Agreed, although I reserve the right to change my mind once I've gotten some more time with
Shogun 2 under my belt.
Quote from: ComradeP on June 18, 2013, 08:28:14 AM
although the AI seemingly always knowing precisely where my units were was as annoying as in other TW games.
That's because it knows to look for the birds! Two can play at that game, you know. ;)
Quote from: Kushan on June 18, 2013, 09:02:40 AM
Quote from: Martok on June 17, 2013, 11:40:06 AM
4.) Had to first beat the game as on of the Roman families in order to unlock the other playable factions (which pissed me off enormously).
To be fair there is a simple config file change that can be made to unlock all the faction right from the start. I'll give you all the other points though. Played RTW to death even with the bugs, mainly with the Europa Barbarorum mod.
True. Two points, though:
1.) I wouldn't have had a clue as to how to do that at the time (I'm very, very dumb when it comes to making even the simplest changes to software, including PC games).
2.) I was still angered just on principle that CA made that particular "design" decision.
Quote from: Sir Slash on June 18, 2013, 09:51:13 AM
I didn't like ETW either when it first came out but the patches did help make it more stable and the AI less schizophrenic. But I eventually went with a mod- The American Revolution mod- that is much better than vanilla in my opinion and ETW is now my favorite TW title. I still have a vanilla campaign as Britain to finish and a TAR campaign as Russia I'm getting close. Rome 2 looks great, but all TW games look great. The flaws come-out in gameplay.
Does that mod -- or *any* mod, that you know of -- do anything to address the "Black Knight" AI that plagues
Empire? It's always been a problem in the series, but it was especially bad in ETW (and of course RTW), and remains my single biggest beef with the game. Despite it not being my favorite period of history, I'm pretty sure I would've enjoyed Empire had it not been for the campaign AI being completely/suicidally insane.
Quote from: Gusington on June 18, 2013, 10:53:11 AM
All that said, I think you would love RTW if you used one of the bigger better mods Martok. Most of them are now pretty easy to use...just unzip and the mods do the work.
Sorry Gus, but it's just not gonna happen. :P While I admit to a certain admiration for your (and others') intermittent yet persistent attempts to persuade me otherwise,
Rome 1 simply holds absolutely zero -- zip, zilch, nada -- appeal for me at this point. Rome 2 is the future now, so that's where I'm keeping my eye out. :)
You stubborn git.
Quote from: ComradeP on June 18, 2013, 08:28:14 AM
I haven't played any of the titles released after MTW2, but I'm not inclined to preorder RTW2 with the track record of buggy/incomplete releases with a poorly scripted AI. I played RTW for only a short while before I lost any interest in the game, even with mods.
The last title,
Total War Shogun 2 was a much needed improvement over previous ones. The AI also puts up more of a challenge.
That's why so many people here are pre-ordering. I don't think there'd be as many doing so if Shogun 2 had the same issues as the two before it.
Quote from: Nefaro on June 18, 2013, 02:43:06 PM
Quote from: ComradeP on June 18, 2013, 08:28:14 AM
I haven't played any of the titles released after MTW2, but I'm not inclined to preorder RTW2 with the track record of buggy/incomplete releases with a poorly scripted AI. I played RTW for only a short while before I lost any interest in the game, even with mods.
The last title, Total War Shogun 2 was a much needed improvement over previous ones. The AI also puts up more of a challenge.
That's why so many people here are pre-ordering. I don't think there'd be as many doing so if Shogun 2 had the same issues as the two before it.
I agree. I was going to skip Shogun2, but the demo was so good it completely changed my mind. For Rome II -- I'll buy it when it comes out and I expect to have a pretty good time with it.
I'm not sure exactly what the "Black Knight" AI behavior is. The latter patches to ETW did help make it less prone to go to war without reason but at the campaign start anything can happen. I think the AI's quirky behavior has to do with the game having so many factions to play against the one you're playing. Mod or no, if you keep an eye on the diplomacy screen, the powers who are unfriendly or hostile will sooner or later attack you. Some are even provoked by a Trade Treaty request. The AI can be a lot more aggressive at the harder difficulty levels too. Battle AI has changed little at all with it pretty much just coming strait at you, cavalry leading. Occasionally it will do something unexpected and against AI with arty, it can put-up a very tough fight. I like the world-wide economy model and the way the factions play differently- land vs. sea power. I don't like the pirates. ARRRGGG!
How are the Ottomans in ETW? I have wanted to play as them forever and just never got around to it.
I've only played them with the American Revolution mod but a real challenge to play holding everyone at bay until you can get your economy cranked-up. Then the Ottomans can become a real powerhouse. They have some excellent new units in TAR mod including dirt-cheap militia to garrison towns. But begin able to build 18lb. cannons and already have the canister tech. And can build more powerful warships at the start than vanilla. The Ottomans and Spain are the most challenging powers to play.
Quote from: Gusington on June 18, 2013, 01:27:32 PM
You stubborn git.
Yup. ;D
Quote from: Sir Slash on June 18, 2013, 09:50:36 PM
I'm not sure exactly what the "Black Knight" AI behavior is.
Any one of the following are prime examples of Black Knight AI (and of course, they can be found in conjunction/combination as well):
1.) A significantly smaller faction suddenly attacking your (much larger) faction, usually because you're temporarily distracted fighting another enemy. Bonus points if the sneak attack is woefully underpowered, and/or peters out before accomplishing anything truly useful/significant (e.g., capturing one of your towns/cities)...and therefore does absolutely nothing other than to incur your wrath against the tiny instigator.
2.) A faction to whom you've been a faithful friend & ally for a century suddenly turns and backstabs you for no apparent reason and/or gain.
3.) A faction you're at war with refuses to sign a peace/cease-fire with you, despite your faction having an utterly overwhelming advantage. (Example: You've conquered 4 of the other faction's 5 provinces, and all they have left to defend their last province/city are a few ragged units consisting of maybe a couple hundred troops...to face down your battle-hardened army of thousands.) Even if you're feeling oddly generous and offer the other faction money to accept a peace agreement, they still tell you to piss off.
As I said, AI behavior like this has been a problem all the way back to at least MTW/VI, but I found it to be far worse in
Rome and especially
Empire. (Actually, I don't know if it was actually worse in
Empire than in
Rome; however, it felt a lot less realistic, given that nation-states during the 17th/18th century rarely fought "to the death".)
Quote from: Sir Slash on June 18, 2013, 09:50:36 PM
The latter patches to ETW did help make it less prone to go to war without reason but at the campaign start anything can happen. I think the AI's quirky behavior has to do with the game having so many factions to play against the one you're playing. Mod or no, if you keep an eye on the diplomacy screen, the powers who are unfriendly or hostile will sooner or later attack you. Some are even provoked by a Trade Treaty request. The AI can be a lot more aggressive at the harder difficulty levels too. Battle AI has changed little at all with it pretty much just coming strait at you, cavalry leading. Occasionally it will do something unexpected and against AI with arty, it can put-up a very tough fight. I like the world-wide economy model and the way the factions play differently- land vs. sea power. I don't like the pirates. ARRRGGG!
Thanks
Sir Slash. That's pretty much what I thought.
Anyone who has liked MTW with mods or not should check out Stainless Steel Mod 6.4 for Kingdoms Expansion Medieval 2 TW, it does a VERY good job, turning one crappy vanilla medieval 2 game into a solid gaming experience, campaign game and battles are just excellent.
Quote from: Gusington on June 18, 2013, 09:55:59 PM
How are the Ottomans in ETW? I have wanted to play as them forever and just never got around to it.
The Ottmans were by far the most fun faction. Those monster 18-pdr field guns were a blast. But that's about all I really remember.
The ETW AI often refuses to accept very good deals to sell or swap territories but the other behaviors you listed Martok, I've not noticed a lot since the game first came out when it was bad. It seems more predictable now but will still do strange things. Alliances hold well and protectorates pretty much stay loyal. Most factions will accept peace if offered and they are losing but usually demand outrageous terms if they are making the offer. The latest version of the Empire Total Realism mod is out & looks very nice.
I was afraid you'd type that, Meng.
I have skipped Shogun 2. It's the only game in the series that I haven't played. Yet, people seem to keep insisting that it's the best to date... The setting just doesn't do it for me.
I am looking VERY much forward to Rome 2, though!! :D
Yeah. And those Ottoman Naked Dancing-Girl Units were great too. -- Just kidding Gus-- Just kidding.
No Ottoman naked whirling dervishes?
Quote from: Yskonyn on June 19, 2013, 01:03:15 PM
I have skipped Shogun 2. It's the only game in the series that I haven't played. Yet, people seem to keep insisting that it's the best to date... The setting just doesn't do it for me.
I am looking VERY much forward to Rome 2, though!! :D
I am with you that I have no interest in Japanese history. I purchased it anyway and it definitely is the best out of all of them. Best Ai, best graphics, runs the smoothest, best balance if options (buildings, spying, tech growth), etc.
So I have high hopes for Rome 2 if they are using the same engine.
IIRC they are indeed using the same engine.
Quote from: Sir Slash on June 19, 2013, 10:28:43 AM
The ETW AI often refuses to accept very good deals to sell or swap territories but the other behaviors you listed Martok, I've not noticed a lot since the game first came out when it was bad. It seems more predictable now but will still do strange things. Alliances hold well and protectorates pretty much stay loyal. Most factions will accept peace if offered and they are losing but usually demand outrageous terms if they are making the offer. The latest version of the Empire Total Realism mod is out & looks very nice.
Hmm, you tempt me...
Does the Total Realism mod do anything to address the "ships being able to move against the wind" issue? For that matter, did later updates do anything about it (as with
Rome, I stopped playing ETW only a couple months after it came out)? What else does the TR mod change/fix/do?
They fixed the ships against the wind issue in Fall of tbe Samurai by adding steam boilers :)
Quote from: Gusington on June 20, 2013, 07:47:36 AM
They fixed the ships against the wind issue in Fall of tbe Samurai by adding steam boilers :)
The sea fights alone would have made Shogun2 a great game. Okay, I mostly have played FOTS and that has the best naval battles I have yet seen anywhere.
So yeah. Might as well wait for Rome II now though.
No Ottoman naked whirling dervishes?
Sorry Gus. No naked dervishes for the Ottomans. But if it makes you feel any better, viewing the Maratha War Elephants from behind does remind me of an old girlfriend. Minus the tail of course. Well... no actually when I think about it.... :o
I haven't actually played the Total Realism mod so can't comment directly on it but the American Revolution mod corrected the naval combat pretty well, adjusting the AI morale so it wouldn't just roll-over & give-up. Same with land combat. I got it cause I'm a sucker for new units and there are a bunch for almost every power. Most have unit histories and distinct uniforms. Playing Russia on the "Hard" difficulty level feels just about right in terms of AI aggressiveness, economic development, and city management. It's made a poor game into a really good one for me. But even vanilla improved over the launch version.
A couple videos:
A look at the game's music & sound. Mark Strong does the voice acting for the main character in the tutorial campaign. Yay!
A very brief (and not terribly informative) look at campaign gameplay. Bloody immersion-breaking American voice actors make their return. Boo!
You realize you are making it harder and harder to resist preordering this.....
^You still haven't caved? Shame on you.
Quote from: TheCommandTent on July 21, 2013, 04:09:54 PM
You realize you are making it harder and harder to resist preordering this.....
Those of us who haven't pre-ordered should form some sort of support group.
The support group is located over at Steam...where a preorder page is also available.
Quote from: Gusington on July 21, 2013, 05:30:58 PM
The support group is located over at Steam...where a preorder page is also available.
You aren't helping.......
Quote from: Gusington on July 21, 2013, 05:30:58 PM
The support group is located over at Steam...where a preorder page is also available.
Best response ever - tea down nose
It's like fighting the tide. Just grab a discount code and you won't feel as dirty in the morning.
Sons of Rome--- Your city needs you. And Flaming Pigs. ;D
Quote from: TheCommandTent on July 21, 2013, 04:09:54 PM
You realize you are making it harder and harder to resist preordering this.....
Sorry! That's partly why I posted the second video as well, though -- I felt the bad voice acting would help as a turn-off. :P
I never met a flaming pig that wasn't tasty.
In the first game, I always wanted to pit a unit of Wardogs vs a unit Flaming pigs just to see who'd win. The dogs are tougher but the pigs got fire you see. I'll bet PETA would have a cow(couldn't resist). Weren't there units of Head Hunters & Amazons in that game?
Maybe you're thinking of Gilligan: Total War.
That's probably it. The one where the Geisha was a movie star, the Head of Tech was a professor, the only admiral had one wrecked ship, and the Fog of War covered everything but one little island. I miss that game. Remember how the AI would never let you leave the island? Or was that The Prisoner Total War? ;)
Lost: Total War
I'm waiting on Battlestar Galactica Total War.
Quote from: Sir Slash on July 23, 2013, 12:22:10 PM
I'm waiting on Battlestar Galactica Total War.
where they kill the hero for no reason, resurrect her for no reason and just leave her shouting 'youre going the wrong way' for the rest of the final season?
I remember it differently. Starbuck actually lead them to the vision she "came back with", the Cylon Resistance ship and then later found her actual dead body on Earth(the first earth), leading-up to the finale where she realized she was what her father told her she was, his "Angel". It was a little kooky at times but so was the Addams Family. 8)
^BSG, SG1, SG: Atlantis, Firefly, and Farscape carried me through some of the lowest years of my entire life. For that, none of them can do any wrong.
Ever.
I'm right there with you Brother. SO SAY WE ALL!!!!
Quote from: Sir Slash on July 23, 2013, 09:37:54 PM
I'm right there with you Brother. SO SAY WE ALL!!!!
So say we all...until BSG season 3.5+, then go watch SG1, and SG: Atlantis, an Firefly re-runs.
Yeah the attempts by SyFy to revive the series by telling a prequel and the one Adama special since the series ended have been flat by comparison. Too bad. I missed the show after it was gone. I wish it had a little more action & much more space battles though.
Quote from: Martok on June 14, 2013, 03:02:53 AM
By the by, here's the video for those too lazy to look for it:
The interviewer comes off as idiotic and/or completely clueless about the TW series, but there's still some good footage & commentary by the CA guy.
I love the new strategy map....
It's using the same engine as Shogun 2. Hard to believe the release date is but 5 weeks away! Giggity.
Make my Giggity a double if you please. I'm assuming everyone has seen the campaign map posted at the TW Center sight with the specific units recrutable at all the territories and factions that own them. If not let me know & I'll post a link. It's been out for about 2 weeks I think. It'll be a refreshing change to get back to battling in the deserts again. Has anyone heard anything about what agents will be in the game?
I saw something about a special map but didn't get to look in any detail. Please post f you don't mind.
Quote from: Gusington on July 24, 2013, 09:42:30 AM
I saw something about a special map but didn't get to look in any detail. Please post f you don't mind.
seconded please do
It's here. http://maps.totalwar.com/rome2map No Flaming Pigs dammit.
My mistake. The units listed are available local mercs. So maybe the Incendary Bovines will be included.
Quote from: Sir Slash on July 24, 2013, 10:24:16 AM
My mistake. The units listed are available local mercs. So maybe the Incendary Bovines will be included.
Very business-like. Of course, I will be getting this as soon as I can, but I'm curbing my enthusiasm. There are so many neato
games coming out these days!
One no longer has to wait in an agony of anticipation -- there's too much else to do!
Quote from: Sir Slash on July 24, 2013, 10:21:37 AM
It's here. http://maps.totalwar.com/rome2map
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1108.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fh412%2FRotarrin%2FStar%2520Trek%2Fspock_fascinating2_zps89aa04ee.jpg&hash=9629a104914900c7508a4650653de68fdd67e38b) (http://s1108.photobucket.com/user/Rotarrin/media/Star%20Trek/spock_fascinating2_zps89aa04ee.jpg.html)
Thanks for the link. I'll need to look when i am at a real computer and not on the phone.
Cool map. I am getting dangerously close to preordering the game.
The Pyramids are supposed to be on the other side of the Nile.....
Damn the map sure does look good. Looks like you can finally rotate the campaign map camera as well.
Quote from: Sir Slash on July 24, 2013, 10:21:37 AM
It's here. http://maps.totalwar.com/rome2map No Flaming Pigs dammit.
Looking at that map, I'm guessing that they'll milk the DLC teet by releasing individual extra minor factions, one at a time?
Quote from: Nefaro on July 24, 2013, 05:57:45 PM
Quote from: Sir Slash on July 24, 2013, 10:21:37 AM
It's here. http://maps.totalwar.com/rome2map No Flaming Pigs dammit.
Looking at that map, I'm guessing that they'll milk the DLC teet by releasing individual extra minor factions, one at a time?
Which is another reason I'm content to wait for a while yet. ;)
I'd complain about stretching out DLCs too much, but I'm always desperate for more Classical period stuff. There's not enough out there.
They even got me to pre-order because I want the Greek states that come with it. It's rare that I pre-order anything for the extra content. :o
It helps that the Greek States to be included are rather skilled in badassery.
Plus they have good food. Well, OK food. I'm sure there'll be lots of DLC but I hope they embrace the modders the way they have in Shogun 2.
Spartan Hoplites for me :)
Too much attitude for me. I expect if I gave them orders to charge I'd hear, "Spar-tans don't take orders from scum like you"! ;D
Quote from: FlickJax on July 25, 2013, 09:22:07 AM
Spartan Hoplites for me :)
I'm thinking Epirus or maybe Athens, myself. :D
There's a new video out of the UK which has been released but I'm having trouble finding it on YouTube. It may be on the press sites, but the Sega-Europe site is down - probably getting hammered by all the press trying to download the vid.
While this is probably my favorite period, I just cannot bring myself to pay $60 for this, especially after the stinky earlier versions of the Total War engine. Maybe after the first few patches and an expansion or two it will be on sale for $29 and I'll pick it up, provided there is a Darthmod for it. I mean, really... they included the flaming pigs again!
Quote from: solops on July 25, 2013, 10:04:09 AM
While this is probably my favorite period, I just cannot bring myself to pay $60 for this, especially after the stinky earlier versions of the Total War engine. Maybe after the first few patches and an expansion or two it will be on sale for $29 and I'll pick it up, provided there is a Darthmod for it. I mean, really... they included the flaming pigs again!
What! What! Oh the Spartan humanity! Did some Shogun just crash a blimp on your parade?
I have to say that I sympathize and I sure am not shelling out any early money for some has-been Greeks. On the other hand, Shogun2 was so incredibly good, I'll give the Rome2 thing a go as soon as it actually comes out on the half chance that it is half as good as Shogun2.
Quote from: LongBlade on July 25, 2013, 09:55:12 AM
There's a new video out of the UK which has been released but I'm having trouble finding it on YouTube. It may be on the press sites, but the Sega-Europe site is down - probably getting hammered by all the press trying to download the vid.
Are you talking about this one?
Hell yeah. I'm spending my kids inheritance NOW.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q0GA_jDYfEs
Shogun 2 was the best of the series and with a Green Man voucher the price drops 25% to 45.00.
Thanks for the link guys. I've gotta to remember to watch that video after I get up this evening. (Right now, though, I think I gotta start contemplating bedtime...)
Quote from: FlickJax on July 25, 2013, 09:22:07 AM
Spartan Hoplites for me :)
I once had 2 badly beat up Spartan units moving through Germany on their own trying to get to a repair town. they got jumped by a full stack of barbarians including cavalry but no siege units. I backed them into a corner and proceeded to watch them kill everything on the map.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on July 25, 2013, 01:20:55 PM
Quote from: FlickJax on July 25, 2013, 09:22:07 AM
Spartan Hoplites for me :)
I once had 2 badly beat up Spartan units moving through Germany on their own trying to get to a repair town. they got jumped by a full stack of barbarians including cavalry but no siege units. I backed them into a corner and proceeded to watch them kill everything on the map.
That would have been cool to see. These are the kind of things that make me love playing games like this.
Quote from: Gusington on July 25, 2013, 10:51:31 AM
Shogun 2 was the best of the series and with a Green Man voucher the price drops 25% to 45.00.
Not that I would use it, but whats this voucher you mention?
Why would you not use it?
You go to gmg, buy the game and at checkout it asks for any voucher codes for a discount, enter code, get discount, hibernate til game is released
Yeah what geek said. Green Man Gaming...try it out (Jack Torrance voice)
"Creative Assembly have made a game with so many graphics, with such incredible fidelity and scale, that it puts every future-generation explosion and racing car to shame. And it's a STRATEGY game. Now, can be quite curmudgeonly about this sort of thing – a strategy game should wear a sturdy cloth map and very little else, but playing Rome, as it strutted around like a peacock, flexing its tailfeathers, I was inclined to applaud vigorously."
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/08/01/hands-on-total-war-rome-ii/
PRE-ORDER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 01, 2013, 09:23:24 AM
PRE-ORDER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
No.
For all that CA may have partially redeemed themselves with
Shogun 2, there's still no way I'm getting drawn into their hype machine again. I let it happen twice (once with RTW, and again with
Empire), and was badly burned both times. No more.
lol - this was aimed specifically at you!!! :P
read the words of wisdom
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 01, 2013, 09:23:24 AM
"Creative Assembly have made a game with so many graphics, with such incredible fidelity and scale, that it puts every future-generation explosion and racing car to shame. And it's a STRATEGY game. Now, can be quite curmudgeonly about this sort of thing – a strategy game should wear a sturdy cloth map and very little else, but playing Rome, as it strutted around like a peacock, flexing its tailfeathers, I was inclined to applaud vigorously."
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/08/01/hands-on-total-war-rome-ii/
PRE-ORDER NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stop tempting me.......
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 01, 2013, 09:42:09 AM
lol - this was aimed specifically at you!!! :P
read the words of wisdom
An admirable attempt
'geek, but you'll find I absolutely cannot be swayed in this case. I've not been even remotely tempted to pre-order this one, no matter how appealing it appears to be. :)
The preview coverage for
Rome 2 has been too similar to the preview coverage for the original Rome for my comfort. Then, as now, the game has been receiving virtually nothing but loud praise, with everyone hailing this as the greatest thing since sex, fire, and the wheel combined. Given my previous experience with RTW, this automatically makes me wary.
Now in fairness, I suspect that this time the game really is worthy of the hype. However, I'm still not pulling the trigger on it till well after release. I'm happy to let you guys go first and be the guinea pigs. ;)
Rome 2 is looking very different than the original in almost every way. Check out the hands on article that RPS published today: www.rockpapershotgun.com.
Quote from: Gusington on August 01, 2013, 10:06:48 AM
Rome 2 is looking very different than the original in almost every way. Check out the hands on article that RPS published today: www.rockpapershotgun.com.
sigh, i mean, like 5 posts up Gus!!!
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 01, 2013, 10:19:36 AM
Quote from: Gusington on August 01, 2013, 10:06:48 AM
Rome 2 is looking very different than the original in almost every way. Check out the hands on article that RPS published today: www.rockpapershotgun.com.
sigh, i mean, like 5 posts up Gus!!!
LOL
Sorry Geek. You're so undercover I didn't even notice. But one look at that hands on article and Martok will see that Rome I and Rome II can't be compared fairly. It's been almost 10 years between them, after all.
as you can see ive tried - hes a stubborn, immovable rock - we could really fk him up and buy it for him!!
I will happily do that. There are features in Rome 2 that none of us could have even imagined for Rome 1.
Quote from: Gusington on August 01, 2013, 10:26:47 AM
I will happily do that. There are features in Rome 2 that none of us could have even imagined for Rome 1.
in the write up we umm both referred to, there are details about legions becoming legendary and causing enemies to react to their reputation that sound great
Sign me up for the 1st Guinea Pig Legion. Uncle Romulus needs YOU. 8) 8)
I am not thinking I will change Martok's mind. But the theory that the pre-launch to Rome I was just like the pre-launch for rome 2 doesn't cut it because the previous release of Shogun 2 was arguably CA's best game. Of course there are no guarantees, but looking at CA's history I am feeling positive, not negative.
In the end I love the idea of buying the game for him. It will be money well spent in many ways.
I have not pre-ordered yet, but I do not see any reason to do so at this time. There is plenty of time left before release and there is no overwhelming benefit to pre-ordering now. If only there was access to beta code, or something, I'd order in a heartbeat.
It is a definite day one purchase for me. I have NEVER been disappointed in a TW game. I've loved them all...
My 9 month forced hiatus after the release of Fall of the Samurai has convinced me to wait until all the bugs are ironed out and the game goes on sale as a gold edition with all the DLC included before I'm willing to buy. I mean if they're going to put a big AMD splash screen as the first thing you see when you boot up Shogun 2 and then have the game crash for owners of the top end AMD cards and not fix the issue for 9 months, why would I trust them this time around?
I'm feeling positive too. After 8 tries, if you count FOTS as stand-alone, they've got to have this thing working like it should. I am sure they'll be problems but they have to know they can't un-load a bunch of crap on us and get away with it. I don't think. Of course I picked Tampa Bay to win the Superbowl last year.
*sigh* I'm going to break down and get Rome 2....BUT I'm with JH, I don't see the need to pre-order at the moment. I'll wait and pre-order the night before release solely to get the Greek DLC for free.
$60? No, thank you. I have plenty to play and there's enough coming out that I can wait until the inevitable Steam sale when it will be closer to $30
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on August 01, 2013, 01:11:12 PM
It is a definite day one purchase for me. I have NEVER been disappointed in a TW game. I've loved them all...
You have never been disappointed by the stupid AI?
Quote from: Anguille on August 01, 2013, 02:46:48 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on August 01, 2013, 01:11:12 PM
It is a definite day one purchase for me. I have NEVER been disappointed in a TW game. I've loved them all...
You have never been disappointed by the stupid AI?
Nope. The games were totally unique and filled a vast gulf in an area of strategic and tactical gaming that had been left void for so long. The list of what the games got right was far longer than the list of what they got wrong, and for this, I loved them.
Quote from: Martok on August 01, 2013, 09:52:31 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 01, 2013, 09:42:09 AM
lol - this was aimed specifically at you!!! :P
read the words of wisdom
An admirable attempt 'geek, but you'll find I absolutely cannot be swayed in this case. I've not been even remotely tempted to pre-order this one, no matter how appealing it appears to be. :)
I appreciate your reasoning for not pre-ordering but how can you not be at least a little tempted? I try to avoid coming to this thread (as you can see it is not really working) so that I can resist the siren call of the game.
You can get it for 45.00 not 60.00. And if you preorder it now or the night before...you still preordered.
Quote from: Gusington on August 01, 2013, 06:57:31 PM
You can get it for 45.00 not 60.00. And if you preorder it now or the night before...you still preordered.
EU4, Dom 4, and Space Hulk all coming out first, I can still wait for the $30 sale price. It'll probably have a couple of patches by then as well.
Day one purchase for me. Even if the reviews are horrible and claim it is a big steaming pile, I will still buy it...just like ETW. Not sure what the release date is but there are a bunch of games coming out in the next few months so of it sucks, I will wait patiently while it is patched. Eu4, Dom4, AoM3,
From August 15 to October 1 I have my gaming time divided between Space Hulk, Rome 2 and possibly Castlevania. New releases that I am interested in have been sneaking up on me.
I believe the release date is Sept. 2. EU4 is Aug 13, Space Hulk is Aug 15, and Dom 4 is end of August, so there is more than enough stuff to play while waiting for this to get patched and go on sale.
I wouldn't have pre-ordered, if it were any other time period being covered.
Quote from: Gusington on August 01, 2013, 10:23:56 AM
Sorry Geek. You're so undercover I didn't even notice. But one look at that hands on article and Martok will see that Rome I and Rome II can't be compared fairly. It's been almost 10 years between them, after all.
As a matter of fact, I had read the RPS preview before posting my comment about not pre-ordering.
Yes, they are unquestionably different games, but then that wasn't what I was getting at. My point is that the media coverage for both has been very similar, which makes me reflexively nervous. Where the Total War series is concerned, it's become an instinctual response for me to be skeptical, no matter how promising the next game appears to be.
Quote from: TheCommandTent on August 01, 2013, 06:24:37 PM
I appreciate your reasoning for not pre-ordering but how can you not be at least a little tempted? I try to avoid coming to this thread (as you can see it is not really working) so that I can resist the siren call of the game.
Part of it is admittedly because of my history with the TW series (which at times has felt like my being an abused spouse who keeps coming back because I apparently miss the beatings), but it's also because of my feelings on PC titles in general. I don't like pre-ordering games; the very few times I have
<*cough* Elemental: War of Magic *cough*>, it's not worked out very well.
We all know that every PC game is going to have issues upon release; I accepted that a long time ago. It's just that for me, I've simply reached the point where I feel virtually zero compulsion to deal with any of the related frustrations that involves. This even applies to titles about/for which I'm particularly excited and/or pumped up -- no matter how amazing a game appears to be, I expect I'm not going to be particularly enthralled by it upon release (that way, any surprises are pleasant ones), and that it will take at least a couple months for it to be patched up to a satisfactory state.
Combining that, with my having absolutely detested the direction CA took the franchise from RTW to
Empire (I never played
Napoleon, so I can't comment on that one), it's only natural for me to have permanently adopted a wait-and-see attitude regarding all future releases in this series.
Quote from: Gusington on August 01, 2013, 12:53:07 PM
I am not thinking I will change Martok's mind. But the theory that the pre-launch to Rome I was just like the pre-launch for rome 2 doesn't cut it because the previous release of Shogun 2 was arguably CA's best game. Of course there are no guarantees, but looking at CA's history I am feeling positive, not negative.
I'll refute your argument by pointing out that prior to 2004,
Medieval Total War was generally considered the franchise's best game to date (especially after the
Viking Invasion expansion came out)...and then CA permanently broke the fanbase with RTW. So I'm understandably nervous about the precedent that was set.
Also, one good game does not a trend make. Yes,
Shogun 2 is genuinely good, and yes CA put in real effort to win back us "old-timers", and three cheers for that. However, you must understand that for those of us who felt disenchanted with the franchise from RTW onward, it's going to be difficult to believe the devs have truly turned it back to a direction we can appreciate...at least until they demonstrate that they've applied the lessons they've learned to the sequel to our most hated game in the series. If Rome 2 is as good or better than Shogun 2, *then* I (and others) will be convinced -- but not before.
And finally, for all that the two Rome titles do indeed appear to be very different animals, the pre-launch coverage for both *is* virtually identical, at least in terms of tone: I keep seeing the same gushing words of praise and "dazzled by the pretty" enthusiasm for
Rome 2 that I did for its predecessor. This, too, worries me.
Please understand, I'm not trying to be Deputy Downer here. :P As I've said before, Rome 2 truly does look as if it will be the series' greatest entry yet, and I remain cautiously optimistic that I'll enjoy it as thoroughly as the rest of you. It's just that my own experiences prevent me from having the same faith in CA as everyone else.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtR_Q56ekig
my first faction - it doesnt get better than this
I see you've put some thought into this Martok. ;D
I can completely respect were you are coming from. The rest of us are just weak willed and easily swayed by shiny graphics. ::)
That's it...-turns over card table-...I am gifting Rome 2 to Martok.
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 02, 2013, 04:29:15 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtR_Q56ekig
my first faction - it doesnt get better than this
Cool trailer.
I still intend to play as one of the Greco-Roman factions first, I'm just not sure which one. I've pretty much narrowed it down to the Julia, Cornelia, and Athens, but beyond that I'm torn.
Quote from: TheCommandTent on August 02, 2013, 07:18:37 AM
I see you've put some thought into this Martok. ;D
I can completely respect were you are coming from. The rest of us are just weak willed and easily swayed by shiny graphics. ::)
Well at least you're honest enough to admit it. :P
So does that mean you broke down and pre-ordered as well? Or are you still hanging on by your fingernails? ;)
Quote from: Gusington on August 02, 2013, 07:40:59 AM
That's it...-turns over card table-...I am gifting Rome 2 to Martok.
Thanks
Gus, but you really don't need to do that. I'm perfectly content to wait. :)
Oh I'm doing it alright...
I hear that everyone who pre-orders will get a special DLC unit--- "Trained Killer Circus Bears" that first balance exploding Circus Balls on their noses before hurling them at their enemies. Recruitable only at the Coliseum in Rome. ;D ;D
Leave my balls out of this.
Sorry Gus. I didn't know. I think that can be corrected by surgery now.
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 02, 2013, 09:31:02 AM
I hear that everyone who pre-orders will get a special DLC unit--- "Trained Killer Circus Bears" that first balance exploding Circus Balls on their noses before hurling them at their enemies. Recruitable only at the Coliseum in Rome. ;D ;D
Are they on bicycles?
My other concern in watching the trailer is seeing the kind of feature bloat that made Empire such a mess at release. Especially when they talk about the size of the map.
Quote from: Gusington on August 02, 2013, 09:14:55 AM
Oh I'm doing it alright...
Nein! Quote from: Gusington on August 02, 2013, 09:36:53 AM
Leave my balls out of this.
LOL.
Wait, aren't yours solid brass anyway?
Quote from: tgb on August 02, 2013, 10:23:33 AM
My other concern in watching the trailer is seeing the kind of feature bloat that made Empire such a mess at release. Especially when they talk about the size of the map.
Same here.
Not that I'm not fascinated with the new toys they're adding, but it does worry me a little. (Heck, there are those who make a cogent argument that the original STW is better than the original MTW because of the former's simpler design, and that the latter suffered from feature creep in comparison.)
Arguing about this is like chasing tails, but the reasons given so far for not pre-ordering are lame, I'm sorry. Empire TW was not good, I agree, but the bloat of it came from the three theaters of war that were used, IMHO. For Rome 2 there is only one map, not the three. And again Rome 2 is being built off the Shogun 2 engine, which was very elegant. Why would that solid design, which was highly praised, be messed with and jettisoned?
But again...like chasing tails. Don't want to get it, by all means don't. But don't poopoo in my cocoa puffs because I am excited!
Finally - Martok are you finally on Steam?
Where you been Willis? I'm part of Steam's Grogheads group! :)
Sorry, Gus. From now on when I have an opinion that differs from yours I'll know my place and hold my tongue.
Give me a break tgb. If you knew me at all you would know that is the most utter bs. If you want to continue to rain on people's parades be my guest. Don't expect to be loved for it. There's a world of difference between disagreeing and going the extra mile.
Martok expect a pleasurable little gift soon.
I wasn't raining on anyone's parade. There was an active conversation taking place about the pros and cons of preordering, and I presented my reasons for not doing so. You are the one who seems to be taking the position that anyone not as excited about the game as you are should just stfu.
Feel free to continue to put words in my mouth.
Quote from: Gusington on August 02, 2013, 03:02:27 PM
Feel free to continue to put words in my mouth.
QuoteDon't want to get it, by all means don't. But don't poopoo in my cocoa puffs because I am excited!
Your words, not mine.
^Right. I don't see anywhere in there 'STFU.'
Not in so many words, but it was clearly the message.
^In your mind, sure. I've been moderating on forums for a long time and like I said, if you knew me, you would know that I have never told anyone to STFU because they don't agree with me. That's pretty insulting to my character and my reputation.
Quote from: Martok on August 02, 2013, 08:39:41 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 02, 2013, 04:29:15 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtR_Q56ekig
my first faction - it doesnt get better than this
Quote from: TheCommandTent on August 02, 2013, 07:18:37 AM
I see you've put some thought into this Martok. ;D
I can completely respect were you are coming from. The rest of us are just weak willed and easily swayed by shiny graphics. ::)
Well at least you're honest enough to admit it. :P
So does that mean you broke down and pre-ordered as well? Or are you still hanging on by your fingernails? ;)
Still hangin on by my fingernails I was trying to misdirect all these people who are playing the devil on my shoulder and tempting me to pre-order.
Dammit Star!!! stop cramping my game buzz or Ill do things to you with animal ballons that will haunt your soul for eternity and possibly require surgery.
Umm... Star, why are you talking to yourself? That's not your usual MO. ???
I have no else to yell at :(
Grumble. Well thanks to
Gus, I now have a pre-ordered copy of
Rome II as well. Twit. :P
(Seriously, though, thanks buddy. That's an extraordinarily kind gesture. :) )
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on August 02, 2013, 07:53:02 PM
I have no else to yell at :(
Cheer up, bud. I'm sure...other folks will be trolling about soon enough -- either here or elsewhere. ;)
I call 1 - 0 for the excited people
Quote from: Martok on August 03, 2013, 03:38:04 AM
Grumble. Well thanks to Gus, I now have a pre-ordered copy of Rome II as well. Twit. :P
(Seriously, though, thanks buddy. That's an extraordinarily kind gesture. :) )
This is not good. I am now alone, the last of my moral support is gone....... ::)
Im not getting it if that helps.
lol.. I checked last night to see if that 30% GreenMan Gaming voucher was good, but I guess I missed that boat!
My 14 year old will probably buy it at full price.. so no matter what, I"ll be playing it whether it's under my ID or his.
Quote from: TheCommandTent on August 03, 2013, 07:33:43 AM
Quote from: Martok on August 03, 2013, 03:38:04 AM
Grumble. Well thanks to Gus, I now have a pre-ordered copy of Rome II as well. Twit. :P
(Seriously, though, thanks buddy. That's an extraordinarily kind gesture. :) )
This is not good. I am now alone, the last of my moral support is gone....... ::)
Heh. Sorry
Tent! I didn't want to refuse his gift, though; it would've been rude. ;)
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on August 03, 2013, 08:28:15 AM
Im not getting it if that helps.
Have you ever played/owned any of the TW games, by the way? I don't think I've ever heard you talk about them, so I'm guessing you're not really a fan.
Quote from: TheCommandTent on August 03, 2013, 07:33:43 AM
Quote from: Martok on August 03, 2013, 03:38:04 AM
Grumble. Well thanks to Gus, I now have a pre-ordered copy of Rome II as well. Twit. :P
(Seriously, though, thanks buddy. That's an extraordinarily kind gesture. :) )
This is not good. I am now alone, the last of my moral support is gone....... ::)
I'm still here and I ain't buying!
A very kind and thoughtful gift and gentlemanly act Gus. What are you up to? Are you entering politics or something?
Quote from: Martok on August 03, 2013, 09:11:05 AM
Have you ever played/owned any of the TW games, by the way? I don't think I've ever heard you talk about them, so I'm guessing you're not really a fan.
oh Ive played them and Ive played the hell out of RTW with the big map mods. but unlike most here I prefer to stick to a few games rather then hop helter skelter all over the place.
^ A wise policy, sir. Would that I had done the same... Sigh.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on August 03, 2013, 09:11:51 AM
I'm still here and I ain't buying!
Well given your experience, I can hardly blame you. You probably have better reason than almost anyone for holding off!
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 03, 2013, 09:24:33 AM
A very kind and thoughtful gift and gentlemanly act Gus. What are you up to? Are you entering politics or something?
Meh, I doubt it. He's already too busy serving on the Groginati High Council, helping issue directives in their quest for world domination. ;D
have you ever tried the giant map mod for RTW?
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.moddb.com%2Fcache%2Fimages%2Fmods%2F1%2F22%2F21532%2Fthumb_620x2000%2Fshaggymaprv0.jpg&hash=da4c3b683995e53dd9b24c3583e85d38f47c70ae)
No I hadn't. But then, I wasn't even aware of the game's modding community til long after I'd gotten rid of my copy.
you got rid of your RTW copy.....
<---- throws hands up in the air. just wth is going on around here this week!
Yep.
My then-roommate and I had gone halfsies on our copy of RTW. When, after a few months, I finally gave up on the game, I let him have my "half", and I ended up moving out several months later (when I moved to Minneapolis). Never looked back. :)
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 03, 2013, 09:24:33 AM
A very kind and thoughtful gift and gentlemanly act Gus. What are you up to? Are you entering politics or something?
Knocking down martoks resistance one principle at a time - hilarious
^ Ugh, don't remind me. I still feel unclean after I was basically forced to abandon my "no-Steam" policy...
its not like you have a farmville addiction or something.
Oh hell no. Facebook bad!
I only buy games for others when there's a damned good reason. Reading how much Martok enjoys it, once it is released, is damned good enough for me.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on August 02, 2013, 07:53:02 PM
I have no else to yell at :(
You used to have a little play-mate to yell at.........
I'm still here, he still does!
Oh yeah!
But, there was another one...............
True.
But I'm better suited.
Quote from: Gusington on August 03, 2013, 05:24:49 PM
I only buy games for others when there's a damned good reason. Reading how much Martok enjoys it, once it is released, is damned good enough for me.
I'm already trying to *not* salivate over the prospect of playing Athens. I'll show those upstart Carthaginians what a *real* navy can do!
Quote from: Gusington on August 04, 2013, 11:26:33 AM
True.
But I'm better suited.
And no doubt better looking - in fact, better in every way.
Quote from: Martok on August 04, 2013, 12:45:20 PM
Quote from: Gusington on August 03, 2013, 05:24:49 PM
I only buy games for others when there's a damned good reason. Reading how much Martok enjoys it, once it is released, is damned good enough for me.
I'm already trying to *not* salivate over the prospect of playing Athens. I'll show those upstart Carthaginians what a *real* navy can do!
:P peh - ill race you to an aar of carthage kicking greek ass
Well I for one know I will be playing as Sparta. With Martok playing as Athens, we have one Greek faction left to fill if MP is playable from the get go.
Bawb you saucy rake...such flattery!
I want to play as Macedon. I just love those leopard-skin saddles on the horses. And they have the longest "lances". If you know what I mean-- the Sarissa, 12 ft. What were you thinking?
^ I knew exactly what you were thinking. ;)
I haven't checked yet, but I'm guessing pikemen (although and Companion Cavalry will feature heavily in Macedon's unit roster. Yes? No?
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 04, 2013, 12:58:53 PM
Quote from: Martok on August 04, 2013, 12:45:20 PM
Quote from: Gusington on August 03, 2013, 05:24:49 PM
I only buy games for others when there's a damned good reason. Reading how much Martok enjoys it, once it is released, is damned good enough for me.
I'm already trying to *not* salivate over the prospect of playing Athens. I'll show those upstart Carthaginians what a *real* navy can do!
:P peh - ill race you to an aar of carthage kicking greek ass
Feel free to have at it. I'll be busy showing up Carthage for the nancy-boys they are. (That, plus I already know my meager AAR abilities are no match for yours.) :P
Quote from: Gusington on August 04, 2013, 04:24:25 PM
Well I for one know I will be playing as Sparta. With Martok playing as Athens, we have one Greek faction left to fill if MP is playable from the get go.
By the way, do we know if campaign MP in
Rome II allows for more than 2 players?
I don't think so, but don't know for sure. I do know that you seem a tad more excited than you did a few pages ago :)
Vengeance will be mine...
I think I'd take Epirus against either of the two other Greek factions as they start with 2 territories against one for the others unless I'm reading the strategy map wrong. My big hope is that the German and Briton factions are fun to play as they really weren't to me in RTW. Also some of the Eastern Factions as well too. There's a Roman era mod for M2TW over a the Total War Center that looks good too. If Rome 2 wasn't out in a month, I'd give it check-out.
Ow man, how cool would a 8 player MP with strategic campaign be! Groghead Rome 2 Total War!
I would be loosing so much sleep!
Too bad Carthage would be taken. I like that nation, but you're welcome undercovergeek. I'll take Egypt. :)
If Gus has SPartans then Selucids for me
You guys are killing me.
A multiplayer Grogheads strategic game of total war?
AFAIK this isn't possible unless there is some way to get the party started with hot seat shenanigans. I haven't had time to really research it yet though.
Plan your conquest of the known world in a massive sandbox turn-based campaign mode (supporting additional 2-player cooperative & competitive modes). Conspiracies, politics, intrigue, revolts, loyalty, honour, ambition, betrayal. Your decisions will write your own story.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/214950/
Quote from: Gusington on August 05, 2013, 10:55:17 AM
AFAIK this isn't possible unless there is some way to get the party started with hot seat shenanigans. I haven't had time to really research it yet though.
Taken from the Steam store:
QuotePre-Purchase and receive The Greek States Culture Pack
The Greek States Culture Pack includes three new playable Factions for use in Single or Multiplayer Campaign modes and Custom and Multiplayer Battles.
I'm thinking multiplayer campaigns are possible.
I'm pretty sure Gus is correct. Last I knew, the MP campaign was for 2 players only.
EDIT: Heh, looks like Bison's confirmed it.
...Bison! You're back!! Long time no see man.
Quote from: Bison on August 05, 2013, 11:01:13 AM
Plan your conquest of the known world in a massive sandbox turn-based campaign mode (supporting additional 2-player cooperative & competitive modes). Conspiracies, politics, intrigue, revolts, loyalty, honour, ambition, betrayal. Your decisions will write your own story.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/214950/
Hey look Bison isn't dead.
Still hard to tell if more than 2 is included in the above...vague.
Well, two is better than none.
Heya Bison. Welcome back.
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 04, 2013, 10:40:45 PM
I want to play as Macedon. I just love those leopard-skin saddles on the horses. And they have the longest "lances". If you know what I mean-- the Sarissa, 12 ft. What were you thinking?
Actually, they're longer during the Roman period IIRC. At some point reaching over 20 feet (~22ft ?). I don't recall where they were at during the Tarantine conflict when Epirus was driving back the Romans in southern Italy but I think they were of the longer sort by then.
Damn is my memory is foggy these days. ;D
Quote from: Gusington on August 05, 2013, 11:06:24 AM
Hey look Bison isn't dead.
Still hard to tell if more than 2 is included in the above...vague.
I'm sure much to some folks chagrin I'm still alive and kicking.
I suspect that it is multi-player that you see in STW2 and is still in beta Empire. That MP is limited to 2 players only. Unfortunate but I believe it to be true.
Hey, better 2-player MP campaign than no MP campaign at all. That's probably the one feature I wish the older games had.
Quote from: Martok on August 05, 2013, 11:46:11 AM
Hey, better 2-player MP campaign than no MP campaign at all. That's probably the one feature I wish the older games had.
If the campaign is MP that will be sweet. Originally the MP for Empire and iirc for STW2 was limited to jumping into the tactical battles. So you'd face a human opponent instead of the AI, baby steps and all that.
My memory thins out sometimes too Nefaro. I can only imagine the poor saps reporting for duty on day one back in the day and the sergeant hands you your 20 ft. spear and says, "Here's your weapon son. Keep it with you at all times" How the hell could you even hold the damned thing level?
Modders have created something called a hotseat MP campaign for older versions of TW but I never used it.
Wouldn't that be awesome to try out in, say M2TW with a group of Grogs?
Quote from: Bison on August 05, 2013, 11:50:13 AM
Quote from: Martok on August 05, 2013, 11:46:11 AM
Hey, better 2-player MP campaign than no MP campaign at all. That's probably the one feature I wish the older games had.
If the campaign is MP that will be sweet. Originally the MP for Empire and iirc for STW2 was limited to jumping into the tactical battles. So you'd face a human opponent instead of the AI, baby steps and all that.
Shogun 2 has a 2-player MP campaign, although it's co-op only. It'd be cool if
Rome 2 adds a versus MP campaign mode as well, but co-op is fun too.
I wouldn't mind a partner for Rome 2 co-op campaign, at all. Although running a versus campaign with various Grogs would be even better!
Managing timezones will be the biggest challenge though...
Timezones are a bugger.....GMT here in Blighty
Yeah, admittedly the time zone issue could be a big sticking point for me as well, especially since I work nights.
When my fellow North Americans & Europeans are free, I'm usually asleep or at work; and when I'm free, everyone else generally is working or asleep themselves. Aside from one or two of my fellow Yanks/Canadians who also work nights, jomni and any Aussies/Kiwis we've got lurking around here are about the only folks who are generally up around the same time as I am. :-\
Well, just be glad the TW games are pretty good in SP. :)
Still, if you happen to spot me on Steam (my time vary a lot too!) I am more than happy to get something started, TW wise. And that goes for all Grogs needless to say.
Rome v Macedonia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_9qkAC4b5c
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 12, 2013, 04:10:59 AM
Rome v Macedonia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_9qkAC4b5c
Haha, he lost to the AI. A shameful display!
Quote from: jomni on August 12, 2013, 04:35:10 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 12, 2013, 04:10:59 AM
Rome v Macedonia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_9qkAC4b5c
Haha, he lost to the AI. A shameful display!
didnt think of it that way - THE AI IS FIXED & AWESOME, DOUBT NO MORE!!!!
This guy does an overview of Sparta (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFzooGL5BII). Looks like Gus is going to have his work cut out for him!
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 12, 2013, 04:45:32 AM
Quote from: jomni on August 12, 2013, 04:35:10 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 12, 2013, 04:10:59 AM
Rome v Macedonia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_9qkAC4b5c
Haha, he lost to the AI. A shameful display!
didnt think of it that way - THE AI IS FIXED & AWESOME, DOUBT NO MORE!!!!
His strategy is wrong. He was all over the place and is not coherent. He keeps clicking here and there... continuously changing orders. He then lacks the big picture as he keeps on zooming in and talking about stuff and leaving his troops vulnerable.
I do like the fact that the AI is actively doing buffs. But I'm not expecting a totally fixed Tactical AI or else I'll be disappointed.
In what I've read, starting as Sparta will be appropiriately difficult.
Quote from: Gusington on August 12, 2013, 07:56:45 AM
In what I've read, starting as Sparta will be appropiriately difficult.
Yeah, at the point where the game starts, they're already long past their glory days. (They never did truly recover from their defeat at Leuctra.) I imagine resurrecting Spartan hegemony will require a great deal of skill and (perhaps) no small amount of luck as well.
Quote from: Martok on August 12, 2013, 08:28:16 AM
Quote from: Gusington on August 12, 2013, 07:56:45 AM
In what I've read, starting as Sparta will be appropiriately difficult.
Yeah, at the point where the game starts, they're already long past their glory days. (They never did truly recover from their defeat at Leuctra.) I imagine resurrecting Spartan hegemony will require a great deal of skill and (perhaps) no small amount of luck as well.
Besides his awesome good lucks and immense charm Gus has these in spades
Come what may, I will begin as Sparta. Getting an arse kicking will make me feel right at home.
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 12, 2013, 09:15:58 AM
Quote from: Martok on August 12, 2013, 08:28:16 AM
Quote from: Gusington on August 12, 2013, 07:56:45 AM
In what I've read, starting as Sparta will be appropiriately difficult.
Yeah, at the point where the game starts, they're already long past their glory days. (They never did truly recover from their defeat at Leuctra.) I imagine resurrecting Spartan hegemony will require a great deal of skill and (perhaps) no small amount of luck as well.
Besides his awesome good lucks and immense charm Gus has these in spades
You forgot his humongous balls. 8)
Quote from: Gusington on August 12, 2013, 09:27:01 AM
Come what may, I will begin as Sparta. Getting an arse kicking will make me feel right at home.
I'm curious as to how tough Athens will be. With their potential naval abilities, I'm guessing they'll be at least a little easier, but by how much is hard to say.
Quote from: Martok on August 12, 2013, 09:43:52 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 12, 2013, 09:15:58 AM
Quote from: Martok on August 12, 2013, 08:28:16 AM
Quote from: Gusington on August 12, 2013, 07:56:45 AM
In what I've read, starting as Sparta will be appropiriately difficult.
Yeah, at the point where the game starts, they're already long past their glory days. (They never did truly recover from their defeat at Leuctra.) I imagine resurrecting Spartan hegemony will require a great deal of skill and (perhaps) no small amount of luck as well.
Besides his awesome good lucks and immense charm Gus has these in spades
You forgot his humongous balls. 8)
Rome II is so pure and awesome i didnt want to sully its discussion with mention of Gus and his balls (humongous as they may be) :P
Well too late for that now. At least it wan't I who brought them up this time.
Speaking of giant machines of vengeful destruction, anyone have any details on sieges amd siege equipment in Rome 2? Haven't much talk on that.
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 12, 2013, 09:46:27 AM
Rome II is so pure and awesome i didnt want to sully its discussion with mention of Gus and his balls (humongous as they may be) :P
On the contrary.
Gus' titanic testicles can only add both gusto and panache to any conversation!
Quote from: Gusington on August 12, 2013, 10:10:51 AM
Speaking of giant machines of vengeful destruction, anyone have any details on sieges amd siege equipment in Rome 2? Haven't much talk on that.
Now that you mention it, I haven't heard much (if anything) either.
The only concrete thing of which I'm aware is that it's useless to debark siege-engine crews from ships during battles, as they won't bring their toys with them. (Same with cavalry units; they don't bring theirs horses with them.)
Am I the only one who thinks the units are too fast in this game? I just hope Rome 2 will be as encompassing as Rome
Quote from: hurryover on August 12, 2013, 12:12:50 PM
Am I the only one who thinks the units are too fast in this game?
Yes, but there will be a hundred mods released within the first few hours of the game fixing stuff like that.
I finally got around to watching the 30 minute PC Gamer preview. I didn't realize they added new victory conditions other then conquest. I like how cities physically expand on the campaign map. Knowing that other factions besides Rome also have internal political factions (Carthage) is easing my fears that its going to be solely focused on Rome.
Quote from: Kushan on August 12, 2013, 12:32:46 PM
Quote from: hurryover on August 12, 2013, 12:12:50 PM
Am I the only one who thinks the units are too fast in this game?
Yes, but there will be a hundred mods released within the first few hours of the game fixing stuff like that.
I finally got around to watching the 30 minute PC Gamer preview. I didn't realize they added new victory conditions other then conquest. I like how cities physically expand on the campaign map. Knowing that other factions besides Rome also have internal political factions (Carthage) is easing my fears that its going to be solely focused on Rome.
But are the cities on the map ginormous and larger than the predecessors? I didn't like that.
I forgot about the victory conditions, which I am looking forward to.
Sieges are usually hallmarks of TW games when they are done well...odd that they haven't been featured anywhere yet. That makes me a bit nervous.
You're right. Not much about sieges at all. It was stated on the forums that the turns will be one year long and so no seasons except on the battlemaps. No word on how that'll be handled. And only certain factions will have General units, like Rome and Carthage. Others will have leader units like in the video-- Macedon has a Companion Cav unit for a general, the same as some units in FOTS did. On the good side, even Barbarian factions are supposed to have extensive tech trees and advanced, late game units and can form Confederations with other like-culture factions. Sea regions will be contested now with control depending on port ownership and affecting replenishment, trade and piracy. Also, almost no mention of agents either.
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 12, 2013, 02:41:15 PM
You're right. Not much about sieges at all. It was stated on the forums that the turns will be one year long and so no seasons except on the battlemaps. No word on how that'll be handled. And only certain factions will have General units, like Rome and Carthage. Others will have leader units like in the video-- Macedon has a Companion Cav unit for a general, the same as some units in FOTS did. On the good side, even Barbarian factions are supposed to have extensive tech trees and advanced, late game units and can form Confederations with other like-culture factions. Sea regions will be contested now with control depending on port ownership and affecting replenishment, trade and piracy. Also, almost no mention of agents either.
Yes, the seasons were another turn off for me. Is Northern Europe supposed to always have snow, and North Africa always hot and sunny?
I am still bothered by the huge strategy map cities though. They absorb the areas surrounding them. Carthage (the town) takes up all of modern-day Algeria for God's sake.
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 12, 2013, 02:41:15 PM
Also, almost no mention of agents either.
I was able to find this from a Strategy Informer preview:
Quote
There are three agent-types in Rome 2 – The Champion, The Dignitary and The Spy. For balance purposes they have the same function across all cultures and factions, but some cultures will have "flavour variants". When agents are spawned, they have a background skill or 'profession', which is determined by certain factors with regards to where the agent came from, like culture, for example. These 'profession' can be invested in in addition to or instead of the conventional skill-tree.
Quote
The only agent we know some details about is The Champion – passionate warriors, loners, but they are incredibly skilled warriors. Buff certain unit types and help with training when embedded in a friendly army. Can reduce enemy army morale, set traps, harass and can assassinate generals.
So basically the same sort of agents we've had for awhile now.
Original article:
http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/totalwarromeii/1044/preview.html (http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/totalwarromeii/1044/preview.html)
Quote from: hurryover on August 12, 2013, 02:49:07 PM
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 12, 2013, 02:41:15 PM
You're right. Not much about sieges at all. It was stated on the forums that the turns will be one year long and so no seasons except on the battlemaps. No word on how that'll be handled. And only certain factions will have General units, like Rome and Carthage. Others will have leader units like in the video-- Macedon has a Companion Cav unit for a general, the same as some units in FOTS did. On the good side, even Barbarian factions are supposed to have extensive tech trees and advanced, late game units and can form Confederations with other like-culture factions. Sea regions will be contested now with control depending on port ownership and affecting replenishment, trade and piracy. Also, almost no mention of agents either.
Yes, the seasons were another turn off for me. Is Northern Europe supposed to always have snow, and North Africa always hot and sunny?
I am still bothered by the huge strategy map cities though. They absorb the areas surrounding them. Carthage (the town) takes up all of modern-day Algeria for God's sake.
What I don't get is why did they have to go on and do that? Why are they fixing something that isn't broken? What was wrong with the old strategy map style of reasonably sized cities?
Has anyone noticed the cliff coastlines to designate non-landing places? It looks awful.
No sooner than I say something and then I see this... http://youtube,com/watch?v=BYdtQT0UJs0
Looks basically like Shogun 2 with some tweaks which ain't a bad thing.
Sorry. That's supposed to be... http://youtube.com/watch?v=BYdtQ0UJs0
Damn. The link doesn't go to it. It's at youtube.com under Rome 2. Sorry again. >:(
Well it works when I type it in my browser. 14 min. video of agent and tech info. And now I'll shut-up about it. :-X
How long is this conversation with yourself going to last? ;D
Until I answer sensibly to myself. Sometimes I can't hear my voice for all the others in my head. :o
I know some complained about city growth but to me it looks awesome:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?613583-Dynamic-city-growth
...and finally some mention of sieges.
MMMMMM..... Sieges. Why does August have to be so damned long?
That's what she said. But not about August. And my response to her is appropriate here: don't worry baby when you get to the end it will all be worth it.
Sparta beckons!
Quote from: Gusington on August 15, 2013, 06:43:42 AM
That's what she said. But not about August. And my response to her is appropriate here: don't worry baby when you get to the end it will all be worth it.
Sparta Carthage beckons!
fixed
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 15, 2013, 08:32:50 AM
Quote from: Gusington on August 15, 2013, 06:43:42 AM
That's what she said. But not about August. And my response to her is appropriate here: don't worry baby when you get to the end it will all be worth it.
Sparta Carthage DOTA 2 beckons!
fixed
Amended.
you got Huw'd
Carthage? Respectable. Sparta? Epic.
Quote from: Gusington on August 15, 2013, 09:17:08 AM
Carthage? Respectable. Sparta? Epic.
hollywood sap - get your hannibal on
It's not the size of the worm that counts, it's the way you wiggle it. And I don't know how to tie that into a Rome 2 pun. But how about this? I'm up for some Selucid Seduce-id. Best I can do for now. ;D
Not bad, not bad. There is something intriguing about bringing Sparta into a more modern era though.
Have you read the Greek preview at the TW Center forum? Sparta should be a real challenge. No ports, no friends and no Gerald Butler or whatever his name is. Hope they make friends with elephants real easy. ;D
Are the Seleucids playable upon release?
No Seleucids at launch. DLC Probably when the "Moist Loins" edition comes out.
My moist loins edition has been on the verge of coming out for some time.
You can get arrested for that where I live.
Lets try this one. 4min. video of naval combat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZthalx7bnQ
Hope this one works. That's naval combat not naval gazing. If you don't know the difference, I can't help you.
Quote from: Bison on August 15, 2013, 08:41:31 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 15, 2013, 08:32:50 AM
Quote from: Gusington on August 15, 2013, 06:43:42 AM
That's what she said. But not about August. And my response to her is appropriate here: don't worry baby when you get to the end it will all be worth it.
Sparta Carthage DOTA 2 Athens beckons!
fixed
Amended.
Fixed again. ;D
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 15, 2013, 08:43:05 AM
you got Huw'd
I thought it was hewed. :P
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 15, 2013, 03:01:53 PM
Lets try this one. 4min. video of naval combat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZthalx7bnQ
Hope this one works. That's naval combat not naval gazing. If you don't know the difference, I can't help you.
Thanks for the link,
Sir Slash. I'll need to master this aspect of the game if my Athenians are to rule the Aegean!
My advice Martok is to... should I say it? RAM IT!!! Couldn't resist,couldn't resist. ;D ;D
It is going to a little strange, though:
Between reading David Weber's
Honor Harrington and
Safehold series, plus what (admittedly little) studying I've done of combat during the Age of Sail, I've got it drilled into my skull to always "cross" the enemy's "T"...and now I'm going to have to try to do the exact opposite!
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 15, 2013, 03:47:28 PM
My advice Martok is to... should I say it? RAM IT!!! Couldn't resist,couldn't resist. ;D ;D
What's the saying -- "ramming always works"? :P
Classical age naval combat has the potential to be awesomely fun.
I know it's way before the time period (by a couple centuries), but I'd love to see Salamis as an historical battle.
I can guarantee you will either by mod or DLC in the future.
Are Gauls, Goths, and Germanics going to be playable at release? Britons? Picts?
No, because the game begins roughly at around 200 BC. Like in the original Rome TW I would look for the peoples you mentioned in the Fall of Rome expansion. I like late era Rome more than the era of Caesar, etc., so I am really looking forward to that when it comes.
There's a playable British faction, the Iceni I think, a playable German faction, the Suebi, and a playable Gaul faction. I'll probably start with Rome/Julia faction like I did in the Original RTW as a warm-up. I hope the Gauls aren't push-overs like in RTW. Damn! Is it STILL August?
Quote from: Gusington on August 15, 2013, 08:16:55 PM
No, because the game begins roughly at around 200 BC.
.. and There Will Be DLC. :P
Probably even another full-priced FOTS type of standalone or two.
If they're gonna expand any time period with expansions & such.. please let it be this Classical one.
QFT? Please explain. This isn't about south-of-the-border again is it?
Quoted For Truth. Right now my favorite TW game is Fall of the Samurai. But when they do the Fall of Rome era with this engine, that could change.
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 16, 2013, 07:30:31 AM
QFT? Please explain. This isn't about south-of-the-border again is it?
lol - its a big thumbs up to your statement that theres a lot of august between now and release!
August is now more than half over where I am sitting.
OK. Got it now. Are we expecting the down-loading to begin at mid-night the 2nd. Or is there an announced time the 3rd. it will begin? Or is it too early to think about it and I should shut-up?
Well Space Hulk was slated for August 15 release and it was ready to download when I got to my home pc yesterday at 6pm.
Quote from: Gusington on August 16, 2013, 10:54:10 AM
August is now more than half over where I am sitting.
You have too much patience
^Now we're even closer than we were before!!
Think I have decided not to pre-purchase. I have found EU IV a very deep and satisfying game. I'll probably purchase eventually however.... who knows though.
PE
When's this out again? The 3rd of next month?
You guys are gonna be grating your teeth for two weeks! Muahahah!
(I'm trying not to.)
September 3rd
A German gaming site has posted a huge number of screenshots (from both the battle- and campaign map):
Link (http://www.4players.de/4players.php/screenshot_list/PC-CDROM/31807/Screenshots/0/0/Total_War_Rome_2.html)
Of course they look awesome, but I wish we could see some screenies of some of the non-Roman factions as well. (Show me the Greeks, dammit!)
Quote from: Martok on August 22, 2013, 12:01:30 PM
A German gaming site has posted a huge number of screenshots (from both the battle- and campaign map):
Link (http://www.4players.de/4players.php/screenshot_list/PC-CDROM/31807/Screenshots/0/0/Total_War_Rome_2.html)
Of course they look awesome, but I wish we could see some screenies of some of the non-Roman factions as well. (Show me the Greeks, dammit!)
The facial close-up, in the lower left unit info panel, looks terrible. Maybe it's just a placeholder? I hope the troop panels actually show pic of a soldier in appropriate battle dress and not just a close-up shot of some poorly-made 3D model's face! That's a terrible idea if they're keeping it as-is.
Martok you evil SOB...I won't be able to view these proper for at least a few hours.
Quote from: Nefaro on August 22, 2013, 01:53:39 PM
The facial close-up, in the lower left unit info panel, looks terrible. Maybe it's just a placeholder? I hope the troop panels actually show pic of a soldier in appropriate battle dress and not just a close-up shot of some poorly-made 3D model's face! That's a terrible idea if they're keeping it as-is.
well thats it - i have cancelled my preorder - amateurs ??? :o :P
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 22, 2013, 02:18:46 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on August 22, 2013, 01:53:39 PM
The facial close-up, in the lower left unit info panel, looks terrible. Maybe it's just a placeholder? I hope the troop panels actually show pic of a soldier in appropriate battle dress and not just a close-up shot of some poorly-made 3D model's face! That's a terrible idea if they're keeping it as-is.
well thats it - i have cancelled my preorder - amateurs ??? :o :P
LOL
Well.. it would just be very creepy with that weird looking dude staring at you the whole time!
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic2.fore.4pcdn.de%2Fpremium%2FScreenshots%2F26%2Fb4%2F92466210-vollbild.jpg&hash=178a79d29015975c4279ddd3e149171f64b26ad0)
"
""""""""
""""""""""""""
See!!!!!!
"They're coming to geeeet yoooouu Bar-ba-raaa!"
That does look pretty bad, mostly because those faces look just like mine.
he looks switch offable to me
As am I. BTW there is Rome 2 MP discussion over at RPS.
Quote from: Gusington on August 22, 2013, 02:29:25 PM
As am I. BTW there is Rome 2 MP discussion over at RPS.
from highest to lowest in 5 mins - finding out you look like an out of focus Roman centurion, priceless, finding out you switch-offable - boooooooo
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 22, 2013, 02:26:53 PM
he looks switch offable to me
I hope someone puts something a bit more awesome-looking in there, with a mod.
Another complaint, and this was a bit of an issue in TWS2, is just how friggin'
dark the game looks. Even during what is supposed to be midday shots with the sun shining down from above. Some of their gfx people over-engineer the lighting effects too much, methinks. If it wasn't for the sun shining down in all the screenshots, I'd think it was permanently sunset. :P
Cranking up the brightness too much, to adjust, can also start making text and some other little things wash out. Raising gamma does that for the whole thing, of course.
It looks passable. I just like to complain about overdone post-processing & lighting effects. This one seems to have gone a different direction than most, in that it's darker instead of too hazy.
Weird I thought that Shogun 2 was a bit on the shiny happy people holding hands side.
MP discussion/video is posted to TWC also. From a cursory look it sounds like other TW games with most MP capability in battles and a two player campaign. I'll have to confirm.
Quote from: Nefaro on August 22, 2013, 02:33:50 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 22, 2013, 02:26:53 PM
he looks switch offable to me
I hope someone puts something a bit more awesome-looking in there, with a mod.
Another complaint, and this was a bit of an issue in TWS2, is just how friggin' dark the game looks. Even during what is supposed to be midday shots with the sun shining down from above. Some of their gfx people over-engineer the lighting effects too much, methinks. If it wasn't for the sun shining down in all the screenshots, I'd think it was permanently sunset. :P
Cranking up the brightness too much, to adjust, can also start making text and some other little things wash out. Raising gamma does that for the whole thing, of course.
It looks passable. I just like to complain about overdone post-processing & lighting effects. This one seems to have gone a different direction than most, in that it's darker instead of too hazy.
::) weather grogs!!
:P
I'll need night vision - to see during the Roman period! :o
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages2.wikia.nocookie.net%2F__cb20100607012331%2Fathfwiki%2Fimages%2F6%2F6b%2FNight_vision_goggles.JPG&hash=4eac6927ccfa888eaa0b9ef7f1524e2197a4c08d)
Lusted's lets play/walkthrough for Macedons
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/73722-Jack-s-Macedon-Campaign-Playthrough?
Quote from: Gusington on August 22, 2013, 02:08:47 PM
Martok you evil SOB...I won't be able to view these proper for at least a few hours.
Muahahahaha!!!!!!
That's too bad, because --
Nefaro's complaints about creepy faces aside -- they look pretty awesome. ;D
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 22, 2013, 02:49:54 PM
Lusted's lets play/walkthrough for Macedons
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/73722-Jack-s-Macedon-Campaign-Playthrough?
What?? Athens starts as a client state of Macedon??! Oh, we're gonna have to fix that PDQ...
chortle
Shut up, Hannibal. You're next!
^Look at this guy. Barely a month ago he was all "I will wait til the end of time before purchasing." One gift on Steam and he's salivating like the rest of us.
By the by Macedon looks great...I may forgo Sparta and start as Macedon. They are badasses.
Quote from: Gusington on August 22, 2013, 05:53:42 PM
^Look at this guy. Barely a month ago he was all "I will wait til the end of time before purchasing." One gift on Steam and he's salivating like the rest of us.
Well if you're going to be a jerk and do something nice like that, I see no point in continuing to be curmudgeonly about it. ;) I might as well let the history geek in me express its enthusiasm!
Quote from: Gusington on August 22, 2013, 05:53:42 PM
By the by Macedon looks great...I may forgo Sparta and start as Macedon. They are badasses.
Also, Macedon doesn't look like it'll be so brutally difficult. Sparta seems like it might be to
Rome II what the Armenians were to MTW's XL mod.
^Let the historical geek flow from you! I do every day.
You know I don't think I ever played Armenia in MTW XL...
Also - just got notice that I have to serve in jury duty beginning...September 3. I don't know how this bodes for my embracing of Rome 2.
I'm sure if you show up togated or sporting a centurion's helmet and muttering about being thwarted by the Triumvirate, they might find you unsuitable and let you go. Or even better, if you can get the game installed beforehand, you might get sequestered and be able to drag the trial out until you finish your campaign.
^Genius...I may try some of that. Last time I just pretended to be a fascist anarchist.
Quote from: Gusington on August 22, 2013, 06:29:35 PM
^Let the historical geek flow from you! I do every day.
:o You might want to get that checked...
:P
Quote from: Gusington on August 22, 2013, 06:29:35 PM
You know I don't think I ever played Armenia in MTW XL...
Then you're smarter than I was. I don't know what inspired VikingHorde to add Armenia as a playable faction in his mod (sadism? insanity?), but holy-mother-of-God are they difficult.
And when I say "difficult", I mean they're seriously, impossibly, ridiculously, no-shit, I'm-not-even-remotely-f***ing-kidding difficult. (Being utterly surrounded by the Turks & Byzantines, they have no easy expansion options, yet their starting lands are too poor to sustain them for very long, so they have to expand early.) When played by the AI, the Armenians usually disappear within 15 years (usually courtesy of the Turks); when I play as them, if I'm *really* lucky, I might last twice as long. I've heard of a couple folks who've done well as the Armenians, but apparently I'm nowhere near being that good a player. :-[
Quote from: Gusington on August 22, 2013, 06:29:35 PM
Also - just got notice that I have to serve in jury duty beginning...September 3. I don't know how this bodes for my embracing of Rome 2.
Pffft. Just tell the court you've gotta raise your legions for a march on Veii. They'll understand, I promise!
Quote from: Gusington on August 22, 2013, 06:29:35 PM
You know I don't think I ever played Armenia in MTW XL...
I specifically want them to create a playable Armenia in Rome 2. It should be a bit easier during that period. I recall playing them in a RTW mod and it was pretty awesome what with all their heavy scale armored troops and Zoroastrian old-school religious art. Maybe they'll have that and the Parthian empire in a DLC later on? *fingers crossed*
I'm surprised Parthia isn't available from the get go...it's always a crowd favorite in these games. I vaguely remember fighting against the Parthians in Centurion: Defender of Rome on my Amiga and thinkiing how cool they were. Weirdly I have no memory of the Parthians in the first Rome TW game...
Quote from: Gusington on August 23, 2013, 07:29:38 AM
I'm surprised Parthia isn't available from the get go...it's always a crowd favorite in these games. I vaguely remember fighting against the Parthians in Centurion: Defender of Rome on my Amiga and thinkiing how cool they were. Weirdly I have no memory of the Parthians in the first Rome TW game...
Isn't some Greek Successor-to-Alexander Empire sitting on all the Parthian and Persian and Armenian space when Rome II opens in 200 BC?
Would that be the Seleucids you're referring to?
It may be the Seleucids but in the initial release they are not playable :(
I'm willing to bet they are one of the first dlc available.
Quote from: Staggerwing on August 23, 2013, 09:06:25 AM
Would that be the Seleucids you're referring to?
I think so. I'm not sure how far up into Asia Minor their control extended...maybe a lot in 272 BC when the game starts I now find.
Quote from: MengJiao on August 23, 2013, 08:56:59 AM
Quote from: Gusington on August 23, 2013, 07:29:38 AM
I'm surprised Parthia isn't available from the get go...it's always a crowd favorite in these games. I vaguely remember fighting against the Parthians in Centurion: Defender of Rome on my Amiga and thinkiing how cool they were. Weirdly I have no memory of the Parthians in the first Rome TW game...
Isn't some Greek Successor-to-Alexander Empire sitting on all the Parthian and Persian and Armenian space when Rome II opens in 200 BC?
Oh there may be a Seleucid empire there still, but Parthia existed in 200BC and it was taking Seleucid territory in this period.
Edit: If the game starts in 272BC, then it may not yet have grown to anything portrayed in the game. I wonder if it can emerge a bit later?
Interesting I don't remember reading anything about emergent factions and how they will work here.
Wouldn't you know it, the Seleucids have just been announced as free DLC: www.twcenter.net.
Bison wins.
And....Parthia is a playable faction from Day 1.So is Pontus. Now I am not so sure who my starting faction will be. DOH
Quote from: Gusington on August 23, 2013, 01:19:11 PM
Now I am not so sure who my starting faction will be.
Wouldn't it be wrong to not start as Rome?
Quote from: Gusington on August 23, 2013, 01:19:11 PM
And....Parthia is a playable faction from Day 1.So is Pontus. Now I am not so sure who my starting faction will be. DOH
This is all good news. The more playable factions the better, though I'm not sure how they would all fit into the geography
at this point, or rather in 272 BC.
Quote from: Kushan on August 23, 2013, 02:03:16 PM
Quote from: Gusington on August 23, 2013, 01:19:11 PM
Now I am not so sure who my starting faction will be.
Wouldn't it be wrong to not start as Rome?
I might start as Macedon or Pontus just because I tend to gravitate toward the Black sea lately (as the Byzantines or Khazars in CKII for example). And I saw that Macedon play-through which looke fun.
I am sure I will enjoy playing Rome, but eastern factions like Pontus or Parthia interest me more in this era. Love me some cavalry, either heavy or light horse archers.
In the Fall of Rome era, Rome is definltely my favorite, especially the Eastern Romans.
Quote from: Gusington on August 23, 2013, 10:24:34 AM
It may be the Seleucids but in the initial release they are not playable :(
I just read somewhere that the Selucids as a playable faction is going to be free DLC, but not til a few weeks after release.
Incidentally, I believe Pontus as a playable faction is supposed to be release-day free DLC.
Maybe you read it a few posts above yours?
*Larfs*
......
Wow. Even by my usual standards, that is a new level of dumb for me. :-[
Don't worry. You're probably still in the middle of the Bell Curve AFA this place goes.... :D
Quote from: Staggerwing on August 23, 2013, 03:27:57 PM
Don't worry. You're probably still in the middle of the Bell Curve AFA this place goes.... :D
That's a scary thought. :o
Honestly, this video isn't that great (although the phalanx/pike action is interesting to watch). However, it has BRIAN BLESSED in the beginning, so there's that. 8)
Did he do the tutorial narration for the original MTW?
NM the question. IMDB says it was Sean Pertwee.
Quote from: Gusington on August 23, 2013, 01:12:48 PM
Wouldn't you know it, the Seleucids have just been announced as free DLC: www.twcenter.net.
Bison wins.
It also says the first DLC will be the Black Sea nomads!
Quote..and the announcement of the first paid for DLC - the Nomadic Tribes Culture Pack featuring the Royal Scythians, Roxolani and Massagetae.
Those will be the way to go if you want to play very horse-centric nomads. :D I'm surprised they're including more than just the Scythians. I'd like to see the Roxolani, most notably, although the Scythians were the ones who had more run-ins with the Greeks & Romans since they were closer.
Quote from: Staggerwing on August 23, 2013, 06:44:46 PM
Did he do the tutorial narration for the original MTW?
NM the question. IMDB says it was Sean Pertwee.
Correct. I believe Blessed did do the narration for the RTW mini-expansion
Alexander, however.
I somehow missed the Scythians. Awesome indeed. Who to pick first???
Quote from: Gusington on August 23, 2013, 01:12:48 PM
Wouldn't you know it, the Seleucids have just been announced as free DLC: www.twcenter.net.
Bison wins.
WOOT! I feel so smart! I will crush them with my legions!
There is no way I am playing as the Romans first with all these other exotic factions to play.
Well I wonder if it'll have the same mechanic as the original where you had to be the game first as the Julii faction before the rest were unlocked.
Quote from: Gusington on August 23, 2013, 08:32:00 PM
There is no way I am playing as the Romans first with all these other exotic factions to play.
I'm still a little torn. While Greek civilization has long held a fascination for me, I like the Romans as well. In addition, it's hard to not be tempted to play as them, given all the love they've obviously received in this game.
Quote from: Bison on August 23, 2013, 08:34:23 PM
Well I wonder if it'll have the same mechanic as the original where you had to be the game first as the Julii faction before the rest were unlocked.
That had better not be the case! Jesus H, but that pissed me off in the original RTW.
I can understand perhaps needing to first play that story-driven tutorial campaign they keep mentioning/showing, but frankly I would expect even that to be optional.
iirc in STW2 the story driven part of the campaign could be skipped after a certain point in the play through.
I'll play the tutorial first. But when I start my first real campaign I really hope I am not forced to play one faction to unlock the others.
Honestly I think my brother and I are going to play a Greek co-op game and conquer the world with our Hellenistic armies. Prior to that I will play Rome and subject the world to Roman authority!
My initial choice was Sparta but with these other goodies newly announced...I just don't know. Parthia...yummy.
I like to crush eastern empires.
I like to play them and trample Westerners into dust.
Quote from: Gusington on August 23, 2013, 09:09:44 PM
I like to play them and trample Westerners into dust.
What? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Death to the Green Skins..... we need Warhammer Total War.....
PE
^That's next!
Quote from: Gusington on August 23, 2013, 09:09:44 PM
I like to play them and trample Westerners into dust.
By the by: Assuming they all become playable at some point, which faction would you recommend first -- Parthians, Pontus, or Selucids?
Quote from: PanzersEast on August 23, 2013, 09:17:26 PM
Death to the Green Skins..... we need Warhammer Total War.....
PE
I suspect we'll see that in the next year or two. :)
Parthians, Pontus or Seleucids...of those three I would take Parthia first, because of their cavalry expertise and basis in Iranian/Persian culture which I have always found fascinating. Pontus and Seleucid culture only slightly less so.
I could go for some Parthia-Total War.
Quote from: Bison on August 23, 2013, 09:03:57 PM
Honestly I think my brother and I are going to play a Greek co-op game and conquer the world with our Hellenistic armies. Prior to that I will play Rome and subject the world to Roman authority!
Yeah, it'll be difficult to
not play as one of the Greek leagues/states. It's probably a question of which one. I wonder how well each of them are filled out, or if Macedon got some extra love, for example.
The remnants of the successor states also use derived Macedonian style phalanx-based armies so those could probably be considered in a similar vein, albeit with a bit different flavor.
Sounds like the Seleucids will be in.. but is their old rival, Ptolemaic Egypt, in there too?? Can't have one without the other!!
All this talk kinda makes me hope that Paradox will actually crank out a far better sequel to EU:Rome. The original, like so many other Pdox titles released during that period, had many flaws and shortcomings that were never fixed. But now that they seem to have pulled it things together, I'd like to see a much improved game based in the Successor Wars through Roman period. Also with an improved character system (the first was really hands-off and behind the scenes).
Quote from: Nefaro on August 24, 2013, 08:06:04 AM
Sounds like the Seleucids will be in.. but is their old rival, Ptolemaic Egypt, in there too?? Can't have one without the other!!
Ptolemaic Egypt is in as a playable faction, although no one yet seems to know how historically authentic they'll be this time around.
Launching a seaborne invasion of a rebel-held town:
^ video -- looks like a much better game than even Shogun2, which was a great game.
Nefaro, if you need a Successor fix, the HPS title Diadochi Wars might scrtach the itch.
Quote from: besilarius on August 25, 2013, 04:11:04 PM
Nefaro, if you need a Successor fix, the HPS title Diadochi Wars might scrtach the itch.
Not really a grand strategy game. Besides, I still have
Alexandrian Wars and
Greek & Persian Wars that aren't near completion yet. Not to mention
Punic Wars. You see where I'm going, here. :-\
I learned to really enjoy EU: Rome. Warts and all.
Quote from: Bison on August 25, 2013, 06:52:04 PM
I learned to really enjoy EU: Rome. Warts and all.
My biggest complaints were the runaway world wars that would start, from the "cascading alliances" issue. There was a patch that somewhat fixed that, a long time later, but it also created a bug that would make your game CTD. IIRC, there is some manual modding you gotta do to fix
that.
EU:R was rather boring overall, because all the character system events happened almost completely without any input from you, and the conquest side of things was rather simplistic. I think a character system
somewhat similar to CK2's could be used in such a setting, what with Roman patrician families and nobility in others. At least, some more player interaction in the character system, because it was all pretty much running in the background. The game felt pretty thin on gameplay, even after the expansion that added the mostly AI-run character system. The political systems could've used more fleshing out, in conjunction, too.
Perhaps they can re-invent the EU:Rome concept some time in the future? I have hope since they've done so well with their last two big titles.
The character system was an ad hoc addition to the game, which really only effected the senate and to a lesser degree your advisor. I think had it been build into the game initially it would have had more depth and impact. I still enjoyed it for what it was.
I apologize if this has been posted earlier in the thread, but an interesting AAR of Rome 2 is posted on the official TW forums:
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/73722-Jack-s-Macedon-Campaign-Playthrough?s=4e6ff68b6ce84e18d653c188fa598adb
It looks like CA added a nice amount of CK2-inspired random events, skullduggery, and character traits!
I think Rome II is going to make for a suitable tie-in to my (continued) reading of The House of the Wolfings. :D
Wow. Rome 2 is looking really fantastic.
Quote from: Bison on August 26, 2013, 05:00:31 AM
Wow. Rome 2 is looking really fantastic.
I have to admit it does. I wasn't interested in it at all - ETW left a bad taste in my mouth, and Shogun 2 was of no interest to me. But this does look like a compelling new entry in the TW series. Plus, the mention of "years worth of free and paid DLC" (as a press release recently said) makes this sound like a very special entry to the TW series.
Today, there is a new article from CA on the new Tactical View, something that was long overdue IMO:
Total War ROME II: Tactical View (http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Tactical_View)
QuoteROME II’s battles feature an entirely new feature called the Tactical View. This enables players to pull the camera seamlessly to a satellite view, in which the entire sweep of the battlefield can be taken in at a glance, and movement orders can be given where required.
Quote from: RooksBailey on August 26, 2013, 04:25:05 PM
Quote from: Bison on August 26, 2013, 05:00:31 AM
Wow. Rome 2 is looking really fantastic.
I have to admit it does. I wasn't interested in it at all - ETW left a bad taste in my mouth, and Shogun 2 was of no interest to me. But this does look like a compelling new entry in the TW series. Plus, the mention of "years worth of free and paid DLC" (as a press release recently said) makes this sound like a very special entry to the TW series.
Today, there is a new article from CA on the new Tactical View, something that was long overdue IMO:
Total War ROME II: Tactical View (http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Tactical_View)
QuoteROME II's battles feature an entirely new feature called the Tactical View. This enables players to pull the camera seamlessly to a satellite view, in which the entire sweep of the battlefield can be taken in at a glance, and movement orders can be given where required.
Tactical View? Excellent.
I've been trying my best to avoid all the previews and hype, otherwise I'll be gnawing fingernails during the wait.
One week until release!
Is it a pre-release download?
Don't know, but I hope so.
Me too. Otherwise it'll be a slow download on release day as Steam gets overwhelmed, but I guess it doesn't matter since I don't expect to have the time to play until the following weekend anyway.
I, on the other hand, have three days off starting the 3rd. ;D
I would expect it to be available for preorders the night before for downloading since the game will ne huge and take up a gigantic memory footprint.
Any word on a demo?
Quote from: tgb on August 27, 2013, 11:06:25 AM
Any word on a demo?
Do we really need one? It's Total War. I cannot imagine any need to elaborate further :)
Quote from: LongBlade on August 27, 2013, 11:17:14 AM
Quote from: tgb on August 27, 2013, 11:06:25 AM
Any word on a demo?
Do we really need one? It's Total War. I cannot imagine any need to elaborate further :)
Is that going to tell me how it performs on my system?
Quote from: Gusington on August 27, 2013, 10:38:38 AM
I would expect it to be available for preorders the night before for downloading since the game will ne huge and take up a gigantic memory footprint.
I think TW Shogun 2 and it's DLC takes up about 35GB of hard drive space. :o
If everyone's trying to download the new one from Steam, at the same time, it'll be running at snail speed.
Definitely. That's why I think they will allow DLs the night before. It makes no sense to not do that.
Quote from: Bison on August 27, 2013, 07:07:30 AM
Is it a pre-release download?
I recall CA saying there would be a pre-release download because of the large installation footprint. However, no further details have been released on that. I expect we should hear something soon. I can't imagine them not doing a pre-release install seeing how well the game is selling and the size of the download. If they wait until launch day, Steam's servers are going to melt down! ;D
They also announced that there is going to be a special Steam launcher coming with R2TW, one that will allow you to launch any of your TW games from the same screen, and even jump right into your saved game without having to sit through all the normal launch movies, etc. CA is really going all out with this title!
Quote from: tgb on August 27, 2013, 11:53:53 AM
Quote from: LongBlade on August 27, 2013, 11:17:14 AM
Quote from: tgb on August 27, 2013, 11:06:25 AM
Any word on a demo?
Do we really need one? It's Total War. I cannot imagine any need to elaborate further :)
Is that going to tell me how it performs on my system?
Yeah, that may be tougher to figure out. According to the product page on Steam:
QuoteMinimum
OS: XP/ Vista / Windows 7 / Windows 8
Processor:2 GHz Intel Dual Core processor / 2.6 GHz Intel Single Core processor
Memory:2GB RAM
Graphics:512 MB DirectX 9.0c compatible card (shader model 3, vertex texture fetch support).
DirectX®:9.0c
Hard Drive:35 GB HD space
Additional:Screen Resolution - 1024x768
QuoteRecommended:
OS:Windows 7 / Windows 8
Processor:2nd Generation Intel Core i5 processor (or greater)
Memory:4GB RAM
Graphics:1024 MB DirectX 11 compatible graphics card.
DirectX®:11
Hard Drive:35 GB HD space
Additional:Screen Resolution - 1920x1080
It's the 35 GB HD requirement that is going to crush the Steam servers. Frankly I'm surprised they don't allow the download starting now to spread out the bandwidth across the world that will be sucked up once this baby goes live next week.
It's what they say at the official forums:
STEAM PRELOAD:
It has been confirmed that Steam will allow preloading of Rome 2. However specifics have not been released on when and what time the preload will start.
Any information you see on preloading is not confirmed until you see it from an official CA source.
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/66829-Official-news-on-the-release-date-Steam-preload-info-and-the-Collector-s-Edition?s=cca0bafce8831f6d829a46ad4b447b4f
Thanks for posting that. My guess is that they will start preloading Monday.
And we'll hear about it first... right here of course. A Grog Pre-Rogitive.
Latest vid:
It would be cool if the History Channel did another Ancient Battles series using the R2 engine!
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 01, 2013, 01:39:01 PM
I'm feeling positive too. After 8 tries, if you count FOTS as stand-alone, they've got to have this thing working like it should. I am sure they'll be problems but they have to know they can't un-load a bunch of crap on us and get away with it. I don't think. Of course I picked Tampa Bay to win the Superbowl last year.
Why not ? it has worked beautifully in the last games they have made. People scream and shout about how awfull they are at release but still rush out to preorder on their Next title.
I will be watching this game for the Next few month but im not holding my breath anymore. been to burned by their shitty AI in the past to trust anything from them now
You clearly haven't played Shogun 2.
Quote from: RooksBailey on August 28, 2013, 12:32:24 AM
Latest vid:
It would be cool if the History Channel did another Ancient Battles series using the R2 engine!
Very nice. Thanks!
Damn! This is gonna be one long week. :-\
Quote from: Gusington on August 28, 2013, 07:05:23 AM
You clearly haven't played Shogun 2.
But let's face it. Shogun2 was a shock. I can recall playing the demo very skeptically and then realizing that the bad days of
Empire total war were long gone. FOTS was even better. I'm really glad they went to Rome 272 BC (really the Isthmus of Western Europe plus the Med and Asia Minor and the Arabian Peninsula and the Western Steppe plus some Tiaga). It is really ambitious in a good way, but well focused in time and space, plus they can expand from that (as they did with Shogun2) into earlier and later time periods.
Quote from: MengJiao on August 28, 2013, 09:51:14 AM
Quote from: Gusington on August 28, 2013, 07:05:23 AM
You clearly haven't played Shogun 2.
But let's face it. Shogun2 was a shock. I can recall playing the demo very skeptically and then realizing that the bad days of
Empire total war were long gone. FOTS was even better. I'm really glad they went to Rome 272 BC (really the Isthmus of Western Europe plus the Med and Asia Minor and the Arabian Peninsula and the Western Steppe plus some Tiaga). It is really ambitious in a good way, but well focused in time and space, plus they can expand from that (as they did with Shogun2) into earlier and later time periods.
It's actually not much of a shock when you look at how improved the AI was in Napoleon versus empires, and then how much more improved the AI was in shogun.
In fact the AI has been getting better in every DLC and version since empires total war. Napoleon was better than Empires, Shogun 2 was better Then Napoleon and fall of the samura Even had some improvements. To me that indicates programmers who have gotten better and better at producing good AI. In the end though it's a total wargame the AI is not going to come out and completely stomp you on the battlefield just not gonna happen they are just very enjoyable and fun games if you take them for what they are...games
Quote from: mikeck on August 28, 2013, 10:32:17 AM
Quote from: MengJiao on August 28, 2013, 09:51:14 AM
Quote from: Gusington on August 28, 2013, 07:05:23 AM
You clearly haven't played Shogun 2.
But let's face it. Shogun2 was a shock. I can recall playing the demo very skeptically and then realizing that the bad days of
Empire total war were long gone. FOTS was even better. I'm really glad they went to Rome 272 BC (really the Isthmus of Western Europe plus the Med and Asia Minor and the Arabian Peninsula and the Western Steppe plus some Tiaga). It is really ambitious in a good way, but well focused in time and space, plus they can expand from that (as they did with Shogun2) into earlier and later time periods.
It's actually not much of a shock when you look at how improved the AI was in Napoleon versus empires, and then how much more improved the AI was in shogun.
In fact the AI has been getting better in every DLC and version since empires total war. Napoleon was better than Empires, Shogun 2 was better Then Napoleon and fall of the samura Even had some improvements. To me that indicates programmers who have gotten better and better at producing good AI. In the end though it's a total wargame the AI is not going to come out and completely stomp you on the battlefield just not gonna happen they are just very enjoyable and fun games if you take them for what they are...games
I agree. I've never been much bothered by the AI. I spend a lot of time in these games wandering the battlefields at the lowest camera levels and not controlling my forces very well so the AI doesn't have to be brilliant to give me a good fight.
I think my dislike of Empire and Napoleon was purely a matter of not liking their atmosphere...hard to define, but for the most part those games lacked the life that Medieval Total War 2 (or more precisely its various mods) had in my experience. As soon as I started Shogun2's demo, I felt the old charm had returned.
I also did not like the atmosphere of ETW or NTW when compared to earlier games or Shogun 2. Like Meng said it was hard to put my finger on why.
Got my activation keys from Green Man. Says the download will be available Aug. 28 at 00:01 UTC. Can't download yet. Has anybody else got their keys and what does UTC stand for? ???
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 28, 2013, 01:24:51 PM
Got my activation keys from Green Man. Says the download will be available Aug. 28 at 00:01 UTC. Can't download yet. Has anybody else got their keys and what does UTC stand for? ???
Pretty much it's like GMT only different :P
The current time in England.
Quote from: Gusington on August 28, 2013, 01:06:30 PM
I also did not like the atmosphere of ETW or NTW when compared to earlier games or Shogun 2. Like Meng said it was hard to put my finger on why.
Same for me. I think it is due to the lack of romance. Even though I loved the idea of getting to play a TW game during the American revolution, the entire 18th Century experience is just not as historically romantic as the middle ages, or the ancient world.
Preloading and Unlock info has been released:QuoteCreative Assembly today announced the Activation Time for ROME II on its release day next week as a single worldwide unlock time of zero hours US Pacific Time on the 3rd Sept, equivalent of 00:00 PDT / 03:00 EDT / 08:00 BST / 09:00 CET / 17:00 AEST.
From that point game activation will be live and Total War: ROME II will be playable.
Digital customers can begin preloading via Steam from 10:00 PDT / 18:00 BST today (28th Aug) in order to be as ready as possible to begin their conquest of the ancient world on launch day, with only the day one content patch including Pontus, an additional playable faction, needing to be downloaded once the game is live.
Please note that ROME II will be region-locked in some territories, if you are buying a copy from overseas please check with your retailer if you will be able to activate it your home country. Further details on the regions this effects are here: http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Regional_Restrictions
Total War: ROME II Launches next week on the 3rd September.
Quote from: RooksBailey on August 28, 2013, 01:32:37 PM
Quote from: Gusington on August 28, 2013, 01:06:30 PM
I also did not like the atmosphere of ETW or NTW when compared to earlier games or Shogun 2. Like Meng said it was hard to put my finger on why.
Same for me. I think it is due to the lack of romance. Even though I loved the idea of getting to play a TW game during the American revolution, the entire 18th Century experience is just not as historically romantic as the middle ages, or the ancient world.
Which is vaguely paradoxical since in the real 18th Century the whole idea of "historically romantic" was all the rage. So I agree, the set the game in some version of the 18th century that proved to be strangely devoid of any flavor. The would have done better to have focused on some region such as the low countries or the balkans or the levant in some subperiod and then expanded. For example, they could have started with the situation of the 9-years war in about 1688. Technologically the pike would disappear pretty fast and Frigates would evolve by 1720. Finance would evolve to the point that the first financial bubble would happen in 1720 as well. Grenades and platoon-firing would have enlivened the infantry. Cavalry would remain more or less inept, but that's life.
Received my key as well. Will try to DL when I get home.
Not working for me as yet at 4pm EST. >:(
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 28, 2013, 01:24:51 PM
Got my activation keys from Green Man. Says the download will be available Aug. 28 at 00:01 UTC. Can't download yet. Has anybody else got their keys and what does UTC stand for? ???
Here's the pre-load info GGG send with mine:
Quote from: GetGamesGo
You can activate it on Steam right now and begin to pre-load from 18:00 BST / 10:00 PDT tonight ready for the launch on 03/09/13!
That's another 8 hours from this moment, before preload starts.
Quote from: MengJiao on August 28, 2013, 01:55:52 PM
Which is vaguely paradoxical since in the real 18th Century the whole idea of "historically romantic" was all the rage. So I agree, the set the game in some version of the 18th century that proved to be strangely devoid of any flavor. The would have done better to have focused on some region such as the low countries or the balkans or the levant in some subperiod and then expanded. For example, they could have started with the situation of the 9-years war in about 1688. Technologically the pike would disappear pretty fast and Frigates would evolve by 1720. Finance would evolve to the point that the first financial bubble would happen in 1720 as well. Grenades and platoon-firing would have enlivened the infantry. Cavalry would remain more or less inept, but that's life.
Actually, a good starting period for the original ETW being on a smaller scale would've been The War Of Spanish Succession, which happened at the very turn of the 18th century. It included some of the large european nations at the time.
But my problem with ETW wasn't the scale. It was the shortcomings of the AI that hurt it most.
Preloading here with 17 MB / sec ! XD
Preloading now at a blistering 6.9MB/sec.
Sweet F'ing Foocheese. I can't even browse Steam Workshop mods for TW Shogun 2 right now. It outright refused to download the 'extra years' mod after I d/l'd it anew on the laptop last night. >:(
Everyone was sitting at home, waiting for the Rome II preload I take it? ???
Pre-loading insanity!
Help. I bought it, clicked on "install game" and....nothing. Did that twice with no results. I logout out and shut down steam. When I restart, Rome 2 does not show up I'm my library. When I go to the store and bring up Rome 2 it says I already bought it. How do I get to it to click "install again"??
You bought it directly from Steam?
Yes
When I go to settings, I can see it under account info and is the top game so I purchased the license, it just doesn't show in my library for me to install. I thought I was supposed to be able to install it today?
Quote from: mikeck on August 28, 2013, 07:32:10 PM
When I go to settings, I can see it under account info and is the top game so I purchased the license, it just doesn't show in my library for me to install. I thought I was supposed to be able to install it today?
Does it not show up under "Library" after you restarted?
If you have an activation code, go straight to 'Activate a Product on Steam' and enter it. That will give you the pre-load option.
I'm really on the fence about Rome2 and preordering. Sixty freeking bucks is a lot of money when I'll probably be able to get the game for pennies on the dollar next year. I just don't know what to do since the Combat Mission Market Garden module isn't too far off (hopefully).
^You can get it for ~45.00 through Green Man Gaming.
Do you still get the Greek states DLC?
Yes I think so. And while 45.00 aint so great it's better than 60.00, which I wouldn't pay.
Quote from: Gusington on August 28, 2013, 07:45:58 PM
If you have an activation code, go straight to 'Activate a Product on Steam' and enter it. That will give you the pre-load option.
No code...I bought it on steam. No it didnt show up when I restarted
No worries, I was just hoping someone else had this problem and had an easy solution
Is there someplace within Steam to find the code associated with it? I'm not at my gaming PC right now to look.
Looks like its going for $48 on GreenManGaming atm. :-\
So 20% off right now instead of 25%...maybe they will offer it for 25% this coming weekend, just before release.
Have you already preloaded?
Yep.
Shoot. Aren't I just the wanker? I just impulse bought it on steam and had no idea there was a sale offer from another retailer.
Right now that definitely sucks. But in a year you won't even remember!
Don't fret too much JH. I just broke down and bought the GMG version but the steam key that shows under my account there doesn't work. Comes up as 'invalid' when I try to activate. No key email from GMG yet either.
EDIT: N/M. The key listed is actually 2 keys, 1st for Rome2 and 2nd for Greek DLC. Each key is only three groups so it looks too short, making it seem that the whole thing is one key on two lines. After entering them separately now both keys are accepted by steam.
I had to update my steam client list before steam would accept my activation keys. Also made sure Malware Bites was up to date also. My keys were 3 sets of numbers and cap. letters. On one I had been putting in zero instead of "O". Once corrected, it was activated without problem. The Green Man version I got includes the Greek states DLC. I got my Gladius sharpened and ready to go. Can we get an emote face with a little Roman helmet on it?
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fusers2.ml.mindenkilapja.hu%2Fusers%2Fsmileys00%2Ficons%2Fl22403946.jpg&hash=405cbae826211a851e0d7bbeac7e95fa1262c694)
no Apaches or Aradvarks in RTW2. :(
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on August 28, 2013, 08:49:49 PM
Shoot. Aren't I just the wanker? I just impulse bought it on steam and had no idea there was a sale offer from another retailer.
For some reason, some of the British pc game retailers tend to sell their pre-orders of the Total War series for cheaper.
Must be something to do with the dev company being British. They give them special pricing or something? I purchased both Shogun 2, and now Rome 2, through Get Games Go (another Brit shop) for a larger discount than anywhere else.
SEE! GetGames has the TW Rome 2 pre-order for $46.76!!!
(22% off)
http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/total-war-rome-2-po
They had a similarly sizable pre-order discount with Shogun 2.
Saw it at this shop for $40....but don't have any experience with this company.....I already pre ordered long ago, but others might be interested in it.
http://www.ozgameshop.com/pc-games/total-war-rome-ii-2-with-greek-states-culture-pack-bonus-dlc-code-by-email-game-pc
Also, they have a $35 version, but does not include greek dlc.
http://www.ozgameshop.com/pc-games/total-war-rome-ii-2-code-by-email-game-pc
Just checked this AM and Rome2 finished preloading overnight. Woot!
Still, wouldn't it be a pisser if the game required a last minute patch at release day from the same stalled servers that everyone else will be trying to buy their full copy from?
Quote from: Staggerwing on August 29, 2013, 05:07:36 AM
Just checked this AM and Rome2 finished preloading overnight. Woot!
Still, wouldn't it be a pisser if the game required a last minute patch at release day from the same stalled servers that everyone else will be trying to buy their full copy from?
They already said day one content patch will need to be downloaded I believe.
May have to try playing off-line on the first day then.
Yes - the day one patch is set to make Pontus playable.
Seems like the download is significantly smaller than I was expecting.
That's perfect Bison but can you make him look MEANNNN...? >:( >:(
Quote from: Bison on August 29, 2013, 07:50:12 AM
Seems like the download is significantly smaller than I was expecting.
Oh.. there'll be further downloading on release day. I assure you.
I think they must've had some serious compression on the pre-load to only be what? 15GB? And we're still missing assets, if only Pontus. Hopefully it won't take hours to download on the 3rd, however. :D
One of the devs was on the forum yesterday and said the 35gb install that is mentioned in the requirements includes future content, as well as temp HDD space during the install process. Here is the quote:
Quote9.9gb is correct, it will uncompress to a larger size at launch. The game will not be the full 35gb noted in the recommended specs at launch because that includes an estimate of additional space for future content updates, temporary disc space needed at install and so on. The actual size of the game on your hard drive at launch once you've finished installing will be around 18gb.
I've been thinking about pulling the trigger on a pre-order for R2, but I have to say that I am having some reservations lately. It is because of that AAR (http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/73722-Jack-s-Macedon-Campaign-Playthrough?s=e0d7029645c7a4c40f6a021a4e6c7973) that one of the CA guys have been posting on the official forum. Now, I think it was nice of CA to allow an AAR prior to the game's release, but there are a few things in that AAR that are setting off red flags in my mind.
First, there have been no pictures of any tactical battles. Mr. Lusted has clearly been fighting out the battles, but he hasn't posted even a single screenshot. I have to ask "why?"
Second, in a recent battle Mr. Lusted had a single general unit versus seven enemy units...and he won! Mr. Lusted went to great lengths to explain how he got very lucky in the battle, and if he had to fight that battle another dozen times he would lose every time. Hmm. I fear the AI might not be that competent if such a lopsided victory is possible even once.
Third, Mr. Lusted has been cleaning up the map, grabbing territory like crazy against the AI. Some have pointed out that this is because he has made smart use of diplomacy - he had allowed the AI factions to chew each other down and then he has moved in to take the spoils. But, again, this seems to me another sign of weak AI.
Fourth, the AI seems to have a lot of small stacks running around the map, instead of merging them into one formidable stack. Again, AI concerns....
Now, this could all just be nitpicking on my part. But I remain cautious. Gaming is going through an awful spat of mediocre games, big budget or otherwise, and I am tired of getting burned, or near-burned (fortunately, my "wait and see" approach to game buying has already paid for itself more than once ;D). I was going to break from that approach for this game seeing how I loved the original, and...well, I really want those TF2 extras. :-[ :D But I have to say that AAR is making me more suspicious than confident at the moment.
Well, I have until next Tuesday to make up my mind, so I will wait as long as possible. Hopefully we will get a demo, or an early review by then.
^All good points and reasons enough on their own to not pre-purchase. You have studied that AAR like Matlock studied a court case.
I've never really been disappointed with a Total War game and that includes Empire.
Empire is by far my least favorite. Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai and Medieval II are tops for me.
My favorites would be Rome and Medieval II.
Rome - Barbarian Invasion may be my third favorite.
Rome was my favorite but Empire is up there. I just love the era. Finally had Rome 2 show up in my library so downloading that now.
The ship to ship combat in Empire is nothing short of amazing IMHO! The sounds of the water splashing, wood creaking, cannons firing. Just very atmospheric. And seeing the big warships duking it out never gets old.
Medieval 2 is my favorite, though.
But from what I've seen of R2 it might very well be the new 'emperor' of the bunch! The more cinematic approach is something I really dig!
Yes! Rome II is looking to be quite the loin-moistener, as the kids say. No not those kids...those kids over there.
Quote from: Gusington on August 29, 2013, 08:41:36 PM
Empire is by far my least favorite. Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai and Medieval II are tops for me.
Same here. the Third Age Mod would be my third favorite.
Those wacky kids! They say the darnedest things. My favorite is, "Shut-the-hell-up old man. Who's talking to you?" Anyway. I'm getting all my yardwork done this weekend so I can play the hell outta this one come Wed. I'm also having all the phones dis-connected and my windows blacked-out.
Tomorrow I have dedicated to family. Sunday to yard work. Monday's holiday to beer.
During the evenings I will play my new copy of Aliens: Colonial Marines and perhaps dip a toe into Ace Patrol.
Then...it's all Rome II for at least a month. And I don't who I was fooling but now that I've started reading up on the legions, my first faction will most likely be...the Romans.
I guess you have no choice if you start with the mini campaign. :)
Quote from: Gusington on August 30, 2013, 07:06:10 PM
During the evenings I will play my new copy of Aliens: Colonial Marines and perhaps dip a toe into Ace Patrol.
I highly recommend you dig into
Ace Patrol. While I was originally wary of it for being 1) A tablet game, and 2) cartoonish, I've become a convert.
It's game mechanics are very much like that of old tabletop air combat games. The only problem I've had getting into it is the lack of documentation on game mechanic specifics, and a general lack of informative tooltips (it's an iPad port so no wonder). I've figured out most of it by now, however.
The various mixtures of maneuver choices, depending upon what the pilot has learned as he/she gains experience, and the extra maneuvers and restricted ones for every specific aircraft type add some varying styles. It'll have you thinking a turn or two ahead due to how some maneuvers rely on the results (plane orientation) of others.
Two Left Thumbs Up! It should keep you until Tuesday (or Wednesday if someone messes up the TW launch :P )
Quote from: Gusington on August 30, 2013, 07:06:10 PM
Tomorrow I have dedicated to family. Sunday to yard work. Monday's holiday to beer.
During the evenings I will play my new copy of Aliens: Colonial Marines and perhaps dip a toe into Ace Patrol.
Then...it's all Rome II for at least a month. And I don't who I was fooling but now that I've started reading up on the legions, my first faction will most likely be...the Romans.
Seriously! I'm mystified at all these people playing ROME: Total War II and picking Athens, Sparta, Ptolemies, etc. Guys, they didn't name it LOSERS: Total War! ;D
they lost because they werent guided by our expert general skills!!
Quote from: son_of_montfort on August 31, 2013, 10:12:12 AM
Quote from: Gusington on August 30, 2013, 07:06:10 PM
Tomorrow I have dedicated to family. Sunday to yard work. Monday's holiday to beer.
During the evenings I will play my new copy of Aliens: Colonial Marines and perhaps dip a toe into Ace Patrol.
Then...it's all Rome II for at least a month. And I don't who I was fooling but now that I've started reading up on the legions, my first faction will most likely be...the Romans.
Seriously! I'm mystified at all these people playing ROME: Total War II and picking Athens, Sparta, Ptolemies, etc. Guys, they didn't name it LOSERS: Total War! ;D
Burn!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hICsD39TzU8
just because i have nothing else to do
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 31, 2013, 03:40:53 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hICsD39TzU8
just because i have nothing else to do
Good find!
Here's another vid:
Even though they tried to make it sound like the AI was being smart, truth is the AI just rushed out, launched a mindless frontal assault, and lost badly. LOL! Based on this, the AI seems like your typical TW AI. ;D Oh well. I can live with it until the modders get to work.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg594.imageshack.us%2Fimg594%2F8064%2F92xp.jpg&hash=ed436d7a2fa454efb8baf13044d90cb017d9d636) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/594/92xp.jpg/)
Quote from: son_of_montfort on August 31, 2013, 10:12:12 AM
Seriously! I'm mystified at all these people playing ROME: Total War II and picking Athens, Sparta, Ptolemies, etc. Guys, they didn't name it LOSERS: Total War! ;D
Will definitely have to check out the Roman side first, if only because that's where much of the development effort was placed so will be the most filled-out.
But I'd probably start a fresh one as someone else, before it's finished.
Quote from: RooksBailey on August 31, 2013, 03:48:07 PM
Even though they tried to make it sound like the AI was being smart, truth is the AI just rushed out, launched a mindless frontal assault, and lost badly. LOL! Based on this, the AI seems like your typical TW AI. ;D Oh well. I can live with it until the modders get to work.
Do we expect anything less from the Total War tactical AI? Hell, I think the biggest reason Shogun 2's AI improved was because the campaign AI didn't march all it's soldiers around in tiny little armies as much as it did before. It actually started concentrating it's forces instead of running around piecemeal and getting rolled by twos and threes.
To be fair, there was one or two earlier games in which the tactical AI would try to sit and turtle up on a higher spot than you. Even when you moved forward to engage in battle, the damn thing would always counter-move it's whole army to a new position based on your fresh orders (despite your men not actually being there yet). You were just chasing them across the battlefield instead of having a battle. That would drive me nuts at times.
Isn't part of the TW games taking what was a historical loser and dominating the game universe? Come on now.
Parthia!!!
Quote from: Gusington on August 31, 2013, 04:12:37 PM
Isn't part of the TW games taking what was a historical loser and dominating the game universe? Come on now.
Carthage!!!
always with the fixing the posts
Quote from: undercovergeek on August 31, 2013, 03:53:47 PM
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg594.imageshack.us%2Fimg594%2F8064%2F92xp.jpg&hash=ed436d7a2fa454efb8baf13044d90cb017d9d636) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/594/92xp.jpg/)
LOL! ;D You're right, I am being negative. It's just that I think we reached a tipping point in gaming where the visuals and sounds are now incredibly realistic and immersive, but the AI is so stupid and incompetent that it just spoils any immersion there is to be had. I wonder if game devs are cognizant of this fact? That their pitiful AI is now undermining their creations?
Carthage is another excellent choice, and I will play as Carthage very soon. O yes. AI be damned. It's not like I'm some tactical Einstein myself.
Try keeping the camera at or near ground level instead of gods eye in battle. Makes it a lot harder. I just move my commnader around the field and give orders to units when he gets near them. A house rule I guess. Makes it a lot tougher when you don't give yourself an artificial view of the entire battlefield
No way man... Rome for me. With the new Army recruitment and tradition system, it's just screaming "Legions"
Quote from: mikeck on August 31, 2013, 04:41:40 PM
Try keeping the camera at or near ground level instead of gods eye in battle. Makes it a lot harder. I just move my commnader around the field and give orders to units when he gets near them. A house rule I guess. Makes it a lot tougher when you don't give yourself an artificial view of the entire battlefield
That's a good idea! Basically, turn R2 into Scourge of War. :D
Speaking of, I thought SoW had some decent AI. Yes, the AI would often hit you with a frontal assault, but once it met resistance, it would start shifting to the flanks in an attempt to find a weak spot. It really keeps you on your toes in that regard.
A whole page and no one mentioned the legionary kicking the guy in the nuts and then stabbing him in the neck?
Hopefully it shows how the individual soldiers act and not just a set routine they throw in.
Quote from: Gusington on August 31, 2013, 04:35:33 PM
Carthage is another excellent choice, and I will play as Carthage very soon. O yes. AI be damned. It's not like I'm some tactical Einstein myself.
Considering that battles often take 30 minutes or so, if we had a HAL level AI, we would never finish a session! :) Actually, I'm not sure I've ever finished a game of Total War!
The rule in total war is: nevermind the poor tactical Ai. You need to win those battles in order to not get clobbered in the strategic aspect.
^There has always been that, yes.
I have finished and won campaigns of STW, MTW, RTW, and M2TW. I have finished campaigns of ETW, NTW and S2 but have lost the campaign. Still continuing to try and fix that.
With Rome 2 who knows. But I think I am better at the melee combat based games than the shooty ones. So I hold out hope.
Still thinking of starting as Rome. I am now more grounded in this than I was when I was considering one of the Greek states, Carthage or Parthia as my starting faction.
All will be played soon. Becoming interested in playing as the Iceni too now.
It never ends.
I've certainly lost campaigns in Shogun 2. The tactical AI might be lackluster but that strategic AI is a demon!
I have yet to win one Shogun 2 campaign, Rise of the Samurai or Fall of the Samurai! Despite that, Shogun 2 remains my favorite of the entire series. A work of art even! Hoping for the same in Rome 2.
Quote from: son_of_montfort on September 01, 2013, 10:06:43 AM
I've certainly lost campaigns in Shogun 2. The tactical AI might be lackluster but that strategic AI is a demon!
Truthfully, I have lost tactical battles. The AI in most TW games seems to be much better with non-gunpowder units. When I play a ROtS campaign, the Ai seems to do quite well.
I have never had a problem with the AI kicking my ass in any Total War title. That's my dirty little secret. I play on normal campaign/normal tactical battles and am plenty challenged. So I win, because these games have never been flawed on that front to me.
Of course, I just admitted how much I suck at wargaming, but that's that!
To be perfectly honest I think a lot of peeps puff up their performance in these games. People talk about how the AI sucks but unless we see them actually winning the game we have no idea if they are being honest or not. Taken at face value a lot of these guys are armchair Napoleons.
I have always played all of these games on Normal/Normal too, with mixed results in each game. My best campaign ever was playing as the Egyptians in the Medieval 2 Crusades campaign...I won the whole thing in 19 turns. My worst campaign is whichever one you take your pick of that ended in my faction being a smoking ruin. There are many like that.
I also agree with Mike above...the AI is typically much better at using melee than more modern firearms.
There is no question that the TW AI is better at melee line on line combat than it is at dealing with ranged combat. That was one of the initial issues with Empire. The AI would either charge or continually move in and out of line formation getting massacred along the way. I will say that CA did address this issue enough for me to enjoy the game and have some really good battles by the time Nappy came out.
I tend to agree with Gus about peoples performance against the AI. I'd also like to note that 10,000s of players don't continue to play a game if it sucks so bad as to not even get them a reasonably enjoyable experience.
I really never had a problem with the AI, it always gave me a reasonable fight and to be honest its not like I am some master general myself:) I don't think this area will disappoint me.
The biggest thing I would like to see some day is finding a better way to control all of my troops across the entire battlefield. I find it nearly impossible to effectively command my large troops all at once. I think part of the problem is the graphics and battle action is so good that I want to sit there and watch some of the fighting going on....but when you do that, your troops are being slaughtered on the otherside of the battlefield. I know you can put some of your troops under AI command, just didn't seem that worked very well. At times I would like to be able to just draw up a certain overall strategy and let my on the field leaders handle the details and execute my orders while I set back and watch. This is what I would like to see more than anything.
Maybe Creative Assembly could license part of Panther Games' Battles from the Bulge AI. :D
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 01, 2013, 06:22:23 PM
At times I would like to be able to just draw up a certain overall strategy and let my on the field leaders handle the details and execute my orders while I set back and watch. This is what I would like to see more than anything.
That would be excellent. I also think it would help out the AI in tactical battles since it'd be handling more of the minutae on a common level with the player's forces.
People complained about
Legion and
Spartan's combat benig so hands-off, but I think it helped the game overall and I quite enjoyed watching things play out with only minimal input after the initial setup. Maybe someday the TW series will have this happy medium.
With the current system, I regulary just hit 'Auto-resolve' if the fight doesn't look much like a challenge (which is fairly regularly). It generally does pretty good if you outnumber the enemy so there's not large casualties (in Shogun 2 anyway) other than castle assaults/defenses, which you should still do manually.
I'm not so sure that'd be a good direction for a total war game. The appeal is complete control over your armies on the battlefield.
Quote from: Bison on September 01, 2013, 06:40:04 PM
I'm not so sure that'd be a good direction for a total war game. The appeal is complete control over your armies on the battlefield.
It'd be good as an option somewhere between auto-resolve and full control.
You can honestly already basically do this if you pause the game, issue orders, unpause and watch the results play out. Rinse and repeat as the battle progresses.
Quote from: Bison on September 01, 2013, 06:40:04 PM
I'm not so sure that'd be a good direction for a total war game. The appeal is complete control over your armies on the battlefield.
I think just something optional, not for everyone and every time. I just think some of my unit commanders can handle the details without me having to intervene when there are obvious things they could do. I understand it is unlikely ever to happen in this game, but to me that is personally something I would like to see someday. I know I can pause/unpause but that interrupts the flow of the game as you have to constantly do that as you race across the entire battlefield to ensure all your troops are doing what you want.
Don't get me wrong, this is by no means a deal breaker...I eagerly await Tuesday!
I don't know, I guess it could break immersion into the game, but it's a pretty standard fair for RTS games.
Quote from: Bison on September 01, 2013, 06:53:42 PM
I don't know, I guess it could break immersion into the game, but it's a pretty standard fair for RTS games.
Agreed, all RTS behave this way....so I guess to be fair, I would love to see this feature in all RTS games:) My mind just does not move fast enough for some of these games.
It's been a long time since I have really anticipated a games....Tuesday can't come fast enough!
TW is one series that I have always eagerly anticipated before each release. Also, I have never ever accepted the offer of having part of my forces under AI control. Just one of my house rules. I have also become enamored with yet another possible first faction...Pontus.
Quote from: Gusington on September 01, 2013, 07:33:57 PM
TW is one series that I have always eagerly anticipated before each release. Also, I have never ever accepted the offer of having part of my forces under AI control. Just one of my house rules. I have also become enamored with yet another possible first faction...Pontus.
I have been contemplating loading the first Total War: Rome game today to play a little of that beforehand....but have held off since I wouldn't touch it again after Tuesday:)
Man, on a side note, I just visited the TWCenter forums for Rome 2. Not unexpected but I have not seen a bigger collection of Bitchers, whiners, pissers and moaners in a long time. Hell, the game isn't even out yet and there are complaints about "draw distance", what siege is like, how the AI doesn't look as good as S2, how the campaign AI sucks, why diplomacy will suck, etc...and not one of them has played the ^*$-ing game yet. "Oh, look at 1:54 into the siege video...see! The one group is behind a building ! Classic stupid AI! See, it's gonna suck!"
Just sayin'...you know, if you don't think you will like a game, don't buy it. If you didnt buy it, then why bitch about it? Few things are as annoying as trying to discuss cool things about a game and "that guy" insists on spamming posts about how this sucks or that sucks. Christ! It's a $49 game for the love of Pete...people act like they are buying a car.
Hey guys, What the Frell is this: http://www.totalwar.com/en_us/totalwar-arena ?
Total War is going Em-Em-Oh? With in-game currency?
QuoteJoin the Legion
If you buy Total War: ROME II, you will also receive privileged access to Total War: ARENA content; including advanced beta access, in-game Legion Armoury bonuses and approximately $15(USD) of in-game currency.*
to pre-order Total War: ROME II, visit the SEGA Store.
Available
3rd September 2013
Pre-order now and receive the 1st DLC Pack free – click for details.
PREORDER NOW
*ARENA may still be in development at time of ROME II purchase, in-game currency amount may vary due to local market fluctuations, offer is time limited, subject to terms and conditions, check back to www.totalwar.com/arena or our Facebook Page for forthcoming details and updates.
I'm excited for the game. The funny part is that I bought Empires after it had come out and was trashed by the fickle total war gamer mobs. Any who I suspect this one will be trashed and praised and played all the same. Tuesday will be nice, but next weekend will be even better when I really get to lounge around and play it for myself.
Quote from: Staggerwing on September 01, 2013, 07:44:29 PM
Hey guys, What the Frell is this: http://www.totalwar.com/en_us/totalwar-arena ?
Total War is going Em-Em-Oh? With in-game currency?
QuoteJoin the Legion
If you buy Total War: ROME II, you will also receive privileged access to Total War: ARENA content; including advanced beta access, in-game Legion Armoury bonuses and approximately $15(USD) of in-game currency.*
to pre-order Total War: ROME II, visit the SEGA Store.
Available
3rd September 2013
Pre-order now and receive the 1st DLC Pack free – click for details.
PREORDER NOW
*ARENA may still be in development at time of ROME II purchase, in-game currency amount may vary due to local market fluctuations, offer is time limited, subject to terms and conditions, check back to www.totalwar.com/arena or our Facebook Page for forthcoming details and updates.
Total War: ARENA will be CA's first title in a F2P model, representing over a decade of strategy gaming expertise and a new spin-off for the Total War series. Offering players the chance to pitch history's greatest commanders and their armies against each other in massive team-based battles, ARENA will focus entirely on online multiplayer, mixing elements of RTS and MOBA gameplay.http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/65121-Total-War™-ARENA-–-New-Free-to-Play-Game-in-Development-at-Creative-Assembly?s=b9d5eaee3017280e8f561a8b36f20300
iirc this has been discussed for sometime and was originally intended for Empires.
Quote from: mikeck on September 01, 2013, 07:40:44 PM
Man, on a side note, I just visited the TWCenter forums for Rome 2. Not unexpected but I have not seen a bigger collection of Bitchers, whiners, pissers and moaners in a long time. Hell, the game isn't even out yet and there are complaints about "draw distance", what siege is like, how the AI doesn't look as good as S2, how the campaign AI sucks, why diplomacy will suck, etc...and not one of them has played the ^*$-ing game yet. "Oh, look at 1:54 into the siege video...see! The one group is behind a building ! Classic stupid AI! See, it's gonna suck!"
Just sayin'...you know, if you don't think you will like a game, don't buy it. If you didnt buy it, then why bitch about it? Few things are as annoying as trying to discuss cool things about a game and "that guy" insists on spamming posts about how this sucks or that sucks. Christ! It's a $49 game for the love of Pete...people act like they are buying a car.
Yeah, TW has always drawn that sort of fire. But nerd-rage is pretty much a key component of the internet regardless.
Quote from: mikeck on September 01, 2013, 07:40:44 PM
Man, on a side note, I just visited the TWCenter forums for Rome 2. Not unexpected but I have not seen a bigger collection of Bitchers, whiners, pissers and moaners in a long time. Hell, the game isn't even out yet and there are complaints about "draw distance", what siege is like, how the AI doesn't look as good as S2, how the campaign AI sucks, why diplomacy will suck, etc...and not one of them has played the ^*$-ing game yet. "Oh, look at 1:54 into the siege video...see! The one group is behind a building ! Classic stupid AI! See, it's gonna suck!"
Just sayin'...you know, if you don't think you will like a game, don't buy it. If you didnt buy it, then why bitch about it? Few things are as annoying as trying to discuss cool things about a game and "that guy" insists on spamming posts about how this sucks or that sucks. Christ! It's a $49 game for the love of Pete...people act like they are buying a car.
I don't even look at that site anymore....
I still visit TWC but over about 10 years, I have 100 posts there. There is a lot of nerd rage there...it can get to you after a while.
Quote from: mikeck on September 01, 2013, 07:40:44 PM
Man, on a side note, I just visited the TWCenter forums for Rome 2. Not unexpected but I have not seen a bigger collection of Bitchers, whiners, pissers and moaners in a long time. Hell, the game isn't even out yet and there are complaints about "draw distance", what siege is like, how the AI doesn't look as good as S2, how the campaign AI sucks, why diplomacy will suck, etc...and not one of them has played the ^*$-ing game yet. "Oh, look at 1:54 into the siege video...see! The one group is behind a building ! Classic stupid AI! See, it's gonna suck!"
Just sayin'...you know, if you don't think you will like a game, don't buy it. If you didnt buy it, then why bitch about it? Few things are as annoying as trying to discuss cool things about a game and "that guy" insists on spamming posts about how this sucks or that sucks. Christ! It's a $49 game for the love of Pete...people act like they are buying a car.
Clearly you've never been to the Paradox boards before a big release.
A "How to Play" series has been posted on the official website, complete with vids:
http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/How_To_Play
Most TW vets will be familiar with the mechanics, but it should come in handy for newbs.
Quote from: Bison on September 01, 2013, 06:44:36 PM
You can honestly already basically do this if you pause the game, issue orders, unpause and watch the results play out. Rinse and repeat as the battle progresses.
this is my technique, zoom into watch the gory detail - pause, see whats happening elsewhere, address problem, zoom into watch gory detail
Quote from: RooksBailey on September 02, 2013, 02:15:06 AM
A "How to Play" series has been posted on the official website, complete with vids:
http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/How_To_Play
Most TW vets will be familiar with the mechanics, but it should come in handy for newbs.
even though i dont think i need to ill play all the tutorials just to soak up the awesomeness
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/09/02/wot-i-think-total-war-rome-ii/#more-167204
no damning indictments except maybe the AI and an over advertised RPG element for your general that doesnt do much - i think weve tackled the AI problems here already so all in all - i wish i hadnt volunteered for baby sitting duties tomorrow!
Eurogamer notes some other problems (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-09-02-total-war-rome-2-review)
as does joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/02/total-war-rome-2-review/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fjoystiq+(Joystiq))
Eurogamer 7/10 on release day aint so bad for release day. Eurogamer also stated this: "The game has also had its AI revamped, and I'm pleased to report that it's somewhat cannier." That was for the tactical battles. The review mentioned that the campaign AI actually got a little dumber! Wonder where that came from.
Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2013, 10:17:12 AM
Eurogamer 7/10 on release day aint so bad for release day. Eurogamer also stated this: "The game has also had its AI revamped, and I'm pleased to report that it's somewhat cannier." That was for the tactical battles. The review mentioned that the campaign AI actually got a little dumber! Wonder where that came from.
Damn. I was hoping the campaign AI is as good as Shogun 2. As long as it's not marching all it's men around in numerous tiny armies of twos and threes ,continually, it'll still be better than the older ones.
Bison gamer gave it a 9.27845812346939281739938471616389593 pre-release score.
^Bison's known to be stingy with his award points too.
Nefaro keep in mind that there is a release day patch to come, so there is a real chance that there could be a boost to both tactical and strategic AIs.
Or they could both implode :)
I'm going with server implosion, which I will sadly read about on my iphone at work instead of enjoying the opportunity to rage at the moment of release about a broken f'n game.
You can pretend rage...channel that rage from not being able to play into some timely lies.
lol - i fear now pages of posts whilst the preorderers try to justify their position over the naysayers - RPS mentions a rampant Rome AI while he builds a Celtic kingdom and mentions nothing about a shaky strategic/campaign AI - im sure theres hundreds of nuances that happen in everyones game that cause a 'huh?' moment
personally, im not worried
Well we all already know that the Greek city states are WAY TOO OVER POWERED! I CANNOT BELIEVE CA FREAKING MADE THEM SO FRACKIN OVERPOWERED!11!!!@111! WHAT THE HELL WHERE THEY THINKING??????????????????????????????? OMG!!!!!!1!!1111!!
Funny... Nothing changes. Eurogamer says campaign Ai isn't good. Rock Paper Shotgun says Campaign Ai is pretty good.
Some of the complaints are valid...others are nitpicky. Like the complaint about army improvement. "You can choose to make your archers or infantry 3% better" it's stated as a complaint but I'm not sure why. Seems normal.
What I expected...you see what you want to see. If you want to see bad AI, you will pick up on stupid things the Ai does and convince yourself it sucks. If you want to believe the AI is good, then that's what you see.
Either way, I will buy it. I enjoyed Empires and that was the worst so I will like this. Take it for what it is
Quote from: mikeck on September 02, 2013, 10:40:44 AM
Some of the complaints are valid...others are nitpicky. Like the complaint about army improvement. "You can choose to make your archers or infantry 3% better" it's stated as a complaint but I'm not sure why. Seems normal.
I think he was just pissed off that there wasn't an option to upgrade to +5 magic missiles or the very least acid arrows of phalanx destruction.
Agree.
I am about 90% sure I will start as Rome, although almost every other faction sounds great.
Interesting to note that both the more negative Euro review and the more positive RPS review both stated that all the factions played differently and felt very fleshed out. To me personally that is very important.
Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2013, 10:43:58 AM
Agree.
I am about 90% sure I will start as Rome, although almost every other faction sounds great.
Interesting to note that both the more negative Euro review and the more positive RPS review both stated that all the factions played differently and felt very fleshed out. To me personally that is very important.
and elephants seemed suitably full of rage - i am liking this
If they support the modders like they say they will, then any problems will likely be corrected very shortly. Darthmod for FOTS had as challenging an Campaign AI as I've ever played-- on the "Hard" difficulity level. First thing I'm gonna do is check-out if any tech develops Gatling Ballistas. ::) ::)
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 02, 2013, 10:46:51 AM
First thing I'm gonna do is check-out if any tech develops Gatling Ballistas. ::) ::)
Whoa! This would be awesome especially with either giants or orcs as the weapons crew.
One thing I haven't understood since Shogun 2 was the claim of 'most modded TW game'...how do they claim that if parts of the game like the map are hard coded?
Quote from: Bison on September 02, 2013, 10:43:14 AM
Quote from: mikeck on September 02, 2013, 10:40:44 AM
Some of the complaints are valid...others are nitpicky. Like the complaint about army improvement. "You can choose to make your archers or infantry 3% better" it's stated as a complaint but I'm not sure why. Seems normal.
I think he was just pissed off that there wasn't an option to upgrade to +5 magic missiles or the very least acid arrows of phalanx destruction.
Yeah.. I got the impression that the guy hadn't played Shogun 2, or N/ETW for that matter, since those also had the same size of incremental unit bonuses in the research.
He
did point out the unusually dark lighting effects and it looks like they took them a step further with some of the washed-out looks in those screenshots. Kinda reminds me of the useless grainy overlay effects used in Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific that nobody liked and was so often modded off. Change for the sake of change isn't necessarily good by default.
The incremental bonuses make sense to me to distinguish a more experienced unit from a green one without overly unbalancing the game with a few super unit combos.
Let's hope there are options to turn those unneccessary features off then.
Personally I am looking forward to the more cinematic approach the game claims to have. Like a great epic immersive experience. Especially during the tactical battles.
I still remember it being a new feature to have soldier animations out of sync in a unit. Now individual soldiers supposedly attack eachother with their own animations seperately from the unit they are in! Amazing! I am curious to find out how well my pc will run it on the higher settings...
I'm going to feed the bear here and comment on Rome 2 even though I haven't played it and don't know anything about it!
I read the RPS article and I think that guys is a bit harsh. At then end of the day you're buying a $50 computer game. It can't do everything. It sounds like it has a ton of content and many improvements on its predecessors. At the end of the day, though, it's still Total War. There are only so many ways to skin that cat.
Expectation management is key.
I think it is a crime that RPS released a review of such a large game so soon. I mean, my review of Space Hulk is far more detailed than the RPS review of Rome II, which is clearly, a much grander/deeper game in both scope and scale. RPS reviews tend to always disappoint me. They choose poor jokes and innuendo over useful detail and information.
Is the RPS 'Wot I think' bit a review or a first impressions piece?
Playing some Shogun 2 in preparation. I've forgotten how much I really suck at storming the castle in this game.
I think it's supposed to just be first impressions.
^That's what I have always thought.
It's the rush to get out the first opinion that sort of bothers me and sets the stage for preconceived notions before anyone really has a chance to play the game in any sort of depth.
Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2013, 04:42:44 PM
Is the RPS 'Wot I think' bit a review or a first impressions piece?
"WOT I Think," is a review.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 02, 2013, 05:06:07 PM
Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2013, 04:42:44 PM
Is the RPS 'Wot I think' bit a review or a first impressions piece?
"WOT I Think," is a review.
I don't even know what the hell he's talking about 3/4 of the time. I need Undercover and Huw to decipher it for me. I'd also like to note that when I do read them; I read them with a Cockney accent.
Quote from: Bison on September 02, 2013, 04:43:32 PM
Playing some Shogun 2 in preparation. I've forgotten how much I really suck at storming the castle in this game.
I found attacking a castle in Shogun 2 easier than expected. Probably partly because the AI still didn't tend to keep it's army inside most of the time. That's why the moved to adding a static garrison to them, but those are still too small to stop a sizable force from outright assaulting them.
I guess it's a review but without the release day patch it's a little early. The patch could make a huge difference in gameplay either way.
I'm not sure how much they'd add on with the patch, but I guess it depends on how close the pre-download was to being the gold release. I'd think that beyond a few tweaks and the addition of the new faction, the patch will not have a dramatic effect on game play.
P.S. T-8 hours give or take a few hours.
Quote from: Bison on September 02, 2013, 06:53:28 PM
P.S. T-8 hours give or take a few hours.
That is all that matters:). Who cares what people says in reviews, they are often different than my own opinions to the point I rarely look at them anymore....plus I think we all knew what to expect with a total war game, no surprises there.
Tomorrow will be a good day!
Sadly I will wait for a price drop or DLC bundle. I have my money earmarked on the PMDG 777 which is coming out really soon.
Yeah that PMDG 777 looks pretty sweet. It is going to be PRICEY. I'm going to guess $90, just based on some of the comments I've been reading.
Regarding Rome 2, this is a 100% purchase for me but strangely I have chosen not to preorder despite all the bennies. I'm just not going to get to it any time soon no matter how awesome it is and I suppose I'm just going to wait until my gaming plate is cleared off some. This might be grabbing it wrapped with some DLC for less money, or it might mean paying a premium price without the goodies...don't know.
Usually I'd just buy it, but I still have so many unplayed games, Shogun 2 being a perfect example. Beyond one quick battle I haven't even touched it and I know it's awesome! So I'll be reading everyone's impressions with interest, but I won't be part of the club this time.
I agree...it's all about expectations. Expect a game that is huge in scale to have an AI capable of outwitting a human, you will be disappointed. You should expect it to out up a decent fight.
My problem with the RPS and Eurogamer reviews are the nature of the complaints. I mean, claiming that the AI is weak in a certain area is valid (true or not), but claiming that the Army development system is lacking because you are given choices like "improve archers or cavalry 3%" or "improve armor" is silly. That is a design choice and seems reasonable. As a commander, you choose to train your archers more or invest some money is better armor or whatever. Not sure why that is a negative.
I expect to see haters posting about how horrible everything is....the same one's who hate every TW game. And I expect TW fanboys like me to post about how awesome it is; because that is what I want to see. I don't play TW games for a challenge, I play them to be immersed in an era and to have fun. It will simply never have "Hannibal" Ai
soooo.....there's really no way to avoid buying this, is there - ?
Quote from: sandman2575 on September 02, 2013, 08:08:54 PM
soooo.....there's really no way to avoid buying this, is there - ?
No. (https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FSmilies%2Fviking4.gif&hash=064a8eb601ca2fb5cd3ef76c17b6bc3686ccfede)
That's what I thought -- thanks.
Somehow it makes it easier to justify buying yet another pricy game knowing that there was just no human way to resist. I mean, who am I to stand in the way of progress?
(...aaaand purchased)
Quote from: sandman2575 on September 02, 2013, 08:20:28 PM
That's what I thought -- thanks.
Somehow it makes it easier to justify buying yet another pricy game knowing that there was just no human way to resist. I mean, who am I to stand in the way of progress?
(...aaaand purchased)
Congratulations on joining the Roman Borg!
^You have now been assimilated Sandman. Welcome.
Bison where did you get the time of release? I've been poking around looking for it but didn't find anything.
Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2013, 08:29:48 PM
^You have now been assimilated Sandman. Welcome.
Bison where did you get the time of release? I've been poking around looking for it but didn't find anything.
It's on the Steam store page for Rome II. T - 6 hours now. That'd be around 4 EST or so.
So if I leave my rig on overnight will the game automatically finish the install or does it need input from me?
It should run the update as long as Steam is running.
I wonder if the pre-load will be able to auto-update with the hit that the Steam Servers will take from lots of European and Asian buyers D/ling the whole game. I've left my Winbox on in the Mancave (such as it is) in hopes that it'll all be ready for a quick peek before work tomorrow.
Watching some videos I think the feature that really is getting me excited is the tactical map overlay using NATO-esque icons for the battles.
As others have said: why they couldn't do this Friday is beyond me and somewhat criminal.
Quote from: Staggerwing on September 02, 2013, 08:36:52 PM
I wonder if the pre-load will be able to auto-update with the hit that the Steam Servers will take from lots of European and Asian buyers D/ling the whole game. I've left my Winbox on in the Mancave (such as it is) in hopes that it'll all be ready for a quick peek before work tomorrow.
I think it'll honestly more depend on which Steam server you are downloading from in the States. You can check which regional server host you are using in the settings. The United States has like 20 or so regions.
Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2013, 08:37:38 PM
As others have said: why they couldn't do this Friday is beyond me and somewhat criminal.
Isn't the development team out of England? If so, I doubt they care much about US Federal holidays. Not to mention we all still pre-ordered knowing it'd come out afterward.
Quote from: Bison on September 02, 2013, 08:39:34 PM
I think it'll honestly more depend on which Steam server you are downloading from in the States. You can check which regional server host you are using in the settings. The United States has like 10 or so regions.
I tried to check but the settings option is not yet available.
Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2013, 08:37:38 PM
As others have said: why they couldn't do this Friday is beyond me and somewhat criminal.
Maybe they were trying to spread out the server load since they knew it was Labor (Labour) Day weekend in Can-Am.
Quote from: Staggerwing on September 02, 2013, 08:43:23 PM
Quote from: Bison on September 02, 2013, 08:39:34 PM
I think it'll honestly more depend on which Steam server you are downloading from in the States. You can check which regional server host you are using in the settings. The United States has like 10 or so regions.
I tried to check but the settings option is not yet available.
Click on the "steam" label in the upper left hand of your client then select settings. When the settings window opens up, there is a tab labeled downloads. That is where/how you select the region you download for your Steam client.
I am hoping it is an auto update, but seems some games require you to restart steam to trigger the download...maybe since already preloaded that wont be required. I guess we will see soon enough.
That is a very true statement Grim.
Nighty night all. Setting my alarm for 5am Roman Time.
Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2013, 08:54:41 PM
Nighty night all. Setting my alarm for 5am Roman Time.
So you're getting up in an hour, eh?
Son of a bitch, I just bought it. ::)
;D
Green Man Gaming just sent me a 35% off offer for Rome 2. Too bad I already bought it from them 25% off. But I appreciate the offer.
Quote from: Toonces on September 02, 2013, 09:57:55 PM
Son of a bitch, I just bought it. ::)
;D
Resistance is futile.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 02, 2013, 09:58:40 PM
Green Man Gaming just sent me a 35% off offer for Rome 2. Too bad I already bought it from them 25% off. But I appreciate the offer.
Me too but if I click on the link, it changes from 35% off to 19% off.
I don't like GMG. They keep sending me emails about 25% off vouchers but they never work on anything.
Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2013, 08:54:41 PM
Nighty night all. Setting my alarm for 5am Roman Time.
I think you mean V am, yes? on the alarm-sundial...
mother funster! Game won't unlock for 2 hours - 9AM - WHEN I'M AT WORK! WTF is the point of that? Why didn't it unlock at midnight?
Just switched on now, leaving for a meeting in London. its downloading something........
Balls, nothing still locked - le sigh
Got mine. Probably come-up for air about Thanksgiving. See you guys then. :P
Unlocking as we speak... Checkmark ticked 'Play as soon as the game is ready'
Made a good cup of coffee and a sandwich. Ready 2: Total War
But then disaster struck! What was that sound? No it can't be! A baby's cry? Yes, yes, it's a baby's cry! It needs cleaning and food.. and thereafter it needs playtime with daddy, cause mommy is gone off to work... But my empire is waiting!?
Doh!
And it's here - and I have to go to bloody work!
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 02:37:06 AM
Unlocking as we speak... Checkmark ticked 'Play as soon as the game is ready'
Made a good cup of coffee and a sandwich. Ready 2: Total War
But then disaster struck! What was that sound? No it can't be! A baby's cry? Yes, yes, it's a baby's cry! It need cleaning and food.. and thereafter it needs playtime with daddy, cause mommy is gone off to work... But my empire is waiting!?
Doh!
The kid will be fine. They're tenacious wee bastards! :D
Just arrived in London razn frazn mutley noises
Back to office after meeting? I don't think so
UCG where do you live?
... i stay on the fence (a hard exercise of self discipline;) ) there will be a sale ...and maybe some AI patch in the meantime
i am not so into empire building, but like tactical battles over complicated terrain
unfortunately just in that department German language game magzin reviewers write this morn:
condemn Creative Assemblies AI programmers to life on galley duty
and give a 5 of 10 in that catergory while other parts of the game get rated between 7/10 and 10/10
and an over all high score
so i wait for first Grogheads first-hand experiences AARs dropping in
Looking at it on my desk top, cant play yet though as working :(
Mine is already to go...fired up a quick historical battle just to see it and graphics looked good. Had zero time to actually play so had to close it pretty quickly. Will try tonight after work.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 03, 2013, 03:28:20 AM
UCG where do you live?
Midlands - 98 percent of my job is overseas, the rest is London - occasionally I get to live in my house - in may this year it worked out to be 350 pounds a night for my rent to nights in house ratio! I could live in the Hilton for that
For some bizarre reason I always thought you were a Brit living in the US!
What do you do for a living?
Sorry for OT by the way - but most people ain't playing yet anyway!
Absolutely beautiful game!
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi830.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fzz227%2FBison36%2F2013-09-03_00001_zps2320a013.jpg&hash=0a6dbcc31f9206b293d9db10a2566c428cc72d2d)
This one isn't the best, but I was very excited to watch the unit turtle up and cover from slinger fire all on it's own.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi830.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fzz227%2FBison36%2F2013-09-03_00003_zps31038fae.jpg&hash=a9f6d3d4f3d487922ffba8a474a30abd2c6dd9c6)
I love this feature.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi830.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fzz227%2FBison36%2F2013-09-03_00002_zpsb3cbfc55.jpg&hash=f0df4f004236ce38590874493cc66ef81b74812e)
Really cannot wait to sit down and get lost in this game.
Whilst some think I'm actually a spy I'm an operations manager for a conference and exhibition software company - but our clients are all over the world, my next adventure is Libya god help me!
Bison - how the hell are you playing it already - what time is it there? Good screenies - heading home shortly
II.iii GB downloaded... VII.vi to go
man this is a big d/l... although where I am the servers don't look to be clogged, which is nice...
And yes I'm in full Fan Boy, nerd hormones of over excitement mode right now! 15 minutes before I need to workout. OMG! I'm going to be late to workout! ROME! ROME! ROME! Will be chanted in my head all day.
son of Mars :)
nice shots !
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi41.tinypic.com%2Fe14sao.jpg&hash=9a2b50096b081527552a96868f9406342af99af8)
;) (correct Latin would be Bovis Maximus so)
Happy to report that the game runs pretty well for me (Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400, 8GB RAM, Nvidia GTX580) provided I need to turn down the shadow, grass and water rendering from Extreme to Very High (2 notches down). All other settings are at maximum so far.
The introductory battles run fine, but I may find I need to reduce the settings some more with huge sieges.
Good start so far, though!
It's a pretty game, but I just can't stand the 'shimmer' effect I get on units and vegetation at a distance. I have tried forcing Anti-Aliasing in the videocard's control panel, but there doesn't seem to be any change. I don't see an AA option in the game either.
I guess its a small quarrel to have with the game, but it does detract from its beauty.
I have been able to play the prologue until the retaking of Salernum, that's up next.
It's no use to comment on the AI here as the encounters are highly scripted and your own units overly tough.
What I have seen, though, is AI successfully breaking off an attack, regroup and charge again. Good mutual support seems to be going on as well if applicable units are closeby.
I will have to delay the taking of Salernum for a while now, though, cause I am needed here in Daventria. ;-)
Oh how I hate having to tend to real life on a release day.. XD
Thanks ysk - good news on the specs - I think ill whack upto Max and then work down from there
The "shimmer" effect, from a distance, is the graphics quality 'bubble' people have complained about in these latest TW games. Whereas Medieval 2 TW and the previous versions with the old game engine weren't quite so pronounced, the newer ones since ETW have implemented an abrupt drop-off of gfx quality past a certain distance from the camera. It's probably a must-have with this engine because all the questionable lighting, particle effects, and post-processing smear takes a huge toll on video performance. So the fewer little dudes you have being rendered at full detail, the less your fps drops in battles. The ones further out past "the bubble" are being rendered at low blobish gfx quality.
I'd rather have more control over the graphics settings and be able to turn off more of the post-processing and lighting crap, then turn the high-quality view distance up. Unfortunately it doesn't have the option to ditch these effects.
One big step back is the UI. I think it's much better in Shogun 2. I dunno why the current trend is to put all the UI info over a transparent background, but it makes the actual info more difficult to focus on with a bunch of gfx shit behind it as a backdrop. It also doesn't seem to help fps performance when used en masse. If it's not broke.. don't fucking fix it. >:(
As for the new game features, they seem quite interesting once you're done wrestling with the new UI. The revolt system has been redone. You don't just spam mil unit creating in the cities, but have to give an army the order to recruit that turn. There are other special orders for armies, too, so there is more variety regarding what you want to do with them. The new overhead tactical view is quite nice, although I hope they expand on some of the display feedback for it, such as being able to see where your units have been ordered to go when holding down the Space Bar (as in regular view).
The range of available military units looks great. Battles haven't really changed much other than some small UI shuffling. I foresee a lot of faction DLC for this, as the map looks quite large and full of them. :) Overall it seems quite nice, other than one or two things. I couldn't switch the keybinds for Shuffle Left and Rotate Left for some reason.. must be a bug. Not game breaking, though. My fps seemed to continually drop on the campaign map, so I'm tempted to say there may be some memory leakage but can't confirm.
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 06:08:06 AM
It's a pretty game, but I just can't stand the 'shimmer' effect I get on units and vegetation at a distance. I have tried forcing Anti-Aliasing in the videocard's control panel, but there doesn't seem to be any change. I don't see an AA option in the game either.
There is an advanced graphics option in the settings that lets you adjust things like AA.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 03, 2013, 06:46:43 AM
Thanks ysk - good news on the specs - I think ill whack upto Max and then work down from there
Got this bad boy running with extreme graphics.
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 07:13:03 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 03, 2013, 06:46:43 AM
Thanks ysk - good news on the specs - I think ill whack upto Max and then work down from there
Got this bad boy running with extreme graphics.
The bad boy walks rather than runs on extreme settings here. ;) It does 'work' though.
Quote from: Bison
There is an advanced graphics option in the settings that lets you adjust things like AA.
Well that's just the thing; there is an Anisotropic Filtering option (AF) but not an Anti-Aliasing (AA) option there, but I recall that being an 'issue' in previous TW games as well.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 03, 2013, 05:36:59 AM
Whilst some think I'm actually a spy I'm an operations manager for a conference and exhibition software company - but our clients are all over the world, my next adventure is Libya god help me!
Bison - how the hell are you playing it already - what time is it there? Good screenies - heading home shortly
Having played UGG in PBEM games and seen when and where he puts his turns in I am convinced that he is working for SMERSH (maybe as their IT guy but still its for Evil)
I thought for sure that I wouldn't be interested int his game (Total War Empires moved me away from this franchise) but I have to say I am getting drawn in by the excitement I see all of you generating around this game. Its like that first moment when still a child at Christmas and the presents are all glistening wrapped under the tree. The potential is so great...then you open them and find out is a pair of underwear from your dotty old aunt.
Well I am still going to wait to see if Rome II is underwear or Pants!
Con
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 07:34:15 AM
Quote from: Bison
There is an advanced graphics option in the settings that lets you adjust things like AA.
Well that's just the thing; there is an Anisotropic Filtering option (AF) but not an Anti-Aliasing (AA) option there, but I recall that being an 'issue' in previous TW games as well.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi830.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fzz227%2FBison36%2Fsettings_zps158e844c.jpg&hash=216a4b3b41331ca1051459317da1693e5ab7c488)
Quote from: MikeGER on September 03, 2013, 05:44:49 AM
son of Mars :)
nice shots !
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi41.tinypic.com%2Fe14sao.jpg&hash=9a2b50096b081527552a96868f9406342af99af8)
;) (correct Latin would be Bovis Maximus so)
WAR! FOR THE GLORY OF ROME!Bisonus Maximus approves of this message.
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 07:40:57 AM
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 07:34:15 AM
Quote from: Bison
There is an advanced graphics option in the settings that lets you adjust things like AA.
Well that's just the thing; there is an Anisotropic Filtering option (AF) but not an Anti-Aliasing (AA) option there, but I recall that being an 'issue' in previous TW games as well.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi830.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fzz227%2FBison36%2Fsettings_zps158e844c.jpg&hash=216a4b3b41331ca1051459317da1693e5ab7c488)
LMFAO!
I've also decided that my first non-Roman game will be as the Iceni.
HA! Well, I'll be darned... Must be the morning with a lack of sufficient coffee. :D
Thanks for the evidence, Bison!
At about 5am local time I crept into my dark study to check that Rome II was ready and it was. There was also an IM from Yskonyn sent over checking to see if my copy was fully loaded (he is in the Netherlands IIRC). What I can't explain is how Bison is squeezing in some time to play when he allegedly works for a living.
Yskonyn - your best solution is to play some LAN MP with the baby.
Only about 11 hours until I can sit down and start! Should I play through the prologue?
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 07:13:03 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 03, 2013, 06:46:43 AM
Thanks ysk - good news on the specs - I think ill whack upto Max and then work down from there
Got this bad boy running with extreme graphics.
What type of gfx card?
Quote from: Gusington on September 03, 2013, 08:17:32 AM
At about 5am local time I crept into my dark study to check that Rome II was ready and it was. There was also an IM from Yskonyn sent over checking to see if my copy was fully loaded (he is in the Netherlands IIRC). What I can't explain is how Bison is squeezing in some time to play when he allegedly works for a living.
Yskonyn - your best solution is to play some LAN MP with the baby.
Only about 11 hours until I can sit down and start! Should I play through the prologue?
I am just lucky my days off are now (until friday), so I can get some playtime in. After that its back to work for me too.
Yeah I keep trying to explain to him how he controls his units, but all he ever does it smack the mouse on the table, biting it or throwing it on the ground! It's a bloody Barbarian! What am I to do?
Being the Total War veteran you are, Gus, you won't learn much from playing the prologue I'd reckon, but then again, it's a nicely narrated piece of content. Easy, but fun. And as such it gives you all the time to relish in the details of the battles without having to worry about the outcome.
I think its a nice starter to get into the mood. :D
Oh and
Bison my AA option was already enabled. It just doesn't seem to provide much AA at all. :S
Holy sh**!! Those wardogs are brutal!
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 08:39:38 AM
Holy sh**!! Those wardogs are brutal!
Are they "flaming" war dogs??
It seems like the Anti-aliasing in the game is of the lesser full-screen blurry type (MSAA or MLAA?). It just kinda blurs the whole screen a bit, in order to wash out the jaggies and isn't all that effective IMO.
A word of warning, however. You may not want to bother sieging cities because the sieging army will take casualties every turn, and start getting hit with constant plague outbreaks that reduce your manpower even more. While that's fine, there was one thing CA overlooked in implementing siege attrition: The defenders in the city have no attrition at all!
I had besieged a city for five turns.. 1 turn left before it falls so the AI sallied it's garrison out on the last turn. Every unit in my army had lost half it's men by that point, yet the enemy garrison was at full strength. ::) Another thing I didn't realize, is that you are hidebound to the victory location on the tac map when being attacked. So if you, for instance, move your army over to a nearby hill for defense, and the enemy takes the tiny victory point, you will lose in a couple minutes if you can't get men into the circle. ???
Just some warnings..
Oh.. one more: Be careful attacking a port or a force near the coast of an enemy city. All the troops in the area will load up on their own ships and join the battle. Boarding combat is overly easy so land forces look like they could easily overpower your navy in a fight near the coast. They just turn into ships with the soldiers on them. ???
I have some complaints about a few things they didn't implement too well, such as these, but it's still fun at the moment.
Anyone else having crash issues?
Getting hard lockups, both in the benchscreen test, and then trying to set up a Custom battle. :(
Should have plenty of horsepower to run this baby, and I've even toned down several of the settings to see if that would help. (i7 3770k, GTX 680 4GB, 16 GB RAM, Windows 7 x64) --
My system is in general very stable, although I've had trouble with crashes on CoH2 as well... what is it with these big ticket items being so unstable for me???
I guess I could try reinstalling gfx drivers... but I hate doing that....
im ok here - game defaulted me to extreme on everything apart from soft vegetation or something, ive left AA and AF as default, and then the hardest thing ive had to do for a while - quit out to go pick undercoverjunior up from school
Quote from: mikeck on September 03, 2013, 08:20:48 AM
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 07:13:03 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 03, 2013, 06:46:43 AM
Thanks ysk - good news on the specs - I think ill whack upto Max and then work down from there
Got this bad boy running with extreme graphics.
What type of gfx card?
Nvidia gtx 680
Quote from: sandman2575 on September 03, 2013, 08:53:06 AM
Anyone else having crash issues?
Getting hard lockups, both in the benchscreen test, and then trying to set up a Custom battle. :(
Should have plenty of horsepower to run this baby, and I've even toned down several of the settings to see if that would help. (i7 3770k, GTX 680 4GB, 16 GB RAM, Windows 7 x64) --
My system is in general very stable, although I've had trouble with crashes on CoH2 as well... what is it with these big ticket items being so unstable for me???
I guess I could try reinstalling gfx drivers... but I hate doing that....
I've not had any crashes, but there have been some brief lock-ups when giving an order or at the end of turn resolution.
I
did notice that while I had the game minimized and was using my web browser, the whole computer would freeze every few seconds. Not just some micro-stuttering but for a whole second or two and on a regular basis. Must be an issue somewhere. I'd venture a guess that it's graphics related (and I experienced this using an AMD card & processor, not Nvidia).
Quote from: mikeck on September 03, 2013, 08:45:01 AM
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 08:39:38 AM
Holy sh**!! Those wardogs are brutal!
Are they "flaming" war dogs??
The ones I've witnessed are normal dogs. But the animations of them attacking the soldiers are just plain brutal!
I love that there are now actually individual soldiers and ditto animations for a unit. :D Carnage!
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 08:33:06 AM
Being the Total War veteran you are, Gus, you won't learn much from playing the prologue I'd reckon, but then again, it's a nicely narrated piece of content. Easy, but fun. And as such it gives you all the time to relish in the details of the battles without having to worry about the outcome.
I think its a nice starter to get into the mood. :D
Oh and Bison my AA option was already enabled. It just doesn't seem to provide much AA at all. :S
At about 8:30 this morning, having observed the auguries of flights of vultures taking to the thermals over my house yesterday afternoon, I proceeded to the Prologue and ran through the Capua theatrics. It was pleasing -- I guess things have to start with a messy bang these days. I kind of miss the simpler tutorials from earlier Total Wars.
Other than finding that the game ran okay and had some new cool features, I mostly found myself wondering about Consul Rutilius. The only Rutilius that I can recall was a late pagan poet from about 700 years after 272 BC. Of course there might well be thousands of Rutiliuses I've never heard of.
Wouldn't that be thousands of Rutilii? :-X
On a more serious note; I am watching a Twitch TV livestream from a guy playing Rome 2. And he gets caught up in a naval enagement.
If you have missile troops on a boat you can use it as a ranged combat ship (obviously), but if you have melee troops on a boat you can either ram enemy ships (there seems to be some form of physics model involved as smaller ships don't seem very effectiv, which is nice) or you can line up and board enemy ships to engage the unit it's carrying.
First, his boat which carries his general get swarmed by 5 to 6 smaller enemy boats, pretty much making it unable to move.
He doesn't really do anything to engage the blocking boats with his other boats, while suddenly (didn't catch wether he was giving the unit an order) the general decides to jump ship and all the soldiers jump into the sea, drowning themselves! O_O
A minute or two of swearing ensues and he angrily shouts that this is the exact reason he won't ever play naval battles in ANY TW game and aparently Rome 2 will be no different!
It was a rather funny scene! On the one hand he wasn't doing anything to relieve his boat of the blocking by the enemy, but if the AI tried to board one of the other boats to engage in mele, but instead made all the soldiers jump into the water I can see where this will prove enraging for a lot of battles to come. :)
LOL...yeah, never in recorded history have naval soldiers drown because they jumped into the water to escape certain death on ship in a panic...so unrealistic. (Sarcasm alert)
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 10:06:31 AM
Wouldn't that be thousands of Rutilii? :-X
It was a rather funny scene! On the one hand he wasn't doing anything to relieve his boat of the blocking by the enemy, but if the AI tried to board one of the other boats to engage in mele, but instead made all the soldiers jump into the water I can see where this will prove enraging for a lot of battles to come. :)
strangely and even more seriously, Mr. Rutilius the Poet only has one surviving work -- a nostalgic travelogue of a journey down from Gaul along the no-longer pagan coast of Italy.
But hmmm...boarding in FOTS required an order to the ship, probably a melee order to the melee troops on a ship in Rome II doesn't get them to do the right thing. The real Romans had to work out mechanisms on their ships to get that all to work. Perhaps his Corvus was fouled. Perhaps he had disregarded the sacred chickens during the pre-battle aurguries.
I've read reviews and they have not been favorable, however I always wait to hear from the Grog community. I ended up not preordering and decided to wait this one out......
PE
Quote from: PanzersEast on September 03, 2013, 01:16:09 PM
I've read reviews and they have not been favorable, however I always wait to hear from the Grog community. I ended up not preordering and decided to wait this one out......
PE
Waiting as well, even though the temptation was strong.. but I've been told to behave money wise, so will wait for a later sale...
Playing Rome I...
I also ignore the reviews, cause I love Total War.. all of them!.. so I know that I will love this!
Well - bugger me!!
I've been toying with getting a new graphics card (GTX 660) to give me a wee boost with a view to upgrading my PC totally next October. So the guy at work lent me his Radeon 6950 to try...I took mine out (GTX460) and put his in...and the PC won't boot. So I put mine back in - and no boot!!!
So I can't play THE DAMN GAME! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!
I guess I'll just have to bring that new PC forward! DAMN IT!
Smells like a regular big release date around here!
Quote from: MengJiao on September 03, 2013, 11:21:38 AM
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 10:06:31 AM
Wouldn't that be thousands of Rutilii? :-X
It was a rather funny scene! On the one hand he wasn't doing anything to relieve his boat of the blocking by the enemy, but if the AI tried to board one of the other boats to engage in mele, but instead made all the soldiers jump into the water I can see where this will prove enraging for a lot of battles to come. :)
strangely and even more seriously, Mr. Rutilius the Poet only has one surviving work -- a nostalgic travelogue of a journey down from Gaul along the no-longer pagan coast of Italy.
But hmmm...boarding in FOTS required an order to the ship, probably a melee order to the melee troops on a ship in Rome II doesn't get them to do the right thing. The real Romans had to work out mechanisms on their ships to get that all to work. Perhaps his Corvus was fouled. Perhaps he had disregarded the sacred chickens during the pre-battle aurguries.
We can only imagine the furor if Mister Rutilius had read the reviews of the game in which his ilustrious ancestor Rutilius appears to have been captured by the Samnites. Shamefrool Dispray! Who has not kept the wax images of past ancestors polished? Who got the direction of his nostalgic jouneys backward? For surely as a former Perfect of Rome he was traveling (back in time as it were) back to his estates in Gaul, was he not? Did not the average pagan excell in rhetorical questions? I ask you?
Well, let me answer myself then: I understand the impulse to denounce CA for allegedly spending 4 million on maketing and making some odd cinematic representations that don't resemble the game, but I say, just as well. The game is no more and no less than your basic improved Total War and I'm glad it is about Rome and all the moreso since there are rumors the next Total War will be something like Fantasy Universe Total War -- How will the unwise wish then that they had polished up their ancestors more properly! Fantasy is no substitute for proper pagan piety!
On a slightly different note;
Do you guys know of any good book about the era?
I have the four 'Caesar' books by Conn Iggulden, which are loosly based on fact, but for the rest a fictional story about the life of Caesar, his close ones and Rome. Pretty great read I must add!
Readable books about the history, but particularly about weaponry, factions, tactics and battles would be appreciated. Or otherwise perhaps an online source with dependable information?
Pen and Sword has a series, Roman Conquests. These are generally very good.
In particular, one of the authors is a Philip Matyzsak. He is very good at explaining what happened and why it happened.
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 02:22:50 PM
On a slightly different note;
Do you guys know of any good book about the era?
I have the four 'Caesar' books by Conn Iggulden, which are loosly based on fact, but for the rest a fictional story about the life of Caesar, his close ones and Rome. Pretty great read I must add!
Readable books about the history, but particularly about weaponry, factions, tactics and battles would be appreciated. Or otherwise perhaps an online source with dependable information?
A couple I enjoyed...
In the Name of Rome: The Men Who Won the Roman Empire by Adrian Goldsworthy
Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome by Stephen Dando-Collins
The Making of the Roman Army: From Republic to Empire by Lawrence Keppie
PE
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 03, 2013, 02:00:27 PM
Well - bugger me!!
I've been toying with getting a new graphics card (GTX 660) to give me a wee boost with a view to upgrading my PC totally next October. So the guy at work lent me his Radeon 6950 to try...I took mine out (GTX460) and put his in...and the PC won't boot. So I put mine back in - and no boot!!!
So I can't play THE DAMN GAME! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!
I guess I'll just have to bring that new PC forward! DAMN IT!
dont you get all the luck? have you pressed it into the mounts properly?
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 03, 2013, 02:37:21 PM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 03, 2013, 02:00:27 PM
Well - bugger me!!
I've been toying with getting a new graphics card (GTX 660) to give me a wee boost with a view to upgrading my PC totally next October. So the guy at work lent me his Radeon 6950 to try...I took mine out (GTX460) and put his in...and the PC won't boot. So I put mine back in - and no boot!!!
So I can't play THE DAMN GAME! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!
I guess I'll just have to bring that new PC forward! DAMN IT!
dont you get all the luck? have you pressed it into the mounts properly?
Go at your slot with some compressed air.. sometimes a lil dust in the wrong places can prevent your machine from booting.. I've had it happen to me twice with memory upgrades!
Quote from: Tuna on September 03, 2013, 02:54:02 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 03, 2013, 02:37:21 PM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 03, 2013, 02:00:27 PM
Well - bugger me!!
I've been toying with getting a new graphics card (GTX 660) to give me a wee boost with a view to upgrading my PC totally next October. So the guy at work lent me his Radeon 6950 to try...I took mine out (GTX460) and put his in...and the PC won't boot. So I put mine back in - and no boot!!!
So I can't play THE DAMN GAME! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!
I guess I'll just have to bring that new PC forward! DAMN IT!
dont you get all the luck? have you pressed it into the mounts properly?
Go at your slot with some compressed air.. sometimes a lil dust in the wrong places can prevent your machine from booting.. I've had it happen to me twice with memory upgrades!
Are your drivers still installed? Sometimes installing a new driver will remove the old drivers in the process.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 03, 2013, 02:00:27 PM
Well - bugger me!!
I've been toying with getting a new graphics card (GTX 660) to give me a wee boost with a view to upgrading my PC totally next October. So the guy at work lent me his Radeon 6950 to try...I took mine out (GTX460) and put his in...and the PC won't boot. So I put mine back in - and no boot!!!
So I can't play THE DAMN GAME! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!
I guess I'll just have to bring that new PC forward! DAMN IT!
Does it get to the BIOS screen? Did you delete the drivers from your GTX460? Hacve you tried safe mode?
I'll check for dust. Card has been in and out though. Don't get anything displayed on screen and didn't mess with drivers
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 03, 2013, 03:03:42 PM
I'll check for dust. Card has been in and out though. Don't get anything displayed on screen and didn't mess with drivers
If you're not seeing the BIOS then it's definitely nothing to do with drivers.
Believe me the two times it happened to me (on a brand new Motherboard on a build, and a memory upgrade for my kids PC), I cleaned and cleaned again.. and then all of a sudden it worked...
Almost RMA'd the motherboard, and that PC has been running great for 2 or 3 years now (that's my gaming pc)..
On my kids.. I was gonna RMA the memory, then I found that different slots is worked..so that's how I figured one of the slots had something in it.. and went nuts on it with the air.. and then viola that worked as well..
Power could be an issue too, but usually if a video card isn't getting proper power, it gives you a loud squeal.
Yeah JD, it's either in a wrong slot or not correctly stowed, or otherwise it sounds frighteningly close to damage due to static electricity.
I hope you are able to salvage it.
Thanks PanzersEast and besilarius I will check those out!
Well - I won't hijack this anymore - it was slightly relevant because I had been waiting all day at work to get home and play this damn game!
I'll take it into work tomorrow and start some investigation...I'm not too fussed if it's screwed...I'll just have to buy my new PC early...I've got £1000 to spend
I think I shorted it tbh. I was an idiot and didn't switch the power off at source and as I was fitting the card, the PC started...so I think something on the card touched something and bam. I reckon I've blown the PCI-E slot
Hopefully you didn't hurt your friend's card, then you'll have to replace that..
Sad news.. especially on a day when you're excited to check out this new game!
^ I was a totally idiot! I KNOW to switch off the power. I've made dozens of PC's over the years and swapped components in and out!
I hope his card is ok - 'cos I could do without that added cost! I KNEW I shouldn't have taken it and just bought my new damned card!
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 03, 2013, 04:02:50 PM
^ I was a totally idiot! I KNOW to switch off the power. I've made dozens of PC's over the years and swapped components in and out!
I hope his card is ok - 'cos I could do without that added cost! I KNEW I shouldn't have taken it and just bought my new damned card!
That sucks man. I hope the card and the rest of your PC components are ok.
I am reading this right now:
http://www.amazon.com/Legions-Rome-Definitive-History-Imperial/dp/1250004713/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378243419&sr=1-1&keywords=legions+of+rome
How do you all feel about the social media intro screen?
EDIT: Also, the game defaulted a lot of my graphics settings to 'extreme.' I toned most of them down to very high.
Having a blast so far - im on the defeat the rebel army outside rome section of the tutuorial - no crashes, no glitches everything runs smooth
good so far - the map is gorgeous, campaign and battle, little things like deer running from woods as you approach, rain running down the camera, and the scenery in the campaign map. Everything seems to work as it should. Battles are not that different but its Rome, they look great
bad - only thing that annoyed me so far is having my cavalry chased down by running men - itll be fixed no doubt, and the usual speed of troops, ill be surprised if there isnt a patch already
Wasn't there supposed to be a day one patch? Pretty sure I didn't see anything download this morning before the unlock. My game is fully playable however. Just curious what version/build is showing for everyone on their main screen.
Quote from: Gusington on September 03, 2013, 04:24:27 PM
I am reading this right now:
http://www.amazon.com/Legions-Rome-Definitive-History-Imperial/dp/1250004713/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378243419&sr=1-1&keywords=legions+of+rome
I have that here on my shelf ready to go. Very handsome book, but I can't comment on the content yet as I haven't read it.
There is a very good book called, "Rubicon" that somebody suggested to me a long time ago and I really enjoyed. It's a good intro to what Rome is all about.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 03, 2013, 04:51:19 PM
Wasn't there supposed to be a day one patch? Pretty sure I didn't see anything download this morning before the unlock. My game is fully playable however. Just curious what version/build is showing for everyone on their main screen.
if i squint mine says 1.0.0 i think - but it did download for about 2 mins this morning
FWIW so its all fair and square, and theres lots of enthusiasm here - its been pretty much put down at RPS with a final summation of, that as it stands it cannot be recommended - i dont see why, but then i havent played upto 8 campaigns like they have
Thanks for all those suggestions!
The book Gus linked seems like something I was after. *thumbs up*
The game crashed once for me. Froze.
It also defaulted all graphics settings to Extreme for me. Also for 'geek, so I guess this is just some default stance for everyone and not indicative of what the game thinks about the performance of your PC.
I have reduced some settings to Very High like the grass and trees.
Shadows to High and disabled Vegetation Alpha which -paired- gave me the biggest performance increase.
Oddly enough, enabling High Depth of Field gave me about 5 FPS increase instead of leaving it OFF. Perhaps because I have a DX11 native card and High is a DX11 shader?
Oh and if you do want to get rid of the jagged edges in the game, you will have to force AA from your vidcard.
Turning the AA option on or off in my game didn't seem to do anything. How I have overridden the function (turned it OFF in game and called for override in my Nvidia control panel) and the videocard does its job nicely; no more jagged edges and performance doesn't seem to suffer.
All in all I am having a blast with the game so far!
Oh and that weird advert launcher thingy... yeah they should get rid of that! ;)
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 03, 2013, 05:05:45 PM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 03, 2013, 04:51:19 PM
Wasn't there supposed to be a day one patch? Pretty sure I didn't see anything download this morning before the unlock. My game is fully playable however. Just curious what version/build is showing for everyone on their main screen.
if i squint mine says 1.0.0 i think - but it did download for about 2 mins this morning
FWIW so its all fair and square, and theres lots of enthusiasm here - its been pretty much put down at RPS with a final summation of, that as it stands it cannot be recommended - i dont see why, but then i havent played upto 8 campaigns like they have
Thanks, looks like I have the latest....
I posted this in another thread. Thought Rome II players will appreciate this.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffc03.deviantart.net%2Ffs70%2Fi%2F2012%2F177%2Fc%2Fc%2Fflying_roman_warrior_3_by_felixdeon-d54zhny.jpg&hash=aaf271ca44f795c93dc74166b227c571a9dd4b71)
Quote from: MengJiao on September 03, 2013, 11:21:38 AM
But hmmm...boarding in FOTS required an order to the ship, probably a melee order to the melee troops on a ship in Rome II doesn't get them to do the right thing. The real Romans had to work out mechanisms on their ships to get that all to work. Perhaps his Corvus was fouled. Perhaps he had disregarded the sacred chickens during the pre-battle aurguries.
The melee/boarding order in Rome 2 doesn't seem to always work. I've had to cycle it between ram & melee when switching units, otherwise they would revert back to ramming behavior no matter what the toggle was set to.
Still some bugs in this, but not game-breaking if you know what they are.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 03, 2013, 03:38:21 PM
I think I shorted it tbh. I was an idiot and didn't switch the power off at source and as I was fitting the card, the PC started...so I think something on the card touched something and bam. I reckon I've blown the PCI-E slot
Ho-rey crap! You accidentally turned the power on
while you were slotting the vid card? :o
I think we have the answer, here. Did you get any sparks or smoke out of it too? ???
Also..for future reference (in case you didn't), always remove the video drivers for the previous card in Windows, before switching. Even if it's made by the same company & manufacturer. :-* While modern Windows systems are pretty good about quickly detecting the change and not forcing the old drivers, you definitely don't want to push your luck because computers are fickle bitches in league with Murphy.
Haven't played a lot yet, but have been messing around in custom battles....nothing like watching your legions form up and march into battle. You can hear your troops talking, coughing, and even spitting....gets me really pumped as they are moving towards battle!
went to TW centre for a slow troops mod - DO NOT GO THERE!!!!
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 05:13:39 PM
Oh and that weird advert launcher thingy... yeah they should get rid of that! ;)
I actually like the launcher - for one reason. It has a "Continue Campaign" button that will load you straight into your last save game. No menus, no nonsense. 8)
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 08:12:40 AM
I've also decided that my first non-Roman game will be as the Iceni.
Is there a topless Queen Boudicca sprite to lead your Iceni as they sack Londinium?
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.avalanchepress.com%2Fimages%2FQueen%2FQueenPinupBig.jpg&hash=b3f7d51d688f11c1232d0915086799364a20c64c)
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 03, 2013, 06:13:35 PM
went to TW centre for a slow troops mod - DO NOT GO THERE!!!!
Not even going to peak....
Some of these new animations are awesome...I love the one where your soldier gets tossed around the line. Also like when the two sides get close, they start to taunt each other...nice touch!
Quote from: Staggerwing on September 03, 2013, 06:18:06 PM
Is there a topless Queen Boudicca sprite to lead your Iceni as they sack Londinium?
Bouddaceous.
Quote from: Staggerwing on September 03, 2013, 06:18:06 PM
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 08:12:40 AM
I've also decided that my first non-Roman game will be as the Iceni.
Is there a topless Queen Boudicca sprite to lead your Iceni as they sack Londinium?
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.avalanchepress.com%2Fimages%2FQueen%2FQueenPinupBig.jpg&hash=b3f7d51d688f11c1232d0915086799364a20c64c)
Well if there isn't someone should mod one for use stat!
I'm also considering the Iceni after I play through the Prologue...got a book on Romans in Scotland and Boudicca to go along with them.
If you have Pontus playable, you have received the Day 1 patch.
I read Rubicon and it is one of my favorites. I'm 125 pages into the book I posted above and it is very very good. I am not an ancients fanatic but it is more than holding my interest.
The Boudicca cover doesn't show enough woad.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 03, 2013, 06:19:18 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 03, 2013, 06:13:35 PM
went to TW centre for a slow troops mod - DO NOT GO THERE!!!!
Not even going to peak....
Lol...let me guess, multiple threads titled "This game sucks", "it doesn't work and keeps crashing...CA fix the bugs!", "The Ai blows" aaaannnd about 5 threads titled "can I run this" which serves as a thread where people get to post their super x3000 Alienware super PX stats to show their superiority: "can I run this game? I have an I7 quad core super flux capacitor with a GTX 9000 (5ddrr with 5000 mb ram) over clocked at 10x mega spuds per interval and 25 gb of ram..."
Quote from: Gusington on September 03, 2013, 06:30:35 PM
I'm also considering the Iceni after I play through the Prologue...
But, but, but I called them first!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
Quote from: mikeck on September 03, 2013, 07:27:11 PM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 03, 2013, 06:19:18 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 03, 2013, 06:13:35 PM
went to TW centre for a slow troops mod - DO NOT GO THERE!!!!
Not even going to peak....
Lol...let me guess, multiple threads titled "This game sucks", "it doesn't work and keeps crashing...CA fix the bugs!", "The Ai blows" aaaannnd about 5 threads titled "can I run this" which serves as a thread where people get to post their super x3000 Alienware super PX stats to show their superiority: "can I run this game? I have an I7 quad core super flux capacitor with a GTX 9000 (5ddrr with 5000 mb ram) over clocked at 10x mega spuds per interval and 25 gb of ram..."
I want a flux capacitor.
Ha! Case in point. Went to the first thread :"Perfromance sucks on all machines" and this was the 6th post:
All this talk of trouble with Rome II really has me worried, I just bought my first gaming rig in anticipation for Rome II and now I'm questioning if I got the right parts. It should be arriving sometime early next week. For everyone that has had great gameplay is my rig comparable?CPU: i5 4570 3.20 MHzRam: 8GBMobo: Asus Z87-AGPU: GTX 650 Ti 2GBI fully plan on ignoring my girlfriend right after she gives me this game for my birthday, I really hope I don't have the same problems everyone else seems to be experiencing.g
Lol...yeah buddy, we are all having nerdgasms over your new rig. Hmmm, I hope my brand new BMW M7 with the dual spool turbo 600 hp engine with 500 Ft lbs of torque will go over 55mph... What do you guys think.
I haven't actually read any of the TWCenter threads. Honestly, I don't want too. That place is hallowed ground for pissing on anyone who enjoys the initial release of a Total War game, before the Darth Mod superity duperity AI fix is done and ready for download.
I will say that I have experienced some dips in FPS. I attribute that to running it at all maxed out settings for the most part.
^That's why I am not going to run it on 'Ultra' or 'Extreme' even though that's what the game defaulted to. OK diving into the Prologue...
But it looks so freaking awesome all maxed out!
I did have one boat that keep circling and circling like a dog looking for a good place to take a shit before it finally beached and let the troops off on the shore.
You know, I have a pretty mediocre system, running an Athlon 6790 card. I noticed that if you turn unit detail down to High, they still look great and you won't get that battle lag. Comes from trying to model to many guys on screen.
One problem that I have- and have had with every total war game- is the speed of unit movement and battles. Always!! Battles are over in like 15 seconds. Usually after a day or two some kid will make a slow battle mod but really?? Who is testing this and saying "yeah, this is about right...units meet, fight for 30 seconds, and one routes"
I run it on the 1/2 speed or whatever it is and that is a nice slow speed.
I do miss the forward, backward, side shift UI buttons to maneuver troops in the battlefield.
It is a game feature (done on purpose).
I even speed up time during the initial March and the pursuit of routing units.
I also put a 20 min limit because I lack time to play.
Fast resolution means more gaming goodness compressed in one typical evening session.
And a finish-able campaign.
Besides you can slow things down and use half speed if things get frantic.
Man, I have wasted what gaming time I've had today trying to get Rome II to work for me. No joy. Completely freezes a minute into any battle....
I know the haters are out in force on the TWCenter forums etc, but not all the reports of bugs, gfx issues and mysterious hardware incompatabilities are exaggerations, alas >:(
Quote from: sandman2575 on September 03, 2013, 08:09:37 PM
Man, I have wasted what gaming time I've had today trying to get Rome II to work for me. No joy. Completely freezes a minute into any battle....
I know the haters are out in force on the TWCenter forums etc, but not all the reports of bugs, gfx issues and mysterious hardware incompatabilities are exaggerations, alas >:(
This sucks man. Hope you get it to work.
Quote from: mikeck on September 03, 2013, 07:38:11 PM
Hmmm, I hope my brand new BMW M7 with the dual spool turbo 600 hp engine with 500 Ft lbs of torque will go over 55mph... What do you guys think.
Heh. There's now scientific proof that BMW drivers are assholes... 8)
QuoteDrivers of BMWs frequently come in for anecdotal criticism for habits on the road that are perceived as aggressive.
Now, a couple of studies, one in the U.S. and another from the U.K., appear to provide statistical evidence that BMW drivers are, to be polite about it, complete jerks.
source: http://autos.yahoo.com/news/bmw-drivers-really-are-jerks--studies-find-214456020.html
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 08:12:15 PM
Quote from: sandman2575 on September 03, 2013, 08:09:37 PM
Man, I have wasted what gaming time I've had today trying to get Rome II to work for me. No joy. Completely freezes a minute into any battle....
I know the haters are out in force on the TWCenter forums etc, but not all the reports of bugs, gfx issues and mysterious hardware incompatabilities are exaggerations, alas >:(
This sucks man. Hope you get it to work.
thanks -- me too --
Bison, I thought I saw you were playing on a GTX 680 -- mind posting your other specs? I'm playing on a GTX 680 too, using the 314.22 drivers. I assume I must be having a hardware issue but since you're having no problems I'd love to know what your rig is for comparison. (me: i7 3770k, GTX 680 4GB, Win 7 x64, 16 GB RAM)
i5 3570K, 8 GB ram, and 64 bit Win7.
Sandman, I hope you get it to work. I would bet that future patches will optimize a bit...of course, that doesn't help you now.
Problem with 1/2 speed is you lose sound
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 08:00:53 PM
I do miss the forward, backward, side shift UI buttons to maneuver troops in the battlefield.
Yes, the buttons are missed, but you can still do this with the arrow keys on your keyboard.
Quote from: mikeck on September 03, 2013, 08:29:08 PM
Problem with 1/2 speed is you lose sound
This does stink...wish they wouldn't have done that...
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 03, 2013, 08:35:39 PM
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 08:00:53 PM
I do miss the forward, backward, side shift UI buttons to maneuver troops in the battlefield.
Yes, the buttons are missed, but you can still do this with the arrow keys on your keyboard.
Thanks. I didn't know this.
I think I am about 3/4 of the way through the Prologue. Rome II has that same certain something...an elegance...that Shogun II has. Hard to describe it more than that. It makes me interested in the subject matter and definitely makes me want to play one more turn.
No crashes, no stutters. Maybe I will bump my graphics up to Ultra...my rig is almost two years old but is pretty beefy.
Still thinking Rome for my first real campaign. Anyone start a real campaign yet? This time out, unlike when Rome I was released, I think every faction holds some interest for me.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 03, 2013, 08:47:09 AM
A word of warning, however. You may not want to bother sieging cities because the sieging army will take casualties every turn, and start getting hit with constant plague outbreaks that reduce your manpower even more. While that's fine, there was one thing CA overlooked in implementing siege attrition: The defenders in the city have no attrition at all!
There is a tech for grain storage in the second tier of the siege tree that reduces attrition rates by like 60%.
Quote from: Gusington on September 03, 2013, 09:12:07 PM
I think I am about 3/4 of the way through the Prologue. Rome II has that same certain something...an elegance...that Shogun II has. Hard to describe it more than that. It makes me interested in the subject matter and definitely makes me want to play one more turn.
I just lost Salernum to the AI. I'm afraid to move on to a real campaign.
Ouch. I have just been given the reigns in the Prologue and have been told to take Salernum. How does the Prologue end? Wiping out the Samnites altogether or is it more nuanced?
That said, the battles I fought, whether scripted or not, have all been 'close runs' meaning I won but with losses. Not sure how I will do in unscripted fights with my less than stellar tactical history.
Quote from: Gusington on September 03, 2013, 09:31:48 PM
Ouch. I have just been given the reigns in the Prologue and have been told to take Salernum. How does the Prologue end? Wiping out the Samnites altogether or is it more nuanced?
That said, the battles I fought, whether scripted or not, have all been 'close runs' meaning I won but with losses. Not sure how I will do in unscripted fights with my less than stellar tactical history.
There is a Saminite town you have to take and hold. I haven't gotten that far yet. I've spent a lot of time reading the in game encyclopedia and tools tips for various features.
Quote from: mikeck on September 03, 2013, 08:29:08 PM
Problem with 1/2 speed is you lose sound
I never noticed this before, but I'll be damned it's true. Odd design choice.
It's been that way since at least Napoleon.
Take and hold a Samnite town eh...I think I'm at that point. Can't wait to start a real campaign though, maybe in the next day or two.
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 09:14:43 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 03, 2013, 08:47:09 AM
A word of warning, however. You may not want to bother sieging cities because the sieging army will take casualties every turn, and start getting hit with constant plague outbreaks that reduce your manpower even more. While that's fine, there was one thing CA overlooked in implementing siege attrition: The defenders in the city have no attrition at all!
There is a tech for grain storage in the second tier of the siege tree that reduces attrition rates by like 60%.
Yes, there are attrition reducing extras, leader abilities, etc. I performed this siege starting on about the fourth or fifth turn, after driving off his main army.
My point is this: What's the use of laying siege to a city if the only people who will be starving are the besiegers themselves? It's pretty ridiculous. Just who is besieging who now? ::)
I like that they put this in but they shouldn't even bother if it's not gonna be far more effective on the people
within the besieged city. As it is now, they don't suffer at all. Probably an unfinished game mechanic that needs attention. I brought it up so that you guys know not to lay siege, unless it's to build ladders for a couple turns before assaulting (if your army has xp'd up and received the option).
I've not really experienced much fps slowdown in tactical battles, after tweaking some gfx settings. My biggest gfx drops are on the campaign map, just like it was with Shogun 2. It's actually worse in this one. There's no way to turn off all the fog and clouds floating around, and it's all these little extras (along with the larger size) that drags it down at times. Not bad unless the camera starts zooming across the map to some event or while the AI turns are processing. Dunno about you guys, but I don't really need a bunch of extra eye candy on the campaign map.
********
On another note, I just started a game as Pontus on my notebook.
While I was leaning towards Epirus, Parthia, or Egypt at first, Pontus looked to have a better opportunity to expand into some barbarian territory fairly close by. Plus they have mostly Greek style armies with a little Eastern flavor tossed in. Looks like a lot of fun. Epirus starts in a tough spot, with negative diplo penalties toward relations with all the Greek states. No wonder I saw them dogpile Epirus in my first cold run as Rome! :o Egypt looks like it only has a small bit of easy expansion to do before getting into a big conflict with the Seleucs (as it should be), but I'll try that one later. Egyptian pike Phalanxes are probably
very useful in the relatively flat lands thereabouts. 8)
Makes me wonder what faction DLC will come after they do the first Black Sea steppe horse-centric "barbarian" one. That should be pretty fun, too, but I'd like to see a playable Armenia option. And one of the Iberian tribes (Cantabrians?). Dacia. Fixing the bugs and optimizing the engine should take first precedent, of course. :)
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 09:37:12 PM
Quote from: mikeck on September 03, 2013, 08:29:08 PM
Problem with 1/2 speed is you lose sound
If you play at double speed it plays the Benny Hill Theme Song
Con
Quote from: sandman2575 on September 03, 2013, 08:09:37 PM
Man, I have wasted what gaming time I've had today trying to get Rome II to work for me. No joy. Completely freezes a minute into any battle....
I know the haters are out in force on the TWCenter forums etc, but not all the reports of bugs, gfx issues and mysterious hardware incompatabilities are exaggerations, alas >:(
I have had one lockup too. Right after the battle Loaded and I started to zoom in on the navy battle map in the prologue.
I had just fiddled with the graphics settings.
Did you try running on medium to low detail just to test yet? Freezes might be caused by too high a setting of some sort.
I'm finally gonna fire up this bad boy in another couple hours. Here's hoping it runs smoothly!
Quote from: son_of_montfort on September 01, 2013, 10:06:43 AM
I've certainly lost campaigns in Shogun 2. The tactical AI might be lackluster but that strategic AI is a demon!
Aye, that's the truth.
Not that the tactical AI in Shogun 2 strikes me as poor, but the strategic AI has been excellent so far. It's caught me off-guard numerous times already, a fact which has yet to cease delighting me.
Quote from: tgb on September 02, 2013, 09:49:36 AM
Eurogamer notes some other problems (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-09-02-total-war-rome-2-review)
as does joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/02/total-war-rome-2-review/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+weblogsinc%2Fjoystiq+(Joystiq))
They have reviews out already? That strikes me as...a bit premature.
im not a fan boy, far from it, and TBH if all theyd done was reskin Shogun 2 with Rome troops i would have been happy - but there seems to be an awful lot of dog piling on the game over what seems to be some of the most trivial things. Ill admit, if it doesnt work on your system then thats a bastard and i feel for those guys, but as Martok rightly prophesised theres so much 'its a scam', 'its worse than Colonial Marines', 'we've been lied to', 'its worse than Empire' out there.
Some of it is hilarious 'the Alpha Carthage battle looked amazing and now we have THIS'!!!!!! for pages and pages before 1 guy posted a picture of his battle and said 'it looks pretty spot on to me' and then they all disappear into the wings muttering to themselves whilst looking for the next complaint.
For me, i dont understand why the unit icons in the UI dont tell you how many troops are left in that unit anymore, but unlike some its not the end of my world. Still loving it, still learning, still totally immerssed - its Epic, as it should be
Oh yes Epic it is! I am absolutely loving the Cinematic camera in this game!
I just launched a naval invasion on a town where I viewed the landing from the cinematic camera on one of the boats. Just wow!
Another thing I have found a little hard is to find out how you economy is doing and what you should and should not do. One thing I have learned from the prologue so far is that you just can't click willy nilly to keep on building stuff. It made me go bankrupt quickly.
So where and when I should build things is something I find a little hard at this point, but I am sure its all a matter to learning.
On the strategic map the AI is pretty aggressively exploiting your errors. Even in the Prologue and it seems to know how to field harassment tactics too. ;)
Loving the game so far. Yes there are flaws and the UI is not really my thing so far (aestethically speaking and having the info I need at hand at times is lacking), but other than that absolutely love it.
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 04, 2013, 05:51:49 AM
Oh yes Epic it is! I am absolutely loving the Cinematic camera in this game!
I just launched a naval invasion on a town where I viewed the landing from the cinematic camera on one of the boats. Just wow!
Another thing I have found a little hard is to find out how you economy is doing and what you should and should not do. One thing I have learned from the prologue so far is that you just can't click willy nilly to keep on building stuff. It made me go bankrupt quickly.
So where and when I should build things is something I find a little hard at this point, but I am sure its all a matter to learning.
On the strategic map the AI is pretty aggressively exploiting your errors. Even in the Prologue and it seems to know how to field harassment tactics too. ;)
Loving the game so far. Yes there are flaws and the UI is not really my thing so far (aestethically speaking and having the info I need at hand at times is lacking), but other than that absolutely love it.
Found this for provinces and building -
The province system also allows for more interesting decision-making in regards to construction. Each region contains a settlement, which can support a number of buildings or developmental areas, such as farms or training grounds. I develop Rome as a military centre of excellence, always sending my legions there to recruit new members and maintaining it as a sort of Death Fortress par excellence. This does mean that the province's food and cash reserves mostly come from elsewhere, so the coastal cities are essentially fish factories. They're great scaly unpleasantries where everybody is unhappy because of the stench and the high probability of slipping on fish guts while walking down the street.
I find it useful to have a centralised military production centre but, playing as the Iceni, I experimented with different strategies, making each settlement a more balanced model rather than a specialised unit. It's a viable tactic and means that any loss has a lesser impact. The risk with my Roman model is that any invaders knocking out a single region could cause a ripple effect, severely disrupting the capital by cutting off its supply of food or labour. Cities can essentially be respecced, by demolishing the contents of an area and replacing them, but it's an expensive and time-consuming habit.
Quote from: Con on September 03, 2013, 10:45:01 PM
If you play at double speed it plays the Benny Hill Theme Song
Con
That piece of music is called 'Yakety Sax' in case anyone ever needs to know.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 04, 2013, 06:09:51 AM
Found this for provinces and building -
The province system also allows for more interesting decision-making in regards to construction. Each region contains a settlement, which can support a number of buildings or developmental areas, such as farms or training grounds. I develop Rome as a military centre of excellence, always sending my legions there to recruit new members and maintaining it as a sort of Death Fortress par excellence. This does mean that the province's food and cash reserves mostly come from elsewhere, so the coastal cities are essentially fish factories. They're great scaly unpleasantries where everybody is unhappy because of the stench and the high probability of slipping on fish guts while walking down the street.
I find it useful to have a centralised military production centre but, playing as the Iceni, I experimented with different strategies, making each settlement a more balanced model rather than a specialised unit. It's a viable tactic and means that any loss has a lesser impact. The risk with my Roman model is that any invaders knocking out a single region could cause a ripple effect, severely disrupting the capital by cutting off its supply of food or labour. Cities can essentially be respecced, by demolishing the contents of an area and replacing them, but it's an expensive and time-consuming habit.
Thanks! I did discover that the cities in one province should be 'configured' so that you reap the benefits for the province as a whole. It took a while to figure that out (again due to the minimalistic UI), but I think things are starting to fall into place now.
A big help is the excellent in-game Encyclopedia where you can quickly review techtrees and such to make better informed decisions.
It will be interesting to play with the different routes of development as you have outlined above. :)
Oh and 'respeccing' cities; yes that's darn expensive! An empty plot will result in civs building Slums on the plot, which you will have to dismantle again for a hefty sum of gold. So only expand to new plots of land if you need them AND if you have the cash to quickly develop them.
Also I am not really 'getting' the recruitment mechanics yet. Say my General has skills to command 20 units in his army.
I can recruit Principe's, Hastati and Velites for example.
I do so, but after a few units I cannot recruit Hastati anymore eventhough there is place in the army, but I can only recruit some Mobs from there on. Why is this? Is there an equipment resource of some sort, that if you run out of equipment you can only rally civillians?
I'm BACK people. Computer is fine. Took it into work and had it stripped down, put it back together and reset the CMOS and BAM...all working.
As for the game - I fired it up with my GTX 460 graphics card and ran the benchmark and had avg 25 FPS (dropped waaay down in battles) but with my mates 6950 the avg dropped to 19 - so there was no benefit to a better card. Likely the better card suffered because the MB couldn't utilise the architechture of the card.
Anyway - looking forward to giving this a try tonight.
As for the Romans and the UK...I live in a place called Colchester - Englands oldest recorded town. It used to be called Camulodunum and this is a snippet from Boudica's wiki page
In AD 60 or 61, while the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus was leading a campaign on the island of Anglesey off the northwest coast of Wales, Boudica led the Iceni as well as the Trinovantes and others in revolt.[2] They destroyed Camulodunum, which is modern Colchester. Camulodunum was earlier the capital of the Trinovantes, but at that time was a colonia—a settlement for discharged Roman soldiers, as well as the site of a temple to the former Emperor Claudius
Now you're just bragging JD :)
Nefaro keep posting on Pontus...I am intrigued! And also depressed that I won't be able to get back into the game for another 14 hours. Had a good run with the Prologue and will bump up my graphics settings a bit tonight.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 04, 2013, 06:56:40 AM
I'm BACK people. Computer is fine. Took it into work and had it stripped down, put it back together and reset the CMOS and BAM...all working.
As for the game - I fired it up with my GTX 460 graphics card and ran the benchmark and had avg 25 FPS (dropped waaay down in battles) but with my mates 6950 the avg dropped to 19 - so there was no benefit to a better card. Likely the better card suffered because the MB couldn't utilise the architechture of the card.
Anyway - looking forward to giving this a try tonight.
Good news JD.
I miss the start of the turn popups notifying you of completed units, buildings, and such.
I must confess, I ran the prologue and while I did have an overall enjoyable experience, there were some glaring problems. From a technical standpoint, I had to refight certain battles multiple times because after winning and selecting end battle, I was tossed directly back to the main menu. When going back in to continue the campaign, my progress had not been saved and I had to fight the battle all over again. This happened at least three or four times.
I've also had some slow down with extreme settings, but only during the siege of Bovarium, which is a large Saminite city. The battle involved about 4,000 troops fighting in a dense city tile set.
A lack of historical realism never bothered me in any of the other Total War titles. However, in Rome II, it just feels too hollywood to me. Troops move and fight way too fast. These battles should feel like major slug fests, but they never feel that way to me because they are over almost before they even begin. Moreover, once units make contact, I've seen a number of large mobs just piled together. The individual Roman units do not maintain any semblance of a line. Their method in maintaining formation and attacking the individual to their front/right was the hallmark of what made the Roman military machine so successful. I don't see this in any way in the battles.
The strategic AI is noticeably weak. I was able to win the prologue campaign by moving my main army around the Italian Peninsula to sack the Saminite capital. All the while, the Saminite armies were wasting time trying to take unimportant Roman settlements while completely ignoring the fact that all of their settlements were being taken one by one. They never even reacted to the siege of their capital.
The strategic UI? What the hell? Why was it rewritten? I feel no attachment to my settlements when the main detail view just contains little cards representing building upgrades. Why can I not click on a settlement and instantly see tax income, public order levels and garrisoned unit levels? Why must I go to another menu to get this information? Why are military units recruited by generals in the field?
The unit cards suck. The building upgrade cards suck. The pictures of leaders and generals suck. There is a lot that I'm disappointed about.
However, I think the majority of what I do not like can and will be modded, and when it is, the game will be everything that I think I hoped it would be.
I agree about the battles. Time and time again, TW vanilla brings battles that are over far too quickly. Units move too fast and -as you stated- Romans fail to maintain formation at all.
I sort of like the UI, leader portraits and unit cards. Sort of reminds me of "Hannibal" from matrix. I skipped the prologue campaign so hopeful some of the issues are related to that campaign? Have you played a normal campaign? I hate being on rails so after the first battle, I quit and started a general campaign.
Hoping for a slow battle mod. Otherwise, I'm going to try and find the unit preferences file and I am doubling all hit points and all morale!
Quote from: Bison on September 04, 2013, 07:43:09 AM
I miss the start of the turn popups notifying you of completed units, buildings, and such.
Really? No notification at all now?
Too bad you're dissapointed, Jarhead.
I think it might be a bit too early to comment on the AI of the Samnites in the prologue though. It's a seperate instanced piece of content and for all we know the AI is nerfed quite a bit to make the prologue not too difficult.
The grand campaign will be a much better gauge.
I agree with you about the Strategic UI though. I find it hard to find what I need, but as I said above, probably a question of learning. Still, for the minimalistic aesthetics it has, I would have appreciated a slider to shrink or enlarge the UI. I find it way too big with just nothing really showing and inefficiently taking up screen real estate.
About the units maintaining a line. Have you tried the preset formation buttons? Do they result in better combat disipline perhaps?
About the speed; I am rather happy with it. If it were any slower I would not be able to finish any game! :P
I think its a gameplay vs realism compromise. But for those who do like a slower pacing an option would have been nice, but as you say it'll get modded before long, no doubt. ;)
Quote from: tgb on September 04, 2013, 08:23:01 AM
Quote from: Bison on September 04, 2013, 07:43:09 AM
I miss the start of the turn popups notifying you of completed units, buildings, and such.
Really? No notification at all now?
I've not seen them in the prologue.
^^^^^^+100
This is another game I wanted to like because I like the concept and have a huge interest in Roman history,but the game never played or felt right to me and has yet to live up to my expectations.
Hopefully one day the game will mature enough to rekindle my interest in it.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 03, 2013, 10:28:12 PM
Quote from: Bison on September 03, 2013, 09:14:43 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 03, 2013, 08:47:09 AM
A word of warning, however. You may not want to bother sieging cities because the sieging army will take casualties every turn, and start getting hit with constant plague outbreaks that reduce your manpower even more. While that's fine, there was one thing CA overlooked in implementing siege attrition: The defenders in the city have no attrition at all!
There is a tech for grain storage in the second tier of the siege tree that reduces attrition rates by like 60%.
My point is this: What's the use of laying siege to a city if the only people who will be starving are the besiegers themselves? It's pretty ridiculous. Just who is besieging who now? ::)
The defenders should suffer of course, but supplying a beseiging army has been a classic problem since there were armies and seiges.
Quote from: tgb on September 04, 2013, 08:23:01 AM
Quote from: Bison on September 04, 2013, 07:43:09 AM
I miss the start of the turn popups notifying you of completed units, buildings, and such.
Really? No notification at all now?
They appeared in my Pontus campaign. I got used to not looking at them in FOTS so it was nice to see them and allthemoreso since I have little idea how the flow of a campaign goes in this game. Which I have to say I have found far more intriguing than I expected. There is a wonderful slightly creepy flavour to the whole thing -- well to Pontus anyway. And Yeah, I clobbered the Cappadocians, which was a relief after suffering repeated humiliations in the Samnite tutorial campaign. It's such a satisfying culture shock to go from running a Japanese clan in the 19th century to prowling the mountains of Asia Minor.
Quote from: Dolan50 on September 04, 2013, 08:30:40 AM
^^^^^^+100
This is another game I wanted to like because I like the concept and have a huge interest in Roman history,but the game never played or felt right to me and has yet to live up to my expectations.
Hopefully one day the game will mature enough to rekindle my interest in it.
Well, I was a little put off at first by the fantastically annoying tutorial campaign, but then I tried some custom sea battles. They were just awesome. The physics seemed very intuitive and very entertaining. My favorite sea fight moment was when I (as a Roman) caught a big Carthegnian Ship (probably a Hexereme --ack!) with a flaming ballista blaster quadrareme: I got off some shots into the oarsmen then switched to ramming. Rang up ramming spead and KA-BOOM: slapped that big boy to the bottom of the Tyrrenian Sea. After that I was sure it was an awesome game, though I was still annoyed by a lot of the strategic interface stuff -- until my hitherto Hellenophilic Pontic admiral had a change of heart. He sent a message that he liked Eastern People after all. "The women are great!" he exclaimed, and he gained +1 on negotiating with Easterners.
That was just so hilariously twisted that I invaded Cappadocia right away and signed up the Bythnians and Trabizoidians to come along.
I'm playing on Easy so that probably made it easy for the Admiral to find his way to a new accomodation with his lot in the Black Sea.
Quote from: Gusington on September 03, 2013, 09:12:07 PM
I think I am about 3/4 of the way through the Prologue. Rome II has that same certain something...an elegance...that Shogun II has. Hard to describe it more than that. It makes me interested in the subject matter and definitely makes me want to play one more turn.
No crashes, no stutters. Maybe I will bump my graphics up to Ultra...my rig is almost two years old but is pretty beefy.
Still thinking Rome for my first real campaign. Anyone start a real campaign yet? This time out, unlike when Rome I was released, I think every faction holds some interest for me.
I assumed (before I played the Tutorial campaign) that I would have Rome for a first real Campaign, but after enduring all that snarky supercilioius narrative from the Senate's representative (need I say more? I need hardly add given my incredible mastery of sanctimonious messages to puzzled assistant pontifs, that I was the only man for the job, if I may say so myself, but let me add in passing that in the future I hope that someone will presume to inform me of my excellent health once I have recovered. Will there be anything else?). After that I wanted to be anywhere but Rome. I looked with some care at all the choices. Carthago seemed like an overally attractive choice since I knew all I wanted to do was burn Rome to the Ground -- possibly an irrational vendetta. In the End Pontus seemed to have many advantages: a long way from Rome, eastern but with good Greek connections and in a pretty good location with its back to a sea where it was the main seapower. Lots of trading possibilities etc. Thousands of cubits from Rome.
OK. So the AI just handed me my butt as Juli/Rome after about 8 turns on the "Hard" difficulity level. Probably as much from my mistakes as AI brilliance( I hope). Re- started as Pontus on "Normal" and doing a little better. As Rome, I had my fleet blockade an enemy port and they raised some troops and then attacked my fleet with all their forces- garrison and newly raised troops- and my fleet could not withdraw( I don't know why) and was overwhelmed. So an enemy force coming at you on land, may suddenly morph into a fleet and destroy your navy. And then turn back into an army. Maybe morph into a fleet and by-pass your army and then turn back into a army and attack your cities behind you? And I suppose I can do the same thing. Lots to think about here.
Yes, land based armies can embark in transport ships instantly whenever they have access to the sea.
This means missile troops can use transports as light missile boats and melee troops can use their boats as rams and boarding 'pods'.
The Navy is a different story though. They need to be raised like armies, but on sea and generally involve the heavier ships with dedicated armament.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 04, 2013, 05:09:08 AM
there seems to be an awful lot of dog piling on the game over what seems to be some of the most trivial things. Ill admit, if it doesnt work on your system then thats a bastard and i feel for those guys, but as Martok rightly prophesised theres so much 'its a scam', 'its worse than Colonial Marines', 'we've been lied to', 'its worse than Empire' out there.
Some of it is hilarious 'the Alpha Carthage battle looked amazing and now we have THIS'!!!!!! for pages and pages before 1 guy posted a picture of his battle and said 'it looks pretty spot on to me' and then they all disappear into the wings muttering to themselves whilst looking for the next complaint.
Yes, I read the Alpha Carthage thread. Very strange. I've just read one very negative review and a few mildly positive reviews so the game does generate quite a range of responses. There are plenty of valid criticisms of the game and apparently there are some annoying and/or buggy things that can happen, but the game is just so big and multifacetted that it overwhelms the player for good or bad. So yes, in a sense it is just too big and complex, but from another angle that bigness and complexity can be seen as good in itself -- the immersive atmosphere is if anything all too thick, but again, from another angle, that's the whole point. Even stranger, I (who certainly have always put a big emphasis on the relevence of history to all things) find I don't particularly care how historical things are, I'm caught up in the complexity of the setting. It's more than just convincing and immersive, it's intriguing. One criticism of the game I saw was that it offered no interesting choices -- and yet everything the reviewer said implied if anything an over-abundance of interesting choices -- which is a better situation by far than one finds in most games, ie a few interesting choices. The real problem may be that CA has outdone itself and made a game that is just too interesting, too full of possibilities. The world of FOTS -- which now seems simple and homogenous -- is gone and a whole ancient world billows into view -- rich, confusing and immersive.
Meng your take on the creeping darkness of the world really resonates with me...it's why I loved Barbarian Invasion too.
JH I think a lot of the things you mentioned may be linked to the Prologue. The one that stands out to me is the use of formations. I selected a line formation for one battle and my troops stuck to it, fought as a line, not as a blob.
Very intrigued by the factions and the atmosphere, more than I thought I would be. It helps that I haven't had any tech issues yet. Curious as to what is up with the AI behavior that some have described too. I haven't seen enough of the strategic AI to judge yet.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 04, 2013, 12:43:02 PM
One criticism of the game I saw was that it offered no interesting choices -- and yet everything the reviewer said implied if anything an over-abundance of interesting choices
My impression from reading reviews and watching a few lets play videos last night, isn't that there isn't any interesting decisions, it that those decisions are few and far between at times. Given the streamlining that CA seems to have done, it seems there isn't that much to manage. Most of the reviews I've read hit them pretty hard on not having enough to do, and with the AI turn time supposedly taking 2-5 minutes mid to late game (Think I heard it mentioned there was 100+ factions), there seemed to be just a lot of waiting around.
Quote from: Gusington on September 04, 2013, 02:05:51 PM
JH I think a lot of the things you mentioned may be linked to the Prologue. The one that stands out to me is the use of formations. I selected a line formation for one battle and my troops stuck to it, fought as a line, not as a blob.
I think you are correct. I just played a custom battle and it felt much more "authentic." It also felt like more of a brutal struggle than any of the battles of I fought in the prologue.
I am enjoying the Prologue but I expect to be blown away by the actual game. The Prologues are always scripted and kinda weak when compared to the rest of the game.
Just won my first siege battle as Pontus despite the pre-battle force ratio favoring the AI. Generalship matters. AI was very reactive to my moves. The battle only lasted 8 min. AI's morale falls very fast.
It surely can't just be me that thinks this game doesn't look that great surely?
Admittedly I have a sub par system. But I would expect to have things looking great even if they were a slide show...but having all the settings up - it doesn't look all that. The Strat map looks - well bad. The advisors that show up are nowhere near as good as the ones in Shogun 2 - in fact - graphically I think it's way below what Shogun 2 is like (just about to fire it up to clarify for myself).
Maybe it's just my system....but I expected more beauty - even if it was a slide show
It's almost like there's some auto adjusting going on.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 04, 2013, 04:19:27 PM
It surely can't just be me that thinks this game doesn't look that great surely?
Maybe...Are you wearing a kilt and holding a bag pipe while playing the game?
Case in point
Shogun 2 Strat Map
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1160.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq499%2Fwmar1967%2FMisc%2FSnap4_zps3ac6ad3a.jpg&hash=8f0f258daba2902c3e2d9fb562873f05304f7d8c)
Rome 2 Strat Map (with dodgey scary looking advisor) and this screenies are from window mode (as with Shogun 2) and EXTREME settings (with other things switched on that aren't switched on by default with Extreme)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1160.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq499%2Fwmar1967%2FMisc%2FSnap5_zpse26c8c3e.jpg&hash=1f9e3202158cdd988cf0f18d826ecc449e2b7736)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1160.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fq499%2Fwmar1967%2FMisc%2FSnap6_zps9a81d9b2.jpg&hash=08ba7801295bbe1397b3582a50b5a3bdaa4f4d8a)
Well JD, you are tricking us with showing vastly different perspectives.
If you zoom in on the Shogun map as much as you have on the Rome one I doubt you will find Shogun's map more beautiful.
I find the game's graphics pretty awesome. Sure here and there are some weird looking models (like the unit portraits with the actual 3D faces like the advisors) and some bland textures. But on the battlefield I am just amazed by the level of detail you can see.
Oh that reminds me: CA have confirmed an issue with Extreme texture setting on some systems; If you select Extreme as a texture setting some systems will not show detailed textures but a low res ones. This has got something to do with memory allocation or such. Perhaps this is your problem?
If not then I do not know how you would find the graphics poor? Just look at the textures on the soldier's armor and shields, the weathered paint on the boats, stuff like that. It's all nicely detailed as far as I am concerned?
But don't forget the game needs to be able to run at the scale it portrays. Battles can become HUGE and so we should not expect the latest FPS engine goodness here?
And I'll repost again; the in-game Anti Aliasing option doesn't seem to do much. If you want to get rid of jagged edges properly I would advise to override AA from within your video card's properties.
First Rome II pic - granted - it is a different perspective. But the second one is almost the same.
I can't be bothered to fire them both up and look again. I just remembered playing Shogun 2 and thinking how stunning it was - and that was NOT my impression of Rome II
But I'll leave it there - I don't want things to kick off. Lets put it down to my system.
Someone post some Pontus pics!!
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 04, 2013, 04:56:49 PM
First Rome II pic - granted - it is a different perspective. But the second one is almost the same.
I can't be bothered to fire them both up and look again. I just remembered playing Shogun 2 and thinking how stunning it was - and that was NOT my impression of Rome II
But I'll leave it there - I don't want things to kick off. Lets put it down to my system.
No worries, taste is not something to argue about. :)
I was just mentioning some factors that might be contributing to your opinion that might help you change your mind. ;)
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 04, 2013, 04:56:49 PM
First Rome II pic - granted - it is a different perspective. But the second one is almost the same.
I can't be bothered to fire them both up and look again. I just remembered playing Shogun 2 and thinking how stunning it was - and that was NOT my impression of Rome II
But I'll leave it there - I don't want things to kick off. Lets put it down to my system.
These are my sexy campaign map pics - if i could fk them i would
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg833.imageshack.us%2Fimg833%2F2865%2Fnuj1.jpg&hash=95267f0db67e4ca72574e75587e4851ccaba496b) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/833/nuj1.jpg/)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg19.imageshack.us%2Fimg19%2F4475%2Fkx2g.jpg&hash=c9f404c87b40cb8e5b365ba393a63b28f769bf9c) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/19/kx2g.jpg/)
I play on ultra...I think they are about the same: Shogun and Rome.
Wish someone would mod the battles so they last longer. The fact that no one has makes me think this game is harder to mod than previous. Not a big fan of "victory locations" on battlefields either.
All in all, this is a better TW game at release than any past TW games except Shogun 2.
HA dear God 'Geek you perv.
How would that work, technically? Fk-ing a monitor?
Call me intrigued!
Quote from: mikeck on September 04, 2013, 05:07:36 PM
I play on ultra...I think they are about the same: Shogun and Rome.
Wish someone would mod the battles so they last longer. The fact that no one has makes me think this game is harder to mod than previous. Not a big fan of "victory locations" on battlefields either.
All in all, this is a better TW game at release than any past TW games except Shogun 2.
ive seen a 2 seasons and 4 seasons per year mod as opposed to the default 1 turn 1 year - im sure theyll get there soon, the speed mod is the one im looking for too
i think most of the file structures are the same for Shogun II and i have the speed mod for that - i dont know how hard it is to mod it myself though
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 04, 2013, 05:09:36 PM
How would that work, technically? Fk-ing a monitor?
Call me intrigued!
pffft, amateur
you want some pictures??
Quote from: Gusington on September 04, 2013, 05:08:38 PM
HA dear God 'Geek you perv.
lol.. Gusington's loins get wet, but if UCG takes it one more step, he's a perv!
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 04, 2013, 05:11:24 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 04, 2013, 05:09:36 PM
How would that work, technically? Fk-ing a monitor?
Call me intrigued!
pffft, amateur
you want some pictures??
LOL.. NO Pictures, please, this is a family site!
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 04, 2013, 05:51:49 AM
Loving the game so far. Yes there are flaws and the UI is not really my thing so far (aestethically speaking and having the info I need at hand at times is lacking), but other than that absolutely love it.
The UI is definitely a big step back from Shogun 2. They didn't need to try reinventing the wheel. Especially didn't need to add the transparent backgrounds with text laid over them. ::)
I've also experienced some poor tactical AI when it comes to them defending the tiny capture point. Five slinger units score 698 kills versus none for their army. Complete route with zero losses. All because the AI is hidebound to taking and holding the damn victory location. Not good.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 04, 2013, 05:11:24 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 04, 2013, 05:09:36 PM
How would that work, technically? Fk-ing a monitor?
Call me intrigued!
pffft, amateur
you want some pictures??
Hm.. I must say I have wondered how big you are, more than once.
But no, I'll leave the weener for a sandwich at tomorrow's lunch, thank you very much.
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 04, 2013, 05:07:10 PM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 04, 2013, 04:56:49 PM
First Rome II pic - granted - it is a different perspective. But the second one is almost the same.
I can't be bothered to fire them both up and look again. I just remembered playing Shogun 2 and thinking how stunning it was - and that was NOT my impression of Rome II
But I'll leave it there - I don't want things to kick off. Lets put it down to my system.
No worries, taste is not something to argue about. :)
I was just mentioning some factors that might be contributing to your opinion that might help you change your mind. ;)
Actually Yskonyn your mention of AA was spot on. It looks a damn sight better with AA on. I guess that's what didn't look great because it looks pretty damn good now - and yeah - I had it switched on in game and it did nothing - switched it on for the card and it's been - erm - transformed.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 04, 2013, 05:14:31 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 04, 2013, 05:51:49 AM
Loving the game so far. Yes there are flaws and the UI is not really my thing so far (aestethically speaking and having the info I need at hand at times is lacking), but other than that absolutely love it.
The UI is definitely a big step back from Shogun 2. They didn't need to try reinventing the wheel. Especially didn't need to add the transparent backgrounds with text laid over them. ::)
I've also experienced some poor tactical AI when it comes to them defending the tiny capture point. Five slinger units score 698 kills versus none for their army. Complete route with zero losses. All because the AI is hidebound to taking and holding the damn victory location. Not good.
Agreed about the interface. I like the unit cards but the interface? example is - I had the option to pay money to have a spy try and assassinate - but I couldn't see anywhere on the screen where it told me how much money I had(?). I'm sure it was always there for you in Shogun 2.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 04, 2013, 05:21:43 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 04, 2013, 05:07:10 PM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 04, 2013, 04:56:49 PM
First Rome II pic - granted - it is a different perspective. But the second one is almost the same.
I can't be bothered to fire them both up and look again. I just remembered playing Shogun 2 and thinking how stunning it was - and that was NOT my impression of Rome II
But I'll leave it there - I don't want things to kick off. Lets put it down to my system.
No worries, taste is not something to argue about. :)
I was just mentioning some factors that might be contributing to your opinion that might help you change your mind. ;)
Actually Yskonyn your mention of AA was spot on. It looks a damn sight better with AA on. I guess that's what didn't look great because it looks pretty damn good now - and yeah - I had it switched on in game and it did nothing - switched it on for the card and it's been - erm - transformed.
Glad all is working well for you now JD, we were feeling bad for you this morning!!!
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 04, 2013, 05:21:43 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 04, 2013, 05:07:10 PM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 04, 2013, 04:56:49 PM
First Rome II pic - granted - it is a different perspective. But the second one is almost the same.
I can't be bothered to fire them both up and look again. I just remembered playing Shogun 2 and thinking how stunning it was - and that was NOT my impression of Rome II
But I'll leave it there - I don't want things to kick off. Lets put it down to my system.
No worries, taste is not something to argue about. :)
I was just mentioning some factors that might be contributing to your opinion that might help you change your mind. ;)
Actually Yskonyn your mention of AA was spot on. It looks a damn sight better with AA on. I guess that's what didn't look great because it looks pretty damn good now - and yeah - I had it switched on in game and it did nothing - switched it on for the card and it's been - erm - transformed.
You're welcome JD! Glad I could contribute something useful.
I had posted the tip earlier, but I am not amazed it got lost in my rambling about. :D
Thx Tuna. I was GUTTED.
I did speak to the wife though and I'll be getting a new PC next week anyway I think...my system is apparently 4 years old with a graphics card from a couple of years ago.
Yskonyn - the thread is moving so fast it's hard to keep up with everything. I must've missed your earlier post
And forget my other post about money - it's in the bottom left. What? It's late and I'm tired :)
Goodnight all.
Kind of interesting....first patch will drop this Friday and then they plan weekly updates, which will include AI improvements.
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/79006-First-Total-War-ROME-II-Update-this-Friday?s=fcd70285dc36d185010e2ff858a29814
WOOT! I love updates. It's also supposed to address hardware issues.
Quote from: Bison on September 04, 2013, 05:48:28 PM
WOOT! I love updates. It's also supposed to address hardware issues.
Yep, if they stick to it and offer AI updates, seems like a very good deal...
I have no perfprmace issues. Most settings are on extreme and a few settings are disabled. for the record my rig is 3,5 years old and holding up suprisingly well.
I'm not far into Campaigns and the only real battle so far was capturing a enemis capital. Too bad they didn't teach the ai about capture Points...
The UI doesn't bother me. Everything seems to be in the same spot as Shogun. Once you learn what the little pictures mean, it's fine. What I do have a problem with though is the lack of a manual. Seriously, you can't right a frickin PDF?
On an AI note, the enemy dropped an army off in mg territory after whipping me in a naval battle. Apparently, flaming arrows are better than no flaming arrows. Anyway, in the tactical battle I think the Ai did well. Nothing fancy, marched up in a line with his cavalry running around behind me. Ran into my lines and gutted my legion (I was outnumbered so no surprise). Glad to see that the AI actually moved up in formation instead of a big mob.
On another note, Romans maintain formation better when you don't double click on the enemy to charge
I've got mixed feelings with the UI, but I'm slowly coming to understand how to manipulated it to get the information I want.
Any of you guys know how the "Marian reforms" work. I don't dig on Hastati, Princepes and Triarii...I want my Hollywood Romans
Quote from: mikeck on September 04, 2013, 07:40:41 PM
Any of you guys know how the "Marian reforms" work. I don't dig on Hastati, Princepes and Triarii...I want my Hollywood Romans
I must really suck, because I'm still trying to get out of the tutorial campaign. :(
Quote from: mikeck on September 04, 2013, 07:40:41 PM
Any of you guys know how the "Marian reforms" work. I don't dig on Hastati, Princepes and Triarii...I want my Hollywood Romans
IIRC rightly - I think the answer was on TWC forums - one of the Devs commented that it was date dependent, as were some of the other events.
I'm awaiting my copy to arrive, and have high hopes. I just hope it doesn't run at a crawl.... :(
I'm going to try to end the tutorial now.
I think you will be fine. I have a pretty mediocre system with the video card it's about three or four years old and I can run everything at a pretty high level with no problems. just keep my unit detail set to high and my anti-aliasing off everything seems Smooth
Quote from: Gusington on September 04, 2013, 08:14:22 PM
I'm going to try to end the tutorial now.
Am I missing something about this tutorial? I mean I played the prologue for a few minutes and just decided to skip it and start a general campaign ...do I miss something if I do that other than general instructions as to how the game works? I thought that it was too much on rails, Which I guess is okay since it is a tutorial
For anyone who played a TW game previosly the prologue is just a waste of time.
Quote from: Boggit on September 04, 2013, 07:56:06 PM
Quote from: mikeck on September 04, 2013, 07:40:41 PM
Any of you guys know how the "Marian reforms" work. I don't dig on Hastati, Princepes and Triarii...I want my Hollywood Romans
IIRC rightly - I think the answer was on TWC forums - one of the Devs commented that it was date dependent, as were some of the other events.
I'm awaiting my copy to arrive, and have high hopes. I just hope it doesn't run at a crawl.... :(
The third unlock in army research opens up the building that allows the three early types to turn into equivalent late period legions. Fortunately rt-clicking to open a specific building/unit's info page still works (for most anyway).
However, I'm not sure if there are some extra prerequisite parameters to be met before you can research that third one, because it's differentiated from the first couple by a slightly different background color and some kind of research 'stage' indication that it's the second such in that research line. This is the kind of info sorely lacking in the in-game help/info, along with the mechanics of all the new stuff.
I like easing my way in. Kind of enjoying the tutorial.
So I am now besieging the Samnite capital for the win. I have rams and I supposedly I have ladders too, but I can't find them on the field.
Anyway, my bigger issue is when I have rams selected. I can't find any spots along the wall where I can attack...no targeting reticule appears. Am I missing something? Is it bugged?
Quote from: Gusington on September 04, 2013, 10:01:25 PM
I like easing my way in. Kind of enjoying the tutorial.
So I am now besieging the Samnite capital for the win. I have rams and I supposedly I have ladders too, but I can't find them on the field.
Anyway, my bigger issue is when I have rams selected. I can't find any spots along the wall where I can attack...no targeting reticule appears. Am I missing something? Is it bugged?
I had this issue last night, too.
I had set some siege equipment to build, and then attacked a couple turns later. But no such siege equipment to place once I got into the tactical battle. ??? Ended up having to send in a unit of Hoplites to burn the gate down. Didn't turn out so bad since the enemy units all just huddled inside the closest victory location - easy picking for my slingers who have been racking up kills on such terrible behavior. They
should just take out the victory location system, as it's making the AI do nothing useful.
Anyway.. back to seige equipment. I had only been building ladders that didn't show up, but you mentioned a Ram. I suppose you unlocked that in the second Siege research slot, where it's mentioned? Yet that too isn't showing up in your battle, for placement? Or is it just the ladders that aren't appearing?
The siege equipment was located on the battlefield, but unmanned. I had to select a unit to man the equipment. In my case, I built some tortoise's. Once you equipment is manned there are markers, like the landing sites for boats, on the walls. Then just select the siege equipment and click on the wall section and the unit will move the equipment to breach the wall/gate.
I was never able to recruit additional slingers/archers in the tutorial even though I build the Field of Mars, which supposedly is the pre-requisite to recruit them. I suspect it was a limitation on the prologue, but it was odd none the less.
In fairness to the Ai, when I am the one under seige and I have inferior forces, I pack em All in at the victory location as well. At least I'm concentrated.
By the way, I found this handy FAQ post by the devs. Helps explain some things. Kind of like a manual would have.
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/78163-WIP-Official-Rome2-FAQ-Thread?s=d40887dd00f3f0fba5781a7f44b89403
AGGHHH!!! My Pikemen! They have no Pikes!!!
They're armed with kopis. Nothing else. I've seen the 'Levy Pikemen' like this and some other kind too. Makes me wonder if they have even put pikes into the game yet. It makes me worry that phalanxes are even modelled in the game mechanics right now, recalling how previous Total War games would have game mechanic issues when their weapon strike animations weren't working properly (like they were tied together). :(
I also experienced my first performance slowdown in a tactical battle. It was a port attack, so I had landed my troops and attacked the gate. It began the same hitching that I had experienced when I minimized the game into Windows the other night. Would run okay for about 3 seconds then it would slow and stop for about one. It would only happen in short stretches but once it started, the poor performance stayed even after the battle was over & I was back to the campaign map. I'm thinking some memory leaks, for one. :'( Time to close, clear, and restart.
I didn't bother playing the prologue like most of you. Probably nothing I could learn in there that I didn't already know, or couldn't find out through tooltips, in-game manual, and my overwhelming powers of experienced wargamer deduction. :D Straight to the campaign for me!
Ok, I am still playing the Prologue.
Now have control over Salernum, Buxentum en Lucernum. The Samnites have only 2 settlements left. Their capital Bovianum and the settlement to the east of Bovianum sealing off the pass towards it.
I still have a cap on amount of standing armies I can have of 3. Is it possible to raise this number?
I am struggling to keep civil unrest under control in two of my settlements; Buxentum, the seatown and Lucernum which I looted upon taking it cause I desperately needed the cash.
Buxentum was on the verge of a revolt, but with a strong military prescence and dismantling of slums I have that under control. However, the Samnites seem to be reinforcing their troops on the North road towards Buxentum. I expect an attack soon.
Lucernum has my main army garrisoned. Public order is not getting any better due to the fact we are the invaders and all other settlements of the province belong to the Samnites. Should I just move on and let the town wither?
As you can see 2 of my 3 armies are tied to putting down civil unrest while I'd rather have them march onto Bovianum.
How would you proceed?
Someones at least looking at the speed - theres a split now about whether its the movement speed or the combat speed but at least its been looked at
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?618084-Movement-Speed-Modding
the last post suggests that an editor needs releasing, and then within 10 mins of that someone posts a beta for a new editor - its a wonderful community when it stops bitching and moaning!
im sure itll be along soon
Sorry guys I wasn't clear enough. My rams were deployed and equipped, but when I tried to use them my cursor never changed. I scrolled it over gates and walls, and never found a spot to use them. Bug?
Never found he ladders at all. I did discover that I could burn the gates down but I was taking heavy losses doing that and just quit out without saving...I was playing for two hours and was tired!
So maybe I missed something in how to employ the rams. If not for that I would have won the Prologue last night!
Yskonyn if you take a turn or two to build up your forces and then assault the Samnite capital it should be pretty hard to lose
Yeesh, I can't even successfully relieve the siege at Capua in Part One of the prologue. :-[ Apparently I'm just moving too slow, as I'm walking my troops when I can -- why run them all around the map and sap their energy?
Started an Athens campaign, although I'm a bit apprehensive over its stated "Hard" starting difficulty.
The game seems to save when you quit, Gus, so your failure has been recorded! :P
My forces are already fully stacked. It's just that unrest is getting out of hand.
If I advance my army out of Buxentum I suspect the Samnites will quickly engage the undefended city. I could of course just go full speed towards Bovianum and ignore the rest. I would have two armies to lay siege with, but somehow that makes me feel going 'gamey'.
If my armies leave the cities, unrest will rise like crazy as well. I find it a strange situation for the Prologue...
But again; is there a way to increase the max amount of armies in the prologue?
Martok you are fielding a relieve skirmisher force. Time is of the essence because the defending army is outnumbered. Speed is indeed of the essence here.
Quickly kill off the siege weaponry with the guards. Then rush across the river to reinforce the defenders. After that you can take it slowly again. :)
Oh and the point made about Roman troops not holding the line properly;
They will perfectly hold the line, however you should never double-click when attacking to make them assault. This will break formation and just turns them into an angry mob.
Keep them at walking pace and formations remain intact, even if they attack.
Well the game sounds really intriguing and I have to admit being tempted but it also sounds like it needs more polishing that will be generated from it being released to the masses and having much more input then from the beta testing.
So I am going to continue to hold off until some patches arrive. I will be interested to see once the newness of the game has worn off if it still continues to capture and hold your attention.
Con
I just built some temples and left an army in the city for a few turns. Eventually I only left a token 4 unit army in Bovianum to put down the eventual riots along with the town's garrison. It also seems to have deterred the AI from attacking as I moved my other two armies toward the capital and victory. Looting and razing requires a very heavy price in unrest, so I never did it.
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 05, 2013, 07:36:07 AM
Martok you are fielding a relieve skirmisher force. Time is of the essence because the defending army is outnumbered. Speed is indeed of the essence here.
Quickly kill off the siege weaponry with the guards. Then rush across the river to reinforce the defenders. After that you can take it slowly again. :)
Note to self: Run my troops ragged. Got it. :P
Quote from: Bison on September 04, 2013, 07:42:36 PM
Quote from: mikeck on September 04, 2013, 07:40:41 PM
Any of you guys know how the "Marian reforms" work. I don't dig on Hastati, Princepes and Triarii...I want my Hollywood Romans
I must really suck, because I'm still trying to get out of the tutorial campaign. :(
I was doing well until suddenly during the second battle my general died. Now it looks like I have to play the first battle again :(
Quote from: Martok on September 05, 2013, 07:33:38 AM
Yeesh, I can't even successfully relieve the siege at Capua in Part One of the prologue. :-[ Apparently I'm just moving too slow, as I'm walking my troops when I can -- why run them all around the map and sap their energy?
Started an Athens campaign, although I'm a bit apprehensive over its stated "Hard" starting difficulty.
This is why I skipped the prologue. Can't stand being forced to do certain things. Of course, without it, I have no idea how things work
Quote from: Bison on September 05, 2013, 07:49:46 AM
I just built some temples and left an army in the city for a few turns. Eventually I only left a token 4 unit army in Bovianum to put down the eventual riots along with the town's garrison. It also seems to have deterred the AI from attacking as I moved my other two armies toward the capital and victory. Looting and razing requires a very heavy price in unrest, so I never did it.
Question. Did you create a seperate army with a general to garrison or is there a way to construct things that create garrisons? It seems some of my cities have garrisons listed (5 plebs, 6 spearmen, Eric) hate to waste a general just to garrison EVERY CITY
I really want to get this game. What's stopping me however are two points mentioned here.
1. Prologue seems to be ludicrously hard but if you don't play it you won't know how to play the game.
2. Battles seem to be short in time duration compared to previous TW titles. Please don't tell me that a battle feels like a COD round where the mediocre player dies a thousands deaths in a round in under 60 seconds then rage quits.
Quote from: W8taminute on September 05, 2013, 09:34:31 AM
I really want to get this game. What's stopping me however are two points mentioned here.
1. Prologue seems to be ludicrously hard but if you don't play it you won't know how to play the game.
2. Battles seem to be short in time duration compared to previous TW titles. Please don't tell me that a battle feels like a COD round where the mediocre player dies a thousands deaths in a round in under 60 seconds then rage quits.
1. The prologue is not hard. Not sure where you heard that. I was able to win it very quickly. Perhaps I won by exploiting weak and/or scripted strategic AI, but I still won it quickly nevertheless.
2. The battles were very quick in the prologue campaign, but I have thankfully not experienced this is the full campaign or in the custom battles I have played. Most of my complaints as to gameplay have been redressed by the standard campaign. For whatever reason, the prologue campaign plays a lot different from a new campaign game.
Quote from: W8taminute on September 05, 2013, 09:34:31 AM
I really want to get this game. What's stopping me however are two points mentioned here.
1. Prologue seems to be ludicrously hard but if you don't play it you won't know how to play the game.
2. Battles seem to be short in time duration compared to previous TW titles. Please don't tell me that a battle feels like a COD round where the mediocre player dies a thousands deaths in a round in under 60 seconds then rage quits.
1. It isn't that hard. You just need to abide by the orders given. I have made it hard for myself because I made some bad decisions (mainly the looting of the town) and I am just now wondering how I should proceed. At the same time, the prologue gives you insight in what does and does not work, without too much of your time being wasted (as opposed to finding out in a long campaign).
2.
In the Prologue it seems to take a fairly short time before units will start to crumble and route. I do agree this comes across as too fast. It's hardly ever a longer tug-o-war between units. But as noted above; this is probably either going to be patched soon or otherwise a mod will pop up before long.
Still, as JH mentions above; there are also reports of it not being an issue in a real campaign, so perhaps its because the prologue is modified.
Both points I feel shouldn't keep you from getting the game if you're into TW games.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 05, 2013, 10:07:07 AM
Quote from: W8taminute on September 05, 2013, 09:34:31 AM
I really want to get this game. What's stopping me however are two points mentioned here.
1. Prologue seems to be ludicrously hard but if you don't play it you won't know how to play the game.
2. Battles seem to be short in time duration compared to previous TW titles. Please don't tell me that a battle feels like a COD round where the mediocre player dies a thousands deaths in a round in under 60 seconds then rage quits.
1. The prologue is not hard. Not sure where you heard that. I was able to win it very quickly. Perhaps I won by exploiting weak and/or scripted strategic AI, but I still won it quickly nevertheless.
2. The battles were very quick in the prologue campaign, but I have thankfully not experienced this is the full campaign or in the custom battles I have played. Most of my complaints as to gameplay have been redressed by the standard campaign. For whatever reason, the prologue campaign plays a lot different from a new campaign game.
Agreed. I only played a bit of the prologue and actually quit because play sucked. Completely different in a general campaign
That is awesome about the differences between the Prologue and the real game. If i am intrigued by the Prologue I will love the rest. Just wish I could figure out how to use rams and where my siege ladders are, then I can win and move on.
And yeah W8 the Prologue is defintely not hard if you have played a TW game before. And even then...if you've played an RTS or TBS, you should feel at home.
The Auto-resolve for battles is quite a bit different. You can now choose between different stances for your army to take, each with a predicted outcome as to how you will do. Tactical AI on "Normal" difficulity is pretty good. So far no susicide charges by the enemy General. Slingers seem to be over powered, with their Precise Shot skill activated they're deadly even against armored opponents.
That sounds great guys. Thanks for the feedback. Ok you've all managed to convince me this is a must have game. Especially for a TW gamer like myself. ;)
Yeah I definitely dig the new info in autoresolve.
So you getting it now W8?
Quote from: Kushan on September 04, 2013, 02:24:23 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on September 04, 2013, 12:43:02 PM
One criticism of the game I saw was that it offered no interesting choices -- and yet everything the reviewer said implied if anything an over-abundance of interesting choices
My impression from reading reviews and watching a few lets play videos last night, isn't that there isn't any interesting decisions, it that those decisions are few and far between at times. Given the streamlining that CA seems to have done, it seems there isn't that much to manage. Most of the reviews I've read hit them pretty hard on not having enough to do, and with the AI turn time supposedly taking 2-5 minutes mid to late game (Think I heard it mentioned there was 100+ factions), there seemed to be just a lot of waiting around.
My impression from reaching 241 BC as Pontus in Easy Mode is that there is a tremedous amount going on. Well, actually there was a lot of stuff going on (really -- not just as an impression -- but actually there was a lot going on). The first few turns I built up the army and crushed Cappadocia while allying with or trading with Athens and Bythnia and Trapezios. In the next few turns I defeated the Galatians and made them a satrapy of Pontus. Then I made a lot of money helping Athens and Sparta and the Selucids defeat Egypt. Then I blew my wealth making Epirus a Satrapy and plunged into economic chaos (flooding in the home provinces didn't help). So as my economy began to collapse I had a proto-Imperial domain extending from the Straits by Brindisi (lots of Romans in view there) across Greece and the length of the Black sea all the way to the Armenians in the Caucausus. I pulled back my over-extended forces and let both satrapies fall (one to Macedon and one to the Selucids). I was able to rebuild quickly and smash the Armenians in a campaign that has gotten pretty chaotic (I stirred up unrest and now there are two rebel armies out there making life difficult for everybody).
So there really is (at least potentially) a lot going on. And I agree with the logic of the basic design decisions that limit the number of independent commands and other limitations. What that does is make the huge array of decisions much more managable and meaning full so that (for example) instead of having scores of armies in transit, you have (as I do at the moment) say 1 admiral and the battle fleet, One reserve or sea or strike army, one support or reserve or strike army and one main army. Everything you do with these forces (4 of them in this case) is crucial: forced march? Fortify? Recruit? Reinforce and/or back up a Garrison? Go to sea? Set an ambush? Diplomacy requires roughly 2-3 crucial decisions a turn and technoloy and construction require another 2-3. So that's around 8-10 crucial decsions a turn any one of which might cripple you or give you a huge advantage.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 05, 2013, 10:07:07 AM
Quote from: W8taminute on September 05, 2013, 09:34:31 AM
I really want to get this game. What's stopping me however are two points mentioned here.
1. Prologue seems to be ludicrously hard but if you don't play it you won't know how to play the game.
2. Battles seem to be short in time duration compared to previous TW titles. Please don't tell me that a battle feels like a COD round where the mediocre player dies a thousands deaths in a round in under 60 seconds then rage quits.
1. The prologue is not hard. Not sure where you heard that. I was able to win it very quickly. Perhaps I won by exploiting weak and/or scripted strategic AI, but I still won it quickly nevertheless.
2. The battles were very quick in the prologue campaign, but I have thankfully not experienced this is the full campaign or in the custom battles I have played. Most of my complaints as to gameplay have been redressed by the standard campaign. For whatever reason, the prologue campaign plays a lot different from a new campaign game.
Yes Ive seen some pretty lengthy battles in the Campaign game. There was one in the rain with half-a-dozen forces and allies coming in from all sides. I had to scout with mercenary horsemen, and try to keep my two Pontic commanders from riding into obscure, but very angry, mobs while the Galatians and the local garrison stood off the desperate Cappadocian Noble Cavalry. It was touch-and-go, everything was at sixes and sevens until the Pontic Hopolites arrived and saw the Cappadocians off.
I'm having a much tougher time as Pontus on "Normal". Took the first city from the Capps, then had to wait for Public order to rise before moving on. Meanwhile the Galatians declared war and the Capps sent an army against my eastern city. The Cappadocian army beat mine but then was defeated by my city garrison and withdrew. I have been able to direct my allies, Bithynia and Trapezios to concentrate against the Galatians and soon hope to go on the offensive again. I'm also at war with Cimmeria but they've only sent ships across the Black Sea so far. It's fun even if I'm completely sure what the hell I'm doing.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 05, 2013, 10:43:11 AM
The Auto-resolve for battles is quite a bit different. You can now choose between different stances for your army to take, each with a predicted outcome as to how you will do. Tactical AI on "Normal" difficulity is pretty good. So far no susicide charges by the enemy General. Slingers seem to be over powered, with their Precise Shot skill activated they're deadly even against armored opponents.
A well-timed storm of precision shots can be absolute murder. Against the big Eastern Armies with lots of cavalry, I've used buildings and farms to channel the enemy charges in to killing zones where one hopolite backed by spearmen and inspired by the commander stops the charge and the slingers and javelinmen kill heaps of the elite of Asia.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 05, 2013, 11:07:24 AM
I'm having a much tougher time as Pontus on "Normal". Took the first city from the Capps, then had to wait for Public order to rise before moving on. Meanwhile the Galatians declared war and the Capps sent an army against my eastern city. The Cappadocian army beat mine but then was defeated by my city garrison and withdrew. I have been able to direct my allies, Bithynia and Trapezios to concentrate against the Galatians and soon hope to go on the offensive again. I'm also at war with Cimmeria but they've only sent ships across the Black Sea so far. It's fun even if I'm completely sure what the hell I'm doing.
The normal world must be very different from the Easy World. We the easy Pontics salute your alternative cosmos! Unfortunately, in an Easy World, I was tempted to dabble in Egypto-Greco-Macedonian politics and as a result all my satrapies fell and the Armenians crushed Trapezios. Even in an Easy World, the Armenians can be serious trouble.
Think of what Cher (an Armenian) did to Sonny.
Quote from: mikeck on September 05, 2013, 09:26:57 AM
Quote from: Bison on September 05, 2013, 07:49:46 AM
I just built some temples and left an army in the city for a few turns. Eventually I only left a token 4 unit army in Bovianum to put down the eventual riots along with the town's garrison. It also seems to have deterred the AI from attacking as I moved my other two armies toward the capital and victory. Looting and razing requires a very heavy price in unrest, so I never did it.
Question. Did you create a seperate army with a general to garrison or is there a way to construct things that create garrisons? It seems some of my cities have garrisons listed (5 plebs, 6 spearmen, Eric) hate to waste a general just to garrison EVERY CITY
No every city gets a garrison based on city level and buildings in the city. The reason why I put a general with a small army 3 units total is two fold. 1 I had I idea how big or what type of units the rebels would field, so I wanted extra muscle. 2 cities with a garrisoned army receive a reduction to the unhappy number.
The prologue is nice In that it slowly introduced features and with the limited area allows you to focus on smaller bites of data to learn basic mechanics.
Quote from: Gusington on September 05, 2013, 10:37:32 AM
That is awesome about the differences between the Prologue and the real game. If i am intrigued by the Prologue I will love the rest.
+1
have played very sporadically due to work - it will receive a full battering this weekend
Quote from: besilarius on September 05, 2013, 11:44:24 AM
Think of what Cher (an Armenian) did to Sonny.
Hardly a day goes by when I don't reflect on that.
Armenians have always been pretty good fighters. Look what we did to the Azergayjans in Nagorno Karabakh.
You're Armenian? I am ethnically Azeri (not to be confused with Azzuri).
Prepare to die.
I think I have finally decided on a starting faction as long as I finish the Prologue tonight...Iceni.
^Holy moly Gus! I did not know that. Can we still be friends?
I have Polish ancestry. Where do I fit in? XD
Just be careful if both a German and a Russian sit on either side of you. ;D
German/Irish. I want to invade everyone but then get drunk and forget about it. Meng, I'm thinking about going down to "Easy" level and restarting as even on "Normal" the Pontics aren't doing too well for me.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 05, 2013, 10:43:11 AM
The Auto-resolve for battles is quite a bit different. You can now choose between different stances for your army to take, each with a predicted outcome as to how you will do. Tactical AI on "Normal" difficulity is pretty good. So far no susicide charges by the enemy General. Slingers seem to be over powered, with their Precise Shot skill activated they're deadly even against armored opponents.
That's not so bad. Roman armies preferred slingers to archers in the earlier period, partly because slingers were argued as more effective. Balearic slingers were reputed to use different slings for different ranges, and different slingshots ranging (excuse the pun) from lead bullets to stones. If not necessarily better at penetrative wounds like the bow, they more than made up for it with the concussive effect on armoured opponents. They would be comparatively lethal with the bow against unarmoured targets too.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 05, 2013, 11:15:38 AM
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 05, 2013, 11:07:24 AM
I'm having a much tougher time as Pontus on "Normal". Took the first city from the Capps, then had to wait for Public order to rise before moving on. Meanwhile the Galatians declared war and the Capps sent an army against my eastern city. The Cappadocian army beat mine but then was defeated by my city garrison and withdrew. I have been able to direct my allies, Bithynia and Trapezios to concentrate against the Galatians and soon hope to go on the offensive again. I'm also at war with Cimmeria but they've only sent ships across the Black Sea so far. It's fun even if I'm completely sure what the hell I'm doing.
The normal world must be very different from the Easy World. We the easy Pontics salute your alternative cosmos! Unfortunately, in an Easy World, I was tempted to dabble in Egypto-Greco-Macedonian politics and as a result all my satrapies fell and the Armenians crushed Trapezios. Even in an Easy World, the Armenians can be serious trouble.
My copy is due imminently. I am so envious of you guys who already have the game... :'(
Hard copy? That is so 375 BC.
Don't sweat it W8, I was kidding. I am actually Cambodian Orthodox.
My point being is that you never know who is hanging out here, so you don't want to call any group out as inherently evil even if you are convinced they are.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 05, 2013, 11:49:59 AM
Quote from: Gusington on September 05, 2013, 10:37:32 AM
That is awesome about the differences between the Prologue and the real game. If i am intrigued by the Prologue I will love the rest.
+1
have played very sporadically due to work - it will receive a full battering this weekend
Well, that was my perception (and Jarhead's I believe) but I have no concrete evidence for it. Seems to be the conventional wisdom though
Ok, on the garrison front, the reason I asked about extra units is that my public unrest is through the roof and still dropping. When I plop an army down in the city, public order comes up. Of course, I can't waste armies like that. Any ideas how best to reduce unrest? My taxes are as low as possible
Quote from: W8taminute on September 05, 2013, 01:11:47 PM
^Holy moly Gus! I did not know that. Can we still be friends?
If Gus' family are from northern Azerbaijan, then genetically he is more likely to be related to the Armenians, and Georgians. If not his family are likely to be more closely related to the Persians, or Oghuz Turkmen.
What does this mean for w8aminute and Gus?
It determines whether Gus plays multiplayer using the Parthians/Seleukids (nearest big power?), as an ally, or as an enemy to w8's Armenians. Either way, it's only pixellated blood that gets spilt. ;D ;)
HEY, new SLOWER BATTLES MOD
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?618513-Radious-Moral-Mod-!!!!
If your Interested. Looks like it basically causes armies to fight longer resulting in higher casualties before retreat...so not a perfect fix
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 05, 2013, 01:57:34 PM
German/Irish. I want to invade everyone but then get drunk and forget about it. Meng, I'm thinking about going down to "Easy" level and restarting as even on "Normal" the Pontics aren't doing too well for me.
Well, the fun thing about easy mode is that you can make pretty big mistakes and still recover. Makes for a pretty wild game with lots of extreme moments. From my experience, you can still take a beating in easy mode, but you get a better chance of fixing your mistakes and getting back into the flow, which I think gives you the broad experience of the game more quickly and with less repetition than more difficult settings. You can develop your understanding in easy mode and then refine it at more difficult settings. That's my theory anyway.
So is easy the new normal?
Always was for me
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 05, 2013, 05:19:05 AM
Ok, I am still playing the Prologue.
Now have control over Salernum, Buxentum en Lucernum. The Samnites have only 2 settlements left. Their capital Bovianum and the settlement to the east of Bovianum sealing off the pass towards it.
I still have a cap on amount of standing armies I can have of 3. Is it possible to raise this number?
Yes, but it's tied to your Fame/Infamy (or whatever it's called in this one). As you progress and expand, it'll hit certain points where you'll get a message saying that your army, navy, and agent limits have gone up. So you don't necessarily just unlock it but your overall advancement sets the pace.
I like the new system with restricted generals, and only being able to recruit with a general inside the province with the barracks structures. It makes for tough decisions since you're not allowed to have a buttload of armies running about with a constant stream of new units being sent through enemy territory. :D
Quote
As you can see 2 of my 3 armies are tied to putting down civil unrest while I'd rather have them march onto Bovianum.
How would you proceed?
I've not played the prologue at all. Just speaking from a full campain point of view, here.
I'm finding it safer to leave my armies in newly captured cities for a few turns, until the biggest of the revolt modifiers tapers off and the negative amount every turn is much lower. Move a .. Dignitary (?) agent into the province because they start off with a base +2 Order effect and they also get extra level-up skills that provide more order bonuses to the province they're in. Just remember to set them on their tax collection action while standing there, mainly to gain xp and level up in teh future. I've also been using a 3rd army as a domestic police force, keeping it stocked with a few primarily low-upkeep units, and garrisoning that in one of the cities of my worst province. While still needing the other two frontline armies for awhile, after conquering a region, I can move a big one off before long and move the smaller one in to take over subjugation duties.
I've also been researching the first couple + stability unlocks fairly early in the game (along with the first Pop Growth one and some Culture conversion) for the nation wide bonus
and the buildings. It helps subdue unruly new conquests faster and as an added bonus the provinces with overall stability in the green get additional pop growth and tax income boosts. Be sure to check all the pop-up tooltips on the Stability window (bottom left) when your province is selected. The little symbols at the bottom also have an extra effect; some like the above high stability bonuses and others pertaining to random events.
Quote from: mikeck on September 05, 2013, 02:32:46 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 05, 2013, 11:49:59 AM
Quote from: Gusington on September 05, 2013, 10:37:32 AM
That is awesome about the differences between the Prologue and the real game. If i am intrigued by the Prologue I will love the rest.
+1
have played very sporadically due to work - it will receive a full battering this weekend
Well, that was my perception (and Jarhead's I believe) but I have no concrete evidence for it. Seems to be the conventional wisdom though
Ok, on the garrison front, the reason I asked about extra units is that my public unrest is through the roof and still dropping. When I plop an army down in the city, public order comes up. Of course, I can't waste armies like that. Any ideas how best to reduce unrest? My taxes are as low as possible
The best way to improve public order long term is through your building upgrades and society techs. Temples and amphitheaters are really good at reducing the negative public order. Newly conquered cities are an issue because they start with such a high disorder rating that almost requires a sitting army for the near term just to deal with possible insurrections.
One thing I could never figure out with total war games is when you select your army and have them move to a spot in a formation, but the calvary during the move does not stay in formation but always ends up passing the lined troops in front of them. When doing a march like that, they should stay in the back an set their pace appropriately not to pass up the walking troops.
Quote from: Gusington on September 05, 2013, 02:26:36 PM
Hard copy? That is so 375 BC.
Yep! I like my games ancient - and with a backup disk! Call me old fashioned.... :P
Quote from: mikeck on September 05, 2013, 02:42:53 PM
HEY, new SLOWER BATTLES MOD
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?618513-Radious-Moral-Mod-!!!!
If your Interested. Looks like it basically causes armies to fight longer resulting in higher casualties before retreat...so not a perfect fix
I'm a bit concerned. Ancient battles were typically a slugging match until morale broke, usually arising from being hit in the flank. Most casualties were killed in the rout if you give much credit to ancient sources. Whilst I love TW, battlefields often resemble the Somme from heavy missile fire, and that's before you get to melee.
Quote from: Gusington on September 05, 2013, 02:26:36 PM
Don't sweat it W8, I was kidding. I am actually Cambodian Orthodox.
My point being is that you never know who is hanging out here, so you don't want to call any group out as inherently evil even if you are convinced they are.
I understand what you mean. You're right.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 05, 2013, 05:57:33 PM
One thing I could never figure out with total war games is when you select your army and have them move to a spot in a formation, but the calvary during the move does not stay in formation but always ends up passing the lined troops in front of them. When doing a march like that, they should stay in the back an set their pace appropriately not to pass up the walking troops.
I agree, unless the infantry go into open order to let them through. If you do that will Tiller games for instance, both the cavalry AND the infantry get disrupted. It doesn't hurt that way in TW.
Quote from: Boggit on September 05, 2013, 06:14:37 PM
Quote from: mikeck on September 05, 2013, 02:42:53 PM
HEY, new SLOWER BATTLES MOD
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?618513-Radious-Moral-Mod-!!!!
If your Interested. Looks like it basically causes armies to fight longer resulting in higher casualties before retreat...so not a perfect fix
I'm a bit concerned. Ancient battles were typically a slugging match until morale broke, usually arising from being hit in the flank. Most casualties were killed in the rout if you give much credit to ancient sources. Whilst I love TW, battlefields often resemble the Somme from heavy missile fire, and that's before you get to melee.
I agree. I just don't see what is so difficult that CA cannot make it harder to kill a person. Not more hit points, just harder for a unit to actually strike based on armor and such. Less hits equals less kills which equals longer and more realistic fights. I won't use this mod because its ridiculous to think a unit would fight until 80% casualties. Most units are combat ineffective at about 30-40%.
But all that aside, it's total war...it's fun and not designed to be a historical combat simulator.
Thanks W8. I will take my mod hat off now. It's not often I put it on here anyway.
Quote from: mikeck on September 05, 2013, 07:04:43 PM
Quote from: Boggit on September 05, 2013, 06:14:37 PM
Quote from: mikeck on September 05, 2013, 02:42:53 PM
HEY, new SLOWER BATTLES MOD
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?618513-Radious-Moral-Mod-!!!!
If your Interested. Looks like it basically causes armies to fight longer resulting in higher casualties before retreat...so not a perfect fix
I'm a bit concerned. Ancient battles were typically a slugging match until morale broke, usually arising from being hit in the flank. Most casualties were killed in the rout if you give much credit to ancient sources. Whilst I love TW, battlefields often resemble the Somme from heavy missile fire, and that's before you get to melee.
I agree. I just don't see what is so difficult that CA cannot make it harder to kill a person. Not more hit points, just harder for a unit to actually strike based on armor and such. Less hits equals less kills which equals longer and more realistic fights. I won't use this mod because its ridiculous to think a unit would fight until 80% casualties. Most units are combat ineffective at about 30-40%.
But all that aside, it's total war...it's fun and not designed to be a historical combat simulator.
I totally agree with you Mikeck :)
I think in many ways, exhaustion/combat fatigue should be the principal cause for rout rather than casualties, which is when the killing really begins. But then TW does model exhaustion, so it's not all bad.
Alright, finished the Prologue. Now to choose...Rome or the Iceni for a real campaign? Both are rated as 'Easy,' both have great rosters, and both have decent starting positions (the Iceni moreso than Rome, IMHO, but Rome aint bad.) Decisions...
It ain't called Total War: Iceni II.
Maybe it should be. The Iceni are bad ass. They wear woad and hippie pants.
Multiplayer is kind of borked right now. We've played the same turn 3 times now. I've won the battle each time and each time one of has the game crash. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Not sure really what this is due too. But it seems based on the CA forums that there are some issues with games becoming desynched and saves corrupted.
Seem to have experienced a pretty interesting, and annoying bug. I was at war with Carthage, as were Syracuse and a few African powers. One of the African nations sacked Cathargo. I got a pop up next turn indicating that Carthage was destroyed as a faction. Then, the following turn, control of Cathargo magically flipped to Carthage again and I received a message from the advisor congratulating me for making peace with an enemy. When I attacked Cathargo on the next turn, I was warned that I was breaking a treaty and now my reputation fell from "steadfast" to "unreliable."
So this bug seemed to have magically respawned a destroyed faction, magically made peace with my empire and then totally screwed my reputation.
Quote from: Gusington on September 05, 2013, 09:19:32 PM
Maybe it should be. The Iceni are bad ass. They wear woad and hippie pants.
So do a lot of the alternative lifestyle types who infest the park across the street and annoy people with their constant bongo drumming. I had no idea they had such a proud lineage.
BTW, is it just me or does the dog in your avatar look like it's trying and failing to hold in a bout of explosive diarrhea?
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on September 05, 2013, 09:28:29 PM
Seem to have experienced a pretty interesting, and annoying bug. I was at war with Carthage, as were Syracuse and a few African powers. One of the African nations sacked Cathargo. I got a pop up next turn indicating that Carthage was destroyed as a faction. Then, the following turn, control of Cathargo magically flipped to Carthage again and I received a message from the advisor congratulating me for making peace with an enemy. When I attacked Cathargo on the next turn, I was warned that I was breaking a treaty and now my reputation fell from "steadfast" to "unreliable."
So this bug seemed to have magically respawned a destroyed faction, magically made peace with my empire and then totally screwed my reputation.
Ahhhhh the vindictive ex girlfriend bug
Con
I thought Gus's dog was sitting on something painful cause you can't see his ass at all. I'll call him, "Iceni". Started a new campaign as Seubi. Much more fun than Pontus. Just conquer stuff. The victory conditions actually require that you raze or sack 50 settlements. NICE. ;)
The dog is the war dog avatar from Rome II...took a bit of effort to get him in there. He is actually looking up at your faces and getting ready to eat them.
Tomorrows patch details
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/81552-Contents-of-September-6th-Patch?s=2907900461705c638e351985665d65bf
• Higher average frame rates with out-of-the-box settings (more conservative settings)
• Fix for DirectX 10.0 Lighting issue reported – environment map wasn't being created leading to black reflections.
• Fixed a sunken Samothrace temple complex world wonder on the Campaign map.
• Fixed defender being able to create encampments when involved in a combined battle.
• Added some localisation fixes to audio packs in French, Russian, Italian, German and Spanish.
• Fixed lock up in Multiplayer Campaign battles when a desynchronisation occurs. Players are now notified of the desynchronisation, and the battle ends.
• Fixed Multiplayer Campaign battle "overrun" prompt, which was not being shown to a player if they were a reinforcement and the other player was spectating.
• Fixed corrupt loading screen when changing to fullscreen / windowed mode after a battle, and then going into another battle.
• Fix for Multiplayer Campaign host being unable to move the camera in campaign, after reloading a save game on some rare occasions.
• Safe guards added to prevent a very rare crash in coastal assault battles.
• Fix for game lock up during end turn sequence / Celtic AI faction turn in single player campaign.
• Improved AI use of walls on Athens large settlement battle map.
• Improvements to Auto-resolve balancing in Single Player and Multiplayer Campaign modes.
• Aligned ship unit upkeep costs with land units – made mercenary ships more expensive and non-mercenary ships cheaper.
• Fixed slow turning rates for transport ships.
• Improved civil war balancing in relation to campaign difficulty.
• Fixed vehicle ground pipes, to prevent Siege Towers becoming immovable when they are left empty during the Deployment Phase of a Siege Battle, then units were moved into the Siege Tower when the battle has started.
• Fixed bug when ramming sideways into moving ship, which caused the ramming ship stick to target and strafe along with it in battles.
• Reduced the chance of Naval units sometimes clipping through the ground or harbours / ports during Port Assault battles when attempting to disembark.
• Fixed issue where armies would be stuck in Muster stance and could not exit that stance in Campaign modes.
• Fixed case where spies could get stuck on top of fleets in Campaign modes.
• Fixed rare post battle lockup in Campaign modes.
• Improved unit pathfinding in Barbarian village battle maps (fixed no go zones).
• Fix for Multiplayer Campaign lock up when the player was reinforcing an AI ally who was victorious in battle, causing the player to become stuck with no victory / continue / exit battle user interface functionality.
• Fix for cultural influence bonus from the Shrine of Neptune building
• Fix for "Zone of Controls" of hidden armies being visible to both players in head to head Multiplayer Campaign mode on mouse-over.
• Assorted minor fixes to city battle maps.
• Fix for "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day" achievement failing to unlock when its requirements were met in some situations.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 05, 2013, 05:57:33 PM
One thing I could never figure out with total war games is when you select your army and have them move to a spot in a formation, but the calvary during the move does not stay in formation but always ends up passing the lined troops in front of them. When doing a march like that, they should stay in the back an set their pace appropriately not to pass up the walking troops.
Is this when using the CTRL or SHIFT (can't remember which it was) mode to move in formation?
That should not happen indeed.
Using ctrl+g worked a little better, but still have seen it.
Quote from: Gusington on September 05, 2013, 08:58:28 PM
Alright, finished the Prologue. Now to choose...Rome or the Iceni for a real campaign? Both are rated as 'Easy,' both have great rosters, and both have decent starting positions (the Iceni moreso than Rome, IMHO, but Rome aint bad.) Decisions...
After starting a campaign as both Rome and Pontus, I've found it more difficult as Pontus because they only start out owning two regions. This resulted in a stagnated population growth and city expansion due to limited food-producing slots. It also made for tough decisions regarding food-producing structures and stability-inducing structures when they did finally start expanding. As Rome, it started off notably easier since they have more (and thus more flexibility). So I'd think that an Iceni start would be tough for awhile until you can expand and get your pops growing to fill out more structures, to then support more expansion, etc etc.
On the other hand, I've only had one foreign power indirectly initiate a war against me, since it was against a client state I had taken in a previous war not long before. None have directly DOW'd me, so it leads me to think they generally leave the player alone for awhile in the beginning. If that's the case, you could have enough time to get things moving.
Starting off as one of the larger, stronger powers is probably a good deal easier since they start off wealthier, and with better initial growth. You hit the ground running.
OK. We got the MP to work for several hours and no issue. I think we ended up with a desynched save or something annoying but the second start seems to be going swimmingly now.
This was already mentioned by JH - but can I just clarify?
I started the prologue last night and I had my formation of troops. When I clicked on an enemy unit to attack (clicked - NOT double clicked) - they ran towards them like a rabble.
So that is porked right - but from what I gather only in the prologue?
I don't mind if I double click to attack they run and lose rank - but I'm not having my units running as a rabble towards the enemy when I single click the enemy unit!
Quote from: Bison on September 06, 2013, 01:53:26 AM
OK. We got the MP to work for several hours and no issue. I think we ended up with a desynched save or something annoying but the second start seems to be going swimmingly now.
The upcoming Friday patch is supposed to address some de-sync issues with multiplayer. At least it says so in the beta patch notes.
It's mostly for fixing the worst crashing and screwy textures that have been reported. Their "fix" for poor video performance is going to be lowering the default video settings for when someone first loads the game. Yes, you heard that right. They will make it look worse by default. I don't think they ever quite optimizized Shogun 2's video performance and it's worse in this one, so hopefully they get to crackin' on that instead of just lowering the settings quality. At least give us more options of crap to turn off; the goddamn clouds, fog, and burning cities/smoke all over the huge strategic map is a good example of what should be ticked off to improve performance a good deal.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 06, 2013, 02:08:18 AM
I started the prologue last night and I had my formation of troops. When I clicked on an enemy unit to attack (clicked - NOT double clicked) - they ran towards them like a rabble.
In many Total War titles, certainly the last few, your own Tac AI tends to give your units a Run order if you're moving a long distance towards the enemy or if you're near the enemy and making a short hop forward. I'm always Johnny On The Spot with the 'R' hotkey, for telling them to walk, so use that after you issue an order else see them trying to tire themselves by running across half the battlefield in formation. ;)
I'm running into some nasty gameplay issues regarding all your generals dying off in very short order. Between the assassinations by other houses in your own faction, and these generals aging at an incredibly fast rate, they disappear rather quickly. I've been having to resort to bribing other house membors over, which not only costs money but court/senator influence. It's just a downward spiral with both generals and the number of nobles influenced. Both tend to drop faster than a cheap whore. It also doesn't help that
you can't even get married and have offspring to fill your ranks in the future. The Wifey slot is there, but I've not seen any option for getting your own household generals married and also have yet to see a single marriage offer for filling that slot up (and down, baby, yeah!). The poor attempts at CK2-like random family events must've distracted them from actually completing it. ???
Reportedly a dev video interview says they ripped out the scripted AI, that worked so well in Shogun 2, and started with some fresh new AI system that's supposed to be more flexible. *facepalm* Another case of, "if it's not broke..", huh? So what if it does generally the same thing, if it's doing it well enough to be a bit of a challenge.
I'm enjoying the game, but the unfinished game mechanics and AI is starting to get me down. I can generally stomach the patchy video performance but things such as the generals dying every few turns, constantly plummeting influence that isn't going up with military victories (as it should), and other such wifeless factors, are starting to bum me out.
Oh.. forgot to mention that I found out why the Pikemen were missing their pikes. You have to give them the Form Phalanx order. Only
then will their pikes show up in their hands, where their swords had been. Rather ass-backwards. :o
For the defeated nation not dieing and returning, id read that the nation only dies when all the troops are wiped out, not the last city which is the old way and the remainder of the army turns rebel - now every one must be hunted down, what this means of course is the remaining armies out in the field can recapture a province and hey presto Carthage are present on the map again
As for the battles and morale and everyone running away too quick, i think everyone needs a morale tweak - this is what Darth used to do to get troops to stay in the fight - one thing that did occur to me is everyone is fighting as Rome against others or their own nation but havent yet fought the romans - maybe its just romans that are overpowered
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 06, 2013, 05:55:56 AM
For the defeated nation not dieing and returning, id read that the nation only dies when all the troops are wiped out, not the last city which is the old way and the remainder of the army turns rebel - now every one must be hunted down, what this means of course is the remaining armies out in the field can recapture a province and hey presto Carthage are present on the map again
Exactly right. However, I've found that the AI usually suicides it's troops at the nearest city after you take the final one.
The real shocking AI behavior, on the Strategic Map, is all their armies I see hanging around outside town suffrering attrition. The skull & crossbone symbol's tooltip on the character cards says, "Your armies are suffering losses every turn due to the inability to afford their upkeep" or something to that effect. Nearly every faction I attack, who have been at peace, have three small armies sitting outside one of their cities wasting away like this. I was gonna post a screenshot of it, but all I got was a black screen on the cap. :-\
I'm very close to packing it away for awhile, when the AI is this brain dead. I didn't think it was possible after their previous game, but they managed to screw it up. I intentionally avoided all the hype before release, so it would be a fresh experience, and some of the new facets I like. However, it's just unfinished and the AI is putting up no fight at all. Hell, it's
helping me kill them.
I just hope that CA gives it enough post-release work to get it where it needs to be. The way they quickly left NTW, and most notably ETW, in a mediocre state while heading off to produce the next title makes me wonder whether they'll have the fortitude to do so. I would be very sad if they didn't get it up to Shogun 2 standards in the end.
This is an odd design decision as the default click has always been at walking speed unless you double clicked in which they would run at the double. I have to use Ctrl-left click or something like that to get the units moving at walking speed and they will stay in formation and my general won't lead the charge in front of his formations.
Trey
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 06, 2013, 02:08:18 AM
This was already mentioned by JH - but can I just clarify?
I started the prologue last night and I had my formation of troops. When I clicked on an enemy unit to attack (clicked - NOT double clicked) - they ran towards them like a rabble.
So that is porked right - but from what I gather only in the prologue?
I don't mind if I double click to attack they run and lose rank - but I'm not having my units running as a rabble towards the enemy when I single click the enemy unit!
Quote from: Great Ajax on September 06, 2013, 08:43:15 AM
This is an odd design decision as the default click has always been at walking speed unless you double clicked in which they would run at the double. I have to use Ctrl-left click or something like that to get the units moving at walking speed and they will stay in formation and my general won't lead the charge in front of his formations.
Trey
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 06, 2013, 02:08:18 AM
This was already mentioned by JH - but can I just clarify?
I started the prologue last night and I had my formation of troops. When I clicked on an enemy unit to attack (clicked - NOT double clicked) - they ran towards them like a rabble.
So that is porked right - but from what I gather only in the prologue?
I don't mind if I double click to attack they run and lose rank - but I'm not having my units running as a rabble towards the enemy when I single click the enemy unit!
I haven't looked yet, but I wonder if you can reset this in the control panel for keyboard shortcuts.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 06, 2013, 06:43:33 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 06, 2013, 05:55:56 AM
For the defeated nation not dieing and returning, id read that the nation only dies when all the troops are wiped out, not the last city which is the old way and the remainder of the army turns rebel - now every one must be hunted down, what this means of course is the remaining armies out in the field can recapture a province and hey presto Carthage are present on the map again
Exactly right. However, I've found that the AI usually suicides it's troops at the nearest city after you take the final one.
The real shocking AI behavior, on the Strategic Map, is all their armies I see hanging around outside town suffrering attrition. The skull & crossbone symbol's tooltip on the character cards says, "Your armies are suffering losses every turn due to the inability to afford their upkeep" or something to that effect. Nearly every faction I attack, who have been at peace, have three small armies sitting outside one of their cities wasting away like this. I was gonna post a screenshot of it, but all I got was a black screen on the cap. :-\
I'm very close to packing it away for awhile, when the AI is this brain dead. I didn't think it was possible after their previous game, but they managed to screw it up. I intentionally avoided all the hype before release, so it would be a fresh experience, and some of the new facets I like. However, it's just unfinished and the AI is putting up no fight at all. Hell, it's helping me kill them.
I just hope that CA gives it enough post-release work to get it where it needs to be. The way they quickly left NTW, and most notably ETW, in a mediocre state while heading off to produce the next title makes me wonder whether they'll have the fortitude to do so. I would be very sad if they didn't get it up to Shogun 2 standards in the end.
I'm not so sure the army attrition problem is just bad AI. It doesn't happen to factions that are winning; it seems to happen when a faction builds up for an offensive and then things don't go as planned and they are still at war. This is what happened to me as Easy Pontus when I built up the armies for one war and then had to swtich fronts while repairing the economy. I saw it happen to the big Eastern Factions that lost provinces but still had large armies. They instantly got very friendly and signed as many agreements as they could. It doesn't make sense to demobilize good armies in this game. I let mine suffer some attrition if necessary rather than disbanding them. So it may not be quite as big an AI goof as it seems.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 06, 2013, 02:08:18 AM
This was already mentioned by JH - but can I just clarify?
I started the prologue last night and I had my formation of troops. When I clicked on an enemy unit to attack (clicked - NOT double clicked) - they ran towards them like a rabble.
So that is porked right - but from what I gather only in the prologue?
I don't mind if I double click to attack they run and lose rank - but I'm not having my units running as a rabble towards the enemy when I single click the enemy unit!
Well, that is the same in the prologue vs the campaign. If you double click. It is a charge. A charge will lead to a mob. Form them into a group, set the formation and then use the arrow keys to walk the unit forward in formation and just click once on the enemy. They will keep formation
Uninstalled
Just a huge step backwards in the Total War Series. Biggest disappointment of the year for me so far. Will most likely reinstall once its patched up and the modders do their magic.
Quote from: bboyer66 on September 06, 2013, 09:21:10 AM
Uninstalled
Just a huge step backwards in the Total War Series. Biggest disappointment of the year for me so far. Will most likely reinstall once its patched up and the modders do their magic.
anything in particular?
Quote from: MengJiao on September 06, 2013, 09:13:39 AM
I'm not so sure the army attrition problem is just bad AI. It doesn't happen to factions that are winning; it seems to happen when a faction builds up for an offensive and then things don't go as planned and they are still at war. This is what happened to me as Easy Pontus when I built up the armies for one war and then had to swtich fronts while repairing the economy. I saw it happen to the big Eastern Factions that lost provinces but still had large armies. They instantly got very friendly and signed as many agreements as they could. It doesn't make sense to demobilize good armies in this game. I let mine suffer some attrition if necessary rather than disbanding them. So it may not be quite as big an AI goof as it seems.
I'm gonna continue with my Pontus campaign and see if it actually does something with them. Once I've witnessed this happen, they just tend to sit there and do nothing even when at war.
I've also yet to have a proper large enemy army take the initiative and attack me while it has a chance of winning, despite it having a a small overall numbers advantage at a couple points in time. It has only attacked me once I've defeated the garrisons in their cities, and taken their very last one. Then it will just send small suicide armies to die against the walls. :'(
Goddammit. And now I fired up Steam, and the newly released update just stalls out at about 58%. ::) Just refuses to continue even after restarting, pausing & unpausing, etc. I've been attempting to avoid any preconceived notions or the usual complaining about TW releases, but my own view is taking form and thus far it's slowly going down. :-[
EDIT:
Maybe this fix listed in the patch notes has something to do with it?..
Quote from: patch- Fixed issue where armies would be stuck in Muster stance and could not exit that stance in Campaign modes.
Quote from: mikeck on September 06, 2013, 09:17:23 AM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 06, 2013, 02:08:18 AM
This was already mentioned by JH - but can I just clarify?
I started the prologue last night and I had my formation of troops. When I clicked on an enemy unit to attack (clicked - NOT double clicked) - they ran towards them like a rabble.
So that is porked right - but from what I gather only in the prologue?
I don't mind if I double click to attack they run and lose rank - but I'm not having my units running as a rabble towards the enemy when I single click the enemy unit!
Well, that is the same in the prologue vs the campaign. If you double click. It is a charge. A charge will lead to a mob. Form them into a group, set the formation and then use the arrow keys to walk the unit forward in formation and just click once on the enemy. They will keep formation
That's what I said - in the prologue I clicked (single clicked) the enemy unit and my troops ran at them - with no formation. I think (read hope) I read that this isn't the case in the campaign.
But single clicking to attack (at least in the Capua scenario in the prologue) results in a messy charge!
Hehe take it easy, Nef.
I have been seeing a lot of Steam downloads pausing at a point for no reason too lately. Its got nothing to do with the game or CA. :D its Steam being busy. Perhaps writing files it has finished before downloading the next part.
Patience, it will continue.
I am rather amazed at the complaints about the movement and formation holding. As long as I don't doubleclick my forces never rush out.
Haven't tried this on long range though.
I will test this in the coming days on my game.
Still, if you CTRL click for a movement order with multiple units selected, they march in formation do they not? With cavalry staying next to infantry.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 06, 2013, 09:23:06 AM
Quote from: bboyer66 on September 06, 2013, 09:21:10 AM
Uninstalled
Just a huge step backwards in the Total War Series. Biggest disappointment of the year for me so far. Will most likely reinstall once its patched up and the modders do their magic.
anything in particular?
Mainly the AI, battle speed, glitches, etc.
Im trying to come up with one thing this game does better than Shogun II and I cant come up with anything.
Think Angry Joe said it best
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 06, 2013, 09:39:25 AM
Hehe take it easy, Nef.
I have been seeing a lot of Steam downloads pausing at a point for no reason too lately. Its got nothing to do with the game or CA. :D its Steam being busy. Perhaps writing files it has finished before downloading the next part.
Patience, it will continue.
I am rather amazed at the complaints about the movement and formation holding. As long as I don't doubleclick my forces never rush out.
Haven't tried this on long range though.
I will test this in the coming days on my game.
Still, if you CTRL click for a movement order with multiple units selected, they march in formation do they not? With cavalry staying next to infantry.
Be aware I'm talking about the prologue. I don't know what goes on in game. Maybe it's because in the prologue you don't have "expert" roman units...they do look like peasants. I don't know. But last night, in the Capue mission in the prologue, I clicked my unit and clicked the enemy unit and my wee pixelated soldiers didn't hold rank and instead it was a bit of a mess...and they
looked like they were running too!
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 06, 2013, 09:37:44 AM
That's what I said - in the prologue I clicked (single clicked) the enemy unit and my troops ran at them - with no formation. I think (read hope) I read that this isn't the case in the campaign.
But single clicking to attack (at least in the Capua scenario in the prologue) results in a messy charge!
If you set up your own formation, and don't use a preset one, then you must "lock" the formation in after you form them into a 'Control Group' (by pressing 'G' or Ctrl & and number).
To lock in your formation, in order to keep your army formation while moving, point your mouse cursor at the Group commands button to bring up the full list of available ones. There will be one with a Lock symbol on it. When you enable that, the control group tab will display a lock symbol on it. You can now give a group order and your group will generally hold it's formation on the way there and will definitely form up tidily on arrival.
There has always been an issue with cavalry moving a bit faster than the rest of the group. It's been in all the TWs that I recall. They slowly start overtaking, and walking through, your infantry. Even if you have such a group lock on. So you may need to give them stop orders or micromanage a bit if they start getting ahead. I tend to just order shorter moves at a time and let them reform before issuing the next.
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 06, 2013, 09:39:25 AM
Hehe take it easy, Nef.
I have been seeing a lot of Steam downloads pausing at a point for no reason too lately. Its got nothing to do with the game or CA. :D its Steam being busy. Perhaps writing files it has finished before downloading the next part.
Patience, it will continue.
Yeah, I'm probably just unnecessarily venting my Steam client rage on Rome 2 with the patch not finishing. I've been experiencing Steam issues fairly regularly lately, with it sometimes freezing up my whole computer when, or after, doing it's auto-patching (feels like all the damn time) and when resuming from sleep mode.
LOL! I always enjoy watching AngryJoe's vids. I have no idea why I don't do it habitually. I'll blame it on failing memory.
Quote from: bboyer66 on September 06, 2013, 09:42:15 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 06, 2013, 09:23:06 AM
Quote from: bboyer66 on September 06, 2013, 09:21:10 AM
Uninstalled
Just a huge step backwards in the Total War Series. Biggest disappointment of the year for me so far. Will most likely reinstall once its patched up and the modders do their magic.
anything in particular?
Mainly the AI, battle speed, glitches, etc.
Im trying to come up with one thing this game does better than Shogun II and I cant come up with anything.
Think Angry Joe said it best
lol - those are some funny videos - and oh dear...what about those flags?
Quote from: Nefaro on September 06, 2013, 09:45:33 AM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 06, 2013, 09:37:44 AM
That's what I said - in the prologue I clicked (single clicked) the enemy unit and my troops ran at them - with no formation. I think (read hope) I read that this isn't the case in the campaign.
But single clicking to attack (at least in the Capua scenario in the prologue) results in a messy charge!
If you set up your own formation, and don't use a preset one, then you must "lock" the formation in after you form them into a 'Control Group' (by pressing 'G' or Ctrl & and number).
To lock in your formation, in order to keep your army formation while moving, point your mouse cursor at the Group commands button to bring up the full list of available ones. There will be one with a Lock symbol on it. When you enable that, the control group tab will display a lock symbol on it. You can now give a group order and your group will generally hold it's formation on the way there and will definitely form up tidily on arrival.
There has always been an issue with cavalry moving a bit faster than the rest of the group. It's been in all the TWs that I recall. They slowly start overtaking, and walking through, your infantry. Even if you have such a group lock on. So you may need to give them stop orders or micromanage a bit if they start getting ahead. I tend to just order shorter moves at a time and let them reform before issuing the next.
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 06, 2013, 09:39:25 AM
Hehe take it easy, Nef.
I have been seeing a lot of Steam downloads pausing at a point for no reason too lately. Its got nothing to do with the game or CA. :D its Steam being busy. Perhaps writing files it has finished before downloading the next part.
Patience, it will continue.
Yeah, I'm probably just unnecessarily venting my Steam client rage on Rome 2 with the patch not finishing. I've been experiencing Steam issues fairly regularly lately, with it sometimes freezing up my whole computer when, or after, doing it's auto-patching (feels like all the damn time) and when resuming from sleep mode.
In the Capua mission I have no cav.
As for locking the unit - I am talking about an individual unit...not a group. I wouldn't use a group of 6 units to attack a single unit.
what I did was
select all my units
create a group (this defaulted to locked)
as I approached the enemy and saw various units - two of which were approaching me. I set one unit to attack one enemy formation and one unit to attack another - and that's when they ran towards the enemy - and again - it was just a single click.
I wasn't talking about formation as in a large formation. I was talking about a single unit. Will they never keep their line/formation? I essentially wanted the soldiers (they were spearmen I think) to advance, in line, as a unit (it was the only unit) and attack the enemy unit "as a solid rectangle" - but they didn't do it.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 06, 2013, 09:37:44 AM
Quote from: mikeck on September 06, 2013, 09:17:23 AM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 06, 2013, 02:08:18 AM
This was already mentioned by JH - but can I just clarify?
I started the prologue last night and I had my formation of troops. When I clicked on an enemy unit to attack (clicked - NOT double clicked) - they ran towards them like a rabble.
So that is porked right - but from what I gather only in the prologue?
I don't mind if I double click to attack they run and lose rank - but I'm not having my units running as a rabble towards the enemy when I single click the enemy unit!
Well, that is the same in the prologue vs the campaign. If you double click. It is a charge. A charge will lead to a mob. Form them into a group, set the formation and then use the arrow keys to walk the unit forward in formation and just click once on the enemy. They will keep formation
That's what I said - in the prologue I clicked (single clicked) the enemy unit and my troops ran at them - with no formation. I think (read hope) I read that this isn't the case in the campaign.
But single clicking to attack (at least in the Capua scenario in the prologue) results in a messy charge!
Understand, but mak sure when you single click, that your troops are not set to run. So engines when I click once on a location, my troops start running, I have to click the run/walk button. If you single click on the enemy and you are then "running", you will charge.
I basically walk my guys up to the enemy and stop. From there, they attack. I charge into flanks.
Bob, sorry you didn't enjoy it. It has issues but I think it is far better than Napoleon, Empire, m2 or Rome. I like it better than Shogun but it is not As polished as Shovun at release. I am having a blast, runs smooth and no crashes/bugs
Well for me, one thing it does better than Shogun is Then it deals with an era And location that I at least have some type of passing interest in
Ah - ok. I have been running my troops to make ground - though I'm pretty sure I have them setup in a formation before I move them - meaning (I thought) they were back in walk mode.
I'll double check tonight.
I am less interested in ancients but Rome II has that certain something to make me more interested. I think the above post that says Rome II is not as polished as Shogun II was upon release is spot on.
My patch just finished downloading a few minutes ago. Hopefully I won't see a lot of the oddities in my real campaign that some of you guys did.
Angry Joe seemed pretty jovial in that above clip...I couldn't help but snort and laugh along with him. But what the armies were doing...running up to his Spartans and then basically calling it off...over and over...albeit hilarious, isn't that due to morale? After all he was playing as Sparta and they must have some pretty kick ass morale...kick ass enough for the other faction to get juiced, run in and then panic at the last second. I have had that happen in Medieval 2, never thought it was a bug.
Either way listening to Angry Joe chortle like that is worth it, no matter the reason :)
Well, usually TW games work great for me until a patch is released which inevitably screws it up. Waiting for this one to download but Steam keeps freezing....great
Quote from: mikeck on September 06, 2013, 10:30:46 AM
Well for me, one thing it does better than Shogun is Then it deals with an era And location that I at least have some type of passing interest in
I agree 100% with you on this. Trust me I wanted to like this and had some certain expectations based on how great the gameplay was in Shogun II. Alas I am very disappointed.
Quote from: mikeck on September 06, 2013, 11:26:57 AM
Well, usually TW games work great for me until a patch is released which inevitably screws it up. Waiting for this one to download but Steam keeps freezing....great
I think the Strat map actually runs even a tad slower than before, after the patch. But I'm gonna restart this machine since Steam was doing that odd choking thing again after that patch.
I actually just had an open field battle against set of enemy armies that added up to having more than me. It's a first. I had to be the one to attack it, of course. But the nice thing about that battle was the absence of one of those damn flags. Or, at least, I didn't see one near me. The enemy army actual came at me (bro) and caused some casualties! Yeah, man... F those flags. They're severely hindering the AI at this point.
Well like a lot of people I ended up with the red skies bug with the new patch. all my skies in tactical battles are red like Mars. I have a Radeon card though I thought that this was only supposed to occur Nvidia either way the trend continues game runs fine until the patching and it screws everything up
Oh dear...
Quote from: mikeck on September 06, 2013, 10:30:46 AM
Well for me, one thing it does better than Shogun is Then it deals with an era And location that I at least have some type of passing interest in
I'm enjoying it much more than FOTS. I'm not having any technical problems and the tactical battles have been reasonable battles. Where I feel like the game really beats even FOTS is in the complexities of the world, the technological choices, the fantastic atmosphere and the ins-and-outs of strategy and diplomacy. It think there are whole other layers to RomeII (technology and diplomacy and trade and geopolotics) that were barely there in FOTS.
I can not speak in relation to FOTS as I do not have that, but otherwise I agree with MJ. Totally engrossed by the game so far and I haven't seen any big problems in the battles yet either.
I feel sorry for those of you who are dissapointed or who are having technical issues. That's a real bummer when a new game gets released.
About the linked videos above; I do not visit official boards anymore, nor read reviews or watch YouTube opinion movies of games anymore. It has proven to be a sure way to kill my fun for a game, while ultimately I did enjoy it myself. Those things get to me somehow.
I just play what I like now and don't care what the big world out there seems to believe. I get better advise an opinions from people around here.
Don't get me wrong, the game is awesome and doesn't run bad. I would just prefer not to have red skies. Every time a patch comes out for TW games after release, I hold my breath.
Ca is really getting beat up I the forums over this game which is amazing. I think it's fantastic and it runs well even on my radeon 6790 (which will be updated to a 7950 tommorow)
I haven't seen any issues following the patch. The MP game picked up just fine and wasn't corrupt and no graphical glitches that I've seen so far.
Just grabbed it for my 14 year old.. Tried Green Man gaming, but it would not go through with paypal or credit card (kind of ticked off my wife entered our Credit Card on that site!..
Ended up getting it on Gamers Gate with enough blue coins to get the Greek DLC for free...
As soon as he's done downloading, I'll copy the directory to my computer, so I won't have to do as long a downloading time!
OK. I just got a red sky in a battle map. Annoying, but I'm sure it'll be fixed in short order.
I said I wasn't but I ultimately did pre-order Rome 2. I knew I was going to get it sooner rather than later, so I figured I might has well get in on the free DLC and TF2 items. :)
I think I have something like 3 hours in the game so far and my experience has been generally positive. Briefly, I think this game is going to be a new TW classic...once the bugs are crushed. As I expected, this is going to be your all-too-common modern gaming experience of buying the game and waiting six to eight months for it to "mature" with patches and mods. Same thing here.
Now, the game is fun if you can look past the long list of assorted issues (but not $60 fun :(). But in a year I think it will be as epic as we all hoped it would be.
In the meantime, I returned to Crusader Kings 2. :D I hope one day we get a CK2 version of Rome!
The Greek DLC is 8.00...I feel like I got away with something now :)
Quote from: Bison on September 06, 2013, 04:02:22 PM
OK. I just got a red sky in a battle map. Annoying, but I'm sure it'll be fixed in short order.
Yeah it actually just looks like you're fighting at sunset.. not too bad just a tad annoying
Is this happening in the campaign? Just peeked over at TWC and good Lord people are attacking CA and each other. Ugly.
No it's just the battle maps. Which honestly looks like a major sandstorm type sky. I don't some people need to relax. There are some issue, but nothing game breaking IMO. I'm having a lot of fun playing MP and solo. It was worth the $$$ for me.
Are you only playing MP?
Quote from: Gusington on September 06, 2013, 04:55:36 PM
Are you only playing MP?
Both, but it's been mostly MP co-op campaign.
What the hell does the swirling white cloud thingy mean around armies and navies?
HA I noticed that too. No idea! Maybe they're healing? That was the first thing that came to mind.
Quote from: Bison on September 06, 2013, 05:03:59 PM
Quote from: Gusington on September 06, 2013, 04:55:36 PM
Are you only playing MP?
Both, but it's been mostly MP co-op campaign.
What the hell does the swirling white cloud thingy mean around armies and navies?
No ideal if correct, but I thought I saw on one of the forums it indicated a forced/double time movement for the unit...
Hmm, interesting. I like that the three of us so far don't really have the foggiest idea :)
Quote from: Gusington on September 06, 2013, 05:13:28 PM
Hmm, interesting. I like that the three of us so far don't really have the foggiest idea :)
Makes the game more fun when you try and guess features:)
That is what happens when games don't come with fully printed detailed manuals.....boy, do I miss those days:(
Tried it and looks like it is tied to the type of stance you give to the unit...when you place in forced march, seems to swirl.
I never would have guessed that. Thanks.
Hmmm....makes sense I guess.
Not really but I can't think of another better way to visually represent 'forced march.'
Made the mistake of ignoring my internal Roman intrigue. Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice, two of my top generals were assassinated by the Julii family. To make matters worse, the only general available to take the legion one was commanding is Julii. I did not pay attention to how powerful the Julii generals were becoming. Dammit
Just curious from those that have been playing the campaign.....I have heard claims that turn processing time gets really slow after you exceed something like 20 turns....is that correct?
I have only been playing battles so far so haven't seen myself.....I really hope this is not the case. I hate waiting!!
I am at year 237bc so that's like 26 turns right? Anyway, it's not bad at all so far. Certainly not any worse than Rome1. It certainly isn't like Pride of nations. It is slower than it was in the first few turns and as other nations are discovered and those nations build Armies , it will slow. It goes faster when you turn off "watch AI moves"
Can anyone explain the benefits of authority, cunning and zeal for generals?
Quote from: mikeck on September 06, 2013, 07:28:34 PM
Can anyone explain the benefits of authority, cunning and zeal for generals?
My understanding is that authority improves unit morale, zeal gives boost to damage, and cunning effects strategic movements/stances. I think.
Hopefully my copy will arrive tomorrow am, then I can see for myself all this cool stuff. Martian skies though, weird! Has CA fixed that yet?
Nope, not yet. Truthfully, it doesn't bother me too much as it just looks like sunset.
I have a question: I have taken about 5 cities including Syracuse and none of them had walls. I needed no seige equipment. What gives? Are walls something that must be built through the UI? I am playing as Rome so does Rome have them? Maybe I need to research concrete or something?
I'm sorry, I have played this game all night and I love it. I really don't know what all of the griping is about. Installed Radious' building mod which lowers the unrest penalty and raises the food bonus of some buildings but other than that, vanilla is good...red sky and all
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 06, 2013, 10:33:12 AM
Ah - ok. I have been running my troops to make ground - though I'm pretty sure I have them setup in a formation before I move them - meaning (I thought) they were back in walk mode.
I'll double check tonight.
You are correct...no matter what I click, they run and mob. Only way is to use the arrow key and have them walk into the enemy
Quote from: Bison on September 06, 2013, 05:03:59 PM
What the hell does the swirling white cloud thingy mean around armies and navies?
A meaningless drop in frames per second.
Stuff like that kills the campaign map performance and I don't really see any use for it. Why some water funnel spinning around ships? Because it's just "more". ::)
I, too, think it will be a wonderful game - if they stick to fixing it up. Right now it's a very flawed game that's still fun even with all the bugs and and regularly dead AI. There are some great new things:
1) Multiple victory conditions. Not just "conquer this many territories", for those who want to turtle up into a more economic or diplomatically-oriented game.
2) No campaign time limit! Supposedly we can play as long as we want with no turn timer monkey on our backs!
3) The new faction politics has potential if they can fix the rate at which your generals die off, add the missing marriage option(s), and give the Gravitas rating a proper effect on influence.
4) New army mustering restrictions that focus on generals and limited amounts of armies you can have in the field.
5) Amphibious landings, with both sea battles and even sieges taking place on the same map.
6) The new Province system makes for some interesting choices and rewards you for taking certain adjacent regions.
7) Like the Province system and faction politics, the random family events are yet more CK2-inspired game mechanics added to TW Rome 2. They have potential although a few of them I've experienced make me feel like I'm just randomly choosing a multiple choice answer that may or may not punish me.
8) The unit and faction variety is great, and it should only grow with faction DLC. Let's hope all the bugs get squished before they start cranking out all these DLC additions, however.
9) The special commands available for armies & navies adds a little more strategy to the campain side.
Those are ones I can think of on the spot. I also have a long list of bugs & complaints but I wanted to point out that I see some good stuff in here too, so it's not a complete disaster (unless they leave it unfinished).
Quote from: mikeck on September 06, 2013, 09:28:32 PM
Nope, not yet. Truthfully, it doesn't bother me too much as it just looks like sunset.
I have a question: I have taken about 5 cities including Syracuse and none of them had walls. I needed no seige equipment. What gives? Are walls something that must be built through the UI? I am playing as Rome so does Rome have them? Maybe I need to research concrete or something?
Walls are only present in regions with a Province capital.
The only defensive siege research pertains to having extra weapons (boiling oil for example) and adding extra days to the amount required for a siege to be successful against one of your cities.
I've got a multiplayer campaign going as Sparta and my co-op partner is playing Egypt. It's a lot of fun to sit and coordinate how we are going to divide and conquer the world. We have had some issues with de synch prior to todays patch. So far around 6 or 7 turns in a new campaign and no issues really other than the red sky.
I have a Roman solo campaign going and it's been a lot of fun. Oddly enough I'm not suffering from the red sky bug in this one.
Personally now that I'm starting to understand the mechanics of the province system, public order, culture, and the faction relationships there is a lot of depth to the strategic game. The FPS hitches just don't really bother me on the strategic map. YMMV, but it's not a real annoyance to me.
The battle are hit and miss. I'd love for them to relook the flag system and city layouts, because I want more open field battles. But to be fair if I'm defending a city, I don't go rushing out to the open fields to engage either. I make the attacker get disorganized in the city and force them to come to the flag too. I'd also like for them to spend some more time working on keeping armies in formation for an attack, but I'm learning how to keep my troops in formation.
Maybe I'm just a super huge Total War fan boy, but I'm just not seeing the same number of issues that some are having with the game.
I also must confess I love the unit cards. They fit perfectly into the art style of the era, which I happen to really like. If I could get a Roman style mosaic installed on my gaming corner floor, I would. Just saying.
F Steam right in the F'ing A.
Goddamn thing is hanging on every other update this weekend. POS client.
RAAAGE
^ lol ;)
Lol! I suspect the way Steam applies patches might have changed. It used to download complete packages and then apply the patch.
Perhaps it downloads seperate files now and writes them first before downloading the next one? It seems that updates on games with large files show this 'pausing' behavior more often.
Are you using an SSD? If so then my theory is moot . ;)
I'm playing the prologue and I'm not getting a red sky
i cant believe you said that out loud!!
the gods of glitches are watching yoooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Naa, I'm not using an SSD. The Steam client has been a real bitch lately, and now that you mention it.. there was a client update or two before it started acting up like this.
I wouldn't have ranted about it, but the client has been sucking up way too much processing speed when it stalls out like that. If I fire something else up, it'll intermittently lag it out. Like it keeps trying to use up all the processor time or keep constantly writing to the hard drive (despite these patch sizes being less than 30MB) while a patch has stopped for minutes at a time. Whatever it's doing, it isn't doing it properly.
It's more pronounced with my notebook computer so it may well be, at least partly, a hard disk writing issue. Then again, it doesn't even have to be downloading for the Steam client to occasionally freeze my computer for a couple seconds and show an 'Not Responding' indicator. So I tend to rage when one or both start happening. Usually have to restart the pc to get it straightened out. Makes me wonder if they have some kind of runaway bug if you keep it running too long.
*******************
Hey, Bison. Have you played a regular campaign yet, very long?
I just can't get the AI to attack me in the regular campaign. Nor it's armies. If I rated it's aggresiveness on a scale of 100, it'd be -2. If the AI is attacking you on the strategic map, tell me which faction you're playing. Maybe some areas work better for the AI. Perhaps I'll try starting as a Celtic tribe and see if it gets a move on.
^ re the enemy AI attacking - didn't the video linked to in here explain that the AI is reluctant to attack because of those popup victory flags?
Quote from: Nefaro on September 07, 2013, 08:27:11 AM
If I fire something else up, it'll intermittently lag it out. Like it keeps trying to use up all the processor time or keep constantly writing to the hard drive (despite these patch sizes being less than 30MB) while a patch has stopped for minutes at a time. Whatever it's doing, it isn't doing it properly.
(...)
Usually have to restart the pc to get it straightened out. Makes me wonder if they have some kind of runaway bug if you keep it running too long.
That reinforces my theory about it handling files differently than before. There seems to be a lot of verifying and unpacking going on.
I see the same issue with a program called SpotNet. It downloads files from Usenet, verifies them, then downloads PAR files to repair the package if needed, repairs the package and then unpacks it. All automatically and it brings your PC down to its knees.
Perhaps Steam does a similar thing now?
I never have to restart my PC, though. I just let it run and it tidies up by itself. But it doesn't bring my pc down to its knees like it does to yours. I can still do other stuff, just not that game that is updating that I really want to play. :D
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 07, 2013, 09:29:44 AM
I never have to restart my PC, though. I just let it run and it tidies up by itself. But it doesn't bring my pc down to its knees like it does to yours. I can still do other stuff, just not that game that is updating that I really want to play. :D
It really only bogs down on my notebook, so the Steam client is probably conflicting with something else running. However, the terrible download speeds and time-outs now happen on my desktop, too. I wonder if they put some kind of strict cap on update downloads. Seems like I have two or three games updating every damn day when I log in, so I can only imagine how much traffic there is with all the developers doing such frequent updates.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 07, 2013, 08:56:03 AM
^ re the enemy AI attacking - didn't the video linked to in here explain that the AI is reluctant to attack because of those popup victory flags?
I was talking about on the strategy map, in the main campaign. I've not been directly attacked by an AI force, other than the 1's and 2's that suicide into your city once their last one is gone. Neither has it directly declared war on me. This is hurting my opinion of the game the most, by far. The AI is doing nothing while I just steamroll it's passiveness. It also may not be doing very well at constructing buildings and keeping it's population happy. I've not looked into how it's running it's own regions much. It's upgrading buildings at least, so it may be okay. Definitely can't concentrate into a large army and attack, though. :'(
I need some kind of challenge in strategy games to enjoy them. It's just letting me walk all over it right now. There are reports that raising the campaign difficulty up doesn't make it any more aggressive either, but I may have to check it out anyway.
torn between 2 mods at the mo - both getting good feed back - one adjusts the morale and speed of the troops, the other adjusts the battle effectiveness of the units - both are leading toward longer lasting battles, more effective pike phalanxes and nail biting fights
that been said im still in prologue so have yet to see what the main game is like
Quote from: Nefaro on September 07, 2013, 10:12:20 AM
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 07, 2013, 09:29:44 AM
I never have to restart my PC, though. I just let it run and it tidies up by itself. But it doesn't bring my pc down to its knees like it does to yours. I can still do other stuff, just not that game that is updating that I really want to play. :D
It really only bogs down on my notebook, so the Steam client is probably conflicting with something else running. However, the terrible download speeds and time-outs now happen on my desktop, too. I wonder if they put some kind of strict cap on update downloads. Seems like I have two or three games updating every damn day when I log in, so I can only imagine how much traffic there is with all the developers doing such frequent updates.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 07, 2013, 08:56:03 AM
^ re the enemy AI attacking - didn't the video linked to in here explain that the AI is reluctant to attack because of those popup victory flags?
I was talking about on the strategy map, in the main campaign. I've not been directly attacked by an AI force, other than the 1's and 2's that suicide into your city once their last one is gone. Neither has it directly declared war on me. This is hurting my opinion of the game the most, by far. The AI is doing nothing while I just steamroll it's passiveness. It also may not be doing very well at constructing buildings and keeping it's population happy. I've not looked into how it's running it's own regions much. It's upgrading buildings at least, so it may be okay. Definitely can't concentrate into a large army and attack, though. :'(
I need some kind of challenge in strategy games to enjoy them. It's just letting me walk all over it right now. There are reports that raising the campaign difficulty up doesn't make it any more aggressive either, but I may have to check it out anyway.
Ok - sorry. My bad. :)
Quote from: mikeck on September 06, 2013, 09:28:32 PM
Nope, not yet. Truthfully, it doesn't bother me too much as it just looks like sunset.
I have a question: I have taken about 5 cities including Syracuse and none of them had walls. I needed no seige equipment. What gives? Are walls something that must be built through the UI? I am playing as Rome so does Rome have them? Maybe I need to research concrete or something?
I'm sorry, I have played this game all night and I love it. I really don't know what all of the griping is about. Installed Radious' building mod which lowers the unrest penalty and raises the food bonus of some buildings but other than that, vanilla is good...red sky and all
All of the provincial capitals I've seen have walls.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 07, 2013, 10:12:20 AM
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 07, 2013, 09:29:44 AM
I never have to restart my PC, though. I just let it run and it tidies up by itself. But it doesn't bring my pc down to its knees like it does to yours. I can still do other stuff, just not that game that is updating that I really want to play. :D
It really only bogs down on my notebook, so the Steam client is probably conflicting with something else running. However, the terrible download speeds and time-outs now happen on my desktop, too. I wonder if they put some kind of strict cap on update downloads. Seems like I have two or three games updating every damn day when I log in, so I can only imagine how much traffic there is with all the developers doing such frequent updates.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 07, 2013, 08:56:03 AM
^ re the enemy AI attacking - didn't the video linked to in here explain that the AI is reluctant to attack because of those popup victory flags?
I was talking about on the strategy map, in the main campaign. I've not been directly attacked by an AI force, other than the 1's and 2's that suicide into your city once their last one is gone. Neither has it directly declared war on me. This is hurting my opinion of the game the most, by far. The AI is doing nothing while I just steamroll it's passiveness. It also may not be doing very well at constructing buildings and keeping it's population happy. I've not looked into how it's running it's own regions much. It's upgrading buildings at least, so it may be okay. Definitely can't concentrate into a large army and attack, though. :'(
I need some kind of challenge in strategy games to enjoy them. It's just letting me walk all over it right now. There are reports that raising the campaign difficulty up doesn't make it any more aggressive either, but I may have to check it out anyway.
The AI hasn't directly declared war on me, but it has wiped out my allies and satrapies and caused unrest and attempted assassinations and subversion and sabotage. One wars are underway, it seems reasonably aggressive. I usually only stop the main enemy attack by a combination of causing unrest and sabotage and forced marching and emergency recruitment of mercenaries.
Quote from: mikeck on September 06, 2013, 07:10:52 PM
I am at year 237bc so that's like 26 turns right? Anyway, it's not bad at all so far. Certainly not any worse than Rome1. It certainly isn't like Pride of nations. It is slower than it was in the first few turns and as other nations are discovered and those nations build Armies , it will slow. It goes faster when you turn off "watch AI moves"
I'm in the late 220s. I've knocked off all the easy barbarians and I'm looking at some serious enemies: Persia, the Medes, Parthia, the Scythians, the Selucids, Sardes, Macedon and Sparta. Gotta watch the diplomacy even more carefully.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 07, 2013, 11:26:11 AM
The AI hasn't directly declared war on me, but it has wiped out my allies and satrapies and caused unrest and attempted assassinations and subversion and sabotage. One wars are underway, it seems reasonably aggressive. I usually only stop the main enemy attack by a combination of causing unrest and sabotage and forced marching and emergency recruitment of mercenaries.
Keep me abreast on how aggressive they are. Perhaps I just had an easy start as Pontus and quickly gained in military strength enough to scare all my neighbors. *shrug*
I
did start up a game as Epirus today. I figured it must be super hard because they get rolled very quickly in all the campaigns I've started. Sure enough, you get dogpiled like mad as Epirus. Started off at war with Sparta. Okay, no biggie.. that'll be a good contest. Then Athens declared war on the second turn. Then Gnossos. Then Rome. I think someone else DOW'd after that too. All in the first three or four turns. :o
Good thing: I actually had a city besieged by an Athenian force, although it was a good deal smaller than the army I had within range. It had more units, but kept them all holed up in Athens instead of putting the bulk of it's forces into the army sent on an offensive against me. *Le sigh* So I killed them and decided to see whether it would do something if I sieged Athens. Sure enough, it sooo overwhelmingly outnumbered my army that it attacked with a near full-sized Spartan army and was backed up by the similarly-sized Athenian garrison. In other words, it finally attacked me when it had about a 3-to-1 advantage. They also didn't press their advantage when they killed half my army and sent the other wounded half running. :-[ They could've killed it off or taken my nearest city within the next turn. I guess it's better than the nothing I was getting before, but still leaves much to be desired.
The Epirus start probably needs some fixing by CA. All those DOWs at the beginning of the game were insane. I doubt Epirus will ever survive since this tends to happen every time, with the AIs playing it.
Is there any chance to go into uber turtle mode and hold off all the enemy factions?
I found that the Ai can be aggressive once war is declared. I declared on Syracuse and laid seige to it, I was curious where there army was but figured if it was not in front of me, who cares? Next turn AI landed about 12 ships worth of troops into newly conquered city on the west of Sicily. I had a legion with about 7 units there but it got wiped out. Solid play as I had to break seige and rescue my legion.
Easy to say "so what" but look how long we waited for amphibious landings in ETW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBVVxidztHc
looks promising
Quote from: mikeck on September 07, 2013, 12:53:26 PM
I found that the Ai can be aggressive once war is declared. I declared on Syracuse and laid seige to it, I was curious where there army was but figured if it was not in front of me, who cares? Next turn AI landed about 12 ships worth of troops into newly conquered city on the west of Sicily. I had a legion with about 7 units there but it got wiped out. Solid play as I had to break seige and rescue my legion.
I've found this to be the case as well. The AI does not seem to be overly inclined to declare war on it's own, but I've seen it put up a pretty decent fight after it's been declared war on or if it starts out at war with another faction.
Quote from: Bison on September 06, 2013, 10:56:21 PM
I also must confess I love the unit cards. They fit perfectly into the art style of the era, which I happen to really like. If I could get a Roman style mosaic installed on my gaming corner floor, I would. Just saying.
A big +1 to that. I realize not everyone's enamored with them, but I really dig
Rome II's unit cards.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 07, 2013, 12:32:25 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on September 07, 2013, 11:26:11 AM
The AI hasn't directly declared war on me, but it has wiped out my allies and satrapies and caused unrest and attempted assassinations and subversion and sabotage. One wars are underway, it seems reasonably aggressive. I usually only stop the main enemy attack by a combination of causing unrest and sabotage and forced marching and emergency recruitment of mercenaries.
Keep me abreast on how aggressive they are. Perhaps I just had an easy start as Pontus and quickly gained in military strength enough to scare all my neighbors. *shrug*
I did start up a game as Epirus today. I figured it must be super hard because they get rolled very quickly in all the campaigns I've started. Sure enough, you get dogpiled like mad as Epirus. Started off at war with Sparta. Okay, no biggie.. that'll be a good contest. Then Athens declared war on the second turn. Then Gnossos. Then Rome. I think someone else DOW'd after that too. All in the first three or four turns. :o
Good thing: I actually had a city besieged by an Athenian force, although it was a good deal smaller than the army I had within range. It had more units, but kept them all holed up in Athens instead of putting the bulk of it's forces into the army sent on an offensive against me. *Le sigh* So I killed them and decided to see whether it would do something if I sieged Athens. Sure enough, it sooo overwhelmingly outnumbered my army that it attacked with a near full-sized Spartan army and was backed up by the similarly-sized Athenian garrison. In other words, it finally attacked me when it had about a 3-to-1 advantage. They also didn't press their advantage when they killed half my army and sent the other wounded half running. :-[ They could've killed it off or taken my nearest city within the next turn. I guess it's better than the nothing I was getting before, but still leaves much to be desired.
The Epirus start probably needs some fixing by CA. All those DOWs at the beginning of the game were insane. I doubt Epirus will ever survive since this tends to happen every time, with the AIs playing it.
FWIW, I think Epirus may essentially be destined to everyone declaring war on them early on. I know I've already DOW'ed them in my Athens campaign, as I badly need the extra territory/population/income. (Heck, for that matter, pretty much all the Greek factions seem to want a piece of each other... ::) )
New patch today, likely the hot fix for red sky.
Yeah ~22.8MB, mine just went through.
EDIT: skullduggery abounds! An 'anonymous developer' has posted over at the official CA forums and he is not pleased:
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/81021-Review-from-an-Anonymous-Developer-CA-response?
I'm so sick of these people. I mean seriously, absent a crash that makes the game unplayable, the game is not that bad. Now many won't enjoy it as much as I do, but it's still not bad. People are acting like its SOtS 2 released with half the game missing. This is the first game ever that wasn't optimized well?(PON was one recently). This is the first game that had bugs! Seriously, what is so damned horrible that people feel the need to post 100 times about how bad the game is.
Look at Bboyer: he doesn't like the game...just didnt dig it. Fine, he hops on, gives his thoughts, has a few discussions, and he's off to try another game. He doesn't start 18 threads taking polls about "what sucks most", "what's you favorite bug" or "why CA sucks".
It's a $50 game you know...I can't believe it's the first time these people have spent $50 on something that they didnt think was worth it. It's not a perfect game but its quite good and pretty much what I expected. Red skies and all
Rant over
lol - i repeat, do not go to the total war forums!
I am slowly extending the Roman Empire and am have a blast doing it. I do understand some of the issues; strategic map lag, AI aggressiveness, turn processing times.
I need to see if todays patch fixed the red skies.
^ Well said mikeck, I was expecting a little bit better, but I'm still having fun with it. The AI might be worse than Shogun 2 because the map is so much bigger with an insane amount of factions to deal with. Almost done with my Athens campaign, then I will shelf it for a while until some great mods come out. Already have 30 hours spent playing it, so I got my money's worth. The Mods for this game that will be out a year from now will make it a classic at some point.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 07, 2013, 04:17:35 PM
lol - i repeat, do not go to the total war forums!
Ha. I run away from the general discussions at that joint. Eventually I'll head over to pursue the available mods in a few months.
Quote from: Bison on September 07, 2013, 04:19:45 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 07, 2013, 04:17:35 PM
lol - i repeat, do not go to the total war forums!
Ha. I run away from the general discussions at that joint. Eventually I'll head over to pursue the available mods in a few months.
yeah, i only went for the mods but you kind of get sucked in and cant get out, once you start reading the hyperbole and drama it gets hypnotic
TBH its refreshing to be able to come here and have reasoned debate about it or even some downright fanboy yahooing about it, because over there, i love the game but the more you read the more you wonder what people see that i dont
Geek, your not missing anything. Lots of those people are running rigs with all sorts of over-clocked gadgets and super modified widgets for their super alien ware 5000. Then they complain because CA didnt optimize the game for their system or they have a crash. Now, the are some bugs and I had a freeze up last night during a battle but its a good game. Only reason I went over was to pick up the "close combat" mod that reduces the kill rate and unit speed
Now, it's not the same thing, and I don't want to preach about this, but this constant attacks seem so childish.
Most will not remember that in the pre computer gaming universe, there were problems. Before SPI came up, Avalon Hill produced one - ONE - wargame a year. Many of them were really quite poor. Afrika Korps could be reduced to a 2 to 1 attack on Tobruk on about turn five. If the Germans won the attack, they would blitz on and win the game. If they lost, all their panzers were gone, and the brits won.
People didn't complain that much because it was the only game of that year.
Today, people seem to be utterly spoiled by too much bounty. And don't talk about $50. AK cost $6 in 1963. Allowing for inflation, that is closer to $60. And was mostly paid for by mowing lawns for twenty-five cents. That's a lot of lawns for what turned out to be a turkey.
The whole spectacle speaks very poorly to common courtesy and ethics, and too much about feeling spoiled and entitled.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 07, 2013, 04:17:35 PM
lol - i repeat, do not go to the total war forums!
Once I was naive and I thought there was some rhyme or reason to being nasty about problems with games. Now I think it's just a cultural thing
that I cannot understand like the Argentine Sad-guy-sings-along Tango or something.
The hyped up negativity about Rome II -- I don't get it. I get why CLOD was such a scandal, but the criticism of Rome II seems kind of far-fetched.
Board games and PC games are much different.
With a boardgame sometimes a few simple house rules would suffice and you have a patched playable game.
PC games are a totally different matter.
Simple house rules aren't enough sometimes to fix the inherent flaws of a game,and some of these games can actually ruin your PC and cause you endless hours of frustration trying to patch them or upgrade your PC to try and play them and then find out the problem still can't be fixed.
I think that is what really riles some people.
I think we may all be guilty to some extent in wanting games about subjects we are interested in to meet all of our expectations and feel let down when they can't live up to them and then feel cheated because of all the time and effort you put into them when maybe you should have been wasting that time on something more meaningful.
I think we also always have to remember that people posting on any forum typically represents a very small minority of actual players of the game. Mostly people that post claim to have issues, which leaves the vast majority of the people not posting happily enjoying the game. And if the developer's claims are true, there are hundreds of thousands of Rome players so these people complaining are tiny in the end. They just tend to have very loud mouths making them seem larger in numbers:)
Great posts on the last page. 'Geek I feel exactly like you do sometimes...I feel like an ignoramus because I am enjoying Rome II.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 07, 2013, 06:24:12 PM
I think we also always have to remember that people posting on any forum typically represents a very small minority of actual players of the game. Mostly people that post claim to have issues, which leaves the vast majority of the people not posting happily enjoying the game. And if the developer's claims are true, there are hundreds of thousands of Rome players so these people complaining are tiny in the end. They just tend to have very loud mouths making them seem larger in numbers:)
wouldn't go that far. I have had issues with games and went to the forums only to see that plenty of people have the same issue I am experiencing. I just don't feel the need to add another post to the thread. so people not posting doesn't mean they are happily enjoying the game!
Quote from: CptHowdy on September 07, 2013, 07:44:39 PM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 07, 2013, 06:24:12 PM
I think we also always have to remember that people posting on any forum typically represents a very small minority of actual players of the game. Mostly people that post claim to have issues, which leaves the vast majority of the people not posting happily enjoying the game. And if the developer's claims are true, there are hundreds of thousands of Rome players so these people complaining are tiny in the end. They just tend to have very loud mouths making them seem larger in numbers:)
wouldn't go that far. I have had issues with games and went to the forums only to see that plenty of people have the same issue I am experiencing. I just don't feel the need to add another post to the thread. so people not posting doesn't mean they are happily enjoying the game!
I am still willing to bet the vast majority of the players never even go to the forum...but I do concede I am sure a number of those people aren't always happy either.
haven't checked out their forums since I don't own the game yet but this isn't their first rodeo. I think people expect a little more out of the AI and such. how long have they been writing AI for total war games?? perhaps they take a few shortcuts since they know someone will mod it anyway? does a disservice to people who don't want to mess with mods.
Had my original crash repeat... For whatever reason when I entered a battle I side Syracuse, it freezes and I have to control/alt/delete. So far it has not happened in any other cities but then I have yet to fight in one since that crash.
I am really enjoying learning how to use my agents. I had another general almost assassinated by another family. I hired a spy and stuck him with the army to help prevent another attack. I love hiring champions and placing them with an army to really help train it up. I also have a spy that is leveled waaayyyy up. I have her wreaking havoc with the Etruscans right now. Created unrest in one province and the. Burned their trade port. Later, when I laid seige to it, she poise we the water supply which damaged all of the enemy units. Due to the loss of the port and a farm that I burned, they had negative food and the garrison started to attrit. Pretty cool.
I recommend the "close combat mod" as well as another mod on TWcenter that dulls the uniform core of everyone so they don't look like Vietnamese monks
I just finished pounding the Syracuse Army to a pulp. Next up CARTHAGE! You will not occupy provinces that rightfully belong to Rome.
I'm in the middle. The game is still playable, and it's fun. But I've also experienced too many frustrating bugs and passive AI to call it great, in it's current state. While many are being overly melodramatic, I can see some of the reasoned points being made. We all wanted to see the same capability present in Shogun 2 and for some reason CA tore some of it up (notably the AI) and started fresh. It's either quite unfinished or a failure in that attempt.
Thats okay, It's playable at the moment albeit mostly a pushover. I don't mind waiting to see how they fix it up. The most alarming that keeps dwelling in my mind is how half-assed CA has fixed up poor AI's in the past, on their Total War games that were released in such a state. I won't rant and foam at the mouth like some fans but I will certainly be pissed if they don't bother fixing it up much. Of all the Total War settings, this is my favorite. Shogun 2 was released in a good condition - if anything they kinda jacked up some of it with their patching of additional graphics crap that gave some people problems. It would be a shame if they didn't finish Rome 2 properly, and I'm willing to bet there are many with this same concern in the back of their mind. That's probably why some are flipping out - they expect this to get some half-baked updates and then left by the wayside. I want this to be the best of the bunch, so I've been expressing my concerns here, in a more civilized location.
It's fun enough that I've still been playing it, so it's certainly got that special something to keep me coming back, even while being disappointing at times. Hopefully I'm not viewed as a crazed ranter, I just hope they fix this up because it would be awesome if they can get the challenge back up to Shogun 2 levels.
I may have to go find the mod that slows down the run speeds and combat, but what does the combat one modify? Does it raise Defense, Armor, and Morale some or..? I've used some of the combat mods in other TWs and the effects can favor certain unit types a bit too much, so I'm a bit wary. Best to just try it, huh? Anyone have a link?
Quote from: mikeck on September 07, 2013, 08:03:52 PM
I recommend the "close combat mod" as well as another mod on TWcenter that dulls the uniform core of everyone so they don't look like Vietnamese monks
LOL. Some of those light missile troops definitely resemble buddhist monks. Especially Epirote Slingers.
Quote from: CptHowdy on September 07, 2013, 07:51:14 PM
haven't checked out their forums since I don't own the game yet but this isn't their first rodeo. I think people expect a little more out of the AI and such. how long have they been writing AI for total war games?? perhaps they take a few shortcuts since they know someone will mod it anyway? does a disservice to people who don't want to mess with mods.
There was some developer video where the guy mentioned they were trying to do something totally different with the Rome 2 AI.. make it more flexible and less scripted as it was in Shogun 2 (or some such). I don't recall whether it was for the tactical or strategic AI, or both. I thought the Shogun 2 AI was challenging enough to keep it fun, and it got fairly wide praises, so why would they want to scratch it and start fresh is my question? ???
I guess when all is said and done all that really matters is that you enjoy the game enough to keep playing it.
I've played a few games that looked promising in the beginning only to lose interest in them later on down the road when the developers decided that catering to the masses took precedence over designing a game with more depth and vision.
In a way you feel betrayed because you thought you helped in making the game popular,but then come to the realization that the developer probably never really shared your vision anyways and was only interested in turning a buck or had no other choice but to sell out to larger interests that could care less about game other than how much profit can be derived from it.
Usually once a game starts dumbing down and begins to feel arcade like,I just uninstall and move on and wish I had enough money to finance and design my own version of the game.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 07, 2013, 08:08:31 PM
Anyone have a link?
this is quick film of the close combat mod with a link to it in the details - this one changes the morale and attack speed, the other one changes actual movement speed and morale its called Radious Battle Mod - something like that
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 07, 2013, 08:57:52 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 07, 2013, 08:08:31 PM
Anyone have a link?
this is quick film of the close combat mod with a link to it in the details - this one changes the morale and attack speed, the other one changes actual movement speed and morale its called Radious Battle Mod - something like that
Is there supposed to be a link or is that somewhere else?
Quote from: Gusington on September 07, 2013, 06:45:18 PM
Great posts on the last page. 'Geek I feel exactly like you do sometimes...I feel like an ignoramus because I am enjoying Rome II.
Poor Easy Pontus bit off more than it could chew: The Selucids and their Satrapies took Easy Pontus to pieces. Even on easy you can be crushed if you are not careful.
I guess I'll try running some barbarians.
Quote from: Dolan50 on September 07, 2013, 08:23:02 PM
Usually once a game starts dumbing down and begins to feel arcade like,I just uninstall and move on and wish I had enough money to finance and design my own version of the game.
I think this is an interesting topic of conversation. "Arcade" and "console" are thrown out there with such a liberal use as to mean just about any design choice that someone doesn't like about a game. What does that actually mean? Not trying to poke you in the eye here. It's an honest question. In terms of the Total War series, while there have been some design choices that have changed from game to game like how provinces are broken down the city based like Rome 2 or the farms/ports of Empire, I really cannot see much that has changed from the overall formula of the game designs. I don't get it.
Here is the uniform mod (need mod manager)
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?618773-Uniform-Re-Colour-Mod
Here is the battle mod I use, just drop in the Data folder:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?618795-Close-Combat-mod
I have found the campaign AI to be fairly aggressive. Not so much in foreign policy.... They haven't declared on me yet (although they fight each other) but once we are at war, the AI definitely moves his armies and attacks my towns (just lost one to the Etruscans).
I might have bitten off more than I can chew in my Roman campaign. I'm in a full fledged war with Carthage and her allies. Armies and Navies are moving all over the Mediterranean. We are in a power struggle primarily over the Sardinia islands area. The one upside for me is that Carthage has a major rebel problem right now, which is indirectly helping my war efforts.
Was there another patch this evening?
I just logged into Steam and there's a 22.8MB update downloading. Of course, it's estimated finish time is about 3.5 hours since the Steam client doesn't feel like downloading patches much lately. >:( Seriously? A 22MB patch that won't finish downloading? Shamefur Disrpray!
Quote from: Nefaro on September 07, 2013, 11:04:48 PM
Was there another patch this evening?
I just logged into Steam and there's a 22.8MB update downloading. Of course, it's estimated finish time is about 3.5 hours since the Steam client doesn't feel like downloading patches much lately. >:( Seriously? A 22MB patch that won't finish downloading? Shamefur Disrpray!
Yes, it was the hot fix for red skies.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 07, 2013, 11:15:03 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 07, 2013, 11:04:48 PM
Was there another patch this evening?
I just logged into Steam and there's a 22.8MB update downloading. Of course, it's estimated finish time is about 3.5 hours since the Steam client doesn't feel like downloading patches much lately. >:( Seriously? A 22MB patch that won't finish downloading? Shamefur Disrpray!
Yes, it was the hot fix for red skies.
Aww.
Damn thing took 20 goddamn minutes to download. >:( *Insert Steam rant here*
How are you all keeping your provinces happy? I am expanding my cities and giving bread and circuses but my unhappiness is still too high for me to feel comfortable.
Quote from: Gusington on September 07, 2013, 11:30:37 PM
How are you all keeping your provinces happy? I am expanding my cities and giving bread and circuses but my unhappiness is still too high for me to feel comfortable.
Remember that your city bonuses for buildings effect the ENTIRE province, so look at how many structures you are doubling up where a different building might add a different bonus. Temples are very good at improving happiness, because they give bonus to both happiness and convert to culture. Not knowing the city your discussing, but I'd look at the culture. Also you can stop the province from being taxed for a few turns.
Well no more Carthage. It turned out to be rather anti-climatic. Now the Punic Rebels on the hand who are holed up in Corsica. They are turning out to be a huge pain in the ass. A 20 unit stack army holed up in a city as I lay siege with a smaller force that I'm going to have to pull back due to attrition and I'll also need to flex another legion over to give support for the siege battle. I'm out numbered more than 3 to 1 at the moment.
Quote from: Bison on September 07, 2013, 10:15:15 PM
I might have bitten off more than I can chew in my Roman campaign. I'm in a full fledged war with Carthage and her allies. Armies and Navies are moving all over the Mediterranean. We are in a power struggle primarily over the Sardinia islands area. The one upside for me is that Carthage has a major rebel problem right now, which is indirectly helping my war efforts.
I took an Easy Tour under blue skies. I tried some barbarians. Then I set out as Easy Egypt. I was puttering around knocking out rebels and getting some trade when the Selucids and all their Satrapies and allies (about 6-7 kingdoms) declared war on me. So the AI will get you. Apparently especially if you are Egypt. Even Easy Egypt. Maybe I can beat them in detail or something. we will see.
Quote from: Gusington on September 07, 2013, 11:30:37 PM
How are you all keeping your provinces happy? I am expanding my cities and giving bread and circuses but my unhappiness is still too high for me to feel comfortable.
Don't just automatically upgrade all your structures to the highest level possible. The ones that jump from -4 Stability to -12 Stability can be nasty. Just take your time, build up Stability (and Food) production buildings and only upgrade to those nasty bastards when you can take the hit in that province.
Just remember that we're probably not meant to have a lot of those high-penalty high-level buildings so don't be building them all over the place. Get the basics laid down and then slowly inch the other higher tier stuff up when you can.
I also tend to take my sweet time, after conquering new territory, before warring the next neighbor. It takes about 9 turns for the Stability penalties from the recent conquest to drop off, and about that long to switch the culture over to my own (for further unrest reduction). Make sure you're placing those administrator characters in these new acquisitions because they add some culture conversion bonus. The first things to build/convert are temples and other structures that give positive stability.
Quote from: Gusington on September 07, 2013, 11:30:37 PM
How are you all keeping your provinces happy? I am expanding my cities and giving bread and circuses but my unhappiness is still too high for me to feel comfortable.
I cheated... Used Radious' building mod that reduced food penalties to buildings and increased tax revenue and public order for others.
Quote from: mikeck on September 08, 2013, 10:45:11 AM
Quote from: Gusington on September 07, 2013, 11:30:37 PM
How are you all keeping your provinces happy? I am expanding my cities and giving bread and circuses but my unhappiness is still too high for me to feel comfortable.
I cheated... Used Radious' building mod that reduced food penalties to buildings and increased tax revenue and public order for others.
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D
I found once you learned to balance the buildings across your province and build up slowly; generally provinces quickly become profitable. Especially if you take farming tech for the added economic boosts for having them.
There's scuttlebutt as to why performance suffers. Evidentally CA has the textures and shadows being processed by the CPU and not the video card. What is this, 1996?! I can only guess that they had some video card overheating when everything was running through them, or some other issue, in order to move that stuff over. ???
I had wondered why the turn resolution would be noticeably slower while my viewable area was in a spot that made my fps drop. Even got a couple lock-ups while the turn was processing and it had been zoomed into a bunch of smoke and stuff on the campaign map. Sure enough, the turn processes slower the lower my fps is when I end the turn.
That explains why some of the video performance sucks no matter what vid card you have, and long turn resolution times. ;)
Quote from: Nefaro on September 08, 2013, 11:22:58 AM
There's scuttlebutt as to why performance suffers. Evidentally CA has the textures and shadows being processed by the CPU and not the video card. What is this, 1996?! I can only guess that they had some video card overheating when everything was running through them, or some other issue, in order to move that stuff over. ???
OK. That's an interestingly poor decision if it's true. I'm not sure it that is something that can be reversed with a patch.
OK. The diplomacy and strategic map annoy me. Who the hell decided not to allow the player to scroll the freaking map around? Stupid.
Quote from: Bison on September 08, 2013, 11:46:12 AM
OK. The diplomacy and strategic map annoy me. Who the hell decided not to allow the player to scroll the freaking map around? Stupid.
You can. Gotta Left-click, hold, and drag the mouse to move them. You can also use the mouse wheel to zoom in & out.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 08, 2013, 11:57:12 AM
Quote from: Bison on September 08, 2013, 11:46:12 AM
OK. The diplomacy and strategic map annoy me. Who the hell decided not to allow the player to scroll the freaking map around? Stupid.
You can. Gotta Left-click, hold, and drag the mouse to move them. You can also use the mouse wheel to zoom in & out.
I'll need to try this later, because this is some good news if true.
loving it, captured Buxentium (the one on the coast) - the only thing im coming up against so far is the lack of knowledge - how i yearn for a glossy manual to read on the toilet, what buildings to build and why, what units to build and why with the little pics of the unit or building - sigh
anyway - i can only assume im ignorant of the complaints 'they' make - combat seems ok to me - unit morale is a little flaky im definitely going to get a mod just dont know which one yet - it usually takes a week or 2 for the cream to float to the top mod wise - front runners look like radious mod or the close combat one - research continues!
other than that id like to zoom way out of the campaign map just for a sense of scale - and despite the complaints, the little additions and add ons you can make to the generals - im finiding myself quite attached to the little fellas and rooting for them in battle
Quote from: Bison on September 08, 2013, 11:58:23 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 08, 2013, 11:57:12 AM
Quote from: Bison on September 08, 2013, 11:46:12 AM
OK. The diplomacy and strategic map annoy me. Who the hell decided not to allow the player to scroll the freaking map around? Stupid.
You can. Gotta Left-click, hold, and drag the mouse to move them. You can also use the mouse wheel to zoom in & out.
I'll need to try this later, because this is some good news if true.
Yeah, left click and drag. I think you can also use the arrow keys
Back to province morale for a minute...I have started to build temples and researching civic improvements so according to what everyone has said I am on the path to lessening province belly-aching :)
Quote from: Gusington on September 08, 2013, 12:55:02 PM
Back to province morale for a minute...I have started to build temples and researching civic improvements so according to what everyone has said I am on the path to lessening province belly-aching :)
Yes. Look at your province screen and hover over the happiness bar and it'll tell you where you are gaining/losing happiness and adjust from there.
Cool thanks...have to pay more attention to tool tips and pop ups. A print manual would help.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 08, 2013, 07:35:02 AM
Quote from: Bison on September 07, 2013, 10:15:15 PM
I might have bitten off more than I can chew in my Roman campaign. I'm in a full fledged war with Carthage and her allies. Armies and Navies are moving all over the Mediterranean. We are in a power struggle primarily over the Sardinia islands area. The one upside for me is that Carthage has a major rebel problem right now, which is indirectly helping my war efforts.
I took an Easy Tour under blue skies. I tried some barbarians. Then I set out as Easy Egypt. I was puttering around knocking out rebels and getting some trade when the Selucids and all their Satrapies and allies (about 6-7 kingdoms) declared war on me. So the AI will get you. Apparently especially if you are Egypt. Even Easy Egypt. Maybe I can beat them in detail or something. we will see.
Well, I trashed the Selucids...looting and leaving towns burning and full of rebels. This might not have been wise,but that will teach them to pick on Easy Egypt.
Ok, I spent an hour or so with Rome 2 last night finally and I guess I'm going to be the dissenting opinion here.
This is hard to articulate, but I kind of "get" the haters who are less than thrilled with Rome 2. For me, it's not something as easy to quantify as bad AI or some missing feature.
It's not a bad game. It looks good and there are a lot of neat touches, for example the autoresolve combat animations. I definitely like being able to fight the naval battles...and so on.
But ultimately I came away a bit underwhelmed. It's not one thing. I think it's that the aggregate of all of the new features feel like window dressing on what is essentially the same game as Rome 1. I don't know if I can say it better than that. I feel as though some of the charm and magic of Rome 1 is maybe missing from Rome 2.
Obviously I need to spend more time with the game to get deeper into the features. However, I can sort of see the opposing viewpoint a bit better now. It's still Rome Total War. Just different. Not necessarily better and maybe the problem is that I'm out of my comfort zone. I really liked Rome 1 so maybe the change is just sitting poorly with me. My feeling after an hour was mostly, "So that's it?" And I don't know why. I don't feel like I was lied to or that something was promised that didn't deliver. I was just underwhelmed.
When my wife called me in to watch a movie, I didn't have any problem shutting the game down for the night. I'm not in any hurry to get back to it today.
^That's much more well articulated than the foaming at the mouth responses on other forums.
I think maybe because its been done before. When Rome Mae out (even after mtw and stw) it was a completely new type of game. It was similar enough to older TW game but had more building options and 3d battles. Since then, we've gotten used to it, it's hard to be new and fresh.
For me, it's kind of the opposite... The whole is more than the sum of its parts. I just like it and can't explain why. Sure, there are an lying bugs like ships that won't unload after they beach and crap like that...but it's cool. Once sept 24th roles around, I will be on to Dominions and O
Command
Any of you Gus shave any luck getting into TWcenter today? Trying to look for mod updated and haven't been able to get on since last night
Quote from: mikeck on September 08, 2013, 05:11:38 PM
Any of you Gus shave any luck getting into TWcenter today? Trying to look for mod updated and haven't been able to get on since last night
Some autocorrect happening there, Mike? :D
I've been on TWC today but it is very VERY slow. I want to check out the Radious mod.
Quote from: Staggerwing on September 08, 2013, 05:13:10 PM
Quote from: mikeck on September 08, 2013, 05:11:38 PM
Any of you Gus shave any luck getting into TWcenter today? Trying to look for mod updated and haven't been able to get on since last night
Some autocorrect happening there, Mike? :D
Yes, and if my iPhone changes "$&*ing" into "ducking" one more time, I'm throwing it out the window.
How does it compare to STW2? I really like that a lot. I think that one is well-polished.
Just FYI. There is a "field battles" mod at TWcenter which allows the player ton hose whether to fight sieges in the town or an open field. Only works in non walled settlements that don't have a port so it is limited. Apparently, it was originally included in the vanilla game bug was "turned off".
Should help with decreasing the battles occurring in those small settlement
They definitely put some Game of Thrones references in there. I've seen two in the last fifteen minutes. :)
One is a voiceover for an eastern Spy character with an accent, " A man has many faces." Another is one of the character traits that says, "The night is dark and full of terror." I'd bet there are more.
That field battle mod may be ideal as long as the field battles don't spawn flags. Probably hard-coded though. The AI does terrible when it has to defend even one of those and just bum rushes with everything if you hold one. :(
Also try this:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?619033-Yarkis-Personal-Battle-Mod-v1-1-(UPDATED-Now-with-Better-Unit-Cohesion)
Helps with units maintains cohesion. He altered the unit "mass" numbers as well as the "container size". When units clash they don't just spill everywhere. Not perfect but pretty good
Quote from: jomni on September 08, 2013, 07:26:01 PM
How does it compare to STW2? I really like that a lot. I think that one is well-polished.
The short answer is no it is not as polished as STW2 yet.
Even bright & early in the morning, TW Center is bogged as hell.
Trying to pick up the combat mod and maybe the open field one too, but that may be a long undertaking. :-\
Has anyone fought a night battle yet?
Just seen this review. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/06/total-war-rome-ii-review
Damn, I've placed my order, and although Game cancelled it without telling me (a cockup on their part), after a morning moaning at them they've reinstated the order with an apology. I wish I'd read this before. Anyway, if it's as dire as the review suggests, I'll mod it as I have with other TW games... Sadly, Darth Vader says he's retired from modding - we need him back! ???
Quote from: Gusington on September 09, 2013, 08:49:13 AM
Has anyone fought a night battle yet?
I have a general with the ability, but haven't seen the option yet. Perhaps he hasn't attacked yet. I do have six armies now so they don't all get used in every war.
****
I'm about 114 turns in on my Pontus game, and I'm now seeing another major issue with the campaign AI.
It cannot properly build structures to handle public unrest. There is only one city in approximately fifteen that I just checked, in which the AI has unrest higher than -60. A few are -90 to -99. They're all in the pits and steadily dropping. Rebel armies are regularly spawning in AI zones and some of them are being slowly torn apart from the inside. It's the same for large or small factions.
I'm on the verge of hanging it up for awhile. Sad panda.
I do really like the game, just not happy with campaign at the moment. It is very hard to keep everyone fed and happy.
Quote from: FlickJax on September 09, 2013, 09:03:44 AM
I do really like the game, just not happy with campaign at the moment. It is very hard to keep everyone fed and happy.
I'm doing great with the balancing act in that regard. The AI, unfortunately, is not.
It's easy once you maximize efficiency for food & public order. Just prioritize building the structures that provide the most food and public order first. There's a temple that provides a lot of PO. Farms and Inns provide lots of Food. Those should be the basis for every province, and only when there is a surplus of them should you put up wealth & army buildings. Keep a province specialized for recruiting armies at the expense of some food producing buildings as food surplus is faction-wide.
Quote from: Toonces on September 08, 2013, 03:39:10 PM
Ok, I spent an hour or so with Rome 2 last night finally and I guess I'm going to be the dissenting opinion here.
This is hard to articulate, but I kind of "get" the haters who are less than thrilled with Rome 2. For me, it's not something as easy to quantify as bad AI or some missing feature.
I can understand some of the annoyance with stuff in the game, but (and I keep repeating myself) if you look at what is presented and take it all as the usual extension of a TW game, it all amounts to a tremendous and promising leap forward. If you play it as a game and don't go out of your way to find problems with the AI (ie fight your battles as battles, not sets of procedures to mess up the AI) the whole thing can be experienced as a pretty tightly-woven and well-worked out game about the Mediterranean world in 272 BC. Sure it has some odd ways of representing things like rebellions and Factions that have no cities, but within its conventions, it is consistant.
I've found the battles quite challenging and interesting as battles (I don't try to manipulate the AI -- I just fight the battle as a battle). In fact I've had some of the best TW battles I can remember over the last few days of playing Rome II.
For example, I went after a beseiging army with a relief force and had the besiegers trapped between three forces (including the "garrison Fleet" ) all went as planned, but I made a few mistakes with my elephants and lost -- just barely. In terms of terrain and the interaction of forces it was one of the best TW battles I've ever fought. I think I spent too much time in first-person charging with the units -- but that shows how much pure fun I was having, I think.
In another example, a 4 vs 4 ship sea fight -- the sea and coastline were gorgeous. This has got to be one of the most visually rewarding games of all time (so far). I had a huge two-tower Octiere. It rammed one of the small enemy ships head-on and sank it very convincingly. Then it was itself rammed and boarded and attacking its tormentors wasn't useful since their crews had gotten on the Octiere. I thought all was lost, but then the other ships of the fleet opened missile fire on the boarders on the Octiere and saved the day. It was an great sea-fight and the smaller more agile ships almost won. Or at least almost took my biggest ship. I've never seen any game with that level of sea fighting sophistication. And it looked great too.
So, the game is basically brilliant, in my view.
Well at least the feedback here is much better than the review I just posted... phew... :-\
Quote from: Boggit on September 09, 2013, 09:23:22 AM
Well at least the feedback here is much better than the review I just posted... phew... :-\
Even that negative review admits in passing that if you actually just play the game as a game it is fantastic (he wrote):
Which is why it's such a pity that, when you actually get into the battles and it's running smoothly for once, Rome II gives glimpses of a classic. It's easy to forget that the game's called Total War for a reason, and its gigantic throwdowns not only look the part but deliver substance, too. There's nothing like a late-game Roman army filled with mighty legionaries and cavalry, backed up by ballistae and naval support, crashing into a Carthaginian force of equal size and led by war elephants.
The detail up-close is extraordinary, but it's the ability to zoom far above the battlefield and command as a disembodied god that feels amazing. An especially nice new touch is an overhead tactical map that can toggled mid-battle, and switching between this to give orders and the up-close cinematic camera simply has no equivalent; it's a breathtaking sweep.Since it has alway run smoothly for me you can even drop the "for once". But this is what I don't get about the negative reviews -- they say the game is too "bloated" -- the fact is it is moderately complex on many levels and its a big world AND it isn't just about Rome -- but it is pretty arbitrary to say that is "bloated". Sure you could have had a small game focused on Rome, but that would be more of an historical analysis than a game.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 09, 2013, 09:20:18 AM
I I've found the battles quite challenging and interesting as battles (I don't try to manipulate the AI -- I just fight the battle as a battle). In fact I've had some of the best TW battles I can remember over the last few days of playing Rome II.
uhm can you elaborate on this ?
The biggest reason I dont play total war series anymore is because the AI is to easy to beat to be frank. granted I like to use a fair amount of Archers/bowmen with cavalry as flanking troops, but it really makes the fights a one way trip 9/10. It shouldnt be like that.
I cant even be bothered to Count the times where I have just stood there shooting the ai army to pieces while it did absolutely nothing, or my cavalry outflanking him in plain sight while the ai didnt do a thing to counter this.
I hope they will fix this someday but im not holding my breath anymore.
Its really a shame because tbh I would love to play a total war game Again as I really like the idea, but not the execution
Quote from: jejo68 on September 09, 2013, 10:04:51 AM
Quote from: MengJiao on September 09, 2013, 09:20:18 AM
I I've found the battles quite challenging and interesting as battles (I don't try to manipulate the AI -- I just fight the battle as a battle). In fact I've had some of the best TW battles I can remember over the last few days of playing Rome II.
uhm can you elaborate on this ?
The biggest reason I dont play total war series anymore is because the AI is to easy to beat to be frank.
I take the battles as representations of battles in a specific context or more particularly, I accept the conventions of the game as a game that seeks to offer a representation of an event with the limitations of battles at that time. So there were really not that many orders that commanders could reliably transmit (charge, retreat, shoot, skirmish etc.) -- no one in say 236 BC had the option "Fool the AI" -- so I take the AI for what it is: an attempt to represent what an army could do. It's true that for some percentage of battles in TW moderately absurd things happen (though I haven't seen any of them in Rome II), you can write those off as the fortunes of War going way too far your way.
In Rome II, from what I've seen, the terrain is more closely coded to what the AI can understand, even though there are new complexities in Rome II (in one battle I had a detached tower on the edge of town where I posted my best slingers). This suggests some new level of sophistication in the Battle AI -- though of course it remains AI with all of its usual limitations (or so I assume, I don't spend time testing its limits -- I just notice when it seems to make a perfectly good set of moves -- which is most of the time).
Another thing I recommend for getting along with the AI is to let your mind (and viewpoint) wander: I try to spend as much time as I can in cinematic mode in Rome II battles. It lets you enter into the spirit of the moment, get swept up in the representation.
I have to try that...having used cinematic view yet.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 09, 2013, 10:57:35 AM
Quote from: jejo68 on September 09, 2013, 10:04:51 AM
Quote from: MengJiao on September 09, 2013, 09:20:18 AM
I I've found the battles quite challenging and interesting as battles (I don't try to manipulate the AI -- I just fight the battle as a battle). In fact I've had some of the best TW battles I can remember over the last few days of playing Rome II.
uhm can you elaborate on this ?
The biggest reason I dont play total war series anymore is because the AI is to easy to beat to be frank.
I take the battles as representations of battles in a specific context or more particularly, I accept the conventions of the game as a game that seeks to offer a representation of an event with the limitations of battles at that time. So there were really not that many orders that commanders could reliably transmit (charge, retreat, shoot, skirmish etc.) -- no one in say 236 BC had the option "Fool the AI" -- so I take the AI for what it is: an attempt to represent what an army could do. It's true that for some percentage of battles in TW moderately absurd things happen (though I haven't seen any of them in Rome II), you can write those off as the fortunes of War going way too far your way.
In Rome II, from what I've seen, the terrain is more closely coded to what the AI can understand, even though there are new complexities in Rome II (in one battle I had a detached tower on the edge of town where I posted my best slingers). This suggests some new level of sophistication in the Battle AI -- though of course it remains AI with all of its usual limitations (or so I assume, I don't spend time testing its limits -- I just notice when it seems to make a perfectly good set of moves -- which is most of the time).
Another thing I recommend for getting along with the AI is to let your mind (and viewpoint) wander: I try to spend as much time as I can in cinematic mode in Rome II battles. It lets you enter into the spirit of the moment, get swept up in the representation.
We all get the battles are cinematic and very pretty. But that is nothing all that different from any previous Total War title.
Also you do not have to use tricks to beat the AI. Its so bad it just kind of beats itself most of the time. If you have any concept of military tactics, you should not lose a battle unless greatly outnumbered.
Im still waiting for someone to tell me what this game does better than Shogun II. Yes we all seem to enjoy the time period and setting more than feudal Japan. But other than that, I find the game to be seriously lacking in almost all areas.
The Guardian review summed it up very nicely " but this game as a whole is a failure of project management. So many elements are polished to a shine and yet at no point do they even threaten to come together. And so Rome II comes to depend purely on its battles and the fumes of nostalgia from a game more than a decade old – an inspiration that, in all honesty, it is not fit to be compared to."
Quote from: bboyer66 on September 09, 2013, 11:43:17 AM
We all get the battles are cinematic and very pretty. But that is nothing all that different from any previous Total War title.
I think what it might be easy to overlook is that "cinematic and pretty" is cinematic and pretty because the terrain and the interaction of
units with the terrain is far better than in any TW so far. It's hard to see it because it looks like ordinary reality. ie it looks too real in a sense.
I think this game has entered an area of representationality that falls into something like an uncanny valley for many players. They see the images and interpret them as "Well of course. What do you expect? That is what thousands of people attacking a town look like."
So it is easy to pass over the basic facts of how well the game is working because it looks like just plain reality (or what we would assume the ancient world looked like). So the basic operation of the game (which is I think very tight and very functional) is passed over and people more on to pick out everything that annoys them -- essentially without experiencing what actually works very well.
So this brings up the problem of a game that works so well and so close to some kind of reality that anything that troubles players gets all the attention and most of the game becomes more or less invisible. I think this explains the otherwise inexplicable "bloat" that negative reviews put forward -- that bloat is all that they have seen but not really processed because it was just what you'd expect to see in the ancient world. It's all there, but they can't quite see it as a game so it's bloat -- an indefinite region of their own inability to fully process what they did actually perceive but then dismiss as merely real (though it wasn't real at all -- in fact it was the essence of a game they didn't see).
I am with MJ on this. Especially the 'uncanny valley' discription. I have read an article about that theory, in fact. And I think its a thing that a lot of gamers suffer from.
Afterall, we have seen it all, right?
I think there are several things it does better than Shogun. First, it gives my individual legions personality. Each legion has its own insignia and own tradition developed over time. I have one legion I use for attacking large towns that have engineering bonuses and missle defense bonuses for example. That tradition stays with the legion and not any particular unit.
Second, the game combines naval and land warfare tactically. I can use a nearby navy, Ina. Tactical battle, to land on shore and aid my land forces.
Third, more options for armies and navies on the Campaign map with stances. Navies can be told to patrol, pirate, etc and armies can entrench, ambush, for e march, etc all with their own advantages.
There are many things it does better than Shogun 2, and many not as well.
Comes down to this: people that want to do find a reason not to like the game will find them. Those like me who love TW and want to like it, will find reasons to like it and look past some of the other things people complain about. I just haven't had many bugs and the game runs smooth. I find the tactical AI to be good and I find the campaign AI to be aggressive. At this point, I can't comment on enemy army composition as I have really only fought some week powers. I DO use a mod that greatly Increases tax bonus and decreases unrest penalties. This helps the AI maintain an economy. I so find the Ai to be weak in the area of diplomacy ..dec of war as well as trades and alliances.
Is this a reason to crap on the game? I mean, is this the first game where the AI had trouble operating its economy as well as the player? I don't have a dog in the fight. I already own it and I have been playing steadily since the day it came out. I love it and every mod I add makes it better. If someone else wants to deprive themselves of a great game because the Ai can't cope with their 100% cavalry army the. So be it.
Now I'm not saying everyone that hates it is wrong, sometimes people have a good reason or they just DON'T like it, that's fair of course. I think that some people-as MJ mentioned- have unrealistic expectations and choose to cling onto a minor issue and claim it makes the game unplayable.
There are graphical and other tech issues people are having. I understand their frustration. I have not had any so merrily I go on conquering the med. I don't like formation issues, AI army sizes and weak diplomacy, but it's still fun.
Radios' building mod
Yarkis personal battle mod
Radios AI mod
Uniform improvement mod
All these help make the game better.
The best part of this thread is watching your auto-correct mangle your posts Mike! ;D
You shot your feces
I mean, you shut your face
Sausage fingers + iPhone at work= major autocorrect issues
Quote from: mikeck on September 09, 2013, 12:53:02 PM
Now I'm not saying everyone that hates it is wrong, sometimes people have a good reason or they just DON'T like it, that's fair of course. I think that some people-as MJ mentioned- have unrealistic expectations and choose to cling onto a minor issue and claim it makes the game unplayable.
There are graphical and other tech issues people are having. I understand their frustration. I have not had any so merrily I go on conquering the med. I don't like formation issues, AI army sizes and weak diplomacy, but it's still fun.
Radios' building mod
Yarkis personal battle mod
Radios AI mod
Uniform improvement mod
All these help make the game better.
I agree, there are plenty of good reasons to dislike the game. I would have preferred something more focused and not on Rome -- say the Levant in 500 BC with seasons and smaller regions.
But, given what it is trying to do, it does a reasonable job. -- Still I'm ready for some modding so that's next.
Quote from: mikeck on September 09, 2013, 01:07:07 PM
I mean, you shut your face
Sausage fingers + iPhone at work= major autocorrect issues
I won't quote your big post as it looks epic in size on my phone but this post sums up far more eloquently than I could what I want to see, what I feel - a post from the soul of someone immerssed and invested in the game - its brilliant - bravo
Quote from: Boggit on September 09, 2013, 08:51:18 AM
Just seen this review. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/06/total-war-rome-ii-review
This is surpringly much how I feel about Rome 2.
It's a good game, but in context of Total War leaves me wanting.
If I'd never played a Total War game ever before, I would probably be drooling all over the place.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 09, 2013, 02:05:02 PM
Quote from: mikeck on September 09, 2013, 12:53:02 PM
Now I'm not saying everyone that hates it is wrong, sometimes people have a good reason or they just DON'T like it, that's fair of course. I think that some people-as MJ mentioned- have unrealistic expectations and choose to cling onto a minor issue and claim it makes the game unplayable.
There are graphical and other tech issues people are having. I understand their frustration. I have not had any so merrily I go on conquering the med. I don't like formation issues, AI army sizes and weak diplomacy, but it's still fun.
Radios' building mod
Yarkis personal battle mod
Radios AI mod
Uniform improvement mod
All these help make the game better.
I agree, there are plenty of good reasons to dislike the game. I would have preferred something more focused and not on Rome -- say the Levant in 500 BC with seasons and smaller regions.
But, given what it is trying to do, it does a reasonable job. -- Still I'm ready for some modding so that's next.
Sounds like good mod material. The closest I get to that is playing Slitherine's Chariot game, which is "OK", but very dated now and you've little troop control - which I guess is the historical reality.
Quote from: Toonces on September 09, 2013, 04:13:39 PM
Quote from: Boggit on September 09, 2013, 08:51:18 AM
Just seen this review. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/06/total-war-rome-ii-review
This is surpringly much how I feel about Rome 2.
It's a good game, but in context of Total War leaves me wanting.
If I'd never played a Total War game ever before, I would probably be drooling all over the place.
+1
What I don't get with CA is how they seem to learn so little about the gameplay with each iteration of the franchise. True the graphics get prettier, but that's only half the picture. One example, with Empire until Shogun2 you couldn't arrange unit cards, although you could previously. It's as though the development team is not learning by experience as it goes, or just doesn't listen to their customers. On the face of it this just seems a dumb way to operate. Thank God we have some decent nodders, or the shelf life of some of the TW series would have evaporated years ago.
Quote from: Boggit on September 09, 2013, 05:30:59 PM
Quote from: Toonces on September 09, 2013, 04:13:39 PM
Quote from: Boggit on September 09, 2013, 08:51:18 AM
Just seen this review. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/06/total-war-rome-ii-review
This is surpringly much how I feel about Rome 2.
It's a good game, but in context of Total War leaves me wanting.
If I'd never played a Total War game ever before, I would probably be drooling all over the place.
+1
What I don't get with CA is how they seem to learn so little about the gameplay with each iteration of the franchise. True the graphics get prettier, but that's only half the picture. One example, with Empire until Shogun2 you couldn't arrange unit cards, although you could previously. It's as though the development team is not learning by experience as it goes, or just doesn't listen to their customers. On the face of it this just seems a dumb way to operate. Thank God we have some decent nodders, or the shelf life of some of the TW series would have evaporated years ago.
Why would they focus on anything else when every iteration of the game sells? There's no incentive to spend time and resources on anything but graphics.
Quote from: Boggit on September 09, 2013, 05:25:39 PM
Sounds like good mod material. The closest I get to that is playing Slitherine's Chariot game, which is "OK", but very dated now and you've little troop control - which I guess is the historical reality.
Less troop control would be a good thing in Rome 2, since the AI can't do anything but all-out charge or sit on a flag. I'm serious when I say that instead of having a cake walk over a poor AI opponent, I'd rather just have an elaborate pre-battle setup and basic plan system like that in
Spartan or
Chariots of War. It would cut the need for a sophisticated tactically oriented AI and level the field. Obviously CA, themselves, have never been happy with their own tactical AI since they just ripped out the one from Shogun 2 (the best thus far by a wide margin) and started fresh. I propose that having this kind of option for resolving the battles would give more of a challenge (and make them faster, too). Having such an option would be good for a better challenge, in the end. Nevertheless, the tactical AI can probably do somewhat fair with a couple tweaks and removal of the victory flag locations which it so often mindlessly turtles on, to it's own detriment.
My biggest complaints, however, are in regard to the campaign map AI in Rome 2. The numerous AI armies wasting away with attrition? Okay, I've overlooked that at the moment. Dividing it's forces into multiple smaller armies - I thought this had been mostly curbed in Shogun 2, but it's back since the change to the way armies form and recruit (which are great additions, btw). Armies standing about, doing nothing unless they outnumber you two-to-one or all their cities are taken, has provided little challenge. It's not doing what it did fairly well in Shogun 2, and that's a disappointment.
But the worst thing I've seen so far is
the AI factions self-destructing because it will not build enough happiness inducing buildings. I've progressed to a mid-game stage and they've all plummeted into a constant state of rebellion, with large rebel armies popping up and capturing their regions. I would call this game breaking AI behavior. There are even dormant rebel armies, that had spawned during a previous faction owner's rebellion-laden ownership, now sitting around on the map doing nothing. Hell, they still just stand around quite a bit while their spawning faction is still there. I'm not even sure the spawned rebel armies are attacking cities all that often, but they evidentally reach whatever magic troop strength ratio the AI requires to attack, enough to occasionally get off their butt and attack something.
I've played Rome 2 for over forty hours and I see some great stuff in there. Unlike some people, I don't think it's "dumbed down". Quite the opposite with all the new features. Unfortunately the AI often doesn't know how to use the new features, and is even self-destructive. I keep giving this another go, and yet another go, but I'm only finding the issues get worse as my current game progresses. The real tragedy will be when CA stops making patches and moves on to developing their next title. I have a feeling it'll be before they properly get this one done, because they've done it before. I still hold some hope that the AI gets fixed, and they don't screw anything else up in the process, but we shouldn't be too surprised if it doesn't get done in the end.
Perhaps I've entered the realm of Frothing Hater, but the longer I play the more and greater problems I find.
^Maybe with time I will get to that point but I just haven't come close yet. I am starting to see the AI having trouble with morale and food, but I was too in the early hours. Now I am learning. Maybe...MAYBE...the AI can adjust itself?
Quote from: Gusington on September 09, 2013, 07:12:31 PM
Maybe...MAYBE...the AI can adjust itself?
I keep playing, in the hopes that it does just that, but so far no luck. I'm not sure if I want to start a fresh campaign if, twenty or thirty hours in, the AIs begin self-destructing again. Hearbreaking. :'(
Perhaps a patch in the not too distant future can remedy this. This concerns me only because I have seen it starting too. But I have also seen things that other people have said are not there, like AI factions fighting each other, being aggressive on the strategic map and not being stupid on the tactical map.
Guys, I highly recommend Radious' economy and tech mod! Seriously. You just drop it into your data file. It decreases the food requirement for buildings and lowers the public order penalty for them as well. It also increases the money you get from them. The result is that you never really have a shortage of food and are never really unhappy...that's kind of bad. But the big advantage is that the Ai has lots of money and can build stuff without struggling. He'll, I had a hard time keeping people happy and fed too.
The result is AI's with nice large armies and healthy economies.
Angry Joe review.
http://angryjoeshow.com/2013/09/total-war-rome-ii-epic-fail-a-i-glitches/
Quote from: Nefaro on September 09, 2013, 06:55:51 PM
Quote from: Boggit on September 09, 2013, 05:25:39 PM
Sounds like good mod material. The closest I get to that is playing Slitherine's Chariot game, which is "OK", but very dated now and you've little troop control - which I guess is the historical reality.
Less troop control would be a good thing in Rome 2, since the AI can't do anything but all-out charge or sit on a flag. I'm serious when I say that instead of having a cake walk over a poor AI opponent, I'd rather just have an elaborate pre-battle setup and basic plan system like that in Spartan or Chariots of War. It would cut the need for a sophisticated tactically oriented AI and level the field. Obviously CA, themselves, have never been happy with their own tactical AI since they just ripped out the one from Shogun 2 (the best thus far by a wide margin) and started fresh. I propose that having this kind of option for resolving the battles would give more of a challenge (and make them faster, too). Having such an option would be good for a better challenge, in the end. Nevertheless, the tactical AI can probably do somewhat fair with a couple tweaks and removal of the victory flag locations which it so often mindlessly turtles on, to it's own detriment.
My biggest complaints, however, are in regard to the campaign map AI in Rome 2. The numerous AI armies wasting away with attrition? Okay, I've overlooked that at the moment. Dividing it's forces into multiple smaller armies - I thought this had been mostly curbed in Shogun 2, but it's back since the change to the way armies form and recruit (which are great additions, btw). Armies standing about, doing nothing unless they outnumber you two-to-one or all their cities are taken, has provided little challenge. It's not doing what it did fairly well in Shogun 2, and that's a disappointment.
But the worst thing I've seen so far is the AI factions self-destructing because it will not build enough happiness inducing buildings. I've progressed to a mid-game stage and they've all plummeted into a constant state of rebellion, with large rebel armies popping up and capturing their regions. I would call this game breaking AI behavior. There are even dormant rebel armies, that had spawned during a previous faction owner's rebellion-laden ownership, now sitting around on the map doing nothing. Hell, they still just stand around quite a bit while their spawning faction is still there. I'm not even sure the spawned rebel armies are attacking cities all that often, but they evidentally reach whatever magic troop strength ratio the AI requires to attack, enough to occasionally get off their butt and attack something.
I've played Rome 2 for over forty hours and I see some great stuff in there. Unlike some people, I don't think it's "dumbed down". Quite the opposite with all the new features. Unfortunately the AI often doesn't know how to use the new features, and is even self-destructive. I keep giving this another go, and yet another go, but I'm only finding the issues get worse as my current game progresses. The real tragedy will be when CA stops making patches and moves on to developing their next title. I have a feeling it'll be before they properly get this one done, because they've done it before. I still hold some hope that the AI gets fixed, and they don't screw anything else up in the process, but we shouldn't be too surprised if it doesn't get done in the end.
Perhaps I've entered the realm of Frothing Hater, but the longer I play the more and greater problems I find.
Those are fair complaints and I have experienced many of them...but not to beat a dead horse here there are several mods that help. They allow the Ai to build without crushing their economy and one that prioritized top tier units for purchase. In fact, I just ran into an army of a barbarian tribe in Cisalpine. They had 15 units: 4 were heavy hoplites, 4 light hoplites, 3 cavalry (including the general) and 4 slingers. Not bad. They also have another pretty full stack consisting of mainly skirmishers, light cav and slingers which is the standard dumb AI army. I out in the mod about 10 turns ago (radious AI mod) so I am hoping its prioritization produced the former army.
Could be just dreaming..dunno. But give them a try before you give up
Mods mods mods. Both a good and bad thing. Makes the devs lazy in delivering a stellar software because people can just tweak it to their liking.
I personally have never installed a TW mod. STW2 is probably their best out of the box title.
^You're missing a ton of content by not using mods. They make most of the TW games (especially M2TW) fresh and new again for 1000s of hours.
Justb played for another couple of hours. I checked on the morale and food supply of neighboring factions and everyone was happy (in the green)...much happier than my Roman faction. But by the end of this session I had brought my morale back, either by building some needed structures, researching tech or (my last choice) placing troops in cities. A temporary fix that I don't want to keep going.
I also scored my first satrap (Liguria) and together we are marching on Veneti together.
So again I apologize...Rome II continues to draw me in and make me smile. Sorry!
Gus, are you using any mods?
Quote from: jomni on September 09, 2013, 07:59:23 PM
Mods mods mods. Both a good and bad thing. Makes the devs lazy in delivering a stellar software because people can just tweak it to their liking.
I personally have never installed a TW mod. STW2 is probably their best out of the box title.
I disagree. Shogun FOTS was great...darthmod made it better
Skyrim was awesome at release but the mods make it unbelievable
X3: tC is great, mods make it better
I don't think it's lazy developers. They make a game. I can then pick and choose mods to tailor the game that I want.
I am firmly on the fence on this one. For every negative post or review I see a positive one. And since my system is borderline-capable of running it anyway, I really wish there was a demo so I could see a) if it's as good as some people say, b) if it's as bad as some people say, and c) if it's even worth getting until I upgrade my rig, which won't be until the end of the year.
Quote from: Gusington on September 09, 2013, 07:25:50 PM
Perhaps a patch in the not too distant future can remedy this. This concerns me only because I have seen it starting too. But I have also seen things that other people have said are not there, like AI factions fighting each other, being aggressive on the strategic map and not being stupid on the tactical map.
I've seen the AI attacking each other just fine. It seems to be doing a passable job, and I'm seeing some factions growing larger and larger. I've not seen it be aggressive toward me, the player, unless it has a very sizable numbers advantage. Now that I'm further into the game, all the AI factions are pretty much paralyzed with rampant rebel armies in their territories so it has come to a helpless standstill. While it's
capable of being aggressive on the campaign side, it often isn't unless it can dogpile you and eventually cripples itself so bad that it can't do anything other than fight rebels.
It has also put up a decent fight in a tactical battle, but that was only once in the 20 or so battles I've manually played. That was because 1) It was open field and no flag spawned, and 2) The enemy army was a full 20 units, and fully consisted of steppe archer cavalry, so it was difficult coming to grips with them all in skirmish mode and constantly raining arrows. All my other fights, they just sit still in one spot and let me pepper them with missiles and artillery for awhile, and my final head-on rush breaks them in no time. It doesn't do anything but form up and wait for me to kill them off, with maybe a final desperate charge when I move up close (more like a counter-charge). I think the primary cause is the whole flag cap mechanics but I also have concern because this is reportedly a whole new AI than the one in Shogun 2 so who knows how long it will take to get it back to that level of challenge, if ever?
I realize that, at this point, it
really needs some mods. However, I'm not sure whether any of them can address the more serious problems I'm experiencing such as the snowballing AI unrest. There is a lot more hard-coded stuff in these newer TWs, from what I understand, so I'll probably wait until the vanilla game gets some updates before delving into what will be ever-changing mod soup. Adding mods has been moot for me anyway since TWCenter has been so overloaded the last two times I tried to get mods that I gave up waiting for the forum pages to load. It's times like these my regular insomnia can pay off for d/l'ing stuff at non-peak hours. ;)
I'll probably just wait until after the next update (hopefully this coming weekend) and fire up a fresh campaign. Clean slate. I'll wrestle with the mods later. It doesn't have to be perfect, but I expect the vanilla game to be somewhat challenging at some point in the future. Maybe some of you guys are satisfied with the challenge it currently provides, but my game as Pontus has been a bummer on that front.
I so love this period ,I've put 40+ hours into it in it's currently flawed state, if that gives you an idea of how much I want to see this thing succeed. It's also why I've been vocal about it's issues. :D
Quote from: mikeck on September 09, 2013, 07:37:27 PM
Those are fair complaints and I have experienced many of them...but not to beat a dead horse here there are several mods that help. They allow the Ai to build without crushing their economy and one that prioritized top tier units for purchase. In fact, I just ran into an army of a barbarian tribe in Cisalpine. They had 15 units: 4 were heavy hoplites, 4 light hoplites, 3 cavalry (including the general) and 4 slingers. Not bad. They also have another pretty full stack consisting of mainly skirmishers, light cav and slingers which is the standard dumb AI army. I out in the mod about 10 turns ago (radious AI mod) so I am hoping its prioritization produced the former army.
Could be just dreaming..dunno. But give them a try before you give up
Which mod is this, that adjusts the campaign AI? The issue with the AI creating slinger-heavy armies is also another complaint, although it's better than having an army of only four or six units. Still... an improvement there would be greatly appreciated.
I may give that one a try, if I can find it.
EDIT: Wait. Is that the one that basically lowers penalties for buildings and ups production? I kinda feel like that's too much of a cheat. I've done great working within the penalties of all the structures, and it has forced me to make tough decisions instead of justing building everything bigger & better whenever I have the money to do so. I
like how it currently is in the vanilla game. I was just hoping that someone tweaked the AI to value Public Order producing buildings more than it currently does. :-\
Angry Joe is really, really angry.
I'm kinda glad I held off.
Quote from: mikeck on September 09, 2013, 09:37:38 PM
Quote from: jomni on September 09, 2013, 07:59:23 PM
Mods mods mods. Both a good and bad thing. Makes the devs lazy in delivering a stellar software because people can just tweak it to their liking.
I personally have never installed a TW mod. STW2 is probably their best out of the box title.
I disagree. Shogun FOTS was great...darthmod made it better
Skyrim was awesome at release but the mods make it unbelievable
X3: tC is great, mods make it better
I don't think it's lazy developers. They make a game. I can then pick and choose mods to tailor the game that I want.
mods to me are quality of life things such as graphical improvements, new units, items, spells, scenery, flags etc.. if you need a mod to make the game playable then there is a flaw in the game. that is being a lazy developer. nice and shiny on the outside but still a rustbucket underneath.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 09, 2013, 11:49:47 PM
Angry Joe is really, really angry.
I'm kinda glad I held off.
haha love the benny hill theme music playing during that first big battle sequence!
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 09, 2013, 11:49:47 PM
Angry Joe is really, really angry.
I'm kinda glad I held off.
watched first 20 or so minutes, freaking hilarious. that guy being interviewed about the AI and how great it is should be fired. did he really believe what he was saying?? a little gangnam style around the 19-20 minute mark if you dig PSY ;D
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 09, 2013, 11:49:47 PM
Angry Joe is really, really angry.
I'm kinda glad I held off.
Got to admit, if I had seen this before I pre-ordered, I would have been glad to wait a few months.
Personally, I don't really understand all the rage. I mean, some of the stuff he has pointed out is accurate. I've seen strange graphical glitches (seams on rocks for example...very sloppy), and I COMPLETELY agree on the "mosh pit battles". I thought I hadn't been using the formations button properly, but I guess it is a problem with the game - this does make me concerned because that would be very close to a game-breaking bug for me. Be that as it may...this is precisely what I expected from a TW release. Bugs, bugs and more bugs, with a six month to a year time frame for a proper v1.0. I really didn't expect anything different. :D
Nonetheless, I want the rage to continue because I hope we get an Elemental-like situation where pre-orders/early buyers get some compensation via free expansions. :D
Rooks, this is because STW2 spoiled the market. It showed us that CA can pull off a generally polished game during release. Yes I'm a STW2 family but it is a common notion that it was released in good shape. ;)
Fan boy. DAMN AUTOCORRECT!
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 09, 2013, 11:49:47 PM
Angry Joe is really, really angry.
I'm kinda glad I held off.
LOL! He earned his moniker there.
As usual, I agree with his assessment.
Quote from: jomni on September 10, 2013, 01:09:12 AM
Rooks, this is because STW2 spoiled the market. It showed us that CA can pull off a generally polished game during release. Yes I'm a STW2 family but it is a common notion that it was released in good shape. ;)
See, I skipped that because the subject matter didn't interest me. So, I came from Empire to this. I guess Empire, being the train wreck that it was, inoculated me against the rage of another CA launch fiasco. LOL! :)
Quote from: RooksBailey on September 10, 2013, 12:56:21 AM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 09, 2013, 11:49:47 PM
Angry Joe is really, really angry.
I'm kinda glad I held off.
Got to admit, if I had seen this before I pre-ordered, I would have been glad to wait a few months.
Personally, I don't really understand all the rage. I mean, some of the stuff he has pointed out is accurate. I've seen strange graphical glitches (seams on rocks for example...very sloppy), and I COMPLETELY agree on the "mosh pit battles". I thought I hadn't been using the formations button properly, but I guess it is a problem with the game - this does make me concerned because that would be very close to a game-breaking bug for me. Be that as it may...this is precisely what I expected from a TW release. Bugs, bugs and more bugs, with a six month to a year time frame for a proper v1.0. I really didn't expect anything different. :D
Nonetheless, I want the rage to continue because I hope we get an Elemental-like situation where pre-orders/early buyers get some compensation via free expansions. :D
Well, seeing as how they totally f#$ked those of us with AMD HD 7970 cards last year by releasing a supposedly stand-alone expansion (FOTS) that still overwrote S2TW code which broke the game, I somehow doubt there'll be any free goodies. It took 9 months to get the problem sorted and CA did sweet FA to find a solution. It was the hard work of guys in the forums who eventually tracked down the issued and proved to CA and AMD what the problem was before a fix was implemented. No apologies. No admission of fault. Just a patch. 9 freaking months later. And after having CA Q&A guys call us liars on the forum and ban several users for having the gall to even bring the issue up.
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 10, 2013, 01:21:12 AM
Well, seeing as how they totally f#$ked those of us with AMD HD 7970 cards last year by releasing a supposedly stand-alone expansion (FOTS) that still overwrote S2TW code which broke the game, I somehow doubt there'll be any free goodies. It took 9 months to get the problem sorted and CA did sweet FA to find a solution. It was the hard work of guys in the forums who eventually tracked down the issued and proved to CA and AMD what the problem was before a fix was implemented. No apologies. No admission of fault. Just a patch. 9 freaking months later. And after having CA Q&A guys call us liars on the forum and ban several users for having the gall to even bring the issue up.
I missed all that drama. Don't game devs (more likely publishers) realize they are poisoning their own well? PC gaming is struggling as it is, it doesn't need one of the few remaining respected PC devs attacking their own fans.
See, I think this is why we are seeing gaming regressing in front of our eyes back to 16-bit graphics, side-scrollers, and point and click adventures. That, and F2P games which remove the necessity for trust since the first taste is free.
Happy to have a low-end machine for now so i am not even tempted to preorder TW games....i usually buy them for 10$ a few years later... 8)
Quote from: CptHowdy on September 10, 2013, 12:22:22 AM
Quote from: mikeck on September 09, 2013, 09:37:38 PM
Quote from: jomni on September 09, 2013, 07:59:23 PM
Mods mods mods. Both a good and bad thing. Makes the devs lazy in delivering a stellar software because people can just tweak it to their liking.
I personally have never installed a TW mod. STW2 is probably their best out of the box title.
I disagree. Shogun FOTS was great...darthmod made it better
Skyrim was awesome at release but the mods make it unbelievable
X3: tC is great, mods make it better
I don't think it's lazy developers. They make a game. I can then pick and choose mods to tailor the game that I want.
mods to me are quality of life things such as graphical improvements, new units, items, spells, scenery, flags etc.. if you need a mod to make the game playable then there is a flaw in the game. that is being a lazy developer. nice and shiny on the outside but still a rustbucket underneath.
my reply to those with that attitude would be 'fine, then dont play the game then' uninstall it, and be bitter about the money you wasted whilst knowing there is a perfectly good solution to your bitterness just one download away
Quote from: RooksBailey on September 10, 2013, 12:56:21 AM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 09, 2013, 11:49:47 PM
Angry Joe is really, really angry.
I'm kinda glad I held off.
Got to admit, if I had seen this before I pre-ordered, I would have been glad to wait a few months.
Personally, I don't really understand all the rage. I mean, some of the stuff he has pointed out is accurate. I've seen strange graphical glitches (seams on rocks for example...very sloppy), and I COMPLETELY agree on the "mosh pit battles". I thought I hadn't been using the formations button properly, but I guess it is a problem with the game - this does make me concerned because that would be very close to a game-breaking bug for me. Be that as it may...this is precisely what I expected from a TW release. Bugs, bugs and more bugs, with a six month to a year time frame for a proper v1.0. I really didn't expect anything different. :D
Nonetheless, I want the rage to continue because I hope we get an Elemental-like situation where pre-orders/early buyers get some compensation via free expansions. :D
theres a formation mod somewhere
Angry Joe is hilarious. I watched his earlier review of the game last week. But I haven't seen some key behavior, like enemy troops charging up to the last second and then disengaging, that he shows. Yet. Same way that in Nefaro's game AI factions are falling apart from bad morale but in my current game they are thriving. Hard to know what to make of stuff like that.
Mikeck I am not using any mods yet.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 09, 2013, 10:28:08 PM
Quote from: mikeck on September 09, 2013, 07:37:27 PM
Those are fair complaints and I have experienced many of them...but not to beat a dead horse here there are several mods that help. They allow the Ai to build without crushing their economy and one that prioritized top tier units for purchase. In fact, I just ran into an army of a barbarian tribe in Cisalpine. They had 15 units: 4 were heavy hoplites, 4 light hoplites, 3 cavalry (including the general) and 4 slingers. Not bad. They also have another pretty full stack consisting of mainly skirmishers, light cav and slingers which is the standard dumb AI army. I out in the mod about 10 turns ago (radious AI mod) so I am hoping its prioritization produced the former army.
Could be just dreaming..dunno. But give them a try before you give up
Which mod is this, that adjusts the campaign AI? The issue with the AI creating slinger-heavy armies is also another complaint, although it's better than having an army of only four or six units. Still... an improvement there would be greatly appreciated.
I may give that one a try, if I can find it.
EDIT: Wait. Is that the one that basically lowers penalties for buildings and ups production? I kinda feel like that's too much of a cheat. I've done great working within the penalties of all the structures, and it has forced me to make tough decisions instead of justing building everything bigger & better whenever I have the money to do so. I like how it currently is in the vanilla game. I was just hoping that someone tweaked the AI to value Public Order producing buildings more than it currently does. :-\
No, the mod that adjusts the enemy army composition and what it builds is the
Radious Ai mod
The one that changes penalties for expenses for buildings is the Radious economy and tech mod
Two different mods. I use both but you don't need to
Quote from: mikeck on September 10, 2013, 07:57:09 AM
No, the mod that adjusts the enemy army composition and what it builds is the
Radious Ai mod
The one that changes penalties for expenses for buildings is the Radious economy and tech mod
Two different mods. I use both but you don't need to
Okay, I'll check out the AI mod. Thanks.
Edit: One thing that scared me away from that mod, when I checked it last night, was that it makes the AI favor military & econ buildings. I would think that it'd make the rebel problem even worse for the AI, unless it was paired with the one that reduces the unrest penalties for buildings..
Developers apologize.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/09/10/et-tu-ca-rome-ii-devs-apologize-for-issues/#more-168118
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 10, 2013, 01:21:12 AM
Quote from: RooksBailey on September 10, 2013, 12:56:21 AM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 09, 2013, 11:49:47 PM
Angry Joe is really, really angry.
I'm kinda glad I held off.
Got to admit, if I had seen this before I pre-ordered, I would have been glad to wait a few months.
Personally, I don't really understand all the rage. I mean, some of the stuff he has pointed out is accurate. I've seen strange graphical glitches (seams on rocks for example...very sloppy), and I COMPLETELY agree on the "mosh pit battles". I thought I hadn't been using the formations button properly, but I guess it is a problem with the game - this does make me concerned because that would be very close to a game-breaking bug for me. Be that as it may...this is precisely what I expected from a TW release. Bugs, bugs and more bugs, with a six month to a year time frame for a proper v1.0. I really didn't expect anything different. :D
Nonetheless, I want the rage to continue because I hope we get an Elemental-like situation where pre-orders/early buyers get some compensation via free expansions. :D
Well, seeing as how they totally f#$ked those of us with AMD HD 7970 cards last year by releasing a supposedly stand-alone expansion (FOTS) that still overwrote S2TW code which broke the game, I somehow doubt there'll be any free goodies. It took 9 months to get the problem sorted and CA did sweet FA to find a solution. It was the hard work of guys in the forums who eventually tracked down the issued and proved to CA and AMD what the problem was before a fix was implemented. No apologies. No admission of fault. Just a patch. 9 freaking months later. And after having CA Q&A guys call us liars on the forum and ban several users for having the gall to even bring the issue up.
I LOL'ed...... Man, I need to play some more Shogun TW II tonight.
PE
Mikeck - what combat mods are you using, im still undecided on the main 3
Quote from: bboyer66 on September 10, 2013, 08:13:14 AM
Developers apologize.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/09/10/et-tu-ca-rome-ii-devs-apologize-for-issues/#more-168118
Well, they apologized that some people were having issues. They didnt apologize for the game. In fact, they point out that only 2% are having problems...which is hilarious because there is no way to know that! Basically, they said "he, sorry if you are having trouble...big we wil get right on that". Not a lot of help for people having major issues.
Geek, I am using Yarkis' personal combat mod. Keeping an eye of Radious combat mod though. I think Radious AI mod and building mod is a must. Unfortunately that we have to use mods but they really help the manage things
.
i think it comes with the territory Mikeck - not a problem for me
i think the 2% refers to the proportion of people whove bought it and brought it to CA's attention
So... has anyone created a mod that removes the random hold the Banner location? That was a pretty stupid idea on CAs part.
PE
Quote from: Gusington on September 10, 2013, 07:43:32 AM
Angry Joe is hilarious. I watched his earlier review of the game last week. But I haven't seen some key behavior, like enemy troops charging up to the last second and then disengaging, that he shows. Yet. Same way that in Nefaro's game AI factions are falling apart from bad morale but in my current game they are thriving. Hard to know what to make of stuff like that.
Mikeck I am not using any mods yet.
Near as I can tell, when the AI is under threat or seeking to expand or building up its armies it tends to go a bit too far. If it wins or holds ground as expected, then it supports its armies okay, but if things go wrong, very often you see the skulls popping up. Usually it is pretty clear what the problem is (they have lost a province or two for example).
Last night I had a weird bug where those skulls popped up on the campaign map over...nothing. Anyone see that on their machines?
For the mods, do the Radious ones require a new game start?
Quote from: Gusington on September 10, 2013, 12:33:28 PM
Last night I had a weird bug where those skulls popped up on the campaign map over...nothing. Anyone see that on their machines?
I saw one that floated up after I sank some skirmishers at sea and another rise from a fog bank off Crete.
Which reminds me, nobody seems to have anything bad to say (wait there were some boats that didn't unload properly) about the sea fights. I think they are pretty good myself.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 10, 2013, 02:16:33 PM
Which reminds me, nobody seems to have anything bad to say (wait there were some boats that didn't unload properly) about the sea fights. I think they are pretty good myself.
I experienced the same ram/board button mayhem as mentioned in the first Angry Joe preview. It was definitely frustrating because I have to keep clicking it all the time. I stopped playing naval battles and just auto-resolve those so I don't have to fight with it. Also with the occasional crew refusing to board even though I had worked the bugged UI to supposedly order it. Pretty much gave up on manually fighting naval battles, but no big loss there as I'm not all that interested in them anyway.
Just started a new campaign with the Yarkis Combat Mod, and a couple of the Radious mods to hopefully help out the AI. We'll see if it improves the long game any.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 10, 2013, 02:32:42 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on September 10, 2013, 02:16:33 PM
Which reminds me, nobody seems to have anything bad to say (wait there were some boats that didn't unload properly) about the sea fights. I think they are pretty good myself.
I experienced the same ram/board button mayhem as mentioned in the first Angry Joe preview. It was definitely frustrating because I have to keep clicking it all the time.
I didn't see the Angry joe thing. I assumed that ships switched off the ram priority when they were otherwise engaged or had no valid ramming targets or possibly they had damaged rams or the oarsmen were fighting fires or something. I've generally been able to ram when ramming made sense. The sea fights may be tricker than I thought at first. There are all kinds of attack options and such that I haven't tried and the variety of ships is pretty incredible.
Quote from: Gusington on September 10, 2013, 12:33:28 PM
Last night I had a weird bug where those skulls popped up on the campaign map over...nothing. Anyone see that on their machines?
For the mods, do the Radious ones require a new game start?
No, you do not need a new start
^Awesome...I'm not quite ready to mod yet though...
You can drop in one of the several battle mods Gus. They don't change anything accept unit speed, kill rate and formations
Quote from: mikeck on September 10, 2013, 07:04:03 PM
You can drop in one of the several battle mods Gus. They don't change anything accept unit speed, kill rate and formations
I believe at least one also changes morale, doesn't it?
I just had my first huge battle. 2400 vs 2400. My legio Appolonus (2nd legion) vs bracea barbarians. My legions are all set up the same (like a good roman). I have a general, 1 "1st cohort", 10 legionary cohorts (for a total of 11 but I always attach a veteran cohort to the "first cohort" in a group to simulate the traditional double-sized 1st cohort), 1 war dog unit, 3 cavalry units, 2 siege weapons and 2 velites.
The enemy army had 20 units as well. 12 spearman (heavy and light 50-50), 3 bow cavalry, 1 light cavalry, 1 general and 3 foot bow units. A decent mix for a mid game barbarian army actually.
I had force marched to a location in a valley hoping to ambush. I was attacked by the enemy next turn which put me at a big disadvantage. When you end in a force march, you suffer fatigue and morale penalties. So I was defending and there was one victory location on a small hill, to my right the hill dropped into a saddle rising up to a higher hill. I placed my artillery, one legion, one velite and one cavalry unit here for defilade fire. The rest of my legion formed up in a line with 3 legions in reserve. Cav on left flank.
The enemy approached me quickly in formation with light spear guys in front, then heavy spear, then bows. They stopped short of my line and then stated chucking javelins into my formation while the bows fired flaming arrows at me. I orders my line to move straight at the double time...they did and began to melee. Meanwhile, I swung my cavalry out and tried to hit the bow cavalry.
Battle lasted 20 minutes start to finish. The melee part lasted about 6-8 minutes until the enemy started to break. I sent the reserve legions around to hit the enemy flanks. By this time there was fighting everywhere and I couldn't tell what was going on. Pisses me off you can't move the camera or issue orders while paused (I play
Battle realism mode so none of that).
Anyway, it was a close run thing. I took about 35% casualties and the enemy about 70% once I finished running them down.
All in all it was a good fight. The enemy at was a decent full stack mix, it attacked me, in the tactical battle it formed up and attacked and did what it should have really. Now this is one battle and maybe it goes nuts next time...but I just didn't see this hysterical Ai than"angry Joe" goes on about. They did come rushing at me once they got close and that seems to happen every battle. But if my worst complaint is that the enemy barbarians are charging my lines, I'm ok
I would like to see the tactical AI be a little more patient and not just charge though
Good fun
Quote from: Nefaro on September 10, 2013, 07:50:00 PM
Quote from: mikeck on September 10, 2013, 07:04:03 PM
You can drop in one of the several battle mods Gus. They don't change anything accept unit speed, kill rate and formations
I believe at least one also changes morale, doesn't it?
I think Radious' original did before he knew how to adjust kill rates. I use Yarkis' and I don't believe his does...there are several
Nice story mik. Is your wonderful battle a result of mods?
Who knows. I know the battle mod slows the kill rate so that was effected. none of them affect the AI other than encouraging it to build units other than slingers. Doesn't matter because after I was done and turns completed, I went to save it and the GAME FROZE..arrfghhhh
At least I get to fight it again.
Look, I'm sorry many aren't enjoying it or are having problems. Heck, some just dont like it. I didnt care for Shogun 2 frankly. But I and others enjoy it and I find it to be a pretty damned good game. I'm a fanboy and I don't hide it. I'm just trying to provide the other side to the constant complaining on the TW forums. Some are legit, many just refuse to see a decent game and would rather grab hold of every bug. I just had a crash. Sucks. Played again and enjoyed every minute.
what does the red skull icon over the army mean?
Well, I fought it again, this time he formed up and moved around my left flank. As I was readjusting, he attacked. Bloodier than before. My artillery was destroyed along with my velites and 2 cohorts. My general, war dogs, 2 cohorts and a cavalry unit fled. I won the battle but barely. I didnt like that it turned into a big blob fight but I'm sure that's how most battles ended in real life. I don't know. At first, units were running everywhere, they settled down into formation eventually.
So, it's no story. 2 fights and both were quite good. Second was a Pyrrhic victory as I was forced to retreat to my own territory to rearm.
Save succeeded. 50% losses to 60%. Ouch.
My legion earned an upgrade and another notch in their history profile. I am sacking the general...even if he is a family member. Shit, I might assassinate him
Quote from: mikeck on September 10, 2013, 08:43:50 PM
My legion earned an upgrade and another notch in their history profile. I am sacking the general...even if he is a family member. Shit, I might assassinate him
I will say that the life span of generals and the hero type units is one of the downfalls of the 1 turn = 1 year. I seem to have a lot of generals who die while in command for I can only assume natural causes though I suppose some of it could be from assassination plots. Anyway the point is I never count on a general living more than 10 +/- 5 turns, so you have a lot of general bonus disruption to your legions. Sure the traditions help mitigate the loss of an experienced general, but it can get a big annoying with the frequency the generals at least in this play through have to be replaced. The point being I think CA really messed with an excellent system of seasonal turns unnecessarily.
Yay! I've got it at last. It took ages to install on Steam, and now I've got to go to bed... :'(
Quote from: Bison on September 10, 2013, 08:58:01 PM
Quote from: mikeck on September 10, 2013, 08:43:50 PM
My legion earned an upgrade and another notch in their history profile. I am sacking the general...even if he is a family member. Shit, I might assassinate him
I will say that the life span of generals and the hero type units is one of the downfalls of the 1 turn = 1 year. I seem to have a lot of generals who die while in command for I can only assume natural causes though I suppose some of it could be from assassination plots. Anyway the point is I never count on a general living more than 10 +/- 5 turns, so you have a lot of general bonus disruption to your legions. Sure the traditions help mitigate the loss of an experienced general, but it can get a big annoying with the frequency the generals at least in this play through have to be replaced. The point being I think CA really messed with an excellent system of seasonal turns unnecessarily.
On the flip side, Roman Generals who were Consuls didn't hold their positions for more than a year. To be Consul five times would be something of a record. With other nations, well I'm not sure how you'd justify it.
Quote from: Toonces on September 10, 2013, 08:30:55 PM
what does the red skull icon over the army mean?
FWIW a skull appeared over armies in bad terrain/weather in ETW and NTW, so I'm wondering - attrition?
I don't know. I know the green gas means disease. Maybe attrition??
There is a 2-4 turn per year mod but I'm not sure what pact it has on the economy. It's purpose is for generals to live longer...they age per year not per turn
Quote from: mikeck on September 10, 2013, 09:44:27 PM
I don't know. I know the green gas means disease. Maybe attrition??
There is a 2-4 turn per year mod but I'm not sure what pact it has on the economy. It's purpose is for generals to live longer...they age per year not per turn
Sounds a solution. Is it standalone, or does it impact vanilla/other mods etc...?
The skulls appear when an army is out of supply from what I can tell, so I'd third the notion it's an attrition icon. Which brings me to another point. The damned encyclopedia needs a better layout to show the mechanic and the associated graphic.
And yes I actually really like this game.
Quote from: mikeck on September 10, 2013, 09:44:27 PM
There is a 2-4 turn per year mod but I'm not sure what pact it has on the economy. It's purpose is for generals to live longer...they age per year not per turn
If they did not adjust the economic and happiness factors, this could very easily throw the game out of serious whack.
Yes red skull = attrition. But what do the green arrows in tactical and strategic mode mean? They look like bonuses of some kind...and is there a list of what all the unlocked achievements mean?
Got smacked around by the Veneti tonight and had a city taken from me! They overwhelmed me with numbers. Also had my first lockup but afterwards thigns worked all right. After I take back my city from the Veneti (and destroy the faction because my satrap took their only other settlement)...where should I expand? I want to take out Syracuse to the south but I am afraid I am too weak to take on Carthage yet. The north interest me more but there are a lot of strong barbarians there. Maybe the Greek states to the east? They have been pounding on each other from the beginning of the game and are probably ripe for the picking.
Or do I just turtle? Finally got my provinces happy and started building. Going to get my first legionaries in 5 turns :)
Oh, also...how do you merge armies? It doesn't work the way it did in previous games.
Still like this game, a lot :)
Quote from: Gusington on September 10, 2013, 09:52:45 PM
Oh, also...how do you merge armies? It doesn't work the way it did in previous games.
Move the army so you have the two arrows when one army is on top of the other, then you select the units to move from one army to the other by clicking on the unit card. An arrow will show the move on the card. Just remember only one general per army so you are actually only allowed to transfer units and aren't really combining the two wholesale.
I tried that and it didn't stick...no units went anywhere. I must have missed a step. If I get it right I am going to possibly move in for the kill on Syracuse and then on to...Carthage, if the time is right. Maybe Eprius. Obviously I need to think it through more :)
Quote from: Gusington on September 10, 2013, 09:59:48 PM
I tried that and it didn't stick...no units went anywhere. I must have missed a step. If I get it right I am going to possibly move in for the kill on Syracuse and then on to...Carthage, if the time is right. Maybe Eprius. Obviously I need to think it through more :)
Carthage was a paper tiger in my game. The Punic rebels on the other hand still freaking own Corsica, but that is soon to be rectified.
They look to be kind of a paper tiger in my game too and already at war with another faction...hmm...I feel like I am on the verge of cracking the game open.
Gus, just so you know, once you unlock legionaries and you build the barracks for them, you will see arrows on you soldier icons in the army view. If you click on the icon, it brings up options (like disband). One will be "retrain". If you select that, it will retrain your Hastati or whatever into a legionary
Btw, how does army supply work? Why would I be out of supply? Enemy territory?
Quote from: mikeck on September 10, 2013, 10:18:42 PM
Btw, how does army supply work? Why would I be out of supply? Enemy territory?
Well you'll see it mostly if the army's city states are either captured or occupied by rebels. I've also see in when you are in enemy territory where you have no home cities to provide the % of reconstitution you see when you hover over your food icon in the mini-map especially during sieges.
Quote from: Boggit on September 10, 2013, 09:40:20 PM
Quote from: Toonces on September 10, 2013, 08:30:55 PM
what does the red skull icon over the army mean?
FWIW a skull appeared over armies in bad terrain/weather in ETW and NTW, so I'm wondering - attrition?
Yes, as mentioned it means the army is suffering attrition.
You can find out the exact reason why by selecting the army and pointing at one of the units' skull symbols, in the top left of it's card. A tooltip will pop up telling you the reason it is suffering attrition. You'll need a spy nearby to check out the enemy army, of course.
When I was seeing all those enemy armies standing around near their cities, with red skulls over their heads, the reason has always been because the faction wasn't making enough income to pay their upkeep. So they'd stand around and waste away to nothing. I don't think the AI ever disbands any, if this happens. As someone mentioned earlier, it's probably due to that faction losing a region or two and their monthly income dropping. This tanked income problem also likely has something to do with the AI generally becoming inactive on the campaign side, because it no longer has any income due to the presently too large army knocking the income down to zero. No income.
Quote from: mikeck on September 10, 2013, 10:18:42 PM
Btw, how does army supply work? Why would I be out of supply? Enemy territory?
I see attrition pop up in certain areas, by default, when it's bad terrain. I suppose this is the supply issue?
It generally happens when you park your army in swamp or desert terrain at the end of a turn.
Quote from: mikeck on September 10, 2013, 10:11:56 PM
Gus, just so you know, once you unlock legionaries and you build the barracks for them, you will see arrows on you soldier icons in the army view. If you click on the icon, it brings up options (like disband). One will be "retrain". If you select that, it will retrain your Hastati or whatever into a legionary
It will also have an arrow indicator if you build one of the bonus armor/weapons buildings, and allow you to buy the upgraded equipment for each one. ;)
Quote from: Boggit on September 10, 2013, 09:37:44 PM
On the flip side, Roman Generals who were Consuls didn't hold their positions for more than a year. To be Consul five times would be something of a record. With other nations, well I'm not sure how you'd justify it.
Didn't Marius get it.. six times?
There were some others that had it more than once, but the general rule was that they couldn't hold them consecutively. Until Marius broke that mold, of course.
The regularly dying generals is a bit of a problem. I've had a few that lasted into their 60s, but many of them die earlier. Assassination attempts usually end up just wounding them, but perhaps some of the "natural causes" ones were just successful assassination attempts? Your other political factions within your own State attempt assassination on you quite regularly, which gets tiresome.
I just upgraded my system to this...
Intel Core i5 4670K 3.40GHz Socket 1150 6MB Cache Processor
Asus Z87-K Socket 1150 HDMI DVI D-Sub 8-Channel HD Audio ATX Motherboard
Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600MHz HyperX Genesis PnP Memory
SanDisk 120GB Extreme SSD
Seagate 2TB Barracuda Internal Hard Drive
MSI HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card
Iiyama Prolite X2377HDS 23" IPS Panel LED HDMI Monitor
Will it run Rome II? ;D
Just kidding...but I did build a new system yesterday with the above components - and my average FPS for the game using the benchmark tool went from 25 on my old system to 65 on this. It was amazing! I'm one happy bunny!
good skills, now get in, start as carthage and get killing the romans
Thanks Mike. I actually squealed like a little girl when I saw that I was a few turns away from getting the legionaries. With the economy and morale coming together I will soon be ready to take on some larger powers and maybe even go campaigning beyond the Med.
Quote from: Gusington on September 10, 2013, 09:59:48 PM
I tried that and it didn't stick...no units went anywhere. I must have missed a step. If I get it right I am going to possibly move in for the kill on Syracuse and then on to...Carthage, if the time is right. Maybe Eprius. Obviously I need to think it through more :)
You get the green arrow on the transfer candidates and then you hit the check mark for them to do the transfer.
Quote from: mikeck on September 10, 2013, 08:43:50 PM
Well, I fought it again, this time he formed up and moved around my left flank.
I did some refighting because (as Easy Egypt) I was going downhill so fast that I could not afford to lose another battle and city and army.
The Cyrenians would come in rowing fast on the strategic map. I would set up my 4 forces (two armies,one troop garrison and one garrison fleet) and the Cyrenians would come in and trounce them with Egyptian Infantry (high morale, phalanx-able). The battles were lengthy and pretty elaborate.
It turned out the best way to stop them was to hit them at sea with a small fleet. They were in the "row hard" (negative mods) state at that point and a small force of small ships firing burning missiles into the transports inflicted enough loses to turn them back. So in that alternative universe (upon which I later built the Easy Egyptian Empire) the battles on land never happened. What struck me was that the AI was a very good judge of when it had enough strength to attack and it was a close judgement because just a few burning transports was the difference (in the AI's -- probably totally correct -- judgement). and that is in the vanilla game.
Another big patch/update today from Steam. Didn't get the details before it installed. I had a hell-of-a-time getting on Steam this am, a very long wait.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 11, 2013, 09:58:17 AM
Another big patch/update today from Steam. Didn't get the details before it installed. I had a hell-of-a-time getting on Steam this am, a very long wait.
It's a mystery. Steam itself was updating itself yesterday and then there is this (patch 1.5 in beta):
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/88210-Patch-1.5-in-BETA-Today?s=b6ecc3c77d4e06dd394bfa79502cb50e
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 11, 2013, 09:58:17 AM
Another big patch/update today from Steam. Didn't get the details before it installed. I had a hell-of-a-time getting on Steam this am, a very long wait.
Really? A big one? I don't have anything listed in my downloads for Steam today, other than a
Don't Starve patch.
I'd surely notice if it downloaded because the a stinking 22MB patch takes 45 minutes to download on their PoS. F'ing Steam client. >:( Guess I'll restart it and hope that it doesn't take forever to get back in.
Ahh, I see. It's a Beta.
QuotePatch 1.5 will enter public BETA testing today. It will not automatically update your game at this time, you can download it should you wish to participate in the BETA test by following the instructions below:
Patch 1.5 Contains one fix:
- Should improve Campaign Map frame rate in the majority of cases for those people with high-end graphics cards combined with mid-range CPUs. Those people who have noted high frame rates in battle but single-figure frame rates during Campaign Map play should see a notable increase in performance.
EDIT: In order for these changes to come into effect you must start a new campaign.
They probably just did what Radious accomplished with his graphics mod - removed the clouds and extra fps-killing effects from the campaign map.
RAWR?
AFAIK you need to have ticked 'apply beta' which isnt a default setting in steam to receive the patch if this is what has been sent out
"Start a new campaign"? ::) I'm out.
Yeah I'm not doing that either. I would get the Radious mod first. I do have some slow FPS on the campaign map because of the birds, clouds, etc.
havent started a campaign yet - phew, still stuck on the mods
theres the close combat mod that will combine with the one martok is using or the Radious one
Can anyone post a link to the mods for R2TW? Especially the Radious mods. I can't seem to find them anywhere.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 11, 2013, 01:34:00 PM
Can anyone post a link to the mods for R2TW? Especially the Radious mods. I can't seem to find them anywhere.
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?619112-TWR2-Index-of-Released-Mods-%28Last-Update-10-Sep-2013%29
just for you :-*
Thank you Geek. I managed to follow the breadcrumbs and finally found them myself. Is their one you especially like?
New statement from CA:
QuoteHi everyone,
We've just put up a hotfix that significantly improves campaign map frame-rate on a variety of hardware combinations that were getting frame rates less than 15 fps. It took us until Monday to get a case of this happening in the studio, but it was a very simple fix, so we've decided to put it out as a single issue patch. This bug was introduced very late in the process, but we absolutely should have found and fixed it before release.
This release has obviously not gone as planned for some people, and I want to apologise to everyone out there who had issues with the game, whether they were hardware issues or disappointment in the performance of game features. We obviously don't plan to release a game with any bugs, performance and AI issues. How this has happened is something we're beginning to post mortem in detail now.
Fortunately, the same tech that gave us the rope to work on the game right up to release lets us keep working on it after it's out, and the flaws in the game are mostly just bugs, not structural defects. We can and will get the game to where we wanted it to be for everyone.
The top priority is stability and performance – both frame rates in battle and campaign, and end of turn times and loading times. Then gameplay spoilers – AI flaws and exploits, balancing tweaks and the level of challenge on higher difficulties. Then minor bugs, lesser features that really didn't pan out, UI improvements, and longer term adjustments to features and systems that could be better. Because there are a lot of us working in parallel there will be a mixture of different priority fixes in each patch. Much of this work would be part of the usual planned improvements we would make to our games post-launch anyway, but we are aware that they have now taken on extra significance and importance.
We have a major improvement to end of turn times in the pipeline, along with around 100 fixes in the next patch. We have another 100 or so fixes already being tested for the patch after that. At this point the limiting factor on getting issues fixed in patches is not our ability to fix issues, it's our ability to test them and guarantee that we don't repeat past mistakes by putting a patch out that breaks something new. We'll also be putting each patch up as a beta you can opt in to before releasing it. It's our aim to continue patching more or less weekly until all the bugs are dealt with.
Then we can start the kind of dialogue we always want to be having with the community – which new features you like, which you don't like, which deleted features from previous games you really miss and so on. That's a good conversation to be having, and since it's our intention not to fall in to the trap of just re-skinning the previous game each time, it's one that hopefully you'll be having for years to come.
Lastly, I'm hoping we can fundamentally treat our releases differently in the future. Long open betas are the way things are going, and while that model hasn't been compatible with the way Total War has been built to date, that could be the way forward.
Mike Simpson
Creative Director
Creative Assembly
"That's a good conversation to be having, and since it's our intention not to fall in to the trap of just re-skinning the previous game each time, it's one that hopefully you'll be having for years to come."
I don't know what that means. :D The second half of the sentence seems to be a non sequitur.
Quote from: RooksBailey on September 11, 2013, 02:04:42 PM
New statement from CA:
QuoteHi everyone,
We've just put up a hotfix that significantly improves campaign map frame-rate on a variety of hardware combinations that were getting frame rates less than 15 fps. It took us until Monday to get a case of this happening in the studio, but it was a very simple fix, so we've decided to put it out as a single issue patch. This bug was introduced very late in the process, but we absolutely should have found and fixed it before release.
This release has obviously not gone as planned for some people, and I want to apologise to everyone out there who had issues with the game, whether they were hardware issues or disappointment in the performance of game features. We obviously don't plan to release a game with any bugs, performance and AI issues. How this has happened is something we're beginning to post mortem in detail now.
Fortunately, the same tech that gave us the rope to work on the game right up to release lets us keep working on it after it's out, and the flaws in the game are mostly just bugs, not structural defects. We can and will get the game to where we wanted it to be for everyone.
The top priority is stability and performance – both frame rates in battle and campaign, and end of turn times and loading times. Then gameplay spoilers – AI flaws and exploits, balancing tweaks and the level of challenge on higher difficulties. Then minor bugs, lesser features that really didn't pan out, UI improvements, and longer term adjustments to features and systems that could be better. Because there are a lot of us working in parallel there will be a mixture of different priority fixes in each patch. Much of this work would be part of the usual planned improvements we would make to our games post-launch anyway, but we are aware that they have now taken on extra significance and importance.
We have a major improvement to end of turn times in the pipeline, along with around 100 fixes in the next patch. We have another 100 or so fixes already being tested for the patch after that. At this point the limiting factor on getting issues fixed in patches is not our ability to fix issues, it's our ability to test them and guarantee that we don't repeat past mistakes by putting a patch out that breaks something new. We'll also be putting each patch up as a beta you can opt in to before releasing it. It's our aim to continue patching more or less weekly until all the bugs are dealt with.
Then we can start the kind of dialogue we always want to be having with the community – which new features you like, which you don't like, which deleted features from previous games you really miss and so on. That's a good conversation to be having, and since it's our intention not to fall in to the trap of just re-skinning the previous game each time, it's one that hopefully you'll be having for years to come.
Lastly, I'm hoping we can fundamentally treat our releases differently in the future. Long open betas are the way things are going, and while that model hasn't been compatible with the way Total War has been built to date, that could be the way forward.
Mike Simpson
Creative Director
Creative Assembly
"That's a good conversation to be having, and since it's our intention not to fall in to the trap of just re-skinning the previous game each time, it's one that hopefully you'll be having for years to come."
I don't know what that means. :D The second half of the sentence seems to be a non sequitur.
It's a bit illogical (ie they want to make the games different so tell them how to do that -- ie not reskinning, but making significant changes -- so there's kind of a excessive reliance on avoiding a hypothetical regime of reskinning), but not a total non sequitur, it seems to me.
What is odd (and in fact a twisted temporal non sequitur if nothing else) is the imaginary reskinnings in an imaginary trap. What's trap-like about it if they perhaps all-too-clearly see it right now?
I think why it sounds (and is) so twisted is that it is a round-about way of saying that even if the game is problematic, at least it has a certain number of innovations and thus avoids the imaginary trap of imaginary future reskinnings. And the implication is: so give the developers a break and just tell them some things you'd like to see.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 11, 2013, 02:34:53 PMIt's a bit illogical (ie they want to make the games different so tell them how to do that -- ie not reskinning, but making significant changes -- so there's kind of a excessive reliance on avoiding a hypothetical regime of reskinning), but not a total non sequitur, it seems to me.
What is odd (and in fact a twisted temporal non sequitur if nothing else) is the imaginary reskinnings in an imaginary trap. What's trap-like about it if they perhaps all-too-clearly see it right now?
I think why it sounds (and is) so twisted is that it is a round-about way of saying that even if the game is problematic, at least it has a certain number of innovations and thus avoids the imaginary trap of imaginary future reskinnings. And the implication is: so give the developers a break and just tell them some things you'd like to see.
It is a mostly good letter, but that one paragraph seems to have needed a bit more editing. :) Reading between the lines, it seems like they wanted to hold out the promise of eventually adjusting the gameplay to suit the players, without actually committing themselves to anything more than a conversation on it. LOL!
It's good that they are admitting that they have work to do before the game is fixed. Hopefully the initial tendency towards denial is done and they can get down to business working out the kinks now that some acknowledgement is taking hold.
The core of the game is good and it can all be fixed. Let's hope they do so before moving on to a bunch of DLC.
I am happy to see them beta testing their patches(although they failed to listen to all the people telling them about the red skies on the last one). CA had a nasty habit of releasing patches on Friday that screw up the game for the weekend
The patch, which I assume they made official because I'm not signed up for the beta, that updated my game today did amazing things for the strategic map fps. I do wish you could scroll the map or look at other data while the AI processes it's turn. The length the game processes I don't really find excessive, but having to stare at the same spot on the map for a few minutes is annoying.
Yeah the campaign map movement is much better on my game tonight too. Noticed it quickly.
I didnt get a patch. Are you sure you aren't in beta?
Anyway, is there no way to loot a city without owning it afterwards. I was on a punitive mission to teach some dirty barbarians a lesson... Looted the city but now I own a looted crap hole: like Detroit.
It's killing my economy...like Detroit
I didn't sign up for any beta...?
Looks like every option for cities requires razing them or owning them.
Yeah I don't think there is a way not to take possession of a city once your armies have conquered it.
Honestly I've not had an issue turning an Ancient Detroit around is relatively short order. I've found that if I first repair the town and the temple; those actions along with an occupying army will turn it's disorder positive direction in a few turns. By that point you can safely move your army and build/repair the other building spots if you didn't do it previously.
No your right, I did get a patch. Haven't noticed a difference...although my campaign speed was fine.
Anyhow, check out this mod:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?619365-Special-Abilities-Be-Gone!/page3
Gets rid of all the flaming javelins and horse archers. Also gives offensive and defensive testudo to every roman legion. Also gives shield wall to every legion unit which should help with formation when on defense!
Quote from: Bison on September 11, 2013, 08:41:01 PM
Yeah I don't think there is a way not to take possession of a city once your armies have conquered it.
Honestly I've not had an issue turning an Ancient Detroit around is relatively short order. I've found that if I first repair the town and the temple; those actions along with an occupying army will turn it's disorder positive direction in a few turns. By that point you can safely move your army and build/repair the other building spots if you didn't do it previously.
Yeah, but I don't want ancient Detroit...it's up in the middle of nowhere...like Detroit
Quote from: mikeck on September 11, 2013, 08:42:48 PM
Quote from: Bison on September 11, 2013, 08:41:01 PM
Yeah I don't think there is a way not to take possession of a city once your armies have conquered it.
Honestly I've not had an issue turning an Ancient Detroit around is relatively short order. I've found that if I first repair the town and the temple; those actions along with an occupying army will turn it's disorder positive direction in a few turns. By that point you can safely move your army and build/repair the other building spots if you didn't do it previously.
Yeah, but I don't want ancient Detroit...it's up in the middle of nowhere...like Detroit
Can you gift it to a client state?
What city is it?
Should I get the Radious Rome II overhaul? Is it quality?
Dunno the name... Up in what is now Switzerland.
Has anyone paid attention to whether roam legionaries release pila or javelins? I haven't watched but I'm thinking I have not seen it
Quote from: mikeck on September 11, 2013, 09:37:11 PM
Dunno the name... Up in what is now Switzerland.
The tribe was the Helvetii.
Was the town/region named something similar?
Not sure. I will look when I fire it up tommorow. It's not that the town is bad, it's just that I looted it so the population is kind of pissed.
QuoteIt's not that the town is bad, it's just that I looted it so the population is kind of pissed.
Like Detroit...
Quote from: RooksBailey on September 11, 2013, 03:45:43 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on September 11, 2013, 02:34:53 PMIt's a bit illogical (ie they want to make the games different so tell them how to do that -- ie not reskinning, but making significant changes -- so there's kind of a excessive reliance on avoiding a hypothetical regime of reskinning), but not a total non sequitur, it seems to me.
What is odd (and in fact a twisted temporal non sequitur if nothing else) is the imaginary reskinnings in an imaginary trap. What's trap-like about it if they perhaps all-too-clearly see it right now?
I think why it sounds (and is) so twisted is that it is a round-about way of saying that even if the game is problematic, at least it has a certain number of innovations and thus avoids the imaginary trap of imaginary future reskinnings. And the implication is: so give the developers a break and just tell them some things you'd like to see.
It is a mostly good letter, but that one paragraph seems to have needed a bit more editing. :) Reading between the lines, it seems like they wanted to hold out the promise of eventually adjusting the gameplay to suit the players, without actually committing themselves to anything more than a conversation on it. LOL!
I think the conversation thing was a slip into business-speak and pretty absurd -- but revealing.
Quote from: mikeck on September 11, 2013, 08:28:16 PM
I didnt get a patch. Are you sure you aren't in beta?
Anyway, is there no way to loot a city without owning it afterwards. I was on a punitive mission to teach some dirty barbarians a lesson... Looted the city but now I own a looted crap hole: like Detroit.
It's killing my economy...like Detroit
I tend to raze and leave so that rebels take the place and nobody important owns it. This also has the advantage that rebels don't rebel against rebels so you don't get a brandname enemy re-emerging, but only generic rebels who actually make much more responsible neighbors than brand-name entities. I had a policy for time of trying to build up remote areas so that there would be no rebels out there but this back fired and I got re-emerging enemies. So razing is better for many reasons if you don't want to have to send an army into the area every few years, I think.
I've seen some rebel takeovers turn into brand new named factions. I'm pretty sure that's what is supposed to happen when they take over a region, isn't it?
I've seen rebels turn into legit factions too, just last night actually. I don't raze cities, I feel it's too brutal :)
You'd make a horrible Roman legionary then.
I'm getting a weird graphical issue in battles where parts of the map will temporarily (like for a second) turn black and everything gets blotted out. Any idea what might be causing this? It's not a huge problem, but it does obviously break the immersion factor somewhat.
Quote from: Gusington on September 12, 2013, 02:51:11 PM
I've seen rebels turn into legit factions too, just last night actually. I don't raze cities, I feel it's too brutal :)
Man, and I thought *I* was a softy... :P
Quote from: Dolan50 on September 11, 2013, 10:35:18 PM
QuoteIt's not that the town is bad, it's just that I looted it so the population is kind of pissed.
Like Detroit...
well played :)
...just a shame about the Motor City, though...
The player gets nothing for razing as far as cash. I get tempted to loot but then I don't want to spend the money I would get from looting, then improving the -70 plunge in morale. I am starting to encounter cities that are almost worth looting.
Quote from: Martok on September 12, 2013, 05:21:25 PM
I'm getting a weird graphical issue in battles where parts of the map will temporarily (like for a second) turn black and everything gets blotted out. Any idea what might be causing this? It's not a huge problem, but it does obviously break the immersion factor somewhat.
Quote from: Gusington on September 12, 2013, 02:51:11 PM
I've seen rebels turn into legit factions too, just last night actually. I don't raze cities, I feel it's too brutal :)
Man, and I thought *I* was a softy... :P
I had the same problem with my radeon card. Updated the drivers and that fixed it
Ok so I just saw some pretty bad AI behavior. I declared war on Syracuse and took their home city. Then they launched an amphibious landing against one of my cities and besieged it without siege equipment. One of their archer units tried to burn the gate but failed and the rest just stood outside the wall. I won the battle as time ran out :/
Next turn they attacked again. This time I used my defending ships as bait and led the 2nd amphibious force far from the city. Ultimately this failed...the Syracusans stormed the beaches again and this time burned my gatehouse down, and took the victory point. So did the AI learn from its previous mistake? I doubt it. My own action probably led to their reaction and victory.
Next turn I had an army ready to retake Brundisium once again. So there was a bit of tit for tat, some AI stupidity, and maybe a glimmer of AI competence all within two turns.
I've come to the conclusion that the AI assault on Brundisium is a scripted reaction for Syracuse armies following Rome taking their city. It happen in my game and I'm pretty sure in mike's game too.
But did they stupidly throw flaming arrows against your gates and lose the first try? Also they had gathered their army off my coast before I attacked them. But I wasn't just going to wait and have them attack first.
Quote from: Gusington on September 12, 2013, 08:59:56 PM
But did they stupidly throw flaming arrows against your gates and lose the first try? Also they had gathered their army off my coast before I attacked them. But I wasn't just going to wait and have them attack first.
They attempted a boat landing in the city the first attempt but only two boats could unload since I had two boats unload in the dock area. The rest went to another beach and sat there and didn't attack at all. So I'd send out a pleb unit to draw out a ranged unit and bring them back to the walls. Where the towers slowly wore them down. I did process until time played out. I guess in the AI's defense there was very little else they could do, but I did have much less protected towns they could have attacked without a wall. So yeah, this is one instance where the AI either through scripting or programing is flawed.
I just hate the fact that you can burn down a gate to begin with. I mean, it's not stupid to try to burn you hate down with arrows...it's stupid that you can burn a gate down. A lot of work went into designing and utilizing seige machines. If only they had a guy run up and just light the gate on fire!
By the way, I now have top-of-the-line legions and they are badass. With the mod, they have shield wall ability. Out them in a shield wall and attack the enemy. They trot up in formation and start hacking.
I just started fielding legion, around 235 BC. What year are you at with the top of the line?
Your auto correct is messing with my brain.
No auto-correct I just left out an 'S'
Quote from: Gusington on September 12, 2013, 09:19:46 PM
No auto-correct I just left out an 'S'
No I meant mike and his iPhone.
HA I'm so tired I didn't even notice.
Quote from: Gusington on September 12, 2013, 09:24:43 PM
HA I'm so tired I didn't even notice.
It's ok I'm tired to the point I don't even want to fire up a game this evening.
^I used champions for the first time tonight. They're pretty cool...definitely cooler than the rakes from ETW but not as cool as shinobis from S2TW.
Fire R2 up just for a few minutes to use a champion if you haven't yet.
I am annoyed that diplomacy is pretty dead. I feel like I'm all alone in the world. No one wants to offer trade or Alliances or anything. The only time I get contacted for anything is a request for peace. They need to address that. It needs to feel like a living world
I found that once I got my economy and cities in order I began to get contacted more often. Last night I think was the first time another faction initiated trade with me. And this makes sense because it was only during last night's session that some of my specilalized buildings were completed, with more offerings for trade.
Yeah that makes sense I guess. I spent most of my technology efforts on military trying to get to the top level of legionaries but now I'm starting to invest in civics so I can build wine trading and pottery things. maybe then I'll get more trade offers. I would like to see more alliances
Quote from: mikeck on September 12, 2013, 09:09:03 PM
I just hate the fact that you can burn down a gate to begin with. I mean, it's not stupid to try to burn you hate down with arrows...it's stupid that you can burn a gate down. A lot of work went into designing and utilizing seige machines. If only they had a guy run up and just light the gate on fire!
By the way, I now have top-of-the-line legions and they are badass. With the mod, they have shield wall ability. Out them in a shield wall and attack the enemy. They trot up in formation and start hacking.
I'm always glad when the attackers burn a gate. then I know where to set up the killing grounds. Usually they get in but that just packs them into the kill zones.
As an Easy Egyptian, I don't have any legions, but for defenses Pikemen and Nubians and Karian Axemen and archers seem to work fine.
Quote from: mikeck on September 13, 2013, 09:05:08 AM
Yeah that makes sense I guess. I spent most of my technology efforts on military trying to get to the top level of legionaries but now I'm starting to invest in civics so I can build wine trading and pottery things. maybe then I'll get more trade offers. I would like to see more alliances
As an Easy Egyptian, I got sucked into some terrible alliances. Things were going just fine in say 230 BC; I'd finally managed to get peace on all fronts having destroyed Cyrenica, the Selucids and Persia and gotten peace treaties with various others. I had lots of trade going with Athens, Sparta, Macedon, Knossos, Rhodos, Pontus, Cyprus and many small eastern states. then I accepted Pontus as a Satrapy. Well, that was pretty much almost the end of the Easy Egyptian Empire: war ensued on all fronts. Everything in the East fell. Antioch was under seige most of the time. Luckily when Macedon attacked me it was promptly wiped out by barbarians. Athens and Pergamon were very tough, but eventually they fell. Then Sparta attacked -- but since I was expecting that I had fleets ready to slow them down. Most of the Spartan Army went down at sea and Knossos took Sparta. I think Sparta is gone and now I'm just facing the Suebi and the Romans in the West and hordes of barbarians in the East. Fortunately Egypt and the Red Sea are pretty quiet at the moment.
So sometimes a lack of diplomacy might be a good thing.
PS: I think it is about 217 BC. The 220s were rough on the Easy Egyptian Empire.
Quote from: mikeck on September 12, 2013, 09:56:20 PM
I am annoyed that diplomacy is pretty dead. I feel like I'm all alone in the world. No one wants to offer trade or Alliances or anything. The only time I get contacted for anything is a request for peace. They need to address that. It needs to feel like a living world
I've received plenty of trade requests, non-aggression treaties, and even a couple alliance offers from AI nations. It's about the only way they've been active with me, in most of the campaigns I've played.
I find that it all depends on which faction you're playing. Some start with diplo penatlies with most known factions near them, and some have outright diplo penalties against all factions of a specific culture. If they hate you or even if it's neutral, they don't often send you any offers. But if you get their diplo rating towards you up some, they usually will.
Hell.. I couldn't get Sparta to
stop sending Defensive Alliance requests to me, as Pontus. The smaller neighboring barbarian tribes that were approximately neutral towards me would also ask for a non-aggression pact and trade agreements. Usually they demand a lump sum of money up front, in their trade agreement offers, but I've found that if you keep denying them then they'll slowly lower the amount every additional time they ask.
If you want to get your foot in the door with an AI faction that's sitting at a nice yellow Neutral position (and a positive rating toward you), offer a Non-Agression pact as that's fairly easy to get them to sign. Then you'll get a little bit extra standing with them. After awhile, they may start offering you trade agreements if their standing has gone up enough. Otherwise, if the initial standing rating is in the negative (even if it's still colored yellow), I wouldn't bother diplomacy with the faction in question.
Thanks for that tip, I am going to try that when back to my game tonight. Going to try non aggression and then try to make some money with trade agreements, especially withthe Greek world. If that doesn't work I will invade :)
Quote from: Gusington on September 13, 2013, 02:24:17 PM
Thanks for that tip, I am going to try that when back to my game tonight. Going to try non aggression and then try to make some money with trade agreements, especially withthe Greek world. If that doesn't work I will invade :)
You're Rome. History demands that you subject the Greeks to your might and power!
I'm a kinder gentler more Jewish Mom kinda Rome. Join me, or I'll make you feel guilty if you didn't. Maybe after that I will burn your cities, steal your money and enslave your people. Maybe.
looks like beta patch 2 is up, haven't tried it yet, away from my gaming rig at the moment.
List of fixes on total war center looks promising.
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?620877-Beta-Patch-2-0-Info-and-changes
Quote from: Gusington on September 13, 2013, 02:35:37 PM
I'm a kinder gentler more Jewish Mom kinda Rome. Join me, or I'll make you feel guilty if you didn't. Maybe after that I will burn your cities, steal your money and enslave your people. Maybe.
You make the Senate and the Roman people sad Gusingtonius. :'(
Quote from: Skoop on September 13, 2013, 02:41:24 PM
looks like beta patch 2 is up, haven't trie
d it yet, away from my gaming rig at the moment.
List of fixes on total war center looks promising.
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?620877-Beta-Patch-2-0-Info-and-changes
Holy crap thats a big list - looks good
I think this negates the need for the early mod rush fixing morale and speed
I'm just not bloodlusty enough I suppose. Except against Syracuse, they annoy me for.some reason. So does Carthage. Maybe the Greeks too....perhaps I do have a dictatorship side after all.
Thanks for the info Skoop...that is a looong list of fixes...
Carthage always upset wife mk 1 in civ 2 probably why I always choose them
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 13, 2013, 02:57:47 PM
Carthage always upset wife mk 1 in civ 2 probably why I always choose them
Uh...you speaking English?
Quote from: Gusington on September 13, 2013, 02:55:26 PM
I'm bloodlusty enough I suppose. I do have a dictatorship side after all.
I did not get a patch yet for Rome II but I did get one for Shogun II today.
Quote from: Gusington on September 13, 2013, 05:23:10 PM
I did not get a patch yet for Rome II but I did get one for Shogun II today.
I believe it is still in beta and you would only get it if within your steam game properties for Rome, you activated the option to participate in the betas. If you do that, then you would get the patch. Personally, I'll let others test it and I will wait until the official release:)
Despite skipping a real patch release this Friday, I gotta give them credit for at least putting out a beta update before the weekend.
This one looks like mostly minor UI bug fixes and further graphics setting tweaking, although I see a couple rather specific AI adjustments mentioned.
CA get a bad rap. Look at the sheer size at what they're trying to create with Rome II. They are very ambitious. Sure their QA is definitely nerfed but they should get some points for reaching for the stars. Creating a game like Rome II is anything but easy.
1) Activate Beta option.
2) Download starts on ~80MB update.
3) Download stalls out at 23%, like clockwork.
4) 8 minutes later, it jumps to 46% and stalls again.
::)
This is mostly only happening with TW Rome 2. At this point, I'm pretty sure the Steam servers have some kind of imposed restriction on how many people it allows to download patches for that game, at any one time. >:(
My Legions are marching toward ancient Detroit and also toward the Greeks where I will not be all Gus-like touchy feely as I crush them beneath my legionnaire's sandals.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 13, 2013, 07:54:11 PM
1) Activate Beta option.
2) Download starts on ~80MB update.
3) Download stalls out at 23%, like clockwork.
4) 8 minutes later, it jumps to 46% and stalls again.
::)
This is mostly only happening with TW Rome 2. At this point, I'm pretty sure the Steam servers have some kind of imposed restriction on how many people it allows to download patches for that game, at any one time. >:(
So for betas, what happens when then real patch comes out? Does the beta files somehow get uninstalled and replaced with the real files? I would love to try the betas, but concerned they might mess with the game...I don't want to download it all over again if something gets messed up:)
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 13, 2013, 07:59:12 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 13, 2013, 07:54:11 PM
1) Activate Beta option.
2) Download starts on ~80MB update.
3) Download stalls out at 23%, like clockwork.
4) 8 minutes later, it jumps to 46% and stalls again.
::)
This is mostly only happening with TW Rome 2. At this point, I'm pretty sure the Steam servers have some kind of imposed restriction on how many people it allows to download patches for that game, at any one time. >:(
So for betas, what happens when then real patch comes out? Does the beta files somehow get uninstalled and replaced with the real files? I would love to try the betas, but concerned they might mess with the game...I don't want to download it all over again if something gets messed up:)
Since this game is essentially gonna be in beta for a stretch yet, I figured may as well just flip it on.
If I absolutely wanna make sure that it's back to normal, I'll turn off the beta option and have it do a file check. Hopefully it doesn't perma-screw it up like some of the horror stories I've heard with a few others (like not being able to play even after reinstalling & such). *shrug*
What's pissing me off some more about the updates stalling out is that the Steam client makes my computer stutter a bit while the download is stalled. As if the Steam client is just going nuts and trying to use all the processor time. Infuriating. I'd restart the damn thing but don't wanna lose the progress I've made on the download. Not often an 80MB patch takes 30 minutes to download these days, but there it is.
^That's a lot of ifs there. That said, the newest beta patch is getting some rave reviews from the lunatics over at TWC. A lot of claims of a reborn AI.
Quote from: Gusington on September 13, 2013, 08:55:34 PM
^That's a lot of ifs there. That said, the newest beta patch is getting some rave reviews from the lunatics over at TWC. A lot of claims of a reborn AI.
That is good to hear....hopefully will be released officially in the near future.....and if they truly are able to fix a lot of stuff in this patch, seems like there is a lot of promise for other issues to be addressed as well.
I hope so. Anyone know how much time there is between beta and release for these patches?
Quote from: Gusington on September 13, 2013, 09:38:00 PM
I hope so. Anyone know how much time there is between beta and release for these patches?
I don't know. The red sky patch was in beta no more then 2 days, but I'd think they'll at least let this one ride through the weekend and get as much feed back as possible given the number of issues the patch addresses.
I downloaded the beta. The campaign map seems bit smoother but mine was decent to begin with. Turn speed is a lot faster. Can't say about AI improvements as I haven't played alot tonight. Many of the changes were already made by radios anyway. Right now I am having a battle of agents. Our spies are assassinating each others generals and spies at a record clip....very cool. Had a good town battle also. Truthfully, I found the AI to be pretty good anyway.
I love the legion traditions. I've grown very attached to my 3rd legion. They are highly trained and specialized in sieges and engineering
Maybe they'll add a "Non-Brutal" version of Razing for Gus. ;D
Quote from: Gusington on September 13, 2013, 09:38:00 PM
I hope so. Anyone know how much time there is between beta and release for these patches?
This one should be set for next Friday, I'd think.
The 'Red Sky' patch was a quick hotfix of sorts, along with one of the smaller crash updates that came out in the middle of the week. I believe most of the bug fixes are to be released every Friday, after being in public beta for a week.
Bugger. I got that damned "army can't disembark from a fleet" bug in the Prologue campaign. >:(
Screw this; I'm gonna start a regular Rome campaign and do unspeakable things to the Etruscans.
At last I got R2TW. It ran like a dog to start with, but I have pretty much got the settings more or less right now. I'll probably need a 2Gb graphics card for it to work really well though. I have mixed feelings on it though. I need to play it more to get a proper perspective. ATM the other TW games are fine, so perhaps it's just me adapting to the changes in R2TW?
I have a 1gb card and can run everything on ultra except unit detail set to high and shadows set to high. I have AA off and all the extra stuff off (check boxes on the right)
Anyway, it's quite different from other TW games. Give it a go for about 2-3 hours. By then, you should know whether its for you or not.
I recommend the beta patch 2.0 as it has helped improve AI and performance for many
Quote from: mikeck on September 14, 2013, 09:17:11 AM
I recommend the beta patch 2.0 as it has helped improve AI and performance for many
did it break your save?
Nope. Still using those mods too
I'm turning a new leaf in a few minutes...going to crush what's left of Syracuse and then move on to Carthage. Then invade Greece. Not necessarily in that order. Time to get Roman.
That's the spirit.
VENI,VEDI,VICI.
Get your SPQR on!
The bloodthirstiness of you lot has trickled down to my ordinarily peaceful disposition. Let's get Roman up in here! I think Varus said that.
Uh, probably not the best role model...
It's all about style, not getting slaughtered in a dark forest by giant bearded hairymen.
Yeah bitches.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcloud-2.steampowered.com%2Fugc%2F599266384774261176%2FD882AE008BF472E529F10A4EA2DB51C60F9E5A55%2F&hash=18e33ff281b397cab66e176f09f9902affe1005f)
Quote from: Boggit on September 14, 2013, 08:20:33 AM
At last I got R2TW. It ran like a dog to start with, but I have pretty much got the settings more or less right now. I'll probably need a 2Gb graphics card for it to work really well though. I have mixed feelings on it though. I need to play it more to get a proper perspective. ATM the other TW games are fine, so perhaps it's just me adapting to the changes in R2TW?
A 1GB video card is enough for this. But plain 'ole video memory isn't what sets one apart from the next. It's the raw vid processing power. Yet even many of the high-end cards are performing poorly. Many shouldn't be - the 3D graphics really aren't all that amazing unless you're zoomed all the way in and even then the hi-res "bubble" doesn't extend all that far away from the camera viewpoint. I'd even propose that a midling $160 video card could run Rome 2 at full or near-full settings, if CA would optimize their graphics performance. They've done a bit of that in the last two updates. However the difference I've seen using just the Radious Graphics Mod, which only cuts out some clouds and a couple glowy effects around your armies on the campaign map, made a noticeable improvement - especially in how much the fps spikes downwards. Some of their effects just run like crap for most people
and some of them are actually processed by the CPU, not your video card, so there's extra demands being made there to the neglect of your video card's processing power.
If you were able to run Shogun 2 fairly well, then Rome 2 should be the same because the graphics really aren't any different. It's the same engine with all the same quirks. It's just not optimized all that well (neither was Shogun 2) but at least they're making some effort to do so now that it has become worse in this one.
So I'd suggest waiting for them to do some work on their performance issues and if you want a bit of a boost on the campaign map, perhaps try using the Radious Graphics Mod (if it's compatible with the latest anyway). I've seen a bit better performance from this latest beta so hopefully it gets 'there' before long. Not too sure if the AI has really improved in this beta, however. Jury's still out on that until I get further into a campaign. ???
^I agree...I have an NVidia GTX 560 and it should run this as smooth as a baby's tuckus, but it doesn't, especially on the campaign map.
Totally different questions: I went to take Lilybaneum (sp?) from Carthage and could not (my army was not allowed to engage...could not get the target reticule to pop up). Is this because the city is besieged and I just can't see that through the fog of war? Or is it some kind of bug?
Also...when rebellion breaks out, why does the presence of the rebel army drop unhappiness in my region by 20 points for every turn it exists? And then when I engage and destroy the rebel army....unhappiness begins to increase again??
I've found that occasionally the attack sword icon can be finicky when trying to click on a city. Usually it takes me a few moments to find the sweet spot to activate it. It's like combat foreplay.
You mean your unhappiness decreases after beating the rebels?
Quote from: Gusington on September 14, 2013, 07:26:54 PM
^I agree...I have an NVidia GTX 560 and it should run this as smooth as a baby's tuckus, but it doesn't, especially on the campaign map.
Totally different questions: I went to take Lilybaneum (sp?) from Carthage and could not (my army was not allowed to engage...could not get the target reticule to pop up). Is this because the city is besieged and I just can't see that through the fog of war? Or is it some kind of bug?
Also...when rebellion breaks out, why does the presence of the rebel army drop unhappiness in my region by 20 points for every turn it exists? And then when I engage and destroy the rebel army....unhappiness begins to increase again??
Whether it makes sense or not, the idea is that all of the angry people left to form the army do they are not in the city. When the army is destroyed they filter back in. Should be Lowe after the fight than before.
My video card runs it well. I usually check the box for unlimited memory. Best thing for battle map performance I found was lowering unit detail to high and shadows to medium. Still looks great and runs a lot better. Unit detail is the main thing
I started a new game with the 4 turn per year mod. Something I get now but didnt before are "events that require my attention". Things like a crazy senator, bad omens, Etc. I am given 4 choices on how to respond and it doesn't tell me what the results will be. Pretty cool. You will see a "!" Icon over your "dynasty" or "empire" button in the bottom middle if the screen.
I recommend the 4 turn per year. Doesn't affect research and stuff so you will have Marius legionary units in 189bc...BUT you general stay alive long enough for you to develope them. More realistic too...it doesn't take a year to sale from Rome to the tip of italy
OK I'll try that Carthaginian city again later.
No unhappiness begins to rise again after I dispose of the rebels!! It's like unhappiness peaks at -100 and then produces a rebel army. As long as I let the rebel army exist and grow, unhappiness DECREASES by 20 per turn! But if I wipe it out, unhappiness begins to rise again if I don't move to correct it with buildings/improvements.
EDIT: Mike read your explanation...that does make sense. Where did you get that from?
Any thoughts on the untouchable enemy city?
Quote from: mikeck on September 14, 2013, 07:50:39 PM
I started a new game with the 4 turn per year mod. Something I get now but didnt before are "events that require my attention". Things like a crazy senator, bad omens, Etc. I am given 4 choices on how to respond and it doesn't tell me what the results will be. Pretty cool. You will see a "!" Icon over your "dynasty" or "empire" button in the bottom middle if the screen.
I recommend the 4 turn per year. Doesn't affect research and stuff so you will have Marius legionary units in 189bc...BUT you general stay alive long enough for you to develope them. More realistic too...it doesn't take a year to sale from Rome to the tip of italy
This is the type of mod I'll eventually install. What I want to know is how mods effect MP games. Do both players need the same mods or can you select which mods you want to use at start up?
Quote from: Gusington on September 14, 2013, 07:58:07 PM
Any thoughts on the untouchable enemy city?
Is it not letting your army enter the red zone around the enemy city that turn when you click to attack it, even though you have the movement available?
I've seen that happen a few times. I think
it's due to the enemy having an army out in the field, but still in the red zone.
You have to first attack the army outside the city and defeat it IIRC. You may still need to drive it off, out of the red zone, if you didn't wipe it out in the first battle so you may still need to drive it further off.
Quote from: Gusington on September 14, 2013, 07:58:07 PM
EDIT: Mike read your explanation...that does make sense. Where did you get that from?
Made it up
^HAHAHA ok then.
Nefaro there was a Carthagianian rebel army nearby and it also looked like the city was under siege by a third power...there was a lot going on. The rebel army then fled but I still wasn't able to even approach the city.
I can understand the explanation you posted above...I am not sure if that was happening and am not sure if there was some sort of bug happening.
There are weird rules about what you can do depending on whether you are in an enu zone of control and you stance. Make sure your army has no stance and is not in "forced march", "defense" or "patrol".
Edit: just checked, Gus. If your army is in the "forced march" stance, it cannot initiate combat
Quote from: Gusington on September 14, 2013, 09:54:47 PM
^HAHAHA ok then.
Nefaro there was a Carthagianian rebel army nearby and it also looked like the city was under siege by a third power...there was a lot going on. The rebel army then fled but I still wasn't able to even approach the city.
I can understand the explanation you posted above...I am not sure if that was happening and am not sure if there was some sort of bug happening.
You also may have to wait until next turn. I've had that happen when a 3rd party's army was there and I had to fight or run them off.
Either way, if you click to attack an enemy city and it only moves you up to the edge of the red circle and no further, then there's an army you need to defeat before attacking the city itself. You may have to wait until next turn to attack or besiege the city in some cases, however. That's most likely the case if a different army was besieging it but moved off (as in driving away a rebel army besieging it).
I was thinking about buying
Total War: Rome II despite the bad reports I'd been reading about it. But then I saw AngryJoeShow's YouTube video
and its 3.7 User Score on Metacritic (http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/total-war-rome-ii) and have decided to hold off on purchasing it until it's in a more playable condition.
It's just one review. This seems to be the One that people throw around a lot. I've never seen angry joe reviews but I've no reason to doubt him...and of course, it's his opinion.
I will tell you that many people, including several posting in this thread, have not seen the things Joe saw. I have never had an army charge me and then run back. Inuse mofs that slow combat kill rates and unit speed so theres that too. The tactical Ai is decent as well as the campaign Ai. With the new beta 2 patch, it's even better.
If you go to meta critic and look at the critic reviews, you will find more positive by far than negative. As always, it's personal opinion, experience and what you are expecting. This game is huge, it's fun, the Ai seems to be decent enough and I have had only one crash. Others have had worse luck and different experiences.
I use Radious' battle, Ai and economy mods but truthfully, the new beta patch incorporated a lot of that stuff. Shame there is no demo. If your not a big Roman history guy or a TW fan, I would say hold off a bit then until a few more patches and the usual mods come out. No harm...but don't forego a great game because "Angry Joe" doesn't like it.
Wow! Back from my vacation trip and there has been a lot of activity regarding Rome 2! Excited to see all the changes in the coming week and finally start my grand campaign as Egypt. :D
I am backing up Mike on this. Angry Joe's review is hilarious because he is hilarious. But the stuff he has seen I have never seen. I have seen my own weirdness but the game's sheer epic scope has totally outweighed anything negative I have seen. The negative I have seen are niggles...one time oddities...etc.
Thanks Nefaro...there were definitely at least three powers in the area when I first went to besiege the city, four counting the rebels. Matter of fact Carthage is having it's arse handed to it by a number of AI powers. I am trying to muscle in to pick at the carcass.
I did see the one with soldiers running around not knowing what the hell to do...headless chickens...and I haven't even played it that much and I noticed it.
Quote from: Gusington on September 15, 2013, 03:36:28 PM
I am backing up Mike on this. Angry Joe's review is hilarious because he is hilarious. But the stuff he has seen I have never seen. I have seen my own weirdness but the game's sheer epic scope has totally outweighed anything negative I have seen. The negative I have seen are niggles...one time oddities...etc.
I've seen all that mentioned in his review, and then some. Well.. minus the ship sailing through a city, but I've seen my cavalry ride right into a hill, sinking right in. Same type of bug.
Of course, I've put about 65 hours into the game so I've probably experienced more than most. There's a great all-around game in there, waiting to get out. The latest beta update improved the gfx performance on the campaign map, and seems to have possibly enticed the AIs to build slightly larger armies (sometimes to the detriment of it's yearly profits) but I've not really seen much in the way of AI improvement yet. Still.. it's an improvement and hopefully that trend continues for awhile. The biggest improvement has been the AI turn resolution times. Haven't had a 2-minute wait since!
QuoteThanks Nefaro...there were definitely at least three powers in the area when I first went to besiege the city, four counting the rebels. Matter of fact Carthage is having it's arse handed to it by a number of AI powers. I am trying to muscle in to pick at the carcass.
I've definitely had to finger out some of the stuff on my own, like everyone else, but I'm pretty sure I know it all well enough now.
have you played the beta with/without Radious' stuff yet - is it still needed?
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 15, 2013, 05:09:06 PM
have you played the beta with/without Radious' stuff yet - is it still needed?
Nope.
Not even sure if they're beta-compatible.
65 hours! I've only played 15.
I've played around 30+ hours, but haven't played all weekend as I spent all my free time with board games.
Gah!
I can't believe I've conquered a bunch of towns but haven't developed tech for battering rams or anything.
Here I am ten turns into a 25 turn development cycle for the Multilingual cultural perk and my vaunted warriors can't figure out how to pick up a tree trunk and bash in a weak wooden gate defended by 50 cavalrymen! (https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FSmilies%2Fcatapult.gif&hash=f9283c82df727b1bb5c0e90131429ec20794100e)
Quote from: Nefaro on September 15, 2013, 05:11:21 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 15, 2013, 05:09:06 PM
have you played the beta with/without Radious' stuff yet - is it still needed?
Nope.
Not even sure if they're beta-compatible.
Yes they are compatable.
I've put about 71 hours into it. I have had 1 crash to desktop and one freeze. I have had many good battles and have had one where I wondered what the hell the AI was doing. It is not as good as S2 at release for sure, but it is far better than Rome, M2 or empire in that department. I just thinks the angry Joe review made it look like the game was a grease fire and that is just not the case.
Quote from: mikeck on September 15, 2013, 07:50:47 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 15, 2013, 05:11:21 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 15, 2013, 05:09:06 PM
have you played the beta with/without Radious' stuff yet - is it still needed?
Nope.
Not even sure if they're beta-compatible.
Yes they are compatable.
I've put about 71 hours into it. I have had 1 crash to desktop and one freeze. I have had many good battles and have had one where I wondered what the hell the AI was doing. It is not as good as S2 at release for sure, but it is far better than Rome, M2 or empire in that department. I just thinks the angry Joe review made it look like the game was a grease fire and that is just not the case.
Do the mods not exaggerate the fixes - make troops to slow
Quote from: mikeck on September 15, 2013, 07:50:47 PM
Yes they are compatable.
I had two lock-ups using a couple of the Radious mods and the Yarkis mod, so I removed them. One was a freeze after I hit 'Exit Game' that forced a restart of the whole machine. It may well have been problems with the stock game, but the same hasn't happened since taking them out for the beta so I'm going back to waiting until the patches progress, and the mods mature with them, before digging into the soup again. Not a big deal, as my time spent with the game has dropped in favor of others at the moment. I can wait.
Quote from: Gusington on September 14, 2013, 07:26:54 PM
^I agree...I have an NVidia GTX 560 and it should run this as smooth as a baby's tuckus, but it doesn't, especially on the campaign map.
Totally different questions: I went to take Lilybaneum (sp?) from Carthage and could not (my army was not allowed to engage...could not get the target reticule to pop up). Is this because the city is besieged and I just can't see that through the fog of war? Or is it some kind of bug?
The besieging force has priority on making the attack. So if force A is besieging and force B comes up, force B will enter the battle, but you have to trigger it with the besieging force.
Where this gets tricky is when allies or enemies attack the same place: you might have to attack the besieging force and then attack the city.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 16, 2013, 07:54:34 AM
Quote from: mikeck on September 15, 2013, 07:50:47 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 15, 2013, 05:11:21 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 15, 2013, 05:09:06 PM
have you played the beta with/without Radious' stuff yet - is it still needed?
Nope.
Not even sure if they're beta-compatible.
Yes they are compatable.
I've put about 71 hours into it. I have had 1 crash to desktop and one freeze. I have had many good battles and have had one where I wondered what the hell the AI was doing. It is not as good as S2 at release for sure, but it is far better than Rome, M2 or empire in that department. I just thinks the angry Joe review made it look like the game was a grease fire and that is just not the case.
Do the mods not exaggerate the fixes - make troops to slow
Not that I have noticed. It overrides the vanilla file anyway. I know the "close combat mod 2" had an issue with that but it had to do with an internal mod issue in the end
Quote from: Gusington on September 13, 2013, 08:55:34 PM
^That's a lot of ifs there. That said, the newest beta patch is getting some rave reviews from the lunatics over at TWC. A lot of claims of a reborn AI.
Actually the supposedly messy release was probably a good strategy since they were going to get lunatic rants about how bad the game was no matter what they did. So why not release it with a few noticible problems -- let everyone rant -- fix a few things and then let them repent of their ranting with raves of wonder.
Lol, didnt matter to me. When it comes to TW and AgEOD, regardless of condition, I have fun.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 16, 2013, 08:53:13 AM
Quote from: Gusington on September 13, 2013, 08:55:34 PM
^That's a lot of ifs there. That said, the newest beta patch is getting some rave reviews from the lunatics over at TWC. A lot of claims of a reborn AI.
Actually the supposedly messy release was probably a good strategy since they were going to get lunatic rants about how bad the game was no matter what they did. So why not release it with a few noticible problems -- let everyone rant -- fix a few things and then let them repent of their ranting with raves of wonder.
Shogun 2 actually received a lot of praise, on release.
I suppose it will be their oddball release success, now that we're back to normal with Rome 2.
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 15, 2013, 01:56:26 PM
Wow! Back from my vacation trip and there has been a lot of activity regarding Rome 2! Excited to see all the changes in the coming week and finally start my grand campaign as Egypt. :D
Yep. Easy Egypt was a fun campaign. It starts with quite a bit of regions and a nice fleet, but then it seems to be destined to be attacked by
the Selucids and all their satrapies and allies and Cyrenica. This makes about 7-8 medium to large factions attacking Egypt in the first few turns. I took the fleet and the armies on a looting spree just to keep from going under. It took 30 turns to clean up the resulting mess (you can get peace with some of the Eastern Satrapies of the Selucids and peace very early with Cyrenica might be a good idea), but then Egypt did very well and took the whole Levant and even beat some Steppe barbarians and Sparta. I stopped since I wanted to play Carthage on easy before the patches came in.
Patch 2 is out now. 76MB total. Hope it's as good as they say it is. At first I didn't much like this game but that was because of all the new stuff. But it's growing on me. Been playing Rome/Subei/Pontus off and on and the way the factions play differently is great. Really like the cultural and building choices. I'm not a fan of the new Province system though. Any time I capture a new city, the whole province is angry about it. I don't see why the entire province shares a universal disorder level. Shouldn't 2 or 3 happy cities outweigh 1 unhappy one? And I can't cancel taxes for the one pissed-off city the way I could in all other TW games. So either everybody pays or nobody pays. This makes it tough early on when you really need the cash. Similar thing happened when I captured the last Etruscan city. Instead of occupying it I made them my client state thinking I would avoid the whole Public Disorder thing. Instead of being happy about my mercy on them, they hate me. They won't even trade with me. And are giving me 0 money each turn as my clients even though they're building new buildings and raising new armies. And the talking head diplomacy guy keeps talking smack to me every time I try to negotiate with them. I guess I should've just conquered them instead. Still this game's a gem. It just needs a lot of polishing. :)
Was anything added since the beta?
I think this was the beta patch made available for everybody. Another beta patch is in the works according to TWC.
I don't know anything about additions, but according to this (http://news.softpedia.com/news/Total-War-Rome-II-Patch-2-Is-Out-Has-100-Fixes-383691.shtml), the latest patch has 100 fixes and the A.I. doesn't take so long to move.
Nice so that first beta patch is now live? I know what I'll be doing tonight. Looking forward to shorter AI move times and general improved smooveosity on the campaign map.
The most notable change so far is tech tab at the bottom now has a number on it indicating how many turns before the tech is finished.
That should have been there from Day 1. Starting to believe that SEGA put a lot of pressure on CA for initial release and that this system of patch releases is not ad hoc...it was planned this way all along.
Quite likely. Nothing in my experience is as bad as Sword or the Stars being released as an early alpha and having them tell their customers "oh sorry! We released a beta by mistake, real game goes up tomorrow". Of course, it didnt. They then tried to say its just a few patches. Then finally admission . Never been lied to like that by a game company but it was an eye opener to the business a bit.
Gus,
This isn't the first patch...it's the official release of what was the 2nd Beta patch that came out a week ago.
Yeah I know...this patch sounds more meaty than the first though.
Can you continue existing campaigns if you patch?
Yes you can for patch 1 & 2.
Quote from: Tuna on September 17, 2013, 02:28:25 PM
Can you continue existing campaigns if you patch?
I fired my game up today, noticed the tech countdown and figured it was an auto-patch. My saved game continued without issue.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 17, 2013, 11:11:17 AM
The most notable change so far is tech tab at the bottom now has a number on it indicating how many turns before the tech is finished.
..and the turn resolution is faster.
OK.
So I'm 27 hours into the game. I think Rome II is a better turn-based game than Rome I. I still liked the micromanagement of Rome I better. Understanding city development and tech trees was easier in Rome I.
But this is growing on me. I'm enjoying not having to fight as many tactical battles, though they're still needed from time to time.
As you research new tech and build new buildings, more buildings will become available. So your not limited to what your building on turn 27 (which you may know)
I think I going to install one of the mods that reduces the attrition when you put a town under seige. The level now is ridonkulous
We need to encourage LB's love of games that are not Orcs Must Die 2! Good job and LB keep mustering your legions until the Mediterranean is subdued to the rule of Rome.
WHAT? There are no orcs in this game? >:( >:( >:(
Quote from: Bison on September 17, 2013, 09:40:03 PM
We need to encourage LB's love of games that are not Orcs Must Die 2!
LOL
I'm surprised something has pulled him away! :D
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 17, 2013, 10:50:34 PM
WHAT? There are no orcs in this game? >:( >:( >:(
not yet
So I did not know that I needed to restart my PC to get fhe latest patch last night. I was all excited to try it out and wound up playing without it. Patched it up after last night's session.
While playing I lost Corsica to Carthage and Carthaginian rebels. My garrisons were just too small to stop them. These regions were never happy either, always miserable while Italy is thriving. So I am going to focus on cutting a swath of terror through the Alps, maybe into Germany or the Hellespont.
Once I beef up a bit I will swoop down again and take Corsica and Sardinia back, maybe take Carthage first this time.
So...still looking forward to the new patch :/ Weird how this one required a restart of the machine...none of the others have.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 17, 2013, 10:50:34 PM
WHAT? There are no orcs in this game? >:( >:( >:(
Too late! The Persians exterminated the Orcs when they took Barad-Dur and other Assyrian fortresses in the late 7th Century BCE.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 17, 2013, 10:50:34 PM
WHAT? There are no orcs in this game? >:( >:( >:(
I'm using the next best thing: my campaign is as the Suebi. So far I've managed to conquer most of Eastern Europe. Game is on Don't Hurt Me mode. Too many ways to blunder at the default level, at least for me.
Quote from: mikeck on September 17, 2013, 09:33:14 PM
As you research new tech and build new buildings, more buildings will become available. So your not limited to what your building on turn 27 (which you may know)
I think I going to install one of the mods that reduces the attrition when you put a town under seige. The level now is ridonkulous
I'm not happy with how sieges work.
The first thing I figured out was that if a town didn't have walls, you couldn't create siege engines. Makes sense, but the game didn't tell me why I wasn't creating them.
Second, it seems like besieging an unwalled town is tougher than a walled one. All the walled towns I attacked were pushovers and I let the AI handle it. Unwalled towns, however, are a real bitch. Most of the time I have to manually fight the battles. Something seems wonky about this. My mind keeps going to back to Alesia. When surrounding a town and the town wants to come out and fight, why is it that I have to go into the town to fight them? Why are there no rings of pointy wooden stakes around the town to channel the defenders into places my army would want them?
I also can't figure out why my army, with double the number of troops, is calculated to lose by the AI on auto-resolve. Sometimes I don't think the AI is counting my units properly. I'd really like to know what's happening under the hood to better understand this.
I'm just not in love with how sieges are handled at all.
I had a shocking turn of events in my Rome campaign. Carthage had fallen and was controlled by Punic Rebels. So I sent 2 armies and a fleet down to take it and when we got there it a Syracuse fleet of 4 units was blockading the port. So I landed my forces and approached from the land side but couldn't attack the city. When I hit "End Turn", a battle screen came up with my forces and the Syracuse fleet vs the Punic Rebels. I thought they must be coming-out against me and since the auto-resolve was a sure win I hit it and won easily but didn't get the city. My next turn I see Carthage belongs to Syracuse. They had attacked Carthage and used my forces to help them take the city! Dammit! And didn't even thank me. I put a Syra-cussing on the Syra-cusians for sure.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 18, 2013, 10:56:41 AM
I had a shocking turn of events in my Rome campaign. Carthage had fallen and was controlled by Punic Rebels. So I sent 2 armies and a fleet down to take it and when we got there it a Syracuse fleet of 4 units was blockading the port. So I landed my forces and approached from the land side but couldn't attack the city. When I hit "End Turn", a battle screen came up with my forces and the Syracuse fleet vs the Punic Rebels. I thought they must be coming-out against me and since the auto-resolve was a sure win I hit it and won easily but didn't get the city. My next turn I see Carthage belongs to Syracuse. They had attacked Carthage and used my forces to help them take the city! Dammit! And didn't even thank me. I put a Syra-cussing on the Syra-cusians for sure.
You must have had at least a defensive alliance with Syracuse. Did they pay you for it?
So sometimes it doesn't pay to have too many allies --- even defensive allies get the city when you back them up in a seige battle. This happened to me last night. I was Carthage and at war with Rome. The Etruscans were still holding out (my fleet had defeated the roman fleet off Corsica). One of my armies approached Brindisium. the next turn Epirus placed B. under seige and paid for a defensive alliance. The Turn after that they got the city with my support. Since then it seems like all the cities in Italy and Sicily were captured a couple of times. I ended up with Rome and Syracuse while Epirus re-took B. and the Romans took everything else. So I suppose it was just as well to have Epirus as an ally. The Romans are asking me to pay them for Peace. Which is sneaky since, if I pay them, my armies will be too expensive to field and they might pay Epirus to switch sides. Eprius is pretty sneaky.
That's exactly what happened to me once, too. Ended up winning a city for my neighbors whom I had a Defensive Alliance with.
Also note that when you DOW a neighbor, many of
it's neighbors will also declare war on it, sensing an easy gain. So be careful to keep your armies out of other allied armies' zones or you'll end up having to help them fight their battles.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 18, 2013, 08:25:15 AM
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 17, 2013, 10:50:34 PM
WHAT? There are no orcs in this game? >:( >:( >:(
Too late! The Persians exterminated the Orcs when they took Barad-Dur and other Assyrian fortresses in the late 7th Century BCE.
Or maybe...
Revenge Of The Hittites!! ;D
No Defensive Alliance with Syracuse. A Non-Aggression Pact and Trade deal only. I wonder if I had fought the battle out myself and won the Capture Points in the city, if I would have gotten the city then?
I suspect because you chose to auto resolve the Syracuse army got credit for occupying the victory flag and you didn't.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 18, 2013, 12:36:09 PM
No Defensive Alliance with Syracuse. A Non-Aggression Pact and Trade deal only. I wonder if I had fought the battle out myself and won the Capture Points in the city, if I would have gotten the city then?
I suspect not. I think the logic goes -- the besieging/blockading force has priority on capture (no matter what) UNLESS you attack them. then I would guess the sequnce would go: You fight the beseigers (with the support of the beseiged? I have no idea) and then you fight the beseiged.
As I recall, the capture point turns the color of the beseiger even if your troops are occupying the capture point, ie there are only two sides to any battle and you have to get that worked out "diplomatically" before the battle starts.
But this is mostly hazy speculation.
I am also not a fan of sieges oy because the walls are too weak. Thinking of hunting down a mod. Basically, all I need to take a walled city are my two ballistas. I just busy open the enemy gate and then punch 2 more holes in the wall. Im sorry...so better...I should not be able to break into Carthage with two ballistas. Conversely, the Ai should not be able to do the same or merely just light my gate in fire.
I think there is a mod to make walls and gates stronger but I'm not sure the AI can adapt? Dunno
I went back to an earlier save to try to re-fight the battle but cannot attack Carthage as long as Syracuse sits on the blockade and turn after turn that's all they do. :(
Sounds to me lik you need to take out that uppity wannabe empire of Syracuse.
Quote from: Bison on September 18, 2013, 12:42:21 PM
I suspect because you chose to auto resolve the Syracuse army got credit for occupying the victory flag and you didn't.
Naa.. his ally was there first, so he got priority for ownership.
I actually played out my battle manually, and it was the same. Other army was already within the red circle, possibly besieging, and I parked my own army within support range of his. While I had the larger army, and was the one who was attacked by the AI (oddly enough), it gave the spoils to my defensive ally after the win.
I'm fine with the mechanic of firstest gets the mostest, but you gotta keep it in mind when you're playing.
In my example, the besieged AI army would've attacked my ally's smaller besieging army on the last turn before it would take the city and probably would've driven it off. Then I could've moved in to take the city myself at just that moment, after my ally had retreated out of range. Had I known how it worked, it would've paid to wait it out.
There could be a problem in
his example, however, since I don't often see the AI attack a blockade and drive it off. There are some issues resulting from armies being able to just instantly turn into ships when they move into water. Another being that Agents can't do anything to those armies while they're aboard ships, so you can just park your army in a flotilla off a coast if you want to avoid assassination attempts. The AI also ends up inadvertently benefitting from this all too often since it's more than happy to get in the water.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 18, 2013, 05:29:30 PM
Quote from: Bison on September 18, 2013, 12:42:21 PM
I suspect because you chose to auto resolve the Syracuse army got credit for occupying the victory flag and you didn't.
Naa.. his ally was there first, so he got priority for ownership.
I actually played out my battle manually, and it was the same. Other army was already within the red circle, possibly besieging, and I parked my own army within support range of his. While I had the larger army, and was the one who was attacked by the AI (oddly enough), it gave the spoils to my defensive ally after the win.
I'm fine with the mechanic of firstest gets the mostest, but you gotta keep it in mind when you're playing.
In my example, the besieged AI army would've attacked my ally's smaller besieging army on the last turn before it would take the city and probably would've driven it off. Then I could've moved in to take the city myself at just that moment, after my ally had retreated out of range. Had I known how it worked, it would've paid to wait it out.
There could be a problem in his example, however, since I don't often see the AI attack a blockade and drive it off. There are some issues resulting from armies being able to just instantly turn into ships when they move into water. Another being that Agents can't do anything to those armies while they're aboard ships, so you can just park your army in a flotilla off a coast if you want to avoid assassination attempts. The AI also ends up inadvertently benefitting from this all too often since it's more than happy to get in the water.
Your rational hypothesis and subsequent test does not invalidate my half-assed, hair brained, AI conspiracy theory!
Quote from: Bison on September 18, 2013, 05:59:02 PM
Your rational hypothesis and subsequent test does not invalidate my half-assed, hair brained, AI conspiracy theory!
You got me there.
Foiled once again!
Quote from: Nefaro on September 18, 2013, 06:00:48 PM
Quote from: Bison on September 18, 2013, 05:59:02 PM
Your rational hypothesis and subsequent test does not invalidate my half-assed, hair brained, AI conspiracy theory!
You got me there.
Foiled once again!
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Interesting stuff on what they are thinking to improve for battles....
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/94255-Battle-and-Unit-teams-What-we-are-working-on
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 18, 2013, 08:05:51 PM
Interesting stuff on what they are thinking to improve for battles....
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/94255-Battle-and-Unit-teams-What-we-are-working-on
Hah!
Looks like they're admitting that the AI, Flag Cap mechanic, and other wotnots were just outright unfinished. I mean.. the AI wasn't receiving all the feedback it required in order to work, and the flag cap mechanic was only to be used in a combined army & naval battle to make sure the bulk of it took place on land. The first two examples, there, just scream early beta at best. At least they're admitting to it, in some way. The denial stage has been passed. ;D
Should we start slagging Sega on the assumption they set a release deadline and pushed it out? Or point fingers all around? :P
Great! I'm glad they are working on the issues. I've had battles where the Ai did nothing (just had one where they stroud there and let me fire on them) but I've had many where the Ai did quite well. Out of my 9 or 10 battles that did not take place in a town, only one had capture flags so it hasn't been an issue for me. As for speed and formation...yeah it sucks, so I use mods.
Many aren't enjoying it. Me, I having a blast with it and am glad to see that there will be patches making it even better. I can only imagine what the mods will do in the future.
When you guys take over provinces what do you do to keep morale from spiraling out of control? Public anger is a real thorn in my side here.
Anyway I pulled out of Corsica and Sardinia, made peace with Carthage, and am now pouring my forces into the lands of the Frescii. In the last hour I took one of their coastal cities, looted it and then took their capital the next turn. Looted that too. But public anger is the big issue I am having.
Also had a naval battle against totally superior numbers. The game automatically lowered the graphics settings...hadn't had that happen before.
The 2nd patch did halve AI turn times and smoothed the campaign map, and I like the tech indicator that has popped up. I am on the verge of cracking the game and diving down deep...I just want to get the happiness up in my provinces...
Quote from: Gusington on September 18, 2013, 08:53:58 PM
When you guys take over provinces what do you do to keep morale from spiraling out of control? Public anger is a real thorn in my side here.
Anyway I pulled out of Corsica and Sardinia, made peace with Carthage, and am now pouring my forces into the lands of the Frescii. In the last hour I took one of their coastal cities, looted it and then took their capital the next turn. Looted that too. But public anger is the big issue I am having.
I've found the key to a new conquered province where you own all the city states is to do three things. 1. Exempt from taxes for a few rounds. 2. Build a temple. 3. Leave a standing army. You'll be able to gauge when you can tax again and move the army because your public happiness meter (whatever it's called) will have a positive number if you subtract the tax and army bonus. At that point the happiness will remain positive for the most part with some small building and tech research adjustments as your province grows.
Looting is something I've never really felt compelled to do. Honestly, I've never had a major issue with making money past the first few initial turns. I just don't see the cost benefit to looting over occupying honestly.
^You're the one who told me to get all Roman on their asses!!
OK so where is the tab to exempt from taxes? I thought only whole regions could be exempt, not individual cities.
This part of the game is obviously frustrating me...it's just not clicking in my head. A print manual would help.
Quote from: Gusington on September 18, 2013, 09:03:43 PM
^You're the one who told me to get all Roman on their asses!!
OK so where is the tab to exempt from taxes? I thought only whole regions could be exempt, not individual cities.
This part of the game is obviously frustrating me...it's just not clicking in my head. A print manual would help.
You can only exempt the whole province. You have to really consider the all of the towns together when you are planning your structures, because a temple built in one town benefits all towns in the province for example.
I told you to conquer the world in the name of Rome not cower in fear of little whimpy Carthage!
I'll deal with Carthage once I get my funds in order and then wipe them out. Like you said in one of your games they are a paper tiger...they are in mine too but public order kept me from rolling over them.
OK so tax exemption, temples, and soldiers for pacification...time to really crack some barbarian skulls and bring light to a dark world :)
Quote from: Gusington on September 18, 2013, 09:11:16 PM
I'll deal with Carthage once I get my funds in order and then wipe them out. Like you said in one of your games they are a paper tiger...they are in mine too but public order kept me from rolling over them.
OK so tax exemption, temples, and soldiers for pacification...time to really crack some barbarian skulls and bring light to a dark world :)
Now that's what I'm talking about Willis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will say that the rebels really seem to be overly disruptive for the major powers. In my game, Carthage and Egypt both were taken out by rebels. I just don't think the rebel mechanic is working as designed in this regard.
Well it worked tonight in a short one hour session. I'll have more time to really push forward, wipe out the Frescii and then reinforce my position tomorrow. I can't help but wonder if the game would be easier playing a barbarian faction like the Iceni without such a huge historical footprint to fill.
Gus, first, if you are planning on keeping the city, don't loot it. Second, the 25 point conquest penalty is only for one turn. Exempt the province from taxes and station am army there. If it doesn't have a temple, wreck one of the buildings there and build one. Also, out a "champion" outside the city and deploy him. He can increase order by around 7-10 points.
Agree with the above and sometimes recruiting a new agent or General with Public Order boosts can help. The trouble with holding taxes for a whole region until red faces turn green is it slows development a lot. I manage to save a little cash after a battle by disbanding mercenaries as their upkeep cost is often huge and there always seem to be plenty around to buy for the next fight. Also if you own an entire province, use the province edicts to boost public order. I miss not being able to hold taxes on individual cities like in other TW games though. >:(
Quote from: mikeck on September 18, 2013, 09:32:18 PM
Gus, first, if you are planning on keeping the city, don't loot it. Second, the 25 point conquest penalty is only for one turn. Exempt the province from taxes and station am army there. If it doesn't have a temple, wreck one of the buildings there and build one. Also, out a "champion" outside the city and deploy him. He can increase order by around 7-10 points.
Great advice. I hadn't thought of razing existing buildings to create a temple.
As Rome I have had a Civil War declared. Has anyone had this happen to them and is there a way to prevent this from happening?
Quote from: Labbug on September 18, 2013, 11:25:18 PM
As Rome I have had a Civil War declared. Has anyone had this happen to them and is there a way to prevent this from happening?
Sorry, I haven't seen it.
Quote from: Labbug on September 18, 2013, 11:25:18 PM
As Rome I have had a Civil War declared. Has anyone had this happen to them and is there a way to prevent this from happening?
You will go into a civil war once your % of control of the Senate reaches a certain break point. I have not had a civil war, but from what I've read on other forums it happens around the 70% threshold. I'm not sure if it is ultimately preventable, but you can delay it by doing things to maintain a lower level of Senate influence.
Thanks guys...on top of the other things I had not thought to use champions.
The one time I played as Rome, my Senate Influence just kept going down down down. Which is a common trend when all your family generals die off so fast and you have to pay Influence to get new ones.
Does anyone know if there is supposed to be another beta or regular update starting this week? I see jack & shit in the beta opt-in.
I've read that there is a third patch n beta right now.
Quote from: Bison on September 19, 2013, 08:02:02 AM
Quote from: Labbug on September 18, 2013, 11:25:18 PM
As Rome I have had a Civil War declared. Has anyone had this happen to them and is there a way to prevent this from happening?
You will go into a civil war once your % of control of the Senate reaches a certain break point. I have not had a civil war, but from what I've read on other forums it happens around the 70% threshold. I'm not sure if it is ultimately preventable, but you can delay it by doing things to maintain a lower level of Senate influence.
Thanks, I have not been watching my Senate influence. I will have to find where you do that.
It's on your people screen. Click on yor faction symbol on the bottom of the ui.
Quote from: Labbug on September 18, 2013, 11:25:18 PM
As Rome I have had a Civil War declared. Has anyone had this happen to them and is there a way to prevent this from happening?
I had a Civil War back in my Easy Egypt days. The "Nobles" turned out two good armies and two good fleets at my capital in Alexandria. It looked like a tough situation for Easy Egypt and maybe it was or maybe not since I destroyed the Nobles in a few crafty strategic moves and two spectacular battles. One battle was easily the best sea fight I've ever seen in a game: the Nobles had two well-supported double-tower Octeres and I had one and plenty of naval artillery. Luckily the Nobles arrived in two sections and I was able to sweep around with relatively fast ram-and-melee ships and plow a mess of tangled ships into the path of the second group delaying it just long enough to get the ram-and- melee bunch disengaged and on a roll. I lost about 50% of my ships, but they lost more like 80% and another of my fleets hunted down the remains of the Nautical Nobles. The big land battle looked close for a bit, but with African elephants stampeeding down the middle and concealed cavalry coming over one side and concealed archers hitting the other, the Nobles-by-land went down fast.
Those were the days. Now I sit sobbing in Carthage with little bits of Normal Carthage spread all over the Western Med.
Quote from: Labbug on September 19, 2013, 08:36:59 AM
Quote from: Bison on September 19, 2013, 08:02:02 AM
Quote from: Labbug on September 18, 2013, 11:25:18 PM
As Rome I have had a Civil War declared. Has anyone had this happen to them and is there a way to prevent this from happening?
You will go into a civil war once your % of control of the Senate reaches a certain break point. I have not had a civil war, but from what I've read on other forums it happens around the 70% threshold. I'm not sure if it is ultimately preventable, but you can delay it by doing things to maintain a lower level of Senate influence.
Thanks, I have not been watching my Senate influence. I will have to find where you do that.
I'm playing as the Suebi and can see periodic intrigues from politics. I think it has to do with influence or authority - after it reaches a certain level your generals start getting some kind of political game going. Once in a while an even will pop up asking me if someone can be adopted or married. So far it hasn't had any major effect on my game. However, I have noticed that when I select a new general it often has a -13 Tribal Chiefs rating (or some other value). Apparently by selecting some generals I affect the political balance. I've spent no time looking into this, but I think that's what's going on and probably plays a bigger role if you're playing as Romans.
Hope it doesn't turn into a "Roman Realm Divide" type event.
Yeah I've noticed that as Rome with the influence of my generals too. Haven't checked on the Senate itself. Again a print manual would be perfect to get more info.
Quote from: Gusington on September 19, 2013, 10:25:28 AM
Yeah I've noticed that as Rome with the influence of my generals too. Haven't checked on the Senate itself. Again a print manual would be perfect to get more info.
I'm tempted to buy a damn strategy guide because this game is so obtuse. I know they spent some decent time and money creating their encyclopedia, but I find it almost worthless.
My experience with inner-faction power struggles has pretty much been the other factions constantly attempting to assassinate my generals. Doesn't matter how much influence I have.. they eventually started spamming me with Assassinate in all my campaigns.
It usually only ended in my generals being wounded for a few turns, but it was still enough (along with their rapid deaths by natural causes) to force me to replace my army generals on a regular basis, and create new ones.
In it's current iteration, it's just another exceedingly annoying way to F with my generals all the time and hasn't really added anything interesting to the gameplay at all. I think they were trying to add some Crusader Kings 2 style intrigue into the system, which is commendable. However it's just a stinky poostick in the eye, in it's current form.
Yeah I have also had a number of assassination attempts on my generals. Most fail. I noticed too that when I succeed in using a champion for assassination, I typically get an "attempt failed" message when in fact it was successful.
High Ambition levels lead to civil war.
I just saw it on a hint as the game was loading. High ambition in generals makes them useful, but if they get too high an ambition score they may start a civil war.
If you can start over, I recommend the 2/4 turn mod. I use the four year version and Italy's my generals last...well...4x longer! Doesn't seem to disturb anything else. Buildings and tech are built per turn but general age per year, not per turn
Quote from: mikeck on September 19, 2013, 03:10:23 PM
If you can start over, I recommend the 2/4 turn mod. I use the four year version and Italy's my generals last...well...4x longer! Doesn't seem to disturb anything else. Buildings and tech are built per turn but general age per year, not per turn
I'm having fun with my current campaign. Got lucky and offered peace just when I was about to get flanked and lose a city - they took it. Then I checked my strategic map just in time to see public order was falling apart in my core provinces. Wrecked some buildings that were producing squalor, started building shrines to improve order, and started researching tech to reduce corruption.
Man, I got so lucky.
Currently I own most of northern Europe. This is circa 150 BC.
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Not bad. In my game as Rome I am right at your soutern doorstep after yesterday's conquests. Cisalpina is my bitch now.
Is there a Rome II guidebook available?
ive done it!!!!!
through political intrigue, back office manouevering, bribing, and lies................
i have secured all Saturday and Sunday to play this bloody game!!
Quote from: Gusington on September 19, 2013, 05:20:46 PM
Not bad.
Remember, I am playing on Don't Hurt Me mode.
QuoteIs there a Rome II guidebook available?
If there is I can't find it on Amazon.
Given how cryptic the game can be Don't Hurt Me mode can still test your brain.
Seems like a lost opportunity to have a game this complex without a proper manual AND no guidebook for sale...
Quote from: Gusington on September 19, 2013, 05:52:14 PM
Seems like a lost opportunity to have a game this complex without a proper manual AND no guidebook for sale...
No kidding.
I guess we'll try to fill the void here. As folks figure stuff out we can post it as we go.
This is my motto when playing Rome 2.
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Quote from: Bison on September 19, 2013, 05:56:05 PM
This is my motto when playing Rome 2.
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Sounds about right.
Finally have got control over provincial happiness! Using a combo of the advice above including generous use of force, building of temples and active tax fluctuating, I now have happiness on the rise everywhere, including newly conquered provinces. The legions have marched deep into the Alps and I have seen the first snow in this game. A few more turns stabilizing everything and I will be ready to march into...well somewhere. Probably Illyria. Oh and Carthage was destroyed along with her ally Nova Carthago. So I'm only at war with the Frisii right now.
I still think the rebels are not really working as intended. There is really no reason for a major power like Carthage or Rome or Egypt to be basically destroyed by rebel forces.
Hey Longblade. Playing as Suebi myself, I can say you're doing great. The thing about the Germans is trade and diplomacy is much rarer and harder to get. And very little difference in unit types, much less trust between factions. And to the south are the Celtics(not Boston) who hate you. Unifying Germany is one long tough fight. But there are some great resources to be had there and in time you can make a hefty profit. And then... Be like a spear. Make a point. HAHA. ;D
In my game Carthage was brought down by a combo of 3-4 powers but the straw that broke the camels back was a giant rebel army.
Quote from: Gusington on September 20, 2013, 07:23:21 AM
In my game Carthage was brought down by a combo of 3-4 powers but the straw that broke the camels back was a giant rebel army.
Should get used to it after awhile. The AI isn't very good at balancing it's building and stability after the game progresses a bit. I don't think they've fixed that yet.
Some good news.. the Patch-3 Beta is now out. The bad news is that the Rome 3 patches constantly stall out. None of the other games' patches have been doing this, so I think Steam has imposed some kind of download limits on TW Rome 2. An 80MB update shouldn't take 10 to 20 minutes to download. ::)
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 19, 2013, 10:58:06 PM
Hey Longblade. Playing as Suebi myself, I can say you're doing great. The thing about the Germans is trade and diplomacy is much rarer and harder to get. And very little difference in unit types, much less trust between factions. And to the south are the Celtics(not Boston) who hate you. Unifying Germany is one long tough fight. But there are some great resources to be had there and in time you can make a hefty profit. And then... Be like a spear. Make a point. HAHA. ;D
Thanks. I reached a point when I had three or four provinces captured and stabilized. All of a sudden I got spammed by trade requests. I don't even know how many trade agreements I have right now. Somewhere between six and twelve. It happened right after I called a truce and started to shore up my internal support. I guess going to war, succeeding, then calling for peace before I totally overran a country (along with a critical mass of size) sparked an interest in all these little guys wanting to trade.
Yeah, it was a real slog unifying Germanica. The cultural differences are tough. One thing I found was the blue research track has one section that is wholly dedicated to expediting cultural shift. I now get +8 cultural change per turn. Combined with lots of temples, that makes pacifying a conquered land much easier and faster. You also need to keep an eye on industries that cause cultural unrest. It's tempting to keep them if they're high level and produce money, but I've found I can spend 10 - 20 turns waiting for a province to simmer down if I keep them all. Instead I've found that destroying at least one (usually has a -10 to unrest) helps a bunch and keeps my steamroller of military conquest moving at a faster pace.
Edit: also be on the lookout for corruption. As your empire grows, so will corruption. There is also a blue track of research to squash corruption which will slow/prevent unhappiness/unrest in your core provinces.
Here's the newly-released Patch 3 Beta fixes:
http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_3
Gonna fire it up for awhile today, now that the stalling 80MB beta patch finally downloaded. >:(
Looks like a notable amount of changes to make combat last longer, and slow units down, went into this one. Ahhh, progress. :)
EDIT:
Just be careful not to change your resolution or alt-tab with this Beta. Evidentally there is an issue with it at the moment..
Quote
Disclaimer: There are one or two known issues with the beta that we are looking to resolve before rolling this out further, with ALT-Tabbing and changing game resolution. We are aware of these issues and there is no need to report them in our patch feedback threads.
Good News:
Beta Patch 3 makes the melee combat last longer. I assaulted a walled city and got into a bloody grind at the gate that took quite a lot of time to get through (and eventually casualties). The AI also seems more active now, and after taking this walled city the same faction sent a whole army right over to besiege me inside in the next turn. I've never seen that before. Yay, progress!
Bad News:
The Beta Patch 3 is less stable than patch 2 and even the release version, for me. I've had a couple crashes already this afternoon, in areas of the game where I had never experienced any in 65 hours of playtime since release. IIRC, I only had one crash in that whole time and I just had twice as many in the last two hours.
Also.. my framerates on the campaign map are bottoming out more in Beta patch 3 than it did after patch 2. They did some further tweaking that supposedly improved it even more from #2, but from my experience it's worse. Notably when I select something and the map pans to it. It used to hang for a second before moving to the location in the original release version, and wasn't quite as bad after patch 2, but now it moves to the location then hangs while it's trying to draw out the higher-res textures for longer than it ever has before.
I've also seen some other bugs pop up anew. Nothing game breaking but they're there.
Hopefully they can put a lot of work into this patch because it's not as clean as the second one was.
It's another sizable patch. I'm still very confident that this game is going to end up being a classic.
Ugh. I just played about three hours of Rome II and my brain is in a fog.
I was so into the game that it was kinda zen-like. But now my brain is shot. I think I need a break.
I actually witnessed an AI army perform an ambush. Dunno if this is just a real rarity in Rome 2, but I hadn't seen it do that since Shogun 2. :)
I'm also taking some more casualties in the battles, now that they've been slowed down and damage lowered. It definitely seems like the AI units aren't running away easily now, either. I've had a few of their heavy infantry stick around and slug it out for quite some time. Overall, the combat adjustments in Beta Patch 3 have definitely increased the fun I'm having in the tactical battles.
IIRC, they've also removed the random flags from open field battles in this update.
Despite the decrease in performance on the campaign map, and the occasionally instability, I'm enjoying the improvements in this one.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 20, 2013, 05:27:50 PM
Despite the decrease in performance on the campaign map, and the occasionally instability, I'm enjoying the improvements in this one.
I'm liking it as a turn-based game. I avoid the real-time battles at almost any cost.
Good stuff above. I am now stabilizing 3-4 provinces and I too have noticed that diplomacy in general is more likely to succeed. Looking forward to the trade offers to pour in. Going to take the next 5-10 turns to stabilize everything and then take what I have learned and show the Greeks who the new kid in town is :)
I also thought that Normal/Normal difficulty might have been a little too much but sticking with it, after about 20 hours, I finally began to 'get it' with many game concepts.
Through the miasma of negative forum chatter, patches and oddities, I can also see a classic beginning to form. It's not there yet, but it's on its way. I guess asking for two classics in a row upon release is a little much to ask.
Quote from: LongBlade on September 20, 2013, 05:41:08 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 20, 2013, 05:27:50 PM
Despite the decrease in performance on the campaign map, and the occasionally instability, I'm enjoying the improvements in this one.
I'm liking it as a turn-based game. I avoid the real-time battles at almost any cost.
Does the game play well this way? I haven't really ever played any TW game because of the real time battles. Does playing the turn-based campaign with auto resolved battles work well?
^When I'm tired or impatient, yes the game is fun as TBS. When I have more energy though I still love the tactical battles.
CA really needs to work on the AI siege. Because of attrition I suppose, the AI never lays a true siege. They just attack, burn the gate and them try to force their army through the opening. In Rome 1 the AI would always build towers or use ladders to climb over the walls. Here it can't or won't. I can only guess it's because it will not wait in siege long enough to build them. Why that is - I bet- is because it wants to avoid attrition. That's the reason I don't.
Sit your army outside in siege for 4 turns and it's virtually destroyed.
^A mod will change that if CA don't, eventually.
Quote from: challerain on September 20, 2013, 07:53:29 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on September 20, 2013, 05:41:08 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 20, 2013, 05:27:50 PM
Despite the decrease in performance on the campaign map, and the occasionally instability, I'm enjoying the improvements in this one.
I'm liking it as a turn-based game. I avoid the real-time battles at almost any cost.
Does the game play well this way? I haven't really ever played any TW game because of the real time battles. Does playing the turn-based campaign with auto resolved battles work well?
Right now auto-resolve is okay in the open, for when you outnumber the enemy. However, you can do far better than the auto-resolve especially in siege battles. There's been some complaints about the auto-resolve sucking in some situations at the moment. I think siege battle resolution is one of them, and you'll do siege battles fairly often.
Quote from: challerain on September 20, 2013, 07:53:29 PM
Does the game play well this way? I haven't really ever played any TW game because of the real time battles. Does playing the turn-based campaign with auto resolved battles work well?
Usually yes.
I'll confess that with past Total War games I tended to build up a few generals using the tactical battles. Once they got strong enough I could afford to turn them lose and auto-resolve the rest of the battles.
Rome II differs in this pattern slightly. First, the tactical battles move faster. I don't find them frenetically faster, but faster in the sense that I don't have to play them long to resolve them. I actually like the tactical speed, though opinions legitimately differ on the subject.
There have been times that, even with experienced generals with a full deck of an army I've been forced to fight tactically. This happens when I'm besieging a town and don't have enough troops to take it. I still lose, but I make the cost so high that I can bring in a second army and crush the town.
So real-time battles are rarely required, but still are better addressed by a human in most cases.
All-in-all I like Rome II better. It's not like previous games and takes some time to learn - the "encyclopedia" and tutorials are not helpful beyond the basics.
But it may be the best turn-based Total War game we have yet seen. There may be better overall Total War games out there, but as a turn-based game I'm starting to think this is the best we've seen to date. Still needs improvement, but it's the best turn-based strategy Total War game yet.
That doesn't precisely answer your question, and for that I apologize.
Is there an ETA yet on the public release of patch 3? It sounds like the one I've (kinda/sorta) been waiting for, but I don't want to opt in on the beta with the stability issues.
Quote from: Martok on September 21, 2013, 06:28:45 AM
Is there an ETA yet on the public release of patch 3? It sounds like the one I've (kinda/sorta) been waiting for, but I don't want to opt in on the beta with the stability issues.
I've not had a lock-up or crash since that first play session.
While the campaign map performance dropped a bit for me, most notably on my older desktop with the HD5770, it hasn't 'sploded lately. I'd also like to report that the AI is now providing a noticeable improvement in challenge in Normal difficulty whereas it was often passive before. The combat speed has been slowed and they are now a longer grind when melee is joined. There are still issues to be sorted, but it's a nice improvement in the gameplay.
One thing I noticed is that they really boosted the city garrisons. Not sure if I like just how much they boosted it up but it has definitely made it more difficult to expand. In anything but the first few turns, you'd better bring two armies in order to capture one if the AI also has one of it's own armies posted inside. Even the early game garrisons start with about 12-14 units in them. :o Otherwise you'll take some nasty losses due to being heavily outnumbered, and be vulnerable to a siege from one of his other armies.
It's been worth putting up with the vanilla-like campaign map performance in order to get the better gameplay in Beta 3.
did you do anything other then tick the 'beta' box again - i have done this and it says patch 3 but theres nothing downloaded - for 2 it started as soon as i clicked on the beta
Gameholds.com (which research shows to be reliable and legit) has region-free keys for $35, which is the price point I've been waiting for. So my question is how much have patches improved the game, particularly in terms of performance on lower-end systems?
For the record I have an Intel i3-3220 3.3 GHz processor with 6Gb RAM. My bottleneck is integrated Intel HD graphics, and I won't have the money to upgrade that until my end-of-year bonus.
For what it's worth, Shogun 2 runs fine with lowered settings.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 21, 2013, 10:22:17 AM
did you do anything other then tick the 'beta' box again - i have done this and it says patch 3 but theres nothing downloaded - for 2 it started as soon as i clicked on the beta
Yeah, just use the dropdown and select beta 3.
If it doesn't start downloading within a minute or so, restart your Steam client. I also tend to click the code verification button, after selecting the dropdown menu thing, but I don't think you need to. With some of the bugs I've had in the Steam client in the past, it doesn't hurt to give it a little push at updating a selection.
Quote from: tgb on September 21, 2013, 11:36:22 AM
Gameholds.com (which research shows to be reliable and legit) has region-free keys for $35, which is the price point I've been waiting for. So my question is how much have patches improved the game, particularly in terms of performance on lower-end systems?
For the record I have an Intel i3-3220 3.3 GHz processor with 6Gb RAM. My bottleneck is integrated Intel HD graphics, and I won't have the money to upgrade that until my end-of-year bonus.
For what it's worth, Shogun 2 runs fine with lowered settings.
You can run Shogun 2 on Intel HD integrated graphics? :o Well.. if you can run Shogun 2, I suppose you could theoretically run Rome 2. But it runs like shit on most people's systems. I wouldn't be surprised if yours ran the same as Shogun 2, however. ::) Most of the complaints are from people with any kind of remotely decent video card. The gfx optimization is utter sheeeit.
lol - it woke itself up after 5 mins and a restart thanks
How is the offensive AI siege behavior with the 3rd patch? Is it more aggressive? It couldn't be any less in my campaign...they would just sit there. Probably my biggest complaint so far with Rome II.
Quote from: Gusington on September 21, 2013, 01:05:49 PM
How is the offensive AI siege behavior with the 3rd patch? Is it more aggressive? It couldn't be any less in my campaign...they would just sit there. Probably my biggest complaint so far with Rome II.
Not sure yet, but it
did besiege me once, after I took one of it's cities with heavy losses. The AI sieged me for one turn, then assaulted on the next. The huge army & garrison combo I had to fight with that army the previous turn left me with only about 35% of my forces left (was outnumbered about 2.5-to-1 while assaulting, and the melee changes made it even more costly). It stomped me that time.
I've also had a second assault get turned back by such large city defense numbers, and the AI chased my army back to my own city - across the water, even. With it's own full-size army and a supporting navy.
So it has certainly improved to some degree.
Just the fact that it did mount an assault is huge! Chasing you across the water is icing on the cake.
On the receiving end of a siege I haven't had anything even close to that happen yet.
Quote from: LongBlade on September 21, 2013, 12:30:11 AM
Quote from: challerain on September 20, 2013, 07:53:29 PM
Does the game play well this way? I haven't really ever played any TW game because of the real time battles. Does playing the turn-based campaign with auto resolved battles work well?
That doesn't precisely answer your question, and for that I apologize.
Thanks Longblade....that was good info and much appreciated.
Quote from: challerain on September 21, 2013, 01:53:42 PM
Thanks Longblade....that was good info and much appreciated.
Thank God.
I was pretty drunk when I wrote it.
just played the last part of the prologue - the siege on Bovanium, siege engines at the ready................... ready.................. and 1800 screaming Gauls come out of the forest behind me, 6 lots of cavalry ride around my flank, as i turn to face them the defenders of Bovanium come out of the mist and attack from the rear, carnage - won a phyrric victory, everyones dead - General died - didnt know that would force a restart - great battle
loved it
Honestly I dumped the tutorial game after I got the basics down. Much more fun playing on my own.
Here's my empire at 100 BC
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2013-09-21_00001_zps2f970621.jpg&hash=e7e901387b9d129e200ed406359c7f24f68e4d1b)
Quote from: LongBlade on September 21, 2013, 03:47:04 PM
Honestly I dumped the tutorial game after I got the basics down. Much more fun playing on my own.
Its an OCD thing - but im almost done
done - its Carthage time!
^Playing as them or against?
Quote from: LongBlade on September 21, 2013, 03:47:04 PM
Honestly I dumped the tutorial game after I got the basics down. Much more fun playing on my own.
Here's my empire at 100 BC
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2013-09-21_00001_zps2f970621.jpg&hash=e7e901387b9d129e200ed406359c7f24f68e4d1b)
Nice little empire.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 21, 2013, 07:00:03 PM
done - its Carthage time!
My first start as Carthage, after Patch 1 or thereabouts, started off fairly mild.
I fired up a new Carthage game with Beta-3 and started getting everyone and their dog declaring war on me after about 10 turns. :o I was okay after the first three, but then Rome DOW'd me. Luckily they were already at war with some of the Cisalpine Gaulic factions so they were already quite busy. Makes me wonder if the Rome DOW against Carthage has been hard-coded since that DOW wasn't a very smart one considering their armies looked rather beat up in their current wars. I could've easily taken one of their cities right off the bat had I not been already concentrating on a different faction.
Anyway.. you may be in for a lot of warfare from the start if you play as Carthage. Especially if you try to keep your alliances in North Africa because those will be DOW'd regularly.
^Have you won a campaign yet?
Playing as gus
For those in the know - is a hammer above a province for an active build menu or does something need fixing?
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 22, 2013, 06:43:30 AM
Playing as gus
For those in the know - is a hammer above a province for an active build menu or does something need fixing?
It means that you province has a new building slot open or one that needs to be filled.
Quote from: Gusington on September 21, 2013, 10:37:29 PM
^Have you won a campaign yet?
I've had to restart every time I updated, to make sure everything's working as it should.
I made it furthest as Pontus, owning a 2-3 region deep area all the way around the Black Sea, and having just taken all of Dacia. That game was a cakewalk and there was no sign of my expansion slowing. However, that was before Patch 3, so maybe it's a bit more difficult now.
Quote from: Bison on September 21, 2013, 10:18:45 PM
Nice little empire.
Thanks.
The AI is giving me the Italia province a little bit of a time. The Romans have completely neglected it. Every 20 or 30 turns it seems like one of their cities goes into revolt and rebels take over.
When that happens I politely walk over and quell the rebellion, taking the city as mine in the process. I'm about to bag Rome in this manner.
The great thing about it is that the Romans love me and I don't need to go to war with them! :)
Quote from: LongBlade on September 22, 2013, 09:27:49 AM
The great thing about it is that the Romans love me and I don't need to go to war with them! :)
Well that's not historical at all and I demand that the re-write all AI coding!
Quote from: Bison on September 22, 2013, 09:42:21 AM
Quote from: LongBlade on September 22, 2013, 09:27:49 AM
The great thing about it is that the Romans love me and I don't need to go to war with them! :)
Well that's not historical at all and I demand that the re-write all AI coding!
In my game Spock has a beard.
Quote from: LongBlade on September 22, 2013, 09:45:00 AM
Quote from: Bison on September 22, 2013, 09:42:21 AM
Quote from: LongBlade on September 22, 2013, 09:27:49 AM
The great thing about it is that the Romans love me and I don't need to go to war with them! :)
Well that's not historical at all and I demand that the re-write all AI coding!
In my game Spock has a beard.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please tell me Kirk is still a heterosexual in your game.
Quote from: Bison on September 22, 2013, 09:48:08 AM
In my game Spock has a beard.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please tell me Kirk is still a heterosexual in your game.
[/quote]
No lady is safe from the wily and powerful Captain Kirk!
Quote from: LongBlade on September 22, 2013, 09:45:00 AM
Quote from: Bison on September 22, 2013, 09:42:21 AM
Quote from: LongBlade on September 22, 2013, 09:27:49 AM
The great thing about it is that the Romans love me and I don't need to go to war with them! :)
Well that's not historical at all and I demand that the re-write all AI coding!
In my game Spock has a beard.
I loved that Spock...although evil Kirks black eye shadow was a little too "David Bowie"
Kirk was gay in my game, but he led Carthage. And Carthage was eliminated from the universe before 200BC. All kinds of a-historical. So I will now flip my desk and set it on fire in nerdgastic rage.
Quote from: LongBlade on September 22, 2013, 10:30:41 AM
No lady is safe from the wily and powerful Captain Kirk!
Well at least not everything has been flipped on it's head. Thankfully.
Quote from: Gusington on September 22, 2013, 11:04:27 AM
Kirk was gay in my game, but he led Carthage. And Carthage was eliminated from the universe before 200BC. All kinds of a-historical. So I will now flip my desk and set it on fire in nerdgastic rage.
Haha!
Quote from: Gusington on September 22, 2013, 11:04:27 AM
Kirk was gay in my game, but he led Carthage. And Carthage was eliminated from the universe before 200BC. All kinds of a-historical. So I will now flip my desk and set it on fire in nerdgastic rage.
Were you playing Carthage?
Quote from: LongBlade on September 22, 2013, 10:30:41 AM
No lady is safe from the wily and powerful Captain Kirk!
No lady is safe from the powerful Captain Kirk's 'Willy'!
Looks like there was just some tiny update for Beta 3 patch. Maybe crash fixes..?
No I was fighting against Carthage and her allies. Now they are all gone through little action of my own.
Quote from: Gusington on September 22, 2013, 03:27:10 PM
No I was fighting against Carthage and her allies. Now they are all gone through little action of my own.
I hope the runaway rebellion issues aren't still there, later in the game. :-[
Is that third patch due to be out of beta this week? If the game continues on its upward trajectory as far as general quality, then my planned Iceni campaign should be very different than my current Roman one. I am generally excited to play different factions here, as opposed to Shogun 2...even if Shogun 2 was better out of the box at launch.
I have to admit...I consistently get ASS KICKED. In naval battles. Big even close. If I use assault biremes, I get chewed up with javelins. If I switch to javelins, my ships get rammed by big assault ships. I thing the AI is really good at naval battles
^Dude your phone's spell check is harshing my mellow :)
I have only played maybe three naval battles with very simple early ships so...not in love with the naval part yet.
iPhone+fat fingers+2 screaming kids =poor editing
I empathize. Just squeezed in a 45 minute session and my economy is clicking now. I need to decide where to point my armies next though...Greece, Germany, Gaul or re-try colonizing Corsica and Sardinia...which would mean going to war with a newly imperial Athens.
I'm not sure how helpful this may be, but I've created a brief summary of my Rome II experiences to date and placed them in an article I call a "strat chat."
LMK what you guys think. http://grogheads.com/?p=2618
Quote from: mikeck on September 22, 2013, 05:22:19 PM
I have to admit...I consistently get ASS KICKED. In naval battles. Big even close. If I use assault biremes, I get chewed up with javelins. If I switch to javelins, my ships get rammed by big assault ships. I thing the AI is really good at naval battles
I still have some issues with getting my ships to Board instead of Ram. The button and cursor icon seem to be working properly now, unlike the release version, but I'm still seeing some of my ships just sit there and do nothing after giving them a Board order. I even had one recently row backwards quite a ways and had to stop it myself. ???
I'm pretty sure the naval battles still aren't finished. I generally just auto-resolve them because the order system and ship AI is still wonky.
Brilliant article LB. I really look forward to hearing more. You seem to have a decent handle on the game and I particularly liked the 'Destroy to Create' section.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 23, 2013, 11:26:43 AM
Quote from: mikeck on September 22, 2013, 05:22:19 PM
I have to admit...I consistently get ASS KICKED. In naval battles. Big even close. If I use assault biremes, I get chewed up with javelins. If I switch to javelins, my ships get rammed by big assault ships. I thing the AI is really good at naval battles
I still have some issues with getting my ships to Board instead of Ram. The button and cursor icon seem to be working properly now, unlike the release version, but I'm still seeing some of my ships just sit there and do nothing after giving them a Board order. I even had one recently row backwards quite a ways and had to stop it myself. ???
I'm pretty sure the naval battles still aren't finished. I generally just auto-resolve them because the order system and ship AI is still wonky.
Mine seems to work ok. My last battle though, as I peppered the enemy ships with javelins, they rammed me full speed and sunk most of my ships. I have big had as much luck ramming theirs and once I begin boarding, my guys get killed by tons of enemy javelins
just nuke 'me from orbit
Quote from: W8taminute on September 23, 2013, 12:09:57 PM
Brilliant article LB. I really look forward to hearing more. You seem to have a decent handle on the game and I particularly liked the 'Destroy to Create' section.
Glad you found it helpful.
Destroying buildings was something that I hadn't though of for many, many turns. Somewhere along the way I realized that some of those industries were dragging down my public order and if I ever wanted to hold those areas without an occupation, I needed to get rid of stuff that was holding me back. From there it got quite easy to identify when and where I needed to do a home makeover.
In areas that have 100 public order and +20 bonus to order - then I take down a temple and put in whatever I think I can use. There's a balance to it, but so long as I keep order up and food available, the rest of the game is fairly simple.
LOL!
You guys never trashed the buildings that gave negative Public Order, after capping new cities?? No wonder you were having problems!
I also usually clear the barracks out.
Just be sure that you don't clear a space out and then leave it sitting open. You'll eventually get a random 'Slums' event and you'll have to spend money tearing them down to be able to build something. Same goes for when your population grows and you can unlock another space.. don't do it until you can afford to start building something there that same turn.
My first favorite go-to building in regular regions is usually the Temple, and then quickly upgrading it to the one that provides the most Public Order for that faction (usually +4 PO for the first upgrade and +8 for the second). When the capital of the province gets a little space, I also drop an Market/Inn thing (the yellow one) and upgrade it quickly because some of those provide extra PO too, along with more income. If I keep an army and Ambassador (or whatever the specialist character is called) there for a few turns, I generally don't even have to turn off that province's taxes. The Ambassador will help convert culture at a faster pace, and that's usually what provides the most PO penalty after the initial few turns of capture penalty wears off.
When you think about it destroying buildings in newly conquered provinces that don't contribute to order and happiness is realistic. Realistic in the sense that the occupying power must take care of the populations chief concerns for creature comfort under their new master. Later when the province is stable it will become possible to invest in some sort of industry, military or economic.
That's why I was intrigued by that part of the Strategy Discussion on the front page. I gotta get this game and that article pushed me one step towards the 'I can't wait for a sale get it now' phase of my purchasing decision. ;D
Quote from: Nefaro on September 23, 2013, 01:20:40 PM
LOL!
You guys never trashed the buildings that gave negative Public Order, after capping new cities?? No wonder you were having problems!
Can't say I had too many problems, but expansion went faster when I started tearing down blacksmiths.
QuoteJust be sure that you don't clear a space out and then leave it sitting open. You'll eventually get a random 'Slums' event and you'll have to spend money tearing them down to be able to build something. Same goes for when your population grows and you can unlock another space.. don't do it until you can afford to start building something there that same turn.
Interesting note on the slums. I've not seen that.
Weird I have gotten slums with some regularity. Now that I have a handle on how these things work that should happen less.
Quote from: LongBlade on September 23, 2013, 11:13:01 AM
I'm not sure how helpful this may be, but I've created a brief summary of my Rome II experiences to date and placed them in an article I call a "strat chat."
LMK what you guys think. http://grogheads.com/?p=2618
I thought it pretty good. I was playing some R2 earlier this evening, and found the chat relevant.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 23, 2013, 11:26:43 AM
Quote from: mikeck on September 22, 2013, 05:22:19 PM
I have to admit...I consistently get ASS KICKED. In naval battles. Big even close. If I use assault biremes, I get chewed up with javelins. If I switch to javelins, my ships get rammed by big assault ships. I thing the AI is really good at naval battles
I still have some issues with getting my ships to Board instead of Ram. The button and cursor icon seem to be working properly now, unlike the release version, but I'm still seeing some of my ships just sit there and do nothing after giving them a Board order. I even had one recently row backwards quite a ways and had to stop it myself. ???
I'm pretty sure the naval battles still aren't finished. I generally just auto-resolve them because the order system and ship AI is still wonky.
I think they work okay. If you give a ship a ram target and put on ramming speed, they will do some spectacular ramming.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 23, 2013, 06:10:33 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 23, 2013, 11:26:43 AM
Quote from: mikeck on September 22, 2013, 05:22:19 PM
I have to admit...I consistently get ASS KICKED. In naval battles. Big even close. If I use assault biremes, I get chewed up with javelins. If I switch to javelins, my ships get rammed by big assault ships. I thing the AI is really good at naval battles
I still have some issues with getting my ships to Board instead of Ram. The button and cursor icon seem to be working properly now, unlike the release version, but I'm still seeing some of my ships just sit there and do nothing after giving them a Board order. I even had one recently row backwards quite a ways and had to stop it myself. ???
I'm pretty sure the naval battles still aren't finished. I generally just auto-resolve them because the order system and ship AI is still wonky.
I think they work okay. If you give a ship a ram target and put on ramming speed, they will do some spectacular ramming.
The ramming works fine.
It's when you switch them over to Boarding and try to use that order after a ram. It only seems to work if my ship is contacting the other one nose-to-nose. If I just rammed one in the side, and give a Board order, it'll just sit there. Sometimes it'll reverse backwards until I stop it.
I don't think the tactical AI can execute the Board order very well.
I've seen complaints about the construction part of Rome II but now that I have got the hang of it and I'm making money and know how to control public order...I really like it. Moreso than Shogun 2. The construction component feels substantial somehow...I feel like I am controlling an empire moreso in Rome 2 than in perhaps any TW game before. Hard to explain exactly why.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 23, 2013, 06:54:00 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on September 23, 2013, 06:10:33 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 23, 2013, 11:26:43 AM
Quote from: mikeck on September 22, 2013, 05:22:19 PM
I have to admit...I consistently get ASS KICKED. In naval battles. Big even close. If I use assault biremes, I get chewed up with javelins. If I switch to javelins, my ships get rammed by big assault ships. I thing the AI is really good at naval battles
I still have some issues with getting my ships to Board instead of Ram. The button and cursor icon seem to be working properly now, unlike the release version, but I'm still seeing some of my ships just sit there and do nothing after giving them a Board order. I even had one recently row backwards quite a ways and had to stop it myself. ???
I'm pretty sure the naval battles still aren't finished. I generally just auto-resolve them because the order system and ship AI is still wonky.
I think they work okay. If you give a ship a ram target and put on ramming speed, they will do some spectacular ramming.
The ramming works fine.
It's when you switch them over to Boarding and try to use that order after a ram. It only seems to work if my ship is contacting the other one nose-to-nose. If I just rammed one in the side, and give a Board order, it'll just sit there. Sometimes it'll reverse backwards until I stop it.
I don't think the tactical AI can execute the Board order very well.
I hadn't noticed this. It may work differently with different types of ships. For example the firepot ship executes the firepot attack with a ramming order (or so it seems to me). And sometimes I think the ram gets disabled after a successful ram or other collision.
From what I've seen, the sea battles are the best sea battles ever done on or off computers anywhere. I find them intuitively satisfying and tactically convincing. My favorite otherwise unimaginable nuance is one that I have mentioned before: missile troops can target enemy boarders on other ships, but everything I have noticed seems to be working extremely well and I haven't even tried complex group orders.
I'm sometimes able to knock out two medium-sized enemy ships with a good, well-handled medium-sized melee ship: the first by ramming and the second by ramming or boarding. A typical battle goes like this:
1) set game on 1/2 speed
2) pull flagship back and give it some medium melee defense escorts
3) set firepots near the center gap and prepare to target them at the larger enemy ships
4) Set artillery ships on either side of the center gap and behind the two melee/ram strike forces
5) Set faster missile ships on the outsides of the formation
Usually I'm attacking two smaller AI fleets (one transport group and one battlefleet or even two battlefleets) so one wing does a holding action while the center and the other wing form a burning mass of wreckage out of the more forward of the AI groups. The AI tends to go after
nearer, weaker targets so the holding wing pulls back and my surviving fast ships go around the central wreckage and engage the slower enemy ships while the artillery and the flagship mop up the faster AI group.
One thing that throws this off is AI artillery and missle fire. That can be hard to counter.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 22, 2013, 09:23:00 AM
Quote from: Gusington on September 21, 2013, 10:37:29 PM
^Have you won a campaign yet?
I've had to restart every time I updated, to make sure everything's working as it should.
I made it furthest as Pontus, owning a 2-3 region deep area all the way around the Black Sea, and having just taken all of Dacia. That game was a cakewalk and there was no sign of my expansion slowing. However, that was before Patch 3, so maybe it's a bit more difficult now.
Parthia seems like a possible Normal winner. Easy Egypt would have won but very tediously; Easy Pontus and Normal Carthage got crushed.
Ah, Parthia. The heavy, armored horse archers can do anything. Actually the Parthian armies I'm fielding are a very mixed bag, BUT I'm able to defeat Median and Persian forces even nearly double my size. Why only last night, the battle assessment had me way down when I faced two armies of Median Pikes with a pure cavalry force. What to do? I was sure no pikes could beat Parthia. I dismounted my Persian Mercenary cavalry (spears at least) and stuck them in a handy central clump of woods backed up by dismounted archers (not skirmishing...they meant business) and the Commander (also in the woods, but still on horseback). My right wing was refused and all of pure, fun-loving horse archers bent on running away as much as possible. The left was a multi-layered composit of archers forward and Median Cavalry far back to strike once the pikes where disrupted by the woods and stuff in the center. The Medians advanced, attacked the defensive center and were gradually chopped up more or less as planned, though I think the woods on their approach march were what really destroyed their chances by stringing them out.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 22, 2013, 09:23:00 AM
Quote from: Gusington on September 21, 2013, 10:37:29 PM
^Have you won a campaign yet?
I've had to restart every time I updated, to make sure everything's working as it should.
I made it furthest as Pontus, owning a 2-3 region deep area all the way around the Black Sea, and having just taken all of Dacia. That game was a cakewalk and there was no sign of my expansion slowing. However, that was before Patch 3, so maybe it's a bit more difficult now.
Oh! Patch3. Yes. Parthia's possible win is a patch three game. At least two good things happened from the Parthinian point of view:
1) Ambushes: result: a flexible defense with small armies is possible: forced march to threatened towns -- the enemy by-passes and you ambush -- I think the problem for the AI is that they have just-big-enough armies to get in trouble and an army all alone -- no matter how big -- is in trouble. I stay on the defensive until the enemy field armies are destroyed and then concentrate everything (forced marches behind a screen of deployed forces) to take something and then disperse again to "defend" (ie lure into ambush). I only defend towns as a ruse -- I never let an army get beseiged and always leave attractive targets for the AI. The AI doesn't cope with the world of Patch3 very well.
2) possibly pure luck, but in my Patch3 the Selucids got clobbered by Pergamon and Cappadocia, thus saving Parthia.
3) possibly pure luck, but in my Patch3 trade trumps all in the mind of the AI. I was at war with Media and they wanted a trade agreement. The assorted Steppe barbarians hate me but I make a ton of money off of trading with them.
I salivate over playing Parthia. I really want to play as Iceni but it will be Parthia after that, unless Persia is made playable through modding or DLC.
A patch for Beta-3 just went out that is supposed to address the campaign map hitching caused when you use the 'zoom to..' buttons.
I think the turn resolution time went back up a bit for Beta-3 but that's okay if it's required for getting the AI to actually do stuff, as it is.
Wait so the 3rd patch is live now or still in beta?
Quote from: Gusington on September 24, 2013, 10:32:35 AM
Wait so the 3rd patch is live now or still in beta?
Still Beta. They've had a couple updates to the Beta, however.
Quote from: Gusington on September 24, 2013, 10:07:41 AM
I salivate over playing Parthia. I really want to play as Iceni but it will be Parthia after that, unless Persia is made playable through modding or DLC.
Parthia has lots of small advantages, but I think I was extremely lucky. I was just playing to see what Patch3 was like so I did simple stuff like dumping that deranged ally to the north, trading a lot and staying out of trouble while building up the armies. Once I got the joys of ambush down and gave up on seriously defending any particular spots, all was well. Knocking out the Baktrians got me a great spot against the impenetrable whatnot of the silk road (Sogdian and Manichean wanna-bees?) and clearing the Elephantine Symbol people on the Arabian sea made that an even bigger safe hinderland and lots of trade and the Elephant Symbol people had armored horse archer-production (maybe it was something else in their elephantine world). It looks like while I was getting a very safe base, the whole Selucid thing got bashed. Parthava, Persia and Media all had other enemies and are now almost gone. Now I'm looking at how to get to the Mediterranean and maybe checking the victory conditions.
Quick question from a guy still sitting on the fence who hasn't seen this addressed anywhere:
Has CA gotten rid of the endgame mechanic (i.e. the Realm Divide in S2) where the whole world turns against you just because you're winning?
Quote from: tgb on September 24, 2013, 03:10:30 PM
Quick question from a guy still sitting on the fence who hasn't seen this addressed anywhere:
Has CA gotten rid of the endgame mechanic (i.e. the Realm Divide in S2) where the whole world turns against you just because you're winning?
There is no Realm Divide that I've seen.
There is, however, separate factions within your own 'nation'. They will regularly attempt to assassinate you, whether you're close to taking over or not.
I suspect this facet of the game needs more work, and wasn't fully fleshed out. I'm not sure if it ever really will be, but it'd be nice if the bastards weren't regularly going all 'Ides of March' on my generals.
I'm really liking the Strategic View feature. At first it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me but in a recent battle in Germania, my Seubi were fighting another German faction in a heavily forested region and thought the trees and snow were beautiful but I couldn't see a damned thing going on. The Strat view helped me to make sense of the whole affair and win a victory. Very nice touch CA.
Quote from: tgb on September 24, 2013, 03:10:30 PM
Quick question from a guy still sitting on the fence who hasn't seen this addressed anywhere:
Has CA gotten rid of the endgame mechanic (i.e. the Realm Divide in S2) where the whole world turns against you just because you're winning?
Not sure.
I'm somewhere around 70 BC. I had one province go up in civil war, which was easily crushed.
As I pushed from Europe down to the Aegean I started running into states with multiple alliances. The "whole world" is not against me, and I did choose when and where to go to war with multiple states. That said, I have the sense that things got more complex. Whether it's the region or the AI reacting against me I'm not sure. I am able to handle it, and have had several offers for peace. Which I have declined. Athens and Macedonia are pains in the butt, but I will crush them utterly. MUAHAHAHAHA!
I don't mind complexity. What ultimately spoiled Shogun 2 for me was the gamey mechanism where allies and vassals turned against you because you hit a certain point on some meter.
Quote from: tgb on September 24, 2013, 03:33:42 PM
I don't mind complexity. What ultimately spoiled Shogun 2 for me was the gamey mechanism where allies and vassals turned against you because you hit a certain point on some meter.
I haven't seen that yet. Will keep you posted.
I did see where one lone nation surrounded by me did seem to think about taking advantage of the fact that I had lots of undefended provinces. It sent a scout over to look at a city, then retreated.
So far I've tolerated it, but this reminds me that I probably should just crush them to prevent an unexpected surprise.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 24, 2013, 03:18:22 PM
I'm really liking the Strategic View feature. At first it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me but in a recent battle in Germania, my Seubi were fighting another German faction in a heavily forested region and thought the trees and snow were beautiful but I couldn't see a damned thing going on. The Strat view helped me to make sense of the whole affair and win a victory. Very nice touch CA.
I think it could use those same army icons on it, for both yours and your enemies' armies, as you can see in your minimap with the armies quicklist open. Ideally for when the political/enemies filter button is on.
Would allow for an easier grand view of where all the armies are.
I do like this addition but I think it needs additional information displayed in some of it's modes. For instance, there is more functionality and info available in the Diplomacy screen than the equivalent view in the Zoom Out mode.
Quote from: LongBlade on September 24, 2013, 03:46:39 PM
So far I've tolerated it, but this reminds me that I probably should just crush them to prevent an unexpected surprise.
The best means to remove opposition is to crush the opposition!
Quote from: Bison on September 24, 2013, 06:27:49 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on September 24, 2013, 03:46:39 PM
So far I've tolerated it, but this reminds me that I probably should just crush them to prevent an unexpected surprise.
The best means to remove opposition is to crush the opposition!
Whilst I agree entirely, I would humbly ask if there's any other kind of surprise :.p
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 24, 2013, 06:55:58 PM
Quote from: Bison on September 24, 2013, 06:27:49 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on September 24, 2013, 03:46:39 PM
So far I've tolerated it, but this reminds me that I probably should just crush them to prevent an unexpected surprise.
The best means to remove opposition is to crush the opposition!
Whilst I agree entirely, I would humbly ask if there's any other kind of surprise :.p
Yes. An another surprise would be an Englishman turning down a spot of tea. 8)
Ah but that too would be one of them fancy unexpected surprises!
I'm thinking an expected surprise is more like an appointment!
Or seeing orange women at a sun tanning salon exposition.
Quote from: Bison on September 24, 2013, 07:15:04 PM
Or seeing orange women at a sun tanning salon exposition.
Goddamit - that's just below the belt that is
That's plain mean!!
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsflchronicle.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F09%2FXHDbB1.gif&hash=cbb59902579d935e2204ebde251c847c6292a22e)
Its the baseball thing isn't it - I'm sorry!!
Snigger
Uh.....
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.tumblr.com%2Ftumblr_lhmdjvvp1Y1qe7ndv.gif%23running%2520away%2520gif&hash=4a4fc9c2c64a1a77b5ec2440c54b103ba5e5a98d)
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..............................
Quote from: Nefaro on September 23, 2013, 11:26:43 AM
Quote from: mikeck on September 22, 2013, 05:22:19 PM
I have to admit...I consistently get ASS KICKED. In naval battles. Big even close. If I use assault biremes, I get chewed up with javelins. If I switch to javelins, my ships get rammed by big assault ships. I thing the AI is really good at naval battles
I still have some issues with getting my ships to Board instead of Ram. The button and cursor icon seem to be working properly now, unlike the release version, but I'm still seeing some of my ships just sit there and do nothing after giving them a Board order. I even had one recently row backwards quite a ways and had to stop it myself. ???
I'm pretty sure the naval battles still aren't finished. I generally just auto-resolve them because the order system and ship AI is still wonky.
I've been watching for problems with the board order. It looks like ships that can intercept on roughly the current course will do their best even if they fall behind their target. On the other hand, ships that have to get around a wreck or something may back up for a time to get a clear path to the target.
One disappointing thing about sea battles is that even if you are very careful to board without ramming, you don't get to capture the ship. I'm not sure why there are no captures (that I have seen). I took a Cyrenian hexereme (or at least was boarding it when the battle ended) for example, but got no captured ships. I always release prisonners due to my Parthian Zoroastrian thing about the freedom and goodness of all mankind. Maybe I have to enslave the prisonners to keep the captured ships?
There was another update to Beta-3 yesterday. The map gfx performance has improved quite a bit!
Dunno if there was much else addressed, but I'm impressed with the progress they've made in this one thus far. Still a ways to go with the AI.
I had one sea battle as Rome with 2 of the catapault ships on my side against the raiding missle ships of the AI and my ships were able to sink the enemy ships with 1 or 2 hits only. Maybe they're a little over-powered. But you better get some.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 26, 2013, 12:06:51 PM
I had one sea battle as Rome with 2 of the catapault ships on my side against the raiding missle ships of the AI and my ships were able to sink the enemy ships with 1 or 2 hits only. Maybe they're a little over-powered. But you better get some.
I've seen the catapults sink those smaller ships with one shot. These days I try to make-do with the mid-range melee ships. They usually have a nice speed (6) and are big enough to take some punishment while ramming well and doing some boarding too. I try to have some smaller, faster ships, but lately I've been handling them in groups of 2 or three backing up a medium melee ship. I used to try to always have some ballistae and catapults, but lately what used to be the artillery group is just the flagship (monster melee) and a standard melee ship or two as a reserve. The cheaper melee/ram fleets seem to do almost as well overall and tactically they are more flexible for joining land battles and dealing with big enemy ships.
Quote from: Labbug on September 18, 2013, 11:25:18 PM
As Rome I have had a Civil War declared. Has anyone had this happen to them and is there a way to prevent this from happening?
Ah! More civil wars. Lucky normal Parthia had a civil war last night. Five big armies of Nobles, with top quality gear (elephants and lots of armor) popped up in the northern reaches of proto-Iran. Luckily I was in the middle of moving forward some re-built armies of armored archers with improved armor up and shifting some reserve armies over to watch for Steppe Barbarians and rebels and I used the block and ambush system to wreck four out of five of their armies almost as soon as they emerged and scattered.
One rather third-rate army of mine got beat-up wrecking two armies of Nobles, but I think I got them back to a point where they have some back up if the Nobles go after them for revenge.
If the Civil War had happened one or two turns earlier, things might have been a lot more difficult.
I was in our local Target today and saw Rome II on the shelves. I couldn't resist buying it, even at full price, because it's been ages since I've actually seen a PC game on store shelves that's worth buying.
Oh dear...what have I done?
Installing disk 2 of 3 as we speak...
Welcome to the Hive Wait-a-minute. Resistance is futile. Who you gonna play first?
^Don't know yet. Although all 3 disks are now installed there is the 10 step first time play setup it seems to be going through now.
My Roman galleys got hammered the other night by a selection of Samnite Transports...!!! I thought transports were going to be easy, but was wrong. A couple rammed my ships, and the rest javelinned my assault ships into nothing. I agree that naval combat is more of a challenge.
Quote from: W8taminute on September 26, 2013, 10:02:04 PM
^Don't know yet. Although all 3 disks are now installed there is the 10 step first time play setup it seems to be going through now.
Well.. it's on Steam, so you may have to re-download the whole damn thing too. :P
I highly recommend opting-in on Beta 3, in the game's Properties page. It has made some marked improvements.
yeah, i dont understand what the disks are for - i fell for this with Empire, bought the discs and still had to download thru steam
The discs are to make the less-Steam-savvy consumer feel like they are taking something home for the money. I remember when I bought Shogun II from GamersGate - I waited something like 3 hours for it to download from the GG site, and another 3 to download it from Steam.
It seems like this third patch is taking longer than the first two to become unbeta...
Quote from: Boggit on September 26, 2013, 10:03:40 PM
My Roman galleys got hammered the other night by a selection of Samnite Transports...!!! I thought transports were going to be easy, but was wrong. A couple rammed my ships, and the rest javelinned my assault ships into nothing. I agree that naval combat is more of a challenge.
Transports are tricky, but I think the ships themselves aren't very strong or fast compared to warships. They seem to have one specific trick at least: turning broadside to invite a ram and then mobbing the rammer. I vaguely recall the last time I saw a lot of transports I made sure to sort of ball them up before I set a few on fire and then finished them off by ramming. I apparently have learned to avoid going straight in to ram them. It's possible they were under "row-fast" orders and their morale collapsed once some burning and ramming occurred.
I find naval battles very challenging. I can win land battles even with almost 2-1 odds in favor of the AI, but at sea all bets are off and even when the assessor says its even the AI has a very good chance of doing some serious damage or handing me a close defeat.
The way troop transports are handled in this game is my least favorite aspect of the game.
Actually once the disks (the system actually asks you to load disk 2 of 3 and then 3 of 3 and I heard the disk tray spinning) were installed the only thing downloaded from STEAM was the patch. I didn't have to wait very long at all so I'm not understanding the claim that you take home the disks and wait for 100000GB download from STEAM.
Now I definitely recall waiting a long time for Napoleon to install from STEAM even though I purchased the physical copy (from Target :) ) so that was kind of bewildering.
Anyway can't wait to sit down with this game over the weekend. I'll check out that Beta 3 you mentioned as well Nefaro.
Quote from: Gusington on September 27, 2013, 07:57:01 AM
It seems like this third patch is taking longer than the first two to become unbeta...
They've been making improvements to Beta 3. I think there's been two or three additional updates to it. The latest one made a BIG difference to the gfx performance on the campaign map for me.
Quote from: Bison on September 27, 2013, 08:34:23 AM
The way troop transports are handled in this game is my least favorite aspect of the game.
I saw mention of the devs taking a look at making transports less powerful, and upping the actual naval vessels strength.
At this point, there's not much sense in building a navy since you can get dual-use by sending a ground army into the sea.
I was looking through the Total War site last pm and there's a crapload of mods out already including 2 new unit mods by Radious that look splendid. I'm going to wait until the patches are all straight before trying one out though and I hope that at some point Steam will support mods the way they did for Shogun 2.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 27, 2013, 09:12:02 AM
Quote from: Gusington on September 27, 2013, 07:57:01 AM
It seems like this third patch is taking longer than the first two to become unbeta...
They've been making improvements to Beta 3. I think there's been two or three additional updates to it. The latest one made a BIG difference to the gfx performance on the campaign map for me.
Quote from: Bison on September 27, 2013, 08:34:23 AM
The way troop transports are handled in this game is my least favorite aspect of the game.
I saw mention of the devs taking a look at making transports less powerful, and upping the actual naval vessels strength.
At this point, there's not much sense in building a navy since you can get dual-use by sending a ground army into the sea.
I haven't tried this. Usually the land armies have enough to do without getting sent to sea. I was wondering what kind of Ships the Elephants end up with. Probably just a handfull of missile troops per elephant unit. Similarly with cavalry. Not much nautical punch with a cavalry unit I suspect. Often I use Fleets as units to strengthen garrisons in cities that are likely to suffer some attacks but nothing too big.
I've been thinking the other way around: what's the best fleet to drop its troops into a land battle? But maybe there's some other optimum: what's the best land army to use in a sea battle? Lots of archers. A few swordsmen? No elephants.
I bet it's damned hard to get elephants to row together. I wonder if defensively you can deploy your ship-troops inside a city or do they have to be deployed at sea to begin with? I assaulted a city which had ships lining it's docks and so my own ships couldn't land there. Docks and the beach inside the walls I should say. If you can use your empty ships to block access to landing points, that opens up a whole new tactic for them.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 27, 2013, 10:56:39 AM
I bet it's damned hard to get elephants to row together. I wonder if defensively you can deploy your ship-troops inside a city or do they have to be deployed at sea to begin with? I assaulted a city which had ships lining it's docks and so my own ships couldn't land there. Docks and the beach inside the walls I should say. If you can use your empty ships to block access to landing points, that opens up a whole new tactic for them.
I've always had the defending ships start at sea. IIRC, in one battle I had 3 groups of defending ships, and three groups of defenders (that's 2 fleets and the garrison fleet and 2 armies and the garrison) versus the Cyrenians with one big army. Needless to say, I fouled up the defense, got both of my commanders killed and had amazing trouble getting troops off the ships and the cavalry remounted. Fortunately the city-to-be-defended was Alexandria, which is a pretty strong position in the game at least and in the end the Cyrenians went back to Cyrenica and I was left to pick up the pieces in Alexandria.
Naval fleets on land suck. Primarily because they only have approximately half the warm bodies that a single land unit has.
And when land units enter the sea, they turn into naval vessels. No, not the largest types, but they currently still overpower the early naval vessels and their smaller crews.
They're supposedly gonna work on this. At the moment, I just keep the initial naval force we start with for cruising around, uncovering the fog of war. The more neutral nations I find, the more potential future trade offers I'll get.
can you get those troops that come with a ship - off the ship?
few quick questions:-
what are the little mansions i can see on the map in the FOW
i have an agent in Carthage from another dynasty but still, i assume, my agent, but i cant access him, or unleash his presumable many talents - any other faction have a mystery agent on the faction screen?
Just installed patch 3. So far I see the campaign map scrolls much smoother. It wasn't too bad before but it's better
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 27, 2013, 06:36:09 PM
few quick questions:-
what are the little mansions i can see on the map in the FOW
If I understand your question correctly, the little house buildings in FOW represent the cities you haven't "discovered" yet.
Quote from: Bison on September 27, 2013, 08:52:14 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 27, 2013, 06:36:09 PM
few quick questions:-
what are the little mansions i can see on the map in the FOW
If I understand your question correctly, the little house buildings in FOW represent the cities you haven't "discovered" yet.
+1
Just started a campaign as the Averni (I think that is how you spell it.) this evening. Talk about a slow tough slog.
Quote from: Bison on September 27, 2013, 10:50:56 PM
Just started a campaign as the Averni (I think that is how you spell it.) this evening. Talk about a slow tough slog.
Arverni.
:P
Quote from: Nefaro on September 27, 2013, 11:21:38 PM
Quote from: Bison on September 27, 2013, 10:50:56 PM
Just started a campaign as the Averni (I think that is how you spell it.) this evening. Talk about a slow tough slog.
Arverni.
:P
Yeah that's it. I really need to make better progress, because I'm not convinced late tribal armies compare very favorably with Roman late troops.
Fired up my first campaign on normal as Pontus last night after losing phase 1 of the prologue. The only reason for that is because I took too long to get my troops into Capua to help out. Wasting so much time like this frustrated me so unless there are some STEAM achievements to be had I will never touch the prologue again.
Anyway I spent 1.5 hours last night on turn one of my campaign before falling asleep in my computer chair. (It was a late night to be gaming)
There seems to be some learning curve wrt to getting used to the layout. It's taking a while to figure out how to build structures in the cities. With time, I'm sure I'll figure this one out.
I explored every status screen there is and I've never seen such a complex yet easy to follow Total War game before. CA really outdid themselves with the Strategic portion of the game. There is so much to take in!
Diplomacy is straight forward as in all TW games but I prefer the layout in Rome 2 than all other TW games before it.
I like the fact that you can build agents immediately and don't have to wait for them to spawn as in ETW. The immersion factor of this game is great and appropriate for the period. I would say Rome 2 is on par with Shogun 2 in the ambiance and immersion factor.
Need to spend more time with the game but I feel this game is well worth the full price of admission. I don't mind spending 60 units on a blockbuster game like this.
In my Roman campaign, I'm having very good luck with the "Vulture Approach"-- Following who's at war with who and watching the disorder rise in the cities until a revolt breaks out. Sometimes helped a little by my agents and then I swoop in and grab the city from the Rebels. Their much easier to beat than the regular factions and the previous city owners don't seem to mind if I take their former territory. And it doesn't seem to increase hostility levels in diplomacy. Mediterranean world beware. Keep your people happy or my legions will show-up at your doorstep.
Quote from: Bison on September 28, 2013, 12:03:21 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on September 27, 2013, 11:21:38 PM
Quote from: Bison on September 27, 2013, 10:50:56 PM
Just started a campaign as the Averni (I think that is how you spell it.) this evening. Talk about a slow tough slog.
Arverni.
:P
Yeah that's it. I really need to make better progress, because I'm not convinced late tribal armies compare very favorably with Roman late troops.
I suspect it's slower. As I'm conquering kingdoms around the Med I can see all kinds of what appear to be more advanced buildings. I have to build some kind of a higher level shrine to unlock some badass spearmen, for instance, rather than a straight military tech tree. I have to have some kind of horse agriculture to unlock cavalry.
As such I found that unlocking military research was far less important than cultural. I've only now really started upgrading the red tech trees - I've nearly maxed out two of the three blue tech trees.
That said, the kingdoms of the Med are slowly falling before me. However, as I'm taking over North Africa I can see that the desert is causing high attrition to my thick-blooded northern barbarians.
Quote from: W8taminute on September 28, 2013, 07:42:48 AM
Fired up my first campaign on normal as Pontus last night after losing phase 1 of the prologue. The only reason for that is because I took too long to get my troops into Capua to help out. Wasting so much time like this frustrated me so unless there are some STEAM achievements to be had I will never touch the prologue again.
Anyway I spent 1.5 hours last night on turn one of my campaign before falling asleep in my computer chair. (It was a late night to be gaming)
There seems to be some learning curve wrt to getting used to the layout. It's taking a while to figure out how to build structures in the cities. With time, I'm sure I'll figure this one out.
I explored every status screen there is and I've never seen such a complex yet easy to follow Total War game before. CA really outdid themselves with the Strategic portion of the game. There is so much to take in!
Diplomacy is straight forward as in all TW games but I prefer the layout in Rome 2 than all other TW games before it.
I like the fact that you can build agents immediately and don't have to wait for them to spawn as in ETW. The immersion factor of this game is great and appropriate for the period. I would say Rome 2 is on par with Shogun 2 in the ambiance and immersion factor.
Need to spend more time with the game but I feel this game is well worth the full price of admission. I don't mind spending 60 units on a blockbuster game like this.
Now go compare your experience with those on the Rome 2 or TWc forums...or the angry joe review. It's a good game. I don't get all the screaming about how everything sucks. If you haven't, download the beta 3 patch. Helps with AI and performance
Glad you're enjoying it and +1 to mikeck.... I have no idea what they were expecting but it's surpassed my expectations
Played a good 2 hours of my first campaign last night...beyond the realms of the prologue the attachment to your legions of carthage is a great feeling, just knowing these spearmen were veterans of a great battle you had
LB I think your right on the div vs mil trees. Also I think the barbarian tribes really need to maximize in their horse bonuses.
I downloaded the Beta 3 patch straight away before even playing the game and I haven't run into any map scrolling or video performance issues. I have yet to fight my first in campaign battle but I suspect that it will be enjoyable and challenging.
I pretty much agree with you guys, can't seem to understand why everyone over at TWC and angry Joe are so hateful of this beautiful game. Now to go get some more time in! :)
Quote from: W8taminute on September 28, 2013, 02:46:05 PM
I downloaded the Beta 3 patch straight away before even playing the game and I haven't run into any map scrolling or video performance issues. I have yet to fight my first in campaign battle but I suspect that it will be enjoyable and challenging.
Some people have been reporting crashes on entering or exiting tac battles. I've not played enough the last few days to get into a battle to see how well it runs there, but the campaign map performance has been increased by a huge amount in the Beta 3 update. Be happy you missed the crappy performance in the original release.
QuoteI pretty much agree with you guys, can't seem to understand why everyone over at TWC and angry Joe are so hateful of this beautiful game. Now to go get some more time in! :)
Because the game's AI was fatally flawed. Even CA came out and said that it was unfinished and "missing" stuff to make it work properly. I still don't think it's all that great, but if you're using the latest updates then it's a good deal better than the previous versions.
A major complaint I still have is that nearly
all of the battles are siege battles. I've had almost zero open field battles against a comparably-sized enemy army. Hell...
any-sized enemy army in the open. This should happen quite regularly if the sizes are anywhere near. But, no, the AI just holes up in the cities all the time. On some occasions, they may come and initiate a siege battle against you.. but it's still a siege battle. This long series of siege battles makes it dull rather quickly.
If CA can start getting the fights out in the open, then it'll be a lot more fun.
My time with the game is much less than yours but I'm 3 battles deep into a carthage campaign and they've all been in the field so far - 2 interceptions on the way to a seige and an outright open field battle
That and if I'm outnumbered 3 to 1 I'm afraid I'm going to stand behind my big ass walls too and let you die trying to climb in
The early game siege battle are now down right brutal. I haven't even dared to attack a walled city without two armies of 15 to 20 units.
I've got about 10 hours in with beta and had no crashes. My battles are about 50-50 seige v open. I raid the enemy territory and usually and army will come by. Of course, if I was outnumbered 2 to 1 by a professional roman army, I'de hide in the city too.
I mean, if you look at Ceasar's Gallic Wars, many of his battles were sieges of towns as well.
I've got a little over 2 hours of campaign under Beta 3 and have one siege and 3 or 4 field battles. Yes the Ai is not too smart in battle however a series of misfortunate events during the last two field battles have left my 3 city empire financially bankrupt and 2 of my three armies broken.
I hang my head low due to the shamefur dispray of my troops who panicked when my general was heroically killed on the field. Time to start another campaign methinks but I'll give my current one a turn or two more just to see what happens.
My next campaign won't be so short now that I grasp the city and tech management a little better.
Conclusion: The strategic ai seems to be pretty good but the battle ai needs a little work. Not too bad though that it's a game breaker.
Yeah, battle AI in TW has never been great (although it was pretty decent in S2). I'm happy when it doesn't do anything stupid...which it generally doesn't in my Rome 2 experience. Pretty low bar but whatever...you know what you are getting. When I want to have a challenge, I play AJE
Holy moley my Germans need to stay out of the desert. I took ~25% casualties in one turn from attrition in the desert. To take a well-defended town I may need three or four full-sized armies. Two is nowhere near enough with that kind of attrition.
I haven't pushed into the desert yet. Just now took my first city in Spain. It'll be many turns before I get to Africa, but I'm going to make sure I max out my attrition and siege techs first.
Played a little more. I can feel the momentum really starting to turn in my favor and am now just waiting for my max number of armies to increase. The one thing that really slows down the Arverni is the requirement for razed/pillaged cities. I just occupied the city as Rome. I saw no benefit to do any other action. The need to raze/pillage just really slows down expansion because it forces you to leave an army to occupy the city. Otherwise the unhappiness is just too much and you'll end up spending time and armies hunting down rebels.
Quote from: Bison on September 29, 2013, 12:27:32 AM
Played a little more. I can feel the momentum really starting to turn in my favor and am now just waiting for my max number of armies to increase. The one thing that really slows down the Arverni is the requirement for razed/pillaged cities. I just occupied the city as Rome. I saw no benefit to do any other action. The need to raze/pillage just really slows down expansion because it forces you to leave an army to occupy the city. Otherwise the unhappiness is just too much and you'll end up spending time and armies hunting down rebels.
As the Suebi I only razed a town in extreme circumstances. Mostly I occupied and adjusted them. Early on this meant occupying them for a longer period of time, but that goes away as you hold a province. I think you only need to hold one town in a province to gain the occupation bonus. That makes it easier to expand.
Do the Suebi have a military victory condition tied to raze/pillage? The Arverni have to have like 60 or something like that for military victory. So I've been occupying walled cities and razing/pillaging the non-walled cities.
Quote from: Bison on September 29, 2013, 12:39:07 AM
Do the Suebi have a military victory condition tied to raze/pillage? The Arverni have to have like 60 or something like that for military victory. So I've been occupying walled cities and razing/pillaging the non-walled cities.
I have paid zero attention to victory conditions. I just want to pwn the map.
We do get some bonuses for looting and raiding, but I'm not focused on that. So far it looks like the Macedons are the last big power against me. Based in north africa I am going to have my work cut out for me.
Interestingly, I'm at war with about half a dozen factions. However, this is largely by choice. The AI was really good in setting up a few military alliances 50+ turns ago. Then they started springing attacks on my allies and asking if I would support them. Before I know it, I'm at war with a bunch of countries that I don't have direct contact with.
At a strategic level I have three fronts going on, and I recognize the potential hazard of Germanic tribes fighting on three fronts. I'm pushing into the Iberian peninsula, trying to figure out how to manage north africa, and chipping away the mess of peoples just south of Turkey.
Carthage has already fallen in my latest campaign. I hadn't even uncovered the fog of war in their region yet. Carthage has been knocked out early in every game I've played so far. Sort of sad to see one of the two big empires knocked out within the first 20 turns or so of a campaign.
Last night after thinking all was lost with my very first campaign as Pontus things turned around. I consolidated my two battered armies into one keeping the second army with only one unit plus the general. He acted as bait while the larger army trailed him. Managed to sucker the ai into attacking my 2 unit army while my 12 unit army came in as reinforcements. I have averted disaster and now that my occupied town has stabilized and is at 60 loyalty I am making a profit again albeit a small one.
Then Crimea declared war on me and sent two fleets across the depths of the Black Sea. When my single fleet met them I noticed that they (the Crimeans) had suffered attrition but I was hopelessly outnumbered. Fortunately the next turn the Crimeans sent one of their fleets east to the Bosporus while the other continued on to Sinope, one of my cities. I intercepted that fleet and destroyed it.
Dignitaries play a big role in getting occupied towns loyalty back online especially if they have at least +1 authority. This single dignitary and the small garrison army I left really went a long way towards calming the occupied populace. Man I love this game! It's actually quite logical.
W8 regarding your post a few pages back, I really didn't begin to 'get' the economics of the game until about 25 turns in. But I got a great feeling of satisfaction from my momentum growing and my coffers filling. Now my Romans are the biggest kids on the block in central Europe and are getting ready to reassert themselves in the Med against imperial Athens. The year is about 165 BC IIRC.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 27, 2013, 02:28:29 PM
Naval fleets on land suck. Primarily because they only have approximately half the warm bodies that a single land unit has.
And when land units enter the sea, they turn into naval vessels. No, not the largest types, but they currently still overpower the early naval vessels and their smaller crews.
They're supposedly gonna work on this. At the moment, I just keep the initial naval force we start with for cruising around, uncovering the fog of war. The more neutral nations I find, the more potential future trade offers I'll get.
I ran an experimental Parthia branch off of my regular, lucky normal Parthia campaign. Experimental Parthia (X-Parthia) tried using land armies as fleets and fleets as land armies as much as possible. At a point in the game where even third-rate powers like Sparta, Athens and Pontus have some kind of fleets X-Parthia had heavy losses, though it was instructive. X-Parthia expanded slightly faster for a time, but then ended up having a lot of fleets and armies in repair. More unfinished forces ended up being thrown in and X-Parthia's campaign to control the Black Sea ended up throwing the Imperium off balance. I went back to Regular Parthia and had somewhat less trouble taking the area in the long run.
While in the early game transports may work okay as naval units, by say 170 BC, even the best armies take heavy loses as fleets and fleets do incredibly bad jobs of storming towns. Transports are definitely more fragile than warships of about the same size, plus they don't have rapid rowing as a option and things seem to go very wrong with ramming and boarding (I suspect they are wrecking themselves with ramming and collisions, though there also seems to be a boarding-gone-wrong event -- possibly a collision that wrecks the boat that is hard to see?). Fleets versus land units: the artillery is not effective and things go wrong during debarking -- some kind of morale problem when hit while debarking? Plus of course, there just are not all that many troops in your average fleet.
I meant to ask this the other night but forgot until now. The recommended specs for running this game call for among others a graphic card with 1GB of memory. I have that covered yet I still see a message during game load that says something like 'You're running out of graphics memory. This session will be downgraded. You can over ride this by selecting use system memory.'
Has anyone seen this message and used the 'use system memory' feature? I'm thinking of trying it to see if it improves graphics and performance but wanted to check in here first before doing so.
Quote from: mikeck on September 28, 2013, 11:17:48 AM
[Now go compare your experience with those on the Rome 2 or TWc forums...or the angry joe review. It's a good game. I don't get all the screaming about how everything sucks. If you haven't, download the beta 3 patch. Helps with AI and performance
Yep. This was one game where the negative stuff everybody was saying didn't really have much to do with how the game really worked.
I'd say two basic things caused some negative stuff: the actual, functional complexity and the actual, functional visual world. The invisible problem was that the game mostly worked so well that its functioning didn't strike the non-analytically-minded as functioning at all. So most of the game was effectively invisible and there were nothing but problems to see (because the non-problems were either too complex or too "natural" to nudge their way into analysis).
For example -- naval battles -- these are actually the best naval battle simulations ever presented anywhere in any medium. They were not noted at all in any early negative verbiage that I saw.
Yeah W8 I got that message, have a 1 gb card and use that override option. Haven't had any issues. The weird thing is that I didn't get that message until one of the patches was applied.
^Thanks Gus, I'll give it a whirl tonight then. I recently bought a 16GB flash drive which I'm using as extra memory via the Vista/Win7/Win8 Performance Boost app. Let's see how this will come into play upon running the game.
Quote from: Bison on September 29, 2013, 01:44:15 PM
Carthage has already fallen in my latest campaign. I hadn't even uncovered the fog of war in their region yet. Carthage has been knocked out early in every game I've played so far. Sort of sad to see one of the two big empires knocked out within the first 20 turns or so of a campaign.
They start off with some smaller weak allies who get DOW'd by their neighbors. When they join these wars to help defend their allies, their list of enemies just keeps stacking up for awhile at the start of the game.
The other faction that usually gets wiped even more quickly is Epirus. Most of their neighboring Greek states all have some kind of alliance and Epirus has a Diplo penalty with all of them. It also starts in a war with Athens and the rest (Sparta and Macedon) will see this as a weakness and quickly declare war. Gang bang. Epirus is usually the one of the first to disappear, in my games.
Quote from: W8taminute on September 30, 2013, 09:43:29 AM
I meant to ask this the other night but forgot until now. The recommended specs for running this game call for among others a graphic card with 1GB of memory. I have that covered yet I still see a message during game load that says something like 'You're running out of graphics memory. This session will be downgraded. You can over ride this by selecting use system memory.'
Has anyone seen this message and used the 'use system memory' feature? I'm thinking of trying it to see if it improves graphics and performance but wanted to check in here first before doing so.
Yes, I have seen that. Use the unlimited memory. I do and it's fine. If it gets choppy, just pause and turn down shadows or unit detail
Quote from: mikeck on September 30, 2013, 07:45:32 PM
Quote from: W8taminute on September 30, 2013, 09:43:29 AM
I meant to ask this the other night but forgot until now. The recommended specs for running this game call for among others a graphic card with 1GB of memory. I have that covered yet I still see a message during game load that says something like 'You're running out of graphics memory. This session will be downgraded. You can over ride this by selecting use system memory.'
Has anyone seen this message and used the 'use system memory' feature? I'm thinking of trying it to see if it improves graphics and performance but wanted to check in here first before doing so.
Yes, I have seen that. Use the unlimited memory. I do and it's fine. If it gets choppy, just pause and turn down shadows or unit detail
Thanks. It looks like you can manually set this with the Advanced graphics options. There's a check box to the right of the advanced options that says "Use Unlimited Memory." I think that's it.
I'm going to try this. I've been messing around with Fraps to see how I might do at some video capture. So far when I run it, Fraps says I'm getting as low as 1 FPS, then it crashes and closes. Hopefully this will work better and I can run it for longer than 20 seconds.
Earlier CA warned us to not use that option until a last resort because it has a detrimental effect on performance? *confused*
I've been using it for a week with no issues.
Quote from: Yskonyn on October 01, 2013, 02:23:20 AM
Earlier CA warned us to not use that option until a last resort because it has a detrimental effect on performance? *confused*
Funny you say that. The images looked like they were rendering somewhat slowly, but the framerate was around 25 per second.
Next thing for me to do is to compare framerates with Fraps going, too, to see how closely they agree. Although I don't really know why I should be troubleshooting their game at this point.
Patch 3 is now available to everyone. 80 MB. And I can confirm that the Suebi victory conditions require the looting or razing of 50 settlements. That doesn't seem entirely fair. What if you want to be Sensitive Suebi?
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 01, 2013, 09:28:05 AM
Patch 3 is now available to everyone. 80 MB. And I can confirm that the Suebi victory conditions require the looting or razing of 50 settlements. That doesn't seem entirely fair. What if you want to be Sensitive Suebi?
Yes, they do. Economic domination only requires 30, I think.
I have almost broken my ability to win the game. Having conquered pretty much all of Europe the only territories left are in North Africa and that's a tough slog. So my choices are to suffer stunning attrition levels in the desert, give up, or monkey with the game by allowing my very stable provinces to become unstable, raid them for victory conditions, and then fix them. Neat, huh?
How is the new patch treating everyone?
Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2013, 10:52:14 AM
How is the new patch treating everyone?
I've got a black eye, a hangover that won't quit, and two pairs of women's thongs that I didn't go out with last night.
I'd say it's treating me pretty well.
Those aren't thongs. They're Suebi Slings. ;D
Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2013, 10:52:14 AM
How is the new patch treating everyone?
Seems okay. I don't know what patch I'm in, but they seem to be pushing the game along. Like I said earlier, the Parthians seem to have
benefitted from the patched ambush mechanic and the hysterical trading impulses of the AI. But the plain old battles in the patchy forests are good too!
Why only last night, there I was in the hills above Pergammon (held by the Ardenians) when the Ardenians struck: masses of Illyrian hopalites, endless slave slingers (that is slingers who are slaves). A patchy forest sloped down to their largely concealed host. The God of battles had rated our chances as rather low. We called on our two monotheistic less mathematically inclined gods to save us! There was no lack of enthusiastic theology! Our chances we good! No bunch of Illyrians was going to beat us!
I sent forth the horse archers to delay their onslaught and swept the Median Cavalry fast to the less woodsy flank. We rolled them up and won big. So I'd say the patch is fine.
Quote from: Yskonyn on October 01, 2013, 02:23:20 AM
Earlier CA warned us to not use that option until a last resort because it has a detrimental effect on performance? *confused*
I think we're pretty much forced to use it, otherwise you'll get those messages during the battle loading screen saying it is reducing the graphics quality of the battle. No matter how much RAM and VRAM you have. As if the short hi-res viewable "bubble" around the camera isn't enough. ::)
Their gfx optimizing looks either bugged or like it's attempting to reset your graphics in relation to a poorly optimized gfx engine that doesn't play well with anything. Either way, it lowers them all the time unless you override that feature with the checkbox.
I don't recall seeing anyone mention that it
doesn't lower their gfx settings in the battles, when it's loading. So there is something at issue. I also wonder if the whole campaign map, graphics and all, are still stored in memory while the battles are running.
Hmm...no patch for me...nothing downloaded.
GAH nevermind, I see I have to restart. GIGGITY
Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2013, 07:12:15 PM
Hmm...no patch for me...nothing downloaded.
I'd exit Steam and restart and see if that doesn't cause your game to get updated. I got an 80 mb download at some point today.
Yeah restarted my PC and now it's almost done.
Well the patch nerfed my game...the campaign map stutters and the battles stutter and pause so much as to be almost unplayable. Should I de-select that memory sharing option? Anyone else have issues that weren't there before? Crap this blows.
Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2013, 08:51:20 PM
Well the patch nerfed my game...the campaign map stutters and the battles stutter and pause so much as to be almost unplayable. Should I de-select that memory sharing option? Anyone else have issues that weren't there before? Crap this blows.
Uncheck the option if it's actually giving you fits.
Dunno if that's the problem, but if it's stuttering it could very well be as that's what it'll do if you don't have enough RAM.
Weird thing is the option didn't do anything but help me before Patch 3!
Well it's an easy enough fix, and I hope it works. Had some great field battles tonight that would have been great if not for this stuttering. And my empire is chugging along, becoming an imperium that the game world is taking notice of. And I'm smacking around the Athenians. And I just took Carthage. And...and...etc, etc.
I think I am too emotionally invested in Rome II.
Now i envy you Gus, again. I have held off a bit due to patches and physical constraints. But when you say emotinally invested i just want to start a 100 hour campaign and show the World who is who.
^Go for it...despite the pitchforks and torches brought out for Rome II in the last month by so many, I have really enjoyed myself...tonight's graphics stuttering made it that much more difficult to crash back down to reality.
BTW I just looked and I have 8GB of system memory, but only 1GB of video memory on my single video card. I assuming that 1GB video memory is what counts and its not enough for the Rome II video sharing option.
Don't Think i said it on this forum but the start up speed and low system requirements is Amazing, considering Shogun 2.
I can claim that the game ran fine for me until tonight but I hope to remedy that and have it run like butter once again.
My machine is only two years old however and no slouch.
Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2013, 09:16:20 PM
I can claim that the game ran fine for me until tonight but I hope to remedy that and have it run like butter once again.
My machine is only two years old however and no slouch.
I'm embarrassed to confess that my machine is now 3,5 years old.
Like my local computer store guy said there has'nt been much advance on the CPU / mem side. but you would benefit from a new gfx card.
^That's always the first thing I upgrade, that's decent advice.
OK so I just quickly went into the game and unclicked the unlimited memory sharing option and immediately I was able to scroll around the campaign map again very smoothly which I wasn't able to do an hour ago. I didn't play a battle but I think that was the issue.
So maybe Patch 3 is making the graphics run more like they're supposed to as Nefaro said?
No, i Think the new patch is making you run more as Nef said... :o
Quote from: Gusington on October 01, 2013, 09:12:18 PM
^Go for it...despite the pitchforks and torches brought out for Rome II in the last month by so many, I have really enjoyed myself...tonight's graphics stuttering made it that much more difficult to crash back down to reality.
BTW I just looked and I have 8GB of system memory, but only 1GB of video memory on my single video card. I assuming that 1GB video memory is what counts and its not enough for the Rome II video sharing option.
I would think that 1GB of VRAM enough for the battles in any current TW game, but then again their latest ones aren't very optimized. As I said before, I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the campaign layer is left using up RAM during the battles. That or their battle graphics just plain run like shit. Probably a combination of 'The Runs'. :P
Well at least it appears this can be somewhat remedied by turning off that sharing option.
That said, never had issues like this in Shogun 2.
No, Shogun had much better optimization
As said before; CA says that using the 'Use system memory' option often has a detrimental effect on performance.
I am not sure where this 'you need more than 1 GB VRAM' came from, but it sounds like a pretty weird statement. Sure, for Ultra textures you might, but to run the game decently on slightly lower settings I do not buy that 1GB would not be enough.
Game still runs smooth as silk for me. I have 1.5GB of VRAM.
I bought a new rig back in March - the best I could afford was an i3-3220 with 6Gb RAM. Unfortunately it came with integrated HD 2500 graphics. I'm planning to put in a new graphics card in a week or two after pay day, but in the mean time I installed Rome II for the heck of it.
Now by all accounts, it shouldn't be playable at all, but it runs just fine for me at 1440x900 resolution and medium settings. Granted, the terrain looks ok, but the units look pretty crappy. Not a big deal, since I tend to play the battles zoomed pretty far out. Frame rate is a little slow, but not unbearable so.
Of course, I'm still in the second chapter of the tutorial, so maybe things will change when I get deep into a real game. But by then I should have the new card in and running.
At Patch 1 graphics were fine but the campaign map was slow choppy for me. Patch 2 came along and optimized graphics well, campaign map got smoother, but I got that weird graphic warning message...never got that before Patch 2. So I switched on the memory sharing option which got rid of the warning and everything was hunky dory. Then with Patch 3, with memory sharing on...everything sputtered to a halt, so I turned off the memory sharing and in a quick test it appears that I amback to hunky dory. Optimizing on the fly...
Funny you mention that Gus. I turned on memory sharing just after downloading Patch 3 and noticed a slight decrease in performance. Tonight I'll try turning it back off.
Mine was a huge difference...went from awesome to terrible.
Interesting. Turning on the memory share feature did eliminate that annoying message though. Did you get that message again after turning off memory share?
Quote from: mikeck on October 01, 2013, 10:31:22 PM
No, Shogun had much better optimization
It still wasn't all that good. Better than Rome 2, yes.
In my experience of owning Shogun 2 since it's launch, the gfx performance actually got worse for awhile in subsequent updates. I dunno what kind of nonsense CA was doing to the gfx engine but it was evident that they were trying to shoehorn extra questionable effects in after the fact and making things worse. Hell, one person on these boards couldn't even start the game at one point, due to this, and he wasn't the only one.
I'm sure the CA gfx monkeys were still dicking around with the effects when Rome 2 was released, and the same situation had emerged. New effects for the "new" sake, and poor performance resulting.
Quote from: W8taminute on October 02, 2013, 07:37:30 AM
Funny you mention that Gus. I turned on memory sharing just after downloading Patch 3 and noticed a slight decrease in performance. Tonight I'll try turning it back off.
Perhaps it actually works as it should, now? Compared to always lowering the effects unless you checked the memory thing.
I got the impression that the auto thing wasn't really working at all before the latest updates. Now it is?
I've left my settings alone and get the graphics warning still after patch 3 but have never had a problem but haven't had any huge battles really. I see birds flying all over the sky and one time a herd of deer running along the shoreline on the battle screen and maybe this stuff stresses the resolution somewhat. There's a lot to see on the battlescreen some of which I think they could eliminate that might make things easier on old computers and old eyes as well. I would vote to get rid of that damned annoying "The men are wavering" guy if I could.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 02, 2013, 10:55:33 AM
I've left my settings alone and get the graphics warning still after patch 3 but have never had a problem but haven't had any huge battles really. I see birds flying all over the sky and one time a herd of deer running along the shoreline on the battle screen and maybe this stuff stresses the resolution somewhat. There's a lot to see on the battlescreen some of which I think they could eliminate that might make things easier on old computers and old eyes as well. I would vote to get rid of that damned annoying "The men are wavering" guy if I could.
You should have the option to tell these complaining spectator/advisors to get a spear and go fix the problem. I mean, I have never once even seen who exactly he is talking about. Parthinians don't waver, they just go into extended skirmish mode. Sometimes it looks like most of the Parthinian army is running away. Anyway -- think of the visuals: Mr. Wavering comes up to complain. You punch the get a spear button and he hurries off to be most horribly slain in mere moments if the men really are wavering. The next Mr. Wavering is more circumspect: "Some of the men look a little worried. Maybe it is the elephants."
You: "What? Which is it? Make up your mind: men or elephants? Elephants worried? Aren't they always worried? Is that an Elephant?"
lol, i hate that guy
Mr. Men Are Wavering is this year's Mr. Shamefrul Dispray.
I agree with Nefaro...I don't think the memory sharing option was actually working before Patch 3, and now it is. I only had a chance to test it on the campaign map though, not in battles yet. Hopefully later, and hopefully it will work...got me some vacation time coming :)
Quote from: Gusington on October 02, 2013, 12:51:42 PM
Mr. Men Are Wavering is this year's Mr. Shamefrul Dispray.
I agree with Nefaro...I don't think the memory sharing option was actually working before Patch 3, and now it is. I only had a chance to test it on the campaign map though, not in battles yet. Hopefully later, and hopefully it will work...got me some vacation time coming :)
Play the Suebi for a bit.
For them it's, "For the Awwwl-Father!"
If you click on the little camera thing in the corner of Mr. Wavering's box, it takes you to the wavering unit which you've usually already seen as their flag is blinking. I'd like to stomp the s--t outta that guy with an elephant wearing cleats.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 02, 2013, 01:54:49 PM
If you click on the little camera thing in the corner of Mr. Wavering's box, it takes you to the wavering unit which you've usually already seen as their flag is blinking. I'd like to stomp the s--t outta that guy with an elephant wearing cleats.
Wow! As usual I've been too busy getting cinematic on the battlefields to notice anything useful about Mr. Wavering. I was kind of appreciative once when I tried ramming with a transport head-on versus a real naval quadrareme. The ships looked the same size but my transport disintegrated instantly. "An entire UNIT as been destroyed!" he said incredulously. For once I had to agree with him.
So once every 3000 utterances he is right on target. But I will have to pay more attention if he has some actual information there on his box in the sky.
So with this patch, no issue continuing campaigns? I've been playing in offline mode, since it's on my son's ID, but I'll log in and path if it's a good thing!
I just looked again. It's not a camera-thing. It's a Looking-Glass-Thing instead. And you can turn the advice off by clicking on the Gears-Thing.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 02, 2013, 02:58:51 PM
I just looked again. It's not a camera-thing. It's a Looking-Glass-Thing instead. And you can turn the advice off by clicking on the Gears-Thing.
You have to do it at the start of every battle. It does not stay off, last I checked. >:(
I recall a similarly annoying Japanese general in Shogun 2, who repeatedly uttered a very specific phrase. No, it wasn't the "Shamefur Dispray!" one, but something he used FAR more in the early versions of the game. It was so bad, in some cases I would hear the exact same sound playing through three channels at once! I believe they eventually patched that. Makes me wonder if it's the exact same "wavering" phrase (I think it was) between the two.
^I beg you to really concentrate and try to remember the phrase.
I actually got "This is a shameful display" instead of wavering a couple of times. I'm guess that's a deliberate callback.
Has to be.
So I played through 3-4 battles as the Romans against the Athenians last night and almost all of the sputtering is gone with the memory sharing option off. But now I get the low video graphics warning.
Should I turn down my textures a notch to eliminate the pre-battle warning?
Might very well work! Only one way to find out!
Do you feel lucky? Make my day, punk!
I'll have to try later. Patching should simplify these optimizations, not make them more complex...after Patch 2 my game was like buttah. After Patch 3...issues :/
Wow 99 pages. Is this the longest thread in Grogs history? I seem to note since the patches that AI armies don't use their skirmishers especially slingers as much. Instead it seems to have gone back to the old come-strait-at-you tactic even when outnumbered.
That would be classic CA. One patches fixes A....next patch fixes B but screws up A.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 03, 2013, 08:32:54 AM
Wow 99 pages. Is this the longest thread in Grogs history? I seem to note since the patches that AI armies don't use their skirmishers especially slingers as much. Instead it seems to have gone back to the old come-strait-at-you tactic even when outnumbered.
Anything's better than having it's army sit still while I annihilate & break it with my slingers alone. That was terrible.
Without going back and reading 100 pages of the thread, can someone please explain the political game to me? Not how it works - I get that promoting family members and hindering rivals increases influence in the senate or the tribe, but so what? What does having more influence actually do?
It's directly linked to the eruption of civil war later in the game.
Quote from: tgb on October 03, 2013, 10:27:18 AM
Without going back and reading 100 pages of the thread, can someone please explain the political game to me? Not how it works - I get that promoting family members and hindering rivals increases influence in the senate or the tribe, but so what? What does having more influence actually do?
I'm not really sure, myself. Doesn't seem to do anything when you have more Influence. Perhaps if your family's Influence reaches 100%, you take over and become 'Emperor' or something? Although for some factions, you're already the supreme ruler. ???
Thus far I've seen no real benefit to raising your Influence. Much the opposite, due to possible coup attempts if yours gets too high.
Maybe it's just another unfinished feature.
When playing Rome it affects the civil war later.
Quote from: Nefaro on October 03, 2013, 10:24:41 AM
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 03, 2013, 08:32:54 AM
Wow 99 pages. Is this the longest thread in Grogs history? I seem to note since the patches that AI armies don't use their skirmishers especially slingers as much. Instead it seems to have gone back to the old come-strait-at-you tactic even when outnumbered.
Anything's better than having it's army sit still while I annihilate & break it with my slingers alone. That was terrible.
I haven't seen anything like that, but apparently my playing style is different. I've seen lots of different kinds of things and I think there is more variation in the game and more going on under the hood than is obvious at any one point. For example, last night a Roman transport (yes I'm Roman now) rammed an Etruscan ballista ship head on and obliterated it. Clearly either Roman transports are made of better stuff or the ballista ship already had some hull damage (which it could not repair in hostile waters) or both.
Quote from: Gusington on October 03, 2013, 10:32:59 AM
When playing Rome it affects the civil war later.
And f you're not playing Rome?
Quote from: tgb on October 03, 2013, 12:05:17 PM
Quote from: Gusington on October 03, 2013, 10:32:59 AM
When playing Rome it affects the civil war later.
And f you're not playing Rome?
Seems to be the same. I had civil wars as Egypt and Parthia as noble factions tried to curb the power of the ruling group.
So performance issues aside, what's the verdict on Patch 3 so far? I've had my finger over the "Play" button for the last couple days now...
Quote from: MengJiao on October 03, 2013, 10:34:03 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on October 03, 2013, 10:24:41 AM
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 03, 2013, 08:32:54 AM
Wow 99 pages. Is this the longest thread in Grogs history? I seem to note since the patches that AI armies don't use their skirmishers especially slingers as much. Instead it seems to have gone back to the old come-strait-at-you tactic even when outnumbered.
Anything's better than having it's army sit still while I annihilate & break it with my slingers alone. That was terrible.
I haven't seen anything like that, but apparently my playing style is different. I've seen lots of different kinds of things and I think there is more variation in the game and more going on under the hood than is obvious at any one point. For example, last night a Roman transport (yes I'm Roman now) rammed an Etruscan ballista ship head on and obliterated it. Clearly either Roman transports are made of better stuff or the ballista ship already had some hull damage (which it could not repair in hostile waters) or both.
Perhaps so. I often take a more historical approach with my ranged skirmishers in a line in front of the rest of my army. I then move up & let them fire for awhile if the other side doesn't massively outnumber me in such skirmishers. I've had numerous battles where they just sit still, despite my skirmisher superiority, and I end up breaking their whole army with my skirmisher fire alone.
I've even had two battles where the casualties were 650-to-0 and 750-to-20 (rounded off), without any melee forces ever becoming engaged. All from moving my long-ranged slingers up into range and firing away. Part of the problem is that slingers and archers are probably too deadly but the AI just doesn't do anything so it just makes the situation worse. I take that back. I've
seen it do something regarding taking so many ranged casualties.. it rotates fresh units up to take the place of the wounded ones, to stand under the fire once again. So it makes the situation worse, in this case.
Since nearly all of my battles are in a town or walled city, the AI gets some false sense of security just standing about, when it shouldn't. Yes, I've even attacked town at equal or worse odds and it does the same. The rare few field battles I've had, they will eventually get their butts moving forward at you.
For me Patch 2 really optimized everything graphically very well, the Patch 3 came along and poo pooed in my graphics cocoa puffs. But with some tweaking Patch 3's weirdness can be overcome.
I've decided to keep my 'Use system memory' setting on and continue to monitor graphical performance under patch 3.
I've got a general question for you all: Does hitting the Insert key during battle while a unit is selected allow you to do anything else other than watch the battle from a first person view? Can you indeed control the unit from this view and turn the tide of battle?
I've never done that. Is it well done?
^It's actually kind of cool. You feel like you're standing in the middle of a mob of sword armed soldiers viewing the carnage first hand. But I read somewhere that you can actually influence the unit selected in this view and was wondering if anyone has done it. I need to double check menu/options/controls/in battle controls again to see if any commands are mapped to the keyboard during this view.
Quote from: W8taminute on October 04, 2013, 10:35:27 AM
^It's actually kind of cool. You feel like you're standing in the middle of a mob of sword armed soldiers viewing the carnage first hand. But I read somewhere that you can actually influence the unit selected in this view and was wondering if anyone has done it. I need to double check menu/options/controls/in battle controls again to see if any commands are mapped to the keyboard during this view.
I did it accidentally. In the lower left corner it says something like "press spacebar to assume control". I assumed it meant the camera, so I did and started panning with the mouse. Next thing I knew I had ordered my army all over the place.
Quote from: W8taminute on October 04, 2013, 10:35:27 AM
^It's actually kind of cool. You feel like you're standing in the middle of a mob of sword armed soldiers viewing the carnage first hand. But I read somewhere that you can actually influence the unit selected in this view and was wondering if anyone has done it. I need to double check menu/options/controls/in battle controls again to see if any commands are mapped to the keyboard during this view.
Yep, you hit the space bar as directed and you can direct the unit via the usual "Where are you in the future?" yellow broken circle cursor thing. I usually pick a unit that is in a nice charge situation, put them on full charge and then jump in to watch the Celtic Slingers pop up in the air as the Socii Extraordinarii crash into them. I still haven't check to see who is wavering since -- yes -- I'm too busy getting cinematic with the Socii Extraordinarii.
There was a 1st person control option in Fall of the Samurai too wasn't there? I never remember to use it. Still haven't used the cinematic view either...I would probably love both if I could only remember :/
Quote from: Gusington on October 04, 2013, 10:57:16 AM
There was a 1st person control option in Fall of the Samurai too wasn't there? I never remember to use it. Still haven't used the cinematic view either...I would probably love both if I could only remember :/
Yep. It was especially effective on torpedo boats.
I always wanted to use it while controlling a Gatling gun...have to remember next time. Does using the first person feature tax system resources at all?
I used to use it in FOTS to aim the cannons where I wanted them to hit and watch the shell travel at the terrified faces of the poor enemy slobs. But you can lose a battle easily while watching all the fun.
Quote from: Martok on October 03, 2013, 03:47:52 PM
So performance issues aside, what's the verdict on Patch 3 so far? I've had my finger over the "Play" button for the last couple days now...
Bump.
Anyone?
Snip from previous page:
For me Patch 2 really optimized everything graphically very well, the Patch 3 came along and poo pooed in my graphics cocoa puffs. But with some tweaking Patch 3's weirdness can be overcome.
Quote from: Martok on October 04, 2013, 11:48:22 AM
Quote from: Martok on October 03, 2013, 03:47:52 PM
So performance issues aside, what's the verdict on Patch 3 so far? I've had my finger over the "Play" button for the last couple days now...
Bump.
Anyone?
I don't know what patch I'm on because I let all the beta-patches go in so I'm always in developmental Rome II. Whatever the current patch in development is, I have to say, it's working well for the Romans. Why Just last night I attacked a pretty huge barbarian army in some mountaneous forests. Just to keep things straight, I put my leader with the cavalry, sent the Velites in a skirmish line into the woods and lined up the hastarii and Italian Spearmen. As luck would have it, the barbarians moved diagonally across my front to turn me from uphill. I went after the tail of their march with all my cavalry and started rolling them up from the opposite direction. It was a close fight until my hastarii came up and the Italian Spearmen hit their noble horse. I had to pull back and readjust things a few times and in the forest, cinematic view was more revealing than tactical view. I actually went cinematic scouting with the Tarantine Horse to figure out what was what in the center of their forces. Fortunately I discovered the Hastarii had punched right through the barbarian line while I wasn't looking and I was able to exploit my scouting trip by using the Hastarii to exploit and clean up the barbarian speamen that were holding things up and making life hard for the cavalry.
Which reminds me -- some of those seiges of barbarian towns are pretty cool visually as well.
^If you're subscribed to the betas you're on Patch 4, which contains a lot of goodies.
Quote from: Gusington on October 04, 2013, 12:37:31 PM
^If you're subscribed to the betas you're on Patch 4, which contains a lot of goodies.
The AI has seemed more aggressive and downright sneaky, but maybe that's the way those barbarians are. In the prolonged aftemath of obliterating megatons of slave slingers in the scrub of Illyria, a few sneaky Celtic types in a real forest may seem to pursue lots of illusory strategies even in Patch 4 where things are more wonderful than ever as long as you scout and skirmish properly.
Quote from: Gusington on October 04, 2013, 12:25:36 PM
Snip from previous page:
For me Patch 2 really optimized everything graphically very well, the Patch 3 came along and poo pooed in my graphics cocoa puffs. But with some tweaking Patch 3's weirdness can be overcome.
My experience has been the opposite regarding performance. ???
Multiply that by 1 million and that's the current state of optimization.
mmm...so they made taxes tribe wide as opposed to region wide? What's the consensus on this? I haven't played enough of this to get a hold of whether it's a positive or not, but my initial reaction is "eugh"...I mean - not all regions are the same.
Interested in anyone's thoughts who have played a lot.
I think it was the same in Shogun 2 - and I didn't like it there. It was really difficult to keep public order under control and get enough money for armies and infrastructure.
It took me about 15 hours to master food production/taxes/morale but once I got it I liked it...it feels more robust and real than past TW games.
Ok, so any opinions on the Beta 4 patch?
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 04, 2013, 06:08:25 PM
...I think it was the same in Shogun 2 - and I didn't like it there. It was really difficult to keep public order under control and get enough money for armies and infrastructure.
You can still exclude troublesome cities from the tax network by unchecking the tax box in the left hand side info screen.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 04, 2013, 06:08:25 PM
mmm...so they made taxes tribe wide as opposed to region wide? What's the consensus on this? I haven't played enough of this to get a hold of whether it's a positive or not, but my initial reaction is "eugh"...I mean - not all regions are the same.
Interested in anyone's thoughts who have played a lot.
I think it was the same in Shogun 2 - and I didn't like it there. It was really difficult to keep public order under control and get enough money for armies and infrastructure.
It's faction-wide in Rome2, as it was in the previous title. However, there's a checkbox to turn taxation off for specific provinces and it can be quite handy for those times when you've conquered more than one region in them and the unrest penalty is high for a time.
I may have just fought my most epic Total War battle...ever. The VIII Legion of Rome (Alpinia), one of Rome's smaller legions with just 1500 legionaries and approximately 1000 auxiliary was cornered and assaulted by a combined Lugiian army under the command of four warlords numbering over 7000 warriors total. The brave Romans fought to the death almost to the man, with only 200 surviving to make it into captivity. The Legion's general bravely gave his life in battle, as well. For the loss of 2500, the VIII Legion butchered over 4000 Germanic barbarians over a period of more than 40 minutes (which is a veritable slug fest in game terms).
Its my first and only Legion to be destroyed in battle. I plan on raising a new Legion immediately and resurrecting the proud VIIIth. Hail Rome!
Nice '5th Element' avatar, JH!
Nice battle, Jarhead! Epic indeed. 8)
Awesome. I have never lost an entire legion; although I have come close several times.
This is when the game is fun.. when you face NME's 2 to 3 times larger than you!
I don't understand all the slamming on it.. Ok I do, it's not perfect... But you know what? I'm having a blast, and when it comes down to it, that's all that matters with any game! 8)
Like I said before. People see what they want. Someone like me who wants to like it will watch a battle and see an enemy that tried to flank and fails. Someone who wants to see a bad AI to prove their opinions, will see an army that splits for no reason and attacks piecemeal. I think that's a lot of it. It has almost become in vogue to be a reviewer and slam TW games to play to the crowd. This game had- and still has issues- but it is a good game and didn't deserve to be completely ripped by many on the other forums
7 minutes 15 seconds now 'till Beta 4 is installed. Then I go unleash hell.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flibriscrowe.com%2Fmarti%2FIMAGES%2Fmaximus_112.jpg&hash=f79f849c51ba73635b6c484f8fd8747498677b9d)
Hell was unleashed on me. Played for 3 turns on my current campaign before the system locked up on me during the AI's turn. Fortunately I was able to replay using the autosave and managed to make it through the turn. Don't know what happened but up until now I have never had a game freeze before. Maybe something to do with Beta 4?
Then I looked at my graphics performance. I have 'use system memory' turned on and noticed a slight decrease in frame rate and general lag. Switched my 'sky' and 'particle effects' from Ultra to Very High and noticed everything running smooth again. Maybe I'll try unchecking 'use system memory' and cranking up the sky and particles again and see what happens.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 05, 2013, 11:39:13 AM
I may have just fought my most epic Total War battle...ever. The VIII Legion of Rome (Alpinia), one of Rome's smaller legions with just 1500 legionaries and approximately 1000 auxiliary was cornered and assaulted by a combined Lugiian army under the command of four warlords numbering over 7000 warriors total. The brave Romans fought to the death almost to the man, with only 200 surviving to make it into captivity. The Legion's general bravely gave his life in battle, as well. For the loss of 2500, the VIII Legion butchered over 4000 Germanic barbarians over a period of more than 40 minutes (which is a veritable slug fest in game terms).
Its my first and only Legion to be destroyed in battle. I plan on raising a new Legion immediately and resurrecting the proud VIIIth. Hail Rome!
Cool. Did you save the replay?
Quote from: LongBlade on October 07, 2013, 10:09:02 AM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 05, 2013, 11:39:13 AM
I may have just fought my most epic Total War battle...ever. The VIII Legion of Rome (Alpinia), one of Rome's smaller legions with just 1500 legionaries and approximately 1000 auxiliary was cornered and assaulted by a combined Lugiian army under the command of four warlords numbering over 7000 warriors total. The brave Romans fought to the death almost to the man, with only 200 surviving to make it into captivity. The Legion's general bravely gave his life in battle, as well. For the loss of 2500, the VIII Legion butchered over 4000 Germanic barbarians over a period of more than 40 minutes (which is a veritable slug fest in game terms).
Its my first and only Legion to be destroyed in battle. I plan on raising a new Legion immediately and resurrecting the proud VIIIth. Hail Rome!
Cool. Did you save the replay?
Awesome recap JH.
I had a freeze with beta 4 as well
Quote from: mikeck on October 07, 2013, 11:43:22 AM
I had a freeze with beta 4 as well
No Freezes here. I have a i7 and 1.5 gig of graphics and a lot of ram and I've put things at lower graphics settings as usual.
This BBC documentary is the real gladiator story. Sets the Roman mood.
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Colosseum_A_Gladiator_s_Story/60034722?trkid=13467549 (http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Colosseum_A_Gladiator_s_Story/60034722?trkid=13467549)
The freeze occurred while the AI times were processing not doing anything graphics intensive. haven't had a current except in beta 4. Happened twice in a row
I've watched that show that Kev recommends above and its pretty memorable and well done.
So - I did start a game as the Britons. Iceni to be precise. I decide I'm going to battle someone (guys up north - can't remember) so for a few turns I send my agent up there to do the dirty, build some forces and get ready. I'm playing on Easy - and by god the enemy can raise forces quickly!!
Anyway - I think it might be a good idea to broker some deals...maybe get a pal on board. So I go to the Demetae - who are apparently friendly with me. I can't do a damned thing to get them on side. Ask for Trade, nope. Ask for a defensive pact - nope. Ask for a military pact - nope. Offer money with all the above - NOPE!
So I go it alone. I take on the enemy - who seem to have spawned the army from hell itself in the time I've been pissing about doing god knows what. I battle on the field - and beat them...they scarper. But as soon as I get back to the strategic map, I'm engaged again - by the same bloody forces I just beat and who ran!
So anyway - I have no choice really - outnumbered I do battle - and lose all but 200 troops. So I run away and hide in some trees. And I see a BIG Demetae force..."hello" I think - "help is here"...only he decides to attack my battered army AND invade and head towards my one city.
And therein lies my problem with these games. I spend a plethora of wasted minutes/hours on diplomacy that NEVER seems to come off. And worse, your apparent "friend" is a twat.
Bored and game is closed until I can be arsed to piss about with it some more.
I wouldn't be so bloody pissed off having just been beaten...but the fact I was beaten by a force that was running from my IMMEDIATE previous battle, and then I was attacked by my apparent pal...given I have enough "yellow" and "red" factions out there - WTF am I being attacked by my friend - and NO - he wasn't in any sort of pact with the faction I attacked.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 07, 2013, 04:55:16 PM
So - I did start a game as the Britons. Iceni to be precise. I decide I'm going to battle someone (guys up north - can't remember) so for a few turns I send my agent up there to do the dirty, build some forces and get ready. I'm playing on Easy - and by god the enemy can raise forces quickly!!
Anyway - I think it might be a good idea to broker some deals...maybe get a pal on board. So I go to the Demetae - who are apparently friendly with me. I can't do a damned thing to get them on side. Ask for Trade, nope. Ask for a defensive pact - nope. Ask for a military pact - nope. Offer money with all the above - NOPE!
So I go it alone. I take on the enemy - who seem to have spawned the army from hell itself in the time I've been pissing about doing god knows what. I battle on the field - and beat them...they scarper. But as soon as I get back to the strategic map, I'm engaged again - by the same bloody forces I just beat and who ran!
So anyway - I have no choice really - outnumbered I do battle - and lose all but 200 troops. So I run away and hide in some trees. And I see a BIG Demetae force..."hello" I think - "help is here"...only he decides to attack my battered army AND invade and head towards my one city.
And therein lies my problem with these games. I spend a plethora of wasted minutes/hours on diplomacy that NEVER seems to come off. And worse, your apparent "friend" is a twat.
Bored and game is closed until I can be arsed to piss about with it some more.
I wouldn't be so bloody pissed off having just been beaten...but the fact I was beaten by a force that was running from my IMMEDIATE previous battle, and then I was attacked by my apparent pal...given I have enough "yellow" and "red" factions out there - WTF am I being attacked by my friend - and NO - he wasn't in any sort of pact with the faction I attacked.
I have never seen anything like that before with respect to being reengaged by a recently defeated army. Moreover,I'm not quite sure what kind of behavior you expected from the Demetae. You say they are your "friend" but refused to enter any agreement or pact with you. If you had no agreement with them, then they are not your "friend." What color is the mask in the diplomacy menu? Green, yellow or red? I have found that most factions will not enter beneficial agreements with you unless you are drastically more powerful then they, or have something they desire or want. Perhaps your faction has neither...
Nefaro many pages ago suggested starting with a non-aggression pact to break the diplomatic ice, then a trade agreement and then more advanced options. I've tried this and it works well.
I don't doubt you haven't seen it happen - but it did.
What happened though is that a single unit of Chariots attacked my army of 2000 troops. I thought that a bit odd until I saw that they were being reinforced by almost 3000 troops.
Anyway, I went into that battle (initiated by 1 unit of Chariots reinforced by 3000+ troops) and it ebbed and flowed, my units waivering, theirs...and eventually I got the upper hand and they ran. I chased, killing what I could. Anyway, we went back to the Strat map where I was shown the results and as soon as I clicked the OK button, I was attacked again. This time by a bigger force - but I'm pretty sure it was the one (the reinforcing one) I just gubbed...and they were being reinforced by 600+ garrison troops...and that was that. Maybe that's legit - I don't know. But I think if a unit has been involved in a battle, regardless of whether they were the initiating force or a reinforcing force, they shouldn't be allowed to attack again - but they most definitely did.
As for the Demetae - my bad. I was thinking of the Dumnonii - which was green and is now yellow because I just got my arse kicked presumably. :-[
Quote from: Gusington on October 07, 2013, 05:45:58 PM
Nefaro many pages ago suggested starting with a non-aggression pact to break the diplomatic ice, then a trade agreement and then more advanced options. I've tried this and it works well.
Thanks - I'll try that. Seems like (on easy) I'm going to get my arse kicked. I don't know why I bother playing these games - I actually do sux so bad at them! :)
I haven't one a campaign of a recent TW title, stretching back to Empire: TW. I am not proud of this. Rome II is the first recent TW title where I think I finally have a fighting chance. Something about the game systems just click with me this time.
I liked Napoleon TW and loved Shogun 2 (especially Fall of the Samurai) but for the life of me I could not win a campaign in either.
Quote from: Mr. Bigglesworth on October 07, 2013, 01:01:14 PM
This BBC documentary is the real gladiator story. Sets the Roman mood.
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Colosseum_A_Gladiator_s_Story/60034722?trkid=13467549 (http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Colosseum_A_Gladiator_s_Story/60034722?trkid=13467549)
Yes, that is an excellent Doc. Watched it a few months ago, surprised at how good it was.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 07, 2013, 05:50:28 PM
Quote from: Gusington on October 07, 2013, 05:45:58 PM
Nefaro many pages ago suggested starting with a non-aggression pact to break the diplomatic ice, then a trade agreement and then more advanced options. I've tried this and it works well.
Thanks - I'll try that. Seems like (on easy) I'm going to get my arse kicked. I don't know why I bother playing these games - I actually do sux so bad at them! :)
You guys are playing this
on Easy?! :o
I'm not. Normal/normal and it feels just right. I've played every single TW game since the original Shogun on normal/normal.
Any word on Beta4?
I've not fired up Rome 2 in awhile.
It's got mixed reviews over at TWC but then, what doesn't? I am still on Patch 3, my game hasn't downloaded 4 yet.
Ask Caesar how far "pledges of loyalty and friendship" got him in Gaul. Seriously though, diplomacy hS always sucked in total war. I play Rome and everyone should know that I am coming to kill them. If they want to offer an agreement, fine... I'm still coming
Quote from: mikeck on October 07, 2013, 03:03:17 PM
The freeze occurred while the AI times were processing not doing anything graphics intensive. haven't had a current except in beta 4. Happened twice in a row
I can imagine this happening with the checkbox selected at 'Use shared memory' or whatever it is called. It enables the game to also use your RAM for graphics stuff. But this leaves less RAM for the other stuff like calculations.
Playing for about 5 weeks, I have to switch it up a little bit now I think and move on. Haven't finished the Roman campaign yet but I'll be back.
I got one for you. Playing as Suebi and one city has a workshop that can up-grade my Club Levy melee weapons. So I do it and the next battle when I zoom-in close to give my troops a look-over, I notice the Club Levy are now carrying hammers. Their melee weapons actually changed on the battle screen from clubs to hammers. Now they're Hammer Levy I guess. Maybe this is old news to some of you but it's the first time I've seen it in a TW game. A real nice touch. Now I can't wait to get the Uzi Up-grade. ;D
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 07, 2013, 05:49:23 PM
I don't doubt you haven't seen it happen - but it did.
What happened though is that a single unit of Chariots attacked my army of 2000 troops. I thought that a bit odd until I saw that they were being reinforced by almost 3000 troops.
Anyway, I went into that battle (initiated by 1 unit of Chariots reinforced by 3000+ troops) and it ebbed and flowed, my units waivering, theirs...and eventually I got the upper hand and they ran. I chased, killing what I could. Anyway, we went back to the Strat map where I was shown the results and as soon as I clicked the OK button, I was attacked again. This time by a bigger force - but I'm pretty sure it was the one (the reinforcing one) I just gubbed...and they were being reinforced by 600+ garrison troops...and that was that. Maybe that's legit - I don't know. But I think if a unit has been involved in a battle, regardless of whether they were the initiating force or a reinforcing force, they shouldn't be allowed to attack again - but they most definitely did.
As for the Demetae - my bad. I was thinking of the Dumnonii - which was green and is now yellow because I just got my arse kicked presumably. :-[
This has to do with the seige mechanic I think. Sometimes you have to fight multiple battles to open a seige. So battle A would be clear off what is out there, battle B would be you enter the seige radius successfully and trigger the anti-seige attack. Different radiuses get triggered at different times. I often do big seiges like this:
1) scout the barbarian city (find massive cluster of armies)
2) bring up 3 legions just outside the battle trigger area
3) Attack an army
4) Fight that battle (which might be the point where the other side triggers a battle)
5) Move up one army to encircle
6) bring up other armies now that the trigger radius is gone
7) trigger the seige battle
On the face of it there's no reason the AI couldn't do a similar staged series of battles, though I have only seen this from my side. And in the series, every army can fight multiple times.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 07, 2013, 04:55:16 PM
So - I did start a game as the Britons. Iceni to be precise. I decide I'm going to battle someone (guys up north - can't remember) so for a few turns I send my agent up there to do the dirty, build some forces and get ready. I'm playing on Easy - and by god the enemy can raise forces quickly!!
Anyway - I think it might be a good idea to broker some deals...maybe get a pal on board. So I go to the Demetae - who are apparently friendly with me. I can't do a damned thing to get them on side. Ask for Trade, nope. Ask for a defensive pact - nope. Ask for a military pact - nope. Offer money with all the above - NOPE!
So I go it alone. I take on the enemy - who seem to have spawned the army from hell itself in the time I've been pissing about doing god knows what. I battle on the field - and beat them...they scarper. But as soon as I get back to the strategic map, I'm engaged again - by the same bloody forces I just beat and who ran!
So anyway - I have no choice really - outnumbered I do battle - and lose all but 200 troops. So I run away and hide in some trees. And I see a BIG Demetae force..."hello" I think - "help is here"...only he decides to attack my battered army AND invade and head towards my one city.
And therein lies my problem with these games. I spend a plethora of wasted minutes/hours on diplomacy that NEVER seems to come off. And worse, your apparent "friend" is a twat.
Bored and game is closed until I can be arsed to piss about with it some more.
I wouldn't be so bloody pissed off having just been beaten...but the fact I was beaten by a force that was running from my IMMEDIATE previous battle, and then I was attacked by my apparent pal...given I have enough "yellow" and "red" factions out there - WTF am I being attacked by my friend - and NO - he wasn't in any sort of pact with the faction I attacked.
Here's what probably happened:
In your move you attacked (I assume)
In the AI moves they attacked (that's two attacks from two different AIs AND the second AI might change its mind between one battle and the next -- ie, your army got smashed so they attacked.) Some factions are just treacherous as hell.
Some games just start badly. I got crushed the first two times out (Easy Pontus and Normal Carthage). Easy Egypt was the one of the toughest games I've ever managed to survive and prosper in. Normal Parthia was stupendously lucky and Patch3 favors the bold. Normal Rome in Patch4 seems to have been pretty lucky so far too. For some reason the barbarians are happy with me and hate Carthage and Nova Carthago and all their allies. There's definitely some luck in the early fighting. So for example, the Selucids crushed Pontus and almost crushed Egypt, but they fell apart in Patch3 and Parthia prospered and the Turdinea under Turdus Turdo Turdanus have wiped out Nova Carthago and are pounding on Carthage. In Diplomacy I try to be steadfast and not have too many allies and NO clients or Satrapies. Clients and Satrapies just get you into trouble and allies are not much better.
Quote from: mikeck on October 07, 2013, 09:50:30 PM
Ask Caesar how far "pledges of loyalty and friendship" got him in Gaul. Seriously though, diplomacy hS always sucked in total war. I play Rome and everyone should know that I am coming to kill them. If they want to offer an agreement, fine... I'm still coming
Diplomacy wasn't bad in Shogun 2. At least until the Realm Divide added penalties to
everyone.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 07, 2013, 05:49:23 PM
I don't doubt you haven't seen it happen - but it did.
But I think if a unit has been involved in a battle, regardless of whether they were the initiating force or a reinforcing force, they shouldn't be allowed to attack again - but they most definitely did.
Why shouldn't an army be allowed to attack more than once? For example, suppose I station an army in supporting distance of a city (this is a good move because you don't get locked up in the siege if the enemy attacks). Suppose 5 different factions attack the city. The game allows my army to defend (ie counter-attack) each of the Ai forces in each of the AI turns if it survives. I've had one fleet destroyed by sequential attacks by different AI factions while it was acting as a garrison. It got to fight every battle. Of course an army outside within striking distance is in a lot better position than a fleet as a garrison, but it still gets to attack if there is an attack on the city and it gets to attack all attacks if it survives.
I'm not necessarily saying they shouldn't.
But - the army that attacked me, had just previously attacked me (not directly - it was a single unit of chariots that attacked me with a supporting force of 3000+ reinforcements) and I routed them all from the battlefield. The second attack from what I saw was not a new army - it was the same army (or the reinforcing army) which I had beaten off the battlefield.
Admittedly, they did have quite a few men still, but their commander had died and they routed. I chased and killed what I could.
If that can happen, it can happen...but I've never seen it before...I wouldn't really have minded if I had attacked them, then after that battle, routed or not, they attacked me...but that wasn't the case.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 08, 2013, 02:23:07 PM
I'm not necessarily saying they shouldn't.
But - the army that attacked me, had just previously attacked me (not directly - it was a single unit of chariots that attacked me with a supporting force of 3000+ reinforcements) and I routed them all from the battlefield. The second attack from what I saw was not a new army - it was the same army (or the reinforcing army) which I had beaten off the battlefield.
Admittedly, they did have quite a few men still, but their commander had died and they routed. I chased and killed what I could.
If that can happen, it can happen...but I've never seen it before...I wouldn't really have minded if I had attacked them, then after that battle, routed or not, they attacked me...but that wasn't the case.
They were supporting the first battle and then they got their own move. Your armies could do the same. Fighting is pretty fluid in Rome II and after all it does cover a year of time.
Quote from: MengJiao on October 09, 2013, 08:26:34 AM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 08, 2013, 02:23:07 PM
I'm not necessarily saying they shouldn't.
But - the army that attacked me, had just previously attacked me (not directly - it was a single unit of chariots that attacked me with a supporting force of 3000+ reinforcements) and I routed them all from the battlefield. The second attack from what I saw was not a new army - it was the same army (or the reinforcing army) which I had beaten off the battlefield.
Admittedly, they did have quite a few men still, but their commander had died and they routed. I chased and killed what I could.
If that can happen, it can happen...but I've never seen it before...I wouldn't really have minded if I had attacked them, then after that battle, routed or not, they attacked me...but that wasn't the case.
They were supporting the first battle and then they got their own move. Your armies could do the same. Fighting is pretty fluid in Rome II and after all it does cover a year of time.
I did forget about that
Quote from: MengJiao on October 08, 2013, 12:55:27 PM
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 07, 2013, 05:49:23 PM
I don't doubt you haven't seen it happen - but it did.
But I think if a unit has been involved in a battle, regardless of whether they were the initiating force or a reinforcing force, they shouldn't be allowed to attack again - but they most definitely did.
Why shouldn't an army be allowed to attack more than once? For example, suppose I station an army in supporting distance of a city (this is a good move because you don't get locked up in the siege if the enemy attacks). Suppose 5 different factions attack the city. The game allows my army to defend (ie counter-attack) each of the Ai forces in each of the AI turns if it survives. I've had one fleet destroyed by sequential attacks by different AI factions while it was acting as a garrison. It got to fight every battle. Of course an army outside within striking distance is in a lot better position than a fleet as a garrison, but it still gets to attack if there is an attack on the city and it gets to attack all attacks if it survives.
I have attacked enemy armies twice in one turn on several occasions. I think it has to do with your movement. If you start the turn will full movement next to an enemy army and attack it, if it has remnants or retreats you'll often be able to follow-up and attack it again.
The 4th patch is now public at Steamworks. 142 MB in total. Claims to add or fix 157 changes. And they suggest to get the full effects from the changes, you should .... start a new campaign. >:( Patch 5 is in the works.
No way I'm doing that now! Does the new patch corrupt or make old campaigns incompatible?
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 11, 2013, 10:28:16 AM
The 4th patch is now public at Steamworks. 142 MB in total. Claims to add or fix 157 changes. And they suggest to get the full effects from the changes, you should .... start a new campaign. >:( Patch 5 is in the works.
While I love the updates, I cannot get anywhere in my games because after a week I have to restart them
I'm still leaving this for a while to bed down. I don't often make much progress in campaigns - but when I do, I really don't want to restart!
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 11, 2013, 10:28:16 AM
The 4th patch is now public at Steamworks. 142 MB in total. Claims to add or fix 157 changes. And they suggest to get the full effects from the changes, you should .... start a new campaign. >:( Patch 5 is in the works.
Argh! Now I feel compelled to try and get some time in on this again as well...
They're only suggesting a new campaign start to get the full effect of the changes. Still who wants to give up half of Europe & start over. Does it feel... a little... like we are playtesting the game for CA? I may start a new campaign just to see what the new stuff is like as compared to patch 3.
Hmm...when I stopped a few days ago I was about halfway through my Rome campaign. I really do want to play as the Iceni so when I go back to it perhaps that is what I will do.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 11, 2013, 10:28:16 AM
The 4th patch is now public at Steamworks. 142 MB in total. Claims to add or fix 157 changes. And they suggest to get the full effects from the changes, you should .... start a new campaign. >:( Patch 5 is in the works.
I am very appreciative of the developers continuing to release all these patches and not abandon the fans, but WOW that each of these patches seem to be addressing hundreds of issues each time. How remotely they felt this game was ready to be released is shocking.....I certainly could see a handful of issues getting by, but hundreds and who knows we might be in the thousands by the time their done!
I love this time period and glad they are fixing, but I am waiting to get serious with the game until once the patches calm down, at least to the point of fixing a few things, versus a ton.....
I still believe this whole patch schedule is part of the planned release...this is how it was supposed to go.
I wonder if they rushed it out the door to beat other releases to the punch and maximize consumer dollars. I bought it on release and logged 80 plus hours just cuz there was not much else on the gaming horizon.
Lately I've been playing steel beasts 3.0, dcs mi-8, and messed around with the bf4 beta. With all these patches in the books now, I may finally start the roman campaign I was holding off on.
Quote from: Skoop on October 11, 2013, 03:23:06 PM
I wonder if they rushed it out the door to beat other releases to the punch and maximize consumer dollars. I bought it on release and logged 80 plus hours just cuz there was not much else on the gaming horizon.
Lately I've been playing steel beasts 3.0, dcs mi-8, and messed around with the bf4 beta. With all these patches in the books now, I may finally start the roman campaign I was holding off on.
Hey Skoop - how the hell do you manage to take off in the Mi-8? The draught when close to the ground throws my helicopter wildly all over the place!
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 11, 2013, 10:38:40 AM
I'm still leaving this for a while to bed down. I don't often make much progress in campaigns - but when I do, I really don't want to restart!
That's what I've been doing for the past couple weeks. Leaving it on the stove to simmer for awhile.
Despite some patches supposedly being save-game friendly, in most games, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll benefit from all the fixes in the update until you start a new one.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on October 11, 2013, 03:52:29 PM
Quote from: Skoop on October 11, 2013, 03:23:06 PM
I wonder if they rushed it out the door to beat other releases to the punch and maximize consumer dollars. I bought it on release and logged 80 plus hours just cuz there was not much else on the gaming horizon.
Lately I've been playing steel beasts 3.0, dcs mi-8, and messed around with the bf4 beta. With all these patches in the books now, I may finally start the roman campaign I was holding off on.
Hey Skoop - how the hell do you manage to take off in the Mi-8? The draught when close to the ground throws my helicopter wildly all over the place!
Trim with right pedal just before lift off. Same as the Huey, when you start to lift off, the tail rotar wants to pull to the right. Correct with trim. For a better description, check the mi8 QuickStart manual. It has a section on take off and landing. There is no real English manual yet, but there is some useful info in the QuickStart manual.
Also make sure the auto trim dampeners are engaged, green button center dash. Makes this bird fly really stable. The mi8 is easier for basic flight, but I think the Huey flys better in combat. The mi8 doesn't like aggressive diving rocket attacks at all, I get engine failures every time I do one.
Before this Rome II immersion gets shattered, could you guys do any further flight discussion in another thread, please? ;)
Not that I mind some airboy talk now and then, but yeah... you know, off topic and all. :D
Quote from: Yskonyn on October 12, 2013, 03:48:24 AM
Before this Rome II immersion gets shattered, could you guys do any further flight discussion in another thread, please? ;)
Not that I mind some airboy talk now and then, but yeah... you know, off topic and all. :D
this from a pilot so its double serious! :P
:D Unless of course you're further into the campaign than I am and the Romans actually reseached the Mi-8?
I'm very frustrated with the Army limits. I control approximately 35 settlements...thats all of Italy, all surrounding islands, part of Africa, all of Iberia/Hispana and much of Germania and Gaul, yet I can only field nine (9) armies based on my level of Imperium. What gives? Nine armies simply is not enough to maintain and/or protect all of this territory...much less continue expansion. I think that with all this ground in my hands, I would be able to field and support more than 9 armies, and I certainly have the gold to do so.
As an aside, I like how a lot of the smaller gaelic and germanic tribes that I'm at war against, who cannot stand against me militarily, are hurting me through acts of sabotage and subversion. Enemy agents are really effecting my ability to move and generate income...I'm pretty impressed with the AIs use of agents in this game...its better than any other past Total War title.
I think there are a few mods that simply increase the amount of armies you can have
Civil War!!! Ugh!
I knew Civil Wars were definitely going to be in the game, but what triggers them and is there any way to avoid them. I see that generals, agents and statesmen have stats like gravitas (Kiefer Sutherland's favorite word by the way, based upon his answer to the questionnaire created by the great Bernard Pivot), ambition, zeal and cunning...I also see that some personalities can be assassinated, removed from office and promoted. But is there any indication of an impending Civil War? I feel like the game is really lacking in information here. There should be some obvious warning sign.
I just had one and it came at a really interesting time that makes me think it is based more upon meeting certain pre-set game criteria, rather than the development of actual characters in game.
Thoughts?
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 12, 2013, 10:05:51 AM
I'm very frustrated with the Army limits. I control approximately 35 settlements...thats all of Italy, all surrounding islands, part of Africa, all of Iberia/Hispana and much of Germania and Gaul, yet I can only field nine (9) armies based on my level of Imperium. What gives? Nine armies simply is not enough to maintain and/or protect all of this territory...much less continue expansion. I think that with all this ground in my hands, I would be able to field and support more than 9 armies, and I certainly have the gold to do so.
As an aside, I like how a lot of the smaller gaelic and germanic tribes that I'm at war against, who cannot stand against me militarily, are hurting me through acts of sabotage and subversion. Enemy agents are really effecting my ability to move and generate income...I'm pretty impressed with the AIs use of agents in this game...its better than any other past Total War title.
Armies are capped depending on how much territory you control. One day you'll kick in the door of a province and you'll get a magic message saying that you've managed to expand your imperium to the point where you deserve three more generals.
It's arbitrary.
Personally I've found that, as I expand, I start to find myself shorthanded of help. But by the time I had twelve (or is it nine? - I haven't played in a couple of weeks) armies on hand I was pretty much able to expand at my own pace.
IIRC once you possess 12 provinces you get bumped up to 9 armies max.
Quote from: Gusington on October 16, 2013, 10:15:31 AM
IIRC once you possess 12 provinces you get bumped up to 9 armies max.
The number of armies I could field did not expand from 9 to 12 until I controlled 42 provinces. I don't think it would make sense to get the ability to field 9 armies at 12 provinces. Are you sure about that? I simply do not remember how many provinces I controlled when I was first capable of fielding 9 armies...
Maybe 15...it's been a couple of weeks. But I do remember the number of provinces not being very high for 9 armies.
Quote from: Gusington on October 16, 2013, 10:38:43 AM
Maybe 15...it's been a couple of weeks. But I do remember the number of provinces not being very high for 9 armies.
I always felt like I didn't have quite enough armies. I tried filling in with garrisons, allies and agents and fleets, with varying results
Yeah me too. I think that is appropriate and by design, because most players complain about being able to steamroll the map in other TW games.
Quote from: Gusington on October 16, 2013, 06:19:47 PM
Yeah me too. I think that is appropriate and by design, because most players complain about being able to steamroll the map in other TW games.
That is not what the army limits was meant to address. Rather, it was intended to prevent the spamming by the AI of large numbers of small armies.
Doesn't it work both ways, for small army spamming by the AI and preventing human steamrolling of the map?
Quote from: Gusington on October 16, 2013, 08:09:52 PM
Doesn't it work both ways, for small army spamming by the AI and preventing human steamrolling of the map?
Not really...I never saw human "steamrolling" as a problem. Human armies were limited by costs of recruiting and costs of maintenance. In any event, I'm just repeating what I read from one of the devs somewhere. The purpose of limiting the number of armies was to reduce the prevalence of multiple small AI armies.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 16, 2013, 09:08:23 PM
Quote from: Gusington on October 16, 2013, 08:09:52 PM
Doesn't it work both ways, for small army spamming by the AI and preventing human steamrolling of the map?
Not really...I never saw human "steamrolling" as a problem. Human armies were limited by costs of recruiting and costs of maintenance. In any event, I'm just repeating what I read from one of the devs somewhere. The purpose of limiting the number of armies was to reduce the prevalence of multiple small AI armies.
Sounds like a dirty workaround for an AI that doesn't know how to concentrate it's forces. :-[
Quote from: Nefaro on October 17, 2013, 12:55:31 AM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 16, 2013, 09:08:23 PM
Quote from: Gusington on October 16, 2013, 08:09:52 PM
Doesn't it work both ways, for small army spamming by the AI and preventing human steamrolling of the map?
Not really...I never saw human "steamrolling" as a problem. Human armies were limited by costs of recruiting and costs of maintenance. In any event, I'm just repeating what I read from one of the devs somewhere. The purpose of limiting the number of armies was to reduce the prevalence of multiple small AI armies.
Sounds like a dirty workaround for an AI that doesn't know how to concentrate it's forces. :-[
Workaround? Yes. Dirty? I don't think so. I think having army limits based upon size of empire or a factor of "imperium," to put it in game terms, makes sense and lends a flavor of authenticity. My only complaint is that at least for my mid-game era, the army limits were too strict. I felt that my empire was quite large enough and wealthy enough to support more an 9 armies. I'm now, finally, capable of fielding 12, and right as I'm preparing to start recruiting? Civil war...
Agreed. The army limits as well as agent limits feels more like a barrier than a design challenge. I don't think the AI handles it too well either. That maybe why their armies are running between fighting battles and putting down Public Disorder.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 17, 2013, 09:19:01 AM
Agreed. The army limits as well as agent limits feels more like a barrier than a design challenge. I don't think the AI handles it too well either. That maybe why their armies are running between fighting battles and putting down Public Disorder.
Well, if i were designing games about the ancient world they would be pretty different: one month turns, focused on critical moments in smaller areas -- Hey! Like Shogun2 FOTS!
It would be hard to improve on the sea battles in Rome II, but the land battles could have a lot more engineering. Plus, by 272 BC the West and the Levant are very complex: huge populations, massive deforestation, massive erosion, gigantic technological changes coming fast.
Starting a game in an earlier, simpler, less ecologically obliterated world might be interesting. The Middle Bronze Age, in say 1700 BC with Hamarabi and the Eygptians not yet at the New Kingdom, and the Minoans. Armies at that time might actually have been about what a game system could represnt man-per-man and camp-follower-by-camp follower. Religious innovations would propagate through a less dense ideological environment. Small technical changes (for example -- riding horses at all) could mean a lot.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 17, 2013, 05:55:35 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on October 17, 2013, 12:55:31 AM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 16, 2013, 09:08:23 PM
Quote from: Gusington on October 16, 2013, 08:09:52 PM
Doesn't it work both ways, for small army spamming by the AI and preventing human steamrolling of the map?
Not really...I never saw human "steamrolling" as a problem. Human armies were limited by costs of recruiting and costs of maintenance. In any event, I'm just repeating what I read from one of the devs somewhere. The purpose of limiting the number of armies was to reduce the prevalence of multiple small AI armies.
Sounds like a dirty workaround for an AI that doesn't know how to concentrate it's forces. :-[
Workaround? Yes. Dirty? I don't think so. I think having army limits based upon size of empire or a factor of "imperium," to put it in game terms, makes sense and lends a flavor of authenticity. My only complaint is that at least for my mid-game era, the army limits were too strict. I felt that my empire was quite large enough and wealthy enough to support more an 9 armies. I'm now, finally, capable of fielding 12, and right as I'm preparing to start recruiting? Civil war...
I called it "dirty" due to numerical limits driving AI behavior that should probably be a staple in it's logic. I don't think it's an ideal way to go if AI programming was the main intent for using it. Perhaps it really wasn't.
There
should be a limit on the number of armies you can field, in that period for monetary, manpower, and supply reasons. Not because the AI keeps trying to make far too many understrength armies that get beaten piecemeal.
However, if it's working better than just letting the AI do the latter as it normally would, it's an improvement. That behavior was really bad in the TW games before
Shogun 2.
BIG NEWS!!! Steamworks now has their Rome 2 workshop for mods up and running. The only mods listed at present are Radious' mods but he has created 3 new unit packs including a just released one for Parthia( 14 new units) a total of 77 new units for all factions. Other mods will follow soon. All you need to do is subscribe to the mod of your choice and it's automatically installed and ready at your next play. Check the reviews first to see what others think of them and if any compatibility problems have been noted.
That is good news. Has patching slowed down though? Because integrating mods with the patches can be a pain.
Another patch is on it's way. Steam installed something when I went there this am but no news of another patch, it was about 200MB so.... Anyway Radious always keeps his mods up to the current patch and supports his mods long after they're posted. I always wanted to try his Shogun 2 mods but already had Darth installed. I'm gonna wait a few days and then try his Rome 2 mod out. I'm a real sucker for new units. Though I'm not looking forward to the Naked German units. Nor will I be looking at them from behind if you get my drift.
Patch info....
Hi everyone,
We're delighted to share with you news of the next free content drop for Total War: ROME II, which is available today in an automatic update. The Seleucid Empire is now a playable faction in single-player campaign and multiplayer games.
Renowned for their civil engineering and city-building feats, the kings of the vast Seleucid Empire rely on expert cavalry regiments to enforce and expand their borders. This content update includes new unique Seleucid units, building and technology trees, Campaign Objectives and the Paradise of Daphne; a unique new wonder. For more details on this faction, please visit this link.
http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War:_Rome_II_-_Seleucid_Faction
We're also releasing Patch 5 today, which delivers a huge number of fixes, tweaks and upgrades to the ROME II experience.
This patch contains a large number of improvements across pretty much every part of the game. Among these are a number of optimisations to Campaign Map performance, which improve framerates with the fog-of-war and when there are many armies, navies and agents on-screen. We've also sped up end-turn times in situations where the player has multiple allies.
There have been further improvements to diplomacy as well. The campaign AI now encourages factions to form allegiances based on personality, perceived threat and the existing balance of relationships the faction holds. Players can also see relationship information by hovering the cursor over factions on the map in the diplomacy screen.
We've also reduced the chance of AI armies standing close to the player in Forced March mode – thereby reducing their chances of being ambushed – and any garrison of armed citizenry will now reinforce friendly armies in battle outside their settlement.
Finally, we've added tooltips to Agent Actions, which reveal their normal and critical success and failure chances. This gives you a much clearer picture of the potential outcomes.
As always, please note that some changes take much longer to effect than others – particularly gameplay and battle AI changes – so don't worry if the improvement you're looking for isn't here yet. Chances are we're working on it!
You can see full patch notes here on the official Total War Wiki: http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_5
We also updated you yesterday with news from Creative Director Mike Simpson on the patching process in general and our plans for the future. In case you missed it, you can read that post here.
As well as this free content and patch, we're also delighted to announce Steam Workshop and Mod Manager support for Total War: ROME II, making the sharing and loading of user mods a breeze.
http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/browse?appid=214950&browsesort=trend
We've been working closely with some key names on the modding scene to offer original Workshop content from day one, such as the incredibly talented Radious, who has crafted some of the finest mods available for Total War.
That's not all for modding support, though – we're consulting closely with the community and are looking to host another Mod Summit soon to gather opinions on what we can do next for Total War: ROME II to further unlock its modding potential.
Enjoy,
Thanks for the info, Grim.Reaper! I know the Seleucids were another faction lots of folks wanted to play, so this should make quite a few people happy.
GIGGITY
This will bring me back sooner, I should probably start a new campaign eh?
Now all that is left is tbe choice: Seleucids or Iceni?
That's great news Reaper. Looks like I'll be going back to Rome again and maybe head east and try out the Seleucids. The mods workshop is a real innovation and I'm glad Steam supports it.
Please post when you start a Seleucids campaign!
Awesome news Grim.Reaper! Thanks for sharing. I know what I'll be doing early this evening. ;)
Hrmm.. I may be firing up a fresh game of Rome 2 this weekend. On my new rig, even. If it doesn't run spectacularly on that one, I'll just shoot myself. :)
Perfect timing, since I just installed a new video card and PSU this afternoon so I can play this beast.
Quote from: tgb on October 18, 2013, 04:42:06 PM
Perfect timing, since I just installed a new video card and PSU this afternoon so I can play this beast.
Awesome. What kind of gpu did you pick up?
Quote from: Nefaro on October 18, 2013, 02:58:16 PM
Hrmm.. I may be firing up a fresh game of Rome 2 this weekend. On my new rig, even. If it doesn't run spectacularly on that one, I'll just shoot myself. :)
If I remember your new specs correctly Nef, you should have no issues running Rome 2 maxed out. I do and I think we have fairly similar builds. There is some lagging, but that's do more to the optimizations or lack thereof.
I am hoping the patches have remedied most of the optimization problems.
Quote from: Gusington on October 18, 2013, 08:51:34 PM
I am hoping the patches have remedied most of the optimization problems.
Last I checked, there was improvement and that was the patch before this last one. Hopefully it hasn't regressed. ;)
Quote from: Bison on October 18, 2013, 08:17:12 PM
Quote from: tgb on October 18, 2013, 04:42:06 PM
Perfect timing, since I just installed a new video card and PSU this afternoon so I can play this beast.
Awesome. What kind of gpu did you pick up?
A Geforce 650 ti. I spoke prematurely, since my computer won't boot with this in the slot. I may be having motherboard problems.
Is your Power Supply strong enough for the new card?
Oh dear - not good tgb! Especially at the weekend :(
I had similar problems last week and a simple CMOS clearing did the trick.
Quote from: Tuna on October 19, 2013, 08:37:48 AM
Is your Power Supply strong enough for the new card?
Tuna might be onto something. I agree with him. Make sure your power supply can handle the demand required by the card.
I bought a new power supply to go with the card, so that's not the issue. The real problem is that I would have to ship the box back to Gateway to be fixed under warranty, which takes 2-3 weeks. Since I'm self-employed and rely on it for working every day, I can't go without a computer that long.
tgb...it won't boot at all? Maybe the problem is the power supply and not the card. Also, if it does boot but there is no picture on the monitor, give it a few minutes. I recently bought a 660ti and returned it because I thought the card was not displaying on my monitor...I then exchanged it for a 650ti and had the same problem. In frustration I left the room and a few minutes later came back to again start the disassembly process. Lo and behold it was working...it just takes a few seconds for the image to load up and display and I was being impatient.
It could be the power supply, yes, but if he just replaced it with a new one then it's probably his motherboard. Especially if it's shutting down on it's own - happens all the time when they start going south. Same for when the video card slot is populated & the computer not booting.
Even if the PSU is too small to handle the video card under heavy load, it would still boot up into Windows just fine (unless it was just plain faulty). I'd rule that one out unless he just plain forgot to plug in the PCI-E power molex to the vid card.
Did you have a previous video card in the slot before or was it running some onboard video? If you had a different one in there before, you should definitely uninstall the vid drivers for it before putting the new one in. I'm guessing you know this, but worth checking.
He could try Starfury's suggestion of resetting the CMOS. There is usually a 2- or 3-pin jumper on decent motherboards which you can put a 2-pin shunt on to do this, if you don't want to pry the battery out and put it back in. You need a free shunt, of course. You could close the circuit manually, but I don't recommend doing so - motherboards are wimpy whiny bitches and Murphy is always watching. Who knows? You might get lucky with a reset, like he did. Just don't expect to be so lucky. :-\
If none of the basics were missed, I'd sadly call it some kind of motherboard issue. :-\
Thanks for the advice, all; but it's still under warranty and right now on the way to the manufacturer.
I don't know if you've tried this - but it worked once for me - take out the CMOS battery or if your motherboard has it clear the CMOS.
I once put a card in my computer and forgot (like an idiot) to switch it off at the mains - the new graphics card I was putting in touched the board and from then, there was no boot.
I took it into work the next day and one of the lads thought the board was fried. The other took the CMOS out - just as a "try it" - and lo and behold it came back to life.
Seems very off topic I know (I don't think the Riomans or anyone of that era had to worry about graphics cards or motherboards and power supplies (although - the latter (?) - but whilst it's in the spirit of trying to help someone, I guess it's ok
New Rome II: Total War DLC for Nomadic Tribes (Roxolani, Scythia, Massagate) available for free starting today on Steam. After 10/29 this DLC will be 7.99.
So there are still no real updated impressions folks! Does anyone still play or are we All waiting on eachother to test the new patches? ;)
I am craving for some Rome 2 though, but I lack the time... Ack!
Quote from: Yskonyn on October 22, 2013, 02:32:17 PM
So there are still no real updated impressions folks! Does anyone still play or are we All waiting on eachother to test the new patches? ;)
I've been waiting on more updates before jumping back in. That, and I've been kinda burned out on digital gaming in general and been doing the tabletop thing more (other than some occasional
War Thunder).
Quote from: Yskonyn on October 22, 2013, 02:32:17 PM
So there are still no real updated impressions folks! Does anyone still play or are we All waiting on eachother to test the new patches? ;)
I am craving for some Rome 2 though, but I lack the time... Ack!
Patch 4 killed the game for me - used to run fine - now I cant play the campaign for longer than ten minutes without it crashing. It looked like a good game but I just dont have the time to arse about waiting for it to work.
I got the FREE DLC and thank you Gus for posting the news so I didn't have to try to spell Massgetae. These Latin names are killing me. So far the 3 new factions aren't very different but look to have some cool new units and interesting techs. I was totally confused as the Scythians don't start in Scythia but farther west and who the hell were the Massen-gils? Anyway with the new Seleucid-playable faction that's 4 new playable factions in 4 days. So... Come, sit. Share my fire.
I've updated to patch 4 but continued my patch 3 save game. So far no troubles found. I wonder if the story is different if one starts with a fresh game using patch 4. I've not the time to try myself and I'm unwilling to give up on my current campaign game as I'm finally taking land and building up my infrastructure now that I have a better idea how things work.
Wot? Patch 4? Now I am confused. Didn't we discuss Patch 5 a little ways back in this thread? O_o
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 22, 2013, 03:06:01 PM
I was totally confused as the Scythians don't start in Scythia but farther west and who the hell were the Massen-gils?
They're all southern steppe "barbarians" of the horse-warrior preference, IIRC.
I've not checked out the DLC yet, but I suspect that all three have many of the same unit types?
I haven't checked either but I think you are correct.
I am most likely going to abandon my Roman campaign since CA themselves stated that all changes are best enjoyed if a new campaign is begun. The Iceni beckon. As do the Seleucids. As do the Scythians.
Quote from: Yskonyn on October 22, 2013, 03:51:39 PM
Wot? Patch 4? Now I am confused. Didn't we discuss Patch 5 a little ways back in this thread? O_o
My bad. Sorry for the confusion. I started a game under patch 3 and have continued it successfully under patch 5.
Quote from: Nefaro on October 22, 2013, 04:24:43 PM
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 22, 2013, 03:06:01 PM
I was totally confused as the Scythians don't start in Scythia but farther west and who the hell were the Massen-gils?
They're all southern steppe "barbarians" of the horse-warrior preference, IIRC.
I've not checked out the DLC yet, but I suspect that all three have many of the same unit types?
I don't know how similar the three in the DLC are, but when I was Normal Parthia, that whole region was crawling with Steppe Archers and Young Axemen. I used to travel up there to raise some Sarmatian Lancers, but the difficulty of holding that area was one reason I gave up on winning the Parthia campaign.
But Last night I took the Normal Royal Scythians (NRS) for a spin and got destroyed on the first go. The Next Time I was a lot more careful about trade and allies and the NRS are doing okay. They don't seem very powerful in terms of units or economics or ship construction, but they are way off on the edge surrounded by barbarians even less competent than they are so they are okay. In terms of whereever I am in the world of patches (beta5?), the AIs seems a lot smarter than when the Parthinians rolled over them. Most of my old Parthinian tricks don't seem to work anymore. The Battle AI is savagely efficient and I can no longer be sure of defeating armies more than twice my size. Leaders and agents seem to last longer and get perks faster. On the other hand, my Parthinian Cheif has a wife who says she is Roman and the slave rebels have named themselves something like "Salvadors of Latinium". We, the Yurt-Burners are disturbed.
It's sorta sad, but even the Royal Scythians seem like generic yurt-burning slobs. Where are the three-kill virgin horse girls that so excited Herodotus? Where are the mass impalings? The giant mounds stuffed with gold and horse-sacrifices? They are like Romans pretending to be Royal Scythians in a kind of Cowboy Dude Ranch fashion. Which -- of course -- I like, but which I'm sure most fans of a good yurt-burning will find offensive.
Yeah, all 3 factions start with the Steppe Archers and Young Axes, pretty weak and surrounded by neighbors of the same. Only 1 town to begin with little income. All 3 factions are rated "Hard" to play in the intro screen. Patch 4 made more factions want to trade with my Roman/Julia faction and patch 5 made even more factions want to trade or ask to Ally with me. Patch 5 seems to have woken-up the Campaign AI as factions that were staying home are now sailing all over the Med, even Sparta has ships cruising around though I don't know what they're looking for. Nice to see free DLC content. Like Gus, I'm thinking to start-over with a new campaign to see all the new changes in their glory.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 23, 2013, 09:30:21 AM
Yeah, all 3 factions start with the Steppe Archers and Young Axes, pretty weak and surrounded by neighbors of the same. Only 1 town to begin with little income. All 3 factions are rated "Hard" to play in the intro screen. Patch 4 made more factions want to trade with my Roman/Julia faction and patch 5 made even more factions want to trade or ask to Ally with me. Patch 5 seems to have woken-up the Campaign AI as factions that were staying home are now sailing all over the Med, even Sparta has ships cruising around though I don't know what they're looking for. Nice to see free DLC content. Like Gus, I'm thinking to start-over with a new campaign to see all the new changes in their glory.
The Strategic AI seems to be doing far too much moving around for its own good. The Cimmerians had me pretty much locked up. My one port was blockaded so I couldn't build fleets and my three armies were not up to beating hoplites of any kind. Then most of the Cimmerians went off on some expedition and I was able to take their main city. It they had just stayed home they would have won the war. It seems like the game needs entrenched camps so the AI has something to do when it should just sit still. The current entrenchments and stuff are not worth doing and the AI needs something else to keep its mind on defending things.
Has anyone started a new patched up campaign?
Quote from: Gusington on October 23, 2013, 01:22:42 PM
Has anyone started a new patched up campaign?
I think I did. I think I have automatic beta patches on so I think I'm in beta5. If that is the case then what I've seen is that:
1) units don't rout quite so fast
2) the AI is harder to ambush
3) but if you leave the AI alone it goes off on an expedition and you can take their big cities with no defenders to speak of to stop you
Other Gripes:
The Royal Scythians have wives who brag about being Romans and the revolting slaves have army names refering to Latinium.
Other Fun stuff having nothing to do with patches probably:
I do like the barbarian ships.
Future resolutions:
Having been a yurt-burner, I now want to have a yurtless faction for my next campaign
Once a yurt burner, always a yurt burner.
Quote from: MengJiao on October 23, 2013, 09:51:54 AM
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 23, 2013, 09:30:21 AM
Yeah, all 3 factions start with the Steppe Archers and Young Axes, pretty weak and surrounded by neighbors of the same. Only 1 town to begin with little income. All 3 factions are rated "Hard" to play in the intro screen. Patch 4 made more factions want to trade with my Roman/Julia faction and patch 5 made even more factions want to trade or ask to Ally with me. Patch 5 seems to have woken-up the Campaign AI as factions that were staying home are now sailing all over the Med, even Sparta has ships cruising around though I don't know what they're looking for. Nice to see free DLC content. Like Gus, I'm thinking to start-over with a new campaign to see all the new changes in their glory.
The Strategic AI seems to be doing far too much moving around for its own good. The Cimmerians had me pretty much locked up. My one port was blockaded so I couldn't build fleets and my three armies were not up to beating hoplites of any kind. Then most of the Cimmerians went off on some expedition and I was able to take their main city. It they had just stayed home they would have won the war. It seems like the game needs entrenched camps so the AI has something to do when it should just sit still. The current entrenchments and stuff are not worth doing and the AI needs something else to keep its mind on defending things.
The Total War AI rarely did well at defending it's own cities, unless you managed to scare their nearby scattered armies into taking refuge in one. That's why they implemented the larger garrison spawns, and they even bumped those up some more in one of these recent
Rome 2 updates.
I imagine they just bypassed attempting to refine the AI and decided to rely primarily on these spawned garrisons to hold out. If it allows the enemy AI armies to concentrate into one large one and be aggressive, then it's a trade-off I'll take. There's nothing more boring than a TW campaign where all your enemies just turtle up inside their cities and never leave. :-\
Quote from: Gusington on October 23, 2013, 02:11:22 PM
Once a yurt burner, always a yurt burner.
That's the proverbial bad news.
Unless you're the one burning the yurts. Then it's endless fun.
I burned my yurt once while drinking coffee naked. Fortunately aloe helped immensely. I don't really see what this has to do with the game though. Anyway, for a re-start, I'm thinking of trying the Seleucids. They have a good starting position with 5 regions and several Satraps and only at war with 1 faction in the middle of Arabia. They should be an easy start with lots of like cultural factions surrounding them and sea access. So maybe I'll survive to the year 1AD. ;D
Speaking of 1AD, what is the latest year that anyone has played up to? IIRC there is no hard and fast ending date, players can keep going as far as they wish. Is this correct?
Quote from: Gusington on October 24, 2013, 08:08:24 AM
Speaking of 1AD, what is the latest year that anyone has played up to? IIRC there is no hard and fast ending date, players can keep going as far as they wish. Is this correct?
Dunno. I'm in the tens of BC currently.
I'm still at 190 BC as Rome. I don't know how long you can play. I don't recall a turn limit noted on the campaign start screen. And as the objectives evolve as you play maybe there's not a limit.
I'm waiting for the patches to taper off before I start a new campaign.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 23, 2013, 09:43:15 PM
I burned my yurt once while drinking coffee naked. Fortunately aloe helped immensely. I don't really see what this has to do with the game though. Anyway, for a re-start, I'm thinking of trying the Seleucids. They have a good starting position with 5 regions and several Satraps and only at war with 1 faction in the middle of Arabia. They should be an easy start with lots of like cultural factions surrounding them and sea access. So maybe I'll survive to the year 1AD. ;D
I wanted to be the Seleucids, but after they wiped out Easy Pontus and nearly destroyed Easy Egypt -- I just want to wreck them. I think I'll be Macedon after the yurt-burning pain fades away.
Iceni. Definitely.
Quote from: Bison on October 24, 2013, 09:14:55 AM
I'm waiting for the patches to taper off before I start a new campaign.
I waited for the yurt-burning to fade and started a new campaign as Macedon. Not a bad starting situation, nice location -- and after the usual early game food crisis, they have got rolling nicely. I only have two personal objectives: destroy the Seleucids and destroy Rome.
I have never played a Total War game. After reading the review here I think I may want to give one a try.
Which one would be better for a total noob to the series, Rome 2 or Shogun 2?
Quote from: Marty Ward on October 25, 2013, 09:28:35 AM
I have never played a Total War game. After reading the review here I think I may want to give one a try.
Which one would be better for a total noob to the series, Rome 2 or Shogun 2?
as rome II goes thru the patching process and will become as stable as Shogun, i would say its just a question of your favourite time period
You could try the original masterpiece Medieval: Total War if old graphics don't bother you.
Did I say the Seleucids were an easy start? Well I should know better than to listen to myself. I start off at war with the Quidri and march my army down there and they offer me 6300 gold for a Peace Treaty. I accept and then look around the strategy map and everything east of my territory are my satrapices, from south of Parthia to the Indian Ocean. The only hostile power on my border is Egypt to the south. So I head my army down that way and the next turn all my satrapices to the east declare their independence and declare war on me. Six factions total declare war on me in one turn. Only the Medes in Mesopotamia stay loyal and I'm now at war with about the eastern third of the world. What'd I do to piss them off? Make peace with the Quidri? This is on the "Normal" difficulty level.I think the Seleucids are the new Ottomans in this game. :-\
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 25, 2013, 10:47:27 AM
Did I say the Seleucids were an easy start? Well I should know better than to listen to myself. I start off at war with the Quidri and march my army down there and they offer me 6300 gold for a Peace Treaty. I accept and then look around the strategy map and everything east of my territory are my satrapices, from south of Parthia to the Indian Ocean. The only hostile power on my border is Egypt to the south. So I head my army down that way and the next turn all my satrapices to the east declare their independence and declare war on me. Six factions total declare war on me in one turn. Only the Medes in Mesopotamia stay loyal and I'm now at war with about the eastern third of the world. What'd I do to piss them off? Make peace with the Quidri? This is on the "Normal" difficulty level.I think the Seleucids are the new Ottomans in this game. :-\
That is odd. Something like that must have happened to the Seleucids when I was the Parthinians. I try to avoid having too many Satrapies or allies. As Macedon at the moment I have one defensive ally (the Triballi) and a lot of trading partners. I still got sucked into a war with Pontus which led to what looked like it was going to be a desperate river-crossing battle, but somehow things went well: there were two crossings -- a bridge and a ford. I took the ford with the main force of hoplites and was mopping up when it seemed like a good idea to take the bridge as well since I could come at it from three sides. That little operation got underway and I went cinematic with the javelin men who I thought were going to make a feint at the bridge and skirmish a little from across the river. Somehow the orders got mixed up and I found myself (and the camera man I guess) on the bridge with slingers slinging stones at us from two sides. This didn't seem like a good plan so I took direct control and ordered a mano-a-mano charge against one bunch of slingers. Off we went with a few unconvincing cheers. The slingers routed and the battle ended in a big defeat for Pontus.
To be fair, the campaign start screen said the Seleucids did have a diplomacy penalty with eastern factions. They all started with red faces but I never expected them all to rebel right away. I might be able to make peace with them but they're also at war with my loyal satrapices and that'd probably piss them off.
Quote from: Gusington on October 25, 2013, 09:58:22 AM
You could try the original masterpiece Medieval: Total War if old graphics don't bother you.
I wouldn't recommend such an old game as an introduction to the TW series. Are you mad Gus?! :-*
Well...yes.
Marty could try Medieval 2...one of my top three games of all time. And mod the heck out of it.
If you are starting out, pick the one that games an era you are interested in. Between Medieval 2, Rome 2, Napoleon and Shogun 2. They are all great and you will enjoy it more if you like the period. If you don't care, I would highly recommend Shogun 2...if is the most polished and beautiful of the group. Plus it has the best AI..by far
^I agree. But Japanese history can be kind of niche. Not sure what Marty is into. I still don't think the original Medieval is such a bad idea. It's a great game.
Yep M1 is good. But the graphics are very dated. Heck, even darthmoded Empire is good now.
The part of Medieval that still sticks in my head ten years later is the music. Probably the best music I've ever enjoyed in a computer game.
Well I'd suggest that which ever you choose to try Marty you wait for a Steam sale to hit. You'll certainly be able to pick up shogun for 50-75% off and I suspect that Rome II will have a sale day during the Christmas sale with a 40-50% off.
TW: Eras goes for a pretty low price and includes all the early releases and is on Steam, IIRC.
I only started playing Total War with the start-up of Rome 1 TW. But I'd make an argument that Medieval 2 had the best balance of an easy to play game but with lots of things to strategize over. Solid AI, beautiful units, sieges, and a whole new continent to explore/conquer when the tech gets high enough. Gunpowder units, religion, spies and assassins, and when you think you've got all that figured out, the Pope throws a crusade at you. Loved it and still play it from time to time. My 2 cents.
Quote from: Gusington on October 25, 2013, 10:15:11 PM
TW: Eras goes for a pretty low price and includes all the early releases and is on Steam, IIRC.
A big complaint I had about the originals (aside from them looking like crap these days) is the way the army movement was handled. You could send one of your army 'pieces' to attack a neighboring territory and end up having an enemy army just pass right by and take the one you attacked out of. Like playing musical chairs. The last time I played MTW, that happened a few turns in a row, the map had turned into a medieval version of Twister, and I ragequit never to return.
There was the usual complaining about new features in the first RTW, notably the higher fidelity campaign map and army movement, but the concept was a big leap past the simplistic checkerboard type zone movement in the first two. Moving your armies made more sense, despite the endemically poor AI.
The old love felt for the original TW games are as much nostalgia as anything else, IMO. I don't recommend a newcomer starting with those, and I'm not just speaking about possible OS issues. Start with Shogun 2 or Rome 2 first.
Thanks for all the advice. I downloaded a demo of Shogun 2 and hope to give it a try soon.
As I don't really have a favorite time period (they all sound good to me) and older graphics aren't that big deal if the game is good so I will probably let my wallet decide and one I see one sale. :)
Quote from: Marty Ward on October 26, 2013, 08:05:28 AM
Thanks for all the advice. I downloaded a demo of Shogun 2 and hope to give it a try soon.
As I don't really have a favorite time period (they all sound good to me) and older graphics aren't that big deal if the game is good so I will probably let my wallet decide and one I see one sale. :)
Of them all, I didn't ever buy Empire or Napoleon. Some folks love them, but I've heard some folks didn't.
Medieval, Shogun, Rome One or Two for any of them will be a win.
Honestly, I think I like Rome II the best because it's more streamlined and I'm a turn-based strategy kind of player. If you haven't read my review it goes into a bit more depth http://grogheads.com/?p=2936.
Thought i'd fire mine up after leaving it to patch for a few weeks and patches have broken the game on my PC :( updating my GFX drivers and keeping fingers crossed.
Great review Longblade. Don't know how I missed it earlier. Have your impressions changed any with the patches and new DLC?
I want Rome II, but I'm already juggling so many games I'm afraid it would sit on my desktop for a year before I got to it. So I'm making myself wait for a sale.
Maybe.
Quote from: Steelgrave on October 26, 2013, 12:25:57 PM
I want Rome II, but I'm already juggling so many games I'm afraid it would sit on my desktop for a year before I got to it. So I'm making myself wait for a sale.
Maybe.
you only play two!!!!!
Quote from: FlickJax on October 26, 2013, 10:04:27 AM
Thought i'd fire mine up after leaving it to patch for a few weeks and patches have broken the game on my PC :( updating my GFX drivers and keeping fingers crossed.
Nope, bloody patches have killed game on my machine :(
Quote from: FlickJax on October 26, 2013, 12:48:45 PM
Quote from: FlickJax on October 26, 2013, 10:04:27 AM
Thought i'd fire mine up after leaving it to patch for a few weeks and patches have broken the game on my PC :( updating my GFX drivers and keeping fingers crossed.
Nope, bloody patches have killed game on my machine :(
Have you tried opting into the beta update? It supposedly addresses some peoples' dead game.
yep tried that, so annoying. Game was working fine until last 2 patches.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 26, 2013, 11:13:56 AM
Great review Longblade. Don't know how I missed it earlier. Have your impressions changed any with the patches and new DLC?
Honestly I haven't gone back to it since I wrote that. Been playing Tropico and getting myself mentally prepped to look at Flashpoint Red Storm.
Quote from: Gusington on October 25, 2013, 06:04:25 PM
Well...yes.
Marty could try Medieval 2...one of my top three games of all time. And mod the heck out of it.
Agreed - Med 2 is excellent - the Gold edition has lots of playability. One of favourite games, beaten only by FotS.
^Me too I think. Never liked Empire or Napoleon as much as I wanted to.
Empire is 'ok' but the Nappy period does nothing for me.
Quote from: Marty Ward on October 26, 2013, 08:05:28 AM
Thanks for all the advice. I downloaded a demo of Shogun 2 and hope to give it a try soon.
As I don't really have a favorite time period (they all sound good to me) and older graphics aren't that big deal if the game is good so I will probably let my wallet decide and one I see one sale. :)
Shogun 2 is the one I would've recommended, but you already beat me to it. :) Of the newer Total War games, that's definitely the one you want to go with.
The original
Medieval game remains my favorite in the series, but it has a bitch of a time running on modern machines. The original
Shogun is similarly excellent, but it too has issues running on newer PC's (although not as much, oddly enough.) Were it not for these technical problems, I'd recommend them both every time, despite their age.
I would love 'em to do a 30 years war / ECW game.
"Empire" is my favorite. It's not the best one in terms of performance/AI but it's not bad with Darthmod. I love the scope and the time period
Quote from: bob48 on October 27, 2013, 05:52:06 PM
I would love 'em to do a 30 years war / ECW game.
There was a nice mod for M2 that did the ECW.
^Yes, I have it loaded onto my PC right now. There are 50+ German factions available to play. Here's a link:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?1965-1648-Thirty-Years-of-War
Quote from: FlickJax on October 27, 2013, 08:40:41 AM
yep tried that, so annoying. Game was working fine until last 2 patches.
Shogun 2 still works, but still no Rome 2 :(
Quote from: FlickJax on October 28, 2013, 02:58:36 AM
Quote from: FlickJax on October 27, 2013, 08:40:41 AM
yep tried that, so annoying. Game was working fine until last 2 patches.
Shogun 2 still works, but still no Rome 2 :(
New install and she is back :)
Going to start a campaign?
started again as Iceni, so far so good.
I like the way the AI takes defensive positions, still letting me pepper them too much and then steam roll with infantry.
The Iceni eh...you don't say :)
Post impressions!!
blood and gore anyone?
I finally pulled the trigger on the Radious mod. Will post some impressions when I get a feel for the mod.
Iceni blood and gore?
Slash was the Radious mod complex to set up?
just seen it on steam 31 October - blood, dismemberment, goo, all sorts £1.99 for chopping the heads off your enemies
Not my cup of tea...I didn't get that DLC forShogun 2 either.
Quote from: Gusington on October 29, 2013, 02:23:43 PM
Not my cup of tea...I didn't get that DLC forShogun 2 either.
oh really - didnt know it was SII also - i did think it was for the kids to shock their parents, it was more the new stabby sounds that interested me - i can live without it
Quote from: Gusington on October 29, 2013, 02:19:20 PM
Slash was the Radious mod complex to set up?
Last I saw, Radious' mods were supported in the Steam Workshop so all you have to do is "subscribe" to it in the Steam Workshop and fire up a fresh game IIRC.
Quote from: undercovergeek on October 29, 2013, 02:22:02 PM
just seen it on steam 31 October - blood, dismemberment, goo, all sorts £1.99 for chopping the heads off your enemies
Sweet pickleshits,
another 'Blood Pack' DLC?
That's just one graphical feature I expect to be in 3D tactical strategy games from the start. I don't buy any "we were avoiding higher maturity ratings!" BS from them, either.
Can't say I didn't see this coming as the blood was shockingly missing in the game release.
Me neither. Won't get it.
So how is the stablity of.TW mods in the new Steam workshop? Better than before?
I like me some gorey stuff.. 2,5 euros won't kill me. :P
Like Nefaro said. Radious was a breeze to install. Just subscribe to it on Steam. The download was about 21MB but that only took about 3 min. for me. Then click on "Mod Manager" and then "Play". And there's an easy "Un-Subscribe" tab to click on too or if you want vanilla, just don't click the Mod-Manager button. So easy even a Yurt-Burner can figure it out. ;D
Yeah, the steamed workshop is a breeze. Just browse and "subscribe" to the mods you want
Yeah I've done it a million times for Civ V...never for TW.
So I'm playing the Seleucids at war with Egypt, and I take Jerusalem and then head east to Petra. They're both in the same province. Petra is the provincial capital and has strong defensive walls and Jerusalem has none. Shouldn't this be just the opposite? You ancient history experts out there let me know if I'm wrong about this. Was there ever a time Petra was a fortified city? And wasn't Jerusalem always one? Even before the Roman era? I know, I know. It's CA's game and they can make it any damned way they want. Just saying... ???
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 30, 2013, 08:52:06 AM
So I'm playing the Seleucids at war with Egypt, and I take Jerusalem and then head east to Petra. They're both in the same province. Petra is the provincial capital and has strong defensive walls and Jerusalem has none. Shouldn't this be just the opposite? You ancient history experts out there let me know if I'm wrong about this. Was there ever a time Petra was a fortified city? And wasn't Jerusalem always one? Even before the Roman era? I know, I know. It's CA's game and they can make it any damned way they want. Just saying... ???
It does seem arbitrary. On the other hand, there always have been good places for big forts over in the direction of Petra. For example, John the Baptist seems to have been decapitated in a fortress over in that direction. And this is an area (regions and such) where I think the game is maybe too abstract and arbitrary due its scale. I would have preferred a game that focused on the Levant in this period or actually maybe 1500 years earlier. 1772 BC might be a lot more fun in gamey terms: Egypt busy falling apart in the aftermath of the Middle Kingdom; Crete being the Ulimate Sea Power; the Myceneans building up; the Trojan war brewing (or at least a Proto-Trojan war brewing); the very first cavalry just starting; no camels being ridden and no elephants either; no weaponized Iron etc. etc....much more fun.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 30, 2013, 08:52:06 AM
So I'm playing the Seleucids at war with Egypt, and I take Jerusalem and then head east to Petra. They're both in the same province. Petra is the provincial capital and has strong defensive walls and Jerusalem has none. Shouldn't this be just the opposite? You ancient history experts out there let me know if I'm wrong about this. Was there ever a time Petra was a fortified city? And wasn't Jerusalem always one? Even before the Roman era? I know, I know. It's CA's game and they can make it any damned way they want. Just saying... ???
Petra was a bustling economic center in the earlier half of the Roman period and before. You'd recognize some of it's stonemasonry if you saw
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Some of it's areas were carved out of rock and the front gates were supposedly only directly reachable by a narrow path with vertical cliffs on the side, otherwise having natural defensive walls, canyons, etc around the city proper at the time.
There's all kinds of web resources for researching the historical city of Petra on the net, I'm sure. The usual suspect gives a quick summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftourists360.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F09%2Fpetra-jordan-1-450x336.jpg&hash=d5aaad8f1fd01c5d1eafd943ec59305054d9e1d6)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftourists360.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F09%2Fpetra-jordan-2-450x302.jpg&hash=9117090c98eaa9a6fc91cc00fd2276101dc5684f)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2Fc%2Fc8%2FGravkammare_2.jpg%2F800px-Gravkammare_2.jpg&hash=cc602df9ecf128ac3ff46293ba10b88602f57a90)
I don't see any defensive walls. Unless they're very well hidden. :)
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 30, 2013, 10:06:27 PM
I don't see any defensive walls. Unless they're very well hidden. :)
LOL!
You don't see the plateau cliffs surrounding it? :P I don't think they needed many extra walls except to plug any holes in escarpments surrounding the place. I think the area is a series of such eroded cliff valleys, so it probably looks the same on the other side of the ridge behind it (with the sheer cliffs and wotnot). I've not seen it in person of course, but it sounds like it made for a decent natural place for fortification back in it's day. Plus it was supposed to be one of the few places in the area with lots of running water.
I've only been there once, but as I recall the cliffs only cover about a third of the perimeter. The rest isn't exactly open terrain, but is hardly formidable. It's been a while (a really long while!) since I looked into it, but I think in antiquity the rolling hills on the non-cliff sides were defended by a stone or brick wall. A defensive enclosure, but nothing comparable to the great fortresses of antiquity (e.g. Acrocorinth).
There were trade routes running through the non-cliff sides, and a Crusader-era watchtower sitting on top of a high rocky outcrop jutting out of the plain right near where the cliffs stop. So Petra was an important road intersection even in the Middle Ages.
I was a little disappointed with my capture of Jerusalem. Having seen the city myself, I was looking forward to what CA made it look like in 165 BC, but both times I've fought the Egyptians for it, the battle for it takes place well away from the city and you can only see it in the distance. Could this be for political reasons?
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 31, 2013, 09:17:36 AM
I was a little disappointed with my capture of Jerusalem. Having seen the city myself, I was looking forward to what CA made it look like in 165 BC, but both times I've fought the Egyptians for it, the battle for it takes place well away from the city and you can only see it in the distance. Could this be for political reasons?
That's (sadly) a reasonable possibility, but it still strikes me as unlikely. CA didn't hesitate to portray the city in
Medieval 2, after all -- and that would've been far more controversial (potentially), given the era.
Rome II has been patched again. Just received the 1.6 patch though Steam.
Yeah I got it too...don't know what it does but i'm expecting a totally different game from what I was playing a month ago.
I haven't gotten anything except blood DLC and haven't seen any announcements. Are you sure it's not DLC you get free?
Not sure...the last DLC I got was Nomadic Tribes. Got this Rome II bit and a Shogun II bit while loading up Castelevania.
25% off this weekend on Steam
I'm having one hell of a game. Started out as Rome at war with the Eutruscans and the Veneti. They weren't doing much and each had only one town left. Syracuse declared war on me so I sent a legion south to take the city. I took Syracuse and after I was DOW'ed by Athens, Sparta and Aedui who were all in an alliance with Syracuse and each other. So know I'm at war with all of Greece (Mecedonia joined in later) as well as the Eutruscans.
I managed to take out the Veneti and Aedui (or whatever they are called...north of Athens). I took Athens proper but that legion was promptly defeated by a combination of Athenian and Spartan armies. Then Sparta took Syracuse. I can't take out the Eutruscans because their last city is blockaded by Delmatea...and for some reason you can't attack cities of they are blockaded or under seige by an NPC.
So I have 3 legions...but one is shredded up north and the other two are upgrading and refitting on the Italian mainland.
I'm playing with the Silven improvement. Mod which- among other things- nerfs transport fleets. One decent navy can destroy an army in transport. I took out the main Macedonian army attacking Armentium (or whatever on northeast Italy) as they sat off the coast. Eventually the Athenian fleet destroyed my navy though
Hey Mikeck. I thought about Silvan but went with Radious instead and I'm liking it a lot better than vanilla. The economy and public disorder's easier to manage but growth is slower so you must plan city building more strategically. Army and navy caps are higher and with more money you can afford to build more military units. But Diplomacy is more reactive to your relations to other factions so you've got to think more about your moves and treaties. Agent actions have less chance of success but when successful, do more damage so an experienced agent is now a more valuable asset. Battle AI is much improved with morale lasting longer and a more epic, toe-to-toe feel to battles. I restarted my campaigns and upped the difficulty level to "Hard" and am having much more fun than with vanilla. A recent battle as Rome vs Etruscans lasted over 35 min. and the annoying Mr. "Wavering" never showed his ugly face.
By the by, isn't the next update supposed to nerf transport fleets? Or did I just fantasize/imagine reading that?
I may want to start a new campaign. I haven't been following the mod scene on this one. Which are considered the best?
I prefer Silven (S.T.I.M)
Other likes Radious
And then there are "Lines of battle" and others
It really is a taste thing...there is no "Darthmod" or some must have. For me, STIM does the best with unit formations, morale, combat length and changes to the campaign. I play with the "2 turns per year" mod
Quote from: mikeck on November 08, 2013, 04:27:13 PM
I prefer Silven (S.T.I.M)
Other likes Radious
And then there are "Lines of battle" and others
It really is a taste thing...there is no "Darthmod" or some must have. For me, STIM does the best with unit formations, morale, combat length and changes to the campaign. I play with the "2 turns per year" mod
so the game itself still needs a little help from mods - or is vanilla a decent enough experience?
Vanilla's decent but the mods improve the game a lot and are a breeze to use. My only problem with Radious was the mod does 2 turns per year but with my old vanilla saved games, it continued to have 1 turn per year. With a new campaign, it did 2 per year like it was supposed to.
Quote from: undercovergeek on November 08, 2013, 04:39:34 PM
Quote from: mikeck on November 08, 2013, 04:27:13 PM
I prefer Silven (S.T.I.M)
Other likes Radious
And then there are "Lines of battle" and others
It really is a taste thing...there is no "Darthmod" or some must have. For me, STIM does the best with unit formations, morale, combat length and changes to the campaign. I play with the "2 turns per year" mod
so the game itself still needs a little help from mods - or is vanilla a decent enough experience?
I just started a Radious campaign as Rome. It's a lot more fun than vanilla, but then I've played the half-dozen versions of vanilla.
Yeah, you can play vanilla and enjoy it. But the mods enhance the experience....combat mostly. I use them to extend the combat
Quote from: mikeck on November 10, 2013, 12:28:10 PM
Yeah, you can play vanilla and enjoy it. But the mods enhance the experience....combat mostly. I use them to extend the combat
cool, ive subscribed to Radious, downloaded it, it has a green tick in mod manager and i press play - how do i know im using Radious?
i instantly ended turn 1 on 272 BC and turn 2 is 272 BC still - presumably this is Radious with the two turns a year?
Quote from: undercovergeek on November 10, 2013, 12:41:09 PM
Quote from: mikeck on November 10, 2013, 12:28:10 PM
Yeah, you can play vanilla and enjoy it. But the mods enhance the experience....combat mostly. I use them to extend the combat
cool, ive subscribed to Radious, downloaded it, it has a green tick in mod manager and i press play - how do i know im using Radious?
i instantly ended turn 1 on 272 BC and turn 2 is 272 BC still - presumably this is Radious with the two turns a year?
I wondered the same thing after I subscribed to Radious. Two turns a year was a clue and then I noticed I had six armies available (3 is what you get on starting in Vanilla). I haven't had any battles yet so I don't know how those might be different. Also the country isn't starving and my prosperity isn't appalling.
Yes, Radious has 2 turns per year. You can tell it's running by having more food right from the start and the new units depending on which faction you play.
Patch 7 has just come out for Rome II. Suppose to be a number of AI improvements.
Thanks for the heads-up, Labbug! Gonna go check it out.
Patch 7 includes an unlock for a playable Bactria, for.those into that sorta thing, like me.
I'll get-- Bactria--to you on that subject. Best part for me is it plays well with Radious and so I can now return to my campaign. Not being able to play was a cam-pain. No more I promise.
Started a Pontus campaign on Normal. Let's do this...
Quote from: Gusington on November 21, 2013, 03:28:27 PM
Patch 7 includes an unlock for a playable Bactria, for.those into that sorta thing, like me.
Huh, didn't notice that. Which culture group are they under?
Quote from: Martok on November 21, 2013, 05:38:19 PM
Started a Pontus campaign on Normal. Let's do this...
Quote from: Gusington on November 21, 2013, 03:28:27 PM
Patch 7 includes an unlock for a playable Bactria, for.those into that sorta thing, like me.
Huh, didn't notice that. Which culture group are they under?
Bactrians should be "Eastern" I would think.
Yeah I think the Bactrians are pre-Jesus Persian types. I don't think my Rome II was updated, btw...
My game shows it's updated to Patch 7. However, the Bactrians are not showing up as a playable faction.
Hmmm...maybe the Bactrians will show up as free DLC soon and i read the patch details wrong.
I thought the bactrians (isn't that the stuff my mom used to squirt on my cuts?...no that bactine) were available in the new beta patch? Unless that was patch 7
The Baktria will be a free DLC which is suppose to be coming soon.
Ah ok...I read the Patch 7 notes wrong then, sorry fellers. That said I still don't think I actually got Patch 7.
No worries, Gus. I'm not as big on the nomadic/"barbarian" factions anyway, so no need to hurry on my account. :)
Quote from: Gusington on November 22, 2013, 10:36:55 AM
That said I still don't think I actually got Patch 7.
Your game should say v1.7.0 on the main screen. Are you showing something different?
Would you guys say the game is fit to start a new campaign yet?
I have been sidetracked by some other games, but I am really looking forward to diving back into Rome 2. Is it ready in your opinions?
Haven't checked the loading screen yet, but I don't remember Steam downloading anything either.
Quote from: Yskonyn on November 22, 2013, 03:34:54 PM
Would you guys say the game is fit to start a new campaign yet?
I have been sidetracked by some other games, but I am really looking forward to diving back into Rome 2. Is it ready in your opinions?
Absolutely. At this point, you either like the design decisions or you don't. But it's pretty stable, runs well on most systems and the AI is as good as any other TW game
Quote from: Gusington on November 22, 2013, 05:56:44 PM
Haven't checked the loading screen yet, but I don't remember Steam downloading anything either.
I didn't notice the patch downloading on my desktop computer but I
did see it d/l on my laptop. Odd.
Perhaps we just left Steam logged in and it d/l'd on it's own. We just didn't notice and the update log wipes it after each restart.
With all the crap I have installed, I swear Steam updates one of my games every hour. >:( I can't keep track of what's been recently updated anymore and it's often crap I haven't played in months, anyway.
Well the thing with me, in my temporary basement HQ, my internet is less than speedy and I notice everything on Steam. Games take an entire overnight to DL and some large patches close to that long.
Quote from: Gusington on November 22, 2013, 07:51:17 PM
Well the thing with me, in my temporary basement HQ, my internet is less than speedy and I notice everything on Steam. Games take an entire overnight to DL and some large patches close to that long.
Did you ever check your version number on the main menu?
Also - if you previously opted into the beta version then it probably wouldn't have much more to download once it officially released.
It was 566MB Gus I think. Very tiny in the right upper corner of the start screen, should have gone from V1.6.0 to V1.7.0. Not a lot new to tell by playwise that I can tell.
I don't think there is a beta to opt into now anyway. Most of the improvement in patch 7 were AI related I believe so not too sure you would notice any overt changes
LOL. I've meant to mention this for a while now, but I have to credit the game's writers with some pretty funny dialogue, particularly in the diplomacy screen.
I totally cracked up at the Cappadocians' emissary's response when I accepted a peace offer from them: "I had heard that you were as wearisome as a stubborn camel, yet this is not even slightly true!" Gotta love the snark. :D
Just checked and I am patched to 1.7...that 566 MB that Nefaro mentioned must have snuck right past me!
Not unlike that wolf spider, apparently. :P
By the by, anyone got advice for someone playing Pontus for the first time? Not real sure what I ought to be doing here.
Pontus is rated as one of the 'Easy' faction isn't it?
Just FYI, on steam workshop, there is the new "Toons all in one mod". It is in two parts so make sure you get part 1 and 2, but it is loaded with extra units, uniforms, etc, etc.
Quote from: Gusington on November 23, 2013, 12:09:28 PM
Pontus is rated as one of the 'Easy' faction isn't it?
It's rated as a "Normal" faction.
So far, I've just been doing the usual turtling -- conducting research (mostly on the civilian/economy side), upgrading my cities, recruiting a few additional units into both my starting armies, etc. Signed a few nonaggression treaties and/or trade agreements with various factions, including the Cappadocians as indicated earlier (Pontus starts out at war with them). I've got my fleet sailing clockwise around the Black Sea, exploring.
I turtle most of the time in TW and other similar games. So what's bothering you? You feel like you're missing something or somesuch?
Quote from: Gusington on November 23, 2013, 12:46:40 PM
I turtle most of the time in TW and other similar games. So what's bothering you? You feel like you're missing something or somesuch?
Sort of, yeah. Even if I'm *not* really missing anything, I still feel like I am.
I think it's (at least partially) because Pontus is so completely unknown to me. I'm used to playing factions with whom I have at least a passing familiarity -- and therefore a sense of identity -- something I'm mostly lacking in this case.
My familiarity with the Classical period is mostly limited to the peoples of Europe and North Africa (Carthage, Iceni, Macedon, Rome, etc.). Of the eastern factions (Parthia, Selucids, and co.), I know very little; Ptolemaic Egypt is pretty much the lone exception (if it even counts as an "eastern" faction, that is).
In contrast, about the only thing I know about Pontus is that I *think* it was a regional power at one point...I think. I'm fascinated by these guys, but I simply don't "know" them. :-[
And all the times I have played Rome total war and now grown to Rome 2 total war, I can say I've never played any other faction other than Rome. There is Rome and everyone that gets beat by Rome
Well, it appears 1.7 doesn't like the Slivan Total Improvement Mod. If I enable it the game crashes on startup.
Martok I usually feel like I'm missing something in TW games and usually I am, but it's typically something minor. It took me a few weeks to become really comfortable with all the systems in Rome II.
Quote from: tgb on November 23, 2013, 04:47:40 PM
Well, it appears 1.7 doesn't like the Slivan Total Improvement Mod. If I enable it the game crashes on startup.
Same problem here. It hasn't been updated. I switched to "toons all in one" which I like better.
He seems to have included a mod that allows a lot if unit formations. Particularly, "pike" formation for my Roman Hastati. Basically, it puts them in a shield wall (a but looser) but they can move. Also, my Triarii have a new option to "move forward"...or something like that. When they are engaged, they use their shields to basically push the enemy back.
Anyway, yeah, mods are tricky when the dev is pushing out patches every other week or so
Radious didn't work either until the V7 patch went public. Now it works just fine. Pontus has more of a trading advantage over other factions if I remember correctly. Galatia was the big bully in my Pontus game and the factions across the Black Sea were never friendly with anyone. Try not to get caught-up in the big war between Seleucia and her rebellious eastern satraps.
Quote from: Gusington on November 23, 2013, 05:40:45 PM
Martok I usually feel like I'm missing something in TW games and usually I am, but it's typically something minor. It took me a few weeks to become really comfortable with all the systems in Rome II.
That's probably the other main reason I feel like I've been struggling, yes.
I've simply not played the game enough yet to feel like I have a decent handle on its mechanics and various features. I *finally* now feel like I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it...maybe (sorry, I know that's a bunch of qualifiers there), but I'll admit that previously I felt rather...lost.
I got comfortable after about 3-4 weeks too, and then started getting pretty good at it. Of course then I stopped playing...
Quote from: Yskonyn on November 22, 2013, 03:34:54 PM
Would you guys say the game is fit to start a new campaign yet?
I have been sidetracked by some other games, but I am really looking forward to diving back into Rome 2. Is it ready in your opinions?
I'm already feeling nostalgic about my early battles as Easy Egypt, when the Selucids came down like wolves and everybody in their little pharoah caps spent a lot of time scorching their way Antioch.
But SpyElectra just saved Epirus with some impossible moves (assassinating the Spartan Spy-girl with a 10% chance, blowing up two Spartan baggage trains and escaping to Ardenaidia with a green glow on her heels). Now I'm stuck with Epirus and everybody hates me except Macedon and the Etruscans. Not the most promising of associates. So...hmmm...er...fun game!
Man, I keep agreeing to all these proposals for defensive alliances. I have a bad feeling I'm engendering the Classical era's equivalent of WW1 here...
Fun game, though!
Argh. Stupid AI behavior rears its ugly head -- and in my own units, no less...
I tell my slingers to engage the enemy slingers during a city assault. So what do they do? Why, they follow my melee troops over the walls, of course!...where they're promptly slaughtered by the enemy's own melee troops. >:( Granted, this group was only responsible for my secondary break-in point, but still.
On the other hand, I do have to credit the enemy AI with at least a modicum of intelligence and economic use of its forces: It was swift to pull some of its troops from the main gate and redeploy them to meet my secondary attack, but not so many so as to leave the main gate undefended. The AI still lost in the end (I'd brought almost overwhelming force to the assault), but it made me pay a much higher price in lives than I might have otherwise -- something I appreciated seeing. :)
Well they can't sling rocks over the wall right?
....
I have no idea -- it never occurred to me to even check that, to be honest. However, I'd be willing to bet you're right; it would certainly explain it. (Note to self: Must read/check all unit abilities/limitations more thoroughly.) Sigh.
Move along folks, nothing more to see here...
Lol
For anyone that is still interested and hasn't bought yet, on sale on Steam for 50% off for the next 22 hours
Quote from: MengJiao on November 27, 2013, 01:24:43 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on November 22, 2013, 03:34:54 PM
Would you guys say the game is fit to start a new campaign yet?
I have been sidetracked by some other games, but I am really looking forward to diving back into Rome 2. Is it ready in your opinions?
I'm already feeling nostalgic about my early battles as Easy Egypt, when the Selucids came down like wolves and everybody in their little pharoah caps spent a lot of time scorching their way Antioch.
But SpyElectra just saved Epirus with some impossible moves (assassinating the Spartan Spy-girl with a 10% chance, blowing up two Spartan baggage trains and escaping to Ardenaidia with a green glow on her heels). Now I'm stuck with Epirus and everybody hates me except Macedon and the Etruscans. Not the most promising of associates. So...hmmm...er...fun game!
Note to self: I hated being Epirus. The Iceni with the toons two-part mod have been fun (though barbarians in general crush everybody in that mod set).
I am playing Rome with toon's two part mod... Am I doomed to be destroyed by barbarians ?? Just started
Haven't seen anyone mention the new expansion:
CAESER ON GAUL
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/113376-Caesar-in-Gaul-Expansion-Campaign-Pack-for-Total-War-ROME-II?s=5a3662575192059d4d895b8d2b751f76
It is a standalone and looks like what Napoleon was to Empire...a tighter, more focused slice of a bigger game
Cool, but I just wish these things would be integrated in the main game instead of stand alones. I hate stand alones. :)
I'm sure it will if you own Rome2. In other words, when you select "play new campaign" you will get the option to play a Clasic campaign or the "Caesar in Gaul". Campaign.
Quote from: mikeck on December 02, 2013, 09:32:00 AM
Haven't seen anyone mention the new expansion:
CAESER ON GAUL
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/113376-Caesar-in-Gaul-Expansion-Campaign-Pack-for-Total-War-ROME-II?s=5a3662575192059d4d895b8d2b751f76
It is a standalone and looks like what Napoleon was to Empire...a tighter, more focused slice of a bigger game
Wow! This sounds fantastic. I just went through Gaul with the Iceni and, well, gosh, they had some great troops. I hope there are other more focused expansions (eg. for Hannibal or Pompey or Vespasian or Claudius or Or Queen Zenobia)
I hadn't seen that. Thanks for the heads-up Mikeck.
Me.neither, thanks Mikeck. Have to start an Iceni game before I get that new expansion. I should study up on the era too since I don't know much about it.
The Gaul Expansion is available for pre-order now on Steam for 10% off at $13.49. Activates on Dec. 12th I believe. I don't know why they even ask me if I want to purchase it. They know I'm their Total War Bitch. Steam should just save time and go ahead and bill my account. :-[
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 02, 2013, 11:07:31 PM
The Gaul Expansion is available for pre-order now on Steam for 10% off at $13.49. Activates on Dec. 12th I believe. I don't know why they even ask me if I want to purchase it. They know I'm their Total War Bitch. Steam should just save time and go ahead and bill my account. :-[
LOL :)
I definitely want it but I am going to be disciplined and play through some of my other new titles first...I have been making some slow and steady progress through my back catalogue. And I also want to play through an Iceni campaign first, before the new DLC.
I am going to take a gamble and hope it will be at a higher discount once the Steam X-mas sales start. :)
Quote from: Yskonyn on December 03, 2013, 04:46:48 PM
I am going to take a gamble and hope it will be at a higher discount once the Steam X-mas sales start. :)
Most everything is as cheap or cheaper on their last minute sale.. and pretty much
everything is in it.
Yes...but then I can't have it the first day! Why buy tommorow what I can by today for twice as much!
Had to dig this up from a couple pages back....
Is the game worth it at $23? I have read a lot of negative press and information across the web, where does it stand currently?
Thanks,
PE
I thinks it's a deal for 23 bucks, with all the patches in place now it's a good game.
Total steal for 23.00...don't believe all the negative hype.
Agreed. Plus, with all of the mods, you can change whatever you don't like.
I'd buy it for $20 just to watch the pretty graphics:)
I'm a bit wary of the release date. This Thursday? Seems a bit rushed to me. Didn't Nappy come out a full year after Empire?
If you mean the "Caesar in Gaul" DLC, it has been moved to Dec 19 release. I think it's a bit less involved than Nappy
You know I didn't even notice that it was pushed back. Rome II is calling me back, but I am enjoying the other stuff I am playing now. That said I am looking forward to see what all the patching has done in the last few months and I want to try that all in one mod...Radious IIRC.
So this is indeed a good game as it stands now, if it were purchased today?
Admittedly I've not looked at one review or gameplay video of this one, until today. I looked at Angry Joe's review and he was, of course, less than happy. Then again, the video came out on 9/9. If it's patched up and working well now, this is something that I will need to put into my queue.
7 patches later and a host of mods thrown in, I would say it is at minimum a very good game. Would we steer you wrong?
IMHO it is not at the level of greatness that Shogun 2 is at, but it is still very good, especially if you like ancients.
Ahhh...the angry Joe review. I never thought it was as bad as he made out. Enjoyed it from day one, never had any performance issues and found the AI to be as good as Nappy but not as good as Shogun 2. After the patches, the AI has improved...probably equivalent to Shogun 2 which is really all you can expect from the franchise (or all you should expect). Just like for X rebirth, many of the complaints revolve around design choices. You either like them or you don't.
It is a much better game now but I would recommend mods. I use "empire divided"
Or whatever it is in Latin...there are many, but pick one that adjusts stats so as to lengthen the battles a bit. As with all TW games, the vanilla battles end too quickly.
I'm glad I don't watch whoever this Angry guy is because I have found it to be a fun game from release. Maybe this Angry guy just needs a sandwich. I find that having a sandwich solves many of my angry moments in life.
Damn you all, I bought it. Whats the recommended mods to get?
I would first play vanilla. You can then always mod stuff you don't like later.
Quote from: Bison on December 11, 2013, 12:33:38 AM
I'm glad I don't watch whoever this Angry guy is because I have found it to be a fun game from release. Maybe this Angry guy just needs a sandwich. I find that having a sandwich solves many of my angry moments in life.
He's entertaining...if you don't mind someone who yells more than Lewis Black. ;D
Edit: A good place to start with AJ is his review of Alien: Colonial Marines.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGX2WE4QUw8
Quote from: mikeck on December 10, 2013, 09:32:21 PM
If you mean the "Caesar in Gaul" DLC, it has been moved to Dec 19 release. I think it's a bit less involved than Nappy
Bad idea, if true. I've read that the Steam Xmas sale starts that day. Good luck competing with that. CA/Sega would be better off releasing after the holidays.
Quote from: Bison on December 11, 2013, 12:33:38 AM
I'm glad I don't watch whoever this Angry guy is because I have found it to be a fun game from release. Maybe this Angry guy just needs a sandwich. I find that having a sandwich solves many of my angry moments in life.
He only pointed out some of the glaringly obvious issues with the game at release. Many of those I had witnessed myself.
While the guy is often passionate in his reviews, I don't think he overstated much of anything. Of course, there have been a lot of updates since the release and even the first couple improved the game noticeably since then.
The first of his video reviews I watched from him was for the
Napoleonic Wars expansion for Mount & Blade. He's not stingy with praise when it's called for so I dig his reviews.
Quote from: Yskonyn on December 11, 2013, 04:14:59 AM
I would first play vanilla. You can then always mod stuff you don't like later.
I would recommend any one of the number of mods that change the stats related to the length of battles. There's a ton of them, one by radius, Toon has one which has a bunch of mods included.the one I use I think it translates into Empire divided (it's in Latin) Check the steam workshop is a whole list of files there that you can just subscribe to and add. The mods will tell you what they do there. I don't think there's an equivalent to a darthmod which is a you must have "this particular mod" mod.
While normally I also subscribe to the play vanilla first theory, in this case I suggest you just go right to the mods. the vanilla battles are entirely over too quickly and I'm not sure how anybody could really get any excitement out of the vanilla battles for long. if you find yourself in the middle of a game not liking the Battles then have to start all over again. many of these mods also have 2 turn or four turn/year choices. I would recommend grabbing one of them to one turn Puryears just kind of ridiculous doesn't take me a-year to cross the from Sicily to the boot of Italy
I caved and purchased..... will give it a go and see. I believe there is a new patch to be released soon as well...
PE
I feel myself being pulled back after a few months off...damn you people. The Iceni are calling.
Oh yes my ancient conquest is about to restart as well!
I'm very much enjoying the Radious mod though other mods probably do many of the same things. I miss the ability to raid the infrastructure outside of cities like in Shogun 2(mines, farms, and ports). Somehow hitting the "Raiding" stance button isn't the same. I like to send light cav. units through enemy territory to hit them in the pocketbook. Or wallets if they're gender sensitive.
I don't know if I'd have recommended purchasing Rome II at release, although even then it wasn't as bad as the haters made it out to be. That being said, it's definitely worth getting now.
Ok how about a kinder and gentler version on why it stinks
I think the premise must exist that one believes that Rome 2 sucks. I happen to not hold that premise, but to each their own.
It doesn't suck , it's just different from previous total wargames...kind of like master of Orion 3... I saw so many reviews and people saying MOO 3 sucked, but turns out it doesn't suck, it's just not master of Orion 2! with better graphics; they renworked it and people didn't like that. The same with Rome 2; it's just different it had the same birthing issues that Rome1, medieval total war 2, empire and only other total war games have had with AI at the beginning and at times little issues like that. it's a good game.
I honestly don't understand most of the complaints VAI is just as good as a shogun, I haven't had a crash in months, I like the food necessity limiting growth and I like the province system. I especially like the recruitment by Legion system whereby you actually raise a legion and fill that container with the troops instead of just hodgepodge raising troops all throughout your empire and collecting them together in a unit that you name.
I absolutely understand people who don't like it or don't enjoy it or prefer other total wargames but I just don't know how somebody can play it and say that it sucks
In fact I am buying bboyer a copy for Christmas!
^I did that for Martok and it worked splendidly.
Quote from: mikeck on December 11, 2013, 05:01:38 PM
In fact I am buying bboyer a copy for Christmas!
are you sure he hasnt got one - his opinions seem a little informed to not have it
and if he hasnt and posts those opinions without playing it - shaaaaaaaaaaaaame on bboyer!! :P
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 11, 2013, 08:35:46 PM
Quote from: mikeck on December 11, 2013, 05:01:38 PM
In fact I am buying bboyer a copy for Christmas!
are you sure he hasnt got one - his opinions seem a little informed to not have it
and if he hasnt and posts those opinions without playing it - shaaaaaaaaaaaaame on bboyer!! :P
Of course I have it, and payed way too frickin much for it when it came out. Uninstalled rather quickly. Maybe one day I will come back to it.
Thought the best part of the prior review, was showing how in a lot of ways Rome II is a huge step back compared to Rome I when it comes to how individual soldiers are modeled.
youre not tempted after all the fixes?
What's funny is seeing people over at the Rome 2 forums remembering fondly how great Rome 1 was. I have a different memory...one of people screaming bloody murder about bad AI, zombie armies and That sort of stuff. Never really got fixed. Now it's a great game and Rome 2 should have been more like it.
(Not directed at you BBoyer...the Rome 1 comparison jus reminded me of it)
I will have to look at the review you mentioned but I have seen NOTHING that Rome 1 did better
One thing that Rome I did do better was the city view in peace time. It simulated walking around any of your cities just to enjoy the sites...it was great and I don't know why they got rid of it.
Yeah I can remember all the outrage at the soldiers all being "Clones" of each other and identical in appearance. I had never noticed that until people began bitching about it and then I could only see it when I paused the game and zoomed in as close as possible to the soldiers. I never let it bother me after that. Still Rome 2 should have been in better shape at launch I think.
Quote from: bboyer66 on December 11, 2013, 01:40:46 PM
Ok how about a kinder and gentler version on why it stinks
The reviewer immediately lost all credibility with me when he described
Rome II as the sequel to "the greatest Total War game ever made".
Quote from: mikeck on December 12, 2013, 09:56:55 AM
What's funny is seeing people over at the Rome 2 forums remembering fondly how great Rome 1 was. I have a different memory...one of people screaming bloody murder about bad AI, zombie armies and That sort of stuff. Never really got fixed. Now it's a great game and Rome 2 should have been more like it.
(Not directed at you BBoyer...the Rome 1 comparison jus reminded me of it)
I will have to look at the review you mentioned but I have seen NOTHING that Rome 1 did better
Precisely,
mickek. If the first RTW had been more similar to Rome II, I'd not have despised the former so thoroughly...or at all, most likely. Odds are good I'd have actually enjoyed it.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 10, 2013, 10:06:24 PM
So this is indeed a good game as it stands now, if it were purchased today?
Rome II was fine at version 1.0 vanilla.
Patches will have only improved it.
http://grogheads.com/?p=2936
Quote from: LongBlade on December 12, 2013, 10:37:24 AM
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 10, 2013, 10:06:24 PM
So this is indeed a good game as it stands now, if it were purchased today?
Rome II was fine at version 1.0 vanilla.
Patches will have only improved it.
http://grogheads.com/?p=2936
I agree. And yet I'm sure plenty of people have perfectly good reasons for disliking it. On the other hand, to me, a lot of the rejection
directed at Rome II seems so inexplicable that I wonder if there is not some systematic neurological reason for it. As I've said before, Rome II may be one of the first games (other than Flight Sims) to enter a kind of Uncanny valley where most of what the game is becomes disturbingly unthinkable because it just looks like reality (but not quite). To give a similar case (other than the original uncanny valley case of robots that look too human -- but not quite), these days you can find people posting on flight sim sites wondering why the 109 in game A is different from the 109 in Game B. If this puzzles you at some instinctive level, then you may be just waiting to have a case like Rome II where you look at a game (A) and all you can see is that it somehow is not game B. And all you notice is anything related to that dissimilarity. In effect, everything in the game in front of you vanishes and you are annoyed. IT's bland, homogenous and so on because it has actually experientially (uncannily) vanished.
Well, luckily, this didn't happen to me and I've enjoyed Rome II all along. I had a great time with Easy Egypt, but I think my best experience with the game was with the Normal Parthenians in Patch 2, and in that festival of ambushes, my favorite moment was when some backwoods Grecians attacked the main Parthenian force. I was outnumbered almost 2:1 (and for me against the AI, that can be bad for me), but I dismounted the Persian Mercenary Spear dudes in the center on a wooded hill and backed them up with dismounted horse archers -- no skirmishing allowed and won the battle pretty unexpectly.
Quote from: Martok on December 12, 2013, 10:35:46 AM
Quote from: bboyer66 on December 11, 2013, 01:40:46 PM
Ok how about a kinder and gentler version on why it stinks
The reviewer immediately lost all credibility with me when he described Rome II as the sequel to "the greatest Total War game ever made".
Quote from: mikeck on December 12, 2013, 09:56:55 AM
What's funny is seeing people over at the Rome 2 forums remembering fondly how great Rome 1 was. I have a different memory...one of people screaming bloody murder about bad AI, zombie armies and That sort of stuff. Never really got fixed. Now it's a great game and Rome 2 should have been more like it.
(Not directed at you BBoyer...the Rome 1 comparison jus reminded me of it)
I will have to look at the review you mentioned but I have seen NOTHING that Rome 1 did better
Precisely, mickek. If the first RTW had been more similar to Rome II, I'd not have despised the former so thoroughly...or at all, most likely. Odds are good I'd have actually enjoyed it.
You disagree that Shogun II was not the best of the series?
Did anyone actually watch the video? He is very thorough and gives good examples of his criticisms.
Quote from: bboyer66 on December 12, 2013, 01:05:20 PM
Quote from: Martok on December 12, 2013, 10:35:46 AM
Quote from: bboyer66 on December 11, 2013, 01:40:46 PM
Ok how about a kinder and gentler version on why it stinks
The reviewer immediately lost all credibility with me when he described Rome II as the sequel to "the greatest Total War game ever made".
Quote from: mikeck on December 12, 2013, 09:56:55 AM
What's funny is seeing people over at the Rome 2 forums remembering fondly how great Rome 1 was. I have a different memory...one of people screaming bloody murder about bad AI, zombie armies and That sort of stuff. Never really got fixed. Now it's a great game and Rome 2 should have been more like it.
(Not directed at you BBoyer...the Rome 1 comparison jus reminded me of it)
I will have to look at the review you mentioned but I have seen NOTHING that Rome 1 did better
Precisely, mickek. If the first RTW had been more similar to Rome II, I'd not have despised the former so thoroughly...or at all, most likely. Odds are good I'd have actually enjoyed it.
You disagree that Shogun II was not the best of the series?
Did anyone actually watch the video? He is very thorough and gives good examples of his criticisms.
The question is subjective. No I don't think it was the best because I dont give two craps about Japanese history so I found it supremely uninteresting. However, mechanically it was very polished it was probably the most polished of all the versions and had the best AI. I just don't care about that era in history so for me , no it wasn't the best
I didn't watch the video because I enjoy the game. I don't care what angry Joe or this guy have to say. Now if I didn't own the game and I was curious about it, I would certainly watch it but I've seen the same complaints over and over again and I just don't experience them. Sorry I just haven't had super bad or crazy AI. I haven't had bad performance or crashes. I haven't had all of these issues that all these other people seem to have that made room to the most horrible game in the universe I had fun day one.
I think from day one there was a large group of people who decided this game was bad and their mission was to prove to everybody that this game was bad. it didn't matter what kind of shape it was really and what improvements were made...it was bad and everybody needed to know it ...whether really was or not
Martok meant Rome I when referring to the sequel, I think. But I do think Shogun 2 is the best of the series, because it is :)
Quote from: Gusington on December 12, 2013, 01:41:21 PM
Martok meant Rome I when referring to the sequel, I think. But I do think Shogun 2 is the best of the series, because it is :)
Boooooo.... Seriously though it is definitely the best looking most polished and bug free with the best AI without a doubt so yes in that matter is the best.
With all that going for it, plus some great gameplay and imagination, you should reconsider your Japanese history stance.
Quote from: mikeck on December 12, 2013, 01:38:22 PM
I didn't watch the video because I enjoy the game. I don't care what angry Joe or this guy have to say. Now if I didn't own the game and I was curious about it, I would certainly watch it but I've seen the same complaints over and over again and I just don't experience them. Sorry I just haven't had super bad or crazy AI. I haven't had bad performance or crashes. I haven't had all of these issues that all these other people seem to have that made room to the most horrible game in the universe I had fun day one.
I think this version's AI is the best yet.
Clever? Not exactly. But think about it for a moment. You're 20 turns into the game and are starting to threaten all your neighbors because you're obviously both expansionist and war-like. Do you really want an AI that will scheme to form multiple alliances come in and crush you and force the game to be done?
Personally I like expanding. The game has some checks on too much expansion. There are internal politics which need to be watched. There are checks on growth - at some point you're almost certain to face civil war due to size and aforementioned internal politics.
So, if you don't like the Total War games, this is an improved but not radically different change - don't buy it. If you do like the Total War games, this is arguably the best yet, though opinions may differ.
^Definitely. Except Shogun 2 was the best :)
Maybe my mind will change with some more hours poured into Rome 2.
Quote from: Gusington on December 12, 2013, 06:56:33 PM
^Definitely. Except Shogun 2 was the best :)
Maybe my mind will change with some more hours poured into Rome 2.
I think Rome 2 is the best. AI is just as good as Shogun and I enjoy the era. I also like the province system and the naval warfare.
Sorry Gus, I'm all Europe. If it ain't European history, i ain't interested.
But...but...samurai!! Ronin!!! NINJA!!!! And geishas.
I'm with Mikeck on this one.
I don't mean to troll , but I noticed that this game has very poor ratings on some retail internet sites. Among them, Amazon. A lot of people do not believe this game lives up to previus RTW games.
Quote from: renobe on December 12, 2013, 10:27:50 PM
I don't mean to troll , but I noticed that this game has very poor ratings on some retail internet sites. Among them, Amazon. A lot of people do not believe this game lives up to previus RTW games.
Its a internet syndrome. It has nothing to do with the game. The game just has a lot more going on (that for some reason people don't notice -- possibly for neurological reasons related to the uncanny valley phenonenon) than most games or even earlier TW games.
Also, I think there was only one earlier RTW game. The game itself is too fantastic to be as easily perceived as most games. You get a huge chunk of the world in a convincing version of 272 BC and a lot is going on.
Quote from: mikeck on December 12, 2013, 06:59:15 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 12, 2013, 06:56:33 PM
^Definitely. Except Shogun 2 was the best :)
Maybe my mind will change with some more hours poured into Rome 2.
I think Rome 2 is the best. AI is just as good as Shogun and I enjoy the era. I also like the province system and the naval warfare.
Sorry Gus, I'm all Europe. If it ain't European history, i ain't interested.
Which is "best" is debatable, but beyond debate is the fact that Rome II is an excellent game. If you don't like the Total War series it may not do much for you. If you have played past versions of the game and enjoyed it, then there is no reason to be afraid of whatever bad press there may be out there.
And at ~$25 it's a bargain. Nay, a must-buy.
Quote from: Gusington on December 12, 2013, 01:41:21 PM
Martok meant Rome I when referring to the sequel, I think.
Correct. Thanks
Gus. (And my apologies to
bboyer; I should've been more clear.) :)
Quote from: Gusington on December 12, 2013, 01:41:21 PM
But I do think Shogun 2 is the best of the series, because it is :)
That's debatable, of course -- I suspect the original STW will always be the "best" in the series from my own perspective -- but there's no doubt it's indeed a very good game.
I would even go so far as to say
Shogun 2 is the best Total War title since the first
Medieval...except that I think
Rome II may have actually surpassed it. It feels a little weird to say that, but I genuinely think it may be true.
^What?! Please explain that...you went from a non-believer to a total convert!
Must be a successful agent manipulation. ;D
You guys are making me want to go back to this. Too many games, too little time.
Off topic:
I love your new avatar LB. Is that the Enterprise firing on the hidden rebel base at Yavin?
Back on topic:
I haven't played Rome2 in a while but I also agree with Martok that it surpasses Shogun 2 in total war greatness.
Nah, that's from Star Trek II, from the beginning scene during the Kobayashi Maru training scenario.
I haven't played TW since the first Shogun, but I'm leaning towards buying this now.
I am torn because of this thread. I am into the WWI stuff I am playing and reading now, but I really want to start an Iceni campaign.
Quote from: Gusington on December 14, 2013, 09:21:19 AM
^What?! Please explain that...you went from a non-believer to a total convert!
Heh. I knew my comment was going to prompt that response from you (or something similar). ;)
I still don't know that I'd consider myself a "total" convert -- at least not yet, if only because it's my nature to hedge and qualify my words (as I'm reluctant to make blanket, absolutist statements). However, the more I contemplate
Rome II and my experiences with it so far, the more I'm coming to realize that this game probably comes closer to being the "complete package" than any previous Total War title...and that's including the original STW and MTW (both of which you know I hold in very high regard). I might still *like* those old games more -- and even that I'm no longer as certain of -- but I've finally come to admit that Rome II is probably the *better* game.
I think it's mostly just that
Rome II has so much of what I look for in historical-themed strategy games -- and for that matter, in most strategy games, period:
* I like there's a good number (and variety) of factions to choose from, and the resulting replayability.
* I like the city-development mechanics, I like how research works, and how both force one to make (often difficult) choices. As a strategy gamer, such things warm my black heart.
* There's immersion in spades. From major stuff like the (always excellent) visuals and the epic music, to more subtle things like soldiers talking amongst themselves while they're marching (including unit commanders cursing at their clumsy subordinates, which never fails to elicit a chuckle from me), I easily get lost in the world.
* I like how characters (generals, spies, champions, etc.) play such a central role in their respective factions. History features all sorts of interesting *people*, and this game reflects that.
* The AI -- much to my pleasant surprise -- has thus far been quite good. It's not brilliant, perhaps, but I've not seen it do many overtly stupid things yet either, and that alone is gratifying to see (and this is only on Normal difficulty).
* Both land *and* naval battles are generally pretty fun. They still go too fast for my tastes, especially land battles (I keep thinking I need to check out mods that reduce troop speed and kill rates), but the overall mechanics work very well IMHO. Also, hooray for the tactical map! (Oh yes, and the fact that I can finally simultaneously fight battles on both land and sea? Halle-fricking-lujah!!)
*
Shogun 2 can claim this as well, but I can't emphasize enough how nice it is to see diplomacy that actually makes sense some of the time, and isn't completely schizophrenic (this also goes back to the decent AI again): Alliances make sense now, and if a faction back-stabs me, I can usually see it coming, and/or know why they did it. And while factions are still sometimes guilty of declaring war on someone they really probably shouldn't be messing with, I gotta give them credit for (at least sometimes) being willing to sue for peace if/when the war starts to go badly for them.
* I know it's not as sexy, but the UI deserves a mention as well. The devs seem to have made ease of information access a priority, and finding the right key/button/command/etc. is only rarely a chore; most of these things are pretty intuitive.
I could probably go on some more, but you get the point. :)
Certainly,
Rome II isn't anywhere near perfect, and (as I've noted previously) that was especially so when it was first released. And despite my own liking for the game, I can easily understand why a good number of folks aren't enthralled with it.
But for all the valid criticisms one could make about the game, the simple truth is, I'm having a blast with it. This is the most fun I've had playing a TW title since
Medieval Total War/Viking Invasion -- which for me, is high praise indeed.
(Well, shit. Maybe I *am* a total convert... ::) )
^YES!
I agree.
Quote from: W8taminute on December 14, 2013, 10:49:16 AM
Off topic:
I love your new avatar LB. Is that the Enterprise firing on the hidden rebel base at Yavin?
Back on topic:
I haven't played Rome2 in a while but I also agree with Martok that it surpasses Shogun 2 in total war greatness.
Banzai_Cat is correct. It's the Kobayashi Maru.
Sorry for stealing any thunder, LB. But that avatar IS pretty slick. 8)
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 14, 2013, 08:19:01 PM
Sorry for stealing any thunder, LB. But that avatar IS pretty slick. 8)
No thunder stolen :)
Now go to TWcenter or the Rome2 forums at steam and see how ridiculous people are over there about this game. angry Joe says this....angry joe says that...this game sucks...blah blah. It's a great game. It was a good game from day 1. People decided they were going to hate it for one reason or another and nothing could change their mind
Which mods are recommended for:
a) more realistic/slow turns per year?
b) longer battles/fights, slower morale decrease?
Any other 'must-haves' ?
I am only interested in modding these base game mechanics, but otherwise want to keep it vanilla.
Quote from: mikeck on December 14, 2013, 08:55:16 PM
Now go to TWcenter or the Rome2 forums at steam and see how ridiculous people are over there about this game. angry Joe says this....angry joe says that...this game sucks...blah blah. It's a great game. It was a good game from day 1. People decided they were going to hate it for one reason or another and nothing could change their mind
I can take anything anyone says about this game with a grain of salt. I'd be more willing to trust the opinions of my fellow Grogs here over anyone, actually, and the words here in support of this game are all I need to make the decision to buy it.
I especially take anything Angry Joe says about the game with a lot of salt, because I know that's his schtick, to be pissy about just about anything. Granted, on more than one occasion he's justified, but still...
back in the game after 2nd week of release, using Radious' stuff - amazing - have to take care of junior but very difficult to pull my self away - had a great battle and unleashed the elephants for the first time - id forgotten about the army names and personalisation, as minimal as it is, even calling this band of 1500 men the Lions of Carthage makes them mine so much more than 'generic army'
next week - colour me missing for 48 hours while i Rome-out
^There's a Radious all-in-one mod right?
yeah the one from steam
Quote from: Gusington on December 14, 2013, 04:01:28 PM
^YES!
Yes,
Gus, you were right. Consider yourself vindicated. :)
Quote from: mikeck on December 14, 2013, 08:55:16 PM
Now go to TWcenter or the Rome2 forums at steam and see how ridiculous people are over there about this game. angry Joe says this....angry joe says that...this game sucks...blah blah. It's a great game. It was a good game from day 1. People decided they were going to hate it for one reason or another and nothing could change their mind
Yeah, the amount of bile & vitriol is extraordinary over there; I don't think I've ever seen anything like it (at least not regarding a Total War title). Certainly, there are those who have genuine reasons to not like the game (such as
bboyer), but the hate Rome II seems to be getting over at TWC almost feels like a mob-mentality at times.
Quote from: Gusington on December 15, 2013, 12:42:18 PM
^There's a Radious all-in-one mod right?
What does that one do again?
Well I'm looking on Steam right now and there's a Radious finance mod, a battle mod, AI mod, etc...I am guessing that the all-in-one includes them all.
And I see there is a late era (4th century) mod that models the wars of the three emperors...holy crap.
Question: I have not modded Rome II yet, does it work the same way as Civ V in turning them on and off?
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?2000-Radious-Total-War-Mod
Hello everyone. Time to release my full overhaul mod for Total War: Rome 2. It contains every single mod i created till today and will be regularly updated and will grow larger. Its for people who likes my modding style and dont want to mess with seperate mods. I hope it will be once same as large as my Shogun 2 work or even larger. Its already massive overhaul mod which contains thousands of gameplay/visual/ai changes. Largest project for Rome 2 currently with much more to come.
Updated: 15.12.2013 - - Fully support Patch 7 . All changes included and adapted to my mods.
Radious Modding Team - http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...s-Modding-Team
Mods included:
Radious Campaign Features Mod - http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...n-Features-Mod
Radious Battle Mod - http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...ous-Battle-Mod
Radious Economy and Research Mod - http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...-Buildings-Mod
Radious AI Mod - http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...4#post13221084
Radious Unit Pack 1 - Barbarian Invasion - http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...d-19-9-2013%29
Radious Unit Pack 2 - Rise of an Empire - http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...13-Released%29
Radious and Farsovereign Unit Pack 3 - Eastern Eclipse - http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...-12-10-2013%29
all rolled into 1
Quote from: Gusington on December 15, 2013, 01:12:13 PM
Well I'm looking on Steam right now and there's a Radious finance mod, a battle mod, AI mod, etc...I am guessing that the all-in-one includes them all.
And I see there is a late era (4th century) mod that models the wars of the three emperors...holy crap.
Question: I have not modded Rome II yet, does it work the same way as Civ V in turning them on and off?
if you do it through steam, go to the workshop, search for the radious total war mod, or simply sort by most popular i think its 1st. Subscribe to it, it will install, when you start rome its there - IIRC you have the option on the start screen to start without the mod or simply unsubscribe to the mod and restart the game
Cool that's what I thought and was hoping for, thanks.
*furiously subscribes to 1000 different Rome II mods and blows up his internet repeater*
lol - its a dangerous game once you start with the mods!!! i try to find one im happy with and stick with that, i was away from the Medieval II scene for about 5 years and crapped myself when i went back in and saw all the mods
the first and best thing about the radious one is 2 turns per year - makes a hell of a difference
^How so? A lot more game for the buck, I would imagine right?
I have been away from Rome II while the last 6-7 patches were coming out but I am really itching to come back into it now.
Wish I could game and read different genres at the same time like a normal person but my OCD won't let me :/
lol im exactly the same - had to get HOI 3 squared away before i could get my Rome on
re the 2 turn year - your generals last longer and it just seems to make more sense that its a 6 month block as opposed to 1 year, although in game terms it still took me 2 years to sail from carthage to spain!
^Yeah there are a few of us here with that OCD-like brain thing. It gets exhausting. Right now I am trying to get WWI out of my system...multiple games and books.
As far as two turns a year it never did make sense that it took a Roman Army a year to sail from the tip of the boot to Sicily. 2 turns or 4 turns a year sounds much more gooder and can definitely make the game a lot longer.
The only problem I've found with Radious's mod is that he changes it to be 4 turns per year (which I like) but he doesn;t increase the research times on techs. I was able to get Marius legions before I had even finished on the Etruscan League.
I also downloaded the Magnar, Divide et Impera, and Silven Total Improvements mods (all overhaul mods) but have not had a chance to try them out yet.
^Really? That's weird. He seems too much a stickler for detail to have that happen.
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 15, 2013, 01:15:04 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 15, 2013, 01:12:13 PM
Well I'm looking on Steam right now and there's a Radious finance mod, a battle mod, AI mod, etc...I am guessing that the all-in-one includes them all.
And I see there is a late era (4th century) mod that models the wars of the three emperors...holy crap.
Question: I have not modded Rome II yet, does it work the same way as Civ V in turning them on and off?
if you do it through steam, go to the workshop, search for the radious total war mod, or simply sort by most popular i think its 1st. Subscribe to it, it will install, when you start rome its there - IIRC you have the option on the start screen to start without the mod or simply unsubscribe to the mod and restart the game
Thanks
geek! Installing now. :)
Quote from: tgb on December 14, 2013, 10:48:35 AM
You guys are making me want to go back to this. Too many games, too little time.
I figure that by the time I return to TW Rome 2, it'll have more patches in it and any extra DLC I don't currently own will probably be on sale.
It's a fun game, but more patches wouldn't hurt. When you have at least twenty games that you've not even downloaded yet, it's easy to let some of these other titles simmer a bit longer. :)
EDIT:
I liked some of the Radious combat changes but the economy changes were too drastic from vanilla. So be warned that it changes the building strategy if you use the whole mod package.
Quote from: Kushan on December 15, 2013, 01:49:30 PM
The only problem I've found with Radious's mod is that he changes it to be 4 turns per year (which I like) but he doesn;t increase the research times on techs. I was able to get Marius legions before I had even finished on the Etruscan League.
I also downloaded the Magnar, Divide et Impera, and Silven Total Improvements mods (all overhaul mods) but have not had a chance to try them out yet.
Try the "something et impera".. Rome divided mod...can't remember the exact name but it comes in two parts, changes to 4 turns/year but also edits research times to match it. Also adds all of the usual AI and battle changes
a 'wish id started fraps moment'..................
Syracruse land next to Libernum to assault the city from the sea 1 turn after i had sent my largest army 'the sacred company' to attack their city, i turn them around. I have 1200 men in Libernums garrison and 1500 men in the Sacred Company. Syracruse attack the army in the field, the garrison steps out to act as reinforcements and what i didnt know was i get to control them all!!!
The sacred company line up across the crest of a hill looking down into a valley where 2200 of Syracruses finest are coming off the beach - i have no archers/slingers/peltasts otherwise this would have been a slaughter. The syracruse army march up the hill and engage the sacred company, just as the 1200 Lions of Carthage march onto the map - also without archers but containing cavalry they march to the crest - the march will take about 8 mins of game time.
In the meantime the sacred company is getting pushed back by the superior numbers coming over the top of the crest, holding their own but definitely on the losing end of the fight - the Lions arrive and form a V behind Syracruse's troops and slowly close the gap into the flank of the enemy army like a venus fly trap. As the enemy turn to run realising their flank is compromised the remainder of the sacred company destroy them where they stand - awesome fight
OR
In Kutbara, Spain the recently victorious Hannibal attempts to rebuild his ragtag army in the newly captured town. The walls are intact but there is no training facility to build more troops, sending riders out to hire mercenaries - 4 companies of spearmen and swordsmen return to join the cause - garrison now, 800.
2500 enemy troops appear from the mist to take back their town. 'The glorious tusks' (ace name) man the walls knowing this is going to be a fight to the death but will attempt to destroy as many enemy as possible. The elite troops of the enemy stay out of range of the towns tower defences and send forth expendable militia carrying ladders, they put up the ladders and retreat back to the rear and now the elite troops step up, but the tower defences set fire to all the ladders. The enemy general summons the poor militia once more to fire the gatehouse, this they do and then retreat to the rear again to let the swordsmen and spearmen do the hard work - they march on, into the gate - i park 500 spearmen on my side of the gate and ready the army - they pour through, surround my spearmen - there is only one thing to do, Hannibal mounts his elephant as do 24 other riders and they charge their animals into the tightly packed enemy coming through the gate - bodies are thrown everywhere, over the gate, through the gate, over the walls, andbody surviving is stabbed by the swordsmen still in the pit of the gate entrance - within minutes 1200 enemy dead are piled up in the gate entrance - they break and the elephants are ordered to stampede, the survivors crushed - its a rout
loving the Rome!!!
Caesar in Gaul is apparently unlocked in Steam. Who is going to take one for the team?
gus
Crap. Patch 8 doesn't get along with the Radius mod, and I can't get past the splash screen. I suppose I could disable the mod and start a new campaign for now, but I'd rather not.........
when did 8 come out?
oh crap - just now - sigh
8.1 comes out in 2 days.
Picked up Caesar in Gaul...... have read a lot on the subject so I picked it up.... Will report back when I spend time with it. BTY, got it at GMG for -25% off.
PE
ive just downloaded 1.1gb of something ands it wont start with radious anymore?
sigh campaign gone!
I was having as issue where once I started a battle... The game would slow waaaaaaayyyy down. Not the graphics, I could swing the camera around and it was smooth. But if I clicked on a guy...it would highlight 10 seconds later. I think it's a comparability issue with some anti-malware software. Either way, hoping patch 8 changes things. I will wait for my "Rome divided" mod to update however, I can't play vanilla TW games
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 17, 2013, 11:41:21 AM
ive just downloaded 1.1gb of something ands it wont start with radious anymore?
sigh campaign gone!
Read my post above.
yeah - he announced last week at TWC that it would be broken - the changes theyve made to Gaul have been ported over to vanilla rendering mod code useless - hes going to fix it just doesnt know when
Radious is extremely detail oriented so I expect a new version of his mod out very soon that works well with the latest patch. In the meantime I will unsubscribe :)
Quote from: PanzersEast on December 17, 2013, 11:41:11 AM
Picked up Caesar in Gaul...... have read a lot on the subject so I picked it up.... Will report back when I spend time with it. BTY, got it at GMG for -25% off.
PE
At that price I should probably jump on it if it's any good.
Quote from: Gusington on December 17, 2013, 12:16:03 PM
Radious is extremely detail oriented so I expect a new version of his mod out very soon that works well with the latest patch. In the meantime I will unsubscribe :)
having just got back into the game i dont know whether to start a vanilla campaign now!! :-\
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 16, 2013, 05:10:54 PM
a 'wish id started fraps moment'..................
Syracruse land next to Libernum to assault the city from the sea 1 turn after i had sent my largest army 'the sacred company' to attack their city, i turn them around. I have 1200 men in Libernums garrison and 1500 men in the Sacred Company. Syracruse attack the army in the field, the garrison steps out to act as reinforcements and what i didnt know was i get to control them all!!!
The sacred company line up across the crest of a hill looking down into a valley where 2200 of Syracruses finest are coming off the beach - i have no archers/slingers/peltasts otherwise this would have been a slaughter. The syracruse army march up the hill and engage the sacred company, just as the 1200 Lions of Carthage march onto the map - also without archers but containing cavalry they march to the crest - the march will take about 8 mins of game time.
In the meantime the sacred company is getting pushed back by the superior numbers coming over the top of the crest, holding their own but definitely on the losing end of the fight - the Lions arrive and form a V behind Syracruse's troops and slowly close the gap into the flank of the enemy army like a venus fly trap. As the enemy turn to run realising their flank is compromised the remainder of the sacred company destroy them where they stand - awesome fight
OR
In Kutbara, Spain the recently victorious Hannibal attempts to rebuild his ragtag army in the newly captured town. The walls are intact but there is no training facility to build more troops, sending riders out to hire mercenaries - 4 companies of spearmen and swordsmen return to join the cause - garrison now, 800.
2500 enemy troops appear from the mist to take back their town. 'The glorious tusks' (ace name) man the walls knowing this is going to be a fight to the death but will attempt to destroy as many enemy as possible. The elite troops of the enemy stay out of range of the towns tower defences and send forth expendable militia carrying ladders, they put up the ladders and retreat back to the rear and now the elite troops step up, but the tower defences set fire to all the ladders. The enemy general summons the poor militia once more to fire the gatehouse, this they do and then retreat to the rear again to let the swordsmen and spearmen do the hard work - they march on, into the gate - i park 500 spearmen on my side of the gate and ready the army - they pour through, surround my spearmen - there is only one thing to do, Hannibal mounts his elephant as do 24 other riders and they charge their animals into the tightly packed enemy coming through the gate - bodies are thrown everywhere, over the gate, through the gate, over the walls, andbody surviving is stabbed by the swordsmen still in the pit of the gate entrance - within minutes 1200 enemy dead are piled up in the gate entrance - they break and the elephants are ordered to stampede, the survivors crushed - its a rout
loving the Rome!!!
Those are a couple epic battles. Thanks for sharing
geek. :)
Quote from: tgb on December 17, 2013, 11:39:52 AM
8.1 comes out in 2 days.
Sweet!
Looking for the change list... Found it!
QuoteGameplay Improvements
Campaign
It is now possible to levy units from satrapies and client states. This works in a similar manner to mercenaries, but these units have normal recruitment and upkeep costs, and come from the locally available unit roster.
Infantry and cavalry units now have different campaign movement extents. Infantry units are slower than before, while cavalry units are faster than before. Armies always move at the speed of the slowest unit. Now cavalry-only armies actually move faster.
Cinematic borders can now be displayed in campaign and battle by pressing [ALT] + [K] keys (by default).
New industrial building chain: Quarry and mine buildings are now available for construction in minor settlements for all factions.
Fixed an issue that prevented the AI from blockading the Brundisium port.
Improved cultural conversion mechanics.
Exempting a province from tax now sets its food consumption to zero (this wasn't previously registering).
In Multiplayer Campaign mode, when a player-owned settlement is attacked by the AI, the player will no longer have the option to sally forth, when the 'fight manual battles' option is disabled.
Improved disembarkation areas in some coastal battle maps.
Special abilities in battle have undergone rebalancing.
Changed victory conditions in grand campaign for all playable factions. The number of regions the player needs to control in order to win the game has been reduced.
Removed a number of misleading treachery types from Diplomacy, so now a faction that breaks a treaty and then signs it again within 10 turns won't get treachery penalties.
Campaign AI is now less likely to declare war on too many factions.
Battle
Added new Barbarian major port battle map.
Enemy reinforcement banners no longer begin battle as visible, thereby initially hiding the units' positions in battles.
Added visualisations to denote the range of targeted abilities in battles, so the player will know which units will be affected.
Fixed a bug which caused the frame rate drop when it rained during battles.
Usability Improvements
Campaign
After researching a technology on the campaign map, the zoom-to-location button on the Research Complete message will now zoom to the correct location.
Faction list in Diplomacy now sorts alphabetically by default.
The Toggle UI shortcut ([K] key by default) now works with Campaign modes.
Treachery warnings now show reliably when you are declaring war and have current treaties with that faction. The warning also shows when the player breaks a treaty and tries to declare war, while the treaty is still in the process of being broken.
Fixed the top and bottom of the Campaign tactical map to prevent it from being clipped at high resolutions.
Added borders to the campaign tactical map so regions at the edges can be seen more centrally and are not blocked by the diplomacy user interface.
Fixed a conflict which meant automatically constructed siege equipment prevented the player from building anything else.
General's skills and army traditions which lower upkeep costs will now update the recruitment panels correctly.
Agent ability Intercept Orders success event-messages will now display which specific armies/settlements are revealed.
Improved trees on the Campaign map.
Battle
Post-battle loading screens for Custom/Multiplayer battles are now interactive, so the player can see kills/losses of armies in battle.
When reinforcing an ally in a campaign battle using multiple armies, the unit cards in battle will now be adapted correctly to the number of unit cards and fit the screen correctly.
It is now clearer in the battle UI when auto-trigger is enabled on ability buttons.
Improved lighting and vegetation in Atlantic climate battles.
dammit, i thought i could unsubscribe and then carry on the campaign - sadly no
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 17, 2013, 12:44:48 PM
dammit, i thought i could unsubscribe and then carry on the campaign - sadly no
Yeah, I ran into the same thing. I think I am going to stick with Vanilla. I'm tired of having to abandon a modded campaign every time there's a new patch.
Or you could disable automatic updating for Rome 2 and finish a campaign on the current modded version, only to patch up again after you're done with it.
It took about a week for Radious to be corrected when patch 7 came out though I think the patch had to catch-up with the mod version. He did give advanced notice that this would happen then and now. This time it may take longer to fix as his mod notes say there's a lot more to correct. But I'm sure in time he will fix the problems as he did before. I save a couple of vanilla campaigns to fall back on when the mod is down. But it is frustrating as hell. >:(
I have to fire up Rome 2 tonight just to check out all the shiny new stuff. Hopefully it won't be too tempting and I can carry on my decades long gaming/reading OCD syndrome.
With holiday sales upon us (I just picked up Aarklash Legacy for $10 from GOG), I expect I'll have plenty to keep me occupied while Radius plays catch-up.
Quote from: tgb on December 17, 2013, 02:26:24 PM
With holiday sales upon us (I just picked up Aarklash Legacy for $10 from GOG), I expect I'll have plenty to keep me occupied while Radius plays catch-up.
im thinking the same - but surely a new, updated mod means a new campaign also?
expected tomorrow - guys a goddam hero
Progress Update:
Radious Unit Packs - 1,2,3 - all working with patch 8 and new dlc.
Radious Battle Mod: Updated and fully working with patch 8 and new dlc.
Radious AI Mod: Updated and fully working with patch 8 and new dlc.
Radious Graphics Mod: Updated and fully working with patch 8 and new dlc.
Radious Campaign Features Mod: Important table must get new schema to be able to mod it again, then it can be finished, tested and released. Hopefully tommorow.
Radious Economy and Research Mod: Important table must get new schema to be able to mod it again, then it can be finished, tested and released. Hopefully tommorow.
Radious Total War Mod: After all is working, this will be released.
Really tired now, fun continues tommorow afternoon when i am back from work.
Thanks Geek. That's great news. I guess Rome 2 wasn't built in a day. Sorry. I couldn't resist. ;)
^...
how does steam do its thing now though?
Radious comes home from work, completes the mod, it all works great with v8 - is the subscription linked to his upload on the twc site?
Quote from: PanzersEast on December 17, 2013, 11:41:11 AM
Picked up Caesar in Gaul...... have read a lot on the subject so I picked it up.... Will report back when I spend time with it. BTY, got it at GMG for -25% off.
PE
I'm there, man. I have nothing but fond memories of Caesar's Commentaries. I did some of the Latin one summer when I was 16. My Latin tutor was a staggeringly voluptuous lovely girl in her twenties. 20 dollars a session. 20 dollars in 1971! For an hour of Latin? Nothing much happened except a lot of picnics. She was very good at keeping teen-age boys entertained but at bay. And fed. And of course one could exclaim at Caesar's various masterful moves. She was a bit bored with Caesar and 16-year-olds. We always ended the session with the Greek New Testiment. And her saying "Yes...Yes..." very slowly as I wandered through the opening pages of the Gospel of St. Mark:
"And...they went...out...all of them..."
"Yes......yes.......yes....."
Is 'voluptuous' a kind word to replace fat? Or did you just mean to say she had big tatta's? ;) *evilgrin*
Quote from: Yskonyn on December 18, 2013, 10:58:40 AM
Is 'voluptuous' a kind word to replace fat? Or did you just mean to say she had big tatta's? ;) *evilgrin*
I was carefully reviewing my memories and I've concluded:
a) she was not fat
b) But she certainly was not skinny
c) we spent a lot of time eating
d) she had a boyfriend named Hugh who drove an MG.
e) or that was her idea of a joke
f) or this Hugh guy and his MG has been displaced from a few years later
g) or this Hugh guy moved in the same circles I did -- I did finally meet him -- (if that really was him)
h) tits -- yes -- I'm not sure of their real dimensions but they bulked so large in my 16-year-old mind that they must have had a certain something about them so I used the word "voluptuous" to kind of fudge some fuzziness about the full range of her attractions
i) some uncertainty here, but I think i have the basic outlines of the whole thing down
Radious is working again for the campaign and Ceasar in Gaul. ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 18, 2013, 12:33:38 PM
Radious is working again for the campaign and Ceasar in Gaul. ;D ;D ;D
I played Ceasar in Gaul last night. I was the Vanilla Normal Nervii. Pretty fun. The barbarians fighting in
clumps of forest in Thuderstorms and back-back-and forth over little ridges put a high value on scouting and
sneaking. I had a good number of mercenary archers and they worked well in the scrappy battles in the scrub.
I started a vanilla CIG last night too as Rome. Not a lot of new stuff, the Techs are a lot different but with the change it campaign time it would have to be. The blue techs do political stuff and this may have some surprises. I assaulted the Helvitii city which has walls and even though I had siege weapons, I clicked-on all my units to see if any could burn-down the gates when I moused on them. Legionaries- no, Celtic Warriors-no, Celtic Skirmishers-no, Celtic Light Horse-YES. Go figure.
Did you just remount the mod and carry on your old campaign?
Does Radious have a version where all of his improvements are included in one? I prefer "DeI" (divide et impera) but it isn't updated yet and I want to play.
Also, does Radious, mod work with the expansion campaign or just the regular sandbox
Quote from: MengJiao on December 18, 2013, 11:44:47 AM
Quote from: Yskonyn on December 18, 2013, 10:58:40 AM
Is 'voluptuous' a kind word to replace fat? Or did you just mean to say she had big tatta's? ;) *evilgrin*
I was carefully reviewing my memories and I've concluded:
a) she was not fat
b) But she certainly was not skinny
c) we spent a lot of time eating
d) she had a boyfriend named Hugh who drove an MG.
e) or that was her idea of a joke
f) or this Hugh guy and his MG has been displaced from a few years later
g) or this Hugh guy moved in the same circles I did -- I did finally meet him -- (if that really was him)
h) tits -- yes -- I'm not sure of their real dimensions but they bulked so large in my 16-year-old mind that they must have had a certain something about them so I used the word "voluptuous" to kind of fudge some fuzziness about the full range of her attractions
i) some uncertainty here, but I think i have the basic outlines of the whole thing down
Hm, yeah.. the mindgames breasts cause for a 16 year old brain... :D
Quote from: Yskonyn on December 18, 2013, 01:40:56 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on December 18, 2013, 11:44:47 AM
Quote from: Yskonyn on December 18, 2013, 10:58:40 AM
Is 'voluptuous' a kind word to replace fat? Or did you just mean to say she had big tatta's? ;) *evilgrin*
I was carefully reviewing my memories and I've concluded:
a) she was not fat
b) But she certainly was not skinny
c) we spent a lot of time eating
d) she had a boyfriend named Hugh who drove an MG.
e) or that was her idea of a joke
f) or this Hugh guy and his MG has been displaced from a few years later
g) or this Hugh guy moved in the same circles I did -- I did finally meet him -- (if that really was him)
h) tits -- yes -- I'm not sure of their real dimensions but they bulked so large in my 16-year-old mind that they must have had a certain something about them so I used the word "voluptuous" to kind of fudge some fuzziness about the full range of her attractions
i) some uncertainty here, but I think i have the basic outlines of the whole thing down
Hm, yeah.. the mindgames breasts cause for a 16 year old brain... :D
But anyway, that's some of the associations I have with Caesar's Commentaries.
Quote from: mikeck on December 18, 2013, 01:30:18 PM
Does Radious have a version where all of his improvements are included in one? I prefer "DeI" (divide et impera) but it isn't updated yet and I want to play.
Also, does Radious, mod work with the expansion campaign or just the regular sandbox
His total war mod is everything in one and its for both games
I like where this thread is going.
Me too. (.)(.) Now that's my kind of Latin. Yes I had dis-abled the mod and when Radious noted on the mod site that it was fully compatible with V8, I just checked the mod box in the mod manager to re-enable it. Tit works fine. I mean IT works fine now. Don't know where my heads sometimes. :P :P :P
^I do.
So I launched my game tonight to just check out some of the new factions and it could not launch as there was some kind of updating hangup with the Radious mod and the Tetrarchy mod I had loaded. So I unsubscribed. Then the game launched fine...its patch up to the latest despite my wonky internet connection. I see Baktria is now playable, as are Seleucids, as are Parthians...*drool*.
Anyone else have the hangups with the mods updating? After I unsubscribed to them the game ran fine. There was also a new splash screen with a big honkin' barbarian boar to get me in the mood for Caesar in Gaul.
Same here with Radious. Had to play CIG with the big honking barbarian boar start screen. I had an early Autumn in Gaul(early July?) and the trees actually changed colors and it began to rain. Nice.
So how is the new Gaul expansion, worth a pickup? I still haven't got fully into the main game since I was waiting until all the frequent patching was done. I think the smaller campaign might be a good start for me but would like to hear some thoughts.
Quote from: Gusington on December 19, 2013, 10:42:14 PM
So I launched my game tonight to just check out some of the new factions and it could not launch as there was some kind of updating hangup with the Radious mod and the Tetrarchy mod I had loaded. So I unsubscribed. Then the game launched fine...its patch up to the latest despite my wonky internet connection. I see Baktria is now playable, as are Seleucids, as are Parthians...*drool*.
Anyone else have the hangups with the mods updating? After I unsubscribed to them the game ran fine. There was also a new splash screen with a big honkin' barbarian boar to get me in the mood for Caesar in Gaul.
no - simply reticked the mod in mod manager and started the game no problem - sorry youre having problems
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 20, 2013, 05:26:53 AM
So how is the new Gaul expansion, worth a pickup? I still haven't got fully into the main game since I was waiting until all the frequent patching was done. I think the smaller campaign might be a good start for me but would like to hear some thoughts.
I had just been through Gaul with the Iceni. The expansion is interesting, but not very different experientially from the basic game in most ways. For some reason the atmosphere (the rain and snow and changing seasons) seems...well more atmospheric than you'd expect. Things do seem pretty crude and barbaric.
The battles have been interesting even in vanilla. Paradoxically, barbarian vs barbarian battles require a lot more "strategems" (sneaking, hiding, deceptive moves etc.). The AI has clobbered me a lot, but I've won some satisfyingly complicated and extended battles in the damp woods of Gaul.
Anyone know if the seasons/weather are able to be back ported into the vanilla Rome 2 game?
Last night when I wanted to play I got a message that one of my mods was being updated (I assume Radius), so I just let it go. Now this morning the game crashes on the splash screen again if I have Radius ticked off.
I'm getting pretty ticked off myself. Pfui.
i think its something to do with 8.1 they released to retwiddle the Gaul stuff
ok - you have to have the 8.1 beta patch installed
Quote from: MengJiao on December 20, 2013, 08:55:46 AM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 20, 2013, 05:26:53 AM
So how is the new Gaul expansion, worth a pickup? I still haven't got fully into the main game since I was waiting until all the frequent patching was done. I think the smaller campaign might be a good start for me but would like to hear some thoughts.
I had just been through Gaul with the Iceni. The expansion is interesting, but not very different experientially from the basic game in most ways. For some reason the atmosphere (the rain and snow and changing seasons) seems...well more atmospheric than you'd expect. Things do seem pretty crude and barbaric.
The battles have been interesting even in vanilla. Paradoxically, barbarian vs barbarian battles require a lot more "strategems" (sneaking, hiding, deceptive moves etc.). The AI has clobbered me a lot, but I've won some satisfyingly complicated and extended battles in the damp woods of Gaul.
Thank you for the feedback....I know it is not that expensive, but do you think it is an add-on people should buy that it adds enough?
I'm still set to auto-update, so if 8.1 is out, I should have it.
you need to subscribe to the betas in the 'beta' part of the games properties - auto update only updates publically released updates - not the betas
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 20, 2013, 10:20:19 AM
Quote from: MengJiao on December 20, 2013, 08:55:46 AM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on December 20, 2013, 05:26:53 AM
So how is the new Gaul expansion, worth a pickup? I still haven't got fully into the main game since I was waiting until all the frequent patching was done. I think the smaller campaign might be a good start for me but would like to hear some thoughts.
I had just been through Gaul with the Iceni. The expansion is interesting, but not very different experientially from the basic game in most ways. For some reason the atmosphere (the rain and snow and changing seasons) seems...well more atmospheric than you'd expect. Things do seem pretty crude and barbaric.
The battles have been interesting even in vanilla. Paradoxically, barbarian vs barbarian battles require a lot more "strategems" (sneaking, hiding, deceptive moves etc.). The AI has clobbered me a lot, but I've won some satisfyingly complicated and extended battles in the damp woods of Gaul.
Thank you for the feedback....I know it is not that expensive, but do you think it is an add-on people should buy that it adds enough?
It adds a lot, but I haven't found it as engaging as the base game. I'm not sure why exactly. I'm playing as a forest barbarian and they seem to be a flavorless
bunch compared to say Macedon or Carthage or even the Steppe Barbarians or even Pontus.
I think the Gauls are not very well represented. They were semi-urbanized, and semi-literate and had been trading with the Mediterranean for hundreds of years.
Anyway, at this point, I don't think it is as much fun as the basic game.
I plan on getting it but not at the current price...going to wait for a discount. In the meantime I'll need to check what was up with my mod updates and why they weren't working properly. I really want to try out the all encompassing Radious mod but I don't want to have startup troubles every time I boot it.
Quote from: Gusington on December 20, 2013, 11:59:09 AM
I plan on getting it but not at the current price...going to wait for a discount. In the meantime I'll need to check what was up with my mod updates and why they weren't working properly. I really want to try out the all encompassing Radious mod but I don't want to have startup troubles every time I boot it.
its because he changed his mod to incorporate the 8.1 alterations gus - its fine now, as long as you have 8.1 that is
Hmm let me check...I don't, I've got 8.0.
i see you checking!
So I have seen this question asked elsewhere in this thread but looking for an update
I just got a new graphic card from my computer (GTX 770) and I am looking for a strategy game with some good eye candy. Is Rome Total War now patched up to snuff and if so what Mods make it more "flavorful"
Thanks
Con
For me, the game was patched enough at v3 and very, very fun. Haven't tried any mods yet though.
And regarding graphics: I find the game to be absolutely gorgeous. Especially on the battlefields.
I love the campaign map. I can study it for hours. It's a work of art.
I agree, the CiG campaign map is stunning
I still wish they'd bring back the "city view" feature from the first RTW. Moving around my settlements and checking out all the different buildings in them gave me a big architectural/historical stiffy.
Bought it playing through the prologue....it is a visual work of art and my rig with the new graphics card is running it maxed out and so far no stuttering or problems. One thought though is the Sammites deserve to get slaughtered for such awful choice of headgear. They look like gay (but buff) gardeners
Con
Samnite is actually a Latin term meaning. "Funny Hat". Most people don't know that. ;D
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 21, 2013, 03:20:15 PM
Samnite is actually a Latin term meaning. "Funny Hat". Most people don't know that. ;D
The Samnite helmets being the inspiration for those big ass Samnite-style gladiator helmets:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.globalsecurity.org%2Fmilitary%2Fworld%2Fspqr%2Fimages%2Fspqr-samnite-2.jpg&hash=25163e23bc97642148bb9be3207898374041dfdf)
Although likely embellished more for the gladiators, I would think.
Here's a proper Italic helm:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sanniti.info%2Fsanimage%2Flavello01.jpg&hash=8280e094923e7bd4fa11119aad3ba21ae5123bb0)(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sanniti.info%2Fsanimage%2Flavello02.jpg&hash=3f9deede04bb10a1d97674f21f78a7d5fd39c437)
Pretty cool. I can see why they were called 'funny hats' but not all that different from any of the other armies of the period on the peninsula.
Was given Rome II as a Christmas gift by one of my sons (who has been playing it since it came out). I now have to install it and wait for all the updates to download.
Quote from: Nefaro on December 21, 2013, 05:45:45 PM
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 21, 2013, 03:20:15 PM
Samnite is actually a Latin term meaning. "Funny Hat". Most people don't know that. ;D
The Samnite helmets being the inspiration for those big ass Samnite-style gladiator helmets:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.globalsecurity.org%2Fmilitary%2Fworld%2Fspqr%2Fimages%2Fspqr-samnite-2.jpg&hash=25163e23bc97642148bb9be3207898374041dfdf)
Although likely embellished more for the gladiators, I would think.
Here's a proper Italic helm:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sanniti.info%2Fsanimage%2Flavello01.jpg&hash=8280e094923e7bd4fa11119aad3ba21ae5123bb0)(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sanniti.info%2Fsanimage%2Flavello02.jpg&hash=3f9deede04bb10a1d97674f21f78a7d5fd39c437)
Pretty cool. I can see why they were called 'funny hats' but not all that different from any of the other armies of the period on the peninsula.
It might have had something to do with how they could tell their various units apart:
"See those guys with the dead birds? That's Vittorio's Raiders. Avoid them at the cantina. And the guy with the egg beater on his helmet? That's Prince Luigi. Just 'Yessir' for all you're worth around him..."
Quote from: bob48 on December 27, 2013, 06:52:10 AM
Was given Rome II as a Christmas gift by one of my sons (who has been playing it since it came out). I now have to install it and wait for all the updates to download.
Sweet! Hope you enjoy it
Bob. :)
Quote from: Martok on December 27, 2013, 03:22:45 PM
Quote from: bob48 on December 27, 2013, 06:52:10 AM
Was given Rome II as a Christmas gift by one of my sons (who has been playing it since it came out). I now have to install it and wait for all the updates to download.
Sweet! Hope you enjoy it Bob. :)
Thanks mate. I'm going to install it over the weekend.
Welcome to the club Bob
And yeah, that's about how long it should take to update
I may just leave it on to update overnight.
Does the missus shovel coal all thru the night then?
Don't be daft - only until 2.00am, then the gerbil runs round his treadmill to produce e-lec-tric-ity
In newcastle?
Bwahahahahahahaha - electricity!!!!
Lies
Luxury!
A little OT, but I think it's pretty awesome that we have a 130 page and counting thread on a Total War game that many idiots out there said was a "total" failure. (See what I did there?)
With the patches does the units still end up in one big scrum/heap. Can disciplined troops now stay in formation using shield/short sword pressing through opponents? Thought all combat dissolves into 1 on 1 melee, due to limitation of game engine?
I've read radious' release notes and he says there's nothing to be done right now.... CA need to release further modding tools.... he can mod the morale and weapon damage and how the battle progresses but not the unit cohesion..... pikes and phalanaxes work great... as long as you don't move them - the second you do they lose cohesion and he can't fix that at mo
Damn JH beat me to it...was just going to comment on how this thread is long and for the most part peaceful.
Bawb have you fired the game up yet? I am a hair away from starting an Iceni campaign and taking over Scotland.
Start man start..... You have no excuses
Oh but I do...see my 'Friday' post. But I like the way you're thinking...please elaborate on why I should start the Iceni campaign 'RIGHT NOW!!' and get me out of my gaming funk. Please :)
Think about it..... sweeping above the misty Scottish border on the campaign map, plotting your moves to sweep like screaming mad men into the northern territories. Swirling some suitable spirit of commandment in your glass.... I'd think scotch was awesome for the moment and then zooming in to command your warband of hooligans, running down the Scottish defenders and claiming the crown for yourself..... awesome
Wait we're talking about football or Total War?
Total Footwar.
No Gus, not had chance to install it yet.
Quote from: Gusington on December 28, 2013, 12:20:44 PM
Wait we're talking about football or Total War?
As long as it involves Scotch it doesn't really matter.....
Footie: Total Guswar - The Reckoning, Now Scotch-Addled
Quote from: fran on December 28, 2013, 06:58:27 AM
With the patches does the units still end up in one big scrum/heap. Can disciplined troops now stay in formation using shield/short sword pressing through opponents? Thought all combat dissolves into 1 on 1 melee, due to limitation of game engine?
I've found that several mods like "divide et imperium" and a few others do a better job than Radious at maintaining cohesion...mainly by adding formations you can use to all units. At times it still ends up In a blob. Most units still have a semblance of formation
I thought CA said they were patching in better formation cohesion? Has that update not shown up yet or was it not enough?
Dunno. I just use the mod I like and drive on. No matter what they fix, TW games...ALL TW war games, are better with mods. I did hear something about that though
Quote from: mikeck on December 28, 2013, 02:06:18 PM
I did hear something about that though
I believe it was a "state of the game" type of interview with the head CA guy on what they planned to do in future updates. However, I believe that article was posted at least a couple months ago.
So I got the Radious mod to work with the v8.1 patch [beta], thanks for the tip 'Geek. Poked around for a little bit and it looks very well done.
OK Steam is downloading something for Rome II right now...anyone know what it is and if it plays nice with Radious and other mods?
Quote from: Gusington on January 07, 2014, 08:36:35 PM
OK Steam is downloading something for Rome II right now...anyone know what it is and if it plays nice with Radious and other mods?
Don't know, mine didn't download anything today.
Also, would you recommend the Radious mod or should I play just play through the vanilla version first then mod it up?
I played 35+ hours of vanilla in my first (and only) campaign so far and loved it. Now I am gearing up to play a new Radious campaign, but sometimes patches break the mod.
Quote from: Gusington on January 07, 2014, 08:36:35 PM
OK Steam is downloading something for Rome II right now...anyone know what it is and if it plays nice with Radious and other mods?
Apparently there's a new version of the 8.1 beta patch as of January 6 (Link (http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/116104-Patch-8.1-Beta-Live-Now): see the comment at the bottom of the first post).
i think they were 2 hot fixes - one on the 6th at around 32mb for me and then one yesterday for 27mb - it hasnt affected mods
Great, thank you guys. I wonder if one of those fixes nerfed that triumph fatal bug...
not according to TWC - mainly siege AI stuff
just dont play rome you big wuss
That's a good list of fixes.
Found this, it seems to be a much more hard core version of Radious - not to be unfair to Radious i think he has fixed broken things, these guys have taken the next step and are adding to the core game
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?630814-Divide-et-Impera-%28Divide-amp-Conquer%29-Main-Thread
apologies if it already been mentioned - this is a monster thread to check it hasnt
it may well be the foundations of my next campaign after the Radious one
Iceni next with Radious...once I get over my current Panzer Corps addiction.
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 08, 2014, 09:31:51 AM
Found this, it seems to be a much more hard core version of Radious - not to be unfair to Radious i think he has fixed broken things, these guys have taken the next step and are adding to the core game
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?630814-Divide-et-Impera-%28Divide-amp-Conquer%29-Main-Thread
apologies if it already been mentioned - this is a monster thread to check it hasnt
it may well be the foundations of my next campaign after the Radious one
Yes this is the mod that I have been using and advocating for a while now. it's quite good I find it to be better than radius although different people have different opinions
ah sorry Mikeck, it looks a really good mod - do the uniform changes come with the mod or is this an extra download?
Yeah mikeck could you give us a quick summary of why you like that one more...and is it available on Steam?
Quote from: Gusington on January 08, 2014, 12:22:59 PM
Yeah mikeck could you give us a quick summary of why you like that one more...and is it available on Steam?
+1
At the Steamworks mod site there are a series of mod-play videos. It looks very impressive but I've got too much time in Radious to start a whole new campaign. It's rated 5 of 5 stars there as is Radious.
Quote from: mikeck on January 08, 2014, 12:17:00 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 08, 2014, 09:31:51 AM
Found this, it seems to be a much more hard core version of Radious - not to be unfair to Radious i think he has fixed broken things, these guys have taken the next step and are adding to the core game
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?630814-Divide-et-Impera-%28Divide-amp-Conquer%29-Main-Thread
apologies if it already been mentioned - this is a monster thread to check it hasnt
it may well be the foundations of my next campaign after the Radious one
Yes this is the mod that I have been using and advocating for a while now. it's quite good I find it to be better than radius although different people have different opinions
Cool. Thanks for the heads-up/reminder on this one.
Mainly, I like the additional formations available for units. It's more than just testudo. These and his changes seem to help units keep order better than Radious. That's the main reason. The battles last long just like Radious.
Radius also made some unit changes that I just wasn't interested in.
The main reason I like it though is that units keep better formations.
Cool I'm going to check it out. I have the luxury of not having started a campaign yet, so I can choose. The features list is quite solid and really gets my ancient juices flowing. Of course choosing between this and Radious will be difficult. Very. In a good way.
Quote from: Gusington on January 08, 2014, 07:07:33 PM
Cool I'm going to check it out. I have the luxury of not having started a campaign yet, so I can choose. The features list is quite solid and really gets my ancient juices flowing. Of course choosing between this and Radious will be difficult. Very. In a good way.
Let us know what you decide. I am playing through vanilla right now but these feature list make me want to quite and dld the mods and start anew.
^What do you think of vanilla? I enjoyed it. I am leaning towards diving into Radious first and then Divide and Conquer after, just because I have been looking forward to Radious for a while and his other mods (for Shogun 2) are highly respected.
I've played with both mods. Although I prefer one over the other...it's really a personal preference based on what I find more important. I really enjoyed both mods and you can't go wrong with either. My point is don't be afraid to fire up a campaign with one of them and don't worry that you would be enjoying it more with the others.
Really makes me wonder why CA did not include many of these things to begin with
^I have thought that way since the original Medieval. Hindsight is 20/20 with mods.
I really like the professionalism exhibited in this new Divide and Conquer mod, even in the threads over at TWC and in the descriptive writeups. Not that Radious is not professional with his stuff but you're right Mikeck this new one seems concerned with more 'serious' parts of the game. Maybe I'll go for that one first...GAH
Quote from: Gusington on January 08, 2014, 08:28:09 PM
^What do you think of vanilla? I enjoyed it. I am leaning towards diving into Radious first and then Divide and Conquer after, just because I have been looking forward to Radious for a while and his other mods (for Shogun 2) are highly respected.
I am still on my first campaign but I am enjoying it so far. Although reading through the mod changes I am realizing little things that have been bugging me with the vanilla version. Unless of course that just has to do with the power of suggestion.
The power of suggestion is very strong with the TW series. Believe every post you read on it and you will blame TW games for eating your baby and murdering your parents.
Vanilla's greatly improved over the patch-thon by CA. It now does have many of the mod-type attributes like the seasons now having an effect and the AI factions no longer are overthrown by their own rebels. I'm playing vanilla Suebi, Iceni, and Bactria. And Radious Rome and Seleucia and am enjoying both types equally well.
Quote from: Gusington on January 08, 2014, 09:58:17 PM
^I have thought that way since the original Medieval. Hindsight is 20/20 with mods.
I really like the professionalism exhibited in this new Divide and Conquer mod, even in the threads over at TWC and in the descriptive writeups. Not that Radious is not professional with his stuff but you're right Mikeck this new one seems concerned with more 'serious' parts of the game. Maybe I'll go for that one first...GAH
i think this is what turned my head - serious additions as well as game fixes
Maybe I can start two separate campaigns with two separate mods using the same faction and compare...
Quote from: Gusington on January 09, 2014, 08:51:37 AM
Maybe I can start two separate campaigns with two separate mods using the same faction and compare...
its crossed my mind too, dont know who to play - might be ze germans
I dare you to Gus. But you might have to quit your day job.
I have no problem with that. Will you pay my mortgage and support The Wife's lifestyle?
I see no problem with that if your wife's lifestyle is the same as mine... working hard to support an underactive Grog-Nerd. Have your Mortage Broker send your payment stubs to mine at Larry the Corner Lender and Aluminum Siding Dealer.com.
We have a deal. If you need me I'll be in my in-laws basement wearing a diaper, eating Oreos and playing modded Rome 2 for the next 50 years.
Quote from: Gusington on January 09, 2014, 11:38:40 AM
We have a deal. If you need me I'll be in my in-laws basement wearing a diaper, eating Oreos and playing modded Rome 2 for the next 50 years.
if slash is going to serve the whims and demands of Mrs G surely he moves into the basement and you get to live it large at slash towers?
Geek, I doubt seriously Gus would want to give-up the comfort of zero minus weather for my 71 degree pooled lanai. All really great artists must suffer I'm told. Oh, and Gus if a large moving van pulls-up outside your house..... just ignore it.
I always liked the game anyway...but I am really enjoying the Ceasar in Gaul campaign. It's tough and I love the seasons.
I should just sign over my paycheck, The Wife and frigid basement to Mikeck. I was waiting for a price drop on Caesar in Gaul, below 12.00 like from GMG, but that does not appear o be happening soon.
Okay, Athens. Let's do this!
Fightin' words!
Well I've been wanting to play them long enough. And now that I finally feel like I have an at least tenuous grasp on what I'm doing, I figured now's as good a time as any. :)
In most of the games I play, Sparta seems to be doing just great. Maybe playing that faction isn't as hard as you'd think.
I have a game going as Sparta. So far it has not been overly challenging.
Quick question after listening to you guys talk. Do y'all have more than one campaign going at a time or do you just play one till you win or are tired of it?
I play a single campaign until I'm convinced that I am "over the hump"...that point in the game where your victory is only a matter of stomping in leftovers. I have never played TW games through to the actual victory conditions.
I can't play multiple campaigns at once, I lose track of what's going on
I've never tried it and never even thought to do it until this thread, but it may drive me insane if I tried.
Any suggestions on how to skip the prologue
Its freezing up on me at the point where I have to end the turn (II chapter i think).
I had played it to the third chapter then decided to install the new mod I read about here and monkeyed with the graphics. Well I screwed up lost a couple of key battles and decided it was time to restart. So i deleted the autosave file and restarted the prologue.
Played through the first chapter again and now it is stuck at the point where you press end turn to advance to the next section in the prologue. I see the grand campaign map with the birds flying but it just doesnt advance. I uninstalled the mods and now it gets stuck on the loading screen of when I press continue the campaign.
I have no desire to play the prologue a third time so would prefer to just be able to skip it and start playing one of the other factions with the mod installed
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Con
If i understand you correctly, just start a grand campaign from the start menu
Also try verifying your game cache in Steam. Some files may have become discombobulated with the mods and tweaks.
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 10, 2014, 05:26:15 AM
If i understand you correctly, just start a grand campaign from the start menu
So all the factions are unlocked from the start? I recall that you had to always play the tutorials with Total War in order to open the battles and other factions. This is no longer true?
Thanks
Conrad
Quote from: Con on January 10, 2014, 09:16:16 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 10, 2014, 05:26:15 AM
If i understand you correctly, just start a grand campaign from the start menu
So all the factions are unlocked from the start? I recall that you had to always play the tutorials with Total War in order to open the battles and other factions. This is no longer true?
Thanks
Conrad
I don't remember honestly. I played the tutorial and then started up a game as Sparta.
I went straight into carthage.... iirc it's all unlocked, I could certainly pick Rome, carthage, Sparta, Egypt I forget who else
I couldn't finish the prolog either and just jumped into a campaign but that was before any mods had come-out. Not all the factions are playable from the start but there is a mod that unlocks that. The game's great but it gets a lot more fun when you really start to expand and bump-up against some of the larger powers. I'll confess to understanding almost nothing going on it the political part of the game.
Ok dumb question here. Is it easy to switch back and forth between mods from Steam Workshop?
Quote from: TheCommandTent on January 10, 2014, 04:56:22 PM
Ok dumb question here. Is it easy to switch back and forth between mods from Steam Workshop?
Sure, just install and uninstall whatever mods you need for a particular save game. I wouldn't get too cute with it though...just asking for issues
mod manager comes with steam - when you click on the game the mods you are using are at the bottom of the start up screen, all with a little green box to switch them on and off
I've not modded Rome II. Any recommendations as to the best 'all-rounder'?
i think were all decided on Radious for vanilla fixes but for hard core improvements and grogginess - Divide et Impera
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 10, 2014, 06:11:45 PM
mod manager comes with steam - when you click on the game the mods you are using are at the bottom of the start up screen, all with a little green box to switch them on and off
Well if that is the case I should even be able to figure that out
When you load the game up, before it actually engages you will get a box that contains red boxes. The mod manager is one of those red boxes. It works similar to the mod manager in Civ V.
Quote from: Gusington on January 10, 2014, 07:02:53 PM
When you load the game up, before it actually engages you will get a box that contains red boxes. The mod manager is one of those red boxes. It works similar to the mod manager in Civ V.
Excellent then I should at least start downloading them.
you need steam workshop first and then just sort it by most popular - youll find the big boys at the top
Not trying to get everyone spun up but I just saw that angry joe has Rome 2 as #9 in his "worst games of 2013". Anyone who has played Rome 2 should see how absolutely ridiculous that is. I figured this guy had an agenda and this proves it to me.
Rome is a great game... Certainly not one of the worst
mik I'm pretty sure his point is AT LAUNCH the game was a train-wreck and never should have come out in the state it was. The launch was a debacle and Creative Assembly should be called out on it. The game is far better now but you shouldn't get a pass for creating a broken game and fixing it after launch.
I do think that the release and then patch way of things is by design now. CA was held to a tight schedule for release and the way to do that was to have a series of patches ready. Not a great way to do it, I admit, but not necessarily a crime against humanity either.
Crime against humanity no but fair to call out a company that puts out a disaster of a project as well. If you watch the video Joe talks basically about it being on the list for the horrible nature in which it was released, he even admits its been patched up to a much better shape but he expects a far better and more stable launch than what they got, sounds like fair criticism to me. Not sure how it's proof of some kind of agenda.
Every single TW release has been called a disaster. I don't think Rome II was a disaster of a project. Imperfect release? Totally. Bad business model using patches to make up for limited time? Yes.
I must be crazy because I like the game at release and had fun playing it.
At launch the game was an abomination given the ca had to actually put out an apology for the state of the game. Angry joe had no agenda from what i could tell, he was venting his enormous disappointment at the time.
We all know compared to genocide and other crimes violating our human rights this was not an issue , in fact if we lived our lives with such comparisons all the time no one should be complaining ever, but what annoyed many is that CA were specifically hyping up the game AI as being the best ever when it is in fact possibly the worst ever - can AI still actually carry out a siege battle and use siege equipment?
Nope, I just put a unit or two on walls and they never try and climb the ladders they break the gate and charge on through a fatal funnel to their death even if they outnumber me 10-1 I always win because they go in piecemeal and get slaughtered.
For all of its good qualities, R2 really is "not ready." It takes real effort to contrive to lose a battle at any but the hardest levels as Rome, and even then...
About the only challenge is to pick a barbarian state at or near the hardest settings. This thread had me convinced to avoid the game, but I wound up getting it as a birthday present. Learning it was a lot of fun, but now.... mods help a lot, but the battle AI is just hopeless. Perhaps it will get better.
I loved Rome 2 from day 1. As for winning battles, I usually win in every vanilla total war game. I find Shogun2 and Rome 2 to have the best AI by far. I think people went WAY overboard about this game at release. It had bugs but u was enjoying right off the bat
Quote from: mikeck on January 11, 2014, 02:11:51 PM
I loved Rome 2 from day 1. As for winning battles, I usually win in every vanilla total war game. I find Shogun2 and Rome 2 to have the best AI by far. I think people went WAY overboard about this game at release. It had bugs but u was enjoying right off the bat
Got to agree with mikeck - totally playable from day 1
Twc is still infected by unbelievable amounts of moaning and bitching even from people who haven't played the game - just caught up in the negative shit storm by those who refuse to play their game because of laughable short comings
Quote from: Bison on January 11, 2014, 12:30:20 AM
I must be crazy because I like the game at release and had fun playing it.
I am with you on this. I think the game was okay at release and has improved a lot. The negative hype stems from the fact that hating certain games had become something of a cottage industry that feeds on itself. There are unbelievable numbers of games out there that are nowhere near as good as the TW series and nobody devotes much time to hating them, so obviously the hating at Rome II had no basis in the game itself, except that maybe games are getting so good at basics that 99% of the game can work better than any game before and the game still gets seen as defective. I've been calling this problem the uncanny valley, but perhaps its just that games have such a broad range of design choices to make that -- no matter how functional the game -- a lot of people are not going to have much sympathy for a lot of what it does successfully. Or to put it another way: in some games a lot is going on and a lot of people would rather that a lot of that was not there at all or at least very different.
Quote from: HistoricalGamer on January 11, 2014, 02:43:58 AM
Nope, I just put a unit or two on walls and they never try and climb the ladders they break the gate and charge on through a fatal funnel to their death even if they outnumber me 10-1 I always win because they go in piecemeal and get slaughtered.
I find the battle AI can put up a good fight even if they only have say a 1.5 advantage and better troops. I think they can even win a siege if they have enough missile troops.
I've had some extremely good battles in Rome II. The AI is very good at sea battles so all of those are good. Other monents I recall: dismounting my Persian Spear Cavalry to stand off a very large cavalry force in wooded terrain; scouting with the cinema view to find the enemy rear in a forest.
And of course, visually, these are the best images of the ancient world you will see being generated to represent a battle in progress.
Quote from: MengJiao on January 11, 2014, 04:02:46 PM
The negative hype stems from the fact that hating certain games had become something of a cottage industry that feeds on itself.
There is a lot of truth to this statement.
It is what it is. Enjoy or not. I do, so that's all that matters to me.
I have been working at sites like this for almost 12 years and every time a TW game is released the shenanigans begin. 'It sucks!' 'It's great!!' 'Your mother!!!' Etc. It gets exhausting.
I have put a big old bunch of hours into Rome 2. Even bought the Caeser in Gaul expansion. I started playing TW back in original Shogun, so I have played this series from the start. The tough part for me was that Shogun 2 was an excellent game. I just like the time period of ancient Rome better. I do think that gameplay features and the options available in Rome 2 took a step back from Shogun 2 - especially the multiplayer. Also, it was hard to live up to the pedigree of Rome TW which, lets face it, was a revolutionary game when released. When that game came out it was such a leap forward. Hell, there was a tv show in Britain using the engine. There were tv shows that used the TW engine to do historical battles. The same didn't happen for Rome 2. It was not a big leap forward or anything really earth shattering for that matter.
Worse, the fan base expected greatness and with the buggy release of Empire fresh in their minds, open rebellion ensued when the game did not pass muster on release.
The patches have have helped, but the game has not lived up to its potential. For me that's ok. I still like the game. I just don't love it.
There were a ton of haters for Rome I too!
In a recent field battle as Suebi against the Averni, the Averni fielded 2 armies against my one. I set my forces up to defend, expecting the AI to come at me one at a time just like they always do and I was totally surprised and horrified to see the first force wait for the second to join it before closing on my now out numbered defenders. And this was vanilla. I won the battle but just barely and only after 30+ min. struggle and 3/4 of my army lost. The AI doesn't need to get any better to make me happy.
Quote from: Gusington on January 10, 2014, 09:17:58 PM
Every single TW release has been called a disaster.
Not Shogun 2, iirc. In fact, most people hailed it at release as CA "finally getting it right". A lot of the "hatred" directed at Rome II at release was frustration that is was perceived as a major step backwards.
Go back and look at the Tom Chick and Angry Joe reviews for Shogun 2 at release - 180 degrees different.
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 11, 2014, 11:49:53 PM
In a recent field battle as Suebi against the Averni, the Averni fielded 2 armies against my one. I set my forces up to defend, expecting the AI to come at me one at a time just like they always do and I was totally surprised and horrified to see the first force wait for the second to join it before closing on my now out numbered defenders. And this was vanilla. I won the battle but just barely and only after 30+ min. struggle and 3/4 of my army lost. The AI doesn't need to get any better to make me happy.
that sounds reasonably good - is this with the patches now? i have been on the fence with rome 2 - but the caesar in gaul campaign really interests me - in particular because the turn scale has been changed to something i find much more preferable rather than a year per turn
Quote from: agathosdaimon on January 12, 2014, 08:09:08 AM
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 11, 2014, 11:49:53 PM
In a recent field battle as Suebi against the Averni, the Averni fielded 2 armies against my one. I set my forces up to defend, expecting the AI to come at me one at a time just like they always do and I was totally surprised and horrified to see the first force wait for the second to join it before closing on my now out numbered defenders. And this was vanilla. I won the battle but just barely and only after 30+ min. struggle and 3/4 of my army lost. The AI doesn't need to get any better to make me happy.
that sounds reasonably good - is this with the patches now? i have been on the fence with rome 2 - but the caesar in gaul campaign really interests me - in particular because the turn scale has been changed to something i find much more preferable rather than a year per turn
Just FYI...through greenmangaming and the use of their 25% coupon, you can get Caesar for $11 right now...thinking of picking up myself today.
I have to admit I pre-purchased Rome 2 as soon as it was available for pre-order. The Roman time period strongly interests me and I enjoyed Rome 1. However, after the initial release, with most forums and reviewers speaking so poorly of the game and even the developer admitting it to a degree, my energy to play the game really went away. They said they were going to be patching frequently so I thought best to wait until those slow down or go away from coming out so fast. So far I have only messed with the historical/custom battles, haven't even attempted a campaign yet. Even with this, I am very hopeful that I will still enjoy it when the timing is right.
I really think Rome 2 and all games in the TW series get so much attention and feedback for one simple reason......these games are played by a TON of people! This shows regardless of all the complaining, people are still buying it all the time. Even if Sega loses a few customers, it likely hardly makes even a dent in their total sales of the product. With so many people playing the game, I think it shows that everyone has a different perception on the game and a handful people have a strong voice which brings down the forums with bad tastes.
I truly believe if the internet/forums didn't exist, people would buy the game and happily play it without complaints...they would think it is the most awesome thing since slice bread! But when you pull people together in common places to pick it apart, just becomes part of the culture to be negative.
Some day I am going to test this theory when a new game comes out....going to go into a media blackout and not read reviews/forums and see what happens. Just not sure I am strong enough:)
And if it is so bad, why is it usually rank high in the numbers playing it....right now, it is the 13th most played game on steam right now....pretty good for one of the worst games in 2013:)
http://store.steampowered.com/stats/
yeah definitely true with our reading everyones opinions and experiences can just snowball a negative vibe thats hard to go against , and even on good games like CMANO or Harpoon even - with these games, i thought right away that they were and awesome but then all the mentions of bugs in Harpoon puts me off playing it and when someone points out something like some SOSUS not performing accurately or something in CMANO i am then like oh no, the game still needs work but in fact it doesnt, it is perfect already and is just receiving enhancements. so yeah, forums are great but i guess it then means alot of critcisms and critiques being compounded - i am glad i have gone against the criticism on some games, like Empires in Arms for example as its a splendid complex and very well running game i find with alot of historically accurate options and overall atmosphere
Quote from: agathosdaimon on January 12, 2014, 09:56:24 AM
yeah definitely true with our reading everyones opinions and experiences can just snowball a negative vibe thats hard to go against , and even on good games like CMANO or Harpoon even - with these games, i thought right away that they were and awesome but then all the mentions of bugs in Harpoon puts me off playing it and when someone points out something like some SOSUS not performing accurately or something in CMANO i am then like oh no, the game still needs work but in fact it doesnt, it is perfect already and is just receiving enhancements. so yeah, forums are great but i guess it then means alot of critcisms and critiques being compounded - i am glad i have gone against the criticism on some games, like Empires in Arms for example as its a splendid complex and very well running game i find with alot of historically accurate options and overall atmosphere
That is the funny part...half the issues that are ever discussed about games are way over my head and I likely would have never even notice...but when someone mentions it, my mind goes off and says "No way I am playing this until they fix widget ABC".....even though I likely never use widget abc and don't even know what it is:)
^Me too. Additionally a lot of issues that users (and sometimes professional reviewers) bring up I have not seen on my system.
As far as Shogun 2, I agree it is the pinnacle of the series - the best assembled, most polished of all the TW games. It would be very difficult for Chick or Angry Joe or any professional reviewer to tear it apart as it stands on its own, and strongly.
But there are still haters, even for Shogun 2. Here's the Metacritic page for Shogun 2:
http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/total-war-shogun-2
Very strong at 90% in professional reviews. As far as users, very strong there too, but there are still haters to be seen at around 35.
Here's the Metacritic page for Rome II:
http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/total-war-rome-ii
Not bad, with professional reviews at 76%. But the user ratings - horrendous! 1000+ horrible reviews.
There will always be TW haters, even if CA develop a godlike AI and graphics that would make DaVinci step back and say 'whoa.'
Quote from: Bison on January 11, 2014, 05:18:17 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on January 11, 2014, 04:02:46 PM
The negative hype stems from the fact that hating certain games had become something of a cottage industry that feeds on itself.
There is a lot of truth to this statement.
It is what it is. Enjoy or not. I do, so that's all that matters to me.
Puzzling over this kind of thing some more leads me to wonder if there's not a kind of paradox lurking in the nature of games themselves such that
the better the game is as a set of images of a natural world, the more the game brings up questions about the nature of gaming and simulation. We see this in flight sims where rl pilots say that sim planes are harder to fly than real planes (but now this is accepted as inevitable in some places). We see this in the CMxx series (eg. Darosh's remarks about the uncanny valley) and I think it happens to some degree with Rome II.
Playing Rome II is the first time in a TW game that I really wanted the game to focus on a smaller area and time frame -- precisely because the game was working so well that more focus seemed more interesting.
Quote from: Achilles on January 11, 2014, 07:23:13 PM
Also, it was hard to live up to the pedigree of Rome TW which, lets face it, was a revolutionary game when released. When that game came out it was such a leap forward.
<Makes strangled noise>Quote from: tgb on January 12, 2014, 06:44:36 AM
Quote from: Gusington on January 10, 2014, 09:17:58 PM
Every single TW release has been called a disaster.
Not Shogun 2, iirc. In fact, most people hailed it at release as CA "finally getting it right". A lot of the "hatred" directed at Rome II at release was frustration that is was perceived as a major step backwards.
Go back and look at the Tom Chick and Angry Joe reviews for Shogun 2 at release - 180 degrees different.
I concur with your assessment,
tgb. More than anything else, I think
Rome II suffers from the simple fact that, at release, it wasn't as good (especially from a technical standpoint) as
Shogun 2 was. If STW2 had been similarly less than "perfect" when it came out, I strongly suspect the fanbase would have treated RTW2 far more charitably.
Seriously, why are you guys obsessing about this? Other people don't like it...who cares? Play the game, have fun.
Quote from: Arctic Blast on January 12, 2014, 06:20:57 PM
Seriously, why are you guys obsessing about this? Other people don't like it...who cares? Play the game, have fun.
You say this as if we have something else that's better to do.
Quote from: Arctic Blast on January 12, 2014, 06:20:57 PM
Seriously, why are you guys obsessing about this? Other people don't like it...who cares? Play the game, have fun.
Obsessing is my hobby. At least games give it some shape.
Yeah really AB how dare you!
Quote from: Arctic Blast on January 12, 2014, 06:20:57 PM
Seriously, why are you guys obsessing about this? Other people don't like it...who cares? Play the game, have fun.
somebody is wrong on the net - they must be corrected
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=208344533&searchtext=
I highly recommend the above mod for keeping units in formation. It is compatable with most large mods
Quote from: mikeck on January 14, 2014, 06:29:10 PM
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=208344533&searchtext=
I highly recommend the above mod for keeping units in formation. It is compatable with most large mods
What is that? By the description, it sounds like the guy removed all the unit animations except the final kill ones. ???
Is that how you keep your formations somewhat solid?
It keeps the guys from running off into the middle of the enemy formation chasing a particular enemy. There are still animations and sword slashing but your guys attack the dude in front. It's more orderly . Give it a shot, if you don't like it, unsubscribe
Quote from: mikeck on January 14, 2014, 10:54:16 PM
It keeps the guys from running off into the middle of the enemy formation chasing a particular enemy. There are still animations and sword slashing but your guys attack the dude in front. It's more orderly . Give it a shot, if you don't like it, unsubscribe
The comments highly recommend it.... I'll give it a go tonight.... who'd have thought that was the root of the problem? And who knew there were decapitation kill animations?
I don't know if that solves the problem or not but it sure helps
All right, Epirus is going down like a cheap hooker!
I never really noticed the formation issue...my Iceni campaign is imminent!! Tonight or tomorrow! Prepare the woad.
Back on the woad again.
PREPARE THE WOAD!!! I am excited. And so happy that a game can still excite me so much.
Quote from: mikeck on January 15, 2014, 08:15:03 AM
I don't know if that solves the problem or not but it sure helps
Just to see if the game was as good as I remembered (I've been playing Alea Jacta Est), I started a Pontus campaign. Now in my very first campaign I was Easy Pontus and I got wiped out by the Selucids, so i tried the most recent version of the vanilla game and Normal Pontus.
I built up alliances and trade and knocked out Galatia and Cappadocia whilst helping my allies take various 4th-rate powers to pieces. The AI seemed reasonably competent at all levels and as long as I paid attention to getting the food and taking no slaves things ran smoothly. I found that careful diplocacy seemed to pay off as did ending wars when the other side put up a lot of cash for peace. By the time I hit the Selucids the little Pontic Empire was running well and three wars later the Selucids and most of Egypt and Mesopotamia are very Pontic. So the vanilla game seems fine and I guess I'll do a modded campaign as Rome. Which sounds fun.
Quote from: Gusington on January 15, 2014, 12:16:53 PM
PREPARE THE WOAD!!! I am excited. And so happy that a game can still excite me so much.
Gus, you enthousiasm rubs off on me! I am going to jump back in this evening too!
The book you recommended has been a great read by the way!
The giant history of the Roman legions? Yeah that book is one of the best I read last year. A little dense but mostly fascinating. Like me.
I am boiling my woad right now.
No, Legions of Rome. Or did you recommend me the wrong book? ;)
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 13, 2014, 08:35:05 AM
Quote from: Arctic Blast on January 12, 2014, 06:20:57 PM
Seriously, why are you guys obsessing about this? Other people don't like it...who cares? Play the game, have fun.
somebody is wrong on the net - they must be corrected
It looks that way. I started a Rome campaign with the 4 seasons mod. Pretty neat and somewhat more to scale than monthly or two-week turns. Winter slows you down and creates unrest and so on. You can campaign okay in the Spring, summer and fall, or even winter if you are desperate, which, as the Romans, I rarely am. Vanilla Roman morale is a wonderful thing, even in the winter.
I see the game now has weather effects that change seasonally-- I get messages that certain regions are un-seasonably hot or cold and that has local effects but the Four-Seasons mod is very highly rated at Steam and I've been thinking of giving it a try too. Gus, doesn't boiling your Woad hurt? ;D
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 17, 2014, 10:12:14 AM
I see the game now has weather effects that change seasonally-- I get messages that certain regions are un-seasonably hot or cold and that has local effects but the Four-Seasons mod is very highly rated at Steam and I've been thinking of giving it a try too. Gus, doesn't boiling your Woad hurt? ;D
Is that with the base game or only in the Caesar in Gaul expansion? Some reason I had thought the season changes were only in the new expansion (without mods), but could be wrong.
Kind of interesting, looks like they have released some interesting mod tools to further allow people to customize......
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/01/17/rome-ii-modding/
By the way, to install the mod kit, looks like it is under the "Tools" area in Steam for download, does still say BETA next to it though....
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on January 17, 2014, 10:15:16 AM
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 17, 2014, 10:12:14 AM
I see the game now has weather effects that change seasonally-- I get messages that certain regions are un-seasonably hot or cold and that has local effects but the Four-Seasons mod is very highly rated at Steam and I've been thinking of giving it a try too. Gus, doesn't boiling your Woad hurt? ;D
Is that with the base game or only in the Caesar in Gaul expansion? Some reason I had thought the season changes were only in the new expansion (without mods), but could be wrong.
The Vanilla base game still has yearly turns. The seasonal mod on the base game I'm using has 4 turns a year and each one corresponds to a season. At the moment it is the only Mod I'm using.
Quote from: MengJiao on January 17, 2014, 10:30:10 AM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on January 17, 2014, 10:15:16 AM
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 17, 2014, 10:12:14 AM
I see the game now has weather effects that change seasonally-- I get messages that certain regions are un-seasonably hot or cold and that has local effects but the Four-Seasons mod is very highly rated at Steam and I've been thinking of giving it a try too. Gus, doesn't boiling your Woad hurt? ;D
Is that with the base game or only in the Caesar in Gaul expansion? Some reason I had thought the season changes were only in the new expansion (without mods), but could be wrong.
The Vanilla base game still has yearly turns. The seasonal mod on the base game I'm using has 4 turns a year and each one corresponds to a season. At the moment it is the only Mod I'm using.
Got it, thanks for the clarification.
I think the DEI mod has 4 turns per season, I don't know if they've managed to crow bar the weather effects in - when I say weather effects I mean graphics with snow etc.... my arduous campaign already has unseasonably hot weather but no snow in winter
MengJiao, do you happen to have any idea if that seasons mod you're playing is compatible with Radious?
I wss just going ask the same question about Radious and the seasons.
Yskonyn I thnk we are talking about the same book.
WOAD!
DEI mod has the 4 seasons. It is truly magnificent mod. This game has become- by far- the best of the total war games. Graphics are great, AI is great. I love the provinces. It's a fantastic game
Better than Radious?
It says on Steam that it's compatible with any mod but you need a 4 Year-per-turn mod. Radious only does 2 TPY. But there are others. I maybe mistaken but during my vanilla Suebi campaign I got messages at the beginning of the turn that the weather was un-seasonable and you could go to the province and the effect would be listed under the province modifiers at the bottom. I first noticed this after the 8.1 beta patch installed but I've seen it in my Radiuos campaign too. Woad-On.
Quote from: Martok on January 17, 2014, 10:49:07 AM
MengJiao, do you happen to have any idea if that seasons mod you're playing is compatible with Radious?
I don't know. I picked it since it looked like a quick download with limited impact. I wanted 4 turns a year and this one added
seasons (nice icons and text too!). And for some reason I kind of like the base vanilla for the most part.
Thats how I felt about Shogun 2... never modded it at all.
Anyone know if the Divide and Conquer mod has seasons and additional turns per year?
Quote from: mikeck on January 17, 2014, 11:57:28 AM
DEI mod has the 4 seasons. It is truly magnificent mod. This game has become- by far- the best of the total war games. Graphics are great, AI is great. I love the provinces. It's a fantastic game
im in 100% agreement with you - would you join me over at matrix where they think we're all CA fanboys in Segas pocket despite Brants best protestations
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 17, 2014, 02:29:41 PM
Quote from: mikeck on January 17, 2014, 11:57:28 AM
DEI mod has the 4 seasons. It is truly magnificent mod. This game has become- by far- the best of the total war games. Graphics are great, AI is great. I love the provinces. It's a fantastic game
im in 100% agreement with you - would you join me over at matrix where they think we're all CA fanboys in Segas pocket despite Brants best protestations
Okay, I restored my Matrix Mengjiao mojo. where's the trouble?
O snap...don't forget your helmets, fellers.
The Divide ET Impera mod was updated and has broken my game. My income was 2200 before the update and is -6200 now. It is a good mod but my current game is now not worth playing. Back to the Radious mod for now. I hope the DEI mod is fixed soon so I can continue my saved game.
And I to do battle over at the wargamer over this game people calling the garbage and such but I didn't know there was a thread on it matrix...maybe I'll have to pop over and set them straight. I find that a lot of the matrix crowd to think that any game development by somebody else is crap mostly paradox . That's why I like to post here
Divide et Impera is working fine on my machine...just played two hours straight without issue. Haven't got any notices about an update...
The Divide et Impera mod is still broken for me. I have also noticed the cost of land units increased dramatically. If you go into the Steam workshop, you will see posts of people who are having the same problem. Not everyone looks to be having the problem though.
Is there some kind of turn checklist someone has seen before? I always get the feeling I am forgetting to do something on a turn (i.e. build, recruit, diplomacy, etc.) and would be a great reminder of things to do.
^Me too, but there are only certain 'big ticket' items like research that have reminders.
Labbug are there any posted solutions?
No posted solutions yet. Maybe by tomorrow.
There was an update on Divide et Impera this morning. The increase in unit upkeep and cost of mustering units was rolled back but not to the original levels. It looks as it is about 20% higher now rather than the 50% increase the the original update had done. At least I can raise taxes now to have a positive income. In my opinion, this change will is not a positive change and makes it too difficult to support a reasonable troop level. Not sure I will continue my DEI campaign now.
Do any of you have a freeze of the game on ending the first turn in the Progolue Chapter 2?
Every time I press the end turn button, the Samnite army starts moving and Silanus comments about it, but after this the game cursor stays the hourglass icon and nothing further happens anymore.
The game still runs and I can review the advisor messages, call up the menu's, etc. The turn will not progress though.
Quote from: Yskonyn on January 20, 2014, 09:54:05 AM
Do any of you have a freeze of the game on ending the first turn in the Progolue Chapter 2?
Every time I press the end turn button, the Samnite army starts moving and Silanus comments about it, but after this the game cursor stays the hourglass icon and nothing further happens anymore.
The game still runs and I can review the advisor messages, call up the menu's, etc. The turn will not progress though.
are you using any mods?
Quote from: Yskonyn on January 20, 2014, 09:54:05 AM
Do any of you have a freeze of the game on ending the first turn in the Progolue Chapter 2?
Every time I press the end turn button, the Samnite army starts moving and Silanus comments about it, but after this the game cursor stays the hourglass icon and nothing further happens anymore.
The game still runs and I can review the advisor messages, call up the menu's, etc. The turn will not progress though.
I have not had a single game crash or lockup since day one....likely haven't played it as much as others, but no lock ups in the single battles, campaign, or prologue.
So, as I try to play this more...diplomacy always causes me issues. It seems like I can rarely get anybody to accept any deals with me. Is there a screen or way to know what other factions are willing to sign up with me? Just seems anyone I ask for anything, they always say no:(
there should be a range of smiley to grumpy faces on the diplo screen before you even speak to them - green to red i think, the green guys are obviously more amenable to a chat, butter everyone up with non agression pacts first and then revisit them later for some trade, might need to slip a bit of coinage their way to grease the wheels of trade though
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 20, 2014, 11:00:35 AM
there should be a range of smiley to grumpy faces on the diplo screen before you even speak to them - green to red i think, the green guys are obviously more amenable to a chat, butter everyone up with non agression pacts first and then revisit them later for some trade, might need to slip a bit of coinage their way to grease the wheels of trade though
ahh, thanks for the tips....I must have missed those faces. Just curious, are there any strategy guides floating around out there that explains all this stuff? If not, there should be:)
Ive used this as my insta-answer place to go if noone here knows
http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/78163-WIP-Official-Rome2-FAQ-Thread
Table of Contents
(For easier searching of this forum, use the Search Thread feature located at the top right toolbar of this page, located above "Advanced Search". You can also use Search function of your browser, such as Cntl+F)
1: What are the common terminologies and shorthand for Total War: Rome 2?
2: Is there a way to access the Rome 2 Encyclopedia other than in the game?
3: How does Replenishment work in this game? How do I manage it and how can I improve it?
4: How does Auto Resolve work?
5: How does "Food Surplus" and "Population Surplus"? work?
6: What are army, fleet an agent limits?
7: How do you go about raising new forces?
8: Is there a Religion mechanic like that of Shogun2?
9: What are Slaves and what do they do?
10: Do units have reduced upkeep costs when they suffer any losses?
11: What are Stances?
12: How does the Technology Tree work?
13: Can you destroy a building in your city and build something else?
14: What is Authority, Zeal and Cunning?
15: What is the end date for the game?
16: There are so many units, how do I know which one's good for which?
17: What are Edicts?
18: How do you recruit units, fleets and agents?
19: What are Political Intrigues?
20: Are Mercenaries in this game?
21: What are Households and what do they do?
22: How do naval battles work in this game?
23: How are army units transported?
24: Are there amphibious battles?
25: How do you gain experience for your characters?
26: How do Reinforcements work?
27: Can I change the campaign difficulty when I've already started it?
28: What is the difference between a general and a statesman?
29: Why doesn't my army maintain the formation I create after Grouping them and then RT Clicking to move them?
30: What happened to Guard Mode?
31. How do you use the agents?
32: How do I tell what ships are transports and what are naval units?
33: Can we upgrade units? How do we do that?
34: How do I manage my diplomacy?
35: What are Client States, Confederations an Satrapies?
36: What are Traditions?
37: How do your military units gain experience?
38: What are Effects?
39: What are Wonders and what do they do?
40: How do I know what effects from buildings, agents etc. apply to the settlement, the whole province or the whole faction?
41: What does the whirlwind around some navies mean? Likewise, what does the red skull mean above armies and navies?
42: How do I protect my settlements from attack? What are Garrisons?
43: What are the basic information regarding structures and construction?
44: Are there limits to structures?
45: How do I interact with the game in Battle Mode?
46: What is "Food Surplus" and what does it do?
47: Do military upgrades (such as the shieldmaker or training field) affect naval units as well as land units or are there no upgrades for naval units?
48: I just took over a city. What are my options and which ones should I choose?
49: What are Resources and what do they do?
50. What is corruption and how do I deal with it?
section 34 explains the green to red icons and i didnt actually know but if you hover over them it will tell you what they like and dislike about you
Nice, thanks...I will have to read through them....
^Quick and dirty...once you start to make some headway and conquer some provinces and get them on the road to success, more nations will want to have diplomatic relations with you, trade, pacts, etc.
Quote from: Yskonyn on January 20, 2014, 09:54:05 AM
Do any of you have a freeze of the game on ending the first turn in the Progolue Chapter 2?
Every time I press the end turn button, the Samnite army starts moving and Silanus comments about it, but after this the game cursor stays the hourglass icon and nothing further happens anymore.
The game still runs and I can review the advisor messages, call up the menu's, etc. The turn will not progress though.
No idea...cannot recommend enough to skip the damned prologue/campaign and go starlight for sandbox. Far more stable
Quote from: mikeck on January 20, 2014, 12:22:22 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on January 20, 2014, 09:54:05 AM
Do any of you have a freeze of the game on ending the first turn in the Progolue Chapter 2?
Every time I press the end turn button, the Samnite army starts moving and Silanus comments about it, but after this the game cursor stays the hourglass icon and nothing further happens anymore.
The game still runs and I can review the advisor messages, call up the menu's, etc. The turn will not progress though.
No idea...cannot recommend enough to skip the damned prologue/campaign and go starlight for sandbox. Far more stable
As Mikeck's official translator that means get your disco ball out, sit in some sparkly pants and play the full campaign, maybe wear roller skates
HAHAHA starlight for for sandbox! HAHAHA!!
Anyway, I liked the prologue. It set a nice mood for me.
Quote from: mikeck on January 20, 2014, 12:22:22 PM
Quote from: Yskonyn on January 20, 2014, 09:54:05 AM
Do any of you have a freeze of the game on ending the first turn in the Progolue Chapter 2?
Every time I press the end turn button, the Samnite army starts moving and Silanus comments about it, but after this the game cursor stays the hourglass icon and nothing further happens anymore.
The game still runs and I can review the advisor messages, call up the menu's, etc. The turn will not progress though.
No idea...cannot recommend enough to skip the damned prologue/campaign and go starlight for sandbox. Far more stable
Dumb question...besides it being a training tutorial...do you miss out on anything if you don't play it? Meaning, could you be in a better starting position if you play it? Or does it kind of start over for the grand campaign?
nothing of the sort - it is just to familiarise yourself with some very basic mechanics - no bonus unlocked or conveyed
^Starts over for the grand campaign.
My Divide and Conquer mod is being updated right now...:/
Quote from: Gusington on January 20, 2014, 12:36:24 PM
^Starts over for the grand campaign.
My Divide and Conquer mod is being updated right now...:/
had you noticed the massive upkeep costs/bug?
It's in the process of updating...not sure how long this will take. This annoys me as I wanted to play right now.
OK so my current install of Divide and Conquer is updating, but there is also a 4th piece to the entire mod that can be downloaded and installed. Not sure if it's the update or the 4th part that causes the problems for some. Still reading up on it.
looking at TWC hes made a change to embarking rules that has broken some things - i think hes undoing them
Thanks guys for the info on the campaigns.....
^Surely. It took me a few sessions to get the feel for everything but once I did I really started to enjoy it.
'Embarking rules' 'Geek? Also...it looks like my Radious mod is also updating. Guess I'll have to read a book in the meantime...:/
Quote from: Gusington on January 20, 2014, 12:54:53 PM
^Surely. It took me a few sessions to get the feel for everything but once I did I really started to enjoy it.
'Embarking rules' 'Geek? Also...it looks like my Radious mod is also updating. Guess I'll have to read a book in the meantime...:/
I fear becoming addicted like you guys:) Just can't fight the urge anymore, hope to really dive in...
Give it a few hours and if it clicks with you, well...see you in a year. Unless of course you get blind sided my mod updates that take hours. Like me right now.
OK it looks like Radious was the mod that had hung up my launcher. I have not subscribed to the 4th part of Divide and Conquer...going to launch now to see if anything has changed.
Just played through two battles and then had a lockup and crash at the end. Until then the game seemed to be operating normally.
Quote from: Gusington on January 20, 2014, 12:54:53 PM
^Surely. It took me a few sessions to get the feel for everything but once I did I really started to enjoy it.
'Embarking rules' 'Geek? Also...it looks like my Radious mod is also updating. Guess I'll have to read a book in the meantime...:/
Yeah something about embarking ships but a few people have complained they're now stranded in ports and can't get out.... he said this afternoon he'd go in and change it.....
That's all I've got
I enjoy vanilla...but all this talk of mods is making me moist. I'm afraid to start modding though because I don't want to deal with all these bugs and problems. Is it really worth it?
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 20, 2014, 01:52:42 PM
I enjoy vanilla...but all this talk of mods is making me moist. I'm afraid to start modding though because I don't want to deal with all these bugs and problems. Is it really worth it?
Given how easy it is to switch them off and on and the improvements they make I'd say do it
Even just for the four turns a year and the formation stability it's worth it imho
I've only got the Radious mod and have had no issues at all. No hang-ups or crashes since I installed the game.
Radious had posted at Steam that his mod would no longer be able to be updated there because of problems with Steam and for new updates, go to the Total War Center. There he shows 2 updates since 1/12, one being the 4 Turns Per Year and Seasonal Changes. But playing my Radious mod campaign at Steam, I've got the 4TPR and Season Changes even though the last change note is 1/12. I wonder if he's wrong about Steam not being able to update his new changes-- it seems to be playing just fine and has the new stuff. Of course I could be wrong and tomorrow the whole damned thing go screwey too. Makes me want to go back to vanilla but the mods make the game so much better. Color me ???
Although mods can add to the experience, always scares me to death there is some problem lurking out there and you might not find it until your deep into the game....therefore, I typically play on vanilla myself....but some mods do look enticing.
Must be I don't have the new Radious stuff-- the latest update, as it included a bunch of new units, none of which appear in my Steam campaign version. :'(
Unless they're not save compatible
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 20, 2014, 01:52:42 PM
I enjoy vanilla...but all this talk of mods is making me moist. I'm afraid to start modding though because I don't want to deal with all these bugs and problems. Is it really worth it?
Same.
I'd like to start a new game with a mod or two but since developers are now in the habit of updating their games every three days on Steam, I expect it to be broken regularly.
So..
Have the patches for Rome 2 fallen off by now?
Yeah I haven't had a new patch in a few weeks.
I actually unsubscribed to Radious as it was holding me up. I'm ok not playing the most new version and getting it again from Steam.
I'd also agree that just for seasonal changes and other details its worth it...but I haven't encountered a campaign-breaking bug yet.
I just need to choose between Divide and Conquer and Radious. So far I like Divide and Conquer, and I haven't subscribed to the fourth part so I don't have those new issues.
What I do need to do is think up a serious strategery for destroying the Caledonians. They are becoming a giant iron thorn in my Iceni arse.
Ah.. the DEI mod was enabled. That's what causes the prologue to hang. Thanks!
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 20, 2014, 01:52:42 PM
I enjoy vanilla...but all this talk of mods is making me moist. I'm afraid to start modding though because I don't want to deal with all these bugs and problems. Is it really worth it?
Yes it is worth it. It is so easy to do with STEAM workshop. You subscribe to what mods you want and then make sure those are checked before you start a game. If you don't like it then just uncheck or delete it.
^There is the in between area where a mod is updating itself and won't let you play, then you have to futz with things a bit.
Yeah, they call it the Futz Zone. But I prefer the Non-Responsive Interaction Request Respite. But Futz Zone works too. 8)
I use divide and conquer mod. Have been playing the same game for weeks. Do I have to also install this new 4th part now or can I keep playing with the original 3 parts?
I've been playing with just the three parts and although I've had a couple of crashes I don't think its because of that...you should be fine.
I would check with the 4th part, Gus. I am running with 4 parts and it hasn't crashed or locked up in a campaign on me yet.
^Any issues with your budget/financials?
I started anew. No problems so far.
Is the new 4th part not save game compatible or you just felt like starting over?
I don't really want to start a new campaign unless I absolutely have to...
My previous campaign was vanilla.
I never started a DEI campaign before. :) I am a DEI virgin!
Same with Radious. The mod plays fine just doesn't update on Steam. The author says he is working to find a solution. What are the differences between the 2 mods? Anybody?
If I have been studying the two mods correctly, I think that Divide and Conquer pays more attention to the technical performance of formations and tactical issues. And it shows in my campaign...battles are much longer and formations hold well.
Yskonyn - Divide and Conquer, with the new 4th part, is having some issues with finances and upkeep, things like that. So I am a little hesitant to load that 4th piece.
Quote from: Gusington on January 21, 2014, 10:29:25 AM
If I have been studying the two mods correctly, I think that Divide and Conquer pays more attention to the technical performance of formations and tactical issues. And it shows in my campaign...battles are much longer and formations hold well.
Yskonyn - Divide and Conquer, with the new 4th part, is having some issues with finances and upkeep, things like that. So I am a little hesitant to load that 4th piece.
do you get a choice of what bits to load in steam workshop?
For Radious yes...there are several Radious mods and one huge all encompassing one. For Divide and Conquer, I'm not sure. The description says that all four parts are needed to run but I am only running three and it is running a'ight.
ive got the whole package for radious
ah, ok - so theres 4 little downloads for DEI?
^yup
and 1-3 are good but all the budget shenanigans is in 4 - gotcha
That is correct Sir. Note I am not sure if my crashing issue came from not having the 4th part or not (DEI). Still on the fence about getting it until I found out money issues are resolved.
everyone is still sharing the love at TWC, no mention of outrageous money problems or crash problems
On Steam there are several pages of whining. I'll just take the plunge later at my gaming rig and get the 4th part. Do you know what other new changes it offers?
to be honest everything over at TWC suggests the mod doesnt work until all 4 parts are installed, and theres this too
Quote Originally Posted by Butan
"Will 0.8 be in a separate mod files on the workshop so that 0.7x users can finish their games?
i think i read a post where a modder (i cant find the post anymore and dont know who it was) explained that it should be possible to play your 0.7x campaign further without problems with 0.8
installed, BUT the new features wont work in that 0.7x-campaign so you have to start a new one to work correctly. it is playable but not all features are included/working.
and plz correct me if i am wrong."
^Hmm that adds a little spice to the porridge doesn't it.
So I guess the mod for DEI is still technically in beta too since it has the 0.8...
i guess youre right
I ended up starting a new campaign after 225 turns when part 4 of DEI was added. :'(
what did part 4 do exactly?
and where at twc does it say this was the aim?
Just add the fourth part. it is saved game compatible with your games that were using the three parts only...and then just keep rolling
Quote from: mikeck on January 21, 2014, 12:29:16 PM
Just add the fourth part. it is saved game compatible with your games that were using the three parts only...and then just keep rolling
agreed just trying to get the goodies on part 4 for Gus that Labbug seems to think crashes the economy
Part 4 did crash my economy for my saved game. By restarting the costs of buildings and buying units seem to be back at previous levels. One change (I think it is a change) is that as you build up your capital and provincial capitals into different types of cities with different characteristics (a military city or a trade city for example).
^Isn't that the same as vanilla? So...hmm...if I get the 4th bit of DEI and have to restart, that would at least give me an excuse to start Radious :)
Does DEI have the 4 Turns-Per-Year and seasonal changes like Radious?
^Yep. Not sure if it's implemented the same way though.
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 21, 2014, 03:00:46 PM
Does DEI have the 4 Turns-Per-Year and seasonal changes like Radious?
Yes it does
^Is it done the same way Radious does it or through some other way?
OK so now I am trying to activate the fourth part of DEI and it is taking some time, holding me up from playing, like Radious did. How long did it take for you guys to load up the fourth part, for those who have it?
Quote from: Gusington on January 21, 2014, 04:24:00 PM
^Is it done the same way Radious does it or through some other way?
Not sure. I can tell you that each season has an effect on your economy for example you won't get much money from your wine and fruit resources in winter and fall but will and spring or summer so depending on what you're trading the amount you get from it depends on what season it is. same with the amount of food that is grown you get lower food in winter then you do and fall and summer which is the highest time.
Heck I love the Rome divided mod I like it a lot better than radius but in the end the best mod is the mod that works for you and if one of stable and the other is it there's your answer
Not sure how good I am at playing the Divide and Conquer mod...the Caledones are really socking it to me and every faction I have met totally hates my guts. No trading going on and my war in the north just feels like it is going on forever. I have taken back the cities that they had taken from me and now I'm marching on their capital and only city...but this has been going on for years already.
How do I decisively beat these friggin' guys?
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That's a lot of 300 extras, there.
^And every last one of them wants to kill me.
I think I made an unrecoverable error by going to war with the Caledones. They are some tough mofos. War is at a stalemate and my whole Iceni kingdom is slowly sinking because the war is draining all our resources. If I can get the 4th part of the DEI mod to load up properly (it's just been sitting there since I tried earlier) I may start over and make nicey nice with the Caledones. Or I may try the Radious mod.
It's also tempting to go back to vanilla as I played my first campaign as the Romans in vanilla and had a much easier go of things. Decisions...
Quote from: Gusington on January 21, 2014, 09:59:52 PM
^And every last one of them wants to kill me.
I think I made an unrecoverable error by going to war with the Caledones. They are some tough mofos. War is at a stalemate and my whole Iceni kingdom is slowly sinking because the war is draining all our resources. If I can get the 4th part of the DEI mod to load up properly (it's just been sitting there since I tried earlier) I may start over and make nicey nice with the Caledones. Or I may try the Radious mod.
It's also tempting to go back to vanilla as I played my first campaign as the Romans in vanilla and had a much easier go of things. Decisions...
I liked alot of the "roleplaying" elements in the DEI mod, especially for character and army advancements. However, I just didn't enjoy the combat as much. The Radious mod's combat I like better than vanilla but I wish it would add some more of those options for characters and such.
I added the 4th part via the steam workshop and it loaded right away. I had to start a new game though...it didn't like my old one. You MUST play on "normal". Don't try it on hard like you would vanilla. I have lots of trade
Partners as Rome and and in a defensive alliance with Athens and Sparta in a war against the other Greek states. I am trying to get them to join in against Carthage. I had a hell of a time beating Epirus...couldn't get enough troops and build an economy. It's a tough mod.
Ok at least its not just me being inept :)
Looks like I have some tinkering to do with DEI. Like TCT says above, I also don't like the combat as much...can't really put my finger on why.
Quote from: Gusington on January 22, 2014, 08:34:52 AM
Ok at least its not just me being inept :)
Looks like I have some tinkering to do with DEI. Like TCT says above, I also don't like the combat as much...can't really put my finger on why.
have you tried it with the one on one animations disabled?
Nope.
I love the combat,a only because the game is so tough and replenishment takes so long, that you want to be very careful about using troops.
That is just one big reason of many why it was a bad idea for me to go to war when i did, with who I did. I pretty much have to restart. If I can get the 4th piece of DEI I will try again. If not, it gives me a good excuse to start a Radious campaign.
Looks like the Woad is Wonger and Wuffer than you thought? I've never gotten past the Caldones in my Iceni campaign either. Why can't we be friends? Do you HAVE to have my head on a stake outside your tent? ;D
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 22, 2014, 03:44:35 PM
Looks like the Woad is Wonger and Wuffer than you thought? I've never gotten past the Caldones in my Iceni campaign either. Why can't we be friends? Do you HAVE to have my head on a stake outside your tent? ;D
I believe I never fought the Caldones in my (normal vanilla) Iceni campaign. since then I've been the Nervi in the expansion and Pontus and Rome so I don't remember all that much about my days as a normal vanilla Iceni.
What is this blasphemy called Radious, Gus!? Aren't you all about authenticity and all?
Listen to me...I made a mistake and warmongered on my Caledonian brethren. It was a critical error that I regret!
More importantly, I got the 4th part of the DEI mod to load and activate. So now the question is...do I continue the back and forth of my current, probably doomed campaign, restart a DEI campaign as Iceni, or start a new Radious campaign?
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 22, 2014, 03:44:35 PM
Looks like the Woad is Wonger and Wuffer than you thought? I've never gotten past the Caldones in my Iceni campaign either. Why can't we be friends? Do you HAVE to have my head on a stake outside your tent? ;D
LOL! Nice.....
Quote from: Gusington on January 22, 2014, 05:54:46 PM
Listen to me...I made a mistake and warmongered on my Caledonian brethren. It was a critical error that I regret!
More importantly, I got the 4th part of the DEI mod to load and activate. So now the question is...do I continue the back and forth of my current, probably doomed campaign, restart a DEI campaign as Iceni, or start a new Radious campaign?
go out in a blaze of glory against the Caledonians
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 23, 2014, 03:51:48 AM
Quote from: Gusington on January 22, 2014, 05:54:46 PM
Listen to me...I made a mistake and warmongered on my Caledonian brethren. It was a critical error that I regret!
More importantly, I got the 4th part of the DEI mod to load and activate. So now the question is...do I continue the back and forth of my current, probably doomed campaign, restart a DEI campaign as Iceni, or start a new Radious campaign?
go out in a blaze of glory against the Caledonians
+1
Continues more last night. I managed to out maneuver two Caledonian armies, retake the city they took from me, and put my wider region back together. I promptly declared a bread and games edict to revive my sagging morale and began to build up the maximum number of armies I am alotted...four. If I can continue to build up militarily and develop some additional military techs, I will use my highest ranked general to lead the charge and destroy the Caledonians. If not...blaze of glory it is.
Oh and DEI is working well, no crashes since I put in the new update.
see - massive sense of accomplishment upon victory - youll be glad you did - starting Radious has got cheat/restart all over it
dont go down in my estimation - i admire you so much!!
Thing is, in this mod it seems like I really have to think a lot, and that hurts.
lol - you dont want it too easy - at least some challenge
Well even in vanilla I've never been that guy screaming about the shoddiness of TW AI, so when it gets ramped up it usually makes me scream uncle.
Gus's predicament has got me thinking. Who's the toughest single opponent you've faced in Rome 2? For me, as the Suebi, it was one of the other German factions I can't remember. The Averni weren't that tough-just lots of them. As the Seleucids, it was Pergamon and the other Greek-like factions to the north. The Persians and Egypt wasn't very tough. As Rome, it was probably Macedon. In one battle it took my 2 armies to defeat their one and only by having enough troops to turn their flank. The Hoplites are very hard to break which didn't surprise me but what did surprise me was the Triballi faction, a Celtic faction north of Macedon. I had one of their armies bearing down on my city-Epidamnos. So I moved a full 20 unit army in there and with the garrison forces thought I had it covered. The Triballi "Celtic Swordsmen" and "Celtic Warriors" carved a path right through my Hastadi and Auxillary Spearmen without problem. I later defeated them with another army but only after softening them up first with 2 Agents that damaged them and reduced their morale. These guys are as tough as Chinese Trigonometry. ;D
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 23, 2014, 11:09:23 AM
Gus's predicament has got me thinking. Who's the toughest single opponent you've faced in Rome 2? For me, as the Suebi, it was one of the other German factions I can't remember. The Averni weren't that tough-just lots of them. As the Seleucids, it was Pergamon and the other Greek-like factions to the north. The Persians and Egypt wasn't very tough. As Rome, it was probably Macedon. In one battle it took my 2 armies to defeat their one and only by having enough troops to turn their flank. The Hoplites are very hard to break which didn't surprise me but what did surprise me was the Triballi faction, a Celtic faction north of Macedon. I had one of their armies bearing down on my city-Epidamnos. So I moved a full 20 unit army in there and with the garrison forces thought I had it covered. The Triballi "Celtic Swordsmen" and "Celtic Warriors" carved a path right through my Hastadi and Auxillary Spearmen without problem. I later defeated them with another army but only after softening them up first with 2 Agents that damaged them and reduced their morale. These guys are as tough as Chinese Trigonometry. ;D
As Pontus and Egypt early on, I had a lot of trouble with the Selucids. Later, as Carthage, I found the Turdies under Turdus to be a nasty bunch. In the Celtic realm as the Iceni or the Nervii, I found everybody to be pretty tough. Lately, as Rome, again, its the Celts that have been very troublesome.
I am very happy to see I am not alone. The Caledones are probably the toughest opponent I've faced in a TW title besides some of the Fall of the Samurai clans. Hoping to finally tear the Caledones asunder tonight.
Somebody needs to do it Gus. I can't stand them and their moustaches and funny blue pants.
You are so very right. But of course being a brother tribe, it means that the Iceni and Caledones have the same mustaches and fashion sense. Which is why I should not have attacked them to begin with...I should have made nice. But it's all haggis under the bridge now and they must all die.
The Greeks always give me a hell of a time. It's the whole phalanx thing. Kind of ruins my "slam the cohort into the enemy" strategy
I wanted to play a Greek faction next but I may now reconsider!
Quote from: mikeck on January 23, 2014, 03:50:21 PM
The Greeks always give me a hell of a time. It's the whole phalanx thing. Kind of ruins my "slam the cohort into the enemy" strategy
Indeed. Macedon is proving to be a bitch for my Athenians.
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take that bitches
Big new beta patch that will absolutely break any mod:
http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_9
Seems like a great patch and I may even play vanilla for awile . I'm getting tired of constantly having to start new games with mod updates
Hey congrats Gus. Hope they don't give you too hard a time rule. Have you gotten a general with a chariot bodyguard? The unit card looks like he's in a wheelchair. I have to laugh when I see it. I'll raise a flagon to the end of the Caldonian Bitches.
Quote from: mikeck on January 23, 2014, 10:10:14 PM
Big new beta patch that will absolutely break any mod:
http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_9
Seems like a great patch and I may even play vanilla for awile . I'm getting tired of constantly having to start new games with mod updates
I had to laugh hard at the 'Help I am stuck in these patch notes!' Line!
My congratulations to
Gus on taking out the
Scots Caldones. Well done! 8)
Quote from: Yskonyn on January 24, 2014, 01:18:59 AM
Quote from: mikeck on January 23, 2014, 10:10:14 PM
Big new beta patch that will absolutely break any mod:
http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_9
Seems like a great patch and I may even play vanilla for awile . I'm getting tired of constantly having to start new games with mod updates
I had to laugh hard at the 'Help I am stuck in these patch notes!' Line!
LOL. Yeah, that was great.
It does look like a nice beefy patch, though. The fixes/tweaks listed seem mostly minor, but there's a *lot* of them. Looking forward (as always) to the AI improvements.
Well done Gus!
I looked but didn't see if they had a date post for the next patch to be released??
Thanks fellers, it was hard won, as you know. Just in time for this new patch to make my win irrelevant too :/
I don't see a release for it yet. Of course, the beta patch just came out yesterday, so it might easily be another few days before the official version becomes available.
Do you guys bother with the beta patches rather than the full ones?
I did use the beta for 8.1a for modding purposes.
That's the revenge of the Caldones Gus. How do I know? What do they always wear on them kilts? Patches---- see? :o :o :o
Dear God you may be right. Question: for those who have played the Iceni, when does their unit roster branch out a bit? I can only recruit 5-6 units after about 100 turns.
Quote from: Yskonyn on January 24, 2014, 08:17:50 AM
Do you guys bother with the beta patches rather than the full ones?
I've opted into the beta patch a couple times now. I've not had issues in either instance.
yup, always grab betas asap - downloading it now
well done gus!!
will start a vanilla campaign - but im sticking with Carthage for now
and then when DEI is ready ill start another faction
Agent Cards Redone (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=219477017) pretty cool mod, this! It's only cosmetical and proves to be compatible with all patches so far.
blimey theres Radious and DEI beta patches out already - im going to give vanilla a run after reading that fix list
Quote from: Gusington on January 24, 2014, 08:28:00 AM
Dear God you may be right. Question: for those who have played the Iceni, when does their unit roster branch out a bit? I can only recruit 5-6 units after about 100 turns.
Not much changed for either the Iceni or the Nervii until I got down to a big city near switzerland and it had major iron-smithing and stuff and I got some heavier armored troops (iirc).
Thanks Meng...so I have to get started doin' some conquerin'.
Ok if I read the above posts correctly I can get the new CA patch and there is already a DEI patch available so I can keep the mod working?
Quote from: Gusington on January 24, 2014, 02:36:01 PM
Thanks Meng...so I have to get started doin' some conquerin'.
Ok if I read the above posts correctly I can get the new CA patch and there is already a DEI patch available so I can keep the mod working?
its in BETA so i dont know whether its been steamed yet, plus a few people are saying tis brokened
They say that about all the patches! But I can't believe there's already mod patches available.
radious said he needed to make 700 changes and he was only half way thru the files
DEI say similar and have made some changes, this resulted in the AI not building anything - DEIs AI changes conflicted with the new mod ones
Both these modders are really hardcore, I have faith that they will work it out and quickly.
The amount of changes that have been made personally I would just try out vanilla with the beta nine patch... and maybe throwing a four turns per year mod or something like that. give it a shot for a few weeks until the mods are caught up repaired and fully polished then give it another go. This is a big patch and by all accounts so far has done a lot to deal with the formations and slowing down fights and things like that that people primarily use the months for anyway
Quote from: mikeck on January 24, 2014, 04:41:51 PM
personally I would just try out vanilla with the beta nine patch
That's sort of been my thinking as well. In fact, until such time as CA stops releasing updates for Rome II -- or least until they stop releasing them on a regular basis (which I'm NOT complaining about, by the way!) -- I'm inclined to just play the vanilla game. As appealing as some of the mods are, quite honestly I'm still enjoying the game as is.
Quote from: mikeck on January 24, 2014, 04:41:51 PM
The amount of changes that have been made personally I would just try out vanilla with the beta nine patch... and maybe throwing a four turns per year mod or something like that. give it a shot for a few weeks until the mods are caught up repaired and fully polished then give it another go. This is a big patch and by all accounts so far has done a lot to deal with the formations and slowing down fights and things like that that people primarily use the months for anyway
This is what I've been doing.
But...but...I just had a glorious hard-earned victory over the Caledones!! Shirley you wouldn't have me set that aside...but it would give me an excuse to start my long dreamed of campaign as Sparta...or the Seleucids...oh dear...
im sold on 9 here with a mod for four turns - the last fix list looks to do everything i was worried about, play that for a long time until something epic like the old MTW2 mods comes out and blows it all away
Let me ask you this...what's to stop me from just switching the mods off in mod manager and continuing on with the same campaign, just unmodded? Is that just...inconceivable?
shouldnt be a problem - then when the mod game is fixed just switch it back on again - that was my plan
Well to be safe I didn't do that. I...I loaded the new patch, started a new campaign as the Iceni again, and promptly lost in about 30 turns!!! WTF??
Quote from: Gusington on January 24, 2014, 10:43:02 PM
Well to be safe I didn't do that. I...I loaded the new patch, started a new campaign as the Iceni again, and promptly lost in about 30 turns!!! WTF??
The AI is a little smarter in patch 9, I guess.
Smart AI? Unfair I say.
Quote from: MengJiao on January 24, 2014, 11:37:30 PM
Quote from: Gusington on January 24, 2014, 10:43:02 PM
Well to be safe I didn't do that. I...I loaded the new patch, started a new campaign as the Iceni again, and promptly lost in about 30 turns!!! WTF??
The AI is a little smarter in patch 9, I guess.
getting my ass kicked with the army limits and lack of funds in 9 but thats me being impatient
changed to four turns a year with seasonal effects and also added the corresponding construction and research time effects - 8 turns for buildings and research
Much more CAI aggressiveness - these guys just wont give up
Havent noticed anything better or worse about battle AI
For the first time since buying the game i got the graphics warning - game likes to downgrade the trees when its busy - im fine with that - as is usually the case graphics are only good for pause and close up, during the chaos of battle im not too bothered if the shadows on the leaves are right
I am still smarting from that arse-kicking it gave me last night. Do I try Iceni again one more time or move on the Nervii, Suebi or maybe even the Spartans?
What simple mod are you using for seasonal and four turn per year effects? I missed them in vanilla.
Go to the steam workshop and filter by most popular..... they're by a guy called Dresden click on his name when you find one of his mods and they'll all come up.... 2 turns, 4 turns, with and without seasons with and without extra build time
^Got'em thanks. Maybe 2 turns with seasons is enough for me...
...so none of these little year and season mods are affected by patching?
One of things that really impressed me was the actual size of the city of Rome - and the detail. I admit that due to poor play on my part (my first campaign as Rome) I was forced to defend the city. Its bloody massive.
And I did get my arse well and truly kicked!
I'm very impressed with patch 9 beta. I'm playing vanilla a with only a 4 turn per year and four season mod. Also a graphics mod for the Greeks. I love it. I'm thinking of restating and for the first time every...playing a Greek faction,maybe Athens. I dig the helmet and with patch 9, the phalanx works.
Units hold formation pretty damn well in vanilla
+1
havent been disappointed with 9 at all
still getting the hate at TWC
people can be such dicks
Quote from: mikeck on January 25, 2014, 03:57:49 PM
I'm very impressed with patch 9 beta. I'm playing vanilla a with only a 4 turn per year and four season mod. Also a graphics mod for the Greeks. I love it. I'm thinking of restating and for the first time every...playing a Greek faction,maybe Athens. I dig the helmet and with patch 9, the phalanx works.
Units hold formation pretty damn well in vanilla
Which Greek mod? I've got a pretty strong spartan campaign running,
^I'm thinking about playing as Sparta or Macedon myself since I clearly suck as the Iceni. Just did a quick search for Sparta mods in the Steam workshop and there are 133 different mods!
EDIT: there's one on Steam called Spartan Campaign Army that looks really good.
And the new four seasons per year model that I am using off the steam workshop is awesome it's a standalone and it even has snow falling during the wintertime pretty cool
Quote from: mikeck on January 26, 2014, 03:06:42 PM
And the new four seasons per year model that I am using off the steam workshop is awesome it's a standalone and it even has snow falling during the wintertime pretty cool
gave you adjusted the build and research times?
^Which one is that?
I use a 4 tpy mod and the 4 seasons...I don't believe research and build
Are adjusted ... Which is just how I like it I don't feel like waiting 24 times to get the building.... Just want my Hollywood legionnaires. Anyway most of those types of things are done with the 4 ton per year mods the one I was most impressed with what's the weather mod I have never seen snow effects before.
Anyway other than those two I am plain-vanilla and enjoying it very much. They did a great job with the beta patch nine
Quote from: Gusington on January 26, 2014, 05:34:10 PM
^Which one is that?
"Four turns per year mod"
"Season graphics and effects for main campaign"
"Agent cards redone"
"Greek hoplites pack" (makes me look cool)
"Faster research" (so I can specifically avoid the long research times that go with four Tonker your Mods...seems about right to me I just don't want to wait eight hours into the game before I get to my professional legions'.
And finally
"Ancient colors all factions"
^Coolness, thank you. I have that 4TPY subscribed already, may try the 2TPY one. Faster research now sounds necessary that I have extended the game time to either 2 or 4TPY. And dear gods the ancient colors mod looks amazing!
OK - I think if I am tricking the game out like this, I will attempt the Iceni one more time. I owe it to myself, really :)
Then its on to the Suebi.
PS - all of the above mods you listed are ok with Patch 9, right?
EDIT: looking at the notes for the ancient colors mod it appears it is NOT compatible with Patch 9, FYI.
Quote from: Gusington on January 26, 2014, 06:06:36 PM
^Coolness, thank you. I have that 4TPY subscribed already, may try the 2TPY one. Faster research now sounds necessary that I have extended the game time to either 2 or 4TPY. And dear gods the ancient colors mod looks amazing!
OK - I think if I am tricking the game out like this, I will attempt the Iceni one more time. I owe it to myself, really :)
Then its on to the Suebi.
PS - all of the above mods you listed are ok with Patch 9, right?
EDIT: looking at the notes for the ancient colors mod it appears it is NOT compatible with Patch 9, FYI.
i think art changes, turn changes arent affected by the version changes
ive done the research and build times so im not cheating!!
^There were notes for the ancient colors mod that read it didn't work with Patch 9...are you currently using that mod?
More tragically, I started another new campaign as the Iceni about two hours ago and AGAIN was wiped out within 25 turns! WTF is going on?? All of Britain united against me...this loss was even harsher than the last. The initial game is still rated at 'Easy' while the main campaign is rated as 'normal.' I am not sure what is going on but it's not fun. Or funny. OK maybe a little funny.
Is anyone else getting pummeled into a paste like this?
I feel so alone!
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Quote from: Gusington on January 26, 2014, 06:06:36 PM
^Coolness, thank you. I have that 4TPY subscribed already, may try the 2TPY one. Faster research now sounds necessary that I have extended the game time to either 2 or 4TPY. And dear gods the ancient colors mod looks amazing!
OK - I think if I am tricking the game out like this, I will attempt the Iceni one more time. I owe it to myself, really :)
Then its on to the Suebi.
PS - all of the above mods you listed are ok with Patch 9, right?
EDIT: looking at the notes for the ancient colors mod it appears it is NOT compatible with Patch 9, FYI.
Maybe...hadn't paid attention. All I know is everyone seems to be in proper earth tones and not day-glo
I got more important problems now...like not being able to make it past 10 years of game time :(
Don't know. I think you need to play a more powerful nation? I played Rome and the opening fight with the Etrusceans is a bitch. Takes a while but I usually win. I make it a point to allh with as any Greek states as I can to protect my eastern flank.
I also played Sparta for a bit and didn't have too much trouble. Maybe you are playing the equivalent of a " 1 province minor" in EU3. I never play barbarians so I can't say. Are you using a lot if mercenaries? I find them to be helpful when I need a lot of troops. Also, use your agenct to assassinate the enemy general if he's any good.
Last guess...quit trying to play with a barbarian tribe that got pwned by Rome... Try Rome, Athens, Sparta, Egypt, Pontus, Selucid, etc
Quote from: Gusington on January 26, 2014, 08:48:26 PM
^There were notes for the ancient colors mod that read it didn't work with Patch 9...are you currently using that mod?
More tragically, I started another new campaign as the Iceni about two hours ago and AGAIN was wiped out within 25 turns! WTF is going on?? All of Britain united against me...this loss was even harsher than the last. The initial game is still rated at 'Easy' while the main campaign is rated as 'normal.' I am not sure what is going on but it's not fun. Or funny. OK maybe a little funny.
Is anyone else getting pummeled into a paste like this?
Is this happening because everyone quickly starts to hate you diplomatically? Like the AI diplo behavior in Empire Total War that sucked so bad? I hope not.. that always seemed to be in passable shape as far as the AI goes, even at release. Unless you were Epirus - they'd get ganged from the start. Did they fix that up since then? I recall AI Epirus died every game in the first 10 or so turns. ???
Quote from: mikeck on January 26, 2014, 10:43:39 PM
Don't know. I think you need to play a more powerful nation? I played Rome and the opening fight with the Etrusceans is a bitch. Takes a while but I usually win. I make it a point to allh with as any Greek states as I can to protect my eastern flank.
I also played Sparta for a bit and didn't have too much trouble. Maybe you are playing the equivalent of a " 1 province minor" in EU3. I never play barbarians so I can't say. Are you using a lot if mercenaries? I find them to be helpful when I need a lot of troops. Also, use your agenct to assassinate the enemy general if he's any good.
Last guess...quit trying to play with a barbarian tribe that got pwned by Rome... Try Rome, Athens, Sparta, Egypt, Pontus, Selucid, etc
Harder but not impossible as carthage
Were all going to have to play as the iceni now aren't we?!
Hmm I have been using agents, and mercs too. Diplomatically I have some success but then just a few turns later all diplomacy goes out the window and I am surrounded, then gutted. This really aggressive behavior did not start until Patch 9...freaky.
Are you playing on easy?
So yeah, the 1.9 beta patch doesn't work for me; the game crashes every time I load it up. :( I've reverted back to 8.1 for the time being.
Quote from: Gusington on January 26, 2014, 08:48:26 PM
More tragically, I started another new campaign as the Iceni about two hours ago and AGAIN was wiped out within 25 turns! WTF is going on?? All of Britain united against me...this loss was even harsher than the last. The initial game is still rated at 'Easy' while the main campaign is rated as 'normal.' I am not sure what is going on but it's not fun. Or funny. OK maybe a little funny.
Is anyone else getting pummeled into a paste like this?
I feel so alone!
Ouch,
Gus. That's rough.
Not sure what to tell you. I've not played as any of the barbarian factions yet, so I'm woefully unqualified to dispense advice in your particular situation. And since the beta version of patch 9 doesn't work for me, I can't comment on whether or not diplomacy has been borked at all.
Quote from: Gusington on January 27, 2014, 08:29:33 AM
Hmm I have been using agents, and mercs too. Diplomatically I have some success but then just a few turns later all diplomacy goes out the window and I am surrounded, then gutted. This really aggressive behavior did not start until Patch 9...freaky.
Have you uninstalled all of your mods and then verified the cache? Haven't heard of many crashes?
Me neither; if it crashes on startup, Martok, I would try to do a clean reinstall if the verifying cache integrity option in STeam doesn't work. Also, be sure to disable any mods in the launcher.
I'm playing on normal. As a last gasp I will try setting the difficulty to easy to see what that does.
Try easy...if all else fails...play a different faction
Quote from: mikeck on January 27, 2014, 04:52:22 PM
Try easy...if all else fails...play a different faction
had a quick hour or two tonight against syracruse and had a great fight - im noticing a clever AI but not a merciless one like Gus'
I think it depends on who you fight. Some nations are surrounded by natural land enemies (iceni). I find the AI to be just as good as shogun and certainly competent.
^Yup that is my thinking. Going to try 'Easy' even though it makes me feel like a girl. Patch 9 had to do something to the AI because I was able to take all of Great Britain as the Iceni in my DEI campaign. The only tribe that gave me trouble (and a lot of it) were the Caledones, and I was able to beat them. Let's see...
Well switched to 'Easy' and it was. Took two settlements and have one left to go to unite Britannia. Still was a hard struggle against the smaller tribes like the Demetes and the Brigantes, much harder than it was in DEI last week. At least now I stabilized my borders and cities and can turtle for a little bit. It feels like the difficulty slider has been mis-labeled, know what I mean?
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Quote from: Gusington on January 27, 2014, 08:18:41 PM
It feels like the difficulty slider has been mis-labeled, know what I mean?
yeah, thats what they did Gus, they labelled the sliders wrong :P :P
It wasn't this difficult...ever! Oh well at least it's fun now. Just don't tell anyone I had to move the slider to 'Easy.'
Quote from: Gusington on January 28, 2014, 08:34:43 AM
It wasn't this difficult...ever! Oh well at least it's fun now. Just don't tell anyone I had to move the slider to 'Easy.'
group hug?
we can take your war-gamer badge away if youd like, give you angry birds or something safer to play with
I've heard Angry Birds can be quite challenging modded in any difficulty beyond Normal.
right, challenge on, im going to try the Iceni as soon as ive finished with Hannibal
Awesome, I am very curious to see how the other surrounding tribes treat you.
Quote from: Gusington on January 28, 2014, 10:04:35 AM
Awesome, I am very curious to see how the other surrounding tribes treat you.
Actually its on tonight - I have room in my schedule and who doesn't like starting new TW campaigns
Easy is the new Hard, Gus. And Hard is the new What Were You Thinking level. You guys are scaring me. I'm sticking with Patch 8 and Radious for now. At least it doesn't kick sand in my face.
Don't be scared, I could just really suck. 'Geek will verify later. It's a sad day when I have to set TW to easy.
Radious posted today that he's close to getting Steam to be able to update his mod. So when that happens I guess I'll have to get patch 9 too and then probably won't want to talk about Rome 2 anymore if it's boots fit snuggly against my ass.
Well...maybe the DEI mod I was using made the game somehow easier than the new patch 9 game? I doubt it, but it's possible.
I'm sticking with vanilla for now here's a post from the TW forms I thought was pretty accurate estimate my experiences with the new beta nine AI:
I've been playing non-stop since the release. All that I can say is that the AI feels very different now:
- It will attack you if you are not ready. Expanding on one side leaving no armies behind, and not worrying about yellow/red faced factions on the borders is now a problem.
- It will make "cut-ends": it will cut to the middle of 2 of your settlements, so it can attack both, and you can only defend one. He will make you pay for over-extending yourself very well.
- It will be annoying with the agents, many times he killed/wounded my general/armies before battle. He will be specially brutal with raids on the cities.
- It will RAID your cities, not just take them. If they don't want to take the cities, they will raid and keep doing that until you catch that army.
- It will join up with others to attack you. Many times I've seen someone join the war against me, with no provocation, so I assume it's AI with AI diplomacy stuff.
- It will make good units, but it might take a while. On my Rome campaign, Arverni have Noble horse and Oathsworn available. The Ligurians sieged me with Oathsworn, ballistas and Spear Nobles, along with slingers/skirmishers. Not an easy battle.
In resume: Campaign AI is at a point where I don't feel the need to make it better. If the battle/siege AI is improved now, then it's going to be very nice.
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Seienchin
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In my Sparta campaign with 8/8.1 the Enemy had great armies 100 years in
In my cartago campaign 9.0. 40 Turns in the whole world has midtier units (Except for romes leves armies ****)
Its actually pretty annoying fighting 4 full stacks of a small faction with midtier units... Massilia for example is stronger than rome or the averni confederation
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Originally Posted by Hyrus
Can someone explain the campaign difficulty's since patch 8 and above ?
With Beta 9, I've noticed that the AI is increasingly able to back stab at the correct moments. In a recent campaign as Rome (Julia), I failed to take the final Etruscan settlement on Alalia after an epic battle, costing me my two armies and most of my fleet. Cue the Carthaginians (and their clients) jumping in on the side of the Etruscans, along with the Ligurians, Epirus and even Athens declaring war on me. The AI smelled blood and took full advantage. The situation was desperate and I eventually quit than face the shame of losing Rome herself!"
So as much as I enjoyed DeI...I think I will stay vanilla with a couple if uniform, turn, weather and graphics mods thrown in. So far it's been a great game...finally beat the Eutrusceans
Dude thank you...the above illustrate what I have been experiencing to a t...and I forgot to mention the raiding, which the AI has definitely been doing...so beware.
Raiding! Yes....the damned raiding. I'm going to start raiding myself. I never did it before but when I see what effect it has on my cities when the enemy is raiding my coast or the area outside of my town holy crap. I take like a -18 stability when the enemy ia out raiding so from now on, I'm parking in on the outside of the enemy's village and I'm raiding the crap out of them until they come out and fight. Or even better raid their coast if they don't have a fleet
ok - played about 10 turns, of all the local tribes the one that is supposed to be my friend declared war on turn 2 - dummoni(?) - he died on turn 3, tough battle, the forces are very evenly matched - it would be handy if you could see how much garrison the fort is going to raise
my spy went to the enemy tribe in wales, shes currently poisoning the well with glee
After a few turns rest my main army that defeated the dummoni is now readying to head for wales
no word from the brigands in the north or the nutters in scotland
cant get any diplo with anyone though but i see the balance of power is always against me, will try now im the only 2 province tribe on my island
Blimey. I didn't know you could poison a well with glee, I thought you just chucked a dead animal down it.
Who'd a thunk it!
This new patch sounds terrifying ... in a good way and I hope I can free up some time to play it soon.
I through glee into all the wells around me. And in the game too.
I am heartened to see that 'Geek is seeing what has been happening to me first hand, as is mike.
I am not as weak and milquetoasty as I felt I was.
Ok, some props here for the campaign AI/diplo. Egypt had been at war with Libya and Carthage forever and kept asking me to join and I refused. Eventually, they beat Libya but were pretty bad off Nd Carthage had taken Thapsus. Later, Carthage declared war on me and I called in my Allies (Egypt, whom I had since allied with after they defeated Libya, and Athens. Immediately...like next turn, Egypt sent a stack (about 10 units but they had been at war for awile) to attack Thapsus from the east. I attacked Carthage from the west. I began to get concerned about the number of Carthaginian fleets and nova Carthage fleets sailing around as they were raiding my cities in Sicily.
3 turns after the war started , 2 big ass Athenian fleets show up along the coast of Africa and destroy one Carthaginian fleet while chasing off another. Over the next few turns, I took. Carthage, Egypt took Thapsus and although Athens didn't sink anymore fleets, they chased a bunch away and even landed a small contingent of troops at Syracuse(which I owned).
Just nice to see allies actually coming to help out. I expected Egypt
To get in on it since they were next door and already at war....but I was REALLY surprised that Athens contribute 2 big fleets. Since then I have formed a mlitary alliance between me (Rome), Athens, Sparta and Knossos. Nice little alliance. Sparta and I have the troops and Athens and Knossos have the navy. We got into a dust up with one of the smaller Greek states that declared on Macedonia (which was allied with Sparta) so we all joined in and pummeled them. I contributed two agents to assassinate a general and screw with the army's movement since Sparta and Macedonia had plenty of troops.
Good fun man...it's not perfect but it's nice to fight with allies and not have them either attack you next turn or do nothing while you are getting throttled.
At some point, I'm imterested In seeing how my legions do against the Greek phalanxes. They tore through the Carthaginian hoplites. Hope they aren't overpowered.
Also, with the 4 turns/ per year mod, I really get to like my generals. The one commanding legio 1 received a triumph after taking Carthage. His stats are 10-9-8 and he is a night fighter. I'm at the point now that I don't get him anywhere near the front line.
You'll let me know when this beta patch is officially released, right?
With all the talk of the AI improvements, I'll probably start a new vanilla game after any kinks are worked out of this update and it goes official. :D
Should be soon, we've been using the beta for a week.
Quote from: Nefaro on January 29, 2014, 07:06:33 AM
You'll let me know when this beta patch is officially released, right?
With all the talk of the AI improvements, I'll probably start a new vanilla game after any kinks are worked out of this update and it goes official. :D
It's pretty stable now actually. I go ahead, download it, and start up. There still issues like every other total wargame since the beginning of time so don't think it's a perfect – but it's pretty damn good
something 147MB sized has just come down the line
More Iceni for gus tonight - im quite attached to my little blue fellas
We love you too.
"Little Blue Fellas"? I thought those were Smurfs. There must be something about the Smurfs in Britain I don't know about. ;D
Quote from: mikeck on January 28, 2014, 10:49:09 PM
Ok, some props here for the campaign AI/diplo. Egypt had been at war with Libya and Carthage forever and kept asking me to join and I refused. Eventually, they beat Libya but were pretty bad off Nd Carthage had taken Thapsus. Later, Carthage declared war on me and I called in my Allies (Egypt, whom I had since allied with after they defeated Libya, and Athens. Immediately...like next turn, Egypt sent a stack (about 10 units but they had been at war for awile) to attack Thapsus from the east. I attacked Carthage from the west. I began to get concerned about the number of Carthaginian fleets and nova Carthage fleets sailing around as they were raiding my cities in Sicily.
3 turns after the war started , 2 big ass Athenian fleets show up along the coast of Africa and destroy one Carthaginian fleet while chasing off another. Over the next few turns, I took. Carthage, Egypt took Thapsus and although Athens didn't sink anymore fleets, they chased a bunch away and even landed a small contingent of troops at Syracuse(which I owned).
Just nice to see allies actually coming to help out. I expected Egypt
To get in on it since they were next door and already at war....but I was REALLY surprised that Athens contribute 2 big fleets. Since then I have formed a mlitary alliance between me (Rome), Athens, Sparta and Knossos. Nice little alliance. Sparta and I have the troops and Athens and Knossos have the navy. We got into a dust up with one of the smaller Greek states that declared on Macedonia (which was allied with Sparta) so we all joined in and pummeled them. I contributed two agents to assassinate a general and screw with the army's movement since Sparta and Macedonia had plenty of troops.
Good fun man...it's not perfect but it's nice to fight with allies and not have them either attack you next turn or do nothing while you are getting throttled.
At some point, I'm imterested In seeing how my legions do against the Greek phalanxes. They tore through the Carthaginian hoplites. Hope they aren't overpowered.
Also, with the 4 turns/ per year mod, I really get to like my generals. The one commanding legio 1 received a triumph after taking Carthage. His stats are 10-9-8 and he is a night fighter. I'm at the point now that I don't get him anywhere near the front line.
Gah, stop making me salivate,
mikeck! Must stay strong...
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 29, 2014, 11:20:20 AM
"Little Blue Fellas"? I thought those were Smurfs. There must be something about the Smurfs in Britain I don't know about. ;D
Geek is a Smurf. Did you not know?
The one concern I do have is the barbarians up north. They seem to be awfully quiet I like to see you little bit more activity up in that area because I'm coming for them next. Except for the Etruscans I haven't had much of a competition lately so I'd like to see some guys team up on me give me something to fight. My concern is if I turn it up from normal to hard I'll get monkey stomped
Be careful what you wish for. Remember, I commented that I thought my Iceni campaign wss feeling a tad bit too easy and WHAM...
Just at ballet with junior and then I'm on the woad again.... Ha ha ha
I make myself laugh sometimes
Remember, looks aren't everything.
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 29, 2014, 01:53:29 PM
Just at ballet with junior and then I'm on the woad again.... Ha ha ha
I make myself laugh sometimes
Ha, ha, indeed.
I'm finding the game a lot more challenging with Patch 9.
Started a Junia Campaign, and quickly realized that was a pretty bad idea due to the cultural aversion penalty. For the first time ever I had other nations quickly jump in and declare war on me. Carthage was turn 2, and two Celtic tribes to the north were turn 3. As soon as I got footholds in Africa, Knossos was pretty quick to follow.
As it is, I'm stretched thin, at war with all Carthage's client states. I crushed the Celts in the north in a desperate battle, which led to me getting a peace treaty. With only three Legions, Italy is undefended except in the north, and I'm bouncing back and forth in Africa holding New Carthage and Lybia at bay. No one will trade with me, and I'm broke.
So, yes, much harder. Almost too hard with the Junia.
Also, unit blobbing seems to be fixed.
Spoke to soon... Just lost Thapsus to a slaves revolt. Sent a half added at to put it down and they got waxed
played 6 more turns of Iceni - from newly acquired Demetae in the south west i marched north and attacked the Welsh tribes, just as they sailed south to take my Demetae lands. Reversed the troops, didnt get there in time but the garrison and general did quite a lot of damage to the invaders, they still lost, but the returning army from advancing on Wales wiped the rest of the Welsh invaders out.
This crippled the Welsh tribes, i marched back north to take their capital in wales and had a very nervous 4000 v 5000 battle, i won in the end but my army is ravaged - it will take 4 turns to rebuild the army. There is about 1200 Welsh warriors on ships parked off the coast of Demetae who were presumably about to invade me again, when i took their only capital i expected the faction wiped out screen but got nothing, but the AI doesnt seem to know what to do with these ships as they have no home - they just out to sea suffering attrition
The Caledonians in the north took Eborcun (York) and then signed a non aggression treaty with me - which gives me plenty of time to do a bit of admin before going onto crush them. So England/Scotland has 5 provinces - i own 3, Caledonions own 2. Then theres Ireland!!!
This game is a lot more personal than Carthage, Carthage is epic marches to your targets over vast deserts where England and its tribes seems to be a close quarter knife fight - its great
still loving 9
^What difficulty are you playing on? I have also seen plenty of troops from tribes I have beaten flee to sea and then die from attrition on the water.
In my current game I have wiped out the Caledonians but the tribe in Isca (forgot their name) is what is standing between me and owning the region. Then on to Ireland. Then...?
I'm playing normal - the demetae own iska, well, did in my game, and its the mormmodons or something in wales - these 2 were fully wiped out tonight barring the booze cruise off portsmouth!
The brigantes were destroyed by scotland
I'm thinking england, scotland, ireland and then the crazy belgians - I don't know if its in this game but when you took over a province you could build that provinces troops - attacking wales for instance in medieval TW to gain access to welsh bowmen, I'm hoping there's some mental irish unit I can access
I am playing normal. Next game (if vanilla) will be hard. If I go back to Dei them I will play normal. Still waiting for him to work the kinks out.
I have seen troops head out to sea and then starve to death but ONLY after I took their last city. So really, they have nowhere to go
Damn I guess I do suck slightly, playing on Easy. Oh well I'm over it because I now own all the British Isles, and can finally start building siege engines and get to thinking about what I will do on the Continent. Tonight's session was productive :)
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the northern dwarves are on the move!
Looking at your map Gus, I can hear those sniviling Gauls daring you to come across that channel. I would throw together a couple of small cheap fleets of raiders and put them off the coast of each province. Set them to "raid". That will real havoc on the Gallic economy. They will have to show their ass at that point moving up their armies. Once they put to sea, take out those troop transport with your real fleet of heavy ships you were hiding in port! (You were building a real navy weren't you?). In the words of General Longstreet in "Gettysburg" "Then we'll have 'em general....then we'll have 'em"
Sounds like a good enough plan...still have to build a fleet. In a past campaign as the Iceni I had built a fleet but it became a real money pit and I also made the mistake of putting it together before I took all of Great Britain. Time to try again.
Early game, I like to recruit an admiral and sail him around discovering new factions to trade with. The Iceni and Suebi never seemed to have decent ships to build until much later in the game. Does anybody out there play with the Traits and Toadies mod? It's rated very highly on Steam but would be interested in any opinions.
Patch 9 is public. Now I can see what all the fuss is about. Anybody taking bets for how long to Patch 10?
Quote from: Sir Slash on January 30, 2014, 11:18:26 AM
Patch 9 is public. Now I can see what all the fuss is about. Anybody taking bets for how long to Patch 10?
to be fair, IMHO theres not a whole lot left to fix
Maybe turn down the "AI behaving like a total sod" modifier so I can feel more like a man and turn the difficulty back up to normal.
ah you need the 'plays like a pussy DLC'
out soon!
Gus, as I said before...there are oh two nations: Rome...and countries that got beat by Rome (so long as your staying west of Persia.
Try playing a winner. Try Rome and civilize the loin cloth wearing , face painting, rock worshiping lunatics and try a winner. Nothing prettier than a fully decked out legion slowly marching towards a mob of slovenly barbarians and mowing them down like a scythe through wheat
**cough Carthage cough**
Gah! The game is still CTD'ing with the new patch! :'(
Quote from: Yskonyn on January 27, 2014, 01:28:21 PM
if it crashes on startup, Martok, I would try to do a clean reinstall if the verifying cache integrity option in STeam doesn't work.
The whomajigawhatnow? :o Please help a poor dumb Klingon understand. (You can use small words with me; I won't be offended. ;) )
Martok there is an option in Steam to verify the game cache...I ak not at my rig so i can't tell you exactly where to find it but it's not that difficult.
Mikeck I've played as Rome in vanilla when the game was first released and had a great campaign.
'Geek...a little harsh, but funny. We'll continue watching you.
go to your game in steam
right click
properties
local files
click on verify integrity of game cache - its a bit like disk scan - itll go through the files looking for corrupt data
Yes I am running it on Geek's brain right now and you wouldn't believe the corruption I am discovering.
lmao - youre just bitter
Well sure but that has always been the case. Whatever you do, don't turn around...
youre behind me making funny armpit noises dressed in laderhosen?
You type that like it's a surprise.
Quote from: Gusington on January 30, 2014, 02:54:05 PM
You type that like it's a surprise.
i type it like its something ive been waiting for all my life
New patch now downloaded - no idea what it does yet, but it was over 600mb.
Geek, don't forget the cucumber and leather flying helmet, Gus likes those.
You mean the leather cucumber.
BTW I had an additional download on top of the Patch 9...is that what you mean? I'm not sure what it is.
I'm gonna revisit it soon.
I just hope that they haven't upped the strategic AI difficulty via making all your neighbors dogpile you no matter what you do diplomatically. That was a serious problem with earlier TWs, up until Shogun 2 IIRC.
Quote from: Gusington on January 30, 2014, 03:03:34 PM
BTW I had an additional download on top of the Patch 9...is that what you mean? I'm not sure what it is.
i dont think bob had the beta
No, I don't.
Maybe turn down the "AI behaving like a total sod" modifier so I can feel more like a man and turn the difficulty back up to normal.
What do you expect Gus, playing a faction who's name jumbled-up is "I Nice" ;D ;D ;D
I think you just solved the problem!
Just noticed, I had another download, around 12mb.
Quote from: bob48 on January 30, 2014, 04:01:44 PM
Just noticed, I had another download, around 12mb.
thats Gus' pussy DLC - he'll need that
I know this is a noob question, but is it worth backing up Steam games, and if so, does that allow you to play them off-line. I was kicked out of Steam earlier and could not get back in, although our internet connection was working fine.
Quote from: Martok on January 30, 2014, 02:25:55 PM
Gah! The game is still CTD'ing with the new patch! :'(
Quote from: Yskonyn on January 27, 2014, 01:28:21 PM
if it crashes on startup, Martok, I would try to do a clean reinstall if the verifying cache integrity option in STeam doesn't work.
The whomajigawhatnow? :o Please help a poor dumb Klingon understand. (You can use small words with me; I won't be offended. ;) )
Right click on game. Click "delete local content". Once done, click on "install" and re download.
Once it's re downloaded try again. You have a left over mod/beta in there
dont worry solved
Quote from: bob48 on January 30, 2014, 04:58:53 PM
I know this is a noob question, but is it worth backing up Steam games, and if so, does that allow you to play them off-line. I was kicked out of Steam earlier and could not get back in, although our internet connection was working fine.
I'm not sure what the Steam "backup" option is supposed to accomplish but it certainly doesn't let you install your games independent of the Steam client.
You're supposed to be able to play your Steam games in an Offline Mode but I wouldn't be surprised if that was as buggy as some other Steam client features. It will also eventually
require you to login again at some point anyway so you can't do it indefinitely.
You are correct...well in my case anyway, Steam offline mode has never worked properly.
They really have got us by the short and curlies, ain't they.
Most of the time Steam works aight. When it doesn't...
..its bloody frustrating. Take last night for example. Just after I downloaded the last Rome II patch, it kicked me out for no reason that I could see, and it took about an hour to get back on, saying 'No Internet Connection', yet Mrs.B was able to log on without any problem.
Should we start calling them, Steam-ed At? Patch 9 won't let me load my vanilla Suebi saved games and only some of the earlier saves for other vanilla games. Very frustrating and who knows what's coming next with the Year of the Patches.
What typically soils my knickers is a Steam update.
I'm always playing Rome II in offline mode.. I'm on my son's ID... so don't want to be knocking him off steam everytime I fire up the game.. I've had no issues at all..
Looks like that last patch has banjaxed my Radius campaign. I can load the game with the mod disabled, and start a new campaign, but can't get into my existing campaign, it just hangs on the loading screen and task manager tells me that 'Rome II is not responding'. I've verified the Steam files and that didn't find any problems.
Well yeah that's to be expected, patch nine is a major package and it's going to bust up any mod. if I was you I would just uninstall the overhauls use patch nine and just use a couple graphic patches here and there until radius or whoever is you use get their stuff together. I'll be honest, I'm finding that the vanilla game pretty much accomplishes everything that I was using the mods for anyway with the exception of seasons I mean formations are good battles last a lot longer and I is better so on so forth I don't see a point in using any of the major mods at this point
Thanks mikeck, I'll do that. Its not as if I was very far into the campaign anyway.
Radious posted he is working with CA to get his mod to be able to update on Steam for Patch 9. The individual parts of his mod is supposed to be updated on Steam and you can go to The Total War Center to download an updated version of his mod but just not available on Steam yet. Hopefully soon. I'm back to vanilla while I wait.
Yep, I've now got it running in vanilla.
as Mikeck said, 9 with some seasons and turn extensions is fine all on its own
i know its a big step to trust just vanilla Rome, and you practically feel like youre missing something without a mod - its brilliant all on its own
just do it
My offline mode never stays offline and never tells me it's going back online. It's been this way for years for me.
Since Patch 9 with the same kind of mod set up (some graphics tweaks, seasons) I have not had one crash.
Probably just jinxed myself.
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
I can hear my hard drive melting now. No wait that was something else.
Okay discovered the first thing that I really don't like about vanilla other then certainty graphics uniform. Agents... I have an enemy agent parked outside of one of my cities and every time he destroys every single building inside the city and every time I have to build it again,but I can't kill him because he's so high ranked that I can't get to him. So I downloaded a cheat mod which prevents agents from destroying your buildings. I don't mind assassinations of things it's just ridiculous one agent should be able to sneak in and burned out every single building in my settlement every every time
Quote from: mikeck on February 01, 2014, 03:41:30 PM
Okay discovered the first thing that I really don't like about vanilla other then certainty graphics uniform. Agents... I have an enemy agent parked outside of one of my cities and every time he destroys every single building inside the city and every time I have to build it again,but I can't kill him because he's so high ranked that I can't get to him. So I downloaded a cheat mod which prevents agents from destroying your buildings. I don't mind assassinations of things it's just ridiculous one agent should be able to sneak in and burned out every single building in my settlement every every time
Yeah there should probably be some diminishing chances for repeated actions such as that in the vanilla game.
People have complained about runaway nearly invincible Agents constantly doing such stuff for a number of TW games now. I thought they had promised to curb this behavior lately but it may not have been enough.
I often end up using quite a few of my agents just to kill or thwart the steady stream of enemy ones killing and ransacking my stuff. Not all that fun chasing them around with my own, but if I can keep on top of them (and
find them fast enough) then it's usually effective.
The agent stuff is wacky.
I always find it amusing when a horde of agents surround one of my armies like zombies descending on a corpse.
I imagine life for my generals resembles the multi-assassin attempt scene from The Pink Panther Strikes again, with my generals standing in for Peter Sellers.
Naval battles are still a train wreck. One offensive ram on an enemy ship and my Hastati jump over board for no reason.....
Other then that I'm noticing a good performance boost from patch 8. 4 turns per year with seasons makes a huge difference playing the grand campaign.
You said you noticed an improvement with past eight did you mean patch nine just came out? have you not updated to patch 9 yet?
Quote from: mikeck on February 01, 2014, 07:45:56 PM
You said you noticed an improvement with past eight did you mean patch nine just came out? have you not updated to patch 9 yet?
I meant I'm getting better performance with patch 9 vs what I was getting in 8. I was getting some fairly frequent random lag and slowdowns, mainly when opening any of the menu's (recruitment, city, encyclopedia, etc). Haven't noticed any since upgrading to patch 9.
Quote from: mikeck on February 01, 2014, 03:41:30 PM
Okay discovered the first thing that I really don't like about vanilla other then certainty graphics uniform. Agents... I have an enemy agent parked outside of one of my cities and every time he destroys every single building inside the city and every time I have to build it again,but I can't kill him because he's so high ranked that I can't get to him. So I downloaded a cheat mod which prevents agents from destroying your buildings. I don't mind assassinations of things it's just ridiculous one agent should be able to sneak in and burned out every single building in my settlement every every time
Whats the name of the mod ? I'll have to look that up, the patch nine agents are brutal in the CIG DLC, brought my conquest to standstill with all the agent spam.
I've had good luck against enemy agents by clicking the little red button in the lower left corner of MY agents screen activating their ability to detect and prevent ENEMY agents actions. If my agents aren't experienced enough to stand a chance against them when you click on assisinate or manipulate, then using their anti-agent abilities often results in the enemy agents foiled or wounded during the enemies turn. It seems to work more often than not.
whoa I didn't even know about the red button, I'll check that out.
I have a Button-Pushing Syndrome. I have to compulsively push them all. So they won't let me near an airplane cockpit during flight. ;D
Can't remember now and not near computer.
On the steam mod shop I just search "agents" and it popped up.
Quote from: undercovergeek on January 30, 2014, 02:42:36 PM
go to your game in steam
right click
properties
local files
click on verify integrity of game cache - its a bit like disk scan - itll go through the files looking for corrupt data
Quote from: mikeck on January 30, 2014, 05:01:40 PM
Quote from: Martok on January 30, 2014, 02:25:55 PM
Gah! The game is still CTD'ing with the new patch! :'(
Quote from: Yskonyn on January 27, 2014, 01:28:21 PM
if it crashes on startup, Martok, I would try to do a clean reinstall if the verifying cache integrity option in STeam doesn't work.
The whomajigawhatnow? :o Please help a poor dumb Klingon understand. (You can use small words with me; I won't be offended. ;) )
Right click on game. Click "delete local content". Once done, click on "install" and re download.
Once it's re downloaded try again. You have a left over mod/beta in there
Thanks guys. Am validating the files right now. If they're bad, I'll go ahead and reinstall.
It will automatically copy good files over those that are bad.
If this option doesn't work, you might have some other left-over files from mods or so causing issues. In that case I would recommend purging your hard drive from all that is Rome 2. Check your My Documents and your Windows User folders too.
Then reinstall.
If this doesn't work either, then my bet is you're running drivers that don't want to play nice.
Quote from: Yskonyn on February 04, 2014, 10:38:59 AM
It will automatically copy good files over those that are bad.
If this option doesn't work, you might have some other left-over files from mods or so causing issues. In that case I would recommend purging your hard drive from all that is Rome 2. Check your My Documents and your Windows User folders too.
Then reinstall.
Well I've already begun a reinstall after deleting all local files (the validation didn't work), so we'll see what happens.
Quote from: Yskonyn on February 04, 2014, 10:38:59 AM
If this doesn't work either, then my bet is you're running drivers that don't want to play nice.
Except that the game was running just fine until patch 9, so I have to wonder why the drivers would suddenly be a problem now. ???
Let us know what happens after the complete reinstall if you're still having a problem just make sure your drivers updated ...maybe something with patch nine just doesn't agree with your older drivers
Quote from: mikeck on February 04, 2014, 12:23:41 PM
Let us know what happens after the complete reinstall if you're still having a problem just make sure your drivers updated ...maybe something with patch nine just doesn't agree with your older drivers
could be an update to a shader or you know....... stuff
Yeah either 'stuff' or 'things'
Quote from: mikeck on February 04, 2014, 12:23:41 PM
Let us know what happens after the complete reinstall if you're still having a problem just make sure your drivers updated ...maybe something with patch nine just doesn't agree with your older drivers
Will do. Still reinstalling -- it's going to be over three hours by the time I'm done. :(
Could be the transmission or the catalytic converter
Quote from: mikeck on February 04, 2014, 03:27:51 PM
Could be the transmission or the catalytic converter
Okay. I laughed. It's the oxygen sensor.
"I watched a guy fix a Jap-uh-nees trans-mish-ee-on"
Quote from: Staggerwing on February 04, 2014, 06:43:32 PM
"I watched a guy fix a Jap-uh-nees trans-mish-ee-on"
Oh dear. The humor is getting painfully good around here.
Any idea why you would go from +23 food to -20 food after taking 2 cities? This has happened several times to me and it's very frustrating now I'm scrambling to build farms and fisheries to feed all of my starving Onies when I had plenty of food before I took these two cities but not very populous anyway
Quote from: mikeck on February 06, 2014, 03:33:12 PM
Any idea why you would go from +23 food to -20 food after taking 2 cities? This has happened several times to me and it's very frustrating now I'm scrambling to build farms and fisheries to feed all of my starving Onies when I had plenty of food before I took these two cities but not very populous anyway
Because the cities already have advanced buildings constructed that
use food and none, or not enough, that make them.
I recall seeing this fairly often after taking an AI city. Made me wonder how they managed to keep their food flow properly managed or whether the AI was given some slack.
Just tear down all the Food Consuming Buildings and build what you need (if you don't need them or they are gonna starve you).
Yeah you're probably right problem is each one only had three or four buildings in it so even by turn those down I still didn't make up my food difference. really messing up my buzz man...logistics ain't my thing bro
Started again from an older save I had made at the beginning of my African campaign. The problem was that right before I started the campaign I had a whole butt load of money to spend and new it wouldn't be around for very long. So I went around and upgraded all sorts of buildings particularly military buildings so I could build legions in different areas of my domain. It wasn't taking over the new cities that did it it was that all of this new construction was completed at exactly the same time about eight different buildings I got hammered.
so I redid it. the only time I will let myself do over like that is when I make a mistake just not understanding the mechanics of the game or overlooking it I'll never redo because I lost a battle or something like that
^I was gonna say that you must have had some serious redundancy in the cities...oh and thanks for the quote!
Yeah, that quote is actually from George C. Marshall I believe
And it wasn't so much redundancy...it was more greed. I built every building I could to make money and then a barracks for legions in every province so no matter where an army was, I could upgrade or replace.
I also wanted to duplicate the regional recruitment system. I can do it but my regions need to be bigger: as in "Italy", "North Africa" "Spain"
^According to my sig line, you said it. 'Bro' doesn't sound like Marshall :)
Quote from: mikeck on February 06, 2014, 08:45:36 PM
And it wasn't so much redundancy...it was more greed. I built every building I could to make money and then a barracks for legions in every province so no matter where an army was, I could upgrade or replace.
Zoinks, yo.
Going all army.. who's gonna feed all those barracks churning out recruits? :o
I always tended to focus on keeping my food in the black and only building extra recruitment stuff after my empire had grown quite a bit in one direction. Plus.. some of the extra bonus culture and happiness buildings come in handy against foreigners you've just conquered. Getting them to settle down and assimilate ASAP is a huge priority for me if I'm conquering cities, so much so that I will often tear down some of the AI's previous buildings that may be useful in the future for a more speedy pacification. Something the Romans certainly did quite well in history.
Yeah, learned my lesson, I pick a province in each major area to recruit. Central Italy. Carthage, transalpine Gaul...I build barracks, workshops, etc.... Everything I need to build a legion. (Each legion has 2 units of "first cohort" to simulate the double sized first cohort, then 9 legion units (the other none cohorts, 3 artillery pieces, 5 cavalry and a genera...I don't use skirmishers preferring cavalry for that)
Now those also Have a lot of temples and such to bring down the Public disorder.
Other provinces concentrate in food and trade or whatever. I keep the mitary buildings and fisheries to a minimum.
I'm having a hard time against Averni and other barbarian spies destroying all my infrastructure as I go rampaging through Gaul. Slowly setting up my own spy network to counter the threat but it takes a long time.
Radious mod now compatible with Patch 9, allegedly.
So...did anyone else's patch 9 add a bunch of new playable factions (especially new Greek states)?
And if so, did those new factions display a white square on the faction menu where their flag/insignia should be? And did those new factions also show a different faction's territory (instead of their own) on that same menu?
I'm more than a little confused here...
Can you post an image?
Quote from: Gusington on February 07, 2014, 03:39:52 PM
Can you post an image?
I've tried several times, but I keep getting a black screen when I do. :-\
That sounds like there's a mod still in there
Have you tried taking a screenie using the Steam function?
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 07, 2014, 03:44:33 PM
That sounds like there's a mod still in there
Oh for the love of...
Yep, that was it. I didn't realize it, but I still had the DEI mod activated. ::) D'oh!
Quote from: Gusington on February 07, 2014, 03:46:14 PM
Have you tried taking a screenie using the Steam function?
Ah, no I didn't.
...Refresh my memory on how I do that again? :-[
F12
we'll get you there Martok!
HA...stay with us!
There are about 4 other games I really want to play now: command , flashpoint campaigns, CK2, EU4 but everytime I turn on the computer I load up Rome2. I am aging vanilla with the exception of Radious combat mod , 4tpy mod, 4 season mod with effects And a few that change appearances of units.
I have never had so much fun with a TW campaign. I am really enjoying using the agents. Actually, my favorite is the patrician...I put him in an army within a big city and he assists is administration (think CFO) drastically increasing taxes and such. Now that I have my big empire (all of Italy, cisalpine Gaul, North Africa from Carthage west) it become a game in itself trying to move armies around and predict where they will be needed. Also outfitting armies based on the enemy. My two legions in North Africa are loaded with light archer and javone cavalry. Legionaries are lightly armored.
For my armies out east facing the Greek threat...I have heavy cav (few units) but my legionnaires Are all "heavily armored" with armor upgrades to boot in order to deal with Greek phalanx formations.
Just love this game
The Radious mod has been Patch 9 playable for several days but the mod still cannot be updated on Steam. Radious says a solution should be available soon. In the mean time you can subscribe to each sub mod individually at Steam and play with Patch 9 or download the whole mod at The Total War Center and play Patch 9 but you'll have to install it yourself. I've been back playing vanilla saves until it's fixed on Steam. And waiting.......
Yeah, I just grabbed the combat one individually to mess around with it. I wanted more formations than vanilla but I'm. Not starting over for DEI. I kinda dig vanilla to be honest. I know that's like "verboten" to say about TW but there you go
Mikeck, I am interested in why you would not restart with DEI. Could you explain further. I have restarted with DEI and am enjoying the game. I think it does enhance vanilla.
i would probably say 2 things
his commitment to the campaign he has running
and theres nothing wrong with 9
Quote from: mikeck on February 07, 2014, 09:33:19 PM
There are about 4 other games I really want to play now: command , flashpoint campaigns, CK2, EU4 but everytime I turn on the computer I load up Rome2. I am aging vanilla with the exception of Radious combat mod , 4tpy mod, 4 season mod with effects And a few that change appearances of units.
What 4tpy and season mods are you using? I've tried a few, but they either just change the turns and don't change the research/build times, or they change too much.
I use the ones by a guy called Berliner.... in using the 4 turns a year with seasons and then a different mod that increases research and build by 4
Quote from: Labbug on February 08, 2014, 09:28:24 AM
Mikeck, I am interested in why you would not restart with DEI. Could you explain further. I have restarted with DEI and am enjoying the game. I think it does enhance vanilla.
Because I am ass-deep in my current game and am tired of starting over. I have fought Eutruscans for control of Italy 25 times only to start over for a new mod or new patch. Now that the game is stable, I started with the new beta and by the time DEI came out, I was off an running with control of more territory than I ever had before.
I am a DEI fan from Wayback when it first came out always used it...but once Patch beta nine came out I wanted to start right away and didn't feel like waiting for a week and a half for the Mods to catch up
Quote from: Kushan on February 08, 2014, 10:51:25 AM
Quote from: mikeck on February 07, 2014, 09:33:19 PM
There are about 4 other games I really want to play now: command , flashpoint campaigns, CK2, EU4 but everytime I turn on the computer I load up Rome2. I am aging vanilla with the exception of Radious combat mod , 4tpy mod, 4 season mod with effects And a few that change appearances of units.
What 4tpy and season mods are you using? I've tried a few, but they either just change the turns and don't change the research/build times, or they change too much.
Dunno...I don't care about research times. The one I uses with the weather mod is great because the season determine d tech amount of food available, how far your army can move, city morale, etc. When I get back on I will grab the name
I've got a fun campaign going on now only using 4tpy mod and (cant remember the name) a mod that adds more options for character and army traits. Its alot of fun as it adds a bit more roleplaying and the ability to specialize characters and their armies. It also means when one of them dies it hurts that much more.
Now that I've got my game sorted out (updated to patch 9 -- yay!), I've started up a new campaign as...Rome, believe it or not. With all the horror stories I keep hearing about how much better the AI has gotten in the last update or two, I figure I really ought to go with a more powerful faction til I'm able to adjust to the computer players' new uber-skillz. :P
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 07, 2014, 05:23:14 PM
we'll get you there Martok!
Quote from: Gusington on February 07, 2014, 05:54:12 PM
HA...stay with us!
Thanks guys.
<embarrassed grin> Appreciate the help!
Quote from: mikeck on February 08, 2014, 09:17:10 AMI kinda dig vanilla to be honest. I know that's like "verboten" to say about TW but there you go
Well I'm liking vanilla too, so you're definitely not the only one.
I still wish there were multiple turns in a year, and that battles were paced a little less frenetically, but otherwise I honestly can think of very few major critiques. I know historical accuracy is "squishy" at best, but from a gameplay standpoint, I'm loving
Rome II.
Don't be scared of a 4 turns a year mod....... it's very easy
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 08, 2014, 03:33:29 PM
Don't be scared of a 4 turns a year mod....... it's very easy
+1
There's also a 2 turns per year variant, which I am using.
Yes, Martok...go to The steam workshop type in "4 TPY and pick one of the four turn for your mods find another one that has four seasons and run both of those they don't affect the game but you definitely need them. It's an entirely different game with four turns per year you really get attached to your generals and your agents and they become very important. Really has no other effect on the game so don't be scared to run it
Quote from: Martok on February 08, 2014, 03:19:50 PM
Now that I've got my game sorted out (updated to patch 9 -- yay!), I've started up a new campaign as...Rome, believe it or not. With all the horror stories I keep hearing about how much better the AI has gotten in the last update or two, I figure I really ought to go with a more powerful faction til I'm able to adjust to the computer players' new uber-skillz. :P
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 07, 2014, 05:23:14 PM
we'll get you there Martok!
Quote from: Gusington on February 07, 2014, 05:54:12 PM
HA...stay with us!
Thanks guys. <embarrassed grin> Appreciate the help!
Quote from: mikeck on February 08, 2014, 09:17:10 AMI kinda dig vanilla to be honest. I know that's like "verboten" to say about TW but there you go
Well I'm liking vanilla too, so you're definitely not the only one.
I still wish there were multiple turns in a year, and that battles were paced a little less frenetically, but otherwise I honestly can think of very few major critiques. I know historical accuracy is "squishy" at best, but from a gameplay standpoint, I'm loving Rome II.
Martok: need these
4 turn per year:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=186949908&searchtext=4+tpy
And this one: it has 4 seasons with graphic effects like leave color changes, snow, Etc. Also affects game.
For example: in autumn your food levels increase, while I'm winter, movement allowances for armies are higher and maintenance for armies is higher.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=205975174&searchtext=4+seasons
Start over and use both
Just had a great 2-3 hour playtime. Still playing as Iceni, Great Britain is secure, foothold in western Europe is secure, agents have solidified my hold there. Building a navy, building up strong garrisons and now at 100 turns in I'm on the verge of some real cavalry beyond just scouts. It's about to get real :)
I originally wanted to take out the Averni next, but the Nervii are challenging my advance...either way I am looking forward to making contact with Rome!
Quote from: mikeck on February 08, 2014, 04:47:31 PM
Martok: need these
4 turn per year:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=186949908&searchtext=4+tpy
And this one: it has 4 seasons with graphic effects like leave color changes, snow, Etc. Also affects game.
For example: in autumn your food levels increase, while I'm winter, movement allowances for armies are higher and maintenance for armies is higher.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=205975174&searchtext=4+seasons
Start over and use both
Awesome. They seem to be working well so far. Thanks
mikeck!
The four seasons and effects mod I think is very underrated... You really kind of have to plan when you're going to move troops and such as in the winter time they sustain a lot of attrition and movement penalties. at one point I was going to move an army and attack town the next turn but I can only move it halfway there and I sustained a lot of attrition doing it; just kind of threw off my strategy a little bit but it does that a lot to the game.... Plus the bonuses you get in the autumn time with the crop Arveson additional food and things like that
I just went over to the Total war.com forum for Rome 2. Someone post the question as usual "is the game fixed yet". There's about 10 answers of people screaming about how the game is so busted that it's unplayable the "AI doesn't work" that the "Battles so fast they are over before they started" and "I haven't played since patch three and this is garbage."
What's amazing to me is this is clearly a good game it's not the best game ever made but it's one of the best total wargames and it is simply a good game and a fun game to play. it's unbelievable to me that somebody can just hate something so much that they refuse to see it for what it is and just go on forums and complain.
I think most of us here that have played or still play the game either really enjoy it or fnd that it's not for us, but I don't think anybody here seriously thinks of the game is complete garbage and unplayable. Just frustrating.... Try to go on a forum to get some suggestions about a strategic problem and it's STILL nothing but bitching. Whatever you don't like about this game can be fixed with a mod.
But if you just don't like the game I don't know why you would spend time on the phone telling everybody what a horrible game it is. I should be used to it by now.
Anyway back to playing. As the Romans I'm carving my way up through Gus's people "Iceini"... They are giving me quite a battle (they own northern and middle Gaul)though and their allies the Averni, sliced into my flank and basically cut me off in the middle of winter by taking a city between me and cisalpine. I am attritted and cannot re supply now... I think im in a little bit in trouble if I can't get that legion back south. Next turn is winter so they will get hit hard and won't move far.
Quote from: mikeck on February 09, 2014, 02:13:24 PM
I just went over to the Total war.com forum for Rome 2. Someone post the question as usual "is the game fixed yet". There's about 10 answers of people screaming about how the game is so busted that it's unplayable the "AI doesn't work" that the "Battles so fast they are over before they started" and "I haven't played since patch three and this is garbage."
What's amazing to me is this is clearly a good game it's not the best game ever made but it's one of the best total wargames and it is simply a good game and a fun game to play. it's unbelievable to me that somebody can just hate something so much that they refuse to see it for what it is and just go on forums and complain.
I think most of us here that have played or still play the game either really enjoy it or fnd that it's not for us, but I don't think anybody here seriously thinks of the game is complete garbage and unplayable. Just frustrating.... Try to go on a forum to get some suggestions about a strategic problem and it's STILL nothing but bitching. Whatever you don't like about this game can be fixed with a mod.
But if you just don't like the game I don't know why you would spend time on the phone telling everybody what a horrible game it is. I should be used to it by now.
Anyway back to playing. As the Romans I'm carving my way up through Gus's people "Iceini"... They are giving me quite a battle (they own northern and middle Gaul)though and their allies the Averni, sliced into my flank and basically cut me off in the middle of winter by taking a city between me and cisalpine. I am attritted and cannot re supply now... I think im in a little bit in trouble if I can't get that legion back south. Next turn is winter so they will get hit hard and won't move far.
havent had time to get stuck into the Carthage or the Iceni campaign recently but desperate to get back in again
+1 on the forums, as i posted in the thank **** for gh thread, theyre a cesspool of bitching and moaning, god forbid you need the answer to something - followed by 10 snarky remarks about why are you still playing the game
I didn't attack the Iceni...I actually was called into a war against the Suebi by a Greek ally. When I joined, the Iceni who had some relationship with the Suebi, declared war on me and were joined by the Averni. Suebi were quickly defeated but there I am.
Carthage may be the next faction I play, after Sparta...I am just about to get some real Iceni cavalry beyond scout riders and I'm psyched for that too. The first 100 Iceni turns have been unfortunately cavalry light. I've gotten pretty good upgrades for my chariots too. They are weak to start but with several upgrades become pretty lethal and I love the way they are implemented...cool, unique and deadly unit.
Quote from: mikeck on February 08, 2014, 04:41:23 PM
It's an entirely different game with four turns per year you really get attached to your generals and your agents and they become very important.
Trying to understand this, because it sounds like something I'd enjoy. I didn't feel much attachment to my generals in vanilla rome ii, other than their additional and varying bonuses.
Do you get more attached in four turns per year because your generals get more bonuses faster?
Quote from: skeptical.platypus on February 09, 2014, 07:01:05 PM
Quote from: mikeck on February 08, 2014, 04:41:23 PM
It's an entirely different game with four turns per year you really get attached to your generals and your agents and they become very important.
Trying to understand this, because it sounds like something I'd enjoy. I didn't feel much attachment to my generals in vanilla rome ii, other than their additional and varying bonuses.
Do you get more attached in four turns per year because your generals get more bonuses faster?
Not so much that they get bonuses faster they just survive longer since there are 4 turns per year instead of just one.
Yeah, they live a lot longer, so they fight more battles, so they get more promotions and abilities. Before , it didn't bother me a bit to charge my general cavalry into the fray because if I lost my general, it was no big deal. I would replace a 3-4-3 general rank 1 with a new 3-3-3 general rank 1.
Now, if I have a general that I have secured a number of promotions for, his stats are 5-4-12, he has "night fighter" capability and because of his "zeal", a "war cry" ability that sends an enemy unit into panic...I am very careful. You just don't replace a rank 5 general with about 6 cards worth of abilities and 6-7 battlefield victories under his belt.
Same with agents, I had one that has been around for a long time. She can assassinate just about anyone and also has a huge campaign movement bonus and manipulation abilities. Meaning she can go almost anywhere quickly, and then kill you or turn you. Ironically, during my last attempt to assassinate an enemy agent, she was killed. That sucked. Before, agents does so often it was no big deal.
Quote from: skeptical.platypus on February 09, 2014, 07:01:05 PM
Quote from: mikeck on February 08, 2014, 04:41:23 PM
It's an entirely different game with four turns per year you really get attached to your generals and your agents and they become very important.
Trying to understand this, because it sounds like something I'd enjoy. I didn't feel much attachment to my generals in vanilla rome ii, other than their additional and varying bonuses.
Do you get more attached in four turns per year because your generals get more bonuses faster?
In the vanilla game, did they ever patch up the crazy rates at which your generals would die naturally? I'm guessing they did, but I haven't played in awhile (waiting for these patches to slow down).
I recall having numerous ones die of natural causes within a few turns of getting them. Some stuck around for awhile but a fair number of them just croaked before long, even when sitting tight at the home office. While it technically shouldn't be that odd considering the scale is one year per turn, and these generals would pop out at around 45 to 55 years of age, it still sucked because you wouldn't get much use out of these and they'd croak shortly after you started doing so.
It was one of the complaints about the game around release.
I think the above is a result from the turn rate in the game. I don't think this effect has been dealt with in vanilla.
That is why the 2 or even 4 TPY mod is nice.
Quote from: mikeck on February 09, 2014, 09:52:09 PM
Yeah, they live a lot longer, so they fight more battles, so they get more promotions and abilities. Before , it didn't bother me a bit to charge my general cavalry into the fray because if I lost my general, it was no big deal. I would replace a 3-4-3 general rank 1 with a new 3-3-3 general rank 1.
Now, if I have a general that I have secured a number of promotions for, his stats are 5-4-12, he has "night fighter" capability and because of his "zeal", a "war cry" ability that sends an enemy unit into panic...I am very careful. You just don't replace a rank 5 general with about 6 cards worth of abilities and 6-7 battlefield victories under his belt.
Same with agents, I had one that has been around for a long time. She can assassinate just about anyone and also has a huge campaign movement bonus and manipulation abilities. Meaning she can go almost anywhere quickly, and then kill you or turn you. Ironically, during my last attempt to assassinate an enemy agent, she was killed. That sucked. Before, agents does so often it was no big deal.
Interesting. Part of my detachment from my generals and agents is that they seemed to last forever. They were almost an afterthought on the strategic map. I certainly liked having certain bonuses, but I thought there were a handful of bonuses so much better than the rest, the rest were pointless filler.
It's also entirely possible -- likely? -- that some of this issue is I don't have the same interest and/or knowledge of the roman empire as many of you do.
It's all about what you enjoy...it kills me when a high ranking kick-ass legate who has been at the head of a particular legion since it's formation and won 8 victories with that legion dies. If generals are dying left and right, I never get attached
Quote from: mikeck on February 10, 2014, 10:05:31 AM
It's all about what you enjoy...it kills me when a high ranking kick-ass legate who has been at the head of a particular legion since it's formation and won 8 victories with that legion dies. If generals are dying left and right, I never get attached
then the biggest battle begins - as your finger wavers over the quit button
Quote from: mikeck on February 10, 2014, 10:05:31 AM
It's all about what you enjoy...it kills me when a high ranking kick-ass legate who has been at the head of a particular legion since it's formation and won 8 victories with that legion dies. If generals are dying left and right, I never get attached
That makes perfect sense. And it's strange that I don't find that attachment, because I do in other media (xcom soldiers come to mind in the gaming world).
Regardless, I should take a look at what mods are out there and what they do. Sin Nomine (?) and one other I can't remember brought me back to the Medieval II for many months of additional campaigns.
Any suggestions on a strong Roman empire? In none of the games I played as non romans did anything resembling an empire get established. I'm not even sure the peninsula consolidated in most of them.
Durn it, mikeck, now you've got me thinking about a Rome II aar from a (hopefully long surviving) general's pov. ;D
I will say that I wish there was a larger variety of bonuses...in the end, most of my generals end up looking the same. It still hurts to lose one when they are that experienced plus I kind of like keeping a general with the same legion the whole time...role-play
And just now, another update that includes African Elephants to go along with your Indian Elephants. In case you were getting tired of looking at elephants with only little ears. Also some new units for Epirus. Glad I just crushed them as Athens.
Hmmm, might have to see if I can recruit some mercenary elephant Units. BTW, in vanilla , where the heck do I find mercenary archers...I can't get archers anywhere
I also have never got a general with the night fighter ability...
As Athens I have Cretan Archers as Mercs and the Seleucids have Persians Archers as Mercs but if I remember correctly, only in the east of their satrapicies like Persia-- duhh. If you capture the first city south of the Selucids-- the ones they begin at war with, the one in the desert I mean, you can get some bodacious cavalry units. Still looking for Naked Amazons.
They only come-out after dark Gus. ;D
Quote from: Gusington on February 10, 2014, 03:52:53 PM
I also have never got a general with the night fighter ability...
You earn it. Every now and again, when you get to select a new ability that usually give +1 to cunning, authority, etc...it will say "night fighter.
I have one legion that gets a bonus in moral for night fighting with a general who is a night fighter. I use them to ambush enemy armies that I know Are I'm the way through the mountains.
Quote from: skeptical.platypus on February 10, 2014, 11:48:02 AM
Durn it, mikeck, now you've got me thinking about a Rome II aar from a (hopefully long surviving) general's pov. ;D
That sounds like an awesome idea.
Quote from: mikeck on February 10, 2014, 12:33:18 PM
I will say that I wish there was a larger variety of bonuses...in the end, most of my generals end up looking the same. It still hurts to lose one when they are that experienced plus I kind of like keeping a general with the same legion the whole time...role-play
There is a mod that add a variety of bonuses so you can specify a type of general you want to make him. I.e. a bureaucrat, infantry commander, cavalry commander, tactician etc.
I'm as happy as a pig in poop! The Radious mod has been updated on Steam to Patch 9.1 and is working just fine again. Damn, I was getting tired of playing Vanilla Athens. :D :D :D
Quote from: TheCommandTent on February 10, 2014, 07:06:38 PM
Quote from: mikeck on February 10, 2014, 12:33:18 PM
I will say that I wish there was a larger variety of bonuses...in the end, most of my generals end up looking the same. It still hurts to lose one when they are that experienced plus I kind of like keeping a general with the same legion the whole time...role-play
There is a mod that add a variety of bonuses so you can specify a type of general you want to make him. I.e. a bureaucrat, infantry commander, cavalry commander, tactician etc.
Oooohhh....do you have a name? Is it save game compatible?
Quote from: Sir Slash on February 10, 2014, 07:42:32 PM
I'm as happy as a pig in poop! The Radious mod has been updated on Steam to Patch 9.1 and is working just fine again. Damn, I was getting tired of playing Vanilla Athens. :D :D :D
I'm still chugging along in my vanilla rome game. When I'm done, I am going to try Athens next. I may do a mod. I'm honestly happy with all the main things of vanilla. The only thing I would want now that I can't have because of the need for a restart is a mod that increases the amount of armies I can have. I think that messes with the startpos,
File
Sparta next for me, I just can't resist. How are the night battles in Rome 2?
Quote from: mikeck on February 10, 2014, 08:41:34 PM
Quote from: TheCommandTent on February 10, 2014, 07:06:38 PM
Quote from: mikeck on February 10, 2014, 12:33:18 PM
I will say that I wish there was a larger variety of bonuses...in the end, most of my generals end up looking the same. It still hurts to lose one when they are that experienced plus I kind of like keeping a general with the same legion the whole time...role-play
There is a mod that add a variety of bonuses so you can specify a type of general you want to make him. I.e. a bureaucrat, infantry commander, cavalry commander, tactician etc.
Oooohhh....do you have a name? Is it save game compatible?
Its called "Traits, Talents and Toadies" and I have no idea if it is save game compatible.
Mines patching again today about 171.6mb
That's the elephant ear jammy.
Quote from: mikeck on February 10, 2014, 08:45:07 PM
Quote from: Sir Slash on February 10, 2014, 07:42:32 PM
I'm as happy as a pig in poop! The Radious mod has been updated on Steam to Patch 9.1 and is working just fine again. Damn, I was getting tired of playing Vanilla Athens. :D :D :D
I'm still chugging along in my vanilla rome game. When I'm done, I am going to try Athens next. I may do a mod. I'm honestly happy with all the main things of vanilla. The only thing I would want now that I can't have because of the need for a restart is a mod that increases the amount of armies I can have. I think that messes with the startpos,
File
You might want to take a look at the TWC forum for mod editing tools / help. You can download the ESF which allows you to edit save files and make adjustments to games in progress. I was thinking of using the esf to make my armies hold 40 units.
Thx...I may download it but i usually just start a new game when it's obvious I am going to win. O. E I'm done with the Rome campaign. I think I want to play around with Command and flashpoint campaigns a little
Quote from: FlickJax on February 11, 2014, 08:52:15 AM
Mines patching again today about 171.6mb
Wait, what patch was this? I couldn't patch notes anywhere for it.
It adds some units to Epirus and a new model elephant.
sigh need to get home for
big eared elephants
banished
HoS
That's a shady looking shopping list you have there.
now see - dont be bringing that punning nonsense in here
Just commenting on your shopping list.
Quote from: Gusington on February 12, 2014, 08:09:53 AM
Just commenting on your shopping list.
theres no correlation to big flappy ears and shade?
im watching you boy!
^paranoid little bugger.
...punanoid?
...And I'm back to starting a new Athens campaign. Sorry Romans, but the Greeks hold a special place in my heart. 8)
Quote from: bob48 on February 12, 2014, 12:30:41 PM
^paranoid little bugger.
...punanoid?
Color me baffled how anyone wouldn't enjoy a good pun.
I hold about 2/3 of Gaul. Another two territories and I will wipe out the Averni and have cities on the Mediterranean coast. Contact with Rome must be imminent! Also have to eliminate the Nervii...that will open up Central Europe and wipe out those whelps.
Oh and this: http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/121456-Beasts-of-War-Pack-announced%21?p=1056343#post1056343
GIGGITY!!!
Gah! Stupid Epirus. Why can't you just roll over and die?! >:( You're my stepping stone to overthrowing Macedonia, now MOVE!
Quote from: Gusington on February 12, 2014, 08:08:40 PM
Oh and this: http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/121456-Beasts-of-War-Pack-announced%21?p=1056343#post1056343
GIGGITY!!!
See now, this is the kind of DLC that makes me not like the idea of DLC.
I know, I know, I don't have to buy it -- and I won't -- but this is the meaningless "fluff" type of content that I can't stand.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on February 12, 2014, 01:26:27 PM
Quote from: bob48 on February 12, 2014, 12:30:41 PM
^paranoid little bugger.
...punanoid?
Color me baffled how anyone wouldn't enjoy a good pun.
Fixed that for ya. But we can only hope.
I wonder if the snakes, bees and scorpions are recruitable as mercs or do you need to build a Lethal Animals Barracks in one of your cities. At last. Some place for those slaves to work and really earn their pay. Wait, they don't get paid. ???
You're not alone, Martok...you should see the hate for this DLC over at TWC.
Quote from: Gusington on February 13, 2014, 11:37:28 AM
you should see the hate for this DLC over at TWC.
Ugh, no thanks. Even I can't stomach that level & intensity of vitriol.
Quote from: Gusington on February 13, 2014, 11:37:28 AM
You're not alone, Martok...you should see the hate for this DLC over at TWC.
The difference is, unlike Martok. the people over at TWC don't seem to understand that they don't have to buy it if they don't like it if enough people don't like it. Personally I think it's a horrible DLC and I wouldn't download it if it was free
I like it because it has dogs. But I am not going to pay more than 1-2 dollahs for it. OK maybe 3.
Dogs are the new Light Cav. Scorpions are the new Canister Shot. And Armored Camels are just wrong. When I look at them I think, "What day is it"?
HAHAHA...but I like the armored camels! I want to take one to work so it can spit on everyone.
Quote from: Martok on February 12, 2014, 01:23:31 PM
...And I'm back to starting a new Athens campaign. Sorry Romans, but the Greeks hold a special place in my heart. 8)
I'm having a great Vanilla rome campaign. It's so vanilla that I'm just plain Roman, man.
I had most of my armies up north going after the Suebi, when the Macedonians and their allies started sending agents to burn down all my towns.
I called off the Suebian war (well i moved the legions against Macedon, anyway) and as soon as my armies headed for Macedon, all of Gaul and Germany declared war and started looting. Fortunately, Macedon and Athens went down fast, though things looked bad for a while. Things are cooling off in Greece, but war is raging in Gaul even with the Suebi gone.
Lots of fun. the AI jumped on me with perfect timing, except for Macedon, which luckily was all over the place.
Quote from: Martok on February 13, 2014, 11:00:07 AM
-- and I won't -- but this is the meaningless "fluff" type of content that I can't stand.
Says the fluffer.
I'd much rather be the fluff-ER than the fluff-EE.
Unless J-Lo was fluffing me, then I'd gladly be the -EE.
Crap. I think Macedon might be about to aid Epirus against me. I'm working on getting Sparta into an alliance, but they're being stubborn about it... :(
Quote from: Mr. Bigglesworth on February 13, 2014, 02:18:13 PM
Quote from: Martok on February 13, 2014, 11:00:07 AM
-- and I won't -- but this is the meaningless "fluff" type of content that I can't stand.
Says the fluffer.
You're confusing me with Gus again. :P
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on February 13, 2014, 02:33:02 PM
I'd much rather be the fluff-ER than the fluff-EE.
:o
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on February 13, 2014, 02:33:02 PM
Unless J-Lo was fluffing me, then I'd gladly be the -EE.
I strongly suspect most of us would gladly be the -ee in that case. ;)
No one confuses me with anyone, trust me.
You are a fair bit slimmer than I am, but otherwise? I dunno.
Actually now that you mention it, I was at a concert a few months ago when this drunk dude insisted I was someone who I wasn't. When I kept saying 'no I am not that guy' he started to get pissed. If I didn't have one of my oversized friends with me (6'5" 300 lbs...every little guy should have two) he probably would have got into a fight with me.
Ahem...just like Epirus taking on Sparta!
I'm afraid I can no longer play any faction but Rome. I need to be able to watch my "armored legionnaires" in their Hollywood Segmata armor covered on blood cutting away at the enemy.
Trying out a new combat mod called "Realistic Legionary Tactics". Introduces new formations, piling throwing and rank rotation. The latter is not animated but simulated by dropping your units fatigue level every 5 minutes to simulate rotation. Doesn't change stats except pilum are better at neutralizing shields
^Not even Greeks? Sparta?? Come on now.
Quote from: Gusington on February 13, 2014, 05:42:37 PM
^Not even Greeks? Sparta?? Come on now.
Nope, sorry...maybe if they had their cool Bronze Age helmets but they all seem to wear those stupid Macedonian helmets. Nope....hard to beat Segmata armor with blood all over it and horsehair ornementarion on their helmets. Realistic? No. Completely badass? Yes
Great scene: "watching.....watching..."
And some heavy armor types
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IaxA7-_ZZ4U
Honestly, 'badass' trumps 'reality' most of the time for me too.
There was a local guy that people used to mistake me for. This guy got me in all kind of trouble, out at night to un-godly hours drinking and partying and seen with loose women in compromising positions. I used to tell people all the time, "That's not me. It's the other guy that did that shit. He just looks like me". Didn't work for me either Gus.
Quote from: Sir Slash on February 13, 2014, 11:07:16 PM
There was a local guy that people used to mistake me for. This guy got me in all kind of trouble, out at night to un-godly hours drinking and partying and seen with loose women in compromising positions. I used to tell people all the time, "That's not me. It's the other guy that did that shit. He just looks like me". Didn't work for me either Gus.
Long ago, at the dawn of time, there used to be a bar with an arena where people threw chairs and used small flamethrowers. Things would go wrong and i would get told "Well, just don't ever come back here." However, it turned out if I came with a different girl, I was officially a new person for admission purposes. And so the drunken stuff continued.
I like the new girl standard better than the giant friend standard. Perhaps I can combine them both into a giant new girlfriend standard.
Yeah I used to know this girl that could really handle herself well. If I was at a bar with her and some guy got rude to me, one of 3 possible things happened. Either she put her foot in his ass-one. Two- if she liked him, she left with him and where her foot ended-up I don't know. Or 3- if neither 1 or 2 was called for, she left with me. In which case neither a foot or an ass was involved. And 1, 2 or 3 all resulted in my ass remaining intact. A win-win-win.
Quote from: Sir Slash on February 14, 2014, 10:59:35 AM
Yeah I used to know this girl that could really handle herself well. If I was at a bar with her and some guy got rude to me, one of 3 possible things happened. Either she put her foot in his ass-one. Two- if she liked him, she left with him and where her foot ended-up I don't know. Or 3- if neither 1 or 2 was called for, she left with me. In which case neither a foot or an ass was involved. And 1, 2 or 3 all resulted in my ass remaining intact. A win-win-win.
And people think computer games get complicated. Just goes to show, er....complexity....something.
I think I married that girl.
The last guy she left with did look an awful lot like Braveheart. Was that you Gus? Where'd the foot finally end up?
Up in the air, quivering :)
So I finally get some peace and quiet and an hour to use the computer. I fire up Rome 2 and end up in a battle with 2 of my legions AND my navy assaulting and enemy city...biggest battle I have had. 1/2 way through my wife walks in and announces she needs then computer now to update the kids iPads and she is on the phone with apple support.
So I pause the game (can't save mid battle) and minimize the screen. 10 minutes later I hear "hey, I hope it's ok but I had to turn off the computer restart it."
So yeah, I'm pissed...but doubly so because last night I got the "hey, I need the computer for about an hour tonight". That was at 7pm...at 11pm as I am locking up for bed, out comes my wife.
So now I have to ask myself...is this worth a fight? Probably not but I'm steamed man...real steamed
This is why we have 'His' and 'Her' PC's. Saved a lot of arguments over the years I can tell you. Except when it comes to deciding who's turn it is for an up-grade.
Quote from: mikeck on February 14, 2014, 06:35:53 PM
So I finally get some peace and quiet and an hour to use the computer. I fire up Rome 2 and end up in a battle with 2 of my legions AND my navy assaulting and enemy city...biggest battle I have had. 1/2 way through my wife walks in and announces she needs then computer now to update the kids iPads and she is on the phone with apple support.
So I pause the game (can't save mid battle) and minimize the screen. 10 minutes later I hear "hey, I hope it's ok but I had to turn off the computer restart it."
So yeah, I'm pissed...but doubly so because last night I got the "hey, I need the computer for about an hour tonight". That was at 7pm...at 11pm as I am locking up for bed, out comes my wife.
So now I have to ask myself...is this worth a fight? Probably not but I'm steamed man...real steamed
Why did it need a restart? Wasnt it the iPads that were upgraded?
It's a conspiracy to prevent your ultimate victory
The recent Steam update made my game pretty unstable today...some lockups and a crash. Anyone else?
Don't feel bad Mikeck. I think it's a CA AI cheat built in to the game. Because every time I've got the enemy on the run, the phone rings, or the doorbell rings, or the cat needs to go out, or come in, or go out and in. And when I get that taken care of, then I have to pee. Some times I can hear the little enemy soldiers taunting me, "Your bladder's full. Your bladder's full". It takes real endurance to be a Wargamer these days.
Quote from: Gusington on February 14, 2014, 08:54:21 PM
The recent Steam update made my game pretty unstable today...some lockups and a crash. Anyone else?
Yes, I had one crash.. Then steam updated. Games don't like running when steam is updating
Mine's been running fine and no update I'm aware of.
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 14, 2014, 08:45:00 PM
Quote from: mikeck on February 14, 2014, 06:35:53 PM
So I finally get some peace and quiet and an hour to use the computer. I fire up Rome 2 and end up in a battle with 2 of my legions AND my navy assaulting and enemy city...biggest battle I have had. 1/2 way through my wife walks in and announces she needs then computer now to update the kids iPads and she is on the phone with apple support.
So I pause the game (can't save mid battle) and minimize the screen. 10 minutes later I hear "hey, I hope it's ok but I had to turn off the computer restart it."
So yeah, I'm pissed...but doubly so because last night I got the "hey, I need the computer for about an hour tonight". That was at 7pm...at 11pm as I am locking up for bed, out comes my wife.
So now I have to ask myself...is this worth a fight? Probably not but I'm steamed man...real steamed
Why did it need a restart? Wasnt it the iPads that were upgraded?
It's a conspiracy to prevent your ultimate victory
Apple needed to install it's latest version of spyware on all of it.
:P
Ok thanks mikeck - cleaning my system up right now and then going back in again post-update.
Quote from: bob48 on February 14, 2014, 06:47:36 PM
This is why we have 'His' and 'Her' PC's. Saved a lot of arguments over the years I can tell you. Except when it comes to deciding who's turn it is for an up-grade.
Yep. I have a ridiculous Alien Ware thing with an orange glowing alien face on it from Dell. No woman will touch it or anything remotely connected to it. the wife has a Mac.
Actually, I think my update was one off mods self-updating on steam workshop. As soon as the game crashed I went into steam and it said a mod was updating. That's the first crash I've had with this game in months
I have had a lot of updates in the last few weeks for everything. Played for about 90 minutes this morning with no problems. Made contact with the biggest powers in the game so far: Etruscan League, Carthage and Rome. The first two love me and we are trading and have defensive alliances. Rome are a bunch of snobs and easy to hate. If and when I consolidate Western Europe, the next option may be to attempt to take on Rome :)
I think I am getting Celtic Fatigue though. Looking forward to a new campaign with the Spartans or some eastern nomadic tribe like Parthia or Scythia.
Of course we (Rome) are snobby! We're better than you! Why should Rome trade with barbarians, filthy Carthaginians and effeminate Greeks? As a player who plays rome exclusively, it's easy to begin to see these other nations as means to an end...inevitable roman domintion
Quote from: mikeck on February 15, 2014, 04:03:44 PM
Of course we (Rome) are snobby! We're better than you! Why should Rome trade with barbarians, filthy Carthaginians and effeminate Greeks? As a player who plays rome exclusively, it's easy to begin to see these other nations as means to an end...inevitable roman domintion
The lettered Greek would reply do you mean dominion or domination? Would you like some Geometry?
Quote from: Mr. Bigglesworth on February 15, 2014, 04:27:07 PM
Quote from: mikeck on February 15, 2014, 04:03:44 PM
Of course we (Rome) are snobby! We're better than you! Why should Rome trade with barbarians, filthy Carthaginians and effeminate Greeks? As a player who plays rome exclusively, it's easy to begin to see these other nations as means to an end...inevitable roman domintion
The lettered Greek would reply do you mean dominion or domination? Would you like some Geometry?
And the roman would acknowledge Greek advancements in philosophy and math but would also show disdain for perceived Greek effeminacy. They would then attack, adopt all of your good ideas, and move on
dear god, is there really only me playing Carthage?!
Yes
Didn't Carthage get their asses kicked and relegated to the dustbin of history or something?
Quote from: Bison on February 15, 2014, 06:59:03 PM
Didn't Carthage get their asses kicked and relegated to the dustbin of history or something?
like Rome didnt? :P
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 15, 2014, 07:12:57 PM
Quote from: Bison on February 15, 2014, 06:59:03 PM
Didn't Carthage get their asses kicked and relegated to the dustbin of history or something?
like Rome didnt? :P
Rome eventually fell after a few thousand years of kicking ass. Carthage not so much. The only reason anyone remembers Carthage is something about elephants and the alps, but who can possibly remember any of the details? I blame sun tanning beds for your memory lapses.
Quote from: Bison on February 15, 2014, 07:16:48 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 15, 2014, 07:12:57 PM
Quote from: Bison on February 15, 2014, 06:59:03 PM
Didn't Carthage get their asses kicked and relegated to the dustbin of history or something?
like Rome didnt? :P
Rome eventually fell after a few thousand years of kicking ass. Carthage not so much. The only reason anyone remembers Carthage is something about elephants and the alps, but who can possibly remember any of the details? I blame sun tanning beds for your memory lapses.
lmao, always with the tanning beds!
Once I consolidate my Celtic Empire, I am going to plant my unwashed Iceni foot into some Roman arse.
I will be playing Carthage, after Sparta and maybe a nomad faction.
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 15, 2014, 07:12:57 PM
Quote from: Bison on February 15, 2014, 06:59:03 PM
Didn't Carthage get their asses kicked and relegated to the dustbin of history or something?
like Rome didnt? :P
Not for awile. The world could thank Carthage for setting them up for inevitable defeat. The 2nd Punic war taught Rome the importance of establishing a professional standing army and paved the way eventually for Marius and his reforms. Always expansion was made under the claim of defense... Reflecting back to Hannibal. Although besides the Persians in the 3rd century, Carthage gave Rome more trouble than anyone...which would explain why they not only destroyed the city but salted the earth. That's why I love the Romans. They made warfare a true profession and did not refrain from exercising their new found art whenever they could.
They also had no problem stealing ideas from others and utilizing them without embarrassment. Fully acknowledging stealing their swords from the Spanish, helmets from the Guals and much more from the Eutrusceans.
Quote from: mikeck on February 15, 2014, 10:08:51 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 15, 2014, 07:12:57 PM
Quote from: Bison on February 15, 2014, 06:59:03 PM
Didn't Carthage get their asses kicked and relegated to the dustbin of history or something?
like Rome didnt? :P
Not for awile. The world could thank Carthage for setting them up for inevitable defeat. The 2nd Punic war taught Rome the importance of establishing a professional standing army and paved the way eventually for Marius and his reforms. Always expansion was made under the claim of defense... Reflecting back to Hannibal. Although besides the Persians in the 3rd century, Carthage gave Rome more trouble than anyone...which would explain why they not only destroyed the city but salted the earth. That's why I love the Romans. They made warfare a true profession and did not refrain from exercising their new found art whenever they could.
They also had no problem stealing ideas from others and utilizing them without embarrassment. Fully acknowledging stealing their swords from the Spanish, helmets from the Guals and much more from the Eutrusceans.
Maybe I have you confused with someone else. I thought you were a cop? So you see total destruction of other civilizations as reasonable in war? Sorry to derail to a R&P type discussion. Do you see that as OK for the times or still OK?
You have to admire their sheer hardcore attitude.... not only did they beat you, they took apart your mark on this earth stone by stone and then made sure nothing grew there ever again..... In a phrase - 'don't fk with us'
Quote from: Bison on February 15, 2014, 07:16:48 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 15, 2014, 07:12:57 PM
Quote from: Bison on February 15, 2014, 06:59:03 PM
Didn't Carthage get their asses kicked and relegated to the dustbin of history or something?
like Rome didnt? :P
Rome eventually fell after a few thousand years of kicking ass. Carthage not so much. The only reason anyone remembers Carthage is something about elephants and the alps, but who can possibly remember any of the details? I blame sun tanning beds for your memory lapses.
Bison, you're just joking I presume. Sure, your average American May not know much about Carthage, but then they also don't know much about Rome either. Hell, kids these days don't even know much about the United States.
That being said, the educated soldier certainly knows about Carthage. You know, the great Mediterranean power that produced one of the greatest generals in all history. The one who defeated Rome's armies, battle after battle, bleeding her white and eventually bringing her to her knees. Hannibal's accomplishments certainly left a mark on history and his strategies are studied to this day.
I dunno, I see a lot of stereotyping in this thread now that is really pretty ignorant from a historical perspective. "Hardcore Romans, effeminate Greeks"? Yeah, go tell that to the Spartans. The Romans may have turned war into a profession, but the Spartans turned war into a lifestyle. I assure you, there was nothing "effeminate" about a Spartan soldier. Homosexuality was just as acceptable in roman society as it was in Greek. The only difference is in Rome, the most acceptable male sexual partners were slaves and prostitutes.
There are a ton of factions in Rome 2 that I know nothing about, like Baktria...the Boii...the Odrysian League?? But that's why I love TW games. They get me interested in new historical eras and civs. And help me keep Amazon in business.
Quote from: Mr. Bigglesworth on February 15, 2014, 11:46:54 PM
Quote from: mikeck on February 15, 2014, 10:08:51 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 15, 2014, 07:12:57 PM
Quote from: Bison on February 15, 2014, 06:59:03 PM
Didn't Carthage get their asses kicked and relegated to the dustbin of history or something?
like Rome didnt? :P
Not for awile. The world could thank Carthage for setting them up for inevitable defeat. The 2nd Punic war taught Rome the importance of establishing a professional standing army and paved the way eventually for Marius and his reforms. Always expansion was made under the claim of defense... Reflecting back to Hannibal. Although besides the Persians in the 3rd century, Carthage gave Rome more trouble than anyone...which would explain why they not only destroyed the city but salted the earth. That's why I love the Romans. They made warfare a true profession and did not refrain from exercising their new found art whenever they could.
They also had no problem stealing ideas from others and utilizing them without embarrassment. Fully acknowledging stealing their swords from the Spanish, helmets from the Guals and much more from the Eutrusceans.
Maybe I have you confused with someone else. I thought you were a cop? So you see total destruction of other civilizations as reasonable in war? Sorry to derail to a R&P type discussion. Do you see that as OK for the times or still OK?
I am a cop. But two points: first, I admire the Romans for not only the professionalism of their army, but a ruthless efficiency that allowed them to maintain order inside a huge empire for hundreds of years...many of those areas had never seen order. My job as a cop is irrelevant really, I just admire their administrative abilities and ruthlessness. Admiring and supporting are different things. My job is to maintain peace and order...regardless of whether I agree with their techniques, I do admire their ability to maintain order over am empire that large.
The Romans were able to establish peace and trade in areas like Gaul which had never known peace before. Now they killed a lot of Gauls getting there, but after the dust settled, the Romans establishes an administrative and military system that kept peace there for 300 years.
Jarhead: I am not saying the Greeks were effeminate; however, it was certainly the view of the Romans that their Greek neighbors were effeminate due to their pursuit of philosophy and the arts. It was an insult for a Roman to refer to another Roman as a Greek. So I'm not stereotyping the
...the Romans stereotyped them...just as the Romans stereotyped all northern tribes as barbarians even though the Gauls had achieved scientific advancements that surpassed the Romans...particularly in the area of metallurgy.
Hope that clears it up.
Sparta was the first thing that came to my mind as well. Fortunately Rome did not weaken Sparta before Leonidas or Persia may have taken all Greece. I doubt our understanding of Greek culture would have survived that. The basis of western civilization including democracy may have been lost.
Cross posting. Yes, it does clear it up.
And of course the Romans had a tremendous amount of respect for Greek culture; they stole a lot of their architecture from the Greeks they stole a lot of everything from the Greeks. however, they still viewed them as an effeminate educational type culture philosophically based society that was better suited to studying philosophy and putting on plays than fighting in wars. may not of been true but that was certainly their viewpoint. That is probably more of an indictment against Roman stereotyping just as they did with the barbarians and it is truthfulness is suspect...but it was Roman stereotyping nonetheless , not my stereotyping
True, Rome copied Democracy from Greece, maybe it would have survived.
Quote from: mikeck on February 16, 2014, 12:50:40 PM
Jarhead: I am not saying the Greeks were effeminate; however, it was certainly the view of the Romans that their Greek neighbors were effeminate due to their pursuit of philosophy and the arts. It was an insult for a Roman to refer to another Roman as a Greek. So I'm not stereotyping the
...the Romans stereotyped them...just as the Romans stereotyped all northern tribes as barbarians even though the Gauls had achieved scientific advancements that surpassed the Romans...particularly in the area of metallurgy.
Hope that clears it up.
Where did you read that? I'd be interested in getting some more information on this...I've never read that Rome, as a whole, viewed Greek culture as effeminate. I would say without the Greeks, Rome would not have been Rome and in many ways, the Romans openly tried to emulate the Greeks. Again, I've never seen anything at all suggesting that the Romans thought the Greeks weak, not masculine or otherwise. I'm not saying its not true, just that its not something I have ever come across.
I can't provide a citation...I have read dozens of books on it most of which I no longer have so take it for what it is worth. The Romans admired Greek culture and stole much of its architecture. However, they viewed Greek men an effeminate partly due to the Greek view on homosexual relationships and party due to Greek pursuits of the arts.
I can't provide you the book...just remember reading it on several occasions. So I can't argue it as fact if I can't cite it. But it certainly isn't my stereotype. Romans had a habit of classifying groups of no Romans in negative ways so it would be out of norm.
I will try to find the work
From an article " of greeks & Romans"
Nevertheless, these "sophisticated farmers"—though they ingested all things Greek—were prone to hearken back to their agrarian origins. They never forgot "how the West was won" and they certainly knew that these erstwhile "effete sophisticates" (i.e., Greeks) couldn't hold a candle to IMPERIAL ROME! And, let's get one thing clear (and this is precisely how the Romans felt about the Greeks)—these Greeks are effeminate, and—when it comes right down to it—couldn't govern an Empire if it were given to them!
Certainly not a primary source or something I would cite in an argument over the issue itself as fact. my only point is that it's not me stereotyping the Greek but that I had recalled the Romans had stereotype them as being effeminate just as they had stereotyped many barbarian tribes as being on to the non-civilized when in reality both have been false
As if being ruled by an emperor was a better way of life.
Quote from: Mr. Bigglesworth on February 16, 2014, 02:00:51 PM
As if being ruled by an emperor was a better way of life.
It's all relative. if you lived in a village which was invaded on a regular basis by neighboring village and your women were raped and your kids were kidnapped and you had to deal with that, you would probably prefer the safety of Roman occupation, the opening of Roman trade, use of Roman roads, the improvements to your infrastructure like aqueducts, roads, sewage systems and the safety now provided against these roving tribes ( because they have also been defeated by Rome ) it's all relative
Great summary by Monty Python:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9foi342LXQE
In the book I'm reading right now 'The Last Frontier - the Roman Invasions of Scotland' there are a few references to what the Roman stereotype of Greek culture was, and it typically did describe the Greeks as effeminate. I've read about this in other books on Roman history too...the Spartans were seen as the more manly Greek exception (despite the homosexual tendencies). In pop culture I've seen plenty references to the Greeks being effeminate too...Robin Williams used to do a whole bit on it.
References to homosexuality as a basis for a Roman perception of Greeks as effeminate make no sense from a historical perspective. Homosexuality was just as prevalent in Roman society. So long as the Roman was the dominant individual in the homosexual relationship, there was no adverse implication on one's masculinity. Really, I would question the accuracy and impartiality of any source where you are getting this information from.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 16, 2014, 03:18:13 PM
References to homosexuality as a basis for a Roman perception of Greeks as effeminate make no sense from a historical perspective. Homosexuality was just as prevalent in Roman society. So long as the Roman was the dominant individual in the homosexual relationship, there was no adverse implication on one's masculinity. Really, I would question the accuracy and impartiality of any source where you are getting this information from.
It's not just the acceptance of homosexuality (and remember , there is a difference between whether it is openly accepted and whether it happens), it was also about the Greeks pursuit of philosophy, debate and arts that, although admired and copied by the Romans, were considered effeminate pursuits.
I can't dig through the books so I can't provide citations so I don't expect to win the argument (if it is one)...my original point was that i didn't want you or anyone else thinking the I was stereotyping anyone as anything...I was discussing Roman Stereotypes. Not even sure how we got there but it had something to do with my admiration of Rome, their administration, their ruthlessness and their willingness to steal what works from others
Quote from: mikeck on February 16, 2014, 04:02:18 PM
Not even sure how we got there but it had something to do with my admiration of ... their ruthlessness and their willingness to steal what works from others
Yes, that vs my memory of your line of work is what made me bring it up.
For the record I thought mikeck was a border patrol agent...
Can't you remember his wg avatar?
No.
Was it the police car?
I was a border patrol agent for 4 years, them left and earned my law degree (and passed the bar)
And then became a cop. Worked patrol and street crimes for 4 years until
I was promoted and told I was being moved up to the legal section. We had 1 atty and needed more. So now I do legal work for the Sheriffs office but am still certified and still get to go out and have fun on warrant services and such.
To answer the original question, I wouldn't suggest that modern policing should bear any resemblance to what the Romans did. I just admire how they were able to accomplish all they did and the professionalism of their military; not just the fighting ability but the administration and logistics.
To be able to enter an area defeat it's army, subdue it's people, and them rule them
Without many problems for 400 years (Gauls) means they are doing more than just raping and pillaging.
The Romans were ruthless, but once you were beaten and submitted to them, you gained the benefits of access to roads and a trading network that could be navigated safely, safety from attack by neighboring tribes, sanitation and stable currency. You could do worse than to be defeated and submitted by the Romans.
Quote from: mikeck on February 16, 2014, 09:10:54 PM
The Romans were ruthless, but once you were beaten and submitted to them, you gained the benefits of access to roads and a trading network that could be navigated safely, safety from attack by neighboring tribes, sanitation and stable currency. You could do worse than to be defeated and submitted by the Romans.
Unless you were Carthage.
Every slaver through history has probably tried to explain what a good master they will be. Meanwhile they are thinking we can do this the easy way or the hard way.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 16, 2014, 07:00:16 AM
Quote from: Bison on February 15, 2014, 07:16:48 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on February 15, 2014, 07:12:57 PM
Quote from: Bison on February 15, 2014, 06:59:03 PM
Didn't Carthage get their asses kicked and relegated to the dustbin of history or something?
like Rome didnt? :P
Rome eventually fell after a few thousand years of kicking ass. Carthage not so much. The only reason anyone remembers Carthage is something about elephants and the alps, but who can possibly remember any of the details? I blame sun tanning beds for your memory lapses.
Bison, you're just joking I presume.
Yeah I was joking.
Rome makes the 20th century Nazis and Stalin look like a bunch of novice amateurs when it comes to invading, enslaving and killing off and uprooting its neighbors.
I would even venture to say that if you weren't a Roman living in those times you most likely had no love or admiration for them and you either fought them,joined them out of fear or profit or put as much distance as possible between yourself and Rome.
Quote from: Dolan50 on February 16, 2014, 10:00:59 PM
Rome makes the 20th century Nazis and Stalin look like a bunch of novice amateurs when it comes to invading, enslaving and killing off and uprooting its neighbors.
I would even venture to say that if you weren't a Roman living in those times you most likely had no love or admiration for them and you either fought them,joined them out of fear or profit or put as much distance as possible between yourself and Rome.
I would disagree. Stalin and Hitler did not proceed to build advanced architecture, life improvements or security to any of the nations they conquered. If you were in the army fighting the Romans...yeah, it was bad for you. Same as if you were in a besieged town taken by the Romans. But if you were a regular peasant trying to just get by, you probably had it a lot better under roman rule than you did whatever warlord happened to be in charge that month
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 16, 2014, 09:42:09 PM
Quote from: mikeck on February 16, 2014, 09:10:54 PM
The Romans were ruthless, but once you were beaten and submitted to them, you gained the benefits of access to roads and a trading network that could be navigated safely, safety from attack by neighboring tribes, sanitation and stable currency. You could do worse than to be defeated and submitted by the Romans.
Unless you were Carthage.
Carthage, god bless 'me, wouldn't submit...so they got the platinum wash
Quote from: Dolan50 on February 16, 2014, 10:00:59 PM
Rome makes the 20th century Nazis and Stalin look like a bunch of novice amateurs when it comes to invading, enslaving and killing off and uprooting its neighbors.
I would even venture to say that if you weren't a Roman living in those times you most likely had no love or admiration for them and you either fought them,joined them out of fear or profit or put as much distance as possible between yourself and Rome.
Naaa. Not unless there was some serious history between themselves and the one in question (Carthage for example).
One of the most influential facets to Roman "subjugation", if not
the most, was the luxury, wealth, and trade they brought and the infrastructure to support it.
After conquering a population center, they'd construct all kinds of niceties and boost trade in the area to new levels. Such things certainly made the commoner & tradesmen happy. Who doesn't like being wealthier? Well.. except for the old noblemen who had then become underlings. Even then, it could be hit & miss depending on how much wealth & power they gained afterward.
Despite whatever myths you've heard about a typical Roman takeover, they often went pretty easy on many of the conquered and brought prosperity. Hauling enemy soldiers off as slaves was just part of the legions' war spoils, like extra hazard pay. They didn't burn the places to the ground and kill everyone other than some unusual cases.
Numerous "invading" barbarian tribes, in later days, weren't raiding to pillage and run away. They were trying to
get into the Roman empire and become Romans! That should tell you just how comparatively well they did with their "subjugation". Can't get much better advertisement than that.
Rome was your prototypical fascist regime whose economy was based on slavery.
"Slavery in the ancient world and in Rome was vital to both the economy and even the social fabric of the society. While it was commonplace throughout the Mediterranean region, and the Hellenistic regions in the east, it was not nearly so vital to others as it was to the dominance of Rome. As the Romans consolidated their hegemony of Italy and Sicily followed by the systematic conquest of western Europe, countless millions of slaves were transported to Rome the Italian countryside and Latin colonies all over Europe.
Though slavery was prevalent in households throughout the city itself, it was on the farms and plantations where it had its greatest effect. The Roman conquests of Carthage, Macedonia and Greece in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC altered what was once a luxury and privilege for the ruling elite into the predominant factor driving both social and economic policies for the Republic as a whole. The mass influx of slaves during this time period first was a sign of great wealth and power, but later destabilized an already fragile Roman class system. Farms originally run by small business families throughout Italy were soon gobbled up and replaced by enormous slave run plantations owned by the aristocratic elite. Cheap slave labor replaced work for the average citizen and the rolls of the unemployed masses grew to epidemic proportions. These issues had a great destabilizing effect on the social system which had a direct role in the demise of the Republic. As the rift between Senatorial elite (optimates) and social reformers (populares) grew, the use of the unemployed, landless, yet citizen mobs were an overwhelming ploy grinding away at the ability of the Senate to govern. Though there are many factors involved in the Fall of the Republic, slavery and its effects rippled throughout every aspect of that turbulent time period.
Not only did slavery help push the Roman lower classes into organized mobs, but the slaves themselves understandably revolted against oppression. The 3 servile wars in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, with the rebellion of Spartacus in the 70's BC the most notable, showed that the social system was dangerous and unhealthy. By the end of these civil wars and general social disorder, slaves were abundantly present in Rome. The slave population was at least equal to that of freedmen (non citizens), and has been estimated at anywhere from 25 to 40% of the population of the city as a whole. One such estimate suggests that the slave population in Rome circa 1 AD, may have been as much as 300,000 to 350,000 of the 900,000 total inhabitants. In outlying provinces, the numbers are certainly far less substantial, dropping to between an estimated 2 and 10% of the total. Still though, in some places such as Pergamum on the western coast of present day Turkey, the slave population may have been around 40,000 people or 1/3 of the cities total population. At the height of the Empire in the mid second century AD, some have estimated that the total slave population may have approached 10 million people, or approximately 1/6 of the population as a whole.
In the ancient world, slaves were taken simply based upon need or want. There was no ethnic or territorial preference for the taking of slaves. As the vast majority was captured as the result of Roman wars, wherever there were Roman victories, there would be new slaves. There is no evidence to suggest that the Romans placed any preference for slavery, or exceptions, based on race or country of origin. The only thing the Romans held in deference was whether or not someone was a Roman. By the mid to late imperial period, citizenship was a rather non-exclusive status, and ethnicity played little part. They were rounded up first from among the Italian tribes, where it spread to Carthage, Greece, Macedonia, Gaul and all over the eastern provinces, with little regard for origin. The Romans simply needed to replenish the stock, and the legions provided the means to do so. As examples; at the end of the Third Macedonian War in 168 BC, it was recorded that as many as 150,000 residents of Epirus were sold in Roman bondage. It's also been estimated that Julius Caesar, upon his conquest of Gaul, may have captured and enslaved 500,000 people."
http://www.unrv.com/culture/roman-slavery.php
Sure life was better if you were a landed Roman citizen or one of their boot licking bribed lackeys in charge of insuring that Roman law and order was upheld in their conquered colonial territories,but I doubt any of the countries or regions that Rome invaded actually invited them or wanted them to stay.
Quote from: Dolan50 on February 17, 2014, 11:26:07 AM
Rome was your prototypical fascist regime whose economy was based on slavery.
That's true. Quite literally, but I think it doesn't tell the whole story. First, Roman citizenship was eventually expanded to cover a lot of the population of the Empire and second, there's just really no alternative model to tell us what the ancient world would have been like without some relatively oppressive super state like Rome. Persia is the big counter-example to both Hellenic Imperia and Rome, but I have no idea what life in Persia was like except that the most cosmic Imperial theocratic excesses of the Byzantines seem to have been modelled on Persia.
Moreover, its not like Rome has ever completely vanished -- so for better or worse we are still in a kind of Rome in terms of law and infrastructure and armies and Senates and religions. An expert on Ancient Egypt once made the a similar remark when somebody asked him what the ancient Egyptians were like. He said, "Just turn on the TV. What do you see? Marching Armies, supernatural wonders?Immense constructions? Theocratic Leaders?"
There's also the need to define 'Roman.' Were the conquered and assimilated truly Roman? If the conquered and assimilated were able to enjoy all the benefits of being a Roman citizen, then how bad was it?
There is now doubt that Rome's economy was based on slavery and new conquest, but what isn't discussed much is the lack of rebellion among these so horribly oppressed people. After vercingetorix, there were very few (if any) rebellions in Gaul over the course of Rome's 400 year occupation. After the Iceni rebellion in Britain, there was no rebellion there until the Romans left. Sure , you had isolated rebellions in Israel and such , but throughout Spain, Gaul, Britain and Greece, people seemed happy to be under the Roman thumb. They had to pay tax and many of their I itial army was take. As slaves...but they didn't need an army anymore anyway and their taxes bought them sanitation, roads, aqueducts, baths, safety and security, trade to the rest of the world along with products from around the world, a unifying language and other benefits. No...all things being equal, if I am a blacksmith with a wife and 2 kids, I would prefer to live in Gaul under Roman rule than east of the Rhine under whatever warlord happened to be strong enough to kill the last one.
Nope, if you agreed that Rome was boss, were wiling to follow the rules and pay tax...things were pretty good. Otherwise rebellions would have been common and Rome would never have been able to hold together the western world for 450 years
The so called Pax Romana or "Augustan Peace"( 27 B.C.E. to 180 C.E. in the Roman Empire.)was also sowing the seeds of the empires eventual decline in the 3rd century AD.
"The slave-based economy seemingly worked well but only as long as there was a large supply of slaves. The slavery institution declined significantly as a result of the "Augustan Peace". Although Gibbon sees the decline in war and piracy in this so-called "golden-age" as an entirely positive thing for the empire he does not see the other side of the story which is that these two activities were the main source of slaves. The days of the great Delian Slave market were over and there was now a severely diminished workforce. Growing humanitarian sentiments within the empire also facilitated this problem as many of the remaining slaves were freed. The fundamental basis of ancient economic activity was significantly undermined but the system of exploitation was too well established now for it to be abolished. Perhaps if the institution of slavery had been challenged much earlier on then things would have been different but unfortunately even the most enlightened philosophers of the Republic seemed to support it. For example, Aristotle stated that "from the hour of birth some are marked out for subjection, others for rule". There remained no choice after the collapse of the slave market other than to try to compensate for this loss. What we see here is the increasing exploitation of free men by a highly exploitative ruling class. This group was really an aristocratic clique whose wealth was derived primarily from the land so it was very much in their interest to maintain their own superiority at the expense of what was beneficial to the empire. They were against any form of economic improvement which threatened their power and so their actions tended to maintain senatorial authority but at the huge price of economic retardation. In the absence of a slave class which they could exploit, they increasingly tightened the screw on the lower classes so that their legal, political and constitutional privileges could be diminished. In this way they would have little power to defend themselves against exploitation. This whittling away of the rights of the poor took place mainly during the 'good' Antonine period and by the Severan period the poor had virtually no rights whatsoever. Citizenship therefore came to mean almost nothing for the vast majority and therefore the onset of universal citizenship was really a fairly unremarkable development. The fact that it came about only reflects the financial problems of the empire (discussed later) and the need to increase tax revenue. Finley states that in this period we see "a cumulative depression in the status of the lower classes among the free citizens". What we essentially see here is a switch from slave production to serf production. From this development, Rostovtzeff sees a major cause for the upheavals and rebellions of the third century. He sees the upheavals of the third century as "a deliberate and class conscious attack by the exploited peasantry, using as its spearhead the large army which was mainly recruited from its ranks". This argument is problematic however, as there is much evidence to suggest that peasants were generally scared of the soldiers and would therefore not see them as their representatives. Even so, this argument does not ignore the fact that the massive exploitation by the urban propertied class of the poorer members of society (for example the rural population, retail traders, artisans) and their indifference towards working for the public good had bad effects. The problem of slavery and exploitation was really one of the root problems of Roman society. The empire was built upon the labor of the exploited but they were the very people who could not benefit from their work. This division of society ensured that the masses of the empire never tasted the fruits of their labor. The two major problems which this lead to were that people lacked the incentive to master their work and they also had little consuming power so there was a shallow internal market as a result. "
To what extent were economic factors to blame for the deterioration of the Roman Empire in the Third Century A.D?
http://www.roman-empire.net/articles/article-018.html
It's funny, I was just reading about Roman slavery earlier today.
I can't recall the emperor, but I do remember that the practice of freeing slaves was so commonplace at some point that the emperor had to decree that no slave under 30 could be so freed.
Wiki says it was Augustus, which may be right. I don't know for sure, but found it interesting that the practice became so prevalent that an emperor had to call it out to stop the 'bleeding out' of 'good' slave talent.
Rome was certainly awash in slavery. To be fair, that was the norm in those days.
Comparing Ancient Rome's commonplace slavery during ancient times to Germany's usage of death camps in the 20th Century ( a rarity - not the norm at that time) is a poor one. It wasn't all ice cream and sausages living in the ancient world, either way you cut it, but Rome didn't go so far above and beyond their peers as to stand out so far as German national socialism had in the mid-20th.
Every society took slaves in Rome's time. It was quite common to rape and kidnap women, seize boys for slaves and kill the adult males after the defeat of their village. To suggest that somehow Rome was "different" or "bad" because of the slave trade is a bit disingenuous. That's the way things were done. If you were a member of one Gallic tribe and taken over by another, you could bet that things would go badly for the loser including Slavery.
To suggest that practice is comparable to Hitler rounding up 30 million Jews in an attempt to commit genocide doesn't really wash. Compared to other civilizations, Rome treated submitted societies quite well and offered many citizenship. I don't think any nation occupied by Germany or the Soviet Union after WW2 would claim the same.
You cannot apply 20th century morals to societies 2000 years ago. Back then, slavery was quite normal. For the record, it was also considered perfectly acceptable and fair to destroy a town and kill everyone in it if it resisted a seige for a certain period of time and forced the besieging force to assault. (Up to the 18th century minus women and children)
Certainly the same wouldn't apply now.
Like I said before, IDE rather be a peasant plowing fields in Roman occupied Briton or Gaul than one in some tribe in Germany or subject to net whims of some Persian god/king
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ExWfh6sGyso
You can defend slavery all you like.The people that were subjected to slavery didn't like it any more then than they would now.
And I wasn't comparing ancient Rome to the 20th century Nazis.
I'm saying they were worse. Far worse!
No one here is defending slavery.
Quote from: Dolan50 on February 17, 2014, 08:46:55 PM
You can defend slavery all you like.The people that were subjected to slavery didn't like it any more then than they would now.
And I wasn't comparing ancient Rome to the 20th century Nazis.
I'm saying they were worse. Far worse!
I'm going to stop this conversation at this point. The second someone starts saying that anything was worse than industrialized systemic genocide in a modern civilized society, some people are going to get angered and upset.
Its been interesting, but we have about 165 pages of this thread talking about the game...lets it bring it back to that.
Thanks.
Solid play. I'm teaching the tipping point in my game. Making a move to take Spain from the Arveni (I think that's them) if I can do it without shredding my armies and Economy, I think I will be so much more powerful than anyone else, I will call it a game. I have found a great use for fleets which is raiding...placing a fleet off an enemy city and setting it to "raid" really messes up their morale.
When it's over I may....may...try Athens
But I need a mod that gives them a different look. I like more of a 4th century look than the 2nd century Macedonian look
While you guys have been discussing things ethical, I've been downloading the new Beasts of War DLC for $2.99 on Steam. Hear the thunder of my Armored Camel Corp bearing-down on your un-prepared asses-- free or slave. ;D ;D
If Jarhead would allow me to cap off the ethical discussion, I would like to end it with one point. A history professor of mine once warned against looking at ancient cultures through the lens of modern ethics. Ancient cultures would seem quite alien to the modern people, so one needs to examine those cultures within the context of their times.
Quote from: Swatter on February 17, 2014, 11:41:35 PM
If Jarhead would allow me to cap off the ethical discussion, I would like to end it with one point. A history professor of mine once warned against looking at ancient cultures through the lens of modern ethics. Ancient cultures would seem quite alien to the modern people, so one needs to examine those cultures within the context of their times.
Definately. Lets also appreciate how easy our higher moral standards are with all the advancements that have made everything come pretty easy.
So is that new Beasts of War DLC worth 2.99?
I haven't run into any new units yet to say how good they are but I checked them out a little in a custom battle and their stats look interesting enough. I haven't seen any potential mod conflicts noted anywhere and that's good. I think the new units are pretty limited in who can recruit them. Parthia is the only faction that I noticed had the new armored camels but there were several that could get the armored elephants, mostly eastern factions. Playing as Rome, I don't think we get hardly any new units and so we have stopped all research into all techs but "Insecticide" so we can handle the bees, scorpions and snakes.
If my highly trained Legionaire cohort gets stomped by armored camels, I'm going to throw a complete fit
If I but The armor camel super elephant rocket powered chariot DLC do I have to start a new game?
^Clearly yes :)
Hmm, figured as much. I will hold off. I might get it just for fun anyway eventually. I mean does anyone by total war games to experience ultimate realism?
^I was kidding! The DLC, especially one like this, is just an unlock of units that are already there. No restart necessary.
And I have never bought a TW to experience ultimate realism. If I wanted that I would starve myself and go try to survive naked in the woods.
I do starve myself and live in the woods to try and get into the "zone" before a Rome game
Quote from: Gusington on February 18, 2014, 09:36:29 PM
I wanted that I would starve myself and go try to survive naked in the woods.
talk dirty to me baby!
Quote from: mikeck on February 18, 2014, 04:12:15 PM
If my highly trained Legionaire cohort gets stomped by armored camels, I'm going to throw a complete fit
I'm wondering - if you use the DLC, will the AI tend to load up on some of these crazy animal troops?
I would like to see the camels in there, but the rest is blah. I'd be concerned that the AI might go on a 'Flaming Pigs' buying spree or something. :-\
Still, eventhough I don't have to play TW games to experience insane realism, but are these armored camels totally made up or are they at least subject to speculation as in 'Secret weapons of the Egyptianwaffe' ?
If so I might get it (the stock wardogs are plain brutal!!), but I do not care to make my RTW into Lord of the Pyramids.
I don't think there were any Armored Camel soldiers until much later. Somewhere in the Middle Ages or Medieval period, perhaps? For the Ottomans or Persians? Even then, probably not the same.
If there were armored camel warriors in the Roman Period, I don't think there were very many.
in case y'all missed it on the front page
http://grogheads.com/?p=3995
According to the DLC, Armored Camel cataphracts made their debut at the battle of Nisbis in 217 AD. The Armored Elephants are only recruitable as mercs at certain cities. The Snake-Pots are Carthage only. And the 2 War-Dog units look identical but the Celtic War Dogs bark with an Irish accent. ;)
^And that's why I must have it.
Finally!!!! Got and opportunity to use flaming bails and traps. Had it set up perfectly on a hill with the bails facing perpendicular to my line and a bit in front. When the enemy line came up and stopped to charge, I lit them and rolled them down....holy crap that was awesome... Everyone catching on fire and routing and my legions peppered them with pila and cavalry chased them down.
Awesome
^Which faction gets the er...flaming balls?
And in the campaign, what do I have to do to get the war dogs from the new Beast of War DLC? Is there some sort of pre-req building needed?
All i think. It was one of the earned bonus thingies...+1 for defense with a list of stuff. Think it was a legion specific card and not a general card. Anyway, you get flaming balls, "jack" looking things that screw up cavalry, pits for infantry and some barricades. You can level
It up to get 2 or 3 of each.
The Iceni are the only playable faction to get the Celtic Warhounds and need a Slave Trader building. The other Briton factions also get the Celtic Warhounds but I don't know how. Epirus is the only faction to get the big Molliusian Wardogs with a Skirmisher Camp. Stat-wise the Mollusians rule.
Fired up my old vanilla campaign last night - I'm getting killed on the money front.... like 200 income a turn - I'm only supporting 2 armies
^Because you generally work too hard and don't pay enough attention to your campaign! Knave ;)
So everyone gets flaming balls...did not know that. Thanks Slash for the info on the dogs...will build me a slave trader asap.
lol yup, campaign restart - more concentrating on the money, not so much the pointy sticks
Yep, won my last. Starting over as Rome with Radious campaign mod, realistic legionary tactics and a few more graphics mods that alter roman armor to look weathered and bloodstained, etc. This time I am going to head east and conquer the Greeks instead of fighting barbarians and spaniards.
Am loving the realistic legionary tactics mod.... Infantry in formation can form wedge, hurl pilum at your command, and rotate ranks to keep fatigue down....keeps formation better than any other mod as well.
Quote from: mikeck on February 22, 2014, 05:17:28 PMAm loving the realistic legionary tactics mod.... Infantry in formation can form wedge, hurl pilum at your command, and rotate ranks to keep fatigue down....keeps formation better than any other mod as well.
Any idea if this applies to other factions as well, or just Rome?
I was just going to ask that. Same question for that armor mod too...
Dammit! >:(
After not playing Rome 2 for awhile, I decided to start up a new campaign last night and quickly discovered an annoying bug in my first battle, on Turn 3.
At war with Sparta from the start, my Epirote army attacked one of the Spartan armies posted outside their city. They had a second larger army inside the nearby city and with those reinforcements our army numbers were almost the same. So I attacked the smaller one outside, hoping to eliminate one group before the other in the tactical battle.
I did great, causing over twice as many casualties to both their armies, with many of their units being eliminated or nearly so. Putting those starting Epirote War Elephants to good use in devastating flank attacks, once my phalanxes had grabbed their full attention, sped up the process quite a bit. As usual, I let the battle run on after getting the 'You Win!' message so that I could chase down the fleeing enemy forces with cavalry and fast troops, thus causing far more casualties to the fleeing enemy units.
However.. when I returned to the campaign map, the largest army which had showed up as reinforcements was now back to the full health status it was at before the battle started! Just sitting inside the city, having taken no battle damage or anything!! ARRRGHH! The only odd course of action was to poison that army's water supply with my spy beforehand, causing a small amount of damage to it's units, and it was at these exact levels they had returned to after being annihilated in the following battle.
I quit in frustration after such a bug. Hopefully that isn't happening regularly. :-\
never seen that Nef
Me neither...playing as Epirus it serves you right :)
You should be eliminated by turn 3 anyway, as AI Epirus always is!
Quote from: Gusington on February 28, 2014, 09:29:21 AM
Me neither...playing as Epirus it serves you right :)
You should be eliminated by turn 3 anyway, as AI Epirus always is!
Yeah. This is the second time I've started as Epirus. I figured it's pretty challenging, so why not. I didn't expect my enemies' soldiers to miraculously return from the dead too! :o
Despite starting off at war with Sparta, and Rome inevitably declaring war at the end of the first turn per usual, I had gotten off to a decent start since Carthage DOW'd Rome right afterward and this risky battle went so well for me. Until the bug, anyway. I still haven't had the Athenians DOW me yet but I'm sure it will happen sometime soon. Had hoped to eliminate the bulk of the Spartan forces by then but not only is that looking fookt, their full strength resurrected army can now immediately attack the one I had just attacked with, which had suffered some losses. RAWR!
Quote from: Martok on February 22, 2014, 05:52:32 PM
Quote from: mikeck on February 22, 2014, 05:17:28 PMAm loving the realistic legionary tactics mod.... Infantry in formation can form wedge, hurl pilum at your command, and rotate ranks to keep fatigue down....keeps formation better than any other mod as well.
Any idea if this applies to other factions as well, or just Rome?
Sorry missed this I believe it only applies to Rome and the legions
Quote from: Nefaro on February 28, 2014, 10:22:24 AM
Quote from: Gusington on February 28, 2014, 09:29:21 AM
Me neither...playing as Epirus it serves you right :)
You should be eliminated by turn 3 anyway, as AI Epirus always is!
Yeah. This is the second time I've started as Epirus. I figured it's pretty challenging, so why not. I didn't expect my enemies' soldiers to miraculously return from the dead too! :o
Despite starting off at war with Sparta, and Rome inevitably declaring war at the end of the first turn per usual, I had gotten off to a decent start since Carthage DOW'd Rome right afterward and this risky battle went so well for me. Until the bug, anyway. I still haven't had the Athenians DOW me yet but I'm sure it will happen sometime soon. Had hoped to eliminate the bulk of the Spartan forces by then but not only is that looking fookt, their full strength resurrected army can now immediately attack the one I had just attacked with, which had suffered some losses. RAWR!
Yeah I've never seen this either I've played three games of Rome exclusively and never had any game ending bugs on any of it I did have a crash once after a big battle but that's it.
Got a little bored of taking over the world so I decided to try the Cesar in call campaign. I really like the smaller map to me it's almost like what Napoleon was Empire total war. Can't say whether the AI is better or worse but I found the AI to be pretty decent in the regular campaign. anyway I do like the difference in the tech tree where it's more about your ability to call up better generals and call a different legions and things like that... kind of changes the game anyway I'm giving it a shot
I am looking forward to CiG eventually but not before additinal campaigns as Sparta, Bactria, Carthage and perhaps Pontus.
Nef - how is it fighting the Spartans? I'm planning an expedition into Greece and need this info.
Quote from: Gusington on February 28, 2014, 02:05:47 PM
Nef - how is it fighting the Spartans? I'm planning an expedition into Greece and need this info.
Not such a big deal if you have Macedonian Phalanxes to pin them and an elephant unit to trample them once you've done so. ;)
It's also just the beginning of the game so it's best that I stomp them into the dirt early before their tech progression nets them those later units with ridiculous morale and armor.. and their own Phalanxes.
**
Something odd I noticed about the battle that resulted in that bug - I was fighting them in hilly terrain with a few trees NE of Sparta. However, the battle map was plain 'ole arid desert as if I was fighting them on the Arabian peninsula or on the edge of the Sahara. WTF? ??? Maybe that had something to do with it. I'll probably play out another turn of that game to see what happens.. maybe things will snap to.
^Do you use any mods?
Began entering the Balkan and Greek areas yesterday with my almost maxed-out Iceni troops. Took the city of Iader and another Roman city in Italy...now I am at war with Rome and Sparta, with some minor powers separating them from my territory.
Rome only has one territory left...Rome itself. It will be mine :)
There's a new mod at the Steam Workshop that recreates the original 3 Roman family factions from the first Rome TW, each playable with their original faction icons. So far the users give it 4 out of 5 stars but you need a new campaign start. Radious has also updated his mod several times recently with new eastern units. He is well into triple digits now with new units and this might seem silly but he's trying to give all factions, playable or not, a complete set of all types of units through out the campaign so you'll have much more choice in building your armies and not just limited to the basic spear, sword, axe types in the early game. And they look fantastic. Now even the Suebi have a pike unit with a powerful Shield-Wall ability-- at a powerful price to buy.
Makes me start to think about Radious v. the DEI mod again, and also think about sticking with vanilla except for some seasonal and graphics tweaks mods. But your description of the latest Radious is really tempting.
And another update today. Claims big changes in diplomacy, AI recruitment and AI aggressiveness. Will try her out and post some thoughts because 172 pages is not long enough for this thread. ;D
I agree. And I took Rome!!
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^ Nice job,
Gus! Congrats. :D
I can't help but notice, though, that there's a chunk of Gaul that remains conspicuously Iceni-less. What's up with that??
Quote from: Gusington on March 01, 2014, 11:51:52 AM
Makes me start to think about Radious v. the DEI mod again, and also think about sticking with vanilla except for some seasonal and graphics tweaks mods. But your description of the latest Radious is really tempting.
Ironically, it's thought-processes like this one (which I'm only too guilty of myself) that are the biggest reason I've not seriously delved into mods yet. It's such a slippery slope -- where would I begin? And where does it end?? :o
In the meantime, I continue to enjoy the vanilla game (albeit with the Four Seasons mod), so I keep thinking "what's the rush?"...
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 01, 2014, 02:37:22 PM
And another update today. Claims big changes in diplomacy, AI recruitment and AI aggressiveness.
Sweet! I'd fire it up right now if I didn't have to go to bed pretty soon here. Must make myself wait til tomorrow now... :(
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 01, 2014, 02:37:22 PM
Will try her out and post some thoughts because 172 pages is not long enough for this thread. ;D
Heh.
You know, it really is remarkable -- not just how long this thread (dedicated to a single game) has gotten, but that it's mostly stayed on-topic (aside from that 5-page digression a little while back), AND that it's remained generally free of the rabid hate
Rome II seems to get elsewhere. Not that that the game hasn't seen its fair share of (deserved) criticism here, but it's consistently been much more reasoned and level-headed.
But I myself digress now. ::) Looking forward to hearing your impressions
Sir Slash!
Quote from: Gusington on March 01, 2014, 10:34:34 AM
^Do you use any mods?
Nope. Playing vanilla.
I haven't played TW:R2 in months so I wanted to get a feel for what I would want to adjust before adding any mods. I try to avoid "Mod Soup" as much as possible these days, so even when I do get some there won't be many.
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 01, 2014, 02:37:22 PM
And another update today. Claims big changes in diplomacy, AI recruitment and AI aggressiveness. Will try her out and post some thoughts because 172 pages is not long enough for this thread. ;D
I'm always up for AI improvements.
My first battle in wasn't all that impressive. I didn't expect a lot but once again the opposing troops blew a good opportunity. If their large reinforcing army had came at me (bro), instead of making a beeline to the defensive position around the victory flag where a few of it's troops were, I would've been threatened from two different directions. Would've been an excellent hammer & anvil situation and even more effective because my core strength was based around some macedonian style phalangites. I was disappointed to see it take a wide birth in an attempt to crowd into the flag area instead of surrounding me. Even after I moved to engage this larger force, none were sent from the flag zone (which was within archer & slinger range so I was close) to strike my army in the rear. :'(
The sandwich move I would've preferred to see is probably asking for too much sophistication to ask for in a Total War game but I still think it could be more aggressive in such situations. I mean.. our forces were equally numbered and the Spartan army had some slightly better quality units. But that damn Flag-Sitting behavior again! >:( I still think it was bad to add such capture points to every map. I thought they were gonna remove some of that stuff??
Congrats to Gus the Conquer, The Scourge of Britain. What kind of units have you got now and how many armies?
I don't think i remember seing victory flags in open battle. I do see them in city seige and usually the ai will park 3-4 units on it while the rest come to the edge of the city I'm attacking. To be honest, I do the same thing...park 4 units on the flag (plebes) and send the rest to fight.
I thought they took flags out of open battles a long time ago?
Quote from: mikeck on March 02, 2014, 10:16:09 AM
I don't think i remember seing victory flags in open battle. I do see them in city seige and usually the ai will park 3-4 units on it while the rest come to the edge of the city I'm attacking. To be honest, I do the same thing...park 4 units on the flag (plebes) and send the rest to fight.
I thought they took flags out of open battles a long time ago?
That's what I thought too. But I was fighting in an open field battle. It had that weird little four-walled compound with the extra little walls blocking the entrances and the flag right in the middle. As I also mentioned, it was happening in desert terrain even though I was fighting near Sparta.
I'm pretty sure the whole thing was bugged in some way.
I've not modded my Rome 2. Actually, this is the first time I had even played the game on this new computer I built a few months ago. I just did a file integrity check and it did replace about 17MB of files. Which is weird since I've never modified or even played it on this machine. ???
Think I'll start a new game and see if I can break anything else.
Martok - those hunks of Gaul that are brown are the Pictones. They've been loyal to me since I landed in Aquitaine but now they kind of annoy me. Once I mop up the Romans, I think they're next :) ...don't leak that.
Slash - I have 10 armies total now. I have some interesting units including Druidic Nobles, Ambushers, war dogs, Chosen Sword Band, Chosen Spear Band, and tricked out war chariots. I don't have very strong regular cavalry of my own, but I do have access to Italian and German cavalry.
Besides the Pictones will be taking on Sparta next. They don't appear nearly as tough as the Romans were. Athens after that. I also need to build up a navy.
I think I know why there was a flag in my open battle. The defending AI army had chosen the "fortify" option on the campaign map. Still, I don't think there should be a flag in the middle of it.
Also found a message bug where it said, "Your defending army has been completely destroyed!". Which was nonsense. The remnant army of someone I conquered threw themselves on my spears and were slaughtered to the man. For some reason it told me that it was my army that was wiped out. Started to go nuts for a second before I checked to make sure everything was as it should be. ???
It's still got some bugs (which I seem to attract?) but it's still in better shape than it was last time I played.
^I do get that kind of bug occasionally where the messages get mixed up on which army was victorious...I thought it was a mod issue but since you are not playing with mods I guess not.
To me it's on par with shogun 2 and Napoleon. Same AI, same level of stability. I know what I'm going to get. Some time the AI does dumb shit...sometimes it fights pretty well. He campaign isn't EU 4 but the AI does a decent job at creating alliances and such
Rome II's campaign map IRL, taken from my window on approach to landing at 08:00 this morning
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(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F800x600q90%2F36%2Fkldn.jpg&hash=f8a1ffc7d8271c06f14a336a2cdc4ae976334bd6) (https://imageshack.com/i/10kldnj)
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Nice pictures, UG!
If only we could time-warp and see the lands as they were then.
Nice bloom effects, must be murder on your graphics cards though :)
all to be ruined by some blue hooligans to the north
You get the treatment you deserve.
Nice pics Geek. Is it hard to fly a 747 and take pictures at the same time? You couldn't even spot War Elephants at that altitude. 8)
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 03, 2014, 09:36:37 AM
Nice pics Geek. Is it hard to fly a 747 and take pictures at the same time? You couldn't even spot War Elephants at that altitude. 8)
lol, my ass is sat in seat 30A - always the back, always the window
How were the peanuts? In 2009, my wife and I went to Isreal. The flight was non-stop from New Jersy to Tel Aviv-- 10 hours in the air. With children crying all 10 hours. I took 2 Benadryl and still could not sleep. How can a child cry for 10 straight hours?
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 03, 2014, 10:02:31 AM
How were the peanuts? In 2009, my wife and I went to Isreal. The flight was non-stop from New Jersy to Tel Aviv-- 10 hours in the air. With children crying all 10 hours. I took 2 Benadryl and still could not sleep. How can a child cry for 10 straight hours?
only 2 and a half hours flight for me from London
and having woken at 2:45 to get on it, i fell asleep before we took off
Ha good man
Quote from: Gusington on March 03, 2014, 10:40:30 AM
Ha good man
always watch the stewardess demo though, i do like it when they simulate blowing into the whistle for help
always good to fall asleep with images of a stewardesses blow job cheekbones
sigh
anyway, ahem..... WAR, PILLAGE, BURN
My flight was an ordeal made worse by the thought of having go through the same thing on the way back. But at least now I can say proudly that I have suffered for the people of Isreal.
I've been getting an occasional settlement box missing from the province UI box at the bottom. I think it happens more often when I use the command and period keys to cycle through my cities. One of them took a lot of selecting & deselecting before it came back. Happened three times during my new game as Carthage (which is still a diplomatic wreck at the start of the game just like Epirus, sadly).
i do have this, i get it when im trying to click on recruit units for an army in a city, it never brings up the units roster for me to choose from, end up having to go to another city to kind of wake up the UI and back to the original one again
I get that occasionally,maybe once every 12 hours of gameplay.
The disappearing UI elements must've been a bug introduced into the game in recent updates along the way. I didn't used to see it.
Supposedly another update coming up, I think. I may wait before delving very far.
I had that happen on occasion. I just click in a different city and it wakes it up
Funny I thought it came from mods :)
Quote from: Gusington on March 04, 2014, 06:05:50 PM
Funny I thought it came from mods :)
I'm still running a virgin vanilla Rome 2. ;)
Pop that cherry! All the cool kids are doing it.
I don't know... I am playing with Radious mods now and had been using DEI before. I kind of prefer vanilla because I can use the "realistic legionary tactics" mod. That mod does more to keep units in formation than any other...by far. But I started a radiois campaign so I will stick to it
Quote from: mikeck on March 04, 2014, 10:53:20 PM
I don't know... I am playing with Radious mods now and had been using DEI before. I kind of prefer vanilla because I can use the "realistic legionary tactics" mod. That mod does more to keep units in formation than any other...by far. But I started a radiois campaign so I will stick to it
But it only does so for the Roman legions, right? :-\
Correct
Quote from: mikeck on March 05, 2014, 01:16:52 PM
Correct
Well.. that won't do. Then it'll just imbalance everything towards Roman troops. ???
Quote from: mikeck on March 04, 2014, 05:20:17 PM
I had that happen on occasion. I just click in a different city and it wakes it up
Nah, that has been in since release.
Quote from: Nefaro on March 05, 2014, 01:18:06 PM
Quote from: mikeck on March 05, 2014, 01:16:52 PM
Correct
Well.. that won't do. Then it'll just imbalance everything towards Roman troops. ???
Depends on who you're fighting I suppose I mean when I'm fighting barbarians and my legions keep order and are able to rotate in ranks or form different formations and the barbarians or not that's pretty realistic. Now if I'm better able to keep formation is Romans then the Spartans are a Spartan hoplites that might be an issue but I don't think it's a big of a deal but it's not balancing issue we just helps to Romans maintain formation as they originally did and are supposed to do
Edit: there are other mods that do similar things for the Greek factions you could add that as well and balance it out
Quote from: mikeck on March 05, 2014, 05:01:23 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on March 05, 2014, 01:18:06 PM
Quote from: mikeck on March 05, 2014, 01:16:52 PM
Correct
Well.. that won't do. Then it'll just imbalance everything towards Roman troops. ???
Depends on who you're fighting I suppose I mean when I'm fighting barbarians and my legions keep order and are able to rotate in ranks or form different formations and the barbarians or not that's pretty realistic. Now if I'm better able to keep formation is Romans then the Spartans are a Spartan hoplites that might be an issue but I don't think it's a big of a deal but it's not balancing issue we just helps to Romans maintain formation as they originally did and are supposed to do
Edit: there are other mods that do similar things for the Greek factions you could add that as well and balance it out
Yeah, I would think that the formation cohesion modding should be done for the Greek and Macedonian-style armies too, which is quite a large amount of factions in Rome 2. Some of the Carthaginian units too.
I'd like to see better formation retention but it should be implemented for all the units that fought in formation. From what I previously read, nobody's been able to get them to do so very well - even the developer.
I can get along with the current vanilla iteration since the Shield Wall/Phalanx/Etc stance somewhat helps even though they move at a crawl.
Yeah byotches.
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Nice! Truly, the Iceni have achieved everlasting glory!
Got Sparta on the ropes, and then Athens, which is puny in this particular campaign...then I'm either calling it a day or going East.
I rarely play until I "win". I play until I convinced that there is no way I could lose. I'm not into the whole steamrole thing. That said, since Gus took so much pride in defeating my beloved Rome, I am going to make a special effort to destroy the Iceni. I was going to go after Greece(and still
Might) but I think a huge fleet and 3 legions might be enough to land on England and do some damage. My other 3 legions can hold down the fort and spar with the Greeks until the job is done.
Just took out Sparta and Athens too...scattered them like ashes :)
"♫ Dust in the Wind, all they are is... ♫"
(uh, sorry.)
Do the Iceni drive their chariots on the left or right side of the via Appia? ;D
The answer is: anywhere they effing please :)
Not if my heavy armored Romans have anything to say about it
They didn't last night when I diced them into teensy little bits.
Looks like the opera ain't over till the fat Carthaginian sings. ;)
Either Carthage, Pontus or Sparta will be my next campaign.
Quote from: Gusington on March 06, 2014, 03:37:19 PM
Either Carthage, Pontus or Sparta will be my next campaign.
Carthage can get brutal very quickly. I've started as Carthage twice and both games saw a steady stream of nations DOW'ing me shortly after starting. Rome is usually first followed by various African and Iberian tribes all around. You also only have some puppet states in NW Africa and they tend to move their armies disorganized and poorly, even when you give them an attack target. So be prepared for a steadily increasing dogpile very quickly.
I found Pontus to be a good balance of military and diplomatic challenges from the start. I've not played Pontus since shortly after release but it was a fun experience.
Dunno about Sparta. Haven't played them yet. You start off at war with Epirus and since that state always gets DOW'd by extras at the start, it doesn't last long. So it may be a race to beat other would-be conquerors to capturing Epirote settlements. Also watch out for the Athenians and Macedonians DOW'ing you after awhile, moreso if you manage to cap Epirus before Rome does.
Quote from: Gusington on March 06, 2014, 03:19:35 PM
They didn't last night when I diced them into teensy little bits.
Bastard
Perhaps it is time to have a game with Mickeck playing Rome, and Gus the Iceni? That would settle this quite nicely.
Anyone playing MP? IIRC people have said it's kind of weak, eh?
Thanks for the breakdown above Nef. I wanted to play Sparta for a long time for obvious reasons of badassery, but now Pontus is looking more interesting.
Yeah, unfortunately, my hours are so screwed up and inconsistent it's impossible for me to do MP games unless they are PBEM. So, we will just have to let history be our guide. Right now I am beating then crap out of the Libyans. I declared and their Ally Carthage didn't join in in their behalf. Shame...they're next
I did lose two full cohorts of heavy infantry when I forgot I sent them to the back of town. Like well disciplined legionaries..they stood there as they were pelted by libyan javelin guys until there were only a few left. What was funny were their shields, each shield had like 5 javelins poking out of it.
Carthage is hard, I've found the best thing to do is stab your allies in the face and take Libya and unite all Africa.... they have a shit ton of cash rolling in but if you're dow'd by any of the Saharan tribes your doomed.... that's what's happened to me..... hastily reversing out of there and considering Syracuse and stepping foot into Italy from the south
The tribes in the Sahara are...strong?
They're a Bitch to get to as the attrition rate swallows up any force not desert-friendly. I usually leave them alone if I can but now that we have Armored Camels--well.
Make them come to you.
That's what I'm afraid of. They'll ALL come. :-[
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 07, 2014, 12:48:27 PM
That's what I'm afraid of. They'll ALL come. :-[
Lmao this is exactly what happens - some kind of Saharan brotherhood thing going on
Now I have to play Carthage to see what the hullabaloo is about.
Quote from: Gusington on March 06, 2014, 07:15:04 PM
Anyone playing MP? IIRC people have said it's kind of weak, eh?
Thanks for the breakdown above Nef. I wanted to play Sparta for a long time for obvious reasons of badassery, but now Pontus is looking more interesting.
Pontus is fun. I've not played them extensively -- yet -- but I've played them enough that I'm comfortable recommending them. They're a pretty balanced faction, and they have an interesting starting location (at least I think they do). Asia Minor and the Black Sea region represent a fascinating clash of cultures.
Quote from: Gusington on March 07, 2014, 02:11:30 PM
Now I have to play Carthage to see what the hullabaloo is about.
you cant handle the 'thage
^Punk. I think I can.
Pontus is looking better and better. But then I get to thinking if not Pontus, why not the Seleucids?
Gus, if you do play Carthage next, please have all those guys named Hannibal, Hanno, Hasdrubal, and Hamilicar take a last name so we can finally tell them apart would you? ;D
OK...their last name shall be Schwartz.
So, six months after buying Rome II, and 176 pages into this apparently unkillable thread, I finally had my first positive experience with this game tonight. Not sure what it was -- either the new graphics card I got in the interim, or possibly having my CPU reset to stock clock, entirely inadvertently, after a BIOS update -- but for the first time ever: Rome II did not crash on me. I fired it up completely on a whim, since I had more or less given up on it -- and I managed to get through the first parts of the Prologue. Perhaps it's finally fixed.
I even started fiddling with a grand campaign. And I begin to see why y'all seem to love this game so much. I'm impressed.
^We left a light on for you.
Thanks 8). I'm just glad I can move Rome II off my "Games I'm bitter I blew $60 on" list. Maybe it's been a while since I played a big studio AAA game,but the production values on this thing blow me away. Love the look, esp. little things like the 'ancient' unit and tech icons. And I turn music off on 99% of games I play, but love what this music adds.
Funny thing is when I first bought this game was over on the other forms listening to everybody scream and wail (justifiably in many cases) most of the people that seem to be having the biggest problems with people that have the super overclocked triple nipple grub caster 5000 GPU 70 watt phased array graphics cards and everything els...people that just had regular systems and regular processors didn't seem to be having much problems so maybe it was the overclocking? I don't know
Glad you get to enjoy it. Now, put on your big boy pants dump the tutorials start a grand campaign
Seriously though, what sucks is that there are still people out there just can't seem to get the game to run for whatever reason and they get frustrated and I understand it's unfortunate because I think they're missing the greatest total war game
Quote from: sandman2575 on March 07, 2014, 11:25:30 PM
Perhaps it's finally fixed.
Heyyy now!
I wouldn't go that far. :D
There are still some bugs needing squashed and more refinement needed here & there. But it's enjoyable.
Quote from: Nefaro on March 08, 2014, 11:51:54 AM
Quote from: sandman2575 on March 07, 2014, 11:25:30 PM
Perhaps it's finally fixed.
Heyyy now!
I wouldn't go that far. :D
There are still some bugs needing squashed and more refinement needed here & there. But it's enjoyable.
Always will be. It's light years ahead
If where it was at release and I loved it then. I was the only one but I did.
I still have my pom-poms and "go team" signs!
Quote from: sandman2575 on March 07, 2014, 11:25:30 PM
So, six months after buying Rome II, and 176 pages into this apparently unkillable thread, I finally had my first positive experience with this game tonight. Not sure what it was -- either the new graphics card I got in the interim, or possibly having my CPU reset to stock clock, entirely inadvertently, after a BIOS update -- but for the first time ever: Rome II did not crash on me. I fired it up completely on a whim, since I had more or less given up on it -- and I managed to get through the first parts of the Prologue. Perhaps it's finally fixed.
I even started fiddling with a grand campaign. And I begin to see why y'all seem to love this game so much. I'm impressed.
Awesome news,
sandman! Glad you're finally able to enjoy this superb game.
Yeah, I'm pretty pumped I can finally play. "Fixed" for me = not constantly crashing within 5 minutes of launching the game. I really wonder if my previously OC'd CPU was the culprit, or possibly the factory OC'd graphics card I was using (an evga 680 'FTW'), because as Mikeck says, lots of folks with suped-up hardware seemed to have a lot of trouble with Rome II -- I was among the bitchers on the CA forums. Who knows. Just glad it works now.
^That would explain why there are so many vitriolic haters. Suped-up rig = high chance of not being able to play. I think we have finally solved this mystery.
Funny thing is that seems to be a lot of the problem with X rebirthed to people like me who don't have any problems have just regular Dell computers with an Nvidia graphics card and whatever processor came with it run smooth this baby shit. the people that have stuttering and running 15 frames per second or the ones with the over-clocked super satellite battery poweredmodel 3000 nuclear powered graphics cards and 10 times overclocked double fist pumping action processor....so who knows
I think the AI diplomacy is much improved in room two as well. Nova Carthage declared war on me as did Libia I called for my ally Sparta's help. Before I could get much done sparta had sent to fleets off the coast of North Africa and had invaded Iol.. one of Libya cities. They also sunk to nova Carthage leads off the coast of Spain. I then asked Athens to joining my war in exchange for some money they did as well and immediately sent several fleets down to North Africa and blockaded two of Libya's cities. Can't really ask for more than that.
Now the AI will do some boneheaded things in the strategic game but I got to give credit where credit is due when it comes to helping you out they really do as opposed to past total more games where you would call your ally for help and they would basically do nothing
I have had similar positive AI behavior. Which further puzzles me with 1000s of complaints of stupid or braindead AI. It's really better than people give it credit for.
Yeah be careful if you give your allies a priority target as they will all get the same one. As the Seleucids, I was allied with the Medes and Pergamon. When Macedon declared war on me. I sent Pergamon a priority target of Pella and a couple of turns later here comes the Medes marching through my territory headed west to Macedon. When I cancelled the target they seemed confused and just hung around for awhile before heading back east. But generally allies now help a lot more.
^AI behavior like that makes me giddy.
How do you like the Seleucids?
Quote from: Gusington on March 08, 2014, 09:08:27 PM
I have had similar positive AI behavior. Which further puzzles me with 1000s of complaints of stupid or braindead AI. It's really better than people give it credit for.
Agreed. Not that I think the AI is brilliant or anything, but neither have I seen it do something overtly stupid (at least not very often)...and really, that's about all I ask for. Of course, the AI also does surprise and/or catches me off-guard on occasion as well, which makes me just as pleased as punch. :D
Don't get me wrong: I'm sure other folks really are seeing terrible AI, and I do feel bad for them. But honestly, I've just not had that problem much myself.
The Seleucids are fun. They play totally different from the other factions in that you start with large empire and everybody's trying to take it away from you. The eastern satraps are bound to revolt against you and the temptation is to send everything east to kick their asses but the real threat is closer. There's about a 50/50 chance Egypt will declare war on you right away and some form of united Greek states in Asia Minor will attack you or an ally shortly thereafter. You've got to be looking in all directions. It reminded me of playing the Ottoman Empire in ETW. But if you can get your economy going and stabilize the universal hatred everybody has of you, you can begin to turn it around. Once she gets it going, Seleucia can advance in multiple directions at once and payback those ungrateful Persians.
^Sounds quite sexy.
About the AI, I see a lot more competent behavior on the campaign map. To be totally fair, I have seen it act quite ridiculous in the tactical battles. But not all the time.
Agree Gus. When you don't have enemies at both ends of the map, and you give your allies a War Target, they usually do head for where you tell them and sometimes do quite well on their on without a target. And fortunately no totally unpredictable behavior like M2TW did.
At the risk of opening a can of worms --
Are any of you using mods to improve combat? I really dislike how battles seem to last about 5 minutes. And the unit blobbing is just not pleasant to behold.
There are a few mods over at TWC that look interesting --
CloseCombat -- Not an 'overhaul' mod, just addresses combat --
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?618795 (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?618795)
And then there are several overhaul mods. The one that seems most intriguing to me, in terms of creating a more realistic combat experience, is the Divide et Impera mod:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?2024-Divide-et-Impera-%28DeI%29 (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?2024-Divide-et-Impera-%28DeI%29)
I'm tempted to try Divide et Impera, although I worry it changes the base game too drastically, and may make the game too hard. The "Lines of Battle" and "STIM" mods are other possibilities.
Anyone using any of these?
(...Man, I always promise myself I'm not going to go mod crazy...and then this happens... every time...)
It's hard for it not to happen with the Steam workshop making it so easy. I love the DEI mod, just be warned that patches can make it unplayable, like any other mod.
Cool to hear you use DEI, Gus. Any thoughts on how it changes the battles? I'm really looking for something that allows for at least semi-realistic battlefield tactics, rather than the standard vanilla TW 'rush and blob' approach that wraps up battles in 5 minutes with 90% casualties inflicted on the loser.
if its just combat you want fixing, god knows how many pages back there is a good mod - a guy took out some of the combat animations that stops people blobbing or wondering off alone into a mob of enemy
Radious just updated his mod yesterday and removed the Forced March option for all factions. He said the AI wasn't handling it well, just walking into ambushes using it. I'm not sure I agree with this completely and judging by the response he's gotten, he may have to put it back in. Still a great mod though.
When Radious removed the forced march option I had an army in forced march mode in a saved game. When l loaded the game I could not get it out of the forced march mode. That was not pleasing.
Ah hah!!!! Same thing!! I couldn't figure out what happened. Maybe check the Radious forums. Luckily, I only had one army in forced march. I boarded a ship and unboarded it and it was fine. May also have to dissolve the army and start over???
Hope not. Let me know if there is a work around.
Quote from: Labbug on March 10, 2014, 03:16:02 PM
When Radious removed the forced march option I had an army in forced march mode in a saved game. When l loaded the game I could not get it out of the forced march mode. That was not pleasing.
Try uninstalling the mod....start your game....take the army out of forced march and then reinstall the mod.
Not sure why he got rid of it. Mid game I stopped using the full radious mod and went to using all parts except the battle mod...that way I could use the realistic legion tactics mod. Thought that had screwed the game up and I couldn't force march. Didn't realize it was intentional until I read your post
Quote from: mikeck on March 10, 2014, 03:32:00 PM
Quote from: Labbug on March 10, 2014, 03:16:02 PM
When Radious removed the forced march option I had an army in forced march mode in a saved game. When l loaded the game I could not get it out of the forced march mode. That was not pleasing.
Try uninstalling the mod....start your game....take the army out of forced march and then reinstall the mod.
Not sure why he got rid of it. Mid game I stopped using the full radious mod and went to using all parts except the battle mod...that way I could use the realistic legion tactics mod. Thought that had screwed the game up and I couldn't force march. Didn't realize it was intentional until I read your post
Thanks. I will see what I can do.
Steam forum says radius updated mod to allow removal From forced march so make sure your updated. Not sure I like this move. May go back to DEI
I really enjoyed DEI but it was at least a month ago that I tried it...had to stop it when patch 9 came out.
Quote from: Gusington on March 10, 2014, 04:51:27 PM
I really enjoyed DEI but it was at least a month ago that I tried it...had to stop it when patch 9 came out.
Same here...
Quote from: undercovergeek on March 10, 2014, 02:07:33 PM
if its just combat you want fixing, god knows how many pages back there is a good mod - a guy took out some of the combat animations that stops people blobbing or wondering off alone into a mob of enemy
Sounds tempting, but I would warn against anything that removes or modifies the unit animations.
I recall previous versions of TW having their unit animations tied to their combat performance. Attack rate, damage and/or other such things. CA even had combat animation bug fixes listed in at least one update, because they weren't properly completing and therefore the proper damage was not being done. Two-handed swordsmen in M2TW is was one instance of this.
If he managed to eliminate them equally across units, then perhaps he just lowered how much damage they were doing over time. But I'd be wary about such fixes imbalancing the combat effictiveness of certain unit types compared to others. For all we know, such a mod could make axe-wielding units' damage drop by a higher percentage than spears, for example, because their attack animations are different.
I know the mod he's talking about but I don't believe it is necessary anymore because CA has fixed the problem. The mod work actually very well it kept them from teaming up one person against another person. So you're one Roman would chase that one barbarian all through the formation trying to kill him... that's how the formations were getting messed up... It didn't really do anything to the animations themselves it just stopped your guy from following the other guy
Even vanilla now my Roman cohort seem to maintain a pretty tight formation. Eventually it gets messed up but I seriously doubt an actual warfare that the line stayed perfectly straight.
This mod is my favorite and I think does the best job keeping a cohesive tight formation. It also adds several different types of formations like "wedge" and things like that to your infantry
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=223973502&searchtext=
I thought he said that some animations were removed in that other mod? ???
Is that not the case after all?
Quote from: Nefaro on March 11, 2014, 01:02:01 PM
I thought he said that some animations were removed in that other mod? ???
Is that not the case after all?
im sure he said hed removed some animations - but the result is what Mikeck describes, it stopped the break up of your formations as individulas went wandering into the mob only to find themselves stuck and trying to work their way back - at no time was weapon damage/effectiveness discussed or complained about in the mods comments
I'm done with the big overhaul mods. I'm about 60 turns into what is shaping up to be a great campaign. Then CA releases patch 10 beta and radious updates his mod for the newly released beta. Now I can't continue my campaign. Second time that has happened. Think I will stick with vanilla so I can finish a campaign. Arg
Quote from: mikeck on March 11, 2014, 06:07:23 PM
I'm done with the big overhaul mods. I'm about 60 turns into what is shaping up to be a great campaign. Then CA releases patch 10 beta and radious updates his mod for the newly released beta. Now I can't continue my campaign. Second time that has happened. Think I will stick with vanilla so I can finish a campaign. Arg
oh man youre kidding!
whats 10 got?
Patch 10 is out???
Patch 10 beta announcement (http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/123466-Patch-10-in-public-beta-now)
Quote
Performance improvements
General performance improvements:
Additional Support for AMD Crossfire multi-GPU configs.
Further improvements to GPU performance and reduction in CPU-bottlenecks for all configs.
Improved core Battle performance scenarios.
Resolved CPU core-affinity threading issue.
Implemented borderless window when running at desktop resolution in Windowed mode.
There is no longer an upper limit on the graphics settings that a user can select in the frontend. Previously if the game determined that a user's machine was low-end then it would not allow them to select high graphics settings. This limitation is now gone. Note that selecting high graphics settings on low-end machines will negatively affect performance.
Improved consistency of reflections on shiny textures.
'Unlimited Video Memory' option improvements:
Unlimited Video Memory is now selectable for all integrated GPUs running on 64-bit operating systems from Windows Vista onward. Integrated GPUs use system memory as video memory at all times, as they have no dedicated video memory of their own. This code change now allows our integrated GPU customers to use all of their system memory as video memory. When Unlimited Video Memory is enabled, discrete GPUs use system memory as an extension of their dedicated GPU video memory, when their dedicated video memory is not enough to run at their chosen graphics quality settings. Please be advised that in both cases, using system memory as GPU video memory can impact performance as it is generally not as fast as dedicated GPU video memory. Also, if system memory runs low (or out), the user's hard drive will be paged, resulting in reduced framerates.
For users running on an integrated GPU in 64-bit Windows (Vista onwards), with Unlimited Video Memory available but not selected, we have increased the amount of video memory that the game sees from 800MB to 1024MB.
Fixed an issue causing Unlimited Video Memory to be unavailable for users with certain discrete video cards.
Fixed an issue that was causing Unlimited Video Memory to become disabled on some multi-GPU configurations.
Battle performance improvements:
Eliminated battle pathfinding performance spike which caused battles to stutter.
Addressed a crash in siege battles which occurred on some maps after breaching walls with artillery.
Addressed a crash in Egyptian Large City battle caused by the map data.
Addressed a crash caused by squads within the same unit attempting to use different formations.
Fixed a UI lock-up when opening the steam overlay during the introduction sequence at the start of an ambush battle (while defending).
Gameplay Improvements
Battle AI improvements:
Fixed an issue which could cause the attacking siege AI to stall when attempting to breach the walls with artillery.
Improved coordination of AI defenders in city, port and town battles when they are outside the settlement. This improves the behaviour of disembarked naval units and reinforcement armies.
Addressed an issue which caused disembarked naval AI defenders in siege battles to become inactive.
Improved the battle AI's ability to predict the outcome of combat actions, allowing it to better commit its troops in combat.
Battle AI in field battles is now encouraged to outflank earlier when necessary.
General battle improvements:
Improved ladder docking in Rome city map.
Addressed collision gaps in fort walls caused by auxiliary buildings, which sometimes allowed units to pass through walls.
Prevented siege ladders/towers being pushed into the wall of a settlement on the battlefield.
Settlement gates no longer close on friendly units during battles.
Smoothed uneven terrain under a dockable wall in Egyptian port battle map.
Fixed wall in large Barbarian city map.
Fixed floating buildings in some Roman City and Barbarian battle maps.
General Campaign improvements:
Improvements made to the campaign auto-resolver's modelling of melee-based infantry, which corrects a wide range of auto-resolver imbalances.
In campaign mode, garrisoned Hastati will now upgrade correctly after researching the 'Cohort Organization' technology, which converts Hastati to Legionaries.
Slave army leaders will no longer always look Hellenic in Campaign mode.
Unit cards no longer appear outside of the merge window UI while merging units in campaign modes.
Settlement labels in Campaign modes now consistently display the diplomatic relationship status that is currently held with the owning faction. Red = War, Blue = Allied With, Grey = neutral.
Improvements made to the accuracy of the unit tooltip threat indicator in the battle UI.
Cinematic Mode shortcut key now works consistently in different languages.
Usability Improvements
Addressed a number of minor audio issues.
Battlefield death animations no longer with the victim in a kneeling pose.
Category icon no longer incorrectly appears on elephant units once the unit is out of control.
Giggity...I am hoping this can get rid of that annoying video memory prompt I get every so often.
How do I opt into the beta again on Steam? I always forget.
Quote from: mikeck on March 11, 2014, 06:07:23 PM
I'm done with the big overhaul mods. I'm about 60 turns into what is shaping up to be a great campaign. Then CA releases patch 10 beta and radious updates his mod for the newly released beta. Now I can't continue my campaign. Second time that has happened. Think I will stick with vanilla so I can finish a campaign. Arg
This is why I've not even bothered modding mine. Fargin Steam updates jacking things up. :-[
Quote from: Gusington on March 11, 2014, 09:13:37 PM
Giggity...I am hoping this can get rid of that annoying video memory prompt I get every so often.
Same here. I'm almost more excited about the performance improvements than I am the gameplay improvements (although naturally I look forward to those as well).
Quote from: Gusington on March 11, 2014, 09:13:37 PM
How do I opt into the beta again on Steam? I always forget.
Well if you'd just read the post I linked to... :P
QuotePatch 10 is Build 10069.512334 - you can opt into it by selecting the Patch 10 Beta option in your Steam client (look under the betas tab).
1) In the Steam Games Library, right-click "Total War: ROME II" and select "Properties".
2) In the properties window, select the "BETAS" tab.
3) In the "Select the beta you would like to opt into:" drop-down box, select "patch10beta".
^Ah thanks. Positive I will use it now and then forget about it for the next patch :)
Think I'm gonna wait for the public release on patch 10. I'm reasonably satisfied with the game as it is currently, and see no need to constantly restart my campaign even more than I already do. :P
Quote from: Gusington on March 12, 2014, 05:38:54 AM
^Ah thanks. Positive I will use it now and then forget about it for the next patch :)
As will I, I'm sure. ::)
If you don't have mods, do you have to restart with a new patch? I thought they were save game compatible most of the time.
I hear the Patch 10 changes include a more pure color of blue eyeshade for the Iceni. It's called "Gusington Blue". ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: Gusington on March 12, 2014, 07:52:26 AM
If you don't have mods, do you have to restart with a new patch? I thought they were save game compatible most of the time.
They should be, but there may be some fixes in updates, which adjust the starting values of various things, that won't be included until you start a new campaign. This has been my experience with patches for many games in general, but it's not always the case with every one.
The problem for me isn't the beta patch really because I haven't opted into it. I generally don't opt into beta patches unless I'm really having performance issues and with this game, I'm not;so I'll wait till it's released. My problem is that radius has altered his mods to only work with patch 10 and from what I understand they will longer work with games using patch nine...and since I'm using radious' mods and patch nine I'm kind of screwed.
No matter, my current game with radious mod I've got like 30,000 gold coins and I get about 10,000 a year. I've got 10 legions and I'm getting ready to steamroll everyone so it's about time to start over . I'll try vanilla on hard this time have a couple Mods to make the graphics pretty and off I go
Pontus beckons...as do the Seleucids...and Parthians...
Quote from: Gusington on March 12, 2014, 07:52:26 AM
If you don't have mods, do you have to restart with a new patch? I thought they were save game compatible most of the time.
Dunno. But upgrading the game from patch 9 to 10 and then upgrading an overhaul mod is bound to play some havoc with an old save I would think
^Right, with a mod. I had that happen to me more than once. But I don't think it's necessarily the case with patches only. I've been away from Rome 2 for a week but it's draw is strong. Might be back sooner than I planned...for Pontus.
Quote from: Gusington on March 12, 2014, 07:32:12 PM
^Right, with a mod. I had that happen to me more than once. But I don't think it's necessarily the case with patches only. I've been away from Rome 2 for a week but it's draw is strong. Might be back sooner than I planned...for Pontus.
Correct...you shouldn't have a problem going from vanilla 9 to vanilla 10. I have not done so as I don't like using beta patches unless something is really wrong.
Blast it all to Hades! With these damn blue screen crashes lately. >:(
Was either an Nvidia driver update, a recent game update, or both. No mods.. ever.. on this computer, so it's just a bug. A nasty one.
Been wanting to play some Rome 2 as Egypt, Parthia, and numerous others but the only suggestion left is to reinstall the game to my hard drive instead of my SSD and hope it straightens up. :-[ The base Steam folder is where we're supposed to install it - evidently Total War doesn't "run very good" if it's installed anywhere but the default location.
Eek...good luck. For reference I also had recent NVidia and game updates and have not had issues like that. Have mods too which update pretty regularly and the game has been stable.
Been all stable for me as well.. not sure if I've done the latest Nvidia update though.. one came out last week right?
I had a crash last night (my third since I started playing months ago) but it was after I had been playing about 3 hours and was during a huge battle...I suspect a RAM thing. Anyway, started back up and was fine.
Never had a blue screen...doesn't that usually indicate a problem with the memory or something? I've never had a game cause it but I don't know much about it.
Sorry your having such a hard time getting going on it.
I think the Blue-Screen thing is a left-over effect of Gus's Iceni victory. ;D Think about it. All my Roman characters in the game have British accents. See....
Quote from: Nefaro on March 20, 2014, 12:42:26 AM
Blast it all to Hades! With these damn blue screen crashes lately. >:(
Was either an Nvidia driver update, a recent game update, or both. No mods.. ever.. on this computer, so it's just a bug. A nasty one.
Don't suppose you have been overclocking your CPU or GPU of late, have you? BSOD is just infuriating -- hope you can track down the cause.
I've adopted a policy of staying at least one or two versions behind the latest whql nvidia driver. New releases always seem so buggy, and if the one you're using ain't broke...
BTW, do any of you use the Display Driver Uninstaller? It's not officially supported by Nvidia, but they host it on their forum. I've used it for several uninstalls / new installs of drivers and the thing really seems to work well -- https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/550192/geforce-drivers/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu-v12-6-0-released-03-17-14-/1/ (https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/550192/geforce-drivers/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu-v12-6-0-released-03-17-14-/1/)
On my laptop (which can't play Rome II) I started having BSOD's frequently.. they minidumps were pointing to Norton...
It wasn't Norton, I found out my fan needed to be cleaned out, it was overheating... Been fine since..
So you sure all your cooling is working properly? Also PSU could cause that if it's starting to go..
Quote from: sandman2575 on March 20, 2014, 08:49:20 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on March 20, 2014, 12:42:26 AM
Blast it all to Hades! With these damn blue screen crashes lately. >:(
Was either an Nvidia driver update, a recent game update, or both. No mods.. ever.. on this computer, so it's just a bug. A nasty one.
Don't suppose you have been overclocking your CPU or GPU of late, have you? BSOD is just infuriating -- hope you can track down the cause.
Naa.. I don't overclock for a couple reasons. One being stability.
QuoteI've adopted a policy of staying at least one or two versions behind the latest whql nvidia driver. New releases always seem so buggy, and if the one you're using ain't broke...
Yeah, I probably shouldn't have updated my Nvidia drivers as soon as they came out. I wouldn't be surprised if they're part of the issue since I've been reading of their recent driver problems. I should adopt the same rule.
QuoteBTW, do any of you use the Display Driver Uninstaller? It's not officially supported by Nvidia, but they host it on their forum. I've used it for several uninstalls / new installs of drivers and the thing really seems to work well -- https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/550192/geforce-drivers/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu-v12-6-0-released-03-17-14-/1/ (https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/550192/geforce-drivers/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu-v12-6-0-released-03-17-14-/1/)
I've used Driver Sweeper in the past but haven't had issues with leftovers in years (if ever). Admittedly, my previous computer had an AMD card and it's drivers never needed it. From the scuttlebutt it sounds like AMD's video driver releases have been more stable than Nvidia's in recent times. Oh, how things change.
As a last resort, I'll wipe my vid drivers and revert to an earlier driver version but I figured that I would try reinstalling to my main Steam folder since that was one suggestion put forth by CA's tech support for us. I suspect that won't stop them all since there's a massive thread on just such crashes from Nvidia users going back months. :-\
Thanks for the link.. I may use it if I reinstall my vid drivers and ditch the latest.
Quote from: mikeck on March 20, 2014, 08:13:19 AM
Never had a blue screen...doesn't that usually indicate a problem with the memory or something? I've never had a game cause it but I don't know much about it.
Sorry your having such a hard time getting going on it.
Blue screens on modern Windows OSes usually indicate a hardware issue, although this can be initiated by hardware driver issues in relation to specific programs. Since this computer is only a few months old, and hasn't had issues with other titles, I'm guessing it's just a driver 'splosion in Rome 2.
I'm just whining about having to spend time troubleshooting instead of playing. ;)
I switched out memory cards on an older desktop. Started getting BSOD so went back to the old ones....still got it. Never could find out what was wrong so I gave it to my daughter to use (doesn't so it a lot) and I had an excuse to get a new one.
It is a pain is the ass
The Iceni problem should have been sorted out. I finished them off in my Rome campaign last night...hmmmm... Don't understand ...
Quote from: mikeck on March 20, 2014, 09:06:08 AM
Never could find out what was wrong so I gave it to my daughter to use (doesn't so it a lot) and I had an excuse to get a new one.
This is the kind of ruthless problem-solving that makes great commanders. Well played, sir. ;D
As a Rome II newb, I had a nice "aha!" moment last night. A really nice touch: In the real-time battles, your general 'in the field' is actually the same figure as the general who shows up in the lower-left-hand window on the campaign interface. Obvious perhaps, but when I realized it, I had a genuine "that is really cool" gaming moment.
IIRC I think I have had two NVidia driver updates in the last two weeks. And the Iceni live forever.
Quote from: sandman2575 on March 20, 2014, 09:14:43 AM
Quote from: mikeck on March 20, 2014, 09:06:08 AM
Never could find out what was wrong so I gave it to my daughter to use (doesn't use it a lot) and so I had an excuse to get a new one.
This is the kind of ruthless problem-solving that makes great commanders. Well played, sir. ;D
Having served in an administrative capacity for the last five years, I have learned that a problem is no longer a problem if you can make it someone else's problem.
That and Mike's 3rd rule of agency dynamics: "pain shared is pain reduced"
Patch 10 is officially out now.
Quote from: Labbug on March 20, 2014, 01:17:30 PM
Patch 10 is officially out now.
Wish me luck, fellas. I'm goin in!
Hopefully my video card doesn't explode.
^LOL
Good luck! You're a better man than I, Gunga Nefaro :)
I'm playing offline...can anyone confirm that patch 9 games will work with patch 10
My vanilla patch 9 saved game is working fine. I don't know about DEI or Radious mod saves though.
Thanks. I'm playing vanilla with a few cosmetic mods
Patch 10 and Radious are working fine for me.
Great news tonight. Played a couple hours and no blue screen!
They must've fixed whatever issue I was having in this latest update. It seemed to only happen when I was rt-clicking to bring up the in-game Encyclopedia info on a unit or some such new UI window. Hopefully whatever bug it had been was squished and I won't see it again.
Even better news, I received my first large scale open field battle trouncing by the AI. Sure, they outnumbered me a bit but the big breakthrough in my mind was that it combined four of it's converging armies into a single cohesive double-line formation before marching on me. It also didn't just toss itself on my spears willy nilly, without a care. The battle AI actually did quite well. I'm not sure how well it's defensive siege AI has come along but if it's an improvement over last year's versions then it's progress.
What's more, I've played numerous turns in this new campaign I started tonight (Egypt) and I've not seen Epirus take it's usual early game fall. It seems like they've done some work on the Diplomacy in this update, which was needed. It may just be specifically Egypt, but I'm finding it easier to get trade agreements from the start, too.
So if this thing continues to hold up, I'm thinking of getting the Caesar in Gaul DLC and the upcoming Punic one. How many new Gallic tribes and units does the Caesar in Gaul DLC add? I've been wanting to play a Gallic campaign but one thing holding me back was what seemed to be a pretty thin variety of troop types for the one Gallic tribe in the base game. Is that somewhat remedied with the add-on?
Quote from: Labbug on March 20, 2014, 01:17:30 PM
Patch 10 is officially out now.
Yep, saw that earlier this morning. I restarted my Athens campaign (because I'm OCD that way ::) ). So far, so good!
Quote from: Nefaro on March 21, 2014, 02:03:11 AM
Great news tonight. Played a couple hours and no blue screen!
They must've fixed whatever issue I was having in this latest update. It seemed to only happen when I was rt-clicking to bring up the in-game Encyclopedia info on a unit or some such new UI window. Hopefully whatever bug it had been was squished and I won't see it again.
Huzzah! Great news indeed,
Nefaro. Glad to hear it.
Quote from: Nefaro on March 21, 2014, 02:03:11 AM
Even better news, I received my first large scale open field battle trouncing by the AI. Sure, they outnumbered me a bit but the big breakthrough in my mind was that it combined four of it's converging armies into a single cohesive double-line formation before marching on me. It also didn't just toss itself on my spears willy nilly, without a care. The battle AI actually did quite well. I'm not sure how well it's defensive siege AI has come along but if it's an improvement over last year's versions then it's progress.
Nice! I haven't had any battles yet, but I'll try to pay more attention to how the AI performs.
Quote from: Nefaro on March 21, 2014, 02:03:11 AM
What's more, I've played numerous turns in this new campaign I started tonight (Egypt) and I've not seen Epirus take it's usual early game fall.
That's because I'm not playing Athens in your game. ;D
Glad to hear you're up and running again, Nefaro --
I had my first military humiliation playing last night. Lost an entire legion to the Suebi (can you say Teutoborg Forest, anyone?). In my defense, I was outnumbered about 4-to-1, and it was a siege battle -- which, carrying on the dismal tradition of sieges in Empire TW, seems not to have been improved with Rome II.
Game becomes a slide-show for me in these big siege battles. Not sure if pathing issues are the problem, but my rig is plenty powerful enough to handle big battles (with DEI mod) otherwise. I may just start auto-resolving sieges from now on -- playing it through was just painful, and not just because my legion got slaughtered.
Quote from: sandman2575 on March 21, 2014, 09:29:03 AM
Game becomes a slide-show for me in these big siege battles. Not sure if pathing issues are the problem, but my rig is plenty powerful enough to handle big battles (with DEI mod) otherwise. I may just start auto-resolving sieges from now on -- playing it through was just painful, and not just because my legion got slaughtered.
Odd. The battles are where my computer takes a nap. For some reason the ridiculous effects on the campaign map make my vid card and/or processor fans spin up to high speed and stay there. Until a battle. Then they slow down to their lower idling speed, yet everything looks just fine. Kinda ass backwards, don't ya think?? ???
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the gfx craziness on the campaign map was helping contribute to my BSOD issue before. That's the only place it crashed. The campaign map post-processing also makes it look like petroleum jelly-smeared ass, anyway. That's likely the problem.
Wish I could turn off the post-processing on the campaign map.
Anyone here play Macedon? Anyone a fan?
Quote from: Gusington on March 21, 2014, 02:41:06 PM
Anyone here play Macedon? Anyone a fan?
I played a Macedon campaign breifly, but it was right after I'd been two Steppe Barbarian Types in a row and it just had no pizzaz.
I'm waiting for the Hannibal thing. Syracuse should be a fun faction in that one.
Quote from: Gusington on March 21, 2014, 02:41:06 PM
Anyone here play Macedon? Anyone a fan?
It's fun because you're sandwiched between Greek states that you may well end up fighting eventually, the various barbarians to the north, and you will quickly run into Pontus and the Seleucid clients in Asia Minor. However, it probably has the least unit variety of the successor kingdoms.
Creative Assembly has put up a Let's Play video of the
Hannibal at the Gates DLC:
I'm finding vanilla of it too easy the problem is when you move it up to hard early game is just insane with everybody attacking you and you never have money. I think I'm going to start over with the radius mod. I like DEI but he added this weird area of recruitment thing that just made it way too complicated
Hrmm..
I've begun to wonder about the AI's army building. I've been seeing AI factions with a full-sized army for every settlement they have, in my latest Egypt game. Often also a 6-to-10 unit navy, too. It's still early in the campaign. How the hell do they make any income with that kind of upkeep?! ???
I think my Vanilla Rome Campaign will be ending soon.. What faction should I play next?
Dammit I can't decide what faction to play. I like unit variety so I guess Macedon is out. I considered Pontus and Sparta I have been wanting to play forever. Looking at Bactria...exotic. Then I think it still may be too soon to jump back into Rome 2 after the epic Iceni campaign that ended only two weeks ago and think Shogun 2 may be better right now...sigh
I want Archers!
And I am going with Shogun 2. Now just have to decide between the Saga and the Jozai. This is exhausting.
Quote from: Nefaro on March 21, 2014, 07:31:47 PM
Hrmm..
I've begun to wonder about the AI's army building. I've been seeing AI factions with a full-sized army for every settlement they have, in my latest Egypt game. Often also a 6-to-10 unit navy, too. It's still early in the campaign. How the hell do they make any income with that kind of upkeep?! ???
They get a money bonus I believe...dependent on difficulty level. You have a brain so the AI gets money
Quote from: Gusington on March 21, 2014, 08:25:48 PM
Dammit I can't decide what faction to play. I like unit variety so I guess Macedon is out. I considered Pontus and Sparta I have been wanting to play forever. Looking at Bactria...exotic. Then I think it still may be too soon to jump back into Rome 2 after the epic Iceni campaign that ended only two weeks ago and think Shogun 2 may be better right now...sigh
Baktria has an issue with some of it's buildings creating Eastern culture, while others create Greek culture. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be that way as you'd just end up with some religious buildings fighting each other. So it doesn't make sense because you'd essentially be limiting yourself to only part of the religious buildings (and maybe some others) and you couldn't place the full variety without screwing up your culture.
I believe some other faction has a similar issue.
Quote from: mikeck on March 21, 2014, 09:53:39 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on March 21, 2014, 07:31:47 PM
Hrmm..
I've begun to wonder about the AI's army building. I've been seeing AI factions with a full-sized army for every settlement they have, in my latest Egypt game. Often also a 6-to-10 unit navy, too. It's still early in the campaign. How the hell do they make any income with that kind of upkeep?! ???
They get a money bonus I believe...dependent on difficulty level. You have a brain so the AI gets money
Ahh.. that's what I was wondering - whether the AI got cheats on "Normal" difficulty. That seemed to be the case but I didn't see it mentioned anywhere. I'd prefer such adjustments be openly mentioned in the game.
Thankful for some small mods.
I added the Black Marble UI background mod. Fargsticks, I absolutely hated those plastic-looking backgrounds they used in Rome 2. It looks FAR better and fits the theme now.
I also just started using the mod that removes clouds from the campaign map. Makes scrolling & performance much better, not to mention my video card's fan runs a bit less maniacally now too. I still have no mf'ing idea why CA added clouds over the campaign map, sometimes even getting in the way of your zoomed-out view. Ridic-u-rous!
I think I will be grabbing those last two you mentioned. They sound almost like must-haves.
What you don't like cute puffy clouds? ::)
The crushing impact it has on my game speed. And all that.
I don't think Vsync even works properly on the campaign map. I still get some tearing when moving the view on it. It was like that in Shogun 2 but I think they gunked it up even more in Rome 2.
The game has been enjoyable despite the blatantly ramped-up AI cheat(s). What can piss me off the most is the horde of General Assassination spamming the AI agents do every turn. Just when I thought their massively oversized armies' upkeep must surely suck up all their income, they keep spending extra money on constant assassinations. ::)
I wouldn't care as much but the stupid senate/ruling house mechanics in your own gov't means that you'll eventually run out of family members or have to spend all your influence on birthing new ones to replace the assassinated ones. The two game mechanics just don't work well together at all.
If by AI cheat you mean "extra bonuses in money or ability" then that is no different than other TW games. I haven't had graphics issues like tearing and such. BUT, you get a money bonus too...if you like at your income, you will see "other": that's the bonus. Unfortunately, the TW AI is what it is at this point. They have to get more money than you and maybe morale bonuses and such. I will say that the AI in Rome 2 is just as good as Shogun 2 and better than any of the gunpowder games. AI always had problems with gunpowder units.
Anyway, are you running GEM or another mod that ramps up graphics? Others have had that problem....I have been very lucky. For me, Rome 2 and x rebirth both worked (graphics wise) smoothly for me since purchase.
I wish I could recommend a mod that will improve AI and remove bonuses but there aren't any. Lots of mods so tweak the AI here and there in regards to what units are built and how they deploy on the battlefield, but they are tweaks
I have a question it might be best suited to aniother thread but at 183 pages this one is difficult to scan to see what the current status is.
1. Is Vanilla worth playing at all (so far I have just done the prologue)
2. What are some good Graphical mods only if vanilla is OK
3. What are the other Mods that are deemed essential if you want to change the gameplay to make it more realistic etc.
Thanks for the replies and sorry if it was already posted somewhere in this Homeric Odyssey of a thread :D
Con
1. Totally.
2. What faction are you thinking of playing? There are a lot of faction-specific graphics mods. I also recommend the cloud-removal mod for the campaign mode.
3. I like the 2 or 4 turns per year mod, 4 seasons mod and research adjustments mod that go along with them. Search the mod shop on Steam and you'll find the highest rated ones.
1. Yes, vanilla is good. As a matter of fact, this and Shogun 2 are the only TW games I play vanilla. Of course, mods make it better, but you can enjoy the game with vanilla.
2. I would look at radious' mods. You can get the big one which includes everything or get them separately cafeteria style. He has one that removes clouds and swirly icons from the campaign map and such. There is also GEM which actually improves the sharpness and look of the game. If you go to the Steam Workshop, you can find tons of graphics mods that change the UI, cards and unit skins.
I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND using a 4 turn per year mod (many big ones like radious include it or you can grab 4TPY from the workshop) along with a "seasons effects mod". The first allows you to build up generals that have specific skills and such without them dying every ten turns. The latter adds a lot of immersion as you get a different look to the campaign map depending on the season including rain and snow. Also, some add actual statistical effects depending on the season: more food during autumn harvest, more money during summer due to trade, etc. Again, search the workshop for "season"
3. As for a mandatory mod a'la Darthmod for Empire...not really although Radious' mod is good. DEI was a fantastic mod until they tried to get cute and made this weird area recruitment thing. It might turn out ok but it needs a bit of work.
Anyway, if you are going to play Rome, I would recommend skipping any battle mods and going with "realistic legionary tactics": it is better than any mode I have used at keeping formations and adds a whole bunch of unit formations...big to mention fire at will pilum use by legions.
Quote from: mikeck on March 23, 2014, 06:23:45 PM
If by AI cheat you mean "extra bonuses in money or ability" then that is no different than other TW games.
I wouldn't have mentioned it but I get the impression that they cranked it up further in Rome 2. The amount of units the AI is fielding has been noticeably larger than the rest. Even larger than when Rome 2 was first released. I have a sneaking suspicion they further raised it in a patch.
No worries on the gameplay end. I'll just have to adjust my gameplay strategies and go all out on military spending whereas before it was usually some mix between that and building progression. I just feel like I'm being pushed out of my normal Total War campaign strategy because the developers wanted to make it more difficult for those players who just go balls-to-the-wall military spending on massive armies. Judging by the change, I suppose those are the same players who had been complaining the most.
Quote from: Nefaro on March 23, 2014, 09:12:43 PM
Quote from: mikeck on March 23, 2014, 06:23:45 PM
If by AI cheat you mean "extra bonuses in money or ability" then that is no different than other TW games.
I wouldn't have mentioned it but I get the impression that they cranked it up further in Rome 2. The amount of units the AI is fielding has been noticeably larger than the rest. Even larger than when Rome 2 was first released. I have a sneaking suspicion they further raised it in a patch.
No worries on the gameplay end. I'll just have to adjust my gameplay strategies and go all out on military spending whereas before it was usually some mix between that and building progression. I just feel like I'm being pushed out of my normal Total War campaign strategy because the developers wanted to make it more difficult for those players who just go balls-to-the-wall military spending on massive armies. Judging by the change, I suppose those are the same players who had been complaining the most.
You may be right about this one allowing the AI more bonuses. Truthfully, I've never really looked into it. Either I'm challenged by the AI, or I'm not. I do understand why it would grate with some though. Ideally we all want an AI in the total war series that is half as good as advertised. Sadly, if you don't know by now, it's a lower priority. I suppose if anyone thought they could do better, they would.
There always comes a time though when I've had enough and shelve it....usually because I'm not challenged and I know what the AI is going to do. I then go and play a game like Scourge of War that has good AI and give myself a challenge.
Quote from: Nefaro on March 23, 2014, 09:12:43 PM
Quote from: mikeck on March 23, 2014, 06:23:45 PM
If by AI cheat you mean "extra bonuses in money or ability" then that is no different than other TW games.
I wouldn't have mentioned it but I get the impression that they cranked it up further in Rome 2. The amount of units the AI is fielding has been noticeably larger than the rest. Even larger than when Rome 2 was first released. I have a sneaking suspicion they further raised it in a patch.
No worries on the gameplay end. I'll just have to adjust my gameplay strategies and go all out on military spending whereas before it was usually some mix between that and building progression. I just feel like I'm being pushed out of my normal Total War campaign strategy because the developers wanted to make it more difficult for those players who just go balls-to-the-wall military spending on massive armies. Judging by the change, I suppose those are the same players who had been complaining the most.
In some campaign recently (I think I was Pontus in fact), I noticed the AI had huge numbers of remarkably crappy troops...yes it was Macedon with dozens of Illyrian Slave-slingers or something. Those troops might have been good for seiges, but in open country the Pontine Cavalry ran over the the Slave-slingers pretty fast.
My impression is that the AI has some basic moves that would tend to impede an attempt to overwhelm them with masses of poor troops, but the average player shouldn't have too much trouble buying some cavalry and a few good ships.
Quote from: Con on March 23, 2014, 06:33:30 PM
3. What are the other Mods that are deemed essential if you want to change the gameplay to make it more realistic etc.
I'm still on the lookout for a really good combat mod. I tried CloseCombat but didn't see a whole lotta difference from vanilla. Mostly I want something that makes the battles last longer -- these battles that feature 6K troops that last all of 10 minutes are kinda depressing. There's an intriguing "Lines of Battle" mod that might have been up my alley, but it apparently makes the battles *too* long (like 45 min+). Would love to find the sweetspot around 30 minute battles.
A plug for the DEI mod. It doesn't feel to me like a radical departure from vanilla, just a deeper version (in ways that I think are good rather than tedious). There's also an "Ancient Battle Realism" submod for DEI that I'm dying to try out, but it needs to be updated to the latest DEI version.
Yep. I use radious AI mod because it really seems to help the AI build better quality armies
I've been seeing some decent troops in the AI armies. Not all of them, but there is at least a few core higher quality ones even in the minor unplayable ones. Some, like the Greek or Macedonian AI armies, have a large amount of quality units in them.
I'm not sure if they recently improved this in a patch or if it was often the case. They've always tended to go a bit heavy on the ranged skirmishers but when they can field about two full armies per settlement and march them out in support of each other, the ratio doesn't matter so much anymore.
Quote from: Nefaro on March 24, 2014, 02:25:34 PM
I've been seeing some decent troops in the AI armies. Not all of them, but there is at least a few core higher quality ones even in the minor unplayable ones. Some, like the Greek or Macedonian AI armies, have a large amount of quality units in them.
I'm not sure if they recently improved this in a patch or if it was often the case. They've always tended to go a bit heavy on the ranged skirmishers but when they can field about two full armies per settlement and march them out in support of each other, the ratio doesn't matter so much anymore.
About a month ago, as Rome, I had one high quality army. I would send it in forced march to just in range of an enemy army. It would be compelled to ambush the high quality force and would be more or less destroyed. Anyway, no matter how numerous the AI, there are lots of ways to beat it.
Still, nothing is more annoying than realizing halfway through a battle, that two of your cohorts are almost dead...only to find that they were standing at attention while being pelted to death by peltasts or rock slingers while you attention was elsewhere on the battlefield.
That has definitely happened to me. Playing Shogun 2 now after long play of Rome 2, and even though I like Rome 2 a lot, IMHO Shogun 2 is still the better game. More variety and interesting things to do in Rome 2, but Shogun 2 feels more expertly crafted, for lack of a better phrase.
Quote from: Gusington on March 24, 2014, 02:55:28 PM
That has definitely happened to me. Playing Shogun 2 now after long play of Rome 2, and even though I like Rome 2 a lot, IMHO Shogun 2 is still the better game. More variety and interesting things to do in Rome 2, but Shogun 2 feels more expertly crafted, for lack of a better phrase.
Yeah. I still think the gameplay in Shogun 2 was the best even though I much prefer the setting and unit variety in Rome 2. Despite my love for the subject matter in Rome 2, I know that I was much more enamored of the gameplay in Shogun 2, since I played a long campaign non-stop all the way to the finish when I first got that one. I had never done that so ravenously in
any of the Total War games, going back to the first.
It's obvious that Rome 2 was released before it was finished, and there were some needless changes to the game mechanics since Shogun 2. To add to that problem, I don't think some of the new mechanics were playtested and rebalanced enough. Although they removed one such bad mechanic with those damn flags, there are other systems which need to be reviewed.
It still hasn't quite captured as much enjoyment as Shogun 2 did, but I'm hoping they continue to improve it. It's a playable and enjoyable game, now that they've updated it, but it still needs some refinement in areas. I'm also happy that it's now challenging, although it's also frustrating because part of that challenge has come from the unfortunate practice of boosting the AI's extra "cheats".
I'm not trying to stomp on anyone's sacred cow, I just wanted to express my opinion that it's still not quite up to Shogun 2 standards (mostly due to campaign-side stuff at the moment) and I dearly hope they don't drop further development in favor of their next title before this one is finished (like they did with ETW).
I have a similar take. While I do love Japanese history, there is potential in Rome 2 to be greater than Shogun 2. Shogun 2 was great much quicker though, without the need of so many patches.
I agree. I think Shogun 2 was at release- and still is now- more...."polished" and "refined". There is just something about the art and the flowers and such that is just beautiful. Rome 2 lacks that. I prefer the latter because I enjoy the time period. In contrast, I have no interest in feudal japan.
Alas, Rome 2 does have that "one more turn" feel to me. Every night I sit down for an hour or so of gaming I end up playing it. For the last 5 nights, I sat down to play Command and/or Flashpoint Campaigns" but ended up saying " I will just play a turn or two of Rome"...2 hours later...
I am probably the biggest advocate and fan of this game on this forum, but I acknowledge that it had issues at birth (although not as many as some made out) and will never have that feel and look that Shogun 2 has. Like all TW games, I eventually get tired of the lack of realism and true challenge.
Actually, the main reason I jumped to the games defense was that I thought- even at release- it was a good game with cool new ideas. Because it was different, a lot of people over at TWcenter and total war forums started attacking it and claiming that every bug was game breaking. Even at wargamer I got pummeled when I defended it. I didn't want people here to miss out on a game they would like because of a bunch of 15 year olds bitching about this or that.
Quote from: mikeck on March 24, 2014, 02:49:02 PM
Still, nothing is more annoying than realizing halfway through a battle, that two of your cohorts are almost dead...only to find that they were standing at attention while being pelted to death by peltasts or rock slingers while you attention was elsewhere on the battlefield.
This is one way that having a high quality force cause the enemy to ambush it is worthwhile: the enemy is always right there and you just have to do some attacking and pursuing. I usually don't have many missile troops in quality armies which sort of simplifies getting ambushed as well.
Quote from: Nefaro on March 24, 2014, 04:09:07 PM
Quote from: Gusington on March 24, 2014, 02:55:28 PM
That has definitely happened to me. Playing Shogun 2 now after long play of Rome 2, and even though I like Rome 2 a lot, IMHO Shogun 2 is still the better game. More variety and interesting things to do in Rome 2, but Shogun 2 feels more expertly crafted, for lack of a better phrase.
Yeah. I still think the gameplay in Shogun 2 was the best even though I much prefer the setting and unit variety in Rome 2. Despite my love for the subject matter in Rome 2, I know that I was much more enamored of the gameplay in Shogun 2, since I played a long campaign non-stop all the way to the finish when I first got that one. I had never done that so ravenously in any of the Total War games, going back to the first.
It's obvious that Rome 2 was released before it was finished, and there were some needless changes to the game mechanics since Shogun 2. To add to that problem, I don't think some of the new mechanics were playtested and rebalanced enough. Although they removed one such bad mechanic with those damn flags, there are other systems which need to be reviewed.
It still hasn't quite captured as much enjoyment as Shogun 2 did, but I'm hoping they continue to improve it. It's a playable and enjoyable game, now that they've updated it, but it still needs some refinement in areas. I'm also happy that it's now challenging, although it's also frustrating because part of that challenge has come from the unfortunate practice of boosting the AI's extra "cheats".
I'm not trying to stomp on anyone's sacred cow, I just wanted to express my opinion that it's still not quite up to Shogun 2 standards (mostly due to campaign-side stuff at the moment) and I dearly hope they don't drop further development in favor of their next title before this one is finished (like they did with ETW).
I agree that Shogun2 was pretty astounding. In fact, having played EmpireTW, I was going to skip any more TW games. Then for some reason I played the Shogun2 demo and I was converted instantly into a raving fanboi of TW.
I agree that Rome II has a long way to go, but it has lots of potential. I hope the Totally Punic War DLC is better than the Gaul DLC.
I loved Shogun except for one thing, the dreaded Realm Divide. Darthmod tamed it quite a bit but vanilla I couldn't handle and quit. I miss being able to destroy my enemies regional buildings in Rome 2 the way you could in Shogun as well as using an agent to bribe a whole enemy army over to my side.
Lol...I do miss bribing armies. However, there are several manipulation options I like in Rome also...like scaring the enemy army, ambushing a unit on patrol, etc
You can still bribe enemy agents over to your side, and with the amount that the AI can spam at you that (or assassination) is recommended in liberal amounts.
Patch 11 out today and after some new hoops to jump through, is playable in vanilla. Radious mod is dead again even though it was just updated today also. 2000 New changes according to him and after some more work will again be playable soon. Good thing his mod is worth the wait. For now it's back to my vanilla saves. Is this now officially the most patched game in history? >:( >:( >:(
I left Caesar in Gaul... wonder how he is doing. I am currently doing a couple of play throughs then back to this one and now that another large patch is out, timing seems right. Playing Qvadriga has made me want to play again....
PE
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 26, 2014, 12:20:20 PM
Patch 11 out today
???
Am i the only one who had no idea
another patch was in the works.... Wasn't patch 10 released like, a couple of days ago???
So much for my DEI campaign...*sigh*
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 26, 2014, 12:20:20 PM
Patch 11 out today and after some new hoops to jump through, is playable in vanilla. Radious mod is dead again even though it was just updated today also. 2000 New changes according to him and after some more work will again be playable soon. Good thing his mod is worth the wait. For now it's back to my vanilla saves. Is this now officially the most patched game in history? >:( >:( >:(
I guess I prefer as many patches as possible. CLOD was the opposite and it took years for it to work. While Rome II has been working all along, I've found the constant patching something of an inspiration. Possibly this one makes the game compatable with the Punic war DLC?
Quote from: MengJiao on March 26, 2014, 12:55:35 PM
Possibly this one makes the game compatable with the Punic war DLC?
That must be it. Silly me -- I didn't realize new DLC meant yet more tweaks to the base game... :-\
Still screws up the mods in my current game... Hopefully this is just the beta I can opt out
Quote from: sandman2575 on March 26, 2014, 12:45:23 PM
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 26, 2014, 12:20:20 PM
Patch 11 out today
???
Am i the only one who had no idea another patch was in the works.... Wasn't patch 10 released like, a couple of days ago???
So much for my DEI campaign...*sigh*
Yeah.. I had just added a small battle mod and started a new campaign a couple days ago. Should've known they would release a big update as soon as that happened.
Apparently it is a pretty big patch it had seasons and wonders but here's the stupid part: instead of making it four times per year ( like everyone has modded it to anyway) they have the four seasons alternate year-by-year... So this year its summer, next year it'll be autumn, the year after that it's winter time.
Of course they recommend starting a new game and apparently a lot of people are having difficulty starting the game up at all if they use any kind of mod. this is very very frustrating. they just released patch 10 a couple weeks ago! I haven't even completed a full game with patch 10 yet and I have to start over? Arrgghhhhh
Hannibal at the Gates is out tomorrow IIRC...which means I have to tidy up my Shogun 2 campaign. Didn't take me long to miss Rome II.
Quote from: Gusington on March 26, 2014, 05:37:14 PM
Hannibal at the Gates is out tomorrow IIRC...which means I have to tidy up my Shogun 2 campaign. Didn't take me long to miss Rome II.
This also means there will probably be more patches afterward.
Think I'll do some AJE/BOR and HPS' Punic/Gallic/Alexandrian/Greek-Persian Wars until the smoke settles again. Oh.. and Great Battles Collector's Edition.
I seem to have plenty turn-based tactical computer games for the period. :D
^Which do you like best? I ask because my interest in ancients is just beginning and I don't have any ancients games besides Rome TW.
Okay I installed the patch in the game starts but I can't run any of the mods I subscribe to them and steam workshop but none of them activate in the game including the four times per turn mod. I have it installed. Radious mods not activating (still have vanilla money and army allowances
Anyone else have this
Tried re downloading but the bar stays black and nothing gets downloaded...maybe a steam issue
I have had that happen a few times before. I restarted my machine and then things started moving again.
I restated steam. Now it can't get a connection. They need to get their &"$! Together. This "steam is down" crap is getting real old real fast.
Screw it, I going to play Dominions 4 and maybe command
Did you restart your machine?
Quote from: Gusington on March 26, 2014, 06:06:09 PM
Did you restart your machine?
No need. I just confirmed that steam is indeed down on that website so that's the problem; you can't load the mods up that Have updated
Quote from: Gusington on March 26, 2014, 05:44:45 PM
^Which do you like best? I ask because my interest in ancients is just beginning and I don't have any ancients games besides Rome TW.
My long-term favorite has been the
Great Battles Collector's Edition (available at GOG). The sprite art isn't as pretty as the Ancient Warfare series from HPS, but it's not puke-ugly so I'm fine with that. It's big advantage is it's game system, which is based on a tabletop. Since you don't have to mess with the game mechanics, it makes the Great Battles games very easy to get into as there are very few stat numbers and such to worry about. It's focused more on moving, attacking, and trying to keep your troops ordered and in the fight. There aren't many essential commands; rotate facing, move, restore cohesion are the ones you'll use most of the time (along with a Group command of the same sort). Each of your units are under the command of a specific commander and that is how turn activation is done.. per commander.. so there will be different sections of your army alternating movement with the other side's. That may not be as evenly fluid as a WEGO system but it seems to make for more playtime and less long periods of watching or waiting for a turn to be resolved, as happens in WEGO systems. It tends to flow pretty quickly without getting bogged down in minutae, but still captures the spirit of things admirably. The CE includes the three original titles: Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar. I've had a specific battle in the Alexander campaign crash a couple times but I may have forgotten to turn on XP or 98 compatiblity mode before that happened. Doesn't matter as the campaign just runs you through some of the same preset battles that you can do individually anyway.
The
HPS Ancient Warfare series is also enjoyable, despite also having an occasional crash during turn playback. It's a WEGO system, so both sides' troops alternate attacking or moving in four different phases (IIRC) after you issue all of them orders. There are more orders and intricacies in the game mechanics with this one so alternating between long periods of giving orders and a large period where the turn plays out. A couple game options can help this but at the expense of missing what's happening during turn resolution. The interface is also clunkier since you must click on each unit, then click it's newly popped-up info panel to bring up
another order panel, and then click on the specific order, then click on the destination(s). So there is a lot more clicking per order. Couple that with noticeably higher unit numbers in many of the battles and it doesn't flow as smoothly between orders, action, and results. I look at these things as the price to pay for having a more intricate underlying game system. I think the game mechanics model this kind of warfare best of all I've played. The rulebook also goes into a good bit of detail & numbers on the system, if you're ever curious as to the detail and the large amounts of modifiers and situations. For all these reasons, it takes some learning to use your troops most effectively and to their strengths.
My big complaint about the HPS series is that their beautiful "3D view" units' sprite art can often be blocked out by terrain and other units in nearby hexes. It's especially bad when you have units in trees or near buildings as you can't even see them sometimes. I much prefer using the 3D view because it gives a nice big vista of the battle, but it really needs a mode where the terrain is just a flat graphic on each hex, instead of having height and blocking the view of your Pixelaires/Pixelanx. Not practical in a hex-based wargame where you have many units and orders to give them every turn. The 2D counter-like view can solve this problem but you're sacrificing much of the immersion that is an advantage of computer wargames.. the graphics and resulting immersion into the scene.
As for
Alea Jacta Est and
Birth of Rome, they're on a grand operational scale. It's more about moving large armies across large distances on a large scale, managing your army supplies, and recruiting more reinforcements for the grinder. You're managing whole wars and often multiple armies. Much different than the individual battles in the others mentioned. However it still plays much like a tabletop game, despite being WEGO. A lot of people are rather confused with the AGEOD series' interface and this is another that uses the same one. I think it's my favorite AGE game and if you can get the little light upstairs to flicker on, regarding the UI and game system, it is very enjoyable. Fortunately these don't have the more intricate chain of command system that some AGE games do (ACW, Civil War 2, Rise of Prussia, etc) so they're a bit easier to learn. Still, the unique game system and UI can be a hump for some people.
These are all 2D turn-based games (whether WEGO or IGOUGO) so if you require flashy 3D stuff, it may not be for you. However I think their game systems better represent the historical situations better than an equivalent part of something like the Total War series. There is room for each kind, of course, depending on your mood.
Quote from: mikeck on March 26, 2014, 04:38:02 PM
here's the stupid part: instead of making it four times per year ( like everyone has modded it to anyway) they have the four seasons alternate year-by-year... So this year its summer, next year it'll be autumn, the year after that it's winter time.
wtf?? this is preposterous. Modders were able to create a sensible seasons system, one that even had different effects for the seasons (i.e. harsh winter can affect morale and attrition, etc.). Kinda depressing when the modders make the devs look like the amateurs...
Quote from: Gusington on March 26, 2014, 05:44:45 PM
^Which do you like best? I ask because my interest in ancients is just beginning and I don't have any ancients games besides Rome TW.
Here are some recent screenshots of the three, also.
I think the image host lowered the quality a bit, so they're not quite as crisp as normal.
Great Battles Collection - Hannibal
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs7.postimg.org%2F6ijjauau3%2FGBC_trebbia.jpg&hash=b62243a5553416e329428d369514d95ecb568c3c)
HPS Alexandrian Wars
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs7.postimg.org%2Femrnfkx97%2Fphillip2.jpg&hash=131732c10d29d499c78a59b3dca2c13fcdf98db2)
Birth of Rome
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs7.postimg.org%2F3ynwgqna3%2FBOR1.jpg&hash=c3deaf35285c8e5616afbe681951ee8fee4efc1f)
Sorry for the somewhat OT. Will create a new thread if anyone needs more info.
Mmmmm, love me some AGEOD
Edit: if anyone had the problem I did where the game would launch but none of the mods were working, I found out what was wrong. When you click in steam to launch the game it brings up another Steam window with all of your TW games on steam, there is a big button that says "Play". Underneath that is another button that says "mod manager". I had to click on that, click the box that says "enable out of date mods" and then manually check each mod to turn it on. Not sure why but there you go
Radious is working again but no other mods unless they're updated by the authors. All my fancy unit cards and 3D Buildings cards are dead. Glad I didn't have like a hundred mods installed. Nothing like this happened with the Shogun 2 or Skyrim mods. Makes me want to fire a Bee-Hive Catapault shot at somebody.
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 26, 2014, 10:33:50 PM
Radious is working again but no other mods unless they're updated by the authors. All my fancy unit cards and 3D Buildings cards are dead. Glad I didn't have like a hundred mods installed. Nothing like this happened with the Shogun 2 or Skyrim mods. Makes me want to fire a Bee-Hive Catapault shot at somebody.
Did you try what I did? When you start the game, instead of hitting "play" , hit the button "mod manager" and activate them. I noticed the seasonal graphics mod no longer works so that blows. Once again, CA delivers a patch that screws everything up. Such a love-hate thing with them
Yeah, you gotta use the Mod Manager on the startup menu and uncheck the boxes next to old mods to disable them. Unsubscribing, alone, will not work.
On a positive side, the battle mod I'm using was updated tonight already.
On a negative side, I buckled and bought the Punic War DLC. Then I started a game as the Roxolani to see how things were running after the big update. I should've done the latter first. While I didn't crash, I experienced a few annoying bugs in the first few turns. Once again the city interface having all the buttons disappear - and this time I couldn't get them back after clicking about elsewhere, on that turn. >:( My horse archers' Fire-At-Will command was also repeatedly shut off without my doing so, causing my hordes of horse archers to never fire a single goddamn arrow. For some reason, the AI horse archers could do so.
*le sigh*
Whilst I love the game I'm going to put it aside a while to I'll this all settles down.... I'm becoming frustrated with the restarts and that's not fair to the game
Thanks for the above Nefaro. Not sure how much more you have for a new thread but by all means start a new one if you wish.
IIRC the Rome 2 mod manager was also updated, that may be part of the issues.
Quote from: Nefaro on March 27, 2014, 01:15:05 AM
On a positive side, the battle mod I'm using was updated tonight already.
Which mod? A good combat mod (either stand-alone or integrated into one of the big mods) is my Holy Grail.
Just got my key for Hannibal at the Gates.
Quote from: sandman2575 on March 27, 2014, 08:55:57 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on March 27, 2014, 01:15:05 AM
On a positive side, the battle mod I'm using was updated tonight already.
Which mod? A good combat mod (either stand-alone or integrated into one of the big mods) is my Holy Grail.
Been using the
Volcano Battle Mod.
I believe it has also been divided into three separate parts, but I've been using the combo package since it also lowers the lethality of elephants and has a couple other tweaks I didn't mind adding.
The combat adjustments are fairly minimal.. just some weapon damage, health, and fatigue adjustments IIRC. It makes combat last longer but not boringly so.
Will have to give this a try -- thanks
Why in the hell did they add seasonal stuff to the campaign yet not change the turns per year?
I know it was mentioned before but I realized how damn ridiculous it is to have it snow for a whole year, once every few years, when I played last night.
I realize that they were probably throwing a bone to the modders who have been clamoring for varied seasons to use with their mods, but why not just go ahead and make the change themselves? Or just not activate seasonal changes in the vanilla game, and let the modders do so in their mods?
They also look to have (re)introduced some bugs in this update.
This game is certainly a Love-Hate relationship for most of us, no? >:(
Intensely. I can't remember another game that made me want to make sweet love one to it one second and then punch my monitor in the next. Usually from modding and patching issues.
Quote from: Nefaro on March 27, 2014, 02:30:36 PM
Why in the hell did they add seasonal stuff to the campaign yet not change the turns per year?
A damn good question,
Nefaro. I suspect it's one a lot of folks have been asking the last day or two.
Quote from: Gusington on March 27, 2014, 02:33:31 PM
Intensely. I can't remember another game that made me want to make sweet love one to it one second and then punch my monitor in the next. Usually from modding and patching issues.
I have a love/hate relationship with the series in general, but (I have to admit) not with Rome II specifically. Of course, I've also not played the game with many mods (at least not yet), which obviously cuts down on my frustration factor.
Farksticks! The interface bugs have certainly become worse since this update & DLC. You know how the info bar for cities would just go blank sometimes? Happening way more often now. What's more, it also nukes some of the tooltips on it, even when you get the icons to show back up.
For instance, I just had the culture tooltip in the city info tab just refuse to pop up and tell me how much it is currently changing every turn. I absolutely need this info to decide what kind of temple to upgrade to in each settlement and it just refused to pop up for a couple of them, two turns in a row. >:(
One step forward, two back.
I don't need mods active to be frustrated with it right now. I disabled all my mods since the DLC activated today, deleted them entirely, and begun a fresh vanilla game as Carthage. Didn't matter.. it's the same bugs in vanilla. :-[
Feel... frustration... growing.
I haven't experienced this. Maybe it's related to the issues you were having with the campaign map? I thought I remembered you mentioning tearing or something. I wonder if the game doesn't like the driver? Dunno. Not much help. Sorry. I haven't played a lot with the new patch but I immediately grabbed the radious campaign mod with the 4tpy.
Now however, the seasonal effects mods won't work. *sigh*
Apparently, this patch was designed to make the game ready for Hannibal at the Gates. I don't know about that but I DO KNOW that I am less than impressed with what this patch has done to mods and the 1 year seasons. Who thought that up?
Quote from: mikeck on March 27, 2014, 05:31:43 PM
I haven't experienced this. Maybe it's related to the issues you were having with the campaign map? I thought I remembered you mentioning tearing or something. I wonder if the game doesn't like the driver? Dunno. Not much help. Sorry. I haven't played a lot with the new patch but I immediately grabbed the radious campaign mod with the 4tpy.
It wasn't really "tearing" but getting those disjointed lines across the screen when moving the camera. From the framerate being out of sync.
I shouldn't get that effect if the vsync setting is working properly. Their graphics engine, especially on the campaign map, has felt shaky, experimental and poorly optimized ever since they started adding new stuff back in Shogun 2. I recall some people couldn't even run the game due to their tinkering, for awhile. I think such issues are causing my UI to bug out like this and it has become worse.
Yeah, for a long time shogun 2 wouldn't run on certain nvidia cards I believe. If it ain't broke and all that. I haven't had the issues you have ( I know MANY have)but I have had some plain old all American vanilla CTDs
Quote from: mikeck on March 27, 2014, 09:42:58 PM
Yeah, for a long time shogun 2 wouldn't run on certain nvidia cards I believe. If it ain't broke and all that. I haven't had the issues you have ( I know MANY have)but I have had some plain old all American vanilla CTDs
I guess it's just been one evil or another. I only had CTDs with the Patch 10 beta, which seems to have been fixed when it went Live. Haven't had crashes otherwise. But Patch 11 and the
Hannibal DLC have made some issues worse, reintroduced at least one old bug (ships not unloading), and reportedly screwed up the AI's city assaults. And that's just from the first day of release. If these problems weren't caught, who knows what else slipped through?
I had hoped to be playing Carthage with the Hannibal DLC in Patch 10 conditions, but the new stuff has introduced more issues. We can work around things like AI assaults, and any battles involving ships, by Auto-resolving but that's not a satisfactory workaround. And I would still have to contend with UI information and buttons disappearing regularly, which affects gameplay. I'm a sad African Elephant because there's no telling if or when this stuff will get fixed (again, in some cases).
Maybe modders will be able to fix some of the issues.
Quote from: Gusington on March 28, 2014, 08:13:18 AM
Maybe modders will be able to fix some of the issues.
I've been playing the Hannibal DLC. I guess I haven't played enough to see any definite bugs. I've had some great battles, though, since I'm playing as Carthage and right from the start there are all kinds of things going on. I've tried being diplomatic, but so far, rolling out the Carthegenian army and fleets seems to work better for most problems. It's early in the game so I'm using the old put-your-army-where-the enemy-will-attack-it-crush-the-attack-go-from-there method. It works, but it is relatively slow and the Romans seem to be swarming out there on the edge of what I can see.
The more I try to play, the more bugs I find.
This time one of my client state's fleets blocked one of my armies from entering my own city. Nova Carthago fleet's red engagement area prevented me from entering it- and they're my client state! Arrrgh! ::)
Didn't have any tooltip breakage this time, but that doesn't mean it won't start up again sometime. Hate to have to regularly reload from a save when it strikes.
On a positive note, the Volcano Battle Mod is working despite the new Mod Manager saying everything is broken. Why did they change the way mod manager works? Didn't seem to be broken before. ::) ::)
That's probably exactly why they fixed it :)
Yep. As much as I love TW games and in particular, Rome2, CA has always (or at least since Empire) had a bad habit of releasing patches that break more crap than they fixed. I remember one big early patch for empires that totally broke what little BAI there was at the time.
Same thing applies here. They add seasons but make them last a year. If they had left them alone, you would be fine by using mods....many of which I can't use now because of this patch. I haven't really had any bugs and only a few crashes so I have no complaint there, but it seems like as soon as I am going in a game, CA releases a patch and F's something up
I'm glad they added the seasonal effects. The modders had obviously been requesting them for some time. However, they should've left them inactive if they weren't gonna change the Turns Per Year and just allowed the modders to switch them on in their TPY mods.
This may be a case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing, over at CA.
so what actually works now? just vanilla?
what happens if you use the old seasons mod on the new vanilla with its own seasons?
I used an old "seasons effects mod" that prior to patch 11, worked fine. On the campaign map it would be snowing in winter if I was up in the alps, raining in autumn, etc. Now I get nothing. I get the "unseasonable condition " stuff (like more food or whoever) just no effects
All my old mods are working just like prior to patch 11. There's a disclaimer that says these mods are out of date and may cause CTD but I've had none so far even though 2 of my mods have not been updated in months. With Radious, the 4 TPY is still in effect but now there's atmospheric effects like snow in some areas. So far no snow in summer or anything like this. There seems to be a lot of "Unseasonal Conditions" every turn even before patch 10. Isn't it ever just "Normal" weather anywhere?
^Depends on who you talk to.
Here in Florida when it's Unseasonably Hot everyone walks around with a big -1 Public Order icon over their head. ::)
Yeah, since anything over 90 is seriously not and I live in Floriduh, I'm a -1 public disorder from Mid April until the beginning or November. Then everyone else in the country (and half of Germany and the UK come here and clog up my roads. -2
Btw, I see that Radious mod has the 4tpy with seasons included and the game adds the effects. So maybe I might try to take out my old busted mod combo and just try his
How quickly does the DEI mod crew get theirs up-to-speed after an update? I've not tried it yet, but perhaps some day CA will get most of the bugs squashed and we don't have to worry about constantly starting our campaigns over again.
^Takes them a longer time than Radious. I took mikeck's lead on the big mods and basically tossed them in preference for the smaller, simpler mods so I can finish a game without patches mucking it up.
Yep. Best bet right there. Simple mods that add skins, maybe a few units...some basic battlefield mod stuff to make battles better and off you go. I do use radious campaign mod and his economy/research mod but I've found those hold up fairly well during patches. While I appreciate CA rolling out patches and fixes and such, I wish they would wait a few months and make the patches bigger. Most of the little easy things have been tidied up. If I have to start over, I want to have to do so because the game will be better. Not because they chamfer something in the code that just screws up something.
My game is till patched at the Patch 10 beta...you all have Patch 11?
Quote from: Gusington on March 30, 2014, 04:56:26 PM
My game is till patched at the Patch 10 beta...you all have Patch 11?
Umm.. yes? I think so.
I'm not sure what it's officially labelled, or where to look. It was a big patch that came out the night before the Hannibal DLC was released.
Weird. I installed the Hannibal business last night but my patch still reads as 10-beta.
Quote from: Gusington on March 30, 2014, 05:03:45 PM
Weird. I installed the Hannibal business last night but my patch still reads as 10-beta.
I regularly verify my files for Rome 2 if I suspect any funk.
I recall your exact case happening to me months ago in Rome 2 after an update. The file check may have replaced one tiny thing. Not sure it ever showed the proper version number but it seemed to have already been updated despite showing the wrong one.
My Rome 2 listing in my games library often reverts to saying Rom 2 - Total War (patch 9 beta) for some reason, eventhough I have it patched up to the most recent offering. Weird stuff.
In-game it does show the latest version number, though.
Quote from: Gusington on March 30, 2014, 05:03:45 PM
Weird. I installed the Hannibal business last night but my patch still reads as 10-beta.
im at 10beta with nothing left in the beta options box
Everything ran fine when I booted it up Saturday night but I did not check the version number on the load screen. But if you guys had similar weirdness I am not going to stress about it.
Quote from: Sir Slash on March 29, 2014, 10:41:50 AM
All my old mods are working just like prior to patch 11. There's a disclaimer that says these mods are out of date and may cause CTD but I've had none so far even though 2 of my mods have not been updated in months. With Radious, the 4 TPY is still in effect but now there's atmospheric effects like snow in some areas. So far no snow in summer or anything like this. There seems to be a lot of "Unseasonal Conditions" every turn even before patch 10. Isn't it ever just "Normal" weather anywhere?
I haven't been running many mods. For the last few days I've played vanilla Hannibal DLC and haven't seen anything particularly odd. I really like the 1-month turns and the overall better scale and focus. The Western Med is a big place in 218 BC and as Carthage, I've beaten the Romans in some peripheral engagements, but the AI is handling its Romans very well and I'm pretty bogged down fighting Barbarians and Etruscans from the Atlas Mountains to Italy. The whole thing feels like the 2nd Punic war all over again.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fecx.images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F41jBNmgnXAL._BO2%2C204%2C203%2C200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big%2CTopRight%2C0%2C-55_SX278_SY278_PIkin4%2CBottomRight%2C1%2C22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg&hash=67e734f74bc45dcad18baf4065758e4994c951b7)
]http://www.amazon.com/History-Rome-Complete-Livy-ebook/dp/B0090QVRO8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396475269&sr=8-1&keywords=History+of+Rome+%28Complete%29+[Kindle+Edition] (http://www.amazon.com/History-Rome-Complete-Livy-ebook/dp/B0090QVRO8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396475269&sr=8-1&keywords=History+of+Rome+%28Complete%29+%5BKindle+Edition)
In case you like a little history with your Rome II ;)
I have an older translation of Livy on my Kindle (along with Tacitus and some other stuff on the subject) but it may not hurt getting a more recent edition for $1. So thanks for convincing me to be a big spender! ;)
Quote from: MengJiao on March 31, 2014, 08:50:59 AM
I haven't been running many mods. For the last few days I've played vanilla Hannibal DLC and haven't seen anything particularly odd. I really like the 1-month turns and the overall better scale and focus. The Western Med is a big place in 218 BC and as Carthage, I've beaten the Romans in some peripheral engagements, but the AI is handling its Romans very well and I'm pretty bogged down fighting Barbarians and Etruscans from the Atlas Mountains to Italy. The whole thing feels like the 2nd Punic war all over again.
I played over the weekend the first 30 turns of a Vanilla - no mods whatsoever - campaign, and I must say that the Etruscans AI gave me a good run for my money. After conquering the last Etruscan settlement in Corsica, the AI went on "full auto fire" mode and recruited a bunch of mercenaries to reinforce their fledgling, and counterattacking with it right away. The ensuing battle in the - just conquered - Alalia was very tense, as my army hadn't had time to make up for its previous losses. Things went literally down to the triarii.
I don't recall seeing this behavior before (I hadn't played since Christmas I reckon), yet I still do think that the AI doesn't grasp fully the mechanics of Rome II. On the other hand, definitely I can see some notable progress.
The AI has certainly improved since last year. Although they may have increased the income and/or army upkeep cheats that AI powers get as part of that.
I was recently finishing off the last settlement of an AI nation (Corsica IIRC?). After sending a spy in, I checked the city's income value. It was in the 50s and I kept sabotaging their main building (so it was as bad or worse than that). Yet the AI still managed to maintain two full armies of Italian Spearmen with a smattering of cavalry and a small 5-galley fleet for many turns. I was barely staying in the black covering the cost of 2.5 armies and an equivalently sized navy, and that when owning five or six settlements!
I still think the developers upped the AI income/upkeep bonus in recent months. It's a poor way of raising difficulty. If they want to add more cheats, then I'd prefer they add an extra difficulty level with the new levels. It just makes taking cities now require multiple armies if the AI has enough turns to crank out a constant stream of troops to stack in them.
Which also brings me to another complaint: Some of the player agent abilities don't work properly. A specific one is the poison army command which is supposed to prevent an enemy army from being reinforced/reinforcing. They still reinforce each other even when you succeed and the little symbol and tooltip on their army says it's in effect. I can get over the extra AI cheats & such to an extent, but bugs like this that have been ongoing combine to get pretty frustrating. Can only play in short spurts before finding things like this and quitting. :-\
Think I'm gonna give it another go with a new campaign.
Found the Lux Aeterna [Side] UI Mod. It adds some stylized UI art, depending on which faction you play. Something I thought the game was really missing from previous versions of TW. I'm not very happy with some games ditching stylized UI art for the crappy plastic-looking transparent interfaces, and Rome 2 is certainly a good example.
I recently restarted a Seleucid campaign with Radious to see how the game had changed from my first Seleucid campaign at release. The eastern satrapices all revolted as in my first campaign but then about half, on the same turn, offered peace treaties, some even paying a lot of cash to get it. The result was everybody east of Persia was at war with me but Persia being neutral gave me a buffer between us. Other states at war with me continued offering peace deals afterward, even Quidri who I started at war with. Egypt declared war on me turn 1, and then refused to accept any peace deal I made them even after losing Jerusalem and Petra. This was much different from the first campaign where I had to react to threats to the east and north and was quite a challenge. I was playing on the "Normal" difficulty level and thought maybe "Hard" would be more challenging but restarting at the "Hard" level resulted in almost the exact same events in the exact same order. Not sure if the changes are more from the patches or from Radious or both but it seems to have been made a little easier to win. My 2 cents. :-X
Quote from: Nefaro on April 03, 2014, 01:28:34 AM
The AI has certainly improved since last year. Although they may have increased the income and/or army upkeep cheats that AI powers get as part of that.
As the DLC Carthegenians looking at all the stuff Rome has, I think the AI is doing well. I'm not sure if the AI is getting extra stuff or if that's just the way Rome is in 216 BC. So far I've made progress against Rome by being as Friendly as possible with all the barbarians and the Etruscans and the Syracusians and drawing the Romans north or south alternatingly. Looks like big battles are going to happen around Ancona soon.
Anybody jumped onboard the Beta Patch 12 yet? And how many more you reckon are coming? :-X
I may be jumping back in to Rome 2 soon to start a Spartan campaign. Didn't realize there was a Patch 12 out...
Be careful of the betas...best give it a few days. Game is still good with 11
My basement wifi internet is acting up so I have no choice right now anyway. But Sparta beckons...
Yeah, I know what you mean. I saw that the late era Roman Civil War mod has been updated to Constantine The Rise of Christianity now and I'm really wanting to take it for a spin but it doesn't get along with Radious and don't know if Patch 12 will screw it up and I got like 8 different factions saves now. So I'll probably just wait. But.... it's calling my name and it's getting louder each time. :-\
I really hope that there is a new version of Barbarian Invasion in the works.
By the by, here's a list (http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_12) of the changes/improvements for Patch 12:
Quote
Technical and performance improvements:
Global
Fix for squares appearing on certain areas of battle and campaign terrain when using NVIDIA SLI configs.
Battle
Fix for UI-related crash in battle
Fixed replay de-sync for siege battles initiated from the frontend (e.g. custom or multiplayer, not campaign battles).
Fixed a multiplayer battle spectator crash, which occurred when a defending AI general was killed.
Campaign
Reduced lag during AI turns in Multiplayer Campaign mode.
Modding
Script restricted units can no longer be gained via technology upgrades. Removing a script restriction on a unit when the player has already researched a technology which would have allowed that unit to be upgraded will now allow the upgrade at the point the restriction is lifted.
Battle AI improvements:
Fixed several battle AI issues in naval settlement assaults which caused disembarked units to go idle and not join the battle.
Fix for a Battle AI bug where units could not find a path to a wall-breach, if a gate was captured before entering city.
Various battle-map improvements to help the Battle AI use siege equipment more effectively.
Fixed bug which caused the battle AI not to recognise breaches in some wall corner pieces.
Improved Battle AI phalanx unit behaviour (ensuring pike units use their phalanx abilities when bracing).
Battle AI no longer issues orders to units when they should be skirmishing.
Improved the battle AI's spatial reasoning in naval settlement assaults. This applies to reinforcing or disembarked naval forces, when selecting positions from which to assault the settlement.
Code fix to ensure that the battle AI doesn't try use its artillery to attack buildings that are outside of the main settlement.
Campaign AI improvements
Campaign AI is now less likely to maintain long blockades without assaulting.
Campaign AI is now less likely to move armies into proximity with superior enemy forces.
General battle improvements
Improvements to certain units in unit groups who would fail to pathfind effectively when ordered to attack units in different areas (in very specific/rare cases on the battlefield).
Various siege tower climbing fixes.
Flaming and whilsting projectiles have been removed from elephant units.
Fix for a bug where cavalry archers occasionally did not fire, despite being in range and showing the firing icon on their unit card.
Cosmetic improvements to The Oracle of Amun Re.
Shield types for Germanic Spear Levy and Spear Brothers have been corrected.
The correct factions now have access to mountable artillery in Custom Battles.
Improvements to siege vehicles to ensure men on the tower getting knocked into the air does not cause wall-docking to fail.
Unit parts (armour, tunics etc) updated to offer greater unit variety.
Various improvements to men climbing siege towers and ladders. Soldiers now climb towers more effectively without milling at the bottom.
Siege engines will no longer get stuck on trees on the battlefield.
Player-controlled ambushing armies can now use deployables in ambush battles.
Naval units no longer attempt to reinforce ambush battles.
Fixed a bug which prevented armies of only one unit from being able to hide on the battlefield.
Fixed an area in the large Persian port where ships were not disembarking correctly.
Increased the number of unobstructed walls in the medium and large Rome siege battle-maps.
Fixed several cases where multiplayer battles could take place on very steep hills or mountains.
Several battle map improvements to beach landings, improved terrain heights and collision with some battlefield props.
Added new helmet variations and new Germanic tunics to Campaign Generals.
Added new Eastern Horse and Hellenic Heavy Horse variants.
Trees and units no longer clip through the ground near the Statue of Zeus at Olympia wonder on the battlefield.
Altered ship-sorting priority when disembarking, in order to reduce shuffling around.
An alternative bear pelt has been applied to Germanic Berserkers who don't wear helmets under their pelts, so the top of the hairline is no longer visible.
General Campaign improvements
Newly formed armies now start with no action points and are unable to switch to the forced march stance until the following turn.
Roman armies no longer feature Etruscan names.
Greek 'Classical Heritage' faction trait now works correctly.
Buildings at the beginning of Caesar in Gaul, Hannibal at the Gates and Grand Campaign have been corrected.
Beasts of War DLC: Sobek Cultist units can now be recruited in regions containing minor settlements.
The Ares Spear experience bonus is now being applied correctly to minor temples.
A number of battle maps no longer feature snow during Spring, Summer and Autumn.
Fixed an issue where an ambushing army would move at the start of the turn. Please note: Sometimes an ambushing army will move when it is discovered or you discover an agent or army that is standing on top of it. This is expected behaviour.
When a general's unit is the only unit in a reinforcing army, and the general dies but the unit does not, The general will now die on the campaign map.
Raiding will no longer cause negative happiness.
Technology requirements for military ports have been altered. Tier II military ports either have no tech requirements, or the same requirements as other tier II ports.
Corrected local traditions for Iberian regions in Grand Campaign to be Iberian instead of Celtic.
Reduced the Siege Holdout Time Effect conferred by siege tower technologies.
Political promotion positions for Syracuse, Arevaci and Lusitani factions have been corrected.
Forming a confederation no longer causes rebel armies in regions owned by the confederating factions to be absorbed into the confederation.
Fixed some terrain issues on the Hannibal at the Gates map.
New Germanic trousers and tunics added.
Usability Improvements
Battle
Fixed a rare bug where fire sound-effects would play after a battle had finished, and could be heard over the victory menu.
Campaign
Reduce Slaves effect now displays the correct icon.
Retreat button is no longer enabled on the pre-battle siege screen when forces are unable to retreat.
Some typographical fixes in Incidents and Dilemmas.
Tweaks to Egyptian and Carthaginian siege technology to more closely match the unlock order of normal Greek technologies.
Fixed a situation where all new Carthaginian general or agent recruits had the surname "Gisco".
Fix for some instances where a skull would appear on a unit card despite that unit not being dead on the post battle screen.
Various improvements to battle-unit banner icons.
Arevaci, Lusitani and Syracuse civil-war factions minimap and unit card colours have been corrected.
Roman siege buildings are now unlocked by technologies in the correct order in Grand Campaign.
General
Added a warning when loading replays from an older game version, to inform the player that results may be inconsistent when viewed in the version they are now playing.
If the Twitch End User Licence Agreement (EULA) has previously been declined, it will no longer be displayed every time the game is launched. If the Twitch button is pressed when the EULA has previously been declined, the EULA will then be shown. If the Twitch button is pressed and the player is not signed in to their Twitch account, they will be taken to the options menu to sign in.
Twitch streams will now be paused when the Steam overlay is active.
The Twitch button will no longer display during Historical Battle frontend intros.
Balancing Changes
Campaign
Reduced starting money of all minor factions in the Grand Campaign.
Unit-balancing changes based on community feedback. Axe Warriors and Naked Warriors have also been added to the Boii unit roster.
Reduced all technology-conferred ammo bonuses from 50% to 25%.
Reduced General's logistics-conferred ammo bonuses from 25% and 50% to 10% and 25%.
Hidden income bonus for African and Arabian factions removed.
Reduced the amount of money that the Etruscan league start the campaign with.
Added two extra Hastati units to Rome at the start of their campaign.
The Ibossim region now belongs to Carthage at the start of the campaign.
Unit-balancing changes. Axe Warriors and Naked Warriors have also been added to the Boii unit roster.
Battle
Reduced the Carthage faction-trait 'Mercenary Upkeep Cost Reduction' to prevent over-stacking of the effect.
Painted Ones and ambusher units have been given faster movement speed and more hit points.
Fierce Swords morale has been changed to 60.
Lusitani Spears and Lusitani Guerillas units' building-branches have been swapped, and Lusitani Guerillas are now available from level 2.
Axe Warriors cost has been increased to 470.
Sword Followers cost has been increased to 760.
Bactrian Noble Horse melee attack and charge bonus have been reduced by 2.
Noble Blood cavalry morale has been increased by 5.
Veteran Spears hit points have reduced by 5.
Assembly Kit
Fixed an Assembly Kit bug which removed Campaign victory conditions from Campaign mods.
Has anyone tried out this mod?
steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=249694470&searchtext=
It mods the late Roman Empire 311ad. Can play 1 of 4 Romans, goths and a few others
Haven't tried but it's on my list. It's such a good subject matter I'm surprised it's not an official paid dlc.
It will be, just wait a while.
Quote from: Gusington on April 20, 2014, 10:31:09 AM
It will be, just wait a while.
I'm playing Rome II online battles. So far I've crushed the Spartans, been wiped out by the Carthegians and obliterated the Iceni.
I'm uploading a screenshot of the moment my Royal Scythians crashed into the Sworn Noble Swords and killed the leader of the Iceni.
I'm Meng on Steam and should be around off and on for a while.
Obliterated the Iceni? INCONCEIVABLE.
Quote from: Gusington on April 21, 2014, 08:01:30 AM
Obliterated the Iceni? INCONCEIVABLE.
Oddly enough that's my only big win so far. In 2v2 games Last night my Parthenians vaporized the opposition one time (we started attacking and they left the game = a draw although they had had about 800 killed versus our 22 killed), almost beat the Spartans and Egyptians (our kill rate was about twice theirs, but we only had about 1700 to start with and they had that plus a vital 1000 or so left over, mostly Spartans) and was crushed very quickly by Pontus and Carthage. Basically, I've learned that a player smart enough to pick the Carthegaians is easily able to beat me pretty fast. Hard to say about Pontus since they seem to leave the game and leave the AI to wipe me out. The AI seems to be better than the average player at holding off a cavalry attack, I think because if you try to survive against cavalry by keeping in some completely static formation, the cavalry will roll you up eventually whereas if you just go for a lot of scattered battles the cavalry cannot sustain the loses even if they are killing the defenders pretty fast.
We will remember this.
My next campaign will be either as Carthage in the new DLC or Sparta in the main campaign.
Quote from: Gusington on April 21, 2014, 09:56:56 AM
We will remember this.
My next campaign will be either as Carthage in the new DLC or Sparta in the main campaign.
How armies work in the campaign game is very different from how they work in the online multiplayer battles. For one thing the online armies tend to have very elite troops and specialized gear like elephants and ballistae, for another, what happens to your allies tends to have a lot more impact than it does in the single-player world.
Anyway....for online battles, Carthage seems to have the most balanced force (good cavalry, infantry, elephants and artillery). Since I cannot stand to stand on the defensive, I've been taking the most offensive armies I can find (Steppe Barbarians, Macedon, Selucids, Parthenians). Maybe I need to be more flexible. I guess I'll work on that.
By destroying the Iceni your armies.seem to be offensive enough to me.
Quote from: Gusington on April 21, 2014, 11:07:32 AM
By destroying the Iceni your armies.seem to be offensive enough to me.
It was kind of strange. I've been checking on what armies are recommended for online use and only the Averni amongst all the barbarians are recommended. Steppe Barbarians are not recommended at all ever. Apparently in multiplayer, Spartan Pikes and Egyptian royal guards trump all, so barbarian versus barbarian games are getting more popular since there won't be any Spartans or Egyptians BUT most players are used to having those pikes to hold off the cavalry. The barbarians do have spear troops but in barbarian battles the Oathsworn swordsmen types apparently are considered the best,so the Iceni showed up with as many Oathsworn as possible and two sets of spear troops and a mass of horsement guarding the flank (it was a 3v3 battle so for the Iceni I faced there was just that one open flank to start with). After the horse archers slaughtered the Iceni skirmishers and the spears and iceni horse blobbed into a mess under massed horse archery, the rest was pretty easy: jsut keep pulling the Scythians back and the charging and repeating. I started with 1200 men and lost half of them. The Iceni started with about 2000 and lost 1800 or so and their leader in about 15 minutes.
But I now see this was a pretty unusual online battle since Steppe Barbarians are considered the worst online force. Since then I have seen the Pikes and whatnot dominate the battle field and I find I must curb my horse archer habits.
I was a bit disappointed with many of the Gallic troops, in the vanilla game. Really wanted to play a campaign with them but haven't done so yet. I don't think the Caesar in Gaul DLC added much to them either, did it?
Quote from: Nefaro on April 21, 2014, 12:17:50 PM
I was a bit disappointed with many of the Gallic troops, in the vanilla game. Really wanted to play a campaign with them but haven't done so yet. I don't think the Caesar in Gaul DLC added much to them either, did it?
It may have, at least from the multiplayer point of view. Apparently you can only deploy troops you have paid for either in the base game or by DLC. My fellow Parthenians wondered how good the Steppe Barbarians might be. Surely a natural question from one Parthenian to another. Maybe there is a Steppe Barbarian DLC and I have purchased it? one wonders. It seems the only Rome II DLCs I don't have are those for extended gore and more vicious animals Which might be another reason the Iceni had no idea what hit them and why, possibly, just now, the Carthegenians are all the rage online.
I was slightly disappointed with the Iceni roster too. I had some mods running to boost it a bit but I always wanted it to be a bit more exotic than it was.
I gave the "Trait, Talents, and Toadies" mod a try and it adds quite a bit of character choices and developments/skills to choose from as they level-up but with a Radious mod save, it wipes clean your army and general skills. So pretty much a new campaign must.
^Ouchie.
It's a great mod. Only issue is armies can become a bit too powerful with some of the buffs.
Quote from: Gusington on April 21, 2014, 01:15:54 PM
I was slightly disappointed with the Iceni roster too. I had some mods running to boost it a bit but I always wanted it to be a bit more exotic than it was.
Exotic can be so helpful in Rome II. Last night after being trounced horribly by Bactrian armies 2 times, I became a Bactrian. So there we were in the slightly woodsy hills above a lovely bay looking down on a Roman army and an Etruscan Army (!). The usual Pontic forces were our ally and they eventually did the Pontic thing and vanished after beating up the Romans and Etruscans a bit. The Etruscans remained stoic and philosophical down on the beach but the Romans were unhappy sitting down in the plains and taking ballista and archery for a few long minutes. They wondered if artillery and elephants were even permitted in the game. "Guys?" asked the Romans. There was no answer from the gods. Since the Bactrians had wiped me out with elephants only a game earlier, I indeed had some elephants and the ballistae had in fact killed only one Roman that I could see. At one point a ballista bolt knocked over a few Romans, but they all got up. So I brought in the elephants and after about half an hour of difficult fighting, the Romans and Etruscans were routed, giving me my only win of the night (one win, two loses).
The war elephants are like armored bulldozers. Overpowered in Rome 2 IMO. I think they have too much staying power and should break & run faster, especially when being pelted with javelins or being jabbed with spears for a time.
Quote from: Nefaro on April 22, 2014, 09:26:01 AM
The war elephants are like armored bulldozers. Overpowered in Rome 2 IMO. I think they have too much staying power and should break & run faster, especially when being pelted with javelins or being jabbed with spears for a time.
Many of the online battles exclude elephants and they definitely mess up the game. Not only are armored Bactrian Elephants armored and probably easier to handle than African Elephants, but they seem to go nuts less often and they can be rallied after stampeeding or even going nuts.
So yes, the elephants are pretty extreme. On the other hand, Spartan and Egyptian Elite Pikes are immune to everything except (I'm guessing) stampeeding elephants and pointblank ballista bolts. So if you exclude elephants and Artillery you just get Spartan or Egyptian pikes -- actually any pikes or elite infantry will do pretty well.
So if you want an interesting online game you need to have some way of reducing the tendency of most players to get lots of heavy infantry (usually pikes, but Elite Romans are similar) and form a square and wait for a draw. I'm going to experiment with forested terrain, barbarians only (kind of unfair since I will bring the despised Steppe Barbarians) and allowing Elephants and artillery. I suppose I could get lots of heavy infantry myself but that seems likely to make the game even less interesting.
If you are into exotic units and factions, try Bactria with the Qin infantry unit mod.
Yes, the Macedonian-style pike phalanxes are nearly impervious from their front. But they're slow when in phalanx formation and don't have a terribly high kill rate. So all things being equal in terms of phalanxes locking each other up in the middle, it all comes down to what you have on the flanks and how you use them.
This being appropriate since it's how the Macedonian armies were meant to fight - lock up most of the enemy army with their pike phalanx anvil while the Companion Cavalry and more mobile Greek-style phalanxes on the flanks could be the hammer. So if the pikes are quickly steamrolling in Rome 2, they need to be toned down. Of course.. everything steamrolls rather quickly in vanilla TW games so I tend to only play single-player with a mod that slows down the combat. A couple I have tried make the pike units a slow grind, as they should be. Vanilla TW combat just moves so fast that the difference in damage (aka kill rate) isn't as pronounced as I'd like.
Quote from: Nefaro on April 22, 2014, 12:28:55 PM
Yes, the Macedonian-style pike phalanxes are nearly impervious from their front. But they're slow when in phalanx formation and don't have a terribly high kill rate. So all things being equal in terms of phalanxes locking each other up in the middle, it all comes down to what you have on the flanks and how you use them.
This being appropriate since it's how the Macedonian armies were meant to fight - lock up most of the enemy army with their pike phalanx anvil while the Companion Cavalry and more mobile Greek-style phalanxes on the flanks could be the hammer. So if the pikes are quickly steamrolling in Rome 2, they need to be toned down. Of course.. everything steamrolls rather quickly in vanilla TW games so I tend to only play single-player with a mod that slows down the combat. A couple I have tried make the pike units a slow grind, as they should be. Vanilla TW combat just moves so fast that the difference in damage (aka kill rate) isn't as pronounced as I'd like.
The Online battles are different from battles in the single player game in some ways. You can essentially win some battles in a minute or two when your foes realize they are getting wiped out and quit the game and get a draw. Or the thing can go on for quite a while as your foe forms a square of pikes and goes for a draw. I don't particularly mind either case, but I would like more options since nobody (but me) ever seems to use pikes offensively and yet the online game is full of pikes (and Pretorians) meaning its full of players who resort to a static defense at the first sign of trouble and when I play there are signs of trouble (one way or another) pretty fast. So I end up looking at a lot of pikes (or Pretorians) in squares.
Anyway....hence my temptation to use elephants and artillery.
I don't blame you a bit.
Rome 2's combat system doesn't quite do justice to the strengths & weaknesses of various classical troop types so everyone does the rock-paper-scissors system so prominent in the TW games.
Quote from: Nefaro on April 22, 2014, 01:13:23 PM
I don't blame you a bit.
Rome 2's combat system doesn't quite do justice to the strengths & weaknesses of various classical troop types so everyone does the rock-paper-scissors system so prominent in the TW games.
Yep. I don't blame the pike-and/or-pretorian people. I would do it if I could. Back in Multiplayer Medieval TW 1 I tended to field lots of elite Vikings and sort of actually do some tactical thinking. Those were the days.
These days I've learned my basic online gaming weakness: I cannot sit still ( much less do some serious tactical thinking). I'd rather lose 2 out of 3 games quickly and win a long crazy victory on the 3rd than build a lot of pikes-and-Pretorians and be pretty sure of getting at least a draw most of the time. Even if I build the Pikes I still attack with them so it's kind of pointless not to just go ahead and buy the damned elephants.
Been meaning to ask..
When was the last official update after the Hannibal DLC? I recall a small one afterward but last I heard the next was still in beta.
I think they are up to 11...not sure what state it is in.
Yeah, patch 11 was the last official update. Not sure when 12 will go "live", but it's still in beta right now.
Thanks for the info. Will probably wait to start my next campaign until at least Patch 12 goes live.
Although I was having some slow but steady success as Syracuse in the current version.
Were you enjoying Syracuse?
Is is time to buy this? How does it hold up against shogun 2?
IMHO Rome 2 is not as technically well put together as Shogun 2 or as pretty to look at, but it is almost as fun. Patches have brought the game a long way and some of the available mods are great.
Quote from: Gusington on April 23, 2014, 07:41:55 PM
IMHO Rome 2 is not as technically well put together as Shogun 2 or as pretty to look at, but it is almost as fun. Patches have brought the game a long way and some of the available mods are great.
I think Rome 2 is one of the great gaming masterpieces of all time. True, it has many deficiencies versus Shogun2 (which is a beautiful game), but it more than makes up for any of its problems by sheer ambition. In many ways it does bring you a vision of the world that Rome faced and a world that had a lot of potential for stopping Rome short of dominating the Mediterranean basin. I would have liked a more focused game set in an earlier period, but it is easy to see that such a game would have been hard to market. So Rome 2 does make a number of compromises, but the DLC (such as Gaul and Hannibal) are more focused and uncompromising.
Anyway, these days I'm trying to lead an elephant-free life in the Online Battles and I've had some luck with "Battle Realism" and "Extra Large Armies" of hordes of Steppe Barbarians, who certainly don't indulge in such things as elephants and artillery.
I liked Shogun 2 better with one big exception-- the Realm Divide, which is almost a game-breaker. If you play on the harder difficulity level to get a more challenging game, it will kill you when it happens while playing on the easier levels to avoid it's effects makes the game less enjoyable, to me anyway. But Shogun 2 had more to do overall. More building and trade choices, and I think the AI was more aggressive. And the mods made the game better. The mods for Rome 2 seem to be about fixing what's wrong or too weak about the game. Rome 2 is more strategy-light in my humble opinion. But a great battle sim, maybe even better than Shogun 2. And unlike the guy I see in the mirror every morning, it's pretty to look at. :P
You're always a woman to me, Slash.
And I agree with Meng - Rome 2 is nothing if not ambitious.
Thanks Gus... I think. I'd prefer "Lady" but will take anything positive.
Quote from: Sir Slash on April 24, 2014, 09:31:32 AM
Rome 2 is more strategy-light in my humble opinion. But a great battle sim, maybe even better than Shogun 2.
I agree that Rome 2 basic vanilla is a bit lite. The Gaul and Hannibal DLCs are less lite. For battles (online multiplayer), Rome 2 is the
most fun I've had online in quite a while. There's more variety than you'd expect. It's true one sees a lot of Pretorians, but not quite as
many Spartans screaming "This is Sparta!" as you mow them down them with pointblank exploding ballista bolts as you might expect.
For the Steppe-Barbarian-Minded, there are moments of gigantic glory as your armored horse archers obliterate your foes' skirmishers and cavalry by the hundreds in the first few minutes of the game. I guess not many players bought the Steppe Barbarian expansion, eh? Hmmm?
Apparently there is no movie about Steppe Barbarians. Johnny Deppe Steppe Barbarian might be good.
I think overall shogun 2 is the better of the two games in terms of quality and polish. For me, I prefer Rome just because I have little or no interest in Japanese history. It's certainly a great game though
I got the Barbarian expansion but don't play them much as they're such a slow start. I just got Gladiator units as Rome and can't wait to try them out. "Are you not entertained"?
I would buy Johnny Steppe Barbarian on blu ray right now. And be entertained. Forever.
As others have said, Shogun 2 is unquestionably the better game in a technical sense. However, I enjoy Rome 2 more. (I'm glad I have both games, though.)
Thanks for the comments. Convinced me to picking up (when there's a sale).
IIRC a few sales had just passed wjere the price was down to 29.00 or so ('Murican)
Anyone get the new Punic War DLC? Haven't heard much talk about it.
I have it and will begin a campaign in the next few weeks. As Carthage, of course. Or Syracuse.
Quote from: Kushan on April 25, 2014, 02:21:15 PM
Anyone get the new Punic War DLC? Haven't heard much talk about it.
I picked it up the day before it came out. It added a couple new troop types for the Iberian Celts, a couple playable factions for those, and a playable Syracuse.
I haven't tried the smaller Punic War map, as the grand campaign has always been my focus. The smaller DLC maps seem to be more suited for shorter multiplayer co-op campaigns.
Has anyone tried these "late Roman Empire" mods ?
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=249694470&searchtext=
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=202487198&searchtext=Tetrarchy
Seems the first is the new version. Kinda in to the late eastern Roman Empire- early Byzantine (same really... Didn't they always refer to themselves as Roman to 1453?)
I think they are both different versions of the same mod. The Constantine mod is suppose to be more realistic to the period with soldier uniforms and gear. The other one still has the classic vanilla looking Romans. I'm thinking the Constantine one is the best bet. I might be due for another run at RomeII, just juggling so many other games at the moment.
I've often been more interested in the Republic period and perhaps some of the Civil Wars in the early Empire. So the late era is a bit patchy for me. ???
I love me some late era. One of my favorite historical eras. I love Stilicho's style and the Vandals are just sexy. Don't even get me staryed on the Goths or Huns. Or the Byzantines. SEXY.
Well Gus, with this mod you can play one of 4 roman emperors (tetrarchy) OR, the franks, goths or the Persian guys...whatever they are called. Sassanids or some such. Starts around 311 or something
Yeah I know...I haven't played it because it didn't appear to be fully developed when I checked it out 3-4 months ago.
Quote from: Gusington on April 29, 2014, 06:38:49 PM
I love me some late era. One of my favorite historical eras. I love Stilicho's style and the Vandals are just sexy. Don't even get me staryed on the Goths or Huns. Or the Byzantines. SEXY.
I agree. The period from around 300 to around 700 has some of the most outrageously nutty events of all time. And the poetic stuff is quite interesting. Moreover we have people who have been sort of around since that time. As far as I know St. Ambrose has been reposing in Milan for all to see since around 400 AD.
Here he is:
He appears very relaxed there.
Quote from: Gusington on April 30, 2014, 09:52:06 AM
He appears very relaxed there.
I know what you mean. It's kind of like they found him in the tumble-dry with extra lint cycle and had to pull him back out of his own pockets.
But, you know he has been there for over 1600 years as a rather minimalist reminder that Late Antiquity is not really all that remote, though all those angels and what-not seem kind of like something out of a nightmare in a 90s B movie set in a decaying mesoAmerican upscale house of ill-repute that has seen better times.
Have there really been better times for Mesoamerican houses of ill repute than right now?
Quote from: Gusington on April 30, 2014, 01:20:22 PM
Have there really been better times for Mesoamerican houses of ill repute than right now?
Exactly. That's why I specified a sort of Tom Clancy-era-esque, 90s, B-movie, who-hired-that-art-director sort of decaying upscale ambiance.
No better time I can think of. Unless when the dollar was worth more. Or when Ill Repute was more fun. Everybody's got it now and that takes the specialness of it away. :'(
Hahaha you speak the truth.
And Patch 12 is live now. The saga continues. :-X
Live in beta or for reelz? I feel a Carthaginian campaign coming on soon.
Finalized patch 12 I suspect...12 has been in beta for weeks now and most mods have already been upgraded for it.
By the way Gus...maybe check out the "Constantine" mod. You can play some is the eastern heathens like the Sassanids...
Well I just fired up the game, and it looks like patch 12 is good to go. :)
Constantine mod you say...must be new...
I've just started to get into this and have started a Sparta campaign which is a departure from my standard Rome faction game..... I will restart with the new patch as I was not very far into my current campaign.
PE
Gus, see below:
Quote from: mikeck on April 29, 2014, 10:45:33 AM
Has anyone tried these "late Roman Empire" mods ?
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=249694470&searchtext=
Thanks Mike...I will check it out. Checked my Steam account for a second and there was something queued for Rome, amgst 4-5 other things. TW still holds the same magic for me after all the Rome II drama and everything...getting psyched to jump in again :)
Noticed new DLC due out in a few days....Pirates and raiders.
http://www.greenmangaming.com/s/us/en/pc/games/strategy/total-war-rome-ii-pirates-raiders-dlc/
For Jarhead, it has marine units so has to be a must buy:)
•Illyrian Marines
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on May 24, 2014, 08:17:25 AM
Noticed new DLC due out in a few days....Pirates and raiders.
http://www.greenmangaming.com/s/us/en/pc/games/strategy/total-war-rome-ii-pirates-raiders-dlc/
For Jarhead, it has marine units so has to be a must buy:)
•Illyrian Marines
LoL...and to think I actually believed I was going to be able to skip this one.
Can't wait for it to come out so it can crash all my mods or require another campaign restart. :tickedoff:
I bought the new dlc yesterday ... it did suddenly appear out of nowhere.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on May 24, 2014, 08:17:25 AM
For Jarhead, it has marine units so has to be a must buy:)
•Illyrian Marines
LOL. "Illyrian Marines"?!
They should just say 'Band of Pirates', as that would be more appropriate. ;D
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on May 24, 2014, 08:17:25 AM
Noticed new DLC due out in a few days....Pirates and raiders.
http://www.greenmangaming.com/s/us/en/pc/games/strategy/total-war-rome-ii-pirates-raiders-dlc/
For Jarhead, it has marine units so has to be a must buy:)
•Illyrian Marines
I barely stopped myself from buying this. Much vacationing is coming up and I'll just buy like crazy when I get back. And I'll get this then with any luck.
Patch 13 is out. Now I will have to wait for the mods to catch up. Maybe I will spend some time trying to learn how to play Distant Worlds.
Quote from: Labbug on May 27, 2014, 08:51:51 PM
Now I will have to wait for the mods to catch up.
This. If nothing else, I really like the Four Seasons mod (and I know it's not been updated to be compatible with patch 13 yet).
Quote from: Labbug on May 27, 2014, 08:51:51 PM
Maybe I will spend some time trying to learn how to play Distant Worlds.
Also, this. Finally got my issues with Matrix resolved, and am downloading/installing
DW: Universe now. 8)
My mods are all playing just fine with Patch 13. We'll see about the new DLC however. May have to call the C:-) about it.
Quote from: Nefaro on May 24, 2014, 07:19:14 PM
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on May 24, 2014, 08:17:25 AM
For Jarhead, it has marine units so has to be a must buy:)
•Illyrian Marines
LOL. "Illyrian Marines"?!
They should just say 'Band of Pirates', as that would be more appropriate. ;D
I got the DLC and had a blast with the Ardenai and their Illyrian stuff. I'm not used to having an army devoid of any serious, solid, reliable troops. Even off in Gaul there are self-respecting hordes of one kind or another. So I made horrible mistakes of all kinds and the AI was on the verge of finishing me off when they got a little too close to my pirate base. The pirates swarmed out and annihilated the Noble Hopilites that had thereto been my nemesis. Scary. I was playing well past my bed time. I think I'll switch to the more Celtic bunch of pirates and not stay up so late.
Yeah, I can see some new ways to play with the new factions that might be very entertaining. Though I confess to being almost totally ignorant of any of them. I'm thinking the Illyrian faction should really work on the naval techs and maybe hampered by a lack of food early on.
Up above someone said Illyrian marines are really just rabble...are these new factions more rabble-rousers or legit powers? Hard to tell.
Quote from: Gusington on May 30, 2014, 10:33:09 AM
Up above someone said Illyrian marines are really just rabble...are these new factions more rabble-rousers or legit powers? Hard to tell.
They don't have a quasi-religious core unlike the superpowers of the time such as Rome, Carthage, Egypt or Parthia, but they aren't that all that much more utterly rabble-istic than say Pontus or the Selucids. They are blood-thirsty opportunists and pretty interesting to play -- if the Ardenai are a fair sample. The description of the DLC seemed to be implying that they had a tech-tree-style opportunity to develope some kind of religious institutions and become respectable, but so far I'd only developed foraging and Celtic Land allotments before a lot of people tried to kill me. I lived and now I feel more respectable, though, as yet, no well-defined twinges of piety have arisen in my thoroughly Illyrian world-view. It's like King Tut and Mary Poppins are out there somewhere where I can't quite see them and they are struggling for some kind of even minor sacrificial cult to be instituted somewhere in the darkness of Illyria.
^Illyria would be my first choice to play too. If players are actually able to develop some kind of belief system beyond hugging trees and barking at the moon, that would make for some really interesting gameplay.
Quote from: Gusington on May 30, 2014, 11:41:44 AM
^Illyria would be my first choice to play too. If players are actually able to develop some kind of belief system beyond hugging trees and barking at the moon, that would make for some really interesting gameplay.
They seemed promising, but once you start working with people with their cynical worldview -- well -- I hate to say it -- but you find yourself really missing some idealistic, downright barbaric, human-sacrificing bunch of starry-eyed optimists like your average Gallic Tribe.
But do you have a choice? If I want my Illyrians to remain a blight, can they? When I played as the Iceni you can bet your sweet bippy I planted groves and shrines and such in every civilized city I took...I did not adapt more modern religion.
Quote from: Gusington on May 30, 2014, 12:49:09 PM
But do you have a choice? If I want my Illyrians to remain a blight, can they? When I played as the Iceni you can bet your sweet bippy I planted groves and shrines and such in every civilized city I took...I did not adapt more modern religion.
See? See? The moral choices Rome II forces on you? I'm cracking under the mental strain and all I'm doing is eating oatmeal cookies at work.
The DLC does include some Balkanized Celts -- they at least have Sword Oafs or something. You can bet those guys don't even get up in the morning without 20 minutes of ritual postures. Before breakfast. I'll buy them a temple. I'll join the PTA. We will conquer the world.
HA Sword Oafs!! haha
Quote from: Gusington on May 30, 2014, 01:17:38 PM
HA Sword Oafs!! haha
Mental strain! I'm in a sig line! Must eat more cookies.
Breathe deeply. Peruse Steam. That may alleviate the stress. Or make it truly excruciating and torturous.
Quote from: Gusington on May 30, 2014, 01:17:38 PM
HA Sword Oafs!! haha
I gave up on the Ardei and took up the Gatae (who are the fourth of the Illyrian factions in the DLC apparently). These were barbarians I could understand and after many barbaric battles I have most of the Balkans and am about to wipe out Sparta, Athens and Macedon (they all still have fleets somewhere and agents that are making my barbaric life hard).
Why'd you give up?
Started my Carthagianian campaign in Hannibal at the Gates yesterday...it's a bit disappointing that the win conditions are not more customizable...makes the new campaigns very similar to the grand campaign.
Quote from: Gusington on June 02, 2014, 09:05:38 AM
Why'd you give up?
Started my Carthagianian campaign in Hannibal at the Gates yesterday...it's a bit disappointing that the win conditions are not more customizable...makes the new campaigns very similar to the grand campaign.
With the Ardei, I ended up getting into too many wars and I had no allies. Income would have been okay, but my loses were too big.
With the Getae, I stayed out of trouble and had plenty of allies and knocked out small barbarians who had no allies. I also worked more on tactics than I have lately -- which was neat. I had to use plenty of minor shifts: dismounting cavalry; setting up archers not to run away; drawing the enemy into killing grounds.
So you stopped with the Ardei because of loneliness?
Quote from: Gusington on June 02, 2014, 01:22:27 PM
So you stopped with the Ardei because of loneliness?
Loneliness, bad diplomacy, weird slingers etc. I just didn't understand that tribe. Now the Getae -- hell, Ovid even wrote some poems in Getic, right? So there you are.
I dunno...did he?
Quote from: Gusington on June 02, 2014, 03:01:29 PM
I dunno...did he?
I think he did. He was exiled to Getae-land by Augustus for excessive thoughts of and about Julia (August's daughter, IIRC).
Quote from: MengJiao on September 04, 2013, 08:51:36 AM
Quote from: Dolan50 on September 04, 2013, 08:30:40 AM
^^^^^^+100
This is another game I wanted to like because I like the concept and have a huge interest in Roman history,but the game never played or felt right to me and has yet to live up to my expectations.
Hopefully one day the game will mature enough to rekindle my interest in it.
Well, I was a little put off at first by the fantastically annoying tutorial campaign, but then I tried some custom sea battles. They were just awesome. The physics seemed very intuitive and very entertaining. My favorite sea fight moment was when I (as a Roman) caught a big Carthegnian Ship (probably a Hexereme --ack!) with a flaming ballista blaster quadrareme: I got off some shots into the oarsmen then switched to ramming. Rang up ramming spead and KA-BOOM: slapped that big boy to the bottom of the Tyrrenian Sea. After that I was sure it was an awesome game, though I was still annoyed by a lot of the strategic interface stuff -- until my hitherto Hellenophilic Pontic admiral had a change of heart. He sent a message that he liked Eastern People after all. "The women are great!" he exclaimed, and he gained +1 on negotiating with Easterners.
That was just so hilariously twisted that I invaded Cappadocia right away and signed up the Bythnians and Trabizoidians to come along.
I'm playing on Easy so that probably made it easy for the Admiral to find his way to a new accomodation with his lot in the Black Sea.
See, I liked this game all along.
How do you say rolling thunder of destruction in Punic? Because that's what I am in my current campaign. I have consolidated Iberia and am now rolling east...for Rome!! Get ready bitches.
Quote from: MengJiao on September 03, 2013, 02:22:39 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on September 03, 2013, 11:21:38 AM
Quote from: Yskonyn on September 03, 2013, 10:06:31 AM
Wouldn't that be thousands of Rutilii? :-X
It was a rather funny scene! On the one hand he wasn't doing anything to relieve his boat of the blocking by the enemy, but if the AI tried to board one of the other boats to engage in mele, but instead made all the soldiers jump into the water I can see where this will prove enraging for a lot of battles to come. :)
strangely and even more seriously, Mr. Rutilius the Poet only has one surviving work -- a nostalgic travelogue of a journey down from Gaul along the no-longer pagan coast of Italy.
But hmmm...boarding in FOTS required an order to the ship, probably a melee order to the melee troops on a ship in Rome II doesn't get them to do the right thing. The real Romans had to work out mechanisms on their ships to get that all to work. Perhaps his Corvus was fouled. Perhaps he had disregarded the sacred chickens during the pre-battle aurguries.
We can only imagine the furor if Mister Rutilius had read the reviews of the game in which his ilustrious ancestor Rutilius appears to have been captured by the Samnites. Shamefrool Dispray! Who has not kept the wax images of past ancestors polished? Who got the direction of his nostalgic jouneys backward? For surely as a former Perfect of Rome he was traveling (back in time as it were) back to his estates in Gaul, was he not? Did not the average pagan excell in rhetorical questions? I ask you?
Well, let me answer myself then: I understand the impulse to denounce CA for allegedly spending 4 million on maketing and making some odd cinematic representations that don't resemble the game, but I say, just as well. The game is no more and no less than your basic improved Total War and I'm glad it is about Rome and all the moreso since there are rumors the next Total War will be something like Fantasy Universe Total War -- How will the unwise wish then that they had polished up their ancestors more properly! Fantasy is no substitute for proper pagan piety!
Okay. So I'm a fanboi. Give me a Rutilius or two and I'm in for a few hundred bucks. If it costs less, so much the better.
Consider me a fanboi too. I freakin' love Rome 2!
I am not a fanboi. But I like it very very much.
Quote from: Gusington on June 30, 2014, 02:31:56 PM
I am not a fanboi. But I like it very very much.
At what point does liking turn into fanboi-dom?
When, upon staring at multiple obvious faults, that these multiple obvious faults are denied or defended because of past glory of the series.
So in an attempt to get back into Rome II, I went looking for some new mods in the workshop, and holy overwhelming where do I start ? I am almost thinking keep it simple and just use vanilla with 4 turns per year for a play through of Hannibal at the gates.
Some great mods out there, so hard to play mod soup, I could spent a day just messing with mods.
Any one recommend a good compilation ? I know DEI and Radious seem pretty popular, but not sure if I want to change that much.
Quote from: Skoop on June 30, 2014, 07:27:56 PM
So in an attempt to get back into Rome II, I went looking for some new mods in the workshop, and holy overwhelming where do I start ? I am almost thinking keep it simple and just use vanilla with 4 turns per year for a play through of Hannibal at the gates.
Some great mods out there, so hard to play mod soup, I could spent a day just messing with mods.
Any one recommend a good compilation ? I know DEI and Radious seem pretty popular, but not sure if I want to change that much.
Don't go all Mod Soup from the start.
Just get a couple small ones, if you must, and play mostly vanilla. Worry about Souping that bitch up later, after taking it for a few spins.
I've mostly only used UI mods, that get rid of the stupid ass plastic-looking background crap and replaces it with marble or faction-specific textures, and I may drop a small combat mod in for some campaigns. Oh.. and there was one I used which toned down the crazy faction colors on the soldiers in tactical battles.
Don't expect any of the big compilation "Mega" Mods to be complete and well-rounded anytime soon. Not to mention a patch will break your games you've used with them.
Don't let Mod Soup suck up all your time!
I just want to see Gus in his toga.
Got it on right now.
I agree stay away from mod soup. I have 4-5 simple ones running, like a UI adjustment (black marble) and a couple of extra units for Carthage (which are great). Almost done with the Hannibal at the Gates campaign...sacked Rome on Sunday :)
Quote from: Gusington on June 30, 2014, 04:56:22 PM
When, upon staring at multiple obvious faults, that these multiple obvious faults are denied or defended because of past glory of the series.
I'm a SUPER fanboi then because I never saw any faults at all!!!!
Quote from: MengJiao on July 01, 2014, 08:22:27 AM
Quote from: Gusington on June 30, 2014, 04:56:22 PM
When, upon staring at multiple obvious faults, that these multiple obvious faults are denied or defended because of past glory of the series.
I'm a SUPER fanboi then because I never saw any faults at all!!!!
;D
;)
I use Radious and like it a lot. It changes the AI behavior for more logical behavior and ups the morale in battles so they last longer. And gets rid of that annoying Mr. Wavering that pops up. However he also has eliminated the army and navy Forced March option that increases movement because the AI either uses it too much or not enough, and as a result sea movement takes forever. I gave up trying to get a good unit card replacement mod as none are ever updated regularly. Traits, Talents and Toadies is a good abilities/ skills enhancing mod but you really need a new campaign start to get the full effect. There's a highly rated mod for Hannibal at the Gates DLC, the Spartacus Campaign mod that looks Selma Hayek Good but I haven't tried it.
Selma Hayek good...that's really good.
There are definitely faults in Rome 2, Meng...to me the most obvious one is the repetitiveness of gameplay, especially after the 100 turn mark. But there is enoug variation in other parts of fhe game to not make repetition a game breaker...for me at least.
Quote from: Gusington on July 01, 2014, 01:09:14 PM
Selma Hayek good...that's really good.
There are definitely faults in Rome 2, Meng...to me the most obvious one is the repetitiveness of gameplay, especially after the 100 turn mark. But there is enoug variation in other parts of fhe game to not make repetition a game breaker...for me at least.
Like any game I like, yes, there are repetitive elements. I'm not so sure I'd know what to do with a game if there wasn't a lot of repetition.
Actually, I even enjoyed what might have been sort of a problem: that in the early patches, the AI was different after each patch. I recall that as the Parthenians (Normal Parthenians IIRC, my first normal campaign), the AI was very aggressive, but this enabled me to ambush my way across the world. After that the AI got less aggressive and things were different.
Gus, how is Rome 2 more repetetive than other TW games?
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 27, 2013, 02:37:29 PM
can you get those troops that come with a ship - off the ship?
Yes. Sometimes it all works out, though at the moment I can only recall plenty of disasters trying to get the nautical guys off the ships.
On the other hand, missile troops will engage against land targets from ships pretty well.
Hmm...is Rome 2 more or less repetitive than previous TWs...I guess it's about the same as repetition is a hard coded element and part of the nature of all TW games. I still love them but get weary of all of then towards the endgame, as a lot of people do. I always come back though because there are elemnts throughout the series that always draw me back.
Starting a new game with a new nation and getting your grand master scheme formed in your head is one of the greatest things when playing a TW game. :)
I find that after a while I tend to loose focus in end game and my game grinds to a halt.
Quote from: Yskonyn on July 02, 2014, 02:12:55 AM
Starting a new game with a new nation and getting your grand master scheme formed in your head is one of the greatest things when playing a TW game. :)
I find that after a while I tend to loose focus in end game and my game grinds to a halt.
It's that way for every TW campaign I ever started. At some point I give up and start a new one before winning.
Except my first
TW Shogun 2 vanilla campaign. That was the only one I played all the way through - right after it's launch, even! That's gotta say something. ;)
I admit to enjoying playing the hard-pressed factions early on in the TW games. You know the ones surrounded by enemies and with no money and your public on the point of revolution-- kind of like my real life. After things settle down it gets less enjoyable for me. In ETW it was getting Spain and the Ottomans chestnuts out of the fire but, then I never finished either campaign. In Rome 2, it's the Seleucids everybody's beating-up on early on but I like getting Rome itself up from 2 little cities into a respectable empire too. Why don't we have an emote with a little Roman helmet on?
Quote from: Sir Slash on July 02, 2014, 10:05:07 AM
I admit to enjoying playing the hard-pressed factions early on in the TW games. You know the ones surrounded by enemies and with no money and your public on the point of revolution-- kind of like my real life. After things settle down it gets less enjoyable for me. In ETW it was getting Spain and the Ottomans chestnuts out of the fire but, then I never finished either campaign. In Rome 2, it's the Seleucids everybody's beating-up on early on but I like getting Rome itself up from 2 little cities into a respectable empire too. Why don't we have an emote with a little Roman helmet on?
I quit campaigns for all kinds of reasons. Repetition is usually not one of them. I stopped playing the Gaul DLC and the Hannibal DLC (twice)because I could see I had worked myself into an economic dead end and only had one or two good armies and far too many enemies.
Similar things happened when I played Epirus or the DLC "Pirate" Ardeii. I fondly remember my first campaign as Easy Pontus -- when I was smashed by the Selucids and Easy Egypt when I crushed the Selucids -- but I don't think I got to turn 100 in either one before I went on to Normal Parthia -- which I might have won, though I don't remember.
In Rome 2 the pinnacle for me as been the sacking of Rome as any other faction. Love me some pillaging.
Quote from: Gusington on July 02, 2014, 12:25:31 PM
In Rome 2 the pinnacle for me as been the sacking of Rome as any other faction. Love me some pillaging.
Winning tough battles somewhat unexpectedly has always been my favorite thing in the TW series -- especially in Rome II where the battles have the best feel of any TW battles.
Some memorable ones:
As Normal Parthia: dismounting and using terrain to beat massive cavalry armies
As the Getae: trapping a large army in some narrow streets and massacring it with archery
As Miscellaneous Steppe Barbarians online: vaporizing the Cathegenians or Macedonians or Selucids so fast in the first two minutes or so that the players just left the game...ironically in some cases the Online AI did much better than the players who left the game would have done
Remind me not to talk to you when I periodically try to kick my TW addiction.
Quote from: Gusington on July 02, 2014, 02:07:15 PM
Remind me not to talk to you when I periodically try to kick my TW addiction.
Fortunately, I think the WarHammer 40K total war thing will totally and completely cure me of any residual TW interest. Rome II and its various mods and what not is pretty likely to be my last indulgence in TW.
All games have their time; the brief moments when they capture the imagination. And then they fade as quickly as a young girl's first bloom of beauty and are no more. Then vanish like Texcoco in a preceptive Nahuatl poem about the brevity of Texcoco.
I just havent been able to get into Rome Total War II. I have tried firing it up three or four times but always seem to bail out before 50 turns are done. I have only tried it with mods installed like Divide et Imperia etc.
Should I give up on Mods and just try and pay a Vanilla game? I dont know what it is but I just dont seem to be catching the fever with Rome TWII
Con
I got 2 free games with the new video card so I grabbed Shogun TW2 and Company of Heros 2. I've only sat down with Shogun for a little bit.
Shogun 2, to me, is a real work of art.
Con do you like the era? Sometimes that doesn't even work for me. I love the era of Empire: TW but it's my least favorite of all the TWs. I personally think TW works much better with melee combat only.
Meng the upcoming TW is for the WH fantasy universe, not WH40K. Don't know if that makes a difference to you. To me, it definitely does.
I really have no interest in the Shogun period. I too like Napoleonic and I spent a lot of time with ETW and the Napoleon mods but eventually drifted away from this as well due to the mechanics of gunpowder/firearms just not feeling very realistic in the battles. (This is my opinion). Also the attacks onto forts were just silly beyond belief.
I really liked Rome I and MTW II so I thought going back to Rome would be better for my interest. To be honest one of the compelling reasons I bought Rome II was to test out a new graphics card I had recently purchased. I wanted to see some large scale epic old school Hollywood cinematic battles.
Con
Were you not happy with the battles?
Quote from: Gusington on July 02, 2014, 06:40:49 PM
Shogun 2, to me, is a real work of art.
Meng the upcoming TW is for the WH fantasy universe, not WH40K. Don't know if that makes a difference to you. To me, it definitely does.
I can see my carefully planned escape from being a TW fanboi may not turn out as planned.
My work is finished here.
I never knew Roman era soldiers were so talkative before a battle. I swear I heard one soldier talking about his mother-in-law... being a War Elephant. I was like :o
Quote from: Sir Slash on July 03, 2014, 10:02:39 AM
I never knew Roman era soldiers were so talkative before a battle. I swear I heard one soldier talking about his mother-in-law... being a War Elephant. I was like :o
Well, we know there were some memorable conversations before some of these battles. Problems with ignoring the sacred chickens and so on as well as a report tha,t before Cannae, Hannibal and Gisgo had the following conversation:
Gisgo -- "Yikes! Look at all those Romans!"
Hannibal -- "Yes, and in all those thousands, not one is named Gisgo."
So - I've been trying to get back into this - probably played more hours last night and today than I had since a year or more.
- But I just can't seem to balance the books and my armies. I always seem to have big stacks of armies (always needed - who uses little armies?) does anyone use small armies - for anything
- Diplomacy - has it ever worked in these games or are my expectations too high? I am the (don't know...south east in UK) and I have blood links, a good relationship and agreements in places with the Caledones - but will join a confederation with me? noooooo...choosey bastards!
- And finally - what is the best way to take over an enemy town. I normally seem to choose the most peaceful...but they ALWAYS revolt - more often sooner than not. When you take over a town - what option do you select?
I
thought I had made a mistake by taking on the Dumnonii (or whatever!) - I attacked their town thinking they had the same number of troops - then realised that they had twice the number with reinforcements. I
almost selected the auto battle - expecting a rout of my troops - but I fought it - and realised more than half their troops were weak and just villagers who ran. I do like that aspect - that villagers will/can increase your troops fighting for a city.
I sometimes will recruit a single General with high Public Order numbers to help pacify a city after I capture it. Also hold up on the taxes and demolish and re-build buildings that up the Public Order and in a couple of turns the people will settle down. If the city is one you don't need or can't hold, Raze it and let the enemy spend money to rebuild it or just Loot the hell out of it and let it revolt. Sometimes if it goes independent, you can get a trade deal even. One way to expand is to check out the Diplomacy window and offer Alliances or Satrapicies to factions if you go to war with their enemies and then later make peace with the people you just declared war on if you can't handle them. This seems to work better for me than just the routine diplomatic approach. Watch your food levels, this can cripple you if you expand too quickly. Agents also help pacify any territory if they specialize in this.
Quote from: JudgeDredd on July 05, 2014, 01:56:48 AM
So - I've been trying to get back into this - probably played more hours last night and today than I had since a year or more.
- But I just can't seem to balance the books and my armies. I always seem to have big stacks of armies (always needed - who uses little armies?) does anyone use small armies - for anything
- Diplomacy - has it ever worked in these games or are my expectations too high? I am the (don't know...south east in UK) and I have blood links, a good relationship and agreements in places with the Caledones - but will join a confederation with me? noooooo...choosey bastards!
- And finally - what is the best way to take over an enemy town. I normally seem to choose the most peaceful...but they ALWAYS revolt - more often sooner than not. When you take over a town - what option do you select?
I thought I had made a mistake by taking on the Dumnonii (or whatever!) - I attacked their town thinking they had the same number of troops - then realised that they had twice the number with reinforcements. I almost selected the auto battle - expecting a rout of my troops - but I fought it - and realised more than half their troops were weak and just villagers who ran. I do like that aspect - that villagers will/can increase your troops fighting for a city.
What you can achieve with Diplomacy is all relative to your current standings with the foreign power in question. And those standings don't often change very quickly... they do so over time.
In order to make friends, you gotta get friendly situation going. Get non-aggression pacts and trade agreements with them ASAP, as that will give you a relation increase every turn. After awhile, they'll become more friendly (unless you also have some penalty situations) so it slowly becomes easier to deal with them.
The bonuses and penalties with a certain faction is visible in the diplo screen when you're talking to them. It may be in a tooltip IIRC.
As you progress and succeed diplomacy gets easier and powers begin to come to you. At least in my experience. Also I use small armies (8-10) units to patrol provinces. Some provinces no matter how much infrastructure I built are never happy. Also if its a border province alongside a hostile power the AI will attack if they see you are weak. YMMV of course.
Thanks for the advice.
I was just surprised (unrealistically I guess) that the Caledonis(?) wouldn't make a federation with me because we had trade, non aggression pact, defensive pact etc, etc - and we were blood lines - so I as expecting at least an moderate outcome...but it's been low (and rejected) each time.
I have since wiped out the Dumnonii and so own south UK and north west France. Money is good. Public Order has regained to a HUGE positive number.
But now I have another problem (question).
Public order takes a bit of a dive (maybe linked to how long you've had a captured town) when you move troops out. So I have the Ebdani who I'm at war with but not had any run ins with as yet...but they're my next target. Unfortunately, I am only allowed 4 armies - and they are each occupying my 4 cities to keep Public Order in order...so how do I get enough forces to battle AND keep garrisons?
^Increase your infrastructure. If you require more food, build more food producing agricultural and coastal structures (ports, etc). If you are worried about morale dropping when your armies move out, build morale increasing structures. And if you own an entire province, you can declare edicts (bread & games, tax bonus, etc) that can both increase happiness and good throughout your lands. It's a delicate balance but once you get it becomes a fun part of the game.
...And of course, it's still not a bad idea to keep an army or two around recently-conquered areas for rebellion prevention/suppression. At least, that's been my experience so far.
If you haven't picked up the latest DLC which was the Pirates and Raiders, not sure you can beat the price of $2.71 at GetGames...you get a steam key for it of course. Other DLC is 66% off as well. No idea how long the sale lasts...I picked it up to complete all my DLC for this game...now I just have to play it:)
http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/total-war-rome-2-pirates-and-raiders-culture-pack
My next play through, if not Sparta, may be as one of those Pirates and Raiders factions. All three of them look fun.
Just saw I have the original Rome TW game on Steam I bought on sale over a year ago but never played. Been playing a campaign for a couple of days now and must admit it is a very engaging and fun game. How does Rome TW 2 compare? Does it have a similar feel and game play to it as does the first? Or is a total remaking of the game into something else?
Quote from: Rayfer on July 09, 2014, 07:04:46 AM
Just saw I have the original Rome TW game on Steam I bought on sale over a year ago but never played. Been playing a campaign for a couple of days now and must admit it is a very engaging and fun game. How does Rome TW 2 compare? Does it have a similar feel and game play to it as does the first? Or is a total remaking of the game into something else?
This post might give you some idea...although I can't verify it is 100% accurate, but seems to be worthwhile to read.
http://www.reddit.com/r/totalwar/comments/1qwj7a/everything_rome_1_had_that_rome_2_doesnt/
Thanks GR....that was an interesting read. An almost endless list of functions in 1 that aren't in 2. He claims he was banned from their forums for posting this. It is a scathing critique. For the time being I'll enjoy the original for awhile longer then consider 2 during the holiday sales at the end of the year.
I had forgotten most of these differences but they are generally true. Rome 1 was a much deeper game and it's add-on Barbarian Invasion had just about the toughest AI in any game I've played. I almost bought Rome 1 when it was on the summer Steam sale recently as I've always missed it after I stopped playing it but the look was just too retro for me. Rome 2 is beautiful but beauty is only skin-deep, unless it comes with great wealth also.
Wow...that list does throw some perspective on Rome I vs. Rome 2, although some items mentioned, like seasons, have been added and other items, like culture specific HUDs, can be modded in. One feature I miss the most from Rome I is being able to walk around your cities during peacetime to see the improvements you've made over time.
All that said I still enjoy Rome 2 a lot and definitely think it gets an unnecessarily bad rap.
wait til Warhammer comes out and the GW loonies start
I've played nothing but Rome II for the last few days!
I'm really enjoying it
Shhhh....I made the mistake of saying the same thing at the "another site" and was attacked for it. So keep it in the low down..
Quote from: undercovergeek on July 09, 2014, 07:59:30 AM
wait til Warhammer comes out and the GW loonies start
I'm looking forward to the Warhammer Fantasy one.
If they don't half-ass it. Would it be surprising if they only released with half the major races and put the rest in DLC? ???
I miss the city view too even if it took awhile to load. I tried to follow the people to see where they were going but they'd just disappear at the walls. I remember playing BI as the Huns and how hard it was to capture walled cities as you couldn't build siege equiptment and after you captured a city, it was a bitch to control public order without the tech to use the entertainment or sanitation buildings. The cultures played more differently than in Rome 2.
I loved playing as the Huns. I think I won a Hun campaign too. Fear my horsey wrath!
The city view is the one and only feature from RTW that I truly miss. Otherwise, I find Rome II to be a vastly superior experience (especially in terms of AI and atmosphere/immersion), regardless of whatever qualities either game has or lacks. But again, everyone here knows I despised RTW, so I'm not exactly unbiased. ::)
Quote from: Martok on July 09, 2014, 02:20:16 PM
The city view is the one and only feature from RTW that I truly miss. Otherwise, I find Rome II to be a vastly superior experience (especially in terms of AI and atmosphere/immersion), regardless of whatever qualities either game has or lacks. But again, everyone here knows I despised RTW, so I'm not exactly unbiased. ::)
While I remember a few surreal moments from RTW, I think Rome II is a much better game. The naval warfare alone would make it much better.
Thanks MengJiao. Glad to know I'm not the only who feels that way.
Quote from: mikeck on July 09, 2014, 08:35:07 AM
Shhhh....I made the mistake of saying the same thing at the "another site" and was attacked for it. So keep it in the low down..
I saw that thread, the scene sucks over there. Some real turds floating around ruining the pool party.
I heard a comment that we at grog heads are on Prozac because we like to play so many games.
You should've seen what happened when I said that I was actually enjoying "x rebirth"
I said that the game was buggy missing a lot of features and incomplete...but at the same time I was having fun playing it and found to be fairly immersive. Oh my God I got ripped to shreds.
I just quit going. people can disagree on whether a game is good or not, it just doesn't seem to make sense to attack a person because they like a particular game
There's one guy in particular -- I won't name names, but anyone who's dropped in over there knows who it is -- who spews forth so much vitriol regarding our being "mindless fanbois" here, that I'm honestly convinced he's going to choke to death on his own bile.
I think he's just secretly jealous (whether he realizes/admits it or not) that we can actually enjoy games that were made in the last decade... ::)
My thoughts exactly guys, love or hate a game, you can get the best intel here from like minded wargamers. That other site is just pages of nonsense threads with no game intel.
Quote from: Martok on July 10, 2014, 11:24:34 AM
There's one guy in particular -- I won't name names, but anyone who's dropped in over there knows who it is -- who spews forth so much vitriol regarding our being "mindless fanbois" here, that I'm honestly convinced he's going to choke to death on his own bile.
I think he's just secretly jealous (whether he realizes/admits it or not) that we can actually enjoy games that were made in the last decade... ::)
As a dedicated mindless fanboi...I'd just like to say this about that -- 1) there are plenty of games I have not played, but I generally don't offer opinions about them 2) There probably are some games I don't like, but then I usually don't have much of any use to say about them, so why would I bother? 3) Let's suppose there was a game that I didn't like and that I did play to some useful degree -- hopefully I could explain myself without denegrating people who were lucky enough to enjoy the game 4) and that's the penultimate point -- to enjoy something is to enjoy some good fortune and to enjoy something that other people don't like is to have a good fortune that they have not had and never will unless they change their lacking-in-enjoyment ways.
5) and here's the final point -- so if somebody says they don't like a particular game -- if you are magnanimous you can share your good fortune by explaining what is enjoyable about what they don't enjoy.
Something else too: When someone here doesn't like a game, they usually don't waste time haranguing it. In fact, they can even acknowledge its good points, and/or why others *do* like said game (even if/when they don't agree). You don't see that at the other place very often.
Quote from: Martok on July 10, 2014, 12:21:02 PM
Something else too: When someone here doesn't like a game, they usually don't waste time haranguing it. In fact, they can even acknowledge its good points, and/or why others *do* like said game (even if/when they don't agree). You don't see that at the other place very often.
Having a lot to say about a game you don't like seems like an odd mental state. First: did you play the game a lot? Why, if you didn't like it?
And if you didn't play it much, then you don't really have much to say. In my case there are some exceptions -- games that I had to stop playing because they were too immersive and took too much time. But I guess that's not all that negative. Okay Espana 1936 -- horrible game -- why did I play it for weeks? I guess I had too much hope for it. But there you see -- the odd mental state of being too hopeful about a particular game.
I joined Grogs because when Skyrim first came out, I wanted honest opinion about how good the game was. After Oblivion I expected the worst and opinion here was at first somewhat negative but then went to a very positive opinion of the game and I must say the most accurate one too. All in a respectful and knowledgeable way. And ahead of any other site. I know the Grogs here cannot be bought, bribed, or intimated by any game or game company and that's why I always look here first. And for the discussions about Boobs.
I can be easily bribed with bewbays.
Quote from: Gusington on July 10, 2014, 01:08:40 PM
I can be easily bribed with bewbays.
Here is a nice shot of some bouillabaisse
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2F8%2F86%2FBrazilian_bouillabaisse.jpg%2F250px-Brazilian_bouillabaisse.jpg&hash=96c5f29e5517dd00af94fb5fc11e92a9448efc4b)
Quote from: Sir Slash on July 10, 2014, 12:59:33 PM
I joined Grogs because when Skyrim first came out, I wanted honest opinion about how good the game was. After Oblivion I expected the worst and opinion here was at first somewhat negative but then went to a very positive opinion of the game and I must say the most accurate one too. All in a respectful and knowledgeable way. And ahead of any other site. I know the Grogs here cannot be bought, bribed, or intimated by any game or game company and that's why I always look here first. And for the discussions about Boobs.
I joined later -- the summer of 2012 -- Apparently I was doing roughly what I do now:
I did as planned in DCCB: redeployed the Soviet 6th Army, did a fighting withdrawal from the Kerch Peninsula, sank an Italian S-Boat off Roumania, bombarded the stuffing out of the Luftwaffe around the Sea of Azov, broke through north of Kharkov, destroyed most of the 23rd PZ up there as well as 2 Hungarian Divisions and Two German divisions. Of course, since it is May 1942, STAVKA isn't firing on all cylinders so I might not even take Kharkov before the Germans punch a hole somewhere and I have to go defensive. Right now STAVKA rates the battle as rather a low-prestige level 7 offensive and I was lucky to get 100 extra fighters out of them before my Political Points went so low that I can barely replace bad Army Commanders with mediocre Army Commanders.
Meanwhile, Fontenoy turned up and I'll post about that in the Wargames section
Do these Bewbays have to be Carthaginian?
Quote from: Gusington on July 10, 2014, 01:08:40 PM
I can be easily bribed with bewbays.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ft3.gstatic.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcTD93lp0wAweFDBy_NoeV27CyPfv_2Cahz-RL9bEcASIUU63j7m&hash=03864c3f79e6d38e4d24c0545b76cf5702370c9d)
One in the hand, or two in the bush?? Or otherwise known as...
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fshockerbook.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F06%2Fthe-shocker.jpg&hash=074eebb416430504d0aa007f51baedb07e73863e)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fralphiesportal.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F01%2Fboobies.jpg&hash=85e1496482a955ebed01de2dfd243d08c33b2122)
Consider me now sufficiently bribed. Except for my Carthaginian needs.
God bless the internet because this image pops up when you type Carthaginian Boobies
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwoot.iiichan.net%2Fcontent%2F579.png&hash=91138f63524275f3310e69ac67fcf2f9dcefad99)
^HA you win.
I know maybe not popular, but I see the original Rome total war collection is only $3.25 at Gamersgate on sale....might pick up to complete my collection that is not on CDs (I own on CDs):)
http://www.gamersgate.com/DDB-ROMETWC/rome-total-war-collection
Quote from: MengJiao on July 10, 2014, 12:38:28 PM
Having a lot to say about a game you don't like seems like an odd mental state. First: did you play the game a lot? Why, if you didn't like it?
And if you didn't play it much, then you don't really have much to say. In my case there are some exceptions -- games that I had to stop playing because they were too immersive and took too much time. But I guess that's not all that negative. Okay Espana 1936 -- horrible game -- why did I play it for weeks? I guess I had too much hope for it. But there you see -- the odd mental state of being too hopeful about a particular game.
I did have a lot of hopes for it as well, and I loved the chrome there - as I could relate emotionally to the events depicted and the units on the map. But at the end of the day, the only good thing about it was the chrome: the game just didn't feel at all like the Spanish civil war, a protracted, mostly static struggle punctuated by a few major pitched battles and offensives, and where diplomacy and rear area politics & propaganda won the war. I just think AGEOD's engine just wasn't suited for that kind of warfare. That, and also the technical issues that rendered the game unplayable after a few turns.
As to why at all to comment about a game you dislike, I do so when I see something posted regarding mechanics, user interface or AI which goes against the grain of any recollections I have of the experience. Some recent studies on on-line commerce found out that people tend to avoid products that mostly have very good reviews, and any bad reviews are actively trolled by others, but tend to prefer those products where reviews (or user comments, or whatever) are mostly good, and 'negative' reviews or comments are written in a thoughtful, polite manner and are factual. I try to be the last three things whenever I make a negative comment.
Grogheads is a very nice forum since it is actively "policed" to keep people civil - hence I am not surprised to see myself coming here to check what's cool and what's cold :)
And going back on-topic: I agree with MengJiao and Martok that Rome II is a far superior game to the original. Rome I was one of the last games I bought in a box from a brick & mortar store, and oh boy!, it was indeed quite broken in many ways. The smacktalk about Rome II falls into many of the biases this guy here discusses in the context of football punditry
http://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbling/2014/06/cognitive-biases-in-football-punditry.html
and probably apply to pretty much any human activity :)
Quote from: Bletchley_Geek on July 10, 2014, 10:03:44 PM
I did have a lot of hopes for it as well, and I loved the chrome there - as I could relate emotionally to the events depicted and the units on the map. But at the end of the day, the only good thing about it was the chrome: the game just didn't feel at all like the Spanish civil war, a protracted, mostly static struggle punctuated by a few major pitched battles and offensives, and where diplomacy and rear area politics & propaganda won the war. I just think AGEOD's engine just wasn't suited for that kind of warfare. That, and also the technical issues that rendered the game unplayable after a few turns.
Ah Miguel. I noticed your proper Spanish appreciation of a good tercio.
Quote from: MengJiao on July 11, 2014, 08:40:10 AM
Ah Miguel. I noticed your proper Spanish appreciation of a good tercio.
:)
Ginormous new beta patch 14:
http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_14
Above is a link to the change log. Huge
Quote from: mikeck on July 22, 2014, 07:55:46 PM
Ginormous new beta patch 14:
http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_14
Above is a link to the change log. Huge
Wow...pretty big list of changes, a lot around sieges.....glad I purchased all the remaining DLC recently in a sale:) Just about time to get serious with this once the official patch comes out....
AI improvements? Excellent.
I gotta hand it to them, they've steadily improved this post release. I didn't expect them to do so for this long, especially after most of their previous titles being swiftly left behind after release, in favor of their next title.
I suppose this means there will be lots more DLC with which they expect to get more income. That's fine with me.. I think there is plenty of room to expand around the period (Earlier Diadochi Wars start, a whole new Greek & Persian off-shoot, a Fall of Rome "Barbarian Invasion" one, etc).
They've really stuck this out, which is a nice change.
Awesome! Thanks for the heads-up
mikeck.
Quote from: Nefaro on July 22, 2014, 09:37:54 PM
AI improvements? Excellent.
I gotta hand it to them, they've steadily improved this post release. I didn't expect them to do so for this long, especially after most of their previous titles being swiftly left behind after release, in favor of their next title.
They've really stuck this out, which is a nice change.
Seconded. I've been very pleasantly surprised by how long and rigorously CA/Sega has supported this game. And all the AI improvements make me go squee. ;D
Currently in Ibiza reading the gates of fire..... It's got me all pointy for the Spartans... it may have to be a new campaign with them
Does vanilla now have more seasons or does that still need modding?
Quote from: undercovergeek on July 23, 2014, 03:46:01 AM
Currently in Ibiza reading the gates of fire..... It's got me all pointy for the Spartans... it may have to be a new campaign with them
Does vanilla now have more seasons or does that still need modding?
I'm pretty sure vanilla still has the one-turn-per-year thing. Although CA added different seasons, so you'll get a whole year of winter followed by a year of spring, etc. The addition was to satisfy the modding crowd and players who wanted two or four turns per year with seasons modelled. So it's rather half-assed since they added seasonal changes but not more turns per year in the vanilla game. You still have to get a mod for that.
Reading this from my bunk at annual training with the NY Guard...at least now I know the first thing I will be doimg when I fire my PC back up :)
Thank you for your service Gus. And for keeping N.Y. state safe for all of us. :)
Quote from: Nefaro on July 22, 2014, 09:37:54 PM
AI improvements? Excellent.
I gotta hand it to them, they've steadily improved this post release. I didn't expect them to do so for this long, especially after most of their previous titles being swiftly left behind after release, in favor of their next title.
I suppose this means there will be lots more DLC with which they expect to get more income. That's fine with me.. I think there is plenty of room to expand around the period (Earlier Diadochi Wars start, a whole new Greek & Persian off-shoot, a Fall of Rome "Barbarian Invasion" one, etc).
They've really stuck this out, which is a nice change.
Yep. I think the potential for all kinds of cool DLCs is there and may be one reason they are patching the base game over and over.
And Patch 14 is public. The saga continues.
Quote from: Sir Slash on July 31, 2014, 11:01:14 AM
And Patch 14 is public. The saga continues.
I may fire this up on the big TV this weekend. Or revisit
Skyrim, perhaps.
I am patiently waiting for the announcement of Barbarian Invasion 2.
Newb question (I only skimmed the surface on Medieval Total War 2) Is there a big diff between Rome II and Medieval II ? Has the gameplay etc has changed significantly?
Short answer: yes. On the bright side I think Rome 2 is more accessible than Medieval 2, at a minimum.
Do you mean to say it works the best out of the box, versus having patches and then mods to enhance the gameplay? I skimmed a bit over the TW boards, and everybody has a different opinion. I guess I do prefer Medieval style warfare though.
Is RomeII a memory hog? I put together my system back in 2010-2011. Haven't had time or that much gaming needs to update yet (I better do it before the baby).
- Core 2 Quad Q9550 (2.83Ghz)
- 4GB DDR2
- GTX 460 1GB
actually doesn't look like the game specs have increased much, should be fine I guess.
Quote from: endfire79 on July 31, 2014, 02:16:28 PM
Newb question (I only skimmed the surface on Medieval Total War 2) Is there a big diff between Rome II and Medieval II ? Has the gameplay etc has changed significantly?
Yes.
The general style is still the same but many of the little details (and the game engine) have changed. Most notably on the campaign side.
^Yes, I agree. It has been about seven years between games also.
Quote from: Gusington on July 31, 2014, 07:44:00 PM
^Yes, I agree. It has been about seven years between games also.
That equates to approximately a century in Computer Years.
ah I know. I just have a habit of never finishing some games that I've had for a while. Has the AI really improved much yet?
Depends on who you ask. I had experiences with brain dead siege AI in Rome 2 but that was many patches ago. And I've also seen the AI act ruthlessly. YMMV
right - i might be back on this next week - is radious still the go to mod or has vanilla replicated his fixes by now
or is there a fabby new one?
Steam workshop content coms out so fast for Rome 2 that if you're not careful it will snap your neck.
Yeah its sparta for me next, I might just go 4 seasons and vanilla
11:00 am - amazon update - stick will arrive at 6pm (for Elite)
11:02 am - ill just have a look and see how Rome II is doing after a 6 month absence
11:04 am - recent reading and film watching leads me to choose Sparta
19:03 pm - oh, so errrrr, right, that was a day gone battling Epirus and the Athenians then!!
great times, hard start but i think i have it sussed
LOL. Too funny, geek.
I'm just glad I'm going to bed here shortly. Otherwise, I'd be sorely tempted to fire up a new campaign (which I didn't get a chance to do this past weekend). Just one more night til my "weekend" begins...
Hey Geek about your earlier question, I play with Radious and prefer it to vanilla but it has one great flaw. Radious deleted the "Forced March" option because he said the AI didn't use it properly. Armies and fleets now move at a single pace which for armies isn't too bad but fleets just crawl across the map, so slowly it's almost not worth using them except locally. This might be a deal-breaker for you if you haven't already tried it. Otherwise, love it.
Anyone play any sieges with the new patch? Even the guys over at TWC begrudgingly admit that sieges are better now. Macedon beckons!
Quote from: Gusington on August 04, 2014, 01:38:53 PM
Anyone play any sieges with the new patch? Even the guys over at TWC begrudgingly admit that sieges are better now. Macedon beckons!
Sieges are a lot better. The AI will use siege equipment and hit more than one point now. I can actually lose a siege on a walled city if I only have the default garrison.
I'm having a lot of fun playing with DeI .095 and the new patch.
I haven't been besieged yet since 14 came out. I just got "Boiling Oil" for all my cities and maybe that's scared everyone away. Come to think of it, I haven't besieged a city with Boiling Oil. Anybody else? How bad is it on your attacking troops?
just got seiged - 2600 thracians came screaming over the wall on four siege towers, no milling around on the walls, no standing at the gate hitting it with teaspoons
btw - which kind of water upgrade do i need to trade overseas - harbour, shipwright or dock
^Harbor, IIRC.
Wasn't '2600 Thracians Came Screaming Over the Wall' a b-side by Men at Work?
that may well be the case - i had 160 chosen men of Sparta who cut through 500 men on top of the wall like a knife through butter
You won the battle??
No.... I would have done in a straight fight but they surrounded the last of my survivors and headed for the town centre before I realised what they were doing - he had 600 men left to my 500 but I was in better shape.... this wasn't my main army though, next turn came back with the hammers of herakles and their 8/8/11 General and wiped them out
one thracian settlement left, they have no army and then ill have my first 'province' the other 2 i can take have Athens in - im their only ally but they have 38 units to my 24 - itll be troublesome
Fell for the age old trick of signing non aggression pacts with everyone to concentrate on Thrace and now will have to break one if om not taking Athens
Non aggression pacts should not even be an option! This is Sparta, after all.
so thats Thracia gone and the whole reason for taking it was a complete waste of time...........
depending on which side of the fence you stand there is a design flaw/historical design feature with Sparta - it cant trade with anyone except Athens until it destroys Athens no matter how many ports you capture elsewhere in the world
le sigh - mind you, ive hit spartan pikemen, so after discovering the wonder of pikes and their proper use im going to build them and steam roll athens
That's a real bummer Geek. I knew Sparta was a tough start but not that tough. I say Spartan discrimination. Grounds for a "Do-Over" in my book. On the other hand, as the German Confederation, I control everything north of the Alps but can't build or own a Trade Port. Everything I capture turns into a Fishing Port. We are up to our butts in fish but no trading allowed. Makes you want to stick a short sword into someone.
Lol, yeah well I needed Athens anyway.... I'll point my pukes in that direction
So after you destroy Athens you can trade as Sparta?
Burning oil is nasty... Especially if you can get a if group of enemy bunched up
Quote from: Gusington on August 05, 2014, 01:31:54 PM
So after you destroy Athens you can trade as Sparta?
Yup it sits on the only road out of Sparta
Interesting. And with Athens there are regular free trade conditions?
From what I've read once you take Athens you're up to your ears in cash
^ Very interesting. I have taken alot of territory to the north of Sparta but have no yet attacked Athens. They have huge navy and army stacks just parked in and around the city. With trying to keep my border towns secure I haven't been able to mass troops to even think about attacking them. However, they just recently declared war on someone across the Agean Sea. This might be the opportunity I was looking for if they send troops off to fight. If my economy allows I should begin to invest in some siege equipment.
they just declared on a guy across the Bospherous on mine - hoping they can deal him a lot of damage - like you they have stacks just stood outside the city, plus the city provides 15 garrison units - all in all about 50 units - i could do with that reducing :-\
I just got screwed in my campaign as the Germans. The Luigi joined my confederation but I inherited their losing war against the Claitori. Seems the Luigi invested all their military might in fleets uselessly sailing around the Baltic instead of land armies. I'll have to correct this. In the west, the Iceni declared war on my ally and so I went to war with them in support. Only to find out the Iceni couldn't possibly reach my ally's territory but have a open door to all of mine. That's what I get for being a Good Seubi. >:(
lol - i thought calamity had happened in mine, just as i was marching on the last Thracian city, Athens accepted them as a client state, i tentatively attacked an outlying army and Athens never moved, didnt declare war on me. I attacked the last city and took it, leaving 3 offshore ships so they werent wiped out and then Athens declared war on them again - god knows what the Thracians did
but honestly expected Athens to get involved, there would have been trouble!
Error/exploit or just not enough time for Athens to do anything?
Quote from: Gusington on August 06, 2014, 02:27:55 PM
Error/exploit or just not enough time for Athens to do anything?
In all the previous versions' campaigns I've played, Epirus gets quickly eliminated. Then Athens goes a short time afterward.
Between the Macedonians and Sparta alone, they're usually the prime targets. But I've often seen Rome head over there and jump in on the baby punching too. This has always been the trend when the AI is running the Greeks, in my games.
ive taken Epirus' 2 cities, as the second one fell Macedonia declared on me for no reason, Athens decided to stand by my side and attacked Macedonia, at this point Thrace saw Macedonia in trouble and attacked them too.
Athens took Pella, i took their capital and wiped the Macedonians out as Thrace had taken the rest, then i dispatched Thrace - so i have a large C shipped territory of Epirus, Sparta and Macedonia all looped around Athens and Pella
Sounds as if you are afraid of Athens. Get in there and punch that baby.
Quote from: Gusington on August 07, 2014, 02:39:07 PM
Sounds as if you are afraid of Athens. Get in there and punch that baby.
For as much as I'm an Athens fanboy, I must concur with Gus.
You're f***ing Sparta, man! Show those nancy-boy sailors who's boss!
Hahaha!
I am jonesing to jump in again and try Macedon for another campaign win...but...Macedon's roster looks a little anemic. I suppose after Carthage any roster would look less than stellar.
Quote from: Gusington on August 08, 2014, 01:30:21 PM
Hahaha!
I am jonesing to jump in again and try Macedon for another campaign win...but...Macedon's roster looks a little anemic. I suppose after Carthage any roster would look less than stellar.
I felt the same way about most others after my first long game as Pontus. Compared to Carthage, the others have few choices. ;D
I'm on it tonight, I need to draw out some of the defenders first and then kill the garrison in a second battle
Now I have my secret pike attack method i should be ok
Dare I ask what your favorite Greek faction is? I am drawn to Macedon, and Pontus, and Sparta...really almost all of them. I have to narrow it down.
It's got to be Sparta.... I thought the back story to their history and ethos was pure fiction in 300 but to read it was real.... man they're hardcore!
Quote from: Gusington on August 08, 2014, 01:59:34 PM
Dare I ask what your favorite Greek faction is? I am drawn to Macedon, and Pontus, and Sparta...really almost all of them. I have to narrow it down.
(I know you directed this question more at
'geek, but I'm going to throw in my two cents anyway...)
The history geek in me will always love Athens. When it comes to classical Greece, they've long been the city-state that's fascinated me the most.
However, from a gameplay perspective, I have to say I've found Pontus to be a lot of fun. I'm not sure what it is about them exactly that I find so compelling, but I have a blast almost every time I play as them.
Dammit, I may just buy this game now. It looks fine!
I went on a tour of Peloponnesus and the western coast back in '97 (Olympia, Kalamata, Sparta, Nafplio). We chased the local 'skirts and survived.
Really have to read up about the Peloponnesian war again.
^Donald Kagan's book on it is great...you can probably get it for pennies!
Quote from: Martok on August 08, 2014, 04:07:14 PM
Quote from: Gusington on August 08, 2014, 01:59:34 PM
Dare I ask what your favorite Greek faction is? I am drawn to Macedon, and Pontus, and Sparta...really almost all of them. I have to narrow it down.
(I know you directed this question more at 'geek, but I'm going to throw in my two cents anyway...)
The history geek in me will always love Athens. When it comes to classical Greece, they've long been the city-state that's fascinated me the most.
However, from a gameplay perspective, I have to say I've found Pontus to be a lot of fun. I'm not sure what it is about them exactly that I find so compelling, but I have a blast almost every time I play as them.
Oh yes, Pontus was fun! I picked it as my first run in Rome II. The Selucides crushed them.
Now I'm back from vacation. Maybe I'll start a new Rome II run.
read the updates on DeI mod over at twcentre - its massive, all kinds of factions going on
BTW Rome II Total Realism is available:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?652342-Rome-II-Total-Realism-CCLXXII-BC-Campaign-(Beta-1-9090814)&p=13839778&viewfull=1#post13839778
Ohhh, Hell no! :tickedoff: Somebody got chocolate in my peanutbutter! I mean somebody got WOMEN in my Rome 2. The Daughters of Mars DLC adds 12 new units for $2.99, about half female units and all with annoying shouts that sound like, "You didn't used to just sit around all day playing damned games". Some are recruitable faction wise or as Mercs. If you don't want women in your Rome 2, too bad. The automatic upgrade includes 4 free female units anyway-- total of 16. To make matters worse, Radious just added another 7 new female units to go along with the DLC. No Naked Warriors or Booby Camel Riders-- sorry guys.
What the.... :idiot2:
So the AI will now be running around with bands of female warrior mercenaries? >:(
Aw, nuts.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.akamai.steamstatic.com%2Fsteam%2Fapps%2F297830%2Fss_1512e08d1fb9863118964a60e415ebb2baf2ecc8.1920x1080.jpg%3Ft%3D1408028714&hash=e3768cf29b6ba730bc2bd02115e2267c16df922d)
dear Creative Assembly why are women so under represented in your games, blah tropes blah misrepresentation blah sexism blah that discussion on grogheads that said white knights were pissing everyone off blah blah blah
dear customer - heres some women now fk off
LOL
Now all we need is Gabriella and the rest of the Xena gang. Mods, get to work!
Boudica? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudica
I have more than enough shrieking banshees in my real life.
Quote from: jomni on August 15, 2014, 06:46:44 AM
Boudica? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudica
Yeah,but Boudica was The queen of the Iceni. I don't think she ever fielded a unit of all female warriors. And the whole reason we know all about her is because she was a female and it was so unusual. If she was a male, it would've been just another guy who rose up and gave Rome some heartburn for a few months. There would've been no self-aggrandizement by any generals trying to make political statements like Julius Caesar did with Vercingetorix
And guys come on....how many times have we been through this? you know that total war games are going to include flaming war pigs and some other stupid units that they're trying to sell and eventually the Motters will take them out. this happens every single time..should be no surprise, stupid or not you know you're going to get it. Although out of all the things you're going to bring into an automatic update, can't they just make this a paid DLC so you don't have to buy it?
I liked the flamng pigs!
Quote from: Gusington on August 15, 2014, 07:51:18 AM
I liked the flamng pigs!
Didn't they perform at Bonnaroo last year?
Quote from: mikeck on August 15, 2014, 07:34:42 AM
And guys come on....how many times have we been through this? you know that total war games are going to include flaming war pigs and some other stupid units that they're trying to sell and eventually the Motters will take them out. this happens every single time..should be no surprise, stupid or not you know you're going to get it. Although out of all the things you're going to bring into an automatic update, can't they just make this a paid DLC so you don't have to buy it?
It's pretty stupid, but not totally ahistorical. The Scythians and such like Steppe barbarians definitely had female warriors, though realistically they should unit commanders of some sort, not whole formations.
Exactly. That and their 2nd album rocked.
Flaming Pigs I could deal with though the pigs weren't too happy about it. There was even a recruitable unit of merc amazons in RTW but it was way out in the east somewhere if memory serves me. This smacks of PC Police-ness to me but maybe just a reaction to the many excellent units modders have come up with. Anyway I guess there's no point talking about historical realism in this game at all anymore. What's next? Elves, trolls, trained circus bears, why not Apache Indians? ^-^
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 15, 2014, 11:00:40 AM
Flaming Pigs I could deal with though the pigs weren't too happy about it. There was even a recruitable unit of merc amazons in RTW but it was way out in the east somewhere if memory serves me. This smacks of PC Police-ness to me but maybe just a reaction to the many excellent units modders have come up with. Anyway I guess there's no point talking about historical realism in this game at all anymore. What's next? Elves, trolls, trained circus bears, why not Apache Indians? ^-^
I like the Apache idea. I had some Modded Chichimexica (with muskets) in Med total war 2 and they were inspiring. They didn't hurl hornets, at least.
How about Apache elves?
Definitely better than bottomless and male.
What about old people? Some Romans served until 60-- so Geezer Gladiators? Geeziators! :coolsmiley:
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 15, 2014, 01:51:44 PM
What about old people? Some Romans served until 60-- so Geezer Gladiators? Geeziators! :coolsmiley:
Geriatrionnaires.
Good Nefaro. "We who are about to fall down... SALUTE YOU"!
Just FYI. I am playing this with a 4 part music mod that brings in the background music from The "Roma Surrectum 2" mod. The music from that game was -for me- better than the music any other game
What music is it using?
Dunno...but I did not know who composed the music for homeworld either but I love that. All I know is the Roma Surrectum 2 mod just had the most beautiful period music that I have heard in a game. Of course it's subjective but it only takes a few minutes to grab the mod in steam workshop and give it a listen
I rarely leave computer game music running very long. They're often annoying crap getting in the way of the game's sounds and extremely repetitive.
However, there are a rare few games that have superb music evocative of the period or setting which I leave on. Passable music that supports immersion. Two being Hannibal: Rome & Carthage and King of Dragon Pass. I also recall one or two Total War mods having some good music added. That may be one of them.
I am going to have to look in this mod. I love great background music in games. Especially ones that enhance what is happening on screen. One of my favorites was from Far Cry 3's last big fight scene mission with Flight of the Valkyries blaring in the back ground while you lift in a helicopter and the crap of everything on the grown. :)
I also sometimes wish my life had a music score running in the background. :) If I ever make billions someone will be writing one for me 8)
Quote from: Nefaro on August 19, 2014, 04:14:10 PM
I rarely leave computer game music running very long. They're often annoying crap getting in the way of the game's sounds and extremely repetitive.
However, there are a rare few games that have superb music evocative of the period or setting which I leave on. Passable music that supports immersion. Two being Hannibal: Rome & Carthage and King of Dragon Pass. I also recall one or two Total War mods having some good music added. That may be one of them.
I've heard good things about King of Dragon Pass. Do you rate it?
Quote from: Boggit on August 19, 2014, 10:12:14 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on August 19, 2014, 04:14:10 PM
I rarely leave computer game music running very long. They're often annoying crap getting in the way of the game's sounds and extremely repetitive.
However, there are a rare few games that have superb music evocative of the period or setting which I leave on. Passable music that supports immersion. Two being Hannibal: Rome & Carthage and King of Dragon Pass. I also recall one or two Total War mods having some good music added. That may be one of them.
I've heard good things about King of Dragon Pass. Do you rate it?
It's a great game, but a rather unique one. It's a strategy game, but it's primarily a text-based one.
I suppose you could look at it like a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' style PC game. You are chief of one of the Anglo-Saxon-ish clans that have emigrated to new lands and begun to establish their power & prosperity. It's based in the old Glorantha tabletop RPG setting so there are some fantasy elements to it, but it's more low fantasy. There aren't a bunch of wizards running around everywhere, for example.
Your interaction is through multiple choice text events, allocating clan elders and religious focus, managing the stocks of livestock, food, and warriors, sending out expeditions, etc, etc. It's very narrative focused so you're kinda building your clan's history as you go.
There are a number of Lets Plays on YouTube. Some have problems with capturing this old game on their video recording software but many work out okay. This guy has a long series of vids IIRC:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivCx-uh4A4Y
This one looks to spend less time on game setup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqc5WRyXslI
The narrator also has a heavy German accent so the emphasized sentences can be a bit amusing on that one.
You can get the game at GOG.
http://www.gog.com/game/king_of_dragon_pass
Will check out Roma Surrectum, thanks Mikeck. BTW the soundtrack for me is the same soundtrack that Benny Hill used.
I actually enjoyed the music from the original RTW but scarcely notice the music in Rome 2. I guess the music in my games would be more like, "Send In The Clowns".
Wait, wait...don't bother...they're already, heeeere...
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 20, 2014, 10:06:04 AM
I actually enjoyed the music from the original RTW but scarcely notice the music in Rome 2.
RTW's soundtrack was about the only thing I really liked about that game. That, and the city-view feature.
I very much enjoy
Rome II's music as well. Along with
Shogun 2's soundtrack, it was a nice return to form after what we were subjected to in Empire.
Quote from: Gusington on August 20, 2014, 02:13:47 PM
Wait, wait...don't bother...they're already, heeeere...
Clowns are creepy as f***. But I do like that song. :)
Well don't look behind you after the sun goes down...-searches frantically for image of spider in clown outfit-
Inspired by claims of cowardice in this very thread!! :o
This is SPARTA..............
Home -
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F539%2FXY9pNt.jpg&hash=9b0a3e03166b8701ea3e8016e93d0be514f20e0b) (https://imageshack.com/i/ezXY9pNtj)
Recently acquired Pella, taken from our long time friends and allies the Athenians -
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F746%2FMc1imQ.jpg&hash=277d928c9b495caccbad4edbd4c0d946fa9f735d) (https://imageshack.com/i/kqMc1imQj)
The northern borders - full of wildmen and fortunately friends, well, tied by non aggression pact friends
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F674%2F8sNYlB.jpg&hash=0903e9fc3305b66a0d4b9335b116aa7cc1ad4174) (https://imageshack.com/i/iq8sNYlBj)
Pulpudeva, the heart of the North
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F912%2Fx6Yuny.jpg&hash=7d15a799b0625d9279ca1b9d10e8329875710329) (https://imageshack.com/i/pcx6Yunyj)
Athens, taking it will open the trade routes to the world. General Galenos, hero of Sparta stands ready
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F539%2FrLilTm.jpg&hash=5894189fc54990eeb0fd6628d8c2ae2888bfc302) (https://imageshack.com/i/ezrLilTmj)
Excellent. Now take your dress off and get those trade routes.
Damn Gus. You're supposed to buy at least one drink before you ask them to take their dress off. At least that's the way it was done back in my day. You know, before you weren't completely sure what exactly you were getting when the dress came off. If I can remember that far back... yeah, the women wore dresses and the men wore wigs.
I am a direct action sort of feller.
Quote from: Gusington on August 21, 2014, 06:51:50 AM
I am a direct action sort of feller.
"Never mind the maneuvers, just go straight at 'em" . Admiral Nelson kind of stuff right?
Or Farragut. "Damn the drinks. Full Dress-Removal ahead"! ^-^ Anybody checked out the latest version of the "Rise of Christianity" mod? It's starting to look very Barbarian Invasion-ish with new units like in the original and new playable factions. I'd like to get it's dress off.
Yes I am playing the updated rise of Christianity mod. just started the game though so I can't tell you too much about it other than it works
Can't wait to hear some impressions Mikeck. Hope it's a "Keeper".
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 21, 2014, 12:07:30 PM
Can't wait to hear some impressions Mikeck. Hope it's a "Keeper".
Yes please let us know what you think.
Me too. I am kinda disappointed that there has been no official word of a CA created reprise of Barbarian Invasion. Please post impressions of Rise of Christianity...going to check it out on Steam now.
I played it a few months ago and I liked it a lot. Doubt it has gotten worse. Seems pretty stable so far
I just subscribed to both parts. I subscribed to the original mod a year ago (almost) but remember it was barely functioning and fleshed out.
The Battle of Athens
Our first view of the enemy capital
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F674%2FL8gi9u.jpg&hash=bb21f429b4cc149274d84e14ebe23b4b6edec2a1) (https://imageshack.com/i/iqL8gi9uj)
Innocently wheeling giant ladders towards them results in flaming arrows and a s**t load of stones getting thrown
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F673%2FQcYDJY.jpg&hash=1421ad2ca43c747a1fd1857684e650b27fca398e) (https://imageshack.com/i/ipQcYDJYj)
First up the ladder wins a prize. Look left............
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F673%2FJvyWKz.jpg&hash=d94ab9d8c07336a9a86b1c37126085532f28e0f5) (https://imageshack.com/i/ipJvyWKzj)
.....look right. Man this is going to get messy
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F746%2FlE3uRZ.jpg&hash=bba2459ba1b5b7c510d2e3a39e3775552467cca3) (https://imageshack.com/i/kqlE3uRZj)
Quick check over the shoulder to make sure the lads are still coming
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F537%2FshFqaO.jpg&hash=a3c123ae43d1bdfd294dfbdb62d836637d7c08ec) (https://imageshack.com/i/exshFqaOj)
Well, were up. Thing is, the fancy Spartan spear wall doesnt work up here so its butter knives at the ready
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F539%2FObK41o.jpg&hash=5503192696d90795934c0708b5f9321633cda64e) (https://imageshack.com/i/ezObK41oj)
Ah... thats better, point at the baddies and walk slowly forward men!
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F674%2FNCAE9b.jpg&hash=1ba0fb1961a25fcce34c2fc77c9f27346fd89baf) (https://imageshack.com/i/iqNCAE9bj)
More men!! Fetch me more men - ooooo nice hat
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F907%2FMJPe7L.jpg&hash=29ff878a7db18c044b4e88f7baaefb148389347e) (https://imageshack.com/i/p7MJPe7Lj)
That's all very well, but we have to get off the walls. The enemy keeps hemming us in on the left and right, down on the ground we can form the spear walls and march right through them
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F904%2FitDl2B.jpg&hash=3fa23ac2d37a9e17f302d685ee7cbc66eb46a692) (https://imageshack.com/i/p4itDl2Bj)
and then some snappily dressed gentlemen come up the stairs..... the Champions of Selon - they simply will not die
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F908%2Ft6dZc0.jpg&hash=7b34a9c59ae547e34fcdf819ce218dc1ccd5b381) (https://imageshack.com/i/p8t6dZc0j)
Bright cloaks you said? Fancy, garish shields? Nope, havent seen them, are they over here to the left. TURN AROUND, BAST***S!!!!
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F537%2FkbgkP8.jpg&hash=280658d6fe644856dee56934734dc0337c07ead8) (https://imageshack.com/i/exkbgkP8j)
The Champions are just indestrucable, we tie them up with 2 units of pikemen and run for another door
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F540%2FLkz1GJ.jpg&hash=0f67e777820d9d2939176ef77dec2430ffe49d61) (https://imageshack.com/i/f0Lkz1GJj)
Pressing forward from the walls causes the gate to fall into Spartan hands - the doors open at last and let in the horsemen. The full Spartan tactic of pinning the enemy against the spear walls and flanking them with horses can now be unleashed, the last of the defenders are backed into a dead end
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F910%2FCs7rmF.jpg&hash=bb51e061c932d65f0e5ddf5f9c6985c7bb80daac) (https://imageshack.com/i/paCs7rmFj)
In the centre of the screen the Athenian General receives a spear to the stomach whilst his 2 last bodyguards are cut down. The city falls - long live Sparta
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F539%2Fb6dDV4.jpg&hash=7edf9ef77d33aba5de6fb232659b2bd6a0507f2e) (https://imageshack.com/i/ezb6dDV4j)
Great screenies Geek. Makes me want to grab a bronze shield and bash somebody with it. O0
ive been tricked into a war with Pontus - i dont know how this is going to work out - i wanted to go west into the more familiar territory of Rome and Gaul and Spain
BRAVO! Great shots.
Nice screenies. 8) I haven't played for a bit - have they now fixed the interpenetration bug with spearmen fighting as individuals rather than as a unit?
Nice screenshots, geek! Damn you for Congrats on taking Athens. 8)
the next turn?
everyone wants to trade, its a licence to print money - from 258 income in trade to 2000
Athens had a lot of ships that still remain, which have been busy buzzing around the coast suffering from the red skulls of doom (because i cant remember the proper term!) and finally decided to support Pontus as i was attacking Ephesus (old Pergamon capital which Pontus took) - i made a point of killing all the Athenians and then got the faction wiped message
As an aside here its never happened to me before and almost caused me some serious problems - im stood in front of the walls of Ephesus getting ready to assault, everyones going up ladders and all is well - i have my generals unit and 5 elite swordsmen units stood waiting in reserve and i get the 'our general is under attack' message, now this happens a lot when im assaulting walls and one arrow is fired from a tower and lands near them so i dismissed the message. Panning back 5 minutes later to unleash the swordmen of doom i see that my 160 man Champions of sparta unit with my general has 8 men left in it >:( :o - behind them is a unit of 22 Athenians who came in by boat behind me, merrily throwing javelins at my unit until there arms ache - the 800 elite swordsmen, 600 horsemen and my general???? just standing around watching the battle to their front, dyeing in droves - noone thought to attack them
Emperor Edition announced! (http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/135076-Total-War-ROME-II-Emperor-Edition-announced)
QuoteWe've announced the definitive version of ROME II – the Total War: ROME II Emperor Edition.
Emperor Edition collects together all free content to date, which includes wide-ranging revisions, additions to game features and adds a brand new Campaign Pack expansion, 'Imperator Augustus'.
Most importantly, existing ROME II players will receive all of the above content via automatic update on the day of launch, upgrading them to Emperor Edition at no cost.
We go into a lot of detail about what's included in this month's episode of Rally Point, so join Craig and Matty in this episode to find out more.
A beta will be available soon that will test some of the features in Emperor Edition, please keep an eye on our Facebook (http://"https://www.facebook.com/TotalWar?ref=hl"), Twitter (http://"https://twitter.com/totalwar") and official forum for details!
I'll admit I'm psyched for this. And the
Imperator Augustus expansion sounds awesome; I'm impressed owners of the existing version get it for free.
Imperator Augustus - sweet. Macedon still beckons too...
Free is my middle name. Actually it's not but I'll change it-- for free stuff. Is it required to have a beard to work for CA?
Yes!
That explains it. I really feel for all you poor guys that paid full price for the DLC that will now be free. Hey wait. That's me. :tickedoff:
Quote from: Sir Slash on August 29, 2014, 10:14:12 PM
That explains it. I really feel for all you poor guys that paid full price for the DLC that will now be free. Hey wait. That's me. :tickedoff:
From the announcement:
"Does the Emperor Edition contain all DLC?
The Emperor Edition contains all Free-LC and content updates that have been applied to ROME II since launch , including but not limited to Pontus, Seleucid, Getae and Baktrian factions, Wonders & Seasons, touch controls, twitch.tv integration, roster updates for Carthage, Epirus and Suebi, additional units (Hexbearers, African Elephants, etc, etc), new achievements, Battle of Pydna, new seasonal festival events and so forth.
If you already own ROME II and have updated it to the latest version via Steam, you will already have access to this content.
The Emperor Edition will also include the new Imperator Augustus Campaign Pack DLC. This is a brand new Campaign Pack DLC launching at the same time as the Emperor Edition.
All other paid-for ROME II DLC is not included in the Emperor Edition, but is compatible with it."
So the DLCs Hannibal, Caesar etc. still have to be bought separately.
^Right. Free LC is not DLC, necessarily. But the Imperator Augustus campaign is free to current owners.
Which makes me feel delightful.
Yes, I read the part about the free LC already included in the game being in the EE but how is that anything new? Only if you don't own the game already. In which case if you don't already own the game, you get the same stuff as if you bought it already, and if you already own it, you get nothing new but the new campaign and some updates. Anyway, I thought they weren't exactly sure what was going to be included in the EE as more details were to follow. I don't care what's in the new edition, I just hope it doesn't screw-up my mods and save games. Otherwise, Rock-On CA.
^Come on man, you know it will wreck everything. Then a day later you will be delighted again.
FreeLC, according to Giant Bomb (http://www.giantbomb.com/freelc/3015-6257/): "FreeLC is free downloadable content. It is a sub-category of DLC which encompasses only free downloadable content."
I learned something today.
I decided not to purchase
Total War: Rome II for 66% off (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-TWR2/total-war-rome-ii) due to this video review:
Sounds like a guy who hates the game and picks out every little thing. If he doesn't like the UI, then ok...subjective. But it's a better game than Rome 1, empire or Medieval 2 in presentation and AI. I can take any total war game and pick it apart every time the AI does something stupid.
You may not end up liking it, but why make a decision based on a video instead of the people on this 207 page thread.
I'm still amazed there are people out there with this opinion who clearly read all the bad press, played it at release and have decided whatever is patched or fixed it will always be a disaster
I recently saw the dlc announcement elsewhere and it was just a list of people asking if it was still shit and the disaster they launched (which it wasn't)
Haters have to hate
Quote from: Greybriar on August 30, 2014, 08:20:35 PM
I decided not to purchase Total War: Rome II for 66% off (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-TWR2/total-war-rome-ii) due to this video review:
That video was uploaded to YouTube back in
November 2013....so not sure basing a current buying decision on outdated information is the best choice since there has been many patches since then. Although the game might have had a rough release, it has been very impressive that the developers have stuck with this game and constantly trying to improve. Even with the upcoming Emperor edition seems like current owners are going to benefit by getting all the improvements and new campaign. Even though I haven't personally completed a campaign (my own problem versus a game problem), $20 for this game seems like a pretty darn good deal. I have still had fun with battles and such and impressed how they continue to add to the game.
You're missing out, Greybriar. Especially at that price. 100s of hours of gameplay, mods, etc. to be had.
I didn't notice the video was made nearly ten months ago. :P I just did another search on YouTube for a more recent player-made video (in English) and so far one three months old is the newest I have found:
I realize the game was a mess when it was released and that there have been a lot of fixes since then. I admit that I haven't read all 207 pages of this thread (you really didn't expect me to, did you?).
No doubt you are correct, Gus. There are many hours of enjoyment in the title. The problem is that I have so many games in my backlog that I don't really need to add another 35 gigs of game to my hard drive that won't be played.
Oh, what the hell! I will buy it from GamersGate (http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-TWR2/total-war-rome-ii). At least it will be in my GamersGate account and I can install it on Steam should I get the urge to check it out, or give it to someone if I don't.
^Cool. At this point I would like to refer you to your own sig line, for good measure :)
That said, I am not sure how much you enjoy the ancient era. I myself like the Fall of Rome era more than the eras covered in Rome II typically, but the game really turned me on to cultures and militaries that I had no idea about. If you're into the era to begin with, you will get 100s of hours out of this.
Quote from: Gusington on August 31, 2014, 08:22:24 PM
^Cool. At this point I would like to refer you to your own sig line, for good measure :)...
And which half of what I've seen should I believe? ;)
Quote from: Gusington on August 31, 2014, 08:22:24 PM
...That said, I am not sure how much you enjoy the ancient era. I myself like the Fall of Rome era more than the eras covered in Rome II typically, but the game really turned me on to cultures and militaries that I had no idea about. If you're into the era to begin with, you will get 100s of hours out of this.
There have been a number of games in the past that I enjoyed playing--
Centurion (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/centurion-defender-of-rome) and
Darklands (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/darklands) come to mind, to name just two. I enjoyed playing the original
Rome: Total War (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/rome-total-war), so perhaps its successor will renew my interest in the series.
I decided to install
Rome II and give it a try. It's downloading now, so hopefully the storm here won't cause an electrical outage and
Rome II will be ready to go when I get up in the morning.
I'd be interested in your thoughts about it Grey.
Lol...Greybriar, I didn't mean for you to read 209 pages of the thread. I guess my point was that a game would not spawn a 209 page thread if there wasn't something to it. bad games just disappear after a while.
If you are into the fall of Rome right now I'm playing the rise of Constantine mod. Not exactly the fall of Rome but fourth century Roman warfare nonetheless
^How is it? I subscribed to it a few days ago.
Greybriar if you liked Centurion and Rome Total War I think you will definitely enjoy Rome II.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 01, 2014, 09:13:00 AM
I'd be interested in your thoughts about it Grey.
I played around with the Prologue primarily to become familiar with the controls. So far so good.
Quote from: Gusington on September 01, 2014, 12:09:10 PM
Greybriar if you liked Centurion and Rome Total War I think you will definitely enjoy Rome II.
It looks that way. I'm not as much "into" them as I once was, but there is a lot of gameplay there if I choose to devote the time to experience it.
New beta patch 15 is out. Brings the game up to the "emperor edition" coming out soon.
http://wiki.totalwar.com/index.php?title=Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_15#Patch_15_Beta
The new campaign has me VERY interested. Some new factions in there...like Armenia :)
The game is entirely different now. Pretty much every big mod got destroyed by this update. Dresden of DeI was talking about months to catch up.
Part of what CA did was actually take most of the best ideas of the big mods and incorporate them.
Just opted into the beta of EE but the download seems to have stalled out at around 35% :/
I have not tried the beta as I hate to lose my Constantine mod. But if it's really good, then I guess I might as well download it
dammit i was loving my Sparta campaign
I only got a little time in with the new patch. I've been so used to playing DeI that moving back to vanilla was a bit weird, even in its heavily modified state. Just a few of my quick observations:
Movement and battle speed are much better than vanilla, but not quite as good as some of the more popular mods.
Units can fire at will with pila.
The AI is doing a few wonky things, possibly due to the stat rebalances. It seemed to gravitate between very aggressive and conservative, and it was putting its skirmishers a bit too much into harms way. It poured attacks in at me in a much more piecemeal fashion than before.
Rome is in a MUCH stronger starting position now. The Etruscan army is smaller, the Roman legion in the north bigger. Rome can reliably take an Etruscian city on turn 1, even with the intervention of the Etruscian field army.
The entire building system has been overhauled. You can now have civil and military city paths that make your frontier cities more defensible and home cities more economically vibrant.
Anyway, that's what I gathered from a couple of hours. Is it worth downloading now? I think it is. This is the future of the core game anyway, my thinking was I might as well get used to it.
EDIT: It also seems that DeI's latest version of 0.95 has added Patch 15 compatibility. It does lack the new building system, but it is at least working.
Quote from: SirAndrewD on September 01, 2014, 07:23:11 PM
The game is entirely different now. Pretty much every big mod got destroyed by this update. Dresden of DeI was talking about months to catch up.
This is exactly why I haven't played Rome II in many months. I love DEI and can't play without it, but the constant stream of patches means these mods keep getting derailed.
CA's commitment to improving the game is admirable, but it's also a pain in the ass. Can't think of another AAA title that has been as obsessively patched, updated, and tweaked by the devs as much as this one... Too much of a good thing in this case, I think...
Quote from: sandman2575 on September 02, 2014, 12:23:17 PM
Quote from: SirAndrewD on September 01, 2014, 07:23:11 PM
The game is entirely different now. Pretty much every big mod got destroyed by this update. Dresden of DeI was talking about months to catch up.
This is exactly why I haven't played Rome II in many months. I love DEI and can't play without it, but the constant stream of patches means these mods keep getting derailed.
CA's commitment to improving the game is admirable, but it's also a pain in the ass. Can't think of another AAA title that has been as obsessively patched, updated, and tweaked by the devs as much as this one... Too much of a good thing in this case, I think...
It seems that DeI's latest version of 0.95 has added Patch 15 compatibility. It does lack the new building system, and I have no idea how the unit rebalance effects it, but it is at least working.
I think the comments on how long it would take to adapt to the patch were more in reference to future versions of the mods.
I'm actually amazed that Dresden and the DEI crew stick with it. The sheer amount of work they've done just keeping the mod up to date with the patches is incredible. And they seem to do it really quickly to boot...
Mikeck any word on whether that Constantine mod has been updated yet?
So if I've got radious and the season mod what happens if I run Rome 2 with its own seasons in it?
Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2014, 12:54:11 PM
Mikeck any word on whether that Constantine mod has been updated yet?
Gus, I don't believe it has yet as the patch is still in beta (at least last time I checked). Most Modders use the beta time to make their mods compatible. That way when he finished patch is released publicly the mod is updated and ready to go. I will take a look when I get home and let you know.
yeah - steam hasnt updated my game as i havent subscribed to the beta yet - i might finish my Sparta game first
Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2014, 12:54:11 PM
Mikeck any word on whether that Constantine mod has been updated yet?
Just checked...As of 4 hours ago, Dresden was "working on it".
I suspect that by the time the patch goes live, he will be done
Cool thanks man. No time to really check out the beta tonight, want to check it out tomorrow.
Quote from: mikeck on September 01, 2014, 04:33:31 PM
New beta patch 15 is out. Brings the game up to the "emperor edition" coming out soon.
http://wiki.totalwar.com/index.php?title=Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_15#Patch_15_Beta
Wow. That is...an extensive list of changes. This might be the biggest single update they've ever done.
The two updates I'm most looking forward to:
Quote
Coffee machine now works.
;D
Quote
The pace of battles and combat has been reduced, and morale values adjusted so battles last longer and are more dynamic.
This one in particular intrigues me. While I enjoy
Rome II's battles overall, they've always still felt a bit fast for my tastes, so this will definitely be a welcome change.
Quote from: Martok on September 03, 2014, 09:38:20 AM
Quote from: mikeck on September 01, 2014, 04:33:31 PM
New beta patch 15 is out. Brings the game up to the "emperor edition" coming out soon.
http://wiki.totalwar.com/index.php?title=Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_15#Patch_15_Beta
Wow. That is...an extensive list of changes. This might be the biggest single update they've ever done.
The two updates I'm most looking forward to:
Quote
Coffee machine now works.
;D
Quote
The pace of battles and combat has been reduced, and morale values adjusted so battles last longer and are more dynamic.
This one in particular intrigues me. While I enjoy Rome II's battles overall, they've always still felt a bit fast for my tastes, so this will definitely be a welcome change.
i would say battle speed is the first thing most mods addressed and i wonder if the new game with a slow down mod crashes/reduces it more/ignores the mod
I fired the beta up on Wednesday and was disappointed to see the new campaign was not included :/
Quote from: Gusington on September 05, 2014, 01:20:53 PM
I fired the beta up on Wednesday and was disappointed to see the new campaign was not included :/
Yeah, I think the update is for current content only. I figured the IA Campaign would be a separate download.
The trailer over at TWC says the new campaign will be released on 9/16. That may throw my fall gaming schedule into a tizzy.
Just fired this up for the first time.
Noob question: How do you rotate troops. They took out the arrow buttons on the screen. I know the arrow buttons in the keyboard still work and you can now drag but how to rotate?
I still prefer the traditional UI used in Empire / Napolen / Shogun 2. Rome II is just weird and needs getting used to.
^Definitely. Even after playing for 125+ hours rotating troops still feels awkward to me. So much so that's it's hard to articulate exactly how to do it.
IIRC you have to have two armies selected, then select the troops you want to move from one army to the next, then hit the actual transfer button.
All instead of dragging and dropping in the older games.
Quote from: Gusington on September 06, 2014, 08:22:29 PM
^Definitely. Even after playing for 125+ hours rotating troops still feels awkward to me. So much so that's it's hard to articulate exactly how to do it.
IIRC you have to have two armies selected, then select the troops you want to move from one army to the next, then hit the actual transfer button.
All instead of dragging and dropping in the older games.
i think jomni means on the battle map
click on the unit you want to rotate and right click and hold where you want them to go - then stretch out the silhouette of the new position and adjust its depth and facing
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 06, 2014, 08:33:18 PM
Quote from: Gusington on September 06, 2014, 08:22:29 PM
^Definitely. Even after playing for 125+ hours rotating troops still feels awkward to me. So much so that's it's hard to articulate exactly how to do it.
IIRC you have to have two armies selected, then select the troops you want to move from one army to the next, then hit the actual transfer button.
All instead of dragging and dropping in the older games.
i think jomni means on the battle map
click on the unit you want to rotate and right click and hold where you want them to go - then stretch out the silhouette of the new position and adjust its depth and facing
That is an imprecise method because it can actually alter the formation. I miss the rotate buttons and the depth buttons taking them out brings you back to Shogun 1 era.
Quote from: jomni on September 06, 2014, 06:36:40 PM
Just fired this up for the first time.
Noob question: How do you rotate troops. They took out the arrow buttons on the screen. I know the arrow buttons in the keyboard still work and you can now drag but how to rotate?
I still prefer the traditional UI used in Empire / Napolen / Shogun 2. Rome II is just weird and needs getting used to.
To rotate in place, the key commands are comma (,) and period (.) IIRC. The ones with the < and > for the shift option. Unless they changed it in Rome 2 (which isn't unheard of).
Quote from: Nefaro on September 07, 2014, 04:20:12 AM
Quote from: jomni on September 06, 2014, 06:36:40 PM
Just fired this up for the first time.
Noob question: How do you rotate troops. They took out the arrow buttons on the screen. I know the arrow buttons in the keyboard still work and you can now drag but how to rotate?
I still prefer the traditional UI used in Empire / Napolen / Shogun 2. Rome II is just weird and needs getting used to.
To rotate in place, the key commands are comma (,) and period (.) IIRC. The ones with the < and > for the shift option. Unless they changed it in Rome 2 (which isn't unheard of).
I was actually able to rotate but do not recall what I pressed.
Quote from: Gusington on September 06, 2014, 03:37:31 PM
The trailer over at TWC says the new campaign will be released on 9/16. That may throw my will completely f*** up our fall gaming schedule into a tizzy.
Fixed that for you. ::)
I can't help but get excited, but I am also neck deep in WWI and steampunk gamery. My traditional wheelhouse. And Fallen Enchantress as well as Endless Legend are knocking at the door.
The Imperator Augustus campaign map has been released:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.totalwar.com%2Fimages%2Ff%2Ffe%2FTWRII_EE_Imp_Aug_startpos.jpg&hash=03ff695371d3086a255d12fbe6c9c04c43c239e4)
2 quickies -
if a city has a garrison but no general present in charge - does the city still muster the garrison if attacked or can the enemy just walk in and take it?
is it possible to bribe/manipulate a whole army to your faction or even its leader? and if so, which agent does that?
thanks for any help
Any city will raise a garrison when attacked regardless of whether there is a general present. The amount and types of troops is determined by the types and numbers of buildings in the city. When you select a structure to build, the info box tells you what type of troops it provides
^Right - the more advanced the city, the more advanced the garrison.
What's the advantage of having vassals compared to owning the territory yourself?
I see they still count in missions and goals.
When will you occupy and when will you make a client state?
I've never been able to bribe a whole army over to my side the way you could in Shogun 2. Almost any agent can "manipulate" another faction's agent into changing sides but it rarely succeeds for me, or they can assassinate another agent which also rarely succeeds. Agents are much better at targeting cities for negative effects. Or supporting one of your own armies directly. You get a percentage of a client state's or satrapy's income each turn and usually they'll trade with you and support your faction in war... but not always. I usually make a client state if I don't want to be tied down waiting for the public order level to come up after taking a city.
Yeah so far my agents are duds in performing actions. Success rates are so low. Looks like you have to buff them a lot and concentrate on just one skill.
I have just made my first client state. The guy is at war with one of my "friends" with a defensive pact and he asked me to join the war. Why not? I covet that territory anyway. There's no diplomatic option to force a peace between these two kingdoms.
I appreciate the battle and formation mechanics now. It does feel like ancient warfare. Units are very coherent (when ordered to keep formation). Soldiers in the rear flanks do not spill over and the melee is much organized.
My complaints about the lack of rotation button is addressed. Facing is irrelevant. Except for missile troops. Square formations during the era can change facing instantly. They will attack enemies on the flanks effectively as long as they're not fixed in combat in another direction.
I got used to naval battles as well. At first I thought of playing like empire or shogun... using fire to weaken them then board. But the best way to defeat ships in rome is to ram them. Big ships die instantly when rammed (several times). I never cared for boarding or bring many missile troops. Definitely has that ancient warfare feel. But it always turns into a disorganized mess of micromanagement since they won't go ramming without specific orders unlike firing.
i have a level 10 spy who can pretty much do what she wants in terms of poisoning wells and increasing unrest - she struggles with assassination but i havent seen a manipulate option for her, and a level 7 champion whos just sat with my main army, i havent checked his actual 'agent' actions
If you check the Champion's abilities they can really buff-up an army's combat ability. This along with a good general can make the difference against an evenly numbered opponent. The combat match-up before the battle only compares numbers in my opinion and so maybe way off. I liked the agents in Shogun 2 better and the AI handled them better I think.
Next TW title set to be announced at the end of this month:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?665763-New-TW-title-set-to-be-announced-on-the-24th-25th-september!!!
I am guessing it will be the Warhammer TW game.
I guess the trick is to let the agents do the easy tasks first like administer the province, counter spy, and train armies. Earn experience and unlock special action buffs. All of them can assassinate or assimilate.
I do use them to do low probability assassinations desperate.
Quote from: Gusington on September 09, 2014, 08:18:02 PM
Next TW title set to be announced at the end of this month:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?665763-New-TW-title-set-to-be-announced-on-the-24th-25th-september!!!
I am guessing it will be the Warhammer TW game.
I'm still not certain of that. To officially bring Warhammer into the Total War franchise would almost certainly cause howls of outrage among both fandoms. But we'll see.
Quote from: jomni on September 09, 2014, 08:23:21 PM
I guess the trick is to let the agents do the easy tasks first like administer the province, counter spy, and train armies. Earn experience and unlock special action buffs. All of them can assassinate or assimilate.
I do use them to do low probability assassinations desperate.
Yeah, I generally prefer to use my agents in more of a defensive/passive role like you've described, at least until they've leveled up a good bit. I rarely attempt assassinations...unless the odds are at least 50% (which is rare), and/or I'm absolutely desperate to eliminate the character in question.
reading thru the thread the majority of opinion seems to point to a stand alone expansion like TW:Kingdoms based around Atilla
but then it says 'new' title
i think theyre also looking to keep WH away from the TW franchise and have both unique brands
My heart, and moist nether regions hopes Medieval III
my head says this Atilla one which im a bit meh on
and theres always the chance it will be WH
ive finished playing elite, my hands have stopped shaking, ive had a cup of tea, its 01:30 am on a work night
i have no clue why, but it seemed like the perfect time to download the blood and gore DLC and finish off the Getae. First turn in and Segesticus falls but im running out of money, but hey presto i pass the 25 provinces target and get given 15000 gold and access to more armies. Illyria has fallen completely and thats all mine, cue Bread and Games edict. That leaves all 3 provinces of Dacia and the Getae have gone giving me a Eastern border with the Royal Bactrians(?) and Pontus and an eastern border with what likes to be a Gaul tribe who have taken two Roman cities and then the Suebi to the North.
I have 5 full stacks of 3 x Royal Cavalry, 8 x Spartan Pikes, and 8 x Spartan Blades, i have shuffled all the generals round so that my stacks are led by the family. My rockstar 10 star General wasnt my family, hes been retired and will be assassinated when i get chance
and then it was 3:05 and definitely time for bed
good times
At this point with 15 patches, Rome 2 actually counts as Rome 3 and thus they will announce it as the "New" title. And probably raise the price of the game back up to $60. :2funny: I'm looking forward to the new campaign and hope that at some point we'll get to see Cleopatra's boobs. Mark Anthony not so much.
and hence forth it will be known as the age of the great schism
- Warhammer is cool, so is TW, i cant wait to see WH in an a TW format
- WTF? Keep your stupid orcs and dwarves away from my historically accurate (snort!) simulation of real word periods of war
- War-what-now?
and the lo the intelligent, well constructed arguements and counter arguements will spill forth from the agents of the triumverate
- Fk you its not for babies, its a very dark, gritty world created for adults, if CA want to make it and it will sell its their fking business
- Do not touch the best gaming strategy games in the world with your baby soldiers game
- seriously, what-hammer?
Quote from: Gusington on September 09, 2014, 08:18:02 PM
Next TW title set to be announced at the end of this month:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?665763-New-TW-title-set-to-be-announced-on-the-24th-25th-september!!!
I am guessing it will be the Warhammer TW game.
I'm looking forward to that one. Hopefully they didn't try to reinvent the wheel again.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 10, 2014, 07:03:20 AM
At this point with 15 patches, Rome 2 actually counts as Rome 3 and thus they will announce it as the "New" title. And probably raise the price of the game back up to $60. :2funny: I'm looking forward to the new campaign and hope that at some point we'll get to see Cleopatra's boobs. Mark Anthony not so much.
I really wouldn't be surprised if they did some knock-off release of Rome 2. Like Rome: Greco-Persian Wars or Rome 2: Fall Of The Roman Empire.
Seeing as that's been their MO for years now, after NTW being a later modified release of ETW and the Shogun 2: Fall Of The Samurai thing. I wouldn't complain about an earlier setting of Rome 2 : Greco-Persian, Succession Wars, or even back to the Ancient Egyptians/Assyrians/Hittites. Not so much the late Roman period. But I still want to do something a bit different, and Warhammer Fantasy TW would definitely be that.
Also had a chance to look over some of that next game thread and majority opinion is that it will be Attila, which is fine by me.since my 2nd favorite TW game is the original barbarian invasion. Majority over at TWC also thinks the Warhammer title will not be a TW game but a standalone license, like the upcoming Alien: Isolation. Hopefully if Attila is on its way it will be here soonish.
Quote from: Gusington on September 10, 2014, 08:29:21 AM
Also had a chance to look over some of that next game thread and majority opinion is that it will be Attila, which is fine by me.since my 2nd favorite TW game is the original barbarian invasion. Majority over at TWC also thinks the Warhammer title will not be a TW game but a standalone license, like the upcoming Alien: Isolation. Hopefully if Attila is on its way it will be here soonish.
from reading between the lines and pretending to be a CA person i think it would have been here sooner, maybe even finished already but in a locked box because releasing a new Rome II game before making the core game workable would likely get their offices set on fire
Quote from: Gusington on September 10, 2014, 08:29:21 AM
Also had a chance to look over some of that next game thread and majority opinion is that it will be Attila, which is fine by me.since my 2nd favorite TW game is the original barbarian invasion. Majority over at TWC also thinks the Warhammer title will not be a TW game but a standalone license, like the upcoming Alien: Isolation. Hopefully if Attila is on its way it will be here soonish.
Attila? Meh.
I hope that's not the main focus of the game. Rather that it
is the "barbarian" invasions in general.
Yeah i agree with you...so if that is the case maybe we can be playing the new installment in November/December.
I love Attila and his pointy headed minions. Come on now.
I'd love to have an Ancient China version like Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Quote from: Gusington on September 10, 2014, 08:36:23 AM
I love Attila and his pointy headed minions. Come on now.
Meh.
The Scourge Of God is OP!
Would be like slapping babies around. Or being a slapped baby.
Quote from: jomni on September 10, 2014, 08:38:09 AM
I'd love to have an Ancient China version like Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
That would be kinda cool too. The RTK series is rather gamey so I think there is plenty of room for a TW style treatment. May not be so popular here in the States and EU, however.
Quote from: Gusington on September 10, 2014, 08:36:23 AM
Yeah i agree with you...so if that is the case maybe we can be playing the new installment in November/December.
I love Attila and his pointy headed minions. Come on now.
those dates sound about right i would say - i cant see it been a huge shift from Rome II to Attila and gets them some more pennies to work on the new engine that everyone is talking about
deeply in love with my Sparta game as i am, im becoming a bit jaded with the siege mechanic - not in anyway AI related - i miss the open field battles in valleys with forests and rivers and cliffs around you, this only occurred to me last night as the defenders of one town actually sallied forth and the fight took place on the plains, a rare chance to flank and feint and watch the battle unfold instead of everyone getting squished on the walls - reminded me of the old Shogun, Medieval days - to get around this i used to surround the city and they would have to break out after a few turns but the the attrition mechanic in Rome is too harsh
I've been waiting for a RTK TW forever so yes I think that would be cool too.
But pointy headed minions are cool as sh't.
UCG - yiu would play Sparta over Macedon, eh?
yes, but only because im a movie going, hollywood drivel in taking fan whore and recently saw the new 300 film, which i admit doesnt have spartans in and is all about the Athenians but i do like 300 and i do like their martial society
ill put my hand up and say i know sod all east of Rome history wise, and without some learned reading and Frank Miller probably wouldnt know much about Sparta either
Pontus, Breuci, Getae, Royal Scythia is all new to me
Some of the most successful mods for RTW and M2TW are fantasy mods so a War Hammer TW just might work-- I'm thinking Third Age TW mod here. I'd love a new BI or a ancient China TW thing too. I was hoping for a Mongol Invasion version for Shogun 2 or an Africa or China add-on for ETW. O0 Speaking of mods, Radious says his mod will be updated in time for the release of the new campaign. You can follow the progress over at the TW Center and I am really in awe at the tremendous amount of work that goes into adjusting and balancing the mods for CA's patches.
Yeah I really wanted a new Mongol Invasion too. But a new Barbarian Invasion will be even more gooder.
Attila/Barbarian Invasion II is the obvious next iteration in the series. That being said, I keep hoping for an ancient China/Spring and Autumn title...
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 10, 2014, 05:16:01 AM
My heart, and moist nether regions hopes Medieval III
A big +1 to this, but it won't be that. I have no doubt we'll see Medieval 3 someday, but it probably won't be til the end of the decade at the earliest.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 10, 2014, 07:18:37 AM
and hence forth it will be known as the age of the great schism
- Warhammer is cool, so is TW, i cant wait to see WH in an a TW format
- WTF? Keep your stupid orcs and dwarves away from my historically accurate (snort!) simulation of real word periods of war
- War-what-now?
and the lo the intelligent, well constructed arguements and counter arguements will spill forth from the agents of the triumverate
- Fk you its not for babies, its a very dark, gritty world created for adults, if CA want to make it and it will sell its their fking business
- Do not touch the best gaming strategy games in the world with your baby soldiers game
- seriously, what-hammer?
LOL. Well-put,
geek. This is what I meant by howls of outrage by both fanbases (and why I believe the franchises will be kept separate by CA/Sega).
Now I am all excited to play again and ignore my gaming queue that i've been trying to whittle down. Jonesng to play as Macedon. And Sparta. And Attila.
So I'm getting trampled by elephants. What's the best way to defeat them?
slingers from a distance, javelins from a bit closer, spears, preferably a hoplite wall or pike wall when up close and personal, from the front, the side and the back
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 12, 2014, 05:27:22 PM
slingers from a distance, javelins from a bit closer, spears, preferably a hoplite wall or pike wall when up close and personal, from the front, the side and the back
That's a lot of work. Most of my men are swords. That's probably why I'm losing.
yeah, id much rather poke an elephant with a 12ft stick than a sword!
Jomni you need to recruit some War Mice units to frighten the elephants. The Spartan ones are the toughest. And the scariest because they wear those funny little Spartan helmets. :2funny:
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 12, 2014, 09:29:08 PM
Jomni you need to recruit some War Mice units to frighten the elephants. The Spartan ones are the toughest. And the scariest because they wear those funny little Spartan helmets. :2funny:
Sorry but I'm not gonna download any cartoony DLC.
One of the funniest sights from Rome 2 for me was ordering a elephant unit to charge through a city gate to get inside and watching the elephants squeezing through one at a time. Talk about a bottleneck!
Quote from: jomni on September 12, 2014, 09:52:03 PM
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 12, 2014, 09:29:08 PM
Jomni you need to recruit some War Mice units to frighten the elephants. The Spartan ones are the toughest. And the scariest because they wear those funny little Spartan helmets. :2funny:
Sorry but I'm not gonna download any cartoony DLC.
Speaking of War Mice...
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffc05.deviantart.net%2Ffs71%2Fi%2F2011%2F187%2Fe%2Fa%2Fspartan_mickey_mouse_by_rcbrock-d3l8tzz.jpg&hash=b145979906f15f550fa1f71c495f6a7514a0733f)
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 10, 2014, 09:09:39 AM
yes, but only because im a movie going, hollywood drivel in taking fan whore and recently saw the new 300 film, which i admit doesnt have spartans in and is all about the Athenians but i do like 300 and i do like their martial society
ill put my hand up and say i know sod all east of Rome history wise, and without some learned reading and Frank Miller probably wouldnt know much about Sparta either
Pontus, Breuci, Getae, Royal Scythia is all new to me
I missed 300, but I have read some of the Archaeology of Scythia, so I started a new campaign as the Massagetae. The Ai has spent most of its time running for its life (from Amul into deepest Bactria) so apparently the Massagetae and their Amazon Archers are pretty scary. But I have plenty of allies too. The AI is definitely very different in this latest iteration. They prioritized massing their forces to such an extent that if you drive a fast cavalry army into the midst of where you think they will be assembling, you can even get a few ambushes. But that's against the Bactrians who are burdened with hoplites and whatnot. When fighting other steppe barbarians, the AI is quite fearsome in my opinion.
I was just checking out the Scythian roster and man does it look cool. May play them next instead of Sparta or Macedon.
whats so fancy about the scythians?
sea based or land based? - because im pants at naval combat
They have a lot of horseymen, and I love horseymen. Like 12 different types. And they look quite savage. I like my horseymen to be savage.
Yeah with the dismount ability for siege battles, I've thought you could have an entire cavalry-based force as the Scythians. But what'cha gonna do when you hit water? Teach the horseys to row?
IIRC the Scythians also had a few decent infantry units too...not many but some.
The new Emperor Edition Campaign is now out and I am very happy to report it doesn't conflict with the new Radious mod update nor does it screw-up any of my old saved games. So I am at a loss for something to bitch about. >:( The new campaign looks scrumptious and has a lot of new toys to play with including... finally... Latrines in your cities. My people were getting really tired of holding it. New icons for all the new factions can be a little confusing at first. I can't wait to get all Octavian on somebody's ass and see how the improved AI handles itself. And it's free. Like I use to tell the young girls, "The best love is free love Darling".
Quote from: Gusington on September 15, 2014, 09:02:45 PM
They have a lot of horseymen, and I love horseymen. Like 12 different types. And they look quite savage. I like my horseymen to be savage.
Gak. I was crushed horribly by the Parthinians as the Massagetae. That's it. I'm going to be the Normal Parthinians again. The AI can be a real killer in this game.
Should I even use radious mod or another full conversion? So much has changed and although they may work...do they make anything worse?
Quote from: mikeck on September 16, 2014, 11:26:38 AM
Should I even use radious mod or another full conversion? So much has changed and although they may work...do they make anything worse?
I personally prefer DeI to Radious, and the DeI team has been very quick to adapt to the new patches.
That said, I plan on giving Vanilla a go for a new campaign. With all the changes they've made to AI, battle speed, ect. I really want to see how well balanced the core game is now.
I've only used Radious and like it a lot. He has put the Civil War back in the mod but still has kept out the Forced March ability because of balance issues which is only a big deal when moving transport fleets which just crawl across the map. The vanilla game has come so far that there may not be a whole lot of difference from the mods. I had one crash when trying to load the new campaign with the Traits, Talents, and Toadies mod enabled. I fired up the Mark Anthony faction for the new campaign and he starts off at war with about 20 different factions. Damn! What'd he do?
He clearly did not respect the savage, exotic horseymen.
More details on the new campaign! Work has sucked today and I have drill tonight, so I need something to believe in!
Hey, look! I'm an Emperor!
I turned on my vanilla Rome II and suddenly it was the Emperor Version. Since there's only one emperor - I must be him. Y'all only need to bow once when entering, thank you very much.
All Hail Longblade-icus I. Emperor of the Longblade-lings or is it -ites. LONG MAY HE GAME. I am bowing as I post this.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 16, 2014, 03:17:42 PM
All Hail Longblade-icus I. Emperor of the Longblade-lings or is it -ites. LONG MAY HE GAME. I am bowing as I post this.
Yes but are you entering at the same time?
He was very specific
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 16, 2014, 04:07:04 PM
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 16, 2014, 03:17:42 PM
All Hail Longblade-icus I. Emperor of the Longblade-lings or is it -ites. LONG MAY HE GAME. I am bowing as I post this.
Yes but are you entering at the same time?
He was very specific
You Brits don't miss much, do you?
I am in a pistol class right now for the Guard, but once I get out...I will be Emperor.
I wasn't sure so I assumed constant bowing was safest.
so glad youre on your phone during THAT class.... ::) ??? :knuppel2:
Quote from: LongBlade on September 16, 2014, 06:06:03 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 16, 2014, 04:07:04 PM
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 16, 2014, 03:17:42 PM
All Hail Longblade-icus I. Emperor of the Longblade-lings or is it -ites. LONG MAY HE GAME. I am bowing as I post this.
Yes but are you entering at the same time?
He was very specific
You Brits don't miss much, do you?
Not where etiquette is concerned you savages
Can't wait to check out the Emperor Edition! Firs, though gotta lie down and see if this damn headache/migraine will go away...
Quote from: Gusington on September 16, 2014, 07:14:16 PM
I am in a pistol class right now for the Guard, but once I get out...I will be Emperor.
There can be only one.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mattsmoviereviews.net%2FImages%2Fhighlanderimage01.jpg&hash=f8ae9425cb4a1d2976d5779531536962af864c64)
Anyone playing as Armenia in the new campaign?
I haven't checked out Armenia yet though I did take a look at all the Roman factions and Parthia. They all start with very few armies and virtually every city needing buildings upgraded- lots of building to do. I guess to show-off the new building trees. Anthony actually only starts at war with 6 factions including Parthia and allies but has about 10 client states including Egypt and Armenia. The other 3 Roman factions aren't at war with anyone at the start and all are allied with each other but hostile to each other. The biggest changes are to the building trees and the new political system which now gives you a real incentive to stab in the back your political foes, before they do the same to you. Anything that allows me to play as more of a dirty bastard, I'm in favor of.
Quote from: Gusington on September 17, 2014, 01:05:51 PM
Anyone playing as Armenia in the new campaign?
Wot wot?!
They added Armenia?
Excellent. O0 So we get some serious scale armor troops in quantity, I hope.
Well, it definitely runs better. I like the new lighting. Vanilla battles are much longer and men move slower than old vanilla. All around more polish. My only complaint: neither Anthony, Octavian nor Lepidus have any legions at the beginning. They have legions in name but they only have a few spear units and a velite unit. You mean that in 42 BC no one in Rome possessed any legions with actual legionaries? Would it have been so hard to give each leader 2 full stack legions. Also, why do I have to research "legionary cohorts"? That system was already in place at this point
Quote from: mikeck on September 17, 2014, 06:38:37 PM
Well, it definitely runs better. I like the new lighting. Vanilla battles are much longer and men move slower than old vanilla. All around more polish. My only complaint: neither Anthony, Octavian nor Lepidus have any legions at the beginning. They have legions in name but they only have a few spear units and a velite unit. You mean that in 42 BC no one in Rome possessed any legions with actual legionaries? Would it have been so hard to give each leader 2 full stack legions. Also, why do I have to research "legionary cohorts"? That system was already in place at this point
Geeze, you sound like some kind of crazy grog!
O0
I haven't seen Armenia's faction roster yet but I bet it is quite loin-moistening.
Quote from: Gusington on September 17, 2014, 08:18:16 PM
I haven't seen Armenia's faction roster yet but I bet it is quite loin-moistening.
I enjoyed the Armenian units in the first one. I don't recall if they were in a mod or included in the expansion.
Heavily scale armored pikes, spears, swordsmen and cataphracts looked quite shiny.
^Talk to me (in Armenian) baby! I don't remember Armenia in the first one at all...
Dammit! Now I gotta try them out.
Quote from: Gusington on September 17, 2014, 08:23:41 PM
^Talk to me (in Armenian) baby! I don't remember Armenia in the first one at all...
It's a province but not a playable faction - at least in the original vanilla.
Quote from: LongBlade on September 17, 2014, 09:48:18 PM
Quote from: Gusington on September 17, 2014, 08:23:41 PM
^Talk to me (in Armenian) baby! I don't remember Armenia in the first one at all...
It's a province but not a playable faction - at least in the original vanilla.
Was in one of the mega-mods then. Good stuff.
All this talk about eastern civilizations (Armenian, scythians, Parthians) led me to start reading about their history.
Will definitely play one of them after my first play through as Rome. Rome is beginning to bore me as its mostly a heavy infantry army. Even the slave rebels (lybian roster = elephants, phalanx, very heavy infantry, missile cavalry) that I usually contend with are more sophisticated in warfare. Quite hard to pacify these Africans. I got rid of Carthage and his allies early in my game. :/
Argh. I suddenly realized a drawback (for me) in the Imperator Augustus campaign: I do not like starting out with so much territory in strategy games, as I always feel so overwhelmed. I think this is one of the reasons I enjoy Pontus and the Greek factions in the grand campaign -- you only start out with 1-2 settlements.
<sighs, frustrated with self>
Don't even look at Parthia then in the new campaign, it's huge. I am the same way. I find it easier to manage an empire if I build it from scratch.
I got another kind of problem. My old save games work fine with patch 15 but the new political system impacts your faction depending on how much support in the senate your party has. Some effects are quite damaging to your faction. So my Rome campaign with patch 15 has my party at 17% support in the senate now and I'm taking big hits to my Public Order, income, and troop morale and melee abilities. I never paid attention to the other families before as the Civil War wasn't a big deal. It is now. So I've now got to try to grab some other family members which will drop my support further while trying to hold-off my enemies that my troops are now at a disadvantage against. Or... start a new campaign... again. :tickedoff:
I noticed the civil war seemed different. That's one aspect of the game that I really don't understand. It seems unavoidable no matter what I do.
For instance, playing as Pontus, I started with about 48% support. At one point I dropped into the mid-30s without provoking a civil war, then got it up to 49%, then civil war broke out when I dropped to 46%. What gives? It seems like civil war is triggered more on how big my empire is rather than any shenanigans in the political system.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 18, 2014, 09:42:48 AM
I got another kind of problem. My old save games work fine with patch 15 but the new political system impacts your faction depending on how much support in the senate your party has.
Did they ever adjust the ridiculous internal politics system? That's one new facet I found gratingly annoying. Not interesting or fun at all.
I didn't like it either...it seemed DOA.
The more support in the Senate, the more buffs your faction gets but like Longbladicus I, Long May He Reign, said, you can't be sure when it'll lead to CW. And all factions now have a senate of some kind. Maybe not that big a problem if you start early but can screw-up your faction if your already well into the campaign.
I see a slide bar for civil war that is empty in my game but I'm only at 15 percent......
Without realising the consequences I have an 11 star General who is a Spartan God but he is from another family..... it's time to send him to war on his own or to put my actual faction leader at the head of the first army
Quote from: Gusington on September 17, 2014, 08:18:16 PM
I haven't seen Armenia's faction roster yet but I bet it is quite loin-moistening.
I'm doing a vanilla Parthia Campaign. Armenia had to go, but it was a hard fight. At one point I was fighting Judea, Armenia and Marc Anthony and they all administered some beatings to the virtuous Parthinians, but Armenia is gone, Judea is next, and then Egypt and then maybe Marc's Rome.
Quote from: LongBlade on September 18, 2014, 09:49:09 AM
I noticed the civil war seemed different. That's one aspect of the game that I really don't understand. It seems unavoidable no matter what I do.
For instance, playing as Pontus, I started with about 48% support. At one point I dropped into the mid-30s without provoking a civil war, then got it up to 49%, then civil war broke out when I dropped to 46%. What gives? It seems like civil war is triggered more on how big my empire is rather than any shenanigans in the political system.
Oh no. I haven't paid much attention to politics.
Quote from: jomni on September 18, 2014, 05:24:26 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on September 18, 2014, 09:49:09 AM
I noticed the civil war seemed different. That's one aspect of the game that I really don't understand. It seems unavoidable no matter what I do.
For instance, playing as Pontus, I started with about 48% support. At one point I dropped into the mid-30s without provoking a civil war, then got it up to 49%, then civil war broke out when I dropped to 46%. What gives? It seems like civil war is triggered more on how big my empire is rather than any shenanigans in the political system.
Oh no. I haven't paid much attention to politics.
The best I can tell it doesn't matter - you can wait until you get to about 75% of the empire bar and then civil war breaks out.
A playable Judea would be quite choice.
At least Jerusalem has walls now. And hopefully latrines if under responsible governing.
Quote from: Gusington on September 18, 2014, 07:23:23 PM
A playable Judea would be quite choice.
They were a bunch of tough customers. They wiped out one of my armies in a nasty series of nasty battles. But they are all gone now and Anthony is next.
It would be cool to see a Masada- based custom battle.
Quote from:
Gusington link=topic=6257.msg287968#msg287968 date=1411086203
A playable Judea would be quite choice.
The people's front?
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 19, 2014, 10:19:03 AM
Quote from:
Gusington link=topic=6257.msg287968#msg287968 date=1411086203
A playable Judea would be quite choice.
The people's front?
Splitters!
Ok ok the Judean people's front
I'm pretty sure there was a mod for a playable Judea about 6 patches ago.
It would be cool to see a Masada- based custom battle.
Unfair advantage to Judea. I've been there.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 19, 2014, 10:19:03 AM
Quote from:
Gusington link=topic=6257.msg287968#msg287968 date=1411086203
A playable Judea would be quite choice.
The people's front?
What have the Romans ever done for us?
Quote from: mikeck on September 19, 2014, 01:49:43 PM
What have the Romans ever done for us?
They gave us toga parties!
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tigersweat.com%2Fmovies%2Fanimal%2Fanim08.jpg&hash=23fa88356f42be1308e143bf505bc676d5e442f5)
Quote from: LongBlade on September 19, 2014, 01:52:40 PM
Quote from: mikeck on September 19, 2014, 01:49:43 PM
What have the Romans ever done for us?
They gave us toga parties!
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tigersweat.com%2Fmovies%2Fanimal%2Fanim08.jpg&hash=23fa88356f42be1308e143bf505bc676d5e442f5)
Okay besides the wine, the roads, sanitation, aqueducts, public baths public education and toga parties....what have the Romans ever done for us!?
They have kept us entertained for millenia. Are you not entertained?
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstream1.gifsoup.com%2Fview8%2F20131219%2F4929048%2Fare-you-not-entertained-o.gif&hash=641dccf38966a117329c1bbb881aefb8d3928c0e)
Okay, so while we're doing this, fave line, "He has a wife you know..."
The Watchmen - The Northern pass into Sparta, to the west Nervii and the Etruscans, to the east nothing but Sparta until you reach the sea again
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1600x1200q90%2F631%2FRt8v1u.jpg&hash=9aaa39c81d62d50a53ac1d41caebc7c621ef326b) (https://imageshack.com/i/hjRt8v1uj)
The taking of Syracruse - in the shadow of the volcano General Dexios prepares to advance
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1600x1200q90%2F742%2FBXNdku.jpg&hash=faee42c798b22dd4c3a22cf59a9d1d2577cce237) (https://imageshack.com/i/kmBXNdkuj)
Syracuse allies land on the nearby shores, unprotected slingers and archers - the Royal Cavalry is sent to deal with them
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1600x1200q90%2F673%2Fd1NgWd.jpg&hash=dab00dca3532fc6e1352b26e403751ea864aa847) (https://imageshack.com/i/ipd1NgWdj)
Dexios watches as the 1st Spartan army advances on the enemy
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1600x1200q90%2F902%2FnAjwVk.jpg&hash=1e93abe2cfb9840eb3003936490ca33e84b58aa7) (https://imageshack.com/i/p2nAjwVkj)
Spartan Pikemen seal up the east of the market square
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1600x1200q90%2F904%2FG41iAr.jpg&hash=30c8a158dd341a39893d5aeca7ff69b21e1fe8a2) (https://imageshack.com/i/p4G41iArj)
In the middle of the market square stand 450 enemy slingers and archers who whittle down the pride of Spartan pikes, a company of Royal horse are sent in to break them up and hopefully isolate them to the rear of the battlefield
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1600x1200q90%2F540%2FX1fFVj.jpg&hash=cea1452f7920711343d4bf5d0e5de362fd2f786c) (https://imageshack.com/i/f0X1fFVjj)
It works, the unprotected missile troops are left on their own to the rear of the Syracruse lines..........
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1600x1200q90%2F537%2FIPRZp3.jpg&hash=1c5a2ff487619117d987b8f8a64f50321ba062c2) (https://imageshack.com/i/exIPRZp3j)
......... and another company of Royal cavalry sprint there to cut them down
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1600x1200q90%2F910%2FNekQhT.jpg&hash=eebf3b8178406f41128f75e76510eb616e87f5d2) (https://imageshack.com/i/paNekQhTj)
Pikemen and swordsmen take on the elite of Syracuse forces - the heavy sword champions
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1600x1200q90%2F633%2FlvtOgT.jpg&hash=60ba9e4ff457d3d29355816a83d1250b5285bb97) (https://imageshack.com/i/hllvtOgTj)
The Spartan pikes push all the way through the enemy lines forcing the champions onto the Spartan elite troops in their rear
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1600x1200q90%2F538%2Fw90mzH.jpg&hash=80d4839c9cbe17fdae9de049febcc79ef8330490) (https://imageshack.com/i/eyw90mzHj)
The cavalry massacres the missile troops and heads back to the town square to finish off any stragglers
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1600x1200q90%2F538%2FPxubmq.jpg&hash=61bd45a9429de23a6fc3eb6445ad4dbd177cd8d4) (https://imageshack.com/i/eyPxubmqj)
The city, and Sicily falls to Sparta
The Empire of Pontos at 15 BC
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcloud-4.steampowered.com%2Fugc%2F537375683715100143%2F1096908A7FE32B957A970FA6C8D3126C4E6BA26B%2F&hash=30106dc2d0d30020b565f878f5f9b7029dadbc07)
The treasure of Pontos
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcloud-4.steampowered.com%2Fugc%2F537375683715100776%2FA687BD9B7E89F387BF0B2A66940B2EC21AED93C8%2F&hash=e2602a6068fc4d342f376aa5c97d97a0cfcd4f85)
Wow. Way to kill a thread, LB!
The game looks excellent enough now to drop everything else in my queue and jump back in...
Quote from: LongBlade on September 17, 2014, 12:59:49 PM
Quote from: Gusington on September 16, 2014, 07:14:16 PM
I am in a pistol class right now for the Guard, but once I get out...I will be Emperor.
There can be only one.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2F2%2F2c%2FWest_Highland_White_Terrier_Krakow.jpg&hash=18e23dd442125a03c3309a0f827ea5bef6f757dd)
fixed.
not Rome 2 but I just finished my first full campaign in Shogun 2. man, do I LOVE that Black Ship!
Some great shots, geek & LB!
Man, I need to get back into this game, but it's not going to happen today after all (I had too much other crap today to get done first, and now I'm trying to wind down for bed). The only question is whether I play the Grand Campaign again, or if I go for the new IA campaign (albeit with a smaller faction -- I can't handle starting with so many friggin' settlements...).
is there a mod to stop the rubbish public order mechanic?
Quote from: FlickJax on September 22, 2014, 09:02:03 AM
is there a mod to stop the rubbish public order mechanic?
I don't know. I don't use mods, though with all the love they get here I probably should look into them.
At the risk of telling you something you already know, I used to share your frustration about managing large territories and still trying to prevent uprisings.
Managing public order is best managed through the Provinces tab on the lower right of the screen:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2FRomeProvincesTab_zpsf03be7b5.jpg&hash=621ffc10d93b7dd299ac9df0eb73d8a8761cf5e9)
I'm sure you already know that. But there's a shortcut to watching what's happening in these provinces. I've highlighted three provinces: Caucasia, Scythia, and Bosporus.
These three provinces are of major concern. Don't just look at the red/green unhappy/happy faces - pay attention to the little arrows to their lower right. They indicate whether the level of order is increasing or decreasing. In the case of Scythia and Bosporus, even though the provinces are in a happy state, for some reason their happiness is declining. If left unchecked, they'll eventually revolt.
So it is that I don't have to look at every province on a province-by-province basis. Just look at that list and watch for all the provinces that have declining order. Should make your life a lot easier.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2FRomeOrderList_zpse184ec06.jpg&hash=493b490a2a179b3fb99d8cfa3fcdb7d98e767470)
... and then check the tooltip on the location's screen to find the detailed modifiers for breakdown of what the problem is.
O0
LB how the hell did you get all that money??
Quote from: Gusington on September 22, 2014, 02:58:33 PM
LB how the hell did you get all that money??
By playing the game.
Seriously. Just playing.
Look at the size of my empire:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FRomePontos_zps7051074d.jpg&hash=36d8acd7103d227a1c48cc2fd5c9ed56acb5aadc)
I'm the dark blue - see red arrows. My Military allies are in light slate blue - see blue arrows.
So...
First, I've got a huge empire.
Second, I made sure that, as I expanded, I went back to the provinces and attempted to maximize either food or money (or both) while keeping the province in the positive for public order.
Third, from the first turn I tried to trade with as many nations as possible.
My income per turn is ~ 27000 and has been for a while. Eventually you just don't need to spend much money. So it grows.
That's it.
My last campaign as Carthage I won but I never had anywhere near that amount of cash.
Treasury.
I took more screenies if you want to see deets.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2FPontosTreas1_zpsa1b74b3b.jpg&hash=7049544169e8366f2ab123417b55af85fd288ae5)
Quote from: Gusington on September 22, 2014, 03:13:43 PM
My last campaign as Carthage I won but I never had anywhere near that amount of cash.
I've broken a million in the bank before. Honestly, I don't remember if this is a high or not.
You are a regular Donaldus Trumpicus.
Quote from: Gusington on September 22, 2014, 03:26:38 PM
You are a regular Donaldus Trumpicus.
Would that it were so.
Quote from: Gusington on September 22, 2014, 02:58:33 PM
LB how the hell did you get all that money??
Good construction methods, I imagine.
That's why I don't change the positive and negative values associated with buildings. It makes your construction much more interesting when you have to balance stuff out and specialize. I like the penalties on the nicer ones so you can't just build the biggest & baddest without recourse, but have to deliberate on the combination of buildings in each one for best efficiency.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 22, 2014, 05:22:22 PM
Quote from: Gusington on September 22, 2014, 02:58:33 PM
LB how the hell did you get all that money??
Good construction methods, I imagine.
Exactly. You've got to pay attention to the penalties as well as the benefits. Applies as much for food as public stability.
havent you hit the victory condition yet?
He had to like 10 provinces ago.
Quote from: Gusington on September 22, 2014, 08:03:36 PM
He had to like 10 provinces ago.
Actually I did that turn. I deliberately left an unconquered and forgotten so I could just enjoy the game. Eventually one of the factions on the steppe decided it needed to pick a scrap with me. After squishing them I triggered the victory conditions. Was kinda sad about it.
But now I've fired up the Iceni and have united the British Isles. All I have to do is conquer the rest of Europe and Asia!
^You big ancient tease.
Anyone playing as Dacia in the new campaign? I've suddenly become interested in them.
Quote from: Gusington on September 22, 2014, 08:14:26 PM
^You big ancient tease.
Anyone playing as Dacia in the new campaign? I've suddenly become interested in them.
ive killed em
What kind of troops did you face? Anything interesting?
At the time they were a province of Macedonia or the Getae - lots of skirmishers and big ass swords
Big ass swordsmen, eh? I'll have to do some research.
lol, might have known
men whos swords are big ass - although im not sure thats better
A campaign as Macedonia has been in my queue but now Dacia or Armenia are beckoning...or Pontus.
Quote from: Gusington on September 23, 2014, 01:01:31 PM
A campaign as Macedonia has been in my queue but now Dacia or Armenia are beckoning...or Pontus.
SPARTA!
Them too of course but the others look equally fascinating. And Armenia has has heavy cataphracts and is eastern but isn't really. I like my TW factions exotic!!
I'm Armenia next
How soon is that?
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 23, 2014, 01:14:59 PM
I'm Armenia next
You guys are making me feel bad playing plain old Icena.
full mail tunics and cataphracts? come on LB!!!!
Quote from: Gusington on September 23, 2014, 01:39:33 PM
How soon is that?
i think i have 45 provinces
Yeah seriously, Armenia looks PHAT...as the kids say.
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 23, 2014, 02:07:04 PM
full mail tunics and cataphracts? come on LB!!!!
Quote from: Gusington on September 23, 2014, 01:39:33 PM
How soon is that?
i think i have 45 provinces
Males wearing tunics with cataracts doesn't sound especially appealing, but whatever turns you on...
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 23, 2014, 01:10:25 PM
Quote from: Gusington on September 23, 2014, 01:01:31 PM
A campaign as Macedonia has been in my queue but now Dacia or Armenia are beckoning...or Pontus.
SPARTA!
Pfff. Noob mode.
:P
Armenia is proving to be a bit of a challenge. Essentially every nation to the east, west, and south is at war with you from the word go. I've had a good push so far, and managed to split Parthia down the middle. But now a bunch of their allies are showing up. This could get messy.
What is the difference between Scythia and Parthia?
Quote from: Gusington on September 23, 2014, 07:18:21 PM
What is the difference between Scythia and Parthia?
I don't know. This is all beyond my study of history.
BTW, playing Armenia is getting really tough. Income is difficult to come by and all the neighbors keep fighting with me. I've managed to save up some cash - I'm thinking about abandoning the provinces I've conquered to reset. This is a tough nut to crack.
The Scythians came first, then the Parthians, IIRC. Together they make up...the Sassanids, at a later date. I think.
Scythians are nomadic tribes occupying the Eurasian Steppes. I suppose the Parthians aren't nomadic and occupy modern day Iran Iraq and Syria (basically the Persians during Alexander's time.
Late in the day the history of these tribes makes my head spin. From a quick bout of research it looks like the Scythians, Parthians and a half dozen other groups make up the ancient Persians from around 600 BC to around 400 AD.
Quote from: Gusington on September 23, 2014, 09:16:48 PM
Late in the day the history of these tribes makes my head spin. From a quick bout of research it looks like the Scythians, Parthians and a half dozen other groups make up the ancient Persians from around 600 BC to around 400 AD.
And they're all playable factions in the game. :uglystupid2:
If you're into this kind of thing, look up the historical fiction writer Peter Harman...he loves himself some Armenian cataphracts and Parthians. I am really looking forward to playing as Armenia, as long as the campaign is not ridiculously difficult.
How are the newly tweaked sieges, btw?
Quote from: Gusington on September 24, 2014, 07:28:13 AM
If you're into this kind of thing, look up the historical fiction writer Peter Harman...he loves himself some Armenian cataphracts and Parthians. I am really looking forward to playing as Armenia, as long as the campaign is not ridiculously difficult.
I'm thinking getting started is a real challenge. The in-game description of Armenia lists the campaign as "hard." I'd agree.
QuoteHow are the newly tweaked sieges, btw?
Dunno. I always bring at least two, preferably three, armies to a siege and then auto-resolve for the win.
as a sieg-ER ive noticed the walls are defended very robustly, especially if youre even in numbers, it can be a tough fight to get over the wall and down into the city , AI moves archers and skirmishers up to the front and peppers you as you battle your way across the fortifications
havent been a sieg-EE, if theyre coming for me ill kill em in the open
Quote from: LongBlade on September 24, 2014, 07:46:39 AM
Quote from: Gusington on September 24, 2014, 07:28:13 AM
If you're into this kind of thing, look up the historical fiction writer Peter Harman...he loves himself some Armenian cataphracts and Parthians. I am really looking forward to playing as Armenia, as long as the campaign is not ridiculously difficult.
I'm thinking getting started is a real challenge. The in-game description of Armenia lists the campaign as "hard." I'd agree.
QuoteHow are the newly tweaked sieges, btw?
Dunno. I always bring at least two, preferably three, armies to a siege and then auto-resolve for the win.
I think the Armenians have a very tough spot in the Imperial campaign. I took the Parthinians and the Armenians were the first faction I wiped out. After taking a beating in the far east, I launched a pretty desperate campaign to take out Armenia or die trying. Fortunately the numberous Satrapies of the Parthenians held off most of the other enemies until I finished off Armenia and Judea and Marc Anthony didn't do too much (took a few provinces, destroyed a few armies). Once Armenia was gone, Judea was relatively easy to wipe out which impressed Cleopatra enough for her to opt out of the rest of Marc's Wars and then there was just Marc and he was massive but kind of diffuse.
Just when you think you've turned a corner with them someone else shows up to ruin your day. Almost every nation is hostile - and not only hostile, but you can't even negotiate with them. I had no choice but to fight on multiple fronts against multiple enemies. Finally I turned a bit of a corner, but this is a highly challenging game.
what difficulty level are you?
is that the one higher than 'hey, its gus here'
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 24, 2014, 11:22:34 AM
is that the one higher than 'hey, its gus here'
Nope. It's as far left as you can go. Easier than Gus at a wine tasting party.
if I ever get to hang out with Gus his wife wont ever let him out of the house again.
I posted somewhere in this thread that I won my Hannibal at the Gates TW campaign on 'Normal' difficulty, ucg. You wanker.
Where is everybody? It's been three hours since a reply here.
so I guess mentioning my 2 crushing victory Shogun 2 campaigns wouldnt make you feel better.
Quote from: LongBlade on September 25, 2014, 12:03:56 AM
Where is everybody? It's been three hours since a reply here.
i was wanking apparently
Quote from: Gusington on September 24, 2014, 09:09:17 PM
I posted somewhere in this thread that I won my Hannibal at the Gates TW campaign on 'Normal' difficulty, ucg. You wanker.
lol, im sorry Gus - would you like a tissue?
I was attempting to find as many leaked photos from the EBX CA booth as possible.
Let's move the Epirus discussion back here. If I had mod powers still I'd splice the posts into here. But I don't.
Anyway, I've played about four or five games as Epirus and find it's a nightmare. I can see a path to victory, but each time the AI wiggles enough to do something I hadn't anticipated.
I know I can with with it. I'm just not sure I want to play five or ten more reboots before I do.
Armenia was not as difficult. At least not for me.
besides RTW2 what are the highlights of the series to buy?
I already have RTW with its expansions and Shogun2 with its expansions. what else?
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 24, 2014, 08:15:11 AM
as a sieg-ER ive noticed the walls are defended very robustly, especially if youre even in numbers, it can be a tough fight to get over the wall and down into the city , AI moves archers and skirmishers up to the front and peppers you as you battle your way across the fortifications
havent been a sieg-EE, if theyre coming for me ill kill em in the open
Stop babbling and send your god-damned PON orders in. Tuna and I are waiting.
turns... dont talk to me about turns.
here I am, brain the size of a planet and you want an e-mail.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on September 27, 2014, 12:56:45 AM
besides RTW2 what are the highlights of the series to buy?
I already have RTW with its expansions and Shogun2 with its expansions. what else?
Just load up your cart and stop asking questions. You'll want the factions. You'll want the add-on campaigns.
seems ROME II Emperor Edition is free today.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on September 27, 2014, 09:38:11 AM
seems ROME II Emperor Edition is free today.
Free until Sunday on Steam.
Rome: TW is $2.49 and with the Alexander expansion it's $3.49. Thinking of grabbing both myself even though I have no idea when I'd play them. May as well wait until Rome II goes on super-sale.
I thought about grabbing up RTW and the add-on too but they just look too old to me now. Though not as old as what I see when I look in the mirror. I began a new grand campaign as Rome to see what the patch 15 improvements would add and I really like the new stuff. The early stage plays much different and even the political stuff is fun now. I may just chunk my old turn 65 campaign and stick with this one.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on September 27, 2014, 12:56:45 AM
besides RTW2 what are the highlights of the series to buy?
I already have RTW with its expansions and Shogun2 with its expansions. what else?
A lot of guys around here enjoy mods. I play vanilla and enjoy it, but before you drop tons of cash you might want to ask around about 'em.
well when the base games are all less then $10 it wouldnt be a ton of cash. Im just wondering how much Total War I want and which are the better versions of the game.
.
Update on Epirus
I believe I've managed to crack the code on Epirus.
Though I'm only at Turn 15, this is further than I've ever been able to get. I've managed to squash both Sparta and Athens. Rome has declared war on me, but so far hasn't made a move.
The key seems to be a single-solution strategy. You've only got one choice: I blew something like 5000 drachmas (or whatever the currency is) - virtually my entire budget - on Turn 1 to establish a military alliance with Macedon, the only friendly kingdom around.
That forestalled the otherwise inevitable dual punch of Sparta and Athens ganging up on me. Eventually Athens declared war on Macedon, breaking their client status with them.
You have to be prepared to sacrifice Larissa. First Athens took it, then Macedon, and it switched again. At this point Macedon owns it. I've either got to go to war against my only ally, or accept letting them have it so I can expand elsewhere. For now I'll let them have it since Rome will pose a significant problem.
Right now I'm trying to sucker punch Rome, by leaving my port city apparently exposed, but in actuality I have two armies in hiding just outside the city. Hopefully they'll send just enough troops to take what they believe to be a lightly guarded port.
We'll see how this goes, but as of this moment I'd say I've turned the corner.
So, is Epirus more difficult to play than Armenia? There appears to be only one solution. So in that sense, yes, if you can't figure it out it's unplayable. It took me six or eight reboots to finally figure it out.
edit: sorry, updated for typos.
Star definitely look into Medieval Total War and Medieval 2 Total War. There's 100s of mods for the second one...one of the best being Stainless Steel. Both original games are, by now, classics.
LB you are the only human I know of who has played and made it past a dozen turns with Epirus.
Quote from: Gusington on September 27, 2014, 02:16:52 PM
LB you are the only human I know of who has played and made it past a dozen turns with Epirus.
How dare you insult me!
Who said I was human?
You are the only entity I know of who has played and made it past a dozen turns with Epirus.
Better ;)
Let's make it official. The screenies:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2014-09-27_00004_zpscab77d9d.jpg&hash=1abadc14ae84a64ce7a90d36f3b8a760bce3301e)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2014-09-27_00002_zps22976156.jpg&hash=39ca98929b455aeee6d9ee6e7610cd3d352976f8)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2014-09-27_00003_zps4fe6d13d.jpg&hash=d94bbdfa87afe7e421e8291d7298aae1acc749cb)
You're in a really rough neighborhood. You're going to have to turtle like you mean it.
Turn 60. It is possible to win as Epirus.
Tough, but doable.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2014-09-27_00005_zpse045155e.jpg&hash=216d65d0cac87c91485c941153ca335cd4d18321)
Nice.
My head scratching regarding Epirus was why they had been set up as such a red-headed stepchild from the start. They were a pretty beastly little regional power at the time of the campaign start, historically. Yet in Rome 2 they get crushed into pulp and disappear in record time. :'(
not only is Gus going to cry but CA really should put a 'Hello, Im Gus' setting in the options.
it can probably be done with a simple graphic mod.
Quote from: Nefaro on September 27, 2014, 07:31:16 PM
Nice.
My head scratching regarding Epirus was why they had been set up as such a red-headed stepchild from the start. They were a pretty beastly little regional power at the time of the campaign start, historically. Yet in Rome 2 they get crushed into pulp and disappear in record time. :'(
The solution to win is quite tricky, and is determined in that first turn. But the faction is playable. My campaign continues. I'm now on Turn 97. About Turn 75 Things got a lot easier.
What are your victory conditions?
Quote from: Gusington on September 27, 2014, 11:00:32 PM
What are your victory conditions?
Of course it depends on which ones you're going for.
Military:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2FEpirusMilVic_zps969fcca2.jpg&hash=79a46ccefc3e93c5129767c27d3eeedbc76c2547)
Cultural:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2FEpirusCulturalVic_zps97792e40.jpg&hash=a67ed57596e6400fd23b9d9aef618d219f4530bb)
Economic:
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2FEpirusEcon1Vic_zps91ba8ce7.jpg&hash=581b331a9507db5456afe0a7563db621eb95bf80)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2FEpirusEcon2Vic_zps8a6bc0ee.jpg&hash=5d81e75d95e57ffbb0a98526f9f41ccde3502d4f)
Nice job with Epirus, LB! I haven't even tried tackling a campaign as them yet.
Quote from: Martok on September 30, 2014, 02:33:35 AM
Nice job with Epirus, LB! I haven't even tried tackling a campaign as them yet.
Thanks. Currently I'm distracted by the northern tribes, who are doing a good job of tying me down.
The solution, I'm sure, is to ignore them and let them take back their land while I move south toward the victory conditions. (I finally crushed Rome and whoever the nation is on Corsica - that took some work since I was also fighting in the north).
Of course, the problem is a bit of pride. These northern barbarians are taking turns picking me off, so I'm struggling to manage them. If they'd only have declared war one at a time I'd have rolled them up like a carpet. As it is I'm constantly being hit by them, and have been caught off guard and see entire armies wiped out when I was surprised by a really strong attack by multiple barbarian armies.
The solution is to quickly hire mercs to counter the attack, but that kills my budget.
On top of it all, the barbarians have some uber spy/hero units which are able to full stop a couple of armies, grounding me in place so that I can't move them to counter any threats.
In all the AI is doing a marvelous job of preventing me from easily winning. This is perhaps the best (most challenging) campaign I've played yet. A tough nut to crack. I'm loving it, though it can be frustrating at times.
Here's an image of my progress so far and all the tribes against me. The "neutral" tribes along the Atlantic - Namnetes, Picts, etc, are only neutral for now. They've all been at war with me at least a couple of times and are only licking their wounds before they come back at me.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2014-09-30_00001_zps4b81146c.jpg&hash=dbbd0ddafb0853459a56b79c9fc121228baa9ae3)
Being at the mercy of enemy super agents can leave you feeling helpless and the AI now uses them much more effectively. Used to you could just wait a couple of turns and they'd wander off somewhere else. Now they stick around like hungry in-laws. The last time I hated an agent so much was those damned Inquisitors from M2TW. I sometimes sacrifice a good battle trait to get a anti-agent trait instead for my generals... helps a little.
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 30, 2014, 11:41:02 AM
I sometimes sacrifice a good battle trait to get a anti-agent trait instead for my generals... helps a little.
Thanks. Normally I ignore those. Looks like I'd better pay attention!
I've also added a spy to a couple of armies. Not sure if it makes a difference, but I think it's supposed to.
That is a pretty impressive feat LB. You own the central Mediterranean as well as the Adriatic. O0
Quote from: LongBlade on September 30, 2014, 11:47:31 AM
Quote from: Sir Slash on September 30, 2014, 11:41:02 AM
I sometimes sacrifice a good battle trait to get a anti-agent trait instead for my generals... helps a little.
Thanks. Normally I ignore those. Looks like I'd better pay attention!
I've also added a spy to a couple of armies. Not sure if it makes a difference, but I think it's supposed to.
Pretty sure that adding a Spy to your army gives you a higher chance of detecting enemy agents near it, and especially ones attempting actions on it.
However, I'm not sure if they also provide a penalty to those enemy agents' actions if they detect them. I would think they do but *shrug*.
No matter.
I have finally shattered the Nervii, who were dogging me endlessly. I have befriended the Iceni, who are a reliable tribe.
These tribes are now weak. It will not be long before they are gone, and I will be able to focus on the endgame.
well for some reason with or without mods i cant get back into the sparta campaign, im not going to delete it in case its something stupid
but tonight shall be known as starting up the Armenians night
Hey Geek, are you playing with the Radious mod? Because he just added another unit pack and it requires a sub mod to load old saves. The sub mod is linked on his Steam Workshop site or is at the TW Center. I got the same problem with older saves for Rome and the Seleucids. Bummer.
If you continue with Armenia post impressions!
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 04, 2014, 12:19:32 PM
Hey Geek, are you playing with the Radious mod? Because he just added another unit pack and it requires a sub mod to load old saves. The sub mod is linked on his Steam Workshop site or is at the TW Center. I got the same problem with older saves for Rome and the Seleucids. Bummer.
I'll give that a try before starting the Armenian one then
hmmm hes not uploading it to steam and im not digging in the arse end of the software - the game wont load even without radious ticked because it spawned with that mod
not a problem - it has prompted me to purge all mods and try vanilla which is no bad thing
Quote from: undercovergeek on October 04, 2014, 04:25:52 PM
hmmm hes not uploading it to steam and im not digging in the arse end of the software - the game wont load even without radious ticked because it spawned with that mod
not a problem - it has prompted me to purge all mods and try vanilla which is no bad thing
I saw you pop in and out of Rome II several times earlier today and wondered if you were having problems with it.
lol yeah, it was me watching the progress bar get stuck and then ctrl alt tabbing out again and again
Armenia is up............... im going in
YAY!
Why do all you guys love to play Armenia? Do they have certain units you like? Seems to be very popular and originally, a highly requested playable faction
Quote from: mikeck on October 04, 2014, 07:01:43 PM
Why do all you guys love to play Armenia? Do they have certain units you like? Seems to be very popular and originally, a highly requested playable faction
I liked it in one of the old Rome TW mods because they had lots of cavalry and infantry in heavy scale armor. Cataphract style.
Plus.. I think they were Zoroastrians at the time ..? So a bit unusual in the religious department too.
theyre difficult to use and mobile, both operationally and tactically. whats not to like?
Armenia has captured my imagination. As mentioned above they are an eastern faction, tough to play, they have cataphracts and other armored horse, and have some western features too.
in the modern world however.... never trust an Armenian is business. >:(
Seriously? Isn't this the same kind of crap they used to say about your people too? >:(
I thought it was "never trust a Sicilian when death is on the line"
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 04, 2014, 11:04:54 PM
Seriously? Isn't this the same kind of crap they used to say about your people too? >:(
we will at least give you 15% or better return before we pull the rug out from under you. ;)
Id sooner trust a long lost Nigerian Prince relative who wants to give me money because we're family then an Armenian.
Dude, we have Armenian Grogs here. At least one is on the Varsity Team. Maybe two...
15 turns in, taken the one missing province to unite Armenia which involved kicking out Cappadocia - they called on Anthonys Rome but he refused. Ive secured the north with non aggression pacts leaving really Parthia and its satrapies but theyre all south and south west.
My main army is heading there now, the biggest problem i have is i cant recruit any units, i have level 2 towns but i cant see any actual 'recruitment' buildings, theres armour, stables, and i have built infantry tents but theres no actual infantry to recruit so i have the starting spearmen and a shit load of mercenary axemen - usual spartan tactic, clog everyone up with spears and run round the back with the axemen and general - nasty so far but id like to recruit troops to keep the costs down
ok scrap that - i have killed Rome II, no grand campaign or EE campaign will allow me to recruit units - deleted all mods as opposed to switching them off, problem is the actual data is sat in the games data folder and is indistinguishable from the vanilla stuff - reinstall time - le sigh
and then ARMENIA, hooray
Star wtf - cut it out with the blanket statements.
Geek - are you up and running yet?
Quote from: mikeck on October 04, 2014, 07:01:43 PM
Why do all you guys love to play Armenia? Do they have certain units you like? Seems to be very popular and originally, a highly requested playable faction
Not that it's terribly relevant, but Armenia was a playable faction for the XL mod in the original MTW/VI as well. It too was tough to play, as it was completely surrounded by vastly more powerful factions (the Seljuk Turks and Fatamid Caliphate, with the Byzantine Empire nearby). Similar to the other Total War titles, the Armenia faction in the XL mod also had a mixed Western/Eastern position/outlook, plus an eclectic unit roster.
Armenia was maybe *too* tough in that mod, actually -- I remember I got thoroughly stomped the dozen or so times I tried playing as them -- but if you enjoyed a challenge, then they were definitely the faction to play. 8)
Quote from: Gusington on October 05, 2014, 11:07:02 AM
Star wtf - cut it out with the blanket statements.
Geek - are you up and running yet?
all good, reinstalled and thankfully somewhere the campaign is archived so im straight back up again - ive destroyed my deadly enemy the Magna M.....(?), they had 2 provinces south east of Armenia, that leaves the other 2 regions owned by Parthia themselves - theres a massive walled town and a small coastal town.
Parthia are spamming agents out of the big one, my main army just had four spies poison their provisions.
Just took the main, walled city, hope that helps with the agents but theres a hell of a lot of Parthia left
Sorry, something struck a nerve last night.
I started a new game as Armenia. Hadn't played in a few months.
All was going well until around turn 6 when I opened my faction overview window. That caused it to practically freeze up, including my Windows OS. Had to Alt+F9 out of the game because it was so unresponsive and restart the computer. >:(
I had a couple such freezes caused by the UI happen before, but that was back near release. Been awhile since it did that. It happened rather quickly too. :buck2:
It sounds like most of y'all are playing vanilla rather than one of the big overhaul mods like Radious or DEI. Has vanilla gotten that good?
I haven't touched Rome II in months--mostly liked it a lot, but definitely did not like the breakneck pace of the combat, with even large engagements wrapped up in a tidy 10-15 minutes, and couldn't play without DEI installed --
Nabustia, the Armenian General addresses his troops
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F911%2F3Ub0Ug.jpg&hash=1b422eef69ba7f18e65b6fc4280deb2951120f01) (https://imageshack.com/i/pb3Ub0Ugj)
The spearmen are ready............
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F743%2Fx2SZFa.jpg&hash=e7acfe5982092f418ed1d3ce3674c5ff508cbc1a) (https://imageshack.com/i/knx2SZFaj)
The axemen are ready (seems theyve opted for the GW Night Goblin look)
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F674%2Fz7XKtj.jpg&hash=9f1684317d2a45c77a5e567faa49854d389c3e3a) (https://imageshack.com/i/iqz7XKtjj)
Scouts spy the Parthian enemy in the distance
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F537%2FyYEYgD.jpg&hash=a43ae86af795574b69b6553679a03e190b8d3170) (https://imageshack.com/i/exyYEYgDj)
Armenian cataphracts cut down the enemy general
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F540%2FBIZwu5.jpg&hash=f6644747bdcb8382234d74e81ef0f63f781130d9) (https://imageshack.com/i/f0BIZwu5j)
Our axemen meet the snazzily dressed Parthian spearmen on the flank
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F661%2FAUHF24.jpg&hash=6bf7b3cf8b24061d0ba36edea719c5836eeede25) (https://imageshack.com/i/idAUHF24j)
On the other flank our spearmen meet the Parthian spearwall
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F901%2FdRR6bH.jpg&hash=caa1caca4777eaf26f45089c9388869aaa22724f) (https://imageshack.com/i/p1dRR6bHj)
The spears and axes give pursuit of the routing army
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F540%2FebcHQC.jpg&hash=0c0b3dd4abfbacf2622523a0d5cf3c2859467485) (https://imageshack.com/i/f0ebcHQCj)
Snazzy indeed!
I need a blood mod for Shogun2.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on October 06, 2014, 04:41:14 PM
I need a blood mod for Shogun2.
What makes the grass grow?!?!
Should've been included by default IMO. >:(
it my not be Rome but Im loving taking HMS Warrior into single combat against fleets of enemy ships.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on October 06, 2014, 04:41:14 PM
I need a blood mod for Shogun2.
There's a paid DLC for that.
Quote from: sandman2575 on October 06, 2014, 02:56:31 PM
It sounds like most of y'all are playing vanilla rather than one of the big overhaul mods like Radious or DEI. Has vanilla gotten that good?
I haven't touched Rome II in months--mostly liked it a lot, but definitely did not like the breakneck pace of the combat, with even large engagements wrapped up in a tidy 10-15 minutes, and couldn't play without DEI installed --
I'm fine with vanilla. I don't want updates to break my game.
When I go back to Rome II I will be playing vanilla.
The naval combat in Fall of the Samurai is great fun...have had a blast with the ironclads.
And even the HMS Warrior can be sunk if she's hit often enough. And once she's gone I don't think you can get the Brits to send-out another one. Just saying.
It's prohibitively expensive, like 10,000 koku.
That's a lot of Koku. We are talking money, right? ;D
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 06, 2014, 09:59:59 PM
That's a lot of Koku. We are talking money, right? ;D
If by money you mean "coins representing a specific amount of rice", then yes.
Koku is the amount of rice that feed a man for a year.
Quote from: jomni on October 06, 2014, 10:37:17 PM
Koku is the amount of rice that feed a man for a year.
Beat ya to it! Neener Neener! :P
Although that's the loose interpretation isn't it? They had a specific measurement for just how much that is, I'm sure.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 06, 2014, 09:56:29 PM
And even the HMS Warrior can be sunk if she's hit often enough. And once she's gone I don't think you can get the Brits to send-out another one. Just saying.
Im not dumb with her. I train a general and a foreign agent to be aboard. with the right maneuvering Ive taken out 10 ship stacks.. 8)
Quote from: Nefaro on October 06, 2014, 06:58:14 PM
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on October 06, 2014, 04:41:14 PM
I need a blood mod for Shogun2.
What makes the grass grow?!?!
Should've been included by default IMO. >:(
All memories of bayonet training: butt-stroke to the head....move!! "Kill kill kill with cold blue steel! what makes the grass grow? blood blood blood!"
Armenia is spreading our message across the globe. Currently the North is quiet and locked into non-aggression pacts, same for the South and West, to the west is Anthony's Rome and its clear that im going to have to break away from him once my other enemies are mopped up. He has helped me with the Parthians and their allies and i must say the 'give Ally war target' option has worked great.
So to the East - in a kind of Armenian Mafia way i decided to kill all Parthia's allies. Hes big enough on his own but with 4 or 5 satrapies that are much smaller than me it adds to his total strength, if i can pick them off and surround him - we could break his back and the stranglehold he has on my expansion
This attack should be the last of the Persians. A quite sizeable ally of the Parthians, its impossible to enter a peace treaty with the satrapies independently so theyre going to have to die. This was my first ambush battle - the enemy have to start in march mode, in column formation and cant move until ive set up - i place all my spearmen on one flank, ready to charge. Over that hill are s***loads of axemen, once the Persians are in combat theyll come screaming over the hill and chop them down
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F538%2FJEBrYo.jpg&hash=2e998940f046bc4345eb4651b92046191b2364dd) (https://imageshack.com/i/eyJEBrYoj)
Here they are - ready to do some choppin'
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F540%2FyDBOdg.jpg&hash=bb9e2a1c5c4624656dc7655e668a7c8dd7307d0a) (https://imageshack.com/i/f0yDBOdgj)
Not a clue what this guys up to, and neither does the guy to his left - 'Narek, Narek, WTF are you doing? Stop jumping up and down!'
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F537%2FqXsJE7.jpg&hash=b5c7630172fbb69151f74a36c0fb1a98503cbe68) (https://imageshack.com/i/exqXsJE7j)
As the spearmen charge at the foot of the hill, the enemy General turns and runs right up the hill and into the massed axemen
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F745%2FGlDpQA.jpg&hash=0711993958a50f8223cf1f0dfb252c1e0f405c53) (https://imageshack.com/i/kpGlDpQAj)
They turn and run back down the hill into the advancing spearmen. The axeman are ordered to charge into the rear of the engaged enemy troops at the foot of the hill
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F661%2FeKEy53.jpg&hash=0923903de93e9682169088738149a399ecf508b4) (https://imageshack.com/i/ideKEy53j)
The enemy General......... fkd
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F673%2FyH8pec.jpg&hash=07c47b97cdfadaa8b6165b243cd7df09f08e7919) (https://imageshack.com/i/ipyH8pecj)
Chaaaaaaaaaaaarge...... and with that the demise of the army, the General and the Persians
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F661%2FcvzSSV.jpg&hash=ee25eb126d9fe10109a2e4a06c0d8fc43f763e73) (https://imageshack.com/i/idcvzSSVj)
Armenia's original homeland
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F911%2FNg81qg.jpg&hash=fcf22b15813419b9424c438dfd282c567b4edea5) (https://imageshack.com/i/pbNg81qgj)
This was Western Parthia, its now my western border, beyond this friends and trading allies with non agression pacts
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F540%2FLEWqBe.jpg&hash=8b516c1c71ee07b4edf58aa502e202b06880cb4e) (https://imageshack.com/i/f0LEWqBej)
Persia, now Armenia
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F661%2FNzX4de.jpg&hash=37dd623ebd4395b259250a4eea2fa67639f5dd54) (https://imageshack.com/i/idNzX4dej)
The last of Parthia
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F538%2FyXa9UX.jpg&hash=bc7ae0880ad77d12f66bbc53d5ff9da38c20c5be) (https://imageshack.com/i/eyyXa9UXj)
The plan now is to go as far as the Eastern edge of the screen and then North to mop up this whole region - that should give me the infrastructure to take on Anthony
So you're in Turkey while playing as the Armenian empire? Saucy!
Mother*#%$##!!
Goddamn thing froze up again on the campaign map again after opening one of those pop-up windows. This GUI issue is pissing me off. :knuppel2:
Maybe it's a sign that I should go back to Shogun 2 or do something else.
I wrapped up a Fall of the Samurai campaign last week and just won the Peninsular Campaign in Napoleon as the Brits. I lived the naval combat in Shogun 2 waaaaaay more.
Im thinking that the speed of my 42 gun frigates is artificially capped.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstream1.gifsoup.com%2Fview2%2F1999126%2Fdramatic-hamster-o.gif&hash=9c1320b3d0b441c5d63d8419a809c36bff98bffc)
:2funny:
Way to go Star. I never could beat that NTW Peninsular Campaign though I did come close. In a lot of ways it's batter than the main campaign.
thanks. it would seem that the trick is in liberating the central provinces back to Spain and keeping the coastal ones for trade and money. and never ever stopping the advance for more then a turn. I used the central and southern armies as mobile groups to keep the French busy and used the northern group to roll up the coast and take the French province across the Pyrenees.
Epirus campaign won.
Curiously I didn't trigger a civil war. I think it's because I had all of the victory conditions won except the required number of settlements conquered. It's the only thing I think is different.
Anyway, Epirus is both playable and winnable.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2014-10-11_00003_zps6c02582a.jpg&hash=e85a67be1604e6d164b138f31f6dcbc38405ae82)
Quote from: LongBlade on October 11, 2014, 07:03:15 PM
Epirus campaign won.
Curiously I didn't trigger a civil war. I think it's because I had all of the victory conditions won except the required number of settlements conquered. It's the only thing I think is different.
Anyway, Epirus is both playable and winnable.
Well done!
I think all factions are playable and winnable. Some are more difficult in the beginning, such as Epirus.
Excellent job LB! That's a lovely shade of orange too.
Onto Armenia now for you?
Quote from: Gusington on October 12, 2014, 12:26:06 PM
Excellent job LB! That's a lovely shade of orange too.
Onto Armenia now for you?
I already won as Armenia. Not sure what's next. Maybe Persis. I dunno.
One as Armenia? Did you post on that and I missed it?
I'll be starting Armenia after Halloween. Can't wait!
Nice screenies as usual,
geek. And well done on making Armenia a major power (or at least, well on your way to becoming one). O0
Congrats on the Epirus victory,
LongBlade! I know they have a bitch of a start, so a big kudos for guiding them through the rough early years.
Quote from: Gusington on October 12, 2014, 01:06:19 PM
One as Armenia? Did you post on that and I missed it?
I'll be starting Armenia after Halloween. Can't wait!
LB mentioned his Armenia campaign in passing a little while back. He compared/contrasted it to Epirus, saying he felt the latter was actually more difficult.
^Yeah I remember that but I didn't know LB ultimately won as Armenia. Well done again.
Quote from: Gusington on October 12, 2014, 03:30:46 PM
^Yeah I remember that but I didn't know LB ultimately won as Armenia. Well done again.
Thanks. Honestly, I forget who I've played sometimes.
One negative for Rome 2 is the lame victory screen - would appreciate a little more after dozens of hours of work.
most of us are surprised you saw a RTW:2 victory screen.
but I love you. :smitten:
Quote from: Gusington on October 12, 2014, 09:51:34 PM
One negative for Rome 2 is the lame victory screen - would appreciate a little more after dozens of hours of work.
I miss the victory videos from the original STW.
Quote from: Martok on October 13, 2014, 02:58:49 AM
Quote from: Gusington on October 12, 2014, 09:51:34 PM
One negative for Rome 2 is the lame victory screen - would appreciate a little more after dozens of hours of work.
I miss the victory videos from the original STW.
Shogun 2 has a short victory video IIRC.
Quote from: Nefaro on October 13, 2014, 07:14:37 AM
Quote from: Martok on October 13, 2014, 02:58:49 AM
Quote from: Gusington on October 12, 2014, 09:51:34 PM
One negative for Rome 2 is the lame victory screen - would appreciate a little more after dozens of hours of work.
I miss the victory videos from the original STW.
Shogun 2 has a short victory video IIRC.
Yes it does. And I think it matches your faction.
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-saU8IXqkOKs/VAqEA5e0mpI/AAAAAAAAIZs/Z-ipaVcwhbk/w1598-h899-no/2014-09-06_00002.jpg)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lfZVOEFE4kY/VAqEA9uEQ4I/AAAAAAAAIZo/Z0WPIhjb8HE/w1598-h899-no/2014-09-06_00001.jpg)
Have yet to win a Shogun 2 campaign. But the victory vid from the original Shogun was great.
Shut up Star.
Quote from: Gusington on October 13, 2014, 03:28:51 PM
Have yet to win a Shogun 2 campaign.
Shamefur Dispray!
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.kym-cdn.com%2Fphotos%2Fimages%2Foriginal%2F000%2F208%2F367%2FSHAMEFURDISPRAY.jpg&hash=0e20c1f62889d560b57da1b9358f53dcd21ca579)
I know, I know...
Gee Gus. My cay walked by my keyboard and accidentally stepped on it and won the Shogun 2 campaign. Your not trying hard enough. You need to get in touch with your Inner Samurai. Put some silks and a Kumono on and down about a quart of Saki. Then you'll win just to not have to do it any more. :2funny: Just kidding man. No shame. Sho 2 is a bear!
I have actually done some research and there is a way to edit the difficultly settings graphics.
Hi, my name is Gus is totally doable.
and no, that isnt a joke.
Right. What?
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on October 13, 2014, 11:44:44 PM
I have actually done some research and there is a way to edit the difficultly settings graphics.
Hi, my name is Gus is totally doable.
and no, that isnt a joke.
Jokes are usually funnier if you use proper grammar and spelling.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.quickmeme.com%2Fimg%2Ffe%2Ffef7acdf6b18ac7dca6f3d7b9f19fa17d2b21877834344daa9de638054787308.jpg&hash=49eb60ec9b7d34b6c342482b5378ef78a19c6332)
I understand it to mean you can edit the difficulty levels that did say hard-beginner to something like 'lb does epirus-gus cries at ww1 games'
But then again it's star, it could mean 'i show my cock to old ladies'
HAHAHA...I'll err on the side of Star's heynow...always a safer bet.
:2funny:
Gods, I'm such a slut for Pontus. Started a new gam as them. I really need to break out of my rut. Maybe the Iceni?
Incidentally, did anyone notice Armenia is playable in the main campaign as well (not just the IA campaign)?
Quote from: Martok on October 15, 2014, 02:02:56 PM
Gods, I'm such a slut for Pontus. Started a new gam as them. I really need to break out of my rut. Maybe the Iceni?
Incidentally, did anyone notice Armenia is playable in the main campaign as well (not just the IA campaign)?
Pontus was my favorite game thus far.
If you like their mix, I'd also recommend Egypt because it also has a mix of Alexandrian and native troop types. Not so much the Eastern cavalry types but some unusual locals nonetheless. There used to be a spending issue with some of the minor factions near Egypt; single city factions would build multiple full armies and still be economically fine. But I saw fixes for that mentioned in patch notes a couple months ago. So should be gtg.
Speaking of cavalry, it seems like their speed is slower than I remembered. I'm sure they slowed everyone down, but the cav don't seem to run all that much faster than infantry these days. ???
Starved of territory and money the Parthians make one last desperate attack. Mustering all their forces (4500) they attack the Armenian 1st Army, the Claws of the Hawk in the open. Auto resolve puts me at a massacre of my troops, from 2% - 0% survivors. Ill take charge of this one.
The Parthians have 2000 horse to my 80, but i have 1500 Persian Hoplites to point at them. When thats done there are 2000 Parthian swordsmen and spearmen to deal with, for that i have 1500 Kirtli Axemen - seriously crazy chopping fanatics.
Their attack would come in 3 waves - a small tattered army and then 2 massive waves of reinforcements.
I lined up the Hoplites and charged through the woods as quick as we could in a hope to break this small army and use their line as the first line of defence. But the Parthian cavalry was there much faster - the charge was halted and a tactical withdrawal sought. But the Parthian horsemen were desperate to fight for their homeland and King, as my spears turned to run and form a defensive line in the forest, with the still hidden axemen behind them, the cavalry charged on the outer flanks. I stopped the far 2 spear units on either flank, turned them round and counter charged the horsemen, the cavalry had no chance and routed in disarray. I attempted to withdraw these 4 units of heroes but more horse came, i pulled 2 units from the spear reserve, that left 2 spear units in reserve.
The axemen broke their cover from the forest as hordes of spearmen and swordsmen attempted to flank the spearmen decimating the cavlary. The axemen charged, cutting a bloody path through swordsmen, spearmen, peasant mobs and any cavalry attempting to help. Raus, the Armenian General charged his 80 Royal Kataphract into the side of the swordsmen, shouting for his men to trample anything in their path - the enemy melee troops shattered and ran, Kartli axemen rushed into the gaps to engage the enemy reinforcements. Out in no mans land Raus charged to the rear of the enemy to break the 500 strong slinger and archer line peppering the axemen. Facing the storm of stones and arrows Raus arrived at the line with 28 horse brothers and charged.
In front of the spear line, enemy units were pinned down mercilessly and then cut down by the axemen. Amazingly, against all the odds small pockets of enemy resolve was breaking and they turned to run. Troops were ordered not to persue so the line could hold, and step by step the melee battle was been won by the Armenians. Sensing a huge rout, spearmen were ordered to disengage and run around the flanks of the enemy to the rear of the field.
Here at the back stood a bloodied Raus and 9 remaining bodyguard - the corpses of 300 slingers and archers lying all around. Here Raus waited for the battered spearmen to meet him and form an anvil line of spears that the axemen would hammer the Parthians into. Ubar, the last of the Parthian Generals chose this moment to charge the 'Bloody 10', he would get there before the spearmen could protect Raus, could he kill the Armenian leader and have the army rout without their General and steal victory from the jaws of defeat. Shouting a battlecry to chill the bones Ubar charged.
One small band of quickly called up Armenian hillmen were still near Raus. Mocked by the Kartli 'professionals of war' with their white robes and guilded axes these hillmen took 3 javelins on their back to war as well as their axe. One brave soul stood his ground and threw his first javelin towards the charging Parthian General
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F901%2FnYB6it.jpg&hash=e694b0d5202b300fcca13427390849cb0bcafdd2) (https://imageshack.com/i/p1nYB6itj)
and with that the resolve of the enemy broke like a twig - they ran from the field leaving 4280 dead. After the battle Raus would count 2400 dead Armenian heroes.
Parthia was dust and the east belonged to Raus
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimagizer.imageshack.us%2Fv2%2F1280x1024q90%2F661%2FLN9YMf.jpg&hash=5e382f423d6680cfde08267ce15c6666411f5390) (https://imageshack.com/i/idLN9YMfj)
Hey man...nice shot(s).
O0
8)
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OHHHH!
Right In The FACE!
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That's gonna leave a make for sure. Hope he has "Impaling" coverage on his insurance.
he dropped it last week after doing battle with Gus. :2funny:
I didn't think I was emotionally invested in this game as I was, I rushed the start and felt it was more of an experiment to see what Armenia was like for Gus but I must admit crushing parthia made me very happy. From the first turn they treated me like scum when I asked for a peace treaty and my power rating to theirs was so poor, as the tide turned the chance of a treaty turned from low to moderate, and then they came to me for peace and I kicked them out of the tent and told them to go fk themselves, I resolved there and then to grind them into dust - if there was an eradicate this nation from history option I would have taken it..... fk you parthia
What i have learned is you lose a lot of connection and empathy with the troops when you auto resolve, you lose a lot of their story and journey through the game and I will definitely play more battles as we advance west toward Rome
As for the game, I'm on a boring ass drive to Bristol and all I've thought about is my next moves, what to build and where to go - awesome game
^Did you cry?
Quote from: undercovergeek on October 16, 2014, 05:05:44 AM
I didn't think I was emotionally invested in this game as I was, I rushed the start and felt it was more of an experiment to see what Armenia was like for Gus but I must admit crushing parthia made me very happy. From the first turn they treated me like scum when I asked for a peace treaty and my power rating to theirs was so poor, as the tide turned the chance of a treaty turned from low to moderate, and then they came to me for peace and I kicked them out of the tent and told them to go fk themselves, I resolved there and then to grind them into dust - if there was an eradicate this nation from history option I would have taken it..... fk you parthia
What i have learned is you lose a lot of connection and empathy with the troops when you auto resolve, you lose a lot of their story and journey through the game and I will definitely play more battles as we advance west toward Rome
As for the game, I'm on a boring ass drive to Bristol and all I've thought about is my next moves, what to build and where to go - awesome game
As with most games bordering them, my Armenia game has consisted of expanding northward into the steppe barbarians. I suppose they have negative relations penalties with everyone else, so they're always in the red and declaring war on you.
Parthia, the Seleucs, Medians and all the others nearby haven't given me a second look. They're too busy fighting each other. It has actually been quite peaceful after I took the first two big provinces to the north (the Caucases and the Crimean one).
ha - the opposite of my game, to north was Kirtli and another guy - forget their name and i traded with these and had non aggression pacts. This sealed the north and i went south to Parthia and all her Satraps, just cleared them all out - the whole lot are dead and subjugated..........
but half way through i lost contact with Kertli and saw that the Hoardes of the Steppe were indeed battering through the North, and they were angry with me, red face - no deals to be done. Checked the reasons for our hate and it was because i had pacts with Kertli. Couldnt sign a pact with the Hoarde so let them be for a while. In the meantime i swung east after Persia fell and started to come up from the South to finish off Parthias last allies. Happened to be checking the diplomacy screen and realised the Hoardes were on my border but were green now, theyd killed Kertli and all the reasons for our hate was dead - non agrression alliance and passage through Armenia.....
This was a big mistake as they were at war with Parthia and her allies too, i ended up having to race them to Parthian cities before they could take them - i lost once and nearly twice. So my whole southern kingdom has a big ass Hoarde province in the middle of it stopping the unity bonus. To the east they were almost about to take Bactria, but i had 3 spies with 12.5% troop destruction skills on 'poison the supplies' in range. On the eve of their attack, even though they were my friends, i attacked their camp 3 times and reduced their numbers by 36% without been seen, they called off the attack and i moved in and kicked Bactrias ass.
Needless to say the Hoarde is next which involves me going North and then west and then on through Dacia and into Anthonys Greece, i want Athens and Sparta back!
So I put Rome II down for awhile and just came back to it now that it is at Emperor's edition. Is it just me, or is this game a whole hell of a lot harder?
yup, AI is beefy and i feel resources are lower than they used to be
Quote from: undercovergeek on October 16, 2014, 10:02:26 AM
yup, AI is beefy and i feel resources are lower than they used to be
Not only that, but battles are real slug fests. They seem to last much longer and the AI is much harder to break. Seems like the morale values have been seriously adjusted.
I had an interesting battle last pm as the Germans vs the Catairoi out by the Black Sea. Their army was made up almost of Steppe Archers and a few infantry. What are my infantry-heavy, forest-loving Germans going to do out in the open space against Steppe Archers? Well what worked pretty well was a first line of spear units in Shieldwall formation, missile units in the second line-- slingers and a ballista, and sword and shield units in the third, with my 3 cav. well to the rear. The Shieldwall minimized the archers fire effect and when they came closer, my missile units rained death upon them. If they got too close, my units with the Rapid Advance ability ran out to grapple with them and then used their Counter Cav. ability to make short work of them. Mostly they just stayed out of reach but by using 2 lines of infantry alternating between shieldwall and Rapid Advance, I was able to herd them into position where my guys could get to melee and then they melted like snow on the Black Sea steppes. 40+ Minutes later I had a very hard-fought and costly victory in which I lost more men than the enemy did. But hell, I'll take it against the fancy horsey men.
Sounds like the EE is set to make me cry now. Unless you all just suck all of a sudden.
I'm still having a hard time controlling my economy and happiness.. what's the trick? And I had negative food all of a sudden. :/
And an intersting thing happened, I lost a province to rebels amd they set up their own faction, but one of the peace terms is to become my client state. Well I'm not complaining. I appreciate the added income and less empire management problems. His army also engages rebels for me. :)
The secret is in building and settlement management. Balance.
Quote from: Gusington on October 16, 2014, 08:45:20 PM
The secret is in building and settlement management. Balance.
+1
You may upgrade a building that has a -8 on food. But the building may take six turns before it comes online. So it may look like you're good on food, so you upgrade another building at -8. And maybe another.
All of a sudden (ten turns later) you're out of food.
The first thing I like to do in this situation is pull up the provinces tab in the lower right. Look at all provinces and make sure their happiness is moving up. Then I look to see who is in the green as far as food production.
Some provinces simply don't produce much food. Others do. You can have a few of the former, but need lots of the latter.
Also, don't forget that you can destruct buildings that aren't useful any more. Your core provinces may be necessarily dedicated to troop production, but 100 turns later and five provinces in hand, go back and disassemble those - turn them into food and/or commercial buildings. You probably won't need to create a ton of troops way back at your home base after a certain time.
See if those tips don't help.
Thanks looks like I have to stop fighting and re-engineer my empire before the next push.
Also, don't overlook religious buildings, whatever your religion is. They can become outdated and really be a drag on your production.
Food.
Public Order.
Your Culture.
Keep those things in the positive.
If you want to put up a new building but it's Public Order penalty will put that settlement into the negative, you better think about improving another building in the province that gives an equivalent PO boost beforehand. For example. There are a few different building types that can give PO bonuses, but it's mostly Religious and Public (yellow, such as amphitheaters) buildings where most of it comes from. Religious buildings are great because some can produce both PO and Culture, while the yellow ones usually produce PO and wealth (good idea if Culture isn't much of an issue there).
If you don't have enough Food, a few bad things happen. Your armies will begin to slowly starve and soldiers drop every turn. You'll get a Public Order penalty empire-wide. It's bad stuff. Whereas having a surplus gives you bonus happiness and troop replenishment rates. So get as much surplus food supply as you feasibly can! Even if you don't care about the food surplus bonuses, you will definitely end up using some of that extra food supply for improved buildings later on. Getting ahead on food is usually the first building priority when I start a game, with Public Order coming in at nearly the same priority since you have a little time buffer before PO gets really bad, if in the negative. The green food production buildings are what you want for these. I tend to stick with straight-up Farms since they produce the most food per building slot. Then research the Farm upgrades when it gets tight later on.
If the province's Culture is sliding towards one other than your own, you will slowly get an increasing Public Order penalty. Notably so if your culture is the minority. So check the province status screen to see which way this is trending and keep it increasing, or breaking even if you have a vast majority there. Religious buildings mostly give Culture "Influence" bonuses.
Extra Tip:
Don't be afraid to switch over to domestic research to improve empire-wide Public Order bonuses and Food Production building techs after your first few military tech upgrades. I'd rather fight on with tech 1 & 2 military units in the early game than have serious food and public order problems causing various issues (lower taxes, revolts, bad events, army attrition, etc, etc). Get your empire administration a boost early and it can save a lot of headache along with squeezing out some extra taxes, replenishment, etc. The empire-wide Public Order bonus techs, along with PO-producing buildings, can be a great boon for expanding more quickly since the PO bonuses can help offset the PO penalties for occupying captured cities, allowing you to march your troops out a bit faster later on.
I don't have as much as experience with the game as some, but I can definitely vouch for the importance of having a food surplus and keeping public order on an upward trend. Planning ahead for building upgrades so that one or the other doesn't suddenly and/or catastrophically drop seems to be crucial.
Quote from: Nefaro on October 15, 2014, 05:33:10 PM
Quote from: Martok on October 15, 2014, 02:02:56 PM
Gods, I'm such a slut for Pontus. Started a new gam as them. I really need to break out of my rut. Maybe the Iceni?
Incidentally, did anyone notice Armenia is playable in the main campaign as well (not just the IA campaign)?
Pontus was my favorite game thus far.
If you like their mix, I'd also recommend Egypt because it also has a mix of Alexandrian and native troop types. Not so much the Eastern cavalry types but some unusual locals nonetheless. There used to be a spending issue with some of the minor factions near Egypt; single city factions would build multiple full armies and still be economically fine. But I saw fixes for that mentioned in patch notes a couple months ago. So should be gtg.
Thanks for the recommendation,
Nefaro. Are they the same eye-roll-worthy "Hollywood" Egyptians that we saw in the original RTW, or are they closer to the true Ptolemaic Kingdom this time around? (I'll admit, fear of discovering them being the former is kinda what's kept me away from giving them a go in the first place.)
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on October 16, 2014, 10:22:41 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on October 16, 2014, 10:02:26 AM
yup, AI is beefy and i feel resources are lower than they used to be
Not only that, but battles are real slug fests. They seem to last much longer and the AI is much harder to break. Seems like the morale values have been seriously adjusted.
I believe I did read somewhere that units belonging to AI factions do now have better morale. I fought a smaller battle (my first in this new Pontus campaign) yesterday against the Cappadocians, and they did seem to fight harder and longer than I thought they'd have been able to.
Oh, and for anyone who's interested:
some sexy looking fire
is the Atilla map going to extend as far west as England then? or am i just getting tied up with the London association
Quote from: Martok on October 17, 2014, 01:17:18 PM
Thanks for the recommendation, Nefaro. Are they the same eye-roll-worthy "Hollywood" Egyptians that we saw in the original RTW, or are they closer to the true Ptolemaic Kingdom this time around? (I'll admit, fear of discovering them being the former is kinda what's kept me away from giving them a go in the first place.)
I don't think they're as bad IIRC. They have Macedonian-style units, in the Egyptian flavor, and some African style light & medium troops. You'll see some African units such as Egyptian Swords, Nubian spears, Camel Spears, and Lybian Archers (IIRC?) to fill out the gaps between the phalanxes. So it's definitely one of the melting pots like Pontus, but probably a bit more akin to Carthage.
Since the Ptolemies adopted much of the Egyptian culture and style of dress, I don't think their forces were made to look purely Macedonian despite using some of the same troops and doctrine.
Quote from: undercovergeek on October 17, 2014, 03:08:39 PM
some sexy looking fire
is the Atilla map going to extend as far west as England then? or am i just getting tied up with the London association
I would be awfully surprised if Attila's campaign map didn't include Britain. If they do truncate it anywhere, my guess is they'd do so to the east. However, I would surmise the campaign map will probably be around the same size as Rome II's.
Quote from: Nefaro on October 17, 2014, 05:21:31 PM
I don't think they're as bad IIRC. They have Macedonian-style units, in the Egyptian flavor, and some African style light & medium troops. You'll see some African units such as Egyptian Swords, Nubian spears, Camel Spears, and Lybian Archers (IIRC?) to fill out the gaps between the phalanxes. So it's definitely one of the melting pots like Pontus, but probably a bit more akin to Carthage.
Since the Ptolemies adopted much of the Egyptian culture and style of dress, I don't think their forces were made to look purely Macedonian despite using some of the same troops and doctrine.
Well I knew not to expect a pure Macedonian/Greek-style faction in any case, so no worries there. I did, in fact, expect something of a melting pot (great way of putting it, btw), and is actually one of the reasons I have kinda wanted to try them out. Just so long as the faction actually does pull off a mixed culture feel, and doesn't simply appear stereotypically "Egyptian", that's really mostly what I was looking/hoping for.
Thanks again, man. :)
egypt for next campaign?
Looks like! I have no idea how to play them, so should be an...interesting learning experience. 8)
Parthia?
:/
Odrysian Kingdom!
Quote from: LongBlade on October 19, 2014, 10:53:20 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on October 19, 2014, 03:13:41 AM
Quote from: Gusington on October 18, 2014, 08:18:10 PM
Parthia?
Out!
What's wrong with Parthia? I'm playing them now. Going for an economic victory.
Their units are very much like Armenia.
Didn't he recently play Parthia or Armenia?
:D Tell us all about Parthia! They look difficult to play as they start out huge.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic2.fjcdn.com%2Fcomments%2FIts%2Ba%2Brepost%2BPlease%2Btell%2Bme%2Ball%2Babout%2Bit%2B_9a931ae6a7dc1a33138dd214e155d4e7.jpg&hash=75bdbefe6ae04a122fbb1bc27921ca21fca891b4)
Quote from: Gusington on October 19, 2014, 12:35:59 PM
:D Tell us all about Parthia! They look difficult to play as they start out huge.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic2.fjcdn.com%2Fcomments%2FIts%2Ba%2Brepost%2BPlease%2Btell%2Bme%2Ball%2Babout%2Bit%2B_9a931ae6a7dc1a33138dd214e155d4e7.jpg&hash=75bdbefe6ae04a122fbb1bc27921ca21fca891b4)
Parthia wasn't too bad. I just headed north - the south has all these intertwined alliances where if you attack one nation you're at war with about six. Once I got to the north side of the Caspian, I did a u-turn and headed south. By that time I was strong enough to wipe everything out I wanted to.
Quote from: Nefaro on October 19, 2014, 12:23:30 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on October 19, 2014, 10:53:20 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on October 19, 2014, 03:13:41 AM
Quote from: Gusington on October 18, 2014, 08:18:10 PM
Parthia?
Out!
What's wrong with Parthia? I'm playing them now. Going for an economic victory.
Their units are very much like Armenia.
Didn't he recently play Parthia or Armenia?
I just eradicated them after 30 years of war, I'm not sure my game was the same as LBs..... I started at war with them and 5 satrapies and they came straight for me from the start
One thing I don't like playing as Pontus is that neither of your cities are the provincial capital. Ergo, neither of them are walled settlements; ergo, I always feel a bit vulnerable early on. A minor complaint, I know, but as a more defensive/"turtle"-minded player, I've always liked the psychological comfort of nice walls. :P
...And now the Galatians have declared war on me. Guess I'll have to smack them down, then march on Ankara (or however it's spelled in the game). *Then* I'll finally have my walled city. >:D
Quote from: Martok on October 20, 2014, 03:53:50 AM
One thing I don't like playing as Pontus is that neither of your cities are the provincial capital. Ergo, neither of them are walled settlements; ergo, I always feel a bit vulnerable early on. A minor complaint, I know, but as a more defensive/"turtle"-minded player, I've always liked the psychological comfort of nice walls. :P
...And now the Galatians have declared war on me. Guess I'll have to smack them down, then march on Ankara (or however it's spelled in the game). *Then* I'll finally have my walled city. >:D
Can we play as the Galatians in the stock game yet? I don't remember. That would be an interesting place to start as a Gallic faction (in Asia Minor).
For better or worse, the Galatians remain unplayable (like so many of the various factions).
you 2 have my favorite avatars of the month!
^ Are you going to join the rest of us yahoos in getting into this game, btw? Or are you still enthralled with
Shogun 2?
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on October 20, 2014, 06:39:13 AM
you 2 have my favorite avatars of the month!
Ha, thanks! Coming from you, that is no small praise. :coolsmiley:
Im Gus deep in STW2, NTW and the original RTW with the Alexander expansion.
That's pretty deep. Watch your ankles.
No one has beaten Star's avatar yet, IMHO. Some have come close...
Parthia Uber Alles: a cultural win.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2014-10-22_00010_zps00a573ca.jpg&hash=a60174e3d65b4b118ed2659218505916678fd686)
Quote from: LongBlade on October 22, 2014, 05:04:08 PM
Parthia Uber Alles: a cultural win.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2014-10-22_00010_zps00a573ca.jpg&hash=a60174e3d65b4b118ed2659218505916678fd686)
Wow. Wonder how a world under Partha would be like.
But...Rome remains!!
Quote from: Gusington on October 22, 2014, 08:43:02 PM
But...Rome remains!!
Rome was insignificant.
It has some wealth, but wasn't really worth worrying about. I was having more issues (seems to be a problem in the game and in history) with the northern tribes. Crushing them was my first goal. I ended up triggering the victory before I had wrapped them up and shifted my attention to the Etruscans, who had been presumptuous enough to declare war on me but then do nothing about it.
After the Etruscans Rome was probably inevitable.
Interestingly, I've found that fulfilling the economic victory conditions doesn't trigger a civil war.
There's something about the victory provinces for military victory that triggers civil war. Avoiding those, or fulfilling those provinces last after all other conditions have been fulfilled, seems to be key to avoiding civil war.
I'm tempted to paint the entire map purple just to see what happens.
Quote from: LongBlade on October 22, 2014, 08:49:26 PM
I'm tempted to paint the entire map purple just to see what happens.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.troll.me%2Fimages%2Fzoolander%2Fdo-it.jpg&hash=d566bc889ce7c1cf789dcf57f1f12027e52ae595)
^HA
I recently restarted a campaign as Rome/Cornelia to see what all the new stuff added and can confirm that the campaign is now Tough-Mother. Remember the Etruscan speed-bump? It's now a brick wall with spears and the Celtic tribes to the north are real bit-cheez that'll bite you in the ass if you're not careful. And that's on the normal difficulity level. Overall the campaign's much more of a challenge and a lot more fun.
Quote from: Sir Slash on October 23, 2014, 12:35:56 PM
I recently restarted a campaign as Rome/Cornelia to see what all the new stuff added and can confirm that the campaign is now Tough-Mother. Remember the Etruscan speed-bump? It's now a brick wall with spears and the Celtic tribes to the north are real bit-cheez that'll bite you in the ass if you're not careful. And that's on the normal difficulity level. Overall the campaign's much more of a challenge and a lot more fun.
Except maybe not so much for Parthia. Parthia is a very different animal in the new Emperor "DLC". I found that, once I quit chasing the Steppe barbarians (I let them take a province or two and then the Satrapies went after them), and wiped out Armenia and Judea (both rather tough), then Anthony was not too much of a problem since that part of Rome gets into trouble all over the place. The Parthians rolled right across the Balkans making friends fast with all of Anthony's barbarian enemies. Near Rome I stopped and decided to wait for Attila!
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on October 22, 2014, 08:51:49 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on October 22, 2014, 08:49:26 PM
I'm tempted to paint the entire map purple just to see what happens.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.troll.me%2Fimages%2Fzoolander%2Fdo-it.jpg&hash=d566bc889ce7c1cf789dcf57f1f12027e52ae595)
Is that a double-dog-dare?
Because I don't do regular old dares.
I'll take that as a yes.
OK, now only the outermost fringes of the known world lie beyond Parthia's grasp.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2014-10-23_00001_zps5e7e476d.jpg&hash=ccaa3c9c3efdf97384703c59542f730941622d89)
Eek well that didn't take long. I shed a tear for what was Rome.
Quote from: Gusington on October 23, 2014, 01:28:04 PM
Eek well that didn't take long. I shed a tear for what was Rome.
I told you they were insignificant. I actually sidled up to four of their five cities and then went to war, wiping them out in three or four turns.
The Nervii were far more of a problem.
Quote from: LongBlade on October 23, 2014, 09:18:58 PM
Quote from: Gusington on October 23, 2014, 01:28:04 PM
Eek well that didn't take long. I shed a tear for what was Rome.
I told you they were insignificant. I actually sidled up to four of their five cities and then went to war, wiping them out in three or four turns.
The Nervii were far more of a problem.
In every campaign I've begun, AI Rome declares war on numerous neighbors. No wonder they can't progress when they're constantly fighting on all sides. :uglystupid2:
You are a harsh cruel overlord LB and that seems to have carried over to your Rome 2 playstyle as well :)
Quote from: Gusington on October 24, 2014, 08:17:52 AM
You are a harsh cruel overlord LB and that seems to have carried over to your Rome 2 playstyle as well :)
Ha!
That's actually a great idea! DHS needs a watch list for people who crush the world in the Total War series. I can't think of a more nefarious way to plot to take over the world! :idiot2:
You cad!
Quote from: Gusington on October 24, 2014, 11:15:28 AM
You cad!
Exhibit A:
I have taken over the entire world.
spoiler alert: it's quite anti-climactic.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1081.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fj349%2Flongblade%2FGrogHeads%2F2014-10-24_00010_zps6c41b071.jpg&hash=1de2b26ec986457163bcac557ad81367d2c4c59e)
You should paint your man cave that color in honor of this feat.
So will you continue to play Rome 2 now? After this, won't it get dull for you?
Quote from: Gusington on October 24, 2014, 07:48:21 PM
You should paint your man cave that color in honor of this feat.
So will you continue to play Rome 2 now? After this, won't it get dull for you?
It's already gotten dull. After Armenia and Eprius it's easy.
I suppose I could crank up the difficulty, but I think I'd rather set my sails on more distant horizons. Atilla is coming. That should be fun.
And mauve is not my color.
oh balls, have i peaked with Armenia?
did you finish Shogun II LB?
man id love to have a game i could just tick off and say 'done' and remove the icon from the desktop (never uninstall, just tidy it away)
Quote from: undercovergeek on October 24, 2014, 08:08:39 PM
oh balls, have i peaked with Armenia?
did you finish Shogun II LB?
man id love to have a game i could just tick off and say 'done' and remove the icon from the desktop (never uninstall, just tidy it away)
No, it peaked with Eprius. That only has one solution in the first turn that can ever work.
Well, maybe you have a couple of turns. But not much.
Once you use the Groghead Maneuver
TM, though, it's pretty much like any other difficult campaign.
Just realised I've never even played Rome in Rome II
OK. I took the plunge with the HB sale. Going onto the backlog pile for now though.
^WTF are you waiting for?
LB - have you ever won a Shogun II campaign?
Quote from: Gusington on October 24, 2014, 09:49:26 PM
^WTF are you waiting for?
LB - have you ever won a Shogun II campaign?
No, I haven't played a lot of Shogun II. Probably ought to, but Rome II arrived before I got the bug.
I did win a ton of Shogun I games, for whatever that's worth.
I'm kinda drifting now. Nothing is gripping my attention - but I'm thinking I have too many minis which need painting. Just bought a cool beholder that could use some love...
I won Shogun I, 14+ years ago. Shogun II I have not won.
I love the steamship combat in Fall of the Samurai.
Steamship combat was great but I love the Gatling Guns. When they're on my side I mean.
^They're both well done. I really liked to be able to call in off shore naval gun support. It was limited but devastating and satisfying to use.
I think its also proportional to the size of your fleet and the ships in it.
Is it? I don't remember.
Yes, the size and strength of a fleet would increase the naval bombardment effect. Loved it in siege battles. In land battles you had to aim ahead of the advancing enemy or wait until they were stationary, usually in gunfire range of your troops, in which case you run the risk of your naval support fire hitting your own troops. Which would be a.... Shameful Display.
Hello, my name is Gus. (https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffavim.com%2Forig%2F201105%2F29%2Fadorable-big-cute-dog-eyes-puppy-Favim.com-59863.jpg&hash=43df41cd1322b88033d1cc638b295e3134e1b8e1)
serious question.
is the problem the battles or the grand strategy?
The problem?
not you, Im asking Gus.
Allllllllright!
My problem with winning a Shogun 2 campaign? I've got really, really close in Fall of the Samurai but IIRC time ran out. Never got particularly close in the standard campaign. And never tried Rise of the Samurai even though I am intrigued by it.
If you struggle with the main campaign, you'll want to avoid Rise of the Samurai. I found it to be the most challenging of the three campaigns.
Quote from: Gusington on October 26, 2014, 05:20:42 PM
My problem with winning a Shogun 2 campaign? I've got really, really close in Fall of the Samurai but IIRC time ran out. Never got particularly close in the standard campaign. And never tried Rise of the Samurai even though I am intrigued by it.
I won the sengoku campaign vanilla. Realm divide got the clock ticking so fast. It was a mad dash for objective provinces and a cunning use of an "ally". I luckily had him take out Kyoto but he was too weak to defend it when I turned on him.
^Fancy!
Quote from: jomni on October 26, 2014, 05:35:46 PM
Quote from: Gusington on October 26, 2014, 05:20:42 PM
My problem with winning a Shogun 2 campaign? I've got really, really close in Fall of the Samurai but IIRC time ran out. Never got particularly close in the standard campaign. And never tried Rise of the Samurai even though I am intrigued by it.
I won the sengoku campaign vanilla. Realm divide got the clock ticking so fast. It was a mad dash for objective provinces and a cunning use of an "ally". I luckily had him take out Kyoto but he was too weak to defend it when I turned on him.
Same.
Did it on my first playthrough. It all came down to defending a counter-attack after taking the city on the last two turns. Fun!
......well, I for one welcome our new overlord, LB.....
I've never managed to finish a campaign in Fall of the Samurai either. Very tempted to fire it up again.
Next Shogun 2 I play sometime in the winter will be the standard game. Perhaps with the Sengoku Jidai mod.
I managed a win in both the standard campaign and FOTS, playing with the Darthmod. I gave-up on the standard vanilla campaign after Realm Divide made it practically un-winnable. Enjoyed FOTS more.
realm divide is easy if you know its coming. the geography that your fighting over simplifies things a whole lot. if something like that happened in RTW thats a whole different story.
build to make ppl happy, build to make money and build to make armies. in that order you cant go wrong. play the first 20 land battles, always play the naval fight and your good to go. and like all TW games, use your agents ruthlessly.
Looks like still more doc incoming...
http://www.gamersgate.com/DLC-TWR2BSCCP/total-war-rome-ii-black-sea-colonies-culture-pack
At last, Cimmeria can rule the world. :knuppel2:
I was tempted to buy it (Rome II) but after read many forums, etc, seems is more of the same, I mean, didn't have more gaming improvements than his predecessor, of course were you can see the difference are in the quality of the graphics and the requirements to can run the game... really a shame. :-[
I didn't think the graphics were any better than Shogun 2.
Actually, the new filters used in Rome 2 just made it look worse IMO. They were obviously trying for some kind of dusty brown-ish washed out look. Which kinda worked. But it just makes everything look like it's tinted brown. Which sucks. :D
Quote from: Nicolas Eskubi on November 17, 2014, 10:09:02 AM
I was tempted to buy it (Rome II) but after read many forums, etc, seems is more of the same, I mean, didn't have more gaming improvements than his predecessor, of course were you can see the difference are in the quality of the graphics and the requirements to can run the game... really a shame. :-[
I think the province system is a pretty big improvement. Other than that though you were correct but in the end, total war games are all pretty much the same. What type of changes or improvements would you be expecting? you get some improvements between engines but in essence, Rome 1 is the same as Rome 2 in concept
If you like ancient warfare and you thought shogun2 was a great game then there's no reason not to get Rome 2. at this point it's very similar, very stable, good graphics, runs smoothly and the AI is just as good as it was in shogun.
Funny thing is that when it first came out, one of the big complaints was that they changed too much
Welcome Nicolas. Rome 2 is an excellent game. If you liked the other TW titles, you'll like this one too. I also don't think it as polished as Shogun 2 but the game has gotten much better from vanilla. And Attila maybe better yet. My 2 cents.
Shogun 2 is probably the best in the series, but Rome 2 is rather epic as well for some of the new ideas mentioned above and its vast scope. I also think the art style is better in Shogun 2 but it's a matter of taste.
Agree. The setting is not everyone's favorite but I loved it. There was a damned good-looking ACW mod that was never finished for FOTS. I would've been it's Bitch. Gladly.
Yeah, I love Rome 2 but Shogun 2 is definitely the most polished TW game
My vote goes to Shogun2 as well. Now if they can make a Mongol Invasion and a Korea Invasion DLC, then then the whole samurai saga will be complete.
I was hoping, praying even, for a Mongol Invasion DLC for Shogun 2 but it never came from CA. IIRC there is a mod that inserts Korea into the map of the main game and as a playable faction. Not sure if that modder is still active...is work is available at the Steam workshop.
There is also a mod for Rome 2 that replaces Bactria with China. IIRC it is called Kessen and looks very polished.
Thanks Sir Slash!
Well, I love the TW series, I still remember when saw Shogun TW for the first time :smitten:
For now, my big fiasco went with NTW (I bought the "Imperial Edition"), if I am honest, I was suspicious with Rome II, that's why I check many forums and maybe I was more receptive with criticisms than the positive comments. I must say bought too Shogun 2 ::) so after read all of your comments, start hate you ;), maybe must go to Steam and take a look....
BTW, after installing some interesting mods and finally get the "Ultimate Empire HG Edition", this game Empire is awesome, I think, after Medieval is the one TW I spend more hours playing, really a great one.
You're welcome Nicolas. Always good to have another TW Fanatic out there. Let us know how you do with NTW.
Well my problem is I like many, many games!
For me, the worst thing and IMO the definitive one of NT just can be played the big campaign in "Europe" or close to instead of have the whole world like ETW.
NTW add many great things on the campaign and in the tactical battles but one, for me the best thing, have being changed to worst, like I comment before, let you with out the opportunity of dominate the whole world! I was thinking in NTW like the next generation of ETW but... really a shame :-\
I could never really get into ETW or NTW either.
I once finished ETW as India knocking out the Mughal and Persians. Keeping the British away. It was fun.
Never played NTW for long. It just never grabs me like STW2.
ETW would've been great if the tactical battles worked better. They didn't. Also the bad Diplomacy model. Those problems were still partly there in NTW too.
Empire with Darthmod is decent but there is only so much he could do with the AI. Shame because it's a great time period
^Yeah, my hopes were so high for ETW :/
Quote from: Gusington on November 17, 2014, 03:41:01 PM
Shogun 2 is probably the best in the series.
and winning it on hard is even better. ^-^
:smitten: @ Gus.
Your mom said the same thing!
her husband is 83 and shes 70. all I can say is thank you.
Has he won a campaign of Shogun 2? (any difficulty)
I didn't know Star had a mother. I thought he escaped from a North Korean nuclear facility back in the 80's. :o
Quote from: Sir Slash on November 19, 2014, 01:10:09 PM
I didn't know Star had a mother. I thought he escaped from a North Korean nuclear facility back in the 80's. :o
I just kinda assumed he had some kind of nuclear family or something.
Quote from: Sir Slash on November 19, 2014, 01:10:09 PM
I didn't know Star had a mother. I thought he escaped from a North Korean nuclear facility back in the 80's. :o
He did, and they made a movie about it, though they had to change a few facts (The Rescue, 1988). For one, it was Star, not an 'elite U.S. Navy special forces team;' for another, he had embezzled some Admiral's porn stash, ergo the import of the mission.
The part about being 'dad' is probably true, given Star's odds with womenfolk.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.moviepostershop.com%2Fthe-rescue-movie-poster-1988-1020243789.jpg&hash=3f9ce792a9dae07136179ded2dab7596b5f09135)
Escaped, rescued or.... was LET GO. :idiot2:
Star's mother is real and she's spectacular.
your a brave man.
Hug?
ask my mom. ^-^
Doesn't interest me, but another culture pack DLC is coming...
Quote from: Martok on November 20, 2014, 03:21:55 PM
Doesn't interest me, but another culture pack DLC is coming...
It's out now, actually.
Overpriced I'm thinking. There's a review over at the Total War Center. Not overly impressive.
Quote from: Sir Slash on November 21, 2014, 03:00:30 PM
Overpriced I'm thinking. There's a review over at the Total War Center. Not overly impressive.
The additional factions seemed more interesting, to me at least, being a mix of Hellenic and Scythian troop styles. Compared to the extra Gallic and Iberian factions in their respective DLCs, it may have a bit more value in that regard. (?)
But that seems to be about all that's in it. No extra maps or anything, right?
Right. The new factions are only from the main campaign. Here's the review.... http://twcenter.net/
Quote from: Sir Slash on November 21, 2014, 03:12:23 PM
Right. The new factions are only from the main campaign. Here's the review.... http://twcenter.net/
Thanks for the link.
I never bothered with the other DLC's mini-campaigns anyway. They seemed more tailored to making a multi-player campaign more feasible due to the much smaller size.
These new Black Sea colonies are kind of intriguing to me...I want to get it but I should probably wait for the holiday sale. Right?
The only must have for Rome is the Divide et Imperia mod. O0
I am pleasantly surprised that Radious had his mod Patch 16 ready at it's debut. No crashes, no waits, no lost saved games. I get worried when this gets too easy.
Quote from: Gusington on November 21, 2014, 07:06:01 PM
These new Black Sea colonies are kind of intriguing to me...I want to get it but I should probably wait for the holiday sale. Right?
Yes.
^Thank you. I waited :)
Quote from: Gusington on November 22, 2014, 06:32:04 PM
^Thank you. I waited :)
(https://forum-s3.pinside.com/201203/198207/22176.jpg)
No really :)
So I finally started my Armenia campaign. Surrounded by enemies but a lot of them are weak. Except Parthia...Parthia's going to be a real problem. I am hoping that one of the Roman factions will help me out by smacking them around a little bit. In the meantime I will take out Parthia's weaker allies one by one.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcloud-4.steampowered.com%2Fugc%2F44237575966355476%2F82D58233025726807BBA9C76759A762D2F002CC2%2F&hash=0ad78b3e8a4458f78dd3ff8d48ab26498c82c055)
give marc antony instructions to attack their biggest army - it helped me
I was actually able to withstand the first Parthian onslaught on my own. Looks like my Armenians can trump the Parthians with quality over quantity.
Quote from: Gusington on November 30, 2014, 06:07:50 PM
So I finally started my Armenia campaign. Surrounded by enemies but a lot of them are weak. Except Parthia...Parthia's going to be a real problem. I am hoping that one of the Roman factions will help me out by smacking them around a little bit. In the meantime I will take out Parthia's weaker allies one by one.
My Armenia campaign started off diplomatically weird, methinks.
I somehow quickly became friendly with Parthia (must've DOW'd one of their enemies?) and most of the factions in Asia Minor (Pontus, etc). I was also on decent terms with the Seleucs even though they kept refusing to trade with me, so when Pontus had expanded at their expense and my treaties with the Seleucs became a drag on my other diplo relations, I tore up my Seleuc treaties. They got pissed but at that point they had been ripped to shreds and had only a few areas left.
So pretty much all my neighbors to my East, South, and West became friendly to various extents early on. Which is good because the horsemen up north were all pissy. So I've been conquering northward around the seas in a leisurely manner. My diplo moves have secured my borders everywhere else. :smiley6600:
I'm about 20-25 turns in but I have not encountered he Seleucids yet. Should be able to take another 20-25 turns later on.
Quote from: Gusington on December 01, 2014, 03:30:43 PM
I'm about 20-25 turns in but I have not encountered he Seleucids yet. Should be able to take another 20-25 turns later on.
Seriously? They're pretty much right next to you at the start!
:o
must admit, i dont recall seeing them either - unless theyd been killed
gus' post made me log onto the game for the first time in weeks, had a good 2 hours, getting to the stage now where im thinking of telling Antony to stick it up his **** although the power meter still puts him well above me despite me being the biggest player on the map by far - at the minute my land divides his empire in two at Side
Just had a great turn against, i think Galicia although they might be spanish!?! - they had five cities, i had five full stacks, parked outside each of his cities, declared war and wiped him off the map in one turn - pretty brutal
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 01, 2014, 04:31:39 PM
must admit, i dont recall seeing them either - unless theyd been killed
gus' post made me log onto the game for the first time in weeks, had a good 2 hours, getting to the stage now where im thinking of telling Antony to stick it up his **** although the power meter still puts him well above me despite me being the biggest player on the map by far - at the minute my land divides his empire in two at Side
Just had a great turn against, i think Galicia although they might be spanish!?! - they had five cities, i had five full stacks, parked outside each of his cities, declared war and wiped him off the map in one turn - pretty brutal
Galicia? Probably. Galatia? I think those are the Celts in Asia Minor IIRC.
Confusing isn't it? It's all Celtic to me!
thats them galatia - green and white shield - dead, the stuff of archaelogical digs
I smacked around Cappadocia last night...still have not seen any Seleucids. Parthia is a giant problem...I only held them off because I manually played every battle last night...it was exhausting after a while. On my last turn they sent 3 full stacks my way. I will have to deal with that tonight. Could not convince Antony to help me against Parthia either...do they eventually slug it oit on their own? I'm kinda counting on that.
Random question: Anyone know if the Four Seasons mod (or whatever it's called) has been updated to be compatible with the latest patch? I've kinda been waiting for that before I got back into the game (much as I've wanted to play it).
if you give him a target in the strategy map, he has in my game sent a massive stack and all kinds of agents after the army i pointed him at
i told you they were a pain in the ass - i sealed up the west and north with non aggression pacts so i could concentrate solely on them - theyre evil
Quote from: Martok on December 02, 2014, 09:30:03 AM
Random question: Anyone know if the Four Seasons mod (or whatever it's called) has been updated to be compatible with the latest patch? I've kinda been waiting for that before I got back into the game (much as I've wanted to play it).
vanilla has its own 4 seasons now Martok
Yeah I was just going to type that about the seasons.
I looked through my options with Antony and I did not have the option to give him a target, ucg...is the diplomatic screen thr wrong place to do that?
Quote from: Gusington on December 02, 2014, 09:48:57 AM
Yeah I was just going to type that about the seasons.
I looked through my options with Antony and I did not have the option to give him a target, ucg...is the diplomatic screen thr wrong place to do that?
just had a look, open the diplo screen, in the bottom left youll see 'set war coordination' target - you need to be at war, and have an ally who can help, on clicking that itll be a little bulls eye job to pick the army you need him to attack - takes about 2 turns for him to get his shit together and then hes on his way
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 02, 2014, 09:31:25 AM
if you give him a target in the strategy map, he has in my game sent a massive stack and all kinds of agents after the army i pointed him at
i told you they were a pain in the ass - i sealed up the west and north with non aggression pacts so i could concentrate solely on them - theyre evil
I just took the other option -- I was the Parthenians. They are huge and pretty hard-hitting and yet you can concentrate the pretty fast if you give up some stuff to the savages to the NE and let your satraps handle that stuff. Then you face the treacherous and dangerous Judeans and Armenians backed up rather fitfully by Marc Anthony. The thing is that MA is too busy and has too many enemies to consistantly back up his allies. So eventually I wiped out Judea and the Armenians. Cleopatra took the hint and Egypt stayed neutral and I went after MA. I was allied with Rome (Octavius?) and cleaning things up by the time I moved on to MiG21. "Here," I said magnanimously, "you take the known world -- I have to go fly my jet."
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 02, 2014, 09:31:49 AM
Quote from: Martok on December 02, 2014, 09:30:03 AM
Random question: Anyone know if the Four Seasons mod (or whatever it's called) has been updated to be compatible with the latest patch? I've kinda been waiting for that before I got back into the game (much as I've wanted to play it).
vanilla has its own 4 seasons now Martok
???
Yeah but the time still progresses by a whole year as opposed to four turns per year. Right? ???
You need the mod to actually adjust the time scale.
not as far as i know - ive had a general since the start of the game and hes epic, and my two spies they dont appear to get a year older older with every turn, only every 4 turns
Yeah AFAIK the vanilla game basically absorbed the functionality of the 4 turns per year mod.
Thanks for the above, ucg, you may have just saved ancient Armenia.
And Meng, I was thunking if doing the same thing (playing as Parthia) but I never really enjoy playing the huge behemoth factions (no big surprise).
Can't wait to ask Antony to pop open a can of antiquity whup ass. I still wonder if he woukd have without me asking...
Uh oh...Antony got his ass whupped...by the Parthians. Pontus saw how girly he was and has begun smacking him around too...and Parthia is now really pissed at me. UCG what did you do??
Quote from: Gusington on December 02, 2014, 12:31:41 PM
Yeah AFAIK the vanilla game basically absorbed the functionality of the 4 turns per year mod.
Thanks for the above, ucg, you may have just saved ancient Armenia.
And Meng, I was thunking if doing the same thing (playing as Parthia) but I never really enjoy playing the huge behemoth factions (no big surprise).
The Parthinians were my first normal faction and I played them first when the AI was really aggressive (too aggressive to survive, really).
I'd been smashed by the Selucides as Easy Pontus and managed to Crush the Selucides as Easy Egypt so Parthia was very memorable and surprising. When I played Parthia more recently, I worked to concentrate on getting Antioch and knocking out Judea and Armenia. I gave up territory in the far east and traded with as much of the east as I could. I managed to get truces with Armenia while I knocked out Judea and impressed the Egyptians. Then I finally (and it wasn't easy) wiped out Armenia. During all this MA kept sending forces to assist his allies but his main armies seem to have been busy in the Balkans and sometimes I had to retreat from regions to avoid MA's bigger armies. After I wiped out Armenia and took Antioch, the rest was relatively easy.
Well in my current game Antony is a big puss and Parthia is getting ready to issue it's coup de grace to me...
Quote from: Gusington on December 03, 2014, 03:00:46 PM
Well in my current game Antony is a big puss and Parthia is getting ready to issue it's coup de grace to me...
Well, MA has a lot on his mind and Parthia is HUGE and has no lack of satraps. For me the surprises were how powerful the
Judeans and Armenians were and how Egypt stayed neutral. Once all of that resolved it was just the usual big Empire. I lose interest
when my Empire is gets to a certain tedious size.
Little question; do you guys always try to keep your armies as large as the command allows you?
I do if economically viable.
Despite my impending smackdown, I may actually try again with Armenia. Very interesting faction, culturally, etc. Feels like a whole new game.
But Antony has got to help us...help me Marc Antony, you're my only hope!
I like to keep a slot or two open in case there's some really good mercs to hire. Other than early game, I try to use 2 armies supporting each other with at least 1 with a Hero agent to boost combat abilities.
Quote from: Yskonyn on December 03, 2014, 06:16:51 PM
Little question; do you guys always try to keep your armies as large as the command allows you?
Early on I've been trying to keep a couple armies largely equipped with my best troop types, and then some extra armies with lower cost troops (and therefore lower upkeep costs) to garrison newly conquered & unruly provincial cities (for the extra order bonus) and as battle reinforcements if the need arises.
Doesn't always work out perfectly when it comes to the battles, but it's been fairly sound and saves me some money.
Thanks guys.
Interestingly, I have never thought about using lower grade armies to smack down unrest. With the low Total army limit I always feel the urge to make most of all the slots I have. :) But that always turns out to be a major strain on the Imperial coffers .
Good tips!
Btw, I had not played the Emperor's edition yet due to all kinds of distractions, but I really dig the new interface theme! :)
-oOo-
There's a couple of little tweak mods available too to enhance the UI further by adjusting icons, colors, baackground...I have a few running and its surprising how little things like icon color can make the game more enjoyable. Check out the Steam workshop, there's tons of stuff in there.
Quote from: Gusington on December 04, 2014, 08:14:47 AM
There's a couple of little tweak mods available too to enhance the UI further by adjusting icons, colors, baackground...I have a few running and its surprising how little things like icon color can make the game more enjoyable. Check out the Steam workshop, there's tons of stuff in there.
Agreed.
I was sore that they used the dead semi-transparent black interface for Rome 2. That kind of skimping on art assets is poor form.
When I replaced them with a user-created mod that featured a marble look, or one that had different UI art depending on your faction's culture (as happened with the old TWs and mods), it's surprising how much better the game looked. F that soulless black/silver stuff!
I generally do not like the Marble look of the interface I have seen in mods.
The interface for M2TW that Stainless Steel brought I thought was atrocious!
I like easy one the eyes and minimalistic.
-oOo-
Holy crap! The Peloponnesian War is finally coming to the Total War series (specifically, as an add-on to
Rome II). So pumped!!!
(The video also includes a nice look at Constantinople in
Attila.)
I could almost cry tears of joy...
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 02, 2014, 11:31:45 AM
not as far as i know - ive had a general since the start of the game and hes epic, and my two spies they dont appear to get a year older older with every turn, only every 4 turns
Quote from: Gusington on December 02, 2014, 12:31:41 PM
Yeah AFAIK the vanilla game basically absorbed the functionality of the 4 turns per year mod.
Well I'll be damned. That shows how much attention I've been paying. :buck2: Still, that's happy news to me; thanks guys!
Quote from: Martok on December 04, 2014, 03:57:23 PM
Holy crap! The Peloponnesian War is finally coming to the Total War series (specifically, as an add-on to Rome II). So pumped!!!
That's great, but they should also include the aftermath when Thebes beat Sparta and became temporary king of the hill, in turn.
Everything up until Philip's conquest, even.
I have doubts as to whether they can portray the Naval side of the Peloponnesian War well for both economic and military regards considering how weak it is in Rome 2. So it may just end up being a Sparta masturbation DLC, I fear. ::)
must they always be bearded and over exuberant?
Quote from: Martok on December 04, 2014, 03:57:23 PM
(The video also includes a nice look at Constantinople in Attila.)
Istanbul
Why they changed it I'll never know.
I use the same marble UI that Nef mentions above amd I did it.
Quote from: Gusington on December 04, 2014, 07:45:39 PM
Why they changed it I'll never know.
I use the same marble UI that Nef mentions above amd I did it.
People just liked it better that way
+1 to Star for breaking out an awesome song from Flood. O0
its hard being as awesome as me. :2funny:
Constantinople much better
Quote from: Martok on December 04, 2014, 03:57:23 PM
Holy crap! The Peloponnesian War is finally coming to the Total War series (specifically, as an add-on to Rome II). So pumped!!!
Guess this will make me finally buy the game :D
Quote from: Nefaro on December 04, 2014, 05:20:02 PM
Quote from: Martok on December 04, 2014, 03:57:23 PM
Holy crap! The Peloponnesian War is finally coming to the Total War series (specifically, as an add-on to Rome II). So pumped!!!
That's great, but they should also include the aftermath when Thebes beat Sparta and became temporary king of the hill, in turn.
Everything up until Philip's conquest, even.
I have doubts as to whether they can portray the Naval side of the Peloponnesian War well for both economic and military regards considering how weak it is in Rome 2. So it may just end up being a Sparta masturbation DLC, I fear. ::)
The more detailed map should be interesting and its not like Sparta had an easy time winning the Peloponnesian War. After all it took a lot of Persian money and diplomacy to help the Spartans to keep Greece contained even after the war.
well shit.... gamersgate has Rome2 on sale for $15. how easy is it to link to steam for add ons?
not a fan of waiting for my serial numbers after buying from GG.
Im an American and demand instant gratification!!!
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on December 05, 2014, 06:50:55 PM
well shit.... gamersgate has Rome2 on sale for $15. how easy is it to link to steam for add ons?
Uhhh... You get a Steam Activation key if you buy it from Gamersgate. So after you activate it on Steam, it is the same as if you purchased it there.
In other words, yes you can purchase add-ons from Steam since it is a Steam code. You can also purchases the add-ons at Gamersgate or elsewhere because those will also be Steam codes.
thanks, I figured it out. :uglystupid2:
I got these and figured it would be enough for now:
Total War Rome II Blood & Gore DLC 1.50
Total War Rome II Emperor Edition 15.00
Total War Rome II Greek States Culture Pack 4.00
Total War Rome II Nomadic Tribes Culture Pack 4.00
this is going to ruin my ideas for a Graviteam weekend.
Welcome Star, youll have a blast
for me
ARMENIA RULES THE WORLD
made a point of wiping Mark Antony off the map and owned half the map from the eastern edge to Northern Italy and Jerusalem - first TW ive ever finished, will shelf it for a while and try my hand at Shogun
are the Hannibal and Ceasar dlc's worth getting now?
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on December 05, 2014, 08:26:24 PM
are the Hannibal and Ceasar dlc's worth getting now?
I think you're only getting a few new faction-specific units in each one, for the grand campaign. That's why I got them, but only when they were on sale IIRC.
ok Ill skip them for now. I think Ive got enough for a week or 2.
I thought Rome 2 was only sold as the Emperor Edition now? It's an add on for new players?
Armenia does rock...one of my more interesting campaigns.
I think your right. Only emperor edition
Graviteam Tactics is pretty fucking awesome, Star. Not to be missed, especially for someone that plays as much WoT as you.
I also, even more highly recommend Steel Armor and said DLC...totally killer awesome stuff if you're into tanking. Hard as shit, though.
holy crap - opened up my old Shogun II campaign - totally lost!!
might need a restart - or try my hand as the Romans in a Rome game for the first time ever!
I do love capturing the Black Ship and tearing up opposing navies. ;D
its so pretty. :smitten:
Quote from: Anguille on December 05, 2014, 04:41:35 AM
Quote from: Martok on December 04, 2014, 03:57:23 PM
Holy crap! The War is finally coming to the Total War series (specifically, as an add-on to Rome II). So pumped!!!
Guess this will make me finally buy the game :D
I do wish the new campaign pack was named just about anything other than
The Wrath of Sparta, though. :buck2:
I mean, seriously? Why not just call it, I don't know...THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR, perhaps??!! :tickedoff:
I know, I know. It's an utterly trivial thing to be bothered by, especially when there's plenty of legitimate concerns to be had about this DLC (the naval game, for example -- it was kinda crucial in this conflict). But CA's increasingly bombastic style is now spreading to the naming of their intellectual property, and it's driving me a little nuts.
Anyway, bring on Thebes! And Corinth! And Argos! I wanna kick some Boeotian ass!
Quote from: Martok on December 06, 2014, 12:02:57 PM
I do wish the new campaign pack was named just about anything other than The Wrath of Sparta, though. :buck2:
I mean, seriously? Why not just call it, I don't know...THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR, perhaps??!! :tickedoff:
No one outside of a few academic circles (and here) has ever heard of the Peloponnesian War.
We should consider our culture lucky that most people have heard of Sparta. Not that they'd be able to distinguish between Sparta and, say, Athens.
Quote from: LongBlade on December 06, 2014, 12:31:41 PM
Not that they'd be able to distinguish between Sparta and, say, Athens.
Remind me again- from which one of those was the tall buff bald guy with the nose chains and the epic sedan chair?
Quote from: Martok on December 06, 2014, 12:02:57 PM
Quote from: Anguille on December 05, 2014, 04:41:35 AM
Quote from: Martok on December 04, 2014, 03:57:23 PM
Holy crap! The War is finally coming to the Total War series (specifically, as an add-on to Rome II). So pumped!!!
Guess this will make me finally buy the game :D
I do wish the new campaign pack was named just about anything other than The Wrath of Sparta, though. :buck2:
I mean, seriously? Why not just call it, I don't know...THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR, perhaps??!! :tickedoff:
I know, I know. It's an utterly trivial thing to be bothered by, especially when there's plenty of legitimate concerns to be had about this DLC (the naval game, for example -- it was kinda crucial in this conflict). But CA's increasingly bombastic style is now spreading to the naming of their intellectual property, and it's driving me a little nuts.
Anyway, bring on Thebes! And Corinth! And Argos! I wanna kick some Boeotian ass!
I agree.
Sparta gets way too much sensationalism these days. You can see that in the ridiculous amount of user-created Sparta mods out there. Hell.. that's probably why they decided to do that war, after seeing how many user play & mod Sparta. I guess they play to what's popular compared to what's historically relevant. The uninformed seem to think they're invincible supermen who can't be beat, due to Hollywood and the lopsided attention they receive for Thermopylae (where the Spartans were the
minority of the Greek troops present, even during the final battle).
While they definitely had a great reputation they certainly weren't invincible, losing land battles to other Greek states more than once. Hell.. the Athenians could've continued to hold them at bay indefinitely if they weren't struck with a devastating plague (and then their poorly executed and ill-advised overseas military endeavors in Egypt and Sicily). And the Thebans (and Boeotians) outright defeated them in a large battle at the end of the period, devastating their core Spartiates.
I think it all indicates that some of the other Greek city states' soldiers were nearly as good, and sometimes just as good as the Spartans. So why not put in some more of the larger ones, if they're gonna have a dedicated Peloponnesian War map? Would make sense since there were allies regularly changing sides or sitting parts out - the thing was diplomatic chaos at times. I don't think they can really capture that part of it in a TW game, but we'll see if there are enough playable factions to make it interesting. :knuppel2:
Agreed,
Nefaro, especially on that last part. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Quote from: LongBlade on December 06, 2014, 12:31:41 PM
Quote from: Martok on December 06, 2014, 12:02:57 PM
I do wish the new campaign pack was named just about anything other than The Wrath of Sparta, though. :buck2:
I mean, seriously? Why not just call it, I don't know...THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR, perhaps??!! :tickedoff:
No one outside of a few academic circles (and here) has ever heard of the Peloponnesian War.
We should consider our culture lucky that most people have heard of Sparta. Not that they'd be able to distinguish between Sparta and, say, Athens.
Sadly, you're right -- but I'm still gonna grumble about it.
Quote from: Staggerwing on December 06, 2014, 12:42:03 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on December 06, 2014, 12:31:41 PM
Not that they'd be able to distinguish between Sparta and, say, Athens.
Remind me again- from which one of those was the tall buff bald guy with the nose chains and the epic sedan chair?
Ugh. Just referencing that horrible film makes me want to puke. :buck2:
Sparta's military capability has always been overrated. They were good but good lord, you would think they never lost a battle or took over Greece. They lost several land battles in the P.
Wars but those who enjoy their Spargasms don't care. Off topic but people are already arguing about how screwed up it is that their Spartan unit can be beat by a Roman unit or Persian unit or whatever. Imagine when the expansion comes out.
I think you are all being rather unfair; they were in their time a superb fighting machine, but they were also the authors of their own downfall.
Quote from: FlickJax on December 07, 2014, 06:47:49 AM
I think you are all being rather unfair; they were in their time a superb fighting machine, but they were also the authors of their own downfall.
Of course they were good soldiers. They certainly weren't as invincible as often portrayed. Other city states had hoplite soldiers who could obviously compete with them.
Hell, the Athenians took about 290 of them prisoner in their victory at Sphacteria and Sparta's actions were practically paralyzed for a time, from fear that they would be executed. This makes me believe the view that Sparta was more concerned about preserving their core Spartiate nobility than committing to risky battles. With the rebellious subjugated Helots and other neighbors like their rival Argos so close to home, they would much rather sit at home. That also explains their regular unwillingness to send troops out of the Peloponnese for very long, or at all.
Despite the odd Spartan lifestyle, they were still a very small class of ruling nobility with the privileges that entails. They were more content staying home and holding their privileged status quo. Contrast that with the blatantly aggressive Athenians and their overseas endeavors, both military and domestic. One could easily argue
they were the more warlike when comparing the two, along with many of the other Greek cities' colonization efforts.
Quote from: Nefaro on December 07, 2014, 10:36:58 AM
Quote from: FlickJax on December 07, 2014, 06:47:49 AM
I think you are all being rather unfair; they were in their time a superb fighting machine, but they were also the authors of their own downfall.
Of course they were good soldiers. They certainly weren't as invincible as often portrayed. Other city states had hoplite soldiers who could obviously compete with them.
Hell, the Athenians took about 290 of them prisoner in their victory at Sphacteria and Sparta's actions were practically paralyzed for a time, from fear that they would be executed. This makes me believe the view that Sparta was more concerned about preserving their core Spartiate nobility than committing to risky battles. With the rebellious subjugated Helots and other neighbors like their rival Argos so close to home, they would much rather sit at home. That also explains their regular unwillingness to send troops out of the Peloponnese for very long, or at all.
Despite the odd Spartan lifestyle, they were still a very small class of ruling nobility with the privileges that entails. They were more content staying home and holding their privileged status quo. Contrast that with the blatantly aggressive Athenians and their overseas endeavors, both military and domestic. One could easily argue they were the more warlike when comparing the two, along with many of the other Greek cities' colonization efforts.
Sphacteria - Well Hoplites without missile and cavalry support are vulnerable.
Quote from: FlickJax on December 07, 2014, 10:43:35 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on December 07, 2014, 10:36:58 AM
Quote from: FlickJax on December 07, 2014, 06:47:49 AM
I think you are all being rather unfair; they were in their time a superb fighting machine, but they were also the authors of their own downfall.
Of course they were good soldiers. They certainly weren't as invincible as often portrayed. Other city states had hoplite soldiers who could obviously compete with them.
Hell, the Athenians took about 290 of them prisoner in their victory at Sphacteria and Sparta's actions were practically paralyzed for a time, from fear that they would be executed. This makes me believe the view that Sparta was more concerned about preserving their core Spartiate nobility than committing to risky battles. With the rebellious subjugated Helots and other neighbors like their rival Argos so close to home, they would much rather sit at home. That also explains their regular unwillingness to send troops out of the Peloponnese for very long, or at all.
Despite the odd Spartan lifestyle, they were still a very small class of ruling nobility with the privileges that entails. They were more content staying home and holding their privileged status quo. Contrast that with the blatantly aggressive Athenians and their overseas endeavors, both military and domestic. One could easily argue they were the more warlike when comparing the two, along with many of the other Greek cities' colonization efforts.
Sphacteria - Well Hoplites without missile and cavalry support are vulnerable.
The Sphacteria example shows the invincible fight-to-the-death Spartiates to be a myth when they obviously surrendered during a losing fight.
I suppose you will likewise write off Leuctra and Mantinea as some fluke as well? Hell.. at Leuctra, the Boeotians specifically attacked the core Spartiate force first and directly, sweeping them from the field.
The Spartan reputation was probably more decisive in their heyday, before battle was even joined, than any vast superiority over similar core hoplite units from other notable Greek states. Their propagandized image certainly helped their cause against less steadfast foes back then, as evidenced by some units attempting to flee before fighting them.
By the examples, we can see that they certainly weren't so superior to other similarly well trained & led Hoplites. When opposing hoplites attack with resolve, and met them head-to-head, they had a fair chance of winning out.
As in their day, the myth continues with some. But there is plenty literature out there pointing out the points I've put forward, so it's certainly a debated subject. I just roll my eyes when I see people, such as many Rome 2 players, proposing that they're unstoppable supermen.
I'm not saying they want good soldiers. All I am saying is they are overrated. people expect Spartan units to completely dominate every other unit in the game merely because they are Spartan. In the end it was a hoplite formation of well discipline troops...doesn't mean it couldn't be outmaneuvered undefeated
Quote from: FlickJax on December 07, 2014, 06:47:49 AM
I think you are all being rather unfair; they were in their time a superb fighting machine, but they were also the authors of their own downfall.
The Spartans may have had their problems, but eventually they figured out that if they did what the Persians wanted, they could keep Greece neutralized and keep their position as the top yes-men in an area under Persian domination. So in the end they read the overall situation better than the Athenians, at least until Macedon smashed Persia -- or at least changed who the yes-men said yes to.
In the original Rome I was moving a half strength Spartan unit back home to refit when it got jumped by a full Germanic stack. I gamed the game and ran them to a corner where they proceeded to beat everyone and win the battle while taking 50% losses.
In a few tw centre strategy guides that's still a solution to win every battle with them
After almost being wiped out as Armenia, down to one army and one city, I have now surged forward with Antony and Pontus along side of me and we have systematically cleaved the Parthian Empire in half! Definitely one of the more interesting, if not the most interesting, campaign of TW I've played.
Good job Gus. The world could always do with fewer Parthians. O0
Ok, when this game came out I loved it. I loved the design choices and the graphics.
I had a few bugs but just didn't experience the bugs that many did. I felt like a lot of people exaggerated the "bad" because they didn't care for te new features like provinces,
Food, happiness, etc.
So, I'm just kind of curious if those of you who originally disliked Rome 2 for reasons of design have come around to appreciate it or play in spite of it?
How are you finding the AI? I always thought it was decent but I think now it is equivalent to Shogun 2.
Just curious because I basically got run out of the "Wargamer" forums for suggesting that it was a great game...but I'm a fanboy so it's hard to say if it's just me
i think were all fans, wont go as far as fanboys, but fans
ive personally never had a problem with any TWs, apparently Rome I was horrendous, never noticed it, Empire? Rome II? didnt see what the rest saw - ive loved them all
there are still some on other forums that roll their eyes and say 'huh, that peace of trash, did it get any better?' about rome II - more fool them i say
Quote from: mikeck on December 07, 2014, 11:35:03 PM
So, I'm just kind of curious if those of you who originally disliked Rome 2 for reasons of design have come around to appreciate it or play in spite of it?
How are you finding the AI? I always thought it was decent but I think now it is equivalent to Shogun 2.
Just curious because I basically got run out of the "Wargamer" forums for suggesting that it was a great game...but I'm a fanboy so it's hard to say if it's just me
I was initially hesitant to like Rome 2. The province management felt substantially different than previous games.
However, over time it grew on me and now I really don't like going back to the old games. I've tried to fire up Shogun 2 a couple of times and it just doesn't cut it for me.
As for the AI - the tactical battles seem tougher. Not sure the strategic AI has improved much. Personally my strategy for tactical battles is to bring three armies to crush one. Then I just auto resolve the battle and move on.
I have had a couple of duh moments with the AI in my latest campaign. It seems like if I don't go close enough to some enemy units, thry will stand still or not know where to move. If I get closer to them, something s triggered and they get more aggressive. Doesn't happen all the time though.
Quote from: mikeck on December 07, 2014, 11:35:03 PM
Ok, when this game came out I loved it. I loved the design choices and the graphics.
I had a few bugs but just didn't experience the bugs that many did. I felt like a lot of people exaggerated the "bad" because they didn't care for te new features like provinces,
Food, happiness, etc.
So, I'm just kind of curious if those of you who originally disliked Rome 2 for reasons of design have come around to appreciate it or play in spite of it?
How are you finding the AI? I always thought it was decent but I think now it is equivalent to Shogun 2.
Just curious because I basically got run out of the "Wargamer" forums for suggesting that it was a great game...but I'm a fanboy so it's hard to say if it's just me
Well, I'll repeat most of what I've said about Rome II and TW: When Shogun2 came out, I was really fed up with TW. I had an irrational dislike for Empire and Napoleon and I was ready to hate Shogun2 -- BUT the demo was wonderful so I happily played Shogun2 and FOTS.
When Rome II came out, I was somewhat wary, but I now think it is slightly better than Shogun2 and FOTS. I think with the WOS (Wrath of Sparta or Waiting Under Some Spartans WUSS) expansion and the Attila thing, I'm going full fanboi: I'm going to enjoy them irrationally no matter what. So this doesn't tell anyone much (which is the problem with being a fanboi -- you have to drag in your irrational response more or less because you can't help yourself) -- but I think Rome II always had a lot of potential and with WUSS and Attila it should really start to shine.
Quote from: Martok on December 06, 2014, 12:02:57 PM
Quote from: Anguille on December 05, 2014, 04:41:35 AM
Quote from: Martok on December 04, 2014, 03:57:23 PM
Holy crap! The War is finally coming to the Total War series (specifically, as an add-on to Rome II). So pumped!!!
Guess this will make me finally buy the game :D
I do wish the new campaign pack was named just about anything other than The Wrath of Sparta, though. :buck2:
I mean, seriously? Why not just call it, I don't know...THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR, perhaps??!! :tickedoff:
I'm not sure the map covers enough territory to be a full Peloponnesian War. There's no playable Satraps or Syracuse or Egypt (where the Athenian disasters opened the way for opposing them in Greece). So the focus is an imaginary Greece. What exactly Sparta has to be wrathful about is probably a marketing thing of some sort: we need Persian Money! scream the Spartans and the Marketing people!
Given all that, you are really in a pre-Persian War situation, when Sparta might really have been concerned about being trapped in a peninsula with some states that were expanding economically and demographically while Sparta was working hard to remain as static as possible. So the situation is really more like 530 BC rather than 430 BC. Which makes sense if you are going to have a hoplite and trireme oriented tech tree. In 530 Sparta would have the only hoplites with any training at all while Athens would still be somewhat agricultural and even tribal. Corinthia would be the big economic power and Ionia would not be revolting against Persia. I suppose they might not even have been conquered by Persia yet.
I like the game much more than at launch now that we've hit 16 patches but I still think Shogun 2 is a better game overall. This is the first TW game that I've not bought all the add-on DLC's not just because I'm cheap but they don't seem to add a lot to the game. But I'm really looking forward to Attila and it's new features. I'm not in love with Rome 2 but if it took all it's stuff and moved-out, I'd get drunk and sit around in the dark feeling sorry for myself.
Quote from: mikeck on December 07, 2014, 11:35:03 PM
Ok, when this game came out I loved it. I loved the design choices and the graphics.
I had a few bugs but just didn't experience the bugs that many did. I felt like a lot of people exaggerated the "bad" because they didn't care for te new features like provinces,
Food, happiness, etc.
So, I'm just kind of curious if those of you who originally disliked Rome 2 for reasons of design have come around to appreciate it or play in spite of it?
How are you finding the AI? I always thought it was decent but I think now it is equivalent to Shogun 2.
Just curious because I basically got run out of the "Wargamer" forums for suggesting that it was a great game...but I'm a fanboy so it's hard to say if it's just me
It's in good condition now. Keep in mind that it took
16 patches, some of them pretty large, to get here. Yes, I experienced regular bugs and screwy AI behavior. Crashes, units falling through the terrain & ships floating across land in battles, AIs suicidally attacking those terribly implemented flags (so glad those were removed!), I could go on about the state it was in at release. Spent a lot of time waiting on "the next patch" in between short runs, but it's paid off in the end.
I could see it's potential even after release when it was buggy and had an unfinished AI. Although I don't like the family influence mechanics at all. They're dull and serve little purpose other than draining the state coffers, instead of personal wealth, to little gain. It's as if they wanted to capture a CK2 family events system and completely bungled it with the equivalent of the EU3 "Comet Sighted" type events that just punished you all the time at random. I also felt the province grouping was unneeded. Likewise the dusty brown filter over the graphics. It's as if they were just changing stuff to say they did, and not for any ideal purpose. The campaign map also ran like shit, and still doesn't do all that great after having been addressed in numerous updates, but it's manageable now. Lack of UI art, as in past TWs, that helped provide that extra bit of period flavor. Despite these complaints, some of which have been improved through updates or mods, it's in a good state now.
It's strengths are having a
huge map and a good variety of factions to choose from, and a nice array of troop types. And part of my favorite eras in history (probably #1), so that's a big plus. I still think Shogun 2 was a higher quality production but Rome 2 has finally come close to that level, and surpassed it in at least one area (such as troop type variety).
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 08, 2014, 11:13:37 AM
I'm not in love with Rome 2 but if it took all it's stuff and moved-out, I'd get drunk and sit around in the dark feeling sorry for myself.
:2funny:
O0
I would certainly miss it too, nowadays.
Quote from: Gusington on December 07, 2014, 08:34:03 PM
After almost being wiped out as Armenia, down to one army and one city, I have now surged forward with Antony and Pontus along side of me and we have systematically cleaved the Parthian Empire in half! Definitely one of the more interesting, if not the most interesting, campaign of TW I've played.
Kewl! Those are often the most fun campaigns to play. O0
I hope I can get to my victory conditions in time. Right now I am just about at year 0. Anyone know what year the Augustus campaign ends?
Quote from: Nefaro on December 07, 2014, 10:36:58 AM
Quote from: FlickJax on December 07, 2014, 06:47:49 AM
I think you are all being rather unfair; they were in their time a superb fighting machine, but they were also the authors of their own downfall.
Of course they were good soldiers. They certainly weren't as invincible as often portrayed. Other city states had hoplite soldiers who could obviously compete with them.
The question of what Spartan about Sparta is also somewhat confusing. The ten thousand that Xenophon (an Athenian who joined up with a force raised and trained by Sparta and paid by Persian Satraps) led up country (or inland or overland -- Anabasis) remained loyal to what they could figure out to be Spartan interests, but they were Spartan only in training and cohesion.
And then there is the period during the 2nd Pelopennesian war where Alcibiades (an Athenian) ran Sparta to the point that he took one of the queens (a woman even) as a mistress before being run out of town (at which point he had been run out of Athens and Sparta and was about to be run out of various Satrapies as well).
Quote from: MengJiao on December 09, 2014, 10:08:04 AMAnd then there is the period during the 2nd Pelopennesian war where Alcibiades (an Athenian) ran Sparta to the point that he took one of the queens (a woman even) as a mistress before being run out of town (at which point he had been run out of Athens and Sparta and was about to be run out of various Satrapies as well).
Sounds like a typical Saturday night for Star.
^-^
I could kick myself for not picking this up last week for $15.00 in the Gamesgate sale. This thread has me excited about the game. I'm hoping it comes around again in the end of year holiday sales.
It almost certainly will, and maybe even at a better discount!
Im happy I grabbed it when I did. hell, it was so cheap I gifted a copy to a friend.
Double Shock!!!! Star has a sense of fiscal responsibility... and a friend. :o :o
I'm his little friend and he didn't gift it to me. I'm a sad panda.
Quote from: Gusington on December 09, 2014, 03:50:47 PM
I'm his little friend and he didn't gift it to me. I'm a sad panda.
They make dwarf pandas?
Who knew?
Needy dwarf pandas? What's this universe coming to!?
Totally ignoring the fact that he already has Rome2....
Why would that matter, you neglectful bastard?
Quote from: Gusington on December 09, 2014, 08:05:25 PM
Why would that matter, you neglectful bastard?
Wow you can channel 'woman' pretty good
Thank you, Sir.
No, to successfully channel "woman" he'd need to say one thing, mean another, then get pissed when you don't read his mind.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 10, 2014, 08:07:43 AM
No, to successfully channel "woman" he'd need to say one thing, mean another, then get pissed when you don't read his mind.
good point, however i feel its a good start - only a woman could say 'neglectful bastard' with such venom
I probably missed my calling as a thespian.
Quote from: Gusington on December 10, 2014, 08:22:16 AM
I probably missed my calling as a thespian.
It's never too late, Gus. Find yourself a community theatre locally and go to town.
I see you've all met my Ex-Wife. For several years the name on my driver's license was Un-caring Bastard.
As Armenia, I have almost fully gutted Parthia. They are cornered in the far southeast corner of the map. Pontus has joined the war along with Antony and a few smaller states but I haven't seen any troops from them yet. On my last couple of turns last night two large Parthian stacks stormed into teo of my newly stolen Parthian regions, but I think this is their last gasp.
i think once parthia is broken youre pretty much over the hump - youre now big enough that locally its only Mark Antony that can challenge you, by the time youve fought your way to his lands youre on an equal footing and youre off - either by coincidence or by design you cant break through any territories that arent allied to or Mark Antony himself to reach the military target goal - i thought about avoiding him altogether by either going south and then west but that bumped me up against egypt - in my game the only way would have been north and west through dacia and out into germany - Mark Antony had been defeated by Thrace here, but then Thrace became his ally - once Parthia fell it was a question of sealing off the east and north where the map ends so i knew i was safe and then knocking off his allies one by one until he had the balls to stand with one but then it was too late - as i type this i realise i thoroughly enjoyed my game, and miss playing it but i OD'd making sure i finished the game so i can manage without it for a while
ill be back to finally smite all with Carthage
Yeah I am planning on going as far east as I can, take out Bactria, the turn left and go north towards Scythia and Arden (?)...then go back west again. Have to rough up these last two Parthian armies. What year does the Augustus campaign stretch to? I am at 5AD now.
just started game - i cant see an end date, i finished in 1 BC, but remember youve got 4 turns per year
Quote from: Gusington on December 10, 2014, 08:22:16 AM
I probably missed my calling as a thespian.
Thespian Hoplite? You chose the snazzy dressers.
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If I showed up for work dressed like that life would become much easier.
Well, I went and did something I almost never *ever* do, which is pre-purchase a game.
Specifically, I pre-purchased the
Wrath of Sparta [shudders at the title] campaign pack. Dear lord, I'm a fool...
Quote from: Gusington on December 10, 2014, 03:25:19 PM
If I showed up for work dressed like that life would become much easier.
Going to the men's room might be a bit of a challenge, though.
Not for me, trust me.
Depends
You read my mind! They're wet and they're dry...my my my my!
Why is the guy barefoot? Kind of defeats the whole armored-head-to-toe thing doesn't it? Though he does look quite impressive so maybe nobody will look down at his feet. Or.... maybe he wants the enemy to look down at his barefeet so he can stick them with his blade. Ingenious actually. By the way, the Wraith of Sparta map is pre-viewed over at the TW Center. 28 Separate Provinces. That's a whole lot of Greece. http://twcenter.net/
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 10, 2014, 07:34:46 PM
By the way, the Wraith of Sparta map is pre-viewed over at the TW Center. 28 Separate Provinces. That's a whole lot of Greece. http://twcenter.net/
Is Sparta led by the dead?
Sounds interesting!
:))
Quote from: Gusington on December 10, 2014, 10:44:19 AM
As Armenia, I have almost fully gutted Parthia. They are cornered in the far southeast corner of the map. Pontus has joined the war along with Antony and a few smaller states but I haven't seen any troops from them yet. On my last couple of turns last night two large Parthian stacks stormed into teo of my newly stolen Parthian regions, but I think this is their last gasp.
Have you tried assigning your allies and objective in the diplomacy screen? If you are both at war with the same nation/tribe, you can assign a city as your allied "objective" and your ally will generally attack it if they can. Sometimes it works, sometimes not...like reality I guess
Yes, Leonaides the Un-Dead Wraith-King of Sparta. He led the 300 Zombie-Hoplites against the Elves from Persia commanded by Legolas at the Battle of Helm's Deep. Am I the only one around here that reads history? :idiot2:
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 10, 2014, 11:27:29 PM
Yes, Leonaides the Un-Dead Wraith-King of Sparta. He led the 300 Zombie-Hoplites against the Elves from Persia commanded by Legolas at the Battle of Helm's Deep. Am I the only one around here that reads history? :idiot2:
That still sounds more realistic/believable than what I saw on the silver screen (as led by Gerald Butler and co.)...
Too true Martok.
I would buy the Wraith of Sparta in a hot minute. The new Greek map is intriguing...I wasn't planning on getting the new expansion but I may now.
I had asked Antony to attack a specific node on the map and although he finally did, it took him forever. Maybe Pontus or Thrace will do better if I need their help.
Ok....looking forward to this game...but hey, where's Sicily?
no where near the Aegean. ;)
Quote from: Anguille on December 11, 2014, 08:46:38 AM
Ok....looking forward to this game...but hey, where's Sicily?
Just down the street from Papa's. Great pasta there at Sicily.
Quote from: Gusington on December 11, 2014, 08:14:12 AM
I would buy the Wraith of Sparta in a hot minute. The new Greek map is intriguing...I wasn't planning on getting the new expansion but I may now.
I had asked Antony to attack a specific node on the map and although he finally did, it took him forever. Maybe Pontus or Thrace will do better if I need their help.
My experience with asking an ally to join in an attack is for them to do their best to capture it for themselves.
For instance, I've seen a couple of times where I've parked my armies just outside of a town waiting for reinforcements to help me. Apparently I was just close enough to act as reinforcements to my ally's army so it attacked and used me to capture the town, rather than the other way around.
Quote from: Anguille on December 11, 2014, 08:46:38 AM
Ok....looking forward to this game...but hey, where's Sicily?
It's only sorta the late 5th century. It's nice to have Crete and some Persians at least. It's really more like the 530s than the 430s, but that should be fun too. Perhaps more fun for the Athenians at least since they don't have the option of doomed expeditions to Sicily and Egypt.
On the other hand certain resources like timber for ships and grain from the Black Sea coast can't be simulated well on a map this limited...though in 530 those would not yet have been getting critical. Presumably lots of trade is abstracted somehow for Corinth and Athens and Persia and the Hellespont.
Sometimes the AI seems afraid to help. I've asked Syracuse to back me up against Carthage playing as Rome, and they sail close to the city and then turn and run away. Also all your allies respond to the target. So some guys in Gaul will start walking toward Jerusalem if that's the target leaving their cities less defended.
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 10, 2014, 11:27:29 PM
Yes, Leonaides the Un-Dead Wraith-King of Sparta. He led the 300 Zombie-Hoplites against the Elves from Persia commanded by Legolas at the Battle of Helm's Deep. Am I the only one around here that reads history? :idiot2:
I didn't even know they
had Wraiths until you mentioned it.
;D
Wrath of Sparta will be out tomorrow. 10% Off at Steam. Anybody gonna grab a sarissa and jump in?
I've already pre-ordered. :D :-[
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 15, 2014, 02:30:24 PM
Wrath of Sparta will be out tomorrow. 10% Off at Steam. Anybody gonna grab a sarissa and jump in?
"In addition, troop transports act more as cargo ships than combat vessels, and are no longer able to ram in naval battles, reducing the unfair advantage of troop convoys in naval warfare. This change will be retroactively applied to all ROME II campaigns. "
Finally.
The old cargo haulers
finally get nerfed.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reactiongifs.com%2Fr%2Fcwclp.gif&hash=e53dd1b42d9df606100c452f386a5e1b2d7b7cbc)
I love this game
I remember when Martok wouldn't even look at Rome 2...and now look!
You guys are killing me. Emperors edition is back on sale at Humble Bundle (Steam key) for $15.00. Do I buy now or wait and hope for a better deal in the upcoming Steam holiday sales?
All I can tell you Rayfer is that the game is worth 15 bucks. don't know if you'll see it cheaper or not but that's a good deal for everything you get.
I was Rome 2 when Rome 2 wasn't cool. I think that was a Kenny Rogers song
Definitely worth $15. If it goes any lower on the Xmas sale, it won't be by much. If!
I just dropped more money on tomorrow's release. Can't miss out on that period!
BUY IT...BUY IT NOW
I just said, "can't miss out on that period" and nobody made a joke about earning my red wings or Aunt Flo. What is wrong with you people?
We don't read enough outlaw biker memoires?
Oh you want a peace treaty? I don't think so bitches. Kneel before Zod. :D ...I thought I was going to utterly rout them tonight but they have a few provinces left in Arabia :/ Tomorrow night, then >:(
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Careful Gus. He looks devious. And it says so right under his picture. He could be a "Peaceful Parthian". Try saying that 3 times in a row. After 3 drinks in a row.
lmao - i see youve derived the same satisfaction i did when they finally came begging - it was a beautiful you 'FK YOU!!!!!!!!!!' moment for me also
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 16, 2014, 04:56:31 AM
lmao - i see youve derived the same satisfaction i did when they finally came begging - it was a beautiful you 'FK YOU!!!!!!!!!!' moment for me also
I have no idea why the AI doesn't recognize a tipping point sooner. Like after the first couple of provinces fall like dominoes. Instead they wait until half of one province remains before crying uncle.
Quote from: Rayfer on December 15, 2014, 04:33:38 PM
You guys are killing me. Emperors edition is back on sale at Humble Bundle (Steam key) for $15.00. Do I buy now or wait and hope for a better deal in the upcoming Steam holiday sales?
There are presently 248 pages of discussion on this game.
That works out to about six cents a page. If you haven't managed to derive six cents' worth of amusement just from reading these pages the I seriously doubt that any price point will be low enough. ;D
You can't see it from the above screenie but the Parthians have hung on to 3-4 cities in Arabia. I will deal with that later today. But it was quite satsifying to loot their capjtal!
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 15, 2014, 02:30:24 PM
Wrath of Sparta will be out tomorrow. 10% Off at Steam. Anybody gonna grab a sarissa and jump in?
I ordered. So I hope it all works out.
Quote from: Staggerwing on December 15, 2014, 09:49:04 PM
We don't read enough outlaw biker memoires?
I can recommend some titles 8)
I'm thinking somebody's gonna have an opinion about this WOS-DLC. I bet they will. :coolsmiley:
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 16, 2014, 12:12:37 PM
I'm thinking somebody's gonna have an opinion about this WOS-DLC. I bet they will. :coolsmiley:
Everybody hates it of course. I'm probably going to like it, but only as a representation of the world of 530 BC. Near as I can tell from the map, Athens has no Empire and hasn't even been raiding in the Aegean. So its 530. What the Spartans have against the Athenians (who after all were helping the Spartans against internal revolts as late as the 450s) is a mystery, but I can live with a few mysteries.
Still considering this game, but on the TW Center forum, most people are still not recommending buying the game: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?674412-Is-Rome-II-worth-getting (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?674412-Is-Rome-II-worth-getting)
I'm really tempted due to the sale.
Quote from: LongBlade on December 16, 2014, 08:19:29 AM
Quote from: Rayfer on December 15, 2014, 04:33:38 PM
You guys are killing me. Emperors edition is back on sale at Humble Bundle (Steam key) for $15.00. Do I buy now or wait and hope for a better deal in the upcoming Steam holiday sales?
There are presently 248 pages of discussion on this game.
That works out to about six cents a page. If you haven't managed to derive six cents' worth of amusement just from reading these pages the I seriously doubt that any price point will be low enough. ;D
Pulled the trigger and got it for $15.00....downloading now from Steam. Won't be done for awhile yet. Looking forward to playing later this evening.
Rome II Emperor for $11.99 http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/total-war-rome-2-emperor-edition (http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/total-war-rome-2-emperor-edition)
When you have a couple of days to spare, peruse this thread casually. Every niggling thing they whine about over at TWC has been covered here too, without breaking out the torches and pitchforks. Yes tbe game had a lot of issues upon release last summer, but now, 16 patches later (!!!) it is much better.
Being old enough to have actually served it the Athenian army in 530 BC, I'm going to hold-off buying until maybe I finish the base game first plus Gaul, Hannibal, and EE. Unless of course a bunch of Grogs get moist loins over it. Then I'll grab a diaper and jump in.
Quote from: Gusington on December 16, 2014, 01:52:45 PM
When you have a couple of days to spare, peruse this thread casually. Every niggling thing they whine about over at TWC has been covered here too, without breaking out the torches and pitchforks. Yes tbe game had a lot of issues upon release last summer, but now, 16 patches later (!!!) it is much better.
I was working hard to give up on the game. I was hoping a Warhammer Rome DLC would appear and that would cure me. But since then there have been 3 or 4 interesting developments (including the Emperor ed, WuSS, And Attila) and here I am.
But last summer I wrote:
Fortunately, I think the WarHammer 40K total war thing will totally and completely cure me of any residual TW interest. Rome II and its various mods and what not is pretty likely to be my last indulgence in TW.
All games have their time; the brief moments when they capture the imagination. And then they fade as quickly as a young girl's first bloom of beauty and are no more. Then vanish like Texcoco in a preceptive Nahuatl poem about the brevity of Texcoco.
Quote from: MengJiao on December 16, 2014, 02:26:42 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 16, 2014, 01:52:45 PM
When you have a couple of days to spare, peruse this thread casually. Every niggling thing they whine about over at TWC has been covered here too, without breaking out the torches and pitchforks. Yes tbe game had a lot of issues upon release last summer, but now, 16 patches later (!!!) it is much better.
I was working hard to give up on the game. I was hoping a Warhammer Rome DLC would appear and that would cure me. But since then there have been 3 or 4 interesting developments (including the Emperor ed, WuSS, And Attila) and here I am.
But last summer I wrote:
Fortunately, I think the WarHammer 40K total war thing will totally and completely cure me of any residual TW interest. Rome II and its various mods and what not is pretty likely to be my last indulgence in TW.
All games have their time; the brief moments when they capture the imagination. And then they fade as quickly as a young girl's first bloom of beauty and are no more. Then vanish like Texcoco in a preceptive Nahuatl poem about the brevity of Texcoco.
What Warhammer 40K Total War? The one they were making was Warhammer Fantasy. We're not even sure if it will resemble TW at this point since it's been so quiet. ???
I disagree with your old post, Meng. TW war games have gripped me in their claws for years after their release.
Quote from: MengJiao on December 16, 2014, 02:26:42 PM
All games have their time; the brief moments when they capture the imagination. And then they fade as quickly as a young girl's first bloom of beauty and are no more. Then vanish like Texcoco in a preceptive Nahuatl poem about the brevity of Texcoco.
Say what?
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fopticstalk.com%2Fuploads%2F11412%2Fwhat_you_talking_about_willis.jpg&hash=955eae2bece5cf864d4902687bd25bb18bc2d07b)
Quote from: Nefaro on December 16, 2014, 02:29:19 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on December 16, 2014, 02:26:42 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 16, 2014, 01:52:45 PM
When you have a couple of days to spare, peruse this thread casually. Every niggling thing they whine about over at TWC has been covered here too, without breaking out the torches and pitchforks. Yes tbe game had a lot of issues upon release last summer, but now, 16 patches later (!!!) it is much better.
I was working hard to give up on the game. I was hoping a Warhammer Rome DLC would appear and that would cure me. But since then there have been 3 or 4 interesting developments (including the Emperor ed, WuSS, And Attila) and here I am.
But last summer I wrote:
Fortunately, I think the WarHammer 40K total war thing will totally and completely cure me of any residual TW interest. Rome II and its various mods and what not is pretty likely to be my last indulgence in TW.
All games have their time; the brief moments when they capture the imagination. And then they fade as quickly as a young girl's first bloom of beauty and are no more. Then vanish like Texcoco in a preceptive Nahuatl poem about the brevity of Texcoco.
What Warhammer 40K Total War? The one they were making was Warhammer Fantasy. We're not even sure if it will resemble TW at this point since it's been so quiet. ???
All know about Warhammer (40K or no 40K) is that in the last days of my visits to stores selling war games, there was always a small gang of Warhammer enthusiasts clustered at the checkout thing recounting every last die-roll of their latest chores in some Warhammer or other.
I thought at the time it was quite fortunate because it was definitely going to cure me of any interest in war games. I'm hoping for a similar effect with Total Warhammer. Or even Wuss of Sparta Warhammer.
the rules are puff puff pass man.
Quote from: Gusington on December 16, 2014, 02:50:46 PM
I disagree with your old post, Meng. TW war games have gripped me in their claws for years after their release.
I know. What was I thinking? It was that pre-emptive nostalgia thing. Always a mistake. Look at Texcoco: burned to the ground before anyone had any time to feel bad about it.
Similarly, when Warhammer: Wuss of Sparta turns up I won't even feel bad about it. I'll just kick myself down the chute and be glad it was quick.
Quote from: WallysWorld on December 16, 2014, 01:18:22 PM
Still considering this game, but on the TW Center forum, most people are still not recommending buying the game: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?674412-Is-Rome-II-worth-getting (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?674412-Is-Rome-II-worth-getting)
I'm really tempted due to the sale.
You know you can't trust the TW forum regulars that complain over everything. Rome is a great game and this is not a 250 page thread because the game sucks. A lot of guys on here that Have spent a lot of hours gaming really enjoy it
What makes me laugh is the hate for the Sparta expansion. What's the hate it's just a DLC if you don't like it don't buy. How could anyone be surprised about the content it's exactly what it's been advertised as a big map agrees with four different city states you can play
I like the city state idea and the new map. I don't know much about the era other than having read Donald Kagan's book a few years back and playing the first Hegemony game, though. I'm more of a fall of Rome kind of guy but if this DLC is good it may be a good entry point to revisit the whole era.
It's about what you would expect. People complain about lack of unit diversity but seriously, how many different types of hoplites were there?
Like you Gus, I read Kagan's book. That's it. I think if people are expecting a game that duplicates the politics and diplomacy involved during those wars,
They will be disappointed.
It's a TW game so build a military and take over stuff....with
Hoplites
^I can dig it. Watching the trailer now.
Quote from: mikeck on December 16, 2014, 08:45:38 PM
It's about what you would expect. People complain about lack of unit diversity but seriously, how many different types of hoplites were there?
Like you Gus, I read Kagan's book. That's it. I think if people are expecting a game that duplicates the politics and diplomacy involved during those wars,
They will be disappointed.
It's a TW game so build a military and take over stuff....with
Hoplites
Non diverse titles are actually the best (Shogun...)
From what I understand, the new units are mostly skirmisher types. Which is fine with me because I think that's what is missing the most historical diversity in Rome 2.
Curious as to how the Persian faction's AI behaves in this campaign.
Quote from: mikeck on December 16, 2014, 08:45:38 PM
It's about what you would expect. People complain about lack of unit diversity but seriously, how many different types of hoplites were there?
Like you Gus, I read Kagan's book. That's it. I think if people are expecting a game that duplicates the politics and diplomacy involved during those wars,
They will be disappointed.
It's a TW game so build a military and take over stuff....with
Hoplites
Heh heh heh :)
Quote from: mikeck on December 16, 2014, 08:45:38 PM
It's about what you would expect. People complain about lack of unit diversity but seriously, how many different types of hoplites were there?
Like you Gus, I read Kagan's book. That's it. I think if people are expecting a game that duplicates the politics and diplomacy involved during those wars,
They will be disappointed.
It's a TW game so build a military and take over stuff....with
Hoplites
I didn't read the Kagan. Kagan is really a guy who needs some sources -- he's quite interesting on General Mack at Ulm for example (if I have the right Kagan).
BUT, having played the Hoplite board game I was ready to take on the Spartans with Perikles and his Athenians, especially since Athens had been defeated about 80% of the time all over the place. I had massed one army at Athens and sent it off to Korinth in hopes of taking some pressure off in other places.
So: How I Beat the Spartans:
1) Outnumbering them in the first clash 2 to 1 (their allies were coming in later)
2) Letting them come close and then launching the whole Athenian line in one ragged charge
3) Thinning and extending the Left
4) massing on the right
5) General with militia in the rear of the right
6) cavalry far right
7) Skirmishers behind the hoplites to get maximum stuff hitting at impact time
Which all chewed up the Spartan line pretty fast. Perikles downed their morale 10% overall and troops he had raised were +1 etc.
The Athenian horse dispersed the Spartan skirmishers
The Spartan horse more or less vanished as the Hoplites crashed into the main line
I got Perkicles and the militia on the right flank and hit the Spartans from behind
The Spartan AI trapped its top troops in the behind the less powerful troops at the moment of impact
The Spartans were mostly mopped up by the time the Korinthians arrived with lots of militia
The Spartan King stayed about where most of the Spartan army had been and After the Korinthians started to run, I sent some hoplites back to keep him busy
And a third attack routed even the Spartan King's troops after he was killed.
Pretty fun. The fighting is pretty much an extended slug-fest and even the militia hoplites will stand up for a while, but a hoplite unit in formation doesn't take big losses unless it gets hit pursuing or running somewhere.
Watched a bit of a video campaign of the DLC last pm and one thing that surprised me was the emphasis on not taking your enemies capitals as that incurs major diplomatic effects with the other Greek factions. Rather the main effort should be directed at weakening your enemies but capturing their smaller settlements. It's called "The Threat of Hegemony" and could have a real change in the way you have to play. If the Diplomacy is improved as they claim. Elsewhere, lots of Hoplites, of course, but a few other new units too. I'll admit I'm intrigued by it, but I miss the Barbarians.
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 17, 2014, 10:31:56 AM
Watched a bit of a video campaign of the DLC last pm and one thing that surprised me was the emphasis on not taking your enemies capitals as that incurs major diplomatic effects with the other Greek factions. Rather the main effort should be directed at weakening your enemies but capturing their smaller settlements. It's called "The Threat of Hegemony" and could have a real change in the way you have to play. If the Diplomacy is improved as they claim. Elsewhere, lots of Hoplites, of course, but a few other new units too. I'll admit I'm intrigued by it, but I miss the Barbarians.
It's an interestingly balanced game and it does feel like the right period -- it is pretty late 5th century. I've been playing as Athens and running the Little Empire is not easy even on Easy. I've been beaten up pretty bad from the far West to the far east, but I did win the two big hoplite land battles using pretty standard hoplite tactics -- not that those two wins seem to have done me much good since I'm losing on all the peripheries.
On the other hand, trade and diplomacy are working now that I defeated some big armies and released lots of prisonners and sent an observer to the Olympics and so on.
Well I know I'm not going to get to WoS today. It was a long night at work, and I'm just way too out of it at this point to play...well, just about anything right now, to be honest. :buck2:
Fortunately, I'm off both tomorrow and Friday night, so I'll have plenty of time get into it then. 8)
Quote from: Nefaro on December 15, 2014, 02:41:46 PM"In addition, troop transports act more as cargo ships than combat vessels, and are no longer able to ram in naval battles, reducing the unfair advantage of troop convoys in naval warfare. This change will be retroactively applied to all ROME II campaigns. "
Finally.
The old cargo haulers finally get nerfed.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reactiongifs.com%2Fr%2Fcwclp.gif&hash=e53dd1b42d9df606100c452f386a5e1b2d7b7cbc)
I too am not unhappy about this, especially given the importance of naval warfare in the region & period. Well done, CA.
Quote from: Gusington on December 15, 2014, 03:54:24 PM
I remember when Martok wouldn't even look at Rome 2...and now look!
Heh, indeed.
By the way, while I can never say it often enough: thanks (again). :)
Quote from: Gusington on December 16, 2014, 07:02:19 PM
I like the city state idea and the new map. I don't know much about the era other than having read Donald Kagan's book a few years back and playing the first Hegemony game, though. I'm more of a fall of Rome kind of guy but if this DLC is good it may be a good entry point to revisit the whole era.
If you don't mind historical fiction (especially if it's well-written & researched), I urge you to check out
Tides of War by Steven Pressfield. It's a superb "ground-level" view of the Peloponnesian War, as told from the view of a common Athenian infantryman.
I know that for most fans of Pressfield,
Gates of Fire (covering the 300 Spartans' stand at Thermopylae) is the big vote-getter. For me, however,
Tides has always been my personal favorite.
Quote from: MengJiao on December 17, 2014, 10:08:37 AM
Quote from: mikeck on December 16, 2014, 08:45:38 PM
It's about what you would expect. People complain about lack of unit diversity but seriously, how many different types of hoplites were there?
Like you Gus, I read Kagan's book. That's it. I think if people are expecting a game that duplicates the politics and diplomacy involved during those wars,
They will be disappointed.
It's a TW game so build a military and take over stuff....with
Hoplites
BUT, having played the Hoplite board game I was ready to take on the Spartans with Perikles and his Athenians, especially since Athens had been defeated about 80% of the time all over the place. I had massed one army at Athens and sent it off to Korinth in hopes of taking some pressure off in other places.
But meanwhile (oh noes -- you guessed it over at Total War Center the game is a waste of money because some Spartans were killed and it took a while to beat the non-Spartan Hoplites -- who were overpowered -- though defeated -- gosh it just took too long for the Spartans to crush them):
totally wasted money, i have just played first and probably last battle, as Sparta. Enemy hoplites overpowered, i did sandwich attacking their rear and militia hoplites hold for hours killing many of my royal spartans...oh please God forgive them. So for this guy it would have been money well spent if the Spartans had just flat out obliterated their foes, I guess. On the other hand, for me, it was money well spent since the Spartans can be beaten and beaten in fairly hoplite-esque battles where militia hoplites can hold on (though "hours" seems to be an exaggeration on the part of the ill-spent Spartan money-man)...which is the whole point about hoplites -- simple gear and tactics that a militia can do okay with.
It's true -- if you want fantasy Spartans, this game doesn't have them. It does have reasonably okay hoplite battles, though. AND, if you really wanna be Spartan, apparently they can crush the AI Athenians in 30 turns or so. Which isn't too surprising; Athens is in a lot of trouble at the start of the game.
Whats the damn screenshot button?
Quote from: MengJiao on December 17, 2014, 03:42:18 PM
So for this guy it would have been money well spent if the Spartans had just flat out obliterated their foes, I guess.
Spartans are the nuclear option of the ancient world. Duh!
Quote from: MengJiao on December 17, 2014, 03:42:18 PM
So for this guy it would have been money well spent if the Spartans had just flat out obliterated their foes, I guess.
I've seen those same complaints on the Steam forum too.
We all realize that the TW battles are rather arcade but there are quite a few fanboys who want to push the historical basis fully into unicorn & leprechaun territory. ;D
Hey Ming, what are the different factions rated as difficulity wise at the start. Pretty sure Sparta is "Hard".
it is. I got the cultures DLC and started my first campaign as Sparta and quit it 60 turns in. Im now in my 2nd campaign as Armenia and am kicking the shit out of everything. thats why I want to know what the screenshot button is.
F12 Nancy.
I don't know what kind of liberal Commie keyboard you have, son, but mine don't have no "F12 Nancy" key nowheres.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on December 17, 2014, 06:40:02 PM
it is. I got the cultures DLC and started my first campaign as Sparta and quit it 60 turns in. Im now in my 2nd campaign as Armenia and am kicking the shit out of everything. thats why I want to know what the screenshot button is.
Ahem: http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=7868.msg314771#msg314771
Ive tried F12 Nancy and Ive found no screenshots.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on December 17, 2014, 07:34:47 PM
Ive tried F12 Nancy and Ive found no screenshots.
A common Steam bug. Go to Steam settings and rebind your F 12 key.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on December 17, 2014, 07:34:47 PM
Ive tried F12 Nancy and Ive found no screenshots.
There is no
F12 Nancy key. Nancy.
Im sorry you dont have a customizable gaming keyboard Harriet.
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 17, 2014, 04:06:51 PM
Hey Ming, what are the different factions rated as difficulity wise at the start. Pretty sure Sparta is "Hard".
Sparta is hard in the Emperor's campaign? I would imagine so since by the 1st century BC Sparta had not been a serious power in 200 years or more.
In the Wrathful DLC, nobody seems to know quite what to make of Sparta. It crushes Athens in a few dozen turns, but seems underpowered, apparently.
I figured Athens would be the more interesting position to play since it was a kind of paradoxical vanilla option: the Small Empire of the Vanilla Greeks. Easy Athens has been a pretty difficult faction to play. I think I've only survived by concentrating as much as I could in Perikles army near Athens. After beating the Spartans and Korinthians, he was jumped by the Theban Army under Pagondas -- this time Perikles was even more heavily outnumbered and the Thebans were arriving all in a bunch -- around 3000 to 2000. I had filled out the wrecked Athenian army with some mercenary light cavalry and ax-men. It looked like the end for the rag-tag Athenian army. There was nothing to do but get on a hill in the corner and hope for the best.
Pagondas attacked pretty much right up the middle (thank you AI) and I was able to roll up both flanks eventually using Ax-men on the right and cavalry on the left. In the center it was all pretty classic hoplite fighting. Since I had seen the wiley Pagondas beaten by the Athenians in the hoplite board game, I did have some hope and in the end the Athenians prevailed -- though not by much.
So, so far, Easy Athens has been reasonably entertaining.
Since I know I won't get around to playing WoS til after after I've gotten a good day's sleep, can anyone comment on naval battles yet?
All right. I've finally fired up Wrath of Sparta, and have started a campaign as Athens. My very early impressions thus far...
While I wish they could have at least included Sicily, I have to admit CA seems to have done a nice job of rendering Greece, western Turkey, and the Aegean on a more intimate scale. It's very cool to see cities like Samos and Mantinea (which are mostly unknown to the general public, but played major roles during the Peloponnesian Wars) at last take their rightful places on the campaign map.
Speaking of cities: The first time you click on one (even those you don't own), you get a brief description of it, including a little history. A nice touch, that.
Another nice touch: Most of the more well-known cities get older and/or more Greek-like spellings instead of the more modern/English ones we're used to. Athens is now Athenai, Corinth Korinthos, Byzantium Byazantion, etc. A minor detail only, perhaps, but it definitely adds to the historical flavor.
One major gripe so far: Augh! Sparta has walls?? And Argos is a "minor settlement"?! WTF??! (I know, I know. It's for gameplay/balance purposes, but it still greatly bothers the history geek in me.) :tickedoff:
Also: Holy hell, MengJiao wasn't kidding when he said Athens isn't easy. :o Not that I doubted him, but actually seeing the reality of her strategic situation...damn.
Just preventing all my far-flung territories from rebelling and keeping them out of the clutches of Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, and everyone else I've pissed off (you pretty much start the campaign at war with half of Helles) is going to be extremely difficult, if not outright impossible. In addition, there's the need to protect Athens herself from invading armies, especially as she's just a stone's throw from both Corinth and Thebes.
This is definitely going to be a challenge...
I was almost slaughtered as Armenia but now I'm an onrushing Armenian armored tide...proving that even the difficult campaigns can be managed and beat :)
That's true. Appreciate the reminder, Gus. You give me hope. O:-)
That's why I'm here. And to observe Star's behavior and report back.
my behavior?
Quote from: Martok on December 18, 2014, 02:34:09 PM
Since I know I won't get around to playing WoS til after after I've gotten a good day's sleep, can anyone comment on naval battles yet?
I guess it is sort of a problem with the game, but the Athenians would be wise early on to focus on holding on to a few crucial spots and avoiding any naval adventures. This sort of reflects Perikles basic strategy of simply holding on -- but, don't bet on doing much with the Athenian navy right away.
The naval battles that have happened (I think the Athenians have lost 1 and won two or three) have been coherent, but not that different from those in the old regular game. This may be because I usually don't do all that much with fleets anyway -- I tend to use them as garrisons in fact. I haven't seen the transports in action and I think this problem has been exaggerated. For one thing, there were lots of different kinds of transports and the ones in the game now seem to be based on grain ships rather than the transports that armies used -- which would in fact have been slower and/or older warships with fewer oarsmen. Moreover, a grain ship might well have had a stronger hull than a trireme so the whole "improved naval" thing is purely some gamey adjustments to a system that actually was probably more realistic when transports were dangerous. But as I've said -- I never have done all that much with fleets and transports anyway.
Quote from: Martok on December 19, 2014, 09:17:40 AM
That's true. Appreciate the reminder, Gus. You give me hope. O:-)
I've hung on as Athens, as I've mentioned mostly by concentrating as much as possible (ie around Athens, in Euboea and up North). I've been outnumbered in every battle with a major land power. Thebes has been by far the most dangerous foe. I've had three horrendous battles with them and they were all epic and not easy to win at all. I've pretty much fought in a hoplite manner: one base alignment, as close-ordered as possible. The default for hoplites is "formation attack" and I mostly stay in that mode. I haven't found "shield wall" all that helpful since I think the only way I'm winning is by almost constant small adjustments to the attacks I'm making. On the other hand hoplite warfare definitely plays to some of the strengths of the BAI: aggressive mass attacks and careful alignments on the approach and plenty of alignment adjustments on defense. I always end up scrambling for every little advantage and at one point in the most recent monster battle with the Thebans, I had the whole Athenian army (by accident) in a perfect oblique order. I took pictures. What I did on my trip to Euboea. I went to Euboea and all I got was this gorgon shield.
Thanks for the tips, MengJiao. I'll definitely keep them in mind.
New to the game, playing as the Greeks in my first campaign. It plays different than Rome I and is more challenging...in a good way. Right now food is giving me fits....nothing worse than seeing your army melt away from starvation.
Welcome to Rome II Rayfer! O0
Which Greek faction are you playing as? Sparta? Epirus? Athens?
Quote from: Gusington on December 19, 2014, 09:19:03 AM
That's why I'm here. And to observe Star's behavior and report back.
what were your stacks made up of Gus?
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 19, 2014, 06:07:33 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 19, 2014, 09:19:03 AM
That's why I'm here. And to observe Star's behavior and report back.
what were your stacks made up of Gus?
Little dead grandmothers with knives in their teeth, crawling up your leg.
Quote from: Martok on December 19, 2014, 06:31:55 AM
One major gripe so far: Augh! Sparta has walls??
Really, in a game about Sparta, what would King Agesilaus say ::)
Probably "What splendid women's quarters" in agreement with Panthoidas.
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 19, 2014, 06:07:33 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 19, 2014, 09:19:03 AM
That's why I'm here. And to observe Star's behavior and report back.
what were your stacks made up of Gus?
while I wasnt asked the question Im going through an Armenian campaign right now. Im going with 3/5 pikes and 2/5 slingers at the moment with some cavalry units here and there. Ive been spending most of my research time on economic and construction development and in the cities Ive been building money makers and things that give me happy citizens.
Rayfer,
Don't forget to issue your edict if you own all of the cities in a province one of them is Brad and games and gives you a lot of additional food. Starting out as a Greek nation is difficult because they simply don't have a lot of provinces to generate soldiers food and income
Bread and Games.
though it is Greece so Brad might not actually be a typo. :2funny:
Quote from: Martok on December 19, 2014, 04:27:32 PM
Welcome to Rome II Rayfer! O0
Which Greek faction are you playing as? Sparta? Epirus? Athens?
Hmm....none of those were options. I only have the Vanilla Emperors Edition. In the Grand Campaign there are 9 main choices, some have sub-choices. The 9th is 'Greek States' and you start in Massalia (there are no sub-choices) in southern Gaul along the Mediterranean. So that's what I'm playing.
pick up the culture packs as the go on sale.
just dont pick up Gus's culture pack. ::)
Yeah, it's the stupid Siri audio thing. Doesn't understand my gibberish. Anyway, Rayfer, if you can't get the culture packs, check out some mods in the steam workshop that open up different factions
are any of you playing on a Mac? and if so are you using a pc dual boot to you can play online?
Turn 50 as Armenia and Parthia is all but dead with 1 city left. its allies are pretty much in the same boat. all of my non-aggression treaties have held and Antony is pissing me off with small stacks running around my territory. I expect to start dealing with that in about 10 turns after the east areas are wrapped up.
Ucg my stacks have axemen, hoplites, slingers, spears, hillmen, armored horse archers and some melee cavalry. The roster is not as deep as I hoped yet but I just teched up to heavy armored cataphracts in one eastern city so I am excited to get to use them while smacking around Bactria.
gotcha - i found the general, 3 cavalry, 8 axemen and 8 spears was undefeatable
Surprised you guys aren't using more cavalry...cataphracts!!
Hillmen and axemen are surprisingly effective and resilient too.
axemen work very well. Ive not been using much cavalry to keep the army costs down while I build infrastructure. I also havent been wedded to my towns because the buildings themselves have been giving me pretty great garrison forces.
Quote from: Gusington on December 20, 2014, 10:40:23 AM
Surprised you guys aren't using more cavalry...cataphracts!!
Hillmen and axemen are surprisingly effective and resilient too.
whilst awesome, i found the cataphracts to be realllllly slow - once they get going theyre great but if a mob catches them theyre in trouble
I might be getting the hang of this one....I had to set aside old habits from Rome TW I. Finally won a major battle and crushed a faction playing a new campaign in Britain. Question...got a quest to recruit a Champion, which I have done. But I'm clear on how to utilize her? Can't seem to place her in an army...are they like spies?
Champions are good at spreading your faction's gospel in your own provinces and for undermining the enemy in their provinces. They can also be used as assassins and saboteurs and can be leveled up to gain different skill sets.
Quote from: Gusington on December 20, 2014, 03:06:58 PM
Champions are good at spreading your faction's gospel in your own provinces and for undermining the enemy in their provinces. They can also be used as assassins and saboteurs and can be leveled up to gain different skill sets.
Sort of like my spy.....got it!
or add to an army and they will boost stats
but you have to use a button and assign them to a town. its the left one that you use for edicts IIRC.
I still cant get the damn screenshot shit working. turn 72 and Ive got the whole south east region of the map.
No luck with the usual Steam-bound F12 key for screenies?
Nope >:( ive re-bound it and reset the folder.
The last time I bound something so much I cut the circulation off to Mirths hands.
Quote from: Gusington on December 20, 2014, 03:06:58 PM
Champions are good at spreading your faction's gospel in your own provinces and for undermining the enemy in their provinces. They can also be used as assassins and saboteurs and can be leveled up to gain different skill sets.
I add them to my armies to train up my troops experience levels every turn. I often get more level-ups from them than battles. Then use them to kill any nearby spies or other agents when they are detected near that army, usually trying to F with it.
Quote from: Nefaro on December 21, 2014, 12:03:05 AM
Quote from: Gusington on December 20, 2014, 03:06:58 PM
Champions are good at spreading your faction's gospel in your own provinces and for undermining the enemy in their provinces. They can also be used as assassins and saboteurs and can be leveled up to gain different skill sets.
I add them to my armies to train up my troops experience levels every turn. I often get more level-ups from them than battles. Then use them to kill any nearby spies or other agents when they are detected near that army, usually trying to F with it.
Great suggestion....will have to give it a go when I play later this afternoon. Thanks!
Quote from: Rayfer on December 21, 2014, 08:11:10 AM
Quote from: Nefaro on December 21, 2014, 12:03:05 AM
Quote from: Gusington on December 20, 2014, 03:06:58 PM
Champions are good at spreading your faction's gospel in your own provinces and for undermining the enemy in their provinces. They can also be used as assassins and saboteurs and can be leveled up to gain different skill sets.
I add them to my armies to train up my troops experience levels every turn. I often get more level-ups from them than battles. Then use them to kill any nearby spies or other agents when they are detected near that army, usually trying to F with it.
Great suggestion....will have to give it a go when I play later this afternoon. Thanks!
Your soldiers get
really experienced if you choose the training bonus level-ups for the Champion. Fortunately the Champions also get xp every turn while assigned to train an army in this way, so they also regularly level. Win-win.
With the latest patch I have noticed that level ups are more common for all agents too.
Quote from: Gusington on December 21, 2014, 09:38:33 AM
With the latest patch I have noticed that level ups are more common for all agents too.
Really?
They were already levelling pretty fast when set to an ongoing task like that. Already seemed like they shot up a bit too fast, perhaps.
^Yeah. Noticed level ups from simple, more passive 'set up spy network' missions and the like too.
Quote from: Gusington on December 21, 2014, 01:44:24 PM
^Yeah. Noticed level ups from simple, more passive 'set up spy network' missions and the like too.
I've been nabbing opposing agents with the manipulation thing.
^Me too, a little more than I remember in previous patches also.
Agents or no, I'm getting my but kicked as Athens in the Wrath of Sparta campaign. Can't seem to keep my cities happy and the amount of enemy armies is troublesome
Can you kick back?
Quote from: Gusington on December 21, 2014, 08:18:38 PM
Can you kick back?
Here and there, but if I pull an army out of a city to go on offense, an enemy army heads right for it. All provinces have such Low approval that if I lose a city and take it back, they revolt. The campaign is easy as sparta but very tough as athens.
Intriguing...I have taken a break from my Armenia campaign to get into some WWI games for a bit but everything I have tried today is either too complicated (To End All Wars), totally unfinished (Battle of Empire 1914-1918) or too simple (Wings). TW has spoiled me for all other games by hitting that sweet spot. I'll need to get back to Armenia shortly.
Try the WWI mod for company of heros, can DL it through steam.
I have the non-Steam version of that buried somewhere...you like it?
It's pretty fun, only the Brits and Germans are done so far. It's set in a way that grinds into trench warfare slugfests. It plays on maps that look like no mans land wastelands.
I happened along it when I was looking at the men of war WWI game you guys were talking about in that other thread.
Quote from: mikeck on December 21, 2014, 08:56:15 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 21, 2014, 08:18:38 PM
Can you kick back?
Here and there, but if I pull an army out of a city to go on offense, an enemy army heads right for it. All provinces have such Low approval that if I lose a city and take it back, they revolt. The campaign is easy as sparta but very tough as athens.
I tried Sparta. Not very exciting after Easy Athens. I tried Normal Athens after coming up with a plan: I would slowly pull out of peripheral areas, but leave some trouble out there while building up and concentrating at Athens. Then -- since everybody hates Athens anyway -- I would take Korinth, Thebes and Sparta while they were out taking my peripheral stuff. After 3 tries with lots of restarting at turn 12, this seems to have worked, though as usual, Thebes was the tough one (at least once I took Thebes -- they were really upset). Lots of massive battles -- including the Spartan thing at Laurion where they landed two medium sized armies and then decided to leave when the one decent Athenian army headed down there. They all got in their transports and ran into the one decent Athenian fleet. I guess I do like the new naval game since the Athenian fleet of 12 or so was able to sink about 35 (2 armies and the 4 ships of the garrison fleet) for minimal losses. Of course, now I'm at war all over and revolts are constant -- BUT, I have lots of agents due to Sokrates who has been reasoning enemy agents over to my side. It suppose in the end I may be attritioned out of existence (hmmm...sounds like the real war), but it was fun while it lasted.
Yeah, playing as Athens is the trick. Sparta is too easy
Quote from: mikeck on December 22, 2014, 04:04:42 PM
Yeah, playing as Athens is the trick. Sparta is too easy
Yeahhh. Thaat's the ticket.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F31.media.tumblr.com%2F018b6cd0ee6def0afedea2c228226547%2Ftumblr_mga7tbyDQq1rjietso1_500.gif&hash=7c9841b93f15bfb28e0cdfa305552c53afe67b34)
:))
dont ya hate this first campaign when it hits a point and you just want to start a new one and apply all the lessons learned.
Yeah, I restarted twice already because I realized that defeat was inevitable. It's rare in a TW game for me to really get a beat down...but playing Athens on normal is tough
my Armenian campaign is doing fine but it was the learning war and I can do better now.
I was down to one province and one city as Armenia about 75 turns ago and now I run the eastern part of the map...even when you think you are inevitably doomed in TW there is some pinhole opportunity.
Ive had two hiccups. the first was a 5 turn shortage of food and the second was capturing to many provinces at once with incompatible structures which made me bankrupt for about 4 turns or so. Im setting up to blitz Antony but Im kinda bored with it knowing what I know now about the game mechanics and province building.
^Call it a game and take a break...that's what I did with Armenia while I was still enjoying it and getting strong AI resistance from Bactria, etc. Then go back to it. It will feel fresh again.
Ive got Germans to the north, Egypt in its home country and Antony in Turkey.
butt your probably right. I dont have the patience for marathon sessions like I used to.
For all of TW's faults it has a certain resilience and ability to bounce back and be interesting. Not every TW did that for me, like Empire and Napoleon. But Shogun 2 and Rome 2, definitely.
oh Im not loosing interest, I just know that with what I know now I can be in the same place in half the time.
So many factions available too with DLCs and mods, it has really ignited my interest in the ancient world...more than the original Rome TW ten years ago which was my gateway game.
keep in mind that you can always ask Windy what it was like to live back then.
True but he was to old to have experienced anything first hand in an ancient military by around 500 BC.
some tales say he fluffed Socrates.
I've read that too. Filthy [really] old man.
Quote from: mikeck on December 22, 2014, 07:02:09 PM
Yeah, I restarted twice already because I realized that defeat was inevitable. It's rare in a TW game for me to really get a beat down...but playing Athens on normal is tough
One of the fun things about the Wrath of Sparta DLC is that it's pretty small and plays pretty fast, so you don't get that feeling of being trapped in the routine of running a slowly growing monster empire. Or, at least, as Athens, I haven't experienced that yet -- more like the continual racing around to shore up at least some parts of a small, collapsing empire.
that actually makes it sound like more fun.
As I didn't wish to derail another thread, I'm posting my thoughts on the Wrath of Sparta DLC here...
In short, I enjoy it. I feel it recreates the world of the Peloponnesian War about as well as a TW title can.
WoS obviously lacks the deeper political & diplomacy aspects that played such a significant role in the actual conflict, but I think that's simply a limitation of the current game engine (and therefore to be expected). The strategic AI appears to be okay, although it struggles as Athens (which is understandable, given I do too!). One could wish for more playable factions (Corinth and Persia especially), and I would have loved to seen an extended map including Sicily and/or Egypt, but I don't know if I can consider these actual criticisms. Within the limitations of the map restrictions and game engine, I've found Wrath of Sparta to be a pretty solid, if unspectacular, experience thus far.
The two main critiques I've seen regarding the DLC are that:
1.) The battles are mostly hoplite vs. hoplite action (which can get boring), and
2.) the fanboys can't just roll over everyone when playing as Sparta. ::)
Regarding the first critique, well this *is* DLC covering ancient Greek warfare after all! So yes, WoS doesn't boast as much unit diversity, and while cavalry and missile troops do still have their place, battles to indeed tend to focus around lines of hoplites pushing at each other. It admittedly can get monotonous at times, but terrain and army composition still matter enough that I've not found it to be that big a problem. In the end, I suspect this is simply one area where the DLC suffers from trying to faithfully recreate the warfare of the time period; realistic = boring (at least for some).
Regarding the second critique: I don't think I really need to address it to you guys here, do I? :P
Ultimately, I think the main caveat for Wrath of Sparta is that you have at least some interest in the setting/time period. At what price point you'd want to pick this up at is another matter: If, like me, you have a strong interest in ancient Greek history and/or the Peloponnesian War, I'd say there's no reason not to go ahead and just purchase it now; there's certainly $15.00 worth of entertainment to be had in this DLC. If you have only a mild/passing interest in this time period, you may want to wait for a sale before grabbing it.
Thanks man. Since my interest in the era is not particulalry strong, I've decided to wait for a sale.
I think the omission of Sicily and Egypt is a mistake from a historical standpoint. Especially Sicily since that Athenian mistake sealed their fate.
I suppose the Athenian wealth and sea power aren't really modelled in the TW DLC anyway (sea power is worthless in Rome 2), along with the greatly changing politics all around, so asking for a geo-poli sim out of it is too much.
Quote from: Gusington on May 05, 2015, 08:00:17 AM
Thanks man. Since my interest in the era is not particulalry strong, I've decided to wait for a sale.
You're welcome
Gus. Yeah, in your case, that's probably what I would recommend as well.
Quote from: Nefaro on May 05, 2015, 08:18:45 AM
I think the omission of Sicily and Egypt is a mistake from a historical standpoint. Especially Sicily since that Athenian mistake sealed their fate.
From a historical standpoint, I agree. From a gameplay standpoint, however, it doesn't affect things as much.
A major reason for that is because poor Athens is deprived of half her empire in the DLC (and thus a great deal of her resources that could be brought to bear against Sparta & co.). Instead, most of Athens' holdings in Asia Minor are split off into the separate "Ionian League"; it remains a full ally of Athens, but that's it. I'm sure it was all done out of a simple desire to keep Athens from being too powerful at the campaign's start -- which is fair enough -- but I think this was a case of over-correcting.
In any case, I suspect expanding the map to include Sicily and/or Egypt would have necessitated/warranted a full-on separate title/standalone expansion (which I'm sure the devs didn't have the time and/or resources for).
Quote from: Nefaro on May 05, 2015, 08:18:45 AM
I suppose the Athenian wealth and sea power aren't really modelled in the TW DLC anyway (sea power is worthless in Rome 2), along with the greatly changing politics all around, so asking for a geo-poli sim out of it is too much.
Not very well, at least. Certainly the devs tried to do what they could -- the city of Athens itself does have decent income, and it does receive certain bonuses to constructing/recruiting naval units -- but yeah, the game itself isn't the most well-suited to reflecting Athenian naval power. In addition, the aforementioned splitting of Athenian territory between her empire and the Ionian League dilutes her power further.
Not to mention, of course, that Sparta is the faction that receives the most love in this DLC. ::) Not that the others are ignored -- it's clear that someone did their homework (and/or was knowledgeable about the period to begin with), and that the DLC in general was a labor of love for at least of the devs -- but sadly it's not much surprise that the eponymous city's arch-rival got nerfed to improve their chances at victory. Gotta pander to them fanboys at least a little!
Started my second try at Total War: Rome II-Emperor Edition and still can't seem to survive, no less win. I've selected what the game calls 'easy' starts and set the difficulty at easy as well...and yet I can't seem to get the hang of it. Questions... Research; what is best early on; war or the civic improvement items, better to focus on one or jump back and forth between the two? Expansion; start early on out of the gate or wait awhile, and if so, how long is reasonable? Any other tips on how to thrive/survive in the ancient world?
Quote from: Rayfer on July 13, 2015, 08:13:38 PM
Started my second try at Total War: Rome II-Emperor Edition and still can't seem to survive, no less win. I've selected what the game calls 'easy' starts and set the difficulty at easy as well...and yet I can't seem to get the hang of it. Questions... Research; what is best early on; war or the civic improvement items, better to focus on one or jump back and forth between the two? Expansion; start early on out of the gate or wait awhile, and if so, how long is reasonable? Any other tips on how to thrive/survive in the ancient world?
Which faction are you playing? Some have more difficult starts than others.
For research, I generally go with two or three military slots first. Often infantry upgrades. Then I do a few to improve the public order and a little economy.
The longer you have to post a bunch of troops in a conquered city, to wait for the public order to rise back up so, the more their big expense is going to waste while just sitting there. Plus you get economic bonuses when their PO goes into the black. Nobody wants a rebellion on their hands, either.
So making sure I have public order in hand early on is essential and I always plan to research some stuff that gives me more fairly early. Faster turnaround of conquests and you can use more troops more often in the field, on the next upcoming additions to your empire.
I tend to keep a sizable amount of the low monthly cost infantry in each army for awhile, and back them up with a few of the first higher quality ones unlocked in the initial short Mil research run. After getting some of the public order (and whatever econ that may have came with it), next is whatever may be needed. Often more Military since constant expansion is the norm, but moving to whatever suits my fancy after the initial Infantry+Public Order early research.
That's my general approach to research, anyway. Obviously I put a high value on Public Order and armies with a quality infantry core with this one. Some factions are much more Cavalry focused, but cav costs a lot so even then I go with the infantry approach (initially).
I agree with Nefaro. The faction you play determines a lot of the difficulity you'll have. Rome was pretty easy, Carthage hard as hell, the Barbarian factions kind of in the middle. The Seleucids start with a large empire but with a large number of enemies. Sparta and Athens start with one city and are very tough to expand. Macedon is not too bad to play. Regardless, early on get your food output started then money and military. Look to your traditional enemies for trouble early, like factions that culturally clash with yours and don't be afraid to buy someone off to leave you alone if they're too strong for you. If you've got food, you'll generally have happy citizens and money, and if you've got money, you can always expand your military quickly or rent-an-army(mercs). I like to go for the Tech I can develop quickest whatever kind unless there's a specific need that I think will benefit my faction. There's also always the Radious mod and some others that make gameplay a little easier if it helps.
Rome 2 and Attila have been the most difficult of the series for me. I did win as Armenia in Rome 2 but I have not won a game in Attila yet. The Last Roman DLC is the same way. I got destroyed as the Roman Expedition twice in short order. Before quitting in nerd rage, I lowered he difficulty. Now I own North Africa and am moving on, and having fun. The difficulty levels should be more varied though. There's too much difference befween Easy and Normal. And Normal plays like Hard used to.
I got fartherest as the Germans in Rome 2 but enjoyed playing the Seleucids most because you're a big power at start and have to try to hold together your empire with everybody gunning for you. Playing as Rome, avoid war with Carthage until you're really ready for it as they will never quit fighting you and the war will break your bank. While others are waiting to feed upon your dying corpse--- from experience. I'm not finding the Last Roman to be too hard as the Romans, up in Italy clearing-out Goths now with lots of money, food and 3 full armies. But no telling where Justinian will send us off to next.
Nef....I am playing Massilia, one of the Greek States. But I also tried Iceni, one of the Britannic Tribes. Both were listed as 'easy' as an Initial Challenge.
Quote from: Rayfer on July 14, 2015, 12:55:17 PM
Nef....I am playing Massilia, one of the Greek States. But I also tried Iceni, one of the Britannic Tribes. Both were listed as 'easy' as an Initial Challenge.
Don't go by what the beginning faction difficulty says. They're not always very indicative.
That said, I've not played either of those yet. So I don't know the specifics on their start situation.
I would definitely advise against starting as either Epirus or Carthage. Those start off getting dogpiled by most of their neighbors pretty early IIRC.
Not sure if anyone else here has noticed, but -- to my utter surprise & delight -- CA is working on patch 17. O0
The beta has been available (http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/159608-Patch-17-beta-now-available!?p=1404893#post1404893) for over a week now (for those who wish to opt in). Here are the patch notes (http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Total_War_ROME_II:_Patch_17_Beta) (I'd post them here, but they're actually too long!).
Yeah I saw that. Have not opted in as I've only been playing Attila lately.
Some interesting changes in there..
QuoteReduced zone-of-control size for forces and cities from 5 to 3.5
Total War...
The only game series where a 24MB patch on Steam requires three separate download & installation sessions that take 15+ minutes.
Wutdasheet? Do they use witchcraft to compress 2GB down to 24MB, then require an extensive sacrificial ritual to pull it back out of the void and install it?
The long awaited WitchPatch. Happy Halloween!
After checking the forum for some answer to why such a small patch ended up taking 30 minutes to finish, I found an answer.
Lotsa people complaining about the 24MB patch taking so damn long. The CA (dev) guys said it was a patch to accommodate a new physical retail version being sold overseas. They didn't mention why it took so damn long.
Some of the users mentioned it reserving 12-14GB of hard drive space, likely for file swapping purposes, while in the middle of the patch. So evidently their 24MB patch was busy moving, erasing, and rearranging the file structure for the game.
This isn't the first time I've seen these TW patches do this, especially with the large file swapping & rearranging. It's been happening since TW Shogun 2. WTF are they doing with these little updates?! Besides their dark witchery.
Hard to tell whether we're playing their games or their games are playing us these days. Think about it. :o
There is nothing beyond dark witchery.
Ive noticed this too the last few TW releases. Very small patches that take forever to download. I'm sorry but the franchise has been taking a slow nosedive ever since Sega took over the reigns.
I don't think this is a total war issue at all. I find myself scratching my head frequently over the time it takes to not only download, but to apply some relatively small patches on various games. It is clearly a steam issue.
Come on! Total war is taking a nose dive? It's one of the greatest strategy series ever made on the PC and anyone who is still bitching about them and complaining about sega is just a hater with an axe to grind.
Went back and played the original Medieval Total War and I'm sorry I think it was the shining pinnacle of the series. The gameplay is second to none and the atmosphere is spot on for recreating a dark medieval vibe. Shogun 2 and Nappy have been high points since. Rome 2's shabby release was the nail in the coffin for me, while I understand after the countless patches it is much improved there are many things on a basic structural level that cant be changed in a patch. Holding out the greek city states unless you pre ordered was a big negative for me as well.
From Empire onwards I have also used exclusively AMD CPU,s which really struggle running the warscape engine. I recently installed a i7-4790K so I may have to reinstall the game and see how she runs.
I still love the series though I also find them to be watered down in a lot of ways from my first experience in Rome 1. And mods make the game more gooder. I have been Assimilated.
IMHO Shogun 2 is the best game of the entire series. Medieval 2 is #2 and the original Medieval is #3. Attila may be #4 for me even though I suck at it. Rome 2 may actually be my #5.
I admit I haven't touched Rome2 after about the 6th patch or so, so Im not sure how it has improved since. I just remember it seemed like a shell of a game and had some very bad design choices. They seemed to get better on track with Attila and just wish Rome 2 had Attila's family tree.
^I can't argue with you as I haven't been back to Rome 2 either, but I will soon. Soon.
Attila has been taking up my TW time lately. A Picts campaign is coming next.
Rome 2 wasn't built in a day. 8)
How long have you been waiting to type that?
at the top of my list of things to do before christmas is to finish a Shogun II campaign
and start one!
I would like to win one.
Well having won Shogun 2 AND Fall of the Samurai, I can tell you the feeling is overrated. The euphoria only lasts about 6-8 months then you have to settle for constantly pointing out to people that you are THE FRIGGING KING of JAPAN all the while trying to act humble about it. Still, it's more fun than getting hit in the ass with a Kantana.
Overrated?? Shamefrul. Dispray.
Shamefrul indeed. My Shogun victories were made much easier by a few Super-Agents in the right place at the right time. I agree this was the pinnacle of TW games to date. So many things done right.
So I awoke this morning fully intending to get TW:Warhammer today but then I started thinking - what itch will it scratch that I can't scratch by playing something in my library? If I want high-fantasy tactical warfare I've got AoW 3 (not Warhammer, but I don't really care about that, plus the battles are turn-based). For the TW experience I have the barely-touched Attila, but it just hasn't grabbed me. Then I remembered reading that TW:Rome 2 had finally been patched into a pretty good condition, so I'm installing it as I write this.
My only question at this point is if any one can recommend any "indispensable" mods.
I have Rome 2 and a few DLCs all loaded up under my Steam folder, but when I decide to have a go I always get back to my Roma Surrectum II mod based on the RTW exes instead :D :smitten:
I play with the Radious Mod and like it a lot but the DEI Mod also looks very good.
I second the Radious series of mods.
DEI for Rome II is fantastic. I can't play the game without it, and with it, have poured more hours into this than any other TW game by far.
It's really good. And anyone who still suffers from the delusion that Rome II is crappy and terrible really needs to play it so that they will shut up and realize that Rome eventually (and with modder help) became an awesome game.
Is that alongside Radious or instead of Radious?
Never mind, it appears they aren't compatible. I think I'll try DEI first
Yeah they're both separate.
DEI adds & changes some stuff.
I'd recommend just playing the vanilla game, to start with. It's in good condition nowadays.
Hell, I've still been playing vanilla Rome 2 campaigns in recent months and enjoying it. With only a handful of superficial mods enabled, such is the special faction-specific UI Art (from DEI) and one of the Unit Card Art mod packs (two good ones available).
Out of all the Total War games, vanilla Rome 2 has the widest variety of combat units. Quite a few available player factions to use, too, but not sure if this is also the highest number.
While it doesn't have some of the extra UI bells & whistles added in Attila, it still plays fine. I'd even give it a Pro over Attila because it has fewer unwanted side effects from poorly implemented campaign mechanics.
I got problems with the way the AI hangs-out in cities all the time. I almost never get a real Field Battle to fight, just sieges. :tickedoff:
Quote from: Sir Slash on May 26, 2016, 10:04:10 PM
I got problems with the way the AI hangs-out in cities all the time. I almost never get a real Field Battle to fight, just sieges. :tickedoff:
THIS. After playing WH Total War I never want to go back to Rome and Attilla. I am finally fighting lots of field battles and siege battles that work. Love it.
After starting a game with DEI, I realized I was too rusty to deal with it. Plus I never actually played the original very much, so Vanilla it is.
Quote from: Sir Slash on May 26, 2016, 10:04:10 PM
I got problems with the way the AI hangs-out in cities all the time. I almost never get a real Field Battle to fight, just sieges. :tickedoff:
I had the exact same experience....not sure if it was something I was doing wrong or just the way the game is?
I never played the Seleucid campaign in Rome 2...I will go back to it eventually just for that.
Quote from: Sir Slash on May 26, 2016, 10:04:10 PM
I got problems with the way the AI hangs-out in cities all the time. I almost never get a real Field Battle to fight, just sieges. :tickedoff:
I recall that being my experience in all the TW games since the original
Rome.
If I get sick of assaulting, I'll just leave an army besieging. The AI
always sallies out & attacks when it reaches 1 turn left before falling.
Just loaded up the Divide Et Impera mod again.
Amongst many other changes, it makes open field battles a likely prospect. Get so sick of the constant siege battles in all the Total Wars, but this should help.
The big thing? It makes posting an army inside a city give Public Order penalties. So you do not want to leave sizable armies inside a city for long or your people get pissed. Have to post them out in the open and, iirc, the AI tends to do this more in the DEI mod.
Lots of other stuff in the mod, but that's a biggie. Need to delve further into a campaign with it now.
As which faction? Armenia!!
Quote from: Gusington on December 06, 2016, 08:07:55 PM
As which faction? Armenia!!
Actually, yes, I just started a DEI campaign as Armenia. Or whatever it's real name is in the mod. Took awhile to decide, especially since there are a few extra factions in it.
Although I may well end up starting a new TWarhammer campaign after the Welf DLC comes out in a couple days. :nerd:
Excellent! Armenia in R2TW is one of the best campaigns I've had in the whole series.
Quote from: Gusington on December 07, 2016, 09:50:35 AM
Excellent! Armenia in R2TW is one of the best campaigns I've had in the whole series.
I've also enjoyed Pontus. Although it was before all the 17 or 18 patches were done; back when their faction symbol was colored yellow instead of it's current blue.
Egypt/Ptolemaic faction also has a similarly interesting mix. I've started it twice, in the past, but hadn't gotten very far before some other OH LOOK, SHINY!
Still want to get a good run in with Carthage too. Seems like everyone and their wicked stepmother declares war on me in the first dozen turns or so.
I've never finished a campaign in Rome 2, despite the huge amount of time I've put into it. I often get sidetracked with other games and dislike loading up a Total War campaign that I started 9 months ago and don't recall a thing about. Plus the "Mod Soup" sometimes takes hold and I have to start new campaigns when adding a mod pack. Ahh well.. it's always fun starting out anyway!
Confession: I broke down and pre-ordered the Welf DLC in TWarhammer. Can't resist the pull of stomping enemies into paste with the huge Treemen. Tomorrow. :notworthy:
I played Carthage in both the Grand Campaign and the Hannibal at the Gates campaign. Enjoyed both.
Do you mean the Seleucids? I've wanted to play them forever as well. I forget how many great factions there are in Rome 2. Pontus is another one.
I also have not finished a Rome 2 campaign despite getting very far as the Germans and Rome. This would be the first TW game I've not finished a campaign in since my first TW-- Rome 1. The game just doesn't have the appeal the earlier titles did for me and while it's still fun, it just feels like a bit of a grind to complete.
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 08, 2016, 10:10:22 AM
I also have not finished a Rome 2 campaign despite getting very far as the Germans and Rome. This would be the first TW game I've not finished a campaign in since my first TW-- Rome 1. The game just doesn't have the appeal the earlier titles did for me and while it's still fun, it just feels like a bit of a grind to complete.
I'm fairly certain it has the most unit variety of any vanilla TW in the grand campaign.
The reason it always ends up feeling like a grind after awhile, for me, is the repetitive siege battles & sieges in general. All TWs end up feeling like a grind, after awhile, but the map is huge in Rome 2 so there ends up being a lot more siege fights to grind out. I often end up just auto-resolving most of them because I get so sick of doing them. The screwy pathfinding alone, in city fights, makes me tear hair. :pullhair:
If the TW series reduced it's rate of sieges down to about 20% of battles or less I'd be happy. The ratio often ends up being the opposite for me. The big difficult battles from these periods were fought in the field. They should place unit size limits on armies stationed inside cities or something similar IMO. For instance, not allowing an army with over 10 units to actually move into a city at all. Hrmm.. I wonder if that's moddable in any Total War game?
I'm not sure the DEI mod makes AI factions keep their armies out of cities due to the Public Order penalties. At least.. the larger armies. Although my initial impression was that they may keep smaller ones inside and just create another army outside in support range. At least that makes for field battles, though, so mission accomplished if that tendency persists.
IIRC sieges were much less common in Medieval 2 and Shogun 2.
What I really hate about Rome II and Atilla is that only the regional capital has full fortifications. That simply has nothing to do with reality. Most towns in antiquity had walls, even if they weren't always very strong.
Shogun II didn't have this problem.
But even if everything was fortified that was supposed to be fortified, siege mechanics in the Total War series are awful. Siege engines damaged walls for days or weeks before an assault, not during the assault itself. The larger siege engines that were capable of damaging walls were carted around the countryside in pieces and never showed up on battlefields. Damage to walls wasn't even done by catapults most of the time, but by rams and mining. And for the Romans, the city-killing tactic was to build a large mound of dirt higher than the city walls and flanked by two gently inclined ramps for pushing up mobile assault towers -- the city often surrendered when the mound (agger) was finished and in place. In any case the Romans were just using and adapting Hellenistic siege technology whose top of the line piece of siege equipment was the helepoleis, a very large multi-story armored tower crammed full of ballistai on every floor that was more like an ancient sturmgeschutz for achieving fire superiority and wasn't a vehicle for delivering assault troops. Catapults were mostly anti-personnel weapons that were designed to allow you to stand beyond bow range and suppress the defenders on a section of wall you were about to assault or skewer anyone foolish enough to attempt a sortie. And if you've read Frontinus, one of the things that you'll remember is that a good commander defending in a siege always puts shallow bowls of water on top of each section of wall and assigns a 24-hour guard to watch them for ripples on the surface, and tries -- usually unsuccessfully -- to keep his troops from fraternizing with the enemy , because most towns fall when somebody bribes someone to open a gate.
But what has me tearing my hair most of the time is the impossibly costly battle that gets waged once you break inside a town.
I think that's why for the most part they binned them in warhammer - they're there but very rare
Quote from: Philippe on December 08, 2016, 01:41:37 PM
What I really hate about Rome II and Atilla is that only the regional capital has full fortifications. That simply has nothing to do with reality. Most towns in antiquity had walls, even if they weren't always very strong.
Shogun II didn't have this problem.
But even if everything was fortified that was supposed to be fortified, siege mechanics in the Total War series are awful. Siege engines damaged walls for days or weeks before an assault, not during the assault itself. The larger siege engines that were capable of damaging walls were carted around the countryside in pieces and never showed up on battlefields. Damage to walls wasn't even done by catapults most of the time, but by rams and mining. And for the Romans, the city-killing tactic was to build a large mound of dirt higher than the city walls and flanked by two gently inclined ramps for pushing up mobile assault towers -- the city often surrendered when the mound (agger) was finished and in place. In any case the Romans were just using and adapting Hellenistic siege technology whose top of the line piece of siege equipment was the helepoleis, a very large multi-story armored tower crammed full of ballistai on every floor that was more like an ancient sturmgeschutz for achieving fire superiority and wasn't a vehicle for delivering assault troops. Catapults were mostly anti-personnel weapons that were designed to allow you to stand beyond bow range and suppress the defenders on a section of wall you were about to assault or skewer anyone foolish enough to attempt a sortie. And if you've read Frontinus, one of the things that you'll remember is that a good commander defending in a siege always puts shallow bowls of water on top of each section of wall and assigns a 24-hour guard to watch them for ripples on the surface, and tries -- usually unsuccessfully -- to keep his troops from fraternizing with the enemy , because most towns fall when somebody bribes someone to open a gate.
But what has me tearing my hair most of the time is the impossibly costly battle that gets waged once you break inside a town.
Agreed. Sieges were primarily a waiting game. The defenders waiting on a relieving army. Else they would generally surrender at some point, once supplies ran out.
The way it's done in the Total War series is the worst thing about it. I think that their beefing-up of inherent garrisons was good. However, you can still cram a full-size 20 unit army in there with them, and continue to hold out for many turns without issue. That's just ridiculous.
Then they inevitably sally forth on the next to last auto-win siege turn, or you're forced to attack in order to save time, and they essentially have one and a half armies sitting comfortably well-fed inside the city waiting to pummel you. I would think that jamming so many extra warm bodies into walled city would make for much more problems in holding out during a siege.
As I mentioned, the easiest solution would be to impose a limit on the army-size allowed to garrison in them. Or make them suffer increasingly punishing amounts of attrition every turn, the larger the besieged army is. C:-)
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 08, 2016, 03:06:35 PM
I think that's why for the most part they binned them in warhammer - they're there but very rare
They do seem to happen a bit less in TWarhammer. The biggest thing of note, for me, was how much they reduced the size & sprawl of the city & fortifications in it, compared to the previous few TWs. Was very thankful of that.. it was turning into a mess by Attila.
Total War: Rome 2 Empire Divided released today: TW: Rome II Empire Divided (http://store.steampowered.com/app/694880/Total_War_ROME_II__Empire_Divided/)
Steam is also download 1.4 GB worth of something for the game. Some say it's patch 18 for the game.
I would have pre-ordered the new campaign if it wasn't 15.00. I love TW but 15.00 for a new campaign is very high unless it makes my bed and breakfast in the morning.
That said...anyone playing it? If someone here gives it solid praise and explains why it's worth the 15.00 I'll get it.
I hear it will make your bed but not breakfast for you. Though it will give you a 'nice Hawaiian punch'. $15 Is too high for my tastes too. If the new features are all they're made-out to be, I'll probably grab it on a sale.
Remember, some of the political and diplomatic features are being pushed out for free via Steam patch.
Meanwhile, a new mod for Attila TW. The High Middle Age Mod starting in 1004 AD. Could be a winner.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1215214593
Quote from: Sir Slash on November 30, 2017, 07:52:16 PM
Meanwhile, a new mod for Attila TW. The High Middle Age Mod starting in 1004 AD. Could be a winner.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1215214593
Why 1004 AD? I would say that is about the time of maximal fragmentation triggering all the Peace of God movements and so on.
Seems like around 1050 would be a nice coherent start (well before the Investiture Contest oh boy). 1004 AD is of course kind of fascinating in its own right.
Quote from: Sir Slash on November 30, 2017, 07:52:16 PM
Meanwhile, a new mod for Attila TW. The High Middle Age Mod starting in 1004 AD. Could be a winner.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1215214593
Says it doesn't have any new units right now. The same vanilla Attila ones from hundreds of years earlier. Must be an early WIP.
Quote from: Gusington on November 30, 2017, 02:08:32 PM
Remember, some of the political and diplomatic features are being pushed out for free via Steam patch.
I checked out the update.
While I don't mind Rome 2 and Attila's newer building mechanics, their attempts at adding CK-like family and character politics into these games is underwhelming. Downright annoying and dull. I think they need to stop and try a different approach in the future, because what they're doing will never be enjoyable. :-\
Time for a CA intervention.
I downloaded that 1004 AD mod...will be playing it at some point 'soon.'
Now I guess we know what's Gus playing.
Quote from: Gusington on November 30, 2017, 01:06:03 PM
I would have pre-ordered the new campaign if it wasn't 15.00. I love TW but 15.00 for a new campaign is very high unless it makes my bed and breakfast in the morning.
That said...anyone playing it? If someone here gives it solid praise and explains why it's worth the 15.00 I'll get it.
I'm in the same boat as you. I'm interested in the new campaign (and will probably get it eventually), but right now I can't quite bring myself to spend the 15 schmuckers to get it (actually, it's $17.00 now it's actually released).
Quote from: Sir Slash on November 30, 2017, 11:41:37 PM
Now I guess we know what's Gus playing.
Unless I miss my guess, he's already hip-deep in his Polish campaign in
Medieval 2 (Stainless Steel mod). O:-)
^This is true however I was starting to get my ass kicked by Novgorod and Hungary until they made piece with me late last night. I do miss the newer graphics and gizmos of the newer TW games too. Also, I am intrigued by Pike and Shot.
Piece of what? Nevermind. Better not knowing. :hide:
There's kind of a cool little special offer going on right now on the official Total War site. If you have "Total War Access" (IIRC, I think you essentially just have to be a registered member on the official TW forums), you get a choice of the following:
1.) Wrath of Sparta campaign pack
2.) Black Sea Colonies culture pack
3.) Nomadic Tribes culture pack
4.) 66% off Rome II
I chose the Black Sea Colonies culture pack, as I already own the other three. I then noticed that once the culture pack was added/installed, the faction of Massilia was added as well. 8) Score!
Good call. But Russia wants my steam account.
My son is currently saving pocket money hoping to get rome2 in the 66% off steam sale before Tuesday.
My bad...'peace.' :nerd:
Quote from: Destraex on December 02, 2017, 06:31:56 AM
Good call. But Russia wants my steam account.
My son is currently saving pocket money hoping to get rome2 in the 66% off steam sale before Tuesday.
https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/total-war-rome-ii-emperor-edition
66% off for the next 7 days
all other Total War games are also on sale ...
https://www.fanatical.com/en/search?search=total%20war&utm_source=Fanatical+Newsletter&utm_campaign=9a10995e0f-TotalWarWK_12_02_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3437eaaeba-9a10995e0f-426916041&mc_cid=9a10995e0f&mc_eid=f5bc8844da
eg. Warhammer I -70%, Warhammer II -20%, ..
Quote from: Pete Dero on December 02, 2017, 12:04:54 PM
Quote from: Destraex on December 02, 2017, 06:31:56 AM
Good call. But Russia wants my steam account.
My son is currently saving pocket money hoping to get rome2 in the 66% off steam sale before Tuesday.
https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/total-war-rome-ii-emperor-edition
66% off for the next 7 days
all other Total War games are also on sale ...
https://www.fanatical.com/en/search?search=total%20war&utm_source=Fanatical+Newsletter&utm_campaign=9a10995e0f-TotalWarWK_12_02_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3437eaaeba-9a10995e0f-426916041&mc_cid=9a10995e0f&mc_eid=f5bc8844da
eg. Warhammer I -70%, Warhammer II -20%, ..
If you're patient enough to wait until the Steam Christmas sale you can probably shave another few quid/dollars/shekels from the prices Fanatical are giving.
Quote from: Manassassas on December 02, 2017, 12:52:53 PM
Quote from: Pete Dero on December 02, 2017, 12:04:54 PM
Quote from: Destraex on December 02, 2017, 06:31:56 AM
Good call. But Russia wants my steam account.
My son is currently saving pocket money hoping to get rome2 in the 66% off steam sale before Tuesday.
https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/total-war-rome-ii-emperor-edition
66% off for the next 7 days
all other Total War games are also on sale ...
https://www.fanatical.com/en/search?search=total%20war&utm_source=Fanatical+Newsletter&utm_campaign=9a10995e0f-TotalWarWK_12_02_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3437eaaeba-9a10995e0f-426916041&mc_cid=9a10995e0f&mc_eid=f5bc8844da
eg. Warhammer I -70%, Warhammer II -20%, ..
If you're patient enough to wait until the Steam Christmas sale you can probably shave another few quid/dollars/shekels from the prices Fanatical are giving.
I'm wondering when Warhammer 2 will get down to 40% Off.
Don't think that'll happen for quite awhile yet. It's okay, though. They're probably still patching it or the unified map thing anyway.
Been really tempted to get the new Rome 2 DLC, but it can wait. Still plenty Rome 2, Rome 2 DLC, and Attila left for my historical TW forays without the need for more. Plus Dom5 & others are vying for attention. No lack of gaming options! These are great days we're living in, bros! :)
Quote from: Gusington on November 30, 2017, 01:06:03 PM
I would have pre-ordered the new campaign if it wasn't 15.00. I love TW but 15.00 for a new campaign is very high unless it makes my bed and breakfast in the morning.
That said...anyone playing it? If someone here gives it solid praise and explains why it's worth the 15.00 I'll get it.
I'll say it is good. But I'm a Rome II fanboi. Is it worth 15 bucks? To me it is worth closer to 34 dollars. so I got it for less than half price.
Some good things: I was just playing a vanilla Rome II campaign in and around Persia and I took the Sassanids for the first run of the DLC. It does seem very Persian to me, which if you like Persia is good. Of course the King of Kings is still Zoroastrian, but there are lots of other "cults" rising that you can finance. Plus the tech and command advancement trees and the political choices are better defined. The battles seem more grim and feral and big. The is a dead, frightening light over the desert. Anyway...the battles have a new and better flavor, i think due to factors I can't really isolate at the moment.
Screenshots later if I get some that capture the new grimmer face of battle.
Quote from: MengJiao on December 02, 2017, 03:01:50 PM
There is a dead, frightening light over the desert. Anyway...the battles have a new and better flavor, i think due to factors I can't really isolate at the moment.
??
~~~>
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/209bea1e088272889ae3ce5876a99afa/tumblr_okv59hNJ0X1vfp8yco2_500.gif)
?? ???
Quote from: Nefaro on December 02, 2017, 03:10:37 PM
Quote from: MengJiao on December 02, 2017, 03:01:50 PM
There is a dead, frightening light over the desert. Anyway...the battles have a new and better flavor, i think due to factors I can't really isolate at the moment.
??
~~~>
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/209bea1e088272889ae3ce5876a99afa/tumblr_okv59hNJ0X1vfp8yco2_500.gif)
Yeah, like that, but with more camel archers.
?? ???
I love Persian history...damn you, Meng.
Quote from: Gusington on December 02, 2017, 08:40:56 PM
I love Persian history...damn you, Meng.
This is my third Persian Campaign since the dawn of Rome II. This one is a lot better...though with some similarities. Sure enough, I had to hide in a forest with the archers and skirmishers to narrowly win a battle against a more balanced (less archer-heavy) army. General killed, but won just barely. Pulled out, signed a peace treaty with all concerned.
Oh! I preserved the Zend-Avesta (so Antequil-Dupurron can retrieve it in Basra I think in 1759 or so).
^You would do that. Very thoughtful.
Quote from: Gusington on December 03, 2017, 03:17:00 PM
^You would do that. Very thoughtful.
It's one of those tech options. I think it adds to your research speed I think, something like harems and galley slaves.
Tech tree is updated?
Quote from: Gusington on December 03, 2017, 08:20:55 PM
Tech tree is updated?
I believe that's the case for factions in the
Empire Divided DLC. Not sure if the same applies for factions in the Grand Campaign, however. And since I'm currently playing as Cimmeria (a faction I was unable play as before), I cannot confirm either way. :-\
Quote from: Gusington on December 03, 2017, 08:20:55 PM
Tech tree is updated?
It's different for the Sassaniads. Given the way ports work, it looks like ports are somewhat fixed up for all players. The internal court politics and the skill choices are slightly easier to follow. I think there is an extra provincial edict choice. So things are different. The battles seem to make a little more sense (at least the AI will fall for more elaborate ploys within ploys rather than just charging in...meaning there may be another level of AI assessment looping to look for a way to crush what little bands of levy spearmen you happen to have left as bait next to some woods you have filled with archers, the AI can be seen waiting for their reinforcements, not charging in with their leader first etc....in the old days the AI tended to just roll in as fast as possible, now you can divert and decoy the AI to some degree, I think...so the AI does more thinking, which means you can use more strategems with better results, I think)
Looks like I will have to move this up in the to-play queue to explore the new features 😎
Quote from: Gusington on December 03, 2017, 08:20:55 PM
Tech tree is updated?
The commander skill trees are different, now, throughout Rome 2.
I don't think the older campaign research trees are, however. Could be wrong, but I started an Egypt GC a couple days ago and research nodes look the same.
Gettin' that old familiar hankerin'. But I have to try out Warhammer first. I must.
Ugh, I hate mounted missile units.
Just got my ass kicked by Siraces, who employed an absolute shitload of horse archers in their army. They fought my invasion force to a draw, then proceeded to counterattack, backing me up into my own territory, until my entire army was dead. Uff-da!
Quote from: Gusington on December 04, 2017, 08:34:52 PM
Gettin' that old familiar hankerin'. But I have to try out Warhammer first. I must.
You *still* haven't played Warhammer??! Dude, wtf?!?!?! :knuppel2:
I'm busy playing all the other TW games! And Pike + Shot. And soon Field of Glory II.
The game has been out since May of 2016. That's 1 1/2 years already.
Just sayin'. O:-)
I can join Gus there! :peace:
And my loins get moistier after reading you guys are having fun with Rome 2.
I need to bump this up on my play schedule!
Pfft 1.5 years is nothing compared to my mental instability.
Wait till you're my age and start forgetting where you are all the time. BTW This IS the line to buy stamps right?
What kind of stamps are you looking for? This is the tramp stamp line.
That's the ones, this IS the right place.
And you were worried.
The changes to Rome 2 itself aren't that big.
It's still pretty much Rome 2 patch 17 for the most part. Which is a decent game after all those updates, and one I've played a good deal simply due to the period and variety of playable factions. Attila has a better UI, though.
Wonder what their next historical release will be...
Don't start THAT up again! :knuppel2: OK. Can't resist. ::) ACW: TW Using the Fall of the Samurai engine.
^NO!
Medieval III.
Quote from: Nefaro on December 05, 2017, 07:02:20 PM
The changes to Rome 2 itself aren't that big.
It's still pretty much Rome 2 patch 17 for the most part. Which is a decent game after all those updates, and one I've played a good deal simply due to the period and variety of playable factions. Attila has a better UI, though.
Agreed. The "Power & Politics" update was essentially just another large patch, although a very welcome one. I'm incredibly happy CA went back and gave Rome II some love. (The
Empire Divided DLC looks good too; I plan to get it once it goes on sale.)
Quote from: Nefaro on December 05, 2017, 07:02:20 PM
Wonder what their next historical release will be...
Well CA already announced their first "Sagas" title,
Thrones of Britannia (which I'm very excited about).
If you're referring to their next major "Eras" game, however, then I haven't a clue. The only thing we know for certain is that it *won't* be Medieval 3, as CA has already said their next Eras game is set in a period they haven't covered yet. (I *am* willing to bet, however, that Medieval 3 is the Eras game they make after this next one.) Personally, my first guess would be the Renaissance, but we shall see.
Renaissance? From your keyboard to the gaming god's ear!
Quote from: Gusington on December 05, 2017, 09:06:29 PM
^NO!
Medieval III.
I know how to settle this.
THUNDERDOME !!!!1
Two dorks enter, one nerd leaves!
One Nerd to rule them all,
One Nerd to find them.
One Nerd to bring them all,
And in his Binder bind 'em. :nerd:
I really wonder what my life would be like if I was not a dork.
DORK LIVES MATTER!!!!!
No they don't.
I feel the need to kneel during a national anthem coming on
^ Fake geek girls.
Crap, Carthage is as hard a faction as I remember it being. I forgot just how scattered its starting territories are, and how that...complicates things when playing as them. If anyone has useful tips/advice, I'm all ears.
Current plan (still tentative), in rough order of priority:
1.) Beef up my forces in Iberia, and start conquering away. Establish my main empire there (which I seem to recall is more or less what Carthage did historically). Raise a second army in Iberia if I can afford it. Speaking of which...
2.) Continue establishing/strengthening my maritime trade routes. (Good for the treasury, and will also help with making friends.)
3.) Do not antagonize Rome more than absolutely necessary!! Leave her allies alone (especially Syracuse), unless/until we're ready to face Latin wrath, and/or they take provocative action.
4.) Build up my navy. Turn Sardinia and the Balearic Islands into fleet bases from which I can control the western Mediterranean.
5.) ? ? ?
6.) Profit!
That's probably a good a plan as any Martok as far as I can recall. I didn't get far as Carthage before loosing interest because like you said, it's tough to play. I think culturally you're closest to the Iberians so this would be easiest to assimilate.
Quote from: Martok on December 27, 2017, 11:02:25 PM
5.) ? ? ?
6.) Profit!
Carthage would approve! :bd: :hide:
I had difficulty with these guys when the game first came out and googled a strat guide and there was a turn by turn guide for the first 30 turns on what to do - iirc it involved heading south and tidying up Africa first, I think there are some rich provinces on the way
Venturing into Spain and across to Rome was the last thing
As I recall Carthage has missions from the get go in spain.
Quote from: Martok on December 27, 2017, 11:02:25 PM
Crap, Carthage is as hard a faction as I remember it being. I forgot just how scattered its starting territories are, and how that...complicates things when playing as them. If anyone has useful tips/advice, I'm all ears.
I try to get non-aggression pacts with those bordering the east side of my territory on turn one, as Carthage. Definitely the African states, and some of those nearby notables in the Med where possible. Rome will inevitably declare war on you. Even if you somehow manage to get an NA treaty with them, it will only delay them a bit.
Getting nice with at least those on your North African border, at the start, is essential to avoid a two-front war in the beginning. You may also be able to get a foot in with Syracuse, which would also be ideal.
In my last start, I let those Iberian vassal states get into wars with their neighboring Iberian tribes, and ideally let the enemy conquer them. Then I could move my armies in and take them as my own, instead of having them as vassals, and continue on through Iberia. Vassals generally aren't very useful IMO, even despite being able to designate a military target for them (way too slow to move & cheap units).
Sometime during that Iberian conquest, Rome will DOW you. They may dick around for a few turns afterward since they're probably also fighting on the Italian peninsula or near the Alps, but you'll have to give serious thought on your overall strategy from that point.
After a Rome DOW, hopefully you've had enough success in Iberia that you can get peace treaties for awhile, or quickly finish off whomever you're at war with before Romans come sniffing. Then the tough slugfest comes with Rome. I'd try to just win enough against Rome to ensure I can get an easy peace deal before my previous Iberian peace deals expire. Then just bounce back and forth, nibbling away at each in turn. If both ends are out of the peace diplo cooldown, you'll be fighting on two fronts and that's the last thing you want.
At some point, if you can keep the alternating momentum going, you'll have conquered Iberia. Then it's time to focus on Rome.
For me, Carthage is at a disadvantage if she tries to operate in the deserts of N. Africa unless she has troops that don't attrite away in the heat there. Of course the same goes for just about anybody. She's much more able to operate in Iberia or the Med where the culture is closer to her's. Just my take. Either way, she damned hard to play. Pontus or even the Germans was way easier for me.
IIRC I really enjoyed playing as Carthage, and I may have even won the campaign.
Thanks for the input, everyone. Much appreciated!
Quote from: Nefaro on December 28, 2017, 08:53:48 AM
I try to get non-aggression pacts with those bordering the east side of my territory on turn one, as Carthage. Definitely the African states, and some of those nearby notables in the Med where possible. Rome will inevitably declare war on you. Even if you somehow manage to get an NA treaty with them, it will only delay them a bit.
Getting nice with at least those on your North African border, at the start, is essential to avoid a two-front war in the beginning. You may also be able to get a foot in with Syracuse, which would also be ideal.
Yep, I've been signing nonaggression treaties and (where possible) trade agreements with pretty much whoever is willing. I have been especially focusing on my African neighbors, however, particularly those to the south and east. (In addition to securing those borders, it would be nice to keep a buffer between Egypt and myself.)
Quote from: Nefaro on December 28, 2017, 08:53:48 AM
In my last start, I let those Iberian vassal states get into wars with their neighboring Iberian tribes, and ideally let the enemy conquer them. Then I could move my armies in and take them as my own, instead of having them as vassals, and continue on through Iberia. Vassals generally aren't very useful IMO, even despite being able to designate a military target for them (way too slow to move & cheap units).
While I have no desire to conquer Libya (my client-states to the east), I have been thinking it would probably be preferable if Neo-Carthage (my client-state to the west) was under my direct control. Of course, most of their lands are in Africa, so maybe I goad them into war with Gaetuli (if possible)...
Quote from: Nefaro on December 28, 2017, 08:53:48 AM
Sometime during that Iberian conquest, Rome will DOW you. They may dick around for a few turns afterward since they're probably also fighting on the Italian peninsula or near the Alps, but you'll have to give serious thought on your overall strategy from that point.
After a Rome DOW, hopefully you've had enough success in Iberia that you can get peace treaties for awhile, or quickly finish off whomever you're at war with before Romans come sniffing. Then the tough slugfest comes with Rome. I'd try to just win enough against Rome to ensure I can get an easy peace deal before my previous Iberian peace deals expire. Then just bounce back and forth, nibbling away at each in turn. If both ends are out of the peace diplo cooldown, you'll be fighting on two fronts and that's the last thing you want.
At some point, if you can keep the alternating momentum going, you'll have conquered Iberia. Then it's time to focus on Rome.
Thanks,
Nefaro. Sounds like it ultimately come down to how much progress I've made in Iberia before Rome comes after me, which honestly is what I suspected would be the case. We'll see how well (or not) I do here. :P
Quote from: Gusington on December 28, 2017, 04:09:05 PM
IIRC I really enjoyed playing as Carthage, and I may have even won the campaign.
How did you do this?!? TELL ME YOUR SECRETS.
Listen...are you listening? My secret is...
ASSCREED
That's it, I'm sending my war elephants after you.
^That said I have been wanting to play a Seleucid campaign forever. There's not a lot of companion reading to go along with it, though.
Well my Carthage campaign has already been shot to hell.
Less than four years in, the world suddenly went mad, with most of the known factions (and a few I hadn't even encountered yet) declaring war on each other. Thanks to my client-states and an admittedly ill-advised defensive alliance with Epirus, I suddenly found myself at war with a half-dozen antagonists...including Rome. They wasted no time in going after me, and immediately took Palermo (or whatever my settlement on western Sicily is called); I tried to rush reinforcements there, but the Romans intercepted & sank them. Uff-da!
Quote from: Gusington on December 28, 2017, 11:41:17 PM
^That said I have been wanting to play a Seleucid campaign forever. There's not a lot of companion reading to go along with it, though.
Yeah, I can't help you with reading material on them. A pity.
Caved and bought rome 2
Im so SICK of being a barbarian faction!
^Perfect...play as the Seleucids!
Quote from: Martok on December 29, 2017, 01:11:37 AM
Well my Carthage campaign has already been shot to hell.
Less than four years in, the world suddenly went mad, with most of the known factions (and a few I hadn't even encountered yet) declaring war on each other. Thanks to my client-states and an admittedly ill-advised defensive alliance with Epirus, I suddenly found myself at war with a half-dozen antagonists...including Rome. They wasted no time in going after me, and immediately took Palermo (or whatever my settlement on western Sicily is called); I tried to rush reinforcements there, but the Romans intercepted & sank them. Uff-da!
Epirus?! Are you
mad!?
They're the worst start in the game. Everyone dogpiles on Epirus early on. Anyone nearby, early on, and it just keeps getting worse. For some reason it's the most AI-loathed faction in the game, at the start.
Needless to say, don't play Epirus unless you're a Total War campaign masochist.
I played a Seleucid Campaign to about mid-game. Very tough start as I recall with most of your eastern provinces rebelling and not much you can do about it. You got Egypt to the south and Pontus to the north to watch like a hawk but to the west, some decent allies to help out. You're kind of the 'monkey-in-the-middle', think the Ottomans in ETW. And your phalanx troops aren't any better than anybody else cause they all got phalanxes. You've got a large empire but it's not united and there's a lot of ground to protect. Very tough. But fun. As far as reading goes, I was inspired to play the Seleucids after reading, "Ghost on the Throne" about the Successor Wars. Looking forward to a, 'Gus Plays'.
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 29, 2017, 12:40:23 PM
I played a Seleucid Campaign to about mid-game. Very tough start as I recall with most of your eastern provinces rebelling and not much you can do about it. You got Egypt to the south and Pontus to the north to watch like a hawk but to the west, some decent allies to help out. You're kind of the 'monkey-in-the-middle', think the Ottomans in ETW. And your phalanx troops aren't any better than anybody else cause they all got phalanxes. You've got a large empire but it's not united and there's a lot of ground to protect. Very tough. But fun. As far as reading goes, I was inspired to play the Seleucids after reading, "Ghost on the Throne" about the Successor Wars. Looking forward to a, 'Gus Plays'.
I enjoyed
Ghost on the Throne but it ended before getting very far into the Succession Wars. Good at explaining some of the beginning though. O0
Anyone who can win as Epirus is a true master.
Quote from: Hofstadter on December 29, 2017, 03:28:46 AM
Caved and bought rome 2
Im so SICK of being a barbarian faction!
Sweet! Allow me to recommend Pontus as your first faction. 8)
Quote from: Nefaro on December 29, 2017, 12:01:22 PM
Quote from: Martok on December 29, 2017, 01:11:37 AM
Well my Carthage campaign has already been shot to hell.
Less than four years in, the world suddenly went mad, with most of the known factions (and a few I hadn't even encountered yet) declaring war on each other. Thanks to my client-states and an admittedly ill-advised defensive alliance with Epirus, I suddenly found myself at war with a half-dozen antagonists...including Rome. They wasted no time in going after me, and immediately took Palermo (or whatever my settlement on western Sicily is called); I tried to rush reinforcements there, but the Romans intercepted & sank them. Uff-da!
Epirus?! Are you mad!?
They're the worst start in the game. Everyone dogpiles on Epirus early on. Anyone nearby, early on, and it just keeps getting worse. For some reason it's the most AI-loathed faction in the game, at the start.
Needless to say, don't play Epirus unless you're a Total War campaign masochist.
Hell no, I didn't play as Epirus! I'm dumb, but I'm not *that* dumb. :P
I was, however, stupid enough to sign a defensive pact with them. Don't ask me why (I blame fatigue -- it was around 2 a.m. when I received their diplomatic proposal). I won't make that mistake again... ::)
Quote from: Martok on December 30, 2017, 03:16:43 AM
Hell no, I didn't play as Epirus! I'm dumb, but I'm not *that* dumb. :P
I was, however, stupid enough to sign a defensive pact with them. Don't ask me why (I blame fatigue -- it was around 2 a.m. when I received their diplomatic proposal). I won't make that mistake again... ::)
Same goes for allying with them.
Would be a nightmare!
whoopsie daisy
When you lose a battle because your general's unit wanders outside of your fortified camp by himself and gets surrounded & cut off... Argh! :tickedoff:
^You're having a bad day!
Epirus: The Washington Generals of Rome 2. :pullhair:
Quote from: Gusington on December 31, 2017, 02:58:59 PM
^You're having a bad day!
Actually, my day was going pretty well until then. Losing my general (and the battle) seemed to be the turning point -- the beginning of my ride down the fecal waterslide. :buck2:
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 31, 2017, 04:05:11 PM
Epirus: The Washington Generals of Rome 2. :pullhair:
Heh. You're not wrong!
New Desert Kingdoms DLC!
Quote
The Desert Kingdoms Culture Pack introduces four new playable factions to Total War: ROME II. The Kingdoms of Kush, Saba and Nabatea fall under the African/Arabian subculture, while the Masaesyli are of Numidian origin.
These factions are native to the deserts of Africa and Arabia. Surviving these harsh environmental conditions has forged them into hardy warriors who use the shifting desert sands to their advantage in battle.
While culturally similar, each faction boasts unique new unit rosters which offer different military strengths. Each faction also has new building chains and technology trees, playing to their strengths and further differentiating their playstyles.
Alongside their individual Faction Traits, the Desert Kingdoms all share the following Cultural Traits:
Desert Warriors: Bonus to morale in desert battles and bonus income from agriculture
Deep-rooted Traditions: Penalty to research rate
http://store.steampowered.com/app/792520/Total_War_ROME_II__Desert_Kingdoms_Culture_Pack/ (http://store.steampowered.com/app/792520/Total_War_ROME_II__Desert_Kingdoms_Culture_Pack/)
Weird that this is out now. I have been wanting to go back to Rome 2 to play as the Iceni, but Warhammer has kept me from doing that. This looks good, for the right price.
Wow...I can't think of factions or an historical location I less interested in. But, to each their own and this is the type of stuff for which DLC is great
Quote from: mikeck on February 20, 2018, 07:18:07 PM
Wow...I can't think of factions or an historical location I less interested in. But, to each their own and this is the type of stuff for which DLC is great
I would be very interested in gaming Rome against the North Africans, no? I look at them as new civilizations to conquer!
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 20, 2018, 07:28:07 PM
Quote from: mikeck on February 20, 2018, 07:18:07 PM
Wow...I can't think of factions or an historical location I less interested in. But, to each their own and this is the type of stuff for which DLC is great
I would be very interested in gaming Rome against the North Africans, no? I look at them as new civilizations to conquer!
Sure. I'd play Rome against anyone. Just have no interest in playing THEM. Just me though. I know guys here like Gus have a particular interest in non-western history. I'm just whining
Sadly, a main campaign faction pack, like this, will screw up a lot of mods.
On an older game like Rome 2, I fear many mod creators won't come back and update their mods after this is released. :-[
The good ones will.
With lots of new energy being infused into Rome2, the modders seem to be matching up in stride so far.
I'm curious whether the factions will add to the Empire Divided campaign (or whatever the recent thing was called).
I'm waiting for the price of that to go down.
Armored Camels are back? Wahoo! Can Amazon Women be far behind? Did they ever fix the AI thing where it hides in the cities and never fights Field Battles?
There are definitely female warriors in the new expansion. For... reasons...
Personally I'd like to see the Sabaeans have a special mechanic for princess ambassadors. ^-^ They were notorious for sending out royal daughters as ambassadors to surrounding kingdoms, hoping to seduce the kings and get a son by which the Sabaeans would now have a claim on inheriting the leadership. (A factor which not only had a huge effect on the kingdom of David and Solomon during the period of the Levantine micro-empires, but subsequently affected historical development in the area for thousands of years down to the present day! -- thanks to "Bathsheba", mother of Solomon, and "the Queen of Sheba", who in Sabean tradition returned carrying Solomon's son.)
Maybe they weren't doing that anymore by Rome2's timeframe, but since when have CA been stopped by colorfulness and anachronism? \m/
I searched for this thread to post to see if it was worth re-installing Rome 1. Rome 2, for some reason, has never really grabbed me.
However, while I was working through some stuff I found a "no food, no squalor" mod for Rome 2. While I'd prefer an auto-management option like in Rome 1, I think this mod might be enough to pull me in.
I hate to regress back to Rome 1, but I hardly played it. And Rome 2, I don't know...it just feels like it's trying too hard. It's hard to articulate exactly.
Anyway, I'm going to give Rome 2 another try with this mod. I did re-install Rome 1. I guess having options isn't a bad thing.
Try the Radious mod.
Radious is good but slows the game down a lot. You can't blitz through the whole world, expansion takes much longer and battles can be tough. Still it's my favorite Rome 2 mod.
Isn't there a fantastic Rome mod for Attila?
Quote from: JasonPratt on February 21, 2018, 12:41:07 PM
There are definitely female warriors in the new expansion. For... reasons...
Personally I'd like to see the Sabaeans have a special mechanic for princess ambassadors. ^-^ They were notorious for sending out royal daughters as ambassadors to surrounding kingdoms, hoping to seduce the kings and get a son by which the Sabaeans would now have a claim on inheriting the leadership. (A factor which not only had a huge effect on the kingdom of David and Solomon during the period of the Levantine micro-empires, but subsequently affected historical development in the area for thousands of years down to the present day! -- thanks to "Bathsheba", mother of Solomon, and "the Queen of Sheba", who in Sabean tradition returned carrying Solomon's son.)
Maybe they weren't doing that anymore by Rome2's timeframe, but since when have CA been stopped by colorfulness and anachronism? \m/
The sabaeans! Holy moly. I did not know that. Very interesting. Using Royal daughters as weapons like that must have been cold as hell on the part of the Kings. BTW, how could you know a son was yours coming back after 9months?
There is a fantastic mod for Attila whose name escapes me right now, of course...
Correcting my earlier post, it was the DEI mod that slows progression down in the game not Radious. Radious gives you more money and men so you can concentrate on conquering more quickly. But the AI gets the same bonuses so you expect big armies a lot sooner. There's also a Radious mod for Attila.
Quote from: Destraex on June 29, 2020, 01:35:01 AM
The sabaeans! Holy moly. I did not know that. Very interesting. Using Royal daughters as weapons like that must have been cold as hell on the part of the Kings. BTW, how could you know a son was yours coming back after 9months?
Ideally, the princess ambassadors wouldn't come back, but would be married into the royalty line somewhere. Thus Bat-sheba, though adopted into a Jewish family in marrying Uriah, trades her way up to David and bears his inheriting son, eventually: Shlomo, Solomon.
Still, true, this is a big reason why the other nations wouldn't overly care to recognize royal heirs from now-departed ambassadors. When you're fadging up claims to territory, though, you work with what you can come up with!
Ever wondered why Arabian cultures reaaaallly like Solomon more than David, and try to make claim to the throne on a regular basis, and why there was a medieval Jewish kingdom on the southern Arabia coast (and another one in Ethiopia, which had a lot of cross-migration of tribes with Arabia)? That legendary claim to be descended from Solomon through the Sabaen princess ambassador is why!
Why was Augustus willing to partner up with an Idumean tribal warlord (from the tribe of Edom, i.e. Esau), who became Herod the Great, to secure his land-road supply routes through the Levant between Egypt and Syria? Because one of Herod's parents was Arabian and he claimed thereby to be a descendant of Solomon and so had the right as a son of David to sit on the throne (though he married a Hasmonean princess to help secure that legitimacy). That was a VERY tenuous claim, and led to a lot of political friction by people who wanted a more clearly legitimate heir on the throne, but then again Herod's political connections into Arabia and the border tribes on the other side of the Jordan helped keep raids from launching into Israel (Roman Palestine/Philistina).
Josephus the historian talks about how late in his life Herod had to lead a punitive raid against one of those Idumean border tribes, to restore his loss of Friend of Caesar status, with the implication that Herod had intentionally allowed a raid to get in for some political reason -- not by accident, but also not striking a Roman convoy or Herod would have been declared a rebel king and outright ousted. Josephus doesn't talk about the raid itself and what happened; but we hear from somewhere else ^-^ that Herod instigated a raid on Bethlehem (a suburb, as we would call it, of Jerusalem, where sheep were raised for Temple sacrifices) to cover the murder of a potential throne claimant Herod had just heard about from a deputation of "great ones" (magoi) from the East, bearing gifts typical of Sabea (gold, frankinscence, myrrh) visiting him to congratulate him on bearing an inheriting son of David! -- and then finding out the boy they were expecting from their astrology cues must have been born somewhere else nearby...
Quote from: Sir Slash on June 29, 2020, 11:12:22 AM
Correcting my earlier post, it was the DEI mod that slows progression down in the game not Radious. Radious gives you more money and men so you can concentrate on conquering more quickly. But the AI gets the same bonuses so you expect big armies a lot sooner. There's also a Radious mod for Attila.
You've just reminded me that I've yet to really dive into the DEI mod. Does anyone have any faction recommendations (other than Rome), by the way?
Seleucids!
With DEI you really have a lot of choices to make when you add a new building to a city that can have big effects later on. So factions with a lot of cities like Seleucids and Egypt can be very tough to play with so many choices to make. Small factions like Athens and some of the German or Gauls can take forever before anything exciting happens. The factions in the middle are best to play until you get handle on the game mechanics, Rome and Carthage. But go with a culture that interest you like maybe one of the Red Sea factions or British. Also for me, the battles are a lot tougher than vanilla.
Thanks for the advice & recommendations,
Sir Slash. I'd kinda gotten the impression that larger factions might be a bit overwhelming, especially when I've not really played DEI before. I'll let you know which one I go with!
Quote from: Gusington on June 29, 2020, 09:25:31 PM
Seleucids!
Ha, I knew you were going to suggest them! Let me get my feet wet with a faction that's a little less intimidating first. :D
Do it for the elephants, breh
Phhht! Elephants, they're a thankless bunch. Just try to get even one to lie down and rub against your feet while you're watching TV. :coolsmiley:
I've done it!
:o
8)
I've started a campaign as Mamlakatin Saba, one of the desert tribal kingdoms in southern Arabia. They get a bonus to farm & trade income, have access to some juicy trade routes, and (most importantly) they can recruit camel units into their army. I couldn't resist. :D
Armored camels make me smile.
Not if you were trying to get them to breed. With each other I mean. Post some pics Martok. :bd: