Caesar in Gaul DLC

[Seyavash]

Got to agree, I like it better so far than the main campaign as well. I though had a pretty good idea I would because I'm fully convinced CA isn't up to the task of making large campaign map games (i.e. Empire and Rome 2 vs what for me is the best game they ever made, Shogun 2). Lower the number of AI combatants, scale down the map, give me my beautiful seasons back along with agents and generals I can develop and not have die off before I remember their names and viola, Rome 2 turns into a game I once again recognize and enjoy.

While it is disappointing they didn't do it themselves for the main campaign. CA has made it possible for modders to add seasons, turns, as well as additional traits for the agents and generals all to the main campaign, so you can still have nearly the game you hoped for within the main campaign.

[Hooahguy]

Someone actually did a seasons mod for the campaign map. Its pretty awesome: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...nal-Graphics!)

[Sp4]

Someone actually did a seasons mod for the campaign map. Its pretty awesome: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...nal-Graphics!)

Yeah I saw that and tried it out. One problem with it I have is that you can only really go with the 4tpy with this. If you do 2tpy, it might annoy you that the winter in a year comes before the summer (which may be true in some parts of central Europe, depending how you look at it). 4tpy just makes the game sooooooo slow... I guess I can't complain though for getting a feature modded into the game, CA expects you to pay for.

[Hooahguy]

I see how that can be a problem. I play with 4tpy anyways so this mod is like a godsend.

[The Stranger]

This is in the DLC. Ok, I'll give pushing them to the very brink a try. I was sort of hoping this campaign option would be, I don't know, perhaps a bit more rational. If I destroy your stacks and encircle your last city, that would be the point where frankly I don't care if you want to confederate or not, I can simply wipe you off the face of the map and be done with you.

The way this should work imho is either, we're the best of friends, to the point of years of having a military alliance together, proving in both our minds we're on the same page and pursuing the same agenda, in which case a confederation is an obvious option, or, I've just destroyed the only army you have, you are under attack from the opposite flank, and therefore your only hope in surviving in this cold cruel world is a confederation with me that keeps you alive.

The tragic part in my eyes about both of the suggestions I've made above is they can be coded to be checked for by the AI, one looks for military alliance and number of years the threshold is set to (make it a variable so it's not predictable) and the latter checks army count status, generals and number of parties you are at war with (again, set this threshold wherever you feel is a good game balance).

Right now this option is to me is as useful as satrapy which robs you of the ability to complete provinces and issue edicts.

in the campaign a few patches back i formed 2 confederations pretty early on, i did so by forming alliances first and giving some money to pump up the love between us, then accepted to go to war on their behalf, let them take a little battering and then offered to form an confederation. They happily accepted. I didnt get all their stacks tho i think, more like half.

[The Stranger]

Hi

Grand campaign bored me to death but I had a feeling that CAI was broken because of the equation huge sea regions and amphibious troops. Plus I really missed the seasons on an immersion as well as a strategic side. So I bought CiG.

Well, I'm not disapointed and I love this expansion. It brought back this one more turn feeling, sleepless nights and argument with girlfriend. There are some really good ideas in the tech tree as the civil and military techs are more intricated.

I feel sorry for those who were disapointed by the grand campaign, like me, and choose to express their frustration with a useless boycott.

Merry christmass.

its not a useless boycott, it is the only way you have to show that you disagree with them. not only did they produce an inferior product (which they pretty much admitted to having done so knowingly), they then also charge a stupid amount of money for something that, while it may be a nice addition, shouldve been in the game in the first place, or otherwise should not have cost so much money. Kingdoms for MTW2 gave you 4x as much for almost the same price. Its fruiting ridiculous.

Maybe I'll buy it when its €1. or maybe for the first time in my life i will fly on the back of a pink dragon. I'm just done with this magic fairy dust.

Merry Christmas...

[easytarget]

While it is disappointing they didn't do it themselves for the main campaign. CA has made it possible for modders to add seasons, turns, as well as additional traits for the agents and generals all to the main campaign, so you can still have nearly the game you hoped for within the main campaign.

You can't mod a game properly that is designed from the ground up on 1ypt. It affects every single facet of the game.

[easytarget]

Someone actually did a seasons mod for the campaign map. Its pretty awesome: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...nal-Graphics!)

Nice to see, but sorry, I expect it in the game, as it is in GIC.

[easytarget]

One further comment as well while I'm thinking about it, the idea of "mod it so it's the way you want it" is that it assumes an unstated premise, that I actually feel any strong compulsion to hunt down and install some random guys idea of how Rome 2 should work in order to "fix it".

In reality, my take on games assumes no such premise. I work off a much more basic concept instead when consuming PC gaming entertainment: devs produce and release their game, I buy it, play it, and decide if I like it. The product stands or falls in my eyes based on how it is presented, no more, no less. If I like it, I play it a lot, if I don't I'll almost always finish it and be done with it. All works of entertainment in my book deserve completion to properly assess them.

I've done that with Rome 2 and my conclusion is when you juxtapose it against the preceding work, it is easily the most wrong headed game design release in a LONG time. It shows no cohesive vision like it's predecessor so clearly did, it shows every sign of not being play tested at all, and the game design decisions are so bad I remain fully convinced this isn't even the same team that worked on this that produced Shogun 2.

But all is not lost, as I said, I'm enjoying GIC.

[Hooahguy]

I really wouldnt be surprised if they made a Barbarian Invasion 2, with everything that Rome 2 lacked. Like family trees. And a better trait system. It will be like NTW was to ETW. More focused and overall better.

[Sp4]

They'll put all that in a new game, don't worry =p

[easytarget]

My imperium is creeping up pretty high now that I've got 13 provinces in my CIG campaign, can I anticipate the same completely stupid magic army materializing out of thin air beaming down from the starship enterprise at some point in my future?

I'm of course assuming CA didn't actually read what everyone thought of their civil war implementation in the main campaign and just left the stupid thing in CIG in some equally retarded implementation, so I'd like to know what I'm about to be faced with (and by faced with I mean of course watch magic army from the heavens scatter and starve to death with no impact whatsoever).

[Hooahguy]

Is the civil war even in CiG? I dont remember anyone mentioning it was.

[BroskiDerpman]

They'll put all that in a new game, don't worry =p

I'm doubting that they will make a direct remake of any expansion or even make it a stand alone. So far no expansion from previous TWs has been directly remade in the game's sequel's expansion cycle. Though some are somewhat related like RoTS and Mongol Invasion (Around same time frame) or Britannia Campaign and Viking Invasion. (Same theme but different time frames)

[Sp4]

I'm just being really negative about this ^^ Don't take me seriously.

[Myth]

My imperium is creeping up pretty high now that I've got 13 provinces in my CIG campaign, can I anticipate the same completely stupid magic army materializing out of thin air beaming down from the starship enterprise at some point in my future?

I'm of course assuming CA didn't actually read what everyone thought of their civil war implementation in the main campaign and just left the stupid thing in CIG in some equally retarded implementation, so I'd like to know what I'm about to be faced with (and by faced with I mean of course watch magic army from the heavens scatter and starve to death with no impact whatsoever).

To be fair, if they made the civil war stacks immune to attrition I'd say Legendary will become downright unplayable for most factions. The rebels have more armies AND agents than you, they have seemingly enough money to always spam agent actions against you and their armies are of comparable or slightly better quality than yours. Honestly I don't know how we're supposed to beat 10 stacks with our 6 under these conditions. Sure, the BAI is kind of stupid, but really how much brain does it take to roll over 12,000 men with 30,000 men?

[Sp4]

To be fair, if they made the civil war stacks immune to attrition I'd say Legendary will become downright unplayable for most factions. The rebels have more armies AND agents than you, they have seemingly enough money to always spam agent actions against you and their armies are of comparable or slightly better quality than yours. Honestly I don't know how we're supposed to beat 10 stacks with our 6 under these conditions. Sure, the BAI is kind of stupid, but really how much brain does it take to roll over 12,000 men with 30,000 men?

You'd be surprised.. in a lot of situations more than the AI has.

[Myth]

My point is the civil war at the moment is like Epic spellcasting in DnD 3.5

Due to the concept itself it can be either broken good or broken bad (ie. pathetic and no challenge at all or if it's made to work logically it will spell certain doom for the player)

[easytarget]

I agree in saying it's not a very well done game mechanic, no doubt about that. If feels completely rushed.

But what specifically I'm wondering here is, does it show up in CIG in the same way as it does in the main campaign?

[Alcibiade]

its not a useless boycott, it is the only way you have to show that you disagree with them. not only did they produce an inferior product (which they pretty much admitted to having done so knowingly), they then also charge a stupid amount of money for something that, while it may be a nice addition, shouldve been in the game in the first place, or otherwise should not have cost so much money. Kingdoms for MTW2 gave you 4x as much for almost the same price. Its fruiting ridiculous.

Maybe I'll buy it when its €1. or maybe for the first time in my life i will fly on the back of a pink dragon. I'm just done with this magic fairy dust.

Merry Christmas...

I think I totally see your view as boycott is something I practice regularly as a citizen trying to make a point out of my voting rights. I meant no disrespect to those people's decision.

But in this case I felt that the people who decided to boycott CiG punish themselves more than CA. Yet this feeling is certainly connected to the fact that, to me, CiG is more fun that the Grand Campaign.

One thing is sure though : I don't trust CA's products anymore.

[Myth]

CiG is more fun that the Grand Campaign.

That statement alone makes it really weird to pay full price for something like this addon if you already paid 50-60 euro for the main game + the greek city states.

[easytarget]

I've played a couple CIG campaigns thus far as barbarians, brutal fun. In the midst of one as Rome this time and I'm having more fun in this campaign than all of the time I spent in the main campaign. Part of it is the patches granted, but also I just fundamentally believe CA do a better job, or perhaps I should say their AI does a better job in a more confined space.

In my current one I've got 15 provinces and I'm battling away with everyone else on the map with one ally, and every time I get things together enough to do something huge stacks descend on me again, it's just wave after wave, by sea, by land, it's all I can do to tread water.

In short, I'm having a blast here people. I'm having some very Shogun 2 esque moments now, enough of them are stringing together in fact that I'm getting that itch to play all the time. My agents and generals live long enough to develop skills and for me to know and grow attached to them. The weather matters. March to battle in winter and die.

This is the experience I wanted from Rome 2. And as I've been saying here and at the main forum since months before it's release, the critical piece of gameplay making this happen is NOT having 1ypt in CIG.

[Myth]

OK now i have to get it!

[easytarget]

Yeah, the first time it goes on sale you've got to pick it up. For me at least, it has been fantastic. My current campaign as Rome as simply been to use the cliche, epic.

I'd pay full price for the grand campaign just so I could buy this DLC.

Your mileage of course may vary, but for me, CIG has been the Rome 2 I was hoping for.

[Grin]

If CiG had been released as a stand-alone product with maybe 3 or 4 more factions, CA could have charged $25-$40 for it. It'd probably be considered one of the best TW games yet.

Unfortunately it has to contend with albatross of R2's problematic release.

[Lord of the Isles]

OK now i have to get it!

I felt the same way, so I did. And CIG *is* an improvement over the Main Campaign; all those turns per season allow winter attrition, characters that stay around so they develop their own personalities. And possibly AI that handles the smaller map better and not very complex diplomacy so it works as well as required.

But still have got frustrated in my CIG campaign as Rome (started one on VH and gave up, have played about 90 turns on Hard till now). One problem is the pathfinding. I can usually live with this and have in previous TW games but either my tolerance is ebbing or it is worse in Rome II. Last city assault I sent 4 units up on ladders and a 5th one after a ladder became free. Due to ballista fire there were 3 small sections of wall involved. The 1st unit I was able to send down inside the city to join in on the attack. The remaining 4 units became paralysed - they wouldn't leave the walls to come down on either side, inside or outside. That included one unit on the same section of wall that the earlier unit had successfully left.

Perhaps it is historically accurate though. Didn't Caesar famously say "veni, vedi, steti"? I came, I saw, I stood around doing sod all?

And the second major hassle are the agents. Rome II Total Spymaster isn't a game I would have bought and now I have I wish I hadn't. I took Burdigala on the west coast of Gaul about 40 turns ago and I haven't been able to build a single new building in it since then. Constant sabotaging. I rarely have enough money to use my own agents on more than 2 or 3 missions per turn. I have a lot of them now - 9/5 spies and 7/5 diplomats - but they can't stop the hordes of enemy spies. I could just ignore them but it detracts from the game too much.

I'd enjoy a similar game that concentrated on battles mind you. They could call it Total War.

[easytarget]

I completely agree with the agents needing a tweak, and I keep hoping that in the next patch they will address it. I won't mince words, I consider that piece of Rome 2 utterly and completely broken game design. And the tragedy of it is they needed to do no more than simply maintain the same design balance as that in Shogun 2, only make the classes fit the period along with their buffs and abilities.

I still quite like CIG though, even with the issues. In my current campaign as Rome I finally had to abandon it. I got w/in 4 settlements of victory and had full stacks of barbarian hordes come at me from so many directions in a single turn I threw in the towel. It was as if everyone on the map decided to send everything my way at once. Really rather astounding.

To your point, I could have weathered this storm too if I had not wasted my entire income every turn on agents just to keep them at bay.

[FesterShinetop]

For anyone (still) interested, you can get CiG for 1 dollar on Humble Bundle (with some other games as well):
https://www.humblebundle.com/

For less than $3 more you can also get Empire and for $12 S2: Fall of the Samurai is included!

Very nice deal!

[easytarget]

Sounds like a helluva deal to me, both HaTG and CIG (and for that matter the Octavius civil war released in the new edition) are all 1000% more fun than the soul crushingly stupid CG w/ it's 1ypt that leaves agents and generals dead before you know their name or they amount to anything. You couldn't pay me money to play the CG, but I have a really good time with the the others because I can develop agency with my army and train them and my agents to be weapons in my arsenal since they are all multi turn variants of the GC (whereas with the GC all I do is attend funerals - and this is something we made plainly clear to CA well before the game launched, in fact to the day they had the balls to admit this brain dead design decision).

[Seyavash]

You do realize that there are mods that address the turns per year and even improve the army traditions and traits for generals? Yes, CA could have done much better than they did but you do have options to play the game in the way you just described.