Praise and Newb Building Questions

[TBB]

Hello all,

I would just like to toss out a quick and much deserved round of thanks to you guys who crafted this superb mod. I'm sure you've received better praise from more well known individuals but I just wanted to register my appreciation of having the great joy to stumble across this mod (very late in the game I'll admit) to help make my wait for ETW to be that much easier. :)

Anywho, turning to my questions. I'm playing the Romani and am up to roughly 248 BC. I've conquered all of Cisalpine Gaul save for Mediolanium and Patavium. I've also taken the two Eastern polis of Sicily (yea, I'm waiting for the Polybian reforms before I try to take on Elephants. ~;p )

Anyway, I've been wondering about the build options, specifically for Syracuse and Bonoia.

For Syracuse, what type of government do you recommend? I remember reading somewhere that if the level of infrastructure is high, I should give a lower government. I've got some screenshots of how developed Syracuse is to help with that. Also, what about the different cultural tags that I see under the various buildings? Will that hinder my development? Do I have to rebuild from the ground up or can I build the better buildings over them?

Screenshots for Syracuse:

1 (https://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/fball51/Rome%20Total%20War/RomeTW2008-12-2706-05-51-69.jpg)
2 (https://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/fball51/Rome%20Total%20War/RomeTW2008-12-2706-05-56-55.jpg)
3 (https://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/fball51/Rome%20Total%20War/RomeTW2008-12-2706-06-02-80.jpg)

Those last couple questions tie into Bonoia. Also, specifically for Bonoia, does the Age of Freemen affect what units I can recruit, as opposed to the city having the Camillian reforms? If it does, how does that change or when does that change?

Screenshots for Botonoia:

1 (https://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/fball51/Rome%20Total%20War/RomeTW2008-12-2706-06-15-97.jpg)
2 (https://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/fball51/Rome%20Total%20War/RomeTW2008-12-2706-06-18-32.jpg)
3 (https://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/fball51/Rome%20Total%20War/RomeTW2008-12-2706-06-24-47.jpg)
4 (https://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/fball51/Rome%20Total%20War/RomeTW2008-12-2706-06-32-90.jpg)

Thanks much in advance!

[Marcus Ulpius]

I usually build highest level government if it is possible. Between III and IV I usually chose IV. I've chosen lvl IV government over II only if I want to get access to some local troops (like I did in Thrace and Galatia as Makedonians to get access to good Thracian and Celtic troops). Over time you will replace all other culture buildings with your own, but barracks and their government types should be destroyed as they usually give no advantage to you, especially if you're playing as Romani.

In Bononia "Time of Freemen" have no effect whatsoever on you. It's the barbarian era, like your "Camillan Time".

[TBB]

So I should destroy the government and military buildings in Syracuse and Bonoia? Sorry, just want to make sure. Thanks for the reply!

[Marcus Ulpius]

So I should destroy the government and military buildings in Syracuse and Bonoia? Sorry, just want to make sure. Thanks for the reply!

Check barracks description before you destroy it. If your faction is not listed there, those buildings are useless. Other faction government types should always be destroyed.

[TBB]

Alright, thanks very much!

[The Celtic Viking]

Other faction government types should always be destroyed.

I think it's better to say that all governments that you haven't built yourself (or started with) should always be destroyed. The reason for this is that you can stumble on settlements that already have yours built (like Aedui governments in eleutheroi settlements in Gaul), and they should then be destroyed as well, even if you're playing as the Aedui. The only time you should repair a government building is if you've retaken a settlements you had earlier lost.

[Subotan]

Sometimes, I wait with an earlier, higher government type in place before witching to a client state, e.g. leaving the Selukid Satrapy in Galatia for a few years. This allows you to build advanced infrastructure, like Estates, which you can't acheive with the lower level govs.

[MerlinusCDXX]

That's a total exploit. The only reason enemy gov't bldgs still exist in conquered settlements is because they couldn't be destroyed by script without causing a CTD (IIRC, it's either that or that it was impossible to get the script to completely destroy a bldg), the EB devs have stated on several occasions that they would have had the script completely destroy enemy gov't bldgs if it didn't cause problems with the game.

[Subotan]

Eep. Sorry.

[bovi]

You shouldn't destroy only enemy governments upon conquering settlements. You should also destroy any government that you build before losing the settlement. That government was of course toppled when it was conquered by the enemy. Only when you bribe a city should you consider leaving an existing government in place.

[Subotan]

Why?

[Mediolanicus]

Actually I too wonder why leaving the government there when you bribe?

Edit :
You could say because you didn't topple it over by force. But you did make it go corrupt with your gold and thus changed the government to your liking (i.e. build new government).

[bovi]

You could bribe the original leaders and let them run business as usual, with now-corrupt, or perhaps more corrupt, leaders who now support your faction in exchange for gold (let the government remain). Or you could bribe them and let them retire to some estate while you instate your own government (destroy the government and build your own).

[phonicsmonkey]

to the OP:

I found this guide (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=93896) by konny very useful when playing as the Romani and deciding which government to build. Particularly the two maps in the conclusion section.