Why EB is so awesome/fun/great/beautiful?

[Joszen1]

This is basically thread to heap praise on the EB modders and thank them for their colossal efforts.

I would ask that we reflect our favourite feature of EB, or just the thing that most draws our affection. There are several reasons to do this. Firstly, so modders get a sense of what fans actually deem important. Secondly, so Guild members can instantly see all the best things about EB. Finally, most importantly too, so that everyone involved in EB (and of course EB II) are recognised for truly splendid and difficult work!

So here I go:

I think EB is great because the people who made it clearly appreciate the importance of fun, and the fun that is inherent in history and the people that make it. For me this appreciation makes the mod poignantly beautiful, it is a self-sacrificing labour of love that creates an opportunity for people to learn, share and enjoy.

I realise this may have sounded a bit coy or flamboyant, but hey, you are free to post on whatever about EB makes it great for you (graphics, realism, etc., etc.).

[Fluvius Camillus]

Well it is just awesome in every aspect, sad that the old RTW engine sometimes limits them in their awesome plans.

~Fluvius

[alexanderthegreater]

Historic units. Regional units.
Having your army bolstered by all the people you conquered just feels right.

A thousand nations of the Persian Empire shall descend up you

[Mulceber]

The historical accuracy is what I love. When I play EB, I don't feel like I'm playing a game, I feel like I'm reliving the events that made the classical world. It's the historical simulator, not a computer game. -M

[satalexton]

The Romaoi. They make EB so colourful, fun and addicting.















I can never get bored of killing them :clown:

[Vasiliyi]

I love 4 tier government system, the aor, and the regional units. Also the historical accuracy of all the units. Oh and one final thing. The battles seem to last much longer than any vanilla game. If u ever try to go back to vanilla rtw u will notice that even elite units rout VERY FAST. There is just to much to say about this mod.

Keep it up EB Team!

[bobbin]

Subliminal messages.

[Bucefalo]

Carthage´s short building descriptions... they are the best:beam:

[DaciaJC]

EB trumps RTW vanilla in every aspect. The devotion to historical accuracy is what first drew me in, but since then, I can list dozens of reasons why I continue to play. Unique factions, 4-tier government system, diversity among units, improved graphics, victory conditions (provide an incentive to play to the end), many reforms, and many more. Plus, the Getai are a simply awesome faction. :2thumbsup:

[Zradha Pahlavan]

Mostly because it's educational and fun at the same time. Also because it isn't focused on just one or two factions.
And of course there's nothing quite like leading bands of Parthian nomads in a quest to win freedom from evil Greek overlords.

[Zarax]

I liked EB at first because it didn't change too much from vanilla [/JOKE]

On a more serious note, I just cannot have enough of the unit variety and accuracy... Top notch in almost every aspect

[The Fuzz]

Because when you look at your faction's victory conditions, then see how far apart the settlements are placed on the map, you breathe deep and get ready to roll (heads).

[Vasiliyi]

Carthage´s short building descriptions... they are the best:beam:

I love reading those.. who did that, I would like to shake their hand.

[Tarkus]

Through the development team's attention to amazing authenticity and detail, EB has opened up for me a window of incredible opportunity to learn about classical military history. Thanks to the many hours I've spent playing this game, my library is growing, my bank account is proportionally shrinking, and I know more about the Indo-Hellenic region than I ever thought possible.

Giant props to the EB Team!!! :2thumbsup:

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Definitely the regional units. So much variety! I started on RTR, then saw that EB had like 10 different versions of Gallic spearmen and 10 different versions of Gallic swordsmen, and I said

:jawdrop: I GOTTA GIT ME SUM O' THAT!!! :jawdrop:

Plus the lengthened battles make strategy a WAY bigger part of the game. In both EB and RTR I actually have some time to maneuver b4 the enemy routs.

I am actively recruiting RTW players I know to EB even now... :sneaky: :deal:

[Celtic_Punk]

the crisp models. really takes you back, you can easilly fall back into the battle, the excellent grass and such. all thats missing is gratitous blood and violence. but the animations are respectively out of your control i guess. still awesome models. love em. knowing that that is what they wore to battle. I love how well done the linthorax armour is, and all the belts and straps and sashes and gadgets and such, so much detail and whatnot.

[Vasiliyi]

Speaking of blood, If I recall correctly m2tw had blood in it.. right? Then will EBII have blood in it? That would be amazing....:yes:

[DaciaJC]

Speaking of blood, If I recall correctly m2tw had blood in it.. right?

This much is true. I would expect it to be the same in EBII. It might even be a hardcoded feature.

[Celtic_Punk]

YOU SAY THIS MUCH IS TRUE TOO?!

[SwebozGaztiz]

Well the reason this mod is so special in my opinion is because the detail, eb is just about the detail in every faction, whenever u play either as a greek or a barbarian faction you really have the feel, the units, the buildings, everything helps to create a nice atmosphere, also whenever you read a unit description, you get really cool and usefull facts if you like history, and well the building descriptions are also amazing, i just learned a lot of nice stuff, thanks eb also thanks eb for making me a history enthusiast! Whenever i play M2TW or any other mod i just get that feeling u get by playing EB, keep the good work guys, u have made the best historic simulator.

[Atraphoenix]

- Map, 4 turn per year, historical units, etc..
- battle changing units catas, galatians, :laugh4:
- campaign map process, that just war is not enough you have to build your state even 50 years to feed 2 full stacks army...
- Morgan's music
- at last, they allow me to change it :yes:

[Owen Glyndwr]

I´d say I was definitely drawn initially by the realms of information this site and game as a whole had to offer. Seriously, I could just spend days alone reading descriptions, and research and whatnot.

As some have said, I love the ambiance. The language, the music, the feeling of it. I remember playing as the Casse for the first time, and actually feeling like I was an isolated tribe off on the outer rim of the world. No one cared about me, and I could really care less about them.

I also liked that each rebel area had a unique name as well. I was no longer just fighting "some band of brigands", I was fighting the Cornovae, or the Cambrians, I thought that was really cool.

Seriously, it´s just simply the fact that I get hazed at school day in day out for my love and deep interest in history, and can just come on here afterwards and totally fit in. That´s so neato!

(Sorry, talked just as much about the forums and the website as the game itself, but I love the game too!)

[Vilkku92]

Depth and realism, historical accuracy, all the small (and big) details, descriptions that contain lots of interesting information, slower pace (especially in battles), the general mood of the game...

And the fact that marian romans won't automaticaly beat celts and germans :yes:

[Silence Hunter]

I love the atmosphere EB creates. When playing you are drawn into a totally different world. It's violent, ruthless, lawless and not forgiving, but at the same time it's beautiful, interesting, involving and enjoyable. While playing you can just forget everything and be sucked into a world of Antiquity. Everything in EB: music, voices, descriptions, units, factions and character traits, let's you feel like you are a part of that world which is only history now. EB teaches you to love history if you haven't already and if you already do, you are going to love it even more. EB can be played for days and hours, it can be played having huge breaks between play sessions, it can be played for an hour and keep your mind occupied for a few more just thinking about what's happening in EB world.

I love the slow pace of the game, as I do not usually have a lot of free time to enjoy it often. I love the way you can roleplay a faction and family members, thus creating an interesting game which does not get boring.

Thanks EB team for such a marvelous work!

[DaciaJC]

YOU SAY THIS MUCH IS TRUE TOO?!

Er... yes. Did I steal your pet phrase? :inquisitive:

And another important reason behind EB's grandness: its pace is overall much slower than RTW, both battle and campaign. I remember that no campaign in RTW ever kept me occupied for more than 50 years because I was able to become a superpower within 35 to 40 of those years, leaving me with little local resistance and only a few overseas empires to deal with. In EB, however, it has taken all of 50 years simply to consolidate my homeland territories and form a solid economic base. My current EB campaign will likely take up as much time as three or four of my previous RTW campaigns.

[Nachtmeister]

I think "EB" encompasses the game, the site, the forums and the whole community.

They are all awesome. I have not yet perceived such a sense of "purpose" - even in commercial products where people get paid to do a good job (except maybe ID software games, the traditional Fallout series, and good old Jagged Alliance and definitely the Baldur's Gate series, but with those it is a very very different kind of purpose). Same goes for all other mods. Not just TW series.

EB is absolutely unique in that it provides complete immersion, very real motivation to sit down and read some ancient history no matter what's on TV, played with the right set of house rules it is stunningly convincing.

And then, there's the graphics. My jaw dropped further than it normally should when I first fired it up and tried a KH campaign - then, when I fought my first of a series of impossible battles of a then (1.0) somewhat stronger Makedonia, I realized that this was something far superior to any other game I had ever laid hands on.

I was seriously aggravated when my (ex) roommate started inquiring how to get it set up on his machine while I was figuring out the date format part of the first "year in history" announcement. I got downright furious when he persistently talked to me while I was reading building descriptions.

The text part of this mod is what really bears the weight of the universe every other aspect creates - it is the carrying framework into which graphics, sound and modded "rules" are fitted, not just a gimmick. It is what keeps the EB world together, and much of it is done in a writing style that is sometimes hard to find in actual commercial history books and seldom encountered in any computer games. Always entertaining, never too flashy. Some of it is even worthy of such high, holy mothers of the ingame text as Baldur's Gate.

So far I have not even been able to appreciate the full extent of the game's beauty due to my limited hardware capacity - have to keep detail settings low for performance. Even so it is somewhat breathtaking. Sound - same as with graphics except I do get to appreciate the full beauty of it. An important aspect is the fact that the ancient greeks are speaking actual ancient greek (no AoE-style "rougan?", "hullullah!", "schwrrrrrrvs!").

When time is an issue, it can theoretically be played @ 1 turn per day, but practically this never works for me because I get pulled into the EB universe when the game starts and usually I do not leave during the following 10hrs...

Then, there is this forum and the community - which I can not compare to any other I have yet seen. On this EB-forum, I actually feel somewhat at home. I once posted a thread saying that I had possibly flunked my engineering studies and inquired whether ancient history was a feasible subject to study - and all the answers posted were on topic, thought through and very friendly; most of them gave me decisive new insights into how the "field" *works* - and there was not a single reply along the lines of "AAAhahahaah, pwned". This is something I greatly value about an online community.
Then, there's the legion vs phalanx online tournament... Players got together to set up rules on how an army was to be composed and what sort of manoeuvres were realistic and which were not - far better than the usual WoW-style "I wanna win, no matter what and if I do I will try to humiliate my opponent". Winning is suddenly in the background - seeing a Hellenistic army fighting a Roman army is what really matters...
Tactics thread...

This could go on for many pages; the bottom line is that I greatly appreciate the maturity and dedication of most of the EB community's members. Last but not least, if you (politely) ask the EB team a serious question (that is not in the FAQ), you actually get an answer, and an elaborate one too if requested - within less than a day everytime I have seen it happen so far.

[antisocialmunky]

Foot's inate sexyness.

[Celtic_Punk]

is it just me or does the celtic healer building look like she's breaking up some pot?

its probably supposed to be that or some other similar herb.


I love the descriptions. You guys taught me that my ancestors invented the soap! Take that roman and greek prejudice! while you greasy buggers were washing with oil, and calling us dirty and unkempt... We made real progress in the hygiene industry!

[DaciaJC]

is it just me or does the celtic healer building look like she's breaking up marijuana?

its probably supposed to be that or some other similar herb.


I love the descriptions. You guys taught me that my ancestors invented the soap! Take that roman prejudice! while you greasy buggers were washing with oil, and calling us dirty and unkempt... We made real progress in the hygiene industry!

Your mother was a [Roman] and your father smelt of [greasy oil]!

Meh, had to fit that in somehow.

[Ariovistus Maximus]

OOH, another thing I REALLY like about EB gameplay is that at the start, most factions start out as one tribe out of many. Before you can even THINK about taking over the world, you have to consolidate your native area, which can be the best part of the game.

In RTW, for instance, the Romans (3 of them AAAAA!) start out in control of ALL Italy; in EB, you are still vulnerable to other Italian tribes; much more realistic. In the beginning of RTW's timeframe, Roman dominance was ANYTHING but inevitable.

I also like the winter campaigning and 4-season years; WAY more accurate, considering that armies fighting in the wintertime has only been a (somewhat) common thing in the last two centuries. And other general's traits make campaigning more realistic too.

[Maion Maroneios]

Because you can play the game for years, take a break, and go back playing it with renwed and (sometimes) even greater enthusiasm! Plus, you also learn hell lot of history from it. There are numerous occasions where which I've corrected (even) teachers saying things like: "The Persians had no real trained soldiers and relied purely on unarmoured slaves", or "Athens' population was about 3,000 Athenian citizens" etc.

Maion

[Silence Hunter]

There are numerous occasions where which I've corrected (even) teachers saying things like: "The Persians had no real trained soldiers and relied purely on unarmoured slaves", or "Athens' population was about 3,000 Athenian citizens" etc.

Maion

Ha! :laugh4: i have done the similar thing in my history classes. I even had a private conversation with my history teacher who kindly asked me to stay quiet during classes and don't ask too intelligent questions, which she considered as "too much for an average student". Though she never said anything what could be considered as unhistorical. It was just not exactly precise and explained without going into further detail, which I deemed to be essential and a "must know" thing that every student should know. My naive mind...

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Doesn't EVERYBODY need to know about pezhetairoi??? :inquisitive:

I know I DO!!! :duel:

:laugh4:

I love all the awsome details you find in EB. You can just mine it for hours getting all kinds of interesting stuff!

[Maion Maroneios]

Ha! :laugh4: i have done the similar thing in my history classes. I even had a private conversation with my history teacher who kindly asked me to stay quiet during classes and don't ask too intelligent questions, which she considered as "too much for an average student". Though she never said anything what could be considered as unhistorical. It was just not exactly precise and explained without going into further detail, which I deemed to be essential and a "must know" thing that every student should know. My naive mind...
:beam:

Maion

[soup_alex]

Bucefalo beat me to it! so I will have to go with:

...mercenaries aren't green.

[A Very Super Market]

Pshaw. Everyone knows that every single mercenary that ever existed was part of a greater organization, to be hired out at while. Akin the various mooks that super-villains nowadays employ, they come in pre-bundled packs, and are usually coloured monochromatically. However, nowadays when dyes and such are much less expensive, super-villains can dress them up in bright orange/purple/blue jumpsuits, rather than leaving them in the company standard green, which was the case in ancient times when most leaders could not afford to dress some scruffy psychotics in appealing hues.

[soup_alex]

Pshaw. Everyone knows that every single mercenary that ever existed was part of a greater organization, to be hired out at while. Akin the various mooks that super-villains nowadays employ, they come in pre-bundled packs, and are usually coloured monochromatically. However, nowadays when dyes and such are much less expensive, super-villains can dress them up in bright orange/purple/blue jumpsuits, rather than leaving them in the company standard green, which was the case in ancient times when most leaders could not afford to dress some scruffy psychotics in appealing hues.
I'm reminded of the Redshirts from Yahtzee's Adventures in the Galaxy of Fantabulous Wonderment.