Official announce of Rome: Total War

[Sainika]

I've just visited Totalwar.com and what I saw was fantastic:
http://www.totalwar.com/rome.htm

Enjoy the screenshots

[spiffy_scimitar]

nice, where can I find the movie?

[The Last Emperor]

For movie try this www.gamer.tv/watch

[Gaius Julius]

Great news Just made my day. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[A.Saturnus]

Does this look great or does it look great? I just wonder what kind of PC will manage this.

[Knight_Yellow]

ive heard that if ur comp runs MTW it will run RTW.

good to see u can go other factions.

and is it just me or does any1 else want an early release.

[y2kBug]

I'm excited. Yee haw http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

[Hakonarson]

The ancient world's only superpower?

That would be appart from say..........China (Qin, Han, and various other dynasties), India, Alexandrian Macedonia, Persia - Achaemenid, Parthian and Sassanid, the Islamic conquest (dunno what they called the "state") including it's various Caliphates, etc...

Somewhere in another thread someone said "I hate marketing people" - ditto http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/angry.gif

[Acronym]

Looks like we will still get large epic battles

Epic battles between collosal armies. Over 10,000 fully polygonal, motion captured units can be displayed simultaneously with virtually no sacrifice of performance compared to Medieval: Total War.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I have just purchased the feb 2003 UK issue of PC GAMER. I skipped straight to the preview on RTW(After watching the rolling demo,of course&#33http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif The game looks incredible. I am paticularly impressed by the new strategy map. It is no longer made up of strictly defined regions. Instead, you can zoom in and SEE THE ACTUAL LAND YOU WILL BE FIGHTING ON Even better, units stay exactly where you put them on the map, so you can assign units to mountain passes, bridges and such like, in order to force the enemy to take the most difficult route through your lands. This is going to be ace http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Basileus]

Quote[/b] (Knight_Yellow @ Jan. 16 2003,13:18)]and is it just me or does any1 else want an early release.
who wouldnt hehe

looks sweet though, cant play medieval now caus eim thinking rome http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

[muffinman14]

Unfortunatly DD said a release of 2004.

If I rememeber ppl saying there would be 5000 units in a battle but now theres 10000 YESS

Does this mean you can actually have 5000 of your soldiers on 1 battlefield?

[Spino]

I want Rome Total War when it's READY, as in relatively bug free and properly tweaked for the masses, and no sooner. If this means I have to wait until Christmas then so be it.

Considering the sheer scope and revolutionary gameplay of RTW the suits at Activision better not push this one out of the nest before it's ready. Once installed on my hard drive I want RTW to fly high not flap about above the treetops... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Nelson]

Quote[/b] ]
Over 10,000 fully polygonal, motion captured units can be displayed simultaneously with virtually no sacrifice of performance compared to Medieval: Total War.


This is one audacious statement.

[deejayvee]

If CA manage no performance drop from MTW than they will have created an amazing product. It looks fantastic and I just impressed a whole load of guys from the office with the movie.

[Elwe]

Hakonarson said:

Quote[/b] ]... Alexandrian Macedonia ...
I wouldn't classify that as a superpower... Alexander's Empire fell apart after his death as his generals struggled for power.


Quote[/b] ]...the Islamic conquest (dunno what they called the "state") including it's various Caliphates,...
Islam did not appear until the 8th Century, and that is technically classified as Dark Ages, not Ancient.

Persia, yes, they were quite a successful and long lasting 'empire', so I'll accept that. From memory, the Sassasnids were Muslim (see above). Can't comment on China and India, as I don't know much about their history, and Achaemenid and Parthian sounds suspiciously like Muslim tribes as well...

Cheers http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Lord Romulous]

i would be reading most of the 10,000 warriors bit with a great deal of caution.

in mtw it also says this but lets be realistic how often do we see battles featuring more than 5000 ?? and even with 5000 it can get very jerky.

10,000 will probably be possible in theory but you will need a super computer to run it. like in mtw if you want to see 10,000 units with no jerkiness you need a supercomputer with rtw the "virtualy no sacrifice in performance compared with mtw" bit means you will need a slightly higher supercomputer to run the 10,000.

the biggest thing that concerns me about this page is their is baarly any mention of diplomacy which i think is one of the top 3 must improve elements.

i think it will be a great game but i am cautios when i read material written by marketing people

[Knight_Yellow]

well rom read pc gamer it says that u will be able to move through allied teritory and arrange to make war on a specific faction.

looks to me as if its gonna be great,

i wanna put myself forward as a beta tester btw.

[Emp. Conralius]

Unreal, truly unreal...but I wonder what the system requirements are. Did you see that Egyptian city, itlooks like something out of an FMV sequence; and all those soldiers piling in over the wall? Manificent...

I don't think waiting until Christmas is that bad. We already have an expansion for MTW set for a spring release, and we'll all be playing that through the spring and probably well on through the summer. I have nothing to complain about, other than a system upgrade... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Hakonarson]

Quote[/b] (Elwe @ Jan. 16 2003,21:06)]Hakonarson said:

Quote[/b] ]... Alexandrian Macedonia ...
I wouldn't classify that as a superpower... Alexander's Empire fell apart after his death as his generals struggled for power.


Quote[/b] ]...the Islamic conquest (dunno what they called the "state") including it's various Caliphates,...
Islam did not appear until the 8th Century, and that is technically classified as Dark Ages, not Ancient.

Persia, yes, they were quite a successful and long lasting 'empire', so I'll accept that. From memory, the Sassasnids were Muslim (see above). Can't comment on China and India, as I don't know much about their history, and Achaemenid and Parthian sounds suspiciously like Muslim tribes as well...

Cheers http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
I don't se what teh length of Alexander's empire has to do with anything. While it existed it/he was a super power - indeed at the time alex WAS the only super power - unlike Rome - the Chinese were not quite unified then (330-320BC), although perhaps Mauryian India might qualify ......

Islam appeared in the 7th century - 622 AD is the year zero in the moslem calender.

Parthia and Achamenid Perisa were definitely not Moslem - Achaemenid Persia was overthrown by Alexander, Parthia existed from about 200BC-220AD.

the Sassanid Persians overthrew Parthia and were overthrown by the Moslem conwquest armies.

Of the 3 persian Empires only the Parthians were a tribe - the others were royal dynasties - families.

The "dark ages" only existed in Europe - Byzantium and Arabia and further east ahrdly noticed the fall of Rome

[Lord Romulous]

i notice that the faces in each unit are all the same. i think if you are going to go 3d then you need to have a range of faces for the men in each unit. other wise it just looks like clone wars. especially as they all move in unison.

i can understand about about the movements all occuring simultanously due to computer limitations but surly it cant use up to much video and cpu power to have a mixed amount of faces in each unit.

[Beelzebub]

Well to be fair, they are posting pics from a pre-beta version of the game, and textures like multiple ones for faces would be added on a later date (those are placeholders).

[deejayvee]

Quote[/b] (Hakonarson @ Jan. 16 2003,22:04)]The "dark ages" only existed in Europe - Byzantium and Arabia and further east ahrdly noticed the fall of Rome
I think Byzantium noticed.

"Ah, excuse me sir."
"Yes, what is it?"
"We seem to have misplaced the western half of our empire."

If Byzantium didn't notice/care, why did Justinian try to reunite the empire??

But you're right in that they didn't have a Dark Age.

[Dijeeh]

Quote[/b] (Acronym @ Jan. 17 2003,01:26)]Looks like we will still get large epic battles

Epic battles between collosal armies. Over 10,000 fully polygonal, motion captured units can be displayed simultaneously with virtually no sacrifice of performance compared to Medieval: Total War.
*sniff sniff*

I smell bull sh*t in that, does anyone agree?

converting sprited units to polygons will have to hit hard on the system.

[Elwe]

Quote[/b] ]I don't se what teh length of Alexander's empire has to do with anything. While it existed it/he was a super power - indeed at the time alex WAS the only super power - unlike Rome -
All depends on your definitiopn of Superpower I suppose... my definition being one that lasts longer than a single Ruler.


Quote[/b] ]Islam appeared in the 7th century - 622 AD is the year zero in the moslem calender.
Confirms my argumnent just as well... 7th Century is still outside the classification of 'ancient'


Quote[/b] ]Parthia and Achamenid Perisa were definitely not Moslem - Achaemenid Persia was overthrown by Alexander, Parthia existed from about 200BC-220AD...
...the Sassanid Persians overthrew Parthia and were overthrown by the Moslem conwquest armies...
Ok, then these fit into the definition I gave of Persia. I accept that Persia most definitely was a superpower of the Ancient world.


Quote[/b] ]The "dark ages" only existed in Europe
Yes, it only existed in Europr, but Europe is likely to be the focus of the game so it is still a valid argument.


Quote[/b] ]Byzantium and Arabia and further east ahrdly noticed the fall of Rome
I need to disagree on a matter of definition. The Byzantine empire WAS the Roman Empire. At the time it was called the Roman Empire... Byzantine Empire is a name used by modern historians to differentiate it from earlier periods of the empire. So in this context, Byzantium most definitely did notice the fall of Rome.. especially as a large goal of many of its Basilius (Emperors) was to regain the lost 'Western' empire, including Rome.
Arabia most definitely noticed the European dark age, the just weren't affected by it http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

And one more thing.. you forgot to include Egypt in your list of Ancient superpowers... (now I'm just being picky http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif )

Cheers.

[Acronym]

Dictionary.com says a super power is...

su·per·pow·er ( P ) Pronunciation Key (spr-pour)
n.
A powerful and influential nation, especially a nuclear power that dominates its allies or client states in an international power bloc.


Yes, I would have to say Alexander created a superpower(though wouldn't have if not for philip)

Other superpower candidates: Persia, Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon. Don't know much about the Hittites, but I think they were right?

Hmmm, looks like Rome wasn't the only one, though it was the most powerful of them.

[Elwe]

Ok ok ok... I will concede that Alexander's Macedonian empire was a superpower... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

Cheers

[Kongamato]

My observations:

A skybox will be needed to prevent the game from chunking along. I believe that I see a digitized image as a skybox.

Are those Sprite Trees?

That shot outside the city looked like a mix between the Geonosis battle arena in Star Wars Episode II and Mos Eisley.

Notice the trampled guy under the elephant's leg. This brought up a question for me:

Will dead guys be polygonal or will they be reduced to something more simple, like a sprite? With fully 3D dead people, we have a few things that can result:

Dead ppl lose solidity and can be walked straight thru and will form flat dead pools.

Dead ppl will turn into sprites.

Dead ppl will remain solid, and must be tread upon by men and horses at a slower rate and will accumulate upon each other.

Will the massive climate change that drove the Huns out of their lands be represented?

Will Jesus be a general? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

[Dionysus9]

Quote[/b] (Elwe @ Jan. 16 2003,21:06)]Hakonarson said:

Persia, yes, they were quite a successful and long lasting 'empire', so I'll accept that. From memory, the Sassasnids were Muslim (see above). Cheers http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

actually I think the Sassanids were zoroastrians....greeks called em magi


but anyway, looks incredible. Kinda freaky that every dude in the unit looks the same, but they look pretty realistic.

I also want a lean, mean, streamlined, bug free, mp friendly TWR, not some piece of rushed to market crap.

[Acronym]

I just want multiplayer where I don't have to re-log after every damn game http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/pissed.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/angry.gif

[Rosacrux]

I am gonna love this game, yessir I'll adore it... feel sorry for my wife already... well, she has a year to enjoy untile then :d

Nitpicking a bit more on historical superpowers:

Karthago was a superpower - the way you define superpowers in those days.

Alexander's empire was surely a superpower, and so were at least two of the diadochi kingdoms (namely Ptolemaic and Selevkid). Even Pondus Kingdom under Mithridates was a bloody superpower. Persia was the most consistent superpower of the ancient world.

Egypt was also a superpower, but much, much earlier (they had already declined at 1000 BC). Hittites were a superpower, as was Babylon and Assyria - but in a timeframe much, much earlier than the one this game will deal with.

The Greeks before Alexander were not a "superpower", because they weren't united. Athens came close to become one, though, and would have if it had won the Pelloponesian war.

Having said all those, the greatest superpower was Rome. Imperium Romanum all the way.


And, another nitpick, Byzantium had it's dark age alright: It just occured later than the Wests. Byzantium entered it's dark age in 1453, and managed to get out of it only in 1821.

[Pellinor]

I note that the copy of PC Gamer I browsed through in the shop had a big "Release: February 2003" graphic on the R:TW preview.

I have a hope that they actually been developing it since Shogun, and released M:TW using (essentially) the old engine as a pot-boiler (but a very good one in its own right) until they were ready to spring Rome on us. IF that is the case, they may be announcing it because it is practically gold, and they want to get a massive burst of publicity on release.

[FoundationII]

Quote[/b] (Acronym @ Jan. 17 2003,00:11)]Other superpower candidates: Persia, Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon. Don't know much about the Hittites, but I think they were right?
If you mean the period Alexander the Great lived Persia couldn't be a superpower because it was completely eliminated. After Alexander his death his empire was divided between his generals (4 parts) and were still strong powers but not superpowers except maybe the Parthians.
Assyria was beaten by the Babylonians and the Babylonians were beaten by the Persians.
The Hittites were beaten by the Egyptians and the Anatolians.

The only superpowers in about 300BC were the Carthaginians, the Partians, the Egyptians and the Chinese.
(Rome became a superpower in about 200BC, after he had beaten Carthage)

[Jacque Schtrapp]

Quote[/b] (FoundationII @ Nov. 25 2003,14:32)]Assyria was beaten by the Babylonians and the Babylonians were beaten by the Persians.
Actually Assyria was defeated by the combined forces of the Babylonians and the Medes between 612-609 BC (who were later assimilated by the Persians.)

Most of the historical accounts I've read place the Assyrians as the conquerers of the Hittites around 1200 BC. However, there isn't enough evidence to declare with any certainty.