Prima Strategy Guide

[Elmo]

For those who just can't wait for RTW to come out, EBGames says the strat guide will be available on 9/8 for $19.99.

I'm wondering if any of the writing was done by CA?

[Lonewarrior]

I never use the stragedy guide, I just figure things out by meself.

Well and RTW will basically have a similar stragedy to the other total wars, but if I have the money then I'll buy it just for fun.

[Elmo]

The date has now slipped to 9/14.

[SeveredSoul]

9/14!!!!!
I coulda' sworn that the release is the 22nd......

I'ma go look....


-Soul

[Gregoshi]

SeveredSoul, he's talking about 9/14 for the strategy guide.

[Tamur]

Obviously it would be a waste of effort to write up unit guide based on the demo, but I'm wondering, are there any efforts planned to do up a guide here in the community when the full game comes out? I'd tend to trust it far, far more...

[Mount Suribachi]

Who needs a Prima guide when we've got Frogbeastegg? ~:p

[Lord of the Isles]

Who needs a Prima guide when we've got Frogbeastegg? ~:p

Sounds painful. You can get a cream for it I think.
~:p

[Cloudkill]

Sounds painful. You can get a cream for it I think.
~:p
Huh?

[andrewt]

Strategy guides get released earlier and earlier these days so a lot of them lack information changed or added during the final stages of game development. A lot of them also lack information just because the strategy guide publishers want to release them before or at the same time the game is released. The strategy guide for Ninja Gaiden didn't even have all 50 scarabs listed. For competitive games, the guides are useless for multiplayer and the strategies they have are already obsolete in a week or two.

[1dread1lahll]

Thx Elmo; People who ignore a source of information like a strat guide are also likly to be the people in complaint of those dissatisified with the 'new' command system. They dont understand what we are talking about, they are satisified with it, because they did not know what was left out, because they did not get the guide.

[frogbeastegg]

Who needs a Prima guide when we've got Frogbeastegg? ~:p
Remove the ~:p and that sounds like a good sig quote for a big headed amphibian. ~:wacko:


The guide forum will probably end up with a lot of faction guides, the RTW main forum will get a lot of general tips etc. There will be information available on-line but there will be a delay as people buy, play and research the game.

[Mount Suribachi]

Remove the ~:p and that sounds like a good sig quote for a big headed amphibian. ~:wacko:


Like this?

Who needs a Prima guide when we've got Frogbeastegg?

[Sjakihata]

I refuse to buy such a guide. First the manual in the game should explain the new interface, to learn the game for extra $20 is insane! Secondly, it will discuss the use of l33t head hurlerz and what not...

not my cup of tea

[frogbeastegg]

Like this?

Who needs a Prima guide when we've got Frogbeastegg?
Yes. Now all we need is an amphibian with an enlarged cranium...

:looks around...sees people looking at her: Hey - I'm a modest froggy! :gring:

[Sjakihata]

Well, I can pass as a big headed amphibian :frog:

[Bob the Insane]

Buy the Strat guide... undecided....

I don't buy them as a rule but I did pick up MTW's and it was pretty good...

[Colovion]

I bought the Strat Guide for Age of Mythology - it did help a little, but I mainly saw it as a book to read and kind of help me out rather than a real Strategy Guide. I just like reading manuals to good games I guess>.... kind of helps if it's a historically based game so there is a decent amount of background to each unit/building too. :) I'll buy it... maybe.

[Husar]

I had only one, for Knights and Merchants, and I let my parents pay... ~;) ~D

[Patricius]

My last guide was one I bought for Age of Empires. I just saw it as a way of experiencing the game before I could get it. It brought a little closer to the game and sated my thirst while waiting for its release.

The same would hold for a Prima Guide to Rome Total War - a whole book on the game would more than shorten the wait for the game. Taken with the sceenshots I could play it in my imagination.

[ah_dut]

i don't like strat guides by prima or brady, they are too expensive i can't afford them and they aren't that helpful usually

[andrewt]

I just go to gamefaqs. They have much better and more in-depth guides. For games that are more popular, fansites, especially the more hardcore ones have even better guides than the ones at gamefaqs. Strategy guides found in stores have less useful information than even gamefaqs.

[crazyviking03]

I read strategy guideds when I am on the toilet doing a long #2, its good reading for that.

[SpencerH]

I've never bought a strategy guide for any game. For me, the simple and effective solution to questions is to go to a good fansite like dot org or poly.

[Elmo]

I read strategy guideds when I am on the toilet doing a long #2, its good reading for that.

That is waaay more information than we need to know. ~:eek:

[andrewt]

I read strategy guideds when I am on the toilet doing a long #2, its good reading for that.

Get more fiber. ~:)

[ElmarkOFear]

Hi Elmo. You have my nickname. I am known as UglyElmo. :) Thanks for the info. If anybody starts talking to you about stuff you have never seen or done, they are probably getting you mixed up with me. Just tell them you aren't Ugly but good looking. Then they will know for sure you aren't me. hehe

Nice to meet you,

UglyElmo

[hoom]

Strategy guides should not exist in the form they seem to currently.

Thus I've never bought one.

A strategy guide should be just that. A guide to strategy.
But all too often they are effectively the manual & the game itself comes with merely a quickstart guide.

With all that CA has been making of the ingame help, a strategy guide for Rome should be more or less reduced to a real strategy guide & thus not useful to a Shogun/Medieval veteran.

[Chimpyang]

Isn't part of the fun finding out what works and what dusn't?

[Elmo]

Hi Elmo. You have my nickname. I am known as UglyElmo. :) Thanks for the info. If anybody starts talking to you about stuff you have never seen or done, they are probably getting you mixed up with me. Just tell them you aren't Ugly but good looking. Then they will know for sure you aren't me. hehe

Nice to meet you,

UglyElmo

Hi Ugly

I remember you from last year when I first signed up here. Thought you were a mod at .com now and figured you were spending all your time over there. Nice to see you are still here though as you can never have too many Elmo's around!

Handsome

[Doug-Thompson]

The guide forum will probably end up with a lot of faction guides, the RTW main forum will get a lot of general tips etc. There will be information available on-line but there will be a delay as people buy, play and research the game.

I'm anxious to see if you're not too disappointed in RTW to write a guide, Froggie.

As for Prima, I haven't looked at any of their guides since Age of Empire's II came out. They recommended building a wall to keep the Goths out in one of their campaign games. I found that immediately attacking the Goths, wiping them from the face of the earth and seizing their rich lands far more effective.

~:)

[frogbeastegg]

I'm anxious to see if you're not too disappointed in RTW to write a guide, Froggie.
Well ... I have a lot of other concerns right now, not least the book I am writing with an eye to chasing publishers. That doesn't leave me a lot of time to spend on writing and then maintaining a guide.

However I am now at the point where, writing skill and experience wise, I could do a guide in about a week if the game grabs and holds my interest, and really fires me up. So if RTW can grab my interest I could potentially write a guide and do minimal maintenance after a few big updates. So it is all down to the game, and based on the demo I'm not convinced. But the demo is only that - a demo, and it could be that the final product makes me feel as enthusiastic as shogun did.

[ah_dut]

Well Froggy, maintenance could be done by a 3rd party on the board with mod like rights, that saves time for you as he/she will be able to simply keep it up to date for you with you checking on him/her to see if the job's being done properly, eevery now and then. Or, we could enslave Katank, and see what advice we can wring out of him... ~:)

[Elmo]

EBGames now says 9/16 for shipping it. :dozey:

[ICantSpellDawg]

forget it

[Elmo]

I pretty much have at this point. Was there checking on the shipping date for Civ III Complete and decided to check on the strat guide as well.

[sdrga]

I've had mine on order with Amazon for since early August (I'm a strategy guide addict who hasn't recovered) and about a week ago, they changed the availability date from 9/14 to 9/29. That's when they got addtional detail, the most interestiing being that it's going to be twice the length of MTW STW guides at 400 pages. Mine has not shipped, nor is it in the "shipping soon" category which would seem to confirm the 9/29 release date for the strategy guide.

[ElmarkOFear]

We get anymore we will have to start our own clan! The Elmo's hehe Yup, I am moderating as ElmarkOFear at the .com. I remember another Elmo name and thought you might be the same. Just in case, I thought I would say; "hi". Well, I am wondering when this darn Strat guide is going to be released now. EB told me they were never sure of when they get the guides in. Anybody picked one up yet? ~:)

OOOps I see srdg answered my question before I asked it. srdg: You sure we weren't married in a past life? My wife seems able to answer my questions before I ask them too! :)

[Tomisama]

EB's computer says shiped out today (the 16), sould be in tomorrow.

But will call first anyway :phonecall:

[Qilue]

I can't see the point of spending money on a strt guide when there's exponentionally more infomation online. That and online info evolves with the patches like with EU2 and X2.

[Elmo]

Can't find any reference to the strat guide now at EBGames?! ~:confused: