The little touches that make RTW the best [Archive]

Razor1952

03-01-2005, 04:51

I guess you may have seen the lawnmower thread, well I'd like to open a thread devoted to showcasing the small details that show the immense thought put in by the development team at CA. Details particularly that others may not have noticed.

I start with my own small list.

1. Obviously the grass, the scythed chariots cut it, the horses running past make it wave, its great stuff for detail.

2. On the campaign map the trees , almost all trees softly bend and sway.

3. Storms on the campaign map, I guess most people have seen these but they are really cute IMO.

4. Wonders are visible during battles, though I havn't fought one where the wonder was included in the actual battle square.

Quietus

03-01-2005, 05:10

~D

- Units getting knocked down by friendly Cavalry, then standing up again.
- Units falling off walls and bridges.
- Position of your troops during battles reflect that of the campaign map.
- General deaths in the battlefield.
- Lots of voiceovers for the units.
- Buildings, Volcanoes and other structures.
- Pila getting lodged on body parts on screenshots.

Quillan

03-01-2005, 05:18

For me, it's the funny stuff.

The description of the acqueducts in the construction report: "What have the Romans ever done for us? This! That's what!"

The description of the Judean zealots, which concludes "but each group is its own one true resistance movement, or people's front, or popular front."

The strange speeches, depending one what "unusual" traits your general might posses:

"And I promise an extra ration of hay to the bravest horse on the field!"

"Hello. Today we are gathered to do battle. Regrettable, isn't it? But sometimes, you know, life is like that. You have to do something you don't want to do, just because some else is telling you to do it. I didn't want to be here myself, but my mother said I'd better make a reasonable showing of it all, so here we go."

"There's enough wine in camp to float a boat. It's all yours, as soon as they're dead. Oh, yes. And the camp women will be suitably, err, appreciative!"

Red Harvest

03-01-2005, 05:42

One of the things that I was sort of aware of but hadn't really watched closely enough until today:

Stationary units opening files for the unit behind them to march through, then reclosing after the men pass. Was watching my skirmishers deploy through my phalangites (out of phalanx.)

Gregoshi

03-01-2005, 07:34

During a winter turn on the campaign map, one of my spies sneezed.

hung41584

03-01-2005, 08:36

the guys flying around when cavalry run through or towards them.

The Stranger

03-01-2005, 09:31

The Stranger

03-01-2005, 09:33

sassbarman

03-01-2005, 09:59

Saw my first flood today, it was a little flooded area beside a city on the black sea with a little cloud over it and some rain. It was kinda cool.

The_Emperor

03-01-2005, 10:05

Nice little touches?

When enemy cavalry charged my Pike Phalanx a number of horses reared up and refused the charge... While others impacted the Phalanx.

I also laughed when I saw a Unit of enemy Falxmen standing Idle and one of the men smelled his armpit! ~D

Arrowhead

03-01-2005, 10:08

Ele's trowing people into the air...

Paul Peru

03-01-2005, 10:52

I also laughed when I saw a Unit of enemy Falxmen standing Idle and one of the men smelled his armpit! ~D
There's some scratching and farting also, and I think I heard someone say "Get on with it!" or words to that effect when I waited a long time before starting a battle.

Grand Duke Vytautas

03-01-2005, 11:03

Why is RTW better than MTW IMO?
1. superb graphics, special effects on battlefield (the beauty of a battle, arrow fire, dust, weather changes, grass, objects and many more) and campaign map (seasons, storms, floods, volcanic eruptions, animations of character movement, climate zones, wonders trees, rivers, sea wawes, trading cogs and caravans, hills and many more)
2. More advanced city managment, funny traits.
3. Pre-battle speeches (yes!)
4. Ability to view your settlement on CM
5. and many more cool things which make this game so great

What aspects make MTW better than RTW IMO?

1. Definitely the smarter campaign and battle AI.
2. Civil wars
3. Ability to take prisoners
4. Ability to give a title to a governor
5. More events which actually influence the flow of the game (excommunication, random events, mongol invasion)
6. Game periods (early, high, late)
7. Fewer, fewer bugs

The most wanted feature I'd like in these games to be add is the simplier plan of managment.

So untill the patch v1.2 I didn't know which one of these games to play, my mind wanted to play MTW, but my heart said yes to RTW. After the patch was released I now only play RTW. What a perfect game RTW would be if CA add the best features of MTW!

The Stranger

03-01-2005, 14:40

as the games get bigger the danger of bugs also increases.

Mikeus Caesar

03-02-2005, 21:28

Little touches i like are these:

1) When in the big german forests with the big trees, things that your men say echo in the forest.

2) If you position the camera just in front of a boulder from an onager, you hear the cool rumbling whoosh it makes as it flies through the air.

3) The generals speeches, obviously.

'They may have the moon people on their side, but we have our lovely hats. And with these hats, we will protect ourselves from their fearsome gaze!'

'A battle is a hard thing to do, especially before breakfast'

Kraxis

03-02-2005, 21:57

-The way horses and chariots die differently when speeding along and standing still. I especially like the rolling chariotwheels.

-How cavalrymen will attack both right and left when going through an open formation (most noticeable when you attack a horse formation in horde from the rear).

-The hiding animation (quite believeable).

The rest has been mentioned by others.

ThePeskyPorker

03-02-2005, 23:28

"....my mother said I'd better make a reasonable showing of it all, so here we go."

Oh man! The first time I heard that one I was on the floor for a good 5 minutes :-)

Grand Duke Vytautas

03-03-2005, 08:51

"....my mother said I'd better make a reasonable showing of it all, so here we go."

Oh man! The first time I heard that one I was on the floor for a good 5 minutes :-) Yeah, me too ~D CA has made some really nice jokes as you advance in the game :bow: Cheers ~:cheers:

General Carnage

03-03-2005, 18:59

There are so many great little touches that make the game perfect. One of the most important aspects is the fact that the game can run with huge numbers of troops on the battlefield with a relatively average spec PC.

The grass has to be one of my favourite things ever. It must have taken some genius to do that without making your graphics card quit.

The general's speech before the battle never ceases to amaze me. Whenever I think I have heard every possible combination, an entirely new section of speech springs up suddenly. Truly fantastic.

Ghostmonkey

03-03-2005, 23:40

Yesterday, before a battle with the Gauls (I'm the Julii) my general says this fantastic little tid-bit "These men are barbarians. They are cruel, savage, and hairy beyond all reason!"

I almost fell out of my chair.

Vlad Tzepes

03-04-2005, 18:39

Echo in woods.

Soldiers cough while waiting for the enemy.

All kind of sounds on the battlefield.

But weather... I really do miss Shogun weather. Shinano by fog... what a thrill to hear Takeda coming!

Mikeus Caesar

03-04-2005, 19:50

'And any man who lives through this battle shall be my sister!! There shall be free frocks and jollies for all!!'

Yet another crazy deluded general....

Crownsteler

03-04-2005, 19:59

http://img145.exs.cx/img145/1518/ponticpeasantfun9wv.jpg

peasants, always funny.... ;)

Azi Tohak

03-04-2005, 20:35

Something along the lines of: "And I can promise you the company of...appreciative...camp followers."

Nice.

Azi

Oaty

03-05-2005, 03:27

Peasants grabbing there ass when taunting the enemy.......

Yea yea yea don't ask why I had peasants on the battlefield.

Evil_Maniac From Mars

03-05-2005, 04:18

When I have peasents on the field, it is generally for that hillarious taunt.

The Stranger

03-05-2005, 15:17

http://img145.exs.cx/img145/1518/ponticpeasantfun9wv.jpg

peasants, always funny.... ;)

armenian archer also do this

Betito

03-05-2005, 21:06

For those of you who played MTW, i guess you (and me? for sure!!) got very tired of the construction reports: just remember when you had about 50 provinces and you managed to get 30 buildings finished by the end of the turn... that would translate into 30 individual construction reports (you know, either a clickfest or a spacebar-fest), which was very tedious IMO. :sick:

So one of the details i certainly appreciate in RTW is the summarized report ~:cheers:

Mikeus Caesar

03-06-2005, 14:59

Please don't remind of the building reports from MTW....i had once conquered nearly the whole map, and i had something being built in every province, with the 1 turn building cheat on. So much clicking!!! The clicking!!! The boxes just wouldn't go away!!!

The_Mark

03-06-2005, 17:33

Quite strange, actually, that usually RTW posts are about it's overall crappyness compared to the previous games..

For me, nothing beats tricking your MP opponent into running into a wood where my Germanic phalanx lays in ambush... And then imagining his face when he realises that his men just impaled themselves into a forest of spears ~D

Divinus Arma

03-06-2005, 17:52

I almost teared up the first time I layed seige to Gual with Archers and Catapults sets to flaming ammo. I sat the camera right behind my General at eye level and watched with Awe. (so... ...beautiful).

I have been addicted ever since.

Poeple falling off the walls is very cool.

When horses charge, you may see the one horse leap in the air over the front ranks.

When infantry charge, their might be that one guy who does a Michael Jordan leap into the enemy. That's cool.

The realistic marching of the troops, swaying back and forth with each step.

Burnt bodies.

The phalanx actually shifts right as it did in real ancient warfare.

I held a battle at the north end of city on a road and was able to see the road lead all the way up to the city gates, even though it was not on the playable portion. Spectacular.

The waves on the Strat map.

People dying in a varied and reasonable way in comparison to that which killed them.

Fightin ON the walls is unspeakably rewarding to me.

Oh, and of course... The foliage is lovely.

Arrowhead

03-06-2005, 19:38

Cutscenes when the General dies...

The_Mark

03-06-2005, 21:57

When horses charge, you may see the one horse leap in the air over the front ranks.

Yeah, it's cool, especially when you have just charged stationary light lancers from their flank with your last unit of hastati. The horses' propulsion system would make NASA proud, as they turn 90 degrees, accelarate into full gallop speed and lauch themselves into air in the split second your hastatis hit them. This leads to the lancers charging through your hastatis, causing instant rout. Now some physical calculations:

Accelarating from 0 velocity to 40 km/h (or whatever the speed is) in 1/10th of a second means g-forces equal to 11 g. I just wonder how the rider stays on the horse...
:charge:

Sorry, it was off topic ,but I couldn't help it.

Now something on topic:

When assaulting a city with huge/epic walls it's always nice to halt your siege tower in front of an enemy unit on the wall with fire at will on.. Seeing a file of men getting thrown off the wall in the kebab formation is always a sight for sore eyes.

FURRY_BOOTS

03-06-2005, 23:31

yep, feel the need to post here, cos ive been beatin up on old rome lately ~;)
i think the music is great, especially the pre battle, marching into formation music, goes a bit like this, "da,da daaaaaa, da da darararara, dara darara
dadeda dara dararum" ~:cool:
really gets the blood going :duel:

Divinus Arma

03-06-2005, 23:58

When assaulting a city with huge/epic walls it's always nice to halt your siege tower in front of an enemy unit on the wall with fire at will on.. Seeing a file of men getting thrown off the wall in the kebab formation is always a sight for sore eyes.

Huh? What is this? I haven't seen it yet. What exactly are you talking about?

The_Mark

03-07-2005, 14:54

Huh? What is this? I haven't seen it yet. What exactly are you talking about?

Those big siege towers have repeating ballistas on them.. They literally sweep men off the walls.

Quietus

03-07-2005, 15:00

Put the siege towers on "fire-at-will". It's only available on Large and Epic Stone Walls, if I'm not mistaken.

Mikeus Caesar

03-07-2005, 19:39

If you are assaulting an epic wall with 4 siege towers, all with fire at will on, the thudding of ballistas being fired can be heard for miles around. Only problem is that men who fly off sort of hit the invisible wall above buildings, so they all line up in a nice neat line of dead people. It would be cool if all the dead people landed on roofs and stuff, and have the ballistas that killed them stuck in the roofs.

The_Mark

03-07-2005, 20:24

Only problem is that men who fly off sort of hit the invisible wall above buildings, so they all line up in a nice neat line of dead people.

Forgot about that thing. I just try to watch only the hit-and-fly part, ignoring the line bit.

Yun Dog

03-08-2005, 03:57

heres one

I was examining a pile of bodies where my enemies had piled out of a seige tower, one of my units had been completely wiped out - no survivors, in the pile of bodies was a large banner signifying that a unit of men was in that pile

~:cheers:

Magraev

03-08-2005, 10:03

The (roman) speeches are really funny sometimes. I had a sneaky general who alway promised that he wouldn't meet the enemy head on, but instead give them a swift kick up the toga ~D

Too bad the other factions are more limited.

Another good thing (about patch 1.2) is the fact that some factions seem to last longer (Carthage and Seleucids for instance).

Mikeus Caesar

03-09-2005, 19:40

Actually, if you can play as the greeks, and stop the scipii getting a stranglehold on Sicily, then you can stop them invading Carthage. As well as saving Carthage, you also secure Sicily for yourself as a handy naval base for launching attacks anywhere in the West Mediterannean.

Magraev

03-10-2005, 20:07

That's true, and can make the game more fun.

I'm playing as the Seleucids atm, and I've repeatedly taken cities from the brutii and given them back to my greek brethren.

I also patrol the waters between carthage and sicily to help out the carthagenians - I've sunk several full boats allready, but they keep coming.

Unfortunately the Julii are beyond my grasp and are creating a large empire in the north, I'll try to get them eventually though.

AntiochusIII

03-11-2005, 02:36

"All your base are belong to us." ~D ~D ~D

When you play an epic battle against Egypt, with which you cheat your own phalanx's stats to make them demi-gods, being 10 : 1 outnumbered, corner camping on a hill, sit back, and watch hordes after hordes of men throwing themselves upon an unbeatable position, ran, and came back again and again and again...

Roman speechs... and a few eastern smelly camel ones.

A nice old cavalry charge. No fun concerning balance, but damn... when those companions hit the pajama guys on the back...

Elephants! Everything about them should be celebrated!

Oliphants! I tried my first one yesterday and OH MY GOD(S) THEY ARE SOOOO COOOLLLLL!!!!

Funny traits every now and then.

A sight of a massive army marching magnificently towards your magnificently arrayed massive army.

Looking at the campaign map and see your empire being created to a great empire consisting of the provinces that are well arrayed enough (like going no further than the Danube, nor the Alps, the Pyreenes, and the edge of Asia Minor, etc.) to make you look...natural.