Bonny
04-15-2006, 16:05
Europa Barbarorum FAQ
I Installing EB
II EB in General
III EB Gameplay (Reforms inside)
I Installing EB
Q: Do you have a Homepage?
A: Yes, www.europabarbarorum.com, there you find lots of information about the different factions of Europa Barbarorum, Wallpapers and the downloads
.
Q: Where can I download Europa Barbarorum?
A: You find the Europa Barbarorum download, if you follow this link (https://www.europabarbarorum.com/downloads_mod.html).
Q: Which is the Actual Version of EB?
A: The actual version of EB is 0.81
Q: How to install EB?
A: To install EB on your Computer, please follow these steps
1) New RTW install (1.0)
2) update to 1.5 (patch can be found at www.totalwar.com)
3) download and install EB 0.81
4) (optional) if you don't like to see naked people fighting, you can download
trousers for Geasata and Tindanotae here (https://www.europabarbarorum.com/downloads_patch.html)
If you are new to EB and have problems with the difficulty This Article (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=74128) should get you started. :2thumbsup:
Q: I have RTW gold edition. Does this work with EB?
A: Yes, RTW Gold Edition is automatically patched to 1.5.
Q: what is the "campaign script" and how do I load it?
A: The campaign script is the way EB mods much of the game to introduce new features and gameplay like seasons and stuff. Loading the campaign script is easy. As soon as you start a campaign, and every time after that when you load that game click on any one of your cities. An advisor will pop up telling you to click the "show me how" button. Do this. Now the advisor can be closed if it doesn't do so automatically. Advice does NOT need to be turned on for this to work.
Q: After I unistalled RTW, I can't get it to reinstall again, what can I do?
A: This is (in most cases) caused by some entries in the registry, telling the RTW install Program that RTW is already installed/patched.
helpfull links (thanks to Foot):
a) step by step instruction how to delete regestrie entries from my PC (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpo...03&postcount=1)
b) step by step instruction using Reg Cleaner (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showp...47&postcount=2)
c) using install shield (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showp...9&postcount=35)
d) small clean programm (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showp...6&postcount=32)
II General
Q: What is Europa Barbarorum?
A: Europa Babarorum is a total conversation for Rome: Total War, that try’s to make the most
Historical accurate mod within the borders of the hardcoded limits.
Q: What do you see as the principle scope and focus for EB from an organizational standpoint? A: This is somewhat difficult to answer. As an organization, EB is dedicated to providing an entertaining, historically accurate gaming experience. Inside of EB are numerous divisions; one for each faction, for the economic system, for the naval system, for siege warfare, for music, for voices, for the map, and so on. We divide the work among our members as best as possible, to try and ensure coverage over every aspect of RTW. I suppose the most concise answer would be: Our primary focus is to research every aspect of RTW to determine if we can improve it in terms of historical accuracy, realism, and gameplay, and to implement what we have found into a complete package for your gaming pleasure.
Q: Will you be moving to/supporting BI?
A: No, EB is being made for RTW 1.5 and the Team won’t shift to BI, but there are several Fan made minimods which allow you to play EB with BI and which use several of the unique BI features like the shieldwall formation.
Q: Where can I find the old EB Faction Previews?
A: You can find all of the "Countdown to open Beta..." and following Previews ones in this thread:
All the previews in one thread! (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=51037)
For older Previews you can look into this one
The Lost Art Of Keeping Of Secret (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=44442)
and this one
The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret, Redux
(https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=46101&pp=30)
Q: How many mods are integrated into EB, like are you going to use the expanded campaign maps, will you be incorporating unti modification mods like higher attacks for certain units?
A: The short answer is - none. We incorporate things we have learned from other mods, such as TTO's Cherry Vanilla Pack, and Myrddraal's Four Seasons script,how RTR removed the Senate and the RES GESTAE City models, but we are incorporating no mods whole into our own. All of our work has been done in-house.
Q: Will I be able to mod EB, such as inserting my own skins?
A: Yes, though it will be much more difficult. EB will be using up to the province, faction, unit, model, building, and every other conceivable limit. In addition, each EB model is brand new and not based on vanilla. So you cannot use your existing skins on EB models, they will have to be changed.
Q: I've never heard of unit/faction/name X. I can't find it online. Where did you find it?
A: Most of our sources are primary archaeological and textual evidence. We have people reading and examining this evidence in period languages. We consider secondary evidence as well. However, many of our sources are found in places that only academics will be able to access, and a few have not even been published yet. Our goal is to be as accurate as possible, not to please those who want to be able to find what we describe on Google.
Q: Why are the Gauls called Aedui / Avernii and the Germans called Sweboz?
A: In Europa Barbarorum, all factions are named as they named themselves in history. The Celts living in what is today France, never called themselves “Gauls”. They were in fact no united nation, they were a mixture of different Tribes.
The Aedui were one of the major tribes (ruling complete Gaul for a short time), who were opposed by the Avernii Federation. (For more Details please read “Gaius Julius Caesar: De Bello Gallico”)
The Sweboz were one of the bigger Germanic tribes, who possibly were able to unite all tribes (proudly represented by the Eleutheroi).
The same applies for Getai, Casse and Sauromatae.
Q: Do you know more history than anyone else?
A: No, the members of EB are not more knowledgeable than anyone else. We do have professional archaeologists and professional historians among our ranks, but that does not give us a monopoly on history by any stretch of the imagination. We simply take the time to do research well beyond taking for granted the various assumptions often made about the different people of the classical age. We search primary sources, and are very thorough. However, we are always willing to reexamine our work if someone presents us with information that contradicts what we believe to be true.
Q: I see people bashing CA for not creating an historically accurate game - does EB agree with them?
A: Absolutely not. EB would not exist if it were not for the wonderful game of Rome: Total War. Creative Assembly has done a fine job in creating it. Some EB team members have been disappointed by some aspects of the game, especially the moddability (not nearly so as advertised), but we all respect CA for the work they have done. We do not participate in CA bashing. However, having said that, we do respond when they insult their fans in their FAQ...
Q: Is your mod all about barbarians?
A: No, our mod seeks to recreate, as accurately as possible, the classical world as depicted within R:TW at the time of campaign start. This includes all factions, and we have modders working on every area. Personally, I like Rome the best.
Q: Then why do you call yourselves "Europa Barbarorum?"
A: The project was born over a year ago, when the thought was that the team could provide as much historical information as possible to help CA portray the barbarian factions as more than just a bunch of drooling, naked neanderthals. When it seemed clear that CA wasn't accepting outside help, the team became determined to turn this research into a mod. The purpose of the mod expanded to include accuracy for all factions, but the name has become part of our identity. It may not be completely descriptive any longer, but the team has always been known as Europa Barbarorum. It is like a given name, it is a part of who we are, not what we are.
In addition, the term "barbarian" originally meant foreigner. Everyone is a "barbarian" to someone.
Q: Why don't you release (favorite unit)/(favorite skin)/(piece of EB)?
A: Europa Barbarorum is a complete conversion. This means that we are not a team of modders making individual pieces, whether that be music, a map, skins, models, or any other bit that goes into our completed whole. One of our principles is to release work that has enough content to justify the term 'complete conversion,' along with being bug free. One of the reasons we will not be releasing a single skin or group of skins separate from the mod is because doing so would be direct violation of our founding principles. In other words, these pieces are part of a whole, and we intend to release the whole, not incomplete pieces.
Q: Considering the breadth of the mod, is EB going to produce a detailed (more akin to a manual than a readme) supporting text document?
A: EB is in the process of creating a detailed manual.
Q: I read way back that you guys were going to use original language speaking and spelling in the mod, will you guys still do that?
A: We are using transliteration from original languages throughout the mod, and we still plan to have original voices in the mod. At the moment Latin, greek and celtic languages are incorporated. Punic is being worked on.
Q: Is it planned to include custom made music to EB?
A:
We are also very pleased to be able to bring you the first hint and sample of another entire aspect of Europa Barbarorum that we are now realizing. This is a part of the mod that some of us have been dreaming would come to fruition for quite some time, and we now have a majority of the soundtrack composed and recorded, by Morgan Casey & Nick Wylie. We are all very pleased with what we have so far, and look forward greatly to the completion of the entire soundtrack. But you only get a little taste of it here. Since we are releasing the new nomadic improvements, we will also supply one of the nomad pieces - the Campaign Map Nomad Theme (http://morgancasey.com/Nomadic_Theme.mp3).
Q: I have modding skills and I want to help you guys. who should I talk to?
A: Ask tk-421 what he needs. he is the recruiting coordinator and he has a thread over here
Q: What are mnai?
A: In EB the Rome TW currency Denarii is replaced by the more historically accurate mnai or minae. A mnai is 1/60 of a talent (Greek: talanton).
The talent was once a Babylonian weight unit, and varied much over time and in the places it was used.
In the 3rd century BC contracts between Rome and Qart Hadasht, the Attic/Euböic talent is used, which amounted approximately 27 kg.
(As for another example: After the second Punic war, Qart Hadasht had to pay 10.000 talents (600.000 mnai or 270 tons of silver) to Rome.
During the EB timeframe there were two major types of currency systems in use in the Mediterranean region.
Attic
6 obols = 1 drachma
100 drachmae = 1 mnai
60 mnai = 1 Talent
Qart Hadasht / Ptolemaic Egypt
60 shiqlu = 1 mnai
60 mnai = 1 Talent
III Gameplay
Q: Which factions have reforms, and when do they take place?
A: There are 5 factions which have refom:
Romans: 3
Polybian
at least year 242, either hold 2 of these cities (Segesta, Mediolanum, Patavium, Bononia) AND 2 of these (Lilibeo, Messana, Syracuse) OR wait until 210BC
You get the new units after upgrading your Mic's. In settlements you don't upgrade you keep your old camillan units, and you are still able to retrain your old veterans.
Marian
At least year 172BC, have 6 Latifundia built, hold at least 45 settlements, fight more than 250 battles and have a character that is:
Intelligent/Charismatic/Vigorous
Popularis
Consul or Ex-Consul
Has Influence and Command > 2
OR just conquer 90 settlements.
Augustian
At least year 125BC, hold 90 settlements, have at least 45 type2 settlements, fight 400 battles, and a general that is:
Intelligent/Charismatic/Vigorous
At least Skilled Bureaucrat
At least Arrogans
At least Expert Recruiter
Can't be Selfless
If these conditions are met, the general will receive a trait telling he wants to seize power. Make him the Faction Heir and as soon as he becomes the leader the reforms will happen.
Saka: 1
You must hold Baktra, Marakanda, Alexandreia Eschate, Antiocheia Margiane, Alexandria Ariana or Taksashila for 4 consecutive winters.
Celts (Aedui/Avernii/Casse): 2
the first 220BC and the second 120BCis going to become dynamic triggers , too.
Seleukid: 1
They get the Cataphrakt unit after the vanilla Marian Reform Event
Makedonia: 1
They get the Hysteroi Pezhetairoi unit after the vanilla Marian Reform Event
Q: Which is the recommend difficult setting for Europa Barbarorum?
A: Europa Barbarorum is best played on Very Hard / Medium.
The AI is Aggressive (in particular the slave faction) but didn’t get stat bonuses on the Battlefield.
If you want a real challenge try vh/vh but be aware enemy units on the battlefield are getting massive bonuses (afaik: +7 attack, +7 defence, and a huge morale boost), it could happen that your fullstack army is hacked to pieces by 5 units Gesetae..
Q: Do you have improved the AI in any way?
A: No, the AI is completely hardcoded, and cannot be altered. Nevertheless the AI gets some assistance. Since the financial Situation in EB is very difficult to handle for the player, it is completely out of League for the AI. The not perfect solution is that the AI factions are getting financial help via script, if their treasury is under a certain amount of mnai.
You have brain, and the AI has money.
Q: How to gain long lasting Alliances in EB/RTW.
A: The campaign AI was always a diffcult thing in RTW, and the main thing (not the only) that influences it is money.
If you have an alliance with another faction (for example your are playing Karthadast and your Ally is Rome) you have always to fear that they attack you out of no reason (as it often happens). To make the Alliance lasting you have to make gifts to them. The best way to do this are tributes. Giving them small amounts (100 - 500 or whatever you can afford ) of money every turn make them stay friendly is working well. And after some time your Ally will be offering Gifts (money) to you too.
In my example i payed tributes (200 mnai) for ~30 turns, and didn't break the alliance as they attacked my other Ally the Aedui, as regard Romes fleets stayed away from my Harbours and a Diplomat visited me with a gift of 20000 mnai because "i'm a good friend of the Senate and the People of Rome".
Q: Why are so many rebels spawning all over the map, even in provinces with 200% loyalty, and why are the rebel towns producing so many units?
A: The random spawning of rebels is hardcoded in 1.2. In 1.5 the spawn rate can be adjusted.
The EB Team gave the slave faction a little bit more cash, too to make them more of a challenge.
Q: My money is melting away like ice in the sun with faction xyz, what can I do?
A: The upkeep and recruitment costs of your army are extremely high, compared to vanilla rtw or other mods. This makes the start of each campaign very difficult. Generally you can choose between two tactics: disband your army, and begin building up your economy; or just begin to conquer provinces with your starting army, until your are out of debt.
There are starting guides for some factions (Sweboz (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58719), Baktria (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58562), Koinon Hellenon (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58561), Casse (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58560), Karthadast (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58559), Rome (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58557)) which bring you through the critical first turns. In the EB Gameplay Guides (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=128) Subforum are fan made guides for other factions, too.
Q: How to fight Gesetae, and why are they so damn tough?
A: In short: Gesetae are highly skilled, battle hardened veterans, taking drugs that make them feel no pain, and you best fight them with javelins. More detailed description here (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58846).
Q: How does the new recruitment system work?
A: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=73928
Q: How are political relationships between factions that changed over the game timeframe being handled?
A: The best answer I can give you is that we're doing the best we can on an individual faction basis, within system limitations. We try to look at the causes of some events and check for those causes to exist in the game. So as the Seleucids developed Cataphracts after being exposed to them, in the game they will gain access only after being exposed to them, not at a certain date.
Q: Can protectorates be in-place at the start of a game?
A: As far as we know, no.
Q: Are 0-turn buildtimes for certain units being considered?
A: The idea has been discussed and rejected.
Q: Will you be changing the campaign victory conditions?
A: Each faction has new unique victory conditions.
Q: Why did you add so many provinces to area X, which was of lesser importance?
A: Our goal is to release a completely bug-free mod. Increasing the range between settlements over the limit of 50 tiles introduces bugs within the game mechanics, especially with respect to trade calculation and breaking the AI. As our principle is to not introduce fudges that circumvent some area of the mechanics, to avoid problems elsewhere, we will not be combining provinces (making some in "unimportant" areas larger) to avoid these issues. We feel that our map gives the best representation of the ancient world as possible within RTW limitations, and the best gameplay.
Q: I think you should have more provinces in densely populated areas, why didn't you do this?
A: See above. We had no choice but to depict Arabia accurately, for instance, or it would do bad things to the game mechanics. We can't make the population centers even more dense without breaking things. In addition, clustering provinces together makes for very slow, boring gameplay. We did not want to play Siege: Total War.
Q: Is the start date still 270 BC?
A: No, it has been changed to 272 BC.
Q: Why does faction X have province Y? Why doesn't faction X have province Z?
A: Factions will be given starting positions that are true to history, given what that faction actually represents (certain tribes, groups of tribes, a kingdom, and so on), and the political realities of our start date.
Q: Will certain rebels, in places like Numidia, Illyria, India etc. be much stronger than others to represent the left out factions?
A: Well, certain areas will be more difficult to take than others. This is not to represent factions that did not make it into the game, but to represent the diversity of people and warfare found in the "rebel" areas.
Q: Have you changed the distribution of wealth any?
A: Yes - provinces, resources, and trade have all had their values tweaked, and costs are much higher than they were.
I Installing EB
II EB in General
III EB Gameplay (Reforms inside)
I Installing EB
Q: Do you have a Homepage?
A: Yes, www.europabarbarorum.com, there you find lots of information about the different factions of Europa Barbarorum, Wallpapers and the downloads
.
Q: Where can I download Europa Barbarorum?
A: You find the Europa Barbarorum download, if you follow this link (https://www.europabarbarorum.com/downloads_mod.html).
Q: Which is the Actual Version of EB?
A: The actual version of EB is 0.81
Q: How to install EB?
A: To install EB on your Computer, please follow these steps
1) New RTW install (1.0)
2) update to 1.5 (patch can be found at www.totalwar.com)
3) download and install EB 0.81
4) (optional) if you don't like to see naked people fighting, you can download
trousers for Geasata and Tindanotae here (https://www.europabarbarorum.com/downloads_patch.html)
If you are new to EB and have problems with the difficulty This Article (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=74128) should get you started. :2thumbsup:
Q: I have RTW gold edition. Does this work with EB?
A: Yes, RTW Gold Edition is automatically patched to 1.5.
Q: what is the "campaign script" and how do I load it?
A: The campaign script is the way EB mods much of the game to introduce new features and gameplay like seasons and stuff. Loading the campaign script is easy. As soon as you start a campaign, and every time after that when you load that game click on any one of your cities. An advisor will pop up telling you to click the "show me how" button. Do this. Now the advisor can be closed if it doesn't do so automatically. Advice does NOT need to be turned on for this to work.
Q: After I unistalled RTW, I can't get it to reinstall again, what can I do?
A: This is (in most cases) caused by some entries in the registry, telling the RTW install Program that RTW is already installed/patched.
helpfull links (thanks to Foot):
a) step by step instruction how to delete regestrie entries from my PC (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showpo...03&postcount=1)
b) step by step instruction using Reg Cleaner (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showp...47&postcount=2)
c) using install shield (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showp...9&postcount=35)
d) small clean programm (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showp...6&postcount=32)
II General
Q: What is Europa Barbarorum?
A: Europa Babarorum is a total conversation for Rome: Total War, that try’s to make the most
Historical accurate mod within the borders of the hardcoded limits.
Q: What do you see as the principle scope and focus for EB from an organizational standpoint? A: This is somewhat difficult to answer. As an organization, EB is dedicated to providing an entertaining, historically accurate gaming experience. Inside of EB are numerous divisions; one for each faction, for the economic system, for the naval system, for siege warfare, for music, for voices, for the map, and so on. We divide the work among our members as best as possible, to try and ensure coverage over every aspect of RTW. I suppose the most concise answer would be: Our primary focus is to research every aspect of RTW to determine if we can improve it in terms of historical accuracy, realism, and gameplay, and to implement what we have found into a complete package for your gaming pleasure.
Q: Will you be moving to/supporting BI?
A: No, EB is being made for RTW 1.5 and the Team won’t shift to BI, but there are several Fan made minimods which allow you to play EB with BI and which use several of the unique BI features like the shieldwall formation.
Q: Where can I find the old EB Faction Previews?
A: You can find all of the "Countdown to open Beta..." and following Previews ones in this thread:
All the previews in one thread! (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=51037)
For older Previews you can look into this one
The Lost Art Of Keeping Of Secret (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=44442)
and this one
The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret, Redux
(https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=46101&pp=30)
Q: How many mods are integrated into EB, like are you going to use the expanded campaign maps, will you be incorporating unti modification mods like higher attacks for certain units?
A: The short answer is - none. We incorporate things we have learned from other mods, such as TTO's Cherry Vanilla Pack, and Myrddraal's Four Seasons script,how RTR removed the Senate and the RES GESTAE City models, but we are incorporating no mods whole into our own. All of our work has been done in-house.
Q: Will I be able to mod EB, such as inserting my own skins?
A: Yes, though it will be much more difficult. EB will be using up to the province, faction, unit, model, building, and every other conceivable limit. In addition, each EB model is brand new and not based on vanilla. So you cannot use your existing skins on EB models, they will have to be changed.
Q: I've never heard of unit/faction/name X. I can't find it online. Where did you find it?
A: Most of our sources are primary archaeological and textual evidence. We have people reading and examining this evidence in period languages. We consider secondary evidence as well. However, many of our sources are found in places that only academics will be able to access, and a few have not even been published yet. Our goal is to be as accurate as possible, not to please those who want to be able to find what we describe on Google.
Q: Why are the Gauls called Aedui / Avernii and the Germans called Sweboz?
A: In Europa Barbarorum, all factions are named as they named themselves in history. The Celts living in what is today France, never called themselves “Gauls”. They were in fact no united nation, they were a mixture of different Tribes.
The Aedui were one of the major tribes (ruling complete Gaul for a short time), who were opposed by the Avernii Federation. (For more Details please read “Gaius Julius Caesar: De Bello Gallico”)
The Sweboz were one of the bigger Germanic tribes, who possibly were able to unite all tribes (proudly represented by the Eleutheroi).
The same applies for Getai, Casse and Sauromatae.
Q: Do you know more history than anyone else?
A: No, the members of EB are not more knowledgeable than anyone else. We do have professional archaeologists and professional historians among our ranks, but that does not give us a monopoly on history by any stretch of the imagination. We simply take the time to do research well beyond taking for granted the various assumptions often made about the different people of the classical age. We search primary sources, and are very thorough. However, we are always willing to reexamine our work if someone presents us with information that contradicts what we believe to be true.
Q: I see people bashing CA for not creating an historically accurate game - does EB agree with them?
A: Absolutely not. EB would not exist if it were not for the wonderful game of Rome: Total War. Creative Assembly has done a fine job in creating it. Some EB team members have been disappointed by some aspects of the game, especially the moddability (not nearly so as advertised), but we all respect CA for the work they have done. We do not participate in CA bashing. However, having said that, we do respond when they insult their fans in their FAQ...
Q: Is your mod all about barbarians?
A: No, our mod seeks to recreate, as accurately as possible, the classical world as depicted within R:TW at the time of campaign start. This includes all factions, and we have modders working on every area. Personally, I like Rome the best.
Q: Then why do you call yourselves "Europa Barbarorum?"
A: The project was born over a year ago, when the thought was that the team could provide as much historical information as possible to help CA portray the barbarian factions as more than just a bunch of drooling, naked neanderthals. When it seemed clear that CA wasn't accepting outside help, the team became determined to turn this research into a mod. The purpose of the mod expanded to include accuracy for all factions, but the name has become part of our identity. It may not be completely descriptive any longer, but the team has always been known as Europa Barbarorum. It is like a given name, it is a part of who we are, not what we are.
In addition, the term "barbarian" originally meant foreigner. Everyone is a "barbarian" to someone.
Q: Why don't you release (favorite unit)/(favorite skin)/(piece of EB)?
A: Europa Barbarorum is a complete conversion. This means that we are not a team of modders making individual pieces, whether that be music, a map, skins, models, or any other bit that goes into our completed whole. One of our principles is to release work that has enough content to justify the term 'complete conversion,' along with being bug free. One of the reasons we will not be releasing a single skin or group of skins separate from the mod is because doing so would be direct violation of our founding principles. In other words, these pieces are part of a whole, and we intend to release the whole, not incomplete pieces.
Q: Considering the breadth of the mod, is EB going to produce a detailed (more akin to a manual than a readme) supporting text document?
A: EB is in the process of creating a detailed manual.
Q: I read way back that you guys were going to use original language speaking and spelling in the mod, will you guys still do that?
A: We are using transliteration from original languages throughout the mod, and we still plan to have original voices in the mod. At the moment Latin, greek and celtic languages are incorporated. Punic is being worked on.
Q: Is it planned to include custom made music to EB?
A:
We are also very pleased to be able to bring you the first hint and sample of another entire aspect of Europa Barbarorum that we are now realizing. This is a part of the mod that some of us have been dreaming would come to fruition for quite some time, and we now have a majority of the soundtrack composed and recorded, by Morgan Casey & Nick Wylie. We are all very pleased with what we have so far, and look forward greatly to the completion of the entire soundtrack. But you only get a little taste of it here. Since we are releasing the new nomadic improvements, we will also supply one of the nomad pieces - the Campaign Map Nomad Theme (http://morgancasey.com/Nomadic_Theme.mp3).
Q: I have modding skills and I want to help you guys. who should I talk to?
A: Ask tk-421 what he needs. he is the recruiting coordinator and he has a thread over here
Q: What are mnai?
A: In EB the Rome TW currency Denarii is replaced by the more historically accurate mnai or minae. A mnai is 1/60 of a talent (Greek: talanton).
The talent was once a Babylonian weight unit, and varied much over time and in the places it was used.
In the 3rd century BC contracts between Rome and Qart Hadasht, the Attic/Euböic talent is used, which amounted approximately 27 kg.
(As for another example: After the second Punic war, Qart Hadasht had to pay 10.000 talents (600.000 mnai or 270 tons of silver) to Rome.
During the EB timeframe there were two major types of currency systems in use in the Mediterranean region.
Attic
6 obols = 1 drachma
100 drachmae = 1 mnai
60 mnai = 1 Talent
Qart Hadasht / Ptolemaic Egypt
60 shiqlu = 1 mnai
60 mnai = 1 Talent
III Gameplay
Q: Which factions have reforms, and when do they take place?
A: There are 5 factions which have refom:
Romans: 3
Polybian
at least year 242, either hold 2 of these cities (Segesta, Mediolanum, Patavium, Bononia) AND 2 of these (Lilibeo, Messana, Syracuse) OR wait until 210BC
You get the new units after upgrading your Mic's. In settlements you don't upgrade you keep your old camillan units, and you are still able to retrain your old veterans.
Marian
At least year 172BC, have 6 Latifundia built, hold at least 45 settlements, fight more than 250 battles and have a character that is:
Intelligent/Charismatic/Vigorous
Popularis
Consul or Ex-Consul
Has Influence and Command > 2
OR just conquer 90 settlements.
Augustian
At least year 125BC, hold 90 settlements, have at least 45 type2 settlements, fight 400 battles, and a general that is:
Intelligent/Charismatic/Vigorous
At least Skilled Bureaucrat
At least Arrogans
At least Expert Recruiter
Can't be Selfless
If these conditions are met, the general will receive a trait telling he wants to seize power. Make him the Faction Heir and as soon as he becomes the leader the reforms will happen.
Saka: 1
You must hold Baktra, Marakanda, Alexandreia Eschate, Antiocheia Margiane, Alexandria Ariana or Taksashila for 4 consecutive winters.
Celts (Aedui/Avernii/Casse): 2
the first 220BC and the second 120BCis going to become dynamic triggers , too.
Seleukid: 1
They get the Cataphrakt unit after the vanilla Marian Reform Event
Makedonia: 1
They get the Hysteroi Pezhetairoi unit after the vanilla Marian Reform Event
Q: Which is the recommend difficult setting for Europa Barbarorum?
A: Europa Barbarorum is best played on Very Hard / Medium.
The AI is Aggressive (in particular the slave faction) but didn’t get stat bonuses on the Battlefield.
If you want a real challenge try vh/vh but be aware enemy units on the battlefield are getting massive bonuses (afaik: +7 attack, +7 defence, and a huge morale boost), it could happen that your fullstack army is hacked to pieces by 5 units Gesetae..
Q: Do you have improved the AI in any way?
A: No, the AI is completely hardcoded, and cannot be altered. Nevertheless the AI gets some assistance. Since the financial Situation in EB is very difficult to handle for the player, it is completely out of League for the AI. The not perfect solution is that the AI factions are getting financial help via script, if their treasury is under a certain amount of mnai.
You have brain, and the AI has money.
Q: How to gain long lasting Alliances in EB/RTW.
A: The campaign AI was always a diffcult thing in RTW, and the main thing (not the only) that influences it is money.
If you have an alliance with another faction (for example your are playing Karthadast and your Ally is Rome) you have always to fear that they attack you out of no reason (as it often happens). To make the Alliance lasting you have to make gifts to them. The best way to do this are tributes. Giving them small amounts (100 - 500 or whatever you can afford ) of money every turn make them stay friendly is working well. And after some time your Ally will be offering Gifts (money) to you too.
In my example i payed tributes (200 mnai) for ~30 turns, and didn't break the alliance as they attacked my other Ally the Aedui, as regard Romes fleets stayed away from my Harbours and a Diplomat visited me with a gift of 20000 mnai because "i'm a good friend of the Senate and the People of Rome".
Q: Why are so many rebels spawning all over the map, even in provinces with 200% loyalty, and why are the rebel towns producing so many units?
A: The random spawning of rebels is hardcoded in 1.2. In 1.5 the spawn rate can be adjusted.
The EB Team gave the slave faction a little bit more cash, too to make them more of a challenge.
Q: My money is melting away like ice in the sun with faction xyz, what can I do?
A: The upkeep and recruitment costs of your army are extremely high, compared to vanilla rtw or other mods. This makes the start of each campaign very difficult. Generally you can choose between two tactics: disband your army, and begin building up your economy; or just begin to conquer provinces with your starting army, until your are out of debt.
There are starting guides for some factions (Sweboz (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58719), Baktria (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58562), Koinon Hellenon (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58561), Casse (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58560), Karthadast (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58559), Rome (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58557)) which bring you through the critical first turns. In the EB Gameplay Guides (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=128) Subforum are fan made guides for other factions, too.
Q: How to fight Gesetae, and why are they so damn tough?
A: In short: Gesetae are highly skilled, battle hardened veterans, taking drugs that make them feel no pain, and you best fight them with javelins. More detailed description here (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58846).
Q: How does the new recruitment system work?
A: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=73928
Q: How are political relationships between factions that changed over the game timeframe being handled?
A: The best answer I can give you is that we're doing the best we can on an individual faction basis, within system limitations. We try to look at the causes of some events and check for those causes to exist in the game. So as the Seleucids developed Cataphracts after being exposed to them, in the game they will gain access only after being exposed to them, not at a certain date.
Q: Can protectorates be in-place at the start of a game?
A: As far as we know, no.
Q: Are 0-turn buildtimes for certain units being considered?
A: The idea has been discussed and rejected.
Q: Will you be changing the campaign victory conditions?
A: Each faction has new unique victory conditions.
Q: Why did you add so many provinces to area X, which was of lesser importance?
A: Our goal is to release a completely bug-free mod. Increasing the range between settlements over the limit of 50 tiles introduces bugs within the game mechanics, especially with respect to trade calculation and breaking the AI. As our principle is to not introduce fudges that circumvent some area of the mechanics, to avoid problems elsewhere, we will not be combining provinces (making some in "unimportant" areas larger) to avoid these issues. We feel that our map gives the best representation of the ancient world as possible within RTW limitations, and the best gameplay.
Q: I think you should have more provinces in densely populated areas, why didn't you do this?
A: See above. We had no choice but to depict Arabia accurately, for instance, or it would do bad things to the game mechanics. We can't make the population centers even more dense without breaking things. In addition, clustering provinces together makes for very slow, boring gameplay. We did not want to play Siege: Total War.
Q: Is the start date still 270 BC?
A: No, it has been changed to 272 BC.
Q: Why does faction X have province Y? Why doesn't faction X have province Z?
A: Factions will be given starting positions that are true to history, given what that faction actually represents (certain tribes, groups of tribes, a kingdom, and so on), and the political realities of our start date.
Q: Will certain rebels, in places like Numidia, Illyria, India etc. be much stronger than others to represent the left out factions?
A: Well, certain areas will be more difficult to take than others. This is not to represent factions that did not make it into the game, but to represent the diversity of people and warfare found in the "rebel" areas.
Q: Have you changed the distribution of wealth any?
A: Yes - provinces, resources, and trade have all had their values tweaked, and costs are much higher than they were.