beginner question

[innocex]

Hi, I have been playing the latest EB built over RTW. Is there any difference in the gameplay/graphics of EB if i had installed EB over the BI expansion?

[The Errant]

In Graphics no. Gameplay maybe. Those that use BI for EB claim the AI is a bit better in battles and uses a lot more naval invasions. Apart from that you have to download a mod like Watchman's to get any perks from using BI.

[Ravenic]

Reputedly, gameplay is better with BI. One notable difference is the A.I. utilizes navies more.

However, I only have RTW so I can't vouch for anything like that, only repeat what others have said.

[Warmaster Horus]

The AI appears to be more aggressive, too. I mean, as Romani I took Sardin from Qart-Hadast. About two or three years later, they invade Sardin to take it back. That, I've rarely seen with RTW.

[Ferromancer]

Shameless plug alert:
I have a patch that you can run that will allow you to play EB on BI, with the option of enabling a couple features such as shieldwall (including the UI icon) and slinger sound effects. It doesn't change all the unit stats like Watchman's mod does. And, it allows you to uninstall the patch so you can go back to using EB with RTW if you don't like the changes:
http://intellectuallystimulating.blogspot.com/2007/07/europa-barbarorum-for-barbarian.html

[Ludens]

In Graphics no. Gameplay maybe. Those that use BI for EB claim the AI is a bit better in battles and uses a lot more naval invasions. Apart from that you have to download a mod like Watchman's to get any perks from using BI.
I play EB on BI, but I don't claim the battle A.I. is better. It's possibly a bit better, but if so the improvement is minimal. The naval invasion thing is true, though, and the strategic A.I. also appears to concentrate its troops more (i.e. less and larger stacks).

[Ferromancer]

I play EB on BI, but I don't claim the battle A.I. is better. It's possibly a bit better, but if so the improvement is minimal. The naval invasion thing is true, though, and the strategic A.I. also appears to concentrate its troops more (i.e. less and larger stacks).

The campaign is definitely harder. I haven't bothered assaulting Gaul (as Romans) yet because I'm tied up in North Africa and Macedonia. The Gauls declared war on their own eventually. So I've just been pouring money into MIC upgrades and walls in Cisalpine Gaul. Every single time I build up a stack and walls, I get an even larger assault sent against me. Once it was a stack of 6 naked fanatics with a couple extra units. A couple years later it was 12 mercenary swordsmen.

When I moved my troops out of Sardinia to the coast of Africa, Carthage attempted to retake Sardinia. Carthage also wiped out my entire navy TWICE.

[Lysander13]

I play EB on BI, but I don't claim the battle A.I. is better. It's possibly a bit better, but if so the improvement is minimal. The naval invasion thing is true, though, and the strategic A.I. also appears to concentrate its troops more (i.e. less and larger stacks).

I completely agree with Ludens. I would say for naval invasions alone it's worth running on BI.