Playing RTW for the first time

[Nikpalj]

I'm a STW and MTW vet - will try out RTW today for the first time. Which patch should I apply and any small community pathches / fixes / minor mods?

[Zim]

You have to install patch 1.3, then 1.5, in that order (Your copy may already be at version 1.3). You can get them here, in the support-Rome section. http://www.totalwar.com/

I think there is indeed a bug-fixer mod here, but I play mostly major mods, and I'm not sure where to find it. :shame:

Edit: Forgot to mention, if you have the expansion, Barbarian Invasion, get patch 1.6 instead of 1.5, it will update the expansion and the regular game.

[Shieldmaiden]

I'm a STW and MTW vet - will try out RTW today for the first time. Which patch should I apply and any small community pathches / fixes / minor mods?

Welcome to RTW Nikpalj :2thumbsup:

Personally I would just Patch as Zim said, and try vanilla RTW before any Mods. How else would you know what to look for? :laugh4:

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Hi Nikpalj, and welcome to the Colleseum,
If you decide to port upto to 1.5, then then this community fix (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=55464) can easily resolve quite a few graphical and technical glitches included within it. It doesn't resolve any major bugs though - they are, sadly, hardcoded into the game's mechanics.

If you wish to see a more balanced game, then the Vannila Essential Pack (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=71990&) can help. In R:TW certain factions always rule the map and gameplay is incredibly fast paced - this is more so noticeable by a M:TW/S:TW player. This mod, requiring version 1.5, resolves some of these issues and helps all factions expand more equally. In addition to this, it adds extra mercenaries to regions.

R:TW, unlike the previous Total War titles, comes with an inconvenient faction unlocking system as well as having certain factions disabled. However, this can be negated through careful modification of a certain gaming file:

To play as all factions, simply enter your "C:/Program Files/Activision/Rome - Total War/data/world/maps/campaign/imperial_campaign" folder. Simply select the file name "descr_strat.txt" (or simply "descr_strat" if file extensions are hidden).

This brilliant modding file will currently look like this:
https://img252.imageshack.us/img252/3217/preeditingdescrstratms2.gif
All you have to do is change it to (the spaces at the front are used using the tab keys):
https://img176.imageshack.us/img176/7226/posteditingdescrstratbc3.gif
Now you can open up R:TW and play as any faction that was previously non-playable.

This may not be necessary if you install the bug-fixer or the vanilla essentials pack.

Hope this helps, enjoy R:TW, cheers!

[Nikpalj]

Thanks guys, specially to you Omanes for the effort - you've got a free beer if you ever come here to croatia! :2thumbsup:

Lol, all that minor modding in order to unlock factions business reminds me of the olden days and the papacy, hungary and what not from M:TW... :juggle2:

Another question, if you please, gentlemen... both the community fix and the essential pack sound good - so, can they be applied together on the same installed copy of the game? :inquisitive:

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

Sorry, I forgot to mention. The essential patch comes bundled with the community created patch. There's no need to install them separately. Sorry for not mentioning it.

[Nikpalj]

~:doh:

Lol, no need to mention it man... thanks anyway! :flowers: