Some Positive Reinforcement for the EB Team

Now that EB is more or less done, I thought it would be appropriate to thank the development team for all the hard work they’ve put into the mod. For over a year and a half now I’ve enjoyed EB, and I don’t think I’ll stop until EBII is released. But rather than simply saying thanks, I want to provide examples of just what it is about this mod that makes it so great. I’ll start with the little things, things which, on their own, might seem minor, but when taken as a whole, contribute a great deal to the overall atmosphere and fun of the game.

The first thing would be graphics. Let me preface this by saying that graphics do not easily impress me. EB’s graphics impress me. This is evident from the terrain enhancements they’ve put in; I tried playing a game of vanilla RTW recently and was surprised at how washed out and fuzzy the ground looked, never mind the lack of cloud reflections on the water. Even something as simple as that makes the game so much more realistic.

But I believe the true eye candy of EB lies in the unit models. From the blue paint on the Casse gaeroas, to the beautifully detailed scorpion on the shield of the hoplitai, epilektoi (I’ve said in the past that whoever skinned the latter should get a medal), the units are simply a marvel to behold. In every battle I fight, I can’t help but pause the game at least once or twice and zoom in on the action and admire the unit artistry.

One of the biggest selling points for me in any game is the music, and EB delivers this in full. Listening to Prehistoric Ireland’s music while playing as the Celtic factions is almost surreal. Nick Wylie and Morgan Casey’s work with the eastern, Greek, and Roman themes is fantastic. But my favorite soundtracks are those by TPC for the eastern and nomadic factions; the campaign music has an eerie, yet relaxing quality to it, whereas the battle music is jarring and captivating. I never get tired of listening to any of it.

Then there’s the historical knowledge contained within the mod, particularly with the unit and building descriptions. Even just a paragraph or two would be sufficient, but some of these things have an entire page’s worth of info attached to them. I’ve developed a serious obsession with the Classical era thanks largely in part to EB; I’ve already bought 9 books on Carthage and Greece alone, and I’m going to get even more in the future.

What truly sets EB above the rest, however, is the game balance, which, given the sheer size of the mod, is nothing short of miraculous. This is rather difficult to quantify, as there are simply so many factors involved in it. But just playing a battle or two will illustrate the amount of testing that must have gone into EB’s creation. No unit is invincible, yet even the weakest can have it’s moments. There’s always enough time to strategize, something which was difficult in vanilla due to cavalry having roughly the same stopping power as a runaway semi, among other things.

I suppose that about wraps it up. Once again, I would like to thank all EB team members, past and present, for providing such a harmonious blend of education and entertainment, and I would invite others to do the same. :beam: