Guides to Game

Does anyone else find it rather odd to have guides for different factions in RTW. I mean this game is open-ended for the most part in what you can do. I find that having guides on how to play as the Julii or the Scipiones or whoever else takes away from the fun of adapting your plan as the situation changes. Basically, writing a guide for any faction is like dictating how that faction should be played based on the writer's experience.

Now, I do agree that newbies may need help or that certain cases within are bound to happen such as the Gauls and the Julii going to war, as well as the Scipiones vs. Carthage or Egypt vs. Seleucids. But perhaps guides of a broader, more general feel would be better at helping newbies. Something along the lines of advising them to trade or build up provinces or attack wisely, etc.

Of course these guides in themselves would tend to be based on the writer's experience. However, they would be a lot more general and capable of applying to all factions, not just one. An open-ended game like RTW should be treated as such. Any newbies should realize this and should only look for help as to the mechanics of the game and basic strats that encompass all factions. If someone wants to become good at the game he has to be able to react and adapt to the situation at hand.... not follow a guide. Besides, the game always changes when one plays it, so why make guides of factions that may have to be ignored in lue of new developments in the strat map?

This is just my opinion. what does everyone else think?

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but i still see no need for any guide even to beginners. the beggining of the game is the best. my favorite campaign match was my first i had a thousand screw ups, was plunged into debt, crushed militarily at one point. but i suffered through it all to win.

The idea is not so much a step by step guide that anyone can follow to victory (it would never work with the TW games), more a general collection of potential pitfalls and strategies. A collection of ideas and experiences, if you will. Before we had the guide forums people used to discuss faction strategy in the main game forum, right back to the days of good old Shogun. People like to exchange what they have found, and it appears many people like to head off into an unknown game with a few ideas.

Going from the very large amount of PMs and email, as well as assorted posts I have run into on several forums, there is a very real need for a beginner's guide. I'm not talking about 10 or 20 assorted messages/posts; I'm talking about hundreds. Many of those messages contain further questions. The beginner's guide is not entirely finished yet and people are still asking what my next guide will be, and when it can be expected.

It's a matter of player preference. With the current set up everyone is happy.