Is RTW Worth Buying?

I hope that title was clear enough! Now that patch 1.2 is out, and the game can be purchased for £20.49, is it worth buying?

I heard a lot of complaints about the game pre 1.2 patch, and since I couldn't run it on my laptop I didn't bother getting it. Now I've got a new computer, do you guys think it's worth getting?

Specifically, are there any major bugs still left? (What's this about a save/load bug?) Exactly how bad is the AI? (Is it better or worse than MTW?)

I've not bought myself a computer game all year (got a few to finish from Christmas still!) so I can afford it, but I'd appreciate opinions from you guys on whether or not RTW is worth even it's reduced price. Besides, I figure that the sooner I stop paying developers for half-finished products, the sooner they might start finishing them!

I think you should, as long as you don't mind doing a little work with mods. There are sundry mods out there, many of them either very good or at the least having the potential to be very good. I haven't played vanilla RTW in ages - somewhere between 1/2 and 1 years! I've relied on mods, including Chivalry TW and Rome: Total Realism. Currently, I am eagerly anticipating Europa Barbarorum and several others.

But if you only want to play vanilla, and refuse to try mods, I wouldn't. :bow:

Buy it, definately. I've never played vanilla, but if you use the R:TR mod, it is very good. Plus, an expansion will be coming out at some point!

Does anyone else think that once they get the expansion, they should also release a boxed set of S:TW, M:TW, and R:TW (with expansions)?

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Originally Posted by Zild

I hope that title was clear enough! Now that patch 1.2 is out, and the game can be purchased for £20.49, is it worth buying?

I heard a lot of complaints about the game pre 1.2 patch, and since I couldn't run it on my laptop I didn't bother getting it. Now I've got a new computer, do you guys think it's worth getting?

Specifically, are there any major bugs still left? (What's this about a save/load bug?) Exactly how bad is the AI? (Is it better or worse than MTW?)

I've not bought myself a computer game all year (got a few to finish from Christmas still!) so I can afford it, but I'd appreciate opinions from you guys on whether or not RTW is worth even it's reduced price. Besides, I figure that the sooner I stop paying developers for half-finished products, the sooner they might start finishing them!

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If you like MTW and STW I'd say RTW is worth it.

If you havent bought it up to now (and you obviously havent) I'd say wait a bit more until the XP has been patched or until another patch for RTW is available (if it happens) after the XP comes out.

EDIT: I guess I could've said that my answer is in my sig.

I agree with SpencerH, wait for the Xpack and buy the bundle then if players seem happy with it. RTW is very badly flawed and challenge wise it is weaker than MTW or STW. Lots of potential, but it is unfinished. Price is not so much the issue as time commitment. Seems better to save ones time for a more complete product.

If I had my choice again, I would not have it. 50AUD for ~20 hours of very frustrating semi-enjoyment is not good value to me.

I'll direct you to the thread in the Ludus Magna on the save / load bug:

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=45860

Here's a brief description: whenever you load from a saved game, the AI performs a reassessment of its deployment and resources when the end of turn button is clicked the first time. The vast majority of the time, this results in the AI lifting sieges it had in progress and sends that stack wandering off, sometimes forever. Sometimes the sieges are reinstated a bit later, sometimes they are not. Diplomacy also gets unhinged and any AI faction will accept the demand to become a Protectorate if asked in the turn following the loading of a game and the first click of end of turn. You can avoid this exploit, but the AI cannot be stopped from doing it.

The strategic AI and the tactical AI are weak. Multiplayer is a big cav rush because the RPS is weak. Historical accuracy is very bad. Realism takes a back seat to spectacular effects, and the battles resolve so fast that you don't have time to control even half the units in a 20 unit army.

Get the game if you want to go through the micomanagement motions because there is no way you can loose the SP campaign especially with the feature where the AI forgets all of it's plans when you load a saved game. If you want a challenge with highly realistic gameplay, get Silent Hunter III and use the Real U-boat Mod v1.22 for SH3 v1.2. Avoid the SH3 v1.3 patch.

The answer to your question entirely depends on the price. If its less than 20 usd or the equivalent, pick it up. If its more, pass on it.

RTW isnt a bad game theres just floors like many bugs. ~:) I say for £20 though get it. It can keep you entertained for a good month or 2.

Is RTR worth buying? Despite all the above -- yes, absolutely. Best PC game I've ever played, bar none. I'm still having fun with vanilla 1.2 after 3 months and if I ever slow down with that, there's Rome Total Realism waiting....

Without a doubt yes! Sure there are some bugs but it's really good and the mods are good and after Blue Lotus and Europa Barbarorum come out the game will be about 50 times better.

due to the save/load "issue", if you can afford to spend consistent 1-2 hour sessions and commit to playing consecutive turns without ever saving and loading, it might still be worth it for about 25 USD. otherwise, wait and see if the expansion fixes the bugs.

Wait for the expansion because it's the third patch.

AI sucks bad...the graphics are cool and the game idea is nice.

Don`t buy it! You might get dependant! At least I am.

It`s definately worth your money, I would strongly recommend you to buy it.

The load/save game bug is bad, but don`t let it ruin your game experience, RTW is a great game after all.

If you're unsure - wait for the Expansion.

With mods, it's playable - but even sometimes with them it's rather tiresome because you can't mod out some of the hardcoded problems....

I certainly think it is worth it. I have spent many many hours on this game, but the mods are what make it even better. Good old RTR.

But yes, I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Azi

"Specifically, are there any major bugs still left? (What's this about a save/load bug?) Exactly how bad is the AI? (Is it better or worse than MTW?)"

In my latest campaign i used toggle_fow to watch egypt. They have been trying to take the same city for like 10 years. Load/save is nearly game breaking. The battle AI is awful in vanilla, but is medocre if you istall SPQR or DARTH MOD.

The ai is not very aggressive in the campaign map, .*most* of the time they don't really come at you that much.


That said i stll play it ALOT :grin3: and it can be a challenge if you install a mod.

IMHO, you should wait for the X-pac, which might fix the problems listed above.

Hoped that helped ~:)

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Originally Posted by Zild

I hope that title was clear enough! Now that patch 1.2 is out, and the game can be purchased for £20.49, is it worth buying?

I heard a lot of complaints about the game pre 1.2 patch, and since I couldn't run it on my laptop I didn't bother getting it. Now I've got a new computer, do you guys think it's worth getting?

Specifically, are there any major bugs still left? (What's this about a save/load bug?) Exactly how bad is the AI? (Is it better or worse than MTW?)

I've not bought myself a computer game all year (got a few to finish from Christmas still!) so I can afford it, but I'd appreciate opinions from you guys on whether or not RTW is worth even it's reduced price. Besides, I figure that the sooner I stop paying developers for half-finished products, the sooner they might start finishing them!

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Yes, it is worth it and then some. There are NO OTHER game like RTW out there. None. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Bummer. Just ask anyone. ~:)

RTW Battle AI is the same as MTW, but the battles are not as boring. Shogun AI was of course was the best. Downside of RTW is that field battle is much faster. The siege is EXCELLENT though, (try assaulting a large city full of enemies with timer on, you'll see ~;) )

The major problem is the strategic map save/load bug. However, if you play on longer sessions, the effect will small if any at all.

Don't miss out on RTW, Zild. :charge:

"RTW Battle AI is the same as MTW, but the battles are not as boring. Shogun AI was of course was the best. Downside of RTW is that field battle is much faster. The siege is EXCELLENT though, (try assaulting a large city full of enemies with timer on, you'll see )"

Really? I thought that MTW was supposed to have better ai... map thats just for the campaign map.

i battle online with friends all the time. i have a great time, awesome fun, challenging and no spamming.

I'd buy it,

Things you need to do:

Download this 1.2.6 fix by Borsook
http://www.twcenter.net/downloads/db/?mod=398

I believe it comes with "Make RTW Harder" Utility. This really help give back most of the game's greatness. It's to fix the difficulty settings.

Hard - Battle setting gives the AI:
Pri/Sec Attack Factor = 4+
Moral = 4+

Very Hard - Battle setting gives the AI:
Pri/Sec Attack Factor = 7+
Moral = 7+

This makes a world of difference. Without this fix, you have the same bonuses the AI gets when playing on Hard or Very Hard settings.

Welcome to the Guild and welcome to the org! ~:wave:

I see your signature, is that a story you are writing? I'm sure those of the Mead Hall, myself included, can't wait to read it.

And yes, RTW is well worth buying.

If you aint gonna miss the cash then defineatly buy this game.Play vanilla and the 1.2 patch first and then download RomeTotalRealism and you will appreciate this mod big time then.This mod slows down the battle times,gives you extra provinces and a cool new feature known as the ZoR(zone of recruitment)whereby you can train regionally native troops in different areas that your faction would normally not be able to train.

Just on another note, how do you create copies of the game? I want to have RTR, EB and BI. I've heard you can have game files for all of them.

Apparently all you have to do is make copies of the data folders and rename them say "original data" and "RTR data" and so forth.From what i can gather whichever mod or game you are playing will look for the data folder particular to its needs and hey presto.I could however be wrong and i have been know to be wrong on more than one occassion.

I would prefer to trial each mod... I don't know if I'd like 'em but then again, what's not to like, as long as they are better than 1.2 .

They are all better than v1.2. I really hope they are going all out for the xp.I will forgive all if the xp sorts all of the bugs and improves the AI but i still empathise with those who maintain(and quite rightly so) that CA should fix this product before trying to get us to buy the expansion.

Craterus - if you want to install various different mods, but also keeping vanilla, just make a copy of your entire RTW directory (and call it something relevant to the mod you want to install) and then install the mod in the copied directory. So you will then have the original RTW in the original directory and the mod in the copied directory, so you can just run the RomeTW.exe file in the relevant location to play.

I've played Medieval TW a few times (complete campaign, hardest) and wanted to continue, but by then Rome came out. Now i've completed about 3 full campaigns and 2 short ones, and im playing Frozen Throne (Warcraft III) instead.

Still I think Rome is a beautiful game and i will pick it up when the urge strikes me again (we all know this thought: "What about the glory of Rome?")

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I guess opinion is pretty well split here!

MTW was, and still is, by far my favourite game of all time, and I could barely wait until RTW came out. Except that my old computer was far too slow to run it... But the fact that there are still some major bugs almost a year after release is of great concern to me - to think that my favourite developers of all time would release what seems to be a less than half-finished game... ~:confused:

I think I'll hold off on this for a while (probably until the expansion pack comes out and you guys all give feedback on it) After all, I've still got a lot of time to spend on some other games - not least of all MTW! :charge:

Oh, and Craterus - it's a story that a group of us have been writing for something like six years now, and we're always looking for new writers if any of you guys are interested! ~D It takes the standard Star Trek stuff and adds a bit (okay, a lot!) of a twist - the crew of this particular ship have been forced to go renegade, on the run from a rogue element within Starfleet's admiralty...

Thanks again for all the feedback, peeps. You've helped me make a very important decision!

Yeah....RTW is worth buying although it has many bugs that are very annoying...

But still, my favourite game is MTW along with VI.... And with great mods(XL Mod and BKB's Super Mod 2.0) you can have a completely new Total War gaming experience....

~:cheers:

I would have to say it is most definitely worth the money. I think I’ll buy a second copy and burn it. Simply because CA deserve the money. Although if you see yourself pretty good at MTW then this game might not present much of a challenge because of the “bugs.” The Bugs don’t affect me, as I am crap at this game.

Well, if your not looking for much of a challange it's okay. The start of the game is really hard (well, if you mod it) but the end game is insanely easy for the most part.

Also, you should be able to play atleast 8-10 turns at a time. If you are too busy to spend that much time on a game, either don't buy it or wait for the xpac.

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Originally Posted by mongoose

Well, if your not looking for much of a challange it's okay. The start of the game is really hard (well, if you mod it) but the end game is insanely easy for the most part.

Also, you should be able to play atleast 8-10 turns at a time. If you are too busy to spend that much time on a game, either don't buy it or wait for the xpac.

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How is the xpac going to change these things? CA doesn't acknowledge that either of them are issues that need to be addressed. They haven't confirmed that any specific issue identified by the player community has been addressed in the xpac.

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Originally Posted by Quietus

RTW Battle AI is the same as MTW, but the battles are not as boring. Shogun AI was of course was the best. Downside of RTW is that field battle is much faster. The siege is EXCELLENT though, (try assaulting a large city full of enemies with timer on, you'll see ~;) )

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I have to wonder how anyone who has played both could conclude RTW's AI is the same as MTW. It isn't true...unless of course you mean that the game engine changed for RTW, but the old AI was not updated for it...almost believable. RTW's AI doesn't match the units at its disposal. A major facet of the period was phalanx warfare, and the AI is so utterly inept with its phalangites as to ruin the game (since quite a few major factions rely on it.)

The difference between the AI in MTW and RTW? In MTW I lose some battles that I thought I should win. In RTW I repeatedly won battles that appeared impossible to win. In RTW I won over 50 battles for every one I lost, and many of these wins were against what appear to be insurmountable odds.

I'll give RTW credit for sieges, the AI is better than MTW in some regards in sieges--mainly when the AI is doing the attacking though, not when the human is attacking. The AI of both are weak in assault, especially MTW. The RTW AI can defend siege assault to some degree...but so could the AI in MTW. The timer is so artificial as to be ludicrous though. Certainly not fun having 20 minutes to sap stone walls and defeat the garrison and hold the square for several minutes. It is crutch for weak AI and is unfun (not to mention highly illogical to have 20 minutes to win a siege that would last years...)

It's a nice game, but the load bug completely slaughter the challenge a strategy game should bring.

You are out there against a completely pasive enemy, no challenge at all. Never seen one of my cities under siege and I'm almost at the end of the game (I own more than 50 provinces). I have let it aside by now until a future expansion may fix the bug. I've had a good time fighting some battles, but it becomes really boring when you can't lose no matter what you do.

I also think that buying these unfinished unpatched products it's not a good way to get the good games we are looking forward.

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Originally Posted by ZZR Puig

Never seen one of my cities under siege and I'm almost at the end of the game (I own more than 50 provinces.

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~:eek:

Say, how much did you reload??
:dizzy2:

"Say, how much did you reload??"

Most likely every turn.

My first 1.2 campaign was that way. Of course we didnt know about the reload "feature" at that time so I saved and exited each time I stopped playing. That sure didnt happen every turn but I still did not defend against any seiges. In my last campaign I kept the game constantly open and the AI was less passive. Now I've quit playing RTW so I have no seiges again ;) .

Vanilla RTW is a yawn. With the RTR mod I managed to squeeze two or three weeks of fun out of it before I got bored with it again.

With one of the mods, it's not the worst game I've played - my HD is full of name games I played only once or twice before consigning them to the shelf - but like many other PC games, what it lacks mostly is challenge. The AI is just such a pushover, there's little sense of achievement in expanding your empire.

I will probably fire it up once every three months from here on and have an evening with it. That's more than I can say for many PC games I've bought, but overall it's been a disappointment.

Is it worth 20 quid? That's a tough question. I think it might be a reasonable purchase at 15, still a touch overpriced at 20 IMO, but then, the difference is only the price of a pizza.

I think the system still has heaps of potential, this really could be the most stunning game ever if they made the battle AI really smart and the campaign more challenging in the middle and later stages. But I get the impression CA wants to make the game accessible to a large audience, which to CA apparently means making everything so easy even a kid can beat it - and with no tougher options for more demanding gamers, lest the kiddies get "confused" by too many choices. So I don't have high hopes for something better in the XP or a later release.

I have to say, ever since buying HOI2 RTW has not had a look in.
Fancy graphics vs indepth strategy and a challenge? No contest.

Hoi2?

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Originally Posted by screwtype

Hoi2?

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Hearts of Iron 2 - a EU2 type game

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Originally Posted by Viking

~:eek:

Say, how much did you reload??
:dizzy2:

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I don't have enough time to play for several hours and I applied the v1.2 patch when I had already expanded considerably, so my game turns use to be quite long. Sometimes I don't even finnish a full turn, and I manage to play a couple in a row at most.

Also the unit management is not very good, so after finnishing the turn you probably notice that you forgot to move some or your units or doing something important. I don't really have to bother much about loading in that cases, as I'll quit anyway that same turn, so I won't avoid any bug effects if I don't do it.

Oh, Hearts of Iron, of course!

I often have trouble with these game acronyms :)

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Originally Posted by ZZR Puig

Also the unit management is not very good, so after finnishing the turn you probably notice that you forgot to move some or your units or doing something important.

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Yeah, they could really use a "next army" button in this game...

There is already. ~:)

Yeah, but IIRC it's a "next army/navy/diplomat/spy/assassin/etc" button, which is not what I want.

I'd say you get it. There aren't any MAJOR flaws I've come across but the good points compensate the bad.