How Good is this Mod....

[Chris1959]

I'd just like to re-iterate just how good this mod is!!

I've been playing for over two years now and it's pretty much all I play.

However, in looking for the forum I want to use Alex.exe so I upped and bought the add on a week ago.

Given I'd only just started some 1.1 campaigns I decided to un install EB and start from scratch, and as an aside I decided to play Vanilla Alex.

Now Creative Arts did a great job with RTW and without we wouldn't be here, but you guys at EB have taken it to a whole new dimension.

So thank you what a brilliant job you did and are still doing.

Sometimes you have to be without something to appreciate it even more!!!

[Aaldaemon]

My god, CA's Alexander is an abysmal little errr.... product. Seriously, that was abyssssssssssmal.

The EB devs are the gods of moding... I seriously can not play any vanilla CA product (bar Shogun) and come even to 1% of the enjoyment I get out of EB. It's not even funny...

EDIT: This original post of mine is too critical of CA to be fair... but still I can't get over Alexander... sooooo much potential for an expansion and such a whimper of an end product.

[polluxlm]

I can easily do 12 hour stretches in my weeks off from work.

Virtually been playing no other game for almost a year.

[Cambyses]

Its a sad indictment of the industry that a group of "enthusiastic amatuers" can make a product that is so vastly better than not only the original game but almost any other strategy title on the market.

Of course this is a great credit to EB, but it is hardly the situation anyone would logically expect.

It would be great if some gaming studios could adopt the same passion and belief that the EB team have to get things right, rather than focus so exclusively on the bottom line.

[Kromulan]

While I agree this mod is THE ultimate use for my RTW cd, I can't get in on the CA bashing.

Remember, the developers were subject to time limitations and budget restraints. The EB team have anxious, sometimes whiney, fans to deal with, but if the next update takes 2 years, it takes 2 years. There's no publisher hovering over the project threatening to pull the plug if some deadline is not met.
That is a very good thing, as they have been able to take their time and produce an extraordinary product in it's scope and attention to detail.


I think CA did a great job getting out a playable, balanced game based on European history.

[keravnos]

I have to agree with Kromulan, for the very reasons he posted.

[Ibrahim]

I third Kromulan's post..

[Tyrfingr]

I have been playing EB since v1.0 was first released...and it's no stop to be seen!

[White_eyes:D]

While I agree this mod is THE ultimate use for my RTW cd, I can't get in on the CA bashing.

Remember, the developers were subject to time limitations and budget restraints. The EB team have anxious, sometimes whiney, fans to deal with, but if the next update takes 2 years, it takes 2 years. There's no publisher hovering over the project threatening to pull the plug if some deadline is not met.
That is a very good thing, as they have been able to take their time and produce an extraordinary product in it's scope and attention to detail.


I think CA did a great job getting out a playable, balanced game based on European history.

I agree till EB, Rome:total war was my favorite game of all time

[Jolt]

Remember, the developers were subject to time limitations and budget restraints. The EB team have anxious, sometimes whiney, fans to deal with, but if the next update takes 2 years, it takes 2 years. There's no publisher hovering over the project threatening to pull the plug if some deadline is not met.
That is a very good thing, as they have been able to take their time and produce an extraordinary product in it's scope and attention to detail.

Exactly why Half Life 2 is basically one of the best games in the world, because the team doesn't have anyone hovering over them. They tweaked and counter-tweaked the game, looked for the smallest of details, simply because "they had all the time in the world". Half Life 3 will come out when it's perfect.

But as far as the question goes, I say this to everyone I recomend the mod: "EB makes RTW look like a demo." And I suppose I'm right. :P

[artaxerxes]

I liked Shogun and Medieval(1) - but Rome is just.... NO! - I think it's because I love the ancient world so much, that I'm much more easily offended at the Seleucid empire being so weak, the eastern half of the Hellenistic world missing and Carthage being defeated all the time, than I am at whatever historical inaccuracies that take place in the earlier games. Still, Shogun and Medieval were NEVER among my favourite games - looking back, Age of Empires 1 and 2, Heroes 2 and 3, Dungeon Keeper and Popolous: The Beginning ruled the roost for me back then, and the TW games were just ... plain... ok... I liked Viking Invasion for Medieval, though.

But EB - well, I was 10-14 when playing the games I mentioned above, and I'm 18 now. I spend much less time on games now than then, and the memories I have of those games are so fond, that I could never bring myself to state that EB is better.

BUT and this is probably the highest praise I can ever give a game: when I was younger and I read history books and was then forced to live out my historical hunger solely on fx AOE, where there was nothing resembling the old world, but merely fictional areas, I had a fantasy of having superpowers/being a billionaire with my own game company totally obedient to my demands and nobody else's, and THEN make THE BEST GAME EVER about all those old cultures I read about.
And the praise comes here: I bloody think EB would have been the game I would have made. I remember reading thru the forum a few weeks after borrowing RTW from my local library for fun - and seeing how big the map was, I, well, it was divine! - you know, RTW is a kind of 'you try to imagine you're there, but it doesn't really work, cos' Persia's not there and neither is India'... EB is, well, like BEING THERE FOR REAL


Of course, had I made the game, 272 BC might have vied for 1200 BC and Hittittes, Babylonians, Assyrians and Mitanni have taken the place of Hellenistic monarchies, but that is my personal preference and I know of no RTW mod that creates a game for that period in a way that is comparable to EB so I'm sticking with EB - the time period of which I have, anyway, come to love more and more during the last six months, reading the appropriate volumes of Cambridge Ancient History again and again, till I know them by heart :)

[Aaldaemon]

While I agree this mod is THE ultimate use for my RTW cd, I can't get in on the CA bashing.

Remember, the developers were subject to time limitations and budget restraints. The EB team have anxious, sometimes whiney, fans to deal with, but if the next update takes 2 years, it takes 2 years. There's no publisher hovering over the project threatening to pull the plug if some deadline is not met.
That is a very good thing, as they have been able to take their time and produce an extraordinary product in it's scope and attention to detail.


I think CA did a great job getting out a playable, balanced game based on European history.

One thing's for certain one has to thank CA for providing the engine for the EB team to play with.

I do not want to be overly critical of CA, because I do think that they are one of the few companies that actually produces games worth playing. The reality is though, that RTW suffered from some bizzare design decisions to say the least... and they can not all be blamed on the publishers.

RTW was also not a balanced game - its singleplayer was far from balanced, and its multiplayer was even farther away from balanced. I remember early days of RTW multiplayer with Egyptian desert cavalry charges...oooh boy.

CA is a company that ultimately is in it for the $, and as such it should be obvious that they need to appeal to as many potential customers as possible within their particular genre. This will obviously lead to a less complex, more let's say mass market friendly project. That's why they will never be able to equal talented and dedicated modders when it comes to creating a more complex/historical gaming experience for those who want such an experience. I'm one of those few people who want that type of experience and as such I will have to salute the EB team for their exquisite mod, but I will also salute CA for giving them the barebones to achieve their vision.

[Olaf The Great]

I agree with Kromulon also.

I was one of the first people to convert from RTR to EB, playing since 7.2, it's definately not the only game I play though...


EB
Wolfenstein ET
World of Warcraft.
Fallout
Fallout 2
Galactic Civilizations.
Civ 4
Super Smash Brothers:Melee then later Brawl
Various DS and Wii Games.
Out of those all, I'd say my favorites go...


Fallout
Fallout 2
Europabarbarorum
WoW
SSBB
Wolfet
Gal Civ
Then the rest is about the same.

I congratulate you guys on doing years of hard work to make a otherwise average game into a masterpiece, the road was long and hard (fist fighting pantodapoi and rampant CTD's) but the end was well worth it. I'm sure EB2 will be even better, possibly making it above the fallout games(if that's even possible)

Also, you guys need to start paying attention to my AIM :P

[Xurr]

My god, CA's Alexander is an abysmal little errr.... product. Seriously, that was abyssssssssssmal.

The EB devs are the gods of moding... I seriously can not play any vanilla CA product (bar Shogun) and come even to 1% of the enjoyment I get out of EB. It's not even funny...

EDIT: This original post of mine is too critical of CA to be fair... but still I can't get over Alexander... sooooo much potential for an expansion and such a whimper of an end product.

I agree, once you have been spoiled on EB you never want to go back.

[LittleGrizzly]

I only started playing a few days ago and i absolutely love it!!

I never played RTW that much before by the time i got it i had heard all about the multiplayer problems so i only ever played SP, i did a little bit of a roman campaign got bored, started a carthaginian one and got bored again. EB though is different, i feel like i more have the game i want, a whole other layer of complexity and deepness has been added, this mod single handedly moved me on from MTW which has far superior battles imo but the campaign is nothing to EB...

[Flying Pig]

I love EB, and since I started it I got to dislike vanilla - and I am amazed that proffessionals being paid and working 8hrs a day are out-gamed by a group of modders. Actually, I now only play strategy games! I just can't stand the simplisticism of 'point and shoot' games.

[Maion Maroneios]

Well, one thing I have to say is that, in a series of fruitless attempts to make myself play another mod instead of just EB I alway end up with the same result; I just wanna play EB more! First it was XGM, then vanilla (for the joke of it), then SPQR, then RoP, then RS and finally TIC. The latter being my final hope of not falling completely in love with this mod, but to no avail. It just... lacked depth, historicall accuracy and gameplay, like every other mod. Now I'm back to EB again, and it will be a loooong time until I try something different for a change, guaranteed! I just feel like I have to get my daily dosis of EB!!! Thanks so much EB team for this wonderful mod!

[keravnos]

I love EB, and since I started it I got to dislike vanilla - and I am amazed that proffessionals being paid and working 8hrs a day are out-gamed by a group of modders. Actually, I now only play strategy games! I just can't stand the simplisticism of 'point and shoot' games.

Thank you for your kind words.
In a peculiar twist of fate, I found this, and seeing that you have a fitting nick, you may even use it.

The real thing,


and a reconstruction,

and

[Aaldaemon]

Keravnos THAT IS BRILLIANT!!! May I use these images for other purposes, outside this forum?

[keravnos]

I found them on the web, now you did too.

[Aaldaemon]

I found them on the web, now you did too.

Ah ok, I see. That pig is priceless, with a bit of editing, I can think of many epic uses for it.

[Mithridates VI Eupator]

BUT and this is probably the highest praise I can ever give a game: when I was younger and I read history books and was then forced to live out my historical hunger solely on fx AOE, where there was nothing resembling the old world, but merely fictional areas, I had a fantasy of having superpowers/being a billionaire with my own game company totally obedient to my demands and nobody else's, and THEN make THE BEST GAME EVER about all those old cultures I read about.
And the praise comes here: I bloody think EB would have been the game I would have made. I remember reading thru the forum a few weeks after borrowing RTW from my local library for fun - and seeing how big the map was, I, well, it was divine! - you know, RTW is a kind of 'you try to imagine you're there, but it doesn't really work, cos' Persia's not there and neither is India'... EB is, well, like BEING THERE FOR REAL

that is so true!

When I began playing games, back in the early 90's, it was mostly crappy japanese beat'em-ups, and stuffy flight simulators, and it was fun, but I didn't consider myself a "gamer". Then, one day, I happened to stumble upon a game called Dune 2, and even though it had only three factions and the only difference between them were their colour, I was hooked!

Then when AoE came, it was like a gift from heaven. All those ancient kingdoms, that had facinated me since I was a small kid, brought to life... but still, there was something missing. It never felt as though you were ruling an actual kingdom, especially since you could have max 200 guys. So I started looking for something else that could satisfy my urge to rule an ancient kingdom. Back in 96 or maybe 97, i tried a demo of Heroes II, and I liked it a lot (even though it wasn't very historical), so in early summer 1999, I marched myself to town and bought Heroes III. For the first time, it felt like I had a kingdom, with little towns, and little generals commanding my little armies.

Some time earlier, I came across a cd with a movie of an upcoming game called "Shogun" (I think it came along with the AoE expansion pack). It looked nice, and i tried it when it came, but I never bought it. Instead, it was Heroes III that keept me occupied, and AoE II, and AoM, etc, etc, and even though I played other games, I never got caught up in that "team-based-shooter" craze that followed CS. Somehow, that dream of the ultimate strategy game kept haunting me, so I roamed the desolate periphery of strategy gaming, in search of that lost graal... (I tried MTW too, but I never got hooked...)
Then, Rome came along. Sure, it had some flaws, especially history-wise, but I liked it anyway, so I played it... and then i dropped it, and moved on to other games, among them M2TW.
Then, one day about a year ago, i tried EB. I didn't really know what it was when I first tried it, but boy, was I taken by suprise!!! There, suddenly, was that ultimate game that I had dreamt of since I first laid eyes on a strategy game. It was huge, it was ultra-historical, it was antiquity! Since then, no other game has really caught me, and as you say, artaxerxes, it was not just you ruling some computer kingdom, it feels as though you are actually there. The dream has come true!

Sorry if I've bored you with my life's story...

[procopius1980]

Hi!

Since this is my first post on this forum, I will give a little information about myself.

I have a Bachelors in History from Lamar University, but it is my sad lot in life to be an IT Director. I am amateur at best, although I have a minor specialization in the early Crusades (of no use in this mod; perhaps I'll find a Total War mod specific to the Crusades).

For that reason, I will be of little use to this board in terms of bringing scholarly opinion or evidence. I will, therefore, confine my posts to my opinion of the Mod's entertainment. I have taken an upper level class on the Classical World, so I at least have an appreciation for the time period.

As far as games are concerned, I enjoy several genres, but the strategy genre is my favorite. I have played Total War games from Medieval I up to the present.

On to Rome: Not having a great deal of knowledge, I found Rome: Total War, to be a very compelling and exciting game, although I had a feeling that the barbarian factions were not getting their due credit.

With regards to Barbarian Invasion, I can only stomach playing as the Franks. This is a shame since I consider this time period to be one of the most important and exciting periods in history; it is the dawn of a new age. I probably anticipated BI's release with more relish than any other game, and it was almost a complete letdown. In that instance, I would love to see a mod of this breadth for this time period.

Here is what specifically drew me to search out this mod: I have always loved the fiction of Stephen Lawhead, but I was recently introduced to Bernard Cornwell and his historical trilogy of Arthur. Reading those books brought me back to the early Total War games in the hope of finding some outlet of play as either a Celtic or Germanic faction. Total War XL has an excellent Irish faction, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I then considered the Britons as Vanilla Rome, but their lineup is bad even for a Barbarian faction. This is mod is probably the best I'll find. Granted, I would prefer it set in a period when Rome has left the Isle and the Saxons approach, but that may not be possible.

I found the mod just this morning, and I can't wait to get home and install it. I've read over just enough of the information to realise this is a vast change from Vanilla Rome. I can tell a lot of people have put a lot of time and effort into making this. I look forward to playing the Barbarians as they were meant to be played.

Sorry for the lengthy post... I am looking forward to this!

[artaxerxes]

I've read over just enough of the information to realise this is a vast change from Vanilla Rome. I can tell a lot of people have put a lot of time and effort into making this. I look forward to playing the Barbarians as they were meant to be played.

Uh, you're in for a treat. Discovering EB for the first time is amazing. Vast change? If it wasn't for the 'a modification of Rome' info on the loading screen, I'd have never known EB was related to vanilla Rome... Rome is a computer game, EB is a time machine! Good luck with it :)

[McFloit]

Rome is a computer game, EB is a time machine! Good luck with it :)

Exactly