Does anyone like RTW anymore

[Centurion1]

I started this thread and i don't really care (not that i don't appreciate what you're doing Caius, far from it). We could be talking about little green men and i'd be happy. Its nice to see some old faces popping in to report their continued obeisance to RTW.

(I enjoy CIV IV as well, though it is a little time consuming. I find that the most challenging part is continuing a game all the way to the finish)

[Caius]

I hate to say this, but I was too unexperienced to finish a campaign.

[Centurion1]

It is probably not inexperience, more likely you are suffering from what i like to call restartitis. This is a serious disease in which you are unable to finish campaigns due to boredom when it becomes too easy. i suffer from this in RTW, CIV4, AOE, Oblivion, Morrowind, and every other game that is not a fps. Dont worry you are not alone i will soon be starting the restarters anonymous.

[Unstoppable_Parthia]

restartitis is a terrible disease, i get up to owning rome and having 40 provinces and get bored or more interested in another faction and restart

[Celt Centurion]

I still enjoy RTW but I hate the riots. Seems every turn I have to go back and retrain hundreds of replacements just because of riots. What I eventually do is still raise the taxes through the stratosphere, move the army out of the city into the nearest province or ship and let the city revolt. Then I take it back and exterminate it.

That seems to give rioters a real attitude adjustment.

I also enjoy XGM.

I still would like to find the link to the basic ATW just to get started. It appears that "raven feeders" is an upgrade.

Strength and Honor

Celt Centurion

[Zajuts149]

I think I must be doing something wrong then... my campaign map looks blurry, the unit cards are pixelated and the battles also look blurry unless I zoom in. I have all settings at max except for antialising (spellcheck?), resolution set to 1680x1050, but still looks quite bad.

Any tips for me then?

I had the same problems with my screen. Couldn't play M2TW at all. Changed the setting on the screen so that it displays 4:3 in 1280x1024 or 1024x768. I leaves black bars on the sides, but who cares? Widescreen is just for movies

On topic: I started playing EB a few months ago. great fun. Played RTR before that. I have never actually played vanilla. couldn't stand the ahistoricity of it. What I'd really like is a mod like FRRE, but i want to see more feedback before I install.

[Aemilius Paulus]

Nope. Just mods for me. I play and have played nothing but EB for the last two years. Best game in this world.


As for FRRE, I tried it, but it was too incomplete IMHO. Then again, I have not been able to play any mod because they are all stunningly incomplete compared to EB. What is to be noted about FRRE is that practically the entire map is already covered by Roman Republic. No fun in starting out so large. Well, you do not actually start out so large, but you will later gain the empire. No fun in that. I like to conquer my own empire. I savour the humble beginnings. They are the very essence of EB. FRRE lacks that, and restartitis is a major issue in this mod.

[Caius]

What is FRRE?

[Ghaust the Moor]

OMG!!! Are you kinding me. Just look at the activity of the RTW forums compared to anything else

[Zajuts149]

What is FRRE?

Fall of the Republic, Rise of the Empire. A mod that starts in 77bce. It even has submods. It's over at TWC.

[Caius]

Fall of the Republic, Rise of the Empire. A mod that starts in 77bce. It even has submods. It's over at TWC.

Thanks, never heard of it.

[Spongie]

Whew, glad to see I'm not the only one still playing RTW, though for me it's still my first campaign... still two other Roman factions to go, then I'll have a crack at the other factions, then there's BI...

There seems to be a lot of praise for the EB mod. I've had a quick look at the FAQ but would be interested in hearing what people playing it think about how it compares to / improves on vanilla (albeit patched to v1.5 and then player1's patch) Rome?

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Way to go Spongie!

I don't have M2 (although I'll be borrowing it shortly) but I here that, although it has improved interface and graphics, it doesn't have the variety and playability that RTW has.

Of course, that is all personal preference. But I do hear that M2 factions have relatively little variety.

Now, onto EB.

First of all, thanks to EB and RTR there will be people on the RTW forums for a loooong time. :) Of course, we might lose some players to EB II, which is for M2... hope not though.

Where to start with how EB improves vanilla. Hmmmmm...

Many of these features are in RTR, by the way; it is quite fantastic as well. RTR VII looks good.


1. Longer, more expanded battles. In both EB and RTR, battles last quite a bit longer. The result? Longer battles means that you can FINALLY use real strategy in your gameplay, instead of charging the enemy and routing him within seconds, or being routed in seconds.

I've been able to branch out with battlefield tactics in EB. Longer battles means more time to maneuver, and the battle depends more on your strategy then the quality of your units.

One insanely fun battle is at the beginning of the KH (Greek) campaign. Within 5 turns, if you amass your forces, you will have an epic battle with Macedon.

2. Even more variety in faction armies, and REGIONAL RECRUITMENT!!! This is why I tried out both RTR and EB. The ability to play as Rome and recruit Gallic soldiers always makes me feel like playing some more. It gives SUCH a realistic feel to the game to be able to recruit REAL auxiliaries!!! I love it!

If you don't know about regional recruitment, check it out. Basically, it enables you to recruit certain units from other factions. If, for instance, I am the Sauromatae (Scythians more or less) in EB, and I conquer Greece, I will be able to recruit hoplites in my Greek cities!!!

This enables you to diversify your army in a manner unprecedented in vanilla.

And not only regional recruitment; but even factions' core unit rosters are very unique. The Gauls are crazy melee fighters; the Lussotannan (Spanish) are ambushers; the Greeks have hoplites (which in the mods are more like vanilla Triarii because they don't do phalanx mode); the Hellenes have phalangites (which do have phalanx mode); the Getai ARE A GREAT FACTION as they have a very unique skirmisher-centric roster.

ESPECIALLY RECRUITING CRETEAN ARCHERS IN EB!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

The difference between EB and RTR in regional recruitment is significant enough to mention. I'll put it like this:

In RTR, you can play as Rome, take Gaul, and recruit Gallic spearmen and Gallic swordsmen.

In EB, you can recruit 2-4 kinds each of spearmen and swordsmen. ;) Well, almost. Botaros, Botroas, Gaeliche, Kluddoboros, Neitos, etc. And at least on exclusively ROMAN unit that can only be recruited in Gaul!

3. Expanded map for greater authenticity. Both EB and RTR move the map a few hundred miles east, to get the full extent of the seleucid empire. This results in much better balance.

You probably haven't seen it yet since you're just starting, but in vanilla, Egypt ALWAYS wins. :) I mean, you will probably win the game, but Egypt will always eat up all its neighbors, unless you are one of its neighbors and you kill it.

4. Improved trait system. This is an EB feature. They totally overhauled the traits and ancilliary system. It is WAAAAAY more realistic, and gives you WAAAAAY more role-play opportunity, if you like doing that.

Also, I actually find it easier to manage an empire in EB rather than vanilla, because in vanilla once you have 50 cities, you constantly have to deal with revolts. In EB, your characters have a LOT more depth, and you can actually use them to keep the people happy.

Truly EB comes into its own by its trait system ALONE, much less all the other awesome stuff!

5. HISTORICAL ACCURACY! I hardly need say more. You will learn tons of history, unless you have a PhD in Classical History.

In fact, the "license agreement" for EB states that you must read more history. :)

-----------------------------

So yes, try it out! The cons?

EB is quite a bit slower, both in gameplay and in technical terms of how your PC can run it. :) It goes at a slower pace, but really this is a goooooood thing. RTW can be a bit arcade-like by comparison.

Also, you will probably have to wrestle with EB at first to make it work. Don't lose heart.

RTR does not have the problem of being slightly buggy or the problem of running slow on your PC.

So you should just try them both. :D

Really the difference as far as which is better is only a matter of personal preference. It depends on how you like to play.

Anyways, there you have it, IMHO.

[Owen Glyndwr]

*Argument text here*

Very well put man!

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Thankee, Owen!

I don't know that it's an argument, exactly, but I am quite enthusiastic about EB. (hehe could you tell?)

Actually, I've not played it for some time. I spend too much time on the forum.

Also, I have to finish my ancient weapons study so I can start my Pontic AAR.

I will give you a brief preview b/c I feel like it:

The story begins in 1453, in Constantinople.

You'll have to wait and see. :P

I've actually written enough to start posting, but I have to borrow M2 from a friend so I can get some screenies.

[Mediteran]

i still play rtw, i am right now in the middle of a roman campaign in EB.. even though i have both m2tw and etw, and my pc can play them..

i find rtw has the best atmosphere

and with EB, its really something else :)

[Zim]

I still play RTW, far more than ETW or MTW2. I tend to stay mostly around the EB forums and throneroom, though...

I remember when I first started playing RTW, I'd just do Julii short campaigns again and again.

[Bilgediver]

If you want a gaming rig, do not get a laptop. Put your money into a desktop. You will get a bigger, better monitor, better video card, better everything. Plus you can upgrade in the future.

That may be true, but I went balls-out with a Gaming rig from avadirect.com
Clevo D901C, 17.1" 1920x1200 LCD, Intel Core 2 Extreme, Dual nVidia 9800M GT w/ SLI, 4 GB Kingston RAM, 3 200 GB IDD's

[Bilgediver]

As to playing Rome: Total War, I find it fun for the ease of which you can jump right into a campaign and enjoy the game. M2:TW and E:TW are amazing, but a lot more involved than R:TW.

I have installed a few mods, like EB, and the VI for R:TW BI, EB is fun, and the VI mod for R:TW BI is damn nigh impossible (I tried it and you start out losing so much money it looks almost impossible)

[Bilgediver]

i jst turned BI off, lol.


i love empire, but i sometimes like to go back to the basics(for me; RTW was my first total war game. BIG step up from Empire Earth 1 :P

i'm still waiting for TATW to download.......3rd time i had to re-download it......grrrrrrrrrrr......

lol, it was a huge step up from Rise of Nations and Age of Empires III, even going back down to R:TW.

Rise of Nations was close in its campaign (sort of), but its battles....well R:TW beat it hands down.

[Ariovistus Maximus]

As to playing Rome: Total War, I find it fun for the ease of which you can jump right into a campaign and enjoy the game. M2:TW and E:TW are amazing, but a lot more involved than R:TW.

I have installed a few mods, like EB, and the VI for R:TW BI, EB is fun, and the VI mod for R:TW BI is damn nigh impossible (I tried it and you start out losing so much money it looks almost impossible)

Hehe! RTW can be almost arcade-like sometimes. Vanilla, that is.

It moves so fast, if you blitz you can take like 2 cities a turn on average for most of the game.

The mods make it a LOT (lot lot lot...) deeper.

[Cute Wolf]

Hehe! RTW can be almost arcade-like sometimes. Vanilla, that is.

It moves so fast, if you blitz you can take like 2 cities a turn on average for most of the game.

The mods make it a LOT (lot lot lot...) deeper.

True for EB... they get the better things of RTW...

But I still prefer vanilla BI over IBFD, or another fall of rome mod... and I still playing vanilla BI now...

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Yeah, vanilla BI is good. I haven't done too much with it. I've played a couple of campaigns.

Probably the hordes balance it out. You can't blitz the horde factions. No no no no no...

I did that once. I died a terrible death. I think it was my first campaign. I did kill off like two fullstacks in ambushes though; it was awesome.

I am gonna try and rig EB to work on BI though; get the better AI.

[Flavius Merobaudes]

I am gonna try and rig EB to work on BI though; get the better AI.

Let us know when you managed to do that.
I would be interested in having EB running on the BI.exe myself, but I'm scared of all the modding and scripting stuff.

[Alsatia]

I believe that there is a mod for EB to go on Alexander. I've heard there are some improvements in AI.

Is it me or is it that almost half the posts on this page mention or praise EB???

Also realise that the number of posts in the modding section are only beaten by the tavern.



(btw, I Play EB, IBFD:RR, RS, M2TW, ETW[RTW is much better in gameplay, those naval battles and less melee units screw my head in])

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Let us know when you managed to do that.
I would be interested in having EB running on the BI.exe myself, but I'm scared of all the modding and scripting stuff.

I've seen a number of guides for it; in fact, IIRC there is a EB BI-installer mod in the EB minimod section.

No doubt though, it will require a little wrestling with the system, as all my mods have.

I guess I'm gonna do it soon, 'cuz I want the improved AI for my AAR.

[Dafug3]

I play RTW a lot online and still a lot on mods and others in single player. I prefer it to MIITW and ETW, as I believe they are both unfinished games.

[Spongie]

You probably haven't seen it yet since you're just starting, but in vanilla, Egypt ALWAYS wins. :) I mean, you will probably win the game, but Egypt will always eat up all its neighbors, unless you are one of its neighbors and you kill it.

4. Improved trait system. This is an EB feature. They totally overhauled the traits and ancilliary system. It is WAAAAAY more realistic, and gives you WAAAAAY more role-play opportunity, if you like doing that.

True, I'm still in my first campaign and Egypt completely own the SE quarter of the map. I'm sending plague spies into their huge cities, though

I'm a huge, huge fan of tinkering with family members (hmmm, that came out wrong) and fiddling with their retinue (so did that) to help them be better governors or generals, depending on their own traits. Sounds like EB will be something that I'll enjoy once I've completed the game as different factions... which might be a few years, at this rate (I've been happily bashing around on this first campaign for six months now). Thanks for the reply about the mods, much appreciated

[Dafug3]

Yeah, Egypt usually eat up their neighbours because chariots are the best auto-resolve unit in the game and considering their massive income from their rich provinces, they are easily able to destroy the crumbling Selucids and the smaller powers in Asia. Britain, doesn't do as well because they don't have as much money, plus they don't transfer units properly from the isles to their mainland province.

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Hey spongie (or anybody for that matter), if you want a tough game on vanilla, do the Pontic campaign.

Start expanding and be rewarded by stacks and stacks of Egyptians breathing down your neck.

But it tons of fun! Quite challenging, but once you get the system down, it's not much trouble.

Basically, you build stacks that consist solely of Persian Horse Archers. Then, whenever you fight Egypt, start by destroying ALL their chariots and other cavalry in a hail of arrows.

Then dismember the infantry. I admit it becomes monotonous upon occasion, but it is quite a fun challenge all the same. Try to beat Egypt by fighting their way and die!

Murdersome HA fire is the way to go. Most of your casualties will be friendly fire as a result of all your mounted archers.