How do you keep the game interesting?

[Lord Reid of Britannica]

I was just wondering, aside from mods, is there anything you guys do to keep the game fresh and interesting for yourself as I'd love to hear ideas and try them out for myself.

[Shieldmaiden]

I mod it and test my modding through play. In campaign if it gets dull I experiment with unit combos and tactics.

But I'm giving Medieval 2 another whirl.

[Myth]

Medeival 2 is more interesting for me ATM. But, if you want a challange, pick an underdog race and aim to take Rome pre-Marian reforms. I've raed that people have done this with the Britons.

[Shieldmaiden]

Medeival 2 is more interesting for me ATM. But, if you want a challange, pick an underdog race and aim to take Rome pre-Marian reforms. I've raed that people have done this with the Britons.

I've done it :) Great fun!

[Myth]

How do you deal with the SPQR stacks?

[Shieldmaiden]

How do you deal with the SPQR stacks?

Copy and pasting a past post of mine, since its been a long time since I last played RTW:

With Britons, the key is to use Chosen Swordsmen (or similar) to engage the Cohorts and break up the Testudo while Head Hurlers throw from behind. I use Warhounds too, they can be useful to break a battle line for a Heavy Chariot or Swordsman charge, and to stop the Cohort throwing their Pilums.

Chariots and/or Cavalry Mercs are used against Cavalry, Archers, and Elephants as the Briton battle line moves to take on the Cohorts. They then join in firing upon the Cohorts.

It worked for me :)

[Guyus Germanicus]

Greetings Lord Reid,

I guess I do some things similar to Sheildmaiden. I've done some minor modding - added two experience chevrons for Ludus Magnum academy, and doubled the public order increase from the Scriptorium to Ludus from 10% to 20%. I also like to see if I can do more with less. I like taking on armies with the odds slightly against me. Also, like to see if I can improve my tactics.

But probably the greatest thing that has kept me returning to the game is reading in ancient history. Since I started playing this game back in 2005, my library in ancient history has increased by two five-shelve bookcases. Authors like Adrian Goldsworthy, N G L Hammond, Peter Connolly, Robin Lane Fox, Peter Green, and Victor Davis Hanson, to name just a few. The politics, the battle formations, and technology and the military innovations just draw me like nothing else. Of course, I have a BA in history, so that tells you something about my personality, I guess. I'm sure I'm out of control, too. A friend just recently gave me several volumes of the Cambridge Ancient History series that he had extras of. That was a nice acquisition.

I read something and then I want to relive it. I will start a game with a new faction and then see if I can improve on tactics, reduce casualties, or just test a unit type to see what it can do in a pinch. I think I've improved my use of slingers in combat formations. I used to find them annoying and 'unuseable', preferring archers. But now, especially in my campaigns in spain, I hate living without them. I would like to learn how to wield cataphracts better with different scenarios.

I love taking a faction member with bad traits or 'two strikes against him' and turning him into a tiger, or administrative genius. Of course, if you're playing with the Julii that's easier to do than with some other factions thanks to the temple of Jupiter series. Sometimes you can turn a faction member around. Sometimes not. There are just so many interesting features to the game. Of course, M2TW has even more of that. But I never got real comfortable with the combat phase of M2TW. So I keep coming back to RTW.

I find governance and administration, growing my economy as much fun as the combat leg of the game. And the music . . . the music in RTW seems a better fit for this game than any other game I've played or seen demo-ed. Jeff Van Dyck and his wife really captured the spirit of this era in spades. I can still remember the haunting, mysterious feeling I felt the first time I started playing the game when she sings 'Divinitas.'