Unbelievable problems...

[fallen851]

Play with Patch 3. If it's too easy, start with a facion other than Rome which is by design - overpowered when controlled by a human player. Play on Legendary. If you take a 1 settlement faction in the middle of freakin' nowhere that doesn't have wine, olive oil, glassware and tons of grain at it's disposal (resources and upgrading minor settlements to produce them is the best way to get lots of money in the early game. More resources = more trade and more factions willing to sign trade agreements = more money) you will see how difficult the game could be.

I want you to think about what you are saying: Don't play the game to win, play it to lose and then you'll see how difficult it can be.

I agree that the game CAI is getting somewhat better, but RTW II is no different than any other TW I've played in that the game is downright easy. Be nice if they had defined AI profiles. Like this faction never techs much, it just produces low level units and takes territory. Once it has X amount of terrority it stops and gets rich, then hires a lot of Mercs to supplement it's army and keeps expanding (merc prices need to come down for this to work). And another faction techs and turtles until they reach this milestone, then take X amount of territory and then continue up the tech tree until they reach another milestone, and so on. These are very simple AI profiles, and while I'm sure CA tried to something along these lines (probably far more advanced) it is just doesn't seem to work.

If every TW game, the AI just seems to try to do everything, and ends up doing nothing well.

[ReluctantSamurai]

If every TW game, the AI just seems to try to do everything, and ends up doing nothing well.

Amen to this. Scripting may be used now, or not, but if done in a logical manner, might help point the AI in a direction that allows a particular faction to gain strength and development. I remember the scripts from R1 like "Fortified Stalin" or "Craftsman Caesar", etc. which influenced what temples got built and what troops got created, but did little to affect aggressiveness, which IMHO is one of the biggest shortcomings of TW AI's.

[Myth]

I want you to think about what you are saying: Don't play the game to win, play it to lose and then you'll see how difficult it can be.

Where did I say that ? I said: play on the highest difficulty level and don't take an easy, large and rich starting faction like Rome if you want to be challenged.

I'm tired of people who played a Medium campaign with Rome on patch 1, loaded their arses off, and now come back to tell me how dumb the AI was and how bugged the game is.

[easytarget]

Honestly, you need to seriously re-think your point here.

If you think you're making a valid argument by telling players how they should play the game, and make the absolutely absurd suggestion they shouldn't play Rome in a game called Rome 2, you've gone completely off the rail.

[antisocialmunky]

Honestly, you need to seriously re-think your point here.

If you think you're making a valid argument by telling players how they should play the game, and make the absolutely absurd suggestion they shouldn't play Rome in a game called Rome 2, you've gone completely off the rail.

Please calm down guys, I'm pretty sure he was just saying: "If you want a more challenging game pick a harder faction or harder settings on the latest patch." Rome is the intro faction so it has a strong starting position, I don't think you can say its harder than Parthia or one of the other factions.

[Myth]

Honestly, you need to seriously re-think your point here.

If you think you're making a valid argument by telling players how they should play the game, and make the absolutely absurd suggestion they shouldn't play Rome in a game called Rome 2, you've gone completely off the rail.

I am not telling players how to play the game. I myself have an ongoing Rome campaign. I am telling the whiners to quit their whining if they haven't dared fire up Legendary and try another faction. It's the same AI but with less starting bonuses for the player and with a more equal playing ground unit wise, it's much more difficult. And the inability to load (for the most part, you can reload battles if they start going south) you are forced to adopt a large scale strategy for your lands.

[AntiDamascus]

Yea Rome is in the best setting with some good troops. It's going to be pretty easy by default. That's why it is labeled as Easy

[Myth]

The Pretorians which come available at 10 turns after the start + the economy to mass produce them + no real threats right next door + the option to own Italia/Magna Graecia/Africa/Aegyptus which are I think the richest provinces in the game all relatively early + access to lots of grain and other valuable resources = easy faction.

[AntiDamascus]

I tell you what if I started playing this game and Rome was a hard faction, I'd be pissed.

[Lord Benihana]

I agree completely with the OP - how can a small indy get AI right and a huge company like SEGA/CA mess up so badly? Also, sadly, playing a game like CKII drains the fun out of TW for me... the latest game is really pretty, but the most fun one to play is still MTW1 imo