Rome 2 - new Campaign Pack "The Rise of the Republic"

**hoom** · 07-12-2018, 13:06

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end...

Apparently thats a quote from Seneca which would be an appropriate timeline for Mithridatic wars.

Should find out shortly, supposed to be a beta on 12th and we're nearly 24hrs from that post.

**hoom** · 07-12-2018, 15:16

After much F5 mashing...

https://www.totalwar.com/blog/total-...cestral-update

1.4GB beta opt-in via Steam Game Properties -> Beta tab -ancestral

New DLC not announced yet.

Edit: well thats a pretty impressive list of new stuff/fixes

I'm feeling very excited about this

Edit2: I think campaign map camera zoom limits have been increased, both in & out.
MSAA kills my campaign fps, MLAA seems to work fine anyway.
Armies have Yellow movement, Red influence & a dark reinforcement area, still gets the yellow reinforcement arrows for confirmation.
Campaign map looks better, seems to more clearly show climate differences.
Haven't looked into the actual effects yet but I like that the new Skill interface lets you see the T2/3 improvements

it is a little more visually busy but I think the upside is stronger.
Character screen got a lot busier, pretty overwhelming at first but seems to have good functionality, visual indicator of General promotion level, can assign skills there, all Intrigues visible with tooltips showing requirements & why unavailable and OMG A GO TO CHARACTER ON CAMPAIGN MAP button

Edit3: played a couple of battles, terrain was loking very good, possibly to do with that particular location (Sparta & beside it).
Camera zoom limit changes affect battle too (both campaign & battle limits can be toggled in Controls).
No unit fade is neat, some of the details on the units is pretty amazing. (though certain limitations are also more visible)
Defensive siege AI may have been trying to pull off a tactical retreat, just got their backs turned into pin-cushions though (my Armenian army composition is pretty archer heavy).
Some routing units rallied in the town center and came back, did run away when they Broke.
Missile units (archers & horse archers) had skirmish disabled by default, its good for archers the way I use them but not for horse archers.
One thing I really would like to see them fix is having units with skirmish enabled attempt to return to original position as they did in earlier games, its important for making horse archers really effective.
Foliage off toggle is gonna be great on those forest maps, though I'd personally prefer it to only affect an area around the camera rather than the entire battle map. (like have the trees use the unit fade code in a couple of unit radius of camera)

**Crandar** · 07-13-2018, 07:05

Originally Posted by hoom

Apparently thats a quote from Seneca which would be an appropriate timeline for Mithridatic wars.

Should find out shortly, supposed to be a beta on 12th and we're nearly 24hrs from that post.

Since the reveal of the Etruscans, there's no need for speculation, we know it will concern 4th century Italy. Anyway, from the data found in the files, it's confirmed. We talk about 390's Italy, with Etruscans, Gauls, Romans and Greeks as playable.

**hoom** · 07-13-2018, 12:45

Yeah they've found the map, its Italy, Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily & a limited area around Carthage.
So there is gonna be Sicilian wars, spawning trans-alpine Gaul invasions & Ilyrian Pirates, Syracuse has a colonisation mechanic.

Playable factions includes
• Insubres
• Iolei
• Rome
• Samnites
• Senones
• Syracuse
• Taranto
• Tarchuna
• Veneti
Carthage?

Timing is seemingly too early for 1st Punic war (though technically if they're representing Rome taking control of all of Italy then it should be ending about that late), but there is plenty of invading around Sicily, greeks invading Western Sicily, Agathocles invaded Carthage, Dionysus invaded Southern Italy, between 2 bouts of Carthage/Syracuse wars Athens invaded Sicily as part of Peloponesian war (I wonder if that could be a spawning invasion?)
If it gets as far as 1st Punic there is Pyrrhus invasion first.

Its a pretty exciting prospect

**hoom** · 07-20-2018, 04:00

Rise of the Republic out 9th August

From Steam store page

The year is 399 BC, and Rome is poised for greatness. However, its very existence balances on a knife-edge.

The Gallic Senones tribe, led by chieftain Brennus, are newly settled in eastern Italy. Ambitious and fierce, they are but a javelin-throw from the nascent republic.

The tyrannical Dionysius rules Syracuse with an iron fist. He leads the war against Carthage, but his eyes range across the Mediterranean as he considers future conquests.

Under the guiding hand of the great philosopher-statesman Archytas, Taras in southern Italy is reaching the zenith of its glory and power. Rome’s meteoric rise is cause for concern, to be sure – perhaps an intervention is merited?

Meanwhile, Marcus Furius Camillus seeks the title and powers of Dictator. His vision for Rome is grand indeed, but can it survive the designs of the young republic’s neighbours?

A crossroads in history: a time of threat – and of opportunity.

A time for the republic to rise.

Total War: ROME II – Rise of the Republic is a thrilling new campaign pack charting the events surrounding Rome in the 4th century BC. The campaign unfolds across a detailed map of Italy including Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and Carthage, and depicts the tumultuous events which ultimately set the stage for the Second Founding of Rome.
Rise of the Republic Content:

A full prequel campaign to Total War: ROME II set in the 4th Century BC

All-new campaign map, detailing the landmass of Italy and its neighbouring states

Nine playable factions:

Rome – a growing republic, vulnerable and surrounded by enemies
Tarchuna – the mighty and influential Etruscan state
Senones – a Cisalpine Gallic tribe with a thirst for plunder
Insubres – a Gallic tribe who are diplomatic and managerial in style
Samnites – an Italic state that threatened Rome in the 4th century BC
Taras – a Greek city-state founded by the Spartans
Syracuse – a Greek metropolis in Sicily, and the bastion against Carthage
Iolei – an indigenous Sardinian tribe
Veneti – an Italic tribe of horse masters surrounded by enemies

An epic campaign battle for the city of Rome

Post Battle Loot

New Technologies

Region specific dilemma systems – depending on the regions you control dilemmas related to Carthage or Massalia might spawn.

Chapter objectives are also faction specific and are a way to unlock agents.

The factions of Rise of the Republic are uniquely replayable due to the new Government Actions options, which replaces the Change Government system from prior ROME II campaigns. These options provide unique new bonuses, albeit at a cost. Some notable examples are:
Rome may appoint consuls or dictators in times of need
The Etruscans of Tarchuna can initiate the summit of Fanum Voltumnae, where decisions are made
The Samnites can rely on the ancient Ver Sacrum rite, to receive an instant army
The Insubres and Senones rely on druidic councils for divination and public support
Taras has access to court philosophers who greatly improve their research

Along with these, different factions have access to specific dilemma chains such as:
Rome often is forced deal with domestic trouble that result in plebeians or patricians being happy or enraged.
Greek factions can influence the struggle of the Greek poleis back in Hellas.

Rise of the Republic will be released alongside the Ancestral Update

No playable Carthage

Makes sense with focus on Italy I guess.

While start date is 399BC, unless Rome victory conditions are far short of full control of Italy I think its going to cover a much longer timespan than most Campaigns -> not 4tpy, maybe even 1tpy.