RTW Expansion Pack...

[Vanya]

GAH

Here are Vanya's thoughts on what a RTW expansion pack would mean for the masses... Youz feel free to jump in and share your grey cortex with us... especially if served with virgin olive oil and a hint of rosemary and sage...

1. Rome Total War: The Barbarian Invasions

The time period is the twilight of the realm. The Empire has been split into Western and Eastern empires. The East would live on for another 1000 years as the Byzantine empire. But the West would fall under the might of the barbarian Germanic invasions. Take the helm as the last Emperor of the Western Empire and fend off the uncivilized hordes or die trying; or play as a barbarian tribal leader and carve out a kingdom of your own Factions include: the Huns, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, and of course, the Romans, among others.

2. Rome Total War: Rise of the Christian Empire

The game is set in the times following the collapse of the Western Empire. The Byzantines under Justinian I expanded the Eastern empire and almost reconquered the lost Western lands. But the cost was great, and the expense of the venture in both treasury and men would weaken the empire for a long time to come. Rule as a Byzantine emperor and try to regain the lands lost to the barbarians while fending off new threats from the neighbors to the east.

Or fight as the Sassanids, Turks or any of the gothic tribes in the West.

The campaign map will add lands to the east as far as the Indu Kush.

3. Rome Total War: The Punic Wars

Relive the carnage and mayhem from the days of Hannibal. Fight as the Carthaginians or the Romans (or as another standby peoples).

4. Rome Total War: Hail Vanya

Can the might of the entire Roman war machine succeed in keeping Vanya from hunting for heads within their realm? Can the Romans persuade Vanya to go for barbarian heads, or will they draw Him into their wealthy lands in search of gold-plated worthy heads to decorate His necklace? Fight as either the Headless Horseman Himself (you get nothing but peasants to lead, but your leader and general cannot die&#33 or as the Romans or other playable factions. This would be totally GA-oriented, as total victory is impossible in that the Horseman cannot be killed...

GAH

Vanya thinks these ideas would be kinda nice for an expansion. Do youz have some others to add to the list, or would youz like to expand on these initial concepts?

Here is your chance

And... maybe... CA will like one of these enough to make it happen (Assuming, of course, they have not yet made up their mind on whether they will have an RTW expansion and if so, what it will cover).

GAH

[Emp. Conralius]

Quote[/b] (Vanya @ July 07 2003,11:52)]GAH

Here are Vanya's thoughts on what a RTW expansion pack would mean for the masses... Youz feel free to jump in and share your grey cortex with us... especially if served with virgin olive oil and a hint of rosemary and sage...

1. Rome Total War: The Barbarian Invasions

The time period is the twilight of the realm. The Empire has been split into Western and Eastern empires. The East would live on for another 1000 years as the Byzantine empire. But the West would fall under the might of the barbarian Germanic invasions. Take the helm as the last Emperor of the Western Empire and fend off the uncivilized hordes or die trying; or play as a barbarian tribal leader and carve out a kingdom of your own Factions include: the Huns, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, and of course, the Romans, among others.

2. Rome Total War: Rise of the Christian Empire

The game is set in the times following the collapse of the Western Empire. The Byzantines under Justinian I expanded the Eastern empire and almost reconquered the lost Western lands. But the cost was great, and the expense of the venture in both treasury and men would weaken the empire for a long time to come. Rule as a Byzantine emperor and try to regain the lands lost to the barbarians while fending off new threats from the neighbors to the east.

Or fight as the Sassanids, Turks or any of the gothic tribes in the West.

The campaign map will add lands to the east as far as the Indu Kush.

3. Rome Total War: The Punic Wars

Relive the carnage and mayhem from the days of Hannibal. Fight as the Carthaginians or the Romans (or as another standby peoples).

4. Rome Total War: Hail Vanya

Can the might of the entire Roman war machine succeed in keeping Vanya from hunting for heads within their realm? Can the Romans persuade Vanya to go for barbarian heads, or will they draw Him into their wealthy lands in search of gold-plated worthy heads to decorate His necklace? Fight as either the Headless Horseman Himself (you get nothing but peasants to lead, but your leader and general cannot die&#33 or as the Romans or other playable factions. This would be totally GA-oriented, as total victory is impossible in that the Horseman cannot be killed...

GAH

Vanya thinks these ideas would be kinda nice for an expansion. Do youz have some others to add to the list, or would youz like to expand on these initial concepts?

Here is your chance

And... maybe... CA will like one of these enough to make it happen (Assuming, of course, they have not yet made up their mind on whether they will have an RTW expansion and if so, what it will cover).

GAH

I doubt RTW would have a Punic Wars expansion because theyhappe witin RTW's set timeline. Although I'm still eagerly anticipating for the original (I CANT MAKE THIS CLEAR ENUFF), I thnk that CA would make an expansipn based on, as you suggested, the Early Dark Ages, with the splitting of the Empire in halves and so on.

[Kongamato]

I think that RTW needs to put out several expansion packs. It has an unnerving parallel to another game, The Sims. The Sims is a large-scale game with a completely unique engine, atmosphere, and gameplay. Does it need to upgrade its engine or make a sequel? No, and it continues to produce expansion packs at quick intervals.

For RTW, this would be great. New content every few months or so, guaranteed updating of stats, balance and bug fixes... with a few X-packs RTW could be a game unrivaled in depth.

[Zauba'a]

I would vote for the Rise of the Byzantines...or maybe we could just call it Rise of The East since there were more new cultures in that period than just the Byzantines... i.e. the Arab Muslims. Anyway that area and period offers the most possibilities for new playable cultures. (Byz, Arab Muslims, Persians, Rus, Bulgars, Papacy)

[Leet Eriksson]

please no more muslims(or arabs),i played them to deathThe expansion is likely to go backwards(like its predecessors MTW wich goes 300 years backwards with Viking Invasion and STW wich goes 100 years backwards with Mongol Invasion),also if it goes backwards it is likely that the word invasion will be in it,so i suggest Alexanders Invasion,it happens in a pretty interesting time preiod and it has pretty interesting battles.If it goes forward then the byzantine invasion up to the 7th century(before the rise of islam)would be enough,and yeah Belisarius kick some serious behind

[Hakonarson]

Both the expansion packs for TW games so far have been "preview" - ie time periods before the main game.

So my pick would be Magna Graeca - the rise and fall of Greece and Persia, up to the end of Alexander's campaigns, or perhaps right up to the start of RTW and covering his successors.

[CBR]

Yep "Persian Invasion" Detailed map of Greece with the evil Persians as a dangerous outsider

CBR

[Galestrum]

im gonna mod the latter empire stuff, but id like them to make a fall of the empire/dark ages expansion.

BTW, whats stopping them from making several expansions, they all sound good

[Rosacrux]

RTW: Vanya strikes back GAH Now that would be an interesting Xpack GAH


Actually, they might just drop the "one Xpack per game" tradition and work around more Xpacks this time. And those I would really ask for are:

RTW: Alexander's conquest

RTW: Persian Invasion

RTW: The rise of Rome

RTW: Rosacrux hits the road... errr... nah, the last won't make it

[Leet Eriksson]

Yeah several Xpacks don't sound bad,especially with the new RTW 3d engine.now i would like to see 2 remakes as Xpacks or Standalone products they would be Shogun and Medieval also include both Invasions game and i'll be happy for a while

[DrHaphazard]

Gah I just read in one of frog's posts that the release date (according to Edge magazine in the UK) is the Summer of 2004. A whole year away

If that is the case then i completely refute my own position that naval battles would take too long to do well and should therefore be avoided to allow for a earlier release time.

If they're going to spend a whole nother year on this thing then i think an xpack should include naval warfare, especially if they do Greece: Total War, because the rise of Athens, as i have pointed before, was depenedent mainly on their naval prowess, not on their hopilites (sp?).

[Vlad The Impaler]

a good expansion pack could be Hun's Invasion or Attila;
also Alexander's campaign in Asia is an good option and , considering the complexity of the games is very possible to have 2 expansion pack's

[Spino]

I'm really not digging the 'Barbarian-Invasion-Here-Come-The-Dark-Ages' expansion pack idea. I'm also not keen on another 'tight focus' type expansion that was the centerpiece of the Viking Invasion expansion. Basically given the time period involved I want a really big stage for RTW's expansion pack.

Given the history and factions in the region RTW will be tailor made for an expansion that covers the ~200 years that precede its grand campaign game. Give me the Greek and Persian Wars, the Pelopennesian War, the peak of Celtic supremacy in Europe, the early rise of Rome and Carthage and end it all with the shocking blaze of glory that was Alexander the Great.

Mention words like Sparta, Persia and Alexander the Great and you're guaranteed bonzo sales. This will go over especially well with the gaming public considering that no less than three Alexander the Great films (two theatrical, one made for cable mini-series) are slated for release in 2004/2005. Some food for thought for CA and Activision executives...

Of course I must echo the sentiments of others and say TWO expansion packs are better than one...

[Rosacrux]

Quote[/b] (Spino @ July 08 2003,22:45)]Of course I must echo the sentiments of others and say TWO expansion packs are better than one...

...not to mention that three Xpacks are better than two... and of course four Xpacks are better than three...

CA, Activision and Co: Provide us with a GOOD game and we'll allow you milk that cow until it drops dead from exchaustion. Give us good stuff and we'll buy all the Xpacks you deliver. And that's a promise.

[Leet Eriksson]

Actually i don't care if the xpacks cover a certain time period,i only want more units and more factions to play with,really thats what xpansion are for.

[kataphraktoi]

Any RTW Xpack must have Arabs.

Rome: Total War - Rise of Byzantium will do nicely.
From 395 - 1025 will do nicely.

Faisal playing the Arabs to death?


Impossible

[Leet Eriksson]

Ok arab they shall be,don't blame me if some 10 star general roles over byzantium *cough*Khalid*cough* however i would really like to busts khalids ego when i play the byz