What's your pace?

[MadKow]

I was wondering how others pace their games. Constant war until full conquest? Early conquest, then economical build up, and conquest again?
Do you do just enough to get an early as possible Marian Reform, and the trample the world with your Legions?
How many factions have you eliminated by the time you get around 230 (Marius...)?


In MTW i generally grew just enough to get a sound economy then teched a bit and played mostly in a opportunistic way, looking out for neighboring rebels and fragilities.

In RTW, i have yet to find my pace. I guess i try to do the same as in Medieval, but the game doesn't quite respond the same way. Maybe its the senate missions that give a sense of urgency, or the fact that Egypt (like in MTW, when i was not playing the Turks) tends to outgrow every other faction and you know you dont want to be left behind...

[Lichgod]

I try to go slow to enjoy the game. Hard to do when (1) other factions are constantly invading you (even your allies), (2) the Senate keeps giving you missions to attack other factions, and (3) the need for cash forces you to conquer new territory -- from those ungrateful invaders.

Julii, Vh/H, Total Realism Mod

I have the Gauls down to their province in Spain - no ceasefire possible. The Germans are down to 2 Provinces, one under siege - no ceasefire possible. Yet the Brits landed with almost two full stacks and sieged one of the formally gaul towns and agree to a ceasefire every turn for at least 6 turns now, breaking their siege on my town. Go figure.

[Count Fudgula]

I think the mad headlong advance across the map has been made slightly more manageable with the introduction of the "exterminate population" option in RTW. It means you don't have to sit around waiting for your newly taken city to become docile before you can move onto the next place.

I've always favoured running out and grabbing cities quickly with an underpowered force which has only a medium to fair chance of success rather than waiting and building up a monster army that will steamroller all before it. It makes things a lot more interesting, I reckon. I have a friend who won't move an inch until he has got an absolutely overwhelming force, and he's always complaining about having to wait so long for buildings to complete. I think he has too much clock watching to do, whereas I'd rather be off fighting risky battles.

[GFX707]

In my game I like to initially expand very quickly against weaker factions and then build up....but RTW doesn't give you a choice because all of your neighbours/allies just declare war on you one by one until you defeat them or win otherwise :(

[Basileus]

When i play any of the roman families i only try to do what the senate ask almost like GA in MTW, a little diffrent with the other factions..my pace is preety slow im not one that goes for full conquest in my games.

[*Ringo*]

I tend to smash and grab the first 10-15 turns to build some sort of power base. Then consolidate my position and then expand at a slower pace, picking where and when to attack. I do like to build up extremely strong armies but i'll only attack with the bare minimum right tools for the job. I agree it's no fun being totally one sided.
I am also getting a bit annoyed with the senate, they send you to different ends of the known world for little or no reward (wow they held games in my honour, yippee!!! ) I haven't looked into modding the game yet but this ones high on my priority list, no doubt it will be hard coded tho! No Senate would allow for a more drawn out campaign... you wouldn't have to attack the faction you just got trade rights with after twenty turns of trying!!!

Down with the Republic... long live the Emperor!!!

*Ringo*

[RedKnight]

I'm playing my first game (ok, game 1.5) on medium/medium and haven't had hardly anyone declare war on me. In fact, it's quite the other way around. Except that I don't declare it. I just attack.

Yes, I'm finding it moves much faster using exterminate (or occasional enslave). I still wind up holding new towns for about 10 turns, to let the disruption and culture diff. settle down a bit. But I have about 4 marauding stacks, so I'm still taking a new town every other turn or so. The number of marauding stacks is growing over time too, but very slowly.

As usual, there is some method to the madness... one tries to keep their borders as small as possible... e.g. I took Carthage and Gaul and am now consolidating all the Numidia and Spain between them, which will then free up those marauder stacks. Then I'll probably go north and east across Europe and save Egypt for last.

[Excalibur Bane]

I'm still fighting an Easy/Easy (Yeah, yeah, I'm pussy, sue me. ) as the Selucids. Short game. I've taken over most of what was formerly Eygpt and a few provinces here and there of Armenia, Greeks and Parthia. Pontus remains neutral to me.

I tend to play very defensively. Taking my time, upgrading my tech, only striking when I know for certain I can win. I tend to like to tech up as quickly as possible, then rollover the rest of the factions like so much meat in a grinder. That's just me though. The giant that sleeps for many years, but once awoken, spreads across the land like a plague, devouring everything in it's path.

Occasionally, a faction will do something really, really nasty to provoke me and I will start a blood feud with them. I'll kill every one of the backstabbing bastards until the world is rid of them. The Eygptians made the mistake of doing that.

[Tricky Lady]

I like to play a slow-paced game too. This usually results in quite some roughly equal (1:1 or me being outnumbered) battles. So far I haven't noticed anything of a "dumb AI" that is "walked over" in a few years.
I am now playing the Brutii faction, and have 'only' Thermon, Apollonia, and that province near the Adriatic (where the city is present-day Dubrovnik, I guess). The Macedons beat me to Segestica and I've just taken Larissa. Now the Macedons are sending some armies to my lands, cunningly avoiding my army led by Amulius the Mighty I find this game much fun like that. I never feel that I'm walking over the AI, but never find the game too easy either (even though I'm playing 'only' on Hard campaign/Normal).

[Mori Gabriel Syme]

I'm one who likes to build up my cities & amass overwhelming troops before initiating battle. I'm still in my first campaign, playing as Scipii on Normal/Normal, & I've had very little trouble with being attacked from all sides.

My methods has produced a couple of problems, however. My large numbers of troops have lead to a lack of money & stagnation of population. That's not really a complaint--in reality the maintenance of such huge garrisons would do the same thing.