Rome: Total War Hindsight...

[HopAlongBunny]

--you have to micromanage them as if you were supervising 80 toddlers who just so happened to have loaded firearms and needed a nap.

What he said

I wish to nominate Vanya as lead developer of the next TW game!

[econ21]

Lehesu, if you can make 1300+ posts here and forget about RTW, then I suspect it is not for you. It sounds like you a case of irreconcilable differences and you have moved on - turning back now might just cause you pain.

For what it's worth, I hated the demo too but had faith that RTW would not ditch the things that made its predecessors such fun and found my faith justified. I can only speak from a SP point of view, but if people like STW and MTW, I can't imagine them disliking RTW. They are just obviously the same beast at heart - don't listen to that "RTW is for the RTS crowd" rubbish. However, I know that in fact some people do see the differences as sufficiently large to change their attitude to the game. If the demo put you off so much, you might be one of those people.

To make an analogy between the Total War games and potential romantic partners, I would offer the following:

STW is like some kooky person you meet, hits you right out of left field with their zest, idiosyncracies and character. Funny, innovative, stylish and wonderfully unique. Ultimately, you may find their mannerisms become repetitive and their limitations start to grate, but you will always remember them with affection.

MTW is like the rather plain person you sit down next to and unexpectedly find yourself talking to well into the early hours. Outwardly rather bland and characterless, inwardly deep, engrossing and compelling. This is the one you could settle down with and probably should.

RTW is the absurdly good-looking one who turns everyone's heads and knows it. Smooth, urbane and graceful, this one can effortlessly dazzle and charm. However, for some strange reason, things might feel a little too easy and when away from them, in the quiet of the night, you wonder if they are just a little too shallow.

[Kraxis]

Fitting analogy there Apple.

[R'as al Ghul]

I wish to nominate Vanya as lead developer of the next TW game!

I second that. working title= Headsoup: Total GAH!

[Colovion]

Fitting analogy there Apple.

agreed

[Samurai Waki]

I think RTW had somewhat dissapointing results. This is not to say that many of the issues cant be resolved, but the sheer amount of bugs in the game kills the enjoyment factor for me. I'm still a hardcore MTW fan, but I think with a little tweaking RTW could be exponentially better.

[Longasc]

I was scared by the demo,

I loved RTW while playing it - two campaigns long.

Rome Julii and Carthage, started the Parthians and then never ever touch it anymore.


It has no lasting value somehow. I got so quickly disinterested, it is really sad! Medieval: TW lasted MUCH longer, I can even say I will NOT buy any expansion to RTW.

The game has become too easy, the units too unbalanced, the strategic and tactical challenge are both gone, replaced by micromanagement because the governors can not even set tax to 100% and prevent a city from rioting when you move a unit out - you must manually re-adjust, annoying!

I love the strategic map, it has more depth.

Way to go.


But the 3D-Battleengine is all about eye candy and dumbed down for kiddies. Also way too fast without tweaks.

I have not played RTW for weeks by now, and I feel somehow sad.


Shall I now hope for the next TW game? :(

Reminds me of Panzer General, the game progresses in many areas to the better, but overall it somehow loses value. :(

[Tim]

I was scared by the demo,

I loved RTW while playing it - two campaigns long.

Rome Julii and Carthage, started the Parthians and then never ever touch it anymore.


It has no lasting value somehow. I got so quickly disinterested, it is really sad! Medieval: TW lasted MUCH longer, I can even say I will NOT buy any expansion to RTW.

The game has become too easy, the units too unbalanced, the strategic and tactical challenge are both gone, replaced by micromanagement because the governors can not even set tax to 100% and prevent a city from rioting when you move a unit out - you must manually re-adjust, annoying!

I love the strategic map, it has more depth.

Way to go.


But the 3D-Battleengine is all about eye candy and dumbed down for kiddies. Also way too fast without tweaks.

I have not played RTW for weeks by now, and I feel somehow sad.


Shall I now hope for the next TW game? :(

Reminds me of Panzer General, the game progresses in many areas to the better, but overall it somehow loses value. :(

Ditto, as with many of the other comments here. I really hope that the next patch can fix the major problems with the game. For me, the MODS (Realism) didn't really help much, due to the fact that there are issues -I believe- that cannot be addressed with modding.

[Colovion]

I was scared by the demo,

I loved RTW while playing it - two campaigns long.

Rome Julii and Carthage, started the Parthians and then never ever touch it anymore.


It has no lasting value somehow. I got so quickly disinterested, it is really sad! Medieval: TW lasted MUCH longer, I can even say I will NOT buy any expansion to RTW.

The game has become too easy, the units too unbalanced, the strategic and tactical challenge are both gone, replaced by micromanagement because the governors can not even set tax to 100% and prevent a city from rioting when you move a unit out - you must manually re-adjust, annoying!

I love the strategic map, it has more depth.

Way to go.


But the 3D-Battleengine is all about eye candy and dumbed down for kiddies. Also way too fast without tweaks.

I have not played RTW for weeks by now, and I feel somehow sad.


Shall I now hope for the next TW game? :(

Reminds me of Panzer General, the game progresses in many areas to the better, but overall it somehow loses value. :(

Wait till the EB mod comes out - you'll enjoy it more then, or I"m sure I will.

[Silver Rusher]

I started off with Medieval and VI when they came out. I loved them, and do you know why? They were just so atmospheric. It does happen that Rome Total War while being a fun game to play really does lose that atmosphere that MTW possessed.

The demo was disappointing, yes. I think that if they included the prologue or something in the demo it would have appealed to everybody more.

IMO the prologue is actually more fun to play than the main campaign...

But the thing is about RTW is that there will be mods, so it is still worth buying. Thanks to Vercingetorix we are able to mod quite a lot of the game easily and efficiantly. Yes, EB will be good, those guys really look like they are gonna transform the game.

I'm looking forward to Sengoku Jidai and Citadel: Total War as they seem to give a new light to the game and give it a new appeal.

No, in RTW the game loses it when you realise that every faction is just another faction, which I didn't really find with MTW. But in my mod I am gonna try as hard as I can to make sure that each and every faction provides a new, challenging experience. They are all hopefully going to be unique.

[lonewolf371]

Eventually, it got to the point where I lost the inspiration/passion to continue playing. Even worse, I started eyeing that Medieval box and contemplated reinstalling it.

I feel your pain...

[Satyr]

I played STW some but didn't discover it until just before MTW came out and switched over to MTW after that. I played MTW often (almost exclusively) until RTW came out. I lived by Medmod! I also loved the smaller size of the Viking campaign too.

I am pretty sure I hate RTW!

It is boring! It takes no effort to win all battles with 10 to 1 or even 100 to 1 kill ratios. Then there are the millions of little rebel armies that I get tired of squashing. I want to blitzkrieg France in 3 turns again! I want to squeak by in battles by the skin of my teeth! I am not playing Rome right now and I sincerely hope the patch makes the game worth playing.

Now I am playing Kohan II instead. I will probably go back to MTW soon though. I don't really care how Historically accurate a game is. I care how challenging and how much fun a game is and Rome is neither right now. Hopefully CA can fix that.

[KRALLODHRIB]

I don't think I'll ever be able to say I dislike this game. Yes, there are many issues, but I spent many an enchanted, largely dazzled, evening playing mtw vanilla. rtw is not mtw; it is superior. Perhaps not as superior as it should be, but still it is a step above. That is clear. Most of the problems in rtw will probably never be adressed in patches, etc. But, this should be anticipated with pc games and their limited market appeal. Work seems to stop on them prior to playtesting.
Evenso, rtw is in league by itself and it created a genre that, with its forerunners, it commands.

Now, if they could just alter those damnable Carthaginian voices. ACH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They suck.

[Nelson]

I’ve read plenty of threads by folks who find Rome to be less satisfying than the other Total Wars.

Before Rome, I read many threads about Medieval being less satisfying than Shogun.

No doubt some players whose initial TW experience is Rome will be disenchanted with the next installment.

I’ve always believed that the biggest problem some people have with Rome and Medieval is that neither is Shogun.

It is very tough to be objective when the real issue is that you miss the magic. TW defined its’ own genre. It stands like a colossus above others. It is without peers. Consequently the first TW game you play may make an impression that can’t be duplicated. Just look at how many people claim that “atmosphere” is missing in Rome. Shogun players said the same thing about Medieval!

This is not to say that there aren’t other rationales for preferring one game over another. Of course there are. Lot’s of ‘em. However, I think it pays to step back and consider why it’s possible that no other similar game will ever stack up to your first Total War. I am a big FPS fan but I know that nothing will recreate the rush I got from Doom. I don’t play Doom any more. It’s ancient history. I also don’t criticize Unreal Tournament just because UT can’t recreate Doom’s freshness. I see lots of films and I enjoy good special effects but the first Star Wars was the one that blew me away so I’ll never forget that moment. For me, the “Star Wars effect” can not be reproduced. Certain games have similar impacts upon us that can’t be recaptured.

[Satyr]

While I think that there is some of that 'wow!' factor when you find a new game type I don't think you will play that game for years if it isn't right in many other respects. It seems that STW and MTW got it RIGHT, while RTW doesn't quite. I admit that I love the look of RTW and if that is what turns you on then you will love it. However, if you play for the tactical challenge of doing battle ON the battlefield, then RTW is really in sorry shape. I think with some effort by CA and someone stepping up and creating a Medmod type mod for RTW then it could be the best CA game ever. But right now it is boring and that is the worst indictment of a game I could ever bring.

[Commodus]

I also find that this game doesn't have any lasting appeal... for me at least. I played many campaigns in MTW, always going back for one more after a few months of not playing it. I have already stopped playing this game after what.. 1.5 months? I just bought the recent remake of Sid Meier's Pirates (yes I know it's a very different game) I am playing it like crazy again after 17 years.. Now those guys know how to make a fun game!!