Quote Originally Posted by dedmoroz
I finally figured out why so many people (including myself) never finish a whole campaign and start a new one after few game years only.
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5. Campaign game seems to be scripted – Armenia always destroyed, Egypt always a power horse, Rome factions will rule eventually... I am bored even as I write this GAH!!!!!
6. No different starting times, no great achievements mode. Just conquer, conquer, conquer, sell map information get some trade rights then conquer again. How entertaining! And don’t tell me about senate missions, they are lame and rewards are boring (they will give you 1000 dinari but now you at war with the whole world…).
7. Diplomacy – scripted, bugged and broken. AI will attack with no reason, refuse to make ceasefire when all they have is 1 sieged town left, sell its virginity for stupid map information and so on.
Maybe the reason why it gets boring is because you quit after a couple of years?

I don't see the problem with the domination of certain factions. Some of them just aren't good enough, just like what happened in real life. They're there to provide depth and richness to the game world. That's also why they're not playable in the original game - based on their rate of progress, military technology and location, they're doomed to failure.

I really don't see why the Senate missions are a problem. First of all, they are quite historically accurate, and rather sensible. They advance the power of Rome, that's what they're supposed to do. They advance your standing in Rome, which is exactly what should happen. I don't see them as lame, because their goals are logical. If Rome's goals always coincided with yours, and managed to stop you from, um, going to war with the whole world, you might as well not have them. Rome was besieged on all sides by enemies in her early days. This adds to the realism. So if you want to be selfish, build up your own power and pursue your own goals at the cost of alienating the senate. If not, do as the Senate says, but you will also have to mop up after their missions.

If you play longer, you will find that when you are attacked by a faction, the Senate often gives you missions to blockade that faction's ports or capture one of their cities. That certainly doesn't lead to you going to war with the world.

As for diplomacy, men are seldom logical. Would you want to give away map information that will allow a potential enemy to find his way around your settlements? Can you ever imagine the Spartans surrendering, even when they're down to their last man? Especially if they're surrounded by your armies. What's a ceasefire going to do when all they have is one piddling little town? Just delays the inevitable. I have seen the Greeks hold out for a ceasefire on the condition that I return their settlements. Seems sensible to me.

If diplomacy "made sense", and everyone did exactly as you expect, I have no doubt that someone will be complaining that it's too predictable.