Initial Patch Thoughts

[Quietus]

I just started a new game to try out the patch: So far it has rekindled some interest in this game.

Some preliminary observations (VH/VH):

Pros:
-Saw AI build a fort. Oh yes.
- Extra graphics in adjacent regions (although, with those soreeyes gray area in seashores).
- Minimum interface is a nice change (with drop down controls).
- AI doesn't seem to charge as much (Although I'm being cautious since I'm playing Brutii. I've attacked a stack of Germans in my old Julii save game (after patch 1.2) and it didn't attack until I got close as well).
- some minor bug where fleeing enemy unit get stuck inside an alley, and the siege never ends, until they die. It can't be reached by my skirmishers. I eventually killed the guy with my horse whom eventually managed to fit in there. This probably dates back to 1.0.
- Scrolling through the campaign map is smoother now.
- AI actually exchange maps now.
- Ships have longer range (which is good for transporting units).

Cons:
- HORSES are still way overpowered! They have a sick charge and still penetrate through my defensive units (Hastati and Triarii). If they get through, at least half should die. Instead, whole units are nearly intact....
- Machine-gun towers are still overactive. Even the sound is irritating.
- It is still difficult to navigate units that are in loose formation (i.e. Velites) on the streets and alleys.
- Units still rout too quickly.
- Pause button is hard to select. I click and it pause and unpause at the same time. When I try to unpause, the same thing happens.
- Build points seem to be disabled.
- I tried the widescreen option and It is very hard to click on anything! (anybody know how to use 1280 x 800, just holler).
- The AI general actually parks upfront during siege but they move when you shoot them.

I'll have to do some more battles to see if it is still unplayable to me.

[Maltz]

I installed patch 1.2 last night, and fired up a new Greek campaign Vh/Vh/huge unit size.

The first thing I did was that I marched the initial army in Syracuse, Sicily against the Scipii armies, with two units of mercenaries. This is what I would do in a Greek blitz campaign.

I layed my archers out and try to shoot at some hastati. The AI Scipii marched their archers forward. I thought they were trying to start an archery duel. In the pre-patched version I could almost 100% expect a duel happening next, so I spread my formation wide and get ready to enjoy my height advantage.

Yet these blue archers never stopped marching uphill. They walked so fast towards me that I thought I wouuld have no time to fire. So I quickly ran my Artemis's bowmen behind my phalanx line and turn fire at will off.

These Roman archers walk straight into the pikes, all the way from way downhill! Their number reduced from 160 to 23 in 3 seconds, and started to rout. They were soon followed by the rest of Roman army, all walked uphill and eventually clashed with my pikes. (I had to walk into them so they would fire only 1 or 2 shots of pila)

There is something really wrong with the patch 1.2 AI. At the start of the battle I am weaker, but the AI shouldn't just walk everything towards me. That's not a good improvement...

[Red Harvest]

Maltz,

Yes, the RTW AI is still a bit stupid with archers. It seems to think the best employment of them is in hand-to-hand because it sends them way too close. Too bad we can't create some sort of match between the MTW AI and the RTW AI. That would be a riot. The little MTW 2D sprites would byte it to pieces, spit out the broken pixels, then dance over the little 3D RTW corpses.

[aw89]

Why couldn't they just have uppdated the it to 3D, check the move speeds to be realistic and developed the AI?

[hoom]

Good:
Diplomacy -Gauls will do just about anything to secure a ceasefire from my Julii.
After a periodic payment for ceasefire ends, diplomat comes back for a renewal
Battlefield maps -There's a sun now. Lens Flare too.
Terrain seems less bland.
Stuff in the distance is great.
Phalanx shuffle -Gone!
Min UI -mostly good
Speeches & loadscreen quotes -seems to be a wider variety

Bad:
Min UI -No gamespeed indicator.
Popup buttons at top are a pain for me since I use the mouse for camera movement. Would be nice to have an option for permanently on.
Battlefield maps -That grey sea bit...
Kill Rate -still too high
Left/right click -still no option to go back to the better way of STW & MTW ~(
Grouping -still doesn't order groups by first made, 2nd made etc like STW & MTW. Units still leave their group when routing
Auto preferences -still there, still stupid, still won't let me use 1280 * 1024 without altering the file

All up, fixes a whole bunch of things & fleshes out some barren bits.
Still leaves a bunch of things that need fixing though.
I still expect that after the expansion patch its gonna be a damn fine game but I wish they'd managed to be closer to the refinement of VI by no so that patched RTW expansion would be even better...

[econ21]

I started a Julii campaign on med/med and found it better. The AI is putting up a better fight - perhaps because it saves money not buying excess boats. Plus the Iberian infantry seemed a better match for hastati - presumably, as due to getting rid of the missile attack in close combat bug. [Confession time: the Spanish intervened to aid the Gauls and wiped out my second army. Never had my butt kicked pre-patch.] AI diplomacy was more active too. I really appreciated the check box to control your own reinforcements.

On the minus side, all my combat generals get cruelly scarred. Also extermination or enslavement may still be smart - an occupied Alesia was a bear to keep loyal, so I abandoed it to face the Spanish. (But then again, I suspect Caesar did enslave or even exterminate Alesia).

I'd given up on RTW as it lacked challenge, but with the patch, I'll give it another go.

[monkian]

Theres no line in my preferences.txt to minimise the GUI

I have patched the vanilla version of the game from 1.1 to 1.2

Has anybody else had this or is there a line I could add myself ?

Cheers

[nickersonm]

Popup buttons at top are a pain for me since I use the mouse for camera movement. Would be nice to have an option for permanently on.

There is that option. Pressing the appropriate F button will switch between 3 options - hidden, auto-roll, and stuck. I believe CBR posted this before me, but in fewer words ;).

Auto preferences -still there, still stupid, still won't let me use 1280 * 1024 without altering the file

In my experience (using funny resolutions and such on my widescreen monitor), RTW reads from the graphics driver. So, if I add a custom res in the driver's control panel (I have an nvidia, not sure if ATI supports custom res's although it would make sense), it will be selectable in RTW.

I love that they have added this... But I wish i could carry on my British campaign.. is there a way to unlock at the fractions yet with 1.2 ??

The faction unlocking mod still works with 1.2. None of the faction descriptions were changed.

As for the pathfinding issue in cities, it is most annoying when your unit gets spread out on a street and you need to attack an enemy. The unit will attempt to attack the center (average position? flagbearer?) of the enemy unit, so my men on the ends just walk past the enemy (who is attacking them) in an attempt to reach the center. With the pathfinding, they may end up going around several blocks before they get to their destination and start attacking. This has been a problem before, but it seems to be worse in 1.2.

Overall, though, I am extremely satisfied, especially with the campaign map improvements and editors.

- nickersonm

[Simetrical]

Do not install any 1.1 "unlock all factions" mod. Such mods edit the file descr_strat.txt, which was also modified in the 1.2 patch. You will lose some of the patch's additions if you overwrite that file. Instead, modify it by hand—go to Rome - Total War\data\world\map\campaign\imperial_campaign\descr_strat.txt, look for the lists of factions at the very top, and add all factions you want to unlock to the "playable" list. If you want the maps, get them from a mod that unlocks all factions, but be sure not to overwrite descr_strat.txt.

EDIT: Turns out I was wrong. descr_strat was not affected by the patch.

Anyway, the pathfinding is distressing, but there are no glaring bugs other than that. If only something close to this were the original product, and CA's two patches could've dealt with pathfinding and opening up the game more to modders, RTW would be perfect.

-Simetrical