Have you EVER lost a game??

[Epistolary Richard]

In my opinion if it is not possible to lose the game as a ROMAN faction ... then what is the point of playing ROME TOTAL WAR????

I don't know, have fun, meet new people, conquer the world?

Seriously though, if you're finding that the game needs more of a challenge then I should check out some of the threads in the modding forums where some people, such as frogbeastegg, are tweaking the game to do just that... here's some of her changes:

Ok, here's what I have done:

-All peasant units have had their build cost tripled.
-All militia/levy/warband type troops have had their build cost doubled.
-All buildings with less than 6 turns build time have had one turn knocked off, except the temple lines and farm lines.
-All buildings with build times of 6 turns or more have had two turns knocked off except the temple and farm lines.
-All temple types now progress smoothly with an increase of one extra turn per level, removing a sudden step up of two turns to the build time.
-All farms are now 2 turns to build regardless of level.
-The town centre types now all sport a +5 law bonus, just like a law god shrine.
-The first two levels of town centres have a 2% population growth. The third level has a 1.5% growth bonus. The next level has a 1%, and the remaining level has no pop bonus.
-All unit types can now be built one barracks/stables/archery range level before the default.
-The final barracks/stables/archery range level gives a +1 bonus to all unit types coming from that building, with the exception of all elephant and wardog types.
-Romans no longer have wardogs.

I've tested all my changes and they are working, so I got my editing right (). I just need to play for a few hours and see how it goes. I think the 2% for the first town levels should be enough to bump the AI past the tricky smaller populations, and it will have the advantage of shifting the AI towards more advanced units sooner.

I'm playing Greece, VH/M with the changes I listed above and this is more like it! I've had to work right from turn 1, work like a mad thing just to hold on to what I have. I just encountered an absolutely massive, well balanced Carthaginian army, the Scipii keep tossing triarii and principes at me along with the usual hastati, and the Macedonians are showering me liberally in assorted cavalry. It’s now summer 264BC; I'm only just barely managing to hang on to everything, and my money is spent the instant I get it. My armies are battered and really in need of refitting as they consist mostly of exhausted, beat up hoplites and my assorted general’s cavalry units. I need more navies, and the ones I do have are barely still afloat. If I lose even 1 battle now I think my game is effectively over. I’m being blockaded and besieged in at least one place each turn.

I'm one happy frog