Marius Reforms?

[Kekvit Irae]

It's probably bugged. I believe you only need an Imperial Palace IN Italy somewhere and it has to be after 220B.C. I got mine at around 215, was kinda disappointed because I didn't get to use the pre-reform troops as much (I never got to build any triarii EVER).

Reinstall it and see if it works then?

Triarii are kinda overrated anyway. Thanks (or, no thanks, depending on who you ask) to a bug, getting an Imperial Palace will allow you to build Praetorian Cohorts, which are obviously far better than any pre-marion infantry. They are the only troops which can testudo before Marius comes around.

[Marquis of Roland]

Yea, Triarii are kinda overrated but they look COOL. Plus I've always been missing my historical "3rd line" of Triarii.

[Kekvit Irae]

Oddly enough, I think Triarii are the only really effective heavy infantry for Romans before Marius. The lack of pilums allow them to charge forward without having to press the Forced Melee button, and they are no slouches against cavalry.
Still, they arent the be-all-end-all infantry for Romans.

[Magraev]

I realize it's unhistorical, but I actually find the wait for the marian reforms a bit annoying when playing as the romans.

By the time they roll around at around 220-200 BC I have several imperial palaces pumping out praetorians, and the outcome of the game is all but decided. I am playing on an extended map though, where some cities seem to grow very fast (sicily especially).

Hmm - maybe I should try a higher difficulty setting...