PC Zone Preview of RTW:Barbarian Invasion

[Spartiate]

Just a few tid-bits i have just finished reading about for the Expansion Pack.

1.The Roman Empire is split into two parts.The Eastern and Western Empires.

2.The Persian Sasanid Dynasty is now a playable faction.

3.Attila the Hun and his merry men will start the campaign with 15 full armies and no settlements.They have the ability to recruit mercs and re-inforcements for plunder(sounds like the Mongols in Shogun)

4.The Saxons will specialize in coastal landing and raiding by sea.

5. The Vandals are a playable faction......no info on them.

6. The Roman Empire(both halves) are huge but rebellious and in dire straits.

7.Light troops including cavalry can now swim across rivers on the battle-field making it possible to flank units guarding a bridge.

8.Night battles are now options for experienced commanders and affect morale accordingly.

9.Composite bows available with a longer range and armour piercing early model of the x-bow.

10.Many new units and formations(couple of fantasy units as well unfortunately).

[Rodion Romanovich]

Sounds good, except no. 10b. I'm not sure about no. 7 and no. 8, but the rest sounds great.

[Mikeus Caesar]

Could i just ask, but what is the address for PC Zone? I must read this!!

[Brutus]

Sounds nice. I'm curious what all the factions will be. So far it seems there will be:

-the Western Roman Empire
-the Eastern Roman Empire
-the Sassanid Empire
-the Huns
-the Vandals
-the Saxons

Who else will be put in? The Visigoths, the Ostrogoths, the Franks, the Alans, the Suebi, the Lombards, the Burgundians, the Angles, Arab tribes...?

[Conqueror]

2.The Persian Sasanid Dynasty is now a playable faction.

Cool

3.Attila the Hun and his merry men will start the campaign with 15 full armies and no settlements.They have the ability to recruit mercs and re-inforcements for plunder(sounds like the Mongols in Shogun)

Modders are going to love this new way to handle a faction.

7.Light troops including cavalry can now swim across rivers on the battle-field making it possible to flank units guarding a bridge.

There better be some serious disadvantages to trying this though. It should take time to get across and they should be vulnerable if the enemy is prepared to attack them. Maybe have some % of the troops drown along the way. Otherwise, more options = good.

8.Night battles are now options for experienced commanders and affect morale accordingly.

I wonder if you can make a proper night raids, attacking an enemy army's camp during night when they're unprepared. If it's just like any field battle but with darkness and morale modifiers then it's not that much of an improvement.

9.Composite bows available with a longer range and armour piercing early model of the x-bow.

I think I will find good use for those, yes I will

[Es Arkajae]

"According to PC Zone Magazine Creative Assembly is working of an expansion for Rome: Total War named Barbarian Invasion add-on which will be spanning the years 364AD to 476AD.
The expansion will offer you the chance to play as one of the Barbarian factions (including the Vandals, Saxons and Huns) and take revenge against the Roman Empire, or as the Western and Eastern Roman empires attempting to drive back the Barbarians.
The PC Zone article states: "The big new feature is the addition of night-time battles, but lighter troops - including cavalry - can now also swim across rivers. There are also a load of new units to look forward to".
Beside the new features the game will come with a new distributor as Creative Assembly was bought by Sega last year and this is the first game developed under the new management."

So its only light troops can swim across rivers which make sense.

So I doubt we'll see legionairres, noble cavalry or chosen swordsmen swimming across a river anytime soon.;-) .

I'm also betting they would do it slowly and would be at a significant disadvantage (easy to panic) whilst doing so.

As for the expansion, if they don't improve the battlefield AI then its all moot, lets hope they fix that before releasing anything.

[Brutus]

So I doubt we'll see legionairres, noble cavalry or chosen swordsmen swimming across a river anytime soon.;-) .

I assume there will be no legionaries as they weren't used anymore at the time... Although, fantasy units...

[Spartiate]

@ Mikeus Caesar ............ www.pczone.co.uk...........i read it in their magazine however.

About the penalty on troops swimming across rivers.They will do so very slowly apparently and will be at the mercy of missile units.

[runes]

"Thanks to the latest issue of PC Zone magazine we can now reveal that the expansion pack will be called Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion and focus on the decline of the Roman Empire and the rise of the rampaging hordes.

The action of Barbarian Invasion is set after the final stages of Rome: Total War, during the period 364AD to 476AD. The once great Roman Empire is teetering on the brink of anarchy. The Eastern and Western fringes of the Empire have split and internal ructions threaten to tear it apart.







Amidst this chaos the restless barbarian tribes of Europe and the Middle East smell blood. It's time for them to rise up and reclaim the land taken from them in the name of the Emperor - or invade Europe and establish a glorious empire of their own.
Barbarian Invasion will let you take control of either the struggling Roman Empire or one of a horde of barbarian forces. If you choose Rome you'll have to repel attacks on all fronts, reunite your armies, and hold the Empire together. If you choose a barbarian force you'll have to protect your homeland while invading the territory of Rome before enemy tribes can snatch it.

Barbarian tribes such as the Vandals, the Huns and the Saxons will be playable. Each will offer a different play experience and require different tactics to succeed. The Huns, for instance, are large in number and nomadic, letting them attack quickly; while the Vandals require rapid expansion from early settlements to succeed.

All new historically-accurate units and weapons are promised for every faction, as well as the addition of morale-sapping moonlight attacks. And directing everything like a true general is Creative Assembly's awesome combat AI system, which ensures that every battle is a unique exercise in brain-boggling military tactics.

The latest issue of PC Zone has much more information on Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion, including brand new screenshots and an interview with the expansion pack's producer at Creative Assembly. It's on sale now, so flank the newsagent at will."

pulled that from the website...

but..


"The latest issue of PC Zone has much more information on Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion, including brand new screenshots and an interview with the expansion pack's producer at Creative Ass"

anyone with the mag wanna scan some pics?!

[Es Arkajae]

I assume there will be no legionaries as they weren't used anymore at the time... Although, fantasy units...

The feature will almost certainly be added to the current main campaign mate.

So you'll be able to play the expansion campaign or the original campaign with the new features such as night battles and river crossings in both.

The expansion should be as much about improving the original campaign as it is adding a new one.

As for the AI I echo Jacque's sentiment.

[Barbarossa82]

I'm all in favour of new fantasy units. no doubt there will be some RTR or EB-style mods of the x-pack for those who wish to play the game as a historical re-enactment.

Bring on the saxon steam-powered pillage-o-matic and the Eastern Roman pegasus regiment!!