BI demo in PC Gamer !!!

[Captain Fishpants]

...Since making a demo for an add-on is unusual, it's almost like BI is being presented as a new game.

I think you're forgetting that Barbarian Invasion is a Sega product, while RTW was originally published by Activision. For CA's new parent company, it is almost like having a new game.

[amagi]

Since it's almost like having a new game, is there any chance of enhancing it with the auto-numbering of units discussed here-Legio V Alaudae: Sharper Pointy Things ? I'd also like the ability to turn off the unit highlighting rather than the banners. I know Barbarian Invasion is at the demo stage, but neither of these improvements would cause a programmer much anguish.

Congratulations on the Rome: Total War campaign map, which is a fantastic advance. It even seems to have a design which anticipates the simultaneous resolution of moves on the strategic level...

[Orda Khan]

Got it. Will give my verdict shortly

......Orda

[Zatoichi]

Can anyone tell me if the demo is in the September PCGamer that comes with a CD on the cover, or only with the one with a DVD? I've seen the one with the CD on the cover, but that looked like it only had a demo of Brothers in Arms... Darn it!

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

The battle maps seem bigger, i've just made a battle for myself as the Franks vs the Western Romans. The night battles are great, seeing the torches in the distance( especially on the Chalon map that i used) which is the only light you have to fight the battle which adds something to the game, and it gives the battles much more atmosphere.

The cd and dvd editions both come with the demo by the way

I'm not too sure about the AI, both battles are harder than Romes demo thats for sure. Chalons is kind of difficult but that might just because of it being a historical battle

[Zatoichi]

The cd and dvd editions both come with the demo by the way

...sound of running feet disappearing off in the direction of the nearest news agent...

Thanks for that BKB!

[Puzz3D]

Ok Brits have fun with the demo, but remember we're getting the full game in the usa 2 weeks before you get it.

[Louis de la Ferte Ste Colombe]

Got it. Will give my verdict shortly

......Orda

Any chance we can have a look at some export_descr_unit file?

Significant changes there, more in line with what was worked on some times ago with Mordred would go A LONG WAY in making me look at BI in a favorable way.

Just like Yuuki, out of all FF players, I dare to say noone is seriously playing RTW as it is, for all purposes it's shelved and only a couple of us would play a game from time to time... But that's it.

Louis,

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

Any chance we can have a look at some export_descr_unit file?

Its not there, or at least I can't see it. I think they hid a few things.

[Kor Khan]

The battle maps seem bigger

Another question: Are they actually bigger than the historical battle maps in vanilla? The HB were always bigger than the campaign ones, as all of the battlefield could be accessed, rather than just a quarter of the visible area.

Are the battlefields for BI really bigger? I sure hope so, this was always a big problem with huge settings.

[Coldfish]

can someone show me some Sassanid Empire`s units ? especially elephants ?....no one showed it until now

[player1]

Its not there, or at least I can't see it. I think they hid a few things.

Great, so demo is less modable then original RTW.

Lets that feature not make it in final BI.

[player1]

Although maybe those txt files are just packed in pak files?

Which could be extracted by using some of utilities at TWC.

[Grifman]

Great, so demo is less modable then original RTW.

Lets that feature not make it in final BI.

CA has already posted that the game is much more mod friendly, so you can stop the senseless whining already. Geez, some people can't wait for facts to find something to complain about.

[Orda Khan]

Very nice indeed. Too early to comment on AI but it did seem to be more cohesive even though only 51 of them survived Chalons
Unit speeds looked much the same but I am used to it by now. I was happy with the melee, the Gothic spears gave a good account. I will do some battles and remain more static to see just what the AI does. I've seen nothing to change my opinion that BI will prove to be a very enjoyable game. Great job CA

.....Orda

[Puzz3D]

Very nice indeed. Too early to comment on AI but it did seem to be more cohesive even though only 51 of them survived Chalons

So you trashed the AI on the first attempt?

[Puzz3D]

I think you're forgetting that Barbarian Invasion is a Sega product, while RTW was originally published by Activision. For CA's new parent company, it is almost like having a new game.

I meant it in a positive way. CA has always put a lot of content in their add-ons, so they represent a good value in that sense. If the move to Sega has allowed CA to spend more time on the strategic and tactical gameplay than it did in Rome, and recent posts by CA suggest it has, that's great and the game deserves to be presented as a fresh version of the game.

Maybe that doesn't sound positive, but the people who have shelved Rome didn't do it because of the graphics. I just looked at the Rome box in a store tonight, and it says on the box, "The best strategy game of all time." I don't want to get into a discussion about that and I know that Activision put that statement there, but the statement emphasizes "strategy". If CA is allowed to emphasize strategy in BI under Sega, that's a significant change and BI may very well be essentially a new game with the improved gameplay filtering back into Rome as well.

The BI screen shots look very nice, but I want to see the gameplay improved enough that my clan will come back and start playing this game again. Right now 7 out of the 11 members in my clan won't play Rome. I believe only 2 of the 4 who are willing to play it play regularly. All 11 played MTW, and most of them date back to STW and played regularly.

[player1]

Anybody noticed that all demo units have substantialy higher defense values then in original (if you remove exp bonus of course).

And foot shield base in 6 instead of 5 as before.

Also armor norm seems a bit higher then in vanilla.
(slower killing speed anyone)

As well as upkeep is not well rounded down. Maybe more experienced troops, or better armed troops have higher upkeep?

[econ21]

Anybody noticed that all demo units have substantialy higher defense values then in original (if you remove exp bonus of course).

Yes, I noticed that. It's natural that armour might improve over time, although to be honest, this is not so obvious from the unit graphics. It's not clear why defence skill should have improved (at least for the Romans), so I agree that it looks like an attempt to slow down combat speed.

I am not sure what is going to happen to pre-BI units - if some are still available in BI (as I assume), I wonder if they will be outclassed? Or whether there has been a general increase in defence stats across the board? The latter sounds a little too radical based on the small tweaks CA made in VI, although I hope it is true.

[player1]

Plain Archer is good example.

In BI: Armor 4, Defense 5.
If we remove +2exp and +1 bonus from blacksmith, that's:
Armor 3, Defense 3

Compare to same plain archer in non-BI:
Armor 0, Defense 2

I guess that original campaign will be rebalanced to take this in consideration.

[player1]

By the way,
I would kill for downloadable BI version of export_descr_unit.txt file.

Any chance?

[King Ragnar]

Is the demo out in the uk now in pc gamer to non subscribers?