Intro/Questions

**Monarch** · 12-03-2005, 15:20

Thanks for the warm welcome people :)

I was actually able break open my new computer from the boxes today, to ensure XP was registered and such but more importantly to 'check RTW works' so I'm not all 'grr this isnt working' on Christmas day. Hehe, still my Dad confined me to just completing the prologue.

Still, it was some great fun, now I really cant wait until Christmas to get into the game proper. I defeated the Gauls in the first battle you have to play, well actually the Senate did most of the damage but my generals horses performed well. Also I took a city simply by waiting them out until they were out of food and surrended. Didnt really do much else, just got a feel of the interface and such.

I do have one question, how do you zoom in on a battle? Yes this may seem obvious but err where on the interface is the zoom (when fighting a battle)? Screenshot would be very helpful, i had only had a quick look so I'm sure its somewhere easy to see :(

**elbasto** · 12-03-2005, 15:38

Welcome to the forums.

In order to zoom in try using the mouse wheel...

**elbasto** · 12-03-2005, 15:43

Also, if you are having problems with the MTW campaign try visiting this forum https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=13 where you'll find lots of useful tech support information.

**Monarch** · 12-03-2005, 19:35

I just had another quick go, only for 30mins or so. This time I went for the Imperial campaign. Julii, easy/easy (yeah, its my first game though so just trying to get the feel, trying out different tactics etc), I tried to build up my forces quickly, which kind of worked until money became an issue, this was not too bad because I set up trade with the Gauls (in partvatium (sp? however I sent something of a pathfinding group out into Iberia, on the way a load of Gauls jumped me, I didnt realise it was Gauls and was not prepared for a large battle. I was out numbered over 3:1 and got demolished, as I said I didnt really expect a large battle and i didnt even have cavalry. I was then enemies with the Gauls and they sieged one of my cities (not in italy, cant remember name though). Thats when I stopped. I think the size of their armies meant I would have eventually been overun since I wasnt trading with anyone.

Questions then, i want to learn from that unsuccessful first skirmish with RTW.

With Julii who should I begin to start up trade relations with? Are the Gauls a sound choice or should I take out Parvatium and the other city nearby early?

With Julii do I need to build up a navy? I did because of a senate mission but thats what launched me into debt.

Early in the game what units should I be training? How many units are needed to be garrisoned in a city?

How many cities should i be controlling early on? I think at one point i had about 5 but that overstretched me a bit, should i take them and kill inhabitents?

What shrines/buildings/etc are needed in cities?

Hehe, sorry for 20questions but I dont want to restart again. I figure the game i start christmas day will be my first real attempt.

**elbasto** · 12-03-2005, 20:56

Originally Posted by Sovereign

With Julii who should I begin to start up trade relations with? Are the Gauls a sound choice or should I take out Parvatium and the other city nearby early?

With Julii do I need to build up a navy? I did because of a senate mission but thats what launched me into debt.

Early in the game what units should I be training? How many units are needed to be garrisoned in a city?

How many cities should i be controlling early on? I think at one point i had about 5 but that overstretched me a bit, should i take them and kill inhabitents?

What shrines/buildings/etc are needed in cities?

Hehe, sorry for 20questions but I don't want to restart again. I figure the game i start christmas day will be my first real attempt.

Regarding trade relations, the Romans have the advantage of being allied amongst them, so you are already trading with your fellow Romans. The downside is that your allies are also at war with Carthage and the Greek cities early on which are great trade partners (the Egyptians are too far away for early trade).
As a Roman and especially as the Julii I wouldn't trade with my neighbors as that would strengthen them more than you.
Also, think that the amount of trade lines are limited to the size of your port, so you'll only trade with the most important cities until you have a bigger port that can support more trade lines and you’ll only have land routes from your border cities.

On the navy... well, you always need one to keep your sea lines clear of pirates or enemy navies which can blockade your ports. This is very frequent and lots of wars are started by port blockading (with no apparent reason). Just keep a couple medium stack of ships (depending on the size of your empire) and start clearing port by port when that need arises.
Otherwise, at least as the Julii and at the beginning of the campaign, you won't use a navy much as expansion into Africa and Greece is reserved for the Scipii and the Brutii and the Senate won't allow a conflict of spheres of influence.

When choosing the size of your cities garrison and the number of cities you want (and can) control early on, that depends a lot in which style of gameplay you prefer.
If you are an aggressive player you’ll probably have a lot of low quality garrisons and except in your border regions, several underdeveloped cities and mixed armies. I can’t give you any advice on this style of gameplay as I have never used it for a long period of time (personally I just don’t enjoy it).
On the other hand, if your gameplay style could be described as “slow buildup + slow steamroll” I’d recommend you to have a standardized garrison size and mix (personally 4 archers or 3 Roman archers after the Marian reforms and 4 hastatii / principes / legionaries depending on your capabilities) and also a standardized “city model”. For instance I would rarely expand without having all my cities with that described garrison and stone walls. After I conquer new provinces I keep big armies until the conquered cities build stone walls and “import” the garrisons from troop training cities.

Finally but not the least, you should never underestimate the religion in RTW, because having buildings from other cultures gives you a happiness penalty. If you conquer a non Roman city level all their original temples and build your own (I advice you to keep a big army near by because the locals won’t be happy until you build a new temple). Also keep in mind that if you lower the taxes of newly conquered cities they should grow faster, allowing you to build the next level of buildings right over the older ones which gave your city a culture penalty.

Always remember, a lot of happy peasants are lots of tax payers, a lot of angry ones are a rebel army.

If you want to choose the best temple for your gameplay, check the building tree, where you will find a short description of all the benefits that each temple gives. Personally I believe that, as the Romans, the Brutii have the best temple of all, the temple of Mars that will give your troops valour bonuses.

Good luck.

**elbasto** · 12-03-2005, 21:00

I almost forgot, turning on the option that allows you to control all your cities regardingless of the presence of a family member / governor, helps a lot.