RTW vs MTW

[mcgib]

I have RTW and I played STW but never tried MTW. I've heard that it is not as good as RTW. Can someone tell me what the differences are between the two.

[Quietus]

I have RTW and I played STW but never tried MTW. I've heard that it is not as good as RTW. Can someone tell me what the differences are between the two.

Hi mcgib,
First, make a list of features/gameplays you like in RTW and STW. The way you asked the question, the answer is fairly relative.

[KrooK]

In my opinion MTW is much better. Although rome got much better graphic and maps are in 3d, is has many bugs. MTW, especially with path, has hardly any bugs in game.
Anyway - you should buy MTW

[Ludens]

I have RTW and I played STW but never tried MTW. I've heard that it is not as good as RTW. Can someone tell me what the differences are between the two.

M:TW is essentially S:TW+ situated in the European Middle Ages. Strategic and battle engines are fundamentally the same, but M:TW is more complex. It features trade, naval battles, religion and a pope that excommunicates you if you try to take advantage of a weak Catholic power at the strategic map. All unit leaders now multiple stats (loyalty, piety, fearsomeness, acumen and command ability) and gain vices and virtues that affect these. Low loyalty leaders may spark a civil war, and bad performance in war usually creates low loyalty. Diplomacy has not changed, but the subterfuge model is versatile: for example spies can arrange treason trials while inquisitors can burn enemy generals for heresy. Sadly, both the throne room and the beautiful FMV's are gone. The tech tree is more complex and will spark a tech race, at least if the A.I. has money (I'll come back to that later). The main Medieval campaign consists of three era's, and with each new era stronger and more expensive units will appear. Some, like the advanced viking units and the Varangian Guard, will disappear. The unit roster is more varied, though not so varied as in R:TW. There are three basic line-ups, one for each religion, but every country gets a few unique units and certain units are only available at certain locations. The Viking Invasion expansion, which I strongly recommend as it will patch the game and will allow you to install the many good modifications available, comes with a fourth campaign set in the British isles between the ninth and eleventh centuries. It is a smaller, more focused campaign with more differences between the armies, making for interesting battles.

The battlefield will be instantly recognizable, but some things have changed. Most importantly: the balance. Where Yari Samurai kept their uses during the game, you'll find that basic spearmen are pretty soon outclassed and need to be replaced with the stronger sergeants or Saracens. Spearmen in general are weaker and need to keep in formation; cavalry is stronger and several units now have an armour-piercing ability partially negating the effect of high armour. The battlefield A.I. is identical and will provide more of a challenge than R:TW, but I think it performs slightly worsen than in S:TW. That's just my opinion, however.

On the strategic map the A.I. is not exactly up to the increased complexity, however. It tends to go bankrupt soon, meaning you'll spend most of the early and middle campaign fighting peasant armies. I therefor recommend installing Medieval XL or MedMod as these will strongly improve balance and A.I. behaviour.

Sadly, M:TW did have less atmosphere than either its predecessor or its successor, but as far as challenge goes it is superior to either. There is also a multitude of good modifications available if you have installed the Viking Invasion expansion. All in all, the game is available for little money now and if you liked S:TW, you'll probably like this as well. Just don't expect the graphics of R:TW or the atmosphere and simplicity of S:TW.

[The Stranger]

i just replayed MTW for a story im writing...wich will be finished round february if everything goes smooth even earlier

in my oppinion

The MTW battles are harder but less advanced, RTW has way more options but that is its stumbling block while the AI doesnt know how to handle the those extras the player does easing the battlemode for him

In my eyes the campmap also is more challeging cuz the threat is bigger. less easy chokepoints and the enemy is CLOSE. but i also like the 3D map but again the AI barely knows how to handle it

Now RTW did improved naval aspects. i like the transport way and even if that goes a bit to slow i prefer it over the old MTW way wich also screwed the tradingsystem up

Diplomacy is also better in RTW and spying has become more realistic

I think it hangs in the balance but MTW has a higher replayability rate for me

[Just A Girl]

IMHO.
MTW Totaly OWNS RTW.
You should get MTW and VI if you like STW and RTW.
MTW has So much more replay value that its Always Worth buying,
As far as Im concerned.
MTW will still be worth buying in 10 years time.
Even if the whole Multiplayer scene for MTW dissapeared.
MTW would still be worth buying Just for the single player Game.

Any way im gonna shut up now b4 i start bashing RTW :)

[Scias]

MTW even though that was the first TW game i hav played and also i played RTW afterwards but just couldnt stand the fact that the gameplay had changed.

The only thing i like about RTW is the single player. The multiplayer is crap. Also i am still a MTW/VI player to this day and i sweared that i would never go on RTW again even if ppl were talking about how gd it really is......

[BHCWarman8]

MTW is better then RTW.no doubt.

[Martok]

I agree that Medieval is probably the best overall. Ludens gave a pretty accurate assessment of all three games. I think the final paragraph of his last post summed up things pretty nicely:

Sadly, M:TW did have less atmosphere than either its predecessor or its successor, but as far as challenge goes it is superior to either. There is also a multitude of good modifications available if you have installed the Viking Invasion expansion. All in all, the game is available for little money now and if you liked S:TW, you'll probably like this as well. Just don't expect the graphics of R:TW or the atmosphere and simplicity of S:TW.

Medieval does get beat by Shogun and Rome in terms of atmosphere and immersiveness (although I feel it still does a decent job of that overall--just not quite as well as the other two). It's certainly not as pretty or as "realistic" as Rome, of course (I admit I prefer the way Rome handles army/navy movement). And if you're used to Shogun's elegant simplicity, then Medieval might feel a bit overwhelming at first, since overall it's probably the most complex of the three TW games.

In the end, though, Medieval still takes home the gold medal in my book. It's the most challenging and has the highest replayability, especially if you also have the Viking Invasion expansion (which is necessary to download and install most of the major mods for MTW). Even without the mods, however, I still spend the vast majority of my time playing Medieval over the other two. (I play Shoggy maybe 10% of the time, and I don't even have Rome installed on my computer anymore.) Shogun and Rome may outshine Medieval in all the main individual areas (graphics, music/sound, AI, etc.), but Medieval has far and away the best overall playing experience.