Quote Originally Posted by x-dANGEr
So you think it would be realistic that a man can let his arrow fly and hit a target at the range of 100 metres, but not at 100.5 metres?
Puzz3D refers to M:TW and S:TW where it was the case that only the first rank fired when in range. To make all 3 ranks fire it's required to move in a bit further/ closer to the enemy. Range is therefore measured for the individual soldier.
In R:TW the range is measured per unit. If one soldier is in range all are.

You can of course argue that the soldiers that stand 1 meter behind, in 2nd rank can fire just as well, but why have a max range at all then?
In Total War arrows have a max range for gameplay purpose. Being forced to move all three ranks in range also means that all three ranks can be hit.
The Rome gameplay takes away a lot of this little details that have impact on the tactics. Anyway, the Rome gameplay is so messed up imho, that it hardly matters that all archers of a unit always shoot.