THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE v1.9

THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE v1.9
A late Roman Republic mod for RTW v1.5


Download thread: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=65261


Take command as Caesar, Crassus, Pompey, Vercingetorix or Orodes in the waning days of the Roman Republic.

Five campaigns are included:

Caesar - 58 BC
Will you conquer Gaul and cross the Rubicon?

Crassus in the East - 53 BC
Will you defeat the Parthians and return to assert yourself as Rome's master?

Pompey - 49 BC
Will you escape to Greece and build an army capable of defeating Caesar?

The Gallic Rebellion - 53 BC
Will you lead a successful revolt to free Gaul from the Roman yoke for all time?

Parthia - 53 BC
Marcus Licinius Crassus is on the verge of invading, and your generals and sons are not to be trusted. Can you defeat Crassus while avoiding internal strife?

The First Triumvirate features unique victory conditions, challenging gameplay, four turns per year, and much more. And unlike many other mods, The First Triumvirate v1.9 uses the -mod: switch functionality provided by RTW. This means that no files are modified or installed that will prevent you from playing regular RTW games.

*******************************************
Some Gameplay Information
*******************************************

1. The triumph and victory conditions for each faction are listed on the faction leader's character scroll - mousing over these will inform you as to what conditions need to be met to achieve the various triumphs and ultimate victory.
2. The advisor is used extensively throughout the TFT campaigns - be sure to read what she has to say and respond appropriately!
3. You will find your movement and (in the case of Roman armies) troop morale reduced during Winter turns. Plan accordingly.
4. The AI armies are tough - you cannot charge them head-on and expect easy victories like in regular RTW - you will need to carefully plan and execute your tactics from battle to battle.
5. Romans cannot build archers! Make sure you check the mercenary pools in various provinces and you should be able to supplement your legions with a good mix of auxiliary troops.
6. The recommended difficulty settings are Medium (campaign)/Very Hard (battles). These are the settings used by the team to test and play the mod.

There have been reports of players unable to attack Pompey even though he is at war with them.

I'm working on a fix and will post it when available.

Fix is now available in the opeing post - patch v1.9a fixes this problem.

The fix is save game compatible, but if the Civil War has already been triggered, it will take one turn before you can attack Pompey.

TFTv1.9b is available in the opening post. Just some cosmetic changes that I wanted to get out of the way. It includes the v1.9a changes as well.

Unless any consistent, reproducible bugs are reported, this is the final patch for TFT 1.x

Originally Posted by Stuie

Unless any consistent, reproducible bugs are reported, this is the final patch for TFT 1.x

I lied.

Updated opening post with v1.9c patch.

Changed in version 1.9a/b/c:
*Fixed "can't attack Pompey" problem at start of Civil War.
*Cosmetic changes to some message scrolls.
*Added correct night battle graphics to pre-battle scroll.
*Changed unit descriptions for auxilia and replace "mercenary" references with "auxilia" on the campaign screen.
*Reworked temple and smith bonuses for AI recruiting
*Gave an experience boost to recruited AI units

Edit: Forgot to mention this patch is compatible with save games.

I'm working on a Parthian Campaign as an add-on for TFT.



An early beta version can be downloaded here:

http://home.comcast.net/~daly916/TFTv1.9d.rar

It requires TFT v1.9c and is save game compatible. It also includes a Pompey portrait to replace the boring portrait currently used on the Pompey campaign selection screen.

Not to interrupt the updates - but TFT's been one of those mods that I've been wanting to try out ever since I heard about it, and recently I got the chance. Rather than trying to do 'everything' as many mods set out to do, I was really impressed with the focus shown on making the individual campaigns as slick and professional as possible. I enjoyed it so much I thought I'd share some screenshots and events - if it's in the way, do say and I'll move it.

I tried out the Caesar campaign (of course, who could resist) on the recommended settings. I started at war with the Helvetii, and with them massing their troops just to the north of Cisalpine Gaul. Ultimately, though, despite their numbers they were little match for the full legion that Caesar led into their territory. The decisive battle occurred where Caesar's legion met the main body of the Helvetii on the road to Vindelicorum. The legions line held firm, creating a 'pocket' from which the missile auxiliaries could fire with impunity - resulting in a crushing victory:

Perhaps the beginning of Caesar's military reputation?

This left ultimate capture of Vindelicorum, though hard-contested, inevitable:


And Caesar went on to defeat the final western Helvetii armies north of the Alps in a night attack upon their position in the Raetian mountains.


One army, though, had slipped through the Alps further to the west and marched on Caesar's base camp of Mediolanium - Caesar force-marched his troops back into Cisalpine Gaul and met Caradoc on the field west of the city - with horrific results for the Helvetii. Caesar destroyed them in detail before even the home garrison could arrive.


With reinforcements from a second legion, Caesar then recrossed into the Alps into Raetia and mopped up the Helvetii survivors.


As the western Helvetii were defeated - the Gauls took the opportunity of Roman distraction to launch their own attack to retake Narbo Martius from the Legion stationed there under the command of Titus Atius Labienus.



Labienus drew his men up in good order outside the city walls and then proceeded to drive the Gauls from their defensive position on the hill.

Undeterred, the Gauls attacked again in the winter but Labenius' legion once again proved triumphant.


Siege and sally continued around Narbo Martius for the next ten years - though the Gauls would never make such a serious attempt again to capture the settlement. Though in later life Labienus would lose much of his vigor to excess of wine and food, during this period he was an energetic and committed defender of this most exposed garrison.

The eastern Helvetii collapsed in far shorter order than their cousins. Caesar entrusted the conquest of their last settlement of Iuvavum to his lieutenant Marcus Antonius.


Perhaps fearful of giving him the opportunity for further conquests, Caesar required he stay to garrison Iuvavum against the Germans and Dacians - though little trouble came from either - for five years. Marc Antony gave no complaint at such a role, but increasingly spent more time back in Rome building his own political influence - serving as Praetor, Consul and Censor - developing a greater network than Caesar himself could serving in Gaul.


With reinforcements from Illyria en route, Caesar was able to take the offensive in the wars against the Gallic tribes. As Labienus held the southern coastal route to Spain, Caesar struck through open eastern border. After taking Treverum, Caesar swung north - avoiding the heavily defended capital of Alesia in favour of nortern port of Aduatica. The second column containing the reserves and Illyrian auxilia under the command of Qintus Hirtius was supposed to be following Caesar's tracks, however turned west at the mountains around Treverum, perhaps hoping to make up time. Unable to manhandle their war machines through the Germanian woodland they kept to the west road that took them dangerously close to Alesia. Just as the road bent to the north they were attacked by a Gallic army under the command of Vercingetorix.



Expecting the Roman force to be bogged down in the deep snow, Vercingetorix was unprepared massed volleys of the Illyrian auxilia and Roman machines of death. His own charge was blunted by the drifts across the field. Vercingetorix retreated in poor order and Quintus Hirtius, with dreams of glory followed up and laid siege to Vercingetorix at the walls of Alesia itself.

Digging in to await reinforcements, Hirtius was himself surprised when Vercingetorix savagely retook the initiative - sallying forth from Alesia and setting upon Hirtius' force. Hirtius' army - consisting mostly of lighter, less-motivated allied troops could not stand before the determined attack of Vercingetorix's main force and broke and fled. The Roman demi-legion fought on - but to no avail.



The young Quintus Hirtius paid for his dreams of glory with his life. His head was placed on the walls of Alesia, next to the Eagle of the Legion. Far to the north before the walls of Aduatica - Caesar receives the report, amended with the demand of the senate. Return with the Eagle or it will be the end of his political career.



Caesar is not yet strong enough to challenge the Senate - if they withdraw their support he will have to return from Gaul in disgrace. Equally, though, if he lifts his siege and embarks on a foolhardy strike against the Gallic capital it will undermine his entire campaign - and he may not survive to return from Gaul at all.

Excellent write-up, ER!!

Note to all: we are testing a fix for a CTD issue caused by the name files that occurs mid-way through campaigns. Should have a final patch ready in a week or two.

Is this the one where everyone else gets 2HP

Originally Posted by stalin

Is this the one where everyone else gets 2HP

Which helps make up for the crap AI. Yes.

What is meant by everyone else?

Originally Posted by Clearchus

What is meant by everyone else?

"Everyone else" = the AI factions.

Is there a reason Caesar's general unit looks like some sort of Gaillic cavalry?

Originally Posted by Clearchus

Is there a reason Caesar's general unit looks like some sort of Gaillic cavalry?

Caesar used Gallic cavalry as his bodyguard.

Development note: I've finished building TFT v1.92beta03 and have PM'd a small group of people to help beta test it. If you're interested in doing some serious beta testing (this means playing well into one of the campaigns and providing feedback) but were not invited, PM me and I'll let you know if I can use you.

Something to look forward to in the next version:

I had a feeling thats what it was.

Our current beta build is now available to the public in the v1.9 download thread! I'm leaving it in "beta" status for now, but this will most likely be the final version of TFT... and I am quite serious this time as I have other commitments that are drawing my time and attention.

** This patch is NOT save game compatible with games start with v1.91 or earlier **
** v1.92beta02 games "might" work, but for the full experience, I recommend starting a new campaign **

Changes from v1.91
1. Fixed errors in name files that were causing CTDs late in some campaigns.
2. Finally fixed the Dead Sea (thanks Orb!)
3. Added Loyalty to all Roman factions.
4. Implemented new automerge code. (this may be removed in the final version depending on feedback)
5. Gave Dalmatia to Caesar in all Campaigns.
6. Rebuilt Pontic family tree to be more historically accurate and included Bosphoran Kingdom as part of Pontic holdings.
7. Some other minor fixes not worth mentioning.

Enjoy!

I'm in the year 55 BC playing Julius Caesar and I am getting a CTD after I click the next turn icon. All was going well until I captured Lugdunum. Now I can't continue. Is there some event elsewhere on the map that is causing this?
This is real disappointing because the campaign WAS a lot of fun.

This looks very interesting. Downloading now.

Originally Posted by Garvanko

This looks very interesting. Downloading now.

it is. that is a newer version available on RTR foum though. forum is down atm though

Thanks. I'll check it out once the forum is back up and running.

Originally Posted by Sarkiss

it is. that is a newer version available on RTR foum though. forum is down atm though

The download thread linked in the first post has the most recent version of TFT.

@tooz - I'm not sure what to tell you. I honestly thought we had all the CTD causes eliminated, so I wouldn't even know where to start looking for what is causing your CTD. Sorry.

Still crashing in 56 BC for the Caesar Campaign. This is with version 1.92. Any chance of a newer version any time soon? I LOVE this mod--just can't seem to play it. I haved un/re-installed several times to no avail.

This mod looks VERY exciting. The real coincidence is that I've just picked up a copy of Julius Caesar's "The Gallic War". I get to read his personal accounts, and I get to follow in his very footsteps. I'm really looking forward to trying this out!

BTW, v1.92 is the latest, right?

The Crassus campaign is really too difficult. Pompey and Caesar are approximately balanced but the Parthian horse archers rip apart cavalry too quickly (even in a good strategy) and you have no response for their cataphracts (realistically cataphracts charging uphill into prepared legionaries would get worn down substantially; right now they still do some serious shredding). Crassus had the potential, if only he were a better general. I am. Clearly there is imbalance. Besides, the Crassus campaign in its present form is simply not fun. Beating Parthia goes beyond a challenge and is simply a nuisance. Even if you can hold and defend your gains province by province, winning an evenly-matched battle is frustratingly (even ridiculously) hard. HA's should really be nerfed. Conversely, playing as Parthia was heavenly easy.

My Pomey campaign was brilliant and I have nothing to say but 'good job' . It was fair; pretty well balanced. Same with Caesar (although he starts in weak position, but true to what happened).

Crassus is supposed to be difficult. He did LOSE after all. If you can survive the first battle versus Surena, you just need to gather a cavalry army. Recruit local to build a force that can wear down the Parthians.

Anyway... I'm turning my attention to this mod once more. Current plans for another release:

1. Fix/replace the messed up Parthian units (bad models).
2. Force the first battle between Crassus/Surena using scripting.
3. Incorporate Hip63's launcher into the standard installation.

Other possibilities:
4. Remove the 2-hp AI units and rebalance the units using other techniques.
5. Convert to BI.exe.
6. Scripted recruitment.
7. 12 turns per year.
8. Complete overhaul of the entire mod.

Feel free to make suggestions.

question, i'm playing The First Triumvirate mod with ceaser, but i want to play with unlimited movement.. I tried to use different trainers from versions 1.0 to 1.5 but they don't work??? I really like the unlimeted movement, I played the original with and without it, but i want it to with the ceasar campaign.. Can you folks help me maybe?? sry for the bad english :):):)

why are you use trainers BTW? you should try to play "somewhat clean", or you'll miss the modder's original intentions, as well as make some rewards from traits and roleplaying completely useless...

BTW, trainer for RTW, AFAIK, is tweaked for vanilla only use... they can't be used in mods that made even partial modification. So you should rely on your skillz now

just using the trainers for more freedom and totally domination ;), but i played it clean, no problem with that, i just wanted to play nasty ;) but if there's no other way to play the mod clean, then i'll play it clean;) love the mod, playing it clean will be even enjoyable as playing it nasty ;) thanks anyway for the quick reply ;)

Hi, i have a problem playing the Pompey's campaign. Pompey's character dies immediately at the end of the turn, after i defeat Caesar in battle. I don't know if it's a rule of the game or a coincidence, but i also tried to wait for some year before attack/defeat caesar and after the battle pompey died the same.
How can i modify the life expectation of Pompey to rule with him?
is there a file to change?
Thank you :)