Better game?

[Mooks]

STW RTW or MTW.

MTW for me.

And put the last option if youve only played RTW.

[Devastatin Dave]

STW is the shiznet...

[Vladimir]

M:TW is the only one I've played.

[The Spartan (Returns)]

i played RTW and MTW. i choose RTW because of the graphics. but i think the AI in MTW was better.

p.s. please no arguing between RTW and MTW.

[Ludens]

Each has its own qualities. S:TW had a fantastic atmosphere, a very good combat engine and a well-balanced unit line-up, giving the game an elegant simplicity. M:TW made several improvements to combat and strategic models, and thus had the better game-engine. It was a more diverse game and the greatly increased modability allowed this diversity to be expanded even further. Unfortunatly, the game was somewhat unbalanced when it came to units, and overall atmosphere was less in my opinion. R:TW made great improvements in several aspects, most notably graphics, but also interface, modability and strategic options. Unfortunatly, the game suffered in other aspects, especially unit-balance and A.I.

As it is, I think M:TW provides the most solid gaming experience if you can look past the outdated graphic and the occasionally clumsy interface. On the other hand, R:TW really takes of when it is modded, so it is very close. (In fact, I would recommend everyone to try out a good modification for either M:TW or R:TW after getting acquainted with the vanilla game. The big mods add tremendously to the experience.)

[Garvanko]

Ive only played RTW, and am currently enjoying the 'tremendous experience' of a major modification.

Its probably much harder for someone who only started playing total war games when RTW came out to go backwards as it were and get MTW. Most, like myself, will wait for MTW:2.

[BHCWarman88]

MTW,then STW,then RTW for me.. I got everyone of them..

I like RTW cuz of the Graphics, but it has so many Bugs,it not funny.. MTW got A.I and to me, when I play RTW,there are alot of good factions,but people like to call a few "noob" factions,compare to MTW,the Weak ones usally don't get much Name calling anyhow on MP..

[Shrike]

Each has its own qualities. S:TW had a fantastic atmosphere, a very good combat engine and a well-balanced unit line-up, giving the game an elegant simplicity. M:TW made several improvements to combat and strategic models, and thus had the better game-engine. It was a more diverse game and the greatly increased modability allowed this diversity to be expanded even further. Unfortunatly, the game was somewhat unbalanced when it came to units, and overall atmosphere was less in my opinion.

Beautifully put. I haven't gotten RTW yet, but this perfectly describes the diff between STW and MTW. I can't really pick between the two. Sometimes I feel like a nut, sometimes I don't.

[De' Medici]

RTW has better graphics but overall MTW is superior in my opinion. Medieval is still on my computer while Rome isn't.

[econ21]

Without mods:
MTW>STW>RTW

With mods:
RTW>MTW>STW

As I play RTW with mods, I'm voting for it.

[EDIT: Yikes, I'm the sole RTW fanboy here so far!]

[Banquo's Ghost]

MTW, especially with the mods.

Eye candy I can do without. Challenge and replayability is the keystone. STW is wonderful for the atmosphere too.

I never got into RTW, so I have not given the modders a chance to seduce me with their improvements. Maybe one day.

[Clovis]

I just bought MTW, after hearing so much about it on these forums, and while the battles are a lot worse that RTW, everything else is, in my opinion, better.

Hopefully MTW2 will combine the best aspects of the two (knocks on wood)

[Craterus]

Ive only played RTW, and am currently enjoying the 'tremendous experience' of a major modification.

Its probably much harder for someone who only started playing total war games when RTW came out to go backwards as it were and get MTW. Most, like myself, will wait for MTW:2.

I thought I wouldn't bode well with the worse graphics but I barely even noticed them.

I've got all three games now and I'm kind of tied between MTW and RTW.

I had a lot of fun with Rome a long time ago, but I don't know if it beats the fun I'm having with Medieval now.

[The Spartan (Returns)]

Without mods:
MTW>STW>RTW

With mods:
RTW>MTW>STW

As I play RTW with mods, I'm voting for it.

[EDIT: Yikes, I'm the sole RTW fanboy here so far!]

me too!

[Martok]

I'd put MTW first, Shoggy a very close second, and Rome a distant third. I'm sure my choice of rankings surprises none here that know me. Shogun had the best atmosphere and unit balance, but Medieval overall felt more polished (that, and I feel more familiarity with the time period than Sengkou Jidai). I could list the myriad reasons why I feel Rome fails to measure up, but I can basically sum it up by saying RTW lacks the same immersiveness and atmosphere as the other two TW games. Ironically enough, Rome feels more 2-dimensional to me despite its snazzy 3-D graphics.

[macsen rufus]

I also put them in the MTW/STW/RTW order. I've had RTW less than six months and stopped playing it two months ago. It got very tired, very quickly - battles too easy/AI too poor/squalor too damn irritating. Three years on I'm still heavily into MTW, still finding new challenges and trying new mods (currently trying 'Pike and Musket' and 'Samurai', both excellent btw). Went to STW after MTW and love that too, except the fixed camera height!

RTW battles best characterised as half an hour of marching, two seconds of fighting, and another half hour of running away. BUT I do think the reinforcement army idea is better than MTW, and obviously graphics are better, but eye-candy isn't the main motivation for playing the game. Oh, castle assaults are more fun in RTW, too.

After what I've read above, I might be tempted to try some RTW mods, but all the ones I've tried to try so far have been pre-1.6/BI so not compatible with my install.

[Taurus]

Shogun for me.

[LadyAnn]

Shogun had its charm:
- faster pace
- less unit types so I don't need to remember all the stats; everyone has same type, so no uber-faction
- clan system was nice.

But it has many bad multiplayer problems:
- lag was horrible; the famous "tttt" to sync up and prevent dropping which now carries over to MTW and RTW.
- unlimited upgrade: H9 Ashigaru
- am surprise when people talk about Shogun is more balanced: monk-rush, ashi-rush, musket corps, etc.
- matchmaking server removed after game started
- Ladder hogs: playing 4th kawa map 1000 times, playing 2 computers, refuse to play against other players simply because they had lower ranking. Ladder formula only remembers the last 30 games. Up to a point, you would loose ranking points even if you win against someone.
- Corner camping, edge camping, red-zoning and other exploits of the game mechanics.

Community was more cosy, everyone is new to the series. I played STW some 6 months before switching to Medieval.

It is Medieval which gives the best games for me.

There are still many problems, but this is second generation of the game engine, so many improvement and optimization to the engine was made. Online game is more reliable. Drops and lags are less. Computer hardware for everyone in general is better so in general, people can play 4x4 at normal (~1000 men per army) no problem.

- The introduction of more units may make the game richer in details, but it also introduces imbalanced factions.
- some units don't have effective counters

Many good clans, some from old Shogun, many new, solidify the community. I played MTW and VI for about 2 years.

Rome is the worse of the series.
- I like many men in an army. It seems Rome could only support 3x3, at 40 men/unit. This is lame. Armies look like a bunch of schoolchildren running around in the schoolyard.
- Imbalance is very evident with exploits of many units without effective counter-units.
- People refuse to play at correct money (around 8k-10k per army)
- Game room is just horribly laid out and clownish color scheme make playing a headache.
- no effective ignore
- unreliable multi-person chat: it is documented that even though you highlight a person, the convo may not reach that person.

I played Rome for only 4-5 months then I stopped playing for a year and a half.

Annie

[x-dANGEr]

Sp: M: Tw.
Mp: R: Tw.

[LadyAnn]

Forgot to mention:
Computer in general is much better than 2 years ago. Memory is cheaper and people have XP (which is a more stable operating system than win98 with regard to packet processing and multitasking). So, it is now very nice to play 4x4 on Large unit and 3x3 on Huge unit on mods such as N:TW.. Sometimes 4x4 on Huge also. Making the game really look like a real battle.

Annie

[Dutch_guy]

Since Rome introduced me to the series it definitely deserves an honorable mention, and with mods it's a great game.

However MTW has it's charm too, love the atmosphere, events and tactical play, which you don't really have in Rome when you survive the initial 50 years.

Usually you've finished the game by then, in Medieval it usually starts getting tough.

As for Shogun, I have no idea, I've never played the game, maybe 'll pick it up someday, who knows

[BHCWarman88]

SP: MTW First,then RTW,Then STW
MP:RTW,then MTW,then STW

[Mooks]

I hope the CA people read this. And notice how awful RTW was compared to the other games in terms of gameplay.

/loves making good threads

[econ21]

And notice how awful RTW was compared to the other games in terms of gameplay.

Well, at the time of posting, RTW has more votes than STW. So STW must have been really awful in terms of gameplay, by your logic.

[Martok]

I hope the CA people read this. And notice how awful RTW was compared to the other games in terms of gameplay.

/loves making good threads

Given the hue and cry that was raised throughout the land, I think CA is well aware of how we feel about Rome and what its flaws are.

[Martok]

Well, at the time of posting, RTW has more votes than STW. So STW must have been really awful in terms of gameplay, by your logic.

I always think it's cruel to make me choose between Shogun and Medieval. It's like asking me to choose between a 1966 Ford Mustang and a 2006 Dodge Viper. Why can't I have both??!

[caravel]

I started out with Shogun not long after it was released and was awestruck by that game. No other game has had that effect on me. Sheer brilliance and a an almost totally original concept, as far as pc games are concerned. When MTW was released I went out and bought it straight away, and was disappointed. I found it overcomplicated the brilliace of Shogun's gameplay. The v&vs and constantly plummeting loyalty was annoying, as were the revolts and civil wars. Losing patience, I gave up with it and went back to STW. After about 6 months having some time to spare and having pretty much played STW to death, I gave MTW another go, and started to get into it, later I bought VI and really got hooked into MTW. My opinions of MTW have now changed, obviously. MTW/VI is probably, IMHO, the best TW game ever and likely to be one of the best games ever. After playing MTW/VI extensively and experimenting with the various mods (XL, BKB, NTW, HTW) I decided to switch back to vanilla and mess about doing my own modding (minor changes such as landbridges removal, the sahara, removal of inns, some unit stats changes etc), which has gone well so far. I then eagerly anticipated the release of RTW. When this was released I noted some of the negative feedback in the TW forums and avoided buying it for quite a while. Finally I succumbed, played it, hated it, tried again, went through frequent periods of trying to go back to it, hated it even more then gave up, after failing to see any redeeming feautures, and finally sold it a few weeks ago on ebay. I won't comment as to the whys and wherefors because as Martok has stated, CA, and many of us here, are well aware of what it's flaws are by now.

[ShadesWolf]

Each is an improvement on the previous.

But also each is worse than the previous.

Shogun was simple and had excellent movies as events occured
Medieval was great because of the time period and how vast and different your game play could be
Rome is good because of the graphics and 3D world

So each has good points.

[naut]

Each has its own qualities. S:TW had a fantastic atmosphere, a very good combat engine and a well-balanced unit line-up, giving the game an elegant simplicity. M:TW made several improvements to combat and strategic models, and thus had the better game-engine. It was a more diverse game and the greatly increased modability allowed this diversity to be expanded even further. Unfortunatly, the game was somewhat unbalanced when it came to units, and overall atmosphere was less in my opinion. R:TW made great improvements in several aspects, most notably graphics, but also interface, modability and strategic options. Unfortunatly, the game suffered in other aspects, especially unit-balance and A.I.

I Concur,

[BHCWarman88]

Each is an improvement on the previous.

But also each is worse than the previous.

Shogun was simple and had excellent movies as events occured
Medieval was great because of the time period and how vast and different your game play could be
Rome is good because of the graphics and 3D world

So each has good points.

Extacly.. Shougn had Cool Assian Movies and Emiassry Stuff,Mediveal is great and how good your game could or could not be depending on how you wanted it to be.. Rome is good because of the 3d Grahpics and how well everything looks..