How many play vanillla and how many use mods?

[IceWolf]

While i'm still having tons of fun with vanilla I see in another forum here there are tons of mods out there. The one that gets the most talk on a different site is RomeTotalRealism. Y'all that have been playing for a long time do you still play vanilla or do you mod? if so, what mods would you reccomend and why?
Thanks

IceWolf

[professorspatula]

I play my own mod which nobody else can have because it's all mine! Mine I tell thee! (Aside from the occasional bit borrowed from elsewhere) It's basically vanilla RTW with numerous enhancements. I never really bothered with other people's mods because I like to mess around with the game too much myself. I gave RTR a brief go though and it was quite enjoyable.

EB is another mod that appears to be becoming more and more playable and popular. Worth a look because it has an incredible variety of new units and factions and has a massive and dedicated team of modders so you know there's such attention to detail.


Oh and for BI, I do have a public mod that is available to all that just adds extra hordes and unlocks factions. Although my copy is updated, I still haven't updated it fully for the public yet since the last patch. Sometimes I can be lazy.

[Poulp']

I play my own mod too, which is based on Barbarossa's VBM and that I have heavily modified. That mod contents me; I have customized the game to my own taste (or at least tried to...)

I gave a try at XGM but stopped playing because the game was lagging so much that it was unbearable.

EB does appeal to me, but I fear it will be the same story that for XGM.

I know I could upgrade my CPU but there's a greater danger lurking, Oblivion.
I know that if my CPU can handle that game, I'll turn again into no-lifeness...

[Ludens]

I have spent many hours with vanilla, but ultimately it lacked challenge. Currently, I am playing Europa Barbarorum v0.81: it's a really great mod if you aren't afraid of a steep learning curve. I am also waiting for the releases of Athurian: Total War v0.7 and Rome: Total Realism 7.

[Fate]

At the moment, im enthralled in End Of Days for BI.
In the past ive also played ATW, and HEAVILY played RTG (completed it as practically every faction).
I'd love to mod up my own version, but as i know nothing about modding, i dont think it'd be very good

[Severous]

Hi

RTW vanilla for 12 months.
BI vanilla for last 3 months...with some RTW during that time as well

Only mod was to unlock the Celt faction in BI.

[Lysander13]

I also play Europa Barbarorum...It's an amazing mod...To any fan of the RTW time period who is looking for a challenge as well as being at risk of perhaps learning a thing or two... i could not recommend it more...

[econ21]

I found RTW quickly became unchallenging. I also disliked the speed of combat and the way that missiles and cavalry were overpowered compared to heavy infantry. I've played a lot of RTR Platinum Edition, which goes a long way to fixing these things to my taste - it also adds gorgeous graphics and a lot of historical detail.

EB is very comparable; that's what I will play in future when I play RTW.

I did enjoy BI though - especially with Goth's All Factions Mod. The WRE campaign is a blast.

[fallen851]

Vanilla is lame. With well over 500,000 in the bank, and making 50k a turn I don't think I ever used a spy, or diplomat. I just made a big armies and easily, so very easily overran the map. I lost only two battles (both very small engagements) and won well over 300. And it only took me to 200 BC to get in that situation.

Worst thing about it is, that was my first ever campaign... on hard/medium...

Sigh.

Now I enjoy getting my butt kicked in EB, as well as being mocked on the EB forum.

[redriver]

if ya don't have mtw or mtw2 for one rason or another and wanted to get a feel of the period check out Chivalry mod. it's a total conversion of RTW 1.5/1.6 and nearin' final public release out of beta stage.
I've been playin' Chivalry myself.

[Sohwen]

I play mods for the bigger maps. I don't fight on battle maps cause it takes forever and I always lose more men than if I had gone automatically. So I like the big Campaign Maps.

[dimitrios the samian]

Hi Guys ,, Its probably not the right thread to ask this but along the sames lines .... Which mod provides the best AI on the battlefeild ? because Im like econ21 & fallen851 " un-challenging .. lame " Darths or Sinuhets ? ,, cheers DTS

[Dexter]

hy ...
the original patched game (1.5) whit unit size to largest (160) and one single change by me... the game is playable from 270 bc to 230 AD - 500 years -
love to turtle a lot build watch towers and forts. AI likes to attack forts a lot.
And recently added the bug fix - cant remember the name sorry !!! - that changes the texture of some units which appeared incorrect - still the roman generals shoulders are red not the silverish plate armor -, but now at least the senate is roman not 2 macedons and 3 romans. No mod.
I have Europa Barbarorum but not played it yet.

[econ21]

Hi Guys ,, Its probably not the right thread to ask this but along the sames lines .... Which mod provides the best AI on the battlefeild ? because Im like econ21 & fallen851 " un-challenging .. lame " Darths or Sinuhets ? ,, cheers DTS

Mods cannot change the battlefield AI. I know some people rave about Darth's formations etc, but I am not sure how big an impact they have.

Mods can change the way battles play out. Realism mods like RTR and EB weaken cavalry and missiles to a greater or lesser degree. They also tend to raise the morale and lower the kill rates. These changes tend to mean the AI sticks around on the field for longer and that you have to slug it out for a while before they rout.

Mods also affect the strategic layer. Both RTR and EB change the way buildings work to make it much harder to recruit men in captured settlements. This tends to slow down player expansion. We played an RTR PBM for about a year of real life in the Throne Room and at the end could only recruit soldiers in Italy. They also tend to make the economy tighter - especially EB.

If you find RTW too easy, you may find the challenge of EB more to your taste; RTR maybe imbetween the two.

[dimitrios the samian]

Thanks for your insights econ21 ,, Looks like MTW will be getting re-loaded very very soon ,, cheers ...

[Ludens]

Mods cannot change the battlefield AI. I know some people rave about Darth's formations etc, but I am not sure how big an impact they have.

I've been using formation mods on and off, and I must say that their effect, while not big, is still noticable. The A.I. advances in a more carefully laid out formation, and seems more able to carry out flanking moves or respond to your tactics. However, like you say, it won't do a miracles, and nothing can stop the A.I. from running its units to exhaustion.

[RabbitDynamite]

I recently downloaded EB as a stop-gap and have been very, very pleasantly surprised. More challenging, more deep and much more addictive.

[Teleklos Archelaou]

I've played and worked on EB for more than the last two years. Don't have much time for other mods, but I can't imagine playing vanilla for sure at this point. If it wasn't EB then it would be RTR or Rise of Persia or something else like that. One reason I keep working and playing on EB is that I want something that I can keep playing as all the different factions for years to come, and I fully expect to do so.

[econ21]

...nothing can stop the A.I. from running its units to exhaustion.

Following Puzz3D's recommendation, I switch fatigue off. It's annoying not having fatigue for my own men, but I never find it a big issue for them anyway. Exhaustion does tend to totally gimp the AI when it attacks though, so switching fatigue off makes for more tense defensive battles.

[Mr Durian]

'if anyone could recommend me a good mod that will make the game more challenging and dynamic.

I was told Rome Total Realism mod was the best one there is for that.

[Ludens]

'if anyone could recommend me a good mod that will make the game more challenging and dynamic.

I was told Rome Total Realism mod was the best one there is for that.

You should have a look at Darth Mod, Arthurian Total War and Europa Barbarorum as well.

[Quintus Of Pompeii]

Hi, I am still playing RTW vanilla and a mod used on BI. The Crusades to be exact its great fun, there is lots of different units and I like units I am still enjoying vanilla RTW but modded it to play as the Greek Cities in the campaign.

-Q

[YENKO]

I am still fairly new to RTW, so i am playing the 'vanilla' game. The only modification i did, was to make the Brutii faction red, just like the Julii was.Now the Julii are green and my Brutii are red. I hate to see my legions look green! Green is good for locusts and the pesky Gauls maybe, but MY Romans have to look red! :)

BTW, is it possible to make the game last longer? I mean, i love to conquer the whole map, which i can do only after i conquer Rome, and then give it to the rebels. then i can sit back and continue to poke at the last few nations still alive.
I would like the game to last after AD 14, if possible. I remember a small proggie back in M:TW where i could play all the way to Napoleonic era lol!

Thanks..
Y.

[Yun Dog]

Eb Rulz 11111111

[Laman]

Until quite recently I played with vanilla with some modifications of my own. Now however I play EB. Great fun.

[Ossie The Great]

I always use to make my own little mod for myself but only now have i started on a major public mod .

[Celt Centurion]

I've been playing the XGM mod for the past week or so. It has the feel of Vanilla, but the factions are changed a bit. It also has night battles, and more Generals are able to start them. I have actually been attacked at night which never happened in BI. I prefer to sally out on night battles. Using arrows at night with no flames seems to be more terrifying to enemies than if they see the flaming arrows coming.

A drawback to it is that there is a heavy AI economic bonus which gives them tons of money to train tons of full stacks to throw at you. I would recommend disabling that part during installation. The only way that I was surviving the times I played against the AI economic bonus I had to "add_money 40000" so often that by the time I won, I was adding 40,000 up to 5 or 6 times every turn just to maintain. In order to build and repair, it was substantially more. That's why I prefer not to add money with the cheat code.

I presently have a Ptolemaic campaign going on, with a settlement up in Side (just East of Halicarnassus) which is taking most of my money and attention as my former ally, Pontus, has betrayed me and besieged the city every turn for over 30 turns. It's just a minor city needing 12,000 to get to the next level, but backfilling the garrison every turn has reduced it to 400. I actually bring over 240 nubian spearmen from Salamis every turn, which I discharge in Side, and train up Phalangists and backfill other units. I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth the effort, and should I simply evacuate and destroy everything inside the walls. It's certainly drain in people and money.

Pontus is also at war with my primary enemy as well though, the Selucids. After I win the short campaign, (if I win it) Pontus will be the victim of Punic wars.

I do enjoy the XGM mod however, and find myself in it far more than BI or basic RTW.

I shall be looking for the ATW though, it looks interesting.

Strength and Honor

Celt Centurion