About to play first mod

[Ludens]

It's true that type I and II governments generally give you the most options in the long term, but the Romans are unique in that they cannot build factional barracks outside of type I provinces until the Polybian reform, and not outside of Italy until the Marian reform. Because of this regional barracks are more important, and type III and IV governments allow higher levels of the regional barracks. Furthermore, certain provinces offer good high-level regional units that make it worth keeping them as a type III/IV. For the Romans, the prime example would be the Brihentin cavalry (check the recruitment viewer: IIRC it's available in a couple of Celtic provinces).

I agree that working diplomacy is a strange observation. The diplomatic A.I. of R:TW is poor, regardless of the mod.

[Brave Brave Sir Robin]

Yeah don't be a moron like me and go straight to an Arche Seleukia campaign right after playing vanilla. I was completely lost what with all the new buildings, two types of barracks, 4 types of governments, fighting right off the bat with Ptolies, Pahlava, and Saka, about 40 different units I could recruit right off the bat over my empire, all the new traits for family members, 30 starting provinces (or something close to that), along with the fact that I had no idea where province capitals were when I moved my armies around in the vast eastern regions...

I gave up after about 5 turns and moved to the next best thing in my opinion. A Makedonia campaign which I found much more manageable. Although I must say battles were crazy hard at first since I was expecting units to break quickly like in vanilla, something my flanking cavalry found just wasn't the case rather painfully...

I lost a rather crushing defeat to Pyrhus about 6 turns in. Somehow managed to rally and beat back Epirus while I also subjugated the rest of Greece.

[Andy1984]

A Makedonia campaign which I found much more manageable. Although I must say battles were crazy hard at first since I was expecting units to break quickly like in vanilla, something my flanking cavalry found just wasn't the case rather painfully...

I lost a rather crushing defeat to Pyrhus about 6 turns in. Somehow managed to rally and beat back Epirus while I also subjugated the rest of Greece.

These are the kind of defeats that forge brutality, vengeace, a fun campaign and eventually an empire. My Romans know exactly how your Makedonians felt. :)

[Mulceber]

I agree that working diplomacy is a strange observation. The diplomatic A.I. of R:TW is poor, regardless of the mod.

I think that's due mostly to the circumstances: when Rome starts out, they bump Epeiros off the Italian peninsula (sometimes even in the first turn), and then the Epeirotes always accept a ceasefire. Likewise, If you try to make ceasefires with the gallic factions before you've expanded, they'll accept it because they don't have any common borders with you. That's probably why Madoushi liked the EB AI. I'd expect that his opinion will change once his game gets going. -M

[vartan]

Diplomacy shouldn't go the way you expect it to. That would just be boring. Unless you expect it to 'fail' all the time.