The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent
vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums
here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules
document is now in effect.
[Total War: Discussion] Total WAAAAAAAAGH WARHAMMER!
Posts
I would buy this game so hard.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
PSN: Vorpallion Twitch: Vorpallion
With less Cyrillic yes.
On the other hand, no Imperial/Shogunate political intrigue.
I'd hate to give that up.
Huh. By the With Fire and Sword guys, on the M&B engine.
That could be ... interesting.
I don't know if it'll swing as sim as I'd like, but now I know I need to follow along with the development. Thanks!
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
I just started up a Carthaginian campaign to get ready for Rome II. I can't decide if it'd be better to march across the Alps or move through Sicily and onto the boot. The latter seems more fraught with danger, since it antagonizes the three most powerful groups at once. If I don't take out the Scipii right away, though, they'll expand into vital areas, and off the bat they only have two regions.
On the other hand, Iberia is rich and Spain is weak. I could take their lands and march strongly on the Gauls and Rome. Doing this would allow the Romans breathing room, and their higher tier infantry will slaughter mine, though.
I'm pretty sure I took over Sicily first, built up a little bit and took over all of North Africa and then took over Sardinia and eventually took on Rome. It was tough fighting off SPQR's full stacks, but taking them out early before they had their reformed to troops was a really big plus.
My Italy campaign had similarities to Hannibal's campaign actually :P Dodging big armies around Italy, engaging in smaller battles and waiting for reinforcements to arrive from Carthage. Only differences being I didn't march down through the Alps and I actually got the reinforcements from Carthage and ended up beating the Romans!
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
As I had a shitty computer throughout the years, and wasn't able to play some of the games, I noticed something else too. They've dumbed down stuff, at least since Napoleon which I played on it's free weekend. For one, you can't trade techs with other nations. For another, you can't place spear blockades to protect your stationary archers from Calvary. I like how they've made the ui for towns a shit ton more user friendly. They seem to have made traits make much less of a deal. I can forgive them for homogenizing the clans of Japan though, as you're not going to much unit variet, unless they would be able to bring in China, Korea, or some other place into the mix.
I just hope the factions in Rome 2 won't boil down to legionaries for every nation. From what I've read, Rome 1 had 3 basic faction unit types. Roman units, Barbarian units, and Middle Eastern units (Carthage and the Numidians).
Hopefully the roster will be diverse.
No, all the playable factions had unique rosters, and most unplayables did too. They were just filled with made up stuff.
I ended up doing the Sicily > Rome thing, too. Except I lost, because Gaul died and the Britons won the campaign. Never playing short campaigns again. -_-
I had to go back so far in my campaign, so I could protect Gaul in Iberia (like a bully protecting his victims from another bully) and rush Spain into oblivion.
Before that I had swept Sicily, held Palma/Caralis, North Africa from Tingis to Cyrene, taken Italy up to and including Rome herself while removing the Brutii from Italy and Scipii from existence, and controlled Cordyba up the Iberian coast to Osca. My towns were sprawling, my armies strong and citizens happy. Then God damned Briton won, because the Julii took Gaul down.
Now my campaign is bogged down in debt, unrest spreads across the empire and Rome still breathes, while the Julii scavenge the ruins of my rebellious holdings in Spain. That forced-rush I had to make for those Northern Spanish holdings completely buggered my campaign. Don't know I'm going to get back to that campaign anytime soon, even though I know after a long-ass in-game time I could correct everything (especially since the campaign is technically "won"), and head for world domination.
My two biggest worries of Rome 2. They definitely cut out stuff while markedly improving the actual game-stuff. The friendliness of the UI is fantastic now, it's a breeze and thank God for that. It does feel like things are missing all over, though. Small things, mind you, but I certainly wouldn't mind "stealing" and trading technologies in a non-broken diplomatic system (like, say, in Shogun 2). Though to be fair, Napoleon introduced a better way to make vassals in it's liberate/occupy/loot system, and it offered new diplomatic choices (demanding the breaking of alliances/trades, etc.). I kind of miss selling map information, too, but I guess it makes sense given that France wouldn't be sitting around in 1812 wondering "who the hell controls Moscow?"
I just got FoTS, and it is amazing. It's also missing stuff, though. No food production right off bat, struck me as odd. I think RoTS was the same. I actually didn't notice until I realized I wasn't really "planning" my cities. Just "can that be upgraded?" *click*. In the base campaign I actually have "city planning" in mind, determining which provinces will do what before I've even really started, based on what their province-bonus is, whether the soil is good, if I'll need food by that point, if it's a choke-point or likely to be attacked, and so on. In FOTS, I'm just going and attacking > clear everything > make finance structure > moving on. I think I have 3 whole provinces not just using Inn/Cottages. Those are my military provinces, which are all built the exact same as well, since I'm not dividing my military between cavalry, ranged, melee/defence/attack and morale.
Just keep the features robust and the armies varied, and Rome 2 will be the best thing yet.
While all roman factions shared the same roster, there were way more unit rosters than you make out.
The different Barbarians (Gauls, Germans, Bretons) had their own rosters. Carthag, Spain, and Numdia all had their own rosters as well. Greece had a different roster than Macedon which had a different roster than Macedon which had a different roster than Egypt which had a different roster than Parthia, etc.
http://rtw.heavengames.com/rtw/info/units/index.shtml
In fact in some ways I feel RTW had a more diverse roster than MTW2.
PSN: Vorpallion Twitch: Vorpallion
The different units felt different in RTW as opposed to 5 flavors of pikemen with one higher attack and defense than the previous iteration or France's lineup of knights. When you fought another faction, it felt like another faction and not a palette swap.
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
That website is actually where I got that impression.
"I'm checking the maps, mon Emperor, but I want to say...China."
I do hope they advance the diplomatic options a bit further--we can expect things like hostage exchanges, I expect, but I would like the option to create puppet states and the like when I want to, rather than an ultimatum after taking a territory.
The vassal-system definitely needs an overhaul. For one, I can demand that alliances be broken along with trade agreements, and I can force declarations of war. However, I can't demand that peace be brokered between my vassals/allies and enemies? Worse, I can't broker peace between two damn vassals or allies.
When you create a vassal, it also completely fails to tell you anything ABOUT that vassal. Who is their base-allegiance to (which was a pain in Rise and Fall of the Samurai)? What are their specialties (in the case of major factions)? So on and so on. It'd also be nice if I could exploit or work on a region before I turn it into a vassal, since the AI is a moron who won't build roads or anything of value. They make for shitty trade partners. As you said, it'd be better to flip a region like flipping a house than to let it remain in disrepair as a single-region faction pushing out endless Town Watch.
I'd also love if I could use diplomacy for exclusive trade rights, not just with a faction but with a particular province/valuable (say, I come across a province I don't want to stick with, so I bargain it to another faction in exchange for the rights of it's gold mine).
Maybe that's all a bit advanced for Total War, but it'd sure be something.
If I remember correctly, it's like this:
M2TW:Kingdoms has hotseat campaign, but battles can only be autoresolved.
Empire, Napoleon and Shogun 2 has multiplayer campaign.
A few issues:
First, I'm fairly certain that unless you vassalize one of the playable factions, they don't have a special trait.
The AI isn't great, but it's not any worse than the normal AI when confined to one city. Fuck, I've seen vassals build full-stack armies of samurai supported by cavalry and declare war on what used to be their countrymen, expanding their empire. It's not beneficial to me necessarily (except for the added revenue), but it's exactly what they should be doing. Infrastructure wise, it's a crapshoot.
They make perfectly great trading partners (barring strategic materials, which they are slow to exploit). I have almost a dozen vassals in my current FOTS game, and it's largely the reason why I'm rolling in the gold.
Getting information when your presented with the choice, if your forced into it at that point, would be nice. I guess its our own fault for not actually looking at the data screen before capturing the fortress.
"Hey, sanitation makes things less smelly. Huh."
caffron said: "and cat pee is not a laughing matter"
True, only the playable/major factions have traits, but I'd like to know which ones they have. I don't memorize who has what traits, the same way I didn't memorize who has what units when playing Rome. I don't need that information until I'm cramming pikes down their throats. I suppose it'd also be nice if there was more than one AI scheme, so a faction will take advantage of their traits.
As for their stack-building, it's pointless. I don't even want them to expand, I want them to get their capital in order so the map isn't full of bottom tier junk when I'm rummaging around. It's amazing the state of disrepair the AI leaves things, not just vassals, the AI in general. I spend most of my time trolling my own vassals and allies with agents, anyways, so I can scoop up the land they blunder into controlling. FOTS is especially great for letting me incite revolts in capital provinces. I want that province built up before I declare myself it's savior, though.
They only make for good trading partners, in the sense that they're as good as non-vassal AI. Which, like I said, has no concept of provincial management. That's why rebellions happen constantly in their land at every stage of the game. They could be even better trading partners, if they build up their economy beyond "MORE LEVY!".
The game should present me with additional information beyond "this is their name", especially the allegiance. No fortress-checking will tell me who Clan Ramalamadingdong has allegiance too, unless the guy I just took it from is the one becoming a vassal (unlikely, as most vassals will happen as you break down bigger clans).
Just more information. More information is always good.
Edit: Ya know, playing lots of Rome lately has made me realize how desperately a vassal/client-kingdom system was needed. When you take into account the insane amount of squalor, the "distance from capital" disorder pretty much renders a happy empire beyond point X impossible (no matter where you relocate your capital to, it will isolate other areas). Being able to turn the fringes of my lands into client kingdoms, just like the Romans themselves did, would be fantastic. I mean, it was common practice to leave the old rulers in charge if they paid their dues, Persia, Alexander, the Mongols, they all did it.
Also how much the mechanic for turning a province into a client kingdom at will should be an option. If a province is giving me, or is going to give me, trouble, I should be able to make it "free". Just like Rome did.
I just wish the pope would allow me (England) to conquer Scotland. Also that there was a tech tree I could follow, and that I'd finally be able to make sword units. What's with units being made in limited quantities? It seems strange.
When attacking other Catholic factions, be sure to bring some sort of siege weapon so you can attack immediately. If you're going to rely on building rams, ladders and siege towers the Pope might not let you complete the attack.
What buildings (and units) are available depends on how big your cities and castles are. All castles can build swordsmen after a certain size (Dismounted Feudal Knights), but only a few at a time. Some factions get good heavy infantry from the barracks type buildings in castles, others have to rely on slowly training DFKs or using other units.
Well, that's good to know. The Scots only have one more city left. Now I'm at war with the Holy Roman Empire, who the papal states don't like. I think the French are rallying for an attack. The Denmarkians (Denmarkites?), Spanish, and Venisians are my allies. I have a bad habit of killing off my Calvary trying to take down generals, siege equipment, and archers. I find it strange that Calvary can't get off horses. So if I wanted a general or prince to attack the walls of a city with my troops, he won't.
If a faction gets excommunicated, you can ask the Pope to call a crusade on one of its settlements. Very useful sometimes. You should always be on good terms with the Pope, and the easiest way to do that is to pay him off. Park a diplomat next to Rome and gift him a couple hundred florins every turn and you'll be good to go.
Sooner or later, every faction might turn on you. Even if you're on good terms. Even if you're allied. Be prepared.
The people of Denmark are called Danes.
Sometimes a suicidal cavalry charge is necessary, like when you're defending in a siege and the enemy has siege weapons. Makes the defense a lot easier if you can kill off the catapult crews and confuse the soldiers carrying ladders/rams/siege towers.
In field battles it's often better to charge, run away, then charge again. Beware of spearmen, though.
If you manage to take control over the gate in a city you're attacking, you can just ride your cavalry inside and slaughter everyone.
The only problem I'm having right now is massing troops, or being able to get those troops out of area with a lot of squalor. I need to get ready for an eastern Danish invasion, and I have the money, but it takes a while to get the troops. I can afford Mercs easy, but my second problem is with that. Unlike Shogun 2 where I can easily outfit two generals to travel with each other to attack or defend, the fact that units don't replenish means I'm sometimes sitting back for 3-4 turns for my guys to come back. I also have trouble moving generals around for certain things. I wish the majority of my generals didn't spawn in Paris and Metz. One last problem I have is that early towns that made to burst out money are a little underdeveloped on the military side. I think all my cities and castles have stone walls, but I'm always finding places that could use a bowyer, stables, or a watch house.
I think I might just be boring and do a Brutii campaign soon.
Anybody else caught the campaign bug because of the announcement?
The only ones I have played is Rome and Shogun II (and I started up Shogun II today) and I'm not quite sure which one I like best. I think I need to give Shogun II more time.
Oh, man... there really isn't one. Every TW has a legion of devout followers who swear up and down that it's the best. I'd say the BIg 3 are Shogun 2, Rome, and Medieval 2 (with Kingdoms expansion). My personal favorite is Medieval 2, it has a lot of wonderful mods and the scope of even the base game is huge.
My second favorite, a largely unpopular opinion, is Empire. Empire was very broken when it came out, but nowadays with all the patches and your choice of mods, it's pretty damn great - the largest landmass of any TW, you can really do some gigantic campaigns. Empire relies on you liking gunpowder tactics and the like, though.
I play FotS like Empire, got a mod that adds bayonets to infantry. Its a great time.
Shogun 2
Empire/Napoleon (Napoleon is to Empire as Fall of the Samurai is to Shogun 2)
Medieval II (I don't particularly care much for the Kingdoms campaigns, but there are mods to add the territory, factions and units of those campaigns to the main campaign, which is truly awesome)
Thats how I rank them. Shogun 2 is by far the most mechanically sound of them, but Rome has my favourite factions, Empire has a very unique timeframe and largest map, and Medieval II perfected the Rome-engine formula along with the very best general-speeches.
And foreign fruitcakes, don't forget the foreign fruitcakes.
I love Medieval 2. There's a nice variety of unit rosters for the different factions, and I find the setting really interesting.
I like Empire because it's just so goddamned huge, but a lot of the game mechanics are noticably improved in Napoleon. Still fun, though.
I like Shogun 2 (and FotS) as well, but it still seems a bit strange that you can't trade tech and regions.
But, I forgive CA because DEATH IS MY FRIEND!!!!! AAARRRRRRRRRRRAAAGGGHHGHHGHHH!!!!! HA! HAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
I hope highly variable general speeches make a come back.
"And any man who comes through this fight mostly unharmed will be my sister! It'll be free frocks and jollies forever, you'll see!"
"We are gathered here today to do battle. Regrettable isn't it? I didn't want to be here myself, but my grandmother told me that I better make a good show out of it. So here it goes."
I haven't played Rome myself, but I really really hope that this makes it into Rome 2.