Aggressors: Ancient Rome

Started by Grim.Reaper, May 05, 2018, 03:21:08 AM

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JasonPratt

#90
Probably yes. But lots of other shiny things to do.  O:-)

Edited to add: as far as the campaign goes, I'm not sure I have any interest in it, compared to, let's say, Rome 2 TW, or the upcoming Paradox RomeEU sequel/remake/update.

But the random map generator retains its interest for me.
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
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Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

Gusington

I've read on Steam that the AI is pretty good - maybe sticking around for the campaign would be worth your while.


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Rayfer

Quote from: JasonPratt on September 02, 2018, 11:35:06 AM
I did discover that the inability to generate a random map seems connected with trying to play it in 720p resolution. When I switched to 1080p, it didn't have any problem generating a map.

I put another several hours into it yesterday, along that line. (Tried to save it as a live YT broadcast for future reference, but the signal died without telling me about 5 minutes in.  :buck2: ) Still makes me want to look into the current state of Genosia more, but it's fine. Don't believe the estimate for completing a road, though -- the code isn't actually programed to calculate that. ;)

The supply-source limitations in the early game are interesting if just a tad hacky. I started with a "nomad" which is the basic unit, not terrible at combat, and able to build a settlement but that's all. (All units can build settlements in this game, btw, unless I misunderstood the rules, but the nomad and settler are better at it.) The nomad had both the "forager" and... um, rats I forget the other ability, pioneer maybe. Their descriptions sounded exactly the same for effect in different wording, so I couldn't figure out why there were two abilities: basically the unit doesn't take damage being outside supply. Okay, great, makes sense for nomads. I find a good settlement spot, the TEN THOUSAND NOMADS (unit sizes are weird in this game) found a settlement, and things move along. I create a settler (which sets off riots in my settlement, damaging it, because the settlers need TEN THOUSAND PEOPLE leaving over barely a few hundred at that point to regrow the settlement), and it doesn't have those abilities. This worries me, but turns out, nah, it has them but just doesn't say so. Okay.

Then I create a nomad to go scouting (once my settlement has bred back up to over ten thousand people), and I send it out to go look around because it can take care of itself better than the settler army which has no offense (but which can build roads and fields and clear woods to make fields later, etc., which is what I've been doing with it.)

The nomad army gets four squares north off past a lake into the woods and through a mountain pass, and starts to die. Because it's out of supply now.

...what? I thought nomads had those two (apparently equal) abilities to live off the land?! I happen to notice now that the two markers for those abilities are missing. They were given to the first nomad unit by the game to keep it alive until it founded a settlement. They aren't inherent abilities for nomads.

The ability to live off the land without dying, isn't an inherent ability for a nomad unit.

No doubt this is for game balancing. But still.  ::)

I did enjoy the extra 3 hours I put into the game yesterday. I don't feel I've gotten my money out of it yet, but I can see that's possible at least.

JP...I noticed the same thing with the early Nomads.  But it made sense after I thought about it.  Your starting Nomads had no settlement or farms of any sort and had no choice but to learn to survive by living off the land. But once you made a settlement with surrounding farms and enough population to made a Nomad unit, it would have learned to live off the farms and not by foraging the land.  So that it started to starve when 3-4 hexes (squares) from the settlement means it was away from its food source for 3-4 years and without the foraging skills of the initial units.  That's my spin on it...not sure at all if that's the logic behind the developers design. I like the game more with the random map generation and sandbox approach rather than the campaign. Although my only time with the campaign has been the basic and advanced tutorial, which is scripted.

Gusington



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We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Rayfer

Quote from: Gusington on September 02, 2018, 02:35:03 PM
Are the tutorials effective?

I thought so...they walk you through the various game systems and take quite awhile to finish.

Anguille

Played only the tutorials so far and i think they were well done. I have yet to play the full campaign (still on large campaign in Oriental Empires).

As Jason said though, having played the tutorial of Rome Total War 2 one week ago and with the upcoming game by Paradox, i am not sure what place this game can have. I will have to play one campaign through before i can answer that.

JasonPratt

^^ It does have the random map gen for.... well, sort-of-ancient-Mediterraneanishness. The others don't.

Rayfer,

Uh, no, I don't buy that a town would spend two years training NOMADS to be NOMADS and then the NOMADS would spend three or four years moving away from the town, only for the NOMADS to never learn to live off the land like you would expect from something called NOMADS which, by the way, the game itself agreed that NOMADS can do back when that was convenient.  ::)

This also, not incidentally, limits the usefulness for the unit in being able to expand into potentially hostile territory. Which I'm sure was part of the balance design, since otherwise the player could spam nomads out to build settlements in hostile territory -- but the settlements would be vulnerable for many game turns anyway, unless an armed force was sent to garrison them better, and urgh my head is spinning with the quantum 4d layers of design justifications.  :buck2:

Nomads should just be "raiders" no more able to build settlements than anyone else (since all units can technically build settlements) but able to live off the land like settlers. Or better yet, let Nomads be able to build settlements in the generally restricted sense all other non-settler units can currently do, and eliminate that ability from all (or most) other combat units. Instead of other "mobile units" also being able to "settle", even in only a limited way, let the "fortify" command grant unit supply in the nearby area, perhaps expanded with tech and/or time spent in the area, but no other town capabilities: that would make a lot of sense for a true fortify capability. The fort should grant better defense than, let's say, a level 2 town (and maybe better with tech and/or over time), and should be map permanent like a settlement, with damage and a risk of destruction if it's overrun but also the possibility of being captured, repaired, and re-used. Like, y'know, forts.
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

Nefaro

Quote from: Sir Slash on August 30, 2018, 02:26:09 PM
That is true. Disco killed Roman Rock-N-Roll and caused The Plague.

Pfff!

The only disco that matters is "Evil Disco"!  ~~  >:D ~~>




solops

Would someone who has played recently please comment on how the game is after the last two recent patches?
"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly. - Winston Churchill
Wine is sure proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. - Benjamin Franklin

JasonPratt

Quote from: solops on November 05, 2018, 07:16:36 PM
Would someone who has played recently please comment on how the game is after the last two recent patches?

I'll not be able to tonight, but I'll try to check on it tomorrow.
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

MOS:96B2P

This looks kind of interesting.  I think I'll go over to STEAM and read up on it.

solops

I just finished up the tutorial and I am looking forward to the campaign. The random map generator would seem to be a treasure trove. I am hoping someone will mod in elves, orcs, etc. With the map generator this game could have legs that won't quit. This could be a really inventive way to get unlimited fantasy empire building fixes.
"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly. - Winston Churchill
Wine is sure proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. - Benjamin Franklin

Steelgrave

^I like how you think!!!   :bd: :bd: :bd:

airboy

I've got it.  When I finish up my grading I'll start playing this and PanzerKreig.  I'll eventually have detailed reviews of both published.  But you know me, I never write a review without at least 30 hours of gameplay.  But since I'll be retired in a couple of weeks, that should be more easily accomplished.

solops

As I work into my first game I find it enjoyable and well paced. The UI can be a trial and is NOT intuitive in a couple of places....needs work. I have not gotten far enough to gauge how deep it is as I am still learning the game systems. I can see that the diplomacy needs some work as there are too many interactions with nations improbably far off. I have not (yet) found much of a tactical layer, but the operational/strategic layer is feeling better than the Total War systems. If they can clean up the UI it would help. There is nothing WRONG with it, it is just a bit kludgy and un-intuitive. I wonder how many sub-optimal design decisions were made to avoid possible lawsuits over copying stuff. Seems a stretch to me. Anyway, the game is a "plus" so far.
"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England
I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly. - Winston Churchill
Wine is sure proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. - Benjamin Franklin