Attila: Total War

[Toonces]

I'm always impressed how much you guys know about this era.  Other than the Romans and Carthage, I don't have the slightest idea who those other factions are, or how they fit into history.

Can you guys recommend a good book or two that maybe walks through all of this history?

[Philippe]

Background for the two games is a huge subject.  When I've had a little more coffee I might be able to come up with something that gives an overview of the earlier period (i.e. what gets covered by Rome Total War).  But a good starting point for Attila would be Peter Brown's The World of Late Antiquity.  One of it's virtues is that it isn't a thousand pages long, so you might actually get around to finishing it.  One of the differences between the two periods was a pretty fundamental change in world view (which isn't surprising given that half a millenium separates the two games).  The Roman Empire ultimately fell because people eventually got tired of having it around, rather than because of anything external like military force.  Speaking of things military, Edward Luttwak's Grand Stategy of the Roman Empire is always worth a read.

One thing you might do for starters is to simply look up every group you encounter in the games and read their wiki's, even if (especially if) you think you know who they are.  Wiki's on these subjects are generally pretty good, and the information you get will often be focused on what you want to know but will also lead you to look at related questions.  Rome Total War takes place during the Hellenistic period, and the history can get pretty complicated.  For keeping track of the outlying peoples it often helps to have a background or interest in archaeology, and since that's pretty uncommon, google is your friend.

[Gusington]

^I read the World of Late Antiquity and really enjoyed it. Toonces you can also check out some titles by Bryan Ward Perkins and Peter Heather on the era. Some of the titles are better than others.

[Martok]

Age of Charlemagne campaign pack coming. 

More info here. 


Dammit.  Now I might have to pick up Attila just so I can play this... 

[mikeck]

Maybe this will fix my issue

[Yskonyn]

Bastards! Now I am spending my free time again rummaging through wiki's, Era books and thinking about a new RTW 2 campaign! :)

[Gusington]

Yes! yeeeees

Looking forward to this. Maybe I can even win a campaign.

[Toonces]

I've got my eye on Attila during these upcoming Steam sales...   

[Sir Slash]

Because we wants it Precious. Yes, we wants it.

[Toonces]

As soon as they said, "knights" I knew I was going all in.

[Gusington]

Just pre-ordered Charlemagne. The game's mechanics are to be redone so perhaps I will have a fighting chance this time. Besides, the original Attila is great fun even if I suck at it. Plus this new iteration is at a 13.49 price point.

[Martok]

For all the cool-sounding features they're adding for the campaign pack, I'll freely admit it's the setting/era itself that's the main draw for me.  One hardly ever sees strategy games (or just games in general) that focus on the early Medieval period, so this one got my attention right away. 

As soon as they said, "knights" I knew I was going all in.

Talk Martel to me, baby!  8) 

[undercovergeek]

Is Attila stand alone?

[AchillesLastStand]

Is Attila stand alone?

Yes.......
TW ATTILA: Age of Charlemagne Campaign Pack
Huge new Campaign, set at the dawn of the Middle Ages.
Enter the Medieval era with Knights, Housecarls and a new illuminated UI art style.
8 Playable factions with all new Units, Tech and Buildings.
New game features with Story-based and Kingdom Events.

I may have to reinstall Attila because this looks like one of the more interesting DLC,s they have had by far.

[Gusington]

I agree - very happy that the rumors of this are true.

Doesn't CKII have a similar DLC that begins in the 9th century? The Old Gods? I guess it's 100 years later than this...but I could swear Charlemagne made an appearance in CKII, didn't he?