Rome II

[Yskonyn]

What you don't like cute puffy clouds?  ::)

[Gusington]

The crushing impact it has on my game speed. And all that.

[Nefaro]

I don't think Vsync even works properly on the campaign map.  I still get some tearing when moving the view on it.  It was like that in Shogun 2 but I think they gunked it up even more in Rome 2.

The game has been enjoyable despite the blatantly ramped-up AI cheat(s).  What can piss me off the most is the horde of General Assassination spamming the AI agents do every turn.  Just when I thought their massively oversized armies' upkeep must surely suck up all their income, they keep spending extra money on constant assassinations.  ::)

I wouldn't care as much but the stupid senate/ruling house mechanics in your own gov't means that you'll eventually run out of family members or have to spend all your influence on birthing new ones to replace the assassinated ones.  The two game mechanics just don't work well together at all.

[mikeck]

If by AI cheat you mean "extra bonuses in money or ability" then that is no different than other TW games. I haven't had graphics issues like tearing and such. BUT, you get a money bonus too...if you like at your income, you will see "other": that's the bonus. Unfortunately, the TW AI is what it is at this point. They have to get more money than you and maybe morale bonuses and such. I will say that the AI in Rome 2 is just as good as Shogun 2 and better than any of the gunpowder games. AI always had problems with gunpowder units.

Anyway, are you running GEM or another mod that ramps up graphics? Others have had that problem....I have been very lucky. For me, Rome 2 and x rebirth both worked (graphics wise) smoothly for me since purchase.

I wish I could recommend a mod that will improve AI and remove bonuses but there aren't any. Lots of mods so tweak the AI here and there in regards to what units are built and how they deploy on the battlefield, but they are tweaks

[Con]

I have a question it might be best suited to aniother thread but at 183 pages this one is difficult to scan to see what the current status is.

1. Is Vanilla worth playing at all (so far I have just done the prologue)
2. What are some good Graphical mods only if vanilla is OK
3. What are the other Mods that are deemed essential if you want to change the gameplay to make it more realistic etc.

Thanks for the replies and sorry if it was already posted somewhere in this Homeric Odyssey of a thread  :D

Con

[Gusington]

1. Totally.
2. What faction are you thinking of playing? There are a lot of faction-specific graphics mods. I also recommend the cloud-removal mod for the campaign mode.
3. I like the 2 or 4 turns per year mod, 4 seasons mod and research adjustments mod that go along with them. Search the mod shop on Steam and you'll find the highest rated ones.

[mikeck]

1. Yes, vanilla is good. As a matter of fact, this and Shogun 2 are the only TW games I play vanilla. Of course, mods make it better, but you can enjoy the game with vanilla.

2. I would look at radious' mods. You can get the big one which includes everything or get them separately cafeteria style. He has one that removes clouds and swirly icons from the campaign map and such. There is also GEM which actually improves the sharpness and look of the game. If you go to the Steam Workshop, you can find tons of graphics mods that change the UI, cards and unit skins.
I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND using a 4 turn per year mod (many big ones like radious include it or you can grab 4TPY from the workshop) along with a "seasons effects mod". The first allows you to build up generals that have specific skills and such without them dying every ten turns. The latter adds a lot of immersion as you get a different look to the campaign map depending on the season including rain and snow. Also, some add actual statistical effects depending on the season: more food during autumn harvest, more money during summer due to trade, etc. Again, search the workshop for "season"

3. As for a mandatory mod a'la Darthmod for Empire...not really although Radious' mod is good. DEI was a fantastic mod until they tried to get cute and made this weird area recruitment thing. It might turn out ok but it needs a bit of work.

Anyway, if you are going to play Rome, I would recommend skipping any battle mods and going with "realistic legionary tactics": it is better than any mode I have used at keeping formations and adds a whole bunch of unit formations...big to mention fire at will pilum use by legions.

[Nefaro]

If by AI cheat you mean "extra bonuses in money or ability" then that is no different than other TW games.

I wouldn't have mentioned it but I get the impression that they cranked it up further in Rome 2.  The amount of units the AI is fielding has been noticeably larger than the rest.  Even larger than when Rome 2 was first released.  I have a sneaking suspicion they further raised it in a patch. 

No worries on the gameplay end.  I'll just have to adjust my gameplay strategies and go all out on military spending whereas before it was usually some mix between that and building progression.  I just feel like I'm being pushed out of my normal Total War campaign strategy because the developers wanted to make it more difficult for those players who just go balls-to-the-wall military spending on massive armies.  Judging by the change, I suppose those are the same players who had been complaining the most.

[mikeck]

If by AI cheat you mean "extra bonuses in money or ability" then that is no different than other TW games.

I wouldn't have mentioned it but I get the impression that they cranked it up further in Rome 2.  The amount of units the AI is fielding has been noticeably larger than the rest.  Even larger than when Rome 2 was first released.  I have a sneaking suspicion they further raised it in a patch. 

No worries on the gameplay end.  I'll just have to adjust my gameplay strategies and go all out on military spending whereas before it was usually some mix between that and building progression.  I just feel like I'm being pushed out of my normal Total War campaign strategy because the developers wanted to make it more difficult for those players who just go balls-to-the-wall military spending on massive armies.  Judging by the change, I suppose those are the same players who had been complaining the most.

You may be right about this one allowing the AI more bonuses. Truthfully, I've never really looked into it. Either I'm challenged by the AI, or I'm not. I do understand why it would grate with some though. Ideally we all want an AI in the total war series that is half as good as advertised. Sadly, if you don't know by now, it's a lower priority. I suppose if anyone thought they could do better, they would.

There always comes a time though when I've had enough and shelve it....usually because I'm not challenged and I know what the AI is going to do. I then go and play a game like Scourge of War that has good AI and give myself a challenge.

[MengJiao]

If by AI cheat you mean "extra bonuses in money or ability" then that is no different than other TW games.

I wouldn't have mentioned it but I get the impression that they cranked it up further in Rome 2.  The amount of units the AI is fielding has been noticeably larger than the rest.  Even larger than when Rome 2 was first released.  I have a sneaking suspicion they further raised it in a patch. 

No worries on the gameplay end.  I'll just have to adjust my gameplay strategies and go all out on military spending whereas before it was usually some mix between that and building progression.  I just feel like I'm being pushed out of my normal Total War campaign strategy because the developers wanted to make it more difficult for those players who just go balls-to-the-wall military spending on massive armies.  Judging by the change, I suppose those are the same players who had been complaining the most.

  In some campaign recently (I think I was Pontus in fact), I noticed the AI had huge numbers of remarkably crappy troops...yes it was Macedon with dozens of Illyrian Slave-slingers or something.  Those troops might have been good for seiges, but in open country the Pontine Cavalry ran over the the Slave-slingers pretty fast.

   My impression is that the AI has some basic moves that would tend to impede an attempt to overwhelm them with masses of poor troops, but the average player shouldn't have too much trouble buying some cavalry and a few good ships.

[sandman2575]

3. What are the other Mods that are deemed essential if you want to change the gameplay to make it more realistic etc.

I'm still on the lookout for a really good combat mod.  I tried CloseCombat but didn't see a whole lotta difference from vanilla. Mostly I want something that makes the battles last longer -- these battles that feature 6K troops that last all of 10 minutes are kinda depressing.  There's an intriguing "Lines of Battle" mod that might have been up my alley, but it apparently makes the battles *too* long (like 45 min+).  Would love to find the sweetspot around 30 minute battles.

A plug for the DEI mod.  It doesn't feel to me like a radical departure from vanilla, just a deeper version (in ways that I think are good rather than tedious).  There's also an "Ancient Battle Realism" submod for DEI that I'm dying to try out, but it needs to be updated to the latest DEI version.

[mikeck]

Yep. I use radious AI mod because it really seems to help the AI build better quality armies

[Nefaro]

I've been seeing some decent troops in the AI armies.  Not all of them, but there is at least a few core higher quality ones even in the minor unplayable ones.  Some, like the Greek or Macedonian AI armies, have a large amount of quality units in them.

I'm not sure if they recently improved this in a patch or if it was often the case.  They've always tended to go a bit heavy on the ranged skirmishers but when they can field about two full armies per settlement and march them out in support of each other, the ratio doesn't matter so much anymore.

[MengJiao]

I've been seeing some decent troops in the AI armies.  Not all of them, but there is at least a few core higher quality ones even in the minor unplayable ones.  Some, like the Greek or Macedonian AI armies, have a large amount of quality units in them.

I'm not sure if they recently improved this in a patch or if it was often the case.  They've always tended to go a bit heavy on the ranged skirmishers but when they can field about two full armies per settlement and march them out in support of each other, the ratio doesn't matter so much anymore.

  About a month ago, as Rome, I had one high quality army.  I would send it in forced march to just in range of an enemy army.  It would be compelled to ambush the high quality force and would be more or less destroyed.  Anyway, no matter how numerous the AI, there are lots of ways to beat it.

[mikeck]

Still, nothing is more annoying than realizing halfway through a battle, that two of your cohorts are almost dead...only to find that they were standing at attention while being pelted to death by peltasts or rock slingers while you attention was elsewhere on the battlefield.