Rome II

[CptHowdy]

haven't checked out their forums since I don't own the game yet but this isn't their first rodeo. I think people expect a little more out of the AI and such. how long have they been writing AI for total war games?? perhaps they take a few shortcuts since they know someone will mod it anyway? does a disservice to people who don't want to mess with mods.

[mikeck]

Had my original crash repeat... For whatever reason when I entered a battle I side Syracuse, it freezes and I have to control/alt/delete. So far it has not happened in any other cities but then I have yet to fight in one since that crash.

I am really enjoying learning how to use my agents. I had another general almost assassinated by another family. I hired a spy and stuck him with the army to help prevent another attack. I love hiring champions and placing them with an army to really help train it up. I also have a spy that is leveled waaayyyy up. I have her wreaking havoc with the Etruscans right now. Created unrest in one province and the. Burned their trade port. Later, when I laid seige to it, she poise we the water supply which damaged all of the enemy units. Due to the loss of the port and a farm that I burned, they had negative food and the garrison started to attrit. Pretty cool.

I recommend the "close combat mod" as well as another mod on TWcenter that dulls the uniform core of everyone so they don't look like Vietnamese monks

[Bison]

I just finished pounding the Syracuse Army to a pulp.  Next up CARTHAGE!  You will not occupy provinces that rightfully belong to Rome.

[Nefaro]

I'm in the middle.  The game is still playable, and it's fun.  But I've also experienced too many frustrating bugs and passive AI to call it great, in it's current state.  While many are being overly melodramatic, I can see some of the reasoned points being made.  We all wanted to see the same capability present in Shogun 2 and for some reason CA tore some of it up (notably the AI) and started fresh.  It's either quite unfinished or a failure in that attempt.

Thats okay, It's playable at the moment albeit mostly a pushover.  I don't mind waiting to see how they fix it up.  The most alarming that keeps dwelling in my mind is how half-assed CA has fixed up poor AI's in the past, on their Total War games that were released in such a state.  I won't rant and foam at the mouth like some fans but I will certainly be pissed if they don't bother fixing it up much.  Of all the Total War settings, this is my favorite.  Shogun 2 was released in a good condition - if anything they kinda jacked up some of it with their patching of additional graphics crap that gave some people problems.  It would be a shame if they didn't finish Rome 2 properly, and I'm willing to bet there are many with this same concern in the back of their mind.  That's probably why some are flipping out - they expect this to get some half-baked updates and then left by the wayside.  I want this to be the best of the bunch, so I've been expressing my concerns here, in a more civilized location. 

It's fun enough that I've still been playing it, so it's certainly got that special something to keep me coming back, even while being disappointing at times.  Hopefully I'm not viewed as a crazed ranter, I just hope they fix this up because it would be awesome if they can get the challenge back up to Shogun 2 levels.

I may have to go find the mod that slows down the run speeds and combat, but what does the combat one modify?  Does it raise Defense, Armor, and Morale some or..?  I've used some of the combat mods in other TWs and the effects can favor certain unit types a bit too much, so I'm a bit wary.  Best to just try it, huh?  Anyone have a link?

[Nefaro]

I recommend the "close combat mod" as well as another mod on TWcenter that dulls the uniform core of everyone so they don't look like Vietnamese monks

LOL.  Some of those light missile troops definitely resemble buddhist monks.  Especially Epirote Slingers.

[Nefaro]

haven't checked out their forums since I don't own the game yet but this isn't their first rodeo. I think people expect a little more out of the AI and such. how long have they been writing AI for total war games?? perhaps they take a few shortcuts since they know someone will mod it anyway? does a disservice to people who don't want to mess with mods.

There was some developer video where the guy mentioned they were trying to do something totally different with the Rome 2 AI.. make it more flexible and less scripted as it was in Shogun 2 (or some such).  I don't recall whether it was for the tactical or strategic AI, or both.  I thought the Shogun 2 AI was challenging enough to keep it fun, and it got fairly wide praises, so why would they want to scratch it and start fresh is my question?  ???

[Dolan50]

I guess when all is said and done all that really matters is that you enjoy the game enough to keep playing it.

I've played a few games that looked promising in the beginning only to lose interest in them later on down the road when the developers decided that catering to the masses took precedence over designing a game with more depth and vision.

In a way you feel betrayed because you thought you helped in making the game popular,but then come to the realization that the developer probably never really shared your vision anyways and was only interested in turning a buck or had no other choice but to sell out to larger interests that could care less about game other than how much profit can be derived from it.

Usually once a game starts dumbing down and begins to feel arcade like,I just uninstall and move on and wish I had enough money to finance and design my own version of the game.

[undercovergeek]

Anyone have a link?

this is quick film of the close combat mod with a link to it in the details - this one changes the morale and attack speed, the other one changes actual movement speed and morale its called Radious Battle Mod - something like that

[Grim.Reaper]

Anyone have a link?

this is quick film of the close combat mod with a link to it in the details - this one changes the morale and attack speed, the other one changes actual movement speed and morale its called Radious Battle Mod - something like that

Is there supposed to be a link or is that somewhere else?

[MengJiao]

Great  posts on the last page. 'Geek I feel exactly like you do sometimes...I feel like an ignoramus because I am enjoying Rome II.

Poor Easy Pontus bit off more than it could chew: The Selucids and their Satrapies took Easy Pontus to pieces.  Even on easy you can be crushed if you are not careful.
I guess I'll try running some barbarians.

[Bison]

Usually once a game starts dumbing down and begins to feel arcade like,I just uninstall and move on and wish I had enough money to finance and design my own version of the game.

I think this is an interesting topic of conversation.  "Arcade" and "console" are thrown out there with such a liberal use as to mean just about any design choice that someone doesn't like about a game.  What does that actually mean?  Not trying to poke you in the eye here.  It's an honest question.  In terms of the Total War series, while there have been some design choices that have changed from game to game like how provinces are broken down the city based like Rome 2 or the farms/ports of Empire, I really cannot see much that has changed from the overall formula of the game designs.  I don't get it.

[mikeck]

Here is the uniform mod (need mod manager)
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?618773-Uniform-Re-Colour-Mod

Here is the battle mod I use, just drop in the Data folder:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?618795-Close-Combat-mod

I have found the campaign AI to be fairly aggressive. Not so much in foreign policy.... They haven't declared on me yet (although they fight each other) but once we are at war, the AI definitely moves his armies and attacks my towns (just lost one to the Etruscans).

[Bison]

I might have bitten off more than I can chew in my Roman campaign.  I'm in a full fledged war with Carthage and her allies.  Armies and Navies are moving all over the Mediterranean.  We are in a power struggle primarily over the Sardinia islands area.  The one upside for me is that Carthage has a major rebel problem right now, which is indirectly helping my war efforts.

[Nefaro]

Was there another patch this evening? 

I just logged into Steam and there's a 22.8MB update downloading.  Of course, it's estimated finish time is about 3.5 hours since the Steam client doesn't feel like downloading patches much lately.  >:(  Seriously?  A 22MB patch that won't finish downloading?  Shamefur Disrpray!

[Grim.Reaper]

Was there another patch this evening? 

I just logged into Steam and there's a 22.8MB update downloading.  Of course, it's estimated finish time is about 3.5 hours since the Steam client doesn't feel like downloading patches much lately.  >:(  Seriously?  A 22MB patch that won't finish downloading?  Shamefur Disrpray!

Yes, it was the hot fix for red skies.