Rome II

Sir Slash · July 03, 2014, 10:02:39 AM

I never knew Roman era soldiers were so talkative before a battle. I swear I heard one soldier talking about his mother-in-law... being a War Elephant. I was like :o

MengJiao · July 03, 2014, 10:12:35 AM

Quote from: Sir Slash on July 03, 2014, 10:02:39 AM
I never knew Roman era soldiers were so talkative before a battle. I swear I heard one soldier talking about his mother-in-law... being a War Elephant. I was like :o

Well, we know there were some memorable conversations before some of these battles. Problems with ignoring the sacred chickens and so on as well as a report tha,t before Cannae, Hannibal and Gisgo had the following conversation:

Gisgo -- "Yikes! Look at all those Romans!"
Hannibal -- "Yes, and in all those thousands, not one is named Gisgo."

JudgeDredd · July 05, 2014, 01:56:48 AM

So - I've been trying to get back into this - probably played more hours last night and today than I had since a year or more.

But I just can't seem to balance the books and my armies. I always seem to have big stacks of armies (always needed - who uses little armies?) does anyone use small armies - for anything
Diplomacy - has it ever worked in these games or are my expectations too high? I am the (don't know...south east in UK) and I have blood links, a good relationship and agreements in places with the Caledones - but will join a confederation with me? noooooo...choosey bastards!
And finally - what is the best way to take over an enemy town. I normally seem to choose the most peaceful...but they ALWAYS revolt - more often sooner than not. When you take over a town - what option do you select?

I thought I had made a mistake by taking on the Dumnonii (or whatever!) - I attacked their town thinking they had the same number of troops - then realised that they had twice the number with reinforcements. I almost selected the auto battle - expecting a rout of my troops - but I fought it - and realised more than half their troops were weak and just villagers who ran. I do like that aspect - that villagers will/can increase your troops fighting for a city.

Sir Slash · July 05, 2014, 10:38:00 AM

I sometimes will recruit a single General with high Public Order numbers to help pacify a city after I capture it. Also hold up on the taxes and demolish and re-build buildings that up the Public Order and in a couple of turns the people will settle down. If the city is one you don't need or can't hold, Raze it and let the enemy spend money to rebuild it or just Loot the hell out of it and let it revolt. Sometimes if it goes independent, you can get a trade deal even. One way to expand is to check out the Diplomacy window and offer Alliances or Satrapicies to factions if you go to war with their enemies and then later make peace with the people you just declared war on if you can't handle them. This seems to work better for me than just the routine diplomatic approach. Watch your food levels, this can cripple you if you expand too quickly. Agents also help pacify any territory if they specialize in this.

Nefaro · July 05, 2014, 11:08:02 AM

Quote from: JudgeDredd on July 05, 2014, 01:56:48 AM
So - I've been trying to get back into this - probably played more hours last night and today than I had since a year or more.

But I just can't seem to balance the books and my armies. I always seem to have big stacks of armies (always needed - who uses little armies?) does anyone use small armies - for anything
Diplomacy - has it ever worked in these games or are my expectations too high? I am the (don't know...south east in UK) and I have blood links, a good relationship and agreements in places with the Caledones - but will join a confederation with me? noooooo...choosey bastards!
And finally - what is the best way to take over an enemy town. I normally seem to choose the most peaceful...but they ALWAYS revolt - more often sooner than not. When you take over a town - what option do you select?

I thought I had made a mistake by taking on the Dumnonii (or whatever!) - I attacked their town thinking they had the same number of troops - then realised that they had twice the number with reinforcements. I almost selected the auto battle - expecting a rout of my troops - but I fought it - and realised more than half their troops were weak and just villagers who ran. I do like that aspect - that villagers will/can increase your troops fighting for a city.

What you can achieve with Diplomacy is all relative to your current standings with the foreign power in question. And those standings don't often change very quickly... they do so over time.

In order to make friends, you gotta get friendly situation going. Get non-aggression pacts and trade agreements with them ASAP, as that will give you a relation increase every turn. After awhile, they'll become more friendly (unless you also have some penalty situations) so it slowly becomes easier to deal with them.

The bonuses and penalties with a certain faction is visible in the diplo screen when you're talking to them. It may be in a tooltip IIRC.

Gusington · July 05, 2014, 11:40:36 AM

As you progress and succeed diplomacy gets easier and powers begin to come to you. At least in my experience. Also I use small armies (8-10) units to patrol provinces. Some provinces no matter how much infrastructure I built are never happy. Also if its a border province alongside a hostile power the AI will attack if they see you are weak. YMMV of course.

JudgeDredd · July 06, 2014, 07:12:47 AM

Thanks for the advice.

I was just surprised (unrealistically I guess) that the Caledonis(?) wouldn't make a federation with me because we had trade, non aggression pact, defensive pact etc, etc - and we were blood lines - so I as expecting at least an moderate outcome...but it's been low (and rejected) each time.

I have since wiped out the Dumnonii and so own south UK and north west France. Money is good. Public Order has regained to a HUGE positive number.

But now I have another problem (question).

Public order takes a bit of a dive (maybe linked to how long you've had a captured town) when you move troops out. So I have the Ebdani who I'm at war with but not had any run ins with as yet...but they're my next target. Unfortunately, I am only allowed 4 armies - and they are each occupying my 4 cities to keep Public Order in order...so how do I get enough forces to battle AND keep garrisons?

Gusington · July 06, 2014, 12:35:56 PM

^Increase your infrastructure. If you require more food, build more food producing agricultural and coastal structures (ports, etc). If you are worried about morale dropping when your armies move out, build morale increasing structures. And if you own an entire province, you can declare edicts (bread & games, tax bonus, etc) that can both increase happiness and good throughout your lands. It's a delicate balance but once you get it becomes a fun part of the game.

Martok · July 06, 2014, 03:06:14 PM

...And of course, it's still not a bad idea to keep an army or two around recently-conquered areas for rebellion prevention/suppression. At least, that's been my experience so far.

Grim.Reaper · July 07, 2014, 05:38:07 PM

If you haven't picked up the latest DLC which was the Pirates and Raiders, not sure you can beat the price of $2.71 at GetGames...you get a steam key for it of course. Other DLC is 66% off as well. No idea how long the sale lasts...I picked it up to complete all my DLC for this game...now I just have to play it:)

http://www.getgamesgo.com/product/total-war-rome-2-pirates-and-raiders-culture-pack

Gusington · July 07, 2014, 08:10:06 PM

My next play through, if not Sparta, may be as one of those Pirates and Raiders factions. All three of them look fun.

Rayfer · July 09, 2014, 07:04:46 AM

Just saw I have the original Rome TW game on Steam I bought on sale over a year ago but never played. Been playing a campaign for a couple of days now and must admit it is a very engaging and fun game. How does Rome TW 2 compare? Does it have a similar feel and game play to it as does the first? Or is a total remaking of the game into something else?

Grim.Reaper · July 09, 2014, 07:19:24 AM

Quote from: Rayfer on July 09, 2014, 07:04:46 AM
Just saw I have the original Rome TW game on Steam I bought on sale over a year ago but never played. Been playing a campaign for a couple of days now and must admit it is a very engaging and fun game. How does Rome TW 2 compare? Does it have a similar feel and game play to it as does the first? Or is a total remaking of the game into something else?

This post might give you some idea...although I can't verify it is 100% accurate, but seems to be worthwhile to read.

http://www.reddit.com/r/totalwar/comments/1qwj7a/everything_rome_1_had_that_rome_2_doesnt/

Rayfer · July 09, 2014, 07:37:59 AM

Thanks GR....that was an interesting read. An almost endless list of functions in 1 that aren't in 2. He claims he was banned from their forums for posting this. It is a scathing critique. For the time being I'll enjoy the original for awhile longer then consider 2 during the holiday sales at the end of the year.

Sir Slash · July 09, 2014, 07:38:31 AM

I had forgotten most of these differences but they are generally true. Rome 1 was a much deeper game and it's add-on Barbarian Invasion had just about the toughest AI in any game I've played. I almost bought Rome 1 when it was on the summer Steam sale recently as I've always missed it after I stopped playing it but the look was just too retro for me. Rome 2 is beautiful but beauty is only skin-deep, unless it comes with great wealth also.