Rome Total War Gibberish...

[HeXploiT]

So after four years of playing the single player campaign on again off again I've decided that I want to attempt to completely dominate the entire map. I am currently at about 210bc and no Roman families have attempted to attack me yet. This is about as far as I've made it in the game in which I would guess at about 30-40 hours of total gameplay. So I have a few questions. First of all how far along the historical timeline will the game go?
Will it go on for another 200 years so that I can play Julius Cesar? Does it cover the unrest in the middle east around the time of Christ? Basically I am wondering what I have to look forward to from 200bc on out.

 

[murban135]

It has been a while but here is what I remember:

Time will keep running forever, it will go on another 200+ years but you never get to be Cesar. The game situation never really changes, historical events are not modeled. From 200 BC on, it is basically the same as before 200 BC.

However, I did find that conquering the whole map was a challenge. Keeping your cities from revolting while expanding your empire over the whole map was not easy.

 

[Edge1]

Glad to see a Rome: Total War post . Not sure about the timeline either, but sounds like previous poster answered it. I'm at like 166 BC, 44 regions, just beat the Senate, and am now getting attacked by the Brutii from the east, while attempting to also take down the Egyptians in the South. Quite challenging indeed. I assume when I hit 50 regions controlled I win the long campaign? I also wonder if I'll run out of time, but I don't think so.

I've put in a lot of time into this great game (first play-through), I'm guessing 40-50 hrs. Made some basic mistakes early. Getting better I think .

Good luck man!

 

[HeXploiT]

I did some searching last night and found this thread in which user SubRosa played for 400+ years and kept a log the entire time. :Q
What a ridiculous undertaking.

 

[imported_Imp]

I've always assumed that once the "long campaign" time limit runs out, everything remains static (i.e. no new tech, events). I only completely dominated the entire map once in Rome Total War, and it was crazy. The best battles were Roman on Roman, but it was really annoying to have an entire stack out of commission even after a successful battle cause how balanced the fighting was. After you win the entire map, you just have to deal with unrest in cities and reconquer if they revolt: not that fun.

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: Perry404
I did some searching last night and found this thread in which user SubRosa played for 400+ years and kept a log the entire time. :Q
What a ridiculous undertaking.

Technically you lose if you play too long, but you can keep playing. Although I couldn't imagine a real game lasting anywhere near that long. Even had an event on the last turn.

Did he play the Scythians because he liked them, or just because they are remote? I liked the Scythian forces. They had no real infantry choices, but the horse archers made up for that. Also the Head Hunting Maidens are one of the best units in the game.

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom

Originally posted by: Perry404
I did some searching last night and found this thread in which user SubRosa played for 400+ years and kept a log the entire time. :Q
What a ridiculous undertaking.

Technically you lose if you play too long, but you can keep playing. Although I couldn't imagine a real game lasting anywhere near that long. Even had an event on the last turn.

Did he play the Scythians because he liked them, or just because they are remote? I liked the Scythian forces. They had no real infantry choices, but the horse archers made up for that. Also the Head Hunting Maidens are one of the best units in the game.

Doesn't the long campaign have you have to beccome the supreme ruler of Rome in addition to controlling 50 provinces to win? Because i still see the Julli,Scipii and the SPQR on that map,though i also like the Scythians,Horse Archers are the backbone of my armies whenever i play them,plus they also have access to onagers (At least in the Vanilla game) which most other barbarians lack.

 

[Edge1]

That's quite an "event" Bladevenom!

Thanks for posting those shots. That helps to se the "you lose" shot - I still have some time left .

 

[HeXploiT]

I really have no idea what a "win" consists of. I can see where cities could drag you down once your populations reach very high numbers but I keep a strict ruleset when it comes to cities. Firstly I always take care of a cities happiness first and foremost and military last. I don't create military units unless I have a plan for them and cities only get one chance to behave properly. If A city rebels I annihilate the populous.
I don't like to do this but "to pardon one offense encourages the commission of many". Ie if a city rebels it will rebel again. If I suspect that a city I conquer will rebel I enslave it. One can tell the happiness of a city before conquering it by looking at it's details and if necessary by using a spy. I don't like the enslavement option either however because it spreads those unhappy slaves throughout the empire and doing this too frequently can cause problems in the long run.
Now I play the battles on difficult mode but I'm still manipulating the game by capitalizing on the ridiculously uneven strength of the Roman legions ability to hold formation even against the most crazed and brutal opponents.
As long as the line is not broken and the flanks are secured the line will always hold and the only units in the game that I've found who have the ability to break the line are a: elephants(which can easily be routed with three units of missile skirmishers) or Faulxman gone berserk which have an insane attack bonus and no fear.
Still I've gotten to the point that I know the AI enough that even other roman legions attacking me don't generally stand a chance. The key for me is in the defense. I am very happy to hear that events conintue all the way up to the new mellenial calender. The history is part of what makes it so fun.
Also I don't know why SubRosa played the Scythians though I know many people like them. I've tried other armies but I'm still hooked on the legions.

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: Perry404
I can see where cities could drag you down once your populations reach very high numbers but I keep a strict ruleset when it comes to cities. Firstly I always take care of a cities happiness first and foremost and military last. I don't create military units unless I have a plan for them and cities only get one chance to behave properly. If A city rebels I annihilate the populous.

Military units in the city can keep it from rebelling, and adding them to a city that starts to riot can stop a potential revolt. Of course when the city gets too large sometimes it's easier and more efficient to pull your military units out, let it rebel, take it back, and then exterminate or enslave the populous.

Farm upgrades are a double edged sword. They can help small cities grow faster and provide extra income, but they can also make your cities grow too big to keep happy.

I don't like to do this but "to pardon one offense encourages the commission of many". Ie if a city rebels it will rebel again.

Cities don't have a memory or an emotion engine, it's just a simple math formula that determines population happiness. You're overthinking it.

If I suspect that a city I conquer will rebel I enslave it. One can tell the happiness of a city before conquering it by looking at it's details and if necessary by using a spy. I don't like the enslavement option either however because it spreads those unhappy slaves throughout the empire and doing this too frequently can cause problems in the long run.

The game doesn't keep track of individuals. Adding slaves doesn't make a city unhappy because of unhappy slaves. It might become unhappy because of the population increase though.

Also I don't know why SubRosa played the Scythians though I know many people like them. I've tried other armies but I'm still hooked on the legions.

If I had to guess, I would guess he played them because they are out of everyones way. So he could sit back and watch what the rest of the world does.

You've already mentioned how good the legion troops are, so it does get a little too easy to win with Romans. Playing with Egypt is also very easy. Some of the other factions provide an interesting challenge. Scythians are much more of a challenge when you attack and defend cities with them. They also suffer from limited unit types and a limited tech tree.

 

[HeXploiT]

Cities don't have a memory or an emotion engine, it's just a simple math formula that determines population happiness. You're overthinking it.

The game doesn't keep track of individuals. Adding slaves doesn't make a city unhappy because of unhappy slaves. It might become unhappy because of the population increase though.

I think you are wrong on both these points. First off it has been my experience that when cities rebel they do so repeatedly.
Secondly I do believe that enslaving a populous really does increase the numbers of unhappy people across all settlements. I can't prove you wrong at this point however I don't think you're giving the game enough credit. It is apparent to me that the math involved in this game is anything but simple. It may be simple when broken down but were talking about thousands of equations constantly in play.

 

[Edge1]

Regarding slaves, I've often wondered whether enslaving contributes to an increased likelihood of "Rebels" popping up in your territiories. They're really not a problem, more like a distraction that is easily crushed, but I did have a pattern of enslaving most cities in the early half of the game just to raise overall population/income levels. Rebels used to pop up more frequently, but have slowed to a trickle at this point, with some areas seeing none any more (Spain for example).

Regarding rebellions, I had a particularly annoying one (called "The Gladiator Uprising" that recurred in one of the southernmost Egyptian cities. It was a large population that was advanced and I made the mistake of enslaving it. Clearly should have exterminated...but that's been taken care of now .

Note - this is my first playthrough and I'm doing the standard Julii faction. I'm thinking of making Rome (SPQR) my 50th region. Currently at 44 with large armies being assembled to crush the Egyptians. I went back a save point (I had already attacked the Senate, and was unprepared for the Brutii counter). My thinking is, after getting Rome and 50 regions (technically "winning" the game and unlocking all factions) I can just sit back and wage war with my fellow Romans at my leisure. No doubt I'll want to kick all their butts.

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: Edge1
Regarding slaves, I've often wondered whether enslaving contributes to an increased likelihood of "Rebels" popping up in your territiories. They're really not a problem, more like a distraction that is easily crushed, but I did have a pattern of enslaving most cities in the early half of the game just to raise overall population/income levels. Rebels used to pop up more frequently, but have slowed to a trickle at this point, with some areas seeing none any more (Spain for example).

The territory where you enslave a population can have a few extra rebels spring up because of enslavement. I don't think it effects any other territory, other than increasing population which can sometimes cause dissatisfaction when population rises faster than you can build the buildings and amy units needed to keep them happy.

Keeping happiness in the green greatly reduces the number of rebels popping up. After you just capture a city there is a high degree of unrest which means rebels pop up frequently until unrest goes down. Some territories always have a certain level of unrest so rebels pop up there more frequently.

 

[Edge1]

Thanks Blade, that makes total sense. I have my share of yellow and even blue around the map any given turn. I can see how the game would do the math and decide its time for a rebel army. I'll stick with trying to keep things green.

 

[Edge1]

Finally beat the long (50 regions plus Rome) campaign!! Nice to get that "Victory!" screen finally. Took a few months, as I don't game for long sessions. Will keep it installed for future use, but need to step away from RTS for a bit.

How's your game going, Perry404?

 

[Genx87]

I have been playing this lately. After fiddling around conquering Greece and some barbarian tribes. Thrace batckstabbed me but the senate wanted me to take on the Pontiacs. So I am working them over and realize SCPII have all of Africa upto the southern border of Pontiac empire. And the SPQR family is dominating spain and france. I have to get my arse in gear. The pontiacs are toublesome so I am starting to slaughter the cities after I take them. And it appears the Senate has finally allowed me to take Thrace. Spanking thrace will be sweet revenge. My economy is rolling so i can sustain a two front war. Just hope one of the families doesnt hit me from behind hehe.

 

[HeXploiT]

Originally posted by: Edge1
Finally beat the long (50 regions plus Rome) campaign!! Nice to get that "Victory!" screen finally. Took a few months, as I don't game for long sessions. Will keep it installed for future use, but need to step away from RTS for a bit.

How's your game going, Perry404?

Almost forgot about this thread.
My game is going well. It can be easy to get bored after awhile but I'm currently at about 175 B.C. and just about ready to take Rome although my faction leader hasn't been ordered to commit suicide yet.
Currently I'm dominating all of Spain, Gaul, Western Africa and have sporadic cities throughout the North-east. I've decided that any cities I take in the north east now will be slaughtered as they are just too troublesome. Been playing a few days per week and progressing slowly but surely.

Originally posted by: Genx87
I have been playing this lately. After fiddling around conquering Greece and some barbarian tribes. Thrace batckstabbed me but the senate wanted me to take on the Pontiacs. So I am working them over and realize SCPII have all of Africa upto the southern border of Pontiac empire. And the SPQR family is dominating spain and france. I have to get my arse in gear. The pontiacs are toublesome so I am starting to slaughter the cities after I take them. And it appears the Senate has finally allowed me to take Thrace. Spanking thrace will be sweet revenge. My economy is rolling so i can sustain a two front war. Just hope one of the families doesnt hit me from behind hehe.

I decided awhile back that I'm going to befriend the Pontiacs and sofar it has gone very well. They allow me military access and have even been giving me gifts of denarii. I have rejected three senate requests to attack the Pontiacs and they are causing the other Roman families much trouble which will ultimately be good for me. If they don't turn on me I will eventually end up protecting them as they are a powerful people.
Only trouble is I don't know how to get the "Alliance" option to appear in the diplomacy screen.

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

Uhh,since when did Pontiacs Exist in Ancient Time? LMAO.

 

[HeXploiT]

Originally posted by: IL2SturmovikPilot
Uhh,since when did Pontiacs Exist in Ancient Time? LMAO.

Maybe we should start this over. The Pontic people is what I was referring to.

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

Originally posted by: Perry404

Originally posted by: IL2SturmovikPilot
Uhh,since when did Pontiacs Exist in Ancient Time? LMAO.

Maybe we should start this over. The Pontic people is what I was referring to.

I knew that already

 

[BladeVenom]

Thanks to this thread I went back, and started to finish up an old game I had left. I was the Greeks and had stopped playing after wiping out the Brutii and Scipii. After taking Rome it's basically over. Romans are the only aggressive opponent. Carthage is strong but have done nothing. Egypt starts as the strongest faction, but have only taken a single province from Numidia and the Seleucids. I wish they would've gave it a better, or a more customizable AI.

 

[HeXploiT]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
Thanks to this thread I went back, and started to finish up an old game I had left. I was the Greeks and had stopped playing after wiping out the Brutii and Scipii. After taking Rome it's basically over. Romans are the only aggressive opponent. Carthage is strong but have done nothing. Egypt starts as the strongest faction, but have only taken a single province from Numidia and the Seleucids. I wish they would've gave it a better, or a more customizable AI.

Here's looking to RTW2

 

[Edge1]

Its interesting how everyone's game evolves differently. I have to say I loved playing this game, and its memory will stay with me. I always felt a little cringe of dread/anticipation/excitement before pressing that "End Turn" button. Didn't know what the game was going to throw at me next.

Perry, near the end game (mine finished around 140-something BC) I came to that same conclusion, only for me it was the Egyptian cities in the South. They had become one of the strongest factions and require a great deal of effort to beat and then stabilize. I simply had to exterminate the populace at that point, which actually works in your favor (short-term) with $$$ so you can build those awesome Rome-crushing armies.