Rome: Total War II

[AMELIANVS]

Really? hock: thats sad-I was hoping for some good realism mod as soon as possible ad:

[M.VAL.BRUTUS]

Wait! Why were they chatting on the set of HBO's Rome....? I feel like I'm missing something, it's like six years ago that the series ended....

[Kegluneq]

Wait! Why were they chatting on the set of HBO's Rome....? I feel like I'm missing something, it's like six years ago that the series ended....

Old sets stay in use for quite a while (I'm not actually sure HBO were the first to use that one).

In other news, there's a mini-documentary about the contubernium up, in which MANLY AMERICAN is shown some Roman military equipment and gives his (ex-Special Forces) opinion on them. It's actually not too bad a summary, and he has some nice insights for the casual viewer (such as caligae being much better at stopping trench foot than modern boots).

[Thomas Aagaard]

In case some of plan to buy the game, but havn't done so yet:

Buy it from cdkeys.com.au.

Price on steam - 55€
at cdkeys.com.au - 48AUD thats only 32,35€
(if you pay USD on steam the saving is a hit less, but still worth it)

The only downside is that it takes a bit of time from you order, until you recive a mail with your gift.
(I made two orders, first time it took about 3 hours and this time 1:20)
But when we are talking preeorders or simply big games where you are going to download for hours anyway, it is not really a problem.

[Flavivs Aetivs]

Cool. I don't plan on buying it, as I have no way to install it. I think it needs steam to run anyways though.

[Ovid]

I'm looking forward to this actually. Hope they have it at the local Game Stop.

[Narukami]

This earlier video by the Dutch group, Phalera is even more informative:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzTt2uKUh...re=mh_lolz

:wink:

Narukami

[Thomas Aagaard]

I just preordered mine from cdkeys.com.au.
A lot cheaper than buying it on steam.

Paid 48 Australian $ (thats 42,87 USD) that is the cheepest I found it.

After I ordered it, about 1½ hour alter I got a mail that I had recived the game as a gift on steam.
And then I could just download it.

Did the same with Europa Universalis IV.

[Flavivs Aetivs]

EU4 is awesome. I can't wait until I finally get out of the house in a year and can buy both games on steam. No admin privileges sucks.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Preordered mine a while back from Amazon, and it was supposed to have arrived yesterday, so fingers crossed it arrives today!

[Domen]

A very critical review:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/09/to...otal-mess/

Unfortunately, it's not just the strategic campaign that's messy. The tactical battles are a major step back for the series as well. First, they're distressingly rare. In the first 50 years of a Roman campaign, I had only one pitched battle between relatively even armies. My first major battle simply didn't end, probably because I killed every man in my enemy's last unit instead of routing them—so I had to wait 10 minutes while the timer expired (a later battle crashed while loading the map, highlighting the many technical issues I encountered).

How that battle got to the point of me killing everyone on the enemy's unit, instead of simply routing their army, illustrates the biggest problem with Rome II's tactical combat: it's not particularly tactical. At its best, Total War combat contains several critical decision points. First, you decide how you set up your army: whether to risk missile troops in front of melee troops initially, how to take advantage of hills and forests, and so on. Second, how to engage: whether you want to attack or defend, in part or in whole. And third, once the bulk of the armies are engaged, you pick what will turn the tide. In Shogun II, a well-timed cavalry charge into the flank of an enemy unit can rout them—then the entire army.

Rome II’s battles are more like those in a cut-rate real-time strategy game: messy, anti-tactical scrums where forming lines and maintaining morale aren't considerations compared to throwing all your units into the fray. Battles turn into handfuls of individual units sprinting at one another until a couple are left standing instead of one army breaking another army. All of the components are there, but everything seems off. Charges are too fast, individual units rout too quickly, and those routs don't affect nearby units enough. Shogun II had this balance right, from the release version through the patches and expansions. For perhaps the first time in the series, Rome II appears to have learned nothing from its predecessor.

[Domen]

Online battle video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn_uPsuUbys

What do you think is not accurate (or maybe what is actually accurate ).

==================================

Archers seem to be overpowered:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2JM-gHiK7E#t=62

[Thomas Aagaard]

I don't recognize the lack of battles... but they are way to fast. I thought so in Shogun, but now it is even worse.

You engage the enemy line, trying to lock it in place for a flank attack, but before you get it going, the enemy (or your) line is breaking.
Also you can make your large army into a fleet at no cost or delay... and the transport ships are way to effective.


But hopefully somebody will made a "Realism mod" like the one to Rome I.

[Macedon]

I played it for some hours and now I am seriously considering uninstalling it. I hated the graphics (especially those of the main map, the "pottery art" units, the faces of the advisors and the generals and I played it in "ultra quality"), the interface, the city administration system, the way the battles are fought. I was very disappointed, maybe because I was expecting too much, if too much is an improvement since Rome I. And as always, Napoleonic tactics with battalions flanking the enemy seems to be the best Roman tactic too.... I wouldn't say that battles were rare, I gave 5 battles as Roman in the first 15 turns and of course, those transports really make warships useless....

In all... sheer disappointment, but maybe I am too demanding..

[Flavivs Aetivs]

I'm not surprise, I'll probably pick it up on sale in a year on steam. But I'm not buying it without the release of some serious mods first.