The Battle of Pydna, 168 B.C. Part II

[BarkhornXX]

Phalanx surrounded


The Romans gain the upper hand


The end of the Macedonians


Carnage on the field

[Anonymous]

LOL! Nice one!

I might have to do one of those myself. I'm still trying to figure out how to use the (rather clumsy) battle editor that is hidden away in the last RTW patch. When I do I'll try to create a simulation of poor old Varus at Kalkriese and see if the Romans can break out and escape.

Or just enjoy driving them into the swamps to die ...

[Aryaman2]

Soldiers seem to be in open ranks, I did a mod for Medieval TW in which the figures of soldiers stood much closer, maybe I will do something similar when i get Roman TW

[BarkhornXX]

Soldiers seem to be in open ranks, I did a mod for Medieval TW in which the figures of soldiers stood much closer, maybe I will do something similar when i get Roman TW

Actually, I believe that the open ranks are appropraite for the Roman's - they did need room for cutting and thrusting. What makes no sense - and is a big disappointment - is the way that R:TW handles the phalanx. The issues are:
1. AI deployment leaves wide gaps between units (I did the deployments manually in the earlier shots)
2. Once the units advance they become totally separated and are easy prey for the nimbler Roman troops and/or cavalry.
3. Then there is the single unit charge "tactic" that the AI uses to open a battle. Often this unit is a phalanx - that ends up being cut to pieces by a barrage of pila.

When playing the Roman Scipii faction agains the Greek Cities and the Macedonians I have lost only one battle - and won a slew - due to the idiot AI. Oh well,

Barkhorn.

[Aryaman2]

that is bad news, I was thinking of buying it this summer, but I will only play solo games, so if the AI is that bad, I will think twice before I buy it

[Anonymous]

that is bad news, I was thinking of buying it this summer, but I will only play solo games, so if the AI is that bad, I will think twice before I buy it

I only play solo games as well and I tend to only buy/play games that are really worthwhile. But I've been playing this one at least twice a week since last August.

The AI isn't great, but it's a hell of a lot better than many such games. I downloaded the demo of the Napoleonic Imperial Glory game last week. It's a bit like R:TW in the Nineteenth Century. It has very pretty graphics but it's tactical AI is as dumb as a brick. Units fight to the last man, infantry stands under artillery and happily dies and cavalry charges massed ranks of foot despite taking insane casualties. I gave up on it after four games.

If you set the difficulty level on R:TW relatively high, you can get the AI to put up a decent fight. I usually win when I play the Romans, but I put that down to my superb tactical skills. :lol: Fighting as the Scythians (or Sarmatians in RTR) is trickier if you make a mistake and a Roman legion closes with your horsemen. The Germanics are also harder to use in a stand-up fight with heavier troops. As those damn British chariots tend to run rings around infantry and outrun heavy cavalry.

There's still plenty of fun to be had with the tactical game and more than enough in the strategic level to keep you busy for weeks.

I'm still in the process of working out how to use the rather clumsy and unsupported Battle Editor to create some historical Roman vs Germanic battles. I'll post the results here, including a download of the finished battles if I have any success.
Cheers,

[L. Aufidius Pantera]

I agree - don't be put off by people talking about low AI in RTW. Its mainly a problem if you're not playing on high difficulty. Generally this an absolutely great game (apart from odd things such as some of the higher up units...). Hours and hours will be wasted!!!! :lol:

[BarkhornXX]

I agree - don't be put off by people talking about low AI in RTW. Its mainly a problem if you're not playing on high difficulty.

Sorry, disagree here - see my comments on the way the AI (mis)handles the phalanx. Historical tactics are rendered null and void because of this.

That being said, I still play and enjoy (most parts) of the game. But let's not pretend that the tactical AI is anything but sub par.

Barkhorn.