Rome Total War

[The Ill One 0]

 

Bit too lazy to edit the size, but hey, you get the picture. Heavy Onagers with fireballs make for some good gaming.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

It's hard to get all the way to Triarii before the Marus reforms turns them into Legionary Cohorts (I believe). They are fun to use though.

 

I started a Macedonian campaign. Fun to use, the phalanxes kick ass holding people up then the lancers come in a kick ass. Only problem is everyone comes after you quickly (Greek Cities, the Romans, Pontus) and it's hard getting anywhere once the Roman navies come after you. Plus the Pontus chariots are hard as hell to kill off.

[The Ill One 0]

Yeah, I had a Macedonian campaign going for a bit. But I'm insanely fickle with the campaigns, right now I'm trying out the Spanish.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

The thing is with the Macedonians once you knock the Greek Cities off Greece (limit them to their 1 or 2 cities in Turkey) you've got a heckuva economic base because Thessalonica, Sparta, Athens, Byzantium, Corinth and all those all produce boatloads of money once you get the markets and docks upgraded. Plus Athens starts off as once of the most advanced cities in the early game. You should have just enough time to take over Greece and form an alliance with Thrace and maybe Pontus (even Armenia if you get a boat with a couple diplomats out quick) before the Romans go after you. But they're still so early that their Hastati don't stand a chance against a phalanx/light lancer attack. It's if you let them hang around until after the Marus reforms that they become more difficult (as I'm finding out to my sorrow). I lucked out by knocking the Brutii out and made Rome a Protectorate, automatically ending my war with the families and giving me trade and military access.

 

Now I've just got the Gauls, Brits, and maybe the Egyptians on my case. It's hard to tell with the Egyptians because they'll form an alliance with you then break it the very next turn. Plus I accidentally ended my alliance with the Armenians (who are actually pretty good cavalry) when they went to war with Egypt and now I can't re-up the alliance because they're paranoid.

 

I'm trying to find someone with a good balance for my next campaign. Maybe the Carthaginians. Elephants might be fun.

[The Ill One 0]

Yeah during one of my games the Pontus empire really was a nuissance. I played again as the Julii house and captured Carthage. Now that's a great city for economics and it's very advance. Makes it easy to take over from there too.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

The only problem I can see with Carthage is that it's awfully spread out. You've got Carthage in N. Africa, then all you've got are Sardis and Palma on the islands and the city in south Spain. I guess you can look on the bright side and say that it just give you more room to spread out. You can attack Spain, Numidia, Egypt, and even the Gauls and Italy if you work fast enough. I don't know. The Pontus seem pretty fun with the chariots and the Armenian cavalry seems pretty good too, although I think their infantry pretty much sucks balls. I'll have to play around a bit after I beat the Macedonian campaign.

[The Ill One 0]

Yeah playing as any faction with a weak foot military can really blow. I finished up the short campaign of Carthage, it's really not that bad. I just built up a bit and took the nearest settlement then let my money swell- then went in for the kill. The Romans or Spanish attack quick though.

[Guest Trivia247]

you just take into the account what disadvantages you have, but use some stragedy and whatever advantages you do have.

 

Not every opponent you can make a frontal assault on all the time, sidestep a few times flank attacks especially with a cav unit or two.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

you just take into the account what disadvantages you have, but use some stragedy and whatever advantages you do have.

 

Not every opponent you can make a frontal assault on all the time, sidestep a few times flank attacks especially with a cav unit or two.

That's what I'm doing against the Gauls. I'm simply overrunning them with lancer and Macedonian Cavalry (Heavy). I had a battle with about 650 (them) vs. 400 (me). Yeah I use small armies, my video card can barely keep up. I had 3 cards of archers, 4 cards of levy pikemen, and the rest cavalry. The Gauls had 2 cards of archers, 2 Noble Cavalry (the 2 captains) and the rest a mix of swordsmen and warbands.

 

He tried breaking his cavalry out wide to my flank. I pulled my archers to form an "L" to my hoplites and broke 3 cavalry units out to them. His leadership got massacred while the rest of his army was still getting into position. I then turned my archers back against their archers and rushed my cavalry around both flanks. I smashed his archers and bullrushed his infantry from behind with a horde of horsemen. They all panicked as soon as the initial rush hit, and I spent the rest of the fight chasing everyone down. Total casualties: Gauls-607, Macedonians-56. The only hoplites I lost were to archers, and his infantry never came into contact. My cav took a bit of a beating, but it was hilarious watching band after band break and run as I smashed into them.

 

I still don't have a surefire way of beating wardogs though. They scare horses. I guess I have to hope my archers wipe out the handlers and they run amok. Either that or fire arrows.

[Guest Trivia247]

Amazing enough Macedonia is about my toughest opponent so far in the first campaigne as the Juili. I was to take the town Larassia and sent out two hefty armies one with Ballista artillery. First attack gets repulsed due to ran out of time, but did wittle the defenders down to a thousand and so to 200. Then we came back in and took the town. then by the next turn the town revolted and another 1,500 man troop came down and attacked us outside of town. However my Romans still broken into two armies manage to repulse them. However the town returned to Macedonian hands with the survivors of the battle reinforcing the town with 8 or so units. Senate decided to just blockade them again,but felt it was time to shut down and retry it later.

 

Macedonia isn't playing around.

[The Ill One 0]

Really? Right now Egypt's hassling me and it's on the verge of going against the Senate. Which isn't too good because I'm so wide spread out because I was attempting to take out Briton and the Germanic tribes.

 

Edit: For whatever reason RTW is starting to just freeze up and crash. Which has really screwed me over a few times, plus it's frustrating.

[Guest Trivia247]

i've been having screen freeze too, it sucks having to completely turn off the computer by the power bar and just try again.

 

So far I've now taken Rome but now im broke. Because of the complexities of the game Im gonna do a new campaigne with either the Greeks or the Carthege.

[The Ill One 0]

Somehow in the imperial campaign it's down to Partha and the rebels. How the hell the rebels took over majority of the map 'cept where I am? No. Clue. But I'm about three regions away from winning then start a new one.

[Guest Trivia247]

Somehow in the imperial campaign it's down to Partha and the rebels. How the hell the rebels took over majority of the map 'cept where I am? No. Clue. But I'm about three regions away from winning then start a new one.

everytime the rebels take a city over I just feel the need to exterminate them after I reclaim the city. have all the industry up to that date and sack the town for money.

[The Ill One 0]

Yeah it's just so bizarre.

[Guest Trivia247]

I got ten regions left to take, Manage to survive two scippi sieges by the skin of my teeth by clogging the walls with so many low rent troops that they couldn't come down the walls to take the town. Now Britanna has turned on me so now have a two front battle to take, unless the Armedians or the Egyptians plan to get uppity while I deal with this.

[The Ill One 0]

Somehow with less than twenty-five guys I seiged a town with a 114 or odd men. It was bizarre but pretty cool. They opened the gate and I pushed my way in then got to the town square, center thing, and that's when the reinforcements came. Somehow I held my ground. Must be because rebels more or less suck.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

Sometimes the rebel popups are just bizzare.

 

My Spain..in the second or third turn, had to deal with a sizable rebel band..including two units of Bull Warriors. Something that takes me the largest town a barbarian can have, with the highest level of temple to get.

 

[The Ill One 0]

 

Custom battle.

 

 

But I just got my ass kicked by Partha because I more or less forgot to secure that section.

[Guest Trivia247]

with the Fall of Massena I ended the game 50 provinces and Rome. I have to contemplate where to go from here.

 

I have used the program that unlocks all the factions so I have a number of choices to make. think may switch up to Egypt.

[The Ill One 0]

Try Carthage too because it's a fun one.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

What are the system requirements for this?

[Guest Trivia247]

One thing I dislike is the fact that every other civilization has to have a Phalanx unit. I mean ok its a decent enough unit but hasn't anyone else come up with something other than a big long pointy spear?

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

Umm.. None of the Romans, Gauls, Britons, or Spaniards that I can recall have a phalanx unit. They depended more on close up combat (with javelin support in the Romans' case). I prefer the phalanx though. Stand people up, then slip your cavalry around the flanks and the fight's over, time to kill everyone waving a white flag.

[The Ill One 0]

Yeah if you get phalanx in a spot where they can't get behind you- you'll get the clear advantage.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

I finally got around to reinstalling this.

 

So far, my Scipii are doing great. In the first three or four turns, I took Syracuse, and kicked the Greeks out of Sicily. In a strange move, Carthage pulled it's fairly large army out of Lilybadium (about seven units or so), and were taking it back to their capital, when my fleet sunk it. I stripped my capital down to a govenor and a Town Watch or two, and took everyone else I could, hiring a few mercs in Sicily, and keeping Lilybadium seiged. My army that took Syracuse shipped over to Carthage, which had a pitiful garrison, and seiged it. Also helped that I bribed off the fairly large army of reinforcements coming to stop me.

 

So far, I've got all of North Africa except for the two Numidian cities toward the bottom of the map. I've taken both of Carthage's island towns, and that army's headed toward Spain now.

 

The only problem is keeping some of these towns happy..some of them are HUGE (28k+), and some are just too far away from the capital. I've got a killer economy going on, so that helps.

[The Ill One 0]

How does one get a great economy? It's something I've always wondered if I'm missing something or it just has to do with building ports, traders, etc.

[El Psycho Diablo 0]

Sometimes it's really just random.

 

Some citities do better harvest than trade, so you may have to upgrade your farms.

 

For trade, you need the best level of Roads, and Ports that you can get, followed by Traders. Also, make sure that an enemy army or rebels aren't sitting on your trade route..they cut it in half.

[The Ill One 0]

Ah, alright, so it's pretty much what I was hoping. Now time to finish taking down Spain. How much money are you rolling in a turn?

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

How much better is Rome Total War to Medievil Total War? I picked the later up at Wal-Mart a month back, since I had wanted Rome. I gave the game a shot, but with no handy manual and the complex combat it left me slightly bewildered.

 

Is Rome easier to pick up? More complex? Eh?