Rome II: Total War

[Corvinus85]

Next faction: PARTHIA

Not a bad choice, but I wonder how it will be playing Parthia, in case this is the only playable faction in the Middle-East.

Which one will be the last one?

[Grip]

"Varus! Give me back my legions!"

Could have been a bit longer and shown more gameplay rather than cut-scenes (though the cut-scenes are all done with the battle engine, which should give you an idea of how impressive it'll be).

That was an impressive trailer, though I'd prefer more of the actual gameplay. I will certainly need to buy new hardware if I want to play this game..

[total1402]

Next faction: PARTHIA

Not a bad choice, but I wonder how it will be playing Parthia, in case this is the only playable faction in the Middle-East.

Which one will be the last one?

The Parthians were Central Asian Nomads who conquered Persia.... They're not really a middle east faction.... Just sayin....

[Corvinus85]

The Parthians were Central Asian Nomads who conquered Persia.... They're not really a middle east faction.... Just sayin....

well their starting position seems to be in the middle east

[James Arryn]

Well, the Romans had issues dealing with Macedonian phalanxes (phalanges??), so their strength is pretty historical... Rome won two battles (the Battle of Cynoscephalae and Magnesia) because elephants broke the phalanxes and another (Pydna) only when they were able to draw them onto rough ground that broke their formations. Particularly at Pydna the Roman infantry was totally unsuccessful against the phalanx when it was in formation.

Elephants didn't break the phalanxes...or, that I recall, even take the field...at Cynoscephalae. That was much more an issue of unit flexibility/initiative taking better advantage of the hilly terrain, which played hell with the phalanx cohesion.

[sToNED_CAT]

Elephants didn't break the phalanxes...or, that I recall, even take the field...at Cynoscephalae. That was much more an issue of unit flexibility/initiative taking better advantage of the hilly terrain, which played hell with the phalanx cohesion.

They did. They charged uphill against one flank of Macedonian army and routed it. Other half of macedonian army was winning against opposing Romans, but then Romans from the other side, who were victorious attacked them from behind and destroyed them. On the other hand it is true that phalangites in this battle were not using their pikes because of terrain, just swords, so they had disadvantage and were not really in "phalanx formation".

[WrathOfTinyKittens]

What StonedCat said.

But yes, in general they are invincible from the front but weak from the sides and rear.

I liked to set up battles in RTW where I would have three units of Spartan Hoplites hold a bridge against a horde of unbreakable peasants. Good times.

[total1402]

About the Parthian preview.

It says that Parthia will face the Seleucid protectorate of Palava who have been trying to secede from the empire weakneing themselves. It might be that they'll divide the empire up into a core region and then have vassal states like Bactria n Palava. So we could get a seleucid empire as a playable faction roughly the same size as in rome 1.

IMO its a toss up now between egypt and the seleucid empire. Maybe pontus at a stretch. But they have to put at least one hellinistic faction in outside of greece. Will be so annoyed if they do another barbarian faction like sarmatia.

[James Arryn]

They did. They charged uphill against one flank of Macedonian army and routed it. Other half of macedonian army was winning against opposing Romans, but then Romans from the other side, who were victorious attacked them from behind and destroyed them. On the other hand it is true that phalangites in this battle were not using their pikes because of terrain, just swords, so they had disadvantage and were not really in "phalanx formation".

Holy crap, I think you're correct. I have somehow entirely blanked out the elephants from my memory. Career in crisis.

[Werthead]

About the Parthian preview.

It says that Parthia will face the Seleucid protectorate of Palava who have been trying to secede from the empire weakneing themselves. It might be that they'll divide the empire up into a core region and then have vassal states like Bactria n Palava. So we could get a seleucid empire as a playable faction roughly the same size as in rome 1.

IMO its a toss up now between egypt and the seleucid empire. Maybe pontus at a stretch. But they have to put at least one hellinistic faction in outside of greece. Will be so annoyed if they do another barbarian faction like sarmatia.

Yup, I think the remaining faction has to be Egypt. Seleucia sounds like it's going to be a collection of allied mini-factions rather than one big empire, so that makes more sense. Plus Egypt is a much more iconic faction that'll be known to more people, and its position on the map is more interesting.

The question is now, will it be Historically Accurate Egypt or Pharoah's Super Adventureland Egypt, like they used in Rome 1? :)

[Leviathan I]

Pretty excited for this game. I've never really played turn based strategy before I picked up Civ 5. Civ 5 is cool but the actual combat and strategy is pretty simplistic. Any suggestions for other turn based strategy games I'd enjoy playing before Rome 2 comes out?

[Corvinus85]

Pretty excited for this game. I've never really played turn based strategy before I picked up Civ 5. Civ 5 is cool but the actual combat and strategy is pretty simplistic. Any suggestions for other turn based strategy games I'd enjoy playing before Rome 2 comes out?

Well have you played other Total War games? Also Total War is only partially turn-based, since the battles are real-time.

For a true turn-based game I suggest trying out the Heroes of Might & Magic series. The third one is the best.

[Leviathan I]

Well have you played other Total War games? Also Total War is only partially turn-based, since the battles are real-time.

For a true turn-based game I suggest trying out the Heroes of Might & Magic series. The third one is the best.

No, I haven't played any other total war games. Which would you suggest? Heroes of might and magic doesn't really look like my thing, I'm looking for more of a realistic war type scenario, it looks too colourful and magic haha. So does total war have aspects of turn based and real time strategy? Can you explain that to me?

[Corvinus85]

No, I haven't played any other total war games. Which would you suggest? Heroes of might and magic doesn't really look like my thing, I'm looking for more of a realistic war type scenario, it looks too colourful and magic haha. So does total war have aspects of turn based and real time strategy? Can you explain that to me?

The Total War games in chronological order are: Shogun, Medieval, Rome, Medieval 2, Empire, Napoleon, and Shogun 2. I would suggest to start with Rome, since it's the first one with improved graphics (not like what you've seen for Rome 2, though), and the others that follow still have a similar campaign style.

There are two aspects to the game: the campaign map, where you move armies around, and other non-combatant units like agents and diplomats, and where you can see the cities, castles that you and other factions have. Since you played Civ 5 you can kinda picture this. You access cities from the map, in order to build improvements and recruit troops. This is turn-based.

The second aspect is the battles. When you engage an enemy army, the screen changes and you are on a battle map with terrain generally appropriate to what you saw on the campaign map (ex if there was a river on the campaign map, then the battle will likely be fought near a river). These battles can feature thousands of soldiers organized in small groups, and it's real time. The player is often required to employ various tactics to defeat the enemy army. It is entirely possible to defeat a numerical superior force, as long as you use the right tactics, use the right units and know how to make use of the terrain.

Starting with Empire, naval battles have also been featured.

[Kaldaur]

Basically, you control cities and armies on a top-down map, moving your units around in a strategic manner to expand your territory, crush enemies, and protect what you own. The cities can be manipulated in a small way, building new buildings and drafting new units to your cause depending on their refresh rate and your funds. You can also affect tax rates and governors of the cities (which affect all the factors I described). The city element is not as detailed as Civilization, but that lack of detail is made up in the battle area of the game. When two armies engage in combat, you are transported to the combat map, a recreation of the terrain you currently occupy, and position your troops in different formations and marching speeds. When the battle begins, you control each group of troops (one group of 100 hoplites, a group of 20 cavalry, etc.) and can give them orders to attack, maneuver, defend, spread out, fire at will, and other similar commands.

The battles are the most in-depth, large-scale strategic fights you'll find in a computer series. They make the series great.

[Leviathan I]

Thanks guys. I'll definitely be picking one of them up.

[Corvinus85]

And the eighth Egypt, as many predicted.

I guess I'll have to wait for a damn DLC to play with my Dacians, and probably choose Carthage to destroy Rome when I first play.

Edit: looks like there will be 9 factions, so there is still hope.

[total1402]

I hope we get to see Armenia or Pontus as a faction. Since we have our hellinistic faction now we could do with having another true eastern faction.

I'd say Pontus has a better chance than armenia because historically Mithridates of Pontus was more of a threat (they fought what, three big wars with Rome?) than Tigran of Armenia. Although by the same token Armenia is one of the few factions to survive the timeframe of the Rome series.

Currently we have

Rome

Carthage

3 barbarian factions

2 hellenistic (greek factions)

1 eastern faction

So I'd say that means another eastern faction is in the works.

BTW, could they have a pre-order or limited edition version which gives you access to an extra faction?

atm I'll probably be playing either Parthia or Carthage. Although tbh they all look amazing.

[Talleyrand]

I'm liking this system of just playing as one barbarian tribe rather than some weird super state like Gaul and Germania in 1. It'll make Rome's job easier and more like real life plus if you go as one of the tribes you'll end up spending a good portion of the first phase uniting all the similar tribes under you

[Grip]

I'm liking this system of just playing as one barbarian tribe rather than some weird super state like Gaul and Germania in 1. It'll make Rome's job easier and more like real life plus if you go as one of the tribes you'll end up spending a good portion of the first phase uniting all the similar tribes under you

Yeah this is true, fighting the Gauls or any other "barbarian" tribe in RTW was brutal. I mean it felt like their armies were endless, I guess that wont be much of a problem now.