TIC Play Guide

[MCM]

[vashiyusuf]

TIC Player's Guide

Rather than let those of you who aren't familiar with the history launch the game and perhaps get lost in the number of missions and possibilities that open before you, we've prepared this guide to orient you to the game BEFORE you start playing.


Welcome to RTR VII: The Iberian Conflict!!!!

Thank you for downloading and installing this modification of Rome Total War/Barbarian Invasion. The RTR team has worked to bring you a challenging game experience, rich in both history and play value.
In this game we have implemented our concept of “historicity”, meaning we have worked to balance “historical realism” with “playability”. We hope you enjoy the challenge, the feel, but most importantly the PLAY!

Our game covers the period of 238-218 BC on the Iberian peninsula, where a bitter struggle for supremacy and survival was fought. During this period Carthage asserted it's control over the Iberian Peninsula and attempted to compensate for the territories lost in the First Punic war Rather than give you a wad of cash, a starting point, an incredible leader, and an experienced Army, and set you loose on a conquering free for all, we have created a game that has a series of twists and turns no matter if you are playing as Carthage or as the Celt-Iberians....

This game (for Carthage at least) is centered around a series of missions that you complete on your way to conquering the Iberian land mass. For those of you who aren't familiar with the history of this period and area – this game will show you that Carthage had no cake-walk through an “Iberian Wilderness”. Carthage, and perhaps more appropriately, the family Barca of Carthage, had to overcome: organized tribes, independent kingdoms, and cities all fiercely contesting every piece of land gained -- all the while dealing with major cultural differences.

As the Celt-Iberians, you have one mission -- conquer a massive territory for yourself! In the process drive Carthage back into the sea! You'll soon “experience” the power of Carthage and the difficulty in keeping the various tribes in check.

Hold on! Before you start, we want you stop for a minute. Ignore the fact that you are looking at a computer screen, close your eyes and go back in time 2200 years ago. If this really was you, and you were fighting for your survival in a strange land- what would you do?

Strip away all the layers of modern technology that surround you, and humankind is pretty much the same.

Fight this campaign as if your very life, land and people depend on it! Create a solid base as you go.

We won't give away all the surprises, nor will we ruin the joy of discovery we all feel when playing a game that unfolds before us.


Notes for ALL Players

Restarting the entire Campaign
If you start the campaign, mess up a battle and then decide to exit back to the RTW/BI main menu to RESTART the campaign, you must exit RTW/BI completely! This is due to the way initial scripts work in The Iberian Conflict. If you don’t, the newly started TIC campaign will be unplayable.

Resuming Campaign from last SAVE point.
If you start the game and resume the campaign from where you left off, be sure to CLICK on one of your CITIES before doing anything. This will bring up an advice file. Click on the advisor's picture, then the “show me” button that will look like a mouse. This restarts the 4PTY (4 years per turn) script – which is ESSENTIAL to play of the campaign as it has been designed.

Battle Screen Darkness?
If you find the shadows and lighting in your games to be a bit too much – merely change the brightness settings on your monitor to compensate.

Player Satisfaction Survey
If you've played TIC for few hours and feel you have seen enough to form a judgment of it. The team really would like to hear from you. We have setup a survey that we'd really like you to take.

The few minutes you spend will help us better understand our fan base and how we did with TIC. The survey will help us understand where we should put more energy in the future. You can find the survey here. (Please note, we are using a free survey service. The Ads you see are theirs, not ours. We don’t endorse any of the ads you might see when taking the survey.)


Playing As Carthage

The initial years of the Conflict will see you dealing with a large number of missions. Each of which can stop your progress immediately. They aren't all make or break, but here are some big words of wisdom...

Hamilcar's army consisted mainly of battle hardened veterans who had fought their way though the first Punic War. These troops are your anchor on which to base your strategy. Until you make enough money to start recruiting mercenaries and other troops, our advice is to treasure your men and not squander them recklessly in battle.

Make sure that you try to keep a balanced army. Too many foot and not enough horse is as bad as too many horse and not enough foot.
Oh and watch the cost of those mercenaries! Their price is restrictive, and you must decide at each play whether building up your infrastructure or having a killer fighting force in the field is more important. Such decisions are what great commanders are made of!

Don't let Hamilcar Barca die, unless he passes away as an old man. If you do – and it's early in the game – you lose.

Don't go running off out of the area of the Turdetani – many of your missions will occur in the valley of the Guadalquivir River which reaches the sea near Gadir.

Pay special attention to the northern reaches of this valley through the first seven years of the game. You need to take Illipa – the Guadalquivir valley is KEY to your possible victory. Take it quickly.
You have about 8 missions to complete, once they are achieved, you can go “freestyle” campaign to the finishing line- if you make it in time!



Playing As the Celt-Iberians

If you are looking for a wide open, no holds barred campaign, this is it. We are not going to tell you what to do, and you have no historical time line and tasks to fulfill except one: hinder Carthage's progress as much as you can, destroy them if you can, and build your people a kingdom of vassal states as you do.

You find yourself starting with a couple of provinces. You occupy the central position. But, you have enemies on all sides. The Carthaginians are coming. Prepare! The problem with the indigenous tribes and other communities is that they fight amongst themselves, in a constant struggle for power. They need a strong leader to unit them together, to drive the new enemy back into the sea before they grow too powerful.

Your issues are utterly different from the Carthaginians.
You come into the game with a well-established economy and region.
You can choose a variety of options how you start the game, to prepare yourself for the inevitable onslaught
Your troops have stood and can stand shoulder to shoulder amongst the very best fighting forces available during the period covered by the Campaign. Fierce tribal warriors, raised on internecine tribal warfare with rival tribes and the constant political struggles within, prepares your troops to hang in there with the very best, as long as you do not forget their characteristics.

There is not a lot of time for you to waste planning world domination. You need to think and act fast on your feet if you wish to acquire and hold 12 territories to become victor. Be aggressive, but plan ahead and always have a backup plan if things don't go as you planned.

Decide for yourself, which cultures to attack first, but try to maintain your borders from rival incursions

This will be your challenge for the next 80 turns.

You have a great range of troops to choose from, both within your own society and those that you can produce by conquering your neighbors and in your area of recruitment (AOR). Use them wisely.

Think - plot your course with foresight and make sure that if someone does suddenly attack you, there a few nasty surprises waiting for them in those rugged mountains.....

The Lusitanni are to your west. They covet the Northern provinces - keep your eyes on them. Don't do the Carthaginian’s job by messing around with the Turdetanii. Carthage will need to handle them. The Greek descendants on the coast - Bah! Don't fret with them. Your real problems are the Gallic rebels to the North. They are strong. They are well led. Conquer them. Your financial situation is going to be very much in the Red - but head north. Consolidate. Meanwhile know that Carthage's power will grow.

Look for opportunities. Eventually you will need to deal with the Mini-Factions. You'll need to decide when to face Carthage. Do it too early and lose - you're easy prey for the mini-factions. Do it too late - you're too weak to handle Carthage: Unless you build a power base before facing Carthage.

PC HW / SW Specs

Software: Rome: Total War + Barbarian Invasion, patched to v1.6

Absolute Minimum needed to run TIC (this mostly matches CA's requirements off the vanilla box and will get you running on all lowest settings, but you'd be missing out on a lot of stuff):

Microsoft Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP/Vista
Intel Pentium III or Athlon III 1.0 GHz CPU
256MB RAM
1.2 GB of free HD space, with RTW and BI already installed (TIC download is a little over 300MB, plus about 700MB when installed, plus extras)
1024x768 monitor resolution
Video card with DirectX9 support and at least 64MB memory (NVidia 4xxx series)
8x Speed CD-ROM Drive (for the BI cd)


Minimum recommended (for playing with most settings on medium/high):

Microsoft Windows XP/Vista
Intel Pentium4 3.0 GHz (or equivalent AMD) CPU
1-2 GB RAM
A few GB of free HD space (Windows likes to have some free space to play with)
1280x1024 monitor resolution with 8ms or faster response time
Video card with DirectX9 support and 256MB* memory (NVidia 6xxx series or equivalent ATI card)
52x Speed CD-ROM Drive (for the BI cd)

*One of our testers reported his Radeon 128MB card couldn't run TIC with vegetation detail on high


High-end System (for a really smooth gaming experience, everything enabled and set to max):

Microsoft Windows XP/Vista
Intel Core2 Duo/Quad or AMD Dual Core 5000+ CPU
2 GB RAM or more
Tons of free HD space (can't have too much)
A monitor with 1600x1200 resolution with 8ms or faster response time
NVidia 7xxx/8xxx series or equivalent ATI video card
52x Speed CD/DVD-ROM Drive

TIC Mercenary Unit/ AOR roster

FACTION/AOR UNIT NAME UNIT CLASS
Celtiberian Faction Celtiberian Slingers Missile
Celtiberian Faction Celtiberian Caetrati Skirmishers
Celtiberian Faction Celtiberian Scutarii Swordsmen
Celtiberian Faction Celtiberian Ambacti Elite Swordsmen
Celtiberian Faction Celtiberian Cavalry Heavy Cavalry
Celtiberian AOR Celtiberian Caetrati Skirmishers
Celtiberian AOR Celtiberian Scutarii Swordsmen
Iberian AOR Caetrati Slinger Missile
Iberian_standard AORIberian_Baleares AOR
Caetrati Tribesmen Skirmishers
Iberian_standard AOR Caetrati Falcata Swordsmen
Iberian_standard AOR Scutarii Falcata Swordsmen
Iberian_standard AOR Iberian Elite
Scutarii Warriors Elite Swordsmen
Iberian_standard AOR Cantabrian Cavalry Missile Cavalry
Iberian_standard AOR Caetrati Cavalry Light Cavalry
Iberian_standard AOR Iberian Scutarii
Cavalry Elite Heavy Cavalry
Iberian_Castro AOR Keltoi Slingers Missile
Iberian_Castro AOR Keltoi Spearmen Spearmen
Iberian_Castro AOR Keltoi Swordsmen Swordsmen
Iberian_Lusitanian AOR Lusitanian Caetrati Heavy Infantry
Iberian Mercenaries Iberian Caetrati Falcata Swordsmen
Iberian Mercenaries Iberian Scutarii Falcata Swordsmen
Iberian Mercenaries Iberian Scutarii Warriors Elite Swordsmen
Iberian Mercenaries Iberian Cantabrian Cavalry Missile Cavalry
Iberian Mercenaries Iberian Caetrati Cavalry Light Cavalry
Iberian Mercenaries Iberian Scutarii Cavalry Elite Heavy Cavalry
Celtiberian Mercenaries Celtiberian Scutarii Falcata Swordsmen
Keltoi Mercenaries Keltoi Mercenaries Swordsmen
Keltoi Mercenaries Keltoi Heavy Mercenaries Swordsmen
Keltoi Mercenaries Keltoi Heavy Cavalry Heavy Cavalry
Balearic Mercenaries Balearic Slingers Missile

AOR Descriptions

What non-faction units might eventually be available in provinces you conquer.

Iberian_standard AOR
Provinces: Turdetani, Bastetani, Edetani, Illergetes, Indiketia, Baetica, Bastetani

Caetrati Tribesmen (Skirmishers)
Caetrati Falcata (Swordsmen)
Scutarii Falcata (Swordsmen)
Caetrati Cavalry (Light Cavalry)
Cantabrian Cavalry (Missile Cavalry)
Iberian Elite Scutarii Warriors (Elite Swordsmen)
Iberian Scutarii Cavalry (Heavy Cavalry)

Iberian_Castro AOR
Provinces: Gallaeci, Cantabri

Keltoi Slingers (Missile)
Keltoi Swordsmen (Swordsmen)
Keltoi Spearmen (Spearmen)

Iberian_Celtiberian AOR
Provinces: Carpetani, Vaccae, Cetiberi, Lusitani

Celtiberian Caetrati (Skirmishers)
Celtiberian Scutari (Swordsmen)

Iberian_Lusitani AOR
Provinces: Lusitani
Lusitanian Caetrati Infantry (Heavy Infantry)

Iberian_Baleares AOR
Provinces: Baleares
Caetrati Tribesmen (Skirmishers)


Regional Map




Carthage: Mission Aids

[The White Knight]

Although the mod'll be great (still downloading), I must say I find the countless (large) images make the content somewhat harder to read.

[vashiyusuf]

A copy of this guide is also included as a PDF in the Extras bundle.

[Turkeys!]

Does this use rtwbi or rtw only? Also does it need 1.2 or can it still play on 1.5?

[Brusilov]

Does this use rtwbi or rtw only? Also does it need 1.2 or can it still play on 1.5?

It needs RTW BI 1.6.

[mcantu]

Does this use rtwbi or rtw only? Also does it need 1.2 or can it still play on 1.5?

RTW-BI patched to 1.6

[Incompituss]

Guy's I am down loading as we speak. Just the same question I have asked before. Whilst I appreciate the work that goes into the making of the campaign, I just don't get into playing the computer and much prefer Multi player with my mates. We play 6 Gold as it is the only one we have managed to keep working for more than one battle and not get the incompatible data error when we attempt to start the next battle.

Has anyone tried to play this TIC in multi player yet and if so does it work?
Thx in advance.

[Brusilov]

Has anyone tried to play this TIC in multi player yet and if so does it work?
Thx in advance.

I tried to play a game with Lestat a couple of days ago but were not able to play MP. People are working on it.

Please see the following post by MCM;

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showp...3&postcount=12

[Incompituss]

Cheers mate cant wait. Amasing, all the work these great folks put in and I still want more.

[Selifator]

I was about to make a thread about the beginning with Carthage, untill I read this thread. Great guide, cleared some things up. Now for those bloody barbarians!

[Brusilov]

I was about to make a thread about the beginning with Carthage, untill I read this thread. Great guide, cleared some things up. Now for those bloody barbarians!

It may have helped to read the guide before playing.

Anyway, enjoy the campaign - either Carthage or Celtiberian campaigns are challenging (the Celtiberian one being more free-format in that there are no scripted missions).

[Mark Centurion]

Thanks a lot for all your hard work TiC mod team. Have D/L all needed files and begin the campaign today evening... I'm pretty excited about the adventures you have in store for the player

Cheers
Mark

[MasterOfThessus]

Nice to see it is still being played Have fun, and watch out for that pesky first battle