Historical Rome Total War 1.0 (HRTW) [WIP]
Hello everyone,
I'm ahowl11, and I'm the creator/leader and coordinator of this mod. Now, this is the same mod featured in the "Historical Rome Total War Vanilla v1.5" thread but this one will be better organized as we have research, screens, and features posted all over. Also it will give people a better idea to what the mod will be like instead of shifting through a thread of 60+ pages! Hope everyone enjoys!
Table Of Contents
HRTW to me is a major "upgrade" of the vanilla RTW game. Some may call it an overhaul, but by no means is it a total conversion. When players play this mod it will look and feel like RTW, but the players will also notice a considerable difference in how the game works. The units will stay vanilla, but there will be many reskins and also many new units. We will also fix the units that have historically inaccurate uniforms. However, these units will not totally look "realistic", their unifroms will still resemble their faction colors, as the goal of this mod was to "upgrade" not "change" the vanilla game.
The game will start in 280 B.C., Each faction will have historically accurate starting positions. The Romans will be one faction and we will feature three new factions that fit well into the vanilla map. We will also include many more cities, to create more chaos for the time period and map.
Historical Inaccuracies that will be fixed in HRTW 1.0
These quotations are taken from totalwar.orgs wiki pageSpoiler Alert, click show to read:
These issues will only be slightly addresserd in 1.0. We have "combined" the Roman families into one. So you will still see the Julii, Scipii, Brutii, and Senate families but you will be able to control them all, they will all have their separate family trees.
- The three playable Roman factions are named after three of the most notable Roman figures, Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. There were no "Scipii" or "Brutii" families. Both were cognomina - a third name that labeled one as a member of a specific family within a larger clan. The family of Marcus Junius Brutus would have been the "Junii", while Scipio Africanus would have belonged to the "Cornelii." (NOTE: Sometimes a family had also been named after the cognomen of a famous family member. For example, the form "Scipiadae" would be plausible (cf. Vergilius Aeneis VI. 843). This stratification into specific families is difficult, however, since during the Republic there were so few noble Roman families, and they were constantly intermarrying. See Roman Naming Convention for more information.
- The three-faction Roman system in the game is entirely ahistorical. In fact, the Roman Republic was ruled exclusively by the Senate, which had substantially more power than is reflected in the game, and the various assemblies. Individual families might rule small provinces, but expansions to the empire would have been assigned to new governors, not left to the generals who conquered them. Generals, too, were selected by the Senate and assemblies, and the roles of governorship and generalship were not as conflated as they are in the game. There were cases where influential politicians such as Julius Caesar could quite possibly serve as both generals and governors, but they would only occur during the later Republic.
- The primary reason for the three-faction system is to simulate the civil war that ultimately resulted in the end of the Roman Republic. Furthermore, while the Julii may in some ways be said to be Imperialists because Julius Caesar became the first dictator perpetuus, the precursor to the modern understanding of Roman Emperor, Brutus was thoroughly Republican and is in fact famous for having killed Julius Caesar after he was granted absolute power through the office of dictator perpetuus by the Senate; and theoretically speaking, the family of Brutus would not have imperial ambitions anyway.
In 2.0 we will look to make the Romans family more historic as we will add more adoptions and the "man of the hour" feature will occur more often, usually after a good victory by a captain.
This is a minor fix, will be removed
- As for the Hellenic factions in diplomacy, if they accept an unreasonable offer, they are reported to say "it may shame a Helot". In fact the only faction that have a connection with these Helots are the Greek Cities, because the Spartans enslaved Messenia and its inhabitants, the Helots. So other Hellenic factions such as Macedon, Thrace, the Seleucid Empire should not speak of these Helots, but perhaps of other minorities in their own respective realms.
Usually in the game the reforms occur when a major temple is built in Italy. We will try and see if the reforms can occur when the Romans gain a significant amount of provinces that way it can be more historically accurate.
- One of the key events of the game for the Roman factions is the Marian Reforms, instigated by Gaius Marius. Although the events and details of the reforms are not themselves inaccurate, the reforms do not usually occur in 107 B.C., as in history, but instead often occur over 100 years earlier, as the date of the reforms is not hard-coded in the game, but is instead dependent upon other factors. Note that if the reforms occurred at 107 B.C. in game, it would leave a relatively small amount of game-time to actually take advantage of the new troops, before the game ends in 14 A.D. In reality, the reforms changed the structuring of the Roman army, and the land qualifications required to sign up. Within the game, the reforms unlock the more elite troops of the Roman factions, for example the Legionary Cohorts and Urban Cohorts. The post-reform troops are also portrayed as wearing much more armor than troops of the era actually wore.
We are removing many ahistorical units, except the elephants
- Some of the units are ahistorical as well. The arcani, portrayed as in the game as heavily armoured pseudo-ninjas, are probably based on a group of agents provocateurs and spies known as areani in Roman Britain hundreds of years after the game takes place. Also, units of the Roman army such as the Urban Cohort and Praetorian Cohort are much more widely used for combat in the game than they ever were in the Roman Republic or Empire.
- The Romans are not the only factions with ahistorical units. Druids, like those used in-game by the Barbarians, were in fact excused from military service in Celtic culture, being vital to the operation of organized village life.<ref>Goldsworthy, Adrian Caeser: The Life of a Colossus p. 242</ref> A totally invented unit is the British Head Hurlers, who hurl decapitated heads coated in quicklime. Severed heads were a valuable trophy in Celtic culture, and would never have been used as ammunition. The phalanx formation which the Germans employ in the game is also ahistorical, since Roman authors are emphatic that the only military formation employed by the Germani was the wedge, and the idea of pikes as Germanic weapons is contradicted by archeology as well as Tacitus (Germania Ch.6). The huge armored war elephants with howdahs, although perhaps the most spectacular unit in the game, were never used by Carthage; historic sources and depictions on coins all document small (perhaps 2.5 m/8.35 ft at the shoulder) North African Elephants with only a mahout. Also, the Bull Warriors of Spain did not exist.
- Some units, such as wardogs and flaming pigs, were used on rare occasions, but not to the extent with which they can be used within the game. Also, Berserkers were not around during the time setting of the game. Berserkers were only used by the Vikings during the Viking Age, although they may represent some of the more ferocious Germanic tribes.
The Egyptian faction will face an almost complete overhaul as they will now have a Hellenic culture and redefined unit roster, in the game they will be known as the "Ptolemaic Empire".
- The Egyptian military and culture is heavily influenced by the ancient Egypt of the New Kingdom than that of the Ptolemaic Egypt. Culture would have been of a Greek style with soldiers being identical to those of the other Diadochi and Macedonia.
Spain will be "Iberians", Numidia will be "Numidians", Scythia will be "Sarmatians" Gaul, Germania, and Brittania will now be Gauls, Germans, and Britons. Greek Cities will now be "Greek City States"
- The faction known as "Spain" did not exist, as Spain was not a single unified tribe. Furthermore, the name Spain was not around at the time. Iberia would be the preferable term.
- The Scythians should not be a faction, as their power was on the decline. At the time, the Samartians controlled that territory.
- The faction "Numidia" should be two factions, as there were two major Numidian tribes at the time.
- The faction "The Greek Cities" presumably refers to an alliance of the city-states Sparta, Athens, and Rhodes at the time. Therefore, this faction should have control of Athens at the start of the game, and should not control Syracuse or Pergamum.
- The faction known as 'Gaul' was not united in real life as it is in the game. There were many different Gallic tribes in the area collectively known as Gaul. Many of these tribes were actively unfriendly and even sometimes engaged in warfare.
- The factions known as "Brittania" and "Germania" were not unified factions, but instead many individual tribes.
Features
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The Roman Republic
The Romans will control most of Central Italy, have a strong unit selection and have four sets of family trees. They will be replacing "The House Of Julii", from vanilla. There are not many new aspects to the Romans. They lose a lot of not needed units and only gain a few new ones. In 2.0 look for the Roman faction to contain legions.
The Republic of Carthage
The Republic of Carthage looks to be more powerful in HRTW compared to vanilla. They will own many new regions, and have a better unit selection. So far, they have some archer units and some spearmen that we have added. They lose their Sacred Band as they were never used after sometime in the 300's B.C.
The Kingdom of Macedon
Macedon also will not be an easy push over. They will have a strong position in Greece. We are more than likely going to change it's faction symbol to the proper one, it just has not happened yet.
The Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire will be given many more regions to help them not get dominated so easily in the game. They will also recieve a few eastern units to reflect the fact that they were not just a Greek faction.
The Ptolemaic Empire
The former Egypt, has experienced an overhaul. They will now be very similar to Macedon and the Seleucids. Expect the Ptolemies to have a mix between Greek and Native Egyptian units. Also their culture is now hellenic instead of Egyptian. Their territories will also be extensive, but they will not easily dominate the middle east anymore.
The Kingdom of Pontus
Not too many changes will be made for Pontus, just some adjustments to their starting positions. We may add a few stronger units that way they do not have such a weak army.
The Kingdom of Armenia
Same as Pontus in regards to changes. They will lose Cataphract archers due to them being historically irrelevant.
The Kingdom of Atropatene
Formerly Parthia, we decided to change them to Atropatene. There are three reasons why:
1. In 1.0 we are keeping the vanilla map so Parthia's homelands are not in view
2. Parthia was not around in 280 B.C. (didn't appear until 247 B.C.)
3. They control Atropatenes region
So essentially they will be the same but Atropatene will get some Greek units, since they were a Hellenic Kingdom
The Kingdom of Thrace
Thrace will experience a mini overhaul. At the beginning we were going to make them into a barbarian faction, but chose to keep them hellenic due to the fact that historically The Lysimachean Kingdom had been around. So, Thrace has many hellenic units as well as a very good selection of barbarian units.
The Nabataean Kingdom
Here we have totally changed the Brutii into an eastern faction. They will own the southeast corner of the map, and serve as an extra contender to the Ptolemies and Seleucids. They will have a unit roster comprised of many eastern and desert units, and they should be a fun challenge!
The Bosporan Kingdom
We have totally transformed the Senate faction as well. They will now be the Hellenic Bosporan Kingdom in the modern day Crimea. They will have a very unique roster of Hellenic and Scytho-Sarmatian units! We also will touch up the symbol to accurately reflect it's faction colors.
The Greek City-States
The Greek Cities will occupy many of the same territories as they did in vanilla. Right now there will not be too much work done to them.
Illyrians
The Scipii are replaced by the Illyrians. This faction will be tough to plas, as they will face many enemies. They have a strong unit roster comprised of many barbaric and greek units. They will be a barbaric faction.
Gauls
The Gauls will not be changed much as well. They will have some new units, and they will also be tougher to beat. The Gauls will more than likely be more powerful.
Germans
The Germans will gain some territories and lose some units, other than that not much has changed. They should be able to put up a better fight against the Britons.
Dacians
Another faction that will have little work on. They will have a few more units and maybe a new city or two.
Sarmatians
The Sarmatians will be very similar as in vanilla. They will gain some more infanty units and lose their women units. Their main enemy will be the Bosporan Kingdom.
Iberians
The Iberians will gain some new units, and some new territories. They will have a more unique unit roster, and should pose as a great threat to Carthage. They will lose Bull Warriors.
Britons
The Britons will not be as strong as they are in vanilla. They will be given some cavalry, and a good standing in Briton.
Numidians
The Numidians will get a new unit or two and have a different starting position. They will have more cities to generate income. They will be a very tough faction to play as.
Rebels/Slaves
The Rebels will be more numerous and more prone to attack. They will also represent all of the minor kingdoms and tribes of that time period. The Rebels will have better unit selection to give tougher battles. They will not be push-overs.
Work To Be Done
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
This will be the next version. It will be a "final" version. The map will extend to India, and everything will be as historically accurate as possible. We have already made a faction list, and the map is almost completed. There will be tons of features and it will be very fun to play as!
What Would You Like To See In HRTW?Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
We all know Rome 2 will come out, but most of us know it will be a totally different engine. So treat this mod as a Rome 2. I want it to feel just like RTW, but make it harder, historically accurate and ultimately fun to play! We will be taking ideas from other mods, using mod packs, mini mods, and putting them altogether to form a well defined all around great mod of RTW! So, leave us your comments and suggestions and we can discuss!
Team
Here is our entire team!
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Contributers
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
These are the mods and modders that have contributed there work to HRTW! (More to come)
comrade_general and all of his units from his mods
Dimebagho and his units from XGM
Medusa0's units
HK_mars and his units from Rise of Empire 1.0
Sonny Costanzo and his units from 310 B.C.
Andalus' AUP Pack
Edorixs' Pritanoi Reborn Pack
Subwoofers' Germania Magna Pack
Stilicones' Italic Pack
Recruitment
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Even though we have a large team we still need help! Here are positions that we need from most important to least
Screens
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this thread should be for the public to comment on and view
Originally Posted by ahowl11
