Germans

[Radzeer]

The decision to include a playable germanic tribe will ultimately be decided by business and economic factor. How many expected sales of Total Rome II will be in Germany. What are the expected sales of including a germanic tribe comparing excluding them.

Please everybody read this. ^
All this faction talk, as well as other features of the game (blood, gore, helmet style, horse breed, elephant size etc.), would come down to marketing decisions and effort vs. profit return on the effort.

[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus]

I would guess that Germany is one of the most important marketplaces for PC-Games in the world. Americans play more on console and specially in Germany they sale the games near double the price than in UK for example.

[Thorn777]

Please everybody read this. ^
All this faction talk, as well as other features of the game (blood, gore, helmet style, horse breed, elephant size etc.), would come down to marketing decisions and effort vs. profit return on the effort.

So I guess we will see some Mohawks and Sun-Tzu as well.

[Sol Invictus]

I agree that as a business CA needs to make the game with an eye on maximizing profits, but making a playable German Faction suits both history and business. Now I can see Germania not making the initial cut for release since CA needs to draw the line somewhere and Germania didn't really come onto the Roman scene until well into the game timeline, I am sure they will at least be a DLC and that should please most German fans and I as well.

[sabaku_no_gaara]

I for one will not buy Rome II if I have to pay extra to play as the Germans.

[Stavroforos]

Will you buy it if you can't play as the Germans, no matter how much you pay?

[TheTank]

Jack Lusted from CA confirmed the presence of Germanics in RTW2 in this thread.
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=555251

[QUOTE][The Germanics in the game will not look like your images as a lot of your images are from the 4th and 5th century AD which is a bit out of our time period. The third image is the closest as it looks to be set during the Marcomanni wars in the late 2nd century AD. Spears will be the main weapon, swords reserved for the wealthier elite. Shields based on various finds and ones shown on Roman coins, the Hjortspring bog shields are good examples of the type that will be in game. Armour and helmets will be rare as few finds related to them./QUOTE]

He doesn't reveal if they are a playable faction..

[Sol Invictus]

I for one will not buy Rome II if I have to pay extra to play as the Germans.

I will buy the game regardless. Whether I pay extra for a German Faction DLC depends on the price and content. I hardly ever play a barbarian faction so it is not that important to me but I understand your point. I figure we can count on two playable barbarian factions at release and the Gauls are a sure thing so either Iberia or Germania gets the second nod. I would expect a Briton tribe to be a DLC.

[darthmase]

I'm guessing Germans will be a DLC faction. There's no way CA won't let you play them, Romans lost some wicked battles against them.

Exactly that I wanted to say, thank you

[Stavroforos]

There is, of course, the possibility that the "cultural groups" Lusted was talking about are factions, but I wouldn't bet on it. But if that were the case, we'd have a lot of playable factions, but each faction within a cultural group would function similar to other factions in that group.

In any case, the logical choice historically would be to include Germania instead of Britannia.

[sabaku_no_gaara]

Will you buy it if you can't play as the Germans, no matter how much you pay?

Budget is tight, really tight, so I have to make choises when it comes to personal entertainment purchases, if I have to pay extra to play as a faction I'll really want to play as, then it's better to buy a game that does not try to milk me and leave this one for what it is.

I remember that modders used to be able to unlock all factions, for free, that's how it should be.

The mere mention of me wanting to buy a game leads to heated arguments about money with my gf. Imagine her rage if I buy a game and then afterwards spend even more money on unlocking features in said game.

I'd be single quite soon I wager, rome II is not worth that

[Stavroforos]

Well, if the primary reason you want to buy Rome is to play as Germania, then I can see why you'd want them to be included from the beginning. My guess is that we'll have access to a major tribe of each cultural group from the beginning of the game, and that other tribes, nations, etc., will be added with DLC. So you might get to play as the Tuetones from the beginning, but the Cimbri might be DLC.

[Sol Invictus]

Well, if the primary reason you want to buy Rome is to play as Germania, then I can see why you'd want them to be included from the beginning. My guess is that we'll have access to a major tribe of each cultural group from the beginning of the game, and that other tribes, nations, etc., will be added with DLC. So you might get to play as the Tuetones from the beginning, but the Cimbri might be DLC.

I can't wait to see the first Barbarian Faction preview in order to see how they are divided. Assuming there is a playble German Faction at release will we get a choice of Cimbri, Teutones, or Ambrones. Or will the Faction be made up of only a single Tribe and it is split between Warlords or some other division. I doubt it will be split by Families like Rome.

I assume that all the Barbarians will have a similar division for their Faction. I am starting to doubt that there will be a Germanic faction at release since a Gallic and Iberian Faction would have a more immediate effect on the early game. I figure Briton and Germania will be DLC. I guess it depends on how many German, British, and Spanish players buy TW games.

[TsarGrey]

You guys must really love Cimbri. Why? Aside hording they did nothing remarkable. I for one would prefer Suebi instead; I consider 'em as confederacy including semnones, marcomanni, langobardi and franks, which most became major powers later. They also lived alongside romans much longer period..

[Ariovist]

You guys must really love Cimbri. Why? Aside hording they did nothing remarkable. I for one would prefer Suebi instead; I consider 'em as confederacy including semnones, marcomanni, langobardi and franks, which most became major powers later. They also lived alongside romans much longer period..

Seconded, except the part of the Franks.
The Franks are not a suebian tribe, they're rather a confederation as the Alemanni.

The Cimbri had an huge impact (only a passive one, but nonetheless) on the history of the ancient world - because without them an their allies - the Teutoni and the Ambroni - the Romans wouldn't have adopted the marian reforms, at least not so early.

[Sol Invictus]

You guys must really love Cimbri. Why? Aside hording they did nothing remarkable. I for one would prefer Suebi instead; I consider 'em as confederacy including semnones, marcomanni, langobardi and franks, which most became major powers later. They also lived alongside romans much longer period..

I don't particularly love any Germanic Tribe. I was just throwing out familiar names. I was referring more to how the Faction would be divided. I guess the reason the Cimbri always come up is because of the Battle of Vercellae. But yeah it could be the Suebi instead.

[Heathen Storm]

The logical idea would be to choose the Suebi (Sweboz in German) and divide that up by the tribes that formed the confederation just as the Roman faction will be.
So we'd have 4 possible factions through the Sweboz;
-Marcomanni
-Quadi
-Semnones
-Langobardi

I think that would be pretty sweet... Although the Cimbri and Teutones are a likely choice as well just because they caused so much havoc

[Ariovist]

The logical idea would be to choose the Suebi (Sweboz in German) and divide that up by the tribes that formed the confederation just as the Roman faction will be.
So we'd have 4 possible factions through the Sweboz;
-Marcomanni
-Quadi
-Semnones
-Langobardi

I think that would be pretty sweet... Although the Cimbri and Teutones are a likely choice as well just because they caused so much havoc

I would trade-off the Quadi with the very Rome-friendly Hermunduri.
If you want to show differences (like differences in roman families) in those suebian tribes, you can display the Marcomanni or Langobardi as very warlike, the Semnoni as kind of more religious and cultural and the Hermunduri as more open for trade and foreign contacts for example.
OR
CA could go with the well-know Cherusci, the militaristic Chatti and the Suebi for greater differences.

[Der Phönix]

The logical idea would be to choose the Suebi (Sweboz in German) and divide that up by the tribes that formed the confederation just as the Roman faction will be.
So we'd have 4 possible factions through the Sweboz;
-Marcomanni
-Quadi
-Semnones
-Langobardi

I think that would be pretty sweet... Although the Cimbri and Teutones are a likely choice as well just because they caused so much havoc

As the Suebi, unlike Rome, had no central authority I'm not so sure about this...

[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus]

As the Suebi, unlike Rome, had no central authority I'm not so sure about this...

Non of the Germanic Tribes hat central authority. Non of the Gaul and Briton tribes too. But that is no reason to let them out in my eyes. I am a big fan of the chatti and i would like to see them impleted in the game, even if it is just one or two AoR Units.