New appreciation for this game...

[I_Damian]

Anybody else out there love this game? I think I like it as much as I liked Shogun 2 (which is a lot). When I first got it I felt let down because it was coming right after Rome 2 (which was so bad I genuinely feel hatred for it) and didn't play it much. I installed it a few days ago though after getting the urge to play a game covering the late Roman Empire (it's criminal how few games cover this period) and I find myself loving it.

They got a lot of stuff right in Attila. I mean sure, the battles are still not as fun as in Medieval 2 or Shogun 2 but they meet the minimum requirements to be called enjoyable. But they got a lot right here. The music is fantastic, it definitely has an "apocalyptic" feel to the campaign when you play as the Roman empires (especially the western one) and so on.

I like it man.

I LIKE IT!

[Darios]

I am also very fond of Attila. There is a lot to really like in the game - religion, the detail put into the barbarian factions, the concept of "culture" actually meaning something. I like that the campaigns tell a story, especially if you look at it from GC -> TLR -> AoC you see the story of the barbarian factions transforming from tribal societies into medieval kingdoms. It adds a very nice touch.

A lot of people do not like the apocalyptic feel of the game, but I find it to be really cool. Much of Europe did get razed by the wave of migrations during that time, so the raze mechanic makes historical sense to me. It's also a fun way to punish a faction that you hate.

I tend to gripe a lot on Attila, focusing on the plethora of things that CA didn't get quite right or could improve upon. I tend to go about things this way because I truly love the game and I want to see it become the best Total War game ever. It has a pretty solid base, and still has tons of potential.

[Theramines]

The grand campaign is awesome. Politics and management are so superior to the absolute horse manure "assassination attempt/pay 8,000 to stop the adoption" of Rome 2 gameplay it's some kind of miracle they came from the same company.

[Imperator Artorius]

Attila is a game that I like on a general level, and I really want to love it, I really do. I've been reading a lot of Ian Hughes' books recently, for example his biographies of Valentinian and Valens, Flavius Stilicho and Flavius Aetius which I'd thoroughly recommend, and I really want to face the same challenges that these men faced and overcome (or didn't).

I just find Attila to be so unbalanced and at times, just thoroughly repetitive, especially as the Romans which are unplayable for me. I just don't find endless unwalled settlement battles (attacking or defending) or the stack spam fun, along side other issues such as the weird ZoC, the fact I've fought one walled city defence in campaign ever (Rebels attacked a damaged province capital in a AoC Byzantine campaign), the OP arrow towers etc etc.

[Theramines]

Yes, for sure, it's deeply flawed. Playing as WRE is a Sisyphean exercise in frustration and futility, especially at the beginning of campaigns. Then the stack spammy Huns arrive and cheat their way through northern Italy and down the peninsula, both through ridiculous buffs and exploiting the pro AI ZoC rules. Understandably it just isn't fun for a lot of people. Despite that, I always have a blast. I really hope CA releases more content this year.

[RGA]

I am also very fond of Attila. There is a lot to really like in the game - religion, the detail put into the barbarian factions, the concept of "culture" actually meaning something. I like that the campaigns tell a story, especially if you look at it from GC -> TLR -> AoC you see the story of the barbarian factions transforming from tribal societies into medieval kingdoms. It adds a very nice touch.

A lot of people do not like the apocalyptic feel of the game, but I find it to be really cool. Much of Europe did get razed by the wave of migrations during that time, so the raze mechanic makes historical sense to me. It's also a fun way to punish a faction that you hate.

I tend to gripe a lot on Attila, focusing on the plethora of things that CA didn't get quite right or could improve upon. I tend to go about things this way because I truly love the game and I want to see it become the best Total War game ever. It has a pretty solid base, and still has tons of potential.

Agree,I rank Attila very high on my list of best Total war games. Playing as Roman factions is however not that entertaining, as other have said, but The Last Roman DLC solved this problem nicely. My campaign as Belisarius is epic!

BTW, which mods are you using/ could you recommend for Attila? After a long break I want to go back and play this masterpiece.

[Darios]

Playing as Roman factions is however not that entertaining

I quite agree. As well as the barbarian/steppe/Slavic/Semitic factions are done, the Romans completely lack soul. They come off as zombie, placeholder factions that eventually get overwhelmed by migrators. They lack storylines, campaign scenarios, and playing as them feels extremely dry. The WRE roster is a work of art, but the ERE roster is very badly done (units such as Eastern Armored Legio and Tagmata Cavalry are an insult to the intelligence of those who are genuinely fascinated by the Eastern Roman Empire.)

I understand that the story of the game is the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, and it results in the Romans coming off as depressed/emo/etc. (compare the depraved clothing that Roman troops wear compared to the richly embroidered tunics that Germanic warriors wear) but CA should have also given the Romans more in the way of immersion and campaign scenarios. I am sure that there are many people who bought Attila in the hope of actually saving the Roman Empire.

Furthermore, all Roman cities should have been walled from the beginning. The castrumization of former great Roman cities is an important element of Late Antiquity.

BTW, which mods are you using/ could you recommend for Attila? After a long break I want to go back and play this masterpiece.

I do not play any mods for Rome 2/Attila. No real reason in particular, they're just not my thing. I like the game well enough in its vanilla state.

[I_Damian]

I play with Radious mod myself. Adds more units and stuff for the Romans. Hopefully it does something about the Huns and their cheatyness, but I don't think it does (haven't got as far as fighting the Huns yet, takes me an hour to do one turn when playing as WRE).

I'm even enjoying Rome 2! I installed it yesterday and I'm enjoying it! (Radious mod again). Wtf is going on?

[I_Damian]

Oh and of course I use the RTW 1 music mod for RTW 2. Rome 2's music is terrible.

[Imperator Artorius]

I just wish Attila wasn't fighting the same battles over and over again.

It feels like the vast majority of my campaigns are me defending unwalled settlements with the automatic garrison against an enemy stack, or attacking an otherwise undefended unwalled settlement with my stacks. I get to the end of a campaign and see Ive maybe played 1/5 battles myself, the rest are auto-resolved, and most of the ones I play are the ones described above.

[M2TWRocks]

I love Attila. Took break while playing Warhammer TW and the campaign in that game will make you yearn for the huge map and depth and breadth of cultures of ATW. The family tree really brings me into the roleplay element - something that has never happened in past games. Love the gritty style, the maps, battles, and of all the Warscape games, I like the sieges in Attila the most. The sieges aren't great, but you should try the Warhammer sieges to see the absolute worst implementation of sieges in TW history.

I will likely continue to play Attila until the next historical game comes out.

[Theramines]

I do not play any mods for Rome 2/Attila

I am genuinely astonished that a TW veteran can do this. I barely lasted 20 hours in vanilla Attila and less than 30 mins in Rome 2 before I hit the Steam Workshop.

[Imperator Artorius]

I am genuinely astonished that a TW veteran can do this. I barely lasted 20 hours in vanilla Attila and less than 30 mins in Rome 2 before I hit the Steam Workshop.

Ikr.

I personally find Attila utterly unplayable without using a weaker arrow towers mod, and Avetis' stunning unit reskins.

[Vanders]

As Darios said I'm one of those people find a lot of appeal in Attila's Grand Campaign through attempting to save the Roman Empire although managing the endless battles can easily become wearisome. However, the gritty feel and better management and family mechanics are a show of what TW Rome II should have been. I also love The Last Roman Campaign for Attila because of that feeling that I can bring back the splendour of Rome.

One of my favourite mods for Attila is A Dark, Dark, Uniform Re-colour Mod because I just cannot stand brightly coloured uniforms like that of the Sassanids.

[douglas]

I like the game though I hate the family tree BS. I've completed campaigns for 19 factions, several of them multiple times, and all on Hard settings. Still working my way through the list.

The ERE was a lot of fun but I have yet to win with the WRE, even on Normal. I just get wore out getting hammered every turn.

[Gymbr]

I play with Radious mod myself. Adds more units and stuff for the Romans. Hopefully it does something about the Huns and their cheatyness, but I don't think it does (haven't got as far as fighting the Huns yet, takes me an hour to do one turn when playing as WRE).

I'm even enjoying Rome 2! I installed it yesterday and I'm enjoying it! (Radious mod again). Wtf is going on?

You need all DLC for Radious mod to be working?

[bigdaddy1204]

the raze mechanic makes historical sense to me. It's also a fun way to punish a faction that you hate.

This. Definitely! Sometimes I really feel the need to punish an enemy that has resisted for too long. Especially enemies that attacked me, or refused reasonable peace offers. In such cases, I want to punish them severely for needlessly prolonging the war and causing casualties. Brutally razing their settlement to the ground and wiping out the entire population is a fitting punishment for their defiance. Plus, it can also be quite useful when you want one of your flanks to be secure so you can deal with a faction in another direction.

I personally find Attila utterly unplayable without using a weaker arrow towers mod, and Avetis' stunning unit reskins.

There's a weaker arrow tower mod? Oh my god. How did I not know this? That sounds like the best idea ever! Those bloody towers are the reason why I auto resolve a lot of city attack battles. I will head straight to the games workshop to seek it out. Do you have a link?

I also like the Olympian battle camera mod, it allows you to zoom in much closer and lower to the ground. Very useful.

I just find Attila to be so unbalanced and at times, just thoroughly repetitive, especially as the Romans which are unplayable for me. I just don't find endless unwalled settlement battles (attacking or defending) or the stack spam fun

Try playing the Eastern Roman Empire. It's still a challenge, but it is much more reasonable than the WRE campaign. With the Eastern Romans, it is possible to defeat the initial barbarians and hold the line, and to build up your economy. You can then have a viable shot at the campaign. I quite enjoyed it. It's still hard, but without the insanity of the WRE campaign.

I agree about the WRE, I didn't even bother to complete a single campaign as I found being attacked multiple times each turn just too much of a drag. You can auto-resolve most of the battles, especially in regions like Britain which I planned to abandon anyway. But it was still annoying.

I totally agree with the person who said that walled cities need to be in the game. They should bring that back. Being able to build walls was a good part of game play in the original RTW:BI and I always made it a priority to get stone walls as fast as I could in any city that was on a frontier/near danger.

[Imperator Artorius]

This. Definitely! Sometimes I really feel the need to punish an enemy that has resisted for too long. Especially enemies that attacked me, or refused reasonable peace offers. In such cases, I want to punish them severely for needlessly prolonging the war and causing casualties. Brutally razing their settlement to the ground and wiping out the entire population is a fitting punishment for their defiance. Plus, it can also be quite useful when you want one of your flanks to be secure so you can deal with a faction in another direction.



There's a weaker arrow tower mod? Oh my god. How did I not know this? That sounds like the best idea ever! Those bloody towers are the reason why I auto resolve a lot of city attack battles. I will head straight to the games workshop to seek it out. Do you have a link?

I also like the Olympian battle camera mod, it allows you to zoom in much closer and lower to the ground. Very useful.



Try playing the Eastern Roman Empire. It's still a challenge, but it is much more reasonable than the WRE campaign. With the Eastern Romans, it is possible to defeat the initial barbarians and hold the line, and to build up your economy. You can then have a viable shot at the campaign. I quite enjoyed it. It's still hard, but without the insanity of the WRE campaign.

I agree about the WRE, I didn't even bother to complete a single campaign as I found being attacked multiple times each turn just too much of a drag. You can auto-resolve most of the battles, especially in regions like Britain which I planned to abandon anyway. But it was still annoying.

I totally agree with the person who said that walled cities need to be in the game. They should bring that back. Being able to build walls was a good part of game play in the original RTW:BI and I always made it a priority to get stone walls as fast as I could in any city that was on a frontier/near danger.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfile.../?id=451749126


There's the weaker towers link. I'd also recommend checking out the other mods in that collection as they make sieges, and especially walled city assaults, more interesting and more fun imo.

See, I've attempted to get into the ERE campaigns as well but I just find defending the unwalled towns so boring. It literally feels like I'm fighting the same battles over and over again, and the same can be said for attacking the unwalled towns.

I hope in the next historical TW every city has walls or defences of some kind and needs to be sieged for at least a bit before an assault can take place unless there's a way of opening gates or some such, like how it used to be. That and doing away with the insta-transports.

[Huberto]

Attila is a game that I like on a general level, and I really want to love it, I really do. I've been reading a lot of Ian Hughes' books recently, for example his biographies of Valentinian and Valens, Flavius Stilicho and Flavius Aetius which I'd thoroughly recommend, and I really want to face the same challenges that these men faced and overcome (or didn't).

I just find Attila to be so...thoroughly repetitive, especially as the Romans which are unplayable for me. I just don't find endless unwalled settlement battles (attacking or defending) or the stack spam fun, along side other issues such as the weird ZoC, the fact I've fought one walled city defence in campaign ever (Rebels attacked a damaged province capital in a AoC Byzantine campaign), the OP arrow towers etc etc.

Pretty much this. The fall of Rome is such amazing subject matter for a game. And yet the CAI in Attila leaves sooo much to be desired, it ends up mostly ruining the fun, no matter whether you play settled or as a horde. A decent CAI or campaign system and we'd have a very good game here, provided it wasn't anchored by taking the same five town maps without walls.

How is Warhammer's CAI? Has any progress been made?

[♔atthias♔]

Pretty much this. The fall of Rome is such amazing subject matter for a game. And yet the CAI in Attila leaves sooo much to be desired, it ends up mostly ruining the fun, no matter whether you play settled or as a horde. A decent CAI or campaign system and we'd have a very good game here, provided it wasn't anchored by taking the same five town maps without walls.

How is Warhammer's CAI? Has any progress been made?

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...1#post15213605
I hope this post of mine helps