IBFD vs Rios = which one is best

[Marku]

can i hear from you guys, which is best, pro's and cons. etc

[Riothamus]

can i hear from you guys, which is best, pro's and cons. etc

IBFD

I'm always so humbled when I look at Ramon and teams work(files, units, ect...) IBFD 7.3 is a brilliant mod in all aspects. There's no denying I'm the grateful student.

There are major differences though. Rio Mod uses Ice Torques Huge BI WarMap and the focus of the mod is more on the western factions. This is somewhat due to the maps geography and my own personal interests. Others can discuss the pros and cons if they want.

The Rio mod I feel has become a good solid mod that is still going to get a lot better

[Draco Borealis]

They're both lot more better than Vanilia BI that's sure, the IBFD is a first game acuratly portraing the late antic Rome, with its new model army, political structure and religion, They're historicall heroes like Flavius Constantius, Auetius or Ricimer each with apropiate title like for ex. Patricius Dux Britanorum, etc..., historical units with acurate names and shields taken from Noticia Dignitarum, Even the names of cities and provinces are almost 100% corrrect and shows that late Roman Empire was more civilised then Rome of J. Ceasaer: in places of wild forest and celtic opidia and hill forts they're sprawling cities with fora, public baths and cathedrals, secured by powerfull gates and towers even in such remote places like Germania and Britain, linked with transport network the Europe won't see until railrodads of XIX century, feeeded by new agricultural technics like crop rotation, water mils, populated by People united by one ( or in East two) oficial languages, culture and thanks to Constanine The Great one faith. Today's European Comunities are not even
close to be eficient as Rome in its "decline". Those modes are multimedia lessons of this European's history period.

[Marku]

i like the positioning of the factions better in Rios for both east and western rome, sassinids are easier to defend against (due to space between each town and map layout)

also i'd like to hear what army templates/composite you guys use for your west and east roman armies.

[Draco Borealis]

The number of provinces in Britain is exagerated in Rio, and IBFD is runing two times faster than Rio on battle maps on my comp, I played entire campaign only RB but played also As constntini and WRE and used whatever units i can get
in this proportions: 2 siege engines (onaegres rules) , two units of archers, 8 units of heavy infantry (british legionares or other simillar comitanensis are preffered), and 8 units of cavalary including 1-2 general units, the heavier the better, although medium heavy cavalery like stabenensis and sarmatians are more flexible and usefull for me that cataphractii and cliabanesis super heavies espacialy against germanics barbaric tribes like saxon, franks and visigothes but I beated romans with them too. and I prefer not to use foederati at all, even when it means that I have only one standing central field army, and one or two more armies concentrated as needed from garisoned or conscripted british levies, pedites romanis ,fleet sailors and equites auxilia or other such limitanei-auxilia-militia sword fodder ; they're usefull against picts and rebels on field or/and can tie up the more formidable enemy behind fortifications untill my elite will arive and hopefully beat them back.