Feedback - RS 1.5 Hotfix

[Lost In Transition]

I decided to start this thread because I didn't see another one specific to this hotfix. This is my initial feedback, touched as always by my rather odd sense of humor . . .

Roma Surrectum Hotfix 1.5

Download and Initial Analysis

Download

Deleted my old version of RS and did a clean install of RTW. Installed the original RS version 1a, Hotfixes 1b and 1c.

Downloaded RS Hotfix 1.5 and installed it without problem. One thing I can say for the RS mod: install is always simple.

Opened game. Opened seamlessly and the change in Republic legion areas as well as the new interface background [sigh] made it clear the install had worked.

So . . . first thing I did: modded out the new interface (sorry, DVK, nothing personal, my eyes just can’t take it). Also modded in my favorite skies (i.e. got rid of the game skies).

Initial Analysis

Now, down to some serious playing (for about two hours before I have to go back to grading papers . . . although if I have to read one more friggin’ paper about feminist political themes in Vladamir Nabokov’s Lolita, I’m gonna hit something and hard . . .) Game set to medium for battles and hard for campaign. Battle clock off. Long campaign, although I’ll probably start a new one later. Obviously, playing as Rome.

Okay, I love the reassigned legion system. That works good. (I do kinda miss the old Senate legion. I used to recruit just one and then have them turn out to be real weasels, but I can work around it). AI seems a bit more aggressive (at least from the south) but in the north, the stacks still gather together in the woods around Segesta. Blacksmith now has equipment upgrade, which I approve, but it comes a bit easy. My personal feeling is it should be on a 2-4-6 cycle and a bit more expensive. Maybe raise the price and add a minor trade benefit? I can make that fix if you want, DVK.

Battles are still fun, although DVK cut out one of my favorite "cheats." After reading a post about Roman generals, I began to recruit legions with two generals: one on horseback and one on foot. The one on foot was like another infantry unit. Well, now they’re 13 men - not a unit I’ll throw into the heat of battle.

One question about this though? A cavalry general can be used to chase down men; this smaller infantry unit won’t be good for that. In old RTW, if your general did not kill a few men once in awhile, they began developing negative traits (coward, etc.). I haven’t noticed those traits in RS, have they been removed? And if not, how does this new unit size effect my general’s ability to kill men once in awhile?

Economy is still chugging along the way I like it. I really don’t see how people complain about "too much money"? I mean, sure I have more money than I do when I’m playing RTR, but when the AI recruits a new stack of men every turn, I need it. Right now, I’m building like mad (like I always do) and I can drain my economy each turn with five legions.

I notice no difference in battle map speed - but I play with all settings on the highest.

Ah, the new date. I do understand what you did this, DVK. I do hope it kills the CTD. And it kinda adds a certain Roman flair to the date, but I gotta say the first time I played I felt a bit like Captain Kirk:

Captains Log: Stardate 473 ab urbe condita (and just what the heck does that mean?). These are the voyages of the empire Roma. Our mission? To boldly go where no empire has gone before! Of course, I don’t know what year it is or where I am or even what solar system I’m in and that guy over there with the pointed ears is REALLY weirding me out . . . must be one of the Free People . . .

That said, the date seems to function properly.

DVK:

Any chance I can start and AAR with your new toy? Please?? Just asking . . .

Regards,

[swhunter]

DVK
I was just thinking shouldn't also the faction that takes other region's
just also be rewarded ? Example ...As Rome spreads toward the east towards Greek interests with their gold silver mines and markets shouldn't they gain more than lose?
Also with carth, and Spain, and the Seleuludes regions..
But as you pointed out the Germans in the north as you advance and take cities would cost more concerning the economy of Rome. And toward the North/east.
I know the treasury and extermination brings profits lowers the happiness level.
but does case problems keeping order. Not to add the legions you have to create to keep at bay the Free peoples and enemies of your faction.

As i have played this today on turn 20. The free peoples in the East are at 7 stacks above the Mace.
So i have no desire at this time to take them on since my cash flow is at 78,000, Because i am at war with Erpus.
And the free peoples. It should be interesting to see what will happen next.

[dvk901]

"Captains Log: Stardate 473 ab urbe condita. These are the voyages of the empire Roma. Our mission? To boldly go where no empire has gone before! Of course, I don’t know what year it is or where I am or even what solar system I’m in and that guy over there with the pointed ears is REALLY weirding me out . . . must be one of the Free People . . ."

OMG!! That is sooo funny. You nearly had me rolling on the floor at work.

I'm not sure what you mean about the blacksmiths...I didn't touch them.

[Lost In Transition]

I'm not sure what you mean about the blacksmiths...I didn't touch them.

In my original RS version, blacksmiths could be recruited in one year, but had no weapons upgrades. These upgrades came when you built an armory. In this version, they have upgrades.

Or maybe I'm just confused . . . that happens occassionally . . .

[cherryfunk]

There are feminist political themes in Lolita? Really?

[Lost In Transition]

There are feminist political themes in Lolita? Really?

Oh, my friend, there are not just feminist politcal themes in Lolita . . . there are eight, double-spaced, printed and footnoted pages of anti-male, feminist socio-political perspectives in Lolita. The child as victim. The woman as victim. The man as . . . no, wait, the man certainly isn't the victim . . . sorry, lost my mind there for a moment.

Of course, in eight pages, do they ever pause to wonder how all this feminism got into Lolita? I mean, who they think wrote this book?

[dvk901]

So this is where the downfall of society started...hmmmmm.


Oh, and, of course LOT, you can do AAR's all you want.

[rory o'kane]

hey, LiT, ab urbe condita means "since the founding of the City" - rome was founded in 753 BC, so that's year I in the roman A.U.C. calendar.

[Lost In Transition]

hey, LiT, ab urbe condita means "since the founding of the City" - rome was founded in 753 BC, so that's year I in the roman A.U.C. calendar.

Thanks for that. I had some idea what it referred to but I didn't know exactly what it meant. And I studied Latin for two years . . . okay, I studied Latin for two years . . . in America . . .

Learn something every day.

[♔Jean-Luc Picard♔]

i love the new legion system and the aggressiveness from the south. i just wish they frees would stop putting tons of men just next to Segesta (i think). makes it a real biotch to take.

[dvk901]

I really have NO idea why they do that. I did not put them there. Only thing I can think of is they are allied with the Slave faction for a while.

[swhunter]

Ok still how do we know when we are past A.D. ?
Will there still be information boxes that come down after a turn showing
an event? Like the birth of a king in Judea? wise men ect ? What are your plans ?
First of all i never reached the end of any Modd or RTW itself.
So whats in store?

[icydawgfish]

DVK, I should be getting back home tommorrow, so I will DL and test it then. Good job on your progress.

[swhunter]

Just to let you know DVK
found no problems as yet.
all things running smooth...
Love the units matching the ui cards.
And having carth. more aggressive is going to be fun for the players.
Still have no idea in time .............

[♔Jean-Luc Picard♔]

just got to sicily and massilia. i love what you did with recruitment. it makes a lot more sense to me to be able to recruit legio II or III and legio I units as close together as they are. this actually makes expansion easier for me. i think its good for public use.

Skan

[swhunter]

morning Lost (LIT )

Ok update ......
started a campaign as Rome....
At date 500..
Carth . is very aggressive! It seems that mace is having a hard time with Perg. and GCS are fighting with Sparta and free peoples..
Gauls at war with Germans/ Carth at war with Gauls.
Seems like a lot of Free people stacks at Segestica in the east.
6 which is a good buffer zone.
The missiles are toned down a bit... I feel its makes it more normal..
There are no CTD so far.. Have all set on high and very high for effects.
And units on huge. Still beautiful skies. Aim playing at Med/Med checking on that game play. Still tuff even after trained and with +1 experience.
I usually hit a stack with two stacks amount is under 6,000
when fighting big battles the highest i have had are 12,000.
And the lag isn't that bad! Matter of fact its better! I don't know what you did but it worked.

[dvk901]

Everything has sprites now...that's why.

[rory o'kane]

ah, i thought as much. one small gripe. Rome starts off with a temple of Saturn - shouldn't it be Jupiter, as there was one on the Capitoline hill? in fact, doesn't it say so in the Temple Descriptions?
and another, actually, lots of cities can't build 5th tier buildings, whereas in the last patch they could, even without an imperial palace - is there no way to get that back?
even some of the cities that CAN build an imperial palace, such as Rome, for example can't build a Ludus Magna. (or at least, it doesn't appear on the building tree).

[dvk901]

ah, i thought as much. one small gripe. Rome starts off with a temple of Saturn - shouldn't it be Jupiter, as there was one on the Capitoline hill? in fact, doesn't it say so in the Temple Descriptions?
and another, actually, lots of cities can't build 5th tier buildings, whereas in the last patch they could, even without an imperial palace - is there no way to get that back?
even some of the cities that CAN build an imperial palace, such as Rome, for example can't build a Ludus Magna. (or at least, it doesn't appear on the building tree).

Some of the buildings won't show up until you actually build the one previous to it....if you're talking about the building browser. Many building trees I've changed so that the highest size city needed is 'large city', so the first building in that list shows, the others are 'under' it, so to speak, and won't show up until you build the first one. The only place I've noted problems with this is with the barracks.....where you are recruiting a unit and upgrading at the same time. Apparently you can't have a city requirement list like this:

town
large_town
city
large_city
large_city
huge_city

If you have two the same, there can't be a bigger one after it in a recruitment building. So the barracks is just:

large_town
city
large_city
large_city
large_city

The building browser just 'stacks' the three that are the same.

[Squid]

Temples will be totally changed, in the temple re-alignment, which I'm just about to package into an installer. I'll post it in the 1.5 download thread.