RTR: BI could ROCK...

[SuleymanGroznii]

So just to let everybody know that I did consult the FAQ before posting this question/proposal, I'll quote this relevant bit before I start:

"12) "Will there be a mod of BI?" or "Is RTR compatible with BI" or "Will RTR 7.0 be set in the RTW or BI Timeframe?" etc.
The current build of Rome Total Realism is 6.0 Gold and is set in the timeframe of 280 BC to 1 AD. RTR 7.0 is currently in production and will be based on the Barbarian Invasion (1.6) engine, and will be based in the original RTR timeframe of 280 BC to 1 AD. The RTR Team is not going to release a version of the current RTR 6.x build that will be compatible with BI or with the 1.3 RTW patch. Instead, the Team is focusing its efforts on RTR 7.0 which will feature much more content and will be well worth the wait."

While I have been salivating about RTR 7.0 since first reading about it awhile back, when I finally got off my ass, gave RTW back to my friend after almost a year, and bought the RTW/BI Gold pack, I was pretty psyched about some of the new features and factions available with the Barbarian Invasion expansion. But like vanilla RTW, it has some flaws that history nerds such as us find, well, COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE.

But the period in which the expansion takes place is a fascinating and dynamic one (albeit depressing at certain points...), having religion play a stronger role in managing settlements adds a whole new dimension to the game, as does the "horde" option that the barbarian/nomadic have when they lose a settlement. (For HA spammers like me, well, that might just be especially appealing...)

I've looked up a lot of different mods and haven't really found anything that is essentially a more realistic version of the BI upgrade, w/better skins, more historically accurate units, maybe a bigger map, etc, etc. I'm sure that a lot of effort goes into these mods, but I think that many of you capable of such endeavors might have some fun messing around with BI, while also keeping its original time line.

(Oh, and I most CERTAINLY would enjoy playing such a thing.)

Did I miss something in my mod search? And what does everybody else think of a Late Antiquity: Total Realism idea?

[florin80]

The existing alternatives out there (for the late antiquity timeframe) are:
IBFD
Goth`s mod
Arthurian

If there is anythign else I haven`t found it yet.

[Pompeius Magnus]

Thanx Florin...
I mean at least IBFD should be famous enough

[Tony83]

I've not tried IBFD or Arthurian but I can certainly vouch for Goth's mod for BI.

I don't think it's been updated for a while (the last version I found was 2.4.1) and I'm not even sure it is still available! Does anyone know if there are updates or links?

[Pompeius Magnus]

Goths mod improved several units.
The first full conversation was Dark Ages 1 of the User Arbaces.
Then came IBFD. Also a full conversion. New map, all units revised and a lot of new buildings, more scipts and so on.
the most important improvement on roman side: decreasing population in europe and not so much uprisings. the game starts in 410AD.

[SuleymanGroznii]

thanks for the recommendations. Goth's mod definitely sounds cool, and I'll have to try that out soon. One thing I'm noticing in the descriptions (both from what their writers say and from their players' feedback) of all of these mods though is that the Sassanids seem to be pretty weak, and that is one of my main gripes with vanilla BI. Next to Rome and Constantinople, they were the de facto superpower during that era; I suppose they didn't pose as direct and as urgent a threat as the Visigoths, Huns, and various Germanic tribes, but over the duration of their reign, they remained the biggest overall threat to the old Roman empire(s), and were the "other" in a bipolar balance of power. The various Gothic, Germanic, and steppe peoples like the Huns typically posed a (very serious) threat to the old empire for short periods, then withered away.

IMO, the Sassanid faction should basically be a hybrid of the Roman, Seleucid/Bactrian, and Parthian factions in RTR PE 1.9, with a lot of income, strong units, and a large, stable chunk of land--NOT a pushover with mostly weak units. (What can I say? I loves me some Middle Eastern history...)

[Pompeius Magnus]

I don' know where your problem is with your funny sassanids.

They are a very strong faction in IBFD.
Goths mod fixes (so far as I know) only optical issues.
IBFD is a "FULL CONVERSION" Mod. New map, new units, new stats, new buildings, new character titles and so on

Why don't you download IBFD 7.03 and test the game. Very easy.
And I don't understand why you post such late-antique-items here in a sub-thread of RTR Platinum. That doesn't make sense.

If you have a question concerning the late antique open a thread in the IBFD Thread.
RTR Platinum is a mod of the republican time!!!

[florin80]

The vast majority(if not all) of his posts are in the RTR/RTRPE sub-forums. He clearly started here and wanted something similar for the late antiquity. Which explains why he made the thread here. I see no real problem with it.

As for the sassanids, Goth`s mod only modifies the regions on the map iirc and not the map itself. So the Sassanids only having part of their historical teritory are, of course, still less powerful then would have been ideal. In IBDF there is a bigger map that goes east just about the same as the RTR map(come to think of it, the whole map is pretty much the same with the RTR one in terms of general proportions) and the Sassanid empire can have more provinces and is probably more powerful.

[SuleymanGroznii]

I don' know where your problem is with your funny sassanids.

I have a special place in my heart for the Sassanids, as I suspect everybody else who has read The World of Late Antiquity by Peter Brown does as well. I'm also intrigued by the fact that we have such scattered accounts of their armies compared to their contemporaries, even though they were so dominant, and were one of the main factors (along with other cavalry heavy invaders like the Sarmatians) in the Roman/Byzantine armies moving away from the heavy infantry based legions.

Speaking of which, I stumbled on these articles a few weeks back and thought some of you would enjoy them:

http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Milita...thian_army.htm
http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Milita...anian_army.htm

They are a very strong faction in IBFD.
Goths mod fixes (so far as I know) only optical issues.
IBFD is a "FULL CONVERSION" Mod. New map, new units, new stats, new buildings, new character titles and so on

I'll have to check that one out then.

Why don't you download IBFD 7.03 and test the game. Very easy.
And I don't understand why you post such late-antique-items here in a sub-thread of RTR Platinum. That doesn't make sense.

If you have a question concerning the late antique open a thread in the IBFD Thread.
RTR Platinum is a mod of the republican time!!!

With all due respect sir, HOW DARE YOU MAKE A PERFECTLY VALID POINT!

Seriously, i had no idea that those forums were the designated late antiquity forums. I used the Late Antiquity: Total War/Realism title mostly as a joke cause, let's face it, it wouldn't exactly fly off the shelves were it actually released in stores. I will check them out though.

[Coni]

In the second post you gave him some examples which mods are existing concerning late antique. If he has further questions he should go to the spezialized threads.

[Pompeius Magnus]

exactly!
thanx Coni.

If you have more questions you should go to such a special mod forum. There are lot of users who can answer all your questions.

[florin80]

In the second post you gave him some examples which mods are existing concerning late antique. If he has further questions he should go to the spezialized threads.

Yes, sure, that is why I have provided the links for. Asking there about them is a good advice since there are better chances to find answers then here. But, I`m not gonna force him to go away either. It`s his choice.

[Pompeius Magnus]

so we should push him secretly and "silent"

[SuleymanGroznii]

so we should push him secretly and "silent"

I'm bad at taking hints, I have some sort of voice modulation disorder, and whistling makes me want to kill people. (LONG story...)

(Sheesh, was my question THAT friggin' annoying?)