Need Help Stopping the Black Hordes...

[AceOfDiamonds]

So I recently downloaded RTR: PE and I'm loving it. Wonderful game. Thank you very much for putting your time and effort into this product, it really shows.

Anywhoo, started a game as the Armenians (gotta love cavalry-heavy factions and how vastly outnumbered cavalry armies can still outflank hoplites and tear them to pieces.) I'm doing marginally well -- from 2 settlements to 15 settlements by 222 BC. My empire currently stretches from mid-Turkey to Albania (not European Albania, but the settlement bordering the caspian sea) and I've taken several Selecuid settlements in northern Iraq as well. Pontus has been eliminated and I've taken Sinope (essentially that's my western border) while the Macedonians have taken Bithynia.

I spent much of the early game concentrating on neutralizing the gigantic Selecuids, who statistics suggested were far and away the strongest in the game. For the most part I succeeded in my efforts. Armenia, Parthia, Egypt and that far-east faction whose name I forgot had a freakin' epic four way alliance (five-way if you count the Greek Cities, who were briefly a part of the alliance before the Macedonians and Romans eliminated them) against the Selecuids. That alliance is actually still mostly intact, with the exception of that far-east faction, which has since cease-fired. Parthia expanded straight south from its starting position and effectively cut the Selecuid empire in half, so I've never had to deal with the eastern flank. Egypt's kept the Selecuid empire occupied in the south, and I've swooped in from the north into Iraq. So far, so good. Selecuid power has steadily declined for some time now, though they're still stronger than my faction alone (and still the third strongest faction in the game; my Armenians are currently fifth.)

Unfortunately, this game doesn't seem to have an accurate representation on just how difficult it was to conquer far-inland barbarian Europe, as Macedonia seems to have created a vast financial empire by conquering...uhh...Thrace, Dacia, Illyria, Germania, and eastern Gaul. (Hell, I'm pretty sure they'll finish off Sarmatia next, as I haven't bothered to expand Armenia north of that mountain range.) Macedonia declared war on me just for grins and giggles and Sinope's become a continual battleground. Despite continually taking down their 800-hoplite (and nearly all the same hoplite unit!) stacks with my vastly outnumbered horsies, Macedonia continues to expand militarily (the damn graph somehow keeps going up.) They already have nearly 40 settlements! And Macedonia absolutely refuses to accept a ceasefire.

Worse set, somehow the computer thought this was fair: an alliance between the Selecuids and the Macedonians! (Actually, it's now technically Carthage-Macedon-Selecuids VS Rome-Egypt-Armenia-Parthia-Iberia-Germania, though Germania counts for virtually nothing and has been reduced to one settlement. Gaul is "neutral", if by neutral you actually mean "simultaneously being devoured by Rome and Macedon," Sarmatia and far-east are neutral, everyone else is eliminated.)

I can't help but feel this is hopeless! How do I stand tall against the Macedonian threat or at least contain it so I can concentrate on the Selecuids again? And is every game play out like this? It's funny -- every RTW game results in Egypt effectively dominating, and now it looks like every RTR game is predestined to result in Macedonia Rex: the second coming of Alexander the Great!

[Jamey]

The far east faction you're trying to remember is Bactria.

There is no good way to contain the Macedonians in the situation you're in. What you have to do is kill them until they run out of Macedonians. This usually entails you taking (or burning to the ground) their cities. You can start by starving their economy using naval blockades. Take Rhodes if they control it.

The Macedonian money centers are the Greek coast. Whoever controls that becomes a superpower which can contend with whoever rises in the east (usually the Ptolemies).

I've seen Macedon go down before a Greek/Thracian alliance (I was Bactria and Thrace wound up as the superpower). I've also seen them get crushed by Rome (in a weird game where Carthage and Rome kept an alliance for quite a while). I normally nip the "Black Death" in the bud either by conquering Macedon or by building an alliance of Macedon's neighbors - though with 1 HP Hypas in the latest RTR-PE, that's less urgent. In the end, someone will wind up with the Greek coast and will become a superpower.

By the way, perhaps the most fun I've had in RTR was crushing an ascendant Macedon with German hordes. They were sniffing around Vicus Marcomanii when I dropped the hammer on them. It was an epic war which ended with my armies pushing down into Macedon through Illyria (I was allied with the remnants of Thrace) and taking Pella. It was an older version of RTR and I started getting CTDs every few turns, so I had to retire the campaign. There isn't much in RTW more frustrating than playing through several massive defensive battles only to wind up with a CTD erasing your progress...

[QuintusSertorius]

In all honesty, you're too late to contain Macedonia unless you're prepared to launch a major incursion to reduce their war-making capabilities.

I've been struggling with them in my current game, and I'm only at 240BC or so. I restored the Greek Cities to southern Greece, and I'm about to launch a lengthy punitive expedition to humble the Macedonians some. As in I'll capture several major cities in central Macedonia and destroy all their buildings, before gifting them back. That should hopefully curtail their ability to support the stacks and stacks of troops they have.

[fourganger]

Macedon usually ends up owning the whole of Greece- this gives it very large income as the area is very rich in trade. From what you have said, they also own the Westernmost part of Anatolia, which just adds to their wealth.

Could you post a screen shot?

My advice at this point would be to try and conquer some of the territories boardering on the Black Sea. Sarmatia may declare war on you but they are a very cash-strapped faction so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The Black Sea should earn you quite a bit of cash. Use that to build up offensive armies. You need to drive Macedon out of Anatolia. Once you've done that you can easily defend against their incursions by defending the Bosphorus area. Once you've done that you cans ee about taking Greece from them, but one step at a time.

[QuintusSertorius]

Or better than simply conquering and holding, give them to other factions when you've reduced them.

[Quinn Inuit]

I recommend hit and sack assaults on Greece, behind their lines. You'll have to basically flatten their infrastructure and slaughter their people.

I may have developed a solution to the "he who owns Greece, owns the world" problem in RTR--basically any faction that controls Greece gets exorbitant sums of money. It's still in the historical research and deployment phase, though. If it works, it'll be in the next ExRM version.

[AceOfDiamonds]

Heh.

In 222 BC I thought I was royally screwed.

Now in 219 BC, I have a tactical plan that could cripple the Seleucids and isolate the Macedonians to Europe -- if it works.

That's a pretty big if. But I'm excited nonetheless.

Took my sixteenth settlement, which is significant because of the fact that it's one of only two settlements Macedonia actually possesses in Asia Minor (or Anatolia, take your pick.) In 222 Macedon possessed Heracleia and Nicomedia. I took Heracleia; that sliver of Black Sea coastline is now mine.

It took a significant push to do so as well as a couple costly victories (lost a promising general with gold-ribbon kataphracts.) But half of the settlement presence in Asia Minor is now gone. IF I can take Nicomedia -- a daunting prospect to be sure, but not impossible -- oceanic control of the Black Sea and land control of Anatolia / Turkey / Asia Minor will be easier to possess, with only the weakened Seleucids in my way to victory there.

I presume there's a land bridge north of Nicomedia. Even if there is, a simple construction of a fort -- or even several forts -- will force the enemy to attempt to use naval crossings over the Aegean to west Turkey. This benefits me immensely, as that land is currently Seleucid, and I can keep spies there. It will be my buffer zone. I will see Macedonian armies as they land and have several turns to prepare before they enter my territory, unless they cross the Black Sea to the north -- but I will control the Black Sea with an iron fist.

So for now, this plan involves keeping the Seleucids alive in western Turkey. But I can still concentrate on eliminating Seleucid presence in southern Turkey and Iraq (Babylonia if you will.) Restricting the Seleucids to westernmost points of Turkey is a brilliant concept and one that is relatively easy with the second component of my plan -- taking Tarsus.

Nicomedia, of course, is first priority. But a while back I fought the Seleucids for Hieropolis and won. I also have control over Antiochia Edessa and a couple other settlements in that region, though I have not yet expanded into Babylonia proper and I have yet to take the Hanging Gardens. While the Egyptians have long lost their Anatolian / Asia Minor possessions to the Seleucids, the Egyptians have struck back in the Syrian region, acquiring a few settlements there. Hopefully my allies will assist in keeping these Seleucid scourge busy.

With my possession of the "string of E" settlements in central-east Asia Minor, the path is clear: cut off the Seleucids into even further piecemeal, namely by taking Tarsus. With Tarsus in my possession, Babylonia / Arabia Seleucids will be isolated from Asia Minor Seleucids. The Seleucid empire, already split into two halves by the Parthians way out to the east, could be split into thirds. And my Armenian brethren will reap immense benefits from this beautiful arrangement.

Perhaps I can even send a single army to blast through Greece, taking but not keeping settlements, giving gifts (probably to the Sarmatians, as the Greeks and Illyria and Dacia have all been eliminated) along the way (or, preferably, actually allowing the Macedonians to simply recapture Greek settlements with their military structures stripped and gutted, while only giving outlying settlements, should I reach that far, to Sarmatians and Germans. Brilliant. This has the potential to be so brilliant.)

I love you, Armenia. Your central strategic location in the world will serve me well.

(And, uhh...I have no idea why I'm writing this. I'm not even asking a question. RTR has just taken over my mind. I am absolutely obsessed with this concept of war now and must share it with everyone. I am a genius! I am a military tactician in 219 BC! And my armies will crush the ancient world!)

[KALI]

I recommend hit and sack assaults on Greece, behind their lines. You'll have to basically flatten their infrastructure and slaughter their people.

He he , my tactic exactly.
I invented Ptolemaic marines in my latest game for this very purpose.

[QuintusSertorius]

I often find those "humble, but don't destroy" objectives are much more fun than straight conquest. Ordering the rest of the world as you'd like, without actually having to defend and control it directly.

[Quinn Inuit]

One word for you: Rhodos. Trust me.

Definitely blast through Greece. The AI doesn't do homeland defense well, and you'll freak 'em out like the escape from Stalag 3 freaked out the Germans.

[AceOfDiamonds]

Can anyone teach me the step-by-step process to capturing and hosting screenshots? I have several saves (dating back quite a few turns) racked up for my Armenian gameplay, so I can show y'all step by step how I got from point A to point B.

[Quinn Inuit]

1. Get what you want on the screen
2. Hit PrtScn
3. Alt-tab out or exit out the game
4. Open MS-Paint or another image editor
5. Hit Paste or Ctrl-V (same thing)
6. Save the resulting image
7. Go to Imageshack.us or a similar hosting service
8. Upload it
9. Copy the forum thumbnail URL into one of your posts
10. Party like it's 199 B.C.

[AceOfDiamonds]

Here's a largely unrelated question I'll ask in this topic instead of creating a new one: are there only two tracks of music in RTR? Because I've only heard two (one in battle as an eastern faction, one in battle as barbarians, and absolutely no music whatsoever as Romans. Haven't tried a Greek faction yet.)

And there's no music on the main map screen. I know the RTW music was a little repetitive (more than just a little actually) but I enjoyed it. Will RTR VII have more music? Is there any way to get RTW music to play in RTR VI?

[Brusilov]

And there's no music on the main map screen. I know the RTW music was a little repetitive (more than just a little actually) but I enjoyed it. Will RTR VII have more music? Is there any way to get RTW music to play in RTR VI?

As Quinn Inuit has posted download one of the music packs for RTR. I've used the Marcus Camillus music pack - http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=104992

As RTR VII has yet to be released it's a bit early to worry about such things. If you want to have a look at what RTR VII may be like I'd suggest playing RTR VII The Iberian Conflict (TIC). The link is under my signature.

Hopefully, you will be pleasantly surprised.

[AceOfDiamonds]

Weird. I've definitely downloaded MC's music remix info and I definitely have the music in the RTRPE data/sound/music files (and I definitely have the updated descr_sounds_music folder as well) but I still have hardly any in-game music!

For the record, I'm using the modswitch version of RTRPE and I've attempted to download the music remix files into RTRPE alone without changing any RTW files.

[Pat89]

Weird. I've definitely downloaded MC's music remix info and I definitely have the music in the RTRPE data/sound/music files (and I definitely have the updated descr_sounds_music folder as well) but I still have hardly any in-game music!

For the record, I'm using the modswitch version of RTRPE and I've attempted to download the music remix files into RTRPE alone without changing any RTW files.

You also have to remove/rename the events.dat and events.idx files
I renamed them to events_backup.dat and events_backup.idx
That should work

(Edit: you will find them in .../Data/Sounds)

[Quinn Inuit]

No idea about the the latter question, but you can download either the Cantus Congretio or Marcus Camillus music packs for RTR.

[Tiberius Tosi]

Honestly what I usually do, is about 15-20 years in to the game, I send a single general to Greece, recruit as many stinkin mercenaries as I can gather, and just completely destroy southern Greece. Just go from town and town, and as you take each one, massacre the people and take as much money as possible and just destroy every possible building, then leave and just let it either go rebel or go back to macedonian faction, really doesn't matter. Usually keeps them quiet from becoming a huge superpower for me.

[AceOfDiamonds]

Let's see if this works.

This was me (I'm Armenia, or purple) in 252 BC:



And here's me in 235 BC:



And finally, here's me now (in 210 BC




...So things have gotten a bit better. I've reinforced Nicomedia and transformed it into my base against Macedonian incursions. Usually, the Macedonians send one or two full legions every turn. My general in Nicomedia has three gold ribbons by now, he's fought so much, and he's not even 45 years old. I usually have to play out every fight personally, but I can usually break the sieges each turn, using kataphracts to good use against their spears formations.

I've taken Babylon and Seleucia to the east, and Ancyra to the west. Tarsus is mine as well. The Ptolemics and I are making a mess out of the Seleucid Empire, which is actually by now militarily weaker than I am. The Macedonians are still a massive problem. I once took over Byzanton and burnt it to the ground, and destroyed every building I could there, in preparation of the inevitable reality that the Macedonians would take the city back with significant force. Unfortunately, I couldn't continue such a trend deeper into Greece without sacrificing a sufficient defense in Nicomedia.

I control the Black Sea now, and my most significant contributing allies, the Ptolemics, seem to be doing well in the Mediterranean. At some point in the future, when I have a general and sufficient funds to spare, I hope to invade Greece, hire a mercenary army there, and raze several cities.

Any other tips against the Black scourge would be much appreciated.

[Quinn Inuit]

Watch out for the Ptolies...they'll backstab ya' as soon as shake yer hand.

I recommend putting an army full of heavy spears _in_ the landbridge. The game, IIRC, treats that as a bridge battle.

Also focus on developing Ancyra. It's a good high-growth region, and anything that shortens your supply lines will save you a lot of trouble. Put money there before most of your other cities.