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Thread: Just ordered Eras.

  1. #1
    KoS's Avatar Dux Limitis
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    Default Just ordered Eras.

    Hopefully this is the right place to post this, but if it isn't, my apologies to trouble whichever mod deleted/moved this thread.

    I had absolutely none of the TW games released before RTW, and that CD set went missing recently (and the local stores were sold out of RTW, even the gold edition). So I stumble onto eBay one day and find somebody selling 29 copies of Eras, Buy It Now, for $39.99 each. Naturally, I could hardly resist such a temptation, and it should be here in a matter of days.

    Now that I have a total of seven new campaigns awaiting me (Shogun, Medieval, Rome, and the expansions for each, both of Rome's), I can't decide which to play first. If the TWC community as a whole could give me a recommendation, then I would be glad to rep whoever presents the most convincing argument.

    Again, if this doesn't belong here (or anywhere, for that matter), then I am sorry for bothering you by making you move or delete this.
    Last edited by KoS; June 29, 2008 at 05:22 AM.
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  2. #2
    Prince_of_Macedon's Avatar Πρίγκηψ της Μακεδονίας
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    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    Your thread is fine here
    Last edited by Prince_of_Macedon; June 29, 2008 at 07:02 AM.
    HOW TO PLAY EMPIRE TOTAL WAR OFFLINE

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  3. #3

    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    MTWI Viking Invasion is one of the finest TW games they have. Perhaps the graphics are not up to date, but the AI is far superior and the enjoyment much more lasting.

    As evidence, I play MTWI just as often as I play RTW's various mods, including Chivalry, Invasio Barbarorum, the various Fall of the Roman Republic mods, and RTR.

    I just had an excellent English late campaign that got thrashed when my kingdom split into a civil war. How terrible!

  4. #4
    Civitate
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    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    It depends on what time line you're looking to experience. I'm currently in the mood for some late medieval early renaissance era combat, so I'd play MTW if it worked on my PC. To be honest, unless you're looking strictly for a 16-17th century Japanese experience, there is absolutely no reason to play STW. MTW's campaign and battles beat it in every single way; MTW is like the same game mechanics as STW but much, much more refined and improved.

    If you want the 3D and fancy graphics experience, there is RTW and a host of mods available on this site for you to enjoy. Europa Barabarorum and RTR are really excellent mods and if you want to play RTW then you really should install one of these mods.

    However, I still find MTW's checkboard campaign style game play the best out of eras. I find the AI far superior to RTW's, and the whole civil war thing to always keep me on my toes. So, download XL (in the stickies here!) and get playing.
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  5. #5
    Prince_of_Macedon's Avatar Πρίγκηψ της Μακεδονίας
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    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    I think you should go down the line, and play each game (since you have all of them).

    My personal favorite is Rome: Total War. Sure, there are plenty of excellent mods for it, but I keep mine un-modded so that I can play against the majority of online players (who play un-modded).

    Basically, this all comes down to your preferences for the Historical & Geographical Setting in addition to Good Gameplay.

    I prefer Antiquity (in general) so R:TW wins in that category for me. In terms of gameplay, I love the diversity of R:TW's factions/units. When you play online, there are certain factions that have an unfair advantage, but that doesn't stop me from ranking R:TW as the best of the bunch.

    At the moment, I'm playing Medieval II which does not come in the Total War Eras box set. There is, however, a preview of it in your box, I believe.
    HOW TO PLAY EMPIRE TOTAL WAR OFFLINE

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  6. #6

    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    I personally have not played S:TW but I have played all the other games. I would recommend that you play M:TW1 first.

    The campaign is much quicker than Rome Total War or Medieval2 Total War, this is because you do not move the armies as you do in Rome or Med2.

    The campaign map is split into provinces(like Rome or M2), but you pick up and move the armies into each province. This means you can have a massive invasion where 4 or 5 of your provinces are invaded at once, often with overwhelming force.

    Along with the quicker speed of the campaign map, the battles are harder, elite units will take out hundreds of enemies before being killed. This makes battles more unpredictable as one unit of bodyguards can take out a whole half of an army.

    The graphics may not be as flashy as Rome or Medieval2 but overall the strategic aspect of the game is much stronger than in the other 2 games.

    overall I think Medieval1 is a much better game than Rome or Medieval2 in every aspect except graphics.

    There, I hope I have given you a few reasons to play Medieval total War1 first

  7. #7

    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    Prince, MTWI kicks the out of MTWII :p

    As far as elite troops slaughtering whole armies, yes and no. What really matters is the troops valor ratings (which is affected by command ratings)

    I've had outnumbered militia sergeants hold out against Mongolian hordes (and any other kind of enemy) with good generals and terrain.

    Lately I've taken a greater interest in assaulting castles. I bring at least five siege weapons to my larger invasion forces so that my assaults can go in without the need to batter the gates!

  8. #8
    Henry X's Avatar Protector Domesticus
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    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    Hving played most of the games in the box and listening to others talk about the ones I don't have, I would say, go with the orginal Medieval Total War.
    Now for the reasons.

    1)Different strategies are needed for different factions.
    2)You have six different scenarios in the base version; seven if you use Viking Invasion
    3)Hundreds of troop types and many unique variants.
    4)Easier to get into massive battles
    5)The AI actully will pose a challenge both strategically and tactically.
    7)Battles usually have a larger affect on the grand scheme of things; one massive defeat and your faction could fall into a civil war
    8)Aforementioned civil wars.
    9)Revolts are good for training and not a pain in the ass
    10)Factions can reemerge.

    But choose which one you feel like.
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  9. #9
    Prince_of_Macedon's Avatar Πρίγκηψ της Μακεδονίας
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    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    Quote Originally Posted by misplacedgeneral View Post
    Prince, MTWI kicks the out of MTWII :p
    hehe

    Perhaps, but I don't want to learn the controls of MTW1 - I'm so used to R:TW/M2TW's control schemes
    HOW TO PLAY EMPIRE TOTAL WAR OFFLINE

    "It is a lovely thing to live with courage and to die leaving behind an everlasting renown." - ALEXANDER THE GREAT

    Watch my online-commentary battles here
    Under the Patronage of Hader

  10. #10

    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    Bleh, difficult people like you!

    In that you could at least do the campaign, since the AI isn't .

    Playing Pike and Musket Total War mod for MTWI right now, I love it.

  11. #11

    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    Put it simply, Rome total war with EB best gameplay, best battles, New campaign map, best trait system of all the mods, real names for units and buildings, you can spend hours reading the descriptions, the list is endless.

    Shogun and medieval are i think, just dont cut it the battle system is flawed you really cant play it as the men seem to float across the screen :hmmm:and thats it really, theres no good points to mention on these games, there inferior in all ways and just take up disc space.

    Rome total war, this is of course the best like i said up there, with EB installed, but standalone it is also a good game, the 3 families is a good concept and it is also very challenging once you have to fight for power, rather fun game, Barbarian invasion EX, well this is really not my cup of tea, ita fun as the romans but its just too hard to keep together an empire on it, as every city just seems to revolt.

    Alexander Expansion, well this is also a hard game, but i didnt play it much, prolly for about 30 mins, you have to conquer the map in a certain amount of turns, your cities rebel like hell, you have not many men and its basically hard, im sure alexander didnt conquer asian with just 3000 men -,-

    Medieval 2...Heh about the same Medieval one just with amazing graphics, but the religious system is unigue, and i like the pope idea, but what annoyed me is the fact that when my own countrys pope got elected, i got excommunicated, i mean WTF and i couldent like give him orders or nothing -,-, Also it takes AGES to get to a new period, its really boring fighting with spearmen and peasants, it gets old quick.

    I only really bought this game for EB2 when it comes out, i hate the medieval period. hope i helped, thought these are just my opinions, im sure they wont affect what you think

    "I may not like what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

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  12. #12

    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    While it is all a matter of opinion and so futile to argue over, I'd say MTWI has much better gameplay than any RTW mod. The building system is better, command rating makes more sense, 2d map causes the AI to be more effective on campaign and they are good in battle situations. Traits and other such things dominate all other CA games.

  13. #13
    Angrychris's Avatar Primicerius
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    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    dont buy it if u have a 8000 nvidia graphics card or youll never beable to play mtw1/shogun like me.

    Leave it to the modder to perfect the works of the paid developers for no profit at all.

  14. #14

    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    In addition to heartily seconding those who recommend MTW (it remains my favorite out of the series), I also must give a big thumbs-up to Shogun as well.

    Feudal Japan isn't one of my favorite eras. Or rather, it wasn't -- until after I started playing STW. Some people may bemoan the game's simpler strategic mode, and/or its relatively small unit roster. But in terms of balance, challenge, immersion, and overall atmosphere, it remains almost unmatched. Only its successor (MTW) can really compare to it IMHO.



    Quote Originally Posted by Angrychris View Post
    dont buy it if u have a 8000 nvidia graphics card or youll never beable to play mtw1/shogun like me.
    Unfortunately, that does indeed seem to be the case for too many players. The Nvidia's 8800 card is particularly notorious for not wanting to run MTW -- I have yet to see any true solution for those who have it in their PC's.
    "Evil is easy, and has infinite forms." - Pascal

  15. #15

    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    One of the things I like about Shogun, that I miss in Medieval, is that each turn is a season, rather than a year, so you can choose whether to attack in winter, for example, rather than having it determined randomly.

  16. #16

    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    There is a solution to the campaign map CTDs for MTW: VI. Handy if you have a Nvidia 8600GT . Check it out here:

    http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=79500

    As for any battlemap mouseover problems, all I can suggest is do the same as me - improvise and use the radar map and a modified GroupFormations.txt so that, in battle, when 2 or more units are selected, 1-9 alters the depth of a unit. The radar map does still work properly, although you can't alter the depth of a unit by dragging out on that. But it's better than nothing. I do insist on everyone trying the campaign map CTD fix, because replacing the two campaign map button files really does the trick, no joke.

  17. #17

    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    you choose depending on what u like really
    i mean u dont want to do MTW1 if you want good grapichs or phalanxes (gogogogogo) etc
    i recommend MTW1 tho as it is fun and a lot darker than the rest

  18. #18
    Dewy's Avatar Something Witty
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    Default Re: Just ordered Eras.

    Play MTW it has the best AI of all TW games you will love it
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