First Impressions

[Fridericus Rex]

I just came back to RTW after getting tired of MTW2.

Played both RTRPE and this excellent sub-mod.

For the sub-mod - the Good and the Not-so-Good:
1. I really enjoy the changes made to the Generals, Map, etc.
2. The Diplomacy is worst than in RTRPE. There is no way of getting any useful response from the AI. The Diplomacy in RTRPE is not perfect, but definitely something to work with.
Why was this changed and can it be changed back?
3. Capua - Equites Consulares are "Gost-Riders" here; they can be build and payed for but never appear on the roster as completed unit.
4. The sub-mod lacks the aggressiveness when compared to RTRPE - no faction seems interested in attacking the Roman Faction.
Way into the game; so far no challenge - was this planned?

I am glad I came back; I just enjoy that period of history, and the changes to the feel of that history made in this sub-mod are greatly appreciated.

[pannonian]

I just came back to RTW after getting tired of MTW2.

Played both RTRPE and this excellent sub-mod.

For the sub-mod - the Good and the Not-so-Good:
1. I really enjoy the changes made to the Generals, Map, etc.
2. The Diplomacy is worst than in RTRPE. There is no way of getting any useful response from the AI. The Diplomacy in RTRPE is not perfect, but definitely something to work with.
Why was this changed and can it be changed back?
3. Capua - Equites Consulares are "Gost-Riders" here; they can be build and payed for but never appear on the roster as completed unit.
4. The sub-mod lacks the aggressiveness when compared to RTRPE - no faction seems interested in attacking the Roman Faction.
Way into the game; so far no challenge - was this planned?

I am glad I came back; I just enjoy that period of history, and the changes to the feel of that history made in this sub-mod are greatly appreciated.

2. Version 3.3.x, which I assume you're playing, has a force diplomacy script. If the AI is being unreasonably intractable, activate the script and force them to accept your offer.
4. I think the lack of AI aggression lies in the increased upkeep, which means Illyria and Carthage have less resources to spare on launching mini-raids of Italy. Instead, there's a period of gearing up before they can take the nearby rebels (and Illyria no longer starts with Delmatia and Segestica), then they're involved with their immediate neighbours (Numidia for Carthage, Macedon for Illyria). They may have had prefers naval invasions switched off as well, which you can switch back on in the appropriate text file.

[St Naffatun]

4. The sub-mod lacks the aggressiveness when compared to RTRPE - no faction seems interested in attacking the Roman Faction.
Way into the game; so far no challenge - was this planned?

I have found the opposite...

In my Rome campaign (on VH) it's around turn ~45 and without setting foot outside Italy I have had 35 battles (won 31, lost 4), have had to releive >10 seiges. Maybe 1/4 turns has passed without an enemy army somewhere in Italy...

Epirotes + their Greek allies in the south and now the Gauls attacking just north of Rome now they have control of Cisalpine region.

The only reason I can fight on both fronts is I took Syracuse, exterminated and destroyed the buildings for cash which is a bit of an exploit IMO then retreated back into Italy leaving them to civil revolt... I felt dirty and cheap doing it... (I forgot to salt the earth hehe)

Also a very strong Carthage accepted an alliance, which seemed a little strange... I felt like I was cheating with that also. I have hardly had any money to build just fight-retrain-fight, control 10 regions atm and will not expand for a while.

[Fridericus Rex]

I am playing Roman Faction on Hard/Hard:
I am at turn 50 and have two full stacks of troops - one in the North and one on Sicily, which has eliminated the Greeks and taken two provinces. I am allied with Carthage. Now, the Gauls attack but they are now match for an elite Roman army.

Would it help to reduce the upkeep cost by 10%?

Why is it not possible to order and pay for cavalry units in Rome and Capua, but they are not being build? Is this intended?

Is it possible to copy RTRPE's diplomatic files? Which are they?

[Quinn Inuit]

I'm glad you're enjoying this. I'll try to address your remaining questions.

First, I've had a tough time balancing the toughness of the game for Rome. I've made a few changes and scripts to make it easier for Rome in the early game, because in older versions the Roman AI would do badly in almost every game. I don't think we've hit the right combination of "easy for the AI" and "hard for the player" yet. Pannonian is probably right about the lack of early-game opponents. Would it help, do you suppose, to script the creation of a Carthaginian army in Sicily? That might help get a Punic War going.

Second, I've no idea about the cavalry units. I've never seen such a thing before. Then again, I rarely recruit generals. Has anyone else tried recruiting generals in those cities?

Third, the strategic AI is extremely aggressive for most factions. Try playing Pontus or Armenia on VH and you'll see what I mean.

Fourth, I don't think there are any diplomacy files as such. I have changed a couple of AI personalities, but those don't have any substantial effects on aggression, only in what gets built.

Fifth, the Gauls are a work in progress. In the next version, we intend to make them a fearsome enemy. I've already got permission from the RTR team to use their ambacti.

[Fridericus Rex]

Increasing the Carthaginian units in Sicily may work; currently they are a push-over. You may want to consider increasing the Greek units as well; the AI is not sufficiently sending troops from main land Greece. If they had more troops, they would probably take Rhegium; they tried, but did not have enough troops to take it.

I checked on the unit's upkeep cost - I do not think it is wise to fool around with those at this time.

[Quinctius Cincinnatus]

My first campaign started today with the Romans at Very Hard / Very Hard. Wow man this is good!! I love all the changes (maybe the latin voice mod could be added?) really nice job.

I never got a Roman start that was like this hard. Captured one town pretty early, but Epirus took it back really quick (4th turn) because the Greeks sent a fleet with a full stack army (!) and attacked the city east of Rome. Man this is hard!!! I declared a total state of emergency, and put all the armies I had together (4 generals which supplied the heavy cavalry I needed!). I won the battle from the greeks (was really awesome battle).

Great game.

Q.

[Quinn Inuit]

Increasing the Carthaginian units in Sicily may work; currently they are a push-over. You may want to consider increasing the Greek units as well; the AI is not sufficiently sending troops from main land Greece. If they had more troops, they would probably take Rhegium; they tried, but did not have enough troops to take it.

Sadly, it's not quite that simple. Giving the AI more troops at the start merely means they'll blow them all attacking rebel settlements more quickly. The AI is terrible at saving troops up for emergencies, which I discovered in my early attempts to jumpstart the Roman AI. If we add a Carthaginian army, it'll need to be via a script, probably with a forced declaration of war on Rome.

The best way to go might be to script a Carthaginian army to appear when either the Romans conquer Messana and the Carthaginians control Agrigento or when the Romans conquer Agrigento (not controlled by Carthage at the time) and Carthage controls Lilybaeum.

Syracuse is a problem right now. I think we're going to need to rethink how we handle the Greek Cities...that's on my to-do list of things to post about when I get back from vacation (other highlights include a drastic change to horse archers I discussed with my father and an explanation of why we won't be including the Royal Scythians).

I checked on the unit's upkeep cost - I do not think it is wise to fool around with those at this time.

It's fairly complex, as you've probably guessed. We did a lot of work balancing that. Let us know if you run any experiments, though.

My first campaign started today with the Romans at Very Hard / Very Hard. Wow man this is good!! I love all the changes (maybe the latin voice mod could be added?) really nice job.

I never got a Roman start that was like this hard. Captured one town pretty early, but Epirus took it back really quick (4th turn) because the Greeks sent a fleet with a full stack army (!) and attacked the city east of Rome. Man this is hard!!! I declared a total state of emergency, and put all the armies I had together (4 generals which supplied the heavy cavalry I needed!). I won the battle from the greeks (was really awesome battle).

Great game.

Q.

I'm glad you're enjoying it! I think Candel and I have both had a lot of fun working on the Italian AsOR. Wait until you try playing a Hellenistic faction. I think you'll find the differences in phalanx recruitment from RTR to make for a much more complex game.

I hadn't really thought about the Latin voice mod. Anyone have strong opinions pro or con?

[St Naffatun]

I declared a total state of emergency,

Yeah I did the same

I did well in the south because the very first thing I did was form a legion of all available men and sent it south - it was a gamble as the north was not protected but it paid off.

With retraining (moving men up and down via a chain of forts) it took over 30 turns before I could raise a second legion to protect the north, just in time to deal with a new Gaulish threat.

I have only managed to build basic roads so far... this is what I call a campaign

[Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Well I'm totally pro voice mods, but that might just be me. THe latin voice is awesome, and really adds to the experience.

Q.

[Fridericus Rex]

I agree; the VoiceMode would at to the Mod and is quite supportive of the philosophy the Mod was founded on.

I like your idea of having Carthage start the war with the Romans when Rhegium is taken by the Romans. This would make sense and give the Romans some time to develop at the beginning of the Game.

[Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Man it's really hard (my VH/VH campaign with Romans) it is 274 BC and only managed to hold one town (got 4 now..). Last turn I got 3 of my 4 cities besieged, but I managed to get 10.000 denarii by accepting the offer of Macedon to become protectorate (I was so glad they came to me!!!) I managed to build some sort of a legion and wiped out the besiegers now... I MUST take southern italy before it's getting even worse!

Good game!

Q.

[Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Yeah it isn't really AND but rather OR or NONE : instead of Vanilla (RTR even) you could build legions all the way, win battles , build buildings and off you went. But now I have only built a few things, the greeks KEEP invading me wiht full stack armies (got a heroic victory on them thanks God!) and now at 269 BC it finally seems I will get control over Southern Italy (2 cities to go).
Diplomacy seems to have improved a great lot , and the alliance between the Greeks and the Epirotes keeps standing, they went into battle together against me! Awesome.

I haven't got a real army left, and if the Gauls attack me now, they'll have me for sure, because I only got one unit left in each city!!

Awesome, best campaign I had in months (the TIC one was pretty good also!)

Q.

[Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Is there a way to have RTR music in it?

Q.

[Jamey]

Syracuse is a problem right now. I think we're going to need to rethink how we handle the Greek Cities...that's on my to-do list of things to post about when I get back from vacation (other highlights include a drastic change to horse archers I discussed with my father and an explanation of why we won't be including the Royal Scythians).

Right now, the Royal Scythians/Sarmatians are pretty well merged in with the Sarmatian faction. Is there going to be a dramatic change in that area?

[Newtothegame]

I'm running a Roman campaign on H/H at the moment. It is a lot of fun so far, but not really challenging.
I control the big majority of Italian provinces. The Gauls conquered Bononia from the rebels and now share a border with me. So far Quintus and his 95 bodyguards, one stack of 2 bronze chevron Triarii and one unit of Marsi spearmen were sufficent to defend Arretium against the few and small Gallic assaults on my territory.
I recently conquered Tarentum and killed the Epirote king, the new king and the new heir, that actually was king, too, for about 1 minute. Unfortunately he left the world of the living before he could be crowned, what a pity.

I earn up to 10k gold per turn, so I can build anything, start recruiting a second army and supply my first one AND, which is most important, help my Greek allies (diplomacy improved a LOT) defend their last mainland city, which I think is Thermon, against the Macedons with one unit of Picene Hoplites just for fun and pay any faction neighbouring to the Macedons for attacking those, if the particular faction accepts my generous offers (that helps me not suffering from the >50 000 gold penalties!).

You see, I'm having a good time with this mod, but I think I will start a new campaign (only play the beginning and then return to my current one) with the Romans on VH/VH just to be challenged and to experience what those guys from the internet find difficult xD!

Newtothegame

Edit: I want to add, that I think the AI is really less aggressive than in RTRPE 1.9, but that is not too bad I think. I enjoy keeping peace for a while and "watch the struggles of another"!

Quoting Quinctius Cincinnatus: "Great game."

[St Naffatun]

Edit: I want to add, that I think the AI is really less aggressive than in RTRPE 1.9, but that is not too bad I think. I enjoy keeping peace for a while and "watch the struggles of another"!

Could you try a VH campaign and see if you see a difference? I was attacked constantly on vh by greeks/epirote alliance and by gauls. Carthage marched a stack into southern Italy too but they accepted an alliance and went back to Sicily

[Newtothegame]

As you might have read in my last post I'm planing to start a VH campaign soon. And then I will see, what it means when the enemies get +4 morale and 10k gold per turn.

What were the boni on H/H again?


In my opinion you should think about the difficulty and it's relationship with AI-aggressivity. If it is realistic that any foe who is able to do so goes for you, it should be implemented on M, not on VH. If it is not realistic, which I think is the case, it should not be altered.

I will now start the campaign and see for myself.

Cya,

Newtothegame

[Quinn Inuit]

I'm glad everyone's having a good time with this.

Right now, the Royal Scythians/Sarmatians are pretty well merged in with the Sarmatian faction. Is there going to be a dramatic change in that area?

Nope. Basically, I just wanted to say that I like the Royal Scythians, but they just aren't historically important enough to make into a faction or give unique units.

[St Naffatun]

I played my campaign drunk one night and I'm in now big trouble - on the plus side I added the old Latin Voice mod which definitely adds a lot.

Also edited the export_descr_sounds_units_voice.txt to use the latin unit wav files *cough*fromanothermod*cough* but it appears you can have wav files either in folders or in a packed file - but not both.