The situation in Italy:
Things of interest, since we have been discussing how to make the Roman campaign more difficult:
"The importance of Capua increased steadily during the 3rd century BC, and at the beginning of the Second Punic War it was considered to be only slightly behind Rome and Carthage themselves, and was able to furnish 30,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry. Until after the defeat of Cannae it remained faithful to Rome, but, after a vain demand that one of the consuls should always be selected from it or perhaps in order to secure regional supremacy in the event of a Carthaginian victory, it defected to Hannibal, who made it his winter quarters: he and his army were voluntarily received by Capua. Livy and others have suggested that the luxurious conditions were Hannibal's Cannae because his troops became soft and demoralized by luxurious living. Historians from Bosworth Smith onwards have been sceptical of this, observing that his troops gave as good account of themselves in battle after that winter as before. After a long siege it was taken by the Romans in 211 BC and severely punished (Second Battle of Capua); its magistrates and communal organization were abolished, the inhabitants who weren't killed lost their civic rights, and its territory was declared ager publicus (Roman state domain). Parts of it were sold in 205 BC and 199 BC, another part was divided among the citizens of the new colonies of Volturnum and Liternum established near the coast in 194 BC, but the greater portion of it was reserved to be let by the state."
We're talking here, in our Roman campaign, about a 217-216BC time frame where Rome is severely threatened by invasion in the form of Hannibal's forces in the north, and the paper thin allegiance of several regions to Rome. Cannae eventually falling to Hannibal, and Capua, over a political dispute, switching sides and becoming his ally. I guess if we follow the 'letter' of history, then both Cannae and Capua should start out as Roman possessions. But, for the sake of game play and challenge, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to stretch the truth a bit and give both Cannae and Capua to the 'Rebel Roman' faction that 'could' be created out of the Free Barb faction in the Roman campaign ONLY.
The net result of this would be to cut Italy in half, and isolate Rome from it's southern territories...thus presenting the problem of 'transgression' getting it's troops to the north from any southern region, and truly isolating Rome as the only place the player will be able to effectively defend himself. This would be even more of an issue because Rome starts out with a population decline, so the player immediately has to start building pop. growth buildings or the city's population will be drained quickly. It also means you'll have a two front war with Hannibal in the north, and rebellious cities in the south. This way, whether you fight Hannibal or not at the start, you'll still face a Carthaginian threat in the north, and rebellion next door in the south.....not to mention the Boii sitting in Bononia just waiting for you to make a mistake.
I guess the other way this could be done would be to have both Cannae and Capua revolt in 216BC, and maybe spawn a Carthage army next to Cannae. Regardless of whether it's Hannibal or not, the threat 'implies' Hannibal's presence....but that's scripting. Cannae could revolt to Carthage, and Capua to the Rebel Romans.
Thoughts on this?
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Originally Posted by dvk901
