What things would make the game super realistic?

[Spajjder]

I see lots of threads about things not being realistic

so I thought we could have a thread for a collection of all things, fun, or not fun, that would make the game feel much more real. Again it doesnt have to be what you want in the game, just things that would make it more realistic per se

for example.. i dont think this would be fun, but it would be more realistic. sickness could play a larger part of the game. As I've read it, most soldiers didn't actually die on battle fields but of sickness due to close living quarters with alot of sickness spreading easily amongst them. After all, cuting up entrails and getting soaked down by blood everyday isnt exactly hygenic.

Another thing could be the fact that war is very very expensive. That armies invading a land, is pretty much ravaging it, plundering all the local peasants for food, huns burning and killing everything they see
Just having armies on march, both of your own faction, but ofc also enemy factions in your land would lessen production and cause unhappiness, "not loyalty since rebellios thought be put down with the presence of soldiers.. mostly!"

These are two things i dont think would be that fun, but nontheless quite realistic

[Sir Bum]

I wouldn't find this fun, but people being able to die/pass out from exhaustion would certainly be realistic.

[Spajjder]

I wouldn't find this fun, but people being able to die/pass out from exhaustion would certainly be realistic.

hahahaa, that would actually be Fun! i mean, not in the long term, but just to see, my heavy infantry in the desert just collapsing from the heat X )

[MathiasOfAthens]

Higher unit and upkeep costs so that you dont have millions to spend every turn.

Realistic manpower system.

Resource bleeding.

Realistic slavery system.

Settling cities.

[rude dude]

Didn't CA recently say something along the lines of "Realism is the servant of the game, not the master."

I like the ideas, well some of them, but I for one just can't see them happen.

[Destraex]

Showing soldiers crapping and making love to their wemon. Thats realism
Well its not what the games about but it fits with what sells in hollywood shows these days. Slaves to their genes.

[|Sith|Galvanized Iron]

Your soldiers randomly committing mutiny before battle and beheading their commander!

Important people dying randomly from trivial things like a foot infections!

Soldiers on the battlefield refusing orders!

No new orders during battle except with big delay unless the general is next to the unit!

Lots of leaders having the inbred trait!

Armies actively avoiding pitched battles!

Having traumatized soldiers walking around aimlessly on the battlefield!

A massive elephant charge turning around in chaos after a mouse entering the battlefield!

[rude dude]

Your soldiers randomly committing mutiny before battle and beheading their commander!

Important people dying randomly from trivial things like a foot infections!

Soldiers on the battlefield refusing orders!

No new orders during battle except with big delay unless the general is next to the unit!

Lots of leaders having the inbred trait!

Armies actively avoiding pitched battles!

Having traumatized soldiers walking around aimlessly on the battlefield!

A massive elephant charge turning around in chaos after a mouse entering the battlefield!

Maybe they can put a unit of mice, It would like the specific counter elephant unit sort of like what the flaming pigs were in Rome 1.
Ah damn, just realised this is the realism tread.
No wait! the Romans must have used mice in a battle at least once, some far forgotten battle, but still a battle!, that makes them credible again! Yes! bring on the mice!

[BunnyPoopCereal]

Um.. blood, guts, limbs flying out, arrows stuck on shields, broken shields, more sounds of men in battle, more fauna and nature. Boom!

[HunterKYA]

Um.. blood, guts, limbs flying out, arrows stuck on shields, broken shields, more sounds of men in battle, more fauna and nature. Boom!

In theory, that'd be a great idea. CA likely wouldn't be able to do ALL of it, as not everyone who runs the games will have a high-end computer, or else they'd get mountains of lag.

[rude dude]

In theory, that'd be a great idea. CA likely wouldn't be able to do ALL of it, as not everyone who runs the games will have a high-end computer, or else they'd get mountains of lag.

Yes that and well...Jack Thompson.

[Adufka]

Um.. blood, guts, limbs flying out, arrows stuck on shields, broken shields, more sounds of men in battle, more fauna and nature. Boom!

Agreed,I thought the same ..this is exactly what they need to do,if they want to make battles more realistic and if needed they can give the game rating 18.

[Shea O'Gorath]

Having to "recruit" every piece of equipment before recruiting a unit.

[Lord Baal]

Having to "recruit" every piece of equipment before recruiting a unit.

Do you mean, producing the weapons, armor and equipment before recruiting the units?

[Hanomean]

Low casualties in the battles, high casualties in pursuit.

[Raimeken]

Run the entire game in real time, which means 6 months in Rome II...is 6 months in the real world, mwuhahaha.

[IGdood]

We'd never get past recruiting 3 units if that was the case....

[Shadow_Imperator]

1) I'd love to separate buttons for 'Hold Formation' and 'Hold Ground' as it was in the original MTW rather than having some mushed together 'Guard Mode' button. Think of it this way, whether it is Romans attacking in their maniples or Greeks in their phalanxes, wouldn't it make sense that you could use a 'hold formation' button so that these units (depending on their experience, morale, discipline and so on) would more or less maintain cohesion and formation in attack? I cannot forget how many times in RTW that phalanxes would crumble and fall to pieces due to not having any cohesion, particularly in attack (also, let us not forget the infamous Hellenistic phalanx side-shuffle lol). This I think is also an important factor in general tactical terms, and take levy type (warbands, militia, and so on) as an example, in order to avoid casualties you'd prefer them to not hold their position in a do-or-die sense yet would rather they maintained their given formation, makes sense right? I recall in RTW that units would creep backwards anyway, but that only highlights the insufficiency of the plain old 'Guard Mode' button, if you want them to give ground they should, and if you don't then they shouldn't...

2) Since I'm on the MTW topic, I'd love to see each unit have a captain or leader of some description (I guess Romans would have centurions huh?). Personally I think it is a sounds idea to have each unit having a captain or leader attached to it, I remember the kill sheets after battles in MTW, and each unit had a captain. This small feature would do much to add some immersion and individuality to units rather than them just being another unit of such-and-such, they actually become a little personalised.

3) For the first time in the TW series, I would dearly love to see in game/in battle unit merging/combining. In the sense that if say you had 2 units of legionaries (lets assume the max units size is 200 here), one unit had 108 men and the other 92 Men; there would be 2 quick-opinions. Firstly one could balance them out, so you would have 2 even units of 100 men, the next would merge them into 1 unit of 200 (and in the instance that a unit merging had left over troops, it would function in that way, so that the troops of the two units would form one full strength unit, with the remainder forming a reduced unit, which I guess you could amalgamate into another understrength unit on the battlefield). If you ever played the game 'Praetorians' by Edios then you'll absolutely understand how this works.

4) Actually, during this slight MTW relapse.. I thought of something, through nearly every era of war, prisoners have been taken during and at the conclusion of many battles and engagements. It seems silly to not re-incorporate this into RTW2. Obviously it had a unique function in MTW because of the nature of the era, with knights, nobles with titles and heraldry and so on; however prisoners of war had great importance in classical times also, and though their value was different, they had a value none the less.. It also adds an element to chasing down beaten units or entire armies, and whilst many would be killed, many also would be taken prisoner, which could be ransomed back to their faction of origin.. And yes, could we please slay captives mid-battle like in the original MTW haha!! :p

5) Lastly, whilst on this tangent. In the event of a surviving heir or a child not-yet of age, could defeated factions re-emerge as they did in MTW? It would be a great feature to have, and it is something that would have precedent in antiquity, look at the re-emergence of the Babylonians (as the Neo-Babylonians after the Assyrian period)? Or even the Jewish uprisings under the Maccabees? A strong case would be the notable rebirth of a resurgent Persia under the Sassanian dynasty.

6) I like RTR's system of AOR. I think it is time the Total War series took on a system of Area of Recruitment, it doesn't have to be too contrived, too complex or too overdone. Mods can take car of that, just as long as CA do something of the sort from the box, I'll be happy!!

7) I blame Paradox games for this point, but like the above it doesn't have to be too complex or overworked. However a culture and religion element to the game would be nice, in that settlements and cities would have native and non-native populations that could be broken down by culture and religion (statistically speaking), and that assimilation would work in tow ways. Gradually incorporating a given alien settlement into the conqueror's domain (which in turn would do wonders to combat blobbing) and would also tie in with the above point of AOR and unit recruitment, so no recruiting Roman Legionaries in Giza the turn after it's been captured!

8) I really liked the armour progression from MTWII, I hope either that it still remains or that it makes a return if it isn't in the game at present.

9) Please please please... The Caspian sea DOES exist, and the area around it was home to several dynamic and important cultures/factions that in various capacities played an important part during Greco-Roman times, as well as being the approximate area that was witness to many decisive engagements and wars during this period; it would be senseless to leave it out (AGAIN!).

10) Please separate titles from the retinue, I must say I think the MTW title system was bang-on. I liked the Roman and MTWII retinue system, but titles (ie: Prefect, Praetorian Prefect, Pontifex Maximus, People's Tribune, Procurator, Legate, Aedile, Augur ect) should be separate from it, absolutely.

[MathiasOfAthens]

Better morale.

[Senchiro]

Better morale.

It's up to you to manage and keep their morale high.