Campaign Idea

[Menumorut]

someone's idea(ME ) of the campaign posted on http://forums.totalwar.com

to be read when you need a headache

To understand my idea for this game, you must read all from beginning to the end.
Edited: I do not know if you've already read this post but I'll add more and what is with blue I added after

If you could create two types of campaign. The first option for the campaign, the classical and well known to all, that one we have used so far. For the second one, comes my ideas.

I want to start a campaign in which I will not have the power and control from the beginning for my chosen faction, let's say Rome. I want to start from down and gradually climb up to the last step and to become the Emperor of Rome or apparently to control the entire Empire. I want to choose my own destiny not directly with the control of a future empire.

1. For the start I should have 1,2 or even 3 units stationed in my own town chosen by me from the beginning of the game. Maybe not an entire city, but rather a villa. Would be nice if here in time with my help to construct, will become a big city. Here there should be two kinds of constructional:
-some for the whole empire, public
-other private and personal where I can develop my own business
If I build just the personal ones that are only in my interest population will revolt and if i build only the public ones, I could go without my will in a financial collapse.

Two things should have great value in the entire game system: money and slaves obtained through the looting of some towns, villas and especialy from ports filled with slaves and other goods.
I could have my own gladiator school, my own workshop or a house selling slaves, all obtained from lotting.

2. Suppose I already have 3 units in my order stationed at my villa.
One unit has my marks, the other two wearing SPQR marks. So there will be two types of the same units for recruitment
-the ones recruited in my name, units that will be very loyal to me, but very expensive
-and the ones recruited in the SPQR name, less loyal to me but very cheap, also in a battle against the Roman Senate, would turn against me

In my Idea, there will be two types of the same units for recruitment both similar and having the same balance, little different in color and loyalty, loyalty that will affect their cost. You want a very loyal unit, will be very expensive

-A single type of units to recruit
-After quite many laps around the 20/30 (or times the other number) units surviving after such a big number of turns, should increase their loyalty to a point near the maximum, and also slightly lowering costs for these units (or not), would be a bonus to you for your units that have survived

So to recap with what I could start so far in this game is:
-My own family name tree(for continuity)
-My own Villa(Where I can build in time, my own city)
-A title and a rank, maybe a Centurion and already have three units of 40(I hope that the maximum number of units in an army to be 40, even 30)

What can happen now at the start of the game or with what I could begin.
-There will be few or could be lots of rebellions to suppress from small towns
-Small barbarian tribes or groups put on robbery to defeat
-or missions received from the Roman Senate
No matter what I start, after my presumed success must be a reward
-increasing in rank and once with it, the amount money obtained from my own business or various activities as compensation for my new title that I now own.

What can I do during this time:
-to develop my own villa in a small town to a huge city
-to rob cities of other factions, thus attracting their wrath on Rome(even damaging the relations between the Senate and me- eventually I the one who get money and they receive only a war)
-to recruit private units, units of mercenaries, Rome units or SQPR and also
-I want to be able to hire units of mercenaries from local tribes, to rob and loot others cities from rival families against which I fight for power and control of Rome, but these units in a way, to be rented only. I will not have control over them, and they will not fight in my name! Rampage units
-opportunity to hire my personal orator so it can be send in any corner of the empire to speak in my name as I wish, with a choice list for example;
-in my name, increasing the plebeians sympathy, but dropping that of the Roman Senate and vice versa
-or speaking against any other rival family from ROME
-or speaking against the Roman Senate
-opportunity to buy honorific titles or my next rank, but very expensive with lots of money
-to buy senators to be on my side
-and be able to use assassins to kill senators that cannot be corrupted and they are my adversaries or they support other rival families to me
-If staying on peaceful path and be liked by the Roman senate as a bonus or as a reward, to get other cities to be administered by me
-even the governor of an entire province
-in some province will make good money, while in others you will desire that you won't be borned and play this game:p
-or to try like Caesar or Pompey, my own campaign for conquering another faction something that is not always pleasing by ROME

Enable/Disable Button for attacking my ally in battles.
-for online battles to have an activation button that everyone agree with this, but who will choose to betray their team will suffer serious consequences to the detriment of his rank or be rewarded with various and ugly retainers.
-for multiplayer campaign, things will be completely different

Suppose that in multiplayer campaign will be possible up to 4 players to play the game
-Opportunity for 2 players to choose to play in the same faction!(the other two if they can, they will play as they want!)
-2 players in the same faction, each building a name(family tree) for themselves, each with their own settlement (villa), each with their small business, each with their own army, each with their own assassin's, diplomats, orators or merchants.
-of course they will help each other, with money or armed forces, etc,ect, but both players will target the same objective: "there can be only one" sound like highlander
-they will sabotage each other, and they will have all the means necessary to shoot down each other's family
-Suppose that in the end of fight me and my ally friend, after we defeated a powerful German army that seriously threaten our well-being of our small kingdom or empire to be a brief(10 seconds maybe) respite before the battle to end completely in which to choose separately and without the knowledge of other to attack units of our former ally.
I really want to attack my friend and also my former ally in order to bring him to silence and also will be the beginning of his elimination from game.
-but this will attract some very serious consequences from the Roman Senate and will be considered a betrayal
-Now I'll have to fight against my friend's family and against other families who will represent the Roman Senate, so this decision will not be a random, but will be very pleasant by many players.

3. Finally I get to eliminate the Senate, and to have control of empire, but not fully control. There is still the risk of a revolt from other families and they can remove my dominance only by taking the capital city of Rome and we go back from where we started.
So I must keep and guard well ROME or all may be lost.

To note that all the time whenever I can choose what I want as I think and can choose a more direct option to become Emperor of Rome by begining a direct attack upon the Roman senate and its allies, becoming a rebel army and not subject to Rome, but, as said an old Romanian proverb ,better make yourself brother with the devil till you pass the lake than to fight with him at first!

This system can be easily used by other factions as well
-For example, I want to play with the Gauls so I click on the icon that show the Gaul faction and below there should be a list of Gaul sub-factions to choose like: Aedui, Boii, Arverni, Belgae,Helvetii, Suebi, ect
-Same for Germans: Marcomani, Alamanni, Suebi, Cimbri(this 2 last tribes could be of Celtic origin-they say toda) Chatti, Batavi, ect,ect
-if I want to paly with the Greeks, there are ancient Greek City-States, like: Sparta, Athens, Corinth, Thebes, ect,ect
-in this way can be create something similar to idea of 'FREE PEOPLE' used by modders in their mods, only this time will be true small tribes that they even existed.

Again I repeat myself. It would be very nice if the game can be played in 4 multiplayer campaign. Just think how many possibilities and many plots can be between the 4 players.
-imagine me and another friend, each of us controlling one Greek city-state, the other two players may hold that they would like, but suppose they are with Rome(each controlling their own family), main goal for everyone will be to make their faction an empire and win campaign.
-I myself, I will betray my Greek friend and ally(city-state) with Romans help, and throw him out off the map and I in return I will be cheated by the Romans, who will not keep the word given.

4.About Units who route far to EASY such as those from Shogun2!
-certain types of warriors should not have this 'idea' in their 'scheme' to flee from the battlefield like, Berserker or Spartans
How I think that they should do it
-for example, I have one unit of 320 soldiers and my enemy it overwhelms me, now the white flag appeared over my unit, would be nice if it would not run all at once, but gradually as a timer, every 10 to 20 soldiers in a certain time and, the final, in each unit must be between 10 and 30 soldiers would not run for anything in the world.
In every gang or group of fighters or how you want to tell them, there are cowards, but also there are some very brave and crazy people.

5.About gladiators - Gladiatorial Games
I would like to recruit again units of gladiators but with a very small number of soldiers per unit and serve with a different purpose than the first units from the old RTW game.
Suppose that I will build my own school of gladiators and the possibility to choose between a number of units of gladiators powerful gladiators units compared to the classic fighting units in the game but very few in number of soldiers and very expensive
-if a unit of Roman Legionaries would have a total of 400 soldiers a unit of gladiators, not to exceed a total of 20/30 of men.
-In the table for recruitment of units, gladiators should have a little special place of their own

Let's say, I recruited after a much longer waiting period maximum of 10 units accepted of gladiators and I want to participate with them in annual or monthly Gladiatorial Games held by every big or huge city.
Only two of the leading families in Rome, only if the leader of your family is in the first two major families of Rome or if it has one of the 2 most meaningful degrees available you can participate in these games and if not, it will remain to do something else with this gladiators such as looting your rivalsvillas, even attacking some units of them, and if these units of gladiators, will be caught in the fact, there should be consequences. Other families may require a huge compensation, and unpaid on time would result in draws the senate anger on me.
Here game should ask us if we have any connection with them, or if they are rebellious gladiators. If we choose that we have no contact with them, these small units of gladiators will become rebel units and we will not have any control over them. Eventually they will become a small problem, even for myself so If they are left too much free time on the map they could increase their number And become something like Spartacus.

How actually we use these units of gladiators trained for a long time
-This will be done in exactly the same way as a normal Battle, only that by pressing a button located in the city, loading screen will bring us in a huge amphitheater maybe one just like, Colosseum.
-Here we assume that we have between 3 and 10 small units of different types of gladiators. The rest is known. We just need to participate in a fight on a map representing an amphitheater in the Crowd cheering. Also if you already have created elephants, horses and pigs, why not for these gladiatorial games some lions and tigers (this is really madness)
It could be fun.

NOTE: Please, this time to keep for yourselves the part as it related to SF and fantasy stuff like: magic wind, second wind, arrow rain and whatever you already have in your mind now, for your Shogun. For this we have games like Diablo 3
We don't need a real strategy, a game of war, to become a strategy filled with fantasies, again!
-if you have special animation created with help from martial arts masters for the fight game system in Shogun2
-I think you guys already think now to use at least four different types of animation for the fight in game...you know, Barbarians and Greeks dont had the same fighting style, Romans, Africans or Eastern Civilizations. Or call the specialists in ancient fight melee, or just look at the TV show Deadliest Warrior :p

P.S: I apologize and I am very sorry for my horrible English. I hope that I have not given headaches to you guys and hope that you will understand at least the essential part.

Now come all and throw with stones in my ideas

[The True Roman]

Idk why people make post that are so damn long , I bet it was a good idea tho

[Rorarii]

I like the idea of starting as a lowly senator - son of wealthy senator maybe? You have few clients but you have to build that number up by doing small tasks etc. Eventually you may be asked to command small armies to quell problems etc.

R

[zg0301zg]

I like the idea of starting as a lowly senator - son of wealthy senator maybe? You have few clients but you have to build that number up by doing small tasks etc. Eventually you may be asked to command small armies to quell problems etc.

R

rather begin from pleb ))) then low sentator

[Lasseman]

This really, really is a brilliant idea . It would get so much more depth into the game. I only think CA is never going to implement such feature

[Rhaegar1]

Great idea for a game in itself, not really what I want to see in a total war

[Deadly Rabbit]

Not really the tw oeuvre

[Lord Baal]

It's a really good idea but not the total war roll... however seeing how Paradox Sengoku game was, well pretty much what you said but on feudal Japan, I would say expect something along the lines of you idea from them soon.

[Menumorut]

What really mean a Total War game for you and anyone else?
For me, its just a game, where we already we have full control of our faction, and we just got in huge battles, build stuff in cities and that's it. I think I already played this part in the latest editions.

A small beautiful short story to better understand what happens in the Roman Empire.

<sup>Gaius Julius Caesar was born on 12 July 100 BC in Rome to patrician parents but not into a position of wealth and power.
Caesar grew up in a period of unrest and civil war in Rome. The increased size of the empire had led to cheap slave labour flooding into the country which in turned made many Roman workers unemployed. The Social Wars created turmoil all over Italy and Marius and Sulla were the great leaders of the time.

As a member of an old aristocratic family Julius was expected, at the completion of his education, to assume a modest office on the lower end of the long ladder of the Roman political career. However, Caesar was not like other Romans. Already at a young age he had realized that money was the key to Roman politics as the system had by his time long been corrupt.

His first step was to marry into a yet more distinguished family. He spent a few years making a name for himself in the military and then got married, to a woman named Cornelia, who was the daughter of an important man.
Things changed when Sulla ruled the Roman government as dictator. For one thing, Sulla ordered Julius to divorce Cornelia since she was from the family of one Sulla's enemies,. Caesar refused to obey the dictator's wishes.
Julius continued to grow as a soldier, distinguishing himself in battle against Rome's many enemies.

He was elected military tribune in 72 B.C. He was also making a name for himself as a lawyer and public speaker. He was elected quaestor in 68 B.C. and, therefore, got a seat in the Senate. He also married Pompeia, Sulla's granddaughter.
Caesar continued to rise in the rankings of government, being elected pontifex maximus (chief priest) and then praetor. He also continued his military successes and was elected consul, in 60 B.C.
The consulship was the top job in government at the time, but Caesar wasn't the only consul. In fact, Rome already had two consuls, Crassus and Pompey.</sup>

See my friends, everyone fought for power in Rome. Nobody was born direct dictator or emperor in that period in Rome

[Muizer]

Hello Gerula,

In practical terms, the idea seems to be built from the bottom up without much regard for the Total War concept. It would be better, IMHO, to start from the top down, and see how far you could realistically get. The first and main innovation here is that instead of being a faction, you, the player, would be a person, or family, within a faction. That means a whole new level of interaction. The faction should more or less be able to operate without you. In terms of the Total War concept, the AI would run the faction. As a player, you may be given control over a portion of the faction's territory. Perhaps you could be assigned a province to manage. It would allow the developers to increase the level of detail at which you, the player, manages the game. Then you could start to think about the kind of features you mention.

[Jester]

Yea, no bad ideas...

I always thought there could be more RPG elements for your faction leader or generals

[Menumorut]

Hello Gerula,

In practical terms, the idea seems to be built from the bottom up without much regard for the Total War concept. It would be better, IMHO, to start from the top down, and see how far you could realistically get. The first and main innovation here is that instead of being a faction, you, the player, would be a person, or family, within a faction. That means a whole new level of interaction. The faction should more or less be able to operate without you. In terms of the Total War concept, the AI would run the faction. As a player, you may be given control over a portion of the faction's territory. Perhaps you could be assigned a province to manage. It would allow the developers to increase the level of detail at which you, the player, manages the game. Then you could start to think about the kind of features you mention.

If you only remember the first RomeTW and the campaign with Romans. There you had to choose between three Roman factions, the AI already was in control of other 2 Roman faction+ SQPR with his senate, so what I say is exactly the Rome Total War concept.

How were the first years of the city of Rome. I do not think there was already a lot of very important political and military functions. So should be in this game. Suppose that in addition to the Roman Senate, will be there some families about 5/6-10 and even only 3/4 are sufficient. Some of them should be highly rich, others poor, some very loyal to Rome, others would betray Rome at any time, but for everyone the main goal is to become supreme leader of that unborn Empire. You could even arrange alliances with some of them for power in Rome, against other families. If they do make from Rome(or any other faction) a great empire together or separately, that it remains to be seen and that would be icing on the cake of this game. Basically, you should be the main actor for faction you choose. The other family, could create various problems to you in game like , but it could also help you.

In those days, very well-known Civilizations, had a lot of internal struggle as much as external, maybe even more. Examples can be given as:
-Greek with their city-states,
-Gauls tribes fought each other long enough
-Getae, who always had to 'share' something with their cousins ​​Thracians, where Getae waas tribes of Thracian origin, same as Dacians, or when after the death of Burebista in the former Dacian kingdom was given heavy fights between 4/5 leaders of various tribes of Dacian origins for who will be the new king.
-in general, all known tribes led fight each other, even if they were the same origin

[killerrj8]

I really like the idea, i really do. I just don't know if it gets added to the game cause of the RPG elements in it. After all Total war is a strategy game.
But I personally would really enjoy such a campaign.

[Mithridates II the Great]

[Petroniu]

This idea implies that a lot of RPG elements are to be brought in the game. This hasn't been done yet in TW before, only the Avatar Campaign had something that was trending some RPG elements which basically imply that the player shapes his own character and nation. That is contradictory in some sense to the idea of the TW series that you lead an historic nation and its armies to relive history but with your decisions as its omnipotent leader. It's nice to see that some people actually have such complex ideas!

[atheniandp]

Somehow reminds me of Mount&Blade. Which isn't bad. But I can't say I support this idea. Total War has always been about the macro, grand scale campaign. I'd prefer Paradox-style economic, political, social and military management along with a real time campaign. I'd also like to see the game pursue as much historical accuracy as possible. None of this is really possible with your idea.

[Menumorut]

Somehow reminds me of Mount&Blade. Which isn't bad. But I can't say I support this idea. Total War has always been about the macro, grand scale campaign. I'd prefer Paradox-style economic, political, social and military management along with a real time campaign. I'd also like to see the game pursue as much historical accuracy as possible. None of this is really possible with your idea.

My ideas are only an addition to your macro, grand scale campaign, and is presented in general terms!
All other 'things' from the old TW series should be included, just not going to be boss of your entire empire from the beginning. I do not understand why you think it is so totally differen when is very similar with the first game ROME TW or that are not possible with my ideas..... No offense but I think, you don't knowing what you're talking

[Vahir]

Put me in the camp which says that this is a good idea for the wrong game. Total war has always been about the battles, about the epic feel of seeing your carefully crafted army crush the enemy. To me, at least, starting out in the manner of an RPG wouldn't give you that epic feel at the beginning. The idea isn't incompatible per say with TW, I just find it to be unfitting with the Total War atmosphere.

Total War is about Total War, not Total Diplomacy.

[The Great Montrose]

really like this idea, sort of making your own army and history for your own family tree. Just dont think this will make it into the game.

[Tritus]

This isn't Mount and Blade.. It's Total war.