Rome II Multiplayer Questions & Concerns

[KittySN]

I left this post on the official forums and thought it had some interesting topics to discuss, so I was curious what the TWC community thought about it too. I'm certainly expecting a much larger modder voice. ha ha

Constructive criticism!?

Hi! I'm a noob who's loved Rome Total War multiplayer for a few years now. I create videos, displaying my noob'ness, time and again too (KittySN). I am also a modder. I just wanted to take a moment and try to get some feedback of how Rome II's multiplayer will be presented. This post is sort of designed in a question/comment fashion. I'm not sure how well these items have been addressed already, but if they haven't, I guess I'll get the ball rolling. Any detailed answers are significantly appreciated, and if you have thoughts, do feel free to chime in. ^_^


How will multiplayer be hosted? Peer to peer!? Regional servers!? Global server!?

This has been a complication in recent titles, particularly with larger battles. I miss being able to play large team games without an inordinate amount of lag. I believe this is because of the design that Shogun 2 seems to rely on the host’s connection in conjunction with the cloud to fulfill the server requirements of our online experience. I’ve also encountered many opponents where the game was a choppy mess because of their connection. Is there any possibility of getting a dedicated server? If not, can the connection speed of a player be easily identified near each player’s name so that I can easily know who to kick if they’re ruining the battle experience? There have been times that I’ll just resign and exit the battle, not because of my opponent’s skill, but because I didn’t wish to suffer the torment of their connection.

Will we have a universal lobby!? Will everyone in multiplayer be capable of reading my text?

Bring back the old-school lobby! I mean an all-inclusive, global lobby like the one seen in Rome. It could be improved by allowing players to write script with diacritics or in major scripts (e.g. кириллица) using keyboard regional changes. I particularly miss being able to organize games without Steam groups and friend invitations. It’s so wonderful to just yell out “who wants to play an <X> battle” and organize good team games with various clans quickly. I don’t care if there’s a swear filter. Having such a pervasive medium also helps regulate players since the online community can monitor itself, both embracing the friendly and exiling the abuser.

Furthermore you can see whose in-game, who’s in setup, and who’s just idling in the lobby. In short, the old-school style (for how unpolished it was) is just vastly superior to any of the recent lobby designs. When I’ve signed into Shogun 2 in the past, I didn’t feel like I was a part of anything. I’d just click some buttons, find some players, fight them with hardly any words exchanged, rinse and repeat. When I sign into Rome, I’ll find veterans and friends greeting me on occasion. I’ll regularly see personal messages requesting I join a game. It adds more to the meta-game just being part of something bigger than Steam.

Will there be bridge, siege, and free for all battles available!?

Please, please, please bring back free for all battles. Just having a bunch of different factions with people of different agendas going at each other was brilliant! Please bring back scored resolution and last man standing as well. Sometimes you get bored of the X vs. Y agenda, and you want to take on multiple teams at once. It’s a chaotic, back-stabbing bloodbath, but it’s entertaining!

How is replay corruption being considered? Where will the results appear?

This one’s more tongue-in-cheek, but it’s also a serious concern. There’s a rather large community of commentators and clan players who enjoy reviewing and strategizing from skillful displays within replays. Also, if the results of a replay could appear at the end of a replay instead of after a loading screen, it would be great! Anyways, back to the prior question, I know a lot of players were frustrated with the corruption issues.

Are modders being considered? How easily will I be able to modify Rome II?

As some Rome multiplayer folks may know, I'm a modder. I enjoyed Rome multiplayer so much that I went through the rather arduous task of adding over a hundred new multiplayer maps and some other stuff to vanilla for the Rome community (hosted here). I'm very curious to how open Rome II will be to the modding community, for it too is another aspect which kept Rome thriving so long.

Is this going to be a remake with new features or a beast of its own rite?

I keep returning to Rome because it’s Rome. It’s not just the era, it’s that the game has imbalances leaving much open for creativity in match-ups, unique battles, working replays, and one of the most important things: a community building emphasis. You can easily chat, arrange games (invite and kick without Steam), talk to buddies, flame rivals, share rules, etc. Rome was a game that suited lone wolves and large clan communities, and the fact that the Rome community actively exists today with various clan and community forums is testament to that.

I suppose I’m just concerned that Rome II is going to be something like Shogun 2. New features are great—I love them—but please don’t forget the blue-print of what made Rome online great! The multiplayer of recent titles are dying for a reason: it didn’t provide easy autonomy for a multiplayer community. Please keep the “Rome” in Rome II.


I certainly don't expect all of these to be answered, but it would be wonderful if they were!

I'll be very interested in seeing how Rome II evolves.

Thanks and cheers! ^_^

[emotion_name]

I like the things you have mentioned, however i would like to see a more recent MP element pushed further - that being the MP Campaign!! Its a fantastic game mode, CA themselves admitted they were surprised at how many people play MPC, and the untapped potential here is amazing. Will Rome II realise some of this MPC potential (upto 4 person MPC, ability to turn on human ally on battlefield, stronger diplomacy between players, ability for steam cloud to host saves for players not present when previous person finishes there turn etc) or will we get a "rinse and repeat" of whats been achieved so far with FotS?