Passive Taunting

[agent 47]

It just occurred to me earlier that there's no passive taunting at all in total war games.
If you think about it battles are a lot...quieter and a lot less atmospheric than they could be.

When 2 opposing units or lines of men are standing, ready to charge or be charged things are unusually quiet.
Opposing armies should be trying to intimidate eachother. There should be hatred between them and it should be vocal.

A nice feature would be that exceptionally disciplined troops like Praetorians for example or units that have seen many battles could be cold, quiet and emotionless.
This in itself would be intimidating and bring some character and atmosphere into the game.

I hope we get to see something like this in Rome II. With an emphasis on the "human scale" of war and all that it definitely should be.

EDIT: im aware its already in the pre battle/ generals speech phase but its completely missing from the actual battles which is big a problem in my opinion

[Valhallachen]

yeah, its a huge problem....

[agent 47]

yeah, its a huge problem....

Well, it is. Some of us appreciate games for their immersion and atmosphere as much as the gameplay itself.

I cant count how many hours i played the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series doing nothing at all, just bathing in the sights and sounds, and those were some of the most enjoyable hours i have ever invested in a game.

[DaciaJC]

Are you suggesting that every unit have the "Warcry" ability from RTW?

[agent 47]

Are you suggesting that every unit have the "Warcry" ability from RTW?

No no no. When i say passive taunting i mean passive as in, not a player activated ability.

Im not saying it should have any effect in battle and it shouldnt, because both sides taunting kind of cancels the effect out in gameplay terms.

It should be something the troops naturally do, as they would have done. Another addition to make the men you control seem more like...men i suppose, not robots.

[DaciaJC]

No no no. When i say passive taunting i mean passive as in, not a player activated ability.

D'oh, my brain didn't register the first word of the thread title.

[DarthRuanek]

If I remember correctly the Romans would often form their battle lines in silence (in contrast to how most other groups would shout insults and stuff), which was often pretty intimidating in its own way.

[Valhallachen]

didnt they have this thing, battering their pila against the shiesld, flic-stlye?

[Krupp]

Completely agree agent47. Would be awesome to hear a huge increase in the background noise as you are panning the camera over the first enemy units becoming visible only to pan around to see that your units are making all the noise, letting a warcry of their own loose, a clear challenge.

[Sharpe]

Just play this in the background

[Honorable Poncho]

I think it would be cool, but I can see it getting a bit repetitive after a while if they say generally the same things. If it was kind of unintelligible yelling I think I'd be ok with it even though that may get annoying after a while too.

[niko from Australia]

this is a really good idea. plus rep

[The Juggernaut]

That's a great idea, and would really add to the immersion. Perhaps have units that are sneaking or otherwise hidden avoid making noise, but otherwise soldiers, in particular barbarians, should be yelling and insulting their enemies.

[Rijul.J.Ballal]

I don't see the harm in this. In Rome 1 a few units would automatically taunt the enemy before combat,i think. I remember those Parthians screaming "stinking pigs" in that really weird accent!

[LordInvictus]

iirc, in medieval 2 and shogun 2, your troops taunted the enemy during the general's speech. In medieval 2, your troops who weren't fighting would wave their weapons at the enemy (encouraging the people on their side?) But they don't really taunt or say things so I agree with this idea.

[♘Top Hat Zebra]

"YOU REEK OF FEAR"

[SinerAthin]

I'd love such a feature.

I could easily imagine a Roman and Barbarian army opposing each other. The Romans would stand in silent ranks, facing the livid barbarians whom would shout and sling curses and insults at the Romans.


They just need to add more than 5 lines for it to work though...

[Lord Tomyris]

Don't know about the legions post-Marian reforms, but, according to Polybius, legionaries advanced noisily, yelling war cries and banging their weapons against their shields, just as much as any barbarian warrior...

[Clock]

Well they have talked about adding more dynamic reactions to soldiers on the field, although exactly what that will ultimately entail and how varied it is remains to be seen. I like the idea of generic yelling/shield bashing etc, but I don't think more specific insults or taunting would really work very well. For one, specific lines or phrases might get repetitive and irritating after a while. Also, what sort of lines could they realistically say that would stay within the game's T rating, yet also not sound rather comical? They'd have to be 'clean' lines and as a result they might just sound a little silly. If anything, that would be a bit of an immersion breaker for me.

[TheRomanRuler]

What i heard Legions advance very quietly, slowly, in good order close to enemy. Then suddenly they throw their spears and shout they war cries when they charge. Must have been scary, enemy suddenly charges, your ranks break due enemy missiles, and enemy that was quiet so long is know noisier than you have ever been. Run!