San Francisco Event Questions: ANSWERED !!

[caissus]

I wanted 40 card armies so badly. 20 is just so 2004. I want my armies, especially now that they are limited, to actually feel like armies and not rabbles. Sure, it's moddable, but it usually fracks up the AI.

[Templar Spartan]

I wanted 40 card armies so badly. 20 is just so 2004. I want my armies, especially now that they are limited, to actually feel like armies and not rabbles. Sure, it's moddable, but it usually fracks up the AI.

I understand and sympathize, but apart from the rebalancing that would need to be done, I don't think the AI is quite capable of handling 80 and up to 160 (full stack reinforcements both sides) unit battles, seeing as it tends to struggle with the current units already. I think the battlefields themselves would have to be substantially increased in size too.

[smilydude]

I understand and sympathize, but apart from the rebalancing that would need to be done, I don't think the AI is quite capable of handling 80 and up to 160 (full stack reinforcements both sides) unit battles, seeing as it tends to struggle with the current units already. I think the battlefields themselves would have to be substantially increased in size too.

I remember when the game was first announced they talked about 40 unit stacks and much larger battle fields to accommodate them. Seems like they're scrapping it though. Will probably be paid dlc, lol. It's a shame though. Army compositions have always been painfully dull in TW due to limited options for what you can use. You don't want to take up valuable unit slots with cannon fodder or experimental units so every army just ends up looking and playing samey.

[Travisfv]

I wanted 40 card armies so badly. 20 is just so 2004. I want my armies, especially now that they are limited, to actually feel like armies and not rabbles. Sure, it's moddable, but it usually fracks up the AI.

I agree to some extent. I dont mind having to combine 2 armies... but if we are limited on the number of armies, having a second army follow another one around could hamper our strategy.

[Heinz Guderian]

Nice one Raikou. thanks for taking the time to type this out

[Raikou]

Another small update by mmurray821 on the official forums

New Cinematic Trailer coming soon featuring Hannibal !!!

Originally Posted by mmurray821


When everyone arrived, Craig greeted us and gave us drinks and food. Then we sat down to watch some brand new stuff (yes I said there was super secret stuff, didn't I).

They showed us a new trailer (much like the Cleopatra one) with Hannibal and a lot of new campaign map shots with siege attacks, elephants and the Alps. I'm not going into any more detail than that other than the trailer was freakin' AWESOME!!!! It will be out soon so you don't have to wait long.

Then they showed us the mostly finished Rome 2 intro. This is the first thing you will see when the game loads. Showed all the different factions in battle and in towns. Pretty interesting.


Battle Speeds:



Originally Posted by mmurray821


Battle speeds were fine. No super sprinting Roman! The Egyptian units broke way to fast, but again this is because it is a demo and they want as many tries and people to play it as possible. With the moral put back to normal the battles felt really fluid and like real people were walking up that hill with shields up with arrows pelting them like rain. Well burning rain.


Seasons in Battles:


Originally Posted by mmurray821



I'm sure this will show up in the other AAR thread but this was the first question asked and I asked it since it was driving me nuts:

Seasons!

Seasons show up in the battles. However, they are random but you can choose to wait if you don't like the weather/season that is currently chosen just like before (up to 3 times). Where you are in the world effects the chance of a certain season showing up. Fighting in the cold north and having a snow battle? Good chance. Fighting in the hot desert? Not so much chance for a snow battle.




Barbarian's Boats:


Originally Posted by mmurray821


Al also talked about barbarian boats. I asked if they were a raft with a ballista mounted on it.

Turns out they aren't.

They are big, heavy wooden things that are full of men. Not very maneuverable but can take a pounding. It will be interesting to see them in action vs triremes.

[TheCzech]

Battle Speeds:



Originally Posted by mmurray821


Battle speeds were fine. No super sprinting Roman! The Egyptian units broke way to fast, but again this is because it is a demo and they want as many tries and people to play it as possible. With the moral put back to normal the battles felt really fluid and like real people were walking up that hill with shields up with arrows pelting them like rain. Well burning rain.

This needs to be a sticky for a lot of people.

[Raikou]

Also musicians are in....wait what? (joke)

[BunnyPoopCereal]

As of typing, players will be allowed to: capture and enslave enemy units on the battlefield. Slaves will be treated as a resource on the campaign map. Will send an email in order to further clarify this topic.

AWESOME!

[vietanh797]

As of typing, players will be allowed to: capture and enslave enemy units on the battlefield. Slaves will be treated as a resource on the campaign map. Will send an email in order to further clarify this topic.

AWESOME!

the time has come for us to farm some Roman slaves. We will be come rich

[davieholgate]

Very Nice.

[alQamar]

They said they increased the battlefields much compared to Shogun2 but I haven't seen comparison figures yet.

[alQamar]

Well actually, I often criticsm CA when I am on the behalf of facts to do it. But you cannot blame them now: They talked about 40 units. It is just their sneaky marketing speech we thought of 40 units a stack, but it is in fact new in the game we can control more than 20 units altogether (20 per stack, but 40 per player so 2 stacks) in reinforcement situations. This pleased me as before the reinforcements where limited to 20 units at all so a battle never got that huge and immersive. So they promise to have more immersive battles is fulfilled lads.

[GMoon777]

I hope we get that hannibal trailer today!!!

[Raikou]

I hope we get that hannibal trailer today!!!

I do too hahaha

[alanschu]

You don't want to take up valuable unit slots with cannon fodder or experimental units so every army just ends up looking and playing samey.

In all honesty, if there are clearly better units, what you describe will still occur regardless of the total number of units available.

[SpilledInnards]

Considering how easy it's been since Empire to increase unit slots from 20 to 40, 60, 80 etc, it's a non-issue.

Even if it's not available from the get-go, it shouldn't take long for modders to update the tools used, then you'll be able to abuse your PC by flooding the field with units.

Until then, you can simply bring another stack.

[Huberto]

Considering how easy it's been since Empire to increase unit slots from 20 to 40, 60, 80 etc, it's a non-issue. Until then, you can simply bring another stack.

Dude it took over three years from ETW's release for someone to figure out how to do this and get the UI modified to properly show it. How long will it take people to get this unraveled for Rome II?

The other very much live issue is the weak BAI and how its units struggle to relate to each other in a formation. That makes the AI even more problematic handling larger stack armies.

[nubcaker]

Dude it took over three years from ETW's release for someone to figure out how to do this and get the UI modified to properly show it. How long will it take people to get this unraveled for Rome II?

The other very much live issue is the weak BAI and how its units struggle to relate to each other in a formation. That makes the AI even more problematic handling larger stack armies.

If it's already discovered, it can't possible take that long to find it in ROME II. But you have a point.

[Raikou]

ShinoGh has been given the green light to add more questions on to the pre-existing list so go ahead and look over the original post list before dropping it just in case it's already on the que

1. "Infantry Wedge Formation: Will it be in the game?" from Katsusand
2. "Food system in Rome 2: Will food be transferable?" snipershot
3. "How will the Pike and hoplite Phalanx differ?" Setrus
4. "With all factions but Rome and Carthage having a "ruling" family set for them, what can we expect in terms of variety between these factions and their internal politics?" Setrus
5. "will there be ways for the player to impede LOS in battles?" Setrus
6. "Will there be a tech tree for Rome 2?" Vuorinorri
7. "Will ask for clarification regarding campaign map and how units are represented on map. Mr. Jokee
8. "Will music be customized for each faction? If so, how will that difference be represented?"
9. "How will elephants be represented in game? Will there be a visual and statistic difference between elephants from Africa and elephants from Asia?"
10. Will ask for and look into clarification regarding diplomacy in R2TW: Bestowing regions onto other factions and trading regions.
11. Will look for clarification regarding how factions are compared: Timetable, graph, or other visual representation.
12. Will inquire about Greek factions.
13. Will ask about Parthia.
14. R2TW Multiplayer: Will try to get some info.
15. Will ask for clarification regarding unit movement stances on campaign map. (i.e:Normal, Defensive, Recruitment, Forced March)
16. Will musical instruments be represented in battle? If so, how will these instruments be visually represented between different nations and cultures?
17. Battle Phase Clarification- Unit Cap: 20 units or 40 units? Reinforcement process- Trickle or full stack?
18. Free downloadable content for Rome 2: Is there other free stuff planned?
19. Naval regions in Rome 2: How do they work? Clarification will be sought.
20. Multi-core processors: Will Rome 2 be able to utilize them properly?
21. Steam pre-orders of Rome 2: Will there be a pre-install option available prior to release?
22. How will defeated units on the battle phase be treated? Will there be a capture/prisoner/slavery system present?
23. Will the campaign city appearance affect how a city may look under siege during a battle phase?
24. Armor upgrades: Are they present? Are there any visual pieces that a player can see to quickly identify them like in M2TW?
25. Will there be "fantasy" units present in R2TW? (i.e: Tessakonteres)
26. Will ranged units such as javelin throwers be able to throw on the move?
27. Will armies still in the field stay in the field even if they lose all territorial holdings?
28. Ranged missile fire: Archers and flammable weapons- How will they be implemented?
29. Army Customization: How in-depth and complex can we customize our soldiers?
30. Rome 2 Total War Mods: How accessible will the base game be for modders to access and make changes?
31. Battle animations for units of different cultures: Will different weapons affect animations and battle theories for units?
32. Resources and Wonders: How will they affect gameplay?
33. Suebi names. Must have them pronounced by either Craig or Al.
34. Cheats/Debug Option: Will they be available for single player campaign?
35. Client States: How do they work? Will they be similar to protectorates from ETW?
36. Clarification regarding Egypt, Seleucid Empire, and Cyrenania.
37. Unit veterans: Any visual changes?
38. Battle Speeches: What can we expect to see?
39. Routing Units: Will they leave the map or reform behind friendly battle lines?
40. End game: Will there be any unit advancements after base time span? (i.e Barbarian Invasion)