Really need a guide / other help

[mvtaylor]

Well, I'm a total begginer here and on forums where I know what's being discussed I hate topics like this, especially if help was available without making a topic.

Basically I have just purchased Rome: Total War Gold Edition with the Barbarion Invasion expansion pack and my friend told me about the amazing mods available here.

However this all seems rather large in scale and... I have no idea where to start.

I've checked out the FAQ and other sections but that all focuses on the forum use...

Basically I would like to know:

1) Is there some guide for newbies that i've missed (not to play the game but for using this site)

Or if there is none:

2) What mods should I download

3) What settings would you recommend for absolute maximum speed (minimum details) since my PC loading times seem disgraceful.

Help would be MUCH appreciated as I really would like to make the most of this seemingly awesome game without waiting around 5 minutes from fighting a battle to going to the campaign map :|

[Hannibal Barca]

Regarding performance go into options and then video options (when in game). Make sure the 'advanced' options are shown. The top right option allows you to choose whether you want maximum detail, maximum performance etc. Choose the performance option. Alternatively, you could lower all the options yourself. Lower the resolution for starters (you are probably on a low res anyway), but don't put it below 800x600. Change the unit size to small, and all the other options to their lowest settings (e.g. for unit detail it would be 'lowest' and for grass it would be 'none'). Untick all the boxes at the bottom too. Also change anti-analysing to 'no anti-analysing' (I think that is what it is called).

That is all from memory so some of the options will be called different names to what I said and since I don't mess around with the options too much I'm sure someone else will help you out in more detail.

Unfortunately, I do not have gold edition, but I think it means you can only play mods for version 1.5 (that is the version you currently have). I would recommend Rome Total Realism for a start. You will need to get the platinum edition since the other works with version 1.2. I love this mod, there are major changes and little tweaks which I loved. The only problem I found was that it was a bit easy so I looked elsewhere. However, since you have just got the game this would be perfect. You can find the download in the forum here:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=197

Although I recommend getting RTR, I see nothing wrong with Vannilla (no mods installed). I remember when I got the game and I had no mods. I really enjoyed starting out as the romans and testing out other factions after. It took a lot of gameplay before I became bored and wnated to find a mod for it. Maybe you should try the game as it is before installing any mods.

Hope that helps.

[Spart]

Hello there.
1) It takes maybe 5 minutes to learn to use this site just by trying things. Read the forum rules and the rest is easy, I think. I can't help you more with that, sorry.

2)There are so many mods that maybe you should visit to mod discussion area and read about them. Personally, I recommend Total Realism mod or Extended greek mod (If you like greeks, but this also does other things...)

3)Would you tell your specs, hard to tell otherwise.. But if the loading times are that long, you will propably need more RAM. Setting all to low can help a bit, but then it just looks crap. I think RAM is the problem here... So tell your specs and what settings are you using.

[mvtaylor]

Well thanks I've modified the setting and noticed a shorter loading times however I can't seem to get terrain detail lower than medium :\

Anyway by the sound of things i'll play through the game atleast once before downloading some mods...

I'll go find the specs...

I play it on my laptop without internet because the desktop with internet was actually worse when playing it :$

Thankfully the mods are all small enough for me to transfer via a memory stick.