Romance mode - yay or nay?

[Dacadey]

I've just played around 2 hours with romance mode, and I have to say I'm quite undecided on it so far.

On one hand, making your generals super-powerful (think maxed out heroes from Warhammer 2) seems like a fun idea, in line with the novel and movies like Red Cliff.

But on the other hand, it kind of messes up the balance of the whole game, since three legendary generals can wipe out an enemy army on their own. And you could say the same goes for Warhammer 2 characters, but in WH2 you didn't get them from the start - you had to level them up and get them items to get so strong. In 3K, they are death machines from turn one, which feels a bit strange to me.

Also duels feel kind of meh. They are cool to watch, but you can't influence them in any meaningful way. Feels more like more like watching autoresolve.

So what are your opinions on it?

[Kraut]

Maybe a little early for an opinion, but I was biased against "romance mode" from the very beginning - I mean, it is a historical setting for a historical total war game, therefore I rather want to play historical.

If I want super strong super heroes taking on whole regiments on their own, I guess Fantasy Warhammer is the game to go, right?

So far, I haven´t changed my mind yet and prefer historical mode.

[samuraixkan]

ddi you give up your steam forums on yay or nay threads and came here ;p

[Dacadey]

Maybe a little early for an opinion, but I was biased against "romance mode" from the very beginning - I mean, it is a historical setting for a historical total war game, therefore I rather want to play historical.

If I want super strong super heroes taking on whole regiments on their own, I guess Fantasy Warhammer is the game to go, right?

So far, I haven´t changed my mind yet and prefer historical mode.

It's weird because we've had purely historical games and purely fantasy games before. Three kingdoms (based on the novel) is the first "exaggerated history" game mixing both. And I like these idea, but it makes the generals very inconsistent with the rest of the game. I think if CA goes for this exaggerated history approach, then it should be more than just the generals - or nothing at all.

[Odinarius]

My first game is in Romance mode and for what it is - historical fantasy setting - it's a yay! The fact that we have the freedom choice makes everybody happy.

[AstroCat]

I'm doing Romance mode to learn the game and just have some fun. I will for sure try out Records mode, maybe I'll end up playing both from time to time.

[♘Top Hat Zebra]

I like the battles in general more in Records mode, but for my part I absolutely love the duels and have wanted them for so long that I find it hard to give them up. Maybe if the general's bodyguard units were more interesting. They're rather bland and boring.

[Ahiga]

I did records then I switched to romance mode. Romance is in a way harder because you don't get the free three heavy cavalry units you do with records mode. Similarly, the retinue system and Wu Xing as it stands is severely inhibiting for a more authentic records mode - lack of spearmen and crossbowmen to champions and strategists respectively means your armies will never look as authentic as they should be (unless you bring a strategist and champion, but doing so means you then can't get other units) since you can't have militia spearmen or militia crossbowmen to mitigate that factor. Though I hear some thought that such spear and shield infantry might not have been as common as halberdier spearmen (which you do get a militia unit of).

Still, I'd rather wait for a records mode until there's mods that more satisfy the feeling of being 'records/realism', and a leading one for me would be to relax the Wu Xing system a little. Maybe not get rid of it entirely but have it be a softer cap where the most elite units (heavy xbows, artillery, that kind of thing) is color-capped and you're more encouraged to have color-combinations of generals and their units instead of being required to do so.

[Mantis42]

Thought I would stick to Records mode when the idea was first announced but Romance is... fine. The heroes are strong but both sides are guaranteed to have 3 each in a full stack so they sorta balance each other out and the regular units still matter. The duels aren't too complex, you don't really influence them much, but it is satisfying to have badass commander who keeps destroying the opposition. It actually does capture the feeling of the novel and adaptations that way.

[Foot Companion]

that'll be a nay from me, dawg