77BC vs. TFT v1.92 vs. FRRE

[waylay00]

Hello guys,

I used to be an avid player of TFT, as I'm a huge late republic/Caesar fan. However, this was a long time ago. Well, I decided to reinstall RTW the other day, and I came to download TFT. However, I noticed all these mods here now.

Can anyone explain to me the differences between 77BC, TFT v1.92, and FRRE? I'm quite lost as to why I should download one over the other...

Thanks,
Wade

[Salvor Hardin]

Well, FRRE does not currently exist. It was a great project focusing on a series of mods during the Late Republic and Early Empire but the team that invisioned it disolved. Although with 77 BC we have somehow taken the legacy of the FRRE project and thinking of continuing with some of the campaigns dessigned.

77 BC started as a personal project and soon got supported by some of the FRRE team members: Bucellarii, King Arthur, Empedocles and Stuie. Thanks to them, 77 BC got a quality level that it would have never have reached if I had to do it on my own. 77 BC covers the Roman Republican period from the death of Sulla until the victory of Caesar, although the Caesariani period is a bit complicated to portray...and play.

Finally, TFT starts with the period of the Roman First Triumvirate: Caesar, Pompey and Crassus struggle for dominance of the Roman world. Whereas in 77 BC you can play as any faction (although it is very Roman-focused), in TFT you can "only" play as any of the mentionated Roman factions and Parthia and Gaul. As TFT focuses on fewer factions it is also more difficult. Another difference is that 77 BC requires BI to play while TFT can be played with RTW 1.5.

That said, TFT is a superb mod and if I had to choose I think that I would play TFT first. Although, as we are planning to make a TFT "gold edition" after 77 BC 2.0. is out (provided that we get permission from Stuie), you could always wait and play 77 BC in the meantime. Or you could play TFT while waiting for 77 BC 2.0.

Err..I think that I have finally messed myself up. Anyone else can help?

[sOhei]

I played TFT a long time ago and enjoyed it. The campaign is very good.
If you want to play as Ceasar right away you should go for TFT.


77BC Mod (based on RTRPE 1.8) is simply stunning and brilliant and if you play as SPQR you will get a really good and historical campaign, fighting Sertorius in Spain, third war against Pontus, conquer Asia minor and Armenia etc.
When you reach year 58 you will get the chance to play as Ceasar but I believe Salvor and the team are reworking that part a bit. The Ceasar campaign in 77BC has some "issues" at the moment ;-).

Having said this though - playing the years 77BC- 58BC is the best game experience I´ve had since STW came out or sliced bread...or something ;-)

Dont know if this made any sense :-)

Edit: My suggestion - play 77 BC Mod until the year 58BC, then install TFT and play as Ceasar :-)

[waylay00]

Thanks for the hasty replies, guys.

I think I'm going to give 77BC a try. I'm really wanting to play a RTR type campaign, albeit it beginning during a post-Marian timeframe.

When I play RTR, for example, I get tired of fighting the same, dull battles over and over, with the same pre-Marian units (hastati, princeps, etc) against the same Hellenic enemies...I want to play with some legions fighting battles against people like Mithridates, or Jugurtha, etc.

[waylay00]

Also, when is 77BC 2.0 arriving?

[Salvor Hardin]

Hopefully in a week or so. It depends on beta-testing, as the major stuff is already done.

[Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Cool I am going to try again reinstalling these two games.
I tried 77BC but it gave an error when starting up. I will need to make a clean version I think.

Bye,

Quinctius.

[DaVinci]

Additional info on that topic:

TFT
... was the first project, that tried to reflect the Roman civil war in the late republic timeframe with immersion and with historical accuracy, just the three triumvirators Caesar, Pompeius and Crassus as playable campaigns only. First, built on an early RTR version 5.x, then relaunched on RTW 1.2. Since RTW 1.5, reworked completely with the added campaigns Vercingetorix' rebellion and the Parthian war vs. Crassus.
It is the first and original mod project within the later founded FRRE idea.
(@Battles: It shouldn't feel like RTW vanilla, as it has a whole other combat system).

FRRE
Original, the core-idea based on TFT's kind of gameplay, and all on BI 1.6 (later planned to work with RTR 7.0 together), but then regarded a series of Roman faction campaigns, started with Marius (Cimbri invasion etc.) over to Sulla times and affairs, also, plus a reworked TFT campaign "embedded", and planned as ended into imperial timeframe. The player should have been able to jump from one historical gameplay into the next "era"-campaign to feel and learn the Roman history (not only the warefare, also the different persons, government, culture progress etc. with a reflection over the whole map and related factions), with a dedication to the detail of everything. ... perhaps overall the series plan was a bit too ambitious.

77BC
... after FRRE team went inactive, this RTR submod project by Salvor, was so to say adopted by Stuie, and now it can be called as the FRRE successor-project, as great Bucellarii, the FRRE historian (whom i brought into it ) was still eager and interested to realise FRRE, just now in a pretty new team of very well skilled members.

In conclusion:
I suggest, that Salvor just should "rename" 77BC mod to a part of FRRE, as so to say to one of the former planned series campaigns, to have it officially under the FRRE coat with all FRRE permissions (then Salvor doesn't actually need to ask for the many permissions, and could just inform some mod projects and mini-mods that it (77BC mod and team) is really just the FRRE project ... if this thought is okay for him and the 77BC team, and the related projects/minimods etc.) and Stuie (and naturally Orb, if he's still available to give his "Go").
Salvor, what's with the original FRRE forum? There you could find the many permission-agreements and a lot of researchment and preparations ... i must admit, i visited it perhaps last year at last (and haven't had the time due to Chivalry), and i don't have any idea, what happened with it. Is it closed? I haven't the link any more after my pc crashed with all old bookmarks and was too busy to investigate ...

[Salvor Hardin]

Well, DaVinci, I think you have summarized TFT/FRRE/77BC relationship much better than me. I tried to do it but I got a bit messed.

Concerning 77BC, I have always considered it, since I joined the team, a part of the FRRE project. In fact, during Orb's short return, we even placed the 77 BC subforum along with the other FRRE campaigns. That said, as I consider permissions a very delicated issue, I prefer to ask them once again just in case somebody has changed his mind.

Finally, the original FRRE Forum is still there. It is like a gold mine in which I sometimes enter and dwell to find some hidden treasure. What a great creators were Stuie and Orb! In fact, I have just copied the thread with the faction list for Marius/Sulla campaign in our new developer's Forum and we are discussing it.

[bucellarii]

Hey DaVinci!

Unfortunately I can no longer access the old TFT here in the UK although Salvor can do so from Spain - very strange!

Anyway here is the current site the team is using to communicate now that the RTR site is also down:

http://77bcmod.11.forumer.com/index.php

Feel free to register and express your views

[DaVinci]

Hey DaVinci!

Unfortunately I can no longer access the old TFT here in the UK although Salvor can do so from Spain - very strange!

Anyway here is the current site the team is using to communicate now that the RTR site is also down:

http://77bcmod.11.forumer.com/index.php

Feel free to register and express your views

Yeah thanks, i got it already yesterday by Salvor and dropped in today.