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so after watching some Empire Edition gameplay, I been itching to play the new rome game. I have heard how bad it was at launch, so I gotta ask is it better now?
"Do you really think 7th edition was the best edition?"
Currently, it strikes me as the most Marmite TW game in the series: people tend to love it, or they tend to hate it, with little in between. Personally, I hate it. I've found the UI to be bad and unhelpful in my case, and that how things work at the start for someone new to that game, even someone who's played previous TW games, to leave you not knowing what's actually going on, whether what's happening is good or bad, or whether or not you're actually doing what you're supposed to. There's very little info.
I'm not sure if they changed the tutorial since launch, but that left a LOT to be desired, and I don't recall it in any way preparing you for a battle in the game at all; it was a heavily scripted scenario that explained the basic principles of selecting units, moving them, and attacking with them. One of the main changes from other TW games is a system where enemy units are hidden if blocked by terrain, such as if they're behind a sand-dune you can't see the back of. I don't recall this functionality being covered in the tutorial, nor can it be disabled at any point in the game. It's one of the main reasons that I dislike R2:TW.
For me, EE offered no changes to what I found to be downsides, but offered fixes and changes for things a lot of fans found to be wrong, and built on the strengths yet more people saw in the game.
Unfortunately, the only way you can see if it's good is to play it yourself. A lot of what I've said in this post affects me personally, and heaps of other people will have their own opinions--very few of the positives and negatives people have about R2:TW are objective.
Mandorallen turned back toward the insolently sneering baron. 'My Lord,' The great knight said distantly, 'I find thy face apelike and thy form misshapen. Thy beard, moreover, is an offence against decency, resembling more closely the scabrous fur which doth decorate the hinder portion of a mongrel dog than a proper adornment for a human face. Is it possibly that thy mother, seized by some wild lechery, did dally at some time past with a randy goat?' - Mimbrate Knight Protector Mandorallen.
Excerpt from "Seeress of Kell", Book Five of The Malloreon series by David Eddings.
"You need not fear us, unless you are a dark heart, a vile one who preys on the innocent; I promise, you can’t hide forever in the empty darkness, for we will hunt you down like the animals you are, and pull you into the very bowels of hell." Iron - Within Temptation
Hmm, that is a valid point you bring up avatar 720. do you know any mods that fix the UI and unit toolbars?I loved rome 1 but I feel like I need more now.
"Do you really think 7th edition was the best edition?"
Avatar 720 wrote: One of the main changes from other TW games is a system where enemy units are hidden if blocked by terrain, such as if they're behind a sand-dune you can't see the back of. I don't recall this functionality being covered in the tutorial, nor can it be disabled at any point in the game. It's one of the main reasons that I dislike R2:TW.
That is actually in the tutorial, at least twice. Once when you are defending a mountain pass and fort, and you are told to use cavalry in the woods to go around the attackers and hit them from behind. And then the main battle, when a city is being attacked, you use the cover system to attack their warmachines from behind.
I love the cover system, as it adds realism. There's been times when I charge forward and crested over a hill to find most of the enemy army waiting for me. Encourages scouting and feints. Whats the point of terrain if it has no tangible benefits/downsides?
Only beef I had with the game at release was the objective points in battles. Sieges I could understand, but it didn't fit in pitched battles. And the AI.
Emperor Edition is how the game should've been at release, though.
"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
"Tell your gods we are coming for them, and that their realms will burn as ours did." -Thostos Bladestorm
Avatar 720 wrote: One of the main changes from other TW games is a system where enemy units are hidden if blocked by terrain, such as if they're behind a sand-dune you can't see the back of. I don't recall this functionality being covered in the tutorial, nor can it be disabled at any point in the game. It's one of the main reasons that I dislike R2:TW.
That is actually in the tutorial, at least twice. Once when you are defending a mountain pass and fort, and you are told to use cavalry in the woods to go around the attackers and hit them from behind. And then the main battle, when a city is being attacked, you use the cover system to attack their warmachines from behind.
I love the cover system, as it adds realism. There's been times when I charge forward and crested over a hill to find most of the enemy army waiting for me. Encourages scouting and feints. Whats the point of terrain if it has no tangible benefits/downsides?
Only beef I had with the game at release was the objective points in battles. Sieges I could understand, but it didn't fit in pitched battles. And the AI.
Emperor Edition is how the game should've been at release, though.
I don't remember a fort or a mountain pass being in the tutorial, just being dropped into a city siege. I also don't remember using the system to attack the warmachines, just being told to attack them.
I wouldn't have minded the system being allowed to be turned off. Total War as a game has been perfectly fine without it. Terrain has also added multiple benefits/penalties for most of the games: for hiding units in forests, for elevation, penalties to exhaustion for charging up terrain, and positives for charging down. As far as I can tell, terrain still does all of those things, but now also blocks LoS; you're treating terrain as if blocking LoS suddenly makes it useful, when it never ceased to be before that and could often decide battles.
I personally dislike the LoS system, but I can see why some people might like it. I can also see how it would not be universally enjoyed, and can't understand why it was decided to be forced on everyone, instead of being a setting to turn on or off, which would leave everybody pleased.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/02/07 19:05:09
Mandorallen turned back toward the insolently sneering baron. 'My Lord,' The great knight said distantly, 'I find thy face apelike and thy form misshapen. Thy beard, moreover, is an offence against decency, resembling more closely the scabrous fur which doth decorate the hinder portion of a mongrel dog than a proper adornment for a human face. Is it possibly that thy mother, seized by some wild lechery, did dally at some time past with a randy goat?' - Mimbrate Knight Protector Mandorallen.
Excerpt from "Seeress of Kell", Book Five of The Malloreon series by David Eddings.
"You need not fear us, unless you are a dark heart, a vile one who preys on the innocent; I promise, you can’t hide forever in the empty darkness, for we will hunt you down like the animals you are, and pull you into the very bowels of hell." Iron - Within Temptation
You're actually right about the siege, I could've swore it had some LoS tips in there, but its just combat/shooting stuff.
Here's the fort and LoS tutorial :
Fair play if you didn't enjoy it, I personally thought it added a sense of realism.
"Sometimes the only victory possible is to keep your opponent from winning." - The Emperor, from The Outcast Dead.
"Tell your gods we are coming for them, and that their realms will burn as ours did." -Thostos Bladestorm
I don't know if it's just the Mac version, but right clicking on a unit doesn't open an in-game info card. For me right clicking minimizes the game and opens an internet window that links to the unit info. The first time that happened I was like "seriously guys?" and gave up for a while.
"Bringer of death, speak your name, For you are my life, and the foe's death." - Litany of the Lasgun
TheSilo wrote: I don't know if it's just the Mac version, but right clicking on a unit doesn't open an in-game info card. For me right clicking minimizes the game and opens an internet window that links to the unit info. The first time that happened I was like "seriously guys?" and gave up for a while.
Is it worth it now? As an avid Total War fan, I have to say no. Sure, they fixed many of the problems that plagued the game at launch, but there are many faults with the game that come from design choices made by the developers rather than technical bugs. For example, the lack of a family tree or the "spawning ships by moving ground units into the sea"-stuff. Not to mention the game engine which worked okay-ish in Shogun 2 but doesn't lend itself AT ALL to the sluggish, collision-based combat of the ancient times. And the AI is still at least as stupid as in Rome 1, which is 10 years older.
Arguably the worst Total War ever made. I can see why people dislike Empire more, but at least Empire was innovative in that it was the first of the gunpowder-era games. Rome 2 was CA's attempt at making a successor to what was perhaps their best ever game (Rome 1) and failing MISERABLY.
If you really want warfare in the Roman era, I'd recommend Rome 1 over 2 any day. Also remember that Rome 1 and Medieval 2 have excellent mods that make the games much,much more fun. Europa Barbarorum (Rome 1) and Call of Warhammer (Medieval 2) are great examples. Yes, there is a Warhammer Fantasy mod for Medieval 2. Yes, you should play it.
Then again, CA have recently confirmed that they are working on a Warhammer: Total War, so perhaps all hope is not lost. However, that release is probably at least three years away.
I tried to mod rome one but every time I try it either fails upon download and most recently broke the entire game D= I'm honestly thinking of Rome 2 because it has a lot less little niggles than rome one (at least from watching A lets play)
examples:
-Recruit more than one unit per turn. I know medievel has it But I wished rome had it!
-integrated steam mods (I suck at modding =( )
-later period with actual legionares
"Do you really think 7th edition was the best edition?"
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