Rome Total War II

[Corporate_Jew_Master]

Because you don't fuck with Ultimate Merchant.

 

[Dead Guy]

Well, it's promising to see what a good map painter they can make?

 

[ManjuShri]

 

[KoolNoodles]

That dude is one lucky motherfucker to have that voice. Maybe he just smokes and washes it up with some bourbon though.

 

[Brayko]

The average poster on the Total War forums seems really fucking dense. Also, it's been proven many times over that bigger budget = more streamlined garbage gameplay that favors wet and gloss over smart gameplay mechanics. Will def wait for a Steam sale on this one. I'll personally allow DU to Dumbfuck my ass if I purchase this day 1, and I will avoid lies.

 

[Hellraiser]

That dude is one lucky motherfucker to have that voice. Maybe he just smokes and washes it up with some bourbon though.

True, however I would still prefer hearing that voice speaking in latin.

 

[spectre]

It saddens me that they hire +10 guys to do the stabby-killy sounds. Why not apply the same amount of fetishism to the AI, so that it can... dunno, do well on its own without cheating, or is that asking too much?
It is even more poignant when they say that they want you to feel like a general. I know I'm not their target audience, but feeling like a general has pretty much nothing to do with the so called emotional attachment.
On the other hand, it has everything to do with the challenge of facing a worthy opponent. Slaughtering retarded children who cannot into flanking and have to conjure units out of thin air is where I feel like just another dude playing a video game. I thought you didn't want that CA
But... who am I deluding, the point is to make an average Joe feel like the mighty Gaius Iulius, and emotional attachment just comes with the territory as you pick up more and more womyn writers.
There is a non-zero chance that they'll surprise me... I am still waiting for that trailer aimed specifically at people who came over for a fucking strategy game.

 

[corvus]

I know I feel like a mighty general when I hear some other dude recite generic lines sprinkled with bits of "FOR ROME" for flavor; all in an American accent.

 

[Branm]

AI in total wars games has always been shit though.

Meh I'm just gonna leech this turd. Demo it and if the AI is the same old junk I saved myself some cash.

 

[Declinator]

In Rome 1 the archers seem to be the AI's Achilles' heel as they can't respond to fire from them and cannot effectively use them either. I don't know whether that has improved later.
The AI moves a bit better on open field but in cities they are completely hopeless.

AI in total wars games has always been shit though.

Meh I'm just gonna leech this turd. Demo it and if the AI is the same old junk I saved myself some cash.

Don't the Total War games usually have demo versions for, you know, demoing?

 

[Branm]

AI in total wars games has always been shit though.

Meh I'm just gonna leech this turd. Demo it and if the AI is the same old junk I saved myself some cash.

Don't the Total War games usually have demo versions for, you know, demoing?

From past experience they release a demo with a heavily scripted historical battle. Which is far far from a good representation of the strategic and tactical AI's.

 

[Gambler738]

The average poster on the Total War forums seems really fucking dense. Also, it's been proven many times over that bigger budget = more streamlined garbage gameplay that favors wet and gloss over smart gameplay mechanics. Will def wait for a Steam sale on this one. I'll personally allow DU to Dumbfuck my ass if I purchase this day 1, and I will avoid lies.

​

Yeah, they pretty much are. I guess Total War Center is a little bit better. A lot actually when you go to individual mod forums. But I'm going to do the same. The 'better siege' battles are interesting and while the voiceover for units is at best from what we're seeing I'll still buy it. Eventually. What I'm really waiting for is Medieval 3 Total War

 

[corvus]

Skip to 1:25 to get past the bloggy part.

So ignoring the... over-excitable host, the brief look at the campaign doesn't look too surprising coming straight from Shogun II. Settlements are limited to a few building slots until you expand, units already appear to be generic "spear levy", "club levy", etc., with a few token uniques for each faction I'm guessing, and eye candy and superficial things thrown in (the city expands in real time, instead of one turn later after finishing construction). I think the most added features from the game will come from the battles themselves, not the campaign map. Battle/Campaign AI? Remains to be seen, but very skeptical.

 

[KoolNoodles]

That is one ugly motherfucker. Ponytails should be banned, much like the burqa.

Yeah, looks a lot like Shogun, which isn't terrible. A step up from ETW/NTW. Maybe by the time MTW3 rolls around whatever system they are going for will be perfected.

Units shouldn't be a problem, one of the easiest things to mod in is unit diversity. I like the "side of a pottery jar" look of the unit cards. I'm hoping that (good) generals can be inside actual units now, instead of always having the "general" unit.

Edit: Dude spent an entire 10 seconds jerking off over the banner "blowing in the wind". Yeah, it might suck.

 

[titus]

Edit: Dude spent an entire 10 seconds jerking off over the banner "blowing in the wind". Yeah, it might suck.

And he can't get enough of the "expanding town" animation. o_O All I see is time wasting. Is he a dev?

 

[Corporate_Jew_Master]

WHERE IS THE GAMEPLAY? ITZ 2 MONTHS AWAY AND NO GAMEPLAY YET.

Fuck it. There never was much hope to begin with. Just a Jews Hope.

 

[Brinko]

Campaign shit.

 

[KoolNoodles]

Thank god they got a cute redhead and a guy with a not annoying voice. Looks a lot like STW2.

Different victory conditions are ????? Unless they completely balls it up and they really don't matter.

 

[Brinko]

My concern was the faction screen because it doesn't show all of them and they didn't show how their new system works. WTF does Eastern kingdom or Barbaric tribes mean? Is Pontus and Parthia the different sub factions of the Eastern kingdoms or what?

 

[Brinko]

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?610243-San-Francisco-Event-Questions-ANSWERED-!!

Questions and Answers​

1. Food System: Total War Rome 2 will have a food system that contains two parts. The first part will utilize "food" as it has usually been used in previous Total War games. Food will affect the income that a city will have. The second part of the food system will be similar to Total War Shogun 2. Players will have to carefully plan the development of cities lest they fall trap to a shortage of food and causing a drop in population happiness due to starvation.

2. Ruling Factions: Recently, we have learned that Rome and Carthage have three ruling families that players can choose from. Each family will have common traits that it shares with the other two families while having traits unique to itself. Al confirmed that only Rome and Carthage will have different ruling families. Other factions will utilize a single "family" or "tribe" to rule the faction. They will have options that are not available to Rome or Carthage. One of the possible diplomatic options that Al mentioned was that barbarian tribes will have the ability to form confederations with other barbaric tribes.

3. Elephants: There will be a visual differentiation between elephants from India and elephants from Africa. Stats-wise, I am still waiting on further clarification from Al whether the two units are similar or different.

4. Naval Regions in Rome 2: I believe mmurray821 asked this question at the Q&A. From what I recall, in order to "control" a sea region, factions must have a navy present. With a navy present, any hostile or un-allied navies will be forced to engage the controlling naval force before being allowed to land an army. (Correct me if I am wrong mmurray821; I was busy eating the pizza balls)

5. Multiplayer: Eh. This one requires quite a bit of explanation. I'm just going to put a placeholder here and fill it up after I try to format a paragraph for it.

6. Ranged Units: Ranged units such as javelin throwers must be stationary in order to throw. Confirmed by Al and other attendees playing demo.

7. Battles Speeches: This one came as a little bit of a shocker to me. If I heard correctly, there will be no pre-battle speeches for standard battles on the campaign map. The only battles speeches as of right now are those included in historical battles. Might be for the best though. I only listened to the battle speeches a few times before I just skipped over them to start deployment. Better usage of funds to dedicate elsewhere rather than battle speeches.

8. Slavery: There will indeed be a "slavery" mechanic in game. Al and Craig both pointed out that CA did not completely flesh out the mechanic because slavery is a rather controversial topic/ 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.

9. Campaign City Appearance on a Siege Map: Besides famous cities such as Rome, Carthage, Alexandria and what have you, other cities will not be specifically rendered on the battlefield. There will be a form of increasing points to capture similar to Shogun 2's castles. Higher tier cities will be larger and have more defensive positions in comparison to lower tier cities, similar to Shogun 2's building system.

10. Fantasy Units: Units such as the "Tessakonteres" will not be present in Rome 2.


11... More incoming. Still gathering thoughts. Should have grabbed another Red Bull before I left.

Not really surprised at removal of battle speeches because they seem to have regressed back to the ETW system of general recruitment which is to just put the fucker in the army at any time. Only now its gone one step beyond to absolute tedium land where the you must have a general to build an army.

 

[oscar]

How the fuck is slavery in antiquity controversial? What a pathetic excuse.

 

[Brinko]

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?610589-A-Lot-of-New-Info-from-Gamestar

I try to translate what I noticed:

Prologue Campaign is about Rom's fight against the samnites

Three part prologue

Successful senate mission and conqured regions increase the "level" of your empire --> which allows you to recruit more agents and field more armies and fleets

Limited number of edicts in your empire (increases with the time)

The Army stance looting cuts the cost for the looting army in half.

For example if you build a workshop in a town you can recruit balliste in the whole province but only in that province.

Your cavalry can come ashore however without their horses, unloading sieges engines like ballistas isn't possible during the battle.

spys are invisible unless you have agents in counter intelligence mode close to them

Every agent can now kill or bribe. (no assassination videos) Many special abilities a champion can for example strengthen your public order or wage a guerillia war behind the enemy lines. A dignitary can wage a cultural war (whatever that is supposed to mean) if you combine these effects it makes rebellions much more likely.

Dignitaries also increase the tax income and increase the cultural conversion rate. in your enemy's country they decrease the tax income and incite cultural unrest.

The (roman) civil war has a time limit the party who has done best in it wins. If you loose the civil war you also loose much of your influence.

The menu seems a little confusing for example your military resarch splits of into three research trees but you can only see one tree at once.
No skill trees for generals or agents there is only a list which skills they already have, you have to look into the encyclopedia if you want to know which skills unlock other skills.

unfortunately the AI apperently hasn't improved much with the notable exception of one flanking maneuver on the battle map. On the Campaign map the AI likes to send mini-armies arround the map ( we are reminded, that the game is still no finished and that the tester was only able to play the proluge on the easiest difficulty)

The AI often advances directly towards your units even if the can't see them (line of sight)

some of the weird

the ai pulled:

- Letting the cavalry run in circles (while being shot at)

- During a attack on a coastal town two transport ships calmly rowed arround the whole map instead of attacking the player

-During a siege the ai placed their infantry on the walls and their archers in the middle of the town.

 

[AstroZombie]

A Total War game is broken at launch? I'm shocked! :p

 

[Disgruntled]

I like that bit about the Barbarians being able to form a confederation and having differences to the other faction ruling systems. Thats pretty neato if it works smoothly in the campgain.

Sad about the AI. Seems like they havent reached the threshold where a dynamic system is superior to simple scripted tactics. Its a large leap of effort to get that done right but should not be implemented until it is imo.


1) Direct Attack/Defense_______________________Easy
2) 10 scripted responses based on unit composition__Sufficiently Challenging until you learn it (but still cant totally fuck the system because it keeps a coherent formation in battle)
3) Radiant AI (tm)_____________________________Broken and exploitable
4) Dynamic AI iteration 1_________________________Broken and exploitable
5) Dynamic AI iteration 2_________________________Broken and exploitable
6) Dynamic AI iteration 3_________________________Broken and exploitable
7) Dynamic AI that is actually smart_______________Sufficiently Challenging and difficult to exploit

 

[Kattze]

Confederation system sounds cool. But why retention of the three family system from R:TW? Would be better if they had done it, EB style, with different families, differences between Patricians and Plebeians. Also, what's with the three family system for Carthage? During the Punic wars, there is only Barcid expansionist faction focused on overseas conquests like Iberia and the anti-Barcids focused on Africa. I'm thinking they will be using anachronistic shit like the Magonid dynasty in the game.

Also, I'm sad about the removal of the battle speeches.