Rome II

[river aspen]

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[gray canopy]

High reception so far, I see....

[sweet mesa]

I mean people didnt even see the channels yet

cant really judge now, objectively it will be seen in 2-3 days

[gray canopy]

The Attila one got more activity though

[sweet mesa]

well basically with us typing here i am seeing the same thing

3 people joined each about the same ammount of messahes

[gray canopy]

I am more interested in the thread feature than the topic in and of itself tbh

[carmine depot]

Oh very nice.

[restive sun]

Can't see it on the phone

but hey

[sweet mesa]

well you in now

[restive sun]

yeah, had to login from the laptop

Any good UI mod suggestions for Rome II?

And a good soundtrack mod too

Got some Attila-ish mods today

[restive sun]

Rome II question- Should pike phalanxes be used in formation mode or not? What's the difference?

[formal radish]

always use them in formation mode, it keeps them in line and doesn't break up the formation for one on ones

the strenght of the phalanx is teamwork

[restive sun]

Just tried it. I got similar kills with formation mode on as with off but the casualties when it was on were lower. Gut

[sweet mesa]

even with jav precursors?

[formal radish]

It’s mainly just the formation not breaking off and blobbing up

[restive sun]

There was no blobbing in either of them

[restive sun]

Jav what?

[gray canopy]

And you call yourself a rome enthusiast without knowing what a javelin is???

Precursor shots were even recently added in warhammer!!!!

[formal radish]

some units, notably melee infantry such as legionaries and levy freemen, can throw a javelin at nearby enemy units when being charged or about to charge

[restive sun]

I don't know what the word precursor means in this context. Everybody knows what a jav is you pleb

[restive sun]

The enemy had Javelin infantry, yes. I was testing pikes

[sweet mesa]

yeah i meant when the enemy throws javs you get less casualties

[restive sun]

In formation mode?

[sweet mesa]

yeah, in the mod you are using

[restive sun]

Ah. Yeah I have noticed that formation mode is pretty good for holding chokepoints. My 2 units of legionaries held off an army throughout the battle in CiG

[gray canopy]

Even warhammer fans know now what a precursor shot is!

What a rome fan you are....

[patent hedge]

I'm a bit late but only recently got Rome II. I think I'll try out Carthage or Parthia first.

[restive sun]

P L E B

[formal radish]

Both of those are pretty tricky factions at the start. Once you get the ball rolling though they can be great

[gray canopy]

Even they know what a precursor shot is...

[formal radish]

No need to get combative about it

[patent hedge]

I'm sad to see that Aksum isn't playable in this game, but oh well. D:

[formal radish]

There is Kush if you want to play as Menroe

[restive sun]

If you haven't played a modern TW/any TW before, you might wanna try Egypt or Massalia

[restive sun]

New day brings new knowledge

[patent hedge]

Three Kingdoms is my most played, I've recently been playing a lot of Warhammer, and I also own and enjoy Attila and Thrones of Britannia.

Three Kingdoms however is the only Total War game I'd really say that I feel like I very thoroughly understand.

[formal radish]

if you enjoy attila, you'll probably enjoy rome 2 as well

mechanically at least they are similar games

[patent hedge]

Yeah. I enjoy Attila its just rather difficult for me lol

[formal radish]

rome 2 is a lot easier and has a better focus on infantry rather than cav, its campaign is less annoying too with migrators and climate change

[restive sun]

Yep yer good to go with Carthage/Parthia. It's easier, just try to manage politics well because that part is little bloated in this one imo

[patent hedge]

I am also interested in Egypt, so if they're a good one to start with here I might try them first just to get used to the game.

[formal radish]

egypt is pretty good too, one of the best greek factions alongside the seluecids and macedon

[restive sun]

Nice roster. I'd also suggest Massalia (mix of Celts and Greeks) and Bactria (mix of Greek and eastern)

[sweet mesa]

Tbh massilia is one of the weaker greek faction roster wise

only worse one is sparta

[restive sun]

Been a while since I played them. I recall they had some Gallic troops which was fun. And I mostly fought against Celtic levies so my shield wall hoplites did really well

[formal radish]

Biggest gripe with massila (same applies to carthage) is that they have no higher end roster options besides for one or two cavalry choices

[sweet mesa]

beat me to the punch

but yeah massilia has an interesting greel/galic roster, but they lack a lot of misslie units as well

[restive sun]

Yeah cav is quite limited. Mercs ftw. Or the AoR/Auxilia for all mod

[sweet mesa]

only missile unit they have that is greek is the pelasts

[sweet mesa]

Basically as your only cav choice you have hippeus lancers

Massilian cav is worse than the greek cav

[formal radish]

Having a unique Greco - Gallic spearman unit for the high end and some Greco - Gallic high end archer would be cool

[restive sun]

Yeah I recall I used citizen cav for a long while

[sweet mesa]

basically they are a decent idea, but not executed as well as it could have

[restive sun]

Much like other Black sea colonies factions

[sweet mesa]

I mean Cimmeria and Pergamon are very decent

[restive sun]

Cimmeria is, yeah

Pergamon is meh imo but I like their starting position

[sweet mesa]

Colchis is a no-no thou

[formal radish]

All Cimmeria really needed was a medium- high tier shock or melee cav unit

[sweet mesa]

Pergamon for me is above meh because of the Agema Spears

which are excelent

also i love me some Picked Peltast

[restive sun]

The successor kingdoms have the most diverse rosters

[sweet mesa]

But yeah CImmeria could have definetly had another shock cav unit, but ecen without it its pretty decent

you can somewhat balance it with the horse archers

[sweet mesa]

Well to an extent, they all kind of play similar

[restive sun]

Yeah but their rosters are still a good mix of Greek + whatever region they're in

[sweet mesa]

that is true, the Selucids and Egypt have some of the most interesting succsesor kingdom rosters in the game

Plus Asia Minor is the center of the map in Rome 2 to an extent, and it is always a very interesting starting location

[formal radish]

Asia Minor and Greece are the thunder dome early game

[sweet mesa]

basically

[drifting robin]

XD Basically everyone is interested in Rome II to some degree

[restive sun]

Yeah it ranks highly in a lot of TW what should I buy/play polls

[drifting robin]

I think there could be a greater level of attraction to the title if more historical events were to occour during the campaign

[restive sun]

There are mods for that

I love scripts and events in TW games

[drifting robin]

yeah

Im not a fan of some things, like the partition of carthage and selucids to make the game more balanced

but i think that if mods are created for such things then its obvious that there is some interest there

Therefor: Plz add hannibal's invasion into rome II

jk jk you guys are doing great

[formal radish]

That does exist

Hannibal at the gates is a campaign all about that

[restive sun]

Yep

[drifting robin]

No no

i mean like an event within the grand campaign

maybe not even an event tho, just a loose set of guidelines

[formal radish]

Usually that does happen, Carthage and Rome inevitably go to war in the grand campaign

[restive sun]

I think the Seleucid thing is quite accurate. The Basileus didn't rule the whole empire directly and instead relied on satraps.

[sweet mesa]

well the grand campaign is a giant sandbox so really no need for those events to pop up that much

[drifting robin]

i suppose, but i would like to see a little variety

ykno

[sweet mesa]

Campaign packs are more focuesd and they can have those expirences

[restive sun]

You might wanna play this mod called Roma Surrectum III for Rome Total War (the first one). It starts at the peak of the 2nd punic war with Hannibal in Italy and you have to fight him

[drifting robin]

i think im explaining this wrong

although i will give it a look

I mean to create interesting gameplay,

as an example carthage

(idk how to code so this is gonna sound really weird)

By turn 30, carthage should attempt to have an army in the north of italy via spain

in order to create some semblence of accuracy

[sweet mesa]

well that would be very gamey to abuse

also, what if you wanna do a Carthage campaign where you dont really attack rome

the sandbox nature of the grand campaign imo is perfectly fine

[restive sun]

I don't think that's possible. Influencing AI behaviour like that I mean. And it will also kill the sandbox experience

[drifting robin]

If the player is playing carthage the objective wouldn't be there

[restive sun]

You'll not only have to influence Carthage to move its army but you'll also have to influence other factions to not attack it before it reaches there

A spawning event is more likely. Again mods are your best friends for that. Europa Barbarorum mods use similar scripts to spawn rebels in historically troublesome territories

[drifting robin]

I understand that it might limit the sandbox nature of the game,

but imo its not supposed to be a completely sandbox based game

[sweet mesa]

I mean it is, you change history

since shogun 1

[drifting robin]

yeah, but you should be forced to deal with the situations the historical factions had

[sweet mesa]

you get a huge map and you can do what you please, thats the appeal of it for most people

you build up and expand

[restive sun]

Some small campaign dlcs do have that. For example in CiG you'll get Gallic uprisings/roman invasion when you grow your realm

[sweet mesa]

You get new crisis, because your way of expansion can be wildly diffrent

Yeah campaign DLCs with a smaller scope do that very well

CIG, HAG, Imperator Augustus to an extent, ROR

in Rome 2, they are more in line with historical events

[drifting robin]

yeah,

but they are not the grand campaign

[sweet mesa]

yeah, thats the reason why they are not

[restive sun]

Imperator Augustus is almost the same size as GC

As is Empire Divided

[sweet mesa]

exactly

[drifting robin]

Hmm

[sweet mesa]

and Imperator Augustus is a free campaign pack that everyone gets with Rome 2

[drifting robin]

yeah thats true

I just think that there should be a greater emphasis on historical events within the grand campaign

it could lead to some interesting events

[sweet mesa]

Well i disagree, personally i like the sandbox nature of most TW campaigns

I get to make my own events, my own challenges

if i want to take India as the Suebi i am free to do so

or Britania as the Baktrians

[drifting robin]

Yeah, and you are free to do that

[sweet mesa]

i dont want events hampering me with the example that you just gave of an army spawining out of nowhere and draining my economy

[drifting robin]

Nooo not out of nowhere

[sweet mesa]

in a direction i maybe even didnt want to expand

[drifting robin]

The army would be built by the ai unless you were playing as said faction

if you play as the nation anything the ai would have done doesnt happen

[restive sun]

What if I destroy that faction on turn 3 or 4

[drifting robin]

Then the event wouldn't happen

[sweet mesa]

Well then it still fells cheap of an enemy army spawning behind me

[formal radish]

Or some other faction does

[restive sun]

^

[sweet mesa]

while my armies oare on campaign

[restive sun]

Then we're back in the sandbox

[drifting robin]

Alright i think i need to give more detail about this example

[formal radish]

I have seen the historicaly insignificant Baktrians take over the entire Middle East and steppes while the Parthians get killed by Media

[drifting robin]

Turn one as carthage you have an army with 1 horse and 2 hoplites in carthage

Said army is now labelled X by the ai

[restive sun]

Baktrians weren't insignificant

[formal radish]

Or Massila taking over all of Italy and Africa

[drifting robin]

X army marches across africa and gathers mercenaries and men from its client state

marches onto spain

gathers spanish mercs and more troops

[restive sun]

That's not doable

[drifting robin]

then marches north and arrives (Hopefully) by turn 30

[sweet mesa]

and probably gets beaten back by a galic or iberian army on the way

[drifting robin]

in which case the event would not occour

[sweet mesa]

so even if it exists, you might not be able to see it

[drifting robin]

Exactly

[formal radish]

For migratory factions and stuff like this, Attila handles it a lot better

[restive sun]

Or probably gets destroyed by me because I know it is not in Africa

[sweet mesa]

so the event is basically pointless in that regard

[drifting robin]

Pointless unless the army makes it across spain and southern france

[restive sun]

Then we're back in sandbox mode. Too much work, too little gain with too many variables

[drifting robin]

In the case of hannibal himself

[sweet mesa]

basically this

[drifting robin]

Its not too little gained

Its the possibility that you play a campaign and are completely surprised by a move you didnt know existed

[formal radish]

Honestly for the smaller scale theatres of war and events, the mini campaigns already in the game handle it a lot better than the grand campaign side of things

[restive sun]

For the creator* not for us

[sweet mesa]

I mean it is, better version of events is in the ROR campiagn, that has very decent event system

[formal radish]

Mainly because they are already tailored exactly for that time period and events to roll out in a limited view of the world

[restive sun]

But I like Rome II as it is. Bland and empty so everybody can add what they want with mods

[drifting robin]

That isnt what it should be though

[restive sun]

To suit their specific tastes

[sweet mesa]

but yeah in the grand campaign sandbox such events are not really necessary, and wouldnt add to the expirence that much

[sweet mesa]

Tbh i find vanila Rome 2 with just a few quality of life mods very enjoyable

[restive sun]

I don't like a lot of changes either. Just some minor changes with a vanilla feel is good enough. Overhauls are not my thing because they change too much stuff which you can't opt out of

[drifting robin]

Thats the problem

Why should you want to install mods to play a game

[formal radish]

All I really want from DEI is it’s maps, unit reskins, and area of recruitment

Remember with mods, it’s all looking in hindsight at the game

[restive sun]

So I can customize it to my own personal taste

[sweet mesa]

because mods will give you the expirence you want by your custom taste

[restive sun]

I got the Attila style map. Yet to get an AoR mod and UI

There is an AoR mod but not enough units. Only 40 or so

[drifting robin]

i suppose it doesn't harm anyone to use mods in thier campaigns.

[formal radish]

Like rn the only mods I play with are things that expand the Bactrian and Parthian roster, smaller unit selectors, Rome 1 music, and wonders of the world

[restive sun]

I got Sebidee's Auxilia for all which is similar to AoR but needs a building

[restive sun]

Smaller unit what?

[formal radish]

It makes the yellow circles and triangles you get from selecting units on the battlefield like half the size

[restive sun]

Ah okay

[sweet mesa]

I honestly dont like the expanded roster mods, they make in my opinion most factions seem samey with all factions having the same tools

[formal radish]

Really minor thing but I like it

[restive sun]

Yeah same. I also don't like reskins. I use Uniform Colours Remastered and that makes the units looks pretty good

[formal radish]

All this one adds is 2-3 unique units to each faction

[sweet mesa]

Singelplayer game, so you can mod it as much as you want to fit your taste, and there is a lot of mods out there for it

[formal radish]

Immortal archers and spear men for Parthia, savaran cataphracts. And for Bactria it’s some super cool indo Greek archers and shock infantry

[sweet mesa]

the ones i tried for Rome 2 back in the day basically made all the factions have the same tools

[formal radish]

Yeah I don’t like those

[sweet mesa]

Like the ottoman infantry in Medival 2?

oh i missread

[restive sun]

I also don't like those unit card mods

[sweet mesa]

i thought it was a shock archer unit

[restive sun]

Vanilla is alright as it is

[formal radish]

This really just helps the areas that are really weak in these factions, such as a lack of good spearman for Parthia, and melee infantry for Bactria

[restive sun]

I got some mods which make the game Attila-ish. Like politics, faction leader traits and the map

[formal radish]

The savaran cataphracts are a hybrid shock and archer cavalry unit

Like how cataphracts actually were

[sweet mesa]

well yeah, but to an extent i like those handicapes you have with the factions, and their gaps , makes you play around them

[sweet mesa]

Oh yeah thats how things should be

[formal radish]

Yes

[drifting robin]

Is that not the same as what you just argued against? O_o

[formal radish]

That’s fair. I just like some of the unique flair added for the high end stuff so it’s not all normal elite Greek stuff at the end of the game

[sweet mesa]

what, i said i like the vannila rosters

i didnt argue against them

[drifting robin]

noo

[sweet mesa]

i said i like the handicaps of the vanilla faction rosters

[formal radish]

But yeah generally I dislike stuff that adds a million different units to each roster

[drifting robin]

but to handicap the faction roster is to limit the ability to use the game as a sandbox

[sweet mesa]

well no, thats completly diffrent

if everyone had everything

its boring

[formal radish]

In age of Charlemagne I do have a unit mod that adds 1 - 2 unique units to each faction though, longbow men and knights to mercia, and elephants I think to Córdoba for example

[sweet mesa]

the game is a sandbox that throws you into a faction with certain limitations

that you have to work around

but besides that you are free to do as you please

you can recruit mercenries to fill up the rosters if you please

[drifting robin]

but doesn't that mean you should have to work around issues said faction historically had to work around?

[sweet mesa]

well no, thats an event that spawns

i am talking about the starting conditions

i am pretty clear about why i dont think events are good for the GC

[restive sun]

I have sebidee's roster mod. AoC is really empty

[sweet mesa]

I am thinking about doing a campaign in that DLC next, havent played it for ages

[formal radish]

It’s tons of fun

And is basically medieval 3

[sweet mesa]

Just wonder if Attila will attempt to burn my CPU again when i start it up

[restive sun]

'A sandbox game is a video game with a gameplay element that gives the player a great degree of creativity to complete tasks towards a goal within the game'

I think limited rosters only allow you to use more creativity

[sweet mesa]

The roster is a gameplay element

[restive sun]

Like nomads. Wouldn't wanna give em elite infantry

[sweet mesa]

that doesnt really impact the sandbox nature of the game

[restive sun]

What GPU do you have?

Mine is ancient and it has survived the horrors of large battles

[sweet mesa]

RX590 special edition

bought it like 2 years ago

[restive sun]

Lol yours is way way better than mine

[sweet mesa]

but my CPU on my PC is anicent

[restive sun]

Yeah TW can be CPU demanding

[sweet mesa]

2011 dual quore Intel 3ghz

[restive sun]

Is a GTX 1650 worth it btw? I tried looking for 1660s but there's no laptop with that

[sweet mesa]

i have a 2014 CPU that my friend gave me just need to get around and put it in

[restive sun]

But then everybody says that a 1650 is old and not worth it pffftt

[sweet mesa]

So whats your guys or gals favorite faction in Rome 2, just curious

[restive sun]

Egypt

Cool starting location, nice roster and nice colour

Haven't tried desert factions yet though

[drifting robin]

Carthage

😄 if you couldn't tell

Cool problems, lots of potential for variety in the army, and theres some cool history behind the country too 😄

[formal radish]

Baktria, Saba, or the Lusitania

Macedon is up there too

[tacit quail]

mine would probably by odrysian kingdom because falxes and rhompaias are cool as frick

[cloud sluice]

pergamon, colchis, macedon, carthage, and palmyra

and many more

[sweet mesa]

I see you are a man that likes to suffer

I personally like the Suebi, Boii and Galatia the most

[restive sun]

Galatia is nice. Nice location, nice roster. You can mow down the easterns and the greeks

[sweet mesa]

Only thing it lacks is high tier swordsmen

which is a shame, but its workable

[restive sun]

Mercenaries ftw

I got the Auxilia for all mod so maybe now I won't have to worry about that either

[sweet mesa]

Well there is not a lot of high tier sword mercenaries in rome 2

i dont actually think there is any high tier mercenaries

[restive sun]

Idk how the Auxilia mod works, lemme check

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=385641933

here

[sweet mesa]

I think i tried one of Sebs mods, cant remember if its that one

but i honestly think only rome should have the auxilia system

[restive sun]

Well other cultures too relied on native troops. Until we get an AoR mod like in DEI, this is the best alternative to simulate it

[drifting robin]

Use client states

they might not give you the whole roster but its still a small drip feed of "auxilia" troops for nations that aren't rome

[formal radish]

Not every faction can use clients

[restive sun]

they rebel fairly quickly so not a very permanent solution

[drifting robin]

fair enough, but you can prevent that through diplomacy

[restive sun]

This is coming from someone who plays Rome II like a diplomacy sim. It's really hard to make them clients without war and it's impossible to keep them after the war. Its way easier in Attila

Now that I've mentioned it, I might look into a mod to bring Attila's diplomacy to Rome II. The AI is more realistic in that one and doesn't reject trade and whatnot for no reason

[patent hedge]

Smh playing my first run in this game as Egypt and Cyprus keeps happening to take cities I want as we wage war in Syria. How sad.

[sweet mesa]

Cyprus is pointless just wait for the penalty to expire and break your alliance with them, the. Invade them

[restive sun]

I think I finally have the momentum in my CiG campaign

[sweet mesa]

it just takes some time to build it up

but when you do, you kill Ceaser and kick out the Romans

[restive sun]

I am Caesar

[restive sun]

Finished my CiG campaign!

Woooo