Armchair Dragoons Forums

Wargaming => Pre-Gunpowder => Topic started by: Martok on August 28, 2021, 04:56:55 AM

Title: Rome II
Post by: Martok on August 28, 2021, 04:56:55 AM
(Wow, I can't believe we didn't already have a dedicated thread for this game.  Yes, I also realize I would've been the one most likely to have started it if we did...) 




I know at least a few of us still play Rome II.  It remains my favorite of the "modern" Total War titles, just ahead of Thrones of Britannia.  I'm an absolute sucker for the time period, and while the game's launch was a shit-show, it has (fortunately) come a very long way since then.  The fact that it received 3 more DLC's -- including 2 entire campaign packs -- a good five years after its release was an especially pleasant surprise.  (I really dig Rise of the Republic -- long live Syracuse!) 



All that being said, the main reason I'm posting now is because the team behind the excellent Divide et Imperia mod has officially released version 1.2.8, as of yesterday: 


https://divideetimperamod.com/divide-et-impera-1-2-8-released/

(Note:  It appears existing saved-games should still work, they'll just be affected by the changes going forward.) 


There are an absolutely stupid amount of patch notes, but here a few of the highlights: 

- Stamina Abilities for units have been removed, as this was causing significant lag and performance degradation during battles, especially on lower end systems. 

- Greek colony factions have received a major overhaul. 

- Random disaster plague events have been removed (yay!). 

- Upkeep bonuses in the Military Management technology tree have been replaced with population bonuses. 

- Victory conditions have been majorly revised.  They're now generally shorter, more consistent, and varied between victory types (also yay!). 



I'd kinda been holding off on diving back into Rome II until this update was out, so I guess it's time now.  :D 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Undercovergeek on August 28, 2021, 11:22:22 AM
I’m finding some amazing stuff that I want to play in my back catalogue - this now too - that far exceeds any need to purchase anything new until a few anticipated gems are released
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on August 28, 2021, 12:59:32 PM
Damn you people...
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: thecommandtent on August 28, 2021, 02:20:19 PM
Thanks for the info, I was wondering why Rome II was updating :)
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 28, 2021, 02:32:08 PM
Damn you people...

Like you weren't going to buy it anyway or something  ;D
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on August 29, 2021, 05:03:57 AM
^  I'm sure he would, if he didn't already own it.  Gus is just mad because I've now added to his (already extensive) backlog of stuff to play -- a problem I fully sympathize with.  :P 




I’m finding some amazing stuff that I want to play in my back catalogue - this now too - that far exceeds any need to purchase anything new until a few anticipated gems are released

Heh, indeed! 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on August 29, 2021, 02:23:22 PM
According to The Steam I have 209 hours invested in Rome 2. I'm currently playing a modded version of The Attila: Total War Charlemagne campaign as the 'Byzantine Expedition,' reconquering the boot of Italy for its rightful owners.

I got persnickety above because I just actually uninstalled Rome 2 and whatever version of the DEI mod I had loaded because my reading and curiosity trailed off to the Byzantines. If I were retired and could do whatever the hell I wanted to I probably still wouldn't feel like I had enough time to game.

(https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/019/304/old.jpg)
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on August 29, 2021, 04:46:09 PM
I'm currently playing a modded version of The Attila: Total War Charlemagne campaign as the 'Byzantine Expedition,' reconquering the boot of Italy for its rightful owners.

Sounds interesting!  What mod is that? 



If I were retired and could do whatever the hell I wanted to I probably still wouldn't feel like I had enough time to game.

Yep, same here.  ::) 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Undercovergeek on August 29, 2021, 05:46:00 PM
Are we talking ye olde Rome 2 or the new fancy one or do the mods work with both
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on August 29, 2021, 09:00:14 PM
I think mods work with both ye olde version and the Emperor Edition as well.

Martok look up Byzantine Expedition in the Attila TW Steam workshop section and you’ll find it. It’s out of date but works fine for me.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on August 29, 2021, 11:53:09 PM
Are we talking ye olde Rome 2 or the new fancy one or do the mods work with both

The Remastered version (if that's what you're referring to) is for Rome 1 only.  If you're referring to Rome II: Emperor Edition, then your copy of Rome II should already be updated to that version whenever you last installed it (or will when you install it again). 




I think mods work with both ye olde version and the Emperor Edition as well.

Martok look up Byzantine Expedition in the Attila TW Steam workshop section and you’ll find it. It’s out of date but works fine for me.

Ooh, cool.  Looks like they have a new version, too... 

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1202449125


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Undercovergeek on August 30, 2021, 03:40:25 AM
I did indeed think the new remaster was for 2 🤦‍♂️
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on August 30, 2021, 09:05:56 AM
That's the one, Martok. It's updated as of a few years ago so it shows up as outdated in my mod manager.

UCG I don't think you can go wrong with the new remaster or with modded Rome 2. There's potential to play for 10s of 1000s of hours and never have the same game or even session twice.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on August 30, 2021, 12:11:50 PM
I cringe every time they update the DEI Mod out of fear it will kill all my old Saves. So far though, the Mod Team has been great at avoiding this and the updates have only made the mod better. One of my favorites.  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on February 25, 2022, 05:26:51 AM
Holy crap!  The Divide et Impera team just released their 1.3 update... 


https://divideetimperamod.com/divide-et-impera-1-3-released/




Just reading the patch notes has me salivating.  Sounds like now would be an especially good time to try out a "barbarian" faction! 

Spoiler: ShowHide


Divide et Impera 1.3 Overview

After half a year of work and testing, we are happy to announce our latest update to the mod! Many of you have probably already seen some of the previews posted here and we are all very proud of the team’s work over the autumn and winter. This update includes an overhauled Grand Campaign with many new features, an expansive Barbarian overhaul for many factions, reorganization and rebalancing of the character skills and traits systems, battle updates and much, much more! Thanks to everyone who helped to test and give feedback over these months, we all appreciate it!

You can head over to our Download Page to get the latest update. Steam will update automatically. It is save compatible. We will be working on submods as we can, please be aware some Steam submods have moved to new locations.


Patch Notes

New Grand Campaign Overhaul
– Completely redone grand campaign from the bottom up!
– New Building Slots – Every region now has either 4 or 6 slots available.
– New Starting Buildings – Updated and added various new starting buildings, all factions now start with a barracks for better AI recruitment.
– New Wonder Buildings that represent the various regional world wonders.
– Return of the Roman Families – Rome’s political parties are now the families again!
– New Culture – Numidian – Found in Western Africa.
– New Starting Characters/Family Trees – New royal families and historical characters.
– New Starting Diplomacy/Situations – Lots of new situations for starting factions.
– Extra Moddability – The startpos kit files are available in our TWC submod forum for submodders and going forward we have a lot more options for the main mod as well!

Barbarian Overhaul from Q_Sertorius and CEMN
– Massive overhaul of most barbarian rosters that focuses each faction on specific advantages and disadvantages, updates all the visuals, trims various rosters and redoes the barbarian factions into more coherent options.
– Updated unit cards (thanks Summary!), visuals, stats, descriptions, names, reforms, etc. Too much to detail in these notes!
– Overhauled factions include Arverni, Galatia, Boii, Scordisci, Iceni, Caledones, Iweriu, Suebi, Lugii, Ardiaei and Cimbri.
– Odryssia has also been added to this overhaul from KAM.
– Huge thanks to Q and CEMN for the tireless efforts for many months doing all the tough work and testing on this massive endeavor!

Skills, Traditions, Ancillaries & Traits Overhaul
– Incorporated the great work of Q_Sertorius with re-organizing the structure and effects for the character skill trees to add trade offs and better options. Most skills have either been redone or been moved in the trees.
– Reworked various tradition and ancillary effects to be more balanced and add more specific choice for the player.
– Character traits have been heavily redone. Most traits have had their effects trimmed down by a large margin to get rid of the effect spam. Personality and background traits now have trade offs and matter a lot more.
– Faction Leader effects now apply even when the leader is not in the capital. New effects have been added to better go with the various trait types.

Battle Changes
– Added new “Reform the Line!” ability for infantry with special formations
– Tweaks to morale thresholds for specific status like confident/wavering/broken
– Adjustments to phalanx units
– Fixed stats of Marian and Imperial cavalry
– Fixed cavalry stats when dismounted
– Lowered iphicratean javelin damage
– Fixed numerous disciplined attributes on units
– Changed minimum ranks for infantry from 7 to 6
– Slightly adjusted spotting distance in open terrain
– Minor tweaks to ranged/melee damage

Loyalty Changes & New Government Technology effects
– Lowered loyalty bonus from empire government type.
– Loyalty negatives from imperium begin earlier and are slightly worse.
– Lower loyalty from early political ranks.
– Added positive and negative loyalty effects based on tax level in a province.
– Various philosophy and economy technologies now have effects based on certain government types for specific cultures.
– Barbarian cultures have a tech that reduces upkeep when they are a tribal confederation.
– Ptolemies, Seleucids, Baktria, Pontus and Eastern factions have a late tech that adds recruitment slots when they are a kingdom.
– Greek factions, Rome and Carthage have military techs that lower loyalty as a Republic but a philosophy tech that increases it as a Republic.
– All factions have late technologies that improve happiness and slave unrest as Empires.

Major Changes
– Campaign performance should be improved due to script changes that have reduced some turn and load times.
– New Graphical overlay map for the campaign to better represent province, city and road locations thanks to Summary!
– Added new Pirate factions for Arabia, Illyria, Britannia, Germania, Cicilia, Thrace, Pontus and Carthage. Added new pirate spawns thanks to Q for use of his submod!
– Fixed a battle crash when fighting the Carnute faction
– Updated General appearances for over 60 emergent factions.
– Changed Faction leader effect to always be on rather than be dependent on faction leader being in capital. Changed effect types from generic good/bad to more specific ones.
– Reduced resource production from main city building lines.
– Grain resource buildings now produce supplies.
– Enabled dignitaries for the AI only on hard+ difficulties.
– Made the “Brawler” Trait easier to increase. Made Triumphs and Triumph trait progression from the Education/background trait slightly easier to achieve
– All factions can now achieve victory conditions of region ownership if area is controlled by a client or vassal. Excluded spice from victory condition requirements.
– Increased base foreign pop settlers and slightly lowered negative from culture.
– New culture icons and updated faction flags from Jake.
– Added levy tier designation in unit strength/weakness details panel to help distinguish which units benefit from levy only effects.
– Overhauled visuals for most late Seleucid units and Bronze shield units.
– Rebalanced major city variants to offer more variation and choice between the three options and lower overall income modification from higher tiers.

Other Fixes/Changes
– Fixed Rhodes campaign select faction trait text
– Fixed Pontus unique library having 2 tech requirements
– Fixed Colony factions missing access to Athens special port.
– Moved Chalybes AOR unit to Caucasia.
– Changed some incorrect effects for slave forum building chains.
– Reduced effect of Befriend Gallic Chieftains tech in CiG campaign.
– Changed some effects for Bosporan tier 5 unique buildings to better match their chains.
– Fixed HaTG and CiG Massalia missing resource buildings.
– Immigrant chain buildings now use slightly less food but produce slightly more foreign culture.
– Increased speed for Cimbri Wolf Warriors
– Fixed Geometer ancillary not always working.
– Fixed Saba levy unit missing from recruitment for campaign
– Fixed one loading screen, added 2 others
– Changed naval recruitment points effect to be visible.
– Changed shield value for Meroe pikemen
– Fixed tier 2 Armenian temple having wrong upkeep value
– Fixed wrong unit requirement for chapter 7 ardiaei chapter mission
– Fixed Carthage mercenary barracks having wrong t4 effect, added silver required text.
– Changed Massalia special port to be named Lacydon.
– Fixed Carthage/egypt tower ships missing towers
– Fixed 2 Cimbri shield wall units having expert charge defense
– Changed Arabian camel spearmen to 3rd class.
– Fixed Dart throwers being wrong AOR class for greek factions.
– Fixed some Ardiaei reform units not being properly hidden
– Fixed tier 2 colony barracks having wrong tech requirements
– Fixed fire arrows for longbows having wrong damage
– Fixed Levy hoplites recruitment missing from some minor town building types.
– Changed Pontos to greek supply units to fix recruitment issues.
– Slightly bumped up some region growth rates for historically fertile areas.
– Changed Alalia to have more industiral potential from its region effect.
– Fixed Assault Tetreres ships missing from tier 3 large military ports.
– Fixed barbarian olive town having wrong sanitation effects.
– Fixed some Roman spear auxiliaries missing from roman unit sets (effects were not being applied to them properly)
– Increased Belgian AI recruitment priorites for cavalry.
– Changed Boii faction trait to be morale against Germans rather than Romans
– Fixed Scythian morale trait not properly working
– Fixed tier 4 Athens port missing squalor effect and supply effects
– Fixed bugged animation entry for Marcomanni unit.
– Higher tier Carthage and Alexandria ports provide extra naval recruitment slots.
– Moved Indian veteran spear unit to tier 2 barracks
– Moved Custom Battle Dart Slingers from Syracuse to Macedon roster
– Fixed incorrect name for Commercial Massalia when occupied by Romans.
– Removed Qunquireme from Sparta custom battle roster.
– Moved champion unlock earlier for Pontus in the tech tree.
– Reduced tax negatives for Raetia et Noricum region effects a bit, previously they would stack to cause 0 income.
– Fixed barbarian tier 4 tribal city building missing squalor effect
– Fixed some agent and barbarian background traits not being applied to characters.
– Changed some chapter mission settings for Arverni, Macedon and Seleucid
– Changed political party names for Lugii to match new barb roster revisions (thanks Q!)
– Fixed IA Petra having wrong city culture type (new campaign only)
– Changed Barbarian great hall to have negative food rather than squalor. Slightly reduced PO negative.
– Added cultural conversion to tier 2 Melqart Carthage temple.
– Added AOR Tarantine cav unit to Epirus custom battle roster.
– Fixed Bosporan Lancers missing shoes.
– Changed Hispania Arse region to have positive industrial region effect
– Changed RoR Veneti to have celtic culture (new campaign only)
– Renamed “Carthage in Syracuse” event
– Fixed “Rome Secures Magana Graecia” message sometimes firing after Rome is destroyed.
– Removed Indian elephants from normal Hellenic barracks.
– Fixed bugged vanilla effect text for marriage loyalty
– Fixed Lugii missing chapter 8 mission description
– Added 3/4 class pop growth to Carthage mercenary barracks.
– Removed snipe/stalk from all non-Numidian cavalry
– Fixed bugged civil wars for various custom playables in DLC campaigns.
– Changed throwing axe graphical impact size.
– Added Greek biremes and triremes to Thracian rosters.
– Fixed Greek colony factions missing permissions for Athens special port.
– New standards for Armenia, thanks skillfultree!
– Fixed merc iberian champ shield entry
– Changed Arabian Levy spear to 300 men
– Switched bow entries for Arabian archer spearmen and Sabaean archers.
– Added seasonal requirements for floods & fires.
– Added factional mercenary for Suebi
– Fixed cappadocian cavalry appearance
– Fixed wrong armour entry on Xystophoroi
– Fixed speed entry of Parthian axemen
– Updated color scheme of Parthian faction
– Fixed vanilla bug with Armenian technologies
– Fixed bugged food consumption effects for various horse building chains

Credits
– Q_Sertorius for all the crazy hard work for months on large portions of this update. Attention to detail and work ethic second to none!
– CEMN for tirelessly working on all the great visual updates and continually addressing all the little issues that pop up there!
– KAM for all his work at all times
– Jake for the great icon and flag work yet again
– Summary for the amazing unit card work and the map, top notch!
– Skillfultree for use of the Armenian flags!
– TheCzarsHussar for lots of model editing work, thanks a ton!




Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on February 25, 2022, 11:54:57 AM
Hot Damn! I wasn't expecting it for a while yet. I guess I know where I'll be spending my weekend.  :groovy:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on February 26, 2022, 03:46:23 AM
What's funny is that despite all the changes & improvements, all I really want to do is play Pontus.  ;D  I'm not sure what it is, but something about them just appeals to me. 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: besilarius on February 27, 2022, 09:28:48 PM
Becoming the Poison King?
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on February 27, 2022, 11:08:34 PM
We'll see how the campaign goes.  :whistle: 

Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 09, 2022, 01:54:01 AM
This is kind of cool: the DEI team has put together an interactive map of all the regions in the mod, allowing you to see what types of effects it has, regional and mercenary units you can recruit, etc. 


https://divideetimperamod.com/regions/






It also sounds like the summer update will be coming out fairly soon, including being available for beta-testing.  :D 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on June 09, 2022, 11:46:52 AM
That's great. Now I can see what was in the regions I never managed to conquer.  ;D  The team has done a shit-ton of work on this mod. I really like it. Still, this may cause a tendency to just grab the Resource-Rich Regions and by-pass everything else, good or bad for the game, I don't know.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on June 09, 2022, 12:12:35 PM
The dedication of the DEI team is unreal, yo.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 10, 2022, 04:16:01 PM
That's great. Now I can see what was in the regions I never managed to conquer.  ;D  The team has done a shit-ton of work on this mod. I really like it. Still, this may cause a tendency to just grab the Resource-Rich Regions and by-pass everything else, good or bad for the game, I don't know.

Nah; that would lead to some truly horrific border-gore.  My experience has been that the vast majority of folks who play grand-strategy games are too OCD to allow that to happen.  (Even most min-max players can't stand it.)  :P 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: bob48 on June 10, 2022, 04:22:55 PM
...I do suffer from OCD.....................
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 10, 2022, 05:45:15 PM
Me too, Bawb.  :) 



"I must take that territory in the corner over there." 

"Why?  It's almost utterly worthless." 

"Because otherwise my eastern border will have this weird divot in the middle!" 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Undercovergeek on June 10, 2022, 08:23:20 PM
Many lives were lost during the war of the divot
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: besilarius on June 10, 2022, 09:32:22 PM
Well, it has been written that Rome was the only country that conquered the world in self defense.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on June 10, 2022, 11:04:56 PM
I actually invaded Africa in Rome 2 just so my empire wouldn't look like a giant, erect penis. That's pretty OCD alright.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 11, 2022, 03:26:14 AM
Many lives were lost during the war of the divot

"Why do we fight and die?" 

"For power and glory?" 

"NO!  For the sake of our cartographer's sanity!!" 




I actually invaded Africa in Rome 2 just so my empire wouldn't look like a giant, erect penis. That's pretty OCD alright.

Yep, sound about right.  :bigthumb: 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 11, 2022, 03:42:26 AM
Apropos of nothing, I checked Rome II's aggregate review scores on Steam for the first time in ages.  It's up to a 77% "Mostly Positive" rating, and that's including all the review-bombings it's received over the years.  If you exclude those, the game's score rises even higher, to a "Very Positive" 85%. 

That's pretty damn remarkable, given the disastrous state in which Rome II was originally launched 9 years ago.  Whatever I may think of CA these days (which I try to do as little as possible), I have to give them credit for having supported the game for so long after release with all those patches, *and* then putting out additional DLC's for the game several years after it was launched (when no one was expecting them to).  A pity they haven't given all their games a similar level of support, even if I understand their reasons (at least partially). 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on June 11, 2022, 10:31:11 AM
Doesn’t that get cancelled by what CA did with Three Kingdoms?

And wouldn’t you want your empire to look like an erect penis?
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 11, 2022, 08:55:53 PM
I concede I don't have any real counter-argument to either of your points.  :-[ 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on June 12, 2022, 12:06:32 PM
Hahaha!!
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on June 22, 2022, 09:17:57 AM
Going to start my next Rome 2 playthrough with the Sir Slash endorsed Divide et Imperia mod, either as the Seleucids or the Ptolemies...probably the Ptolemies because they were freaks.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on June 22, 2022, 11:15:53 AM
Freaks indeed. The last update changes has made playing a large faction like the Seleucids less complex at the start I think. Probably same goes for Ptolemy too.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on June 22, 2022, 11:30:27 AM
^Yeah the sheer size of the Seleucid faction is what pushed me toward the more manageable looking Ptolemies. Plus I like their geographic location and it is more compact.

I think the new update just dropped a few hours ago for DEI.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 24, 2022, 05:41:12 AM
I'm trying hard to hold out for that summer update... 

Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 25, 2022, 04:23:30 AM
I'm trying hard to hold out for that summer update...

 :whistle:


Divide et Impera 1.3.1 Public Beta Released (https://divideetimperamod.com/divide-et-impera-1-3-1-public-beta-released/)


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on June 25, 2022, 12:27:03 PM
I know where I'll be this weekend. Barring the house catching on fire of course.  ;)
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: tuna on June 25, 2022, 09:36:13 PM
This thread enticed me to download, and it seems really cool, but pretty hard.. I've had three starts on Normal, Carthage, Egypt, Seculids.. everyone declares war on you and goes south quickly. Trying 'easy' now to see if I can survive. most TW games, I play on Normal and don't have issue. :sick:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 26, 2022, 12:58:18 AM
Cheers, tuna!  Yes, the DEI mod is unquestionably more challenging.  I've shifted to playing on Easy difficulty myself, so I'd say there's certainly no shame in doing so. 

Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: tuna on June 26, 2022, 05:45:27 AM
 :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on June 26, 2022, 02:51:39 PM
*Quietly notes difficulty settings’
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on June 26, 2022, 04:49:15 PM
In all my DEI games those 3 factions are at war with a lot of other factions as well. So, maybe a AI thing? As Rome, I've had no problems maintaining allies and Trade Deals as long as I don't get too aggressive. There's a Diplomatic thing, "Expansionism" that turns all factions gradually more hostile the more territory you take for yourself. Also, there were scripted events with Syracuse and then Carthage as Rome expanded into southern Italy and Sicily that resulted in them declaring war on me automatically. 
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 27, 2022, 02:31:43 AM
I've not tried out Carthage yet, so I can't comment on them, but playing as Egypt hasn't seemed overly taxing so far, at least on the diplomatic front.  Playing as the Selucids, on the other hand, it feels like everyone and their cousin is gunning for you.  :worried: 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on June 27, 2022, 10:38:50 AM
I see the new update is still in beta so I'll hold-off on any comments on it. Do these DEI guys EVER take a day off?  :o
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on June 27, 2022, 12:59:03 PM
Another update just went out an hour ago!
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 28, 2022, 04:52:09 AM
I see the new update is still in beta so I'll hold-off on any comments on it. Do these DEI guys EVER take a day off?  :o

It sure doesn't seem like they do, doesn't it?  (And no, Gus, I'm not surprised they already put out another update.)  ;) 

Honestly, I think the sheer number of people on the DEI team means that simple Law of Averages dictates that someone, somewhere, is improving/updating the mod (at least their particular piece of it) at just about any given time -- which in turn allows them to push out updates at a relatively frequent (or at least regular) pace.  And thank goodness for that.  :bigthumb: 

Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on June 28, 2022, 10:31:33 AM
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 29, 2022, 05:34:58 AM
Thanks, Gus.  TheTerminator does some good breakdowns/analyses. 

Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on June 29, 2022, 09:26:47 AM
Yeah I enjoy his stuff. I installed the new DEI beta last night. Alexander is in the house.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 30, 2022, 05:36:08 AM
Yeah I enjoy his stuff. I installed the new DEI beta last night. Alexander is in the house.

 :rockon:


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: bob48 on June 30, 2022, 06:28:58 AM
I've had the game in my library for ages - I seem to remember my son gifted it to me as its also his all-time favourite most-played game. I really should reinstall it and get back into it.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on June 30, 2022, 10:44:22 AM
And get DEI Bawb!
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on June 30, 2022, 04:51:42 PM
^  That as well, yes.  :) 


Though knowing him, I think he'd enjoy the vanilla game just fine as well, at least/especially at first.  There is honestly a lot of fun & replayability to be had with regular Rome II, even without mods, or even any DLC. 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: tuna on June 30, 2022, 06:15:51 PM
DEI adds starving armies!  :ROFL:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on July 01, 2022, 12:10:33 AM
And starving fleets too. Wait, that's not funny.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on July 01, 2022, 10:49:43 AM
Going to start a campaign this weekend as Ptolemaic Egypt (in DEI)…I am prepared but not hyped to turn the difficulty down to ‘easy’ :/
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on July 01, 2022, 02:08:26 PM
Making Egypt great again!  :groovy:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on July 01, 2022, 10:01:42 PM
You guys have made me slightly intimidated of DEI.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on July 01, 2022, 10:29:56 PM
Too late for that. You have the Honor of the Armchair Dragoons at stake now. Come back with your Sphinx or upon it.  :notworthy:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on July 02, 2022, 04:45:01 AM
No worries, Gus.  You got this!  :bigthumb: 



Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on July 02, 2022, 10:10:59 AM
I was digitally perusing different factions late last night...still set on Egypt but Bactria and Syracuse (!!) look really interesting too.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: tuna on July 02, 2022, 08:40:41 PM
My Seleucid game crashes every time now, I was a good ways in, even on Easy, it was not an easy campaign.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on July 03, 2022, 03:33:45 AM
I was digitally perusing different factions late last night...still set on Egypt but Bactria and Syracuse (!!) look really interesting too.

I enjoyed Syracuse in vanilla Rise of the Republic campaign.  Now you have me curious to maybe give them a shake in DEI (though I imagine they've gotta be somewhat tough to play).  Hmm... 




My Seleucid game crashes every time now, I was a good ways in, even on Easy, it was not an easy campaign.

I always feel like the Seleucids' campaign is harder than what the player is expecting, even in the vanilla game.  Their large size makes them a target, and their territory is likewise rather difficult to defend. 

Major bummer that your campaign is constantly crashing now, though.  :(  If that's in DEI, you should definitely report it to the team. 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on July 03, 2022, 04:20:19 PM
^One of the reasons I am going go with Ptolemaic Egypt.

Will definitely post some details of my Syracuse game once I start. Gonna do Syracuse before Egypt.

Also, fyi, the RTR Imperium Surrectum mod (v0.4.2) offers a playable Syracuse in Rome TW Remastered.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on July 03, 2022, 11:48:08 PM
Egypt doesn't look too tough at the start Gus. You've got 3 Wonders that should give you some very nice perks and net a load of cash through Culture. You're only at war with Cyrenaica who's rebelled against you. The Seleucids don't like you but they've got lots of problems of their own to deal with and they have to go through Jehuda first to get to you. Other than that, there's a few desert tribes south and east who aren't friendly but they shouldn't be too tough. Egypt can make a ton of money trading with the Greeks probably and you can recruit agents right at the start, Spies and Priestesses who can help with Disorder in your Provinces.

Egypt could have a problem however with a lot of Foreigners in your cities who don't share your Culture. Also your King has no family members other than a wife and young kids so if he dies in battle, I don't know who gets the throne. Relations with the other Political Parties aren't good but I think you have until Turn 12 or so to fix that. And some of your territories have very little in the way of food, that could be bad if you don't fix it.

I would get the food growing, make Trade Deals with Greeks and Crete maybe, and crush rebellious Cyrenaica. Once you get it, Egypt will have 3 complete Provinces...not too bad for a start. And down south Axum has GOLD!  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on July 03, 2022, 11:58:11 PM
You make it sound so easy. I speak as the guy who is getting his arse handed to him by the AI in Old World...no campaign is easy!
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on July 04, 2022, 08:55:29 AM
True that!
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on August 18, 2022, 05:13:44 AM
Divide et Impera 1.3.1 is now available!


https://divideetimperamod.com/divide-et-impera-1-3-1-released/


Quote
DeI 1.3.1 features an updated supply system, the Alexander campaign, new reforms changes and updates for many factions. These factions include Maurya, Baktria, Parthia, the Iberians and Athens. We have also worked on some neglected parts of the mod including AOR/Merc units and Naval units.



Man, this looks so good! 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on August 18, 2022, 06:36:25 AM
Naval units you say?
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on August 20, 2022, 10:35:38 PM
Naval units you say?

Looks like it.  8) 

Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on August 21, 2022, 10:31:16 PM
 :nerd:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: tuna on August 30, 2022, 06:52:09 AM
Finally won a game as Rome. Had to pull 'Pearl Harbor' move on Parthia as they were way more powerful than I. They controlled he last region (Syria), so waited till that was the last objective and declared war. Luckily victory happen before they could steam roll me.

(https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1795268225000897878/2ED89AB4D485E466A0F6E6B0E0BCB7F78D659302/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false)

(https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1795268225000898327/ED2BFBE4D0E7E5652380DBD480411ADEDECC7FA7/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false)

Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on August 30, 2022, 07:40:18 AM
Well done!
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on August 30, 2022, 11:55:49 AM
Way-To-Go Tuna! You are my new Hero. Not just because you won, but because you won SNEEKY.  :applause:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: tuna on August 30, 2022, 03:17:46 PM
lol, not sneaky, it's just what I had to do. I was bummed, because the one region I had there, I got from Ptolemy, and at the time I though Parthia was my Ally (which would've been good to satisfy the requirement), but after I took it, they were no longer my Ally and they were pissed at me.

I probably could've won a long drawn out battle with them (even though they were way more powerful, I'm sure if I hit their two army groups with 3 army groups and manually fought a lot of battles, it could be done (but probably would've taken another 100 turns). So not sneaky, but the 'lazy' way out. I guess I'm also lucky his armies were elsewhere on the map, and nothing came at me in the few turns it took me to take the other regions.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on August 30, 2022, 11:07:58 PM
I'm starting to sour on this game again even with the DEI Mod. Playing as Rome, I've plowed my way through Gaul to the Rhine and the Channel, Spain and Africa are all my Allies or Client States, so now's a good time to head east to settle an old score with Egypt. I round-up 2 Legions and a fleet and send them over only to find the Lusatania have beaten me there.  :o These are the guys from Lisbon in Portugal! They own Memphis and are besieging Alexandria. How the hell did they beat us there? My armies have to take their supply with them and still suffer attrition. So how did they survive crossing the whole Med? When I get to Britain, I'll probably find it's been overrun by the Scythians.  :idiot2:

I don't mind the game playing non-historically, that's a good thing. But sometimes it strains credibility I think.  :nope:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: bayonetbrant on August 31, 2022, 08:08:31 AM
that does seem a little wacky
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on August 31, 2022, 01:54:36 PM
In my current Fire and Swords campaign (started in 634 AD) as the Tuareg (North Africans) there is conisderably less wonkiness, and I have really enjoyed the campaign a lot. Try it out!

And for the first time in I don’t know how long, I am just a few turns away from winning the campaign!
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on August 31, 2022, 07:48:17 PM
Is that for Rome 2 or Attila Gus?
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on September 01, 2022, 12:29:33 PM
Sorry it's for Attila. And it's wonderful.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on September 01, 2022, 11:13:24 PM
I will check it out.  :bigthumb:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on September 02, 2022, 03:40:13 AM
Belated congrats on the win, tuna!  Very cool.  :applause: 




In my current Fire and Swords campaign (started in 634 AD) as the Tuareg (North Africans) there is conisderably less wonkiness, and I have really enjoyed the campaign a lot. Try it out!

And for the first time in I don’t know how long, I am just a few turns away from winning the campaign!

Nice.  :bigthumb: 

So what is it about this "Fire and Swords" mod that you like? 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on September 02, 2022, 09:37:33 AM
^I liked Attila TW very much to begin with, unmodded. The Fire & Swords mod doesn't change anything I didn't like, but speeds up game play on the campaign map while slowing down the battles a bit, while adding very interesting new factions (like the Tuareg and the Umayyads) and moving the timeline ahead by about 200 years into an era not often covered. Gameplay is also smooth like buttah.

So...it doesn't change anything I already enjoyed about Attila TW while adding some variety and a new era - Rise of Islam.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on September 02, 2022, 03:40:35 PM
Hmm, interesting.  Might have to take a look at that one.  Thanks, Gus. 

Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on September 03, 2022, 01:50:16 PM
I think you will be pleased and it is available in the Steam Workshop.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on September 03, 2022, 04:46:41 PM
And I just won my Tuareg campaign. Took me 50 years of game time (200 turns - 634AD to 684AD). Yes it's a 'minor' victory but hey whateva  :groovy:

(https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1839179120718435696/2301A43A0C57076506FCBFBC155538E4EE3D654C/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false)
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on September 03, 2022, 04:52:39 PM
'Terrifying'  >:D

(https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1839179120718435261/26EB4DF937575D3705180D94985C073E2DA409B9/?imw=5000&imh=5000&ima=fit&impolicy=Letterbox&imcolor=%23000000&letterbox=false)
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 03, 2022, 05:01:01 PM
Empires that use golden stork/chicken/bird thingies as their symbol are known to strike fear into the hearts of all who look upon them.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on September 03, 2022, 05:29:11 PM
Clearly!!
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Martok on September 04, 2022, 04:28:34 AM
Congrats on the win, Gus!  Nicely done!  :party: 




Empires that use golden stork/chicken/bird thingies as their symbol are known to strike fear into the hearts of all who look upon them.

I live in the heart of "turkey country", in the state that's America's biggest producer of turkey products.  Those birds are freaky (and not in a good way).  :o 


Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Staggerwing on September 04, 2022, 09:13:43 AM
We have lots of wild turkeys around here and they are nothing like the big dumb fat things at the turkey farms. The wild ones are lean and fast, and pretty smart considering the centuries of media portrayals to the contrary. They also fly (though not great distances).
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on September 04, 2022, 01:46:08 PM
^We have tons of wild turkeys too. Agreed they are smarter than the ones raised on farms and not nearly as fat...still good eating for the local bears, though.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on September 05, 2022, 01:06:44 PM
I love Wild Turkeys. Especially with Ginger Ale on the rocks. Our local Turkey pop. can be very aggressive at times. Congrats on the win Gus.  :applause:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on September 05, 2022, 03:43:01 PM
Thank you. Beware the bird.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 06, 2022, 01:41:39 AM
We've got a peacock infestation here in a suburb of Vancouver.  A lot of Indo-Canadians live in the area and somebody brought over some peacocks in order to farm them.  They escaped the farm and are thriving in the wilds of suburbia.  My friend lived in the neighbourhood until a few years ago so I'd see the damned things roosting whenever I went to his place to play boardgames.  Bloody things are big and can get quite aggressive if they think their territory is being threatened.  Most commonly, this manifests itself with the pea-brained things seeing their reflection in a car door and then scratching the shit out of it.

https://www.narcity.com/vancouver/surrey-bc-has-voted-to-capture-all-the-peacocks-terrorizing-residents-and-locals-are-strangely-pissed (https://www.narcity.com/vancouver/surrey-bc-has-voted-to-capture-all-the-peacocks-terrorizing-residents-and-locals-are-strangely-pissed)

(https://www.macleans.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/MAC07_NAT_NOTE_PEACOCKS02-810x445.jpg)
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on September 06, 2022, 09:22:25 AM
I'm sure if I lived with them I would hate them, but from 3000 miles away they are quite beautiful. Nice of them to match their colors to the Honda too. Neighborly!
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on September 06, 2022, 12:34:00 PM
Peacocks are vile, noisy creatures that crap everywhere and aren't intelligent enough to either stay out of people's way or befriend the people who care for them. Plus they taste terrible deep-fried. Not even NBC likes them anymore.  :nope:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on September 06, 2022, 12:58:40 PM
^How dare you
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Sir Slash on September 06, 2022, 03:10:55 PM
I had a friend I used to work with, she adopted a neighborhood male peacock after it's mate died. She drove all over to get the right kind of food to feed it. Then it took to roosting in her pool enclosure at night but wasn't smart enough to come in through the door so it tore holes in her screen instead. It shit everywhere, wouldn't shut-up calling for it's mate at all hours and worse, when she and her husband came-out to swim in the pool, it tried to attack them. She finally tried to get a Wildlife Sanctuary to come get it but they didn't want it either. She was in the process of figuring-out how to take it for a long ride to someone else's neighborhood last I talked with her. I refused to tell her where I lived.  :nope:
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 06, 2022, 04:07:19 PM
Yeah, the fo shit everywhere.  It's not as bad as Goose turds though.  Our parks get overrun with geese every year and the stuff is so thick that it's a slipping hazard. 

As for the peacocks, I have no idea what they eat but something in the area agrees either them because they're thriving.  Some hapless city workers gave been trying to round them up and relocate them to a wildlife sanctuary but the wranglers seem to be losing the battle.  I suspect the birds have a 5th column actively aiding them in the form of the 1st provisional North Shore Housewife Regiment (the Hectorin' Karens) who drive in to the neighborhood on weekends to take selfies with the "pretty" birds
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: tuna on September 06, 2022, 06:29:08 PM
Congrats on the win Gus.. this mean I have to reinstall Attila.. you guys got me to try DEI, and I'm glad I did, that was/is a fun mod.
Title: Re: Rome II
Post by: Gusington on September 06, 2022, 08:54:43 PM
^Definitely try out Fire and Swords!! You won't regret it.