Rome Total War Essentials

GoldenEagle · 08-08-2005, 11:48 PM

I am looking to get into Rome Total War. I loved MTW and picked up this version recently. My question is: what is the best way to deal with learning the game? I love fighting battles. Are there any sites that go into teaching you how to do the whole battle thing?

When I should I look at installing one of the realism mods? I heard these add a lot to the games. However, I saw some one mention in another thread these were not for beginners. Anyway, just looking for tips on getting into the game.

jbmagic · 08-09-2005, 12:50 AM

a great forums for help.

http://www.totalwar.org/
http://www.twcenter.net/
http://pub133.ezboard.com/bshoguntotalwar

Airhog · 08-09-2005, 06:58 AM

I found the battles to be alot like the battles in MTW. You should be able to just jump right in, and do pretty well...

Anthony · 08-09-2005, 08:49 AM

Rome:Total Realism, is not for beginners, that's about right. i still read how some mods aren't challenging enough - which is BS, because i noticed a big change in how the AI used its units and how it kept charging and retreating their general.

i love the time period of M:TW more than R:TW, but fighting in the Rome version is more fun, as you have to deal with war elephants against certain factions, and storming castles/cities is tons more fun.

that twcenter.net was one of the sites i used for battle tactics. a loose rule of thumb to always keep in mind is calvary beats infantry, spearman beats calvary, and infantry beats spearman. mind you, that's a loose rule, it's not a die hard one, but being aware of that will take you a long way.

i've had a hard time with the Total Realism mod because i started out as Rome (you can start out as any faction with that mod, as compared to having to play through one campaign as the Romans first to unlock all the factions in the normal version), and apparently the starting territory has Rome at war with the Gauls to the north and some Greek/Thracian faction in southern Italy. i didn't have any time to prepare and build up and i certainly aren't ready to fight wars on two fronts. very challenging.

Calis · 08-09-2005, 08:56 AM

I might be alone here, but I enjoyed the SPQR mod a lot more than Total Realism, although I haven't played Total Realism's last several versions.

Yeah it's not as historically accuracte, but it's "fun". I think you'd be better off playing through the original game first before switching to it. It's definitely more difficult, but it adds some features that are pretty neat and make for some truly epic battles.

Just something to keep in mind.

I'd actually probably recommend playing the game as is to get the hang of it, and then deciding on a mod. You'll appreciate the mods more after playing the normal game.

GoldenEagle · 08-11-2005, 01:44 AM

I installed Rome Toatl War and fired it up and it crashed on the first battle attempted. I have a feeling I am going to need to replace my video card.

I have NVIDIA RIVA TNT2. It worked fine for MTW.

Groundhog · 08-11-2005, 04:45 AM

One thing that really bugged me about RTW (and may be fixed with the Total Realism patch, I haven't tried it yet) is how powerful the cavalry is. Fighting from horseback with swords & spears only really became possible with the introduction of the stirrups at around 732 AD IIRC (outside of China and other parts of Asia that is, who had them at around the time of Christ).

In the RTW period of history horses would be used to rapidly move around on the battlefield, where the troops would then dismount and fight on foot.

Warhammer · 08-11-2005, 07:20 AM

Heavens no, cavalry were used throughout ancient times. However, the shock impact of horses was much less than it was later after the introduction of the stirrup. The shock effect of cavalry at this point was more or less the ability of the horse to get into a formation and disrupt its cohesion.

Also, spears were used from horseback at this time to thrust it in to your enemy just before impact, otherwise you would be thrown from your horse due to the impact. For the effect of cavalry in a battle at this time, look at the Battle of Zama between Scipio and Hannibal.

Anthony · 08-11-2005, 08:45 AM

the intention of the calvary - in R:TW that is - is to, like Warhammer said, disrupt and break up formations. they're meant to swoop in on a flank or from behind and start the routing process (enemy unit getting shocked from having the calvary attack it from behind, they start to panick and eventually they flee, once one unit rout's the others start to lose confidence). after the unit routs is the other function of the R:TW calvary - to chase down fleeing units. the description of what each calvary does (well, for the Macedonian and Roman calvary that is, those are the only two i've played with so not sure if this applies to other calvaries) all mention that they're good to use in chasing down routing armies.

now, for actual purposes, the calvary does seem to have a lot of advantage over foot soldiers.

but to be honest, most of the Macedonian calvary - the light calvary specifically - are used to throw spears and to generally avoid melee, hand to hand fighting. they aren't meant to be used like heavy calvary in M:TW, where you could throw one unit of like 20 mounted, heavily armored knights at an entire unit of infantry and they wouldn't bat an eyelash.

i'm playing as the Macedonian faction right now in the Total Realism mod, i'm having a ton of fun.

Groundhog · 08-11-2005, 08:59 AM

I agree with both of you as to how cavalry were used, in chasing down fleeing units, flanking from the side and back, attacking as skirmishing spearmen etc., but whenever I'd play R:TW online, I'd have sword-swinging cavalry crashing in to ranks of infantry, and that's just not going to happen. You can't swing a big sword around on horseback or even use a spear lance style while holding on to a horse with your legs. As soon as there is any kind of contact you're going to fall off.

It's been awhile since I played R:TW (since it came out, really), but I just couldn't overlook the overwhelming power of the cavalry in even head on charges, particularily from the Roman forces.

Warhammer · 08-11-2005, 09:22 AM

I might be completely wrong about this point, but I think that is why flails became popular. Without relying on arm strength, or the ability to stay on a horse, flails were developed for horsemen to give them a good hand to hand weapon, after they used their spears of course.

Again, I might be completely off base with this though.

-Mojo Jojo- · 08-11-2005, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groundhog

It's been awhile since I played R:TW (since it came out, really), but I just couldn't overlook the overwhelming power of the cavalry in even head on charges, particularily from the Roman forces.

I think RTR has helped a lot on this front. If cavalry gets tied down by infantry they're dead. Heavy cav is still pretty devastating if you can hit an engaged unit from the flank or back.

GoldenEagle · 08-11-2005, 01:27 PM

My suspicions were confirmed in that my video card is not quite good enough.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to get in terms of a video card?

mrsimperless · 08-11-2005, 01:55 PM

Sharkey Extreme has really good buyers guides for systems and video cards.

www.sharkeyextreme.com

Also, Tom's hardware has good info as well.

www.tomshardware.com

Anthony · 08-11-2005, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

My suspicions were confirmed in that my video card is not quite good enough.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to get in terms of a video card?

you can try to update your drivers, as a last chance effort. if you're gonna update your video card you might as well go for a nVidia GeoForce 6800. that will allow you to play all the current games and beyond for the next 2 years at least.

Calis · 08-11-2005, 03:51 PM

Yeah, the GF2 is definitely not going to hack it for Rome, it's much more intensive than MTW was.

Video card really depends on what you can afford, you can go as high or as low as you want really. Anything from nVidia or ATI should work for you.

I'm running a Radeon 9700 which should be pretty cheap now, and it runs like a dream. It's obviously not cutting edge now, but the price is right.

I'd just make sure to get a DX9 compatible card, and the rest is up to your pocketbook.

Anthony · 08-11-2005, 03:56 PM

GE, hurry up and get the video card, we can play each other online. and don't worry, i suck vs. humans.

if anyone else from FOFC wanted to roll online w/ R:TW, just holla.

GoldenEagle · 08-11-2005, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hell Atlantic

GE, hurry up and get the video card, we can play each other online. and don't worry, i suck vs. humans.

if anyone else from FOFC wanted to roll online w/ R:TW, just holla.

It will probably be a week or two before I can get one. I am probably going to go with a cheaper option and then upgrade shortly after. I am planning on building a new computer over the next year or so.

I wish you could play a campaign game online. That would be tight.

sabotai · 08-11-2005, 05:24 PM

I have a RADEON 9800 Pro and it runs everything fine. It's on the cheap side now as you can probaly get one for < $150.

08-09-2005, 06:58 AM	#3
Airhog Captain Obvious Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Norman, Oklahoma	I found the battles to be alot like the battles in MTW. You should be able to just jump right in, and do pretty well... __________________ Thread Killer extraordinaire Yay! its football season once again!

08-11-2005, 01:44 AM	#6
GoldenEagle Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Little Rock, AR	I installed Rome Toatl War and fired it up and it crashed on the first battle attempted. I have a feeling I am going to need to replace my video card. I have NVIDIA RIVA TNT2. It worked fine for MTW. __________________ Xbox 360 Gamer Tag: GoldenEagle014

08-11-2005, 04:45 AM	#7
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	One thing that really bugged me about RTW (and may be fixed with the Total Realism patch, I haven't tried it yet) is how powerful the cavalry is. Fighting from horseback with swords & spears only really became possible with the introduction of the stirrups at around 732 AD IIRC (outside of China and other parts of Asia that is, who had them at around the time of Christ). In the RTW period of history horses would be used to rapidly move around on the battlefield, where the troops would then dismount and fight on foot. __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

08-11-2005, 08:45 AM	#9
Anthony Banned Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Astoria, NY, USA	the intention of the calvary - in R:TW that is - is to, like Warhammer said, disrupt and break up formations. they're meant to swoop in on a flank or from behind and start the routing process (enemy unit getting shocked from having the calvary attack it from behind, they start to panick and eventually they flee, once one unit rout's the others start to lose confidence). after the unit routs is the other function of the R:TW calvary - to chase down fleeing units. the description of what each calvary does (well, for the Macedonian and Roman calvary that is, those are the only two i've played with so not sure if this applies to other calvaries) all mention that they're good to use in chasing down routing armies. now, for actual purposes, the calvary does seem to have a lot of advantage over foot soldiers. but to be honest, most of the Macedonian calvary - the light calvary specifically - are used to throw spears and to generally avoid melee, hand to hand fighting. they aren't meant to be used like heavy calvary in M:TW, where you could throw one unit of like 20 mounted, heavily armored knights at an entire unit of infantry and they wouldn't bat an eyelash. i'm playing as the Macedonian faction right now in the Total Realism mod, i'm having a ton of fun. Last edited by Anthony : 08-11-2005 at 08:46 AM.

08-11-2005, 08:59 AM	#10
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	I agree with both of you as to how cavalry were used, in chasing down fleeing units, flanking from the side and back, attacking as skirmishing spearmen etc., but whenever I'd play R:TW online, I'd have sword-swinging cavalry crashing in to ranks of infantry, and that's just not going to happen. You can't swing a big sword around on horseback or even use a spear lance style while holding on to a horse with your legs. As soon as there is any kind of contact you're going to fall off. It's been awhile since I played R:TW (since it came out, really), but I just couldn't overlook the overwhelming power of the cavalry in even head on charges, particularily from the Roman forces. __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

08-09-2005, 12:50 AM	#2
jbmagic Pro Starter Join Date: Apr 2004	a great forums for help. http://www.totalwar.org/ http://www.twcenter.net/ http://pub133.ezboard.com/bshoguntotalwar

08-09-2005, 08:49 AM	#4
Anthony Banned Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Astoria, NY, USA	Rome:Total Realism, is not for beginners, that's about right. i still read how some mods aren't challenging enough - which is BS, because i noticed a big change in how the AI used its units and how it kept charging and retreating their general. i love the time period of M:TW more than R:TW, but fighting in the Rome version is more fun, as you have to deal with war elephants against certain factions, and storming castles/cities is tons more fun. that twcenter.net was one of the sites i used for battle tactics. a loose rule of thumb to always keep in mind is calvary beats infantry, spearman beats calvary, and infantry beats spearman. mind you, that's a loose rule, it's not a die hard one, but being aware of that will take you a long way. i've had a hard time with the Total Realism mod because i started out as Rome (you can start out as any faction with that mod, as compared to having to play through one campaign as the Romans first to unlock all the factions in the normal version), and apparently the starting territory has Rome at war with the Gauls to the north and some Greek/Thracian faction in southern Italy. i didn't have any time to prepare and build up and i certainly aren't ready to fight wars on two fronts. very challenging.

08-09-2005, 08:56 AM	#5
Calis College Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Kansas	I might be alone here, but I enjoyed the SPQR mod a lot more than Total Realism, although I haven't played Total Realism's last several versions. Yeah it's not as historically accuracte, but it's "fun". I think you'd be better off playing through the original game first before switching to it. It's definitely more difficult, but it adds some features that are pretty neat and make for some truly epic battles. Just something to keep in mind. I'd actually probably recommend playing the game as is to get the hang of it, and then deciding on a mod. You'll appreciate the mods more after playing the normal game.

08-11-2005, 07:20 AM	#8
Warhammer Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Dayton, OH	Heavens no, cavalry were used throughout ancient times. However, the shock impact of horses was much less than it was later after the introduction of the stirrup. The shock effect of cavalry at this point was more or less the ability of the horse to get into a formation and disrupt its cohesion. Also, spears were used from horseback at this time to thrust it in to your enemy just before impact, otherwise you would be thrown from your horse due to the impact. For the effect of cavalry in a battle at this time, look at the Battle of Zama between Scipio and Hannibal.

08-11-2005, 09:22 AM	#11
Warhammer Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Dayton, OH	I might be completely wrong about this point, but I think that is why flails became popular. Without relying on arm strength, or the ability to stay on a horse, flails were developed for horsemen to give them a good hand to hand weapon, after they used their spears of course. Again, I might be completely off base with this though.

08-11-2005, 01:27 PM	#13
GoldenEagle Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Little Rock, AR	My suspicions were confirmed in that my video card is not quite good enough. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to get in terms of a video card? __________________ Xbox 360 Gamer Tag: GoldenEagle014

08-11-2005, 01:55 PM	#14
mrsimperless College Prospect Join Date: Apr 2003	Sharkey Extreme has really good buyers guides for systems and video cards. www.sharkeyextreme.com Also, Tom's hardware has good info as well. www.tomshardware.com __________________ "All I know is that smart women are hot. Susan Polgar beat me in 24 moves in a simultaneous exhbition. I slept with the scoresheet under my pillow." Off some dude's web site. Last edited by mrsimperless : 08-11-2005 at 01:56 PM.

08-11-2005, 03:51 PM	#16
Calis College Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Kansas	Yeah, the GF2 is definitely not going to hack it for Rome, it's much more intensive than MTW was. Video card really depends on what you can afford, you can go as high or as low as you want really. Anything from nVidia or ATI should work for you. I'm running a Radeon 9700 which should be pretty cheap now, and it runs like a dream. It's obviously not cutting edge now, but the price is right. I'd just make sure to get a DX9 compatible card, and the rest is up to your pocketbook.

08-11-2005, 03:56 PM	#17
Anthony Banned Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Astoria, NY, USA	GE, hurry up and get the video card, we can play each other online. and don't worry, i suck vs. humans. if anyone else from FOFC wanted to roll online w/ R:TW, just holla.

08-11-2005, 05:24 PM	#19
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	I have a RADEON 9800 Pro and it runs everything fine. It's on the cheap side now as you can probaly get one for < $150.

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