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All of Rome 2 Total War's factions have been revealed!

zugzug

Member
not enough factions.

I hope the negine is optimized much better than Shogun 2.

Give me optmizations in the game engine so it runs smoothly enough like MTW:2

Long loading screens, slow map scrolling = bad.
 

Martian

Member
not enough factions.

I hope the negine is optimized much better than Shogun 2.

Give me optmizations in the game engine so it runs smoothly enough like MTW:2

Long loading screens, slow map scrolling = bad.



To be honest, I feel like 8 factions are quite enough.
The first Rome TW had around 8/9 factions, and that felt like a lot (unless you count the modded factions like macedon etc.)

The only reason I wanted more factions in Shogun 2 is because every clan felt the same, and there wasn't enough diversity of units in my taste.


And about the engine optimization part, I don't know if you played shogun 2 recently, but they put out a couple of patches that made the game load much more smoothly.


I'm just glad my laptop will be able to run Rome 2:p (it can run shogun 2 on low/med smoothly)


And M2TW runs like crap on my laptop, though. Apperently M2 couldn't handle more than one processor, something Rome:TW had no problem with.


That was actually a misunderstanding. Attrition will be in Rome II.

I would link to Jack Lusted's post as confirmation, but the damned TWC forum is acting up again.

Ah, cool! I felt like that was finally something that was right. How can armies function in enemy territory? It's just odd.


I also hope there will be smaller battles.
After 40 turns in Shogun 2, every fight I had was with 10000 v 10000.
Sure it's cool the first 10 times, but I like having 5 stacks v 5 stacks like in Medieval 2.



BTW: Has anyone tried playing the original Shogun or Medieval?
Do they hold up (even if a little?)
 

Dmax3901

Member
I don't think there's been a single game in the Total War series where I've wanted more faction than they've offered. They've always felt pretty much the same to me.

This time around (as the 8 screens in the OP show) they seem to be taking great strides in making each factions soldiers, and their cities, far more varied than they have been in the past, and this makes me very excited.

Basically, 8 unique, varied factions is better than many similar ones imho.
 

Ysiadmihi

Banned
not enough factions.

I hope the negine is optimized much better than Shogun 2.

Give me optmizations in the game engine so it runs smoothly enough like MTW:2

Long loading screens, slow map scrolling = bad.

Running Shogun 2 in DX9 mode got rid of the loading problems and increased overall performance for me greatly.

Granted, you shouldn't have to run in DX9 for tolerable load times...
 

demolitio

Member
I don't think there's been a single game in the Total War series where I've wanted more faction than they've offered. They've always felt pretty much the same to me.

This time around (as the 8 screens in the OP show) they seem to be taking great strides in making each factions soldiers, and their cities, far more varied than they have been in the past, and this makes me very excited.

Basically, 8 unique, varied factions is better than many similar ones imho.

That's the great part about the setting...Each faction is very different overall making them each feel unique and worth it compared to Empire where they all basically had clone units with just different colors which made it not as fun to play as different factions all the time. There will be some shared units and ideas in Rome 2 obviously since a lot of them copied each other's units and strategies that worked, but they're vastly different in most ways making me want to try them all at some point. I didn't feel that way about Empire, Napoleon, or Shogun 2 compared to earlier TW games, so it's great to feel that way again.

Even if people think that Rome 2 needs more factions, they at least know that this game is a lot bigger than previous games with a lot of ideas expanded on making each group feel worth it. Not to mention, we all know we'll get some more via DLC knowing Creative Assembly, but that doesn't bother me if they're done well and feel worthy of being in the game.

Thanks for this thread OP. I actually talked about making a faction information thread a few weeks ago and was waiting for the 8th unveil but decided I'd wait considering it's not a huge series on GAF unfortunately. Some people don't know what they're missing out on. :D
 
And you didn't bold this? Shame on you!

-The Line of Sight element was expanded upon - if your soldiers cannot see the enemy, neither can you.

What does that mean? No free camera over the battlefield anymore?

33462262.jpg
 

demolitio

Member
What does that mean? No free camera over the battlefield anymore?

33462262.jpg

No, the free camera is untouched and they actually added an even more zoomed out option in the SP campaign I believe (if it's still in). It just means that you won't automatically know where enemy units are if none of your units have a line of sight on them. The camera will be untouched, but the enemies won't automatically be known just for the hell of it.

Basically, they're trying to make ambushes more important which is why they keep showing that same ambush battle and to make scouting useful to spot units before you walk into a trap. Send a light unit or cavalry out to scout out the enemy armies instead of marching your whole army into a trap. Before, only select units could ambush since they wouldn't show up but the majority of your army was known to your enemy for no reason. Now, it adds an extra element of skill to the battles and makes ambushing and scouting integral to a good player.

I'm so damn pumped for this game! I'm thinking of going back and replaying some of the older games out of boredom. Feel free to add me on Steam (demolitio2) if anyone is down for some hype talk or a game. I'll also answer questions incorrectly to make sure I get an advantage at the launch of Rome 2. :p
 

Martian

Member
I get a lot of my information from the Total War subreddit, so sorry in advance if people are annoyed by the duplication of news

anyways:

In total, Rome 2 will feature 183 territories, split between 117 factions. Battles will play host to approximately 500 different unit types, 30 city variants, and about 70 kinds of building.

Source + other new features
 
gulp, 117 factions?

we want NAMES

why do I think these factions will mostly be neutral and barbarian "factions" that occupy only ONE province?
 

Dennis

Banned
What's more, a stance system will allow players to adapt their armies in reaction to events on campaign map. Stances include ‘Forced March’ and ‘Ambush’, and come lumbered with benefits and drawbacks in stats like movement speed and vulnerability to attack.
This could be good if implemented well. To give more depth to move your forces around.
 

Almighty

Member
The real question is how many DLC factions will there be? and being the weak human being I am when it comes to Total War how many will I buy?
 

Martian

Member
The real question is how many DLC factions will there be? and being the weak human being I am when it comes to Total War how many will I buy?

Haha I am the same.

I am quite against buying DLC, but I have purchased all of Shogun 2's DLC factions.
IT's just that when Steam Sale, it's 1,50 euros. And I can't resist.

With small prices like that, I don't mind it. It adds to the game, and if I'm bored with it, it adds new ways to play
 
Carthage FTW! Hopefully the Egyptians are not as overpowered as in the first game, they were a nightmare.

Also hope the Auto Resolve is improved, as RTW basically forced you to play every battle.
 

Dennis

Banned
I've bought every single Total War game ever.

Into my veins please.

(and I'm a RTW purist so this wait has been for years)

Me too. But Rome is my favorite time period.

Actually, my dream would be Total War: Greek City States when these were at their height of power and influence.

Athens, Sparta, Thebes, Syracuse etc......

*drool*
 
Me too. But Rome is my favorite time period.

Actually, my dream would be Total War: Greek City States when these were at their height of power and influence.

Athens, Sparta, Thebes, Syracuse etc......

*drool*

my man

I just don't think I can get enough of phalanx. During the RTW days I would spend countless hours running enemy AI into my phalanx formations.

Carthage FTW! Hopefully the Egyptians are not as overpowered as in the first game, they were a nightmare.

Also hope the Auto Resolve is improved, as RTW basically forced you to play every battle.

I seem to recall getting to lower Turkey and just getting stalemated by them. Their numbers are endless..
 
There will probably be countless DLCs and an expansion, just like w/ Shogun 2. You can't expect to get away with just 8 playable factions in such a game and completely ignore the Epirotans, the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the Seleucids, the Bactrians, the Scythians and almost all of the East.

I do agree however that a possible DLC set in the Greek peninsula during the Peloponnesian War, would be the stuff of legends. So many ancient Greek tribes and city-states, that you can even make a stand-alone game.
 

Kainazzo

Member
I do agree however that a possible DLC set in the Greek peninsula during the Peloponnesian War, would be the stuff of legends. So many ancient Greek tribes and city-states, that you can even make a stand-alone game.

Sounds like something Paradox would do.
 

Almighty

Member
Haha I am the same.

I am quite against buying DLC, but I have purchased all of Shogun 2's DLC factions.
IT's just that when Steam Sale, it's 1,50 euros. And I can't resist.

With small prices like that, I don't mind it. It adds to the game, and if I'm bored with it, it adds new ways to play

Steam sales are the devil. Before them I never bought DLC now with games like Shogun 2 and Crusader Kings 2 I can't help myself some time. I even bought the dumb Shogun 2 dlc like the blood pack. I didn't even have the will power to say no to that when it was 50 cents or something during a sale.
 

zugzug

Member
heh about you guys buying ever Total War game....

I'm in that boat but after Empire, I can't say I've really played a Total War game to its fullest. yeah those Steam sales. I bought Shogun2 near release at discount from newegg it was a steam key, but i can honestly say I've not put more than 3 hours into the game I finally broke myself and did not buy Fall of the Samurai.

Like my post earlier in this thread all the different factions is the lure for me, not insane amount like Crusader Kings 2, just more and oddball ones that i can play so I bought allt he faction packs on steam for shogun2.
 

Martian

Member
heh about you guys buying ever Total War game....

I'm in that boat but after Empire, I can't say I've really played a Total War game to its fullest. yeah those Steam sales. I bought Shogun2 near release at discount from newegg it was a steam key, but i can honestly say I've not put more than 3 hours into the game I finally broke myself and did not buy Fall of the Samurai.

Like my post earlier in this thread all the different factions is the lure for me, not insane amount like Crusader Kings 2, just more and oddball ones that i can play so I bought allt he faction packs on steam for shogun2.

It used to be the same for me.

I played Shogun 2 once at a friends place, and I thought it wasn't worth the trouble.
The same for Empire.

But since I bought Shogun 2 this summer for 12 euros, I have put more than a 100 hours into it. It really grew on me after the first couple of hours.
Empire has grown on me as well, but haven't put more than 30 hours into it.

(Even though that's a huge amount of time, that's like 5 hours in Total War time:p)
 

isual

Member
YES YES YES ! game of the year for me ! I'll definitely play as Rome first then Greece. Their uniform and military style are so appealing
 
I'm happy for the people who have been looking forward to Rome 2, but I'm sticking with Shogun 2.

Shogun 1 was my first game in the series. I bought it on a blind buy. It changed my life. It got me interested in Japan and Japanese history. i've tried playing other total wars but they just don't capture the same spirit. I love so much about the Shoguns. The ethnic music. The spoken Japanese. The cultural specific UI. Not to mention the game and units themselves.
 
If this is not modable, I won't be jumping into this.

Seriously, vanilla TW games leave a lot to be desired gameplay-wise among other things.
 

Dennis

Banned
I could totally see them do a Greek City States expansion (or second game like Napoleon was to Empire) considering the name recognition and fame of that era.

Especially considering the whole Sparta thing in recent years.

The more eastern factions may hold appeal to history nerds like me but not so much to the larger audience they want to capture.
 

demolitio

Member
I could totally see them do a Greek City States expansion (or second game like Napoleon was to Empire) considering the name recognition and fame of that era.

Especially considering the whole Sparta thing in recent years.

The more eastern factions may hold appeal to history nerds like me but not so much to the larger audience they want to capture.

I think they could do The Peloponnesian War and the Persian invasions of Greece pretty easily as DLC and it wouldn't shock me to see that. Like you said, the name recognition is there given recent pop culture and the second 300 movie will be coming out after Rome 2 so it'd make a lot of sense in many ways. It's definitely a very popular topic on Total War forums and it'd be perfect for the series as DLC after Rome 2 similar to Rise of the Samurai or Fall of the Samurai, not necessarily a full game like Napoleon.

Total War will always have a lot of settings to choose from so people will always be disappointed with some of the games, but I actually have loved each and every TW game since I'm a fan of history in general. Of course, Rome is actually my favorite topic in history so this one has me hyped beyond belief with the setting and all of the gameplay enhancements from the lessons learned over the years.

There's plenty of conflicts in the Rome 2 time period to choose from and I'm sure they'll undoubtedly explore one or two of them along with the obvious faction DLC to come.
 

phaze

Member
The lack of Seleucids is so disappointing...


Thats what I came to say. Given that at the start date they are probably the biggest empire the lack of them is inexplicable, especially since we have Parthians.

[What's more, a stance system will allow players to adapt their armies in reaction to events on campaign map. Stances include ‘Forced March’ and ‘Ambush’, and come lumbered with benefits and drawbacks in stats like movement speed and vulnerability to attack.
This could be good if implemented well. To give more depth to move your forces around.

God I hope so,the unrealistic marching is one of biggest drawbacks of total war series for me. I hope they will also expand the sieges.
 

demolitio

Member
Thats what I came to say. Given that at the start date they are probably the biggest empire the lack of them is inexplicable, especially since we have Parthians.

Given the love for them on the forums, I'm assuming that 9th spot is for them to give people a nice surprise after guessing incorrectly before each and every faction reveal. If not, it will definitely be DLC since it's the most requested I've noticed for like 6 months now.

Edit: By the way, they've talked about sieges a few times now and how important it is in this game compared to previous games, so I hope they come through on that too. The gameplay of the siege of Carthage was interesting to watch too.
 

Dennis

Banned
The Siege of Carthage video is still insane to me.

It looks so much beyond the sieges of past games I can scarcely believe it.
 
I've just read through the (meagre) faction list and after playing Medieval mod Stainless Steel for the past four months (that's absolutely brilliant btw), I can't help but feel this era is unbalanced in terms of the strength of the factions at the time.

Sure, the Ancient Rome time-period is perhaps even more exciting for me than the Crusading era, but aside from Carthage (whose power was at her height right at the beginning of the timeline in the campaign), who is a viable alternative to Rome?

What factions can have epic battles for supremacy without feeling realism has take a dive?

In the Medieval games, you have England, France, Germany, Norman Sicily, Turks, Egyptians, Byzantines all extremely capable at the same point in time.

In Rome, you have Rome, Carthage and perhaps Egypt and Parthia. All the barbarian factions are technologically backwards, so not realistic for empire building.
 

DaciaJC

Gold Member
If this is not modable, I won't be jumping into this.

Seriously, vanilla TW games leave a lot to be desired gameplay-wise among other things.

Yes, the mod Europa Barbarorum trounced vanilla RTW. Then Stainless Steel for Medieval II, plus the assorted Darthmods, etc.
 

Martian

Member
I've just read through the (meagre) faction list and after playing Medieval mod Stainless Steel for the past four months (that's absolutely brilliant btw), I can't help but feel this era is unbalanced in terms of the strength of the factions at the time.

Sure, the Ancient Rome time-period is perhaps even more exciting for me than the Crusading era, but aside from Carthage (whose power was at her height right at the beginning of the timeline in the campaign), who is a viable alternative to Rome?

What factions can have epic battles for supremacy without feeling realism has take a dive?

In the Medieval games, you have England, France, Germany, Norman Sicily, Turks, Egyptians, Byzantines all extremely capable at the same point in time.

In Rome, you have Rome, Carthage and perhaps Egypt and Parthia. All the barbarian factions are technologically backwards, so not realistic for empire building.


Egypt/Ptolemaic empire, Gaul, Macedon, Parthia definitively.

Gaul (and other Barbarian Tribes) wasn't as barbaric as a lot of people say, they were more advanced we are usually shown.

Egypt/Ptolemaic were definitively one of the strongest empires at that time (maybe even bigger than Rome at a few points in time)

Parthia was a steamroller, so that isn't too historical inaccurate.


And remember: it's a game:p So if you want a completely historical game, you should only be allowed to play as Rome and only conquer a specific set of regions.

I just hope CA does a better job at the more historical-playing style than they did with Shogun 2.
In M2:TW you could spend 200 turns not really attacking and just with diplomacy without other factions going crazy (except perhaps the Papal States:p)
 
Egypt/Ptolemaic empire, Gaul, Macedon, Parthia definitively.

Gaul (and other Barbarian Tribes) wasn't as barbaric as a lot of people say, they were more advanced we are usually shown.

Egypt/Ptolemaic were definitively one of the strongest empires at that time (maybe even bigger than Rome at a few points in time)

Parthia was a steamroller, so that isn't too historical inaccurate.


And remember: it's a game:p So if you want a completely historical game, you should only be allowed to play as Rome and only conquer a specific set of regions.

I just hope CA does a better job at the more historical-playing style than they did with Shogun 2.
In M2:TW you could spend 200 turns not really attacking and just with diplomacy without other factions going crazy (except perhaps the Papal States:p)

Yeah I think it's hard to find a period in history where there as many equal powers as in the medieval europe age.

It's probably why CA haven't made a standalone Ancient Greece TW, as you have only the Greek city states (and later Macedon), Persia and perhaps ancient India as viable powers capable of forming a huge empire.

I suppose it just feels a bit silly for me when playing Rome: TW and I've conquered all of Europe and the near east with Iceni tribes.
 

phaze

Member
Given the love for them on the forums, I'm assuming that 9th spot is for them to give people a nice surprise after guessing incorrectly before each and every faction reveal. If not, it will definitely be DLC since it's the most requested I've noticed for like 6 months now.

Edit: By the way, they've talked about sieges a few times now and how important it is in this game compared to previous games, so I hope they come through on that too. The gameplay of the siege of Carthage was interesting to watch too.


Yes Carthage sige was very great scale wise though why they need to attack straight from a boat, a city they have been besieging for years, escapes me.

My biggest gripe with sieges (haven't played Shogun 2) is that you could besiege a city for years but it seems your troops and especially artillery guns/catapults stand idle until you actually assault the fortress. Then they destroy the wall in 5 minutes while you stand and wait. Give me more siege options on strategic map without going to "battle" map: to dig earthworks both against both fortress and possible relief force. Let me deploy artillery against a segment of fortress and only when after months they succeed in breaking the wall let me assault the place. Win win from both realism and game play standpoint.
 

DaciaJC

Gold Member
Are you sure? How will they work that with the 1 year per turn?

I don't know. It's one of the many reasons (movement ranges, character aging, seasons, etc.) why I'm concerned with their decision to go 1TPY instead of two or four.
 
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