31-12-2004 21:35									#1
	Rome: Total War Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

I've been palying this again lately, and I'm sure there's alot of other people still playing it too. So, why not have a general discussion thread?

To start things off, has anyone played any mods for the game? I'm using Total Realism right now - I don't notice much of a difference on the battlefield, and some of the new units don't seem to be skinned properly (if you zoom far enough their skin changes).

The LOTR: Fourth Age mod looks promising too.








Anyways, I also had a question. How the **** do you kill elephants? I've usually played as the Julii or Gauls so I haven't really run into them before, but now that I'm up against Carthage, I'm starting to encounter them. Where I've run into the biggest problem is in trying to siege a town that has elephants in the garrison. They can't be scared off because they just stand in the town center. I had three full groups of velites and a bunch of Pricipes and Hastati unload all of their javelins and not kill a single elephant! When that failed, I sent my Triarii up to engage them in melee, and unsurprisingly the elephants made short work of them. After breaking down the walls, and fighting my way through spearmen and cavalry my entire army of more then 1000 men was annihilated by two dozen elephants. Pretty ridiculous.

	31-12-2004 21:39									#2
	Increase the size of your Attachments

Aye, in the regular game the elephants are pretty damn overpowering. Which is why I like playing Carthage. Burning pigs, though, are supposed to scare them. Aim the pigs in their general direction and have the men accompanying them set them alight, with any luck they'll run right at the elephants and promptly make them go ballistic.

	31-12-2004 22:06									#3
	Put an end to popups!

I shall be getting this game as soon as I get my new box to play it on the w00tly settings it deserves. Then I will have something worthwhile to contribute.

-Jam

	31-12-2004 22:57									#4
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

All hail Rome: Total War !

Playing my third game as Egypt and I am still not bored. I plan on letting Rome expand this time.

To scare elephants - you can use anything flaming - archers and onagers, although archers are easier to get. Your goal is to scare the elephants so they stomp their own army while panicking. Don't attempt to kill elephants, scare them. There are also some mercenary units that have a bonus against elephants - use them as hmm, "elephant fodder". Anyway, I recommend developing a bit more, although I would advise you to get many triarii - after Marius reforms you can't build them anymore.

	01-01-2005 00:19									#5
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

But my problem is that in a siege, you can't scare elephants. They just sit there waiting for you in the town center and if you manage to scare them briefly, they just rally again a second later.

	01-01-2005 01:04									#6
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Have you tried Ballistas, or some of the other, high end missle weapons?

	01-01-2005 21:28									#7
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

quote: Originally posted by General Ludd They just sit there waiting for you in the town center and if you manage to scare them briefly, they just rally again a second later.

Hammer them with every missile unit you have, and if you have enough units try to rush them from all four sides when you are out of ammo - you should be able to hurt them this way I hope. Interesting enough, whenever I would seige Chartage cities, elephants would be used at frontline by AI, not centered at square (are those elephants equipped with archers? that might explain it - I noticed sometimes AI stashes missle units at city square). Since they are the only unit remaining I doubt you can do anything else except kill everything but elephants and pummel them into submission with missiles. Velites are pretty weak missle units - use archers and flaming arrows plus perhaps balistas as SC suggests (I never used balistas, so I can't comment their usefulness).

	01-01-2005 21:38									#8
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

I used velites because "skirmishers" are supposed to be the counter to elpehants. I wasn't at the point where I had archers or siege weapons yet... although it seems ridiculus to resort to using catapults and ballistas to kill elephants.

Interesting that you usually encounter them on the front lines, though. These wheren't the elephants with archers on them, just regular elphants. Maybe it's because I sort of bypassed the core of their army - I left three infantry groups of theirs up on the walls while I sapped a hole and marched in from the side (and sent a group hastati up the walls on a siege tower to keep the occupied) When I entered the city, all I faced up front was a group or two of iberian spear men, a cavalry group, and the general's group while the elephants just sat in the town square waiting for me. *grumble*

	02-01-2005 04:04									#9
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

I've been playing this ever since it came out. Current recommendations:

Rome Total Realism v4.1
Then add Unified Rome mod.
Then mod Rome back to the Senate.

Fun.

There are a bunch of other changes I've made to my personal version. Maybe I'll get around to posting them sometime...

	02-01-2005 04:10									#10
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Well I beeline for archers in my biggest town. It is the first thing that I build after I hit the 6000 pop (after the gov's house). Then I start cranking out archers like mad. Flame arrows rule!

I just sit back and let my archers pound the enemy until they get tired of that and charge me. Then the Hastati and cav hold/finish then off.

Haven't used the ballistas, but have built a few. They move real slow, so they'll slow down my army. Keep a couple around in my big cities just for show.

	05-01-2005 00:44									#11
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

Okay, so how old has your leader gotten before he died. Right now my 1st leader is 67 (never had one get that old before).

	05-01-2005 22:06									#12
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I just bought the game, and it's awesome!

City management is a bit difficult though.


My first (and only) Faction Leader died at the ripe age of 62 and took 5 retinue-caracters with him

	06-01-2005 00:24									#13
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Don't worry you'll get tons of those guys, especially after you build the academy, and other associated buildings.

	07-01-2005 00:12									#14
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Once a faction leader reaches his late 50s I start splitting up his retinue whenever the chance permits. Have a couple of retainers(?right word?) that should be about a hundred years old now.

	07-01-2005 00:38									#15
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quote: Originally posted by germanos City management is a bit difficult though.

I will let the AI auto-manage cities. That way you can focus almost entirely on "bonkin' some heads" as the civ2 advisor would say.

	07-01-2005 01:39									#16
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

quote: Originally posted by Aramis Once a faction leader reaches his late 50s I start splitting up his retinue whenever the chance permits. Have a couple of retainers(?right word?) that should be about a hundred years old now.

Huh? How can I split up the retinue? I didn't even know it was possible and I've had the game for ages.

	07-01-2005 02:30									#17
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

quote: Originally posted by Kassiopeia Huh? How can I split up the retinue? I didn't even know it was possible and I've had the game for ages.

Ditto!

	07-01-2005 03:02									#18
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

I know that

Get the general with his retinue on the same spot as another general. You can then simply drag the retainers onto the caracter you want, and they'll stick with the other guy.

	08-01-2005 03:42									#19
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What germanos said up there
It's not easy, as ye know, to get faction members together to do this, so I usually wind up giving the older one's retainers to some new just-come-o'-age member. Sometimes its more trouble than its worth.

	08-01-2005 20:02									#20
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There seems to be a limit on how many you can have as well.

	09-01-2005 08:21									#21
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Now this guy is 70....will he never die....I put his a$$ on the africa continent to take on the Nubians...that ought to kill him.

	12-01-2005 05:05									#22
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In present game I lost 2 faction leaders within a few years of each other, and neither was past 56.
I'd love to keep one around until 70's.

	12-01-2005 05:28									#23
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I've been playing this today on my new PC

Just to make you all jealous I can run it on the highest settings with no slowdown at all. It looks gorgeous.

I am seriously in love with this game already.

-Jam

	12-01-2005 05:34									#24
	Full PM-box? Change here!

It is pretty.

	12-01-2005 06:03									#25
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

It is fabulous

Now... what text file do I have to edit to make the game think I have completed an imperial campaign? I'm itching to send Hoplites into action vs legions

-Jam

	12-01-2005 21:10									#26
	Remove this text

He-he, now the little bugger is 73, game starts to bog down a bit when you have 6 armies on 6 different fronts (and I loaded HL2 and started playing KOTOR2 on the Xbox).

Jamski,
http://rtw.heavengames.com/download...php?fileid=3554

is the total realism mod, lets you play any faction and makes a lot of "corrections"

	12-01-2005 22:44									#27
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It basically makes all the good units weaker and/or take longer to train and/or cuts them altogether, and slows population growth

Fun > realism in a game like this.

-Jam

	13-01-2005 00:20									#28
	Increase Your PM Length

quote: Originally posted by Jamski Fun > realism in a game like this. -Jam

Bah! Speak for yourself. I've found the Realism mod to add exponentially to my enjoyment of the game. I'm currently helping playtest v5.0 and it's definitely the best yet. Hopefully it will be out the end of this week.

	13-01-2005 01:24									#29
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

The mod should be called "Rome: Total FUN!"

	14-01-2005 20:58									#30
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quote: Originally posted by Spaced Cowboy Okay, so how old has your leader gotten before he died. Right now my 1st leader is 67 (never had one get that old before).

Most of my leaders die between 65-70.
I don't remember a leader dying (from old age) before 60... but I don't really check, so may be it happened.
The oldest I got was 80.

I use old leaders (50+) as 'retinue generators' for younger leaders:
- settle old man in a city with academy, he''ll attract retinues faster than young man (better influence I guess);
- hand those retinues to young man with less influence
- re-generate retinues with old man and send young man to war to earn his own influence;
- repeat process