Rome II General Info Thread

[okiN]

That's the third time that trailer has been posted so far. Maybe I should do it, too, just to fit in?

[[ptx]]

Guys.

[Ninja_Khorin]

Some interesting new info that I stumbled on in TWC:

(click to show/hide)

Regions are now grouped into provinces. Each has a single administration centre, into which the surrounding regions report. The goal is to reduce some of the area micromanagement that occurs in vast empires.

Another goal from this new system is to avoid the relentless siege battles of Shogun 2. It’s believed that players will attempt to take the smaller regions first, and tempt the opposing armies out of their castles to fight on the field.

Armies are ‘raised’ on the field, and recruitment occurs at the general of that army. They’re not grown as single units in towns. Again, the idea is to reduce some of the micromanagement (‘Caesar doesn’t give a **** about an individual’ says Al) but also to create a stronger personality to your armies. Hence..

Armies have their own skill trees, with improvements earned through battle.

Armies have at least three possible stances that you can place them in during a turn. I’m not certain the mechanics of how they will play out in the campaign are quite fixed, but it was hinted that switching stances would take a turn. They are... normal, ambush (hidden from the enemy’s sight), forced march (quicker to move, but if caught on the hop, they’ll suffer diminished combat effectiveness), defensive (given a fort or pallisade to defend from)

When moving armies over water, you no longer need to load them into a separate navy. They will automatically enter transport ships. You will still require a navy to protect them.

The factions in the game are more clearly defined with starting bonuses and traits. There are ‘flavours’ of faction which should help organise your thoughts. For instance, Barbarians like the Gauls will have similar traits. In the barbarian’s case, that includes a +2 happiness in every settlement for every faction they’re fighting with.

Naval battles are now fought over naval ‘regions’, rather than having a completely fluid ocean. “This was decided because having a completely organic map wouldn’t be something that would work that well,” says lead Battle Designer Jamie Ferguson, “you needed to be able to actually think that “this is the area I’m trying to defend”. It’s using things we have already got in the game but at the same time bringing back things from the past.

During battles, units will have true line of sight, the distance of which they can detect changes according to their role. Armies can therefore be hidden behind trees or in valleys, and will require the use of scouts to be spotted.

Armies that catch another in ambush will be able to place deployables like burning boulders, and place their forces all over the map. The army caught in the ambush won’t be placed at the other end of the battle map - they’ll arrive in a marching formation.

They're really trying to make this game a bit different by removing some annoyances and introducing some cool new features.

[Havoco]

Yeah, most of those features sound cool, except for the naval regions thing. I'll have to get a better example/explanation of it to decide whether I like it or not.

[Ninja_Khorin]

Faction Reveal Seven and it's Parthia.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

(click to show/hide)

“Tolerance, justice, profit”

The ascension to power of Arsaces, leader of the Parni tribe, assured them victory against the Seleucid protectorate of Parthava, who had been weakened in their attempts to break free of Greco-Macedonian rule. Thus began the rise of Parthia, an eastern empire comparable to the Achaemenid dynasty of old and one of the few who came close to matching the power and wealth of Rome.

A confederation of tribes, Parthia is famed for its horses, nomadic horse-archers and heavy cavalry, the latter developing distinctive bronze or iron scaled armour which covers both horse and rider. For its infantry it relies on ethnic Persian/Iranian hillmen, spear and skirmisher units and sometimes mercenaries, armed and drilled in the Seleucid fashion.

Blending Persian, Hellenistic and local cultures, Parthia’s religious practices and philosophies include veneration of both Greek and Iranian Gods, and the practice of Zoroastrianism. Over time, a noble elite has developed, holding key areas of agricultural land upon which the economy is based, while trade via the emerging Silk Road enables its agents to move easily throughout the ancient world.

As an Eastern faction, Parthia profits from the rich heritage established by the Persian Empire both in its capacity for trade and in its cultural strength. A degree of tolerance for foreign cultures further eases Parthian conquest of new lands, but their Zoroastrian practices mean an aversion to slavery, which is detrimental to both the economy and to public order. In battle, their great marksmanship and mastery of cavalry makes them a force to be reckoned with when fighting on open ground.

(click to show/hide)

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Link

I have a hard time believing that horse actually sees anything 

[Hunter_the_Honourable]

The horse probably doesn't Khorin but I suppose that makes it easier to get it to ride into enemy formations and the likes.

[okiN]

As expected. If the last faction isn't Seleucids, I'll eat my hat.

[Overdriven]

Can't wait to play as Parthia. So happy they were included 

[Oberyn]

Geographically speaking Seulecids are practically a certainty, there has to be something between Parthia and the meditterranean. Still...no Egypt? Or are they just going to make a few independent cities instead of a playable faction? I can't imagine that they'd make a Rome game where you can't recreate the extent of the historical Roman empire, so they have to be on the map for sure.

There's also the possibility that they will simulate Seulecid empire disentegrating by having them be just a series of independents, and Egypt will be a playable faction. It seems the map isnt going to go very far to the east. Opens up the possibilities for future DLC's too. The more they open the map to the east the more factions can be included, Seulecids being the most obvious, possibly Saka, Bactria and even an Indian faction.

[okiN]

I reckon Ptolemaics will be an AI faction, and probably playable through DLC, just like we saw with many Shogun 2 clans.

[Vibe]

I reckon Ptolemaics will be an AI faction, and probably playable through DLC, just like we saw with many Shogun 2 clans.

(click to show/hide)

visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[Ninja_Khorin]

Yaaay pre-order exclusive factions.

[okiN]

Yeah, my guess is they'll have a faction or two as day-one DLC, with more added later on, plus unit packs etc. and a couple of expansions.

[Korgoth]

Look at the animations of the guys forming the square at 0:48, that is pretty bad. The fire effects on the flaming balls, also jittery. Horse models look a bit low detail. Arminius doesn't exactly look like state of the art either. Now some of it is in engine I guess and I get that they can't get triple A graphics on that scale, but there is also CGI bits that do not look much better.

I dunno, for a trailer it lacked some polish in my opinion.

It's better than your trailer.

[Hunter_the_Honourable]

I really hate the way total war release's factions and units as DLC now days I wish they would go back to before and make DLC like Barbarian invasion or War-path or something no  "Here! buy this new faction it has the same units as that faction but a who new ONE unit that, that faction doesn't have!" or "here pay money for blood effects..." Its so sickening to me to see poor excuses of DLC be sold for such an amazing game series :'(