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SubRosa
post Apr 27 2016, 01:25 AM
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Here is a topic for the Total War games by the Creative Assembly. I own Shogun 1, Medieval 1 & 2, and Rome 1. I never played much of Shogun 1. In fact when I first tried the demo for it many years ago when it first came out, I was go creamed by the AI. It wasn't until I tried Rome years later that I was able to get the knack of playing a TW game. I never liked Real Time Strategy games, because you can never control all of your units. But I found that by pausing constantly I was able to make it essentially a turn-based game. After that I got really good. Especially in RTW.

In fact, I created the Amazon Total War mod for RTW. When I finally got burned out on RTW and stopped updating it, other people even picked up the torch and went on with it. It was my first foray into modding games, and was very rewarding. I put Amazon Total War up on Dropbox for anyone who wants to try it out, since I don't think my old versions are still around on the web anymore. This version requires the Barbarian Invasion expansion, as it uses the BI executable to make use of new things added by it, like night battles.


Here is a map of all the regions in Rome Total War

A map of Barbarian Invasion

An Amazon Total War map

A Medieval 2 Total War map


Froggbeastegg has an excellent guide to Rome Total War and Barbarian Invasion here. There is even a link to a pdf version of it on the same page.

Froggbeastegg has another guide for MTW1


In any case, I bought Shogun 2 a few days ago. Which makes it the most recent TW game I own. So far I am liking it. Though some of the changes are taking a while to get used to. I miss having the population of every province clearly listed, and being able to change my tax rate for each individual province, and being able to replace my losses in one turn.

I can see why they got rid of a lot of these old things. By the mid-game of RTW you spend more time administering your empire than actually going around conquering. By the late game it takes forever to get through one turn because of the micro-managing required. Obviously the Creative Assembly worked on finding ways to streamline all the management overhead, which is a good thing in general.

One thing I really miss in Shogun 2 is a proper manual though. The other games all came with an in-depth manual that told you exactly what everything did, what every little symbol on the maps meant, and so forth. The manual for this game is really shallow, and doesn't explain any of the real nuts and bolts of the interface. Some things I have figured out on my own, some I had to do forum searches to find out. Playing the past TW games helps of course. But there are changes with every game, and Shogun 2 is several generations ahead of my last TW experience with M2TW.

On the plus side, the graphics are incredible compared to RTW or M2TW, and it runs flawless even on Ultra settings. It is really nice to finally be able to fight out my sea battles on the tactical map as well. I am having a lot of fun with the Japanese setting too. I stared a Shimazu campaign, but gave up after a day when I got over-extended. I started again two days ago, and have concentrated on my economy first, and conquering second. Now I am the sole ruler of Kyushu. The latter half of the conquest was really difficult because my main rivals - the Otomo - were Christian. That make keeping order in every province I took from them a struggle. I have been knocking down all the Christian buildings, and construction Buddhist temples in their places, recruiting monks, and even a secret policeman (metsuke) to keep a lid on things.

Right now I am taking a breather to rebuild my army's losses and getting my economy back on track after the rebuilding. I have a ninja out scouting my neighbors to see who I should strike next. There is a land bridge to Honshu which I could take next. That would put me into the lands of the Ouchi clan, and the Amako after them. However, my ninja discovered an army of the Chosokabe clan that crossed over from their island of Shikoku into Honshu and took one of the Ouchi's cities. So those two clans are now at war. I am thinking this might be an excellent time to invade Shikoku and go after the Chosokabe homeland, They will have to divide their attention between islands and myself and the Ouchi. The only problem is that the Chosokabe have a powerful fleet. But one of the provinces I took from the Otomo has a pirate lair, which gives a +3 to experience to all ships recruited there. So I think I will be building a pirate fleet...

I even got tempted to fire up Shogun 1 and try it again. But it won't run on my Windows 7 computer. sad.gif Still, I might try putting it on my old Windows XP box.

One of my Kobaya - the smallest ship in the Samurai arsenal

A medium Bune (which is technically a Seki-Bune) probably the workhorse of a Japanese fleet

A trading ship

My Seki Bune grapples a Wako (pirate) trading ship

Great plan! laugh.gif

Banzai!

My Katana Samurai (in green) battle Otomo clan Yari Ashigaru (peasant spearmen)

Slaughtering an Otomo general

Scaling the walls of a fortress

This post has been edited by SubRosa: May 30 2017, 12:35 AM


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SubRosa
post May 18 2017, 10:27 PM
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hazmick: Hail Caesar!

It sounds like the diplomacy side of the game is as poorly done as ever. In RTW1 your allies were guaranteed to attack your sooner or later. Usually sooner. Trade agreements were useful as it generates more money for you. But other than that, everyone is your enemy, whether they claim to be your friend or not.


ChesireKhajiit: For sieges, I prefer using Onagers (that might be the catapult you are referring to). But you cannot get them until the later game, as they are high-tier unit. I think there is a Ballista unit as well, but it does not do anywhere near enough damage to walls as the Onagers do.

My tried and true tactic is use two Onagers for siege assaults. What you want to do is look for a street with a clear line from the walls to the town square, without going past towers. Or past as few towers as possible. Then set up your Onagers opposite that spot. Have them knock a hole in the wall there, and then knock out the towers to either side of the breach. That allows you not only get into the city, but also gives you a direct path to the square. Ideally without being under fire by enemy towers along the way.

You can also add some trickery to your attack by placing the rest of your army opposite a different city wall. The AI defenders will concentrate most of their army to oppose them, and leave the wall facing your Onagers bare. Then when the battle starts, and your Onagers are knocking down the wall, you have your entire army march around the city to the Onagers. They should be in position in time to attack by the time the breach has been made and the adjacent enemy towers silenced. Just be careful not to walk into range of the enemy towers along the way.

Without Onagers your options are more limited. Against wooden walls all you need is a ram or two. Or elephants. Just be careful to stay in the open lanes between the enemy tower's fields of fire. Against stone walls I found siege towers are the best option. In this case you want to take an enemy gatehouse, again with the clearest line of advance to the town square. Use multiple towers to either side of the gate, and use your best shock infantry in them. If you have to advance along the back of the walls before you can get to the square, send more siege towers against the wall along the route, and take all the towers. That way you won't be shot at as you advance deeper into the city.

You can combine a mine with siege towers as well. Use the mine on an opportune stretch of wall, and knock it down. At the same time use your siege towers to take the towers to either side. That essentially does the same thing as using Onagers, just with a higher butcher's bill.

If you have a really well defended city, don't be afraid to simply blockade them and wait them out. If you are lucky, they might sally out. Then you can fight them in the open. Just don't get too near the walls and towers. But even if they don't sally, you will eventually starve them out.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: May 20 2017, 04:46 PM


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TheCheshireKhajiit
post May 19 2017, 02:32 AM
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QUOTE(SubRosa @ May 18 2017, 04:27 PM) *

hazmick: Hail Caesar!

It sounds like the diplomacy side of the game is as poorly done as ever. In RTW1 your allies were guaranteed to attack your sooner or later. Usually sooner. Trade agreements were useful as it generates more money for you. But other than that, everyone is your enemy, whether they claim to be your friend or not.

Related to this, we got a Senate mission to take a town from the Gauls. Well, Khajiit had made an alliance with the Gauls a bit earlier so it was either try to get the town by might or by a deal. We tried diplomacy first, but the Gauls were having none of it. After 3 attempts with deals, we were forced to send in an army to take the town. It was a combined force of 50 or so cavalry and around 450 infantry (the entry level sword and shield legionnaires). We ran into an army just outside the town so we decided to attack that army opting for an open battle instead of initiating the town assault. The enemy had reinforcements, so they were separated into 3 different groups (2 of which were absurdly small). We swiftly destroyed the two smaller groups and then engaged the larger group. We managed to handily defeat the larger group but somehow or other our cavalry went... missing. Khajiit is certain it wasn't destroyed, but when it came time to assault the town the cavalry was just gone. Well, in any case, the town was easily taken since most of its defenders died in the previous battle. Man, Khajiit hated breaking that alliance (the Celts are his people after all). Curse you Senate!


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hazmick
post May 19 2017, 04:19 AM
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QUOTE(TheCheshireKhajiit @ May 19 2017, 02:32 AM) *
Well, in any case, the town was easily taken since most of its defenders died in the previous battle. Man, Khajiit hated breaking that alliance (the Celts are his people after all). Curse you Senate!


I hope the reward from the Senate was worth it!




I made a start with the Saxons this evening. The Saxons start in the city of Tulifurdum, in the province of Frisia. I share the province with the Franks in the town of Flevum and the Angles in the town of Angulus. My immediate plans are to take the rest of Frisia. I'll start with the Franks on the coast, which will allow me to get some trade going by sea, before moving against the Angles.

A surprise visit from the Caledonians (who I haven't even met yet) turned out to be an offer of marriage between my king's son and their king's daughter. She seems nice, and has some good traits, so I accepted.

Just before logging off, the Rugians (who lived in the province to my east) were destroyed by the Burgundians. The Burgundians immediately offered me a trade deal and some gold, both of which I accepted. I began producing furs as soon as I could, so now I have quite a good source of income as well as a potential ally.


Here's the world map in turn 1

Here's the family tree






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TheCheshireKhajiit
post May 19 2017, 04:29 AM
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QUOTE(hazmick @ May 18 2017, 10:19 PM) *

QUOTE(TheCheshireKhajiit @ May 19 2017, 02:32 AM) *
Well, in any case, the town was easily taken since most of its defenders died in the previous battle. Man, Khajiit hated breaking that alliance (the Celts are his people after all). Curse you Senate!


I hope the reward from the Senate was worth it!




I made a start with the Saxons this evening. The Saxons start in the city of Tulifurdum, in the province of Frisia. I share the province with the Franks in the town of Flevum and the Angles in the town of Angulus. My immediate plans are to take the rest of Frisia. I'll start with the Franks on the coast, which will allow me to get some trade going by sea, before moving against the Angles.

A surprise visit from the Caledonians (who I haven't even met yet) turned out to be an offer of marriage between my king's son and their king's daughter. She seems nice, and has some good traits, so I accepted.

Just before logging off, the Rugians (who lived in the province to my east) were destroyed by the Burgundians. The Burgundians immediately offered me a trade deal and some gold, both of which I accepted. I began producing furs as soon as I could, so now I have quite a good source of income as well as a potential ally.


Here's the world map in turn 1

Here's the family tree
The Saxons seem like a solid choice for creating a Dark Age empire with. Good luck Haz! Down with Franks!!

So is there a way to do campaigns with nationalities other than Romans in RTW? Also, is there a TW game which features ancient/medieval China as a playable faction or factions?

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: May 19 2017, 04:44 AM


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hazmick
post May 19 2017, 12:24 PM
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QUOTE(TheCheshireKhajiit @ May 19 2017, 04:29 AM) *

So is there a way to do campaigns with nationalities other than Romans in RTW? Also, is there a TW game which features ancient/medieval China as a playable faction or factions?

If I remember correctly, you unlock some new factions after completing your first campaign. There are also two expansions, Barbarian Invasion and Alexander, that add more factions.

There hasn't been a Chinese TW yet as far as I know. The closest is probably Shogun and Shogun 2, set in Japan.


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Posts in this topic
SubRosa   Total War Series   Apr 27 2016, 01:25 AM
Acadian   Cool pix! I especially like the 'My Kat...   Apr 27 2016, 03:06 AM
SubRosa   I am still continuing with my Shimazu campaign. Be...   Apr 29 2016, 05:23 PM
Acadian   Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you...   Apr 29 2016, 06:06 PM
SubRosa   I am still continuing on with my Shimazu campaign....   May 2 2016, 09:21 PM
Acadian   Empress SubRosa. In the end there can be only one...   May 3 2016, 03:38 AM
SubRosa   Last night I continued on with the conquest of Shi...   May 3 2016, 08:25 PM
hazmick   That bridge battle looks pretty intense! Sho...   May 4 2016, 08:59 AM
Acadian   Wow, great actions shots! Curious that the la...   May 4 2016, 01:04 PM
SubRosa   I was able to beat off the first sea borne assault...   May 4 2016, 07:58 PM
Acadian   Looks like General SubRosa is relentlessly sweepin...   May 4 2016, 09:33 PM
SubRosa   Acadian: Bring out the brooms, Japan has been swep...   May 4 2016, 10:08 PM
hazmick   'Shogun SubRosa' has a nice ring to it :D...   May 5 2016, 02:36 AM
Acadian   Congratulations to Shogun SubRosa! Thanks for...   May 5 2016, 04:29 PM
hazmick   I posted about the start of a new Total War: Attil...   May 17 2017, 01:21 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Man this game series sounds awesome! Reading a...   May 17 2017, 04:42 PM
hazmick   Honestly just go with whichever title you like the...   May 17 2017, 06:35 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Honestly just go with whichever title you like th...   May 17 2017, 06:52 PM
Callidus Thorn   I gotta agree, these games do sound interesting. I...   May 17 2017, 08:49 PM
SubRosa   RTW 1 is a fantastic game! I still play it eve...   May 17 2017, 09:44 PM
hazmick   I really like Attila, it's got a lot of depth ...   May 17 2017, 10:23 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   I really like Attila, it's got a lot of depth...   May 17 2017, 11:37 PM
SubRosa   How easy is it to mod? Creating new units, things ...   May 17 2017, 11:47 PM
hazmick   Not 100% sure on making mods, but I believe the as...   May 18 2017, 02:16 AM
hazmick   Update on today's Western Roman Empire: The d...   May 18 2017, 03:01 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Update on today's Western Roman Empire: The ...   May 18 2017, 06:01 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Really starting to get a better feel for the game....   May 18 2017, 04:59 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Disaster! We went to take a city in the heel o...   May 18 2017, 09:23 PM
hazmick   hazmick: Hail Caesar! It sounds like the di...   May 18 2017, 10:58 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   So is there a way to do campaigns with nationali...   May 19 2017, 05:57 PM
hazmick   Update: Brought the campaign to a close today. My...   May 19 2017, 01:08 AM
SubRosa   Was there a time limit that ended the game? Or did...   May 19 2017, 01:26 AM
hazmick   I just decided to end it. I'd achieved all vic...   May 19 2017, 01:45 AM
SubRosa   CondateFeles: I have forgotten what the Senate mis...   May 19 2017, 10:35 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   it is hard to keep track of everything going on a...   May 20 2017, 12:49 AM
hazmick   Update: Had a pretty eventful evening tonight. I...   May 20 2017, 01:06 AM
SubRosa   I say exterminate the Alamanni with fire and sword...   May 20 2017, 01:21 AM
hazmick   I say exterminate the Alamanni with fire and swor...   May 20 2017, 06:04 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Update: Had a pretty eventful evening tonight. ...   May 20 2017, 02:03 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   On a side note, this game makes Khajiit want to wa...   May 20 2017, 03:24 AM
Uleni Athram   Funny thing about R:TW1. It's out in *Android,...   May 20 2017, 03:41 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Funny thing about R:TW1. It's out in *Android...   May 20 2017, 03:46 AM
hazmick   Update. Year 401AD: Started off the day with a de...   May 20 2017, 09:44 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Update. Year 401AD: Started off the day with a d...   May 20 2017, 10:12 PM
hazmick   I'm pretty sure that the Alaman capital is the...   May 20 2017, 10:33 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   I'm pretty sure that the Alaman capital is th...   May 20 2017, 10:48 PM
SubRosa   That is a tight fix you are in! I recall playi...   May 21 2017, 01:28 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   That is a tight fix you are in! I recall play...   May 21 2017, 02:39 AM
hazmick   It's definitely not going to be easy. I'm ...   May 21 2017, 03:04 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   It's definitely not going to be easy. I'm...   May 21 2017, 03:37 AM
SubRosa   I did fire up Barbarian Invasion. I decided to giv...   May 21 2017, 04:54 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   I did fire up Barbarian Invasion. I decided to gi...   May 21 2017, 05:00 AM
SubRosa   It is something they added with Barbarian Invasion...   May 21 2017, 05:27 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   It is something they added with Barbarian Invasio...   May 21 2017, 11:56 AM
hazmick   Quite a stroll you took your horde on, but definit...   May 21 2017, 05:36 AM
hazmick   Update, 404AD: My earlier desire to see the Lugia...   May 21 2017, 02:41 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Update, 404AD: My earlier desire to see the Lugi...   May 21 2017, 03:22 PM
SubRosa   Very cool that you were able to team up with the J...   May 21 2017, 05:31 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Hey Haz, who has control of the British Isles in y...   May 21 2017, 06:00 PM
hazmick   Britannia starts off split between WRE, Picts, Cal...   May 21 2017, 06:44 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Britannia starts off split between WRE, Picts, Ca...   May 21 2017, 11:32 PM
SubRosa   My Sarmatian horde has wiped out the Sassanids. ...   May 21 2017, 11:34 PM
hazmick   Sounds like everyone's doing well! Or at l...   May 22 2017, 12:57 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Sounds like everyone's doing well! Or at ...   May 22 2017, 02:39 AM
SubRosa   I love horse archers. They require a lot of micro-...   May 22 2017, 02:32 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Welp, it wasn't pretty but Khajiit finally met...   May 22 2017, 08:33 AM
hazmick   Welp, it wasn't pretty but Khajiit finally me...   May 22 2017, 12:12 PM
hazmick   Update. 408AD. I began by sacking the Gaul-contro...   May 22 2017, 01:17 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Update. 408AD. I began by sacking the Gaul-contr...   May 22 2017, 04:19 PM
hazmick   So you sacked a Gaulish city, the Picts moved in,...   May 22 2017, 04:45 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   So you sacked a Gaulish city, the Picts moved in...   May 22 2017, 05:01 PM
hazmick   So if you attacked it again would the Jutes get m...   May 22 2017, 10:41 PM
SubRosa   The diplomacy sounds a lot more complicated than i...   May 22 2017, 04:54 PM
SubRosa   I played a little more, and now I have collected a...   May 22 2017, 11:44 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   I played a little more, and now I have collected ...   May 23 2017, 02:30 AM
SubRosa   So now that you are a settled barbarian tribe, is...   May 23 2017, 02:55 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   So now that you are a settled barbarian tribe, i...   May 23 2017, 03:05 AM
hazmick   I had a much slower day today - no fighting, no bo...   May 23 2017, 03:58 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   I had a much slower day today - no fighting, no b...   May 23 2017, 06:04 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Started a new campaign. Since the Julii campaign t...   May 23 2017, 06:38 PM
SubRosa   Egypt is a strong faction. Those Nubian Spearmen a...   May 23 2017, 09:29 PM
SubRosa   Both Ctesphion and Hatra have fallen to me, withou...   May 24 2017, 12:09 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Both Ctesphion and Hatra have fallen to me, witho...   May 24 2017, 03:36 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   WAR WITH SELEUCIA! Khajiit decided that he co...   May 24 2017, 04:39 PM
hazmick   410 AD. My forces in Tuesis pushed south and capt...   May 24 2017, 07:26 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   410 AD. My forces in Tuesis pushed south and cap...   May 24 2017, 08:22 PM
hazmick   Yes, the Danes used to be good friends. Unfortunat...   May 24 2017, 08:54 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Yes, the Danes used to be good friends. Unfortuna...   May 24 2017, 10:00 PM
SubRosa   Does Attila have Angles? Or is it just the Jutes a...   May 24 2017, 09:29 PM
hazmick   SubRosa - There are Angles, they start in the town...   May 24 2017, 10:12 PM
TheCheshireKhajiit   Cheshire - The Danes? Definitely. They keep send...   May 24 2017, 11:27 PM
hazmick   I plan to take 2 of the 3 Danish settlements, but ...   May 25 2017, 12:12 AM
TheCheshireKhajiit   I plan to take 2 of the 3 Danish settlements, but...   May 25 2017, 12:26 AM
SubRosa   I say kill them all and let Woden sort them out in...   May 25 2017, 12:31 AM
hazmick   Had some further developments. The Geats, who hav...   May 25 2017, 01:01 AM
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