Total War Games

[mabzie55]

Anyone on here a fan of the Total War series?

I have basically all of them aside from Napoleon.

Just got Rome II not too long ago and that's basically all I did for two weeks.

Who else is hooked?

 

[subotai]

the first Medieval was my favorite

followed by the first Rome and Shogun 2

I thought Empire was pretty stupid

favorite moment: amassing a huge amounts of cannons as the Turks in Medieval 1 and levelling cities to the ground before my Jannissaries even thought about stabbing someone

bitches dont know about these gunpowder units

I also defeated this Egyptian army about 4 times the size as my army as the French at Acre during a high period campaign. i had lost mainland france to a combined spanish/english assault (got excommed like 8 turns in) and my king was mid-sailing trip to the Levant and I had to hold acre or get fucked basically. had one unit of dismounted chivalric knights who saved my ass. got my king there a turn later and slowly took over the Middle East. I dont remember how that campaign turned out. I probably just got bored and played a different faction

Viking Invasion was a sweet xpac too.

 

[mabzie55]

Why didn't you like Empire?
I thought Empire was fucking amazing as with the rest of the games.

Aside from Napoleon... Not a fan of the time period.

Interesting to hear of someone playing Turks, I usually end up killing them.

 

[cybergollum]

Shogun (LOVED It), Rome (LOVED it too because reading at that period 2nd time in a row book by Josef Toman about Tiberius and Caligula - I did like historical novels a lot).

Anyway, when I became high-school student, I got depressed, started used drugs, then found work etc etc and now I have no time and/or passion for such long-playing game, what a shame (now I only play Dota occasionally). But some day I will return to them, I believe, guys.

 

[mabzie55]

You definitely should.

Rome II is just great.

 

[subotai]

idk I just feel like the first Medieval had the best balance of simplistic-to-tedious faction managing if that makes sense.

you didnt have to worry about your armies walking a half step too short and not being able to fight someone else, if you got in the zone, it was fucking on.

Generals therefore got into more battles which led to more traits being gained which led to more memorable generals which led to better campaigns. you even knew the enemy's generals. and when you killed one it was sick

in Rome, it was just like, ok I just killed some random guy with no experience doing anything, swEET dude

in Medieval, when you saw the stars piled up next to the enemy general's horse avatar you were just like

shiiiit, now I HAVE to play this out on the map.

I found myself auto-resolving a lot of things in Rome, probably for the reasons I just stated.

it was the same map if you think about it, Rome just made it pointlessly expansive with the free-moving campaign map. I liked how it was like Risk but with real time battles in Medieval 1.

and the graphics were pretty much amazing for the time and the amount of units on the camera at the same time

the Middle Ages were the best setting for this type of game too IMO

Medieval was also one of the first games I played online, those matches were always interesting. sometimes Id just go with all cavalry units and wait for my teammates to fight a bit then just come in from the side after the other armies met up and run train on people. or just chase down the other team's general when they were trying to flee and were tired and my dudes hadnt fought at all

something about two generals fighting each other in the real time map was so exhilarating. you always had a IDEA which unit would win out, but you never really knew until you saw that flag go down. and once the general got killed, it was pretty much over

maybe I was just 14 and more impressionable, but give me this box any day of the week

and about Empire: way too much going on. switching between the different world zones was just tedious. I want to take over a continent, not the world

rifle units never really positioned how I wanted them to. the units just seemed kind of lame I guess. it wasnt so much rock paper scissors but more like rock, paper, and scissors hidden behind this wall and gl getting to them while they shoot the shit out of your melee troops.

 

[GenericMind]

Haven't played since the first Rome: Total War came out. I wasn't aware they were still making different ones. Which newer ones are worth checking out?

 

[mabzie55]

Haven't played since the first Rome: Total War came out. I wasn't aware they were still making different ones. Which newer ones are worth checking out?

Honesty all of them.

But my favorites are Empire, Shogun 2, Medieval 2, and Rome II.

 

[mabzie55]

idk I just feel like the first Medieval had the best balance of simplistic-to-tedious faction managing if that makes sense.

you didnt have to worry about your armies walking a half step too short and not being able to fight someone else, if you got in the zone, it was fucking on.

Generals therefore got into more battles which led to more traits being gained which led to more memorable generals which led to better campaigns. you even knew the enemy's generals. and when you killed one it was sick

in Rome, it was just like, ok I just killed some random guy with no experience doing anything, swEET dude

in Medieval, when you saw the stars piled up next to the enemy general's horse avatar you were just like

shiiiit, now I HAVE to play this out on the map.

I found myself auto-resolving a lot of things in Rome, probably for the reasons I just stated.

it was the same map if you think about it, Rome just made it pointlessly expansive with the free-moving campaign map. I liked how it was like Risk but with real time battles in Medieval 1.

and the graphics were pretty much amazing for the time and the amount of units on the camera at the same time

the Middle Ages were the best setting for this type of game too IMO

Medieval was also one of the first games I played online, those matches were always interesting. sometimes Id just go with all cavalry units and wait for my teammates to fight a bit then just come in from the side after the other armies met up and run train on people. or just chase down the other team's general when they were trying to flee and were tired and my dudes hadnt fought at all

something about two generals fighting each other in the real time map was so exhilarating. you always had a IDEA which unit would win out, but you never really knew until you saw that flag go down. and once the general got killed, it was pretty much over

maybe I was just 14 and more impressionable, but give me this box any day of the week

and about Empire: way too much going on. switching between the different world zones was just tedious. I want to take over a continent, not the world

rifle units never really positioned how I wanted them to. the units just seemed kind of lame I guess. it wasnt so much rock paper scissors but more like rock, paper, and scissors hidden behind this wall and gl getting to them while they shoot the shit out of your melee troops.

Idk I feel like the new system (everything after the first two games) is much better. Allowing armies and agents to move around within the provinces not only made it more realistic, but also more dynamic. There are many maps per province, so you can actually choose to move your army to a good defensive or ambush position on the campaign map, defend at a river crossing, etc. It also allows your armies to raid settlements in the countryside and do many other things done on real life that can't be done in the first two games.

As far as general ranks, not sure why you've had that experience, because I've had/fought top level generals and agents in every single game.
Personally I only auto resolve when it's like 20vs 1

You should really try Rome II or Shogun 2, the system for generals and agents gaining experience and traits makes the first two games look like playing monopoly.
After playing those it's impossible to play the first two games without feeling the characters are lifeless nobodies. In the newer games both generals and agents gain experience, acquire traits, level up, gain followers, wives, and in addition to that have skills trees so you can have a general train to be an expert at ambushes, or a spy be an expert arsonists. The possibilities are almost limitless.

As far as empire, I get it, you just aren't a fan of gunpowder. Empire/Napoleon and the fall of the samurai expansion for shogun 2 (set in 1860s) are the only gunpowder based games-- medieval 2, Shogun 2 + rise of the samurai, and Rome II are all non-gunpowder based. Honestly these games have come so far, if you buy Shogun 2 or Rome 2 I can assure you will shit your pants with how good they are.

Not to mention there are a shitload of people playing online Rome II and any given time... Takes like a minute to get into a game.

Oh, and I'm about to blow your mind, but Shogun 2 + expansions and Rome 2 have multiplayer campaign.

You and another person can either be allies or enemies and play through the grand campaign... Something I dreamt about as a kid playing the first Shogun is now a reality.

 

[Jesusgreen]

Only just noticed you'd made this thread, I just posted in another thread asking on your recommendation on which Total War game to pick up next, I've only played the original Rome, and was never that great at it but I really loved the game and its one of the games I can always dive into and enjoy, even just messing around vs the computer.

Here's the relevant part of my post quoted (along with some other q's I asked you about Hearts of Iron):

You got any suggestions on videos/play by play guides for getting started in Hearts of Iron? I'm familiar with Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis but I need to learn my way around Hearts of Iron and Victoria and haven't been able to find a good tutorial to get me started in either, most of the "tutorials" I've found they go over everything way too quick for me to get a grasp on it - I had the same problem with EU to begin with but I found a couple nice step by step intro guides to playing as Castille and then played on from there myself.

Also which of the Total War games would you recommend as being most worth grabbing? I've only played the original Rome a bunch, never got very good at it but playing multiplayer with friends is definitely the shit. I was looking at Medieval II: Total War as my next choice but all of the Total War games look good so I'm having a hard time deciding. Rome II I'm sure I'd enjoy but I kinda feel like playing with different troops/in a different time period, Empire: Total War is probably the other one that has the most interesting troops/time period for me so I'm kinda in a toss up over which to buy.

 

[mabzie55]

Only just noticed you'd made this thread, I just posted in another thread asking on your recommendation on which Total War game to pick up next, I've only played the original Rome, and was never that great at it but I really loved the game and its one of the games I can always dive into and enjoy, even just messing around vs the computer.

Here's the relevant part of my post quoted (along with some other q's I asked you about Hearts of Iron):

As far as TW, Medieval 2 is really good, but as far as mechanics Empire is superior.

And as far as mechanics, Shogun 2 and Rome II are far superior to Empire.
But a lot has to do with which time periods you most enjoy.

Rome II (and shogun 2 to a lesser extent) are probably the best when you look at everything aside from the time period. It's difficult to go back and play the older games with all the improvements in the newer ones. Then again having not played them you won't really have any point of reference.

I'd say my top 3 favorite are Empire, Shogun 2, and Rome 2. I'd suggest all 3, but play them in that order lol.

If you only get one, make it Rome II.

As far as HOI3, if you've played EU you will definitely have a much easier time learning the game.

There aren't many good tutorials for HOI... I'd suggest being a smaller nation to start off with and learn the basics of running a nation that way. Major powers are way too overwhelming for a new player.

I'd say maybe be like... Bulgaria, or Greece to start with, play for awhile and learn the basics.
Then be a mid-sized, Poland or something like that. Poland is actually really good to learn the intermediate skills because you'll be forced into the war in 1939, so you'll learn about how to wage war.

But hoi3 has a pretty big learning curve, the best way to learn is just experience.

P.S. HOI4 comes out early 2015, and from what I've seen it looks absolutely amazing even pre-beta-- big UI improvement over hoi3.