News: Rumor: Total War: Rome II announcement coming in July

By nocutius (SI Elite) on Jun 25, 2012

Expected and welcome :)

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jun 25, 2012

Expected *sigh*. No great leap of creative thinking from CA but more an appeal to the mass market. I wonder just how different from "TWS2" this will be in graphics, gameplay etc. I preferred a time when CA actually took it's time between titles ensuring that each new entry was an overhaul of everything from the preceding title.
Still, I'll no doubt fall for it...again and look forward to the modding community fine-tuning it as they do.

By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Jun 25, 2012

For once Hero, I'm just going to go ahead and disagree with you :D

If this does everything to the standard already set, but in Rome, I will be chuffed. I've been wanting Rome to get a better backbone for quite some time. With a little luck the modders will have more to play with, that's all I can ask for.

By nocutius (SI Elite) on Jun 25, 2012

It's not that there are that many different periods that haven't been covered yet to chose from anyways. Rome, Medieval, Napoleon and Shogun cover pretty much everything.

There's China but that would be considered too similar to Shogun at this time.
Perhaps pre-colonization India or maybe pre-colonization south and central America could have a big enough appeal.

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jun 25, 2012

Well, well Roderick why am I not surprised:)
I remember when "RTW" was announced with it's brand new engine, that chugged and choked on my then current PC when I tried the demo. I wished they had just used the "MTW" engine as all I wanted was a Rome-based TW so much. This is pretty much the same thinking.
As for time periods - well China is still a good option, albeit probably not a universally popular one (as in it won't appeal to mainstream Westerners). DLC has blown away a few opportunities as the Napoleonic Period could have been a fully-fledged TW game all it's own, instead of simply what is basically a story-driven expansion.

PS. The image above is from an Aussie mag. We lead the way again, living in the future as we do:)

By JonahFalcon (SI Elite) on Jun 25, 2012

herodotus: Which is why you have an R18+ rating now? Oooh, burn!

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jun 25, 2012

Snap! Got me there, Jonah.....or did you?
Perhaps we just take the rating of games more seriously and the impact they might have on our adolescents.
Nah, that doesn't wash. You got me:)

By Longsword (SI Core Member) on Jun 26, 2012

Rome was my absolute favorite in the series. If this is true I will be so excited.

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jun 26, 2012

It was on the back page of the magazine (I looked this morning). Which means it will be profiled in next month's issue, around 3 weeks from now. So yes, I'd say it's bang on.
You excited Longsword? I couldn't tell judging by your avatar, mate:)

By JonahFalcon (SI Elite) on Jun 26, 2012

Well, it does say "July 18", so there you go. :D

By the_fourth_horseman (SI Veteran Member) on Jun 26, 2012

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt... But I won't mind wearing this particular t-shirt, again, again and again!

No TW will ever be as mind revelling as RTW or MTW when they were released back in the days. It's better to enjoy pre-existing games being made better and tweaked up to todays visual and gameplay standards, than to feel it should be "*new*" all over, time and time again. RTW2 was all I ever expected from CA and I am grateful to them if and when it releases.

If you want something fresh and creatively conceived, turn to the smaller and independent productions.

By nocutius (SI Elite) on Jun 26, 2012

I hope they finally manage to support quad cores properly this time around. By that I mean during the end-turn phase when it matters the most.

By JustCommunication (SI Core) on Jun 26, 2012

Thing is though, I'm pretty sure they've stated somewhere previously that they don't want to go back to full-European maps.

If that's the case, it begs the question which era of the Roman period will they be choosing? And what geographical area will they be focusing on? If it's anything pre-Marius, I won't be interested.

*tears toga* Creative Assembly! Give me back my Legions!

By nocutius (SI Elite) on Jun 26, 2012

Wait, there's a chance they wont be making the full map this time around?
That would make the game less interesting, I want the ability to play various different nations of the period.

By JustCommunication (SI Core) on Jun 26, 2012

Don't quote me... I can't even remember where I heard this... it came through someone else I think, a quote from an interview, perhaps? I think they really enjoyed the work they did on Shogun 2 though, where they took what is a relatively small landmass (compared to Europe) and really filled it in with rich detail.

Where as when you look at Empire (where they've already admitted they tried to do too much at once) and Napoleon to some extent, there's a bigger area to work with that has less detail in it.

As I said, don't quote me, but I'm pretty sure they said something along the lines of being against doing another full-Europe map. They could just do the Italian Peninsular, for example, and cover the rise of the Roman Republic.

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jun 26, 2012

Then that would leave room for DLC Expansion Packs, which I am sure was on CA's mind as they designed it. There would definitely be very loud protests if in fact there is no world map, but even "NTW" focused on smaller areas through Campaigns. Might be "The Old Republic" in a different time period, focusing on Julius Caesar. Then, however it wouldn't be "RTW". The time of the Empire, the meat of "RTW" requires a world map.

Jonah....bite me:) I was too busy reading the "CoH 2" preview and interview with Relic to really take much notice. So much good news on that front (no pun iontended), with Direct Fire Control from "Tales of Valour" removed and a return to the gameplay of the original. Screenshots look fantastic.

By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Jun 26, 2012

The map should be entirely focused on Europe, stretching as far East as the Indus and South to the Sahara. Anything else just sort of falls outside the scope of the game and would feel out of place if you ask me. The more detail there is to the factions that actually matter to someone buying a game called "Rome" the better.

I just hope they go for a touch more realism this time around ^_^

*EDIT*
You meant world map as in the strategic view didn't you? If so, insert facepalm.

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jun 26, 2012

Yes, Strategic View:) Anything short of that in "RTW" wouldn't cover the Empire, which would be disappointing. Still, "wait and see" is the phrase I'll stick with.
If they don't go for more realism, you can be certain the modders will fix that. "RTW" was fantastic, but after playing the "Rome Total Realism 6.0" mega mod I could never have played vanilla again.

By Longsword (SI Core Member) on Jun 27, 2012

@Herodotus Haha yeah my Romance of the Three Kingdoms avatar might seem a little off :P Perhaps I shall change it to a Rome: Total War avatar just to express my support. And Rome Total Realism was fantastically done. Definitely supported that mod (and SPQR for it's sheer gameplay)

By Kres (SI Elite) on Jun 27, 2012

*taps Herod on the back* Hurray for TWR2! Especially if it will work and not be a lair of bugs and CTDs. As for mods. If they released TWR2 without modding support I would not buy it. Vanilla has an awful taste.

By JustCommunication (SI Core) on Jun 27, 2012

Nah, it's all about Roma Surrectum. Best RTW mod out there by far.

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jun 27, 2012

That sounds like it came out of the "Karma Sutra", JC:) Do you silk binding ties with it?
Yeah I know Kres, it was to be expected. Your PI-built PC might struggle, though:)

By JustCommunication (SI Core) on Jun 27, 2012

Go play it, then come back and try and mock me again :P

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Jun 27, 2012

:)