I'm thinking about doing one as I have a bit of free time and want to do something (reasonably) constructive and creative with it.
The two usual suspects are out (Parthians and Romans) as I've played them both to death. Armenia and Baktria I've also played a lot, and in the latter case their strategic position just isn't that interesting on the EB map. So my top candidates are the Saka (far eastern Scythians, in like modern Kyrgyzstan), the Macedonians, the Carthaginians, Pontos, Saba (South Arabs), or Armenia or Baktria again.
Anyone have any preference? I'm thinking Carthage, Macedonia, Saba or Armenia right now.
http://www.europabarbarorum.com/factions_pahlava.html
A list of factions.
Do the Saba - they look to be the toughest of the options you have listed (Armenia could be tougher, but depends a bit too much on luck in my opinion - if the Seleucids attack immediately, you are toast, if they wait twenty or so turns you are OK.)
In Europa can the Barbarians "civilize?" Can the Aedui, say, modernize and develop viable high end units and cities?
Quote from: Faeelin on August 29, 2009, 02:35:12 PM
In Europa can the Barbarians "civilize?" Can the Aedui, say, modernize and develop viable high end units and cities?
Short answer, yes.
Long answer: they can build fairly big cities and economies, but they are usually better off if they wait for civilized societies to build up huge cities and then "harvest" them. In terms of technology it is quite a bit different; all the barbarian factions have various levels of progression with different triggers, some simply time modified, others by conquering civilized areas, and a lot of them both. I know that the Sweboz, the Germans, start off with a bunch of unarmored men with clubs and spears and move up to pretty lethal swordsmen and heavy cavalry, and that the Saka can include advanced cataphracts and Indo-Hellenic phalanxmen after they conquer Bactria, but I'm not sure about the Celtic factions. Probably something similar. That said, the only "barbaric" faction to become almost entirely subsumed into a civilized society during this period was the Parthains, and this is modeled by the Parthians having two completely different building tables, one for nomadic settlements and one for civilized settlements.
Worth keeping in mind that EB is its own creature, and while there are some trace Total War elements in it there are far more differences between EB and RTW than between RTW and any of the other TW games.
Do Armenia.
Piles of Armenian corpses and the smoldering ruins of their cities brings great pleasure to my life.
No love for the Hellenic League? They look like they could be fun.
Quote from: Agelastus on August 29, 2009, 02:21:10 PM
Do the Saba - they look to be the toughest of the options you have listed (Armenia could be tougher, but depends a bit too much on luck in my opinion - if the Seleucids attack immediately, you are toast, if they wait twenty or so turns you are OK.)
This is pretty accurate.
The Saba are a pretty interesting faction. They have a very strong starting position, with an entire sub-continent practically to themselves and good oppurtunities for expansion in modern Sudan (Kush) and SW India. But their roster is fantastically limited. Their infantry is actually rather good; fantastic stamina, desert bonuses, fantastic speed, some impressive and surprising lethality and good morale. Their light cavalry is superb, if all javelin oriented. But they don't have anything that could really qualify as heavy infantry capable of going toe-to-toe with a Phalange or, even worse, some advanced Theurophoroi (somewhere between an old-skool Hoplite and a Legionary). They don't have
anything to counter heavy cavalry far as I can tell. No siege weapons.
The Armenians are kind of the opposite. Their starting position is kind of awkward, in that they are surrounded by the Seleucids and the Ponitians, and the Sarmatians are often aggressive. But I think their difficulty is usually overstated. Even in the early game where you don't have access to the full roster due to the unique Armenian reform system, you are up in
really high mountains and have some of the best archers in the game, as well as decent melee infantry and missile cav. The Seleucids send Phalanges up the hill, your archers get 30-60% of them, and then your Roman-style infantry comes out of the trees, completely fresh, and slaughters them. Later on their unit roster is almost uniquely strong, and could reasonably claim near-Bactrian or Carthaginian universal strength, and together with Bactria (and maybe Saka) they are the only faction with great cataphracts, great horse archers and very , very good infantry. Also, once you get some mines up in the greater Caucasus you will never have to worry about money again.
I'm leaning towards Armenia. Near-Complete reconquest of the Archaemenid Empire.
Quote from: Faeelin on August 29, 2009, 07:02:31 PM
No love for the Hellenic League? They look like they could be fun.
Very hoplite centered, with no strong light cavalry or Roman style infantry. Fun, but challenging, slightly ahistorical (the league would break up after the destruction of Epirus and Macedonia) and none of my favorite types of units (namely fast shock cavalry or missile cavalry, combined in the Parthian Dehbed Asavara, my favorite unit in the game by a long shot). Whenever I play as them, I can't find a way for Hoplites to beat Phalangists without taking near 1 to 1 casualties, which to me is very annoying.
EDIT: I guess they have Thorakitai, but not of the elite Seleucid variety, and even that can't reasonably hope to stand up to a good Roman force.
Macedonia is simultaneously more plausible and has a fuller unit roster, and has some of the best cavalry and infantry in the game.
Then I suppose Macedonia, though I suspect the Hellenic Leagues would have been more viable than you give them credit for.
Quote from: Faeelin on August 30, 2009, 12:12:05 PM
Then I suppose Macedonia, though I suspect the Hellenic Leagues would have been more viable than you give them credit for.
Hmm. Probably, but I'm just not that great with Hoplites, though the Armenian Royal Guard are pretty good. I don't even use Hyspatists as Makedonia.
I started playing as Hayasdan, and beat a rebel army with 90 casualties to their 3,000. It is too easy; maybe the archers, probably cause I've played it too much and just know it well.
I started a game as Macedonia a little while back, I've only conquered the Peloponnese and part of Epirus. I'll bring that up again.
Fae, have you ever played EB? I can't recommend it enough. There is enough history in it for a couple of books, the art direction is brilliant, and though the learning curve is steep it is a uniquely rewarding.
Quote from: Queequeg on August 30, 2009, 12:47:15 PM
Fae, have you ever played EB? I can't recommend it enough. There is enough history in it for a couple of books, the art direction is brilliant, and though the learning curve is steep it is a uniquely rewarding.
What I liked about it is that you don't know the rewards of various decisions until you make them and then time passes. I am not very good at it, but agree that it is a completely different and better beast than RTW, though a
bastard to get running right.
Alright queequeeg, it's $10 on Steam so you've persuaded me.
Quote from: grumbler on August 30, 2009, 09:24:19 PM
Quote from: Queequeg on August 30, 2009, 12:47:15 PM
Fae, have you ever played EB? I can't recommend it enough. There is enough history in it for a couple of books, the art direction is brilliant, and though the learning curve is steep it is a uniquely rewarding.
What I liked about it is that you don't know the rewards of various decisions until you make them and then time passes. I am not very good at it, but agree that it is a completely different and better beast than RTW, though a bastard to get running right.
It takes a long time to get right, and there are a lot of patches and submods needed for it.
The Agead Dynasty has a long history. Macedonia may be a relative newcomer to Greek politics, and the great Rhetoricians of Theseus may call us effeminate easterners, but our great family may lay claim to a lineage no less noble than any in Greece, stretching all the way back to the Peloponnese and mighty Heracles. When the Persians came we did not put up such 'heroic' resistance, as the Persians respected our traditions and our rights as nobility. While Philip conquered our Greek cousins, Alexander conquered our Persian masters, and Alexander's familiarity with and love of Persian custom greatly eased his conquest.
But Alexander is dead, and our eldest citizens no longer remember a time when Macedonia was a simple Satrapy. With Alexander, Greece became the center of the world, and Macedonia its beating heart. The poorest free farmer in the Macedonian countryside could move to Bactria and become a great lord.
But for all the wealth these conquests have brought to their mother country, they have stolen most of Macedonia's finest men. Where once we conquered Persia, today we have difficulty finding the men to beat back the Galatians, and Antigonus I Monophthalmus' attempt to bring unity to Alexander's cost us more men, and proved fleeting on the field of Ipsus. The Epirotes attempted to make up for this shortage of manpower by hiring the newly arrived Galatians as mercenaries, while the Koinon Hellenon appear set in their ways, and we fight much the same army as Darius.
After the death of One-Eye there was a long period of chaos, as various claimants, including a son of Ptolomey, claimed the throne of Macedon. But Antiogonus II Gonatas, grandson of Antigonus I, has brought stability to Macedonia, and in his first year managed to beat back the invasion of the Epirotes and take Athens. The Koinon attempted to take our city of Corinth, but in a great battle before the gates of Corinth we beat them back, and soon took the great town of Sparte. Where previous conquerors would ruin the taken cities, Antigonus's mission in Greece is one of unification, and Hellas has lost too many sons already.
Alexandros, one of the youngest sons of Antigonus, has proved himself an able general, having conquered the great cities of Sparte, Theron and Ambrakia. However, (in my first battle of the AAR), the Epirotes handed us a great defeat in the hills of southern Illyria. The Epirotes chose a sturdy hill for their last great defense, and upon it died many of our greatest Companions and Phalangites, though our siege weapons proved more than a match for their elephants.
So it is approx 260 BC. Antigonus II has semi-retired to take up the governing of Attica, Alexandros is attempting to prove his right to succession by conquest, and after the great loss in Epirus I am very seriously considering a near total reformation of my standard army configuration.
I have cheated twice: once I gave 1,00,000 mnai to the Romans to make sure they are a reasonably strong enemy, and once to build an Academy, a Marketplace and a Mine in Athens, as I thought it silly that Athens was so underdeveloped. I am playing the Alexander submod, which allows me to play EB with the Alexander engine and with some extra units.
Anyone know a good image hosting service? Or how to changes files from .tga?
Quote from: Faeelin on August 30, 2009, 11:05:05 PM
Alright queequeeg, it's $10 on Steam so you've persuaded me.
You bought the Gold Pack? That's what I have. I'd consider playing it on BI first, with the BI mod, as the Alexander mod is not advised for those who are not already steeped in EB. The AI is a lot harder, so are the rebels, and there are a lot of building restrictions. A ton. And the economic model is a little fucked up.
Quote from: Queequeg on August 31, 2009, 12:05:35 AM
It takes a long time to get right, and there are a lot of patches and submods needed for it.
Not what I was wanting to hear...What patches and submods do I need to make EB worthwhile?
QuoteAnyone know a good image hosting service? Or how to changes files from .tga?
Photobucket.com is free and works great. No idea about the latter question.
Quote from: Queequeg on August 31, 2009, 12:05:35 AM
Anyone know a good image hosting service? Or how to changes files from .tga?
Photobucket is fine, http://my.imageshack.us/ (http://my.imageshack.us/) is even less a hassle.
http://www.irfanview.com/ (http://www.irfanview.com/) should be able to convert almost any picture file type you desire.
Quote from: Habbaku on August 31, 2009, 01:21:32 AM
Quote from: Queequeg on August 31, 2009, 12:05:35 AM
It takes a long time to get right, and there are a lot of patches and submods needed for it.
Not what I was wanting to hear...What patches and submods do I need to make EB worthwhile?
QuoteAnyone know a good image hosting service? Or how to changes files from .tga?
Photobucket.com is free and works great. No idea about the latter question.
there's apparently a player-made installer that sets up BE for BI fast and easily. at least it worked for me.
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on September 04, 2009, 12:18:02 AM
Quote from: Habbaku on August 31, 2009, 01:21:32 AM
Quote from: Queequeg on August 31, 2009, 12:05:35 AM
It takes a long time to get right, and there are a lot of patches and submods needed for it.
Not what I was wanting to hear...What patches and submods do I need to make EB worthwhile?
QuoteAnyone know a good image hosting service? Or how to changes files from .tga?
Photobucket.com is free and works great. No idea about the latter question.
there's apparently a player-made installer that sets up BE for BI fast and easily. at least it worked for me.
Link?
Quote from: Faeelin on September 04, 2009, 09:09:20 AM
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on September 04, 2009, 12:18:02 AM
Quote from: Habbaku on August 31, 2009, 01:21:32 AM
Quote from: Queequeg on August 31, 2009, 12:05:35 AM
It takes a long time to get right, and there are a lot of patches and submods needed for it.
Not what I was wanting to hear...What patches and submods do I need to make EB worthwhile?
QuoteAnyone know a good image hosting service? Or how to changes files from .tga?
Photobucket.com is free and works great. No idea about the latter question.
there's apparently a player-made installer that sets up BE for BI fast and easily. at least it worked for me.
Link?
http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=95664
enjoy
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on September 04, 2009, 10:15:32 AM
http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=95664
enjoy
Thanks. I am hoping this will resolve some of the bugs that have crept into my ad-hoc installation.
Hrm. I tried using it, but no luck. Not sure what the problem is; maybe that I used steam?
Quote from: Faeelin on September 04, 2009, 01:43:27 PM
Hrm. I tried using it, but no luck. Not sure what the problem is; maybe that I used steam?
I got it to work using steam. Do the install in the R:BI folder, including whatever BI installer there is (I've never used it with BI) and put something in the set launch properties to run the mod. So cause I have EB-Alexander, I go
Steam list->Properties->Set launch options-> and I put in-> mod:eb -show_err -nm -noalexander
It is probably something fairly similar for BI. I'd look it up on the EB forums, shouldn't be that hard.
Just remember to click on your advisor before the start of every game or reloaded game, and play as a relatively simple, powerful faction at first (Bactria would make a lot of sense, the Gippos). Don't start with Rome, it is really complicated.
I'd follow a celtic one, although I dont see how you could manage that, with no russophilia to filter into it as a reference.
Quote from: Lettow77 on September 04, 2009, 02:14:48 PM
I'd follow a celtic one, although I dont see how you could manage that, with no russophilia to filter into it as a reference.
There is no Slavic faction in the game. Only one Slavic unit. I didn't recommend the Celts because they have a complicated reform process, middling economic prospects and will eventually face superior Roman forces. The Bactrians, on the other hand, start off with one extremely rich province in a very stable position as long as you don't piss off the Seleucids too quickly, one of the three or four strongest unit rosters and probably the most well balanced, a lot of homeland provinces, etc....they are a pretty great introduction I think. As long as you understand that in the begging the Seleucids can pretty easily fuck you up, and that you don't send phalanxes up against horse archers unassisted.
The only TW game I play is Rome, and I like it. The AI needs to be better in battles though, but sometimes it does well enough depending on unit mix vs what I have. I can appreciate what this mod has to offer, would like to try it, but I'm wary of installing it; seems like it makes a great game but I fear it would cause problems. As you guys say, it takes some effort and different steps to get it done right. :(
EB is the only way i'd play rome after trying it. It is really worth the effort.
As for the difficulties you say the celts face- I havent experienced it. Whupping up on the yankees with their better equipment down the road is a large source of the fun, anyway.
Yankees? The Romans were way better at counter insurgency than us. And we let some of you Southerners live and have only set up Colonia in the last 30 years.
Hmm. Trying to reinstall it, and being told that it's already installed.
How do you start up EB?
Quote from: Faeelin on September 04, 2009, 02:55:30 PM
Hmm. Trying to reinstall it, and being told that it's already installed.
How do you start up EB?
On steam? Do you have the BI mod installed?
this should fix it
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=200524
Quote from: Queequeg on September 04, 2009, 03:03:24 PM
Quote from: Faeelin on September 04, 2009, 02:55:30 PM
Hmm. Trying to reinstall it, and being told that it's already installed.
How do you start up EB?
On steam? Do you have the BI mod installed?
this should fix it
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=200524
The BI Mod? I tried using that quickinstaller. I think i might just download everythign and follow the instructions...
Quote from: Queequeg on August 31, 2009, 12:07:12 AM
Quote from: Faeelin on August 30, 2009, 11:05:05 PM
Alright queequeeg, it's $10 on Steam so you've persuaded me.
You bought the Gold Pack? That's what I have. I'd consider playing it on BI first, with the BI mod, as the Alexander mod is not advised for those who are not already steeped in EB. The AI is a lot harder, so are the rebels, and there are a lot of building restrictions. A ton. And the economic model is a little fucked up.
I tried the Alex mod but uninstalled it as I didn't like the changes (those one actually know about since the guy who made it afaik didn't bother writing down what he changed).
Anyway I'm playing with the alex engine using this submod:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=208735
Wowzers... I got it to work, and I'm having a devil of a time as Baktria. Taxila's elephants are unbeatable...
Quote from: Faeelin on September 04, 2009, 09:25:07 PM
Wowzers... I got it to work, and I'm having a devil of a time as Baktria. Taxila's elephants are unbeatable...
Siege weapons to pierce the wall and bring down the elephants. They are big targets, just get either the biggest or second biggest type of siege weapon and they'll be gone.
You like it?
I have the potential to like it. It's a bit iffy in some areas, and it is fairly tricky. But I certainly prefer it over, say, Empire.
That said, I decided to give the Averni a shot as my first run through; was there a reason you didn't recommend Rome?
Quote from: Faeelin on September 05, 2009, 01:25:34 PM
That said, I decided to give the Averni a shot as my first run through; was there a reason you didn't recommend Rome?
The reformation triggers are complicated and you really have to play with those in mind. That said, they are by far the best heavy infantry faction in the game, and in the begging they have surprisingly excellent Italian Allies cavalry.
Rome is in some ways the funnest faction to play, as you really get to go across the globe and given the right comp and sound system it is just fantastically immersive (nothing quite like being in a Belgian forest and hearing the Sweboz bark at you), but the reformations are pretty complicated, especially the Marian.
BTW, can you link to the AAR?
Quote from: Faeelin on September 05, 2009, 05:16:33 PM
BTW, can you link to the AAR?
:huh:
This AAR?
My Alexander is kind of fucking up the mod, making expansion almost impossible and it has some trouble launching a lot of the time. I might try to find some way to use the Alexander engine without some of the bogus changes of the Alexander mod.
Holy shit, even as Rome this is brutal. It's 265, Messina just revolted and defected to Epirus, the Carthaginians have deployed thousands of heavy cavalry to Sicily, and, used to Total War's AI, my plan to slaughter them as they circle my fortifications are to no avail.
Quote from: Faeelin on September 05, 2009, 08:02:21 PM
Holy shit, even as Rome this is brutal. It's 265, Messina just revolted and defected to Epirus, the Carthaginians have deployed thousands of heavy cavalry to Sicily, and, used to Total War's AI, my plan to slaughter them as they circle my fortifications are to no avail.
Expand north, and go south only when you can afford to loose large armies. Don't be afraid to enslave or, better yet, resettle cities, especially the big ones.
Heavy cavalry is always hard to deal with as Rome, but the best answer is inverting the traditional Maniple formation by puting Triarii up front, and having your own (extremely excellent) Equites Extraordinarii take them on the flanks or from behind after they charge.
With elephants as Rome, you won't be able to use siege weapons until after the Marian reforms (ie after you've probably annexed all of Carthage). Use Campaignian cavalry and other skirmish cavalry.
Still playing, will either continue tomorrow or start something as Koinon Hellenon (Fae gave me the idea, and the Macedonian Phalanx is kind of annoying).
Quote from: Queequeg on September 07, 2009, 02:28:57 AM
Still playing, will either continue tomorrow or start something as Koinon Hellenon (Fae gave me the idea, and the Macedonian Phalanx is kind of annoying).
And you will make an AAR about that?
:P
Antigonus left behind him on his death, in the year 260 BC, a stable, unified Greece. No autonomy was left to the Greek city states, and strong Macedonian garrisons now patrol the streets of the great Greek poleis. Within two decades, half a millenium of constant warfare between the Greek cities has come to an end, and the lands of Greece may finally develop stable inter-communal ties without the threat of competing city states. Mainland Greece, devastated both by emigration and fragmentation and in the middle of a large-scale economic collapse, has finally begun to heal.
Perseus I's family returned to Macedonia in the 260s BC, and was quickly given a place of honor after his marriage into the Antigonid family line. Perseus quickly proved himself an able commander and administrator, capturing the Celtic-Thracian city of Scordia and establishing mines and colonies throughout the new province. Where once young Macedonians looked to the sea for wealth and opportunity, now the colonies in the great Greek Cities, Epirus and newly conquered Megalee Makedonia in Thrace.
Numerous Epirote families have begun to prove their worth; the final holdout of the Free Hellenes, Rhodes, has now fallen to our proud armies. While they offered fierce resistance and died like noble Greeks, in the end their walls fell to our siege weapons, crushing their greatest troops stationed on the walls, and their antiquated phalanxes proved little match for our Hyspaspistai and light Agrainian allies, and the last of the free Spartans fell in the city square.
Perseus has moved further east now, and rumors abound of his intent to conquer both sides of the Aegean. The pathetic town of Byzantion, "the armpit of Hellas" fell to our forces with compariatively little effort, and the capture of the Thracian town of Tylis does not seem promising, as the Dacian phalanx has proven utterly incapable of withstanding good Macedonian sarissoi. The conquest of Pergamon looms ahead in the distance, as Pergamon's armies are among the most formidable in the Hellenic world, and their Cataphracts and Elephants are awesome weapons little understood by the Macedonians.
Fae, are you still playing?
Quote from: Queequeg on September 09, 2009, 10:06:04 PM
Fae, are you still playing?
I plonked away a bit. But I have to be honest, I also downloaded Stainless Steel and find it more compelling.
Quote from: Faeelin on September 10, 2009, 12:02:10 AM
Quote from: Queequeg on September 09, 2009, 10:06:04 PM
Fae, are you still playing?
I plonked away a bit. But I have to be honest, I also downloaded Stainless Steel and find it more compelling.
I'd keep at it. It takes a while to get used to all the complexity and the difficult, but its replay value is nearly unlimited. SS is good, but a bit ahistorical for my taste, and I think MTW just had too many weaknesses to fully address all of them, which makes me very concerned for EBII, which uses the MTW engine. The idea of seeing Asawaran-i Asadan charge past winmills and mosques is a bit...weird.
What do you need to play this mod? RTW:Gold?
Quote from: Iormlund on September 10, 2009, 02:25:39 PM
What do you need to play this mod? RTW:Gold?
There are mods to make it work with any iteration of RTW, though meant for Vanilla. I'm running it on Alexander for the graphics and AI improvements, but it runs on Gold as well. IIRC in the Gold mod you can use shield wall and units can swim, which is nice.
Quote from: Queequeg on September 10, 2009, 12:15:10 PM
Quote from: Faeelin on September 10, 2009, 12:02:10 AM
Quote from: Queequeg on September 09, 2009, 10:06:04 PM
Fae, are you still playing?
I plonked away a bit. But I have to be honest, I also downloaded Stainless Steel and find it more compelling.
I'd keep at it. It takes a while to get used to all the complexity and the difficult, but its replay value is nearly unlimited. SS is good, but a bit ahistorical for my taste...
:yes:
Quote from: Queequeg on September 10, 2009, 12:15:10 PM
Quote from: Faeelin on September 10, 2009, 12:02:10 AM
Quote from: Queequeg on September 09, 2009, 10:06:04 PM
Fae, are you still playing?
I plonked away a bit. But I have to be honest, I also downloaded Stainless Steel and find it more compelling.
I'd keep at it. It takes a while to get used to all the complexity and the difficult, but its replay value is nearly unlimited. SS is good, but a bit ahistorical for my taste, and I think MTW just had too many weaknesses to fully address all of them, which makes me very concerned for EBII, which uses the MTW engine. The idea of seeing Asawaran-i Asadan charge past winmills and mosques is a bit...weird.
Hrmm. Having now grown tired of sacking Rome as the Moors, I see what you mean.
Okay, I warmed up again. But is there a way to make peace? It's 260 BC and I've taken Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica from the Carthaginians. I don't want to press onwards into Africa, since I want it to be semi-plausible. Ideas?
Quote from: Faeelin on September 12, 2009, 03:07:57 PM
Okay, I warmed up again. But is there a way to make peace? It's 260 BC and I've taken Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica from the Carthaginians. I don't want to press onwards into Africa, since I want it to be semi-plausible. Ideas?
Cheat. Add a ton of money and offer it to them if they accept peace. This will make them stronger and make fighting against them funner.
If I were you, I'd start giving money to the Seleucids pretty soon. And anyone else fighting the Ptolomeys, as the Ptolomeys are overypowered and annoying. They aren't even that great of an enemy, as they lack the Seleucid's diversity or extremely potent reformed "Roman-style" infantry.
Also, be sure get the northern Italian cities so you can get the Polybian reforms. The allied units are war-winning, especially the cavalry. Equites Extraordinarii are truly fantastic, war winning if used properly and you avoid prolonged skirmishes.
247 BC, and i've got Northern Italy and Massalia as well. I'm debating going for a knock out blow against Carthage, but upon reflection it's really Epirus that's uppity.
Also, for some reason I can't merge naval units togther.
Quote from: Faeelin on September 12, 2009, 08:46:14 PM
247 BC, and i've got Northern Italy and Massalia as well. I'm debating going for a knock out blow against Carthage, but upon reflection it's really Epirus that's uppity.
Also, for some reason I can't merge naval units togther.
Yup. The EB Rome campaign is basically designed for you to follow history, so waiting a little bit to expand, and then hitting most of the shores of the Western Medditeranean with Polybius, develop some MICs, then just go totally, completely apeshit once you hit Marian.
Have he Polybian reforms hit yet? They should have if you have Sicily. Make sure to ALWAYS hit your advisor. ALWAYS. Also, I'd keep in mind the requirements for the Marian reforms, I think it is
45 Settlements
8 Latifundae in Italy
Popularis, Talented General with Good Logistics
At Least 220 BC
Once you hit that the real fun starts; you can recruit full legionaries from any substantially developed faction MIC, your legionaries are better and can form testudo, you get siege weapons, though, sadly, you loose Equites Extraordinarii.
What does your average army look like? Oddly enough the Manipular system works really well, I found, just make sure there isn't any space from your first line to your second. IIRC there is a minimod that makes one of the auto-formations the classic maniple, pretty nice.
Also, although I've always had a few weird stability problems with it, the Roman campaign in Spain is just fun as shit. The Luisitainians are by far and away the toughest Barbarian faction you are likely to face in great numbers, and they have some brutal units. Not to mention that Carthage, always the coolest to fight as Rome, is also there. I like to play it during the Marian period, as Spain is a huge source of income, has good recruitable native troops, is right across from Italy and is just about the coolest bit of Western Europe anyway (all of this was historically true anyway).
I'm planning to write the AAR of the battle of Pergamon in dactylic hexameter. It will be pretty long. Stay tuned this week.
I am totally fed up with the Alexander mod, doing another install.
Quote from: Queequeg on September 13, 2009, 10:19:43 PM
I'm planning to write the AAR of the battle of Pergamon in dactylic hexameter. It will be pretty long. Stay tuned this week.
:nerd:
Quote from: Jaron on September 20, 2009, 01:06:37 AM
Quote from: Queequeg on September 13, 2009, 10:19:43 PM
I'm planning to write the AAR of the battle of Pergamon in dactylic hexameter. It will be pretty long. Stay tuned this week.
:nerd:
Milton was right. Dactylic Hexameter is fucking impossible in English.
Quote from: Faeelin on September 12, 2009, 08:46:14 PM
Also, for some reason I can't merge naval units togther.
Unless the captain is a 0 star one without any traits, you can't take his flagship from him. Some countries get a trait for their regular captains, which can make it merging 1 + 1 impossible.
Since the savegames for the Alexander mod are incompatible with my new install, I'm starting again as Bactria. This will be a different style; I'm going to delve into a lot of the ethnicities and cultures of the area, as well as some of their cultural habits and how they change with the expansion of Bactrian power into India, Iran and Transoxiana. I'll also use a lot of pictures of Greco-Bactrian and Greco-Indian art, which I hope you will agree is pretty fantastically awesome. Look out for a lengthly intro later tonight, as I want to try to find some good maps of the area as it is not very well known even among history geeks.
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To Fight Besides the City of the Trojans: A Bactrian AAR for Europa Barbarorum
μήτηρ γάρ τέ μέ φησι θεὰ Θέτις ἀργυρόπεζα
διχθαδίας κῆρας φερέμεν θανάτοιο τέλος δέ.
εἰ μέν κ' αὖθι μένων Τρώων πόλιν ἀμφιμάχωμαι,
ὤλετο μέν μοι νόστος, ἀτὰρ κλέος ἄφθιτον ἔσται
εἰ δέ κεν οἴκαδ' ἵκωμι φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν,
ὤλετό μοι κλέος ἐσθλόν, ἐπὶ δηρὸν δέ μοι αἰὼν
ἔσσεται, οὐδέ κέ μ' ὦκα τέλος θανάτοιο κιχείη.
For my mother Thetis the goddess of silver feet tells me
I carry two sorts of destiny toward the day of my death. Either,
if I stay here and fight beside the city of the Trojans,
my return home is gone, but my glory shall be everlasting;
but if I return home to the beloved land of my fathers,
the excellence of my glory is gone, but there will be a long life
left for me, and my end in death will not come to me quickly.
-Monologue by Achilles from The Iliad, contemplating two possible fates.
I intend, as much as possible, to keep in character for this. I shall at all points make references (as far as my education in the Classics of Greek, Indian and Iranian literature may permit me) to contemporary peoples, faiths and philosophies. I shall not attempt to write from a single perspective, as a historian writing of recent events in a Bactria that has not yet conquered Afghanistan would be quite different from one that has established an Empire stretching from India to the Caspian. Events, like the adaptation of Buddhism and the establishment of Greco-Buddhist art, shall be dealt with in the greatest possible detail that I can provide.
The Bactrians are, in my opinion, perhaps the single greatest utterly forgotten people. All Buddhist art draws upon their heritage, from Japan to Jakarta and, eventually, perhaps even into Christianity. All subsequent powers in the region up until the modern day draw greatly on the legacy of the Greco-Bactrians, be they Hindu, Muslim, Persian or Arab. What is more, they managed to accomplish this in what we all know today to be a "difficult" area, and were never free of nomadic attack, and were often squeezed uncomfortably between pressures from Iran, the Steppe and India.
I like this a lot more than Macedon; the Antigonid Kingdom was always exhausted, and could not even muster a competent defense when the Romans finally came knocking. On the other hand, the Bactrians left a permanent mark of their civilization upon all the great civilizations of Asia.
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I, Hector of Smyrna, have been commissioned by King Diodotus to write upon the land of Bactria before the independence of the Bactrian Satrapy and the birth of our new Kingdom, so that our descendants may know of the land before the great Alexander conquered the known world.
There are three primary divisions between the natives of this area, and it is said that these divisions came with the advent of the great Persian preacher Zarthosht, or Zarathustra. Zarathustra, according to some learned Persians, was born here, and sought to reform the practices of its peoples. Zarathustra is said to have preached that there was one good god, Zeus-Ahura Mazda, and one bad God, Angra Mainyu, who does not have a Greek (or other) equivalent. Zoroaster is said to have preached good thoughts and good deeds, but he also preached an end to cattle raiding, which unfortunately for him was, and remains, the dearest custom of the Scythians. The Scythians, being a warlike and woman-ruled people, slaughtered Ahura Mazda and shattered the single Persian people into nomad Scythians and agricultural Persians. To the East of the Persians, however, is another divide, for the people of the East, or Indians, worship Gods that the Persians deem evil, while the Indians accuse the Persian gods of equal wickedness.
The customs of the Persians are well known and have been discussed by the great Herodotus, but for Posterity's sake I shall write that they are a not-uncivilized people who are marked as much by their pride as their femininity. It is the Persian custom to leave their dead exposed in towers and to dress extravagantly in gold and garish finery, and they have many odd views on the duality of morality and the "omnipresence" and "omnipotence" of a "good" God, who shall one day destroy or remake the world in a great holocaust. The Persians seem queerly unified in this Philosophy, and many of our great scholars wonder why one Philosophy appears so dominant here while among the Hellenes debate is constant. The Persians here are a light people, often with the red hair of the Thracians or the oddly colored eyes of the Scythians.
The Scythians are likewise well known from the accounts of Herodotus, but appear to have either changed some in the past century or perhaps are different here from Mikra Skythia. While the Scythians of old were rightly famous for their archery, it is now the favored tactic of the Scythians to use long spears on horseback, a tactic taken from the great Makedonian Companions of Alexander who fought in a similar fashion. They are a treacherous, womanish people with no knowledge of letters of any sort and little of agriculture. The Scythians are much obsessed with their physical appearance, and often tattoo the images of various spirits or Gods on their bodies.
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Some among the Scythians bind the skulls and ritually scar the faces of their infants to provoke terror in their enemies, and there are those among the Greeks who doubted their humanity. However, their appearance would appear to give them no special immunity from good Greek spears.
The Scythians are very fond of all manner of intoxicating substances. They have become enamored of our imported wine, appear oddly obsessed with the cannabis plant and its ritual significance in smoke baths, and are so obsessed with the plant that they leave bags of it for their kings so that they might smoke it in the afterlife. They also appear to worship a drink called Homa, produced from a rare plant, that is strictly forbidden to Persians and now to Greeks, though the Scythians are very fond of it and sometimes even go into battle under its effect.
The Indians appear to be related to both the Scythians and the Persians, though they worship different Gods, have different stories and do not beef. The great Indian Emperor, Chandragupta Maurya, lead a great Maurya Empire of all Indians that managed to defeat many Greeks. Chandragupta's Grandson, Ashoka the Great, maintains many of the lands to the East of Bactria and is said to have conquered many famous lands in that vast country. Among the Indians, there appear to be many philosophies, with the native having many Gods and resembling our Greek practices, as well as those of the Persians. There are also those called Jains or Buddhists, who disavow the material world and are similar to our Greek Cynics.
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Hrm. For some reason, I am reminded of this: http://www.tcnj.edu/~joss/2009/2009%20Blair.pdf
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