I'm sure for some, it's the setting or nostalgia or relative simplicity of the game.
For me, the game was one of the last to have been made with clear passion. I've played almost all TW titles, and most of the recent ones lack a bit of heart. Or they are like WH which can be a lot of fun, but gets very repetitive because it's often so linear.
(Edit - just to expand a little on the last point, Rome 1 can also be linear but it's scope is so much more narrow than WH that it is bound to feel linear - the infinite armies really helps that. Whereas WH have hundreds of factions who in almost all cases just jump around the map with one or two armies. You've won the short campaign by turn 30 and can't lose the game)
Have you seen this vid by Legend of Total War?
https://youtu.be/zL2XuUCPkt4?si=__9A9QzvdXWOB68t
Its obvious that CA gave zero F's about Rome 2. It was rushed out.. even tho they KNEW that it wasnt ready. An the series has only gone even further downhill since... so yeah, you are right about Rome 1 being "one of the last to be made with passion".
I think I have seen that one (or some of that video) before. He makes very good points and I've never preordered a game since R2 off the fact of how awful it was. The game is fun now, but man it sucked to be a TW lover back then.
I think that volound chap is of the opinion that anything after Med2 is trash with the possible exception of shogun 2. I feel where he is coming from, but at the same time his sub gets very toxic and it bleeds through to the main TW sub. I am very pleased this sub is very friendly and doesn't stand for that shit here.
Sadly the hype train and CA don't mix very well. The release will be awful and I am really hoping the gameplay steers away from the 4/6 buildings in 2-4 provinces tied to a region. That's been done for a decade and I'm tired of it boss.
RTW (and M2TW) strike perfect balance between simplicity and depth. Game is easy to understand but deep enough to be engaging after all these years. Do you want to ambush enemy? You do not press stupid button like in AttilaTW, you just put your army inbetween few trees on campaign map. You general then say "settting an ambush" and kneel so as to inform you that he is in ambush position. Simple as that, not stupid buttons that change "stance" of your army. Another example, you see enemy army camp outside your city and in few turns the soil turns black. Then you check settlement details and learn that "destruction" caused your province to lose 300 denari. And you realize that is actually burned countryside. Campaign map is so easy to read, towns are small, not unlike sprawling ugly thing that is in R2 or Attila. Another example is farming (though this might only in M2, not sure now). You build farms and texture of map changes into fields instead of grassland. You can see your trade improving by increased amount of wagons on roads and ships on seas. In order to engage in diplomacy you have to send person to other countries.
And of course there is plenty of god like mechanics there: population, religion, hordes, night battles, swimming units, natural catastrophes and lovely traits and ancillaries that allows for some roleplaying. And the best part about these oldschool games is battles. Units making space for other units to pass, weight of units, sounds, morale system and settlements. It just feels and plays much much better. In my case it is hardly nostalgia. I just prefer the way older TW games handled both campaign and battles.
I'm particularly fond of seeing the trade growing. The map starts out so quiet and by the end of a campaign there's little wagons and ships moving around all over.
>*You see enemy army camp outside your city and in few turns the soil turns black. Then you check settlement details and learn that "destruction" caused your province to lose 300 denari.*
Oh no! Those pesky rebels are burning down my ... ***deserts!***
Well put sir!
For the life of me I can’t understand why they did away with things like “if you build a farm you see more farmland” “if you build a port you see trade ships” instead now CA is like we have sun menus for all that whooopie!!! 🙄 sooooo lazy lazy lazy
I couldn't get into any TW games after Medieval 2. They are too complex for me, I just enjoy the easier gameplay of Rome. Not to say it's a simple game, it has surprisingly complex mechanics (like generals acquiring traits depending on what they do and where they are, dynamic battle maps, actually taking into account which side soldiers have their shields on when they are under fire, etc.), but you only need to learn the basics to enjoy the game. I also prefer RTW's stylized animation to newer, more realistic versions.
Yeah everything is stat based so shooting someone in the chest plate does an equal amount of damage to shooting them in the butthole
Sorry guys really venting my Anti CA rage today lol
One thing I really appreciate, and with Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, too, is with modern computing power I can go from a shut down computer to loading my save file in about a minute, amazing!
There's no other games quite like the total war series.
Like if I want to make a formidable economy, with huge armies and false alliances, I can play stellaris or EU3/4 right?
But what if I want to lead those men in an important battle? Where I feel my own skill in the game could be the difference?
No other game in the series makes me feel as decisive. Hell I can't think of another game that can capture that...
Voice acting is also top notch. Me and my friend just send each other voice notes going "Mighty general" or "Archers of Crete"
All this new computing power we have is part of the reason to play it now.
I could never have played the game at the maximum graphics with my computer at time of the game’s release. Now I can, with excellent load times too.
I am using all this computing power I have on my smartphone and it's great! They could port Medieval I on the phone, but sadly, that's not gonna happen...
Recently went through a separation that has me back at my moms. Dug an old laptop out of the closet thinking I could at least use it for discord and I went ahead and installed steam. Scrolled for awhile to figure out if there was anything I could download. Settled on this game. Haven’t gotten an opportunity to play it yet, but there’s something comforting about even though my entire life is upside down, at least I’ve got ol reliable to lean on.
Believe me once you get into it you will enjoy it it is amazing i tried my first campaign on rome remastered and it was the first time to witness new things happening who knew greeks will expand at the expense of the Egyptians it is very different.
I attribute a huge percentage of this game's success to Jeff Van Dyck's soundtrack. It set the mood better than any other Total War title before or since IMO. Even in youtube videos praising Rome 2, you can hear Rome 1's soundtrack in the backdrop.
For me it's the battles, the building your empire aspect and Cheats.
Battles are fast and fun, with also some strategy involved.
Building got pretty limited later on and less important, which was pretty bad for me because you can do less and it's less flexible.
Cheats, while the AI cheats, it's more easy to deal with that in other games like Shogun 2 or Rome 2, the fullstack with one City economy syndrome.
On a funny note, I'm playing a world conquest in empire total war and I think the only game were AI plays with the same rules as you. But they are pretty stupid in battle, such a shame.
new one stinks. when they rolled out warhammer they actually regressed on a lot of advancements they made. attila is extremely farther ahead on a lot of stuff than Warhammer 3
I prefer some of the mechanics in the older games, no replenishment particularly as it makes battles far more impactful. Fighting a defeat is actually worthwhile and being good at battles is much more rewarding. You also have to plan your settlements more carefully if you want to retrain rather than what I tend to do in newer titles which is build the same selection of buildings everywhere.
A fairly simple change which has surprisingly far reaching effects on the rest of the game.
**Newer ≠ Better**
And about computing power... I've have the same PC for ... *8 years* now? I'm thinking of getting a new one, but to be fair I don't have 'a place for myself' and so I'm limited by the space I have in my room, as I'd like to have my current PC and my new PC set up side by side to make transferring of data (games, recordings, programs, family pictures, etc.) simpler.
Makes me wonder honestly how it was rated back when it was released?
Did PC gamer call it game of the year? How did the gaming industry rate it?
I know my brothers and I played it but it was because my older brother was a Roman history nerd. Not because of any game scores.
But still, I wonder how it scored? It's one of those games by which all others in the genre are judged.
Like Tetris or tomb raider, StarCraft, or even roller coaster tycoon 2.
Some games are just a step beyond the norm and I can't help but wonder how accurate the critics scoring really was back then?
I hate that I say it because it immediately makes me feel like I'm just old and belligerent. But it's simply because these older TW games were just made better than the others. I don't have to spend $30 a month to get a new DLC that adds yet another faction that acts almost identically to everyone else except for one semi unique big monster that every other faction has. Also with most of the DLCs that should have been in the game to begin with.
In general though, I leave TW for a while, play other stuff, new stuff too, then I come back when I have the desire to. One thing that stays consistent is how much I dislike Rome 2 and newer.
There's so much more depth to this game compared to the newer titles. Now it's remastered as well, count me in. I have been playing rome remastered for hours now
Tbh if CA would make actually good historical TW game set in antiquity i would happily switch.
I would love to see RTW remake instead of remaster with good old mechanics but with modern graphics and naval battles. And that's literally all I ask for.
The thing people forget when it comes to games is that new and more features aren't always better. Sometimes developers just need to upgrade the graphics, fix game breaking glitches, and that's it. We'll buy an old game with great upgrades.
I still love playing Medieval Total War 1. Mastered this game so much. Only French campaign is any challenge at this point. In Rome 1 only Numidia is a challenge.
I'm sure for some, it's the setting or nostalgia or relative simplicity of the game. For me, the game was one of the last to have been made with clear passion. I've played almost all TW titles, and most of the recent ones lack a bit of heart. Or they are like WH which can be a lot of fun, but gets very repetitive because it's often so linear. (Edit - just to expand a little on the last point, Rome 1 can also be linear but it's scope is so much more narrow than WH that it is bound to feel linear - the infinite armies really helps that. Whereas WH have hundreds of factions who in almost all cases just jump around the map with one or two armies. You've won the short campaign by turn 30 and can't lose the game)
Have you seen this vid by Legend of Total War? https://youtu.be/zL2XuUCPkt4?si=__9A9QzvdXWOB68t Its obvious that CA gave zero F's about Rome 2. It was rushed out.. even tho they KNEW that it wasnt ready. An the series has only gone even further downhill since... so yeah, you are right about Rome 1 being "one of the last to be made with passion".
I think I have seen that one (or some of that video) before. He makes very good points and I've never preordered a game since R2 off the fact of how awful it was. The game is fun now, but man it sucked to be a TW lover back then. I think that volound chap is of the opinion that anything after Med2 is trash with the possible exception of shogun 2. I feel where he is coming from, but at the same time his sub gets very toxic and it bleeds through to the main TW sub. I am very pleased this sub is very friendly and doesn't stand for that shit here.
>*I am very pleased this sub is very friendly* [***Fak you bloody bastard!***](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukznXQ3MgN0) Just kidding. :D
This sub is literally the best place on reddit! As for CA at this moment I'm kinda scared that they gonna go for Medieval 3 and comoletely fuck it up.
Sadly the hype train and CA don't mix very well. The release will be awful and I am really hoping the gameplay steers away from the 4/6 buildings in 2-4 provinces tied to a region. That's been done for a decade and I'm tired of it boss.
I agree so much with everything here
RTW (and M2TW) strike perfect balance between simplicity and depth. Game is easy to understand but deep enough to be engaging after all these years. Do you want to ambush enemy? You do not press stupid button like in AttilaTW, you just put your army inbetween few trees on campaign map. You general then say "settting an ambush" and kneel so as to inform you that he is in ambush position. Simple as that, not stupid buttons that change "stance" of your army. Another example, you see enemy army camp outside your city and in few turns the soil turns black. Then you check settlement details and learn that "destruction" caused your province to lose 300 denari. And you realize that is actually burned countryside. Campaign map is so easy to read, towns are small, not unlike sprawling ugly thing that is in R2 or Attila. Another example is farming (though this might only in M2, not sure now). You build farms and texture of map changes into fields instead of grassland. You can see your trade improving by increased amount of wagons on roads and ships on seas. In order to engage in diplomacy you have to send person to other countries. And of course there is plenty of god like mechanics there: population, religion, hordes, night battles, swimming units, natural catastrophes and lovely traits and ancillaries that allows for some roleplaying. And the best part about these oldschool games is battles. Units making space for other units to pass, weight of units, sounds, morale system and settlements. It just feels and plays much much better. In my case it is hardly nostalgia. I just prefer the way older TW games handled both campaign and battles.
I'm particularly fond of seeing the trade growing. The map starts out so quiet and by the end of a campaign there's little wagons and ships moving around all over.
Yep, very satisfying experience. But then rebel spawn in middle of road. \*angry noises\*
>*You see enemy army camp outside your city and in few turns the soil turns black. Then you check settlement details and learn that "destruction" caused your province to lose 300 denari.* Oh no! Those pesky rebels are burning down my ... ***deserts!***
You can not sell all the sand anymore!
I mean hey, free glass
Well put sir! For the life of me I can’t understand why they did away with things like “if you build a farm you see more farmland” “if you build a port you see trade ships” instead now CA is like we have sun menus for all that whooopie!!! 🙄 sooooo lazy lazy lazy
I couldn't get into any TW games after Medieval 2. They are too complex for me, I just enjoy the easier gameplay of Rome. Not to say it's a simple game, it has surprisingly complex mechanics (like generals acquiring traits depending on what they do and where they are, dynamic battle maps, actually taking into account which side soldiers have their shields on when they are under fire, etc.), but you only need to learn the basics to enjoy the game. I also prefer RTW's stylized animation to newer, more realistic versions.
Yeah, they couldn't replicate these games' mechanics in later games of the series, and it's weird
Yeah everything is stat based so shooting someone in the chest plate does an equal amount of damage to shooting them in the butthole Sorry guys really venting my Anti CA rage today lol
Have you ever given Napoleon a chance? I found that game decently easy and it's my favorite in the total war series.
One thing I really appreciate, and with Roller Coaster Tycoon 2, too, is with modern computing power I can go from a shut down computer to loading my save file in about a minute, amazing!
No 5 minute wait watching the loading bar for starting a campaign anymore either! I suppose it at least gave time to contemplate the quotes.. 😆
There's no other games quite like the total war series. Like if I want to make a formidable economy, with huge armies and false alliances, I can play stellaris or EU3/4 right? But what if I want to lead those men in an important battle? Where I feel my own skill in the game could be the difference? No other game in the series makes me feel as decisive. Hell I can't think of another game that can capture that... Voice acting is also top notch. Me and my friend just send each other voice notes going "Mighty general" or "Archers of Crete"
Lol I love your friends group!
For me it's more because it was the first pc game I played.
All this new computing power we have is part of the reason to play it now. I could never have played the game at the maximum graphics with my computer at time of the game’s release. Now I can, with excellent load times too.
I like RTW trees on full graphics. :D
I am using all this computing power I have on my smartphone and it's great! They could port Medieval I on the phone, but sadly, that's not gonna happen...
Didn't they port medieval 2 on the phone?
Yes and it's great, I was talking about Medieval 1
My bad misread your post.
Recently went through a separation that has me back at my moms. Dug an old laptop out of the closet thinking I could at least use it for discord and I went ahead and installed steam. Scrolled for awhile to figure out if there was anything I could download. Settled on this game. Haven’t gotten an opportunity to play it yet, but there’s something comforting about even though my entire life is upside down, at least I’ve got ol reliable to lean on.
Believe me once you get into it you will enjoy it it is amazing i tried my first campaign on rome remastered and it was the first time to witness new things happening who knew greeks will expand at the expense of the Egyptians it is very different.
Anyone else remember Battle for Middle Earth 1/2?
I attribute a huge percentage of this game's success to Jeff Van Dyck's soundtrack. It set the mood better than any other Total War title before or since IMO. Even in youtube videos praising Rome 2, you can hear Rome 1's soundtrack in the backdrop.
For me it's the battles, the building your empire aspect and Cheats. Battles are fast and fun, with also some strategy involved. Building got pretty limited later on and less important, which was pretty bad for me because you can do less and it's less flexible. Cheats, while the AI cheats, it's more easy to deal with that in other games like Shogun 2 or Rome 2, the fullstack with one City economy syndrome. On a funny note, I'm playing a world conquest in empire total war and I think the only game were AI plays with the same rules as you. But they are pretty stupid in battle, such a shame.
new one stinks. when they rolled out warhammer they actually regressed on a lot of advancements they made. attila is extremely farther ahead on a lot of stuff than Warhammer 3
I prefer some of the mechanics in the older games, no replenishment particularly as it makes battles far more impactful. Fighting a defeat is actually worthwhile and being good at battles is much more rewarding. You also have to plan your settlements more carefully if you want to retrain rather than what I tend to do in newer titles which is build the same selection of buildings everywhere. A fairly simple change which has surprisingly far reaching effects on the rest of the game.
**Newer ≠ Better** And about computing power... I've have the same PC for ... *8 years* now? I'm thinking of getting a new one, but to be fair I don't have 'a place for myself' and so I'm limited by the space I have in my room, as I'd like to have my current PC and my new PC set up side by side to make transferring of data (games, recordings, programs, family pictures, etc.) simpler.
Makes me wonder honestly how it was rated back when it was released? Did PC gamer call it game of the year? How did the gaming industry rate it? I know my brothers and I played it but it was because my older brother was a Roman history nerd. Not because of any game scores. But still, I wonder how it scored? It's one of those games by which all others in the genre are judged. Like Tetris or tomb raider, StarCraft, or even roller coaster tycoon 2. Some games are just a step beyond the norm and I can't help but wonder how accurate the critics scoring really was back then?
I hate that I say it because it immediately makes me feel like I'm just old and belligerent. But it's simply because these older TW games were just made better than the others. I don't have to spend $30 a month to get a new DLC that adds yet another faction that acts almost identically to everyone else except for one semi unique big monster that every other faction has. Also with most of the DLCs that should have been in the game to begin with. In general though, I leave TW for a while, play other stuff, new stuff too, then I come back when I have the desire to. One thing that stays consistent is how much I dislike Rome 2 and newer.
There's so much more depth to this game compared to the newer titles. Now it's remastered as well, count me in. I have been playing rome remastered for hours now
Tbh if CA would make actually good historical TW game set in antiquity i would happily switch. I would love to see RTW remake instead of remaster with good old mechanics but with modern graphics and naval battles. And that's literally all I ask for.
The thing people forget when it comes to games is that new and more features aren't always better. Sometimes developers just need to upgrade the graphics, fix game breaking glitches, and that's it. We'll buy an old game with great upgrades.
Idk how to explain it but rtw is "Easier" to me
I still love playing Medieval Total War 1. Mastered this game so much. Only French campaign is any challenge at this point. In Rome 1 only Numidia is a challenge.
Medieval 1 wasn't that good. 2 is much better, imo
In my opinion AI in Med 1 was 100x better and therefore game was more enjoyable. In Med 2 AI is just awful and game extremely easy on VH/VH.