Monte Carlo

The Warhammer PS1 game was called Shadow of the Horned Rat. It was pretty good, actually, and the combat system was very much like the Total War set-up but with a radial in-game menu. Personally, I invested in a PS mouse. Made life much easier. Cheers MC

You see, whis is why you can't win with gamers. Especially CRPG fans. I'd say the exact opposite; characters who are engaging but who don't get in the way of the gameplay (Planescape, anyone?) and combat that grabs you by the balls and makes you really have to think. And if that means a turn-based tactics-fest then so be it. I'd also add that size does matter; I don't like small games. The chance to explore that evokes that "kid in a sweet shop" feeling is also important: what do I do next? Ooh, I wanna do that, and that and that. Cool. Lastly a hot elf chick/ alien chick/ whatever chick in a chainmail bikini never hurts a great RPG in my humble. Cheers MC

I fondly remember playing multiplayer Command & Conquer 2 on my old Playstation with my flatmate for hours. Ditto Warcraft. My biggest regret about Xbox ownership is the dearth of decent RTS titles; but for the life of me I can't see why you couldn't do a decent one for it? Go for it Obsidian....lead the way with a junk-resource drive PA RTS on the Xbox2! Cheers MC

Hey, let Obsidian make a few console titles. Why not? If a diverse portfolio allows them to release a decent PC RPG now and then it'd be well worth it. Personally, on the console, I'd like to see Obsidian do a post-apocalyptic or science-fiction RTS title, give it the full treatment. The reason I say post-apoc is that I'd love to see you using junk as a resource. You know, you harvest different sorts of junk and...make stuff. Like crazed Mad Max killing machines. Imagine if the hottest loot on the map was, say, an old fridge or an aluminium shopping cart. Ha ha ha. You know, recycling always has this long-haired, Volvo-driving image, but in this game it'd be recycling with a difference. For their original PC title I want to see an all singing, all dancing fantasy game that has a Jagged Alliance 2 style mission/ resource overlay. We discussed it over on the old BIS boards...I think Chris A. chimed in and said he liked it. Or it could have been Mr. Maldonado, in which case it's too bad 'cuz he's at Midway IIRC. Cheers MC

^ Good luck Chemchok with Europa.... I'm looking forward to it immensely. As somebody else pointed out, the actual mechanics of Medieval are better, it just doesn't look as nice. As we discussed in the other RomeTW: What Next? thread, Medieval with the Rome engine would be sublime. I patched to V1.2 this weekend, after getting a friend with broadband to download it for me and burn it. It has some substantial improvements, especially making the use of diplomats less cheesy. Before, you could do this: 1. Blockade Greek port, thereby declaring war. 2. Use diplomat to negotiate ceasefire for 10,000 denari. - Next turn - 1. Blockade Greek port, thereby re-declaring war. 2. Use diplomat to negotiate ceasefire for 10,000 denari. Rinse and repeat. All in all, though, it remains for me the best game released since, well, Medieval. CRPGs are kaput, Kameraden. Cheers MC

It depends what game we're talking about? Play Any Faction Mod for Rome:TW is pretty good. BG2 is the game I've most experience with, mod-wise. I can't imagine playing it without Weimer's Ease-of-Use and Tactics. Ascension is pretty cool, too. Cheers MC

Haven't they remaindered X-boxes in Kanada, like they have in the UK? X-boxes are dirt cheap here for some reason. Cheers MC

Maybe I'm being old-fashioned, but I see a considerable difference between legitimate marketing/ publicity and hype. If we were being gentlemanly about it, hype in computer gaming terms usually equates to BS. Molyneaux admitted as much apres-Fable. Bioware, apres- Neverwinter, did not. Compare and contrast with JE Sawyer, who apologizes even when his efforts are pretty good ::chuckles:: Cheers MC

Most of the unlockable factions have at least one killer unit...Germany has two (Night Raiders and Gothic Cavalry). The grognards a playing no-hoper factions that you have to unlock manually, like Armenia, Spain and Scythia for a real challenge. Funnily enough, none of those are as annoyingly tough as, say, Gaul and Carthage. Of course, the Roman factions are easiest....Marius event = military powerhouse. Urban Cohorts are like Panzers trundling all over the other ancient-era uber-units. Cheers MC

Bioware aren't aggressively hyping Dragon Age, they really ain't. Where are the drooling fanboi Dragon Age fansites? At the same early point in the NWN development cycle I remember reading at least three decent newsites (i.e. NWN Stratics) picking up NWN tidbits. Where are the reams of concept art and screenies? A modest selection has appeared, with the emphasis being on modest. Where is the relentless hyperbole? Sorry, maybe a bit later, but right now DA doesn't have anywhere near the hype that NWN did. Maybe it's because Bioware are now bigger and have stuff like Jade Empire to concentrate on. I dunno. I like to think it's because they over-egged the NWN process and learnt from that. Cheers MC

"It takes a brave man not be a hero in the Red Army!" Josef Stalin US combat losses since the end of Vietnam, in all conflicts, have yet to reach the level of punishment executions carried out by the Russians of their own troops for "cowardice" at Stalingrad (a whole division of 'em). Julii are not the easiest Roman faction, BTW. Their limited access to coastal regions, and the poor barbarian trade routes they conquer means that they struggle for cash. None of their temples provide any sort of military bonuses. It is, however, a challenging faction to play. Cheers MC

A few things to consider about Baldur's Gate 3. 1. It's Atari's call. They choose the developer. Of course, Bioware is by any objective standard a quality developer with lots of clout....almost too much clout perhaps. Atari seems to like pliable developers they can force to release buggy, unfinished rush-job products. Love 'em or hate 'em, Bioware doesn't fit the criteria there, does it? 2. Bioware is making Dragon Age. Now, almost moving onto a different issue, they ain't hyping it. In fact, it's almost under the radar (I think they've learnt their lesson from NWN, personally). Nonetheless, it is a huge project using an original IP which will no doubt spawn a number of XPs. It's hot property. It'll be a big hit. Not dissing Baldur's Gate as a franchise (I love the games), but would throwing huge resources and assets at a BG3 really fit into the new original IP/ not-afraid-of-consoles/ bullish direction Bioware is travelling in? I don't think it would. 3. There are plenty of developers who would love to take on BG3. Hell, look at what's happened to Fallout. That's the direction I can see BG3 going. 4. Obsidian should be leery if Atari offer it to them, for the reasons described above. Cheers MC

Non-grognards don't know the meaning of 'complicated' until they've had to take into account the weather, supply lines, fatigue, morale, unit strength, and air support of every German division across the length and breadth of the Soviet Union, circa June 1942, before they plan their next attack. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> [/Gorgnard]Ironically, the German divisional commanders were generally ignorant of much of that info during the real thing! Mind you, they got their backsides kicked.[Grognard/]

The learning curve of Rome is reasonable if you play strategy games but I can imagine it being tough for those who, generally, don't. However, people do seem to want games they can just boot up and play ACKSHUN MOAD and Rome certainly isn't one of those. What the game does have is pretty darn good in-game support...more than any other TW title. My advice is: 1. Use (judiciously) the automanage functions for smaller/ out of the way settlements. 2. Click on "Victoria", the strangely antipodean-sounding in-game advisor chick. Especially if you are wondering about what to build next. 3. Play the tutorial: obvious I know but how many people don't bother. The most frustrating thing for the newbie will be creating an empire that is comfortably turning over enough money to do more or less the things you want to do (bribe armies, build cool units etc). It is pretty tough unitl you get the hang of the importance of ports/ markets/ roads/ trade agreements/ selling map info. Anyhow, if anybody wants to start a Q&A help thread for this game I'll happily jump in; I've beaten it with all the Roman factions as well as a few others. Hint: The Seleucids are the wealthiest faction in the game with the most varied and potentially potent troop roster....if you want to blast away and take over the world without worrying about denari, EVAR, then it's the only way to fly. Cheers MC

Or will have a bitter and undying vendetta against said system. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> True. Very true.

Hmmm. Personally I think classes are there to provide straight-outta-the-box archetypes to enable a player to make an easy choice concerning the type of character they are dealing with. The mage/ healer/ rogue/ healer archetypes have become so ingrianed now that classes have become part of the RPG landscape whether we like them or not (I don't, to be honest). Third Edition D&D tried to (quite elegantly) square this circle by satisfying the demand for classes with a more lateral skills and multi-classing system. Still, I prefer class-less systems (SPECIAL is great; would work perfectly well in a fantasy CRPG...the otherwise dreadful Lionheart gave us a glimpse how). So, to answer your questions: 1. The purpose of classes is to feed the default assumption on the behalf of the player that there will be classes. 2. There should be as many character-build options as the wider game can realistically and viably support....if it is a combat heavy game why be able to build a pacifist healer savant who won't make it out of the first level? What would be the point of having an omni-skilled brute warrior in a game like Planescape? Cheers MC

My other main problem with NWN mods is that everything in NWN looks the same. The tilesets, the music, the blocky, comedy-attired characters..... If it had shipped with some different stylistic templates for clothing, tilesets and so on (i.e. high fantasy, gothic fantasy, ancient-themed greco-roman inspired fantasy or whatever, and you could mix and match them) then it wouldn't be so tedious to look at. Don't get me wrong, I have almost enjoyed some NWN user-created mods. But, in the round, does it make the whole bundle worth investing in primarily for a single-player CRPG experience? Utterly, irrevocably NOT. Cheers MC

There are, in my experience, roughly four camps of pen & paper gamers: 1. Free-style story-tellers These guys have been at it for so long, and enjoy the story-telling, creative aspect of RP'ing so much that they, somewhere along the line, simply ditched the rules. They would be playing Fudge or some other open-ended, rules-lite system that allows them to concentrate on story-telling. For these people there is little or no point in even bothering to buy rules supplements and the like; they don't need them. These people are pretty hard-core and make up a small minority of RP'ers. 2. Vanilla RPG'ers Vanilla might not do these guys justice, and it is a bit of a generalization, but most gamers fall into this middle category. They enjoy rules (but not too much) and they enjoy role-lpaying (but not at the expense of having fun). They might be veterans, they might be munchkins or they might even be once-every-three-months for old times sake gamers. What they have in common is a sense of balance; give 'em too many rules and iterations of a system and they might abandon them. They can be fairly discriminating in what they buy, too, and are leery of constant errata/ splatbook-itis. 3. Collector-Savants The collector-savant might not even game that much. He just loves collecting books, supplements and rulesets. He is a significant part of the RPG firmament, and publishers rely heavily on this guy and his expensive splatbook habit. When he games, he is a pain because he'll want to be able to use all the wacky/ munchkin optional rules from the Essential Arcane Folio of Greyhawkian Pasta Recipes or whatever. 4. Grognard Wargamers I happily admit to being part of this camp. We are a dwindling bunch of ex-military wargamer types who fell into role-playing games via the early iterations of D&D, decamping from the old SPi, hex-based wargames, or Squad Leader. Grognards love rules, realism and pedantry. A Grognard/ Collector-Savant multi-class is one of the most terrifying beasts ever to stalk the gaming jungle. Grognard Wargamers and Free-style storytellers do not, as a rule, mix. The Grognard will defend 1E AD&D, RuneQuest, Busdhido, Traveller and other old-skool RPGs. --- So, to answer the question, what kind of gamer you are will probably dictate what kind of ruleset you like. Beauty of it is, whatever you are, the hobby will almost certainly accommodate your tastes. Cheers MC

I remember playing the original Gauntlet arcade game with friends in a pub. We'd spend as much on Gauntlet as we did on beer; that was the genius thing about it as you could feed the sucka coins and keep on playing the original game. It was great fun.... Defender with swords, really. I'd definitely consider an Xbox version for the co-op with friends, but not really for single player. For me, a co-op/ multiplayer game doesn't need to be remotely complex to be fun. OTOH, I like really complex single player games. Cheers MC

My favourite Troika moment was when, in an interview post-release of ToEE, St. Timmy blamed many of the bugs on the inability of technology to keep up with the complexity and vision of his design ideas. Ha ha ha. How many years did they surf on the credibility of the original Fallout without producing anything genuinely outstanding afterwards? The miracle is that Troika stayed afloat as long as it did. Cheers MC

Only a few of the suggestions here span the required timescale for a full TW game. By comparison, the English Civil War is a mere blip. Or a fraction of a blip. A blipette, even.

You can make the sexiest game in the world (not that they did), but if it doesn't run properly and is full of bugs people won't buy it. St. Timmy is a great lead designer, but he ain't cut out for business, is he? Troika didn't make a single game I finished or enjoyed so...meh. Cheers MC

Medieval's graphics are workmanlike but basic compared to Rome's. Nonetheless, the gameplay is extremely enjoyable with an excellent variety of factions and units. The Papacy replaces The Senate and there are Crusades and Jihads available to the respective factions to use as a strategic tool. There is also much less micromanagement of settlements but you can give your faction generals titles that boost their stats (i.e. Archbishop of Canterbury or Chancellor). Strategic marriages between your daughters and other factions are another feature that add to the Medieval flavour. The game map is beautiful, albeit less "realistic" as than the detailed terrain of the Rome:TW equivalent. It looks much more like a stylized game of Risk. And, as with all CA titles the music and VO is brilliant. Sean Pertwee does the Christian faction voices, and the battle music for the Muslim factions is genius. As good as Rome's. The idea of playing Medieval in the Rome engine is sublime....if only. To answer the question: I'm biased but I don't think that for the discerning gamer Medieval is a "step back" if you enjoyed Rome. Saying that, Rome's battle graphics are breathtakingly good. Cheers MC

Emerald Beach is a short distance (south-ish) from La Jolla. It was a long time ago, perhaps it's a bit less dull now. Everybody was driving beat-up VWs with those strange vinyl things strapped to the front of the bonnet.

This is an excellent question, and well worthy of discussion. I am a tremendous fan of Total War. Personally, I'm quite leery of what the CA might do next. After all, they've made three excellent games using the TW format.... and history teaches us that developers love dry-humping a winning format and/ or engine to death (the Infinity Engine springs to mind). The Rome engine is superlative, especially concerning detail/ gameplay versus system requirements. There is easily a hefty XP there waiting to be exploited. I've been watching Time Commanders on the TV (the TW engine is used in a gameshow format where teams play out famous historical battles) which gives us a clue as to where an XP might go. Either a prequel (Alexander springs immediately to mind, the re-skinned Companion Cavalry on the TV programme are especially cool) or an early Byzantine/ pre-Dark Ages theme seem to only viable ways to go. Personally, as for TWIV I'm a bit nonplussed. A WW1/WW2 game? Hmmm. Would fast-paced combat with artillery, tanks and firearms suit the format? Would the relatively short timespan work without the game turning into a Sid Meier style effort with a cool combat engine attached? The market is flooded with those type of RTS games. Another tempting avenue might be fantasy...but that would alienate the grognard fanbase who dig the historical aspect of it as well as being a bit, well.....cheesy. Therefore this is genuinely a really tough question. The TW format relies on that blend of turn-based strategy/ empire building and the fast-paced tactical excitement of the battles. Perhaps a period covering the 1600's to the Napoleonic era to the rise of the great European powers before WW1? The Imperial aspect means that you'd move the map to Africa and India (cool) or even to America for a civil war theme. Imagine playing a Neocon George Washington who decides to invade Europe in the early 1800's! The combination of old-school warfare (cavalry, pikemen etc) giving way to muskets and cannon and so on would be neat. A new, politically-based faction system that represents the different types of government would be cool too. So, as a starter for ten, I'd say Empires: Total War. You can play as one of the great European powers or even as a fledgling America with the Pilgrim Fathers (imagine landing your auxiliary Native American horse archers in Wales or Scotland) and follows world history through the rise of Imperialism (British Recoat infantry duking it out with Russian lancers on the plains of Southern Africa, or US Minutemen skirmishers plinking away at French Imperial Cavalry in the Crimea) through to the mechanised slaughter of 1914-1918? Whatever happens, I think a Rome:TW XP is next, and that'll do me for a while. Cheers MC