«

[another_guest]

The best are the large tribes that have their general ride in front. Finish him, which will cause most of the troops to flee or become disheartened --> less casualties for you, and a big population to raise more armies

On the easier difficulty levels, having your soldiers stand fast and slaughter the oncoming troops works like a charm. Too bad it doesn't really work on harder settings...

[Raasted]

Too bad it doesn't really work on harder settings...

Au contraire! :Titan:

The game would be a very short pleasure if you, even on the harder setting, could order "Stand firm", do nothing at all - and win the battle....It's much more fun when you have to form your army in a Wedge, and then use the "Cannae Tactics" - watch as they think you're running away and then just boom

(And yes, I chose to ignore your sarcasm )

/Raasted

[another_guest]

Originally posted by Raasted@Apr 21 2006, 05:13 PM
...

(And yes, I chose to ignore your sarcasm )

Well, on the hardest difficulty level I've always found that your soldiers start panicking way too fast. If the Roman legionnaires had been like that, they wouldn't even have reached the Alpes :bleh:

The "challenge" on the easier levels is to conquer the world as fast as possible. Usually hindered by at least 1 country that won't be satisfied even after 10 years in a row of the most expensive games... Sweet memories...

Saw a couple of posts regarding alliances, thought I'd chime in: you can ally with nearly every nation on the map, but the requirements vary a lot. A good rank is a requirement for many of them to even talk to you (and give a favorable response even if you take the 'right' route to the conversation), so a couple of alliances aren't all that feasible in practice.

Still, the only countries I know of that you can't forge alliances with at all are Narbonensis, Sarmatia, Dacia and Carthage, and two with which it's supposed to be possible but bugged are Scythia (refuse every level of tribute, including low) and that one in Africa, Cyrenaica (can't seem to get the right thread going although poking around in memory with a hex editor reveals it should be there).

Some of the trickier countries:

- Gaul and Germania both require you to outnumber them, which even a consular army can't do. You'd need to fight and weaken them, then lose the battle and come back later to press them into an alliance.

- Cilicia requires you to have a somewhat questionable reputation or they won't trust you (them being a pirate nation). If too many of your provinces are content they won't want an alliance; setting tax to irritating for a turn before talking to them can do the trick, but if you overdo it they'll refuse any conversation, just like everybody if half your realm is revolting.

- A couple of nations including Sicilia and Pontus actually require you to bring in a very small army - to show your good intentions - and then do Friendly, Friendly, Offer Alliance - they'll instantly cut off the convo at the first friendly calling you a liar if you bring in too many men.

- Some countries including Alpes require an unlikely conversation thread going through like five or six options including the whole friendly/diplomatic/aggressive range before going offer alliance. Took me a while to figure those out. Best as I can tell, though, there isn't a single province in the game where Ultimatum has any use.

[Japo]

BAAAH! Just crush them with your legions! :Titan:

[another_guest]

What's the advantage of an alliance, except that you don't have to fight? Just wondering... I've finished the game plenty of times, but never managed to get an alliance, in the end just settled for the quickest conversations before plunging into war.

[Goodguy3]

hmmmm...wehn i try to run it in dosox it claims that the program is not found and exits..help!

nevermind i got it *hits self with hammer"

@ another guest: As someone told us earlier and as i tell you now:

- No Fight, your army stays at prior size
- peoples are more satisfied with you as you were friendly to them, will play more taxes
- you can strengthen your army / new army as their normal army size are ready to fight for you

Honigsammler has a question:
-----------------------------------

hi - this game is just great -

agree that i should be played on harder difficulties, once you get a bit familar with the controls and stuff -

i have a question - what are the requirements to become a consul ? - or how are the ranks defined in general ?

is it just TIME, population, conquered nations ?

i had once just a test game where i stayed in one country (all other was conquered with the ongoing years and just clicked next year all the time - and i became a consul -

just wanted to know how can i "influence" this, or is it just a matter of time with the ranks ?

[another_guest]

There seems to be a direct link between number of conquered nations and rank in the sense that as of 3 countries you'll get promoted, etc. (I think it was 11 or 13 countries for consul) No idea how it works when you loose countries though.
Probably there are other factors that can get you promoted as well. But time isn't necessary: if you conquer nations faster you'll get promoted anyway regardless of the year you are in.