New Campaign pack for R2! :)

[Clint_Eastwood]

Anyone else feel like this is getting a tab bit silly now... I swear, at this rate you'll probably have data-mined a fully playable version of the DLC before the month is out!

All the Best,

Welsh Dragon.

Not really, as that is what us modders do! Rip the files apart and find what is hidden amongst them!! Looks official to me a lovely Italian campaign DLC. PFM is such a wonderful tool.

[Tenerife_Boy]

Taras or Syracuse my very first campaigns then Samnites.
Thanks for this discover Benjin! +rep granted

[Morticia Iunia Bruti]

First Samnites, then Rome.^^

[captainkrunch]

I'm interested in what the Iolei roster will be. A Sardinian faction seems interesting for sure. I recall learning that there were some very old stone constructions on that island. "Nuraghe" I believe based on a quick google search. I wonder if those will feature as part of battle map clutter. I'm interested in what their actual roster will be though.


Also, it seems very strange to me not to include Carthage as a playable faction when they are on the map. I understand they might be afraid of some people complaining that it's HatG 2.0 but I feel like it would be good for some more variety, especially since I'm pretty sure that the 4th century BC is when they really start pushing in to Siciliy and Sardinia. Carthage would have been a good natural enemy for Syracuse and vice versa.

[jamreal18]

The funny thing here is CA is slow. We already know what the dlc is before their announcement.

They can announce it but they are holding back.

[Clint_Eastwood]

The funny thing here is CA is slow. We already know what the dlc is before their announcement.

They can announce it but they are holding back.

They are probably fine tweaking the campaign and unit stuff as we speak, better still give it to DEI, Vae Victus and Ancient Empires teams they will complete it quicker!! Only joking CA I am really looking forward to this DLC

[♔Greek Strategos♔]

I believe that name is already taken

The could call it Vae Victis Remastered or something.

An example is the YOUTUBE video of a Russian hacker who unlocked Rome II as soon as it was downloaded into his Steam account. If I remember correctly it depicted a comically absurd siege battle, which completely shocked the fanbase, because everyone was certain that the game would be impeccable. His evidence was dismissed as misleading Russian propaganda, until the terrible truth was revealed to the masses during the ominous day of the 3rd of September!

Oh I still remember the horror of that Day. It will always haunt my dreams.

[Welsh Dragon]

@Welsh Dragon it's unavoidable so you could say it fits into unofficial guerrilla marketing and all helps to build up the hype in its own little way.

Fair point.

I said this ages ago somewhere, but the starting positions of the Successor States in the Grand Campaign already pretty much starts off during that period of time already, so it'd be like having another Hannibal at the Gates-style campaign which wouldn't add much fresh content to the game. However, I do think the Diadochi Wars would work more as an endgame scenario for a potential Alexander campaign, which could be more original because of:

• Map / Starting Positions: Stretches from Greece to India with bits of Africa - Thirtieth-Dynasty Egyptians under control of Persians who recently invaded, Greeks ready for conquering Persians etc.
• Factions: Lots of diverse factions and never-before seen cultures / maps added to the game (e.g. Indian unit rosters, Indian subcontinent environment biomes / settlement map styles).
• Campaign Gameplay: As Macedon, it could start off as a regular, map painter-style Total War campaign with an invincible historical character as head of state (Alexander's character art borrowed from ARENA). When you hit Alexander's death and have to face a dilemma of choosing which Successor State to inherit his legacy, this starts off the Wars of the Diadochi. As a non-Macedon faction, it could be like Attila's Grand Campaign, where you have to survive until a certain point - Alexander's death (really hard to do as any faction in or within close-proximity to Greece). Once that happens, Macedon's holdings will finally start to break up, prompting you to make your moves to finally winning the campaign.
• Brand Power: "Alexander" and his conquests definitely have more brand power than the "Diadochi" - it would sell better, therefore more incentive for CA to want to do it.
• FLC: Siege / Battle Mechanics Overhaul could be a good thing to do to coincide with a campaign DLC like this.

That does sound like an interesting idea.

well, well, well.....five years later and we get the family tree!! Overall the latest patch looks good and will be interesting to try out with the graphic enhancements etc..Also the Italic Wars campaign looks a good DLC. For me I have never been this excited on a DLC! Still well done CA on the DLC and at long last you are starting to listen to your customers on feedback and suggestions.

They've been listening all along, and implementing feedback and suggestions throughout most of Rome 2's lifetime. It may not always have been what some people were shouting loudest about, but then again he who shouts loudest isn't always he who should be listened to. Especially seeing how, as a community, we basically cannot all agree on anything!

Interesting to see they base the DLC on Brennus. His sword trick and adventures with indiscreet geese are indeed the only historical episode of that period known outside the circles of the most historians. Still it cannot be compared to Asterix, Hannibal, Spartans! or even the oriental femininity of Zenobia, which is why I suspect the DLC will flop, especially if we take into consideration the disappointing results of Throb.

Sorry, but I don't really see your logic in saying it will be a flop. From what's been data-mined, sounds like it's a decent sized campaign with a variety of different factions and cultures to play. It may not have the recognition factor of Caesar in Gaul, Hannibal or Wrath of Sparta, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I mean how many average players had heard of the Boshin War before Fall of the Samurai, unless they had a specific interest in the history of the area?

I'd also suggest that the Rise of Rome / early days of Rome, which this appears to be, is probably at least as, if not more, well known than say the Crisis of the Third Century. And Empire Divided seems to have done reasonably well, to give them the means to do Desert Kingdoms and now this.

As for Thrones of Britannia, I still don't really see it as a disappointing result. Seems like it's a modest game, with a modest budget, and a modest playerbase... which is what Sagas seem to be designed to be.

To clarify, I meant that it will be the last campaign DLC, although faction packs also seem doubtful, since we're running out of factions. I can't see the imaginary and misplaced factions of Media or Drangiana being included in a DLC. For campaigns, apart from the apparent lack of potentially profitable candidates, CA also suffers from time limits. Even if Brennus' invasion gets released in August, then the 9-months space between it and Empire Divided means that nothing can come before Three Kingdoms. Not to mention that there's no chance a serious company will derail the pre-release hype for their next major "tent-pole" title for the sake of a minor project. The last months before the arrival of Three Kingdoms will be solely dedicated to building up excitement and encouraging pre-orders, so no distractions will be allowed. The possibility that the Bulgarian employees team will be reinforced, in order to accelerate their production, also seems unlikely. In fact, the opposite would probably be true, where every satellite team will be expected to focus on Three Kingdoms, from bug elimination to optimization and beta-testing, with the objective of ensuring a release as serene as possible.

I agree this is probably the last for a while. I'm not so sure it's the last, full stop. Shifting resources to support Three Kingdoms pre and post release is logical, I agree. It's going to be their focus for a while.

But Three Kingdoms also has some big drawbacks, which might make it worthwhile to also have DLC for an existing game coming out every so often.

Firstly the setting. Three Kingdoms China just doesn't appeal to some people. That's not to say they shouldn't do it, nor that a lack of familiarity with a setting can't still make for a fun game. (I knew very little about Feudal Japan before Shogun 2, but enjoyed the setting so much I started reading Historical Fiction based there.) Just that it's not exactly Rome, Medieval, Samurai etc.

And secondly, the belief in the quite real possibility that it's going to turn out to be less a Historical game than a Fantasy game with Historical trappings. (Romance being the default, single model "heroic" characters etc.)

So, with a section of the fanbase for whom Three Kingdoms nor Warhammer appeals, it might be worth keeping something else on the boil too.

Sorry I guess I missed your point, but what do you mean by that?

Just that the amount of information being data-mined is quite astonishing, to the point that it seems like there's going to be very little we don't know before it's announcement proper and then released. Which seems a tad bit silly to me, that there'd be this much in the files of the beta. But then again, I don't blame CA not trying to make the beta/patch and the DLC separate builds, given Norsca and all.

HR probably got mad at devs who were doing that and told them let PR handle it only.

I think it might be more that during the year or two post Rome 2 release, CA (as well as anyone who actually liked the more recent games) weren't exactly made welcome here. The damaged caused by the sheer level of vitriol on these forums back then is still felt today, with TWC having a very bad reputation in the wider Total War community.

Not really, as that is what us modders do! Rip the files apart and find what is hidden amongst them!! Looks official to me a lovely Italian campaign DLC. PFM is such a wonderful tool.

You certainly are an industrious lot!

All the Best,

Welsh Dragon.

EDIT.

Taras or Syracuse my very first campaigns then Samnites.
Thanks for this discover Benjin! +rep granted

First Samnites, then Rome.^^

Me? I'm probably going to go for Brennus. I like simple things... like burning Rome to the ground!

[jamreal18]

Such a waste Epirus and Illyria are not included even though Pyrrhic War and Illyrian War were only few years behind the starting point of this upcoming dlc.

I guess CA will announce the dlc after Thrones of Britannia's blood pack has been released.

[Clint_Eastwood]

Fair point.

They've been listening all along, and implementing feedback and suggestions throughout most of Rome 2's lifetime. It may not always have been what some people were shouting loudest about, but then again he who shouts loudest isn't always he who should be listened to. Especially seeing how, as a community, we basically cannot all agree on anything!

They certainly have not listened as the Family Tree should have been implemented in day one! No excuses it was in Rome 1 and one of the most popular features in any total war game. So if they had done their due diligence correctly from previous games we would not be having this conversation.

Again, I see your defending CA yet again and are you sure your not a CA Employee??

[JERUSALEM]

I hope the Family Tree will be historically accurate and not for the fun, but it mus be implemented to make this game look more accurate from historical perspective. Some factions need the proper names, for example faction Colchis in Rome 2 have non-native names and only Greek while from the Greek sources we know a lot of names that were spread in it. Let them keep historicity of the game in high level.

[Daruwind]

To clarify, I meant that it will be the last campaign DLC, although faction packs also seem doubtful, since we're running out of factions. I can't see the imaginary and misplaced factions of Media or Drangiana being included in a DLC. For campaigns, apart from the apparent lack of potentially profitable candidates, CA also suffers from time limits. Even if Brennus' invasion gets released in August, then the 9-months space between it and Empire Divided means that nothing can come before Three Kingdoms. Not to mention that there's no chance a serious company will derail the pre-release hype for their next major "tent-pole" title for the sake of a minor project. The last months before the arrival of Three Kingdoms will be solely dedicated to building up excitement and encouraging pre-orders, so no distractions will be allowed. The possibility that the Bulgarian employees team will be reinforced, in order to accelerate their production, also seems unlikely. In fact, the opposite would probably be true, where every satellite team will be expected to focus on Three Kingdoms, from bug elimination to optimization and beta-testing, with the objective of ensuring a release as serene as possible.

That´s true, for bigger campaign there won´t be enough time. For Faction DLC maybe. But then my question is, what will Bulgaria and Jack Lusten´s team do in meanwhile? That´s are two teams with experience in R2/Attila/ToB, moving them both onto 3K seems like waste. That´s probably reason why CA started these two team in first place...to spread the portfolio. I would suspect Jack to start work on new Saga game but with ToB mediocre results so far...not so sure. Maybe they will chage the formula,re-think it..anyway we were expecting this year to be packed with content. Multiple WH2 DLCs, ToB, R2 DLCs, 3K...but CA slowed down the pace for content ..WH will get only one more thing this year, 3K is next anyway...if CA continues in such pace, there could be easily space down the road for more R2 DLC. Like what if they would start work on proper Alexander DLC/Expansion like FotS? That could take up to year to prepare, enought time to be release after 3K release..I know that´s all speculations now but we will see after this DLC. ED, Desert Kingdoms were good enough to greenlight this...this could be good enough to greenlight other stuff...But my feeling from both these teams is, there were created to pursue exactly this kind of side projects.

Also, it seems very strange to me not to include Carthage as a playable faction when they are on the map. I understand they might be afraid of some people complaining that it's HatG 2.0 but I feel like it would be good for some more variety, especially since I'm pretty sure that the 4th century BC is when they really start pushing in to Siciliy and Sardinia. Carthage would have been a good natural enemy for Syracuse and vice versa.

The campaign map is also almost precise copy of lower map from wiki. And if you look at gains, there is also 1st. Punic War up to beginning the second war, we have all areas needed for it. Not for Second one. I can easily imagine 1st. Punic and Pyrrhic War to be scripted to some degree as Viking Invasions in ToB..endgame content ;-) especially for Roman players. Especially 1st. Punic War was really fought on water, it would correspond with changes to ships beach landings.. Corvus finally?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_expansion_in_Italy

First Punic War + battles:

[♔Greek Strategos♔]

They certainly have not listened as the Family Tree should have been implemented in day one! No excuses it was in Rome 1 and one of the most popular features in any total war game. So if they had done their due diligence correctly from previous games we would not be having this conversation.

Actually we're begging for a family try, unit fade button, siege AI improvements, pathfindind, proper Anti Aliasing since day 1.
They have listened indeed, but after almost 6 yrs. CA isn't a fan friendly oriented company for sure. In Paradox forums for example, all users are directly communicating with devs every single day. Even with the head of the company. No other developer can beat that and you can take it to the bank.

[Clint_Eastwood]

Actually we're begging for a family try, unit fade button, siege AI improvements, pathfindind, proper Anti Aliasing since day 1.
They have listened indeed, but after almost 6 yrs. CA isn't a fan friendly oriented company for sure. In Paradox forums for example, all users are directly communicating with devs every single day. Even with the head of the company. No other developer can beat that and you can take it to the bank.

Absolutely and well stated mate! Paradox could well be a massive competitor once they release there Rome title.

[Nikron]

First Punic War + battles:

Now that's what I call the best possible campaign map and a best selling DLC....ever.

Perhaps include less Africa and half Iberia and slightly to East to include Egypt and make it as large and detailed as possible, with 5 settlements per region. I wanna really put a lot of effort and 100+ hours just to conquer half of Italy or any other region and after 100 hours to enjoy only a decent kingdom/republic, not most of the entire map, while still being able to engage in trade and diplomacy with nearby regions and not a boring world limited to Italy.

[♔Greek Strategos♔]

Absolutely and well stated mate! Paradox could well be a massive competitor once they release there Rome title.

I'm trying to be objective, that's all.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

I hope there's one about Alexander , an expansion of the map into India and maybe even parts of China would be really nice and lots of fun.

Personally I get very tired of Europe again and again.

Agree, we haven’t even explored South-East Asia, especially Ancient Mahajpit, or any of the Hindu Empires, the Cholas would be great.

[Nikron]

Agree, we haven’t even explored South-East Asia, especially Ancient Mahajpit, or any of the Hindu Empires, the Cholas would be great.

True, but keep dreaming. CA will head towards more interesting scenarios, like Iron Age Siberia or Mongolia. Screw the Diadochi and Mithridatic Wars, that is what you all really want but don't know it yet.

[KLAssurbanipal]

Maps have erroneous positions of cities. Look here. I give one example. Como, Bergamo and Milan are located at incorrectly estimated intervals. I know this place because I often go to the Alps and to the Italian lakes. The city of Como is located on the lake of the same name - Como. This is missing on the map.

[♔Greek Strategos♔]

Oh that's hardly surprising. CA was always a bit deliberate with maps and locations.