New Game?

[Orm]

Thank you for the update.

Happy New Year, everyone.

[Simicro]

Hi mercenarius,

I got the game one week ago and have just achieved to win in normal mode. Not sure I'll play again but great game and gorgeous graphic art. Congratulations! For the future game I was about to suggest some cosmetics on the play cards but by browsing this thread I can see it's done. The art is even superior to Hannibal's. Kudos! Can't wait to play the new game... next summer maybe? I also hope that it is less asymmetrical than Hannibal or if it is, in favor of Rome. Please inform us through this thread when you make a announcement/product page on Steam. Is it possible that you share with us a screenshot of the global map? Most importantly you have my respect for your dedication, focus and patience over so much time to work out the new game. Last but not least, IMHO 'Orm' deserves a complimentary copy of the new game for his patience and loyalty over all the years

[mercenarius]

First off, many thanks for your kind words! And we're glad to hear that you got your first victory.

Yes, Orm deserves a reward for his continuing interest and commentary! All of the old "Hannibal" players do, really.

You asked a fair question about play balance. I certainly did skew things a little towards Carthage in "Hannibal" because I wanted the game to be winnable for the player. I didn't want losing less badly to be the measure of a good game.

In "The Fall of Rome" I am trying to keep things in historical perspective, but I do want to bend some scenarios to allow for some competitive balance. But I only go so far. For example, if someone chooses to play Didius Julianus in the Year of the Five Emperors scenario, well, good luck. On the other hand, I have skewed the political allegiance of the Rhine legions in that scenario to Clodius Albinus rather than to Septimius Severus. Otherwise, I think that it's a cakewalk for Severus.

I will certainly make a forum post here when I announce anything on Steam for The Fall of Rome.

I would be happy to post a screenshot of the global map. Are you interested in the general layout or certain specifics? Unlike "Hannibal," the map in The Fall of Rome is generated in part at the runtime and there isn't a single graphic file with everything on it. And it's rather large. Scaling it down to something that will fit in a forum post leaves most everything on the map too small to see, really.

Thanks again for buying the game and sharing your thoughts about it and The Fall of Rome.

In the meantime, here is the overview map that the game uses. This shows what is covered in the game's "World."

Fall of Rome Overview.png (129.84 KiB) Viewed 554 times

[Nepos96]

First off, many thanks for your kind words! And we're glad to hear that you got your first victory.

Yes, Orm deserves a reward for his continuing interest and commentary! All of the old "Hannibal" players do, really.

You asked a fair question about play balance. I certainly did skew things a little towards Carthage in "Hannibal" because I wanted the game to be winnable for the player. I didn't want losing less badly to be the measure of a good game.

In "The Fall of Rome" I am trying to keep things in historical perspective, but I do want to bend some scenarios to allow for some competitive balance. But I only go so far. For example, if someone chooses to play Didius Julianus in the Year of the Five Emperors scenario, well, good luck. On the other hand, I have skewed the political allegiance of the Rhine legions in that scenario to Clodius Albinus rather than to Septimius Severus. Otherwise, I think that it's a cakewalk for Severus.

I will certainly make a forum post here when I announce anything on Steam for The Fall of Rome.

I would be happy to post a screenshot of the global map. Are you interested in the general layout or certain specifics? Unlike "Hannibal," the map in The Fall of Rome is generated in part at the runtime and there isn't a single graphic file with everything on it. And it's rather large. Scaling it down to something that will fit in a forum post leaves most everything on the map too small to see, really.

Thanks again for buying the game and sharing your thoughts about it and The Fall of Rome.

In the meantime, here is the overview map that the game uses. This shows what is covered in the game's "World."


Fall of Rome Overview.png

The day this game gets announced on Steam I’ll probably have a mini heart attack. Would it be possible to get some more info about the Grand campaign (the 400 years one). Like how would that work? What would be the general objective of it? Are enemies going to evolve over time?

[mercenarius]

The day this game gets announced on Steam I’ll probably have a mini heart attack. Would it be possible to get some more info about the Grand campaign (the 400 years one). Like how would that work? What would be the general objective of it? Are enemies going to evolve over time?

The goal of the Grand Campaign is to survive 400 years. How many victory points a player earns will depend on territory controlled at the end. Of course, in theory it is possible to conquer the entire world by controlling every existing city on the map. In practice that won't be possible.

The enemies will change but it will be more of a matter of "triggers" than slow evolution. Examples of triggers are the emergence of the New Persian Empire (Sassanians), the formation of political confederations such as the Gothic Confederation, and some simple technology bumps for the Germanic Barbarians. I haven't programmed these, yet, but I have a reasonable idea of how they will work.

What I haven't figure out yet is how to handle the extinction of dynasties in the Grand Campaign. It's absurd to require the player to continue an unbroken male line for hundreds of years. I will work on this a little later. In all other scenarios, the player loses the game if his faction's dynastic line comes to an end. (Adoption will be possible, however). In the Grand Campaign something else has to happen.

[Nepos96]

That is intriguing, almost a second game within the game. A survivor mode would probably be my favourite and most played scenario. Keep up the excellent work!

[Orm]

What I haven't figure out yet is how to handle the extinction of dynasties in the Grand Campaign. It's absurd to require the player to continue an unbroken male line for hundreds of years. I will work on this a little later. In all other scenarios, the player loses the game if his faction's dynastic line comes to an end. (Adoption will be possible, however). In the Grand Campaign something else has to happen.

Could it be that the game assigns a new politician, or general, as the new leader of the faction, and then the player gets the question if he want to continue as the new faction leader, or resign?

xxx takes control of xxx faction...

Thank you for the update. The game seems to become even more awesome. Didn't think that was even possible.

Any chance that the AIO can be a tough opponent to win against? Without if feeling like it cheats?

I have some more thoughts, and questions, but I will get to those later on. I hope.

[mercenarius]

Orm, good to hear from you. Thanks for your kind words!

Could it be that the game assigns a new politician, or general, as the new leader of the faction, and then the player gets the question if he want to continue as the new faction leader, or resign?

My thinking is something along those lines, yes. I am wondering if players should be able to continue to play even if they lose a civil war scenario, as long as Rome isn't captured by "barbarians." Meaning: a player gets to pick from any surviving Roman factions in such a case (in the Grand Campaign, I mean, of course). I have to think about this a little more, and this leads to your next question:

Any chance that the AIO can be a tough opponent to win against? Without if feeling like it cheats?

Well, I will try. That last thing is the hard part, admittedly. I still have some interface programming to do. Then I will get into the AI.

[Nepos96]

Well, I don’t know how the game exactly works, but I think players should be able to pick a side during a civil war and keep playing even if they lose. But if they picked the wrong side they should suffer some penalties (if there is a scoring system they should lose points for example). That way, when choosing a side, they’ll have to think carefully how to proceed. Maybe more points if you managed to win as the weaker guy as an incentive (downside would be a further weakened empire).

[lwarmonger]

The goal of the Grand Campaign is to survive 400 years. How many victory points a player earns will depend on territory controlled at the end. Of course, in theory it is possible to conquer the entire world by controlling every existing city on the map. In practice that won't be possible.

The enemies will change but it will be more of a matter of "triggers" than slow evolution. Examples of triggers are the emergence of the New Persian Empire (Sassanians), the formation of political confederations such as the Gothic Confederation, and some simple technology bumps for the Germanic Barbarians. I haven't programmed these, yet, but I have a reasonable idea of how they will work.

What I haven't figure out yet is how to handle the extinction of dynasties in the Grand Campaign. It's absurd to require the player to continue an unbroken male line for hundreds of years. I will work on this a little later. In all other scenarios, the player loses the game if his faction's dynastic line comes to an end. (Adoption will be possible, however). In the Grand Campaign something else has to happen.

The Roman Army also needs to evolve, and eventually deteriorate, over time as well. The gradual disintegration of the Roman state and its accompanying difficulties in mobilizing the resources of the late Empire in meeting challenges was due in no small part to the near constant state of civil war the Empire found itself in from the 3rd Century onward.

Building Rome is a function of painting the map red. Modeling post 2nd Century Rome is a function of desperately trying to fend off internal rivals while keeping the machinery of state somewhat functional.

[Simicro]

Hi mercenarius,

I apologize for not having responded to you before. It's ok for the map. By browsing this thread I found what I was looking for.

Please check your PM. I have just sent you a message.

I would be happy to post a screenshot of the global map. Are you interested in the general layout or certain specifics? Unlike "Hannibal," the map in The Fall of Rome is generated in part at the runtime and there isn't a single graphic file with everything on it. And it's rather large. Scaling it down to something that will fit in a forum post leaves most everything on the map too small to see, really.