Topic: some questions

[DubiousMaximus]

Gidday, this is my first post and I have to say how awesome the plan and the screenshots of this game looks so far and how I'm doubly impressed how this is basically done by ONE developer and he still has time to talk on the forum to discuss ideas etc!

Anyway I've got a couple of questions to ask the developer. Forgive me if they've already been answered, but I haven't had time to pore over every single thread.

How will Roman citizenship be implemented in this game? Will we be able to bestow citizenship on those who we think deserve it like loyal auxillaries, allies, or helpful foreign leaders?

How will the tribal factions be modelled? Will they be divided up into historically accurate tribes based on information gleaned from historic literature?

Will we be able to build roads to help trade and speed army movement?

Will there be any flow of culture? I mean will a population of an area or city change over time in accordance with certain factors i.e cultural exchange (Romanization, Hellenization,), building of colonies, tribal migrations etc.?

Will there be triggerable events similar to those of Europa Universalis?

Will there be periodic tribal raid and/or migrations and will some tribes be displaced and have to move on like the Helvetti had to after the Suebi invaded their territory?

Will we be able fund other factions like Persia with Sparta? (its the only historical example I can think of, although I believe the Romans did fund the Achaean League in its conflict against Macedon)

Will we be able to gift a most favoured trading status on certain states such as Rome did with Delos or Samos (I can't remember which) and even change trading routes to the detriment of other states as Rome did with the Nabataens and the Kushans did with Parthia?

Will we be able to build fortress and defensive lines (limes) in strategic areas for example Hadrians Wall, the Saxon Shore, and the Danubian limes.

Will we be able to absorb and assimilate technologies from other peoples? I've learnt that the Romans "borrowed" many components of their military equipment from a diverse range of peoples. For example the Roman's received the knowledge of chainmail from the Celts, the gladius from the Iberians, they learnt the manipular quincunx formation from the Samnites , the Clibinarii or heavily armed lancer from the Parthians. etc. Thats another question how will technological progress and industry work?

Will there be any ethnic or class differentiation and will it have any impact on military recruitment. For instance pre-Marian the Roman legion was only recruited from the Plebian class and they were divided up into four age and income based grades i.e velites, hastati, princeps, and trinarri.

Will Slavery be implimented in the game and if so how?

Will population have any effect on production? Will recruitment and maybe deaths reduce production levels?

Will we be able to become a pro-magistrate and rule over regions outside Italy and even form a triumverate like Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar and Antony, and Lepidus did?

Will we be able to marry our characters and successors to other characters from other factions? I guess it should be culture specific as no Roman would marrry a "barbarian" for example.

Will we be able to sponsor friends in the Peoples Assembly to become Senators who will become indebted to us and prove helpful?

Will we be able to become dictator in Rome?

Will we be able to form client kingdoms and set up provinces like Pompey did in the East?

Will we be able to set conditions for a peace treaty or any other treaty? Broken conditions of a treaty would make a good case to go to war and so would attempting to get better conditions in a treaty as in the case of Hannibal's war against Rome.

Will we be able to have strategic agents? For example emissaries (if so we should be the given the option to mistreat or even kill the enemy emissary, because this would send a clear message to the enemy, although this was a definate no-no to do to the Romans), spys (self explanatory), and assassins (assassins should be part of an enemies faction who we could either hire them or they could offer their services to us in exchange for a certain amount of money.),

Heres some good sites concerning Roman military evolution. http://www.free-essays.us/dbase/b9/aym18.shtml
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/classics/digressus/articles/a050703.pdf

Heres a good site concerning the conditons of a treaty during the Classical Age. The treaty or treaties rather were between Rome and Carthage. http://www.barca.fsnet.co.uk/treaties-rome-carthage.htm

[MicaByte]

Gidday, this is my first post and I have to say how awesome the plan and the screenshots of this game looks so far and how I'm doubly impressed how this is basically done by ONE developer and he still has time to talk on the forum to discuss ideas etc!

Perhaps one reason why the game is taking so much time getting completed...  

How will Roman citizenship be implemented in this game? Will we be able to bestow citizenship on those who we think deserve it like loyal auxillaries, allies, or helpful foreign leaders?

Yes - assuming you can convince the Senate to agree with your proposal. And you'll get unpopular with those who already have citizenship.

How will the tribal factions be modelled? Will they be divided up into historically accurate tribes based on information gleaned from historic literature?

Something like that; with perhaps a simpler solution in the first version of the game.

Will we be able to build roads to help trade and speed army movement?

Currently, no.

Will there be any flow of culture? I mean will a population of an area or city change over time in accordance with certain factors i.e cultural exchange (Romanization, Hellenization,), building of colonies, tribal migrations etc.?

Yes.

Will there be triggerable events similar to those of Europa Universalis?

A very, very few. Generally, the historical effects are handled by the game system itself rather than being artificially imposed by events. At least that is the intent.

Will there be periodic tribal raid and/or migrations and will some tribes be displaced and have to move on like the Helvetti had to after the Suebi invaded their territory?

Yes.

Will we be able fund other factions like Persia with Sparta? (its the only historical example I can think of, although I believe the Romans did fund the Achaean League in its conflict against Macedon)

Yes.

Will we be able to gift a most favoured trading status on certain states such as Rome did with Delos or Samos (I can't remember which) and even change trading routes to the detriment of other states as Rome did with the Nabataens and the Kushans did with Parthia?

To an extent, yes.

Will we be able to build fortress and defensive lines (limes) in strategic areas for example Hadrians Wall, the Saxon Shore, and the Danubian limes.

Not currently, no. Not unless I introduce the building of fortresses into the game engine (which is not currently planned).

Will we be able to absorb and assimilate technologies from other peoples?

No. Some copying will be possible, though.

Will there be any ethnic or class differentiation and will it have any impact on military recruitment.

Yes.

Will Slavery be implimented in the game and if so how?

Slaves provide basic work force in certain areas of the map (Rome & Sicily in particular). Slaves are created by war & piracy.

Will population have any effect on production? Will recruitment and maybe deaths reduce production levels?

Yes. But the game is not a production-style game.

Will we be able to become a pro-magistrate and rule over regions outside Italy and even form a triumverate like Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar and Antony, and Lepidus did?

Yes.

Will we be able to marry our characters and successors to other characters from other factions? I guess it should be culture specific as no Roman would marrry a "barbarian" for example.

Yes.

Will we be able to sponsor friends in the Peoples Assembly to become Senators who will become indebted to us and prove helpful?

Not at the level at which the game works.

Will we be able to become dictator in Rome?

Yes.

Will we be able to form client kingdoms and set up provinces like Pompey did in the East?

Yes.

Will we be able to set conditions for a peace treaty or any other treaty? Broken conditions of a treaty would make a good case to go to war and so would attempting to get better conditions in a treaty as in the case of Hannibal's war against Rome.

Yes.

Will we be able to have strategic agents? For example emissaries, spys (self explanatory), and assassins.

Yes.

[DubiousMaximus]

Awesome! Thanks Strategy for the answer, this game is definately is going to be the best grand-strategy game ever and even if you decide to cut the tactical side of the game since I'll still buy this game just for the strategy aspect.

I've been following the development of Rome: Total War ever since it was first announced as I am a fan of the previous TW games and these features were ones that I had hoped would be in the game, but obviously the CA team are aiming the game at the casual mainstream gamer who doesn't know a thing or could care less about history so it seems unlikely they'll be include the features since there would be little to gain from implimenting them.

You can't know how excited I was when I stumbled upon this website (actually TheBrux who visits the TW forum pointed this wee gem out) and your plan for Imperium its like a dream come true! Finally a game that models almost every aspect of a historic period i.e political, social, and relgious.

[MicaByte]

Best grand-strategy game ever......  nah.  

But it is an attempt to model the most relevant aspects of the historical period; i.e., to provide some historical insight as well as a good game. There's still some way to go yet, though.