[Gee4orce]

Would anybody else be interested in seeing this come to the Mac : Rome:Total War ?

If you've seen the BBC's Time Commanders series you know what to expect. This game has ultra-realistic realtime battles, with tens of thousands of motion captures troops running around a fully 3d world, fighting highly realistic battles. To paraphrase one game reviewer, it's so good "I wet my Toga".

This is the one game that could tempt me to buy a PC.

Now, if only they made it for Macs, that PC could be a Dual G5 instead !

[Tulkas]

Legion pales in comparison as far as graphics but it does accurately mirror that era.

I have no idea how accurate it really is. Can you control units, groups, or none at all during battle? Can they be routed or are you allowed to fight to the last man? How is the control scheme, movement and so forth? How accurate are sieges?

[Gee4orce]

Originally posted by Tulkas:
Legion pales in comparison as far as graphics but it does accurately mirror that era.

I have no idea how accurate it really is. Can you control units, groups, or none at all during battle? Can they be routed or are you allowed to fight to the last man? How is the control scheme, movement and so forth? How accurate are sieges?

It's pretty much like a real battle. Honestly. I've never played the game, but the engine is used in the Time Commanders programme, and from that I've gleaned a lot about the level of detail.

Yes, troops route - inexperienced, poorly trained, and frightened troops route far easier than Spartan Hoplites. You retain control over your troops so long as they are mobile - if they start panicking or ar unable to disengage, then you can't control them. Troops that have to run a distance fight less well than those who wait in line. Troops with long spears take more time to turn in formation and form up. Terrain plays a big part.

I think for seiges you don't have much control over the defenders, but control the mobile troops. Seige engines can be used, but their usefulness depends on the terrain and weather. Weather also effects things like the range of composite bows in relation to single piece bows (the glue softens in composite bows in the wet).

Rome:TW also adds a fantastic sounding strategic level game. You move your armies around the entirety of Europe/North Africa, and any location can become a battle ground. If you build a road or destroy a town, that is reflected on the strategic battle map !