Making this mod news - Rome: Total War Enhanced mod for Rome: Total War

I've been working independently on this mod on and off for several years. It's a labor of love. Rome: Total War is one of my all-time favorite games. I have played the original unmodified game several times along with other small mods and even some major overhaul mods. While I enjoyed all of these I always felt that there was something else that could be done to enhance the overall experience for me. I enjoyed certain aspects of other mods but felt they maybe could have been implemented better. As for the major overhaul mods, some were extremely impressive, but seemed to stray too far from what I initially was attracted to in the base game. So I began to work on my very own mod for the game and this is what I ended up with.

I started the project with just a few simple adjustments. A stat change here, a building chain there, etc. As time passed and I learned more techniques for modification I started to include things that were not present in the base game at all. For example, in this mod there exists several new mercenary units. Other features were added that were technically in the base game but not completely fleshed out such as captain units. Captain units and standard bearers are present in the base game but not available to all units and not all factions. Some textures and models that were part of the base game's file system were essentially brought to life. So what started out as simple notepad editing tweaks became something much more.

A few things that I definitely wanted to do was adjust starting locations of factions, change how and when units would become available to each culture, and expand the map to include more of asia. I wanted each faction to better historically represent their domains at the respected time period at the beginning of the game. Among others, the Seleucid Empire was apparently vast around 270BC, as was Carthage. It seemed fair then to change the types of units that could be produced and adding or removing prerequisite conditions for those productions. In the base game the Romans can't produce a full polybian style legion until they have leveled up a bit. I didn't like this. I wanted most factions to be able to produce the types of units that were part of their traditional armies at the beginning of the game. So once it has completed a legion barracks and a stable, Rome can field a historically similar army to what it had around 270BC. I added more eastern area to separate factions more and allow them more room to expand, buk up their infrastructure, and put up a better fight than they can in the original game. So in this mod factions can become stronger early on thanks to better starting points, altered unit production requirements, and a bigger map.

Each faction should feel more fleshed out in this modification. Each of the cultures has their own unique graphic user interface as well as advisors. I wanted the experience of playing, as say the Arverni, to feel like its own game. The experience needed also to "make sense". It seemed odd that Nubian spearmen could be recruited in Britain if Egypt had taken terrority there. This was eliminated by instituting new resources in the code and placing them rationally around the map. Egypt can still produce basic units globally, but some units can only be recruited in or near their respective homelands. To me, this not only seems more realistic, but also gives each civilization more flavor.

As far as a complete list of features in this mod goes, I wouldn't know where to begin or end. I can say, that nothing was really cut away from the base game except in situations that I felt were complete fantasy. This is why if you play this mod you will not find units such as gladiators. I don't believe outside of the gladiator revolt, that Rome ever seen an army of tournament warrior slaves and if they did I doubt that such an army could have been controlled effectively by a handful of Roman commanders. There are too many things for me to remember everything I placed in this mod so I won't even try.

My hope is that someone else out there can appreciate what I've attempted to do and that they will be suprised and delighted by all of the changes that I have made. Rome Total War will always be a special thing to me along with this mod. This is the experience that I enjoyed playing and putting all of this together and I am glad to be able to share this with others. Let me know what you think of this good or bad, thanks for reading this, and enjoy the game!