[Guide] The complete guide to Rome Total War

Hello
First of all, this game is HUGE whit tons of possibilities, I just tried to collect the most basic.
I bought RomeTW (Total War) almost the day it was released, and I have been playing it on and off since then. I decided to share my in-game skills and experience with you

You may post this tutorial everywhere you want, if you give a link to this thread and give me credits.

Chapters

1. Installing and updating RomeTW
2. The menus
3. Doing the prologue
4. Main campaign
5. Battles

Ok, that was the contents. Now, let's start off.



1. Installing and updating RomeTW


1.1 Installing RomeTW

The old version of the game (don't worry if you have this one) have 3 CDs and the new has 1 DVD (I have both, first bought the old one and played that for years, but after I borrowed it to a friend all the CDs was totally broken so I bought a new one).
After setting in your main CD (there's only one if you have the new edition). You should get a screen like this.



If not, go into My computer and right click your disk drive, press explore (like at the image) and double click Launch. If it still won't work try to double click the setup file.



After that press the install button, and that will guide you through the setup. If you're having the old version of the game you will be asked to set in CD 2 and CD 3 while installing, when you receive that screen, take out the last CD, set in the new and press OK. Install GameSpy if you wan't but it's not required. I won't go any further into that. If you don't have DirectX it will install this automatic.

After installing the game I recommend you restart your computer, just to clean the memory.


1.2 Updating RomeTW

This step should not be needed if you have the new game (the one with 1 DVD). But I recommend you to check if you have the newest version anyway.

To do this, start the game by double clicking the RomeTW icon at you desktop, it should look like this.



After the game is finished loading, press Options at the menu.



Then, in the top-right corner you will see the text Ver. 1.X, if that is 1.5, then you already have the newest version of the game if it's 1.0 or 1.3 you have to update.



To update go HERE, scroll down until you see the text "ROME: TOTAL WARTM V1.3 PATCH RELEASED", under that select the language you installed the game in and download that patch. While downloading that patch, download the 1.5 patch witch is a few lines over.
Note: Don't download the 1.6 patch that is for the barbarian invasion expansion version of the game.

After downloading and installing the 1.3 and the 1.5 patch, I recommend you restarting your computer.



2. The menus

This chapter will be short, I think the best way to explain is by using a map of the menu and a short description of each button. I couldn't find any good way to make the map riddy by using text, so I uploaded it as an image. The image has a little unmarked text, but I hope you don't mind.





3. Doing the prologue

If you are familiar with the game before, there is an easy way to skip the prologue. If this is the first time your playing the game, I recommend you to do the tutorial.

3.1 Skipping the prologue

This is a short and easy way to skip the prologue. Just open the folder you installed RomeTW in, and go into the sub folder preferences. There will be a file there named preferences. Open it in notepad and press Ctrl + B write in "FIRST" and press Enter. You will now see a line like this:

Code:

FIRST_TIME_PLAY:TRUE

Change that to:

Code:

FIRST_TIME_PLAY:FALSE

Save and boot up RomeTW again, and you can play the campaign as normal.


3.2 To do the prolouge

This is weird, huh? A tutorial to teach you how to do a tutorial. Well, therefore I won't go any closer into that. Just go into Single Player - Prologue inside the menu and listen carefully to what the tutor says.



4. The main campaign

4.1 Starting your campaign


First I'll go trough the screen where you start a campaign.

1. Select how much the adviser/tutor will guide you in the game, she will have helpful tips, but she just bugs me
2. Here you select how good strategy the other factions will have in the campaign game
3. Select how good the enemy will be at the battle field.
4. If you hook this on, the battles will be less realistic but more action. Not sure exactly what this does.
5. Hook this on if you want to be able to select the tax rate and games/races in towns even if you don't have a family member in the town.
6. This one can be changed during the gameplay, so it's not that important. If it's hooked you will follow all characters movement, else you will skip them.
7. This is as it's said. Every battle has usually a time limit if this is hooked, the battles won't. I prefer to have it unhooked.
8. Short/Long campaign. The text under describes what to do to win the campaign.
9. Select what faction to play as, each faction you destroy will be added here. There are some unplayable factions. Don't remember which they are.
10. The "world map". This shows you what territories you are starting with.
11. The story of your faction.
12. After you have finished all settings click here to start your campaign!

4.2 The campaign interface

Also here I'll go trough an image and describe

1. The minimap. Here's a mini version of the world map for RomeTW. It shows you what you have explored and what you haven't. Anyway, you have to explore the areas again to update what faction who owns the region.
2. The object control tabs. This one is hard to describe, but I'll try my best. Here you chose what type of objects you want to manage when you have chosen a town, boat or a character. I have selected a town (Rome) and I'm having the 'Army' tab active. If I chose the City, I'll see what buildings I have in the town.
3. This one displays the contains of the current active tab.
4. The general management. Here you are having most of the general info for all your faction.
   1. Here you chose what buildings to build at the selected town that turn (half year) and the tax rate ect.
   2. Here you chose what armies to be requited that turn.
   3. This text displays the object you have selected and what kind of object it is. I have selected Rome and Rome is a Huge city.
   4. This shows how much money (denarii) you have and what year you are in.
   5. This shows what session there currently is, mine is winter. When there's summer there's a sun.
   6. Press this to manage your factory.
   7. Press this to end the current turn, and get to the next.

4.3 Managing settlements

I like the way to explain things by using pictures. Therefore I'll do it at this point too.

1. The experience to the governor. Mine is not very good. He has only 2 command experience and 0 management or influence.
2. The men working for you governor and what they do.
3. Chose what type of soldiers to recruit the next turn. When you have build more buildings (like me), you can recruit different type of soldiers.
4. The building technology bowser.
5. Ask the advisor about what to recruit/build.
6. Shows why the settlement details is as they are.
7. Move the displayed part of the map to the selected town.
8. Settlement details. Try always have public order over 100% and population growth over 1.5%.
9. Manage the taxes and (if built arena and/or horse running track) how much races/games to be.
10. Chose what type of buildings to build. As you see mine is empty, there's because I build all possible buildings in Rome. When the settlement grows to the next level (the population grows to a specified point) you will be able to build a new generation of buildings after uprated the Governors house.

4.4 Moving armies/agents

Also here I'll use an image to explain. Hope you don't get tired of all my images.



I'll go trough the numbers, but not yet. First I'll teach you some basic how to move. To move, select a unit by pressing it. Then right click the location you want it to move. You see the green area it's surrounded whit, that is the area it is able to move that turn.
Ok, that's the ground facts. Now, I'll go trough the numbers.

1. The unit you are moving.
2. The units route. The green is what it's able to move this turn, the red is what it will move automatic next turn. If you chose longer routes, the route will be yellow and a new colour for each turn it will take.
3. The target. I selected my target to be a town, then the unit will move into the town. You can Chose to move it outside a town, or rally whit other units.
4. The "energy" bar. This bar shows how much the unit has moved this turn and how much more it can move.

5. Battles

In the campaign, a battle starts when two (or more) enemy armies are standing close to each other, and one of the armies are attacking the other. There are three ways to win a battle.

1. By killing every enemy unit at the battle field. (This rarely happens)
2. By making all the enemy armies flee. (This is the most common way to win)
3. By letting the timer run out. The defender wins then.

5.1 The battle interface

I'll also here go trough an image and describe it part for part.

1. The minimap. This is a minimap of the battle field.
2. The battles speed. Pausing the game could be useful if you're having a big army, so you can get a little overview over the battle.
3. The chance bar. The computer calculates the who has the best chances to win the battle. Your chance is the blue, and the enemy's is the red.
4. The timer. When the timer runs out, the defending army wins the battle.
5. Your units. Here you see what units you control in your army. I'm having the three standard type of units, cavalry, infantry and artillery.
6. Press this to locate your general. Since I'm playing custom battle (outside the campaign) my general is not a family member.
7. The different formations the selected unit can use.

5.2 Movement

You actually move an unit like you move an army in campaign mode. However, I'll be learning you the differences. I'll list up as many as I remember here:

1. Running. You can make your unit run in a battle. Double right click at the target to make it do this.
2. Switch angle. When you have chosen an unit you can make it switch angle and line up different. To do this first select what unit you want to use, then hold down
3. right cursor button, and drag at the battlefield. Maybe abit bad explained, but you will understand it.
4. Use melee only. This could be useful if you want your army to rush. Select the unit you want to attack whit. Hold Alt an attack the target as usual.

Credits
I do take 100% of the credits for writing this guide. I do not take any credits for the images or the game.


Thanks for reading my guide.

 

nice guide. good job on the pictures.