Rome beginner mini AAR 278 BC - 210 BC

[gwgardner]

I'm playtesting Aggressors: Ancient Rome, and love the game so much that I wanted to post some AARS. The devs have given me permission to post this, and hopefully they will allow me to post others as time goes on.

Mini is the operative word, as this was my very first play of the game, and I actually didn't start out to make it a public AAR, was just taking notes for playtesting. However it was so much fun and surpassed my expectations, so I wanted to share the experience.

[note: due to my own graphical editing limitations, the graphics shown here are mostly in reduced quality jpg, nothing like the clarity and quality of the game.]

I started this scenario doing the beginners tutorial, and then continued after the tutorial completed for close to 70 years of gameplay. One year per turn.

The game has many setup and play optiions, for varied play. I personally like to kind of role-play 4x games, and in this case I wanted to see whether I could play this game 'historically.' Not reproducing history, but a plausible outcome. I could alternatively have chosen to do a custom map with varying startup options for a 'random' game. I'll do an AAR on that kind of game also in the future.

The beginner's tutorial is available playing Rome, Carthage, or the Ptolemaic Empire. Here's my initial setup.

[gwgardner]

First things I did upon starting the scenario were to look over the map and check out the state screen, which basically tells the player what the current world and country situation is.

The state screen is the gateway to all kinds of information. For now, I wanted to know the diplomatic situation and the scenario objectives.

The various countries that Rome is in contact with are shown by their banners on the strategic map. In 278 BC, Rome still only controls central Italy. The Greek city states of sounthern Italy are resisting Roman dominance, and have invitied Epirus to come to their aid. Rome and Epirus are at War, and Epirus has already landed troops on the toe of Italy.

The scenario objectives are 'suggestions.' There is no requirement that the player complete the objectives, in order to win the game. They represent historical or logical accomplishments, amorphous by nature, and giving undefined rewards if completed. For instance, it's logical that Rome should try to game hegemony over all of Italy, including the Po Valley in the north (Cisalpine Gaul). Same with control of Sicily.

I'm going to start off trying to defeat the Epirans to bring the Greeks in south Italy into the Roman sphere. That will probably lead me to kicking them out of Sicily also. Will that then bring me into conflict with Carthage? Remains to be seen.

Note the birth policy slider. This is one of the more interesting features of Aggressors, with impact on population growth rates, resource usage rate, resource allocation, general and local happiness - and no doubt other factors that I haven't discovered yet!.

[gwgardner]

Southern Italy, where the early action will be against Epirus. I'll have to advance my forces to bring Epiran forces into visual range. Right now I can see the borders.

Note the various map settings and gametime toggles for such things as tile boundaries, country color and terrain overlays.

[gwgardner]

More detailed AARs will follow, but this is like the title says, a mini-AAR giving the highligts of my first runthrough.

Now it's 225 BC.

After Eprirus was invited into southern Italy by rebellious, former Greek cities there, Rome used it's more favorable strategic advantages, such as it's roads, to bring more forces to bear in southern Italy than Epirus could manage from across the Adriatic Sea. We retook the toe of Italy, and pushed Epirus out.

With the toe of Italy in control, our forces intended to cross into Sicily, to remove all Epiran influence in the area. Unfortunately, barbarians to the north threw all our plans into turmoil. Celtic and Germanic tribes made repeated forays into northern Italy. Rome was forced to focus it's attentions there, while standing a wary guard against the Epirans. The Celts and Ardeuians have been punished, their cities taken, and where necessary, some citizens sold off into slavery to Sparta and Athens.

The Senate at long last determined to complete the fight against Epirus and it's allies in Sicily, and gathered a fleet of galleys to cross over with troops. Major mistake, as Carthage took umbrage at Rome's decision to interfere in what they considered their area of influence, and completely destroyed the Roman fleet with their own fleet of Triremes.

Since then, war with Carthage has loomed as a constant threat through the last 40 years, but after that disastrous naval defeat off the northern Coast of Sicily, Rome has focused on the more pressing conflicts to the north and east.

All this time the Carthagenians have been at war with many of the other nations around the Western and Central Mediterranean, among them the Iberians. Now, in 225, the Iberians have asked for help from Rome, and offered federation as a client state. The Senate has responded favorably, thereby declaring that Carthage will no longer be allowed its heavy hand in the region.

[gwgardner]

210 BC

The Senate's determination to force the hand with Carthage, in Sicily, was forestalled by constant barbarian depredations along Rome's borders. Fortunately, Carthage has had its own troubles in their territories in Farther Spain, and sued for peace with Rome. The Senate wisely accepted that Peace.

Tribal peoples have been on the move from the west, north, and east, forcing Rome into almost constant battles along the frontiers. And not just Rome. Massilia was almost completely overrun by Celtic invaders, and the remnant of the once powerful and rich city state finally asked for federation with Rome.

After 15 years of fighting, an uneasy peace now prevails with the Galleici Tribes in the west, the Celts in Gaul, and the Germans to the Northeast. And Rome's struggles with the Ardueian Tribes and Epirus have ended in the complete absorption of those peoples and territories.

Apparently sensing another shift in the balance of power across the Mediterranean, Athens and the Ptolemaic Kingdom almost immediately joined in their own federation, and have struck repeatedly into Italy and Dalmatia. Rome has reluctantly fought back, and is now poised to settle affairs in Greece once and for all. Rome is working furiously to obtain the capability to build larger and more powerful ships - the Ptolemaic Kingdom has many huge trireme vessels, that totally outmatch Roman galleys.

But in 210, catastrophe has befallen Rome. A plague, has wiped out fully 55% of the Republic's population. Whether that is going to usher in a renewed period of turmoil remains to be seen.

[gwgardner]

This concludes my beginners mini AAR for Aggressors. Playtesting sometimes requires moving on to other versions and other tests. I think this little playthrough did well to illustrate just a bit of the wonderful features of the game. For a player like me, 'recreating' plausible history is really fun, and I wonder if this Rome would have gone on to defeat Carthage and hold off the Athenian/Ptolemaic Federation.

[tgb]

I've been waiting to get into the Beta. This just makes it tougher. Nice job.

[Searry]

Very impressive! I sense great potential in this game!

[balto]

NICE! What are those things that look like roman buildings with columns (one south of Rome and another in Yugoslavia)? Also, is a resource that is adjacent to a city as productive when it is far away, but connected by road.., in other words, is city placement important? Thank you

[pavelk]

What are those things that look like roman buildings with columns (one south of Rome and another in Yugoslavia)?

Hi Balto,
thank you for watching it with us.
I guess you are refering to temples. They affect the increase of citizens in the neighbourhood area.

Also, is a resource that is adjacent to a city as productive when it is far away, but connected by road.., in other words, is city placement important? Thank you

City placement is very important for number of reasons:

• Food production
• Defense of the city
• Resources around. The city is capable to bind resources in max distance of 3 from the city itself. Better connected it is, more "productive" the mine is. If you have a connection over land, it increases about 30%. If you have a connection over land with dirt route, it increases it about 60%. If you have a connection over land with paved route, it increases it about 90%. The same principle is also valid for blacksmiths (also multiplying the production per connection accessibility). If you have a mine connected by paved road to both a city and a blacksmith, you get the max "bonus" of 200% production increase.