Europa Barbarorum

Europa Barbarorum

Infobox VG
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title = Europa Barbarorum


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developer = "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team
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engine = "Europa Barbarorum":
' engine
"Europa Barbarorum II":
' engine
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released = "Europa Barbarorum":
Start date 27 December 2005cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58619|title= Europa Barbarorum needs your help! The Open Beta is here.|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2005-12-27|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]
"Europa Barbarorum II":
In development
genre = Real-time tactics, Turn-based strategy
modes = Single player, Multiplayer
ratings =
platforms = Windows
media = Free download
requirements =
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latest release version = 1.1
latest release date = April 7 2008cite web|url = http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=101739|title = EB v1.1 released!|accessdate = 2008-04-13|accessdaymonth = |accessmonthday = |accessyear = |author = "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|last = |first = |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = 2008-04-07|year = |month = |format = |work = |publisher = |pages = |language = |doi = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote = ]
latest preview version =
latest date =

"Europa Barbarorum" (or "EB") ( _la. Europe of the Barbarians) is a modification (or "mod") of the computer game "" ("RTW") based on the desire to provide "Rome: Total War" players with a more historically accurate game experience.cite web |url= http://www.europabarbarorum.com|title= "Europa Barbarorum" mission statement|accessdate= 2008-02-14|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080214230528/http://www.europabarbarorum.com/|archivedate= 2008-02-14|quote= ] cite web |url= http://rtw.heavengames.com/rtw/mods/portal/eb/index.shtml|title= Europa Barbarorum|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= Rome: Total War mods portal|publisher= HeavenGames.com|doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20060511175126/http://rtw.heavengames.com/rtw/mods/portal/eb/index.shtml|archivedate= 2006-05-11|quote= ]

As is the case with the original game, "Europa Barbarorum" sees the player controlling an empire with the ultimate goal of conquering as much territory as possible and eliminating rival factions, which are controlled by the computer, or AI.

The basic gameplay mechanics of the original game remain the same in the modification. This includes the retension of the original game's two broad gameplay modes in the main campaign: a turn-based strategy map for moving whole armies and managing the empire; and a real-time battle map for fighting battles on the ground between two armies. The two game modes are linked, with success or failure in one game mode influencing the chances of success or failure in the other.

"Europa Barbarorum" is a total conversion modification as it replaces all the aspects of the original "Rome: Total War" game that can be replaced, such as unit models, statistics and the musical score used in the modification.cite web |url= http://www.moddb.com/mods/europa-barbarorum|title= Europa Barbarorum|accessdate= 2008-09-13|author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher= [http://www.moddb.com ModDB.com] |location= |pages= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] It covers the period from 272 BC to 14 AD (a period only slightly different to the original game's timespan of 273 BC to 14 AD),cite web |url= http://www.totalwar.com/index.html?page=/en/rome/gameinfo/index.html&nav=/en/rome/1/|title= History|accessdate= 2008-09-19|author= The Creative Assembly|authorlink= Creative Assembly|date= |year= |month= |format= |work= Rome: Total War information|publisher= TotalWar.com|location= |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071216063033/http://www.totalwar.com/index.html?page=/en/rome/gameinfo/index.html&nav=/en/rome/1/|archivedate= 2007-12-16] and introduces a four-turn-per-year system on the campaign map (as opposed to the two-turn-per-year system of "Rome: Total War") to better represent the flow of history.

Development history

Concept

The "Europa Barbarorum" project began in January 2004, eight months before "Rome: Total War"'s release,cite web |url= http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/rome-total-war/|title= Rome: Total War (PC)|accessdate= 2008-09-19|author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= Games|publisher= GameSpy.com|location= |pages= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080205222001/http://uk.pc.gamespy.com/pc/rome-total-war/|archivedate= 2008-02-05|quote= ] when the "Europa Barbarorum" development team who were following the game's development became concerned that its "barbarian" factions such as the Gauls and Germanic tribes were being portrayed in a historically inaccurate manner as stereotypical hordes of unwashed savages.cite web |url= http://rtw.heavengames.com/rtw/mods/portal/interviews/ebintwk/index.shtml|title= Europa Barbarorum interview with Khelvan|accessdate= 2008-09-19|author=User: Ace Cataphract |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher= HeavenGames.com|location= |pages= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20060511195915/http://rtw.heavengames.com/rtw/mods/portal/interviews/ebintwk/index.shtml|archivedate= 2006-05-11|quote= ] The "Europa Barbarorum" team felt that such representations conformed more to a sensationalist Hollywood stereotype than to historical fact, maintaining that ancient "barbarian" cultures are often judged and possibly misunderstood based on an "interpretatio romana" or "interpretatio graeca" due to the nature of ancient historiographical conventions. The true nature of these civilizations, says the "Europa Barbarorum" team, is better revealed through archaeological evidence and what remains of their own ancient texts.

The developers of "Europa Barbarorum" tried to convince the Creative Assembly (CA), the developers of "Rome: Total War", to alter their depiction of the period to make the whole game more historically accurate. Whilst some suggestions were taken on board and adopted in the final release of "Rome: Total War", most were disregarded by the Creative Assembly due to publisher pressures and financial expediency. Some "Europa Barbarorum" members continued to offer their services as historical advisors but due to inherent concerns over intellectual property rights, the Creative Assembly declined the offer.

Mod development

Having exhausted this avenue for change, the "Europa Barbarorum" members then resolved to modify the game themselves upon its release. Once "Rome: Total War" was released, "Europa Barbarorum" immediately began work on the modification, recruiting a large team of volunteer skinners, modellers, coders, and historians to have the modification better reflect historical reality. "Europa Barbarorum"'s vision of edutainment was endorsed by the Creative Assembly, who offered limited help when able.Fact|date=August 2008 To this end they began what ended up being several thousand hours of research and preliminary work.Fact|date=August 2008

The earliest known internal alpha release of the modification, version 0.6.2, was completed in June 2005.fact|date=September 2008 The first public release of the modification, version 0.7.2, which marked its transition into a public open beta phase of development and was developed for patch 1.2 of "Rome: Total War",cite web |url= http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=187873#EB|title= Interview with Foot of Europa Barbarorum II for Medieval II: Total War|accessdate= 2008-08-27|author=User: Calvin |last= |first= |authorlink= http://www.twcenter.net/forums/member.php?u=27173|coauthors= |date= 2008-08-26|format= |work= The Eagle Standard Vol. VI Issue XI|publisher= The Eagle Standard|doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] came on 27 December 2005. After three more relatively minor releases in the month of March of 2006 which mostly fixed bugs and made small adjustments in the modification,cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=62053|title= EB v0.73 (hotfix now available)|accessdate= 2008-09-01|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |date= 2006-03-05|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=62112|title= EB v0.7.3a (patch + hotfix)|accessdate= 2008-09-01|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |date= 2006-03-06|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=62651|title= EB v0.7.4 (patch)|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |date= 2006-03-20|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] the next major release of "Europa Barbarorum" was version 0.80 on 6 December 2006.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=74101|title= The EB v0.8 Release - Get it here!|accessdate= 2008-08-26|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2006-12-06|work= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] The release marked the start of the 0.8."x" series of releases, as well as being the first "Europa Barbarorum" release for patch 1.5 of "Rome: Total War". It included the addition of the Sabaean faction, new music, the addition of the provisional military government level, the inclusion of a new MIC system and other changes. The release of version 0.8 was also announced by the "Europa Barbarorum" development team on a third-party computer modification review website.cite web |url= http://www.moddb.com/mods/europa-barbarorum/news/eb-08-released|title= EB 0.8 released|accessdate= 2008-09-13 |author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2006-12-11 |format= |work= |publisher= [http://www.moddb.com ModDB.com] |location= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] There subsequently followed three more minor 0.8."x" releases during the first half of 2007, all three of which primarily made minor adjustments to the modification and fixed bugs.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=79642|title= Europa Barbarorum v0.81 released :: Grab it here|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2007-02-18|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071223102745/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=79642|archivedate=2007-12-23 |quote= ] cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=80651|title= EB v0.81a Hotfix released |accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2007-03-05|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070511005109/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=80651|archivedate= 2007-05-11|quote= ] All in all, over 135,000 downloads of the 0.80-0.81 versions were tracked.cite web |url= http://www.europabarbarorum.com/downloads_mod.html|title= EB Full-Install MOD|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= EuropaBarbarorum.com|publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] cite web |url= http://pc.boomtown.net/en_uk/articles/art.view.php?id=16547|title= The World of Total War Mods|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= |last= Clifford|first= Graham|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2008-08-18|format= |work= BoomTown.net|publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

Release and further versions

The next major release after 0.80 was version 1.0. The "Europa Barbarorum" development team skipped any 0.9."x" releases in order to make the modification appear as though it was no longer in the beta phase, which they felt it had left by 1.0's release.fact|date=September 2008 Version 1.0 was released on October 12 2007 and included new government options for the Pahlava and Hayasdan factions, the addition of a new type of wall to the battlemap, new units, new music from [http://homepage.eircom.net/~bronzeagehorns Prehistoric Music Ireland] , a more challenging start to campaigns for the player and other changes.cite web|url = http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=93132|title = EB v1.0 Released|accessdate = 2007-10-12|accessdaymonth = |accessmonthday = |accessyear = |author = "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|last = |first = |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = 2007-10-11|year = |month = |format = |work = |publisher = |pages = |language = |doi = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote = ] The 1.0 version was downloaded over 90,000 times in the six months following its release.cite web |url= http://www.europabarbarorum.com/downloads_mod.html|title= EB Full-Install MOD|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= EuropaBarbarorum.com|publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] cite web |url= http://pc.boomtown.net/en_uk/articles/art.view.php?id=16547|title= The World of Total War Mods|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= |last= Clifford|first= Graham|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2008-08-18|format= |work= Boomtown.net|publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

The current release is version 1.1, which was released on April 7 2008 and included new battle map landscapes, new units, the addition of the Pahlavi voicemod and the inclusion of an introduction video for the Saka Rauka faction.

The next "Europa Barbarorum" release being worked on for "Rome: Total War" by the "Europa Barbarorum" development team is version 1.2. Although the development team has previously stated that future releases of "Europa Barbarorum" for the "Rome: Total War" engine will not include any major new gameplay changes, version 1.2 is expected to contain the addition of the Punic voicemodcite web |url= http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?p=3223107#post3223107|title= Re: EB v1.1 released!|accessdate= 2008-08-31|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |date= 2008-06-22|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] as well as bug fixes.

As well as working on a new release of "Europa Barbarorum" for the "Rome: Total War" engine, the "Europa Barbarorum" development team is developing a new version of the modification for the "" engine which will be named "Europa Barbarorum II". "Europa Barbarorum II" is scheduled to include many changes and new features, such as new government and recruitment systems, an improved trait and ancillary system, faction migrations, horde factions,cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=89290|title= Stele #1|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2007-07-29|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080119000815/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=89290|archivedate= 2008-01-19|quote= ] limits on elite units, free unit upkeep for some garrisoned units,cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=89629|title= Stele #2|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2007-08-05|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080209151606/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=89629|archivedate= 2008-02-09|quote= ] a larger campaign map, ten new playable factions,cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=95706|title= Stele #3|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2007-11-26|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080213121532/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=95706|archivedate= 2008-02-13|quote= ] a new system of province integration, new units of a better graphical quality than those of "Europa Barbarorum I",cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=100653|title= Stele #4|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2008-03-16|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=101988|title= Stele #5|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2008-04-11|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] with greater variation among units, and the addition of Pergamon as a playable faction.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=103202|title= Stele #6: Pergamon|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2008-05-04|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

The modification has been included with demos and other modifications in the "PC Format" and "PC Gamer (UK)" computer magazines published in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Features

Even though "Europa Barbarorum" is set in a similar time period and geographical area to the original "Rome: Total War" game, it is a total conversion which offers a very different gaming experience. All units, buildings, map features and other moddable parameters of the game have been reworked from scratch. New features not present in the original game have also been added.

Units

One of the areas in which the greatest amount of change can be seen between the original "Rome: Total War" game and "Europa Barbarorum" is that of the units that are present in the game. So much so, in fact, that third-party reviewers have commented that the differences between "Europa Barbarorum" and its parent game are "immediate" and "striking" and that the modification is different to its parent game "in look and in play". Furthermore, the same review also noted that all the units that were present in "Rome: Total War" have been removed and replaced in "Europa Barbarorum". Specific examples include the removal of several units present in the original "Rome: Total War" that the "Europa Barbarorum" team considered to be historically doubtful or only marginally used in warfare, such as Arcani, incendiary pigs and camels, as well as the "Oliphaunt" Easter egg unit from the original "Rome: Total War". As well as this, a new unit recruitment system based on governments and assimilation, and set up by the player on a region-by-region basis, has been introduced.

Faction changes

"Europa Barbarorum" includes several playable factions which were not present in the original "Rome: Total War" game. The overall theme to the changes in factions from "Rome: Total War" to "Europa Barbarorum" has been one of increasing historical accuracy, with the more familiar-sounding, Western faction names of the original game being replaced in the modification by its factions' own names for themselves. Examples of such name changes include the modification's renaming the original game's Armenia faction, Hayasdan and renaming the Germania faction, Sweboz.

Many of the changes to the game's factions introduced by the modification have had had a greater impact on gameplay than renaming factions. For example, the original game's Gaul faction has been replaced in "Europa Barbarorum" with two new factions: the Aedui and the Arverni. The original game's Scythia faction has been replaced by the Sauromatae in "Europa Barbarorum", and "Rome: Total War"'s Greek Cities faction has been replaced by the Koinon Hellenon ( _gr. League of the Greeks), a faction which represents the Chremonidean League of Athens, Sparta and Rhodes.

As well as the aforementioned replacing of original game factions with new factions, the factions entirely new to "Europa Barbarorum" are Baktria, a Central Asian Hellenic empire, Epiros, an empire famous for producing Pyrrhos of Epiros, Saka-Rauka, a heavily cavalry-based faction based in Central Asia and Saba, the pre-Islamic kingdom in Arabia.

Despite initial speculation that "Europa Barbarorum" would contain four playable Roman factions like the original "Rome: Total War", the original SPQR, Brutii, Julii and Scipii factionscite web |url= http://rtw.heavengames.com/rtw/info/factions/index.shtml|title=Factions |accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= HeavenGames.com|doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20061112000044/http://rtw.heavengames.com/rtw/info/factions/index.shtml|archivedate= 2006-11-12|quote= ] have all been merged into one faction, the Romani,cite web |url= http://www.europabarbarorum.com/factions_romani.html|title= Romani|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= EuropaBarbarorum.com|publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080213171247/http://www.europabarbarorum.com/factions_romani.html|archivedate= 2008-02-13|quote= ] again out of interests of historical accuracy. Although early releases of "Europa Barbarorum" included the Yuezhi as a playable faction, it was later dropped as the Yuezhi people had not yet migrated to the area of the world depicted on the "Europa Barbarorum" campaign map by 272 BC.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=66852|title= EB July Preview :: Saka-Rauka (and music!!)|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2006-07-11|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071117062648/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=66852|archivedate= 2007-11-17|quote= ] They have since been recreated through scripted events in the modification, but have never re-appeared as a fully playable faction in the modification since their initial removal from it.cite web |url= http://www.europabarbarorum.com/factions.html|title= Factions|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= EuropaBarbarorum.com|publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080215094747/http://www.europabarbarorum.com/factions.html|archivedate= 2008-02-15|quote= ]

As well as replacing existing and adding new factions to the game, "Europa Barbarorum" has also made changes to those factions from the original "Rome: Total War" that it has not replaced entirely. These changes include creating a new unit roster for the Egyptian faction in the game (named Egypt in the original "Rome: Total War" and the Ptolemaioi in "Europa Barbarorum"), a faction which the "Europa Barbarorum" team felt was previously ahistorical, calling "Rome: Total War"'s Egyptian soldiers "Mummy Returns" Egyptians", to correspond to the Ptolemaic period of history. The "Europa Barbarorum" team has also given Nomadic, desert, and steppe cultures their own government buildings,] which some say has helped differentiate between "Europa Barbarorum"'s factions and make the differences between "Europa Barbarorum" and the original "Rome: Total War" more than just cosmetic. Earlier releases of "Europa Barbarorum" featured player alerts representing the major stages of the breakup of the Seleukid faction, if that collapse occurred in the game, but such features became impossible to implement after the removal of the SPQR faction of the original game, which had been used in "Europa Barbarorum" for scripting purposes, but was then replaced by the Saba faction.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=74103|title= EB 0.74 to 0.80: What's New?|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2006-12-06|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080211110940/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=74103|archivedate= 2008-02-11|quote= ] On the other hand, as well as adding new factions, "Europa Barbarorum" has dropped entirely the Numidia faction of the original "Rome: Total War".

Other faction-related changes in "Europa Barbarorum" have concerned not just one, but many in-game factions. Such changes include the addition of new, historically accurate family trees for all factions, as well as the inclusion of historically accurate diplomatic relationships between the game's factions at the start of the main campaign in 272 BC, including representing existing treaties between different states through scripting, and a revised "Fog-of-war" to show more realistically each faction's understanding of the world in 272 BC. In addition, rebel forces have been given ethnic names and strengths, more than 4,900 new names for generals and family members of Hellenic factions, transliterated from Ancient Greek, have been added to the game, and new victory conditions have been implemented for every faction. As well as this, the "Europa Barbarorum" team has introduced faction-specific player alerts for when the player captures a building important to their faction.

Cartography

The "Europa Barbarorum" modification features a campaign map which has been altered from that of "Rome: Total War" in several ways. Its eastern and southern regions have been expanded, with Arabia, India, Central Asia, and the Upper Nile region receiving new territories, and provinces have been given accurate names in the language of their controlling peoples at the game's start. Relief, province boundaries, snow boundaries, vegetation types, coastlines and areas prone to natural disastercite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=88708|title= EB July Map and Features Preview|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2007-07-16|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071224200233/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=88708|archivedate= 2007-12-24|quote= ] in 272 BC have all been researched and implemented into the campaign map.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=50614|title= Countdown to Open Beta - Tabula Orbis Terrae|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2005-07-11|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071117071909/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=50614|archivedate= 2007-11-17|quote= ] The Nile-Red Sea canal linking the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea has been added to the campaign map, as have the great trade routes of the ancient world, such as the Amber and Silk Roads, which can be captured and used by the player and by AI-controlled factions. "Europa Barbarorum" also includes new campaign map and battle map tree models, resulting in denser forests in both of "Europa Barbarorum"'s broad . Special buildings in provinces at the edges of the campaign map representing trade routes with provinces outside the campaign map have also been added.

Traits

The original system present in "Rome: Total War" has been expanded upon by "Europa Barbarorum". The trait system in "Europa Barbarorum" is based on a combination of upbringing, ageing, relatives' traits, and health, factors which affect trait acquisition and development over a character's life. "Europa Barbarorum" contains both more traits overall, and more faction-specific traits, than "Rome: Total War". Each adult male character in "Europa Barbarorum" receives, upon "coming of age" at sixteen, six primary traits: Intelligence, Charisma, Vitality, Selflessness, Temperament and Loyalty. How high each of those traits' levels is determines the personality of a character and can also influence which other traits they will acquire in future and which tasks they will perform well at and poorly at.cite web |url= http://www.europabarbarorum.com/features_traits.html|title= An Introduction to the Traits and Ancillaries System|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= EuropaBarbarorum.com|publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071225185227/http://www.europabarbarorum.com/features_traits.html|archivedate= 2007-12-25|quote= ]

In addition to the six primary traits that all adult male characters in "Europa Barbarorum" receive, there are also traits which can only be acquired by characters from a certain faction or of a certain ethinicity. The trait system for Hellenic characters, for instance, is based on Theophrastos' "Characters" and Aristotle's teachings on the Golden Mean. In a similar fashion, the Roman trait system in "Europa Barbarorum" is partially based on the moral tales of Valerius Maximus. Traits related to special events, such as the Olympics which a Hellenic character can compete in and possibly even win an event in - something which would lead to the acquisition of more positive traits - or a Triumph held in Rome to celebrate a Roman General's victory against a specific faction which can increase their . Hellenic characters can also complete training in the Spartan Agoge, which can earn them traits of various levels of utility, depending on their performance during their training.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=87150|title= EB June Preview|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2007-06-15 |format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

As well as this, the personalities and traits of all starting generals in the game (i.e. those who were actual historical figures, alive in 272 BC) have been made to mirror those of their historical counterparts.

Buildings

"Europa Barbarorum" adds a number of new building types to the turn- and campaign map-based part of the game.

Government buildings

The game's core buildings, which are usually referred to as "government buildings",cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58617|title= EB vs RTW: What is different? A Guide!!|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2005-12-27|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080213121521/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=58617|archivedate= 2008-02-13|quote= ] are ones which represent different ways of ruling a newly-conquered province. In decreasing order of cost required to install them in the game, the four government types available in "Europa Barbarorum" are: a homeland government, a government of a colonised province, a subject state government, and an allied state government. They can also be referred to as Type I through to Type IV governments respectively.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=84854|title= Europa Barbarorum FAQ|accessdate=2008-08-25 |author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2007-05-08|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080204223132/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=84854|archivedate= 2008-02-04|quote= ] The four different government types carry with them different bonuses and penalties, and the greater the government type number, the greater the shift in focus for the ruling faction from their own factional buildings and units to the construction of native buildings and recruitment of native units.cite web |url= http://www.europabarbarorum.com/features_buildings.html|title= Buildings|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= EuropaBarbarorum.com|publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080124151700/http://www.europabarbarorum.com/features_buildings.html|archivedate= 2008-01-24|quote= ]

In a later release of "Europa Barbarorum", Type IV governments were further differentiated from other government types through the introduction of the "Client ruler script", which automatically installs a puppet ruler in any province in which a Type IV government has been constructed and, in the case of a player-controlled province, decreases the amount of direct control the player can have over the province.

Military buildings

The other large difference between the buildings available in the original "Rome: Total War" campaign and those available in a "Europa Barbarorum" campaign are the military buildings. "Europa Barbarorum" has abandoned the separate facilities for training different troop types of "Rome: Total War" and has instead chosen to replace them with an all-encompassing line of military-industrial complex buildings, which are sometimes referred to by their acronym of "MIC", and which are responsible for the recruitment of virtually all troop types in the game.

Furthermore, there are, in fact, two different, independent military-industrial complex systems in "Europa Barbarorum": one, known as a "factional MIC", for recruiting a faction's native troops, and another, known as a "local MIC", for recruiting troops native to the province in which the military-industrial complex has been built. The government type which has been installed in a province has an effect on how far the province's two different types of military-industrial complex can be upgraded: the greater the government type number, the greater the shift towards using local units in a province, and hence the further a local military-industrial complex in the province can be upgraded, the less a factional military-industrial complex can be upgraded; and vice versa.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=73928|title=Light Reading: New 0.8 MIC system explanation |accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2006-12-04|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080214224750/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=73928|archivedate= 2008-02-14|quote= ]

Other buildings

As well as the aforementioned core buildings, "Europa Barbarorum" has also introduced a number of unique buildings representing both man-made objects of wonder, and features of the landscape. The former can be destroyed by the player for what is sometimes a large monetary pay-off, but then cannot be rebuilt and the province in which they stood loses the bonuses they provided;cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=85110|title= EB May Preview|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2007-05-12|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20070524203146/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=85110|archivedate= 2007-05-24|quote= ] the latter type of unique building is indestructible.

"Europa Barbarorum" also introduces new buildings which can be constructed by the player and the AI. These new buildings include shrines, clinics, granaries, theatres and stupas. The modification also features new temple systems which represent the most popular temple types of each of the depicted factions. The temples provide historically accurate bonuses and also come with their own descriptions and images on the campaign map.

Non-Unit Graphics

As well as adding new units to the game, the "Europa Barbarorum" team has also included new non-unit graphics in the modification. Examples of such additions include new faction-specific graphics for the faction selection menu, a new campaign minimap, new faction icons, faction selection buttons, campaign map standards, and battle map banners. "Europa Barbarorum" also includes new campaign map siege, ship, unit, general, watchtower, and resource graphics] in addition to its new battle map graphics.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=96896|title= EB December/Christmas Preview|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2007-12-21|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080208111304/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=96896|archivedate= 2008-02-08|quote= ] The modification has also replaced "Rome: Total War"'s advisor images and has added new faction-defeated graphics for every faction.

Game Mechanics

"Europa Barbarorum"'s mechanics differ noticeably in several ways from "Rome: Total War"'s. One of the most obvious differences is the fact that in the original "Rome: Total War" campaign, one year passed after every two turns on the campaign map; in "Europa Barbarorum", one year passes after every four turns, meaning that turns represent seasons in "Europa Barbarorum" - indeed, they have been renamed as such - with characters facing restrictions on how far they can move during winter. In addition, the "Europa Barbarorum" team has designed new custom battle formations in order to encourage more realistic behaviour from the AI and has also added new battle map unit animations, such as those of two-handed lancers and horse archers.

Audio

"Europa Barbarorum" features its own soundtrack and does not include any songs from the original "Rome: Total War" soundtrack. "Europa Barbarorum"'s music comes from a number of sources. Some of the tracks were composed by [http://www.morgancasey.com/ Morgan Casey] and [http://www.nickwylie.com/ Nick Wylie] .cite web |url= http://www.europabarbarorum.com/features.html|title= Features|accessdate= 2008-08-24 |author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= EuropaBarbarorum.com|publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080131232510/http://www.europabarbarorum.com/features.html|archivedate= 2008-01-31|quote= ] cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=67177|title= EB Music Preview|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2006-07-20|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071117072053/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=67177|archivedate= 2007-11-17|quote= ] cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=68109|title= EB Music Preview Strikes Back!|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2006-08-19|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071117072100/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=68109|archivedate= 2007-11-17|quote= ] cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=69806|title= The Last EB Music Preview|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2006-09-28|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071117072122/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=69806|archivedate= 2007-11-17|quote= ] More recently, authentic music for the Celtic factions, created by [http://homepage.eircom.net/~bronzeagehorns/ Prehistoric Music Ireland] was added to the modification.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=87523|title= EB Music Announcement: Prehistoric Music Ireland|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2007-06-21|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080209170936/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=87523|archivedate= 2008-02-09|quote= ] As well as those two sources, reconstructed and recreated Roman music, performed by the German group Musica Romana, has also been added.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=100569|title= EB Roman Music Preview (Musica Romana)|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2008-03-14|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

As well as including a new soundtrack, "Europa Barbarorum" also includes its own "voicemod", an attempt by the "Europa Barbarorum" team to replace the English cries of "Rome: Total War"'s soldiers with ones in their native languages. To date, "Europa Barbarorum" features voice recordings in classical Latin, Celtic, ancient Greek,cite web |url= http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=66990|title= ΗΧΩ ΤΩΝ ΑΡΧΑΙΩΝ or the ANCIENT GREEK voice mod...|accessdate= 2008-08-25|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2006-11-02 |format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080209155343/http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=66990|archivedate= 2008-02-09|quote= ] and Pahlavi, and recordings in other ancient languages, such as Punic, are also being worked on.cite web |url= http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=90676|title= EB: Voicemod Preview|accessdate=2008-08-24|author= "Europa Barbarorum" Development Team|authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2007-08-27|format= |work= |publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080209171022/http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=90676|archivedate= 2008-02-09|quote= ]

Reception

"Europa Barbarorum" has had some impact both on the "Total War" gaming community and on the wider games industry.

Awards and reviews

"Europa Barbarorum" has won numerous community awards, including [http://www.twcenter.net TWCenter.net] Best "Rome: Total War" Era Modification 2006, Best Modding Team 2006, Best Gameplay and Aesthetics 2006, [cite web |url= http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=58898|title= TWC Modder Awards Summer 2006 Winners!|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author=User: Publius|authorlink= http://www.twcenter.net/forums/member.php?u=10080|coauthors= |date= 2006-08-15|format= |work= TWCenter.net|publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ] Outstanding Achievement Award 2007, Best "Rome: Total War" Strategic Map Experience 2007, Best "Rome: Total War" Unit Art 2007, Best "Rome: Total War" Modification 2007, Best "Rome: Total War" Era Modification 2007, Best Original Audio Award 2007, Best "Rome: Total War" 2D Art Award 2007; [cite web |url= http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=89834|title= TWC Modding Awards Winners|accessdate= 2008-08-24|author=User: Halie Satanus|authorlink= http://www.twcenter.net/forums/member.php?u=7686|coauthors= |date= 2007-03-25|format= |work= TWCenter.net|publisher= |doi= |archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20071228224901/http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=89834|archivedate=2008-12-28 |quote= ] and [http://www.totalwar.org TotalWar.org] Most Promising Modification 2005, Favorite "Rome: Total War" Modification 2006, Most Accomplished "Rome: Total War" Modification 2006, Best "Rome: Total War" Classical Period Modification 2006, and Best Original Audio 2006.Fact|date=August 2008

"Europa Barbarorum" was featured and reviewed in a number of video game magazines. It has been reviewed in "PC Gamer (UK)" twice, in March 2005 and February 2008.cite journal |last= Meer|first= Alec|authorlink= |coauthors= |year= 2008|month= February|title= Europa Barbarorum|journal= PC Gamer (UK)|volume= |issue= 184|pages= 92|publisher= Future Publishing|location= Bath|id= |url= |accessdate=2008-08-24 |quote= ] The February 2008 review was overwhelmingly positive, saying that "EB" feels like a whole new "Total War" game", and going on to praise the modification's "stunning" scope and the "striking" extent of the differences between it and "Rome: Total War". The review was somewhat critical of the modification's graphical user interfaces which " [occasionally] " had a "home-made" feel to them, as well as its lack of accessibility and steep learning curve, although it adds that the second point is not a large problem as the modification is largely a "master's challenge for accomplished "Rome" players". The review finished on a positive note, however, summing "Europa Barbarorum" up as a "superior game".

Other magazines which have reviewed "Europa Barbarorum" include the Italian PC Gaming magazine "Giochi per Il Mio Computer", which reviewed the modification in April 2005; the French PC Gaming magazine " [http://www.canardpc.com Canard PC] " in 2005, the Romanian PC Gaming magazine "LeveL" in 2006, the German magazine "GameStar" in April 2007 and the Portuguese magazine " [http://www.bgamer.pt BGamer] " in December 2007.

As well as print reviews, "Europa Barbarorum" has also received several online reviews. The modification received a review early into its development process on [http://rtw.heavengames.com HeavenGames.com] , which said that it was an "ambitious" project and praised its commitment to historical accuracy, even stating that the "Europa Barbarorum" development team was going to use satellite imagery and climate change statistics to accurately portray the world as it was in 272 BC. More recently, the modification has been reviewed on [http://pc.boomtown.net BoomTown.net] , which praised the modification's "incredibly well-researched and -devised" unit stats system, as well as its "legion of historians".

"Europa Barbarorum" 'Mini-Mods'

There are a number of fan-made sub-modifications for "Europa Barbarorum", of varying scope. Their details can be found at "Europa Barbarorum"'s official forums.

References

External links

* [http://www.totalwar.com/ Official "Rome: Total War" Game Website]
* [http://www.europabarbarorum.com Official "Europa Barbarorum" Website]
* [http://www.totalwar.org TotalWar.org] [http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=70 "Europa Barbarorum I" forum]
* [http://www.twcenter.net TWCenter.net] [http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=31 "Europa Barbarorum I" forum]
* [http://www.totalwar.org TotalWar.org] [http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=235 "Europa Barbarorum II" forum]
* [http://www.twcenter.net TWCenter.net] [http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=454 "Europa Barbarorum II" forum]


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