[eropple]

Rome would be a difficult thing to model (IIRC some Paradox folks have talked about this) given the way their games usually work. The biggest problem with Rome itself is the amount of internecine warfare and plotting that doesn't map to the CK2-style feudal mode. And that doesn't map to a lot of other powers in Europe and the Near East at the time. In CK2 and EU4, most players operate under very similar rules (like, Islam in CK2 is basically a slightly tweaked European feudalism)--a Rome game would have to come out of the box with a number of compatible-but-divergent systems in the ballpark of what CK2 was 2-3 years after release to seem like it fit with the rest of the games they do.

Which is not to say I wouldn't love to see it happen, but it's a hard problem.

[jwdunne]

They released a Rome game on their older engine that's now quite dated. It was pretty fun and I'd recommend it.

Because they're so moddable, a total conversion would be possible. I know the mechanics are similar but the game of thrones mod is breathtaking (I recommend this too)!

A good place to start would be the time when Rome was merely a small kingdom and take it from there. Lots of Mediterranean based conflict with other civilisations like the Greeks, Egyptians, Estruscans, Carthage, etc. The end result might not even be a Roman Empire but, however unlikely, a Gaulish empire or a Carthaginian empire. That sounds like a lot of fun.

[eropple]

Yeah, I recall the old one (though TBH I thought it was not particularly great). I think it'd be fun to have a modern spin on it for sure, I just don't know how you put together the actual game and make it work. I tried to spec one out not that long ago and getting bogged down by trying to adequately represent, if not everything, then a reasonable subset thereof. The winnowing down of models of government and religious aspects into a more manageable few after the Western Roman Empire "fell" helps a lot from a design point of view.

[jwdunne]

No, it wasn't EU4 / CK2 / Stellaris grade. I just love the Roman period and RTW doesn't cut it (Caesar III satisfies city management in a way).

I guess I can't argue if you've sat down and tried to model it - the culling of establishment structures makes sense now.

Given me inspiration to take a stab, if only to come to your conclusion. A decent, historical early Rome grand strategy game is too much to let go of.

Hopefully an impetus to put some code down on a game I want to play.

[eropple]

Hey, go for it! It's a fun problem. Shoot me an email if you'd like to chat offline - email in profile.