What do the difficulty levels mean?

[MasterChief81]

I might have missed it in the manual, but I can't seem to find anything regarding the difficulty levels - how does each level actual affect game play? Any guidance would be appreciated!

[rbodleyscott]

I might have missed it in the manual, but I can't seem to find anything regarding the difficulty levels - how does each level actual affect game play? Any guidance would be appreciated!

The only thing it does is alter the relative points totals that each side has for force selection. (In the case of the lowest and highest levels it slightly alters troop quality instead of altering the force points further compared with the adjacent levels - but that is visible in the unit UI).

The AI plays the same at all levels, and it gets no hidden bonuses/maluses of any sort whatsoever.

See also the manual, section 22.1

[Nixoncc]

Which difficulty level would be the most accurate historically speaking?

[rbodleyscott]

Which difficulty level would be the most accurate historically speaking?

That remains to be seen. Modern historians agree that the figures given for numbers by ancient historians were often wildly inaccurate or deliberately exaggerated to make their side's victory sound more impressive. Sometimes they include all the non-combatants on the enemy side but don't say so. Modern historians then try to estimate the true historical numbers, but their estimates often disagree with each other.

So the simple fact is that we don't actually know for certain how many troops any side had in any historical ancient battle. So any of the difficulty levels could be the most historically accurate.

[Igorputski]

Which difficulty level would be the most accurate historically speaking?

That remains to be seen. Modern historians agree that the figures given for numbers by ancient historians were often wildly inaccurate or deliberately exaggerated to make their side's victory sound more impressive. Sometimes they include all the non-combatants on the enemy side but don't say so. Modern historians then try to estimate the true historical numbers, but their estimates often disagree with each other.

So the simple fact is that we don't actually know for certain how many troops any side had in any historical ancient battle. So any of the difficulty levels could be the most historically accurate.

I am so glad you wrote this. I've been arguing with those historical (can't say it or Zak will spank me) for decades. That history isn't always accurate. It's only speculation. How accurate was Caesar's Diary?

You know everybody lies or exaggerates something at some point or other. I never have taken history word for word and that's why I like my game to be games first before they try to be a history lesson.

I always wonder how anyone can say it's historical or realistic. They weren't there so can only rely on word of mouth which doesn't make it historical or realistic. It's what somebody said somebody said that somebody said so n so said 2000+ years ago. In all that time don't you think history would become a bit distorted? I believe in what I can see more than I believe in what I can read. People been writing fiction for centuries now.

Now I know you are the developer and want your games to be historical and realistic and based on what we have read and been told you do a good job of it. But, being fact that it's historical and realistic I just cannot accept. We weren't there as I keep repeating to well you know and I don't believe everything I read or hear. Do you? I have a few questions if you do like parting the red sea and such n such that's recorded socalled history as well.

[Yogi the Great]

Somewhere (can't remember where) I saw that the Tribune difficulty level was the level that was "most equal" as far as your units and the AI units whatever that does to answer the question.

As listed in an answer above the AI does not change how the computer plays, it only makes the computer units with larger number and/or increased quality.

There you go clear as mud.

[MasterChief81]

Thanks all, this actually does explain levels better.

[Nixoncc]

Yeah, It makes sense!