I totally agree. But think not as history enthousiast but as a game developper. Yes Pyrric Victory is a famous quote. But what is best known… Pyrrus or Rome ? Answer is obviously Rome.
When you sell a content, you need to be sure it’s going to be purchased, because you’ve invested time and money on making it before it’s starting to sale.
Don’t get me wrong, if it was just me, I’d want a campaign for EVERY TOPIC, like every civ possible, every campaign possible, poem, not poem, epic, regular history, empire variation, etc etc. But it’s not me making the decisions.
The last words of Alexander narrative was about an empire that was patient, that waited, and that were there to last.
This MEANS romans, BUT, it doesn’t mean they’re going to be the full focus of the campaign, as in the alexander DLC where it was macedonia first.
I really think the best choice for the first dlc about rome would be to have the roman as one of the many focus, like they did for BfG. Then the second about rome beeing more character centered after the punic war, about Marius, and the many civil wars up to Octavian instoring the Empire. And finally a third one where it’s like the punic war one, where rome is an important player but where the barbarian are also important in their playstyle.
Even the Caesar part can be multi-civ play, as the Gauls allied with rome at some point, they definitly can give part of the campaign with the gauls rivality etc.
For the third one about the barbarian, imagine if they add the Germans, and allow us to play none other than … Arimnius… That would be insane, to be able to defeat rome at teutoburg battle.
So to come back at the Pyrrhus topic. Yes he deserve to be there, but he can be there in two major ways on a roman themed chronicle.
- As a side character, facing the romans, beeing a variation of macedonia civ with scenario units, like the thebans are a variation of a BfG civ with scenario unit. (It’s cheap to produce, easy to balance, not consuming any of the three civ of the dlc)
- As an entire civ, with a gameplay variation from the Macedonian, but would requiere a rework of the macedonian techtree, just one dlc after their release ? (phalangites from unique to regional, that early in the release stage, is kinda unlikely, and burning one of the three civ slot is expensive in term of developpement)
Considering the southern part of italy was Greek during Pyrrhus invasion, they will probably be Athenian, or Spartan, depending on the backstory of the cities about who founded it. Remember the Syracus mission in BfG, whant I played it I already thought: “okay so they don’t need a standalone civ for Sicily first punic war”.
To me, Pyrrhus as a campaign character is better suiting for the Diadochi topic rather than the Roman topic. Which mean that devs could save it as a civ for a later chronicle. Chronicle team have litterally no rule, no bound, no limit on what they can do. It’s only the success of their content that determine if the content continues or stops. In their current chronology,
- Etruscan will probably be a standalone civ, they are really unique in their origins.
- Samnites / Umbrian / Latium groups / Oscans can all be represented in a specific Italic civ group, they shared a lot even if they were battling each others.
- Magna Grecia groups will be Spartan/Athenian driven.
- Epyrotes can be Macedonian driven.
- Gauls will have their standalone civ at some point.
- Carthago will have its own civ.
- Sicily may be Carthaginian / Athenian / Spartan driven.
- Parthian will have their own civ.
- Sarmathian will have their own civ.
- Numidia will probably be scenario unit driven.
- Nubia will probably be scenario unit driven.
- Celtiberian will eventually have their own civ, or a gaul variation scenario driven.
- Britons will eventually be a gaul variation.
- German will have their own civilization.
- Wisigoth / Ostrogoth will share a civilization design.
- Vandals will probably be scenario driven.
- Ptolemaics will probably share a civ deisgn or have their own.
- Sassasnids will probably have their own civ deisgn.
- Helvets will be a gaul variation.
- Scythian will probably share a civ or have their own.
- Phoenician driven things will use Carthago civ.
- Creatan will probably be a civ variation scenario driven.
- Baelerics will probably be scenario driven civ.
- Hebrew will probalby be scenario driven at first, and if they go later on older topic they may have their own civ.
- Same goes for Egypt, Hittites, Akkad, Summer, Assyrian, Micenian, Minoan, sea people, etc.
And I probably forgot many important figures but no other names come to my mind when thinking of Chronicle civ candidates. (all the diadochii of course, but I don’t know their names so I’ve not listed them)
