Developed by
The Creative Assembly
Developed for the Mac by
Feral Interactive Limited
Published for Mac by
Feral Interactive Limited
This document is intended to help you answer any questions that you may have about Rome: Total War - Gold Edition
The voiceover in the Prologue instructs you to hold down the Control key (ctrl) and press the A key in order to select all units on the Battle Map. On a Mac, the Control key is reserved for the secondary (right) click, so instead you must hold down the Command key (⌘) and press A.
Some of the default keyboard assignments have been altered in order to ensure that Rome: Total War is playable on as many Mac keyboards as possible. Here is a list of the modified commands from the Prologue along with their new key assignments.
| Command | Prologue | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| Zoom Out | * | Alt (⌥) + Up Arrow |
| Zoom In | / | Alt (⌥) + Down Arrow |
| Rotate Up | + | Command (⌘) + Up Arrow |
| Rotate Down | - | Command (⌘) + Down Arrow |
| Track Unit | Delete | Alt (⌥) + T |
Also, note that where the Prologue refers to the Control key (ctrl), use the Command key (⌘) on the Mac.
You can change or add additional key assignments in the Control Settings screen in the in-game Options menu.
Rome: Total War - Gold Edition contains the Barbarian Invasion expansion pack. To play it, follow these instructions:
Select the About tab from the pre-game Options window.
Select the Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion option from the Select Game drop-down menu.
Click the Play button. Barbarian Invasion will now start.
Playing a LAN multiplayer battle in Rome: Total War - Gold Edition is slightly different depending on whether you wish to host the battle, or simply join it.
To host a game:
Double-click on the Rome: Total War - Gold Edition application icon. By default this is to be found in the Applications folder on your computer's hard drive.
The Rome: Total War - Gold Edition pre-game Options window will appear. Select either Rome: Total War or Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion from the Select Game drop-down menu.
Click on the Play button. The game will launch.
From the Main Menu, select Multiplayer.
From the Multiplayer menu, select LAN Battles.
A dialog will appear prompting you to enter a player name. Enter your name, then click on the Tick button.
The Lobby screen will appear. Select the Host a New Game button.
The Host Game screen will appear, from which you can adjust your battle settings. You must enter a valid Game Name before you can continue.
Select Host Custom Battle. If you selected Rome: Total War in Step 2, you will also be able to select Host Historical Battle.
The screens that follow on allow you to customise your battle, including choosing your army. When you are happy with your settings on each screen, click on the Continue button (golden arrow) to proceed to the next screen.
From the Customise Army screen (in a custom battle) or the Choose an Army screen (in a historical battle), click on the Continue button (golden arrow) to indicate that you are ready.
The game will begin once all the players have indicated that they are ready.
To join a game:
Double-click on the Rome: Total War - Gold Edition application icon. By default this is to be found in the Applications folder on your computer's hard drive.
The Rome: Total War - Gold Edition pre-game Options window will appear. Select either Rome: Total War or Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion from the Select Game drop-down menu. You must select the same option as that selected by the host.
Click on the Play button. The game will launch.
From the Main Menu, select Multiplayer.
From the Multiplayer menu, select LAN Battles.
A dialog will appear prompting you to enter a player name. Enter your name, then click on the Tick button.
The Lobby screen will appear with a list of available games. Select the game you wish to join, and click on the Join Selected Game button.
The screens that follow on enable you to choose your faction and army. When you are happy with your settings on each screen, click on the Continue button (golden arrow) to proceed to the next screen.
From the Customise Army screen (in a custom battle) or the Choose an Army screen (in a historical battle), click on the Continue button (golden arrow) to indicate that you are ready.
The game will begin once all the players have indicated that they are ready.
Before you play an online multiplayer game of Rome: Total War - Gold Edition, you must download and install GameRanger. The GameRanger application can be downloaded from http://www.gameranger.com/.
You must ensure that GameRanger is able to find the Rome: Total War - Gold Edition application. For information on how to do this, see How do I make sure GameRanger can find Rome: Total War - Gold Edition?, in these FAQs.
When playing an online multiplayer game, we recommend that you choose the most powerful computer among those playing to host the game.
To host a game:
Double-click on the GameRanger application icon.
The GameRanger application will open.
Click on the Host button.
The Host Game window will appear. When you are happy with your settings, click the OK button.
Wait for the other player(s) to join the game. When you are ready to begin, click the Start button.
The GameRanger application will launch the Rome: Total War - Gold Edition application.
The Rome: Total War - Gold Edition pre-game Options window will appear. Select either Rome: Total War or Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion from the Select Game drop-down menu.
Click on the Play button. The game will launch.
The Host Game screen will appear. Select Host Custom Battle. If you selected Rome: Total War in Step 7, you will also be able to select Host Historical Battle.
The screens that follow on allow you to customise your battle, including choosing your army. When you are happy with your settings on each screen, click on the Continue button (golden arrow) to proceed to the next screen.
From the Customise Army screen (in a custom battle) or the Choose an Army screen (in a historical battle), click on the Continue button (golden arrow) to indicate that you are ready.
The game will begin once all the players have indicated that they are ready.
To join a game:
Double-click on the GameRanger application icon.
The GameRanger application will open.
From the list of available games, double-click on a Rome Total War game.
When the host starts the game, Rome: Total War - Gold Edition will launch.
The Rome: Total War - Gold Edition pre-game Options window will appear. Select either Rome: Total War or Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion from the Select Game drop-down menu. You must select the same option as that selected by the host.
Click on the Play button. The game will launch.
The screens that follow on enable you to choose your faction and army. When you are happy with your settings on each screen, click on the Continue button (golden arrow) to proceed to the next screen.
From the Customise Army screen (in a custom battle) or the Choose an Army screen (in a historical battle), click on the Continue button (golden arrow) to indicate that you are ready.
The game will begin once all the players have indicated that they are ready.
Once you have downloaded and installed the GameRanger application, follow the on-screen prompts to set up a GameRanger account.
Once you have done this, follow the instructions below to ensure the GameRanger application can find the Rome: Total War - Gold Edition applicaton:
Double-click on the GameRanger application icon. By default, this will be in your Applications folder.
The GameRanger application will open.
From the GameRanger menu, select the Preferences option.
The GameRanger Preferences window will appear. From the list of games, highlight the Rome Total War option, then click the Browse button.
The GameRanger: Choose Game Application window will appear (it will look like your Finder). Select the Rome: Total War - Gold Edition application.
Click the Choose button.
Close the GameRanger Preferences window.
Your saved games are stored in your game's preferences folder.
To open this folder, click the Open Preferences Folder button in the About tab of the pre-game Options window.
You can also navigate to the preferences folder manually. It is stored in the Feral Interactive folder in your computer's ~/Library/Application Support folder (where the "~" symbol refers to your home directory).
By default, the Library folder is hidden from your Finder. To open it, follow these instructions:
Open the Finder.
Open the Go menu from the main toolbar.
Hold down the Alt (⌥) key. The Library option will appear.
Click on the Library option. The Library folder will open in your Finder.
By default, Mac OS X uses the F keys to control items such as volume and brightness. To use an F key for a game command hold down the fn key, then press the F key you wish to use.
To automatically enable the F keys, follow these steps:
Open System Preferences ( Menu → System Preferences).
Click on Keyboard or Keyboard and Mouse (depending on the version of Mac OS X you are running).
Select the Keyboard tab.
Check the Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys checkbox.
The F keys will now work without using the fn key.
By default, music playing in iTunes will be paused when you start playing Rome: Total War - Gold Edition.
To turn this feature off, follow the steps below:
Double-click on the Rome: Total War - Gold Edition application icon while holding the Command (⌘) key down. The pre-game Options window will appear.
Select the Extras tab.
Uncheck the Pause iTunes while playing Rome: Total War - Gold Edition checkbox.
Select the Play button to start playing.
To turn this feature back on at a later date, simply check the Pause iTunes while playing Rome: Total War - Gold Edition checkbox and then select the Play button.
Holding down the Command (⌘) key while starting the game will also display the pre-game Options window.
If you have more than one monitor capable of supporting Rome: Total War - Gold Edition connected to your Mac, you can choose which one to use from the Rome: Total War - Gold Edition pre-game Options window.
To do this, follow the steps below:
Double-click on the Rome: Total War - Gold Edition application icon while holding the Command (⌘) key down. The pre-game Options window will appear.
Select the Displays tab in order to choose a monitor.
Holding down the Command (⌘) key while starting the game will also display the pre-game Options window.
NOTE: If you have two monitors connected to your Mac, you may experience a drop in performance.
There are several factors which have an impact on the speed at which Rome: Total War - Gold Edition runs. Please see the Rome: Total War - Gold Edition Performance Tips section in the ReadMe for ways to increase the speed at which the game runs on your computer.
Please read the technical support information in the ReadMe; this tells you what to check and if necessary, how to contact Feral Technical Support with your issue.
No. Rome: Total War - Gold Edition has been tested with the basic formatting option for Mac OS X, which is HFS+. This system is not case-sensitive and identifies files by name without checking capitalisation.
The capitalisation of filenames is not consistent throughout the game. While this will not always prevent the game from running on case-sensitive file systems, it may lead to crashes and other unpredictable behaviour.
If you have to run a case-sensitive setup and you experience problems with Rome: Total War - Gold Edition, please install the game on a standard formatted partition or read/write disk image. In most cases this will allow you to play the game on your machine.
If you deselect the Real-Time Strategy Camera option in the **Camera Settings** you will be able to rotate the camera up and down while in battle mode.
To do this action while using the "Total War Style" keyboard setup, press the Command Key (⌘) + Up Arrow or the Command Key (⌘) + Down Arrow. In the "FPS Style" setup, press the R or the F key.
The main purpose of Academies is to train governors. From an Academy, a Scriptorium or a Ludus Magna, a governor can gain many traits and ancillaries (members of his retinue).
To unlock a faction you must defeat it in a campaign. You may also enable all the playable factions by using the Enable All Factions check box in the Advanced panel of the pre-game Options window.
There are several ways to improve public order. You can lower taxes, hold more frequent Games and Races, upgrade the City, upgrade the Temple, upgrade the Arena, or train a better governor through Academies.
If you set a rally point for a city, troops you create in that city will be deployed to that rally point. If you were planning to send new troops to a particular location anyway, setting a rally point will save you a few clicks.
Low taxes, well managed and happy settlements, good profits, being on good terms with the Senate and other factions, and in particular an expanding empire will help you win favour with the people. You can invade Rome when your popularity with the people is at the maximum possible level. You will receive a message that you are encouraged to take power. You don't need a certain number of armies and territories, but it is wise to have a large amount of both before invading Rome and triggering the civil war between the Scipii, Brutii, Julii, and the Senate.
A fort is a temporary settlement that stays up as long as troops remain inside. They can only be built by an army with a family member leading them. You build them by clicking on the army, clicking on the Construction button, and clicking Build Fort.
The best use of forts is when the army is at risk of an attack they cannot win on the field. Once the fort has been built the situation resembles a siege, and your army gains the advantages that come with being a defender during a siege. Forts also help to reduce the number of rebels in your camp.
This is due to "friendly fire"! Most of your projectile weapons will miss and hit your own troops that are in front of them instead of the units you tell them to attack. To solve this, either keep the projectile weapons in front, or keep them to the side.
This is because the cost of maintaining your army is split between the cities, based on their population. If a city has 50% of your total population, that city will pay 50% of the cost of your army. The cities making money ought to balance out your finances.
Look at the Settlement Details scroll for details of where the money is going in each settlement. If you let a settlement rebel and then exterminate it, you simply spread the cost of your army on to your other settlements.
Extermination won't help your finances! The best way to avoid losing money on your cities is to conquer, conquer, conquer!
Siege weapons can be built at an Archery Range (Ballistas, Onagers for Dacians, Scythians and Spanish only) and its upgrades, Catapult Range (Scorpions and Onagers) and Siege Engines (Repeating Ballistas and Heavy Onagers).
When you click on a unit, you'll see the region which it can move through in green. However, you will notice that if there are any enemy/neutral units in the region, the area around that unit will be red. This denotes the zone of control. If your unit ends a move in the zone of control, it can no longer move.
To get Legionaries you must wait for the Marius Reforms.
Yes! From the Main Menu, go to Options → Video Options, and check the box marked Advanced Options and change the Unit Scale. This will only be applied to new campaigns you start, not your current one. Keep in mind that population cost and garrison effectiveness change with unit size.
The Legionary First Cohort is a gift from the Senate, for completing a random mission, so you may have to be patient. You may prefer to train the Early Legionary Cohort instead, as it costs less.
The Early Legionary First Cohort and Legionary First Cohort can both be trained from Rome only after the Marius Reforms from an Army Barracks (Large City) and Royal Barracks (Huge City).
If you feel that the weather is unfavourable, for example if it is raining heavily and you have a lot of archers, then you can click the Wait button in order to wait a few more days before battle and see if the weather improves. As you do this the number next to Wait goes down. When it hits 0, you are stuck with the current weather.
Some cities should be economic powerhouses and others should be military powerhouses. Both should be built up, although the economy takes priority. Frontier cities are always worth building up, as that is where the enemy is most likely to attack.
Hold the Shift key (⇧) and right-click on the spots you want your troops to go to, in the order you want them to go there.
In most historical battles you play as the side that lost, so the odds are stacked against you. Winning the battle of Lake Trasimeno as the Romans should be almost impossible—only true generals need apply!