Games - Europa Barbarorum

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	Games - Europa Barbarorum

Europa Barbarorum (or EB) is a modification of the computer game Rome: Total War (RTW) based on the desire to provide RTW players with a more historically accurate game experience, without sacrificing fun. Europa Barbarorum is a total conversion—replacing all unit and building stats, for instance, and all unit models—though it covers roughly the same time period as the campaign included with RTW.

History

EB was originally founded in January 2004, eight months before RTW's release, when several individuals following the game's development became concerned that "barbaric" factions such as the Gauls and Germanic tribes were being portrayed as stereotypical hordes of unwashed savages. These individuals felt that such representations conformed more to sensationalist Hollwood stereotype than historical fact, maintaining (as most modern historians do) that the "barbaric" ancient cultures are mostly viewed as barbaric only because of the bias of the Greco-Roman authors who left copious written records that are easily accessible in translation. The true nature of these civilizations, says EB, is better revealed through archeological evidence and what remains of their own ancient texts.

According to the modification's founders, they attempted to contact the Creative Assembly (developer of the game) to offer their services as historical advisers for the game, but were rebuffed. Seeing that success with that tack was unlikely, they resolved to instead modify the game upon its release to make it more realistic. Creative Assembly developers have since made remarks indicating that they feel that realism is largely unimportant, suggesting that great realism comes at the expense of an entertaining game (see also edutainment).

When RTW was released, EB began working on it, recruiting a large team of volunteer skinners, modelers, coders, and historians to make the game better reflect what they viewed as the historical record. Slightly over a year after its release, they finally made their initial public on December 27, 2005. Almost have been recorded since then, and many other untracked sites also host the mod. The mod has also been included with demos and mods on PC Format, a a computer magazine published in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Features

Despite its name (which literally means "Europe of the barbarians"—or, more loosely, "barbarian Europe"—in Latin), Europa Barbarorum is not solely focused on barbarian factions; the name is derived from the initial objections to the portrayal of barbaric factions that are the raison d'etre of the modification. EB in fact declares its objective to be portraying the period as realistically as possible in every way. One of the chief ways EB achieves this goal is by striving to present more accurate and realistic factions for their map in the year 272 BC. New factions include:

Baktria: A central Asian Hellenic satrapy of the Seleukid Empire in 272 BC, increasingly independent and powerful, with many eastern elements and units, as well as Indian units, buildings, and traits.
Epeiros: An Hellenic faction led by the famous general Pyrrhos and his sons in 272 BC, with many Illyrian and Hellenic units and buildings.
The Arverni and Aedui: Two Celtic tribes from Gaul, reflecting the fact that the Gauls were not unified as portrayed in the unmodified game.
The Yuezhi: Out of the Tarim Basin in the westernmost edge of modern China, the Yuezhi were an Aryan tribe of nomadic peoples, complete with nomadic government and culture structures and many new units.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Europa Barbarorum ]

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