I originally posted this over at the Total War Forums, in response to a query as to what features I would like to see in the upcoming Rome II: Total War PC game. I have been playing this series (mostly in the form of various mods) since the original Rome: Total War and therefore have a pretty developed sense of what I’d like in the next one. I’m also a long-time student of classical warfare, so most of my requests are for mechanics that improve the realism and tactical depth of the gameplay (I think they already have a relatively good handle on strategic depth).
After I finished the marathon forum post, I realized that it makes a halfway decent primer on the mechanics of classical combat, so I’m reposting a cleaned up version of it here for those who are interested.