1) will add them. there should be an indy city spawn on Cyprus. which town and when?
2) I will add a special case to the "Secret Diplomacy" feature to allow you to vassalize western Rome as long as you can achieve a particular power ratio over them. 2:1 maybe?
3) I think they should replace Heavy Horse Archers and have 9 str.
1)
After the division of the Roman Empire into an eastern half and a western half, Cyprus came under the rule of Byzantium. The cities of Cyprus were destroyed by two successive earthquakes in 332 and 342 AD and this marked the end of an era and at the same time the beginning of a new one, very much connected with modern life in Cyprus. Most of the cities were not rebuilt, save Salamis which was rebuilt on a smaller scale and renamed Constantia after the Roman Emperor Constantius II, son of Constantine the Great, residing in Constantinople. The new city was now the capital of the island. It was mainly Christian and due to this some alterations were made during the rebuilding. The palaestra was turned into a meeting place and many architectural elements were used to erect spacious churches decorated with murals, mosaics and coloured marbles.
I do believe we have a new dictonary entry for the Byzantines! (and our indy city).
Also, on the topic of islands, I forgot to mention Crete. I have never, ever, settled there, but nonetheless, it is historical and worth at least mentioning to be part of the UHV goal.
2)
2:1 seems rather acceptable. If it is too easy or too hard, it will be balanced, naturally, so let's go with 2:1.
3)
It is earlier in the tech tree, which is better for Byzantines, AI and player.
220 AD: in general, Rome could use maybe 2 extra legions in Antioch. When Sassanids are human, Rome should then have an Army of the East to keep the player from overrunning them (one legion per city is pretty easy pickings). I must disclaim however, that I come to this conclusion from looking at the 220 AD start, and from what I've seen of West Rome's performance against the Sassanids (dreadful) when spawning as Byzantines. Now, I like a good challenge, where Persia controls the Levant, but this should occur roughly 50% of the time, rather than what looks to be 75% to 90% of the time a Roman loss.
Alternatively, that Rome should initially lose the Levant to the Persians is acceptable, since it replicates the Sassanid shock that was one of the leading causes of the Crisis of the Third Century. However, in most cases Rome should be able to retake its losses, which it has some trouble with, although there are exceptions.
Thus, I'd recommend the slightest of buffs in the 220 AD map for the Romans, since the balance is very fragile as has been seen through many back-and-forth changes in balance of power throughout the revisions.
, ok?
