GWJ Strategy Club Game 7: Qvadriga

One thing to remember is that you get money for finishing a race. So your most important priority in any race, especially one you are losing, is not to get yourself eliminated by pushing too hard or getting in fights. When I last played the game, I think I was a bit too aggressive. "Death or glory" play will lead naturally to Death, in this game. Keep your abilities and gear strengths in mind.

It's currently $3 at Game Jolt for a DRM-less copy, and $3.79 at Fanatical for a Steam copy.

Waiting for a sale might save you a buck off that already deep-discount.

I'd call $3.79 cheap enough. Grabbed a key.

Very. Used to be Bundle All Stars. I've been using them for years.

Yup thanks guys. Bought and hope to play some.

Thanks isthereanydeal.com.

Fired this up for the first time since 2016 - it turns out I was in the very early stages of a campaign - and played a few races.

Robear was not kidding when he warned about the game being brutal! In about 30 minutes:
- One of my aurigas lost his chariot, clung to the reins while being dragged behind his horses, and ran for his life for the moment I saw an opening.
- In another race, an AI auriga was not so lucky - he was whipped by another driver, his chariot broke, and the trailing driver ran him over.

Then add all the horse deaths - I think my auriga ran over (or through the same lane as) at least one dead horse before I began swerving to avoid them.

It’s definitely Roman in nature.

There is a gameplay guide on Steam that is worth checking out. It gives good advice for racing, which I often don’t follow because I’m caught up in taking chances. It wisely notes that if you don’t master the races, then you’ll never really get to the strategy layer, moving between cities appropriately and dealing with difficulty changes. So perhaps a good read.

Still, feels so good to win a race!

I fired it up, and did a few single races, just to get a feel for it.

First race was on Easy, and got through the first lap and a half with no issue, moving slowly up. But then I tried cutting too close to the median, had the entire chariot break out from under me, and I was dragged by the horses the entire way through the final lap and a half, and just kept hitting the Endure button. Totally won as well, and it wasn’t particularly close. Anyway, Easy is really easy.

I did a second standalone race on Normal, using the really slow but tanky team. I wound up whipping my horses silly to try to keep up, but laughed off random bumps or damage. In the meantime, I don’t think more than 3-4 racers finished out of the 10 or so that started. I even saw a person bail from getting dragged by his horses, only to get gibbed my another racing team on the last lap.

I had a bit more trouble on subsequent practices races. My chariot broke several times on turns. I didn’t hit anything, although I was cutting pretty tight corners, and was probably going too fast. I think I finally figured it out, to go with Control where possible when turning, take wider turns if I can, etc. Anyway, something to practice.

Haven't tried the campaign yet, but I'll get to it. This is pretty cool, especially for the price.

EDIT: Yeah, the strategy guide on steam helps, and says to stop doing some of the nonsense I was up to.

I think the advice is good but also not the final say. If the horses can take it you can whip them quite a lot, but only on the straights. Crashing into other is risky but you are looking for where your strong horse is and where their weak horse is. If a horse is nearly gone and they are pressuring you knock them down a peg. Protect your weak horse. So sometimes you choose a lane to protect your horses or carriage and not have to lose the money.

To the computer who whipped my driver dead on the first straight after just entering the track. I HATE YOU.

Ok, I'll try this. I've always been intrigued by it when Robear first talked about it when it came out. I started a new campaign and after four races I'm 1 first, 1 second, 1 finish, 1 crash. So not too bad, although I don't really understand why I crashed, bad chariot build I guess as I was taking it easier than the second place finish I started with.

And started the campaign as team red. I started in Gallia, since getting more money from winnings seems good.

First race, I finished but did not place. After whipping the horses a few times, they slowed down so much that I couldn’t keep up, but I took the advice and still made a point to play it safe and finish.

Second race, the chariot broke, and I bailed out but still lived. Couldn’t do whipping in that second race. Those extra rules on the tracks are fun sometimes.

On the third race though, I won! And I was so far ahead since the other three were messing with each other so much, that I didn’t have to whip my horses and could take the turns nice and slow to minimize damage, and get be ready for the next one. And that 3119 denarius is some big money compared to the 800 for placing.

But then I crashed out again in the fourth race. Taking those turns too fast.

And I won again on the fifth! But only after crashing out on the final turn, since I didn’t slow down on the red turn since I thought choosing stability would be enough. But I was close enough to the end that I just held on and got dragged my way to victory.

After doing several races, I think I have a better idea when the AI is going to do things like try to crash into me, or move in front of me, etc. And I'm more comfortable now just slowing down in turns and not just hoping that stability will bail my out.