Re: Empire total war!

**WaterIsPoison** · 02-22-2009, 02:26 AM

I've never played a Total War game before and just picked up the demo. Let's just say I was blown away.

**Gambit7** · 02-22-2009, 04:23 AM

The demo doesnt even really scratch the surface. You gotta realize you have the ability to control probably well over 1000 units onscreen at a time. They've actually used the TW engine to re-enact historical battles for the History Channel. Ever seen those strat. CGI battles on TV? That's Total War.

One thing I like about this version is that they're using Steam and a more robust tourney and ladder arrangement along with more control over matches. That was lacking in Rome.

The real bread and butter is gonna be the coop campaign and vs. campaign. That's the reason they had to delay launch actually. Well worth the wait if they pull it off, because they will have done what no other game has. Only strat. game that comes close is Sins of a Solar Empire (and that's a longshot).

Another thing the demo really didnt get into was the tactical elements. You were kinda left to figure that out on your own. Stuff like formations, lines, terrain (dis)advantage, unit types, wheeling around a flank, officer morale support, regrouping, and on and on. Not even including the naval elements, which is like a whole 'nuther game really.

It's really a pretty monumental game release. It's been awhile since a total war game. And this will be the 3rd using the newer Total War engine. I didnt play Medieval II because they didnt put in coop or MP campaigns. Now that it's in, I will be giving my life back to Total War like I did when Rome came out. (I never lost a war in Rome btw)

Hopefully I can get my skillz back because this time there's more actual community player advancement. Dont forget you'll have a record, ranking, awards, and additional units rewarded to you if you're victorious. I guess it'll be kinda like the BF series, only a turn-based RTS.

**viper1986** · 02-22-2009, 10:29 AM

i loved the naval portion of the demo but the land mission was kinda boring. i like to dictate the mission position, which is why i never played the historical battles.

when i get the full version, i might just skip the land skirmishes and play only the naval skirmishes. I felt bad for the AI when i got it confused and it bunched up all it's ships and i sailed circles around them and sank them all without losing one ship.

**Gambit7** · 02-22-2009, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by viper1986

i loved the naval portion of the demo but the land mission was kinda boring. i like to dictate the mission position, which is why i never played the historical battles.

when i get the full version, i might just skip the land skirmishes and play only the naval skirmishes. I felt bad for the AI when i got it confused and it bunched up all it's ships and i sailed circles around them and sank them all without losing one ship.

Be careful with skipping skirmishes. The "die rolls" are much less in your favor when you do that... even if you've got better odds.

As for mission position, that's dictated by the strategic turn-based portion. Picking favorable terrain is part of the fun; then once picked, deploying in the right place. I liked to play Barbarians in Rome and always force the computer to engage me in the trees where I had advantage.

On another note:
Anyone else think this game might be doable for a Clan of some sort? The Steam matchmaking should allow a clan tag in front of all screenames. So it's conceivable we could get something going similar to how we had with Sins.

I've talked to a few folk about starting/organizing some kind of "RTS" group to try and consolidate all of the strat/RTS titles people play here. This would make it easier to link up in whichever game people are currently playing (Civ, Sins, SupCom, DoW, Empire, etc.). Organized under one forum and one main TS channel it'd be pretty neat. Individually these games dont have enough following to do this, but taken as a whole they do. A few have competitive elements (like Sins, supcom, and Empire) so guild uniformity is key to climbing up the ladders and gaining recognition for TG.

**browna3** · 02-23-2009, 11:25 AM

ok im going to be the first one to say i didnt like it, i played the demo and tbh i found it boring, yes the naval battles were good, but it just didnt do it for me. I may buy the full game in a year or so when its gone down in price but for the time being i think im going to leave this one which is a shame as i have enjoyed all the previoys total war games. Feel free to try and change my mind tho.

**Gambit7** · 02-23-2009, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by browna3

ok im going to be the first one to say i didnt like it, i played the demo and tbh i found it boring, yes the naval battles were good, but it just didnt do it for me. I may buy the full game in a year or so when its gone down in price but for the time being i think im going to leave this one which is a shame as i have enjoyed all the previoys total war games. Feel free to try and change my mind tho.

You werent the 1st one to say you didnt like it.

I said the demo frankly sucked... whoever their marketing guy is should be shot. They really did a poor job of presenting the game. You really only got a microscopic taste of it.

That being said, I've been grappling with the differences between DoW2 and TW. If you're the FPS instant-gratification type than DOW2 is a great entry into RTS for you. TW takes more planning, more strat, and patience many times. The funness is everpresent in DoW2, but the replayability is probably lacking. TW (this version) is more of a long marriage of gaming; more similar to Civ.

I'm not afraid to say it; just torrent the game when it comes out so you can at least get a better taste of it. Then buy a real copy so you can play it for real (MP, etc.) If their demo didnt suck so hard I wouldnt say this, but it does... so torrent away.

edit:
To clarify my "piracy" promotion. Total War games are copyable in the sense you're allowed to do-so if playing an MP game on LAN. I guess the best way to sample the game would be to do it that way. The other way is to copy a friend's disc and play only the single-player portion, as you wont have access to the MP portion w/o a retail key. Either way, it's the same as torrenting... one is DLing, one is borrowing. In the end, it sells more copies than it steals. (which the devs know already) In any case, you couldnt completely pirate the game if you tried. Which is good.

**browna3** · 02-24-2009, 01:19 AM

musta missed ur critique on the demo

**Disciple** · 02-24-2009, 03:05 PM

I was not all that impressed by the demo either, however i have never really enjoyed the battles all that much, I do however love the campaign map and will play it for hours and hour and hours many times through as different teams while auto resolving all but the smallest of fights where I can easily manage everything.

I very much enjoy watching the battles and that is why I am rubbish at them because I get caught up watching one unit fight another that I forget the rest of the units need orders.

I hope they have an auto resolve that I can watch so two Ai's just go at with the troops for both sides and determine the winner all the same.

Anyway back to my point i will buy this game because I love the camapigns and will love this aswell I am sure.

**westyfield** · 02-24-2009, 04:27 PM

I really want to get this game, the demo was fun but lacking in some areas. I really, really suck at land battles (this is the first TW game I've played except for Medieval 1, which I played for about a day), and I didn't like the way I was simply told how to order units around, without being told what the more specific things meant.
Naval combat is brilliant, could watch my guys broadside their ships all day!
Land combat looks fun, but I need a more in-depth tutorial to understand how to win.

**Gambit7** · 02-24-2009, 04:54 PM

This is one of those games where it helps to have someone coach you (as I did in Rome: Total War). I simply befriended the most skilled folks I could find and learned from them. Aside from that, it was a lot of trial and error using the scenario builder.

It looks like Empire is gonna be a lot like the other games, where they just kinda throw you to the wolves to discover the game on your own. Which for some is cool and others can be frustrating.

**TactiKill Jay** · 03-01-2009, 09:05 PM

The great aspect about TW, IMO at least, is the turned based campaign, and honestly I'm not expecting my opinion to change on that. If they've improved that aspect then I'm going to love this game. TW never came off as a solid MP game or a game to get into simply for the battles alone. It's not so much that I've found the battles boring, I thought the demo was much more exciting than the old ones, the downfall is that I already noticed a lot of annoying bugs that could heart the realism of the game once on the battlefield.

I'm still buying it though, I wonder if I'll be able to download it from steam at midnight...

**Scattershot** · 03-01-2009, 10:54 PM

This looks to be a fun game. The land battles remind me of Sid Meir's Gettysburg.

**Gambit7** · 03-02-2009, 12:56 AM

Update:
The MP Campaign (coop and vs.) feature that caused the release delay will be patched in after release (when, I dont know). The game wont release with an MP Campaign unfortunately, but of course you'll be able to skirmish in MP with Steam support.

The 1st MP patch will be a 2 player beta release hopefully soon after launch. The client has the capability, it's just not turned on right now... hence the reason there was no hint of it in the demo or even on the website anymore (they've taken the advertising for that feature down).

Kinda sad, they better get that feature up soon. I'm kinda pissed it's not available as I've already pre-ordered.

**westyfield** · 03-04-2009, 12:27 PM

Well, this game arrived today. I opened the box, took out the disc and campaign map, gave myself a papercut and started installing. How many other TGers are getting this game?

**Gambit7** · 03-04-2009, 01:29 PM

My steam DL is at 70%

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