Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

[Jistic]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

The only thing that makes me think they won't do Civil War is the series has always been heavy on multiple factions. This aspect of the game along with diplomacy would disappear for the most part if they did the Civil War. I just don't think the Civil War has a broad enough scope.

Good point. And you can bet we'll have civil war mods up the wazoo with this iteration of TW.

[Matt Diesel]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

The only thing that makes me think they won't do Civil War is the series has always been heavy on multiple factions. This aspect of the game along with diplomacy would disappear for the most part if they did the Civil War. I just don't think the Civil War has a broad enough scope.

But the American Revolutionary war does; The French(French-Canadians too), Spanish, British, Native Americans. Not to mention the Loyalists to Britain. I can see that being fun.

Another way they can approach it is to do like a TW Kingdoms game which is modular with conflicts from 1750- 1865:

American Revolutionary War
War of 1812
Mexican American War
Civil War
Spanish-American War

Thats just US conflicts though.

[AuburnAlumni]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

But the American Revolutionary war does; The French(French-Canadians too), Spanish, British, Native Americans. Not to mention the Loyalists to Britain. I can see that being fun.

Another way they can approach it is to do like a TW Kingdoms game which is modular with conflicts from 1750- 1865:

American Revolutionary War
War of 1812
Mexican American War
Civil War
Spanish-American War

Thats just US conflicts though.

Empire will cover from 1700-1815. So the American Revolution and Napoleon will both be covered.

[Stu]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

Good point. And you can bet we'll have civil war mods up the wazoo with this iteration of TW.

Definitely. The modding community for this series is one of the best out there. I'm currently playing Deus lo Vult which adds a bunch of roleplaying aspects for your family members as well as much higher costs for keeping armies in the field.

I also just downloaded the Westeros Total War mod which is based on A Song of Ice and Fire. I might be the only geek here that's excited about that one though.

[Matt Diesel]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

Empire will cover from 1700-1815. So the American Revolution and Napoleon will both be covered.

Ha ok. I guess civil war it is then. Maybe if the reduce it to less than North vs South, maybe allowing you to play a different region/state or general it can work.

[Darkleaf]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

Here;'s some cool info...

Time Period: The game is set in the years 1700 to the early 1800's, a turbulent age of gunpowder, revolution, discovery and Empire Building.

Victory conditions: the player's aim is to create the greatest Republic or Empire the world has known, spanning not just a continent but the world! Can you hold on to lands in the New World, or establish a rich trading empire in the Indies?

AI:
- Empire: Total War will boast a full re-write of the AI with a wider range of strategies and tactics, providing a formidable opponent on land, sea and on the campaign map.
- One of the quirks of the old engine was that the diplomacy and military AI were two separate routines, developed separately by two different programmers. Those systems fought each other. The military side would say 'we need to invade' while the diplomatic side will say 'well, I just made a treaty with them.' Getting them to work together was difficult. It meant the behaviour wasn't always consistent.' Throwing out those systems should fix the quirks, while allowing for new game mechanics.
- The campaign AI will now advise the tactical AI about how important a battle is. So if an enemy is fighting while retreating on the strategic map, they might tell the tactical AI to fight a delaying action, preserving as many of their troops as possible. If the battle takes place just adjacent to the enemy capital, the campaign AI will tell the tactical AI to go all out and fight to the very last man.

Campaign map:
- An all-new fully animated campaign map with all buildings and upgrades visible, upgrades are done by clicking on them on the Strategic Map.
- New improved systems for Trade, Diplomacy, Missions and Espionage in that Diplomats, Spies and Assassins will no longer be represented on the map.
- Instead of spies and assassins, we now have the 'rake', a presumably caddish bounder who'll ingratiate himself into your enemies' corridors of power. His abilities have yet to be confirmed, but we're guessing that it'll be something more deadly than guzzling all the Prussians' sherry and seducing a duchess. Spies have not definitely been cut, but the new campaign map is freer with its information: you won't have to physically have a man on the spot to know whether France has invaded Spain, for example."
- A refined and streamlined UI.
- Improved Advisors and tutorials.
- Queens are portrayed: According to Mike Brunton "But given that there's Queen Anne and Catherine the Great and Empress Marie-Therese, we'd be a bit remiss not to include proper queen-type queens, now wouldn't we?"
- New agents and diplomacy traits functions are also planned, but no details are known about that yet.
- Revolutions can happen, leading to the separation of countries. (As an example, a rebellion of the Scots was given).
- Enhanced auto management.
- The big change for the fans is the reinvention of army movement. "It's fair to say that the campaign map in Rome and Medieval was divided into army-sized tiles, "Each tile could hold one army. In Empire, there's no tiling system. The player will never see any type of tiling artefact - it's entirely freeform. It's like taking the squares off the chessboard."
- Slavery appears, but it's not something you can actively get involved in.
- Each nation will still have a capital.
- You can change the form of government between: absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, and Republic. This will directly influence how you can deal with revolts and how fast you develop new technologies. Other factions will treat you according to your form of government.
- Taxes can be set seperately for Upper and Lower classes.
- The event movies will be in aswell, as there are already some screenshots from them too.
- We are working hard to ensure that naval battles assume a greater significance on the campaign map as well and that fleets really project power rather than just being transport containers for armies.
- For the first time, we are actually having a technology tree that lets player's research pure technologies as well as construct and upgrade buildings. We have a host of different technologies that the player can choose to focus on. Some will give units new abilities on the battlefield, or allow your artillery to develop new types of ordnance. Some will improve ships' sailing and fighting performance, others will develop your economy and enable new buildings and infrastructure, and others will advance the educational level of your nation and speed up future research.
- Religion plays a role in the game, but it doesn't play such as central part as in the medieval era. Religion does have an impact on happiness levels, and conversion can still help bring a newly conquered region under your control.
- We've really beefed up the diplomacy side of the game, and tried hard to make the AI factions behave in a more human way and respond to the player's treatment of them. Religion does play a role in terms of factions' attitudes towards each other, and it can be harder to maintain a close friendship with a faction with a different religion.
- Become a founding father. Control the fate of the United States of America, from its revolution against the British to overcoming the challenges of a young independent nation. First, in addition to the grand campaign, the game will include a Road to Independence campaign that lets players take charge of America from the founding of Jamestown to the victory at Yorktown.

Continents:
- Europe
- North and Central America
- India

Historical figures:
- Peter The Great
- Malborough
- Charles XII of Sweden.
- Wellington.
- Napoleon (according to PC Gameplay).
- According to Mike Simpson, there's even a possibility to have Napoleon himself in your own ranks when around the end of the century you recruit an artillery unit in Corsica.

Nations:
Playable: between 9 - 12.
-Britain
-Prussia
-France
-Spain
-America
-Ottoman Empire
-Austria
-Holland

Confirmed:
- Sweden
- Russia
- Venice
- Spain
- Poland-Lithuania.

Non-playable: approximatly 40.

Land Battles:
- Maximum of twenty regiments (according to James Russell in PC Gameplay).
- Real time battles will pose new challenges with the addition of cannon and musket, challenging players to master new formations and tactics as a result of the increasing role of gunpowder within warfare.
- Capturing and occupying key buildings around the map. They will automatically take up defensive positions and fire out of windows/doors. You'll need to be careful however, because artillery can destroy buildings.
- Using cover, such as behind walls.
- Earth walls can be constructed, units entrenched and the battlefield is fully destructible.
- Sound will be adjusted and improved so that the battlefields will become much more alive!
- On the battle map (both land and sea), the increase in visual quality and the number of men on the battlefield is incredible. The new engine has allowed huge improvements in graphics, terrain & vegetation, destructible buildings, as well as more advanced unit behaviour and abilities

Artillery:
- Heavy artillery in the form of cannons, mortar and early rocket launchers, with bouncing cannonballs who bounce differently depending on the surface they hit slicing through drifting gunsmoke to tear up lines of infantry.
- Cannons will seize up and explode.
- Well-organized batteries of cannons.
- We have artillery units, some of which can be limbered up and moved around the field at speed by teams of horses. You can develop all kinds of exotic ammo for them to fire.
- Artillery plays a much, much more significant role this time around, so you can expect to see lots of different cannons being fired from atop distant hills, or being limbered up and dragged across the battlefield by horse teams. The cannons can benefit from many new technologies and techniques, using canister shot to wither an enemy cavalry charge, or explosive shells to break holes in an enemy infantry square. You can even order artillery to fire on a fixed point on the map to discourage enemies from crossing a specific chokepoint or approaching a key objective. Artillery is also useful for taking out the new buildings that you're going to find on many of the battlefields.

Infantry:
- Bagpipes, drummers, flautists and trumpeters will fill the air with play out over the crack of musket fire, the boom of artillery and the thunderous charge of cavalry.

Explanation on flags by Cn Iulius Flamininus on 06/06/2008:
Not giving much away here. The answer is flags.
Interestingly that caused us a few problems though.

Like which flag do you use? As many of you know, flags changed over time (a lot sometimes) and some nations used more than one flag depending on who was in charge of the force and what part of the military it was being used for. We decided to go with, where possible, the most recognised flag for a nation at that that period of time in history.

Thus the French have a Bourbon flag at the start of the game and the British have a Union flag that is a little different to the modern flag. There were some issues with flags for nations that might change goverment type in the game, but didnt historicaly during the period. For example we know what the French republican/revolutionary flag was, but what about if the Ottoman empire should become a republic or have a revolution and as a result become a republic? In some cases we decided that the change would primarily involve just removing any "royal" symbology from the flag or no change. In other cases a new flag was created and in yet other instances we used a flag from a later period when a nation actualy did change government type.

- Generals will bark out orders to their regiments as the player orchestrates the battle utilizing formations, unit abilities and drills.
- Formations: Line to mass their fire, Square to defend against cavalry charges or spread out in loose formation to minimize damage from cannon fire are all excellent tactics that the player will have to keep in mind.
- There will be a fire button. It's a sort of override tool so you can time your shot when you want to. And timing is critical. Let off muskets too early, and you won't do enough damage. Let off your muskets too late in the face of a cavalry charge, and you've got every chance of being crushed by a flying dead horse."
- There's more of an emphasis on fire in Empire, but that doesn't mean that shock isn't also a vital component of battle. (Most of your fire units will have a shock attack as well.)

Cavalry:
- We have dragoon units -- mounted men that you can order to dismount and fire and attack the enemy as infantry. Then you can order them to mount up again and chase across the field on horseback.

General:
- Weapons will jam and misfire.
- The field of conflict will become strewn with the bodies of wounded and dying men, lacerated and dismembered by pike, bayonet and shot.
- Draw armies out of the cities, removing the dominance of sieges. That's being done by making region improvements - structures such as barracks, mines and palaces - exist outside of the city, vulnerable to attack. Generals can no longer afford to hide behind their city walls in the event of an invasion. They must sally forth and chase the aggressor away.
- As in previous games weather will effect guns and bows (for those that might have them). It will also effect fatigue and movement.

Sea Battles:
- 3D naval combat
- Intuitively command vast fleets or single ships
- After pummelling your enemy with cannon fire, close in to grapple their ship and prepare to board taking control of your men as they fight hand to hand on the decks.
- Once a ship is conquered by bordering it, you add it to your navy, but, this doesn't mean you can deploy it straight away, you'll have to return to a harbor, recruit a crue, repair damage to the ship before you're able to put it into service.
- Movement of ships is identical to the way land armies are moved, you have several harbors in which you can construct ships and these are then one at a time moved on the campaign map.
- Realistic sailing model. (Different wind conditions, different light conditions, different weather conditions).
Example: A gust of wind is caused by a whirlpool of wind moving vertically; they actually move quite slowly and cover quite large areas - you see it because it makes the surface of the water rough, and the rest shiny. It means you can build gameplay into entering and chasing gusts of wind, and using them to overtake an enemy fleet."
- There will be rigging. Stays, shrouds etc. (Exactly how detailed they will be will depend on performance).
- Cannon and musket fire.
- Boarding actions.
- A full and very detailed damage model . The cannonballs can knock down masts, damage the sails , riggings and hulls and they'll kill individual men. That obviously affects the manouvrability of your ships.
- Full range of weather effects to influence battles. These will play out on stunning, ultra-realistic seascapes, as cannons and muskets blaze away, cutting through the smoke and fog to splinter, pierce and shatter hulls, sails and masts, laying waste to crew members and sending them to Davy Jones' Locker.
- Ship-specific formations and admiral traits.
- Each ship takes up a single unit space.
- There will be reinforcements. (Cn Iulius Flamininus, 03/07/2008).
- You can capture ships, and that will be important. (Cn Iulius Flamininus, 03/07/2008).
- It will take a lot of money and time to build 1st rate ships of the line. (Cn Iulius Flamininus, 03/07/2008).
- Players can field fleets of up to 20 ships with each of about 100 men on board who will make sure there is utter chaos and explosions on board.
- Pirates are included.
- You'll have a variety of choices to make when engaging in naval combat. Your cannons can be directed to aim for the hull to sink an enemy, for the decks to clear the way for boarding action by your marines, or for the masts to reduce the enemy's speed and maneuverability.
- There will be various classes of vessel, which will essentially vary by maneuverability, speed, and firepower.
- Command your ships whether you want to aim at the sails or at the hull, or at the men on the decks. You can choose what ammunition to load (Three types).
- You'll see and feel it all: the wind in the sails, the choking atmosphere of the gun-deck as the crew frantically reload the cannons, the fights on deck... the man at the steering wheel, driving the boat. (we definatly need to read up on those nautical terms ).
- Seablockades can be performed to cripple the economy of other nations.

Sorry it's so long...Hope it gets you guys hyped!

[mgoblue]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

Don't be sorry bro! That was a great list, sounds like this game is going to own me for a long time when it releases...

[AuburnAlumni]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

Delayed til March...but damn this game looks great.
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[Solidice]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

I've played all of the total war games, and this looks to be great as well. it is one of the best running series for PC games and the modding community is really great for the series. definitely will have to pick this game up.

[Coug00]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

The sheer scale of this game blows Medieval 2 out of the water (and M2 was a great game). Look at the territory map alone...



The naval battles are going to be FUN.

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[Darkleaf]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

I'm still playing Rome TW to this day. I can't wait for this game, Ships!Battles!Ship Battles!Guns!Cannons! oh man..
Any hope of me running this game on a GeForce 7800 and 2 Gb?

[Coug00]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

I'm still playing Rome TW to this day. I can't wait for this game, Ships!Battles!Ship Battles!Guns!Cannons! oh man..
Any hope of me running this game on a GeForce 7800 and 2 Gb?

They haven't released reqs yet. I've heard rumors that if you can run M2 on full detail you'll be able to run Empire on medium. I enjoy Rome and M2 so much I'll just upgrade my vid card if I need to get full graphics. Its worth it considering the amount of my time this series takes.

[bad_philanthropy]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

I think the whole Total War franchise has been arguably the best executed gaming experience around ever since Shogun came out. Looking forward to another gem from Creative Assembly.

[mgoblue]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

I think the whole Total War franchise has been arguably the best executed gaming experience around ever since Shogun came out. Looking forward to another gem from Creative Assembly.

It's seriously 2 separate games, both amazingly quality. You can just play without manually controlling armies in a battle and enjoy the world conquest aspect of the game. You could primarily just do battles and enjoy all the management of troops, formations, etc. It's just awesomely deep and fun.

[MachoMyers]

Re: Empire Total War: WOW!!!! Feb, 3 2009

Very pumped for this. Great to see another awesome PC game getting hyped (I'm a PC only guy nowadays)

Minimum Specs: 2.4Ghz single core processor
256MB Gfx card (DX9 compaitble)
1GB RAM (For XP, 2GB if using Vista)

http://www.sega.co.uk/empire/gameinfo/news.php?n=2740