View Full Version : OT: Empire: Total War naval screenies
Hi,
found some screenshots, the naval ones look really good:
http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/empire-total-war/screenshots/g-20070822164625990074
Greets
Z.
Bloodstar
17 May 08, 08:23
Hi,
found some screenshots, the naval ones look really good:
http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/empire-total-war/screenshots/g-20070822164625990074
Greets
Z.
I am following this game. A must buy!
I finished MTW2 three times (vanilla) and want to try some mods... I have some mods with elephants etc...
Mario
found some screenshots, the naval ones look really good:
Yup, this one has been on my "must" list for about a year now. I've probably overbuilt my expectations:)
I wonder how detailed the naval combat will be? The naval end of things have always been lacking in the total war series of games.
Bullethead
17 May 08, 14:11
I've probably overbuilt my expectations:)
Yeah, I'm trying not to get too excited. I'm sure it'll be an excellent game, like the others in the TW series, but the last few have only gotten that way after a long, painful process of patching. M2TW needed a 600meg patch to finally get right, at a time when I didn't have broadband. That's made me leery of getting my hopes too high for the release this Napoleanic one. 6 months later, I'm sure it'll be great, though.
Actually I'm not yet fully satisfied with M2TW. Some issues like the two-hand bug and cavalry charges haven't yet been fully cleared. When I play Total War nowadays I play RTW with the Europa Barbaorum 1.0 mod (I don't like the 1.1 legionnaries) using the RTW:BI engine for the better AI. I might switch to using the RTW:Alexander engine in the future.
EB gives RTW all the grognard wants to have, including much he didn't even realise he wanted, like playing the Parthians and transitioning from nomadism to pastoralism and urban civilisation or roman triumphs, indian kshatrya cavalry etc. The devs do strive for historical accuracy and took out all ahistorical "hollywood-stuff" they could.
At the moment RTW gold including BI is available for a cheap budget price, combined with the free EB mod IMO you get the most value for your money currently to be had in strategic PC gaming.
But I must concur with Bullethead as regards the newest installment in the TW series. Since EA took over CA my experience with M2TW, which, even when fully patched, does not reach the level of immersion and creativity CA previously had with MTW and had a long and ardous road to get patched to mature playability, was disappointing (especially remembering the good work they did with the RTW:BI reissue). This may be because the TW series has definitely moved from the more "nichey" market corner it started in to mass-market, attracting ten-year olds with eye-candy graphics.
I won't be one of the release day customers but will wait until the community reaches a positive consensus about the patched state of the game, which will take about 8-12 months after release if I go by MTW2, so I'll probably buy the "gold" version including the first addon.
MajorDamage
22 May 08, 06:13
This thread inspired me to go and dig out my copy of M2TW/Kingdoms and re-install it. After nearly a full day of installing, patching and sifting through all the available mods I ended up with the Stainless Steel 6.1 mod along with the Total Combat addon. I've only played 20 turns or so, (as the Venetians), but I've got to say the game feels a lot better than the vanilla, especially as regards supply and recruitment, and the battles just look stunning.
Is it me or does it look more like a cartoon? :angry:
Or have I grown too accustomed to the distant guns engine :p
Bloodstar
23 May 08, 12:32
This thread inspired me to go and dig out my copy of M2TW/Kingdoms and re-install it. After nearly a full day of installing, patching and sifting through all the available mods I ended up with the Stainless Steel 6.1 mod along with the Total Combat addon. I've only played 20 turns or so, (as the Venetians), but I've got to say the game feels a lot better than the vanilla, especially as regards supply and recruitment, and the battles just look stunning.
MajorDamage do you know what is consensus about quality of MTW 2 mods?
I installed Broken Crescent but didn't played it very much. I started the game with elephants (they have been scaled down somewhat)...
What you would recommend or others to try out?
Hmmm... There is also some Tsardom in the making where you can play Serbia and some other where you could play Croatia but that was not done yet.
Heh, I know that Serbians will play that battle of Kosovo now when Kosovo had gained independence... :clown:
Mario
For my Napoleonics fix I am waiting on Les Grognards.
For M2TW mods I'd recommend Lands to Conquer or Stainless Steel. I played both a year ago, both were quite good and more enjoyable than vanilla, and I suppose both matured some since then. But I'm still not satisfied with the patched state of M2TW, which is why I haven't bought Kingdoms and won't be a release customer for Empire.
Bloodstar
23 May 08, 15:58
For M2TW mods I'd recommend Lands to Conquer or Stainless Steel. I played both a year ago, both were quite good and more enjoyable than vanilla, and I suppose both matured some since then. But I'm still not satisfied with the patched state of M2TW, which is why I haven't bought Kingdoms and won't be a release customer for Empire.
Thanks! I'll try that :)
Well, I agree with you that CA should patch to the perfect state.
However even with this state I can easily put MTW 2 in my Top 20 Games of All Times due to amount of fun I had with that game :D
It's simply great game no matter what.
That's why I am little bit forgiving to the CA. In fact Distant Guns - as we are in Distant Guns forums have really lousy interface and developers (Norm Koger) could learn some stuff from CA or from Nival developers of Heroes 5 game. How you control camera etc... especially in 3D.
Developers of Theatre of War could also learn from CA.
My 2 cents. The player should not battle with interface, interface should be easy and intuitive. For example TOAW - it still has great interface and one of best in wargames... Blah!
Mario
The hype is cranking up, now a gameplay video of sea battles is released. Won't post a link, since I found only Geman versions working for me. It's impressive, but I've been spoiled by Distant Guns as regards authenticity and still strongly suspect Empire will focus too much on the twelve year old "eye-candy" customers. :D
For my Napoleonics fix I am waiting on Les Grognards.
I am as well but we'll be playing Jutland for 6 months to a year before Les Grognards gets released.
Just about time I get back to my AAR as well.
I can't wait for empire total war, my only worry is that the naval combat will be extremely unrealisistic. Let's face it, the total war series doesn't have much of a track record where realism is concerned(Roman Ninjas and exploding pigs anyone?). Luckily there are always mods for that purpose.
And yes, Les Grognards looks awesome. Now I'll have to decide what's more important, Awesome graphics, open ended campaign, and naval combat(E:TW), or historical accuracy(LG).
Donīt forget the Suez channel in the crusade scenario of the M2 Expansion. Seriously sometimes you wonder what CA was thinking.
Personally i still think that shogun was the best installment of the series, simply because shogunīs fight for supremacy with one last surviving faction fit perfectly into the game. They kept that concept in the later games but it was totally misplaced in the Rome/Medieval settings. Would have loved waging bloody wars for little gain especially in MTW/MTW2. Imho the AI was also best in Shogun, i never had an occurence where the AI flanked me through the woods and attacked directly from behind. Had almost lost that battle when the AI hadnīt piece mealed their frontal attacks. Ai has never been a priority in the subsequent titles, besides an AI that outsmarts the Player would frustrate the Player, wouldnīt it? Gotta keep it simple... better invest in eye-candy. Pays always off ;)
Anyway back to ETW. I think the seabattles could really be awesome if some tacticals details of the AoS are taken into account. Like frigates trying to unleash broadsides into each others rear. That was dangerous because the cannonballs traveled the whole length of the ship and not just from side to side; all compartments of the battery deck including the captains cabin were removed when a ship was making battle ready. But i fear we will have those arcade logics applied here because cannon shot canīt kill crew only damage the hull, right?
Arenīt they also including Admirals that utilize magical buffs like faster reloading, speed boosts and so on to "enrich" the gameplay experience? I know EIC will have that but im not exactly sure if ETW will as well.
derblaueClaus
29 Aug 08, 04:34
Arenīt they also including Admirals that utilize magical buffs like faster reloading, speed boosts and so on to "enrich" the gameplay experience? I know EIC will have that but im not exactly sure if ETW will as well.
I don't think so. Admirals are nothing more than Generals on Sea (spoken from a view of CA), so when Generals doesn't have these kind of abilities, wich they never had during the TW-Series, I think Admirals will not have them either.
MajorDamage
29 Aug 08, 05:43
Some new screenies here (http://www.totalwar-zone.de/index2.php?g=etw&id=5).
Given that the game is supposed to end with the French Revolution I have to wonder why they're proudly presenting screenshots of a naval battle with a paddle steamer involved.... :crosseye:
I've loved all of the Total War series, but then I didn't really know much about the periods they depicted so it was easy to suspend disbelief and just have fun. I know they have to balance fun with playability but why add stuff that just blatantly shouldn't be there? I'm awaiting ETW with some trepidation because it's a period I know a little more about - I fear it may have me throwing bricks at the monitor and writing very strongly worded letters to the devs.
I'm currently playing the Lord of the Rings mod for RTW. It's great, mostly because you don't have to worry about historical accuracy, unless of course you're a Tolkein nerd in which case you probably need to get out more. :laugh:
Donīt forget the Suez channel in the crusade scenario of the M2 Expansion. Seriously sometimes you wonder what CA was thinking.
Personally i still think that shogun was the best installment of the series, simply because shogunīs fight for supremacy with one last surviving faction fit perfectly into the game. They kept that concept in the later games but it was totally misplaced in the Rome/Medieval settings.
I would argue that it wasn't misplaced in the Rome setting, as the game map is essentially the boundaries of the Roman empire at it's height. But yes it's certainly out of place in the medieval setting. Despite its faults, I would have to say that Rome is still the best of the Total War series, in sheer gameplay terms anyway.
Hopefully CA will allow for more creative victory conditions in Empire, although it's always fun to conquer the world now and again. Looking at these screens, I'm not even sure my new computer could handle this game. If worst comes to worst I'll just have to splurge for a new video card.
If you want a good, historically accurate, Renaissance-French Revolution strategy game there is always Europa Universalis III.
I would argue that it wasn't misplaced in the Rome setting, as the game map is essentially the boundaries of the Roman empire at it's height. But yes it's certainly out of place in the medieval setting. Despite its faults, I would have to say that Rome is still the best of the Total War series, in sheer gameplay terms anyway.
Hopefully CA will allow for more creative victory conditions in Empire, although it's always fun to conquer the world now and again. Looking at these screens, I'm not even sure my new computer could handle this game. If worst comes to worst I'll just have to splurge for a new video card.
If you want a good, historically accurate, Renaissance-French Revolution strategy game there is always Europa Universalis III.
Well but Rome never controlled all of the Map though since the Map didnīt end at the Limes. Besides even if the Title was called Rome, it wasnīt all about Rome... most of the other factions werenīt so keen on wiping out their adversaries as Rome was.
Anyway i have EU3 and its quite a solid game since it is a stroke of genius as most Paradox games have, but after a while you spot the things that are not so good and spoil your fun. Like that cumbersome meddling with peace conditions (shifting 20 colonies just by their name with no graphical indication etc.),the simplified technology tree so that once you have 3-deckers your 2-deckers become obsolete or the battle mechanics in general. Thats just what i can remember now, i havenīt played it in a while. Heh, 6 months ago i had gotten Victoria from the Libary and was having lots of fun with it expanding my empire (its really i nice complex game) until the Brits declared colonial war on me... i had somewhat realistical troop contingents stationed in the colonies maybe 50.000 in total and the Brits had some 2 millions ready to invade my colonies (power rating being somewhat equal, but i think i was nr. 1). I put the game away when i saw that. AI and AI cheating has always been a problem for Paradox games.
Empire will probably feature a lot of bogus history and it is up to the modders again to make it a game we can enjoy playing. Hopefully CA expands the moddability of the game and get the underlying mechanics right (especially regarding diplomacy and the newly introduced research). But maybe thats just me, i know i wouldnīt have fun playing the colonies when the game allows me to build 2 and 3 deckers (seen the screenshot with a 1800 1st rate flying the colonies flag?). Next step would be wrestling sea dominance from the British, then landing on english soil, occupying the cities and eliminating the english faction. :nuts:
Some new screenies here (http://www.totalwar-zone.de/index2.php?g=etw&id=5).
Given that the game is supposed to end with the French Revolution I have to wonder why they're proudly presenting screenshots of a naval battle with a paddle steamer involved.... :crosseye:
I've loved all of the Total War series, but then I didn't really know much about the periods they depicted so it was easy to suspend disbelief and just have fun. I know they have to balance fun with playability but why add stuff that just blatantly shouldn't be there? I'm awaiting ETW with some trepidation because it's a period I know a little more about - I fear it may have me throwing bricks at the monitor and writing very strongly worded letters to the devs.
I'm currently playing the Lord of the Rings mod for RTW. It's great, mostly because you don't have to worry about historical accuracy, unless of course you're a Tolkein nerd in which case you probably need to get out more. :laugh:
Well ETW introduces a new research system so when you focus on Naval research you probably will get your paddle steamers in the late game around 1800 :nuts:. From CAīs point of view its better to put innovative steamships into the game than to have more historical ships like different sloop-, frigate- and ship of the line-types available. Your frigates become obsolete anyway when the ship of the line is researched since they will be blown to smithereens. Using frigates to wage war against enemy merchants and bringing your enemy to the peace table by hurting his economy? Sounds boring, not in the game. :nuts::nuts:
God, i must have my sarcastic day today so just bear with me. :laugh: Anyone ever played Imperialism? That had some nice gameplay mechanics (blockading enemy ports/sea zones, capturing/sinking his merchants, force his fleet out) would love to see that game redone.
Btw any further mod recommendations for RTW? My gold edition (nice, Rome + Expansion fully patched on one DVD for 10 . Saved me from looking for the CDs which are somewhere stuffed away in the cellar) arrived yesterday and now im pondering wether to play RTR, EB or RS.
When I play Total War nowadays I play RTW with the Europa Barbaorum 1.0 mod (I don't like the 1.1 legionnaries) using the RTW:BI engine for the better AI. I might switch to using the RTW:Alexander engine in the future.
I have begun playing Europa Barbarorum on BI engine, but it seemed that the tactical battles have become much easier than in EB on Rome engine. I have played on recommended settings - Very Hard in campaign, normal in battles.
Has anybody else noticed that? Does it mean that I should have played on very hard/very hard?
As much as I appreciate what the designers were trying to do with Europa Barbarorum, I have some serious issues with it. The slowness of the game is something I can overlook, but invincible Phalanxes and slingers that might as well be armed with cannon make the game nigh unplayable IMHO
I've mostly played the eastern steppe/nomad people and Rome in EB, can't recall any overly potent slingers or phalanxes when playin the Romans. Could be you're speaking pre-1.0 versions, they modified the phalanxes a lot, now they have a historical overhand animation and new formation, not those rigidly locked ranks as "special ability".
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