Empire: Total War

[Le Goat]

I've been playing the fuck out of Medieval II: Total War. It's just a fantastic, emmersive game that I can't seem to put down for some reason. Each turn I have to manage my diplomats, armies, spies, Crusade to Jerusalem, sieges etc. etc... So when I saw this not long ago, I shit my pants. This looks so god damn purdy and equally grand in scope. Here's a 'hands on' article and some great previews.

There have been ambitious grand strategy games in the past that have challenged you to create and maintain an empire by managing both military campaigns and peacetime duties, such as trade, diplomacy, and technological research. But none so far have aspired to paint as epic a picture as Creative Assembly's Empire: Total War, which will challenge you to conquer the New World by way of economic supremacy and political skulduggery, by waging massive land-based wars with hundreds of brave foot soldiers, and by waging equally massive naval wars with an armada of cannon-laden vessels. We got our hands on an early version of the game, and we're here to bring you an exclusive look at what you can expect.
In addition to having the opportunity to try out a limited version of the campaign, we had a chance to hop into a preloaded naval battle scenario in which we took control of a small American colonial fleet to take on an enemy fleet of comparable size. Naval battles, like land battles in the Total War series, begin with a deployment phase in which you can place your ships within a certain deployment range before beginning the real-time battle. Maritime skirmishes will take place between ships of various shapes, sizes, and speeds--the largest and most powerful ships will be decked out with dozens of sails and will also command dozens of devastating cannons, and they can also accommodate sizable crews of able-bodied soldiers who will eagerly cast boarding lines onto enemy ships if you prefer to board an enemy vessel. However, these monstrously powerful ships will also have poor turning speed compared to a smaller ship, such as a sloop. Our own fleet consisted of a massive heavy frigate, two third-rate ships of the line, and two 24-pounder frigates--a well-rounded offensive force with a good mix of speed and power. Our opponents, the hated British (present company excepted, of course), started out several leagues north of our position, though the winds were blowing in an easterly direction, which added an interesting wrinkle to the battle.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/351/reviews/942966_20081217_embed001.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202468.html#) Expect massive land battles and equally epic sea battles in the next chapter of the Total War series. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202468.html#)

Because none of Empire: Total War's ships will have an outboard motor or a nuclear reactor, all ships will obey the pull of the sea winds, so it's up to you to line up with tailwinds while avoiding a course straight into headwinds where possible. In the early version of the game we played, ship controls appeared in the bottom right corner of the screen (where unit controls usually appear in Total War games), while the bottom left corner and bottom center of the screen featured a minimap and unit information, respectively--again, like in previous games in the series. You give standard orders to your ships as you would in any real-time strategy game by clicking to select them and giving them move or attack orders with a right click of your mouse, but your unit control panel also includes additional commands for all the ambitious admirals out there who want to give individual sail commands, such as rotating sails port or starboard or setting sail or dropping anchor. The control panel also lets you select your cannons' shot (from standard cannonballs, which attack enemy ships' hulls; chainshot, which tears at enemy sails and brings damaged ships to a standstill; and grapeshot, which kills off enemy ship crews), and it gives "fire at will" commands. You can even toggle port and starboard broadsides on or off.
We made good use of the broadside option by eagerly--and rather rashly--pushing our heavy frigate ahead of the pack to deliver satisfying volley after volley of cannon fire into the enemy fleet, sinking one enemy ship in short order and crippling a second. Naturally, our heavy frigate, by virtue of its many sails, was able to outpace the rest of our fleet in a straight shot toward the enemy, but we soon paid the price for our foolhardy gambit when the remainder of the enemy ships came about and flanked our frigate--and one enemy ship-of-the-line, seemingly out of desperation, rammed our heavy frigate head-on, smashing the tip of our vessel's forward hull to splinters. Like in previous Total War games, hovering your mouse cursor over any unit will reveal quick information about it, such as how damaged or fatigued it is, the action it's currently engaged in (such as firing, fleeing, and so on), and its current morale level. A quick mouseover of our ship revealed that although our ship was indeed damaged, and the crew was concerned about the damage, it remained largely confident.
With our heavy frigate flanked by an enemy ship on one side and blocked from the front by another, we decided to board the British ship next to us--a tactic our lusty and cheering crew heartily approved of. Taking care to hurry our remaining ships forward to sweep up the last of the British ships, we then zoomed our view of the game in on the boarding to watch our dozens of tiny crewmen launch multiple boarding ropes and shimmy across them to engage our enemies hand-to-hand. We claimed victory in the battle in an unnecessarily messy brawl that saw our medium vessels chase down the enemy--a battle that probably could have been less messy had we carefully negotiated the seas and the wind direction, because Empire, like other Total War games before it, physically models the ballistics of all missile weapons, so the crafty British ships turned at odd angles, requiring our ships to turn in reaction to lay broadsides, and occasionally landing fire on our own ships. We admit, we were too engrossed in the pitched battle between our determined crew of seadogs who dueled with the crewmen of the boarded ship. Obviously, the game will allow for more-elegant strategies, but we just couldn't resist the temptation to scoot that heavy frigate forward and broadside the living daylights out of our enemy.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/351/reviews/942966_20081217_embed002.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202468.html#) It's a sailor's life for you. Empire will let you command an armada of massive battleships. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6202468.html#)

After jumping out of the naval scenario, we then hunkered down with a brief campaign session to try out Empire's turn-based strategic elements. The scenario put us in command of the fledgling colony of Boston, surrounded on all sides by the warring imperialistic nations of France (holding colonies that would later become Ontario and Quebec) and England (holding colonies like Albany, New York, and their capital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and by the as-yet unprovoked Native American Iroquois and Algonquin nations (occupying colonies like Cayuga and Niagara). As the American colonists, we were clearly overmatched, but with the heart of a patriot beating in our chest (and the Escape key at the ready to reload a saved game), we dove into our task of building up our tiny colony to eventually become an emancipated nation.


Naval
6___S7b2E4w

Land
FRvDvFTq8a0

Campaign
Rjqhvi_4aQg

OLD (year old) Code of Naval combat (non trailer)
pxiRP1A0uKU

[Le Goat]

min specs


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

[Kerjack]

While Rome: Total War was an much overall superior to Shogun: Total War it was Shogun that was truly addictive to me.

Very unique games for sure

[Gary_Busey]

Those minimum specs are pretty impressive. Makes for an extremely accessible game.

[Le Goat]

I just can't wait to mow down boston

[Le Goat]

_0fLECDpWFA

[Le Goat]

Oh fucking hell yeah! The weather plays a huge roll with units now (ie if its moist, more misfirings!)

xlI0LTGfIZE

[Le Goat]

Prussia Playable...

Prussia

Prussia itself has only been “German” since the 13th Century, when the Teutonic Knights carved out a new Christian state on the Baltic coast. The present Kingdom of Prussia is a new state, the result of a union between the duchies of Brandenburg and Prussia, and it is a Kingdom only because the current ruler, Elector Frederick III has decided to improve his status to that of King! In doing so, however, he has been careful not to offend the Holy Roman Emperor, the Archduke of Austria, and calls himself the King “in” Prussia, not the King “of” Prussia. The form of words is a fig leaf: Frederick is King. And he is the king of a potentially powerful and influential Protestant nation, a centre of gravity within “the Germanies” for all those who would look elsewhere for a lead than Catholic Austria. The Prussians believe – not without reason – that their virtues as a people can carry them through any trouble: martial discipline, sacrifice, a sense of order, but this sense of duty should not be confused with ignorance or intolerance, no matter what others may say. Prussians have always had to fight, but that has made them competent, not bloodthirsty. They have the potential to become a great continental power thanks to their martial traditions, many of which can be traced back to the Teutonic Knights. These could form the basis of a truly world-beating army. Under the right guidance, they could unite the German-speaking peoples into a single entity, dominate the Baltic and, perhaps, extend their reach far beyond the confines of Central Europe.


http://80.64.58.53/games/uploaded/units/Faction_Prussia_1231338282_4395.jpg

[Le Goat]

I are hard nao

Fougasse

This defensive weapon is a landmine constructed by military engineers and fired by the defenders lighting a fuse. A fougasse consists of a pit, sometimes dug at an angle, with gunpowder packed into the bottom and suitably wrapped to keep it dry. The hole is then backfilled with rubble and stones, taking care not to break the fuse, creating a huge “canister shot” weapon. Any enemies caught by the explosion are blown to smithereens by the blast. Damp, of course, will cause the fougasse to misfire, like any other gunpowder weapon.
Historically, a later and nastier, refinement used a flintlock mechanism to fire the charge. As well as making the explosion more reliable, this allowed military engineers to turn the fougasse into a booby trap. A piece of twine tied to the trigger acted as a tripwire: an unfortunate booby then stumbled and fired the device into himself and his nearby comrades.
During the 20th Century, the fougasse was refined into a flamethrower by burying oil drums on top of the explosives. And at the time of writing, the fougasse remains in use, as only one of the IEDs (improvised explosive device) used by insurgents against occupying forces in Iraq.

[Le Goat]

who's the dumbass that moved this to the gen game section?

It's a PC game only kids.


Someone mod me so I can fix this god damn section

[freegood]

Total War series is always on the cutting edge. Fan of their work.

[Le Goat]

9oArKds8KHk

[Le Goat]

soooooooooooo fucking sexxxy...

klqnxGujnD0

[Gary_Busey]

Have they released recommended specs yet?

[Le Goat]

No but it'll prob be at least a gig more than M:TW on RAM and a step up in GPU's. I doubt it'll be a 'crysis' type hog

[Le Goat]

http://static.4players.de/premium/Screenshots/cc/b3/1900203-vollbild.jpg


The wind gauge... interesting...

[Le Goat]

NPF's? I cant tell

http://static.4players.de/premium/Screenshots/9e/b9/1900153-vollbild.jpg

[Le Goat]

Developer Creative Assembly takes questions on diplomacy, artificial intelligence, and what the fans really want from Empire: Total War.


Empire: Total War
http://image.com.com/gamespot/b.gif (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/video/6202432)
Watch Empire: Total War in motion in this trailer.


Watch (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/video/6202432)
Download (http://www.gamespot.com/pages/gamespace/download_ini.php?pid=&sid=6202432&mode=previews)


Epic strategy games don't get much more epic than the Total War series, which has always put players in control of a historical nation on the brink of international war against neighboring countries. The series has made a name for itself with its deep, strategic turn-based campaigns and impressive battles that feature huge throngs of soldiers onscreen at once, all fighting in real time. But fans of the series still want more and better: improved diplomacy options when dealing with neighboring countries, improved artificial intelligence, and faster late-game management. We cover those topics and more with lead designer James Russell.
GameSpot: Give us an update on Empire's development. How far along is the game at this point, and what is the team working on now?
James Russell: We're currently in beta, which is a very hectic but exciting time in development. Our main tasks now involve optimization of the code and the balancing of the many elements in the game--from nation balance to specific unit-versus-unit balance on land and sea. There's a lot to be done, but seeing the game coming together is proving a massive drive for us all.
GS: The Total War series has been around for quite some time and has cultivated a loyal following of fans who truly enjoy the series...but are definitely looking forward to new additions, and maybe some tweaks. One issue that's cited frequently by fans is diplomacy, and how other nations didn't always behave completely realistically in previous games. What's being done in Empire to address this issue?
JR: Like all elements of the Total War formula, diplomacy has enjoyed a big overhaul for Empire. Diplomatic relations between nations guide AI behavior and change as a result of player actions in a way that makes the world come alive for players: Different nations respond in a psychologically convincing and understandable manner. This is far more finely tuned than in previous games, with every event and action carried out by a nation having an effect on how they are regarded by their rivals. Religion, government type, aggression, other alliances and wars, espionage, trade and treaties, and honoring alliances all impact how each nation views every other.
As the campaign progresses, players can now access this rich political tapestry via a new panel which lets them see at a glance how each nation is regarded by others, and how they regard their rivals. Players can also see which events or factors have created the current state of relations between nations.
These relationships provide the backdrop to the negotiations that players will be involved with as they strive to develop a network of trade partners and allies, or negotiate military access to enable them to further their expansion. Throwing a nation a suitable gift before asking for a trade agreement or a particular technology trade can often help grease the wheels of negotiation. Similarly, don't expect a rival to roll out the democratic red carpet if you've previously proven untrustworthy. The AI has a far better recollection of previous events than ever before, and it will bear grudges or honor sacrifices.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2009/032/reviews/942966_20090202_embed001.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/news.html?sid=6204002&tag=topslot;img;3#) This proud procession of elephants can only mean one thing: There's a new Total War game on the horizon. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/news.html?sid=6204002&tag=topslot;img;3#)

GS: Fans also seem to always be looking for a challenge from the game's AI opponents. How will Empire improve on the AI and make it smarter and more challenging, to play as a realistic opponent (as opposed to advancing at an unrealistic rate or having an unrealistically larger supply of resources and/or troops to supply an artificial challenge)?
JR: We were very aware early on that the AI would come under close scrutiny by our fans, and that's why we've made this a major priority with Empire. We believe that [the game's AI opponents] should be the most real and challenging yet.
In terms of battles, Empire has expanded on the AI in two significant ways. The first is the introduction of a new plan-based approach where the AI can dynamically reassess and rebuild its tactics as the battle progresses. This gives it a more human-like feel, as it picks and probes with individual groups of units, as opposed to having a template of stock tactics for the whole army to run through, which quickly becomes predictable. The second is through the use of "special tactics" specific to certain nations and/or generals. It is also aware of the context of the battle within the campaign. Of course, the focus of battle gameplay has shifted, with ranged weapons becoming much more important, and the AI has undergone a major overhaul of the way it responds to and attacks with missile fire.
The campaign map AI has also been completely rewritten and acts to achieve longer-term goals and specific war aims.
We have had three talented programmers working full-time on nothing but AI throughout the project--a level of resource we haven't had before.
GS: And how will friendly AI be improved, especially in larger real-time battles? What features will Empire be adding to give players more control over their units?
JR: We no longer have the AI controlling any of the player's units--your own reinforcements come onto the battlefield one by one (with up to 20 at any one time), and you control all of them. Allied AI nations who reinforce the player always remain under AI control.
GS: One of the best things about playing a Total War game is building a massive kingdom full of conquered provinces, though once you begin to achieve real territorial dominance in a campaign game, not everyone is a fan of managing all those provinces and their economies. How will Empire help streamline the later game to keep the pace brisk?
JR: First and foremost, by bringing buildings out of the cities and presenting them to the player on the map itself, we've made the management of regions more immediate and accessible. Buildings can be upgraded straight from the map, with slots available for upgrade seen at a glance. This is in contrast to previous Total War games, which forced the player to drive down into city menus in order to build and upgrade. You can also see the level of development of a region on the map itself, rather than inside a city panel.
Secondly, we've made the recruitment of units much more convenient. Armies commanded by generals can now order up units that make their way automatically to that army. This means that players no longer have to build units at each city (although you still can) and then manually move those units to join their armies in the field.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2009/032/reviews/942966_20090202_embed002.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/news.html?sid=6204002&tag=topslot;img;3#) Expect to see plenty of improvements to the Total War series' real-time battles. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/news.html?sid=6204002&tag=topslot;img;3#)

Thirdly, many of the strategic elements such as tax and governors that used to live in each city in previous Total War games have now been centralized. Players can now tweak tax rates across an entire continent. Similarly, the player will have a cabinet of ministers that offer bonuses across their nation's regions, rather than governors which must be moved to each region.
This means we can actually deepen gameplay choices (for example, having different tax rates for the nobility versus the people), but still streamline the game because players don't have to repeat the choices across different regions. Similarly, diplomacy is conducted centrally, not through the old system of individual diplomats all over the map.
Add to this improved advisors, tutorials, and an extensive tooltip system which offers information on almost every button and panel in the game, and we believe that this is the most accessible Total War experience we've created.



Developer Creative Assembly takes questions on diplomacy, artificial intelligence, and what the fans really want from Empire: Total War.


GS: Obviously, Empire takes place in a different part of history than previous games. The time period in which the new game takes place was very much a time of upheaval, from the industrial revolution to the American revolution. How will these major historical events be represented in the game, and what effects will they have? For instance, will the cotton gin be just another technological advance to research? What role will the American plantation have in the game?

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2009/032/reviews/942966_20090202_embed003.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/news.html?sid=6204002&tag=topslot%3Bimg%3B3&page=2#) Native American tribes join the fray in Empire: Total War. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/news.html?sid=6204002&tag=topslot%3Bimg%3B3&page=2#)

JR: We've never looked to shape the Total War experience for the player by forcing historical events on the player within the campaign game. We've made the odd exception of course, but Total War games are about the player creating and rewriting history within the historical starting position and sandbox we present them with. We have a set of features and mechanics that represent and model the political, military, and technological dynamics at the time, but the player can navigate their nation within the gameworld as they choose.
As an example, the player can cause a French revolution using the mechanics available with the game's new class-based happiness system and the system of "clamor for reform" created by researching new ideas and philosophies via the technology tree, but we don't force a revolution on the player at a given date.
The technology tree hands players the tools they need to develop their nation and forge their own history. They can choose to industrialize their nation by researching the industrial branch of the tree but the speed they progress is down to them. Again, we don't push the industrial revolution on players at a given date--it's up to them to explore and implement this at their own pace, if at all.
Specific advances like the power loom and the spinning jenny do boost your industrial output should you choose to research them. You can also build plantations in the Americas. You can choose to focus on different commodities like tobacco or cotton. You gain income from these plantations directly, and gain more profits if you export the resources to other nations via trade routes.
GS: Given the game's time period, clearly, trading goods will be different--desirable commodities will be tobacco, sugar, and cotton, among other things. How will economic trade in Empire be different from previous games, and how will it be better? How will trade with Native American tribes work?
JR: Trade is a vital component in the campaign game, and we've expanded it considerably as a feature. Resources are scattered around the various regions and can be exploited by players through constructing mines or plantations, for example. Some of these resources are tradable goods which all have their own market value, and which rise and fall depending on their particular availability and demand.
Players are driven to acquire valuable resources, but in order to trade them, they will need to establish trade partners. They will also need to develop ports and roads to support their network of routes on land and sea. These routes are vulnerable to attack, so they need to be protected by fleets and armies. Similarly, the player can turn this to their advantage and look to raid enemy routes with their own ships and armies for profit.
In addition to this, we've introduced trade theatres. These are sea regions that are located in various areas of the globe including the East Indies and the Ivory Coast. These regions are rich in tradable resources and can be controlled by placing merchant fleets on trading outposts. The more merchant ships you have active on these outposts, the more profit you glean from them. Of course, these routes and regions are also subject to raiding, and there can be fierce rivalry over the monopoly of trading posts across the theatres. This provides an excellent springboard for naval engagements throughout the campaign.
There's a whole new world of strategy here if the player wants to explore this feature to the full. Alternatively, they can opt out as a trading nation and focus on other strategies such as industrialization, enlightenment, or good old military expansion.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2009/032/reviews/942966_20090202_embed004.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/news.html?sid=6204002&tag=topslot%3Bimg%3B3&page=2#) Plus, there will be boats...like this steamship. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/news.html?sid=6204002&tag=topslot%3Bimg%3B3&page=2#)

GS: And of course, because the game takes place during the settlement of the New World, we assume that Native American tribes will play a pretty significant role. How will players interact with them?
JR: The colonization of the New World is a major priority for nations such as Britain, France, and Spain. They will have to interact and work with or against the various Native American factions we've included. The player can enter into diplomatic relations with them the way they can any nation in the game, or they can cut out all the talk and just attempt to steamroller through their territory with their European armies. That's not going to happen without significant resistance from the Native American forces they will come up against.
The Native American tribes also play a key part in the Road to Independence campaign in that they provide the first major obstacle that players come across in the opening chapter. They then become a key ally as the British attempt to fight off the French in the second episode.
GS: Of course, one of Empire's most distinctive, and impressive, new features is its real-time naval combat. In practice, how will naval powers change the campaign game? How much of a factor will it be for players who don't necessarily want to focus on the sea?
JR: Command of the seas will be important in the campaign game in order to establish a profitable trade network and to seize monopolies in the trade theatres. That's only applicable, of course, to nations who wish to explore this strategy. Landlocked nations with ample trade routes available on road may not require such investment in their navy and can look instead to expand their military might on land--as long as you are content to stick to your starting continent. However, if you want to be a serious colonial nation projecting your power across continents, you would be wise to invest in a strong navy.
In short, we want the player to explore the naval battles with any nation they choose to play, but we leave it to the players to decide how crucial this aspect of the game is to their own campaign. There is no right or wrong way to play and win Total War games, and this is certainly the case with Empire: Total War.
GS: Of course, the Age of Sail was a time of great international competition as many captains sought to claim new territories and trade routes for the glory and wealth of their home nations. But it was also a time of naval piracy. To what extent, if any, will we see buccaneers in the game, and what role will they play (that is, will they just be neutral parties who spring into being to occasionally harass wealthier nations, or will they play a larger role)? Any chance players will get to do some freebooting of their own?
JR: Commerce-raiding a rival nation's trade routes on land and sea is a very effective strategy to boost your own coffers, whilst inflicting hefty damage to an enemy's economy. So yes, players will have every opportunity to construct fleets specifically for naval piracy.

http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2009/032/reviews/942966_20090202_embed005.jpg (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/news.html?sid=6204002&tag=topslot%3Bimg%3B3&page=2#) Empire: Total War will be available soon. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/news.html?sid=6204002&tag=topslot%3Bimg%3B3&page=2#)

Similarly, pirates are a faction in the game in their own right, and they will attack and plunder the trade routes that they come across, including those of the player, throughout the campaign. You can stamp them out, but lawlessness in certain regions can see them reemerge.
GS: Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add about Empire: Total War, its improvements on the series, or any of its other new features?
JR: At this point, we'd just like to say that we can't wait for this game to make it onto the shelves so people can start playing it. We've obviously been buried in intense development for so long now, and we're desperately keen to see the reaction to the game from the public, and particularly the loyal Total War fan base. Empire: Total War is by far our biggest and most ambitious Total War release ever, and we hope that those who play the game enjoy it as much as we've enjoyed developing it.

[Le Goat]

demo got leaked and only one guy found it before it was yanked off of steam... CA then released a statement saying the full demo will be out soon. Many are speculating as early as this weekend or late as mid next week.

[Le Goat]

new tactic vid

http://www.totalwar.com/empire/gallery/videos.php?t=EnglishUK



zomg 3 weeks away!

woo!!

[Le Goat]

First review (this is a synopsis from some TW forum)

February 07, 2009, 05:06 AM / Empire Total War PC Gamer review #1 (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?p=4411248#post4411248)
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/customavatars/avatar16475_2.gif (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/member.php?u=16475)
Knight

Posts: 537
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/images_medieval/reputation/reputation_highpos.gifhttp://www.twcenter.net/forums/images_medieval/reputation/reputation_highpos.gifhttp://www.twcenter.net/forums/images_medieval/reputation/reputation_highpos.gifhttp://www.twcenter.net/forums/images_medieval/reputation/reputation_highpos.gifhttp://www.twcenter.net/forums/images_medieval/reputation/reputation_pos.gif

Just got my subscriber edition with the exclusive review. It got 94% After i've read it i'll update with details (but no scans).

edit; Oh, and there's no demo on the disc http://www.twcenter.net/forums/images/smilies/emoticons/sad.gif

Ok I'm back: First off it's the UK edition. The review is by a journalist called Jim Rossignol who is a decent writer but, imo, not the best reviewer. He's also not a long term TW fan despite writing last months retrospective on the other TW games. Chances are he will be looking at the game from a different perspective to us.

Anyway: he says that he went GB in his campaign and the victory conditions were to control Egypt and a chunk of both India and North America. He says that he had to do a lot of "buttering up" to avoid wars with Spain and France to reduce pressure on his shipping and maintain the 13 colonies.

The map is split into two sections: NA and Eurasia. "The core map stretches from Iceland on the top left to Sri Lanka on the Bottom right"

He says the 4 trade regions: SA, the Ivory Coast, the straits of Madagascar and the East Indies are purely coastal.

"Once at war with the Ottoman Empire, my Great Britain campaign saw me bottling up the Ottoman fleet in the Mediterranean, keeping my Atlantic traders safe from attack"

"An empire can have up to 4 eductational establishments and use them to research many different technologies at once."

You have to balance where your money goes between investing in tech and getting the lead on the battlefield and leaving your populace underdeveloped. Not researching democracy leads to negative sentiment and a chance of a revolution.

"the tech tree and research process is one of the areas that Empire seems to have nailed down best." He likes the feedback from the main game based on your choices there whether it better bayonets or increased farm revenue. He says the tech races really pay off and that you can share tech via the diplomacy screen.

It sounds like enemies will raze your outlying towns and infrastrructure if you bunker down in your capital.

The campaign Multiplayer won't ship with the game.

"To take the regions required for a Grand Campaign win condition will always result in armed conflict"

"There's still some errant unit activity" But he says it is improved over previous games.

"The harder AI has been an absolute bastard to take on toe-to-toe. Enemy Generals work to split your ranks or to funnel you into the firing line of cannon, or to avoid your flanking tactics. They'll drive through your lines then fan back around, attempting to split and isolat your troops."

"It starts to feel like a more mature game"

"It's about judging firing arcs and reloading times and coaxing enemies into a killing field"

"The most crucial problem for me isthat the new real-time naval battles, although spectacular, are unconvincing" He says that they don't feel like sailing ships and that the battles just descend into chaos. Managing more than a handful of ships becomes a chore. they're too much like a naval version of land battles rather than a unique approach for a totally different type of warfare. "I found myself rapidly defaulting to auto resolve fleet conflicts"

"the Ai turns remain achingly slow"

Then he writes about how much he loved the game and can't stop playing it.

Info from the box outs and screens: Knights of Malta are in and there's a pirate capital in Antigua.
There are missionaries as campaign map units.
Ports can be fisheries, trading ports or military ports.
the area of influence round ships is sizeable at a gues i'd say it extends about 75 miles in every direction so a single fleet controls about 150miles of coastline. Therefore two fleets will be able to deny the south coast of England to invaders with ease.

[Le Goat]

A Swedish Campaign report

As you guys have seen quite a few videos of battles, I thought I'd post about a recent Swedish campaign I played so you guys get more of an idea about how the campaign game plays.

The start

Early on I decide I must help build my military power. So I focus my research onto military technology, build extra schools to allow the research of more items at once, and begin to build up an army in Estonia near Riga. This will allow me to fight the Russians if they decide to start a war, or to expand into the nearby Duchy of Courland...

WAR!

...which I invade after gifting the Russians a bit of cash to keep them happy for a bit. After a tough fight I secure the region, but almost immediately the Prussians approach me asking for the province in exchange for some technologies and more importantly an alliance. Eager for allies I accept, and the tech allows me to upgrade my farms to increase my income as well as keeping my population fed.

Preparations...


With my economy secured and a strong ally in Prussia, I turn my eyes towards my Scandinavian neighbours Denmark. Determined to take Denmark out in one glorious invasion, I begin to prepare three armies ready to take Iceland, Norway and Denmark.

...and Problems

But these big armies rapidly begin to drain my income. My research focus switches onto techs that will improve my income from workshops and farms, and I cancel a trade agreement with France in order to free up a trade route so I can sign a new trade agreement with the Marathas which proves much more profitable.

Revolution!


All the focusing on techs and building schools has had an unfortunate side effect, the people are not happy. They are clamouring for reform, and so I endeavour to spark a revolution myself. Raising taxes soon leads to one, and I side with the rebels in order to turn Sweden into a republic. After a hard fought battle for Stockholm, victory is mine and the old order is removed. The public is now happy with the more enlightened Republic government type.

With the revolution over, I focus once again on preparations to invade Denmark.

The First Strike


But Denmark declare war first, marching armies through my lands and damaging my buildings. Damaged schools means no more research, and damaged farms leads to unhappiness as the population is less well fed. So I march an army out to deal with these raiding forces and I initiate my own invasion plans.

One army lands on Iceland after a long trip away from trade routes to avoid detection where it quickly takes the region. But my main invasion army fares less well. Marching close to Copenhagen, my almost 2000 men find themselves facing over 4500 Danish troops. In a hard fought battle barely 500 of my men survive after fleeing the field having been beaten decisively.

And this is where my campaign report ends. Sweden has transformed into a Republic, improved its economy and military and is now engaged in a long and costly war with Denmark with wins and losses on both sides. I hope this has help give you an idea of what playing the early stages of an Empire: Total War campaign is like.

heres a list of the questions he got asked, these contain alot of NEW info.

1) very interesting actually...unit sizes on huge?
Huge.

2) Did Prussia aid you in anyway against Denmark?
Prussia did aid in terms of helping to raid a Danish trade route with their very small navy. They have not built up very much so could not really aid me more than that.

3) what year have you ended at?
1720, 42 turns in.

4) some informations (tactics, type of troops ...) about the fight you made against the Denmark-Norway soldiers ?
Both sides had mix of line infantry, good cavalry, artillery. Classic long lines and flanking manouevres, but their numbers were too much for me. Only managed to kill about 2100 of their men out of 4500.

5) when choosing the "Rebel" side, how was the resemblance of your "new" army?
Same uniform as old one, flag was different. If you side with the rebels in a civil war you get an army spawned for you.

6) What was in Iceland?
Good income from fishing ports, and it is right next to a trade route to America.

7) Jack, I am getting the feeling that revolutions are nearly unavoidable. Why did you want to switch to a republic in the middle of a war?
They are not, and I wasn't at war at the time. The revolution was really forced on me because of the techs I chose to research, you can research lots of stuff and manage to keep your people happy, just means you cannot go very far down some paths. If I hadn't been paying attention to my public order the revolution would have taken me by surprise as the clamour for reform was building quicker than I expected.

http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/emoticons/cool.gif In addition to this, did you simply start with just a bunch of rebel troops with the Royalists chasing you down or did you have some infrastructure to aid in your hostile takeover?
You have an army spawned for you if you side for the rebels and that is it. You then have to take your capital in order to win.
and did you attack denmarks mainland or norway?
Mainland, I later sent a force against Norway.

9) Did you played it on "Easy", "Hard" ?
Normal.

10) Did you play on highest settings in your computer?
Quite high settings, and yes it looks pretty.

11) My first question is, how does a revolution wokr? do you choose from a pop-up wether your loyal or rebel? and then, does a rebel army spawn etc?
Pop-up, you choose which side. See earlier answers for army spawning.

12) As posted earlier, I would like to know if Iceland has a city/harbour or resources (I.e. is it a full-blown province)?
Full blown province.

13) Does the fact that you had a revolution in Sweden trigger the Danes (being a monarchy) to attach you?
Probably a combination of that(as differing goverment types affects diplomatic relations) and the fact the revolution did weaken me temporarily.

14) Say something about a powerfull ally you gain...and mean prussia. And now say they only raided a trade route because they haven build much up...which mean they are actually not powerful
Early game they were powrful, but trouble with Poland has stopped them from becoming as powerful as Denmark.

15) Did Prussia declare war on Denmark when Denmark declared war on you?
Was the trade route rading of prussia like those harbour attacks in mtw 2???
Yes when you have war declared on you, you can call your allies to join you. Prussia did join me. If they hadn't, they would have broken their alliance with me. If you attack someone and you call your allies to help but they do't join, they don't break alliance as it is not as severe as not helping to defend you.

Trade route raiding is different to blockading, you can actually attack the trade routes you see on the map and reduce the enemies income.

16) What happens if you fail to take/hold your capital during a revolution ?
You lose.

17) But what did the flag look like, is it possible u could post the pic of it? Maybe along with your campaign map?
Sorry guys no pics.

1http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/emoticons/cool.gif But what happens to the other settlements in the empire, after the battle in Stockholm? I mean, is that all that is necessary for the revolution? A battle in the capital?
A revolution is a fight for control over your government, so it only happens in your home region.

19) is there a limit on how many traderoutes you may have? if yes, how many?
Yes the limit based on number/level of your trading ports.

20) Do you think your campaign is/was difficult to play or do/did you watichng tv, phone, do your work and play E:TW?
It is tough.

21)Seems CA favorite faction is Sweden. Why? Think to read someone else from CA played it too (was it you?).
Well Sweden do have an interesting start position. Personally my favourite factions are Britain, United Provinces, Sweden, Prussia.

22) How did you make a contact with Marathas from the start of the game or is it possible to make contacts with every country from the start ?
You can contact everyone through the diplomacy screen.

23) What were the reactions of the other countries when your revolution become successful or are there any reactions to revolutions in the game?
It affects diplomatic relations based on government type.

24) Are there any effects of revolutions like nationalism and what are the advantages and disadvantages of revolutions?
Advantages - change of government, Republic generally better for researching some techs.

Disadvantages - you do not have as much control over Ministers as in an Absolute Monarchy, and the upper class don't tend to be too happy so now have another group to work hard on keeping happy.

25) What did you do to royal family ?
There is a lovely video that illustrates what happens, though it stops before any parts of bodies are detached.

26) As you were vastly outnumbered in the battle with the Danes, what tactics did the Danes (AI) use?
Lines, outflanking.

27) Do Denmark-Norway have Greenland?
No, Greenland is not on the map.

2http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/emoticons/cool.gif Did you notice how Denmark-Norway was behaving? (throughout the campaign), did they sit and wait for you to take action? or were they busy in other places?
They were building up, think they got into a few wars as well.

29) "over 4500 Danish troops", does this number refer to one or to more than one stack?
More than one stack.

30) What is going on at sea during your campaign - apart from the prussian privateering?
Don't know really as I had not been paying much attention to my navy, though I do know lots of activity going on in Trade Theatres.

31) Are the provincial improvements permanently destroyed by occupying armies?
No they are damaged, and no slot can be permanently destroyed.

32) Prussia remained your allies through the revolution? Is this common? Will you have the option to break your alliance with a country if they have a revolution?
Government type does affect diplomactic relations so you can see some factions break alliances with you or look for the first opportunity to break the alliance. Revolutions do not wipe your diplomatic standings, after the revolution finishes you have the same ones as you started. The changed in governmet type though may affect things from then on.

33) How many money did you got (or lost) each round (approximately) ? I mean How many money did you got with your capital city and other cities ?
Don't know exactly, but enough to keep me growing at a good pace.

34) Annexing an entire nation in just one war would would cause the enire northern Europe to declare war on you at once?
No but it would annoy a lot of them and the Russians/Poles would probably declare war on me soon afterwards.

35) How do you get a constitutional monarchy?
You have to start out with one, or have an upper class revolution in a Republic. Though that should more correctly be Middle Class as they are technically the upper class of a Republic(each government type has 2 classes in it). Just used to referring to "upper classes" for all government types as it is what we refer to them as internally even though that is not what you see on screen.

36) Who is regarded as the greatest seapower/land army/ richest?
Haven't checked, but from what I saw Britain would most likely be greatest sea power and richest. Biggest land not sure. Can't check as the build has changed since I played this campaign and save game no longer works. only thought to write about it after that had happened.

37) How much did you have to pay the Russians to keep them friendly and how big was your treasury at the time?
Nothing, they were just busy elsewhere, though I'm sure they would have attacked me soon.

3http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/shared/emoticons/cool.gif if you have your ships in a line of battle and want them all to fire a broadside, if you select them all and hit one of the broadside buttons will they all fire?
No you can't do that in a group or multiple selection, you have to do that for each ship individually.

39) How long did it take you to get from 1700 to 1720 (real time)?
This was over several days of play broken up by work, wouldn't know the total time.

40) If your empire is a monarchy on the brink of revolution, and a neighbouring faction goes through a successful revolution, can that cause the revolution to start in your empire?
Don't know, will ask a programmer tomorrow(at home now).

41) Is there any way to tell which trade agreement would be more profitable other than actually signing one?
Don't know, will check tomorrow.

42) Have Sweden special troops? Like as winged hussars, mamluks etc...
They do get a Finnish unit beginning with H who's name I cannot pronounce, i'll get that tomorrow at work as well.

43) How does the game stop you from simply plastering the countryside with improvements, such as schools? Is there a limit? Or are the prohibitively expensive?
Well you only have a certain amount of slots in a region, and some can only be say farms or mines. And for the ones you could build one of multiple buildings in, each building has its benefit. For example I could have tried to fill as many slots as possible with schools, but it would have massively effected my income, happiness in the province and appearance of rakes.

44) when we build an improvement do we chose its place on the campaign map or will it appear in a preset position ?
Preset positions.

45) Are Ottoman Emp. and Sweden allies at the beginning?
No.

46) From what you wrote, it seems your people can get angry at you if you spend too much of your research capacity on military tech instead of domestic tech, so I thought of a situation which I would like to see if you could answer for me. Lets say Im playing as the US and it is a Republic. I spend 100% of my research slots on things that make the people happy and just focus on growing instead of fighting wars. But one day Great Britian starts a war with me and I dont have much military tech to fight them off with, so I start shifting my research off the domestic tech. Will the population get mad at me now, even though before a war effort was needed I treated them very well? OR, will they develop a sense of nationalism and pull together to do everything they need to do to fight off Great Britian, and not be angry with me for now researching mostly military tech? The question is not based on a specific strategy I intend to take, personally I will try to find the balance between military/civilian tech; but it is more to see how the actual civil engine functions, and if it is that in depth.
Most of the clamour for reform comes from Philosophical research which enabled me to research faster and build higher level schools. However, doing so builds a lot of clamour for reform quite quickly. You could for example play as an Absolute Monarchy, only research a few Philosophical techs to speed research up a little and then spend the rest of the game researching other things.

[Le Goat]

If you hadn't heard, Empire: Total War (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/empiretotalwar/index.html) is coming. This massive game will build on the foundations of the Total War series, which combines turn-based strategic elements (like managing your cities, oppressing peasants, establishing trade routes, oppressing peasants, researching new technologies, researching new peasant-opressing technologies, and diplomacy) and massive real-time battles. This time around, Empire will offer the huge land battles everyone has come to expect from the series (but with more emphasis on muskets and cannon), along with real-time naval battles that are genuinely affected by the realistic physics engine that developer Creative Assembly has built for the series.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/335/reviews/942966_20081201_screen001.jpg
These cannons were made for firin'. And that's just what they'll do in Empire: Total War.
We started our session with a few quick real-time battles that are started from the game's conventional multiplayer interface, which lets you host, join, and search for games from a single screen. Empire will support networked play as well as online play over Steam, and will actually take your Steam ID into account and let you sync up with players on your Steam friends list and such. Quick multiplayer battle seem to run about the same way they have in previous games--prior to diving into battle, you'll pick and choose from whichever forces you care to bring into battle using a weighted point system to make sure each player is bringing in about the same amount of firepower (unless you're one of those manly men whoprefers to give your opponents a handicap). You then set your armies in place in a timed deployment phase, and after that, you're off.
Prior to starting up a match, you can also set weather conditions prior to jumping into battle; things like wind direction may affect the way ballistics work on land. But wind direction and wind levels, as well as general sea conditions, can have a profound effect on naval skirmishes. Because Empire's physics enginemodels weight and mass of ships, as well as the effect of wind on the size and number of sails on a ship, speed and manuverability become a lot more important on choppy seas. Of course, it's ideal to have the wind at your back filling your sails, while attempting to sail straight into the wind will bring your ship almost to a standstill. Standing still in water isn't always a bad thing, though. Based on what we can tell from our limited time with the game, Empire's naval battles seem to do a good job of capturing the feeling of being on a ship that's powered primarily by whatever winds happen to be blowing. Since there wereno nuclear engines or turbo boosts back in the Age of Sail, your best bet is to drop anchor to stop your ship's forward motion, and you'll need to do this if a damagedenemycraft is on a collision course for the hull of one of your prized ships, because a good, solid ramming with a heavy battleship can do serious damage.
Our naval battle went fairly well for us; the highlight ofthe match was the utter devastation of our opponent's smallest ship as we first killed off his admiral with a grapeshot volley, then encircled our foe with our two largest craft, delivering simultaneous broadsides from to both port and starboard hulls with standard cannon that smashed up and crippled our target. We felt pretty proud of ourselves going into our land battle, so much so that we decided to go easy on cannons and load up on swift cavalry to overwhelm our opponent, who may or may not have been a polite and accommodating Britishstaff memberof Creative Assembly, and who may or may not have let us win the naval battle. And in the land battle, our opponent may or may not also have been polite enough to show us how effective long-distance artillery is on clustered squads of faraway cavalry (here's a hint: It's REALLY effective in killing your cavalry), after which point, we may or may not have dropped out of the game, probably not due to bad sportsmanship or anything, but probably because of some kind of network issue. Yes...yes, that sounds believable.
From there, we headed off to try out a single-player campaign, which includes all the game's many nations with the exception of the United States of America (which must be unlocked from the Test of Time campaign's third chaper--a chapter that tells the tale of the American Revolution) and of the Native American nations, which won't be playable in the game out-of-box, but will likely be made playable in short order, considering the industrious and clever fanbase for this game (a fanbase that's clearly clever and handsome enough to leave manypositive comments on this blog post). Native American tribal nations...a naval superpower? It's more likely than you think, apparently.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/300/942966_20081027_screen001.jpg
You'll be able to choose a variety of different ways to hoodwink and oppress your citizens.
In our single-player game, we started playing as the royal nation of England, a well-balanced faction with holdings in both Europe and the New World, specifically island nations such as Jamaica anda tiny trading post in modern-day Canada (then known as "Mooseland"), along with some tiny, obscure protectorate consisting of, like 12 or 13 colonies (or something). Empire has three primary theaters--Europe, the New World, and India; at the start of the campaign, Britain doesn't have any inroads into India, though other sides, such as the Dutch, have access to the near East (and its trade commodities, such as spices--all tradeable goods, whether spices, sugar, coffee, or tobacco, will trade on an in-game commodities market whose prices fluctuate each turn and are determined by geographical, technological, and social needs).
Being unable to immediately find the "Oppress Peasants" button (hopefully Creative Assembly fixes this problem immediately), we settled on a plan of economic expansion by way of building up each of our holdings along dual lines of both agriculture/population growth (researching such technologies as animal husbandry, which increases food production), and also civic happiness (by building structures such as opera houses), with the thinking that a happier populace early onwould both provide an early-game production boost, and would also experience evenmore-severe, more-crushing misery and oppression when we clicked and dragged on the "increase taxes" slider andcranked it all the way up later.
You may have noticed the overland map view in Empire has changed from previous games in a number of ways. Civic structures such as farms andtrading posts nowappear outside of your main cities, rather than being hidden inside the walls of a single, central location. This change was apparently made to encourage defensive players to be more vigilant, and to encourage aggressive players to be more proactive about harrying their rivals, since farms, mines, and other juicy targets of opportunity now lie outside city walls. We dutifully sank all our cash into expanding and improving each of our holdings' economic infrastructure, with the net result being gradually increasing cash reserves and some "trait" enhancements for our military officers, whose inactivity caused them to seek entertainment (and +1 morale bonuses) at the local tavern, though from the looks of it, further inactivity would have caused them to develop somewhat less-savory traits. Fortunately, military training has been streamlined in Empire such that, once you research new formations and tactics, you won't have to march your armies back to town to train them; they'll have automatically acquired your new strategems, and you can continue to confidently march forward to war.
We figured our path of peaceful self-development was a can't-fail proposition (after all, who would dare oppose the mighty crown of England? France? Portugal? That little group of 15 colonies, or whatever? Not likely!). Britain starts off in a fairly strong diplomatic position, being either neutral or friendly with a great majority of the Old World powers and already having existing trade agreements with them. Empire's diplomacy interface lets you peacefully negotiate (or threaten for) whichever diplomatic condition you wish, such as trade of goods/territories/technologies, open borders, military alliances, and so on. The interface has a color-coded world map that shows your standing with other nations at a glance--nations that are bright green are quite friendly; nations that are bright red are quite hostile. You can hover your mouse over any nation on the map to receive an at-a-glance status report on the various conditions that contribute to your neighbors' attitude; if you have trade agreements, military agreements, or have helped them in the past, you'll have a certain number of positive points; if you've committed hostile actions such as declaring war, or declaring allegiances with your neighbors' enemies, you'll have a certain number of negative points, and the sum total of your points determines how well-liked you are or aren't.
Unfortunately, the wandering pirates of the Carribean, the game's most non-political faction,disagreed with us and hijacked one of our smaller merchant fleets in the Bahamas. Sadly, because this was the early part of our game and we hadn't made any significant investments into our navy, we were easily defeated, though we went out with a bang. In the real-time naval battle we fought, the pirates had our capital ship on the ropes, smashing up the hull with cannonballs, then opening up another fusillade that happened to hit our ships' powder kegs--this is a random event that's much more likely to happen to a severely damaged ship. But as it turned out, even though our ship went up in a fiery explosion, the prevailing wind currents spread the fire to the other pirate ships, which were already severely damaged. One actually routed (retreated due to a morale break); the other sank our final ship. So, at least we went out in a blaze of glory. We're told, however, that in every campaign, the pirates will have a hidden, randomly-located base somewhere in the Carribean that thorough seafaring players can attempt to seek and destroy.
http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2008/300/942966_20081027_screen003.jpg
Pirates off the port bow? We'll be sure to take that under advisement as we flee madly in the opposite direction.
Empire: Total War will finally be released in the next few weeks. Keep an eye on GameSpot for a full review in the near future. We'll also have a new trailer for you shortly.

[Le Goat]

oh, and the demo comes out today at 10am CST If i'm not mistaken... soo... fire up your steam

[Le Goat]

I just... I just... *tear* ... Love this game

[Gary_Busey]

I'm downloading the demo right now.

[Le Goat]

Let me know if you have some problems with it. I'm getting some slow load times and a couple tears in the scenery on a few occasions. I'm hearing a few others complain but overall, I love the game.


It auto-established my graphics and nearly everything was High or Ultra-High (I have an NVIDIA 9600m). I bumped up a few things (AA and a few shadows). So yeah, if anyo f you have medium builds, it'll do fine.

The enemy is a beast. They don't sit there like in Medieval. Those fuckers attack. I also love the garrison. YOU FUCKING SEE YOUR GUYS FIGHT THE OTHER GUYS IN THE BUILDINGS!!!! I was blown away at that.

[Le Goat]

watching a ship blow the fuck up is gorgeous.

POWDER MAG. FTW!

[Le Goat]

I really, really, really love how they implemented the buildings in this game. I took over the farmhouse with a group of grenadier's and out of the blue some americunt's rushed out of the trees. AUTOMATICALLY my grenadier's busted out the windows (you actually see this) and start firing/lobbing grenades. It was fucking glorious.


I always seem to lose a cannon within the first minute of the match though...

[Le Goat]

Guess I'm the only one that likes this :(

[Gary_Busey]

Definitely ImageShack.

I played the land battle tutorial. Pretty good stuff.

[Le Goat]

hmm, I see the text now... interesting...

Yeah I just got done doing another technique. I normally put about 200 men and both artillery on the right (direct) route to keep the American's main line/artillery busy and then swing the rest of my group (600) around the flank and skirmish from their. This time I hauled everything to the flank and sure enough, the AI noticed this and swong all of their infantry to the choke point and harassed me while I setup my artillery at my end of the 'choke'. I rushed 60 men to the middle of the choke to try and push back the long riflemen enough to get my light infantry up and drop some steaks down to prevent a cav charge directly toward my artillery. It worked, I got everything setup and proceeded to move up my artillery to the steaks and push the rest of my forces to the opposite side of the choke to effectively null it. At the other end of the choke it opens up to a good size, flat terrain with the Court House (I believe) at the end. The enemies main force was just on the other side of the building facing me. I slowly moved forward, 10yds at a time, each time firing quite a few shots, killing 10 or so americans. Finally I had enough waiting and made my grenadiers charge ahead, throw a volley and fight hand to hand. Then had my artillery cover the building (a unit was garrisoned inside) as I attacked the main force. Twas a fast battle. I think it lasted maybe 3 minutes. My tacits were superb... then I noticed the garrison in the building hadn't run. So I positioned my units around the building at unleashed hell all at once. Shit hit the fucking fan in that building. Bodies inside collapsed/tossed around. Splinters/Glass flying. God damn I love that little touch. Nothing more glorious than watching 600 of my men surround 80 of theirs and watch it go from 80 to 20 in 5 seconds then then fight it off for a minute then from 20 to 3 and then watch those 3 guys rush out the building, try and make a break, only to have one of my guys trip one and shoot him on the spot.


(I'll find those screenshots again in a bit)

[Le Goat]

Carnage (notice the dead bodies and holes in the ship) typical after a nice, close, broadside

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b178/chknfaqr/carnaget.jpg

[Le Goat]

Cspp9haUA5s

[Le Goat]

beautiful video showing off some of the little touches. Notice how after their comrades fall, they'll move in and fill the ranks (after they fire of course). Also note how some guys fire quicker than others and a good bit of time apart from the large, line fire (if you will)

0Bp46yc2YJM

[Kerjack]

Its probably just my system but the load times are H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E.

5 minutes to get to the title screen, like 7 to start a battle and another 5 to LEAVE battle.

[Le Goat]

it's not yoru system, it takes a bit of time


the best way i've been able to speed up the intial sequence is about 15 seconds after the intial black title (with words) pops up hit escape every few seconds and it seems to push it well... do the same for the loading screens after they reach past 75% maybe.


They'll patch the demo soon. It's a bit buggy on those parts

[Kerjack]

Not to mention that when I leave a battle and it gets to the title screen I can't press any buttons. So a few minutes to 'end process' the bugger and start over again. *Sigh*

I really do think I'd like it, after all I loved Total War: Shogun and Rome. But until it gets patched forget about it.

[Le Goat]

the more you play it the more it seems to load faster.



it's a demo ya no0b

[Kerjack]

I'm starting a empiretotalwarsuxx.com website right now.

[Le Goat]

imma fuck your shit up son




just pre-purchased and got Rome Gold pack

steam ftw

[Gary_Busey]

Steam is pretty fucking awesome. I'm gonna try running everything at max and see what happens.

[Le Goat]

they run some really, really sick deals. I lol everytime I see another site try and match them


also, Ultra settings is gorgeous. Hell, medium is still fucking gorgeous. You really get a good bit of detail on ultra though. I love zooming in on a line and listening to the drummer beat away. Also put it on slo-mo as the american's unleash a round of fury on me

[Gary_Busey]

Yeah, I got my ass handed to me on the first go round.

[Gary_Busey]

How do you take a screenshot in-game?

[Le Goat]

regular way to take screenshots I think. or just get fraps or something

[Le Goat]

Yeah, I got my ass handed to me on the first go round.
naval or land?

[Gary_Busey]

Land. Won the second time though. Zooming down to ground level when you raid the town hall is badass.

[Gary_Busey]

Blitzkrieg!!1!

http://i43.tinypic.com/256yzw3.jpg

[Le Goat]

Land. Won the second time though. Zooming down to ground level when you raid the town hall is badass.

told ya


fuckin awesome lil animation

[Gary_Busey]

I had 3 companies surrounding that shit. It was a slaughter.

[Le Goat]

I put a cannon up to to it and lul'd away


I can't fucking wait to line a road into town with men and ambush an army walking in.

[Gary_Busey]

Hell yes. I wanna play as the Americans and use unorthodox tactics against 18th century British warfare tactics.

[Le Goat]

You gotta beat the campaign first to unlock 'the road to independence' but I know it'll be one hell of a campaign.


I'm playing Rome right now (got it with the preorder of this) and have been playing Medieval II, both amazing games and long.

I love the shooting arch now. I was always wondering how they'd get the range down and they nailed it.

[Gary_Busey]

I just pre-ordered it.

[Le Goat]

You ever play a Total War game?

[Gary_Busey]

Nope. I don't play many RTSs. Got tired of the genre.

[Le Goat]

Rome is very dated but it's still pretty damn immersive. It'll give you a basic view of what the series is. I recommend Medieval II for the most recent, less 'oh shit different controls' feel.

Plus it's purdy

[Le Goat]

'ey gary


I'm surprised this hasn't been brought to attention yet. You can significantly lower the load time by unpacking the game.

Follow the instructions in http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=227956 and unpack demo1.pack. After this, rename demo1.pack to demo1, without the ".pack". Copy the folders(beside the unpacked folder) in /data to somewhere else for backup, then cut and paste the unpacked files into /data. That's it.

The first time I started the game after unpacking, the load time is still the same, but when I restart the game another time the loading time was halved. Have fun.

bout to try it.

[Le Goat]

Taken from the Total War forums: http://shoguntotalwar.yuku.com/topic/42972
**************
Well not the best time to be bringing some new news with the Demo but here goes.
When it became apparent that the USA was one of the 12 a lot of people assumed that meant from 1700.
I was certain it was only post revolution, as has now been confirmed. To get clarity on this I PM'd Kieran and got some VERY surprising extra info.
Well it certainly surprised me!
so this is more or less the script from the PMs

Me:
Is there any chance we could get more info on playing the USA? We are working on the assumption, some of us I should say, that it is not playable from 1700 but in a post revolution time frame in the grand campaign through the Test of Time option. Is this correct?

Kieran:
Hi Elyrioth,
Your working assumption is correct. The grand campaign starts in 1700 at which point the US are a faction called the '13 colonies' who are a protectorate of Britain. Therefore not a playable US faction.
The Road to Independence has a final chapter called 'The Test of Time' this allows you to play the newly formed United States in the grand campaign mode with specific objectives and challenges, with a starting point later than 1700 (Naturally).
The US will also be a playable side in multiplayer battles, we're still looking at how we might fit them into multiplayer campaign.
Hope that helps.
Kind regards,
Kieran

Me:
Thanks very much for your prompt reply.
Just one last question. Whats a protectorate? Does Britain have full control of the 13 colonies in the Grand campaign in 1700?

Kieran:
A protectorate is a soverign nation that submits itself to your jurisdiction. It is militarily allied to you, pays you taxes every turn and allows you military access. It is in all accounts your nation, but it governs itself in construction and the like.

That said, it can be invaded and brought under your total control...

Kind regards,
Kieran

Me:
Thanks you and I am really sorry for all the questions. Is this applicable to the likes of Mexico and New France? Can we unlock protectorates to play with a little textpad magic?
Thanks again,

Kieran:
I cant be specific on the regions you mention as I dont want to spoil the surprise, but the answer on textpad is that yes, anything's possible...

Hope that helps.

Kind regards,
Kieran

So that's it. You get tax, alliance and military access from the 13 Colonies when playing Britain but they have a level of autonomy! Add to that that you will probably be able to mod them and play as the 13 Colonies as a protectorate of Britain!
So are the other Colonies protectorates? Is this the way of balancing the British, French and Spanish? Who in fairness have massive territorial gains over other factions.
**************

[One Under]

I don't remember Goat ever being this excited for a game.

I had to stop myself from downloading it yesterday, I have two exams later today and I needed to study. So I can get the demo off of Steam I guess?

[Le Goat]

Steam is the exclusive provider for the demo.



and yes, i'm excited. Every Total War i've played (Rome right now and Medieval II, also right now) usually take up a good bit of my free time. Hell, I played Rome for 5 hrs yest (stupid busy friends)

[Le Goat]

God I love ramming the french

[Le Goat]

February 24, 2009 - It's all about epic scale with this game. With a campaign map that spans a sizable portion of the globe and fierce battles between thousands of units, Creative Assembly's Empire: Total War (http://pc.ign.com/objects/958/958390.html) aims to again deliver the same kind of blend of strategy and tactics that's made the series so popular over the years. You may have already checked out bits of the game, as a demo for Empire was made available through Steam last week. It includes battles at sea and on land, so we'll skip most of that for this article. If you want to get a sense of how the naval conflicts play, how the game runs, or how the land combat feels with Empire's greater focus on ranged fighting, then by all means start downloading now (http://pc.ign.com/articles/955/955721p1.html).

Just in case you're not familiar with the Total War series, it's a fusion of Civilization-style overworld map management and large scale real-time battles. To get things rolling you pick a starting nation, build up armies, manage your economy, plot invasions and deal with diplomatic relations between nations. When a conflict arises between armies on land, the game lets you head into a real-time battle scenario where you manage thousands of troops and employ tactical maneuvers to take down infantry and artillery or siege enemy cities. When on the overworld map, time progresses forward in turn-based fashion, giving you as much time as you need to organize your affairs before clicking to move time forward. Empire is set in the most modern time period of any other series entry, the 18th Century, and features for the first time fully controllable, real-time naval battles to complement those on land.

http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/956/956728/empire-total-war-20090224035320557-000.jpg (http://media.pc.ign.com/media/958/958390/imgs_1.html)Managing international relationships.

What you may not yet have a good sense of is the grand campaign map, something you'll spend quite a bit of time staring at, fiddling with, and panning across when managing your empire. When we say grand campaign, we mean the full, open-ended campaign where you pick from a number of different nations and are given the freedom to proceed however you see fit, forging alliances, invading nations, and generating wealth. We're not referring to the Road to Independence campaign mode that presents a more structured, objective and narrative driven sequence of scenarios.

That's not to say the grand campaign is devoid of objectives. Running from 1700 – 1799, you're given the choice of playing as Great Britain, France, Austria, United Provinces, Spain, Prussia, Poland-Lithuania, the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Sweden, or the Maratha Confederacy. The campaign spans three theatres of war; Europe, India, and America. Before diving in you can set a difficulty slider for the level of challenge on the campaign map and during battles, adjust time limits for fights, select whether you want to automate city management, and tweak a few other settings.

As for objectives, the game offers four types of grand campaign victory conditions. A short campaign option cuts progress off at the year 1750, requiring you to capture and hold a certain number of territories, including specific ones that differ depending on which nation you've chosen for play. The long campaign is the same thing except the year limit is moved out to 1799, and the totals for number of territories required are generally higher, though again it differs across nations. The world domination victory condition removes lengthy lists of specific required territories though to succeed you'll still need to capture and hold a large number of countries before 1799. Then there's a prestige victory, which in addition to requiring a list of territories be taken and held challenges you to earn the highest prestige rating by 1799.

http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/956/956728/empire-total-war-20090224035313135-000.jpg (http://media.pc.ign.com/media/958/958390/imgs_1.html)Some really impressive campaign map visuals.

Keeping track of all these objectives is handled through an in-game menu once the grand campaign is launched, with a display that shows which nations still need to be conquered and where they're situated on the map. It also displays your nation's prestige rating, showing how military, naval, enlightenment, and economics and industry elements contribute to the total score.

Before doing anything rash in the campaign it's usually a good idea to check out the diplomatic relationships of the world's nations to see who you might be available for trade, who's fighting who, and how you can take advantage of prevailing circumstances. The game's diplomacy menu allows you to click through all nations major and minor, view which land is currently under their control, who they're aligned with, and with what nations they're at war. There's also a handy map included that shows the layout of allies and enemies, highlighting them in green and red respectively.

Should you want to sway a particular nation to your cause it's possible to make donations in the form of three tiers of "state gifts," essentially lump sums of money. Such fiscal generosity will improve your standing, making it more likely the nation would comply with demands for trading agreements, demands for technology, military access, or an alliance. And if you feel you need a little extra push, instead of simply sending a proposal you can send it with a threat.

Keeping tabs on your immediate surroundings is best accomplished by using agents, non-military individual units used for a variety of functions. Empire's rakes are like spies or assassins, in that they can infiltrate or sabotage enemy towns or take out other agents. Missionaries work to spread the influence of your religion and function rather simply; if you place them in a territory, they'll automatically start converting. Lastly there's the gentleman, who if placed in educational buildings can speed research. Should you lose any of these useful units you'll find more periodically spawn around your empire turn after turn. With each agent come specific traits, like in games past. For instance, in one of our campaigns Protestant missionary Gottfried Arnold has a "Touched by His Hand" trait, which adds +4 to his zeal, with a tooltip indicating people travel for days to hear him preach.


http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/956/956728/empire-total-war-20090224035245698-000.jpg (http://media.pc.ign.com/media/958/958390/imgs_1.html)The map covers quite a bit of the globe.

Depending on how involved you want to get with management of specific personalities, Empire's government menu allows you to boot any ministers who might not be pulling their weight, though you'll want to be conscious of what kind of ruling system you have. Replacing your minister of war, for instance, does not work the same way in an absolute monarchy as it does in a republic. Also through the government menu you can check out your trade activity, financial reports, as well as tax levels for the nobility and lower classes. If this type of management does not interest you, taxes and construction can be auto-managed.

Raising armies for defense or to mount assaults is taken care of in towns, which are split up across each territory. There aren't simply capital cities; now there are smaller towns situated all over each country, meaning you'll have to pay closer attention to where your main forces are garrisoned when establishing an effective defensive perimeter. Within each town buildings can be upgraded, troops ordered, and research into new technology is handled through a global menu. Split into three branches, military, industrial, and philosophy, the research menu allows you to spread out your empire's gradual advance evenly or focus in on specific areas like naval technology, ordnance, agriculture, or textile production.

http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/956/956728/empire-total-war-20090224035237604-000.jpg (http://media.pc.ign.com/media/958/958390/imgs_1.html)The government tab helps you keep track of your money and your ministers.

All this detail may lead you to believe the campaign map has a static appearance, but that's certainly not the case. It's fully 3D, with hills, mountains and forests dotting the landscape, animated avatars representing armies that walk around when given move orders, nicely detailed ship models that represent fleets, and reflections of vessels on the rolling seas surrounding each continent.

Of course there's more to the system than what we've so far described, something we'll dig into as we continue to play. It's too early to deliver any kind of opinion at this point, but you can expect a full review in the near future, as the game is scheduled to be shipped on March 3 in North America.

[Le Goat]

Beautiful clip showing the amazing lighting and animations from the sailors

JL5bOp0qaoc

[Le Goat]

Reviews are rolling in. So far I'm seeing all 9(0)+

IGN- 95 (http://pc.ign.com/articles/957/957883p1.html)

(excerpt)
As deep as the grand strategy of Empire is, the battlefield action is just as thrilling in an entirely different way. You'll maneuver your infantry lines around the battlefield and fire volley after volley at your enemies or fix bayonets for a melee clash. Meanwhile, your artillery are parked high on a hill behind your lines, sending cannon fire crashing into enemy formations. Your cavalry might be preparing for a massive charge to break a weak spot in the enemy's lines, or they might be circling around to take the enemy artillery batteries unaware. Rangers could be crouching in the forests, waiting to spring an ambush, while musketeers are garrisoned in a nearby house that gives them not only a field of view of an approaching enemy unit, but also a bit of protection as well.
The combination of brutality and panache that characterizes the warfare of this period is well represented here and presented in a way that captures the cinematic brilliance of it all without ever falling back on obvious exaggerations or pretense. It's one thing to appreciate the reloading animation of the artillery crews or the puffs of smoke from musket volleys, but watching soldiers actually get trampled under the hooves of horses while other members of the line vault over fences to get out of the way really brings the battles to life in a way that exceeds even the high standard set by the previous games in the series. The animations are spot on, and the varied appearances of your soldiers lend a real sense of life to the game.

http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/957/957883/empire-total-war-20090227112541186-000.jpg (http://media.pc.ign.com/media/958/958390/img_6504214.html)The sights and sounds of battle are wonderfully recreated here.

Things have improved in terms of gameplay as well. The formation controls work much better now, thanks particularly to the addition of locked groupings that allow you to maintain the relative positions of different units when you move them or change their facing. It's not always easy to place your large groups on the sometimes irregular terrain you'll find in Empire, but the interface makes it easy to make adjustments on the fly. The interface is less obtrusive than in previous games but still offers access to all the same commands for movements, attacks and formation changes. There are also plenty of new commands, like ordering your artillery to fire at the geography itself, so you can take out unoccupied buildings and even fire in front of an enemy formation to stop them from advancing. There's also a slew of new military upgrades you can research that will allow you to build trenches, fire with the bayonets attached, and even build protective walls around your artillery pieces. The battlefield AI shows a keen grasp of all these new features and will definitely keep you on your toes, even when you have the advantage.



hells a comin'

http://pcmedia.ign.com/pc/image/article/957/957883/empire-total-war-20090227112607076.jpg

[Le Goat]

It's released today/tomorrow. Anyone else pick this up?

[Kerjack]

Give me $40 and I will <3

[Le Goat]

Fuck a chick and ill give you three.

[Kerjack]

You'll give me $3?

[Le Goat]

Yes.

[Ocelot]

This looks phenomenal. I'm planning to buy a new PC pretty soon. I think I may pick this up to compliment it.

[Le Goat]

I just started the 'Road to Independence'... wow. It's a wonderful 'tutorial'. It's got a bit of a personal tug 'cause it gets us into the feel of being Washington.


I'll play it a bit later when I get home from work.


Just remember, if you DL it from Steam, shit will take at least 4 hours to download. It's 15gigs. I'd suggest yall buy in store now, or wait a week then d/l via steam.

[Le Goat]

So I got home and decided to play it for an hour or two. 6 hours later, I found myself stunned with its depth. I decided to play as Prussia since I recently found out my family originated from prussia. I found it awesome that it actually started out split into East and West. I had Saxony splitting me so I went ahead and made Hannover a protectorate and took out Saxony's first town that's splitting me. Easy enough. Unfortunately Austria got pissed and made a push. They took a couple towns but I eventually took them back and then proceeded to wipe them the fuck out. I've taken three towns in 4 turns then I went to bed. I love the Tech Tree, its a great time consumer for me. I don't know what to choose! So I just trade for them.

[Ocelot]

I just ordered a new PC to help run this game. My current laptop has overheating problems though it would run it fine otherwise I'm sure.

Current laptop specs:
P4 3.0GHz
2.5GB DDR2 RAM
Nvidia GeForce 6800 Go 256MB

New PC specs:
Intel Core 2 E8400 (6MB,3.0 GHz, 1333FSB)
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs
SLi, Dual nVidia GeForce 9800GT 512MB
I would've gone for a quad core, but do games support all four cores yet? It actually wouldn't have been that much more... but I felt I'd get better performance out of the dual core at 3.0ghz instead of a quad at 2.33.

I imagine this'll be enough to run it without it looking like crap. I can't wait to get back to PC gaming. My overheating issue has been keeping me from it for the longest- but despite that, I'm about to download the demo to play as much as possible before this system shuts down.

I loved Civ IV, and this looks excellent. Can't wait.

[Le Goat]

Well from what i'm hearing this game is only running on one core. I think they're patching it later but I have a a core2 duo, 4gig, 9600m GT and it runs everything on High (there's an ultra on some things) when I push the Auto Detect. I turn down the sky and trees and tweak the Particle, Texture, Building, Ship settings to Ultra. It's all perfect. Little hiccup.



Side note, When I first turned on the game I did the Road to Independence thing but after two episodes I went to the main campaign. Well, after doing all of what I wrote above, today I decided to finish the 'Road...' so I can play as the Colonies. Yeah, well, it erased my game. I went back to the campaign to start a new game since it was erased and promptly got butt-raped. So I went back to 'the road' and stopped after getting a headache.


It's great shit. The only problem I have is when I have an obviously superior force, by at least 3-400 men, I do an auto-resolve to speed things along. BAM, somehow they rape me. It pisses me the fuck off. For the most part it's accurate though

[Ocelot]

Is there a multiplayer component to this game? Coop or competitive?

And do you have to install via steam or if you buy retail you can bypass that. I won't mind either way, but 15gb off steam is quite the wait.

[Le Goat]

yes there's MP and it's competitive (2v2,1v1, I think it goes up to 8 players total)


and you can buy the game in-store but activation is only via Steam.

[Le Goat]

also it's Land OR Sea. Both are fun and challenging

[Le Goat]

holy fuck, I didn't know this view was in the game...

(kid is clearly a no0b with a bit of a shitty card, but still...)

Kx8yuoNIOnc

[Le Goat]

Playing as GB is hard as fuck. I'm goin back to prussia

[Le Goat]

Ey, fuck you pax!


Prussia be my kin and I enjoy fucking up austria, Poland-lithuania and Saxony!

[Pureh]

I demand a patch already!

[Ocelot]

Just got the game yesterday and installing now. Played the demo on my new rig and was very pleased.. I hope I don't run into any of the game breaking bugs I've been hearing about.

[Yelnahs]

skipped the demo, just got it there now. Looking forward to it though I wasn't the big fan of the last one.

[Kerjack]

Two more battles two more crashes :mad:

[Le Goat]

What did you do to make it crash?


There are certain things that cause crashes, the Updates didn't address all of them. THough they did do a bunch. If the saved file is really old, say before the first, then just delete it and start over. Check the forums to see what others are doing and what to avoid.

[Le Goat]

Empire is expanding. With its latest update now available on Steam, Empire: Total War from Sega and The Creative Assembly adds 14 free new units along with numerous updates and game enhancements (complete list below).

Additionally, the first downloadable content for Empire: Total War is now available on Steam. The Elite Units of the West DLC (http://store.steampowered.com/app/10604/) features an *additional* 14 new units from all the major Western factions. Featuring all new infantry and cavalry units, equipped with the best weapons and having undergone the most rigorous of training, this DLC is the perfect addition to your Empire's army. Expand your Empire with even more options on the battlefield as you improve your tactics and defeat your enemies.


Empire: Total War Update 1.3 Updates

This update includes the implementation of multi-threading in the game for multi-core processors and many optimizations that will also help increase performance on single core machines. Players will see huge benefits through increased frame rates particularly in land and naval battles.


Units


14 Free Units have been included in this patch, adding a large amount of diversity to the playable factions and the armies the player will face. These units replace 'generic' equivalents giving each faction a unique identity on the battlefield. Here is a description of each free unit available in the update:



Prussian Grenadiers -Wearing a distinctive brass fronted mitre cap, the Prussian Grenadiers are an explosive force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
Spanish Guardias de infateria - These elite guard infantry are charged with protecting the monarch and are a potent force on the battlefield.
Swedish lifeguard horse - This cavalry regiment forms part of the monarchs' household guard. Superbly drilled, they act as a shock force on the battlefield.
Holland Horse Guard -Armed with heavy cavalry sabres, these disciplined cavalrymen represent the elite of the army.
Prussian Garde Du Corp- The Prussian Garde Du Corp are a replacement for the Prussian standard Household cavalry. These heavy horse shock troops are best used to break enemy lines and overrun enemy positions. With a strong charge and fearsome attack, these riders make short work of those who would oppose a Prussian monarch.
Prussian Life guard - The Prussian life guards are equipped similarly to line infantrymen. However their uniforms are altogether more splendid, marking them out as a superior force, in arrogance if nothing else. They do a good job as garrison troops and are dedicated to the crown.
Russian Grenadiers - This new Russian unit is great for assaults and their grenades pack a mighty punch!
Spanish Guardias De Corp -The Spanish Guardias De Corp replace household cavalry for Spain. With almost unbreakable morale, on the charge they are almost unstoppable.
Spanish Grenadiers - These are a replacement for the standard Spanish Grenadiers with a distinctive bearskin hat to mark them out as exemplary on the battlefield.
Swedish 'Lifeguards of foot' - These are a highly trained replacement for the standard Swedish guard. They are often used as a force in a system that defends a monarchy and can be relied upon for utter loyalty and deadly accuracy in the field. Their professionalism is reflected in their fearsome battle reputation.
Holland Guard - The Holland Guards from the United Provinces are superior line infantry units. Carrying smoothbore muskets, they were traditionally chosen to protect the royal family and have an incredibly high morale, often making them the last troops to break in a fight.
Scots - The Scots are a Highland ex-patriate infantry used by the United Provinces, renowned for their deadly charge.
Swiss Infantry - Very disciplined infantry of the United Provinces with quick reload and excellent marksmanship.
Mamelukes - Mamelukes are fearless light horsemen, deadly when deployed against a broken or unsupported enemy.


Additionally the Spanish nation has had a new uniform design to better reflect its historical look.


Audio


Sound loading has been made asynchronous, so heavy disc access is reduced to a minimum. This makes loading times faster and reduces any instances of 'stuttering.' Unit group sounds have also been improved, for more realistic group movement. The primary sound library (Miles DLL) has been updated to stop occasional clicking. And we've added more sound variation for unit deaths and musket fire.


Campaign



Several crash bug fixes in saves, movement, agents and logic.
Various optimizations have been made to AI and path systems to reduce the campaign map turn times.
When the pirates are destroyed and re-emerge they now maintain a status of at war with all and are unable to enter into diplomatic negotiations.
Added small ships on domestic trade routes from the trade nodes to home regions moving in the correct direction, i.e. with the flow of trade.
The AI should now no longer repeatedly sign a diplomatic agreement and then break it the next turn. Treaties are more valuable and adhered to.
We've fixed some border trade agreements allowing greater numbers of bordering factions to properly trade with one another.
Movement arrows now reflect the range of the selected units, not the whole army/navy.
AI will no longer counter-offer and ask for more money than the player has available.
Fixed commerce raiding taking money from blockaded trade routes.
Fixed navies getting stuck when forced to retreat from ports (tactical retreat).
Fixed rare inability to attack certain ports.
Fixed middle mouse button camera drag stopping working occasionally.
Made emergent factions be at war with the faction they emerged against if that faction is human.
Fixed various movement extent crashes.
Changed background income for minor factions.
Fixed diplomatic relations with emergent factions.
Tactical withdrawal will now always leave armies on the landmass containing the settlement of a region.
Changed war score system to make the AI more likely to accept peace.
Fixed crash when embarking and disembarking armies at ports.
Fixed trade ships not being correctly registered in trade nodes after splitting forces.
Fixed government change diplomatic effect.
Improved commerce raiding display on trade screen.
Faction specific text is now used in diplomacy.
Prevent players cancelling the movement of fleeing agents.


Balance changes

Units



Charge bonus generally increased across the board for all units and melee defence reduced.
Greater diversification of stats between different unit types designed to emphasise differences and improve balance.
Redone costs for all units for multiplayer to improve game balance which better reflects the actual battlefield worth of each unit.
Mob formation added in for Native American, irregular and some skirmisher units.
Spot distance for light infantry, skirmishers, irregulars, light cavalry and missile cavalry increased allowing them to spot hidden units at longer distances.
Russian line infantry stats have been boosted to allow them to compete more with other faction's line infantry.
Movement speed of all unit types reduced by 10%.
Ammo for light infantry increased to 20, line to 15.


Land battle morale


Charge morale bonus reduced from 10 to 4.
Recent casualties, extended casualties and total casualties morale penalties increased slightly for higher percentages.
Rear and flank exposed morale penalties increased.


Fatigue


Fatigue penalty for melee reduced from 18 per tick to 10.
Running fatigue penalty for heavy and light cavalry reduced from -3/-2 to -2/-1.


Artillery Changes


Calibration area for cannons and howitzers reduced. Accuracy of non-round shot shot types reduced to compensate.
Muzzle velocity of round shot for cannons increased to make them fire lower and bounce more, accuracy also increased.
Lethality of shrapnel pieces reduced to match canister shot, range also reduced to 350.
Load time for special shot types for howitzers increased slightly, and range reduced to 350.
Calibration area for mortars increased, accuracy of round shot increased to compensate. Reload time increased slightly.
Accuracy of 18 lbr horse guard artillery restored to 65.
Hit points of gun trains increased to 50, all guns and caissons to 25.