Sieges and castles heaven

[KumaRatta Yamamoto]

An excerpt from:
http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=1363

"Medieval: Total War™ features spectacular real-time sieges.
Mangonels, Trebuchets, Siege Cannons, Catapults and many more ancient siege weapons can pound castle walls, towers and keeps into the dust.
Fortresses now boast extra fortifications, including: ditches, palisades and ring walls.
Castle towers can be upgraded to house archers, artillery and siege weapons.
Buildings and fortifications reflect the architectural styles of three different cultures: Islamic, Byzantine and Western European. "


Talk about more tactical fun...Complete siege warfare!!!!!!! Take your time EA and Implement this!!!! You must!!!!

[Dark Phoenix]

Kuma EA is not involved remember.

------------------
"DP is correct" - Shiro

I meant CA DOH!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by KumaRatta Yamamoto (edited 11-29-2001).]

[Whitey]

what? you mean it might actually get done?

I hope they make it look good, I can see the Shogun engine having difficulty with blowing buildings up, I really hope they get this right...

------------------
"Mon centre cède du terrain, ma droite se replie. Situation excellente. J'attaque!"
- Foch

[theforce]

I really thing that stw engine should be changed to something else. Another more advanced engine or at least the same but much tweaked. I mean l want graphics like Ground Control in landscape and castle detail. The units must be in 2d for the computers to be able to play the game but they must in better quality. If they make this game as l imagine it to be then it WILL kick ass and it will be the best RTS ever.

------------------
Don't use only honour, use theforce, too.
http://lod.nipogames.com/default.html

[Dark Phoenix]

Force I want teh game next year. http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/wink.gif Besides they are not going to retire a game after 1 game. Graphics arent that important anyway for a deep strategy game, they are more important for a C&C clone. http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/tongue.gif

------------------
"DP is correct" - Shiro

[clink]

Darkie, I'm one who is a sucker for realy good graphics,I won't purchase a game unless there at a high standard. I can't see why we can't hold the lads at CA to ensure very good quality graphics and good deep strategy game all wraped up in one package. We would'nt want to encourage slackness on one side to sacrafice the other. I'll pay the bucks for an allround very good game.

------------------
TeuTonic

[Dark Phoenix]

Well they dont matter to me really that much. Probably because if they were top of the line I couldnt play the game.

------------------
"DP is correct" - Shiro

[Khan7]

They are friggin top of the line. Please, some techie come in here and explain how the Shogun engine shames video cards of mediocre performance. Heck, they had to drop the idea of horse archers firing while galloping so that the game wouldn't be limited to the top 5% of computer owners.

If you aren't happy with Shogun graphics, the game wasn't meant for you.

Of course that's just my arrogant opinion, so please brush me off if that makes you feel better http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

Matt

[Dark Phoenix]

Well Khan I can play on my 8mb TNT card.

Who would of thought that you are arrogant. http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/wink.gif

------------------
"DP is correct" - Shiro

[theforce]

Well l liked the first graphics of Shogun cause the landscape was cool for Japan and the 2D units were ok since it will require a monster PC to have those soldiers drawn on 3d. All l want is more detailed landscape and castles and cool artilary effects shashing the walls. It will add to the game a lot.
Also more people would buy the game and then the online community will be bigger


------------------
Don't use only honour, use theforce, too.
http://lod.nipogames.com/default.html

[KumaRatta Yamamoto]

"Takes his broom and brushes off Khan"
"Sigh of relief, Kuma seems to feel better"

The tactical battle engine of the TW series is the best right now.

I happy with the graphics as they are right now, but i am sure that they will add some cool "eye candy" for our enjoyment, like i'm sure this game will need to run on a PC with a lot of "active memory" (sorry can't find the english technical term) and a recent very good video card.

One of the things that excite right now about the next installement is that it looks like they will add even more to the tactical battle side with sieges. "Fortresses now boast extra fortifications, including: ditches, palisades and ring walls.
Castle towers can be upgraded to house archers, artillery and siege weapons."

If fully implemented this will add a whole new aspect to the game.


[This message has been edited by KumaRatta Yamamoto (edited 11-30-2001).]

[Obake]

Got to stick my nose into this thread as well since those screenshots have had me salivating since the links were posted.

First off, I want to once again remind everyone (even though KumaRatta just did it), that the starting point for Medieval is the current incarnation of the TotalWar engine as demonstrated by Shogun! It would be riciculous to consider that CA would start from scratch re-building that engine for a new game. I have no doubt that we haven't even scratched the surface of what it's capable although I think we're gonna get to find out! http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

Clink and Force, are either of you disappointed with the graphics in Shogun? Sure they used sprites instead of 3D renders for the units, but as Khan said, without that decision having been made the only people who would have been able to play the game were people with at least a 32Mb vid card along with the proccessor RAM and monitor to take advantage of it.

Don't forget that games are manufactured for the masses, and the masses don't all have 2Ghz boxes with dual 64Mb DDR GeForce3 vid cards and dual 21" Trinitron digital monitors to play on! http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/tongue.gif (although I'd take one if someone's willing to give me one)

I have no doubt that the requirements for Medieval will be higher than they are for Shogun, but the lower end of the computing spectrum is still where the majority of the potential customer base lie.

Like Ratta said, there's bound to be a lot of "Eye Candy" for us. Hell, STW had birds along with the rolling smoke of guns firing. How many other games have had that as an integral and useful part of a tactical game? It's only going to get better people.

Now....... on to the thought I had that made me want to post in the first place!

I'm going to do some rampant speculation here and throw some jet fuel onto the tactical castle battle thread, but has anyone considered the possible implications this will have for MP games???? http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif

None of us have been overly thrilled with Shogun's castle battles. Now picture THIS in your mind.................

You have just joined a 4x4 castle assault online. You and your allies are the English and your opponents are the French, or maybe you're the Saracens and they are Templars in Palestine; pick what you want. As you go into army selection you know that a couple of your opponents will be holed up in the castle with a missile heavy army, not to mention the money they spent on defensive weaponry, while the others will deploy outside the castle walls.

You and your allies have discussed what to bring during selection and each of you has an assortment of units along with the odd ballistae, mangonel and trebuchet. You had all agreed that the person in the middle would select the heavy seige weapons in order to open up the castle walls quickly while allowing the rest of you the flexibility to deal with what is on the battlefield and also to storm in and wipe out the defenders once the walls are breached.

You feel supremely confident that whatever happens, you will prevail as the last of the competitors finishes selection and you move to the battlefield...............

------------------
Obake

Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.

[theforce]

I have a GF3 and l want the game to look top :P

------------------
Don't use only honour, use theforce, too.
http://lod.nipogames.com/default.html

[KumaRatta Yamamoto]

Yeah Obake maybe it will finally interest me more in MP, since Hecose offered us his Campaign editor, i'm having way too much fun in SP..... (You see it's not my fault http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/biggrin.gif)

In any case , SP or MP, experiencing near "simulation" quality siege warfare is one of the aspects that i look forward to.

Take your time do it right CA!!!!!

[Shiro]

Sieges shouldn't be easy though. Trebuchets shouldn't be able to just knock down a castle wall like it was made of paper. Castles should hold up a little bit. I really want to be able to build up a castle to a point where it's almost unattackable.

[Catiline]

Hopefully sieges will be just that, and not castle assaults. Whilst i'm all for battlefield technology handled right, castles simply weren't demolished that easily. I'm hoping seiges will require greater economic outlay and risk for the beseigers, and not just the besieged as now in STW. The ruins we see in modern castle, in England at least, are he results of deliberate destructions in the gunpowder period after castles were taken, htey were slighted to prevent their further use, not destroyed in action.

------------------
Oderint dum metuant

[Sir Kuma of The Org]

I must agree, that's what i hope for. The cost for laying a siege for the attacker most be apparent also and the castles must hold up a bit.

If so, this will add a lot to the game tactically and have an impact on decisions we make on the strategic map adding depth to the game.