Playable factions

[Martok]

While CA hasn't confirmed for sure that there will now be 12 playable factions in ETW, it does sound increasingly likely. So given that, which factions are you hoping will be playable?

Also, what faction (presuming that it is, in fact, playable) are you most looking forward to trying out first?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Note: Just a preemptive warning to keep discussion civil. I will not allow the thread to degenerate into a nationalistic ("my country is better than yours") pissing contest.

My list (in alphabetical order):

Austria
Dutch
England/Britain
France
Ottoman Empire
Poland-Lithuania
Portugal
Prussia
Russia
Spain
Sweden
United States*


* I'm not particularly eager to play my own country, but it's already confirmed as playable in the main campaign, so I might as well include it.

[Monk]

* I'm not particularly eager to play my own country, but it's already confirmed as playable in the main campaign, so I might as well include it.

I have to say I'm in the same boat with you there, Martok. I'm sure i'll get around to playing them, but they are very low on my priorities.

The total war series has somehow always lended itself to me playing as the English if the setting allowed for it, in MTW they were my first faction I ever beat the game with and with M2 they were my first choice as well (and still are). I just like the idea of an island nation and with the importance of sea-battles going up ten fold in Empire I'm sure playing as Britain will only be more fun.

After England/Britain then without a doubt Russia. No real reason here other then I think they're cool. That's not a lame reason is it?

[rajpoot]

I'll bet anything that they'll have one of the Indian factions as playable. The Mugals most likely, as they were the largest (atleast when the game begins).
ofcourse they might have Marathas or the Kingdom of mysore, but I'm dead sure that they'll have one native faction here.

[SaFe]

Well, Great Britain sounds interesting just for the reason i think they, along with the US (13 Colonies or however they name them) are most flashed out, but i'm not so keen on naval battles, so i like a thrilling european war. I fear though that Austria will not be included as playable faction, which will make no sense at all.
Prussia perhaps just to see how CA displays their military based government and naturally the French in no particular order.

Well, "my country" Baden is surely not playable and i'm almost sure it is also not included in the 50 nations.

[Quintus.JC]

I'll bet anything that they'll have one of the Indian factions as playable. The Mugals most likely, as they were the largest (atleast when the game begins).
ofcourse they might have Marathas or the Kingdom of mysore, but I'm dead sure that they'll have one native faction here.

Definity the Mugals, there's too many European factions as it is already.

My history around that period isn't great, but I think we should get at least one Italian faction to be Playable, Kingdom of Piedmont perhaps?

[Ferret]

What a coincidence, I've just been playing the Mughals in EU3, I'd never even heard of them before that, now they're everywhere!

But yeah, at least one native Indian nation should be playable, in fact I hope it will be like M2, where the ones they said were playable were just the ones that were unlocked at the beginning and actually most nations were playable.

[woad&fangs]

I'll probably play as Prussia first(in the distant future when I have a computer capable of playing E:TW) and then unlock or mod the game so I can play as the Barbary Coast Pirates. After that I'll play as one of the big colonial powerhouses(Portugal, Spain, France, England) and finally I'll get around to playing the Mughals or Iroquois.

[PBI]

I wonder if the "non-playable" factions will have the same sort of non-conventional victory conditions (prestige, trade, Republic etc) that CA have said some playable factions will have?

Furthermore, I wonder how moddable they'll be?

As for who I intend to play first, it's gonna have to be Great Britain. My country is, after all, better than yours. Plus, probably the best placed to get going with the overseas empire right away.

Though if the French faction features the Marseillaise at some point that plan may well change.

[Jolt]

If I come around to buying the game (I really need a new cpu, hard drive & graphics card), the first nation I'll play will be Portugal. If Portugal isn't featured in it, then I won't even bother buying the game, since I won't be endorsing games who replace colonial empires with a handful of british colonies.

I would agree to everything of your list, but I'd replace Poland with the Mughals. Since the Poland Cover is already been shown, I only fear Portugal will be left out. (And CA loses a customer.)

[Megas Methuselah]

Portugal is like an important nation in the colonial period, isn't it? I doubt CA would go so far as to exclude it... Unless by the time of the game's starting period it was already past its prime?

[SwordsMaster]

It'll be Spain, Russia and France for me, probably followed at a later stage with Prussia and the Ottomans. You see, replaying history is not exactly fun. While fixing historical mistakes is something I do enjoy. So perhaps if Spain and France had won the war of 1700, Europe's landscape would have been forever changed. You never know. Or if Sweden knew when to stop in the northern war. Etc. Ad infinitum. Too many things to play, too little time

[anders]

prussia first for a united germany. then russia. as a scandinavian(norwegian) i`ll of course have to try sweden. also poland has always been one of my faves in medieval/m2, and has to be tried out pretty early.

as a norwegian, I would of course have loved to play as denmark/norway and bring down the mighty blockading british men of war with guerilla gunboats along the coastline.

[Jolt]

Portugal is like an important nation in the colonial period, isn't it? I doubt CA would go so far as to exclude it... Unless by the time of the game's starting period it was already past its prime?

It was during this time that Portugal expanded greatly inland on Brazil (Surpassing the Treaty of Tordesillas line), eventually leading to the discovery of large gold mines (Gold production peeks at 1750, relatively halfway to the date which the game covers), which flooded Portugal with wealth (Though badly used, but that's for the player to change.) Furthermore, Portugal still gaining Spanish Upper La Plata colony, using the Treaty of Tordesillas as an argument. This besides also having colonies in Africa (Which only British and the Dutch also had), and colonies in India (Which only all colonial powers had except the Spanish.)

[PBI]

This is the problem I see with Portugal, weren't most of their colonies in places that won't be on the Empire map (South America, Africa, South East Asia)? I suspect India is going to become something of a microcosm for all the colonialism that went on outside of North America.

Speaking of which, what on Earth are the poor old Spanish and Dutch going to be left with?

[rajpoot]

I admit that I don't know much about Dutch colonies, but I remember reading Washington Irving's stories, and that always made it sound like the Dutch had settlements around the Hudson river.......Ichabod Crane anyone?

[Martok]

PBI: A good point about the Portuguese colonies. If South America isn't on the map, then we won't get Brazil.

What's not clear, however, is whether South America is or is not included in the game map. I've yet to CA confirm this either way.

I admit that I don't know much about Dutch colonies, but I remember reading Washington Irving's stories, and that always made it sound like the Dutch had settlements around the Hudson river.......Ichabod Crane anyone?

The Dutch did indeed have a colony here, originally called New Amsterdam. Today, it's slightly better known as New York City (was eventually ceded to the English).

[lars573]

Definity the Mugals, there's too many European factions as it is already.

My history around that period isn't great, but I think we should get at least one Italian faction to be Playable, Kingdom of Piedmont perhaps?

Dutchy of Savoy you mean. They didn't become a Kingdom till after they got Sardinia. But in 1700 Italian factions would be the republic of Venice, Dutchy of Savoy, the Papacy, Tuscany (which I doubt will be included), and the republic of Genoa. The kingdoms of Sardinia, Sicily, and Naples are Spainish. As is the Dutchy of Milan.

[lars573]

I admit that I don't know much about Dutch colonies, but I remember reading Washington Irving's stories, and that always made it sound like the Dutch had settlements around the Hudson river.......Ichabod Crane anyone?

They controled parts of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1700 (look at the campagin map shots and you'll see that). And New York was a Dutch colony in the 17th century. After the Anglo Dutch war in the 1670's (I think) the English got New Amsterdam (New York) and one of the Dutch cities in India (IIRC). The Dutch got Aruba, and the British territory in what is now Indonesia.

Now as for the Portuguese they will have territory on the map outside Europe. You see the first Europeans to set up trading factories in India were Portuguese and Dutch. The Portuguese first arrived at Goa in 1498 in the person of Vasco De Gama. Whether CA makes a Goa province under Portguese rule is another story. Goa is one of the few territories Portugal keeps after the Napoleonic wars (they held onto their African ones, Timor, and Macau). They only lost it in 1961 after India sent in 40000 troops.

Map time!

[Gustav II Adolf]

Austria
Dutch
England/Britain
France
Ottoman Empire
Poland-Lithuania
Portugal
Prussia
Russia
Spain
Sweden
United States*


Well, I'm quite afraid which countries will be left out. There is supposed to be several playable factions outside Europe but i think this list is superb. Which of these won't make it?

I would play Sweden first then Prussia or the Dutch.





G

[Jolt]

[QUOTE=lars573;2002124]Goa is one of the few territories Portugal keeps after the Napoleonic wars (they held onto their African ones, Timor, and Macau). They only lost it in 1961 after India sent in 40000 troops.

Eh?

Portugal lost no territory during the Napoleonic wars... (Actually, we lost a "Beyond Guadiana River" city and it's surroundings to Spain, named Olivença)

Other than that, Portugal lost no territory. (During the Napoleonic wars, Portugal conquered French Guyana, but was forced to give it back.)

[lars573]

Brazil.

[Jolt]

Brazil wasn't lost during the Napoleonic Wars. Brazil declared its independence in 1821, which, if the game lasts only up to 1820, it won't even cover it.

[Lusitani]

[QUOTE=Jolt;2002221]

Goa is one of the few territories Portugal keeps after the Napoleonic wars (they held onto their African ones, Timor, and Macau). They only lost it in 1961 after India sent in 40000 troops.

Eh?

Portugal lost no territory during the Napoleonic wars... (Actually, we lost a "Beyond Guadiana River" city and it's surroundings to Spain, named Olivença)

Other than that, Portugal lost no territory. (During the Napoleonic wars, Portugal conquered French Guyana, but was forced to give it back.)

Exactly!

OLIVENÇA É NOSSA!!!!!!!!!!

[Martok]

Austria
Dutch
England/Britain
France
Ottoman Empire
Poland-Lithuania
Portugal
Prussia
Russia
Spain
Sweden
United States*


Well, I'm quite afraid which countries will be left out. There is supposed to be several playable factions outside Europe but i think this list is superb. Which of these won't make it?

Yeah, now that I think about it, I believe I remember CA saying that the Mugals would in fact be playable. So india will be happy.

However, you're right in that it does then beg the question of which one of the factions above will be cut from the "playable" list? I wish it would be the U.S., but of course we already know that's not going to happen.

[Sheogorath]

I, personally, will be playing the Duchy of Courland as my first faction, after I alter the files to make it playable ;)

[Tex3393]

pherhaps when they say 50 factions,they mean to say that 20 or 30 may be emergent facttions that only appear when a province of reigion rebels.

[Megas Methuselah]

That is very likely, though you must remember that there is still numerous land not under European colonial control.

[rajpoot]

Yeah, now that I think about it, I believe I remember saying that the Mugals would in fact be playable. So india will be happy.

It matters little though, I always break the game with the British kingdom. After that, I look elsewhere.
Be the same this time. Then I'll get the mod to unlock all factions and play the Rajpoot States if they include them as a faction

[Sheogorath]

It matters little though, I always break the game with the British kingdom. After that, I look elsewhere.
Be the same this time. Then I'll get the mod to unlock all factions and play the Rajpoot States if they include them as a faction

On the campaign map in the other thread, it looks as though the Maratha States were a single entity. Even if they arent 'playable' they should be easy to mod into playability.

The question is, of course, whether or not it'll be worth it. I mean, they may end up just having two units or something, along the lines of 'Indian Rabble' and 'Horrible Indian Musketeers that Arent Worth Building'.
CA doesn't exactly have a sterling record with the more easterly factions >_>

[Megas Methuselah]

Don't bring my hopes crashing down like that, man. Even if you are right, there'll probably be a mod which should at least make a proper unit roster, if there won't already be one in existance.