3D Units and Faction Info Over At the Official Empire Site

[PBI]

Too bad we couldn't do the same with land units, too. That'd be sweet, to sort of see how far a unit came from when it was first trained...

I'm still slightly keeping my fingers crossed on this, though since they haven't announced that this feature will be in, I suppose we should assume it won't be.

Then again, there will be the "special" units in the limited edition which could work something like this, but presumably they will simply be separate unit types rather than named versions of regular units.

[Polemists]

I am plesantly surprised. When MTW2 was gearing up all we got were the factions everyone basically *Knew* for information. Byzantine Empire, France, Holy Roman Empire, Papacy (who you couldn't even play).

This time I was sure they'd roll out the France, England, Germany, 13 colonies band wagon.

While I have no intention to play Sweden my first time, I do plan at some point to play them. I am glad to see they have a nice history, and backround. I can only hope they are more fleshed out then poor Hungary of MTW2 (Oh my militia is in horrible uniforms, that's how I know they are hungarian, and we have battlefield assassins who are useless).

With all this info I wonder what they will do in early jan when the videos are done and most of factions listed?

Maybe they will just hope everyone will focus on christmas until late Jan and a demo comes out haha.

[PBI]

Hang on a moment. The article on the Fifth-Rate describes it as a single-decked ship (and makes much of how this is a big advantage in heavy weather), but the ship in the picture appears to have two gun decks. Huh?

[Sir Beane]

Hang on a moment. The article on the Fifth-Rate describes it as a single-decked ship (and makes much of how this is a big advantage in heavy weather), but the ship in the picture appears to have two gun decks. Huh?

That's a very good point. I though something on the Frigate model looked off. Maybe they uploaded the wrong one?

One concern I have at the moment is that all the ships are going to look too similar, so far none of the ships in the screenshots have stood out paticularly. I'd like to see somevariation in paintjobs and decoration between ships.

[Polemists]

I agree. I mean if they can do unit randomization why not boat randomization.

You know like 4-5 ship designs and just have it repeat throughout the unit. Like mtw2 did with land units.

[Fisherking]

Generally, a frigate is described as a 3-masted vessel, with square sails on all masts, and carrying guns on at least one covered gun deck.

The key here gentlemen is a covered gun deck. Frigates carried between 24 and 44 cannon but this didn’t count carronade. So I think the American 44s actually had about 52 prices on board.

The explanation was just a bit too brief but the picture is correct

[Sir Beane]

Looks like we have another update, this time a building.


Trading Port

Shipping goods of any kind by land is difficult and expensive. Any item that has to travel more than a few miles goes by ship wherever possible.

Most roads are simply terrible, and bulk cargoes (such as coal) must go by ship anyway: it is the only way of moving goods cheaply and relatively quickly. It also makes the whole world a marketplace, even if the customers are not sure what to make of the goods they are being sent (British merchants insisted on exporting heavy woollen cloth to India for years, even though there was no obvious market for it).

Coastal trade can also be very profitable. For example, a “cheese fleet” did nothing but shuttle back and forth between London and the northwest of England, bringing Cheshire cheeses to the London market. By a happy accident of geology, Cheshire had rock salt mines that provided a preservative for the local cheese to make the sea journey to London. Although salty, this was undoubtedly healthier than most food on a gentleman’s table in the 18th Century!

[Sol Invictus]

This is like Chinese water torture. The drip-drip of info is driving me crazy.

[Majd il-Romani]

Soon the Ottomans will rule all

[Polemists]

So my plan is clear, I must find a way to commandeer the infamous cheese fleet.

[Martok]

We've got a new faction featured: The Ottoman Empire!

The Ottoman Empire

The history of Europe over the last centuries can be seen as the history of the Ottoman Empire and a few annoying, small nations that thwarted Ottoman ambitions. Ottoman power is unmatched in its extent and grandeur, straddling the traditional trade route between Europe and Asia. The Ottomans also have power over the whole of the Mediterranean coast of North Africa.

This Turkish, Islamic empire supplanted the Orthodox Byzantine Empire in the 15th Century and since then it has had a continuing, if not always whole-hearted, ambition to expand further westwards into the heart of Europe. In living memory Turkish armies have reached the gates of Vienna, Austria, only to be turned back by the steadfast defenders. Turkish expansionism has always been a part of palace politics: when a Sultan has felt secure at home he has attacked Europe; when a Sultan has felt threatened by his Janissary military commanders, he has sent them to attack.

The Ottomans face challenges but within these are great opportunities. The army and navy look old fashioned compared to those of some states, but the soldiers of the Sultan are numerous indeed. Strategically, the Empire is in a potentially strong position: the Balkans are a natural bastion to defend Istanbul, and a possible springboard for conquest into central Europe. There may even be valuable allies to be found among Austria’s rivals: the authority of the Pope to stop his European flock making treaties with infidels is all but gone. Control of the Mediterranean would allow a Sultan to do as he please with the smaller European powers. And to the east, the route to India offers the chance of riches.

[Sheogorath]

Russia and Austria are 'small' nations?

[Polemists]

If they wants a piece of Austria bring it on

[Sir Beane]

Here's a new technology that everyone knew would be in the game anyway. CA don't seem keen to release new info.

Square Formation

A defensive posture for musket-armed infantry units, creating an impassable wall of steel to fend off cavalry attacks.

As the name suggests, this is four two- or three-rank lines of infantry arranged as a hollow square, with everyone facing outwards. It is a version of the obsolete pike “hedgehog”, making any cavalry charge a suicidal exercise. Bayonets are fixed to muskets when appropriate and possible.

Forming a square requires good order in the ranks. The outer companies of an infantry unit in line have to “fold back” to form the sides and back of the square, without losing cohesion in the process. The unit colours take up station in the centre, a final rallying point should the square be broken. It is also possible to form larger squares with more than one unit.

The square is, of course, a tempting target for enemy artillery. Whether it is better to form square in the face of cavalry and risk an artillery barrage, or stay in line to mitigate artillery fire and risk a cavalry charge can be a tactical conundrum!

Theoreticians argued infantry could defeat a cavalry charge by firepower alone. Brigadier General Richard Kane (later Military Governor of Gibraltar) remarked, “If a body of Foot have but Resolution and keep their Order, there is no Body of Horse dare venture within their Fire…” but for him that fire was to be delivered from a square, not a line. He was arguing for discipline as the key to success.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

For the history buffs: wouldn't the square be useless without bayonets? Or at least not more effective than a line?

[CBR]

For the history buffs: wouldn't the square be useless without bayonets? Or at least not more effective than a line?

IMO it would still work as the cavalry do not have an open flank to attack. So the infantry will still feel safe in such a formation and the cavalry will still have to deal with a salvo.


CBR

[Mailman653]

For the history buffs: wouldn't the square be useless without bayonets? Or at least not more effective than a line?

I think the first row or two would be keeled with bayonets facing out while the people behind them would be standing providing a constant rate of fire so no matter what part of the square thee attacking cavalry is facing it would meet cold steel or a bullet.

[Sir Beane]

There is a new faction up at the Official Site. To be honest I was completely shocked when I saw it. Great Britain has been confirmed as a playable faction! That's right! Great Britain! I love it when CA throws us a few big suprises. Honestly, who saw this coming?

Great Britain

Great Britain is not a natural creation, but the marriage of separate kingdoms and peoples. The new nation has been through a century of unparalleled turbulence: an unwelcome joining of Scotland and England; religious strife; civil wars; an executed king; military dictatorship; a populist monarch restored; and the overthrow of a second king. Less than 15 years ago, the hated Catholic James II was forced into exile in the Glorious Revolution and a Protestant monarchy restored. A short, vicious war in Ireland put paid to any chance of a Catholic Stuart restoration. Nonetheless, the exiled James Stuart has sympathisers, the Jacobites, throughout Britain. Despite – or perhaps because of – this turbulent history, Britain is an engine driving the scientific and cultural advancement of northern Europe: turmoil fuels creativity.

As an island nation, Britons have always looked to, as Shakespeare puts it:

“…the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, as a moat defensive to a house…”

Britain’s strength lies at sea, but in trade and colonisation as much as naval power. Trade taxes pay for the navy; the navy allows unhindered trade. The English Channel keeps the French at bay and, to a lesser extent, the Dutch. With Dutchman William III on the British throne, there is ambivalence in the traditional rivalry with the Netherlands!

The English and Scots like to think that they can sleep safe, that no foreign invader or tyranny need worry them. They are partly right, but only as long as there is no centralised Continental power. A nation that can unite the resources of Europe will surely crush the dream of Albion. This, then, is the fundamental aim of Britain: to side with the weak in Europe against the strong – and steal as many overseas possessions as possible while doing it!

[Martok]

There is a new faction up at the Official Site. To be honest I was completely shocked when I saw it. Great Britain has been confirmed as a playable faction! That's right! Great Britain! I love it when CA throws us a few big suprises. Honestly, who saw this coming?

While I expected that one of the more well-known nations like Spain or Brandenberg/Prussia would be the next faction to be revealed, I will admit I didn't think Britain would be confirmed until farther down the line. I'd thought that CA would first want to torture their UK fans for a while longer....

[Polemists]

ah yes a company who lives in England and has put a Brittish faction in every game except shogun, who would have thunk it

This a very useful link tho, hopefully the first page of this thread keeps getting updated.

So since i am unfamiliar with british history, I take it during this time frame Ireland is not part of Great Britain ?

[Martok]

So since i am unfamiliar with british history, I take it during this time frame Ireland is not part of Great Britain ?

Ireland had long been under English/British rule by 1700.

[PBI]

Strictly speaking Ireland was never part of Great Britain. The term "Great Britain" refers to the main island of the British Isles, consisting of England, Wales and Scotland; the official name of the UK is the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". The term "Britain", meanwhile, refers only to England and Wales. If it seems confusing, don't worry, many British people get it wrong too, using the terms "UK", "Great Britain", "Britain" interchangeably even though they are all technically different entities. Occasionally people do even simply use "England" as a catch-all term to refer to the whole of the UK, which really winds up the Scots and Welsh.

I believe at the time the game starts Ireland was essentially a British colony like any other, rather than an integral part of the UK; Ireland only became officially part of the UK due to the Act of Union in 1801 and remained part of the Union until Irish independance in 1922. I'm not sure if and how the Acts of Union with Ireland and Scotland will be portrayed in game; the Scottish Act of Union was in 1707, just after the game starts, so I imagine it will be in in some form.

I do wonder, actually, whether there will be any distinction between land that is part of your actual nation and colonies/conquered territory? It would be a bit odd if the population of India were able to vote in British elections, for example (not that most of the population of Britain were able to vote at this point either). Would it be possible for me to pass an Act of Union with the American colonies, for example, forestalling an outright revolution and granting the colonists representation in Parliament in return? I am very interested to see how government and ministers will work in Empire.

[Polemists]

Would it be possible for me to pass an Act of Union with the American colonies, for example, forestalling an outright revolution and granting the colonists representation in Parliament in return?

That sounds very interesting, while I don't think CA will add that much detail I'd like to see some mention of the Acts of Union, they sound rather integral part of the timeframe.

Sorry I don't know my Ireland, Britain, UK stuff. It's all very confusing to those of us not born there.

Wonder if Australia will play any part. Since Australia is not on the map I was curious if it'd have any financial influence.

Wikipedia says it was founded as a penal colony in 1770 which is kind of smack dab in middle of this time frame. Who knows, maybe British will have option to send prisoners there after they quell revolts

[Arcana]

Wonder if Australia will play any part. Since Australia is not on the map I was curious if it'd have any financial influence.

Wikipedia says it was founded as a penal colony in 1770 which is kind of smack dab in middle of this time frame. Who knows, maybe British will have option to send prisoners there after they quell revolts

Heh, maybe the Special Forces Edition will have "Kangaroo Gunners" or something...





What? It's no more crazy than Incendiary Pigs! =P

[Antagonist]

Woah. Who saw that one coming?

Ireland had long been under English/British rule by 1700.

Strictly speaking Ireland was an independent Kingdom up until 1801, but since the King of Ireland was also the King of Great Britain, and the Irish Parliament was effectively subordinate to the British one (and was grossly unrepresentative anyway) this was largely a matter of form. It was technically independent, but as it had little power (and particularly no foreign policy or military) of its own it makes sense to depict it as controlled by Britain. It'd be nice if the description mentioned this though.

What's interesting about the Ireland issue is that questions about it here prompted CA to confirm that:

Ireland is an 'emergent nation' that will only appear if there is a successful rebellion in the region Ireland (successful meaning the rebel army captures the region capital, Dublin). If so, Ireland establishes itself as a faction.

...which is interesting. One wonders how many such potential emergent factions there will be. I assume the United States will be one of them, but no doubt there will be others too... Belgium? Norway? Greece?

Antagonist

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I wonder/hope you can finance them, too.

[Fisherking]

Interesting! I guess since the Jacobites are mentioned this also holds true for them.

I wonder if GB’s overseas passions then try to invade or if they change over to the new King?

Just as a side light, Ben Franklin held talks with the Stuarts just in case the Colonies wanted a king. I wonder how that would play out?

[Martok]

Strictly speaking Ireland was an independent Kingdom up until 1801, but since the King of Ireland was also the King of Great Britain, and the Irish Parliament was effectively subordinate to the British one (and was grossly unrepresentative anyway) this was largely a matter of form. It was technically independent, but as it had little power (and particularly no foreign policy or military) of its own it makes sense to depict it as controlled by Britain. It'd be nice if the description mentioned this though.

Yeah, I meant that for all practical purposes they were under English/British control. I tend to overlook technicalities.

One wonders how many such potential emergent factions there will be. I assume the United States will be one of them, but no doubt there will be others too... Belgium? Norway? Greece?

Antagonist

That is indeed an interesting question. Aside from the U.S., the Jacobites, and now Ireland, none have yet been confirmed.

Certainly Norway and Greece are two possibilities; Serbia is another. I'll also be curious to see whether any of Spain's colonies in the Americas might break away.

I wonder/hope you can finance them, too.

That's been another oft-stated request. I'd like to see this as well, but there's been no word on whether or not it's in the game.

[Arcana]

That is indeed an interesting question. Aside from the U.S., the Jacobites, and now Ireland, none have yet been confirmed.

Certainly Norway and Greece are two possibilities; Serbia is another. I'll also be curious to see whether any of Spain's colonies in the Americas might break away.

A number of the most notable people to play a part in history at that time period were so because they played a part in a civil war or a disputed claim. There's every chance there'll be a lot of 'emergent' factions therefore. That's both good and bad - I never liked 'emergents' in the last 2 total war games because the game rather doesn't like you playing them (e.g., Mongols, Romano-british etc). And often they're different enough to warrant being a playable. Hopefully they'd simply engineer the campaign so you start later if you played an unlocked 'emergent'. That, or some mod does the job for me (I'm the type of guy who would put Macedon from 'unplayable' to 'playable' in RTW just for that one unit that they get that Greece didn't get, and for the different colourscheme =P )

If there are a lot of 'emergents', I reckon Britain will be a lot more fun to play than England ever was in M2 - there'll be someone to fight back home to keep you on your toes (since the homeland's probably basically going to be invulnerable to attack from an AI-controlled mainland Europe).

I wonder how conquest will be done in this one. Historically, there wasn't a lot of actual conquering or border redrawing going on at this stage in history. People shot eachother up a bit and then the status quo resumed. Plus, the map's too big for cities to be marched into, RTW/M2 style. Unless, of course, you have like twelve cities per continent, which would kind of suck. And I sure don't want to be able to take over a whole country á la RISK.

So, while I am psyched about this game and want to know EVERYTHING about it...I am a tad skeptical.

[Megas Methuselah]

I keep hearing word on emergent factions: You get the option to play as them once they emerge. Let Martok confirm this.

Oh, Martok! You owe me a cake, btw.