3 new factions! Epirus, Sparta, Athens (DLC)

[KLAssurbanipal]

Official trailer:

http://www.shacknews.com/game/total-...e-pack-trailer

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I think it is not a fake:

- Fraction icons are made stylistically similar to 9 main factions,
- Warriors faces are the same as preview screens,
- The typical dirty shields,
- Spartan cuirass is the same as Pontic cavalry,
- Cavalryman has the same cuirass as Lusted presented in Exclusive Content.

[Spoonska]

I hope it's true, and I really hope that Bubo as the Athens icon. On the Italian page it had the release date of October 17,2013. I've been kind of racking my brain over that. All of these are hypotheticals but: Is this DLC released on that date ? Does that mean Rome comes out earlier? Are they released on the same day as a pre-order bonus ? Hopefully it isn't a hoax and it all gets cleared up in the next Rally point. Either way pretty cool stuff.

[KLAssurbanipal]

Official trailer:

http://www.shacknews.com/game/total-...e-pack-trailer

[KLAssurbanipal]

[The Outsider]

Dude you are amazing! I havent seen anyone so fast at finding and posting new info about the game. Thanks for the effort.

[The Outsider]

Yeah i think that this is the first official date we have. It seems that the game will be actually released earlier which is great news (unless its full of bugs) the extra factions make me happy but im afraid that the game willbe verl heavy on the dlc side.

[The Outsider]

Ok guys this info was.posted by partially.by king luiseassurbanipal,but here you can find the full article on the subject,


http://www.playerattack.com/news/201...-cultural-dlc/

[quadalpha]

Maybe they'll release the DLC before the game.

[Spoonska]

Most of our suspicions confirmed now. Pre-order DLC. If the September 3rd release date holds up that would be perfect for me. Labor day weekend, and I can take an extra couple days off to play. My only concern with this pack ,s that now we're up to 12 factions; most of the starting points are going to be central / south east of the map. I know history is important, but this makes a lot of factions centralized in one area. That's my only gripe and it's a minor one.

[The Stranger]

****** **** ever... why not put it in the game, why pre-order DLC... **** this...

[Vuk]

Pre-Order DLC? Really CA? What the frack?
What happened to the day when you would buy a whole game, and then pay $15 dollars later if you wanted to for an expansion pack that would add a whole bunch of new content, new campaign, etc? Are you really such desperately greedy, unscrupulous people that you have resorted to this?
How about releasing and selling a full game!? What you are doing is practically making someone pay $60 for the demo, then letting them drop $15 here and $15 there to unlock the full game.
Some DLC is somewhat reasonable (like when there was extra stuff you wanted to do and didn't have the development time for it, and you publisher will only let you work on it if the get some money for it) and you can make an excuse for, but pre-order DLC? What that means is you are just randomly taking game content that you have completed for the game, and deciding not to include it in the game unless someone pays a punishing fee...after they have already dropped a precious $60 for a game that is probably gonna be riddled with bugs...
So CA, can you please answer a few simple questions for me? When did you start putting obscene profit margins ahead of love for what you do and ahead of you fans? Does you publisher really keep you on such a tight leash that you have no say in this?
I was so excited when I saw this game coming out that I was gonna buy it as soon as hit the shelves. Now though, I am gonna do what I did with your other recent games and wait till I can get it on sale for $10-15. Sorry, but I don't have $60+$15+$15+$10+$5+who-knows-how-much-else to spend on getting the whole game at release.

[Lemur]

And now the official announcement of the Collector's Edition.



The Total War™: ROME II Collector’s Edition will be produced in a single, extremely limited run; only 22,000 individually numbered copies will be manufactured.

The CE contains a wealth of bespoke, Roman-themed games and items, bound in a leather-effect presentation box, complete with gold logo and magnetic closure; including:

• Numbered copy of Total War™: ROME II
• The most ambitious and expansive game in the Total War™ series to date, ROME II brings the statecraft, politics, intrigue, diplomacy and epic battles of the ancient world to life in thrilling detail. This version comes in a debossed Steelbook™ case, laser-etched with your unique collector’s number in Roman numerals.
• Tabula set
• The Roman forerunner to Backgammon, this Tabula set comprises 30 bone-effect game-pieces supplied in their own burlap drawstring bag, while the board is built into the base of the Collector’s Edition box.
• Tesserae Dice
• Three replica bone-effect dice for use in a variety of games. The design is based on original Roman Tesserae, found at the archaeological site of Herculaneum.
• Total War Cards™: PUNIC WARS
• Designed from the ground up to echo elements from ROME II, Total War Cards is a game of skill and luck for two players. Involving combat, territorial control, resource management and technological development, PUNIC WARS consists of 58 high-quality playing cards and a game-board printed with the PUNIC WARS tech-tree.
• Canvas Campaign Map
• A reminder of the worlds you must conquer, this ribbon-tied canvas map depicts each of the 57 provinces of the ROME II campaign.
• Roman Onager
• A complete, fully-functional Onager, or Roman siege catapult. This easy-to-assemble kit is constructed from weathered wood and steel, measures 26cm x 12cm x 12cm, and is capable of unleashing mall projectiles at a variety of inanimate objects which may have affronted the glory of your empire.

A remarkable way to mark over 10 years of Total War games and Creative Assembly’s 25th Anniversary, the Total War™: ROME II Collector’s Edition is only available through selected retailers.

We will endevor to keep this page up to date with availbility listed, but please bear in mind we will only be doing a single run of these and once they are sold out we will not be making anymore.

• US
• [SEGA Store]
• UK
• [GAME]
• Germany
• Amazon.de (Direct link coming soon).
• Australia
• [EB Games]
• [JB Hi-Fi]
• France
• Pre-order links coming soon.
• Italy
• Gamestop.it (Direct link coming soon).
• Multiplayer.com (Direct link coming soon).
• Amazon.it (Direct link coming soon).
• Spain
• Pre-order links coming soon.

Head to the pre-order page for more infomation on the Greek States & where to get a standard copy:

Total War Cards: The Punic Wars

[Ibn-Khaldun]

As I understand this then you have to pre-order the game (and not that DLC) and then you'll get this DLC for free.

[Vuk]

As I understand this then you have to pre-order the game (and not that DLC) and then you'll get this DLC for free.

Yeah, I see what you mean. Still though, it is utter BS. And I wonder how many other factions they have already completed but are going to only release as DLC.

[Lemur]

Then why make it DLC?

As I stated earlier, testing deadlines. The game can be tested, certified, rated, etc., and CA can continue adding material up to the last minute by calling it "DLC."

It's to your benefit.

There are many things we ought to complain about. This is not one of them.

[Mongoose]

My issue with this is that those factions should really just be in the game - 9 playable ones isn't that many. This also implies that modding is going to be more restricted - in Rome I you could just set a faction to playable in an ini file, but I assume they're doing away with that for Rome II because otherwise the pre-order bonus would be pointless.

I was also pretty interested in this game, but if they're doing lots of DLC, I think I'm gonna wait until some kinda of compendium version comes out that only costs like 20-30 dollars, because otherwise it will either have too little content or cost too much.

[Vuk]

I was also pretty interested in this game, but if they're doing lots of DLC, I think I'm gonna wait until some kinda of compendium version comes out that only costs like 20-30 dollars, because otherwise it will either have too little content or cost too much.

This.

[Lemur]

My issue with this is that those factions should really just be in the game - 9 playable ones isn't that many.

The 3 DLC factions are in the game, for all of us who pre-order. So in actuality the game will launch with 12 playable factions.

As for the consequences on modding, that remains to be seen.

[Mongoose]

The 3 DLC factions are in the game, for all of us who pre-order. So in actuality the game will launch with 12 playable factions.

As for the consequences on modding, that remains to be seen.

I find the pre-order bonus problematic as well, because it means you have to commit to buying the game in advance to get all of the basic content without any possibility of a refund. I admit I'm just speculating about the modding, but I think less flexibility is a likely result of locking factions off.

How many gigantic mods are there for Napoleon, Empire, and Shogun? There's been some good work on those games, but nothing like the scale or number of the Med II or Rome I projects (TATW, EB, CoW, etc). The recent games have all been very DLC heavy, and the DLC adds up to quite a lot of extra money for stuff that's good but usually limited compared to what mods did for earlier games. I'm not saying CA is in some kind of conspiracy to suppress mods and sell more DLC - they put out new tools recently, and they did have to make a new engine, after all. Still, as DLC increases, mod flexibility tends to decrease, because, I think, the need to sell DLC takes energy away from working on modding features, and perhaps to some extent makes those features less desirable.

To clarify, I see nothing wrong with the DLC sales in principle. CA is free to sell their products however they choose; anyone who calls that "unethical" or whatever is overreacting, since it's their game and they're not forcing anyone to buy it.

On a subjective level, however, I object to what I see as an increase in price, or, in this case, a reduction in flexibility. Making people who want to play all the factions buy the game in advance, without any possibility to see the product in detail, or get a refund, is something they have every right to do, but is it still a good deal? In my opinion, no.

[The Stranger]

pc/game business is just a nasty business... you dont even actually own stuff. just lease it. hegel would be disgusted.

[Ca Putt]

When you accept all the DLC shit that already was present in Shogun 2, this Preorder pack is rather legit. serving "greek cities" as one 3 (mini-) faction DLC is rather fair, selling them seperately would be lame. Making them 3 "all the way unique" factions would be silly and making them one Uber faction strange. Adding them to the Preorder package also goes well with their overall popularity, lot's of people would be "WTF?" when they get... Thracians Dacians or Iberians as "free DLC". Considering the Circumstances it's a legit step. It was clear from the beginning(or since Fall of the Samurai) that we would see lots of DLC, Steam and the like, It still sucks but I do not think we should judge THIS release by the general state of AAA games.

[Vuk]

Yeah, and now if you want to wait and see what reviewers say to make sure that the game is actually worth dropping the $60, you will not be getting the full game. That sounds like the tactics of people who don't have a lot of faith in their product and want to trick and 'force' as many people into buying it ahead of time as possible. Is CA really afraid that their game will suck that much that people won't buy it if they wait to hear what their friends have to say about it? That is pretty worrisome right there.

[Myth]

They have to keep the price of the game to a reasonable level, but the cost of developing has increased substantially since the days of RTW. Hence the DLC trick. Dishonored still costs something like 50 euro on Steam, bar the two DLCs that come with it, for example. Imagine it costing around 80 euro (that's approximately 100-110 USD), that would be absurd.

DLCs are also a way to milk the customer base after the initial sale, because there will always be those who have more money to give. Why wait 3 years for an expansion when you can give them blood splashes or music packs or some ahistorical special unit like Ninja Assassins from Hades and charge between 5 and 15 euro? Sure, some users won't buy the DLC, but let's say that 40% do. This effectively makes it so that you got an extra 5-15 euro on top of the first shipment price from those customers. if the game ships for 60 euro that'd be a hefty 25% increase, and I'd dare say this is pure profit since you didn't really invest that much in the making of this grand "content" you provide.

[Rhyfelwyr]

I agree with all Vuk's gripes, I just can't be bothered with all the commercial rubbish with new games. Just the release the full game!

[Mongoose]

Is it true that the cost of development has increased a lot since RTW? It wouldn't surprise me at all if that's true - just curious to see a source on that.

Yeah, and now if you want to wait and see what reviewers say to make sure that the game is actually worth dropping the $60, you will not be getting the full game. That sounds like the tactics of people who don't have a lot of faith in their product and want to trick and 'force' as many people into buying it ahead of time as possible. Is CA really afraid that their game will suck that much that people won't buy it if they wait to hear what their friends have to say about it? That is pretty worrisome right there.

I resent games that push pre-order purchases, for the reasons you describe. Keeping sales up even in the event of a flop could definitely be a motivation. To play devil's advocate, though, there is also a benign motivation for it: the need to get back the money invested in the game as quickly as possible, which maintains the company. On the other hand, that still means the company tries to push you towards worse deal in order to improve their business - which they have every right to do, but I kinda dislike it.

It still sucks but I do not think we should judge THIS release by the general state of AAA games.

I'm probably doing that to some extent. I pre-ordered Mass Effect 3 and got the 10$ launch DLC, and after playing it my main thought was "wow, that was not worth 70 dollars."

[Kralizec]

I have to echo Vuk's sentiments. I very much dislike the whole practice of DLC. It's not a bad way of distributing content in itself, but I feel it's being abused.

I used to play Call of Duty: MW2 often. After a while they released some DLC map packs, IIRC for 10-15 bucks. I imagine that most did buy them because the original game didn't have that many maps to begin with, but for that same reason I flat out refused. Add to that the fact that the game was bugged as hell when they released those map packs, and still is. I've decided never to buy another game in that series again.

Can I afford these DLC packs? Sure I can. Do I think it's a fair deal? No.

I am simply not going to pay $5 bucks to unlock a new faction which has two new unique units (which are probably just reskins of older models), especially if that faction was historically important enough to count as indespensible, i.e. should have been in the original game. And because CA realizes that most people are not stupid, and because they know that modders can do an equally good or better job if given the opportunity, I fully expect that modding will be restricted to prevent people from adding new factions themselves.

[Lemur]

Game companies are still in the process of figuring out DLC. Anybody remember horse armor?

Also, each company is different. EA, for example, has a long and inarguable history of gouging gamers for every dollar possible. It's fair to assume they are acting in bad faith.

I am not so ready to throw CA under the bus.

[Stuie]

I agree with Lemur. I actually like CA's approach thus far - especially when compared to other companies - the DLC they release is nothing game changing that leaves me feeling like I only have half a game if I don't buy it (basing this on my Shogun 2 experience). You can get away with buying none of it if you want - or wait for the inevitable 75% off sale on Steam if you want, or shell out for it at full price if you want. No one is forcing you to pay full price and the game works as-is without the DLC.

Honestly I'd be happy if Rome 2 had a fully functioning Rome faction and nothing else. You can sell all the others if people want them; put all the up-front dev work into making Rome the best faction it can be. Of course, I'd also prefer multiple start dates... but.. well..

[lars573]

I also agree with the Prosimian. What CA gives you for what they charge is very good. Considering that these three Greek factions are going to be clones of Macedonia putting them out together for $5-$10 isn't us being bled out for cash.

[Vuk]

Game companies are still in the process of figuring out DLC. Anybody remember horse armor?

Also, each company is different. EA, for example, has a long and inarguable history of gouging gamers for every dollar possible. It's fair to assume they are acting in bad faith.

I am not so ready to throw CA under the bus.

Hey, I am not saying they are as bad as EA (I stopped buying all EA games a long time ago), but if they keep going down the road they are on, they will lose my business altogether too. I gave EA chance after chance and they were able to suck a lot of money from me before I just gave up. I am not gonna make that mistake again.
There are ways to do DLC which are not unethical, but what CA is doing is NOT one of them. Forcing people to spend a lot of money on a game that they don't know yet is any good if they want to get the full thing is seriously unethical. In fact, I can think of more colourful ways to describe it than that. There used to be a time when they put out games that they were proud of and relied on word-of-mouth to sell them. Now they fear word-of-mouth, and try to get around the challenges of the bad reputation they believe their game will earn by forcing you to buy early. That is not something that a good team does.

I agree with Lemur. I actually like CA's approach thus far - especially when compared to other companies - the DLC they release is nothing game changing that leaves me feeling like I only have half a game if I don't buy it (basing this on my Shogun 2 experience). You can get away with buying none of it if you want - or wait for the inevitable 75% off sale on Steam if you want, or shell out for it at full price if you want. No one is forcing you to pay full price and the game works as-is without the DLC.

Honestly I'd be happy if Rome 2 had a fully functioning Rome faction and nothing else. You can sell all the others if people want them; put all the up-front dev work into making Rome the best faction it can be. Of course, I'd also prefer multiple start dates... but.. well..

So you are saying it is not unethical for payers to be paying full price for a game that is not full? It is a pretty crappy and limited game if it only has 1 faction Stuie. You may be ok with that, but 90% of gamers would not be. I am having a hard time justifying spending $60 on a strategy game of this scope with only 9 of the factions playable.

I also agree with the Prosimian. What CA gives you for what they charge is very good. Considering that these three Greek factions are going to be clones of Macedonia putting them out together for $5-$10 isn't us being bled out for cash.

I guess you are pretty easy to please. If the three factions are just clones of one already in the game BTW, how can they justify charging people money for them?