Weird

[Swoosh So]

We know more about the rome total war than we do about the viking invasion? You would have thought wed have some info about the addon by now, Maybe itll be one of those crappy releases that hits the shelves before being reviewed?
Maybe it doesent exist

Swoooooooosh

[SmokWawelski]

Well, you are right, something smells here... Maybe it is one of these Radeon 10000, Bug-free Windows things...

Anyway, it is scheduled to ship sometimes in the mid March right?

[[RDH] Spetz Natz]

Quote[/b] (SmokWawelski @ Jan. 02 2003,12:05)]Anyway, it is scheduled to ship sometimes in the mid March right?

Actually, (here in the USA) I saw at a local software store's bulletin board that Viking Invasion is due mid-February.

Of course, they could be wrong.

[Lehesu]

I, for one, expect a lack-luster expansion pack; if they are already working on Rome: Total War, than the expansion pack is probably doomed to mediocrity.

[[RDH] Spetz Natz]

Quote[/b] (Lehesu @ Jan. 02 2003,12:41)]I, for one, expect a lack-luster expansion pack; if they are already working on Rome: Total War, than the expansion pack is probably doomed to mediocrity.

I hope for our sake you're wrong....though I tend to agree with you.

[deejayvee]

Quote[/b] ]I, for one, expect a lack-luster expansion pack; if they are already working on Rome: Total War, than the expansion pack is probably doomed to mediocrity.

CA's a big enough company to work on more than one thing at once. I think someone said they were already working on Medieval when the Mongol Invasion was released.

The thing is, they've probably already started designing Total War 4.

[Cooperman]

Expansion packs are usually started before the game is released and could well be completed by now but is being held back so as to spread the income they get from it's release into a different quarter where activision dont have many game releases planned.

[Alrowan]

Quote[/b] (Lehesu @ Jan. 02 2003,12:41)]I, for one, expect a lack-luster expansion pack; if they are already working on Rome: Total War, than the expansion pack is probably doomed to mediocrity.

actually, the team working on rome is a different team that was working on M:TW.. Gil mentioned it elsewhere

[Draksen]

nooo, in fact the expansion is already ready, already done.

It is easy to modify 2 or 3 parameters in the program in order to create new units (vikings)... don't even have to create new graphics as the vikings "already exist" (hehehe).
After that, modify 2 or 3 parameters in the campaign in order to create a new-old campaign with the vikings.
Then make 100.000 copies of the old-new program on CD, and finally sell them $30/30€.
Easy, very easy.

[Sjakihata]

You can very well be right, I would not know. However, I hope we will have some fixes, addons (diplomacy specially) and other goodies. And I hope at least one patch will follow the game. And when it gets boring, heck RTW will be out in 1 month

[Draksen]

In PC games, and not only with MTW, the new fashion is called "expansion pack".
2 or 3 years ago, only REALLY good games had xpacks.
Now, every game, although they suck bad and does not sell well, have an xpack.
why ?
because xpack are usually easy to do, as the program is already done. Just few add-ons and voila, an expansion pack
The best example is rather fresh: MTW. MTW is out and 1 month later, ... yeah the xpack is comming, yeah
after all, they are right: it's always better to sell
the game 60€ + the xpack 30€ than the complete game (game+xpack modifications) for 60€, no???

But now, it is going even faster :
we have the preview (almost) of the next game, BEFORE the xpack. Great

Look at the unit stat files in the main directory of the game if you are not convinced : in MTW we are still playing with samurais (&#33.

MTW and STW:MI are just "skins" for STW... and we have payed for them


PS : don't expect patches, bah ... who cares after all, we will have an xpack or a "new" game

[Lehesu]

If they package the xpack with the game and give us a 10 dollar discount (whoopdedoo) I won't buy it.

[Magyar Khan]

Finally some good thinking in this thread. Vikings will dissapoint u all unless we keep whining....

the addon is finished but they are trying to iron out some bugs, and correct it in teh add-on, some goodies in it and voila....

the add on is a patch, thats why the marketing is less than the new game.

[SmokWawelski]

That is sad but this lack of marketing moves by Activision should give us some insight into the Xpack. CIv3 Xpack turned to be buggy and useless for most of us, yet it was talked about for so long before the release.
Products that are not shipped to reviewers to create some hype about them ?? Usualy very bad (nothing can help them)or very good (don't need marketing to sell). Maybe it is the second ?

[Swoosh So]

Doesent cost much to come into a forum and give details about the exp pack

[Lehesu]

Ah yes, the glory of having no consequences for your posts

[GilJaysmith]

Quote[/b] (Swoosh So @ Jan. 04 2003,12:07)]Doesent cost much to come into a forum and give details about the exp pack

"While you're here, Gil, why not tell us all the things about where you work which are covered by confidentiality agreements, or for which press releases are due out shortly..."

There are official announcements, and then there may be details. That's the Rightful Order of Things. I don't make up the rules, I just know it would be apocalyptically dangerous to violate them. You wouldn't want seven seals running up your driveway, would you? Exactly. Then wait.

[MasterM!nd]

I just think most ppl find it rather strange that there are more info out on a upcoming game, rather than info about a add-on for a current game..

But I guess thats the way of the internet, why bother with current things when you can spread rumors/facts about something totally new...

[GilJaysmith]

Quote[/b] (Draksen @ Jan. 03 2003,07:33)]Look at the unit stat files in the main directory of the game if you are not convinced : in MTW we are still playing with samurais ().
MTW and STW:MI are just "skins" for STW... and we have payed for them

I can entirely see your point. Only recently I was very disappointed with the new album by my favourite songwriter, as it used many of the same notes and chords as the last one, and even some of the same words.

For the record, the 'samurai' field in the unit stats file now means 'knight'. These are broadly equivalent concepts as far as the battle engine uses them, so why waste time going through all the game changing the word? We'd just have had to charge you more for doing so ;)

[Knight_Yellow]

Well ppl r more keen to learn whats gonna happen to the tw series since its going 3d and an all new time period.
vikings is still mtw with a few new factions whereas rtw is a whole new concept now wats realy more interesting???

weve had little vikings running about chopping heads but we aint had little romans running about chopping heads.

[Foreign Devil]

Quote[/b] (GilJaysmith @ Jan. 04 2003,18:40)]I can entirely see your point. Only recently I was very disappointed with the new album by my favourite songwriter, as it used many of the same notes and chords as the last one, and even some of the same words.

Shwing

I was just watching Wayne's World... can you tell?

[Lord Romulous]

Quote[/b] ]MTW and STW:MI are just "skins" for STW... and we have payed for them

i really disagree with this point. MTW is a new game.
it adds and enhances so much that was not in shogun.

1. improved ai. (to me ai and graphics are the two most important factors in a game.)
2. improved graphics
3. it is set in medieval europe with all new units, terrain and climate conditions etc.
4. the strat map and associated elements.

Just because the battle engine and battle gameplay is essentialy the same is not a reason for calling it the same game. what MTW does is build on succusful gameplay in stw and apply it to a new game. after all if it works why change it. i am sure you would be the first to come whining if they totaly changed the battle gameplay into something like aoe.

god all these complainers annoy me. you have been playing the game for 3 months and have been coming to a MTW forum regulary, so you must like the game

just because you are not getting what you want (eg second patch) is no reason to say the game sucks.

of course there are many elements that could be improved but there always is with any game.

the first patch fixed alot of issues and enhanced the game significantly. the sheer contents of the patch was typical of the contents of 2 or 3 patchs of other games.

the more people just rage about how CA are just money making scumbags who dont give a toss the more the devlopers get tired of this forum and wont come any more. which is probably one of the reasons we dont see ecs, target etc here anymore.

i dont think insulting the work of the devlopers and infering that the public have been conned into buying a stw "skin is the way to go.

end rant.

[el_slapper]

On the Samuraï thing : don't fix what ain't broken. Looting, aka cut & paste, is one of the base of programming. Adjusting the result finely is the main difficulty, and also what makes a programm(not only a game) good or bad.

Colt doesn't reinvent gunpowder for every new gun. They start from an everincreasing basis to make even better stuff(that is, if you like guns). CA does the same. That is called progress.

Sure, there are defaults remaining, and I hope GAs will be fixed in the pack(and I won't probably buy it as soon as available, cowardly waiting for enlightened comments here). But anyways, criticizing the reuse of "samurai" is simple ignorance of how the earth is turning around the sun.

[Captain Fishpants]

Quote[/b] (Lehesu @ Jan. 02 2003,12:41)]I, for one, expect a lack-luster expansion pack; if they are already working on Rome: Total War, than the expansion pack is probably doomed to mediocrity.

I think you'll be hard-hearterd indeed to be disappointed in what's coming for "Viking Invasion". I spent a good chunk of my weekend having waaaaaayy too much fun as a Viking warlord.

MikeB ~ CA

[Knight_Yellow]

Yeah well i think itl suck but ill still get it since no other games company's r even trying to replicate it.

i reckon CA r walking dangerously here.

u dont announce the sequal before the expansion unless the expansion realy sucks.

[deejayvee]

Quote[/b] (Knight_Yellow @ Jan. 06 2003,05:22)]u dont announce the sequal before the expansion unless the expansion realy sucks.

Except I don't think CA has actually announced the sequel yet, have they?

[einar]

I hope the patch fixes the main bugs. This'd be a good reason for acquiring the expansion. If not, i don't see any reason for acquire it...

[Ueriah]

Gil, I know this is totally off subject, but do you read a lot of Neal Stephenson books or something? Your posts remind me of Waterhouse from his novel "The Cyrptonomicon"...

[71-hour Ahmed]

I'm, hoping (fingers crossed, twisted and rolled up) that the expansion pack will experiment with some of the new ideas for MTW 3 and so go beyond what Medieval does. Maybe, maybe...if I'm lucky..

[einar]

Quote[/b] (GilJaysmith @ Jan. 04 2003,12:56)]

Quote[/b] (Swoosh So @ Jan. 04 2003,12:07)]Doesent cost much to come into a forum and give details about the exp pack

"While you're here, Gil, why not tell us all the things about where you work which are covered by confidentiality agreements, or for which press releases are due out shortly..."

There are official announcements, and then there may be details. That's the Rightful Order of Things. I don't make up the rules, I just know it would be apocalyptically dangerous to violate them. You wouldn't want seven seals running up your driveway, would you? Exactly. Then wait.

Well, ok, but could you give us an aproximate release date for vikings????. In UK and in Spain...