Attila dev blog thread

[Hooahguy]

Ok so there is a new dev blog out, detailing how marriages and agents and how they will be used in the game.

Linky

So to sum up, marriages are back in Attila, and not the flimsy ones we had in Rome 2, but now you can marry into other nations which I think is pretty damn cool. They also carry quite the diplomatic bonus so offering up a daughter to another faction has its uses to gain favor.

As for agents, not all of them can do actions on enemy armies and cities. It seems like champions can attack enemy characters but not the armies as a whole, priests (formerly dignitaries in Rome 2, can only act on your settlements and enemy agents, and spies can act on enemy armies and enemy agents.

Also the UI now reminds me of a M2TW/Rome2 hybrid which is pretty nice I think.

[The Outsider]

Also the UI now reminds me of a M2TW/Rome2 hybrid which is pretty nice I think.

You know mate, it reminds me of MTW1 with those old parchaments and black pen (?) drawings, i missed those days so much and this brings many good memories.

[Hooahguy]

So this isnt a dev blog but Lionheartx10 did a faction preview and seems to got a dev version of the game. Its long, just started watching it myself.

[Bramborough]

Interesting video, lots of info there. The Goths' encampment option is intriguing. Overall, my impression is a lot more detail available, more options, etc. Just seems to be a richness and complexity here which they'd gone away from with R2, and to which they've now returned. Which brings me to this: I get the feeling that, in terms of gameplay options and details, this is much closer to the game which R2 should have been.

That said, "it is what it is". Perhaps we would've preferred something like Attila for R2 and didn't get it...but not much use wailing about that now. At very least CA appears to have learned from their R2 mistakes. The ultimate redress would be to go back and completely overhaul R2...but that may be a bridge too far, and probably unrealistic to expect that. Maybe eventually we'll get an R3 that does the period justice.

In any case, there's a lot to like here, and I'm looking forward to 17 Feb.

[easytarget]

Reminds me of a prettier version of Rome: Total War Barbarian Invasion.

[easytarget]

And along the lines of my comment above, look at the vid they released today, sounds like the dev talking about migratory hordes thinks he's just stumbled across a new idea as if he's unaware Rome 1 Barbarian Invasion had this very concept in the game a decade ago.

http://forums.totalwar.com/showthrea...-and-Migration

[Bramborough]

And along the lines of my comment above, look at the vid they released today, sounds like the dev talking about migratory hordes thinks he's just stumbled across a new idea as if he's unaware Rome 1 Barbarian Invasion had this very concept in the game a decade ago.

http://forums.totalwar.com/showthrea...-and-Migration

I infer much the same thing. Eh, maybe the guy didn't work at CA then, and it really is new to him. One other thing I noticed is that Joey the Community Manager just seems rather perfunctory and ho-hum throughout the video. Probably not an atypical attitude among most young decent-looking chicks toward nerdy computer games...except she's employed there, in somewhat of a customer-relations role. Found that rather amusing. I dunno...maybe just British understatement, lol.

[sassbarman]

I infer much the same thing. Eh, maybe the guy didn't work at CA then, and it really is new to him. One other thing I noticed is that Joey the Community Manager just seems rather perfunctory and ho-hum throughout the video. Probably not an atypical attitude among most young decent-looking chicks toward nerdy computer games...except she's employed there, in somewhat of a customer-relations role. Found that rather amusing. I dunno...maybe just British understatement, lol.

I to noticed the part where the dev makes it seem like hordes are a brand new idea. I wonder how many times CA have cleaned house. Might explain why they seem to take one step forward and two steps back with their last few games.

[Hooahguy]

Watching the video again, it kind of is a new feature. Its not a copy-paste version of the BI horde system as if you lose your last city in Attila you dont automatically spawn five full stacks. It works differently so while I wouldnt say its a totally new feature, I do get that its nothing they have done before.

[Bramborough]

What about the bit where a horde army can stop moving, pitch tents, and basically become a settlement with buildings, recruitment, etc...and then pick up and keep moving later? I played a good bit of R1, but never got around to playing much BI. For those of you better versed in previous TW iterations, isn't this a new feature (or not)?

[easytarget]

You've probably still got R1/BI laying around, fire it up, select the 1st choice as a faction the game defaults to (The Huns) and witness for yourself your half dozen or so nomadic hordes with no home awaiting your orders.

Yes, they added something to it, they can build some stuff along the way. But they most certainly did not invent some new gaming concept showing in Attila for the first time as the dude talking in the video certainly acts like.

No big deal, unless the audience you're pitching this game to is already convinced they were a bit misled on the last launch (you may not in particular feel that to be the case, but more than a few do judging from the endless discussion about it in the main forum even more than a year after launch).

Note: I'm still hoping they've gotten it back together and produce something close to the quality of S2 or FOTS, so personally I'm rooting for them here, I'm not buying it though till I hear from people I trust on how it turned out and watch a You Play or two....

[Hooahguy]

So there is a dev live streaming Attila for today and the next two days as well at 10am EST.

http://www.twitch.tv/totalwarofficial

And it looks like faction intro movies are back! At least for the Saxons.