Who do you want to play as?

[Sheogorath]

Easy question, who are you most eager to play as?
I'm just going by the nations I can see on the camaign map, so if I left somebody out, its probably because they're not there (Poland, for example).

Myself, I'm keen on Russia. UURAH!

[pevergreen]

Australia.

As an actual answer, I dont know, I will probably end up as Portugal or Spain, someone with big ships and pretty units.

[rajpoot]

UK, because it's bound to be the most fleshed out country ingame. I sure CA must have put maximum work in the UK and the 13 colonies.
Would have chosen the Mugal Empire, but I fear starting out with something so familier would make me see naught but historical inaccuracies, which might ruin the game for me before I even begin......so, UK it is.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Sweden! :2thumbsup:

[PBI]

I intend to prepare for Empire by watching Master & Commander, after which I will have no interest in playing as anyone other than the UK.

[Pinxit]

Hm. Hmhmhm! Why am I not able to vote on this poll? :wall:

[PBI]

I think you have to be a Member rather than a Junior Member to vote in polls.

[Ituralde]

Sweden! They are on the European mainland but detached enough to make colonies feasible, as well as mixing up Continental Europe. Russia and Prussia better beware!!

After that probably Prussia to get back to my historical roots. And of course I will play the UK at one point. It would be silly not to, kind of like not playing Rome during its timeframe.

[Polemists]

Austria

I am interested and curious to see the duality between Austria and Prussia and to see if I can manuever the Hapsburg(sp?) family back into power.

Assuming I can't play them at start I'd probably go with a safe bet, like England.

Of course I will click through every single faction and read the little excerpt first. I hope we get unique unit previews again. Though I preferred the unique cinematic intro's of Rome to the standarized cinematic intros of MTW 2. So i'm HOPING this time each faction has it's own unique intro story AND unique intro video.

:juggle2:

[Knight of the Rose]

Where's Gah! ???

OT, I woted Denmark - a small nation between many potential conflicts could prove a challenge.

But in RL I'll take one of the big empires first, France or England. The Ottomans will be my third or fourth choice, and then I'll just go on untill I've played Luxemburg.

/KotR

[Pinxit]

I think you have to be a Member rather than a Junior Member to vote in polls.

Then I vote for Sweden by posting this message :2thumbsup:

I will conquer Norway and Iceland from Denmark-Norway from start, then move on to make the Russians suffer greatly by reducing their power to null. After that, I will simply sit and enjoy the view of Sweden as the only power on the scandinavian peninsula and see the economy grow and enjoy pax Swedenomana.

[Herkus]

Sweden, of course. The outcome of Great Northern War must be changed.

[Lord Winter]

Sweden, of course. The outcome of Great Northern War must be changed.

Agreed I just hope there's no you lose half your army due to weather event.

Then I'll probably play a Russia game, over run Sweden, and then turn and take Istanbul.

[Spartan198]

I'll let you know once I've played the first Classical era mod is released for Empire. :wiseguy:

[Pinxit]

Sweden, of course. The outcome of Great Northern War must be changed.

Which raises an interesting question. Do people in the baltic states generally believe that they are a lost part of Sweden, a lost part of Russia or independent in both history and present day?

It seems that a lot of people in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland wants to create a Scandinavian country. And the baltic states? It sure would be nice to see a country which have almost the entire baltic inside its borders :2thumbsup:

[Pinxit]

I mean, look at the map over the Swedish empire at its zenith according to wikipedia. By Ozymandias, that is sweet! It does look a little different from the ETW campaign map.

[Pinxit]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/LocationSwedishEmpire.png

[Rhyfelwyr]

I'll be playing as Britain first. They seem like the generic faction, like the Julii in RTW.

[Megas Methuselah]

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/picture.php?albumid=53&pictureid=520

OH COMMON!!!! NO NATIVE AMERICANS?!!! :clown:

[Rhyfelwyr]

Fighting in their traditional disciplined style I see - that pic really looks wrong. :no:

[Pinxit]

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/picture.php?albumid=53&pictureid=520

OH COMMON!!!! NO NATIVE AMERICANS?!!! :clown:

Rebels?

[rajpoot]

:yes: Presenting the highly trained and disciplined, Iroqouis skirmishers :laugh4:

[GMaximus]

Which raises an interesting question. Do people in the baltic states generally believe that they are a lost part of Sweden, a lost part of Russia or independent in both history and present day?

I'm Lithuanian, and I can say that I always get angry if people think we're a part of Russia (so far I've never talked with anyone who thinks we're a part of Sweden, but I'm pretty sure it'd be same result as with Russia).

I myself will probably play as Prussia, then Austria and then Sweden. Then maybe Ottomans or UK.

[Dutch_guy]

The Dutch probably, first time we're an actual faction so might as well try it out first.

:balloon2:

[Herkus]

Which raises an interesting question. Do people in the baltic states generally believe that they are a lost part of Sweden, a lost part of Russia or independent in both history and present day?

Well we believe that that we aren't part of either Sweden or Russia, but due to historical reasons the Swedish time in Baltics is seen generally favourable, compared with other "occupiers" from Livonian War onwards. Though the history of Lithuania is bit different because they had their own state.


It seems that a lot of people in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland wants to create a Scandinavian country. And the baltic states? It sure would be nice to see a country which have almost the entire baltic inside its borders :2thumbsup:

One can try to recreate the united Baltic state from that small Duchy of Courland faction, which knowing all political situation in 18th century would be nearly impossible, but hey its a game afterall ...

[Megas Methuselah]

Presenting the highly trained and disciplined, Iroqouis skirmishers

Lol, yeah, I know. But hey, it's better than nothing!


Rebels?

With some 50 available factions, I doubt it. There's probably a few different Native American factions... I hope. Besides, I remember CA stating something along the lines that every region will have their own rebel factions, so I'm led to believe there won't be one single rebel faction. :grin:

[Sir Beane]

I have a problem with this poll. Where is the option for 'The People's Republic of the Isle of Wight.' :furious3:

On a more serious note, I would love to be able to play as Switzerland. Except my version would be famous for bloodthirsty invasion and weapons technology rather than clocks and chocolate.

"Who's neutral now :daisy:!"

However I voted for England before I noticed Switzerland. Thats what I get for following my patriotic instincts. :sweatdrop:

[Pinxit]

Well we believe that that we aren't part of either Sweden or Russia, but due to historical reasons the Swedish time in Baltics is seen generally favourable, compared with other "occupiers" from Livonian War onwards. Though the history of Lithuania is bit different because they had their own state.

One can try to recreate the united Baltic state from that small Duchy of Courland faction, which knowing all political situation in 18th century would be nearly impossible, but hey its a game afterall ...

Now I have to read about the history of the baltic states. Any good books to recommend?

About recreating the united Baltic state. Well, as you said, its a game, and if there is anything CA taught me it is that anyone with a military force and a creative mind can do just about everything. As long as it takes place in CAs games :juggle2: It will be a fun challenge.

[Belgolas]

I voted UK so I could create a civil war and hopefully join the side that would be Canada. Then Conquer the world!

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I'll probably stick with smaller monarchies, carving out a backwater empire while the big powers squabble.

Not sure which factions that applies to in the early 1700's...

[Polemists]

So going by this poll I guess there will be alot of UK v Sweden on multiplayer.....hmm....well at least that sounds interesting *in theory*:smash:

[Aemilianus the Younger]

The DUTCH for sure!
It will be a touch challenge to hold on to amsterdam and the rest of the united provinces, while also managing a massive trade empire all over the globe. Just wondering, do the dutch have New York at the beginning? or was that a little earlier? If my memory suits me, i seem to remember 1651 being the beginning of the Anglo Dutch wars, after the English decided the american colonists could only trade with england. But i dont recal the actual year that New York became an English colony.

[Tartantyco]

-PRUSSIA!

[Ituralde]

The Dutch probably, first time we're an actual faction so might as well try it out first.

:balloon2:

I completely forgot about them, of course they are way up there too, so they might just end up being the first faction I play. You can never really tell beforehand, now can you? :2thumbsup:

[Herkus]

Now I have to read about the history of the baltic states. Any good books to recommend?

Closer to ETW timeframe and with more global Baltic look - "Northern Wars" by Robert I. Frost.

[Jolt]

THIS!
IS!
PORTUGAL!

*Kicks Spanish and British diplomats into the sea.*

[Northnovas]

To get the feel of the game it would have to be the UK. The Isles are a nice starting position with a decent navy you shouldn't get rolled over!
After the UK it would have to be France and the Road to Moscow. Can it be done!? :sneaky:

[AggonyDuck]

Definately going with Prussia. Tough strategic position surrounded by potential enemies and limited resources. Sounds like great fun to me, and I do like the Prussians. :2thumbsup:

[Polemists]

Surprises

I'm shocked no one is big on Spain. I mean I guess since everyone knows they will lose it all in 1900, but still Spain is in a phenominally strong position during this time. To best of my knowledge anyway.
I'd like to try Spain once.

Then again I guess eventually like mtw2 everyone will have played just about every faction. I'll try just about everyone by game end, except Mughals...India just dosn't appeal to me.

[Pinxit]

Surprises

I'm shocked no one is big on Spain. I mean I guess since everyone knows they will lose it all in 1900, but still Spain is in a phenominally strong position during this time. To best of my knowledge anyway.
I'd like to try Spain once.

Then again I guess eventually like mtw2 everyone will have played just about every faction. I'll try just about everyone by game end, except Mughals...India just dosn't appeal to me.

Eventually I will try every faction. More than once. But Sweden, France and the Ottoman Empire is my first choices.

[Sheogorath]

Surprises

I'm shocked no one is big on Spain. I mean I guess since everyone knows they will lose it all in 1900, but still Spain is in a phenominally strong position during this time. To best of my knowledge anyway.
I'd like to try Spain once.

Then again I guess eventually like mtw2 everyone will have played just about every faction. I'll try just about everyone by game end, except Mughals...India just dosn't appeal to me.

Spain will definitely be my second choice.
I think most people don't way to play Spain because, at this point in history, the general view of most people is that they were a faded power, who were just barely hanging onto their empire and couldn't possibly resist any of the other powers. Which would be true...around 1800.
Besides, I'd like to show the British that the English isles damn well can be invaded ;)

[ByzanKing]

I chose the Mughals but I would also have to go with The Ottoman Empire as a close second.

[Caius]

If I had the chance, Argentina. Yes, cause Im one.

[Csargo]

Prussia of course

[Alerion]

Well if they make Austria playable I'll go for Austria, since I`m Austrian and I always wanted to recreate the great power of the Donau Monarchy! ^^

if not then probably brits or sweden... I always liked the british and I like Sweden a lot

[Samurai Waki]

The Dutch... simply because of the audacity of having the Great Dutch Empire.

[BananaBob]

The Ottoman empire first, but France will probably be second.

[Narhon]

Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves:yes:

[Ed TW]

I'm from New Jersey, take a guess.




Appeal to Heaven

[Mee4703]

Id play as Gran Colombia and do wat Simon Bolivar couldnt.....UNIFY ALL OF SOUTH AMERICA!!!!!

[Mailman653]

Id play as Gran Colombia and do wat Simon Bolivar couldnt.....UNIFY ALL OF SOUTH AMERICA!!!!!

That would be an interesting idea for an expansion pack. Set up the South American wars of independence as a mini campaign, like the mini campaigns in the MTW2 expansion.

Curious how France has not had any votes yet, no love for the French? :laugh4:

[Sir Beane]

That would be an interesting idea for an expansion pack. Set up the South American wars of independence as a mini campaign, like the mini campaigns in the MTW2 expansion.

Curious how France has not had any votes yet, no love for the French? :laugh4:

Judging by the poll so far a lot of voters are British. In which case the French are our traditional hated enemy and deserve no votes whatsoever so it isn't suprising. :laugh4:

Everyone voting for Britain also shows we are not very imaginative (I voted for them to).

[Pinxit]

Judging by the poll so far a lot of voters are British. In which case the French are our traditional hated enemy and deserve no votes whatsoever so it isn't suprising. :laugh4:

Everyone voting for Britain also shows we are not very imaginative (I voted for them to).

I prefer France to GB any day. I voted Sweden as a first choice, but my second will undoubtedly be France. The perhaps GB or the Ottoman Empire.

[Jolt]

I never played as the British in any war game of any date I can remember.

[Hax]

Either Ottomans or Dutch. I really can't decide, though it is still one of my dreams to lead the Imperatoroglu to greatness and finally conquer Vienna.

[Martok]

Well as I stated elsewhere at one point, Britain will likely be my first choice. Rounding out my top five are the Prussians, Swedish, Ottomans, and French. ~:)

[Belgolas]

Hmmm maybe some native american faction and invade Britian!

[Megas Methuselah]

Lol, yeah me too, Belg.

To be honest, though, I think I'll try out one of the 10/12 "playable" factions first. Namely, France. Start a revolution. Invade Europe. Liberty, Equality, & Fraternity!

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I've said it before but my first choise would be Sweden. The reason: I want to win the Great Northern War!
My second pick would be Spain. Because all of the colonies and like Sheogorath said "I'd like to show the British that the English isles damn well can be invaded"

[AlexanderSextus]

13 colonies, so i can laugh while my minutemen kick some redcoat :daisy:!!!!

[Don Esteban]

Surprises

I'm shocked no one is big on Spain. I mean I guess since everyone knows they will lose it all in 1900, but still Spain is in a phenominally strong position during this time. To best of my knowledge anyway.
I'd like to try Spain once.

Then again I guess eventually like mtw2 everyone will have played just about every faction. I'll try just about everyone by game end, except Mughals...India just dosn't appeal to me.

Well I'll be starting with Spain and trying to stop the British and French from stealing my empire!!!

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

Swiss on MP and Austria in SP :clown:

[Monk]

Why the Russians of course! They've been a favorite of mine ever since MTW. :yes:

[Fisherking]

Why I will start off with the tutorial and play the 13 thingies first…after that maybe the Swedes, who knows…

[Pantsalot]

Me & my brothers r going to have our own joint campaign as the British first of all,
with me in control of colonies, 1 brother in control of conquests in Europe & the
other in control of homeland affairs.

But totally my first faction would be Sweden.

[Owen Glyndwr]

I always like playing as the British first. Their isolated island serves as a jumping pad to launch forays into other areas, So I always like getting my bearings with Britain.

[Darkvicer98]

I'd like to play as either Russia or The Ottoman Empire, both are favourites of mine.

[fenir]

1st I will try something small. The British Empire.

2nd I will try Something mid Size. Osterriech.

3rd, I intend to be the Prussians.

4th The Persians.

5th the Russians.

6th Netherlands or sweden.

7th rinse, and repeat.


Sincerely

fenir

[Polemists]

So who is Courland, and why does no one want to play them? Are they even a faction?

[Quintus.JC]

I voted Prussia, would of liked multiple choice or Gah options.

[Martok]

So who is Courland, and why does no one want to play them? Are they even a faction?
No idea who Courland is (assuming the duchy was named after a person). It does appear to be a faction in the game -- if you look at the mini-map in some of the screenshots (such as this one (http://pc.ign.com/dor/objects/958390/empire-total-war/images/empire-total-war-20081027025622205.html?page=mediaFull)), you can quite clearly see it's right there wedged in between Swedish and P-L territory. :yes:


As to why nobody wants to play them, I can think of at least a couple different reasons: Probably the biggest one is that a lot of people probably don't even realize it's in the game. Also, Courland doesn't exactly have an enviable starting position -- with the Polish on one side, the Swedes on the other, and the Russians also nearby, they're surrounded by nations that are all much more powerful than they are. In addition, I believe the duchy was in vassalage to Poland-Lithuania during the time period covered by ETW, which further complicates matters.

[LordKhaine]

My top three choices in order are Britain, France and then Russia.

However like all the previous total war games, I'll try all the factions... probably starting with some completely unexpected faction that catches my eye when I first play the game...

[Styles]

I like to play small factions but I will most likely play in this order:

1. Austria
2. Prussia
3. Minor german state
4. Italien state
5. 13 Colonies
6. British Empire
7. Russia
8. Ottoman Empire

Courland (Latvian: Kurzeme; German: Kurland; Latin: Curonia / Couronia; Lithuanian: Kuršas; Estonian: Kuramaa; Polish: Kurlandia; Russian: Курляндия; Belarusian: Курляндія; Finnish: Kuurinmaa) is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.

Duchy of Courland, 1561 – 1795

The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia as it appeared in 1740. Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and Courland colonization
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was a semi-independent duchy that existed from 1561 until 1795, encompassing the areas of Courland and Semigallia. Although nominally a vassal state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the dukes operated autonomously.

In 1795, the last Duke, Peter von Biron, ceded the Duchy to the Russian Empire.

[Polemists]

Well I don't know. I think they sound kind of neat now that I know who they are. Austria is still my number one but Courland now gets number 2. Go courland :)

I think the advantage is, I personally like small nations, I like to start off only managing 1 or 2 cities, 3max and work my way up. So from that point of view they sound good.

Then again I guess no one knows how cities/provinces will work this time around.

[Majd il-Romani]

The Ottomans will dominate all...

[Pontius Pilate]

http://www.g-unleashed.com/files/34_roman_infantry_cohort_urban_screen.jpg

I'm playing as the Julii!

Actually it's going to be USA (13 colonies) all the way.

[Eusebius86]

I definately want to play as the colonies. I'm really looking forward to naval warfare. Screwing up British trade in the west Indies should be fun...

My second campaign will be the Brits, only because I think their soldiers look so sharp and disciplined.

[Hosakawa Tito]

France and Spain, just to see if I can alter the course of history in North America.

[Thermal]

EVERY SINGLE ONE :juggle2:

[Sheogorath]

France and Spain, just to see if I can alter the course of history in North America.

What about Sweden? C'mon. You know you want Swedish Mexico.

[Haxorsist]

Sweden looks interesting to me, and I think I'll start as them. Then I'll probably go Great Britain or France, though I can't deny the lure of Courland. :beam:

[Monk]

Upon further reflection I have to say Russia even more, why you ask? Crank the slider to republic, despite whatever turmoil and chaos it could bring, and brutally surpress anyone who doesn't like it. Then go to war with all the unjust monarchies still around! We'll liberate their people with our guns.

ALL HAIL THE GLORIOUS SOCIAL REVOLUTION COMRADE! :laugh4:

[Sir Beane]

Upon further reflection I have to say Russia even more, why you ask? Crank the slider to republic, despite whatever turmoil and chaos it could bring, and brutally surpress anyone who doesn't like it. Then go to war with all the unjust monarchies still around! We'll liberate their people with our guns.

ALL HAIL THE GLORIOUS SOCIAL REVOLUTION COMRADE! :laugh4:

If you shoot someone with enough republican bullets democracy is bound to leak out of them eventually! They'll have a vote whether they like it or not!

[Megas Methuselah]

Lol @ Monk. Good one! Re-thinking my options, I'll go with France or Russia first, then a Native American faction. Good stuff.

[Fisherking]

Well, who would like to play as the emerging Irish or Jacobites?

It may make for an interesting play variant…doing your best to force a rebellion and keeping troops far from home…


As to Native American factions, I hope they did their research and we are not going to have to deal with Apaches and Sioux east of the Mississippi! I want to see Choctaw ,Chickasaw, and Creek some place in the south , with Huron ,Chippewa, and Iroquoi League in the North and the Cherokee and Shawnee in the middle. North of the St. Lawrence and the Lakes there is a whole other crop but these were the most powerful at the time.

[Julius_Nepos]

I voted for the Small German States category. Specifically, I intend to begin as Bavaria, followed by the Kingdom of Sardinia and then Spain. I can't imagine any of the small states will be easy, but since I'm not a big fan of the big Empires anyway (besides Sweden) I might as well start with what I like. Now, I wonder if Württemberg is going to be in there? Yeah I'm sure it will be. Can't wait for February.

[Polemists]

Yes, well.

Well while i'm sure there will be plenty of mods to make factions unlockable I prefer the factions included as playable as they usually have more features (Voice acting, cinematics, special events, etc). So I will probably only play the 10 or so playable factions, though the game will have 50 I'm still curious now that

France
Sweden
The Ottoman Empire
Great Britain


Are all confirmed what the other 6 playable factions will be. If they consider 13 colonies a playable faction and not a emergent faction I guess there are 5 more to come. I expect a German one, Russia, and Spain will all be playable. After that it's anyone's guess who the other 2-3 factions will be.

[Martok]

There's actually 12 playable factions. That's been confirmed for a while now.


Now as to which ones will actually be playable, that's obviously still a matter of conjecture. Also (as you pointed out Polemists), a big question is whether the U.S. is considered to be one of "The Twelve", or if it doesn't count since it's only an emergent faction and won't be playable at the beginning of the Grand Campaign.


Thus far, I have a very strong hunch the list of playable factions is going to look something like this:


Confirmed as playable:
Britain
France
Ottoman Empire
Sweden
United States

Not yet officially confirmed as playable, but it's been strongly hinted that they will be:
Dutch
Mughal Empire
Poland-Lithuania

Nothing official from CA, but are generally assumed will be playable* :
Austria
Prussia/Brandenberg
Russia
Spain

Questionable (may depend on whether or not the U.S. is considered to be 1 of the 12):
Portugal
Venice


*Note that Britain was on this list until this past week.

[Polemists]

Well, hopefully they don't consider it a *playable faction*, it's hard to tell.

Given the choice of Portugal or Venice I'd prefer Venice.

I know Portugal is far more influential in the given time, but I fear Portugal and Spain would be to similiar and not offer something quite as unique (remeber portugal and spain in MTW2? yea....)

I think Venice would be nice, with a unique flavor.

[Oleander Ardens]

So many. I prefer fine light infantry with rifles, good artillery and fine cavalry: Prussia , Austria and possible Britain ought to be my first choices.

[Sheogorath]

Well, hopefully they don't consider it a *playable faction*, it's hard to tell.

Given the choice of Portugal or Venice I'd prefer Venice.

I know Portugal is far more influential in the given time, but I fear Portugal and Spain would be to similiar and not offer something quite as unique (remeber portugal and spain in MTW2? yea....)

I think Venice would be nice, with a unique flavor.

If the game was to be historically accurate, Venice really wouldn't be able to do much at all. By this point the Venetians were so poor and had so little respect international that the Ottomans could basically do as they pleased with their remaining colonies. Trade in the Mediterranean just barely kept them afloat, if heavily in debt, and their army...well...if I recall rightly, they didn't provide much (if any) resistance when the Austrians marched in.

Portugal, though, I think, is a bit more different from Spain than they're given credit for. My general impression is that the Portuguese went for the 'small, professional' model army, against Spain's 'just put as many people in uniform as you can' approach. This was at home, of course. I'm not sure about the Brazilian army or other colonial forces.

Later, against Napoleon, the British helped train their army as well, giving them a British-modeled force.


So many. I prefer fine light infantry with rifles, good artillery and fine cavalry: Prussia , Austria and possible Britain ought to be my first choices.

Russia has two of the three :P
Best artillery corps in the world, and cavalry generally described as reliable, if not as flashy as other nations.
But don't mind me ;)

[Ignoramus]

I'd like to play as Bavaria or a small German state. It's true that they won't be nearly as polished as the other 12, but with the number of factions, it would be wrong not to play as them.

[Polemists]

Not really sure there's going to be that many different forms of infantry.

I mean you figure you'll have your riflemen, your next level of that, and your third level of that. I mean what else really is there? Pikes are gone to best of my knowledge early on, charging peasants don't have much point. I guess you could have skirmishers but isn't this the time of unison armies, all looking alike?

I mean sure there will be local forces, colonial forces, guriellas, etc, etc. But by and large i'd think your infantry would just be made up of row, after row, after row of guys wearing the same uniforms and carrying the same musket.

[Sheogorath]

Well, NTW got a pretty decent variety. The major NTW factions generally had something like this:

Lifeguard unit (Highly elite grenadier-type units, Lieb Guard for the Russians, Footguard for the Brits, Old Guard for the French)
Elite grenadiers (Better than regular grenadiers, Pavlovsk Grenadiers for the Russians, Middle Guard for the French)
Grenadiers (Pretty much all the factions got a generic '(Faction name) Grenadiers')

Riflemen (Elite skirmishers who fire further and more accurately than regular light infantry, but reload a lot slower. Prussian Guard Jaegers, British Rifles, Portuguese Cacodores)
Elite Light Infantry (Basically guys with slightly longer range who were a bit more accurate. British Kings German Legion lights, French Chaussers)
Regular light infantry (Usually '(Faction name) jaegers/light infantry'

Then your line infantry, typically '(Faction name) line' or '(Faction name) fusiliers'.

And a lot of the factions had unique units as well. The British got Highlanders (which were sort of half-way between regular line and grenadiers), the French got the Young Guard (who were basically combined skirmishers and regular line infantry), the Russians had Cossacks (insanely cheap, but rather poor, cavalry lancers).


And there were quite a few different types of cavalry, although most factions had the basic 'hussar, lancer, dragoon, curiassier' setup.

On top of that, it seems that ETW is going to have a nice variety of artillery units, judging by the presence of a 24lb howitzer. NTW just went with a '6lb cannon, 12lb cannon, howitzer' setup for most armies (Although Spain had 4lb cannons, and the British and Portuguese got 9lbers instead of 12lbers.)

While it is somewhat true that most soldiers got the same basic musket (unless we're talking about the Russians, who typically got muskets from anywhere they could find them), there was a great deal of variety in the training and application of infantry types. Even going with the most utterly basic formula, ETW should feature at least three types per faction, light infantry (good at shooting, poor at melee, generally), line (a cheap, balanced sort) and grenadiers (elite infantry with good melee skills. And they'll probably have them throwing grenades everywhere too). So, three infantry types, four cavalry, a couple of artillery units. I think we can safely assume between 8-12 units, minimum, for each European faction. Not including ships.

So, basically, I don't see unit variety as being a problem unless CA is desperately uncreative. Which would contradict both their company name and past reputation :P

[Mikhal]

Hmm, looks like we Swedes will have to deal with those :daisy: Dutch before they top us :charge:

[Pinxit]

Hmm, looks like we Swedes will have to deal with those :daisy: Dutch before they top us :charge:

[Sorry, but you need to stick to English. -- Martok]

You will all kiss the blue and yellow in february, one way or another, no doubt about it.

[Sheogorath]

You will all kiss the blue and yellow in february, one way or another, no doubt about it.

What can I say but...

GREEN IS DA BEST! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!
...
I mean...URAAAAAH!

[Fisherking]

Do you think that the game will model the Sweeds rotar system? It should give them a large military and economic advantage so long as they don‘t have the same losses that Charles the XII had.

[Ituralde]

Could be one of those special research things that only certain factions have that gives you a bonus on the replenishment of your recruitment pools. If recruitment works similar to MII:TW that is.

[General SupaCrunk]

Why i can't vote? I would vote for Courland, because i live in Latvia :)

[Megas Methuselah]

Junior members can't vote. You'll be promoted to a member very quickly, don't worry. Just take part in the community's discussions.

Anyways, I still don't understand what Courland is...:embarassed:

[General SupaCrunk]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courland

Hope this helps :)

[Martok]

Why i can't vote? I would vote for Courland, because i live in Latvia :)
Welcome to the Org, GSC! ~:wave:

I too am curious to try out the Duchy of Courland. I look forward to the mod that makes it playable. :yes:

[General SupaCrunk]

I read Latvian moders will make mod where Courland can be playable

[Sheogorath]

I read Latvian moders will make mod where Courland can be playable

Making it playable will probably be a 2-second copy/paste job. It hardly requires a mod team :P

Unless you mean 'make it better' which would be awesome. Given CA's tendency to skimp on the non-major factions fairly often, I'm hoping we can get plenty of national mod teams out there improving their countries.
Then combine all those mods into a single mega-mod to rule them all. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Seriously, though, that would be epic win x10.


Welcome to the Org, GSC! ~:wave:

I too am curious to try out the Duchy of Courland. I look forward to the mod that makes it playable. :yes:

I, personally, look forward to the day when Andorra becomes playable ;)

[Megas Methuselah]

Making it playable will probably be a 2-second copy/paste job. It hardly requires a mod team :P

Unless you mean 'make it better' which would be awesome. Given CA's tendency to skimp on the non-major factions fairly often, I'm hoping we can get plenty of national mod teams out there improving their countries.
Then combine all those mods into a single mega-mod to rule them all. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Seriously, though, that would be epic win x10.

Provided it's all balanced and historically accurate, RIGHT ON!!!!! WOOT!!! https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/picture.php?albumid=53&pictureid=435

[seireikhaan]

Well, if CA ever found a good method of allowing for guerilla warfare, I'd love to give the Shawnee or Iriquois(since I'm assuming that CA will start them as 'central' state, despite actually being an alliance of tribes ~:rolleyes:) a shot. Darn guns.

However, for the purposes of the poll, I went with the Barbary states. :pirate2:

[Megas Methuselah]

Yeah, I'm still scared of how CA will be portraying guerilla warefare. Btw, it wasn't an alliance. It was a confederation. :tongue2:

[seireikhaan]

Definition of confederation, according to Merriam-Webster (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confederation):

1 : An act of confederating: A state of being confederated: ALLIANCE

2: League

~;p

[Megas Methuselah]

:rolleyes:

[Martok]

Incidentally, I also look forward to the mod that unlocks Venice as a playable faction. I'd love to take a shot at reviving their mercantile empire.

In addition, I wouldn't mind a chance to play as Denmark-Norway. Given my familial affiliation with both countries, I'd be curious to give them a try as well. :yes:

[Pinxit]

Incidentally, I also look forward to the mod that unlocks Venice as a playable faction. I'd love to take a shot at reviving their mercantile empire.

In addition, I wouldn't mind a chance to play as Denmark-Norway. Given my familial affiliation with both countries, I'd be curious to give them a try as well. :yes:

Treason! :furious3: If Total War ever enables an online campaign I will certainly destroy you with my proud Swedish troops and their mighty skills in :juggle2:. All in the name of :egypt: with the help of a :balloon2: and a crazy :clown:.

[Monk]

Treason! :furious3: If Total War ever enables an online campaign I will certainly destroy you with my proud Swedish troops and their migty skills in :juggle2:. All in the name of migty :egypt: with the help of a :balloon2: and a crazy :clown:.

Hey now them's fighting words. And Russia has and always will be a friend to the House of Martok!

Seriously though. Aside from my practically fanboyish fervor for Russia, I'd really love to give the Ottoman Empire a spin. Aside from destroying my target of affection, there's the fun of going head to head with Austria!

...

Is it wrong that I have no desire to play in any theater of operations than Europe? Who needs colonies when the old world is still not united! :laugh4:

[Pinxit]

Hey now them's fighting words. And Russia has and always will be a friend to the House of Martok!

Seriously though. Aside from my practically fanboyish fervor for Russia, I'd really love to give the Ottoman Empire a spin. Aside from destroying my target of affection, there's the fun of going head to head with Austria!

...

Is it wrong that I have no desire to play in any theater of operations than Europe? Who needs colonies when the old world is still not united! :laugh4:

The Ottoman Empire is most likely my second choice. They differ from the rest. As do Russia. Anyone have any idea about the power of the Ottomans compared to a country like France during this timeperiod? I know their land was vast, but is it anything more to it than that? Did the European countries fear the Ottomans or were the Ottomans more like an annoying "thing" disrupting trade in the far away wastelands?

[Sheogorath]

By 1700 the Ottomans were begging their decline. Certainly they were still fairly powerful, but issues like corruption in the Janissary corps were starting to take their toll (considering they pretty much just replaced sultans whenever they felt like it).
Essentially they'd started to stagnate, with nowhere else to expand to without running into a big scary country.
So, really, they pretty much were in the same situation as Spain. Plenty of economic and military power, but nothing to really do with it.

[Martok]

Treason! :furious3: If Total War ever enables an online campaign I will certainly destroy you with my proud Swedish troops and their mighty skills in :juggle2:. All in the name of :egypt: with the help of a :balloon2: and a crazy :clown:.
Then I'll see you on the field of battle. May the best Klingon Scandinavian win! ~D



Hey now them's fighting words. And Russia has and always will be a friend to the House of Martok!
:medievalcheers:



Seriously though. Aside from my practically fanboyish fervor for Russia, I'd really love to give the Ottoman Empire a spin. Aside from destroying my target of affection, there's the fun of going head to head with Austria!
I too am looking forward to seizing Vienna for the Ottomans once and for all. :yes: Also (depending on whether/how many nationalities try to declare independence and break away from the empire), it could be a fun challenge to try and keep the subject peoples in line as well. Must stamp out Greek and Serbian nationalism.... ~;p



...

Is it wrong that I have no desire to play in any theater of operations than Europe? Who needs colonies when the old world is still not united! :laugh4:
While I do look forward to establishing some overseas holdings, I'll admit that I too intend to focus mostly on Europe. I think I just want to be able to say I fought at all the major cities like Paris, Moscow, Prague....ah, the possibilities are endless. ~;)

[Spookybear]

I wouldnt mind playin Denmark-Norway :D

But I'm disappointed that they included Sweden(so far) but not Denmark :(

Otherwise I'll problely go and play some UK or Russia (But never sweden, ever!) :)

[Sheogorath]

I wouldnt mind playin Denmark-Norway :D

But I'm disappointed that they included Sweden(so far) but not Denmark :(

Otherwise I'll problely go and play some UK or Russia (But never sweden, ever!) :)

Denmark might not get a playable slot. I mean, as far as I know their only major contribution in the era was getting their fleet blown up by the British during the Napoleonic Wars, in order to keep the Frenchies from getting their hands on the feared Danish navy. :P

Something which, I gather, has led to the Danes resenting the British even to this day.

[D-Boy]

definitely the UK :2thumbsup:. It shaped our modern world, and therefore deserves the credit to be played first among all other empires. :smash:

Then maybe i'll play the 13 colonies and fulfil my lil american dream, so to speak :yes:

[Pinxit]

Denmark might not get a playable slot. I mean, as far as I know their only major contribution in the era was getting their fleet blown up by the British during the Napoleonic Wars, in order to keep the Frenchies from getting their hands on the feared Danish navy. :P

Something which, I gather, has led to the Danes resenting the British even to this day.

Most Danes dont even know about that, but sure. And no, I see no real point of including Denmark-Norway in this era. They werent particular powerful.

[Spookybear]

Ok now I get why people isn't so eager for Denmark, I just realised E:TW isn't from the 1600's to the 1800's, but 1700's to the 1800's :P

[Pinxit]

Ok now I get why people isn't so eager for Denmark, I just realised E:TW isn't from the 1600's to the 1800's, but 1700's to the 1800's :P

In the 1600s it would be more interesting playing Denmark. It was during this time the Swedes rose to become the most powerful Scandinavian country, and Denmark put up a lot of resistance and was just as powerful at times.

[RexCroatorum]

I would like to play as:
-France(the best balanced faction land/naval)
-Holland(rulez the oceans of the world)
-Spain(reform and defend my large empire)
-Prussia(far the best land troops, an generals:charge:)
-UK(far to strong, but I am fun of Master&Commander of Patrick O´Brian:book:)

[Sheogorath]

Most Danes dont even know about that, but sure. And no, I see no real point of including Denmark-Norway in this era. They werent particular powerful.

Really? Bah. I had been under the impression that it was viewed by the Danes as sort of like the British burning down DC for Americans.
Guess that's what I get for trusting a Norwegian :P


I would like to play as:
-France(the best balanced faction land/naval)
-Holland(rulez the oceans of the world)
-Spain(reform and defend my large empire)
-Prussia(far the best land troops, an generals:charge:)
-UK(far to strong, but I am fun of Master&Commander of Patrick O´Brian:book:)

The UK's dominance was hardly secure by this point. Spain was actually still quite a power by 1700. Contrary to popular opinion, the defeat of the Armada was not the downfall of Spain.
If I recall aright, the 'peak' of the Spanish Empire is generally regarded to be around 1712, and its territorial extent was greatest in the 1790's.

And I personally dispute that 'best troops and generals' remark. Suvorov would've kicked Napoleon's Corsican butt if he hadn't died just before Russia got involved.

[Pinxit]

Really? Bah. I had been under the impression that it was viewed by the Danes as sort of like the British burning down DC for Americans.
Guess that's what I get for trusting a Norwegian :P

Did the brittish really burn down DC? I was under the impression that was a myth or propaganda.

Oh, I was merely pointing out the fact that most people have no clue about their own history. For an example: very few in Sweden seem to know what the battle at Poltava is and when it took place and between which nations. And if that is bad, I can bet you a lot of money on that no one will have even have heard about the battle of Narva. It could be my fellow Swedish friends who are ignorant, or the fact that most people in this modern century seem to ignore all history but the history pictured in movies with a lot of action. And we all know how accurate movies are when dealing with history :laugh4:

The Norwegians? They are very thrustworthy! At least according to most of Swedish movies. The Danes on the other hand is portrayed as the devils in most of Swedens movies based on history.
An example is the Swedish movie "Arn: Riket vid vägens slut" which does to the Danes as Hollywood does to Arabs and Russians. Portrays them as devils. The Norwegians on the other hand is portrayed very friendly.

If I ever see a truly neutral movie about a historical event I will cry tears of joy.

[General SupaCrunk]

My mind is changed i will as Poland-Lithuania!

[CBR]

Denmark might not get a playable slot. I mean, as far as I know their only major contribution in the era was getting their fleet blown up by the British during the Napoleonic Wars, in order to keep the Frenchies from getting their hands on the feared Danish navy. :P
I'm quite sure Marlborough loved his Danish cavalry at Ramillies :beam:

But yes apart from the early wars Denmark-Norway stayed out of the other conflicts apart from a crazy Russian Czar who was close at declaring war near the end of the SYW.

The 18th century saw a reduction in importance of most of the medium sized powers: Netherlands, Sweden, Saxony, Bavaria etc. Poland became a political non-entity that others just marched through and Spain (although still a strong power) was burned out already by mid 17th century. But all that doesn't stop several of these countries from being playable in ETW.


Something which, I gather, has led to the Danes resenting the British even to this day. Hm wouldn't say that. We are much more busy resenting Germans :clown:

Now I'm sure lots of Danes don't know their history but both 1801 and 1807 are rather big events that was part of the history books when I was in school. And both had an official bicentenary commemoration with the British returning a ship’s bell from one of the ships taken in 1807 and the 2001 events involved warships from all three nations.


CBR

[Mek Simmur al Ragaski]

I'll probably play as either:

The UK (Im from there)
Switzerland (I like Switzerland)
Austria (I like Austria also)

I have no idea which one first, and i'll probably have played every faction within the first hour, to try and find the one thats ok for me.

[Pinxit]

I'll probably play as either:

The UK (Im from there)
Switzerland (I like Switzerland)
Austria (I like Austria also)

I have no idea which one first, and i'll probably have played every faction within the first hour, to try and find the one thats ok for me.

I consider that to be a major spoiler to the game. I want to know nothing about the other factions in my first round. More of a mystery that way. Much like a :balloon2:
Seriously though, I want every round to feel like a new experience, and playing all factions simultanuosly isnt the way to go. Even if it is just a sneak peak.

[Mek Simmur al Ragaski]

Yes, but it puts me off a game if I can't get the feel of it, if i can find a campaign that suits me I will be content and I will eventually play even more to test and challange myself.

[General SupaCrunk]

Where is Poland-Lithuania? :@

[geala]

1. Jacobite rebels: I like the Celtic cultures in Ireland and Scotland and I like plaid or kilt wearing men (who formed a great part of the Jacobite troops, at least in 1745/46). :2thumbsup:

in the unlikely event the Jacobites were not playable:

2. UK: from 1714 on the UK formed a small part of the mighty Electorate of Hanover, so I have some sympathy :inquisitive:

3. Prussia: the suckers conquered us in 1866 but despite all of his many faults I like Friedrich II./Frederic II. a little bit and will try to do my best to make the country a major power against all odds. :juggle2:

[Martok]

Where is Poland-Lithuania? :@
Hmm. I hadn't realized til now that it wasn't in the poll. :oops: Let me go add it....


EDIT: Fixed. ~:)

[Necceh]

Well being english i'd be tempted to go with them but i do actually consider the entire baltics quite an interesting part of the world during this era. The Swedish should of won that conflict and it would of been interesting to see how the world developed afterwards had they done so.

Looking forward to the game that is for sure. :2thumbsup:

[Sir Beane]

Poor Poland and Lithuania, doomed to poor polling performance by a tiny oversight. The worst bit is no even noticed for weeks :laugh4:

Hopefully the same things won't happen to them during the game. I can just picture them as a tiny, pathetic force sitting in eastern europe and getting ignored/invaded by giants like Russia and Prussia. Which would be unfair and innacurate.

[General SupaCrunk]

Wtf?! Poland-Lithuania is huge! Read history before posting, Prussia is tiny to Poland-Lithuania. Btw P-L would crush Prussia!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Europe_map_1648.PNG/800px-Europe_map_1648.PNG

Tiny?^^^^^^ :laugh4:

[Sir Beane]

I think you misunderstood the point of my post. I never said that Poland-Lithuania were tiny geographically, I said they were a tiny force, meaning purely military and political influence. I also never said that was historically true hence me saying 'which would be unfair and innacurate.'

I was merely refering to the fact that Martok forgot to add them to the poll and the fact no one even noticed might indicate everyone playing the game just sort of forgets about them and ignores them as a faction.

I assure you I do 'read history' and I am well aware what Poland-Lithuania was like at the time. And I am afraid they probably couldn't crush Prussia, the size of a country has nothing to do with its military might. Just look at Great Britain compared to the size of its empire :P

[Pinxit]

Wtf?! Poland-Lithuania is huge! Read history before posting, Prussia is tiny to Poland-Lithuania. Btw P-L would crush Prussia!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Europe_map_1648.PNG/800px-Europe_map_1648.PNG

Tiny?^^^^^^ :laugh4:


This map is better since the game starts 1700, not 1648.


http://www.class.uidaho.edu/mickelsen/maps/a1700eu.gif

[Megas Methuselah]

It is of no consequence. I'll crush them all the same. :clown:

[Wishazu]

Definately Great Britain first, and for a few reasons.

1) I`m British :)

2) Aside from MP campaign the main feature I`ve been waiting for in total war is naval battles and I think playing as the British will offer the best experience for this.

3) Redcoats look cool!

After I`m done with my home nation I`ll probably try the harder/smaller factions. I like the game to be as challenging as possible.