German Preview (Translated)

[Marten]

I thought you all have seen this preview from 4players.de. If not, here is a almost proper translation. :laugh4:

They played the whole RtI, not only the last parts as other previewers did. Beware of spoilers! :book:


Here is the translation:

http://de.babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.4players.de%2F4players.php%2Fdispbericht%2FPC-CDROM%2FVorschau%2F9391%2F62038%2F0%2FEmpire_Total_War.html&lp=de_en&btnTrUrl=%C3%9Cbersetzen

[Vuk]

That is in English? :P

[Monsieur Alphonse]

I love computers that translate. Here are some highlights:


Fewer armies more influence.
I hope that this is true for the main campaign. No longer stack spamming and endless skirmishes but real focus on the enemy's main army. Real strategy instead of lots of tactical battles but never a decisive one until the last where you destroyed a faction.


maneuver compass
You can change the facing of an army or a part of that army with a compass. It is no longer required to do that with you mouse or with the < or > keys.

[NovaColonel]

I love Babelfish... [/sarcasm] That's why the world needs translators!

[Ituralde]

This maneuver compass is actually a pretty nifty addition form what I gathered. Not only can you change the facing of individual units, but you can basically order your whole army to make a turn to the left or right. Additionally you can use to just have your whole formation advance. That way you can move your army cohesively and engage the enemy in the desired formation.

Other things that I found interesting is the larger spherer of influence that is cast by armies. It is apparently dependent on the leadership level of the general. So great generals will be able to control much larger areas and force their enemies to come to them.

He talked a bit about the AI as well, and while it was pretty solid, he complained that it was often too slow to exploit the weaknesses of the player, like attacking undefended Artillery. It was also a tad to easy to get around their flanks, even when the enemy could see your movements clearly.

There will be Historical Battles. In the version he played the battle of "Porto Novo" (1759) could be played.

He also mentions that the specializing of the different small towns reminded him a bit of Colonization. So you would choose one town for science by building a school, and another for manufacturing, or farming. The main city can concentratet on military buildings and cultural one. The latter will help reduce the risks of rebellion.


I just read the original German version, so I don't know how much of the above could be gleaned from the babefish version.
Cheers!

Ituralde

[Sir Beane]

I'm impressed if he played a Historical Battle. Everything we heard up until now said none would be in the game. I really hope they are though! :2thumbsup:

Thanks for the translation Ituralde! It all sounds like really good additions, especially the manouvre compass! :beam:

[gollum]

This maneuver compass is actually a pretty nifty addition form what I gathered. Not only can you change the facing of individual units, but you can basically order your whole army to make a turn to the left or right. Additionally you can use to just have your whole formation advance. That way you can move your army cohesively and engage the enemy in the desired formation.

these were control features lost from the transition between the original TW engine and the RTW/M2TW engine. This is a very good addition and step forward.



Other things that I found interesting is the larger spherer of influence that is cast by armies. It is apparently dependent on the leadership level of the general. So great generals will be able to control much larger areas and force their enemies to come to them.


This sounds like a nice feature if only the AI can use it well. In previous games there was an influence zone but it was so small as to be inconsequential.

One of the things that sounded not-so-good though was that you can receive new units with out grouping them and moving them on the strat map anywhere. It is mentioned that you can get reinforcements irrespective if you are away from barracks or in enemy territory. I hope this is implemented with appropriate travel times, otherwise it might ruin the game significantly.

Thanks Mr Marten and Mr Ituralde

!it burnsus!

[Ituralde]

This sounds like a nice feature if only the AI can use it well. In previous games there was an influence zone but it was so small as to be inconsequential.


When you look at the screenshots that accompany that preview, there's one on the second page where you can see an army and a yellow coloured circle around it. It's not overly large but much better than the one square we had in the previous games. That one army there could well seal off the northern border, by positioning itself half-way between the mountains and the sea.



One of the things that sounded not-so-good though was that you can receive new units with out grouping them and moving them on the strat map anywhere. It is mentioned that you can get reinforcements irrespective if you are away from barracks or in enemy territory. I hope this is implemented with appropriate travel times, otherwise it might ruin the game significantly.


Yeah I wondered about that too. It sounded a bit strange and different from what I've heard so far. It was mentioned several times that this recruiting is just a convenience thing and the troops still have to travel to your position physically. No mention in this preview though, maybe he just got it wrong or explained it a little weird.