View Full Version : So i just Bought STW..
well i went and bought the warlords edition from the shops today, and started playing. First thing i noticed was how high i could pump the graphics..
in MTW i could only leave it on about 800x640 with medium quality sound before i began to notice a few slowdowns, and that on my AMD 1700xp... now i can pump up the settings to full, and the game looks wonderful, and plays wonderful, and i dont know how i could have missed it in the first place. Now im wondering why it took CA a long time to make M:TW which is only 1-2 steps forwards from STW
dragonchi
01-14-2003, 11:46
Steps forward ????? In many ways I think it took them so long to in the end just take a few steps backwards .....
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif
Shogun is a great game, no doubt, and MTW does use basically the same engine but in terms of SP gameplay, I think MTW is a great improvement. Just compare the strategic map - the Shogun one is so sparse in comparison. Compare the number of units and differentiation of factions in terms of both strategic and tactical gameplay. For me the clincher is that Shogun seems to get repetitive sooner - fighting endless battles season after season on the same maps (Shinano) just got old. MTW is a little more varied, both in tactical maps, and in how the other factions fare against each other (you know about the Hojo horde, right?). Post-patch, MTW also seems to have richer tactical gameplay due to the greater variety of useful units.
All that said, MTW did lose some nice stuff Shogun has - the fighting animations and the video clips especially.
Brutal DLX
02-07-2003, 13:46
Hi there,
Simon says ... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
anyway, are you saying Hojo are always the strongest? I recently played a campaign again in STW, there Mori was dominant clan. Of course, I had Uesugi so I managed to keep Hojo in check, but I realised there is really Total War, compared to MTW, in STW you are constantly warring, whereas in MTW you have breathing space a lot more often...
Foreign Devil
02-07-2003, 21:45
In my games, if I was on the eastern part of the map, Mori always seemed to dominate, and if I was on the western portion (i.e., playing Shimuza or Mori) then Hojo seemed to dominate.
In Medieval, its not so clear cut- I've seen most factions in strong late game positions troughout my campaigns.
Nobunaga0611
02-14-2003, 05:51
Yes I agree with all of you, in STW no one seems to care about diplomacy, they ally with you, then attack you in a few years. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/argue.gif That added to the game a bit I think. In MTW it seems a bit more historically accurate, as I don't think all factions wanted to fight with all other factions all the time, even if they did share a common border. But there are some good improvements in MTW, not specifically on the battle side, but more in the campaign side. The upside hides a bit of the downside imo.
Hey Alro http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif Glad you bought it. You cannot have missed it mate http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif
The list of differences between the two games in long even though one can safely say that MTW is a major extension of STW.
So should we compile a list of differences ?:
1. Battle map size:
IMHO this is a much improved feature in MTW over STW. When I revisit STW post MTW, the STW maps seem very small. STW maps are still great but simply smaller in comparision. Having said that we should see a lot of tactical manuvering in MTW vis a vis STW. Do we ? the answer is usually: no we don't. In any case I personally prefer the variety of terrain available in MTW, coz I walk all over the map when necessary. The larger maps give added possibilities for tactical manuver. The different terrain types add more possibilities still. What I really miss from Shoggy: FOG
2. Atmosphere:
MTW in SP & MP lacks atmosphere, simply said. Shoggy gave you that immersive throne room with EmissarySan and others barging in your thought processes. The music is spectacular. Meddy has good music too, love those Arab and European tunes. Somehow fails to live up to the artistic aesthetic appeal of Shoggy. Shoggy was an art piece in comparison to Meddy. Then again the Japanese were by far cultured in a more disciplined way than Medieval Europe, so it sort of balances. However, the Almohads, whose universities attracted scholars from throughout the Mediterranean, fail to project a justly educated and cultured image of themselves as they historically were. Cut-scenes also added to the great Shoggy atmosphere. All in all Meddy seems to be a rushed game where Shoggy was obviously a well researched first love for the developers as well as the players.
This could be a long list..anyone ?
Orda Khan
02-17-2003, 20:26
Many steps back Mist Shogun armies are a joy to manoeuvre whereas MTW are a pain - point in question the sideways movement. I did this repeatedly last night, not for any strategic reason, just wallowing in nostalgia. Stupid MTW units insist on turning their flank even to take ten steps to the left http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/angry.gif
Sinan, do you really find MTW maps that much bigger? I think it's just the false horizon that gives an impression of being huge. On many occasions I have found the maps to be quite cramped. But that could be down to the deployment zones all being crammed in the centre of the map.
To me the Shogun maps just have more presence and the weather reports are accurate unlike the 'it's gonna rain no matter what coz it's a temperate map' flaw you get at MTW.
Remember the 4 max no Ashi rule?....Check out the rules appearing at MTW. People moaned about guns yet seem happy to sit in pavise arbalester shoot outs. I have a theory about this. I think it's more a habit than a tactic, while arbs are by far the best range unit, you could actually ignore them and just march over them with your robots...er...I mean infantry. In Shogun at least you had to worry about range units, perhaps this is why there is so little strategy in MTW, this and the fact your men fall over exhausted if you ask them to march 50 paces. I must confess I have actually gone and made tea during an arb duel.
The subtle differences between the factions may be evident in SP but I disagree when I read that Shogun was repetitive and MTW is not. Same fight , same province? Yes I've had that ( flippin' Lithuanians ) Hojo horde? The Egyptians always seemed to match my armies and some, very strange when I had the greatest annual income and the largest military might Plus let's not forget you may have 12 factions but do you actually meet them all?
Ok let's see...broken alliegeances. Russia was my ally, they invaded...what's different? I defeated them and started to devour their land so they sent me a Princess http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif So I said thankyou and then destroyed them http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
I am still getting the occasional crash mid game and due to the year based turn end up having to do it all again because the auto save has a mind of its own. I am not the only one as the Apothecary forum is full of them. I read about queue bugs and the like and then I get to asking myself will I fork out the dosh for Rome when it's released or VI for that matter? Far better to let the dust settle and see if there's any positive feed back.
Sorry I knew there was more.......That awful, awful Gamespy foyer and the relogging, restarting etc..etc..etc...
Ok I'm depressed now someone else take over.......
........Orda
p.s. Sorry, I'm just fed up http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif
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