Poll for the 5 question to be answered by CA (with actual Poll this time)

[Soulflame]

If the mods decide there is not enough time for this poll (which I understand perfectly) they can close this down. But since it was opted many times, and because there still is no word from any of the mods which action is the best one, I decided at least to go ahead and make the poll. That way, should the mods decide that this poll IS valid, at least we had more time to vote.

Please only vote for 5 questions (or less).

From the previous thread (without the poll)

The Emperor
I think a Mod should choose the main questions.


Soulflame
The Emperor: Seeing as the mods haven't replied to our suggestion to propose the 5 questions, or a system to choose the 5, and with only about 6.5 hours to go, I think we need to act. If the mods decide after we post the poll and voted, at least we had a safety backup: there were going to be 5 questions that could be answered even if the mods didn't show up.


I hope the poll works this time.. I checked all lengths in advance..

[GilJaysmith]

Looks good. I'll check the vote around 9am GMT tomorrow and copy the five high scorers to Roxy. (In the event of a tie, I'll just pick at random, so no rigging it on the offchance that I'll include twenty-seven questions just because they happen to be joint fifth in the poll :-)

[Gregoshi]

Hey folks, I wouldn't worry about we mods getting involved. Several of you have been doing a nice job with this and you seem to be very fair about selecting the questions, so press on! My hat's off to those of you who have helped work this out from beginning to end. :thumbsup:

[Tamur]

Nice work Soulflame. I was having a horrendous time trying to pick an even subset, you've got a good cross-section here.

[Degtyarev14.5]

Alright, I submit another:

Can CA / Activision comment on planned after-sale service and support? This extends beyond releasing monthly historical battles to issues such as patches - more than one if necessary, please - that deal with obvious bug-fixes as well as more general troop / faction imbalances.

If you're interested, another submission:

Will all faction leaders die at age fifty-six?

A.

[Myrddraal]

Can you give some example of how moddable RTW will be? Will there be modding tools released? 18 votes and counting (come on you know this is the most important question...) =)

[Bob the Insane]

Put my votes in but I would add that I will be happy with any of the questions being asked, I juct can't wait to see this game in my hands and any info makes the wait a little easier... :2thumbsup:

[Soulflame]

Alright, I submit another:

Can CA / Activision comment on planned after-sale service and support? This extends beyond releasing monthly historical battles to issues such as patches - more than one if necessary, please - that deal with obvious bug-fixes as well as more general troop / faction imbalances.

If you're interested, another submission:

Will all faction leaders die at age fifty-six?

A.

I cant edit the poll to add more questions, and alot of people have voted already anyway. So I'll try to answer them with my own (limited) knowledge and common sense.

I don't think they'll comment on after-sale service and support anyway. They will obviously say "We hope we don't need to do many bugfixes/imbalance changes, but if they are needed, we'll do them as fast as we can". Just like the release date of the game itself: It's done when it's done, plz don't keep asking for it, because it's useless anyway.
And in the very remote possibility that they don't have an after-sale team, they won't admit it anyway (but I can't imagine they won't have a team).

As for the second question, they didn't all die at 56 in MTW, so I guess in Rome they won't either.

[Degtyarev14.5]

Hmmm... You are aware that Viking Invasion introduced that system whereby a general will die forty years after the commencement of his career? As an unexpected side-effect, all princes, kings, khalifas, doges, sultans and emperors died at the age of fifty-six.

Furthermore, Activision was not prepared to authorise CA to develop a patch to address this rather severe bug. That it got through the QA net in the first place is astonishing: that CA employees had to end up fixing it in their own time is unforgivable.

I believe either Activision or CA had better speak up and address this concern before I decide whether to invest in their products again.

Please note that any misgivings I bear are directed at Activision, not CA.

A.

[Bob the Insane]

Hmmm... You are aware that Viking Invasion introduced that system whereby a general will die forty years after the commencement of his career? As an unexpected side-effect, all princes, kings, khalifas, doges, sultans and emperors died at the age of fifty-six.

Furthermore, Activision was not prepared to authorise CA to develop a patch to address this rather severe bug. That it got through the QA net in the first place is astonishing: that CA employees had to end up fixing it in their own time is unforgivable.

I believe either Activision or CA had better speak up and address this concern before I decide whether to invest in their products again.

Please note that any misgivings I bear are directed at Activision, not CA.

A.

You could try asking that on the .com site but you had better have your flame proof pants on.. ~;)

Better still try a direct e-mail to Activision customer support and see what the response is... If they can't be bothered responsed, well that speaks volumns too...

[The_Emperor]

shameless bump...

[Steppe Merc]

I always wondered why CA needs Activision anyway. What do they do besides ruin their games? ~:confused:

[Tamur]

Err... provide the cash to make them.

[Gregoshi]

One suggestion now looking at the voting: perhaps we should throw a bone to those who are interested in the MP aspect of the game, i.e., take the highest vote getter for the two MP questions as the fifth question since the MP questions are lagging very far behind SP and modding questions. We do have one modding question up in the top 5 so that aspect is at least covered. MP is the only category that seems like it will be neglected purely based on the voting.

That is just my two cents/pence/florin/denarii(spelling?).

[Mithrandir]

Here here hear hear

[Soulflame]

Just to make sure:

The suggestion is:
========
These are the two multiplayer questions:

*How is Multiplayer different in RTW from MTW? e.g. new options/features/game types/online battles?
*Are there any considerations at CA to ever try a MP campaign, or have they given up on that concept?

If they both don't make the list of 5 through voting, the highest voted of these two replaces question number 5 on the list.
========

I think it's a fair suggestion.
Can the mods can confirm I summarized it right?

[Mithrandir]

Here here hear hear.

[Bob the Insane]

Just to make sure:

The suggestion is:
========
These are the two multiplayer questions:

*How is Multiplayer different in RTW from MTW? e.g. new options/features/game types/online battles?
*Are there any considerations at CA to ever try a MP campaign, or have they given up on that concept?

If they both don't make the list of 5 through voting, the highest voted of these two replaces question number 5 on the list.
========

I think it's a fair suggestion.
Can the mods can confirm I summarized it right?


Pandering to the needs of a vocal minority group...

Rome was a Republic, not a representational democracy... ~D ~:joker:

[Colovion]

I want MP to get some representation - so that sounds good.

[Stuie]

Just to make sure:

The suggestion is:
========
These are the two multiplayer questions:

*How is Multiplayer different in RTW from MTW? e.g. new options/features/game types/online battles?
*Are there any considerations at CA to ever try a MP campaign, or have they given up on that concept?

If they both don't make the list of 5 through voting, the highest voted of these two replaces question number 5 on the list.
========

I think it's a fair suggestion.
Can the mods can confirm I summarized it right?

What's fair about that? You don't like the democratic process, huh? If the majority chooses otherwise, I say let the results stand.

[Medieval Assassin]

What's fair about that? You don't like the democratic process, huh? If the majority chooses otherwise, I say let the results stand.


Indeed, fair is fair, and fair is what the most people want.

[Gregoshi]

Whatever. It was only a suggestion to give a little satisfaction to supporters of the three main parts of the game. It doesn't matter though as the game comes out in 3 days anyway.

[Beelzebub]

Why do you guys ask questions who's answers we will know in 2 days when the game is released? What a waste.

[Colovion]

Why do you guys ask questions who's answers we will know in 2 days when the game is released? What a waste.

Because we're excited about the game more than you. :2thumbsup:

[Tamur]

Because we're excited about the game more than you. :2thumbsup:

lol!! Believe it or not, we'll be asking questions AFTER it comes out as well! We're crazy like that.

[GilJaysmith]

OK, it would appear that the most popular questions are:

- How will logistics be handed in RTW? Will we be encouraged to maintain lines of supply? (52 votes)
- Can you give some example of how moddable RTW will be? Will there be modding tools released? (39 votes)
- How is it determined whether you fight during the day or at night? (39 votes)
- Will faction re-emergences still be in like they were in MTW (tied to loyalty of province etc)? (38 votes)
- Can we have the EXACT same controls as in MTW? What about alt-click commands? (35 votes)

If you're all very nice to one another on the Jousting Fields today, I'll also forward the most popular MP-related question which was:

- Are there any considerations at CA to ever try a MP campaign, or have they given up on that concept? (28 votes)

I will now go interrogate Roxy for answers to the above... thank you all and good morning.

[The_Emperor]

Thanks Gil, You deserve a Beer!

[Myrddraal]

- Can you give some example of how moddable RTW will be? Will there be modding tools released? (39 votes)

Yippee! Hope the answer is good. :)
Ok I'll calm down now...

[crushinator]

some of the questions appear to have been answered in the link below (i've also pasted the text) ... enjoy ~:)

http://forums.esprit-str.com/viewtopic.php?t=12321


1- Will the crushed factions come back again in the game like in Medieval ?

If you defeat a faction, but treat the inhabitants of their cities
very badly (high taxes, etc), there is a chance that the settlement will
revolt and a faction will reappear.

2- For the multiplayer part, will you use GameSpy again ? Will it be possible to create dedicated server ?

All Internet multiplayer will be handled by GameSpy. All matchmaking and game browsing will happen either in GameSpy Arcade, or via the in-game shell. However, the games themselves are hosted by an individual on their own PC. We also support LAN play.

3- What big modifications for the multiplayer part since Medieval ? What we saw seem to be very similar.

in addition to having the amazing detail that these now is in Rome: Total War, we've included River, Siege and Open battles that can be fought on any terrain, in any weather, at any time of day and for up to six people using any of the games 21 factions. In particular, the sieges represent a huge step forward. Never before have you had to fight such epic battles that require the player to fight To the walls, THROUGH/OVER the walls, ON TOP of the walls, THROUGH the city streets, culminating in a pitched battle in the city centre J Additionally, we've included the historical battles as multiplayer battles.

4- Will a ladder be present ?

The retail release of Rome: Total War will not support ladders, however it is something that we're interested in looking in to.

5- Will it be possible to customise the interface ?

You will be able to switch between three camera modes (RTS - similar to other RTS games, Total War - total free camera that allows you to look in any direction and General Cam - the camera is locked to the General of your army - you can only see what he sees - difficult, but a lot of fun J). In addition to this, you will be able to redefine every key in the game to your own preference.

6- Will it be possible to move the camera with the mouse like in Medieval ? (The new RTS Camera is a good idea, but in bigger map with mountains, or walls, and a lot of soldiers, it's sometimes hard to use)

If you push the camera to the edge of the screen, you can move the camera around.

7- Will you release modding tools with the game ?

An editor to create your own battles and Historical Battles will ship
with the game as an unsupported feature. It's the same tool that was used to create the historical battle maps.

8- Will you release an add-on ?

We're driving hard to get the greatest strategy game of all time intothe shops on time around the world. Let us finish that first. Please

[Stuie]

General Cam - the camera is locked to the General of your army - you can only see what he sees - difficult, but a lot of fun

I loved using this in the demo. Definitely more difficult, definitely more realistic, definitely a lot of fun.

And I agree The_Emperor... Gil deserves a beer. Maybe even a whole case of beer.

[Shaitan]

General Cam - the camera is locked to the General of your army - you can only see what he sees - difficult, but a lot of fun

I loved using this in the demo. Definitely more difficult, definitely more realistic, definitely a lot of fun.

And I agree The_Emperor... Gil deserves a beer. Maybe even a whole case of beer.

This sounds very good. I think I will love that extra touch of realism (didn't play the demo. 36kb modem here).

Shaitan

[The_678]

I just thought of a great question. I don't know if it's been mentioned or not but will you ever be on the defending side of a siege? Since the siege part has been upgraded so much it would actually be fun to defend a town now, with placement of archers, running troops thru the steets to defend a breach, get men on the walls etc...

I hope there is siege defense at least.

[GilJaysmith]

Yep, you can defend against town assaults and sieges. I was just playing a historical siege assault at lunchtime, actually. Having streets to move through and a definite goal (the city plaza) is fun.

[crushinator]

Yep, you can defend against town assaults and sieges.

Thanks for the info ~:cheers:


I was just playing a historical siege assault at lunchtime, actually. Having streets to move through and a definite goal (the city plaza) is fun.

but now you are just showing off that you have the game and we don't ~;p ~:joker:

[GilJaysmith]

>but now you are just showing off that you have the game and we don't


That's quite true. And by way of apology, I'd like to make the following statement:



HEE HEE HEE



... er, oops, I meant to say "Sorry" ;-)

[Tamur]

lol! Err... thanks Gil for that ray of sunshine. :furious3: ~D

[Colt374]

HA HA HA HA. LOL!

Now that's amusing way of sticking then boot in when we're down, Gil!

Col.

[Gregoshi]

Aw, let the CA folks show off a bit. They've been working their butts off for the past 3-4 years on this game, so let 'em have a little fun. Besides, I'm sure on the inside there is a butterfly or two fluttering around as they await feedback from the TW fans and those initial sales figures.

[The_Emperor]

Ok that does it, This taunting is too much!

Quickly raise an army, Grab some Ornagers, we go to besiege the CA Offices! :charge: :duel: :surrender:

~:wave:

[Captain Fishpants]

Damn! He typed that out loud!

But then

HEE HEE HEE

I've got the game as well! Muahahahahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahah!


>but now you are just showing off that you have the game and we don't


That's quite true. And by way of apology, I'd like to make the following statement:



HEE HEE HEE



... er, oops, I meant to say "Sorry" ;-)

[Tamur]

Quickly raise an army, Grab some Ornagers, we go to besiege the CA Offices!

:laugh4:

Wait, I've just thought of another unit...

Total War Fan: A 8 D 8 M 34 Intense, Prone to Gripe, Can Sap, Can Lay Seige To Developers

[Soulflame]

This is asking for retribution ~:p.
If you guys are interested... can we do a CA versus Orgites battle when it is released?
Of course you defending a siege would be the most flavorfull ~;)

(Now I hope a game can be spectated by people in addition to its players.. hehe)

So... do you accept the challenge?

[Praylak]

Yeah,....I can see these next few days are going to be the longest days ever....

[The_Emperor]

Sounds like a siege battle is inevitable...

Perhaps we should ressurect the dreaded Pitchfork Phalanx from the mists of the Colosseum! (or at least Mod it in) ~D

[Tamur]

*notices the sun is moving downward in the southern sky*

*notices supervisor walk in and demand code! eek, time to run *

[Steppe Merc]

An editor to create your own battles and Historical Battles will ship with the game as an unsupported feature. It's the same tool that was used to create the historical battle maps.
That's it? ~:eek: ~:mecry:
When they said moddable I hoped it would come with a unit designer...
It's profe that their out to ruin our Europa Barborurum effort! ~:joker:

[frogbeastegg]

Assorted CA hee hee hee-ing
~:joker: You are evil ... I like that.

Captain Fishpants, can I ask you a question that's been bugging me for months now? Where did you get that sig quote from? I recognise it but I can't think where from.

[Tamur]

So, err... did I miss the answers somewhere? Everyone can just tell me to be patient, and I'll happily wait till December...

[GilJaysmith]

Answers coming in the next hour.

[maestro]

w00000000000000000000000000t

[Myrddraal]

about 15 minutes to go before the promised answers deadline...

[maestro]

5 minutes.... guess I'll just wait here until then..... :juggle2:

[The_Emperor]

*The Pitchfork Phalanx shuffles sideways in anticipation, like in the demo*

[maestro]

~:handball: Does sitting here pressing F5 make me very sad for a 28yr old married man?

[Sjakihata]

yes

[Gregoshi]

Patience, Gil is composing the post. ~:handball:

[Barkhorn1x]

~:handball: Does sitting here pressing F5 make me very sad for a 28yr old married man?

Dude, that's like "Ebay" behavior.

Barkhorn. ~:joker:

[GilJaysmith]

OK, at last... here are Roxy's answers, compiled with the help of Captain Fishpants and Jerome.


1. How will logistics be handed in RTW? Will we be encouraged to maintain lines of supply?

Logistics aren’t simulated. We want you thinking like a great general, not the man in charge of the bakery! Building roads, paved roads and then highways will, however, increase movement rates. There are also various retinue characters that can aid logistics, such as the ‘Quartermaster’ who gives a bonus to movement points (you don’t have to wait for your nominal supplies to catch up) and aids you in looting attacked settlements.

2. Can you give some example of how moddable RTW will be? Will there be modding tools released?

Rome is much more moddable than Medieval or Shogun. Much of the engine is set up from text files, which we’ve purposefully left unencrypted to allow the mod community to really go to town with them, and the formats are mostly explained in comments at the top of these files. This allows you to do things as diverse as reskinning the unit models, changing the way dust behaves, altering the unit statistics, or changing the colours of the skydome or the weather effects. We’ll also release a historical battle editor in the near future, which allows editing of the terrain and the battle setup, which should allow the mod community can create its own historical battles. We’re also keen to have feedback from the mod community – with a view to helping out where we can in any future patches, etc.

3. How is it determined whether you fight during the day or at night?

Night battles can’t be fought from the campaign game, and normally campaign battles end at nightfall. But it is possible to switch off the battle time limit, and then battles will last into the night and even into another day. There is also an option to select a night battle for custom battles and online battles.

4. Will faction re-emergences still be in like they were in MTW (tied to loyalty of province etc)?

Factions can still re-emerge in Rome – but in a much more restricted way than they did in Medieval. In Rome the system works as follows: If a city that was previously owned by a now destroyed faction rebels against the player, and a family member from is still alive from that faction ‘s family tree, there is a chance that the army that rebels in that city will be a loyalist army from that old faction – thereby effectively bringing that faction back into the game.

5. Can we have the EXACT same controls as in MTW? What about alt-click commands?

Most of the controls in the game are fully modifiable to the player’s individual tastes. The original “Total War” camera is still selectable and, on the whole, the keyboard shortcuts and so on remain the same. The only real difference is the ‘left-click select, right-click action’ dynamic. This was changed to reduce the number of frustrating mistakes people make when trying to select a unit under the old system, when it would issue a ‘move’ order to the current selected unit. We’re yet to find anyone who didn’t get used to the new system very quickly – and most people actually prefer it once they’ve used it for a while.

MP Bonus Question. Are there any considerations at CA to ever try a MP campaign, or have they given up on that concept? (28 votes)

We’ve looked at this a few times in the past, and have looked again during the development of Rome, but we’ve not yet found the time to resolve the problems associated with doing it. The difficulties are not just technical but also gameplay related, and a big part of it is ensuring that the game stays engaging and some players are not kept waiting for long periods while other people fight or resolve their turns. The long and short of it is, there are currently no plans to do a multiplayer campaign, but we’ve not given up on doing it eventually, either as part of a future product or possibly even stand-alone.



So there you are... hopefully that assuages a little curiosity.

I'm on holiday until Monday so you'll be spared my rapid-fire wit and charm until then. In the meantime, from all at Creative Assembly: we hope you enjoy the majesty, the glory, the splendour, the towering gaming achievement that is ... Rome: Total War.

[crushinator]

*edit* woo! answer here ~D

[Quid]

Thank you very much for answering these questions for us, Jil. I am sure it did take some time to write it up, at least (not a mounainous effort, but still ~;) ).

Enjoy your well-deserved time off !

Quid

[Thoros of Myr]

TY TY TY :) some juicy bits there!

[Degtyarev14.5]

No word on a model editing tool or .pak extractor though... Just text editing. I don't like the look of this...

That aside... Thank You CA!

A.

[Tamur]

Thanks Gil, good to hear the answers! Give our thanks to Roxy, we like the clarity.

And do enjoy your break, you've earned it (and probably the Other break as well, the one that runs from now till Luciadagen). Cheers!

[The_Emperor]

Thanks for the answers Gil... ~:wave:

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

As long as you don't need the Hex Editor to edit the text files I'l be a happy man.

[Soulflame]

Thanks for the answers :). I was just thinking wouldn't it be revolutionary (in comparison to Rome;TW) to include a MP campaign? Well, here's to hoping for someday ~:cheers:

Enjoy your well deserved free time, but when you get back, we need to talk again about the possibility of a CA versus Orgites battle :devilish: (see a while back for the challenge)

[Sjakihata]

great, thanks CA

[Basileus]

Cheers guys, none of my questions though heh

[Colovion]

Very nice info right there.

I want to thank the CA team for putting up with us and our bickering, complaining and endless questions concerning Rome. It's great to see developers taking time out of their lives they could have spent elsewhere to answer questions which many devs never would have looked at (what with the game about to be released). CA you have deffinately restored my faith in you since I joined the community - there were some iffy times there. Now it's looking good though - cheers, enjoy your time off - you deserve it.

[Kraellin]

thanks gil, roxy, capt.

no mp campaign...hmmm.... dont make me come over there and show you how to do it ;) i guess my write up on how got lost somewhere. i seem to recall that Amp and i had a pretty good thread on how a long time ago.

the mod question covered a fair amount, but what about the campaign map; is that going to be easily moddable?

K.

[Barkhorn1x]

In the meantime, from all at Creative Assembly: we hope you enjoy the majesty, the glory, the splendour, the towering gaming achievement that is ... Rome: Total War.

I very much plan too.

Thanks,
Barkhorn.

[slackker]

tks CA!! but can any1 confirm this: Can u line up ur army in the formation u want and use alt-click or a similar function to make them stay in formation while moving? CA mentioned on the whole its the same, i find it rather vague..

[Colovion]

In the demo you can to an extent but it's setup kind of differently - you have to group units to make them stay in the same formation. Once grouped they'll stay how they presently are - if you try to "drag/click" the units stay how they were but you can rotate their axis that they are positioned on. At least that's the only way I've figured it out...