New video at Gamespot (official trailer)

[Silver Rusher]

A great new trailer has been posted on gamespot:

http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/medieval2totalwar/index.html

I think it's great how soldiers on the battlefield actually fight properly with each other, instead of the RTW style of sparring in front of an invisible enemy to kill someone 2 ft behind.

[Zatoichi]

Yep - pretty impressive stuff! Very nice shots of the campaign map in action, lots of smooth animations on display as well.

Good find sir!

[Ibn Munqidh]

Grrrrrr! is there a way to dl those without joining gamespot!!!?:furious3:

[Alien_Tortoise2345]

Looks sumptuous. Wonder what it's running on though?

From the campaign map there, it seems that Ireland is one province on the map. Now as I recall, the English didn't control the entire country and the area around Co.Dublin was the only area continually in their hands, so maybe a second province should be created to reflect this?

[Ibn Munqidh]

Arabia wasnt entirely a single province either, nor was the area now known as egypt, but still, they are single in MTW2. You cant expect CA to get everything right, thats what modders are for:laugh4:

[David]

New trailer with Interface and stuff. Have no sound at work, but i think there is also commentary.

Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/medieval2totalwar/media.html)
WorthPlaying (http://www.worthdownloading.com/game.php?gid=1957)

Oops sorry, didnt see other thread .... :(

[Ituralde]

You can watch the low-res version at gamespost withouth joining, I think. If you want to download the high-res version though you have to click on the link below.

http://www.3dgamers.com/dlselect/games/medieval2/169_medieval2_071206_hd.zip.html

Thanks to TB666 for making me aware of that option!

Cheers!

Ituralde

[Ludens]

Thanks Silver Rusher, David and Ituralde. They have been added to the M2:TW Video thread.

[The_Doctor]

The HD version is on Fileplanet.

:2thumbsup:

[Ibn Munqidh]

Thanks alot Silver Rusher and Ituralde for the heads up, and source for dl.

I dont see alot of difference from Rome, especially with the interface, however, the machine used to play the game in the movie seems quite bad and doesnt do the game any justice.

[Dooz]

The best thing out of this movie is definately the battles. Must say, they looked incredible, the real cotact fighting. Other than that and the non-clone armies, it did pretty much look like RTW from the campaign map on... which was to be expected of course, but meh. Lets hope they get the details right or allow modders to fix them if their wrong...

[Incongruous]

Meh

Not too much of a heads over Rome methinks

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

The recruitment system seems different. Apparently the number of units of any one type is limited: say, in one turn, you can only get 3 archers or two knights. You have to see the HD trailer to pick it up. I didn't see it on fileplanet, but these nice people (http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?fs=1&id=2767) have it, first movie.

[B-Wing]

They stated that 17 factions were playable. I didn't know this, but it may have already been revealed. Battles do look great. I noticed a couple soldiers fallen over on their hands and knees, not yet dead, which adds a nice touch of realism. I hope they don't go overboard with the fatalities, though.

[Shottie]

Oh the game looks so great and lovely!! No matter how good the game looks, its crap if the AI sucks IMHO.

[econ21]

The recruitment system seems different. Apparently the number of units of any one type is limited: say, in one turn, you can only get 3 archers or two knights.

Sounds intriguing - it might encourage more historical army composition. Could be particularly useful for makers of "realism" mods.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Whenever I see the great new battle animations and models, I think this would be wonderful for M&B...

If only this wasn't RTW 1000 years later, but MTW 2.

Ah, well.

Crazed Rabbit

[ChewieTobbacca]

very nice! There is hope yet!

From the combat, it looks like the running through ranks thing has mostly been fixed - lots of close combat including charges that looked pretty good. Animation is very fluid and the combat looks much more realistic.

Campaign map looks excellent.

I like the new recruitment thing. Multiple units per turn is good - more combat.

[screwtype]

Nothing new in that vid. It was no more informative about how actual battles play out than any of the others.

[Ituralde]

Well if you look closely at the High-Res version then there actually is some new stuff in it, beside the commentary which tells you that you cann choose from 17 different factions at the beginning of the game.

Also the new recruitment system gets displayed well as somebody else has already mentioned. You can recruit 3 units in Toledo in one turn, probably depending on the size of the castle, and you can choose from different pools of units. It will be interesting to see how fast they replenish. Probably Peasants and Militia units will be available more often than say knights. This would really help to get the Medieval army mix right.

Also I wonder if anyone has noticed that strange faction, which is occupying Navarre. It's a white flag with a blue cross. Which faction is it, in previous screenshots Portugal had control over Navarre, could this be the Portugese flag? Unfortunately the part of the minimap that would help shed light on this is obstructed by the big SEGA sign, too bad.

Cheers!

Ituralde

[Ituralde]

Well never mind, after looking at that screenshot from Byzantium, where you can get a good look at the minimap, Portugal is displayed as White with Blue borders which corresponds nicely to that faction owning Navarre in the video.

Sorry for the double-post too, but I can't seem to find the edit button on this forum.

[Bob the Insane]

Interesting to note that although there appears to be landbridges in the game there is not one between Britain and Flanders...

[SpencerH]

The high-res version is definitely worth the download for those who're not 'bandwidth limited'. I thought there was gonna be blood in MTW2 but it seems not to be. I find it strange to see a two handed sword stuck through someones chest in what amounts to anime-level graphics without seeing some blood. Perhaps CA believes MTW2 is less likely to get a 'Mature' rating that way but I doubt it. Is it just me or does MTW2 seem more like a 'medieval movie generator' than a strategy game? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[TB666]

I thought there was gonna be blood in MTW2
There will be but it will accumulate on the troops as the battle rages on.
You can see it at the end on the turk and english trooper.

[Silver Rusher]

Interesting to note that although there appears to be landbridges in the game there is not one between Britain and Flanders...
Great! Now the common French invasion of England will be a bit more tough, I hope.

@Ituralde, when I first saw that video it seemed like the rebels to me. I will have a closer look.

I, for one, think the landbridges are realistic. Think about it, if you are travelling a very short distance overseas it would be easy to use local fishing boats to make the journey for a few troops, then send the boats back to pick more up etc. Of course, these landbridges would have to be VERY taxing on movement points to be realistic.

One more thing: If they get the AI right this time, it will probably be a very good thing that they are using the Rome map again. The only reason I didn't like that campaign map was because of the poorness of the AI.

[Husar]

The high-res version is definitely worth the download for those who're not 'bandwidth limited'. I thought there was gonna be blood in MTW2 but it seems not to be. I find it strange to see a two handed sword stuck through someones chest in what amounts to anime-level graphics without seeing some blood. Perhaps CA believes MTW2 is less likely to get a 'Mature' rating that way but I doubt it. Is it just me or does MTW2 seem more like a 'medieval movie generator' than a strategy game? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
The funny thing is, if those animations are more or less random, then we might also see that sword penetrating some plate armour without any problem.:laugh4:

[screwtype]

Sorry for the double-post too, but I can't seem to find the edit button on this forum.

That's probably 'cos you're a n00b. I don't think n00bs get edit buttons. At least, I seem to recall that when I first started posting here, I couldn't edit my posts either.

I think you usually get de-n00bed after about post 35 or so.

[Kralizec]

Junior members can't edit their posts and are barred from most forums. Promotion to member status doesn't follow set criteria, read the FAQ (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=45416) for details.

I liked the preview, the game strikes me as being far more polished then RTW.
The new recruitment system sounds cool. In previous TW games recruiting an agent (a single man) meant that you couldn't recruit any troops or construct a ship. "Sorry basileus, we can't muster any new hoplites because we're devoting all our time and manpower to training a diplomat" :inquisitive:

[r johnson]

The recruitment system seems different. Apparently the number of units of any one type is limited: say, in one turn, you can only get 3 archers or two knights.

I think that a great idea more realistic:2thumbsup:

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I have no idea how it works, just that there are numbers in the right hand corner of the unit card on the recruitment screen, and clicking on a unit to put it in the queue decreases the number. And the unit is greyed out when the number goes to zero.

I couldn't tell if you get all the ordered units in one turn or not, however. But it is a good sign, I think.

[ChewieTobbacca]

At the bottom right, it says recruitment slots remaining. In the movie, its 3 slots at that specific city. From the unit cards, it looks like for instance that feudal knights may only have 1 set allowed a turn whereas other unitts ranged from 2-3.

This defenitely looks very good and it makes sense. More units built a turn = larger battles. But more realistic also in that you cannot build a ton of knights a turn. Instead, I'm certain that units such as peasants can be bought in plentiful numbers a turn while more elite units cannot.

Also... are those little videos of espionage and assassination in action? Like STW?

[Encaitar]

I presume that larger 'castle settlements' also have a larger total number of recruitment slots available each turn.

[ChewieTobbacca]

Some of the units named from the trailer:
Jinetes
Peasant Archers
Peasant Crossbowmen
Mailed Knights
Basilisks
Frankish Knights (dismounted too!)
Musketeers
Merchant Cavalry Militia
Conquistadores
Knights of Santiago
Saracen Militia
Janissary Musketeers
English Knights

Apparently Mercenary units are labled Mercenary blahblahblah - like Mercenary Frankish Knights, on the battlefield.

This video defenitely has rekindled my hopes in this game

[Mithradates]

Did anyone notice that peasants are armed with pitchforks, i couldnt help but laugh when u see the peasant getting killed whilst he was flailing his pitchfork. Ah well, did ne one ever use pithcforks or is this just a CA creation?

[ChewieTobbacca]

Peasants have traditionally been associated with pitchforks, so its hardly a CA creation.

FWIW in MTW when you right click on the peasant unit card, the info has a picture of a peasant with a pitchfork. Now we just have the graphics to actually see it..

In truth, peasants were armed with whatever they could bring. Some did indeed bring pitchforks, hatchets, etc. - whatever thing they could use as a weapon.

[SoggyBread]

Some interesting items in that video.

The campaign itself looks very similar to that of RTW, same style map, cities, interface. However, the battles looks spectacular, especially the concept of induvidual fighters, having a dual. The battle backgrounds also look top notch, and hopefully sieges now will be very interesting. =).

The unit recruitment system seems to have changed, hopefully for the better. What I am truely hoping for, is a game which is 90% editable, a game which every concept can be modded. That, would be a modders dream come true. =)

[4th Dimension]

No you won't get those units in one turn. They get builded like in Rome. Those numbers only indicate how many units ou an "start" recruting.
I'll post soon some screens to prove it.

Also. In battle we see dismointed Fank's knoght's so dismounting will be enabled, and also you can swithch from castle to town.

https://img81.imageshack.us/img81/2186/battle2gz3.th.jpg (https://img81.imageshack.us/my.php?image=battle2gz3.jpg) - Here. Dismounted knights


https://img81.imageshack.us/img81/7654/castle1vp7.th.jpg (https://img81.imageshack.us/my.php?image=castle1vp7.jpg)- As yu can see on this picture this setelemnt is a castle, and can convert itself into a Large Town by building the appropriate building.
Also you can convert town into castly as shown on this pic.
https://img238.imageshack.us/img238/3684/town1xk7.th.jpg (https://img238.imageshack.us/my.php?image=town1xk7.jpg)
You see that last building? The one marked. Now recheck the castle. He has the same building where governor building would be. Clearly, if you woild build that building in that Town you would transform Leaon into a Castle.

As seen here, and also on all other pics below it, on all tooltips iswritten that recrutment time is 1 turn for every unit:
https://img301.imageshack.us/img301/1219/unit6qx4.th.jpg (https://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=unit6qx4.jpg) https://img301.imageshack.us/img301/181/units1nq7.th.jpg (https://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=units1nq7.jpg) https://img154.imageshack.us/img154/3795/unit2oz1.th.jpg (https://img154.imageshack.us/my.php?image=unit2oz1.jpg) https://img301.imageshack.us/img301/8307/unit3kz2.th.jpg (https://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=unit3kz2.jpg) https://img82.imageshack.us/img82/7053/unit4cr9.th.jpg (https://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=unit4cr9.jpg) https://img301.imageshack.us/img301/8004/unit5yv0.th.jpg (https://img301.imageshack.us/my.php?image=unit5yv0.jpg)

https://img207.imageshack.us/img207/6161/castle2un2.th.jpg (https://img207.imageshack.us/my.php?image=castle2un2.jpg) https://img238.imageshack.us/img238/521/building1wd6.th.jpg (https://img238.imageshack.us/my.php?image=building1wd6.jpg) https://img154.imageshack.us/img154/1437/building2dp5.th.jpg (https://img154.imageshack.us/my.php?image=building2dp5.jpg)

But this thing pusles me me:
https://img291.imageshack.us/img291/4778/wtfdw7.th.jpg (https://img291.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wtfdw7.jpg)
I know Serbian sigil was derived from Byz one. But the Byz simbol shoved here is identical to our one. Even the letters are of the "font". What I wan to know is, did Byz simol realy look like this.

[econ21]

The reference to dismounted Frankish knights (spearmen) is interesting - in MTW, the knights were swordsmen. I like the idea of them being spearmen (maybe both options are possible), as historically dismounted knights using their lances could provide the most effective defenders against attack by mounted knights. The English in particular used them in this way. (Other most other feudal foot soldiers lacked the confidence and equipment to be relied upon.)

[Furious Mental]

CA, websites, magazines and people who went to E3 have said categorically that multiple units can be trained in one turn.

"recrutment time is 1 turn for every unit"

Yeah that means it will one turn to train all the unit, whether there you train one or several. What exactly do you think that number on the unit card means if it doesn't mean you can train two peasant crossbowmen or whatever in one turn?

[SpencerH]

There will be but it will accumulate on the troops as the battle rages on.
You can see it at the end on the turk and english trooper.

I've looked very closely and there is no blood. There is a funny red mark on the face of the turk but it's present in earlier scenes so I think it's a graphics error.

[SpencerH]

It seems logical to me that the number of recruitment slots will be dependent on the city/castle size.

From the video, the recruitment time for peasant archer, jinettes, and mailed knight was 1 turn.

I think the number on the card reflects how many of each unit that city has the capacity to make (possibly that turn rather than every turn) ie they can produce 3 units of jinettes but only 1 unit of mailed knights (plus two other units). If its true that a city may not have the resources to produce mailed knights every turn, then we wont be able to use cities as "knight factories" (or whatever) that churn out a new uber unit every turn or two.

[4th Dimension]

Hm I noticed one more thing.
That felow governing that first town has these sharacteristic: Command/Chivary (I soppouse this replaced managment. Will it act the same?)/Loyalty/Piety(What's this?)
But The King in the castle doesn't have, Loyalty, instead he has Authority.
Will this mean our king's finaly wont go renegade if they win more than a fiew battles.
Also maby that Authority affects diplomacy. Any ideas what it may affect?

[Furious Mental]

In MTW the faction leader had "influence", so I assume authority is something like that.

"I've looked very closely and there is no blood."

There is definitely blood. This is something clearly said by CA and many journos. You can also see it plain as day in some screenshots.

[Ludens]

That's probably 'cos you're a n00b. I don't think n00bs get edit buttons. At least, I seem to recall that when I first started posting here, I couldn't edit my posts either.

I think you usually get de-n00bed after about post 35 or so.
Actually, membership levels have nothing to do with game-experience. Junior members are just that: new members that have a restricted access so they can become acquanted with the forum and the staff can get acquainted with them. At best you could say he is an .Org noob.

[Ituralde]

Not anymore one would have to say. :)

Concerning the traits 4thDimension mentioned, I noticed those too. I wonder where the Dread rating has gone, as it was said to be implemented seperately to the Chivalry rating. Now it seems that either it's once again incorporated into the Chivalry rating, meaning that High Dread will lower it, or you get it through Vices and Virtues or even both.

I agree with Furious Mental with the Authority/Loyalty thing, it was like that in M:TW.
Piety states how religious your character is, you already had it in M:TW and in BI too, I think. A high rating will probably help to gain favour with the Pope, reduce Heretics in the province he is governing and promote the faith he is following.

Cheers!

Ituralde

[TB666]

I've looked very closely and there is no blood. There is a funny red mark on the face of the turk but it's present in earlier scenes so I think it's a graphics error.
What about the guy he stabs ??
He is either very muddy or bloody.
I doubt CA has removed it considering it is one of the new things for the engine that they are advertising about.

[SpencerH]

In MTW the faction leader had "influence", so I assume authority is something like that.

"I've looked very closely and there is no blood."

There is definitely blood. This is something clearly said by CA and many journos. You can also see it plain as day in some screenshots.

I'm going by what I see in this movie which I've downloaded and looked at frame by frame. If one looks at the scene with the peasant with a 2-handed sword through him for example there is no blood on the ground, any character, or any weapon.

At best, there are a couple of scenes where one can see a few individuals with a reddish tinge on parts of their armour, weapons, or bodies (such as area around the right eye or on a part of the sword of the turk in the last scene). There is another example of this on one 'halberdier' on the far right of the scene in the town just before the Ken Turner intro. Perhaps that is 'blood' but I'd like to see some present on the ground.

[TB666]

I'm going by what I see in this movie which I've downloaded and looked at frame by frame. If one looks at the scene with the peasant with a 2-handed sword through him for example there is no blood on the ground, any character, or any weapon.

Found some blood for you.
Look at the zweihander bit.
You will see the guy stabbing that poor dude.
Look to the right of the zweihander, there you will see another zweihander covered in blood.

[SpencerH]

Found some blood for you.
Look at the zweihander bit.
You will see the guy stabbing that poor dude.
Look to the right of the zweihander, there you will see another zweihander covered in blood.

Yep you're right. There's one. I was focussing too much on the guy sticking his sword through the peasant.

I used to live on Mariedalsv. near slottsparken in Malmo

[4th Dimension]

Hm thanks. And how does the chivary influence the game since I don't know, since I haven't playes M:TW.

[r johnson]

Hm thanks. And how does the chivary influence the game since I don't know, since I haven't playes M:TW.

I guess it the opposite of dread, the more chivalry the more gentleman fighter.


Did anyone notice that peasants are armed with pitchforks, i couldnt help but laugh when u see the peasant getting killed whilst he was flailing his pitchfork. Ah well, did ne one ever use pithcforks or is this just a CA creation?

English peasants used billhooks during the peasants revolt and thus created the "billman". A farm tool modified to fight with.

[ChewieTobbacca]

Recruitment is defenitely multiple units in one turn. They might say one turn but the recruitment slots indicate that you can only have that many number of units being recruited a turn. The thing saying build time: one turn, is just to let you know that those untis in the recruitment slot take that much time. Some units may take multiple turns to build.

Authority looks like it will be the same as influence in MTW. Good to see that Piety and Chivalry are in also.

[Dutch_guy]

Hm thanks. And how does the chivary influence the game since I don't know, since I haven't playes M:TW.

It will probably up the happiness level in a settlement in which the governor resides, and it could also up the morale of the units in a battle led by that general.

:balloon2:

[alman7272]

Hm I noticed one more thing.
That felow governing that first town has these sharacteristic: Command/Chivary (I soppouse this replaced managment. Will it act the same?)/Loyalty/Piety(What's this?)


Piety is in the original MTW. It is how religious he was, I believe. More religious means more papal/popular favor (if the province had a high zeal).

[Ituralde]

Concerning Chivalry and Dread I might just quote the Official FAQ (http://p223.ezboard.com/fshoguntotalwarfrm55.showMessage?topicID=1127.topic) from the .com forums:



Q. How do characters develop Chivalry and Dread?

A. Like all traits and attributes, characters develop these through their actions in the game. For example when a General captures a city, you have the option to peacefully occupy the city or wade in and exterminate the population. That kind of choice will govern how your General develops.


Q. What effects do Chivalry and Dread have?

A. Chivalrous types will inspire loyalty in those around them. Dread lords meanwhile can terrify their followers and the enemy alike.

Hope that helped!

Ituralde

[Peasant Phill]

this is a bit off topic:

I've downloaded the high-res video and it works but most of the time the images are scrambled. I see little blocks of different colours with a clear image now and then. Should I download a new codec for my windows mediaplayer (or another player perhaps)?

[4th Dimension]

I personaly played the trailer in Winamp :D I killed my Media Player, it won't even install any more.
Maby it's the codec, and maby you have a bit lower system.

[TB666]

Water on the battle map looks very nice too now.
They have finally got pixel-shaded water.

[SirGrotius]

a) Graphics are absolutely gorgeous

b) This should be called Rome 2 not Medieval 2

c) I like the authority, and chivalry traits, but will miss dread if it's gone

d) I'm excited!

[Bob the Insane]

Anyone else notice the city details view? The fact that Squalor did not seem to affect Public Order? Still in development or a design choice do you think?

[Ituralde]

@Sir Grotius:

Regarding 2), I really don't see a reason for this or do you also think that Medieval TW, should have been called Shogun 2 TW just because it used the same engine? Of course the campaign map similarities between Rome and Medieval 2 are a bit more obvious, because both of the games are set in Europe but I still don't see any point for arguments such as these.

Cheers!

Ituralde

[Bob the Insane]

@Sir Grotius:

Regarding 2), I really don't see a reason for this or do you also think that Medieval TW, should have been called Shogun 2 TW just because it used the same engine? Of course the campaign map similarities between Rome and Medieval 2 are a bit more obvious, because both of the games are set in Europe but I still don't see any point for arguments such as these.

Cheers!

Ituralde

Though we did use STW 1.5 as another name for MTW at the time.. :2thumbsup:

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Was that a priest whaling on a heretic priest? And did they fight or something? :inquisitive:

[Perplexed]

Was that a priest whaling on a heretic priest? And did they fight or something? :inquisitive:

They could at least make the "defeated" heretic priest fade away, instead of keeping the animation whereby it looks like someone's buried a knife in his back. ~;)

I hope it's just a beta animation.

[Ituralde]

Well, gotta kill off those heretics without mercy! ;)
Might even replace it with the heretic going up in flames and crumbling to ashes!!! :2thumbsup:

The funny thing I noticed in this preview video how unrelated the Campaign and Strategical Map are yet. Or better, which factions are finished and which aren't. When the guy attacks with his Spanish army, he goes to a Moorish general icon on the campaign map. On the battlefield he is fighting against a French army though. When the Turks attack the besieged Byzantine town they fight against an English army afterwards.
Really hadn't noticed this until now, so I guess I can't blame CA, because I've watched the vidoe like 10 times before noticing it. :idea2:

Cheers!

Ituralde

[4th Dimension]

Well, gotta kill off those heretics without mercy! ;)
Might even replace it with the heretic going up in flames and crumbling to ashes!!! :2thumbsup:

The funny thing I noticed in this preview video how unrelated the Campaign and Strategical Map are yet. Or better, which factions are finished and which aren't. When the guy attacks with his Spanish army, he goes to a Moorish general icon on the campaign map. On the battlefield he is fighting against a French army though. When the Turks attack the besieged Byzantine town they fight against an English army afterwards.
Really hadn't noticed this until now, so I guess I can't blame CA, because I've watched the vidoe like 10 times before noticing it. :idea2:

Cheers!

Ituralde
Nah I noticed it allready. And it's nod due to unfinishedness. They just croped and inserted thet clip about fighting. To prove this. You didn't see that page about army stats and strenghts poping up before battle? No you didn't see it. Because those are not the battles started. Further more that army attacking those Myslims (Moores right?) has no Cannons on turn based map, but in the battle they suddenly get them. Also they have less calivary and such. So no it's not the battle we see in the video.
The same goes for that Byz battle.

[ChewieTobbacca]

Its due to the fact that the SPanish army consisted of a coupe knights and the rest were peasants... not very exciting for a trailer.

Those armies were defenitely in the late era of units.. conquistadores, cannons, janissaries, etc.

[Ituralde]

Yes, I know why they did it and everything, it's just that I've only really paid attention to it the last time I watched and found it really funny that they replaced the enemy in every battle shown.
Just so you don't think I'm stupid or something. :idea2:

[4th Dimension]

Well I if you now comprehend that those battles shown in trailer are NOT the battles that were started on campaign map, then I think not.