Three Stars and A Wish...

Okay, I thought this might be a little thing to do, maybe CA will take note, if not, it will be fun...
Post 3 things you really like about the game (try not to be obious like "the new graphics") and then something you wish was in the game, or added, or could be changed...
I haven't played to full game but

1. Campaign map looks awesome
2. New options to ambush the enemies and if you succeed you deploy around them and they start in collum
3. Kings, Heirs and gens die like normal men big step up

Wish: Fatigued still played a big part, IE: men can't run forever, and fatigue effects fighting abilities

1. fighting on the walls - seeing men get pushed off the battlements while my second unit climbed laders to get behind some carthage spearmen was mucho fun. (Although walls upset the camera angles!)
2. retraining units - can retrain 8(?) in a single year - makes much more sense.
3. leave this one open till after playing next weekend!!


to be changed - wish my units would stay in line on the march - they keep getting jumbled up and I have to rearrange - very annoying . mtw got it pretty good. how can they have gone backwards in this??

1. Diplomacy - so much better.
2. The way you move armies around the campaign map and how much more strategic it is now.
3. How diverse the battle maps are from one another, so many hills... so lovely

I wish untis would move to where I tell them and NOT in front of that area - sure a few feet is acceptable - but not 15 or 20 feet.

1. I really really like the "Continue from last saved game" option on the main menu. cuts down on needless clicking.

2. I like the open endedness of the campaign map, you really have to decide where to put your troops and fleets because the enemy could strike anywhere. forces you to be strategic.

3. I like the fact that spies and assasins and diplomats now die of old age too.

I wish i could control friendly reinforcements in battle especially if they're led by family members who tend to be suicidal.

1: New 2 turn a year is better, still a step down from Shogun...why?
2:Special formations, look kick@**
3:when spearmen see the enemy coming, they lower thier spears

Wish: 4 Season turned based year, makes it alot harder to manage money, getting farming once a year, but a little trade income every turn would be cool...

Your wish is granted!

Just to correct a misapprehension (again) fatigue still has effects in the game, and makes units fight less effectively.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Medieval Assassin

Okay, I thought this might be a little thing to do, maybe CA will take note, if not, it will be fun...
Post 3 things you really like about the game (try not to be obious like "the new graphics") and then something you wish was in the game, or added, or could be changed...
I haven't played to full game but

1. Campaign map looks awesome
2. New options to ambush the enemies and if you succeed you deploy around them and they start in collum
3. Kings, Heirs and gens die like normal men big step up

Wish: Fatigued still played a big part, IE: men can't run forever, and fatigue effects fighting abilities

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Fatigue definately still plays a part. I think what has most people confused is the fact that attacking units no longer exhaust themselves just walking up the hill. Once a unit has been fighting for a while, though, fatigue definately sets in.

Units still shouldn't be able to run forever, like they seem to do, I know they did when I played to demo, the would be exhausted and still run and run and run...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Captain Fishpants

Your wish is granted!

Just to correct a misapprehension (again) fatigue still has effects in the game, and makes units fight less effectively.

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Yeah, I noticed you said this in the other thread as well. But then maybe you should send a little message to Activision so they can correct their site. Or at least make it sound as if fatigue is still in the game but slightly less important... Right now people are confused.

While there are so many major things I love about RTW, it's really the little things that stand out to me and make me grin with delight. Here's my current top 3.

1) The pre-battle speeches. Sure, they get a bit repetative sometimes.... but they make every battle feel like it's important, which it surely was to the men who fought it. Every once in a while, you get a honkin' great speech too. Riles me up as much as my little pixel men. ~D

2) The different colors of the units paths on the campaign map, showing how many turns it will take to get there.

3) The animations on the campaign map. Trade ships going back and forth. Carts travelling the roads. Waves lapping the coast. Armies shuffling their feet. The game feels alive and I love it.

Wish: Timers were about 50% longer on battles. I don't want to turn them off, but they seem a lot too short so far, though perhaps that is because I have puny sized armies.

1. I also love the prebattle speeches. Sometimes you even get a funny one. One time my general said that he didn't really want to fight but his mother told him to make a good show of it so he went. You also get some really cool speeches when you're crazily outnumbered and such.

2. Not just the graphics, but I love the little unit details in battle. In my campaign I got caught by a surprise invasion and was defending with about 280 of my own men against something like 1500 Gauls. It was amazing how they came out of the mist and all started yelling and banging their weapons before attacking. I like how the troops cheer when they kill people too.

3. Sieges are a lot cooler. A big problem with Medieval was that archers were absolutely useless when defending a castle because you couldn't put them on the walls and they had a real hard time shooting over them. Now you can get some real rumbles going.


My only problem is that the battles are too fast. I modded the movement speeds a bit on my own to make it seem more realistic, but things just kill each other way too fast for my liking. Might be tied to the fact that Generals are a lot easier to kill now. The AI suicide-rushes with them all the time just like in MTW but now they get killed quite fast and the army routs.

To tell you the truth, I kind of liked the ridiculous jedi-generals because I was hoping to see some crazy barbarian warlord singlehandedly killing a dozen guys on his own in beautiful 3d action.

1. Watching Ballistas fire is just awesome. They crank back the sinews, you see the bows bending, and then when they launch the bolt the whole thing kicks up like it should with that tremendous force behind it. They're also much more accurate which is wonderful.

2. Tree battles are breathtaking and you have to get down with the troops to organize them and it's more difficult but is very rewarding to do because of the amazing environment you're in - especially in the huge forests of North-Western Europe.

3. The enemy is really good at controlling breaches in the walls. Once you are in they immediately charge for you and it's really difficult to get into the city sometimes, my hastati and Princeps were once slaughtered with 1000 men on either side I lost 600 and lost the battle; they really know how to flank you and will go around huge sections of the city to get to your flank - great work!

* In the demo you pressed the middle button on your mouse and it brought you down to the action and showed you what the game thought the coolest thing to watch was - the middle button now doesn't seem to do that. And it was a cool way to quickly get in and watch and then go out and control.

Diplomacy
Diplomacy
Diplomacy

And I hope they keep adding to this component of the system for future Total War games.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Colovion

3. The enemy is really good at controlling breaches in the walls. Once you are in they immediately charge for you and it's really difficult to get into the city sometimes, my hastati and Princeps were once slaughtered with 1000 men on either side I lost 600 and lost the battle; they really know how to flank you and will go around huge sections of the city to get to your flank - great work!

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Absolutely true. I assaulted the Gauls in Venice (can't remember the Roman name), which had palisade walls, early in my game. All I had were masses of Hastati and my one starting group of Triarii who had massacred many Gauls and Rebels in previous battles. The Triarii crewed my battering ram and down went the gates. The Gauls reinforced the warband at the gate with two more warbands and a cavalry unit. I charged my Triarii in first, to get them to hold the line while the Hastati flooded in behind them. However, as soon as my men entered the fort, the Gauls spilled all over them. Over about 2-3 minutes of fighting, they slowly got pushed back and out the gates again, taking massive casualties. The Gauls then started pushing into me exactly as I had tried to do and the situation was only rescued by a charge from my faction leader's unit which simply ran right over the gauls outside the gates. They pushed right through inside, the Hastati following them back inside. The cavalry then broke off, circled around a building and hit the warbands holding my new line from the rear. After that I just had to mop up a few stragglers in the town square... but I took huge casualties in that battle and I'm going to be a lot more wary in town assaults against large forces.

Yeah - be wary VERY wary of Dacian Falxmen - they're deadly.

Me = 1000 men.

They = 1000 men.

They slaughtered my meagre garrison I had in Illyricum (sp?) and I bulked up a massive army, ready to whipe the floor with them and show them Roman strength. I knock the gate down (should've knocked walls down too but I was too sure of my victory) and I setup my units for assualt. I send my Hastati and Princeps in to hold the line. They walk through the gate (yeah that damn group bug nulled my "run" command) and the falxmen are bearing down on them. I pour units through the gates but my army is being cut down left right and center. End battle? 600 dead on my side - 200 dead on their side. ~:eek:

1) Music to my Ears - ALL the music is great and it is much more immersive than previous Total War games. Yeah, it's an obvious point but I don't care.

2) Wardogs - I thought I'd hate these units but I find it impossible to not have at least one in every army. I'm a dog lover at heart and it does my heart well to sick my bloodthirsty puppies of doom on the great unwashed rabble from the north, especially when said rabble is in full retreat. Jack Frost has got nothing on these pooches when it comes to nipping at one's feet...

3) Little Things Mean Alot - Love the visceral look, feel and sound of combat, especially when you get down near the ground and watch the fighting close up and personal. I especially love to hear the whistling and impact of my legions' pilae as they fly through the air and plunge into the bodies of my enemies. You just have to cringe when those heavy spears hit their mark. Gritty stuff.

Wish - 'Artificial-Sometimes-Not-So-Intelligent-Intelligence' - The AI needs some serious schoolin' on and off the battlefield. The AI clearly exhibits symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder because many times it doesn't pay attention to what's going on around it! 'Consolidation of force' is the phrase I'm looking for. Too many understrengthed AI controlled armies and navies wandering about the map making them easy pickings for a moderately sized army or navy. I've lost count how many times my 20 unit laden cities have been besieged by armies less than half the size of the garrison!

Edit - Oops! In my haste to post I forgot the purpose of this thread! My initial stars and wish were too obvious.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Colovion

* In the demo you pressed the middle button on your mouse and it brought you down to the action and showed you what the game thought the coolest thing to watch was - the middle button now doesn't seem to do that. And it was a cool way to quickly get in and watch and then go out and control.

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It still does that for me...

1. The little crossed swords marking where momentus battles took place. Nice unexpected touch.
2. City management - especially the fluctuating population. Very cool.
3. No more "Yes/No" Diplomacy! Hooray!

Wish: I need a gamma slider. Everything looks too dark on my system.

Oh boy..only three?

1) I love the pre-battle speeches. When I first heard about them, I thought "Oh boy, won't that be corny and get old fast." I've never been so happy to be wrong. I love panning over my cheering army as the general whips out a speech that varies from amusing to genuinely inspiring.

2) Rome has finally realized the strategic potential of the TW series. Many kudos are in order.

3) The new governor system is brilliant. Really forces you to think about where to put your most important resource (family) and why.

Wish: That I could set the 'default' state of the auto-governor to something besides military.