The Ultimate Total War: A Family of My Own.

It occurred to me a few moments ago as I built my first General unit of what the ultimate Total War would be like.

First: Random Map Generation.

Every campaign map generated is different. Not even a basic outline of the world in the mini map. If you want to know what or who is out there you have to explore it.

Second: Strategic Resources.

Horses, Iron, Elephants, Dogs, Stone, Gold, Jewels, Spices cannot all be found in every place. If you start in an area that does not have these things you cannot build specific units. You either have to take the land or trade for them.

Third: Entirely Flexible Tech Tree.

The Tech Tree starts out the same with everyone with basic spear or even stone! units. The resources available and the environment around you shape the way your faction develops. You will have to spend money for research and chose the direction of that research.

Fourth: Learning through victory and theft.

You can learn how to build certain buildings when you conquer a capital city or you can steal technologies, maps, or employ other espionage tactics like framing another faction for sabotage or assassination!

Fifth: Family of My Own.

The player starts off with a family of his own. He can outline each family member's characteristics from physical strength to management skill, from fertility to fear instilled in the enemy. You will start off with 1 faction leader and 4 children and those children can be female if you want and you can name each one. You can assign the all ages so long as the faction leader is at least 32.

Plus you can save these family members and use them each time you play. They will continue to gather retinues and skills and strengths so that each time you play they will be stronger and better.

Sixth: Magic and Chance!

Generals can attain retinue and ancillaries that give them special skills or "magic" to use in battles. This may be setting fire to grass or forests to burn an attacking enemy, calling lightning, or animals, or rain, or wind.

Also there is a chance when a general accomplishes a great and truly heroic victory that he will learn something new. Maybe invent the crossbow, or learn how to make longbows, or Greek Fire, or taming an elephant. Whatever he learns it is something that becomes unique to that faction and cannot be used by other factions. (unless of course they steal it!)

Seventh: Trade and Diplomacy That Works.

More diplomacy options that a player can count on. Blood pact, mutual protection, Blood Feud, Marriage, Kiddnapping, Ransom, Assassination, etc. Call upon Rebels to attack your enemies. Trade or give a strategic resource to an ally to solidify an alliance or insure your own survival. Create general trade agreements or special agreements for protection, strategic resources, or resources that make your people happy.

Basically this new Total War will be a mix of Alpha Centauri, all of the Total War Genres, Romance of the Three Kindoms IV, and Civilization. Start off as a small nomadic tribe and settle in an area of choice -OR- continue as a nomad and explore an area thoroughly and even destroy fledgling factions and take their city. As your first city grows branch out and expand to other areas. The richer the soil and closer your cities can be. Build inland with natural geography that can hide a city and help you defend your territory or build on the sea so you can build up your trade. Connect your cities with roads to increase trade. Build the wheel, archery, spears, horse, elephant, and camel units. Upgrade the units you have with the inventions you've created.

Your "family" starts off with basic weapons like stone axes and fur clothing, but as your civilization develops you can build armor and train animals and give them to your family and other units. Your general's units can become Elephant riders, light cavalry, or Super Heavy Cataphracts. Equip other generals with the best you have and give them special weapons, titles, or treasures to increase their ability and loyalty.

Units can be customized. Build those long range archers or powerful armor piercing crossbows. Use the availability of horses to build horse archers. Or add in easy access to steel to create Cataphracts. You can tweak them for special abilities or make them well balanced units.

Well that's it. What do you think?

I think also a player should take losses when crossing deserts or mountains. This will give an advantage for factions living in these hostile regions, whereas now they really don't have much advantage. For instance your troops are heavily armored and you try to invade a very hot desert to destroy a faction. You will take losses while travelling and you will have serious disadvantages during battle. But if you attack or travel in the winter then you reduce those disadvantages.

Another thing is rivers. Rivers without a bridge should take at least 1 turn to get across and while you are doing it you are at a serious disadvantage. You may need to break up your forces and make the lighter troops cross first to act as a defensive line while your heavier troops cross. If you are attacked while crossing you should have an automatic penalty of say 25% casualties and be forced back across.

Also a faction can control where his roads are built and what terrain they go through. Like that forested area for ambushing attackers?

I like a lot of your ideas, it would make it a lot more like Civ 3 or something with campaign battles. I'm not sure about true "magic" but I like the idea of special abilities like "Battle Cry" that lifts morale of your army or a "curse" that lowers the morale of the enemy.

There are times when I'd really like to set the battlefield on fire to burn up my enemies and make them route. Imagine your great general alone in the field with a couple thousand enemy coming at him and he lights fires to make them route.

Mostly though I like the family units. A core group that you have some emotional attachement to. They develop good habits and traits. I am sick of watching my family members become drunks and embezzlers.

Currently my Sarmatians have fought back to take all of Northern Italy, all the way over to Constantinople and have destroyed all the original hordes as well as the Goths and Burgundians. But I only have 1 general with 4 stars and none of my generals have more than 3 influence and if I put ANY of my generals in a city I lose money! (sometimes a lot!) It sucks. It's not a family I can be proud of which is why BI is probably worse than original. blah blah blah. sorry to meander on.

sounds like you've taken a lot of elements from Civilization (which I agree, the total war series desperately needs, as well as revamped diplomacy.)

I like your ideas as well, but I think TW should keep its historic settings. Also, starting out with stone-age technology and progressing to gunpowder sounds a bit too ambitous to me.

However, the three elements I think most important for the next TW are moddability, a sturdy A.I. able to cope with modifications and (dare I mention it?) a balanced MP campaign.

I don't know how much of this would be covered in RTW as I only play MTW, but I would love to see more in the way of diplomacy, trade and supply routes for armies.
It would be great if you could cut an enemies supply lines and leave them without food, ammo or reinenforcements. Similarly it would be more interesting when attacking a province if you had to decide whether to try and keep the supply lines intact and move slowly or move quickly beyond your supply lines and either hope that you win the battle and allow them to catch up or pillage and raid the local area for supplies.

The AI diplomacy could be greatly imporved as well, another thing that was done well in Civ.