Official Total War survey

[lenin96]

CA is holding a survey that could decide the next Total War game, Classical Greece sounds the best I think. Has anyone else posted this?

http://www.totalwarsurvey.com/survey.tao

[Polemists]

The list for those curious is

Rome:
Covering the three Punic Wars (264-146BC) including Hannibal's passage over the Alps, followed by the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Romane Empire. Rome rules the Mediterranean with its huge armies which are reliant on the navy for support.

The First World War:
From the Western Front to the Middle East, the First World War rages. Trench warfare creates a stalemate, broken by bloody battle on land, such as Somme, and naval engagements such as Jutland. The introduction of tanks, gas, and planes to the battlefield changes war forever.

Classical Greece:
The timeline streches from Greco-Persian Wars of 5th Century BC, through Sparta's dominance and the creation and division of Alexander's Empire. Use the brute force of the hoplite, or ingenious inventions such as Archimedes Claw.

Imperial China and Feudal Japan:
From the brith of the Shogunate in Japan following the Gempei War, through the Mongol invasion and repulsion, to the rise of the Ming Dynasty in China. This is the age of Samurai in Japan and an era of resurgence in China which saw the building of the forbidden city and the creation of chinese navy.

19th Century
Following the death of Napoleon there is no end to conflict. The mexican-american war, the Crimean War, the American Civil War, and the Boer War all contribute to rapid changes in technology. It is the end of the Age of the Sial, and the be beginning of the age of steam.


This is all taken from the survey, though I may have some grammatical errors as I was trying to copy it from notepad. It's not listed by preference merely listed as on the Sega survey.

[hoom]

I'd like some sort of official confirmation of the legitimacy of this before I go giving them the details requested.

I'm pretty much inclined toward either China or Classic Greece.

Napoleonic should be either expansion of Empire or after whatever is next.

Its vital that the TW series doesn't get stuck in a loop doing just the same few periods: Rome, Medival, Age of Sail & Japan.

[Polemists]

legitmacy it's CA's webpage?

I mean unless someone has hijacked CA's webpage it is the standard, how much gaming do you do, what games do you want to see from us survey.

I personally don't mind a loop as I throughly enjoyed middle ages, rome times, and shogun period. So if they just keep redoing them better, with new graphics, and more features.

That said, I'd also play classical greece or the others.

Only world war 1 holds no appeal.

Though I did notice each mention holds a reference to Navy, clearly CA wants to get most they can out of this new naval engine.

[lenin96]

I hope for classical Greece, but I would rather something further back, like 1500BC-1200BC.

[Fisherking]

Yes, I took it. Its four pages and gets into all sorts of preferences.

If there is another title you like you can do a write in. Over all a good mix of choices.

And Hay! They are actualy asking the fans what the like best.

[Sir Beane]

I hope Asia wins! We need a game that features mainland Asia, since it has never been present in a Total War game before.

Classical Greece would be just another Total War set in Europe, as would Rome (in fact both would be very similar to RTW). And the 19th century would be very similar to Empire. Personally I think that the First World War would be a disaster and I would definitely be unsure about buying the game if they went there (and so would many others if my poll is accurate).

Asia is the only game that would truly be different to previous titles. And not set in tired old Europe.

[Polemists]

Actually every one of those listed were a poll or mentioned heavily here at some point.

Like all things TW, they are following the .org trend.

LONG LIVE THE GUILD

[Sir Beane]

Actually every one of those listed were a poll or mentioned heavily here at some point.

Like all things TW, they are following the .org trend.

LONG LIVE THE GUILD

Ahhhhh the .Org. Where all the cool kids hang out settin' trends and showin' the other fans how it's done.

It isn't suprising they follow things here. We have the best mods, the best and most informed discussion, and the best ideas! Who wouldn't want to be like us?

[hoom]

legitmacy it's CA's webpage?

www.totalwarsurvey.com is not the same as www.totalwar.com.

totalwar.com is registered by CA.

totalwarsurvey.com is registered by Tangent Labs Ltd.

sega.co.uk & creative-assembly.co.uk
are registered by Sega Europe Ltd.

[Sir Beane]

www.totalwarsurvey.com is not the same as www.totalwar.com.

totalwar.com is registered by CA.

totalwarsurvey.com is registered by Tangent Labs Ltd.

sega.co.uk & creative-assembly.co.uk
are registered by Sega Europe Ltd.

The site does use the Offical logo of both Sega and CA and Total War . So if it isn't official it will be shut down very quickly.

[Polemists]

Quite true, if it isn't the official thing, then they in deep trouble. However I'm sure if you did enough circles you could find the link.

[gollum]

They should do a Uk Supermarket;Total war. Back to basics approach with few but archetypical factions.

Perfect setting for the TW concept in a period of steep technological advances, fierce and ruthless competition between the warring factions on a number of levels; financial, real estate, publicity, and legal competition.

Tesco; massive and ruthless
Sainsburry; high tech and master of diplomacy
Morrison; with an edge in naval aspects
Asda; dirt cheap quality that guarantees popular support

!it burnsus!

[AussieGiant]

After 8 odd years...I think it's time to revisit the Oriental theme.

Can you imagine what that would be like after 8 years of development?

[Noncommunist]

I'm not sure if it should be a concern but at the end of the survey, it asked how I thought of other games. Given that I like Total War for it's uniqueness, (except for Imperial Glory), I hope they don't shift the game too far into the directions of other games.

[Rhyfelwyr]

I voted for the China/Japan campaign, it seems like it would have the most varied and unique factions. On the other hand, I put down Classical Greece as the worst, seems to focused to base a whole game upon.

[Thermal]

i voted chinese and japan (shogun 2 type thing etc.) as first, with world war 1 as a distant second, AI and extra multiplayer features were the improves i wanted.

[lenin96]

They could have meant the era, like classical Greece could go all the way to China, they could have just meant the names to describee what was happening in that time, hopefully.

[Scurvy]

hopefully South Asia/ China or Classical Greece, and hopefully not any repeats of Shogun or Rome as it is nice to change them around, wouldnt want anything after ETW in terms of time, as there are many very good games already covering that period of history.

[Incongruous]

I was pleased to see a WWI setting up there, in my opinion the only way to please vets who have been playing since Shogun is to offer solid gameplay, a capable AI and an original and exiting idea.

The only one which offers all of those is the WWI setting, CA have already decided that swords and spears are not always the answer, and depending how it goes with Empire I wouldn't be surprise if they give The Great War next. For vets, it would give them a seriuosly mean challenge, both in terms of strategy (the armies involved would be massive) and tactics. It would be hell trying to configure a new set of tactics for the TW player, timing and decent planning would become an integral part of the game. Meaning it would have to be slower paced and far more thoughtful. On the non-combat side, it is at this moment in history that Communism finally showed itslf to be a powerful force, there might also be a place for a fascist government type later on. It would be interesting.

I wonder how air combat and trench digging would be adressed?

[Polemists]

the only way to please vets who have been playing since Shogun is to offer solid gameplay, a capable AI and an original and exiting idea.

Bold statement. Some vets I'm sure feel this way but we all certainly don't. Heck, a few vets have stated on these forums that they won't even play Empire because it dosn't have spears and swords.

Now to be certain there are many schools of thought on this, heck since CA seems so gun ho on putting the option up I'm even willing to say it's one way, but surely not the ONLY way.

Each time setting I think offers it's own unique advantage. Some people may not want to see Rome 2 or Shogun 2, but some of us do.

I'm not sure how the poll will break out exactly, but given fact on these forums there is at very least a large chunk of vets who have no interest in more gunpowder age weaponry. I'm not so sure.

Once you can carpet bomb cities, I'm just not sure a game hold anymore tactical value other then on the world map.

As a invidual army as in Company of heroes, sure, but as a Nation? Not so sure.

I think you discredit classical greece, there is alot of difference in that time frame.

[Incongruous]

Bold statement. Some vets I'm sure feel this way but we all certainly don't. Heck, a few vets have stated on these forums that they won't even play Empire because it dosn't have spears and swords.

Now to be certain there are many schools of thought on this, heck since CA seems so gun ho on putting the option up I'm even willing to say it's one way, but surely not the ONLY way.

Each time setting I think offers it's own unique advantage. Some people may not want to see Rome 2 or Shogun 2, but some of us do.

I'm not sure how the poll will break out exactly, but given fact on these forums there is at very least a large chunk of vets who have no interest in more gunpowder age weaponry. I'm not so sure.

Once you can carpet bomb cities, I'm just not sure a game hold anymore tactical value other then on the world map.

As a invidual army as in Company of heroes, sure, but as a Nation? Not so sure.

I think you discredit classical greece, there is alot of difference in that time frame.

To be sure many vets don't want a guns and tanks episode, but niether do I think many of us who have played since STW ask for a Samurai and Ninja based real-time/turnbased strategy game. But it was the newness of the game which kept me going, that intitial WOW factor that made it the single best game I have ever played. Plus it worked.

I reckon that only The Great War, out of all the options, could help reacreate at least some of that WOW factor of Shogun, and that is probably because it is not the one I would initially want, I want what is percievable and comfortable to me, this would not help bring about something new and fresh.

The reason for TW is not to reacreate a decent medieval/ancient simulator, it is imo to create an original, thoughtfull and solid game. STW did this, MTW lost it a bit with the setting, RTW imo was like a different gaming series as was M2TW. ETW looks like it could reset to that ancient STW ideal, a WWI setting would also be able to this, more than any of the others. There are no decent and mainstream games out there which cover the subject which is also why I think CA should and will go for it, they will be ahead of the curve and their game will stand out.

[Polemists]

Partially new but partially not.


You forget that part of the newness of Shogun and Rome versus Middle Ages was partly the map.

In empire in a way we are losing part of the map but in a way gaining more.

As the map moves to be more globe and less theatre based it is harder to have a "New" region.


Yet, World War 1 by and large, though I am not a historian on the matter, occurs in Europe, you would in essence be looking at the same Germany, England, France maps you looked at in MTW2 except the names would be slightly different.

Plus WW 1 lasts a total of 4 years. Even if you did turns by month, your talking a maximum of 48 turns.

Maybe i'm just not viewing it right but I think regardless of where they put it, after Empire, it's all rehash.

[Sir Moody]

If they did ww1 the turns would be probably be 1 or 2 weeks and there was fighting on the Russian front (until the revoloution) and in the middle east.

WW1 isnt a good choice tho because it was dominated by Artillary and the fact it wasnt very mobile which would lead to fighting the same battle every turn time and time again

if they wanted a modern war WW2 would be better as it was more global and more mobile - problem is its been done by everyone and his dog now

Asia is a far better choice...

[PBI]

Imperial China and Feudal Japan:
From the brith of the Shogunate in Japan following the Gempei War, through the Mongol invasion and repulsion, to the rise of the Ming Dynasty in China. This is the age of Samurai in Japan and an era of resurgence in China which saw the building of the forbidden city and the creation of chinese navy.

I can categorically state without shadow of a doubt nor any hint of exaggeration that this would be the best game ever made.

So long as it would definitely be based around the broader Sinosphere and not just Japan. Not that there would be anything wrong with a Japanese setting per se, it's just I feel that China has such a complex and interesting a history and is of such importance to world history that the fact it has not yet been portrayed seems something of an anomaly. It would be a major missed opportunity to omit it again in what would probably be the last Asian-based game for a while.

Glad to see WWI is at least on the list, and double points for being there without being lumped in with WWII.

There are no decent and mainstream games out there which cover the subject which is also why I think CA should and will go for it, they will be ahead of the curve and their game will stand out.

I strongly agree with this sentiment and will keep repeating it until I am blue in the face. WWI has scarcely been touched on in computer games; any categorical statements that a WWI Total War would be an utter disaster/ would be the best thing ever are based purely on speculation, not to mention a good deal of assumptions about what form such a game would take. Is it not worth at least having a go to see if there is potential for a game in there?

Personally I think that the First World War would be a disaster and I would definitely be unsure about buying the game if they went their (and so would many others if my poll is accurate).

Bear in mind I was one of those who voted "Definately not" in that poll, yet I was one of the most ardent advocates in that thread of a WWI setting in principle, at some point. I certainly wouldn't be put off by a WWI setting, I just feel the technology isn't there yet to do it justice. For the record, the interpretation I would most like would be a game more broadly based in the period of the late 19th century to around 1920, as suggested in the other thread, rather than a focus on a single conflict.

Once you can carpet bomb cities, I'm just not sure a game hold anymore tactical value other then on the world map.

You are conflating WWI and WWII; WWI did not see large-scale strategic bombing, other than a few Zeppelin raids which were basically just for propaganda value.

[Fisherking]

Not sticking up for WWI as a game, but it was pretty global though it my have not been huge in terms of the far flung conflicts.

The Japanese were at war with Germany and snatched Pacific Colonies. There was fighting in the African Colonies also.

List of former German colonies and protectorates

Colonies: Africa; Wituland · German East Africa (Tanganyika · Rwanda · Burundi) · Togoland · German South-West Africa (Namibia) · German West Africa (Kamerun · Neukamerun)

Pacific; German New Guinea (German Solomon Islands · German Marshall Islands · Caroline Islands · Mariana Islands · Nauru · Palau) · German Samoa

Concessions: China ; German Kiautschou · Tientsin · Tsingtao

The Central Powers consisted of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria. Italy was originally a part of the Triple Alliance but had designs on Austrian territory and switched sides.


This is a decent map of the who‘s who and where.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped.../4f/WWI-re.png

[Praxil]

For me games are definitely artistic in many ways, because you have to be creative to make them. Games are interactive entertainment. Games are not cars or tools or something like that. They should never be developed or sold like that. Never ever should developers listen to what so called "fans" are thinking. However they should definitely hear them out for new ideas, but should never directly try to satisfy these screaming micro hordes.

What I mean is that developers should always develop games within the goals they have set. Developers should always develop games for themselves and if that appeals a lot of people, then that is good business also. Unless you're trying to appeal masses, of course you can sell an awful game. I'm not saying you couldn't. Strategy games are not for masses, masses could not be bothered with, stop and think for a second what to do and how to do it.

As far as it goes for Naval combat. Develop completely separate game about it, that should concentrate completely on naval combat only. That way you could do games about WWI and WWII naval warfare.

With this kind of "survey" I definitely feel that this franchise is taking it's last breath.

The thing is that the potential is still so huge that the CA has barely even scratched it. I mean the execution isn't really there yet. I don't mind of recycling the historical themes introduced so far, just keep improving that gameplay. Thinking about Civilization series. Pretty much nothing new in the core of the gameplay, however it's just so much improved. Call of Duty (far fetched I know) Infinity Ward franchise. Same MP gameplay just like in the first one, but here and there is clearly improved.

[Sir Beane]

@ Praxil

This is not the first time that CA have launched an official poll asking people what game to make. I know for certain that they did this with Rome and Medieval 2. In fact many people have said that Empire Total War was a direct result of fan requests (combined with new tech being available).

The franchise is hardly taking it's last breath just because CA want to know what the fans want to play. They may have put WW1 up there as a choice, but given the response in https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=110534 thread it probably won't be a popular choice.

I can't see a problem with asking fans what game they want to play. You say CA shuold develop games for themselves, but what if no one wants to buy the game they want to make? They are left with having wasted money and years of their lives on junk, basically.

This is not the kind of economy to be taking risks in. CA are doing this poll because htey need to know what will sell, in order to stay in business.

And CA aren't trying to appeal to 'the masses' in the way the Wii is. The wii appeals to masses of non-gamers. CA is trying to appeal to the masses of gamers who will generally play anything if it is high quality enough and fun enough.

Saying strategy games are for the masses is dismissive and a little narrow-minded. There are many strategy games that have sold extremely well, and clearly dont appeal to just hardcore fans. Think Age of Empires, Command and Conquer and recently Sins of a Solar Empire (not to mention previous Total War games.)

So don't worry about the Total War series being on it's last legs because of a poll. CA going under will only happen if they do not listen to the fans, not because they do.

[Thermal]

while not too convinced imagine world war 1 modding wise, all the mods you could do with tanks and guns and stuff, with all that technology fantasy mods would be amazing!

[Monk]

Wow.

I was really tempted to vote for the Asian total war option. I'd love to see that entire area reimagined in the empire engine.. but I have to say I went with WW1. It's an era that has seen little exploration (lemme rephrase, good exploration) in terms of videogames.

Unlike ww2, where it's been done to death, ww1 would give you the chance to really see primordial technology (U-boats, machine guns, aircraft and tanks!) as well as be thrown into some of History's bloodiest battles. It would force veterans of the TW franchise after having mastered the gunpowder, medieval and Sengoku Jidai eras, to completely rethink diplomacy and strategy, as well as battlefield tactics. It would be amazing to see the sluggish tanks of the era going toe to toe it out in no man's land. We're all familiar with combined arms, but now factoring in Aircraft, it's in effect a whole new area that CA could expand their franchise. Not only would we have armies and navies, but air forces too!

If the naval battle engine were to be updated, evolved and carried over from ETW we could see huge, smoke spewing battleships slugging it out on the high seas. And really, who isn't interested in that!