German Preview (Translated)

[Ituralde]

This maneuver compass is actually a pretty nifty addition form what I gathered. Not only can you change the facing of individual units, but you can basically order your whole army to make a turn to the left or right. Additionally you can use to just have your whole formation advance. That way you can move your army cohesively and engage the enemy in the desired formation.

Other things that I found interesting is the larger spherer of influence that is cast by armies. It is apparently dependent on the leadership level of the general. So great generals will be able to control much larger areas and force their enemies to come to them.

He talked a bit about the AI as well, and while it was pretty solid, he complained that it was often too slow to exploit the weaknesses of the player, like attacking undefended Artillery. It was also a tad to easy to get around their flanks, even when the enemy could see your movements clearly.

There will be Historical Battles. In the version he played the battle of "Porto Novo" (1759) could be played.

He also mentions that the specializing of the different small towns reminded him a bit of Colonization. So you would choose one town for science by building a school, and another for manufacturing, or farming. The main city can concentratet on military buildings and cultural one. The latter will help reduce the risks of rebellion.


I just read the original German version, so I don't know how much of the above could be gleaned from the babefish version.
Cheers!

Ituralde