US on factions list

[Nelson]

I think the decision to make them playable was probably motivated by a desire to reach out to the American market.

That could certainly be the case.

I think the USA is playable because a lot of people will want to play it. Americans to be sure but plenty of other folks too. Defeating the UK could be a real challenge for the rebels.

True, the colonies were British until 1776. That’s still 25 years of the century that the USA was a separate entity with a role to play on the world stage. The war was 8 years long.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese Empire was declining during the 18th century. They still made money via trade but fought no wars with any Europeans during this time of which I’m aware.

Perhaps Portugal will be playable in a Napoleon Expansion. They were definitely a player in the Peninsula War.

[PanzerJaeger]

Isn't this all unimportant anyway, as the factions will be easily unlocked within an hour of the game's release?

I guess the playables will get a little bit more attention and specialized events and such, though...

[Sir Beane]

Isn't this all unimportant anyway, as the factions will be easily unlocked within an hour of the game's release?

I guess the playables will get a little bit more attention and specialized events and such, though...

Thats the biscuit. They'll get better voice acting, special units, a better rounded unit roster etc.

But yeah it is pretty much pointless since mods will probably bring every faction up to the same level. It's just the principle of the thing .

[knoddy]

look at it on the bright side, now we can stick it to the americans :D

[Sheogorath]

How many of you really, I mean really, deep in the pits of your blackened little hearts, doubted for a moment that the US wasn't going to be on the high-end faction list?

I can understand it, though. It gives CA another 'fun' faction that they can play around a little with and not get yelled at for ZOMG HISTORI. Plus, as mentioned, it appeals to the US market.

[/shrug]

I still fully intend to invade England as the Marathas and force them to grow tea.

[Beskar]

The thing about US though, weren't they already in the game with the whole Road to Independence anyway? There was no need to make it the last one, all it served was dashing the hopes of people wanting a different faction.

Anyway, the mod teams will most likely be adding the other factions.

[Sir Beane]

look at it on the bright side, now we can stick it to the americans :D

There shall be sweet, sweet revenge for the neglected people of Portugal . Not that I wouldn't have beaten the US up anyway.

What I really want to know is if the US will appear on the campaign map at the start, and if they do I want to know what CA were smoking.

[batemonkey]

THe thing is they've done all thw work with voice actors etc for the road to independence, so instead of 11 playble factions they can (with little extra expense) say wow look 12 playable factions

[Rufus]

According to a thread on the totalwar.com forums citing a PM from a CA person, the United States will only be playable in the mini-grand campaign that comprises the 4th chapter of the Road to Independence, running from 1783-1810. It will not be playable in the main grand campaign from 1700-1799.

I wanted to comment about the faction preview:

After the French and Indian Wars, the British government took an entirely unreasonable line: the American colonists should pay taxes to contribute to the navy and army that helped defend them. After all, those colonial fellows enjoyed the benefits of peace, protected by Britain’s expensive soldiers and sailors. The colonists had other views. The British responded with political stupidity and military ineptitude.

The sarcastic part about "an entirely unreasonable line" is such a typically myopic view often seen in British historical texts' commentary on the Revolution. The objection, as any American 8th grader should know, was not to paying taxes at all but having no representation in the Parliament that levied those taxes. The slogan was "no taxation without representation," not "no taxation."

Most American colonists didn't even necessarily want independence at first (except for a few hotheads), just equal rights and representation as the Englishmen they perceived themselves to be. When it became clear the Crown and the majority in Parliament would refuse to grant that representation, second-class citizenship seemed permanent, and any effort to return to some semblence of the self-governance the colonies enjoyed pre-1763 seemed futile without independence, thus moving even conservatives and moderates like John Adams to support independence reluctantly.

Moreover, while I grant the indispensible role of the Royal Army and Navy in protecting colonists from the French and Indians, the view in the faction preview and many British history texts overlooks the key role of colonial militia in the French & Indian War, militia paid for and manned by colonists.

That said, I wholeheartedly agree with the faction preview when it says, "The British responded with political stupidity and military ineptitude," both of which were vital to American victory!