Quote Originally Posted by AussieGiant View Post
Given the technology tree is handled very well, and there is a whole line of naval technology to achieve, the combination of what TC has outlined at a historical level PLUS this in game aspect would create not only an entertaining game but one based solidly in historical accuracy.
It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway as the sailor curmudgeon here)... it would only be historically accurate if the sailing dynamics were also realistic. Otherwise it doesn't matter whether the ships and weapons are realistic. Giving the land armies accurate weapon stats wouldn't matter either, if they all had motorbikes to ride around the battlefield. Current "tactics" for winning a naval battle where wind direction can be ignored, are a total joke.

Modders can probably undo whatever rock paper scissor "balancing" CA is about to impose on the game, but but I don't know whether the sailing dynamics can be altered, or if the AI would know how to handle it. Also, if the ship and weapon stats are modded to something reasonably realistic, would the strategic AI build appropriate fleets, or would it still try to build rock-paper-scissor fleets? I guess we'll see.

Quite a missed opportunity in order to appeal to the console head, arcade types that buy the game to watch some explosions and blow things up.
It does seem like almost all the effort went into eye candy for the naval battles. I still don't understand why they're so different from the land battles, which are reasonably realistic.

I'm increasingly hoping that some other games developer jumps into this genre with some serious intentions and shakes up the market.
It's bound to happen eventually. Realistic historical wargames are a niche market, but it is a market regardless. It needs to be done by a smaller company, one that isn't as driven to reach the largest possible audience with a dumbed-down game.