Has anything really changed from CA?

**resonantblue** · 07-10-2009, 21:28

The sense of entitlement is obscene. You bought the game. You were not forced to buy the game. You bought the game knowing full well that in every TW game they promise the AI will be better (which it is), but fails to meet your expectations.

Seriously, if you take one step back and look at what you're doing it's a self-written comedy.

**nafod** · 07-11-2009, 03:49

Originally Posted by resonantblue

The sense of entitlement is obscene. You bought the game. You were not forced to buy the game. You bought the game knowing full well that in every TW game they promise the AI will be better (which it is), but fails to meet your expectations.

Seriously, if you take one step back and look at what you're doing it's a self-written comedy.

Yep I agree. It's funny that I bought ETW expecting it to be somewhat challenging and enthralling and ended up with a nicely decorated toybox.

I guess what isn't funny is I've told everyone of my friends (with much smaller gaming budgets than me) who have inquired to pass on this one despite the media generated hype.

**Didz** · 07-11-2009, 10:31

Likewise, we usually buy three copies in our family. But only one this time.

**GFX707** · 07-11-2009, 12:13

Originally Posted by resonantblue

The sense of entitlement is obscene. You bought the game. You were not forced to buy the game. You bought the game knowing full well that in every TW game they promise the AI will be better (which it is), but fails to meet your expectations.

Seriously, if you take one step back and look at what you're doing it's a self-written comedy.

You might be right, but there are laws against describing a product incorrectly.

Plus, they had FOUR YEARS to fix the AI. Four entire years. At the end of that four year period we have worse campaign AI than RTW. At least in RTW the AI would frequently invade by sea. In 1.3 every single thing that was bad about the AI in RTW is present in the ETW AI. Stupid suicidal war declarations (actually much worse than RTW because the AI is usually feeble and in about 5 wars already when it declares war on you) and never accepting peace.

So I shall ask you: Do you think it was unreasonable or stupid for us, the TW fan, to expect CA, in a period of four years, to make *some* improvements to the campaign AI in their game?

**ReluctantSamurai** · 07-11-2009, 15:23

I'm afraid the bottom line for CA is summarized here:

"Week one sales of the title were nearly double those of both Rome: Total War and Medieval II: Total War, and is the first in the series’ to claim the Top 40 top spot. It also becomes the first PC exclusive title to reach the top since Football Manager 2008 in October 2007 – another Sega PC title."

[from a March report posted at IGN.com]

"If you make a hit game, you make good money out of it. But you only need to fail once or twice in a row and you're dead."

[a quote from Mike Simpson, the creative director for CA as quoted by the BBC in a March interview]

Obviously, with sales at the top of the charts, I don't expect anything will change anytime soon.....

**Didz** · 07-11-2009, 15:40

That doesn't surprise me, because unlike their previous titles they are finally tapping the Napoleonic Wargame market, the single biggest area of historical interest in the world with millions of potential customers, who like me have been waiting for a decent historical computer wargame for decades.

Problem is, if your going to tap that market and keep it then your game better damned well be historically accurate, because these guys are going to rip it to shreds if its not, and once the word is out that your a bunch of ignorant idiots who can't be bothered to do your research then you won't get a second bite of the cherry.

**ReluctantSamurai** · 07-11-2009, 17:46

and once the word is out that your a bunch of ignorant idiots who can't be bothered to do your research then you won't get a second bite of the cherry.

Judging from the increase in sales of ETW over the previous two releases, a lot of folks disagree with that. Don't get me wrong.......I'm of the same sentiment as you. I just think it's going to take a competitor to step in and do something better for people to compare to.

While I fully appreciate that CA is in the business to make money (and oh, btw, here's a game for you folks to play), and that it is impossible to please everyone, one would think that after all this time, and with the experienced garnered from previous releases, that a more flexible game could have been produced.

By that I mean more option settings that actually determine gameplay. I design campaigns and scenarios for an old WWII game that has a much less complex game engine, and far fewer resources available for a modder to work with. Yet I, and others like me can create scenarios and campaigns that are fulfilling to all players both n00b's and veterans.

I just can't understand why CA cannot do something similar with a much more advanced game engine and a horde of experience from previous releases

**Didz** · 07-11-2009, 23:23

Originally Posted by ReluctantSamurai

Judging from the increase in sales of ETW over the previous two releases, a lot of folks disagree with that. Don't get me wrong.......

Well I bought it because I believed the sales spin that it was a historical strategy game. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else with an interest in wargaming or history, and the only reason I'm still playing it is because I found some mods to correct most of the errors, and managed to work out how to switch off all the fantasy units.

I've bought every TW titles so far, but this will probably be the last one, you can only get treated like a idiot so often.

**Fisherking** · 07-12-2009, 08:14

Originally Posted by Didz

Well I bought it because I believed the sales spin that it was a historical strategy game. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else with an interest in wargaming or history, and the only reason I'm still playing it is because I found some mods to correct most of the errors, and managed to work out how to switch off all the fantasy units.

I've bought every TW titles so far, but this will probably be the last one, you can only get treated like a idiot so often.

Which are you calling fantasy units?

There are things they have done in the game that disturb me and from a decent beginning, less the crashes and bugs of course, I see it getting farther and farther away.

I have tried to figure out why some things are ignored or even changes from the historical without much reason behind it.

Why do the French lack light dragoons but have rifles. Why does Austria lack rifles other than the air rifles and that is only two units. They also lack regular dragoons, at least in Europe.

Some of the things just seem totally subjective and I can’t see any reason for it, game play or anything else.

It would seem they are searching for their audience but only see the three hecklers in the back row and are trying to please all the wrong people.