Empire TW query

**Old Man** · 07-16-2009, 10:44

Hi

I have the other Total War series and have been waiting for the major bugs to have been fixed on Empire, so what I am asking is if it is now worth playing? (sometime ago there were major issues with the naval part of the game, etc).

Also, anybody know what happened to: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=104767

That site seems to be down and that's where I used to go for info on "RTR Platinum v1.9".

TY

**TomPaine** · 07-16-2009, 13:35

As far as "playability" -- yes, I have a lot of fun with the game. I think a lot of the frustration that the Total War series generates is due, in part, to the fact that they offer so, so very much, and do so much so very well, that it's *especially* aggravating when they don't come the last 10 percent of the way to perfection. But I think that we ought not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good -- nor should we miss just how much the game offers, and how different it is from any other offering on the market, or how much better it is from anything else that tries to be like it.

Do I think the AI can be boneheaded? Oh yes. Does that actually affect my enjoyment of the game? Oh yes. Do I still have a good time playing? Oh yes. This weekend I was narrating a few recent turns of my Prussia campaign to my very graciously attentive wife -- a narrative filled with betrayals, backstabs, desperate last-ditch battles, and final triumphs, on the campaign as well as the battle level -- and I thought to myself, "

, that sounds really cool when I talk about it." I needed to have the gameplay defamiliarized, transformed into an "After Action Report," to realize how much of the game actually *does* work -- it let me get past the AI issues that had been bugging me.

The game still crashes every so often, so I save regularly; the AI isn't nearly as bright as I hoped it would be, though sometimes it's idiocy happens in small, especially fail-ridden ways, that maybe make it seem worse than it is: not clearing out a port that's been blockaded, having difficulty landing its troops, etc. But it can also be satisfying, and present some really good times, and I have to say, I think given the vast scope of the game, watching three theatres as well as the trade zones, *I myself* have made some of the errors I accuse the "boneheaded" AI of doing: forgetting about a tradelane that's been blockaded for several turns, building a school but forgetting to select a research topic, etc -- so if I do it, maybe I shouldn't yell at the AI.

Really, the question is -- did you ever enjoy any Total War game? If so, I think Empire is a good choice. I've been lurking around the .org since before RTW came out, tho my post count wouldn't necessarily tell you that -- but we've ALWAYS complained about the AI, about balance, about etc; I'm not sure there's been much of a consensus of satisfaction *ever* for the TW games among us hardcore, and that's okay. We love the games, and most of all, we love the potential they always represent but never quite achieve, and this one really isn't any different -- I have a great time playing it, I wish it were stronger in some areas, but then, you know, five years ago I was wishing the Gauls would buy some better troops and attack the Julii cities in force, but they didn't, but I still had a great time ...

**pevergreen** · 07-16-2009, 13:43

TWC goes down a bit.

I had no idea RTR got past 1.7. I'm still waiting for RTR 7. or was it 6.

Years of waiting have me not caring anymore.

**Zasz1234** · 07-16-2009, 15:04

I think TomPaine raises a really valid point here. I don't ever remember a time when these forums were not filled with cries to change this unit, or this factions, or this aspect. I think it comes from the startling complexity of the game and the towering heights of our expectations as players. Although, I feel the biggest change was going from the risk-style map to the current strategic map setup. Just that change gives the strategic AI an infinitely greater number of things to attend to.

Another thing I think is funny is the constant charge that the player pool is degenerating into a bunch of youngins. Although I think I got Shogun when I was 12, the fact is it's the same people on all these forums, meaning the same people pretty much buy all the games. To be honest, I don't know too many people in any age demographic that strategy games appeal to. TW games are aimed at those Risk lovers who always wanted to play out the battles, be Napoleon, or Tokugawa, or Caeser or whomever. I guess the point is it's mindset over age and that to be honest I still love these games and I think secretly so does everyone else, otherwise we all wouldn't get up in arms about so much.

My only complaint is maybe toning down the combative nature of criticism for the game. It seems that if a feature is anything but optimal its "breaking the game" or "ruining the Game" and "Everyone at CA should just quit" because a unit was "overpowered" and is now "nerfed." We do not live in a world of absolutes but of a myriad shades of gray. I feel we would all benefit from bearing this in mind when discussing, revelling in, and criticism our favorite brand of games.

Just my 2 cents.

All that being said, totally by Empires. It's a blast!

**Hooahguy** · 07-16-2009, 15:28

definitely buy it. the game is excellent, and im hooked on it. there is a HUGE number of mini mods that tweak the game however you like it, be it better unit stats, more men per unit, better AI (that would be Darthmod), all factions unlocked, differet battle tunes, better skins, blood and smoke mods, and the list literally goes on for pages.
there are also a handful of quality full conversion mods. just go to the TWC mod page for ETW and you will find them all.

even in vanilla, the game is awesome. while the AI is still dumb, i think it far surpasses RTW and M2TW. im not sure about STW and MTW. ive never played them. ive actually lost battles in ETW, even when it was an even ratio, while in previous TW games ive always won, even if i was outnumbered by a lot.

about crashes, ive only crashed once, and it never happened again. but ive crashed a ton on the initial loading screen, but only because i had mod files that were conflicted/corrupt. they are now fixed, and i am enjoying ETW to the max.

**Old Man** · 07-16-2009, 17:54

Well from the age of ~15 (I think), I was playing strategy "board" games as pc's were just not around then and yes I'm hitting 50 now. (I take that back, I had an Apple 2+ with 64k memory I think).

I have enjoyed all the Total War games so far, though after picking up the one before Empire T war, I decided to play it safe and just wait awhile for some patches to come out before buying the game as I hate it when the game crashes all of the time, but it looks as if it's safe enough now to go out and get it.

Well, TY to you guys for your input on this game and I'll be going out in a couple of weeks to buy the game, soon as I can come up with a good reason to tell my wife as to why I'm gonna treat myself to something or hmm maybe I'll just hand her some cash too and call it even.

A game for me and shoes for the wife, though it's not like she needs any with the mass she already has (women and shoes).

:(