Another Next Total War Poll

[Braden]

Asia: TW

I’d go for that, a semi-revisit of Shogun. Similar to E:TW and N:TW however in that the main game (i.e. the Empire game) is the full Asian sub-continent, China warring states, India the whole gambit…dammit you could even include Mongols again and the Americas (in line with the claims the Chinese visited first).

THEN the expansion would be full Shogun II…simples see *squeak*

Keeps the same game engine, same format as current games…main then an expansion…and keeps us oldies hooked as we wait to revisit Shogun again but with *shock* 3D animations!!

I’d post on the official forums but ezboards and me just don’t get along (in other words all my logins don’t work anymore).

So, feel free to suggest on those boards anyone if you want….

If they did this, kept the engine the SAME, keep all the FIXES they’ve put out for Empire and just concentrated on getting the units right, maps right and the last remaining game play issues right…CA could win us back.

They mustn’t try to re-invent the wheel again, Empire was clearly too much of a leap over Medieval II for them (lords knows why though)…keep what works NOW in the new game, we don’t need any concentration on “greater enhanced graphics” or “advanced particle systems”.

Just get the GAME PLAY right!

[Zenicetus]

Here's another angle on the "next game" question. Since full 3D naval combat is the big new feature in ETW (and I mean that in terms of sexy trailers that help sell the game)... which choice would make the best use of the naval combat engine, both for tactical interest and to help sell the game?

I think that's a strong case for ancient Greece or Rome (preferably Greece, for me). There have been enough movies showing navies of oared ships fighting with archery, primitive artillery, and ramming, for people to relate to easily. And it wouldn't require a major overhaul of the naval combat engine since this is all close-range fighting that fits within the scope of ETW's naval combat engine. Steamships already move (more or less) like ships under oar power. Boarding and capture could still be a factor, and it just needs a new tactic for ramming.

Ancient Asia had naval battles, but I think they were using smaller ships and mainly as archery platforms. Mostly small-scale coastal battles, with some river combat in China. I may be wrong (I'm not that well-versed in the history), but it seems to me that naval combat in ancient Greece around the time of the Persian and Peloponnesian wars would be more "cinematic" and better for selling the game. Also fun to play, if they did it right.

Medieval III isn't a time when ship combat was very interesting, and I think that's a low probability anyway since it was the last period covered before ETW.

Naval combat in WW1 wouldn't work well, for the same reasons I posted above about long-range artillery and air support. They would need to vastly expand the battlefield area for dreadnoughts pounding away at each other, along with scouting (and bombing) from airplanes. They'd also have to figure out how to incorporate the early submarines. It's just not a natural fit for the current ETW engine without making it much more complicated.... and I think (as said above by others), what we want is a tight game with good AI coding that wouldn't require massive additions.

So that's my best argument for Greece: it's the best way to exploit the naval combat side of the game. As an aside, I think the concept of schools, colleges, and the tech tree (i.e heavy emphasis on science instead of religion) is also a more natural fit for Greece than for Asia, or a Medieval III.

[Fisherking]

Currently Rome II has twice the votes as its nearest competitor.

I agree that Greek and Roman Naval War is an interesting topic for a game or otherwise.

The ships need a reverse before you introduce ramming though.

There is stepping and unsteppen of masts, the use of heavy weights on booms to sink your enemy, all kinds of interesting Naval inventions for technologies.

I just wonder about how long you need research to obtain flaming pigs or screaming women?

[Seyavash]

Personally I would love an Asia total war with an expansion focusing on Japan. There is a huge potential of variety in Asia that has yet to be fully explored.

The issue I think will be sales. Shogun was highly focused on an area that might not sell well enough for CA to devote an entire game to it. Devoted fans of the series would love this but would such a game bring in enough new fans? I am not so sure. Same thing with an Asia total war, will it expand their appeal more than another European/American period game.

I actually think we may see them move away from the huge campaign games toward a more narrow and directed period game. something like Road To The Revolution and NTW. This could mean smaller games but more frequent publishing. Focusing on wars that they think will sell well. I am not keen on the idea, but I do think it is possible.