How do you think CA is doing, right now?

**Fisherking** · 11-24-2009, 23:37

How do you think CA is doing, right now?

Not on releases of ETW.

This is not a rant thread. Lets try to discuss it and not just rant about it.

There are several ways a business can view its customers. Everything from love to hate and several tangents from that.

Everyone likes to have their work appreciated and when it isn’t there are different way people handle it.

I don’t think we need any finger pointing or blaming. Most of that has been covered time and time again.

What I think is that they are trying hard to please. Sometimes this leads them on tangents most of us would rather they hadn’t taken but they are trying to please...for the most part.

There have been a couple of issues where they seem to be striking back at the players. Maybe this is due to what they feel are excessive complaints.

Anyway, I am sure they are under pressure. It is around 70 day until NTW is to hit the shelves and there is still the Multiplayer beta for ETW to get out...

**gollum** · 11-25-2009, 00:00

originally posted by Fisherking
What I think is that they are trying hard to please.

Yeah, they are trying hard to please their publisher. That's exactly the problem.

As for being under pressure they are not the only ones - anyone that works a job especially these days is under considerable pressure.

**antisocialmunky** · 11-25-2009, 01:18

They're doing fine. I'm more curious as to what CA Aussieland is working on using the ETW engine.

**Krusader** · 11-25-2009, 15:48

As one within EB said some days ago:
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I'm not sure if everyone has read this blog entry by Mike Simpson from CA, but it seems like they're in big trouble. After reading his previous blog entries (specially the first one) and being a RL project manager myself, I would say that CA is probably in great danger.

The combination of low rates from gamers for ETW, high costs on trying to solve the BAI and CAI (now completely lost since the main AI programmer left them), the high pressure from SEGA, and probably a few more internal problems have forced this project responsible to come out publicly and make a big "mea culpa".

Personally, I think he's doing a lousy job because he's being very lame:

- he says the US public prefers a non-aggressive AI because they want to set the pace of the game... I'm not sure if he's calling them stupid or hinting that the hardcore fans are asking too much from the AI

- he says SEGA pushed them to release the game by Feb09, hinting that it was their fault for a rushed product

- he calls deserter to the main AI programmer who left them recently... ouch!

- he admits that the BAI in ETW is very bad but now they are moving on with new code to NTW and cannot reuse it for fixing ETW... he even asks for a C++ coder to join CA because he will find a place for him...

As a RL project manager myself, I can almost recognize the pattern here:

- this guy's job is on the line - his desperate tone and he can't hide that he was forced to create that blog against his will, to make "damage control" on the irate fans - his job only, or the entire ETW team?

- possibly CA is also in danger of closing if NTW doesn't become a success - it's not very clear, but I have that feeling

- they are under stress from SEGA and probably won't have money and/or people good enough to make a new RTW. - he praises them so much that it almost sounds like "don't fire them because they are awesomely good, although they made a bad job in ETW"...

I don't know guys, but I'm starting to doubt if we'll ever see an RTWII someday...
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Fisherking asked how we thought CA was doing and I thought this post was nice. And just to be on the absolute clear, this is an opinion/impression and not facts.

**Durallan** · 11-25-2009, 17:29

I don't want CA to go bankrupt or anything because I like these totalwar games, but its a caseof, had they listened to us about the AI in M2TW, would we be at this stage today? IDK but it will be a shame if they go. I don't know how CA are going TBH, I haven't played ETW or looked at these boards since I got Dragon Age Origins, been playing that all along instead

**Alexander the Pretty Good** · 11-25-2009, 17:56

Why would we want to see a Rome 2 anyway? You're kidding yourself if you think it's any different from M2 or Empire.

**Zild** · 11-25-2009, 21:47

Originally Posted by Krusader

- he calls deserter to the main AI programmer who left them recently... ouch!

I really think everybody is reading way too much into this particular comment. It sounds like no more than typical British banter to me. Hell, I'd take it as a far worse sign if CA felt they couldn't say this about the guy!

I think CA are desperately looking for additional revenue streams and it's hurting them badly with the fans, if not financially. Wargaming (even in software form) is very much a niche hobby, and anything they do to try to expand the audience is seen as a bad thing by the original audience - too easy, too shallow, even too pretty.

As for ETW, I was put off that entirely by the concept of having to pay more real money for access to all the units. I appreciate this is almost certainly a blinkered, ill-informed and most likely incorrect view as I haven't really looked into it, and so I could not justify attacking CA over this. But how many other people would have been put off by the same concern?

**Alexander the Pretty Good** · 11-25-2009, 22:10

They should seriously sign with a better publisher, or self-publish. See if one of the online distribution guys like Stardock or even Paradox want to work something out, or just go solo and sell through primarily through Steam. (I'm probably one of the few curmudgeons who's actually ok with Steam, mind you).

**Krusader** · 11-25-2009, 22:24

Originally Posted by Zild

I really think everybody is reading way too much into this particular comment. It sounds like no more than typical British banter to me. Hell, I'd take it as a far worse sign if CA felt they couldn't say this about the guy!

I think CA are desperately looking for additional revenue streams and it's hurting them badly with the fans, if not financially. Wargaming (even in software form) is very much a niche hobby, and anything they do to try to expand the audience is seen as a bad thing by the original audience - too easy, too shallow, even too pretty.

As for ETW, I was put off that entirely by the concept of having to pay more real money for access to all the units. I appreciate this is almost certainly a blinkered, ill-informed and most likely incorrect view as I haven't really looked into it, and so I could not justify attacking CA over this. But how many other people would have been put off by the same concern?

I think if Mike Simpson had written "deserter" no one would have cared as much, if at all.
But people are frustrated with CA & ETW and the reactions to the TW blog seems to be mostly negative, then yeah I will agree to a point they might be reading too much into the comment...but then again I personally have gotten the feeling that Mr.Simpson isn't that happy about writing that blog either, so that is why I went like this

, when I read the deserter comment.

And on another note, as we've said other places there won't be any EB3 for ETW or NTW if some here thought we were CA-fanbois. If you had read the EB team's thread you'd see that most of us will probably buy NTW when it hits the bargain bin.
Although a few on the team do have a dream that there will be a RTW2 with ETW engine or better made by a Creative Assembly who listens to fans and actually follows through on mod tools.
But not me...I'm expecting Gettysburg: Total War for the console in 2012.

My own Total War dream is to see Shogun and Medieval 1 on gog.com!

Originally Posted by Alexander the Pretty Good

They should seriously sign with a better publisher, or self-publish. See if one of the online distribution guys like Stardock or even Paradox want to work something out, or just go solo and sell through primarily through Steam. (I'm probably one of the few curmudgeons who's actually ok with Steam, mind you).

But isn't that a bit hard when SEGA actually owns CA and decides what they do?

**Captain Fishpants** · 11-27-2009, 11:26

Originally Posted by antisocialmunky

They're doing fine. I'm more curious as to what CA Aussieland is working on using the ETW engine.

The Brisbane office isn't working on TW games at all any more. They are now a separate entity within SEGA. Have been for a while, actually.

**pevergreen** · 11-27-2009, 12:32

Really? I had no idea.

They the console mob are they?

Hmmm I wonder if they need a new phone system...we did look after THQ.

**antisocialmunky** · 11-27-2009, 13:13

Originally Posted by Captain Fishpants

The Brisbane office isn't working on TW games at all any more. They are now a separate entity within SEGA. Have been for a while, actually.

Well.... I'm not sure what that indicates but I guess that means longer waits between TW installments.

**Fisherking** · 11-28-2009, 19:05

Originally Posted by antisocialmunky

Well.... I'm not sure what that indicates but I guess that means longer waits between TW installments.

I don’t think that is what it means. CA of Australia has been working on console games. Meanwhile CA in the UK has been growing.

Most of the Company Profiles are a year or more old and list them as having 70 employees. That would be both offices...

Anyway they said they had over 70 people working on NTW after 1.5 came out.

Meanwhile they are still hiring, so if you are a genius programmer wanting to live in the UK then you might have a chance of a job.