We Still Don't Know...

[Barkhorn1x]

...a whole heck of a lot.

We ae approx 4.5 months away from release and we have no real concrete details/screens/vids showing:
- The Campaign map
- Naval battles
- Diplomacy
- Unit rosters
- Agent characters


It's just odd that we're so close and all this is still a mystery.

C'mon CA, come clean on this stuff, especially the first two items.

[Lemur]

In order:

• Has the campaign map ever been given a full reveal pre-launch? I don't remember that happening
• The only time CA did a lot of promo about naval battles was when they were introduced in Empire
• Diplomacy? I don't recall getting any detailed info about diplomacy pre-launch on any CA title
• Unit rosters—CA always previews some units, nothing more
• Agent character—again, CA usually previews a few, leaves the rest for us to find

So ... what expectation is it you have that CA ain't meeting?

[Barkhorn1x]

In order:

• Has the campaign map ever been given a full reveal pre-launch? I don't remember that happening
• The only time CA did a lot of promo about naval battles was when they were introduced in Empire
• Diplomacy? I don't recall getting any detailed info about diplomacy pre-launch on any CA title
• Unit rosters—CA always previews some units, nothing more
• Agent character—again, CA usually previews a few, leaves the rest for us to find

So ... what expectation is it you have that CA ain't meeting?

Umm...gee...I distinctly recall seeing video of STW2 showing the map and agent characters and screens for all the other stuff. And I'm pretty sure it was farther out than we are now.

Oh and naval battles? What? You don't think that the first tactical represenetation of ancient naval combat on the PC is a big deal?

[The Outsider]

Umm...gee...I distinctly recall seeing video of STW2 showing the map and agent characters and screens for all the other stuff. And I'm pretty sure it was farther out than we are now.

Oh and naval battles? What? You don't think that the first tactical represenetation of ancient naval combat on the PC is a big deal?

Definetly agreed we dont know nothing about the game and its damn close to release. All we had was a couple of scripted battles and thats it. This is quite strange given the fact that we are really close to the release and there was a wealth of information on the previous titles. This is weird and suspicous. Havent they done much with the game yet? if so how in 9 hells are they gonna release it on time? Like empire? full of bugs? i mean i wanna keep my hopes up after shogun 2 which was one of their most solid they 1 releases but this is much bigger than that and we still dont know anything feasible about it. until we do i will be cautious.

[dracop]

Umm you = Beta Tester. If they have not even worked up the marketing details, do any of you really think they have beta tested it? lol

No $$$ ins dev budgets for beta tests nowadays.

I am torn about buying it at launch vs waiting for the inevitable Steam sale.

[Mongoose]

I'm curious about how the random campaign battles will stack with the scripted ones we've seen. It'd be really cool if something resembling the Teutoburger battle could actually occur in a campaign, but at the moment we don't really know. I don't really think it will be possible, but CA made some big improvements with in Shogun and FOTS, so who knows.

[Vuk]

In order:

• Has the campaign map ever been given a full reveal pre-launch? I don't remember that happening
• The only time CA did a lot of promo about naval battles was when they were introduced in Empire
• Diplomacy? I don't recall getting any detailed info about diplomacy pre-launch on any CA title
• Unit rosters—CA always previews some units, nothing more
• Agent character—again, CA usually previews a few, leaves the rest for us to find

So ... what expectation is it you have that CA ain't meeting?

Shill much?

[Lemur]

Shill much?

Make random complaints with an unearned sense of entitlement much?

[Vuk]

Make random complaints with an unearned sense of entitlement much?

Mate, you're a riot. No matter what people say, as long as it could be considered even a little critical of CA or the Total War series you are always there to instantly jump in and defend them; whether it is a legitimate complaint or not.
Your nose is so darned brown that it could be mistaken for a [tree branch]. Seriously, stop being such a sickening fan-boy please. It is not becoming.

[Lemur]

Well, Vuk, having your disapproval is something of a compliment, so I think I'll proceed on with a renewed sense of confidence. Now, if you're all done spitting nonsensical insults at a fellow member, and actually want to talk about the upcoming game (you know, the purpose of this subforum), I'm all ears.

[Spoonska]

Personally, I can't really blame them for withholding information when the vocal majority [is really mean about] everything they release.

[quadalpha]

Christ, children. What do you think the OP raised those points for if he didn't want them addressed?

[lars573]

...a whole heck of a lot.

We ae approx 4.5 months away from release and we have no real concrete details/screens/vids showing:
- The Campaign map
- Naval battles
- Diplomacy
- Unit rosters
- Agent characters


It's just odd that we're so close and all this is still a mystery.

C'mon CA, come clean on this stuff, especially the first two items.

It's totally not odd. It's how CA rolls.

-We will see at most 5 stills of the campaign map a week or two before launch
-Maybe before launch
-Never before launch
-Only after launch
-Only reason Shogun 2 got them pushed before launch was because they were ninja's, Rome II doesn't have them

[Mongoose]

Lemur's post doesn't actually defend CA, but rather points out that the pre-release information for Rome II resembles the preview content of all the other games. This criticizes CA as much as it defends them, hardly a shill post.

Moving onto the topic, I think we probably just don't see these things more because they don't make for especially effective marketing. It's not that CA is afraid of people seeing them, but because they have limited capacity to advertise, it makes sense for CA to focus on things that will increase sales the most. Here of course I'm assuming that most buyers don't really care that much about seeing a detailed campaign map.

Obviously, I really wish they would show us more of that stuff and I think they should. It's just not anything sinister or sketchy.

[Barkhorn1x]

Lemur's post doesn't actually defend CA, but rather points out that the pre-release information for Rome II resembles the preview content of all the other games. This criticizes CA as much as it defends them, hardly a shill post.

Moving onto the topic, I think we probably just don't see these things more because they don't make for especially effective marketing. It's not that CA is afraid of people seeing them, but because they have limited capacity to advertise, it makes sense for CA to focus on things that will increase sales the most. Here of course I'm assuming that most buyers don't really care that much about seeing a detailed campaign map.

Obviously, I really wish they would show us more of that stuff and I think they should. It's just not anything sinister or sketchy.

Umm...:
1. "Rome II resembles the preview content of all the other games. " But at this point - 4 months out - it does not.
2. "I think we probably just don't see these things more because they don't make for especially effective marketing." I think you are wrong. Ancient naval battles on a tactical level would make great marketing.
3> "It's just not anything sinister or sketchy. " Those are your words not mine. I just find it very odd.

[Lemur]

1. "Rome II resembles the preview content of all the other games. " But at this point - 4 months out - it does not.

Well, that's where our memories differ. As I recall, CA rarely gave us more than a handful of faction and unit previews, plus some gameplay vids. I don't recall them giving big, in-depth, detailed previews prior to release.

The last CA game I was really pumped for was Empire (I know, I know, that didn't work out well). They released a couple of vids highlighting naval battle, since that was new, and a handful of faction and unit previews. Standard stuff.

Now, it's legit to say, "I want more preview stuff," absolutely. But to call the dev out as though this release is somehow abnormal and strange in relation to previous releases is counter-factual, IMHO.

[Mongoose]

Umm...:
1. "Rome II resembles the preview content of all the other games. " But at this point - 4 months out - it does not.
2. "I think we probably just don't see these things more because they don't make for especially effective marketing." I think you are wrong. Ancient naval battles on a tactical level would make great marketing.
3> "It's just not anything sinister or sketchy. " Those are your words not mine. I just find it very odd.

1. I agree with Lemur on this one. I found the lack of info on most of their games quite frustrating.

2. Ancient naval battles on a tactical level would enthuse me as well, but we aren't really typical for the market they are seeking. We've been playing these games for a while (well, I have, at least), and we want details about combat how exactly the campaign map looks, full unit roasters, balance, AI, all that; we want the details you mentioned. We already know about the game, however, and even though we're skeptical, we're probably going to buy no matter how it is marketed. In fact, even if CA made no attempt at hype at all, I would probably look up Rome II.

Whom are they going after? People like my friend who aren't really into these games and normally would not buy them, but after seeing preview content, might get interested enough at how cool it looked to think about it. I can assure youthat a lot of detailed information about navy battles would not interest them that much and might even deter them.

3. I know - I was responding more to someone else on this one, and to sentiments I've read elsewhere.

These are all bad practices, but they're not really new, not that we should be more accepting of them because of that.

[magpie]

Hi all, The mystery continues on much of the planned campaign a few snippets here and there.
Although it does not appear to have harmed pre order sales which SEGA are very happy with. 6 times as large as Shogun 2 at this early stage.
Oh well it all adds to the tension.
I would love some information on how our Roman faction will interact with the senate.

regards,

magpie

[katsoro]

Um, wont the diplomacy be the same as it has always been in every total war title? aka broken.

[Hooahguy]

Um, wont the diplomacy be the same as it has always been in every total war title? aka broken.

Probably, but they said they are changing the diplomacy method, but what do I know.

[Barkhorn1x]

Probably, but they said they are changing the diplomacy method, but what do I know.

Perhaps it will be broken in a different way?

[Lemur]

Perhaps it will be broken in a different way?

Extremely likely.

Sigh.

Oh well, I'm not going to get too irritated by Black Knight diplomacy until I see the campaign in action ...