And... another new screenie at the .com!

[Vlad The Impala]

Silly me, thinking you're supposed to hold your shield in a vertical position and all...

[FearofNC]

agreed.. shield poition is very strange.. and forgive me if im pointing out the obvious.. but wouldnt it be in those knights atvantage to possibly lower thier lances before charging?? for all the hype on the new and improved looking combat graphics.. this screen shot shows serious shortcomings in that reguard.

notice the moat or river around the castle.. that does look interesting in some ways..

[Duke John]

And these animations are supposed to be motion-captured. From an over-actor perhaps.

With all the finishing moves and other animation improvements it's a shame they didn't have a look at giving soldiers beyond the 3rd rank or so a different animation (could be just running). Looks silly how soldiers in the 10th rank hold their sword as if they are about to strike.

They better stop posting screenshots if they keep showing these kind of shortcomings

[Peasant Phill]

I must say that for a game that want's to sell because they have great graphics, their screenshots and other releases are a tat off. What I mean by this: It really looks amazing but in every image there are details that shouldn't be in there (and I'm not talking about historical accuracy or the likes). For example: spears that are to short, longswords that are the size of shortswords, clipping problems on a published screenshot, ...

I still think it looks amazing but it all seems like it has been done in a hurry.

[Rodion Romanovich]

I agree the animations seem bad but as still images with a quick glance everything looks very impressive, like a painting in a way. These strange shield and lance positions doesn't really catch my eyes much in a screenshot, but I can imagine how obvious these faults become when everything moves... But if they fix the animations it'll be really great graphics. Unfortunately that means I'll need a new computer...

[cannon_fodder]

Silly me, thinking you're supposed to hold your shield in a vertical position and all...

Yeah, they should be. Not necessarily because of realism, it would just look so much cooler.

[FearofNC]

hmm after looking at it further... there is something missing... unit banners showing the upgrade level of the troops... although this is historicaly inaccurate its a vital part of play... wonder where they went?

[Monarch]

hmm after looking at it further... there is something missing... unit banners showing the upgrade level of the troops... although this is historicaly inaccurate its a vital part of play... wonder where they went?

Maybe they where unupgraded ones :P

[Mikeus Caesar]

Anyone else notice this? Look closely at the places i've circled.

[Duke John]

And the "funny" thing is that the clipping wouldn't have occured if they held their shields vertical. CA should really hire new animators.

[FearofNC]

And the "funny" thing is that the clipping wouldn't have occured if they held their shields vertical. CA should really hire new animators.

maybe they were biting on their shields... or mabye its not a mistake.. its a "feature"

Maybe they where unupgraded ones :P

oh wait... even v0 troops have 1 banner :P



seems like we are taking 2 steps foward 1 step back... i guess thats the norm for tw...

[Furious Mental]

Evidently the people being "motion captured" weren't carrying shields during the process.

Well, anyway, the castle looks pretty cool, what little can be seen of it.

[Orda Khan]

The more I see the less impressive it looks

.....Orda

[Mikeus Caesar]

May i also point out that all the foot soldiers appear to be floating, as in not touching the ground.

[FearofNC]

the trees look nice :P

[x-dANGEr]

And these animations are supposed to be motion-captured. From an over-actor perhaps.

With all the finishing moves and other animation improvements it's a shame they didn't have a look at giving soldiers beyond the 3rd rank or so a different animation (could be just running). Looks silly how soldiers in the 10th rank hold their sword as if they are about to strike.

They better stop posting screenshots if they keep showing these kind of shortcomings

So you want those at the 3rd rank wait till the 2 in front of them die so they charge?

[Woad Warrior]

I'm counting at least 7 different shield designs just in the one unit. Thats quite impressive and will be brilliant for modding. Lots of Knights with different shields for wherever they come from. If someone can mod that, it will be pretty cool.

[Mikeus Caesar]

So you want those at the 3rd rank wait till the 2 in front of them die so they charge?

No, he's on about the people at the back. Do you really think that people who are seperated 50m from the enemy by a bunch of their own men would bother holding up their swords when charging?

[A.Saturnus]

hmm after looking at it further... there is something missing... unit banners showing the upgrade level of the troops... although this is historicaly inaccurate its a vital part of play... wonder where they went?

They could be turned off. It wouldn't bother me if they were gone, I used to play without them.

What bothers me with this and other pictures is that obviously sword-armed infantry will be standard in MIITW just as it was in MTW

[Zenicetus]

Well, it could be that the infantry units are in the middle of a charge (check the leg positions), and maybe they switch to a more realistic shield angle when they actually start fighting? Just trying to toss CA a bone here.... I hope they don't actually fight in that stance.

However, the front rank cavalry lances should definitely be down, that close to contact. It really doesn't look right, unless they switch at the last second.

[Watchman]

Oh, sword-armed (well okay, the armament would run the usual gamut but you get the idea) heavy infantry existed all right. They'd just get mauled by cavalry if caught in the open, so they'd normally be working with the spearmen or even more likely simply be armed as spearmen in open-field battles. But "close melee" infantry in looser order than the spearman blocks had obvious applications in less cooperative terrain and siege assaults.

[Kraxis]

May i also point out that all the foot soldiers appear to be floating, as in not touching the ground.

They are doign the 100m sptrint in 10 secs... Didn't you know?
But to be honest they are actually running, then we can discuss if they are running 'too' much or fast, but that is the short explaination.

I'm very sad about the fact that the shields can't seem to work as they should and are in fact inside the body because of this. As is the lack of lowered lances... How effective is a lance in a vertical position? (rethorical, don't respond)

[screwtype]

Anyone else notice this? Look closely at the places i've circled.

I think you've misinterpreted this graphic. That's not bad clipping, it's shields with a two tone colour on the top. The colour on the top right of the shield is a sort of brownie colour that blends in with the background and gives the impression the corner of the shield is missing.

But I agree with the other criticisms so far. It looks a bit silly to have an entire unit charging forward with swords raised as though about to strike. I thought this game was going to give us varied positions for soldiers in a unit? Maybe they haven't had time to program all of them in yet. And yes all those raised shields look a bit strange.

But the really odd bit is those horsemen charging without lowering their spears. Hard to understand what's supposed to be going on there...

[Kraxis]

I think you've misinterpreted this graphic. That's not bad clipping, it's shields with a two tone colour on the top. The colour on the top right of the shield is a sort of brownie colour that blends in with the background and gives the impression the corner of the shield is missing.

I can't say that I agree... These shields are generally blue up there, but it is different with the different shields of course. The simple fact that more or less everything is changed with teh shields for each new skin, I think it would be rather odd to see that each andevery one of them has a corner that sort of blends into the shoulder, regardsless of being out from it.
Besides, notice the Aragonese (I think it is them)... They suffer from the same problem. Especially in the lower left corner (there is no choice as to it being a corner of a shield or a shoulder).

In any case I'm certain we will get confirmation of one or the other theory soon. And even if you are right, I find that to be horrible way of doing it and hope it will be changed.

[screwtype]

Actually, I think you're right. It does look like incorrect clipping. In fact you can see the same thing on the red shields, where the soldiers steel shoulder plates are showing instead of the corner of the shield.

[x-dANGEr]

The one thing that's bothering me in the picture is the way their legs move (Or are like now). I never really saw someone running this way. Also, some units really show like floating, unless those units are hip-hopping instead of running:

https://img117.imageshack.us/img117/2238/mtw2147hi.jpg

[spmetla]

Erasing the past...

[Kraxis]

On the plus side I do like the terrain, nice castle by the river nicely done sky and rolling hills in the backround. I like the shadows on the ground.

Yes... Musn't forget to give credit where it is due. The terrain really looks good. Hopefully it is just rushed units in an engine that isn't really ready, but will be.

[Orda Khan]

The terrain is nice I must agree......but....
Is it just me or has a 'fine day' taken on a 'blazing hot sunny day' ever since Shogun? The great array of weather conditions present in Shogun has, sadly, been missing from all TW since. Take a look at that sky, yes it is nice but what has happened to 'fine but overcast', 'fine but not particularly sunny', 'cloudy'? Since MTW, all we see on fine days is Mediterranean sunshine. Maybe it is an excuse to show off the shadow effect and I have nothing against shadows, except that on some 'fine' days there is not enough sunshine to create bold shadows. Please CA, bring back the Shogun weather effects, they were far superior to this

.......Orda

[Furious Mental]

Bring back Shogun style blizzards