Campaign map low res screens...

[Orda Khan]

the official CA list says that the 21 factions will be:(star at that I think will be playable)

Aztecs
Timurids
Mongols
Venice*
Papal states
Milan
Spain*
Portugal
Egypt*
Moors*
Turks*
Russians*
Poland*
HRE*
France*
England*
Bizantium*
Sicily
Hungary
Denmark*
Scotland

Mongols as a non playable faction? So all we will see in MTW II will be huge stacks of those pathetic AI offerings that are supposed to present some threat. Not a good move by CA if things go this way. First thing I will do with non playables is make them playable

.........Orda

[TB666]

Mongols as a non playable faction?

Did you really expect them to be playable ??
The game starts around 1080 AD and there are no periods. Naturally they won't be playable.
Just like MTW they will pop up when the time is due. Same with the Timurids.

[Orda Khan]

Did you really expect them to be playable ??
The game starts around 1080 AD and there are no periods. Naturally they won't be playable.
Just like MTW they will pop up when the time is due. Same with the Timurids.

Was that not one of the disappointments in MTW? Everyone knew when the Horde was going to arrive and prepared their armies ready to meet them? I did not want to see that happen again.
Since we are re-writing history, why should we have to wait until early 13thC for the Mongols to appear? There is no reason IMO why I should not pick the Mongol faction and appear in Europe at the start period

.........Orda

[Lucjan]

..valid point..

[MaximianusBR]

Was that not one of the disappointments in MTW? Everyone knew when the Horde was going to arrive and prepared their armies ready to meet them? I did not want to see that happen again.
Since we are re-writing history, why should we have to wait until early 13thC for the Mongols to appear? There is no reason IMO why I should not pick the Mongol faction and appear in Europe at the start period

.........Orda

don't agree...it would totally destroy game historical accuracy...

[AntiochusIII]

don't agree...it would totally destroy game historical accuracy...

I prefer the term, historical plausibility.

Interesting map. I hope we'll see a newer version soon. Looks too much like RTW, but hey, alpha, low-res. What do I expect? It's not even beta.

Anyway, quite a doom and gloom thread. The modding part was sad--that was one of the actual things that actually riled me up a lil' bit. Artificial limits in the engine that are illegal to break should not be there because it has no reason to be there...except for laziness. What marketing benefits do they have? None that is! Protection from rivals? They'll just hack the hardcoded part off anyway! In secret! And for what purpose? None that is!

I hope the Creative Assembly will be interested in a different marketing approach than the apparently (emphasized as it's just guessing on my part) current mainstream-go approach. A creation of a cult-level devoted fan group is an effective tool of longevity and stability for a gaming company that wants to be there at the end of the day. Look at Paradox. It's (sometimes quite even more whiny and nitpicky than us around here; of course there's an overlap in fandom too...) fans will buy just about anything it is sending out with an implicit trust in quality, despite a disparaging, serious lack of graphical appeal of the general Paradox games, and the generally "beta" feel its games, on the first (buggy) market day, have. And their businesses, I assume (because I have no industry figures whatsoever) are quite strong. They have even launched a new downloading portal quite a while ago, allying itself with a few other smaller companies, and seeking new indy talent (M&B) along the way. An expansion venture if nothing else.

I hope CA plays it this way. We'll get quality games (of course, that is my sole intention :) ) and they'll get a strong fanbase to fall back to when the fad goes away or the industry in trouble. A mutually beneficial relationship, instead of just throwing themselves at graphical efforts (which, by any means, have been an increasing workload in the development process lately, isn't it?) just to sell to a fickle general market while alienating its firmest, if whiniest, fanbase.

*dreams, float, flies away, meet virgins in heaven, which, of course, remain virgins. Duh.*

[TB666]

Was that not one of the disappointments in MTW? Everyone knew when the Horde was going to arrive and prepared their armies ready to meet them?

.........Orda

Yes it was because we knew the exact date they would arrive thus could prepare for it and thus removed what is should be a fun element.
I hope their arrival will be dynamic in MTW2 so you can't tell when they will arrive.
I'm not against you modding them in since it is your game and you may play as you please. Just shocked since this is the first time I have seen someone that thought they were playable. Most people already know that they wont be since they wasn't in MTW1(not if you play the early era first which is pretty much what you will be doing in MTW2).

[Lucjan]

..I think I'll write a polite, if futile, letter to ca and see if we can't get some of our concerns adressed.

[Lord Adherbal]

maybe we could capture some australian tourists and then make our demands public on television

[MaximianusBR]

words of wisdom from AntiochusIII:
"*dreams, float, flies away, meet virgins in heaven, which, of course, remain virgins. Duh.*"

[Lucjan]

maybe we could capture some australian tourists and then make our demands public on television

While that would most certainly be entertaining, that just might land "The Org" on the international terrorist organization watch list, and we'd somehow become misinterpreted as a united front of political rebels bent on world domination. ....not that they'd be wrong about that. But lets not blow our cover too early, we still haven't acquired the 'secret weapon'.

[Ultras DVSC]

First thing I will do with non playables is make them playable

Evident, it cannot be difficulty.