New interview - only 5 starting factions !

[grapedog]

my guess would be so they don't have to create 4 or 5 different tutorials to bring the player through.

If you have a small campaign with 5 somewhat similar factions, it's easy to create a tutorial that will cater to them all...and then you can put very small amount of work required to open the rest of the factions. That way they don't break their fingers making useless tutorials for all the varied factions, for the new people, and can concentrate more on the actual game itself.

that would be my guess on why they leave some locked....but what do i know.

[L'Impresario]

The 2nd part is out, and I can safely say that all things mentioned are no news at all (except perhaps for the 5 starting factions, but that's no biggie at all).

BTW am I the only one noticing that the wording of most answers is exactly the same with that of previous interviews?

[Midnight]

Just... why? Why bother placing a pointless restriction that a huge number of people are going to mod to remove?

I really, really hope the starting factions haven't got all the attention, leaving the others not as well fleshed-out (again).

[Martok]

This is funny because I thought to myself last night that they'd never limit the starting factions like they did in RTW and here it is now.

I know the feeling. I believe it was a few months ago when I myself said something to the effect that CA wouldn't repeat their mistake from Rome in limiting the initial faction selection. I'm honestly shocked to see how wrong I was. I'm very disappointed that such an annoying and unnecessary restriction has made it into the game.

Edit: On the other hand, I do appreciate CA was honest enough to give us this information in advance. At least now I know for certain that I don't have to hurry to pick up this game, and that I can definitely wait a while.

[sigh]

[Martok]

BTW am I the only one noticing that the wording of most answers is exactly the same with that of previous interviews?

No, I noticed that as well. I think it's safe to say that any and all interviews will be almost a word-for-word rehash of what's been said before. (Stupid legal NDA's....)

[Orb]

Midnight has the right of it, I think. In RTW, the Romans had a fair bit of work put into them, while the others were underdone.

[hoetje]

The 2nd part is out, and I can safely say that all things mentioned are no news at all (except perhaps for the 5 starting factions, but that's no biggie at all).

BTW am I the only one that the wording of most answers is exactly the same with that of previous interviews?

I noticed that too ! omg, sometimes, you got three lines that just appear in every interview :P

[Hochmeister]

How good is the A.I. in the real-time battles? Can players use the environment to their advantage?

We’re always striving to make improvements to the battle AI as the Total War series has developed and Medieval II will of course continue this trend. The new environment rendering system has allowed us to create impassable terrain for the first time in the series which will allow the player to tailor their tactics according to the environment, perhaps protecting their flanks with hills or cliffs. The AI will work similar ploys into their deployment and tactics

How to say something without saying anything??

Oh well hopefully CA will inform us closer to the release date as this must be commercially sensitive information I guess. Trying to stay positive

[Divinus Arma]

I find this a very courteous gesture on the part of CA:

We also have to balance this with developing the game for an established Total War audience and strategy fans.

[professorspatula]

I'm on to CA!! They only introduce these limitations on the number of starting factions because they have a monthly sweepstakes running on this. The employee who correctly guesses how many, 'Eh, I can only play as 5 factions, WTF! My Game is bugged!' threads are posted on the net every month wins a prize - possibly a book token and a Sega baseball cap.

Honestly, I see the point of limiting the factions, but at the same time am a little disappointed. Whereas anyone who knows what Notepad is will probably figure out how to manually unlock the other factions, you'll still get countless people confused and wanting immediate satisfaction by being able to play as who they want from the off. Still it helps solve the problem whereby people still post to this day, 'I just got Some-TW-game, what faction should I play as?'. Well if you only got 5 factions, they're obviously well tailored as starting factions, so take your pick.

I'm just annoyed there's no civil war rebel faction for each of the factions. I want factions to go into civil war, and get to choose which one to ally with. Bah. I demand a Sega baseball cap as compensation. Or a valid book token. Or anything I can flog on ebay.

[Duke John]

The new environment rendering system has allowed us to create impassable terrain for the first time in the series [...]

Huh?
If this guy doesn't remember the features of M:TW then I have little hope that he remembers what else made M:TW superior to R:TW. It seems to me that CA does his best to cut loose from M:TW and S:TW and sees R:TW as a new starting point of the series. I guess it's time for me to do the same. No longer will I see M2:TW as a sequel to the excellent M:TW, but as a sequel to R:TW, a game which I did not really like and hardly played at all.

[Myrddraal]

It does make you wonder if the new devs have ever played STW or MTW...

It's a bit of an obvious slip.

[sunsmountain]

It's one of the improvements over RTW. Now you have 5 starting factions instead of 3. Wait until you see the improvements in the battles.

Yeah, didn't you read it? Now you have 2-4 sequential (random, not necessarily logical) attack moves, instead of just the underhand & overhand smash alternating. That should bring kill rates down, a good thing, right? And 5 starting factions only means those 5 will get extra content, while the others get less focus. My guess is:

Egypt (Islamic)
Byzantium Greek (Orthodox)
England (North European Catholic)
Spain (South European Catholic)
Germany (North European Catholic) or France


First 3: Definitely. Spain, I hope so (enjoyed them thoroughly in MTW). Germany or France then seem likely.

[Captain Fishpants]

It does make you wonder if the new devs have ever played STW or MTW...

It's a bit of an obvious slip.

I suggest you have a look for R T Smith in the credits of previous TW titles before calling Bob Smith "new". He's got a bit of a track record where these games are concerned, you know.

[Duke John]

That doesn't make it any better

[hellenes]

I suggest you have a look for R T Smith in the credits of previous TW titles before calling Bob Smith "new". He's got a bit of a track record where these games are concerned, you know.

The new environment rendering system has allowed us to create impassable terrain for the first time in the series

.....

[Reenk Roink]

Come on guys, it may just have been an honest slip...

The guy is excited about the new game, he's talking...

Stuff happens...

[Vladimir]

I believe he was speaking in the R:TW realistic mapping context, not the M:TW pre-rendered one.

[Orda Khan]

No big deal to make all factions playable, same as RTW. However, like others I fail to understand why CA pursue a trend that was unpopular

.....Orda

[Myrddraal]

I suggest you have a look for R T Smith in the credits of previous TW titles before calling Bob Smith "new". He's got a bit of a track record where these games are concerned, you know.

Quite right. It was a general sarcy comment. My apologies.

I'm sure in his mind he was thinking of RTW, but why did he say 'series'.

It is a bit of a silly thing to say...

[drone]

Not really sure why CA would take this approach. The original Medieval allowed you to play 2 different game types, 3 different eras, and all factions unlocked from the start. This was bad how?

[Tamur]

I think Bob has gotten the "bad" label attached to him simply because when we hear unwelcome news from CA on M2 it's often him who's saying it. I have to admit I fall into the category of those who have unfairly paired up Bob's name with emphasis on style over substance. I'll stop with that now and think a bit more before pidgeonholing the fellow.

[Lord Adherbal]

Quite right. It was a general sarcy comment. My apiologies.

I'm sure in his mind he was thinking of RTW, but why did he say 'series'.

if they aren't 100% sure it's a new feature then why announce it as a new feature. Might be a small detail but your reaction was justified. Like DJ says, it really makes CA look as if they've forgotten a lot about MTW, and that's very painfull for those of us who are still hoping CA will revert back to the old gameplay.

[IrishArmenian]

I, for some reeson find it hard to manually unlock factions, my gmae always crashes when trying to pick one (on this computer). Maybe I did something different from my last computer. I would like them to use M:TW for the benchmark. That was the best game in the series (all around, at least for me). I wish they compared it to that instead of Rome.

[Bob the Insane]

Wow, I come in here to comment on the 5 starting factions thing and I see the whinging thread has spilled over...

My personal opinion is the same as many here that it is unnecessary to limit us like this, but given how easy it was to mod previously I don't really care that much and a short game as one of the starting factions will hardly be a chore...

It certainly does not bring me to question the ability of the designers or the enthusiasim of the marketing machine...

[redriver]

... I would like them to use M:TW for the benchmark. That was the best game in the series (all around, at least for me). I wish they compared it to that instead of Rome.

I agree. all three games are different enough and should not be compared against each other because they are in different time periods or parts of the world. m2tw vs mtw on the other hand is a fair call... pls do not compare RTW vs MTW vs STW. it's like comparin' ww1 vs ww2 vs vietnam war.. :)

[IrishArmenian]

It is not so much about whinging as it is about discussing our views. Whingning is stubbornley negative.

[kataphraktoi]

Maybe if we were nicer.....u'd be amazed what good manners gets you these days.

If I was a game developer and read criticisms which bordered beyond constructive and evolved into something vicious, I'd say "to hell" with you and make life hard for you....and still have the gratification of knowing that the game will sell well.

[IrishArmenian]

I don't view my posts as being vicious, though. And when did you become a woman (avatar)?

[Callahan9119]

i dont see it as a problem, infact i look at it as a challenge to those who wish for more objectives to accomplish and like to unlock things, its never been any problem for me to edit in factions in about a minute

of all the things to rightly complain about, i feel this isnt one of them

lets hear more complaints about glorious achievements and no years