Just logged in to the Org to post a 'heads up' to the OT forum and to my incredible astonishment I am greeted with this news. I'll have to wait until the weekend to delve into the details.

Here I sit staring at my monitor and all I can think is OMFG!

OMFG!!

"Gone are the days of the AI determining what are the best targets and the user having to continually try and drag them out of unwanted combat. With slower combat speeds and greater control, strategy now plays a bigger part in battles."
OMFG!!!

"With slower combat speeds and greater control, strategy now plays a bigger part in battles."
OMFG!!!

OMFG!!!!

OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess I can't wait til the weekend.

...“WOW” just like STW and MTW....
It would appear that CA has is finally taking a more 'hard-core' direction toward the AI and it's related attributes and accompanyments, but I can't fail to note that comments such as the above truly belie the ---mis-direction--- taken with the development of RTW.

...M2TW is as much a top down strategic game ....
Fundamental change in the correct direction. Thank you.


Well, there's a couple things to realize:

1) "Jason" is NOT a developer, he's a 'Play Tester' or to be more accurrate a QA Tester; a bit of a difference.

Play-testers don't develope/code their purpose is to *break* code. Ideally, for Org interests, it'd be best if he were a BA, but I'm not sure they have those in regards to 'game development'. (QA-Quality Assurrance; BA-Business Analyst (BAs are the human interface between Users and Developers. If CA had people in BA equivalent positions, they would be the ones we would talk to most in the forums).

2) It's a 'Blog' not a .plan (which is what I believe I requested), which accounts for the 'fluffy' nature of the writing (which is pretty good).

The great thing is that they are opening up communications a bit (thank you!). The bad thing is its all so 'fluffy' and 'Puffy', which is typical of The Shogun.

And they are giving straight examples of situations. It's not a gamble what they mean, they describe in detail a situation (in this case a skirmisher army) where the AI improved. I don't think there is a better way to make clear statements about what's possible.
Yeah, but not all that much in the way of *telling* detail for hard-core dessemination. The most significant is the manner in which the *archer* army reacted to an advancing army---GOOD.

But, after they run out of arrows (one would think an MTW2 AI capable of realizing its wasting arrows; stop firing and engage with **directed** fire), contact is made, and all he says is:

It continued to do this until it ran out of ammo at which stage it threw its infantry at my staggered infantry lines and flanked with its cavalry.
Sorry, "threw its infantry" sounds much like normal RTW combat; and

what exactly does "flanked with its cavalry" mean?

For example (at the risk of repeating myself ad nausem), the Shogun AI was only capable of flanking in just one direction or the other. The MTW AI was capable of flanking SIMULTANEOUSLY in two directions. Both were capable of using terrain for cover-to-advance; both were capable of pre-positioning units pre-battle; Both were capable of feigning (battlefield attacks) and counter-moving; and most importanly, reacting (adroitly and intelligently) to player feigns and counter-moves.

With MTW2, one would expect some advance in flanking capability, as well as regarding all the above I mentioned (and more). The Blog does not provide evidence of such. Remember the Poll, you all voted for an AI better than STW/MTW.

As we all know, AI flanking in RTW was non-existant to pathetic, so to say that MTW2's AI "flanked with its cavalry" means what exactly? Moreover, with STW and MTW flanking was not reserved to just calvalry.

What did the *reserve* footmen do? Flank? Fill-the-gaps? or just Press-the-backs of the front-line (which is unexceptable!)?

I *need* a complete battle description.

To cut a long story short....
WHY cut it short??? What's a blog for? It's obviously not a .plan so what's with the short-cutting? I don't get it. There is absolutely nothing else to blog about. This from a play-tester??

I could care less if that catapult had taken his head off! Give me battle details W/O the eye-candy touring.

For what its worth, I applaud CA (and specifically The Shogun) for the effort, but give me less Fluff n Puff and more detail.

Speeds are slower? Good, so what did it allow the player to accomplish that he couldn't in RTW.

Greater control? Good again, so tell me how having greater control allowed the player to do more than he could with RTW.

Strategy now plays a bigger role in battles? Welllll, show me some strategic thinking and application on the part of the player in response to the AI----a bit more than:

To cut a long story short I advanced to engage...
Moreover, I want to hear how the "greater control" allows the player to play with innovation!!!!! This is what its all been about since the inception of Shogun. We don't want to be stuck with the typical RTS rock/paper/scissor *race-to-build* battle model. Control, AI, battle and terrain, as well as weather EFFECTS is what allowed this tired model to be broken by Shogun: Total War

I repeat, I MUST be capable of innovating upon the battlefield in order to defeat a superior in numbers and/or capability AI (or even human) opponnent.

Note, it wasn't stated whether he won or lost, nor how long the battle took (this fact alone would be rather telling).

Frankly, for the remainder of AI development, I call for a **true** developer .plan. Why? For one, the nature of a .plan eliminates the Fluff n Puff.

The Blog is good, and that it be done by a play-tester, just give us detail. Sales to hard-core players will depend majorily upon the AI, battle and terrain effects (ala STW/MTW). I, for one, still won't be a first day of release purchaser, and will only purchase upon positive reviews from **known and original** hard-core Org members (if there are any left!).

And, NO, I will not be a purchaser based upon the Demo, nor comments from CA regarding anything they might change as a result of the community's reaction to the demo. (Sucker me once, shame on me, it won't happen twice.)

Nor will the five other people who will wait for *my* say so, before they purchase MTW2.

~TS~