Early TW days

[Tamur]

hi all,

Just a little reminiscence and then a question.

When Shogun was in development, I remember spending hours at the website, reading everything (there was no .Org or anything else at the time), listening to the hauntingly beautiful music, learning everything I could about this faraway place called the Sengoku Jidai.

Mostly, I was drawn to it because of the absolutely amazing atmosphere. It was as if they were able to resurrect the time period and package it.

I haven't had the same experience since, and have asked myself how they did it many, many times. I still don't know. Perhaps what I need to do is go get the Eras collection so I can dive into that again and take note... though the anticipation provided by the website in those days was a major factor.

Anyway, what I'm wondering is if anyone else had this same experience of being drawn in and immersed, and why. Was it the music? the throne room? the lonely and wild landscapes? etc?

[Master_Thief]

I only started playing Shogun long after its release, when it had been repackaged by Sold Out, however I know what you're on about. I think the main draw is the almost totally original setting and the excellent music. I think that sound is probably the most important factor in any game. The Thief games would be nothing without the eery music and the same applies to Shogun. Also another factor that makes it, for me, more preferable to the later Total War Games, is its retro board game feel. The graphics by todays standards aren't anything special yet they make it seem like i'm playing a proper table top war game. Too many games these days go for all out graphics and only a pinch of realism and strategy, whilst completely ignoring the importance of sound and atmosphere. Shogun is so good because it tcks every box and, because of this, it is still highly playable more than half a decade after its release.

[Martok]

I think it was partially because the way they built up the anticipation was so masterfully done. When that original "slide"-type trailer (which sadly has since been lost to the internet netherworld) was released on the original website, I was never so blown away by a game in my entire life--I had honest-to-god goosebumps watching that trailer for the first time. The images of thousands of men in combat, the sounds of clashing metal, the haunting & exotic music (and I definitely agree the music was hugely important)..... [sigh] It was the first time in my life that I'd felt a true, genuine need for a game; I simply had to have it!

Shogun was one of the very few instances where the experience of playing the game actually measured up to my expectations. In fact, I would say it *exceeded* my expectations, so much did I enjoy it. It has tremendous atmosphere--more than any other game I've ever played, including Medieval (which for me is high praise indeed). Sure, there were other features it could've included (many of which were incorporated into the later TW games), which as a result some people found it to be overly simplistic. I myself, however, found Shogun's simplicity to be one if its most beautiful and compelling features--an excellent example of when "less is more".

In addition, Shogun was truly unique. Until the time of its release, there was simply no PC game like it. Some have compared it to other titles that came before it--Lords of the Realm II is a popular comparison (and certainly a fun game in its own right)--but even it only bore a vague resemblance to its distant (and infinitely superior) cousin released three years after it. (I believe LotR II came out in 1997.) Shogun really was groundbreaking--and in a way that worked. CA took some chances, broke a lot of rules; and remarkably it all paid off. When the game appeared on store shelves, they had initiated a revolution in PC strategy games--even if they didn't know it yet.

[Gregoshi]

You've all touched on very good points. I can think of a couple of more:

1) The mini movies at key points, most notably the assassin movies.

2) The weather. In any TW game since STW, I don't recall that feeling on the battlefield of stumbling blindly through a heavy fog trying to locate the enemy. Same holds for the heavy snow storms which had the added effect of tiring your men. Weather was a key component of the battlefields of STW and have for the most part been eliminated in the later games.

3) The strong ties with Sun Tzu's The Art of War. From the birds circling over a forest to hint at the presence of an ambush to defending those majestic mountains of Shinano, you could see the hand of Sun Tzu in the game.

4) The voice acting of STW still is the best of the whole TW series. The voices sounded authentic and natural. This added a lot to the immersion factor.

5) I think for many of us, our knowledge of the history of Japan was minimal at best. Thus the game has this sense of mystical wonder at the ways of the Japanese warrior, the culture, the clans and the new geography as we discovered this land so beautifully protrayed in the game.

Thanks for sparking the remembrance of these wonderful memories Tamur.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

For me, it was that intro video for the old .com site. Some guy giving a speech about how his father had carried the sword in peace and now he carried it in war. Gave me chills. And then there were those nift animations of the No-dachi the CA and the arq.

[Tamur]

It's great to have my memory sparked to life by your comments, everyone. A sincere thanks to you four (edit, five now!)

How many times my poor troops stumbled blindly through the rain and fog to find the enemy 30 metres away... I had completely forgotten how blinding it was. I haven't had to struggle like that since, well, since Shogun stopped working on my 2000 machine. And the crows! I can hear them calling again. Nature played a very vital role in the game.

I think for many of us, our knowledge of the history of Japan was minimal at best. Thus the game has this sense of mystical wonder at the ways of the Japanese warrior, the culture, the clans and the new geography as we discovered this land so beautifully protrayed in the game.

Perfectly said Gregoshi. I think this was the defining element for me. Back then I felt as if I had discovered something that no one else knew about, and held words like bushido and Tokugawa and daimyo as personal treasures only given out to either Japanese friends who were direct inheritors of this history and tradition, or other friends who showed themselves "worthy" of such knowledge. Funny to think of now, but very true.

Currently in the TW universe, of course, the marketing people are happy to claim that tens of thousands of copies of the game get sold instantly when the game comes out, that the game is accessible to the most novice user, etc etc. Though this makes the masses want to buy the game (and of course funds the developers), it simply points out that the small and precious world I knew in Shogun isn't coming back in the TW series.

Sobering trip down memory lane.

[Martok]

For me, it was that intro video for the old .com site. Some guy giving a speech about how his father had carried the sword in peace and now he carried it in war. Gave me chills. And then there were those nift animations of the No-dachi the CA and the arq.

That's exactly the trailer (although I don't know if it could truly be called that) I was referring to. The narrator spoke of how his neighors were now his enemies, etc. (I still wish I could find it and save it to my computer!) Never before had I been so excited about a game, and looking forward to playing it.

@Gregoshi: I agree with everything you've said, particularly the weather and voicework. The weather really lended a lot of realism and atmosphere to the battles. Creeping your way through the fog while searching for the enemy really got my heartrate going! It was stuff like that that really kept me on the edge of my seat. As per the voicework, you had to love it when the narrator would comment on how the general (yours or the enemy's) was killed or running away. Even the screams of the men as they fought and died sounded real. All that definitely upped the immersion factor.

It's also worth mentioning (although it's probably unnecessary for those of us who are familiar with Shogun) how marvelous the AI was. Not that it was perfect, of course--its actions on the campaign map sometimes seemed puzzling at best, and there were flaws in the combat AI if you knew what to look for. Even given that, however, it still provided the most challenging computer opponents I've ever faced in a game to date. I never came across a clan that was a pushover, and only a few of my victories came relatively easy to me. (And I never played on higher than Hard, either!)

Another thing that I should've mentioned is the seasonal turns. I loved that it affected the type of weather you were likely to fight in, and how it also forced you to budget your money carefully over the course of year. It was a very nice touch of extra realism that I appreciated.

EDIT: Heh, Quietus already beat me to it.

[KukriKhan]

For me, it was that intro video for the old .com site. Some guy giving a speech about how his father had carried the sword in peace and now he carried it in war. Gave me chills. And then there were those nift animations of the No-dachi the CA and the arq.

http://web.archive.org/web/199910030....totalwar.org/

is the Wayback Machine link to tw.org of Sep '99, with many links still functional, including posts on the old Echelon forum - sadly, the link to that intro video didn't make it. I'll keep looking... somebody, somewhere has it.

I too remember with fondness staying up almost all night playing Shogun MP with fans from around the world - then going to work and pleading for a short day so I could return to 'Japan' and my new-found friends. That's the time when I first invested in PC headphones, so as to not wake Mrs. Kukri (again!) with the "...whipped dog!" speech. :)

[Quietus]

I've always thought video/computer games are stupid and I still do. The original Shogun was essentially my introduction to computer games.

1) The balance - (just don't use elite units such was Warrior Monks, Heavy Cavalry or Horse archers and limit yourself to 1 or 2 Yari Cavalry).

Batttle Map - Try extricating an enemy entrenched in a steep hillside. In defense, troop formation and variety actually matter since any point of your line can actually break easily.

Campaign Map - The economy was very tight unlike MTW or RTW. In MTW, after 100 years, you have 66 provinces all teched-up.

2) The Weather - Rain, fog, blizzard. Organize and fight with your army pretty much blind.

3) Music and marching - You march your army to this fantastic music all the while knowing the enemy reside over those hills, often times hiding.

4) Assassination videos - Great videos. And the assassination actually counts in the game.

5) Ambush - You can ambush your enemy by dividing your army and hiding them in the forest. The AI does this too.

6) Seasonal turns/Good pacing - Four turns per year and structures takes a long time to build. Although the game is basically way over before you can even begin to train Geishas, they take, what 16 turns to recruit?

7) Throne Room - Although just an aesthetic addition, the throne room added a lot to the atmosphere. For example getting your emissary's head in a basket or receiving foreign traders or 'advice' from your counsel.

8) Art - The art blends with the computer graphics. Although they seemed to have copped the art from various sources.

9) Battlefield - The sprites in MTW got bigger or the battlefield shrunk. Either way Shogun has a relatively superior landscape. Lots or room to maneuver and positioning is very important.

Secondly, how many times do you have to find your enemy in Shogun? In MTW or RTW, the battle starts and enemy is right in front of you.

Or better yet - whenever defending - anticipate during initial deployment where the enemy may go based on the landscape. Divide your army thinking the enemy will go through this crevice in the middle. Then the AI marches all the way to the huge hill and to surprise one side and you have to rush the other half back.

10) Bridges - Try fighting your way through those perilous, narrow bridges. Although there are some exploits. Assaulting river provinces are the most dreadful

There's probably a lot more that I've missed.

[Spongie]

...birds circling over a forest to hint at the presence of an ambush...

I saw the birds, but never put two and two together...

I shall have to bear that in mind as I start playing through for the second time; my first game was Shimazu, and by the time I got to Shinano everything was pretty much sewn up (I'd assassinated all the other daimyo and was busy bribing all the ronin to join me). I spent a lot of time defending the province where the Emperor's palace is located, after sending an emissary to bribe the ronin in charge of that region...

[Shaka_Khan]

My first game was Shimazu too. By the time I reached Shinano, I already outumbered the Hojo. The Hojo was reluctant to attack me after I enflicted heavy losses on them in one battle.

I find Shinano easy to defend. You don't even have to deploy at the way back of the map. You could just make an ambush from the mountains at the left and right at the beginning of the battle. Since the cliffs on both mountains prevent any movement there, you would have to attack parallel to the cliffs. Once your down the mountain, you'd be attacking the enemy on both sides because the AI always starts at the center back. The map is a good place for a defender to rush in.

In my early stages of the campaign, I usually defended my provinces with few armies in order to attack enemy provinces with more armies. My basic defending army was 2 units of archers, 1 ashigaru unit, and 1 cavalry unit. I used the cavalry to flank and then chase the fleeing enemy. Since I was outnumbered by at least 2 to 1 (and this wasn't multi), I camped on a steep slope. It's highly effective when you could kill many with few of your men.

[Martok]

Man, with all this reminiscing about Shogun, I had to go fire it up last night. It's been a while since I played, though, so I wussed out and went with the Hojo--I always liked their cheap castle construction.

[Gregoshi]

I know what you mean Martok. I thought about reinstalling it and giving it another whirl. Yes, for shame that I ever uninstalled it.

[Martok]

I know what you mean Martok. I thought about reinstalling it and giving it another whirl. Yes, for shame that I ever uninstalled it.

For shame, Gregoshi. For that, you should drop and give me twenty! (No, I have no idea why I'm suddenly channeling my old gym teacher.)

[caravel]

I was playing shogun from day one. In fact i had shogun before I had an internet connection! I remember seeing a review on a TV program about pc games late at night. I can't remember what it was called, but it was presented by two women and was on Channel 4 I think It covered the usual playstation type of stuff as well as the odd PC game towards the end. I recall seeing the 3D battlefields and the little Pagoda type structures and armies of Samurai, and was awed. I just knew I had to buy this game. I can remember my first time doing the tutorial where you have to wear down the Yari Samurai enough to take them on with your archers in melee and losing badly every time, until eventually I cracked it! That felt good.

I agree with most of the posts above. STW had all important atmosphere and ambience, but above all else it had class.

[Puzz3D]

Don't forget the Japanese language used on the battlefield. The sound effects were very well done as well. The thunder and lightning was excellent as was the howling wind and sound of rain storms. Smoke from the guns billowed up and away in the direction the wind was blowing.