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Thread: Something to be said for simplicity?

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  1. #1

    Default Re: Something to be said for simplicity?

    Quote Originally Posted by asherba2
    Am I the only one who feels that there is a certain magic to Shogun that waned from Shogun to MTW to Rome?
    No you're not. There are a number of fans who think Shogun was the best game in the series and I'm one of them.

    CA has tried to argue that this is just nostalgia at work, seeing an old game through rose coloured glasses, but it just ain't so since I'll still fire up a game of Shogun now and then and I won't touch either MTW or RTW.

    I find it highly ironic that the TW games have only gotten worse as time has gone on, instead of better. The series has simply never lived up to the promise of the original title.

    Of course, we're all hoping that M2TW will be better than its predecessors, but quite frankly I'm not that optimistic. I'm sure it will be better than RTW but not so sure it will be better than the others, and from what I've read so far that seems to be the case.

    One of the problems seems to be that the games get rushed out too quickly. It seems quite apparent that Palemedes and friends were working frantically on the AI for M2 right up until the last moment, so much so that their last build wasn't even ready when the game went gold. We can only speculate on how much the game could have benefited from another month of AI development, but now we will never know. But it bothers me a lot that so much time is spent on fancy graphics and that the AI is the poor sister, tacked on almost as an afterthought.

    The other problem IMO is that the franchise has become too much game and not enough simulation, especially in regards to the campaign element. It's beer 'n' pretzels stuff, and not very well thought out beer 'n' pretzels at that. I'm afraid they froze what they regarded as a winning formula too early in the piece, which has deprived us all of the development in other departments that the original battle engine deserved.

    But, this really isn't the time to raise all these old issues on the cusp of a new release, so I think I'd better shut up now

  2. #2
    Senior Member Senior Member econ21's Avatar
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    Default Re: Something to be said for simplicity?

    Quote Originally Posted by screwtype
    I find it highly ironic that the TW games have only gotten worse as time has gone on, instead of better. The series has simply never lived up to the promise of the original title.
    Tastes differ. The majority opinion in polls on this site tend to rate MTW higher than STW, a consensus which I agree with. However, I know STW has its vocal fans here - often I think they seem to really like the simplicity and balance of the multiplayer. For a SP game, STW for me was kind of a novelty game - fun but a rather narrow focus and repetitive experience. By contrast, MTW (and indeed RTW) provided a vast sandbox with much more variety and freedom. So in that sense, I am not so keen on simplicity. As for RTW, that for me was redeemed by the mods. IMO, RTR and EB actually exceed the promise of the original title. Back then, I could not imagine simulations of that depth and beauty.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Something to be said for simplicity?

    Well I'm glad there are others who found the living map more of an annoyance than a boon to the playing experience. MTW is certainly a good balance and I did enjoy playing MTW, but RTW made me spend too much time on the map, looking around at the busy and cluttered landscape, instead of the focus being on strategy. Yes, the living map is definitely a source of my discontent now that I think of it... maybe if there were a way to toggle it on and off in campaign mode... although that doesn't really seem possible as it completely modifies the gameplay.

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