Exspansion pack for med 2

[Irish Soldier]

Hey Just Wondering does anyone have any Idea on when the Expansion pack for med 2 may be coming out? Or what it is based on. Thanks in Advance

[JCoyote]

No, and no.

[Quickening]

Don't know why certain people are so eager for an expansion pack. Im still enjoying the original game and don't want to be forking out cash for another game yet.

[ergothead]

Never talk about an Xpack until the fundamental bugs are fixed. There is only room for one EA in this world.

[Lusted]

Never talk about an Xpack until the fundamental bugs are fixed. There is only room for one EA in this world.

CA are already working on it, but that's all i know.

[Quickening]

CA are already working on it, but that's all i know.

That makes me sad

[ergothead]

That's fine, just as long as they don't release it before the major bugs are worked outof the original. :)

[HoreTore]

That makes me sad

Why? They probably started it right after the release of M2TW. Not every staff member is necessary in a patching process, those left over can start on the patch instead of twiddling thumbs... Remember, writing a game isn't just writing code... You'll need proper planning and sketches for such things. And I'd be very surprised if they hadn't started on those things...

As for the expansion pack itself, I'm hoping it will be centered around the middle east. The turks and saracen are much more interesting than europe in my opinion. Something focusing on saladin's campaign would be perfect IMO.

[Hollerbach]

Age of Sail TW with the long hoped for naval battles. Or how about M2TW:Spanish Armada?

Trafalger (sp?) and some others as historical battles for ye.

[gardibolt]

I'd be awfully surprised if the expansion involved a different game engine, and I'm afraid that means no naval battles. Maybe the next full game?

[The Foolish Horseman]

there was a article on a french total war site with a interview with CA who sed that the xpansion pack is gonna be based on the New World., and it is coming out Q4 2007/ Q1 2008

cant wait

[Quickening]

Why? They probably started it right after the release of M2TW. Not every staff member is necessary in a patching process, those left over can start on the patch instead of twiddling thumbs... Remember, writing a game isn't just writing code... You'll need proper planning and sketches for such things. And I'd be very surprised if they hadn't started on those things...

Id just rather there was focus when it comes to these things.

As for the New World, it doesn't surprise me. It's the logical follow-up.

[pike master]

i think it will be not only an expansion for the new world but maybe a continuation from 1530 to maybe 1700 or 1750. just a thought.

[HoreTore]

Well, as for that french article, I have seen it, and highly doubt that it is correct.

As for a continuation post 1530, well, that would be a big change. You'd have to rework a LOT of the basics, and that seems to warrant a whole new game, not just an expansion...

I'd rather put my money on the expansion being about some smaller area of the map dealing with a specific event(like VI). Like for example the holy land and crusades, the rule of charlemagne, the reconquista or something along those lines...

[JCoyote]

Well they are definitely working on an expansion as we speak. All those artist who design skins and graphics... they don't have anything to do when it comes to making a patch usually. So what do you think they are doing right now?

A whole lot of people on the dev team don't have anything to do with the code or repairing it. So... they are all creating content for the next game. Also, considering the expansion is based on the same engine, there's a chance the coding work on the patches is being expensed on the expansion because it is completing that game as well.

[pike master]

i dont see why it would be difficult since all the weapons used up to 1700 are in the game.

well except for austrian air rifles and wheel lock rifled muskets

[OssomTossom]

I'd be awfully surprised if the expansion involved a different game engine, and I'm afraid that means no naval battles. Maybe the next full game?

But would it really need a completely different engine, though? Well, they'd have to change the existing battle engine - add wind to it, and change the terrain a bit, but that's about it (maybe a big "that's about it" - I don't know much at all about these things). Otherwise, it'd just need the addition of some more units (ships, that is) for the battle screen, and different special abilities and attacks; e.g. instead of switching between ranged attack and melee attack, there'd be a switch between ranged attack and boarding, and instead of running and walking, there could be rowing or sailing (and, as some of the ships don't have oars, they could only "walk" or "run"). Of course, it probably is more complicated than that - otherwise, they'd already have done it, right? Which of course makes me wonder - why haven't they already included player-controlled naval battles in the games?

That said, though, I haven't given this a lot of thought since naval combat doesn't sound terribly exciting to me. I remember it was in a game called "Imperial Glory" (a game that was basically structured along the same lines as the TW games, but set in the Napoleonic Era), and I could never be bothered with the naval battles in that one.

[Lusted]

Which of course makes me wonder - why haven't they already included player-controlled naval battles in the games?

Because it would require a third engine within the engine(alongside the cmapaign and land battle map), that's a lot of work.

[JCoyote]

I'm with Lusted. It would require so many changes it would for all purposes be a new engine, Winds, currents, a completely different battle dynamic and a different AI? A different physics priority? A whole lot more research... yeah it's a LOT of work.

[KHPike]

Well, like Viking Invasion and Barbarian Invasion, the expansion would traditionally be ______ Invasion? So my guess is that the game would center around some major upheaval in Europe with regards to some kind of big invasion. It could be a new detailed map of the New World including the Incas and other American native cultures, since I felt the current New World isn't detailed enough. It could be a map focusing on the Middle East with the Muslim expansion into northern India. It may even be a (lazy) redux of VI. The other option could also be to center around the initial Muslim expansion into the Middle East with Prophet Muhammad. My preference though would be a China map with the Mongol Invasion or a continuation of the timeline to pre-Napoleonic wars, with game physics slightly changed (and corrected) to focus more on pike/gunpowder battles and more effective use of combat formations. American War of Independence, anyone?

[jbguev]

TBH, I purchased VI for MTW simply for the tweaks it made to the original large campaign. I have actually never played the viking campaign in VI. So, for me, I would prefer that the expansion pack provide additions to the grand campaign (perhaps bringing back Glorious Achievements or something like that) rather than creating a smaller, separate, more focused time period.

[Whacker]

TBH, I purchased VI for MTW simply for the tweaks it made to the original large campaign. I have actually never played the viking campaign in VI. So, for me, I would prefer that the expansion pack provide additions to the grand campaign (perhaps bringing back Glorious Achievements or something like that) rather than creating a smaller, separate, more focused time period.

You're missing out big time, the VI expansion was a lot of fun. Go back and play it now! The vikings are a royal pain in the arse if you don't play as them.

[Xehh II]

This will probebly sound stupid but I think it'd be alright to have VI:2 as an expansion(But it would have to have navel battles).

[Whacker]

This will probebly sound stupid but I think it'd be alright to have VI:2 as an expansion(But it would have to have navel battles).

I'd also be perfectly happy with this. The so called "Dark Age" was actually a very very fascinating point in time with a lot of changes happening.

[pike master]

aah! yes the days of king arthur and his knights. on a grand campaign to free the world of tyranny. it would be marvelous. just make sure king arthur gets invincibility bonus because of the sword sheath of excalibur and give excalibur 10 attacks per combat turn with a 20 attack stat.

[econ21]

AFAIK, in so far as he existed, King Arthur falls in the RTW: Barbarian Invasion period with the Romano-British faction. I agree with Whacker, the Dark Ages are fascinating and atmospheric. I love the BI opening movie, with its soulful music and dramatic visuals. I was about to start a Romano-British PBM using the Goth mod for BI, but real life got in the way.

I would rather like an expansion that filled some of the gap between BI and M2TW. Ideally, it would be a full map expansion, like BI not VI, and perhaps could cover both North Europe (Vikings etc) and Africa/Middle East (rise of Islam). It's probably too ambitious for an expansion but it would be juicy.

More realistically, I suspect CA will want to go forward rather than backward in time - perhaps fleshing out the conquistadores and America - perhaps with an Alexander/Mongol Invasion style mini-campaign (see how much land you can grab). That does not appeal so much to me - I like the faction variety and grand strategic possibilities of MTW/RTW/BI/M2TW; simply slogging through battles STW/MI/VI/ATW style is less fun.

[OssomTossom]

I'm with Lusted. It would require so many changes it would for all purposes be a new engine, Winds, currents, a completely different battle dynamic and a different AI? A different physics priority? A whole lot more research... yeah it's a LOT of work.

Right ... looks like I had things too simplified in my head.

Oh, if they ever do decide to add player-controlled naval battles, I hope they include the option to capture ships, so you could end up with more ships after the battlethan before. Undermanned, maybe, so you'd have to head for the nearest friendly port to get it fully staffed - but a least you'd save a few florins on actually building the ship.

[Orda Khan]

I would rather like an expansion that filled some of the gap between BI and M2TW. Ideally, it would be a full map expansion, like BI not VI, and perhaps could cover both North Europe (Vikings etc) and Africa/Middle East (rise of Islam). It's probably too ambitious for an expansion but it would be juicy.

I have to agree, the period of say 500-1066 offers such a lot for an expansion, even in its own right

......Orda

[pike master]

dont forget the viking settlements in canada. a dark age expansion wouldnt be right without that.

[Furious Mental]

They probably only had one and it was inhabited for a few years. Fascinating but totally irrelevant to affairs of state at the time.