Empire: Total War Screenshot Thread

[Monarch]

Indeed. I mean, how fun are the battles still going to be, what with two opposing lines simply standing around and blasting away at each other

Ye and MTW/RTW is just about lining them up and slashing at each other...I also used to share the same blinkered view, but then I played the Napoleonic Total War mod...

[Noir]

Tactics mattered a lot as well as changing formations during the battle (in game terms that is control). The main way to win was by flanking and envellopment so most of the action (as in mp) was happening at the flanks often. Cavalry would play the vital roles of harrasing the flanks and key "weak" artillery units as well as having to perform charges on depelted and weavering lines and flank charges to advancing units.

The problem is not the absence of tactics in the period chosen, the problem is how the engine and AI will cope. Napoleonic Total War 1 SP is a very well done, but extremely easy mod, because the AI cannot realy cope with this sort of warfare since his shooters are on skirmish mode while the player's are on hold formation and position often. The same was true for STW and SWs at the periods wereguns are introduced the player consistently can outperform the AI due to this inherent weakness. On the other hand NTW 1 was popular for mp as NTW 2 that was made for mp only and STW is considered by many the most balanced gameplay for mp.

These things mean that there is plenty of potential in this sort of gameplay, but that the AI as we know it so far, can't really make it happen in the SP game.

All TW engines and AI's so far were having as their Achile's heel shooters; so going on to make a new game with also another completey new component (naval battles), on a new engine (more development time) and without having shown signs of TW AI being able to handle shooters correctly, in a period were shooters dominate is a very very big risk as i pointed out in the "Happy with the decision made" thread.

CA consistently bites more than it can chew and although SP players are satisfied as long as there are good visuals, flavor and variety, you can see how low gameplay has fallen in TW in the mp game and in the levels of participation. CA has good ideas but the implementation is often rushed and incomplete.

RTW & M2TW feel like "just about lining them up and slashing at each other" as Monarch says because the units and gameplay are unbalanced and rushings are the main way to go; it could be done much differently.

Noir

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

That looks more like the House of Commons than a throne room to me. I find the former interpretation far more exciting.