Hate to say that I do not like the game!

[Veresov]

And what is your rig? Does it need replacing? Is the OS clean? there are hundreds of reasons for all sorts of problems. Let me ask another question. You are sat there, in front of your computer, and the bulb over your head blows. Do you blame the electric company? Now, I am not saying that there aren't issues with the game at all BUT!! (There always is) blaming them for everything is a little harsh. Like I have said before, I have an old rig and it works perfectly fine on mine and as an engineer who has spent many years problem solving, jumping to a conclusion like you have is not beneficial at all. I mean, I could sit and complain that this game doesn't work on my second gaming rig. It won't even read the disks.. but the crucial missing piece of information is that my second gaming rig is a PS3. Any wonder it doesn't work?

I have a dual core extreme, nvidia 8800GTX's (768) in SLI, 4 gig ram, raptor disk as 'c', 2 x 1.5TB Sata Hard drives, all driven by a silverstone 1200W power supply. It is a Cool-master case with 6 cooling fans and the system is watercooled to boot. Each graphics card has a zalman waterblock. I have temperature monitors visible at the desk level. OS = Windows XP - all updated. Drivers all current. System defragged once a week, anti-virus, malware, and antispyware programs running and updated. System scans once a week.

The OS was just reinstalled thanks to Empire's lockups. FDisk'd and reformatted last week.

I am an IT professional with over 20 years experience and this instability is due to poor software coding. I even tried installing it on a new i7 desktop system I got from Alienware week before last and it still crashes on it. I await your thoughts on what is wrong with my hardware since you are convinced thats the root cause...

[Dayve]

The problem can't be with Intel processors, i have one. I played for 8 hours today, 6 huge battles (2,000+ units on each side in each battle) and no CTD's at all. None for over 2 weeks and i play at least 4 hours every day.

[Lord of the Isles]

sorry, this was aimed at veresov and his comments. I do sympathize with people having problems (while enjoying the game and laughing I suppose) but feel that these comments need to be constructive to be any benefit. Also, as shown above, if I can offer advice and assistance to solve those outside of the game then so much the better. I for one have no intention of trolling or flaming in these forums I am here to gain information and to pass information to others. HOWEVER(another favorite word for these sort of things) it does get depressing with all the "this is crap" "this doesn't work" "this is a waste of money" "i can't" "not working"

even "I have this problem. Please help. Want to play and make it work." would be better the above comments make me wonder "if you had these sort of issues with other TW games like they usually say, why not go away, buy a console, and keep out of the forums for PC games!"

Sorry, it sticks in my throat a little all these negative comments.

Welcome to the Org Gargravarr.

I can sympathize with your views on negative comments to some extent. Try to ignore the extreme ones (the phrases "class action law suit", "CA has stolen my money" and "If I bought a car.." are good clues ). But remember there are unreasonable and extreme posts on both sides. Think of it this way when you get frustrated at a silly whining post: the poster has to put up with reading unreasonably extreme pro-game posts (as you do with negative ones) but in addition, unlike you, many of them can't even play the game. And they get told by some that it is their fault (which it may be in some cases but that doesn't ease the frustration any).

It is very hard to track down the causes of problems in a piece of software the size of ETW, and figure out why some of us have problems and others don't (as I suspect you know). For a start, many of us are playing different games. Some only play multiplayer, some set battles, others are still on RtI and the US campaign. Of those who play the Grand Campaign, some will play as GB all the time, other european powers, some only in India. Some use huge unit sizes, some small, some will autoresolve all battles. Some will build large trading empires, others just fight wars local to their home area, some will build huge navies, others won't. The point I'm labouring is that some bugs will only show up for some people because of their game styles.

That's before we come to the vast number of combinations of game option settings and peoples' hardware. Add that we are dealing with a game with multiple problems as released, some with similar symptoms, and ... well, I don't envy CA their current work and at least they have the source code, which we on the forums don't.

Two observations to finish with. I know all PC games are released with problems/bugs. In ETW's case, I still have confidence in CA to fix most of them but I think it pretty clear by now, 6 weeks after release, that ETW has more issues with it than most games.

And the second one is one that concerns me a little. Fans on sites like the Org are in some ways the cream of game buyers (stop preening in the corner there!). To get here you have to be clued up to a certain extent on the net and to carry out some of the workarounds that have been discovered you need a certain level of computer competence. Hell, to even install the game properly using Steam you need some skills. There are many people out there who will struggle with all this hassle over ETW. It will go back on their shelves and never be seen again, and they will be a little less likely in future to buy a PC game.

I find that sad at a time when the PC gaming industry is struggling, and it is one of the reasons I get a bit frustrated at the current state of the game.

[darrin42]

''d. Why would Prussia like to trade East Prussia for Courland? Totally senseless.''


Haha I found this funny to. I feel almost all of Empire must be scripted. The same offers always seme to be put to me, by the same Nations on the Exact same years. Depending on who I play as. Has anyone else found this? In RTW it was a different experience everytime. Would the Romans conquer France? Or would the Britans wipe out the Germans? It was random. A lot of what happens in Empire seems to be scripted. Though that would not bother me so much.


My main problem with the game is the sheer buggy-ness of it. It always crashes before I can even half finish a campaign. If this was resolved, I would be content with it.

[mmk]

My main problem with the game is the sheer buggy-ness of it. It always crashes before I can even half finish a campaign. If this was resolved, I would be content with it.

That would be a start!

[Wandarah]

Yes but why do you feel you have to post in a thread about how the game is not fine? I for one wouldn't troll that thread if i had no problems- I would be too busy playing the game

Have you made a positive post, about anything, ever? What about candy man? Do you like candy? Moonlight? A good book? What's up bro - do you need a hug?

[kitbogha]

Having looked forward to this game for what seems like forever, I am pretty disappointed. I have spent a small fortune on new (2nd hand) pc, new graphics card, extra memory etc to even get it to work. Still I get frustrating ctds every time I try and have a battle in campaign (I can manage a battle in custom though...). Big disappoitment. So much so, that I have gone back to Kingdoms. The good side of it is that with my new system, Kingdoms runs like a dream.

[Kasagi Yabu]

The Game shall remain shelved. The Frustration was beyond intolerable! !!!

IT IS DEFINITELY THE GAME ITSELF! !!! My Machine can handle ANY System/Software, and with only the Naval aspect being the culprit of CTD's, I can only assume the Program/Software Developer for CA/SEGA was ex-Army! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amen brother. I've had four systems in my life. PII(?) pentium-120 circa 1996, P-260 circa 1998, P-III 500 circa 2000, and a PIII 360 (or is it a Pentium IV) in 2002 or so, and my new one...AND I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS MANY PROBLEMS PLAYING A GAME!!!!!, including Shogun and Medieval I.

I played the demo of Shogun back whenever. I made several mods for it including the "Brother Genko".
I loved Shogun, even with it's suicide generals and the Hojo Horde.

I played Medieval and loved it; even with its suicide generals and crappy AI. I also made MODS for the demo.

I admit, I bought Medieval II the first day it was out and played it for about 3 hours and quit. (2006?).

Four months ago, I bought a new sytem JUST TO PLAY EMPIRE TOTAL WAR. Well, to be honest, I was wanting a new one anyway and I thought just go for it. But I was lucky that I had forgotten about the developement of Empire and was exicted about playing it.


Cyberpower
Intel Core i7 920@ 2.67
Memory: 6.00 BG
System: 64-bit
Nvida GeForce 260
Not the most powerful system: but be honest; technology wise it will suck most of yours through the wall. If you haven't had any CTD's, then, god bless you. Before, when I read topic dealing with problems regarding the game, I always though, "Well, their system sucks." Well, I'm sorry for that.

CTD. CTD. CTD.That's it. I tried three campaings; Great Britian, Prussia, and Russia. It didn't mater. CTD. Old Nivida, new Nvidai drivers; didn't matter. I hope they can fix it, but as one reviewer has said, "CA has made a game it's AI can't play." So true.

[micspqr]

You are correct. The game is only bling. The battle engine is nice after you install the Darth mod. I am tired of the modder community having to make total war games into something approaching reality years after the game has come out.
Imagine my dismay when I found out that the First Nations People of North America had cannons. As I live with them I will make a point out of asking them where they have hidden their cannot foundry's of old.
I find myself really wanting The Creative Assembly to measure up to the quality of game that the modding community is capable of producing. It is however becoming quite apparrent that the only intrest they have in history is to see how much money they can make distorting it.

[Fisherking]

You are correct. The game is only bling. The battle engine is nice after you install the Darth mod. I am tired of the modder community having to make total war games into something approaching reality years after the game has come out.
Imagine my dismay when I found out that the First Nations People of North America had cannons. As I live with them I will make a point out of asking them where they have hidden their cannot foundry's of old.
I find myself really wanting The Creative Assembly to measure up to the quality of game that the modding community is capable of producing. It is however becoming quite apparrent that the only intrest they have in history is to see how much money they can make distorting it.

Welcome micspqr!

That is a wonderful city you come from.

As to the tribes having cannon, that did happen. Some even built forts and put them on the parapets.

While I don’t know of any examples of them making cannon they were certainly capable of using those they acquired. One group in particular build earthworks and withstood a French siege.

The southern tribes represented by the game by Cherokee had a gun making industry as well as blacksmithing.
It is not unreasonable to allow them to capture artillery.

With all that said, their grasp on history is quite loose at best. In some areas they are very limiting and in others very generous in what they seem to allow some factions to achieve.

[mmk]

CTD. CTD. CTD.That's it. I tried three campaings; Great Britian, Prussia, and Russia. It didn't mater. CTD. Old Nivida, new Nvidai drivers; didn't matter. I hope they can fix it, but as one reviewer has said, "CA has made a game it's AI can't play." So true.

After an estimated 12 hrs I spent on checking my machine (including tests with several Nvidia drivers and playing the game with several graphic options) and still having the odd CTDs in campaign mode, the "CA has made a game it's AI can't play." quote does not sound unreasonable to me.

[Sturmwolf]

What should have been a wonderful, interesting Game, is now forced to collect dust! !!!

My Enthusiasm is Boundless, for the next disastrous installment of the Total War series.

[abdecken5]

as one reviewer has said, "CA has made a game it's AI can't play." So true.

does anyone know who that reviewer was? I would like to read more of his thoughts

[Gargravarr]

I have a dual core extreme, nvidia 8800GTX's (768) in SLI, 4 gig ram, raptor disk as 'c', 2 x 1.5TB Sata Hard drives, all driven by a silverstone 1200W power supply. It is a Cool-master case with 6 cooling fans and the system is watercooled to boot. Each graphics card has a zalman waterblock. I have temperature monitors visible at the desk level. OS = Windows XP - all updated. Drivers all current. System defragged once a week, anti-virus, malware, and antispyware programs running and updated. System scans once a week.

The OS was just reinstalled thanks to Empire's lockups. FDisk'd and reformatted last week.

I am an IT professional with over 20 years experience and this instability is due to poor software coding. I even tried installing it on a new i7 desktop system I got from Alienware week before last and it still crashes on it. I await your thoughts on what is wrong with my hardware since you are convinced thats the root cause...

OK as an IT specialist in both hardware and software with 30+ years experience there are several things I notice. With all that watercooling are you overclocking the PC??? Otherwise you are wasting a lot of money on a waste of time there. Running 8800's in SLI has always been unreliable due to the internal coding conflicting when running two cards in parallel, especially the early 8800's like you have there. The new ones have 512 or 1gb mem, the early ones had 340 odd and 768 meg mem). You make no mention of the make of your motherboard (rather a fundamental error for an IT specialist) Are the 2 SATA disks in a raid array (another basic thing that is relevant.) If you are such a specialist you will be aware that one of the common things we both have in common (I run an AMD system, Spec Below) is the software. Mine runs OK, your's doesn't ergo, it is likely to be the system. Simple. Pure logic. (Probably wrong but good first point)

(AMD Athlon64 5600+
3Gb Corsair800 memory(2x1gb matched, 2x512mb matched)
Asus Motherboard
Earthwatts 550W PSU
BFG Geforce 9800GT(512Mb) Graphics Card
2x500Gb Sata HDD non raid,
1x250Gb Sata HDD
1x160Gb Pata HDD
1x80Gb PATA HDD(OS Drive split 30/50)
Air cooled and stock speeds (OC Starts next week)

On a final note you are rude! Truly rude. I had no idea of your background, offered freely advice and assistance to you based on my experience and you turn round and shove that back in my face. Next time I won't bother!

Oh and I only suggested it MIGHT be a hardware issue not that it WAS there is a damn big difference there. I do find it odd though that the majority of those having issues are using Intel with XP now, call me odd but that looks like a link right there

[disamen]

The thing I hate with the game is that you can't have your king in battles

2. There is regions that are to big. Example... Spain, France, Sweden, Russia region. The hole size of the Sweden region, is big as all of the poland regions. I want the regions more equal.

3. Some countries miss some units. For example Sweden: Carolines.

4. Some countries miss historicall stats.

5. I want more land. Such as south america.