Shogun II Total War

**Wilbo** · 08-12-2009, 12:50

I'm sure they will do a Shogun II one day.

All I want is a gently massaged Shogun 1 - upgraded resolution and full compliance with modern operating systems.

**Martok** · 08-13-2009, 05:46

Originally Posted by Caravel

Well this is an old thread. I suspect many have now given up on the notion of there ever being a Shogun II - I know I have. Though personally I don't really want a Shogun II as I know it would never be as good as the original.

Originally Posted by Wilbo

All I want is a gently massaged Shogun 1 - upgraded resolution and full compliance with modern operating systems.

Get the units properly balanced, eliminate fantasy/overpowered units (Geisha, Kensai, Battlefield Ninja, etc.), perhaps add a few more clans to the original seven, and *maybe* upgrade the visuals (if it's deemed absolutely necessary), and I'll be happy. Nothing else need be done IMHO.

**caravel** · 08-13-2009, 08:43

Originally Posted by Martok

Get the units properly balanced, eliminate fantasy/overpowered units (Geisha, Kensai, Battlefield Ninja, etc.), perhaps add a few more clans to the original seven, and *maybe* upgrade the visuals (if it's deemed absolutely necessary), and I'll be happy. Nothing else need be done IMHO.

Call me cynical, but I doubt very much that CA would ever do STW again. I also seriously do not believe that CA will ever do an asian based TW game of any kind again either. They are now fully aware that their current market is firmly routed in western European military history. Expect more Romans, Knights and Redcoats...

The closest you'll ever get is the Battles of Asia mod for RTW or the Ran no Jidai mod if it's ever finished. For now it's good old STW or the excellent Samurai Warlords mod for MTW.

**Martok** · 08-13-2009, 09:09

Oh, I have no illusions in that regard either; I long ago gave up any hope that CA would develop Shogun 2. I was merely stating what I'd personally like to see in this hypothetical sequel, regardless of the (im)possibility of it actually being made.

Truth be told, at this point, I honestly hope CA *never* does Shogun 2. Given the direction they've taken the series, I very much doubt we'd like the result anyway. Best to simply play the original when the mood strikes, and otherwise leave sleeping dogs lie.

**caravel** · 08-13-2009, 14:13

Originally Posted by Martok

Truth be told, at this point, I honestly hope CA *never* does Shogun 2. Given the direction they've taken the series, I very much doubt we'd like the result anyway. Best to simply play the original when the mood strikes, and otherwise leave sleeping dogs lie.

Agreed, on the same note, resurrecting MTW should have been a good move for the CA, but the end result was pretty shoddy (I've never seen a game so buggy and heavily patched either). The next game we have to look forward to is whatever is based on the current ETW incarnation of the TW game engine(s). They can't really come any further forward in time, so I assume they'll go backwards again? I'd place my bets on R2TW. Much more likely than any further sequels such as M3TW.

**Karl08** · 11-06-2009, 18:21

CA naturally seeks to satisfy the demand. They likely made M2TW because they felt they hadn't tapped the market completely after the first one, and with a new engine with RTW they must have felt they could drill even deeper into the reserves, as it were. I don't think we'll be seeing more of medieval Europe in a while, as the demand is more than sated for now. ETW is an attempt at reaching more audiences who might like the TW genre, and I shouldn't be surprised if their next attempt leans toward different cultures. A Chinese Total War game is, in my eyes, an inevitability if TW installments keep getting made. Perhaps something African, or Mesopotamian. I feel they will get around to Japan once more in the future, and they naturally will if they think there's a big enough market for it.

There is definitely room for improvement on STW - but not all that much, in my personal opinion. CA seem to throw in more and more micro-management for each game, though, which is a huge draw-back, in my eyes, for a game where the battles are the main selling point. In M2TW, each game year feels like it takes an actual year to finish; it's more tedious than anything. In STW, the pace on the campaign map felt just right, and the next battle was just right around the corner.

Another drawback with all the micro-management is that you get so caught up in that bit that you don't even want the battles anymore. It hasn't quite come to that point yet (for me, anyway), though M2 is the latest TW game I have and can't comment on Empire. But anyone who played X-COM knows what I'm talking about: at first you're thinking, "great, a ufo! Battle!" But after a while the research and base development become the interesting bits, and then it's "oh great, another ufo. Let's see if I can shoot it down over the ocean so I don't have to do the UFO assault."

If they do another Shogun, it should either be with a different focus (eg. strategy rather than tactics, but then it wouldn't be a TW game), or with different features (eg. a new way of imagining the tech tree, simplified campaign map etc.)

Oh, and get artists who can actually draw (as in on a piece of paper) swords. That kind of bugged me in STW, though the background illustrations did contribute a lot to atmosphere.