CA gave up on strengthening the RPS gameplay, in favor of diversity, many units etc.

TW is still an RPS game in battles, but the gameplay is poor because the system is watered and so tactics aren't razor sharp. We had at the org a number of people that made the point repeatedly, however eventually SPrs (mostly) told them to bug out, and shut it concerning the RPS, that nobody wants to play RPS anymore etc.

CA by taking the direction it took, attracted casual gamers and from other genres that had no interest in deep tactical dimensions. All the wanted was to see "realistic" battles in 3D. That's what CA did and it got very succesful. Most people who play pc games, do so in order to pass the time, and escape/be immersed; as long as the game is immersive, however mediocre, they are happy because immersiveness is teh point for them.

Players who want a deep tactical dimension have a completely different goal; they are competitive and are not afraid to challenge themselves, their skills etc. their enjoyment comes from a genuine battle and the learning curve that goes with it, and no battle can be genuine if the game is poor tactically or poorly balanced.

ETW and NTW have to do little with genuine tactics of the era, its simply Shogun gone Napoleonic as are all CA games - CA would never go into the trouble of re-creating the game from scratch. It just cashes the original concept.

Now if anyone is brave enough, go and post this in TWC :)