Kingdoms Update

[SenseiTW]

Hi guys,

I am pleased to finally bring you the following update regarding the reported Kingdoms issues. As previously mentioned, CA Oz moved on to a new project soon after Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms release. Because of which, resources had been reassigned with new milestones to meet. We have some good news though…

Today I am delighted to report that CA Oz has started producing an official Kingdoms update. We are really pumped about this as the core Kingdoms issues that have been found will get resolved. This should be the definitive update for Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms. We have been collecting bugs for several months now and the number to resolve is looking quite manageable.

Some of you questioned why we couldn't simply release a quick fix for these issues. In actual fact it isn't the fixes themselves that take the time to produce. Most of the time goes into checking that the changes don't have knock-on effects and that the balance of the game both on the campaign map and with individual units remains as it should.

It's a bit early to talk about release dates and actual fixes, though we will get some information for you as soon as we can. CA Oz has opened up a good sized window running into early next year to produce this update for you, after that they will resume their commitment to their next project until its completion. We will of course keep you informed on progress of the update as we near release.

I would like to personally thank everyone who has posted on our forums, sent me PMs and instant messaged me over the weekends throughout this process. Your feedback is invaluable and always most welcome.

Best regards,

Mark O'Connell
(aka SenseiTW)

[Shahed]

Hi Mark,

That's great news. Thank you so much for informing us.

Good luck !

[Baby Boomer]

Excellent news, I do hope it fixes most bugs. I ask with interest, and no hope, if this new project is a totally new TW game not involving ETW?

[phonicsmonkey]

Great news, thanks for letting us know

[Grombeard]

OK, so after months of just reading this forum, i found this to be an appropriate reason to sign up and yell: YAY! FINALLY! :D

Thanks for this descision, CA! I hope though, 'cause you say this will be the one big update, that all the major bugs will get fixed in it (Stone Forts, Welsh Uprising, Kalmar Union, etc.)...

[LestaT]

Will the patch covers the main M2TW game too ?

[Jason X]

good news!

[marrow]

Fantastic, thanks very much!

[DVX BELLORVM]

Thanks, SenseiTW, you just made my day! Excellent news indeed. I hope you will also address vanilla issues...

[Ramses II CP]

Much appreciated! In the aftermath of the patch I'll personally be reconsidering my decision not to purchase Kingdoms.

Dare I drag the hulking, shadowy beast into the light? Is SecuRom off the discussion table?

[Fookison]

This is indeed good news! The fact that there will be a major patch set out for this title will make it one of my favorite of all times.....Can't wait to play the full potential of this game. Its been great even in its beginning stages of development. Thank you CA!

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

I don't own Kingdoms, or M2:TW even, but this choice has positivity effected my decision to purchase it. I'm very pleased the CA have decided to continue supporting their games rather than leaving them in the negative situation that they were in.

On the other hand though, there is the burning question - what about SecuROM? It would be preferable if a patch removed the system, since its purpose, to protect the game, has failed. The patch is one thing, but if SecuROM is removed, M2:TW and Kingdoms are guaranteed to end up on my Christmas list. I'm sure many other interested players will also add Kingdoms to their collection of games if this was the case.

[Warmaster Horus]

Kingdoms already is on my Christmas list - along with Crysis, World in Conflict and Call of Duty 4. A nice, balanced Christmas, in other words. And, yes, I'm a spoiled brat.

On topic, great news! But is SecuROM going to be removed?

[FactionHeir]

While it is nice that the expansion pack is getting a well deserved patch, if I am reading SenseiTW's words correctly however, this patch will be for Kingdoms only and only fix the core game issues, such as certain features not working, but not fix any of the usual M2TW bugs (otherwise he would have mentioned this specifically). Thus, I would not hold my hopes too high on this patch which won't fix core M2TW issues as well.

[PseRamesses]

Sensei TW,
From the depth of my heart, thanks, and pass it along to the crew. I was almost on the verge(sp?) to lose faith in CA´s commitment to released products.

[ReiseReise]

Excellent, I knew you guys would come through. Such magnificent games have been produced for a rather limited market (ie not FPS, traditional RTS, or Sim/Tycoon), and I couldn't stand to see Kingdoms rot away under the almighty bottom line.
Lets give praise where praise is due, CA comes through with excellent TW titles time and time again. They have some bugs but the games are so different from anything anyone else is trying. Sure, M2TW is RTW with a facelift, but what a nip & tuck it is, and.... Empire, EMPIRE!!!! As for all the "I won't buy any SecureRom games blah blah blah" crowd, its SEGA, not CA. Heres some advice: Use Linux, play opensource games and smile about it in all your 1337n355, maybe you can actually contribute to the OS community (or get a job) instead of ranting all day. "Oh God, 100 people out of how many million will 'boycott' our next game, what will we ever do?"

[Privateerkev]

CA puts out a product with broken features. They then state that they will refuse to fix those broke features. Then they state they will fix those broken features.

And I am supposed to be excited about it?

What I don't like is that they are acting like they are doing me a favor...

If I bought a new car from GM and the air conditioner was broken, I would simply expect GM to fix my air conditioner. I wouldn't run up and give the salesman a hug or anything. My response would be, "well of course your going to fix features that you advertised..."

So yes I am happy CA has agreed to fix broken things about the game. But they aren't doing anything special. They are just doing what they should have done in the first place. And that is make sure that their advertised features actually worked when they released the game.

I should not have to mod my own game just to get advertised features such as; stone forts in Crusades, welsh reinforcements, and Kalmar Union units, working properly...

[_Tristan_]

Some great news...

However, this will be the end of development for M2TW if I read correctly, so it will be up to the community to come up with ways of solving some of the bugs still existing in the game...

But, a fixed Kingdom expansion will be great...

[katar]

while SecuROM is still attached to Kingdoms i will not be touching it at all... patch or no patch.

i say to you: lose the SecuROM and gain a player.

[sapi]

It's a good sign, in my opinion.

Sure, the patch might not do everything we want: but as many people have rightly pointed out, CA could very well just have ditched us, so this is better than the status quo, and definitely better than nothing

Stuck, on the off-chance that people actually read stickies

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
That is overall good news and shows that you listen to your fanbase, at least partly.

But, as already stated, two issues remain:

• Will the malware copy protection be removed? If not, this whole patching business is useless.
• Will there be a patch for the main game? If not, CA will have continued the bad habit of leaving their games unsupported and the bonus of the expansion patch will be diminished.

I hope especially for the malware removal to be addressed. If the main game is patched along with the expansion (they are two seperate commodities mind you) CA would restore much of their prestige, at least for me.
.

[icek]

Lets hope this time it will be released till february...

[crpcarrot]

if securom is removed u will earn another customer cheers

[Zenicetus]

while SecuROM is still attached to Kingdoms i will not be touching it at all... patch or no patch.

i say to you: lose the SecuROM and gain a player.

I'm not personally going that far, but we're all going to be setting our own personal comfort levels with this. I'll accept SecureRom for the duration of the game, but I won't buy Kingdoms unless the new patch includes removal of any and all SecureRom files left behind after I uninstall the game.

So, what's the word on this? Can I buy Kingdoms, or not?

[hrvojej]

Thanks. Please also fix M2TW proper and the original game mechanics, e.g. the hardcoded issues with the battle engine, otherwise this is not going to be worth the effort IMO.

Cheers,

[Goaswerfraiejen]

I posted this elsewhere, but it would be good to have it here, so I'm re-posting it. As always, my own concerns are for the main game which, IMO, still has not received the attention that it deserves. I hope you've all learned a lesson from rushing to buy Kingdoms before the main game was properly fixed; just because something looks awesome, doesn't mean you should get it ASAP.

---
I was pleased to see the patch announcement today, but I'll still not be buying either Kingdoms or Empire--unless they wind up in the $5 bargain bin. I still very much enjoy R:TW, but I've been so disappointed with the M2TW experience overall that I'm really wary of spending any kind of money on future TW products until it's proven to my satisfaction that we won't have to deal with this crap any more. M2TW had some great stuff going on, but it was also all half-assed--hell, I couldn't even command any battles personally for the first week I had it because the shield bug (I think that's the one) screwed with them all, making battles take 6+ hours to complete. Furthermore, I expected some serious differences from R:TW beyond the time period, and the game just didn't feel different enough. Part of that was probably simply due to the similar engine, but I digress--the point is that I'll not be buying any TW games on faith any more. It simply can't be justified--you spend forty bucks on a game that your new computer can't run properly on the lowest settings, and it's so buggy that even I notice it. =/


So there it stands. I'm overjoyed to see the patch announcement, but I urge you all to proceed with caution when considering your next TW purchase. Don't get fooled by the same tricks again (Naval battles! Graphics! Yaaaaayy...harrumph.), because then we're back to square one and the complaints will never end. At this point, we're just as much to fault as the developers.

[Mori Gabriel Syme]

I am pleased that you have decided to offer a patch after all. I will not buy the expansion until SecuRom is removed, however.

[Aurelian]

I haven't bought Kingdoms yet due to the SecuROM issue. If the patch deals with SecuROM difficulties I'll gladly plop down my $29.99. If not, they obviously don't need my money.

[Fate]

As good as the news of Kingdoms being patched is, i still wont touch M2TW, Kingdoms, or Empire until the SecuRom issue is settled.

(I'm aware M2TW doesnt have SecuRom, but if i start playing it ill wanna play Kingdoms)

Sort it out CA.

Or CA, sort out Sega, im sure thats much more accurate.

[hellenes]

As good as the news of Kingdoms being patched is, i still wont touch M2TW, Kingdoms, or Empire until the SecuRom issue is settled.

(I'm aware M2TW doesnt have SecuRom, but if i start playing it ill wanna play Kingdoms)

Sort it out CA.

Or CA, sort out Sega, im sure thats much more accurate.

The emploee cannot sort out they employer...CA BELONGS to SEGA...I know truth hurts...