Shogun 2: Total War - New Video - Battle Report

[Sionnach Glic]

Currently on the Total War website there is a counter which goes from 2010 to 1908. Is this a possible hint that we may be seeing a WW1 Total War game?

If so, I predict mass quantites of suck. There's no way that the Total War games can ever really capture the sheer scale of the First World War, and given that typical braindead behaviour that the AI exhibits, there's no way we'll be getting anything near the massive war of attrition and trench combat that happened historicaly.

On a somewhat related tangent, this got me thinking about what I'd like the next Total War game to be. Personally, I think that they should take a step back and go to an earlier period. I always thought that the Total War games were at their best during the sword-fighting eras. What I'd like to see is a game set during and just prior to the European conquest of the Americas. We're well able to have a map big enough to cover the entire North and South American continents at this point, so we could have all of the indegenous tribes and civilisations in play. At the very start of the game you'd be warring with other Native American factions, expanding your influence throughout the continent. Then once 1492 hits, outside context problems! These strange pale-skinned foreigners turn up on your shores, telling you that you're now all servants of his Imperial Majesty who's very keen on this strange concept called "taxes" and that there's a bunch of priests who'd like to have a quiet word with your holy men.

This leads on into the next half of the game, where the Native American factions have to compete with both their native neighbours and fleets and armies of the different European factions turning up to grab a slice of the New World. If playing as one of the American factions, you can try and buy (or steal) guns and horses from allied European factions, allowing you to recruit limited amounts of gun and mounted units. To level the playing field against the far more advanced and dangerous European invaders, the Native Americans could have a mechanic where an army composed of 5 or less units can start any engagement with a European force as though they'd ambushed them, regardless of whether the surrounding terrain would normally have allowed them to ambush. This would represent their far superior knowledge of the local land and their different method of fighting.
As a European nation, you'd (naturally) start later on in the game, but you'd have at your disposal far superior ships, heavily armoured troops, gunpowder, and cavalry. And Native troops would probably suffer morale penalties when facing gunpowder and cavalry. This would initialy lead to easy victories over the Native Americans, but as the Native factions begin to gain access to their own cavalry and gunpowder units and as the morale penalties lessen the longer you have contact with them. And then there's also the competition you'd experience from the other European factions arriving in the Americas as well.

I think, properly done, that'd be an excellent scenario for a Total War game. So what sort of eras would you like to see made in a Total War game?

[Reliant121]

I can't comment on what would work well, because I don't really know. All I know is that I wouldn't enjoy a really far back story, purely because I don't like the period. I love the current date of the Empire game.

[Deepcrush]

If so, I predict mass quantites of suck. There's no way that the Total War games can ever really capture the sheer scale of the First World War, and given that typical braindead behaviour that the AI exhibits, there's no way we'll be getting anything near the massive war of attrition and trench combat that happened historicaly.

Sorry but I think the AI in TW is by far superior to that of most the commanders of WWI.

I think, properly done, that'd be an excellent scenario for a Total War game. So what sort of eras would you like to see made in a Total War game?

I think you have a damn good idea. Myself, I'd love to see an updated Feudal Japan/China Total War.

Plus I'd like to find a way to get my Middle Earth Total War working again. I downloaded 1.4 and then it crashed and now it won't let me unistall or reload.

[Sionnach Glic]

Which Middle-Earth mod are you playing? If it's The Third Age then I think the latest version requires you to have Kingdoms installed as well.

Sorry but I think the AI in TW is by far superior to that of most the commanders of WWI.

That wouldn't exactly be hard. Even TW AI would be able to realise that the Zapp Brannigan style throwing wave after wave of troops at entrenched machine gun posts would be a bad idea.

My main problem with a WW1 game would be that there's simply no way it'll approach anything resembling reality. Alright, RTW, M2TW and ETW haven't all been spectacularly high on realism (though they've been getting more and more so), but things like logistics, supply lines, merchant convoys, trench warfare, etc, were all vital parts of warfare during the early 20th century. There's simply no way a TW game can replicate all this while still being fun.

I think the Total War games work best in ye olden dayes. The closer you get to the modern day, the more jarring it is to see stuff like British armies marching all the way from Calais to Moscow.

I think you have a damn good idea. Myself, I'd love to see an updated Feudal Japan/China Total War.

I think one set during the Three Kingdoms era in East Asia would have a lot of potential. You have the three main Chinese dynasties, an array of minor nations scattered around the region, and you could even throw in Japan.

[Sionnach Glic]

Well, the counter now goes back to 1824. Which is a big "Thank Christ" from me, as it would seem to suggest that the next time period will be 1824 - 1908.

[shran]

I'd like to see a multi-era spanning game, from somewhere around 1000 to 1900, with all the world at one's disposal.

[Sionnach Glic]

I'm not sure that could really work. Let's face it - by the time you've gone about a hundred or so years in you'd have already conquered the map.

[Monroe]

I think in 5 years computers would have progressed enough you could have a WWI style fight. The only problem is the length of time required for one battle. Let's face it, no one wants to sit around for Ypres to play its course. It would be very repetitive too.

Its kind of sad, I really really want there to be a good WWI game but I think FPS is the way to go.

[Deepcrush]

Which Middle-Earth mod are you playing? If it's The Third Age then I think the latest version requires you to have Kingdoms installed as well.

Third Age Total War, and I have Kingdoms installed. The game was working fine until I tried to DL 1.4 and then after that it stopped working.

I think one set during the Three Kingdoms era in East Asia would have a lot of potential. You have the three main Chinese dynasties, an array of minor nations scattered around the region, and you could even throw in Japan.

That would be AWESOME! Three Kingdoms/Fuedal Japan/Nahman(eastern india types)/Mongols.

I'm not sure that could really work. Let's face it - by the time you've gone about a hundred or so years in you'd have already conquered the map.

I'm at around 500 turns in my United States game in ETW. Truth be told now that everyone is allied against me, things are getting a bit troubling.

[Tsukiyumi]

I'm at around 500 turns in my United States game in ETW. Truth be told now that everyone is allied against me, things are getting a bit troubling.

Wow, that game must be pretty realistic. Sounds like reality.

[Sionnach Glic]

Its kind of sad, I really really want there to be a good WWI game but I think FPS is the way to go.

I've yet to see any WW1 FPS games. Which is a pity, as I think a properly done game could be pretty good.

Third Age Total War, and I have Kingdoms installed. The game was working fine until I tried to DL 1.4 and then after that it stopped working.

Odd.

I'm at around 500 turns in my United States game in ETW. Truth be told now that everyone is allied against me, things are getting a bit troubling.

If CA redid the AI to actually be intelligent enough to provide a good challenge, that would certainly force players to proceed slower and with more caution. Add in something like Rome: Total Realism's regional assimilation mechanic and Deus lo Vult's method of making waging war a more costly affair and you could probably pull it off nicely. Add in some scripted events like the arrival of the Mongols, various civil uprisings, etc, and you might just be able to pull off a game with such a lengthy time-span.

Though I'm somewhat ambivilent about CA's ability to do that.

[Sionnach Glic]

And now it's back to 1777.

[Deepcrush]

Make up your damn mind!

[Tsukiyumi]

Yeah, Rochey, hurry up or Deep will kill you!!!





...again.

[Sionnach Glic]

Oh Christ, 1769 now!

It's never going to stop!!!