EMPIRE TOTAL WAR

bloodline76 · 24 Feb 2009 at 01:35

Played the demo, bit disappointed with the ship battles but it is a start. Should still be fun but I wont be getting on launch, maybe wait for a steam weekend deal

GAC · 24 Feb 2009 at 01:54

or buy from a mail order company, as steams prices are a joke.

as for the demo, if you take the loading times out its not bad for a quick blast albeit a tad easy.

just cant wait for next week and a fully optimised copy to land on the door step

King4aDay · 24 Feb 2009 at 02:06

Northwind said:
Yep, Shogun 2 is basically the big strategy win button I'm waiting for. Not that this'll stop me getting Empire

Problem with Shogun was that Japan is a crap shape for conquering

You just conquer a bloc from north to south then march sideways.

bloodline76 · 24 Feb 2009 at 02:07

GAC said:
or buy from a mail order company, as steams prices are a joke.

as for the demo, if you take the loading times out its not bad for a quick blast albeit a tad easy.

just cant wait for next week and a fully optimised copy to land on the door step

I bet thats as optimised as its going to get. Whats the best price this can be had for?

Steams prices are very good, admittedly not with all games but they do some fantastic deals

GAC · 24 Feb 2009 at 02:49

well its demo code and seeing as empires not gone gold yet i have a feeling it was pre tweaked. so there should be a bit more rung out of the engine. also gfx drivers will get tweaked within a month or so of launch to help smooth problems, so i wouldnt expect the finished game to run the same as the demo.

as for prices, im getting the special forces edition for £34.99 and thats with an aditional extra unit for ordering from this place. steam price is £44.99 (normal edition is £39.99).

Nieldo · 24 Feb 2009 at 03:35

Ill be getting normal boxed edition for £23.77 +free UK delivery from an online retailer, steam price: £39.99.

But then you cant blaim steam, I think the publishers sign a deal with the retailers, I mean which retailer is going to buy X amount of copys and sell them for £25-35 when someone could get them from steam for so much cheaper.

They make it so steam cant sell it for cheap, otherwise the retailers would go bust or just not have much profit and retail is still the main outlet for games.

Reiver · 24 Feb 2009 at 09:47

The reason for the big load times is that all the files are packed and the game has to unpack them before loading the battles etc. Use python (3.01) to unpack it and the load times are about a quarter and are probably more representative of the final versions.

ShaggyRS6 · 24 Feb 2009 at 09:55

Im gonna have to de-subscribe to this thread cos everytime I look at it I want the game to be released even more.

Soooooo looking foward to it.

Breeze · 24 Feb 2009 at 10:18

Inazuma said:
What are the differences between each of the units of infantry? Seems like they all do the same thing.....

Check the unit cards before you load the battle. Some have better range, some better in melee. some have special abilities etc.

DutchSchaeffer · 24 Feb 2009 at 11:50

For those interested, there is an interesting read over at the total war forums:

http://shoguntotalwar.yuku.com/topi...A-to-play-the-Full-game-must-read.html?page=1

Apparently there will be a day 0 patch on the 4th March.

dudload · 24 Feb 2009 at 12:25

yup, so looking forward to this! thanks for the info on the patch Dutch!

Biohazard · 24 Feb 2009 at 20:07

Richdog said:
There's a formations botton at the top right of the HUD. I don't think you're going to be left wanting in terms of the game having no strategy, I think you may be the one leaving the game wanting until you learn how to play it (genuinely no offence intended). It seems obvious that you've never played a Total War game before, and you're bound to be confused until you play the full thing and appreciate what goes into it.

I bet I've played them more than you and I never use the HUD formation buttons in battle.

point is moot.

lokkers · 24 Feb 2009 at 22:43

Just played both example battles and I'm pretty impressed. Found the naval battle very difficult (have tried 4 times and been routed each time), but I got my own back on the land battle

I did notice a glaring bug though when fighting the land battle. I had routed most of the American infantry, leaving just the General and the cannon on a ridge. I decided to consolidate my forces together, and so ordered them to form line under cover, with the horse artillery and general to the flanks and rear respectively. Suddenly I lost my horse artillery and general killed - looked back to see why and they had walked into a line of stakes left by enemy troops. I mean, w t f?! You shouldn't have to micro-manage cavalry marching around stakes for heaven's sake

carlazai · 24 Feb 2009 at 22:58

lokkers said:
Just played both example battles and I'm pretty impressed. Found the naval battle very difficult (have tried 4 times and been routed each time), but I got my own back on the land battle

I did notice a glaring bug though when fighting the land battle. I had routed most of the American infantry, leaving just the General and the cannon on a ridge. I decided to consolidate my forces together, and so ordered them to form line under cover, with the horse artillery and general to the flanks and rear respectively. Suddenly I lost my horse artillery and general killed - looked back to see why and they had walked into a line of stakes left by enemy troops. I mean, w t f?! You shouldn't have to micro-manage cavalry marching around stakes for heaven's sake

I hate to say this but i think that'll stay. It was certainly in MTW2 from what i remember. Once had my cav run into my own stakes! Now that was annoying

Breeze · 25 Feb 2009 at 00:07

CA are already aware of the stake issue. Hope its sorted when released.

F2kSel · 25 Feb 2009 at 00:16

When trying to move the troops about ie select three or four units using the mouse and give them a goto point they shoot off in different directions and the green arrows go all over the place when I select several way points.

I hate the fact that horses only have two speeds, I would have gone for walk,trot and gallop.

Reiver · 25 Feb 2009 at 01:07

F2kSel said:
When trying to move the troops about ie select three or four units using the mouse and give them a goto point they shoot off in different directions and the green arrows go all over the place when I select several way points.

Try grouping the units and pressing ctrl when you click on their destination. Soemtimes it makes them hold formation, other times they just scatter as usual. So much of the map is area that won't let you deploy and it plays having with pathfinding and getting your guys where you want them. Hope it'll change on more open battlefields.

F2kSel · 25 Feb 2009 at 01:40

Reiver said:
Try grouping the units and pressing ctrl when you click on their destination. Soemtimes it makes them hold formation, other times they just scatter as usual. So much of the map is area that won't let you deploy and it plays having with pathfinding and getting your guys where you want them. Hope it'll change on more open battlefields.

Grouping makes it worse, they all turned 90degrees and wouldn't go forward even though there was plenty of room.

MotherMayI · 25 Feb 2009 at 06:37

F2kSel said:
Grouping makes it worse, they all turned 90degrees and wouldn't go forward even though there was plenty of room.

Also by far the most annoying 'feature' I find as well. Ive resorted to having to single click each unit, which is annoying at best.

Richdog · 25 Feb 2009 at 07:21

Biohazard said:
I bet I've played them more than you

Wow, reminds me of being back in the playground. ", No, i've played it more". lol...

and I never use the HUD formation buttons in battle.

point is moot.

Of course the point isn't moot, the guy said he's not seen how to use formations and I told him where it was. People DO use formations in these games. Not sure what the point of your post was really...

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EMPIRE TOTAL WAR