What sort of improvements are we looking at from Rome?

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Sentow, Maybe impressed everyone with:
Not today, but eventually! I hope that counts.

What sort of improvements are we looking at from Rome?

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I'm curious as well. I've enjoyed Rome quite a bit.

There's a polished Rome engine in this one. Graphics are better overall, but the asskicker is that there are no more clonetroopers; each of the 10,000+ possible soldiers on the battlefield are constructed by combining distinct heads, helmets, weapons, shields, armor, and faced. In addition, when the guys are fighting, they will actually engage in specific combat with other individuals, killing them with scripted finishing moves (like, say, kick them to the ground and run a sword through their heads).

Another cool feature is that dead bodies are three-dimensional, and other soldiers won't merely clip around them. Conceivably, a huge pile of dead bodies could severely hinder getting through, say, a gate. Speaking of which, the castles in this game are fucking enormous, with the largest having three separate walls that you have to claw through.

IIRC, there are 21 factions, all playable, including the Aztec Empire (which, as a European/Middle Eastern power, you can invade late in the game). Personally, I want to play as the Byzantines and restore the Roman Empire's former glory.

Also, the diplomacy system is greatly improved, which is nice. Same for the mission systems, now they have them for all factions. On another forum, I was reading that one of the missions was to assassinate another faction leader, and your reward was that his son would sign a peace treaty with you. Subterfuge: ain't it great?

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When the babel fish was in place, it was apparent Sentow, Maybe said:
What sort of improvements are we looking at from Rome?

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Quoted FAQ from the Total War website.

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FAQ – General Information

What historical period will be presented in the game?
The grand campaign will span four and half centuries of history from the years 1080-1530. It begins with the golden age of chivalry and the crusades, spans the Mongol invasion and the invention of gunpowder, and ends with gun toting professional armies, the renaissance and the discovery of America.

So how will Medieval 2 improve on the Total War formula?
Medieval 2 will raise the bar for Total War games right across the board that will address both the turn-based campaign game and the epic real-time battles.

There are of course new factions, new units and new unit abilities that come into play in the most spectacular battles ever to grace the series. Medieval 2’s battlefields will see individual troops built from unique heads and body parts, sporting weapon and armour upgrades and all the colour and heraldry from the period. They’ll behave and react more realistically than ever, thanks to thousands of motion-captured animations that depict vicious finishing moves and last ditch defensive blocks.

Siege warfare will be even more intense thanks to the new settlement rendering techniques that will see vast castles and cities built upon hills and aside cliffs. These will introduce new layers of defence will make besieging such settlements even more epic affairs as attackers fight through walls and city streets using an armoury of siege weapons, including heavy cannons.

A new environment rendering system will make the battlefields more spectacular and realistic than ever before. They’ll feature impassable terrain that will allow players and the AI to incorporate the environment in their battlefield tactics like never before.

They’ll also be improved AI on both the battlefield and, of course, on the campaign map.

Talking of the campaign map there are new agents, improved diplomacy, improved trade, and a host of new buildings added to the tech tree, new sabotage and espionage options with full assassination movies so you can witness the cold blooded killing or bungled attempts first hand. A new system of religion that will see players having to manage their relationship with the papal states, embarking on crusades commissioned by the Pope or turning their back on him and plotting to place their own pope in power. Plus a new settlement system will allow players to develop their settlements as castles for financial whack or castles for military might, a feature that will undoubtedly make for a more engaging and deep campaign game.

Then of course there is the discovery and invasion of the New World, battles with the Aztecs, new historical battles and lots more that we want to keep up our sleeves right now.

How many factions will there be and how many will be playable?
Currently there are 21 factions included in the game of which 17 will be playable. These include several that weren’t available in the original Medieval, including Scotland, Portugal and Venice. The final list list of playable factions is yet to be finalised.

Religion

How will religion feature in Medieval II?
Religion was a huge part of medieval life. As a result the religious system in Medieval II has more depth than previous games in the series. As well as spreading the influence of their chosen religion and minimizing outbreaks of heresy, players running Catholic factions will also have manage their relationship with the Pope to avoid the intervention of inquisitors and even excommunication. As the game progresses players will be able to develop their religious characters to the point where they can even get their own Cardinal elected as Pope.

How can I spread the religious influence of my faction?
You'll be able to influence your population by constructing various religious buildings within your settlements. There are a huge number of new building types now available each being upgradable multiple times to open up new abilities and units. For example churches and mosques will spread your religion; building cathedrals and converting people to Catholicism will help you get on the good side of the Pope. These religious buildings also give you access to Priest characters who are agents and also help spread your religion.

How do Priests work?
Priests are agents that can be used on the campaign map to spread your religion in their current location. Senior Catholic priests can become cardinals and get elected to the college of cardinals. This can give the player influence over the Papacy, and Priests can even get elected as Pope improving their original faction's standing with the Papal States.

However, there is always a possibility that a Priest may lose his way and turn heretic. If this happens he falls under AI control and spreads heresy instead undermining established religions.

What effect does heresy have?
If you are deemed to have a problem with heresy in your lands the Pope may send out an Inquisitor to deal with the situation. They'll do a great job at reducing heresy but they may also denounce nearby characters - and have them tried and executed as a result.

How do I interact with the Pope?
The Pope will make various requests of you as the game progresses, and generally meddle in your affairs. If you carry out his requests he'll like you; if not he'll become increasingly annoyed and may even excommunicate you! Building cathedrals and converting people to Catholicism will also please him.

Having the Pope as an ally offers significant benefits. Factions can ask the Pope to warns off other attacking Catholic factions and he may even accept suggestions about where to send a Crusade.

How do I get my own Pope elected?
When the existing Pope dies (for whatever reason) a new Pope is elected by the college of cardinals. If you have a cardinal of sufficiently high rank, he'll be a candidate in the election. You can then negotiate with the other factions to get them to vote for your man, or you can agree to vote for one of their candidates.

How do the crusades work?
Crusades will be far more of an 'event' in Medieval II than they were in the original Medieval. The Pope will commission a crusade that all the Catholic factions can then join. The faction that captures the target first will gain considerable prestige and wealth and significantly boost their standing with the Pope. As we've said, when you gain more influence with the Pope you can begin to request crusades against specific targets.

Players can choose specific armies and generals to join the crusade and generals involved in crusades can earn bonuses relating to chivalry and honour.

The Campaign Game

So how does the campaign map differ from that used in Rome: Total War?
The campaign map will be markedly different from that seen in Rome. Aside from a new graphical look, it will be busier as we’re adding several new types of agent characters including merchants, princesses and priests. While the map won’t become as cluttered as the original Medieval map became, we wanted to up the number of characters on the map in order to increase the options players have to interact with rival factions off the battlefield. Secondly, although initially the map appears to cover the same area as the map found in Rome, it will actually offer more land to conquer. Later in the game the map opens up and offers the opportunity to discover and conquer the Americas.

How does the discovery of the New World work in the campaign?
Initially the New World will be hidden from the players and the squares of the Atlantic Ocean will be impassable. Late in the game players will be able to develop the technology to cross the ocean, discover America, gather its resources and do battle with the Aztecs.

What other elements have been added to the turn-based game?
Aside from the New World and the new agents characters we’ve added to the map, we’ve introduced a new system for developing settlements, a new recruitment system, a new enhanced system for the treatment of religion, enhanced diplomacy, new trade options, improved missions, improved sabotage and espionage, improved AI, new tech-tree buildings and much more that we’re keeping up our sleeves for now. As you can see, there are improvements right across the board.

How does the new settlement system work?
Medieval II introduces the option for players to develop their settlements on the campaign map as either a city or a castle. Each offers its own advantages and it’s a question of balancing the use of your settlements to suit such factors as map location, proximity to possible enemy factions and whether the player adopts a militaristic or economic approach to expansion.

To put it simply, castles emphasize the military and cities the economic. Build lots of castles and your armies will be extremely potent. Build lots of cities and you’ll have to rely on dubious militias or mercenaries to protect your lands. On the other hand, you’ll have the money to buy off your opponents. Castles will require less management than cities but as the game develops cities will become more important, but redeveloping castles will be costly so the transition will need to be carefully managed. As a result there is a great deal more strategy involved as you expand your empire across the campaign map.

What types of new buildings are being added?
One of the most significant additions we’ve made to the tech tree for Medieval II is the addition of guild halls. There are various different types of guild that give different bonuses to your settlements. Each city can have only one guild that will give local bonuses to that city. As examples, the assassin’s guild will increase the skill of assassins and some guilds will give access to extra units too.

In addition each faction can have one master guild for each guild type that gives bigger bonuses, some of which may apply across all the faction’s cities. Further to this, it is possible to build a grandmaster guild that is a sort of global HQ for that guild type. There can only be one grandmaster building for each guild in the world, so whoever gets it first will have an edge in that particular area.

How will missions be assigned?
Missions are assigned by the Council of Nobles - this represents the great nobles whose main role is to give the player some guidance throughout the campaign by suggesting missions. Catholic nations will also be given missions by the Pope, with rewards or punishment depending on your standing with him. Players can also be assigned missions by any guild that they choose to build in their settlements. There’s a huge variety of challenging missions on offer.

Multiplayer

What can players expect from multiplayer in Medieval II?
The multiplayer features in Medieval II are driven by two clear aims – to make the multiplayer game more accessible and to ensure that multiplayer matches are well balanced experience for all. The basic multiplayer "Custom Battle" option allows play online or across a network with up to 8 players. These can be set up using 21 playable factions, including those factions that are non-playable in the campaign game - the Aztecs, the Papal States, the Mongols and the Timurids. These battles are played out on one of a series of custom built maps that reflect the huge variety of environments included in the single player game. Battles can be fought out in two modes of play – “Last Man Standing” – a deathmatch or team deathmatch battle or “Castle Siege” where one player or team lays siege on their opponent’s settlement.

How customisable are these battles?
In Medieval II players get even more control when it comes to setting up these matches. All players can of course choose their faction and tailor their army in terms of units, experience and weapon and armour upgrades. In Medieval II however, hosts can now elect to choose an Era for the battle in order to tailor the types of troops that can be deployed on the battlefield. Players can choose from the "Early" period where light armour, rudimentary swords and spears and light cavalry were commonplace. Or move on to the "High" era and embrace the onset of plate armour and formidable heavy cavalry. Finally there’s the Late period where gunpowder units are introduced and battlefield tactics are turned on their head by the power and range of the units that become available. Players can also limit the availability of units by tailoring the available funds for each individual army - this is particularly useful when looking to balance Castle Siege battles.

Are there any other modes available?
To accompany the Custom Battle option, Medieval II adds a new "Battle Scenario" mode that allow players to dip straight into ready-made battles on custom crafted maps that include pre-designated, balanced armies. These scenarios offer a wide range of , 1v1, 2v2 and even 3v2 match setups and include a wide range of factions and troops that clash on an array of stunning battlefield environments. “Aztec Gold” for example is a 2v1 match scenario with the Aztecs laying siege on a Spanish village while “Desert Sanctuary” is a huge 3v2 battle with the Egyptians fighting to reclaim their citadel from French Crusaders.

In addition the provision of the new "Quick Match" battle option meanwhile offers simple 1v1 and 2v2 battles, again with pre-defined factions and armies. These include battles like “Norse Fury”, a 2v2 team battle in which the Danes fight out a bitter struggle against the might of the Holy Roman Empire.

The inclusion of these Scenario and Quick Match options allows the player to quickly into multiplayer matches, whilst the pre-defined armies will help the player to get to grips with a particular faction and their troops, without the need for vast experience in the campaign game.

How balanced will the multiplayer experience be?
A great deal of care and attention has gone into the balancing of these battles to ensure that no player or team has an advantage in terms of troop power and ability. This ensures that victory on the battlefield is down the tactics and expertise of the player and not inside knowledge of a particular unit or army setup. Medieval II also gives the host of matches more options when it comes to hosting matches such as the ability to set budgets for each individual army.

Medieval II’s multiplayer is an experience that all players can enjoy quickly and easily and one that is finely balanced. Fast fingers and shortcut keys won’t win the day on these battlefields – players will need to hone their tactics and strategies to prevail in the online arena.

Can you make your own battlefields?
An unsupported battle editor included shipped with the game meanwhile will allow players to create their own custom battlefields or battle scenarios on which to play out their next multiplayer clash or release to the Total War community.

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I'll probably get it in a couple of hours, when I get paid.

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Karnaj stumbled drunkenly to the keyboard and typed:
Apparently, there are no stores in NJ or that have copies of this fucking game. Fucking kill everyone.

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Same here in southwest Louisiana. Looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow!

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The logic train ran off the tracks when Manticore said:
Is there a demo I can try out?

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At Gamestop, I saw a display stand with playable demos in it. I didn't ask if they costed anything or not, as I am buying the game today.

I finally broke through the negative numbers and am trying to fend off some pissed off dananians because I took their jobs. And a lot of my cities are revolting because I couldn't build any new buildings for like 20 turns.

France kept harassing me then I started sending my armies to them and all of a sudden they want a ceasefire. Now they don't exist anymore. Spain is doing the same thing; blockading my ports or attacking one of my cities then one turn later asking for a ceasefire. I don't get the AI.

I've been fighting Denmark on the eastern front and I'm about to launch an extermination raid on their 4 remaining cities in sweden and norway since I captured an awesome castle next to them that already had the capabilities of producing the best units so far.

Current situation, and Portugal about to get its ass kicked because of this assassin outside of my city.

And a major battle right outside the then capital of Milan.

nem-x fucked around with this message on 11-16-2006 at 05:53 PM.

Current progress; Denmark has the pope on their side and I have to attack and capture a city all in one turn (spies to open gates) in order to avoid disfavoring him.

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We were all impressed when Kael wrote:
But I was looking at totalwar.com and noticed that they made a "Shogun: Total War", was that any good? I might search for it if so.

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