Empire Total War

[SpiderPig]

This is the next game in my "Not released yet" list... anyone else looking forward to it?

Im really enjoying the turn based part of Rome but not very good at the battles *sad face*
Anyone got any tips?

 

[Shift]

Im currently battling on Rome waiting for Empire too lol, I own all of Greece, half of Russia, all of Egypt and pushing into the Iran/Iraq territory (owned by Egypt), destroyed the Greek Cities, Macedonians, Dacians and left one Thracian city and made them my bitch haha. Current money is 201,000 gold and the Roman public are begging me to take over. Thats all well and true but going up against the Julii who owns damn near all of Europe is going to be bloody hard.

And for tips, have plenty of infantry, a few archers, and plenty of cavalry. Keep a few of your best troops in reserve. Pin infantry on your line, then strike their general or captain with your cavalary, then go up behind the rest of the army. Basic tactic that usually works but when you start fighting the likes of the Egyptians, battles become a little harder lol.

 

[Raziaar]

I'm mildly looking forward to it. I'm worried it'll disappoint.

 

[Shakermaker]

Looking forward to this a lot. Naval battles, Napoleon, colonies. What's not to like?

 

[Raziaar]

Looking forward to this a lot. Naval battles, Napoleon, colonies. What's not to like?

The same problems that plagued the past games. Hopefully they aren't there.

 

[Jimmeh]

Really looking forward to it. Wasn't a big fan of the era originally, but the more I've read and learnt about it the more awesome I realise it is. Where the fook's that demo?

Awesome (very big) screens:

Spoiler

I'm just hoping the AI is much better this time around. Both on the campaign map and during the battles.

 

[Shakermaker]

The same problems that plagued the past games. Hopefully they aren't there.

The AI was a 'problem' but, for me at least, not a major issue. Can't think of anything else really.

 

[CR0M]

At least the horses look like horses and not stuffed donkeys with one nostril like in the last one.

or giraffes like in RTW.

The only buggy let down with MTW2 was the AI, far too predictable when it worked finally after the 3 millionth patch a year after release, far too passive when it didn't.

But my main gripe was that there was still no full-on campaign map pvp. Hope (but seriously doubt) they have included it this time around.

 

[Mr Stabby]

It will be interesting to see how the combat works now that all soldiers carry what should be one hit kill ranged weapons. Musketeers and cannons were practically useless in M2TW.

 

[Mutley]

It will be interesting to see how the combat works now that all soldiers carry what should be one hit kill ranged weapons. Musketeers and cannons were practically useless in M2TW.

Hopefully it's like Cossacks, the damage in that was well balanced for muskets.

 

[Jimmeh]

I'm pretty sure muskets were always useless weren't they? You had to be fifty yards away from your target and even then there had to be a few hundred of you firing in unison to actually hit anything. I think you're still going to have to rely on some good old-fashioned melee to get things done.

I just hope the AI is smart enough to withdraw once it starts taking too many casulties, considering the years of training their troops would've had. I'll be pretty annoyed if the battles just turn into the usual meatgrind leading up to the enemy mass-routing for you to run down.

But my main gripe was that there was still no full-on campaign map pvp. Hope (but seriously doubt) they have included it this time around.

Apparently that's coming sometime after release.

 

[Mutley]

I'm pretty sure muskets were always useless weren't they? You had to be fifty yards away from your target and even then there had to be a few hundred of you firing in unison to actually hit anything. I think you're still going to have to rely on some good old-fashioned melee to get things done.

Yep, they're very inaccurate, so you'll need a few waves of fire to take out another column... and not to forget the rounds will hit the men on the front first, so they'll act as trusty human shields.

 

[B_MAN]

any word on the demo? date?

 

[Krynn72]

For Rome, my tactics always revolved around cavalry and archers. I would have usually around double the archer units compared to my infantry, if not more. My basic tactic was to destroy their lines with massive volleys of arrows as they march towards my front line, then I let them crash into my heavy infantry (whose main purpose is simply to stall the enemies and protect the archers). Once they're engaged, I drop my archers further back and have them shoot at any targets of opportunity, and then bring my cavalry around their flanks, line them up behind the enemy, and have them charge straight into the backs of the enemy units engaged in melee with my infantry. 80% of the time this charge would cause some enemy units to break and retreat, and when that happens, the entire rest of their army quickly follows suit and breaks as well. Then its just a matter of mopping up with my cavalry.


Once I got to new enemies like the Egyptians however, this didnt work so good because they have lots of chariots, heavy infanty that are impossible to kill with arrows, and shit-tons of pikemen to block the flanking maneuvers of my cavalry. For these guys I took siege weapons to hopefully blow chunks out of some of their phalanxed units and hopefully draw some fire from their chariot archers, and I took lots and lots of heavy infantry, and then four or have cavalry units. These battles took a lot longer because they are hard to scare into a retreat. Basically I just had to hope my infantry would out last theirs. Whenever I got a chance, I would do a cavalry charge into the backs of an engaged enemy and that would help, but most of the time my cavalry was needed to chase chariot archers away from my infantry.

God I loved Rome:TW. Ima ****in install that bitch right now.

 

[CR0M]

Apparently that's coming sometime after release.

No way, really?
I remember a half assed copy n paste email turn based 'multiplayer' for MTW2, hope it's not just another version of that.

 

[Shakermaker]

No way, really?
I remember a half assed copy n paste email turn based 'multiplayer' for MTW2, hope it's not just another version of that.

Supposedly it's 'real' multiplayer. I still don't get how that can be fun though. Do you do 2 week playing sessions?

 

[Eejit]

I just hope the AI is smart enough to withdraw once it starts taking too many casulties, considering the years of training their troops would've had. I'll be pretty annoyed if the battles just turn into the usual meatgrind leading up to the enemy mass-routing for you to run down.

Only the British and maybe the Prussians had significant numbers of professional armies. The battles often were bloodbaths, fights of attrition to wear down the opposing infantry lines or columns. Sieges had massive butcher's bills.

The AI doesn't have to be too smart to emulate (most of) the generals of the time.

 

[CR0M]

Supposedly it's 'real' multiplayer. I still don't get how that can be fun though. Do you do 2 week playing sessions?

What, you never played Risk, Chess or Diplomacy over several days? :cheese:

Would be no different to playing a single player campaign over a couple of weeks, but against a real opponent. With a real brain. Or even better, against a real opponent for each country. Obviously a save game feature would be necessary.

O lawks a mussy, yes, to me that would be fun.

 

[Krynn72]

That would mean you'd have to schedule times to play with random people. That would never work. Unless it was only the turn based portions, and each time you log in to your game you play one turn, then wait for your opponent to log in and play his. In which case that would be both incredibly lame because of no realtime fights, playing only one turn every couple days, and the fact that it would take months and most games would never finish.

 

[Bob_Marley]

I'm pretty sure muskets were always useless weren't they? You had to be fifty yards away from your target and even then there had to be a few hundred of you firing in unison to actually hit anything. I think you're still going to have to rely on some good old-fashioned melee to get things done.

That was more to do with the people using the Muskets rather than the weapons themselves. If I recall correctly the Prussian army conducted a series of tests involving an infantry battalion firing a volley of musket shot at a massive paper target the size of another infantry battalion. They calculated that every volley should produce 300 casualties. In reality it was closer to 3. Humans are remarkably unwilling to shoot other humans while under stress, which is why modern militaries are so focused on training.

So yes, we'll be relying on a baynoet with some guts behind it to get the job done. But a few volleys of .70 mustket shot will probably help.

 

[Shift]

Calvary is still gonna be the make or break of the tactics imo.

 

[Top Secret]

That was more to do with the people using the Muskets rather than the weapons themselves. If I recall correctly the Prussian army conducted a series of tests involving an infantry battalion firing a volley of musket shot at a massive paper target the size of another infantry battalion. They calculated that every volley should produce 300 casualties. In reality it was closer to 3. Humans are remarkably unwilling to shoot other humans while under stress, which is why modern militaries are so focused on training.

That is immensely interesting to me for some reason. Not that I doubt you, but do you have a source? I want to read more about this anomaly.

 

[Mr Stabby]

Calvary is still gonna be the make or break of the tactics imo.

Cavalry is not very effective against well disciplined infantry with bayonets. Artillery was the key weapon of the age.

 

[Bob_Marley]

That is immensely interesting to me for some reason. Not that I doubt you, but do you have a source? I want to read more about this anomaly.

Dave Grossman's books "On Killing" and "On Combat" are both excellent sources (though toward the end he does tend to go on about how video games are making us a bunch of psycotic loonies). Don't know if theres much on the internet about it though.

As for the whole "key weapon of the age" thing, its about combined arms. Infantry are effective against cavalry in square but vulnerable to artillery fire. So what you want to do is to use your cavalry to foce their infantry into dense formation then blow them into tiny pieces with arty fire.

 

[Eejit]

Cavalry is not very effective against well disciplined infantry with bayonets. Artillery was the key weapon of the age.

Yeah, Cavalry weren't much used beyond harrassing and flanking to attack artillery.

Infantry was still pretty important though, even if only to protect the artillery.

 

[Raziaar]

Let's all stand in a line and shoot at each other!

 

[Jimmeh]

Demo's out tommorow at 4pm (GMT). I'm guessing it'll be released through Steam first.

 

[Shakermaker]

Yup, it's out on Steam exclusively at the moment. Mirrors will probably pop up any time now.

 

[Mutley]

Hope so, I always get wank d/l speeds off Steam with new releases.