Empire Total War
Empire: Total War (commonly abbreviated as E:TW) is an upcoming 2009 real-time tactics and turn-based strategy in the Total War video game series that is being developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. Sega officially announced Empire: Total War on August 22, 2007. Empire: Total War is scheduled for release on February 3, 2009 in United States, and February 6, 2009 in United Kingdom and Pal territories.
Empire Total War info
Gameplay
Empire: Total War is about exploration, conquest, founding of colonies and fighting wars away from home. The game's timeline spans from 1700 to the early 1800s, in which you direct your nation to dominate Europe, North Africa, the Americas, the Indies, and the Indian subcontinent. The player will use both complex strategies on the campaign map as well as command battalions on the battlefield—both on land and sea. The game will feature gameplay correlating with that of the previous games in the Total War series, but with major additions to the campaign map and battlefield.
Campaign map
The previous title's diplomacy and military AI have been given major changes and have been completely refined. "Whereas the diplomatic and military AI in previous Total War games were separate entities, leading to some curious international actions, they have now been unified, which should result in more realistic diplomatic relations: more useful alliances and complex treaties"(Ferguson.J ,PC Gamer UK, June 2008). There are also new systems in place to draw armies out of cities, by the inclusion of barracks and mills outside the city walls to defend. The new animated campaign map features a huge cast of characters[verification needed], and shows every single building and upgrade, rather than just the cities, castles and docks of previous games. Players can cut off supply lines, trade, docks and industry without tackling the main city.
The auto-management system is improved along with the advice system, and the game itself will feature better tutorials that make the game easier to learn. There will also be an added focus on managing unrest in the player's empire, and the degree to which the player expands or denies political freedom to the population. Armies and fleets can now be constructed around the generals and admirals. Units that you want built will be constructed at the nearest possible place and move to join up with their leader. It is also confirmed that changes in government may occur during the campaign as the rise of democracy becomes an issue in this time period. For instance, the United States may only come into existence if the rulers of that area are unable to maintain social order. Another example is the French Revolution that may occur if the people of France (or any Faction in the game) are no longer satisfied with their sovereign. Factions will also have a varying number of objectives such as establishing successful colonies, trade routes and dominance in certain regions as victory conditions.
Queens are now portrayed to reflect the influences of historical characters such as Catherine the Great. Colonies can now be established, and it depends on whether it is made in the wilderness of the Americas, or upon the existing infrastructure of India. While religion no longer plays a central role as in Medieval 2, it is still important in helping bring under control newly captured regions and in defining to some degree diplomatic relations between nations.
While in previous Total War titles army movements were restricted to tiles, in Empire: Total War army movement is completely free-form. The game also enables the player to establish taxes separately for nobles, burghers and peasants, and this can have several effects.
Rebellions and revolutions will occur, and are influenced by the form of government in place. When a revolution occurs, the player can opt to side with the rebellious forces or the loyalist troops. The type of government installed by the player in his faction will determine how other factions view the player and will influence their diplomatic relations.
Factions
There will be around 50 factions in the game, with 12 playable from the beginning: it is still not known which factions may be playable from the start, but strong candidates include:
Playable factions
Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of France
Spanish Empire
Ottoman Empire
Kingdom of Great Britain
Russian Empire
Dutch Republic
Swedish Empire
Thirteen Colonies
Other factions
Mughal Empire
Habsburg Monarchy
Features
Empire: Total War will feature a new game engine as well as 3D naval battles, a feature new to the series, as well as large land battles with musketeers, cavalry and artillery. Buildings and structures can be garrisoned, as well as being destructible, and there is a plethora of new formations and strategies to be mastered. Players can change the form of government of their empire from an absolute monarchy, constitutional monarchy, and republic. The game will feature a full host of historical figures including Peter I of Russia, Duke of Marlborough and Charles XII of Sweden.
The game will feature a tech tree for the first time in the series, that will allow players to research pure technologies as well as construct and upgrade buildings. One can infiltrate his opponent's universities and acquire their technologies, which can save much money and time. Players can choose to focus on a whole host of different technologies that give units new abilities on the battlefield, allow your artillery to develop new types of ordnance, improve ships' sailing and fighting performance. Other technologies will develop your economy and enable new buildings and infrastructure, and others will advance the educational level of your nation and speed up future research. As an example, this will offer players better infantry which can reload and fire faster, or change into different formations more quickly. As technology advances, this will be reflected in the bayonets used, ranging from plug bayonets, which prevent firing, to socket bayonets which do not interfere with loading, aiming, and firing. Players can also advance to a level where they can begin to use primitive gunpowder mines, which are unreliable but still quite deadly, and can be triggered by the player. Players are also able to advance to such a degree so as to be able to use steam ships, giving them an advantage over sail-based ships, even though steam ships are outside the game's time frame.
Improvements to AI:
At the 2008 Leipzig Games Convention, Creative Assembly revealed several new features of the AI in a battle between British and Prussian troops using a demo of the game, where the British forces were controlled by AI, and the Prussians by one of the game developers. The battle showed that tactical decisions taken by the AI during a battle will depend on the strategic importance of the ground or settlement being fought over, and the AI's campaign goals. If it is defending for it's capital, the AI will fight to the last man. If it's defending a village of little importance, it will try to minimize losses while maximizing enemy casualties. In the battle, the British did not consider the settlement they were defending to be of importance, so it tried to keep losses at a minimum. During the battle, Prussian reinforcements arrived, altering the balance of the battle to their favor, and British withdrew from the town to avoid too many casualties. Withdrawals are also far more organized as the AI fights delaying actions and uses rear guard units that may occupy strategic buildings to slow down pursuing enemies and ensure the retreat of the army.
The naval battles feature:
Realistic damage model for ships. Tear sails and destroy masts with chain shots, cannon balls can kill men, destroy guns, smash through different parts of a ship's hull and sink it.
Realistic cannon fire.
Round shots, chain shots, and grapeshots.
Players can order their troops to fire at the gun ports, the decks of the ship, or at the sails.
Boarding action.
Dynamic weather that has a major impact on naval battles.
The battles on land have been given a makeover too:
Music makes its way into the battlefield in the form of bagpipes, drums, flutes and trumpets.
Weapons may jam and misfire, cannons can explode.
Generals shout orders at their troops as the regiment goes into combat or fires at enemies.
The battlefield becomes strewn with dead, dying and dismembered bodies.
A new cover mechanic. Units can take cover inside buildings and behind walls.
When fighting in hand to hand combat characters will evade, parry and block attacks
Field defenses can be set up before the battle and in real-time as well.
Weather will affect troop maneuverability and the effectiveness of weapons on the field. For instance rain can prevent muskets from firing, cause the ground to become muddy making cannonballs sink rather than bounce off, and slow down the speed of cavalry.
Artillery can now be ordered to fire at a specific location to discourage the enemy from advancing beyond a certain point.
Some cavalry units can be dismounted before and during the battle, such as dragoons.
Certain units, such as skirmishers or light infantry, will be trained to use a stance, in order to decrease vulnerability.
Released Factions
In 1700, France is the pre-eminent power in Western Europe, with an unrivalled army, vast colonies and a King who is respected and feared by all, both at home and abroad. Few nations pose any real threat to his well-equipped armies and heavily fortified borders.
The French Bourbon dynasty is strong, even though Louis XIV is aging. There are sons and relations aplenty, with legitimate claims to many titles. To the south, the lack of a Hapsburg heir in Spain – and the feeble-mindedness of Charles II – means that a Bourbon could one day rule in Madrid. A course of action that brings this about has much to recommend it. Of course, not all offshoots of the Hapsburg line are weak as their Spanish cousins. The Austrian Habsburgs, and other European nations, may not be entirely willing to see a Frenchman or French nominee as King of Spain. No matter.
France is surrounded by possibilities, and beyond Europe there are other continents to conquer and colonise: New France in North America, and the riches of India. The untrustworthy British may have to be swept aside or crushed, but what is wrong with that?
As the new century dawns, Sweden is a strong, aggressive state, surrounded by jealous rivals from whom she has taken territory in the last hundred years. To the east, the Russians would like unhindered access to the Baltic, and therefore Western Europe beyond. To the south, Poland-Lithuania wants its lost lands back. To the west, the other Scandinavian nations want independence or an end to Swedish domination of the Baltic.
In all these potential threats, however, lurk opportunities for those bold enough to seize the chance. Individually, Sweden’s rivals are not quite as threatening as they might appear: Russia is huge, that much is true, but incredibly backwards. There is no reason why the Baltic, as a Swedish “Mare Nostrum”, cannot become the basis of a new Northern, Protestant empire. Sweden’s armies are the equal of any in Europe, and her navy is not without resources and skill. With a home empire secured, who is to say that an overseas empire cannot be taken and held too?
This Turkish, Islamic empire supplanted the Orthodox Byzantine Empire in the 15th Century and since then it has had a continuing, if not always whole-hearted, ambition to expand further westwards into the heart of Europe. In living memory Turkish armies have reached the gates of Vienna, Austria, only to be turned back by the steadfast defenders. Turkish expansionism has always been a part of palace politics: when a Sultan has felt secure at home he has attacked Europe; when a Sultan has felt threatened by his Janissary military commanders, he has sent them to attack.
The Ottomans face challenges but within these are great opportunities. The army and navy look old fashioned compared to those of some states, but the soldiers of the Sultan are numerous indeed. Strategically, the Empire is in a potentially strong position: the Balkans are a natural bastion to defend Istanbul, and a possible springboard for conquest into central Europe. There may even be valuable allies to be found among Austria’s rivals: the authority of the Pope to stop his European flock making treaties with infidels is all but gone. Control of the Mediterranean would allow a Sultan to do as he please with the smaller European powers. And to the east, the route to India offers the chance of riches.
As an island nation, Britons have always looked to, as Shakespeare puts it:
“…the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall, as a moat defensive to a house…”
Britain’s strength lies at sea, but in trade and colonisation as much as naval power. Trade taxes pay for the navy; the navy allows unhindered trade. The English Channel keeps the French at bay and, to a lesser extent, the Dutch. With Dutchman William III on the British throne, there is ambivalence in the traditional rivalry with the Netherlands!
The English and Scots like to think that they can sleep safe, that no foreign invader or tyranny need worry them. They are partly right, but only as long as there is no centralised Continental power. A nation that can unite the resources of Europe will surely crush the dream of Albion. This, then, is the fundamental aim of Britain: to side with the weak in Europe against the strong – and steal as many overseas possessions as possible while doing it!
Dutch merchantmen range across the world’s oceans, and the wealth of the world passes through Dutch ports. Dutchmen can be found trading in the Indies, where they give the locals a run for their money, and the Caribbean. They are everywhere, in fact, where there is a profit to be made. Spanish claims to the New World and its trade are cheerfully ignored, as are Spanish threats. The Dutch have learned to live with Hapsburg threats hanging over their heads. Having beaten off brutal attempts to bring them to heel, the Dutch now have little love for Hapsburg-ruled Spain or Austria. A distant Catholic emperor holds no appeal for them. An expansionist France, on the other hand, does bear watching, and guarding against.
Other rivals close at hand are now less of a threat than they used to be. The British have been… tamed is too strong a word… brought to their senses by having a good, honest Dutchman on their throne. William III of Orange was an acceptable Protestant ruler for the British when they needed one. His presence has done much to calm relations, especially as the equally-mercantile British have designs on world trade that should rightfully be Dutch!
For the future, the Dutch have much to be hopeful about. They have a strong navy, and a tradition of victory. There is wealth aplenty in every corner of the world, if only the Dutch have the will to go and take it!
Now, however, Russia is changing, awakening. It is beginning to look outwards, towards the best that the rest of the world has to offer in terms of ideas, culture and might. These things must be introduced carefully, to avoid the ills of free-thinking that beset some Western nations. When Russia does fully realise its strength, however, it will be formidable indeed. It has boundless resources to draw upon, and the steadfast courage of its people to bolster its armies. It can be a formidable foe, and a difficult one for an enemy to attack. One thing that Russia does have is endless space, and the lack of apparently defensible frontiers actually becomes a defence in itself. Invaders can be lured deep into the steppes, and left to the mercies of “General Winter” and Russia’s endless, empty lands.
To the west lies the wealth of Europe and access to the wider world through a port on the Baltic. That the troublesome Swedes are in the way is a bonus, for they will have to be crushed! To the south, there are fellow Slavs and Orthodox Christians in the Balkans to be incorporated into a Greater Russian empire. The infidel Turks have lands and wealth aplenty too, but possibly the strength to defend them.
And beyond, there is a wider world awaiting conquest by the sons of the Mother Russia.
last updated- 12/11/08
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