E:TW General Discussion Forum
The dust has died down; the combatants resting from the foray into new territory and the lines has been drawn. CA’s newly previewed Empire: Total War has brought a ton of new questions, theories, hypotheses, and concepts to the fore. While it does have it detractors, Empire is certainly causing a buzz on the forums.
Since the first few hectic weeks have died down, people have begun to take an increased interest in the historical aspects of the games. Community members have outlined their favorite factions or posted their ideal uniform composition and even decided to talk about facial hair of all things. In an attempt to demonstrate the largess of the speculatory questions posed in the forums, I’ve collected a few samples of the more popular or bizarre threads for the casual TWC reader.
On the main forum board the thread
How will you change history? has been moving up and down the first couple of pages for some time now. Answers have ranged from becoming “the new Napoleon” by Beren Arnatuilë to invading “India for the hell of it” from The Man With No Name. It appears that even though E:TW is a long way off, people have desires for world domination. They have every right to, from what we are able to gather from the limited info CA has released, Empire’s campaign map is said to encompass a larger spread of the world map then the previous game in the series. How it will be implemented is anyone’s guess of course. Incendentally, if you are interested in the map itself, check out
The Empire Total War Map thread.
A thread that has been getting a lot of traffic is slightly comical in its detail and nit-picking. To ensure that history is not compromised in Empires, a plea has been sent out to CA to watch their – mustaches. (Cue the laughing or sighing now.) Yes facial hair may not be top priority on many people’s lists, but modders and history buffs can well understand the detail required of making a game feel just right. Facial hair as well as braids and hair queues have significance in this era. Many armies required their foot-slogging soldiers to powder and queue their hair in just such a way as to look prim and pretty for battles and inspections. Men who were in elite units, grenadiers, carabiniers, cuirassiers and so on, were allowed to wear facial hair or even made to wear “pigtails” to show off their elevated status to the rest of the army and their enemies. While “big whoop” might be the best response to this thread, I recommend a quick glance over it for sheer enjoyment and its somewhat peculiar topic. You never know, you may want to bring back a hairstyle or two.
Mustaches 
thread for CA
Did you feel slightly empty as far as diplomacy and political interactions went in RTW and M2TW? Felt that your ally was a back-stabber and good for nothing? Did you want something more from your faction heir? Did you enjoy rebellions just to allow for some spunk it your otherwise drab diplomatic life? These folks felt the same way and are discussing what Empire will offer to those who want more depth in their empire management. In
a republics faction leader & Generals community members are trying to figure out how the diplomatic situations during this time frame are going to work. Two major revolutions happened during this time period (The French and American) to throw down the long institutionalized monarchies of the past era and games. CA’s Empire Total War will have to tread delicately and with more attention to micromanagement as far as the ruling powers that be are concerned. How will revolution be handled in E:TW? totalwarrior007 believes that, “if a city or cities rebel in say [F]rance, they would become the [R]epublic of [F]rance, then there would be two [F]rench factions, a kingdom and republic, both with there own leaders and diplomacy.” An interesting suggestion, but where does that leave the AI and can the new engine handle such things? It reminds me of Medieval Total war (the first one) when an unruly prince could revolt and take half of your empire just because he could!
Another question that has come up due to these rebellions asks how Republics will work in the game. Republics generally elect their leaders; they are not born into the position of state, though this can of course be argued elsewhere. So, how will E:TW mimic this with factions like the fledging Americas? Will the Colonials be able to rule themselves? Will a George Washington figure still be able to fight battles even though most US presidents did not lead their troops in smoke and screams of war? Will they be quill pushers or sword wavers? Ahiga has this to say about Republic faction leaders, “what would be interesting is to have him [the faction leader] be an AI-controlled character. One who gives your Generals orders much like the Pope did. It doesn't seem viable for a Leader of a Republic to lead battles - I imagine there are exceptions, but it would seem peculiar.”
One last thread from the Empire General Discussion forum might prove useful to those who feel Empire might have a very sterile or drab feel to it due to its lack of unit types. An ambitious Destraex is collecting unit rosters in
ETW Potential Unit List - please add yours.
While it is true that you can only have so many different types of dudes with guns, it is surprising the amount of variations of artillery, horsemen and infantry units the 1700 and 1800’s managed to pump out. In the tradition of CA, we’ll have plenty to choose from, with the larger nations having more varied units of course and the smaller nations less as proportionate to their resources. I will wager to say that there will be a very wide selection of units to choose from. Look the list over and see what the unit rosters might be in E:TW and feel free to add your own historical unit to the mix.
Here are a few other threads that might perk your interest-
**For those of you who have your doubts about Empire Total War and want to express your views as to why the game will never met your exceptions join in to the conversation in the following thread. Be warned, it seems like you might be outnumbered, but then again it is early days!
Doubts about longevity and replayability
Rather weird era for the game ?
**Every TW forum has this one, so might as well help you find it easier. What is your favorite faction? True, you cannot play the game to figure this out, but if you were going to give E:TW a try, what faction would you prefer?
Your favorite faction?
**Want to actually see what warfare was like in these days? Check out this thread that is wholly dedicated to short video clips of guys getting their limps shattered and guts splayed out in their gaily coloured uniforms.
short movies to get you in an Empire mood.
E:TW Historical Discussion Forum
In light of so much information being posted on Empire Total War, a subforum was created to house the technical and historically based articles. The Historical Research Center forum features faction threads and explanations of troop types along with the occasional “what if?” or supposition remarks. This forum has also given birth to two specific boards: Wars and Battles and Ships and Naval Power.
One of the most promising threads in terms of debate is
The Slave Trade in E:TW This thread is one of the forerunners for good discussion. It is not only a what if slavery will make an appearance in Empire Total War question, but also a heated but polite debate as far as the moral issues are concerned. We have seen after all that both RTW and M2TW have incorporated the means of human bondage into the trade aspect, but will Empire take this further and make it a paramount issue? King Arsen muses, “Im sure that you will be given the options to either slaughter the enemy, show them mercy ... or just use them and earn profit. Maybe even something else more in depth that they include as a new feature.” morteduzionism worries that, “somebody is going to try and be...PC...about the issue”. So it’s fairly divided right now as far as how in-depth the slave trade will be in Empire.
However, this thread is ideal for those folks who are curious to see what happens to the slave trade during this time period. These are the times when men began to realize how cruel and foul the slave trade was, but also a time when money, territorial gain and trade were coming to the fore of political ambitions. Money talked but so too did the small but dedicated group of individuals who wanted freedom for all human kind. One of the most unprecedented cases for the abolition of slavery occurred during this time and made an already distinguished English Judge into a key and, if I may say, legendary figure.
Would you rather discuss something lighter? How about looking over the very decorative
Let's discuss...UNIFORMS!!! thread? Anything from puffy pantaloons to powder wigs or buckled shoes and cravats can be found here. While these guys may not be knights in shinning armour ready to hack into a foeman, they do express the national pride armies began to feel at this time. Before this era, lorded gentry who could dress their men any way they wished controlled armies. In the time of Empire, uniforms really meant uniformed. Unit began to think as a cohesive unit as men began to dress in the same get-ups as their comrades. The money was being paid not by their colonel but by their nation. Food, provisions and mess kits were “sold” to them via national depots and uniforms were produced by the nation. Of course as with anything, the styles changed over time to incorporate the latest fashion, the whim of a king’s mistress or the colonel’s tastes. But in any of these cases there was still a strict rule to be followed. As always, please be respectful when you post pictures and include any citation necessary.
There are too many faction threads to go over, just know that if you have a particular favorite faction from the Medieval or even Roman era there is a good chance that history lovers and the occasional novice researcher are already hard at work dissecting the relevant history. Spain, Prussia, Portugal, France, Sweden and Poland all have their threads. If you are curious about some of the more unique, I am very careful to not say “small” here, nations have also cropped up. The Barbary States, Ayutthaya/Siamese (Thailand), Morocco, and Somalis all have their mention and motley group of supporters. I will let the reader peruse the E:TW Research Forum at their leisure instead of posting all of the links here. (Unless there is a demand from the populace!)
A soldier’s life is not an easy one. You are away from your home and family, the food is poor, days are long and death is closer in this profession then in most others. The same goes for the boys in Empire. These guys had to fight and die like any other solider, but The Sword of Cao Cao wonders, “ what techniques [a] soldier during this era used to survive’? A great question since, as he mentioned, troopers did not have the protection of shields like they did in RTW or M2TW. How then did a man live in the ranks when separated only by 50 yards or so with hundreds of muskets leveled at him? Go to the
How did a soldier survive in this era? thread to find out more.
That’s it for now folks. I hope that you have gotten a general idea as to what your fellow forum members have to say about Empire. If you are not into the glory and guts of this era, then perhaps a few of these threads might have perked your interest. If not, more’s the pity! For now, it appears that most TWC members a quite happy to hoist the eagles or black flags and ride into glory with sabres wavering and cannons thundering in the background.
Re: First ES issue
Well done for resurrecting it, looking forward to the next weeks! 
Originally Posted by Empress Meg
