The (Old) Official ETW Criticism Thread

[Aypse]

NNNOOOOOOoooooooo!

I had a great GC going with the Barbary States. Tons of naval battles where my swarms of Light Galleys go up against 3-5 5th/6th rates and an epic land battle resulting in capturing a settlement. 30ish turns in and its really been great fun trying to get a foothold with limited money and at war with everyone except for 3 countries.

Now I CTD every time I hit the end turn button and it goes to venice's turn. So I am stuck.

[verena xeventus]

So this is the place for rants... cool...


AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP *** CRASHING ON ME! GOD DAMN GAME! Christ what happened to employing game testers???????? and testing the sodding thing before releasing something so OBVIOUSLY bugged! GOD SAKE!

ok rant over, thanks, feel better for that.

[Smythes]

Im not gong to rant about what other people have already said as regards the evident negatives.

Ive taken to fighting MP battles at the slow speed - simply so I can absorb the beuaitful detail that has gone into the combat between the infantry. The muzzle flashes, the falling casualties, the cavalry charges, the bouncing artillery rounds...breathtaking.

Then we tried the naval combat on MP - awesome as ships pound each other to matchwood, catch fire and sink with struggling sailors in the water. The last game I played we formed our two fleets into as long line astern, 12 ships long. The Swedish and the Pirates of the AI did the same thing!!!! a bit of an OMG moment, as we sailed along line to line and our ships engaged each other.

Very very very pretty. I have a battle replay which I will be watching latert to watch the action. This is the essence of the game, where Ca have scored a big win - great to watch, spectacular and beautiful.

However, I have questions marks over my mind in that there is a distincy similarity between the forces bar the non-european ones. I knew when the game was put up that changes in military technology were so suttle as to be unnoticabale in a large scale in this game and they are as regards the basic facts of combat, line infantry vs line infantry with little difference between them.

That is taking some getting used too, and I have yet to decide if it is a really big problem, as if it becoems a problem for me combat will become very dull very quickly.

I get the feeling that they have put all the bang in the graphics rather than perfecting the game enginee which has a lot of bugs as mentioned previously. Playing o nthe easy level of the grand campaign - want to up it to hard to see if it spices up the diplomacy as in Europe in the 1700's as I get feeling that there shuld be a lot more dynamic AI actions going on? PErhaps its the level im on?

Does anyone else not think this is a BEAUTIFUL game, if buggy?

[stupiddk]

Im not gong to rant about what other people have already said as regards the evident negatives.

Ive taken to fighting MP battles at the slow speed - simply so I can absorb the beuaitful detail that has gone into the combat between the infantry. The muzzle flashes, the falling casualties, the cavalry charges, the bouncing artillery rounds...breathtaking.

Then we tried the naval combat on MP - awesome as ships pound each other to matchwood, catch fire and sink with struggling sailors in the water. The last game I played we formed our two fleets into as long line astern, 12 ships long. The Swedish and the Pirates of the AI did the same thing!!!! a bit of an OMG moment, as we sailed along line to line and our ships engaged each other.

Very very very pretty. I have a battle replay which I will be watching latert to watch the action. This is the essence of the game, where Ca have scored a big win - great to watch, spectacular and beautiful.

However, I have questions marks over my mind in that there is a distincy similarity between the forces bar the non-european ones. I knew when the game was put up that changes in military technology were so suttle as to be unnoticabale in a large scale in this game and they are as regards the basic facts of combat, line infantry vs line infantry with little difference between them.

That is taking some getting used too, and I have yet to decide if it is a really big problem, as if it becoems a problem for me combat will become very dull very quickly.

I get the feeling that they have put all the bang in the graphics rather than perfecting the game enginee which has a lot of bugs as mentioned previously. Playing o nthe easy level of the grand campaign - want to up it to hard to see if it spices up the diplomacy as in Europe in the 1700's as I get feeling that there shuld be a lot more dynamic AI actions going on? PErhaps its the level im on?

Does anyone else not think this is a BEAUTIFUL game, if buggy?

"A Ferrari needs a paint job and wax to shine".

Sure, the engine may be in place and the body is there, but the game itself needs a really good paint job.

[Anelysium]

Two campaigns broken entirely.

Crashes every few turns.

I have to fight battles while besieging a city fifty ing times because of the goddamn bug that resets the siege and respawns their militia.

No threat from sea invasions.

Battle and campaign AI is stupid as .

Why the hell did I buy this game again? Feels like I definitely got ripped off, damn near fraudulently.

[twynn]

I guess i understand that the reason for a less aggressive a.i. is to try to keep europe more or less historical. When I played RTW and MTW and MTWII it was war 85% of the time. My generals got huge stacks of stars from the years in war. in ETW my generals die of old age before seeing a campaign. If i wanted a game where I could avoid war for along time while building up my country in europe i would play Europa Universalis. Please, some modder make the maps bigger so the cities are further apart so there will be battles instead of simply marching from city to city. I really dont know the solution to the aggression problem. With the regions the way they are if factions were as aggressive as they were in other tw games 50% of the countries would be gone in less than 10 years.
Ok that being said, I am enjoying the game. BTW im playing on h/h and I love it when France or Spain declars war on me (UP) with 2 units in the city closest to me.
I know i changed lanes a few times without signaling, im done now lol
/rant off.

[TehSuperPete]

I guess i understand that the reason for a less aggressive a.i. is to try to keep europe more or less historical. When I played RTW and MTW and MTWII it was war 85% of the time. My generals got huge stacks of stars from the years in war. in ETW my generals die of old age before seeing a campaign. If i wanted a game where I could avoid war for along time while building up my country in europe i would play Europa Universalis. Please, some modder make the maps bigger so the cities are further apart so there will be battles instead of simply marching from city to city. I really dont know the solution to the aggression problem. With the regions the way they are if factions were as aggressive as they were in other tw games 50% of the countries would be gone in less than 10 years.
Ok that being said, I am enjoying the game. BTW im playing on h/h and I love it when France or Spain declars war on me (UP) with 2 units in the city closest to me.
I know i changed lanes a few times without signaling, im done now lol
/rant off.

Abit off-topic, but if you can avoid war for a long time while building up your country in Europa Universalis, you're either playing on easy difficulty settings or with a far too easy country. Europa Universalis has always been more challenging for wars than the Total War games.

[Tariq]

Abit off-topic, but if you can avoid war for a long time while building up your country in Europa Universalis, you're either playing on easy difficulty settings or with a far too easy country. Europa Universalis has always been more challenging for wars than the Total War games.

Don't forget that Naval transports and Invasions actually work in EU3 , and AI...there is an AI actually.

[Björneborgs regemente]

I guess i understand that the reason for a less aggressive a.i. is to try to keep europe more or less historical. When I played RTW and MTW and MTWII it was war 85% of the time. My generals got huge stacks of stars from the years in war. in ETW my generals die of old age before seeing a campaign. If i wanted a game where I could avoid war for along time while building up my country in europe i would play Europa Universalis. Please, some modder make the maps bigger so the cities are further apart so there will be battles instead of simply marching from city to city. I really dont know the solution to the aggression problem. With the regions the way they are if factions were as aggressive as they were in other tw games 50% of the countries would be gone in less than 10 years.
Ok that being said, I am enjoying the game. BTW im playing on h/h and I love it when France or Spain declars war on me (UP) with 2 units in the city closest to me.
I know i changed lanes a few times without signaling, im done now lol
/rant off.

They changed the old system and didnt have time to finish it.
The game came out as BETA and i can live with that if CA would just come out and promise to fix these things.

[Tariq]

They changed the old system and didnt have time to finish it.
The game came out as BETA and i can live with that if CA would just come out and promise to fix these things.

OK lets put some myths here to rest. I moded battle AI in one of the RTW mods for awhile , and after i did some testings i find it that it is same AI.

All the "tricks" that used to see(test) AI reactions on battlefield are still there , and there is no improvement at all.

It is a same battle AI as in Vanilla RTW and M2TW.Therefore , them not having time is not true, since they didn't change it at all.They just slightly adjusted for use with gunpowder units.

[caprera]

Except my hopes for a new Shogun, i think for now our first priority is for CA to support the community and fix Empire.

[Smythes]

..and why was Louis XVth on the throne in 1705? Zut Alors!!!! Not to mention the victorian crowd in the hanging pictures!!!!

[Raedwulf]

Don't get me wrong I love this game but the way units negotiate terrain in combat mode is pissin me off.

[Nebuchadnezzar]

It just ridiculous to place blame on SEGA shoulders alone and exempt CA from any wrong doing in this debacle. The developers should have been well aware of SEGA's "less than lustrous" past when they agreed to jump into bed with them. They also must share some of the responsibility for SEGA deciding to partner with the hook & bait rent-a-game king, valve.

I'm very thankfull for all the feedback (including the bashing) on this thread. I was initially wary of steam and disgusted at the state M2TW was left so relied on users feedback before rushing out to buy the next release. Thanks guys.

[Chaoticfist]

Wtf is wrong with the AI? They just sit there. I was playing as sweden and made my first plan to conquer poland. I did that, while poland put a fight up, the rest of Europe just sits there. I eventuly by the year 1750 had conquered all of poland, denmark, prussia, austria and all the minor central european nations. This is on hard btw.

i am now going to try playing on very hard and i hope there is some major action. None of the other powers make any serious moves for domination. Russia does not try and invade any serious areas, Britian does not make a move for Frances colonies. None of the nations will rise up and provide a serious threat when the player goes to make a grab for a serious chunk of European territirory no matter how hated you are.

After taking control of most of All of northern and central Europe through agressive campains the AI refuses to fight back. (they attack in battles, but dont make major moves on the Campain map.

[Mikhail Tomasovic]

should be in the rant thread... but im not a moderator. why not try on vh?

[Sorkenlol]

Yeah.. I'm on hard aswell, and there's about 2 wars active right now, and they're doing absolutely nothing. I'm 25 turns in and there hasn't been a single siege or territory expansion by any other faction than me. All cities have full stacks, and they just sit there.

[Legio]

Merged rant threads.

[Berdiche Knyaz]

Strangely enough, I actually like the Vanillas in just two weeks or so, then realise how bad they are and noticed that there are like 100 mods.

But oddly enough, I played this in just two days, and I disliked
Would I sell it? No
Why? Mods......

[hedges13]

i really am sick of ETW... i was so hyped up about it... but it really kind of sucks. SO MANY BUGS and GLITCHES... it is INFURIATING! You need to correct yourself CA... i mean everything from the AI not being proficient and transporting troops and attacking from sea to stuff as bad a a glitchy/jumpy campaign map. I am so disappointed CA... but do i have hope, yes...

MODS!