Q&A with CA - Question thread

Much to our delight, we've been able to organise a Q&A session with some representatives from CA, and we'd like you to help us organise the questions.

The way this will work is pretty simple. If you've got any questions for CA relating to the new feature of Naval battles in ETW, you can post them up here. In about a week's time, I'll close off the submission period and collate the questions.

Once we've sent them off, CA will pick some of the more interesting ones to answer, and we'll provide you with those answers.

Thanks must go to CA, and in particular Mark O'Connell, for making this possible

So...if you've got some questions on naval battles in ETW, now's the time to ask them

How GREAT will the damage be reflected on each ship after each battle,?
and if it does reflect the damage in each ship,
will the ship sink based on the damage it got in battle ?

Will you be able to use Medieval 2 Total Kingdoms feature [ Controlling Allied Armies ] in this game , so you will be able to Control more ships in battle ?

Will commanding ships and infantry such as riflemans in-board be controlled only as a unit or as two whole diferent units when fighting at open sea ?

Will there be battles in sea , where you carry units to land , a special kind of scenario like a landing mission ( kind of like D-Day ) ?

when blockading a port. The goods that were destined to the blockaded port , can be stolen by the blockader ?

when fighting at open sea. will you be able to drop cannons and heavy stuff in your ships , so youre lighter and have more chances to escape the fight or say Route ?

After a sea battle , will there be a special kind of animation showing the prisoners you took , executing them or making them jump off board ?

will this game have guest appearances like Popeye, Jack Sparrow and/or Captain Hook ? haha :p

1. Will each faction have a different naval roster?
2. Will the player be encouraged to have variation amongst the types of vessels?
3. Can the crew with the guns on the ship do any considerable damage?
4. Will there be any terrain or obstacles(Rocks, Ice, Sand, Shallow) in naval confrontations or is it all in the open blue?
5. If a unit is on board a ship being transported, will they be able to fight in the Naval battle?
Thank you

How will transporting troops via ships be handled? IE: When moving an army via ships, will the transporting ships take part in naval battles when attacked, and if so, will the transported troops take part in boarding actions etc... Also, how will casualties to the army work as a result of a lost battle?

1) "Many of the Total War fans felt slightly disappointed at the advancement seen by Medieval Total War II given the stunning advancements seen in Rome Total War. While the game indeed already looks stunning, what can we expect to see in terms of improvements beyond aesthetics ie. mechanics?"

2) "In previous titles, the diplomacy has felt rather lacking due to the frustratingly treacherous nature of the AI. What improvements can we expect to see in this respect?"

3) "As the Total War series makes the jump to the gunpowder age, will Empire Total War see terrain deformation and manipulation ie. cratering and charring after an artillery bombardment and what can be expected of the physics?"

I better just point out here, since maybe I didn't make it obvious enough in my first post, that what we're looking for here are questions primarily regarding naval battles. There will certainly be a chance for questions on other things to be answered later on, but not now

How will firing salvos be handled? Is it manual or do we just set a target and let the AI decide when to fire?

How will protecting trade routes be handled? Are convoys controllable/Attackable units or passive?

Will there be anything special about the ship carrying the admiral? Is there a flagship dynamic?

Will there be any kind of ship vs fort battle, which would keep fleets from landing their troops? Such as the siege of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.

Can ships repair on the move or at foreign ports?

Will the goddess Calypso create any giant maelstroms that will suck down ships into an epic duel?

Will admirals be more important than they are now and fully useable like generals? Also, will we be allowed to merge the fleets of two admirals who have command stars and not get the "this is the ranking admiral's ship, he will not give up command" message?

Will any kind of command be implemented in battle, such as flags showing orders? If so, would there be some kind of penalty if the flagship is sunk?

Will we be able to capture the enemy's ships during battle and then use them as well during the same battle?

WILL ships be able to bombard land targets in costal battles?

Originally Posted by gumby7

Will there be any kind of ship vs fort battle, which would keep fleets from landing their troops? Such as the siege of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812.

One post only please. Keep this thread clean so people are able to look through it easier. -Empress Meg

Will Ships Captains play a more important role, ie as faction members, be able to get married/recieve promotions?

Some really good questions!

I too would like to know if Admirals now will have equal standing with Generals.

When blockading a port does the defender have the ability to have the port defended by its own guns?

How will trade routes and ships be represented in this game? How is it possible to interact with trade ships?

Are the different types of shot used by our ships open to us, or are most of them a technological advance that we have to research?

If we are allied with another nation and their ships are by mine when I get into a Naval battle will they be allowed to join in? Will the AI be heavily worked on so this doesnt become a major problem with this new aspect of TW?

Are amphibous assaults included?

Additionally to blocking trade routes, will it be possible to actually attack trade vessels? I'd like to see my sloop or any small vessel of mine patrol the enemy's trade routes and have the choice whether to attack these or not.

Can we choose between using coordinated and uncoordinated fusillades (free fire)?

Will it be possible to upgrade our vessels' cannons? Will this be limited by the ships' size?

1- r we goin to c pirates raiding our ships?
2- ships vs ports battles?
3- do we have to return back 2 a port to repair ships or can it be done in the middle of the sea?!!!!

My Questions:

1. Will amphibious landings/assaults be included?

2. Naval warfare has always been separate in the totalwar series, will players have the ability to support their Land force with Naval support such as an artillery barrage?

3. If a land battle is fought near the coast and ships are present, will we be able to see the ships in the background like in RTW?

Originally Posted by Farnan

Are amphibious assaults included?

ditto.

Also:

1. Will the player be able to convert ships into onetime use fireships?
2. I am assuming that crew veterancy will be vastly more important than ship quality (as far as combat performance), is this true? Could you extrapolate on the veterancy/reinforcement system?
3. How long (in turns or years) will the average battleship take to construct?
4. Will we be able to name our favorite ships (in either campaign or multiplayer)?

Thanks CA, for the opportunity for us fans to get some feedback! Looking forward to the Q&A.

Cheers

1. How much control will you have over the amount of sail? eg None at all the ability to pick a fraction like 1/4 1/2 3/4 or control over every single sail

2. Will automatic sail combinations be realistic depending on the direction and strength of the wind? eg studdingsails when the wind is 4 points abaft the beam

3. Will too much sail cause spars or mast to carry away?

4. Will you be able to train your gun crews for better speed and accuracy? eg extra upkeep cost for practice powder

5. Will you be able to chase a ship, rather than have a fight with it in a set battlefield, meaning a ship can be slower than you and get away from you?

6. Will captains have traits that change the efficiency and morale of the crew?

7. Will you be able to warp ships?

8. Will you be able to pick and choose between captains and admirals?

Will there be a set Battle map (like the battle square in other TW titles) with bounderies, or will there be a greater freedom of movement?

Will you have the option of out-running other ships on the battle map as not to get stuck in hopeless battles?

Thank You!

Will the navy battles be simply scaled down (you set a max battle size of say, 15 ships, so if you attack with a navy of 30 ships against 15, you fight with 10 against 5) or will the navies be like stacks in M2TW, with a max number of ships per navy? Or will it work some other way..

Will the destructible aspect of ships i.e. masts falling over and holes in the side of your ship be the same as the uniform building destructible thing that was part of Medieval 2, or will it be more random so I don't see the exact same hole in two different ships and they are always new holes and destroyed parts.