The Good and Bad of ETW...

[aeoleron9]

So I'm going to try organize the great new features or sadly missing ones into a list, since I'm bored with waiting. It's rather subjective as you can imagine. Most of this is taken from the demo experience, from the previews/interviews/reviews, and from CA's response here in the forums.


Bad:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

No speeches before battle
No prisoners
No bands/fifes/bagpipies
Reinforcement system reverted back to MTW style
Only 2v2 for custom battles(?) but 4v4 for Multiplayer
Small number of Major/Playable Factions
Potential Balance/Technical problems, such as Stakes, Cannons firing at trees etc
Various bugs and glitches

Good:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

All new Naval battles
Streamlined formations and pathfinding
Wide variety of unit abilities and fortifications
-Especially Dismounting in battle, which was missing in M2TW
Using Cover and Garrisoning Buildings
Replays for Campaign Battles
Units talk in native language
Overall smarter Battle AI
Campaign and Battle AI communicates (don't really know yet
Streamlined and huge Campaign Map
All new Technology system
Streamlined Recruitment
Streamlined Diplomacy
Streamlined Trade
Streamlined Agents
More field battles vs sieges
Streamlined intercept zone
Name your own units/ships!
No more camping on your neighbor's lands
Queens
Governments, Revolutions and Rebellions/Emerging Factions

Beta for Multiplayer Campaign coming after release

I'm still pretty bitter at their decision to go back to MTW's reinforcement system, but looking at the Good list I'm not as pissed anymore(it's so bloody long!). Already paid for the game, so might as well enjoy it rather than brood over it...

[Kewpur]

The battles are up to 4v4.

[aeoleron9]

Mind pointing me to where they confirmed this? Prof's community event thread said there's only 2v2.

[Kewpur]

Yes Prof said that. But I've heard many times that CA confirmed 8 player maps.

[Sashko]

No blood is a biggie

[Quadratus]

You had a longer list "good" list than your "bad" list, which means

[Sir Winston Churchill]

No speeches before battle
No prisoners
Reinforcement system reverted back to MTW style
Only 2v2 for custom and multiplayer battles
Small number of Major/Playable Factions
Potential Balance/Technical problems, such as Stakes, Cannons firing at trees etc
Various bugs and glitches

-Dude, there have never been speeches before historical battles.
-Dude, its not the full game, we havent seen the aftermath of said battles, thus we don't know.
-Ok
-Thats bad?
-I can agree with that, gets under my skin too.
-All fixed possibly in the full version, and will def be fixed by patches
-No game has ever not had these. (except maybe pong )

So to anyone else that says "Well theres no prisoners! No speeches! No this or that!" ITS THE DEMO. NOT THE FULL GAME. WHAT DID YOU EXPECT!? THE DEMO IS ONLY 2GB OF 15GB+ SO ITS NOT LIKE THEY HAVE EVERYTHING.


COOOOOOOOOOL DOOOOOOOOOWN.

[lesterthenerd]

So to anyone else that says "Well theres no prisoners! No speeches! No this or that!" ITS THE DEMO. NOT THE FULL GAME. WHAT DID YOU EXPECT!? THE DEMO IS ONLY 2GB OF 15GB+ SO ITS NOT LIKE THEY HAVE EVERYTHING.


COOOOOOOOOOL DOOOOOOOOOWN.

the guy who had played the full game said he didnt see any prisoners or speeches in the game.

[Bernsy]

Most of this is taken from the demo experience, from the previews/interviews/reviews, and from CA's response here in the forums.

This is what he said in the first place.

-Dude, there have never been speeches before historical battles.
-Dude, its not the full game, we havent seen the aftermath of said battles, thus we don't know.
-Ok
-Thats bad?
-I can agree with that, gets under my skin too.
-All fixed possibly in the full version, and will def be fixed by patches
-No game has ever not had these. (except maybe pong )

So to anyone else that says "Well theres no prisoners! No speeches! No this or that!" ITS THE DEMO. NOT THE FULL GAME. WHAT DID YOU EXPECT!? THE DEMO IS ONLY 2GB OF 15GB+ SO ITS NOT LIKE THEY HAVE EVERYTHING.


COOOOOOOOOOL DOOOOOOOOOWN.

So there is no need to bash him for rating the demo as stated.

[Stressball]

What's the MTW style of reinforcements?

[Osskssa]

-Dude, there have never been speeches before historical battles.
-Dude, its not the full game, we havent seen the aftermath of said battles, thus we don't know.
-Ok
-Thats bad?
-I can agree with that, gets under my skin too.
-All fixed possibly in the full version, and will def be fixed by patches
-No game has ever not had these. (except maybe pong )

So to anyone else that says "Well theres no prisoners! No speeches! No this or that!" ITS THE DEMO. NOT THE FULL GAME. WHAT DID YOU EXPECT!? THE DEMO IS ONLY 2GB OF 15GB+ SO ITS NOT LIKE THEY HAVE EVERYTHING.


COOOOOOOOOOL DOOOOOOOOOWN.

He didnt say historical battles!

[Sir Winston Churchill]

He didnt say historical battles!

no, but seeing as hes taking this from the demo, all you could play with historical battles.

[aeoleron9]

seems to answer my question, and it doesn't bother me much, specially with the "new and improved" AI, which will perhaps react more intelligently when it arrives on the field

The better AI won't help at all, because you can no longer let the AI control your reinforcements. They all have to wait outside, and then trickle in one by one into your control, as your original units rout or get killed.

[Godless Pickle]

Well Im glad the good list is longer than the bad list....

What's the MTW style of reinforcements?

To choose if the AI commands the reinforcement or if once you loose a unit it is replaced by a reinforcement unit. Not the best way of handling things, but with the better AI Im sure it'll work out.

[Timefool]

To choose if the AI commands the reinforcement or if once you loose a unit it is replaced by a reinforcement unit. Not the best way of handling things, but with the better AI Im sure it'll work out.

It was horrible because the AI would walk the units up while the enemy was charging your lines. By the time they arrived, they were only mopping up the fleeing enemies, and that was of no real use to me.

[RandarKal]

To choose if the AI commands the reinforcement or if once you loose a unit it is replaced by a reinforcement unit. Not the best way of handling things, but with the better AI Im sure it'll work out.

Sounds like RTW's system as well...never played MTW, and my current computer can't run M2TW...so i guess just to figure out what people are upset about, is it different in M2TW then RTW/MTW? or were people expecting it to change for some reason?


EDIT:

In Kingdoms you have a limited control over AI reinforcements, you can tell them to run or walk, attack or hold ground etc. But they've obviously gave up on implementing it in ETW.

seems to answer my question, and it doesn't bother me much, specially with the "new and improved" AI, which will perhaps react more intelligently when it arrives on the field

[aeoleron9]

OK I found it, looks like one less item on the Bad list

http://shoguntotalwar.yuku.com/reply...5#reply-612415

There are some 4v4 maps that are MP only, and yes of course there are custom battles.

So the custom battles are probably 2v2 max, but multiplayer can have 4v4s.

[aeoleron9]

In Kingdoms you have a limited control over AI reinforcements, you can tell them to run or walk, attack or hold ground etc. But they've obviously gave up on implementing it in ETW.

[Stressball]

Ah, what about retraining? I thought at first it meant the MTW style of retraining, and that would have been terrible since there was no retraining.

[spanish_emperor]

Well i hope that square formations actually have 3 ranks or more in huge settings cause i would hate to see just 2!!