The TW games longevity,still playing any TW?

[pajomife]

I used to play the former total war games until the next realize,not every day of course but I barley spent a week without back to the game.Even Empire remains in my comp until Napoleon sorts,but this last game,better than empire, just keep my attention for 3 or 4 moths ,I try to back to the game but after a couple of turns im bored and even using mods, no one gives me a different gameplay.Maybe im tired of this formula or maybe the lack of total conventions mods are the cause, but the fact is ,the new games don't have the same value if we see the relationship price/time playing. But it could be just me,or not?Do you still having fun?

[Chyeaaaa111]

Couldn't agree more. Still play M2 mods (SS and TATW) pretty much every day. Haven't touched NTW in a couple months and ETW in over half a year. I'm positive the reason is the lack of total conversion mods.

[beerin]

RTW mods and MTW mods only ones now

[Duffo]

I just bought napoleon and it should arrive tomorrow so I think I'll be playing that. Now I have played empire mp mostly or some other games. I'll play rtw again when RSII comes.

[Rotaugen2009]

I still play all of them except Medieval 1, so it depends on what time period/setting I am in the mood for at the moment.

[Brusilov]

RTW mods mainly. I had been beta testing RSII for what seems lilke years.....

I've not played M2:TW or mods for a long time now.

As N:TW has been released I've not touched E:TW - after all isn't N:TW a working E:TW? Well, better than E:TW anyway.

[BoratHighFive]

RTW mods mainly. I had been beta testing RSII for what seems lilke years.....

I've not played M2:TW or mods for a long time now.

As N:TW has been released I've not touched E:TW - after all isn't N:TW a working E:TW? Well, better than E:TW anyway.

Haha, you're right, I bought NTW because I wanted a bug-free ETW. Took me 5 minutes to end a turn in ETW, only a few seconds in NTW.

[Rotaugen2009]

RTW mods mainly. I had been beta testing RSII for what seems lilke years.....

I've not played M2:TW or mods for a long time now.

As N:TW has been released I've not touched E:TW - after all isn't N:TW a working E:TW? Well, better than E:TW anyway.

True, NTW outshines ETW. I go back to ETW occasionally for the American campaign or to use mods to play Native Americans. I might even load up a campaign as India to use the elephants.

[Brusilov]

Haha, you're right, I bought NTW because I wanted a bug-free ETW. Took me 5 minutes to end a turn in ETW, only a few seconds in NTW.

I have a feeling that they may have gone back and patched E:TW again after N:TW was released.

I didn't have as many problems as most people with the early E:TW - but getting an 'out of video memory' error message when I had a pair of GTX280s was a bit much.

True, NTW outshines ETW. I go back to ETW occasionally for the American campaign or to use mods to play Native Americans. I might even load up a campaign as India to use the elephants.

Yes, I've enjoyed the Warpath campaign a few times.

I did play the Indian factions (Maratha) a couple of times in the main camnpaign as well.

If they really covered the world that was affected by the Napoleonic Wars then they should have included the Carribean and India - after all that is where Arthur Wellesley first showed promise as a general.

[alpaca]

Especially Napoleon lacks replayability. The smaller campaigns mean that you don't have as much freedom and the Grand Campaign has only 5 playable nations which doesn't offer a huge variety. Mods can't improve too much on this because we can't even change the map and the mods I played don't have huge gameplay changes on the campaign side, so every campaign plays out very similar (I think it's safe to generalise that to all the currently released mods).

[squatlover]

Especially Napoleon lacks replayability. The smaller campaigns mean that you don't have as much freedom and the Grand Campaign has only 5 playable nations which doesn't offer a huge variety. Mods can't improve too much on this because we can't even change the map and the mods I played don't have huge gameplay changes on the campaign side, so every campaign plays out very similar (I think it's safe to generalise that to all the currently released mods).

I think NTW lacks replayability. The campaign map is actually small considering there are very few regions per country, essentially each victory over a country is a major battle over a single region (Berlin for Prussia, then a few other easy battles, Vienna for Austria for example). I was back playing MTW2 DM, and the number of regions made for varied gameplay.

Plus battles lack replay value because with the lack of varied units (essentially infantry, suicide cavalry, and stand-at-the-back artillery) the battles play the same way over and over.

[gord96]

still play Medieval 2 Total War with Stainless Steel (perhaps the best mod ever)

I am downloading TGW mod for NTW right now to try it out again.

[Chyeaaaa111]

still play Medieval 2 Total War with Stainless Steel (perhaps the best mod ever)

I am downloading TGW mod for NTW right now to try it out again.

Along with TATW, I agree.

[Chyeaaaa111]

If R2 is the next game CA makes, then it will be released around the same time EBII is for M2TW. My bet is that EBII will be better than CA's game, despite the fact that it will be at least 6 years older.

[NZSkep]

According to Steam I've logged over 200 hours on ETW and so far about 100 on NTW (all single player). Didn't measure how long I spend on MTW2, RTW or MTW, but probably similar lengths.

considering most games these days have a life of 5-15 hours I'd say the TW series has pretty damn good longevity.

[Brusilov]

According to Steam I've logged over 200 hours on ETW and so far about 100 on NTW (all single player). Didn't measure how long I spend on MTW2, RTW or MTW, but probably similar lengths.

considering most games these days have a life of 5-15 hours I'd say the TW series has pretty damn good longevity.

I think the longevity of a game can depend upon your style of gameplay (so long as the game is playable that is).

I just had a look on Steam - I played 951 hours on E:TW and 104 hours on N:TW......

E:TW
(I wonder what I did back in March with this - maybe there was a patch?)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

N:TW

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I have been playing COD MW2 in MP recently (34 in SP and 814 in MP):

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I would honestly hate to find out how long I'd been playing RTW and RTW mods though. I'd wonder where my life went.....

[Huberto]

considering most games these days have a life of 5-15 hours I'd say the TW series has pretty damn good longevity.

At $40 to $50 US per game for 15 hours enjoyment, this business model is doomed to fail everyone.

Regarding NTW, the key is unlocking and changing the campaign scripts and the CAI. I don't know if that's possible, my guess is no. It's kinda sad because the game looks great and plays well enough with a good mod like NER, but ends up feeling like a dud. It's not very interesting to play. I don't think its failure is due to the map or number of playable factions however. I think it's because of uninspired game design and lack of game detail.

As other have noted, NTW appears to be a trend -- offering less game at a higher price with trickle down DLC, while taking advantage of rapid churn to keep gamers invested ("hooked" on the product). Pushing multiplayer is a crucial component of this business model.

This is why I think it's so important to get tools, it's the only way for consumers of a certain stripe to get value out of these products.

It's funny, but a valid comparison might be with how American television has changed these past ten years. We used to have sixty minute dramas or thirty minute sitcoms with good scripts and professional actors. Now it's three quarters reality television -- lots of shows with lite scripting and amateur players in charge of entertaining us.

Taking this analogy further, CA/SEGA have a decision to make: are they content with cranking out reality TV episodes one after another or do they want to make an HBO-style drama that will pass the test of time?

[Rotaugen2009]

Taking this analogy further, CA/SEGA have a decision to make: are they content with cranking out reality TV episodes one after another or do they want to make an HBO-style drama that will pass the test of time?

Which one has a higher rate of return? That's what they will do. Their shareholders will demand it, or will toss them and bring in people who will go with the higher rate of return.

[Huberto]

Which one has a higher rate of return? That's what they will do. Their shareholders will demand it, or will toss them and bring in people who will go with the higher rate of return.

Shareholders are usually passive and uninvolved until it's too late. Sometimes companies have a well defined niche market they serve well and then they try to get bigger and fail spectacularly. We will see how this turns out for TW games.

Anyway, I agree with your logic: it's up to you and me not to patronize and thereby ensure the "rate of return" for mediocrity is lower.

[NZSkep]

At $40 to $50 US per game for 15 hours enjoyment, this business model is doomed to fail everyone.

how so? Plenty of things offer similar levels of enjoyment.

A new release movie last 2-3 hours and costs $10 or more to see in the cinema.