Giving more 'life' to the provinces...

[General Maximus]

I am feeling great about this game. The campaign map is great, both in detail and in size, if you ignore those cliffs and the Nile. But, CA has decided to centralise all the buildings in the cities just like in RTW and Medieval II.

In my opinion, Shogun II had the most lively provinces of any TW game. There were traders and farmers moving to-and-fro along the road. There were bears sitting in the forests. There were herds of horses and deers trotting around the edges of the forests. There were birds squaking along the mountains, the beaches, the waterfalls and even dense forests.

The spreading out of buildings especially gave the more lively feeling. In the lumberjacks' camps, you could see small trees being cut if I recall correctly. Horses roamed around the ranches and meadows. Sea birds kept encircling the docks, occasionally going out to the sea or inland and then returning. Blacksmiths and armourers were smoking and blazing fire could be seen inside them.

In FoTS, I spotted isolated mountain castles that I really loved. As your settlement grows, small industrial towns pop up at the crossroads and you can see windmills and farms all around. When you get the railway, you can easily notice the trains moving to-and-fro from their stations. Combined with all those spread out buildings, the provinces really seem very alive. When you clicked on cities, you could hear the sounds of busy day-to-day life in a Meiji-era city. I think I even heard the sound of factories and carpenter shops when I repaired my damaged castles and buildings.

I have to admit, I spent much more time admiring the game's great little details, especially around those spread out buildings and sitting back hearing the calm sounds and music, than actually playing the game.

Empire and Napoleon were not behind, either. They may not have those animations, but seeing your nation full with bustling towns and settlements was a unique feeling. I am more of an economist than a fighter in those games, so I actually worked for hours just to see those little towns bustling.

Strategy wise, it was good too. I raided enemy farms and bombarded their mines. Enemy used to raid mine, until I brought up my armies. A raid on my horse ranches and farms really made me poor, which showed how effective the raids could be and how strategically defending those little buildings was. But with the new system of fewer armies, it is not possible to defend everything.

Now, the provinces will feel a bit....empty. You have those oversized cities, but the life outside cities will feel non-existant. I think they can add back the small towns popping up like they did in Fall of the Samurai. But the real things were the buildings. Animals will be added for sure, as far as I know.

What do you people think CA should do to add back the life to the provinces?

[jtfjtfjtf]

Small Towns DLC

[Simon total war]

I agree, I love to see landscape changes, farms, little villages growing and tons of trade routes.
It would be so much more fun too!

It's too bad they went away from what was good in previous titles.

[AngryTitusPullo]

I like the way cities are portrayed on the campaign map especially when one add/upgrade building and see it grows. Some people said it's Civ like. I don't know I never played any Civ games. But it looks great to me.

I think CA already said there will be no other buildings or resources inside a region.

[Argon Viper]

Hear hear. If someone would combine the amount of spread out buildings in ETW with the animations of S2TW, that would be perfect. I am disappointed to see the buildings clustered in the cities again, but we'll have to see if the way they display the cities as they grow will make up for that.

[Petroniu]

I am feeling great about this game. The campaign map is great, both in detail and in size, if you ignore those cliffs and the Nile. But, CA has decided to centralise all the buildings in the cities just like in RTW and Medieval II.

In my opinion, Shogun II had the most lively provinces of any TW game. There were traders and farmers moving to-and-fro along the road. There were bears sitting in the forests. There were herds of horses and deers trotting around the edges of the forests. There were birds squaking along the mountains, the beaches, the waterfalls and even dense forests.

The spreading out of buildings especially gave the more lively feeling. In the lumberjacks' camps, you could see small trees being cut if I recall correctly. Horses roamed around the ranches and meadows. Sea birds kept encircling the docks, occasionally going out to the sea or inland and then returning. Blacksmiths and armourers were smoking and blazing fire could be seen inside them.

In FoTS, I spotted isolated mountain castles that I really loved. As your settlement grows, small industrial towns pop up at the crossroads and you can see windmills and farms all around. When you get the railway, you can easily notice the trains moving to-and-fro from their stations. Combined with all those spread out buildings, the provinces really seem very alive. When you clicked on cities, you could hear the sounds of busy day-to-day life in a Meiji-era city. I think I even heard the sound of factories and carpenter shops when I repaired my damaged castles and buildings.

I have to admit, I spent much more time admiring the game's great little details, especially around those spread out buildings and sitting back hearing the calm sounds and music, than actually playing the game.

Empire and Napoleon were not behind, either. They may not have those animations, but seeing your nation full with bustling towns and settlements was a unique feeling. I am more of an economist than a fighter in those games, so I actually worked for hours just to see those little towns bustling.

Strategy wise, it was good too. I raided enemy farms and bombarded their mines. Enemy used to raid mine, until I brought up my armies. A raid on my horse ranches and farms really made me poor, which showed how effective the raids could be and how strategically defending those little buildings was. But with the new system of fewer armies, it is not possible to defend everything.

Now, the provinces will feel a bit....empty. You have those oversized cities, but the life outside cities will feel non-existant. I think they can add back the small towns popping up like they did in Fall of the Samurai. But the real things were the buildings. Animals will be added for sure, as far as I know.

What do you people think CA should do to add back the life to the provinces?

While overall they always add features to new games in comparison to the older they always make a stupid call and cut something that was great. Just think about Empire how they added naval battles but totally ruined sieges by removing cities. Now, they added back the cities but removed the little ones on the campaign map. I really cannot understand how CA can think of doing such radical decisions and not think twice about it - because, honestly, that is what it looks. They have not said why they disappeared, they are just out. They do not care and we have to live with it. So for all those fools that try to defend CA for their choices and cannot stand a little criticism: I do not give a damn how much of an ignorant you are!

[Captain Arrrgh!]

Yeah, despite the new animations of the main cities themselves expanding, which is very cool, the rest of the map itself seems rather...placid.

[SamueleD]

It's true, the building takes place in the cities and you won't be able to build things outside them, but I'm sure that if you explore the campaign map you'll see it grow and change too. I don't think it will be as lifeless as you fear, particularly in places like Italy and Greece.
I love to look around the campaign map too, it's one of the best feelings of Total War for me.

[Adreno]

actually when they went up north to that barbarian city you could see farms outside of it, and in greece you can see a little harbor that isnt in a city (however it could also be a water crossing thingy), so im sure there will be some things like that, maybe also quarries and mines, stuff like that is pretty likely, also the expansion of the cities themselves with buildings and shantytowns sounds good too

[super_newbie_pro]

Agree, need more "life" on the campaign map... its too much quiet and some province are too much desert, no entertainment, not a single tree, while it is in Europe. I know you could correct that with mod, but i am agree with you for the vanilla.

[oOIYvYIOo]

There is not representation of the villages on the campaign map ... check the video when they go on Syria , you will see 4 vilages/regions , and on the campaign map you see the villages names but not sign of houses or walls ... how do will we capture them ,weird.

[General Maximus]

I just noticed, the farm buildings in Shogun II show farmers as well. They move around, working on their crops and sowing new seeds, tending to their crops and harvesting them. After that, the farmer sits down and rests, and then goes to work again. Shogun II had such a great detail!

And now Rome II. With it's beautiful campaign map (if you leave out ugly cliffs, cartoon water and inaccurate Nile Delta) it still needs work. All I see is empty deserts. With a big city awkwardly sitting in the middle of nowhere. Or say a small town with wooden walls sticking out in the middle of forests and rivers, but no sign of any life there. Is that a ghost town?

There is not representation of the villages on the campaign map ... check the video when they go on Syria , you will see 4 vilages/regions , and on the campaign map you see the villages names but not sign of houses or walls ... how do will we capture them ,weird.

Yes, wondering the same. In that video, I could not spot any of the other three areas. They are allowing us to build walls and temples in regions, but where are we actually building them? Do we spend money to construct building in a town that doesn't exist at all?

[oOIYvYIOo]

Yes, wondering the same. In that video, I could not spot any of the other three areas. They are allowing us to build walls and temples in regions, but where are we actually building them? Do we spend money to construct building in a town that doesn't exist at all?

"From Spain to Afeganistan " ... "From Spain to Afeganistan " with comments like this how can we expect any improvements in terms of realism.

[General Maximus]

"From Spain to Afeganistan " ... "From Spain to Afeganistan " with comments like this how can we expect any improvements in terms of realism.

The map turns out to be a large, beautiful mass of land and water with awkwardly oversized cities and lifeless open plains and forests and mountains, ranging completely from Spain to Afghanistan.

[[N2]Kami]

"From Spain to Afeganistan " ... "From Spain to Afeganistan " with comments like this how can we expect any improvements in terms of realism.

Please stop that things. PLEASE
We know there is a country named Portugal so thank you, you don't need to point that out every****ing time you see Spain. For most people, and in geography, most of that peninsula is SPAIN.

[General Maximus]

Please stop that things. PLEASE
We know there is a country named Portugal so thank you, you don't need to point that out every****ing time you see Spain. For most people, and in geography, most of that peninsula is SPAIN.

A more appropriate term would be 'Iberia to Baluchistan' in modern times...

[SamueleD]

Please stop that things. PLEASE
We know there is a country named Portugal so thank you, you don't need to point that out every****ing time you see Spain. For most people, and in geography, most of that peninsula is SPAIN.

We call it iberian peninsula, as if the only people living there where the Iberians (they were not), so it's not that much more correct than saying Spain, except for the fact that we decided to call it like that, so iberian peninsula it is.

[LEGIO_XXX ULPIA]

I don't understand...Capitol cities are on the map ok...but...minor cities?

[SirFork]

I do agree, i find the campaign map very beautiful in my opinion but just one settlement per region is really a poor decison, with resources having their own separated building the map would feel much more alive.

Some little animations would help too.

[Jokern]

I agree, I am much more into taking it slow and building up my economical power than constant military conquest. I would've loved the way it was in S2TW, but I am interested in how it will work in Rome II. Time will tell if it's good or not.