A Lot of New Info from Gamestar

[Master.Mind]

Hey here are some pictures


I try to translate what I noticed:

Prologue Campaign is about Rom's fight against the samnites

Three part prologue

Successful senate mission and conqured regions increase the "level" of your empire --> which allows you to recruit more agents and field more armies and fleets

Limited number of edicts in your empire (increases with the time)

The Army stance looting cuts the cost for the looting army in half.

For example if you build a workshop in a town you can recruit balliste in the whole province but only in that province.

Your cavalry can come ashore however without their horses, unloading sieges engines like ballistas isn't possible during the battle.

spys are invisible unless you have agents in counter intelligence mode close to them

Every agent can now kill or bribe. (no assassination videos) Many special abilities a champion can for example strengthen your public order or wage a guerillia war behind the enemy lines. A dignitary can wage a cultural war (whatever that is supposed to mean) if you combine these effects it makes rebellions much more likely.

Dignitaries also increase the tax income and increase the cultural conversion rate. in your enemy's country they decrease the tax income and incite cultural unrest.

The (roman) civil war has a time limit the party who has done best in it wins. If you loose the civil war you also loose much of your influence.

The menu seems a little confusing for example your military resarch splits of into three research trees but you can only see one tree at once.
No skill trees for generals or agents there is only a list which skills they already have, you have to look into the encyclopedia if you want to know which skills unlock other skills.

unfortunately the AI apperently hasn't improved much with the notable exception of one flanking maneuver on the battle map. On the Campaign map the AI likes to send mini-armies arround the map ( we are reminded, that the game is still no finished and that the tester was only able to play the proluge on the easiest difficulty)

The AI often advances directly towards your units even if the can't see them (line of sight)

some of the weird the ai pulled:

- Letting the cavalry run in circles (while being shot at)

- During a attack on a coastal town two transport ships calmly rowed arround the whole map instead of attacking the player

-During a siege the ai placed their infantry on the walls and their archers in the middle of the town.

[RandyRhoads]

- Letting the cavalry run in circles (while being shot at)

- During a attack on a coastal town two transport ships calmly rowed arround the whole map instead of attacking the player

-During a siege the ai placed their infantry on the walls and their archers in the middle of the town.

hope they address it

[SKSlave]

Now we know why CA won't show us an unscripted battle.

[Historyaswas]

Jeez September sounds to early now for this game

[SKSlave]

Jeez September sounds to early now for this game

It always was too early. The game will be great I'm sure, but it's another unreasonable release date set by SEGA to cash in as early as possible.

[alQamar]

It always was too early. The game will be great I'm sure, but it's another unreasonable release date set by SEGA to cash in as early as possible.

I am very sure that this was the main reason. Eager developers like CA, will not wish to get a project time cut by 3 months lads. BLAME SEGA *buuh*

[Lugo]

It always was too early. The game will be great I'm sure, but it's another unreasonable release date set by SEGA to cash in as early as possible.

Huh? The AI has never been good in Total war. Might as well release it now and the let the modders fix what they can.

[torongill]

I´m looking for a suitable "Oh crap" gif.

edit: found it

[SKSlave]

I´m looking for a suitable "Oh crap" gif.

edit: found it

[Raikou]

AWESOME MAN ALOT OF NEW SCREENS!


Can anyone translate these photos please?

[sword and shield]

If I read correctly, the wooden spikes around an army means it's in defence-modus. They can't move and if they're attacked, there's a fort on the battle map.

[IlluminatiRex]

It did say they were only allowed to play on the easiest difficulty, so I would assume that would be where some of the AI sillyness is from, if it's like that on other difficulties, Yikes!

[SKSlave]

It did say they were only allowed to play on the easiest difficulty, so I would assume that would be where some of the AI sillyness is from, if it's like that on other difficulties, Yikes!

The AI has never changed in any Total War game for difficulty, ever.

[IlluminatiRex]

The AI has never changed in any Total War game for difficulty, ever.

In Shogun 2 I have most certainly seen a difference in how the AI reacts and acts on Normal compared to Legendary.

[Clock]

Despite all the focus on the negatives here, it sounds like there was a lot of positives too, and they thought it was excellent overall. There's some good info in there and my thanks to those who translated.

On the Campaign map the AI likes to send mini-armies arround the map ( we are reminded, that the game is still no finished and that the tester was only able to play the proluge on the easiest difficulty)

Sounds normal for Easy difficulty. Given it's a tutorial Prologue campaign, the AI may have even more restrictions to army size and recruitment.

The AI often advances directly towards your units even if the can't see them (line of sight)

Hope this isn't really the case. Line of sight is a great idea, but only if the AI can't psychically know where your men are. From what I recall though, sound also plays its part, so the AI would 'spot' marching troops even if they're out of visual sight.

Letting the cavalry run in circles (while being shot at)

Sounds like a bug maybe.

During a attack on a coastal town two transport ships calmly rowed arround the whole map instead of attacking the player

Bug?

During a siege the ai placed their infantry on the walls and their archers in the middle of the town.

Might be a bug, but it all depends on the context. Placing archers on walls may seem like the 'appropriate' thing to do, but that isn't always the case. I know I don't always do it in sieges. It depends on what troops I have, what type of troops the enemy has, the state of the fortifications etc.

Perfect AI is a gamers pipe dream that I've never seen realised. As long as its an improvement, even a slight one, from Shogun 2 I'll be happy.

Agreed. S2 wasn't perfect, but was a big step up. Hopefully R2 will be as good, if not a little better. Obviously the AI has new systems to deal with this time around (LOS & navy landings in battle maps) so it's hard to say how well it will cope with them until we get our hands on it. But there will always be AI bugs here and there. Always. If you expect a perfect game AI you may want to adjust your expectation because such a thing will never happen. We just have to hope they are fairly rare, as they were in S2. INB4 'fanboy'. Nope. I'm just being realistic. If these 'bugs' occur in every other battle I'll be as displeased as the rest of you. But if they only crop up rarely, then I won't really mind. Although I'm sure some people might hit a single AI bug in 10 hours of play, rush to TWC and proclaim it '0/10 AI is !'

In Shogun 2 I have most certainly seen a difference in how the AI reacts and acts on Normal compared to Legendary.

Well, difficulty doesn't make the AI 'smarter' as such, but it can influence its behavior in the same way that Darthmod 'improves' the AI. The bonuses it receives on higher settings can make it far more aggressive, as it has the forces and funds to act, and react a lot faster to player expansion. On say, Easy, it's a lot more passive because it simply can't field the same level of stacks as on Legendary.

I have a feeling we'll be seeing a video of the prologue campaign soon (at least I hope we will) so we'll get to see it in action for ourselves. I'm still cautiously optimistic though. It looks like the campaign side has gotten the overhaul I hoped for and all the new features sound great.

[SKSlave]

Despite all the focus on the negatives here, it sounds like there was a lot of positives too, and they thought it was excellent overall. There's some good info in there and my thanks to those who translated.



Sounds normal for Easy difficulty. Given it's a tutorial Prologue campaign, the AI may have even more restrictions to army size and recruitment.



Hope this isn't really the case. Line of sight is a great idea, but only if the AI can't psychically know where your men are. From what I recall though, sound also plays its part, so the AI would 'spot' marching troops even if they're out of visual sight.



Sounds like a bug maybe.



Bug?



Might be a bug, but it all depends on the context. Placing archers on walls may seem like the 'appropriate' thing to do, but that isn't always the case. I know I don't always do it in sieges. It depends on what troops I have, what type of troops the enemy has, the state of the fortifications etc.



Agreed. S2 wasn't perfect, but was a big step up. Hopefully R2 will be as good, if not a little better. Obviously the AI has new systems to deal with this time around (LOS & navy landings in battle maps) so it's hard to say how well it will cope with them until we get our hands on it. But there will always be AI bugs here and there. Always. If you expect a perfect game AI you may want to adjust your expectation because such a thing will never happen. We just have to hope they are fairly rare, as they were in S2. INB4 'fanboy'. Nope. I'm just being realistic. If these 'bugs' occur in every other battle I'll be as displeased as the rest of you. But if they only crop up rarely, then I won't really mind. Although I'm sure some people might hit a single AI bug in 10 hours of play, rush to TWC and proclaim it '0/10 AI is !'



Well, difficulty doesn't make the AI 'smarter' as such, but it can influence its behavior in the same way that Darthmod 'improves' the AI. The bonuses it receives on higher settings can make it far more aggressive, as it has the forces and funds to act, and react a lot faster to player expansion. On say, Easy, it's a lot more passive because it simply can't field the same level of stacks as on Legendary.

I have a feeling we'll be seeing a video of the prologue campaign soon (at least I hope we will) so we'll get to see it in action for ourselves. I'm still cautiously optimistic though. It looks like the campaign side has gotten the overhaul I hoped for and all the new features sound great.

This is some major excuse making here.

So AI will be crap at start with patchs its going to be ok relax

I hate this "it'll be fixed soon" mentality that has appeared with modern games. I'm paying for the game at release and I expect a functioning product at that time. This attitude really is cancerous to the industry because it gives them free reign to make crappy games and sloppily fix them when they can be bothered.

[kieran12]

During a siege the ai placed their infantry on the walls and their archers in the middle of the town.

During a attack on a coastal town two transport ships calmly rowed around the whole map instead of attacking the player
Letting the cavalry run in circles (while being shoot at)



Might be a bug, but it all depends on the context. Placing archers on walls may seem like the 'appropriate' thing to do, but that isn't always the case. I know I don't always do it in sieges. It depends on what troops I have, what type of troops the enemy has
.

Even on 'easy' the AI should still react smartly to your moves on the battlefield and counter effectively against what your planning to do. The AI troops obviously will be weaker if you choose the easy difficulty.

Easy difficulty the AI should still act right.

For Siege battles you are better served by placing heavy infantry on the walls. The enemy will attack you there with the big guns. With previous games i would place infantry and archers on the wall to take out the enemy siege towers and repel the enemy attack. Its perfectly normal to place infantry on the walls to defend, however if you can not destroy, the siege towers in time, its best you remove your archers from the wall and place them at a much better location within the city.

Why would transport ships attack a player? Was there troops on board? its not clear what he means here.

Letting the cavalry run in circles while being shoot at. The AI not been smart i guess.

[AllianceDeath]

The AI has never changed in any Total War game for difficulty, ever.

Soooooooo incorrect here, play Medieval 2 on a custom battle Your army on a open plain your 20 stack army vs an enemy 60 stack army, yours slightly better in expierence and slightly better upgrades.

Do the same except a 1v2 in Shogun 2, and you'll find the Shogun battle to be incredibly more difficult.

[RandyRhoads]

Do the same except a 1v2 in Shogun 2, and you'll find the Shogun battle to be incredibly more difficult.

No wonder, samurai aren't nearly as good as armored knights

[Doom M.D.]

Soooooooo incorrect here, play Medieval 2 on a custom battle Your army on a open plain your 20 stack army vs an enemy 60 stack army, yours slightly better in expierence and slightly better upgrades.

Do the same except a 1v2 in Shogun 2, and you'll find the Shogun battle to be incredibly more difficult.

oh gosh. oh gosh.