Latest Update from Mike Simpson and CA (from the official forums)

[Hellbent]

Hi guys, we have a message below from Total War Creative Director Mike Simpson that we'd like to pass along to keep you up to date with what's going on here at the studio.

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Hi everyone,

Thank you for playing our patches and reporting issues you find on the forum. Without that help we wouldn’t be able to turn around the patches as fast as we have been doing. We’re achieving in weeks what, on previous projects, took months.

Over the next few weeks there’s going to be a shift from dealing with stability and config to working on gameplay and features, while performance and AI remain high priorities. I expect the pace of patching to slow a little as gameplay and deeper AI changes need longer to test and tune. It’ll still be weeks rather than months between patches though, and we're going to continue to patch the game regularly for the foreseeable future.

Gameplay and AI fixes take a long time to test, and we have to play a lot of 200+ turn games to be sure a change has worked as intended. To make the regular patches possible we have to overlap them, so while patch 5 will go live tomorrow, we've already started work on patch 7. This does mean it takes a while for your feedback to manifest as changes in the game, so please don’t be too disappointed if your top issue isn’t fixed in the latest patch. We are listening to you, and we will get there.

Our long-term plan from here is to get as fast as possible to a point where everyone is broadly happy with the state of the gameplay and AI. After that we’ll shift modes again to long-term support – something which is new for TW and was very much our plan for the title all along. Our games already have a long lifetime, but by releasing occasional DLC packs and free content updates we keep working on them for much longer. This means upgrades in a number of areas which help the game evolve, and stop it becoming obsolete.

I’m not going make any detailed claims about what we’re going to do in the short term. The best way – the only really credible way - we can let you know what we’re doing is by delivering it in the game. But rest assured that we’re constantly reading the TW forums and a variety of others, and the feedback you’re giving helps us to prioritise the issues we deal with, as well as getting a sense of which features work well, which are not liked, and which features from previous Total War games which weren’t designed into Rome II are missed. This is an interesting topic actually, as a lot of people think that we’ve ‘cut’ features to make Rome II and it isn’t as simplistic as that assumption.

A lot of the game is designed from the ground up. We develop many features in parallel, some of which work differently to how they did in previous games: we aim to create a different experience every time, and that’s very important to us. New features are added, and certain features from previous games are therefore not included as they must naturally make way for different features. What’s been interesting – and very useful for us – is listening to you telling us about which features you like and don’t like, and what you miss from previous titles. We take your views seriously, and we’ll take them with us in the future.

For now, we’re about to roll out our largest patch yet, which contains a number of key fixes and changes. The next update will also bring you new, free game content which we’ve been talking about for a while… we hope you like it. Alongside this, you’ll see our next major step towards mod support for ROME II.

Enjoy the update, enjoy the game, and thanks again for your ongoing feedback.

Mike Simpson

Source: http://forums.totalwar.com/showthrea...17.10.2013%29?

[panzerschreck]

Sounds nice, patch 5, performance, free lc, mod support.

[Hellbent]

Couple thoughts:

1. As a modder, really excited about the promised mod support coming out with patch 5 tomorrow.

2."New, free game content" = Seleucid faction pack?

3. "But rest assured that we’re constantly reading the TW forums and a variety of others, and the feedback you’re giving helps us to prioritise the issues we deal with, as well as getting a sense of which features work well, which are not liked, and which features from previous Total War games which weren’t designed into Rome II are missed." - Hinting at family trees?

4. I'm a little skeptical with how he describes patch 5 as the "biggest patch yet" since the previous ones were already so large, but we'll see I guess.

5. Overall, pretty good. Tempering optimism with caution though.

[Aragorn-Elessar]

Couple thoughts:

1. As a modder, really excited about the promised mod support coming out with patch 5 tomorrow.

2."New, free game content" = Seleucid faction pack?

3. "But rest assured that we’re constantly reading the TW forums and a variety of others, and the feedback you’re giving helps us to prioritise the issues we deal with, as well as getting a sense of which features work well, which are not liked, and which features from previous Total War games which weren’t designed into Rome II are missed." - Hinting at family trees?

4. I'm a little skeptical with how he describes patch 5 as the "biggest patch yet" since the previous ones were already so large, but we'll see I guess.

5. Overall, pretty good. Tempering optimism with caution though.

I agree with you at all and I think that the "free game content" is the Seleucid faction

[krisslanza]

I agree with you at all and I think that the "free game content" is the Seleucid faction

The Seleucid free update was supposed to be in October wasn't it? That's the only one I can think of. I believe the next DLC was Scythians, and I cannot remember right now what the 2nd free faction was supposed to be (if any was revealed).

[Vor]

Couple thoughts:

1. As a modder, really excited about the promised mod support coming out with patch 5 tomorrow.

I read that as the support is coming with patch 6. Not tomorrow. Might be wrong though.

[Armageddonn]

Can anyone explain this to me:

"Over the next few weeks there’s going to be a shift from dealing with stability and config to working on gameplay and features, while performance and AI remain high priorities."

So they will not work on improving the performance? They will work on gameplay and features? Why would i need any of that when if i cannot see the battles as a slideshow (yes i do own a good pc)

[Kraut]

Can anyone explain this to me:

"Over the next few weeks there’s going to be a shift from dealing with stability and config to working on gameplay and features, while performance and AI remain high priorities."

So they will not work on improving the performance? They will work on gameplay and features? Why would i need any of that when if i cannot see the battles as a slideshow (yes i do own a good pc)

I read that as "will still work on performance and AI, but more on gameplay & features".

Actually, I put some hope into this "working on gameplay and features" - there are many annoying things in R2 which are not "bugs" in the narrow sense, therefore will not be removed by traditional patching, but rather need gameplay reworks... and I understand this is exactly what is promised now?

[Anibal at portas]

the rome II campaign currently is compulsive and stressful due to one turn for year.among other things, the generals die too soon and not can make a realistic and thoughtful campaign.four turn for year is ideally.also need to script, logic and depth to the campaign.currently the rome II campaign is empty,repetitive,simplistic,arcade,bored,not deep and complex diplomacy,not rol,not tree family,not politic,not events and dilemas,this and many and many more things missing in the game,in my opinión the rome II campaign is in the 60 percent of their potential,Not to mention a horrible and stupid AI,all this must be changed and improved.

[Metallistic]

I consider the game to be a work in progress. Does not change the fact that releasing it in such a state is unethical and insulting.

As I have said before - there is always hope and it seems our voices have been heard. In time, it will be the best Total War game in the series given its potential.

[Krasnaïa Zvezda]

Guess it's time to flood the forum with "We want this and that back" rather than the "Shamefur Dispray @ Impossibru Guy" that the forum is filled with.

As it has been said above, we should be optimistic but cautious.

[Huberto]

"Long term support" means they're going to try to milk us for DLC and expansion(s). They're going to keep pretending that Rome II is a credible effort and warscape is viable for "epic scale" in 2013.

[Zenky]

"Long term support" means they're going to try to milk us for DLC and expansion(s). They're going to keep pretending that Rome II is a credible effort and warscape is viable for "epic scale" in 2013.

u


Why you keep posting here is beyond me , we get it you hate CA with passion , there plenty other thread for your hate post no need to add more.

On topic its nice to see they still support game , I know some company who just run away after a bad launch, I still hold my breath for better AI for every part of the game with the current AI I just don't want to play.

[Humble Warrior]

Good.

I’m not going make any detailed claims about what we’re going to do in the short term.

Good, because it prevents lying.

AI remain high priorities

we've already started work on patch 7.

patch 5 will go live tomorrow

BAD.

I expect the pace of patching to slow a little

Bad, but I knew this would happen:

feedback you’re giving helps us to prioritise the issues we deal with, as well as getting a sense of which features work well, which are not liked, and which features from previous Total War games which weren’t designed into Rome II are missed.

But they should already know. How could they not know from years of people saying on the forums?

UGLY.

as a lot of people think that we’ve ‘cut’ features to make Rome II and it isn’t as simplistic as that assumption.

We have direct quotes that Tim Heaton CUT many features from Rome 2. He seemed rather proud of it too. care to explain?

but by releasing occasional DLC packs and free content updates we keep working on them for much longer

Yep. DLC whoring with a mild threat of `we won`t stick with it if we can`t whore DLCs`.


Some positive news (especially that Patches aren`t ending on number 5 as some had rumoured), but nothing to get too excited about yet until it actually happens. However, it`s still shoddy in the extreme that RTW2 was released this way. You are obviously not patching the game but still MAKING THE GAME.

And where`s the apology?

[Bobz]

BAD.

I expect the pace of patching to slow a little

Bad, but I knew this would happen:

I wouldn't be so quick to condemn this Humble. If you'd look at the sheer number of fixes that have been patched over a short number of weeks, it does suggest that a lot of "easy" bugs have been resolved first, and that in the coming weeks the patches will start containing fewer overall number of fixes. If there are going to be a lot of changes it's justifiable to have weekly(ish) patches, but if there are going to be less fixes it's better to slow the rate of patches to better concentrate on the more major issues like big AI changes.

[Tullaris]

You guys are incredible. About 1.5 months ago we were still flooded with marketing lies and movies and tricked into buying a broken game. Now you guys believe this BS story again? In 1-2 months SEGA will divert resources to the next TW game. Rome II will get some superficial upgrades here and there but the broken game will remain.

[stackero]

You guys are incredible. About 1.5 months ago we were still flooded with marketing lies and movies and tricked into buying a broken game. Now you guys believe this BS story again? In 1-2 months SEGA will divert resources to the next TW game. Rome II will get some superficial upgrades here and there but the broken game will remain.

While I really hope they 'fix' Rome 2,

You express my sentiments exactly. Although, alot of people are still not taking CA completely at their word just yet. I Rep ya

[Bethencourt]

I wouldn't mind a dozen of patches if they make some changes. AI that works, walls in all cities and AI works when sieges, an army is an army and a fleet is a fleet, fleet blockades do not impede other factions attaking the city, realistic starting armies and navies. If the cap of admirals and generals was created to prevent AI spamming small stacks, well make it work, reduce the cap and reduce the upkeep cost of the units, I have tested and it works. Stronger naval roster, add artillery, towers, what in files is called weapons, to the ships and allow infantry in quinqueremes and similar size ships, increas the hit points of ships. Make the AI build siege machines and get rid of the torches and the flags in the doors. Change forced march effect so you can fight when using it, with a penalti if you want, so you do not chase an army or a fleet just to salute them with the hand. Reduce the usntalibilty produced by late buildings, the AI is uncapable of managing the system you have created so the cook themselves in their own created rebellions. What else?

I am for the slow but high quality patches, no more rushed release please. Once you finish I will try the game again. I can wait another year no problem, this is a flagship game, we do not like a sinking in launch. Ah and I forgot in that post, transport ships, you have created the ability of the armies to go scorted by fleets, so they are represented with a little flag behind the flag of the fleet in campaign, if the army sailing ability independently is removed, which is needed if you make the land units sail in transport ships not quinqueremes because they would be a too easy target and AI seems not to be capable of managing it, then make the armies use that ability, I have not seen any AI faction using it, you have solved half of the problem but not the other half. Well time to finish it. Next turn.

[jamreal18]

hope you bring back those historical battles!

[Jonoleth Irenicus]

7 patches ?

Was there any attempt at play testing prior to release ?

How could they not have known the game was not ready ?