What I think would be cool...

[montagnardse]

Playing Attila with the declining Roman Empire(s) got me thinking about a Total War game set in the pike and shot era. Specifically playing as Charles V ruler of the Spanish Empire, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Italy, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Lord of the Netherlands(His full title was much longer than that). His domains spanned nearly 4 million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles), and was the first to be described as the empire on which the sun never sets, since he had extensive territories in Europe, Asia and America. The man was feared before he even ascended to his throne as it was believed that Western Europe would soon, once again be united under one ruler. His reign was however plagued by constant warfare and many enemies. Charles was 56 when he abdicated after 40 years of active rule. He was physically exhausted, retired to a monastery and died at the age of 58. Other playable factions could be the Ottoman Empire, France, Prussia, Russia, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, England, the rising Swedish Empire, the Dutch Republic and Italian city states among many other possibilities.

[RedGuard]

yes this would be a damn good idea for a total war, but Europa Universalis does it pretty amazingly too

[montagnardse]

I spent countless hours in EU4, but once you grow bigger and overcome the early game challenges a snowball effect begins and you begin to steamroll the AI and the biggest worry is late game bosses like big blue blob and Ottos. Controlling a vast empire is not to difficult but rewarding, unlike Attila where smaller nations are more manageable than big uncontrolable empires