Originally Posted by
Abdülmecid I
Pretty sure that private, profit-seeking companies always aimed at money and not artistic expression. My relationship with the Total War franchise has been irreparably damaged by the release of Empire and Rome II, but I don't really imagine that business practices in 2004 or 2006 were more benevolent (with the exception being the absence of micro-transactions and DLCs). The crux of the matter and the conflict of interests between customers and developers always concerns the fragile balance between the quality of the product and its cost. I'd say that Creative Assembly dropping the ball in this regard was the primary reason behind Throb's disappointment. I understand your complaints, but it seems to me more of a case about changing tastes, in comparison to the mainstream approach. Heroic duels sell and the popularity of Brad Pitt films will be guaranteed for our generation, at least. If Troy fails commercially, then there's a great chance that CA will abandon this fusion of fantasy and history, in favour of either keeping them separate or concentrating exclusively on the former.
Nice find, although it's one, not several, and could probably be hardly classified as a desert. I didn't say that the island of Lemnos will not be featured in the map, but that it doesn't represent any geographical extremity. There's Thrace in the North and the coast of Asia Minor in the East. I guess CA chose Lemnos, because the particularity of the sand dunes sounded quite exotic.
Anyway, in terms of playable factions, Odysseus, Agamemnon, Achilles, Menelaus and Hector have already been confirmed. Assuming that the goal is an equal representation of Trojans and Achaeans, the remaining four will probably be Trojan allies. Aeneas is also certain, while the remaining slots will probably be filled by Sarpedon and Penthesilea. Guys like Nestor, Ajax, Memnon and Rhesus will be added, in my opinion, at a later stage, with Idomeneus (after all Crete is included) or Philoctetes also having strong chances.