Total War

[Hansmeister]

I'd really like it if they made a Rome II.

Without flaming pigs.

[viper37]

Having previously ignored the total war series, I recently bought and started playing Total War: Shogun 2. It's pretty good.

How do the other games in the series compare? Are there any of them, or expansions, that are particularly good?

In Shogun 2 I'm on the cusp of taking Kyoto and finishing my first campaign on one of the easier starting positions. I kludged along okay with the economy, dicked around a bit with the various agents - I'm certainly not efficient in their use, but I get along okay. I can reliably get decisive victories against opponents who outnumber me a bit (I haven't fought any battles where I was badly outnumbered yet); I presume that's not particularly impressive.

Does anyone have any tips - on battlefield tactics, on economic management, how to get the best out of the agents? On how to get my damn soldiers to march across the battlefield and keep their fucking formation? So far that seems to be the hardest part of the game.

Shogun is the most polished one, it shows.  They've really refined the mechanics of the game.

Empire: Total War is really nice with DarthMod Empire.  However, it does lack some game mechanics like attrition... so that means you can happilly conquer Russia without problem.  But still fun if you like the colonia era.  If you hate that historical period, it's pointless to play.

Napoleon was really good and really fun.  I've had a bit difficulties completing my objectives in the alloted time though, and the campaigns are kinda small.  And you're limited to Europe (Italy, Egypt/Middle-East, Europe, Grand Campaign).  Something I didn't like.  I wanted to Conquer the Americas with Nappy, alas, it was not possible.

Now Shogun... It's a really nice game, but this Japan stuff... it's not for me.  I don't derive the same pleasure slaughtering Japanese samuraïs as I do slaughtering Red Coats.

[Jacob]

So I was on the cusp of winning my first campaign last night. I have 24 provinces, out of the 25 needed. The 25th needs to be Kyoto, and I'm on the doorstep with my main army and my secondary army.

The Shogunate has a sizeable field army blocking access, with in reinforcement distance of the really big army inside the city walls of Kyoto. I figure, I attack the field army with my primary army, having put my own secondary army within reinforcement distance. With any luck, I'll draw out the big army and crush the combined forces of the Shogunate in the field before marching triumphantly into Kyoto.

So I make my moves and end my turn. Sure enough, they take my bait and come out. I look at the numbers and units. The shogun is fielding more samurai than most the armies I've fought so far, he's got a fair bit more cavalry than I do, he's got more archers as well and he outnumbers me by about 10% when all forces are on the field. Should be an exciting battle.

I deploy and slowly advance towards the smaller (at the moment) shogun forces. I swing across the battlefield, aligning my left flank to receive the expected reinforcements from my secondary army (the expected point of entry is marked with a blue arrow). The shogun's forces stay pretty much stationary, waiting for the reinforcements from Kyoto (the bulk of the shogun army). I figure I can't make it across the field before the reinforcements arrive given my dearth of cavalry.

Two things happen. Or rather, one thing happens - the shogun's main army arrives and the combined force moves backwards to take up a position on a wooded hill in the far corner of the field; and another thing doesn't happen - my second army never shows up at all. I wait. And I wait. I press the super fast forward button and I wait. My guys never show up and the shogun never moves.

So I try baiting him out with my one unit of mounted archers. I do manage to get one measly unit of yari ashigaru to charge out of the hill and towards my main line where I pepper it with arrows and run it over with my two other cavalry units once the ashigaru turn to run. But that's it. No matter what I do, I can't induce any more of those fuckers to come down from the hill... and it's not like I'm going to charge up that hill, through the woods at superior forces that I can't see the disposition of.

Annoying.

[grumbler]

I am kind of confused by the distinction between Empire and Napoleons TW games.

I liked Rome Total War, with the strategic part and stuff, which of those is more like that?

Napoleon is more like Rome, Empire like Medieval.  I prefer Empire, because of the naval game (even though the AI is crap at naval combat tactics, give it enough ships and it can do well enough).  Empire with Napoleon's granularity would be terrific.  Unfortunately, CA made sure that maps after Medieval could not be modded, so modding is limited to units, AI, and textures.

[Monoriu]

So I try baiting him out with my one unit of mounted archers. I do manage to get one measly unit of yari ashigaru to charge out of the hill and towards my main line where I pepper it with arrows and run it over with my two other cavalry units once the ashigaru turn to run. But that's it. No matter what I do, I can't induce any more of those fuckers to come down from the hill... and it's not like I'm going to charge up that hill, through the woods at superior forces that I can't see the disposition of.

Annoying.

Yes it is annoying.  My solution is to reduce the size of my army on the strategic map.  If the AI has a clear numerical advantage (more than 10% difference), it will attack on the tactical map.  The tactical AI is so bad that the human can usually win even with a numerical disadvantage.  The key is to get them to attack on the tactical map. 

But...if you are on the verge of victory, then by all means launch an all out assault.  The reason why I strongly prefer defensive battles is because they tend to result in lower casualties.  Since you are almost there, feel free to sacrifice your guys 

[Scipio]

If they would have done a viking expansion for #2, I would have creamed my pants.

That would've been OSSUM.

[Caliga]

So I picked Shogun 2 up due to the Steam sale and was messing around with it last night.  Major graphical improvements over even Empire.

The tutorial is pretty boring, so I quit it like halfway through.  Can someone tell me what the significant differences are between this game and Empire?

[Octavian]

So I picked Shogun 2 up due to the Steam sale and was messing around with it last night.  Major graphical improvements over even Empire.

The tutorial is pretty boring, so I quit it like halfway through.  Can someone tell me what the significant differences are between this game and Empire?

It takes place in Japan.

[PRC]

Can someone tell me what the significant differences are between this game and Empire?

Realm Divide.  As soon as you have X number of provinces (I can't remember the number, 12 or something?) everyone declares war on you.  I think it's bullshit but there are mods that fix it.

[Tamas]

So what do we know of the 19th century version coming out tomorrow?

[Tamas]

lol, nice intro, that's for sure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xZoh0lQFiA&feature=player_embedded#!

the jews linked there will sell you the steam code of the special edition (one extra faction, meh) for $27

[Caliga]

So far, so good (Shogun 2, not the xpac).  Playing a long campaign as the Satsuma guys.

[Razgovory]

lol, nice intro, that's for sure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xZoh0lQFiA&feature=player_embedded#!

the jews linked there will sell you the steam code of the special edition (one extra faction, meh) for $27

The intro is like Lettow's dreams going up in smoke.  A wonderful message of the triumph of industrial capitalism over feudal romanticism.

[Habbaku]

lol, nice intro, that's for sure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xZoh0lQFiA&feature=player_embedded#!

the jews linked there will sell you the steam code of the special edition (one extra faction, meh) for $27

That video is pretty awesome.

[Josquius]

They're good but take too long to play. Moving all the little pieces on the map every turn grows old and the time between turns and all that battles.....it drags.
Very few games have I managed to finish.