Wow,i want this game now.

This is also counted as a 4X game,right?

I hope they have ships that ram into the spanish armada during Queen Elizabeth the 1st Era.

@frags,

Could you explain how Total War works?

I never play any TW before.

Now,only interested after playing Sins.

Well not really...close but not quite...you cant build your own cities remember   Total War is a genre by its own. Turn based campaign with real time battles.

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Added on August 16, 2008, 1:43 pm

Ships that crash into each other does do damage. Ships built for ramming? Maybe...Ships are pretty expensive...So i'm not sure if that will be a good strategy using regular ships. Developers still dont want to say whether got fireships in the game...I mean surely they have to have that...

BTW there is a steam ship in that trailer if you look closer...you will see it...Those American ships got p8wned!

Ahh yeah I mean fireships forgot the term for it, those ships saved Britain from the Spanish Armada.

Whoo hoo Iron Clad.   
Medieval total war   
Though they have better graphics my favorite is still rome since the romans have an empire, is it me or does rome total war have higher walls?

No Iron Clad as far as i know in ETW   Yeah the walls in Rome did seem higher...maybe because the structures in the city were smaller in Rome? More bigger buildings in M2TW.

I guess I'll still go anti European yet still with enough naval and Land power, probably india if there is no china for this game.

I dont think China will be in the game...already said...

Maybe Ottoman(looks middle eastern especially the escort behind it)

Heck maybe even India...no idea really..

Yeah Im more intrested in other cultures and design than the western designs got bored with them maybe cos too much of a cliche.

What can fans of the total war franchise expect from Empire? At the GC, we had the opportunity to interview studioboss Mike Simpson on the upcoming title
A chat with the chief dev:

As announced, this time around you will have to prove yourself as ruler in the 18th century - this is the age of enlightment, of the industrial revolution, and ends during the chaotic phase surrounding the french revolution. According to Simpson it will even be possible to have Napoleon amongst your ranks, if you recruit an artillery unit in Corse towards the end of the century...

Two important innovations will make the franchise even more attractive during this turbulent period: Firstly, there will be real time sea battles. Creative Assembly will serve you the same exciting and tactically refined war experience as on land. You can send entire fleets into battle, pound either the rump or the sails with shots, or fire directly at the crews, there will be boarding manoeuvres, and the possibility to sink frigattes quickly with well-positioned shots. Up to 20 ships with each around 100 men on board should provide chaos and a storm of explosions at sea; last but not least also pirates will feature.

Secondly, the engine has been totally overhauled. Besides the jump in graphics Simpson thinks that also the AI mechanisms on the strategic map have been improved. This map will feature in a fresh design the worlds of North America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and India and shall provide more freedom and comfort while developing new strategies and tactics. By the way, Simpson mentioned that the Indian forces are highly efficient and that that part of the world will be very difficult to conquer because of its high cultural level.

Instead of recruiting troops manually from each settlement to be joined later on, each general can now automatically call men to his arms - these come from the cities on the map to him. New agents and diplomacy functions are planned, but Simpson did not want to got into too much detail yet. What we could extract from him was that you will be able to use sea blocades to bring the economy of a nation to its knees.

Fighting on land will feature many new possibilities because of the use of firearms and artillery. You will now only be able to besiege star shaped bastions and not first get the walls down and then storm the cities (like in the middle ages), but on the other hand the environment gains in importance: you can shelter troops, build earth trenches, use walls and buildings as cover, as well as reduce everything on the battlefield to rubble and ashes.

During the fights, the principle of stone-paper-scissors still counts: a cav unit does not stand a chance against densely grouped troops, arranged in a square and equipped with bayonets. These on the other hand are rather cumbersome, and the ideal victim for artillery attacks from the distance. There will of course be a multiplayer mode, but there is no information on that yet.

We are curious whether this game can trump the only good real time strategy for this period, Imperial Glory."

Empire: Total War: a flood of info from the GC

After the overwhelming battle, the devs show us the second pillar of this strategy title: The Campaign map. In this turn-based part of the game you draw and move troops, or build cities. Everything like the predecessors. But the game world of Empire is gigantic: Next to Europe there is America and even India to conquer. The territories contain many more cities than the previous titles. Additionally you can now place units with the accuracy of pixels, a tiled map, as in Medieval 2 does not exist anymore.

The building of important buildings has been similarly revised: you no longer have to change into the city view to build, say, a harbour, but do this simply at the desired point of the map. To recruit troops you previously had to go into cities and then draw them together at a point of the map. Also this is part of the past. Each General can now recruit troops within his area of influence, depending on which city is nearby. The forts able to build such armies have a much more strategical role as in Medieval 2: These forts have now a radius of influence that no enemy army can cross. Passes in mountains and rivers can be effectively sealed.

Politik spielt bei Empire: Total War eine gewichtige Rolle.
Politics plays a key role in Empire: Total War.

Of course the devs of Creative Assembly have also given great consideration to the economic system. You not only rise taxes for single regions, but also separately for the lower and upper classes. The proper political work is now carried out by ministers, coming with an opposition. Each of these politicians brings certain advantages to the state, but has also to put himself up for election. The colonies on the other hand are ruled by governors. But also here: if you don't feel like micromanaging, the computer takes over these jobs.

We got to see two new units during the presentation: The "Rake" replaces the spy and the assassins from previous titles. He can make assassination attempts or infiltrate enemy armies. The infiltrated troops are from now - despite the fog of war - on always visible to the enemy. !

The second new unit is the Gentleman: he can challenge opponents to duels and get them out of the way. His input for science is crucial: put the good man into a city with a university, and he will develop new technologies. Typical: also here historic role models are used, such as Isaac Newton.

Regarding science: a Tech-Tree comes into play in Empire: Total War . At the just mentioned universities you can research things such as new troop formations or types of amunition. Also the mine field mentioned in the battles will be developed here. The tech-tree is divided in three parts: Philosophy, technical knowledge and weapons. Particularly important is the first one, because only this can be used to gain prestige and esteem. Prestige you can use in the areas of military, shipping, economy or enlightment. The more powerful your fleet with trading vessels and warships, the more prestige.
What do you need this for? Well, one of the campaigns has the goal of "becoming the most esteemed nation".

Diplomacy: an overview map now helps to distinguish friend from foe Here you now see each country in a colour, red countries do not really like you, and green ones are your allies. You can now make diplomatic suggestions such as the payment of money in a normal or demanding manner..

An enormously important point of the game is the seatrade. You can now exactly observe who is shipping what where and how much money they are earning doing this. If you want to annoy your enemy, just park your fleet in the midst of their trading route, similarly to the blocking of harbours in previous games. Every time the ship of an opponent goes past you, you now earn a substancial part of their income. Of course pirates can not be missing from such a game. The protection of your shipping routes is consequently immensely important!

The last innovation the devs showed us after a good hour of flooding us with info is the revolution. You may know this from previous games. but also here things have changed. If such a rebellion occurs in your capital, you have to decide: do I join the revolution or the loyal troops. You gain control over the corresponding army and go into battle to defend your doctrine. Thus, with a success of the rebellion the state can change from a monarchy to a republic.

So far our first comprehensive insight from the halls of the GC. The love to detail that the devs have put into their baby is daunting. In a side remark we get to know that alone the creation of the seas for the sea battles to over a year to develop. We think: it was worth it!

Then I shall play with india.

I wonder which nation does this ship belongs to.