Medieval total war 2 - release iminent!

spank_inferno

Hoping to get my copy soon. Have the demo and it looked great!

Anyone else looking forward to this release?

DarthWraak

I have a friend in college who is craaaaaaaaaaaaazy about this release. I on the other hand, am not. Im an FPS whore tbh.

But where did you get the demo, file front?

talla

Picked up the collectors edition in game last night for €60 on the way home. haven't had much time to play it but am impressed on initial playing. Huge install though, 2 DVD's think about 11 GB's required.

Ho-Hum

Dont think I'll be getting it for a while, tried the demo and my PC aint really up to it at the moment.

spank_inferno

I seen on the case it was a DVD game, but 2 will make it a big install!

Got the demo over a bit-torrent all the other websites were demanding money for just a demo.

Zillah

Ya know it occured to me before that a clever method for preventing pirating would be to release gigantic games. 11 gig is gigantic in my book. Its easier to just go to the shop and buy it.

Dammit. Eyes his impending copy of Neverwinter Nights II. 5.75 gig is almost "gigantic".

adamcp

talla wrote:

Picked up the collectors edition in game last night for €60 on the way home. haven't had much time to play it but am impressed on initial playing. Huge install though, 2 DVD's think about 11 GB's required.

What's all in the collector's edition? do you get a map with the normal version like RTW?

Branoic

Its a sweet game. Loving it so far. I like RTW too but I never felt as involved with that game or its characters as i did in the old MTW, and I'm glad to say I'm really feeling that again with this one.

The collectors edition is pretty sweet. You get the map, which I don't think you get in the regular version this time round, the building chart, a little metal figure now perched proudly atop my computer, art cards, and a second DVD with the making of docu and soundtrack. And the box it comes in is very pretty.

Zillah

I also got the collector's edition. Very snazzy.

The game is the exact same as Rome Total War with nifty bells and whistles. Of course, I adore the TW forumla so its still good, but its just more of the same for those who aren't TW adicts like me.

Pugsley

Looking forward to buying this one, played RTW to death (22 completed campaigns between RTW and its mods), the demo was pretty fun but clearly very scripted, hope the AI will be more of a challenge this time around.

On the topic of huge installs 6.75gig for Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, or if you go back to the year 2000 Baldurs Gate 2 racks in at an incredible 5.5gig's!!

humanji

Pugsley wrote:

Looking forward to buying this one, played RTW to death (22 completed campaigns between RTW and its mods), the demo was pretty fun but clearly very scripted, hope the AI will be more of a challenge this time around.

On the topic of huge installs 6.75gig for Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, or if you go back to the year 2000 Baldurs Gate 2 racks in at an incredible 5.5gig's!!

Hell, I remember when Ultima 7's 4meg install was insane and I had to clear everything on my pc to play it!

Froot

humanji wrote:

Hell, I remember when Ultima 7's 4meg install was insane and I had to clear everything on my pc to play it!

stay on topic old man

Lafortezza

How welcoming is this game to total noobs?
I downloaded the demo on Steam and had a quick look but it didn't catch my attention immediately.

humanji

okay, staying on topic, I think it's ok to get into. It's not easy, and if you start a campaign, you might find yourself restarted a few times because you made the wrong decision here and there. The battles are tough, but they all start easy enough and gradually get harder, giving you plenty of time to learn the ropes. Don't be tempted to go straight into a skirmish game like I did. You'll quite likely be whipped and it does nothing for your morale or desire to play the game again!

Branoic

Its a complex enough game (not as complex as, say, Civ 4), but the tutorials, in game advisors and detailed manual would all be excellent help for a noob.

LoGiE

It's very like all the TW games that came before it. I'm enjoying it but i'm getting a serious feeling of deja vu.:(

BlitzKrieg

was gonna wait a while before picking it up, but eurogamer says that the combat takes a second place to the vastly improved diplomacy, religion etc factors, which are among my favourite things of the original medieval and has convinced me to pick this up sooner then originally planned.

Froot

I preferred using the campaign map than fighting actual battle in the original Medieval and I have to say that this is a a totally different game. Its not necessarily better than Medieval because its so different in my eyes.

The diplomacy is much better though, you can choose why you want an alliance with people instead of just allying with them etc.

The graphics are fantastic and the sound is very immersive.

All in all its a fantastic game. I never played Rome:TW so I'm not used to the 3d map thingy but this is seriously entertaining stuff.

garrethg

BlitzKrieg wrote:

was gonna wait a while before picking it up, but eurogamer says that the combat takes a second place to the vastly improved diplomacy, religion etc

The campaign map has improved quite a bit. AI factions are no longer limited to attacking the same heavily fortified city over and over again like psychotic lemmings but now make rational decisions on the why, when and where of offence. They make much more aggressive use of agents than R:TW and react sensibly to diplomatic offers. When I offered France a ceasefire after taking one of its cities the AI considered the offer "very demanding", but when I offered again - after besieging two more of his settlements - Le Roi rather sensibly reconsidered the offer as "very generous". The backstabbing Milanese also experience a similar change of heart after my assassins got to work on their leading generals; one turn after declaring war, and bereft of leaders, they were suing for peace.

Religion, settlement control, the economic model and mission assignment (including some from unexpected sources) have all improved. In fact my only gripe with the campaign is the pointless addition of trader agents; ninety-five percent of what they do could be done by a building which makes them micromanagement for micromanagement's sake.

In contrast the battle maps feature the same old game play, the same the old AI and the same old problems... Creative Assembly giveth and Creative Assembly taketh away.

Zillah

BlitzKrieg wrote:

but eurogamer says that the combat takes a second place to the vastly improved diplomacy, religion etc factors, which are among my favourite things of the original medieval and has convinced me to pick this up sooner then originally planned.

Its true.

Some recent developments in my current game:

- We're at war with the French. A french Cardinal has become Pope and now inquisitors are burning half of my royalty alive for "heresy".
- The Cardinal who is most likely to become pope next is also French so I'm sending armies of assassins after him so to ensure that a Polish cardinal will be pope next. They're my allies, they love me.
- The veteran general in charge of my elite former-crusader army has gone rogue and is wrecking up my middle east holdings.
- I'm systematically sacking Scicilian cities because they attacked us and they've been Excommunicated, so it open season.

BlitzKrieg

this is the sort of stuff I like to hear. Gonna pick this up thursday and spend my two days off giving it a go.

Zillah

Oh, and most recently the Pope demanded that not only must we join a crusade for Antioch, but my KING has to lead it. Seriously, the last King got burned for Heresy, he's trying to get this one killed on a mad capaign against the heathen.

BlitzKrieg

i remember leaving loads of similar reports on my campaign when i played the original medieval... seeing other peopl do it fills me with confidence that this one will be just as engrossing.

Jazzy

its super awesome.

im gonna see if i can get a team together for multiplayer

Branoic

Yeah, I love thinking of all the little stories surrounding events in the game.

Example one:
an inquisitor was in french lands and looked to be heading towards my provinces (english). I knew from previous run ins that inquisitors are nasty, so I sent a master assassin at him. The attempt failed, but my master assassin at least escaped with his life - or so I thought. A turn later the inquisitor discovers my assassin and burns him at the stake. Oh what a reversal! And so ends a glorious career of murdering french spies, merchants, priests and nobility

Example two (the best one so far):
I'm at war with the French and their heir and his brother are sharing a full stack army. They caused me a bit of grief and then they retreated to Marsailles and sat just outside the city for a while.

I sent one of my lovely princesses to the stack, and the brother fell in love with her, married her, and switched sides (I would have tried it with the heir, but you can't have heirs or kings switching sides). So now my princess unit was replaced by my nice newly aquired 4 star french general.

The only problem was that he was "stuck" in the red zone of control between the full french stack and the city, so he couldn't go anywhere. Next turn, the french army, led by his brother, attacked. 2000 men against 20. I played it out on the battlefield, and it was the stuff of epic Hollywood movies. My brave general, consumed with forbidden love for an english princess, faced his brother across the field. By charging at select light units and galloping away before becoming too entangled, he managed to kill about 120 of his former soldiers. Eventually, the french heir caught up to him and the final fight begun. Being a stronger and better general than his brother, he actually managed to kill the French heir! but then, of course, he and his unit were wiped out.

So, two french family members killed over a woman

***edit for spelling***

spank_inferno

There's a movie script in that one for sure!

I've had the game a few days, its an improvement on RTW, but the enemy AI is still a little too easy, but the look and feel of both the campaign map and the battle maps are much improved.

Some cool new factions too
The aztecs look like a gay pride parade cos they are all in feathers! (I thought I seen one fruity bloke wearing a feathered boa, alas it was just a necklace :rolleyes: )
There is also a new faction from the east who come with elephants with cannons on their back, how cool is that!

Ho-Hum

This game keeps on sounding better and better, me thinks I'm gonna upgrade so I can play it.

Ri_Nollaig

spank_inferno wrote:

There's a movie script in that one for sure!

I've had the game a few days, its an improvement on RTW, but the enemy AI is still a little too easy, but the look and feel of both the campaign map and the battle maps are much improved.

Some cool new factions too
The aztecs look like a gay pride parade cos they are all in feathers! (I thought I seen one fruity bloke wearing a feathered boa, alas it was just a necklace :rolleyes: )
There is also a new faction from the east who come with elephants with cannons on their back, how cool is that!

wat does the map look like when you have "discovered" america ? does it have full scale including the atlantic ?

BlitzKrieg

got the collectors edition, but not home till much later tonight (around midnight ) sooo left yearning for it.


the joy that overfilled me when i took out the map...its huge! I remember the rome map being relatively small, but this is one is BIG! so me happy

muppetkiller

Lads I might pick this up myself on the way home...it's only 39.99 in HMV of all places !!!

Zillah

Branoic, you do know that you could have just had your love-struck General rout as soon as the battle began and he'd just withdraw out of the zone of control back on the strategy map...?