Diplomacy (ETW)

Diplomacy

Prepare for a true revolution of diplomacy in Empire: Total War. One of the areas that have received an increased focus for the brand new TW title is Diplomacy and the Campaign AI.

Diplomats

In the previous Total War games, campaign diplomacy was represented by a physical agent on the campaign map who the player would have to send to foreign nations' cities or agents, in order start negotiating. Diplomats could also be used to approach specific characters belonging to another faction, generals for example, in an attempt to bribe them to join you, or in the case of an invading or besieging army, bribe the army away from the walls of your city, or of your land.

A new feature in Empire: Total War, however, is that diplomacy can now be entered at any time with the touch of a button, as opposed to having to send a diplomat out into the wilderness to encounter a foreign nation's population or city over a number of long turns. This is due to:

• The new streamlined approach to the campaign which will allow for easier and simpler control over your faction and less micro-management
• De-cluttering of the campaign map from too many agents and other unnecessary obstacles
• Simulation of the 'Embassy' system which had gone into wide use during the 18th century. In this time period, nations no longer sent emissaries when needed, but already had embassies set in other nations' capital cities, to enable quick correspondences.

Options

Factions may choose to declare war, request an alliance, offer a state gift, offer to become a protector nation, request a trade agreement, demand/offer payment, demand/offer technology, and demand/offer military access. Factions are more likely to agree to favorable terms, and are also more likely to agree to terms offered by a country that they are friendly with. For example, Hannover is much more likely to become a protectorate of Great Britain (same religion, historical friendships) if Britain offers them 2000 gold in return than France if it offers them nothing in return. Presenting state gifts are expensive, but in turn grant a massive relationship bonus immediately that gradually diminishes over time. As a faction conquers more and more lands, its neighbours will become less and less comfortable with it, and gradually become more hostile as time passes.

Consequences of diplomacy

All actions performed by players in the game have an effect on the diplomatic relations between factions. In fact, AI factions may even declare war in the case too much is demanded from them. The campaign and diplomacy AI have been unified, which results in more realistic diplomatic relations, complete with more useful alliances, as well as complex treaties.

As mentioned by the developers, diplomacy will allow for increased trade routes and will open up the possibility for military allies, something imperative to possess in a world that is constantly at war.

For people playing the American Colonial factions, for example, it would serve them well to improve their relations with the British, establishing increased trade routes, and possibly forging a defensive pact. Supposing that they are attacked by the French later on, the British and their naval might will probably sail to your rescue, either by assisting you in land battles, or by attacking the French at their homeland, forcing the French navy to retreat. However, allies will not automatically join the player for invasions and offensive attacks; they will only do that if it is in their best interests, with the strength of your alliance being another factor.

New features

New Diplomatic Options

E:TW offers a larger set of options for diplomacy than previous TW games have. These include offering a nation a state gift and trading technology. Other features have been removed, such as requesting attacks on a different faction (added in a "Join Wars" form for N:TW) and requesting map information (with modern cartography, the knowledge of who controls what region is common to all factions)

Relationships with other factions

The decline in a relationship between factions will be slow, gradual and noticeable. For example, there might be an increase in duels between two factions' gentlemen, hinting at a possible belligerence. Diplomatic notes and requests will indicate how your relationship and standing among other factions is going. There will be advanced warnings, as well as an escalation of events building up to a conflict, as opposed to having a former ally turn into an enemy within just one turn. Furthermore, it will be much rarer for long time allies to break their alliances

Diplomacy and Religion

Unlike MTWII, the Pope has very little power. Controlling only a one province nation, the Italian States, he has no special powers beyond those of what any other ruler have. However, religion is still a crucial factor in E:TW. There are eight religions in E:TW; Animism, Islam, Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism. Regions can be converted to another religion by sending holy men there and, when you control the region, building places of worship. Factions with a different religion suffer a small relations penalty, and factions with the same religion have a small relations increase. In addition, regions that have a sizable community of citizens who hold a religion contrary to your state religion (which cannot be changed) will gain religious unrest.

CA Developer Comments on Diplomacy

James Russell said: “We’ve done a lot with diplomacy. It’ll be clearer to understand how a faction feels about you, and why. The factions will seem much more human; you’ll understand their decisions.”