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Difference between revisions of "Empire: Total War"

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==General Information==
 
==General Information==
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Empire: Total War is focused on exploration, economics, politics, religion, the founding of colonies and, ultimately, conquest. The game is set in the early modern period, spanning from 1701 to the early 1800s,[6] allowing players to lead a variety of contemporary factions to dominate Europe, North Africa, the Americas and the Indies.[7] The player will use both complex strategies on the campaign map as well as command military forces in battles on both land and sea. As with previous Total War games, Empire: Total War consists of two broad areas of gameplay: a turn-based geopolitical campaign that allows the user to move armies and navies across the globe, conduct diplomacy, trade, espionage, and the internal politics of their nation, and other tasks needed to run their nation, as well as a real-time battle mode that enables players to direct the course of any battles that take place.
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There were several innovative changes in this title since the start of the Total War series.  
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Empire: Total War features approximately fifty 18th century factions; however, only eleven of the most powerful and influential factions of the era are playable. In western Europe, the main factions are Great Britain, France, the United Provinces, Spain and Sweden, while central and eastern Europe are represented by Prussia, Austria, Russia and Poland–Lithuania. In the Balkans and Middle East, the Ottoman Empire is depicted as a dominating faction for Islam, while the Maratha Confederacy and Mughal Empire are the major powers on the Indian subcontinent.[8] The New World colonies of the major powers are represented as protectorates of their respective home nations. The establishment of key nations during the era, such as Revolutionary France and the United States, and the fall of native states to the larger empires is reflected in the game, though given player involvement any of these major events may be averted.[9][10] Smaller factions, including the less powerful German and Italian states, Native American tribes and North African countries are also represented. Each faction varies in territory, strengths and specialities.[9]
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A story-driven campaign mode entitled "Road to Independence" is also included in Empire: Total War, where the player guides the British colonisation of America in three structured Chapters.[11] The first Chapter sees the player establish and develop the English colony of Jamestown, the second focuses on the British fighting both the French and their allied Native American nations in the French and Indian War, whilst the third portion has the player directing the American Continental Army against the British in the War of Independence. This campaign is goal-oriented and strictly historical in nature, and additionally functions as an active learning experience, where players may learn, in each Chapter: firstly, to manage and defend regional economies, secondly, to form alliances and to capture and hold territories and exploit their resources on increasingly large scales, and finally, to use all of the player's acquired skills to survive and achieve victory in a total war against a superior opponent. Completion of "Road to Independence" unlocks the newly formed United States for use in a shorter, later version of the full campaign.[12]
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===Campaign Map===
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[edit]Campaign
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The main campaign of Empire: Total War involves a player choosing a faction and moving to forge an empire across the 18th century world. Each faction controls various historical provinces, each with a regional capital, and a number of other settlements ranging from minor villages to prosperous sea ports if they are coastal territories. The player can produce armies and navies to take and defend provinces by military means, or adopt diplomacy and politics to make advances in the game. In addition, players can use economics and religion to their advantage, as well as clandestine means such as espionage and assassination.[10] The campaign mode is turn-based, with each turn representing six months starting in summer or winter, allowing the player to attend to all needs of their faction before ending their turn and allowing the artificial intelligence to make all other factions' moves.[13]
+
The campaign map is one of the first noted changes in this game. It expands the European centric focus of the first Total War series (the exception is the Shogun: Total War and the Americas Campaign in Medieval 2: Total War Kingdoms Expansion), and this expansion covers simultaneously, arguably, all of the World be it either with multiples maps, or be it with trade nodes.This expansion is one of the most uncontroversial ones within this game.
 +
 
 +
The new campaign map offers new possible strategies to the player, being it with local expansion or the foundation of colonies in diverse theaters of action. Aside that the economic complexity is also affected by this major change, with the addition of new feature called Trade nodes.
 +
 
 +
The trade nodes add immersion to the game, by allowing the player to acquire and trade resources via merchant ships at specific theaters in the map, those are: South America, West Africa, East Africa and Micronesia. This simulates the enormous growth in trade that is a hallmark of the scope period of the game, with bustling sails reaching far corners of the world with the purpose of trading/colonizing. These theaters offer a great economic boost to whoever controls them, with rich resources like ivory, spice and sugar.
 +
 
 +
This add to a much neglected part of the Total War series, the need to maintain the dominion of the seas. The pirates now pose a great threat, leading to what was a bustling economy to a ruined empire in a few turns. Another major component to the now need for a great armada is that the trade routes which appeared in previous games are interactive, leading to options of not only blockading the ports put to hinder the enemy economy through state piracy giving you the goods that were flowing through that route.
 +
 
 +
The resources inside the provinces have now a closer resemblance to Rome: Total War than it had to Medieval 2: Total War, since the latter needs a merchant for the exploitation of the resources, similarities aside this is an expansion on the concept of the province system for that the building who is responsible for the harvesting is not centralized in a capital, but it is spread in the territory itself. This change is more visible in the new town system.
 +
 
 +
This new town system involves a capital and several subsidiary towns, thus removing some of the importance of the capital and spreading along the whole province. The new slave towns are born from the growth of the population in several villages that are already defined in number different to which territory. Those towns can be configured in four basic towns: schools (used for research of new technologies), manufacturing plants (factories that have several types: textile, smelters and pottery the choice is not up to the player, churches and entertainment buildings.
 +
 
 +
This add to military strategy as well since that the control of those towns is responsible not only for the income, but for the general happiness of the province, thus raiding towns is a useful tactics and preferred by the AI.
 +
 
 +
===Technology===
 +
 
 +
A game based in the century of lights can't cast aside the revolution that happened in several fields of the human knowledge and perception. Empire: Total War brings to the table a new form of supremacy, the technology. The 18th century was marked by several changes to the humanity as a whole, bringing to light several concepts that marked and constructed the post modern world. The tech tree is divided in three major branches, being those: Military, Economics, Governance.
 +
 
 +
This is one of the most relevant aspects of the game, leading to an empire being weaker than the other considerably just because one has the technological edge over the other. The research also lead to the changes in the way the population behaves and perceives the government, an absolute monarchy is going to have much trouble to sustain itself in the late stages of the campaign, because of the governance researches that were made.
  
  
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The campaign mode has been redesigned from earlier games to reflect early modern politics and economics
 
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The campaign mode features a similar approach to those in Rome: Total War and Medieval II: Total War, but includes several enhancements. The game features three main theatres of play: Europe (which also includes North Africa and the Middle East), the Americas and India, and four minor trade theatres in the East Indies, the Ivory Coast, the Mozambique Channel and Brazil. The way provinces work has been decentralised; although a central settlement is still used, other locations within a province can deal with trade and military recruitment, allowing factions to disrupt a province's productivity without assaulting the main settlement.[13] Diplomacy, taxation, and trade have been streamlined with the aim of reducing the need for micromanagement. Part of this streamlining allows players to appoint ministers to allow them to better govern aspects of their nation rather than the earlier governors for every city.[14][15] The wandering scholars, spies, emissaries and assassins used in previous titles to deal with the diplomatic, trade and espionage aspects of the game have been replaced with just three units: gentlemen, rakes, and missionaries. The former handle research and can challenge other characters to a duel to dispose of them honourably (thus eliminating the diplomatic risk of being implicated in an assassination plot), while rakes perform clandestine tasks such as spying, assassination, and sabotage. Missionaries serve to convert the populace of regions to the state religion of the nation deploying them, which reduces religious unrest and softens cultural unrest.[16] Isomorphic units also exist for certain nations - namely, Ottomans, Persians, and other near eastern nations replace rakes with Hashashin, while Indian nations use Thugees, and all nations southeast of the Ottoman Empire use Eastern Scholars (which are not completely isomorphic because they cannot duel) instead of gentlemen, and a variety of isomorphic religious leaders exist, such as Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox missionaries, or Imams or Brahmin. The way armies are produced also differs: in addition to being produced by settlements and then moved to generals by the player, generals can now also build their armies directly by recruiting from nearby settlements.[13] Players can now research technologies along a technology tree, leading to advances and new discoveries in areas such as infrastructure, politics, agriculture or the military.[9]
 
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Changes in government may occur during the campaign as the rise of republicanism over the traditional rule by monarchy becomes an issue in the early modern time period.[10] For instance, the United States may only come into existence if the ruling British Empire is unable to maintain social order. Another example is that the French Revolution may occur if the people of France are no longer satisfied with their sovereign.[9] Factions will also have a varying number of objectives such as establishing successful colonies, trade routes and dominance in certain regions as victory conditions.[17] Rebellions and revolutions may occur, and are influenced by the form of government in place. When a revolution occurs, the player can opt to side with the rebellious forces or the loyalist troops. The type of government installed by the player in their faction will determine how other factions view the player and will influence their diplomatic relations. While religion no longer plays a central role as in Medieval II: Total War, it is still important in helping bring under control newly captured regions and in defining to some degree diplomatic relations between nations.[9]
 
  
 
===Factions===
 
===Factions===
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*[[United States (ETW Faction)|United States]]- Protestant Republic (Grand Campaign)
 
*[[United States (ETW Faction)|United States]]- Protestant Republic (Grand Campaign)
  
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=== Campaign Map ===
 
  
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The Campaign is a evolution since the start of the series, it features a non continue map, and expand the theaters simultaneously to North, Central and the uppermost part of South America and the Indian sub continent
+
=== Battlefield Gameplay ===
  
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=== Battlefield Gameplay ===
 
  
 
*New Real-Time 3D Naval Warfare takes Total War’s unparalleled battle action to the high seas with players commanding single ships or vast fleets.
 
*New Real-Time 3D Naval Warfare takes Total War’s unparalleled battle action to the high seas with players commanding single ships or vast fleets.
Line 99: Line 112:
 
===Multiplayer===
 
===Multiplayer===
  
−
ETW multiplayer was supposed to be revolutionary with the addition of a brand new feature the multiplayer online campaign. Aside that we can also highlight that with the integration with steam the game could get a ladder system, giving players the motivation to pursue constant online battles.
+
ETW multiplayer was supposed to be revolutionary with the addition of a brand new feature, the multiplayer online campaign. Aside that we can also highlight that with the integration with steam the game could get a ladder system, giving players the motivation to pursue constant online battles.
 +
 
 +
The Multiplayer online campaign only reached beta phase, and thus is not integrated into the game. Although it was fully implemented in the Napoleon: Total War. This move was done since that the Hot Seat feature would be discarded in this title.
  
−
The Multiplayer online campaign only reached beta phase, and thus is not integrated into the game. Although it was fully implemented in the Napoleon: Total War. This move was done since that the Hot Seat feature would be discard
+
Although it is still in beta, its possible to conduct a campaign with other players, this requires a [http://www.totalwar.com/empire/beta/ registration]
  
 
===System Requirements===
 
===System Requirements===

Revision as of 08:03, 16 July 2010

Overview

Empire: Total War is a game based on the musketry warfare that revolutionized how the battles were fought. The insertion of gun powder and the changes that it brought is one of the hallmarks of this game. The changes in social structures, a period of revolutions, of turmoil. The spam of the campaign is the turbulent 18th century, a period that shaped great empires with the colonization of new continents and the stabilization and growth of a global economy.

Empire: Total War introduces to us a great number of changes, being the most valuables the addition of a new type of battlefield, water; a new diplomacy system; a complete new technology system; and a great review of the economic system. Those changes come in the light of what the scope of the game had, major naval battles, the hardships of battle using line infantry, the age of enlightment, colonies and empires that the sun never goes down. Those changes only add to the immersion of the game, seeing how you can go to battle with a aristocratic empire and suddenly fight a renewed republic with troops ready to defend their acquired freedom.

General Information

There were several innovative changes in this title since the start of the Total War series.

Campaign Map

The campaign map is one of the first noted changes in this game. It expands the European centric focus of the first Total War series (the exception is the Shogun: Total War and the Americas Campaign in Medieval 2: Total War Kingdoms Expansion), and this expansion covers simultaneously, arguably, all of the World be it either with multiples maps, or be it with trade nodes.This expansion is one of the most uncontroversial ones within this game.

The new campaign map offers new possible strategies to the player, being it with local expansion or the foundation of colonies in diverse theaters of action. Aside that the economic complexity is also affected by this major change, with the addition of new feature called Trade nodes.

The trade nodes add immersion to the game, by allowing the player to acquire and trade resources via merchant ships at specific theaters in the map, those are: South America, West Africa, East Africa and Micronesia. This simulates the enormous growth in trade that is a hallmark of the scope period of the game, with bustling sails reaching far corners of the world with the purpose of trading/colonizing. These theaters offer a great economic boost to whoever controls them, with rich resources like ivory, spice and sugar.

This add to a much neglected part of the Total War series, the need to maintain the dominion of the seas. The pirates now pose a great threat, leading to what was a bustling economy to a ruined empire in a few turns. Another major component to the now need for a great armada is that the trade routes which appeared in previous games are interactive, leading to options of not only blockading the ports put to hinder the enemy economy through state piracy giving you the goods that were flowing through that route.

The resources inside the provinces have now a closer resemblance to Rome: Total War than it had to Medieval 2: Total War, since the latter needs a merchant for the exploitation of the resources, similarities aside this is an expansion on the concept of the province system for that the building who is responsible for the harvesting is not centralized in a capital, but it is spread in the territory itself. This change is more visible in the new town system.

This new town system involves a capital and several subsidiary towns, thus removing some of the importance of the capital and spreading along the whole province. The new slave towns are born from the growth of the population in several villages that are already defined in number different to which territory. Those towns can be configured in four basic towns: schools (used for research of new technologies), manufacturing plants (factories that have several types: textile, smelters and pottery the choice is not up to the player, churches and entertainment buildings.

This add to military strategy as well since that the control of those towns is responsible not only for the income, but for the general happiness of the province, thus raiding towns is a useful tactics and preferred by the AI.

Technology

A game based in the century of lights can't cast aside the revolution that happened in several fields of the human knowledge and perception. Empire: Total War brings to the table a new form of supremacy, the technology. The 18th century was marked by several changes to the humanity as a whole, bringing to light several concepts that marked and constructed the post modern world. The tech tree is divided in three major branches, being those: Military, Economics, Governance.

This is one of the most relevant aspects of the game, leading to an empire being weaker than the other considerably just because one has the technological edge over the other. The research also lead to the changes in the way the population behaves and perceives the government, an absolute monarchy is going to have much trouble to sustain itself in the late stages of the campaign, because of the governance researches that were made.


Factions

-See main article: Empire: Total War Factions

More than fifty factions are included in the game, 36 of which are playable. The other factions cannot be unlocked and have to be modded into the game. The eleven playable factions from the the beginning are:

Playable Factions

Unplayable Factions

Starting Protectorates

  • Barbary States - Islamic Absolute Monarchy
  • Courland - Protestant Absolute Monarchy
  • Crimean Khanate - Islamic Absolute Monarchy
  • Louisiana- Catholic Absolute Monarchy
  • New Spain- Catholic Absolute Monarchy
  • Saxony- Catholic Absolute Monarchy
  • Thirteen Colonies- Protestant Constitutional Monarchy

Emerging

  • Afghanistan- Islamic Absolute Monarchy
  • Gran Columbia- Catholic Absolute Monarchy
  • Greece- Orthodox Absolute Monarchy
  • Hessen- Protestant Absolute Monarchy
  • Hungary- Catholic Absolute Monarchy
  • Ireland- Catholic Absolute Monarchy
  • Mamelukes- Islamic Absolute Monarchy
  • Mexico- Catholic Absolute Monarchy
  • Naples & Sicily- Catholic Absolute Monarchy
  • Norway- Protestant Absolute Monarchy
  • Punjab- Sikh Absolute Monarchy
  • Quebec- Catholic Absolute Monarchy
  • Scotland- Protestant Absolute Monarchy
  • United States- Protestant Republic (Grand Campaign)


Battlefield Gameplay

  • New Real-Time 3D Naval Warfare takes Total War’s unparalleled battle action to the high seas with players commanding single ships or vast fleets.
  • Realistic sailing model, cannon and musket fire, boarding actions, fully destructible sails, rigging and hulls and a full range of weather effects to influence battles.
  • It is possible to capture ships and use them as a part of your fleet[1]
  • Land battles that feature heavy artillery in the form of cannons, mortar and early rocket launchers, with bouncing cannonballs slicing through drifting gun smoke to tear up lines of infantry. Bagpipes, drummers, flautists and trumpeters fill the air with play out over the crack of musket fire

Multiplayer

ETW multiplayer was supposed to be revolutionary with the addition of a brand new feature, the multiplayer online campaign. Aside that we can also highlight that with the integration with steam the game could get a ladder system, giving players the motivation to pursue constant online battles.

The Multiplayer online campaign only reached beta phase, and thus is not integrated into the game. Although it was fully implemented in the Napoleon: Total War. This move was done since that the Hot Seat feature would be discarded in this title.

Although it is still in beta, its possible to conduct a campaign with other players, this requires a registration

System Requirements

Minimum System Requirements
Supported OS: Windows® XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista™ or Windows 7™
Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel® Pentium® or greater or AMD® Athlon® equivalent CPU, with SSE2 instruction
Memory: 1 GB RAM (XP,) 2 GB RAM (Vista™)
Graphics: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible hardware accelerated video card with shader version 2.0 support, 256 MB video memory
Display: Minimum screen resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels
Sound: Directx9.0c compatible sound card
Hard Drive: 15 GB free hard disk space formatted as NTFS
Peripherals: Windows compatible mouse and keyboard
Recommended Requirements
Supported OS: Windows® XP Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista™ or Windows 7™
Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel® Core 2 Duo® or greater or AMD® Athlon64® equivalent CPU, with SSE2 instruction
Memory: 3 GB RAM (XP,) 4 GB RAM (Vista™)
Graphics: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible hardware accelerated video card with shader version 3.0 support, 512 MB video memory
Display: Minimum screen resolution of 1280 x 1024 pixels
Sound: Directx9.0c compatible sound card
Hard Drive: 15 GB free hard disk space formatted as NTFS
Peripherals: Windows compatible mouse and keyboard

Community Links

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