With Empire: Total War currently flying off shelves around the world, we spoke to several members of the Creative Assembly to get their thoughts on the game and spill the beans on their winning tactics!

Can you please introduce yourself and tell us about your role on Empire: Total War?

Mike Brunton – My name is Mike Brunton and I think my current job title is Head Writer and Senior Designer, but who can say? According to some the words “paranoid” and “curmudgeon” may appear in there as well, but I say in reply: who are these little bastards, and why are they following me around? I think I’ve written quite a lot of the words on Empire: Total War, or did I? Perhaps some of the historical content, whimsy and the occasional humorous asides in the game would, if dusted for prints CSI-style, lead back to me.

Lee Cowen – I’ve been at CA 10 years in May. So I’m a veteran of the company having been on the 2001 Rugby World Cup game, followed by the PS2 version and then onto Rome: Total War where I was the campaign map guy. Following this was Barbarian Invasion and Alexander and now Empire: Total War.

On Empire: Total War I’m part of the battle team responsible for all the naval combat that is the cannon fire, the crew and the ship locomotion.  My other main job was the battlefield buildings. Getting them from our 3d modeling app onto the terrain and creating the internal structure logic of the building.

Jerome Grasdyke – Hi all, my name is Jerome Grasdyke and I’m the lead programmer on Empire.

Kevin McDowell: Hi all, I’m Kevin McDowell, Lead Artist on Empire TW. I co-ordinate and manage the art team and supply art direction.

Tom Pickard – Hi, I’m Tom Pickard and I’ve been on the total war team since the summer of 2006. I’ve been working on the campaign map primarily since I arrived and have been involved in most stages of its development over the past 2 and a half years. I am a big Total war fan so as you can imagine landing a job on the TW team and having to not mention a thing about it for 2 years till it was announced to the public was pretty hard…

Pawel Wojs – My name is Pawel Wojs and I’m an artist on Empire.

James Buckle – I’m James Buckle, Senior Tester and Internal Support Lead on Empire.  I walk around QA and whip the testers with a cat if they’re bug count gets too low.  Sometimes, between whippings, I like to drink a nice cup of tea and play the game.

Mark O’Connell: I’m the PR and Online Manager for Empire: Total War and have been with the Creative Assembly since September 2006. Some of my responsibilities include press and community events around the world, running our websites, speaking to our lovely community and spreading the word about all things Total War. I also did quite a good job on the company Christmas tree last December!

Which part of the game are you most proud of?

Mike Brunton – I’m quite chuffed I managed to use the words “genuphobe”, “tympanitic”, “air loom”, “jugs” and “pie-shop hussar”. Actually, I’d like to see “Pie-Shop Hussar” on promo T-shirts – maybe I should ask… I’m also quite pleased that the original tech tree, buildings and army lists from my early drafts of years ago survived reasonably intact into the published game. Quite a lot of the development process ends up developing stuff out of existence as needs and targets change, but in this case it looks like the first stabs were going in mostly the right direction. They’ve been extended, tweaked and polished since by many hands (some of them under the conscious control of their owners!), but that’s the nature of development.

Lee Cowen – The gameplay involved with making the naval battles fun to play. It’s not everyone cup of tea but the demo seems to have gone down really well in the community

Jerome Grasdyke – Whoa, where to begin? Empire’s such a rich and varied game that it’s really quite hard to pick a favourite feature… I guess I’d have to go for the new campaign map, which I think has worked out really well. It gives the artists a lot more control over the look of the map, and they’ve definitely made great use of it in places like India and the Caribbean.

Kevin McDowell: The new campaign map is a really big step up from what we have had in the past. The ships are wicked too.

Tom Pickard – On a Personal level, I’ve been involved with the campaign map pretty much from the start, when I arrived the concepts we’re done and the project approved so it was a case of getting down to it. It being a massive aspect of the game to work on and have a chance to influence the direction of the campaign map as we move into a non tile based design was a great experience.

The campaign map for at least a year and a half was somewhat of a minefield of new features and experimental tech, a lot of new coders and new ideas mixed with a now un-tiled handmade map, made in 3d Max(…. that one took a while ) this map would drive the path finding and was originally meant to be the graphical side of things too, however with some rather frank admissions that this would be unworkable as both sides of the map, the wonderful graphics programmers worked their butts off to make me a more usable system that would give us (well me and Ben the other artist working on the map) greater control of the graphical side of the map. The campaign programming team on the other hand we’re using my max map to the fullest, as we started to create something that looked so unbelievably complex just so you the player would get a continuous experience across the world. Over the Last 6 months and many late nights we’ve all brought this together and polished it to be the largest TW map and something I hope all the players spend many, many months looking at.

Pawel Wojs – Literally every aspect, the game as a whole. I’ve seen it grow for the past 3 years, having played it to death, I still can’t get enough of it, and I’ll be playing it compulsively for a long time to come.

James Buckle – It’s hard to pick out any one feature, it’s just a big pile of awesome.  But I think the naval battles really stand out.  Few games have tried it and fewer have made it work.  We’ve managed to capture the essence of naval warfare and make it fun on our first attempt.  Building your first 1^st Rate, sending it into battle and seeing it blow the crap out of an enemy ship with a single broadside is a really satisfying moment.  Having said ship attempt to board a pirate galleon only to be repelled, set on fire and blown in two by its powder magazine is a little less satisfying.  Damn those pirates and their wily pirateness.

Mark O’Connell: I love the entire game and it’s been an honor and a privilege to work with the talented team that created it. That said, I am particularly excited with what has been achieved with naval battles. I still can’t help but be impressed with the level of detail and depth of the new mode, which stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the other modes in the game. It’s also a lot of fun when a well-placed shot causes your opponents ship to blow up!

What is your favorite faction to play as and why?

Mike Brunton – I’m going to be dull and say the British, but that’s only because I know where to find Britain on a map, mostly. My grasp of geography south of Doncaster is a little vague. It’s a wonder that I ever find the CA office some days.

Lee Cowen – I’m currently playing Road to Independence Episode 3, so I have to say America. I’m very much into US history and politics anyway and our game fits perfectly into that. It’s good that we went ahead with RTI as it really helps with learning the mechanics of campaign map. As I was the campaign map coder on Rome and have had little to do with that side of the game this time around, it’s interesting to compare the differences. There is so much more to it now, it’s scope is massive in comparison. Rome’s campaign map was much smaller. Basically it was myself full time, plus 2 or 3 other programmers.

Jerome Grasdyke - Usually I play as the United Provinces. It’s a good challenge since you start with few territories, but you’ve got money, some targets close by and a presence in all three theaters. I like the Ottomans as well as they’ve got quite a few colorful units which are fun to experiment with.

Kevin McDowell: Sweden’s fun, you’re in your own little corner, and there are lots of different ways to break out of it…you play a land or sea game, it’s up to you.

Tom Pickard - Well… I do love playing Prussia as a faction, but when I had a campaign where I allied myself with Austria and invaded Poland and France in swift powerful moves before I was stopped as I marched towards Moscow…. sounded a little too familiar for me… So then I played as Sweden and found them to suit my style of warfare, controlling the Baltic and invading Russia (sorry Russia I seem to pick on you whenever I’m an eastern/Northern European faction) Struggling with my economy until I secured enough trade deals and regions I’d captured became well enough behaved to tax properly. Before sweeping through Denmark into the thick of Europe’s elite armies. I’m going to plug for Sweden with Prussia a close second…

Pawel Wojs – The Ottomans! Out of all the factions I’ve played they are pretty much the toughest on the highest difficulty settings, I challenge anyone to play as the Ottomans, without saving and reloading when everything goes wrong.

James Buckle – That’s a tough one, I’ve had a good run on all of them and each one is a different playing experience.  I’ll probably go with the United Provinces.  You have a foothold in both the American and Indian theaters right from the start, bringing in lots of trade.  Your home region is sat next Westphalia, Bavaria and Hannover, so you have lots of minor factions to stomp on.  Of course, it’s not all roses, if you pick on the wrong little guy and he’s allied to one of the heavyweights you’re in trouble.  France and the UK are right next to you. Pick a fight with them and they will raid your trade routes, blockade your ports and generally ruin your day.

Mark O’Connell: I have probably spent the most time with the British. Being an island nation they are pretty well protected in the early game and you can work on establishing a foothold in the United States. They also have an excellent navy, which is ideal for suppressing pirates and setting up trade routes abroad. I have also really enjoyed playing as the Marathas because of their unique units and setting as well as the United Provinces when I fancy a challenge!

Have you got any tips or winning tactics that you’d like to share?

Mike Brunton – Don’t spend all your money. Keep up with the Joneses (as it were) with tech research. And never, ever, do what I did (repeatedly) and put your immovable saker cannons in a spot where they can’t hit anything. That’s really stupid, I can tell you. And remember to go fish mining - no, hang on, that’s in one of those MMORPGs, isn’t it?

Lee Cowen – Keep your ship’s in formation or you’ll end up micromanaging every single ship. Cross the enemy’s line if their sails are up and chain shot them.

Jerome Grasdyke – At the risk of stating the obvious I tend to pile in with superior forces – my victories are mostly won on the campaign map before I even get around to fighting the battles. That does mean actually paying attention to diplomacy in this game though.

Kevin McDowell: No. Loose lips sink ships.

Tom Pickard – Strong Allies, Aggression, and knowing when to run away and save your troops. Also one of my weaker aspects is my economy, most of my wars become bloated and once a campaign is completed I have to slash army numbers just to balance books… Not good when you’ve just declared war on France and its allies, and failed to take Paris.

Pawel Wojs – Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of melee, even in this period and especially if you have elephants in your army :p.  Play RTI even if you’re a total war vet, you won’t be disappointed! Also build up a strong economy, and protect your trade routes at all cost!

James Buckle – Some of the tactics I used in the previous games don’t work in Empire as it’s a different kind of warfare, but most of them can be adapted.  One that still works and is as old as the hills, is to stack units on one flank and then wrap around the enemy line.  The cross fire it creates will ripe the enemy units to pieces.  Unfortunately, this tactic tends to fall on its face when the enemy has greater infantry numbers.

I leave you to figure out how to get around that problem.

A sneaky tactic I sometimes use is to attack the flanks with galloper artillery.  I hide them in the woods to the side and wait for the enemy to line up, once they begin firing, pop up on their flank and fire straight down the line.  The effect can be devastating, whole rows of men get wiped out by canon fire.  If you can get it in close, hit them with canister shot, it’s brutal.  Be aware of their cavalry units, they will often be floating around on their flanks and, if ignored, will quickly obliterate your artillery and with them any chance for victory.

The new naval battles gave me a headache for a while, it’s a new aspect of the game so I couldn’t adapt old tactics in the way I did for the land battles.  This took a quiet a while.  A great tactic when you’re outnumbered by smaller ships, which happens a lot with all the pirates around the place, is to sail away from them in a zig-zag.  As they follow you, turn into them and fire chain shot at their sails, then turn away and reload.  With their sails torn to pieces they will fall away.  Keep this up and as each ship is immobilized it will be left behind by the chasing pack until you have a whole fleet of strung out and disabled ships.  You can now turn around, park out of range of their guns and shred them with round and grape shot until they surrender and leave you with a tidy little prize.

Mark O’Connell: In naval battles, set a couple of your ships up sideways in the deployment phase. Then unleash a devastating assault of chain shot as your enemies move into attack. It’ll leave them sitting ducks in the water as their masts come crashing down into the sea. Then you can maneuver your fleet to catch them in deadly crossfire of round and grapeshot.  Here’s another tip – select any unit during land battles and press the ‘Insert’ key. It’s awesome.

Finally, do you have any messages for our community?

Mike Brunton – Thanks for being so informative and enthusiastic/keen/mad for it/vaguely threatening (delete as appropriate) in your posts over the years. Now go and enjoy yourselves playing the game!

Lee Cowen – This is one of the largest games ever written, with massive scope, so bear with us if you have any issues, we always consider your comments. Just enjoy what’s great about the game.

Jerome Grasdyke – Just to remember to take it easy, and enjoy conquering the world (again). And also, that Total War would not have become what it is without their enthusiasm and support.

Kevin McDowell: Have fun! Try playing different nations. There are lots of different play styles available.

Tom Pickard – First, I hope you enjoy, and I hope it’s as much fun for you guys to play it as it has been to make.

I’d also like to take this to address a one of the things I’ve seen repeated on the forums (see we do read them ) The areas we covered (or the areas we left off the map): I understand many people’s frustrations at not seeing their country/faction, or not seeing all of say Siberia or China or Australia to capture, but the map is massive, it is truly giant on so many levels and it took lots of designers and many art/coders/producers months of wrangling to decide which areas should make the first draft of the campaign map, This was based on so many deciding factors, and then it took a year or so after to slim it down to a size that was both manageable and fun, and most importantly the gameplay /style/loading times/so many other things was vastly improved because of the time we we’re able to spend polishing the (vast) areas we ended up focusing on. Also If we gave you the world what would the fantastic TWMod community do

Pawel Wojs – Enjoy! We’ll look forward to your feedback, in the forums.

James Buckle – See if you can find the kittens.

Mark O’Connell: I would like to personally thank each and every one of you for your feedback and support throughout the duration of the project. We have a lot more planned in the coming months so stay tuned to www.totalwar.com for the latest information. Oh, and thanks for reading!

At the Total War blog, Mark has posted an explanation and some tips for creating Empire: Total War mods. We’ve already seen mods being created, and there’s clearly a demand for more. The mod dev package is coming, but in the meantime, here’s how to work with the modding system, not against it. Using this knowledge, you can avoid breaking things released by CA in the future.

First of all, the ETW data is meant to stay packed. The pack file system and the virtual file system that it builds internally within the game are central to the patching and modding systems, so please don’t ask users to unpack their data in order to run with your mods.

So how should you mod the game? Well, it works like this. Empire loads files of type .pack in the data directory in a certain order determined by the pack’s type. There are three basic types – release, patch and mod. The fifth byte in the pack file header is an numerical id which tells the game what a pack is, boot packs are 0, release packs are 1, patch packs are 2, mod packs are 3. The game then loads release packs first, then patch packs, then mod packs.

At game startup, the file entries in all of these packs are mounted into a virtual file system, and if the game finds an entry in a later pack which has the same name and location as an already existing entry, the new entry replaces the old. This means that a mod pack can replace any file in the vfs and add new ones as well, without asking the person who downloaded the mod to overwrite files on disk and destroy data.
In order to tell the game to use a mod, you do need to feed the game a script command. Currently the easiest way to do that is to create a user script file. The way to do this is to find your preferences.empire_script.txt file (this will be in Application Data on a Windows XP machine), and create a text file next to it called user.empire_script.txt. Inside that file, for each mod create a line which reads “mod my_pack.pack;” (without the quotes, obviously). The user script gets processed on load, and will tell the game to load your mods in that order. The user script can be used for many other things as well, but we’ll leave those for another day.

So basically, a mod is intended to be a single “mod pack” file, and installing a mod is just placing that pack inside the game’s data directory and adding the mod command, and uninstalling it is removing those things.

Now, a note on how to work with the databases. You’ll have noticed that each table in the databases (inside the db folder) is both a folder and a binary file. When the game instantiates the databases, which happens after the virtual file system is built, it scans each directory and parses -all- of the binary files it finds. This means that a mod pack can add a new binary data fragment inside the db/unit_stats_land_table folder which adds several new units, and the game will add them to its land units database. The fragments are processed in the same order as the pack files, and any new database records with the same name as an old record will cause the new to replace the old. This means that you can replace any record within the database without touching the rest of the data or modifying the CA-supplied files on disk.

For example, say the CA packs contain a unit record for ‘french_dragoons’, which is one entry out of hundreds inside the shipped unit_stats_land_table data fragment, which is used to build the unit table that was available at launch. Now say you create a mod pack which places a new data fragment, say called my_mods_unit_stats_land inside db/ unit_stats_land_table, which contains just one data record for ‘french_dragoons’. What will happen is your new record will end up replacing the current record for that unit in the game data, and the rest will stay as it was originally.

So… hopefully you’ll now have a good idea of how the modding system was architected, and how you should build tools to work with it. There’s also another interesting consequence of how the system works, which is that it opens the door for mods built on top of other mods…

One more thing to keep in mind is that we’ve not yet finished testing the mod support fully – that’s part of what’s happening here before the mod dev package gets released. We’re aware that there is currently an upper bound of about 6000 files in a single pack, though it’s very possible to create a mod spanning several packs. But be aware that there is some overhead associated with mounting a pack, and a data directory filled with scores of them will make the game startup time significantly longer.

The other thing I should mention – since you’re going to be experimenting with this – is that the game checks the final database integrity after loading mods. So if you add a pack file which includes a new unit record which doesn’t include a display model or is invalid in some other way, the game will unload that mod pack (though it keeps the rest). This isn’t the main error checking mechanism in the ETW data pipeline, that’s done elsewhere, but as modders you should be aware of it. Unfortunately there currently isn’t any log output on the reasons why the mod failed to load, we’re looking into adding that when the modding dev kit is released.

Armed with this info you’ll at least be able to work with the system as it was intended, without having to wait for the mod dev package. I have to say it’s great seeing you guys making headway so quickly. The pack and database inspection tool was a great start, I think, and really bodes well for the future of the Empire modding scene.

Good luck!

For those of you that have got your hands on either a pre-order exclusive unit or the Empire: Total War Special Forces edition, here is a guide on how the requirements for getting them in-game.

Pre-Order 1: Deaths Head Hussars
Unique unit for Prussia, recruited from Imperial Palace in Brandenburg region.

Pre-Order 2: USS Constitution
Unique unit for America, recruited from Drydock in North America.

Pre-Order 3: Dahomey Amazons
Recruited from Governor’s Residence building in Morocco, Algiers and Tunis regions.

Special Edition Units
Rogers Rangers: Unique unit for Great Britain, recruited from Army Barracks in North America.
Ghoorkas: Recruited from Governor’s Residence building in Kashmir region.
‘Corso Terrestre’ Guerillas: Recruited by Spain from Magistrate building in Spain region.
HMS Victory: Unique unit for Great Britain, recruited from Steam Drydock in England region.
Organ Gun: Recruitable by Ottoman Empire from Cannon Foundry.

To make things clearer, we have also produced two reference tables for you to download:

Special Units 1
Special Units 2

Special thanks to Mark and the Total War Blog for this information!

News and reviews for Empire: Total War have been flowing in this week. Although some people have experienced problems, most everyone seems to be enjoying the game. I’ve even read comments and tweets about people skipping eating, bathing and sleeping to play! Please, conquer responsibly.

Patches and Help

Steam released a patch for Empire: Total War this week. The patch will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. Here’s what’s changed:

• Fixed Alt-Tab issue which prevents players from switching away from a fullscreen window
• Fixed text rendering for certain resolutions
• Fixed localized font overrun issues
• Fixed a variety of crash and memory leak issues
• Fixed a variety of multiplayer client lock
• Fixed trade nodes for those nations with resource in home region which caused unprofitable trade theatre routes eg: Sweden and Marathas

If you are still experiencing problems with Empire, our customer service team is here to help! You can check our knowledge base for a quick fix, but if that doesn’t do the trick, you can file a ticket about your issue. This is the best way for you to get your issue solved and get on with playing.

Reviews & Giveaways

I’ve been tweeting reviews and giveaways as they come in, and here they are in a convenient roundup form. If you see any reviews you think we should know about, you can leave them in the comments or send them to us on Twitter.

Don’t have your copy of Empire: Total War yet, and want to win it? You’re in luck — BuzzFocus is givng a copy away! Hit up that link for all the rules and to enter the contest. You’ve got until April 2nd to get your entry in.

TrueGameHeadz gives Empire: Total War 4/5 stars, calling it “the best game in the Total War series”.

PC Gamer gives Empire: Total War a 94/100 and a “Must Buy”. The US version of the magazine is on stands now, and has the full review. The UK version is online (that’s the link) and they gave it the same score. “We cannot do anything other than play Empire, compulsively, obsessively.”

IGN AU lists 10 things  you  need to know about Empire: Total War. This article made the front page of Digg this week, too! Now, I’m no history buff — in fact, it’s my worst trivia category. But I appreciated that IGN AU called attention to the historical accuracy of Empire, including the plants and moustaches. Because everyone loves a historically accurate moustache.

Pocket Lint gave the game 9/10, saying it has “some of the most sumptuous graphics ever witnessed”.

Inc Gamers calls the game a “masterpiece”, and gives it a 94.

Keep those reviews coming! If you see one you think we should know about, let us know in the comments.

Empire: Total War went live on Steam and in stores this week, and the reviews are starting to come back in. We’re thrilled that the reviewers love the game, and hope that you do too. I’ve been looking around online for people’s comments on the game, but I’m finding that people are too busy playing to post much. I’m guessing that’s a good sign.  Anyway, on to the reviews! (All emphasis/bold in the reviews is mine, not the reviewer’s.)

Gamespy

Gamespy gives the game 5/5 stars with an Outstanding rating and an Editors Choice award!

“What makes these games work is not only how well each side works as an individual unit (either might have been released on its own and been a quality product), but how well the two sides are married to one another. This, in a nutshell, is what makes Empire a brilliant game, easily the best of the Total War series to date.”

“Empire’s campaign map gameplay does an amazing job at simulating the empire-building, intricate webwork of trade partners, diplomacy and alliances and the jockeying for power that make the 18th century an inexhaustible treasure trove for armchair monarchs.”

“Creative Assembly has once again proven its reputation is well-deserved, and Empire: Total War is a game that belongs in any strategy gamer’s library.”

1up

1up’s reviewer gives the game an A-, and the average of the 1up editors and reviewers is an A+.

“It would be easy to be just bowled over by how glorious Empire: Total War looks. Creative Assembly’s signature series has always been big on spectacle, and Empire is no different. The battles are bigger and bloodier, only now you have the smoke of muskets and crack of 12-pounders to accompany your march across the known world. Don’t let the color of charging Cossacks blind you to everything else going on here though, Empire is a major step forward for the entire Total War franchise.”

“Empire overreaches in parts, but I suppose that’s the price of ambition. It will get even more ambitious once Creative Assembly adds the promised multiplayer campaign mode. But Empire’s lumbering remoteness says something about the age it portrays: a century of mass armies and big ideas, the Wealth of Nations and age of steam. For all its problems, it’s undoubtedly progress.”

Game Informer

Game Informer’s reviewer gives it a 9.5, and it also gets a 9.5 on the second opinion.

“To say Empire: Total War is a deep experience is an understatement. The latest game in the famed strategy series combines thrilling real-time battles with turn-based 4X empire building and outshines its predecessors in every possible way. The studious attention to historical detail, ambitious web of political intrigue, and spectacular battles place this game in the pantheon of strategy greats alongside Civilization and Age of Empires.”

“Empire also introduces naval battles for the first time. Watching your deckhands prep their ships for battle is awesome, but as the frigates and sloops move in for the kill they often engage in an awkward tango of shifting sails over which players have minimal control. Since every real-time battle is an opt-in affair, not even these battle deficiencies can take away from the fantastic Empire experience. This is one of the most sophisticated, entertaining, and historically accurate strategy games ever made.”

More reviews as they come in. We’ll be posting links to reviews in our twitter feed, and posting them in groups here on the blog. If you see a review we should feature, send us the link by commenting on the blog or tweeting it to us.

We’ve noticed some common issues as people begin to install and play Empire: Total War. The helpful folks in our customer service department have just published a new knowledge base article with answers and tips to help you along.

1) Nvidia Drivers.

a. After the game was finished, Nvidia released a new set of drivers which we were unable to test before release. Unfortunately this has caused some incompatibilities with the game. We recommend that you roll back to the previous drivers until this is resolved (located here: http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_182.06_whql.html)

2) STEAM installation issues

a. There are a couple of known issues with STEAM that occur when the servers get very busy.

i. Sometimes downloads will pause whilst downloading from the STEAM servers, the download should eventually restart. However you can force restart the download by selecting pause and then restarting the download using the right mouse button and selecting the appropriate option.

ii. After STEAM downloads the game, sometimes the game cache doesn’t update. In such circumstances, simply quit and restart the STEAM client. This restarts the process and allows the installation to complete.

iii. After a complete installation, sometimes the activation will fail due to the servers being very busy. Usually waiting 5 minutes and trying again solves this issue. If that doesn’t work please close STEAM and restart the client.

iv.   Despite having a boxed version, Steam appears to be downloading the whole game. Answer to this here on Customer Services http://help.sega.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=516&nav=0,6,165

STEAM have identified a fix that will correct the majority of problems here that will be implemented ASAP today. In the meantime quitting and restarting STEAM is the best way to resolve these issues.

3) FAT32 (Portable Hard Drive/Old Hard Drive)

a. Due to the large size of the game, FAT32 will not work with the title. You are unlikely to have a FAT32 drive unless you have an old hard disk which you have installed STEAM to, or are using a portable drive. You can fix this problem by converting the hard drive by using any partition tool such as Partition Magic or the Microsoft Tool found here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307881. We recommend backing up any data on your hard disc before using any partition tool.

Hopefully this answers your questions. If not, you can post your query to the Empire: Total War forums or contact SEGA customer service directly.

So you’ve bought your copy of Empire: Total War and started playing. But now you’re wondering if you can adjust the graphics settings to make the experience even better. Wonder no more! Richard Gardner, the Graphics Lead at Creative Assembly (developers of Empire: Total War), is here to walk you through the nitty gritty of graphics settings.

This article is also posted at the Empire: Total War blog where you can see FAQs about the game and more!

We’ve just release the third and final Superior Tactics trailer for Empire: Total War. In this video, designer Jim Whitson and associate producer Mark Sutherns take you through naval groups and formations, to guide you through the naval battles that are new in Empire: Total War. Enjoy!

With the release of Empire: Total War just one week away, it’s time for our 12th and final faction feature — the United States of America.

The United States of America is a nation forged in the fires of revolution and rebellion against a British monarch seen as distant, foreign and tyrannical.

After the French and Indian Wars, the British government took an entirely unreasonable line: the American colonists should pay taxes to contribute to the navy and army that helped defend them. After all, those colonial fellows enjoyed the benefits of peace, protected by Britain’s expensive soldiers and sailors. The colonists had other views. The British responded with political stupidity and military ineptitude.

Aided, once they had rebelled, by the French Bourbons (who, for reasons of their own, had every wish to see Britain pre-occupied with war and then humiliated by seditious rebels), the Americans faced down Britain. The struggle split counties, cities, towns, even families, but it united the nation.

In its wake, the revolution left a new kind of nation, a republic where men choose their own destinies, and are not subject to the whims of kings. This spirit of independence is a source of strength: it is an idea worth defending! It is also a source of weakness, for Americans cherish the right to do as they think best. This is not necessarily a good thing in an army.

America now has a future of boundless possibilities. A continent stretches away to the West, and no one is entirely sure what is to be found there. The Atlantic swell washes against the eastern seaboard, and beckons American seamen onwards: trade and adventure lie that way too. There may still be scores to settle with the British in Canada, or ambitious nations from Europe to discourage. There is much to do, if this newest and boldest of nations is to survive and prosper!

Visit the factions section of the Empire: Total War site to see the names, flags, and histories of all 12 factions.

To round out our Empire: Total War Friday coverage, I’ve got some Superior Tactics trailers for you!

In this video, the Battle AI programmer for Total War takes you through the interface and shows you tactics you can use in the game that are based on real tactics used by Napoleon.

In the second video, Jack Lusted (a designer for the game) takes you through the mast calvary tactic, and uses it to defeat the Polish army.

Don’t forget to download your free demo of Empire: Total War from Steam! Check out our previous blog entry for all the details.