Just a heads up on the progress
of the update, not that anyone is counting the days ;). The update is currently
in QA testing so it is real close. A big thank-you to the members of the .ORG
and .COM and all the community leaders that grab me (or my wife) daily on MSN
and offer their feedback. The priority list we’ve gathered from this is helping
to drive much of what we are doing.

As promised, a list of the fixes will be
available for viewing before the update is released. So all going well you will
have it in a matter of days not weeks.

On a personal note I thought I would
clarify the cavalry charging issue. Most of the posts I have read in the forums
are correct, it is a new charge mechanic and this has been reexamined in the
forthcoming update. In simple terms, you will now be able to get more than one
charge out of a unit and you will be able to charge skirmishers with your lance
down.

Regarding the new charge mechanic, there
are two charges available to a cavalry unit: a formed charge which allows for
most of the unit to charge into a target; and an unformed charge which stops
the charge after 10% of the soldiers within that unit have made contact with
the target. In RTW this wasn’t as much of an issue because cavalry did not have
long lances and as such did not require two significantly different charge
abilities. The M2TW charge system allows you to have a very powerful charge if
you do everything right and a light charge if you don’t.

The triggers for a formed (powerful)
charge include:

• Line up the cavalry
  parallel to the target
• Utilize a long straight run up
  toward the target
• Prioritize stationary targets as moving
  targets may result in a last second turn and
  reform

The triggers for an unformed (weak)
charge include:

• The unit is spread out just before
  charging
• The charge is issued while too close to the
  target
• The charge is issued when the unit isn’t facing the
  target
• The player changes direction just before the charge•
  The target moves and turns just before being hit

Currently we have set the balance so
that a formed charge is very strong due to the unit’s collision mass on impact
and have set the unformed charge to be rather weak due to the 10% stop charge
threshold. This ensures that players that love to see mass destruction and men
thrown in the air get what they want and those that want a balanced game where
cavalry don’t dominate every other unit get what they want. This is certainly
something we will look to get your feedback on once you get the update and see
the charge in action with the additional tweaks.

So just a reminder then - it’s a matter
of days not weeks before you have the update. Just how many only QA can tell,
may I suggest you send them gifts of caffeine and goodwill to help them
along.

Regards,

Jason