Hi guys,
Just in time for Christmas, we are pleased to bring your our third Empire: Total War Q&A, featuring more of your questions from the official forums. This month we are taking the fight to the seas with an indepth look at Naval warfare.
Q: Will naval battles be fun and easy to command?
A: Where possible we have tried to use intuitive and easy to grasp controls.
There are a fair number of elements of control and game play that are shared with the land battles in Empire. Most people who have played Total War or another RTS game will select units, give basic orders and be able to move the camera around without a tutorial.
We have also been working extremely hard at making naval battles fun to play from the first minute, while leaving room for depth in the gameplay. The variety of ships available just adds to that depth and enjoyment.
The user HUD is going in the right direction, but is still undergoing refinement and development. It’s a good sign that the fans over at the Total War Center were able to work out the functionality of a lot of the prototype interface in one of the screenshots, and all with a little guesswork and no help from tooltips.
Q: What’s the maximum number of ships we’ll be able to command in battle?
A: The number of ships that will be commanded by the player is still subject to development. There are gameplay issues being resolved. It’s very likely that it will not be more than 20 per player. More than that could make battles too tricky to control, certainly for most “normal” people (or “us”, to use the shorthand term). Experts will, of course, scoff at our uselessness, but then we only have the standard number of fingers having not stitched on extra ones to give us an advantage in WOW.
What has to be remembered is that most ships have two broadsides to fire, as well as boarding actions to fight. When you mix in the effects of wind, waves, shot type selection, timing of broadsides, hull and sail damage, and the crew being killed… Well, the experience is already epic and engaging. With too many ships to control, battles could be overwhelming rather than fun.
Q: Will ships gain experience and associated bonuses and, if so will, they be gained by ships sunk or men killed?
A: Ships crews will gain battle experience and this will have gameplay effects. We’ll talk more about this another time.
Q: How are the Physics of naval combat going to work - are there going to be factors to do with the wind/weather?
A: That’s cheeky, more than one question in a question? It’s a taste of the cat, for you! Not easy to answer in a short Q and A either. Where do I start?
In this game we are looking at trying to create the best and most realistic environment and sea battles you will have ever seen, running in real time, in a game. Golly.
Ships have buoyancy models that effect their motion through and across the waves. Get a big hole in your hull and you will sink. All ships have location modelling of hull damage too.
The wind itself is modelled using simplified physics acting upon the ships, the ships sails and the sea. Rain, fog and snow are also weather that will be present in battles.
The projectiles fired from cannon each have their path and velocity tracked individually and so will cause varying amounts of damage to anything (sails, masts, rigging, hull, decks and men) that block that path. Obviously a big first-rate ship of the line is going to be able to take a pounding; a sloop, on the other hand, is going to have to rely on keeping out of the way of the big guns.
As part of creating a realistic sea battle, the sea will be using statistically accurate waveforms found in seas in the real world. These waveforms are animated using a Fast Fourier Transform. The sea surface itself is rendered using the Fresnel equation to blend between reflection and refraction. This sea acts upon the ships that sail on them, causing them to roll and pitch. This roll and pitch then effects the accuracy of the gunnery. Have we baffled you with technical terms yet? Good.
Hope that answers your question.
Q: Will ramming be a last ditch tactic that can be employed in naval battles?
A: You can certainly attempt to ram but, as you probably know, ships of this period were not really designed for ramming. The damage that you might do to your ship definitely makes this an act of despair! Ships of the line are not lightweights, and a few thousand tons of wood, steel and men colliding will cause havoc! Having said all that, a sloop should do everything it can to avoid getting in the way of a first-rate: failure is not pretty for the sloop.
Q: Will merchant ships be part of your fleet, so that the warships need to guard the merchant ships in a battle?
A: There are two types of merchant activity in Empire: trade routes and trade fleets. These can be guarded by your navies. There is a boatload to say about this so I think we are going to leave that for another time.
Q: Will you be able to see men jumping off the ship when it is sinking?
A: Yes. Some will be holding on for dear life as the ship slips beneath the waves and visits Davy Jones’ Locker. As most sailors of the 18th Century weren’t good swimmers, this is a very sad sight to see. The designers are still angling for ambient sharks (but without frickin’ laser beams on their heads).
Q: Will we be able to use captured ships in our own naval and merchant fleets?
A: Yes. There is a whole chapter that can be written about this but that’s for another time
Q: Will the ships be very expensive or take some time to build, so that recovering ships or taking ships has a real effect?
A: Yes. Building ships is a large investment of time and money. The bigger they are, the more they cost and the longer they take to build. For example; HMS Victory took 6 years from the laying of her keel, in 1759, to her completion in 1765. They are also a drain on your resources once constructed. Achieving a balanced but effective naval force will be one of the challenges of the game.
Q: Will my faction’s navy be able to take on repairs at neutral or allied ports?
A: No. There are a number of issues involved in allowing the player’s warships to enter friendly/neutral ports that don’t really add anything good to gameplay. One of the challenges in Empire will be to maintain a fleet at sea and have sufficient ports around the world to carry out repairs and replacement of lost crew and ships. If you want to do well, you’re going to have to emulate the Royal Navy!
Q: Will Pirates/Privateers play any roles in the game? Can we hire them to harass ports of call or go after enemy nations merchant ships to disrupt their trade?
A: Yes. They will raid your trade routes and on occasion attack ports that are poorly defended. If they think they can outgun an isolated naval vessel they will give it a go too. The player can raid the trade routes of enemy factions and also blockade enemy ports with their naval vessels during wartime.
Q: How will we get to India? Will you incorporate a ‘warping’ system where you warp around the map or do we sail around the Cape of Good Hope?
A: We have a cunning plan but we can’t give too much away just yet. Keep an eye out as we reveal more in the fullness of time. You will like it.
On behalf of the entire Total War team we’d like to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
Take care,
Mark O’Connell
RSS FEED
Comment # 1
OMG its just what i wanted for christmas lol. this sounds so awesome. i wanna see men on ships that are sinking but i wonder if there will be life boats? oh well ive been checkin tw every day and Finally theres somethin new about empire, and it feels good. dang i need to get my job back
Posted by George on December 21st, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Comment # 2
Will you be able to reef sails?
Posted by Trevor on December 22nd, 2007 at 8:15 am
Comment # 3
Me want now. Give me.
Posted by Snall on December 22nd, 2007 at 11:10 am
Comment # 4
Thanks Mark!
Wow this game is starting to sound so epic, I’m impressed with what your doing here guys it seems your working very hard to make the naval part of the game the best it can be and I really look forward to playing it!
Merry Christmas and have a great new year!
Posted by Ryan/Sharky on December 22nd, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Comment # 5
looking great!! but i do want to know how indepth the map will be with this large map size (at leat that is what I imagin) Will France be like 3 territories?
Posted by Corky on December 22nd, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Comment # 6
will there be a demo of the game?
Posted by Kenneth Noer Skinnerup on December 22nd, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Comment # 7
bloody hell I hope the cunning plan is a world map!!
cheers CA for the update, cant wait for empire and merry christmas
Posted by Will shelton on December 22nd, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Comment # 8
game sounds great, cant wait =D
ill bet theres something like a “send to india” button on fleet or port scren, then they arrive in x amount of time (unless something happens along the way)… seems like a good idea to me anyway if africa isnt included
Posted by starkiller on December 22nd, 2007 at 10:54 pm
Comment # 9
Unbelievably awesome.
Posted by albino on December 23rd, 2007 at 8:12 am
Comment # 10
navies and naval battles better be much more important in Empires than they are in RTW and M2TW, cause otherwise all that would be a waste…
still, sounds excellent!
Posted by trojankingpriam on December 23rd, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Comment # 11
“but i wonder if there will be life boats?”
Ships of the period didn’t have lifeboats per se, so I doubt that will be happening.
I should say the “solution” for shipping to India will be a world map. War during this period was global, the empires of the period were global. It would be a stupid contrivance and huge inaccuracy if only Europe were included!
Posted by Anonymous on December 23rd, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Comment # 12
Keep making awesome games, and I’ll keep buying them. Its a mutual relationship we have, and it’s beautiful. Love the updates, keep them coming. Oh and when its possible, give us a accurate release date so I can schedule a month off of work.
Posted by Mark on December 24th, 2007 at 4:41 am
Comment # 13
give us a video
Posted by kevin B on December 24th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Comment # 14
The game sounds great guys. I bought RTW and MTW2 about a year ago and it was like love at first sight. I’ve been looking for a good Imperial Era game and it looks like this is it. But what I really want to know is when does Empire come out? I haven’t been able to find a release date and its been bugging me for a while.
Posted by Ross on December 25th, 2007 at 4:27 am
Comment # 15
i wonder how many units on land you will have? will such epic sea battles take away some of the experiances that made the land gameplay great in other games like MTR 2? I hope they make it harder then the other total war games also, because in the other games once you get a stronger army you could role over your rivals with ease, and no strategy was involved thereafter, and it became real repetative real fast.
Posted by johnny on December 25th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Comment # 16
it looks amazing i just got medievil total war 2 kingdoms if its better than that ill be outstanded
Posted by jamie on December 25th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Comment # 17
As a player of “Total War: Medieval II & Kingdoms”, I am looking so forward to sending many hours playing “Empires”. Thank all involved in advanced. Merry Christmas!
Posted by Frederick on December 25th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Comment # 18
i need your introduction of Empire,Thank you.
Posted by seaxiuluo on December 27th, 2007 at 5:21 am
Comment # 19
Excellent, now what about the land battles? Will you be able to conduct amphibious operations, noting that there are no landing craft beyond the jolly boats and it will be slow to get ashore unless you storm a port! That would be a great acheivement if you could use your ships to smash forts then land troops to disperse the garrison and nearby troops all in one battle!!
Posted by Ian on December 27th, 2007 at 6:11 am
Comment # 20
I love that we are going to finally be playing during the 18th century but, I can’nt help looking to the future. Will the next Total War game after Empire be based in Asia? I loved Shogun when I played it as a kid. I hope somday we can play as one of the Japanese or Chinese factions again.
P.S. In Empire, I hope WE Americans are playable. We where an important part in that time of history (make us the underdog)!
Posted by Aghner on December 27th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Comment # 21
I wonder if for example, you can repair ships in a low level port. For exemple if SOL can be repaired in a low level port. Also, I wonder if there will be inland port such as for exemple Montreal in north America. Then I wonder if Nations such as USA, Prussia, Austria etc. will have a navy with the same quality as UK or France. I wonder how much coastal city there will be in America , Europe etc.
I find your work wonderful, this will be the best strategy game ever.
Posted by Baube on December 27th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Comment # 22
The only thing I would like to know is the tentative release date. I know you guys won’t release it until it is finished (a fact I greatly appreciate), but how about just an idea for the target.
Posted by Lester L on December 27th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Comment # 23
I have had every one of the total war games and have bought them for several friends.I am looking forward to this version of the game more than any previous game. Do yoou have any speculation on a release date and is there any chance of being a beta tester. Is there any chance of a demo anytime soon. Thanks.
Posted by Doug Blake on December 28th, 2007 at 1:47 am
Comment # 24
The Naval aspect shows much promise and I’m looking foward to it very much. However I’m curious as to how the land battles shall fare? I have great faith in the total war franchise but I dont hear that much about the other aspects of the game. Perhaps you could factor in the tradable resources of a region for example controlling all or most of the regions of high food production will we ba able to monopolize it and use it to create a surplus of food in our empire increasing our population growth in all our settlements? And inversly will we be able to starve out our enemies? Also can we organize a better faction interaction such as requesting “specific” assiatance in assaulting a city and working together to wipe out our enemies dividing which terrotories we attack and conquer?
Posted by KaY8706 on December 28th, 2007 at 2:32 am
Comment # 25
I think it would be great to incoporate the whole of Africa, it was a major place of colonisation after all, and am I the only person who misses the different starting times and situations of the original Medieval Total War???
Posted by alex on December 28th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Comment # 26
I dont know what you think but i bilieve that the naval battles must be very dificult to command, to me there is the fun, it must have a lot of strategy and be very detailed. So not only your mens will have to improve their skill, you will have to improve yours as well.
And thank to the creative assembly for so many happy moments.
Posted by Marcos on December 28th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Comment # 27
I hope it come out soon
And I hope it comes to europe first 
I have beaten all the total war games (included shogun) And I hope to get a whole new experience with Empire Total War. But I got one question ..
Will it be a world map to travel around with? and I got a second question ..
As I know we will have an selection of 6 or 7 factions to play but.. Will we be able to get more factions as we beat the game ??
Posted by Fredrik on December 28th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Comment # 28
But will there be battle playback in the actual campaigns, not just the historical battles- you CA guys go to all the trouble of creating arguably the most epic battles with no way to go back and appreciate them- All the same, can’t wait and send up a flare when the release date is coming- I will be looking for it!
Posted by Hayes on December 28th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Comment # 29
Lmao, Austin Powers reference! Game sounds like a tightly packed bottle of fun! Can’t wait!
Posted by ASG on December 29th, 2007 at 5:51 am
Comment # 30
i bet its a world map that u can rotate with buttons around bottom type thing
Posted by person on December 29th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Comment # 31
Excellent.
Posted by Mr. Burns on December 29th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Comment # 32
WERE/WHAT IS RELEASE DATE???????????
Posted by M1k3 on December 30th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Comment # 33
got to agree with above sounds awsome going on the rest of the total war series we know it will be good. and u guys work hard at it all the research u do to make it as right as possible great .good luck and have a great new year then get back to work and finish empire total war quickly please cant wait 3 months like a jail term geez 3 months
Posted by bob swann on December 31st, 2007 at 1:50 am
Comment # 34
p.s oh yea and a demo pls soon to ease the wait
Posted by bob swann on December 31st, 2007 at 1:51 am
Comment # 35
hey i am one of the biggest fans of total war in egypt
and i am wondering when will it be realesed
and thanks for the new q/a
Posted by Muhammad Ali on January 1st, 2008 at 7:26 am
Comment # 36
Man the naval battles sound great, but i do hope they dont work too hard on naval battles and forget about the rest.
Posted by Cotyso on January 2nd, 2008 at 3:16 am
Comment # 37
All right!! Totally Rad!!! I know the equations being talked about, but not the faintest idea as to how’r you using ‘em to make water
Buuuuut anyway, best Christmas gift I got this year!!
And I’m a raring to see those ships RAM!!!
Posted by David Doon on January 2nd, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Comment # 38
Total War have long produced the best land based battles; my concern is the naval version. In many games with sea based warfare, where a fleet of ships is allowed, control becomes remarkably difficult, ships end up drifting towards the boundaries of the engagement map and the eventual product is like herding cats rather than being able to adopt a particular naval strategy.
I’ve been playing naval games since (as sad as this is to admit) Pirates! on an Amstrad 6128. At no stage have any naval games produced a satisfactory strategy control system. My only suggestion would be to allow for a very detailed ‘advance orders’ system. In other words captains of particular ships can be given defined engagement areas and a combination of orders i.e stand off and bombard a particular ship, then board etc.
Just a thought will you allow the player to scuttle their own ships rather than letting them be captured and used by the enemy.
Posted by Gray Wig on January 3rd, 2008 at 6:25 am
Comment # 39
Please let Sweden be a playable faction, it’s really annyoing that you have been able to play as Denmark and Norway but not Sweden. Sure, Sweden was in decline during this period, but it would make a great challange to restore it to its former glory since its status as a superpower has always been very fragile. Of course you cannot compare it to countires Britain and France which has controlled large parts of the world, but it’s still a nation I would like to see as a playable faction, especially since there’s almost no computer games which includes Sweden.
Posted by ??? on January 4th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Comment # 40
Sound’s amazing and can’t wait.What happen’s to the factions that historically didn’t have a navy e.g. Prussia and so on??? Will only the likes of Britain,France,Spain and the Netherlands have the navie’s to rule the waves.
Please give us a clue of the release date and more info on land warfare.
Posted by Frederick the Great on January 5th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Comment # 41
In my country ther are a lot of total war games fans and i want to aske you when empire will be in the shops in georgia(country)? in naval battles is available to fight as aone ship or you only give orders and ships will do everithing by themself?
Posted by besi khobelava on January 5th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Comment # 42
Trailer NOW!!!! Release date NOW!!!!
Posted by Mojomaster5 on January 5th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Comment # 43
It’d also be cool to recapture captured ships.
Posted by Mojomaster5 on January 5th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Comment # 44
Hi. I think the total war series is AWESOME! I don’t have everygame yet, but I hope to eventually. Also could you make the AI in Empire: total war more understanding of when to give up a war? It’s so annoying when you send a faction an offering of peace, and they say something that implies that the computer is winning( and no) even though you are clearly winning. Just asking, but if you could that would be great!
Posted by Alex Y. on January 5th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Comment # 45
Hey guys, this game sounds fricken awesome…loved the other games in the series…especially medieval total war 1…
2 things tho…firstly…i too have played alot of naval combat games and they have all sucked big time (although i have to admit i did love naval combat in bfme2)…so my question is how will naval combat be utilized…will it follow the classic total war control interface or will it be more of a bfme2 type of control system…
i am also concerned that land based combat may be neglected as you try to develop the new naval combat system…and after all the land based battles are what makes this franchise so awesome…
that said i hope this game is awesome and cant wait for it’s release!!!!
Posted by Billyboy on January 6th, 2008 at 3:39 am
Comment # 46
What are you going to do about foritifications? Will they be made from dirt, so that they soak up the shock from cannon and will they have the same types of traps that they had during the period such as mineing breaches and having false walls?
Posted by Chandler on January 6th, 2008 at 5:22 am
Comment # 47
Awesome!! Keep up good work!
Posted by Igor on January 6th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Comment # 48
in Q&A 2 it mentioned 50 factions were up for consideration.
i believe that for this game to be more of a sucess (than it well be) 50 is about the minimum number of playable factions to reflect the scale and politics of the era the game is set in, the campaign map would have to be (for lack of a better word) huge, so huge a empire could be on the verge of continental domination while the playd faction carried on in complete indifference, the factions may also need to be semi-independant as the roman teams were in R.TW or like new spain in kingdoms, this also offers the considerations of factions cut of from there home factions, what would the viscount of new spain say or do if the motherland fell to outsiders?or if contact was lost with the motherland for unknown resons?and what of the reverse?what if england lost contact with its colonies which could be a seperate faction in there own right?
it’s the start of a deep and complicated political system…
could be incredable.
Posted by cyanan on January 6th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Comment # 49
Anyone wishing to know what 18th century naval warfare was really like should, if they can afford it, procure themselves a copy of Sam Willis’s excellent large-format book “Fighting Ships 1750 - 1850″ published by Quercus 2007. It combines detailed commentary with reprints of original artworks of the period. “Empire” sounds like a brilliant game, and I will probably break my own rule of never buying a computer game until it’s on special, and get myself a copy on its release. Incidentally, it has the same name as the game in Iain Banks’ latest novel “The Steep Approach to Garbadale” (Little, Brown: London 2007) - is this a case of life imitating art, or vice versa? Cheers.
Posted by The Weaver on January 7th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Comment # 50
For those who need to fill in some time before the game comes out I strongly recommend the Patrick O’Brian Aubery/Maturin novels - It’s a series of 21 Novels one of which was made into a film - Master & Commander: Far Side of the World ( Which in fact was a mish mash of several books ) If you wan’t to know what made the Royal Navy tick then this is one of the most accurate pieces of historical fiction ever written - well worth a read if you wat to gain the weather gauge on your enemy
I’ve been playing the Total War series since Shogun - but this is the one I’ve really been waiting for it adds a whole new dimension to what is already a great game
Posted by Lord Nelson on January 7th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Comment # 51
I can’t wait for the next Total War. I hope the land and Naval battles will work together to form the best RTS game ever.
What will be after Empire Total War? Will there be a expansion?
Maybe a World War II Tota War !!!
Posted by Steve Lee on January 8th, 2008 at 2:44 am
Comment # 52
The Americans should definitely be in it cause we need someone to help balance out the powers in the Americas otherwise Spain would still control Mexico and the rest of the south. Also a world map so you could go anywhere would be awesome so long as they add at least the African coast to make you sail around cause a move to India button or something like that would be kinda boring
Posted by Dell on January 8th, 2008 at 3:15 am
Comment # 53
P.S. its not like they haven’t made a map to India before (Alexander)
Posted by Dell on January 8th, 2008 at 3:19 am
Comment # 54
i hope they can include all the logistic problems happened during that period, after all, it’s very serious issue, the food, ammunition, etc. otherwise, it will be very boring once you have crashed couples of factions and have unlimited income. you can just create a mass army and fight all your neigbours.
Posted by alvin on January 8th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Comment # 55
I have faith that both the land and sea aspects of this game will be great, but one question ive been pondering is what level of interaction there will be between them. Will ships be able to remain at sea indefinately or will they need to return to port to resupply? will one small ship still be able to transport a huge army? (as in medivealTW) will land armies be able to attack/besiege a port separately from its “home” city? keep up the good work, and like everyone else says, a vague idea of a release date would be nice.
Posted by Chris Fawcett on January 8th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Comment # 56
I just want to give a big thank you to the development team!
Not only have you provided us with a great series of games in this franchise. (I have loved it since Shogun)
But in times when most gamedevelopers opt for shallow, comersial safe games, you seem to have a genuine intererest and dedication to bring us a full and satisfactory gaming experience.
It really makes me happy to see how you seem to not take any easy shortcuts, but seems to genuinly want to make the game the best it can possibly be.
I hope Im right when I think that this also will bring you a dedicated group og fans buying your games. (I know I will keep on doing it)
I can hardly wait for the game to be relased.
Thank you for your work and dedication!
Posted by Stig on January 8th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Comment # 57
it sounds really good.
1. will the areas to be captured country sizes????
2. can navys provide assistance in land battles if there near shore. like bombard the enemy from sea???
3.and will it be hard to run…..do you know the system requirements?????
Posted by shane carroll on January 9th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Comment # 58
naval battles can be very same with port royale cuz in PR it is very fun and realistic i dont say that it should be like that but u guys can take some ideas from there like ramping into others ship and fighting hand on hand, changing ships cannonballs like scatered, grapeshot
make ETW very interesting cuz total war is my only game (from Shogun to MTWK)
Posted by lhagi on January 9th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Comment # 59
P.S. i really want to see NELSON in there lolz
Posted by lhagi on January 9th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Comment # 60
How far into the future will the game go? 18th, 19th century? because using Civil War Era weaponry would be rather fun. and so would matching ironclad ships against SOL. Eat This, European Nation!
PILE THE BODIES DEEPER!!
Posted by Chris on January 9th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Comment # 61
This game sounds awesome. great graphics. Will land battles be as promenient? hopefully naval battles will not be repetitive. i just bought a $2k PC to run medieval TW2 and it was worth it! but will i need to buy a new one to run empire TW? looks like its gonna have some massive requirements.
Posted by Mitch Picker on January 10th, 2008 at 6:09 am
Comment # 62
this is gonna be freakin awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by calypso on January 13th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Comment # 63
The naval battle sounds all well and good, but I think I will still prefer the brutal ground battles. Naval warfare and effective tactics for it will be a blast to learn, but ground wars are just plain fun.
Posted by Diehard on January 13th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Comment # 64
I think i pissed my pants a little.
Posted by Dimitri on January 13th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Comment # 65
ya know what? I was saving up for a laptop or a 360 or Rome but this seems way cooler. so i think i want in. Hopefully my comp doesnt explode when I play it tho it can handle Rome, I’m not sure about midevil or empire
Posted by Dimitri on January 13th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Comment # 66
Apart from the obvious 1. whats the recommended hardware spec 2. when is the release date … im curious to know 3. can you do anything to stop players hiding in the corner of the battlefield so they cannot be flanked problem …. or being that gunpowder has come of age do you expect this not to be as big a problem as before ?
Thanks for your time
Scott
Posted by Scott Lotus on January 15th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Comment # 67
4. can we tell neutral factions to leave or land ? can only fight them at the moment.
5. can we RENAME units ?
Posted by Scott Lotus on January 15th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Comment # 68
i am going nuts about this you will have to make a video on like IGN so i can watch it a million times
Posted by andrew on January 15th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Comment # 69
Wuhay!!!
really looking forward to being able to play as GREAT BRITAIN
(Total War first) and being able to desroy USA, im guessing we start off with territories around the world or we will prob see all the Euro powers anihalating each other .etc. then the continents playing out against each other.
PS. Give us Scots, Sepoys and small villages with briges in them. Tah
Posted by Jimmies on January 16th, 2008 at 1:12 am
Comment # 70
Yeah Naval Battles and pirates sounds like good fun. What I really can’t wait to do is tax my miserable colonists into revolution, and order my red coats into some bayonet charges!
Posted by Yarrg on January 16th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Comment # 71
Give us more information please, and the reales date. And write on the blog more please.
Posted by Jeroen on January 17th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Comment # 72
When can we expect it to come out
Posted by ALASTAIR on January 17th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Comment # 73
I’ve been playing total war since Shogun Total war back in 99 or 2000. I still love it it. I have all of the games and nearly all of the expansions. My question is this: In Empire, will the ships have names? If so, will there be anyway that WE can name the ships? I would love to keep track of a dominant ship that I have, one that seems legendary. Ya know?
Posted by Tyler on January 17th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Comment # 74
Could you provide us with some more information about the campaign map and how much of the real world it will encompass? Also what historical scenarios are likely to feature?
Posted by Andrew on January 19th, 2008 at 1:18 am
Comment # 75
can I only play as ship????
Posted by Dutch total fan on January 20th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Comment # 76
Yeah, I can’t wait to see some Red Coats get Blasted away with my french artillery and musket fire! Veva La France!!!
Posted by George on January 23rd, 2008 at 4:33 am
Comment # 77
woooooot!
i cant wait when they make a world war 2 total war!
that will own
Posted by nooblet on January 23rd, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Comment # 78
i am hoping that we will be able to soak our hull/sails in tar and fill the hold with gunpowder for a nice little boat bomb
Posted by Blonkney on January 25th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Comment # 79
Can’t wait for Empire Just one question will there be Rifleman like in the T.V. series Sharpe as they played a major role in the crushing of napoleans army by the British Redcoats.
Posted by TB on January 25th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Comment # 80
can we play as Holland , cause my land was the best on sea, we beated the English an the French!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????
lang leve NEDERLAND
pleas help me!!!???
Posted by Dutch total fan on January 25th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Comment # 81
Dutch will be a faction, i dont think a playable but it is a minor faction not a major like the French, Britisch, Prusians, and problely the Austrians and Rusians too. Holland is just too litlle to be a Major faction. but the ai of Holland will make a great fleet i think. (the only way Holland is a major faction, is the fact that we had Indonesia and some part in N-America, that time. and that we’ve that teretory at the beginning., so we are big enought) but if the nethelands aren’t playable i will play the Prusians, like their amry and tactics, they had the best musketeers of europe and were very good with the bayonet. so if Holland isnt a major faction, i say, play the Prusians
my favorite country of that time. 
Posted by AdmiraalRoy on February 1st, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Comment # 82
Could you tell me how many if any African factions will be in empire total war, and is Empire of Fez ( Morocco) one of them?
Posted by Moors men on February 3rd, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Comment # 83
I dont like the sound of their cunning plan, if only they would say world map , if only
Posted by bill on February 4th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Comment # 84
Mark,
Will ships be able to make use of different ammo, like round shot, bar shot, chain shot, grape shot, star shot, etc…?
Posted by Capt. Moran on February 8th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Comment # 85
Hm.
I think certain units should only be able to be recruited in specific locations:
eg: the British faction can only recruit
Highlanders in Scotland
Sepoys in India
loyalist regiments in the Americas
and once in Spain/Portugal/France etc, they can’t recruit British style regiments.
A little more realistic I think.
I do hope there are lots of different styles of infantry units - guards, Riflemen (elite British Riflemen, that is), light infantry, line, chasseurs, voltigeurs, fusiliers, jagers etc etc etc…
A unit-creation application would be nice too, so you can edit & add custom units.
Posted by Colonel Sir Sidney Beckwith on February 11th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Comment # 86
Hey CA guys thanks for all your great work in the past, and for what loks to be a surefire hit in the future. One question though (not really specific to this FAQ) ; no Austria??? Are you serious? Come on guys no Maria Theresa or war of Austrian succession? I mean really Austria is so much more important than the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. I mean really, before this game I had never heard of them. Austria would make a much better faction. Even Naples or the Confederation of the Rhine would be better.
Also, supply lines MUST be included for this game to have any kind of historical credibility.
But don’t worry guys, I’m sure you’ll make a great game.
P.S. no I’m not Austrian
Posted by Admiral Chris the Magnificent on February 24th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Comment # 87
awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by joey on February 26th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Comment # 88
add missions kind of protection to protect a shipment of gold or persons??
add more misions no??
Posted by oscar (espain) on February 27th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Comment # 89
The Benefits of Steel Storage Buildings…
Steel is gaining in popularity as a building material due to the many options it offers, its strength, and its affordability. Steel storage buildings are one of the many options available; they range from airplane hangars to garden sheds. The most popu…
Posted by Building Cost Steel on March 8th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Comment # 90
Man is it just me or is going to really hard to get good at, let alone great (like me =) )
Posted by Ryan on March 24th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Comment # 91
I’m not to thrilled of the taught of naval warefare. Personally I liked them to upgrade the MTW II AI and graphics. I play this game religiously and kinda dispointed about the setting in the 18 century. They should just make a remake of MTW II with more in depth battle scenes and not make every general look the same. I want some diversity!!!
Posted by Jack on April 15th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Comment # 92
Great to have such a load of informations before the release! We translated the FAQ to German on our Fansite: http://empiretotalwar.de
Posted by Empire Total War on April 20th, 2008 at 5:25 pm