Shogun 2: Total War Q&A
Here is an exclusive interview Total War’s Lead Designer James Russell regarding the recently announced Shogun 2: Total War.
It has been a decade since Shogun launched the Total War series. What were the reasons for returning to where it all began for Shogun 2: Total War?
In many ways, Empire: TW represented the expansion of Total War to its greatest extent in terms of global, geopolitical scale – and that fitted the reach of the great powers of that era. What we are excited about with Shogun 2 is to taking things back to a more contained, pre-modern environment where we can really focus on characters & immersion – and in a fresh setting, away from the map of Europe. Rather than having to portray many different cultures across the world, we can delve deeply into portraying one culture in beautiful detail. The game will still be epic in scale – but in terms of story and depth rather than by encompassing much of the world in geographic scope.
Feudal Japan is an incredibly evocative setting with so much great content for the game: bushido (the Way of the Warrior), mighty warlords leading vast samurai armies into battle; huge castles and epic sieges in unique landscapes like nothing you’ve seen in Europe.
Chronologically, where does Shogun 2: Total War fit in the timeline of the original game?
As in Shogun: TW, the setting we have is during Japan’s Sengoku Jidai: the warring states period in the 16th century, before the Tokugawa Shogunate asserted its complete control and ended the anarchy.
We have chosen this setting now for the same reasons we chose it a decade ago: it was a time of epic struggle between the feudal lords of rival clans across Japan. With the breakdown of central authority, there was constant warfare and any one of many clans could have ended up winning. It’s the perfect setting for a Total War game where the player can choose one of many factions all competing for the final victory in what was the most turbulent period of Japanese history.
It was the time when a uniquely Japanese samurai culture was forged. It was also a time of great change: for example, first contact with Europeans saw the introduction of Christianity and later the first large-scale use of firearms in Japanese armies. This opens up lots of interesting gameplay choices for the player that are unique to this specific period.
How has the Total War series progressed since the original game and what will this bring to the sequel?
Clearly, PC technology has come on so far in the last ten years, and we can do things that were simply impossible before: the game engines for both campaign and battle have been completely revolutionised (and re-written) several times over since the original game which had sprites in battle and a 2D campaign map. Now we can portray huge samurai armies in all their glory with a new and improved battle graphics engine that looks utterly stunning. On the campaign side, we will depict the unique geography of Japan with the most beautiful map we have ever produced. We are constantly looking at ways to improve the game, and each new project gives us the opportunity to push into new territory.
The Total War team consulted with Professor Stephen Turnbull during the production of Shogun: Total War. Will you also be working with any experts in the field for Shogun 2?
Well we’re actually working with Stephen again this time round, and he’s been involved from very early in the project. He’s been to see us in the studio (his journey down, carrying authentic pieces of samurai armour raised a few eyebrows on the train!); we are talking to him regularly about planned features and game content – he’s been a fantastic help for us: not only making sure we stay on the right path, but also giving us a lot of inspiration (watching all the Kurosawa movies helps a lot too!).
As a studio, we have much lower staff turnover than many in the industry, and there are still a fair few people working on Total War who have been here from the very beginning, not least Mike Simpson.
Empire: Total War introduced naval warfare to the series. Is there a chance that the feature will return to make an impact on feudal Japan?
Of course – Japan is an island nation, and the sea is never far away. One thing to emphasise is that the way naval battles were fought in Japan during this period is very different from the bigger-is-better artillery-fests of the 18th century European contests we represented in Empire. Japanese ships of the era were full of samurai swordsmen and archers, so we’re focusing a lot on boarding systems and stone-scissors-paper interplay between different ship types. Another big addition is the inclusion of land masses at sea: this provides new terrain-based tactical play as well as helping orient the player. We think we can make naval battles in Shogun feel very fresh & new – and be more fun to play than ever before.
What other areas of the game might see major changes with Shogun 2?
When we begin development, as a team we immerse ourselves in the period and the setting that we are trying to bring to life in the game. We develop features that reflect the battles and the military & economic dilemmas of the time (as well as making for great gameplay).
On the campaign map this means we fold in the importance of honour, treachery, clan & family, and many other aspects of being a warlord in feudal Japan. Of course, we need a completely new set of agents and agent abilities too.
On the battle side, special, historically accurate, hero characters can help turn the tide of battle. We’re also giving siege mechanics a complete overhaul: Japanese castles are very different from European castles, and we’re working hard to make the layouts look convincingly Japanese as well as playing well.
We’re also planning some very exciting things for the multiplayer part of the game, so watch this space!
What do you want to achieve overall with Shogun 2: Total War?
We really want to make Shogun 2 a thing of beauty, and the most immersive Total War game ever. We are focusing on pushing gameplay depth and polish rather than raw ‘size’ or scope: doing more with less.
Internally, we are calling these things together (beauty, depth, polish and immersion) the Zen of Total War. We are absolutely committed to making Shogun 2 the most breathtaking Total War experience ever.
Thank you for your time!
Stay tuned to www.TotalWar.com for all the latest Shogun 2: Total War information, and be sure to become a fan on Facebook and Twitter.
Best regards,
Mark O’Connell
The Creative Assembly
Comment # 1
I’m looking forward to this game, it is sounding pretty good. I’m just hoping my computer will run it. XD
Posted by A_Parked_Car on June 8th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Comment # 3
I was wondering will there be any outside influence other that Japan alone? Such as Korea or any of the surrounding areas around Japan. If so that will be SWEET!! I already know 100% that I’ll buy it either way and the game will be great like the rest, just curious.
Thanks,
Andrew Young
Posted by Andrew Young on June 8th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Comment # 4
Hi CA,
I hope that coastal attacks will occur and that attacks from the coast will happen as well.
I also look forward to more refined siege pathfinding as well.
Thanks,
stefos (aka hellas1)
Posted by stefos on June 9th, 2010 at 12:04 am
Comment # 5
This really made my year.
I’ve been waiting for this ever since I played the original Shogun: Total War.
Posted by Ricardo L. on June 9th, 2010 at 1:18 am
Comment # 6
I have purchased every TW game and Shogun 2 sounds fantastic. My biggest concern is AI. There has been no mention of improving the AI for the strategic & tactical battles. I had read that warlords & his generals will have more of a roll playing element when he is involved in tactical battles. I like this idea as a player is more connected to a general who has grown as the game is played. I hope that land troops & ships can both be involved during a land battle. ie: beach landing or shore bombardment (rockets, catapults, etc). Lastly, it would be really interesting if there was a way of finding out why a faction performed certain actions during the strategic play. ie: why did faction A betray their allies or why did a general become a rebel. Okay, one more thought, a person can sabotage another faction’s buildings, how about the ability to sabotage their land (farms), bridges or mountain passes? I look forward to Shogun 2 and with each game, they all were better than the previous, but my favourite is still Medieval 2 (because of the leader & princes growing as I played and the mini videos depicting various actions).
Adios for now.
Michael
Posted by Michael on June 9th, 2010 at 2:36 am
Comment # 7
Hi, could you please address the modding concerns. A simple yes or no would be very much appreciated answering the question of whether Shogun will be more mod friendly like the older titles of Rome and Medieval II or more limited as in the newer releases of Empire and Napoleon.
Thanks
Posted by Andrew Forrester on June 9th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Comment # 8
I played Shogun when it first came out and have,and ,are playing all iterations of Total War.If you will be keeping your partneship with Steam,please ensure that we can remove unwanted saved games easily.Apart from that,I wish you well with this sequel and rest assured I will buy it.
DonR
Posted by Don Rawlin on June 9th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Comment # 9
Defiantly looking forward to Shogun 2. I was brought into the Total War series when Medievil 2 was released. I’m a huge fan of Empire and looking forward to moving away from Europe to Japan. I’ve heard only good things about Shogun 1 from my friend and can not wait to see the evolution of what started the series.
Posted by Aaron on June 9th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Comment # 10
I’m looking forward to the next total war game, but can you make mod tools? Like uniform editor and campagin/battle map maker. Would make the game a lot more fun. It might be an Idea for a new patch for empire or napoleon total war.
Posted by nameless on June 9th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
Comment # 11
Are you going to keep making small games with a lot of work such as this? I really enjoyed Empire total war and I would like to see a follower to that game with the same kind of map as Empire total war. I also think that you could develope combined naval and land battles, like your fighting with an army and having artillery support from a fleet, or you could fight a battle when your disembarking an army from a fleet. Do it this way in that case: You should have to load your soldiers into longboats and go for the shore where the troops disembark, this way it will all be a lot more realistic. And please keep on doing gunpowdergames such as Napoleon total war and Empire total war. It’s so much better than the other games where you fought with archers, siegemachines, meleetroops and cavalry. And improve the AI, cause it’s all to easy to beat it. The AI is just marching forward against your lines with one unit at the time. And the AI allways use the bad ammunition for their cannons instead of the good one.
Posted by Vincent on June 9th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Comment # 12
glad to see polish is emphasised here, i think smaller scale will work better as empire’s scale did not work well.
i only ask of you for better animations than we seen in napoleon and empire as the japanese were extremely skilled as quite fast paced swordsmen.i find it hard to imagine that in full flow in a TW game with current motion capture.
even if the AI doesnt work out id very much like multiplayer to have the same polish ans bug fixing.the way the old games paused to buffer is highly annoying and it was a bit laggy so i think that needs priority as well.
im really hoping for big things from shogun and im really excited!
Posted by RD on June 10th, 2010 at 6:25 am
Comment # 13
Sounds amazing! Can’t wait to see some delicious night fight shots!
Posted by Max on June 10th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Comment # 14
This game looks awesome but im curious as well as im sure others are, Heros wont be magical by any means correct? just truly strong men because of their abilities? Also can you make sure steam release is the same as the release date =D that would be awesome.
Posted by Andrew S on June 11th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Comment # 15
Hi, I have played each of the TW series games and loved all of them. Still I always wished there would be return to the feudal Japan, so the announcement of Shogun 2 really made my day.
I also like the CA’s focus points in the Shogun 2, so I’m definitely looking towards it.
And I’ll need to start upgrading my pc..
Posted by Chris on June 11th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Comment # 16
Hi CA team. I’m really looking forward to the next evolution for TW. Many previous comments have already mentioned the AI. For me, it’s particularly on the campaign map during diplomatic relations. In Empire, there are still some bonkers decisions that nations make. I read the previews in magazines for each new TW game coming out and each time you say that the AI is going to get an overhaul but I can’t honestly say I’ve seen much progress on this to date.
As others have mentioned, ever since Med II I have started every game on the hardest setting for both campaign and battles and I’m rarely beaten. I think you need an ‘insane’ difficulty level now.
No doubt, 2011 is going to be another fine year for PC gaming. Good luck guys (gender friendly)!
Posted by Dean on June 11th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Comment # 17
hey is there going to be any resources to trade with, as well as random placement of resources? im thinking this will being im more of a economic strategy as well
Posted by kazbh89 on June 11th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
Comment # 18
I played Shogun TW when I was a kid and then grew up with the series. Having said that I am very excited to see how you guys are going to remake a classic! Will you release a Mongol Invasion again with it is my only question….oh and when can I pre buy/buy it?
Posted by Brett on June 11th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
Comment # 19
My only concern after reading through some of the comments here and on various forums is that of accuracy. It’s a game, and playability is more important than accuracy, but the one thing that’s important is how to represent skill-level. Like any army anywhere, not all samurai were made equal, and most of the armies would be low-class warriors and soldiers, whether professional/semi-professional or levied peasants and townsfolk. Obviously, they would be no match with a caste warrior like a high-ranking samurai, and would be armed and armored (or unarmored) accordingly.
I just hope that, with the general stereotypical views of feudal Japan, that despite the perception of all samurai as incredibly-skilled sword saints, they will be portrayed as actual warriors. I can’t see how this would hurt game balance, especially with the stated focus on veterancy in the unit-power parity system. I’m sure the good Professor who’s consulting with you guys will agree, though he’d probably also agree that fully-representing the many castes of warriors at the shown stages of Japanese history is impossible.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how the game turns out, regardless.
Oh, and one last thing. Japanese DID use shields in certain situations, and not only in sieges.
Posted by tran6 on June 12th, 2010 at 12:56 am
Comment # 20
This sounds pretty good and look forward to playing it. Hope to see a Rome 2 Total War after this. I know the next Rome will be amazing.
Posted by Joe on June 12th, 2010 at 4:33 am
Comment # 21
Great news. I loved STW and it looks like STW2 will equal or surpass its predecessor. I hope the AI is improved and that this all new game engine will address all the problems of past iterations of the TW series.
Posted by Cadmium77 on June 12th, 2010 at 4:40 am
Comment # 22
I have purchased every TW game and Shogun 2 sounds fantastic. I had read that warlords & his generals will have more of a roll playing element when he more is involved in tactical battles. I like this idea as a player is more connected to a general who has grown as the game is played. It will be more exciting if duels between generals can made in Shotgun 2.
I’m so excited and waiting for Shotgun 2
Posted by Cuong on June 12th, 2010 at 7:21 am
Comment # 23
would rather see Rome Total War 2 instead,,,or an American Civil war total war….please guys! Maybe even WWI 
Posted by CC on June 12th, 2010 at 8:40 am
Comment # 24
Damn you total war! I was excited about living my life away from the computer. And now this.
Posted by Devin on June 12th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Comment # 25
I never had the chance to play the first shogun game and I’m really excited to see this new one. One question though why not enclude other nations such as Great Ming (China) Or Joseon (Korea)?
Posted by David Rivera on June 12th, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Comment # 26
I loved the original Shogun and like many other I suspect am worried about the so called Hero Units, it’s one think spending months of man hours making the sounds of samuri sword on sword absolutely perfect even using period footware to portray the sound of marching feet, but then to possibly have certain units with unrealistic powers seems to defeat everything you are working for in the realism field. I sincerly hope that Hero Units will be not be allowed to, for the sake of comercial success ruin an otherwise outstanding project.
Posted by alan moore on June 12th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Comment # 27
And of corse, first expansion will be Mongol invasion
Tsunami …
Posted by Denis Cicic on June 12th, 2010 at 10:17 pm
Comment # 28
Hope you will make Rome 2: total war one day, but i love all total war games
Posted by Elvald91 on June 13th, 2010 at 1:48 am
Comment # 29
Alright already… Rome 2 better be next! Or will it be Space Total War??? I’m not saying just because I like my country’s ancient warfare – or that kind of warfare in general, BUT look at the support Rome and Medieval 2 had. So many mods to keep the game going, and believe me, they still do!
However! Congrats on your new work. I definetly prefer Shogun than 18th century stuff. I have bought Rome (plus expansions) twice – just to be sure. That says something. That’s all. HAIL to you guys for making a great game engine! And HAIL to all the modders of the world for expanding and ressurecting this engine
Posted by Lampis Asimakopoulos on June 13th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Comment # 30
What kind of system requirements and if Mac OS will be supported?
Started playing as far back as Total War: Shogun so will be interested in case we need to move to a Mac OS enivronment. Thanks.
Posted by Gohzilla on June 13th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Comment # 31
Hopefully there will be a variety of light foot soilders, peasents with farming implements and with some chevron of exprience automaticaly carry on parts of their fallen enemy’s armor and weapons, looking forward to this game much more then the latters.
Posted by Ivy Benfield on June 14th, 2010 at 4:16 am
Comment # 32
For a positive comment: I am glad you are focusing on improving the quality of the series. Hopefully you create a very nice engine/etc for this as a starting point for several expansions and sequels.
… and for the negative bit. While I understand your intent for focusing on one nation, you are lowering your market by a lot. Personally I have no interest in Japanese history, so I will not be getting it; that alone is ruining the purchase for me. But still, as I said, I hope you end up doing some more varied expansions and sequels. Try not to limit the historical aspect too much in future games.
Posted by Waffle on June 14th, 2010 at 5:52 am
Comment # 33
Ultra cool piece of news, I played Shogun Total War for years and enjoyed it a lot, it is the game that got me hooked into the Total War series. I can’t wait to see Shogun 2, sounds absolutely exciting, I have very high expectations.
I would definitely love to siege and storm a Japanese castle.
Posted by Oliver on June 14th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Comment # 34
Fantastic news! I played the original and thought it was amazing, now a sequel with all the improvements of the newer games will be fantastic. This and the medieval eras have been my favourite to play. I hope that accessibility for modding will be made relatively easy. It would be nice if there was also japanese audio with subtitles for some of the features, just to help with the immersion. Look forward to hearing more about this.
Posted by Mark on June 14th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Comment # 35
Wow cant wait for this, really looking forward to it. i just hope that when he says there not looking into scale and size as much this time, that he actualy means, its going to be bigger and badder then before 
Posted by Jimmya12345 on June 14th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Comment # 36
I have waited ten years… my wait is nearly over, at last!
Posted by LouieMG on June 14th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Comment # 37
Very much looking forward to this game; as I have all the others.
While I’ve been most pleased with Kingdoms and RTW, I purchased Empire to support the studio. Turned out to not be my cup of tea, largely due to time period and overall moddability. I therefore skipped out on Napoelon.
Will S2 allow to the same level of moddability as Kingdoms or RTW? I know the mod “All Under Heaven” for Kingdoms would LOVE to make use of something with an Eastern influence that might port over easily!
The Mods (such as Third Age and Europa Barbarorum) have kept me on the TW bandwagon, more or less. I’ve purchased most of the games through Steam, after my CDs wore out, afterall, so I’ve bought them twice! Please continue to support the modding community and do not look at them as competition with free DLC; since that appears to be where the TW business model is heading. If you do this, I think you’ll have a perm stream of income as people continue to buy onto your products.
Posted by Mike O'Brien on June 15th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Comment # 38
What will the system requirements be like because my computer couldn’t play Empire of Napoleon Total War although it could play Medieval 2 Total War and the games before it
Posted by Francis on June 15th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Comment # 39
Amazing News that Shogun 2 is Finally on the way.
I hope, the size of the units could increase unlike previous
Total War Games. Just having a max around 120 soldiers in a unit is ok,
but i would prefer 400 to 500 in a unit. Even though battles may have been fun
with atleast 2,000 vs 2,000 in battle, the truth is history had more men in the
battle field.
I really hope to see an increase of soldiers in a unit, and in the battle field, so it would give out a sense of strength. And if you had to go against a massive army, strategy will come into play.
I would also hope that the environment can be more of use. Unlike Empire and previous total war games, the environment in the battles had a small or no roll. Atleast in Empire snow in the winter had an effect in the campaign map, but still didnt have a major impact. A good example of environment being a key character, is in Japans History. The raging sea’s had succesfully stopped the expansion of the Mongolian Empire twice.
Posted by Qais on June 15th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
Comment # 40
Once you guys are done with Japan, it would be great if you did a Total War game on China during its Three Kingdoms period. Then you can completely claim torch from KOEI.
One more request: please release this on the consoles – at least for the 360, if not for the iPad!!!
Posted by Brian on June 15th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Comment # 41
I sincerely hope that we see the Imjin War in either the original game or a DLC. To see China in a Total War scenario (!) would be absolutely beyond awesome, and a long-held dream since encountering the series. Romance of the Three Kingdoms would translate beautifully into a Total War game. However, the Japanese scenario is ideal due to the aesthetic and intricacy of the period in terms of martial tradition, art, ideologies, etc.
Ancillaries had better be fleshed-out.
I hope that the Creative Assembly team is massively reworking the engine this time around,I can’t imagine the Empire/Napoleon rifle-oriented model working for samurai and archers!
Hails
Posted by Gabriel Elliott on June 16th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Comment # 42
I recently found out sega was a partner of onlive. Since my computer isnt very good it would be cool if shogun was going to onlive. Anyone know?
Posted by Eli on June 16th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Comment # 43
Good Q and A, but et me join in the chorus asking for clarification on the plans for modding in Shogun II.
Posted by Eric on June 16th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Comment # 44
OMG OMG OMG this would be so epic i already know this is gonna be so epic and awesome plz include assasination videos…………………
Bye now
Posted by Kr4zyAc3 on June 17th, 2010 at 2:06 am
Comment # 45
The pacific ocean is notorious for its storms. Typhoons, Monsoons, huge sky smashers that have destroyed whole fleets. Would it be poissable to add something liek taht in to Shogun, perhaps in to Empire as well? A storm comes and blows a fleet off course, it ends up somewhere else maybe one or two turns away from where it was supposed to go. It might add some more realism to the game. Just a thought. I remember in Medievil 2, that ocasionally storms would crop up and sink ships and damage coastal cities.
Posted by Aaron on June 17th, 2010 at 2:38 am
Comment # 46
Im very glad to hear about the plans for Shogun 2 and the concepts behind it. Especially the reduction in unit types and the focus on tactical considerations.
Ever since Rome, the TW games have had hundreds of units – but it seems to me that their tactical advantages and disadvantages have been understated, while proliferation and the acquisition of more advanced unit types has been overstated. What this has meant is that if you had more guys, or they were more advanced guys, then you always won regardless of tactical considerations during the battle such as unit match-ups, position, maneuvering etc. I found all the TW games from Rome onward a great disappointment compared with the greatness of the original shogun and medieval because of this. Brilliant graphics, yes – but i didnt like the battles, and i especially didnt like the sieges. They may look good, but theres no tactics!
I now hope to see the greatness of Shogun return. The large numbers of unit types and huge scope in terms of area and nations encompassed in recent titles has added nothing to the game for me. I want the great tactical gameplay experience of the original TW titles back again.
Posted by Eggheart on June 17th, 2010 at 5:03 am
Comment # 47
Does anyone have any estimates as to what kind of computer it’ll take to run this? I know it must be really annoying, but I’ll be going to law school come August and I’ll need to purchase a laptop for class. Seeing as how my current computer ran Empire really poorly, I doubt it’ll be able to handle Shogun 2. I was just going to buy a Macbook Pro 13, because I’m pretty sure it’ll handle Starcraft 2 no problem but seeing as how this is going to be coming out (2011? i’m not too sure, sorry) I’m worried that a Macbook Pro 13 won’t be able to handle it. Any thoughts?
Posted by EJ on June 17th, 2010 at 10:26 am
Comment # 48
Can’t wait to buy it. I’m glad you are going back to the more melee focused combat. I thoroughly enjoy the upclose and personal battles in Medieval 2 and Rome. Larger scale=bigger smile (evil smile)
Posted by Brayden on June 17th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
Comment # 49
I am SOOO stoked for this. Every since I played the original shogun, this remake has been constantly on my mind. I’m a japanese nut, particularly warring states, so just do a good job with this and I will be a very happy man.
Posted by Nobunaga Spectre on June 18th, 2010 at 6:45 am
Comment # 50
It seems in keeping with the micro style of this Total War that each faction would be very fleshed out, detailed and individual – but at the same time I can’t imagine that being very historically accurate. So bearing in mind this conflict, what will the approach to unit variation be in this game, will teams share a similar set of base units and then have their own special units, or will each team have a fairly unique set of units?
Posted by HexagonalBolts on June 18th, 2010 at 8:48 am
Comment # 51
“We are focusing on pushing gameplay depth and polish rather than raw ‘size’ or scope: doing more with less.” worries me a bit. This is what happened to Napoleon and while that game engine is awesome the campaign was predictable and boring. Empire had the better campaign and more interesting armies. I’ll choose to be optimistic though
My biggest hope is for a proper mp campaign. Neither Empire or Napoleon worked for me or my friends (desyncs)
Posted by Morten on June 18th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Comment # 52
I hope the also inquire into an expansion for Shogun 2 as well. As Mongols stole the light of the first Shogun, I think maybe the Maji era or before that when Samurai went Ronin and then western influence came in. That would be quit interesting. Gattlin guns vs. Dodachi Samurai! I just hope it’ll rock my socks off.
Posted by Mike A on June 18th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Comment # 53
Really glad to hear you are workin on shogun 2. Ive been a fan of the Total war series since Rome total war. I think its great you are cutting down on the gunpowder. Medieval 2 is still my favorite since in my opinion ETW was a disapointment. Just keep up the good work.
Posted by Didiuz on June 19th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Comment # 54
First, I’d like to thank you so much for going back rather than going forward with maybe a American civil war era or even WW1! I think it will be refreshing to us. Second, I’d like to know if your doing anything so people with less developed computers can still play. I personally loved Rome: total war and played it for weeks, WEEKS and talking about raw game time, not i played it 3hrs a day for a few weeks. 3rd i would like to know if your involving some type of land boarding . I’d love to be able to land a ship , being able to decide where to land while in a battle and landing under fire. it’d make it sooo hard for me to decide whether to send a small force and establish a beach head and possibly get wiped out ,or land in a huge wave and possibly get overrun with so many troops that i can possibly arrange them fast enough and get wiped out while trying to arrange my troops. 4th are you going to involve the weather more like if it is Storming i think cannons and whatnot should be almost worthless with movement. 5th i would absolutely like a better unit vs unit trade off and gradual experience rather than since this unit came after this one its gonna be better. I’m thinking like maybe this unit’s is way outdated but it’s experience in combat makes up for its lack of armor and weapon because it has been involved in so many battles. 6th i would like to give each individual unit and general more personality so I just don’t go sacrificing this unit because i can make a new one . Like maybe random stats that are unique to that unit. 7th How amazing would it be for one of a normal soldier to develop into a general like after X amount of battles a soldier has a 1% chance of becoming a general. 8th I’d love it if certain factions had different play styles . Like if X faction attacked every time it was in battle while Y faction only attacked if it had a clear advantage (cant see hidden troops) and Z faction would never attack because it was too cautious 9th I’d like you guys to at least attempt or discuss this last one : Make some way for the individual player to develop its own troop layout like pre-made troop layouts with slots to be used in battle. I think this function if you do decide to make it should be a unlockable function. I would love to make my “pikeman” into a arrow pattern with rounded sides i mean I would think this would add a whole new element to the game and add a players personal touch and knowledge of battle (just incase u cant use it because i thought of it) i give u full rights to use any of my ideas or anything
Sincerely a True Total war Fan and admirer
Michael J Jones
pst: please e-mail me back
Posted by thedrugcrack on June 20th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Comment # 55
Well I honestly would have preferred a Rome 2, but I came in at the original Medieval Total War, so I suppose I lack the right nostalgia for a Shogun game. But it will be interesting to see the engine that will be used for Rome 2 as well.
I just hope it’s fairly historically accurate – Total War has got to have one of the pickiest fanbases in the history of gaming.
Posted by Duncan on June 20th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Comment # 56
Adsolutely outstanding choice of environment for the new game. A few things I would like to see, utilise the supply system in Napoleon it is excellent, hated the fiddly order your units to resupply business of the previous games, also make raiding supply lines possible its fun and realistic. Geeky ninja videos are a must, the original ones were good stuff, I think the morale system needs to be made more brittle so armies can just have morale collapse if hammered in precise and effective way.
Overall love your work and I will purchase this game, the total war series is excellent.
Posted by Ian on June 21st, 2010 at 10:37 am
Comment # 57
Hi, great news. I am a STW1 veteran and have been waiting for this for years.
There were a couple of things in STW that somehow went lost in later games, especially:
1. terrain effects were splendid
2. “push”-effect: one formation could push the enemy one rather than hack its way through it. Formation cohesion was great.
Posted by Ijonrichy Watanabe on June 21st, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Comment # 58
Hero units? Please say it isn’t so. The idea of single super units doesn’t just ruin the realism I love TW games for it screams of game balance issues.
Posted by Tom on June 22nd, 2010 at 6:36 am
Comment # 59
This looks absolutely awesome. I am hoping that the strategy elements will remain significant in Shogun II, and that the AI will be strategically impressive on and off the battlefield on high difficulties. The Total War games are near perfection. Powerful AI and strategic gameplay will complete the package.
Personally, I’m also looking forward to the Hero element. I’ve always been easily attached to my generals and my veteran units, and these heroes sound like magical versions of the generals from prior games.
Thanks CA!
Posted by Aaron on June 22nd, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Comment # 60
I played Shogun for the first time in 2006 i think after getting Rome:Total war and i was just blown away, it was definitely a lot of fun and very memorable indeed and with a sequel on the way it sounds fantastic.
I was wondering though if you ever considered a game with the same scale as Empire:Total War only shifted the focus on the entirety of Asia instead because i think it would be amazing if you had China, Japan, Mongolia, Korea, India along with Souteast Asian nations like Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and maybe even extended to Oceania because i think that could add a whole lot of diversity in the different cultures that come to clash with one another and fundamentally add a whole new style of gameply seperate from european warfare, just out of curiousity though.
Posted by Santhan on June 22nd, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Comment # 62
YEY! this seems nice! i love swordfigts surrounded of flying arrows. dont make to mush firearms
Posted by TheTruth on June 23rd, 2010 at 3:09 pm
Comment # 63
This is awesome! Shogun Total War 1 is what go me hooked onto the Total War franchise and I have played every single installment since. When you guys came out with MTW2 I was like what the f***? What about a Shogun TW2?! And now after so many titles my prayers have been answered! For those who never experienced part 1 you will deffinetly be in for a treat with part 2! I can’t wait to use a geisha or a ninja to take out some political figures! Keep up the awesome work guys!
Posted by Miguel on June 23rd, 2010 at 10:43 pm
Comment # 64
in naval battle it would be cool if it foolows no warriors in the boat when u build it. so u have to put land units in the boats to be able to fight on sea otherwise it would only work as trade transport and would be easy to take over. so u can focus on sinking the enemy boat with best units in it.
Posted by TheTruth on June 24th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Comment # 65
Damn, i really can’t wait for this…. PLEASE HURRY UP AND FINISH ASAP :D
I’ve been a shogun fan since it first came out and I just can’t wait for it to come round again and be installed on my HD!
A nice site with some good interviews with CA and SEGA is http://www.shogun2.net , check it out!
Posted by h4x0rninja on June 25th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Comment # 66
WOW! cant wait for this to come out. Got the first game as a gift and played it for a long time, INCREDIBLE! What really drew me into the game was that when you get ninjas or geisha for assassination, I loved the video clips of how the ninjas and geisha killed their victims or vice versa. I know that the other games was awesome, graphics and game play but there was assassinations with no clip showing how they did it or what they did. I just wished that there was some small clips for actions, like assassinations, or when in shogun 2 where they have the generals attacks killing other generals scene or then being killed. I just hope that they will be very similar to the original shogun. I loved those scenes. Keep up the great work…. Looking forwards to the new total war
Posted by wes on June 26th, 2010 at 6:14 am
Comment # 67
As always I’m incredibly impressed with all that Creative Assembly has done and I wish you the best of luck. Now to begin my joyous weeping…
Posted by Chris Meldrum on June 26th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
Comment # 68
can u make a lot more towns or villidges also for your next game can it be medival 3 total war was my favorite out of all total war games CANT WAIT FOR NEW GAME
Posted by brenden g. on June 27th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Comment # 69
can the next game be medival 3 total war and can their be more place like cities and villidges on the map it
Posted by brenden on June 28th, 2010 at 3:19 am
Comment # 70
plz dont make upkeep to expensive ppl want big armies
Posted by TheTruth on June 28th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Comment # 71
Awsome news ! I love Samurai to bits ! I wanted a Shogun 2 instead of a Medieval 2 even though M2 turned out great.
Some stuff that I’d like to see:
Long spears for infantry units. The latest studies ( notably by Stephen Turnbull, the West’s leading researcher on Samurai history ) have shown that Ashigaru spearmen were armed with weapons more akin to pikes ie: 16 ft plus, so I’d like to see quasi-phalanx tactics implemented.
For armies that have been static for 1 turn I’d like to see the ability to construct bamboo field defences for your arquebusiers ( as at Nagashino ) featured.
I’d like your general to begin his career as a low-rank samurai & work his way up throgh the ranks to become a mighty taisho by successfully completing missions.
( The chaps at CA have probably thought of my first 2 suggestions anyway ! )
Posted by Stephen on June 28th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Comment # 72
Today I was thinking I know ‘ i am gonna email total war to tell em to return to shogun total war, I get to the website and bo ya its there’ this sounds absolutly awesome. Ideas for future games, look into rome total war, and maybe expand into mythical wars as well, e.g lord of the rings as there is often alot of material released outside the books and it would make for an interesting change.
Posted by Ben on June 28th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Comment # 73
Music – The music in the 1st Shogun was superb – best of all the TW games so far. Will we have a similar experience in Shogun II?
Hero Units – If you insist on including them can you please include an option to ’switch them off’.
Posted by Richard on June 29th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Comment # 74
This is potentially the best news this year, im already totally excited. IMO it can be one of the best total war games yet. Features that should be INCLUDED WITHOUT COMPROMISE are as follows:
Hero Units – particular individuals that have grown famous in past battles. I would like to see them generated at random from highly experianced units limited to 1-2 per faction. To have a particular unit grow in experiance throughout a campaign from 0 chevrons to say a 5 chevron experiance level gives them a small percentage per level to generate a hero of that unit.
Battlefield Ninjas – MUST MAKE A RETURN – a lasting memory of shogun was when my battlefield ninjas (12 of them) held a bridge against a few hundred enemy samurai for about 5 minutes giving my army time to redeploy and win the day.
Video Clips – of the assassination attempts. I loved watching my agents scale walls and bypass guards to make an attempt on the life of the enemy. Simple scrolls revealing the success or failure have no immersion, and cheapen the life of your agent. I want to feel like im running across the rooftops evading guards with him!!
More interactive Campaign Map – I want to have more interaction with the campaign map, email me i have good ideas for this.
Campaign Map AI – I want the AI to not only be exceedingly devious but sometimes equally foolish! They shouldnt always make the tactically best decisions, as in real life people make mistakes the AI should emulate this. To have the AI commit himself to a hopeless attack (on campagin map) i have never seen when playing total war on hardest difficulties.
Battlefield AI – Id love to see the AI not squander his troops needlessly as they do in Napoleon TW. Mistakes yes thats life but sending your army to attack in groups of 1-2 units isnt the best!
It sounds like its shaping up to be a cracker from what i have read, please dont be afraid to take requests from the public we have some mega ideas sometimes!!
Posted by Trev Houghton on June 29th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Comment # 75
can the next gme be medival 3 total war
Posted by Brenden on June 30th, 2010 at 12:42 am
Comment # 76
I was very surprised to see a Shogun 2 being made. I think this is great. I was very happy to read that they have gotten Stephen Turnbull to help again, he is a wealth of knowledge on the samurai and Japanese history. I would like to see in the future a Total War based on the end of the samurai in the mid to late 19th century, a very interesting point in Japanese history. It would fit the series well since war was very common as well.
Posted by Travis on June 30th, 2010 at 7:37 pm
Comment # 77
Samurais, Nippon, Bushido…it has captured the imagination of many…for many years i gave up on a revamped version of TW Shogun War, but i’m glad to be mistaken! This can only be amazing…the breadth and multi-facets of this period are immense, and I understand why they didn’t want to step away from this period and nation.
I think it will lead to a very immersive experience, much more so than the other TW games which were amazing games, but were more global conquest oriented. Onward!
Posted by Lu on June 30th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Comment # 78
having Ming china will mean, the focus of japan will be off coursed by chinas details, and land mass, during that period. joeson korea, wasn an protector nation of ming china. its an very confusing time and period. i would be glade to see an totalwar china.. but i dont think its going that direction.. ever!
Posted by peng on July 2nd, 2010 at 3:25 am
Comment # 79
can the next game be medival 3 total war and can there be more thn 8 shoguns
Posted by Brenden g on July 6th, 2010 at 1:29 am
Comment # 80
I think you all are making a very good move by going back to where the series began. I love everything about that time in Japan, with samurai, honor, and wars happening constantly. It has to be the ideal place for a game like this. You probably know this from the success of the original and this time it will have better graphics and engine than ever before hopefully. I also like you are having all types of warfare involved like you did in medieval 2. It’s bound to be a success, I am almost certain of it. I love the total war series and I think you are all geniuses in strategy gaming. I cannot wait until 2011 and thank you.
Posted by Luca on July 9th, 2010 at 6:01 am
Comment # 81
I agree with you all one hundred percent. If this game isn’t a success than the whole world has gone mad. I just hope that the hand to hand looks more entertaining for the player and it should be since the samurai were the most skillful warriors the world had ever seen. The total war series is my favorite video game franchise and I hope this one will be my new favorite. I won’t be disappointed with this game I know it. I have you all in the highest respect.
Posted by Luca on July 9th, 2010 at 6:13 am
Comment # 82
i agree with wes/comment 66
get back assassination and sabotage movies.
and if u can duel make it more easy to see what duelant that are yours.in empire my gentleman was sometimes red and sometimes brown, didnt know if i won or loose until after.
this will be a GREAT game (=
Posted by TheTruth on July 9th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Comment # 83
1. Shogun 2 TW
2. Rome 2 TW
3. next… “Three Kingdom TW” (China EMPEROR TW) ??? just like KOEI make a Sangoku… that’s COOL !!
Posted by Sasa on July 9th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Comment # 84
I have been playing total war games sense shogun total war, 10 years ago..I am now 17, I have bought every single total war game and expansion sense. I am glad you left gunpowder behind, as first volley off would win the day, I’m excited to see hero units as with 9 clans in the game there might be many equal units, One thing i’m a little weary of is the pathfinding on castle walls, as empires fort pathfinding men got stuck everywhere, and My computer could run empire total war on high graphics, but could only run napoleon total war on medium to low, I know this next game is going to beautiful, and I just hope the gameplay with be good enough to still have a good time with graphics settings relatively low.
Thank you!
Posted by Aaron on July 9th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Comment # 85
looks great from the pics and videos i saw..
im directly descended from Oda Nobunaga and Kato Kiyomasa , so im into the history of it as well as the strategy of the game . stoked about this game and i was addicted to the first one.heh
hopefully they show some sort of game play footage soon.
Posted by Tommy Jackson on July 10th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Comment # 86
This might be interesting. Still, for me, Rome is the best. Unique game and great mods. I hope they come to their senses and make Rome 2.
Posted by Bobi on July 10th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Comment # 88
i don’t think guys that Rome is that good,it just look good because of the Cool Armors and lot of Factions and big Map and of course the Millions of Mods………..now think about this Samurai’s fight each other in a very fast paced battle and you can have 50,000+ troops in the Battlefield,i some of you are not interested in Japanese History,well me too but looking at their Culture and how they fight and the epic Samurai Armor DAYUM!………..well by the way i hope you or your engine guys will be much cooler and will have much more lower System Requirements than Napoleon Total War but much more Better Graphics,what i mean is you just focus on Quality and not the BIG MAP and Smoke that slows the game so i think we will have better Gaming Performance.
Posted by Hameem on July 12th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Comment # 89
Please, please bring back the ninja assassination videos – they were so cool and haven’t been bettered since! The ninja captures the imagination more so than any other samurai warrior. There is even potentially an excellent sub-game in there.
Please also really work on the diplomacy AI to make it realistic.
Shogun TW captured my imagination 10 years ago. Please for the love of god don’t rush this. A re-make of the original title deserves extra special attention, it would upset me greatly to see this rushed out before it is ready like Empire TW was.
Posted by Andrew on July 13th, 2010 at 1:06 am
Comment # 90
I was waiting for a new Shogun. I am what you might call a veteran in TW. 10 years ago Shogun blown me away and you may say that I was devoted only to TW series. After TW no other Strategy games reached the same game feeling and playrole. Best games ever – M2TW & Shogun.
One important thing (in my opinion) -> Please do not forget the soundtracks for the game. Actually, this was what hypnotized most on me and my friends – soundtracks of Shogun. It made your hair stand up on you arms and really made you feel like beeing there.
Thanks. And keep us playing!
Posted by Motzoc on July 13th, 2010 at 9:20 am
Comment # 91
hey, sounds great! i just hope theres some unit diversity like in rome tw
the “rock, paper. scissors stuff hopefully applies to land too right?
Posted by seb on July 13th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Comment # 92
I am delighted to hear this news, and have been playing TW since the original Shogun, so I am looking forward to a return to the style and culture of that Era.
I hope Mike Simpson will get a chance to be involved in-depth as his passion helped make the first one so involving.
My main request is please please keep the Kensai unit.. It would be awesome to see a named Kensei in upgraded graphics, with delicate color and outlandish laquor armor, defending a bridge or a gate, buying time for your forces or even turning the tide with his heroic stand. Nothing embodies the Sengoku Jidai like the rise of the “Sword Saints” and their kendo, and their return would add some of the style of the original.
Another thing worth considering when doing this version, would be to consider how to integrate in to the battle animations the samurai tradition of calling out their name and challenging their opponents to one-on-one duals, even in the midst of a huge battlefield.
Quoting Sun-Tzu in audio once again would be cool, although I need not tell you to get a larger quote list this time around.. 
However you decide to create it I am certain I will love it, and thank you thank you thank you CA for returning to this classic.
Posted by d_elilan on July 14th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Comment # 93
please bring back the good-poor harvests and can you make 4 seasons and have the seasons have a larger impact on gameplay – thanks Will
Posted by Will on July 16th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Comment # 94
I stumbled on this site because I was looking for a “Bring back Shogun: TW” thread. :] I’m so frickin ‘giddy that a Shogun sequel is under way. Still, is there any chance you’d ever re-release the original for those of us who don’t have it and would love to revisit it, or just for me? I loved the simplicity of the mechanics on the campaign side in Shogun: TW. I don’t want to get bogged down in micro-management, I just want to see my Samurai. :]
Posted by Weasel on July 19th, 2010 at 3:42 am
Comment # 95
I have never played the original Shogun Total War, but it sounds really interesting. My question is why haven’t they done another Rome yet. Personally, that was the best game of the series. I would also like to see a game that encompassed the late 18th century all the way up to the events leading up to WWI. It was a turbulent time with great wars, all around the world. Just a few thoughts.
Posted by African Ceasar on July 20th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Comment # 96
I’m thrilled about this game! Shogun Total War was one of my all time favorites. Thank you for this project.
Posted by Matthew on July 21st, 2010 at 8:29 am
Comment # 97
What is the possibility of an American Civil Version of total war? Since it was technically the first true war after the industrial revolution?
Posted by au_archi on July 21st, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Comment # 98
Since the Shogun Map is much smaller, it gives the game a better chance at being played online well, right? I only read bad stories about online campaigns.
Posted by jakian on July 22nd, 2010 at 9:19 am
Comment # 99
I love the Total War series and purchased or gotten as a birthday gift to every single game; except the DLC’s. The first shogun was excellent game with its Historical content, to the in game battle system, awesome visuals, and just having the overall attention to every single detail to the time period. I loved the first total war so much that I ended up purchasing the game three times; good times… First off, I read some of the comments about the American Civil War and if you guy do release the game, I’ll be the first person to get it, but one of the most important thing you guy’s have to nail for that period is the location of the battle field, and every single battle took place in various places in America from the farm lands at Gettysburg to swamps of Atlanta, Georgia, and remember that different battles took place on the surrounding area in which escalated into large ones. Secondly, have you guy ever checked out a book called the “Samurai Invasion” by Stephen Turnbull? It was the Japanese invasion of Korea and the book illustrates beautifully about the battles between the three major powers: China, Japan, and Korea. Please do make a expansion on that war because it is worth the effort and I’ll even buy the special collector’s addition if you do. Thanks for the good work. I love what you guy’s do. Peace out.
Posted by Christopher Kim on July 29th, 2010 at 2:26 am
Comment # 100
In terms of morale i would like to see a system where your entire military’s morale suffers after a series of defeats or 1 or 2 massive defeats and vice versa (gaining morale after lots of victories). Also – maybe veteran units with x no. of kills become inspiring units (think Rome’s 1st cohorts with their legionary eagles) that instill fear into the enemy
Posted by A TW FAN on July 29th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Comment # 101
Excellent news and definitely the correct decision – I was hoping Shogun would be revisited.
Been a TW player since the the first Shogun and before that I used to play the old Cry Havoc board game including Samurai Blades.
My Koku’s worth…
I’d like to see the campaign level turn based system be dropped in favour of a sliding scale from real-time to months in minutes.
I think it would be great to see messengers, emissaries, spies, and characters and armies of course moving round the map. Remote actions would be controlled by messengers. Messengers as characters (can be attacked).
With dynamic zones of control and fog of war. Fog clears as characters move through world map. Zones of control in flux dependent on loyalties, garrison locality.
Facility for smaller small battles and skirmishes. From say 10 characters upwards – as well as the large scale battles TW do so well. I’m thinking Seven Samurai battles, wandering ronin, ninja actions and the like (Cry Havoc scale as well as clan vs clan).
Would work really well with the heroes idea which is a great.
More diplomacy options. Being able to persuade, recruit, influence and buy characters. More subversion and politicking.
Big asks but those are the kind of things I’d like to see.
Best of luck with it. Can’t wait!
Posted by Wyrdtimes on July 29th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Comment # 102
THIS GAME WILL BE FANTASTIC. PLEASE MAKE A ROME 2 AFTER THIS,
Posted by ROME2GUY on July 31st, 2010 at 3:46 am
Comment # 103
Hi, i want to play nap total war on my pc but unfortunately….my pc is basic kak lol….it not good enough. i want to update it so i can play the latest games but me and things regards pc’s….just don’t match, don’t go together what so ever.
my system info is as followed
microsoft windows xp
home edition
version 2002
service pack 3
intel(R)
celeron(R) CPU 2.66GHz
2.67GHz 768 MB of RAM
anyone understand this and if so can you plz hellp…..lol tell me what i need to do and what i need 2 get/buy so i can play this epic looking game
Posted by Lee McCormick on August 5th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Comment # 104
Will they fix issues such as the AI behaviour in medieval 2 they had it perfect and in empire after the patches were i hope when the game is released they will not take 1 month for it too work probably. I think that the hand to hand combat will be as good as the previous 2 games. And it be better beacuse this is based on hand to hand more than range.
I hope the carvery will be epic because i love the guerrillas tactics the most. And please keep custom battle in for trying a new tactic thanks. I am looking forward to it coming out good luck =)
Posted by harland the man on August 15th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Comment # 105
i really quite liked all of the total war games up until empire of course, which was a complete disaster and The Creative Assembly has to realize that. i just pray that they will return to an in depth, engaging mode of warfare in shogun 2, that is intense, polished, and grounded, where you dont feel so detached and ALL of the units are attractive, and the subsequent siege experience of shogun 2 will hopefully not be falty and involve terrible looking forts with a glitchy, not at all fun mechanic like empire, and napoleon for that matter. of the game i hope that they will not compromise in any area, i expect the very best out of this game and im going to be highly skeptical until i actually get my hands on it. because frankly empire scared me alot and i lost alot of faith in CA’s ability to keep making great games. frankly every CA game until now has always had the same major flaws, some games more than others granted, and every time i thought they were going to be addressed, but they never were, i hope that CA plz just sits down, for as long as it takes, and makes a truly incredible, perfect game, so that they can finally round off the decade with the very best total war game ever made.
Posted by taylor on August 15th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Comment # 106
man this looks awsome!! but there doesnt seem to be anything new and special about this game. they say the same thing, that it has a new battle AI or that its the most accsessble total war yet and blah blah blah. Im gonna buy this game no matter what, but it would be nice to see something actually new and different
Posted by totalwarfan on August 17th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Comment # 107
its very important to fix bugs in the multiplayer campaign game….
Posted by someone1 on August 19th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
