The map in this game is huge:

[JimmyTheSnake]

My initial impression before playing was similar to others - it looked small. But, I think it's important to be fair about this. The map is absolutely immense. You have to see it to understand:
Bottom half of Egypt: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198007309277/screenshot/2117313645604328358/
Top half of Egypt: https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198007309277/screenshot/2117313645604328071/

And, this is just one portion of the playable area. It is huge. Almost too big because no matter where you start you have a huge front to defend and advance with. I ended up with about 8 armies and had to resort to pincer movements because of the arrangement of desert attrition and outpost locations. I can't even imagine having to defend two fronts. Like with all TW games, once you get that strategic threat modifier pretty much everyone is going to attack you.

[Exdeath]

Could be bigger, but yes its pretty big in my eyes.
People seem to expect now all Total War games to have a World map like Warhammer 3 has with immortal empires, not realizing thats 3 maps of 3 games

[easytarget]

"Map size isn't the issue it's the scope. Who cares if the map is giant if it only has 3 distinct cultures?"

All of this.

[Hexagoros]

Originally posted by Karl:

Yeah that's one of the arguments i've seen here that makes me think people haven't actually looked into the game or played it when they say that. The map really doesn't seem small to me.

I wonder if these planned DLC will also expand it some.

Half of Turkey is just cut off for no reason. Turkey, mind you, was the homeland/heartland of the Hittites, one of the three main factions in the game. There is no excuse for this.

Greece/Mycenae is 'right there' on the map, but is not included. Greece likely would have been a lot of peoples' "first playthrough," but they are ignored. This despite 'most' of Greece's unit roster already being included (in terms of assets) in the form of the Sea Peoples.

I can understand CA Sofia keeping Assyria and Babylon for DLC, but why on earth is half of Turkey and Greece left out?

Originally posted by easytarget:

"Map size isn't the issue it's the scope. Who cares if the map is giant if it only has 3 distinct cultures?"

All of this.

Exactly. Sure the map is "big" in terms of total geography, but it is tiny when you consider there are only three major factions/cultures. The map starts to feel very, very small after you've played for a bit.

Again, there is no excuse for half of Turkey and all of Greece simply being excluded from a Bronze Age setting focused on the Eastern Mediterranean.

[Inquerion]

Originally posted by General Plastro:

Not sure if its technically bigger, but it doesnt "feel" big.

You just end up killing the clones of no-name factions over and over again for the vast majority of the game.

I agree. That's also the problem with Britannia or Shogun 2.

[Inquerion]

Originally posted by Hexagoros:

Originally posted by Karl:

Yeah that's one of the arguments i've seen here that makes me think people haven't actually looked into the game or played it when they say that. The map really doesn't seem small to me.

I wonder if these planned DLC will also expand it some.

Half of Turkey is just cut off for no reason. Turkey, mind you, was the homeland/heartland of the Hittites, one of the three main factions in the game. There is no excuse for this.

Greece/Mycenae is 'right there' on the map, but is not included. Greece likely would have been a lot of peoples' "first playthrough," but they are ignored. This despite 'most' of Greece's unit roster already being included (in terms of assets) in the form of the Sea Peoples.

I can understand CA Sofia keeping Assyria and Babylon for DLC, but why on earth is half of Turkey and Greece left out?

Originally posted by easytarget:

"Map size isn't the issue it's the scope. Who cares if the map is giant if it only has 3 distinct cultures?"

All of this.

Exactly. Sure the map is "big" in terms of total geography, but it is tiny when you consider there are only three major factions/cultures. The map starts to feel very, very small after you've played for a bit.

Again, there is no excuse for half of Turkey and all of Greece simply being excluded from a Bronze Age setting focused on the Eastern Mediterranean.

Assyria fought a major war against Hittites 30 years before game start. They also should be included. Their King of Kings got assasinated in 1207 BC (2 years before the start of the game) which would create interesting start and not just a very easy campaign. They also entered a period of decline, but survived and eventually powerful Neo Assyrian Empire was born.

[PERICLES1789]

Originally posted by Defmonkey:

The map is very large. I heard someone complain that there was too much space, of which i think is totally wrong. All this "space" is a very good thing and they have done it very well here. The Warhammer immortal empires map maybe the largest but i think that is one of worst maps of the entire TW franchise as you just leapfrog from town to town every turn because there is no space. Here, you actually have to use the outposts as highways to zip around the map and its quite fun to do and arrange them as such that your army gets the best benefits for each trip.

The only complaint i have about the map are the missing areas, missing civilisations and that the existing areas needs to be flesh out further so that all the nobody factions in the cultures don't all look the same. Its a good start but feels incomplete.

Hence the question of DLC and in particular the campaign DLC. Rarely have I been so eager to know the content of a DLC. If they are leaders without a map extension then it will indeed be incomplete, or at least disappointing.

[Hexagoros]

Originally posted by PERICLES1789:

Originally posted by Defmonkey:

The map is very large. I heard someone complain that there was too much space, of which i think is totally wrong. All this "space" is a very good thing and they have done it very well here. The Warhammer immortal empires map maybe the largest but i think that is one of worst maps of the entire TW franchise as you just leapfrog from town to town every turn because there is no space. Here, you actually have to use the outposts as highways to zip around the map and its quite fun to do and arrange them as such that your army gets the best benefits for each trip.

The only complaint i have about the map are the missing areas, missing civilisations and that the existing areas needs to be flesh out further so that all the nobody factions in the cultures don't all look the same. Its a good start but feels incomplete.

Hence the question of DLC and in particular the campaign DLC. Rarely have I been so eager to know the content of a DLC. If they are leaders without a map extension then it will indeed be incomplete, or at least disappointing.

Very true. Honestly, I can't even identify areas/factions on the existing map that I would like to see included in DLC.

All of the factions I'm interested in are "off screen" in Greece, Assyria, Babylon, and Western Turkey.

[Lor]

Originally posted by Hexagoros:

Originally posted by PERICLES1789:

Hence the question of DLC and in particular the campaign DLC. Rarely have I been so eager to know the content of a DLC. If they are leaders without a map extension then it will indeed be incomplete, or at least disappointing.

Very true. Honestly, I can't even identify areas/factions on the existing map that I would like to see included in DLC.

All of the factions I'm interested in are "off screen" in Greece, Assyria, Babylon, and Western Turkey.

Have CA ever added new regions to their maps through DLCs though? I don't think so. And even if they had plans too, this game has flopped so hard I don't think they'll be investing much more into it. I imagine they'll add new cultures but they won't expand the map, and the new cultures will just be inserted into the current map.

[ST Ry]

Meh only half positive reviews... The game's a flop lol

[Hori]

Modern Warfare II’s reviews are ‘overwhelmingly negative’ while the game is easily the best in its genre. The reviews haven’t much if anything to do with the games nowadays.

[Hexagoros]

Originally posted by Naylor:

Originally posted by Hexagoros:

Very true. Honestly, I can't even identify areas/factions on the existing map that I would like to see included in DLC.

All of the factions I'm interested in are "off screen" in Greece, Assyria, Babylon, and Western Turkey.

Have CA ever added new regions to their maps through DLCs though? I don't think so. And even if they had plans too, this game has flopped so hard I don't think they'll be investing much more into it. I imagine they'll add new cultures but they won't expand the map, and the new cultures will just be inserted into the current map.

We don't know what they mean by "Campaign Pack," so it's a possibility. I can't imagine what a "new campaign" on the current map would look like, given its limitations.

Regardless, they have to release 'something.' No matter how poorly the game has done, they've locked themselves into releasing the DLCs that people "already" purchased via the premium edition, that means the 3 "DLC Packs" and 1 "campaign pack."

If they don't, under EU consumer protection laws they'll be sued for fraud. CA Sofia is based in Bulgaria.

[Defmonkey]

Originally posted by Naylor:

Originally posted by Hexagoros:

Very true. Honestly, I can't even identify areas/factions on the existing map that I would like to see included in DLC.

All of the factions I'm interested in are "off screen" in Greece, Assyria, Babylon, and Western Turkey.

Have CA ever added new regions to their maps through DLCs though? I don't think so. And even if they had plans too, this game has flopped so hard I don't think they'll be investing much more into it. I imagine they'll add new cultures but they won't expand the map, and the new cultures will just be inserted into the current map.

Yes CA have expanded the map through DLC's many times actually, recently too, Warhammer 2 and 3 had several, 3K had one also i recall.

The faction packs might add a few regions on the edges, but me being cynical, these will probably be the current map. Could be Proto-Phoenician city states, Barbarians of some kind, sea people, Western Anatolian's such as Lucian and others in that area, some kind of Archean in Cyprus, lots of possibilities. Also some expansion to the existing perhaps.... Setnakte and Siptah were both pharaohs during this period. Though i'm sure people will get upset for more Egyptians.

As for the campaign pack, who knows for that. Could be map expansion, could be new start dates, could be something else altogether...

[Hexagoros]

Originally posted by Defmonkey:

Originally posted by Naylor:

Have CA ever added new regions to their maps through DLCs though? I don't think so. And even if they had plans too, this game has flopped so hard I don't think they'll be investing much more into it. I imagine they'll add new cultures but they won't expand the map, and the new cultures will just be inserted into the current map.

Yes CA have expanded the map through DLC's many times actually, recently too, Warhammer 2 and 3 had several, 3K had one also i recall.

The faction packs might add a few regions on the edges, but me being cynical, these will probably be the current map. Could be Proto-Phoenician city states, Barbarians of some kind, sea people, Western Anatolian's such as Lucian and others in that area, some kind of Archean in Cyprus, lots of possibilities. Also some expansion to the existing perhaps.... Setnakte and Siptah were both pharaohs during this period. Though i'm sure people will get upset for more Egyptians.

As for the campaign pack, who knows for that. Could be map expansion, could be new start dates, could be something else altogether...

Yep, totally forgot about Warhammer 1 carving out that huge forest to place in Wood Elves.

Basically, they'd do the same thing here, but "lift the fog" from Greece and drop in Mycenae.

[Vlad von Carstein]

Just because you can copy and paste the same thing across a large map over and over, doesn't equate to it being good.

[PERICLES1789]

Originally posted by Hexagoros:

Originally posted by Naylor:

Have CA ever added new regions to their maps through DLCs though? I don't think so. And even if they had plans too, this game has flopped so hard I don't think they'll be investing much more into it. I imagine they'll add new cultures but they won't expand the map, and the new cultures will just be inserted into the current map.

We don't know what they mean by "Campaign Pack," so it's a possibility. I can't imagine what a "new campaign" on the current map would look like, given its limitations.

Regardless, they have to release 'something.' No matter how poorly the game has done, they've locked themselves into releasing the DLCs that people "already" purchased via the premium edition, that means the 3 "DLC Packs" and 1 "campaign pack."

If they don't, under EU consumer protection laws they'll be sued for fraud. CA Sofia is based in Bulgaria.

In other threads I've pointed out this contractual aspect. But it's not just the law, CA's reputation would be heavily tarnished if they didn't release their 4 DLCs. Not to mention that if these DLCs match the players' expectations, they can turn things around in the long run.