Original Shogun total war is still the best

[Ravenous]

Top 3 TW:s are still Shugun, Medieval and Rome - the first versions.

I dont understand how the game is developed further and it always manages to feel less.

I have not this but i played or owned the earlier new ones including Warhammer.

I really liked the Shogun due to being kinda random, having little animations whether a shinobi succeeded or not, random income due to harvest etc. I dont think TW:s actually have developed that much after the first.

They become like Assassin creed. Every time the same game in different setting.

[Spud]

The game isn't developed, development in the traditional sense of the word ended with Empire and the Warscape engine.

Since then they've been reskinning and modifying the exact same code, adding the occasional new feature, ripping out considerably more and selling at AAA prices.

14 years of hawking paid mods and at last the wheels are coming off.

[PERICLES1789]

Originally posted by Ravenous:

Top 3 TW:s are still Shugun, Medieval and Rome - the first versions.

I dont understand how the game is developed further and it always manages to feel less.

I have not this but i played or owned the earlier new ones including Warhammer.

I really liked the Shogun due to being kinda random, having little animations whether a shinobi succeeded or not, random income due to harvest etc. I dont think TW:s actually have developed that much after the first.

They become like Assassin creed. Every time the same game in different setting.

Shogun 1 was a revolution at the time; I've been playing it for years. But Shogun 2 was also a real success. Pharaoh is a commercial failure but nonetheless a good Bronze Age game. As for Rome 1, I've extended it as much as possible with the SPQR and darthmod and Troy mods.

[thewelshwizard *T*R*Y*]

CA have relied on the modding community to keep their games relevant for years. They've become lazy and complacent. Warhammer aside it's copy and paste. Selling a DLC for £90, watching it bomb and then reducing it by two thirds says it all. If they're not going to put more effort in they may as well pack it in.
Employing someone with an interest in history might be a start.
The game below from an Indie developer shows what can be achieved.

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhydihhgEqs&list=LL&index=11

[Ravenous]

Originally posted by PERICLES1789:

Originally posted by Ravenous:

Top 3 TW:s are still Shugun, Medieval and Rome - the first versions.

I dont understand how the game is developed further and it always manages to feel less.

I have not this but i played or owned the earlier new ones including Warhammer.

I really liked the Shogun due to being kinda random, having little animations whether a shinobi succeeded or not, random income due to harvest etc. I dont think TW:s actually have developed that much after the first.

They become like Assassin creed. Every time the same game in different setting.

Shogun 1 was a revolution at the time; I've been playing it for years. But Shogun 2 was also a real success. Pharaoh is a commercial failure but nonetheless a good Bronze Age game. As for Rome 1, I've extended it as much as possible with the SPQR and darthmod and Troy mods.

Yes. S:TW was something new. I played the crap out of it. Feels like this kind of major devvie games have become stuck with a decent recipe which sells nevertheless. But these have more the feel of a "product" than a video game. Video games have a bit of anarchy, innovation, complexity and surprisingness. Products are something that you pick up from a shelve and you will know exactly what you get.

Theres nothing wrong with that. Im just not interested while many others are. Its okay. Im just sad for strategy game development these days. It feels like its either these big published products which are very similar to each other (x-com, civilization, TW have not actually progressed or changed for years) or countless manga styled turn based pixel art strategy games.

Then there is games like Terra Invicta by small publishers which try to aim for something completely new but lack resources. Thankfully there are countless excellent open x-com mods to satisfy strategy needs, but its kinda funny that to play decent strategy one has to play mods for 30 year old games or Early Access games.

[JimmyTheSnake]

I disagree they were the "best", but I do miss how the campaign developed and meaningful battles panned out in the old risk style maps of STW and MTW. The AI was better able to function on a chessboard versus the free space of the TW's from RTW onward.

That being said, some of my favorite memories of gaming involve opening up the foldout unit lists and map that came with the original MTW. I laid it out on the floor many times excitedly planning my next campaign.