Anyone else think the campaign map is boring?

[Shepherd]

I'm really trying to enjoy this game, and on paper it seems like something that I'd love (I'm a big TW fan in general) but for some reason 3K just isn't clicking for me.

The campaign map is just a giant square with no real dividing lines. There are a ♥♥♥♥-ton of provinces occupied by weak little independent factions that require a ton of busywork to bowl over in the early game.

The early game in 3K feels like the lategame in other TW titles where you're just going through the motions stomping out massively weaker minor factions turn after turn.

I like the characters, the gameplay, the units, etc but when I exit a battle and look at the campaign map I just sigh. Imagining slogging through all of these weak battles for hours just isn't fun. I have something like 80 hours in the game and haven't come close to finishing a campaign because it just feels like busywork.

Thoughts?

[[Myrm]Fable09]

If you don't know what to do try to get Steam Archivement for this game

[Shepherd]

Originally posted by MyrmFable09:

If you don't know what to do try to get Steam Archivement for this game

I'll check the achievs out, thanks. I think it's less about not knowing what to do and just not feeling a desire to? Maybe I need to learn more about the time period to better immerse myself.

[Enelith]

Originally posted by Shepherd:

Anyone else think the campaign map is boring

No.
It's China. I like it. What did you expect ?

Edit :

You may check this video to have a global grasp of what happened.
Otherwise, you could watch the 3K TV shows, (1994 / 2010) and other similar movies (Red Cliffs, else), but it will take much longer obviously (those are good though)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26EivpCPHnQ&t=1s

[TheSaboteur]

Yeah campaign map does seem a little bit odd. You can get choke points in some areas though. Now with the gates it's even better. For me at least, it's a good change of pace when you start a Ma Teng or Big Dong campaign after a Gongsun Zan campaign. Your armies have to march 3-4x more in comparison so supplies are a big issue. You can also try and make up some challenge. Like playing as Liu Bei and rushing to Sichuan to re-make Shu.

But in general yes, the map isn't that good. It has a lot of detail but if you look at other Three Kingdoms games, the geography is all over the place. They could have done a better job at designing the map to re-create historical challenges.

[ZyF]

I like the map quite a bit. The lack of a clear path of conquest forces you to really play with diplomacy. This is the first TW game where I actually made use of vassals instead of just outright conquering everything.

[Kevin]

Quite the opposite really, I find the campaign map enjoyable, it's the battles that are really lackluster in my opinion.

[bongofurrueh]

Esp after the nanman regions im loving the map, you gotta learn the characters man, it changes the experience from map painting to role playing. Current game im burning out the nanman and making ma teng the new liu bei in shu considering vassalizing wu as well since the big 3 will probably be me, a dong offspring, and either wu or liu bei. Wu hit duchy super fast but then hit a hard rut so i hope i can vassalize and use against liu bei who will hold tao qians lands still.But without knowing these people its just map painting vs more total war computer ai

[Shepherd]

Originally posted by razorexpert1:

Esp after the nanman regions im loving the map, you gotta learn the characters man, it changes the experience from map painting to role playing. Current game im burning out the nanman and making ma teng the new liu bei in shu considering vassalizing wu as well since the big 3 will probably be me, a dong offspring, and either wu or liu bei. Wu hit duchy super fast but then hit a hard rut so i hope i can vassalize and use against liu bei who will hold tao qians lands still.But without knowing these people its just map painting vs more total war computer ai

This made a lot of sense to me, thank you. I'm going to focus on learning the characters and see if I can't adjust the way I'm thinking about the campaign map in general. Perhaps the most important dividing lines are diplomatic rather than the terrain / sea in Warhammer 2 for example.

You're right though, without knowing the characters I do feel like I'm painting a map, but that's my fault not the games. Cheers.

[GamerCH]

Originally posted by Shepherd:

Anyone else think the campaign map is boring?

No.

Originally posted by Shepherd:

The campaign map is just a giant square with no real dividing lines.

No.

Originally posted by Shepherd:

There are a ♥♥♥♥-ton of provinces occupied by weak little independent factions that require a ton of busywork to bowl over in the early game.

No.


If you ignore everything there is and just simplify it down to that, ofc it will appear as that to you.

[Sykiwi]

Yes i agree. And yes, it is 3K (China) so i guess its right to say "what did you expect"
That being said, I think total war always shines on grander scales seen in previous titles. You get more a sense on conquest when you break into another continent.

However, 3K is one of the better TW to date. I think a lot of that is due to its comparative polish (when it does not CTD!!) and optimisation.

Give us Medieval 3 on this engine.

[Antonius]

I do, even if I like the campaign play. Don't like campaign map graphics, lack of unit diversity and battles. For example, Attila campaign map looks lot better.