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Medieval II: Total War - Interview with Bob Smith by Jonathan Trevisani Now Jonathan Trevisani presents an interview with Bob Smith, Project Director at CA Australia, about the upcoming strategy epic Medieval II: Total War. The game continues to expand on the Total War series with new features and improvements. Jonathan Trevisani - With the success of the Total War series, what are the expectations for the next installment in the series? What made you decide to come back to the medieval era? Bob Smith - The aim with Medieval II is to bring the awesome gameplay of Rome to the medieval era, whilst raising the experience and spectacle of the Total War series to a whole new level. The period is renowned for huge castles, lots of armour, colorful flags and heraldry. We've set out to build a system that can do justice to all of this whilst expanding key areas of the campaign game such as religion and diplomacy. As for what made us revisit the medieval period - this was down to a number of reasons. Firstly, the medieval period is in many ways the perfect setting for a Total War game. It has the wide range of unit types, the technological progress, the constant warfare, treachery, intrigue and the clash of civilizations that are all vital ingredients for the Total War recipe. Secondly, in the four years since the launch of the original, our technology has improved hugely and on the battle side we can now really capture the colour and pageantry of the period. We just couldn't resist revisiting the period now that we have the kind of technology that will allow us to really bring the period to life and do it justice. Jonathan Trevisani - What are some of the advantages to the medieval era over the over time periods? What tactics and options will be unique to this time period? Bob Smith - As I've mentioned, the medieval period has many ingredients that make up the perfect setting for a Total War game. The grand campaign in Medieval II spans four and a half centuries of history from the years 1080-1530. This timeframe includes the golden age of chivalry and the crusades, spans the Mongol invasion and the invention of gunpowder, and ends with gun toting professional armies, the renaissance and the discovery of America. These events allowed us to create a rich variety of content for the player, both in terms of the campaign game and the battlefield. The whole medieval period was one giant arms race and this gives us so much to play with in terms of the variety of units we can offer the player. At the start, everyone has simple bows, and wears mail armour. As time goes on, the development of the longbow, crossbow, and steel crossbow drive the adoption of heavier and heavier armour, culminating in the full suit of plate. At the same time, this drives the adoption of bigger, heavier axes, halberds and other pole weapons for melee. Finally, at the end of the period, the introduction of guns, leads to a reduction in armour, as mobility is a better defense. This is all reflected in the game and offers a rich variety of tactics on the battlefield as the campaign progresses. The period is also known for its siege warfare and sieges in Medieval II will present the player with a totally new strategic challenge. Our new settlement rendering system has allowed us to create settlements with multiple layers of defenses and this radically alters the tactics of sieges compared to previous games in the series. In sieges situations, the attackers will develop trebuchets, and progressively bigger and better cannon. The defender meanwhile can counter by developing bigger fortresses with two or three rings of walls. An attacker with a good train of artillery will always be able to blast a hole in the outer wall, but if the assault on the breach is too costly, they might not have the strength to take the second or third ring. Jonathan Trevisani- What are some of the improvements to this game from the previous titles? What did you want to change and keep from the earlier games? Bob Smith - Medieval II raises the bar for Total War games right across the board – from the turn-based campaign game to the real-time battles. In the battles we've stripped down and totally refurbished our technology. Medieval II's engine includes a complete upgrade of the battlefield rendering system, new methods for building and rendering cities while the combat animation system has been heavily revised. One of the areas of the previous games in the series that we particularly wanted to remove was the clone armies – units of identical troops. In Medieval II, units are made up of soldiers that are individuals. Each model is now constructed from a variety of heads, bodies and limbs. The engine combines these together to make each man far more individual. There are also multiple variants for shields and weapons too, so each soldier has character and each unit of men looks and behaves like a group of individual soldiers. Armour and weapon upgrades are also evident when you look on your units in battle. This new level of individuality ramps up the realism and immersion of the huge battles to new heights. Another key area in which we've made huge strides is the combat animation. After capturing hours of mo-capped animations, we've been able to create synchronized attacks with defenses and fatalities and introduce them to the huge scale battles. Sequenced attack combos also allow the soldier to string together attacks to cut a swathe through his opponents so the player will see some truly spectacular action. For example, a swordsman might do a swing to the left, a swing to the right, followed by a stab to the stomach knocking his opponent down. He might then spin around, and deliver a merciless finishing strike to the enemy while he's lying helpless on the ground. You'll see these kinds of moves being executed all over the battlefield and as soldiers fall you'll see those still standing continually scanning their surroundings for their next kill. These touches make the huge scale battles so much more realistic and immersive whether you're zoomed in on the front line or looking on from a distance. Elsewhere there are of course new factions, new units, new unit abilities, new siege weaponry and improved AI on both the battlefield and on the campaign map. In the grand campaign, Medieval II adds new agents, improved diplomacy and trade, a host of new buildings added to the tech tree, new sabotage and espionage options with full assassination movies so you can witness the cold blooded killing or bungled attempts first hand. A new system of religion that will see players having to manage their relationship with the papal states, embarking on crusades commissioned by the Pope or turning their back on him and plotting to place their own pope in power. The new settlement system, meanwhile, gives the option for the player to develop settlements as either cities for economic growth, or castles for building military force. These features all combine to make the most compelling campaign game ever in a Total War title. Jonathan Trevisani- How will the game appeal to gamers new to the series as well as current fans? Will the game play be geared towards intense, strategic conquests or light and fun empire building? Bob Smith - We've worked to ensure that Medieval II will appeal both to experienced Total War fans and those new to the series but it is a difficult balance to strike. The huge improvements we've made to the battle engine and the overall look of the game will certainly help to attract new fans to the series. We're continually looking for ways that we can make the game more accessible to people who are perhaps new to strategy games. We've done a lot of work with the tutorials and advisors in Medieval II to ensure this happens. The game includes a full tutorial to ease the new player into the campaign game. In addition, we've also improved accessibility by improving the advisor system that will offer guidance to new players on both the campaign game and on the battlefield. Plus, when a player selects one of the five starting factions, they'll get an introduction to their faction, including a description of likely threats from their neighbours and advice on their initial target regions to conquest. We also have to balance this with developing the game for an established Total War audience and strategy fans. Medieval II will certainly present these players with an intense challenge and experience. Features like the new in-depth religious system, improved diplomacy and the option to develop settlements as cities or castles have added brand new layers of strategy that we're sure will delight existing Total War fans. Jonathan Trevisani - What options will players have on the battlefield? Can they decide to take no prisoners or use different types of weapons? Bob Smith - The player has a wealth of options on the battlefield, depending on the types of units they have at their disposal. There are over 250 unique units included in the game and as the grand campaign develops, the player will get access to more and more advanced units that can be more and more devastating in combat. The discovery of gunpowder is obviously key to this and will see the player recruit units armed with muskets and of course some hefty cannons. The player can always choose to spare his enemy, or at least some of their troops. Players can seize prisoners of war and then choose to release them or ransom them back to the enemy after the battle. This will lead to the player's Generals developing a more chivalrous reputation. Alternatively, the player can choose to slaughter any prisoners they seize which will see their General develop Dread and become feared on the battlefield by his enemies and within any city he governs. Jonathan Trevisani - How good is the A.I. in the real-time battles? Can players use the environment to their advantage? Bob Smith - We're always striving to make improvements to the battle AI as the Total War series has developed and Medieval II will of course continue this trend. The new environment rendering system has allowed us to create impassable terrain for the first time in the series which will allow the player to tailor their tactics according to the environment, perhaps protecting their flanks with hills or cliffs. The AI will work similar ploys into their deployment and tactics. Jonathan Trevisani - What are some of the new features of the game? How has the campaign game changed? Bob Smith - One of the biggest new features included in the turn-based campaign map enables the player to choose whether to develop their settlements as either a castle or a city. They have different tech trees that enable different buildings to be constructed. In simple terms, castles emphasize the military, and cities the economic. Build lots of castles, and your armies will be extremely potent. Build lots of cities, and you'll have to rely on dubious militias or mercenaries. On the other hand, you'll have the money to buy off your opponents. Castles will require less management than cities but as the game develops cities will become more important, but redeveloping castles will be costly so the transition will need to be carefully managed. As a result, there is a great deal more strategy involved as you expand your empire across the campaign map. The campaign map itself will be busier with several new types of agent, including merchants, princesses and priests. These will afford more opportunities for non-military interaction with the other factions. It will also be bigger than the previous game and include the opportunity for the player to discover the Americas. Initially, these will be hidden from the players and the squares of the Atlantic Ocean will be impassible. Late in the game, players will be able to develop the technology to cross the ocean, discover America, and battle with the Aztecs. What the Aztecs lack in military technology they more than make up for in bravery and sheer numbers so while the Americas are there to be conquered, the Aztecs aren't likely to welcome unwanted visitors. The new world has many unique and lucrative resources, such as tobacco and chocolate, not to mention gold. Dominating America will do wonders for your treasury and converting all those pagans will impress the Pope. Being so far away, the faction that can defeat the Aztecs and establish a base there, will have a huge advantage defending it against other factions. The economic advantages that come from having a monopoly here will give that faction a huge boost dealing with the other old world factions. Jonathan Trevisani - How many factions will be playable in the game and what unique units will they support? Which is your favorite faction? Bob Smith - There are 21 playable and non-playable factions included in the game. Of these there'll be 17 factions that are playable in the grand campaign. These factions bring with them over 250 unique units that offer a huge variety of tactics on the battlefield. As an example, the English have an army is initially composed of knights and spearmen, but they go on to develop a system based dismounted knights and longbowmen, their signature unit and an extremely powerful and effective archer unit. The French are probably my favourite faction to play right now. Their infantry isn't too strong so they're reliant on their feudal levy of mounted knights but these are truly a fearsome unit on the battlefield. Jonathan Trevisani - What campaigns are planned for each faction? What historical battles will be included in the game? Bob Smith - On the campaign side, the 17 different factions present a very different challenge so each one is a separate campaign game in its own right. Each one has a unique set of problems to face, and a different set of tools to deal with them. We've also included loads of one off historical battles for those who want to dive into the game. We're still deciding on our final lineup, but these will let you play as a number of historical figures such as Saladin and Richard the Lionheart. We're including a good mix of interesting battles that span the period of the game and offer a great deal of gameplay variety, from the axes and chain mail of Hastings to the guns and pikes of Pavia. Jonathan Trevisani - The diplomatic A.I. will now remember previous events and treat the player accordingly, how will this change game play? What indicators will the player be given about their relations with other factions? Bob Smith - We've made some considerable improvements here. In Medieval II, the AI will remember their previous dealings and events in the game far better, and bring grudges to the negotiating table. This means that the player has to conduct themselves far more carefully in diplomacy or face the consequences in the campaign game. Insult a rival faction in diplomacy and relations will be damaged, which could result in military action. Players will get instant feedback on their standing with a faction once they open negotiations. We've also allowed the player to click on any character in the campaign game and get feedback through speech, on how their faction is seen by rival nations. Plus, the player will get regular reports on their standing with opposing factions as relationships change.

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source :: game press service

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