WALRUS BLOG
Beware of low flying walrus

• 12Jun 08

  It's been a while

  It has been a while since the last time I posted something here

  It is needless to say that I have no time for this. But now I felt the urge to write something

  I have been quite busy the last year... I have completed 8 projects and I have started my academic research project required gor me to graduate university. It has been a lot of work but I learnt a lot and I managed to get through it. There has been some gaming in it too. I finished Half Life 2 with Ep1+2, Played abit of team Fortress and finished Portal (you got it right I got my self the orange box.) Before that I played a bit Kingdoms - must admit I need to play it a bit more have not enjoyed it yet. I played Bioshock (the evil way) and loved Settlers - Rise of an Empire. There were some others as well but I can't remember right now... I even kept writing a blog in greek for a while (I still post once or twice a month if i can.

  I am sure now that I cannot keep up with blogs, forums and other web2.0 stuff. I do not want to have obligations over the internet they make me anxious so I quit them all. Email is the right tool for me sometimes instant messaging as well and casual online gaming. But posting in a forum constantly and writing a blog is deouring my time and breaking my nerves.

  I'll try keep writing any thoughts occasionally but I won't make the mistake to promise commitment one again (just to stop doing that a few months after)

  • Posted Jun 12, 2008 3:30 pm GMT
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• 24Sep 07

  Creative Assemply news

  I thought that creative assemply had two groups of developers. One team developing an expansion and one team developimg a new title. Rumours say that in fact there are four teams working for CA and this is how it goes: Creative Assemply uses its game engine twice. For example same engine for Shogun and Medieval and same engine for Rome and Medieval 2. (Of course same for the expansions too). Now that Empire is anounced there seems to be developing a third engine for it. James Russell lead designer of CA says that the old engines had major problems with AI and diplomacy due to an engine drawback. AI and diplomacy were developed seperately so they were causing a conflict (AI was in for the attack while diplomacy wanted the trade rights) now this will be over.

  In an interview with PC Gamer UK there were many things discovered about Empire: Total War taht are worth to be mentioned:

  1) Sea battles: You will be able to command all of your ships even the time when thay will be firing. There will be great sea graphics as it is said by Mike Simpson, founder of Creative Assemply: "We want to model different wind conditions, different light conditions, different weather conditions. The thing is that gusts of wind don't actually move at the speed of the wind. A gust of wind is caused by a whirlpool of wind moving vertically; they actually move quite slowly and cover large areas - you see it because it makes the surface of the water rough, and the rest shiny. It means you can build gameplay into entering and chasing gusts of wind, and using them to overtake an enemy fleet." Plus is said that you will be able to choose where to hit a ship like the hull, the crew or the sails. So you will be able to take out all of the cannons of an enemy ship in one shot like Nelson did by firing in the longitudinal axis of a ship.

  2) Land battles will change a lot as now there will be musketeers. The won't be the archers - infantry - cavalry thing where you just had to face an enemy formation by sending the right army in a rock - paper - scissors way. Now the formatiojn of the amries battling each other will be essential... So musketeers will need to be in square formation to face cavalry and they will need to have as much of the men as it can to fire to case damage (meaning that in square for example only a quarter will be able to fire but when standing in a flat line all musketeers will fire causing damage). Great changes will be in the physics of the battle. Cannon balls will bounce wherever they hit and will change direction according to the ground they hit. Plus timing is essential too so you will be able to hold fire of your musketeers to have maximum effect. As James Russell says: "We will have a fire buton. It's a sort of override tool so you can time your shot when you want to. And timing is critical. Let off muskets too early, and won't do enough damage. Let off muskets too late in the face of a cavalry charge and you've got every chance of being crushed by a flying dead horse." The last one impressed very mush thinking that they will take into accound the momentum of the dead charging horses. Moreover all the above there is going to be building garrisoning. The warfare has changed a lot since Medieval and Rome so soldiers cna get inside buildings gatting great advantages over the enemy that will try to knock them down. For example there might be a farmhouse on the field that you may use to make your stand there. Sieges will cahnde a lot too but not because there is going to be a grea change on how they work but because the enemy army will be forces to get out and that is because og the changes in the

  3) Campaign map: There are going to be huge vhanges here. First of all in Rome and Medieval II there were tiles and each one could hold one army. N ow there are going to be no tiles and the map will be completely free to move around (!). As I mention the enemy armies will be forced to get out of the city. That's because buildings like barracks will be out of the city seperately in the map and they will be in need of defence too as many other city improvements that will be out of the city maknig the enemy army getting out to play. Finally the map will include India and the Americas for sure as it is mentioned that there is going to be the American Revolution and the East Indian Company included in the game. CA wants to include slavery in the game but they are still thimnking of it as it is going to have concequenses (might insult someone).

  That's all for now.

  Rumours say that one of the CA tams develops a Total War Online service which will woprk just like steam I think so that the TW's multiplayer experience will reach a whole new level...

  • Posted Sep 24, 2007 1:26 am GMT
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• 10Sep 07

  Kingdoms

  My brother bought me the new TW Kingdoms. I really can't wait to play it but I have to study till the end of September due to exams so I guess It is going to dust itself on the self for a while... I checked the manual and the game features they added on each campaign are awesome. I did not know that there were going to be so many of them. There are a lot options actually now!

  I'm thinking of playing the campaigns in the following order

  Britannia - Teutonic - Americas - Crusades (and afterwards a second round with a different faction

  

  Moreover the next TW was announced for 2008 and it is going to include naval battles well that is going to be perfect.

  

  

  

  

  

  With all this naval it is going to be awesome!!!

  • Posted Sep 10, 2007 11:30 pm GMT
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