Support NeoGAF

[MrPing1000]

steam downloads them pretty sharpish now.

I'll have to start a new game now the patch is out.

 

[dLMN8R]

I got the game after the first two patches came out. Does Steam get 'em quick or is it a download-'em-yourself kind of situation?

For most games, it'll take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks for the Steam version to get the patch - however long it takes the developers to put it out there.

However, since E:TW is a Steamworks game *everyone* gets the patch through Steam, so basically if it's not available for the Steam version, no one gets it

 

[Doytch]

Note to those wondering whether to start new/continue saves:

Dear All,

An additional point of note is that you'll find the most difference on the campaign map playing at normal difficulty or above with a new campaign. This is because we balance against the 'normal' value of AI.

For those of you having issues with older save games. Save game compatible, does not necessarily mean that you can load a previous save which has reached a critically bugged/flawed point and have it work as a result. If certain metrics are involved although the game will load (i.e. Is compatible) the new code cannot be applied as other conditions have already been set by your save.

The idea of save game compatability means that for the majority of players who have been playing without incident and saving, they can continue from their last save after patching.

Some saves with errors will be fixed, others will not. If yours is not, we'd urge you to start a new campaign if possible.

Kind regards,
Kieran

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I think the patch caused me to crash to desktop last night. The game had never crashed for me before and I was in the middle of a battle when I got a fatal error. When I crashed to the desktop I saw the Steam popup in the bottom right hand of the screen saying that Empire: Total War had finished downloading.

I was doing really well in that battle too

 

[Doytch]

Bunch of info about next patch

May 6th

Hi Guys

We've worked on improving the multi-threading in the game for multi-core processors and made many optimisations that will also help out single core machines. You will see the benefits through increased frame rates particularly in land and naval battles.

SFX loading has been made asynchronous, so heavy disc access is reduced to a minimum. This was causing program execution blocking when multiple sounds were being requested at once across pack files.

Various optimisations have been made to reduce the campaign map turn times.

Windows error reporting included. This will help us greatly in eradicating any existing crashes after the release of this patch. It will require users to make sure crash report logs are sent to us via the windows dialog box.

Cheers

The Shogun

May 7th

Dear all,

The new multi-threading support was made more stable today, resulting in proper four core utilisation in large naval battles. This has yielded some great performance boosts. We've also edited the way farm structures are handled for land battle loading, shaving a few seconds off of loading times for battles using these objects.

The graphics team are also working on restructuring the underlying code framework that handles unit variation, resulting in a possible move from 8 varities to up to 64 on ultra settings.

All of these things we hope to feature in the next patch, or the one beyond that making Empire more stable, more rich and more fun.

Kind regards,
Kieran

May 8th

For the first part of this update I would like to clarify an issue that seems to be causing confusing and talk a bit about the AI.

Technical v game play patches

Some people seem to have got the impression that we are going to do a cycle of game play patch then technical patch then game play patch etc. So as 1.2 was a game play patch 1.3 won't have any game play improvements in it. This is not true. All patches will include bug fixes and game play/balance improvements. Hot fixes of course are done for specific issues we feel need to be addressed more quickly. So there is no wait for a long time between balance improvements or for bug fixes, patches will include both.

Patch 3/1.3/Patch 4

There has also been confusion about the naming/numbering of patches, which really stems from the disconnect between our internal branch names and the version number you see in game.

1.2, the large that came out on the 29th of April was referred to as Patch 3 on the forums for a while before being called 1.2. Now the next patch has been referred to as Patch 4 in some places leading some people to think we are talking about 1.4. Patch 3 and Patch 4 are simply the internal project branch names for what was patch 1.2 and what will be patch 1.3. Of course this has caused confusion and is merely a result of devs referring to internal branch names instead of using the version numbers that will be used for the patches on public release.

AI

One of the hot topics on the forums lately have been discussions about several battle and campaign AI issues, and people have been asking whether we are going to address them or make any further improvements to the AI. I would like to repeat something I said in the first Daily Update I posted (exactly one month ago in fact). There will be continual work and improvements done to the AI with each patch.

The big topic of discussion in relation to battle AI is a new problem people have spotted where the AI units constantly try to move out of the way of each other resulting in them just walking into the player's line and engaging in melee instead of sensibly standing at range and shooting. This has occurred as a result of a change we made to try and prevent the AI from blobbing its units together presenting a nice easy target for the player. Obviously it has not worked as well as we would like, but rest assured improvements are being made so this problem will not exist in 1.3.

We do not want to put out a hot fix for this as we want to do thorough testing of this issue; both internally and with the beta testers so as to make sure there have been improvements. Battle AI will have a bigger testing focus amongst the beta testers for the next patch.

For the campaign AI, the big issues are AI factions making peace with each other and naval invasions still as whilst they do now occur, they are rare as we said they would be pre-patch. There have been improvements to both of these made for the next patch, and as said earlier the campaign AI is constantly being worked on.

Balancing Changes

The second part of this update is about the balance changes for land battles that will be in the next patch.

I know there were some discussions amongst the multiplayer community who wondered why some changes were made when balance was already decent in the release version of Empire and they felt that only slight changes were perhaps needed.

It is precisely because the balance was decent, and not good or great that balancing changes are continuing to be made, as Empire can and will be better balanced.

So, what is changing?

This patch pretty much covers every aspect of land battles to improve game play and balancing. Summed up, the changes are as following:

- Slight slowdown in unit movement speed.

- Increased differences between unit types.

- Balancing improvements made to morale system to improve battles.

- Big changes to projectiles to provide more diversity between shot types and to make more shot types viable.

- Better survivability for guns and carriages in artillery units.

- Better balancing and costs for units.

- Addition of mob formation for native infantry, skirmishers and some irregulars and light infantry.

So as you can see quite a lot is changing.

Unit Diversification

A big part of the balance changes have been more about trying to give clearer differences between unit types through both stats and other changes.

For an example of a change, light infantry, skirmishers, irregulars, light cavalry and missile cavalry can now spot hidden units at longer distances making them more useful for scouting on the battlefield.

I will be posting threads in the multiplayer forums here, at TWC, CSS and at .org for more detailed discussion of these changes as there are a lot and I don't want to bog this post down with statistics.

Shot Types and Artillery

Currently, some shot types are very useful and some are not very useful at all. Artillery is also very vulnerable and it is too easy to knock out guns. Round shot for foot and horse artillery has been improved to make it more useful, range of shrapnel has been decreased, howitzer range has been decreased. Mortars have also had the accuracy of their more exotic shot types reduced.

All the changes are aimed at making all shots have their use and to encourage the use of different shots within a battle. And to make sure artillery is no longer very easy to take out; their survivability has been increased a lot.

Morale

At the moment it is very difficult to break most units unless they have taken a very large amount of casualties, resulting in some melees lasting too long and decisive rear/flanks charges not having the impact they should. No I'm not saying long melees shouldn't happen, and that combat should be over really quickly, just at the moment it is a bit too long. So some morale factors have been tweaked to improve the flow and feel of combat.

This is just a brief summary of the changes that have been made, as said earlier I will be posting threads in the multiplayer forums here, at TWC, CSS and at .org for more detailed discussion of these changes as there are a lot and I don't want to bog this post down with statistics.

Looks like we're getting there...

 

[epmode]

I'm sure the dev team was sad to see the game rushed out so much earlier than it should have been but it's nice to see such a response.

If only the Steam forums would be reasonable about the situation. That place is a disaster.

 

[TwIsTeD]

just a heads up this game is $29.99 this sunday at best buy

 

[~Kinggi~]

just a heads up this game is $29.99 this sunday at best buy

yup, just picked it up! Been meaning to get it.

 

[L0st Id3ntity]

I'm getting this now, the game is completely unplayable.

My specs are:

Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9000
4GB PC38500 DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM
NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GTX

I know these can NOT be the problem.

But I've gathered that the game doesn't work great with a Quad? so I tried changing the affinity to a single core, but with not much improvement.

Help please.

 

[L0st Id3ntity]

One last hopeful bump or 50$ are gone down the drain.

 

[Eyemus Lutt]

One last hopeful bump or 50$ are gone down the drain.

It's the reason I stopped PC gaming when I bought the first Rome total war and couldn't get it to run at a playable frame rate I gave up and never bothered going back.

 

[Morbid Angel]

1.3 patch notes

Hi guys,

Update 1.3 will be released for Empire: Total War on 22nd June 2009. Ahead of its release, here are the major features coming to the update:

We’ve worked on implementing the multi-threading in the game for multi-core processors and made many optimisations that will also help increase performance on single core machines.

Players will see huge benefits through increased frame rates particularly in land and naval battles.

14 Free Units have been included in this patch, adding a large amount of diversity to the playable factions and the armies the player will face. These units replace ‘generic’ equivalents giving each faction a unique identity on the battlefield. Here is a description of each free unit available in the update:

Prussian Grenadiers

Wearing a distinctive brass fronted mitre cap, the Prussian Grenadiers are an explosive force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

Spanish Guardias de infateria

These elite guard infantry are charged with protecting the monarch and are a potent force on the battlefield.

Swedish lifeguard horse

This cavalry regiment forms part of the monarchs’ household guard. Superbly drilled, they act as a shock force on the battlefield.

Holland Horse Guard

Armed with heavy cavalry sabres, these disciplined cavalrymen represent the elite of the army.

Prussian Garde Du Corp

The Prussian Garde Du Corp are a replacement for the Prussian standard Household cavalry. These heavy horse shock troops are best used to break enemy lines and overrun enemy positions. With a strong charge and fearsome attack, these riders make short work of those who would oppose a Prussian monarch.

Prussian Life guard

The Prussian life guards are equipped similarly to line infantrymen. However their uniforms are altogether more splendid, marking them out as a superior force, in arrogance if nothing else. They do a good job as garrison troops and are dedicated to the crown.

Russian Grenadiers

This new Russian unit is great for assaults and their grenades pack a mighty punch!

Spanish Guardias De Corp

The Spanish Guardias De Corp replace household cavalry for Spain. With almost unbreakable morale, on the charge they are almost unstoppable.

Spanish Grenadiers

These are a replacement for the standard Spanish Grenadiers with a distinctive bearskin hat to mark them out as exemplary on the battlefield.

Swedish ‘Lifeguards of foot’

These are a highly trained replacement for the standard Swedish guard. They are often used as a force in a system that defends a monarchy and can be relied upon for utter loyalty and deadly accuracy in the field. Their professionalism is reflected in their fearsome battle reputation.

Holland Guard

The Holland Guards from the United Provinces are superior line infantry units. Carrying smoothbore muskets, they were traditionally chosen to protect the royal family and have an incredibly high morale, often making them the last troops to break in a fight.

Scots

The Scots are a Highland ex-patriate infantry used by the United Provinces, renowned for their deadly charge.

Swiss Infantry

Very disciplined infantry of the United Provinces with quick reload and excellent marksmanship.

Mamelukes

Mamelukes are fearless light horsemen, deadly when deployed against a broken or unsupported enemy.

Additionally the Spanish nation has had a new uniform design to better reflect its historical look.

Audio:

Sound loading has been made asynchronous, so heavy disc access is reduced to a minimum. This makes loading times faster and reduces any instances of ’stuttering’. Unit group sounds have also been improved, for more realistic group movement. The primary sound library (Miles DLL) has been updated to stop occasional clicking. And we’ve added more sound variation for unit deaths and musket fire.

Campaign:

- Several crash bug fixes in saves, movement, agents and logic.

- Various optimisations have been made to AI and path systems to reduce the campaign map turn times.

- When the pirates are destroyed and re-emerge they now maintain a status of at war with all and are unable to enter into diplomatic negotiations.

- Added small ships on domestic trade routes from the trade nodes to home regions moving in the correct direction, i.e. with the flow of trade.

- The AI should now no longer repeatedly sign a diplomatic agreement and then break it the next turn. Treaties are more valuable and adhered to.

- We’ve fixed some border trade agreements allowing greater numbers of bordering factions to properly trade with one another.

- Movement arrows now reflect the range of the selected units, not the whole army/navy.

- AI will no longer counter-offer and ask for more money than the player has available.

- Fixed commerce raiding taking money from blockaded trade routes.

- Fixed navies getting stuck when forced to retreat from ports (tactial retreat).

- Fixed rare inability to attack certain ports.

- Fixed middle mouse button camera drag stopping working occasionally.

- Made emergent factions be at war with the faction they emerged against if that faction is human.

- Fixed various movement extent crashes.

- Changed background income for minor factions.

- Fixed diplomatic relations with emergent factions.

- Tactical withdrawal will now always leave armies on the landmass containing the settlement of a region.

- Changed war score system to make the AI more likely to accept peace.

- Fixed crash when embarking and disembarking armies at ports.

- Fixed trade ships not being correctly registered in trade nodes after splitting forces.

- Fixed government change diplomatic effect.

- Improved commerce raiding display on trade screen.

- Faction specific text is now used in diplomacy.

- Prevent players cancelling the movement of fleeing agents.

Balance changes

Units

- Charge bonus generally increased across the board for all units and melee defence reduced.

- Greater diversification of stats between different unit types designed to emphasise differences and improve balance.

- Redone costs for all units for multiplayer to improve game balance which better reflects the actual battlefield worth of each unit.

- Mob formation added in for Native American, irregular and some skirmisher units.

- Spot distance for light infantry, skirmishers, irregulars, light cavalry and missile cavalry increased allowing them to spot hidden units at longer distances.

- Russian line infantry stats have been boosted to allow them to compete more with other faction’s line infantry.

- Movement speed of all unit types reduced by 10%.

- Ammo for light infantry increased to 20, line to 15.

Land battle morale

- Charge morale bonus reduced from 10 to 4.

- Recent casualties, extended casualties and total casualties morale penalties increased slightly for higher percentages.

- Rear and flank exposed morale penalties increased.

Fatigue

- Fatigue penalty for melee reduced from 18 per tick to 10.

- Running fatigue penalty for heavy and light cavalry reduced from -3/-2 to -2/-1.

Artillery Changes

- Calibration area for cannons and howitzers reduced. Accuracy of non-round shot shot types reduced to compensate.

- Muzzle velocity of round shot for cannons increased to make them fire lower and bounce more, accuracy also increased.

- Lethality of shrapnel pieces reduced to match canister shot, range also reduced to 350.

- Load time for special shot types for howitzers increased slightly, and range reduced to 350.

- Calibration area for mortars increased, accuracy of round shot increased to compensate. Reload time increased slightly.

- Accuracy of 18 lbr horse guard artillery restored to 65.

Hit points of gun trains increased to 50, all guns and caissons to 25.

Thanks,

Mark O’Connell

http://blogs.sega.com/totalwar/2009/06/18/update-13-features-list/

 

[Darklord]

It's the reason I stopped PC gaming when I bought the first Rome total war and couldn't get it to run at a playable frame rate I gave up and never bothered going back.

So you tried one game it didn't run too well so you gave up PC gaming? Err, ok.

 

[speedpop]

Man I should reinstall this. I uninstalled it after the first few days of purchase in the hope of getting it back up when the patches began flowing and almost forgot about it.

 

[Eyemus Lutt]

So you tried one game it didn't run too well so you gave up PC gaming? Err, ok.

I tried The Sims 2 and Mount and Blade and that didn't work as well, although I did play The Movies and Sims 3 and they worked fine. Basically I would never get a Pc game if I had the option to get it on consoles.

 

[ghst]

so i guess i'll put this here rather than the steam thread, as "this game finally works as it should now go buy it!" was more my sentiment than saving a few greenbacks.

so i was pretty hyped about this pre-release. but total war games have traditionally always had rocky releases and empire's was something of a train wreck. ctd bugs out the ass, passive a.i, big campaign neutering bugs, nonsensical democracy, unbalanced units...about everything that could go wrong, did.

they have, however, been steadily updating this game (million+ sales do wonders for post release support). the last patch in particular corrected almost every game-breaking grievance in it's initial release.

monday's forthcoming huge patch looks set to bring the game up to the standard a game of this scope deserves. and is being considered by many in the community as the real release of the game, as it should be. i've personally been since launch for the game to reach this state to devote any serious time to it, which i'll be sure to do with monday's update.

http://blogs.sega.com/totalwar/2009/...features-list/ - patch notes.

with steam's half price weekend deal, for everyone whose held off due to the horror stories of its initial release, or just wants to experience the epic scope and spectacle of a total war game, now is the time to buy. (just wait till monday to play it)

 

[MrPing1000]

The game was released way too early.

And the special units were a scam, nothing more. I have them in my standard copy.

 

[Slacker]

This is the Steam deal of the week - $25.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/10500/

So we get a patch but still no multiplayer campaign? >____<

 

[Doytch]

This is the Steam deal of the week - $25.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/10500/

So we get a patch but still no multiplayer campaign? >____<

I'd rather they focus on patches and core functionality than adding something like the MP campaign which is just a bonus. Doubt it'll be used much anyway.

 

[Darklord]

I tried The Sims 2 and Mount and Blade and that didn't work as well, although I did play The Movies and Sims 3 and they worked fine. Basically I would never get a Pc game if I had the option to get it on consoles.

If those 3 games didn't work it sounds like your PC was screwed somehow. 90% of the time if a game doesn't work theres a really simple solution as well(Eg. update a driver, get a patch, change a setting ect).

 

[EviLore]

The Sims 2 not working on your computer is like Microsoft Word not working on your computer.

 

[epmode]

Yeah, I think I'm finally going to put some real time into this come Monday.

I still blame Sega for the bugs but I don't think I'll be grabbing another Total War game at launch ever again.

 

[ghst]

Yeah, I think I'm finally going to put some real time into this come Monday.

I still blame Sega for the bugs but I don't think I'll be grabbing another Total War game at launch ever again.

the sad thing is, the game would've never received such committed post-release support if there weren't a million eager rubes like us to fund it in the first place.

 

[Zachack]

the sad thing is, the game would've never received such committed post-release support if there weren't a million eager rubes like us to fund it in the first place.

Pretty much, but what this means is that CA's next game will have to be nearly perfect out of the gate or they won't see nearly the sales numbers at launch. I'm in the same boat as you (can't wait to actually finish Road to Independence) and barring some sort messianic revelation there's no way I'm buying the next TW game until 4 months after it launches, probably the same time it starts drifting to the bargain bin.

Worse, this and a couple other games have really soured me on buying new release PC games. I can accept that eastern euro devs are going to put out overly-ambitious titles with some serious issues, but when a major dev like CA does the same it's just bad. Coupled with Steam games still coming with non-Steam DRM (Riddick, maybe Ghostbusters?), and the notion of spending more than $20-30 on anything is just gone.

 

[EviLore]

Looks like they've cleaned it up sufficiently, and $25 is the right price. Bought, will wait for monday's patch to play.

 

[arstal]

Pretty much, but what this means is that CA's next game will have to be nearly perfect out of the gate or they won't see nearly the sales numbers at launch. I'm in the same boat as you (can't wait to actually finish Road to Independence) and barring some sort messianic revelation there's no way I'm buying the next TW game until 4 months after it launches, probably the same time it starts drifting to the bargain bin.

Worse, this and a couple other games have really soured me on buying new release PC games. I can accept that eastern euro devs are going to put out overly-ambitious titles with some serious issues, but when a major dev like CA does the same it's just bad. Coupled with Steam games still coming with non-Steam DRM (Riddick, maybe Ghostbusters?), and the notion of spending more than $20-30 on anything is just gone.

This is how I felt after Medieval 2, and the reason I am not buying this.

Sega being the publisher just confirms it, as I'm still mad over VF5R.

 

[ghst]

This is how I felt after Medieval 2, and the reason I am not buying this.

Sega being the publisher just confirms it, as I'm still mad over VF5R.

this isn't the same dev as medieval 2. there was alot of bad blood between the two studios over that game.

but i agree with planting the blame at sega's feet.

 

[Melhisedek]

getting it right now, waiting for a patch on monday. My dad will be all over this

*edit*
Are there any user created mods worth mentioning?

 

[Spoit]

So are there any mods (or even ini edits) to un-nerf the economy 'fixes'?

 

[vazel]

Still on the fence about the steam deal. Creative Asssembly completely blows when it comes to AI. Their first two games were awesome but when they started adding features in subsequent games the AI couldn't keep up.

Edit: Ah what the heck I'll support an ambitious PC game.

 

[RyanDG]

Still on the fence about the steam deal. Creative Asssembly completely blows when it comes to AI. Their first two games were awesome but when they started adding features in subsequent games the AI couldn't keep up.

Edit: Ah what the heck I'll support an ambitious PC game.

Yep... I love MTW w/ Viking invasion for this reason. The AI during the real time battles were actually rather impressive in VI. In the later games it seems like it's more about rushing forward like a steam roller as the AI in the game tends to try to rush without worrying so much about position anymore.

But I love the campaigns despite their limitations.

 

[Ikuu]

Update is out, and they've released some DLC lol :lol :lol) pay 2 quid for 14 units, err no thanks.

Empire is expanding. With its latest update now available on Steam, Empire: Total War from Sega and The Creative Assembly adds 14 free new units along with numerous updates and game enhancements (complete list below).

Additionally, the first downloadable content for Empire: Total War is now available on Steam. The Elite Units of the West DLC features an *additional* 14 new units from all the major Western factions. Featuring all new infantry and cavalry units, equipped with the best weapons and having undergone the most rigorous of training, this DLC is the perfect addition to your Empire's army. Expand your Empire with even more options on the battlefield as you improve your tactics and defeat your enemies.


Empire: Total War Update 1.3 Updates

This update includes the implementation of multi-threading in the game for multi-core processors and many optimizations that will also help increase performance on single core machines. Players will see huge benefits through increased frame rates particularly in land and naval battles.



Units



14 Free Units have been included in this patch, adding a large amount of diversity to the playable factions and the armies the player will face. These units replace 'generic' equivalents giving each faction a unique identity on the battlefield. Here is a description of each free unit available in the update:


Prussian Grenadiers -Wearing a distinctive brass fronted mitre cap, the Prussian Grenadiers are an explosive force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

Spanish Guardias de infateria - These elite guard infantry are charged with protecting the monarch and are a potent force on the battlefield.

Swedish lifeguard horse - This cavalry regiment forms part of the monarchs' household guard. Superbly drilled, they act as a shock force on the battlefield.

Holland Horse Guard -Armed with heavy cavalry sabres, these disciplined cavalrymen represent the elite of the army.

Prussian Garde Du Corp- The Prussian Garde Du Corp are a replacement for the Prussian standard Household cavalry. These heavy horse shock troops are best used to break enemy lines and overrun enemy positions. With a strong charge and fearsome attack, these riders make short work of those who would oppose a Prussian monarch.

Prussian Life guard - The Prussian life guards are equipped similarly to line infantrymen. However their uniforms are altogether more splendid, marking them out as a superior force, in arrogance if nothing else. They do a good job as garrison troops and are dedicated to the crown.

Russian Grenadiers - This new Russian unit is great for assaults and their grenades pack a mighty punch!

Spanish Guardias De Corp -The Spanish Guardias De Corp replace household cavalry for Spain. With almost unbreakable morale, on the charge they are almost unstoppable.

Spanish Grenadiers - These are a replacement for the standard Spanish Grenadiers with a distinctive bearskin hat to mark them out as exemplary on the battlefield.

Swedish 'Lifeguards of foot' - These are a highly trained replacement for the standard Swedish guard. They are often used as a force in a system that defends a monarchy and can be relied upon for utter loyalty and deadly accuracy in the field. Their professionalism is reflected in their fearsome battle reputation.

Holland Guard - The Holland Guards from the United Provinces are superior line infantry units. Carrying smoothbore muskets, they were traditionally chosen to protect the royal family and have an incredibly high morale, often making them the last troops to break in a fight.

Scots - The Scots are a Highland ex-patriate infantry used by the United Provinces, renowned for their deadly charge.

Swiss Infantry - Very disciplined infantry of the United Provinces with quick reload and excellent marksmanship.

Mamelukes - Mamelukes are fearless light horsemen, deadly when deployed against a broken or unsupported enemy.


Additionally the Spanish nation has had a new uniform design to better reflect its historical look.



Audio



Sound loading has been made asynchronous, so heavy disc access is reduced to a minimum. This makes loading times faster and reduces any instances of 'stuttering.' Unit group sounds have also been improved, for more realistic group movement. The primary sound library (Miles DLL) has been updated to stop occasional clicking. And we've added more sound variation for unit deaths and musket fire.



Campaign


Several crash bug fixes in saves, movement, agents and logic.

Various optimizations have been made to AI and path systems to reduce the campaign map turn times.

When the pirates are destroyed and re-emerge they now maintain a status of at war with all and are unable to enter into diplomatic negotiations.

Added small ships on domestic trade routes from the trade nodes to home regions moving in the correct direction, i.e. with the flow of trade.

The AI should now no longer repeatedly sign a diplomatic agreement and then break it the next turn. Treaties are more valuable and adhered to.

We've fixed some border trade agreements allowing greater numbers of bordering factions to properly trade with one another.

Movement arrows now reflect the range of the selected units, not the whole army/navy.

AI will no longer counter-offer and ask for more money than the player has available.

Fixed commerce raiding taking money from blockaded trade routes.

Fixed navies getting stuck when forced to retreat from ports (tactical retreat).

Fixed rare inability to attack certain ports.

Fixed middle mouse button camera drag stopping working occasionally.

Made emergent factions be at war with the faction they emerged against if that faction is human.

Fixed various movement extent crashes.

Changed background income for minor factions.

Fixed diplomatic relations with emergent factions.

Tactical withdrawal will now always leave armies on the landmass containing the settlement of a region.

Changed war score system to make the AI more likely to accept peace.

Fixed crash when embarking and disembarking armies at ports.

Fixed trade ships not being correctly registered in trade nodes after splitting forces.

Fixed government change diplomatic effect.

Improved commerce raiding display on trade screen.

Faction specific text is now used in diplomacy.

Prevent players cancelling the movement of fleeing agents.


Balance changes


Units


Charge bonus generally increased across the board for all units and melee defence reduced.

Greater diversification of stats between different unit types designed to emphasise differences and improve balance.

Redone costs for all units for multiplayer to improve game balance which better reflects the actual battlefield worth of each unit.

Mob formation added in for Native American, irregular and some skirmisher units.

Spot distance for light infantry, skirmishers, irregulars, light cavalry and missile cavalry increased allowing them to spot hidden units at longer distances.

Russian line infantry stats have been boosted to allow them to compete more with other faction's line infantry.

Movement speed of all unit types reduced by 10%.

Ammo for light infantry increased to 20, line to 15.


Land battle morale

Charge morale bonus reduced from 10 to 4.

Recent casualties, extended casualties and total casualties morale penalties increased slightly for higher percentages.

Rear and flank exposed morale penalties increased.


Fatigue

Fatigue penalty for melee reduced from 18 per tick to 10.

Running fatigue penalty for heavy and light cavalry reduced from -3/-2 to -2/-1.


Artillery Changes

Calibration area for cannons and howitzers reduced. Accuracy of non-round shot shot types reduced to compensate.

Muzzle velocity of round shot for cannons increased to make them fire lower and bounce more, accuracy also increased.

Lethality of shrapnel pieces reduced to match canister shot, range also reduced to 350.

Load time for special shot types for howitzers increased slightly, and range reduced to 350.

Calibration area for mortars increased, accuracy of round shot increased to compensate. Reload time increased slightly.

Accuracy of 18 lbr horse guard artillery restored to 65.

Hit points of gun trains increased to 50, all guns and caissons to 25.

 

[Doytch]

Yeah I just saw the post in the Daily Update thread. DLC? Blow me CA.

Anyway, I left Steam running in the morning so hopefully it'll be patched when I get home. No baseball tonight, so gonna play this.

I think I'm gonna start new with Prussia. Did UP in OG, and Sweden after 1.2

 

[epmode]

I'm astounded that the new units weren't released in the regular patch. This game could really use the goodwill at this point.

 

[Blizzard]

I just wanted to say that I remained strong and didn't get the game in the weekend deal. It's probably for the best...if I want to be crappy at RTS games I'll start playing past the first few Starcraft missions again. (I did blow the full $50 for the two Call of Juarez games this weekend, so I needed to save money anyway)

 

[Facism]

somehow the patch has fixed my 0 trade route income issue.

I can now resume bringing the joy of Baklava to Europe.

 

[shock33]

I'm astounded that the new units weren't released in the regular patch. This game could really use the goodwill at this point.

The newest patch includes 14 new units for free as well though, it's an additional 14 that are dlc.

 

[Doytch]

Played a bit yesterday, jury's still out imo.

Started with Prussia, built up schools and infrastructure while I waited for the CPU to declare war on either Poland/Austria/minor countries on my borders. Austria got DOW from Poland and Ottoman's within a year, so I moved down and capped Silesia easily with my rather large army, besieging a bunch of militia and a general in the city. Regrouped, started sieging Prague, but Saxony DOW on me.

Courland DOW on me, so I took my eastern army and fought them in the open. Nearly all their troops were horses. They tried circling me, but it didn't work too well because of the half-height walls I was behind. Since I had zero pikes, I took a lot of casualties and retreated and regrouped.

I called off the siege of Prague, and moved up a province, getting intercepted by Saxony's stack. BAI was kind of weird, but I'm not sure if it's because of what I did. It was fairly forested in my starting spot, and they had a town. I took six line infantry and lined them up just inside the forest and hidden. Then I took four line infantry and put them in front, in the open. Two fixed arty in front of that, and two groups of two light cavalry each, hidden at the edges of the area where I can place units, so I could charge into their backs.

Saxony started marching their units towards me: mostly infantry, three horses, general. They sent two of those horses ahead, trying to hit my right flank but it was lame and I just turned the hidden infantry and massacred them. Plug bayonets on one of the infantry, and they routed both horses. Their infantry (mostly militia) just charged into my infantry, so I plugged bayonets, and brought around the horses into their backs. Badly routed, and I grabbed the region.

After regrouping on the east, I went back to Courland and took it easily. They didn't really regroup and had just the pitchforks in the city.

Impressions
- AI still DOW at stupid times. Sure I was in a war with Austria, but Austria was in a war with two other majors, and one-city states shouldn't try and DOW me. Courland was just stupid, Saxony I can sort of understand because my province north of it only had three horses in it and they had a full stack.
- BAI I'm still out on. Lame manoeuvring by Saxony could have just been lame because I had over half my army hidden. But still, charging in? Not smart imo.
- It does use arty well though. Arty did the most dmg to me I think.
- Wasn't able to make peace with Courland even after they had no army left. Dumb.
- Pirates attack trade theatres spots. I sent a couple Indiamen and a Galley into the Ivory Coast to try and pick up some trade gold, but they were relentless and eventually cornered me and sunk me.

 

[Blizzard]

Just posting to correct myself, since I thought this was an RTS game (after playing the two demo mission maps) and didn't realize that the focus of the game seems to be turn-based, weird. :lol At least I saved money, my backlog is skyhigh anyway.

 

[MrPing1000]

You do have to wonder.

Was the vanilla game purposely released with very little variety between factions to artificially stimulate demand for the additional units. As with most DLC I can only think to myself, why wasn't this in the game to begin with?

+ The lack of editing tools stifles the community from making units which could do the job of units Creative Assembly wants you to pay for. Protects their income, screws the customer.

 

[Zzoram]

The 50% off sale for this game on Steam caused the concurrent number of players to spike from something really low (possibly in the hundreds) to 13,000 daily peak.

 

[Melhisedek]

How can you check those numbers?

 

[markot]

http://store.steampowered.com/stats/

Click bottom link.

Empire was always pretty high >.<

 

[speedpop]

You do have to wonder.

Was the vanilla game purposely released with very little variety between factions to artificially stimulate demand for the additional units. As with most DLC I can only think to myself, why wasn't this in the game to begin with?

+ The lack of editing tools stifles the community from making units which could do the job of units Creative Assembly wants you to pay for. Protects their income, screws the customer.

The same problem has hit The Sims 3; albeit still a very playable and enjoyable game, but no editing tools to speak of and certain items available in every original Sims game yet not showing up in Sims 3? Good one EA.

The sad truth is PC gamers won't accept DLC as easily as console gamers have. Yeah expansions = DLC in some people's eyes but not when those expansions aren't whore'd out and substantially improve the original game with added content - yet also at the same time those games receive patches and slight game additions. EA with their "Sims 3 points store" and Sega might think otherwise but the proof will be in the pudding when those things don't sell.

 

[AndyD]

Just built PC that can handle this.

Whats the verdict, buy now or wait? I know all previous games were best after 3-6 months of patches and mods.

I have plenty of backlog, so I can move this down on the list without any remorse.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Played a bit yesterday, jury's still out imo.

Started with Prussia, built up schools and infrastructure while I waited for the CPU to declare war on either Poland/Austria/minor countries on my borders. Austria got DOW from Poland and Ottoman's within a year, so I moved down and capped Silesia easily with my rather large army, besieging a bunch of militia and a general in the city. Regrouped, started sieging Prague, but Saxony DOW on me.

Courland DOW on me, so I took my eastern army and fought them in the open. Nearly all their troops were horses. They tried circling me, but it didn't work too well because of the half-height walls I was behind. Since I had zero pikes, I took a lot of casualties and retreated and regrouped.

I called off the siege of Prague, and moved up a province, getting intercepted by Saxony's stack. BAI was kind of weird, but I'm not sure if it's because of what I did. It was fairly forested in my starting spot, and they had a town. I took six line infantry and lined them up just inside the forest and hidden. Then I took four line infantry and put them in front, in the open. Two fixed arty in front of that, and two groups of two light cavalry each, hidden at the edges of the area where I can place units, so I could charge into their backs.

Saxony started marching their units towards me: mostly infantry, three horses, general. They sent two of those horses ahead, trying to hit my right flank but it was lame and I just turned the hidden infantry and massacred them. Plug bayonets on one of the infantry, and they routed both horses. Their infantry (mostly militia) just charged into my infantry, so I plugged bayonets, and brought around the horses into their backs. Badly routed, and I grabbed the region.

After regrouping on the east, I went back to Courland and took it easily. They didn't really regroup and had just the pitchforks in the city.

Impressions
- AI still DOW at stupid times. Sure I was in a war with Austria, but Austria was in a war with two other majors, and one-city states shouldn't try and DOW me. Courland was just stupid, Saxony I can sort of understand because my province north of it only had three horses in it and they had a full stack.
- BAI I'm still out on. Lame manoeuvring by Saxony could have just been lame because I had over half my army hidden. But still, charging in? Not smart imo.
- It does use arty well though. Arty did the most dmg to me I think.
- Wasn't able to make peace with Courland even after they had no army left. Dumb.
- Pirates attack trade theatres spots. I sent a couple Indiamen and a Galley into the Ivory Coast to try and pick up some trade gold, but they were relentless and eventually cornered me and sunk me.

I'm a relative newbie to the Empire series, but I have played Prussia about 10 times so far (not always to completion) and Courland always DOW on me relatively early into the game. They are a suicide state completely.

 

[Doytch]

Just built PC that can handle this.

Whats the verdict, buy now or wait? I know all previous games were best after 3-6 months of patches and mods.

I have plenty of backlog, so I can move this down on the list without any remorse.

It's not horrible, the patch helped. But don't be in any rush. In a year it should be only better with big mods coming out, more patches, etc. I'd say wait until you can get it on sale/bargain bin somewhere.

I'm a relative newbie to the Empire series, but I have played Prussia about 10 times so far (not always to completion) and Courland always DOW on me relatively early into the game. They are a suicide state completely.

Yeah, I guess it might be attacking since you have an isolated province. Has it ever DOW when you take West Prussia early and link up?

I've had all the one-province minors DOW on me. Sweden took out Wurtemburg for me, and then DOW on me. And it even landed some troops from the water! Though it was just a couple units at a time and I had my militia troop take them out each time...

I took Austria, and had MAJOR stab problems there, like -20/-35 so I've been sitting there and putting down rebellions and building up two stacks: one for Bavaria and one for Sweden. My main general is like 20 stars, so he's pretty awesome. I only have one other who's sitting on his ass in East Prussia.

 

[Melhisedek]

It's not horrible, the patch helped. But don't be in any rush. In a year it should be only better with big mods coming out, more patches, etc. I'd say wait until you can get it on sale/bargain bin somewhere.

I wouldn't expect any "big mods" as modding tools aren't released. Just look at twcenter. People are pretty pissed

 

[-tetsuo-]

So..... G2play. Gonna get my Steam account set ablaze or perfectly safe?

 

[epmode]

Unethical, but probably fine.