Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia

[Sir Slash]

Oh. Are 'Moms' a playable faction now? I know some that are already 'Mothers' enough. I got close to winning the game as the German Confederation but the Victory Conditions would've had me owning either all the money or all the land in the whole world to win and I got tired of grinding my way through and quit. After getting all teary of course.

[Gusington]

Your mom thinks I'm cool.

[Nefaro]

Your mom thinks I'm cool.

Oh?  His mom told me it was "hot".

[Gusington]

Menopause is quite the drug.

Quite.

[Sir Slash]

My Mom likes anyone that gets teary after getting their ass-kicked. She sees it as a positive character trait that proves you care. But 'cool' is only for the manly quiet type.

[Gusington]

Both are me! Thus your mom's infatuation.

[JasonPratt]

It doesn't matter. In four days, I'm playing the Armenians in the new R2TW campaign. 

[Gusington]

Some of the most fun I've had playing TW was as the Armenians in the patched and modded R2TW. Great faction action.

I can't get myself to buy the new campaign DLC for 15.00 though...I will wait for a price drop.

[Martok]

An interview with Jack Lusted, the game director: 


https://www.twitch.tv/videos/207434849



Not a ton of new info per se, as most of the questions (which came from the fans) were about the battles; and apparently the main changes in ToB are to the campaign, which he wasn't allowed to discuss just yet.  Apparently we will get more info on that sometime next week. 


The tidbits that stuck out for me: 

1.)  In what won't be a surprise to any of us here, the role of horse units will be minimal in ToB, since combat during this period was generally all about the shieldwall.  If you use cavalry for anything other than scouting, flanking, or chasing down routers, they're gonna get chewed up -- badly. 

2.)  There aren't specific maps for each major settlement, apparently so as to avoid repetition (i.e., you don't learn to invade/defend Winchester or York a certain way every time).  Instead, there are 16 battle maps for the major settlements -- Roman forts, older hilltop forts, Viking ports, etc.  [To be honest, this part seems counter-intuitive to me, or at least not very well explained.  Further elucidation is needed.] 

2a.)  The map types for battles for minor settlements was left out, as apparently the way minor settlements work is part of the changes being made to the campaign. 

3.)  With battles focusing on shieldwalls, faction unit rosters obviously won't be as varied as in other TW games.  However, there will still be some distinctions:  Vikings have more offensive-type troops (especially those armed with axes), the Welsh have the best cavalry (relatively speaking), Irish armies are more skirmisher-oriented, and the Saxon kingdoms are the "all-rounders" with the most balanced roster. 

4.)  No mention was made of the Picts or Scots as a playable faction.  It's suspected, however, that the omission is a purposeful tease of sorts. 

5.)  Berzerkers are definitely in the game (for better or worse!).  They won't be quite like how they are in Age of Charlemagne, but rather closer to their original MTW/VI roots, where they had high offensive & morale stats, but low defense. 

[Gusington]

Thanks Martok - would love to see a Picts faction!

[Destraex]

Total War games for me have always been about looking at my army like watching a movie. Because the tactical battles were always fairly limited in what exactly you could do to be involved. If they have less unit variety they should add more detailed and individual unit mechanics. Otherwise I will be watching two black blobs beat each other for half an hour. I don't know if I can be bothered watching the video. I am really not very excited until they improve the current engine or make a new one.
How can they get it so right in Total War Arena and so wrong in Total War.

[MetalDog]

Do you guys find it imperative to play out the tactical battles in TW, or can you do just as well, or better, with auto-resolve?

[Gusington]

Depends on which TW game you're playing, but generally it is always better to play them out.

[Destraex]

Do you guys find it imperative to play out the tactical battles in TW, or can you do just as well, or better, with auto-resolve?

I find the strategic game is just a fairly arbitrary layer to facilitate the tactical battles. The point for me is the tactical battles.
Auto-resolve unless you overwhemingly out class the enemy's troops is always a risk.

[undercovergeek]

I played everyone in my last campaign but as the end game started nearing there were 6 to 7 a turn and whilst I can watch warhammer battles all day sometimes it was easier to give auto resolve a press - you get a fairly decent projection of the outcome before you do