[IGN]Medieval 2: Total War Interview

[[K]Yas]

Medieval 2: Total War Interview

Creative Assembly sheds some light on their newest strategy epic.

by Dan Adams

 

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January 20, 2006 - When SEGA originally picked up Creative Assembly, we were a little worried. Here was a company generally known for their console games picking up what was primarily a PC developer. A PC developer that was responsible for some of the best strategy games ever brought out. When Spartan: Total Warrior was announced it just deepened our concern. This is one of those times when we can happily admit that our concerns were unfounded. Today's announcement of Medieval 2: Total War that continues the series with increases in the strategic and entertainment values has convinced us that SEGA and Creative Assembly are committed to making sure that PC games are a focus.

We're huge fans of the Total War series here at IGN and were very happy to learn that the series had not been put on the back burner. Much of our speculation beyond Creative Assembly's focus had been regarding what time period and area Creative Assembly would move to next. The answer was actually more simple than that as they decided to revisit the medieval world for a sequel to their 2002 epic using an improved version of the Rome engine that allows for up to 10,000 dynamic characters on screen at once.

If you look at the screens, you'll notice some other things here. Detail on the units has been increased, but more importantly, individuals in each of the armies look a tad bit different. Some are wearing helmets while others are wearing leather caps and some have beards while others don't. This little bit of improvement will make a huge difference to the realism of armies marching on each other. From what we understand, there's a much greater attention being paid to visual presentation in general with more animations for combat as well.

In any case, we were excited enough to heckle SEGA until they agreed to grant our request for a Q&A to go along with the announcement of Medieval 2: Total War. While not every question we had could be answered do to time constraints and other deals SEGA had already made, we did get some biggies answered. Bob Smith, Project Director at Creative Assembly answers questions regarding the visual improvements mentioned above, the role of religion, why they decided to look back into medieval times, technology, and civilizations.

It's a good start anyway and you can be sure we'll be hitting SEGA and Creative Assembly up for more info over the next few months. Enjoy the interview and make sure to check out the three exclusive screens when you're done!

IGNPC: The Medieval period is pretty broad. What time period will the game cover exactly? What are the main divisions within this time period and why did you decide to revisit medieval times instead of heading into new historical territory?

Bob Smith: The grand campaign will span four and half centuries of history from the years 1080-1530. It begins with 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.

The decision to revisit the period was based on a number of factors. First of all, the medieval period is just so perfect for Total War. It has a wide range of unit types, technological progress, constant warfare, treachery, intrigue and the clash of civilizations. More significantly, four years on from the original, we felt we now had the technology to capture the colour and pageantry of the period on a grand scale. When players see the sun glinting off the bump mapped armour, and units of knights with hugely varied heraldic shield patterns, they'll understand why we wanted to revisit the period.

IGNPC: The period you're covering witnessed some remarkable advancements -- stirrups, gunpowder, etc. What sorts of considerations will players have to keep in mind with regard to technology on the open battlefield and in sieges?

Bob Smith: The whole Medieval period was one giant arms race really. At the start, everyone has simple bows, and wears mail armour. As time goes 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 lead to a reduction in armour, as mobility is a better defense.

In siege warfare, as the game progresses, the attackers will develop trebuchets and progressively bigger and better cannon. The defender 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.

The defenders can benefit from artillery too. Either big guns to fire against enemy guns, or small multi barreled anti-personnel guns that are deadly in the confined spaces of cities and castles.

 

IGNPC: Religion wasn't nearly as important in RTW as it was in the original MTW. How will religion work in the new game? Will it play a large role in the campaign with the Crusades and the like?

Bob Smith: We're not revealing full detail on the crusades at this point. However, we can tell you that they'll certainly be more of an "event" in Medieval 2. Crusades are called by the Pope and all the Catholic factions can opt to join. The faction that captures the target first will of course gain considerable prestige and wealth as well as win favour with the Pope.

Religion certainly played a major role in the medieval period and subsequently the religious system in Medieval 2 has more depth than previous Total War games. One aspect of this involves the Priest characters you'll control on the Campaign Map. Priests can be used to spread your religion in their surrounding areas. However, they may turn heretic, in which case they fall under AI control and spread heresy instead, undermining the established religion. If you are deemed to have a problem with heresy in your lands, the Pope may send out an Inquisitor to deal with the situation. As well as reducing heresy, these characters may also denounce nearby characters, and have them tried and executed. Senior Catholic priests can become Cardinals, giving the player influence in the Papacy, and they can even get elected Pope, improving their original faction's standing with the Papal States.

IGNPC: Medieval 2 will be using the Rome engine. What changes have you made to make the experience more realistic and lifelike? Can we expect to see more varied models in armies now? Maybe some more complex animations in battle?

Bob Smith: The engine used for Medieval 2 is completely unrecognizable compared to Rome's engine. We stripped it down and totally refurbished it to include major enhancements. There's a complete upgrade of the battlefield rendering system, new methods for building and rendering cities and the combat animation system has also been heavily revised.

One of the key enhancements certainly involves the variation of troops within an army. Medieval 2 removes the clone armies you saw in previous Total War games; units instead 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. On top of this there is also a great variety of shields and weapons too, so each soldier has character and each unit of men looks and behaves like a realistic group of soldiers. Armour and weapon upgrades are also evident when you look on your units in battle. This introduces a great deal of individuality to the soldiers and ramps up the realism and immersion of Medieval 2's epic battles.

We're particularly proud of the huge strides we've made when it comes to the combat animation. We've captured 1000's of mo-capped animations, which allows us to create synchronized attacks with defenses and fatalities. Sequenced attack combos also allow the soldier to string together attacks to cut a swathe through his opponents. As an 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 them continually scanning their surroundings for their next kill. These kinds of touches bring the huge-scale battles to life like never before.

IGNPC: What civilizations will be represented? What are some of the defining abilities and units of some of your favorite civilizations? Any cool historical battles to take advantage of these civilizations?

Bob Smith:There will be 21 playable factions for custom battle and multiplayer. England, France, Scotland, Holy Roman Empire, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Milan, Venice, Papal States, Sicily, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Byzantium, The Turks, Egypt, The Moors, The Mongols, The Tumurids, The Aztecs.

We've included several factions that weren't included in the original Medieval; examples being Scotland, Venice and Portugal.

The final lineup of playable factions is still to be decided, however there will be a rich variety of factions to play, each with their own unique units and abilities that add a great deal of variation to the grand campaign experience.

As an example, Scotland start with the English breathing down their necks, so they will have to keep their heads down, bide their time, and seek allies. Scotland's army will be a mixed bag of solid lowland spearmen and fierce but unreliable highlanders. They'll have to work hard diplomatically at the start to avoid being overrun by the English, but if they can become the dominant power in Britain, they have a base to expand and seek wider domination.

We haven't finalized the lineup of historical battles at this point but rest assured they will be exceptionally cool.

IGNPC: Thanks for your time Bob!

[사크라기]

디테일이 장난이 아니네 ~와우

[셀린느‡]

요즘은 기대대는 게임이 없고 나루토,원피스에 시선이 끌리는 이유가 뭘까-_-;;;

[Rosinante]

맨 마직막에 결론써져있네요.. 땡큐 뽈 유어 타임 밥 : 니 시간이 고맙다 밥아

[LORD of the RINGS]

아... 이런 고등학생인데 자꾸 나오면 곤란 한데 .ㅡㅡ ㅋㅋ

[아독]

와우 멋진데??

[가우리무사]

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