[ShepherdsDog]

Just started playing this game(a late Christmas gift). I'm finding the combat controls and units strengths/weaknesses a bit of a bitch to figure out. The game seems to need a fair bit of research and planning, especially naval battles. Then again, I could be retarded and the game is easy. This game seems to require alot of micro managing.

I know there is a related thread, but I don't feel like necroing it, and since some of you have been playing it for almost a year, maybe your opinions and ideas have changed since your initial posts.

[commanderkai]

I've heard that the AI is terrible in the game...

[Bacardi4206]

The AI is not terrible in the game, those who state that don't know the difference of combat tactics in that area. Being that Medieval: Total War. You could shift units to flanks pretty easy or use any given unit for a combat advantage using a range of different tactics. However Empire: Total War completly removes all old tactics and adopts new ones. Mostly they are complaining because you get a lot of infantry standing at a distance shooting at the enemy. While this is correct, there are still many advantages and tactics that are required to be used against the AI to gain victory. You simply cannot place your infantry in a line, set auto fire and just let it be unti'll it's finished.

Unlike other Total War games, each nation has a different advantage over another. Which is due to research. Either it be militarily, economicly, or the number of researches completed. Any nation with more military advancements will generally have a advantage over another with let's say spent more time with economic advancements. While this advantage such as bayonets are not enough to win the battle alone. They are still a advantage and much tacticical planning is required to beat the opponent. With the game, there is a lot of unit formations now. Not to mention other unit abilities that could be researched and come useful. For example you have fire by line, if you a unit and stretch it out to 3 lines. Each line will fire after another before they reload. Giving better accuracy and a more suppressive effect. There is also fire and advance where the first line will fire to supress while the second line moves infront than does the same, etc unti'll eventually it keeps moving up via cover fire.

There is a lot of tactics that can be used in the game, even more than Medieval 2: Total War. All in all, a very good game if you're PC can handle it. Which mine cannot as whenever my campaign reaches a certon ammount of units on the map, game crashes.

[Akhenaten]

Shepards Dog: One thing I found about land combat with Empire is that compared to previous version of "Total War" it is prudent to assign orders to your units and then don't micro-manage them. Let them carry on as they've been 'trained', reissuing orders only when necessary.

There were AI problems in the beginning but the blunt mistakes have been fixed. However it's not easy to get AI to be as smart as another human most times.

All in all playing Hard/hard I still won campaigns (England and Prussia) only in the last 10-15 turns (out of 200). Considering that any time I started a campaign, realized by turn 20-30 that I screwed up my strategy and quit would technically count as a loss for me and a win for the computer, it's really a pretty challenging game from that standpoint.


PS: If you ever wanna try a land battle online with someone who has experience but still kinda sucks, I'm your guy