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Creative Assembly reveal Total War: Warhammer II

2022-12-12 13:56:44

<h2 class="MsoNormal">What we know so far</h2> Releasing later in 2017, Total War: Warhammer II is the second of a trilogy of games. If you didn''t know already, Total War: Warhammer is grand strategy fantasy with large RTS battles. Total War: Warhammer II forces the player to hop onto a boat, shipping them to the New World. In and around the New World are the Southlands, Lustria, Ulthuan and Naggaroth, which bring to the virtual table-top; Lizardmen, High Elves, Dark Elves and a mystery faction *cough* Skaven *cough*.  For most, it is at this point you may realise you have no idea who these races are.  <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fXxe897bW-A" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <h3 class="MsoNormal">Lizardmen</h3> The Lizardmen are dinosaur-like creatures and are the oldest civilisation in the Warhammer world. Fighting to restore order and rid the world of chaos, Lizardmen are led by their creators, the Old Ones In Total War: Warhammer, the Lizardmen will be led by Lord Mazdamundi and Kroq-Gar. Kroq-Gar is an ancient scar Lizardman who will most likely be the melee leader of choice, whereas Mazdamundi is magical superbly powerful. In Warhammer lore Mazdamundi has been known to move mountains, so balancing such a unit will be interesting. The Lizardmen <a title="roster" href="/href="https:/www.totalwar.com/blog/lizardmen-army-roster/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">roster</a> has been released and shows exactly what units we can expect to see in the field. In terms of foot soldiers Lizardmen have Skinks (light), Saurus Warriors (heavy) and Temple Guard (heavy), but what makes the Lizardmen special are the monstrous units such as the Bastiladon and Stegadon. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PI2d3r5fhA8" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <h3 class="MsoNormal">High Elves</h3> Located on Ulthuan, the High Elves are an ancient, but powerful race. They live on an Island and practice grand magic and war, which they once used on the Dwarfs in a Great War. From the announcement trailer and the recently released <a title="roster" href="https://www.totalwar.com/blog/high-elf-army-roster/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">roster</a>, we learned that the High Elves will be led by Teclis, a great and powerful sorcerer and prince Tyrion the twin brother who is an expert warrior. From the Lizardman trailer the High Elves can be seen in strict military formation, forming regimented shield walls against the Lizardmen. Whereas in Warhammer lore, the High Elves are masters of the sky and magic and as such, the roster reveals various dragons and caster units. Foot soldiers such as the Phoenix Guard, Dragon Blades and Sword Masters will be high armoured and may prove good shock troops when sent against lighter foes. Aside from the roster, we haven't seen much else for the High Elves. Hopefully after the Lizardmen have been fully shown the High Elves will be next.  <h3 class="MsoNormal">Dark Elves</h3> Of the three Elven civilisations the Dark Elves are the cruellest. As raiders and slavers, they thrive on hate and sadism ensuing misery wherever possible. The Darks Elves are located in Naggaroth and led by the witch king Malekith. Malekith is a great leader and a strong general, but his birth right to be the next Phoenix King (after his father Aenarion) was stolen. After leaving Ulthuan for fame and glory (and to fight many battles) he returned to Ulthuan to find that his mother was a cultist. After imprisoning her, Malekith founded Naggaroth and regularly invaded Ulthuan, trying to secure his birth right. Malekith has never secured his birthright, but during his life there have been times when he has been regarded as the most powerful Elf. I think he should not be underestimated and will have some very unique abilities in the game. Sadly, a roster hasn't been released for the Dark Elves yet. <h3>Skaven *Shush*</h3> The Skaven are a mutant rat race. How they came into being is unknown, but they utilise the warp and specifically warp stones to create devastating machinery. They stand as tall as humans and are merciless in nature, often found hunting humans in packs, Currently the Skaven haven't been confirmed as the fourth race, but there has been lots of teasing for the Skaven since the beginning of the first instalment. They even feature at the end of the announcement trailer. Once the Skaven, I mean the fourth race have been confirmed, more information will be revealed <h3 class="MsoNormal">The Vortex Campaign</h3> At launch there will be one campaign, the Great Vortex campaign. All factions will be vying to control the Vortex, a magical storm located above the Isle of the Dead in Ulthuan (the High Elf homeland). The player will be fighting against the AI to secure the Vortex for themselves first. The Vortex was created a long time before by the High Elves, who used it to rid the world of the Chaos by removing the world's winds of magic. The state of the Vortex in the game, is highly unstable, caused by the twin-tailed comet which is passing over the world. The disruption on the Vortex has caused the races of the New World to see opportunity, some will claim it for themselves and their dark plans whilst others will secure it to help heal the world.  The Creative Assembly have said: "No two races have precisely the same objectives and they will need to accomplish them in their own way. The campaign is therefore a race for control of the Vortex, culminating in a cataclysmic series of endgame events. This is the first TW game where the AI can beat you to the end game objective." The idea certainly sounds interesting and should enhance the endgame experience, which in Total War games can get dull once you become too mighty for the AI to stop. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jR1YNhPqpDs" width="560" height="314" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <h3>The Combined Campaign</h3> Confirmed shortly after the game's announcement, a few weeks after the game's launch there will a free campaign that combines the Old World and New World. Finally, we will be able to corrupt Lizardman jungles with Vampiric corruption.         <h3>The Campaign Map - The Vortex Campaign</h3> Set across the four continents, the map in TW:WII is the same size as the map in the Old World, but will feature a third more conquerable regions. Sadly, this means there will be lots of sea and without naval combat, auto-resolving sea battles will be the player's only option. <h3>What we want to see</h3> <h4>Warhammer Diplomacy</h4> Every race has their own agenda and each faction its own personality. As good as the diplomacy mechanic is, it feels too familiar, reminiscent of previous Total War titles.      All playable factions should have unique diplomacy options when interacting with other races. For example, High Elves could have more betrayal options in diplomacy, especially when jaw-wagging to the Dark Elves. Some extra diplomatic mechanics could create some unique scenarios, creating more re-playability. Unlike other titles, Warhammer is fully focused on war so extra diplomacy options should always favour more fighting and other war crimes, such as betrayal and mischief.       <h4>Intuitive AI</h4> Total War games are complex beasts and there will always be areas where the AI will struggle, but sometimes factions make odd decisions. Demanding payment and surrender as I siege their last city, doesn't make much sense.          During battles the AI can be quite clever, but sieges still cause a bit of chaos. Even on the campaign map the AI doesn't always understand when to siege a town. Frequently my towns are sieged whilst I have the upper hand. Battles were great in Total War: Warhammer, but it would be nice to the AI make more interesting lines. Staggered lines with overlapping missile units, hidden cavalry on the flanks and ambush bait would make for some really fantastic battles. Even if it meant the player losing more often. <h4>Region Mercenaries</h4> Crushing the Border Princes, Tilea and Wissenburg as the Empire made me wish for mercenary units that unlock once I captured their home regions. The units themselves don't have to be completely unique, but a variation in character and stats. Like what you might find in previous titles. <h4>Alien Terrain</h4> Charging the Empire as the Greenskins in Black Fire Pass was a rush. A lava backdrop on black mountain spikes looked impressive from every angle, but it made me wish there were more maps with that feel. Especially within forest regions around the Empire and Bretonnia.             <h4>Agent Spams and Tedium</h4> It is hard to pinpoint which faction uses the most agents, but Vampires, Greenskins and the Empire probably do the most. The Vampires are understandable because it increases provincial vampiric corruption but battling agents can be tedious and frustrating. Frequently I would find high-level agent hordes within one of my regions wreaking havoc on towns and units.       Removing agents is not a particularly interesting task either. The agents in Warhammer are mostly re-skins of their predecessors in previous titles, performing the same abilities with same-old bad luck. Again, factions in Warhammer are unique and it would be interesting to see agents with unique abilities specific to their faction. Even if it meant toning down the number of abilities agents have, or just ensuring they have one unique ability per agent.

guide

Company of Heroes Recommended Mods

2022-12-12 13:31:34

Company of Heroes, a real-time strategy PC game set during western front of WWII. Released in 2006, CoH certainly shocked the RTS genre with futuristic combat mechanics and fantastic graphics.Over ten years have passed since the release and during that time, the modding community have been working hard. With many game-changing modifications and maps, CoH can look and play as a completely different game.It's always interesting to find what manner of modifications exist for a game, especially a serious historical game. In CoH's case, the modding community is a bag full of surprises...<h2>Eastern Front</h2>Enter the article content here<h2 style="text-align: left;"> </h2>Now on Steam, <a title="Eastern Front" href="https://www.easternfront.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eastern Front</a> shifts the scope of the game by adding two new playable skirmish and multiplayer factions; the Russians and the Ostheer. Both factions add new dynamics to the game and provide some needed fresh air due to the contrasting playstyles.The Russians are often seen outnumbering the Ostheer's German steel on the new community driven maps this mod adds.Unlike some of the mods in this list, Eastern Front tries to stick close to the original gameplay mechanics, which should appeal to the fans of the original game. Similarly to the original game, both of the new factions have their own unique buildings, command trees and units.<img src="https://project-pc-s3.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/articles/gaming-company-of-heroes-katyusha.jpg" alt="katyusha" width="514" height="289"> When playing as the Russians, the Katyusha trucks stood out as one of my favourites. Raining down explosive rockets to decimate infantry always provided a fiery smile.    The Ostheer are what you would expect from a WWII German faction. Elite infantry and Panzer II and III tanks! Although there are key differences with the Ostheer, such as the way your vehicles obtain veterancy. Instead of the vehicles automatically ranking up overall, you can choose out of three what you would like to upgrade. This enables you to have more control over your vehicle attributes, do you want a faster tank or one with better line of sight?Eastern Front is a great addition to the original game. The maps, units and command trees are well made and deserve recognition. Hopefully once it is added onto Steam it will become more accessible and reliable with updates.Even if you are not keen on playing as the Russians or the Ostheer, playing against them will test your ability to adapt to new playstyles.<h2>The Great War - 1918</h2>It's hard to picture an RTS game set in WWI, but <a title="The Great War - 1918" href="https://www.moddb.com/mods/the-great-war-1918" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Great War - 1918</a> has been very successful in doing just that. Following on from CoH's game play mechanics and after adding in close combat, The Great War is an atmospheric and historical conversion.Faction additions: The British Expeditionary Force and the German Empire are great to play as and feature unique command trees and different playstyles. Trench battles and gas attacks are fun and can be challenging when not spotted early enough.<img src="https://project-pc-s3.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/articles/gaming-company-of-heroes-great-war.jpg" alt="great-war" width="542" height="271">Although tanks do not break down every 30 feet, the models look stunning and accurate, resembling rather large, but pretty WWI battle slugs. The mod focuses on WWI realism, but despite this it is extremely enjoyable to play because the factions feel balanced.During my playtime, I found plenty of inventive ways to create defensive trench lines and kill zones on the WWI maps the mod adds. The creators are still supporting the development of the mod and are currently working on adding two new factions, France and Austria-Hungary when not fixing bugs.<h2>Blitzkrieg</h2>Released during 2008 and still being supported with updates, <a title="Blitzkrieg" href="https://www.moddb.com/mods/blitzkrieg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blitzkrieg</a> is a mod that has to be mentioned.Sadly, Blitzkrieg is not one of my favourite mods because of its very fast-paced and very realistic gameplay, but this is just my preference and shouldn’t take away from the mod itself, I still completely recommend it.<img src="https://project-pc-s3.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/articles/gaming-company-of-heroes-jadgpanzer.jpg" alt="jadgpanzer" width="506" height="316">There are no new factions added by Blitzkrieg, but the gameplay changes are vast when compared to the original. Combat is now very long range and much more deadly. Squad sizes are larger, but troop health is much lower to compensate.It will take time for new players to adapt to the changes Blitzkrieg makes, but it will provide a harder game, possibly making or breaking experienced CoH generals. Despite no new factions, the number of new units is high and each one has a detailed model and well-crafted textures.Blitzkrieg will not be for every player, the changes are drastic, but is still worth trying out. I believe if you do prefer the realism, you really will enjoy it. Fortunately, new players should find this out after playing a couple of matches.<h2>Zombiemod</h2>Update: Unfortunately this mod never fully released, and is no longer being developed. However, please read the below if you are interested to hear our previous thoughts.Our hopeful, <a title="Zombiemod" href="https://www.moddb.com/mods/zombie-mod-a-company-of-heroes-modification" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zombiemod</a> is currently not released and doesn’t currently have a release date. So why is this worth mentioning? Melee combat, shotguns, spiky vehicles, and zombies. That's why.<img src="https://project-pc-s3.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/articles/gaming-company-of-heroes-battlebus.jpg" alt="battlebus" width="466" height="262">I have been following Zombiemod for a very long time (around 3-4 years), back when they released the Christmas day special mod. Since then, the creators of Zombiemod changed the mod completely, in the works are three factions; Survivors, Bandits and Zombies. With each faction utilising different playstyles, the mod completely changes the game. The survivors are the "good guys" that drive armoured trucks called Battlebuses, which are useful for shunting hordes of zombies I would assume.Zombies are a horde faction, that we currently do not have much information on, unfortunately. What we do know is that they will be playable and have their own command trees, I can't wait to call in special zombies. The bandits are also a grey area now. They may be unplayable but feature on the maps acting as a sort of AI that will interact with other factions or they may be playable. During the next few months more information should be released.Whilst a massive undertaking by CoH modders, if released this mod will change game entirely and should provide lots of fun when playing with friends.

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