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Preview: 'Shogun: Total War Warlord Edition'

Platform: PC

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(IDG) -- Last year's "Shogun: Total War" broke new ground in the real-time strategy genre. Set in feudal Japan, the massive battles, involving hundreds of individual units, and the use of authentic battle formations and strategy made a potent mix for fans of the genre. "Shogun" also split off the tedium of resource management to a turn-based element on the strategic map. Now, Creative Assembly is putting the final touches on a new edition of the game. The new "Warlord Edition" will be sold both as an Expansion Pack dubbed "The Mongol Invasion" and as a stand-alone product. A slew of changes in the game, from the A.I. to the graphics to the units, are going to make the "Shogun" experience better than ever.

New is the option to play as or defend against the invading Mongols. Mongols specialize in cavalry and come with their own unique units, including grenadiers, who can launch explosive charges. But the Mongols don't have all the fun. Ninja can now be used on the battlefield as well, not just on the strategy map as before. Using a ninja's stealth, players can set up an ambush and assassinate the enemy Daimyo, thus cutting the morale of the enemy troops. Kensai, or sword saints, like ninja also act as individual and not group units. These master swordsmen can mow down less experienced troops and turn the tide of battle.

Winning battles will also become a bit more complex than merely driving the enemy forces off the battle map. In the "Warlord Edition," gamers might have to capture certain points on the map or kill the enemy general to ensure victory. In addition to the Mongol campaign option, a new Map Editor will let gamers design their own battle scenarios.

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Michael de Plater, Executive Producer at Creative Assembly, was kind enough to answer some of the other burning questions about the new version of Shogun and what real-time strategy fans can expect from the Warlord Edition.

GamePro: So the game now takes "full advantage of several 3-D graphics cards." Is that for smoke and fog as well as more hi-res textures? What else?

Michael de Plater: There's a whole bunch of individual improvements and optimizations which have come together to improve the appearance and the gameplay of the battles. The biggest difference is that the texture manager, which is responsible for the display of the unit sprites, has been given a major overhaul. This enables us to take full advantage of all the video memory which is available on any card, which lets us load higher detail, higher resolution sprites. So now, if you have a 16 MB+ card, you can zoom right in on the action and the soldiers still look great. It's a big improvement, but it's not just for show as the extra detail makes it much easier to pick out different troop types even in the middle of a huge battle -- you can even make out the moustache on the Mongol horsemen. The lighting and blending effects on the sprites have also been improved so that the colors are clearer, which makes them look better and also makes it easier to pick out each Clan in the heat of battle.

As you mentioned, we have also been able to upgrade the smoke and fog effects, and to add dust rising from the feet of marching troops.

Also, the overall speed of the engine has been optimized, which has allowed us to increase the polygon count and to include more detail on the battlefields. This has let us add new terrain features, such as rocky outcrops and extra vegetation in the form of more trees and long grass and scrub. This makes the battlefields look more realistic, and it adds some extra tactical variety to the different maps. And because we can now have more detailed and varied textures, we've also been able to create entirely new map types, such as coastal regions.

Plus the engine has been optimized so that the loading times going into battles are about half what they were before.

GamePro: Just how is the battle interface changing, and are there any interface changes to the strategy map view/interface?

Michael de Plater: The battle interface hasn't been made fundamentally different, but once again there are a number of refinements that add up to make it easier to control your armies and to tell what's going on. For example, group formations work more effectively allowing you to easily click and drag groups into the position you want; the cursor icons have been made clearer; you can see the position of your general on the radar; the camera can move more freely within the line of sight of your troops; and you can now choose where and when to bring on reinforcements during a battle.

On the strategy map, we have spent a lot of time reviewing feedback from players on the Web. So experienced "Shogun" players should notice a real improvement, but new players will just have a much better experience straight out of the box. Once again, it's lots of individual improvements which all add up. So, for example, it's easier to manage your armies because you can now merge units together. Troops can be upgraded by sending them back to a higher level Dojo or to get superior armor or weapons. You can now give armies orders to march multiple regions rather than having to move them turn-by-turn. You can now see the honor of your general in each army displayed on the map, which makes a huge difference when planning your strategies. And you can also see where your heirs are in each army.

There are also some new strategic options. Ninja can attempt to break into a castle during a siege, and you can use emissaries to bribe enemy [or rebel] generals to join your clan. You can see the location of ships and ports on the map, and the borders on the regions have been made clearer. It's also possible to disband units or to destroy your own buildings if you want to. And then, of course, there's the Mongol Hordes who don't even worry about building -- they just storm across the map looting regions.

GamePro: How will you be able to use a Ninja on the battlefield? Sounds like you'll be able to have him sneak up to a Daimyo and assassinate him in the middle of a battle.

Michael de Plater: That's right. Ninja have the unique ability to be able to hide at any point on the battlefield, not just in forests. They are also able to fire missiles at short range and fight effectively hand-to-hand. This makes them ideal for sneaking behind enemy lines and setting ambushes, which can be a great way to take out the enemy Daimyo.

GamePro: Are the new Kensai units a further upgrade to warrior monks?

Michael de Plater: No, Kensai are "sword saints" like the famous Miyamoto Musashi, who wrote The Book of 5 Rings. They are the ultimate samurai warriors. They are individuals rather than a grouped unit, but they can be deadly if used effectively. For example, they are able to carve their way through lesser units, such as Ashigaru, like a scythe through wheat. But obviously, they are not invincible, and, because their honor and morale is so high, they almost always prefer to die gloriously than to retreat.

GamePro: You've hinted that the A.I. has been tweaked. Just exactly what can a Shogun vet expect?

Michael de Plater: The big focus here has been on the strategy side of the game. I know I'm getting repetitive, but once again there's a bunch of individual improvements. As with the interface, we've spent a lot of time looking at feedback on the Web. So we're focusing on improvements that will make the current fans happy, but we're also putting a lot of effort into making the accessibility, difficulty curve, and pace of the game more fun and rewarding for all players.

With "Shogun," we thought we could get away with having the A.I. 'cheat' slightly in a few areas, such as how much koku [cash] they get, but this was really picked up on by players. So we have put a lot of effort into getting rid of A.I. cheats to balance the game and instead relying on making the A.I. smarter. The game actually got way too hard -- to the point where even Mike was having trouble beating it [and he programmed most of it]. So we've been going through a constant series of iterations of improving and rebalancing the A.I.

Overall it's been improved across the board, but a few areas stand out. The diplomacy is now much more cunning and effective. Computer players will keep track of how honorable you have been in your alliances, and their reactions to you will be modified accordingly. They also keep track of the balance of power more effectively, so, when they are deciding whether to ally with you, they will look at who your other friends and enemies are and how this affects their overall situation.

The strategic A.I. has also been improved, and the computer is smarter about selecting where and when to attack -- and with what size armies÷as well as deciding where to defend.

One problem we had with the first release of "Shogun" was that the computer Daimyo were too ready to charge to their deaths. They are now much smarter about choosing where and when to charge into battle, depending on the tactical situation and also on the situation with their heirs.

The A.I. in the battles is also noticeably better÷both the tactical A.I. of the computer, which now has a greater variety of tricks up its sleeve, as well as general issues, such as the path-finding.

GamePro: Does the unit training in the Drill Dojo and Strategy School upgrade the Honor level, or is it something else entirely?

Michael de Plater: There is actually a new unit attribute, which is Discipline. This influences how ordered your troops will be. So, for example, a group of highly drilled archers would be able to maintain perfect formation, and line up and fire in well-executed and timed volleys. Whereas a horde of Mongol Horsemen could be a seething mass who give no regard to formation at all. As well as having a gameplay effect, it makes the troops marching around the battlefield look much more natural.

GamePro: Thanks for the scoop, Michael. Sounds like your team has been busy making a great game even better. GamePro will have a full review of the "Warlord Edition" when it ships in March, but, for now, check out the new screenshots of the "Shogun: Total War Warlord Edition."




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