So I got Rome 2 and a bunch of epiphanies hit me in the face.
Diplomacy in TW games have always sucked.
Unit variety is fake and pretty much all the units are the same.
The game should be more about tactics and strategy rather than recruiting units with better stats.
I wanted this for a long time, obviously since I am Chinese, but I told myself, no it would be selfish to want a game all to myself. This is considering most TW players are from areas where Chinese history is relatively unknown, and would probably not enjoy a game set in China. However I have done a 180.
Rome 2 is a grand failurel. All the units are pretty much the same. CA doesn't even pay attention to historical "plausibility" anymore. So there goes basically all the same units argument. Honestly I was really surprised by this. I did not expect for the units in Rome 2 to feel so alike, but they do. The stat differences are minimal, and most of them don't matter in comparison to actual knowledge of battle tactics. Naval combat is also a joke as all but the top top tier units have differences in terms of gameplay style.
Please, CA, just make TW Dynasties. Make it so we can equip basic units with weapons instead of recruiting better stat units. Make it so we can increase the effectiveness of troops by spending money on training them. Please make diplomacy realistic. Please give us family trees. Please iron out the bugs before releasing a game. Please don't ruin the already awesome Shogun 2 UI. Please don't be stupid. Ok?
My point is that CA does SEEM to work much better within a limited cultural landscape when it comes to creating TW games, so why not ancient China? It'll be like a larger Shogun 2.
You can start off as a warlord during the decline of a dynasty, how about Tang? Tang Dynasty is in decline and An Lushan is reaking havoc in China, proclaiming his new Yan Dynasty. You can play as him or the Tang Loyalists, or any of the other factions. Tang Dynasty attacked Korea for example. CA can include the new Silla Dynasty in Korea as one of the factions. Hell, even Yamato proto Samurai. Wouldn't that be sweet? Also there's the far western end of the Tang Dynasty. You can play as remnant factions cut off from the Tang after the rebellion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Lushan_Rebellion#Legacy
Romance of the Three Kingdoms era.
Warring States era is probably impossible considering the lack of information.
Changes That Need to Be Made For the TW Franchiese to EVOLVE:
1. Get rid of the fake "unit variety." The player should be able to recruit any certain number of troops as long as he has the resources. What that means is that you should be able to recruit 177 men, 98 men, or even 62 men. These will be the player's "basic troops." The player should be able to outfit them with supplies he purchases. So that means armor, weapons, rations, and housing. These troops should perform based on their military training, their commander, and their active service history. The armies need to feel like YOU MADE THEM.
2. Diplomacy needs to change. There should be more ways to affect the relations between two countries, aside from just waging war on one and not the other. There should be combined arms practices, joint military operations, political deals, marriages, sworn brotherhood banquets, celebrations after defeating a mutual enemy, backstabbings, sale of land, purchases of land, etc. Even the internal administration of the player "empire" should change. It no longer feels personal or realistic for the player to control such a vast empire. I suggest CA take the Crusader King's route. The player will play a "dynasty" of characters, with succession, death, marriage, concubines, the whole shabang. Conquered territories should have to have local rulers when the player's character leaves, if he chooses to even personally lead the army himself. Ministers should grow bold and challenge the player's sovereignty if left unchecked. The player should have advisers, master of coin, master of intrigue, etc. These should all be included.
3. The map needs to feel compact, but relevant. In Rome 2, CA took out all the gold mines, the farms, the little things on the map that made it relevant. What they added instead were choke points, narrow corridors, and more fake "map." Each part of the map should feel like it matters. The yellow river or the yangtze should play crucial parts in the game to control rice cultivation, essentially blocking access to rations from your enemies the more contorl of it you have. Farms, silver mines, gold mines, tea plantations, silk makers, paper makers, should all be interactive destinations on the map. Most of all, the map should BE ATMOSPHERIC. It should make you feel like you're a part of the setting, and not just an empty, ugly, piece of cardboard.
Diplomacy in TW games have always sucked.
Unit variety is fake and pretty much all the units are the same.
The game should be more about tactics and strategy rather than recruiting units with better stats.
I wanted this for a long time, obviously since I am Chinese, but I told myself, no it would be selfish to want a game all to myself. This is considering most TW players are from areas where Chinese history is relatively unknown, and would probably not enjoy a game set in China. However I have done a 180.
Rome 2 is a grand failurel. All the units are pretty much the same. CA doesn't even pay attention to historical "plausibility" anymore. So there goes basically all the same units argument. Honestly I was really surprised by this. I did not expect for the units in Rome 2 to feel so alike, but they do. The stat differences are minimal, and most of them don't matter in comparison to actual knowledge of battle tactics. Naval combat is also a joke as all but the top top tier units have differences in terms of gameplay style.
Please, CA, just make TW Dynasties. Make it so we can equip basic units with weapons instead of recruiting better stat units. Make it so we can increase the effectiveness of troops by spending money on training them. Please make diplomacy realistic. Please give us family trees. Please iron out the bugs before releasing a game. Please don't ruin the already awesome Shogun 2 UI. Please don't be stupid. Ok?
My point is that CA does SEEM to work much better within a limited cultural landscape when it comes to creating TW games, so why not ancient China? It'll be like a larger Shogun 2.
You can start off as a warlord during the decline of a dynasty, how about Tang? Tang Dynasty is in decline and An Lushan is reaking havoc in China, proclaiming his new Yan Dynasty. You can play as him or the Tang Loyalists, or any of the other factions. Tang Dynasty attacked Korea for example. CA can include the new Silla Dynasty in Korea as one of the factions. Hell, even Yamato proto Samurai. Wouldn't that be sweet? Also there's the far western end of the Tang Dynasty. You can play as remnant factions cut off from the Tang after the rebellion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Lushan_Rebellion#Legacy
Romance of the Three Kingdoms era.
Warring States era is probably impossible considering the lack of information.
Changes That Need to Be Made For the TW Franchiese to EVOLVE:
1. Get rid of the fake "unit variety." The player should be able to recruit any certain number of troops as long as he has the resources. What that means is that you should be able to recruit 177 men, 98 men, or even 62 men. These will be the player's "basic troops." The player should be able to outfit them with supplies he purchases. So that means armor, weapons, rations, and housing. These troops should perform based on their military training, their commander, and their active service history. The armies need to feel like YOU MADE THEM.
2. Diplomacy needs to change. There should be more ways to affect the relations between two countries, aside from just waging war on one and not the other. There should be combined arms practices, joint military operations, political deals, marriages, sworn brotherhood banquets, celebrations after defeating a mutual enemy, backstabbings, sale of land, purchases of land, etc. Even the internal administration of the player "empire" should change. It no longer feels personal or realistic for the player to control such a vast empire. I suggest CA take the Crusader King's route. The player will play a "dynasty" of characters, with succession, death, marriage, concubines, the whole shabang. Conquered territories should have to have local rulers when the player's character leaves, if he chooses to even personally lead the army himself. Ministers should grow bold and challenge the player's sovereignty if left unchecked. The player should have advisers, master of coin, master of intrigue, etc. These should all be included.
3. The map needs to feel compact, but relevant. In Rome 2, CA took out all the gold mines, the farms, the little things on the map that made it relevant. What they added instead were choke points, narrow corridors, and more fake "map." Each part of the map should feel like it matters. The yellow river or the yangtze should play crucial parts in the game to control rice cultivation, essentially blocking access to rations from your enemies the more contorl of it you have. Farms, silver mines, gold mines, tea plantations, silk makers, paper makers, should all be interactive destinations on the map. Most of all, the map should BE ATMOSPHERIC. It should make you feel like you're a part of the setting, and not just an empty, ugly, piece of cardboard.
