We're looking to get the best spectacle while keeping things manageable for the player."Īs well as long-range cannon battles you'll also be able to engage in close-quarters combat during these sea-based encounters, by boarding.
You need to pay attention to wind direction and they're constantly moving and firing from all sorts of angles and directions. Ships have hulls, crews, different kinds of shot, sails and masts. "Ships are more complicated than land units," explains lead designer James Russell. But no, this isn't a naval drama starring loan Gryfydd and Robert Lindsay that was never quite as popular as Sharpe -all this is happening in-game.īased on a similar control system used for the series' land battles, Empire's naval combat will feature around 20 ships per side, (the exact amount is yet to be confirmed due to ongoing balancing) a number that CA believes will be the optimum amount to ensure peak playability while still providing a grand sense of scale.
The remnants of the crew battle to contain the fire, but their struggle proves futile as the blaze finds an ammunition stockpile, the ensuing explosion severing the galleon in two. As the burning sail plummets it ignites the deck and in moments the vessel is ablaze, spreading flames forcing countless men overboard. A barrage cripples an enemy vessel, devastating its main sail, leaving it to the mercy of the sea. The enemy ships are now in range and suddenly the serene sea is transformed into a watery warzone. (I'm a Horatio Hornblower fan, can you tell?) A mighty 120-gun behemoth leads the charge, its deck abuzz as scores of men prepare for war, while below deck, cannon crews shift nervously, awaiting the onslaught. Wooden masts creak at the behest of straining sails as the two fleets close in on each other. Waves lap gently against a fleet of ships as it races towards an approaching armada. That's because one member of the team spent an entire year working on it.Ī year! Just on the sea! And as for the naval combat. Looks realistic enough to take a piss in, doesn't it? If you want proof, just take a look at that sea. Acutely aware of the importance of nailing sea warfare, the team has resisted the temptation to inject past games with substandard naval battles, preferring to take its timeoi in order to create sea skirmishes that are every bit as breathtaking as the series' land-based warfare. This isn't a responsibility that CA has taken lightly. Just shy of its 10th anniversary, the Total War series has finally added naval battles to its real time combat arsenal, an inclusion that, if executed with Creative Assembly's usual aplomb and eye for detail, could finally stop the mewling of tens of thousands of fans hankering for a galleon gangbang. It May Have taken eight years, but it looks like the wait may have been worth it.
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