For RTS (real time strategy) fans, the news of Medieval II, Total War, is music to their ears. Bob Smith, project director for the game, gave his insider,s view of the game to CG Online.
The popular franchise has gone through several editions, what makes MII:TW different from the rest? Smith said, “In the battles we,ve stripped down and totally refurbished our technology. Medieval II,s engine includes a complete upgrade of the battlefield rendering system, new methods for building and rendering cities while the combat animation system has been heavily revised."
“Another key area in which we,ve made huge strides is the combat animation. After capturing hours of mo-capped animations, we,ve been able to create synchronized attacks with defenses and fatalities and introduce them to the huge scale battles.”
As with all game genres that are targeted to a specific audience, Smith was asked about the general appeal of the game to those who weren,t necessarily into RTS games. “We,ve worked to ensure that Medieval II will appeal both to experienced Total War fans and those new to the series but it is a difficult balance to strike…the game includes a full tutorial to ease the new player into the campaign game. In addition, we,ve also improved accessibility by improving the advisor system that will offer guidance to new players on both the campaign game and on the battlefield.”
