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Author Topic: Thrones of Britannia  (Read 32349 times)

judgedredd

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Reply #30 on: February 23, 2021, 01:51:35 AM
I loved the change in art and presentation.



Gusington

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Reply #31 on: February 23, 2021, 11:54:34 AM
I also mis-typed, I am playing as Gwined, not Mide. My bad.

Battles so far for me...I have fought 5-6...are awesome. And the history is presented sort of like myth, with an Elder Scrolls kind of vibe. I love it.

So...ToB is underrated and horribly maligned!!

Always do what you feel is best.


Martok

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Reply #32 on: February 23, 2021, 06:03:37 PM
So...ToB is underrated and horribly maligned!!

QFT!! 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Gusington

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Reply #33 on: February 23, 2021, 08:03:44 PM
 8)

Always do what you feel is best.


thecommandtent

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Reply #34 on: February 23, 2021, 08:20:22 PM
So...ToB is underrated and horribly maligned!!

QFT!!

I'm not listening, I'm not listening...



Gusington

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Reply #35 on: February 23, 2021, 10:45:41 PM
Listen to me now and hear me later...I sat down @ 9pm tonight and after five minutes with ToB it was 11pm.

Always do what you feel is best.


Martok

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Reply #36 on: February 23, 2021, 11:47:05 PM
^  I laughed, and then applauded at this statement.  :D 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Gusington

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Reply #37 on: February 24, 2021, 09:30:17 AM
I am ashamed that the negative reviews kept me away from ToB for so long :/

Always do what you feel is best.


bbmike

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Reply #38 on: February 24, 2021, 10:47:02 AM
For me, it's price. But that will drop soon.  :peace:

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
-Sherlock Holmes

My Own Worst Enemy


Gusington

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Reply #39 on: February 24, 2021, 12:32:59 PM
^I've seen it on sale for as low as a dollar.

Always do what you feel is best.


bbmike

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Reply #40 on: February 24, 2021, 01:01:45 PM
Well, since you teed it up:


"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
-Sherlock Holmes

My Own Worst Enemy


Martok

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Reply #41 on: February 24, 2021, 06:35:26 PM
Dang.  I've never seen it *that* low, but I know Thrones tends to go on sale for something like $13.66 fairly regularly, 




I am ashamed that the negative reviews kept me away from ToB for so long :/

No need for shame, Gus.  There's nothing wrong with maintaining a healthy dose of skepticism.  And with all the things that Thrones does differently (at least compared to previous TW titles), there was certainly cause for it. 


I've said it before (both here and elsewhere) -- as have you now -- but the simple fact is, this game is not going to be for everyone.  It's well-crafted, atmospheric & immersive, and overall is one of the more historically "authentic" Total War titles CA has made.  But the various changes to features & mechanics, combined with the lesser-known time period (as you pointed out), means that ToB was probably always going to have a harder time finding its audience, so to speak.  :) 


« Last Edit: February 25, 2021, 12:13:28 AM by Martok »

"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Gusington

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Reply #42 on: February 24, 2021, 10:37:12 PM
^Reading your post and thinking about it for a bit, it is a miracle the game was made in the first place.

I personally haven't seen it on sale for 1.00, BTW, but IsThereAnyDeal.com claims that some out-of-left-field site had it on sale at one point for that low.

Always do what you feel is best.


Martok

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Reply #43 on: February 25, 2021, 12:52:24 AM
^Reading your post and thinking about it for a bit, it is a miracle the game was made in the first place.

I both agree and disagree.  I agree, in that in an absolute sense, it would have seemed unlikely that a TW game covering that time period would ever be made. 



On the other hand...  Once CA determined they were going to make a "Saga" title (their first) -- and one in which they were planning to experiment with different gameplay features, mechanics, and/or concepts -- then the British Isles during the time of Alfred the Great was probably a better choice than most. 

The time period enjoyed a certain level of recognition (thanks at least in part to Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales novels & TV series), so it's not as if the choice was completely out of left field.  At the same time, however, it was still obscure enough that should the game turn out to be a failure, it was likely that that the fanbase wouldn't be as disappointed or upset -- or at least, that a smaller percentage of the fanbase would feel less put out by an underwhelming Total War title.  (Contrast Troy and the Trojan War, which is far better known.) 

And in the meantime, CA gets to find out which changes worked, which ones didn't, and which changes *could* work, but need to be tweaked/adjusted before being added to future games.  If ToB turns out to be a big hit as well, so much the better; but I honestly doubt they were ever expecting that. 


Ultimately, I suspect Thrones of Britannia was the result of a bit of serendipity:  CA wanted to test some new concepts & mechanics, and recognized that they realistically couldn't do so without actually putting out a new game.  That being the case, why not indulge their inner history nerds (and possibly a bit of national pride) by making a "smaller" (relatively speaking) TW game centered around a lesser-known period, yet still familiar to (and popular with) a certain percentage of their fanbase? 

I'm sure I've got a lot (and maybe even most) of the details wrong in my speculation here, but I'm willing to bet I'm at least in the ballpark. 



"I like big maps and I cannot lie." - Barthheart

"I drastically overpaid for this existence." - bbmike


Gusington

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Reply #44 on: February 25, 2021, 10:47:59 AM
ToB sold a lot more copies than I thought it did...225,000, as of 2018 (dated now I know). It is still at the bottom of the list as far as sales for TW games, though. As of 2018 the best selling TW game was Empire with almost 3.5 million copies sold, amazingly beating out the first Warhammer title @ 2 million and Warhammer II @ roughly 950,000.

Always do what you feel is best.