Total War: Three Kingdoms

Total War Three Kingdoms: Preparations

Leave a Comment / Total War: Three Kingdoms / February 16, 2019 /

With the Total War Three Kingdoms release date pushed back, I have more time to prepare for the launch.

So what am I doing to prepare?
  1. Learning about the Three Kingdoms story: I am currently listening to the Three Kingdoms podcast. The podcast does a great job in telling the story and explaining Chinese cultural references for the unfamiliar. I recommend it if you’re looking to learn more about the characters before jumping into the game.
  2. New computer: I plan to record some campaigns, but my computer struggles a bit with the latest Total War games. I plan to build a new computer so I can play Total War Three Kingdoms on max settings while recording gameplay.
Which campaign will I play first?

Probably Liu Bei first and foremost; he and his sworn brothers are interesting characters, and I like the campaign characteristics:

  1. Start small but build a power base with strong heroes

    Total War Three Kingdoms
    Liu Bei’s Start Position
  2. No militia upkeep.
  3. Strong hero units in Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.Total War Three Kindgoms

It appears Liu Bei does not start with Zhao Yun or Zhuge Liang, but I imagine they have some connection to Liu Bei in-game.

I am interested in the bandit and Yellow Turban campaigns, but it’s hard to say until I see what kind of heroes and units they have. Particularly, the Yellow Turban faction’s starting locations have not been revealed yet. The bandit factions are Zhang Yan and Zheng Jiang:

I like unusual factions and also edge-of-the-map starting points.

Plan for Total War Three Kingdoms:

Previously, I wrote campaign guides for the website (check them out here), but I will try something new this time. As mentioned above, I will be creating videos of my campaign play-through. Difficulty level will be legendary, but I haven’t decided if I will play all battles or not. Each video will be about 20 minutes or one turn. My only concern is that I tend to take a lot of turns to finish a campaign; it may end up dragging a bit in the middle.

Be sure to check back as the launch date gets closer!

Total War: Three Kingdoms

Total War: Three Kingdoms – Gameplay Video

Leave a Comment / Total War: Three Kingdoms / June 12, 2018 /

With E3 this year, CA has put out a new video showcasing pre-alpha gameplay from their newest title, Total War: Three Kingdoms. The game is “historical” in that it uses the romanticized version of the Three Kingdoms story, so it is not a strict historical game.

Two interesting features in the video:

  • Generals can duel each other.
  • Armies can contain multiple heroes, each of which can recruit units, some of which may be unique to them.

You can choose between historical mode and romanticized mode.

  • Historical mode plays like the historical titles. Heroes are not single-unit entities, but move with a bodyguard and are also much more vulnerable to getting injured/killed on the battlefield.
  • Romanticized mode plays like the Total War: Warhammer titles; heroes are single-unit entities who are capable of taking on huge numbers of enemy troops simultaneously, while being less vulnerable to getting injured/killed, if at all.

You can read about their decision-making process here regarding the two modes of play.

The game’s launch date has been pushed back from Fall 2018 to Spring 2019, with the reasoning being more time to develop and polish the game. Total War games are famous for some of the bugs at launch, so it is good to see that they’re working to put out a quality product as opposed to rushing it.

Another interesting note is that Total War: Three Kingdoms will have Rafe de Crespigny consulting on the development, which bodes well for the authenticity. The concern is that the game should not be approached haphazardly even if the historicity of the source material “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” is not clear. There is hope that while the series is well known to be a sandbox of sorts, allowing players to write their own history, Total War: Three Kindgoms will feature events that naturally follow the flow of the story and showcase major battles, for example the Battle of Red Cliff.

More information will come as the launch date is still about 9-10 months away, while players wait for the third installment of the Total War: Warhammer franchise as well.