Help getting into Empire: Total War?

[NerfedFalcon]

I just bought the game as a recommendation during the Steam Sale, and from what little I've played, it's too deep and wide for me to get a handle on it. Since I know that Total War as a series is reasonably popular, someone here must be able and willing to help someone get used to it, if only so they'll start playing their favourite one of the series.

So the simple question is: how do I start the game?

And I mean from a gameplay perspective. Like, should I fortify towns, upgrade plantations, farms, ports, get an army, religious agents, spies, deal with an empire that's looking at me funny...I just can't figure it out, even with the advisor. And I really don't want those 15 dollars to go entirely to waste. So, little help?

 

[The Madman]

Unfortunately you dived into the proverbial deep end, one of the things many people disliked about Empire in particular is that even by Total War standards it was just overwhelming. I would have recommended almost any other Total War game for a newbie to the series to jump into, not because Empire was bad by any stretch, I liked it; Something about the sight of hundreds of line infantry all firing at once, the sky becoming clouded with musket smoke and the ringing of canon-ball as they fly through the air... glorious. Just not very newbie friendly.

Still the play style is entirely up to you. Personally I like to move out quickly, you'll always have a beginning force and a decent general to lead it. I like to trim the fat: Get rid of pikemen who I just generally find little use for in Empire and send the militia to defend somewhere while I used the saved money to establish a quick and powerful early army of line infantry and basic cavalry. Then I like to strike at the nearest and weakest opponent, take em down quick and efficiently with a strike straight for their capital with my newly established army. Hopefully this early in the game the city wont have any real defences or I can force a field battle so I don't have to worry about training and lugging around artillery to try and bombard heavy walls.

From there I'll typically fortify. Reduce the main armies size since line infantry are expensive as hell, train more militia for defending towns and cities, upgrade all my my minor settlements and start worrying about trade and appeasing anyone who might've been pissed off by the whole army rush thing. Also a good time to get some research going by sending agents to schools, I always go straight for the rank firing advancement. First person in the world to get that is going to be nigh unbeatable for a short time, best it's you.


But that's just me. It's a tricky game to really give general strategy for since the Total War series are just so incredibly open. What works for me might not work for you for example.

 

[Svane]

A good "start off" strategy would be to focus on your economy first of all. That means schools in your towns for upgrades, both military and civilian upgrades, farms etc. and keep upgrading those cities and villages that lies in your best protected / guarded territories to make sure, that if anyone attacks you, your economy should be standing strong in war time.

What I have experienced focusing on the economy first of all, having line infantry is way better to go for the militia but as he said:

[quote="The Madman" post="9.315052.12790182"
But that's just me. It's a tricky game to really give general strategy for since the Total War series are just so incredibly open. What works for me might not work for you for example.

Find your style. See what works. When playing you need to have a plan for what "your game style" will end up with. Like... going for superior military power or the best economical powers etc. And then focus on those aspects but do not forgot to be flexible 'cause you need to be able to adapt to the other nations actions if it involves you.

Happy Playtime.

 

[Svane]

A good "start off" strategy would be to focus on your economy first of all. That means schools in your towns for upgrades, both military and civilian upgrades, farms etc. and keep upgrading those cities and villages that lies in your best protected / guarded territories to make sure, that if anyone attacks you, your economy should be standing strong in war time.

...Reduce the main armies size since line infantry are expensive as hell, train more militia for defending towns and cities...

What I have experienced focusing on the economy first of all, having line infantry is way better to go for the militia but as he said:

But that's just me. It's a tricky game to really give general strategy for since the Total War series are just so incredibly open. What works for me might not work for you for example.

Find your style. See what works. When playing you need to have a plan for what "your game style" will end up with. Like... going for superior military power or the best economical powers etc. And then focus on those aspects but do not forgot to be flexible 'cause you need to be able to adapt to the other nations actions if it involves you.

Happy Playtime.

 

[Nikolaz72]

Unfortunately you dived into the proverbial deep end, one of the things many people disliked about Empire in particular is that even by Total War standards it was just overwhelming. I would have recommended almost any other Total War game for a newbie to the series to jump into, not because Empire was bad by any stretch, I liked it; Something about the sight of hundreds of line infantry all firing at once, the sky becoming clouded with musket smoke and the ringing of canon-ball as they fly through the air... glorious. Just not very newbie friendly.

Still the play style is entirely up to you. Personally I like to move out quickly, you'll always have a beginning force and a decent general to lead it. I like to trim the fat: Get rid of pikemen who I just generally find little use for in Empire and send the militia to defend somewhere while I used the saved money to establish a quick and powerful early army of line infantry and basic cavalry. Then I like to strike at the nearest and weakest opponent, take em down quick and efficiently with a strike straight for their capital with my newly established army. Hopefully this early in the game the city wont have any real defences or I can force a field battle so I don't have to worry about training and lugging around artillery to try and bombard heavy walls.

From there I'll typically fortify. Reduce the main armies size since line infantry are expensive as hell, train more militia for defending towns and cities, upgrade all my my minor settlements and start worrying about trade and appeasing anyone who might've been pissed off by the whole army rush thing. Also a good time to get some research going by sending agents to schools, I always go straight for the rank firing advancement. First person in the world to get that is going to be nigh unbeatable for a short time, best it's you.


But that's just me. It's a tricky game to really give general strategy for since the Total War series are just so incredibly open. What works for me might not work for you for example.

Empire was my first Total War game. I bought Medieval. Still cant figure out how the frikkin hell I build mines. The option doesnt appear in my city.

 

[Nunny]

I usualy focus on economy and defencive tactics, you can wipe out thousands of troops with a few well trained Line infantry groups behind fort walls.

Ah i miss empire.....one day ill get a proper computer so i can run it well.

 

[The Madman]

Empire was my first Total War game. I bought Medieval. Still cant figure out how the frikkin hell I build mines. The option doesnt appear in my city.

Mines are not built in the city but in the little settlements spread across your provinces. If there are minerals nearby the options to build a mine there will be among the usual others such as school, church, farm and the like. It's important not to forget these settlements can also be upgraded as your technology advances which in turn is why it's such a pain when enemy armies invade and pillage them or rebellions leave them in ruins.

What I have experienced focusing on the economy first of all, having line infantry is way better to go for the militia but as he said:

Line Infantry are undeniably better, thing is they're expensive to maintain whereas militia early on are still quite respectable in a fight and a certain number can be garrisoned in cities free of charge in many cases leaving more money to either build up your economy or alternatively train and maintain more regular soldiers for a mobile army.

 

[Exocet]

Here are some hints and tips about the different factions:
-Prussia has the awesome Frei korp,which has 90 people with 90 range and a good amount of ammo.
Just for these guys,Prussia is one of my favorite factions.Seriously,these Frei korp guys
will win you battles.

-France has the cannons.You'll have to wait until the last cannons to see the difference,but
at the end,you will have 10 more accuracy than everyone else.Very useful when you're a cannon
whore like me.What can I say,I come from the same country as Napoleon.

-Sweden can has a shitload of ports after Scandinavia gets enough population.I counted eight.

-Great Britain will start with more ships than anyone else,allowing you to take control of
trade routes faster.


And remember,if you go to war with Russia,be prepared for a very,very long war and lots of casualties in between turns when you move your armies.

 

[Nikolaz72]

Empire was my first Total War game. I bought Medieval. Still cant figure out how the frikkin hell I build mines. The option doesnt appear in my city.

Mines are not built in the city but in the little settlements spread across your provinces. If there are minerals nearby the options to build a mine there will be among the usual others such as school, church, farm and the like. It's important not to forget these settlements can also be upgraded as your technology advances which in turn is why it's such a pain when enemy armies invade and pillage them or rebellions leave them in ruins.

What I have experienced focusing on the economy first of all, having line infantry is way better to go for the militia but as he said:

Line Infantry are undeniably better, thing is they're expensive to maintain whereas militia early on are still quite respectable in a fight and a certain number can be garrisoned in cities free of charge in many cases leaving more money to either build up your economy or alternatively train and maintain more regular soldiers for a mobile army.

I searched for guides 'everywhere' Buying Medieval 2-Total War. on steam means no manual. How do settlements grow? Where is the tech tree? Is there a tech tree? I've never set my eyes on a school.

 

[Plinglebob]

And remember,if you go to war with Russia,be prepared for a very,very long war and lots of casualties in between turns when you move your armies.

You would think after Nepoleon and Hitler, people would stop invading Russia in the Winter

Just to push what others are saying, and to quote somebody famous, "Its all about the Economy stupid". Depending on who you're starting as (and what difficulty obviously) I normally do some rapid expansion to secure boarders with whatever troops I start with (while if possible wiping out a nation at the same time so they don't try and retake it) then bunker down, re-enforce what I have and upgrade like a madman. Go for buildings that will give you money or upgrades as if you have a quick enough start, you can end up crushing the PC through superior tech. Also, make friends with EVERYONE! Ally with everyone you share a boarder with to give you time and by the time you start breaking your peace treaties, people will side with you due to your technical superiority

For the easiest start, go for Great Britan (/salute). Taking all of GB and Ireland early sets you up well for the rest of the game and you save on troops as a couple of cheap units is enough to keep the cities from rebelling and a couple of small fleets is more then enough to protect your boarders. I think (though not played in a while) you also get a foothold in the US which is ripe for early and easy expansion.

 

[The Madman]

I searched for guides 'everywhere' Buying on steam means no manual. How do settlements grow? Where is the tech tree? Is there a tech tree? I've never set my eyes on a school.

I don't have Empire installed right now, but tech is under the little icon that looks kinda like a teapot as I recall. It has three branches that are more or less military economic and social. Military being the obvious stuff like bayonets, rank firing, and new types of weapons and troops while economy is pretty obvious and social more about prestige and overall advancements in human rights and such. Your settlements will be able to grow whenever you research the right technologies. Animal Husbandry as I recall will allow you to build bigger farms for example and so on.

Schools are just another type of settlement, whenever you start a game as far as I know you'll always have at least one within your empire. Sending your agents there will give the school a boost to the rate it researches with multiple schools across your empire able to research mutliple things at once. Schools can also be upgraded to university and the like, it's even possible to send agents to another nations schools to try and swipe their technology. Similarly if you know of an enemy school that has an agent in it, you can send a rogue to go try and assassinate them to slow down your opponents research rate or even just sabotage the building itself to stall it entirely while the place is being repaired.

Like I said before, Empire's not exactly the most newbie friendly of the Total War series. Still once you get into it it's quite deep and allows for a lot of different strategy which is always nice!

 

[Nikolaz72]

I searched for guides 'everywhere' Buying on steam means no manual. How do settlements grow? Where is the tech tree? Is there a tech tree? I've never set my eyes on a school.

I don't have Empire installed right now, but tech is under the little icon that looks kinda like a teapot as I recall. It has three branches that are more or less military economic and social. Military being the obvious stuff like bayonets, rank firing, and new types of weapons and troops while economy is pretty obvious and social more about prestige and overall advancements in human rights and such. Your settlements will be able to grow whenever you research the right technologies. Animal Husbandry as I recall will allow you to build bigger farms for example and so on.

Schools are just another type of settlement, whenever you start a game as far as I know you'll always have at least one within your empire. Sending your agents there will give the school a boost to the rate it researches with multiple schools across your empire able to research mutliple things at once. Schools can also be upgraded to university and the like, it's even possible to send agents to another nations schools to try and swipe their technology. Similarly if you know of an enemy school that has an agent in it, you can send a rogue to go try and assassinate them to slow down your opponents research rate or even just sabotage the building itself to stall it entirely while the place is being repaired.

Like I said before, Empire's not exactly the most newbie friendly of the Total War series. Still once you get into it it's quite deep and allows for a lot of different strategy which is always nice!

Was speaking of Medieval total war. It came with no manual, Empire was easy enough and totally made sense.

 

[Exocet]

You sure? I went to war with Russia but it was a very short war. The AI is a joke, once you scatter the main force its laughably easy. The only issue was that once scattered its hard to defeat the stragglers. If anything France is harder to conquer because of the insane resistance you meet when France is conquered.

Hell, artillery alone outsmarts the AI as they stand in once place. Explosive shells from motors make the entire game easy as pie.

If anything the only flaw in the game is that the AI isn't very smart, regardless of difficulty.

The problem is exactly in the stragglers.They'll keep popping out from god knows where,raid your towns and die promptly from a severe case of revengititus.And when you're finally done with those,rebels will appear every 15 to 20 turns and do the same.Hell,it got so bad at one point that I stationned an entire army(5 star general,4 cannons,10 line infantry and any cavalry or light infantry I had standing around) just to make sure Moscow was safe.

Russians never quit,that's what makes it a long war.Plus,it's huge,so it takes 6 turns just to get from one province to the next when you get to the Eastern part of Russia.

You would think after Nepoleon and Hitler, people would stop invading Russia in the Winter

In my defence,they started it and winter comes around way too often.

 

[The Madman]

Was speaking of Medieval total war. It came with no manual, Empire was easy enough and totally made sense.

Medieval 2? Medieval doesn't have a tech-tree like Empire does, any technological advancement is restricted to the individual cities as you build bigger and better structures there. Also doesn't have settlements in the same way Empire does with each city beings it's own thing. Cities either capable of being, well, cities or you can choose to build them as castles instead. Cities obviously making more money and having more people but castles boasting the best troops and defences in case of invasion.

Cities and Castles both advance at the rate of their population growth. A central city surrounded by fertile lands and with plentiful trade will grow quickly whereas a distant castle on the border of your empire might barely be able to even train that many troops because the population increases so slowly.

If anything the only flaw in the game is that the AI isn't very smart, regardless of difficulty.

If you want a bit of a challenge try installing 'Darthmod', a mod which tweaks and changes a slew of different things among which is the AI. Still far from perfect but with the mod installed it will put up more of a fight than by default and also be much more aggressive, emplying tricks like flanking cavalry and artillery bombardment much more often.

Only downside is that Darthmod takes a more powerful computer to run as it ramps up the unit sizes and particle effects to a level that while more realistic and utterly breathtaking will also bring some computers to their knees.

 

[Blunderboy]

Just to highlight the previous good advice, focus on your economy.
Farms, Roads, Mines etc. are all an important focus in all Total War games.
Yes it's tempting to build a huge army but without a decent economy they won't last long.
Also, don't make the mistake I normally do, do not neglect your navy. Trade from ports will shorter be a huge income source for your empire and if you can't defend it, you'll soon pay the price.

 

[Plinglebob]

Damn it, this thread is making me want to play it again despite hating the combat as the guns combined with crappy AI make the fights boring. Best, though most complex, campaign map of the series and its a pity they didn't bring some of the ideas (like individual towns/farms) over to Shogun 2.

 

[Nikolaz72]

Was speaking of Medieval total war. It came with no manual, Empire was easy enough and totally made sense.

Medieval 2? Medieval doesn't have a tech-tree like Empire does, any technological advancement is restricted to the individual cities as you build bigger and better structures there. Also doesn't have settlements in the same way Empire does with each city beings it's own thing. Cities either capable of being, well, cities or you can choose to build them as castles instead. Cities obviously making more money and having more people but castles boasting the best troops and defences in case of invasion.

Cities and Castles both advance at the rate of their population growth. A central city surrounded by fertile lands and with plentiful trade will grow quickly whereas a distant castle on the border of your empire might barely be able to even train that many troops because the population increases so slowly.

If anything the only flaw in the game is that the AI isn't very smart, regardless of difficulty.

If you want a bit of a challenge try installing 'Darthmod', a mod which tweaks and changes a slew of different things among which is the AI. Still far from perfect but with the mod installed it will put up more of a fight than by default and also be much more aggressive, emplying tricks like flanking cavalry and artillery bombardment much more often.

Only downside is that Darthmod takes a more powerful computer to run as it ramps up the unit sizes and particle effects to a level that while more realistic and utterly breathtaking will also bring some computers to their knees.

Ehm. SO let me get this straight. When they reach certain population levels you can choose to improve it into castles/cities? Because Im at turn 12 and maybe thats just not nearly far enough.