The year is 878 AD, the embattled English king Alfred the Great has mounted a heroic defence at the battle of Edington, and blunted the Viking invasion. Chastened – but not yet broken – the Norse warlords have settled across Britain. For the first time in nearly 80 years, the land is in a fragile state of peace.
Throughout this sceptred isle, the kings of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales sense a time of change approaching; a time of opportunity. There will be treaties. There will be war. There will be turns of fortune that become the stuff of legend, in a saga that charts the ascent of one of history’s greatest nations.
Kings will rise. One will rule.
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Is it like a Campaign Pack? Will I need to own another game to play it?
No, Thrones of Britannia is a standalone game, you don’t need to own any other game to play it. Also, you can expect much more new content and new gameplay than comes with a Campaign Pack. The game will be based around a rich new setting (the British Isles of 878AD, just after invasion by The Great Heathen Army) with ten new playable factions, new mechanics and a new, highly-detailed map. Some elements will be brought across from Total War: ATTILA since they still fit the time period but Thrones of Britannia will have its own unique look and feel. Again, in terms of scale, Fall of the Samurai is a useful yardstick.
What is the date range of the game?
It starts in 878 AD, and like other Total War games it’s over once you win! There is no set end-date, though the content in the game covers up to around 1066.
What geographical area will it cover?
The map is the whole of the British Isles, we’ve gone for such a focused map to allow for us to put a lot of detail into it.
What are the playable factions?
We’ll be confirming all ten of the playable factions over the coming months but for now we can tell you that you’ll be able to play as Anglo-Saxons, Viking settlers and certain Gaelic clans.
What are the key features?
The game will offer a super-detailed campaign map, with more regional distinction. You can also enjoy new, unique faction and culture mechanics with deep narratives and character development, and we’ve worked hard to introduce all sorts of tweaks to various campaign systems to enable the player to make more powerful and impactful choices. These are things we’ve already announced, though more key features will be announced soon!
What engine is it built from?
It will be based off the Total War: ATTILA codebase, though not without some changes so we can make the game run as smoothly as possible.
What engine is it built from?
It will be based off the Total War: ATTILA codebase, though not without some changes so we can make the game run as smoothly as possible.
Wouldn't hold my breath about "optimization" with CA.
I am currently playing Rome 2 with the new beta patch and they STILL haven't optimized or fixed that game. I.e. in siege battles the game still becomes a single digit FPS stutter fest.
Even during normal land battles, the game can come to a crawl, if there are enough units on the field (and the AI pathfinding goes AWOL).
That's why they "simplified" the Siege battles in TWW so much, the AI just couldn't cope lol.
Hello and welcome to the first in a series of blogs that will talk about the core decisions behind the design and direction of A Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia. As this is the first blog, it feels best to start with the first question that will come to mind for those familiar with the history of this era.
Why 878 AD?
When you think of Viking Britain, two dates really come to mind:
793 AD: The first major Viking raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne
865 AD: The Great Heathen Army, also called the Great Viking Army and supposedly led by the sons of the legendary Viking Ragnar Lodbrok, arrives in England
Both of these are sort of seen as heralding the arrival of different phases of Viking activity. The first leads to the era of constant raiding of the coasts of Britain and Ireland, the second to their eventual settling in England after a lot of fighting. But both of these to a degree are a start, a beginning of something, and I think what happens next is just as interesting.
Total War: ATTILA and Total War: WARHAMMER both feature large invasions by marauding forces, as did the Viking Invasion expansion for Medieval: Total War, but they don’t delve into what comes next. What happens after the invasion? How do countries and people pick themselves back up and adapt to the new reality they’re faced with?
This aftermath is as fascinating to me, if not more so, than the invasion itself as it’s here that the consequences play out. How do the different cultures cope in areas where they’ve merged together? The Great Heathen Army has been defeated, but the fighting hasn’t really stopped. What does that mean for agriculture, and the need to support armies all the time? What will later Viking raiders think of the ones who’ve already settled, will they look on them as brothers or treat them as another target?
The Treaty of Wedmore, signed after the Battle of Edington in 878 AD, is a great time to jump into to look at answering those questions. The Great Viking Army has settled in the old English kingdoms of Northumbria and East Anglia as well as the eastern half of Mercia, the areas that would become known as the Danelaw. Alfred the Great has carved out a kingdom, but it’s still fragile, and lots of English lands lie under Viking rule.
In Wales, king Rhodri the Great has died after uniting the lands, his territory divided amongst his sons who each look to follow in the footsteps of their father and rule as King of the Britons, but also deal with a resurgent Wessex.
To the north in Scotland, the Gaels have overtaken the Picts and the two branches of the Alpinid dynasty vie for control of what is known as Alba. To the west in Ireland, the lands are as divided as they’ve ever been, between Gaelic Kingdoms and new Viking settlements now dotting the coast.
This brief moment of peace after the Treaty of Wedmore, this little bit of calm, is a perfect starting point for us because it represents a crossroads in time. History unfolded in a way that defined what Britain is today, but at this exact moment, the future is wide open. It is perfect for Total War, and the sandbox nature of our campaign gameplay. History only happened the way it did because of the decisions of people alive at the time. What happens when different choices are made, another path is taken? In Thrones of Britannia, we want you to make those choices, and decide who will rule the Isles.
Actually enjoying TW:Rome 2 (I couldn't finish the prologue when it was first released), so I'd give the isodemo a chance.
Although, I'm also playing CKII again, (downloaded it with the Charlemagne/Vikings DLC's), so playing around the same time period, and enjoying it immensely.
This era seems better suitable for a CKII kind of game (strategy over combat), but that could also be my personal preference
There must have been a door there in the wall, when I came in.
Truly gone fishing.
So, basically it´s Viking Invasion Standalone? I liked Viking Invasion, but I don´t know about a return to that game in their new format. Ever since they went away from the "planning map table" style I thought TW was shite. Is this going to convince me otherwise, or is it going to be worse?
So, basically it´s Viking Invasion Standalone? I liked Viking Invasion, but I don´t know about a return to that game in their new format. Ever since they went away from the "planning map table" style I thought TW was shite. Is this going to convince me otherwise, or is it going to be worse?
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