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Total War: Three Kingdoms - the next major historical Total War title set in ancient China

A horse of course

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CA uploaded the full base game soundtrack to youtube, spotify etc.

 

FreshCorpse

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I'm completely new to total war and frankly a bit of a fairweather friend to strategy games in general but I'm on a bit of a chinese history bender.

Would I be able to get into this game? Would I likely enjoy it? It is likely to go sub-£30 any time soon?
 

A horse of course

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https://www.totalwar.com/blog/dev-blog-july-2020/
TRAILER_STILL-1024x438.jpg

Total War: THREE KINGDOMS
The Nanman are coming – in fact, they’re lined up to be our very next DLC release. We’re very excited, and we think this pack has a lot of great stuff in it that you’re really going to enjoy.

You’ve seen ‘Chapter Packs’ before, but this will be our first ‘Expansion Pack’ DLC for 3K, and it’s a large one.

First off, something that a lot of you have been asking for is coming – gate pass battles and settlements will be added to the campaign map helping to make core passes much more defensible (and some impassable shallows around Chang’an to stop the Yellow river being used to quickly take it).

We don’t want to give too much away yet, but we can also let you know that if you don’t want to buy the DLC there will still be a new Free-LC Lord for the Han, new options to stop characters dying from old age at the beginning of the campaign, and some UI changes that we think will make a big difference.

Plus there’ll be some things added that you’ll never forget…

Having said that, there is a minor issue that might bother some of you, so we want to get out ahead of it. Hulao pass is sort of in the wrong place. We know and we’re sorry, these things happen!

Hulao Pass is positioned North of Mount Song, and we have placed it there on the 3K map. The issue is that the mountain is in the wrong place. This was pointed out to us but at a place where fixing it would break all of our internal saves. Our focus is on making sure the upcoming release is as stable as it can be, and having to start over with getting saves to help us bug fix and balance the game came with too many risks.

This is something that we’re going to correct in a future update, so rest assured that we’re aware of it. That map update will come with the second ‘Expansion Pack’ DLC that will focus on building out the North of the map.
 
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Theodora

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FAQ on the DLC, English:
In the Fates Divided Chapter Pack you begin at 200 CE, a period that finds Yuan Shao and Cao Cao at a crucial turning point. These childhood friends have borne witness to each other’s growing ambition, but Yuan Shao’s patience with Cao Cao is fast coming to an end – a childhood bond is about to break.

As well as including significant improvements to several existing mechanics, this brand-new Chapter Pack also includes:

  • The tumultuous 200 CE start date
  • A new cross-generational faction playable in 190 CE, 194 CE, and 200 CE
  • Over 20 new units, including formidable Northern Army units
  • Unique missions and narrative events
  • Additional mechanics added to your favourite factions
  • New systems and mechanics to improve overall gameplay
For details and to watch the trailer, head over to the Fates Divided Steam page.

What is Fates Divided?
Fates Divided is a Chapter Pack DLC for Total War: THREE KINGDOMS.

What is a Chapter Pack?
Chapter Packs add new start positions and stories that cover time periods linked to the main narrative of the Three Kingdoms, tying closely into the content and features of the main campaign.

When will Fates Divided be released?
The Fates Divided Chapter Pack will be released on the 11th of March 2021 at 15:00 GMT.

Is there a pre-purchase discount?
Pre-purchase the Fates Divided Chapter Pack to get a 10% discount off the DLC’s normal price.

When does it take place?
Fates Divided introduces a new playable start date of 200 CE, a period that finds Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in a struggle for dominance.

Who are the playable warlords in Fates Divided?
We have added one new cross-generational faction:

  • Liu Yan (playable in 190 CE and 194 CE) and his son Liu Zhang (200 CE)
The following original warlords have new starting positions in 200 CE:

  • Cao Cao
  • Gong Du*
  • Mulu****
  • Liu Bei
  • Liu Biao
  • Ma Teng
  • Meng Huo****
  • Shamoke****
  • Shi Xie
  • Sun Ce***
  • Yuan Shao
  • Zhang Yan
  • Zheng Jiang
We’ve also added the following as playable characters in existing chapters:

  • Ma Teng (182 CE)
  • Yuan Shu (182 CE)
  • Liu Chong (194 CE)**
  • He Yi (194 CE)*
*For players who own Yellow Turban Rebellion

** For players who own Mandate of Heaven

***For players who own A World Betrayed

**** For players who own The Furious Wild

What is the aim of the Fates Divided DLC?
For the Fates Divided DLC, we wanted to put players at a point where their favourite factions are well established, in a period in which tensions are running high. As well as managing the jostling powers surrounding their territories, players will need to pay close attention to their own territories to make sure they’re kept in check.

What new units will be in Fates Divided?
Cao Cao and Yuan Shao will each receive five new unique units with this Chapter Pack, while Liu Yan will receive two.

As well as these new units, players will also be able to recruit units from the Northern Army. The Northern Army will pledge themselves to either Cao Cao or Yuan Shao when their faction leader reaches rank seven. This will give them five Northern colonels, who can be assigned to characters to access the Northern Army Units.

Only the character who has the colonel equipped can recruit the units, and once equipped the colonels cannot be unequipped. However, a colonel can be assigned to someone else if the character dies. You can also steal an enemy’s colonel if you capture the character after a battle.

Will there be any free content with Fates Divided?
Fates Divided will bring with it a substantial cohort of additions and improvements to Total War: THREE KINGDOMS, all to be outlined fully in the coming weeks, and will be provided in the form of an update to the game regardless of whether the DLC has been purchased or not.

In brief, the 1.7 update will introduce reworked faction mechanics to Cao Cao and Yuan Shao’s factions, as well as bringing in new mechanics and improvements to old systems such as a new faction council system, expanded faction ranks, and imperial intrigue.

This update will also fix a number of other issues in the game.

When will this free content be available?
The update will be released on 11th of March 2021 alongside the release of Fates Divided.

Do I need to start a new save game to play this update?
As every DLC release comes with a cacophony of updates and improvements to the existing game, we always recommend you start a new save gave after updating the existing game.

Will Fates Divided be released on macOS and Linux?
Yes! This will be coming after the release of the Windows version – stay tuned.

For full details on everything included in Fates Divided, keep an eye on our social channels – and don’t forget you can get 10% off the launch price if you pre-purchase through Steam.
 

thesheeep

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This was the most boring Total War in a while. Is not buggy or anything just boring.
Well, it has vast improvements over TW: Warhammer 2:
Better diplomacy (or diplomacy that isn't just totally random and half-assed to begin with).
MUCH better sieges.
Better engine (anything engine-related from graphics to turn times is just straight better).
Better army & settlement management.
Better combat (actual unit stances & army formations!).

But.... I also have no desire to go back to it. Maybe at some point? Who knows.
While I already have hundreds of hours in Warhammer 2 and always come back to it.
"Humans only" just cannot compete with all the stuff fantasy offers - grows boring to look at and play quickly. And in contrast to WH2 you can't switch factions to get a very different experience - all factions in 3K are more or less the same. The equivalent in Warhammer would be if every faction was some variant of the Empire.
 

A horse of course

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This was the most boring Total War in a while. Is not buggy or anything just boring.

I intend to buy it in a year or so when there's a deal on the "full" game with all DLC. Chinese history just doesn't interest me enough to pay out the nose for a full-priced title + the usual DLC nickel-and-diming. If they'd taken a more realistic, historical tone to the setting then I might have considered it, but they went with the typical capeshit-esque vision of the Three Kingdoms era without the fantastical absurdity of Dynasty Warriors.
 

cw8

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Oct 7, 2014
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3K:TW has the best diplomacy in the series. Almost every other turn, you'll need to engage in diplomacy if not it'll end very badly for you. I'm into the Three Kingdoms era so it's not boring for me but the unit variety of Warhammer has spoilt it for most TW fans. Still waiting for Medieval 3
 

Mefi

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It is well done as a game. I personally bounce off it pretty quickly into a campaign as I just haven't been able to really like any of the factions. There's one from an early start which I do like for how its units lean into dual stances but beyond that I really couldn't give a damn about the characters who've become the game's focus. Big other part to it is running into some crippling bugs after each DLC which are then left unfixed til the next DLC. Like fighting Nanman tribes trashes your relations with everyone so all your alliances fall to bits in spite of the improved diplomacy system. I don't tend to finish many TW campaigns, typically finish when there's no interest to be had in the battles, but makes for even shorter ones than normal with 3K.
 

tabacila

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Nov 2, 2011
Messages
326
The greatest problem with the character system, besides the fact that I'm not a fan of the fanfic that is the original material, is how coercive it is. I'm not sure if it's CA sucking at game design or trying to solve their systemic bugs by forcing players to play only a certain way or both, but it's annoying as hell.

In the old TW you would want characters to lead your armies because they would gain buffs and give you a powerful bodyguard unit. In 3K you MUST recruit characters. Normally I would expect the game to say ok, you can go command the entire thing yourself, but you'll get penalties so how about you delegate and recruit some of these gender diverse characters to ease yourself of the burden of command? Why? Well we designed our game around the soap opera between these characters so fuck you, now you have to recruit 3 for each army.
I could rule half of China, have under my domain millions of people and uncounted resources of industry and agriculture, but I can only personally control six units. If I piss off all the other idiots they go away and the units I was paying for follow them, to presumably live on tree bark or something. My empire also somehow forgets how to recruit the specific units these people were experts in.

My only interest in 3K is what optimizations/bug fixes/mechanics they introduce and how they could be used in WH3. I would be massively happy to see them try to do a more historical focused title, but I have no hope for future CA titles beyond Warhammer. It's all fantasy or fantasy lite from now on gents imo.
 
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I hate the forced color meta and the lack of variety in the map. I really want to like 3K as much as WH because the diplomatic system is actually fucking useful and important but the replayability is just not there for me.
 

A horse of course

Guest
The greatest problem with the character system, besides the fact that I'm not a fan of the fanfic that is the original material, is how coercive it is. I'm not sure if it's CA sucking at game design or trying to solve their systemic bugs by forcing players to play only a certain way or both, but it's annoying as hell.

In the old TW you would want characters to lead your armies because they would gain buffs and give you a powerful bodyguard unit. In 3K you MUST recruit characters. Normally I would expect the game to say ok, you can go command the entire thing yourself, but you'll get penalties so how about you delegate and recruit some of these gender diverse characters to ease yourself of the burden of command? Why? Well we designed our game around the soap opera between these characters so fuck you, now you have to recruit 3 for each army.
I could rule half of China, have under my domain millions of people and uncounted resources of industry and agriculture, but I can only personally control six units. If I piss off all the other idiots they go away and the units I was paying for follow them, to presumably live on tree bark or something. My empire also somehow forgets how to recruit the specific units these people were experts in.

My only interest in 3K is what optimizations/bug fixes/mechanics they introduce and how they could be used in WH3. I would be massively happy to see them try to do a more historical focused title, but I have no hope for future CA titles beyond Warhammer. It's all fantasy or fantasy lite from now on gents imo.

I always wondered whether this system was meant as a test drive for a retinue-based system of recruitment for Medieval 3 :bounce:
 

Thorakitai

Learned
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Feb 26, 2020
Messages
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Kinda related but here's a thread from another forum which discusses how the armies of the each of the Three Kingdoms function alongside with how the unique geography of the 3 kingdoms affects them.

https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/armies-of-the-three-kingdoms-period.604561/

They also use the images from Tiger Knight: Empire at War and these look alot better and far more historically accurate than 3k's depiction of chinese armor.

 

copebot

Learned
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Dec 27, 2020
Messages
387
I hate the forced color meta and the lack of variety in the map. I really want to like 3K as much as WH because the diplomatic system is actually fucking useful and important but the replayability is just not there for me.

There is no forced color meta other than with the Strategists once they level up a little. There are a small number of level up abilities that even really do anything, which is a separate issue. For yellows, reds, and greens I just put some mixture of cavalry and infantry. The main reason why you want Blues to command anything with ranged attacks is that their stats impact how much ammo they have.
 

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