14 DAY TRIAL // Empire: Total War has been released today and even now players all over the world are taking a first hand look at the strategy game that aims to simulate combat, diplomacy, trade and espionage in the XVIII century. The developers from Creative Assembly are talking about how the multiplayer campaign, which was promised for a post launch patch, is set to work.
Kieran Bridgen, who is the communications manager at Creative, has told Eurogamer that “The campaign mode allows two friends (or mortal enemies) to play against one another and the AI through the Grand Campaign mode. Players will be given the option of fighting every battle as the enemy, meaning whoever your friend fights wherever in the world it will always be the two of [you] involved in a deathmatch.”
That feature is already in the release, but in order to get the full thing working properly, the developers have decided to take another look at it while players enjoyed the single player campaign and the multiplayer skirmishes offered with the game. It also seems that Creative Assembly is thinking of using crown intelligence to get the multiplayer campaign mode right, by offering a free public beta for the feature. There's no date set and there are still internal debates on whether to make the beta public or private.
From the inception of the Total War series, with the Japan-themed Shogun, gamers have been asking to be able to take on other players on the grand campaign map, but until now, game resources have not been available to make this a reality. Empire: Total War appears to be a game of “firsts” for Creative Assembly, given the fact that naval battles have been added for the first time.
Bridgen also talked about possible expansions, saying that mini campaigns, such as The Road to Independence, could be the route to take for the inevitable development of Empire: Total War.