14 DAY TRIAL // The Creative Assembly wants to keep Total War: Warhammer as close as possible to the Games Workshop created universe on which it is based, with the studio explaining that they are using a wide range of minor factions to introduce even more personality to the strategy experience.
In a new blog post, the company says that it has evaluated each of the playable factions to see how they interact with neighbors, be them of the same race of not, and that players will have to deal with their unique gameplay quirks and the way they can affect the strategic map.
The Creative Assembly states, "Your carefully-woven web of apparent diplomatic stability can be quite upset by the arrival of a third party. Savage Orcs are a fine example. They don’t dwell in towns – eschewing even the comfortably Orc-y surroundings of their Greenskin cousins – and simply rove the world in bands looking for stuff to smash up."
The attached map shows the minor factions that are represented in Total War: Warhammer, which have been chosen to offer a balance between the tribes and political entities that are important in the lore and those, are needed to improve the balance of the strategy title.
The Creative Assembly also makes it clear that the playable races are not equal when it comes to the difficulty level, with the Empire, for example, having to deal with constant pressure from the Norscan tribes that other factions have less interaction with.
An Orc tribe called the Skull Takerz can have another type of influence on the world of Total War: Warhammer, uniting in a powerful force that can rampage all over the map, threatening all factions.
The title is the first of planned trilogy based on the fantasy universe
According to the development team, all the minor factions introduce some extra challenge and intrigue to the game and how each player deals with them allows him to create a unique story as he seeks to protect the Old World from the threat of Chaos.
The Creative Assembly has already revealed that it is using a new province system for Total War: Warhammer, making sure that the four major factions are unable to conquer the entire map and will be funneled towards interesting battles and choices.
The new game is the first for the studio that does not use real world history as a foundation, and the tactical battles will include flying units, a wide range of powerful heroes with unique abilities and the ability to take out enemy formations by using magic.
Core mechanics and unit rosters have been revealed for the Empire, the Greenskins, and the Dwarves, but so far the development team has not offered any kind of details about the Vampire Counts and the unique ways they can interact with the Old World.
Total War: Warhammer will be launched on April 28 and can only be played on the PC, with gamers who place a pre-order set to get a special downloadable content pack that allows them to play as the Chaos warriors.