Are you eager to reenact some scenes from your favorite History Channel series? Can’t wait to lead an army of Vikings? Want to pillage and ravage the land? Welp, sorry, Creative Assembly just announced you’ll be waiting a few weeks, as the launch date is being pushed forward from 19th April to May 3rd this year.

After searching and gathering some feedback and criticism, the team found out that they could do more than squashing bugs and polish. Here’s what they will be up to in the meantime:

These changes will include some quality-of-life UI improvements, such as showing the player a breakdown of sources contributing to their current War Fervour level. We’re also implementing multiple shades of plus-and-minus effects regarding different levels of food, and how each level interacts with upkeep and supplies.

We’re doing some more balancing work on the campaign AI, chiefly regarding its aggression levels on different difficulty settings, and the number (and composition) of the armies it recruits. Generals will also change in appearance as they age, which is reflected in their portraits.

Perhaps the biggest area we’re focusing on is battle. We’re making some improvements to the AI’s flanking behaviour, and we’re addressing the way the AI targets enemy units, to better account for intervening units blocking charge pathways. We’re also tweaking certain animation sets so that soldiers now hold their shields out as they walk, reinforcing the shield-wall focus of the age, and ensuring they better maintain unit coherency on the move.

We’ve looked at some of the default unit-states from Warhammer, and as a result we’re implementing toggles in the options menu so you can choose which states you wish to be on by default (such as always-run, skirmish and guard modes). On top of that, we’re making a whole raft of alterations to numerous aspects of battle, including (but not limited to): collision damage, unit stats, maximum drag-out widths, collision radii, unit mass and spacing, and we’ll be removing an experimental feature you may’ve seen at work in game footage where units were slowed by missile fire, as this was affecting the coherency of the targeted unit’s formation. In aggregate, these changes are making combat feel tighter and more attuned to the age.

If you’re asking yourself: “Hoy! What the hell is Thrones of Britannia? Why the hell is it a saga and not a normal Total War? Why does it look a lot like Attila?” Why, my dearest reader, that’s because the new Total War Sagas will be based in a single, high impact, and dynamic moment in world History where the outcome could have changed the course of a kingdom, the fate of a country or even the whole of mankind. Where the setting is rich enough for gameplay variety, interesting choices and an engaging campaign. Very much like the older but incredible Fall of the Samurai, Napoleon and Attila games.

Thrones of Britannia will be a standalone game, so you won’t be needing any previous titles. Personally, I haven’t given it too much attention to have an informed opinion about it, but if their previous attempts are anything to go by, CA has- apparently- been more successful at pursuing more focused titles than larger ones. Only time will tell if it pays off.

It’s never easy delaying a launch, not least because it means a longer wait for you. But we strongly feel the game will be better for it, so do please bear with us as we get things finished up!

Good thing CA believes that delaying a game is actually a positive and can bring more good than harm. But then again, while we armchair generals love to repeat history, i’m sure Creative Assembly is not eager to repeat Rome 2: Total War launch ever again.

Follow Strategy and Wargaming Socials

If you enjoy Strategy and Wargaming, then you need to follow its socials. Are we the best strategy gaming website around? I would say so. Heck, what other options do you have? The Wargamer? Please.

So why not give us a follow on the cesspool that is Twitter, or join the 1000 other geriatric patients on Facebook? Or subscribe down below? Or maybe do everything? I don’t care, I’m not your grandmother.

If you enjoyed the article, consider buying me a coffee!

I’ve been running Strategy and Wargaming at my own expense since 2017, with only the ad revenue to cover the hosting, with everything else being done by me. So, if you’re an avid reader, you can afford it, and want to support the website, please consider Buying Me a Coffee by clicking this link, for as low as one euro! If you do, just know that you’re helping out a lot and contributing so that Strategy and Wargaming can continue growing!