Hi All
OK a few disclaimers.
1. I should say that I am really only playing French faction (yes I am being chauvinistic
), in the 1805-1812 campaign. I haven't tried the others yet. There is also a Italy Campaign and a Nile Campaign, but I preferred Napoleon Europe Campaigns so I dont play the other two campaigns much.
2. I also dont play MP, but I see from Koen post that hes got "Prince of Macedon" from youtube. That guy is pretty good I watch his battles as well.
From what I remember there is no play by email, only play directly.
The game is less a empire building game as in others of the series (but its still important, especially in the bigger campaigns). Another big change is that the game is much more linear than the others, that you are given a goal and time limit to accomplish objectives. You use you infrastructure to complete your objectives and to protect yourself from counter attack. You don't have the freedom to plan your own strategy which is my biggest issue with the game. We are hoping that CA will release a DLC "Grand Campaign" that fixes this. Otherwise the European Campaign is you best bet. This is the games biggest weakness IMHO, but its not game-breaking. I just preferred it the way it was originally. I would have like the game to start in 1792 and allowing you to choose where to start your campaign, or at least of the objectives be random, instead of ALWAYS having to attack Austria, than Prussia then Russia. You can of course choose to invade the UK or even Sweden, but they are not part of the grand objective.
Technically compared to others in the series like Rome, Napoleon is a vast improvement. There is more focus on the economic and diplomatic levels. Trade now is a big issue as a lot of your income comes from trade, and in fact you can really cripple the enemy (like England) if you can wage hit and run attacks on their shipping lanes. You can also raid enemy shipping (privateers) for extra cash.
I can say that despite the improvements at its core its not vastly different though from others in the series. If you didnt like TW: Rome (I did) chances are you wont like this either. Don't get me wrong they have added a ton of new things though. Naval Warefare, more Trade, Diplomacy options, better use of formations, a research tree, better AI.
You don't build cities, the cities are already there. You do have to manage them though. Each region has Region Capital which can build all the advanced structures. Smaller cities that can build specific troop types only. Finally villages focus on the economy (make $$$), improving technology (reducing specific troop types costs) and techology research. There is also supply yards which allow to replenish and resupply units. Attrition is now modelled so keeping lines of supply open is important, Otherwise your armies will suffer loses marching in enemy held territory and bad weather.
There are also much more unique units however you can only have 1 unit of these at a time. So you cannot have an army made of Scots Greys or Batterie de la Convention (Napoleon's Famous Artillery Unit he used to lift the British Siege of Toulon).
Terrain and weather do play a big part. Artillery shoots best from a elevated position and a clear line of sight. Some units like skirmishers can hide in forests and get big defensive bonuses firing from cover. They also have unit class specific tactics. For example only Line Infantry can "Fire and Advance" and only Melee Cavalry can assume the Diamond Formation. Dragoons can form Skirmish Lines and can fire while moving. Some of these tactics must be researched/traded/or stolen.
Weather like Rain often's causes misfires, slows troop movement speeds, and causes cannonballs to not to "bounce" when they hit the ground.
So much more to mention that I cannot, ask me specific questions
If you do buy the game, make sure you get the Imperial Edition it costs more but the unique units are worth it. They will improve your game and they look better too as they have very distinct uniforms. If you dont buy it now, definitely get it when its discounted its well worth it. I don't regret paying full price (I did regret Empire).
