FinalExcalibur

Interesting stuff. Thanks for the replies, folks. All of those reasons make sense, but was it really more powerful though? Both seemed to defeat armor handily. Was being hit by a bolt preferable to being hit by a musket ball? Honest question. By the way, I've heard that the term 'bulletproof' originated from smiths shooting their own plate armor to show it wouldn't penetrate. Is there any truth to this, or is it just another story on the intertubes?

Not really a game question, but more of a meta/historical thing. When armies were moving out of the medieval era, what caused them to adopt the musket over the crossbow? I get that bow users had to be trained a long time, but I assumed crossbows were more accurate and had greater range than muskets (i hear a lot about bolts punching through plate easily). They also seemed relatively easy to use compared to the gazillion steps needed to fire a matchlock. Didn't they have certain mechanisms for pulling back the drawstring so the user's strength wasn't an issue? Plus they seemed to load around the same speed or faster. It could also fire when wet, although perhaps not as effectively. Could it be cost? I always assumed wooden bolts were cheaper than metal bullets + gunpowder. Was a crossbow cheaper to make and maintain than a musket? Just a nagging question. I'm no expert, so my assumptions may be off. Anyone know?

Any word on Total War Battles? I'd give it a try, but mine's android.

Has anyone else played this? I think this is my favorite Total War yet. Very evocative setting from a time period not often covered in games. There's something very sad and tragic implicit in the whole rapid modernization affair, a 'narrative theme' of sorts I've founded lacking in some TW games. Also, always been a fan of muskets. Seeing them side by side with samurai is a treat indeed. The mechanics feel great, too. I think they've really refined the systems they had from Shogun 2. The agent/general talent choices are streamlined and not quite so clear cut, and the foreign vet is a great idea. The passive xp gain is incredible. I do sort of wish the engine ran a little better, but not knowing the engine they use, I don't know if that's fair to say. But gosh the game is big in size. And if I remember, it uses the same engine as Napoleon, which had each faction take up something like 2gb in filesize for assets. Erk. Oh, great music too. Especially the main menu theme. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq9MKVwh9sg By the way, I kinda want to ask: I'm approaching the series as a gamer in general, not a strategy gamer per se. I didn't know much about history until games like Age of Empires and Total War drilled some into me. But I really wish there was a fantasy total war of some kind. Yet I notice when polls are posted on forums on what people want for new TW games, fantasy stuff isn't often mentioned (Though Game of Thrones might get one post, or two). Why is that? Is it just the audience is more slanted towards historical strategy gamers?