Lord of the Realms III Info from http://lords3.sierra.com/ Lords of the Realm III features authentic medieval history, multi-layered strategy, and lifelike battle action rendered in stunning visual detail. Launched in Fall 1994, the original Lords of the Realm from Impressions Games received high praise for its complete and authentic medieval setting, its modem-based multiplayer action, and its great balance of micro- and macro-management within a fun and challenging strategy game. Two years later, Impressions released Lords of the Realm II, which combined turn-based strategy with compelling real-time battles and realistic castle sieges. Lords of Magic debuted in November 1997, uniting the best elements of the Lords series with magic and spell-casting. Lords of the Realm III is the long-awaited, highly anticipated continuation of the award-winning Lords series. With its all-new 3D engine, easy-to-use interface, and real-time action, Lords III offers a carefully researched, richly detailed historical game of warfare and politics set in a beautifully rendered medieval world. Features: Do battle against the backdrop of medieval Europe, as you witness the rise of kings, cash economies, and the dominance of religion. Lords of the Realm III is true to actual history, with a unique, romantic, and earthy look and feel that separates it from other historical games. Authentic Environment Three In-Depth Levels Realistic Combat Playable Noblemen Advanced 3D Engine Castle Editor What is Lords of the Realm III? Lords of the Realm III is a computer strategy game of medieval conquest. As one of the great lords of the age, you raise companies of knights and commoners, found towns and cities, hire mercenaries, build castles to protect your lands and lead armies to victory over your foes. Your goal is to protect your territories and take over your neighbors, rising from petty noble to a great lord or even king. Your playing field isn't just some abstract map, it is the real world. Invade England, conquer Scotland, sack Paris, or build a castle in Flanders. It is all up to you. Combat in Lords III means leading companies of men in real- time in a fully 3D environment. Array your troops outside the gates of a city or under the towering walls of your rival's castle. Command noble knights, mounted cavalry, mercenary crossbowmen, Irish axemen, catapults, battering rams and more. Besiege your enemies and storm their strongholds to become the sole king of the land. You must also manage an empire - again in full 3D and real-time. You have to assign vassals to fiefs, grow food, build up your treasury, sponsor cathedrals, earn favor with the Church, negotiate with your enemies, hire artisans, and most important of all build castles to defend your estates. Your land is the backbone of your resources, the source of the men and money you need to win. Neglect it at your peril! Finally, both your empire and your battles are continuously running. There are no turns, just the steady tick of the clock. Is it turn-based or an RTS? Lords of the Realm III is an RTS (real-time strategy) game. This means that the action never stops; there are no turns. While you are fighting a battle, armies are also marching across the countryside. To do this we have a unique approach to handling both the tactical and strategic elements of the game in a continuous real-time setting. You have a strategic level where you command armies, manage your lands, engage in diplomacy, hire mercenaries and do the tasks a great lord should do. When any of your armies get into a battle, you can zoom down to that battlefield and take command. You can move between battles and grand strategy freely, giving orders on one and then going back and checking the progress on the other. Because you have to rule a kingdom and wage war all at the same time, Lords III takes a different approach to resource management and unit building from other games. Tedious tasks are automated or just plain removed, leaving you with the task of ruling like a true king. What is the scale? The scope of Lords III ranges from entire countries - the British Isles or all of France in a single scenario - to individual men on the battlefield. Battles of 500 figures to a side are possible. Who is making it? We are the folks at Impressions Games, creators of Caesar III, Pharaoh, Zeus, and, of course, Lords of the Realm I & II. The Lords III team is built around a core group of designers, artists and programmers who have each been in the game-making business for ten or more years both from Impressions and companies such as Strategy First, 3D0, Maxis, and TSR. Will it use 3D? Yes, the game is fully 3D. You will be able to rotate the camera around the battlefield and zoom in or out as you wish. Your men can stand on top of castle walls or attack them with siege ladders, all in 3D. Will it have multiplayer? Yes, multiplayer games are an important part of Lords III. The game supports up to 8 players and can be played over LAN or the Internet (through GameSpy). In addition to the full strategic scenarios, there are also head-to-head battle-only games that can be played by two players. All the scenarios in the game can be played as single or multi-player games. Will it be historical? Lords III is set in the Middle Ages (1000 to 1400 AD) with an emphasis on fun. We use history as the foundation. The scenarios you play are either real events of the age (such as Simon de Montfort's rebellion) or are the same challenges faced by lords of the time. You can play to unite all the British Isles or battle up to eight other players to be the sole ruler of France. As player, you create your own lord (including his name, portrait, and heraldry). AI opponents will include historical figures both great and small, plus a few colorful heroes well- rooted in the age. Edward the Black Prince, Joan of Arc, William Wallace, Geoffrey Chaucer and others may all make appearances in the game. What about wizards and dragons? Nope. While Lords III has fun with characters through the vassal system, it is ultimately a historical game. No fire- breathing dragons, no spells, no witchcraft, or other fantasy elements. It's about knights, castles, chivalry, and war. Can I become king? Of course! It's good to be the king. Can I go on a crusade? The Outremer lands (the Mideast) are not part of Lords III. However, if the situation is right, you can Crusade upon an unpleasant neighbor. The Church had a great influence over wars and politics of the age. You will have to keep track of your standing with the Church. If you fall out of favor with the pope, your realm will become a tempting target for enemy lords. Furthermore, different vassals will serve you depending on how Christian (or not) a ruler you are. How are resources handled? In true feudal fashion, your greatest resources are your land and your vassals. On your lands, farms grow food, towns produce money, and churches keep everything working smoothly. Food is needed to feed your armies, money to build castles and hire mercenaries. To get either of these resources, you must assign some of your land to the task of producing them - but that means you'll have less land to give to your knights who provide the troops you need for your armies. Managing your lands is done by placing vassals - men sworn to serve you through the bonds of feudalism. The feudal system was the great creation of the Middle Ages. In the game, your vassals provide you with the troops you need to fight wars, the food your armies need, the crowns for your treasury, and the blessings of the Church. You have four types to work with - knights, clergymen, burghers, and serfs - and each provides a different resource. But your vassals are not just factories. There are over 2000 unique vassals in the game with varying special abilities and needs. Many of them have requirements you must meet and maintain for them to serve you - but the harder they are to obtain, the more powerful they are in your service. Some respect chivalry, some are tied to a specific land, while others may only care for war and glory. Treat them badly and they may decide to leave you. Is there a tech tree? The truth is technology changed very slowly over the medieval period. A knight from the beginning of the age varied little from one toward the end of that time. So, Lords of the Realm III does not use the traditional RTS tech tree. But that does not mean there is no progress. During the course of a game, you will get vassals with special abilities that can improve your troops and your lands. A knight may have the armorer ability, which allows him to raise troops faster. A burgher may also be a builder, causing all the fortifications in his region to be stronger. Another may introduce the concepts of banking to your kingdom, speeding the flow of crowns into your treasury as a result. These and others will give you advantages over other players. How many troops types are there? There are over 20 different troop types and six different pieces of siege equipment in the game. The troops range from lowly peasants to mighty chevaliers. A partial list includes crossbowmen, archers, footmen, Teutonic knights, light cavalry, Highlanders, cavalry, and polearmsmen. The siege weapons you get are catapults, mangonels, siege towers, rams, ballistae, and the mighty trebuchet. Plus, almost all your troops can set up and climb siege ladders to storm those castle walls. Do units have morale? Absolutely. Your companies will regain men over time. You can control this by sending companies home to refit and improving the production of your lands (so that replacements are generated faster). In Lords III it is important to heal your troops. The combat power of your armies is determined by companies of men. Unlike other RTS games, you can't just order more men from the factory. Remember, you can only raise entirely new troops by assigning a knight to a piece of your land. If you don't have any more land available, you need to protect and heal the troops you do have. Can I heal wounded units? Absolutely. Your companies will regain men over time. You can control this by sending companies home to refit and improving the production of your lands (so that replacements are generated faster). In Lords III it is important to heal your troops. The combat power of your armies is determined by companies of men. Unlike other RTS games, you can't just order more men from the factory. Remember, you can only raise entirely new troops by assigning a knight to a piece of your land. If you don't have any more land available, you need to protect and heal the troops you do have. Will I be able to set waypoints for my troops? Yes, you can use waypoints on the battle level to maneuver your troops. Will there be troop formations? In battle, you control companies, not individual men. Although each man is shown on screen, he fights as part of a company and that company fights in a formation. Every company has a range of formations to choose from, but they differ by company type. Your swordsmen can form into a defensive shield wall; your footmen cannot. Archers can plant stakes in the ground to protect themselves; polearmsmen cannot increase their attack power by forming a phalanx. Picking the right formation for the task is one key to victory. Can I capture knights on the battlefield and ransom them? Ransoming noble prisoners was an important part of medieval combat and one way a lord could recover the costs of a ruinous war. Getting captured and held hostage (or executed!) is a risk all your knights face every time you go into battle. Ransoming knights (and offering them for ransom) will gain you Chivalry and Honor. Executing them will weaken your enemy but it will cost you Chivalry you may need. Will I be able to siege castles? You bet! You will be able to siege or defend a variety of castles, including those of your own design. You will have catapults to hurl stones, rams to smash down gates, plus ladders and towers to get your men over the parapets. You can knock down walls, burn wooden forts, and batter down gatehouses. But the defender won't just be standing there. He can place men on walls and towers to repulse your attack. He can open the gate and sally forth with his cavalry to attack your unguarded siege weapons. His ballistae can rain death on your men. And, of course, there is boiling oil ready to pour on those foolish enough to storm the walls. Can I build my own castle? Yes, a castle editor is included with the game for you to use. With it you can create any castle design you want, place it in the game folder, and then build it within the game. Will there be naval combat? Ships were often used to move armies and supplies from place to place, but during this time period, naval battles were few, no more than a handful of major actions over several hundred years, so in other words - no. Some of the scenarios allow you to move troops by sea, but there are no naval battles. Is there diplomacy? Yes, there is a whole separate diplomatic interface. You can form alliances, make peace, and even declare Crusades against your enemies! You can make diplomatic agreements with both human and AI players What's with the Chivalry, Honor, and Christianity? The mindset of the medieval lord was somewhat different from today's leader. To help you get into that frame of mind, you have three ratings - Chivalry, Christianity, and Honor. Having high or low ratings in each of these areas will affect your game. The knights who serve a Chivalrous lord are different from those who flock to the banner of a black-hearted scoundrel. Mercenaries are cheaper when you have a high Honor. If your Christianity is low, you may find yourself the target of a Crusade. The game is not just about attacking and conquering. It also has to do with how you go about accomplishing your goals. Do you want to play a highly Christian lord or be the black-hearted scoundrel? You can make these choices. What campaigns will be included? There are four campaigns included in the game: Ireland, England, Germany, and France. Except for Ireland each of these has four or more different scenarios for you to play, ranging from one-on-one matchups to full eight player struggles. All the scenarios can be played in single-player or multiplayer mode. In addition to the campaign there are over a dozen battles you can fight, which only make use of the battle game. Again these can be played as single-player or multiplayer games. Will there be an editor Yes. The Lords of the Realm III Castle Editor, available as a free download, allows you to create your own custom castles and structures for use within the game. See the Castle Editor's readme.txt for more information. How long will it take to play a game? Typical game length will be equivalent to that of most RTS games. Depending on the scenario and the skill of the players, games can run from approximately 30 minutes to 2 or 3 hours. The average game lasts about an hour. What system does it run on? Lords of the Realm III is a PC game. Currently the minimum specifications are: 800 Mhz Pentium III 128 MB RAM (256 for Windows 2000/XP) 16 MB Direct X 8.1/DXT Compression-compatible video card (GeForce, Radeon) Direct X 8.1 compatible sound card CD-ROM drive 56K Modem connection (for 2-player battle games only) Cable, DSL or faster broadband connection (for up to 8- player multiplayer games) The recommended specification is: 1.5 GHz Pentium 4 256 MB RAM 32 MB Direct X 9 video card with GeForce 3 or Radeon 8500 or better chipset 32x CD-ROM drive Cable, DSL or faster broadband connection Does Lords 3 require a graphic accelerator? Yes, as noted in the specifications above When is it being released? March 16th, 2004. Will there be strategy guide? Yes, a strategy guide is being put out by Prima Publishing. - o -