Total War: Medieval 3 is confirmed, but it is still in very early development. The game is in pre-production, which means the team is building core systems and testing ideas. What you see now is not final gameplay. Still, Creative Assembly has shared enough details to explain how Medieval 3 is expected to work. This guide explains the pre-production gameplay using simple words and clear meaning.
How Total War: Medieval 3 Pre-Production Gameplay Works
Pre-production is the stage where the foundation is created. Developers decide what systems the game will use and how they connect. Visuals, menus, and balance are temporary. Features can change or be removed. The goal right now is to test ideas, not to polish the game.
Campaign Map and Scale
Medieval 3’s campaign map is intended to be large, practically equal to that of Total War: Attila. The significant difference is the level of detail. The cities are represented smaller in the map, and the distance between spots is more natural. It takes longer for the armies to move, and the type of land matters more. Like this, the world is less of a board game and more of a real place.
Regions Instead of Provinces
Medieval 3 has done away with the previous province system. There are no more groups of predetermined towns with restricted building slots that you have to manage. Rather, a region consists of one major city and many smaller ones within it. The smaller cities can expand, transform, or decay according to the management of the region.
Building Placement and Development
The buildings are positioned right on the campaign map. You have the power to select the location of the castles, ports, farms, mines, and towns. A castle located by a river or near a border will be shown on the map as being there.
Gradually, these buildings can expand by themselves if the area becomes prosperous and secure. Additionally, you can make an investment to speed up their development. This mechanism can result in regions appearing quite differently in each campaign.
Regional Growth and Limits
The boundaries of regions are not defined by the number of building types. On the contrary, every region is capable of accommodating various developments simultaneously. A wealthy capital city might eventually become a large urban area of mixed functions. A border region could, on the other hand, be dedicated to military forts and buildings. This not only provides you with more control but also makes the long-term planning more crucial.
Population System
The population is not represented as simple bonuses, but real numbers are being tracked. There are three classes of people, namely, nobles, townsfolk, and peasants. Every class has its own contribution. The peasants are the ones who work the farms, the townsfolk are the ones who support the cities, and the nobles are the ones who manage the land and the armies.
When you recruit soldiers, they are taken from the populace. If the recruitment is excessive, then farming and growth will suffer. Meanwhile, migration is another factor that could alter the population distribution between regions and, thus, the process of the development of areas.
Wealth and Economy
Each region has its own wealth pool. This wealth represents the money moving through the region. You can tax it to gain income, but heavy taxes reduce growth. If you leave wealth in the region, towns and buildings can improve on their own. This makes money management a long-term decision instead of a simple income slider.
Armies and Supply
Armies depend on regional wealth to stay active. They cost money to supply, and that money comes from nearby regions. If an army is defeated, the enemy can capture its wealth. If an army is disbanded, its remaining wealth returns to the region. This makes supply lines, forts, and safe territory more important than before.
Influence of Medieval 2
Medieval 2 is a major reference point for the developers. Systems like population, trade, and unit equipment upgrades are being studied again. The goal is to bring back depth that older fans remember, while using modern technology to support it.
What is Still Unknown
Many parts of the game are not explained yet. Battles, sieges, and naval combat have not been shown in detail. These systems are still being designed. The developers are asking for community feedback to help shape them.
