I cant wait for a follow up interview.

I see one design thing that's going to give you trouble down the road.

People are going to be clamoring for tactical naval battles.

Maybe...

I'm hoping the new total war game pulls it off, but naval battles have been utter shit in every rts and tbs I played outside of actual naval combat games.  I loathe having halfassed attempts at it, if it's beyond them, they need to just skip it.  If they can pull off an entertaining and realistic system for it, I'll add that to my drool pile, but christ I hate having to deal with ships in so many games...

Shame empire's coming up before it, if total war didn't have naval battles, people would probably not feel nearly as strongly. All honesty, I don't think this setting has enough of an emphasis on naval power to justify the development resources, and I don't think the land battle structure will suit it particularly well. My feeling on the naval strength is that there likely won't be more than one continent on most maps, much like lord of the rings, so the importance of navies will be largely ancilliary, much as how the corsairs of Umbar used them to enhance their mobility rather than to actually fight from them.

I must say the naval battles in empire look very much like the slower, grander big brother of something like pirates! so I'm pretty confident they'll be damn good.

I'm in this camp as well.

Gamespot currently has the game categorized as  Real-Time Strategy.

What?? 

[Martok goes to double-check] 

Holy crap, you're right.  Why the hell did Gamespot do that? 

Gamespot still  has this listed as a  Real Time Strategy game...  I emailed them long ago about the error, yet no change.   Does someone know an individual at GameSpot who can correct this mistake OR perhaps Stardock may want to contact them.