Feral News

Building Rome: The help function of ROME: Total War on iPad

Rome wasn’t built in a day – and for iPad it took a while. Here we describe our journey in a series of five enlightening dev diaries, from our first experiments with touch controls right through to completing the full and glorious experience of ROME: Total War on iPad.

When ROME: Total War reached the hands of testers who’d never played it before, some found it tricky to master Total War mechanics and touch controls at the same time. So we teamed up with the Advisor and set about making it easier.

First we took the help text displayed next to the Advisor and made it full-screen so it couldn’t be missed. We also implemented an archive feature, so you can swipe back through the help to refresh your memory.

After upping the accessibility of the help text, we implemented some extra crib-sheet style help for anyone needing a quick 'how-to' for their current predicament. As well as a manual in the pause menu displaying a list of controls, we added context-sensitive guides to show you what each on-screen element does. All you have to do to bring up these guides is hold your finger over the Advisor for a few seconds, anywhere in the game.

We made sure to keep veterans happy too, of course: the advice level can be lowered or switched off entirely.

ROME: Total War is now available for iPad on the App Store. Advance to the minisite for videos, screenshots, and tips on building and ruling your empire.

Switch into a Higher Gear — GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition is out now for Nintendo Switch 2!

The wait is over and the race is on! GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition is now available for Nintendo Switch 2.

The successor to GRID Autosport’s racing legacy brings gorgeous visuals, intense rivalries and wheel-to-wheel, multi-discipline motorsport to Nintendo’s latest hardware.

GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition comes tuned to a T, with under-the-hood optimisation modes to prioritise visual fidelity or smoother performance, as well as balanced and battery saver modes for longer sessions on the road.

Combine that with the GRID’s largest-ever career mode, the live-action Driven To Glory story mode, an event editor for custom race days — plus all the DLC of the desktop release — and you're looking at a cutting-edge racer that’ll keep you strapped in the driver’s seat.

Ready to see what your Switch 2 can really do? Fasten your seatbelt and take GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition for a spin today for $39.99 / £24.99 / €29,99.

GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition Arrives on Switch 2 January 29th — Pre-Order Today and Book Your Spot on The Starting Line

Start your engines! Full-throttle motor racing comes to the Nintendo Switch 2 this month with GRID Legends: Deluxe Edition, now available to pre-order on the Nintendo eShop.

On January 29th, become a world-beating, globe-trotting champion as Codemasters’ renowned racer arrives in great shape on Nintendo’s latest handheld. Compete in its huge, multi-discipline career mode and live the drama of the GRID World Series in the live-action Driven to Glory story mode. Shape every aspect of your ideal race days with the custom event editor. And, with all the DLC of the desktop release included, there's always more to discover when you peer under the hood.

Get your driving gloves on and your racing career off to a flying start on release day — floor it to the Nintendo eShop and pre-order GRID Legends now, for $39.99 / £24.99 / €29,99!