Re: Looking to the future
 

By the way, can anyone out there explain how the Void Gate works in terms of programming? I'm fairly certain it's currently unmoddable, but how much trouble would it be for the Devs to create a new site which did basically the same thing (only this time with Oni and undead)? Or much better yet, allow us to mod in our own version and in the process do all the legwork.

Re: Possibility of Brand-New Ages
 

Wouldn't be thematic, unless Illwinter named them "The Very Early Age" and the "Past Your Bedtime Age". I mean, c'mon, when you have Early, Middle, and Late, it pretty much covers everything. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

(Except for not giving an age when _ALL_ nations were available. *mutter*)

Re: Possibility of Brand-New Ages
 

An age for all nations to be available would definitely be great!

Re: Possibility of Brand-New Ages
 

It's really easy to mod up an all-nations game. I whipped one up for my SP enjoyment, though it lacks most nation descriptions.

Re: Possibility of Brand-New Ages
 

I have seen a couple of mods done for that but as far as I know they havent been publicly released.

Re: Possibility of Brand-New Ages
 

I like the Dawning Age a lot. Sounds very cool.

Re: Possibility of Brand-New Ages
 

Cainehill, if early, middle, and late covered everything, then we wouldn't have early stoneage, late stoneage, new stoneage, ice age, copper age, bronze age, iron age, the Hellenistic era, the age of Rome, the Viking age, the middle ages, the late middle ages, the Cruisades, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the age of enlightenment, the industrial age, the silicon age, the space age, the modern age, 10,000 years of the future via "Orion's Belt" (neat site, try googling it)...:) And I tend to disagree about it not being thematic to expand on a theme.

There's nothing wrong per se with having a mod that includes all nations of all ages, just like there's nothing wrong per se with a wargame that includes Roman legionairres fighting Civil War units and Warhammer units on an Ridley Scott's Alien-infested Mars. I think though that time-periods of time and the passage of time, as well as the "timing" of particular movements/actions within a given battle-is indeed a very deciding factor where war and strategy are concerned.

And thanks, Sandman, I appreciate that.

Re: Possibility of Brand-New Ages
 

Hey HoneyBadger, guess what, this is an idea I like http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
Though I do have some criticism (what did you expect? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif)

First I'd like to point something out, and then partly withdraw it:
Is it really important to get the ability to add new ages? You can already overwrite an existing age and "make do".
*Withdrawl* However, there are limits (which I think you shuold've mentioned in the original post, because they are good reasons to allow age modding, and show a few commands which will be important for it).
I. You can't control default starting conditions (income/resources/research etc.), this isn't very important since it can be changed manually, but still should be done if age modding is implemented.
II. You can't control what independants will appear [EA has very light indeps, while LA indeps are tough. You should have the same control over your modded ages]

Regarding your vision of the ages, I really liked the concept for the uber-early era, but the uber-late era just isn't to my liking. This is purely a matter of taste, so not really something to get heated about http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

My vision of an uber-late era would probably be some sort of escalation of the changes in Late Era.
I only have a limited amount of time right now, so I'll try to be concise:
Pangaea is almost destroyed and to save itself turns completely to the "Dark Side", and is permenantly under a "Carrion Woods"ish effect. Population dies very rapidly, and generates freespawn in bulk, while the core of their forces is led by crazed beast lords of death and blood. (I see them as getting a national spell which bleeds the trees and the earth for blood slaves to support a blood economy) Powerful summons for blood and death (dualpathing into each other and nature).
Or perhaps make it so (impossible to do currently) their dominion kills population, but at the same time revives it as vine-spawn-drone population that can still work the mines and generate resources and tax, but will not help the enemy when conquered. (Perhaps make it so any Pangaea province that gets conquered is reset to 0 population)
Ashen Empire Ermor turns completely to the shadows, it is ruled by coroporeal shadow lords, very dark and evil. The freespawn are rare strong creatures of the dark and a few weak longdeads and the like. Their dominion spreads darkness and kills population. They have strong units and very powerful national summons.
Ulm is also enveloped in evil, vampires take over completely and use the population as "blood farms", their dominion doesn't kill population. Their units will also be very expensive yet strong [thanks to lovely vampiric traits like immortality and lifedrain]. Magic is strong blood, weak death and earth.
Rlyeh, in its insanity, manages to open a rift to their home planet, and it turns out the original Rlyeh forces were merely a scouting party, as powerful Astral Lords move through the rift and strengthen it, but also eventually succumb to the madness as well, but not before becoming the ruling and controling force behind Rlyeh.
The Atlantian god makes good on his pact, but in his distorted vision desires to return Atlantis to the sea and does so by turning them all into Undeads. The Atlantians return to life under water, but living as skeletal undead in a fashion to is very similar to what their old lifestyles were, except their skeletal bodies turn it into a mockery.
---The rest will have to wait, I really have to go to sleep if I wish to live tomorrow. Suffice it to say that I presented only one side of the barricade---

Re: Possibility of Brand-New Ages
 

Deleted

Re: Possibility of Brand-New Ages
 

I also really like the idea for the Dawning Age. The other idea just doesn't work for me - it seems to mix and match nations around too much, and besides, screw Hoburgs.

It seems like many of the "old races" (like Yakshas) that would be more prominent in such a scenario aren't really part of the Dom 3 timeline at all - they were part of the reign of the old Pantokrator. That's what makes them all mystical and stuff. Therefore if there are such nations, they definitely ought to be declining, as the Dominions war can't really begin unless the Pantokrator is gone.