Re: To buy, or not to buy...
 

Best $55 I have ever spent.

Re: To buy, or not to buy...
 

Thank you for all the replies. I will be happy to hear more if anyone has something to add.

I would also like to know about the following:

5) I have heard some talk about a "Dominions 4" of some sort, in particular,
I am interested in information regarding what this is all about, possibly in the form of links to relevant forum threads.

6) Should a sequel, expansion or any other major upgrade be made, is it likely to be available at a discounted price to those who have purchased Dominions 3?

7) Seeing that bringing this game to perfection seems to exceed the time constraints of the developers, is it possible that the development model of the game will be changed in the future (for example, with the developers working on the engine, and volunteers improving the UI and creating content for the non-modded game)?

8) Is the price of the game expected to drop in the forseeable future?

Thanks again for your help.

Re: To buy, or not to buy...
 

I would have to say that all of those are unlikely. From comments by the developers, and the way things have been done in the past here.

Re: To buy, or not to buy...
 

I would agree with Gandalf there, although many of the patches could be considered 'major upgrades' because aswell as fixing things they also tend to add new content.

I've probably had more playtime from dominions 2 and 3 than any other games I can think of - buy them or I'll eat you.

Re: To buy, or not to buy...
 

5) Sequel

It seems that the game engine doesn't really allow for that, and as rewriting all the same mechanics doesn't interest the programmer, the next Illwinter project won't be Dominions 4. The other Illwinter project has been mentioned once, thus far, and we have no idea what it's about.


6) Should a sequel, expansion or any other major upgrade be made, is it likely to be available at a discounted price to those who have purchased Dominions 3?
No. Dom3 costed just as much for those who bought DomII, and that was just as expensive for those who had Dom:PPP as for those new to the game. The patches have added three nations thus far (Lanka, Eriu and Tir Na Nog), and the next patch (which might already be available if not for a badly timed hardware failure) will add at least two more (Fomoria, LA Serpent Cult). Modding capabilities have been slowly but steadily improved via patches, nations have received new spells, heroes and other goodies, etc. Bugfixing hasn't been as active as some people would like, so it isn't all milk and honey, but I doubt there will be expansions or major updates outside of patches.

7) I don't think the development is going to change radically. The community here helps on balance-related issues, and most MP games seem to use community-made Conceptual Balance mod. There are also few visual mods available. However, the actual user interface can't be changed, nor do I have any knowledge of this changing anytime soon.

8) Dominions II is still sold for its original price, so I doubt Dom3's price is going down. Shrapnel Games periodically holds some kind of a sale, with games available for varying discounts. The last such event gave Dominions 3 a hefty 9 $ discount, but I don't know if there will be any such events before Christmas, and I'm not even sure if their holiday sales are annual...


You should remember that everyone here likes this game VERY MUCH, though, and those who didn't like it aren't found here. The gameplay won't change from what you had in the demo, but there will be so many nations, each with its own story, that playing even to find all of those out will be a pleasure. The manual is also a big help, listing all summons and all spells via path requirements, and quite often giving more detail that the nice in-game descriptions.

Re: To buy, or not to buy...
 

Great, thank you all for clarifying everything.

Re: To buy, or not to buy...
 

You could buy it just so you can tell your fellow gamers :
'I've bought the biggest and most complete fantasy game ever'
It is also the only game I know which has developpers chatting on a day to day basis on the forums.

Re: To buy, or not to buy...
 

Hmm, that's an exaggeration, but thanks anyway http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: To buy, or not to buy...
 

Actually you guys do a great job on the forums and are great with keeping the community informed! I wish some millionaire who enjoys playing Dominions_3 bought Illwinter and then provided your company with the funds to hire extra developers for patching and sequels. Then you and JK can do all the fun developer stuff while your slave developers did the not so fun stuff.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Re: To buy, or not to buy...
 

Nah, we would only become fat and lazy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif