Re: what the heck is this
 

This holy bonus is a very cool idea. Generally speaking, alteration of units stats depending of external factors are always a nice twist in games, and are very appreciated from the players (well, the ones I know). In Dominions II there will be national themes, and Holy Bonus. good, very good !!!

I must confess that a big reason why I really like dominions, tons of intricate mechanisms aside, is that the devs have many good ideas. Take for example Age of W... the game is good, true, but speaking of game design on the other hand, it is far less imaginative. Kinda like a vanilla ice cream, compared to dominions which would have exotic flavors http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: what the heck is this
 

forgot to reply to the post. Yes in doms I each magical level gave a bonus of a sort. Nature give +5 supply, air +1 precision, and so on. I think it has been left untouched in doms II ?

About rainbow mages (archmages), how will they get compensated from not giving holy bonuses? I heard they could cost less, but is it sufficient in your experience?

Re: what the heck is this
 

Ummmm...
If i can go with 4 Air/ 4 Blood 2 of the rest R.B Mage in Dominions I, why not in Dominions II?

Re: what the heck is this
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Its pretty expensive to have 9 in one, let alone two paths, so if you want good bless effects you need to plow down some points into the pretender. The old bless effect from dom1 would correspond to a pretender with 6 in both blood and fire in dom 2, which is higher magic values than most dom 1 players used to put on their gods, at least judging from usenet Posts. This might make the archmages less useful to the nations that relies on holy troops, such as vanheim, but at least as competitive as before for nations that put less reliance on them, such as some of the Ermorian themses and the standard Ulm theme.

And even if you inted to rely on holy troops you might want to have several different bless effects archmages might still be worth considering. For example a medusa with 9 9 in earth and nature would pay 512 points for the magic while an archmage starting with 1 in one path ccoul have a score of 4 in six different paths for a somehwat cheaper cost.

The respective bless effects could be.
Medusa
Reinv. +4
prot. +4
berserk +3
regen. 10%

Archmage,
reinv. +2
strength +2
attack +2
defense +2
berserk +1
fear -4

Anyway, I am sure there are still uses for the archmage.

Re: what the heck is this
 

really good play balance it seems. The higher you reach in a single field, the higher is the bonus, with some new effects appearing. On the other hand, as you show us, having several paths lead to several and differing advantages. This is where the studying of what you really want to do in your game is very important, before actually playing.

This recall me of old mom (Master of Magic) where you would spend hours (well at least me) thinking hard before playing, to try to arrange combos, like having rapidly the magic which transformed your troops into brutes with the right enchantments cast early.

Re: what the heck is this
 

Nerfix : you have an added incentive in concentrating your magic in a single path in doms II : some effects only appears in the Last magical level of power. So taking 4/4 in air and blood will protect you a bit from missiles and give a bit of bonus in strength, but taking only air 6/7 would protect you better against missiles, and give you an added advantage, unobtainable from any other source.

well this is what I understand...

Re: what the heck is this
 

MoM!!!!! I loved that game!!!!

Man, I wish they'd made a sequel . . .

Oh, wait, they did . . . Dominions II. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

(OK, not really, but Dom II has captured me just like MoM used to!)

Re: what the heck is this
 

MoM ... an hell of a game! the magical spells combos were so rich ... so abusable ... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

like the dreaded invisible flying galley, throwing boulders against a defenceless foe http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

or your halflings slingers so boosted that they could rip thru a missile invulnerable unit.

muhahahaa, it was good time. Aaaah yes, now I do quite the same thing with dominions. Behold my flying etheral regenerating elephants http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ September 21, 2003, 08:21: Message edited by: Pocus ]

Re: what the heck is this
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You want real abuse? Two advantages: Artificer and Runemaster (I think those were their names, anyway), with a heavy investment in Sorcery (for Time Stop). Between the two advantages, artifacts cost 25% of their normal cost to make. The fun part, it doesn't affect the 50% of normal cost recycling. Thus, you could make an artifact, and recycle it for double your investment. Once you've researched TS, and have an effective skill over 200, you could cast TS and use the artifact trick to maintain the TS forever. Moreover, no maintenence is needed while a TS is in place - any excess generated from recycling can be used to summon magical creatures at no penalty. Nobody else can cast, build, or summon (except in combat) so, eventually, you win.

Sure, with the cost of the needed advantages, you are going to be at a bit of a disadvantage until then, and there is a chance you won't end up with TS. Still though, it is a killer combo.

Re: what the heck is this
 

MOM is such a great game. It has a lot of disadvantages but buttom line it feels great to play it. I still do today. I wish one of the projects to create a MOM clone by fans would have succeeded, or that one day a sequel will be made.