Re: Wish List
 

First of all, I would like to say how much I really enjoy this game and look forward to spending many more hours on it. In a very short period of time it has become one of my Favorites along side MOM, the old Warlords classic and the old Heroes of M&M.

One additional feature that would make this game more enjoyable would be to the way the ‘Hall of Fame’ assigns a special attribute to a Hero. If there would be some way for the player to pick which ‘special attribute’ was rewarded or to pick a list, from which one would be randomly assigned. I am very tired, of having my mages get combat heroic abilities (increase attack, etcetera) and my Hand-to-hand warriors getting Precision increases...

Thanks

Re: Wish List
 

I'd be happy for anybody to get a precision bonus. Rod of fireballs, ho!

But yeah, most of the time a hero gets one of those bonuses and I'm thinking 'Well, that was useless.'

Re: Wish List
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">On the other hand, that makes the one that get the really cool bonus such a pleasant surprise : valor or awe on your main troop leader for example, or quickness ona combat mage...
I once had a Ulmian commander get "bellow" on turn 3 on the World War scenario. I carefully kept him in the hall of fame, by turn 40 he was up to Cause Fear (+18) IIRC.
On turn 41, the game crashed. I suspect that the fact that Ermor had 10 times the combined number of troops of all the other nations, several thousands of them by my crude estimate, might have something to do with it. I should have moved sooner against them, but I was in no hurry, and I had unfinished business elsewhere. I was not worried, not with my huge income and my 30 temples ready to crank up the priests at any time http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif Next time I won't wait so long !

Back to the point : I think letting the player choose would be less fun; but I could go with a system where the player can choose one of the common upgrade (attack, defense, toughness, endurance) or try to get lucky and draw one of the less common ones (valor, awe, fear, ...) by choosing at random.

[ February 03, 2004, 15:47: Message edited by: General Tacticus ]

Re: Wish List
 

Id like to add an item to the wish list. I wish the alliance command would work for humans.

Having just gotten a new game I realized there is something I love seeing in other games which Dom2 lacks. For those of us who love to solo play but still do it badly (or at least start out that way) I like to fight the "click fest" by having an AI on my side. The alliance command now will let you set 2 AI's to not attack each other but automatically doesnt work if its a human player. Hmmm I can see that as useful, so maybe a new command such as #HumAlly 1 2 which will tell 1 and 2 to be allies whether its computer player or not.

Re: Wish List
 

Winemen & Wine ogres. These are thematically cool and interesting, but they just don't work.

It's the classic problem. They aren't worth the mage's time. If one could get 10+ vinemen at a time (for 5+ gems, of course) they would propably be back in the running. I once tried to bace a Pangaea strategy on these creatures in a multiplay, and there is no way for it to work at the present.

In a related topic there should be a few more fortress types.

When playing Pangaea I'd love the have some different options for a fort. Not necessarily a fotress at all, but something to get an admin rate without littering the forest with constructs of stone.

Something like "Stone Circle" => "Sacred Glade" => "Forest Heart"

One of those, Forest Heart parhaps, would get high admin 40 or even 50, but offer no protection at all. (An unwalled city would be interesting as a general choise).

The others would be more like the traditional forts. Propably low in defence but high in admin.

An earth works would parhaps be the most fortlike thing that would still seem right.

Re: Wish List
 

There really ought to be a map filter for labs like there is for forts and temples, given that you can cast ritual spells, forge items, and recruit mages only at a lab. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Also, why does the game "forget" what magic sites are in a province once you no longer control it? (i.e. they are no longer displayed when you right-click the province) The magic sites are still there; they should show up so you remember that the province is important and why! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

edit: oh yeah, a few things about battle reports and replays too...

The local defense ought to show up in the battle report; it's really kind of disconcerting (esp. to newbies!) to see a report that 50 forces were defeated by 3, only to have to go to the replay and find that there were REALLY 100 enemy units because of the local defense! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

There is no victory point score graph? Seems rather essential to me http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ February 05, 2004, 02:47: Message edited by: Ed Kolis ]

Re: Wish List
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">There is s a victory point score graph if you play with victory points, victory requirement is denoted by a grey line, if you play with dominion or number of provinces victory they grey line will appear in the appropriate graph window.

Re: Wish List
 

All I want is a Mictlan theme that follows the Lawgiver or whatever he is called in the country description, where the ruler outlawed blood sacrifices. I'd do it myself, but I don't know how to turn off the funny rules for dominion for Mictlan. Maybe I'll just overwrite another country with Mictlan 2.

Hmm . . .

Re: Wish List
 

Since Version 2.08 is out, and several items on this list have been now taken off, I thought it would be a good idea to bring this to the fore again. I confess I didn't want to because there are just so many suggestions and some of them wouldn't be supported by everyone anyways. but what the hell.

First here are the things which have been taken off the list because they have been implemented. Way to go Illwinter for listening to your fans http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Implemented !
• Ability to rename commanders, or at least add epithets
• Enhanced start (starting with more than one province)
• Modability [large strides made]
• New player 'get started' guide [thanks to Bruce Geryk]
• Improve Strategic AI [continuing project]
• --preexec switch

of course they did a lot more than these changes, but these were the ones on this list previously. Thanks Illwinter.


Here's the rest of the list. I've changed the organization of stuff some:

Recent Suggestions
• Various web-based gameserver requests from Gandalf, including:
'start game and quit' switch
--preexec switch
switch to export scoreBoards
gameserver only mode
commandline switches for Map Editor
• More Items (see Rabelais' post for more info)
• Message when a mage forges an item
• Gateway's Tournament Idea (see below for details)
• Freak Lord should get a cross-breeding bonus
• Alliance possible between Human and AI, rather than just between AIs (note this is different from the requests below for diplomacy)
• 'Lab' filter for main map (like fortress and temple)

Interface Changes
• Darker colours/textures in unit displays [to make sprites easier to see/look better]
• Alignment of stats in unit info screens [i.e. in a column]
• Bless effects displayed when creating a pretender's magic
• Actual effects of scales explained when creating a pretender's scales
• Line between commanders and regular units in recruitment screen
• Titles in recruitment screen for unit section and commander section
• Able to quit battles using ESC
• When selecting commander from F1 screen, have the commander be highlighted when it jumps to him
• X axis labeled in score overview graph
• Message in top left when Commander is killed in battle
• Show undead and magic leadership in unit info screen (e.g. 25/0/10)
• Link from nation overview (F1) to recruitment screen in each province
• Show resource usage in nation overview [so that you can see at a glance which provinces aren't being used to their full potential]
• Warning colours in nation overview (e.g. red for supply usage when higher than supply availability, etc.)
• Research estimate in recruit screen should reflect research with current drain scale
• In enemy/indie province screen, link unit names to description (even if it is just generic)
• prevent blood slave harvesting in provinces where no chance exists to get slaves (pop too low), and show estimated blood harvest for each mage
• Combine Blood Harvest reports into one, linking to each commander
• When using the "N" key to cycle through commanders and a commander in a group gets selected, select the whole group of commanders.
• When a magic site is found, include the level required to find it in the site info window
• Right-click should bring up commander details in gem-transfer screen (as it does everywhere else).
• Seasonal autobid for mercs, like in Dom I
• Default bid price on mercs should not reset itself to the asking price
• Clearer distinction between province and global gold stats
• Net kingdom gem and gold income displayed in F1 screen
• Autoarrange commanders alphabetically by type, then name
• Confirmation screen for 'throw item away'
• '?' accessible on main menu (i.e. as a button)
• Ability to close screens without having to scroll down or press ESC (e.g. Windows-style [x] or 'Exit' button below instead of at the end of scroll-lists)
• Names of units in addition to icons in recruitment/deployment screens
• Detailed breakdown of mixed squads in deployment screen
• Battle results (i.e. list of casualties) when storming a Castle
• Detailed lists of losses (most importantly commanders)
• Right-clicking commander in main screen gives you list of troops under his command
• Build queue for commanders (even though there is only one recruitable per month)
• Shift-click to add higher multiples of units [e.g. 5 at a time] in recruitment screen
• Build queue doesn't charge you for units which won't be built that turn
• Ability to turn off pre-battle zoom animation
• Ability to enter new subscreen (F1, recruitment, etc.) without ESCaping out of the current one
• Prevent redundant site searching [or have a message like the "preaching cannot be used to raise the dominion of this province any higher" message]
• When game ends prompt for deletion of game file
or
• When game ends, automatically delete game file
• When you win/lose a game, instead of exiting the program, get brought back to main menu
• Ability to toggle on/off battle grid in squad positioning screen
• Keyboard selection (hotkeys or something else) for every command available with mouse
also including:
• Keyboard command to select next commander within province, even if he already has orders.
• Ability to scroll lists with arrow keys instead of mouse
• Keyboard interface for research screen
• Keyboard command to cycle through friendly provinces
• Expanded gem-transfer screen, showing more than 2 commanders
• Label in nation overview identifying province types [feudal, amazons, etc.], and therefore the troops recruitable there
• Ability to cycle through recruitment screens without exiting to main map
• Allow changing pretender in design screen
• In battle screen, link spell casting notification to spell description
• Show actual adjustments to stats from fatigue (ie 0 defense, half armour, etc)
• Military info for hostile provinces displayed on main screen
• More details on exactly what different effects mean (e.g. exact benefits of mountain/forest/swamp survival, etc.)
• Add "Cast Monthly Ritual" to commander orders list

Feature Tweaks
• Greater 'bless' effects [e.g. starting at an earlier level (lvl 3?), increasing exponentially rather than by addition (1,2,4,8 vs. 2,3,4,5), magic cheaper in general, etc.]
• Change order of game creation: first choose scenario, then number and types of player etc.
• Special Guard commander order "Surround Body Guard":Auto position body guards encircling the commander
• Increase accuracy of Evocation spells - if necessary reduce damage to balance
• Allow finer adjustment of map richness levels
• Add separate gold richness and resource richness settings for new games
• Change strategic move to 2 for HI and increase the 'cost' of moving through difficult terrain for HI [net effect: LI can move through difficult terrain quicker than HI]
• Soldiers with "guard commander" orders fire missiles if a target is within range

New Features
• Pre-made pretenders for new players
• Quick start game for new players
• Research point 'lock' for schools of magic
• Random nation AI opponents
• Map and Scenario triggers [not sure where this was mentioned]
• New Command for missile units: Hold or Fire
• Add tactical "Cast Support Spells", "Cast Summon Spells", and "Cast Attack Spells" commands
• New unit command: Fire and Retire. missile units fire a couple of rounds, then retreat to behind the main battle-line
• Supply bonus for a certain number of LI/LC - in accordance with their role as foragers
• Compress trn files for Online play
• New Order in map screen "Collect Gems/Slaves" - collects all the gems/slaves held by any commanders in a province, and gives them to the selected commander
• New battle order "Hold or Cast Spells"
• Increased battle replay functionality (various speeds, etc.)
• Ability to store more than one god for each nation
• Search function for items on commanders
• Battle Sim
• Enabling/disabling spells [being able to indicate which spells your mage should pick from]
• Rework of province defense
• Different types of battle terrain

Vague Suggestions
• Less focus on supercombatants
• More regrowth possibilities / less emphasis on population death
• Reduce effectiveness of artillery-like spells (esp. in hostile dominion), or provide counters
• More global enchantments

Questionable Suggestions
• SP diplomacy
• Number of local defense force killed show up on battle report (even though they're automatically replaced)
• End/quit/save/host button remake [so that 'end turn' takes you directly to next turn]
• Hostile borders different colour than province borders within your nations [don't know if this is possible]
• Translucent filters for map instead of icons (for dominion strength, production, province defense, etc.)

These Last suggestions are labeled 'questionable' either because there is/was debate about them, or because they just plain aren't possible the way Dom II works, or finally because they seem questionable (quite subjectively) to me http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

If people have suggestions/feedback, post here and maybe one day I'll update the list. Posting suggestions succinctly with bullet points will make this more likely http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: Wish List
 

I find that the single most annoying UI issue is not being able to use the PageUp/PageDown keys when viewing scrollable lists, or being able to click on a scrollbar and have the view jump up or down to that point. These are very basic windowing UI concepts.

EDIT: in Patrik's list he mentions arrow keys for doing this. My suggestion is in addition to that.

[ February 20, 2004, 03:16: Message edited by: Arryn ]