Re: Message from Abysia
 

Precisely. Death scale is no longer 'no brainer' to pick when you play a nation that has commanders/units with old age. Growth scale makes big difference.

Re: Message from Abysia
 

I love the old age system, actually. I am playing MA Agartha, and I have two diseased mages, one of which is feeble-minded. So, I "retired" them with a title (Lord [name], Master Mage) and retired them to a "nursing home" province. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

One thing I would like to see is for units to "upgrade" due to old age (eg, hastati -> principes -> triarri being the most common one). Especially for those Polypal Spawns to grow into Aboleths (envisions a couple "missed" decay spells to "force grow" some Mind Lords). http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Re: Message from Abysia
 

Like I mentioned before, this is a strategy game, not a roleplaying game.

Re: Message from Abysia
 

Oh, I think it's a little column a, a little column b, Kissblade. There are definitely RPG qualities at work here and people can enjoy it in a variety of ways. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Message from Abysia
 

I like the upgrade with age idea. Only applies to some units, obviously, but there are enough obvious upgrade paths in the descriptions that it's worth thinking about.

Even mages: Daughter -> Mother -> Crone?
Obviously balance would have to be considered. Might make more sense if only old and experienced units upgraded?

How about a nation that couldn't recruit its top mages, but had to wait for the lower tier ones to age? And hope they didn't die or get crippled first.

Re: Message from Abysia
 

The more roleplaying elements the better.

Re: Message from Abysia
 

I think the old age idea is used as more of a game mechanic to balance the power level of certain units than for roleplay though it fits nicely in both aspects.

I like it.

Re: Message from Abysia
 

Ah yes - yet another bloody way to have to pay expensive upkeep on troops because you don't dismiss them from service when they become crippled & useless. Nifty. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/mad.gif

Re: Message from Abysia
 

I don't know if I quite *like* the new old age thing, but:

1. It can be countered with spells and items, different units are effected differently, etc. which adds strategic depth.

2. Some nations suffer from it more than others, which means it's a balance consideration, AND it's thematic that R'lyeh or some such has one up on the puny humans.

Re: Message from Abysia
 

The old age itself isn't that bad, but it's one rather unbalanced factor in the game. Best solution to solve the problem is to take a nation with long living mages like Yomi. It's just a shame that my favorite nation (which was never one of the top dogs) has been degraded this badly.