Does a mod like this exist?
 

I'd really like a mod that eliminate the need for gems on commanders, and just pull the gems from my bank instead. This always seemed like a totally pointless level of micromanagement to me. Especially in SP games.

Does something like this exist? Preferably its compatible with CBM :)

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Not possible to implement. You could remove gem requirements from all battlefield spells but that'd upset the balance even more.

This'd also remove the consume-gem-to-cast-with-higher-path feature

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Gotcha. Yea I dont want the cost removed, thats needed for balance purposes. I just want to remove the boring micromanagement of moving the gems around, handing them from one guy to the next constantly etc.

Oh well, maybe in Dom 4.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Personally, i think you're asking for a bad change.

Logistics wins wars. Currently the game lets you attempt to exhaust the accessible gem-supply of your enemy, which your suggestion would remove as a feature. How and why to parcel out gems is an interesting decision.

Also, I would rather not give the AI access to my gem vaults. I like being able to control just how many gems it can choose to spend.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Useful feature or smoother gameplay. Its a tough balance, but I think this and many other micromanagement sinks could be plugged safely. Winning by overtaxing someone's available free time or even by powering through something really boring just to squeeze out an advantage, should be reserved for the hardcore audience only.

I propose a solution. Add a settings option for "normal" gameplay or "hardcore" gameplay. Hardcore will let you spend hours fiddling with gems.

Yes thats a valid concern. With a fix like this, the AI should never be allowed to use your gems, unless you have scripted it to do so.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Even then, teleporting in a few sacrifical units to trigger gem use (bonus, teleport them home as last script action). Ghost riders, and a normal sacrifical move attack, can trigger three seperate combats. If the enemy army is large enough, and scripted enough spells, you can drain somebodies treasury in almost one turn. (Even better, if your enemy has multiple similar armies in the field, all scripted to cast every global battlefield spell there is).

Also, not being able to put gems on commanders makes the gem removal random event even more dangerous. (Lets say this event hits you just before a major battle. No gems in the treasure, no gem spellcasting. Dead army).

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Yes there are some possible exploits that would need to be looked at. However I believe the AI already skips big battlefield spells if the threat is very low. With some extra tuning, I am sure it wouldnt be a big deal.

No gems in treasure.. I am sure that could happen now and then, but sounds like a fair risk. If you want to be 100% safe, leave a safety net of gems in the bank.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Sometimes you *want* the AI to overcast by spending extra gems. I've definitely handed out e gems to E1 mages so they could cast Summon Earth Power. Handing D2 mages a d gem to cast soul vortex is also common for thugs. You'd have to totally redo scripting to get what you want in 'scripting to spend gems'. And the AI is notoriously bad about what it considers a significant threat. (Yes, a single GR is enough threat to convince a 500 troop army to have its mages blow their entire inventory of gems).

And logistics is not fiddly micromanagement. The entire game is about logistics. (All good strategic-level war games are about logistics) I suppose we should remove supplies too so you don't have to worry about feeding your army and possibly forging and carting around magic items which produce food? And maybe we should remove having to actually move troops - just let them teleport at will within our territories - so we don't have to fiddle with moving troops around.

Manipulating gems hardly takes that much time. It requires provisioning scouts with a gem supply to resupply in the field, sure. Its an excellent logistic dynamic, and it takes maybe a minute or two to figure out how many gems to carry. I'm not seeing the major time component here in supplying combat mages with gems.

Now, if you wanted blood slaves harvested from provinces to go directly into the national vault, that has a lot more to recommend it and less logistical justification to avoid doing so, and would address a lot more time used in micromanagement. Sadly also not possible to mod, and there are disadvantages to doing so. (Bloodhunters do a decent job protecting themselves right now because they have immediate access to the slaves they harvest).

Edit: It bears noting that your proposed solution doesn't actually solve anything since you can still spend 'hours' fiddling with gem usage, you're just doing it at the scripting stage without having to worry about resupply. This actually makes it worse, as you can totally rescript on the fly far from any resupply point to use as many gems as you want and/or have, and thus could spend even more time effectively 'fiddling with gem use'. Whereas needing to plan ahead limits your possible gem-use and thus constrains the space of possibility. (Unless of course your army is sitting on a lab). tldr; your 'solution' only makes it possible to spend even more time to gain advantage.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Anyways, with a hardcore option and a normal option, we'd both get what we want.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

No, it would dilute the player base. Its a terrible idea.

If you want some mindless RTS, go play SC2 or WC3.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

So I ask for a mod or an extra settings option, and all of a sudden I am some RTS judas out to dilute the player base?

Ok so how about we make this option single player only. Would that be ok with you? Or are you worried about that as well?

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Its already been explained to you why what you want is bad for gameplay. You of course refused to answer whether supplies and troop movement should also be abstracted out because it requires micromanagement - probably because it shows exactly why your suggestion is bad.

Regardless, what you want is impossible. But even if it was, there would be no reason to do so.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Did you miss this part:

Quit being a douche bag.

Ond,

I just set all the combat spells that required gems to give 100 fatigue during battle for single player games. That way I don't have to fiddle with the gems and the AI benefits from it too, not that the AI can be helped that much.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Thanks Foodstamp, I'll try that.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Did you miss this part:

Ond,

100 fatigue means the spell requires a gem. You should try 99 instead.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Oops, I meant 99 :).

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Ond:
Would you play Chess against the computer (ie, SP) where you removed the computer's Queen? Sure, the game is easier if you do so, but you're missing an important part of gameplay.

Regardless, the unmodded SP game already has this feature. Its called 'don't use combat spells that require gems' - because against the AI you will never need them. Unlike chess, there is no good AI for Dom3.

Foodstamp:
I'm not being a douche. What he wants is actively not good for gameplay. And considering his major objection to gem management was *other players gaining advantage by spending more time*, it clearly wasn't a SP-focused complaint.

Of course, if he wanted to complain about the things where time really can be used to gain advantage, he should be complaining about the debugging tools dom3 has, like ctrl-U (iirc) to add units to combat, which aids immensely in testing scenarios, and -ddd so you can see what happens in a combat. And a player who really wants a time advantage can have fought the expected combat several hundred times while tweaking his spell and army scripting between each one to see what the optimal scripting was. Easy access to gems for spells (or to the spells which require gems themselves - by removing that requirement) expands the possibilities immensely, and thus increases the advantage of having time to test-run an expected combat repeatedly.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

I've looked through the thread twice and cannot find where he was talking about it not being fair to have to manage gems in MP. It is still early morning here so I may have missed it (I'm not much of a morning person before coffee/breakfast on weekends), but I did see several indications to SP and the AI.

BTW, my experience playing like this, with fatigue set to 99 on spells at the very least makes the AI use more spells. Of course you have the same advantage, but you probably did anyway because you knew to tote gems around to cast those spells. Overall, it's +1 for the AI, and +.05 for you.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Fascinating metaphors. You have lifted a veil from my eyes, and now I see your points clearly, and have totally changed opinion on the matter.

This discussion has turned a little infantile, so I don't think there is any point in continuing.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Sounds great. In a perfect world I'd rather pay the gem(s) the spells cost, but withdrawn from the treasury and not commanders. I guess this is a decent replacement though, since my wanted game mechanic is impossible.

I have a few other micromanagement improvements I'd love to see as well, but I think I should keep it to myself, or Squirrelloid will blow a gasket.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Ond, now you are being a douche.

And, if isn't possible to do a lot of the micromanagement improvements. As these are not moddable. No offense, but it is getting a little bit tiring to see a random newguy every week with a not implementable idea. Thinking he invented the next new big GUI improvement. (Esp when you then tell them the idea isn't really the best thing ever, and they start to act up about it).

Ow, and there will not be a dom4. :D

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

In fairness I have been here for seven years. Even longer than you.

I dont understand why you two take so much offense. I was just asking a question - then I get highbrowed and insulted. If you don't like people asking questions, just ignore them. No need to be the forum police.

Why will there be no Dom4 btw?

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Actually, we attacked the idea, not you. The Idea is stupid imho.

On you I had no real opinion.

Dunno on the dom4 part. This is what the developers have said. At least that is what Gandalf said. (A person I'm getting a bit worried about btw).

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Are we on different forums? I haven't really noticed that being an issue here. Sure, here and there a random guy pops in and complains about pooling blood slaves or mentions something that has been mentioned a few times before, but surely saying a new guy every week raging and such is exaggerating more than a little.

I wonder where Gandalf has been as well. I haven't seen him post in quite a while, but he did mention he is active on other forums as well.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

I exaggerate a little bit :D. A well, there is this one guy who pops in once each year, to ask if curses and horror marks are removable and rageleaves when it still isn't possible.

His server is down, and on SA (sadly closed for outsiders at the moment, so I cannot read it), They are also missing GP. So I'm starting to get a bit afraid that something has happened. I might not always agree with his ideas, he still is a great benefit to the community.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

I have used his auto-generated maps for years.

Hope he is ok.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

He probably is. Whatever is causing his server to be down has probably prevented him from accessing the internet. Hopefully it is not something health related and has more to do with a computer blowing up or something.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

Yeah, he could also just have taken a vacation. And rule nr 1 is that your server blows up the moment you take a step outside to go on vacation.

Re: Does a mod like this exist?
 

LOL Been there, done that.