Observations after a month of play
 

- Provinces don't seem to have any natural growth rate without Growth scale, and i can't emphasise enough how detrimental this seems to be. Just a tiny natural growth rate of 0.2 or so would be sufficient.

- Growth/Death weakest of the scales. You never take Death unless you must, and you shouldn't take Growth over Order if you want income. In theory a large empire could grow by a few gold per turn into a much larger empire than one that used only Order and suffered the normal pop loss (random events, patrolling, ect), but im fairly sure it doesn't work this way. Order provides simply far too much income for Growth to overtake it during the length of a normal game.

Unless the effect of the Growth scale is increased i'd suggest adding some sort of additional combat effect. Like, say, Growth dominion has 5% chance of healing an affliction per level for both friend and enemy units; Death perhaps the opposite (excepting maybe undead/demon units). Or just drop the afflictions for Death but add them for Growth. Or perhaps add reinvigoration per level (1/2/3)? (The idea being the inhabitants of a fertile, sopophoric land are more vigorous and have greater health and stamina; the opposite could be true for a Death dominion).

-Mercenaries feel somewhat too powerful. I find myself using them obsessively no matter which faction or scales taken. The real problem is that the AI doesn't seem eager enough to hire Mercs rather than their combat effectiveness.

[edit: actually just noticed something new. Scales seem to affect Merc hiring cost? Testing a 3-Disorder/3-Sloth Pangaea Merc companies were about 1.25 to 2x more expensive.]

-Golem Cult, Water Cult seem the least used and useful Special Dominions.

-The Lord of Fertility's advertised passive benefit has no apparent effect.

-Rain.1/4 pop drowning.1/4 income vanishing.Too hard with the Sucking.

-Bogus! Dude.

[ March 16, 2004, 01:47: Message edited by: SelfishGene ]

Re: Observations after a month of play
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">This is a game. Some things are unrealistic for balance. And some nations benefit from death. There's a spell that benefits from growth.

[ March 16, 2004, 02:17: Message edited by: Argitoth ]

Re: Observations after a month of play
 

Balance is the reason i want natural growth. Every patrol = permanent income reduction, forever. Every anti-citizen random or spell = permaloss. Every blood hunt permaloss.

IF you don't have growth you shouldn't expect to make up large losses, but you shouldn't HAVE to reduce taxes instead of patrolling, which is pretty much it seems your only option.

BTW, which spells are affected by Growth?

Re: Observations after a month of play
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I think it has more to do with being Pangaea. Many merc companies dislike Pangaea and charge extra for you to hire them. I get this a bit with Ermor, too. Some of those nice holy-type people don't like me at all.

Re: Observations after a month of play
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Provinces grow of their own accord, even if you don't have the scales tipped towards growth.

Growth increases the pop increase by .02% for every notch farther u have it tipped.

Re: Observations after a month of play
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">No they don't. Population, barring random events or activity, does not change at ALL without growth or death. Only growth, and a few rare random events, and wishing for population, increases population. Just about everything else kills people.

Re: Observations after a month of play
 

i hope I'm not the only one who finds it weird to see someone complaining about Growth being weak, and then complaining that population doesn't increase without any growth. Wait a minute. Waaiiiit a minute. I have an idea here...

Take some growth scale! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif Then your population will increase! Ooo, it's like magic. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

EDIT: And if that isn't enough for you, try running a blood-focused nation (Abysia is probably easiest) without any growth. It will rapidly become apparent to you why it's a good thing.

[ March 16, 2004, 04:53: Message edited by: Sindai ]

Re: Observations after a month of play
 

Water Cult is very useful... for all land nations with strong or numerous sacred units, like Machaka, Mictlan, Jotunheim, Marignon... even Abysia. It is the most powerful generic special dominion for such races, on water maps.

Re: Observations after a month of play
 

and for golem cult, try playing pythium with con-10 cyclops, research to enchantment 6 and start casting enliven statues with your god...

Re: Observations after a month of play
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Silly Mercenaries. 90% of the armies in Pangaea are made up of crazy, drunk, naked women. They should be paying -me- to enlist in my service.