game option/old age
 

I typically avoid most races with old age, as it is not something i find much fun to deal with.

It would be nice if there was a game option where old age could be turned off. I think it would be easy to put in, just make any unit that starts old now start 5 years below the age they get old.

And I would have no issue playing a race that has no old age issues(Pangaea) against marigon, man, or abysia with old age turned off either.

And it seems arbitrary to me that Man's crone starts tremendously old, but vanaheim's best air mage does not. If anyone says man MA > Vanaheim MA and Man's crone needs that handicap for vanaheim to be competitive I will laugh.

And even Ulm, who has smiths, have to deal with old age a bit, though not to man, marigon, or abysia's extent.

If the issue is purely balance, increase the costs of the mages in question.

Re: game option/old age
 

It's not really about balance, it's a feature of the game.

It's also fairly easy to mod away, should you want. Although it might be a little bit time consuming.

Re: game option/old age
 

It is fire magic that gives (mostly) humans the low old age threshold. You know, the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long.

Re: game option/old age
 

And the crones of man, who have 3 nature magic and no fire? Why are they old?

It is a fairly annoying feature of the game, and one that would be nice to be able to turn off as an option. I guess you can mod it, but i have seen numerous complaints about it, and if there is a significant number of players that dislike the feature, why not provide an option to turn it off?

There is an option to make random events rare, etc. Just add one to make units that are old all start 5 years before getting old. Maybe this idea should be included in the dom IV wishlist if it is not as simple as i think to do.

Re: game option/old age
 

They are old because they are old women, that simple.

Re: game option/old age
 

Yes, that's it. She will get fewer afflictions from old age though, as she has death magic.

Re: game option/old age
 

I'm all for more options. I'd never use this one if it was implemented but I'm never going to be against having the choice.

I think it would make more sense if you were simply able to turn age off entirely though, rather than making everyone 5 years below the maxage.

Re: game option/old age
 

Personally I like the old age feature. It adds flavour, and makes all those commanders seem more human. I also like the gamble that is associated with purchasing old age mages. Some mages die from old age, but not a lot, especially if you have a growth scale.

I can understand why some people wouldn't like it though, especially those why don't like micro management or want the game more strategic.

I am all for the option though. But like Sombre it is one I would never use.

Re: game option/old age
 

There actually is such an option. In fact, you can turn off almost any feature of almost any unit. You say you play mostly with close friends, so it's just a matter of creating a quick mod and having everybody turn it on.

#modname "No old age"

#selectmonster <whatever>
#older -20
#end

#selectmonster <whatever>
#older -20
#end

etc.

The monster number is visible by hitting Shift-I when you've right-clicked to examine its stats. Put all those commands in a file called noage.dm in your dominions\mods directory, and when you create the game just go in to "Preferences" and select the "no old age" mod. You only have to fix the age of units you're going to actually use, and writing down five unit numbers for each nation and adding them to the mod is easy, so you're pretty much all set. For your perusal I've attached an example file which sets EA Abysia's Warlock to start at age 13 instead of 35. [The forum makes me name it noage.txt instead of noage.dm, but rename it when you download it.] It's just copy-and-paste from there.

-Max

Re: game option/old age
 

Actually as of late, i have been playing more people from this forum, but i am sure i could find people that wanted to play with the old age option turned off, especially if they liked playing marigon etc.