[CarlG2]

Thanks for the reply, Gandalf Parker!

To clarify, I'm not really looking for the civilian populations to be directly represented, but for a sense that we're really talking about armies...and not, for the most part, small warrior bands.

1,500 vs 1,500 is still just a skirmish when compared with historical "ancients" battles (and, if my research is correct, it sounds like a 1,500 unit army in Dominions 2 is about as big as they get). It doesn't seem to me that without an abstraction, Dominions 2 could ever recreate a "Battle of the Pelennor Fields" where 200,000 orcs and men descended upon the few defenders of Minas Tirith.

When using an abstraction ratio for units, I think that uniques can be accomodated by figuring in their greater power, implicit bodyguards, etc. In traditional boardgame-type abstraction, a human infantry unit may represent 50 men, a cavalry unit say 30, a wizard w/ apprentices and bodyguards 5, and a dragon/greater demon/etc. just 1 (as a quick example).

Anyway, as you say, I don't see any change coming if it was designed as a 1 for 1 representation. I'm disappointed, and perhaps it's an indication that I'll have to keep looking for "my" ultimate fantasy wargame/strategy game. I know I'm picky...but a system needs to "work" for me to believe in it. Unfortunately, too many systems in Dominions 2 don't "work" for me to really get into it, if it is meant to be a 1 unit represents 1 man system.

Just one example is that I cannot get past the fact that a turn represents 6 months, and in that time I can typically only train a handful of warriors...it just doesn't feel "right". I guess it's just me.

I'm most disappointed because I feel like Dominions 2 gets it "right" for me in so many ways, but scale is probably my biggest "pet peave" in strategy/wargames...if the game scale doesn't sync with what is being represented...well, then "I" can't sync with the game.

I appreciate the support and answers provided on this forum, and please understand that I am here not to criticize, but to find out if this is a game I would enjoy or one where the small details and design decisions would just annoy me (and, in this case, the biggest and perhaps only issue I have found so far is one of scale...IMHO)

Thanks again for your response, and good gaming,
Carl G.