[DragonFire11]

First I want to say that Dom2 is fantastic, and if they only made superficial changes in Dom3 I'd still give them my money. It’s more likely, however, that the skill and motivation that created Dom2 makes that possibility unlikely and happily so. I have dozens of minor thoughts that probably aren’t worth their consideration or time. I will tender my personal recommendations where I think they might have the most impact:

1. Some simple interface changes might go a long way. For instance, Medieval Total War had this nice feature that you could simply push the shift button (or was it Tab or ctrl?) and the map would reveal a color-coded means of determining the degree of unrest: green, yellow, and red each specifying a degree of risk of revolt. This feature was a huge time saver. Also, the ability to give orders and script commands needs simplification. Yes, I like the way researching mages can be grayed out but more in this respect can be done. For example: I say you should be able to group all commanders and mages. You should also be able to group by those lacking orders, or by those with particular spell skills and in ascending or descending order by strength. There should also be an easier way to access and read spell paths.

2. A tutorial. Let’s face it: this game is utterly recondite. I say this with great affection because the abstruse nature provides the some of the best moments of gaming. But learning the game at even a modest degree is a chore and you certainly lose gamers (and profits) to the intimidated. You might want to add a list of basic combination spell and attacks just to get folks started.

3. This is probably a tall order: idiot server setup and interface. Now I don’t know anything about this type of thing (thus I am the idiot in need), but it seems to me that the easier to set up servers, and the more user friendly, the happier your customers will be.

Also, for email games, which is a very nice thing by the way, you might want to create some sort of utility that automatically backs up user files by moves because we make mistakes and it’s a real shame to lose a game when you confuse two email games.

4. Trade. Ok, so I’m a hopeless capitalist. But trade among provinces and nations add wealth, and a weakness to attack. In my mind, trade can be quite simple and depicted in a basic fashion. As long as there is a way to obstruct trade with military, spells, and weather, it might be worth considering.

5. Titans. Some games are long. Some games are long and you know you are going to get beat bad because the other player is so much better. Introducing Titans (as inspired by Warlords Battlecry) might be a nice way to add a little chaos to the system so someone might invest energies building up a really bad baddie. Obviously, this would have to work with the balance of the game, but it’s something to consider.

6. Buildings. Hey we can build temples, labs, and keeps, why not other good stuff like smiths, carpenters, war colleges, armories, devil forges, added defenses, etc. Make them expensive so you might have to choose between quality or quantity and have something to lose if invaded.

7. Family. My god is worshiped like a rock star, so maybe he should act like one. If he has offspring, these mini-gods might add extra goodness to a great game.

8. Hostages. If you can have valuable family members, perhaps you can hold or take key individuals hostage like in the Shogun books.

9. More ritual spells. Those things are so cool I want more. For instance, you could make a spell that makes armies eat more, so that starvation is a bigger issue. Maybe make weak ritual spells that have less impact but need less research.

10. More individuals. Perhaps the comment regarding family members address this, but it would be nice to see certain commander progress more in terms of experience and ability. I know this is a touch like RPG, but think adding a few more key individuals along with the gods would add a personal aspect, and the risk reward of certain attacks might be increased.

11. Pacts. Ok, this one is a bit strange, but diplomacy might take on a twist if players could enter pacts enforced by the game that if defined agreements are breached, the collateral or pledge is forfeited.

Just a few thoughts. I have more thoughts, but these came to mind first at this sitting. Now the only problem about the Dom3 announcement is that I have to wait for it.