[Fate]

Hey guys, kudos on the mod so far. I thought I would just write my impressions after playing the mod for a day:

?BUGS? I have never seen a space mine explode, even after sitting next to enemies for a number of turns. Also, R'lyeh seems to have Jomon's summons (except for the dragon).

I found the space dynamic very fun and enjoyable. The nations are also much more balanced and varied than I expected, I am very impressed. But some are clearly more powerful than others.

In particular the Dragon nation seems very weak. They are obviously billed for evocations and thugging, but that is much less effective when the standard units have AP and AN ranged weapons and many indies, even, have thuggish units. The one bright spot is their incredibly effective assassins.

Assassins in the mods are generaly much more powerful. Jomon and the Dragons both have thug-level assassins that should be able to take out most mages and their bodyguards until some serious research/kitting has been done.

Thug-level units are also surprisingly prevalent, especially among indies. In particular the Pirate Space Station (big pirate ship) is much more powerful than the rest of the pirate ships combined. I have often lost to this single ship multiple times, but had no trouble with the other pirate ships.

For the Insects, I disagree with the comment in their description. I don't see why a blood hunting nation should take death (though it is thematic) and, seeing as all the Nest units are holy, I think an imprisoned pretender with a strong bless (I took F9/A6 for damage and protection against the all too common missiles) is better. I can transform one starting female to get my blood economy going, while the other (with my strong bless) can take any province at all with the starting army (the spear spiders take land and the males take space). The Hive and Swarm are not Holy, nor are they more space-capable, so I do not consider either superior to the starting Nest and therefore I have little incentive to research. Even my spear fighters come with poison throwing if I need it, obviating the need for the one unique Hive unit.

Ulm and Jomon are both extremely powerful. Jomon also has a very powerful assassin, along with the AN ranged troops and the Dai Oni, so they are very powerful and versatile.

I did not play the Orcs enough to really understand them. In particular I did not understand the difference between an Aspiring Hero and a Hero. When would I not promote an Aspiring Hero? If there is greater upkeep on a Hero it doesn't mention it anywhere...

The Commonwealth also seems a bit weak. Their troops cost a crippling amount of resources, even with a full production scale, and are only moderate in combat, using mostly AP or less attacks (when most nations can recuit AN) and no ranged attacks. This might be different if I had got a bless (which I did not try). It does seem like the Commonwealth should be able to get rolling after their first few provinces, with all the unrest bonuses and defensive unit spells.

In conclusion this Mod was an excellent change of pace from Dominions and I enjoy it a lot. Thank you, I hope to keep up with any improvements.