Quote:
Originally Posted by Calahan
I also think diplomacy in this sort of game is un-thematic, as if for no other reason than I can't believe for a moment that the nations would all share a common tongue, so communication between them would surely be difficult. Or that vastly differing nations would instantly get along as neighbours. Because there is no in-game mechanic for diplomacy, this results in there being no restrictions on which nations can team-up together. And of course the overall sticking-point of there can be only one.
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There is in-game diplomacy: Sending messages, gold, gems, items. Also known as tributes.
Nations never needed a common tongue to communicate. They need one tongue both nations can share, lie the old language used for Pantocrator liturgy before the Pantocrator fell. Spaniards managed to make allies in Mexico to fight the Aztecs without knowing the language for instance, so it's not really a problem.
I respect the fact that one may not like the diplomatic aspect of the game, but I think Dominions is a game about becoming the only ruler of the world, and there is not just war to achieve this. There is also dominion push/preaching, for instance, but there's also diplomacy. War is a side effect of diplomacy. In reality, most nations would rather convince their neighbour to give them a territory than enter war to seize it. War is a side effect of diplomacy, and no-diplomacy games are only realistic if there are few exactly 2 or exactly 4 nations: 1 vs 1 is pretty obvious. 4 results in 2 1 vs. 1 fights. If it's 3 vs. 1, one of the three is going to get a bad position and be killed by his former allies if he ends in the middle. In a 3 players game without diplomacy, one player is most likely to lose because of geography (hello Mr InTheMiddle). I think it's worse than losing because of lac of diplomatic skill.