Answering the Critics

[MythicalMino]

I have had a few ppl (one on another forum on these boards, among others I know/work with) that say Dominions is not a very deep game. The problem I keep hearing about, is that there is no city-building. Sure, you can build a fortress....a temple....and a lab. But there is nothing else. No buildings to build to enhance resources/gold collected. No buildings to really affect what units you can buy (although, the lab lets you recruit mages, temples allow you to recruit preists/sacreds, and fortresses usually allow you to recruit your national troops).

To me, the depth lies in the game once you "get" it. Once you have started to play, the game opens up, layer upon layer.

But, that is not the answer that these guys are looking for. I have been told that the game is complex to hide the dumbing down of the gold/resource model. The "economic model", if you will. Sure, there isn't a grand economic model in the game....but, there are resources for heavy troops, gold for elite troops, and holiness for sacred troops....along with all the units in the game. Fortresses (as in, where to place them), the combat engine, dominion spread, magic, ect ect ect ect....

But, all of that is made null and void to them when they simply say, "The amount of units do not add depth, just complexity, to cover up the dumbed-down economic model, the mediocre and crude combat engine, and the lack of 'city buildings'."

So, how would you guys answer these criticisms? Personally, I don't think they are "getting it". But, these are guys that no wargaming and strategy 4X games like the back of their hands....Perhaps Dom3 just isn't the butter to their bread....but at the same time, to pull the game down to "dumbed-down" is a stretch also.

There is incredible depth here....the amount of units allows for so many varied (random) strategies from game to game. Throw in the map terrains, the grand strategy, the warfare planning, each nation's uniqueness....not to mention the magic system....there is just so much in the game. I think that if there was a highly involved economic system placed in the game, the game would crumble. Imagine trying to balance steel, gold, food, population caps, wood, silver, iron, coal, and whatever other name for a resource in a Civ game (or an rts for that matter).

To me, this game is beyond Civ. This game has so much more to offer. Sure, in Civ, you can build a ton of buildings to allow you to recruit specialized troops, or buildings to allow you to take advantage of a specific resource, or to add more gold to you coffers. But that is just it....you build the same exact buildings in nearly every city (granted, Stardocks GalCiv2 fixes this somewhat). In Civ, you do not have the unit spread that Dom3 (or, heck, any of the Dom games) have. But, the amount of units in Dominions is just to "cover up" the lack of economics in the game.

So, how would you guys answer the critisism that I keep hearing in personal discussions?