Mod: Enhanced Gameplay Mod [project]

[Illuminated One]

Originally Posted by Zeldor

Clam hoarding should never be a strategy. There are games that go really insane with that. When you find const discount site you can even empower mages to make clams. I know a situation when one player had almost 200 clams and was wishing for gems to make even more clams per turn. And you have turtling, turtling and hidden gem income, requirings lots of micro. You could use W and N gems for some normal stuff now. And don't be afraid of some Armageddon spam or Seraph hordes.

Why shouldn't it be a strategy?
Strengthening your economy is certainly a strategy, working towards a powerful global (Arcane Nexus, Darkness, etc.) also. In my opinion dom3 puts to little emphasis on these matters.
Let's leave the sites out (and conquering everyone with +50% conjuration or blood bonus is certainly more unfair than clamming with 20% construction bonus) - 40 gems for two pearls is a fair price. How much gems do you spend to take a province with more than two gems income?
If the secret income or surprise effect is an issue, than that is a fault of the players imo. I always try to have the best knowledge of what everyone else can do and if I think someone is clamming or heading for utterdark I won't just ignore it. If I never see a water gem on the field from a nation with supposedly good water income, or notice that D9 bless, or that the Sceptre of Dark Regency is gone I have the chance to prepare. A much bigger chance than fending of that turn 5 niefel rush btw.
...
(I've never been on the receiving side of this, so I might underestimate their power, but just declaring them as unfair/invalid strategies goes much to far.)

Sorry, for the rant. I guess if I don't like the mod I don't have the use it, but I'd sure like something that reduces micro and don't want the game to be just decided when someone picks Hinnom.