Are we paying more for less?

[GamerMan12]

Limited features??!! :

* Turn-based fantasy 4X gaming with up to twenty-one (AI or human) players using simultaneous turns.
* Still an amazing amount of player choices in one turn: recruit, research, empowerment, forge, rituals, magic battles, search, prayers, blood hunt, luck, assassinations, friendly movement, movement, storm castle, enchantments, magic items, sneak, build, special orders, income, starvation, upkeep, dominion, site effects, heal, mercs, and scouting.
* Three different eras: Early Magical Era, Middle Era, and Late Era. The Early Magical Era boasts many new nations, the Middle Era features most of the nations from Dominions 2, and the Late Era features an emphasis on more conventional warfare and less magic.
* Fifty different playable nations. Some of the new nations include Ermor, New Faith, based on the early Republic of Rome. Marverni, inspired by Gallic tribes. Kailasa, Rise of the Ape Kings, inspired from Indian and Hindu mythology. Jomon, Human Daimyos, born from ancient Japan.
* Brand new graphics, with an overhauled and streamlined interface. Transparent mechanics decreases
the learning curve.
* Less micromanagement than previous Dominions titles.
* Random map creation.
* Players can design and save gods for later play.
* Map filters now allow players to easily locate scouts.
* Nation specific spells and summons. More than 600 spells and 300 magic items, all with evocative descriptions, are found in the game.
* Rebalanced rates for income, supply, and resources enable larger conventional armies.
* 1500+ units to wage war with. A deep combat model encompasses everything from battlefield morale to the use of magic.
* An already challenging AI made even more challenging. If you can't handle the unrelenting computer player, you can always try your hand at playing against humans with Dominions 3 robust multiplayer suite.
* Much more powerful modding capabilities.
* Make and remake nations as you see fit!
* Still present, the cool ability to turn any image into a map! Battle across Faerún or Middle Earth!
* Choose if your pretending god is dormant or awake when the game begins.
* New music from Erik Ask Uppmark and Anna Rynefors, the duo behind Dominion 2's lilting musical score.
* Taxes and unrest automatically checked through the autotax function, streamlining play.
* Playable on most major operating systems. Play it on a Windows, Mac, or Linux machine.
* Dominions 3: The Awakening could very easily be the last fantasy 4X game you ever need.

GM12

[Nerfix]

Not to mention units can rack up afflictions from battle or old age, get insane etc etc etc. So much features... >:3

[Mltdwn]

OK let me ask this question then and thanks for all of the input... Does the game essentially come down to (like in Dom2) wipe out all of the opponents to be the victor, OR is there other win options you can accomplish (i.e. Control 50 provinces which must include provinces x, y and Z...) plus the ability to enter into diplomatic relations with other nations/gods in an attempt to subvert their or other gods powers (i.e. making a deal of say "ok I'll open trade with you IF you go to war and begin attacking this other nation), stuff like that or does it largely come down to just wipe out the opposition?

Edit: Essentially what I am inquiring is this, does it esentially come down, like Dom2 to a brute force type game?

[Nerfix]

There's other win options, at least in Dom 2 there was.

If I remember correctly these options were:
- Total conquest OR victory by eradicating all enemy Dominion
- Research victory
- Victory through control of victory points
- Victory through dominion
- Victory through getting a certain number of provinces

And the victory conditions don't exclude each other, you could eradicate everybody in a research victory game and win.

You can't enter diplomatic relations. If this a game breaker for you, then it is.

[Endoperez]

The victory conditions have existed since DomII (control 50 provinces, control 3 spesific provinces, etc), but they currently can't be combined (control at least 50 provinces AND 3 spesific provinces). That would be a nice addition, though.

There is some really simple diplomatic-style stuff (e.g. if you have strong forces where an AI can see, he's less likely to attack you), but winning the games under the settings most often used fall down to conquering provinces, with armies, mages and/or ritual spells.

[Taqwus]

Might be noted that if you're playing at extremes in the dominions scale or there's a big difference in temples / preaching / Skeptics, it's possible for the dominion leader to not be the leader in military power.

[Cainehill]

Someone has previously posted that this time, cumulative victory point conditions are supported. IE, if 4 provinces have a single VP each, and 100 cumulative VPs are required, holding all 4 provinces for 25 turns would win; holding 1 for 100 turns would also win, if no one else accumulated VPs as quickly.

Expect it'll add quite a bit of strategic considerations, not to mention helping to propel a much quicker game pace. Currently, games get into wars of attrition - if 3 nations remain, each with 12 VPs, and 30 are required to win, the game situation can get stagnant, and could still continue another 100 turns with no winner in sight.

With cumulative VP condition, every turn someone has VP provinces brings the game nearer to the conclusion, and can force attacks : I have 12 VPs, he only has 10, _but_ he only needs 19 VP points to win and I need 25. If I don't take some of his VPs _now_, he wins.