To purchase or not to purchase

[Joelz]

Originally Posted by Mars76

Hello all,
#2) It seems their is an active online community...Is this game a better fit for that and the single player game weak? I have limited time outside of work and simply cant sit for a few hours waiting on people to take 118 turns...

Dominions 3 is definitely more of a multiplayer game. While A.I. does manage to come up with some resistance early on, later it will fall behind due to it's lack of understanding in magic and thugs/supercombatants. Still fun though every now and then.

As for time it takes to play games, most games are played via email so you just send your orders around once a day (varies) to the server and when everyone has sent theirs, turn is processed. There's plenty of time to do things at your own pace.

More fast paced Blitzes are played too if that's what you prefer, though they're more along the lines of what you thought it might be.
I haven't participated in these myself though, so not much to say here.

[Mars76]

Oh I see...PBM. Now that could get interesting.

I'm sure its easy finding games?

This came out in 2006 and I only accidentally stumbled across it a week ago...that is why I ask.

[rdonj]

It is pretty easy, yes. Just go over to the multiplayer forum on here or here and look for any games that might be starting. If there aren't any looking for players, you can always start your own game and it shouldn't be too hard to fill up. It's pretty easy to start up a game, but if you're not quite sure you're up to it you can usually find someone willing to set games up for you.

As far as complexity goes, the AI really isn't capable of providing that. It pretty much only has one strategy, and what works against it isn't the same as what works against humans. You can still use it as a training tool though to figure out how the game works. There's a huge level of complexity and decision making in this game, starting from your choice of pretender. Your pretender choice can significantly effect how your nation looks later in the game and what it's capable of doing. What magic paths you research at what point in the game also is a pretty big thing, and something you need to think hard about. I think the more you play, the more complex you'll understand the game to be Especially in multiplayer where diplomacy becomes a significant matter to consider.