patch 2.08 is out

[Coffeedragon]

Originally posted by Arryn:

* New theme for Arcoscephale, The Golden Era.
* Selectable number of starting provinces.
* Commander renaming.
* New battle afflictions.
* New weapon, Light Lance.

WOW!!

One (relatively) small thing I´d really like to see in the next patch:
[*]Dominion Overview Page. Shows all your choices made in the Create a God menu on one single page.

[Norfleet]

Originally posted by Coffeedragon:
One (relatively) small thing I´d really like to see in the next patch:

One relatively small thing I'd *REALLY* like to see in the next patch is for it not to crash every time a combat occurs!

[SurvivalistMerc]

NT Jedi,

Just so that we understand what we're discussing... In the AD&D combat system, your statement would be correct if the Red Dragon was somewhere that you could not reach him at all. For instance...he's across a river and you paralyzed him with paralyzation poison. You can't damage him because you can't reach him. Therefore, he's going to live.

In the AD&D system, you can automatically hit a paralyzed target, regardless of that target's AC. I realize that Dom 2 doesn't use that system and still makes you roll and get through protection. My hunch is that this is present due to the immobile pretenders who in effect start out unable to move yet magically active and must still be slain.

In the AD&D system, you also automatically damage the paralyzed target. It's either triple damage or in some places (some Versions of the game) you can just automatically slit the "helpless" target's throat...if it has a throat. Now...you have to be using a weapon that can affect the creature...and some creatures require magical weapons to hit them. If you don't have a magical weapon, you're not going to autokill a paralyzed creature that requires a magical weapon to hit.

Still, accounting for these intricacies, I think it would be imminently fair to allow the winning side to "autokill" helpless paralyzed targets on the Dominions battlefield. There is never that issue of whether you can physically reach the target. You always can. And no creature in Dom 2 is immune to normal weapons.

My proposed change is this: If you are helpless and don't have any defenders who aren't likewise helpless, you will be automatically killed if any opponent can reach you before the effect wears off. (This way if you're at the back of the battlefield and you're out 2 rounds you might be safe.) As a consequence of this proposed change, the "time out" factor wouldn't matter. Because your opponents wouldn't have to roll to hit you and sometimes miss. They would just automatically kill your SC due to his or her helpless condition.

[Norfleet]

This would make the durability of an immobile pretender chassis completely irrelevant:

Since an immobile creature is ALWAYS "helpless", as it cannot move, dodge attacks, or strike enemies, wouldn't it always be killed instantly?

Furthermore, in D&D, AC is an overly abused measure of too many things. In Dominions II, it's much more clearly defined: Defense represents a unit's ability to dodge: When paralyzed, this falls to Zero, and enemies pretty much always hit him. Penetrating his protection rating, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter: A big chunk of rock may very well be nigh indestructible by your puny weapons, no matter how easy it is for you to strike. I believe protection value is penalized if you become paralyzed or surrounded, but sometimes, even that is not enough to allow a weak unit with a poor weapon to damage you.

And it still doesn't address the real threat of paralyzation...that of being stuck on a battlefield with similarly paralyzed opponents, unable to move or otherwise end this battle because everyone is stuck and paralyzation Lasts forever!

[NTJedi]

SurvivalistMerc:

Even if those units from dominions or units from AD&D were doing triple damage it doesn't matter because the regenerating portion was so great the damage done is gone at the start of next turn. This is what was happening.

MY MAIN POINT:
As of right now it's NOT the units killing the supercombatants. The problem is that paralyzed units cannot flee and are then killed by the game. In Dominions_2 units are not making the kill... THE GAME is making the auto-kill. That is wrong.

[ February 16, 2004, 21:34: Message edited by: NTJedi ]

[SurvivalistMerc]

NT Jedi,

I understand and accept your point. I agree that the time limit system currently in place has a "wrong" feel to it.

I would prefer an autokill of paralyzed and other "helpless" creatures who have no defenders and are in reach of any unit.

I will point out, however that the AD&D system does not use "protection" to reduce damage of successful hits. And...come to think about it...if someone is paralyzed the attackers probably ought to be able to do better than hack at the armored portions of the target....

My point: I agree with you that the mechanism by which the result is achieved is unsatisfying and that you have a right to be unhappy with the mechanism (time limit) by which the result is achieved. But I like and support the result, though I would achieve it by a different game mechanic. It seems that you have a problem with both the mechanic (time limit) and the result (supercombatant dies). Or am I wrong?

[SurvivalistMerc]

Norfleet,

Under my proposed mechanic, merely being immobile would not make one "helpless" if one were a hunk of rock. The hunk of rock would not be considered "helpless" unless it were paralyzed or rendered incapable of casting any spells.

I suppose immobile hunks of rock with no magic skills would be considered "helpless" under my system. But I would count the defenders that are part of structures like most fortifications as defenders for purposes of saying that even these helpless units do have active, non-helpless defenders.

Does that sense?