Are we paying more for less?

[Mltdwn]

GamerMan12 said:
I know he is being really obvious about promoting another game and they are usually subtle, but even so I still think Mltdwn is likely to be a Guerilla Marketer.

GM12

Yup, that's me, a guerilla marketer... Forgive me for wanting to make an "informed" decision based on people with knowledge of the game before spending my hard earned money. I played Dom2, and while I enjoyed it tremendously at first when I came across the TW line it basically turned me off of Dom as it was the same thing done better for the most part with a greater amount of depth in all aspects. Now Dom3 is out, is the price of a triple A X360 title, and doesn't seem to add anything really over Dom2 or the competition; however, that is going solely off of the limited features posted on the site. So I figured, since the game was out already I would ask those who have played it their input as to how it differs from other games in the same vein from an "objective" point of view. While yes I will admit and apoligize for perhaps going about it the wrong way, the question still stands... What does it bring to the table that isn't already out there for less which is of higher quality in production values, features, and gameplay value.

BTW Ron thank you for posting that viewpoint... And that answers alot of questions for me... While I can see the enjoyability in that then I have to say with that being the primary selling point it perhaps isn't the game for me as I like (personally) to simply have more strategic options. And that is just me, you answered alot with that simple statement and thank you.

[Leif_-]

Dominions 3 is basically Dominions 2 supercharged, so if you prefer the Total War games to Dominions 2, I don't see why you're even asking the question. Skip Dominions 3 and buy the next Total War game instead.

[PDF]

Leif_- said:
Dominions 3 is basically Dominions 2 supercharged, so if you prefer the Total War games to Dominions 2, I don't see why you're even asking the question. Skip Dominions 3 and buy the next Total War game instead.

I'd just be doing the reverse, fed up with TW, whose motto could be "more whizbang less interesting gameplay with each iteration" !

[PDF]

Mltdw,
Do you live in Tien Chi or such ? Dom3 delivery to Europe cost me less than 10 bucks, total should be < 65$ isn't it ??

[Cainehill]

Playing a first game in the demo, I agree that the interface has seen a number of upgrades, and it definately looks like the new nations will once again provide lots of variety and play styles.

But - disappointments as well. You still can't see what afflictions a unit has without right-clicking it - many of us were hoping for mouseover information so we could quickly figure out which troops were crippled and which merely scratched, but instead it's the same micromanagement for wounded troops. You can't seem to hide researchers from the commanders as you could in Dom2 (hopefully this will be fixed via an early patch).

SP AI is still disappointing. Nations _still_ declare war on human players before they can possibly have seen them, and the AI is still very lacking in judgement. Watching a battle in which Abysia sends their prophet (simple Warlord) and 5 infantry against 60-70 barbarians led to very predictable results, as the barbarians killed all troops and quickly dispatched the heroic Prophet as he continued to Smite after all troops were gone.

So, once again it looks like a game only seriously played in MP mode. And it looks like it needs another Conceptual Balance right out of the gate, as many Pretender chassis's are once again unbalanced - for example, the Witch King still has 20 point magic paths, just like stock unmodded Dom2 where it was one of the handful of no-brainer pretenders.

Then there's the minor things, like it still defaulting to "Renaming Turned Off", when 99% of the MP games I've been in have wanted renaming on, and people posted time and again asking for this simple change, mostly after getting to turn 3-10 in an MP game and realizing with horror that renaming accidently didn't get turned on.

Suspect I'm still glad I ordered last night before the demo came out - but I'm not as delighted as I thought I would be.

[Nerfix]

True, there could be some more features, but why don't you suggest them?

[Mltdwn]

PDF said:
Mltdw,
Do you live in Tien Chi or such ? Dom3 delivery to Europe cost me less than 10 bucks, total should be < 65$ isn't it ??

No in the US it is $15 for priority delivery (i.e. so you don't have to wait 1-2 weeks to get the game).

[Annette]

Mltdwn said:

No in the US it is $15 for priority delivery (i.e. so you don't have to wait 1-2 weeks to get the game).

In the US you do have the option to pay for USPS Express Mail. That service carries a money back guarantee to *most* locations. Be sure to check www.usps.com for guarantees to your specific zip code. And please remember the guarantee is for the time the shipment is in transit. Choosing express shipping does not impact when we ship the game.

Clearly, we recommend the FREE shipping option we offer. This service is USPS Priority Mail. While it does not carry a money-back guarantee, the vast majority are delivered in two days. A package we sent from North Carolina to California on Friday had been delivered on Monday. In fact, we have received word that packages we sent Friday to destinations in France and the UK were delivered yesterday. Those were sent USPS Global Priority Mail, not express.

These quotes from another thread in the forum from customers who chose our free shipping option:

NTJedi said:

My Dominions_3 game was sent Monday and arrived Wednesday(yesterday). I also live in Arizona just to give others an idea of when they can expect their package to arrive.

This one was posted yesterday, Wednesday)

Taqwus said:
My order -- shipped Monday morning -- has arrived in the Bear Republic via USPS. Spiffy.

Hear the passion in my voice? Take advantage of the FREE shipping option in the US. In the past we've used all types of shippers. USPS by far has the most reliable service. Unless something extremely unusual happens, your order will reach you in two or three days from the time we ship (and remember the post office delivers on Saturday). And this service does not cost anything above the purchase price of the game. We don't send ANY of our shipments via the slower services offered by USPS.

(Perhaps I've been spending too much time in the fulfillment center this week...)

[DominionsFan]

Actually I've only played 1 game in the demo against the AI [the rest was MP], but the AI did very good. I've never seen such a huge AI army in a strategical position in Doms 2. Like I've said earlier, it moved ~700 troops to my border province, and it was the only land province in that area. I was fighting on south, so it was a ehm... a big surprise. That army easily took 2 of my provinces in the north.
The game just ended after that.

[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