Dom-III discussion at GalCiv

[DominionsFan]

Nice to hear this lads. Well I was playing TCP/IP MP games in Doms 2 mainly. However I used to play SP games as well, when my friends had no time to play an MP game. So it is nice to hear about all these AI improvements.
Maybe the Galciv 2 players will like Doms 3. with this upgraded AI.
Great job IW!

[Meglobob]

I am a newbie to Dominions, arrived here via Brads/Frogboy/Draginals's (he likes his alter egos) link. So any publicity or discussion on any other forum is good for Dominions, it will attract new blood (no not new bloodslaves ) to the game.

I am a huge Galactic Civilizations 2 fan, very few games retain my interest after 40+ games and six months playing, but I still love playing GC2. GC2 has been a great success, plans exist for 2 expansions and there will be a GC3. The community on the GC forums is argumentative, very demanding and easy to criicize, must be a sci-fi thing. The community on here seem altogether nicer. I think Stardock r too soft/easy going when arguments/debate gets out of hand.

Brad was right about there being a potiential crossover between GC2 and Dom3. After downloading the Dom2 demo and playing it for a week, I could not pre-order Dom3 fast enougth. It's strange that alot of negative comment was placed on the thread, because Dominions looks a great game to me and a recent poll of Stardock's asking which new game they should develop, came out overwhealmingly in favour of a fantasy strategy game.

AI wise, I would not even compare the two together. GC2 has the best AI in the pc gaming world, while Dominions went from the opposite side, concentrating on being a multiplayer game to adding AI on. As both games develop perhaps they will travel 2 different paths meeting in the same place, ie...both good AI and multiplayer. It would be better to compare Dominions AI to Heros Of Might & Magic, Age Of wonders and Disciples. In such a comparsion Dominions AI is not that bad and can provide a decent enough challenge to hold a players interest, especially at impossible level.

Dominions strengths r its huge depth, excellent game design, playability and re-playability and the helpful Dominions community.

[Fremen]

Thanks for all the feedback! I'm totally sold, and I've actually got a friend interested so MP may be a necessity. I must make time... I'll need to convince my wife to visit her home, and take a vacation from work.

I'm really excited to get my hands on this! I'm looking forward to sharing my experience and learning a lot from everyone who has tested.

[DominionsFan]

Meglobob said:

GC2 has the best AI in the pc gaming world

I don't want to be rude, but the Galciv AI is pretty much average. I've installed the game again to try it out with the latest patch. I steamrolled the AI on the hardest level...and I wasn't playing for lot of weeks.

[PDF]

DominionsFAN said:

I don't want to be rude, but the Galciv AI is pretty much average. I've installed the game again to try it out with the latest patch. I steamrolled the AI on the hardest level...and I wasn't playing for lot of weeks.

I won't be so definitive : in GC the AI is surprinsingly "intelligent" strategically, enters into diplomacy with more or less good results (for it), but falls into "traps" that are easy to design by players.
In Dom1-3 the AI is totally brainless, can't be reasoned with, but produces things and send them to attack you: sometimes it even win !

[JaydedOne]

I definitely have to question what AIs you consider "above-average" if GalCiv is average. Everything I've encountered with regards to it has given me quite the opposite impression... but perhaps you've played some awesome games I've never heard of.

[DominionsFan]

JaydedOne said:
I definitely have to question what AIs you consider "above-average" if GalCiv is average. Everything I've encountered with regards to it has given me quite the opposite impression... but perhaps you've played some awesome games I've never heard of.

To be honest I haven't seen a good game AI ever...the fact is, that its absolutely not hard to beat the Galciv2 AI on the hardest settings. So I cannot say that the AI is good.
Not to mention that the diplo AI can be exploited totally by the human player.

[Meglobob]

DominionsFAN said:

I don't want to be rude, but the Galciv AI is pretty much average. I've installed the game again to try it out with the latest patch. I steamrolled the AI on the hardest level...and I wasn't playing for lot of weeks.

Interesting...u must be a extremly good player to do this with GC2 1.3, what lvl were the AI's on? Sucidal is the highest (but its cheating, 200% universal bonus to everything), I think tough is where it plays exactly as the player does, without cheating (individual AI setting ultimate), I can not name another pc game which plays better without cheating, can u?

In Dominions is the AI cheating on impossible level? If so by how much and in what way?

I personally do not care how a AI puts up a challenge to me in any SP game, wether it cheats or not. So long as the game is entertaining and interesting.

Please note I am not attacking Dominions in any way, I like the game or I would not have pre-ordered Dominions 3. I am a DominionsFAN too...

[DominionsFan]

Meglobob said:

Interesting...u must be a extremly good player to do this with GC2 1.3, what lvl were the AI's on? Sucidal is the highest (but its cheating, 200% universal bonus to everything), I think tough is where it plays exactly as the player does, without cheating (individual AI setting ultimate), I can not name another pc game which plays better without cheating, can u?

In Dominions is the AI cheating on impossible level? If so by how much and in what way?

I personally do not care how a AI puts up a challenge to me in any SP game, wether it cheats or not. So long as the game is entertaining and interesting.

Please note I am not attacking Dominions in any way, I like the game or I would not have pre-ordered Dominions 3. I am a DominionsFAN too...

I was playing on suicidal [incredible] level. That is 200% bonus for the AI players. Well I was playing a lot with the game many many weeks ago, so I consider myself a good player still.

[Meglobob]

In that case, all I after say is, may we never meet on the field of battle, especially a Dominions one.