I'm evaluating to buy Dom3

[Valgua]

Hi! I've read a lot of good things about Dominion 3 but many different opinions about the AI. If I buy the game I'll play it mainly in single player so a good AI is a must. It would be nice if you also gave me you impressions about the game in general (level of fun, replayability and so on). Thank you,

Filippo

[Meglobob]

Download and play the demo. Then make your mind up.

[Valgua]

It's a good advice but the I've learned by experience that the evaluation of the AI requires a lot of play time in different situations.

Filippo

[Nick_K]

Dominions is a massively complex game and it would therefore be very difficult indeed to write an AI that can take all the possible tactics into account.

Because of this an experienced player can easily beat the AI using tactics that it is unable to deal with. Sometimes this is very obvious and hinders gameplay (e.g. LE ermor) and sometimes it is very much the player's choice whether to use exploits (e.g. supercombatants).

The AI has strategic weaknesses and is generally not a match for a player 1-on-1. It also tends to have poor pretender design. Its use of magic was very poor in Doms2 but this seems to have improved a bit, although obviously not to the level of a human.

That said, it is easy to criticise the AI. If you visit boards for almost any strategy game you'll find such criticism. This is generally misplaced, a product of naive expectations that want a human-level challenge. After all, it is not realistic to code an AI that will equal an experienced, intelligent player.

For a new player the dominions AI can be very challenging. It has a simple aggressive attitude and it is easy for players to get crushed by multiple AIs early on. The AI does not target human players as such, but most new players need time to learn how to discourage attacks. On higher difficulty levels the AI has more gold and thus larger armies. This gives it an edge, but is unlikely to give it victory against an experienced player after the early game.


If you feel that you want an AI that will seriously challenge you at first then dominions is fine. If you want one that will challenge you after you have become skilled at the game then it is not; but I have trouble thinking of a strategy game to recommend in this case.

I play single-player exclusively and I enjoy dominions. I generally expect to win, but I do occasionally have difficulty, generally when playing a nation that does not match my play-style. The Ai is not a strong point of the game, but I don't find it distressingly weak. When you start playing you can expect to have difficulty even if you are used to playing strategy games.


As for dominions in general... The graphics are, of course, poor, but no doubt you have already seen screenshots. The key selling point is the massive variety of spells, units and items. This gives it a huge amount of replay value - it will take many games before you've tried most of the spells, nations and so on.
I find the gmae very fun, although I don't consider challenge as the key element in my enjoyment of a game. For me immersion is most important.
The user-interface and level of micromanagement is much improved over the previous game, but there is still improvement to be made IMO. The demo is fine for seeing what you think about the interface.


I recommend that you try the demo and see if you find the interface ok, and whether you find the game world interesting. If you find yourself eager to try advanced magics and so on then I think the game is well worth buying. It is immersive, fun, and has significant replay value. The AI is not a match for a human, but I can't think of a highly challenging strategy game AI for a complex game so I don't consider this to be a huge problem for Dominions.

[Meglobob]

I personally struggled to beat the AI for the first 2 months or so. So its reasonably good. I lost about a dozen+ games, some very, very badly.

Of course now I win with my eyes closed and hands tied behind my back, I hit the keys with my nose...

I could not say the same about alot of other strategy games, which I have been able to walk over after only a few days play.

So overall the AI is reasonable.

Exploring the game design, different nations, strategies etc... will still keep you playing long after you have mastered impossible difficulty.

Also I am currently getting a good, challenging SP game by designing the AI's gods for them, doing there first 10 turns to get them off to a good start, well handicapping myself by not moving out of my home province for the first 10 turns. Produces a challenging game for more experienced players.

[CharonJr]

I have to second what has been said before.

Basically once you understand the "rules" nearly as good as the AI does you will have no problem to win most of the times unless you seriously handicap yourself.

An AI which is able to play a game of this depth even at close to human level is years away IMHO (I think chess is fairly easy compared to the complexity of a game like this).

But the great depth of the game (due to the large number of spells, nations, units) will give you a very good value over time IMO.

And since you can play this game via email or online I can find no reason why you should not be able to play vs. others players as long as you both can agree on the pace of the game.

CharonJr

[Caduceus]

As the others above have chimed in, you'll get started on the AI and then go to the multiplayer forum for a challenge. Of, if you're like me, and have no time, you'll never improve much and can stay in SP-mode

[calmon]

The good thing on the dominions MP mode is that you can make your turn when you've time. You're not forced to be online at the same time the other players are.

[Gandalf Parker]

There is a thread which lists the reviews done by experts at the gaming magazines.

But for another answer, I play almost entirely Solo games. And I have done that all thru Dom1, Dom2, and now Dom3. As a beta tester for Dom3 Ive had to play many games a day for longer than most here. Im still enjoying it greatly.

Dom1 and Dom2 lived on my machines for years while I was buying and deleting other games at a rate of about one a month. Dom3 looks like it will be even better since it added many solo-gamers features such as random maps and more modding.

Yo can easily spend a year playing all of the nations and learning their pros and cons until you find the one that best allows you to kick tail based on your playing style.

You will see complaints here about the AI at extreme levels (thats good). And even if you wear those AI out, there are further boosts from special map scenarios and specially modded AI nations.

All in all, Id say that if the demo doesnt scare you away then you will probably find the game to be WELL worth the price.

Gandalf Parker

[SafeKeeper]

Gandalf summed it up nicely. If you liked the demo, buy the game.