Various questions about Dom II

TomWChick · #1 October 27th, 2003, 01:57 PM

Hey guys,

I have a few nitpicky questions about the final Version of Dominions II that maybe some of you can help me with. I've seen an early draft of the manual, and as far as I can tell, none of these are addressed there.

1) When you right click on units in a battle, the icons for all the units in that square/hex are displayed at the bottom of the info box. Under each icon, there might be one or more colored bars. I presume these reflect wounds, morale, that sort of thing. Can anyone tell me what colors represent what attributes?

2) What are the sword icons in the general's buttons on the main map screen? I thought they were the number of squads, but I don't think that's correct.

3) I'm not clear on how merc bidding works now. For instance, why are Hector's Heavy Horsemen going for 412 pounds of gold, but in parentheses, I'm informed that he only asks 220 pounds of gold "for employment by most other nations"? Huh? What did I do that I get charged extra?

4) I presume it's better to concentrate as many units in a squad as you can, since routing is a function of the ratio between casualites and squad size? I don't recall if this was the rule in Dom I, but it seems then that basically, the bigger the squad the better, even if you're mixing unit types.

5) I think I've got this figured out via tests, but if a unit has, say, Forest Survival, it can pass unobstructed through a province with Forest listed a terrain type regardless of any other terrain type listed. So if a province has Forest and Mountain listed, both Forest and Mountain Survival Units are benefitted, correct?

6) Umm, I feel like this is a super dumb question, but how can I tell the difference between a spy and a scout? I've only been fiddling with a couple of nations, so maybe I'm not using a nation with a readily available spy.

7) Ack, is there no way to speed up the battle replays? Say it isn't so! I loved that feature in Dom I. I noticed there is a hotkey to turn off the background terrain, so maybe there's a stealth hotkey to speed up/slow down the replays?

Thanks in advance,

-Tom

MythicalMino · #2 October 27th, 2003, 03:04 PM

lol....no complaints....i actually look forward to your "Three Finger Salute" every month...

I hope you are the one doing the review for dom2....

you know, since you are playing it and all....asking questions....replying to me

Saber Cherry · #3 October 27th, 2003, 07:32 PM

Along the same lines of speeding up battles - can you exit battles?

I accidentally pushed a button during a battle replay that froze the battle, and I could still scroll, but there was no way (I could find) to resume the battle, or exit from it. I had to alt-tab out, kill DomII, and reload it. So. Is there an exit battle key?

Kristoffer O · #4 October 27th, 2003, 07:35 PM

'space' - pause/unpause battles

arrow keys and pg up/d to move perspective and zoom

'q' - quit battle

Use '?' when in the main menu to view all keyboard shortcuts.

Nerfix · #5 October 27th, 2003, 07:35 PM

Space pauses the batle, Q exits the batle.

Edit-K.O was faster...

[ October 27, 2003, 18:34: Message edited by: Nerfix ]

PvK · #6 October 27th, 2003, 10:45 PM

I think it can help to have several smaller squads under different commanders, sometimes. One consideration is that when the leader dies or routs, their troops usually do too. So if a huge number of men are under one leader, there is the risk of a mass retreat. The same is true of ordinary casualties - there is still some chance of a huge group routing - all eggs in one basket.

With units in smaller Groups, you can also get an effect where a small group that has been fighting routs, but other fresh Groups have no morale check at all, and fill in the gap. Since the routed units are likely to be wounded, this can actually reduce your overall casualties from a battle - sometimes fleeing to fight another day is a good thing - sticking around while nearly dead often isn't a good idea.

PvK

Kristoffer O · #7 October 28th, 2003, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by TomWChick:
Hey guys,

I have a few nitpicky questions about the final Version of Dominions II that maybe some of you can help me with. I've seen an early draft of the manual, and as far as I can tell, none of these are addressed there.

1) When you right click on units in a battle, the icons for all the units in that square/hex are displayed at the bottom of the info box. Under each icon, there might be one or more colored bars. I presume these reflect wounds, morale, that sort of thing. Can anyone tell me what colors represent what attributes?

2) What are the sword icons in the general's buttons on the main map screen? I thought they were the number of squads, but I don't think that's correct.

3) I'm not clear on how merc bidding works now. For instance, why are Hector's Heavy Horsemen going for 412 pounds of gold, but in parentheses, I'm informed that he only asks 220 pounds of gold "for employment by most other nations"? Huh? What did I do that I get charged extra?

4) I presume it's better to concentrate as many units in a squad as you can, since routing is a function of the ratio between casualites and squad size? I don't recall if this was the rule in Dom I, but it seems then that basically, the bigger the squad the better, even if you're mixing unit types.

5) I think I've got this figured out via tests, but if a unit has, say, Forest Survival, it can pass unobstructed through a province with Forest listed a terrain type regardless of any other terrain type listed. So if a province has Forest and Mountain listed, both Forest and Mountain Survival Units are benefitted, correct?

6) Umm, I feel like this is a super dumb question, but how can I tell the difference between a spy and a scout? I've only been fiddling with a couple of nations, so maybe I'm not using a nation with a readily available spy.

7) Ack, is there no way to speed up the battle replays? Say it isn't so! I loved that feature in Dom I. I noticed there is a hotkey to turn off the background terrain, so maybe there's a stealth hotkey to speed up/slow down the replays?

Thanks in advance,

-Tom

1) Wounds - red, poison - green, fatigue - blue.
2) Sum of commanded units. 1 sword 1-25 units, 2 swords 26-50 units etc
3) Some mercs are more expensive to some nations. But it do sound a bit strange. Was this your initial offer or did you try to rehire them after three turns?
4) Right. But it is not wise to mix high and low morale units. If the high morale units dies the cowardly ones will rout and take the brave ones with them.
5) Right. Otherwise the terrains would be very obstructive.
6) Not a very dumb question. A spy symbol should be included. Meanwhile read descriptions or try to 'instill uprising' in an enemy province. Only spies can do this.
7) Unfortunately not. I'm not sure what can be done about this. I'll ask JK.

MythicalMino · #8 October 28th, 2003, 02:24 AM

might be a stupid question here...but is this the same Tom Chick that is in the Computer Games Magizine?

Just wondering

Johan K · #9 October 28th, 2003, 02:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by TomWChick:

3) I'm not clear on how merc bidding works now. For instance, why are Hector's Heavy Horsemen going for 412 pounds of gold, but in parentheses, I'm informed that he only asks 220 pounds of gold "for employment by most other nations"? Huh? What did I do that I get charged extra?

The different pricing is very similar to how it was in Dominions I. However the price difference was secret in the previous game. If you feel badly treated then I suspect you are playing Pangaea or Ermor as they are the nations who are most disliked by the mercs.

TomWChick · #10 October 28th, 2003, 02:51 AM

Whoa, that was quick! Thanks, guys!

Johan was right about the Merc prices. I was playing Pangaea, so they were more expensive. Actually, I think this makes perfect sense and I'm glad there was some indicator that they didn't like me as much.

BTW, I hope all these side-specific bonuses such as more expensive mercs, cheaper temples, and whatnot are listed somewhere! I haven't studied the nation descriptions closely and I don't have a final draft of the manual, but I'd hate to think those sort of important details are kept under the hood. On the whole, you guys did a fantastic job with the tool tips and I think it'll make the game a *lot* more accessible to new players.

Ah, I thought there was a separate spy symbol. Thanks for pointing that out. I knew the little brown cloak meant scout, so it makes sense there's a separate one for spies.

Good point on mixing morale levels, Kristoffer! I hadn't thought of that.

As for the battle replay speed, I can understand you guys are using a completely different routine this time around. It might be a real pain in the butt to deal with variable speeds. But there are times I just want to see what spells are being used, how a particular squad is faring, or who killed one of my commanders. But sometimes it takes waaaaaay too long for this when I have to wait for every arrow volley to arc across the screen. In Dom I, I just tapped a number key to crank up the speed and watch for what I needed to see. I miss that.

And to answer cpbeller, yep, that's me. Send all complaints to my editor.

-Tom