One trick will be to differentiate between the center of power, and the center of gravity. Though in some cases the two are identical, in most cases they are not. if the game can separate them, we'll have a very interesting time. If not, we go from version to version of the "Stack of Doom": the only difference being the size of the stack (one Channeler vs. hordes of whatevers).
Thanks landisaurus! That's precisely what I was looking for.
I'd love to help with the Alpha, and think I could do well since I've done a fair amount of software QA, but acknowledge that with only 7 Karma and a few Stardock Titles (Galciv II through TOA, everything ObjectDesktop-related, Sins+Entrenchment), my changes are pretty slim. That given, when is Beta 1 (the "open beta") tentatively scheduled for?
We should try to get an IRC party at the launch of each alpha/beta/gold release. Of course, the Stardock team might rather go home after such milestones. They probably want to play Elemental betas with their spouses and kids (for those who are married). [e digicons];P[/e]
If Essence is finite and cannot be replenished by any means, then it seems that using it for "permanent" works is by nature the most advantageous use, vs. more "banal" utilities such as shooting off fireballs in battles. Will some magic be useable without expending Essence?
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It may be that "Essence" and "Mana" are two different things: the former representing a non-corporeal part of the channeler; the latter representing more of a "short-term endurance". I don't think every little spell should cost Essence, but major works should. Otherwise the end-game will just become a physical slugfest.
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I thought one of the earlier Journals specified it was finite.
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My own pseudonym seems pale in comparison: a mere phonetic set of letters that aren't likely to be repeated in the English-speaking world.
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And here I thought Denryu meant "Troll" in some ancient tongue... :p
It needs more rainbows and unicorns.
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Give an inch.... :p
[quote who="Szadowsz" reply="13" id="2235017"] I agree with the first paragraph The second one has be edited to be a tincy bit more accurate. I would suggest there be different levels of roads ranging from dirt to gravel to paved or something like that.[/quote] Good point. Roads of different techs would be nice.
Whichever option gets adopted, I really don't want automatic, instantaneous empire-wide distribution of resources. Resources from far away should take time to get utilized, even if I get a steady flow once the "pipeline" is primed. Roads needn't be a hard requirement: ships can transport very well, and rivers can be great resource transportation systems. Keep in mind in the ancient world roads were rare and expensive propositions for most empires: Rome was somewhat of an ano
I've started a new post at the linkbelow which discusses some options for some of the concerns expressed here. Thoughts and feedback welcome as always. https://forums.elementalgame.com/354396
A lot of peoplein the "Getting Back to Elemental" post (link below) have lamented the perceived loss of hotseat if Stardock hosts all multiplayer games. Is it possible to do one of the following: Allow one player ("user") to play multiple factions in the same game. Ensure every other player ("user") knows this, however. Allow multiplayer games to be hosted locally, but not to allow non-local users Allow players to submit turns to Stardock's serve
Borg bears.
[quote who="Denryu" reply="3" id="2230134"]@climber - you read my reasons for going this route, correct? If you have 110 resources (presumably more in late game if you have multiple sources of any resource) the map is going to be AWASH in caravans. The only options then are to abstract caravans (not popular because people want to be able to raid them) or you forget about ever seeing the ground because your kingdom is going to be one frothing mass of caravans. They won't even have to move - th
Perhaps it's better to say, and would be better to have in-game, that large armies require more training and greater discipline to move and react as quickly as a smaller army in a similar circumstance. Logistics is the killer: most ancient armies foraged a great deal--sometimes foraging involved paying the locals, sometimes not--and there just aren't many places in the world capable of supporting large populations with ancient agricultural techniques. Enter channelers, however a
I'll happily accept Karma, especially since it increases my chances of getting into the Alpha. :p But cookies are good too, especially those snickerdoodles that are just a little bit chewy on the inside, yet slightly crispy on the outside...but I digress.
[quote who="pigeonpigeon" reply="12" id="2228965"] If only the channeler can use magic, and if fantastical creatures are only rarely encountered (in player v player combat, anyways), the game will feel a little less fantastical to me. So I want magic itself to be common and very noticeable, but I'm very happy with the decision for magical creatures to be rare but accordingly powerful - I think that's a great idea and will result in magical creatures having a larger impact than
Functionally, it doesn't matter per se if we can call from "outside" the editor or "inside" the editor. If "inside" (the classic ~ prompt), it would be nice to have a lot of robustness, however (e.g. mathematical functions, data structures, etc.). The advantage to externally-facing function calls (dare I call it an "API"?) is that modders could use Python, PERL, C++, or plain-ole' shell scripting to develop algorithms for randomization. I'm sure the in-game map randomizer
Good point re: ore. I wouldn't mind the additional complexity, as the same ore could result in better or worse quality of iron or steel. Which I guess brings up another question: will we start off using bronze or iron?
Between Camp #3 and Camp #4, I think I come down in favor of Camp #3. A few chief reasons: Camp #4 doesn't seem to have any significant trade-offs within the economic system. Sure, I might be deciding between spending gold on Black Knight or spending it on Mine Upgrade III, but Camp #3 seems to have some decision-making within the economy: "do I build a new blacksmith in City A so that I can equip my troops there with something other than sticks, or build a second b
Maybe instead of "tesselation" you'd get "clumps" of cities. Of course, depending on gameplay one strategy might be to scatter your cities far and wide to try to influence as much land as possible. Or, you could try to "hide" some cities (some threads have even recommended/asked for the ability to hide cities, albeit at some great cost).
"Stack of Death" can be worked around with different types of game mechanic. Hard unit limits are one such method, though they can limit the "epic" feel of it, if they're too low. Still, they can make sense: you don't want Joe Shmuck the local Alderman suddenly in charge of 50,000 professional soldiers. The army just wouldn't function well (unless it had a decent, professional staff...). If the games operational and strategic victory conditions--that is, those things