For Naum (Dominions 3 demo)

[Sky]

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/10/05/dominions3/index.php

http://shrapnelgames.com/Illwinter/Dom3/1.htm

[naum]

Thanks Sky :)

Just ordered a copy before I stumbled into here...

I read on Shrapnel Dom3 BB the demo is a bit gimpier than even Dom 2 (limit on nations, total turns, research level)... ...but I need no persuasion to shell out shekels for the greatest TBS series ever...

Sad though is that its excessive price, lack of digital DL purchase, and byzantine online order form processing flow is sure to doom it to cult following status...

A mini-review snippet...

Ok a review from me too, i try to be objective and not too much a fanboy (which i am obviously  ).

Dom3 is a very good game. It is better than Dom2, and Dom2 is the best turn based strategy game i know. A sequel is not necessarily better then the predecessor, think about e.g. C&C 3 or Warcraft 3 or Civ 3.

A lot of content has been added. The era system works surprisingly well, it adds history to dominions and the eras are fun. And if you want to play cross era you can do this with a simple mod .

If i would praise all the things i like in Dom3 and which are better than in Dom2 i could easily write 10+ pages.
I am not doing this, i only list my few issues i have with Dom 3 (they are minor):

- MP balance is not yet as good as it was with CB for Dom2.
It is already much better as Dom2 vanilla.
And this issue will be fixed by the community eventually.

- 4 nations are still missing: Early and late era machaka, late era pythium and early era man.
They will be added with patches.

- Some micromanagement reduction features do not fully work, mainly the auto site search function.
Those issues are likely to be patched.

- Some micromanagement issues are still present, like blood hunting MM nightmare with mictlan.


Those are my main issues i have currently with Dom3. As you can see they are very minor and most of them are likely to be fixed with patches or by the community. For PC games it is normal that version 1.00 is rather buggy (anyone ever played a paradox game in the 1.00 version? Or RTW? Or Civ 4?). Imho Dom3 is there an exeption, 1.00 is already pretty solid.

If you are a hardcore Dom2 fan and played Dom2 extremely much you will when you get Dom3 most likely soon be disimpressed for a short while. But you cannot go back to Dom2 anymore and after a while of playing you will notice how many subtle changes were added that nicely add up and improve the game a lot compared to Dom2, e.g. the new random magic system, the slightly toned down SCs etc. etc..

If you are new to the Dom universe you will be busy for years with exploring Dom3, as Dom2 veteran you will be busy for many months at least.

Dom3 is a worthy sequel and a must buy for turn based strategy game fans.

[tazelbain]

Have they improved the graphics significantly over Dom2?

[naum]

Have they improved the graphics significantly over Dom2?

Some screenies from a preview piece:
http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=34787

In short, graphics improvement but not "significantly".

Random maps added (though it was easy for anyone with a graphics editing program capable of creating .tga files to create excellent maps in Dom2) and Illwinter has addressed a bunch of the wish list on eliminating superfluous micromanagement.

The graphics still suck, but this game has always been about gameplay, not pretty pictures.

[tazelbain]

I can respect that except when the graphics are so bad it hard to figure out what is happening.

[naum]

I can respect that except when the graphics are so bad it hard to figure out what is happening.

Eh, the graphics are good enough "to figure out what is happening".

Plan to write a full review peppered with screenshots, but thus far, after completing a few blitz style games, here are some of my thoughts, on what's new, what's good, what's poor...

PLUS PLUS

* Random Maps - big, small, water, no water, mountains, no mountains, extremely customizable and makes really good maps. Has really added to the game as Dom2 provided maps were pitiful and the best maps crafted by game players (who did some make some excellent maps). Graphics arn't Civ4 by any stretch, but the maps scale up and down just fine and look good enough to me...
...random maps can even be scripte into the game server.

* Ages - the feature of nation "themes" dumped, and instead, early age, middle age, and late age is a game option. Difference being that early age is more magic oriented, late age more "conventional" combat unit geared.

* New nations, new units many new pretender physical forms, lots of national specific spells - strategic depth unrivaled by any other game... ...thousands of units, hundreds of pretenders (though depending on nation selected, you get to choose a subset of those)

* More income, resources by default - making getting to the action a lot quicker, but all of these settings are easily customizable that can lend to another game style easily..

* 300 page manual! - well not sure if this is that great of a plus, but it's a great manual, half devoted to grimoire and magic items that can be crafted or nation specific spells and breakdowns for summons, rituals, and independent nation units...

MINUS

* 3-D battle film/renactments basically the same, upgraded a tad but I really would like to see a detailed battle turn report option. Battle reports with detailed casualty stats or at least tell me which commander didn't make it out of battle... ...watching the battle film is cool but it'd be nice if the game would spit out the turn by turn results at least at a summary level...

* Need more hotkeys for F1 nation overview - great that you can click on all the commanders, sites and provinces in the listings, but better would be if I had hotkeys to search for my prophet, highlight priests v. mages v. comanders, sort by income, resources, defense, etc...

[sinij]

I'm not a graphics whore but Dom3 looks asstastic. Does it make up in other areas?

[naum]

I'm not a graphics whore but Dom3 looks asstastic. Does it make up in other areas?

Yes.

A deep TBS that makes Civ series look like checkers, with elements of CCG play, RPG and all the usual wargame stuff...

* Like a RPG but instead of roiling up a character, you roll up a God (Pretender). You get a set number of points and then choose your God's physical form, magic path skills (there are 8 paths of magic), dominion scales (order, growth, heat/cold, luck), and starting dominion level (sort of like a measure of your God's message power).

* Like a CCG in a sense that even on a non-random map, you don't know where magic sites (which may provide gems, or gold or other goodies) and/or independent units await you. Also there are random events (which the order/chaos scale on your nation's dominion scale may increase or decrease).

* But at the core, essentailly a wargame, about killing the other nations that don't "believe in your God", and battle strategy to achieve that goal. Different nations have different strengths and weaknesses, and how you create your Pretender, along with subsequent research and expansion strategy makes for a varied tapestry.

[naum]

I know I wrote that I would post a review, maybe soon post major software install, post election and enough of a gap of time away from Dom3 (and a little WoW when I want to do brain-less gaming)... ...but here is a good review of Dominions 3

http://www.entertainmentwise.com/review?id=24243

Conjuring up images of warm log fires, sipping wine and playing Granddad at Risk, or perhaps a geeky gathering around a table in a large, welcoming house to tee off with some table top Warhammer … all these things and more may mean that you’re possibly the sort who would like Dominions 3.  Coming off the back of Dominions 2, essentially this is a board game that you play on your computer, either with yourself against the AI or against other friends using the internet/network.  Definitely smacking of Civilization games, the idea in short (though truly nothing about this game is ever ‘in short’) is to conquer a board that you’re playing on, which resembles part of a world.

This is made up of realms or estates; small regions which you must conquer then hold to gain resources etc.  In each area you can send out spies, build structures, order armies, search for magic sites and a do a host of other things.  Every area has specific ‘stats’ so for example, in a hilly forest region, you can only build a forest fort, not a desert castle.  The game is incredibly in depth, with everything clickable on and almost every single option customisable down to the nth detail.

You can re name your magicians, druids, monsters and men (there are over 1,500 units within the game, each specific to certain regions and situations) so that you know who is who, assign a prophet to your avatar (the giant object in each world which represents your ‘piece’) and even research spells for your units to use – there’s more than 600 of these.  Crikey!

Everything is dependant on other factors, for example; if your unit has a fatal wound, this will effect what he or she will do on the field of battle.  A level four druid cannot find level 5 magic sites when he searches a region for them.  Sometimes random events will occur, based on the game’s current trends and other factors.  These can be bad, so-so or good for you, and there are clover logos assigned to each region letting you know how high the chance is that the next random event will be bad or good.  Sometimes events will reward you with great fighters for your side, sometimes with hilarious names.  We got a green druid guy called ‘The One in the Woods’ one time – and he kicked butt.

...

With fifty playable nations to choose from, this is probably the widest arching game in terms of sheer gaming experience that we’ve ever seen.  This is not one for the casual gamer; it’s a super geeky title with a lovely interface that anybody can understand once they grasp the tutorial.  If you’re a hardcore gamer who loves board, tabletop, fantasy and strategy titles, then you will love this.  If you are definitely none of the above, avoid.  You won’t get past the intro screen – this is not a game for children, image-driven gamers or people without much gaming time. It also requires you to think and not be ‘window’ pushed around the game; every option is your own.

What it does, it does better than anything we’ve ever seen.  It’s punishment for being so brilliant however, is the fact that a large volume of gamers simply won’t want to play it.  This is for the gaming elite, and for them, Heaven has arrived.  It’s nice, but it’s like asking a teenager to design a steam boat.