One other good thing about the Engineer unit is it adds +6/healing per turn at the strategic level for Mechanical units (including gunships).
I’ve been reading the Dev Diaries as I learn the game, and they work pretty well as a manual. Gives me a sense of the big picture synergies as I tinker with the mechanics.
I really appreciate the background they’ve developed for Planetfall. The devs have always done a good job of creating worlds that look as if they have history and culture. In AoW3, though, I kept tripping over myself trying to figure out what that history was. (Why do goblins train dreadnoughts? Why would dwarves hire orcs?) At the time I figured it must just be the fantasy equivalent of post-Roman Empire and got on with it.
But their work in Planetfall linking factions, techs, and locations to the Star Union feels as polished as their game systems. I don’t know how deep the world building goes, but there’s enough there to hook my curiosity while I learn the game.
Note to self: Remember to allow your units to heal before jumping into yet another battle.
My current note to self is defend your cities when you attack other peoples: because attacking an AI’s closest city and not encountering multiple stacks defending it (that you know exist) will likely mean one of two things:
- the AI is preparing to counter attack and take back that city you’re busy trying to take, or better yet
- the AI is attacking your main city you left undefended
In my current campaign I went after the AI’s closest city, the AI left it undefended and in the fog of war moved 3 stacks down to attack my main city.
Clever that.
Edit: I still consider diplomacy in this game useless. Comparing it to Aggressors: Ancient Rome it’s so not working for me it’s painful even opening up the menu it’s so pointless by comparison.
So, unit morale affects crit / fumbles and city morale can trigger positive and/or negative events. Does morale have any additional effects?
Any way of speeding up movement across long distances mid / late game?
Double click the destination and zip, you’re there.
Any time I watch videos of people playing this one that’s one of the first tells I’m watching someone who has played a fair amount of AOW because they’ll double click the units to get them on down the road.
Relays.
Edit: and there’s a tech to speed up movement in friendly territory.
Which is one of the reasons forward based can come in handy.
I know there are some PBEM games going, but would anyone be interested in trying a game of the month, a la Civfanatics?
Here’s how it works: each month, someone sets up a game and shares the save file with the other players. Usually, the scenario is designed to have a theme, whether it’s playing to a faction’s strengths (Dvar Prometheans in a fight to the death on a hazardous world) or forcing players to get creative (Dvar Prometheans playing for a Unifier victory).
Everyone plays through the game on their own time, usually posting an opening action report with their plans for the game and an after action report detailing how the game went. Competitive players can rank their performance by speed, score, etc., and everyone gets a chance to compare notes and learn some new tricks.
If there’s enough interest (say, 5 people who’ll play in March?) I’d be happy to start a thread and figure out a way to distribute the saved game. I’d prefer if someone with a little more experience design the scenario, though.
So, over the last few days, I’ve been getting back into this, running extra large maps that take 100 + turns and wow I’m having fun.
I lost my most recent game because the AI pulled off a doomsday victory. :0
I could have won but I was having too much fun killing stuff.
And the AI that won was literally on the other side of the map.
Welp, being stuck at home makes it easier to set up a multiplayer game and sit in the lobby for a few hours so people have time to join for PBEM. I’ve set up a 6-player game (name: qt3, pw: qt3) that is currently open. I’m open to whatever settings people may be interested in (FFA, teams, comp-stomp vs. Xenoplague?).
I prefer my MP games to be versus humans (no AIs), because I play them to be challenged in a way that an AI can’t. Plus, I can take on the AI at anytime.
So, with your game open, I can log in, join, and then shut the program down?
I am tempted, but I think my Xbox subscription ends in a short while.
I know the host can’t leave the lobby, but am not sure if that applies for everyone else or not. I would assume that at worst you could set up your commander and then just minimize it and ignore it for a while.
And I’d be fine with kicking off a 1v1 if nobody else is expressing interest, and revisiting a larger game later.
I’d be up for it :)
Game’s open right now! I’ve been checking in every so often while working, but nobody else has joined yet.
I’m giving up on the PBEM game for now, but happy to try again later if anyone’s interested.
@TriumphJordi, I noticed one apparent bug while leaving the game lobby window open but minimized or in a corner of my screen for a few hours today. While the window is focused, it properly limits the framerate to 60fps, based on my desktop settings, which keeps the GPU usage around 30%. But if another window has focus, or I minimize Planetfall, it maxes out my GPU, and I can see that it’s showing ~450fps.
Hey Threag, in Options - Video there is a toggle called ‘Limit background performance’ have a look whether this is enabled or disabled. Enabling it should limit the framerate to some 15fps when anything else has focus.
If it is still up, I am available this evening GMT.
Which is afternoon onwards for the Americans here (1800 GMT is 1300 New York, 1000 LA I think?).
I forgot to join while Thraeg had the game up. @ me here when it’s up, again, and I’ll try to hop in.
What about our AoW3 PBEM players (@legowarrior, @geggis, and @Valambrian)? Do you folks own Planetfall?