There is a respawn setting - I just haven’t tailored a game around it.
For comparison - in MoM once you start getting powerful units like Paladins, high level summons, etc is when the fun really begins as then you can hit all those high level lairs you had to run from previously.
This game the lairs are generally depleted by that time from my experience. BUT given the multitude of game options there may be a way to alleviate that issue (10-20x lair respawn rate, or maybe limit everyone to 5 cities on a very large map) - I’m just not sure if you can actually tune it to be “fun” or if it’s just a major flaw of the game itself.
Yeah, the dungeons are really where it’s at. Also, on the default settings the lairs/dungeons do respawn. You can set the respawn rate higher or lower as you please. On big maps there’s so many lairs and dungeons you’ll have a hard time clearing them all. And there are indeed some very tough, high level lairs you’ll need to come back to once you’re powerful enough to take them on. Like black dragon lairs.
The practical limit is probably somewhere around 2500x2500 but that is truly enormous. Even a 1000x1000 map is extremely huge and you will probably never finish because it’s so big. You could probably play it for well over 5000 turns. Maybe for the rest of your life (haha, only partly kidding). It will take a very, very long time before you see the AI on a map that size. But, in truth, they don’t limit map sizes so it can be as big as your PC can handle.
Most folks playing against 5 or 6 AIs play at a map size of 80x60 or smaller. 100x100 is a pretty big map and that’s what I use.
I bought it on sale for $15 and have 18 hours in, and feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface. Still enjoying it and haven’t played anything else since.
I think I may bite the bullet. This game looks interesting because it appears the developer(s) keeps working on it. I notice above there was some talk of a lack of “imminence” but you know a slow burn strategic game is fun too. I may jump in.
This game is a great 4X and it’s very deep. MOM on steroids is not a bad analogy.
For new players, the AI in this game will put a lot of pressure on you if you enjoy that kind of tension. Starting on a small map with 4 or 5 AIs can be a brutal slug fest right from the start. If you want more room to grow, expand and experiment before duking it out with the AI, just choose a larger map or fewer AI players so you don’t run into them so quickly.
This game has the most customization of any I’ve ever played. You can set a game up to be pretty much exactly the type of 4X experience you like. Don’t be afraid to dive in and tweak the settings until you get just what you want. There’s the settings at game setup and then once you start a game there are an absolute ton of in-game settings as well. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a text config file if you really want to dig into things. They expose an awful of game mechanics lot for us players to tweak. So don’t be discouraged if you don’t like the game defaults, that’s just a suggested starting place.
You will put a LOT of hours into the game and still be learning the ropes. There’s a lot to it and a lot to learn. The default game pace is slow but you can speed that up in the setting as well if you want your games to progress faster. It’s a very good game if you like games like this and don’t mind a learning curve. There are a ton of helpful starting tips up-thread as well as the recent guide @tylertoo just put together.
Yes, the more I play it the more I like it. Not just learning how to play, but as CS said, customizing it to the way you like it. For instance, I found dungeon diving to be a bit of a slog. But, they added an in-game option to set it to one level. I now adjust it on the fly depending on my mood or if I need xp or loot. I also felt the game pace was too slow, so I made it faster. I also increased the leveling speed.
Also, the AI is decent. In my last game I thought it wasn’t doing much, then it started sending multiple stacks at me and I expanded too much and couldn’t defend it all.
How does the lair difficulty work? I went into one that said it was a lot lower than the strength of my stack, and killed some boars on the 1st level. It didn’t end and I found a spot that descended another to another level, and proceeded to get killed by a white dragon.
I got this back when and ended up refunding it for one reason or another, but I pop in here every so often to see what’s what, and I think it might be time to use up those funds that have been taking up space in my Steam wallet…
To be clear, the game calls both types lairs, “Outdoor Lairs” and “Underground Lairs.” Yes, only the latter are multi-level, and I believe the strength rating you see is only for the first level, so delvers beware.
@robc04 and @Kolbex if you do buy it, opt in to the beta branch, which is far more current and is very stable. No one should be playing the main branch, IMHO (at least until he updates it).
You can change that setting in the middle of a game?
Yes, you can. You can also change the size of the dungeon levels to be bigger/smaller. I like to make them smaller so I don’t have to run around nearly as much on each level to find the mobs and goodies. Makes thing go much more quickly.
I do the same as @T11. My game speed is set to 6 (very fast).
Yes, you can change in game settings on the fly from the bottom right. I set dungeon depth depending on my needs. I think I have the speed one up from normal. I also set dungeon size to the smallest. And level up speed requires a complicated change to the text file. I’m at work now, I’ll try to remember later.
Also, beware in dungeons as even low level ones could have things you might not be able to handle, like mages or dragons. Tip for mages is to use your own mages and heroes and leave out normal units.
