1721

Huh? This is what I read:

Murdering Winter I don’t mind, and Wrathful Skies falls under the heading of a BACKOV sometimes.

followed by:

I don’t consider Wrathfull Skies a “Backov” problem because it can be used effectively by groups of mundane mages with just Air 2, and Air Queens don’t need it to kick ass. IMHO the problem is spells that target all units in a province, against which there is generally no defense.

What do you mean he wasn’t talking about Wrathful Skies? I think my brain is turning to mush, I’m just not connecting to people in some basic way now . . . .

1722

Huh? Here’s the exact quote you were replying to. Here’s your whole post, beginning to end:

It bothers me, and that bothers me for two reasons: 1. it unbalances things in the same way as an SC slaughtering an entire army; and 2. I think it is usually a problem in a game when one spell of a particular level does, in 95% of the cases, far more damage than other spells of the same level.

It’s not just that Wrathful Skies does too much damage (which it does); it’s that it is such a superior spell versus other spells.[/quote]
So the part of his post you were replying to–and his “Why doesn’t it bother you?” question you were answering–is about Murdering Winter, not Wrathful Skies. That’s why he says the only defense is “innate cold resistance or hit points” (not, for example, shock resistance or storm flight, the two best defenses against Wrathful Skies).

1723

It bothers me, and that bothers me for two reasons: 1. it unbalances things in the same way as an SC slaughtering an entire army; and 2. I think it is usually a problem in a game when one spell of a particular level does, in 95% of the cases, far more damage than other spells of the same level.

It’s not just that Wrathful Skies does too much damage (which it does); it’s that it is such a superior spell versus other spells.[/quote]
So the part of his post you were replying to–and his “Why doesn’t it bother you?” question you were answering–is about Murdering Winter, not Wrathful Skies. That’s why he says the only defense is “innate cold resistance or hit points” (not, for example, shock resistance or storm flight, the two best defenses against Wrathful Skies).[/quote]

Eck, that’s because I was stupid and quoted the wrong section. That explains it.

1724

All righty, I give in. I can’t find an online source that lists all of the recruitable creatures for each nation in Dom2. They aren’t in the manual, and I can’t locate a list via the Shrapnel forums. Can anyone help me? Thanks!

1725

Here it is in Excel format. It was made by Sunray & Company.

I’ll direct link since you might have a problem knowing which one you need.

www.techno-mage.com/~zen/unitattributes.zip

It’s pretty information intensive as it has all the different dodads (like weapons, stats, etc) for you to look at.

1726

Thank you so much!

1727

Ben Noob game. Turn 33, I finally get around to attacking my neighbour. My Chinese hordes take on 3 seraphs with a staff of storms. Of course, my force is annihilated.
Remind me again about the ‘Noob’ part of this game.
I’m beginning to tire of Dom2 because the gameplay is moving away from what I thought it would be- epic battle of national troops- and into munchkin land. If the perceived wisdom of the game is to only use a few generic bits of cheese as best practice, what’s the point?

1728

See? There is demand for house rules - at least barring Wrathful Skies. Seems we’re losing our most promising newbies here.

I’d really like to know if Illwinter is going to nerf the worst cheese tactics, or not.

1729

I think it’s going to come down to playstyle to keep me interested in Dom2 in the long run. Like you, I have zero interest in munchkin-wars and I have no problems whatsoever with nerfing stuff like clam hording, lifedrain, Wrathful skies, etc. to make the game more enjoyable for me and those that like to play the same way I do.

So, as i’ve said in the past, count me in for the No Cheese League…

1730

I think it’s going to come down to playstyle to keep me interested in Dom2 in the long run. Like you, I have zero interest in munchkin-wars and I have no problems whatsoever with nerfing stuff like clam hording, lifedrain, Wrathful skies, etc. to make the game more enjoyable for me and those that like to play the same way I do.

So, as i’ve said in the past, count me in for the No Cheese League…[/quote]

Agreed, but for so many reasons it would be better if Illwinter took care of some of these things officially. First, it removes the ability for people to do some things (like gem hording) covertly if it is a change in the game and not “gentlemen’s agreement.” Second, for some reason I find it irritating (and would assume at least some others do as well) to have to avoid taking certain actions that are possible in the game but “outlawed” by house rules (e.g. can I put a staff of storms on an air mage whose commands are unscripted, knowing that it might cast wrathful skies).

I’m sure there are many other reasons to make official changes, but I haven’t seen a ton of feedback from the devs. I know that these requests appear kneejerk to some, but are they being given any thought or considered for implementation?

1731

qt3aranwars:
interesting fact:
machaka gets blindness(lvl 6 alteration) as a starting spell. I am now the proud owner of 6 blind hydras worth 300 gold each. Should have known that before I invaded. Oh well gift of health is only ~800 rp away.

1732

Well, now I almost wish I hadn’t used the AQ just to see how a conventional battle would have turned out. :) Good game, anyway.

1733

You can allways make a mod that removes the offending items or makes them prohibitively expensive. Since most of the players here seem to have somewhat similar tastes it shouldn’t be to big a problem on agreeing on the parameters of a Qt3 mod.

1734

Blind or not, they seemed to have little trouble wiping out my army. Bastard. :wink:

How the fuck do you kill those things?!

1735

As of today There is also a dom3 press release over at the shrapnel site.

1736

Well, I see this on the site “Prepare Thyself For Dominions III! And Lo, There Was Much Rejoicing!” but the actual link brings to a press release about Lock-n-Load… :?:

Found it

Hardcore strategy gamers around the world should begin to stock up on massive amounts of caffeine and sugar laden food and beverages, for 2005 looks to be the Year of Insomnia. It is with great pleasure that upon this day Shrapnel Games and Illwinter Game Design would like to announce that work has begun on Dominions III, the direct sequel to the multi-award winning Dominions II: The Ascension Wars.

Dominions III will build on the foundation of greatness laid out in Dominions II, taking an already proven formula of addictive strategic gameplay and enhancing it in many ways. Some of these changes come directly from the input of the wonderful worldwide Dominions community, while others spring straight from the gaming genius minds of Illwinter. Here is but a taste of what to expect from Dominions III:

  • Several new nations, which in turn will increase the number of possible players to create some truly epic wars of ascension.

  • A brand new interface making it even easier to simply jump in and play.

  • A random map generator for endless game possibilities.

  • New battlefield backgrounds.

  • Many more exciting features!

Come now, you didn’t really expect us to detail everything? Anticipation is a fantastic feeling, yes? As work progresses on Dominions III and the feature list becomes more solidified expect to see more features revealed, many of which will bring great joy to Dominions II players.

“Dominions III will be an excellent fusion of proven ideas and awesome new features, many taken directly from gamers whose passion for Dominions II is amazing,” Tim Brooks, President and Founder of Shrapnel Games, commented. “This will be an evolutionary title that will give the faithful thousands upon thousands more hours of the unparalleled intense fantasy gaming they’ve come to enjoy with Dominions II.”

While the current release date is “when it’s done”, gamers should expect to see Dominions III ascend in late 2005 if all goes well. Like Dominions II: The Ascension Wars, Dominions III will be available on a wide range of popular operating systems, including Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Solaris will no longer be supported.

Keep watching www.shrapnelgames.com for more news on Dominions III, and for all your Dominions II: The Ascension Wars information please visit www.shrapnelgames.com/Illwinter/d2/1.htm

For press related information please contact Scott R. Krol at: skrol@shrapnelgames.com

1737

Dom 3? And I thought you’d support Dom2 forever just in order to avoid having to do interface programming again…

So has patching of Dom2 now officially ceased?

edit: And, did you listen to Peter Frazier and license the Rome: Total War battle engine? :)

editedit: I’m excited like hell, but in a distant, long-term, Bioshock-like way.

1738

Nope, there will be more patches.

The link from shrapnel went the wrong way, the proper release is here

http://www.shrapnelgames.com/News/pr_01.htm

Edit: Missed guildboss post

1739

Blind or not, they seemed to have little trouble wiping out my army. Bastard. :wink:

How the fuck do you kill those things?![/quote]

I really don´t know how to kill those things early in the game. with earth 9 and nature 4 blessing, they have 16 protection 99 morale, 72 hp, regeneration, poison cloud etc. Later of course you can use soul slay and the like since MR is fairly low. That´s why I figured attacking early might be a good idea :wink: .

1740

Yay!