We need @cicobuff with another pictorial learner’s guide! Though getting one for Dom3 is probably a bit of a stretch. :)
I keep seeing people praising this game. But never had a chance to play this. I’ll put it on wishlist and see if I can grab this on a sale. And maybe, just maybe be inspired again to write one for this. =)
Well, as per the last few posts you are better off putting Dom4 on the wishlist rather than Dom3! ;)
Awesome game, just takes a bit of effort to get your head around.
Yes Sir!
Well how about that! :)
Wow, spoilt for choice here with all the sales going on!
Which one do I get? Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension?
YES!!
That is the optimum selection.
I would not spend the money on earlier versions. Waste of time.
COE…I think everyone would say that COE has some interesting mechanics but ultimately fails to hold their interest. Perhaps with better production values it would be an evergreen, but as it stands…pass.
Dominions4…If you get into it, Dominions 4 can take over your life and you’ll play it for multiple years. It’s not the game for everyone, but it’s worth $7.00 to find out to find out if it’s the game for YOU.
Any chance they have improved the AI in Dominions 4? The game looks stellar but I wouldn’t play multiplayer and I read when this game came out that the AI was terribad.
No chance, as the game has too many moving parts. :) Nevertheless it’s still super entertaining in single player regardless of AI deficiencies, you’ll get plenty of hours joy for your $7!
Ah I figured, well if it’s still fun in single player it sounds like it’s still a great deal for the price. I notice in the feature list that it has play by email, is it easy to play multiplayer like that?
I’ve never played Dom4 PBEM, but I did play Dom3 that way. I’m pretty sure it’s still the same.
It’s easy enough, but is a manual process of emailing .trn files to the server, and copying received files into a game folder.
It’s a steal at $7, even for SP. There is nothing else like it and you will get hours of enjoyment out of it until you really begin to notice any AI deficiencies. The AI is not completely hopeless, it just can’t deal with all the permutations of all the available tools. Until you get a handle on quite a few of the moving parts yourself, I think the AI will keep you challenged and entertained.
Oh right, so it doesn’t have a mode where you can play asynchronously within the game?
Sadly no. :(
The process is not all the bad, once you get the hang of it though. There are a few hosting services everyone uses (llamaserver) to actually host the games, you just need to manage email and turn files.
Frankly, I am amazed nobody has ever build a standalone app that automates that bit - moving files, renaming old turn files, emailing, etc.
Actually, they have slightly improved the AI in the last year. Not enough to be challenging to an experience player for sure, as others said the game has too many moving parts*, but enough for the first half dozen games.
*: I read an article the other day in a newspaper saying how AI had already beaten humans ‘at games’, referencing how Google’s DeepMind beat the human champion in Go, explaining how Go was a magnitude more complex than chess. There was an implication that Go was then the ‘ceiling’ of complex games. Lol.
Bought, thanks for the replies fellows. What is the best way to learn the game?
To start with, follow Dr. @Brooski’s tutorial in the manual (page 10):
http://www.illwinter.com/dom4/manual_dom4.pdf
edit: Oh, and then from page 118 there are some nation strategy guides.
Then I’ve heard this recent series is pretty good:
Awesome!
We are also trying to organize a new Dom 4 MP game with some veterans and new players if any of you are interested. I can’t seem to find the thread where we were working on getting folks for this, though.