Don't sweat it with Domina

Domina is IMO sort of a clicker game. You don’t need to click very much if you don’t want to, but it gives that part of your brain that likes to optimize and see the numbers go up lots of rewards.

The developer needs to do a sort of Darkest Dungeon themed Domina game, I’d play it.

When I click on the youtube link in the article it just takes me to my own list of videos that I’ve uploaded.

I haven’t played it, but watching it streamed, the lack of information about what’s going on in the battles killed it for me. Why give me the choice to upgrade someone’s helmet or greaves when I never know if they get hit in the head or legs?

Oops. Fixed. Thanks for the heads up.

Just lie back and relax, says Domina. That stuff isn’t for you to bother with.

But as a dyed-in-the-wool strategy gamer, I completely understand the complaint. Out of curiosity, is that how sports management games work? You’re messing around with a bunch of numbers but when it comes time for the simulation to kick in, it’s essentially a black box?

-Tom

Most of them, yes. Some have a little bit of in-game management, but there’s a whole “analyze the numbers, arrange your guys, and then sit back and watch it play out” aspect to the whole genre. It’s the type of thing I play (the OOTP series, especially) when I want to multi-task or just turn a portion of my mind off.

I only let the AI play out my fights, but I really wish there were a way to make them happen much, much more slowly.

Right now I can’t really see who did what or how or when. I want to actually watch the fights!

I realize this isn’t something many take into account, but the entire game is developed by one guy, I actually kinda admire how strict and focused his gameplay is - Im sure thats also the reason the game is so popular - it does what it sets out to do, and doesn’t get bogged down in feature creep.

As a principle @Miguk I think you hit upon something. If you can choose something in a game then you should have a way to manage or observe its impact at the same resolution.

Hmm good design rule of thumb. Thanks.

As a principle, yes. But that’s so NOT a principle at work in Domina. And it seems to me, as per @DantesWitness post above, that’s by design as the way sports management sims work. For me, it works in Domina because I’m playing a fat lazy wealthy Roman who can’t be bothered to care.

That said, if I wanted to play it more like, say, Burgess Meredith in Rocky, where I actually care about my fighters and know what I’m doing, it would be really nice to have some sort of log of the fight’s specifics, or at least a slo-mo option like @Mr_Bismarck suggests.

-Tom

They added a feature where you can slow fights down to 1/2 of normal speed. It helps a lot in seeing what is going on, and means you can actually play some fights too.

Correct, its called blunt weapons if I recall, its in the options menu.

I have about 5-6 hours in , seen most of what there is, still haven’t made it to an ending where I don’t die. :p

Die?? Tom promised me a risk free life of decadent corruption. How do you die??

I don’t want to spoil it! :p

Fair enough :)

I thought blunt weapons made the fights longer, not slower?

Receiveth up thee son and heir of a mongrel bitch! Because mickey loves thee

Yes, they are two different features.

Press the arrow keys to slow/increase the flow of time in the game (even in the training screen)
Use Kosc’s option for whatever.

Domina is like a clicker where I don’t even have to do the clicking most of the time.

Most clickers I’ve played require very little clicking aside from the beginning. Like priming an engine and letting it run. Oh so very satisfying.

Correction:
“Lazy days in Ancient Rome while other people [do] all the fussing and fighting.”

Ha ha, you play clickers!

As usual, @Mercanis, you’re awesome for being my online copy editor. Every writer should have a guy like you.

-Tom

Tom, have you played Spaceplan? It’s a clicker with a bit of story. It’s short, and it’s got a pretty neat ending.

I haven’t even heard of it, but you just said two of my favorite things in videogames: “short” and “pretty neat ending”.

Grabbing it now!

-Tom