I don’t really think the MP players are actually asking for anything unreasonable. I agree with most of what they say- for example, it is almost impossible to meaningfully defend anything right now, which is one of the consequences of bumping the settlements onto the map.
He was pretty up-front in the video update above that they are not going to degrade the SP experience with MP changes. Still, I’m concerned about the hours the devs spending on MP demands detracting from them spending those hours making SP and the map editor better instead.
In my experience, MP players scream loudly on forums about what they want but when it comes to actual play statistics, a low percentage of players actually do MP on these kinds of games.
I picked this up, because I realise I’ve been missing a good HoMM game (I don’t think there’s been a good one since V - VI would have been good if it wasn’t riddled with bugs).
There’s some really interesting stuff in here. The unit cap makes for some very interesting decisions regarding what units to focus on, and makes taking losses in the early game in exchange for progress actually worth something (in other HoMM games, it seems that unless you can take a fight with zero losses it’s probably not worth your time).
The way troops act as fuel for magic - and the way magic works in general - is a pretty novel take. I need to spend some time with it to fully understand it, but playing as a magic focused Wielder was pretty heavily different to a combat focused one. I’m intrigued to see where this goes.
I mean what have these dev’s been doing these last 5 years, the game barely looks different than the prototype. :D
Such an incredible game - I only took a break to let it mature a bit, not because I wasn’t thrilled each time I played it. That’s a sexy roadmap, to say the least.
I thought about buying this the other day, but I ended up grabbing Gloomhaven. On the wishlist, though.
You will not be disappointed.
I bought this today, hoping I get tonplay it tomorrow.
I was just thinking about this today. I look forward to your impressions of the state of the game. I’m interested in picking it up, but want to see how it shapes up approaching full release.
Same here! Bought it during the Steam summer sale, but haven’t dived in yet. ARK is keeping me busy! Let us know what you think.
My impressions, or “your” as in plural?
Flattered if the former :).
Edit:
36 minutes of playtime, chapter 1 of Song 1 complete.
Initial thoughts:
Pretty intuitive.
Move stuff on a map, your mana is generated in combat, so the more troops the more mana. Mana is called essence and different troops produce different essences. The essences you have determine which spells are available, as does the amount of essence. So, the longer the fight, the more the essence.
Combat map is small but intuitive - reminds me of Eador. All in all, quite fun already, although:
- Unit lethality seems high - as in units die quickly and you don’t have that many of them.
- Replacing units is time consuming and expensive
- The pixel style is a bit distracting - I honestly think this game with the graphics of AoW1 would work better. Those were very unobtrusive graphics :) “
Enjoyable, smooth game, with what looks to be a decent campaign, and a pretty solid basic gameplay loop.
A new version was released, with the new Battleground mode, which is a way to play directly tactical battles, against AI or online players.
Also a new map, easy mode, and better AI
So apparently some sort of random map or skirmish mode is now out? Plus apparently some more patching and development?
What’s the word from you dudes? This looks like it is in my wheelhouse and is now on sale for 33% off and it’s looking preeeeeetty close to being ready for its debut.
So what do my TBS homeys say?
Hmm, I did a little more research and it looks like SoC is right in the middle of a bunch of balance changes. I think I will avoid buying until that’s done. I hate figuring out strategies and then having them nerfed, even if they deserve to be nerfed from a game design standpoint. Better to wait until the cake is more properly baked IMO.
I will take another look during the end of year sale.
Yep, I’ve been sitting tight waiting for this to finish up.
There are maps and ‘templates’ for the random map generator here
So it’s at least nice that the creator community is already invested in the game.
I’ve been holding out for more content but man is it getting hard. I won’t ever play it multiplayer but is there enough now for single player to go ahead and dive in?
It’s worth diving in to check out the factions they have implemented - more will be coming, but if you think of it as a game that has lots of free DLC incoming it won’t feel much different than a game already released - meaning the structure (gameplay, mechanics, art) is mostly all there already, it’s just more stuff (like the newly added/upcoming? Random Map Generator). I can’t see a compelling reason to NOT fire it up and play a map for a bit and have some fun with it and then put it away again for awhile, in fact. Why not strike while the iron (interest) is hot?