I’m a fan of the simpler mechanics as well. I didn’t play Warlock anywhere near as much as Civ V, but I since I’m revisiting Civ V right now with Brave New World, I’m particularly aware of the difference.
I am glad they are focusing on the graphics. They really hurt the game. No need to work on the aI though since I was sooo awesome on beginner and everything.
I enjoyed Warlock quite a bit, but AoW III is looking like a tough game to beat. Although, who am I kidding, I will be buying both because I must have all the fantasy 4x.
AOW/this releasing at the same time will be unfortunate.
Hoping the AI plays better and we get more stuff - that was the area where Warlock felt lacking to me, though it was worth the $20 they were charging.
This!
Yeah, ditto this. Weak am I.
Loved the Fallout callout.
Warlock was decent enough but it felt like 75% of a game. I don’t know what they need to add to push it to 100% but i hope they can.
IMO something along the lines of changing the terrain with cities. It would be fun to have lots of terraforming essentially. Instead of just making farms, make farmland (clearing the swamp terrain underneath). Make a giant Offas Dyke around your borders. Make poulders on oceans, ect. That’s what would make cities interesting.
They added quite a few terraforming spells and advantages and disadvantages to different terrain types with one of the patches.
Uh, yeah, they added pretty much exactly what Enidigm asked for.
Oh!
Well in that case … (Hmm) … even more … Oh wait! I’ve got it! Weather!
I’ve been waiting desperately for the 4X genre to learn from GIS systems. Add a weather layer that changes on its own and can be affected by magic.
Strategy Informer posted an interview!
http://www.strategyinformer.com/pc/warlock2theexiled/interviews.html
My favorite part of the interview is the invulnerable Disney add that blocks the top paragraph. Nice!
Edit - Sorry Adam, the “less awesome” strategy site is the one I linked too!
Man, just because I don’t work there any more is no reason to confuse GI with Strategy Informer ;)
We now have a better way of researching spells. In the first game you have these five or six research ‘slots’, and when you researched something in one slot, it randomly generated a new spell for you, so it was very hard to plan your spell research. We now have three different research trees, so you can plan in a totally different way.
So now it’s just like every other 4X. Sigh.
Yeah, I’m inclined to dislike this change as well at a first glance, but it might be different in action.
Yeah, have to say my first reaction is “bleh.” I can see why some would hate it, but the randomization helped keep each play through interesting.
I never really liked the first games research - sure it’s cool at the start of each game to have several (six?) spells to research, but from that point on it becomes basically one. One new spell. It would have been a lot more interesting I feel if every time you research one spell, the next time ALL SIX are new to pick from.
Maybe that’s sort of how it will work now, only three random spells instead of six, pulled from the three trees?
At least they said they are focusing on the AI which is my only real complaint about Warlock.
One other issue, that they might address is the problem of the fixed casting time of spell meant that you might have 3000 manna, but you couldn’t spend it easily or even as fast as you made it in the end game due to fact that you were limited to so few spells per turn.
The spell thing kind of bothered me too, so here’s hoping that the gems can help with that some.
I think I got endeared to the old method of spell research. I like how it forced me to adapt to what spells were dealt. I wouldn’t want every game to be like that, but in the end I think it was something that set Warlock apart from some of the deeper 4x games.