I was told that Shrapnel wasn’t going to be able to sell it for a while, and it was supposed to be available on Desura as of 12/1, but I just checked on Desura and it’s nowhere to be found. Anyone here know when it’s going to be for sale again?
They did say “hopefully” December first, so I guess we need to be patient. ;)
Speaking of Dominions 3…
So the main thread is kinda impenetrable at this point, and I’ve been wondering: how good is D3 as a single player game? And if so, what precisely is it about D3 that has captivated people for so long? What does it do that other strategy games don’t? I looked at the store page for it a year or so ago, and it just seemed hard to put a finger on.
I kinda want to be enabled, just as I was for other strategy titles I now love like EU3, CK2, and Distant Worlds (which I’ve picked up but only played a little so far; that’s one dense game that I need to set aside some serious time), or even just some generally hard-to-learn games that are ultimately quite rewarding like Dwarf Fortress.
Dude, make sure you read the DW manual, it’s actually a fantastic read. :) /derail
Not great. Sorry. It’s just not. It’s okay for a change of pace, but the meat of the game comes from multiplayer.
I’ve played Dominions 3 almost every month since it came out, and I played it almost exclusively as a single player game. Multiplayer is, admittedly, where the true depth of the game shines, and it isn’t hard to find a game for newbies or a few guides to help you get started.
But I’ve always enjoyed massing huge armies and watching them smash each other, which is what single player Dominions is perfect for. Its also fun to play with mods (making them, using them) in single player because, aside from the latest CBM (a mod) it is hard to find a game that utilizes some of the more fantastic mods.
In short, I’ve had a blast playing single player, even though most people will recommend the game on its merits as a multiplayer game.
Yes single player is totally ok for screwing around in at higher difficulty levels. The AI is hopeless against magic but it will make very large trash armies - large enough to kill you if you play badly. The point of single player is to pick non-optimal stuff and have thematic fun with it. 3 Death, 3 Misfortune, 3 Disorder. Bring it on!
I am completely biased, but I actually think Dom3 is a decent single-player game. No, the AI will never hold up against an experienced player, but if you are just starting out, the time you spend learning the game and losing to the AI while you learn the system is certainly worth the investment, in my opinion. There will be certain nations which will be more difficult to win with than others, and it will take time to figure out how best to play each particular one.
Many games don’t hold up because of inadequate AI, but they also feel thin because they don’t take long to figure out and the AI deficiencies become apparent early. By the time you are comfortable with all the nations in Dom3, you will have spent a long while playing the game. At that point you can either jump into the challenges of multiplayer, or put the game aside having spent dozens of hours enjoying it. Sounds pretty worthwhile to me.
And thanks, Brian!
Since I love strategy but am not particularly good at it (I rarely become proficient at anything past “normal” difficulty in most strategy games) it sounds like the AI in Dom3 is at least passable for someone like me. :)
Also yeah, I need to make some time and thoroughly read the DW manual, Brian!
…The pacing of a dominions multiplayer game is dramatically different than any other grand strategy game I’ve encountered.
Most solo 4X games can be played in a week or so. A multiplayer game of Civ4 or 5 can be played in a couple of hours.
I’ve had dominion games go on for almost a year. You spend a lot of ancillary time thinking about your nation and what you want to do. The anticipation, the e-mail/pm diplomacy and the banter in that impenetrable main thread is part of the game’s odd charm. You can role play. You can power game. You can focus on heroes or armies or all kinds of things.
It’s very different. It looks like the demo is still available from Shrapnel. I don’t recall exactly how the demo is limited, but I do remember when I first started being interested in Dominions2 that I tried the demo…3 or 4 times before things finally clicked for me. The demo was plenty large.
I’ve been gaming for 30 years and in terms of bang for my buck nothing has come close to dominions. For what it’s worth, I can set up a solo game so that it’s a sure win for me. I can also set up a solo game where I will have no chance. I can also set up a game, where I will have a challenge.
So are they changing distributors so they can put it on sale? Maybe even positioning themselves so they can get on Steam and get Steam sale money? Or are they sticking with their original distributor?
Sorry if this has been covered already, I’m just curious and you can ignore me.
The deal with Shrapnel has expired. My understanding is they will be on Desura in the next few days.
My understanding is that steam rejected illwinter’s followup to Dominions 3, conquest of elysium 3, which is why it was placed on Desura as well.
I have not heard what the Desura pricing for Dom3 will be, but believe it will have to be cheaper than Shrapnel’s model. Desura offered COE3 around $30 and several sales have already happened.
I do not know if illwinter tried to put dom3 on steam.
Thanks! I’d like to see Dom3 for less than $60, that’s for sure.
Cohquest of Elysium 3 is on Steam.
I’ve warmed up to Desura, so I’ll probably wind up snagging Dom3 from there sometime. :) Steam would be extra bonus.
News to me, but there it is for $10.
Don’t know when that happened. Obviously I’m not exactly plugged in to what illwinter is doing. Thanks for the correction.
CoE3 is also part of the newest IndieRoyalebundle with a steam and desura key. I’d picked it up earlier or I’d jump all over this one.
Just FWIW sometimes games that I think should be right up my alley just leave me cold. Sometimes games that I look at and think…“well, that’s stupid. Who would play that.” keep me interested for months. COE3 was in the first category. I can look at the design decisions behind COE3 and think “that’s really great!” but when it comes time to sit down and play something, I never seem to want to fire that one up.
Power to those who DO enjoy it and all, but it wasn’t for me.
Yeah, sadly I agree with that. There’s a great balance to COE and, especially compared to Dom 3, it’s mechanics are clever and elegant, but to me it just lacks the freedom and epic feel made Dom 3 great.
DISCLAIMER: I am a beta tester for both Dom3 and CoE3
Ive had the “joy” of playing both those games for at least a year longer than almost anyone :) And even though I am a retired person getting to full-time try out new games, both of those are the most played games on my machines. A new MMORPG might hold me for awhile but I always go back.
I got burned out on multiplay of these many years ago so I play both of them now as a solo player. Only some really quirky variation (which does happen once in a while) pulls old burnouts like me, other beta testers, and illwinter staff into mp games.
CoE was designed as a single-player game with some multiplayer capability
Dom was designed as an MP game with some solo play capability
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For people who feel that either game is low in the solo play:
CoE3:
CoE-3.com forum has a series of challenges in ladder form
Same site has a few downloadable maps with campaigns and scenarios
Also be sure to try playing with an AI ally (with latest patches). That totally makes the game IMHO
Dom3:
People often say they tired of Solo play and went to MP. I always ask if they play MP with mods and maps, or just vanilla. Comparing solo play vanilla with heavily modded MP play seems unfair. :)
The site Dom3Minions.com has items particular to playing Dom3 in solo mode.
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With Shrapnel stepping down, many fansites are moving to pick up the support slack.
Desura is likely to be the official forum but I am not thrilled with those.
the Dom3Mods forum is scraping articles and files from the shrapnel forum, mostly pertaining to MP play.
the dom3Minions site is starting a forum and will scrape shrapnel for things mostly pertaining to solo play, 3rd party programs, illwinter history
So far no site is offering Dom3 for sale (I check every day). My amazon shop only has one used copy at $60 (I dont list or set the price) http://astore.amazon.com/dom3-20
IF a site starts selling Dom3 and offers affiliate then some fansites might also pick up on things like PR and advertising
Gandalf Parker
Just a bunch of dommies with delusions of strategies