Dominions 3 Greenlight

[okiN]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=123485567

Blast from the past. 2006 strategy game making a bid for Steam. I've always been a fan of this series -- it's got a really interesting and deep system, loads of really cool factions that offer massive variety in how to play the game. I always liked the game world they made as well, with factions properly based on real-world cultures mixed with their respective myths and legends, rather than generic high fantasy. Don't let the somewhat lackluster video turn you off (the battles are NOT the main focus, just visual representations of events in the map game), this is a seriously intense hardcore TBS game. Go vote, people!

[IR_Kuoin]

Looks interesting

[Elmokki]

It's a fucking awesome game if you have an attention span in general. The interface is pretty horrible though and the vanilla game balance too, but at least the latter can be fixed with various mods.

[Freland]

I love turn based strategy games - hope this will become available via steam.

[Tibe]

Looks like something I would play. Why havent I heard of this one before?

[okiN]

It's always been a pretty niche series. Mainstream doesn't have much interest in these kinds of games. It's gotten some praise here and there (I remember Pelit, the main Finnish gaming mag, gave them some honorary mentions) but generally it was always too hardcore even for most of the more indie review sites to write much about it. The learning curve is pretty damn steep, there's just so much to take in.

They do have a demo for it, IIRC it's unpatched and really limited in general, but it still gives you some idea about the game.

[Tibe]

Tried it. Not sure if demo or not. But Frankly all I did the entire time was stack and train units...more and more units. That was it.......Nothing much else I could have really done.....not that I noticed.....

[okiN]

Clearly you're missing some key concepts there, then.

I'm not sure I understand you. Did you actually use the units? Conquer provinces? Is what you're saying that you don't understand what there is to do in the game other than spam troops?

If so, you might want to do a bit more looking.

[Tibe]

Yes, used units, trained commanders and units, invaded neibhours, built some castle etc on the conqured land, fought AIcountry and that was sorta it. Gonna try harder today, mybe I really did miss lots of important stuff...sorta feels like it...just sofar the game hasnt pressured me so much to go anywhere beond that provinceconquringthingy.

[okiN]

You don't really have to do any more than that when you're fighting a Normal difficulty AI -- they're not exactly clever. I always set them to Mighty for test games just so they at least get a decent amount of fodder. The real point of this game is multiplayer. After you've familiarized yourself with the basics of the game, single player is only useful for testing MP builds.

Basically, army recruitment and management is about 20% of this game. Economy management (including gem economy) is another 20% or so, and religion management is another 20%. The remaining 40% is magic. All of these are linked intimately to each other, and to your pretender design, which completely defines your strategy for the game.

I'm pretty rusty, haven't played in a few years, but if you get the full game, I reckon I can still show you a trick or two.

[Turboflex]

I have this game I have just fooled around a bit in single player cuz I don't wanna just get stomped by the guys who have been playing MP for like 8 years and who know all the ridic spell/unit/item combos and their counters.

if it went on steam and got a huge influx of new players then I would prolly play some MP cuz I would be on even footing with all the other noobs.

It's a cool game though and I really like the setting, this game setting + total war engine would be sick. I wish the UI was a bit better but it's still functional enough. What have these devs been doing though since this game was released?

[okiN]

What have these devs been doing though since this game was released?

Updating it, again and again and again. They added loads of new factions post-release, I don't think they've done that in a few years now but they're still bugfixing etc. I reinstalled yesterday, and one thing I noticed is that they've swapped a lot of old sprites for better ones.  They released another game at some point, Conquest of Elysium 3, but I haven't heard great things about it. IIRC they also work as teachers. Dunno if they've got any plans for Dom4 nailed down yet.

We should have a meleegaming PBEM match at some point. I have a feeling Elmokki would win, but it should still be a lot of fun.

[Turboflex]

I could see this being a really fun MP game to get into tho because it not quite a conventional strategy game like say a Paradox game or Civilization but more like a really complicated boardgame. Something like axis & allies but with A LOT more variables and tactics when you factor in national unit differences and all the dozens of special modifiers from items and spells plus dominion/terrain modifiers. But it would also take a lot of time to get into to learn all the mechanics interactions and possible strategies of each nation and their counters which is not something I really felt like doing.

[okiN]

I found that I actually picked up on it pretty fast after I started playing some MP. Got my ass handed to me to begin with, but after a few quick matches I could more or less hold my own against other more average players -- still got creamed by the really good ones unless I got them with some sneaky trick and/or diplomacy. Just playing around in single player will get you nowhere, though. You won't learn a thing that way.