In some games you could get their arms and armor, I think it would be a cool idea to be able to harvest dead armies- corpses for zombies, magical creatures can be used to distill essence or something...a certain % of the humans arms/armor/mounts able to be used to create a unit?  Except the way creating units is (I believe) simplified so u couldnt really do this, except maybe it putting a speed boost to ur next unit production or cost less, etc.

Even the victors should have their weapons and armor degrade in that case - with possibly having magic equipment degrade more slowly if at all.  Magic weapons, however, can degrade in that (for example) a +5 weapon eventually becomes a +0 weapon and then degrades normally until it rusts and falls apart.  If the weapon is wielded by someone who can also wield magic (or is maintained by a "magical smithy") the rate of decrease would be considerably to totally slowed.  It would cost a lot more to maintain weapon stores and armies armed with magical weapons in this case and thus make fielding one that more rare and powerful (and encountering one).

I like the idea of deciding how to dispose of the dead as a strategic game element; keeping mind not only how to bury the enemy but also your own fallen: do you give certain members a heros burial; do you erect monuments to their honor; etc.

Goodmorning all,

There are at least three types of +2 swords,

Sword + potion of Plus two

Sword + spell of Plus two

Sword made of +2 native quality.

It's not hard to think that at least one of these,  the Sword + spell,  could be cast to stop being active if not conrolled by a unit of the right channler.  the other two would be more hard to explain... but Having a sword of native Quality +2 become a +1 after loosing a battle,  due to being banged up and slashing armour, and or whatever, could perhaps be explainable.



Mainly i'm thinking that a few weponds would be directly captured,  the rest would be melted down to scrap and used as easy to access resourses for recycling (don't have to mine or purify the metal,  just remelt and recast it. so short term big plus to making new things which use that resourse.)


Stripping summoned magically bound monsters that didn't die in the battle of thier magical esence could also be cool.  but would only be possible if a hero  with essence was at the battle and was trained how to do it.


Take care all.

Robbie Price.

What if someone has cloned you using your DNA while you've been sleeping?   It's still not you, but genetically very close. 

I'm wondering about balance... would you want any weapons dropped by an inferior army? should you be able to equip your swarm of minions with looted enhanced gear? ...a simple but nice option would be for items to drop, collected by the victor by moving to the location with enough troops and the list of items to pop up and be automatically sold. The option to salvage and then equip items being a researched or totally optional element.

I agree that looting of the bodies should be allowed. This kind of ties in with units that require several different resources, and having one of those resources removed. The best idea from THAT is to have whichever equipment slot it is to be replaced by the second best equipment (if equipment are more speciallized and less, this one good-this one bad, then human player could que a rank of 3 alternate equipment, or simply list their top 5 favorite equipment for each slot, in order)

either way, this style of thinking at least should lead development away from equipment glued to the unit.

for instance, if an army of bastard swordsmen defeats Longswordsmen, and the player with the bastard swordsmen decides he would rather equip longswords, then they can switch weapons no problem, since they are both swords.

Also, the number of enemies should be considered when looting, and if you select "take all swords" those beyond your army size would automatically be sold, and if your army was bigger, the swords would go to the highest level troops/ those with the most Hit points left.

aka, if you were 40 and they were 60, you would sell 20 longswords,

if you were 80 and they were 60, your 60 best soldiers would equip longswords.

I think a pop-up should only be shown for superior or alternate weaponry, while obviously lesser equipment is automatically sold off.

If however those bastard swordsmen killed an archer brigade with +5 bows, since these are powerful items, a pop-up would show, for "sell off" or "send to armory." Either a supply wagon would generate on-site to bring the bows back to a friendly city, or the bows would automatically teleport to a friendly armory, where they sit in a ware-house until you train units that can use bows, and then "select bow +5" will work with new bow units until all bows are sold. Alternatively, an army of veteran archers (friendly) can arrive at the city and equip said bows. If they are an ally (especially a human one) you can haggle as to the price of the bows, and what they are willing to give in return, wether it is a temporary lease of a resource, a technology, or some newly trained auxiliary units.

which brings me to another point. I think unit gifting should be enabled. Further more, I think a human player should be able to board an ally's ship. I see little need to allow the AI to do this, although coordinated attacks with human teams (one human's navy, the other human's army) should be allowed.

also, how are we going to regulate city creation and possible destruction? can a town be destroyed? how close together will they be able to exist? will their be distance costs?

I ask because I was thinking of settlers from civ 4, and the ability to "raze" cities. In a game such as elemental, I think it would be prudent for at least a ruins to remain if someone chooses to abandon a city, and monsters should most likely decide to preside theirin, like spiders, cave trolls, and goblins.

Chop up the bodies!!!! Use the fat for fuel, the muscle for meat (when necessary ... for dragon?), and the rest goes to the alchemists for study. Arharhar!