First I would like to ask everyone with even the slightest opinion, negative or positive, to respond to this thread. I would like to know how many others think what I am about to say would be a good thing or a bad thing.
Well, since the entire game, per Frogboy, is being reworked from the ground up I thought it would not be a far shot to ask to completely change how instanced battles in notable locations/dungeons occur (Brad said what is needed is not 'modification' but an entire overhaul of the fundamentals - he said something along the lines of 'modifying' a 3 out of 5 star game does not make it a 5 star game).
First I would like to say that I would like to see high-level dungeons that are not Exploration/Adventure tech spawn related but instead are there from the start and allowed to be entered at any level one chooses (Edit - this does not mean do away with the Exploration/Adventure concept, which is great, but simply in addition to it). There is always a thrill at a low level of walking by these places and anticipating what sort of loot/creatures await inside for when you are ready to tackle it. There is always the thrill of taking a stab at them even though you may be a few levels lower. There will also be a competitive edge to it, as everyone else should be thinking quite the same thing. Place them in remote , but central locations. Remote in the sense that cities cannot be built near them lest the Sovereign piles huge amounts of prestige/influence into a single city (so that people do not hug them within their borders easily). Central in the sense that paths of multiple Sovereign starting-points meet there.
Now, you may say that this is easily exploitable with the tactical battle system in its current state. I would agree - this ties into my second idea. Change the tactical battle system; make it a semi real-time combat system similar to Baldurs Gate (using Baldurs Gate as an example to show how old of technology is required for this and how easy it would be)! Have a space-bar-pause to sort out orders for units, incorporate cool down time for spell-casting that can be manipulated via combat speed, et. al.....With this type of battle system in place, the current state of tactical battles being one wherein first attack has huge advantage would be done away with. A real time combat system would not allow for it, nor would it be so kind to a squad of glass cannons - especially if there is a combat speed multiplier that directly affects who/what has initiations and how often they engage/defend/dodge/parry, et. al...
I hope noone will critique this approach from the angle that it takes away the tactics of tactical battles. Some of the most engrossing, memorable, frustrating, ect., battles I have had in games have been on this type of engine. This type of engine is extremely difficult to exploit relative to the current one employed - 'First Turn' advantage is simply done away with and stats are the sole determinant. This type of engine also makes battles MUCH more difficult - a major problem that I see over and over again on these forums is the ease at which people get through this game - this would make most people think twice about entering a battle that was less than even for them and add much needed difficulty and depth to decision making to this aspect of Elemental. It would require a complete revamp of the statistics system as it currently stands in Elemental - an addition of myriad resistances, combat bonus....amongst other things - however I believe that Stardock is already considering that to begin with.
More when time permits - Tell me your thoughts.
