Elemental Forums
Is there going to be weather in the tac battles? I.e. snow, sleet and fog for mountains, rain for most terrains, dust storms for deserts?
As a flavor effect, or as a serious impediment?
I'm not a big fan of losing because I was forced to fight in inclement weather. Almost certainly, if it were real life, my troopers would have just gone back to bed.
At the very least, if inclement weather is in the offing I should have a chance to delay the battle -- either by waiting in a camp or running around -- until conditions improve.
Obviously that wouldn't hold for ambushes or magically induced weather.
I'm inclined for there to be tactical battle considerations for weather, but it can only come about through magic.
If you want to make it an attacker's choice sort of thing, do what Total War does and give the attacker 3 chances to "wait" for weather they want.
I'd prefer weather effects giving some unpredictable spice to battles. Going into a fight knowing you'll win is as boring as hell.
Weather in tactical battles could just reflect the climate on the strategic map, something like in Dom3.
Ex: if you send yetis fighting into a desert, they should have some disadvantage.
In Dom3, I think it gives more fatigue (or perhaps less morale; not sure).
You know I'd rather be sure that I wasn't about to throw away a thousand men or my sovereigns life.
I'd have like to have seen weather effects in both the 3d map and in battles, with advantages/disadvantages etc. I just think that weather would add a whole new level of detail to the world and bring a bit more life to it.
im just hoping for terrain bonuses or negative effects.
Trees block arrows or hinder cavalry movement. etc
I don't know if it's planned or not and if not it may be one of those things that's too big to add this late, but weather on the strategic map that shows up in tactical battles would be genius. It wouldn't be something unpredictable at all, it would just be another layer of strategic and tactical thinking.
Recent rain storm? Well, your cavalry may not be as overwhelming as you expected.
Look like a storm is moving in? Maybe you and your 100 armored infantry can indeed turn and fight those 500 bowmen you are running from if you just wait for the storm to catch you.
It would be a system that would further reward balanced armies, which definitely seems to be a developer goal.
Just think of having world spells (ala Volcano) where you summon weather systems to compliment your armies or to hurt your enemies. Capitar's hordes of elite archers are about to descend on your weaker, smaller infantry? Summon up a quick hurricane to take away their advantage. Wet bows and low visibility = dead archers. Unless, of course, Capitar's sovereign has a countering weather spell...
Hmm... I've been thinking about this the last few minutes since I posted and I'm liking it more and more.
Weather should have other effects as well, to make you decision to use those spells a bigger deal. You call up a hurricane to negate your enemies archery advantage, but hurricanes (being massive wind and rain storms) have a chance to damage buildings and terrain improvements. If you throw up a hurricane to help yourself in battle, you may end up destroying some of your local infrastructure (unless you are invading, then that's a good thing).
Say you lose a big battle at the mountain pass fort you had guarding the route into the heart of your territory. Your reinforcements are still being built and the enemy army has free access to rape and pillage their way around your territory or can make a beeline for the soft interior of your country. You throw up a blizzard, which reduces movement speed and has some other effects (reduces morale/combat stats, small chance of killing off soldiers from freezing to death). The blizzard buys you time to get your reinforcements in play. Unfortunately, your blizzard also kills off some of your citizens, destroys some improvements, and halts caravan travel in the area for the duration (because that's what blizzards to do medieval societies).
You could even tie the strength of the storm partially to how close it is to the caster's seat of power. Since I am the one that literally brought my land back to life I am more in tune with local nature and weather and so my weather spells are more powerful within my territory.
As I mentioned before, I'd really like to see weather effects on the stratergy map and in battles, but I doubt it'd happen until a sequel. I imagine it'd take up a fair amount of rescources to process the weather systems and stuff therefore going against the whole idea of the game being scaleable.
Still, it'd be really cool...and I don't think I've seen a 4x game with active weather on the stratergy map before...
I think they should just add some weather magic into the game so you could summon some rain clouds when you facing tons of archers.
I like the idea of rain in game a lot. Like Total War where as the attacker you can wait at the start of a battle 3 times for the weather to change.
Weather magic would add to this.
If I cast weather spells, I'd like for it to affect magic, too.
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