[Suggestion] Ideas for shards in 1.1 Global Magic System

from Elemental Forums

I wanted to repost this in its own thread so it didn't get lost.

 

Here is the original https://forums.elementalgame.com/397160/page/3

 

I'm wholly behind the Global Mana pool. It's a good system, it will help modders because it is flexible, and it will require choices to be made in all aspects of the game.


 

What I'm genuinely curious about is the impact of shards. I agree with several of the previous posters that simply having shards poop out 1 mana per turn if you control them is pretty lame. There is limited strategic value in that, and really devalues what they seem to BE according to the Mythos of Elemental.

 

Perhaps another option would be to have a finite number of shards of each flavor spawn on each new map, based upon the size of map and number of players, and distributed evenly, but a distance away from all the cities. Now, I'm going to toss some numbers around here, but they can and should all be variables. On a medium sized map with 6 factions, there would be lets say 12 shards in play (a multiple of four, evenly split between the elements).

 

Each and every one of these shards kicks off 12 mana per turn (2 per faction at the start of game). At turn one, each sovereign draws one mana per shard in play. As soon as a sovereign locates a shard, they begin to draw 2 mana from it. They know where it is, and can focus their near-godly attentions upon extracting more mana. Upon capturing a shard, the controlling player begins to draw 50% of the total output of the shard (6 for this example), and all other sovereigns lose access to the mana generated as it is being mechanically focused to one sovereign. THEN, tech improvements allow the sovereign to draw more and more essence from each of their controlled crystals until they reach the maximum 12 points/turn (or whatever)

 

This system is likely to make shards incredibly valuable and highly contested for magic-oriented players and factions, and also a great target for militarily oriented factions, as breaking shrines at shards will free mana for all casters, and cripple the impacted sovereign's magic income.

 

4,238 views 2 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

I'd like to see the different shards have a direct influence on their environment.

Volcanoes around the fire shards, swamps near water shards, windswept mountains near air shards, massive stone monoliths near earth shards.  Even have them slowly change their environment around them.  Lava spewing from pools around fire shards.

Perhaps linking a temple into one would stop this effect, since it would tap the leyline. 

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Those numbers you attached for mana regen per shard sound good Malsqueek.  I worry atm that SD are just going to keep it at a flat rate of 1 for sov and 1 for each shard. This by itself would not be a problem, but with -1 for each imbued hero and -1 for summon I think we will have a serious mana flow problem. Can't say for certain, but thats the initial impression I get from all this.

First thought to balance this would be to adjust the mana upkeep of summons. -1 mana for every diffrent type of summon? That like saying 1.0 gildar upkeep for a peasent and same cost for a Legendary holyswordsman?!?! Reduce the mana upkeep for low level summons, anywhere from 0.2 - 0.4 upkeep for low level ones. Upkeep cost should reflect power, and unlike gildar mana is far more rare, so balance the upkeep with that in mind.

And if in the future we get some real global spells that last as long as we maintain them, then upkeep costs + total mana we earn are going to have to be evaluated again.

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