As I've stated in some other threads, I'd like to see the Character/Hero aspect of the game improve.
Anything that makes characters more interesting, and different from each other, adds to the replayability of the game.
As an example: Ralene The Weaver is recruited. As it stands right now, she's just another hero in my ranks that provides a bonus.
But what if Ralene was a master at Staff combat? Then I'd be looking to get her the most awesome staff I can, so she can excel in combat.
And what if she's particularly good at training others in combat? Then, I might put her on training duty between epic confrontations, because I know that the units SHE trains get an extra bonus.
Finally, if she spoke up every once in a while (kind of like Janusk, or some other random character does now with his advice) with things only SHE knows, that's another hook. Example: "I grew up here. I know about a hidden cave...", or "The Blacksmith up ahead, he's a friend of mine. He'll give me a special deal on stuff.". Or " I have relatives in the Kingdom of Tarth, they may have some info we can use".
Yes, Elemental is an empire building game. But having unique characters that have you wanting to 'learn about them all', is a nice way to add to the replayability of the game. Lets face it, do you even remember then names of the farmer or administrator you parked in the city once they are in 'bonus' mode? But, if your Sovereign visited that city and said administrator spoke up (pop up message) saying "I've come up with a way that we can improve the efficiency of our mill", and you spend some money on his idea, getting that extra bonus from implementing his idea, well then you'll probably appreciate having him in your employ a little more.
AND, if you had some 'Mad Wizard' in your employ that spoke up every once in a while said "We've discovered a tome that talks about some rare spell, do you want us to research it instead? And BTW, if you can find me some Elementium...", or something else that's different from the 'usual fare', again you've been given something to think about. Similar to the advisors you may have seen in some other 4x games. But perhaps with a twist...
I remember another game (Pax Imperia?), where you hired your different advisors, and each had different stats. A similar concept in Elemental (i.e. a Researcher that oversees all your research, or an Arcanist, for example), might be interesting. Or perhaps you've just hired Vey, and instead of having him grant that 1 research point a turn, you choose him to become your Chief Researcher, because he has a high Intelligence and specializes in Adventuring research. Later, you hire another researcher (Helga) who specializes in Warfare, and give her the 'top spot' so you can focus on that area of research.
Or, you are in the middle of a chat with another empire, and you notice that Helga is amongst their list of heroes. Vey has 'done his job', so you offer to trade him for Helga, since you now want to focus on weaponry for later...
Said advisors would be stationed in your appropriate 'center of research', which may or not be your capital city. You'd designate one city as your 'research center', one as your 'tech center', and one as your 'economic center', and maybe a 'diplomatic center', similar to what happens in GalCivII. Your advisors would need to be stationed in these specific cities to do their job, and you'd have a special interest in making sure these cities are well defended.
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