[random map issue] Champions on chokepoints.

from Elemental Forums

This is a minor, but fixable issue.

 

I've had a few games now, where a level 9 champion of my own faction was on a chokepoint, making a large part of the map inaccessible to me unless I researched Erog's Journals, which is expensive.   At least if it was an opposing faction I could kill them.  It's annoying when it happens.

 

I think this would be an easy problem to fix: for champion locations, check to see if it's a chokepoint, and if it is, place the champion somewhere else.

2,301 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

What exactly did the chokepoint consist of? Cliffs? Mountainside? That's easily fixable. It will be harder to fix dynamic stuff such as cities.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

All you need is an earth spell, depending on the type of the chokepoint.  Shrug.

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Heavenfall, reply 1
What exactly did the chokepoint consist of? Cliffs? Mountainside? That's easily fixable. It will be harder to fix dynamic stuff such as cities.
End of Heavenfall's quote

 

Peninsulas.  The AI doesn't use raise/lower land spells, and I rarely have access to them, especially early game.  So it is a problem.

 

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Also champions will block roads, which is really irritating in forests.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting feelotraveller, reply 2
All you need is an earth spell, depending on the type of the chokepoint.  Shrug.
End of feelotraveller's quote

 

It usually takes a minimum of 2-3 applications of -land to carve your way through a hill barrier, assuming you have an earth magic champion (It would be nice to think no  spell school or build is mandatory). 150 mana is not a paltry sum in the early game, when your mana rate might be +3 a turn. It will require you waiting around to either stockpile mana, or building a spam stack of disposable units to punch through a higher level enemy barrier or city, if that is an option.

Either way, it can effectively bring the game to a stop, which is a bad thing in FE. The AI continues to suck up resources and expand, getting more powerful, while your champs twiddle their thumbs without anything to do. The game suffers when you are not adventuring, as do your chances of victory on higher difficulty levels.

 

From my .85/86 games, it seems the terrain generation has changed to naturally create  insular pockets of territory that can more easily be choked off.  I recognize the Fall From Heaven influence here.  It creates interesting opportunities for strategy later on, which I like, and slows down player expansion which is probably good, but it can occasionally be problematic in the early game. You can sometimes find yourself bottled up in a map with nothing to do but wait the situation out.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

I posted this in another thread earlier this morning.  Here's an example of the problem: