[Balance Suggestion] Prevent Steamroller in Mid Game
An easy overhaul of combat to make it more realistic?
Elemental Forums
Having now played quite a few games, and a few with the released version, I am still seeing game results that are a bit "uninteresting" in the mid-game and slog to the end.
The start can be tough. Sometimes I don't make it. But if I can get my 3-5 cities established and get to say, Armor, then I can build some quite good units. At this point, the game is effectively over, as the AI does not seem to be able to build a good stack, and I can defeat every stack and city with my best stack, without losses. The stack just gets better over time.
Obviously we can ask that the AI is better at its job, but that is hard work. What can be done with simple tweaks of numbers that might provide a better balance?
A better balance to me would be a situation where 'elite' troops were only just a little better than normal troops, defensive militia maintained a role throughout the game, and attacking somebody was likely to cause some losses. Some losses is important because it means you are getting weaker as you work through their defences (different cities), and might have to pause / stop for a while.
Would it therefore be possible to change the balance for the better by reducing the 'power curve' of weapons, armor and veterancy, making upgrades slightly less good than they are now? Of course this still leaves the power curve for magic unchanged, but that can be tweaked IF we can get the mundane troop balance correct.
A change (down) in weapon and armor values is likely to make existing monsters quite tough. Such is life.
The other change I propose is to reduce the effect of the various 'Barracks' type buildings so that at no stage are earlier troops worse than later troops. It is an annoying feature of many games that experienced veteran troops value is degraded by the impact of new 'training centres' which turn out better troops as a matter of course. Instead, veterans should be able to upgrade their armor and weapons to be the equal of any new troop, plus their bonuses for experience. The training buildings will need to provide other bonuses, such as reduced costs, quicker training, etc.
Finally, it would be good to be able to include different types of weapons with different effects, and not simply each being a better version of the previous weapon. I have given the example before of short and long bows. Short bows shoot quicker, but have less penetration. Long bows shoot slower, but have more penetration. Xbows shoot slower still, but have excellent penetration and have a use against highly armored opponents. This is WAY more interesting than each bow just being better than the one before it.
So that sounds like a mod I could have a go at. Any thoughts?
Stardock Forums
if you are too good at the game and run away in the mid game at your current difficulty, try the next higher level, until you find a setting where the AI has enough bonuses to present a challenge past the mid game. or try dense monsters and/or high world difficulty to keep the fights vs. the world more interesting for longer. or play epic research pace to keep the AI on even terms for longer.
Perhaps the bonuses to unit creation, levels given, and cost inherent in the fortress would discourage this. Or a trait could applied to units created in a fortress (any fortress) that would only let their equipment be upgradeable, to stop conclaves or villages from spewing out troops.