Goontrooper

It is not a realism issue. It is more about gameplay balance. Right now Champions are better than units in almost every case. Nothing in this idea would prevent building up high level Champions that can smash whole units, just like Sauron in the LotR. There has been talk here of abilities that you could gain as you level. Ideally, Warriors would have easy access to them, Defenders and Assassins less, and much lower chance for Governors and Mages.

This exact idea has been thrown around since WoM. Not sure why they have never gone this route. I like it.

[quote quoting="post"] (1) How do you think we should refer to this game? Elemental: Fallen Enchantress or just Fallen Enchantress? (2) You can already go to www.fallenenchantress.com btw to go right to the page. (3) What sorts of additional magical spells would you like to see us add before release that aren’t already in the game? (4) What sorts of additional quests would you like to see? (5) Random events – yes, we have them but w

[quote who="CdrRogdan" reply="11" id="3209713"]Gaining experience for buildings increases the micromanagement required and is not something I would recommend. Passive bonuses for being present in the city are much more sensible, and doesn't require 'gamey' activity. Plus with the new idle bonuses to towns and conclaves this would be counterintuitive. The adventurer's guild I think is a hommage to Fall from heaven, becuase no one, not on drugs, would think it wa

Yep. Been wanting stuff like this for ages. Especially ways to gain new quests, such as through an Inn.

[quote who="seanw3" reply="7" id="3209612"]Completing projects needs to give out XP to Govs.[/quote] This is how it works in Endless Space, and it works great. However, I would change it so that the XP is gained for amount of production / research / gilder / population growth. Otherwise, you could game the system and swap champs in right before a project finishes. Maybe give XP based on the type of city. So a Conclave would give 1XP per turn for e

I have been complaining about this for several Betas now, but the issue lingers. Issue: Neutral units and cities block all movement. Meaning, you cannot move through a city or unit belonging to another faction, at all. This is true regardless of non-aggression / open borders treaties, diplomatic relations, or any other factor. This is a serious, even game breaking, problem for several reasons. &nb

I agree that the slow movement is a major factor. I have always wanted more strategic movement for Champions to facilitate exploration and questing, while armies have to move slower. I would like to see strategic movement doubled for Champions. Right now, pioneer spam is the main pacing problem I see. The AI can and will throw out pioneers like crazy with no repercussions. Rapid expansion should be a choice that provides the advantage of securing more territory, a

Overview: Been playing since the WoM Beta. [0.95] is by far the best entry in the series to date. It looks good, plays well, and is fun. Needs polish and balance, but is overall a good game. Gameplay: 1) Pioneer Spam remains a huge problem. There is more land available now to settle, which I really appreciate. But now I just see more and more AI pioneers rushing to grab it. I have seen the AI on Normal found a city, then immediately start work on a Pioneer. This

I like and enjoy Steam. However, I also find the 'online required' aspects to be a major issue. I am often overseas with limited or no internet, sometimes without losing connection with no warning. The current 'offline mode' is very cumbersome. If that feature was improved, I would have no issue with Steam. As it stands, I use Steam quite often, but would like to see some improvement. If putting Stardock games on Steam helps Stardock and helps promote gr

Diplomacy has improved quite a bit, and has become a more viable part of the game. This is important because Diplomacy is often neglected in 4x games, with generally underdeveloped with unsatisfying Diplomacy AI. There is still room for improvement, of course... Good + Diplomacy modifiers, shown in Foreign Relations, are numerous and generally helpful. + Variety of treaties are nice and help build depth in the system. I like that having treaties helps bu

Where we stand: A review from War of Magic to Fallen Enchantress. I have been involved with Elemental since the WoM beta. I have watched this long, long process that has taken us from WoM, which was one of the greatest disappointments in gaming history, for me, to FE, which is already far better than WoM ever was, despite the ongoing development. I had high hopes for WoM, and they were dashed. I have high hopes for FE, and so far those hopes are being rewarded. We have come a long

This could use some balance, but I don't want to see monster armies moving too fast...Umbers have a move of 4 I think, which gives them a long range. I just think we need better balance between lairs and wandering monsters. Settling or hanging around a lair should be suicidal for the unprepared. Maybe an auto-returm function for lair guards, so that we don't end up with undefended lairs while the guards chase someone? And Tarth...ugh. I hate their ability,

I think more varied map options would be nice, but I would't want every map to have the same starting conditions you describe. That should just be one of several possibilities. I think the problem you have is less with the map, and more with the way monsters are initially spawned. You are 100% right that sometimes the initial threats make it impossible. A game on 'Normal' settings should not feature armies of high level beasts that completely surround the pl

I agree! I have never liked wonder races. It has always been a very 'gamey' thing. Why can't I use the awesome Great Wall I was one turn from finishing, just because someone on the other side of tge world built one? Faction Wonders would be more characterful, help create differences, and still give players big projects to strive for. You could still have certain 'One per World' things but they could come from quests

Great analysis and suggestions. I think the bonus / penalty dynamic is a wise design to maintain for all factions. I had the same problem with custom henchmen. Editing an existing design seemed to work better, sometimes. I also like the addition of 'special' units. I think this really helps factions stand out. Slaves were a great addition in this area as well.

Great write-up. I'm trying them out right now. It hasn't been super easy so far, but it is fairly early.

ksarrow, I don't see how you can argue that the current beta is unplayble. People are winning, some are losing. There are lots of bugs still and tons of balance work needs to be done. However, it is very playable. WoM on release was largely unplayable. FE is already deeper and more playable than WoM ever was. I think most of the changes during the beta have been positive. There are areas that I wouod like to see improved, but I think we have come a long way.

Blackrain, plenty of people have been seeing this, some have given examples in this thread. And to suggest that there is a 'right' way to play a game like this...if that was the case it would be indicitive of a serious flawed game. A strategy game like this is built on the ability of the player to come up with varied ways of achieving goals. There shouod never be a 'right' way to play in a game like this. It isn't a rail shooter.

so have you guys been able to create custom henchmen? it lets me go through the process but doesnt seem to save them

Norseman, there is a middle ground between being able to kill everything from the start with a glance and being surrounded by unbeatable high level enemies. i don't see anyone here asking for the ability to kill everything with a glance. As I said, the initial enemies should be dangerous enough to threaten early expansion and provide some difficult conflict. They should not be so strong that a player can't ever have a hope of winning until the end game. A player that invests in troops

DGB, I think that is the plan for the AI eventually. There needs to be more work on the faction development and balance before the AI can be built to really take advantage of faction strengths.

Gaeb that is a great example. A game like that simply should not happen except on the highest difficulty levels of special scenarios. Some people may see games like that often, some rarely. It is a major balance issue. I again argue that high level monsters outside the wildlands should be very very rare. A player that invests in troops, magic, and/or champions should be able to expand, with difficulty, but shouldn't be completely blocked off by multiple high level threats from the start o

Wow very nice thorough start. Well done. Looking forward to your analysis.

Agreed. I think Tactical Battle placement is an important addition and would only add to the strength of tactical combat, without adding new systems like flanking, zone of control, etc. Seems like a fairly obvious and simple way to improve tactical battles without adding new complexity.