ScottTykoski

Ah :) In our Elemental, Artifacts act more like MoM dungeons, being 1 time 'goodie bags' that may be guarded by a creature. Dungeons will require more adventuring (and turns) to 'clear', with multiple treasures and encounters and possible boss battles and quest items. I've also pitched a Dungeon idea to Brad which I think he approves of. I'll keep you posted on wether or not it becomes an official feature (it fufills all three of th

We're still working on dungeons :) We have a very simple implementation ATM where units can enter a dungeon and automaticially use their moves to explore it, finding treasure and encountering foes along the way. The final solution has the following requirements.... 1. Linkable to Quests : In traditional D&D, dungeons will hold quest specific items that have to be gathered and returned to advance the adventure 'There's a dungeon to the north that holds a

b0rsuk: You're concern is based on the idea of 'player-activated respawning'. In Elemental, respawning creatures will be rare and outside the players control, so the typical 'grind' pattern isn't even possible. You can focus on leveling-up to the extent of the available creatures encounters, but it's a balanced choice that takes time and effort from more other (possibly more important) activities.

One time creature summons will require a spell to be learned first. If implemented, recruitable creatures would probably require a special resource tile and a 'Subjugation' spell. So really, neither path would be immediatly available, but anything finite will tend to be more powerful than its limitless counterpart.

[quote]The time spent on playing the janitor could be used for more challenging adventures and exploration of new areas.[/quote] While I agree that any game that FORCES you to grind lacks proper balancing, I would never argue at leveling-up as a CHOICE. Actually, some of my most memorable moments in gaming came from failing in a boss battle (ran from too many encounters, didn't have the proper strategy, etc), leveling-up my party, and returning to kick the crap out of said boss.

A units representation is dependent on a number of factors... 1. Computer Specs : Higher end machines will be able to show more units, lower end boxes condencing said visual representation. 2. Zoom Level : Zoom in to see an army in all it's glory, zoom out and it'll be represented via the Champion unit they're grouped under. 3. Game Mode : You'll be seeing fewer units on the main map then in the tactial battle. Bu

The amount of magic in the world will have much to do with how YOU spend it. If you want to horde your essence and be one-man force of destruction, then yes, your armies will probably be more mundane with typical knights and bowmen serving as your cannon fodder. On the flip side, if you imbew various creatures with magic and twist them to your bidding, thats when you'll see the great fantasy armies rise up (at the cost of your personal might). The difference is t

There will be a variety of RPG elements available to enjoy or ignore as your gameplay style sees fit... Want to get your hands dirty with some quests? Go right ahead. Want to grind your sovereign into an unstoppable Knight of awe inspiring might? Totally cool. Want to sit back, set up your unit objectives (grind, gather loot, explore dungeons, uncover FOW) then focus on domestic and foreign issues? A wise choice, sire! Remember, you're the Emperor i

As of now, our current plan has the player making two choices when they train a unit... 1. Unit type: Which unit design do I want to train (Common Footsoldiers, Advanced Bowmen, etc). 2. Grouping Type: How large of a squad do I want? A 'Squad' only requires 10 population units, but a 'Company' of 40 troops will last even longer on the battlefield, with a 'Legion' (300 troops) putting up an even better fight in open war. Most 'Grouping Types' will require a Logisitical

Yeah, I wouldn't worry too much about Elemental...with over 6 months of Beta-testing and player feedback, I have no doubt the final package will be up to par :)

I see that you posteed this in 'Off-Topic > PC Gaming', which is a forum shared across multiple game websites. Which game are you looking to get in on? Demigod : Beta has closed, but the game will be released next month. Elemental : Beta is still open, but hasn't been started yet (Beta 1 is due late Spring). Sins - Entrenchment : Beta is closed...because the game is out! :D Hope this li

[quote]Each world? Just, how many worlds are there? [/quote] 'Each world' = the randomly generated world created on game start. And there are an infinate number of worlds :) my first major journal will be on map generation...it's pretty awesome and results in some pretty interesting worlds every time.

Yeah, iMuse sounds similar to the system we're working on :) We'll be bringing the soundsystem code to support multiple 'tiers' of a song that can be faded in and out as conditions change. Our old method of keeping songs from getting repetative was to make them long and subtle. Now we can keep the repetition low by tweaking the song as the game situation changes, giving a consiterably more immersive experience. Or so we hope :)

[quote]If it's the latter, I'm sure we could come up with a few winners[/quote] Sorry, former ;)

[quote]Dev Journal thread on this soon, maybe? [/quote] Perhaps...with several coders off helping wrap-up Demigod, I'm trying to devote as much time to coding as possible. If you want, I can list my current tasks :) ------------------------------------------------------ - Yes/no dialog when using essence - When placing a city, make sure it's not too close to others (when you start a settlement, you're effectivly making a home for the wandering people of

Building each world will take a bit of time, even once optimizations are enabled and the code is fully tweaked. We'll be making heavy use of quote (or 'Excerpts', as they're called in code) throughout the game to drive the narrative.

[quote]Supposedly last week they had their first Alpha build.[/quote] Got pushed back due to Demigod testing (which is ALOT of fun, BTW), which really just means it'll be more robust when it's done. I'm working on the Essence code ATM.

[quote]I hope that is a good. Are you suggesting you have played non-land based strategy games that feel like it? or that it is totally unique[/quote] Yeah, it's good :) The system is scalable, not just graphicially, with the speed and size of objects, but in how the game 'feels'. Lets say you're sending your main hero out into the wilderness...you zoom in and behind that unit to get a traditional 'RPG' feel (think FF7 or 8 overworld map) where cities an

[quote]...an accurate in-game view of of this system, or obsolete?[/quote] Obsolete :)

Empire:Total War is more along the scope of what we want in Tactical Battles....more of a realistic scale between the world and the units. On the main map, unit's are more abstracted (a 'realistic sized' unit on a tile would be a dot), but the entire map does some crazy scaling that I have a hard time explaining.

Note that, while we're shooting for some pretty awesome zooming capabilities, the scale on the main map has been heavilly abstracted. We think it works well, and you can definatly zoom out to the entire map, then in to see the leaves on a fern, but you dont zoom INTO the leaf itself. Anyways, I'm really proud of the scope pulled off....it took a long time (most of the work up through last December had been engine specific) but I've never seen a land-based strategy game

[quote]I think it's fair to say that the dev position on this is "As big as we can possibly get them."[/quote] Yeah, that's about it when it comes to world size :) We'll have randomization options for continent size, frequency of dungeons, creatures, items, etc, and certain things will be depedant on the world size (areas of the world that will only appear on small worlds, other only on large) but the scope of the world is in the hands of the player.

[quote]how much time away from the game do you expect players to be? I'm excited to hear development along this line of thinking, because if games are able to be crazy long (because you're play-by-post/e-mail or something, and so you only get a couple of turns a day) you may not need to super micromanage, to the point where its ok if you miss a turn because your AI manages it for you. [/quote] Given the nature of TBS ), we're PAINFULLY aware that the MP component has to be as flexable

Proud to say that I have an ORIGINAL scan of this image taped to my desk [e digicons]:grin:[/e] Not that scans are original, but whatever. [quote]Will these internal trade boats and caravans work similar in fashion to trade ships in GC2, except more or less automatic,[/quote] Much more automated...you set up your build priorities and the caravans will automaticially ship around the necessary resources. [quote]Are the trade caravans just aesthetic or can we actually

People complained that Brad wasn't worth $15?! I would gladly have paid 20-25 bucks for it...I enjoyed every moment of the game and was blown away by creativity at every step.