Re: New Nation: Dragons, Magic Incarnate UPDATE
 

More observations:

I just whipped a batch of Impossible AI's. (Dominions 3.21)

Again, magic hardly played a role. I've changed my thoughts on their spellcasting: I would reduce their casting and I would get rid of the "Magic Incarnate" in their description. They don't need the magic, they are physically strong, why should they have good magic?

One turn of production, no bless will defeat almost any indie province. Not even Hinnom can do that.

Running up the difficulty level doesn't seem to make much difference to how this race does--it simply marches over anything even at impossible. Units rarely die no matter what you do, if you're overmatched you generally rout but get back almost everything unless you get cut off.

This game lasted only until the summer of 09. Knowing R'yleh was out there I built a lot of temples from the start. There were a dozen Impossible AI's, I got the same bad start I did last game. I managed to completely (except for water) surround Man and separately surround Abysia. Of course they reacted with war and were quickly annihlated. By the time I had disposed of those who declared war on me I had half the map. At that point I started munching on neighbors.

The nerf they did to R'yleh really hurt the AI--he barely got out of the lower lake of the left water (Glory of the Gods) and got chased back there by Mictlan! While I was smashing the empires in the NW Mictlan got dominion-killed by everyone else--when Mictlan popped I had 10 candles in every R'yleh province but he persisted for another 6 months! At this point I was steamrollering over Gath (the last land empire) and when I was done there were two empires that had escaped to the water and Gath held dominion over most of the NW lake.

I started forging boosters for Thestis' blessing but it turned out to be moot--I cast it and the game ended on dominion.

The only race I ever passed in research was R'yleh and remember they were confined to the southern lake--they never were remotely competitive.

Re: New Nation: Dragons, Magic Incarnate UPDATE
 

Sounds really good for SP, but w/out magic I assume you would get murdered in MP.

Re: New Nation: Dragons, Magic Incarnate UPDATE
 

Er, yeah. Research is pretty costly for Dragons as it is, and there's always the temptation to use your researchers as thugs.

Re: New Nation: Dragons, Magic Incarnate UPDATE
 

hmm truman, what I hear now you'd stealroll over everyone in MP too.. but I still intend to change some things a bit.. hopefully next weekend.. need to get a manuscript (case report actually) out for a medical journal (my boss keeps pushing me) and I've just bought a new book and I'm playing fall-out 3 so my free time is a bit scarse.. of and my GF is 8 months pregnant so need to do more around the house too (I know excuses excuses but fact is I just have less time for modding on my hands )

Re: New Nation: Dragons, Magic Incarnate UPDATE
 

You could probably take out everyone on a smaller map before magic became a big factor.

One turn of recruits will take down almost any indie province. To have any hope of surviving the dragons you would have to cast anti-flight magic on the first turn of battle. Even if the big mage-supported armies can beat the dragons they'll be eaten alive by raiding--PD simply won't stop them at any sane level. Most remote-attack spells won't touch them, either.

Fresh from the barracks not only are the commanders good thugs but even the bonebiters are reasonable thugs.

The lack of slots means you won't be fielding true SC's but when you can field them on turn #1 it doesn't matter.

Re: New Nation: Dragons, Magic Incarnate UPDATE
 

Okay, having never played MP I was sort of drawing on what I have read.

Re: New Nation: Dragons, Magic Incarnate UPDATE
 

I haven't played this mod (I should probably get around to that, and finishing my little review of the Orks (I still haven't fixed the crippling Ork bug in my copy so I can't really continue until I do), and starting another nation), but I hear the phrase (paraphrased) "one turn of recruits can steamroll most indies". Can I suggest, as well as maybe cutting back on the strength of the units a little bit, increasing the cost? Dragons aren't liable to join a war for very little, considering they're powerful enough in their own right (every dragon could become a god, why die in another god's service?). Dragons should (in my mind, at least; not sure about Aezeal's) be a tiny, tiny force with an incredible amount of power. Sure, you might rely on recruitables for a while, but I suggest making the summons (thugs and SCs mostly, if not totally) so strong, one eventually just drops them, to conserve gold from the upkeep said dragons will require, being dragons.

Not sure how true this is currently, though. And, like I said, I haven't played this mod, so I guess it's sort of like a person blind from birth talking about how his favorite color is blue (no, yellow!). :angel

Re: New Nation: Dragons, Magic Incarnate UPDATE
 

hmmm well the story behind the dragons is that the younger ones could be more easily rallied for the cause and the more poerfull elders need bribing (summoning with gems) and the summons are scalingup to very very powerfull, maybe not THE most powerfull in the game but certainly up there and since there is a varity of them they all have certain nice options, special abilities and resistances (between them I think nearly all special creature commands have been used, the most powerfull having resistances in most catagories with 2 of them 100%) only drawback are not having full slots (which is intended for balance reasons and not going to be changed)

PS basicly not all of the dragons can become a god.. they HAVE an insanely powerfull god of their own ot fight for.. he's just locked away by the pantokrator in ages past. THey can however become very powerfull :D... the dragon that existed in the game as pretenders are not of this race... strange shapeshifting abomonations not worthy to be part of this race. (a bit confusing maybe but that is how it is)

Re: New Nation: Dragons, Magic Incarnate V1.00
 

New version (let's call it 1.00) is out

I've changed
- steel and bonebiter dragon have been changed (bone biter more than steel): higher Gd and resc, lower prot, hp, and one less attack
- The awesome vinedragon pics (well IMHO) are now actually in the game (they existed all the time but I didn't use them for some reason...) --> let me hear if you like this dragon.. it's.. different.
- Dragon of fate should be fixed
- new pretender, immobile statue
- PD has been changed (a bit improved but still not so good I think, less wrmlings as requested)
- leadership of the recruitable mage dragons has been lowered
- the cap only stargazer has a research bonus to improve research a bit to make magic more of an option now (hopefully) your armies can't destroy the world on their own.

PS I know it's not how it should be but I've not tested this yet (no time no time) but most where just small stat changes so it should all work I hope.

OW and I've made a banner :D

Re: New Nation: Dragons, Magic Incarnate V1.00
 

Tried the revision. Two games vs 12 impossible AI's.

#1: I was trapped behind Ermor. Even the old version of the race died in this situation, it simply can't cope with Ermor early on. Your troops get scared off.

#2: It expanded very fast but nowhere near as fast as before. Good strike groups need 2-3 months of recruits. Of course, the AI's strength calculation messes up and everyone thought I was easy pickings. I had conquered most of Tian Chi's space but one powerful army remained, Man wasn't much of a threat anymore, Gath wasn't after my core lands yet but then Atlantis stormed ashore over a wide front with huge armies. The situation was hopeless.