Global Enchantment questions

Targa · #1 January 25th, 2004, 12:36 AM

Hi all. I searched the forum but didn't see an answer to this question. Why cast the global enchantments that are harmful? Why research them? I forget their names off-hand, but there's one that causes global sloth...income is reduced worldwide, etc...and another one that causes death or disease or something. Anyways...why would I want to reduce my own income and kill my own followers and cause disease and unrest in every province? These spells don't say "Will not affect provinces owned by the caster". Can someone explain the use/uses of these? For that matter, the "good" ones too...sure, it'd be nice to increase productivity and cash...but why would I want to do it globally and help my enemies?

PhilD · #2 January 25th, 2004, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Targa:
Hi all. I searched the forum but didn't see an answer to this question. Why cast the global enchantments that are harmful? Why research them? I forget their names off-hand, but there's one that causes global sloth...income is reduced worldwide, etc...and another one that causes death or disease or something. Anyways...why would I want to reduce my own income and kill my own followers and cause disease and unrest in every province? These spells don't say "Will not affect provinces owned by the caster". Can someone explain the use/uses of these? For that matter, the "good" ones too...sure, it'd be nice to increase productivity and cash...but why would I want to do it globally and help my enemies?

Some nations depend more than others on living followers. Dead Ermor, for instance, typically recruits no living troops, and uses only troops with no upkeep, so the destructive enchantments are perfect for them.

Norfleet · #3 January 25th, 2004, 02:15 AM

The AI is kind of stupid about this, however: I see Jotunheim and Tien Chi regularly casting things like Burden of Time....which certainly doesn't help THEM any. It'd make sense if Ermor did it, but there's no reason why these other races would want to do such a thing. Seems kind of stupid.

Gandalf Parker · #4 January 25th, 2004, 02:40 AM

Part of the problem is that there isnt an Ermor AI and a Jotun AI. There is just one AI. I think there are some "If I am Ermor" things but not as many as there maybe should be. Most of the AI's decisions are done with generic statements.

Come to think of it, isnt the default Ermor theme humans now? So this might even be left over from when Ermor was all undead. Bad enough trying to come up with all the "If I am Ermor" stuff without having to consider "If I am Ermor with the Ashen Empire theme"

[ January 25, 2004, 00:40: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

PvK · #5 January 25th, 2004, 02:44 AM

It's an area where the AI could improve, to be sure. Burden of Time could make sense when your god is temporarily visiting the River Styx, and the other nations seem to have a bunch of valuable mortal units. Some non-Ermor nations can also have a lot of units which are immune to disease, age, etc.

PvK

Norfleet · #6 January 25th, 2004, 04:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gandalf Parker:
Part of the problem is that there isnt an Ermor AI and a Jotun AI. There is just one AI. I think there are some "If I am Ermor" things but not as many as there maybe should be. Most of the AI's decisions are done with generic statements.

The AI doesn't really think this out, though. It's not so much that "You cast this spell when you are Ermor", so much that, "Being Ermor" is a quick way of saying that your army consists nearly entirely of undead which are immune to Burden of Time/Utterdark. The AI, of course, will happily Burden of Time his own units, which are perfectly living, having not considered the fact that his own forces consist of the living rather than the undead.