combat

[Argitoth]

Edi said:
I also happen to like not having total control over everything, because that is how things would be in reality. The general commanding the army issues orders and the troops will execute them if able.

Dominions is extremely limited compared to real life. Just think about it.

[Edi]

Argitoth said:

Dominions is extremely limited compared to real life. Just think about it.

*watches point whoosh past Argitoth's head*

That's one of those "Ya think, Sherlock?" Captain Obvious comments you just posted there. Doesn't affect the damned point at all that the Dominions combat model is, in the control of the battlefield aspect, much more realistic than e.g. the tactical combat in Age of Wonders where the commander can use all of his units like puppets down to the last step they take.

The same is true of real world battlefields, commanding officers give orders and the troops execute them to the best of their ability, but the CO is not there hovering over each individual soldier's shoulder telling them "Step there! Fire on that enemy NOW, sprint there, fire some more, now hold position until that particular enemy goes there" etc.

Edi

[Gandalf Parker]

I think Dominions has it more correct than most games I play.

I am not playing a commander, I am playing my pretender. So I can give my commanders general orders such as "Goul's horsemen should charge up and fire, then retreat leading them thru your positions. So Arnig and Boldu are positioned on the flanks and should hold, then attack the rearmost. I want Westhold's archers to concentrate on cavalry if any show up."

Such instructions are good for about 5 events into a battle and then they just need to wing it. And all Im going to get is a play-by-play report of the battle afterwards.

True, if I take my pretender into battle then I should maybe get more control. But the limits of a PbEM game kick in then. Maybe they should offer the pretender a longer commands list.

Gandalf Parker

[Agrajag]

Actually, I think that dominions has more potential to be one of those games where you control every single unit, thematically that is.
Unlike most fantasy games, you get to play a god. If you want to, you should use your omniscience to view the battlefield and your omnipotence to telepathically control your units like puppets.

Scifi games, and near-future games can explain it away with advanced sattelites and communication systems.

[Edi]

But there's the rub: You're not a god yet, or not an omniscient, omnipotent one at least. You're trying getto that point, but in the meanwhile you're still stuck with some limitations like not being able to zombify your units with mental domination.

Edi

[Agrajag]

If you can't send telepathic messages, then how can you run an entire multi-nation kingdom?
Even the month it takes to make a turn is not enough to get a message to attack all the way from your capitol to your borderline provinces.

[Edi]

Sending messages via telepathy != total mind control puppeteering.

Edi

[Randar]

(Oops! Sorry for the double post but I thought the first one did not go through.)

So is the combat like the Total War games. (I have never played any of the Dominion games. I play TBS games like AOW:SM, Total War series and the Civ series to name a few. I am currently playing and moding AOW:SM a lot and am looking for a new Fantasy TBS game.

[Randar]

Well I liked AOW:SM (which was the best out of the Age of Wonders series, in fact it is the only TBS game that I keep coming back to) and the Tactical combat was the best part of the game. It is a shame that DOM3 gives you none of that thrill. I do have a question though, is the combat similar to the Total War games or it combat just hands off?