This might interest me...

[Drudge]

Hi all,

I'm a bit confused here. I see alot of mention being made that this is mostly a MP game. I tend to favor single player mostly but have been known to enter the MP arena as well from time to time. I do love turn based strategy games. I have quite a few. So a few questions on this one. Can this be played enjoyably in single player?

Also, this is more or less a very general question. The graphics seem to be very outdated to say the least. I do understand as every strategy gamer knows, or should know, it's the gameplay that makes or breaks a game. So what is so special about this one as compared to some of the other fantasy TBS games out there with far better graphics?

I'm not trying to knock this game in anyway. I'm just looking for a bit more information that the advertisement provides.

Regards,
Me

[JaydedOne]

Hi Drudge,

I've found Dom2 to be very enjoyable single-player. Yes, I enjoyed multiplayer and played several times once I got comfortable playing single-player and I think the game definitely shines there because of the increased challenge and the various diplomatic/role-playing options that other players can offer. But I find that the game is challenging enough on SP and still really enjoyable.

As for what makes this game shine, it's hard to boil it down to any one quality. Here are a few things that I love --

1) Depth of gameplay -- Three eras with about twenty distinct nations in each means you have roughly 60 different nations to learn and master, each with its own feel. Given that each nation also has multiple viable strategies available to it, that makes it one of the deepest games I've ever encountered.

2) The little touches -- Not only is there depth of mechanical gameplay, but there's a depth of theme for each nation. I love the little things that makes each nation distinct -- the way oni come back as hungry ghosts for yomon, the aztec-themed mictlan with their blood sacrifices, the Lovecraftian folk of R'lyeh with their creeping insanity... Each nation has little bits of flair in its description and gameplay that shows you that the devs love their subject matter.

3) Consistent dev support - the last game had, what, 18 patches, each responsive to user requests here on the forum. That's amazing, given that you really only have one coder and one developer for this game, neither of whom call the game their day job. Illwinter's games are a labor of love and that shows in their craftsmanship. As a result, they've earned my loyalty in a way most larger game companies simply can't.

Just read through the forums. Take a look at the excitement in the AARs and the screenshots threads. Those will tell you more than I ever could. If you need more, go back to the old Dom2 fourm and explore there as well.

Enjoy. If you get this game, I doubt you'll regret it.

[Ballbarian]

I could not say it any better than JaydedOne just did. I play primarily single player in Dominions II and preordered Dominions 3 shortly after it became available. I have NEVER preordered a game or anything else before it was complete and I have been buying video games since the days of Atari.

[Gandalf Parker]

I play almost entirely solo. And this game has lived for years on my machines. Some points of interest are:

A) each nation is unique with its own abilities.

B) The balance is not just matched units with different color uniforms. The nations are not equal to each other. They are balanced rock-paper-scissors. One nation might do well vs another nation but there is yet some other nation which does well against them.

C) Some claim to have winning strategies but you will notice that there is always disagreement on such things. In my opinion, the only winning strategy is to find the nation which best matches the way you play (keeping in mind that someone elses perfect match will be some other nation)

D) Testing all the nations and finding which ones worked best for me took me longer than most games stay on my computer.

E) for some reason I never felt distracted by the lack of graphics.

[alexti]

Drudge said:
I do love turn based strategy games. I have quite a few. So a few questions on this one. Can this be played enjoyably in single player?

Also, this is more or less a very general question. The graphics seem to be very outdated to say the least. I do understand as every strategy gamer knows, or should know, it's the gameplay that makes or breaks a game. So what is so special about this one as compared to some of the other fantasy TBS games out there with far better graphics?

I will be talking about Dom2 (because I haven't seen Dom3 yet). Single player is pretty good, even though many discussions may give different impression. The key here is that Ai doesn't give justice to the depth of this game. In MP the richness of strategies and tactics is just unbelievable which makes Dom2 as MP stand in a class of its own. Unfortunately, in single player, AI plays pretty straightforward game, that is relatively easy to counter, so the player doesn't need to explore various strategies which he would need in MP. Besides, in SP a lot of options related to countering various strategies remain dormant just because AI doesn't use them. All this makes Dom2 SP more similar to other strategy games (perhaps at the same level with better strategy games). Average person may spend few months learning to play vs AI. But unlike most SP games Dom2 SPdoesn't necessary have to go from one's hard drive. While being a strategy game, Dom2 has unusually strong RPG flavour. Instead of beating AI efficiently one may start trying various nations using "role-playing" strategies thus discovering new parts of the game and new tactics even though they're suboptimal vs AI.

I wouldn't say that Dom2 graphics is worse than in your average strategy game. "Outdated" is probably better term. If you consider graphics as consisting of two elements: art and computer rendering, Dom2 is pretty good in first and "outdated" in second. When you look at massive battles, those low-pixel/low-polygon-count units, unimpressive when looked one by one, when seen in huge numbers do create epic feelings. Other art elements (writing, sound, music) all fit together to create rather unique impression. So generally, aside from the gameplay depth, the game has very high artistic value, making it enjoyable experiencing Dominions world.

[BigJMoney]

Drudge, everyone has made comments mostly similar to what I would make. I will only add that by not getting this game, you are doing yourself a disservice unless one thing is true: You are extremely picky about human-like Artificial Intelligence. You see, the Dominions SP game is challenging, and it is rewarding; there is no question about that. The only thing you need to realize is that it has a few limitations. One of the biggest ones has actually been corrected in Dominions 3, and that's great news, because you seem to be ineterested in purchasing the game when Dominions 3 is brand new!

If you are a fan of fantasy strategy, this game has your name written all over it. It's so good, it will even give you new things to like about the genre. If you don't want to play MP, it doesn't matter. (But don't sell yourself short...there are a lot of us here who play MP casually -- we aren't experts -- but we like to dabble).

=$= Big J Money =$=

PS -- What strategy games do you like? I'd have to say my favorite of all time would be Heroes of Might and Magic IV. Now, if that's not diversity, (going from that game to this one) I don't know what is.

[Endoperez]

Wait for the Dom3 demo. If the demo is similar to the one they put out in Dom2, you'll only have from 5 upward nations to choose from (all with their own units, although most have units filling some of the roles of light and heavy infantry, archers and cavalry, and the differences are sometimes just cosmetic for human nations), and you can only research magic up to level four in the 8 schools of magic. That'd be about 250 spells if I didn't make any major mistakes. They aren't all usable for all nations, and especially the level 0 and 1 spells can sometimes be just barely better than nothing or even too situational to be of any use at all, but it's still 250 spells. And in Dom2, you'd also be able to forge about 150 items, few more for Dom3.

If the AI is able to offer any kind of resistance, you can probably enjoy just discovering the game. And then you can choose a different nation, and do it all over again. Perhaps even in a different age, so that the enemy nations have also changed.

[NTJedi]

Drudge said:
Can this be played enjoyably in single player?

Yes the single player game is quite challenging. As with any game eventually AI weaknesses are discovered yet if the game starts getting easy then a gamer only needs to edit the .map file to setup two or more computers as allies. The game has many different strategic options which is very intellectually stimulating. I recommend playing the free DOM_3 demo when it's released or you can even play the free DOM_2 demo.

Drudge said:
So what is so special about this one as compared to some of the other fantasy TBS games out there with far better graphics?

Basically in this game you are a king(pretender) fighting other nations to control their lands/waters. Once all the lands/waters are under your flag/domain you obtain godhood and win. The game allows you to specifically place where units will stand in battle and what those units will be doing. If you enjoyed any of the civilization games you'll enjoy Dominions_2 even more... yet there's no diplomacy in SP. Try the demo and decide.

[Endoperez]

You also can't control your units spesifically. You give the orders, and then watch the battle report on the beginning of your next turn. The orders affect the battle, but you won't be able to change your plans according to the situation if it isn't what you expected.