Help! It's not fun!!

[Clownhammer]

I recently purchased the game and was very excited to dive into it. I played through the tutorial and feel like I have a grasp of the basics.

The problem is I have no interest in playing because it just seems so... dry. Like I'm playing some sort of spreadsheet simulator.

At what point does this game get fun? I REALLY want to like it and am willing to scale the steep learning curve, but how much time (typically) does one need to invest before finding that wonderful "just one more turn" feeling?

[Tyrant]

There's something wrong with you, it's fun from the moment you open the manual! MP is definitely the real payoff though.

[cleveland]

Approximately 5min into your first MP blitz game.

Check out the IRC channel (instructions are in the FAQs), which usually has a few people willing to play a quick game. It's always friendly, just say you're new and they'll set it up.

[Atreidi]

It was fun for me before I even had the game.

[Omnirizon]

you must try MultiPlayer. words cannot capture why it is so good. When I first got the game I played SinglePlayer only for a couple of months. I got bored of it, and quit playing for several more months. Later, I picked the game back up and tried out the MP. I could suddenly feel the magic and got it; it's the best game.

[Renojustin]

It's fun every time you discover an old strategy.

It's extremely fun when you start to realize that you're better than the general run of people at the game, that you know a lot of the ins and outs and can defend yourself even against long odds.

It's insanely exciting when you develop a new strategy that maybe nobody has ever heard of, and then pull it off in a multiplayer game.

It's indescribable when you're winning a multiplayer game against 10, 15 other players a couple of months into it, with people writing stories about their (and your) exploits; the game comes alive and you look forward to every turn with butterflies in your stomach.

It then really freaking sucks when Gandalf's servers go down and the game is cancelled.

[NTJedi]

Clownhammer said:
The problem is I have no interest in playing because it just seems so... dry. Like I'm playing some sort of spreadsheet simulator.

At what point does this game get fun? I REALLY want to like it and am willing to scale the steep learning curve, but how much time (typically) does one need to invest before finding that wonderful "just one more turn" feeling?

The first dozen turns of Dominions_3 is using basic methods for expanding your empire, which may feel boring to a new player. As game turns pass your nation becomes stronger and more strategic options become available. The fun is within the thousands of different strategic options which can be placed together for a powerful overall strategy. In MultiPlayer even more strategies must be considered and increases the challenge.

As time passes you have the options to make either your computer or human opponents stronger via mapedit commands and/or modding commands.

[Sombre]

It depends what you thought would be fun going into the game.

If you want to see lots of magic flying around and people exploding then we can make suggestions to get you that experience. If you want fantastic creatures rampaging that's something else we can direct you towards.

When I first started playing dominions the units and descriptions really drew me in and I had a lot of fun just using the national troops, but some people find spells and summons far more interesting.

[Gandalf Parker]

I tend to RPG, solo play, large maps. But I admit that its probably after 20 turns or so before I really get that feeling.

It did help alot when I had the nations narrowed down to the ones which best matched my playing style. Let us know if you are aggressive, defensive, researcher, stealth, tricky-tactics, barbarian horde, etc etc

[Gandalf Parker]

Renojustin said:
It then really freaking sucks when Gandalf's servers go down and the game is cancelled.

Hey now, to be fair only one of the servers went down.
The blitz games kept running.
But its nice to know its missed. Working on getting it back up.