Age of Wonders 3

[whatevername]

It's high enough. 32 per turn when you have income 300 would allow at most 10 units, and you need money to build some buildings as well.

They also take quite a while to heal up after heavy fight if you don't have hospital. Considering they can fight three stacks of units, and considering trebuchets and some T3 can make hard time for them... Druid and sorcerer can't spam them, they need at least three turns per summoning of theirs most powerful units.


On defense actually. And defender needs every help they can get because they can't retreat. So they would slaughter some units and then archers and cavalry would hurt them a lot.

Did they nerf wisps? Or what's the reason for summoning something other than wisps?

Everyone with a brain finds this rule absolutely ridiculous. There is no reason why cavalry can't outrun infantry on plains when they want to retreat. They implemented it to prevent defenders trolling.

And I think they should do that differently.

If defenders can avoid getting hit for x turns (like 5??? as opposed to 25 in AOWSM), the battle ends. One time I was positioning my troops to storm the wall in one spot and took my time and the battle suddenly ended after a few turns. That kind of works as retreating.

 

[Zeriel]

Wisps get one shot at a certain point in the game. Not sure why you'd keep summoning them past that point. They are definitely one of if not the best units at that stage, though. Absolutely the best scout, for sure.

 

[Raghar]

Did they nerf wisps? Or what's the reason for summoning something other than wisps?

We talked about T4.

BTW they decided to nerf them as well. (But assassins were first.)

If defenders can avoid getting hit for x turns (like 5??? as opposed to 25 in AOWSM), the battle ends. One time I was positioning my troops to storm the wall in one spot and took my time and the battle suddenly ended after a few turns. That kind of works as retreating.

You took 5 turns to position you troops? That's scary. However considering how small are these maps, it's nearly impossible for defender to avoid any damage. (BTW it works slighly differently, but I don't want to screw you enjoyment and tell you how exactly.)

 

[LESS T_T]

Scripting Guide for Level Editor released...in .doc format.

http://ageofwonders.com/advanced-level-editing-and-scripting-guide/

 

[Monkeyfinger]

They also released a new custom map with lots of scripting, which people can open up in the editor and study

https://ageofwonders.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Mirror-Pact_LevelED.zip

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

After 3 month, what's the verdict for this game?

How does it compare to Shadow Magic?

 

[Raghar]

After 3 month, what's the verdict for this game?
How does it compare to Shadow Magic?

C*R*A*P
But that GFX overhaul was needed, and these 6 units per army definitely helped.

 

[Raghar]

I really need to get back to this game later, it was good but I felt... something was missing.

Wait until an expansion.

 

[kris]

I really need to get back to this game later, it was good but I felt... something was missing.

I recently bought it and played it. It reminds me off... the new X-com.
But as for complaints, the biggest one is that choice of race feels totally irrelevant.

 

[Chef_Hathaway]

That's pretty much my biggest gripe with it, as well. They need to add bigger bonuses/maluses and differentiate the races base units better. The only ones that are fairly unique are the Goblins' dart dudes.

 

[whatevername]

After 3 month, what's the verdict for this game?

How does it compare to Shadow Magic?

Bad:

3 Really major ones:
>>> battlefields are much smaller, except for the town siege maps.
FUCKING DECLINE. No more epic battles for you.
>>> flying units sit on the ground and can be attacked by anyone.
Yay! Lets recruit some peasants and stab a Roc(sp?) with pitchforks!! It must've gotten tired from picking units 1 by 1 in previous AOW games and finally landed.
>>> attacks can't miss (or be blocked). In AOWSM this simulated dodging or shield blocking, or hitting the armor (Frodo would've had 20 defense w/ mithril, they should've aimed at his head instead), etc.

These 3 really made AOWSM stand out compared to other games.

- No magic nodes, instead there are +mana buidlings
- Rivers are a joke because of seafaring
- Mountains are a joke
Imagine AOWSM where all those druids, pegasus, dwarves, eagles, baloons, frost witches and other shit are now truly fucking useless.
You can forget about maps where there are only 3 mountain passes which you could defend with 3 stacks that'd have to be attacked by 1 stack. No need to spend 4 days to get to a bridge to cross a river... success!

- Heroes can't use sovereign's spells
- No friendly fire
- Linear research. For example, sorcerer will always get these "techs" in the same order: apprentice->phantom->flying summon->serpent. If you had bone dragons available to be researched at turn 1 it would take you a long long time to research it without nodes/labs so it wasn't unbalanced or anything.

- Dumb AI that can't even cluster stacks on the map. Instead of placing 3 stacks adjacent to each other it places them in a shape of letter L. So instead of fighting 18 units together and losing a lot you rape 12 and then 6. Really???

- Less resources than even in HMM6.

Good:
- hero customization/level up
- flanking... maybe?
- They got rid of 8 gates in castles which was silly

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

Shit. Looks like it's just as declined as I feared it would be. Well, at least I can still play AoW : SM. Now, if only one of you guys could be nice enough to spend dozens of hours making a nice, diifficult, balanced, challenging, beautiful, fun, exciting new map for it, I would totally brofist him. Come on, it's not too much to ask, is it ?

 

[sser]

The game's foundations are solid, it just needs to fix up some balancing issues and AI.

That said, the lack of a strong 4x fantasy game is really hurting my heart right now. There has been this awesome and renewed interest in the genre, yet nobody seems able to make an all-around good game. Something is always going wrong somewhere.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

AoW 2 was an improvement over AoW 1 in game design. The only major mistake was changing the hero skill system from point-based to a random selection on level up. That was a terrible design decision, and it persisted into Shadow Magic. I think they were trying to ape HoMM. AoW 3, on the other hand, pairs every good or neutral design change with a terrible design change. It really needs a total overhaul.

 

[Raghar]

Well perhaps I should write a small list of major problems:

• There are no modifiers for having two incompatible units in the army. Thus no morale problems and you can mix everything without consequences.
• Wizards got nerfed.
• Absurd class system for units.
• No teleportation gate between towers, because there are no wizard towers.
• The fight between dart throwers looks like atomic warfare, the first one that gets into position to fire three attacks wins.
• They didn't properly calculate damage vs armor, and as a consequence staying power is different than it was in previous games.
• Elves are not complete psychos.
• Absurd simplistic forced story.
• No three heroes casting spells in single turn. (one spell per turn no matter how many heroes are present)
• They copied embarking system from Civ V for no reason whatever.
• Mountain are passable through without mountainwalking.
• Highest rank unit was possible to make WITHOUT finishing three long building trees in the same city. Now it at leas need ONE additional building. (So you need basically only two buildings.)
• Trebuchet kitting. (Have you been kitted by trebuchet ever?)
• Battering rams doesn't need ANY building in city before being build. (It looks like they were EXTREMELLY afraid that cities might have chance of defending themselves a bit.)
• Canons are fast and hits multiple units in the line. Even these out of range.
• Spells are not restricted by min class rating. Thus a scoundrel can have max level spell without getting high rank in scoundrel class. (And low ranked sorcerer can cast any summon without problems.) Of course by not forcing AI to research two skills to get highest level skill, AI can concentrate on getting the highest one without consequences.
• AI gets free counterspells at turn 40. (To prevent a situation when AI wouldn't be able to get them and be forced to do something constructive.)
• Pikemen problems.
• Low rank units building cost is massively higher in comparison to high rank units than it was before, and high rank units doesn't require as much effort to get as previously.
• Map design shows they were scared players wouldn't be able to get enough gold mines, and most importantly nodes.
• No lasting unit enchantments. Only combat ones. Creates massive overflow of resources, as long as you don't rely on summons. Of course because summons are about the same strength as high end class units produced in cities, massive number of cities would simply swarm you.
• Cities grow amazingly fast.

I probably missed a lot of major problems. But this can give you some reasonable idea.

 

[kris]

Well perhaps I should write a small list of major problems:

• There are no modifiers for having two incompatible units in the army. Thus no morale problems and you can mix everything without consequences.

I probably missed a lot of major problems. But this can give you some reasonable idea.

You only mentioned this one problem when it comes to races. The races are more or less the same and who you lead and which cities you got doesn't really matter. The only two differences are some race specific damages (which makes most races weak against something) and terrain they like/hate, which matters not one iota. Same unit trees, same buildings, nothing is incompatible for your leader, army or anything. some of these problems come from the battle system.

But the biggest problem with this is that the game ends up feeling bland. What kind of leader you got is the only important choice.

 

[hoverdog]

That said, the lack of a strong 4x fantasy game is really hurting my heart right now. There has been this awesome and renewed interest in the genre, yet nobody seems able to make an all-around good game. Something is always going wrong somewhere.

SOON.

wink wink

 

[octavius]

AoW 2 was an improvement over AoW 1 in game design. The only major mistake was changing the hero skill system from point-based to a random selection on level up.

The one fundamental flaw of AoW2 was there there was no ship AI. If you played a single player map and one of your opponenets started on an island it would never ever expand, even if it started with a ship.

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

AoW 2 was an improvement over AoW 1 in game design. The only major mistake was changing the hero skill system from point-based to a random selection on level up. That was a terrible design decision, and it persisted into Shadow Magic. I think they were trying to ape HoMM. AoW 3, on the other hand, pairs every good or neutral design change with a terrible design change. It really needs a total overhaul.

Don't forget the 8 players slots instead of 12 and the wizards that are totally devoid of (customizable) personality settings, unlike the originals. I used to love those 12 player XL scenarios in the first AOW, having to keep pace with 11 enemies, allies, friends and unknown was awesome. You know a game is wacky when your human nation allies with the Undead and the Elves against Orcs and Lizardmen.

The one fundamental flaw of AoW2 was there there was no ship AI. If you played a single player map and one of your opponenets started on an island it would never ever expand, even if it started with a ship.

This one too. I have no idea why the hell they totally removed transport ships in AOW3. My only problem with them is that they took a slot so I could't bring my full stack around, which could've been fixed and kept for Airgalleys and other appropriate units.

I remember razing shipyards in AOW because I wanted to stop the AI from flooding the seas with all those ships, that was annoying.

(I actually loved to raze stuff in the first AOW, excellent tool against superior AIs that nevertheless left gaps in their defenses)

Not to mention that if they ever bring the Lizardmen back in a DLC, they will be functionally useless because their gimmick WAS the fact they could effortlessely go across water. Casting flood spells and using your superior mobility to win with the Lizardmen is a classic strategy.

I hope they really don't do racial DLCs but rather bundle them together with expansion-like DLC.

 

[whatevername]

Shit. Looks like it's just as declined as I feared it would be. Well, at least I can still play AoW : SM. Now, if only one of you guys could be nice enough to spend dozens of hours making a nice, diifficult, balanced, challenging, beautiful, fun, exciting new map for it, I would totally brofist him. Come on, it's not too much to ask, is it ?

This map http://aow2.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=1118 is epic.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

I'll give it a try, but I'm using the "Brave new world" mod and not all maps are compatible with it. I may have to fiddle with the editor a bit if it's not. Thanks anyway, it's not a map I'm familiar with so that will be a change from replaying "Battle of creation" or "Athendore 2" for the tenth time.

 

[CostinR]

I am personally not much of a turn-base fan, I much prefer real time strategy.

Still I loved Age of Wonders 2, 3....not so much, by the time I reached the end of the Commonwealth campaign I was bored...such a disappointment

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

I am personally not much of a turn-base fan, I much prefer real time strategy.

Also, welcome !

 

[DakaSha]

I am personally not much of a turn-base fan, I much prefer real time strategy.

Still I loved Age of Wonders 2, 3....not so much, by the time I reached the end of the Commonwealth campaign I was bored...such a disappointment

who gives a shit

 

[hoverdog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw4cbFq7gJM

Golden Realms expansion pack being released september 18th, contains halflings and nagas (?)

I wonder if those two new races are as awesomely unique as the six basic ones