I am really enjoying Elemental. However I feel it needs some more work. It just feels like I have to make too many concessions each game and am not really challenged. Also, the simplicity of the tactical battles was a HUGE dispointment and really kills my desire to start a fresh game... I like indie devs, and support this game as well as Darkfall, just so we can have more variety and push the quality of AAA games. I feel like their hands were tied as far as release date and its either support them or see 5 major studios release all of our content.
Anyways, I keep hearing people mention other RTS games like dominion and MoM etc. I would be interested in trying a new game while I wait for Elemental to get polished. One game that seems similar is HOMM5. I REALLY liked the tactical combat, but the overmap and strategy elements fell flat. Can anyone recommend any other games to try, hopefully one that is still rather recent (past 5 years Id say).
Thanks for any suggestions!
Oh, also has anyone heard the extent of mods? Could we put something as complex as HOMM tactical battles into Elemtental? How about have dungeons actually load up dungeons that are REALLY long tactical battle maps...
I might end up getting MoM, it's one of the few on the list I haven't played yet. Played Dom3 to death, and still probably only touched about 25% of the game (it's deep, like people say).
Yeah, I think that's about it unfortunately and I wouldn't even have put Fantasy General (Fantasy Wars is kind of a spiritual successor too if you like it) on the list. It's a good fun game but it's not a 4x game. There were a few really old games such as Sword of Aragon and some Dragonlance game I never played but few would want to go back quite that far and they are probably quite different. Really AoW (there were 3 of them, not just one) and MOM are the most similar to the style of Elemental so I would start with those. The others are good games but have a pretty different feel to them. MOM is probably the most highly regarded and is probably the main reason that Elemental even exists at all. Definitely try that if you never have and you can tolerate the old graphics.
Don't forget the Kings Bounty games. I played The Legend. It's great. More of a RPG slant than MoM-style empire building but its tactical battles and eye candy are great. I'm downloading Kings Bounty: Armored Princess right now from Impulse (its on sale!!). Another expansion for it is due out in two weeks.
I tried Dominions 3 demo and although it looked like there were possibilities with it and something i might buy its not something I would for what the price is, even on sale. I think it should be cheaper.
also as for strategy RTS a very good one is praetorians. check it out its quite good in terms of combat. no other real element to it tho than the combat which is geat for multiplayer games. i hope elementals will incorporate some automated battles that have a visual playback like (dominion 3) be great for multiplayer games unless u want to wait eons udirng each tactical skirmish
Disciples 3 is awesome. I've bought it on sale at Impulse to give it a chance (I've heard many critical opinions) and I am positively surprised. The battle is greatly improved in positive way, it's no longer jRPGish boring combat we had in earlier games, this time we get more tactical combat just like in true western RPGs - units defending other units, special hexes that give bonuses, units have more special abilities etc. The combat has just been improved and not totally changed though. I think there are more places to visit in main map. Some strategic aspects have been changed like - you no longer need to keep an eye on rods and resources, instead you'll get nods in predefined, specific places (that expand your influence) and they get one quite strong guardian that can gain levels also, not everyone will like this change but I think this is great idea. This cool gothic style from D2 took one step further into detailed 3D. The game is really worth its actual price at Impulse ... can't wait for expansion. Of course it's imporatnt to mention that this game is more RPG/tactical oriented than true strategy.
I'm not impressed with Disciples III. I don't know why, but I find the tactical combat boring (in the new King's Bounties it's much more exciting for me). Also there aren't many changes from Disciples II except combat, the only new feature that I like are the "skill mazes".
It's true there could be more changes in comparison to D2, but still many ppl seem dissapointed that there are any. And yes, "skill mazes" is something I forgot to mention about, similar to those in Allods Online, but I'm not sure who copied who.
Kings Bounty is quite good. And Armored Princess is even better. For me is a good example of how to stick to the spirit of a game (the original KB, that spawned the HOMMs) and at the same time improve it so it's a lot better than the original but still plays and feels like the original game. I bet when/if Katauri do their own HOMM clone it will be a lot better than HOMM6.
They still can make HoMM 7, but unfortunately Ubisoft's new world of Might & Magic is puerile and and too shallow comparing to original JVC's Might & Magic. Nival's HoMM was just safe remake of the 3rd part with some not necessarily needed changes.
King's Bounty Legend and Armored Princess are a bit different games to original and still improving, Katauri is not affraid to make changes. I have some expectations for Crossworlds like more reserve slots. Player shouldn't be forced to go there and back to refill his army especially when there's no time or turn limit (like in original KB).
I think Disciples 2 Rise of the Elves is great, because you have many different races and units. I hope Elemental will have the same global mana pool with patch 1.1 and Stardock could learn many things from the unit design of Disciples 2 (special attacks, interesting spells, heroes gain feats when they reach a higher level, powerful loot from exploring ruins, thiefs with many abilities (assassinate, spy, cause riot, poison)).
Anyone have an opinion on Spellforce 2?
http://www.impulsedriven.com/spellforce2
I felt that the game tried to be both a good RTS and a worthwhile RPG, and ended up falling short in both areas. It wasn't a terrible game, and the setting (the world) was interesting, but it suffered from the "neither fish nor foal" problem that is common with hybrids. In the second game, the focus was a bit more on RPG, which in turn made the RTS part even worse. But it's definitely worth the small price it can be gotten for now. (I had pre-ordered the collector's edition... and it wasn't worth what that had cost. )
I think that is what makes Spellforce special, I really enjoyed those games, the mix of RTS and Action RPG was very refreshing and new. Sure they were not perfect or very well done, but unique games always have a special place in my heart.
Considering turn based games, I will definitely try out Dominions 3 after reading this thread, it has slipped by me so far.
I can also recommend playing Master of Magic, even if you never did before or are scared of old graphics. But I played it for the first time last year, and always play a round here or there since then, its awesome, and I think the graphics are pretty, and on a netbook the low resolution is not a big problem.
One turn based game I have not seen mentioned here is Imperialism 1 and 2, I regularly play both of them, and they are just a perfect package of turn based fun. There is no fantasy in them, though, so I am not sure how relevant they are here.
After reading this I think I will purchase Dominons 3 again. I uninstalled it years ago trying to save space on my old HD. I still have the disk but can't find the code any longer. Well, Illwinter Nights will love me.
I played and enjoyed Spellforce 2 alot, but it wasn't without it's problems. Not something I would play over and over again, but still rather enjoyable.
I had tried Domnions 3 a while ago, and it was too much for me. Of course my exposure to 4x games at that time was fairly limited. It's only been recently I've gotten my head around Civ 4 (and I'll hang my head in shame, but it was Civ Revolutions on XBox that made Civ 4 more clear to me).
I also played Kings Bounty The Legend and Fanatasy Wars, and I liked FW far more than KB. Just couldn't get into it.
Recently I tried out HoMM5, and it's ok, but I haven't played much of it.
Oddly enough I've been playing more real time type of games such as Settlers 7, Dawn of Discovery, and Tropico 3. Waiting for Elemental to get stable enough that I don't crash to desktop on every game. Other than the crashes, and some of the blatant problems, I've found it to be enjoyable.
Settlers 7 and Dawn of Discovery are two games that I find myself looking at over and over. They look like something I'd enjoy but I'd prefer to wait until one of those ridiculously cheap sales on Steam. I have so many games that I don't play right now, I don't want to add those two to my "collection" at full price.
I'm really tempted to get Spellforce 2 at it's current price.
But then there's Dominions 3, Age of Wonders available soon on Impulse, patches for Elemental, possibly Civ V.... so many damn choices. I can't make up my mind. I almost forgot about FFH for Civ IV. I have everything downloaded, just need to install it. /sigh
Speaking of which, Patrician IV is just around the corner. Now that's one heckova good trading/economic sim.
@GCFL
If you purchased a copy, Illwinter will send you your code, I believe you just need a picture of the manual. Contact their support.
The manual alone is worth the money. All other games with depth should pay heed.
I filled out a customer support form and will see what they say. Thanks!
Following the German forums (it's been out here for a week or so), it has issues and was a bit "dumbed down" from the previous installment. They also released a patch, then pulled it because it introduced new crashing bugs. I'm glad I didn't pre-order it (granted, it was a result of Elemental's launch), though I'll pick it up when it has matured a little.
It also lacks any sort of multiplayer. A reader survey at PC Games (one of the largest German print magazines) resulted in a 63% rating (the reviewer gave it a 84%). From what I see and read, I think Anno 1404 is a better buy, and it's less expensive, too.
Yeah I've read words to this effect on the English forums. Someone who had played the German version said the AI wasn't good enough. The mechanics appear to be the same as the previous version, but if the AI sucks, I'll leave it for a couple of months for them to get it right.
I have Anno 1404. It's fun for some casual play but it's far too simple compared to the likes of Patrician to be satisfying for long.
I might give Settlers 7 a try. I've heard good things about it.
Dominions 3 would be my favorite game by far if it actually allowed you to fight the battles 'live'. There something more gratifying about pushing a button and watching your caster throw that lightning bolt, rather than plotting out his actions ahead of time and watching the battle after its over and done with. I realize this wouldn't be practical with their huge pbem crowd and some of the battles would be outrageously long, but it would be my number one played game if it did. The amount of unit variety and number of spells make it a sweet game none the less.
Speaking of Blood Bowl, guess what's on sale at Steam this weekend?
Save 75% on Blood Bowl Dark Elves Edition on Steamhttp://store.steampowered.com/app/11170/
My favorite RPG was the D&D classic - Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil - though it had a buggy start (somehow my system never encountered those bugs) and a poor story line - the tactical battles were said by many to be the best. I have played NWN1 and 2 and Dragon Age, but the tactical combat in TOEE was the best - no clickfest - just strategy. In fact, it has what Elemental tactical battles lack;
You can buy the game for about $10 from Amazon and download new mods from co8.org; including the new Keep on the Borderlands Module.
I would have liked to see Stardock do an upate of this classic modeled on the Pathfinder OGPL rules.
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