Quote
Today we announce the rise of the Eternal Lords! arriving April 14th this year! Eternal Lords is the major, second expansion for the acclaimed strategy game Age of Wonders III, marking one year of continuous development since its release. With the introduction of the Tigran and Frostling races and the new Necromancer class, players must adapt to a world on the brink of cataclysmic change. New mechanics such as the Race Governance system, which allows players to tailor the features of each race in their empire to meet their strategic needs, add new layers of depth to empire development and diplomacy. Embrace forbidden powers and reign for eternity!
http://ageofwonders.com/eternallords/
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Di%26amp%3Bsource%3Dimages%26amp%3Bcd%3D%26amp%3Bved%3D0CAUQjBw%26amp%3Burl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fs2.quickmeme.com%252Fimg%252F29%252F2976cf1ea5ec9cb2d49e663bdab7fb1a16b61f4a48a87bc086c555036ac0c193.jpg%26amp%3Bei%3DhJkAVbavNtP3ggTNv4OIAQ%26amp%3Bpsig%3DAFQjCNFciAyPQnXLfOMKWOgEkrb_K3E-Nw%26amp%3Bust%3D1426189060955404&hash=1d3bc82b312327d57ce15099c3efb36660569c4b)
Outstanding. O0
Looks good and beefy.
YES!!!
^It is, I heard her.
^Thin walls?
Under the mattress slightly right of the centre of the camera shot
I thought he was hiding in the closet...
There's a picture and everything
Unless you mean 'that' closet
I don't think there's been any real hiding in that respect. :P
Can we please go back to the game. You're beginning to make me feel inadequate. :-\
Quote from: Martok on March 12, 2015, 06:41:07 AM
I thought he was hiding in the closet...
with the Jizz Mopper 3000.
3100. But who's counting?
The patch notes for the v1.5 patch that's coming out free around the same time as the new DLC is quite impressive. I especially enjoyed this section of the errata, which is about 10 screens down from the top.
QuoteHalflings
1. Halfling Pony Riders inadvertently received twice the intended amount of melee physical attack upgrades on medal upgrades. This has been corrected.
2. Halfling Pony Rider now has 65 hitpoints (was 55)
3. Brew Brother melee attack is now 11 (was 7)
4. Halfling Jesters now get Inflict Scorching Heat on their ranged attacks on Gold, because the Explosive Death doesn't actually do anything if you keep the unit alive.
5. Halfling Bard now has a Slingshot instead of a Light Crossbow.
6. Halfling Monster Hunter now has fireworks instead of a Light Crossbow, costs 80 gold, 25 mana (was 70 gold, 20 mana)
7. Halfling Exalted now have (base) 50 hitpoints (was 60) like the Exalted of other races.
8. Halfling Monster Hunters now have (base) 10 defense (was 11) like the Monster Hunters of other races.
9. They've had me trapped down here for weeks, forcing me to write patch notes for them.
10. Halfing manticore rider now gets Fast Healing on Veteran (was a duplicate of inflict crippling wounds)
Halfling Jesters now get Inflict Scorching Heat! Sounds Good and Beefy.
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on March 12, 2015, 09:41:06 PM
I especially enjoyed this section of the errata, which is about 10 screens down from the top.
Quote from: Errata9. They've had me trapped down here for weeks, forcing me to write patch notes for them.
LOL!
Good catch FarAway!
;D
I'll be beta testing the Linux build this weekend. :)
Can Linux multiplay with Windows players?
Are we going to run a GH AOW 3 MP match once the DLC hits, chape?
Yeah, multiplayer is cross platform. I don't have any plans to buy any dlc yet though so I wonder how that works.
I'm curious to see if the EL expansion will do anything about the game being a race to the top-tier units for all factions. Would really like to see things balanced out so that the lower-tier units are more worth recruiting in the mid-late game.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on March 13, 2015, 08:20:42 AM
Yeah, multiplayer is cross platform. I don't have any plans to buy any dlc yet though so I wonder how that works.
Didn't Golden Realms make it that much of a better game? Or are the regular patches responsible for this?
Quote from: Yskonyn on March 13, 2015, 02:43:25 PM
Quote from: Huw the Poo on March 13, 2015, 08:20:42 AM
Yeah, multiplayer is cross platform. I don't have any plans to buy any dlc yet though so I wonder how that works.
Didn't Golden Realms make it that much of a better game? Or are the regular patches responsible for this?
I thought the expansion added some cool stuff. Not just more content but some new features too. Sounds like the second expansion will do the same. O0
Quote from: Yskonyn on March 13, 2015, 02:43:25 PM
Didn't Golden Realms make it that much of a better game? Or are the regular patches responsible for this?
I don't know, I didn't buy that one either!
I played several MP games. W8taminute had the DLC and we were able to play up to what he had. The other mp games I played we were not able. So, if the host has it, or maybe if just one of the players has it, everyone should be able to play it in mp.
Hm, Frostlings and Tigrans, two of the missing factions...
Quote from: Yskonyn on March 13, 2015, 02:43:25 PM
Quote from: Huw the Poo on March 13, 2015, 08:20:42 AM
Yeah, multiplayer is cross platform. I don't have any plans to buy any dlc yet though so I wonder how that works.
Didn't Golden Realms make it that much of a better game? Or are the regular patches responsible for this?
I haven't bought any of the DLC, but I have been reading patch notes on what comes out with the patches, and I think they moved to fairly aggressively nerf the L4 units. They tweaked the costs (some combination of the techs, the buildings, and the units themselves) but also reportedly opened them up to specific counters tied to particular units or spell types. Wish I'd played enough to be able to vouch for that, but I believe those changes got introduced to the base game back when they released the first DLC.
Incidentally, here are the notes for the pending 1.5 update (it will be available for/applied to the vanilla version of the game as well):
http://ageofwonders.com/forums/topic/update-v1-5-patch-notes/
It's...quite the list. The number of changes, additions, and bug fixes is beyond huge, beyond ridiculous. I'm thinking this will be a good thing.
I'm pleased to report that the Linux beta is working fairly well. Performance isn't great on my rapidly ageing PC, but everything works just fine. However I have encountered a reproducible CTD and I'm working with Triumph to triage and fix the bug. It's all really promising though, and I think they'll have a 100% stable Linux build very soon. O0
Yay, Triumph fixed the bug! Looks like I'll be able to play again soon! \o/
Awesome news, Huw! Keeping my fingers crossed for you.
Incidentally, I'm still not entirely clear on whether Eternal Lords will also include the previous Golden Realms expansion. I'm planning on picking up the latter anyway (once EL is available for purchase), but I'm curious nonetheless.
Which game would you guys say is deeper in terms of city building, empire management and unit customization (not just heroes): FE:LE or Endless Legends?
I am looking forward to this AOW expansion hoping it adds more in the empire management arena
Quote from: mikeck on March 19, 2015, 07:20:51 PM
Which game would you guys say is deeper in terms of city building, empire management and unit customization (not just heroes): FE:LE or Endless Legends?
I am looking forward to this AOW expansion hoping it adds more in the empire management arena
FE:LE has more general customization available all-around. Endless Legends has the least. The difference between the two is that FELE has some terribly generic lore, artwork, races, etc. EL has a unique setting with some interesting factions, although those factions are quite rigid in their gameplay style, there aren't many different units & buildings, and you can't customize very far. Really a trade-off.
I've been hoping that
Sorcerer King will actually deliver on it's "asymmetrical gameplay" as advertised, but the last time I checked out the early access version, it was pretty much a cut-down version of Fallen Enchantress. Maybe that has been changing since content has been added.
Judging by how much play time I've put into these recent fantasy 4X games, AOW3 is my favorite. Despite being rather light on the economic city building. FE:LE is good for the faction customization but the setting & accompanying art just feels extremely flat and uninspiring to me. EL is just something light but with a unique flavor that can be a bit addictive.
For the future,
That Which Sleeps is what I'm looking forward to most.
I haven't played Endless Legends, so I can't speak to it. Age of Wonders is a race to the toughest units and then roll your neighbors. There is very little unit differentiation and they are pretty generic race wise. Fallen Enchantress:LE has unit customization and plays like a simpler Civ with magic thrown in. I've put in over 60 hours on each and if that satisfies your requirement for getting your moneys worth, then, by all means, grab either one. One last caveat though. AoW is multiplayer, FE:LE is not.
I like Aow3 but it gets old since I just build everything everywhere and steamroll. I'm just wondering if in FELH I can actually upgrade my units with new armor or weapons as opposed to just heroes like in AoW3
Would be nice to recruit a spear unit, keep it alive while it gains experience and eventually get them armor and improves pikes, etc
Quote from: mikeck on March 20, 2015, 11:26:14 AM
I like Aow3 but it gets old since I just build everything everywhere and steamroll. I'm just wondering if in FELH I can actually upgrade my units with new armor or weapons as opposed to just heroes like in AoW3
Would be nice to recruit a spear unit, keep it alive while it gains experience and eventually get them armor and improves pikes, etc
In FE:LH, you can do this, yes. :)
Not only can you do that, but, you can design and make your own units. It's not something I do often, but, you can create your own factions, too, and unit design gives your new faction its own flavor.
Quote from: mikeck on March 20, 2015, 11:26:14 AM
I like Aow3 but it gets old since I just build everything everywhere and steamroll. I'm just wondering if in FELH I can actually upgrade my units with new armor or weapons as opposed to just heroes like in AoW3
Would be nice to recruit a spear unit, keep it alive while it gains experience and eventually get them armor and improves pikes, etc
Absolutely agree with you. Its what has put me off AoW III - just a race to the high tier units.
Love the graphics and tactical battles of AoW3 though. Man I hope there is a DLC at some point that forces you to actually think about where you build things
I like the graphics, too. The tactical battles, not so much. More of a pain in the ass to me.
I too love the graphics of AoW3! And the tactical battles too. The game to me is deep, as far as the lore anyway. I never really thought of it as a race for the best units.
I wish AoW3 and FE:LH allowed some ability to place units on the tactical battle map, or at least move some before you start fighting. Especially in AoW3 with its smaller maps. (or can you do this and I'm a nitwit who missed how it's done?)
That would be endless legend
It's been a while but IIRC in AoWIII you can place your units before the battle starts on the tactical map too.
Quote from: Gusington on March 21, 2015, 11:09:55 AM
It's been a while but IIRC in AoWIII you can place your units before the battle starts on the tactical map too.
No you can't (unless the first expansion introduced it) but if you field more than one army you can indirectly affect their placement by placing them in the appropriate hexes on the strategic map.
Quote from: undercovergeek on March 21, 2015, 10:31:57 AM
That would be endless legend
LOL...and that's the one I don't own!
And now we come full circle. Endless legends vs fallen enchantress! Which one has more complex city building?
Quote from: mikeck on March 21, 2015, 12:05:09 PM
And now we come full circle. Endless legends vs fallen enchantress! Which one has more complex city building?
FE
EL isn't very deep as far as choices go.
FE is exactly Civ like in its choices, build times, and variety.
On a certain level, I'm sure it is. On another level, the difference in city-building conventions and the richer quests makes the game pretty refreshing for the first 40-60 hours of game play. Ultimately, I suspect most 4x games's city expansion models are based pretty heavily on the Civ I model, although a few games (Endless Legend comes to mind as the most recent example) do introduce some interesting twists that add a lot of variety.
Where FE really falls down, as noted above, is the lack of flavor for the different factions and creatures.
The quests are excellent, but factions and creatures are just boring to me. I played FE a lot and like the game system, but they would've been better-served to stick with more conventional fantasy tropes than to create original ones that all blur together, IMHO. I appreciate Brad Wardell as a game designer, and I know from his posts that he takes great personal pride in the original settings in which his games are set (e.g., Galactic Civilizations, but I find most of his settings just lack character (visually or thematically).
Well, I'm looking to invest some time in a good deep fantasy 4x. Was hoping "sovereign" from matrix would be out since it has been in beta for awile but I suppose not. I played AoW3 and had fun for a bit until it occurred to me that I need not specialize cities or worry about building the "wrong" things
I have tried FE before but didnt give it a fair chance
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on March 21, 2015, 02:01:53 PM
On a certain level, I'm sure it is. On another level, the difference in city-building conventions and the richer quests makes the game pretty refreshing for the first 40-60 hours of game play. Ultimately, I suspect most 4x games's city expansion models are based pretty heavily on the Civ I model, although a few games (Endless Legend comes to mind as the most recent example) do introduce some interesting twists that add a lot of variety.
Where FE really falls down, as noted above, is the lack of flavor for the different factions and creatures.
The quests are excellent, but factions and creatures are just boring to me. I played FE a lot and like the game system, but they would've been better-served to stick with more conventional fantasy tropes than to create original ones that all blur together, IMHO. I appreciate Brad Wardell as a game designer, and I know from his posts that he takes great personal pride in the original settings in which his games are set (e.g., Galactic Civilizations, but I find most of his settings just lack character (visually or thematically).
+1 to most of this post. I'm not as harsh in my criticisms when it comes to FE:LH's "flavor" -- I'm generally satisfied with both the creature variety and degree of difference between the factions (although I can understand where you're coming from on the latter) -- but otherwise I'd say that's a fair assessment...both positive and negative.
Quote from: mikeck on March 21, 2015, 03:55:27 PM
Well, I'm looking to invest some time in a good deep fantasy 4x.
I have tried FE before but didnt give it a fair chance
Right now, I'd say FE:LH is still the game that best fits that bill. The newly-released
Worlds of Magic is about the only other title that even approaches the same degree of depth, but even that one isn't at the same level IMHO.
So we have aow III, FELH, endless legends and world of magic and we're still not happy? :'(
Well, only two of those are Linux compatible, so... :P
Quote from: undercovergeek on March 22, 2015, 07:53:05 AM
So we have aow III, FELH, endless legends and world of magic and we're still not happy? :'(
*I'm* happy. I don't pretend to speak for anyone else, however. ;)
Sorry, the "what to build" options in Endless Legend are more limited than the other games, but Legend does some really interesting and innovative stuff with WHERE on the strategic map you build things. You can't just expand your city whatever direction best suits your "snaking" strategy to reach a particular resource in the shortest time.
You get major benefits from concentrating your city development within a hex of other city development, which more closely matches the way real cities development IMHO.
Quote from: Huw the Poo on March 22, 2015, 08:08:33 AM
Well, only two of those are Linux compatible, so... :P
Ok, I have to ask...what is the deal with Linux? I've seen you mention it a lot in threads asking whether the game is available in Linux. Is it an operating system like windows? I'm assuming that but not sure
If so, isn't it easier to just use windows since everything is compatable?
Anyway, just like space 4x games, each offering has something the others dont. The perfect space or fanatsy 4x is a unicorn
Quote from: mikeck on March 22, 2015, 02:31:25 PM
The perfect space or fanatsy 4x is a unicorn
And none of us is perfect and virginal enough to approach it ;)
AoWIII comes very close for me. I did like the UI and innovation of Endless Legend, but AoWIII feels like Warlock on steroids. And I love the lore in AoWIII. I could probably play it for 100 hours straight and not get bored once. Probably even longer.
You should try mp. I hear it's even better.
I hear the turns take forever.
Quote from: mikeck on March 22, 2015, 02:31:25 PM
Ok, I have to ask...what is the deal with Linux? I've seen you mention it a lot in threads asking whether the game is available in Linux. Is it an operating system like windows? I'm assuming that but not sure
Got it in one, yeah. It's a completely different operating system and has nothing in common with Windows at all. It's curious that so many people have never heard of it, given that half the internet runs on it, it's the OS of choice for serious infrastructure, 9 out of the top 10 supercomputers run it (including the top one), and the dominant mobile operating system (Android) is Linux. ;) But then, I guess Linux has no marketing department...
QuoteIf so, isn't it easier to just use windows since everything is compatable?
Haha, yeah,
strictly as a gamer it would be easier to use Windows, but I choose not to for many and varied reasons. In fact my current PC has Windows installed on its own partition and I used to boot into it to play some games, but I haven't done that for months now and my next PC (arriving this week) will be 100% Linux.
Quote from: Gusington on March 22, 2015, 04:51:15 PM
I hear the turns take forever.
If you didn't take so long, they wouldn't be so long.
I wasn't talking about my turns. I was talking about reading War & Peace while you took yours. And that was in Warlock, which is less complex!
Quote from: mikeck on March 22, 2015, 02:31:25 PM
Quote from: Huw the Poo on March 22, 2015, 08:08:33 AM
Well, only two of those are Linux compatible, so... :P
Ok, I have to ask...what is the deal with Linux? I've seen you mention it a lot in threads asking whether the game is available in Linux. Is it an operating system like windows? I'm assuming that but not sure
If so, isn't it easier to just use windows since everything is compatable?
Anyway, just like space 4x games, each offering has something the others dont. The perfect space or fanatsy 4x is a unicorn
some of us like to drive around in cars, Huw likes to use a unicycle - go figure! :P
Huwnicycle?
;D
:2funny:
Aww, are you feeling a bit ashamed of your flaccid little e-peen, Geek? Can't say I'm surprised! ;)
Lol - arse to your Linux
Quote from: MetalDog on March 22, 2015, 05:37:54 PM
Quote from: Gusington on March 22, 2015, 04:51:15 PM
I hear the turns take forever.
If you didn't take so long, they wouldn't be so long.
Quote from: Gusington on March 22, 2015, 06:08:07 PM
I wasn't talking about my turns. I was talking about reading War & Peace while you took yours. And that was in Warlock, which is less complex!
Your turns might last a little longer if you would, you know, actually use them to build and make stuff. It's not my fault that I have five cities and corresponding units in the time it takes for you to build two cities. And I don't play the tactical battles.
What are we talking about again? Anyway I can't wait to see how the undead faction has been fleshed out. It's such a cool idea I hope my expectations aren't too high.
A new gameplay video from the devs. Frostlings looks pretty bad-ass!
GAH I'm going to have to get to a real PC so I can watch that. Thanks for posting!
i want to finish a game with good alignment forst, poncey elves or hairy ass dwarves - dunno yet
Hairy ass dwarves for certain.
undercover junior created a dwarf warlord called Gordon the Beard - it would be a shame not to unleash him on the world
Quote from: Gusington on April 05, 2015, 02:15:51 PM
Hairy ass dwarves for certain.
Dwarves + Giants = Brutalization.
Quote from: undercovergeek on April 05, 2015, 04:11:38 PM
undercover junior created a dwarf warlord called Gordon the Beard - it would be a shame not to unleash him on the world
HA! Oh god that's brilliant!
^HAHAHA +1
posted in wrong thread.
theres a steam achievement for AOW 3 for creating and winning a PBEM game :o
Playing that PBEM is one of the tortures in the seventh level of hell.
:tickedoff:
Quote from: MetalDog on April 06, 2015, 06:27:11 PM
Playing that PBEM is one of the tortures in the seventh level of hell.
Heh, did you try?
No. And as mp crazy as I usually am, there's nothing you can say to talk me in to it. I think the game is a good mp game. Just depends on the level of ruthless you are willing to put up with. But, PBEM? No fecking way.
It's looking good martok.....great game only getting better.
GIGGITY
It's out and for $19.99 there be a lot of *#&@# in there for that price.
PE
I am having great fun with the base game so will wait for a steam sale to pick up the expansions.
Base game on midweek Steam sale (-66%) http://store.steampowered.com/app/226840/
I don't know if I can wait...
Quote from: Gusington on April 14, 2015, 02:49:29 PM
I don't know if I can wait...
I'm nearing 3 weeks without playing a PC game. But this will probably make me slip very soon (along with
Pillars).
Undead. Necromancing. Fire pussy. It's all there.
...
Quote from: Nefaro on April 14, 2015, 05:56:54 PM
Undead. Necromancing. Fire pussy.
Nothing a little penicillin won't cure.
The only reason I'm not picking it up immediately is because I'm already preoccupied with Stardrive 2 and Sovereignty. Once the "Ooh! New/shiny!" luster has worn off those two a bit, then I'll grab Eternal Lords (plus Golden Realms); I'm guessing a few weeks. :P
Quote from: Martok on April 14, 2015, 06:17:01 PM
The only reason I'm not picking it up immediately is because I'm already preoccupied with Stardrive 2 and Sovereignty. Once the "Ooh! New/shiny!" luster has worn off those two a bit, then I'll grab Eternal Lords (plus Golden Realms); I'm guessing a few weeks. :P
You didn't even have
Golden Realms?
Is it not on sale along with the core game right now? :-\
No one told me there was fire pussy!
Quote from: Gusington on April 14, 2015, 06:51:29 PM
No one told me there was fire pussy!
Not sure if they're true Gingers but that's how you find out.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FygYBwWV.jpg&hash=8d1b70a38a60b1ac9e6a43bb7b2b147310dc46ec)
:2funny:
The core game is 66% off, Golden Realms is 33% off, and Eternal Lords is at full price as one might expect for a new release. I will applaud Triumph Studios, for not punishing buyers who choose not to buy the additional content. V 1.5 for the base game was released today as free DLC, with the following announcement:
Quote
Welcome to the all-new Age of Wonders 3, as today we release the massive free V1.5 update to accompany the Eternal Lords expansion. V1.5 is the biggest free update since release and allows you to develop new playstyles. Major new features include:
* The Vassal city mechanics
* Race Relations system
* More diversity among core racial units.
* Improved strategic and tactical AI
* Random Map Generator Overhaul
* The New "Play by Email" multiplayer mode
* Mac/Linux support
For a full list of the 500+ additions and fixes in V1.5, see the patch notes post.
I want to love this game so much, and had another go last night. Something just isn't triggering with me, but just cant put my finger on what it is. Very annoying. :(
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on April 14, 2015, 10:06:36 PM
The core game is 66% off, Golden Realms is 33% off, and Eternal Lords is at full price as one might expect for a new release. I will applaud Triumph Studios, for not punishing buyers who choose not to buy the additional content. V 1.5 for the base game was released today as free DLC, with the following announcement:
Quote
Welcome to the all-new Age of Wonders 3, as today we release the massive free V1.5 update to accompany the Eternal Lords expansion. V1.5 is the biggest free update since release and allows you to develop new playstyles. Major new features include:
* The Vassal city mechanics
* Race Relations system
* More diversity among core racial units.
* Improved strategic and tactical AI
* Random Map Generator Overhaul
* The New "Play by Email" multiplayer mode
* Mac/Linux support
For a full list of the 500+ additions and fixes in V1.5, see the patch notes post.
Yeah, I'm really impressed with Triumph for still supporting the base game like that. Pretty damn awesome. O0
Quote from: bob48 on April 15, 2015, 06:47:14 AM
I want to love this game so much, and had another go last night. Something just isn't triggering with me, but just cant put my finger on what it is. Very annoying. :(
Well as has been noted by most of us, the game focuses fairly heavily on war & combat, plus the empire management aspects aren't the deepest (especially where city development is concerned). Could that be part of it?
I'm really not sure, and its not as if I had not played all the earlier AoW series, and enjoyed them. Maybe I'm just not trying hard enough.
Quote from: FarAway Sooner on April 14, 2015, 10:06:36 PM
The core game is 66% off, Golden Realms is 33% off, and Eternal Lords is at full price as one might expect for a new release. I will applaud Triumph Studios, for not punishing buyers who choose not to buy the additional content. V 1.5 for the base game was released today as free DLC, with the following announcement:
Quote
Welcome to the all-new Age of Wonders 3, as today we release the massive free V1.5 update to accompany the Eternal Lords expansion. V1.5 is the biggest free update since release and allows you to develop new playstyles. Major new features include:
* The Vassal city mechanics
* Race Relations system
* More diversity among core racial units.
* Improved strategic and tactical AI
* Random Map Generator Overhaul
* The New "Play by Email" multiplayer mode
* Mac/Linux support
For a full list of the 500+ additions and fixes in V1.5, see the patch notes post.
Nice! Kudos to Triumph Studios!!
Looks like a true expansion and not a DLC. Have to say, so far from what I have read and seen, they have made all the right improvements....
PE
I've read that in the base game there is a race to the top tiered units and no reason to build lower tiered units. Is that still the case with the expansions?
That was the complaint early on, but I think they made serious moves to nerf that (i.e., raising the cost of Tier 4 creature dwellings and creatures, introducing specific vulnerabilities of T4 units to certain lower-level creatures, etc.) in 1.2. I haven't seen that to be the case in the games I've played since, but I've not played it nearly as much as some so I'd defer to them.
It does not have the same sort of unit balancing for lower-tier units like you'd find in Eador, but that game really set the bar high in that regard.
Quote from: bob48 on April 15, 2015, 08:06:21 AM
I'm really not sure, and its not as if I had not played all the earlier AoW series, and enjoyed them. Maybe I'm just not trying hard enough.
You could think of AOW3 as a fully turn-based Total War in a fantasy setting. With lots of hexes (the six-sided kind, not the curses) and troop abilities. It has a similar dual-layer grand strategy & battle system, with the biggest focus being on warfare and individualized factions.
^That's probably why I enjoy as much as I do.
Does the new Expansion add anything to the city building game or just the set up for new races?
Quote from: mikeck on April 16, 2015, 10:40:06 AM
Does the new Expansion add anything to the city building game or just the set up for new races?
New diplomatic and victory conditions. Independent villages can now offer to become your vassals - you get income from them but they are in control of their own development and defense. I'm not sure if you can make a vassal out of one you conquer militarily.
You can now level up your relationship with a race depending on how you treat them. When you reach the Champion level, you can build a "Unity Beacon" in any city you own populated by that race provided the city's happiness is at least 200. Build two of these for the win.
Quote from: tgb on April 16, 2015, 10:45:52 AM
Quote from: mikeck on April 16, 2015, 10:40:06 AM
Does the new Expansion add anything to the city building game or just the set up for new races?
New diplomatic and victory conditions. Independent villages can now offer to become your vassals - you get income from them but they are in control of their own development and defense. I'm not sure if you can make a vassal out of one you conquer militarily.
You can now level up your relationship with a race depending on how you treat them. When you reach the Champion level, you can build a "Unity Beacon" in any city you own populated by that race provided the city's happiness is at least 200. Build two of these for the win.
I was just given the option to make a vassal out of a city that I conquered - good option for cities that are not in strategic locations.
There are several AoW3 threads so I just picked this one to mention that the game is on sale at Paradox. Base game is only $7.50, and the base game with the two expansions is on sale for $12.50. Not sure when the sale ends but someone mentioned 9/21 in another forum. Scroll down to see the sale pricing.
http://www.paradoxplaza.com/age-of-wonders-iii/AWAW03GSK-MASTER.html
Thanks for the link! Steam doesnt offer the same deal, which I find weird.
Anyway, finally completed my collection!
Happy to go MP with you guys if there is any interest ?
Quote from: Geezer on September 12, 2017, 01:04:10 PM
There are several AoW3 threads so I just picked this one to mention that the game is on sale at Paradox. Base game is only $7.50, and the base game with the two expansions is on sale for $12.50. Not sure when the sale ends but someone mentioned 9/21 in another forum. Scroll down to see the sale pricing.
http://www.paradoxplaza.com/age-of-wonders-iii/AWAW03GSK-MASTER.html
I love it, but am really sad that if I want the Eternal Lords expansion alone (I already have all the rest), I end up paying about $11.99 versus $12.50 to get the whole thing including both expnasions!
I'm familiar with all the criteria behind a pricing decision like that, but this one seems a bit insulting to folks who already invested in the game earlier on! Ah well, that's why they call it a free market... :)
Quote from: RedArgo on April 15, 2015, 09:08:39 AM
I've read that in the base game there is a race to the top tiered units and no reason to build lower tiered units. Is that still the case with the expansions?
They tried best they could to nerf a few things but in the end-although it takes longer to get there- once your there that's pretty much it. Nothing is going to replace your tier 4 units. This in itself wouldn't be so gamebreaking if we actually had 4 sided walled castles as in previous titles-where tactics could overcome a rush of high level enemy units- but AOW3 instead only has one front-and you really can't even call it a true wall.
Another area they fumbled was waiting so long to release modding tools. By the time they were released everyone moved on-so you never saw the mods so many enjoy in AOW:SM. Add in the fact the editor can't open and edit random maps many just pass on the idea of creating maps-although I did see and play one that was pretty good-and had to take days-if not weeks to create-
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=542092058