Introduce yourself!! :-)

[Chromatism]

Hello everyone.

This is going to come off as slightly weird, as I may or may not have introduced myself before in the past. I honestly can't remember! So regardless, it was such a long time ago that I feel its probably appropriate to do so once more.

I'm 21 from the UK, currently doing a little extra work to earn my place in Bolton University to study... what else? Games Design. Aside from which I've actually been in possession of my Dominions 3 copy for quite some time, though I shamefully admit I haven't yet really delved into its depth, mysteries and probable online spankings.

I've just been umm-ing and ah-ing my way through the tutorial now that the comforting and informative step by step turn text has let go of my hand. So after a good run, realising such important facts as: you can only cast rituals at Labs due to the stock of magic gems, I'm slowly gaining an understanding of how things are panning out.

Still curious about artifact creation and construction, though I'm sure the rather thick and imposing manual will shed some light on it.

Either way, its great to meet you all... And hopefully I can pluck up the courage to get my nether regions handed to me by one of you no doubt fine Pretenders out there.

Cheers! - Chrome

[Drok'Slit]

Hi, I'm Drok'Slit, 18 year old in McAllen, Texas, US. I tried the demo for dominions 3 and almost instantly fell in love with the game. My hobbies include tabletop gaming, and RPGs. I play Warhammer 40,000 and I like to play World of Darkness. I hope on learning more from the Moding community here and have dreams to hopefully make a Warhammer Orc/Ork playable nation so I can have a Proper WAAAGH! in dominions. Hopefully you all will be hearing more from me in this forum.

[Marmaduke]

Hiya,
I am 32, French and working in Dublin. I love Dom3 and I am a new player. :)
Thanks for all the interesting posts on the board!
Marmaduke

[Trumanator]

Welcome Drok'Slit and Marmaduke!! Nice to have you. Drok, you might want to talk to Sombre, he's been making Warhammer nations for Dom 3 for a while now, he could be really helpful.

[llamabeast]

Also Aezeal has made an Ork nation for his Dominions 3000 mod. I haven't played it though.

[rdonj]

Wasn't Okin working on a warhammer orc mod? Haven't seen him post in a while though, so no telling where he is with that. You might be able to use some of the sprites he had to help you along. Just send him a pm or drop a line in his mod's thread if you're interested.

[Septimius Severus]

Well, this is more of a farewell than a hello I'm afraid as I've already played out most of my interest in Dominions 3. First and foremost I enjoy getting a given game to run on obscure hardware and OS although Dominions 3 ran as though it had been developed under Linux :) I followed that 2 minutes of thrill by ~6 months of SP games, jumped into MP briefly (still prefer SP), and then explored modding a little although I was pretty disappointed there.
Sorry to (just) hear about your leaving. You were magnificent in Noobs vs Vets I.

Hello and welcome melnorjr, Marmaduke, and everyone else.

Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=43195)

[lch]

Well, this is more of a farewell than a hello
Oh, I'm afraid to hear that.

In the future I will be spending more of my gaming time on open source games (playing and developing), where I can make the changes I want and play the game I want to play. Cost of the game has nothing to do with it.
Make sure to come back here and tell about it when you have something. :)

Ciao!

[RegnorVex]

Hello everyone. I am 56, married 30 years (this year!), a father of 3, and a very active gamer. IRL I am a criminal lawyer, which means that I defend liberty and freedom and work hard to prevent the government from over-reaching into our lives.

I've been gaming since 1978 when I bought my first Apple computer. I taught myself assembly language programming, wrote a hit software product (InfoWorld Product of the Year 1994) and founded a successful software company, which I later sold before retiring to play Magic: the Gathering on the Pro circuit with 2 of my kids for about 2-3 years.

I'm an MMO junkie and was in the early beta of UO, EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Anarchy Online, Dark Age of Camelot, and EverQuest II. My wife and I have also played WoW, Tabula Rasa, Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeon and Dragons Online, and are currently playing EVE Online. The whole family has played a number of LAN games together, including every genre imaginable from FPS to RTS to RPG to TBS) and we've had great fun gaming together.

I've always been a TBS junkie and still have my original copies of X-Com, MoM, and MoO. So Dom was a natural, although I have to admit I struggled with early iterations of the UI. At this point in my life our kids are all moved out and in college so I only play when my wife plays, so the two of us will only play multiplayer games. She's not into long complex games, she is more of an MMO player or a quick hack'n'slash, so I've never been able to interest her much in Dom or other TBS. So I don't get to come play Dom very often anymore. But every once in a while I come back and visit and have some fun.

So here I am. This time I thought I'd introduce myself when I saw this thread. Thanks for reading it, and thanks for providing a forum for letting us get to know each other!

[Dragar]

Hi Regnorvex, thanks for stopping by and letting us get to know you.

I strongly recommend joining a multiplayer game or two from this forum, it should become very addictive very quickly

I imagine your professional skills came in very useful handling rules lawyers on the MtG circuit ;)

[RegnorVex]

I imagine your professional skills came in very useful handling rules lawyers on the MtG circuit ;)

Thanks for the warm welcome, Dragar, nice to know you. And yeah, don't get me started on MtG rules "lawyers" lol.

I'll take a look around and see if I can figure out how to get involved in a mp game or two. Problem is, once my wife comes downstairs she's going to want to go play Sacred II or EVE Online, so I may have to limit my mp Dom play to PBEM. How is that working these days?

[rdonj]

Most games advertised for are run on the llamaserver, which is a pbem server. There are certainly a good number of games running at all times. A few games are looking for players at the moment, if you're interested.

[Dragar]

PBEM works great, and by its nature you can choose when you play. One game is very tie undemanding, and if you want to get busy you just add more games.

It is a completely different game, the strategic complexity makes the AI hopeless and frustrating to play against. Good human opponents are tough - I've been playing for a year now without winning a game ;)

[Edi]

I may have to limit my mp Dom play to PBEM. How is that working these days?
Dominions is by its nature a PBEM game. Typical hosting interval is one turn per day in the early game, increased to 48 hours when it gets to the later game. Unless you join a blitz game where the hosting intervals is much, much smaller so that a large number of turns are played in quick succession.

[My Settings]

Hi all.

Love the game (played Dom2 as well).

[RegnorVex]

Awesome. You guys have me psyched to get a pbem going. Thanks for the encouragement and suggestion.

[Sombre]

Welcome welcome. Do remember to try some mods when you feel you've got a feel for dominions generally.

[happygeek]

Hello!
I put off purchasing Dom3 for some time due to its costs and the costs of shipping it here to Germany -- but I finally submitted! I have now "awakened"!
I have dominions 3 for about 2 weeks now and like it very much. I will soon post a huge, rambling thread here asking all of the questions that I have.
Perhaps we can see each other in-game one day -- I do not feel up to playing a PBEM yet, since I think I am not nearly good enough and do not understand the maximizing stuff you people write about in your threads. Maybe there are games for people who want a "Casual" game? Also perhaps a game where no body minds if a turn is not submitted every day? I have only played SP so far (argh!! the AI is so silly somethimes!) but see that in the later parts of the game, a turn can take hours to do -- so much to see and think of!!
Fun!
Hope to see you around soon, and thanks in advance for your patience with newbiness
- Jan

[Dragar]

Hi Jan

Newbie-friendly games start pretty regularly, keep an eye out in the multiplayer subforum. And please don't feel you need to play much more SP before you join an MP game. As long as you have th every basics go for it, you never learn as much as you do by MP games, and no matter how much SP you have under your belt you will still be surprised constantly against experienced human players. Just suck it up and dive in :)

1 turn per day is really not much time at all, and as games get later the hosting intervals normally go further. If you are unable to meet time for a specific turn the game admin will almost certainly postpone it for you - happens all the time, we all have our lives

[Black Sun Empire]

Just thought I would say hello, I'm new to this game and have yet to play a multiplayer game.

Just practicing with the single player game and there is a lot to learn.

Looking forward to seeing you on the battle field.

BSE

[Trumanator]

Welcome!

[Corporal Kindel]

Hello forum

Anther DOM3 noobie gamer here :) . I’ve been playing the Demo version for a few day now, and this is exactly the type of game I enjoy most (4x turn based strategy). Guess I’m considered a hardcore wargamer, coming out of the strategy boardgame genre (ASL with VASL is my main game, though I play PC SP computer games more often these days). Love the old AH games, Third Reich was my first wargame (mid 70’s). I think either Civ(first version), Empire, or the old gold box DD (Pool of Radiance) .. can’t remember exactly now .. from the mid/late 80’s, was my first computer game. The most disappointing computer game I ever purchased was MOO3 (MOO2 probably being the most enjoyable PC game I ever purchased), the experience completely changed my PC game purchasing approach/mode :shock: .

I enjoy Railroad games too; they tend to focus on efficiency over unlimited expansion which is another dimension I like to see in PC games. I don’t particularly like FP shooters & RTSs with a couple of notable exceptions (Age of Mythology comes to mind: very good game with very good AI). I generally don’t buy games much anymore (lack of time on my part for one thing, and as to computer games in general: the AI seems to have been on the decline for years now in newer games these days IMO [which I see as a generalized quality decline], an emphasis on graphics over substance, and the ship-it-with-patches-bugs-and-all-mentality & fix it later :() ... anyway, I’m just saying if I shell out to buy something these days, you know it’s gotta be good!

I ordered the full version of Dom a couple of days ago, and I just checked the tracking #, I should be getting it today, feels like Xmas as a kid, can’t wait ! :D I do have a couple of noobie questions based on the demo version that I plan on posting in the main section below later on. :eek:

[Black Sun Empire]

Welcome aboard, I'm also a newbie, so we may see each other in a newbie game or two in the future. :)

Plenty of information here and playing the game will help you learn a heap. People have told me that there is a rather big difference between SP and MP, so there are certain tactics which need to be altered between game styles.

I'm still waiting for my shipment to arrive as well.

[Edi]

Welcome! Be sure to read the sticky threads posted at the top of the forum. The FAQ and the various links from the strategy index are probably of the greatest interest, though some information has been obsoleted by patches (e.g. automatic site searching mechanics have been altered from what most references say they are).

[RabbitDynamite]

Relatively recent convert back to the strategy fold here, picked up dom3 after hearing about it on three moves ahead. Finished the demo four times while waiting for the full game to arrive, have been playing for two weeks now, trying out factions and trying to get to grips with the unqiue arc of a dom 3 game before I start jumping into MP, which I'm very much looking forward to.

I hope to see all around soon, even if it is in the process of getting annihilated...

[Edi]

Welcome! :)

[kenmtraveller]

Hi,

I'm a 43 year old software developer in Los Angeles.

I've played Dominions 2 and 3 quite a bit, but never multiplayer. I spent quite a bit of time travelling during the last two years, and played Dominions 3 in some interesting places -- Mongolia, China, Russia, Tanzania, Namibia, Bolivia, and Peru, for example. It was an ideal game for me; I had plenty of time and it would run on my ultralight laptop.

I'm looking forward to playing multiplayer at some point but I'm a bit intimidated by the regulars here! I'd like to get in a newbie game.

Ken

[Ballbarian]

Welcome kenmtraveller! :)

[Bo Jangles]

Hallo there everyone! I've had the game for a couple months but just now getting around to investing a lot of time in it, and I thought I'd go ahead and join the forum :)

I'm a long-time lover of strategy games, and I've gotta say; Dominions 3 is a game that I've been searching a long time for. Many thanks to the amazing developers for putting pretty much everything I could ever want in a turn-based strategy game into one awesome package.

Anywho, I'm not very good yet, but I would like to get into multiplayer games. Best way to get better, I'd bet ;)

[Edi]

It is. Welcome to the forum! :)

The FAQ is a good place to start, as is the strategy index. The latter will help you accelerate the 'getting better' process.

[Bo Jangles]

Yeah, I'd looked through a lot of the strategies and FAQs before I joined, and I've gotten a good grasp of how everything works. Now it's really just a matter of putting it all together and throwing it against a wall of human players to see what sticks, you know? ;)

[Testostrogen23]

I'm a 24 year old Producer in Southern Mississippi.

It's pretty hard to game in a place thats so driven towards hunting, fishin, and big trucks :P

[Ballbarian]

Welcome!
I got my first tattoo from a guy named Buzzard in Columbus Mississippi. I believe he was running for Sheriff at the time. That's more mid eastern MS, but it's in the neighborhood. :)

[InfStorm]

Greetings,
My name is InfoStorm and I have been a member of Gamer's Anonymous for thirty years. I have been game free for (looks at watch) two and a half hours, needing to work to support my gaming habit. :D

I'm a wanna-be game designer who's need to support a family keeps one from following a dream, so I hope to have fun making some mods for Dom3.

[Thanatus del Dragos]

Hello, I am Thane, I am 29 and live in Kansas. I work at a state hospital for the mentally ill. I have been playing this game since it's release, but have never tried MP, or modding, and just signed up for the boards. I have been a long time lurker.....

[lch]

Welcome, welcome to all the newly registered users.

[binarysolo]

Hrm, I guess I've been floating around here for a few months (never saw this thread, d'oh!). I'm <beeep!>, 27 and working/studying in Palo Alto, California, getting "Piled-Higher-and-Deeper" in Economics while working part time for a boutique fund in the area.

Long time gamer who's worked in the game industry for a few years then decided to keep it a hobby (makes it more fun this way)... now I dabble in grabbing online data, quantifying them, throwing that into matrices, and optimizing the whole shebang to derive something moderately useful. I'll spare you the dreadfully exciting details. :)

Strategy games... mmm, have dabbled mainly in computer games since Civ/MoO/MoM/Rot3K era, with a bit of the Panzer General-series thrown in. Tabletop experience limited mainly to a splash of Warhammer and D&D minis (and whatever's offered at local Cons).

Oh yeah I'm a total closet gamer so uhm, shhhhhh don't tell any of my friends I'm here!

[happygeek]

Hee hee I'm sort of a closet gamer too! Woo

[raven013]

Hi all and greetings!

I've been observing this forum for years and it is only now that I decided to formally join since I just LOVE Dom3 and I have been playing it for years (including dom1 and dom2)!

Anyways the reason I joined now is that because I'd like to write a fanfiction series for Dominions however I haven't seen any subforums dedicated for fanfiction so I'd like to ask, is it ok to write dominion fanfics here or is this forum totally dedicated for guides? :D

Again thanks and good day!

[Flop]

Hello everybody

I'm new to Dominions 3, and I didn't play the other two either. I actually tried to play the demo a year or so ago, but wasn't ready to commit the necessary time to learn the basics of the game, just for the sake of a demo. After listening to the Flash of Steel podcast, though, I finally caved and bought it, and I'm not disappointed.

This is one of the most interesting games I've played for a long, long time, and I'm still only in my first game. Hopefully, someone here will be able to answer the inevitable questions that the manual/wiki don't answer. :)

[Yskonyn]

Hello fellow 'Dominators', or should I say 'Dominioners'... :confused: :D

Anyway here I am, 28 years of age, coming from the Netherlands, Europe. Same as Flop above me, I tried the demo several times before in the last couple of years and eventhough it kept me coming back to check it out I somehow never really had the time, or wanted to commit the time to learn the game properly.

Still, like I said, the game attracts me and finally I have decided to order it.

So I am waiting for my delivery with only the demo to play with for now, but I am sure that will do for your first game anyway! :angel

I would like to get involved into multiplayer games and one idea I've been playing around with is to setup a game where commited players will also commit to keeping a blog of their progression. This can be in fanfiction form, or just summing up their plans and the status of those plans per turn.
After the game has finished, or maybe even at a pre determined spot during the game, all blogs, AARs and whatnot are posted in a dedicated thread so that people can read exactly how the others were faring during specific points in the game.
Just for laughs and of course, to learn!

No matter how good or bad my ideas are. First I need to learn the game and -even more important- get it delivered. :D

[happygeek]

Ysk! Heheh, looks like you came on over from Star Chamber, n'est ce pas? Nice to see you here sir! I'd like to play a game of SC with you again when you get the chance

[Yskonyn]

Hey! You're correct! How have you been? It's been a while since I've shown my face over at SC, but that's another gem of a game I really like to sink more time into. :) If only I had the time to do it all!...

[Gandalf Parker]

Hello fellow 'Dominators', or should I say 'Dominioners'... :confused: :D
Personally I like Dom Minions.

Gandalf Parker

[qui]

Greetings. I'm new around here. Just found out Dominions, played the demo, lurked around a bit and decided to order the game. First game in a long time to interest me enough to buy it. Hopefully it will arrive soon and I'll be able to join some sort of newbie-friendly MP game, because from the looks of it MP seems to be way more interesting. Meanwhile, I'm devouring the wiki and different guides so that I don't get slaughtered immediately when I'll finally be able to play.

Unimportant details: male, 24, Poland, if anyone cares :P.

[Gandalf Parker]

An easy way to get into MP is to fill in for a player that has to drop a game. ANY player is appreciated more than having to turn that nation over to the stupid AI. And if you lose, you have a ready excuse since it wasnt your choice of nation or your god-build. Low expectations on your play, kudos if you win, ready excuse if you lose. Its all good any way it goes. :)

[qui]

If a random newbie is likely better than the AI it must mean it's not too good ;). So if I can't do wrong by being a substitute, it might be a good training. Thanks for the tip.

[Gandalf Parker]

Actually the AI is very good compared to most games. But hey, some of us have been playing this game for years. We have the AI so well figured out that even a bad human player can be a good change. In fact, a great one. An action that we totally didnt expect because no experienced player would ever do that can be a deadly surprise. :evil:

[Trumanator]

I beg to disagree. The only time the AI is ever dangerous is at the very beginning. Presumably, if you're subbing its past that stage, at which point it is one of the worst AIs in gaming.

[rdonj]

Eh, it can be pretty hard to beat the AI as a new player, just because they build such large numbers of units. It just that in dominions, once you know how it's very easy to kill large numbers of units. I wouldn't say that any random newbie is going to do better than the AI, but they'll at least attack the correct player, and yeah, you just might learn something from playing.

[Yskonyn]

Qui let me know when you wanna setup a new game. I am new as well and maybe we can agree upon some sort of Newbie-Alliance! ;)

[thejeff]

I suspect the main reason that even an inexperienced sub is better than the AI is that the AI isn't bound by previous diplomacy and nor are other players bound by any deals once it goes AI. Thus AI nations tend to get crushed, since they're likely to randomly attack you unexpectedly.

[Centuryslayer]

heya fellas. I'm a 23 year old lad from sweden who finally decided to pick this game up after playing the demo a few years back ^^

I'm a big fan of deep strategy games like this, Masters of Orion, Europa Universalis:Rome and Knights of Honor.

I'm also a big RPG fanatic <3

[Murph73]

Hey so i just recently got this game after playing the demo like 7 times in a week and im absolutely addicted to the single player. Still i can tell that it is built for multiplayer and despite the fact that i have played many TBS game and games such as EU i have never really played a game designed so well for MP in the way it was meant to be played so i decided to join here.

[Gandalf Parker]

Good move.

Yes the game is well designed. But dont feel you have to rush it. Enjoy the game solo for as long as its enjoyable that way.

And DEFINITELY explore all of the nations. They are unique with different advantages and disadvantages. Some are built around specific modes of play. Offensive, defensive, research, horde, stealth, etc. Find the nation which best suits your style of play.

When you enter into MP you will feel that you have discovered the one obviously overpowered nation. But keep in mind that everyone else has also, and theirs is not the same as yours. Yours is "obviously overpowered" in solo play only because it works great with you as its master. Then the fun begins all over again. :)

Gandalf Parker

[Murph73]

Oh i can tell right now im thinking about subbing in for someone in a newbie mp game mainly because i want to see how other people play and get a glimpse of things that i very well may not discover on my own.

[Pymous]

Hi all,

I discovered this game some months ago and I definitively love it like all others deep strategy games.
I decided to register there because I only played solo and in a near future i want to join the multiplayer adventure too :)
The background of nations inspired me so perhaps i'll draw some artworks of units for fun.

Hope to see you in games soon,
Bye :)

[Gandalf Parker]

We can always use more artists. Themes, backgrounds, screens, YouTubes, and of course modding more sprites for the game. :)

[Pymous]

I can do some pixelart, perhapas if I try to create a nation on day, but I was thinking more about some fanart painting of units, just for fun :p(some exemples of what I do: http://pymous.deviantart.com/)

And I hope i'll be able to play some multiplayer game next week.

[Gandalf Parker]

Unit art can make you well known here also.
There are some units in the game that are frequently referred to, or jokes made, or little bits as if that unit were speaking its mind. Kindof our own version of LOL_kitties. It would be fun to have some images to link to other than the little sprite.

[13lackGu4rd]

and yet another newbie to help the dominion community grow :D
I'm a student(as in uni not high school) and a big fan of strategy games(both RTS and TBS). previous TBS games I played include: Civilization(both activision and sid meier's), Heroes of Might and Magic(2 and 3, never got further than that), Total War Series(especially Rome), etc. RTS games I played include: Age of Empires(1 and 2, not 3), Starcraft, Red Alert, Supreme Commander, Axis and Allies, etc.

I've only recently stumbled upon Dominion, from a rather obscure game review on a total war fan site(was on the 6th page or so of game reviews :smirk:) it sounded interesting and promising so I got the demo and instantly got hooked. than I found this site, and especially Baalz's guides and now I've ordered the game. should arrive sometime next week(I'm in Europe, not the US) and than I'll finally get to play more than 30 turns and all the nations+eras :angel.

now, if you guys don't mind I'd like to ask for some friendly advise. I usually prefer smaller but more powerful armies, with plenty of magic too. so early era seems like a good place to start, but I'm still at a complete loss as to which nation(s) to start with. tried all the demo ones, but they're all incomplete(all research limited to lvl 4, and of course only 30 turns) and as I said I read all of those guides Baalz put up in his sig, and a few others from other people. so in theory I already understand terms like SC, Thugs, etc. so now all that's left is to pick a few nations to start things out with, and hopefully get good on, so I can take them from single player to multiplayer and join the real fun.

[thejeff]

My advice may be different from most, but I'd say don't focus too much, at least at first.

Start up random games, see what you can do with what you get handed. Figure out which ones you like. Play around with early game in a lot of different nations in all three eras.

Read the guides, as it sounds like you've done, and try out the ones that sound interesting. Often for me those only click when they're a different way of playing a nation I'm already familiar with.

Half my SP games get started because someone posts something here that makes me go, "That sounds really cool. I want to try it." (And most of them end when someone does the same for another nation)

But the key is to play around with a bunch of them and find what works well for you and keeps you interested.

[Agent Smith]

Hey, what do you know, another noob!
I am a student, but still in high school though. And I am enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Nuclear Technician. Good thing the boats get internet everywhere around the world! Except the middle of the indian ocean. Don't ask me why. Well, I like this game, but like a good number of people here as I'm reading, I am still on the lower part of a pretty steep learning curve. Nothing that just some messing around can't fix eh? I look forward to spending time on this game, should be pretty fun. It also helps that I know a couple of guys who have been playing this game for some time.

[Joelz]

A hearty welcome to all newcomers! Glad to see so many joining in :)

The learning curve is quite steep indeed, but when you play, you learn. Try reading some of the guides when you have time. They're a great source of information.
If you're confused about some game mechanic or just have some free time in your hands, I recommend checking out the excellent Dominions 3 Wiki at: http://dom3.servegame.com/wiki/

Luckily Dominions 3 has been blessed with very polite community, so if you have a question, don't be afraid to ask ;)

[Patolixo]

Hi folks, another new player chiming in. I have found out about Dominions by accident, I went to the Shrapnel website to get the free version of Strange Adventures in Infinite Space, and stumbled upon the Dominions page. I remembered having good times with Conquest of Elysium a looong time ago, and decided to give the demo a try.

The result: I am completely hooked, and I am anxiously waiting for the game to arrive in the mail, while my productivity at work is declining as I try to think up strategies for when I get the game.

I think I have fallen in love with EA Agartha, which, going by what most people say, does not bode well for my health and/or sanity in MP games... But let´s see!

[Danakh]

Hi everyone !


Friends of mine have bring me to dominion, and i like it !

I still need more experience but i am ready for my first big game here :)


IRL i am french, 30 year old living in Toulouse

[Num]

Hi,

Just registered on the forum, I have bought the game one month ago, and have tried a few single player games.

I have discovered Dom3 after looking a while for a new video game, and tried many games on the demo. This year, I liked Elven Legacy and King's Bounty. I hope to continue discovering Dom3 with fun, I like this kind of game (and loved the music and the background especially).

Living in France, in the suburb of Paris.

[Krec]

i am Krec

[Sombre]

i am Krec

Glad we got that cleared up.

[GameExtremist]

Hi new and old friends!

Wow hasn't 2.5 years gone quick!

I've been across the continent, changed jobs, bought houses, had more babies, lost loved ones...and finally I'm ready to settle down and play dominions again!

I look forward to playing in MP games again!

See you on the field of battle...

There can only be one!

GE : )

[Rubeus]

Hello to all!

I´m writing from Spain and joining up to this forum of this great game.

I ordered "Dominions 3" last Tuesday, so I´m waiting for receive it (maybe next week...; eager... :) ). I hope learning to play soon, and enjoy one of your MP (I´m reading some AARs and they´re spectacular! Amazing :up: ).

Best regards,


Rubeus

[Krec]

you will not be disapointed, there is a little bit of a learning curve , but the game is very fun

[Stagger Lee]

Hi guys.

Now that my first MP game has ended (for me anyway), I can say that I actually enjoyed wrecking the glorious empire of C'tis on the rocks of MP diplomacy and DRNs. I think I'll stick around a while. :)

I've been strategy gaming for 30+ years (AH games Midway, Tobruk, Richtoffen's War, Panzer Blitz,....). My brother and I used to go to the local hobby shop looking for the latest issue of Wargamer's Digest. Played Ultima V on my younger brother's Tandy 1000(I think), and started looking for good computer games. Finally broke down and bought myself a top of the line 486 dx2/66 with 8 MB RAM, and it was on! MOO was lots of fun. I still remember the galaxy layouts of some of my huge, impossible games. I still play MOM occasionally(DOSbox), MOO2, the Civ games, HOMM up to 3 (still have that one), Disciples2, and lots of others.

Hadn't bought a new game in years, finally got some time to play again, and got GalCiv2 & Dom3. GalCiv2 is fun, but I guess I'm not getting back to that for a while. ;)

[Boores]

Hi, i´m 32 years old from Spain. I like Dominions 3 too much, is a cool adiction ;) Congratulations Ilwinter and Sharpnel, a Game that is a Jewel.

[Gandalf Parker]

I love this. A game that is years old and the "Introduce Yourself" thread still reads like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. "Hi, my name is Gandalf. And Im a Dom3 Addict"

[Viden]

Hi! There's another Dom3 fan growing the Spanish community even more :). This time 20 years old and from Barcelona, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

[DeSangre]

Hi all,
33 from Italy here. You can find me on the IRC channel mostly, where I discuss high-level strategies without even knowing how to guard my commander.

But it's all about having fun isn't it? :D

[SplendidTuesday]

'Ello. 16 year old here, had Dominions 3 for several months now, and signing up to the forums because I want to play in a multiplayer game.

From the U.S., if that counts for anything (which it probably doesn't).

[feniel]

Hi another fan from Spain. I'm 29 years old.

I bought this game one year ago but I didn't play any MP game until now. A completely new world.

[MadGiraffe]

Hiya!

21 years old dutch guy here, just recently found out about this little gem of a game and I love it!
I usually am not really one for strategy games, more of an action/rpg/puzzle gamer mostly, having only second hand experience with the Total War series and some basic experience with Warcraft 1-3 (which didn't require much long term planning so it was easy on little me).
Still very much trying to get the hang of the game, but I love the depth and diversity of it, so I'll get trough it....eventually.

I'll also spend quite some time on helping to give the graphics some overall much needed polishing and maybe thinking up an own nation if I get to it, being a fairly creative 2d/3d artist myself. ;) (hoping to update some of the 3d as well in the game if I can figure out how, I know basic shader language if that'll get me anywhere..:re:)

Anyway, I'll see you around! And hopefully I won't bother you guys too much and actually contribute to the community. :D

[Gandalf Parker]

OUCH. A puzzle-gamer playing Dominions 3?
This game feels like it has hundreds and hundreds of puzzles that you can bang your head about. And the worst thing is that most have no answer. Or actually, you will come up with the perfect answer then find out that many people came up with a totally different one.
Have fun. :)

[zegc-ben]

Hello, I am 21 and I am a french student.

I have played strategy games for a long to but almost never on the internet. I also play quite a lot of board games.

[Herr Heimlich]

Hello everyone, my Name is Herr Heimlich, and I am a German Student of 23 years who is just stumbling into the fascinating world of Dominions 3:D

I´ve played quite an array of strategy-games in the past, be they turn-based or real-time, but always favored the former, so here I am, as a Fan of Master of Magic, and other such superb fantasy strategy gems.

Here´s hoping to some awesome turns ;)

[Doo]

Hi People

I have watched a few games of Dominions 3 and have decided to have a go.

All's fair in love and Dominions!

:D Doo :D

[Verjigorm]

My name is Mike. I play this game with my brother in 2p and in sp frequently. I prefer to take an underdog or sub-optimal choice and see how well I can make out.

Favorite nations include (more thematically than numerically):

EA Ermor
EA Niefelheim
EA R'lyeh
MA Arcoscephale
MA R'lyeh
MA Marignon
LA Bogarus
LA Ulm
LA Man

I favor Astral Magic over all others. I always feel like I'm "cheating" when I take blood so I tend not to. I realize that revealing strategy is bad, but I prefer a challenge. I love Blood magic--I just don't like to use it. I have been dabbling in pretenders that do not employ any blood, astral, or death magic as well for flavor. I tend to favor unconventional or random tactics as opposed to ones that people expect.

I realize I've revealed too much, but you'll generally not know who I am in MP games anyway since my deity's name will not be "Verjigorm", Slayer of Dragons.

[Calahan]

Welcome zegc_ben, Herr Heimlich, Doo, and Verjigorm.

Always good to see new people around to help keep the community alive and healthy :) Hope you all enjoy yourselves learning the many wonders that Dominions3 has to offer, and look forward to meeting you all in MP games in the future.

Also don't hesitate to use the main forum to ask any questions you have about the game. There are lots of experienced and knowledgeable folks around who are usually only too happy to help new players with their problems. They also tend to have a pretty good responce time too :)

[Maerlande]

Welcome folks.

[lch]

Hi, my name is lch. I like fwuffy kittens, Knitting Bunnies, Snuff movies and Bukkake. I recently got married to my long term partner Maud the goat. It was a very romantic pagan wedding, except for Maud eating her own wedding dress.

[Cammorak]

Hello. I'm Cammorak and I've fiddled with the demo far longer than any man should fiddle with anything. I recently decided to dive into the full game and have had a blast with SP, but it's hard to keep playing after 100 turns of silent enemies, their cold beady eyes peering at me from the darkness of their realms. So now I'm trying to get into MP so at least the cold beady eyes might have some messages attached to them. Maybe Abysia has hot beady eyes.

[Grounds]

Hey everyone. I'm a new player from the Northeast of the US. I'm new in that I've only recently joined the forums here, however, I've been playing Dominions with my friends for a couple of years now. I've moved away from them and I still hanker for the need to play against someone. So here I am.

[Edi]

Welcome, all new members! :)

[Kupiko]

Hi, i'm 24, born and raised in slovakia. Lived in Ireland for 3 years. My happiest memories are from that time. Currently i'm in Slovakia preparing myself for University. Yes that means if they accept me as student i'll finish studying at 29 yay.

Most of my life i've been gaming. Started with czech pen&paper games and magic the gathering, went through heaps and heaps of rpg,strategy,mmorpg games. And i have a group to play D&D4e at the moment. My favourite pen&paper so far. I'm quite new to dominions 3 and hope i'll manage to play with u all eventually.

EDIT:
I´ve played quite an array of strategy-games in the past, be they turn-based or real-time, but always favored the former, so here I am, as a Fan of Master of Magic, and other such superb fantasy strategy gems.


Always love to hear other ppl love Master of Magic..It's just sooo sad there is no multiplayer for that

[MaxHeadroom]

Hi! First thing, sorry for my bad english. I'm an italian fan of Dom3. This game is truly exciting and, at the same time, really really really difficult to understand. It have a lot of mechanics, rules, combos ecc...thousands and many more. I'm 25 y.o., student, painter, comic writer, artist. I search a good ol' boy to teach me how to play with Dom3, possibly via mail. Please contact me people, I thank you :)See ya!!!

[Gandalf Parker]

Welcome MaxHeadroom. (love the handle, looking forward to seeing your avatar image)

As to Master of Magic:
I dearly love the game and Ive tracked a number of efforts to recreate it. Unfortunately, they tended to get carried away with adding things. Multiplayer is a big killer. The game wasnt designed for that. I wish someone would just do a bug-free version that will run on new OS's, then expand (slowly) from that. I also track efforts based on King of Dragons Pass, Magic Realm (boardgame), Space Empires IV, and Stars!

[Immali]

Hi all.
I'm a male, 35 years old from Italy. I'm a medicine doctor, i'm married and have an almost 6 months old child.
I like sport, in particular the NBA and NFL.
I've recently found Dominions 3 and started playing...i find it a great game, really addictive. There's really strategy involved in this game!!! I'm playing singlepayer to learn the basics of the game, but soon i'll want to see how multiplayer is. The AI in sigleplayer is really good and, until i can't win agaist the AI i can't see how i can win against a human AI with knowledge of the game ;)
I really like this forum i'm reading from a month now...so i decided to register and be a part of the action.
I'll probably have questions i cannot solve in the near future and i know this is the right place to come.
All the best,
Immali

[Kaffa]

Benvenuto ! ...welcome

[Tonno]

Hello...
I am new here,and I have found this forum on youtube...I am totally excited about this,as i can see there is still online playing of dominions:D...

Well to introduce my self...
I am Tomislav,from Zagreb,Croatia.17 years old still going to school for electrical engineer, technician for PCs...
I am interested mainly in PCs,history, sports and nature (biology)...

PS
I raly could use some help with this,so enyone who is here from the begining,can he help me:confused:...

[Edi]

Welcome! :)

I suggest starting by reading the FAQ. The Strategy Index has lots of useful links as well and you can also ask on the forums if you don't find the answers on your own. The Dom3 DB linked in my sig and in the FAQ will allow you to see a lot of data about the units and other things in the game, but it might take a while to get comfortable with it.

[Tonno]

Ok...
I am redying some of the stuff,and I can see there is a lot of nice topics,but I did not found any of how to start playing online Dom3...
so pls can u help me...
Do I need some kind of patch to download,I have seen only the mods patches,and some things to do on DB v3.23,and do i need to download that also...

[Edi]

You should download the 3.24 version patch for Dom3 and install that. Dom3 DB is a spreadsheet. Just follow the link in my sig for that.

[Tonno]

sorry man I am pretty stupid,can not find it...
can u pas the link or some thing like that...

[Ragnars Wolves]

Ragnars Wolves from good 'ol' Kansas (NO Northern Iowa comments for at least 6 months please).

Have not played SP and was advised to just jump in, read the forums, and take my first few beatings like everyone else. Soooooo, I guess....let the beatings begin!!!:p

[Ballbarian]

Welcome from a fellow Kansan. :)

[Ballbarian]

sorry man I am pretty stupid,can not find it...
can u pas the link or some thing like that...

You may have found it by now, but the Dom3 (3.24) patch can be found on this page:
http://www.shrapnelgames.com/Illwinter/DOM3/DOM3_page.html

Edi's DB is here:
http://koti.welho.com/ehalttun/dom3/

[Gandalf Parker]

Personally I would not have made the suggestion to "jump in". Many find SP enjoyable. And in any case Id have recommended experimenting with each nation first. They each have pros and cons. Some are strongly offensive, or defensive, or research, or stealth, or basically the standard barbarian horde style of play, and more. Finding the one that best fits your playing style might make those "beatings" less horrible.

[chrispedersen]

there are no pro's to ea-agartha.

[RadicalTurnip]

25-year old Male from Wichita, KS, USA. My friend got me into Dominions III around Christmas, and I've been playing a few single-players since. Now he, a few other friends, and I are trying some Multiplayer. I can't believe how there are apparently two learning curves...once you get decent at SP, you have to make another learning jump to be decent at MP.

Unfortunately, I don't really garner any joy out of the SP experience anymore (but my interest in that area was waning anyway). I enjoy the intrigue and the thrill far too much of MP.

[Finalgenesis]

Greets, 28 YO male from Hong Kong looking for gir... :doh: Got into dominion a few weeks back from recommendations in Octopusoverlord forum. I'm enjoying this a lot and hope to foray into MP games soon, after I try every single team out and jot down some personal notes for each of them.

I enjoy how unique some of the teams are (LA R'yeth!) and hope to pick up more on the game mechanics before I hop in a MP game.

[Samulus]

So yeah, i wandered in here and stole your cheese because my cheese smells bad.

Oh look. Mods.

[waldemarne]

Hi all,
this is my first message in this forum and I'd like introduce myself.

I'm computer engineer. I'm 37 years old and I'm from Barcelona ( Spain). I knew about Dominions two months ago in a spanish wargame forum. Currently I'm playing a couple of Dominions Multiplayers games with others spanish players. But I hope I play another MP games in this forum. :fight:

I've been playing videogames since 9 years old in 8 bit computers. These last years I was mainly played strategy turn-based games (Combat Mission, Civilization,...). I don't like play RTS (Real Time Strategy) games.

Finally I'd like to tell you that I love this game! :D

Wal

[DennisS]

Hi there...my name is Dennis, and I have a serious woody for this game.

I have spent the last three days reading EVERYTHING about this game, from the dom3 wiki.

2106 units, over 700 spells, and all 68 different nation types across the three era's.

I have a solid understanding of most of this game, especially after reading a 38-page thread on an AAR. Nothing like reading other people's thoughts as they play the game.

Someone stop me...I have purchased three games already this month, and there are at LEAST three more that are coming out soon.

[RadicalTurnip]

Okay, Starcraft II...but what others? I reccomend just throw yourself deeply into Dominions and see if you can convince yourself to not buy those other games, because...hey...you won't play them anyway. Not with Dominions. :p

[Eximius Sus]

Hi. This is a cool game. I came here because it's easy to find from buying the game. I hope it's fun to hang out here.

[DennisS]

Well, I went and did it.

I opted to purchase through Amazon.com, where the missus had some coupons available.

I also elected for the 5-9 day delivery, to get that loverly 296 page manual.

I am very much a numbers guy...the folks at work have a nickname for me, "Rainman." I like it, and have fun with it.

I can only imagine what 100 pages of tables of 296 pages of data looks like. It will take me a LONG time to chew through this.

The demo is a blast, and I have started six games in the single player mode, and got my *** handed to me six times, getting better, and trying new things each time.

It is all a learning process, and clearly, I have a ways to go.

[Poet1960]

I live in Oregon USA and am 50 years old. I remember the good old days when I played games on my commadore 64 and amiga. I love strategy games and stuff like that. If you want to know more just ask me.

Poet1960

[fjohn]

Hello everybody.I am new on here and i just wanted to say Hi to all of you,members of this community..

[elana]

Hello All:

I have been playing Elemental War of magic. many people on the site rave about Dominions 3, so i ordered it. Steep learning curve. But fun.

I'm 50's divorced, retired woman in New York (USA). Been playing games since the days of Avalon Hill. Won the Kingmaker contest at a national convention when I was in college. Loved (SPI) Simulations Publications games, as well as the original Chainmail and D&D. Yes, I had a first edition. Anybody remember "flying buffalo?" Switched to PC games then married life and raising children /career took over. Now I'm retired, divorced, and having fun. Ballroom, country dancing. Games: started back with the Witcher, Oblivion. Was a play tester for the English translation of Nehrim. Been playing Elemental: War of Magic. Today, I download-ed the trial copy of Dominions 3 - working through the tutorial while I wait for the CD to arrive.

Many of you write about school, etc. I am very happy my graduate school days are behind me.

[rabelais]

Hey all. I've been poking around with CBM 1.6 in SP and was thinking of trying to get back into MP.


Downloaded Edi's most recent database, but the nation data (units, paths, what you get for PD, heros + available pretenders etc) that used to come in a nice readable form seems to be missing.

Am I thinking of a different database? The one in color?


Also I tried playing with the endgame diversity Mod, but wasn't sure how to avoid the dummy nation for randomized SP. Is there a version without it, or is it easy to rip out that part from the mod?

Is the underwater improvement mod part of 1.6, or just 1.7? I'm avoiding 1.7 for now as I'm not very excited about no hammers, but the underwater mod seems great.

Is this still the primary board for MP, or are there 3rd party ones now? I notice Llamaserver is still going strong.

Thanks for all replies. Nice to see the game is still vigorous.

Rabe

[AreaOfEffect]

Welcome to the community all.

That said I ought to introduce myself at this point as well. My handle is AreaOfEffect but some of you have called me AoE or Area. My portrait has been the bane of many eyeballs.

I joined the community in March of 2008, but like most others, I was playing for a goodly number of months beforehand. I concluded that single player wasn't giving me the full enjoyment that this game is capable of and started joining in multi-player. I was right.

After several games I started to compose guides to the nations I enjoyed the most. I became very prolific. I was once accused of being in a race against Baalz, but I'm sure no one will match his hard work.

Last January I fell out of touch with everyone here. I was in the midst of setting up a huge multi-player match of one-on-one duals. I also had a very strong position in a late-age game. I left many people hanging and I apologize for that. Your a good community and you deserve an explanation.

Truth is that I moved to a new city, was thrust into a new financial situation, lacked connection to the internet, and my life became busy. Its not a good explanation, but its all I can offer.

I may not have energy to try and set up a game like that again on the scale I imagined. I do however want to play again in a casual manner. I hope there are no hard feelings.

My name is Andrew and I live in the great state of New York in the United States. I like strawberry-short cake and pickles.

[Calahan]

Happy to hear you're still alive AoE :) Since I'm probably not the only one who wondered where you went, and if you were ok.

And Real Life always has the nasty habit of creeping up on you and interfering in the lives and habits of peoples internet alter-ego, so I wouldn't worry about any problems it might have caused.

Plus it's always good to see an old face returning :)

[Edi]

Welcome to all the new people! Nice to see you here! :D

If you haven't already, do check out the sticky threads, especially the FAQ and the Strategy index, lots of good stuff there.

Hey all. I've been poking around with CBM 1.6 in SP and was thinking of trying to get back into MP.


Downloaded Edi's most recent database, but the nation data (units, paths, what you get for PD, heros + available pretenders etc) that used to come in a nice readable form seems to be missing.

Am I thinking of a different database? The one in color?
The one in color and easily readable form was never mine, it was Sunray's. That one hasn't been updated since forever and then some, IIRC. If you want a particular unit in easily readable form, consult the Dom3 wiki. It should have what you're looking for.

Mine has always been very barebones in terms of visual presentation, since I was having trouble enough cramming all the data in there.

For the other questions, they are perhaps best asked in the CBM discussion thread.

[Colonial]

hello,

I had a look at this game about a year ago, liked it but couldn't deal with the micromanagement.

since then I've started playing some pbem, for which my tolerance for micro is much higher. recently remembered dominions and thought I'd have a look. been ghosting on this forum for a week or two.

seems like this game is the king of PBeM. well organised, 100+ regulars, in-depth strategy, can be played off a stick drive. so I've joined up.

so far I seem to have already provided the final impulse needed to branch the main mod :S:S.

----------------------------------------------

slightly controversial name was originally taking the piss out of the culture and economy of Scotland. also spend a lot of time in Africa, so thought it would suet.

[Romtos]

Hey all

Excited to have finally decided to buy dominions! :D The download option has convinced me. I'm enjoying myself safely in SP, but I might try MP in the future. The PBEM concept is very attractive, since it requires little schedule attuning.

As a real noob to the community I spend the day looking where people hang out. I found that the three largest communities are this one (shrapnelgames), the dom3mods forum and the thread at something awful. Did I miss any?

Also, I'm considering using mods once I get familiar with the basics. The most interesting mods I found were CBM1.71(with EDM and WH 1.9), HolyWar0.9, UWGIM0.94 and OnlyAwesomeSites1.3. I understood that mods might conflict with each other. How would I go about implementing these mods together, or isn't that possible?

I realize the community is somewhat on the quiet side, but I'm happy it still gets its fair share of attention.

[Gandalf Parker]

If by quiet you mean "not chatty" then yes. But Im not sure any other Dom3 forums amounts to more.
Yes, you probably pinned the top 3.

As for mixing those mods I think you will need to wait for an answer. A couple are too new, and only on some forums. Im not sure if anyone has tried all of those together yet. But if YOU do then please let us know. :) And of course feel free to start an MP game with that mix.

[Romtos]

If by quiet you mean "not chatty" then yes. But Im not sure any other Dom3 forums amounts to more.
Yes, you probably pinned the top 3. I didn't mean to imply that this community was quieter than the others. Indeed, just that the whole community isn't that "chatty" as you so eloquently put it.

As for mixing those mods I think you will need to wait for an answer. A couple are too new, and only on some forums. Im not sure if anyone has tried all of those together yet. But if YOU do then please let us know. :) And of course feel free to start an MP game with that mix.
I must say the lack of combined mods or something like that is surprising. Of course there is the things of people having different tastes and want different elements to their (MP) games. However, it does explain why I read mod-nations are little used in MP games.

I was considering reading up enough on modding in order to combine this set of mods. Part of the problem is that a few things have been very recently updated. One is the patch, which apparently updated the spell list limits, and I don't know what else. The other is the update of CBM, and other mods are often only compatible with CBM1.6. Finally, I don't know the limits of modding in Dom3 and in which areas mods might start biting each other.

In order to gain enough modding knowledge I guess I ought to read up on the documentation provided with Dom3. Anything else crucial?

[rdonj]

Actually, there are some combination mods. For example, sombre put together a combo of CBM 1.6 and most of the warhammer mods. And a number of people, myself included, have made combination mods over the years to play with various groups of mods put together. A lot of those are out of date though, and they tend to be put together on a per game basis. There's currently no combination mod with cbm 1.7 that I'm aware of and it's considered at present by many to be a beta version for the next version of CBM, so it's unlikely it will get any "official" combination made for it.

Combining mods isn't *that* hard though. It's just making sure that there are no number conflicts between the mods, which is mostly the case already with the warhammer mods, if not most others. But generally sombre and burnsaber try to make their mods compatible with one another's. Otherwise, there will almost certainly be conflicts. And CBM is much too big of a beast to count on not having conflicts with other mods. There are tools to make combining mods a lot easier, though, and it's pretty much common practice these days to use pyg's mod combining script to do the combinations. It's not quite 100% perfect yet, but every time it's used he works on it a bit more and it gets smarter.

You might actually be surprised at the number of games with mod nations in them there have been. The only thing is they've never quite been accepted by the community at large as balanced, so they mostly end up in specialty games. There have been a few that have included them regardless, though.

I feel like I'm rambling so I'll stop here! Oh, and welcome to the forums :P

[Romtos]

I feel like I'm rambling so I'll stop here! Oh, and welcome to the forums :P

Thanks. :D And I liked the rambling. Gives quite a bit more insight what's going on.

I did find the mod combining script, I think. But I saw the thread title ending in .py and anything in python scares me (out of ignorance). I'll check it out though, if it's such a big help.

I thought CBM1.71 was supposed to be "final version", I saw that mentioned at least once. There should still another update coming by QM?

Personally, I always preferred more content to more balance, but I generally don't play games (in general, not per se dom3) in multiplayer. It's easy to balance things if you can houserule yourself in silly ways.

[rdonj]

Personally I can't use python at all, but there are plenty of helpful people out there and I'm sure that it wouldn't be too hard to get someone to help you set up a mod for a game :) It is better if you can do it yourself though, of course.

There's a lot of discussion ongoing about CBM 1.7 right now. Basically it made a lot of big changes and people are concerned that overall balance may have taken a hit for the worse due to it. And they've been talking about revisions on IRC, so I would say a CBM 1.8 is reasonably likely to appear within the next few months.

I give myself a lot of house rules, too when playing against the AI. And even when I do MP games, come to think of it. Maybe not the best idea, but it makes things more fun for me.

[NaivePhilosopher]

Hello all, figured I'd stop in and introduce myself.

A friend of mine gave me Dominions 3 as an early Christmas present a couple of weeks ago, and I've been playing it off and on ever since. It's taken me awhile to actually get into it, largely because I didn't read through the manual first I suppose, but after reading a few AARs and getting a better feel for the game itself I've really come to enjoy the it.

I'm excited to get into the community and try out the multiplayer, and I look forward to having a blast with this.

[Tecnócrata]

Greetings, gentlemen.

Tried the demo, and now waiting for my order to arrive. In the meantime, designing a few nations and preparing a map of Genertela (RQ) full with magic sites. Almost play SP all games, so no hurry to try MP, if ever.

Hardly can wait to a first game with Ashen Ermor and make the world a rotten wasteland. Always loved the walking dead.

[DeadlyShoe]

Heh. Only a few nations, no ambition there :)

[Sopita]

Hello.

I'm spanish and I have meet Dominions thanks to a AAR in a strategy forum. I recieved the game two months ago and I'm now starting to get into the MP stuff.

[Starry Vere]

Hi everyone, new here, got the game about 2 weeks before Christmas. I've played games all my life and I have to say this is THE game I've always been looking for. The depth is just astounding and I'm really hooked.

Looking forward to eventually mixing it up with some of you in MP but I'm still learning the ropes in SP and still have a ton to learn I can see. But I wanted to express my appreciation for the creators of the game and the people around here who keep the community going strong. Thanks for the fun.

[AfroSquirrel]

I'm in about the same position as Starry Vere; recently got the game and still playing in single player, though I think I'll be ready (ready enough, at least), the next time a newbie game opens up. I have an odd fondness for Tir na N'og, probably born out of reading the Mabinogion and other regional legends.

[llamabeast]

Welcome all!

To anyone who may be interested in joining a multiplayer game for new players, there is one just signing up in the other forum, here:

http://z7.invisionfree.com/Dom3mods/index.php?showtopic=297

[domdiogo]

Hello guys!

I'm a 32 years old brazilian man.
My favorite nation is Jomon and I would like to learn modding, specially Nation Edition or Creation.


Can anyone give me a starting point?
I have read the pd manual only...

[Streets_Ahead]

Hey everyone

I'm not really sure what the best way to introduce myself is.

I've been playing dominions single player and one on one with a friend on and off for 3-4 years, but haven't touched the game in almost a year. Recently, I got back into it in a big way, when I discovered this forum and all the amazing mods and guides. i tend to like lurking, but I really want to try my hand at a multiplayer game and that requires coming out of the shadows.

Anyone have any advice for the ettiquette surrounding signing up for games, or should I just find a nooby thread and dive in?

Streets

[oldrocker99]

I'm a 62 year old man living in Norwich, Connecticut USA. I'm a confirmed :angelUbuntu:angel user. I've always liked turn-based strategy games. I fooled around with the demo and hemmed and hawed about buying the game for the longest time:doh:. I finally relented:rolleyes:, and oh, my Deity. 100% Gaming Goodness. Best turn-based game ever:confused: Almost certainly.:D

[llamabeast]

Hey Streets_Ahead (and anyone else fancying a multiplayer game), there is a game signing up for new players here at the moment:

http://z7.invisionfree.com/Dom3mods/index.php?showtopic=307

Just read the post, then post yourself saying what nation you'd like to play.

(It's on "the other" forum, so you'll need to sign up there as well - the two forums have many players in common, but that one has a slightly different tone and is not moderated, being unofficial - personally I like to use both forums regularly.)

[Streets_Ahead]

Hey Streets_Ahead (and anyone else fancying a multiplayer game), there is a game signing up for new players here at the moment:

http://z7.invisionfree.com/Dom3mods/index.php?showtopic=307

Just read the post, then post yourself saying what nation you'd like to play.

(It's on "the other" forum, so you'll need to sign up there as well - the two forums have many players in common, but that one has a slightly different tone and is not moderated, being unofficial - personally I like to use both forums regularly.)

Thanks Llamabeast. I have gone ahead and signed up. Here goes!

[Iron-Specter]

Hi 52 years gamming most of it. Turn based strategy is my favorite. City of Heroes is the game I have played the most lately due to a lack of good turn based games. I live in Texas and love it here. I just discovered Dominions 3 and am in the 4th year winter of my first SP game.

It's an early age game with the indies set up one notch from default. Me vs 5 indies. I took Caelum and the great sage as my pretender with all magic paths except blood.

So far I have faced C,tis, Kailasa,and Atlantis. I drove Ctis back to their starting castle. It looks like Saurmatia will take that soon. I am in the process surrounding Kailasa and should take them out within the next year. Atlantis drove me from the water but has stayed put so far. I made a few mistakes that cost me, but nothing unrecoverable yet. This is a great game and I am having fun. Hope to see some of you in multiplayer soon.

[White Fang]

Hello I usually just download mods on the forums and play against ai's but besides that hi peeps of dom3 :) I live in Oklahoma and im 19

[Nimiria]

Hello :)

I am new here and I am interested in gaming some Dom3 games in the internet (best would be via email I guess).

So if someone has some newcomerfriendly games to come up in the future, feel free to contact me :)

If there will be mods needed, please explain how to install and use them, since I did not take them till now for single player.

Of course I would be interested in some general tipps for multiplayer gaming, too :)

[MarkUCLA]

Um...Let's see..It all started when I heard about this game called Zork. It wouldn't play on my Intellivision. It required a personal computer. I bought an Apple IIe a couple days later.

And so here I am. I live for turn based games, but never heard about this one, or maybe if I had, I thought it might have been too complex.

I still have not had my turn-based itch scratched since Alpha Centauri. One of my all time favorites. I mean, come on, it had video.

So giving this game a go.

300 page manual.
Priceless.

[Mutantbatplumber]

@Nimirian
Hey, My friend and I are also new players if your interested we're setting up a game on llamaserver.net called "kathmandont"

[Morla]

HI ALL,i am spanish HOLA, i am anxious to start a mp game. now i have free time and i am usually conected to the chat in gamesurge.net channel #dominions, so if you want a quick noob blitz i am your man ;)

[Xaltotun]

I have enjoyed turn based strategy games (MOO,MOM,
AOW SM, etc) but only recently found Dominions 3. In fact, so far, I have only played the demo version. I ordered the CD version from Shrapnel a while back but it hasn't come in yet.

When I do have the full version I am sure I will have a lot of questions as what I know so far about Dominions 3 is very limited. I look forward to future discussions.

[Moanerette]

Greetings, Dominionsians. After enjoying the demo, I have just dropped an eyebrow-raisingly large amount of cash on the full game, and I'm glad I did. Seems to have the potential for real long-term appeal.

So I'm feeling my way against the AI, trying to suss out how Communions work and that sort of thing... Once I feel like I've got the basics I definitely hope to find some MP action.

Other games I enjoy include Solium Infernum (so I'm used to PBEM games that go on for months), the Football Manager series, Civ 4 (yes, I like turn-based strat games), Dwarf Fortress, Stone Soup, Crusader Kings...

I look forward to getting my troops beaten up in exotic and horrifying ways.

[Raruto]

Hi, i'm new on this forum and of course a huge fan of 4x games both fantasy and sci-fi. Imho dominions 3 is a great game, very complete and enjoying :)

[Minor Kitty]

Been playing dominions SP on and off for 6 years now, meaning no experience with MP and tactics that are meant for games 10 patches ago, this will be interesting.

Hopefully the enemy will just charge indies at me.

[Minor Kitty]

Also my key is broken so I can't access servers with a letter in their name, too ba for ominions3 servers :(.

[recon124]

Greetings!

I was introduced to this game from paulsoaresjr's youtube video (http://youtu.be/cHWiHC-i5b4) about Conquest of Elysium 3, where he referenced this game. I have played it for less than a week now and am thoroughly addicted.

So, with that out of the way I will now continue my search for a multiplayer game. Fun fact, Conquest of Elysium 3 comes out on my birthday.

[Legendary League]

Hello.

I use to be an avid player of Dom3 years ago, but I lost interest then. I've now recently gotten back into it again, and would like to start playing MP again.

:)

[Yurasis_Dragon]

This is the first time I have ever posted on this forum. I have had this game for about 5 years and never played it. I just got around to doing it. It's terrific. I mean really terrific. I have only played about 3X (so I suck and don't know what I am doing):doh:

I guess I must ask, does anyone play this game anymore?:confused:

Anyway, I have been messing with Marveni and have figured how to beat the computer with them. My understanding is that they suck.

Anyway, is their an MP against other noobs?

[llamabeast]

Hi Yurasis_Dragon,

Yep, lots of people still play, in fact there still seems to be a steady stream of new players. Both the multiplayer and modding communities remain active.

If you go to the "Multiplayer and AARs" section you can see if there are any games starting up for new players. If there aren't I recommend setting one up yourself (there are a couple of stickies in that subforum on how to do this). Generally there are lots of new players waiting for someone to arrange a game, so if you set one up you're likely to get enough players pretty quickly.

[legowarrior]

It seems the Conquest brought a few people our way. Cool.

[Shardphoenix]

I guess I must ask, does anyone play this game anymore? :confused:
Yes, we do! :)

Anyway, I have been messing with Marveni and have figured how to beat the computer with them. My understanding is that they suck. Marverni are good at making GIANT FLAMING METEORS OF DEATH fall onto enemy heads. And you need to understand how astral magic (particulary communions) works. There are some guides (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=38122)to help you with it. :)

[Gandalf Parker]

I guess there are still plenty of people playing. :)
I know of at least 3 servers that are kept busy with lots of Dom3 games.

[Katie]

Hola! :)

Well, I have an olde school mindset in everything in life. So it's no surprise that I like this game :o.

Roberta Williams said that computer games were for patient people, and it's why I liked them to begin with, they were so different from the arcade and console games. Of course today with computers being more wide spread, the games have changed too on a wide scale, and they now resemble console gameplay more than anything. So I was happy when I found the Dominions games :happy:.

I've been playing Dominions 3 for around nearly a year now. I really like the descriptions in the game, it gives way to my imagination. I like games like Betrayal at Krondor and Darklands. They provide good text and just enough graphics so you can use your imagination. I also like the graphics in Dominions 3, and that's no joke. My favourite graphics of all time is in Heroes of Might and Magic 2 for example, so something being shiny doesn't mean better for me.

I mostly played against the computer, but I also played a few games with friends. I haven't played multiplayer with the community at large yet, and I doubt I will. Maybe it's just bad luck, but whenever I play multiplayer in a game, it seems to be filled with jerks that cuss at you or say vile things. Or mayhaps I don't have the mindset for multiplayer with strangers on the internet. I'm not saying the multiplayer community in Dominions is bad, just my experience in every game I tried to play in.

It's a good game, I have lots of fun playing it :). I generaly play not to min and max, or be the best, but to role play my side with barbaric romanticism, even if it's just against the A.I.

Katie, an olde fashioned mind in a young body :wave:

[legowarrior]

Well, I hope you do try mp sometime. It took me 3 years to do an MP game, and now I am regretting not getting on board earlier. One thing to remember is that people who are jerks usual get ganged up on early, so you don't have to deal with them as much.
Still, in MP games, diplomacy is key. “In war, resolution; in defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity” as churchill said.

[parone]

great quote, lego. chruchill sure could speak.

and katie, i hope you try MP. for the most part, the people i've played with have been really cool and helpful. if you want, we may even be able to start up a game specifically for people who are polite!

[Mars76]

Ok so I took the plunge.

I have flirted with this game for quite some time but the price tag kept me at arms length (I enjoy bargain shopping Gamer's Gate). With my wife's permission (you know what I'm talking about :re:) I downloaded last night.

I'm coming from a Dwarf Fortress...CIV...Various Rouges background...sprinkle in a little Hearts of Iron and Football Manager.

Going to tool around with SP for about a week or so and then find a newb friendly match or twenty.

[Hishtagat]

Hola, I'm one of those (not so rare I'd guess) people who actually came here due to Conquest of Elysium III. I tried it, liked it but felt it lacking in depth department. And so I saw Dominions 3 mentioned and stumbled all the way here to get a copy.

I've been playing for around 3 weeks. As I've always had a thing for complex strategies, I'm enjoying it immensely but obviously the complexity goes only so far in single player. So I am contemplating making a switch to multi player in some very close but unspecified future.

As such I have a question, which will hopefully spare me browsing all the ongoing/finished game threads in search for an answer. Do any people actually play medium+ games without use of the PBEM? By medium I'm thinking 10 players or more average here. Would it actually be plausible to organize long sessions of TCP/IP to play a match that size, or would there be, in your experience, a complete lack of people interested?

[Gandalf Parker]

Many of the direct connect games are played on my server www.Dom3Minions.com
(nearly all of the PbEm games are done on www.LLamaServer.net )
Ive never lacked for keeping it fairly maxed out (100 games) altho lately not so many from this forum.
But you can always try. :)

[Hishtagat]

Thanks for a fast reply, I'll definitely give it a shot then. :) It is nice to see that the community is still so active here, apparently niche games are best for that!

[Mars76]

Same here, purchased CoE last week and it just wasn't doing it for me...I may go back to it after a year of patching.

[Soyweiser]

Various Rouges background...

Ouch...

[Grimgor]

Hello everyone, I thought here might be a good place to start.

I'm 24, living in Denmark and currently studying history. I ran across Dominions 3 while looking around for God-styled TBS games.
I was initially dissuaded, but have bought and played the game single player a bunch. During this time, I've also been lurking around the forum here a bunch :)

I suck at it, but I'm having a blast anyway. Though I actually found the AI somewhat challenging (I still trust PD too much and forgot to give my SC's things like Etherealness when against huge armies), I am toying with the idea of multiplayer.
This is not because I'm a masochist, but more because so far my games have resembled the uncoordinated flailings of a drunk koala far too much, on both sides, and I'd like to streamline my own play and fight actual people who can put considerations behind their actions :)

Hope to have fun around here!

[krpeters]

Welcome aboard Grimgor.

Regarding MP play, you will probably learn more by watching how real players crush you than anything else. Pay special attention to what sort of equipment their thugs are pounding you with and what their mages script. Then give it back to them in the next game :)

[Grimgor]

Reading that I couldn't help get associations of letting someone kick me in the stomach repeatedly, so I can learn the benefits of his technique :P Nonetheless, I'm sure it'll be fun :)

[legowarrior]

It is a lot like that. But, it took me a long while to get into MP games, and it makes a huge difference over SP games in fun.

[Gandalf Parker]

Reading that I couldn't help get associations of letting someone kick me in the stomach repeatedly, so I can learn the benefits of his technique :P Nonetheless, I'm sure it'll be fun :)
As most people will attest, they had a lot of fun with the game for a long time.
And then got into MP and had more fun for a longer time. :)

To avoid the "kick in the stomach repeatedly" syndrome you might watch the MP forum for chances to substitute. Particularly to sub for angry players dropping out. The other players will welcome you. You dont have to do good. And you will get a chance to see how more experienced players do things.

Of course you will probably see them as you are getting your asskicked. But there is no pressure. You have the excuse that you took over a losing position. And you arent playing a nation you chose nor with a pretender-god that you built. The only hope anyone has for you is that you will be slightly more fun than turning it over to AI play. You get to go down swinging in grand and glorious epic battles with no regrets.

And remember to view the battles carefully, and ask questions. :D

[Grimgor]

It is a lot like that. But, it took me a long while to get into MP games, and it makes a huge difference over SP games in fun.

I can absolutely imagine that. And human intelligence is exactly what I'm missing from the SP games :) I had a strange experience recently in a game where, even though I could tell I wasn't playing very well, I could see the AI play so much worse. Was actually the motivation for me to join up here :)

Good idea, Gandalf :) That seems like a good way to get a taste of MP.

[datom]

Hi all,

Finally took the plunge on Dominions 3 after weighing it up for ... ooh, about 5 years.

Taking my first faltering steps in SP with EA T'ien Chi right now but what's a good way to 'learn' to the point that I can play MP? I've heard a lot of varying comments - play MA Man and use general strategies, pick one nation and play specific strategies, play the AI, don't play the AI as it builds bad habits etc.? Presuming SP is useful, should I wait until I can beat the AI, beat several AIs, beat AI consistently etc.? How long is the normal incubation period? I enjoyed the tutorial but got a lot from reading a few something awful LPs.

I like the idea of 'subbing in' as an intro down the line a bit but I'm scared the sheer number of decisions would be a little overwhelming!

Excited to be here!

[Soyweiser]

Yeah, subbing in isn't my favourite. To much at once.

You could try one of the newbie games at dom3mods. http://z7.invisionfree.com/Dom3mods/index.php?act=idx or participate in a blitz on irc and get slaughtered. :D (blitzes are game that are played very quickly. With everybody on the same chat channel usually).

[rdonj]

IMO, if you're playing to be able to play multiplayer, what you need to do isn't really to learn how to beat the AI. You need to learn how to expand, and you need to learn basic scripting, site searching, and maybe figure out a few good early game go to spells. Then you should be fine for noob games and can start learning more in depth.

[datom]

Cheers guys. Both sound bits of advice. The early game especially I think it's worth me practising as my expansion gets gummed up, my spell choices go wrong - already seeing the mistakes. After a bit, when I'm comfortable there, I'll batter into a MP noob game and lose horrifically a few times.

[YellowCactus]

Hello Dominions Community! (wave)
Cunknown brought me back to Dom3 after about 5 years away. Dominions rocks!!!! It's even better then it used to be!

@Datom: We're playing Waarrrggg game together. Your expansion is Unmatched! Next you need to work on Diplomacy. Graphs are on, so everyone see's you are kicking butt! Don't start more then one war at a time! Good Luck!

[starcryst]

Hello everyone. I'm new to Dom3, have been playing AI for about a month and am just getting into my first MP games now.

I'm an old dude (45) and a long time strategy game fan, with my favorite offline games including Star Fleet Battles and Mechwarrior (20 years ago) and Small World more recently and my favorite computer games including Civ 4/5 and EUIII.

Worked for years in the computer game industry as a Designer / Producer for Microprose back when it was one of the top companies in the industry. Worked on the original X-Com, Civ1 Windows, MOO, MOM & Magic the Gathering.

Nowadays have my own Tech Startup in the mobile space which is doing really well.

Been looking for a deep online strategy game experience for years and been dissatisfied with everything prior to coming across Dom3. Looking forward to getting to know you all and becoming and active member of the Dom3 community.

Also, I'm up for Blitz games on the weekend, so look me up if you are forming a game and need players.

[llamabeast]

starcryst: Wow, you worked on a lot of cool things!!

[Edi]

Welcome!

And that's a seriously awesome list of stuff you've worked on in the past! Aside from MtG (which I never played), all those titles are among my all time favorites!

[starcryst]

starcryst: Wow, you worked on a lot of cool things!!

Thanks! :)

Just in the right place at the right time. I wasn't the lead on any of those projects, just lucky enough to be on the QA and / or Dev team. But MicroProse was an amazing company back in the early days.

[Man with No Name]

just lucky enough to be on the QA and / or Dev team. But MicroProse was an amazing company back in the early days.
I think almost all my pocket money way going into Microprose games at one point in the late 80's/early 90's. Although I have a Question for the Q&A guy... why didn't Microprose make their keyboard overlays out of stronger card?...

... as the pockey money I didn't spend on Microprose games went on buying sellotape to hold keyboard overlays together :)

Didn't you guys realise they would need to hold together even after hundreds of hours of use? Cheap card would've been fine had you been making average sort of games, but when making the games you did, no way was the cheap stuff going to last the distance!

[Beloss]

Hello, Beloss here. 20, living in Cal and a big fan of Civ games and Age of Wonders before I was introduced to Dom. Relatively new to Dom 3, have played a long hot seat against a friend but we were basically just throwing troops at each other with minimal utilization of the finer points of the game, so I'm basically still a beginner.
One question I was curious about (And considering the cost of gems I know that this would be suicide in any competitive environment)but I was surprised to find that its possible to raise a units magic power over 9, and into 10 and even 11. Is there any benefit to this? Any bonuses one would get to having Fire power 12? I know that the more death you have the more undead troops you can lead, I also know that higher Nature lets you feed more live longer, but do you get any spell bonuses to having scores above 9?

[YellowCactus]

Welcome Beloss,
Your general question 'Is there benefit to raising magic path levels above 10?'
An answer but not the most experienced answer 'Yes. Some spells generate more units or magic effects based on path strength. Also, Global Enchantments get a saving throw versus dispel attempts. Having high path usually helps!

Welcome to the forums!

[Soyweiser]

Usually "is there a benefit" should be changed into "is the benefit I get cost effective. Aren't there other things I could do with these gems that benefit me more?"

Only natural magic levels count for boosting globals. (Empowering counts as a new natural level. Magic items do not).

There are no (known) cutoffs for high magic levels. If you want to try pretenders with high natural levels 8+ etc. The mod Awesome gods has a few. It is a favourite in the Something Awful community. And not as unbalanced as you would think. (Actually not unbalanced at all, ninjadebugger did a good job).

[Beloss]

Thank you very much. So the answer is no for most practical cost effective purposes outside of mods. In any case, thanks for the welcome. If anyone could direct me to a strategy thread that they think is particularly good I would be most obliged. :)

[YellowCactus]

Sticky: Guide: The Strategy Index

That's a good read, but the only real way to learn the game is to play in multi-player. Go to the multi-player thread and volunteer to Substitute in an ongoing game. And keep your eyes open for games that are starting. Have Fun!

[Beloss]

Much obliged.

[Soyweiser]

Note that a lot of the strategy advice regarding CBM is outdated. Sadly, most guide writer do not add the versions of the mods they are using to the guides.

[claes]

I am Claes and I have not but a single multiplayer Dom 3 game under my belt. So consider me green but interested in becoming a part of this larger community. Cheers.

[Soyweiser]

This forum is mostly empty now. Go look at the dom3mods or desura forum for other players. And welcome to the world of dom3.