Previews!

[Annette]

Link to Tacticular Cancer (http://www.tacticularcancer.com/content.php?id=15)

[Annette]

From WorthPlaying:

Believe me when I say that this is possibly the largest, most detailed, and feature-packed strategy game to be developed in the past 10 years.


Read the full preview here (http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=34787)

[Annette]

From The Bovine Conspiracy:

There's going to be a lot of bad "LOL, more like Dominions 2.5!" jokes flying around. But there are enough "under the hood" changes here to merit the full bump from II to III. This is no fancy mod, it's Dominions III. Time for the king to show everyone how turn-based multiplayer is done.


The full preview is HERE! (http://www.bovineconspiracy.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=289&Item id=52)

[Annette]

Dominions 3 Impressions Part One (http://www.tacticularcancer.com/content.php?id=19)

[Annette]

Be sure to pick up the September issue of Computer Games magazine to read Troy S. Goodfellow's impressions of the "artistic overhaul" of Dominions 3.

[Annette]

A new preview was posted August 1 at Inside Mac Games. Remi Stebenne writes:

Fans of Dominions 2 will rejoice at the coming of this long-awaited sequel, which contains many new features while still keeping the same atmosphere. People who are looking for something that will work the brain instead of the fingers should definitely take a look at this massive yet fun game. I can't wait for the final version to be released; I can't stop playing the preview version I have and it will be the same for the final version. I keep saying one more turn and then I notice a few hours have passed!


The full review is HERE! (http://insidemacgames.com/previews/view.php?ID=221)

[Annette]

In Finland, pick up a copy of issue numero 17-18 of PC pelaaja for Jukka O. Kauppinen's preview.

Another is found here:http://plaza.fi/harrastukset/edome/arvostelut/pc/dominions-3-ennakko-pc

[Nerfix]

Gotta hunt a copy of PC Pelaaja.

[Endoperez]

Nerfix said:
Gotta hunt a copy of PC Pelaaja.



Agreed.

[DominionsFan]

Annette said:
In Finland, pick up a copy of issue numero 17-18 of PC pelaaja for Jukka O. Kauppinen's preview.

Another is found here:http://plaza.fi/harrastukset/edome/arvostelut/pc/dominions-3-ennakko-pc



Eh, I see nice big army on the first screenshot. Too bad that we cannot enlarge it. It's also too bad that I don't understand finnish. Nerfix or Endo, perhaps you should translate the text to us. [If there are some new infos at least in it] http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Nerfix]

Hmmm, it's actually a somewhat negative review. If I get sufficiently bored I'll translate the whole things.

This is the most disturbing part of the review though:

"Kokeillussa ennakkoversiossa ei kuitenkaan ollut vielä kaikkia luvattuja ominaisuuksia, kuten pelin sisäisiä apuja, joten pelin lopullista avautumisnopeutta ei voi vielä päätellä."

"The preview version we tried did not have all the promised features such as in-game help functions so it is impossible to say what the learning curve will in the end be"

[Annette]

Subscription info at www.pelaajalehti.com (http://www.pelaajalehti.com)
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[st.patrik]

Nerfix said:
Hmmm, it's actually a somewhat negative review. If I get sufficiently bored I'll translate the whole things.

This is the most disturbing part of the review though:

"Kokeillussa ennakkoversiossa ei kuitenkaan ollut vielä kaikkia luvattuja ominaisuuksia, kuten pelin sisäisiä apuja, joten pelin lopullista avautumisnopeutta ei voi vielä päätellä."

"The preview version we tried did not have all the promised features such as in-game help functions so it is impossible to say what the learning curve will in the end be"



what? the in-game help is there - maybe they just don't know how to use it.
Mind you, it's not like it's some big walkthrough, which might have been what they were expecting. It is in fact somewhat unobtrusive http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Annette]

We were unable to supply the manual with the preview code, as it was not yet complete. So we should bear that in mind.

For our French-speaking players, Cyberstratege (http://www.cyberstratege.com/) published their preview in Issue 3.

[Agrajag]

Why don't you send a preview copy over to http://www.gamer.co.il ? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Annette]

Agrajag said:
Why don't you send a preview copy over to http://www.gamer.co.il ? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif


I'm not familiar with them. I don't see any contact information in English. Would you be kind enough to pm me with an email address or physical address for them? Thanks http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

[JaydedOne]

Careful, Annette. You might have every forum member with a blog and a pre-order purchase asking you for a "preview copy" if you don't watch out. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Annette]

JaydedOne said:
Careful, Annette. You might have every forum member with a blog and a pre-order purchase asking you for a "preview copy" if you don't watch out. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif


Aaaahhh...am I being gullible? I guess that's why Richard and Tim keep such close tabs on me http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/fear.gif

[alexti]

st.patrik said:
what? the in-game help is there - maybe they just don't know how to use it.


What kind of in-game help is available? In Dom2 it was so often that your perfect turn plan was coming just one gem short - frustrating! Where is the in-game help when you need one? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Endoperez]

alexti said:

st.patrik said:
what? the in-game help is there - maybe they just don't know how to use it.


What kind of in-game help is available? In Dom2 it was so often that your perfect turn plan was coming just one gem short - frustrating! Where is the in-game help when you need one? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif



I wondered about that, too. I thought it might be something like an in-game manual, or very advanced text popups, but I'm not sure. Gems and gold are seen on the main window. Stealthy units have a map icon. You can switch between dominion candles or combined dominion/gold/resources box. Your pretender's name is visible on the main view and you can click it to find him. The season is visible in the upper right corner. It's better, but maybe it isn't good enough for a new player without a manual. I hope it'll be enough for old players who get a manual.

[Agrajag]

Annette said:

Agrajag said:
Why don't you send a preview copy over to http://www.gamer.co.il ? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif


I'm not familiar with them. I don't see any contact information in English. Would you be kind enough to pm me with an email address or physical address for them? Thanks http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif


Hmmm, interestingly enough, the only contact information I managed to find on their website is webmaster@gamer.co.il (Basically, the "Contact Us" button is a mailto link to that adress).

Oh, and this isn't some site I set up myself to get a free preview copy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif
Its on of the best(/the best) gaming websites in Israel (the other being Vgames, but IIRC it has a smaller community because signing up for the forums costs money, egh!)

A word of caution though, the Israeli gaming crowd is noturious for two things:
1) Immaturity (The average age of a gamer in Israel is pretty low, I guess mainly due to forced military service)
2) Illegality (Pirating games is quite common in Israel [though not as bad as the more noturious countries])
So the game might not generate that much demand in Israel even if it does get a positive review/preview :\

Either way I will be happy to read a good preview in Hebrew http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
(Although I won't be that happy if its a negative one :\ )

And here ends my long-winded post http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif

EDIT: Either way, once I get the game (which may be a while, since I couldn't pre-order [for personal reasons]), it will surely get a very positive review in the Strategy section of the Gamer.co.il forums http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[DominionsFan]

Nerfix said:
Hmmm, it's actually a somewhat negative review.





Hm... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/Injured.gif

[Nerfix]

I'm not sure if it is the reviewer's 'fault' or the game's fault though.

[st.patrik]

alexti said:

st.patrik said:
what? the in-game help is there - maybe they just don't know how to use it.


What kind of in-game help is available? In Dom2 it was so often that your perfect turn plan was coming just one gem short - frustrating! Where is the in-game help when you need one? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif



The in-game help that I was talking about it a list of commands and brief explanations (very brief) that you can access from the main screen - so more like helping you figure out how to do something that helping you figure out what to do.

For helping you figure out what to do there is a tutorial game included.

[alexti]

st.patrik said:

alexti said:

st.patrik said:
what? the in-game help is there - maybe they just don't know how to use it.


What kind of in-game help is available? In Dom2 it was so often that your perfect turn plan was coming just one gem short - frustrating! Where is the in-game help when you need one? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif



The in-game help that I was talking about it a list of commands and brief explanations (very brief) that you can access from the main screen - so more like helping you figure out how to do something that helping you figure out what to do.

For helping you figure out what to do there is a tutorial game included.


That's not exactly what I meant http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif I was thinking about something like typing in the game: "HELP!!! I need 1 more water gem!" and getting it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Morkilus]

alexti said:
That's not exactly what I meant http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif I was thinking about something like typing in the game: "HELP!!! I need 1 more water gem!" and getting it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif



This works for me in multiplayer games... dunno what your problem is. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Annette]

Our very own PvK wrote a preview just posted at Wargamer. (http://www.wargamer.com/reviews/dominions3_preview/)

[Nerfix]

Very cool. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Caduceus]

Looks great! I didn't realize that PvK was an anagram of his name.

[DominionsFan]

Annette said:
Our very own PvK wrote a preview just posted at Wargamer. (http://www.wargamer.com/reviews/dominions3_preview/)



Sweeet.
That Ermor screenshot is excellent. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif
"Late Ages Ermorian undead glow from anti-banishment protection magic " yay! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

[Endoperez]

DominionsFan said:
Sweeet.
That Ermor screenshot is excellent. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif
"Late Ages Ermorian undead glow from anti-banishment protection magic " yay! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif



Indeed.
That third screenshot is also excellent. A Ghost King named Nerfix is casting Streams from Hades! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[Nerfix]

Endoperez said:Indeed.
That third screenshot is also excellent. A Ghost King named Nerfix is casting Streams from Hades! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

:O

Oh my Pretender Gods! I will treasure that picture forever! <3

[JaydedOne]

*chuckle* Excellent preview. I hope it'll garner some additional traffic here on the site. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Cainehill]

DominionsFan said:

Annette said:
Our very own PvK wrote a preview just posted at Wargamer. (http://www.wargamer.com/reviews/dominions3_preview/)



Sweeet.
That Ermor screenshot is excellent. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif
"Late Ages Ermorian undead glow from anti-banishment protection magic " yay! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif



Umm - you _do_ realize that undead Ermor has _always_ had a spell to do that?

[Gandalf Parker]

Hey Annette,
In order to get some addendum articles and boosted press you should send ALL of the places that did a review a copy of the manual. Let them write about the tutorial, and the manual, and how much its going to improve the game (and maybe a few of the early ones will correct some of their misconceptions)

Gandalf Parker

[Annette]

Yes, they'll get the printed manual plus the final version of the game. What previewers were given was pre-gold beta.

[Annette]

So what do you guys think of this comment?

The preview is pretty short and is much more of a presentation of the Dominion serie...

From what I heard, and from what I can figure out from the screenies, Dominion 3 should rather be called Dominion 2.5... Does not seem to add much to the game (even though I shall buy it ).

Can you confirm or infirm?


Granted, it's posted over at Wargamer which is owned by the same interests who own a competing publisher.

[RonD]

To some, only a serious upgrade to the graphics engine would make Dom3 anything other than Dom2.5. I'd bet my copy of Dom3 that many of the same people would have whined about "Civ3.5" if Civ4 had used the same graphics engine as Civ3, regardless of the gameplay changes.

[Gandalf Parker]

Yes thats a strange comment. The game more than tripled. Plus added tons of solo-player support (finally). And rewrites for things that we couldnt get patched into Dom2 (like AIs). I added a comment there.

Its as GP1628 is my usual login on systems since Gandalf is usually not allowed. GP1628 is my Internic ID in the whois database (old internet official white-pages)

[Endoperez]

It's not that strange a comment. Something very similar has been said in here as well. I disagree, and try to argue against such comments, but as long as others are seeing only new units and creatures and variables it's hard to comprehend how much has changed.

[Nerfix]

I shared my thoughts there.

[Nerfix]

Endoperez said:
It's not that strange a comment. Something very similar has been said in here as well. I disagree, and try to argue against such comments, but as long as others are seeing only new units and creatures and variables it's hard to comprehend how much has changed.

That's why we must point out what has changed and how much.

[DominionsFan]

RonD said:
To some, only a serious upgrade to the graphics engine would make Dom3 anything other than Dom2.5. I'd bet my copy of Dom3 that many of the same people would have whined about "Civ3.5" if Civ4 had used the same graphics engine as Civ3, regardless of the gameplay changes.



Depends on the playerbase. Personally I absolutely don't care about the graphics in a turn based strategy game.
In fact there is Dwarf Fortress, an ASCII based game. That is definitely the game of the year for me, and of course Doms 3...and maybe Heroes of Annihilated Empries. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Agrajag]

I think that Dom3 does seem like more of an expansion than a full game, to the untrained eye.
That is because usually (that is, in the more commercial side of the industry http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif) expansions are merely modpack with a few more units and a new campaign, while often a new game just has less units and content (but better graphics).
Dominions 3 however, adds lots of units (and thus seems like an expansion) without adding new graphics (just seeming less like a new game).
In reality (rather than how things seem), Dominions 3 does add a lot, a new aging system, UI improvements, new shields, a random map generator, redone castles (and an AI that uses them), Dormant/Imprisoned gods, gameplay tweaks (costs/supply), much improved mod support, and I guess some more stuff I can't think about right now http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif
That sure seems enough to me.

[Nerfix]

I made a big list of changes at Wargamer and I forgot stuff from the list. Like the Awakening.

[Arralen]

Annette said:
So what do you guys think of this comment?

The preview is pretty short and is much more of a presentation of the Dominion serie...

From what I heard, and from what I can figure out from the screenies, Dominion 3 should rather be called Dominion 2.5... Does not seem to add much to the game (even though I shall buy it ).

Can you confirm or infirm?


Granted, it's posted over at Wargamer which is owned by the same interests who own a competing publisher.



Check out my comment from 28/03/06 here (http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=dom3test&Number=414509&fpa rt=1&PHPSESSID=)

I hope I find the time and energy to write something up about the lates 3.00gold version, but I'm pretty burned out atm concerning Dom3 and concerning writing .. .

In short - I've gotten used to the game, some of it's nifty new features and basic improvements which I don't want to miss - I really don't want to go back to Dom2 any more.

[Cainehill]

I suspect that part of the reason it seems like a mere expansion is because Dominions is one of the few turn-based strategy games of recent years that doesn't have any campaign play. Developers (and many players) seem to think that a new story line means it can be considered a new game. Look at Disciples & Disciples II for instance, which didn't have any substantial upgrade in graphics, nor do I recall Age of Wonders getting much of a graphical facelift.

But they did have new campaign storylines, whereas Dominions ganes can seem like random scenarios, which in a manner of speaking they are.

[DominionsFan]

Cainehill said:

I suspect that part of the reason it seems like a mere expansion is because Dominions is one of the few turn-based strategy games of recent years that doesn't have any campaign play. Developers (and many players) seem to think that a new story line means it can be considered a new game. Look at Disciples & Disciples II for instance, which didn't have any substantial upgrade in graphics, nor do I recall Age of Wonders getting much of a graphical facelift.

But they did have new campaign storylines, whereas Dominions ganes can seem like random scenarios, which in a manner of speaking they are.




Yeah, I think that if we talk about sequels everyone have their own opinions. Someone prefers graphical upgrades, the other one wants a new story etc. etc.
I think that we all can agree, that the most important part is gameplay. I am very happy that it wasn't changed for Dominions 3. If there is a game with a decent gameplay, a sequel must enchance it, not change it. This is why Dominions 3. is definitely a sequel...at least for me.

[PvK]

Heh, I think the level of comment here about one forum post by an unknown poster mainly shows how much Dominions fans like what this game series offers that others don't.

The new ages and nations and all the work that involves certainly constitute at least as much new story content as one finds in the likes of a scripted Disciples campaign.

And the graphics improvements may not be obvious to everyone, but there is a ton of new and improved graphics compared to Dom 2... it's just new and better 2d 2-frame sprites, though, but I'd sure rather have orders of magnitude more new units and use my imagination, than have a few 3D animated units.

PvK