View Full Version : FAQ FAQ Discussion & Submissions
Edi
March 20th, 2007, 09:37 AM
This thread is intended for discussion of the FAQ thread (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=33869) and making suggestions for additions, corrections and clarifications to that thread. Its function is similar to the function of the Bug Discussion thread in relation to the Bug Shortlist.
Sandman
March 20th, 2007, 10:24 AM
A strong Astral bless can be powerful, especially if combined with a strong Water or Fire bless. A weak Astral bless is generally considered to be very weak while a weak Air bless can be fairly useful and a strong Air bless comparably less so.
What's useful about a weak air bless? A 20% air shield is pretty worthless. It's nice being able to build air boosters, but that's about it.
Edi
March 20th, 2007, 10:29 AM
A weak air bless varies from 20% to 40% in effect, depending on how much air you actually have. If you have shieldless sacred units, even 20% and 30% air bless will have a marked effect on how badly they get mauled by archers, but if you're going for some otehr magic as the main bless, you are likely not going to be able to get A9, in which case the weak blessing is useful. Doesn't cost too much, still offers a benefit and you have points for something else (scales, dominion, whatever).
But as stated, this thread is for discussing the merits or lack thereof of what is included in the FAQ. If that particular section gets a lot of more experienced people's hackles up, it can be removed.
Sombre
March 20th, 2007, 11:04 AM
Any way you could tone down the hostility in that FAQ a bit? I understand getting annoyed if people don't read it and keep asking the same questions, but what's the point of coming across hostile when they're doing the /right/ thing by actually consulting it?
Anyway, how about this?
Q: I like Dom3, but sometimes I wish X or Y was a little different. Is there any way I can alter the game?
A: There sure is. Check the docs subfolder in your Dom3 install - there's a pretty handy modding manual in there that explains step by step how to make game altering mods. You could also drop by the modding forum for more info and mods made by other fans.
Dedas
March 20th, 2007, 11:18 AM
Yeah, a more friendly tone is better suited.
Edi
March 20th, 2007, 11:36 AM
Sombre, Deads, point taken. Done.
Sombre, that's a great one. I'll wait and see if we get any more submissions, then they can be added all at once.
Jazzepi
March 20th, 2007, 12:44 PM
*Submission*
Turns and Time
Q: How how is time counted?
The basic unit of time in Dominions 3 is the turn. A turn is equivalent to one month of the Gregorian solar calendar. There are 12 turns in a year, and 3 in a season.
While there are no smaller units of time in Dominions 3 besides the turn, there are larger units like years and seasons. Each of these years is divided up into four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Each season is divided up into three sections: Early, Normal, Late.
All games begin by default in Normal Spring of the first year (the 2nd season of Spring). Once 11 turns have been taken a regular game enters into Early Spring of the second year. From that point on it takes 12 turns to reach year 3, then another 12 to reach year 4, etc. etc.
Jazzepi
Jazzepi
March 20th, 2007, 12:46 PM
Just a note, I think if you're going to have an entry in the FAQ, it should actually answer the question, not point to somewhere else.
Case in point.
Q: What are the bless effects?
See the manual section on blessings.
I think this should either be removed, or modified to provide some actual information.
Also, hostility again.
Q: Why can’t I build enemy national units from castles I’ve conquered from him?
Because the developers did not want that in the game and to keep all nations unique. You can only recruit your own troops and the native population type independent units in castles. *Before you ask, no, this is never going to be changed.*
The part in stars should be removed. I don't think I need to even state the reason!
Jazzepi
Edi
March 20th, 2007, 01:03 PM
The reason why the bless effects refers to the manual is that I really cannot be bothered to explain every single, most basic mechanic of the game in the FAQ. It is supposed to answer those questions that most often crop up due to having inadequate, unclear or hard to find explanations in the manual. If someone needs to ask what the bless effects are, they probably did not read the manual or they do not even have one. There's only so far I will go with the handholding. If somebody provides me with a ready list of effects that I won't have to type up for that one, it's a different matter, but am I going to type that up? Be a cold day in hell when I do.
Also, I have a hard time seeing what is hostile about the recruiting enemy unit types question. The answer preempts the next question that is asked 90% of the time and does not do it in a particularly rude manner. I suppose if it really offends a lot of people, I'll chop the "Before you ask, no," out of it.
Sandman
March 20th, 2007, 01:40 PM
A weak air bless varies from 20% to 40% in effect, depending on how much air you actually have. If you have shieldless sacred units, even 20% and 30% air bless will have a marked effect on how badly they get mauled by archers, but if you're going for some otehr magic as the main bless, you are likely not going to be able to get A9, in which case the weak blessing is useful. Doesn't cost too much, still offers a benefit and you have points for something else (scales, dominion, whatever).
That's still pretty weak. 130-odd points for a very situational bless that's only applicable to a few nations. Unless you need the air for forging or an SC strategy, it's surely better to take stronger scales and field larger armies.
I also agree that the hostility should be removed. One entry for curse only, no patronising 'follow-on' questions.
Edi
March 20th, 2007, 01:51 PM
I'll leave the blessing bit for a while yet and see about that later, Sandman. I don't disagree with you as such, it is expensive. A rather weak bless in any case as weak blesses go.
For the rest, done. I also tweaked a couple of other answers to make them seems more matter of fact and less chatty.
Sombre
March 20th, 2007, 01:51 PM
I think we all agree it should be as friendly and helpful as possible,.. although it's easy to get annoyed at questions that are asked hundreds of times and seem (to us at least) to have obvious answers.
Let's focus on stuff that's missing from the manual, isn't made clear or is hard to find.
I'd chip in with some more mod focused suggestions, but beyond where to find the docs, where to download mods and how to enable them,.. I think it would just confuse newcomers. Maybe I can contribute to a modding faq in the future.
Edi
March 20th, 2007, 01:54 PM
Modding and mapmaking both need separate focused FAQs on those subjects and should be placed in the subforum. If you want to write a modding FAQ, be my guest. There's so much stuff related to that scattered around that having it all in one place as a reference would be a good thing. The community could certainly use one.
Jazzepi
March 20th, 2007, 02:24 PM
Edi said:
The reason why the bless effects refers to the manual is that I really cannot be bothered to explain every single, most basic mechanic of the game in the FAQ. It is supposed to answer those questions that most often crop up due to having inadequate, unclear or hard to find explanations in the manual. If someone needs to ask what the bless effects are, they probably did not read the manual or they do not even have one. There's only so far I will go with the handholding. If somebody provides me with a ready list of effects that I won't have to type up for that one, it's a different matter, but am I going to type that up? Be a cold day in hell when I do.
Also, I have a hard time seeing what is hostile about the recruiting enemy unit types question. The answer preempts the next question that is asked 90% of the time and does not do it in a particularly rude manner. I suppose if it really offends a lot of people, I'll chop the "Before you ask, no," out of it.
Please don't take offense to this, but just from casual observation you come off as extremely terse and hostile. Like a strict school room teacher or some such. While I understand not brooking ignorance, I think if you're going to write an FAQ for newbies, like the above poster said, it should be done so in the spirit of as much friendliness as possible.
I would still remove the "this is never going to change" because quite honestly, you don't know that! FAQs shouldn't predict the future versions of Dominions, or what new patches will bring.
I also typed up the bless effects.
*submission*
Each bless effect is granted to blessed sacred units dependent upon your pretender's original score in any given magic path. The following format is "score #" ("effect granted").
Air - 4 (Air Shield 20%) 5 (Air Shield 30%) 6 (Air Shield 40%) 7 (Air Shield 50%) 8 (Air Shield 60%) 9 (Air Shield 70%) 10 (Air Shield 90%, shock resistance 70%)
Astral - 4 (+1 MR, max 18) 6 (+2 MR, max 18) 8 (+3 MR, max 18) 9 (+3 MR, max 18 and Twist Fate) 10 (+4 MR, max 18 and Twist Fate)
Blood - 4 (+2 Strength) 6 (+3 Strength) 8 (+4 Strength) 9 (+4 Strength, Death Curse) 10 (+5 Strength, Death Curse)
Death - 4 (Affliction Chance +100%) 5 (Affliction Chance +150%) 6 (Affliction Chance +200%) 7 (Affliction Chance +250%) 8 (Affliction Chance +300%) 9 (Affliction Chance +350%, Death Weapons) 10 (Affliction Chance +400%, Death Weapons)
Earth - 4 (Reinvigoration +2) 6 (Reinvigoration +3) 8 (Reinvigoration +4) 9 (Reinvigoration +4, Protection +4) 10 (Reinvigoration +5, Protection +4)
Fire - 4 (+2 Attack) 6 (+3 Attack) 8 (+4 Attack) 9 (+4 Attack, Flaming Weapons) 10 (+5 Attack, Flaming Weapons)
Nature - 4 (Regen +5%) 6 (Regen +10%) 8 (Regen +15%) 9 (Regen +15%, +2 Berserk) 10 (Regen +20%, +2 Berserk)
Water - 4 (+2 Defense) 6 (+3 Defense) 8 (+4 Defense) 9 (+4 Defense, Quickness) 10 (+5 Defense, Quickness)
Jazzepi
March 20th, 2007, 02:43 PM
The most effective bless differs from nation to nation and according to your particular play style, but the above categorization >us< generally the accepted view of the majority of Dom3 veterans active on the Shrapnel Games forums.
Us should be is.
Spelling error in the bless section.
Jazzepi
Wikd Thots
March 20th, 2007, 03:36 PM
Reference to veterans seems to bring up another question:
Who are the Veterans?
Are they Dom2 players?
or People who post the most?
Or the blitz crowd from the IRC channel who seem to have played the MOST games.
The people ranking highest on the challenge ladder being the ones who have WON the most games?
The beta testers who played dom3 for (a year?) longer than the rest of us? (and just who are the beta testers? How about a list of logins that go with that list of names in the manual).
The old Dom forum had a way for you to rank threads, and rank posters. Having veteran on your login meant something then.
Reverend Zombie
March 20th, 2007, 03:41 PM
Jazzepi said:
Just a note, I think if you're going to have an entry in the FAQ, it should actually answer the question, not point to somewhere else.
Case in point.
Q: What are the bless effects?
See the manual section on blessings.
I think this should either be removed, or modified to provide some actual information.
Also, hostility again.
I think a page number here would work just fine, rather than reproducing material from the manual.
Edi
March 20th, 2007, 03:45 PM
Bless effects, time counting and Sombre's modding Q&A added.
Jazzepi said:
Please don't take offense to this, but just from casual observation you come off as extremely terse and hostile. Like a strict school room teacher or some such. While I understand not brooking ignorance, I think if you're going to write an FAQ for newbies, like the above poster said, it should be done so in the spirit of as much friendliness as possible.
No offense taken. It'd have to be a lot worse than that to get me offended. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif
I can be pretty blunt and brusque at times, so I don't mind having it pointed out when I go too far with it. If I agree with such admonitions, as you have seen me do in this thread, I'm not averse to correcting the behavior. Some of it comes from generally trying to be to the point. If I disagree, well, it's usually easy to tell. I'm generally not hostile and most of the time I just toss out an answer to a factual question without sugarcoating it.
The one thing that annoys the hell out of me is people not putting ANY effort into finding out things themselves. Ignorance is excusable, but a combination of ignorance AND laziness is not. That's when the prickly side tends to emerge. That said, you're right about the tone required of the FAQ.
Jazzepi said:
I would still remove the "this is never going to change" because quite honestly, you don't know that! FAQs shouldn't predict the future versions of Dominions, or what new patches will bring.
It's been modified, but it's not gone. The thing is, I know the IW guys well enough to know that this feature is going to stay. Arcoscephale isn't going to just suddenly start recruiting giants after conquering a Jotunheim fort in this or any future release unless Johan and Kristoffer have a rather drastic change of mind regarding one of the core design principles of the game. It's been asked several times during the days of Dom2 and it's been asked a couple of times already regarding Dom3 and the answer has been "no". That's good enough for me.
Edi
March 20th, 2007, 03:47 PM
Well, RZ, I agree, but I don't have the manual at work and I needed something to do on my break... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif
Teraswaerto
March 20th, 2007, 04:02 PM
Wikd Thots said:
Reference to veterans seems to bring up another question:
Who are the Veterans?
Are they Dom2 players?
Or the blitz crowd from the IRC channel who seem to have played the MOST games.
I think a combination of those two is what typically makes someone be considered a "veteran".
Hadrian_II
March 20th, 2007, 04:35 PM
I think something in the line of:
My archers are producing lots of friedly fire, what can i do about it?
Set them to fire Archers so they shoot farther away and might even kill a mage.
and
Which spells can i use to attack players anonymously?
Seeking Arrow, Hurricane, Locust Swarm, Diesease Demon and all the others i forgot here
Wikd Thots
March 20th, 2007, 07:44 PM
Its just that "veterans" seems to change depending on who you talk to. Many use the words but can only name a couple. For one group it seems to be Quantum and Boron, for another group is Graeme and Norfleet, yet another list IronHawk and Morkilus? Unless of course you are the server/documentation crowd which have their own "veterans" (haha)
Tichy
March 20th, 2007, 08:14 PM
I think "read the manual" responses are fine...if you give the page numbers.
GrobRIM
March 21st, 2007, 10:55 AM
Q: Can I get rid of afflictions? How?
Kirke the Pharmakeia, a Sauromatia national hero, also has the Heal Troops ability
vfb
March 22nd, 2007, 01:50 AM
More on afflictions in the FAQ:
You might want to add that units 'born' with battle afflictions (Forge Lord, flagellants, etc) can be healed through the usual affliction healing process (Arco priestess etc).
And it's pretty obvious from just playing the game and also mentioned in other threads, but armies can get diseased if there is simple not enough food available.
Here's something I'm currently trying to find out: can a missing eye caused by using an Eye of Aiming be healed? And if so, does the Eye of Aiming pop out of your head, or do you end up with 3 eyes? I've been waiting a while in a current game to see if it ever heals. It hasn't yet.
Taqwus
March 22nd, 2007, 03:05 AM
You can't heal afflictions from replacement parts without getting rid of the parts -- but the parts (hearts and eyes) are pretty much always cursed, so you can't get rid of them except by
* death
* transforming into something that doesn't even have misc slots
* possibly, casting Wish for a misc item and getting an item bounced out -- but haven't experimented to see what the order of precedence is (first slot? non-cursed items bounced first?)
* and if it's a unique part (The Green Eye, say), somebody else can pull it out via Wish, into their own misc slots
Taqwus
March 22nd, 2007, 03:18 AM
Blessing section doesn't mention the cap on the Astral bless (max MR). Death Curse isn't explained; this is an obvious follow-up.
Some other questions that seem to be fairly common:
- Why aren't my <duplicate magic items> stacking?
(design decision)
- What is the best nation for a newbie?
(snarky answer: depends on preferred playing style)
- How do I cure insanity?
(can't)
Wikd Thots
March 22nd, 2007, 03:07 PM
Q: Who is this Norfleet I keep hearing about?
A: Shhhhhh! We no longer speak that name. He was once the most powerful of our wizards. But he used his power for evil.
Oh wait, that is Voldemort.
Yes that is the answer. Norfleet is our Voldemort.
Sandman
March 22nd, 2007, 05:22 PM
I'd remove excessively pedantic technical information that is not likely to be very useful for novices. The list of disease-causing units, for example, or the exact magic requirements for faerie queens.
Also, remove the <text in brackets>, it's <annoying> to <read>.
Sandman
April 11th, 2007, 05:09 AM
Can I copy the FAQ to the Dom 3 entry on the Strategy Wiki?
Edi
April 11th, 2007, 05:15 AM
Go ahead.
Sandman
April 11th, 2007, 08:13 AM
Ok, done it. (http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Dominions_3:_The_Awakening/Frequently_Asked_Questions) I reworked the 'odds and ends' section into forts, modding and miscellaneous.
vfb
April 13th, 2007, 09:41 PM
I didn't know what 'Stun Damage' (from Stellar Cascades for example) did, until I tried it in game (it increases fatigue).
Is that FAQ-worthy? The manual documents it on page 79, but it's in the index under 'Fatigue'. So if you are a noob and you see a nice 100% precision, no-MR, AP, stun damage spell in the grimoire, and you can't find 'stun damage' in the manual, you might script a bunch of mages to cast it instead of something more appropriate.
Edi
April 14th, 2007, 05:01 AM
It could be. I need to update the FAQ sometime to include the disbanding question and a couple of other things, so I can add that in there as well under "Damage Types" (poison damage has come up).
vfb
April 14th, 2007, 06:11 AM
Thanks Edi! I really appreciate all the work you do on the forums, and with the DB files.
JaghataiKhan
June 23rd, 2007, 05:49 PM
Q: How do I remove the Curse?
You don't. Curse is permanent and will stay with the unit for the rest of the game. There is NO way to remove it. At all. Removing curses will NOT be added in a patch.
(Same for horrormark)
Excuse me. Do you Dev guys have a psychiological problem about getting "cursed"?
Why do you emphasize it that much? Does it please you or temporarily heal a control problem of yours about other people? Sorry to burst your balloon but:
*Making very stern settings about a condition in game does not make the game "cool" at all.
*Making an irreperable condition on a unit doesn't make players any more careful, I can build thousands of commanders if one is cursed.
*If a "wish" spell doesn't remove a curse, that game has a big mistake in it. (wish is described as influencing the very Fabric of Existence,the first surge of power during Creation, transcending any misfortune or Horror Mark)
Meglobob
June 23rd, 2007, 06:13 PM
Got to say I agree with Jaghataikhan, a wish should be capable of removing every ill effect from a unit full stop.
Edi
June 24th, 2007, 03:40 AM
JaghataiKhan, the permanence of curse and horrormark is emphasized in the FAQ to discourage threads about how to remove curses and horrormarks. It has been asked time and again of the developers that a method of removal be added, and it has been refused just as many times. Illwinter has made this game the way they want it to be, and on certain issues they are not going to compromise on it. I do not claim to know all of the reasoning behind it.
For the record, I'm not a member of Illwinter, I just manage the bug threads and bug reporting on the forum as well as the FAQ and the DB (which was made to encourage modding and mapmaking). So if Illwinter decides to change something, then they will and that's that, but in the meanwhile I'm reporting things based on direct statements from the devs. YThe most relevant thread I could find was here (http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=232039&page=&view=&sb=5&o =&fpart=all&vc=1).
Novi
June 24th, 2007, 08:28 AM
Say, I've never really tried it, but I wonder why the blood bless is considered so weak? I understand that strength won't help much if units are unable to hit anything at all (take for example Agartha ^^) but when their attack skill is already satisfactory (Vanheim/Helheim) wouldn't they benefit greatly from strength boost?
And what exactly does 'Death Curse' mean? :S
sum1lost
June 24th, 2007, 11:38 AM
Death curse curses an enemy that kills your unit, and supposedly horror marks it as well.
JaghataiKhan
June 24th, 2007, 02:57 PM
JaghataiKhan, the permanence of curse and horrormark is emphasized in the FAQ to discourage threads about how to remove curses and horrormarks. It has been asked time and again of the developers that a method of removal be added, and it has been refused just as many times. Illwinter has made this game the way they want it to be, and on certain issues they are not going to compromise on it. I do not claim to know all of the reasoning behind it.
I also like the permanence of curse and horror marks, BUT a wish spell must be able to remove them for reading its description it is obvious it must be able to remove it.
After all, if one's desperate to cast wish to remove it, it should be removed after all.
Just because Illwinter wants it a midget cannot trample an elephant. There is gaming ethics and all the [censored].
Endoperez
June 25th, 2007, 03:50 AM
Personally, I don't see any reason for Wish not being able to remove curse and/or horror mark, but there are many, many things Wish "should" do that it doesn't.
LoloMo
June 25th, 2007, 06:34 AM
Conversely, just because JaghataiKhan wants it a midget cannot trample an elephant. There is gameing ethics and all the [censored].
Lazy_Perfectionist
June 25th, 2007, 11:51 AM
:blink : blink:
Did he really say that, or...
Anyways, if you you have wish, you might be better off wishing for a way to continually remove the extra wounds you get from the curse- it gives a longer lasting benefit and return, when you can just get recursed. Curse, by itself, doesn't do any harm, its only in combination with combat that's a threat. A Mother of Serpents, various units & artifacts are available to help with the affects.
I recognize Horror Marking may be a different story- but I haven't formed any opinion on that. Aside from the fact the affects are much more significant. So I won't comment on that.
I will make a suggestion - insufficient for mp, but a halfway measure for sp - mod horror marking out of the game. That's up to you, though. I haven't been keeping my Pretenders alive long enough to worry about Horror Marks.
Lazy_Perfectionist
June 25th, 2007, 02:19 PM
I would like to make a suggestion with regards to the FAQ- include your signature, Edi. That way, I can quickly point someone towards the database. Or just insert a link.
Edi
June 25th, 2007, 03:32 PM
Good suggestion. I need to add the disbanding stuff and the research cost table for different difficulty levels, so I might as well include the DB links too.
Edi
July 12th, 2007, 01:21 AM
FAQ updated.
Added a section on the Dom3 DB as per previous suggestion since it gets tiresome to explain it all the time. Now any queries about the DB can be answered with "FAQ".
Also added research cost chart to the very end and reorganized the ODD & ENDS section better so that it is split to CASTLES and the true miscellaneous stuff.
BigDisAwesome
July 12th, 2007, 05:47 PM
Thanks for adding the research charts!
MaxWilson
July 12th, 2007, 06:13 PM
Novi said:
Say, I've never really tried it, but I wonder why the blood bless is considered so weak? I understand that strength won't help much if units are unable to hit anything at all (take for example Agartha ^^) but when their attack skill is already satisfactory (Vanheim/Helheim) wouldn't they benefit greatly from strength boost?
And what exactly does 'Death Curse' mean? :S
It's not the minor blood bless that's considered weak. +2 to +4 to strength can be quite nice, especially vs. heavily-armored troops, although +4 to strength is also easily available via Strength of Giants, which costs no gems. That makes it a little bit less desirable of a bless than Fire or Water minor blesses (+att or +def), which AFAIK are available only via Quickness spells (which either cost gems or affect only a handful of units per casting) or indirectly via Darkness (which costs gems and doesn't help elite units).
But yeah, the B9 bless is weak. I can't speak as to whether B9 magic is weak because I don't typically play blood nations. I know I'm supposed to be playing an evil god, but if I think too hard about the blood slaves I start getting queasy.
-Max
Jazzepi
July 12th, 2007, 06:26 PM
I have a W9/F9/B4 bless in one game I'm playing in, mostly because the blood was very easy to get. I can say that I'm extremely happy with it. It adds +2 damage to each attack.
Jazzepi
sum1lost
July 13th, 2007, 01:39 AM
MaxWilson said:
Novi said:
Say, I've never really tried it, but I wonder why the blood bless is considered so weak? I understand that strength won't help much if units are unable to hit anything at all (take for example Agartha ^^) but when their attack skill is already satisfactory (Vanheim/Helheim) wouldn't they benefit greatly from strength boost?
And what exactly does 'Death Curse' mean? :S
It's not the minor blood bless that's considered weak. +2 to +4 to strength can be quite nice, especially vs. heavily-armored troops, although +4 to strength is also easily available via Strength of Giants, which costs no gems. That makes it a little bit less desirable of a bless than Fire or Water minor blesses (+att or +def), which AFAIK are available only via Quickness spells (which either cost gems or affect only a handful of units per casting) or indirectly via Darkness (which costs gems and doesn't help elite units).
But yeah, the B9 bless is weak. I can't speak as to whether B9 magic is weak because I don't typically play blood nations. I know I'm supposed to be playing an evil god, but if I think too hard about the blood slaves I start getting queasy.
-Max
B9 isn't bad against thugs and supercombatants if you have cheap holies (mictlan, or marignon). Especially if it sometimes horrormarks the killer like I heard it did.
MaxWilson
July 13th, 2007, 01:23 PM
But the B9 Death Curse allows an MR roll, and SCs will tend to have a high MR. It's probably easier just to Spirit Curse or Curse the SC in question with a mage, which does not allow an MR roll. Same thing with the horror marks--it would be nice if there weren't an MR roll, which IIRC there is.
-Max
Frostmourne27
July 14th, 2007, 04:54 PM
This certainly isn't an _F_aq, but it is somewhat related to the afflictions/curse/horror/mark questions - what happens to afflictions/curses/horror mar if you are immortal and die? If you are a hero and die and get brought back? If your god dies and is called back?
Edi
July 14th, 2007, 05:45 PM
They still stay with you. As it says, you can never be rid of them. From the game mechanics point of view, each unit has an individual identification number and curses and horrormarks are tied to that ID. So even if you change shape by spells or other means, the unit keeps the curse and horror mark.
MaxWilson
July 15th, 2007, 01:54 AM
But afflictions are healed by immortal units over time, and when a god is called back from the dead he has a chance (I don't know how high) to heal any afflictions he is suffering from.
-Max
mr_Logic
July 20th, 2007, 04:03 PM
Jazzepi said:
I have a W9/F9/B4 bless in one game I'm playing in, mostly because the blood was very easy to get. I can say that I'm extremely happy with it. It adds +2 damage to each attack.
Jazzepi
'course, if you have quickness and +4 att skill, strength is very usefull
--
youd say that extra affliction chance of death would be way more effective then death curse...
Tichy
September 19th, 2007, 02:07 PM
The instructions for adding maps and mods is different for the mac.
On a mac the maps are stored in the application package: ctrl-click on the application itself, select "show package contents", maps are in the folder Contents/Resources/Maps.
But the mods are stored in a completely different place: the folder dominions3/mods in the OSX home or user directory.
Confused the ! out of me before a nice person splained it.
Edi
September 19th, 2007, 03:56 PM
Hmm. Perhaps someone could write a section for Mac and Linux versions for that sort of things which are different from Windows. I've never used a Mac and my Linux skills are sadly lacking, so I haven't paid much attention to that either. I run my Dominions on Windows and the documentation I produce is obviously limited by that when it is system specific.
lch
September 19th, 2007, 06:52 PM
Tichy said:
The instructions for adding maps and mods is different for the mac.
On Linux, there is a difference between the folders where the game is installed and the user directory, too, as it is often the case. You can (and should) put the things in your user directory, but you *could* put them in the system-wide installation directory, too. Have you tried creating a maps folder in the same location where the mods folder is?
Tichy
September 19th, 2007, 07:06 PM
I intended my post to be able to be added to the FAQ entry about adding maps and mods. I think it's accurate and informative enough and can just be appended to what exists there already.
If I need to give it to you in a different format, let me know.
Lazy_Perfectionist
September 22nd, 2007, 01:04 AM
Do Tower Shields help against spells such as Flame Bolt and Falling Frost?
What about lightning?
Are these spells considered magical missile weapons, and hence parry-able by a sufficiently large shield?
Kristoffer O
September 22nd, 2007, 04:59 AM
AoE hits everyone in a square. Thus Falling Frost is not affected by shields. Same with Gifts from Heaven etc.
Flame Bolt targets one unit and can be avoided or parried. Shields are useful.
Lightning tends to strike conductors. Anyone in a square can work as such. Thus Lightning Bolt has the flag 'hit' to implicate that it will automatically hit a target in the square it strikes. Shields offers no protection.
Blade Wind sends out a multitude of mundane missiles. They can all be parried with shields.
Earthquake targets an area, but will not strike those who sucessfully passes a def roll. This is a pure def roll, so shields will only be bad here, since they lowers defense before adding pary. Not much use to parry the ground.
Lazy_Perfectionist
September 22nd, 2007, 06:34 PM
Thank you very much, then, Kristoffer O.
Edi
October 26th, 2007, 05:36 PM
The FAQ has been updated. New additions are the section regarding the built-in unit limit in the game (at the end) and the section on reporting bugs (near the top). Also added link to EricM's 3.10 sprites thread to he DB section.
The organization has been cleared up a bit with the addition of lines of stars between each section. MAkes it easier to find what you are looking for.
Edi
October 31st, 2007, 08:14 AM
Aging mechanics added to FAQ.
lch
October 31st, 2007, 10:25 AM
The FAQ should contain something about joining/connecting to MP games. Alneyan has done something about that for Dom2, see his signature.
The FAQ should be divided into multiple posts so that one can link to a specific section of it. You're the only one who can post to it, anyway. Just make sure it stays at one page only.
Edi
October 31st, 2007, 11:15 AM
I can chop it up to separate sections in separate posts at some point. I have not played any MP, but if someone more conversant with that aspect is willing to write something, they are more than welcome to do so. That is what this thread is for, among other things. Suggestions are always welcome.
I did the FAQ as an afterthought and haven't generally paid much attention to it, so it can use some improvement. Any of the mods could post to it, since they can unlock the thread, add a post and then lock it up again. The reason it's done that way is to discourage clutter in the actual thread, much like the Shortlist/bug discussion division, which has generally worked rather well.
OmikronWarrior
October 31st, 2007, 01:21 PM
Speaking of questions...
Against a giant undead army I equiped two demiliched with skull staffs and masks, so 4D +2D = 6D. I figure they can use extra gems to empower themselves up to 7D. BOOM, undead mastery. Only, the didn't cast undead mastery, but bone grinding. That caused my own army to route, and certainly didn't inflict enough damage to cause Ermor to pause. So, did I miss something here, or is this just a case of bone headed AI.
lch
October 31st, 2007, 02:10 PM
OmikronWarrior said:
Against a giant undead army I equiped two demiliched with skull staffs and masks, so 4D +2D = 6D. I figure they can use extra gems to empower themselves up to 7D. BOOM, undead mastery.
Nope. Undead Mastery takes 7 death gems. Mages can only use additional gems if their magic level exceeds the level required for the spell. So they couldn't get 7D this way.
Edi
March 21st, 2008, 06:29 AM
The FAQ has been reorganized by category along the lines of the Bug Shortlist thread. It should be easier to find specific FAQ issues and link to them now. I also added links to the Reorganized Mod Manual and updated EricM's sprite list links and the Dom3 DB discussion link.
thejeff
March 21st, 2008, 09:36 AM
One addition to the Heal Troops list:
One of the LA Pythium commanders, I think the Epoptes, has weak healing ability.
Edi
March 21st, 2008, 10:13 AM
There are quite a lot of healer commanders now and because they also have the healer icon, I might as well axe the list from the FAQ. When the FAQ was made, we did not have the icon so you had to know what units could heal.
thejeff
March 21st, 2008, 10:51 AM
Fair enough. I hadn't read the list in awhile, and it sounded like it was trying to be complete. The icon does make it less needed.
Edi
June 14th, 2008, 04:05 PM
Added section on the level of bonuses the various AI difficulties get. In the same section as magic research and aging mechanics.
Edi
July 2nd, 2008, 12:44 PM
Added a couple of common questions on magic sites, one more list entry to healing afflictions (secondshape/firstshape pairs) and a note about 100 unrest and recruitment to the first recruitment question.
MaxWilson
July 2nd, 2008, 01:45 PM
Excellent, thanks! Especially the 100 unrest note is a very FAQ. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
-Max
JimMorrison
July 3rd, 2008, 05:39 PM
2 things I just noticed. First, Fire bless is listed as 8AP damage, but in game it is shown as 6AP damage, which I would think to be correct.
Also it might be worth noting in the "which bless is strongest" question, that opening access to specific globals/rituals/summons is worth thinking about when debating the relative merits of 2 different blesses. Sometimes the strongest bless for a nation's sacreds is a path that they will never make any other use of, where another path with a slightly less useful bless gives the pretender options in the later game that are more beneficial than the difference in bless bonus.
Edit- Just looked at it again, it might be clearer for newcomers if Water bless is listed as "50% Quickness", and to say so on both lines. Currently the W9 may be confusing to some, and it makes it look like maybe the W10 version gives full quickness.
Edi
July 4th, 2008, 03:05 AM
Blessings section updated with mention of opening up new magic and the FW blessing infos corrected. The FAQ has also been reorganized to put IRC Channel info on top.
Edi
August 11th, 2008, 09:31 AM
FAQ links (as well as my own sig links) have been updated to the new forum format so the links work. The Strategy Index is completely unusable at the moment, since all of its links need to be updated.
Edi
August 19th, 2008, 02:17 AM
FAQ formatting has been fixed so it's actually readable again.
GrudgeBringer
September 11th, 2008, 09:03 PM
I have read and reread the complete Manual at least 4 times.
I have also read different sections for clarifaction more times than I can count.
SOMETIMES, you just have to ask a question, either because you just don't understand it or perhaps because you are looking in the wrong section BECAUSE you don't understand it.
I understand that a lot of the vets that have been so helpful in these Forums and going up and beyond the call of duty to make these FAQ's and other listings.
Without you guys there would not be the community that D3 has.
That being said, it seems to me that this particular game draws a somewhat older and more mature player. One that not only has responsibilities in life but also understands there are proceedures to find out information (as they do every day in thier chosen professions).
We try not to bother the 'upper Eschelon' as they have been thru it more times than they need to.
But when we DO post our problems in the Forum there are a lot of people that remember when they where just as frustrated as the Noobs are and how these same Noobs are trying hard to compete with the more experienced players and last perhaps 40 turns before they are unceremoniously destroyed and forgotton in thier respective games. And they are happy to pass thier acquired knowledge on to the next generation of players (which is what keeps this game alive).
We don't ask the 'GURUS' (and I mean that with complete sincerity and respect) to answer our Noob questions as this would be akin to swatting a fly with an Atom Bomb.
However, we also don't need to be told by these people that we respect and hold in somewhat AWE that when we ask a qustion that we should go somehwere else to find an answer or "Read the Manual" (agian).
Every Forum I have EVER been on in some pretty inticate games ask NOOB questions and I think MOST of us take the time to answer them (up to a point when we become the elite and then there is always an 'underclass' that takes over).
I for one don't need to be scolded for asking a question that I can find no answer for OR that when I look in the FAQ and put in words like 'Heal Afflictions' it comes up 'Not Found'.
So please, moderate these forums and do the excellent job that you do mediating disputes, directing threads that should be in another area to the proper place, and in general hold this game together.
But to criticize a very new player and make him feel pretty stupid on a public forum for asking the same question that you probably asked 5 years ago....
Just my opinion and not directed at any one in particular but I HAVE heard people ask why the 'gurus' get so angry
Edi
September 12th, 2008, 03:34 AM
I'm sorry if you felt like you wee being lectured, that was not the intention in the 2 spells thread. (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=40509) My comment is the only one there that could be considered so, though it was made as a more general comment on the board at large, not toward you in particular. Unfortunately tone of voice does not carry through text too well. :(
One of the reasons there is sometimes frustration among the veteran players when faced with questions covered by easily found material (such as the FAQ) is that more often than not the questions are posted without even trying to look for any information, whether in the manual or somewhere else. This is often due to the fact that unlike many other games, Dominions 3 almost requires that the player actually read the manual instead of ignoring or just skimming through it.
That said, the manual does not have all the answers to common questions and some answers it does have are a bit hard to find. That is the reason why the FAQ was posted. In most forums I have frequented, the forum FAQs are considered more or less required reading and I suspect most of the veterans here think the same way about the Dom3 FAQ. Doesn't mean that it necessarily needs to be religiously studied right off the bat, but a quick skim through the FAQ by reading just the questions (in boldface font) will give an idea what kind of information there is.
As far searching for a specific phrase, that is often a good tactic, but a dangerous assumption at other times. The reason being that if you use an exact phrase and whoever wrote about the subject did not use that particular phrase, you won't find anything. Searching for just 'affliction' would have found the relevant FAQ section immediately. It's not exactly a common word outside Dominions circles and even in the FAQ it only appears in the section dealing with them. The forum search function would also have netted an answer, especially if tried with acouple of variations like "heal afflictions", "healing afflictions" etc.
You are right that the crowd here is on average a lot older than in many other gaming communities and what you say about attitudes toward searching for information is true, we deal with that every day at work. So we tend to apply it outside of work as well and that's why we also do the things we do with writing FAQs etc. It is sometimes easy to forget that others may be far less experienced in doing that. This leads to less forgiveness for cases where the information has been made easily available through e.g. the FAQ or other manuals like the modding and mapmaking manuals. It's different when basic information is easily available, but must be applied in complex combinations to get the desired results. In those cases questions that look basic on their face can be anything but. In Dom3, modding and mapmaking are subjects where both the common and seemingly common but actually truly complex questions can easily arise.
Then there is also the factor of inauspicious coincidences. Someone comes to the forum and posts a slew of questions that would all have been answered by reading the game docs, the FAQ and the manual, they get answers to their first few questions, perhaps even detailed ones, but sooner or later the answers start getting shorter and less friendly as frustration mounts. Then somebody else comes and asks one or two questions instead of a whole slew, but gets a curt answer nonetheless because of the previous person. I know that should not happen, but it does because nobody here is anything other than human.
Do not take this as a rebuke of your above post, but as an explanation of how interactions on forums like this often go and why. You have a lot of good points in your post and you have legitimate reason to be frustrated and angry at what you saw as disrespectful treatment. I am not angry at you for saying those things and I don't think anyone else is either. It is a good reminder that the old hands like me sometimes take some things a bit too granted and expect more from new players than we perhaps should. Not always, but sometimes, and we need to work on that.
capnq
September 12th, 2008, 06:56 AM
That said, the manual does not have all the answers to common questions and some answers it does have are a bit hard to find.And some of the answers that the manual has have been invalidated by game patches. (See the thread "Lies my manual told me": http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=39469&highlight=lies+manual , for example.)
Sombre
September 12th, 2008, 09:27 AM
I get pretty annoyed by people asking about how to do stuff in the mod forum because 90% of the time it's really quite clear in the mod manual and they haven't made any effort to try and find the answer. Not only that, but often they're effectively asking you to do what they want for them, with examples of code etc. Go and find examples from mods already out thre, it's what I did. Play around and try stuff from the mod manual. Dive in and have a go at doing an entire mod as a learning process. I did all of this with my first mod Avernum and I didn't end up irritating people with lazy questions. Not only did I learn quickly through this process, I also ended up producing a mod I could continue to work on and improve as I honed my mod making skills.
GrudgeBringer
September 12th, 2008, 10:00 PM
I would like to thank you for responding to my post and the understanding of the points I was trying to make.
I agree that sometimes we (Noobs, including myself),find it easier to ask a simple question so that we can continue on with a game or perhaps so we can just go on to the 'next' question.
The size of the manual itself is daunting to say the least, and no matter how many games you play there is ALWAYS something someone does that you just sit and stare at. Wondering how did he do that and how was that possible.
I for one have played most of the EU games as well as the Ageod AACW which is very intricate.
But they did not have MAGIC, and I believe that if you look at the forums that is where the game starts to veer off the beaten path to those of us that are tacticians. I personally have tried to look at magic as just long range artillery or perhaps better armour/equipment but to no avail.
This is possibly the deepest game I have ever played (including Chess) as there is no set rules or moves. Throw in Summoning, Communions, Blood magic (and of course Giants) and all of a sudden you have a game that some of us feel like we are not only lost, but lost in the DEEP part of the forest.
Some games have Strategy Guides that walk you thru the game and you use them for about a week until you feel comfortable and then you start exploring options on your own.
No matter how many times I design a pretender I ALWAYS find that it just isn't that good. Of Course there are guides Like the ones Baalz and others make) and all of a sudden you get a glimpse of what they are talking about which brings up 20 other questions that just are not covered in the manual.
I guess what I am trying to say is this IS D3...some of you have been playing since D1 and we hang on every word you say because it might give us a foot up. If you where playing HOMM 5 I would know the answer to every question you ever wanted to know on any subject in that game.
We look up to you with respect for just the time you have put in this game and for STILL being here.
Maybe in a year I will be one saying..."its in the manual" ( I may also say check out page 45 in the manual).
Anyway THANKS to all of you who take the time. And thanks to you for taking the rime to listen to frustrations of a person whoi really is trying but ffles lost and just won't quit!!:D
Edi
March 10th, 2009, 02:59 AM
Section on installation and directories added to the second FAQ post. It covers the issue discussed in this thread (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=42539) and I also moved the bit about where to install mods and maps to that section. It covers Windows issues, not Linux or Mac.
It occurs to me that if somebody with experience of Dom3 on the various operating systems were to write a more detailed and coherent piece on what installs where in each OS, that could help a lot of people. I've not run Dom3 on Linux or Mac, so I can only cover the Windows side and that only on XP.
The stuff we would need is where savedgames go and where mods and maps go and whether it varies depending on default or custom main install directory.
lch
March 10th, 2009, 05:04 AM
As I've always been preaching: If you add a section about information how to start the game in debug mode, then everybody can see the savepaths for themselves. People who are used to click on icons will need to learn how to add parameters for that, of course.
Tichy
March 10th, 2009, 09:21 AM
RE: where stuff goes on a mac:
Maps are stored in the application package: ctrl-click on the application itself, select "show package contents", maps are in the folder Contents/Resources/Maps.
Mods are stored in the folder dominions3/mods in the OSX home or user directory.
Tichy
March 10th, 2009, 09:22 AM
Savegames are also in the user directory
chrispedersen
March 10th, 2009, 12:39 PM
I've read the manual backwards and forwards - hell I've fallen asleep reading it.
Its dogeared, and tagged each in relevent sections. I've read the FAQ, the Strategy guides, the db. I've read the mods, the unit db. I've played way north of 500 games of dominions. I've spent *weeks* trying to figure out why a mod doesn't work.
And I still find out something new every week. Like ritual of returning working in the capital province.
Edi
May 31st, 2009, 04:20 AM
The section on installing and enabling mods updated and separated from installing map question.
Also added a question on where to find the modding and mapmaking guides.
Edi
June 15th, 2009, 05:19 PM
Added Burnsaber's sprite editing tutorial to the FAQ in the modding & sprites section.
Edi
November 30th, 2012, 12:22 PM
*practices dark magic*
It's been three years since this thread has had a post in it, so high time. I added a new post to the FAQ thread that deals with the Fire and Death bless weapons, Flaming Arrows spell and spells vs spell effects and why things don't always stack.
Highly recommended reading, since those questions pop up with surprising regularity and there is quite a bit of misinformation floating around about them.
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