Re: My wishlist.
Dom2 is a great game (among the 5 best I've ever played, and I've been playing for more than 20 years now!), and rather than getting too specific (I hope!!--sometimes my enthusiasm gets the best of me), I'd like to stick with/suggest some general themes:
1) Reduce micromanagement. This is really my only complaint with the game, but it's a big bother and seems to be a very common one. Includes:
- Allow Scripted "taxation vs. Unrest" policies
- Allow repeatable Artifact forging
- Allow disbanding of unwanted units
- Reduce micromanagement of gems ("Gem pooling from Clams")
2) Try to clean up the "Things that make you go huh?" issues. Mostly AI-related, but not all. This just detracts from the gameplay and interrupts the real feeling of beloved immersion I get when playing the game. A few of my pet peeves:
- Legendary Hero bonuses that make little sense. Having an extra-strong Crone of Avalon, or a Knight with extra Precision... Either assign them by hero type, or allow players to choose between two options when given a special ability.
- Spell-casters who insist on casting defensive spells on themselves when all the enemy is already routed.
- Allow setting archers for "Aggressive Fire" (the current default, where 20 Crosbbowmen will fire at one surviving Militia surrounded by 15 of my Heavy Infantry) or "Cautious Fire" (only shooting at targets not adjacent to my units).
- Spell-casters who keep casting spells on incapacitated units (e.g., when I've already paralyzed a Jotun Axeman, it's kinda silly to keep Casting Soul Slay on him, as opposed to the other Axeman who's carving up my cavalry). This is especially infuriating against units with high MR.
3) Keep combat scripting simple. I'm sympathetic to players wanting better tactical control of units, but allowing this makes for even more micromanagement. It also handicaps the AI, who should remain a credible challenger well into any game. I LIKE having "modest control" over what happens in combat, and think this is good for play balance.
4) Try to give the hero's a little more individual character, at least a few of them. Possibilities include:
- Tying Legendary bonuses to unit types is one thing.
- Revise the way those bonuses work, so that 33% of units get a "Heroic Bonus" upon reaching Lvl. 1 might be cool. Have those abilities be useful but not great, but have them escalate into more dramatic abilities with Experience. This gives heroes more individual flavor, but also encourages you to be less cautious with the ones you like until they're "unkillable by normal units".
- Consider giving some Heroes abilities that might affect the province they're in. Maybe only give this ability at Level 3 or Level 4? Such abilities might include:
* Speak to the People: Reduce Unrest by 10 in current province
* Inspire Work: Increase Productivity scale 1 notch in current province
* Promote Commerce: Increase Order scale 1 notch in current province
* Drill Master: Double XP accumulation (2/turn instead of 1/turn, I think?) of units in current province.
5) Give the provinces more individual flavor. I LOVE the Dom2 system, but I wish my provinces had a little more character or sentimental value to me (as opposed to Gold and Production numbers). I can think of three ways to do this:
- Give more Magic Sites a function not related to Gem Production. This could even extend to modest bonuses for units produced in the province:
* Waters of Quickness: 1 Water Gem/turn, units built in this province get +1 to Defense.
* Great Oak Tree: 1 Nature Gem/turn, +1 Growth Dominion locally.
* Dwarven Forge: +1 Earth Gem/turn, units built in this province get +1 to Protection, +1 to Strength.
- Have Terrain affect combat. Easiest way to do this is to use the Warlords approach, where certain unit types get certain bonuses in certain terrain. Cavalry SHOULD be more fearsome in plains than in mountains, no?
- In addition to Unrest, have "Abiding Love" in certain provinces when a Pretender REALLY earns their adoration. Repelling attacks successfully, random events, etc. might bring extra bonuses when a province has positive Dominion and 0 Unrest. This could increase the Pop Growth, Productivity, or Gold production by 1-10%, depending on how much "Love" people feel. Conquering armies rampaging through would obviously obliterate that.
6) Ruins. I think you could work this into the game in a way that would be play-balanced and fun, but not too intrusive. Specifically, as a possible Magic Site (but perhaps one very easy to find), have certain Ruins, guarded by Monsters but offering Treasures/benefits. A few possible things you could do with this:
- Have Ruins contribute to Unrest (3, 5, or 10 per turn, depending on the magnitude of the critters hiding in the Ruins) effectively reducing income (and perhaps production). Or, just contribute "negative dominion" (e.g., Death, Sloth, Turmoil), if that seems more appropriate.
- Have Ruins of different levels, guarded by Monsters of different severity and number. Killing those monsters might yield Treasure (gold and/or random magic items--if I only had Earth Magic, I'd love to equip a Hero with an "Ice Sword" I found in a dungeon), and/or might allow access to higher-powered Magic Sites. Don't have Ruins be so disruptive that they have to be explored, but leave it as an option that the player will "want to clean up sooner or later".
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