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[PoweredBySoy]

FFS. What is the point of this Bone Dragon roaming mob in the early game??? There's nothing you can do against it and it basically kills the game.

 

[LurkerPrime]

To cause havoc, I suppose.

Keep in mind that Undead units don't regenerate, so you'll be able to wear it down with some effort. Your hero units will be particularly useful in battles against such high-tier units, especially early on.

A full squad or two should be sufficient to take it down, and something like trebuchets would be a wise investment for the battle - just keep it away from the breath attacks.

 

[LurkerPrime]

It has just come to my attention that Age of Wonders v1.3 is currently in beta on Steam.

Here is the changelog:

Patch Notes:

• Fixed multiplayer black screen bug
• UI glitches for very high – larger than 2560×1600 – resolutions should no longer occur. Not all resolutions were tested, please report if you still have this issue.
• Fixed issue where cities couldn’t grow to max size on slowest speed setting
• Fixed wild hunt spell so it properly applies to new units and can be disjuncted
• Fixed an issue where the AI could disjunct hidden combat properties
• Fixed AI disjuncting spells put up by its allies in tactical combat
• Implemented AI performance optimizations and reduced wait time to perform actions for the player
• Reduced time to make a save file by 50%, which speeds up starting a next turn when auto save is enabled
• Fix for rare crash when clicking on ‘done’ button on stack screen
• Fixed crash where player(side) id was different from the player’s index in the turnmanager list

It seems like a solid, if unspectacular patch. The changes certainly seem welcome.


The dev also mentions that they're hard at work on a free update and an expansion.

Frostling free update, Undead expansion.
Believe

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

does anyone still play this?

I think I quit after their 1st patch

It is a decent game but there didn't seem to be much depth

 

[Deified Data]

does anyone still play this?

I think I quit after their 1st patch

It is a decent game but there didn't seem to be much depth

Can't wait to dive into the new expansion, but I think I did just about everything I could do in the base game.

 

[LurkerPrime]

does anyone still play this?

I think I quit after their 1st patch

It is a decent game but there didn't seem to be much depth

I would, but I'm currently in a vicious cycle of waiting for a new patch while playing other games. However, by the time I finish those games, a new patch is on the horizon... And so it continues.

It's tough!


As to your other statement, I'd say the only undepth-y aspect of the game would be the magic system. which will hopefully be expanded by the expansion. But even then, I wouldn't go so far as to say the game overall lacks depth, more that it delivers a very specific type of gameplay.

I suppose that's a bit of an apologist thing to say, but, um... oh well.

 

[Dolor]

Just started playing this game and am really loving it! It's like the best version of Heroes of Might and Magic yet.

 

[Jag]

Golden Realms expansion announced. Release date: Soon!

Golden Realms is set for a September 18th 2014 release and available as DLC via online stores such as Steam and GoG.

New Content Includes:

The Halfling Race: The little folk are back, with new units, heroes and leaders. The jesters shoots fireworks which dazzle the enemy and the cleaver flinging brew brothers keep the Halfling armies fed while on the road. Halflings can be used with all classes and introduce the new Luck mechanic which allows them to dodge incoming attack while they’re in good spirits.Features-Allie
Golden Realms Campaign. In this three scenario campaign, you help the Halfling survivors of the Heartwood Massacre rebuild an empire in an exotic land and confront an ancient evil.
Exotic Map Locations: Capture the Naga Dwelling, home to serpentine queens and giant man-snakes, and discover new treasure sites such as the fabled Lost City to benefit your empire.
Over twenty new units: Encounter new exotic units such as the filth throwing Dread Monkeys, alluring Mermaids and the fearsome Glutton who can swallow whole regiments in one bite.
New Hero Items: The Golden Realms contain 50 new magical artifacts to discover and use. Wield the enigmatic Crystal Skull, or wear a stylish Witch Doctor’s Headdress to mix in with the locals.
Wild Magic Specialization: Unleash wild magic. Cause spontaneous mutations, warp equipment and turn orderly battles into a pandemonium where the lines of battle are violently warped.
Partisan Specialization: Use new skills for guerrilla warfare. Create concealed hide-outs and develop ambushing skills.
Two hand crafted scenarios: Playable single and multi-player these new stand-alone scenarios are built around the new features of the Golden Realms expansion.

New Golden Realms Features:

Mystical City Upgrades: Arcane treasure sites located in your domain unlock new unique upgrades for your cities, making the location and specialization of your cities more important than ever. Building a city near a Crystal Tree unlocks the Enchanted Armory which reinforcing your armored units.Features-Glutton
Empire Quests: Achieve empire building goals before your rivals to unlock unique rewards for your realm. This introduces a new type of indirect competition between players. Examples are the Eternal City: be the first to build a metropolis and get an awe-inspiring Monument of Prime Good and Evil, where the first player to achieve full good or full evil alignment has a party of champions the respective alignment join at no cost.
Seals of Power: A new King of the Hill style victory condition where players must capture and hold the dangerous Seals of Power structures in order to achieve victory. Don’t sit and hold back as broken seals attract extra-dimensional beings wanting to take the Seal back.
Defensive City Upgrades: Each race has a unique city defense to build. The Draconian’s Firestorm Pillar sets ablaze those who dare attack their city. Or the Bell Tower for the Humans which rallies the citizenry to shoot volleys at oncoming enemies.

 

[Deified Data]

Only one new race? I was expecting undead in this expansion. Still, great news!

 

[Sinatar]

Halflings? They expect people to pay money for halflings?

 

[Deified Data]

Halflings? They expect people to pay money for halflings?

Worth it for all the other new features, IMO, but the one race is kind of disappointing.

 

[LurkerPrime]

Golden Realms expansion announced. Release date: Soon!

Dread monkeys? I'm in.

(Oh god, all of my predictions were wrong...)

 

[Nikodemos]

Empire Quests: Achieve empire building goals before your rivals to unlock unique rewards for your realm. This introduces a new type of indirect competition between players.

So, basically like the good ol' Special Projects from Civ/Alpha Centauri. Sounds interesting.

Wild Magic Specialization: Unleash wild magic. Cause spontaneous mutations, warp equipment and turn orderly battles into a pandemonium where the lines of battle are violently warped.

Throne of Bhaal raprezent!

Over twenty new units: Encounter new exotic units such as the filth throwing Dread Monkeys, alluring Mermaids and the fearsome Glutton who can swallow whole regiments in one bite.

Awesome, Glutton's back! Devour was one of my favourite abilities.

 

[Nohar]

I was expecting frostlings and undead... Definitly not halfings.
*sigh* I'm torn. AoW3 has a very good random map generator (at least compared to Shadow of Magic), but the game just doesn't "cling" with me the way AoW:SM does. many things are bugging me with AoW3's gameplay. As for now, I probably won't buy the extension until some issues are adressed. I want to like AoW3, but it's not what I was hoping for.

 

[Jag]

A few minor patch notes for 1.4. (now on public beta on Steam)

 

[alstein]

The expansion is also going to cost $12.

I'm pretty sure more expansions are planned-Lizards and Azracs should be added.

 

[LurkerPrime]

A few minor patch notes for 1.4. (now on public beta on Steam)

Wooow, what a huge changelist. It looks to be a fantastic patch. The Goblin, Elemental, and Rogue love is especially good. The morale changes will take some getting used to, as will the improved AI.

Triumph makes great patches. They're always far more interesting than "stability improvements" or whatnot.


This patch note in particular gets me thinking that the Necromancer class is still coming one day:

[quote="1.4 patch notes]

• Wraith and Wraith King are now Support Type instead of Monster Type

[/quote]

You can trust me in this. I am never wrong!

 

[Jag]

Wooow, what a huge changelist

Yeah I was kidding when I said minor patch notes. It's more like a patch novel.

 

[LurkerPrime]

Yeah I was kidding when I said minor patch notes. It's more like a patch novel.

I initially skipped looking at your link because of that... Meanie.

Oh well, it gave me time to prepare the requisite tea.

FFS. What is the point of this Bone Dragon roaming mob in the early game??? There's nothing you can do against it and it basically kills the game.

Small solace for you right now, perhaps, but I think Patch 1.4 is going to curb this issue. (If I understood it right.)

It mentions changing up how monster dens generate, how quests generate, and also gives monster dens a power curve into the later game which will keep them competitive.

 

[Deified Data]

Thought the expansion was due out today?

 

[Noaloha]

Thought the expansion was due out today?

Steam says it's set for the button to be pressed in ~2 hours. Checking the GOG forums, it seems people can already access it in the form of a new installer but that seems... weird?

To tide you over, dev blog! http://ageofwonders.com/all-about-the-halflings/

 

[LurkerPrime]

Thought the expansion was due out today?

It's already out on GOG.

Price is USD$11.99 normally, but in celebration of the release it's -20% off (or USD$9.59). Buy it while it's hot!


Edit: HOLD OFF ON UPDATING THE GOG VERSION FOR NOW! The new version of the base game is only in the Polish language for some reason, and there is no standalone patch available to make the base game compatible with the new DLC.
(See this post on the GOG forums for more info.)


Update: Ok, it might be fixed or not an issue to begin with. I'll have to reinstall the game and see for myself, I guess.

From the forums:

We've uploaded all new installers for the entire Age of Wonders 3 game and DLCs. Please back up your saves, uninstall everything, and make sure you run all of the installers with the installer version 2.2.0.X and see if that helps

Unless everything is in Polish afterwards, this ought to do it.

 

[Jag]

Yeah. I bought the DLC on GoG but can't install it.

 

[Deified Data]

Bought and downloaded! Can't wait to give it a shot tonight. Love all the changes they made, but wish there were new class options to go along with the new race and specialties.

 

[alstein]

Thought the expansion was due out today?

Out on Steam now with a 20% discount so just under $10.

For what you're getting, that's a very good price. This is somewhere between a DLC and an expansion.

 

[LurkerPrime]

I've updated my post before. There might not actually be any problem, so long as all the languages work. Edit: Installed just fine, in the language I selected. So, hooray~ it all works.

Out on Steam now with a 20% discount so just under $10.

For what you're getting, that's a very good price. This is somewhere between a DLC and an expansion.

Yeah, I was anticipating a higher price.

I hope this model works for Triumph, and that they can add lots of additional content.

 

[alstein]

I've updated my post before. There might not actually be any problem, so long as all the languages work. Edit: Installed just fine, in the language I selected. So, hooray~ it all works.



Yeah, I was anticipating a higher price.

I hope this model works for Triumph, and that they can add lots of additional content.

AOWIII is probably profitable already, as much of it was funded by Notch. The game also has done somewhat better than expected, and the old AOW players are probably still hungry for more of the old races to return (I want Lizards and Azracs back, Frostlings I don't care about as much)

 

[Deified Data]

The campaign is proving to be a healthy challenge so far. Once you think you have some decent momentum, bam,

Spoiler

your throne city is attacked by nagas by sea

.

The halflings are...different. I like the conceit that all of their racial units are sort of normal farmers, craftsmen, etc. drafted into service, but it's kind of spoiled when you have them fighting alongside berserkers and monster hunters. Seriously, the campaign starts you off as a halfling warlord. I haven't seen a halfling warbreed yet but when I do I'm going to laugh my ass off.

The luck mechanic works really well and incentivizes morale upkeep, which is good because halflings get shredded in melee and needed those lucky breaks to survive.

 

[LurkerPrime]

Good to hear that the campaign stands on its own.

AOWIII is probably profitable already, as much of it was funded by Notch. The game also has done somewhat better than expected, and the old AOW players are probably still hungry for more of the old races to return (I want Lizards and Azracs back, Frostlings I don't care about as much)

I'd really love to see the Shadow Demons and their shadowy realm return. The new graphics engine would do great justice to the fantastical sights they contain.

But really, anything more is fine.

Spoiler

Even Halflings

 

[Deified Data]

After getting stomped on the first scenario of the campaign I decided it might be best for me to wrap my head around halflings in a standard scenario first. Finding a lot more success as an Archdruid than a Warlord.

Halfling racial units are pretty interesting, and I found myself being carried by their Tier 1 units longer than the same tiers of other races. Adventurers are hands down the best Irregular in the game - put some with a couple Nightwatch (urban concealment!) and a trebuchet and they can hold a town against most standard threats, moreso if you research rabbit holes first.

 

[LurkerPrime]

You know, I've never found great use out of concealment of any type. It's more often something that I avoid using, since I feel it would make the AI more aggressive against my (seemingly) weaker armies. Granted, I haven't seen the new AI yet (Wasteland 2 is to blame for this) so maybe I'm mistaken.

I bet concealment is really good in multiplayer.

 

[Deified Data]

Jester + Bleeding is a winning combination. Makes the bleed effect translate to the splash damage as well.

Held a city against a 5-strong stack of Orcs the other day with a bit of magic and only two Adventurers. Halflings are scrappy as hell.

 

[LurkerPrime]

I've been playing Warlock: Master of the Arcane with the Armageddon DLC and it makes me wonder what the Shadow world will be like in... a future expansion. The Armageddon mode in Warlock periodically summons in powerful demonic strongholds that corrupt and weaken the land around them, in general causing chaos and destruction. It is an ever-escalating threat, one so great that all of the warring factions will unite to fight it. Eventually, they'll bring the fight to the demonic realm and attempt to crush the source of the problem. I just can't help but wonder if the Shadow realm/shadow demons could work like that; it would certainly be something to draw inspiration from for Triumph, at the very least.

This, combined with some ideas from the marvellous Civ4 mod Fall From Heaven 2 could make the Shadow expansion something very neat, indeed. FfH2 is the clear inspiration for Warlock's armageddon mode; it had added depth for the factions involved and made armageddon something other than inevitable, though it lacked alternate realms. One particularly cool aspect was that the demonic/angelic factions in the mod were playable once summoned... so you could, for example, build up a powerful civilization of evil sorcerers and then tear it down using the very demons they summoned.


With that thought out of the way, I want to say I sorta-kinda wish I got the Steam version of Age of Wonders 3, if only to better keep up with the development news. I say this because the next expansion for AoW3 has been confirmed to contain the Necromancer class! This expansion will be their method for implementing the "undead race" into the game.

Here's their reasoning, via that link (and it sounds awesome):

When we started AoW3 and developed the concept of the leader class system, the possibility of a Necromancer class quickly dawned on us. We think implementing Undead as a class has more potential than as a race, because this way we can model a gradual transformation of the leader, the population and the racial units to the undead state. The more they transform, the more powerful they gradually become.

We soon realized that the Necromancer would be the most work of all the classes, so this is why we saved thinking about it for an expansion. Not only will this class need all sorts of reanimation skills, but the effects of Necromancy on the population also need to be modelled. How far do we take this? How will the starting population of the Necromancer’s cities change over time? How are the base racial units affected – do all race units get turned into undead? How do we visualize all this? What sort of bespoke undead units does the necromancer summon and how are they different from turned racial units, and the existing (archon revenant) undead units? Lots of questions, but we are super excited about the possibilities and eager to start answering them. So if you can spare a minute away from Golden Realms and V1.4, we’re looking forward to your thoughts on the Necro!

There's also been a further dev post since then outlining "the cities of the dead." There's a lot of information there, so I'll just quote the overview. (You owe it to yourself to check out the whole post!)

Here is the next update on the Necromancer Class Design, thanks everybody for the feedback. Here is some of our progress that hopefully answers some of your questions and may be it incorporates some feedback here and there. There are many aspects to this class, but we’ll start at the root which are the mechanics for Undead towns and transformed undead races.

And some images! (click for big version)

Necromancer concept

Undead battlefield

Ghoul curse

Altogether wonderous news!

 

[LurkerPrime]

Heads up! Age of Wonders 3 and the deluxe upgrade are both currently -66% off in Steam's exploitation sale. Also, the Golden Realms is -33% off. The sale lasts for two days.


Age of Wonders 3 New Corner

• The Frostlings are confirmed to be in an upcoming (paid) expansion. A free update/patch happening at the same time will add improved variety for races and starting perks.
• Triumph has also mentioned one of the new additions that come with the Necromancer DLC: Cosmic Events! They sound like a more interesting take on Heroes of Might & Magic's weekly events mixed a bit with the armageddon/apocalypse systems I mentioned in my previous post.

Altogether very pleasing additions... though I'm not clear when any of them release. I'd assume at least one of them will arrive in December. Also of note: they refer to the Frostlings an expansion, and the Necromancer as DLC, so I'm also assuming that they're separate releases.

 

[Alric]

Heads up! Age of Wonders 3 and the deluxe upgrade are both currently -66% off in Steam's exploitation sale. Also, the Golden Realms is -33% off. The sale lasts for two days.

Well I think it's about time to get Age of Wonders 3. I was debating between this and Endless Legends but i've played AoW2 and somewhat know what im getting into with this game at least.

 

[BigWeather]

Ugh, missed the DLC at 33% off, 20% off now. Guess I'll wait for the Winter Sale.

 

[alstein]

I've been playing Warlock: Master of the Arcane with the Armageddon DLC and it makes me wonder what the Shadow world will be like in... a future expansion. The Armageddon mode in Warlock periodically summons in powerful demonic strongholds that corrupt and weaken the land around them, in general causing chaos and destruction. It is an ever-escalating threat, one so great that all of the warring factions will unite to fight it. Eventually, they'll bring the fight to the demonic realm and attempt to crush the source of the problem. I just can't help but wonder if the Shadow realm/shadow demons could work like that; it would certainly be something to draw inspiration from for Triumph, at the very least.

This, combined with some ideas from the marvellous Civ4 mod Fall From Heaven 2 could make the Shadow expansion something very neat, indeed. FfH2 is the clear inspiration for Warlock's armageddon mode; it had added depth for the factions involved and made armageddon something other than inevitable, though it lacked alternate realms. One particularly cool aspect was that the demonic/angelic factions in the mod were playable once summoned... so you could, for example, build up a powerful civilization of evil sorcerers and then tear it down using the very demons they summoned.!

If you like Armageddon counters, check our Sorcerer King (currently in Early Access)- it's a huge change from Fallen Enchantress (the creator of FFH2 has a big role at Stardock who makes both games. The game itself revolves around the AC. It's pretty good already.

Your idea is a lot like Sorcerer King, so you might want to check that out.

 

[LurkerPrime]

So, the Age of Wonders 3 Steam daily sale is over. The good news is that its very likely going to be on sale during Christmas - though probably at the same amount off.

During that time there's also a slight possibility that Golden Realms will have a greater discount.

If you like Armageddon counters, check our Sorcerer King (currently in Early Access)- it's a huge change from Fallen Enchantress (the creator of FFH2 has a big role at Stardock who makes both games. The game itself revolves around the AC. It's pretty good already.

Your idea is a lot like Sorcerer King, so you might want to check that out.

I don't have enough faith in Stardock to do that, unfortunately. Perhaps after it leaves Early Access.

I've taken a very "wait and see" approach toward Stardock's games after the travesty that was Elemental.

 

[LurkerPrime]

Good news for anyone who missed the AoW3 Steam sale: GOG is having their own winter sale right now and AoW3 is once again -66% off, with the Golden Realms -33% off. The deal is only here for another 17 hours. (as of this post).

The rest of the series is also on sale.

And the best news: Grab the original Age of Wonders for free, courtesy of GOG. Just find it on the main page to claim your copy - though be forewarned they are limited in quantity.

 

[Deified Data]

Those necro concepts look great. I agree that it makes more sense as a class than a race.

 

[LurkerPrime]

The Age of Wonders 3 holiday gift is upon us. It's a free, festive costume DLC containg some Christmas-y, Frostling-y, and Necromancer-y headgear for custom-made leaders. The content will be an auto-update from Steam or a manual patch via GOG.

I really need to play this game again!


Oh, also: winter the frostlings are coming. Here's a post about their army, as well as one about their leaders. (Clearly inspired by Frozen.

Spoiler

/s

)

 

[Deified Data]

Awesome. Need to finish Golden Realms after I'm done with Inquisition.

Little things like this are why I love Triumph.

 

[Newt]

Golden realms is too hard. Help, how do you beat this campaign .

 

[Deified Data]

Golden realms is too hard. Help, how do you beat this campaign .

I...cannot beat the first scenario. When everyone starts attacking you at once, with hordes of nagas attacking your throne by sea, everything starts to fall apart for me.

 

[LurkerPrime]

One last sale notice for this year: Age of Wonders 3 is -66% off on Steam. If you're lurking this thread and interested in the game, this will probably be your last chance to grab it for a while.

I...cannot beat the first scenario. When everyone starts attacking you at once, with hordes of nagas attacking your throne by sea, everything starts to fall apart for me.

Challenge accepted.

 

[Newt]

I...cannot beat the first scenario. When everyone starts attacking you at once, with hordes of nagas attacking your throne by sea, everything starts to fall apart for me.

The nagas are beatable by keeping your main hero at your throne city and having the one ally with a bunch of party bots spawning with him. I can beat roger, but that draconian guy, is impossible man.

 

[Durante]

Yesterday I thought "hey, I don't really have anything I need to do today, let's play some AoW3". Now I know why I stopped: when I had that thought, it was 4 in the afternoon, and when I next looked at the time it was 2 in the morning.

The problem with AoW3 is that it's almost too good.

 

[Deified Data]

Everyone comes back.

 

[Durante]

I spent another day basically doing nothing but playing AoW3, and it was awesome, but I'm just 1.5 maps further on in the campaign.

How long (how many maps that is) is a campaign?

 

[Newt]

So yeah, that mission I was having trouble with, the first one in golden realms. Don't worry about expanding, you'll spread your armies way too thin. You can function with only a few cities.