I've been binging your VODS and was wondering if you did or thought about doing a campaign where your stacks can only be one type of units (one stack of shock, one stack of mages etc.) ? That might lead to some interesting scenarios. Anyway, it's been very enjoyable, chill and taught me a couple things!
Playing evil you have to face most of cities, then the continuous infestations and other lords (which spawns units and boost economy faster than your).... How the hell can you do?
You do get some bonuses for being evil (such as the resources from pillaging), so if you're going that route I suggest going all in for maximum benefit. It's tough, but it can be a fun way to play!
@@agentnumberonevods Thanks for the reply! The problem is that while your waiting with you army the turns needed for pillaging... the rest of the world is not waiting for u 😉
Hi - can I suggest that your most important task is to get to 3 Cities ASAP and get them all supplied with Feast and Grain Stores as their first 2 amenities. The best build order for this is: Farm 1-Settler 1-Farm (on a Grain Source if one exists within 1 Region of your Capital), otherwise Spearman (until Food gets back to 125 - don't Muster the Spearman until Settle 2 is queued as they require food to maintain) then switch to Settler 2-Granary. Rush buy Farm 1, Settler 1, Farm 2, Settler 2 and the Granary as soon as you have enough wealth. Don't send Settler 1 more than 3 spaces from your Capital (unless there is a 4-Food region available at 4 spaces) as you need to get that 2nd City up immediately and every turn counts. Use your initial Scout to first hunt for a couple of 2-Hunt Animals for the free feasts and then to find suitable City locations. Manage your early Feast crafting carefully (don't use food as a crafting ingredient ever until Settler 2 is queued up (and the 125 food deducted) but once this is done switch all Feasts crafting to be supplied only with Food. Try to try to limit you use of wealth for Feast Crafting to the minimum - except for the very first Feast which should be rush crafted with all 3 slots on wealth - unless you can see a 2-Hunt Animal that you Scout can immediately reach and kill). Don't build Dwellings, Scouts or Muster any Military Units until Settler 2 is queued up (as these all consume that precious 125 food that you need for Settler 2). Prioritize a Grain Source (Barley, Rice, Wheat) as your first expanded region for your Capital and Food then Wealth as the Region in which to Settle City 2 (a 4-Food Region with 3 Gold is ideal). Don't be afraid to settle City 2 on a 4-Food Region that is only 2 Tiles away from your Capital if there is room to expand each City in opposite directions. This may not be perfect but there is zero point in planning for the Mid or End-Game if you don't survive Act One! If you don't have 3 Cities established and fed with both Feast and Grain Stores (Size 3 at least) by Turn 50 it's basically GG on Emperor, so just restart. It will likely take you a few tries to get close. Good luck and Have Fun!
Unfortunately on Thunderdome I find that this doesn't work. There's simply not enough space and time to look at founding 3 cities, and you need to get a military up ASAP or else you get rolled. Plus the AI buffs mean taking cities from them instead of founding them yourselves will provide you with WAY more infrastructure then you could possibly build on your own.
@@agentnumberonevods Yes Time is the Issue! Your second City needs to be up by Turn 16/17. You founded Joondalup on Turn 23 (this is 6/7 Turns too slow) You then concluded that an immediate 2nd City is a bad idea. You were right that doing it in 23 Turns is a bad idea! I note that you then went ahead and built a Settler (in preference to military) anyway for the Rome game - although for Thermopylai it took you until on Turn 24 (7/8 Turns too slow). No doubt military is important in a Thunderdome game but the key is to get these Settlers out immediately - which I did not see you do in any of your games so far. You can give City 2 the 100-Turn, +15 Security Buff (almost equivalent to a free Watchtower) and then Muster units in it. No Emperor AI will have declared on you by Turn 17. Your Third City needs to be up by Turn 31/32. If you feel that getting the third city up puts you too far behind militarily, that is a situational call but there are often significant benefits to it (say to grab horses or another critical resource or to block key chokepoint regions). I note that for the Rome Game had you done this by Turn 32, you would have been perfectly fine and could have then ramped up your Military with 3 Cities growing to support you. I note that I haven't yet seen you survive past Act I in a Thunderdome Game (noting that you save scummed in your Rome game)- and this was just my suggestion as to how you might increase your chances! Good luck with your Rome Game!
Hi fellow Canuck. For prestige gains check out War of Retaliation +100, Holy War (variable gain) and War of Expansion (variable gain). Also three leader traits unlock War of Annihilation (variable gain). I think the AI uses this military path to help surge head in Prestige. Most probable in those Thunderdome attempts with so many enemies nearby. Food for thought. Fun videos.
War in the Thunderdome definitely seems like the best path forward, especially considering how faster the AI can build up its cities, they're ripe for the taking!
My first run was Alchemist. I like how this game broke my hoarding tendencies from the first few fights, but you kept all your items until the very end. And when you started using them it was glorious! XD
Some items I seem to be fine with using, like sacred water, other ones I can't seem to let go of because they're so potentially valuable. Getting over that tendency is definitely the main key to playing alchemist!
Dolos: Good news everyone, we have solved the world's problems. The solution was rather ingenious. All we had to do was blow up the moon, and destroy the planet. No Earth, no problems. 😁 Ixion looks interesting. But as you say, seems like Frostpunk in space. Which is good...I guess. (having not played Frostpunk) 🤔
You have blundered into a little known bug (or feature?). You set the difficulty to Emperor before increasing the number of nations to 36. That means that the original 12 nations are set to Emperor difficulty but the 24 additional nations you added will be set to Esquire difficulty by default. That's why they are building settlers and progressing long before you can. To set them all to Emperor you need to increase the number of nations before resetting the difficulty level.
I had to test this because I couldn't believe it would be designed that way, but you are RIGHT. Dangit. Pinning this comment and restarting the run tomorrow for the true thunderdome experience
Mother Ettin was depressed and questioning its life choices, before the cavefish people put her out of her misery. Gee I wonder why, Agent? I'm sure it has nothing to do with how the Fortress started. Yup, nothing at all. 🤔 The Ettin didn't have to go searching for the circus, it came to her. 😂
Only certain units have the hunter trait, once you tech too high (iirc around gunpowder) only scouts are still able to attack wildlife. But early game units like spearman and archers can also hunt. I think they have a little icon on their card in the bottom left, but it's definitely not as clear as it could be
AgentNumberOne love the vid.. only at 1:18:29 so not sure if you did or not later.. But you should build a Pluto(I think) Temple, it provides money.. Atleast one of the Gods does..
I've tried very hard to get into this as its defo right up my alley. Turn based vic3 almost. I jist cant gel with it and I dont know why. I want to like it. Maybe I need to give it some more time.
There's a lot of moving parts, and the QoL still needs some work, but I think once you get a good grasp of it the game is actually pretty good and starts to move quickly
That Roc was decidedly underwhelming. Thought the fortress might have been in a bit of trouble, given the big wide opening at the waterfall. But nope, seems like the biggest threat to the Dwarves, is 'dehydration' from unknown causes. 😁
I just want you to know I genuinely enjoy your content. I'm a pretty big amateur at Age of Wonders 4 but by watching your channel I have made it through 4/5 story missions so far. Thanks for the great video's!
I know we have a number of other colony builders, but it kind of surprises me, given how popular the game is, that a studio hasn't attempted their own 'legally distinct' version of DF.
Oh believe me they have, there are a ton of DF knock offs but they all fail to capture the insane procedural generation that 20+ years of coding gets you
@@agentnumberonevods Oh wow. Somehow missed them. 😂 And agree, doesn't matter how much money you throw at the project. It won't really compare to a long term passion project.
I think you have become quite good at this game, and it is like watching an expert play through. Something i can appreciate with so many hours in the game myself. What do you think about the implementation of multiplayer in this game?
Thanks so much! I think the 1v1 dual mode would probably accommodate multiplayer the best format wise. Would be neat to play as existing circle mages, and have with static towers with the ability to build the new spires (alongside lodges). I think it's unlikely we'll see it in this one, but maybe if they do a sequel eventually.
I think in a different video you said you like this more than AoW 4. I really liked AoW 3 and Planetfall, and I'm considering AoW 4 or this. Why do you think this is the better game? Looks very similar to me.
They are very very similar, and its a close race between the two. I tend to like the balance and progression more in Spellforce, the quests are definitely more interesting, and the cost is really cheap for its quality. AoW has the better sandbox experience and diversity of playstyles though. Generally I'd say if you're looking for 100 hours then Spellforce is better, if you want more than that then AoW is better. Ultimately both are good! tl;dr = spellforce better campaign, aow better sandbox
If your unit stands before river, cliff, or wall, when he gets attacked from behind and retreats, it might go around obstacles and stop on the other side. Got this happening twice: first time made 5 turn trip around river and mountain in a blink, ended turn on one side - started on the other, second time triggered an event mid journey, stopping on the spot, so all those interactions can leave your unit in a tight spot.
