Big J Money

Reply to The problem with fantasy games in Elemental Dev Journals Elemental Forums

Here are some possible sources of inspiration that relate to what Frogboy is talking about: 1. AI War: Fleet Command has a textbook example of an effective, believable and challenging "asymmetric-non-AI". By asymmetric, I mean it's not always trying to play the same game as the player. By non-AI, I just mean that the AI isn't written to do everything the player needs to do, but it uses some "cheats" in the asymmetry to allow it to not have to.

Reply to What do you like LEAST about Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes? in Elemental Dev Journals Elemental Forums

[quote who="Wizaerd" reply="101" id="3465445"] It amazes me that so many people are against the art style... I personally love the art style, and it's one of the most unique things that keeps me coming back. In my mind, it truly sets it apart from every other game that does just plain old 3D... whoopdiedoo...[/quote] Remember art style means different things to different people. I enjoy some of the individual artistic decisions made in this game. I like the

Reply to What do you like LEAST about Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes? in Elemental Dev Journals Elemental Forums

I really can't just pick one, but the two game-breakers for me whenever I try to come back to this title (because I want to) are: 1. Immersion/Personality All the artistic/creative bits of the game just don't gel for me to give me a will to play. I could go into more detail if asked. It's not about technical artistic quality. 2. Basic melee combat The ability to manipulate the first strike so easily against the AI, and the fact that it makes s

Reply to Taking Tactical Battles back to square one in War of Magic Elemental Forums

Dude, this is way overboard. I agree the tactical system is too simple and easy to manipulate the AI. And I agree it can't be fixed only by modding. But this post is ridiculous. If you dislike this much about the game, go design your own.

Reply to Why cant my sov. wear traveler boots? in War of Magic Elemental Forums

Wow, this is completely .... I won't comment. I don't mind that the feature is in the engine; it's a neat way to set he races apart, but it should be documented in game via tooltips on each item. Additionally what's weird is that it looks like this was casually used, but never once even attempted to balance. Ex. What do the other races get that men don't get, to make up for the lack of traveller's boots and traveller's cloak?

Reply to Sovereign Creation analysed and explained, now with (some) math in War of Magic Elemental Forums

Good post, but I also disagree with the stat analysis. If you are going to be imbuing, you can get away with Int 5. I can't see ever starting a combat sov without 13-15 Con. Getting one shotted by spells or bows it too easy. Leveling Con up to at least 20 is one of the first things I do.

Reply to Starting Spell Book of Death and Summoning/Sovereign questions in War of Magic Elemental Forums

You need to set your allegiance to an Empire. Kingdoms get the book of life and Empires get the book of death. This should have been a tooltip when you hover over this choice in creation. Correction: I mean this should have been, as in the developers should have implemented this tooltip, Not as in, you should have seen it when you hovered over the option. Maybe it will get added in a patch. All the differences between Empire and Kingd

Reply to Technologies... what went wrong :( in War of Magic Elemental Forums

I'm going to have to say I completely disagree with the OP on his primary point. I think the tech tree is the game's charm. It is in no way trying to be Civilization or Alpha Centauri or, hell even GalCiv II. I love how which field you choose to go down means you get a completely different game with different gameplay features accessible to you each time. I don't think the balancing is very good at this stage, but the general spirit behind it is really imaginative an

Reply to So the game seems to favor "Glass Cannons"... (commentary and suggestions) in War of Magic Elemental Forums

Special abilities tied to weapon types (and shields too!) are the way to go IMHO. This game lacks on the creative unit type I think (when you compare to, say HoMM army types) but it does so well on the "equip your own armies" front that I think it's a good area to capitalize on. As to the whole "no penalty for standing there". When you are on the attack, the game is supposed to be draining your morale every turn. So if you sit there are do not advance,

Reply to How radical should expansion packs get? in GalCiv Journals GalCiv2 Forums

I love buying expansions that change game mechanics. The #1 change I'd like to see is an economy/combat system that has been reworked similar to the way Heroes of Might and Magic IV evolved. Basically, most of the calculations the player cares about (especially ship vs. ship) are intuitive. When you see a 10 vs. a 1, you know its 10 to 1. Other things I'd like to see are proper fighter craft (like x-wing style) that are mounted on capital ships and the ability to somewhat control tact

Reply to Post your TA suggestions here in Beta Reports GalCiv2 Forums

Can this be done for items on a ship's hull now that animations are in? 1] Blinking animation (so you can make lights blink) 2] Rotation amount 0°-360° (so you can have a piece that rotates back and forth) 3] Planar movement with distance and speed settings (so you can have a piece that moves back and forth along a line) =$=

Beta3B Capitol Morale bug? in Beta Reports GalCiv2 Forums

[color="#FF0000"][b][i]Update: Discovered the complicated way morale bonuses work in the Wiki...[/i][/b][/color] Okay, I will just say this. I hope the tooltip for morale gets changed in a patch because it is very confusing. Let me show you why I thought this was a bug: [img]http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9528/bug1aam4.jpg[/img] [I]This shows what my galactic bonus is supposed to be[/I] [img]http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2849/bug1bfn9.jpg[/img] [I]Th

Reply to Post your TA suggestions here in Beta Reports GalCiv2 Forums

I'm going to be unpopular, but I think it's necessary. [B]Why is unique tech stealing in the game?[/B] If the techs are supposed to set the races apart and make them special, why then can they steal them from each other in the course of a match? I think this game mechanic undermines the best part of the expansion, and I hope it gets dropped. And what about the AI? Will it really be able to intelligently handle the concept of stealing the correct techs to win like the player will be ab

Reply to Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

Stardock, would you guys consider also having a "generic" tech tree for custom races that approximates the original game's TT as close as possible? I mention this because creating a custom race that has the exact same tech tree as, say the Yor, means basically that you are creating the Yor so your custom race doesn't feel so custom . Just a thought, maybe not a great one!

Reply to Galactic Civilizations II 1.3 released! in GalCiv II News GalCiv2 Forums

Just so this comment is seen by someone important, I'm pretty sure there is still an outstanding bug I've been trying to report since the game was released. I'll check this version to see if it's still around, but the changelog didn't mention it ~sigh~. Link: https://forums.galciv2.com/?forumid=274&aid=114752 Make sure you read the LAST POST in that thread, because it took a lot of experimenting during that thread to find out exactly what the bug was. Again, I'll check for

Reply to What would you pay good money for in an expansion? (The unofficial inquiry) in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

The only thing that would cause me to buy an expansion pack would be new gameplay. Espionage is an example of a good candidate for gameplay addition. Scenarios would also be welcome. =$= Big J Money =$=

Reply to Declaring war: AI wierdness and the way it should work in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I agree with all the OP's bullet points. Very good suggestions. I'll add that the AI should take "space geography" into account when declaring war. If an AI is considering between attacking one of multiple races that are in an alliance with each other, he should almost NEVER choose the one that will require him to travel through the others' territory! =$= Big J Money =$=

Reply to Influencer Starbase upgrade help in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I hope I'm not confusing you here, but I'm pretty sure there are two infuence branches for those bases. One of them *is* the diplomatic branch. It increases influence, not diplomacy. Just in case, save your game and then try it out. But yes, I think there is another one and you'll just have to look around to find it. Try looking at stuff under Xeno Research somewhere. Also, I don't know if multiple influence starbases near each other have any kind of stacking effect or not. I ha

Reply to Can an Espionage based race be competitive? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Aw, too bad. I would have liked to create a custom race like the Cardassians. Maybe in future titles, espionage will be a strategy one can place his focus on. =$=

Can an Espionage based race be competitive? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

I've been trying to make a custom race that is espionage based, but I'm wondering if it's worth my effort. I can't see what the espionage bonus does. If all it does is decrease the amount of time before you reach "Advanced" espionage level, that is practically worthless. Is there anything else it does? Is there any reason to play an espionage race in this game? =$= Big J Money =$=

Reply to Gameplay bug (v1.1): instant structure upgrades in Bug Reports GalCiv2 Forums

Linux, I think the bug only happens when you recieve the tech exactly 1 turn before the lab is finished, lol. I'm not sating it isn't a devious little bitch, but I don't think it's as common as you're believing. I will keep my eye out when researching upgrades, though. Thanks for the report, people. =$= Big J Money =$=

Reply to Mount&blade in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

WOW. You came HERE when you were desperate for a M&B key, lol! That is rich... =$= Big J Money =$=

Espionage Bonus? in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

Does anyone know what this does? I'll add it to the Wiki if someone can figure out how it works. I would assume that it reduces the amount of $$ you need to attain an esionage level and also increases your chance of stealing a technology. This can't really be confirmed, though. =$= Big J Money =$=

Reply to Minor Civs espionage in Galactic Civilizations II GalCiv2 Forums

The custom race thing is a known bug. It's easy to get around though. You need to know exactly what bonuses you gave your Custom race, and make sure they are the only ones on screen when you load the race up. The game will try to give you extra "free abilities" based on the techs you start with. Not a big deal. =$=

Reply to best custom race setup? in Game Talk GalCiv2 Forums

Zephyr, try getting rid of the Creativity and see if you still have the same results. I've read all over these boards that Luck is responsible for that stuff and nobody can see any use for Creativity at all. Unless you know something I don't, give it a try. =$= Big J Money =$=