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[Borodin]

Originally Posted by Smiling Spectre

The same problem plagued, for example, Space Empire IV and, for less extent - Alpha Centaury. Amazing technologies, that broke gameplay, because opponent cannot properly handle it.

Absolute agreement. The AI simply can't handle everything i can build and do. Too bad, because it's probably the finest game of its kind (IMO).

BTW, site of Stardock's Elemental: War of Magic worth to see. Especially it's journals. I cannot say anything about interface, because Frogboy repeated now and again "everything on move now".

That was the Stardock game in development I was referring to, above. Thanks for the website! I wasn't aware they had one for it, yet. I'm really eager to see how this turns out. You know Frogboy was originally supposed to develop an MoM II, right? Only the owners of the current rights insisted on so much control over the new game that Stardock backed out.

Armageddon Empires is solid game. But too clumsy in interface with way too clever opponents (or it seems such for me, while I battle interface I gave it about six tries, then gave up: when you feel your own stupidness now and again just because you discover new "simply" feature, that put everything upside down... it is not very cool. And "permanent death after capital fall" not cool too... but I can live with it.

The interface for Solium Infernum looks better, if not exactly immersing. I expect the AI to be as good as AE's, which means it will be incredibly difficult to beat. Cryptic Comet makes *good* AI.

So just now my strategy favorite is Dominions 3. AI is strong enough to beat me, haven't diplomacy flaws (and diplomacy at all ) but map is so large (if you want it), that you can react and tune army for every opponent.

You obviously are a person of taste, and a noble scholar. Yes, that's one of my favorites.

[Smiling Spectre]

Originally Posted by Borodin

You obviously are a person of taste, and a noble scholar. Yes, that's one of my favorites.

Thank you.

BTW, last two days I spend in MoM.

Guys, you manage to found problems, where it is nothing.

I take custom wizard. It was one book of each: Nature, Life, Chaos and Sorcery, so research would be simple and short. Then Charismatic for diplomacy and heroes, Famous for the same thing and Warlord for one not-so-useful battle skill. Two picks remained, so I taken Node Mastery and one green book for last pick.

For race I take Halfings. It have little for buildings and even less useful units, to say the least.

And yes, it is v1.31, Impossible, four opponents, large earth and normal magic.

Well, beginning as slightly hard. I lose two towns for rampart monsters and one for neutrals before learn to build at least one spearman before building anything else. And halfling seasoned spearmen is surprisingly good against first level monsters!

Then I receved my first hero - Healer - and problems became easier.

Then I received second - Wind Mage - and with his Wind Walking all lesser lairs bows before this pair. Strenghten with two swordmen and two spearmen. Yes, several neutral towns fell too.

Then other players surfaced. Well, I made wizard pact with S'sra, and play some time with neutral Lo Pang and Freya. I managed to exchange lot of useful spells from this three, but no one harmful, except Phantom Warriors. After that Freya decide to kill me and was shrinked to one capital before agreed to made peace->wizard pact with me. Lo Pan was annoying, but never gave problems - four or five cities don't count. He made war - agreed to peace - made war again countless time, but his forces was not enough even to get city with three spearmen from me. And he even didn't tried, actually.

By this time S'sra manage to shift his capital to Myrran and Seal Planes. Here he become superstrong. I dispel his enchantment... and meet last wizard, Tauron. Uh-oh, this guy don't like jokes! He have ugly combat chaos spells like fireball and fire strike and several times he manage to start Armageddon and Great Wasting before I received Spell Blast). He and S'sra is way ahead of us, three other wizards... at least, so they thinked.

In that moment S'sra decide that he is overstrong, and proclaimed war to me. Ok, then he lose last four cities on day plane. But on the same time Tauron takes two other my cities. But he is chaotic. He starts wars, he stop wars. Not too much deal. And all Arcanus is mine at this time!

So I began to destroy S'sra on Myrror, taken Tauron cities, when I could. Tauron, in his turn, began to destroy this cities just before I manage to defend it good. But I have whole plane, with paladins and wizards (units), and he lose and lose his influence...

At that time I decite to stop playing. I have about thirty cities on Arcanus, about ten towns on Myrran and neverending stream of good units. And Tauron have great magic (not much help against paladins) and diminished stream of battle units. Winner is obvious, as for me.

Resuming: Game is easy, even in most harmful conditions. But you must remember several states:

1. Diplomacy work here two ways: when you are too weak, and opponent don't consider you as threat, and when you are comparable or mightier than he. In-between he treats you as threat and don't agree to pact (but not necessary proclaims war). Playing on Myrran is much easier for good diplomat. When you first going to Arcanus, you already have such force behind your shoulders, that all diplomacy became easy thing.

2. Don't be over-agressive. Never threat, attack enemy cities or proclaim war, if you are not sure! Until you attack enemy, most time there is no war. And no war means "every city is safe, even when two thousand enemy units near to it". You will lose one-two settlers and engineers, though, but nothing too big. Better defence mean less reason to war for enemy. And in my case "better" was 1-2 spearmen and city walls. It is not work for actual war, of course, so you must have one-two middle-sized army. It will capture several enemy cities, and if you'll ask polite enemy will be glad to stop war.

Note: any army, except Settlers, treats like threat if it is in two squares all-around from enemy city. It harms your relation more than even capturing this city! (if you are in war, of course, else it still harmful, but capturing this city automatically starts war, so it is even more harmful).

3. Enemy wizards is over-stupid about nodes. No one captured any node in my game. Except me, of course. It means total domination in magic beginning from middle-game against anyone, except chaos/death wizards, who received mana from Armageddon and Dark Rituals, or diminish it with Great Waste or something like that.