Diarch

Reply to Brilliant Game but is Pioneer Cost a Dark Direction? in Fallen Enchantress Stardock Forums

Norseman Viking: yes, with Fallen Enchantress fantasy grand strategy has arrived. I feel the same way: it's a game that just coalesces so many things we look for: empire building, tactical battles, exploration of untamed wilds, character development (without, mercifully, narrative pasted on from above), magic, and the strategic clash of arms. It's dynamite, something to be lyrical about. I'm glad you are not finding the Pione

Reply to Brilliant Game but is Pioneer Cost a Dark Direction? in Fallen Enchantress Stardock Forums

Thanks for your thoughtful response, jwallstone. Your analysis of the City Sprawl debate uses numbers in beautifully clear insightful way. I could never manage that. Helped me to account for my inchoate feelings about Pioneer cost and the whole problem of thoughtless & automatic city building. I just hope the Pop cost fix doesn't preclude the Clive-in-India joy of rapid expansion and territory gobbling. That should still be an option, if a player likes th

Reply to Brilliant Game but is Pioneer Cost a Dark Direction? in Fallen Enchantress Stardock Forums

Thanks for the reassuring reply, Alstein. I'm glad you don't find the Pop cost unduly constraining. Exploration and colonisation shouldn't take over; but they should be possible and fun and suggest the flair and panache of the Phoenicians or the outpost savvy of the British-in-India. Your comments make me look forward a little more to 1.2. And enjoyed your thoughts about high level cities. The leveling of cities is one of the shining pleasures of the

Brilliant Game but is Pioneer Cost a Dark Direction? in Fallen Enchantress Stardock Forums

Fallen Enchantress is classic turn-based strategy: magisterial design, beautiful stylized art for grown ups, moving & evocative score, interesting decisions throughout. It has sweep and detail; variety and rigour. It is logical (the way fantasy must be to work at all -- Tolkien and Martin understood this, but few others) and it also stirs our sense of wonder. Puzzling criticisms have been made of this design, mostly by younger writers. But for mature