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Home › Forums › Age of Wonders 3 Discussions › Dev Journal: Cities of the Dead
This topic contains 122 replies, has 58 voices, and was last updated by Fenraellis 7 years, 6 months ago.
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October 10, 2014 at 16:21 #128348October 10, 2014 at 16:34 #128350
I like that this class gets really unique game mechanics. I’m just wondering if the Archon Undead dwelling/units will be altered. I’m eager to learn more about this class and how it will fall in line with the other six classes.
October 10, 2014 at 16:37 #128351I am ready to “Cleanse” the world Brains…..
October 10, 2014 at 16:38 #128352Nice insight on your current brainstorm/progress on the class.
So…will a Necromancer get any alignment modifiers for ghouling/purging a city?
Transforming 10.000+ people into undead does not seem that neutral of an acion to me 😕October 10, 2014 at 16:43 #128353So,i didn’t understand,do all units become undead when gholing the city and is it possible for that city to grow?and if that’s the case,will for example the dwarves get undeadish looks xd?
October 10, 2014 at 17:03 #128355thank you for the news, the waiting gets harder.
October 10, 2014 at 17:22 #128357will ghouls also be unable to be healed by traditional means, i.e., healing or the racial heals? Sounds like it is really annoying to be made into a ghoul. I assume that Golden Dragons will be immune to this as well.
October 10, 2014 at 17:38 #128358Awesome I like the design progress. 🙂
October 10, 2014 at 17:39 #128359Looks like the Archon caster’s heal undead is going to be in greater demand with the next expansion.
October 10, 2014 at 17:41 #128360Only few weeks from Golden Realms and you’re still working really hard on making the game better and better. It’s amazing. Don’t you guys need to rest? Are you ghouls?
Yeah, screenshots are great, artworks are great, necromancer is great. I love undead-heroes. And I really want to see some draconian ghouls.
Btw, are undead halflings lucky?
October 10, 2014 at 18:03 #128363I still don’t really like the obligation to convert whole cities into undead – it makes for a one-dimensional playstyle. Before I’m really ready to say something about the class as a whole, im going to wait for some more information.
October 10, 2014 at 18:04 #128365I assume that Golden Dragons will be immune to this as well.
I almost hope not just to spite your Golden Dragon obsession, chrysophylax páuperem 😛
Realistically speaking, if a Leader isn’t immune, then I doubt a Golden Dragon would be, unless 100% Spirit Protection(Degenerate!) grants Ghoul-ing immunity for any unit.
October 10, 2014 at 18:06 #128367I still don’t really like the obligation to convert whole cities into undead – it makes for a one-dimensional playstyle. Before I’m really ready to say something about the class as a whole, im going to wait for some more information.
My thoughts exactly
October 10, 2014 at 18:08 #128370One thing troubles me- will other classes get some unique mechanics in upcoming expansion? Because they’ll look dull comparing to necromancer
October 10, 2014 at 18:19 #128373Realistically speaking, if a Leader isn’t immune, then I doubt a Golden Dragon would be, unless 100% Spirit Protection(Degenerate!) grants Ghoul-ing immunity for any unit.
makes sense to me, at least. Ghouling should be a corruption of the flesh via a spirit attack, so things without flesh or with very strong spirits should be immune. Crusaders shouldn’t be easy to ghoul!
Degenerate is fine, or some kind of spirit breaking ability similar to weaken. It could be thematically like the dragon land shout in skyrim, in that it makes the previously immortal/strong willed shocked through magical death knowledge.
Also the lore for the Golden Dragon has it tearing through necromancer troops immune to their magic, so I think that should stick (and the Crusaders as well).
Of course, ghouling would be devastating for any theocrat unit, as they would likely be un heal-able.
October 10, 2014 at 18:39 #128379It all sounds very promising to me. 🙂
I wonder, will undead cities be able to profit from the expander spezialisation spell “fertitlity rites” (gives +15% city growth) in any way?October 10, 2014 at 19:39 #128393wow awesome!
Great clothes Ilse 😉 the center one looks epic!
And the ghouls are a good idea to handle the raceunit-problem, well done.
But yes, it´s right that the old classes looks a bit borring comparing with the necro. Maybee some cool new unique things for them, dont have to be so much, just a bit, please Triumph ^^October 10, 2014 at 20:58 #128404Spooooky…
It’s a very radical decisions for mechanics, it seems. Is it too boring to design more of ‘the same’? 😉 (Because, clearly, old classes are definitely not the same to me.)
On the one hand, mandatory converting all cities to undead seems a bit harsh. On the other hand, while playing as undead in other games (many instalments of HOMM, Disciples) I never had any problems with that (though, cities there are mostly undead from the start, not converted).
New unit concepts are vague. I wouldn’t actually reject (not so) good old units. And new ones could turn out to be not so cool as expected. But they could be awesome, and there is a justified lore reason to renew necromantic arsenal. So it depends on what they would be.
October 10, 2014 at 21:00 #128405amazing! love the concept! especially love the ghoul mechanic! is it possible to see more of this with other types of in game transformation?
October 10, 2014 at 21:33 #128411We plan Great Transformation to be a high level and expensive city spell; a Necro should be able to rely on mortal cities. So in that sense its not mandatory. Perhaps ‘good’ Necros should refrain from casting this spell, but we haven’t worked out the exact alignment implications for Necro class yet.
An another way to create Ghoul cities will likely be the good old Animate Ruins spell, which will likely be placed at a lower level in the skill book.
October 10, 2014 at 21:38 #128413Ghouls will have ways to regenerate (as with the Embalmer’s guild upgrade mentioned above), but options outside of the Necro class will be harder to come by.
Of course certain creatures will be immune to Ghoul transformation; like incorporeal units or creatures of magical origin.
October 10, 2014 at 21:40 #128414Looks like Sundren needs some,
😛And eerie fog is a must.
I still don’t really like the obligation to convert whole cities into undead.
On the one hand, mandatory converting all cities to undead seems a bit harsh.
You don’t have to, you merely can.
Necromancers can convert whole city populations into Ghouls.
October 10, 2014 at 22:31 #128417Very nice direction you are going for the Undead mechanic. I was expecting a regualar race but this seems way more fun for the race. I just have to wonder though if this race is tied to the Necromancer or if the other classes can obtain this ghouling mechanic. Also if you need more beta testers I wouldn’t mind helping. 😉
October 10, 2014 at 23:49 #128425Since you are going to be changing the hospital of undead cities to the Embalmers Guild, is there any chance you could do something similar with the other races buildings, just to add a bit of variety and fluff? Wouldn’t have to be every building, but things like changing the Goblin hospital to maybe like a witchdoctors hut, or the Draconians temple to a Dragon Shrine?
October 10, 2014 at 23:56 #128427Of course, ghouling would be devastating for any theocrat unit, as they would likely be un heal-able.
Theos are better of than most – they still got heal undead on hero upgrade.
An another way to create Ghoul cities will likely be the good old Animate Ruins spell, which will likely be placed at a lower level in the skill book.
THIS is something I like. I don’t know if I can describe the difference between this and the ghouling of a living city, but it feels much more fitting IMO.
Also, next dev Journal, could we have a little sneak peak at the Necro Units/Empire Upgrades?
October 10, 2014 at 23:57 #128429Nice and … Creepy?
Love the artwork.
Please keep going!
October 11, 2014 at 00:07 #128431Looking awesome, and really looking forward to further dev journals on this, it really seems you guys are giving this a lot of thought and trying to come up with a way to reconcile the pre-AoW3 depiction of the Undead with the changes wrought by the class system, and as far as I’m concerned, it looks like you guys are batting a homerun!
Looking forward to seeing these undead units you’ve come up with!
October 11, 2014 at 00:27 #128432Give us means to get rid of ittems pls xd,like,destroy/disenchant/sell.
October 11, 2014 at 01:08 #128434We plan Great Transformation to be a high level and expensive city spell; a Necro should be able to rely on mortal cities. So in that sense its not mandatory. Perhaps ‘good’ Necros should refrain from casting this spell, but we haven’t worked out the exact alignment implications for Necro class yet.
An another way to create Ghoul cities will likely be the good old Animate Ruins spell, which will likely be placed at a lower level in the skill book.
So that means Ghoul creation will be a bit like Black Channels from Master of Magic?
Still, the big problem with this Ghoul mechanic is that on one hand it can be cool and can also be used to rework the enchantment from the Ancient Ruins and the Tomb city upgrade to raise the dead as Ghouls instead of Archon Revenants. On the other hand it can make the Necromancer a really boring class if these are the only Undead they can have because one thing cool about Undead/Necromancer in any game is unique skills, unique advantages and unique appearances, and the Ghouls as I can se in these screenshots are only reskinned racials with Undead trait slapped on them.
With that in mind I have some suggestions:
1 – Since it’s not mandatory to turn units and cities into Ghouls, make some of the Empire Upgrades/Enchantments benefit the living as well, so the class can have more reasons to use living racials than just to counter Theocrats (or maybe reasons to pick Water/Creation Mastery).
2 – Make the Necromancer been able to produce/summon other kinds of Undead units (and if produced, don’t limit them to just Ghoul cities), either having some racial traits or being complete monstruosities altogether. You guys don’t need to follow stereotypical undead tropes for this, let your imagination go wild. The Kohan series, for example, had as cavalry centaur skeletons that are said to be made from fusing human and horse bodies, and they also had a Revenant that was an tall skeletal-demonic-humanoid on fire. And if you guys want you can also research myths and folklores from other countries like Jiangshis to have ideas for unique Undeads. Lastly, I guess many fans really want to see the Bone Horror and the Dread Reaper back.
Edit: now I payed attention to this bit on the journal: “While ghouls do not have the powerful abilities of the greater Undead units that the Necromancer can field“. So it seems that the necro will have some unique Undead and not only resort to ghouls, but still I kind of want some other “cheap” ones to mass in numbers if possible.
3 – As for Animate Ruins and Great Transformation, you guys can consider GT as an Evil act while AR would be Neutral, since Animate Ruins could also be interpreted (at least in my view) as a way to give the ones that died in that city a chance of revenge from their opressors.
October 11, 2014 at 01:26 #128436This all sounds really awesome. So awesome that’s it’s kind of what I meant when I said before I hope Necromancer doesn’t feel more fleshed out than the original class’s. The ability to convert cities into the Undead with unique upgrades, and unique appearance is really cool. I kind of wish the other class’s had similar abilities. Like Dreadnought being able to make their cities more high tech, and steampunk. Or Arch Druid taking a more nature based approach with cities that don’t get big or something.
In any case this should be fun. Makes me wonder if we play a bad guy in the campaign or if we play both sides. Kind of hard to picture Necromancer not being evil aligned with stuff like Breeding Pens lol.
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