Gameplay

[DariusThe1337]

I simply want to know what the game will be like, with respect to how tactics will play into it. Will it be like AoE, AoK, AoM, etc. in the fact that you just smash your soldiers into the enemy, and whoever has the more units and the more powerful units wins, or will tactics actually play into the game (eg. flanking, morale, tactical retreats etc.)? Please respond as soon as you can, I'd like a reply.

[Mythos_Ruler]

There will be both, actually. Currently we have spec'd that formations take a minimum number of soldiers in order to be used. For instance (and this is just an example off the top of my head), you will need 12 spearmen in order to make a phalanx. If you don't have 12 or more spearmen, then the phalanx is not a formation available to them. You'd have to use a lesser formation like "line" or "skirmish" or "scatter" or no formation at all. furthermore, let's say you do have 12 or more spearmen and you put them into formation. They will fight in that formation until enough die that they fall below the minimum amount. At that time the phalanx is broken and it's bonuses no longer available to those units. You'd either retreat and regroup with more men or continue to fight in a "mash" as you say.

I think it'll be very possible to set your rally point and send a stream of soldiers at the enemy or battlesite, but with the nature of our formations and the substantial bonuses they give, it'd be more productive in most situations to group your men and form them up before they head into battle. So, either way of battle is possible. It just depends on the situation and how you want to use your units.

[Zeeky_Bombard]

But, will you have stuff like cover? (Example - When fighting or moving through woods, archers have accuracy reduced to 20% when more than a certain range?)

Also, will archers be able to fire blind? Because that's sort of what they did. Fire in the general direction of where you know by scouting your enemy army is, and hoping to hit?

Will there be status effects like War3, where, say, a poisoned arrow inflicts damage over time, but, except with whatever upgrade, does not kill?

[Titus Ultor]

I don't believe that we will have any sort of attack or weapon that would grant a status effect, at least not in the classic "poisoned", "blinded", etc. However, Heroes and (if I'm not mistaken) certain units will have effects on the statistics of nearby units. For example, having such-and-such hero would increase your infantry's attack by a certain percent.

[Mythos_Ruler]

Also, will archers be able to fire blind? Because that's sort of what they did. Fire in the general direction of where you know by scouting your enemy army is, and hoping to hit?

You're absolutely right, in that usually an archer never knew whether his arrow hit its mark or not in a full scale battle. Arrows were usually loosed in massed volleys. What we'll probably do here is make arrows awfully inaccurate, but extremely deadly. No more taking 5 or 6 direct-hit arrows nonsense you see in other games. One or two direct hits and your unit is dead. But there will be special cases where infantry pierce armor is increased substatially, like when using a phalanx or testudo formation (especially this one).

Edited July 21, 2006 by Mythos_Ruler

[MrBlack103]

Good to hear it Will you be able to order your archers to deliver volleys toward a certain area?

[Mythos_Ruler]

Not really. That's something we talked about, but what will happen in our game is that the farther the target is, the more inaccurate the arrows. Arrows will be very deadly.

[WhiteTreePaladin]

That concept sounds much better than AoK. Great idea!

Because there won't be many hero units, I wonder if archer heros will have the traditional accuracy? Also, will heros typically have a large amount of pierce armor?

[Mythos_Ruler]

I think the main weakness of heroes will be arrows. However, they will tear up the competition in a melee. That's just how I see them. We havent balanced them yet, so....

[WhiteTreePaladin]

That sounds pretty good. Heros might have more "skill" than the average soldier, but an arrow is still an arrow regardless... This is so basic; I wonder why ES didn't make it this way?

[Villi]

One thing I wonder about archers is if arrows that miss it's selected target can, by chanse, hit other units? (I think AoM actually does this) Friendly fire too perhaps? Might make you think twice about fireing a volley into a messy infantry fight.

[Mythos_Ruler]

Currently our game does both of these.