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| Thread: Various Proposed Changes: what do you guys think? | |
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InfernoX880
Promising
Famous Hero
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posted June 08, 2010 09:33 PM |
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Various Proposed Changes: what do you guys think?
As I recently picked up my copies (respectively) of HOMM 3 and 5, I found myself immersed anew in my childhood etc etc bunch of nonsensical stuff that few want to listen to.
Anyway, I wanted to give my two cents of what I thought of this game from my childhood now that I am an upstanding, mature, strikingly handsome man. With emphasis on the strikingly handsome 
There were a few things that I would think ought to be changed, yet these could do with personal taste more so than general dislike...hence this post, to see how others feel about what I believe could make the game better ;D
1) Movement should be slightly reworked. I loved the HOMM 3 and 5 mechanic, much more than the remaining three games. Then again 5 was simply an updated version of 3 to some extent so...no surprise there. Ultimately it just means I like 3. Yet in both 3 and 5, I found that without Logistics (and in 5 some expansion to Logistics), my hero was rather useless. He was unable to travel very far, and frankly sacrificing the Logistics slot so he could be slightly more powerful and cast some new spells was rather pointless to me.
Of course it would be foolish for me to suggest that Heroes be given immense amounts of movement from the start. That would be as pointless as removing the skill entirely. Yet I feel that Logistics should indeed be removed, or if not removed then reworked slightly to my idea. Bear with me now.
If movement was initially a primary stat: that is, as Heroes leveled up, they were able to traverse longer distances. Let's say that for every 2 or 3 levels, your Hero could move an extra space per day. It would make sense; by the time you're level 15, you'll need the extra 5-7 movement points. Logistics would simply expand on this, providing an additional 10%, 15%, and 20% movement respectively. In this way, your hero would be able to proportionately move traverse longer distances as he or she leveled up!
2) External RPG factor to the game. I don't know how many of you have played Age of Empires 3, but that's what I'm thinking. Basically you pick a faction you want to play with at the start of a single player skirmish: based on your gameplay, how well you do, the faction receives experience points. These experience points are indirectly used in the in game. Confusing...I know...but let me try to use an example.
Suppose you're going to play a single player game using the Haven faction. You follow through and you win. Now you go back to your scenario selection menu only there is another tab now that allows you to view your various cities. Your experience with the Haven faction will be noted and you'll have EXP points to use to increase the power of the Haven faction for the future game. Nothing drastic. Upgrades that I'm thinking of for a faction include: cheaper buildings, greater starting resources, stronger initial army, greater unit growth (for lower tiers, maybe a Tier 6 as a really high level upgrade). Nothing too potent. And how would this be balanced? Simple. As you gain EXP points for a faction, you'll also unlock new difficulty levels, and new settings, in which you can tune the AI to be on equal footing. Or you can use your new found power to obliterate the AI.
Of course there would be various upgrades in the "outer game", as I will call it, to bring in some element of strategy. There would be a limit to how many upgrades a single faction can have active at a time; upgrades themselves are unlocked through the steady accumulation of experience points. Consider this very poorly constructed chart:
10 XP: +2HP Tier 1 +300 gold start +5 Tier 1 Army
\ / \ /
40 XP: +1HP Tier 1 +2 Tier 1 Army
You get the idea...I hope the chart didn't come out too poorly. All upgrades are cumulative, so +1 HP Tier 1 and +2 "" totals a +3 HP for all your Tier 1 creatures.
The Bracketing is self explanatory, you need to have "purchased" both +2HP Tier 1 and +300 gold start before you can get +1HP Tier 1.
So what would this do? Well, I found in my gameplay that I was rather disappointed when I was on a roll, massing up experience and winning a skirmish; then I won. And it was all over. No aftermath. Nothing. So I considered this thought: a reward for my efforts! A slight pat on the back so that in the dark confines of my room I could feel a little bit better about my small...never mind.
The types of upgrades that come to mind include:
+_XP to starting hero at start
+_ resources start
+_creatures start
-_cost of building
-_creature cost
+_city wall health
+_weekly creature growth
+_daily income
+_stat certain creature
And so forth...
So what do you guys think?! Am I strikingly handsome?
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Jiriki9
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Altar Dweller
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posted June 09, 2010 10:19 AM |
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The upgrade thin is interesting.
For the movement: I don't like it!
1st it makes higher level heroes even faster and low leven heroes more useless. They can't even run^^ so it the true strength of a hero growth not proportionally, but exponentially...
2nd it's not logical.
...also I think logistic was both quite logical and useful, though I see your point. But i think it would deepen problems, not ease, or even solve them.
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markkur
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Once upon a time
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posted September 18, 2010 04:27 PM |
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{Anyway, I wanted to give my two cents of what I thought of this game from my childhood now that I am an upstanding, mature, strikingly handsome man. With emphasis on the strikingly handsome+
So you're the one that got my good looks that I used to have 
I'd vote for your movement idea in a heartbeat. I too am ill-pleased with every hero in every game and this same no-brainer...My upgrade can be logistics or whatever. If I get the chance I HAVE to take 'logistics' for multi reasons. To catch the enemy, flee from the enemy or actually make it to where you are trying to get to on a huge map, before having to retire in real life!
Several of the special heroes available really add insult to the madness your talking about, with their movement on the map in snail-mode each turn. Big Map, 8 factions, and Sir slow-poke to use? Grrr I have to quit the map and all the while thinking...where's Gunnar gone? laugh
box-car idea = the skill (every victory increases movement)could/should be true for all from the start. Then 'Navigation' could actually BE something. As-in ship-building, sailing speed, water snatch etc.
Again I would love not having to forgo a real skill also missing out on the latter skills, just to do what?...move.
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Jiriki9
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Altar Dweller
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posted September 18, 2010 04:48 PM |
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As I asked in other threads...may I add this to the "Wishes: Gameplay Features" list?
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Aosaw
Promising
Famous Hero
Author of Nonreal Fiction
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posted September 18, 2010 07:00 PM |
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A counter-proposal: Instead of implementing both changes to movement (all heroes move faster and logistics provides a percentage bonus to movement), why not say that logistics grants a scaling bonus as your hero gains levels? This way heroes that choose logistics get a better bang for their buck, while low-level heroes aren't necessarily left in the dust.
I realize this doesn't really solve the problem of slow moving heroes, of course. Maybe that's just a matter of "all heroes need more movement points." Or pathfinding should be more easily attainable.
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Jiriki9
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Altar Dweller
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posted September 18, 2010 07:38 PM |
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I must say I never really had the feeling. I can understand it though, a bit. But I mean, the hero travels with an army, and what we see on the map is quite a big range. It seems a bit odd with the issue of too big am objects in H5, probably, the trees as large as teh ehro model. But we must remember that's only a placehodler and I don't think heroes moved too slow in the last games.
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Aosaw
Promising
Famous Hero
Author of Nonreal Fiction
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posted September 19, 2010 02:06 AM |
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What I noticed about H5 was that in almost every map, some players got screwed because they started in a terrain that had a movement penalty; while others got to enjoy the swiftness of grass.
It could be as simple as "your hero's movement penalty is reduced (or eliminated) when moving through your favored terrain."
I like the EXP out-of-game element you proposed, by the way. In fact, that's an element that I could see being implemented into any number of games in this genre. Giving players a reason to finish the match would reduce feelings of disappointment at the end of a game.
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Jiriki9
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Altar Dweller
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posted September 19, 2010 09:50 AM |
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Quote:
It could be as simple as "your hero's movement penalty is reduced (or eliminated) when moving through your favored terrain."
That indeed would be great...wasn't it like that in H4?
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