Rather than the "go there" button on the pop-up for destroyed resource improvements - why not have them show up as a notification on the right side of the screen and eliminate the pop-up altogether? Left click should move to the location just as for the "monsters in your territory" notification.

I think that is a more elegant solution.

On a similar note, the "found item" pop-up ought to be eliminated as well. I suggest that in stead, you display the stats of the looted items in the "Victory and experience" pop-up while adding a new item notification to the right side of the screen. The notification, when clicked, would zoom to the hero carrying the item.

Derek, is this problem on the list?  Not real friendly to have to use task manager to close the game ...

Derek - three issues

1. freeze of the game on windows autolock

2. AI sovereigns starting with path of warrior/assassin at the start of the game

3. AI sovereigns not properly leveling up (warrior path developed for mage type sovereigns) and AI not properly equipping heroes (most specifically buing dozens of same leather piece)

So you can freeze your enemy each 2 turns. So enemy can't move forever. Overpowered if so.

Actually, I do :) 

Regardless, you asked a question because you were not sure how the two statements offered by harmonius_ were related, and I offered an explanation. I wasn't making any statement of opinion in my comment. Let's keep things civil.

I'm not sure what to make of all this spell nerfing - I'm sensing a drift towards WoM where spells were pretty weak and didn't scale well. Damage spells are already weak on the higher difficulty settings and these changes will make them pretty much irrelevant

Here is one that I really would like to see before release:

Tremor and Freeze claim to immobilize an enemy army for two turns. In fact, (in .983) they only give you one turn of respite. Either change the description, or the effect.

Derek,

A few thoughts based on laying .983 and the changlog above.   While I like the game a lot recently some concerns have been growing about the direction the patches are taking us:

1. The current plan for balance seems to be to nerf everthing.    Now that the better magic items are harder to find (and they really are in .983!) when the player finds one it should be really good.    Having items that are very rare and nerfed may take away the excitment and fun that comes from finding something really good.

2. Since the last couple of patches it takes way too long to build even simple regular units.     This makes it even more important to rely on hero units to do everything.    While I like the hero units I would like to use both them and the regular units.     Unless we can build regular units in a reasonable amout of time that won't happen and the game risks being too one sided.

3. It appears that the number of individuals in some of the different unit sizes have been reduced.    Researching a tech to go from 3 in a unit t 4 in a unit is not very impactful.    However, even more important is the fact that this, once again, makes the playe have to use hero units for everything.

I appeciate all your hard work but for the first time I am becomming concerned about the end result.

Thanks.

Immobilize is a strategic only spell. In tactical they can still fight. The duration is off as Tuidjy suggests.

I disagree. All the numbers are finally starting to make sense. Before 90% of a hero's power came from getting a nice sword. I am much happier with the new consistency of weapons. 

I agree about this. The labor costs seem to be made without taking into account the power or needed numbers of units. The goal for how long a decent unit should take to train needs to readdressed. Given 3 Materials and 3 tiers of general techs, it should take no more than 6 turns to train a single unit from a non-Fortress city. Right now it takes far too long. From there, production does scale slightly and so should labor costs of better units. Chainmail and sword units should take about 12 turns from that same city, assuming it had the same production. This kind of design balance should be possible now that we have a more stable overall balance.

There is an entire thread devoted to this change, but to summarize, it is how champions and heroes were balanced. There could never be a level playing field as long as units were getting massive power boosts from sheer troop numbers. Fewer troops in a unit is one way to get things on a more level playing field. It also solves the issue of people not training any units until later in the game, when they could train five in one unit. I agree that the balance does not feel complete while troops still cost so much time and wages seem high for the usefulness they provide.

That said, my solution was to make 5 the starting size of a unit and go up by 2 after that. It is combined with a slew of other balance changes though, that are in a totally different direction design wise.

You won't be able to escape this fact.

• Manual placement allows you to manage your city's ZoC, allowing to obtain precious resources that normally wouldn't end up inside your borders.
• Manual placement also allows you to control choke points a great deal more efficiently, such that other factions cannot cross your city without declaring war.
• Manual placement also ensures that you are able to build that logging camp on a forest tile, as auto can bury the forest option away. As soon as it's placed, it's final. Even if you remove the building, the forest is gone and no logging camp for you.

Why not have one more to the list? Snaking to rivers and forests. Eventually the 'non-manual' placement players will do it aswell. Also it IS a single player game; what does it matter if the auto-placer doesn't know about the snaking fuction? He won't know about the other three reasons mentioned. At the very least, please make it a selectable option so that those who wish to play with it will have the option to. Thanks.

Interesting, I was wondering why I couldn't do this, I thought it was a bug.

I swear though, I snaked to a forest to try and get my logging camp, and I couldn't build it.  But then I came back to the game later after a reload, and I could build the logging camp in that city.  I'll have to give it another test...

Those are issues I am sure he would like to correct but can't currently. That doesn't mean he is going to give you vile serpents back your snaking. There will always be advantages of manual thought and design. The point of good choices is to force a choice between different attributes to add something to placement. Allow tile snaking negates this choice. I am glad the devs agree. Soon you will be able to mod it back in though.

The other problem with snaking is the AI needs to be able to do it and the AI is not having a good time with it, so I think it was easier to remove the mechanic. The build a building on a forest destroys chance for logging camp is the reason that I build the logging camp first, or as soon as I have access to it. (as in the forest diagonal to the city).

I have an issue with small and medium maps and the master quest.  Many builds ago, I shut off the master quest victory condition because it makes a large part of the land unusable.  I just turned it back on for a game and I was put in a corner below it and had little land mass to work with.  My suggestion is that an equal amount of land be added as would be lost when turning the master quest on....

Seanw3,

Thanks for your comments on my post.     On point one, I think our difference is based on what each of us sees as fun in the game.  In my case, when I find a rare item I want it to be really, really good.    Of course, if I find something like that too often it would cease to be rare or fun.  Overall I worry about too many nerfs moving the game towards dull.     However, I will wait and see how .984 really plays before I form a real opinion.

I missed the thread about the unit size nerf.   Would you please post a link?    Thanks.

Despair?  Fucking Despair!!!  Please say that Despair spell that the Dark Wizards cast got nerfed.  It wipes out whole parties, troops and champions alike, often in one hit.     

Derek cruelly named that spell appropriately. It's a rage quit spell right there.

Found another AI flaw- the AI doesn't knowwhat to do if you choke him off completely with Curgen's Volcano.

Tons of troops, butdidn't make a pathway for them and I was able to choke off half the map.

The AI needs to know how to use the lower land spell in order for that not to happen to them

That's forsure. I wacked him once, thinking he'd be an easy mark. Then he casts Despair and wipes out my entire army!! My eyes popped out.

The higher difficulty settings should not grant the AI more hit points, because this destroys the game balance (spells are less useful, poisons are less useful, ...).

I think the changes are great, because the traits should determine the power of a hero and not the level difference.

I pretty much disagree with everything you just said.  Magic should NOT be just as useful to a brain-dead warrior as a sorcerer who has spent all her life studying the arcane arts.  If anything, magical power needs to be dramatically increased for those who take the mage profession, especially for support magic (buffs, debuffs, summons, basically anything that is not direct damage).  In general, magic doesn't feel nearly as powerful as more mundane methods of murder and mutilation, even if you dedicate every trait you can to improving your magical abilities.  I want the feeble-looking, poorly-armed spellcaster hiding in the back of the map to inspire just as much terror to my enemies as an army of juggernauts.  Right now, she does not.

This is how the spell Tremor currently works.  In fact, other than the dodge loss provided by Tremor, they are the exact same spell.  I liked Freeze because of how different it was from Tremor.  You guys worked so hard to make each spell different, it's disappointing to see an admittedly incredibly powerful spell become a reskin of an earth spell.

Agreed.  The problem is, the spell considers the turn it was cast to be the first turn, which is bad.

Magical power increases dramatically if you have the Path of the Mage:

+ 25 % spell damage from the Path of the Mage

- 25 % tactical spell cost from the Path of the Mage

+ 50 % spell damage from Evoker III

- 10 % tactical spell cost from Affinity (it should be - 15 % and Mantel of the Oceans should be - 25 %)

That means a Fireball without any shards inflicts 31 points of damage and costs 33 mana if the hero is a mage. If he has another path a Fireball inflicts only 18 points of damage and costs 50 mana.

I don't want objects I happen to find to be really, really good and a potentially game breaker. That's dull in my book. Those things you should have to bleed for.