Some initial suggestions and thoughts

[constans337]

I'm partway (65 turns) through my first proper play through and I have some queries/suggestions:

-- Is it possible to search through the technology tree by effects, e.g. looking for technologies that produce a certain yield? It doesn't seem possible, but it would be a nice addition;

-- I don't understand how tribe alliances work, or at least what they represent.
- I was allied with the Thracians and Egypt declared war on them, but this didn't result in me being at war with Egypt. That seemed unusual.
- I didn't use the Thracians (they were under my control) to fight the Egyptians as I was worried it might trigger a war between me and Egypt (and I didn't have the orders to spare in any case), but would it?
- So, they just got killed off and Egypt took the city site, which is what I was trying to avoid. Did being an ally give me any way to claim tribal sites at some point or do I have to kill them off eventually?

-- Some minor immersion breaking things:
- I get the "you have legacy ambitions" message before I see the leader has died message. It would be nice to reverse that;

- It's cool that you have users' images in game, but that "cc" on them is immersion-breaking for me;

- At the start of the game, who am I actually buying and selling resources to in the market?
I like how trade between nations has been abstracted and big picture (I've wasted too much of my life in 4X game trade windows searching for little things to finish something or optimising deals), and I'm not suggesting any changes here, but at the start of my first game I was definitely put off by its lack of in-world justification. Just thinking now, I guess it could be distant traders outside the game nations (since the game isn't the whole world), and the large spread is justified by the distance. May have answered my own question here!

-- DLC. Does the game need new mechanics, more technologies, etc? One of the things I love about the game is that all the mechanics seem very integrated, and I haven't noticed anything missing that I would expect in a 4X game. The game also feels very streamlined. More nations, characters, and events, sure. More families, perhaps. But what else? (Hidden message ... please don't f this up with a money grab!)

This is already my favourite current 4X game, and it could be heading to be my all-time favourite, and I've been playing these games since the early precursor games of Civ when you'd type in actions at a command prompt 40+ years ago!

 

[CornPlanter]

- At the start of the game, who am I actually buying and selling resources to in the market?

Why not just some random private business? Also it does not matter if its the start of the game or the mid or the end

 

[Ita Bear]

Hello constans337

Hopefully I can help with some of your queries.

-- I don't understand how tribe alliances work, or at least what they represent.

Tribal alliances function slightly differently to alliances with nations I think in that you aren't dragged into wars - at least, this is what I have observed as well. The main bonuses of alliances are that 1.) you will not be target of raids from that tribe's outposts, 2.) you can levy their units and 3.) for a hefty fee, you can settle their tribal sites with a settler. Since you had already levied units and they were under your control, I don't think you would be able to attack Egyptian units without declaring war first.

So far, I find tribal alliances rather underwhelming. Their units are comparatively weak, can't receive upgrades and settling their sites costs a lot. I much prefer training my own armies wiping them out.

-- DLC. Does the game need new mechanics, more technologies, etc?

The game is very mich a complete package I feel, though some areas could do with fleshing out. I find interacting with resources rather dull at the moment. This is the era of the Silk Road and wondrous materials moving from corner to corner of the world, yet all we can do is gift these resources to families, cities or nations. I wish they had more meaning; honey and pearls should make people happier, iron should give higher quality units and so on. I would love to see caravan routes sharing resources between nations; we could share in on the wealth or raid and plunder, angering other nations. There's also no inter-city trading which I find odd - if I have horses in Rome, but my main military city is Pompeii, why can't I send my horses there for a fee? This part of the game is too stagnant and uninspired for me.

Kind regards,
Ita Bear

 

[constans337]

Hello constans337

3.) for a hefty fee, you can settle their tribal sites with a settler.

Thanks for the reply. I missed this option, unfortunately. How do you do this?

 

[Ita Bear]

Just take a settler over to their tribal site and you should see the usual options pop up. Their units hang around after you settle their site, so you can hire them as bodyguards for your new city.

Kind regards,
Ita Bear

 

[constans337]

Just take a settler over to their tribal site and you should see the usual options pop up. Their units hang around after you settle their site, so you can hire them as bodyguards for your new city.

Kind regards,
Ita Bear

OK, thanks. Wished I'd known that earlier! When you say hire their units, since you have an alliance, they are already under your control aren't they?

 

[Ita Bear]

Yes I think you're correct, my most recent game was as Carthage who can hire all units regardless. With a normal tribal alliance, I believe you can move their units.

Kind regards,
Ita Bear

 

[PiR]

You can give orders to units from a tribal alliance. The next turn they will act by themselves unless you do it again.
As Carthage, or with an Orator leader, you can recruit units (even enemy units!), which makes them for ever yours to command (without any family).

 

[Dale]

If playing as Carthage, or if you have a diplomat leader, you can hire tribal units as mercenaries for a fee.

 

[Nico_D]

One thing I miss both in Civ and in Old World is the ability to find resources on the map. Luxuries and regular resources. Something like horses and elephants stand out well even after bulding cities but luxuries do not.

Now someone come and embarrass me and say Old World has that feature and I haven't just found it.

 

[topsecret]

One thing I miss both in Civ and in Old World is the ability to find resources on the map. Luxuries and regular resources. Something like horses and elephants stand out well even after bulding cities but luxuries do not.

Now someone come and embarrass me and say Old World has that feature and I haven't just found it.

You can press Shift+M to toggle resources and improvements.

However, it would be helpful if there were just one for resources. Sometimes late in the game that view has lots of city improvements but I can't find the resources easily anymore.

 

[PiR]

The yields are displayed with one of the toggle so you can kinda see the resources