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Announcing DLC 3 for Age of Wonders Planetfall: Star Kings!

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Age of Wonders: Planetfall 3784 Bug reports 1669 Suggestions 539 User Mods 95 AoW: Planetfall: News and Updates Archive 41 Multiplayer 55
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mbuh said:
My hope is space can be included in gameplay aspect, like other game tittled pax nova, but in respect for both games, i never mentioned this wish here, it appear i'm totally wrong
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Yes, please! Stratosphere/space layer would be great. I believe they considered something similar during development but then discarded it.
I would also love to be able to play on several locations in the same game, such as a planet and one of its moons.
 
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Galactic Conquest looks like purely a New Game+ style mode for single player skirmish. Which is still pretty cool. I doubt they will add any actual space combat or anything like that. But what they could do is let you build stuff like spaceports during your planetary conquests. That would give you more ships on the galactic map. Maybe expanding the number of planets you could choose from to conquer next or things like that. I guess having to defend existing planets could from incursions could also be neat but probably beyond the scope of what they are planning for it.

Anyway the new race looks pretty cool. I still hope we get another expansion that adds more secret techs, and maybe overhauls all existing factions secret tech units.
 
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I never mean it as space combat, because the name of the game itself is planetfall, at most i hope there is orbital layer, but even this is already partially exist in the game (i.e some race have orbital bombardment support as their strategic ops). So i consider getting galactic empire system is actually better than orbital layer. Although in terms of new layer, what i really want is not orbital layer, but a void realm layer
 
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This is exciting!

Galactic Conquest looks really fun, though a little sad it's not what I initially thought where it might've had a multiplayer element to it where you could fight and try conquer other player's planets, or that it was a feature that worked as adding any planet you'd won in skirmish (single- or multiplayer) as a sort of fun "trophy room", as I always felt that this game lacks a form of menu that allows you to see all the game's you've played, all the stats in it, who played and who won, as well as able to view other people's profiles.

Either way I'm still excited for it, it feels like something that's a lot alike the campaign without a linear narrative, where they took the tech they made to produce random maps with objectives and the whole campaign aspect of continuing with the same levels, heroes and equipment, then turned it into its own mode without the story locking you into samey events. opponents and maps.

The Oathbound look really awesome. I'm not much for mechs (or the whole gundum), but I do still like them if the theme is right. Oathbound seem to heavily be about melee and if there's any kind of mechs I do actually like, it's the ones made to make them into melee bosses! This makes me really excited for the commander you can make and how vehicule start may be an even more fun option to pick as it fits their theme.

Really curious about the Grail mechanic, I do like the idea of there being powerful enough landmark's you'll wanna go to war for their control and truly instigating rivalry that way. The new wild life seems sick! I'd never thought of those and they seem very unique but feels very sci-fi!

As for the other news from the pcgamesn website, the tech requisition, residential sectors and endless research all seem like fun features! The latter felt like it sorta was needed and the sector thing is another that would've been a fun option. The tech requisition just seem like fun mayhem. That being said, are these tied to Galactic Conquest only or are they open in normal skirmish maps? Endless research seem like it'll be for everything, but the other two (especially the first) seem very unclear. Will have to see in the coming diaries.
 
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To save all humanity, the only way is.....to embrace the void! :)
I am thinking of how those rightious Paladins will end up join void invasion forces or just be dark sadist psynumbra followers.
 
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HI guys! Thanks for all your kind words and support! We will be doing a dev journal soon on Galactic Empires, but just to temper people's expectations a bit:

1. The Galactic Empire is unfortunately single player only. We looked into Multiplayer support but unfortunately we didn't have time, and we were also worried about balance issues. Races and Secret Techs are balanced to be used only with each other, and allowing free mixing of races and techs (as the empire allows) leads to crazy combinations that are simply beyond our ability balance.

2. When playing in your empire, you're mainly playing on planets to earn progress to play on the next planet. This progress takes the form of unlocks and passive bonuses, so you can experiment with new strategies and combos. This means no space battles, I'm afraid :(

On a personal level, playing on Empire planets for me feels like I'm playing 50% a brand new game. The new combos combined with the unique planet traits and objectives really shake things up, and I'm really looking forwards to seeing you guys play with them.
 
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What really wonders me is how will tech requisition work really. For me it sounds like I would be able to steal enemy tech by some sort of covert op, however what's bugging me is "Developing new strategies by adopting and combining secret tech from various Planetfall races "

Will there be racial secret tech, or how will this work?
 
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That's about what I suspected for galactic empire addition. Does that mean, making a planet that is 99% volcanic terrain with some oceanic sectors as needed is now possible? Because I tried to start a ravaged world start but it was very much a normal world.. when I tried to make it be a world that looks like it was recently purified by flames of promethean.

And other things I think is that is now possible to actually use some of fancy special buildings such as extra energy +30 per turn or cosmite reactors that can be added to the dropship and start with them. Or Or, extra dropships so that you start with 3 or 4 cities on turn 1. Or even something basic as two T3 units at turn 1. Yes, this is a suggestion to dear devs to let me bring two laser tanks or imperial behemoths or whatever from last planet onto the new planet. :p I'm more of a tank boy than a mech boy xD

I want to be able to walk up to Paragons shop and go, all those imperial behemoths/walkers/buggys you have? I"m taking it all. I brought all the energy needed to buy them gimme. If NPC Paragons can use Promethean Walkers then its only fair that i can buy those three from them too :p

Although while typing all those out, I realised that we can have in fact bring space battles into planetfall. We'll just simply be using spaceships instead of land units. lol Only catch is that it'll require alot of work making completely new assets and such. I don't think i'm ready to see what Vanguard spaceships look like, I already question alot of design decisions that I see on Vanguard's Frigates and Battleships.
 
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Ericridge said:
Although while typing all those out, I realised that we can have in fact bring space battles into planetfall. We'll just simply be using spaceships instead of land units. lol Only catch is that it'll require alot of work making completely new assets and such. I don't think i'm ready to see what Vanguard spaceships look like, I already question alot of design decisions that I see on Vanguard's Frigates and Battleships
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Indeed it can (look at "pax nova"), though high probability that is not going to happen in planetfall 1. I think it's not engine problem but they just never planned to do it.

I mean, in a simplified way (game engine wise), space is just another layer. Just create new batch of units that can only travels in space, and currently existing units can't traverse there without valid vessels, it is the same as water only unit can't go to land, and land only units can go to water except with valid vessel (in this case transport ship). Then replace water with space

The problem is more about balance and designing new unit models and of course designing game mechanics for space layer i guess, adding space battles means expanding the game's scope by more than 100%, it's like the game scope is as big if not bigger than if planetfall has 6 expansion packs
 
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Tombles said:
playing 50% a brand new game
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May we expect a 'brand new' AI for this mode? I'm afraid Galactic Empire will be unplayable without significant fixes/changes for AI.

Also I want to add that previous game mode (Conquered Worlds) has serious flaws like completely useless AI. In multiplayer this mode is poor too coz minor empires have big logistic advantages (i. e. too much teleporters) and can fend off any early attacks from major empire with ease. Will you have fixes for this mode? Please.
 
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If I am totally honest, I think this new faction lacks potential. Do not get me wrong, it looks cool, and the hard work behind it and all the other parts of this expansion will definitly enrich the game.

But what is unique to the oathbound? For the most part they appear to be a better equipt version of vanguard. Both are more or less normal human remnants of the star union, that dedicate themselves to recreating the lost past. This makes them somewhat reduntant if I am being honest. They lack unique iniatives, that other human descendant factions, like the dvar or syndicate have.
And after the cool aliens of the last DLC I was hoping to see equally creative factions, but not basic humans again, even if they have cool new tech. Something like a true machine race, or psionic rocks or another alien species. But another human faction just does not add much to the game. Especially if their is little to make this faction shine.

When the first dlc was released, my largest complain was, that the inheritors felt too unique to be just a secret tech. All their backstory, aestetics and mechanics said clearly, that they would have prospered more, if they would have been a real faction, instead of a secret tech. And I still think so today. They stand out to much among the other secret techs.

Now this is the reverse of my first complaint. Because for me the oathbound do not feel unqiue enough to be its own faction. If they and their seers were to be an secret tech, I would find them absolutly fitting, as they could be easily adjusted to different factions.

Still I am looking forward to be disproven, when the dlc is released. Until then keep up the good work, but be brave enough to reject the human template. Space is vast and its oppurtunities limitless, after all. Why not use its potential?

PS: Sorry if I use faction and species instead of race. In scifi and fantasy this is common nomenclauture, but as a biologist it feels wrong to use this term for anything other than domesticated animal breeds.
 
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Well, many things on planetfall are the space version of their fantasy cousins (previous age of wonders). The archon or high men as they once called, are among those that haven't get their sci fi version yet before the news about 3rd dlc comes out. If you want alien, orcs is the probably the only race that haven't get their version. Frosting is heritor, tigran is therian, lizardmen or draconian is obviously shakarn, elf is obviously amazon, and so on

I'm not sure about syrons. Shadow demons is probably voidbringers
 
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@Sykal,
you are correct in that it is "another human faction."

However, as far as I am aware, it is the only faction that is mech/battlesuit based, and is explicitly, I believe, intended to be melee heavy.

I say that because the featured uit is a flyer designed to get in close, and the support unit is designed to further minise damage taken of the flier, and maximise damage dealt.

And I am excited if this is the case.

Also, the picture showing the grail of life shows 2 new units, both holding what appear to be melee weapons.

A melee based race in a ranged dominant combat game...colour me intrigued.


edit: plus, look at Tibbles' gorgeous pictures. That looks like a great deal of bashing capable mech warrior to me.
 
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@BloodyBattleBrain

I too am excited for the new dlc. But I am also more sceptical, about the faction itself.

True they have mech suits and appear to focus more on melee then most factions. But this alone is not enough in my opinion. Think about how vastly different the sharkan play as their own faction. Or how unique the playstyle of the inheritors was compared to other secret techs.

All I am saying is, that I have currently not seen enough to make the oathbound stand out. Yes they have mechs, but almost every other faction has mech equivalents. After all a mech is just a giant human-shaped warmachine. But there are already much more interesting giant war machines within the game.

And outisde of their playstyle, there themes, motives etc. appear somewhat reduntant at the moment. As I said, to me they are just another variant of the vanguard.
And as far as I am aware, the Oathbound do not take a spin on the paladin-like scifi knights, like the Kir'ko did with being and EX-hivemind species.

But I still look forward the dlc and hope, that my doubts will be proven wrong.
Maybe the next preview will convince me otherwise, who knows;)
 
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mbuh said:
Indeed it can (look at "pax nova"), though high probability that is not going to happen in planetfall 1. I think it's not engine problem but they just never planned to do it.

I mean, in a simplified way (game engine wise), space is just another layer. Just create new batch of units that can only travels in space, and currently existing units can't traverse there without valid vessels, it is the same as water only unit can't go to land, and land only units can go to water except with valid vessel (in this case transport ship). Then replace water with space

The problem is more about balance and designing new unit models and of course designing game mechanics for space layer i guess, adding space battles means expanding the game's scope by more than 100%, it's like the game scope is as big if not bigger than if planetfall has 6 expansion packs
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I think what they could do is add stuff to space than have it be barren, such as having space stations or even ships be kinda part of the "terrain" or even full blown maps in space with abandoned giant space stations/constructions and other natural debris which normal units can traverse, and have space itself be like water.

That being said obviously it wasn't something intended for this Planetfall and maybe if they do a sequel we could see it. Though personally I'm unsure if space really fits this game and if it'll be anymore exciting or even less so than water combat. If anything if they add layered maps I could see them adding teleporters that makes you go onto the planet's moon/s, spacestation, another minor planet or a dimension (if they flesh that out as there being more than just voidbringers), which to me would be more exciting as it wouldn't forgo normal units and risk the game just spreading itself out too thinly into too many separate layers of gameplay.


BloodyBattleBrain said:
@Sykal,
you are correct in that it is "another human faction."

However, as far as I am aware, it is the only faction that is mech/battlesuit based, and is explicitly, I believe, intended to be melee heavy.

I say that because the featured uit is a flyer designed to get in close, and the support unit is designed to further minise damage taken of the flier, and maximise damage dealt.

And I am excited if this is the case.

Also, the picture showing the grail of life shows 2 new units, both holding what appear to be melee weapons.

A melee based race in a ranged dominant combat game...colour me intrigued.


edit: plus, look at Tibbles' gorgeous pictures. That looks like a great deal of bashing capable mech warrior to me.
Click to expand...

I can kinda understand where he's getting at. Even if they're unique being mech/battlesuit focused and gameplay-wise I'm sure they're nothing like the other (i'm super excited for melee battlesuits, so far looking at the two unit examples they got so many new abilities never seen before, even the defense mode is completely new!), you could've also made any sort of alien race that uses battlesuits (think T'au from WH40K) and added lore to them that fits and made them unique lorewise. From the little we've seen of the customized commander you can clearly appear as a normal human outside of any battlesuit, so I can see that being bit off-putting.

That being said it's hard to say "what" their lore actually is. Are they just another remnant faction from the Star Union that's a lot like the Dvar or Amazons or is there more to them not having been around like Vanguard? Hard to tell for now.

Personally I don't mind if they're humans, they got a more advanced sci-fi style to them as opposed to Vanguard, kinda like Amazons but less "savage", and as much as I'd wanna see more alien races it's also fun seeing more factions born from the Star Union's absence which makes the now gone empire feel all the more vast.
 
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The Numi said:
That being said it's hard to say "what" their lore actually is. Are they just another remnant faction from the Star Union that's a lot like the Dvar or Amazons or is there more to them not having been around like Vanguard? Hard to tell for now.
Click to expand...

To me it looks as if they are a natural progression of the Vanguard. The previous DLCs story campaigns all happened after some time has passed, so it stands to reason that this one will also happen after the events of the last DLC. Looks as if this faction is what happens when Humanity's best band together and tries to build a new Empire (hopefully less authoritarian and not based on Kir'Ko slavery). The Vanguard can still exist, as their mission of searching for new planets will continue for Humanity's sake.

I also hoped for something more alien or at least a post-human race, but Triumph hasn't disappointed me yet, so try to be optimistic about this DLC :)
 
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I am honestly kind of excited. Only issue is without a new secret tech, my rule of 'one of each secret tech' means one of the factions will not be used as a custom empire.
 
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