Hi everyone,
Today we're starting a new (and hopefully regular) series of blog posts dedicated to players' feedback on Eador. Imperium.
As you probably know, we always say that we're reading everything you post — which is true. But we feel that in some cases it would be better to explain our plans or positions on some gameplay issues out loud.
So we'll select some suggestions and questions found on forums and give our commentary on them here. You can read the first attempt at this below.
>Astral masters L’Anshar, Dariol, Doh-Gor and Ul-Dagan keep taking part in the battle for a shard. So why would the player worship someone from his rivals?
Doh-Gor and company are a temporary solution for now — we'll be adding new Masters for players to worship. Players themselves will no longer be masters in Imperium, being mere pawn in the games of Eador's deities instead. However, this won't stop you from challenging other Masters and in the end become a Master yourself. After all, Doh-Gor and Dariol among others were all mortal at some point in the past.
>Is evolution of units planned for Imperium? Many T1 units are too weak and don't have any unique abilities or specialization. They feel even more helpless with the new hero — Legate.
We would agree with the notion of T1 units being not very useful in the original game. Take archers for example — they have a greater value with the "Forager" skill, but it'd still be better to hire elves or shamans. In Imperium we tried to provide every T1 unit with a sensible ability. For example, imperial units are very strong when they're close to each other (thanks to "Discipline"). As to giving the opportunity to change units types (from peasant to spearman) — we haven't planned that yet, but think about it all the time. It's a balance issue first and foremost, and it's tough to do as it is with 120+ units.
>I think Eador lacks in scouting/espionage area a bit.
We partly made some improvements in that direction with the new Pilot hero — he has the ability to move freely without stumbling upon endless guards and sieges. However, basic logic of the game suggests that we can't plunder an enemy province (or enter its sites or do anything with it, really) until we capture it. Otherwise, all data calculation of everyone's movements and actions would take too much time. It's all about the code really. Maybe we'll add some kind of a ninja hero, because the idea is pretty cool. But for now, please try to use the tactic of sudden landings behind enemy lines with Pilot.
>A request: add rituals that would change sets of items in trade shops. This way the shops could become more relevant and stimulate players to visit them more often.
It'd probably be better to force the whole shop's assortment to change once in 50-100 turns. Otherwise, a ritual like that could become a bit like a cheat (if the items turn out to be to your liking) or it won't change much anyhting (if it doesn't work well).
>What about some new random events like:
- "The merchants brought new goods";
- "The magician in the province N put up new spells for sale".
The game needs new events in general, we'll say this. Including spell selling — it's a good idea, so why not. We won't promise this on release, because the event system is a very complicated thing in Eador. But we'll do our best to vary events in the game.