Theme Switching #4

[The Beatles]

Oh, we'd need much more far-ranging changes. But we could do them.

[Devari]

For example, we'd need to ramp back troop and spy production, readjust (up) NW values, and reduce resource production (or up consumption).

And I probably missed something there.

Still, it's doable.

[The Beatles]

Yes, I even tried it a few years ago before the stable release for an unrelated purpose, that I recalled that even Damug in Redwall was only able to gather 1000 troops if I recall right. Or am I quite off the mark?

[Devari]

I remember the hawk roll-back. That was back in the day when we had the "Vermin" races as well.

Wow, nostalgia.

[Ruddertail]

Correct on the Redwall history, Beatles.

The only problem that I find with the rollback is that it sounds really lame to have an army of 100k troops. That, and multiples huts per hawk (or academy/whatever per spy) just seems weird.

[Devari]

I don't think we're reducing it to multiple huts per hawk. Things were a bit weird that time.

Does it really sound lame? Still sounds pretty awesome to me, as well as realistic.

Things get REALLY absurd when you venture into armies that are bigger than the Soviet and American armies combined at the height of the Cold War.

[Ruddertail]

Well, for us history geek types, yes, it sounds pretty cool. But for your average player, 10 mil still sounds a lot cooler then 100k, even if they have the same effect.

[The Beatles]

They'll get used to it. Newbies won't notice and oldbies will like the challenge. Middlebies be blasted!

[Ruddertail]

Well, I don't know if I'd say that. Middlebies may be some of our best hope for new players, considering the lack of totally new players coming into promi games. Most that do, at least here, leave again quickly...

[Devari]

Ruddertail, we don't really have a lot of middlebies anymore. The main point of a theme switch is to breath new life into the game, and attract a larger crowd. As you yourself said, Promisance is dying a slow death, and we aren't going to go very far recruiting from that base. To a Promisance player, 100k seems very little. But to a new player, it may very well seem like quite a bit.

[The Beatles]

And even an experienced player might be intrigued or challenged by the seeming difficulty.

[edit] The only problem I see with the change would be rounding errors. HOWEVER, if we kept the exact same backend that we do, and only DISPLAYED troops at 1000-th their level, there would be no rounding problems.

It would also stop that silly "XXX lost 1 troop" when attacking. Either you have a substantial amount of some troop or you don't.

[Devari]

Indeed. I know I would.

[Gen. Volkov]

Same here Devari...

Neo, how do you think the Persian's GOT that huge empire? Selling cookies? Come on man, just cause the Greeks managed to fend them off doesn't mean they didn't pave over everyone ELSE who got in their way. One of the largest empires in history does not come into existence without a massive army. They were great administrators too. They just overextended themselves on the Greek campaign. And then Alexander, one of, if not the best, commander's in history, who, combined with the Macedonian phalanx, paved EVERYONE who got in his way. Persians, egyptians, didn't matter. Persians were one of the greatest military powers of their day, they just happened into so bad luck at the end of there several hundred year rule.

[neobaron]

Numbers are more important that strangth Volky-poo... Persian armies were cheap and weak... but tehre were a lot of them.

And the persian empire was formed by decree not conquest, slick.

[Ruddertail]

I guess you're right, Devari. No futher objections.