5384 - Unnamed Silent Steel

[uncledarkseid]

It is a special set of circumstances that allows you to achieve that level of food production. It also makes you a target for food hungry military kingdoms. There is a risk/reward to bounty.

[Eregnon]

I was playing the HA, and my one hidden village in the SO area kept me going at the end, because of all the bounty spells. It was producing over 300k food.

By the way, for anyone playing the HA in the future, DO NOT use the Hobbit Inc. trading company. It limits you to selling 100k food when the rest of your neighbors are selling 500k plus per turn. Luckily(?), I lost the town I had it in, and never built another.

[The Painted Man]

I was playing the HA, and my one hidden village in the SO area kept me going at the end, because of all the bounty spells. It was producing over 300k food.

By the way, for anyone playing the HA in the future, DO NOT use the Hobbit Inc. trading company. It limits you to selling 100k food when the rest of your neighbors are selling 500k plus per turn. Luckily(?), I lost the town I had it in, and never built another.

You can issue multiple trades at 100k each. Still not ideal, but not bad.

[Ry Vor]

I was playing the HA, and my one hidden village in the SO area kept me going at the end, because of all the bounty spells. It was producing over 300k food.

By the way, for anyone playing the HA in the future, DO NOT use the Hobbit Inc. trading company. It limits you to selling 100k food when the rest of your neighbors are selling 500k plus per turn. Luckily(?), I lost the town I had it in, and never built another.

You can issue multiple trades at 100k each. Still not ideal, but not bad.

So, I am not as devious as some, though I am always trying to find what are the design flaws, the gross advantages, the exploits.  Certainly everyone is all over Bounty in Maelstrom. 

Speak now, as to what the existing exploits are.  Windstorm is second.

[Senior Tactician]

I don't know if its an exploit, but fear is pretty powerful.  As I had indicated earlier, I had a group with many different fear troops in it, value as stated on the turn-result was only 127,000.  Without the benefit of spells, besides presence, this group took a great castle worth 197,000.  The stacking fear from the spell fear and crack the sky also allowed a group of 7 specters worth a turn-sheet stated value of 22,000 to take a great castle worth 77,000.

This may be as intended, but it seems a little overpowered.

However, if you are going to make it so there is less food, therefore fewer daunting castles, it might be necessary to address fear as well.  But, I don't know the intention.  How hard is it supposed to be to build a legendary castle and how hard is it supposed to be to take one?  I don't know.  It is all very different from the original game, I don't remember anyone ever using bounty in the paper and pencil days... (or, maybe there was no bounty?)  I seem to remember there was bounty, but no one used it.

Rather than change bounty and the food, you could just leave the food the way it is and make it so more kingdoms have access to this stacking fear.  kingdoms that can't easily summon undead and cast crack the sky are at a substantial disadvantage to being able to capture great castles.

Another thing you could do, is balance each individual kingdom so that it is EITHER able to create a lot of fear, OR be able to produce a lot of food.  So, a kingdom could be able to either easily build, or easily capture, legendary castles.  Some kingdoms can't do either and those are the ones probably at most disadvantage in a long game.

But, another great thing about Alamaze is that you have kingdoms balanced in such a way that kingdoms are EITHER strong in a long game or strong at the beginning.  Red Dragons seem like a powerhouse out of the gate, but after 25 turns or so if they haven't won, another kingdom is going to probably crush them.

Another thing to consider is that in this particular game my food production the entire game barely broke 120,000 per turn, multiple people were making millions per turn, and I won the game.  So, maybe its not that big a deal either way?

[Ry Vor]

I will make this brief.   I think I have shared this before, but spells like Fear and Valor will be limited to a total 35%.  

Next I would say, have fun, with new kingdoms and trying new approaches.  Yes, the Red Dragon is not going to play like the Halfling.   Right now, the Underworld and Pirates are doing the best, a few months ago, the Ancient Ones and Demon Princes, so yes, it seems what I call the "Specialty" kingdoms are doing well in Maelstrom  I kind of thought the Atlantians would be doing better, but I also have to say, the design objective is the players matter more than how differently I can design the kingdoms.

[Wookie Panz]

I will make this brief.   I think I have shared this before, but spells like Fear and Valor will be limited to a total 35%.  

Next I would say, have fun, with new kingdoms and trying new approaches.  Yes, the Red Dragon is not going to play like the Halfling.   Right now, the Underworld and Pirates are doing the best, a few months ago, the Ancient Ones and Demon Princes, so yes, it seems what I call the "Specialty" kingdoms are doing well in Maelstrom  I kind of thought the Atlantians would be doing better, but I also have to say, the design objective is the players matter more than how differently I can design the kingdoms.

By doing best do you mean they are the most frequently chosen?  I don't thing they win or place that often but they are fun to play and the hidden capitals make them attractive.