[0.95] Logistics, Logistics, Logistics

from Elemental Forums

What a great improvement to the game Beta 4 turned out to be. The future is looking bright and I think it is time to go over a very important aspect of the game that still feels...outdated.

 

[ROADS]

 

Ah! The all important and onipresent feature in any 4x game that isn`t set in space. Roads in FE are still a crude leftover of WoM and it is about time for it to get a makeover.

 

Now, I might be wrong but I get the feeling that the Devs do not want us to have to deal with making roads the old fashion way by having a pioneer construct roads turn by turn. That said the current system creates a lot of frustration.

- Using outposts to create roads doesn`t work so well since you can only create a single path, once you need roads that aren`t going on a single line outposts fail. They will always create the shortest route between themselves and nearest existing road so if you are trying to link up two roads you are either going to be forced to use a silly number of outposts coming from both sides or you are going to have a gap in your road system.

 

- When you have economics but you capture enemy outposts they do not receive a road going to them.

- I have the ability to lower a mountain and create a strategic path shortening the route to somewhere important but i can`t use a road to cross this pass unless I use outposts which will again, not link up two sides.

- There are no "improved" roads and with the low movement that armies and champions have on large maps it can take forever for them to move along to where they are needed.

- When you capture cities, the enemey surrenders or you capture outposts the road systems starts to really get screwed up, leftover roads all over the place, weird connections and roundabouts everywhere. Looks ungly and it isn`t useful at all.

 

Now I get that maybe the intention is to go a different path from other games and not have the player have to micro road building but in an strategic game not being able to create paths where units move faster feels more like a fault then a feature

 

Personally I would give pioneers the ability to road and remove all automatic road placement from the game. No need to make roads cost anything other then the time and investment to make them, but in my opinion the ability to control road building is a must.

- Give pioneers the ability to create roads.

 

It would be nice if we could get enchanted roads. MoM had enchanted roads. It could be unlocked in the magic tree as long as you had the proper civilization tech and it would cost mana per tile.

 

- Give us the ability to spend mana to make roads faster.

 

[Zone of Control]

 

Armies shouldn`t benefit from roads inside enemy territory.

Outposts could create zones of control, if an army is defending an outpost it should prevent enemies passing through without engaging.

Last but not least, factions shouldn`t cross eachother`s borders unless through a treaty. It`s so annoying to close a gap and then be forced to check every turn to see if someone is trying to get through. They shouldn`t be able to enter if i`m just going to ask them to leave anyway.

 

[TRADING]

 

Caravans for some reason are still in the game. They don`t seem to do anything other then clear the FoW towards the other player`s capital if you have an economic treaty. 

 

Trading with another faction over a road system should be more profitable. This would help balance the huge potential that going to war and conquering everyone has in the game right now. Having friendly factions mean very little when its so much useful to just get everything for yourself. 

 

The peaceful ruler needs something to have a reason to be peaceful. Right now, there is no debate, going to war is always better.

 

 

[ITEMS]

 

I like that my heroes are spread appart over a large map. I feel like they are on adventures and it is an investment to have them away from home searching for fame and fortune. That said another of MoM`s great features would be so nice for us. Let us use mana to teleport items to other heroes.

 

 

These are my ramblings about the subject. I do think roads need to be really looked at before release. Even the graphics are outdated and in a long game with a large map roads look terrible with all the crazy pathing that goes on.

 

Just give us back the ability to build and destroy them and be done with it. ;)

6,300 views 2 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

I like the ability to make or destroy roads.  And you are still limited by movement, so it doesn't have to have any other cost (and you would still need to protect the road builders).

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Ah...those roads. :puke:

  • The concept of a road should be "select starting point of road" then "select ending point of road", then road is built. Pioneers don't HAVE to do the building, imo, but you should have more choice in where your roads are built and how your empire is connected. I recommend that 'Build Road' be added to the buildings list under the guilding principles of start-stop. Hense, after the pro
  • Maybe, a city can only build roads that are connected to it. That would mean that if you wanted to build a road from outpost A to outpost B, one of those outposts would need the Consulates upgrade to queue the road building.
  • When you get the 'trade' tech, you'll have several of these roads to build...but imo, that increases the uniqueness of obtaining the tech...and since it's ussually an early tech to get, you won't have too much to build.  
  • Roads currently feel too powerful, granting too much movement bonus. This should be dialed back somehow.
  • Additionally, there should be a way to spell your roads to give you...well, what your currently getting. Actaully, it could be like the spell in MoM, selecting a site and then a 5x5 around that select turns all road into enchanted road....definately worth considering imo...
  • Roads NEED a 'raze' option. Maybe be able to select the road, as if a city or outpost, but the only option is 'Raze'. I suppose road segments could have 'Upgrades' as well, granting bonuses, but not completely necessary....
  • I agreed that armies should not gain the benefits of roads while in enemy territory.
  • I agree that an 'Open Borders' Treaty should be in place before being able to walk through enemy territory...though I understand that this would hinder RPG questing if a player were hemmed in...
  • Caravans should not block travel on roads.

That's my road rant. Thanks for listening...

 EDIT: Just found out that Consulate upgrades to the outpost do not extend queue options. Instead, they give +1 growth the connected city. Boo. Need a way to get more queues, especially if limited to 1-3 cities..

 

 

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