OMG this idea hit me like a ton of bricks - the WHOLE premise of this game is that your basically fighting the guy who won the game - right?

When I saw the graphic advertisement on steam called "The Sorcerer King Is Powerful, but he doesn't get all the cool tricks"  I thought to myself - well that shouldn't be true in the sense that the Sorcerer King SHOULD have some very powerful items available in his armory that YOU wouldn't have access too either.  Thats like a hallmark of villians - they all have very exclusive weapons and armor that makes them stand out.  Turns them into legends.

Then I thought to myself, well if your basically fighting the winner of a 4X game - then that means he's probably crafted tons of special items - which got me thinking that eventually YOU will beat the sorcerer king too, having crafted tons of items and built your kingdom up - making YOU the winner and in essence the new sorcerer king.

WELL that made me realize that this game has possible one of the most EXCLUSIVE game mechanic available to itself that NONE now or before have every had - the ability to start a NEW GAME vs the previous winner of the map!  Yourself!  Rather the empire and heroes you created to win the last game.

What do I mean?  Okay well you just beat the Sorcerer King, conquered the map and are basically the new version of the "sorcerer king" by the end of the game (unless you some how manage to rush kill him if thats even possible) AND crafted a ton of cool items to do it.  You have units everywhere I'm sure and a footprint across the map as you explored and conquered it (aka like the Sorcerer King before you!).

So now wouldn't it be fun to face off IN a new game AGAINST everything you just previously accomplished and the heroes you built?! Those uber heroes are now the new evil lieutenants.  The new sorcerer king is now whoever the last sovereign you played as and called as such.  Your literally now fighting against the empire you just built to win the last game!

Then as a new game plus you basically start off on some flung far corner of the map (maybe reserved space pre-programmed?) by expanding the games 4 borders out on the map you just conquered in your previous game, as to allow a "safe" start.  OR maybe you start someplace random but not in direct harms way?  (This would need to be play tested obviously to see which works best)  As for your nemesis, I suggested in another topic that each Sovereign should have a unique art asset structure/tower in their "main" capital to represent them - now that art asset would represent the enemies capital (and hence the art asset for that sovereign would be even more substantial as it literally represents your enemies capital)

Either way your LITERALLY facing the character/empire you built and won the last game with from your previous  play - but the AI has taken over and (now) has all the cool items and weapons you crafted.  All the conquered lands, heroes, units, ect.  They are now the empire you must face to win in new game plus mode!

This would ALSO add a MASSIVE new endgame mechanic to the game, in that NO game has ever done or tried before - you could LITERALLY keep doing this every time you won the game vs your last play.  Start a new game plus and face off against the last sovereigns empire, again and again! 

Expanding the 4 map borders every time could also increase the map size too, keeping things "refreshed" as more and more land becomes available to explore.  (maybe you select the option of new game plus mode when your setting up your initial game against the sorcerer king - which means the game starts on a small to medium map, allowing it to expand naturally with each eventually new game plus being played after you win eventually maxing at "huge".

Plus they could add a random seed into the new game that could reset certain parts of the map meaning things could slightly change - outposts from your previous game could be new ruins, ect.  That way the map changes ever so slightly every time.

Honestly this is the ONLY game that could EVER do this and it SEEMS so obvious as a game mechanic as its the very basis the games plot - your fighting the winner of the previous game (the Sorcerer King)- and that winner could be LITERALLY you from your last game.

***PLUS it would allow players to select the Sorcerer King (or his apprentice) in the new game plus mode as a sovereign, like how Sauron had his physical body destroy so has yours.  OR/and adding a "Lich King" as exclusive Sovereign for the new game plus. So now you must rebuild as him and regain your form/strength.  I think that would be really cool too!  The Doom bar changes to a death bar - when it fills up or maybe RUNS out your Lich form vanishes from the world/you lose (hence your now trying to keep it full like a life bar)

Maybe this idea is too grand (for the games state right now) but if nothing else this would certainly make for an amazing sequel/expansion and if the developer would consider it now (as a possible expansion) then they could add the coding window/ability to add it in as a feature now rather then having to rebuild the code later to allow it. (I know I could say that better but coders know what I mean lol)

I would really hate to see  this mechanic not explored as it seems again, so obvious to this games plot and mechanics.

I hope somebody is listening...

***UPDATE: I was thinking about how the dooms day counter would work via new game plus, I mentioned my idea for the Lich king death counter already, but obviously it doesn't address the issue of how the new sovereign your facing would use it against you - is he also destroying shards?  Probably not - it would be too easy/make no sense since he/she was trying to save them?    But then from what I read other sovereigns use it to their advantage like the Tyrant - so again maybe it needs to be adjusted for each sovereign via new game plus. Maybe it becomes more a battle for "mana" as you wrestle it back and forth with the AI.

So it goes from doomsday counter to energy/mana counter? Whoever controls more earns more mana/power/control? I realize that it would start in the enemy sovereigns favor since he/you just won the last game - so maybe the challenge now is to actually take the counter that might be near full and wrestle it back down to zero in the new game plus.  Doing so also granting you more perks or limiting your ability to cast bigger spells, ect. Plus the idea of a new game plus is either to give you a bonus/carry items/levels over OR to be more challenging game.  I certainly think this idea fits into the later.

In a sense this change of mechanic would also reward the players who don't like/that there IS no doomsday counter.  In essence also refreshing the game for your next play through so it doesn't always feel like your racing against it AND now each new game plus mode/game will feel/function slightly different as it changes it to function differently per enemy sovereign.  Your new goal would be to shrink it down to zero/gain its power/hence gain control of it or keep it full.

As for minor factions, maybe they are now harder to pursued to join your cause - I mean they joined the last sovereign so why would they join you?  Requiring a bigger/harder quest/pay off for them.  In the sense also adding further challenging to the game in a new game plus mode.  Maybe new ones form out of rebellion towards the new enemy sovereign too?  Lots of possibilities here to keep expanding the game via a new game plus mode meaning no two games feel the same even as you play it over and over!  The game just keeps naturally developing and growing like a real dynamic world!