Quoting XWerewolfX,

reply 1

Now let me have those minors!
 

Do you realize how easily that could be taken out of context?

sounds absolutely promising.

I agree to werewolfX: Your 'Elemental'-Style games seem to get better avery time!

Love it

So this really is very much like a fleshed out Star Control 2 in an Elemental setting with 4X gameplay?

Say that five times fast. Also, FRAK YEAH!

These are all wonderful news for me. I was really skeptical at first when I heard about the minor factions. I feared they would just be "units dispensers". So glad I was wrong!

I am also excited about the DM for the quest system. On the steam forum I suggested the game made use of a karma system of some kind, but I am glad you had already big plans for the quests to not be too repetitive. I also hope the consequences of the choices will be randomized, as well as the rewards. (Like sometimes the bandits looting a town will surrender the items and flee, other times they will fight you even if you tried to pick a "safe choice" maybe based again on the previous choices, sovereign skills etc)

Are there more than a way to gain favor with minor factions? (this would be awesome).

I also second jirkaesch question. How often can you request help? Is it based on how much favor you have? Is the quantity of units/items also dependent on the favor you gathered?

Thanks for your hard work on Sorcerer king, I am really glad I decided to be a founder in the end.

Quoting jirkaesch,

reply 7

Frogboy, so after all, how will the minor factions work?

I thought once you become allies, they will be assimilated into your empire, but apparently, this is not the case. So they will be still around on their own and you can ask them for support - how and how often? Based on some sort of "approval"?

Also, earlier you said you will contact minors via some special unit called ambassador. Now its about distinctive quest lines. So how this will work? Distinctive quest lines that can be only opened through emissaries? Or em. will just increase their opinion by certain amount instantly?

They're still around on the map.  You can ask them for support. How often you get to do that will be based on play-testing.  Right now, it's like every 20 turns.

Each race has their own series of quests available to them.  If it's a simple quest, it'll only get you +1 favor.  If it's a major quest (i.e. multiple steps) it'll be more like +5 (enough to totally win them over).

Different minors can provide different types of support for you along with different units. Some are good at providing you with spells. others with recipes and others can do world effects (like lower the doomsday counter).

Quoting Thormodr,

reply 11

Even with the fairly limited choices, the game is pretty fun now.

 

Adding the minor races with a ton of variety will make this game awesome. ^^

 

This is very good to hear:

 

Different minors can provide different types of support for you along with different units. Some are good at providing you with spells. others with recipes and others can do world effects (like lower the doomsday counter)

 

Will there be an option to set which minor races you'd like in the world as well as a random one?

 
 

Quick answer: I hope so.  The minor races have turned out a lot better than originally believed so their role is tending to get bigger and bigger.

With regard to the minor races, I think giving each minor a base score in terms of how it views the player could add more variety and challenge.

So, in effect, at the start of the game, some minors would generally be favorably inclined toward the player, while other minors would be less favorably inclined, or maybe even distrustful. (and that distrust could stem from the relations that the factions had in LH..to be consistent with the lore)

In addition, those base scores should vary from game to game (within a fixed range**) so the player can never be sure how much he has to kiss-up to a minor faction.

** I never liked those games where the AI players view of you was completely random for each game.

Frogboy said that if they ally with you, they will attack the SK on their own.  If they ally with the SK, they will attack you on their own.

I do hope that you'll be able to obtain different crafting materials from them. Either through quests or perhaps through trading.

If they are allied with you and are seeking out SK Strongholds and units then there will be less things for you to fight and obtain crafting materials from.

Ok, thanks for the clarification on the minors.

On a slightly different topic: I've noticed that there are some elements of Civ5 that are showing up in SK. First, is the turn button. Like civ5, it notifies you when there is an idle city/unit, level up , etc. I understand it streamlines gameplay and reduces the leaning curve, but it also feels like I'm following instructions or a receipe. Do this, now do that...

Cities that defend themselves: this is a good idea. If you neglect to build your own units, you always have a few default city defenders to protect the city. In LH, when an enemy attacked, it would switch to the tactical map, and you could actualy see the units and control them if you wanted to. In SK, like civ5, all you see is this red stuff shoot out of the city at the emeny unit. It's automatic, and you have no control. It just feels detached and impersonal. Also, there is no indicator of the cties HP, defense, or how much damage is being inflicted on the enemy with each spray of the red stuff. For me, this reduces immersion.

The map itself: Like Civ5, it's clean and neat, and quite attractive. But like civ5, there is something about it that minimizes the immersion in the game. I can't fully explain it, but in part I think it has to do with the story book / boardgame look of the buildings and terrain.

With regard to the appearance of the game: When I open up Steam, I see a large list of games to scroll through. I quickly scan each for maybe a second or two. Personally, if I see a game with graphics that makes it look like a kids game, I'm more likely not to read further, and just skip it.

IMO, too much streamlining sucks the life out of a game - like Civ5. The trick is to find the right balance.

Just my 2 cents. Not trying to discourage anyone, just offering my perspective, right or wrong. - And I'm aware that Brad has explicitely expressed his admiration of Civ5.

Patiently waits to be flamed by the fanboys and yes men....

No, I don't want to be flamed, but I've been around the block a few times, and I know what can happen in an echo chamber.

When I look at Endless Legends, I wonder why SD chose the artistic style that it did.